It's COLD!
Orignal From: My new look (either I'm a Russian ninja or damn it's cold!
thepete.com mirror
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Condi sez: soon we'll thank Bush. She's right...
Oh yeah, soon, we'll be thanking Bush all right...FOR LEAVING!
DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, GEORGIE!
I'll also be thanking him for not conjuring up some bullshit excuse
for him staying in the White House past Jan. 20. Of course, I would
have thanked Congress for doing their job and impeaching this lying
criminal, too, but they didn't do that.
Orignal From: Condi sez: soon we'll thank Bush. She's right...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
@siskita puts the star on the tree!
Our Christmas is tomorrow so today is Christmas eve stuff. Here's
Sierra putting the star on my mom and step-dad's tree. My brother and
niece are coming in tonight. It's TheNiece's 2nd Christmas ever.
Expect a Flickrset. Maybe two.
Orignal From: @siskita puts the star on the tree!
After the snow had frozen in NYC pt2 (nature is cool edition)
This is another shot outside the A train station at 190th street. To me
there is something so cool about how nature works. The snow melting and
dribbling over icicles under the power of gravity is just neat to me.
I'm a nerd, I guess :)
Lame thing about this pic is that you don't get a sense of scale. Ah
well.
Orignal From: After the snow had frozen in NYC pt2 (nature is cool edition)
After the snow had frozen in NYC pt2 (family edition)
This is also on the way to the A train last Saturday on our way to
Ikea. If you look closely you can see a dad dragging his kid on a sled
over the snow covering the sidewalk. It was that kind of Saturday
afternoon. :)
Orignal From: After the snow had frozen in NYC pt2 (family edition)
After the snow had frozen in NYC pt1
This was the view on our way to the subway. We weren't thinking about
anything but going to Ikea when we saw how pretty everything looked with
a day-or-two-old blanket of snow on it.
Orignal From: After the snow had frozen in NYC pt1
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sitting at the gate in JFK enjoying a can of Crayons.
Siskita and I just stuffed ourselves with $9 salads (!) and now I'm
drinking "all natural Crayons fruit juice drink". O_O It tastes somehow
both tart and watered down at the same time. Not undrinkable and I
really like tart.
Tastes nothing like Crayons, though...
The salad was surprisingly good.
Orignal From: Sitting at the gate in JFK enjoying a can of Crayons.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Holy Bad Movie Music! I Have the Sheet Music to "Hooray for Santy Claus"
Holy Bad Movie Music! I Have the Sheet Music to "Hooray for Santy Claus", originally uploaded by thepetecom.
Believe it or not, a few hours ago I was sitting in the lobby of the
famous Algonquin hotel taking part in a sing-a-long of this song with
about thirty other adults who had never heard the song before.
For those not in the know, this is the theme song to "Santa Claus
Conquers the Martians" and it's one of the cheesier Christmas songs
ever. The movie it's from was featured on MST3K.
Now if I could only get a copy of "A Patrick Swayze Christmas."
Orignal From: Holy Bad Movie Music! I Have the Sheet Music to "Hooray for Santy Claus"
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Pic of My "Chicken Pox" (Thanks, Keith!)
Just got back from my friend Keith's Christmas party where he gave
everyone diseases or viruses--in plush form! There's a whole line of
stuffed sicknesses. Keith gave me chicken pox! But I've already HAD
it! Plus I wanted ebola :( But it's cool. As you can see, chicken pox
is kind of adorable.
Orignal From: Pic of My "Chicken Pox" (Thanks, Keith!)
Friday, December 19, 2008
Finally out of the apartment and it's all fracking slush.
Ah well, snow is snow, right?
Orignal From: Finally out of the apartment and it's all fracking slush.
ORGUSS (1983) (anime)
It's Friday once again and that means a review of some random anime I've watched recently. This week is the latest in a loooong line of Macross-related series. It's full title is Super Dimensional Century Orguss and was the second part of the "Super Dimensional" series released back in the early 1980s, which started with Super Dimensional Fortress MacrossSuper Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross.
