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Monday, December 31, 2007

Three Or Four Alternate Timelines Of Futurama

Lately Cartoon Network has been playing lots of "Futurama" at night. Last night Fry went back in time to Dec 31, 1999, and it got me thinking about how things originally played out versus how they changed through time travel.

Original timeline (Timeline A):
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry's grandfather, and they have a child, one of Fry's parents
December 31, 1999: Pizza delivery boy Fry goes to a false delivery address, courtesy of a legitimate prankster. Fry leans too far back in a chair in a Cryogenics building and is frozen for 1000 years.
Early 3000's: Fry goes back in time to 1947, spawning Timeline B. Fry then returns to the early 3000's of Timeline A.
3002:Evil alien Brains destroy the universe.

Timeline B:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry, and she becomes pregnant with one of Fry's parents, making Fry his own grandfather.
19**: Fry is born, but unlike in Timeline A, he now lacks Delta brain waves.
****: Nibbler the alien and his race foresee that Delta-deficient Fry is the only one capable of stopping evil brain creatures around the year 3002
December 31, 1999: Nibbler becomes the prankster, sends Fry to the Cryogenics building, and makes sure Fry leans too far back and falls into the Cryogenic tank.
Early 3000's: Fry goes back in time to 1947, and returns.
3002: Fry gets a Scootie Puff Jr. hover scooter from Nibbler and co., and plants a device in the evil Brain Mothership. The Scootie Puff Jr. breaks, and Fry doesn't escape in time. The device he planted sends him and all the brains to an "inescapable" alternate universe. The largest brain, nearly omniscient, figures out a way to send Fry back in time so he can prevent himself from getting frozen in the first place, and also so the brains will win, having no "John Connor" to lose to. Fry travels to December 31, 1999, spawning Timeline C.

Timeline C:
Same as Timeline B up to...
December 31, 1999: Future Fry arrives in the Cryo lab, and nearly stops himself from being frozen. Speaking with Nibbler, who is 1000 years younger, he decides to let himself get frozen, if only to save Leela. Then he tells Nibbler that Scootie Puff Jr. sucks. That piece of information changes the outcome of the event in 3002, and this version of future Fry vanishes, ceasing to exist.
3000: Frozen Fry wakes up from Cryo sleep
Soon after: Travels to 1947, returns
3002: Nibbler gives him a Scootie Puff Sr. hover scooter, which is far more powerful than the Jr. model. Fry plants the device on the Brain mothership. The Scootie Puff Sr. doesn't break, so Fry escapes, and life goes on in the future...

Of course, if the Nibbler race was super prophetic, they would have realized in Timeline A that if they froze Fry, even though he still had Delta brain waves, his actions in the future and in 1947 would eventually change his existence in the ways that would make him a perfect candidate for defeating the Brains. If they foresaw all that, it's likely that the timelines really looked like this:

Timeline A (foreseen and prevented through prophecy by Nibbler and co):
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry's grandfather.
19**: Fry is born with Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Fry misses his chance to get frozen 1000 years.
20**: Fry dies.
3002: Brains destroy universe.

Timeline B:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry's grandfather.
19**: Fry is born with Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Nibbler places the prank call and freezes Fry.
Early 3000's: Fry goes to 1947, spawning Timeline C. Fry returns.
3002: Brains destroy universe.

Timeline C:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry, and he becomes his own grandfather.
19**: Fry is born without Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Nibbler places the prank call and freezes Fry.
Early 3000's: Fry goes to 1947. Fry returns.
3002: Fry faces brains, his scooter breaks, travels to alternate universe, returns to December 31, 1999 spawning Timeline D.

Timeline D:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry, and he becomes his own grandfather.
19**: Fry is born without Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Nibbler places the prank call. Future Fry shows up, and tells Nibbler to get him a better scooter. Future Fry ceases to be, while Past Fry is frozen.
Early 3000's: Fry goes to 1947. Fry returns.
3002: Fry faces Brains, his new and improved scooter works great, and Fry escapes after sending all the evil Brains to the inescapable alternate universe. Time goes on...

Happy New Year!

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Saturday, December 29, 2007

Obama's Workers Tried To Cheat Us

Today a woman came by my house and mentioned she was going to put up a sign in our yard in support of Obama. When asked why, she replied that I had requested it.

