inherently different

Archive for July, 2006

I was messing around with Photoshop today and figured out how to convert regular images into Sin City comic book panels. This is my best friend Greg with a big gun, just itching to unload on some thug.

Photoshop is probably one of the most interesting tools you can own. I think I play around with it just about every day trying new things. Since I picked up photography as a hobby, I’ve constantly sought interesting ways to manipulate my images and Photoshop is hands-down the best tool in my bag of tricks.

Interested in the process? There are tons of ways to get this effect and I don’t claim to have the market cornered on "how-to" do anything, but if you’re interested, drop me a line.

The fact that M. Night Shyamalan is a bankable director (his four previous films have grossed almost 2 billion dollars), can’t really be denied. Yet, Disney execs reportedly balked at Shyamalan’s vision for Lady in the Water. The question behind his quest to get this film made is the subject of The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale a book by Sports Illustrated writer Michael Bamberger, but it doesn’t really tell the tale that is most pressing, which is, "Has M. Night Shyamalan lost touch with his talent?"

There are arguably only two ways you look at M. Night Shyamalan and his movies. You either hate them, or you love them. Because of the negative press that Shyamalan has generated over the last few years (due mostly to his success that some felt happened too soon and too fast), Lady in the Water opened up to  negative reviews from critics that seemed to parrot what ex-Disney head, Nina Jacobson had said about the original script (ironically, shortly after the story about the clash between Shyamalan and Jacobson was made public, Jacobson was fired as the head of Disney).

The main problem, for anyone who is paying attention, is that the critical backlash of Lady in the Water has more to do with the inclusion of a scene in which a film critic character is killed than with any other fault Shyamalan has a director and storyteller. The way a critic functions has long since changed. In an ideal world, critics offer a completely unbiased review of a film, but in this age of fame and celebrity, a critic is more interested in garnering attention than he/she is in offering the public insight into the value of a particular film.

After watching Lady in the Water, I can say that most of the critical pans of the movie are really unfounded. The story Shyamalan tells is both interesting and easy to follow for anyone who is paying attention. Is it believable? Hell no! It’s a movie and summer movie to boot. The main problem with anyone who can’t enjoy M. Night Shyamalan’s lates movie is that they are unable to suspend disbelief when they sit in the theater.

The movie is quirky and quiet and good in ways that most films today aren’t. It is a good story told with passion for and understanding of the idea that believing in fairy tales is something greater than most people realize.

I’ll admit to being a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s work, but that doesn’t preclude me from offering my opinion that the film is rewarding and worthwhile, even if you don’t like his previous work.

I find it rather amusing when someone arrives at a conclusion of who I am through maybe one or two encounters online. There have been at various times, on various blogs including this one, people who come to think they have me all figured out. They, being small and simple minded, find that labeling me a) mean; b) pompous; c) overly serious; d) all of the above; is the best course of action so that when I say something to them, they can quickly dismiss me and my thoughts as being a) mean; b) pompous; c) overly serious; d) all of the above. Call it a pre-emptive strike to avoid feeling inferior.

I don’t really mind. Obviously, these attempts to "put me in my place" are really nothing more than a thinly disguised plea for attention… or more accurately, what passes for flirtation to these social misfits. This is all well and good, even when that attention hails from some lonely, frigid ESL spinster from canada, but sometimes this unwanted attention comes from men… arguably straight, but unconvincingly so, men of British origin. It is these poor, gentle souls for whom I feel the most sorrow. Mostly because they are fighting against their own nature. I say, be free, come out of the closet my delusional British hill-billy. While I am not able, nor willing, to fulfill your wishful, deviant fantasies, I can at least help you find your way into the light of day. I mean, if nothing else, I like to think I am helpful to those who are less capable of being themselves.

I call bullshit… This is obviously a marketing scam for an upcoming book or movie. It is just too complete… from the initial mentions of how her best friend and husband get along so well and she loves that they do, to the relatively infrequent posts that went from the intial post until the youtube video of her "cheating husband." The only interesting aspect of the blog is that she seems to be a narcissistic white woman who believes she is entitled because her husband started banging someone else (see the pilates newbie posts).

The thing is, sites like this are a dime a dozen. I mean, i’ve come across sites of disgruntled men who supposedly post pictures of their girlfriends/wives naked after they "discover" that the love of their life is cheating. There is a growing allure of public shaming that strikes me as overly misguided. The idea that getting back at a spouse, sig other, friend, random stranger through the internet is appealing because it allows for relatively instant feedback, but fuck… at what cost to your own morals and dignity?

I would imagine public shaming sites (like don’tdatehimgirl.com) are becoming popular because not everyone is technically savvy enough to design and maintain their own vengeance web site. Of course, just because you’re a moron doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to publically shame the object of your ire. How long before sites like this start charging these morons to post their vitriolic diatribes? (hmmm… note to self, secure domain and bandwidth for a commecial shaming site)

The above mentioned site, one that allows disgruntled women to post pictures and details about men who have cheated on them, is quickly becoming a hotbed of controversy… one of the men featured therein is suing the domain owners for allegedly erroneous information. This is interesting because never before has a webmaster been held accountable for the content of their site. If the site propogates misleading information knowingly though, perhaps they should be held accountable. What is to stop some woman from posting outright lies because she was turned down for a date? The problem with a site like this is that there is no oversight that allows for a cooling off period before content is made available for public consumption.