Positive Experience/Entertaining? Overwhelmingly so! I've watched a LOT of anime that has come out of the 1970s and 1980s and Orguss is, by far, the most imaginative and fun of any of the series. In some ways I like it more than my all-time favorite of that time period Gatchaman.
Technically any good? While the animation does look like it came out of the early 1980s, it's about a thousand times more consistent than it is on Macross and Southern Cross. The character designs are gorgeous and the mecha designs are really great. While I didn't care for any specific mecha, the sheer number of designs the story required was impressive. What's even more impressive is that the mecha are so different. You can recognize the style of the design as being from a particular country. It's really well done.
The acting is fine, though a bit melodramatic in spots. The story is pretty solid and does a nice job of getting you hooked after just the first episode or two. Most importantly, the characters in this story actually evolve. While you may have been rolling your eyes at Minmei's never-ending selfishness in the original Macross the characters of Orguss grow, change and become new, more interesting characters as the 35 episodes of the series pass by.
The only thing I had trouble with were the cultural issues. Character names and references to gender and sex were a little dated and a little annoying. However, as with most good anime, the series lets men and women occupy interchangeable roles of importance. Orguss doesn't say women can't do things. If anything, it says that all humans kind of suck (though the good humans do often do the right thing when it really matters).
How did it leave me feeling? Sadly, the series ends with a semi-classic "What the hell?" ending that is far too common in anime. However, the over all series is an immensely satisfying, well-written, character-driven, scifi epic, space opera set on Earth (sort of).
Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now! Of course, it's not on DVD. So you can't. But if you do find a copy, and enjoy great scifi and/or 1980s anime, you really need to see this. It's really a blast. The sequel series Orguss 02 is available on DVD, but I have yet to watch it. I'd start in order in order since Orguss 02 seems to directly reference events in the original series. :)
SPOILER: Usually I don't include story descriptions of things I review, in my pocket reviews, but I think since most people have never heard of Orguss before I should. So, if you just don't want to know what this show is about, don't read the following:
Premise: On an Earth plagued by spacial and temporal dimensional fractures, Orguss is the god of war in a culture that one of the crew members aboard the Glomar, a caravan of hippie-free-marketeers (!) who take in a human from another reality who may be the key to returning the dimensionally fractured Earth back to normal.
Orignal From: ORGUSS (1983) (anime)
 Sadly, Orguss is not available on DVD in the US. |
Technically any good? While the animation does look like it came out of the early 1980s, it's about a thousand times more consistent than it is on Macross and Southern Cross. The character designs are gorgeous and the mecha designs are really great. While I didn't care for any specific mecha, the sheer number of designs the story required was impressive. What's even more impressive is that the mecha are so different. You can recognize the style of the design as being from a particular country. It's really well done.
The acting is fine, though a bit melodramatic in spots. The story is pretty solid and does a nice job of getting you hooked after just the first episode or two. Most importantly, the characters in this story actually evolve. While you may have been rolling your eyes at Minmei's never-ending selfishness in the original Macross the characters of Orguss grow, change and become new, more interesting characters as the 35 episodes of the series pass by.
The only thing I had trouble with were the cultural issues. Character names and references to gender and sex were a little dated and a little annoying. However, as with most good anime, the series lets men and women occupy interchangeable roles of importance. Orguss doesn't say women can't do things. If anything, it says that all humans kind of suck (though the good humans do often do the right thing when it really matters).
How did it leave me feeling? Sadly, the series ends with a semi-classic "What the hell?" ending that is far too common in anime. However, the over all series is an immensely satisfying, well-written, character-driven, scifi epic, space opera set on Earth (sort of).
Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now! Of course, it's not on DVD. So you can't. But if you do find a copy, and enjoy great scifi and/or 1980s anime, you really need to see this. It's really a blast. The sequel series Orguss 02 is available on DVD, but I have yet to watch it. I'd start in order in order since Orguss 02 seems to directly reference events in the original series. :)
SPOILER: Usually I don't include story descriptions of things I review, in my pocket reviews, but I think since most people have never heard of Orguss before I should. So, if you just don't want to know what this show is about, don't read the following:
Premise: On an Earth plagued by spacial and temporal dimensional fractures, Orguss is the god of war in a culture that one of the crew members aboard the Glomar, a caravan of hippie-free-marketeers (!) who take in a human from another reality who may be the key to returning the dimensionally fractured Earth back to normal.