I made no such request.

In the past, a few people have called and come by in person to talk about Obama. A woman spoke on the phone with me, and I was polite. A man came by the house, we discussed Obama's drug use, and I was polite. Was I too polite? Did they take my tolerance of their marketing campaign too seriously?

I've heard we live in an Opt-Out world. Maybe everyone who didn't scream obscenities into the phone or paint scary things on their doors was automatically marked as an avid supporter.

It's funny. Obama's campaign has made its presence known (i.e., volunteers have gotten in touch with me) way more than the other guys (and Hillary). But that doesn't make me think more favorably of him. Not that I don't already. But if anything, it makes his campaign seem needy, clingy. Smothering!

It's not you Obama, it's me. I...need my space. I think we should take a break.

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

2008 Feels Like No Big Deal

2005 came, and then 2006, the future.

2006 ended, and then 2007, the future!

2007 will soon be over, and then 2008, the past?

For some reason, 2008 just strikes me as more of the same. I think it may have to do with the election. 2008 = 2004 + 4. So it's like a rerun.

Anyway, today I got a call asking me who I was likely to vote for. I said I hadn't decided yet. Honestly I haven't. Maybe Colbert. JK.

At the end of the phone call, the woman said, "This poll has been paid for by Hillary Clinton."

So that means that the Clinton campaign is funding telemarketing recon activity. Is that fair? It felt like a professional call from some bureau of information that would present the results to news programs everywhere, for the benefit of the public. "Coming up, tonight at 11, recent polls show Giuliani pulling ahead." Instead, whatever insight is gleamed from the polls will be the property of the Clinton campaign.

I had thought somewhat favorably of Hillary Clinton. And if I were running for President, I'd probably use every means of getting ahead, including gathering intelligence through telephone polls. But for some reason, I get the vibe that if Hillary is elected, more and more information is going to be collected until there's no privacy left anywhere.

But maybe that's inevitable?

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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Machine Gun Santa Vs. The Ninjas

Ever since I saw the opening to "Scrooged" where Santa meets Lee Majors and gets help from the Bionic Man fighting off the bad guys, I've been interested in a nonexistent movie that seems to be lampooned every now and then. I could be wrong, maybe it really does exist, but the only references I've seen are parodies.

The gist of the film is that Santa becomes a '90's action hero. Using whatever weapons are at his disposal, Jolly Old Saint Nick would deal a new form of justice to the naughty. No more coal. This time, it's lead.

On "Family Guy," there was a "Kiss Saves Santa" holiday special where Kiss used the power of music to save Santa from dinosaurs. I assume the joke is that Christmas has become so commercialized, you end up seeing Santa in the least likely of places (on the edge of a cliff next to some Pterodactyl eggs) just so companies can squeeze a little more revenue out of the holiday. But I really think that society is ready for a movie that loops the parody back on itself and actually depicts Santa in some bizarre scenario. Not just a guy pretending to be Santa. I mean the real deal. Action Santa! In theaters nowhere, December 2008.

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

What's Your New Year's Resolution?

Does it really make a difference whether or not you resolve to change your life? I think it does, but in many cases not as big a difference as we'd like.

There's an effect you notice at gyms where a huge influx of people crowd in after New Year's Eve. "Time to lose that weight!"

Some people complain, "These new ones are all in my way, and won't be here in a few months anyway, so why do they bother?"

But for some select few, they stick to it, and become regulars. Resolution accomplished.

Are you one of them?

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Getting Tickets From The Coin Flip Arcade Game

Remember those coin flip arcade machines, where you try to get your coin into holes in a cave, and you get points? In the middle on the bottom is a rotating bar that slides all the coins there off the edge into holes worth various ticket amounts.

One time as a kid, I was hanging around the arcade section of a restaurant, but I didn't have any tokens. An employee flipped me a single coin. I was grateful. I plugged it into the coin flip gun, pulled the trigger, and won 50 tickets! Normally you only get 5 here, ten there, 25 if you're lucky. It blew me away that that one chance coin got me the mother lode. I felt like I had just starred in a random commercial. Seriously, the event felt like it belonged on TV.

