Critical Reading

I was reading a news report today about the number of casualties in Iraq. The headline is "April-May GI Iraq Death Toll tops 200". My heart goes out to the families of all of our soldiers. As we spend this Memorial Day remembering those who have gone before, it's especially important to remember those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms.
However, it's also the responsibility of the news to accurately and impartially relate the facts, and this article by Robert Burns fails to do so. First, the article states that American troops died at a rate of over two per day, which pushes the death toll for the last two months over 200. But a rate of over two per day puts the death toll between 60 and 90 (assuming that if it were over three per day, that would be emphasized in the article). Let's see, over 200 over a two month period, and between 60 - 90 last month, that means that there had to be at least 110 - 140 deaths in April, so that's actually a reduction in U.S. GI deaths from April to May. In fact, there were 136 deaths in April according to the article, so that means that U.S. casualties in May were less than half what they were in April. Bottom line? I think we're making the place safer. The article points out that this was an actual decrease in casualties, but not until paragraph 14.
Next point in the article is that at least 22 Guard and Reserve troops died in May, comprising almost 1/3 of all U.S. losses for the month. As a percentage, it's higher than it's been in the past, and the article claims that it's because the Guard is bearing an increasing combat load. However, the article itself states that the Guard constitutes at least 1/3 of our troops in Iraq. Also, the biggest menace for troops in Iraq is improvised explosive devices, or IED's. Almost 1/3 of our losses, and seven Guardsmen were killed by these roadside bombs.
It seems to me that our Guardsmen aren't bearing an increasing combat load, at least not in the sense of the Marines in Fallujah, Najaf, and other hotspots. They're getting hit by roadside bombs.
Reporting the facts without editorializing and questionable emotional tactics should be the job of the media, not painting as grim a picture as possible. That kind of "reporting" dishonors the service of our military, and dishonors the memory of those who have fought for human liberties in every corner of the world.

My favorite Disney character

has always been Donald. Whenever I heard the Mickey Mouse club theme song, I was the one in the back yelling the counter point to "Mickey Mouse"
"Donald Duck!"
"Mickey Mouse"
"Donald Duck!"
So, when I saw this, I just had to get it. Two discs, over four hours of my favorite little white duck. This is classic Disney at its best.

Also, took Reeta and Claire to a matinee of Shrek 2. +2 Cokes. I'd give it more if I could, the only downside for me was that it felt a little short. I guess I'm just too used to Lord of the Rings style 3 and 1/2 hour epics.

Phenomenal Cosmic Power...

After the recent debacle regarding Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, I find myself in something of a depression. My computer has finally found games that it just won't run. And not necessarily brand spankin' new games, either. So, yesterday I ran to the local Target, and picked up a new movie: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Actually, I just THOUGHT it was Return of the King. Turns out in my excitement, I accidentally grabbed the first Lord of the Rings movie instead. Back to Target, with receipt in hand, where I exchanged one movie for another, and using coupons, hooked up with free popcorn and batteries (because nothin' says heroic fantasy epic like popcorn and batteries, I guess...?) Anyway, it was a good day.

Madness

So. Much. To. Do.
Working part time for the school, part time for a professor, and taking classes all summer long. Plus, we're thinking that we'll be moving at the end of the month, so there's packing and moving coming up... Plus a paper for that summer class. Plus finding time to be a good husband and father. Eating, sleeping, exercise.

sigh. i'm busy.

Doesn't leave much time for mad poetry, but a slap-dash haiku every now and then can be fun.

anticipation

sweating nervous palms
my fingers shake my eyes close
dreaming for yet more

Just cut my heart out, why don'tcha?

So, I've been foaming at the mouth a little lately, because the price of KotOR had finally come down a bit, and I was thinking I might bid on a copy on eBay. Then I decided to do something radical - check the local library. Long story short, I now have a copy of Knights of the Old Republic sitting on my bed at home, and I can't play it. My laptop has the processor speed, but doesn't have the graphics card. My desktop has the graphics card (barely) but doesn't have the processor speed. (sigh). It's time for a new system, I've been looking around, and found a local firm that will build a pretty sweet system for me for about $600, which doesn't include the OS. Gotta have Windows XP, and a video capture card. That puts me around $700 for a pretty decent system, 512megs memory, 2.8 Ghz Barton, 120 megs hard drive, a decent video card, etc. Just got to think about it a little more.
Surprisingly, Reeta's all for upgrading. Maybe in January. (sigh) But it's not like I haven't got better things to do this summer than play star wars games on the computer, right? Definitely.


