Kill Bill

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Prairie and I watched Kill Bill this weekend — the whole thing, renting Volume One Saturday night and going out to see Volume Two on Sunday. I’d seen the first half already when it was in the theaters, but Prairie hadn’t, and it was quite fun to watch them both back-to-back. I’ve got to say that I think that Kill Bill is easily the best work I’ve seen from Quentin Tarantino.

Violent? Well, of course — it’s Tarrantino. After watching Kill Bill, I don’t think Tarantino could film someone getting a paper cut without attaching a spurting jet of blood to it (which, to me at least, is a fairly amusing mental image). It was all extremely over-the-top, though, to the point where it’s extremely difficult to take seriously (I joked at one point that the Kill Bill movies could be subtitled “Quentin Tarantino goes balls-out nuts”).

Watching Vol. 1 the second time, I was struck by how perfect of a decision it was to flesh out O-Ren Ishi-i’s backstory with anime, as it allowed Tarantino to present what is really one of the most disturbing storylines in a manner that’s in some ways actually more intense than he would have been able to do it had he tried to make it a live-action sequence.

Elle Driver is easily one of my favorite characters in the film, I think. Of the five members of the DiVAS, much of the time she struck me as the most snake-like: cold, unfeeling, and vicious — which made the few moments when she broke that mold (her moment of pouting after Bill tells her to leave the bride alive in the hospital towards the beginning of Vol. 1) that much more amusing.

The fight with Elle in Budd’s camper was wonderfully done, too, with Elle constantly unable to draw her sword out of its sheath due to the cramped quarters. I’m quite curious if that’s an intentional movie reference by Tarantino that’s been missed on the Kill Bill References Guide, specifically to the trailer fight in the Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona. Not to mention that the bride’s final blow to Elle really caught me off guard — a perfect way to end the fight, but entirely unexpected (and cringe-inducing).

What really surprised me about Vol. 2 was the end, which was far more touching and tender than I ever would have expected from Tarantino. After around three and a half hours of violent, bloody revenge, to wrap it all up with sequences that manage to tug at the heartstrings without being schmaltzy was a surprising and perfect way to end the film.

iTunes: “Steamroller” by Pigface from the album Preaching to the Perverted (1994, 2:10).

Ack! I almost forgot…

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Happy Mother’s Day, mom!

Y’know, one of these days I’m going to remember early enough to actually call, rather than spending the day wandering around in the sun, then remembering Mother’s Day when I start going through my daily reads when I get home in the evening.

On the bright side, I did clue in before midnight, which is better than I’ve done some years…

(Sheepish grin)

Semacode

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Semacode for this website

Here’s a fun little tech toy that I discovered thanks to Jonas: Semacode, a two-dimensional barcode that encodes a URL in the matrix. With the newer breed of camera phones and the right software installed, the phone can read the barcode and automatically open the URL in the camera’s embedded web browser.

For a long time computer scientists have been looking for a cheap, inexpensive way to create a gate between the real world and virtual world of the internet. Semacodes provides such a solution. By means of special symbols, printable by anyone on any printer, and special software, available for camera phones, connections can be built on a wide scale in a totally decentralized fashion.

A semacode is a small symbol that encodes a standard, web-oriented URL. The URL is embedded into a two-dimensional barcode along with error correction information. When the semacode reader software snaps the barcode, it launches the embedded URL on whatever web browser is available.

Software to read the Semacode barcodes is already available on the Semacode website for Nokia 3650/7650, 3600/3620/3660, 6600 or 6620 camera phones.

There are all sorts of potential uses for this. Some of the following examples come from the Semacode website, some from Jonas, and some from me:

  • Bus stop transit information: Grab the Semacode posted on a bus stop sign and go right to the page listing the bus schedule, or if a system such as NextBus is being used, get up-to-the-minute information on when the next bus will be by.
  • Tourist orientation: Post Semacode stickers at landmarks or intersections pointing to MapQuest maps or Yahoo Get Local pages to help people instantly find out just where they are and what hotels, restaurants, or attractions might be close by.
  • Ticket sales: Include a Semacode on an event poster, newspaper, or magazine advertisement that links to the online ticket sales website.
  • Social networking I: Put the Semacode for your personal website on the back of your business cards.
  • Social networking II: Create a webpage detailing just what you’re looking for in a potential mate and then make a shirt with the Semacode pointing to that page prominently displayed to wear to the bar.
  • Advertising I: I’m thinking seriously about updating the designs on the shirts I’m selling through CafePress to include the Semacode for this site (or for a yet-to-be-constructed page specifically for the shirts) on the back of each shirt, logo-style.
  • Advertising II: Include the Semacode for a club or business on the flyers or advertisements.

