DISQUS

Haha, saw this post on my iPhone just after crawling into bed, but the iPhone wouldn't play the video. Luckily I had my old PowerBook on my nightstand. Of course, the video is choppy and unwatchable on my 2004-era PowerBook, so I tried finding Facebook Connect on Facebook itself, and couldn't. Hey guys, text is always a nice backup to reach the most users. Of course, Facebook could also be a bit less insanely cluttered with features, too, but hey, I'm just wishing upon a star, here. :)

I checked out the post on Jezebel bit couldn't find the comments (iPhone issues, probably) but I did see the way they couched the story--it almost seemed sarcastic, but even if it is, many folks don't understand how bad HFCS and even refined sugar is, so in the end I wish they were more clear. After all, it's not like sugar and HFCS are healthy on their own, right.

1) I don't think it's right to force a filmmaker or studio to change the contents of their film to suit the needs of ANY group. Freedom of speech is just that. If it hurts your feelings, sorry, but that's the way life is sometimes. It's hard for all of us in some way or another (and easier for some, whether disabled or not).

2) I don't think that a Ben Stiller movie should be considered anything but "commentary" or "satire" (please note the quotes). It's one thing to be a genuinely talented parodist like Mel Brooks. Then you can claim lofty goals like slamming Hollywood for exploiting the disabled to make a quick buck, but when you're the guy who made "Meet the Fockers" I'm thinking you should probably apologize and shut the hell up (but don't change the movie, just don't pretend like you're making "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest").

3) Of all the things activists get upset about, I'm thinking one of a thousand dumb-ass movies to come out of Hollywood this year is NOT one of them. Want to bitch about an something related to intellectual disability? How about Bush? We don't let blind people drive cars, do we? How about getting this guy in the White House some help instead of being cruel and telling him he'd make a great leader?

But seriously, there are plenty of other, more worthy things to get upset about than insults to people who got the short end of the stick in life. If being made to feel like less than you are is the worst thing going on in your life, then you're doing pretty well in my mind.

Hell, my people don't have an advocacy group--there's no Scottish/Irish/British-American Advocacy Group (SIBAAG) that can represent my interests in the media. Talk about unfair!!

Ahhh, OK, that's the one theater in Hollywood I haven't been to. :\ So you could have me there, Mike! Seeing as I'm moving from LA in a week, I should probably try to see something there before I go. I have heard good things about that place.

Doh:

http://thepete.com/who-watches-the-watchnuts

I knew I'd seen this joke before...

Hey, Peter--I beg to differ on the "coolest theater outside of The Alamo Drafthouse" claim. I've never been to the Drafthouse, but I think your definition of "cool" is substantially different from mine. The Arclight is the poshest theater in LA, for sure but "coolest"? I'd have to go with the Chinese or the Egyptian or even the Fox Village. All have more personality. The Cinerama Dome (part of the Arclight) is a *great* theater, but it's definitely not *cooler* than the Chinese or the Egyptian.

Sorry to get all picky... as one LA-based Pete to another, I mean no disrespect. :)

The Iron Man suit does look pretty cool, though. :) They had a Silver Surfer outside the theater for last year's FF2 that was pretty cool and I have pictures from the full-size Orc and Ring Wraith they had for the LOTR triple feature. Hm, so maybe in the sense that they always get the cool 3D sculptures they're cooler than the Chinese or the Egyptian... I'm going to have to mull this one... ;)

Gah, I'm doubly annoyed--I spent $20 for that screening of Iron Man at the Aero with Jon Favreau and not only did he bail on the Q&A but somehow the print he provided was missing the surprise ending!!

Thanks Mingeh for posting it! Though the captchas at RapidShare are insane.

I do think that this clip should have waited until the end of the sequel, but hey, if they're thinking about introducing an Avengers movie-series, that's fine with me. :)

Wow, Greg--nothing like coming into a conversation three months later with a pretentious and sarcastic argument.

So far, the only contrary argument that I think has any merit at all is Iron Flatline's--it's true a lot of the shmoes do lose out. But they too have to evolve. They can hire themselves out as the band's web designer or something else--bands still need advertisement. They're still needed, they just need to contact the band or their manager directly instead of getting hired by some rich record executive.

As for Iron's argument about the rich record executive cliche, I don't know what you've seen, but I've walked down Sunset and Hollywood boulevards and seen some hot convertibles driving by with well-dressed men and beautiful women in them. I suppose they *could* be just tourists.

;) But seriously, I worked in Hollywood for over 10 years, off and on, and the cliches are accurate. It's an industry rich with pretend gatekeepers who make more money than they should based on the amount of talent most actually have.

Meanwhile, Sam I Am makes this hilarious argument about how we need to "get back to human decency". Yeah, you let me know when that happens, man. Look around the world--from top-to-bottom, there are plenty of examples of a serious lack of human decency. The guy in the White House thinks it's cool to torture. All bootleggers do is copy media.

And have a look back at history, too, and see how prominent 'human decency" even is. Were we *ever* decent?

Am I saying that we should give up and just be a horrible species? Of course not--but don't blame the poor when they get tired of paying too much for things that are supposed to make their lives better. The rich are in a position to set a good example, yet we all know they don't.

I love it when people think making a buck is a god-given right and is so much a part of freedom that exploitation and borderline amoral behavior is OK. Most of all, I love how the "let's evolve together" comment I made was completely ignored by the defenders of the faith. OK, cool--let's keep things *exactly the same*.

