"Bush lied, I died" According to Effigy at CA Residence

"'I'm outraged,' neighbor Marque Cohen told the Sacramento Bee. 'We have our men and women in uniform that are dying to protect our rights and I think it's a disgrace that somebody would be allowed to hang a U.S. soldier in effigy in front of their house.' " If soldiers are dying to protect our rights, isn't the real disgrace that you think these people shouldn't be allowed to express themselves?

comedy

fuck yeah

devastating--

"ITHACA, N.Y. -- : Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll. The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious. Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans. " How long before "nearly half of all americans" becomes "just over half of all americans?" what will happen to this country then? perhaps i am needlessly worried, and it has already happened. What amazes me is how quickly people are willing to give up other people's civil liberties. are these rights something inteneded for us only in times where they are easily afforded? i think not. we are like two farmers who make a pact to share food, but when a shortage arises, the farmer with the food renegs on the deal. it is for just such a time that the pact was made. i'm reminded of a mark twain quote: "There are people who strictly deprive themselves of each and every eatable, drinkable, and smokable which has in any way acquired a shady reputation. They pay this price for health. And health is all they get for it. How strange it is. It is like paying out your whole fortune for a cow that has gone dry."

my secret blog-

yes, well, you see, when i was taking a independent study i set up a hidden blog for me and the prof to use together because it was so hard to get him in person or on the phone, and we met weekly online for chats, so this seems like a good way to create a more permanent place we could visit anytime. Unfortunately he never used it. now that i've graduated, no thanks to anyone in that department except the gentleman who approved my petition, i can open up this secret blog to you. if you folks want, i can make it a public place for philosophic discussion. Anyone who wants the ability to make their own posts there can get it by replying to this blog post or emailing me. odds are this won't become the next vienna circle, but i'm throwing it out there. if it's used at all we can rename it "codependant study." that would be cute.

more ass-

idunno. it's just ann coulter and tucker carlson being obnoxious, but here it is. "the average canadian is busy dog sledding" wins as the most frustratingly asinine comment. CNN and FOX should be ashamed for giving these two any mainstream legitimacy.

jordan gets swag from SCEA-

sony sent me a sweet hoiday care package. 2 games (killzone and the new ratchet and clank), some essence of emeril (something i'd never buy but am glad to try), a teflon coated chef's apron with "playstation" embroidered on it, and a george foreman lean mean grilling machine. i'm pretty happy about it, both because it's some cool swag, and because its a first in my game producing career: some serious swag from a 1st party company... sony hearts me.

"The Disappearing Dollar"

"The privilege of being able to print the world's reserve currency, a privilege which is now at risk, allows America to borrow cheaply, and thus to spend much more than it earns, on far better terms than are available to others. Imagine you could write cheques that were accepted as payment but never cashed. That is what it amounts to. If you had been granted that ability, you might take care to hang on to it. America is taking no such care, and may come to regret it." --The Economist Not only can terrorists still enter the country with relative ease, but they get a great bargain when exchanging their money.

A Cold Day in Los Angeles

It was cold today. Below 10 centigrade at midday. Wet too. The weather reminded me of France, and I was overtaken by a profound nostalgia. The reality, however, is that the details of my time there are an effort for me to remember. There are names I should remember, but which I have forgotten, including almost all of my professors, and even a member of the family I lived with. There are innumerable locations i can't recall-- a fountain here, a monument there, a chapel over yonder. I can picture them, of course, but not recall their appellations.

Strange things those that do stick in the mind. There is a live recording of Sugar Mountain which takes me to a particular metro stop in the 16^th , where i can feel the brisk wind blow through the railway tube and over my upturned collar. “Under a Marquee Moon,” will remind me always, i hope, of my RER ride crosstown, listening those mingling guitars as lady liberty waved at me from the west, wishing me well.

I was taking this ride with a close family friend just before leaving Paris. He and my brother came out, and together we all traveled a bit, but that came later. While riding, a man walked through the isle leaving notes on the chairs. These notes let us know about his four hungry children who waiting for him at home while he had no job. The note asked the reader to please leave some change on the chair, which he would come and collect. The French prefer not to look you in the eye, or even speak with you, when they beg. This could be called a weakness of vanity, or evidence of a profound dignity, depending on your point of view. This note was only in French and English, but often they were in additional languages. Thinking about this man's misfortunes, my friend smartly left a condom instead of the usual pocket change.

This route, which I took daily to school, but rarely from it, in turn triggers the memory of the route i took to the house I boarded in. The side door that I would enter. The strangely suburbanite room that was mine. The kindness that the family showed me was remarkable. We sat around at dinner, drinking wine and eating a pie of potatoes and crème fraiche, or pasta tossed with bits of salmon and crème fraiche. We usually talked about movies and the days events. I was so bad at speaking, especially at the beginning. But they were always smiling and telling me about my improvement.