Orignal From: ORGUSS (1983) (anime)
Satellite map over NYC right now
Yikes! Now, I had been planning to go grocery shopping today, but
perhaps I should go shopping for boots, instead.
The forecast says it's going to snow all weekend. If they're right
this could be downright insane. Then again I haven't seen real
snowfall in person since the early 1990s, so the insane-bar is set
fairly low.
Makes me glad I don't have a driveway, though!
Orignal From: Satellite map over NYC right now
Holy Crap, What IS That White Stuff??
A California cat's first look at snow. Seconds after this shot he was
ready to leave the sill. Zaphod seemed fascinated for a few seconds
but then started giving me the "Dad, I don't wanna pose for your
LOLCats pic!" look. Ecks, his older brother, was even less interested.
I guess without birds, window sitting just isn't as fun!
Orignal From: Holy Crap, What IS That White Stuff??
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
This building's got balls...
Somewhere nearby there's HUGE Christmas tree missing these things...
Orignal From: This building's got balls...
Wandering NYC tonight, saw this & spontaneusly thought "prettyyyy!"
Wandering NYC tonight, saw this & spontaneusly thought "prettyyyy!", originally uploaded by thepetecom.
Taking pictures of things like this and liking them is a sign of
getting old, isn't it?
Orignal From: Wandering NYC tonight, saw this & spontaneusly thought "prettyyyy!"
WATER (2006)
 Buy it! Watch it now! |
Technically any good? The story was very interesting and very important. The script was pretty solid as was most of the acting. I wish I could have seen a bit more from the lead child, range-wise, but giving that she wasn't speaking her native language, I have to say she did a good job. The rest of the casting was generally spot-on, but the prostitute character was WAY too hot. She did a good job with the acting, but I just didn't buy that someone that hot and that white-looking would end up in what was essentially a prison for widows (the actress is apparently known as the Angelina Jolie of India!). I had only one other real problem with the movie aside from its pacing and that was a moment where a character behaved in a way that seemed dictated by the plot and not the character. Still, this movie was beautiful and stunning to watch. I just wish the pace was a bit quicker or that there was more to look at while I was waiting for the next plot point to occur.
How did it leave me feeling? Pretty satisfied, over all. I knew nothing about the issue of widows in India or how many are ostracized from society. While the movie takes place during Gandhi's time, it is apparently still a problem. Seems that humanity, in general, is good at oppressing women--even when the oppressors are women, themselves. Makes no sense.
Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now - India is a fascinating culture and while I wouldn't rank this film up among my absolute favorites, I think it's a pretty good movie and a very good introduction to Indian culture (despite it being a negative aspect of Indian culture).
Orignal From: WATER (2006)
this is a test post from posterous
this is a test post from posterous
Posted via web from sachin's posterous
Orignal From: this is a test post from posterous
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
 Buy my book! |
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Just a quick note for anyone who is still looking for something to get the book reader in their family: my novel, TheKey is available right now at Lulu.com here: http://snurl.com/thekeybook where you can get it for just $11!!. WHAT A VALUE! PLUS you can download the, uh, downloadable version for just $2!!
What's it about? Well, TheKey follows the adventures of a handful of amateur conspiracy theorists as they go on a quest to find and destroy one of the most powerful computer viruses ever devised. A virus so powerful, it is capable of destroying every computer on the Internet. Along the way they discover that every conspiracy they've heard of is true and worse than they could have imagined. They also learn that accepted history itself is a lie crafted by the very people who are out to beat them to that virus--a tiny computer program known as, TheKey.
So, not only is it perfect for the book reader in your life, it's IDEAL for the conspiracy freak in your life! And if you're like me, you ARE one!! OK, I only entertain conspiracies--but the story is a lot of fun. Pick up a copy and support ThePete!!!