UPDATE: I've permanently disqualified myself as an actual geek, and revealed myself as a tech poser: it's a 120 GIG hard drive, not 120 megs.

More Oil?

Props to Considerettes for this link. Of course, it could all be a big load of hooey, but if it's possible that previously tapped out oil fields are refilling themselves, what would that do to our economy? To the perceived need for the fuel cell car (which has other things going for it than just the gas guzzling...)?

Maybe scripture isn't so far off after all.

I have no content and I must post...

I do it to myself. 2 part time jobs. 1 3-hr class, which takes 2 hours a night, 4 nights a week, over the next four weeks, in which time I will learn Legal Research: Advanced. (Which sounds cooler, like Pokemon: Advanced sounds better than Advanced Pokemon). Worked out tonight, and my arms are sore...ouch...I can barely lift my arms to type, which is a good thing. I just need to keep it up, now.
It was surprising to me to hear how some of my friends and acquaintances have panic attacks now that they're in law school. I find that working out helps me deal with those. I'm not worried about my grades; I'm not worried about my family; I'm not worried about anything but getting through the next set. And that's not a bad thing.
I'm also checking out new feed readers. I took a really fast look at Jaeger, which works with IE, but costs fifteen bucks, and then I found this. I'm just a little worried about the possibility of spyware because it's free, but their website claims that it's spyware and adware free. And a scan of spyware and adware app lists doesn't have it on them, so I'm trying Pluck out. There's at least one feed I've hit so far that neither one can read (the This Is True free feed), probably because it's not readable in a browser, but I get This is True in the e-mail anyway. (If you don't subscribe, you should.)

Advice for ickle firsties...

... I don't really have any. Like Heidi (who is a great read, BTW), I think I'm too idiosyncratic to really use as a role model. I'm much to involved in my family, gaming, anime, and the blogging scene. Besides, my first year grades were nothing to emulate, believe you me. Granted, I'm doing much better my second year, but that's probably more from hard lessons learned than anything else. (Okay - so maybe I'll talk about hard lessons in a later post or something).

Instead, I'd like to talk about something my wife was telling me the other day. A mutual acquaintance of ours was going to BYU's law school. She was approached by someone there who asked her essentially what business she had going there when it means that a "worthy priesthood holder" wasn't able to get that slot. She's since graduated, and moved on with her life. But I can't help but think that the person who made the comment in the first place is out there too. Needless to say, for someone going to a school where the motto is "The Glory of God is Intelligence", this person was showing a decided lack of glory, grace, or intelligence when he made that comment.

This goes to something that I'd offer as advice not just to firstlings, but to anyone else who might read it. And it's simple. When you sit down in that first class, when you go to lunch in the cafeteria, when you present your first argument, take a good look around you at the people who are there. Chances are, you will be seeing a lot of these people again. And again. And again. And again. And the rumor that I've heard is, lawyers love to gossip.

So, the next time you feel the need to make a joke at someone else's expense, or make a comment that degrades or devalues women, realize that it gets you a reputation. Some day, someone you made an idiot, racist, sexist, bigoted comment to may be in a position to decide if you get hired or not. Guess what decision that person will make. One day those chickens will come home to roost.

Now, I don't think that BYU law students in general have the opinion that women shouldn't be practicing law, or that they shouldn't be going to the law school that they earned the right to attend. But just in case any of them have the (admittedly idiotic) idea that women are somehow weaker or worse than men, or will somehow suck at law haven't met my good friend over at the menagerie, haven't met my good friend over at Mellow Drama, haven't met Yin, and haven't met my good friends in "The Firm". (B & V in particular). And that's not mentioning the fantastic professors I've had over the last two years.