Well, it was cold today. Wet too. Though I didn't mind that at all.

sasha smith show tonight

dec 3rd @ hard rock cafe beverly hills be there or be someplace else seriously it'll be fun

employees are suing Electronic Arts

over 80 hour work weeks... pussies* actually, the law suit is a major event in the industry. i think many developers --and by that i mean the workers not the organizations-- have been waiting for this to happen. if the workers win, electronic arts will probably begin to follow some standard for overtime pay or comp time, and pretty much everyone will follow. It could truly transform this nascient industry. the article i've linked to above gets some things wrong though: "The uproar at Electronic Arts is a sign of yet another gut check for high-tech workers. We've come a long way from the dot-com boom days just a few years ago, when programmers and digital artists were celebrated for their tireless ability to work inhuman hours in pursuit of the start-up dream: creating something so new, so quickly it would make them all zillionaires. Back then, members of the high-tech labor force considered themselves a privileged elite, the backbone of the way new economy. Unions were for lefty wimps, antiquated relics of a bygone era, and Silicon Valley's ability to trounce all competition was what made it great. How quickly things have changed. Today, squeezed on the one side by outsourcing and low-priced foreign labor, and on the other by employers demanding more work for lower wages, programmers and designers are no longer keyboard-jockey heroes of the digital age. Instead, they are a new era's commodity workers, reduced to desperately suing to try to get paid for the hours they work or publicly embarrassing their employers into at least giving them a free weekend now and again. In the new standard operating procedure, crunch time is all the time. And there's little that anyone can do to help." The game industry should not be associated with the .com boom. EA, as the article notes, is highly profitable. The game industry as a whole is also in the black, and this alone is a huge distinction between it and silicon valley's pre-millenial dreamers. Also, the game industry isn't based in silicon valley. It is a worldwide industry, with important developers and publishers in LA, New York, Montreal, Paris, Tokyo, and so on. The author of the article also assumes that the absurd hours are part of designers and programmers becoming "commodity workers." Anyone in the industry knows this is false. Good game programmers are extremely hard to find. In fact, there some people make a handsome living headhunting programmers for developers. If I were to refer a lead programmer who was actually hired by my employer, I would get 20,000. This cash isn't payed for commodity workers. Something more complex is at play in the current industry practice of superhuman workweeks sans remuneration. What that is, i shall ponder another day. *this word was used for effect. women rock.

George W. Bush: i'm lovin' it

for me, one of the great lessons of the bush victory is the power of brand identity. i believe an important factor in the election was bush's strength, not as a candidate, but as a brand. if there is anything we have learned in america in the last 40 years, it is that people love a good franchise. people may not love starbucks coffee, but if they are in a new town, they will typically go to a starbucks before some local coffee joint. People may not love california pizza kitchen, but they will eat there rather than some unknown restaurant across the plaza. ignore for the moment the psychology of this phenomenon, is there any doubt that bush benefited from it? now i am not making the argument that bush benefited as the incumbent. i'm sure he did. I suspect that some overlapping forces are at play in that advantage as in the one i am attempting to describe, but they are not the same.

sure you might think it's creepy, but this is the nike swoosh of GWB imagery

George W. Bush is not a candidate so much as a brand, or perhaps more aptly, a property or franchise of a popular brand, the GOP. there is a George W. Bush font- it's a serify thing that is both bold and classy. there is a George W. Bush hairstyle and suit. not only is there a branded imagery, there is a branded worldview: the other guys are bad. we are good. tax cuts are good. jesus is good. self examination is bad. you get the idea. most of all there is a George W. Bush vernacular. his simple language is as easy to digest as his imagery and worldview. there are repeated words and phrases. oh how they repeat and repeat. and not just from his mouth. condi, cheney, mcclellan, innumerable talking head floozies and a.m. jesters. it could drive you into bloggery. there is little that comes out of the man's mouth that is not a slogan, a platitude, or a combination of the two. it works for gap, tide, electronic arts, et al., and it works for George W. Bush. Of course speaking in platitudes is not new for politics, but has anyone done it as completely, and as successfully as the very healthy duck who is leading into that dark night?

the language is one of fear, faith, and salvation. this language can't be said to only appeal to christians. the christian story of the world has an appeal in the secular world as well. we all know who plays bealzibub and who plays jesus in George W. Bush's play, instantly. who here will claim freedom from the guilt and insecurities endemic to the judeo-christian view of human and god? George W. Bush's handlers understand that approval ratings and election results are the domain marketing, and all the psychology and cynicism that entails.

those fuckers.

happy birthday to me

some tidbits from my birthday to yours. this video clip made me feel a few different emotions, but mostly it made me laugh. escalation hit store shelves this week. so did half-life 2-- perhaps the biggest PC release ever. I got a look at it today and it lives up to all the fuss. It is wonderful. Between that and the latest installments of metroid, grand theft auto, halo, and metal gear, there is a glut of quadruple A titles. The bad news is they are all sequels... so the game play and characters are rehashes. The good news is these are the very best development teams in the world, and so far I'm having more fun with this crop of games than any that has come before. i seem to have be in a band again. this time it's shaping up to be coworkers. we've practiced a couple times and everyone seems to be really digging it. expect a show in a few months.