I remember another time when a young lady and her friend were monopolizing the machine. I watched as she kept flipping coin after coin into the same 25-ticket hole. She had the launch angle perfect, and was going for pure conversion, 1 cent to 1 ticket, a 25 cent token to 25 tickets. I was standing nearby, waiting for a turn. I didn't say anything, but I guess her friend must have, because I remember her saying that she wasn't ready to leave; she was on a roll. I can see the appeal. It's like gaming the system. I wonder what she got with all her tickets? She had a ton.

But when you get older, you realize that the real trick to winning is money. No matter how bad you are at an arcade game, as long as you've got a pocket full of credits, you'll be sure to rack up an impressive amount of tickets if it takes you all day. And by that time, you should be a pro!

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

SpeedOfArt.com - What Were They Thinking?

Sure, it's "speed of art." Or is it?

The rest of this post will cater to the uninitiated.

Still don't get it?

Try capitalizing all the letters.

SPEEDOFART

See it now?

Ok, last clue. Imagine a... bathing suit!

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

JourneyMan's Wife Still An Idiot

Tonight JourneyMan will air another new episode. I saw no advertising to this effect. Maybe NBC thinks the show is destined to fail, so why bother?

Monday, JM dropped his camera in the '80s, and it spawned a technological jump that gave late 2007 nanotech, but erased JM's son. Well, actually the camera was a Christmas present. Which means JM probably already celebrated Christmas. Which means that yes, JM lives in the future. By a couple of weeks. Lame.

Anyway, when JM got back to the present, he found no son, but now a daughter. And when he told his wife he had screwed up and needed to fix things, she said, "Don't you dare change a thing." She didn't even take the time to stop and think about what had happened. That she used to have a son. That she had already lost one child. No, all she did was immediately jump into protective lockdown mode.

I imagined an alternate reality in which she was far cooler. More intelligent, open, and willing to consider that maybe, just maybe she should listen to the guy who time travels. Alas, it may not be possible in our reality. But JM could put a stop to that. Just drop his camera in the 70's this time, and then return to the souped up present, grab some hyper-advanced tech, and drop it in the 40's. Maybe that will create a new age where everyone is a genius, and his wife will finally "get" it.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

MXC: Guy Humor TV Show

When I first watched Spike TV's MXC, I thought it was all about action. Now I see there is also some (or much) dirty humor, but when you're expecting it, it's more funny than offensive.

MXC is an Asian game show that's been very loosely dubbed over in English to make it as hilarious as possible. The show is mostly physical challenges (like Nickelodeon's "Double Dare"), but they are a bit more extreme, and dangerous. Anytime someone wipes out, they become a show highlight.

The most recent episode I watched satirized Bond films. It was hilarious. There are (usually?) 2 teams competing, and each team gets a name that has to do with the theme of the show, as decided by the American MXC re-engineers. So for the Bond show, they used Bond-related team names.

One of my favorite features is the dubbing of individual contestants. Each one has some sort of shout-out they give just before performing in an event. The American "translations" are hilarious, as are the grunts and screams of those who fall off a log, or into mud, or whatever. It's a bizarre thing when you find yourself laughing at someone who just crashed and burned, but part of the logic there is they were wearing a helmet, and are usually ok afterwards.

If you're in the mood for action, innuendo, and an artificially-bridged cultural gap, MXC is for you.

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Is Simpsons Finally Over?

Last night I watched a new episode of "The Simpsons," and it made me wonder if it was written just in case the series got canceled.

Why would it get canceled?

The episode focused on all of Homer's memories. It was really neat, so wild and cool that it reminded me of a Halloween special.

At the end, Homer and Marge are together again, and sailing away on a boat beneath fireworks. "The End...?" can be seen.

At first I thought that was a joke, but now I'm not so sure.

Why oh why would Simpsons be over?

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Glove Liners Are God's Gift To Humanity

Today, it was cold. So cold in fact that my normal winter gloves couldn't keep my hands warm. What a drag. But that's when I decided to try my new glove liners out.

They look like thin gloves that barely keep your hands warm. But like Ma always said, "Dress in layers." You put the liners on your hands first, then the gloves over them. Awesome. You can immediately feel the new thickness that's sure to keep your digits warm.

A couple of hours later outside, and my hands were still doing well. Not super warm, but far from as cold as they had been to begin with. This is the first time I've ever used glove liners, but it most definitely won't be my last.

My last will be on December 21, 2012.

