Month: July 2008

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Racism? Satire? Appropriate?

It seems like the two issues full of satire but certainly can be taken as offensive material.

The misconception about Obama being a Muslim has certainly been fueled by the Right and their constant allegations as the cover on the left shows. You can also notice the potrait that is hanging as well as the burning flag in the fireplace. It certainly doesn’t sit well with the Obama campaign but The New Yorker argues that it is only designed to show the numerous misconceptions that still exist about Obama.

Vanity Fair followed up the satire with one of their own on McCain. It shows an old man with a portrait of his supposed idol in George W. Bush as well as his burning the Constitution in the fire place.

Obama Camp can cry foul all they want about the this satire but they have to take it for what it is – a SATIRE. They need to start doing a better job to fight the smears or misconceptions that the public may arrogantly still believe. For McCain, I am certain he is getting tired of the age jokes and this certainly highlights that. Also, he can argue that is not burning the Constitution by any means but if he was going to stand by and allow the “satire” from The New Yorker Magazine, he must also accept the favor from Vanity Fair.

Personally I think it should be allowed to show because whether you like it or not, they (being The New Yorker or Vanity Fair or any Dutch Newspaper for argument’s sake) has the right to publish what they want. I might not agree with what you have to say but I will sure argue the heck of it to make sure you have the right to say it because the moment you start limiting free speech because of it being deemed insensitive material, you start heading down a slippery slope that does not bode well for the rest of the society.

So all this humor? Tasteless material? Does it belong in the age of politics right now that is constantly fueled by misinformation or are we the public becoming too touchy where anything that remotely touches a nerve is quickly shot down.

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iWaiting for iPhone

So it has been 8 days since I placed a Direct Fulfillment Order for my iPhone 3G since it was sold out in all the local stores (Apple and AT&T). Originally I was told it would only take 5-7 days and I assumed it would since Apple was releasing their phones worldwide and I thought Apple would be ready for a release on such a massive scale. Turns out I was a little wrong in my judgment.Why So Serious?

As of day 8, I am currently #15 #12 (3:17 PM) in the waiting list at my local AT&T store which is approximately getting about 5 shipments of iPhones a day (you do the math – at least 3 more days of waiting at best). The 5-7 has turned into 7-10 day wait for most people if not 2-3 weeks already. If you want to place a DF order now, you better be ready to wait nearly a month to get it. My suggestion would probably be to keep an eye out at a local Apple Store since they seem to be getting more frequent shipments and hope be lucky at get your hands on one through a walk-in.

There have been a couple of sites such as Where Is My Damn iPhone and ATT Direct Fulfillment Watchdog that have been providing some comfort (not a lot) by listing all the AT&T orders (whether they were iPhone related or not to show you your place in the queue). Also on the AT&T Wireless Forums there was a thread created on 7/13 called Has Anyone Receive Their iPhone 3G Through Direct Fulfillment and in merely 9 days it was already generated 5,140 comments from disgruntled customers (myself included). Although the anger has somewhat subsided and patience starts to kick in for most of the people, the iWait continues and hopefully will be concluded soon enough.

I will definitely review the product once I do get it and for anyone reading this who already got their hands on one, let me know what you think. Was it what you expected? Pros? Cons?

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McCain’s Shows Off Foreign Policy Experience

Yep the very same John McCain whose campaign is based on his long-time foreign policy experience (still really looking for substantial evidence on that one), told ABC that’s he very worried about the Iraq/Pakistan border. As scary as he may try to play that situation, there is one problem with that state… there isn’t one. There is no border between Pakistan and Iraq. A small, rarely mentioned country is located between the two nations by the name of Iran. I am certain you can certainly understand how he did not know where such a small country was since it is of little importance when regarding foreign policy or issues with Middle East.

I can probably let him slide on the issue of not being able to use the internet efficiently as the previous generation wasn’t as computer illiterate as the upcoming one. I can probably let him slide for mis-speaking a country’s name twice in as many days because countries that are not in the news now but once were when he was growing up could be engraved in his head as existing now. However, I cannot let an issue that has been pretty much in the news for the past 3-4 years slide just as easily.

Here is the excerpt:

And it was McCain who owns the first big gaffe of the trip — appearing to confuse Iraq and Afghanistan.

Asked by ABC’s Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the “the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent,” McCain responded: “I think it’s serious. . . . It’s a serious situation, but there’s a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I’m afraid it’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border,” said McCain, R-Ariz., said on “Good Morning America.”

Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do.

As AmericaBlog posted earlier,

Pretty basic stuff. Pretty big mistake for John McCain.

If McCain knew how to use the internet, he could do “a google” and find National Geographic

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The Dark Knight: Why So Serious?

Why So Serious?

The Dark Knight is the first film I can remember in a really long time that lasted about 2 and a half hours but did not a dead scene or left the audience asking: When is this movie going to end?

The promotional campaign leading up to the release of movie was remarkable and certainly there were some (albeit a few) but some doubters who wondered whether all this promo would actually yield a decent movie. After seeing it yesterday, I can definitely say this movie has one Academy Award winner if not more. I bought the ticket online just to make sure it wasn’t sold out and even though I got stuck watching it in Menlo Park, it was still a packed house.

Read an excerpt below from Peter Abraham’s Yankee Blog on his review of the movie which accurately sums up what I was thinking.

Director Christopher Nolan starts with a gripping scene and there’s one after another right until the end. There’s no building to a climax here.

Mark down Heath Ledger for a posthumous Academy Award. The Joker is his greatest role and he was better than Jack Nicholson, which didn’t seem possible. Christian Bale does the brooding Batman thing better than the previous Batmans and adds a nice touch of irony.

The supporting cast is over-the-top good. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are the wise old heads on Batman’s staff. Gary Oldman is the incorruptible cop. Also dug Eric Roberts as a mobster. Maggie Gyllenhaal is the girl in the middle, Batman’s secret love.

The third man in to the Batman/Joker battle is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. He’s the key to the whole film from a story sense. The Dark Knight isn’t remotely a goofy comic book movie. It’s a classic battle of good against evil where the protagonists happen to be comic book characters. This film has much more the tone of Michael Mann’s Heat in that it’s about Gotham and it’s internal struggle. Things have to get worse before they better in Gotham and do they get worse. The city (Chicago, never looking more sinister) is a character in the film as much as any person.

The obvious theme that becomes clear right from the start is that you cannot trust anyone. Cops are bad, criminals at times make the better decision, trust kids to do the right thing and no one is safe. No one.

The Joker easily steals the show in this movie and at first I thought all the hype that i had heard and read about leading up to watching this detracted from his Oscar-worthy performance but the more I think about it, the clearer it becomes that he deserves the awards. As Peter wrote, “The most amusing moments are from Ledger, whose Joker is equally a sadistic anarchist and comedian. He makes blowing up a hospital hilarious. This is not a flick for the kids. It’s complex and disturbing at times.”

Don’t flip a coin, go see this and if you get a chance, go see it in IMAX.

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40* Years Ago…

#1) Who would have thought that two men standing up for what they believed in and not even saying a single word on the issue would face such disrespect and near banishment from their own country who they had just won the gold medal for. Nonetheless, the country certainly has come a long way in 40 years. A simple gesture of defiance morphed into a historic moment.

If anyone can find be a better video (but not too long), let me know and I’ll put it up.

#2) Believe what you want about the moon landing but it was 40 years ago today that these words were spoken by Neil Armstrong.

Note: It has only been 39 years since this happened and not 40. Good job me on my fantastic subtraction skills!