0 comments on "Mixed Thoughts"

This all began after trying to watch The Taking of Pelham 123 while intoxicated. Sometimes I let my thoughts wander. They decide to go to strange places.

RE The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

I attempted to watch this movie, and it felt like I was waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever happens and the action seemed forced. It’s a story with a potential that never appears. The wrong actors were chosen for the roles; the dialogue isn’t very enthralling, but there’s a lot of it; and it felt like a character piece, but they were playing it as an ensemble. There’s the pieces of a good story, if only things had been taken in a different direction.

Seriously, movie dudes, if you’re going to redo a badly done movie, put some work into it. Correct the mistakes of the past and make a better story. Change the setting and the scenario. Make a frickin’ TV movie to create the backdrop of your universe. I mean, that doesn’t really apply to Pelham 123, but for other reboots it seems like a much better idea than destroying everything and not giving people a chance to adapt.

Take Star Trek for instance: I might have appreciated the rebooted movies more if JJ Abrahms had run a TV mini-series explaining all the ginormous changes taking place in the universe. I need a meta to build on in my imagination so I have some idea of what’s going on; it’s the way I enjoy things. I also need a fanbase to fall back on, because when I really like something I immediately search for the fanfiction and the fanart.

Star Trek is a giant franchise. Sure, the reruns of the TV show and the movies were beginning to lose money, but that’s because they’re not syndicated anywhere. Or if they are, they’re not being played in the right way. (Pick a time and stick to it. Nobody needs an episode marathon every night; it burns out the interest quick. Just one episode a night, every night at the same time, maybe two episodes if the show is only a half-hour long. Make sure the episodes run in order, then build your programming around it. The show will begin to pick up interest, as most humans like patterns and stability.

Remember being a kid and racing home to watch your favorite show? It was on every single day at exactly the same time. And even when your life was crazy and stressful and your parents were fighting, your show would always be there for you. Life was falling down, but there was Sailor Moon, there were The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there were The Tiny Toon Adventures.

Well, dudes, life has gotten hard lately. The economy stinks, war is about to break out all over the place, there’s stress piling up everything; the world seems like it’s about to fall apart and there’s no hope in sight — and I blame all of that on American television programming.

1. We’re showing way too many infomercials, people. It’s beginning to warp the perspectives of the world. We need to start showing the good stuff again. I mean, when someone in the Middle East pays to get American TV, I don’t think they were paying to get our worst crap. It makes people a little testy and it makes us look bad. We need to be more like BBC-America. They seriously put some work behind their programming, and they’re really getting popular. Meanwhile, all the basic cable channels have turned into garbage and I have no idea why. They don’t even bother trying to syndicate shows anymore, and I don’t know if it’s because the copyright holders are charging too much money or if the network owners just don’t care or something.

People still watch TV! People want to watch TV. There’s something soothing about clicking the remote, tuning to a station, and just knowing I’m going to be entertained, no extra thought required. And I haven’t felt like that in a long time. The stability I love and need is gone. And it’s been replaced by some guy trying to sell me Magic Beauty Wonder Cream and softcore pornography commercials starring not very attractive people doing stuff I don’t like.

I want to tune to a station for 2-4 hours and know that there’s going to be something I want to watch. Since there’s never anything good on, I end up watching a lot of American Dad. It can be entertaining and I like the self-contained stories, but I want other stuff to watch too.

Don’t networks ever ask the opinions of their viewers? The big companies keep gobbling up different channels, then they sell out their customers by getting rid of everything that people liked. I get that they’re trying to force people to buy the pricier cable packages, but maybe they’d make more money if they showed a little consideration.

Not everyone has a ton of money to spend on entertainment. $20 a month is a lot of money to some people. They still should have something good to watch on TV.

Shows that rock:
Almost Human [partner cops, sci-fi, action],
American Dad [animated, humor],
Angel [paranormal, drama, action, angst, feelings],
Being Human [paranormal, drama, angst],
Better Off Ted [humor, office, Evil Corporation],
Bones [FBI, crime-solving partners, ],
Buffy the Vampire Slayer [action, drama, girl power, great ensemble],
Charmed [paranormal, action, girl power, sibling unity],
Dead Like Me [reapers, drama, angst, feelings],
Dollhouse [action, sci-fi, drama],
Earth: Final Conflict [sci-fi, aliens come to Earth],
Firefly [sci-fi, spaceship in the future, cargo hauling and thieving],
Futurama [animated, humor, sci-fi, ensemble],
Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda [sci-fi, spaceship in the far future, post-apocalyptic],
Hannibal [psychological, serial killer, angst, drama, lots of blood and awful],
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys [action, humor, gods and goddesses],
Highlander [action, a fight to the death every episode, Methos, dated material],
Lost Girl [paranormal, action, girl power, lots of sex and violence],
Metalocalypse [animated, brutal humor],
Pushing Daisies [crime solving partners, humor, romance, paranormal],
Rick and Morty [animated, sci-fi, sharp humor],
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles [action, sci-fi, drama],
The Tribe [post-apocalypse, Lord of the Flies-ish kids battling each other],
Xena: Warrior Princess [action, humor, romance, redemption, gods and goddesses],
The Venture Brothers [animated, superscience, sharp humor]