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Garth Marenghi - I'm A One Track Lover

This is my new favorite song. It's from "cult UK TV series, 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.'" They recently broadcast some episodes on Adult Swim. I heard the song and saw the video on a few commercials, and I was hooked.



See the newspaper headline? "Being Green Starts In Your Own Home"

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Babies Like Helpful People

Saw this on Yahoo. Experiments done with babies prove that they can tell who is the better friend.

The babies are shown shapes, representing people. A circle tries to go up a hill. A triangle helps it, and it jumps for joy. A square pushes it down the hill.

The babies, when asked to pick a toy version of the shape, chose the helper, even when the square was the helper, and the triangle had pushed the circle down the hill.

Later the babies were shown the circle choosing to sit next to either the helper or hinderer. Babies paid more attention to when the circle sat next to the hinderer. The conclusion there is that they focused longer on the bizarre scenario of someone choosing to associate with their own bully.

It just goes to show you that babies are already good at perceiving many different things. So be helpful!

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Clark Kent: Bizarro

Tonight on "Smallville," I was mildly surprised when Kent offered to help Lana take down Lex. But I accepted it. I did get a vibe that he was different somehow, but I thought, "He seems cooler, all right, cool."

Then I was more than mildly surprised when he flew inside the Daily Planet. But I guessed that either I had missed that development where now he can fly, or his training at the North Pole with Santa was starting to pay off, or maybe he just jumped, and didn't fly at all.

Then at the end, it turns out he's Bizarro Clark!

The real Clark is frozen in his Fortress. I just hope "Smallville" doesn't fall apart like "Lois and Clark," where clones kept popping up left and right. That got boring. And sad. And they stopped broadcasting the episodes in order, so I could keep track! How lame was that... Thank you "Smallville," for learning from history's mistakes!

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

South Park ImaginationLand: Butters Made It All Up?

Tonight I watched all 3 episodes of the South Park ImaginationLand Trilogy back to back. I noticed that Butters was the first person to make contact with an imaginary creature when he spotted the Leprechaun. He was also the last main character shown on the final episode. My theory: He created ImaginationLand.

Later in the first episode, his friends were debating issues of an imaginary nature, and he was there. All of a sudden the Mayor of ImaginationLand showed up. I think Butters made it happen.

But how could have the U.S. government been working on a gateway to ImaginationLand all the way back in the 1960's, if ImaginationLand didn't exist until Butters made it up? Because once Butters created it, it existed for all time, backwards and forwards through history.

I don't know if you've seen "The Lost Room," but at one point they explained how once a certain event happened, something that had existed suddenly never existed. I think once Butters imagined the Leprechaun and ImaginationLand, both had always existed.

I admit, it's a somewhat involved theory. And the trilogy works fine (maybe even better) without it. But what if it's true...?

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

JourneyMan's Wife Wiser, 90-Year-Old Livia?

Monday on JourneyMan, the wife finally got wise (or indulged in hypocrisy) when she said something like, "Don't promise when you don't know." (i.e., Don't tell me you'll be somewhere when you might time travel instead.) Previously she had practically forced JM to promise her he'd be somewhere when she and he already knew that he could no longer control where and when he was. So now, it makes sense for her to acknowledge the truth, and to act as intelligent in that regard as she appears in all others. Finally!

Monday we also saw Livia in 1948. That got me thinking, what happens to her? Does she alternate back and forth between 1948 onwards and 2007 onwards? Does she eventually leave the past and live the rest of her life in the present? Or does she finally finish her last mission and return to her correct place in time? If that's the case, then lets say she has a few more years, and stops, returning to 1952. Then she lives the rest of her life. Let's say she's 30 as we see her now. 1948 - 30 = born in 1918. 2007 - 1918 = 89 years old now.

Does an 89-year-old Livia make an appearance in the near future? My guess for how that episode would play out would be Old Livia shows up, talks to JM, JM tweaks the past, and changes everything. It would turn out that Old Livia had simply been living her last mission for the past 55 years, and was destined to arrive in the present as an old woman, in order to set things just so. JM then travels to 1948 (or 1949) and completes the mission, preventing Livia from ever starting it. Then young Livia shows up and stays anchored in 2007 (or 2008) onwards, never getting old (at least not for another few decades). Sounds plausible.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

No Heroes Tonight

I can't believe it. It's over.