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE! If you want to by TheKey in paperback, you must order before December 19 to get it by Christmas! (and even then I think you'll have to pay a bit extra for shipping :( )
Not celebrating Christmas? Well, why not pick up a copy anyway? It's good conspiracy fun for the whole--well, almost the whole family. If it were a movie, it'd probably be PG-13. But ANYway, please order a copy of TheKey today! (Or, whenever is convenient, really--I don't want to pressure you.)
Oh and THANKS!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: TheKey (my novel!) makes a great gift! http://snurl.com/thekeybook
Why Bush Should Have Let the Shoe Hit Him
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io  Why did he duck? The shoes weren't even loaded! |
In the movie Cool Hand Luke (spoiler alert) there's a great scene where Paul Newman's character proves his grit by standing up to the prison bully. He doesn't win the fight--he doesn't even get a few good punches in. In fact, he gets his ass pounded. The thing is, he keeps getting back up to get pounded again. This is heroism, folks. This is taking responsibility for your actions. Newman's "Luke" wanted to take on the big man and put him in his place, but he couldn't do it with strength. So, he did it with honor.
So, it's natural that, like a weasel, Bush ducks the shoes as they fly at his face. That's what he's been best at all this time, right? Ducking responsibility for one colossal fuck-up after another.
911 wasn't his fault--it was the terrorists who hate our freedom. Forget that memo with the title "bin Laden determined to strike inside the United States." Forget that it's the government's job to stop things like the 911 attacks from happening. Forget that there used to be FAA regulations that allowed for USAF fighters to shoot down any aircraft heading toward populated areas. What happened to that regulation, anyway? I remember what happened to Paine Stewart.
Katrina wasn't his fault--how could they predict a storm like that and an aftermath like that? Well, National Geographic Magazine did.
Saddam not having WMD wasn't Bush's fault, either. How could they know that Saddam had no WMD? I mean, besides the fact that there was no hard evidence he had WMD?
Iraq being the absurd quagmire that it has become--certainly, there was no way to predict that! Of course, the British experienced it first hand... in 1917. I won't bring up Dick Cheney's own prediction of a mess back in 1992.
So, consider how just one of those shoes hitting Bush in the face would have made you feel. I know I'd have still laughed and played the clip over and over and over.
But him ducking the shoes?
Nothing new there. Just same old not-so-artful dodging from a man who didn't even have the decency to make sure he was properly elected... either time.
It just shows you the kind of spineless, fearful little weasel George W. Bush is.
It's a shoe, man. What's it going to do to you? Knock out a tooth? Break the skin?
Bush, you're supposed to be the president of the United States of America and you're afraid of a couple shoes.
Orignal From: Why Bush Should Have Let the Shoe Hit Him
PRIMEVAL (2007) (TV)
 Buy series 1 and 2 in one DVD box set! |
Technically any good? To be absolutely fair, the premise of this series is actually pretty cool--it's about these strange time portals that are showing up around the UK allowing creatures from other times to appear. Also, some of the actors try reeeally hard and my heart goes out to them (mainly Douglas Henshall, Andrew Lee Potts, and Lucy Brown who are really solid). Why does my heart go out to the actors? Because the execution of the stories and even the stories themselves are just RIDICULOUS!!
Rather than presenting us with interesting evolutionary mysteries from the past and future from the first episode, the series bores us with way too many episodes featuring cliched dinosaurs, giant alligators (in a community swimming pool!) and other been-done prehistoric creatures, including a saber-tooth tiger who appears in the show's funniest moment (if you don't mind spoilers, check out this clip). There's also an absurd storyline with the lead's ex-wife, which would be interesting if she wasn't so obviously eeeeeeevil.
The FX are also pretty bad. I don't fault the FX artists, I'm sure they'd do a better job if they had a better budget. However, the cinematography isn't smart enough to shoot around the weaknesses of the FX. As a result, you get to see the blatantly CG tiger in the same frame as the actor (who often looks "at" the CG tiger in the wrong place).
How did it leave me feeling? Entertained, but in a very bad way. It's annoying because, like I said, the premise is kind of interesting and some of the acting is perfectly reasonable. I even like the chemistry between Henshall and Brown's characters. It's just that everything is so poorly executed it's impossible to take the show seriously. I'm hoping that in series 3 the Sleestacks from Land of the Lost will show up. I mean, that's how bad this show is--sure there are no crappy chromakey FX, but there might as well be.