Just something I've had on my mind...

The Magic of Low Expectations...

I actually got to see The Italian Job tonight - Mark Wahlberg at his best. Moreover, I got Reeta to watch it with me, and we both liked it. Of course, we weren't expecting anything spectacular, so that may have added to our appreciation. My personal rating, (of +/- 2 Cokes), is 1 Coke. Pretty good.

In other news, school starts back up on Monday. (hooray! I guess!)

Evolution

Well, in the last couple of weeks, I've moved up from Crunchy Crustacean to Lowly Insect, and now to Slimy Mollusc. Which is complimentary, having four inbound links. I just hope I'm writing something worth reading. ^.^'

The plight of the modern gamer.

Killer Apps.

Everybody is looking for one, everybody wants them for their system. And sometimes they come along.

After I got my Playstation, I swore to my wife that I would never buy another console, and I've been pretty good about keeping that promise (as long as the GBA:SP doesn't count). However...

You know, I remember why I got the Playstation in the first place - Chrono Cross. The sequel to what I believe is one of the greatest games of all time - Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross was another awesome game.

Every now and then, I sit back and think about what I'd like to be playing - making a "must play" list. Not everything on that list gets played (I still haven't had a chance to play BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic), but with E3 come and gone, there are a couple of things I'd like to add to that list.

Now, realize that some of these games are going to require a new computer for me to play - my old Duron 700 with the GeForce 2 MX just isn't going to cut it. And one of these games will require me to break that promise I made to my wife (which I've admittedly been trying to weasel my way out of for a little while now).

Half-Life 2. The first game was incredible. I still remember the first time I played the demo, and wound up chasing a headcrab with my crowbar, when I realized something. The headcrab was running away from me. I'd never seen behavior like that from an in-game enemy before. In Quake 1 and 2, as soon as something detects you, it runs toward you in a suicidial rush - making it easy to dispatch. Then I took a look around and saw that I was about to enter a hallway with low counters to either side. And I realized something else. The little bastard was leading me into an ambush! I took that next step, and sure enough, headcrabs leaped out from the sides of the hallway at me. It was an incredible feeling. And if Valve can deliver that same feeling, the interactive storytelling, the realistic behavior of enemies, etc., then this should be a great game to play. Coming (hopefully) later this year for the PC.

Advent Rising. I'm pretty sure I've talked about this before, but a quick review of what I've said is : Gorgeous sci-fi action game (I'm a sucker for them) - with Orson Scott Card writing. Coming later this year for the PC and Xbox.

And... sigh... I've fought this one as long as I think I can. I've got to get a Gamecube. Zelda: WindWaker, Metroid Prime, Pokemon Colosseum, and now A New Zelda.

To mis-quote Futurama, "Oh what will I tell my [wonderful]wife?"

Evil, or not evil?

So, webcasting is screwed up.

//rant

So, Michele over at ASV has one of the coolest features I've ever seen on a blog, something that really sets her apart. And it's totally, completely, 100% a copyright infringement. I'm speaking, of course, of the Radio Blog shockwave app. This bad boy allows streaming radio from your website. It requires a server that supports XML and PHP (which mine does not, I checked). And it looks like it's pretty easy to use as far as the technical requirements go. However...

Because of current law and rates that have been set by the Library of Congress, it's potentially very, very, very expensive. (like, thousands of dollars a year, which puts it definitely out of reach of any kind of hobbyist).

It's interesting that a forum that potentially creates millions of broadcasters and would open channels for distribution the likes of which we've never seen is being quashed. Come on, guys. There's got to be a better way to do this.

//end rant

Scissors

Well, Claire cut her hair. Again. The last time she did it, she was about three, and we were living in Provo. This time, she had been complaining that her bangs were getting in her eyes. Apparently, the matter wasn't taken care of as quickly as she'd have liked, so she took matters into her own hands. I guess we'll have to pay closer attention to hair/eye juxtaposition in the future.

horrors piled upon horrors...

Okay. I'm going to apologize in advance for this.