No "Chuck" either.

But "JourneyMan" is new. Maybe it'll cheer me up.

This morning I flashed back to "Quantum Leap" and had a revelation. QL was great because not only did it have sci-fi and causality and destiny's ramifications and all that, but it also had something "JourneyMan" is sorely lacking -- humor.

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Sunday, December 9, 2007

More Shootings In A Crazy World

I read on Yahoo that "A gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Colorado Springs church on Sunday, striking four people," and there was an "earlier shooting about 70 miles away in the Denver suburb of Arvada. There, two people died and two were wounded early Sunday when a gunman opened fire in a dormitory at a missionary training center on the campus of Faith Bible Chapel."

Two shootings. Maybe related? But after that mall incident, more shootings add up to something -- A string of shootings.

Can you believe it? Can you believe we live in a society where random acts of major violence are increasing in frequency?

Maybe this is all part of some government plan to scare the public into accepting a Police State.

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Saturday, December 8, 2007

Junk Food Makes Me Physically Ill

When I was younger, I could eat cookies and cakes and all kinds of junk food left and right, and I'd only feel bad if I ate a ton in one sitting. But now, for some reason, if I eat some junk food like cookies or potato chips or whatever, and at night, I can somehow feel it in my system when I go to bed. It's not very pleasant. I guess I must not have eaten that stuff at night very often before.

It's like my body feels polluted with excess garbage. It's really weird, because if I eat similar foods earlier in the day, there's no similar feeling. I think it must have to do with metabolizing it. When I'm active, I can run on garbage, like the DeLorean at the end of "Back to the Future." But when I'm resting, it will just sit there and ooze into my system.

I've heard the idea that "your body is a temple" and all that stuff about toxins, and how vegetables are great for you, but sometimes taste can overpower logic. It's funny. If I eat really healthy stuff, I sometimes enjoy it, and usually always feel good afterwards. Clean on the inside, hard to describe. Clear sinuses, clean air. But if I eat the stuff that smells and tastes really good, like fast food type stuff, it will be majorly enjoyable as a meal, but much less so later when processed by my system. I hate the dichotomy of it all. As that Chef Boyardee kid would say, "Why does the good food always taste so bad?"

I guess if you take the time to decently prepare fresh foods, they taste great too.

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Friday, December 7, 2007

Year Of Mall Shootings

I saw on the news today apparently there's been another shooting at another mall? I didn't watch the story, so I can't be sure. I had been flipping through the news channels, and it seemed like there was mass chaos in more than one place, at the same time. Does this mean there will be more shootings?

I thought random acts of violence would eventually stop. I guess I figured that when tragedy strikes, government and society will react to make a similar event hard to pull off in the future. But I guess if we were really serious about that, we'd be living in a police state.

Not that I'd want that to happen. But who wants to equate shopping at the mall with risking your life?

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Thursday, December 6, 2007

Heroes: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Last year when "Heroes" aired the End of Volume One, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

As the days and weeks went by, the wonder and magic slowly began to fade. A couple of months after new episodes stopped airing, I found myself avoiding repeats. Then summer came, and I wondered if "Heroes" was still worth watching.

Then it came back on, and BAM! The magic was back. But I'm wondering, will it all happen again? Will I slowly lose interest? It's such a cool show. It's weird when that feeling wears off.

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Wednesday, December 5, 2007

3 Reasons Nathan Petrelli Won't Die

1. Bro Peter can heal, therefore Peter's blood (like Adam's, like Claire's) will heal Nathan.
2. Claire could give more blood, healing her biological father this time (vs. adoptive).
3. Another "healing touch" character may be revealed, or Peter will time travel, meet Linderman, and learn to heal that way.

Yes, 3 is a bit more far-fetched, but I see no reason for it to be employed given that 1 and 2 are so obvious. I wanted to soak up the emotions of the assassination, I really did. "Oh no, Nate got shot!"

But seriously, after seeing Noah come back from a bullet to the eye, I don't think there's any reason for someone as likable as Nathan Petrelli to be so easily lost.

Or maybe other people don't like him so much? What do you think?

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Who Shot Nathan Petrelli?

Last night watching "Heroes," I found myself extremely thankful for DVR technology. I thought the last segment of the finale of Season 2 was jam-packed with plot, and was glad to have the ability to rewind.