I’m sure there are a lot more possibilities here.

Of course, the really ironic thing about all of this is that not only do I not have a cell phone, but I have no intention of getting one, as the fool things annoy me to no end (though, really, it’s not the phones themselves that annoy me as how incredibly rude cell phone users can be), so aside from slapping my Semacode around, I can’t really take advantage of the technology. That doesn’t make it any less interesting to me, though.

iTunes: “Dragula (Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare)” by Zombie, Rob from the album American Made Music (1999, 4:37).

It’s not just Abu Ghraib

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Don’t understand how conditions in Abu Ghraib could have gotten as bad as they did? Maybe it’s time to take a closer look at our own prison systems.

Physical and sexual abuse of prisoners, similar to what has been uncovered in Iraq, takes place in American prisons with little public knowledge or concern, according to corrections officials, inmates and human rights advocates.

In Pennsylvania and some other states, inmates are routinely stripped in front of other inmates before being moved to a new prison or a new unit within their prison. In Arizona, male inmates at the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix are made to wear women’s pink underwear as a form of humiliation.

At Virginia’s Wallens Ridge maximum security prison, new inmates have reported being forced to wear black hoods, in theory to keep them from spitting on guards, and said they were often beaten and cursed at by guards and made to crawl.

The corrections experts say that some of the worst abuses have occurred in Texas, whose prisons were under a federal consent decree during much of the time President Bush was governor because of crowding and violence by guards against inmates. Judge William Wayne Justice of Federal District Court imposed the decree after finding that guards were allowing inmate gang leaders to buy and sell other inmates as slaves for sex.

And just in case it wasn’t clear that there was a direct connection between US prison techniques and those being used in Iraq, just keep reading…

The experts also point out that the man who directed the reopening of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq last year and trained the guards there resigned under pressure as director of the Utah Department of Corrections in 1997 after an inmate died while shackled to a restraining chair for 16 hours. The inmate, who suffered from schizophrenia, was kept naked the whole time.

The Utah official, Lane McCotter, later became an executive of a private prison company, one of whose jails was under investigation by the Justice Department when he was sent to Iraq as part of a team of prison officials, judges, prosecutors and police chiefs picked by Attorney General John Ashcroft to rebuild the country’s criminal justice system.

Mr. McCotter, 63, is director of business development for Management & Training Corporation, a Utah-based firm that says it is the third-largest private prison company, operating 13 prisons. In 2003, the company’s operation of the Santa Fe jail was criticized by the Justice Department and the New Mexico Department of Corrections for unsafe conditions and lack of medical care for inmates. No further action was taken.

When we don’t even take care of our own prisoners humanely, what’s the chance that we’ll take care of prisoners of war in a humane manner?

(via MeFi)

The Worm Within

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This one may seem a little odd (at least, that is, if you haven’t seen it linked on every other site on the ‘net yet), but it’s worth it: one man’s experience dealing with one of the ickiest digestive problems possible — a tapeworm.

Yes, the subject matter is likely to make you cringe. But it’s also incredibly well written, and if you’re not too squeamish, well worth reading.

I was leaning forward, my nails scrabbling on his desk. Some sort of living thing was eating with me, sleeping with me, sharing my childhood traumas without my permission, and was with me during those intimate moments when I achieved orgasms, with or without a consenting partner. How embarrassing.

[…]

I was already entertaining dramatic fantasies. I visualized the tapeworm securely hooked at the bottom of my throat using the spiny little stabbing things they had, its mouth ajar, and every time I ate, it ate; I drank, it swallowed; when I got caught in the rain, it stayed dry.

Of course, this reminds me of a question that Royce used to toss out every so often, just to see what sort of interesting answers he might get. The more creative the answer, the better. The question was (probably slightly paraphrased, as I’m doing this from memory)…

You discover that you’re the host of a sixteen foot tapeworm one day when half of it comes out. What do you do?