For a lighter crowd:
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy [animated, humor, reaper]
Hikaru no Go [anime, ghost friend, championship board game],
Invader Zim [animated, sci-fi, humor]
Ouran High School Host Club [anime, high school romance, crossdressing],
Princess Jellyfish [anime, adult humor],
Sailor Moon [anime, action, girl power],
Tiny Toon Adventures [humor, talking animals],
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [action, talking animals hiding from the human world]

2. What is with all of the reality television? We get it, it’s cheap to make and the returns can be gigantic and blah blah. Those shows have actually been proven to make children stupider. Look it up; there’s scientific evidence. Where are all the concerned “Don’t vaccinate my kid!” parents at when their kids are watching that crap? Instead of sitting back letting that kind of lazy and exploitive programming run, why aren’t parents petitioning for actual shows?

When I was a kid some of the shows were pretty stupid, but at least they were actual family programming, as in, anyone could watch the show no matter there age. There was no surprise graphic sex. The language didn’t try to be edgy. And there were actual non-dysfunctional families getting along and enjoying spending time together.

But reality TV shows a life that most people can’t afford to live or wouldn’t want to live. The people seem so fake, the story lines are improv, and there’s no real point to anything. It’s a fishbowl glimpse into someone’s life, a chance to ogle and snark freely.

At least a story with a moral to it imparts some beneficial bit of knowledge. Reality television is people making money by pretending that their lives are more interesting than they really are.

“Watch me I’m rich and spoiled!”

“Watch me do my job, it’s exciting!”

“I used to be famous, pay attention to me!”

No thank you. I’ll be watching the rerun of a rerun, the same episode of The Cleveland Show that played four hours ago on the sister channel.)

*

I wish I could turn on the TV and be entertained again. But there’s no longer a channel I can trust to give me what I want.

Uramichi Oniisan 01 at Amazon
1 comment on "How do you write? (Do you write?)"

I read this thread => “George RR Martin: “Why I still use DOS” <= at the MobileRead Forums and someone made a comment about pen and paper being old school to the extreme. It made me feel a little weird, because a lot of times I write stories by hand, then I type them up when I have a fat stack of pages.

There’s something about words flowing straight out of my hand onto the paper that appeals to me. Plus it keeps me from being able to go back and edit myself while I’m writing — the only direction is forward. When I make a mistake, erasing it involves scribbling things out, so I try not to make mistakes in the first place. I am forced to keep the story moving because there’s no room to change things without making a mess.

How do you write?

[Me: pen and paper => Scrivener => OpenOffice]

Kakushigoto 01 at Amazon
0 comments on "MERS: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome"

First of all, DON’T PANIC!

I realize CNN and other media outlets are trying to blow the situation out of proportion and freak out as many people as they can, but really, it’s not that bad.

Two confirmed cases in the US and possible exposure of other people that have not shown signs of the virus. As in, blood cultures and what have yous don’t show the mass outbreak the media is trying to scare the public with.

Unless you were exposed in the waiting room where one victim waited for FOUR HOURS before he was seen by a physician, or on one of the planes or the bus he rode in on, you should be fine.

The CDC advises that you:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact, such as kissing, sharing cups, or sharing eating utensils, with sick people.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs.

Basically, don’t let people cough in your face, and please don’t cough in the faces of anyone else. Wash your hands after using the bathroom, coughing, or before handling or eating food. And if you have cough or cold symptoms, please do not rush to the hospital or hang out in places full of people.

Otherwise, unless you’ve been to the Middle East or hung out with someone that’s just come from the Middle East, you’re probably okay. The virus incubates between 2-14 days after exposure.