Final Rating? IIO - If It's On, it's perfect for background noise. It was created to compete with Doctor Who but doesn't come close--unless it was trying to compete with Doctor Who from the 1970s. Perhaps the show's creators fell through one of those time portals in their show from the Tom Baker era? :P
I'd love to see a remake of this taken seriously. I'd be a fan of that show. Not of this one, though.
Orignal From: PRIMEVAL (2007) (TV)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Wow, I hope the guy that threw that shoe at Bush doesn't end up in Abu
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Wow, I hope the guy that threw that shoe at Bush doesn't end up in Abu
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Wow, I hope the guy that threw that shoe at Bush doesn't end up in Abu
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Wow, I hope the guy that threw that shoe at Bush doesn't end up in Abu
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Wow, I hope the guy that threw that shoe at Bush doesn't end up in Abu
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Wow, I hope the guy that threw that shoe at Bush doesn't end up in Abu
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free
and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even
arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House.
Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at
the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service's shoe
down on your throat. Hey, you didn't really think we have 100% free
speech didja? After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said
that before 911!).
Read more about King George's encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Other Shoe Falls on Bush During Visit to Iraq--and It's from an Iraqi Foot
ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #12: Counting to 12
ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #12: Counting to 12 on 12seconds.tv
The hiragana, romaji, and English for this lesson is:
いち ichi (ee-chee) 1
に ni (nee) 2
さん san (sahng) 3
よ yo 4
ご go 5
ろく roku 6
なな nana 7
はち hachi 8
きゅう kyu (sometimes ku) 9
じゅう juu 10
じゅういち juu ichi (literally 10+1) 11
じゅに juu ni (literally 10+2) 12
Now, these numbers have kanji that I'm not going to go into, but basically, all you need to know is that it's the difference between spelling out the word "one" and using "1". So, "one" in Japanese is "ichi" but "1" in Japanese is "一". To make it more confusing for us, they use both kanji and our numbers. But this is taking much longer than 12 seconds, so I'll wrap it up!
To learn more Japanese online, I recommend checking out Alex Brooke's LearnJapanesePod.com (also visit his site AlexBrooke.com to check out what else he's up to). You might also check out JapanesePod101.com or pick up the book Japanese from Zero: Volume 1 if you want to learn offline.
Did I get something wrong? Tell me! I've got a LOT to learn still, so please help me and others by commenting. ありがとうございます！ (arigatou gozaimasu - thank you very much!)
Orignal From: ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #12: Counting to 12
Pics of my OLPC XO Running Ubuntu! Wahoo!!
Check it out--a year ago, Linux on the XO was annoying because it
needed an external mouse and was a huge pain to install. Thanks to Teapot's instructions over at the OLPCNews.com forum it was largely a
breeze. I did have to change "/dev/mmcblk0p1" to "/dev/mmcblk1p1" to
get one bit to work, but aside from that, it was pretty
straightforward. My only problem now is working in Ubuntu--anyone
know how to change the time on the clock? Can't work it out at all.
Orignal From: Pics of my OLPC XO Running Ubuntu! Wahoo!!
needed an external mouse and was a huge pain to install. Thanks to Teapot's instructions over at the OLPCNews.com forum it was largely a
breeze. I did have to change "/dev/mmcblk0p1" to "/dev/mmcblk1p1" to
get one bit to work, but aside from that, it was pretty
straightforward. My only problem now is working in Ubuntu--anyone
know how to change the time on the clock? Can't work it out at all.
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: Pics of my OLPC XO Running Ubuntu! Wahoo!!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #11: You and Me
ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #11: You and Me on 12seconds.tv
Here is the hiragana for this lesson:
あなた わたし
Here's the romaji:
anata watashi
you me/I
That's it for lesson 11!
To learn more Japanese online, I recommend checking out Alex Brooke's LearnJapanesePod.com (also visit his site AlexBrooke.com to check out what else he's up to). You might also check out JapanesePod101.com or pick up the book Japanese from Zero: Volume 1 if you want to learn offline.