Whatever your opinion of the current political administration, I'm sure that most people would agree with the statement that the N.Y.F.D. performed admirably on 9/11. Could there have been improvements in communication? Probably. Could those improvements have saved lives? Possibly. But will we learn the necessary lessons to make those changes happen?

It's looking a little doubtful.

My heart goes out to the people who lost loved ones on 9/11. I doubt that any of them will read this, or care, but all the same. I was lucky not to have lost anyone that day. I still remember the day. I remember the feeling of shock, of disconnect I had when I saw the towers fall. I can understand that losing someone on that day might make someone bitter, resentful. I can understand that they might want to lash out at someone, anyone. But mocking and booing former fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former police chief Bernard Kerik is a mistake. It's the wrong place to be lashing out. They weren't responsible for the death of so many people.

Why can't America get this through their thick skulls? George W. Bush wasn't responsible for 9/11. None of our elected officials caused it to happen. 19 people in an airplane did. Those who taught those men that this was an honorable action to take caused it. Those who planned it, those who financed it did.

Moreover, the desire to find domestic scapegoats is creating a schism in the nation at a time when we should be coming together. Divisive politics, grandstanding, acting like victims just plays into our enemies hands. We were not betrayed. We were attacked by foreign enemies whose goals are our absolute destruction, no matter the cost. I don't want to give them the satisfaction of thinking that they've succeeded.

Cute Claire Story number......?

Actually, more than one of them.
The other day, Claire managed to scrape one of her fingers somehow. How she did it isn't important. The fact that it was THE finger is. So, later that day, as we're getting her an ice cream at the local convenience store, being the gregarious soul that she is, she started talking to the cashier.
"Hi, I'm Claire"
"Hi, Claire"
"I hurt my finger"
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, see?"
At which point she shows the wounded finger to the cashier. And all of us start laughing. Afterwards, we explained that it was a very unfortunate finger to injure, and she should probably show ALL of the fingers, and just wiggle the hurt one.

Last night, we were working out in the exercise room, when Futurama came on. Now, all of us are big fans of Futurama, so although our workout was over, we stopped to watch the first part of the episode before heading back to the apartment. It was the Pauly Shore episode, buuuuuuuuddy. At the commercial break, as we raced home to catch the end (even though I have it on DVD), Claire pipes up out of nowhere with critical commentary.
"That Fry sure is stupid." (You know he's done something really, really dumb when a five year old points it out without being asked).

Unexpected Pleasantness

Looks like some grades are in. This is quite a change from last year, when I waited about a month to know wnything about them. So far, I'm experiencing a piquant mix of surprise, happiness, and outright shock. Partnership Tax, in particular, was better than I was afraid it would be, and thanks to that go to my study partner, who spent a couple of days teaching me this stuff. I wouldn't have done as well as I did without him. My Professor referred to Partnership tax as... well I'll let you read it, but it wasn't very complimentary. He apparently sacrificed his health to get grades in on time.

UPDATE: Okay, those links should go to the actual articles instead of the TrackBack pages now...

And in the immortal words of Bender...

Compare your lives to mine, and then kill yourselves!

Reeta made homemade cinnamon rolls. (+2 Cokes!)

My Free Ticket

So, we had a free ticket for a movie, and Reeta and I went to see the new Lindsay Lohan movie, Mean Girls. It was okay. Not as good as I'd hoped, not as bad as it could have been. Maybe a little more realistic than I'd wanted (except for the constant bus-flattenings). Tim Meadows was great. Lindsay Lohan was great, but I hated seeing her turn to Eeeeevil. She got better, though. All in all, I'd give this one (out of a +/- 2 Cokes) 1/2 Coke. (Because I slipped out during one part when it was all getting a bit much, and caught a climactic battle btwn Hector and Achilles - Achilles is a jerk).

And while I'm here...

A quick warning for any fellow gaming-law students out there.

Stay away from Puyo Pop. At least, stay away from it until the semester's over and you have time to work through what I'm sure will start out as an initial addiction.

It's already ensnared me and it's working its wiles on Reeta. She actually took the game away from me last night because I was muttering "gama no baka"* at it under my breath. I took it back when she started emitting similar cries of anguish. Dangerous stuff.