My first thought:

Dear United States Congress,

Stop cutting the budget for the CDC. Underfunding the people that keep us from being overrun by diseases is ridiculous. As is cutting Medicaid so poor people have to hang out in emergency rooms for care versus being able to make an appointment and see a doctor like should be the norm in a civilized country. (And don’t even get me started on the subject of medical care costs in this country, which are ludicrously expensive. You wait four hours to see a doctor, then you get charged $800 for someone to feel up your lymph nodes and give you a prescription for super Benadryl that costs you another $40.)

Thanks a lot Congress. You totally rock your job (if your job involves either not doing anything or ruining the things that work). I love how you constantly give yourself raises while cutting Federal aid programs and raising the taxes of the middle class.

I mean, kids don’t need food or educations. If they’re tough, they’ll figure things out on their own and everything will be okay. That or they’ll be so outraged and ignorant when they reach adulthood that violence and robbery is their answer to everything and “steal from the rich” will become the widely accepted way of solving all problems. But that’s no big deal, ‘cos when you’ve got money you can afford bodyguards and powerful security.

So thank you, Congress, for making the world a worse place. And oh yeah, I’m kinda blaming global warming on you too, since you guys refused to believe it was real until this =>West Antarctic Glacier Loss: “We have passed the point of no return”<= happened.

Someone that works with livestock says that when you buy animals from other countries (including Mexico) you are required to quarantine them for 14 days. Why don’t we have this practice when people fly in from other countries? I know some people will decry human rights violations and not being able to get where they want to go, but come on. Nothing stops international airports from having nice facilities on hand for people to stay in before they get released back into the public. Things don’t have to work like a Third World country, and if everyone is stuck in the same facilities … I’m sure all those uber rich travelers that like to hop a plane and go all around the world will come up with the money to make the facilities awesome, or at the very least not like something out of the movie Hostel.

Besides, telecommunication was developed for a reason. In most cases, people don’t really have to go to another country.

And if you’re there to take care of the sick — you know, people infected with MERS or SARS or ebola and need medical professionals to tend to them — I would hope you would voluntarily quarantine yourself. At least wait the 14 day incubation period before hanging out in high traffic areas.

Links of note:

CDC – Coronavirus: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html. On May 11, 2014, a second U.S. imported case of MERS was confirmed in a traveler who also came to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia. This patient is currently hospitalized and doing well. People who had close contact with this patient are being contacted. The two U.S. cases are not linked.

CDC MERS – Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/MERS/faq.html. Q: Is MERS-CoV the same as the SARS virus? — A: No. MERS-CoV is not the same coronavirus that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. However, like the SARS virus, MERS-CoV is most similar to coronaviruses found in bats. CDC is still learning about MERS.

Wikipedia – Middle East respiratory syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Eastern_Respiratory_Syndrome. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a newly identified syndrome resulting from infections with an apparently new pathogen, the MERS-coronavirus.

NPR Health News – MERS 101: What We Do (And Don’t) Know About the Virus: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/05/14/310407444/mers-101-what-we-do-and-dont-know-about-the-virus. Symptoms: Affects the lower and upper respiratory tracts, leading to coughing, shortness of breath, fever and pneumonia. The virus aims for cells in the lungs and possibly the , which may explain instances of kidney failure. But some people who have been infected report no symptoms.

Reuters – Florida MERS patient sat in busy ER for hours: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/14/us-usa-health-mers-hospital-idUSKBN0DU06520140514. The second U.S. patient to be diagnosed with the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) spent at least four hours in the public waiting room of a busy Florida emergency department before he was seen by a doctor, a hospital official said.

Allies & Enemies at Amazon
0 comments on "I don’t know what to think"

So, my dad bought a Wacom Cintiq that arrived today. He’s very happy about it, which is good, except I wasn’t aware of how much it cost.

He complains of chest pains, but it’s too expensive for him to use his medical insurance and go to the doctor. Never mind that he had a quadruple bypass over ten years ago and is past his “warranty date.” He is constantly complaining of aches and pains, of not having enough money for essential things, yet he bought this massively expensive toy.

I’m concerned about his foolish spending and lack of care about his physical health. He has these frightening rages and riding with him in the car is terrifying. Maybe it’s that he’s getting older, or maybe he’s coming out of a depression and is showing it by spending too much money, I don’t know. I’m worried, but he doesn’t listen to me and it’s his own money that he’s spending.

I’ll be keeping a closer eye on him. The Cintiq was a big splurge, but as long as he doesn’t start buying a whole bunch of things it might be okay. I’ll keep trying to get him to see the doctor and get new glasses and go in for a hearing test … Ugh, there’s so much that needs to be done around here and I don’t know what to do.