Did I get something wrong? Tell me! I've got a LOT to learn still, so please help me and others by commenting. ありがとうございます！ (arigatou gozaimasu - thank you very much!)
Orignal From: ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #11: You and Me
Friday, December 12, 2008
MOSPEADA (1983) (anime)
Yep, it's Friday again and here comes yet another (vaguely) Macross-related anime review.
Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely, but the ending was a little underwhelming.
Technically any good? The premise is straightforward enough: a survivor of a military team sent to Earth to fight back against an alien occupation attempts to complete his mission by recruiting civilians and soldiers to take on the Invid/Inbit. The good news is that despite that somewhat cliched premise, the show still manages to be a lot of fun to watch. Thanks to the story being so sparse, the show's creators allowed the characters to fill in the blanks.
The most interesting of which is a soldier who hides from the alien invaders under the guise of a female singer. So, yes, one of the show's leads is a male cross-dresser with an amazing singing voice. I guess him being a soldier falls under the "don't ask don't tell" policy the military would be required to have after an alien invasion.
Underground cities, old west cliches, man vs. the elements, evolution, and other concepts are explored but not overly-exploited in this series. As a result, the show seems tempted to get boring, but never quite does. In fact, of all the anime I've seen, it's Mospeada has been the easiest for me to watch so far--the episodes fly by and I enjoy them quite a bit.
Sadly, the mecha weren't terribly well designed, but they weren't as bad as the designs for Southern Cross, either. I do like the design for the motorcycle that is driven by four of the characters, or "mospeada" as the show calls it. I also liked the actual character designs, themselves. Acting-wise, everyone was solid (I'm referring to the Japanese voice-over actors).
How did it leave me feeling? Unfortunately, the ending is a little flat. The good news is that it's not one of those "Whaaaaaa?" endings that a lot of Japanese animated shows often fall back on. However, it's not terribly satisfying, either. Still, if you like the Western genre, mixed with the post-apocalyptic alien invasion genre, this is a series for you.
Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like. I wouldn't say this was a must-see, but it is fun and, as the original version of the third act of Robotech, it's important in a historical sense. However, as with the other two series that would get redubbed, recut and rewritten for the sake of Robotech, I think this series deserves to be watched on its own.
As an FYI, this series had a one-off sequel made called Love Live Alive, but it's very hard to find copies of it. If you find one, please let me know where you got it. I'd really like to see how they handled it.
Orignal From: MOSPEADA (1983) (anime)
 Buy it on DVD! |
Technically any good? The premise is straightforward enough: a survivor of a military team sent to Earth to fight back against an alien occupation attempts to complete his mission by recruiting civilians and soldiers to take on the Invid/Inbit. The good news is that despite that somewhat cliched premise, the show still manages to be a lot of fun to watch. Thanks to the story being so sparse, the show's creators allowed the characters to fill in the blanks.
The most interesting of which is a soldier who hides from the alien invaders under the guise of a female singer. So, yes, one of the show's leads is a male cross-dresser with an amazing singing voice. I guess him being a soldier falls under the "don't ask don't tell" policy the military would be required to have after an alien invasion.
Underground cities, old west cliches, man vs. the elements, evolution, and other concepts are explored but not overly-exploited in this series. As a result, the show seems tempted to get boring, but never quite does. In fact, of all the anime I've seen, it's Mospeada has been the easiest for me to watch so far--the episodes fly by and I enjoy them quite a bit.
Sadly, the mecha weren't terribly well designed, but they weren't as bad as the designs for Southern Cross, either. I do like the design for the motorcycle that is driven by four of the characters, or "mospeada" as the show calls it. I also liked the actual character designs, themselves. Acting-wise, everyone was solid (I'm referring to the Japanese voice-over actors).
How did it leave me feeling? Unfortunately, the ending is a little flat. The good news is that it's not one of those "Whaaaaaa?" endings that a lot of Japanese animated shows often fall back on. However, it's not terribly satisfying, either. Still, if you like the Western genre, mixed with the post-apocalyptic alien invasion genre, this is a series for you.
Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like. I wouldn't say this was a must-see, but it is fun and, as the original version of the third act of Robotech, it's important in a historical sense. However, as with the other two series that would get redubbed, recut and rewritten for the sake of Robotech, I think this series deserves to be watched on its own.
As an FYI, this series had a one-off sequel made called Love Live Alive, but it's very hard to find copies of it. If you find one, please let me know where you got it. I'd really like to see how they handled it.
Orignal From: MOSPEADA (1983) (anime)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Actual Universal Declaration of Human Rights
OK, so, yesterday was One Day for Human Rights, right? Head over to OneDayForHumanRights.com for more on that. But the way I look at it, every day should be a day when we defend human rights, right?
Now, I'm just a blogger--the only "weapons" I use are my words. So, that's how I'm defending human rights. Speaking up and speaking out--hey, in some countries, that would get me thrown in jail.
So here's day 2. I'm not saying I'll be able to keep this up forever, but I've got a few ideas for posts. For starters, I thought I'd post the entire Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sure, you can find it elsewhere, but until these rights are actually universally respected around the globe, it can't help to keep repeating them over and over, right?
Now, on OneDayForHumanRights.com, they have a post that includes the entire text of the UDHR, but also links to where they got it from. Here's where I got the below text from:
http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm
Find it in other languages here:
http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/navigate/alpha.htm
OneDayForHumanRights.com also made available, in PDF format, a flier about human rights abuses around the world and the UDHR in it's entirety. I'm hosting copies of those PDFs here at ThePete.Com along with a text version of the UDHR.
Here's an intro about the UDHR from it's Wikipedia page:
So, there you go--not only is it a guide book, but it's a law book, too.
Here it is, just for you, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
I'm thinking it's pretty sad that it's the 21st century and we even need one of these things. Makes you wonder just how far we have actually come as a species and as a culture.
Orignal From: The Actual Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Now, I'm just a blogger--the only "weapons" I use are my words. So, that's how I'm defending human rights. Speaking up and speaking out--hey, in some countries, that would get me thrown in jail.
So here's day 2. I'm not saying I'll be able to keep this up forever, but I've got a few ideas for posts. For starters, I thought I'd post the entire Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sure, you can find it elsewhere, but until these rights are actually universally respected around the globe, it can't help to keep repeating them over and over, right?
Now, on OneDayForHumanRights.com, they have a post that includes the entire text of the UDHR, but also links to where they got it from. Here's where I got the below text from:
http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm
Find it in other languages here:
http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/navigate/alpha.htm
OneDayForHumanRights.com also made available, in PDF format, a flier about human rights abuses around the world and the UDHR in it's entirety. I'm hosting copies of those PDFs here at ThePete.Com along with a text version of the UDHR.
Here's an intro about the UDHR from it's Wikipedia page:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. In 1966 the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights; and in 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law.
So, there you go--not only is it a guide book, but it's a law book, too.
Here it is, just for you, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
I'm thinking it's pretty sad that it's the 21st century and we even need one of these things. Makes you wonder just how far we have actually come as a species and as a culture.
Orignal From: The Actual Universal Declaration of Human Rights
I Blog About Human Rights and Google Adsense Gives Me an Arabic Ad
Yesterday I blogged about human rights and look at that Google Ad on
the left there. I didn't know I had very many Arabic readers (or
any). Thanks for nothing Google!
Orignal From: I Blog About Human Rights and Google Adsense Gives Me an Arabic Ad
the left there. I didn't know I had very many Arabic readers (or
any). Thanks for nothing Google!
Posted via email from thepete's posterous
Orignal From: I Blog About Human Rights and Google Adsense Gives Me an Arabic Ad
CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920)
 Buy it on DVD! |
Technically any good? The story follows the events in a small European village after Dr. Caligari and his cabinet arrives. He charges people to see "Cesare the Somnambulist" who spends his entire life sleeping in Caligari's cabinet to be woken only by the doctor, himself. But when people in the village start dying, who is to blame?
One of the most characteristic things about this movie is how they didn't try to do anything with lighting--instead, they literally paint the shadows onto the sets. The effect is that the actors literally pop off the screen and the sets look creepy and surreal.