For the interested (and possibly foolhardy), there's a Puyo web game up at www.puyopop.com, but it doesn't really do the GBA version justice.

* UPDATE: This may be bad grammar, but "gama no baka" is Japanese for "stupid frog." If you play the game, you understand already, I'm sure.

Time, hatred, bewilderment, and hope

It's been a relaxing week. I've been sleeping in, reading what I want to, surfing the internet, staying up (way too)late, and doing all those decompression things that I feel the need to do after a particularly grueling year. I've been busy relaxing. A little exercise, reading my book in the hot tub. (few things on earth are quite as relaxing - for both mind and body).

Granted, there have been a lot of very disturbing things happening in the last few weeks. The murder of an American citizen and the video strikes me as particularly heinous. The exploitation/molestation of prisoners in Abu Ghraib is personally disgusting. I don't, however, think that the U.S. should cut and run from Iraq now. I personally hope that we find whoever killed Nick Berg, and turn them over to the Iraqi government for trial and punishment. I think that the people responsible for Abu Ghraib should be tried and punished. And I think that people should get the hell off Rumsfield's back. I think that neither he nor Pres. Bush were responsible for what happened there, and I'm very, very sure that Nick Berg wasn't.

And Sudan being on the U.N. Human Rights Commission when the U.N. reports that it's carrying out massive human rights violations seems insane.

Aside from the war in Iraq and Sudan's seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, the House of Representatives held hearings on Wednesday on a new bill, H.R. #107, the Digital Media Consumer's Rights Act, (DMCRA) which would repeal or change some of the more onerous provisions of the DMCA, codify fair use in digital media, etc. Portions of Valenti's testimony I found very enlightening. Not. Who is making hundreds and thousands of illegal copies of DVDs? Not your average Joe Consumer. And not I. You could argue that filesharers are doing so virtually, but they aren't burning DVD after DVD, which is what it seems that Mr. Valenti is referring to. I haven't had a chance to look at the actual text of the bill yet, but I'll do so today, and probably have a run-down up tonight.

That is, if I'm not relaxing by the pool or something...

Getting it right

I went to the library today, and checked out some books from sone of my favorite authors, Terry Brooks, Alan Dean Foster, and David Drake. The Drake book is the most interesting, because it comes with a cd-rom containing a TON of Mr. Drake's books in various electronic formats, including Across the Stars, Northworld, With the Lightnings, The Tank Lords, Ranks of Bronze, and one of my favorite heroic fantasy novels ever, Lord of the Isles. All complete. And you can copy and share any of the e-books. And it includes the novel it comes with in mp3 format. And a bunch of book covers. And a video of a U.S.A.F. AC-130 making an attack in Afghanistan. Here's a publisher that is embracing the digital, counting on the fact that most people (myself included) prefer holding a book to reading a screen. It's meant to get you hooked on some of his books with the thought that you'll like what you read on the screen, and you'll buy the book later.
Good idea. So, if you get a chance to pick up "Far Side of the Stars" from Baen publishing, with the cd-rom, take it. Or e-mail me. As long as I'm not selling copies, I can give them away to all the friends I've got.

UPDATE: Baen is also giving away the first two Honor Harrington books here.

Quick Happy Fun Day Update...

First, Mexican food. Then, to the mall, where we got chocolate! And a used GBA game - Puyo Pop. Then to Owajimaya, for new and exotic forms of soda. We got a couple of Japanese Nemuri sodas that have marbles in it. You use a special opener to get into it. Reeta went first. "How do you do this? Like this?" just as it fizzily exploded all over her hand.
"Yeah, something like that" I replied.

(Of course, later when I opened mine, the same thing happened, I guess that's just what happened).

And now I'm no longer hungry...

The announcement was apparently made today that FullMetal Alchemist has been licensed for U.S. distribution. The fansub group I download from has already removed the files from their servers. ANN says that the videogames will be relased by Square (they're anticipating Spring 2005), but they don't say if it will be the GBA or PS2 game that will be released (here's hoping for both). Also, they are speculating that Cartoon Network will start airing the series in October.

ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! And I was on episode 31! Of 52! (sigh). Well, I guess that's another one for the eventual DVD wish list, right next to Gundam SEED.

Let the Feast of a Thousand Hams commence!

This is it. It's all over. Exams are done, papers are finished. It's all over but the eventual Day of Reckoning.
The paper. Since scm put her vitals up, I'll mention mine. 22 pages. Actually, probably more like 21, but Word does some wierd things with formatting, spacing, and headings. Only 62 footnotes, though. I don't know how many times I referred to 17 USC @ 1201 in the footnotes, but I'm sure it was a lot. Big props to Simon Singh, and his Code Book for some great historical and factual stuff. Essentially, the paper argues that DMCA should be re-written so that circumventing ecryption alone isn't a crime, but circumventing AND copyright infringement mean that you get smacked in the face with the mother of all fish. (THWACK!) As the law currently stands, you have a whole lot of encryption researchers out there who either are refusing to publish, or refusing to research in the first place.
In other news, I'm trying to get Reeta to blog about how she and Claire have been watching Fear Factor together. Apparently, they saw one episode, and then they started playing "Fear Factor" by eating gummi stuff really fast and showing the other person that they swallowed it. I'm also trying to convince her to post her own review of Van Helsing, which promises to be less forgiving than mine was.
I should also mention that Claire somehow got a black eye last week. Her face got into a fight with the hot tub. Guess who won. I taught her that when people ask about it, she should point to it, and say "Oh this? This is nothin'. You should see the other kid." Hi-larious. She's healed a lot, now, but it was a pretty big shiner there for a while.
For the rest of today, I'm going to relax, maybe hit the mall and the used video game store. Today is read and play and nap day, for tomorrow, I go to work! I'll be working on campus again this year - half time for media services and half time for one of the professors. Fun, fun stuff.

Last Monster Standing...

(movies) Why, oh why. I was all set to write a nice, long, hearty review of Van Helsing tonight. Fact is, though, I'm just too tired. Suffice to say that any movie where you have Frankenstein's Monster swinging on a rop across a bottomless pit is... one to stay away from. Not the fault of Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsdale, or David Thewlis. This one is square on whoever played Dracula, and the script writer. Easily the weakest Steven Sommers film I've seen - it gets a negative one Coke. (At negative 1.5 Cokes, I start watching on fast forward - Leprechaun is -1.5 Cokes, this was not quite as bad as that.)

(UPDATE: Sorry, wasn't David Thewlis, it was David Wenham. My bad, so sorry.)

Momentary Idyll

(school) It is done. I don't know how well I did. But I'm sure I'll pass. I don't have to do incredibly well in this particular class, I think my other work is good enough this semester that this one class doesn't have to be stellar. Thank goodness. Now to relax tonight, and spend the rest of the weekend and Monday on a certain paper that needs some Major Work.

Mou Ikkai!

(school)... one more test. 3.5 hours from now, all my exams will be taken. Then it's all over but a paper, some grading, and the eventual weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
I've been really nervous going into all of my exams this semester. Copyright, Comm Law:Sales, Partnership Tax, and now Criminal Procedure.
Later tonight, there's a big law school party. But I'm not sure I'll go to that. I don't drink, I'm not single... I think instead I'll try to convince Reeta to try to catch Van Helsing tonight. That'll be a good way to put my brain on complete, utter hold for about an hour and a half, I suppose.

Speaking of Sinking in a Quagmire...

