I heard a rumor that this thing existed, and that it was 2 hours of god awful bad. So bad in fact, that it goes good again but instead of stopping there, slaps good in the face for another go-round at bad.
I’ve worked on acquiring this and we’ll see how it goes.
Man, this shit takes forever to download...seriously it took till like...2 am. This does not bode well.
It looks like a terrible tv special...which is probably the point. Chewbacca has a family....which is unrelated to Bea Arthur or Jefferson Starship. I’m pretty sure. It's hard to tell because they're all in this thing.
Please note: Chewbacca got all the looks in the family.
Why are we killing time with the holographic acrobats?
And like so many holiday specials, looks like Chewie’s not making it home for life day.
Oh god...I can't do this anymore. Do me a favour and go here instead. Read that, and then never speak of this again. George Lucas had that right at least.
Merry Christmas yo. Your gift is not watching this made for tv special. You'll thank me later.
Unless it gets a post on teapotrobot. Then I'm wrong.
But it's still terrible.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
I was going to write about the Star Wars Christmas Special...but this is more important.
Here’s how it lays out; I was picked from that giant voter pool for jury duty a few years ago (I escaped it by having my name not be drawn in the courthouse). Here’s my beef: While I was there, a number of peoples names were drawn to stand as a jury of their peers. More than the requisite twelve. Many more. You want to know why? Because we all dodge our civic duty like it’s diarrhea plague. YEAH. It’s that fucking terrible to do your civic duty. You can tell that because I used the term “escaped” in my justification. It’s clearly like pulling teeth. I’m not sure if the worst part is that we think it’s so horrible to do our job, or that we decided to put such a low value on the importance of the justice system. I don’t know.
Of these, there was a disproportionate number of people that when called up, as their reason for not being part of this trial stared straight down at the floor mumbled “I’m a racist” and were excused. THEN THEIR SOUL DIED. Just a little, but you could see it. When did it become better to admit you hate an entire skin tone than to lose a couple days work (by the way, if you legitimately can’t afford to lose a couple days work, you show valid reason and you get exempt). Seriously. I’m reasonably sure that people who actually are racist aren’t cognizant enough to realize it’s a reason to be excluded. Even the judge looked disgusted. It’s worse than wetting yourself in public. You’re telling a room full of people that (because this city is always smaller than it seems) next time you cross paths, you get to say “Oh, I remember you! You’re that racist!” And then they (potentially) get beaten on the street. What’s left if we sell out our beliefs to save a little hassle? It’s like blowing this totally out of proportion and saying “Oh, child molestation isn’t that bad....I mean, they’re going to learn all about that stuff eventually.” As you watch all your moral fibre go straight down the shitter. I mean, it’s not like anyone votes anyway. What’s the point? My party never wins. Fuck’s sake. (If you couldn’t tell that’s sarcasm, and you should leave right now before someone comes up behind you and molests your skull with a chair.)
I’m hoping you know where I’m going with all that....I got distracted by a dream I had a couple nights ago where I was chilling at home and was getting semi-automatically shot at by someone in the forest across the street (which doesn’t exist in real life). I distracted them for a while by throwing shirts around and they’d shoot at that while I tried to call 911 and repeatedly got a busy signal. I think at some point they got smarter and I got a cop who didn’t believe me. The important part is that I didn’t get shot and the police never showed up.
That is where all this complacency is heading. Just a warning. Random shootouts, busy Emergency Services line. “Oh well, maybe it’s how it’s supposed to end...?”
Get out of here and figure this shit out on your own. Goddamn.
Of these, there was a disproportionate number of people that when called up, as their reason for not being part of this trial stared straight down at the floor mumbled “I’m a racist” and were excused. THEN THEIR SOUL DIED. Just a little, but you could see it. When did it become better to admit you hate an entire skin tone than to lose a couple days work (by the way, if you legitimately can’t afford to lose a couple days work, you show valid reason and you get exempt). Seriously. I’m reasonably sure that people who actually are racist aren’t cognizant enough to realize it’s a reason to be excluded. Even the judge looked disgusted. It’s worse than wetting yourself in public. You’re telling a room full of people that (because this city is always smaller than it seems) next time you cross paths, you get to say “Oh, I remember you! You’re that racist!” And then they (potentially) get beaten on the street. What’s left if we sell out our beliefs to save a little hassle? It’s like blowing this totally out of proportion and saying “Oh, child molestation isn’t that bad....I mean, they’re going to learn all about that stuff eventually.” As you watch all your moral fibre go straight down the shitter. I mean, it’s not like anyone votes anyway. What’s the point? My party never wins. Fuck’s sake. (If you couldn’t tell that’s sarcasm, and you should leave right now before someone comes up behind you and molests your skull with a chair.)
I’m hoping you know where I’m going with all that....I got distracted by a dream I had a couple nights ago where I was chilling at home and was getting semi-automatically shot at by someone in the forest across the street (which doesn’t exist in real life). I distracted them for a while by throwing shirts around and they’d shoot at that while I tried to call 911 and repeatedly got a busy signal. I think at some point they got smarter and I got a cop who didn’t believe me. The important part is that I didn’t get shot and the police never showed up.