I spent a couple minutes investigating Nathan Petrelli's assassination attempt. When you watch the crowd, a guy in black calmly walks away while everybody else goes nuts. Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. But I'm assuming the intent was to focus in on him and assign the blame. So I played his exit in reverse, and watched as we walked backwards into the sea of people. At the last moment (or the first if you're watching it in non-reverse) he has his head turned toward us!

But it was bathed in shadows, and I couldn't make it out. I thought, "Sylar from the future?"

And when is Adam? I expected Hiro to take him either way in the future, or way in the past. If he left him anywhere in the past, even with dinosaurs, it's possible Adam could just show up again, 70 million years older. But in the future, he'd only continue to move forward in time, and be gone for good barring any further time travel.

Instead, Hiro put him 6 feet underground in a coffin, apparently in the same cemetery Hiro's father is buried. But when? Was it in the present? Or the day of Hiro's father's funeral? Or the day of the funeral Hiro went to as a child?

So many questions. At least one thing's certain. Sylar has his powers back! Is anyone else glad?

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Monday, December 3, 2007

New Bizarro Cartoon = Xavier: Renegade Angel

Last night I watched a new episode (my first) of "Xavier: Renegade Angel" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. A bigfoot with reverse knees, a snake arm, a beak nose, and two different-colored eyes goes around saying nonsense not unlike certain "wise men" as featured in such films as "Mystery Men." Eventually Xavier meets a rich brat not unlike the one in "The Toy," starring Richard Pryor.

The rich child says certain oddball things like how pain is a myth invented by lazy workers, and how hardships are bogus, and blah blah blah. So Xavier wishes to educate the kid, and he gives him his own personal vision quest. The kid's consciousness immediately shifts from reality to some alternate reality, where he meets a Native American. The kid is pretty brash, and opposed to learning a lesson. Suddenly, 6 months go by, and the kid is shown in a genuine state of suffering. Bam! Back to the real world, where no time has passed at all.

That really blew my mind that the kid lived out 6 months of soul breakage in an instant. But the positive was that his new perspective caused him to seek an end to worldwide suffering.

I enjoyed the positive idea of curing suffering, but there was a lot of insane stuff in that show. Another idea that I almost began to consider legit was how every happy moment in one person's life coincides with a sad moment in another. It almost made sense... but not quite.

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Sunday, December 2, 2007

Xbox 360 Updates To Limit Game Time

A new update to the Xbox 360 will allow parents to set a built-in timer that will limit console functionality. Kids will now have to cope with adult meddlers limiting daily or weekly game time. Plus, there'll be a warning as the clock counts down to 0, further disrupting gameplay.

One benefit for parents is that if they are knowledgeable enough to use the timer, they can disable it and effectively break their own rules. After the kids go to bed, anyone wanting to can simply turn off the clock, and game to their heart's content.

The plus side is that kids will probably be better off for it, having fuller, more enriched lives. The minus side is that they will likely achieve this by watching more television. Hooray.

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

Don Imus Is Back! A Win For Free Speech?

In October I posted about the issue of Fighting Racism vs. Preserving Free Speech, and I cited a couple of firings that occurred because of racist remarks. Don Imus had made a few of those, and lost his job because of it. Well, now he's back on the air. At 6 a.m. (EST) on Monday, you'll be able to hear him on WABC-AM.

What does this mean? Didn't he get fired for having racist ideas, and communicating those ideas? Isn't he still the same person? Couldn't he say racist things in the future?

Yes, he might. I for one don't think he will, given the consequences of his previous racial remarks. However, the fact that he is back says a few things about society.

People will tolerate (or be forced to tolerate) individuals known to have racist inclinations, if it will generate revenue. It's been made clear that the decision to rehire Imus is more based in business than anywhere else.

However, just because people are going for the money doesn't mean that that's all there is to it. If he truly was considered an evil man, it would probably be more difficult for him to get back on the air. A lot of people probably understand that older generations lived through times during which racism was rampant. Therefore, forgiveness isn't too difficult a consideration.

I agree that racist remarks are unkind, hurtful, and should be limited, but for the most part only at the individual level. I greatly value free speech, and sometimes it seems being politically correct means giving up your right to speak freely. Thankfully, the fact that Imus is back seems to communicate that free speech has won an important battle in an ongoing war.

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