Photo altering
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1756&e=2&u=/041029/480/nyet27010291345

Control Room and Incident at Loch Ness
This movie was pretty good, and it would be great if your typical American would see it. It's about Al-Jazeera, the Arabic news channel based out of Qatar. It shows how they go about showing news for their arabic audiences (and the world). The US hates the channel because it will openly criticize US policy (they had guests on that claimed 9/11 happened due to US foreign policy - Powell and Rice demanded those guests be censored) to millions of people in that area. I imagine it's one of the main reasons the US established their own channel to broadcast out there, though I don't know what's come of it. One of the great parts of this documentary is the US military press officer, a Lt Rushing. At first he comes off as being a typical pro-American-at-all-costs military guy. But as the movie goes one we see that he really understands both sides and how difficult it is to find a universal truth. It's great to see a military guy saying what he says about the US media, and how it's all about ratings and money, channels play to their audience and that's why Fox News is so popular, because that's what people want: american patriotism. The part I found infortunate about his story is that he truly believes in what his superiors have told him. He thinks the administration is out there to help people and improve the world, leaving him in the impossible situation of defending the policy of Bush & Co. Which is too bad, because this guy has his heart in the right place.

The Incident at Loch Ness: Ever heard of director Werner Herzog? I hadn't until I saw this movie. It really has nothing to do with the monster at Loch Ness, despite the fact that it takes place on the lake and they seem to "bump" into it. This is about what it real and what is not, and why that distinction should matter. This guy Herzon though is hilarious, with his unassuming accent and demeanor. It's a good time, and don't be bummed out when you realize what's going on, it's part of the movie.

OBL
It's kind of sad when you see so much bullshit on tv coming from both of the candidates to the presidency of the most powerful country in the world and then you get a video from the most wanted terrorrist in the world that seems to actually be saying something that makes sense. How fucked up is that?

The sad part is that he had to say it, so that means no Americans will believe it. But yes, 9/11 happened because of the US foreign policy, not because of any irrational hate of freedom or democracy.

I recall a bit in the movie Control Room where the fat journalist guy is wondering about who is going to stop the US and he says, "...somebody..."

OBL
It's kind of sad when you see so much bullshit on tv coming from both of the candidates to the presidency of the most powerful country in the world and then you get a video from the most wanted terrorrist in the world that seems to actually be saying something that makes sense. How fucked up is that?

The sad part is that he had to say it, so that means no Americans will believe it. But yes, 9/11 happened because of the US foreign policy, not because of any irrational hate of freedom or democracy.

I recall a bit in the movie Control Room where the fat journalist guy is wondering about who is going to stop the US and he says, "...somebody..."

Sad Day
Steve Stone leaves the Cubs' TV booth...

Best Website
Here is another recommendation from Tollo, not that this guy needs any more hits but it's still highly entertaining.

maddox.xmission.com

Red SOx
The Series sucked, it was really boring, but at least the right team won.

I hate how the FOX announcers kept ragging on how many times Bellhorn struck out during the season (177) and NEVER mentioned that he led the team in walks, too (88), that's a .373 OBP despite hitting only .264.

OBP is the key, it seems. The Red Sox did hit .282 as a team, but had a MLB best .360 OBP. All their starters except for Cabrera had OBPs over .360. That's how you score runs.

Pedro Martinez
All this hoopla after his latest start and how the Yankees want him and shouldn't the Red SOx now sign him...

Come on, the guy is done. Pedro is done. He is no longer the pitcher he was and doesn't warrant any sort of big contract. He needs 5 days off between starts to be effective and just look at how he pitches. Did you see the game yesterday? Yeah he pitched well. Well. Not Pedro, just well. He topped out at around 93. He wasn't dominant, he just got the job done.

I certainly wouldn't sign him for 3 years 40 million.

It brings me to the issue of number one starters in the playoffs. There just haven't been any after Johan Santana. Sad, really, I love watching great pitching. Schilling has a messed up ankle and is all old and broken down anyway.

Now, imagine if a healthy Prior, Wood, and Zambrano were in there...oh yeah.