That is where all this complacency is heading. Just a warning. Random shootouts, busy Emergency Services line. “Oh well, maybe it’s how it’s supposed to end...?”
Get out of here and figure this shit out on your own. Goddamn.
Monday, December 12, 2011
This is why Nobody likes you - Kat 0: Cops 2
Here’s how it plays out: Niagara cops are assholes. I mean not the jerky “all cops are assholes” kind of way, I mean a special kind that hates people. ALL people, and probably everything they stand for. And their pets. They probably even hate kittens, guys.
The first part goes down like this: I pull around a corner off the highway after almost getting sideswiped by some old guy in a beige buick who decided he could up and ‘merge lane’ right into my car; and lo, at the bottom of the hill is a cruiser. Just waiting. I’m aware I’m probably going a little fast and slow down. Nope, I’m going a lot fast. This fellow reduces my ticket some on the vague justification that I’m not from the area and just be more careful, ok? Sure. I can see the 80kph sign just ahead of my car. The stunning Niagara police force has found the 100m section of one road that happens to be a 60 zone (apparently) and pick off everyone. I can say this with relative certainty as I went by the same place the next day and lo, there was a cruiser in the same damn spot, just past the 60 sign, almost right beside the 80 sign. Jerks with a quota I tell you.
Part 2: going home today I’m traveling down a highway at the posted limit I come across three or four cruisers across the road. Nobody is directing traffic, so I idle up to the nearest car and have the guy roll down his window...and the conversation goes something like this:
Me: “Hey, how do I get through this?”
Him: “Not this way, obviously.”
Me: “Right, I’m new to the area and don’t know my way around. Where do I go?”
Him: “Turn around and hang a left and another left.”
Me: “Great, thanks”
Which I did, because despite looking like an idiot I’m capable of following directions. Except that they landed me in the middle of fucking nowhere. Why? Probably because he hates kittens, like I said.
Also, I’m offended by the ‘obviously’ in his statement. It wasn’t obvious at all jerkoff. That’s why I asked. It looked like there was room to get through. It’s a valid question. Get out of your damn car and set up a proper roadblock or something.
Stop harassing me about road safety, harass the guy that tried to merge into my car. I know how to drive. How about bringing down your violent crime rate so I don’t feel like I might be getting robbed while I sleep? huh?
Oh wait, you’re probably paid off by the big Italian Mob families that run the whole area (seriously). Never mind. I’ll go sleep with the fishes.
Man I hate this place.
The first part goes down like this: I pull around a corner off the highway after almost getting sideswiped by some old guy in a beige buick who decided he could up and ‘merge lane’ right into my car; and lo, at the bottom of the hill is a cruiser. Just waiting. I’m aware I’m probably going a little fast and slow down. Nope, I’m going a lot fast. This fellow reduces my ticket some on the vague justification that I’m not from the area and just be more careful, ok? Sure. I can see the 80kph sign just ahead of my car. The stunning Niagara police force has found the 100m section of one road that happens to be a 60 zone (apparently) and pick off everyone. I can say this with relative certainty as I went by the same place the next day and lo, there was a cruiser in the same damn spot, just past the 60 sign, almost right beside the 80 sign. Jerks with a quota I tell you.
Part 2: going home today I’m traveling down a highway at the posted limit I come across three or four cruisers across the road. Nobody is directing traffic, so I idle up to the nearest car and have the guy roll down his window...and the conversation goes something like this:
Me: “Hey, how do I get through this?”
Him: “Not this way, obviously.”
Me: “Right, I’m new to the area and don’t know my way around. Where do I go?”
Him: “Turn around and hang a left and another left.”
Me: “Great, thanks”
Which I did, because despite looking like an idiot I’m capable of following directions. Except that they landed me in the middle of fucking nowhere. Why? Probably because he hates kittens, like I said.
Also, I’m offended by the ‘obviously’ in his statement. It wasn’t obvious at all jerkoff. That’s why I asked. It looked like there was room to get through. It’s a valid question. Get out of your damn car and set up a proper roadblock or something.
Stop harassing me about road safety, harass the guy that tried to merge into my car. I know how to drive. How about bringing down your violent crime rate so I don’t feel like I might be getting robbed while I sleep? huh?
Oh wait, you’re probably paid off by the big Italian Mob families that run the whole area (seriously). Never mind. I’ll go sleep with the fishes.
Man I hate this place.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Getting Philosophical Up in Here: Freedom OR The Price of True Autonomy
It is challenging to define freedom in a non political way in the current day and age. Most will point to political freedom as a true and just example of what the concept entails, however this is inaccurate at best.
Philosophical freedom is more complicated and, in my opinion, terrifying if realized. The concept of philosophical freedom, like so many things, comes from within.
The first realization is that true freedom (that is, the act or ability to be free) is not something that can be bought or sold. It is not something that can be thrust upon others and it cannot be declared for an individual or group. It is all in your mind.