(news) Michael Moore recently retracted a claim that Disney was sabotaging the US release of his latest film in an attempt at political censorship. In a letter to his supporters, posted yesterday at his website (which I'm not linking to, thank yew very much), he claims that he learned only the day before that Disney was pulling the plug on U.S. Distribution of his Farenheit 911 film.
However, in a later interview with CNN, he said that Eisner told him almost a year ago that he was angry that Miramax had agreed to make the film, and that he will not distribute it.
Moore claims that there was a contract to distribute the film, and Disney is claiming that there was never a contract to distribute. (Does this sound like a law school final question yet?)
But the part that really ticks me off is the NYT editorial that accuses Disney of being more in love with their bottom line than with free expression.
Pardon my TLA, but WTH?
First, let's all sit down, take a deep breath, and remind ourselves that Disney is (prepare to be shocked) a CORPORATION. And if anything theyve done in the past few years is an indication (like lobbying for extending copyright terms, for example), then it should come as no surprise to anyone that they are concerned about the bottom line. A corporation's job is, after all, to earn money for its stockholders.
Next, let's take another look at their actions. Moore's past films have made money. Stopping distribution isn't necessarily a move to increase the bottom line. If anything, it will probably reduce it. Miramax ponied up the money to make Moore's latest documentary. How are they going to make that money back now? Fact is, there's a possibility that they aren't. So, if they're not interested in distributing this film, it stands to reason that there may be an interest other than financial here.
Maybe Eisner, for one glorious moment, realized that he doesn't want Disney associated with this total wackjob. I mean, comparing terrorist insurgents to American Minutemen? Who wants to be associated with that? Someone who wants us to suffer a military loss in Iraq? Yeah, right.
Or (and here's the cynical law student/wacko conspiracy theorist in me coming back up for air before diving back into Crim Pro review) maybe it's all a plot to drive a lot of controversy and hype the movie before someone has a sudden "change of heart" and decides to distribute anyway.
Moore has a right to say whatever he wants to. He managed to get someone to give him a lot of money so he could make a film that says what he wants it to. Now he's upset that those same people aren't interested in distributing his film for people to watch. Guess what, kids? That's their right. They're a company and they get to make decisions on what the company will or will not do.
Here's an idea. Michael Moore doesn't need Miramax or anyone else to distribute his film. If he thinks it's such a great political message, if he thinks it's so important, why not distribute it himself over the 'Net? Slap it on up there, Mr. Moore, and let's have a look at it. I mean, Miramax has already paid for it, right? Post that sucker in a couple places with BitTorrent or distribute it on Kazaa, if you're so interested in free speech.
Or is it just possible that Disney isn't the only one looking at the bottom line?

Demons be GONE!

(life) I have walked in the valley of the shadow of inside/outside basis mismatch, and returned (relatively) unscathed.
But I really needed something to take my mind off it last night, so I went to Blockbuster, and rented the latest Tarantino flick.
Then I needed something to take my mind off that, so I wound up playing some Pokemon. Fear the awesome steel/psychic power of my mighty Beldum, Mr. Jingles! And then I fell asleep around 3:00 am.
Today, it's back to the Lake O library to study Criminal Procedure until my eyes bleed, or until about 6:30, whichever comes first. Corbin is having a showing of his latest independent film work at the local school, and I just have to be there for it.

For anyone in the Seattle area, I envy you - Penny Arcade is hosting a Big Event at which they'll be giving away a ton of gaming stuff. You know what, I'm not THAT far away from Seattle. I may just have to take a day trip up to Seattle on August 28. Yeah, that sounds good - and practice my UT2K4 in the meantime...

Now THAT was a test...

Just finished Partnership Tax. Or it finished me. One of the two. I'm sure I absolutely nailed one of the three questions. It's a work of art. And I'm comforted by the thought that in Tax, the aim is certainty to the point where there is One True Answer, like a sword to be pulled out of a stone. (Cue Angelic Singing).
But at this point there is relief. I survived. Hopefully, I passed. I should have passed. I have every expectation of having passed. Like I said, one question I nailed. The other two... maybe less than great. Maybe one of them is less than okay, even. Now, off to bed, and up early tomorrow to hit Crim Pro - my last final of the year, and then a paper all weekend long.

The scary thing is, I think I'm actually having fun...

Attack of the Phantom Distribution!!!

(school) The Partnership Tax exam starts in ten minutes. I suppose, finals in school are something like death and (coincidentally enough) taxes. They're inevitable. And to be received with the same enthusiasm that we hold for the other two.
As it is, now that I know the hot asset distribution rules, Prof. B says that there's no going back. I've been permanently damaged. To be honest, I'll be happy with passing this class. I'm not expecting an A by any stretch of the imagination. I'd like it, sure. But something tells me that it isn't happening in this class. No matter what happens in the next three hours, as far as the exam goes, two things should come out of it.
1) I will survive. Oh, maybe I'll be damaged, shook up, wounded, in need of vital fluids (including but not limited to copious amounts of Dew - LiveWire), but I'll survive.
2) I will pass. I may not get the greatest grade in the world, but I feel comfortable enough with the processes and procedures here that I can at least show that I learned something, and that something should be enough to get me a passing grade.