From Tuesday's Phil Hendrie

• "Justin McElroy: Halo 2"

  Because the Halo 2 video game is so important to his generation, Justin wants Friday to be a school holiday to celebrate it. In his eyes, Halo 2 is just as important as Veterans Day or when Kennedy was shot! -Listen using: windows real

A Letter from Bob Jones III to President Bush

"President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The media tells us that you have received the largest number of popular votes of any president in America's history. Congratulations!

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America—though she doesn't deserve it—a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate. We the people expect your voice to be like the clear and certain sound of a trumpet. Because you seek the Lord daily, we who know the Lord will follow that kind of voice eagerly.

Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you.

Had your opponent won, I would have still given thanks, because the Bible says I must (I Thessalonians 5:18). It would have been hard, but because the Lord lifts up whom He will and pulls down whom He will, I would have done it. It is easy to rejoice today, because Christ has allowed you to be His servant in this nation for another presidential term. Undoubtedly, you will have opportunity to appoint many conservative judges and exercise forceful leadership with the Congress in passing legislation that is defined by biblical norm regarding the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government. You have four years—a brief time only—to leave an imprint for righteousness upon this nation that brings with it the blessings of Almighty God.

Christ said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my father honour” (John 12:26).

The student body, faculty, and staff at Bob Jones University commit ourselves to pray for you—that you would do right and honor the Savior. Pull out all the stops and make a difference. If you have weaklings around you who do not share your biblical values, shed yourself of them. Conservative Americans would love to see one president who doesn't care whether he is liked, but cares infinitely that he does right.

Best wishes.

Sincerely your friend,

Bob Jones III President

BJIII:lw

PS: A few moments ago I read this letter to the students in Chapel. They applauded loudly their approval.

When I told them that Tom Daschle was no longer the minority leader of the Senate, they cheered again.

On occasion, Christians have not agreed with things you said during your first term. Nonetheless, we could not be more thankful that God has given you four more years to serve Him in the White House, never taking off your Christian faith and laying it aside as a man takes off a jacket, but living, speaking, and making decisions as one who knows the Bible to be eternally true."

mark crispin miller @ PBS

"So there's often a kind of official and systematic rebelliousness that's reflected in media products pitched at kids. It's part of the official rock video worldview. It's part of the official advertising worldview that your parents are creeps, teachers are nerds and idiots, authority figures are laughable, nobody can really understand kids except the corporate sponsor. That huge authority has, interestingly enough, emerged as the sort of tacit superhero of consumer culture. That's the coolest entity of all, and yet they are very busily selling the illusion that they are there to liberate the youth, to let them be free, to let them be themselves, to let them think different, and so on. But it's really just an enormous sales job." a great read. if you've seen the frontline documentary there is more here. If you haven't, check it.

"Apparently it is more moral to start an illegal war, invade a country, occupy a country that did nothing to us; kill thousands of people ... all based on falsehoods trumped up by President Bush and his hawk advisers,' she said. 'He told one falsehood after another to get us in a Vietnam-style quagmire. We have lost our moral compass. We used to be mankind's greatest hope; now we are despised around the world" -- Helen Thomas

Global Warming Exposes Arctic to Oil, Gas Drilling

"Warmer temperatures could raise global sea levels by as much as 3 feet. Such a change would threaten coastal cities, change growing patterns for vegetation and destroy habitats for some wildlife, but an energy-starved world would have new areas for oil and gas exploration, according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report. "

voting our values

a bad day for the world

if the aliens were enroute to land in washington and give us entry into the galactic community, they turned around early this morning. the whole world is scared and sad and dissapointed in us. i feel ashamed of my country this morning, i really do. right now we are like a drunken father who refuses to admit he has a problem... nonono, things are dandy, give us some more of that please. we gave the finger to the world because we didn't have the guts to admit we fucked up. we gave the finger to the world and it probably feels good to a lot of people. or we just think george bush talks to jesus or some shit. in the words of bill hicks, "how far up your ass does this guys dick have to be, before you realize that he's fucking you?" i believe this election came down to neither issues, personalities, nor principles. it came down to psychology. i am too tired and sad to analize it more deeply, but i think the country was unwilling to admit its enormous strategic and moral mistakes. from a psychological perspective, it is easier to ignore certain facts (for example, that bush tried to prevent and independant 911 comission and then first tried to appoint HENRY MOTHERFUCKING KISSINGER to head it) then it is to reorganize your beliefs about right and wrong. the bans on gay marriage as also disheartening. i would say that such laws are unamerican, but right now it feels like that would be a lie. such laws ARE what most americans seem to want. If they are stuck down by the supreme court then it will only have been by the protections afforded by our government that they were struck down, and that is sad in a way too. However, the cases better get there fast, because the supreme court is in big trouble, and so are we.

i got to vote! still finishing JO:E