PBS and NPR
I'm writing this paper on the differences between Plato, Aristotle, and the guy who wrote a book called Ad Herennium. While I'm trying to write it I'm listening to NPR and all of the sudden it hit me. I had asked in this class if there was any organization or person that the professor could think of that, as a speaker, was solely worried about the improvement of the audience, and not with simply persuading it. The class pondered that for a second and the best we could come up with was Martin Luther King. The whole debate in this rhetoric class (or one of the debates) is all about how the author's view the audience. Some want to convince at all costs, some have a morality and are worried about truth. And today it hit me, NPR and PBS are worried solely about the viewer. They do not want anything from us except an occasional donation so that they may continue to do what they do. And what they do is attempt at making the audience better by way of educating them. The people on there never try to convince you of their point of view, that seems to bore them. These are intellectuals that have their opinions and aren't interested in making you believe in them. They put them out there and listen to the opponent of their views without flinching or reacting, then calmly thank the presenter for having them on the show. It's amazing, really, when you think about it. No commercials. They don't want anything from you. How refreshing! The documentary I saw the other day on the parallel lives of a young Bush (jijiji, a young BUsh) and a young Kerry as they eventually got into politics struck a chord in me. Which way was it leaning? Who was it favoring? I didn't have an answer. It was merely laying out the information for me. This is what people should be tuning into. Real, unbiased news.

Maybe I'm naive or just don't know much about NPR and PBS, but I think I've picked up a bit of something that tells me that NPR is perceived as liberal. Maybe because I am more liable to agree with a liberal I don't see it, but I'll just put that out there.

And that gets me thinking about me. What do I worry about? Am I trying to convince the audience of this blog or make them better? Nah, I just want people to look at some things from a point of view I find rather interesting.

Voting for Bush
I have heard a lot of "Oh man how can you vote for Bush?? My god, how??" (not referring to me, obviously) Well, let's think about it. Why would someone vote for Bush? One good reason if if he/she felt threatened, scared, in danger.

- How can you vote for Bush?
- Well, he is stronger in the fight against terrorism.
- How so?
- He isn't afraid to go out there and do what it takes to make sure we are safe.
- What proof do you have of that?
- Well, he has said the pre-emptive war is something he isn't afraid of doing, and he has proven it with Iraq. The UN was against him and a lot of people in the US were against it, but he went ahead and did it to keep us safer.
- Do you feel safer?
- Well...


And the dialogue could go on. But I can see why someone who is scared would feel that way and would vote for Bush. I can see them looking at Kerry's talk of allies and multilateralism and shriek in horror. I can see it, I just have a few problems with it.

Three thousand and change. That's how many people died in the Sep 11 attacks. This event is what has all these people scared. The terrorists hate us and they are out to get us. The attack proves this. Now, just for a minute, take yourself out of your spoiled, American shoes, and look at it from an outside (non-US) perspective. This is nothing new. In fact, three thousand people is chump change compared to the amount of death and destruction that the rest of the world has faced and still faces today. So pardon the world for not feeling that sympathetic (although, if you noticed, they all did) about the attack. And especially after the US (Bush) claimed that the attack allowed the US to do whatever it wanted to do, regardless of international law. This is the reason there is so much hate in the world towards this country. This is it. It has nothing to do with jealousy or hate of freedom or democracy. People want to come here, they don't want it destroyed. Another dialogue:

US= Oh my god I can't believe we got attacked, those crazy terrorists hate us and want to kill us!
WORLD= Yes that's terrible.
U= Why on earth do they hate us so much, I just don't understand.
W= Well, I mean, it's pretty...
U= What? It's pretty what?
W= I don't mean to be impolite during this time of tragedy but it's pretty obvious why so many people, terrorists included, hate you so much.
U= Obvious??? How on earth can that be? We are the greatest country in the world!
W= Well, because you guys act like you own the planet, and that doesn't sit well with a lot of people. You make it very clear that you will go to any lengths in order to make sure the US, and only the US, has all of its "interests" protected, whether or not those interests belong to you.
U= How dare you say such things after 9/11! This is a new world, a changed world, things have to be run differently now. We have to fight the terrorists!
W= Welcome to the club, man. We have been dealing with this type of stuff forever. And, to be honest, most of the terrorizing has been done by - well...
U= By whom?
W= Well, by you, to be honest.
U= (launches a barrage of missiles that destroys W, much to the US's delight, until it realizes that - oh shit - the US is part of the W, not a separate entity. Whoops.

You see what I'm saying here? Or have I strayed too far?

Yes, people want to feel safer. But they aren't realizing what this kind of attitude will further unleash in the world. If you want to make yourself safer, make friends and play nice. Stop bullying everyone around and they won't hate you. It doesn't have to be US vs The world unless you make it that. And if you make it that, you'll never be safe.