The trick is not to apply this to everyday life. That is the misunderstanding we have when we consider the US to be free, and somewhere like the Republic of Rwanda to be not. This is political freedom and has very little to do with freedom itself and much more to do with liberty. Within Liberty you have greater choices, but none of them fall completely under the realm of freedom. One does, after all, have to pay taxes, earn a living and gain even a basic education.
With liberty you get rights which is important if you believe in social programs, health care, or education. True freedom guarantees none of these. True freedom, I think, means that you have the ability to do whatever you like. As far as I’m concerned this includes the choice to contribute to a society, or not. The choice to be employed, the choice to live with wolves instead of people, etc. It is the unyielding realization that the whole world is open to you if you want it.
Freedom realized, is very much like the concept of generating hypotheses outlined in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance finding the first hypothesis is challenging. After that, it’s nearly impossible to not find something to test. It’s a multiplying effect. The staggering incapacitation comes only from the fact that we as people only have social obligations because we decided to. It’s easier to exist in a society that tells us what to do than to be faced with daily decisions about what to do, how to do it. We take orders and adhere to laws because it’s easier than making it on our own.
Freedom of expression is an interesting one though. Society as we know it allows for this freedom. We fight for it and call it art or individuality.
There is a concept out there though, that has something to do with self assuredness. It is one in which a person, an individual, is so comfortable with themselves that they don’t find any need to express it. They are not trying to prove anything to anyone. it has something to do with the shakiest opinions being defended by the loudest voices. You see the result of those people in the millionaires that won’t buy new shoes, or the IT personnel that won’t own a cell phone. They don’t have anything to prove to you or themselves. They don’t require that reassurance. They know where they stand.
Capitalism must hate these people. They have no reason to buy the latest of anything. Aside from replacing a broken piece of equipment, the only reason we need new things is because we’re told we do. We’re led to believe that we will no longer be accepted by our chosen peer group if we don’t get a new phone, car, laptop or set of clothes every year.
This is all our own fault. We cashed into a system by which we keep buying things to keep the economy moving. That’s the ball game. When people discover the inner freedom that says they don’t have to keep up with anything and stop desiring new things and thus buying new things, the economy gets mad. Prices go up on necessities, because you need to buy those. The value of a dollar goes down so you must keep working to buy those things and oddly enough, the price of luxury items goes down, because there is an excess, but mostly because they’re trying to restart the buying cycle. That coat you don’t need doesn’t cost nearly so much comparatively speaking. That's how they get you.
Philosophical freedom is more complicated and, in my opinion, terrifying if realized. The concept of philosophical freedom, like so many things, comes from within.
The first realization is that true freedom (that is, the act or ability to be free) is not something that can be bought or sold. It is not something that can be thrust upon others and it cannot be declared for an individual or group. It is all in your mind.
The trick is not to apply this to everyday life. That is the misunderstanding we have when we consider the US to be free, and somewhere like the Republic of Rwanda to be not. This is political freedom and has very little to do with freedom itself and much more to do with liberty. Within Liberty you have greater choices, but none of them fall completely under the realm of freedom. One does, after all, have to pay taxes, earn a living and gain even a basic education.
With liberty you get rights which is important if you believe in social programs, health care, or education. True freedom guarantees none of these. True freedom, I think, means that you have the ability to do whatever you like. As far as I’m concerned this includes the choice to contribute to a society, or not. The choice to be employed, the choice to live with wolves instead of people, etc. It is the unyielding realization that the whole world is open to you if you want it.
Freedom realized, is very much like the concept of generating hypotheses outlined in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance finding the first hypothesis is challenging. After that, it’s nearly impossible to not find something to test. It’s a multiplying effect. The staggering incapacitation comes only from the fact that we as people only have social obligations because we decided to. It’s easier to exist in a society that tells us what to do than to be faced with daily decisions about what to do, how to do it. We take orders and adhere to laws because it’s easier than making it on our own.
Freedom of expression is an interesting one though. Society as we know it allows for this freedom. We fight for it and call it art or individuality.
There is a concept out there though, that has something to do with self assuredness. It is one in which a person, an individual, is so comfortable with themselves that they don’t find any need to express it. They are not trying to prove anything to anyone. it has something to do with the shakiest opinions being defended by the loudest voices. You see the result of those people in the millionaires that won’t buy new shoes, or the IT personnel that won’t own a cell phone. They don’t have anything to prove to you or themselves. They don’t require that reassurance. They know where they stand.
Capitalism must hate these people. They have no reason to buy the latest of anything. Aside from replacing a broken piece of equipment, the only reason we need new things is because we’re told we do. We’re led to believe that we will no longer be accepted by our chosen peer group if we don’t get a new phone, car, laptop or set of clothes every year.
This is all our own fault. We cashed into a system by which we keep buying things to keep the economy moving. That’s the ball game. When people discover the inner freedom that says they don’t have to keep up with anything and stop desiring new things and thus buying new things, the economy gets mad. Prices go up on necessities, because you need to buy those. The value of a dollar goes down so you must keep working to buy those things and oddly enough, the price of luxury items goes down, because there is an excess, but mostly because they’re trying to restart the buying cycle. That coat you don’t need doesn’t cost nearly so much comparatively speaking. That's how they get you.
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