Partnership Tax...? You're soaking in it!

(school) I feel like my brain is being pounded flat by basis, contributions, distributions, deductions, liquidations, the Big Three, and a myrad of hot assets. Ugh. It'll all be over in about seven hours - then on to Crim Pro, and my paper. I just hope I'm able to give them enough attention in the time I have left for their completion.

Recommended Daily Allowance...

(anime)... Let's say that you're interested in some anime, but you don't have a lot of time on your hands, and you're not sure what to watch. Here are a couple of suggestions for series to watch...
1. Gundam SEED. For the Giant Robot Lover in you... SEED is decidedly more mature than Dragonball. Giant Robots, genetic engineering, civil rights, friends, enemies, the morality of war... and at least one psycho-chick using her "feminine wiles" to manipulate our hero. The DVD's aren't out yet, but it airs on Cartoon Network every Saturday night at 10:30, and this Saturday is only episode three.
2. Naruto. For loner heroes and ninja fanatics... Naruto is a great series that my whole family enjoys. Friendship, teamwork, and the source of numerous family in-jokes. (My personal favorite is "One Thousand Years of Pain!" - the ninja technique of sneaking up behind someone and poking them in the butt.) I was going to comment on someone's blog that they were really letting their Inner Sakura go, but then I realized that she would have absolutely no idea what I was talking about. This one is available for free to download from a couple of places on the net, because it's not commercially available in the states, I personally recommend GotWoot. Bootleg DVD's are available on eBay, but I can't recommend those. Once the series is licensed here in the states (and given its online popularity, I'm sure it's only a matter of time), then those on-line episodes will be pulled - see my earlier posts re: fansubbing. Also, the manga (comic-book) should be available at your local bookstore.
3. Cowboy Bebop. For the film noir geeks. This is one of the few series I've seen that actually plays better for me in English than it does in Japanese. Jazz, Beautiful girls, action, comedy, bounty hunters, hyper-intelligent dogs ... this series has it all. The entire series is available at amazon and on Netflix. Note: watch the first few discs before you watch the movie. Trust me. The movie actually happens during the course of the series, not after it. And the music is by the incomparable Yoko Kanno.

While there are other series out there that are excellent, (FullMetal Alchemist and Bomberman Jetterz - where I get the term "Bomber SHOOT" - on fansub, Trigun, FLCL, and Last Exile on DVD), those first three are probably my top picks of all time. At least, so far. And for manga, if you get the chance, Hikaru No Go is excellent.

Finally, if you don't already know to, pick up pretty much any of Hayao Miyazaki's movies. Spirited Away in particular is excellent, and good for the whole family, IMHO.

Something new...

(anime) Caught two episodes of a series called "Last Exile" today that I checked out of the library. So far, absolutely gorgeous animation from the same studio that did "Blue Submarine No. 6". The thing about Japanese animation is that you usually don't get a whole lot of back story. Things just are the way they are - (Gundam Seed being something of an anomaly in this - you get enough backstory sprinkled through the series to figure out what's going on). So far, after two episodes - "Last Exile" gets 1.5 Cokes.
Now I've got a lot of Partnership Tax to cover...

Two down, and still swingin'...

Just finished my second exam. This was the open one, so I can't say anything about it, other than I'm glad I had as much time as I did - I wouldn't have done as well with a more time-pressured test. Now I can focus on the two scary tests I've got - Partnership Tax (scary!) and Criminal Procedure (ugh!)
I'm signing up for classes over the summer as well - Advanced Legal Research and Con Law II.
Registration packets are out today - I want to go for Cyberspace law, maybe Wills and Trusts. Also, this great seminar where I'd get experience working in Copyright law.