I think I'll leave that little "Notify me" box unchecked this time 'round. This argument is oooold and, frankly, a little useless when the cons don't want to, you know, change...EVER.

Uh, I went to a screening last night with Jon Favreau (the director) in attendance. He and Robert Downey Jr. introduced the movie. No Nick Fury appearance at the end and I waited until the end because there was supposed to be a Q&A after, but there wasn't. If Fury was in any prints, you'd expect it to have been in one Favreau showed up with.

COME ON THIRTY!!!

And I actually like Jenn's idea to find something more woman-oriented. Perhaps one of those mousepads with the boobs-for wrist support?

http://biggirlunderoos.blogspot.com/2007/04/por...

All right, so no drinking ever again if you steal a single glass of water. No eating ever again because you pinched an orange from a storefront shelf.

Still think your black & white view of the world is the best to have?

And for the record, I don't think most people would mind if you stopped by for a glass of water or even a meal. Last time I had a friend stop by I *offered* them something to drink. Free of charge, even. Perhaps if the media companies could stop being so tight with their bank accounts we'd not feel like we were being raped every time we bought a $20 CD that cost them a few bucks to make (including artists' royalties). Here's a tip: if we ALL lighten up on the greed, we just might see a few problems go away.

Just entered that WiBrain contest--thanks for the link! :)

Haha, dude, you're going to give away a ball sack?

Righteous.

Yeah, I think this is a good thing. The main reason people let Bush have a second term is because Americans don't read enough. Getting out onto the 'net and reading what the rest of the world thinks of Bush, then reading some blogs from people in Iraq really gives you a different perspective.

Information is necessary for a democracy, which is why a handful of uber-powerful corporations having the ability to shut your connection to it is so scary.

I'm starting to think the EU is doing stuff maybe a little better than the US in the freedom-for-its-people department. At least in theory...

If only it were true...

:P

I'm glad I'm not the only person who found drupal daunting. With the number of people who use it I thought sure I'd have a lot less trouble with it, but in the end, it was just like you said, Stan--I found it just too confusing to use and gave up.

I don't know what those Drupalians are thinking.

Let's home Chris hits this one out of the park.

You know, I've been blogging for the better part of a decade and I've *never* thought "That's what my readers want! A way to leave me voicemails!"

I'd MUCH rather see them integrate GC into Gmail. That's the logical thing to do.

I'd pee myself if that happened.

Hey, I did this last year--it was hard. Of course, I wasn't doing it mugshot style, so maybe that's easier. I managed to pull it off, but I didn't have an easy way to upload the pictures and name/number them automatically. As a result, I don't have them all in my Project365 Flickr set, but you can check them out here:

http://flickr.com/photos/thepete/sets/721575944...

Man, I've got 65 more pictures to label and tag! Arg!

Good luck with it--I look forward to checking out the pics as they pile up!

Does YouTube share ad revenue yet?

That's the one thing that truly baffles me about that site--it seems like so many people use provide content and you get so little back. I've actually stopped using it for that reason.

It's just turning into one of those free press-release sites only for video press releases.

In today's economy where money seems to be worth less and less every day, gas seems to cost more and more every day, more and more people can't afford to pay for things like movie tickets and music.

Humans seem to need (or at least be addicted to) art (even bad art). So if they can't afford to pay full price they make the smart business choice and go for the cheapest price they can find.

It's OK for record executives to make the most money they can, but it's not OK for the consumer to save as much money as they can. This seems unfair since, record company executives make more money than their acts and the CDs they put out mostly suck. Why are they rich off of generally sucking when they could and should just be scraping by?

The solution to me is obvious: the record companies need to make less money and offer more value.

If you want to continue charging $15 for a CD, then make it worth it. Make sure all the songs on it are good. Include cool premiums, like keychains, toys or other cool items. I disagree with Stan's suggestion to add more digital content since it will be pirated along with the music. The extra stuff has to be only available by buying it in stores.

I do agree that evolution is the key here--like it or not, the consumeristic environment is changing. Evolve or die, sadly.

Complaining that consumers are "greedy" or "selfish" or "disrespectful to the property of others" won't change the fact that consumers are reacting to their own environments and adapting. They don't want to go without so they're evolving, too.

I'm sure everyone wants their favorite bands to survive and feed their families. But don't blame "pirates" for not wanting to pay what, to many, are absurd prices for generally lackluster product. Wasn't it Radiohead, just last year, who made more money letting consumers pay what they wanted than they would have if they'd released their CD in stores?

Stop defending the old ways and let's all evolve together.

How about Wikipedia for devices other than the iPhone? Do that many people use the iPhone? I see them, but I still see more Razors, Sidekicks and Blackberries.

Kat: I think that's just normal for MySpace. ;)

I want them to go DOWN... ALL THE WAY. :)

I'm kidding, of course--I honestly don't want to wish ill on anyone. But I would laugh if it happened--like a super-villain.

Chad, GNN is still around?

o_O

That aside, it seems to me like this might be a lesson in how technology can fail.

I mean, really--if this really were some sort of conspiracy targeting the most popular site, wouldn't MySpace have been nuked?

Man, how sweet that would be!! ^_^

Yes, but does it have a bathroom???

My only problems with it are:

1) sleeping with legs stuck out is bad/unsafe

2) getting around via bike is environmentally friendly, but not human-energy friendly. Perhaps there's a compromise?

3) electricity. How do you watch TV or surf the 'net?

Meh, I'll pass. Not moved by thin. Moved by small.