There were many good (as in hilarious, and frequently very wrong) answers given at the time, two of which have stuck with me, though I can’t remember if either of them was my answer or not.

  1. Hang it out of my fly and scare small children.
  2. Well, if of the eight feet that came out, half came out one end and half came out the other, I could string myself up between two trees like a hammock.

I’m sure there were more answers worth preserving for posterity. If they’re still around anywhere, Royce would have to be the one to fess up to their existence. ;)

(via MeFi)

This is just goofy

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Okay, so when I had to reinstall my system the other day, I ended up with an older version of iPhoto (2.0). Since I picked up the iLife package a while back with iPhoto 4, which changed the library format, iPhoto 2 couldn’t get into my photo library. Not a big deal, all I need to do is reinstall the iLife package.

Which was where things got odd.

The iLife package comes with two install discs: a DVD that includes iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and GarageBand, and a CD that has everything except GarageBand (for those poor shmoes stuck in the dark ages of computing). Me being just as organized as ever (in other words, not at all), I wasn’t sure where the install DVD was. No biggie, GarageBand shouldn’t have been touched by the system update (since it isn’t part of a standard system install), so I figured I’d just install the minimal iLife package from the CD installer.

Popped in the CD, launched the installer, and then got this:

iLife won't install from CD

What?

I’d be pissed if it weren’t so damn funny. That’s just goofy, though — because I have a DVD drive, I have to install from the DVD? The install CD is entirely useless to me? Honestly, that’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen from Apple to date.

I found the DVD, though, so I should be good to go from here.

iTunes: “Gangster Tripping” by Fatboy Slim from the album Go (1999, 5:19).

We need a Japanese president

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Case in point: a Japanese minister has resigned in disgrace after failing to pay into a national pension plan.

The resignation of Mr Fukuda is also a major personal loss to [Prime Minister Junichiro] Koizumi.

He has been the government’s chief spokesman, and a key ally and adviser to the prime minister, for the past three years.

“I am ashamed of myself for having undermined the trust of the nation as a result of the non-payment of pension premiums,” Mr Fukuda told a press conference.

“I would like to apologise for having intensified distrust in politics due to an inept response on my part as the cabinet’s spokesman,” he said.

A pension plan.

In America, after a few weeks of headlines, the entire Enron scandal just blinked off of our radar, and there were many connections between that and the current administration. Now, this gentleman is stepping down and apologizing for an infraction that, from the article, seems to pale in comparison to much of what goes on over on this side of the pond.

If only our politicians had this kind of integrity.

iTunes: “When You Don’t See Me (German Release)” by Sisters of Mercy, The from the album Temple of Love (1992, 4:47).

Why isn’t Limbaugh muzzled yet?

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Why does this man still have a radio show when he spouts off crap like this?

On Limbaugh’s Tuesday radio show, titled “It’s Not About Us; This Is War!”, one caller likened the stacking up of naked Iraqi prisoners to a college fraternity prank — Limbaugh was eager to go along, calling the behavior nothing more than “a good time” and healthy “emotional release”:

“Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we’re going to ruin people’s lives over it and we’re going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I’m talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You [ever] heard of need to blow some steam off?”

I could hardly see straight when I first read that, let alone come close to forming a coherent response.

Thankfully, Kirsten did much better than I…

…I feel that Americans should find a way to apologize to Iraqis personally. We financed this, in essence. We drive around with flags on our cars and think we’re the fucking saints of this backassward world. It’s time to show our humility and our shame at the actions of the men and women who represent us abroad and fight for our freedom. Not being the greatest of activists, I wonder at how to do this. All I have is this blog and the ability to stand on a street corner in Fairbanks Alaska with a sign. I don’t even know what I could say that would make a difference. Perhaps it would be right for humane Americans everywhere (ie. Rush Limbaugh not included) to pick up a sign and march, not in anger or protest or support of our rights, but to march for forgiveness for our actions abroad. If the leader of our country won’t do as much, won’t face a camera and speak directly to the Iraqi people and apologize for the atrocities we’ve committed, it seems the only way to get that message out is to get out and do it ourselves.

Count me in. Not that I really have a lot of ideas — like Kirsten, all I’ve got is this blog and the ability to stand on a street corner in Seattle with a sign — but count me in.