But, back to the intial reason for this post… cheating. Honestly, when someone cheats, it is simply because one person is trying to find something outside the relationship that they can’t get inside of it. No one is cheated on because they are fantastic, caring, sensitive, sharing, loving, athletic, healthy, emotionally stable, interesting people. There are usually three main reasons why someone cheats… they want more/different sex than their sig other is willing/able to give them; their sig others are either intellectually, romantically or socially unable to satisfy them; or finally, they simply don’t function well within a monagamous relationship. In every instance, the warning signs are their long before the person cheats though. The idea that publically shaming them on some web site will bring them satisfaction isn’t unusual or even misguided, but the idea that such behavior empowers them is.

I’ve been considering a change in hosting companies and over the course of the last six months, I’ve checked out some options… all the while giving my current hosting company an opportunity to change my mind. I’ve sent email after email to get some help on a variety of different problems, the most notable of which is intermittant downtime of the server that hosts my site (literalspace.net). Since I have my business portfolio on that domain, it is important my site be up more than it is down. Yet, my current hosting company doesn’t see things the same way I see them. In fact, on more than one occasion when I explain that my site is down, they tell me there is nothing wrong and it must be me… er, um… no. Anyway, here is the most recent series of emails and my explanation… and finally, some resolution. Well, at least acceptance on the part of my current host that perhaps I’m not willing to accept piss poor hosting even if it is cheaper than other options.

HOSTONCE REP RESPONSE:
[5/30/2006 5:00:22 PM - Debbie]
Hello

Are you looking not to renew this account at all or just to opt out of auto-renewal? If you are looking to leave our service, may I ask how I can assist you in staying?

Literalspace.net Response:
[7/16/2006 8:00:45 PM - e!]
My site is often offline. I know this because I have an image src link to a file i host on literalspace.net and the link is often broken (404 error). I’ve sent a few requests to your technical department to look into the matter, but in almost every instance, I receive messages that say the problem must be with me (or my ISP) since you have no problems on your end. oftentimes, when I send you a message that says my site is down, it is because someone somewhere sends me an email letting me know that my site is offline (different states, different ISPs, different level networks, etc). Yet, invariably, its my fault that I can’t view my website hosted on your servers.

After testing out a few other host for a year, I realize that the problem was indeed my fault… Well, let me clarify, the problem wasn’t MY FAULT as much is at is MY CHOICE in hosts. Granted, you offer a very cheap price for hosting, but I don’t expect cheap support when I am having a problem (real or imagined). Weird I know, a customer expecting a value proposition from a hosting company, but there you have it… in a nutshell, I want to end my relationship with HOSTONCE because I don’t feel that HOSTONCE values their customers enough to truly explore problems and find adequate resolution to them.

Whenever my current deal ends (I’m guessing January?? who knows… I don’t believe I’ve received a response to my original query yet), I would like to make sure I am not automatically billed as I have been in the past.

HOSTONCE REP RESPONSE:
[7/17/2006 5:00:22 PM - Debbie]
I have now marked your account for non-renewal and it will cease to function on 7th January

It’s time for another installment of the haiku movie review!

Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
Those naughty pirates
are at it again you say?
Depp will steal my girl!

Nacho Libre
Oh that fatty Black!
So good with the pratfall yes?
Even in spanglish!

Personally I think the worst thing that could have happened to people of color is the anti-racism movement. Granted, the 60s civil rights movement was important and necessary, but over the last 40 years, that movement has become less about ensuring equality, and more about shaming people into complying with socially accepted behavior.

Aside from having to deal with overly correct white people, we non-whites must constantly wage a battle of understanding… the understanding that the person in front of us is most likely a racist, they are just too ashamed to be labeled as such. While they may never wear a white robe and hood and burn a cross on your lawn, the racist acts they are likely to perform, are infinitely worse…

I believe what most people fail to realize is that while most people of color wish racism could be eradicated, we know that most of the efforts to eliminate overt racism simply drive racists underground. Shaming someone into being more sensitive to racial differences is NOT the same as educating them about the value of people of all colors, genders, sexual orientation, and class.

I’ve often said I would prefer that people be outwardly hostile toward me if they were racist. I actually have a higher opinion of overt racists than I do of politically correct busy bodies who claim to be color-blind but are actually seething pits of racial hatred. The overt racist is at least willing to stand up for his convictions, while the closet racist is able to maintain the perception of open-minded citizen all the while doing his/her best to undermine the value of those people who are different than he/she. So feel free to call me a spic, beaner, or a wetback… at least I know who my real enemies are.

UPDATE: I should also say that hiding racism behind arguable altruistic rhetoric (for instance those on the conservative side of the illegal immigration issue) is equally bad. The whole "we need to protect our borders from foreign nationals intent on committing terrorists acts" argument is rather flimsy at best… I mean, unless Joe America is thinking that illegal immigrant and Aliberto’s head chef, Juan Estrada, is attempting to destroy the US one colon at a time, 99% of all illegal immigrants are not terrorists. It is hard not to think that a vast portion of Arizona’s white population is the very kloset klan koalition that I am speaking about.

Oh man… I’ve spent the last twenty minutes just laughing my ass off… I am a web dev for a number of companies and small businesses and one of the many things they have me do is suggest domain names if they a) do not currently have a domain, b) have a business name that someone else already owns the domain name rights to, or c) can’t think of a domain name suitable for their company. I realize some companies do not think clearly when they seek out an interesting domain name that is both memorable (sometimes for the wrong reasons) and simple. For instance.