The acting in this 1920 silent film is perfectly reasonable for the time period, though if you've never seen a silent before you may have trouble accepting their behavior. The story is wonderful and invented a premise that would be used often in the scifi and horror genres over the following century. So far, I'm not sick of the premise yet.
How did it leave me feeling? Creeped-out, as always. I've seen this movie a bunch of times (most recently projected with live music and SFX--the best way to see it!) and it never fails to entertain me. I also see new things I've missed before with each viewing.
Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now - if you can find it on the big screen, that's the best way to really appreciate it, but really it's good on small screens, too.
Orignal From: CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Human Rights and the Promises of Our Leaders
Human Rights are something that, here in America, aren't really thought about until someone we know or care about becomes a victim to them. In some areas in the world everyone knows someone who has had their rights abridged or outright squashed. We've all heard of those places, so I won't go into them here. Just know that for all of our own advancements here in America, the vast majority of humanity has been left behind. Most of Earth's citizens are still waiting to see a world that protects the rights of all humans.
In this sense, our leaders have universally let us down. The role of governments (and the leaders who run them) is supposed to be to protect the rights of their citizens. The thing is, we have trouble making sure that happens here in the US. There are still too many people who are silenced or worse. Sure, it's easy to point to things that have happened under the Bush Administration, but the reality is no US administration has put human rights front and center. In fact, in previous decades and even centuries, the USG has sponsored military actions, coups and even full-blown wars solely in the interest of securing capitalism as the dominant economic system in other countries.
So, when someone talks to you about human rights and how they should be supported, don't think that just because you live in the US or another western country you don't need to worry about them. Here in the US we still have a long way to go. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written sixty years ago, there is a passage about marriage:
Guess what Prop 8 over in California is about. Yep. Gay marriage. Stopping gays from getting marriage is a violation of the UDHR. Our leaders shouldn't even allow something like Prop 8 to get put up to a vote since it violates basic human rights. Yet, there it is.
Human rights activist Jack Healy posted about the UDHR's birthday a couple days ago on HuffPo and in that post he said, in part, this in reference to the UDHR:
...and our governments, across the planet, have let us down.
I'm not an anarchist, but ya know, now that I think about it...
Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights over at OneDayForHumanRights.com
Hell, I think there should be a 365daysAYearForHumanRights.com!
Orignal From: Human Rights and the Promises of Our Leaders
In this sense, our leaders have universally let us down. The role of governments (and the leaders who run them) is supposed to be to protect the rights of their citizens. The thing is, we have trouble making sure that happens here in the US. There are still too many people who are silenced or worse. Sure, it's easy to point to things that have happened under the Bush Administration, but the reality is no US administration has put human rights front and center. In fact, in previous decades and even centuries, the USG has sponsored military actions, coups and even full-blown wars solely in the interest of securing capitalism as the dominant economic system in other countries.
So, when someone talks to you about human rights and how they should be supported, don't think that just because you live in the US or another western country you don't need to worry about them. Here in the US we still have a long way to go. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written sixty years ago, there is a passage about marriage:
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Guess what Prop 8 over in California is about. Yep. Gay marriage. Stopping gays from getting marriage is a violation of the UDHR. Our leaders shouldn't even allow something like Prop 8 to get put up to a vote since it violates basic human rights. Yet, there it is.
Human rights activist Jack Healy posted about the UDHR's birthday a couple days ago on HuffPo and in that post he said, in part, this in reference to the UDHR:
By the year 2010, 42% of the world will be under the age of 21. As was seen in the recent American election, there is a clamoring for change amongst this demographic. This exists not only for young people at home, but all over the world. When injustice occurs in far corners of the globe, this document empowers the innocent against the oppressor. Just as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as an example of justice and equality, so to will this new generation need a rulebook to combat oppression.
Such a rulebook already exists in this Declaration. For 60 years, governments have let this document gather dust in a closet.
...and our governments, across the planet, have let us down.
I'm not an anarchist, but ya know, now that I think about it...
Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights over at OneDayForHumanRights.com
Hell, I think there should be a 365daysAYearForHumanRights.com!
Orignal From: Human Rights and the Promises of Our Leaders
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