I’m going to steal one last bit of Kirsten’s post, as again, she says exactly what I believe:

…consider these pictures when you go to the voting booth. Consider who is responsible for this fucked up war, for putting our soldiers into situations where this is normal and they are turned into barbarians, for destroying what little was left of our reputation in the world community. If you vote for Bush after seeing what he and his administration have done, you are subscribing to the actions they have taken. You are subscribing to more of the same, in essence, you are signing a big ‘A-OK Dubya!’ for the next four years. Remember each picture you’ve been shown, look at that ballot, and decide whether or not you can stand to see more of the same.

iTunes: “Union Man” by Shaking Family from the album Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary (1990, 3:56).

National Day of Prayer

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So apparently today was the National Day of Prayer.

I’m sure that was appreciated by those Americans who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, pagan, agnostic, or atheistic.

Okay, so yes, the official proclamation (PDF) does make a cursory attempt at inclusivity, inviting “Americans of every faith to give thanks for God’s many blessings and to pray for each other and our Nation.” I find that less than impressive, though, considering the wording of the rest of the document is blatantly Christian in tone.

Then there was this Washington Post article about Bush’s appearance on Christian TV to celebrate the day, where I found this choice bit:

…this year’s theme is “Let Freedom Ring.” He described it as the evangelical response to efforts to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and keep the Ten Commandments out of public buildings.

“Our theme is, there is a small group of activists unleashing an all-out assault on our religious freedoms. They are targeting the Christian faith,” he said.

Oh, give me a break. I’m so tired of this argument.

I wish I were rich. First thing I’m going to do when I win the Lotto is make an attempt to place monuments in every government building that has the Ten Commandments posted with key quotes from the Quran, the Mormon Book of Prayer, whatever I can find that will work well as a general catch-all for the larger pagan religions, something for the Oriental beliefs…you get the point.

Can you imagine the furor that would raise?

Sigh.

Okay, I’m done.

State votes ranked by IQ

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Here’s a fun chart: States ranked by average IQ and how they voted in 2000.

Update: I’m getting a ton of hits on this entry by people searching for similar data for the 2004 elections. Well, you’re in luck: State Votes by IQ 2004! Though, really, you’d be wise to scroll down and read through the comments on this thread — since the whole thing was basically a hoax to begin with. ;) Still, have fun!

  State Avg. IQ 2000
1 Connecticut 113 Gore
2 Massachusetts 111 Gore
3 New Jersey 111 Gore
4 New York 109 Gore
5 Rhode Island 107 Gore
6 Hawaii 106 Gore
7 Maryland 105 Gore
8 New Hampshire 105 Bush
9 Illinois 104 Gore
10 Delaware 103 Gore
11 Minnesota 102 Gore
12 Vermont 102 Gore
13 Washington 102 Gore
14 California 101 Gore
15 Pennsylvania 101 Gore
16 Maine 100 Gore
17 Virginia 100 Bush
18 Wisconsin 100 Gore
19 Colorado 99 Bush
20 Iowa 99 Gore
21 Michigan 99 Gore
22 Nevada 99 Bush
23 Ohio 99 Bush
24 Oregon 99 Gore
25 Alaska 98 Bush
26 Florida 98 Bush
27 Missouri 98 Bush
28 Kansas 96 Bush
29 Nebraska 95 Bush
30 Arizona 94 Bush
31 Indiana 94 Bush
32 Tennessee 94 Bush
33 North Carolina 93 Bush
34 West Virginia 93 Bush
35 Arkansas 92 Bush
36 Georgia 92 Bush
37 Kentucky 92 Bush
38 New Mexico 92 Gore
39 North Dakota 92 Bush
40 Texas 92 Bush
41 Alabama 90 Bush
42 Louisiana 90 Bush
43 Montana 90 Bush
44 Oklahoma 90 Bush
45 South Dakota 90 Bush
46 South Carolina 89 Bush
47 Wyoming 89 Bush
48 Idaho 87 Bush
49 Utah 87 Bush
50 Mississippi 85 Bush

Obviously, there are a number of reasons — mathematical, statistical, and scientific — why a chart like this shouldn’t be taken terribly seriously.

That won’t stop me from being amused by it, though. ;)

(via MeFi)