JK Wedding video proves RIAA are idiots

Fridays are supposed to be lighthearted.

So I’ll link to two videos that may be old news, but give you a glimmer of faith into love, humanity, and people’s ability to make certian moments their own, even if they can’t dance.

You may have already seen Jill and Kevin’s wedding video. It’s always worth watching again:

But the “bigger” story here is why the RIAA hasn’t come down on this video and stripped it of its audio (which some of us have had happen to our videos). The answer is….

STEP 1: Make a viral video with a pop song as its soundtrack
STEP 2: ????
STEP 3: Music industry PROFITS!!!

And Google tells us what that Step 2 is.

At YouTube, we have sophisticated content management tools in place to help rights holders control their content on our site. The rights holders for “Forever” used these tools to claim and monetize the song, as well as to start running Click-to-Buy links over the video, giving viewers the opportunity to purchase the music track on Amazon and iTunes. As a result, the rights holders were able to capitalize on the massive wave of popularity generated by “JK Wedding Entrance Dance” — in the last week, searches for “Chris Brown Forever” on YouTube have skyrocketed, making it one of the most popular queries on the site:

So, what does all of this mean? Despite compelling data and studies around consumer purchasing habits, many still question the promotional and bottom-line business value sites like YouTube provide artists. But in the last week, over a year after its release, Chris Brown’s “Forever” has again rocketed up the charts, reaching as high as #4 on the iTunes singles chart and #3 on Amazon’s best selling MP3 list.

Hmm, music industry, perhaps letting people use your music to make things people find cool and then associate the song with is a good marketing strategy?

Anyway, for now, “Forever” is allowed to remain on the video, making Jill and Kevin the darlings of white people who know they can’t dance everywhere. But a wedding is one thing. It takes a truly Leet couple to turn their divorce into something awesome:

Yes, it’s only a parody.

That piece of old, tired news is all I have for you readers on Friday, but you’ll have to forgive me….I have a craving for grapefruit juice.

P.S. If anyone wants to make some sort of Chris Brown “Forever” parody video which doesn’t sidestep the fact that he’s an abusive prick, contact me.

Blue Dogs that hijacked health care support War

Well, yesterday was an exciting day. And potentially the peak viewership for Phil the Pill. To sum it up, after an entire night/morning of procrastination, homework, and watching Daily Show/Colbert on Hulu, I decided I finally had time to write a letter to Virignia’s senators about passing health care reform. After essentially writing an ideological speech, I felt very worked up about and attempted to pimp it on the social media sites.

It worked. And I’m glad it got attention, because I do believe in two main things: 1) the private health insurance industry has played with people’s lives and health and should not be allowed in a civilized society and 2) people don’t tell their representatives to do their job or lose their seat often enough.

Getting that much attention made me somewhat insecure too. I didn’t really analyze this issue as thoroughly as I think people should. There are legitimate concerns with the bill supported by House democrats. On one level you could aruge that it doesn’t do enough. On the other you have a serious question of whether the government can manage this properly.

I’m not sidestepping the fact that it’s a complex. But I do support legislators doing something rather than nothing and I believe they should be listening to individual citizens and not lobbyists to conclude what it is that we need. And that’s why I mailed those letters. To send a strong message that I want cheaper, affordable healthcare and that I’m willing to vote for someone who does if they won’t.

Picture related.

On the health care front, mainstream Democrats made deals with the Blue Dog Democrats to tool the House bill on health care. Some concessions have been made which should appeal to some fiscal conservatives.

House Democrats pushed ahead with a compromise health overhaul Thursday over liberals’ complaints, intent on achieving tangible — if modest — success on President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority ahead of a monthlong summer recess.

But the concessions Waxman made to the so-called Blue Dog Democrats infuriated House liberals. They denounced the proposed new structure of the public plan, which was originally designed to be based on Medicare rates. The new structure says rates would be negotiated with providers as occurs now with private companies, which could result in more expensive care.

“This agreement is not a step forward toward a good health care bill, but a large step backwards,” 53 Progressive Caucus members said in a letter to House leaders Thursday. “Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, for a public option with reimbursement rates based on Medicare rates — not negotiated rates — is unacceptable.”

Some details of the deal remained murky. As part of the agreement the Blue Dogs are insisting they won’t vote for a bill that costs more than $1 trillion over 10 years, but that would require Democrats to make more cuts or raise more money. It wasn’t clear how much, or how it would be accomplished.

I’m not terribly offended by negotiating rates as opposed to imposing rates by law, but who are these “providers” that are separate from doctors? I’ll put it at the list of questions at the bottom.

As long as there is a public option, subsidized for those who truly can’t afford it, I’m happy. But as far as Blue Dogs voting against something that costs more than a $1 trillion over 10 years what about something that will cost over $1 trillion in two years?

Military-Industrial Complex Watch

Crooks and Liars discussed the Defense Appropriations Act of 2010, citing this Washington Post article:

The Democratic-controlled House is poised to give the Pentagon dozens of new ships, planes, helicopters and armored vehicles that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says the military does not need to fund next year, acting in many cases in response to defense industry pressures and campaign contributions under an approach he has decried as “business as usual” and vowed to help end.

The unwanted equipment in a military spending bill expected to come to a vote on the House floor Thursday or Friday has a price tag of at least $6.9 billion.

The White House has said that some but not all of the extra expenditures could draw a presidential veto of the Defense Department’s entire $636 billion budget for 2010, and it sent a message to House lawmakers Tuesday urging them to cut expenditures for items that “duplicate existing programs, or that have outlived their usefulness.”

Roughly $2.75 billion of the extra funds — all of which were unanimously approved in an 18-minute markup Monday by the House Appropriations Committee — would finance “earmarks,” or projects demanded by individual lawmakers that the Pentagon did not request. About half of that amount reflects spending requested by private firms, including 95 companies or related political action committees that donated a total of $789,190 in the past 2 1/2 years to members of the appropriations subcommittee on defense, according to an analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonprofit watchdog group.

The White House criticized the addition of $80 million for the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program, which Gates and other Pentagon officials have said is technically troubled, behind schedule, and billions of dollars over budget. But Northrop Grumman, the principal contractor, is building a technology center in Murtha‘s district that would bring 150 related jobs, and Murtha’s subcommittee sought its continuation as a way “to recoup the technology,” according to an appropriations staff member, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

A spokesman for Murtha did not reply to a request for comment.

The latest vote on the has been, surprise, overwhelmingly in favor. Those opposed included Barney Frank, Ron Paul, and Dennis Kucinich. None of them are Blue Dogs. C&L questioned whether the BDs helped this pork-barrel legislation too. I wondered if perhaps they weren’t talking out of their ass. So I looked up the list of Blue Dog Democrats in the House.

Okay, get your buzzers ready. How many of the 49 Blue Dog Democrats in the House opposed this bill with at least $6.9 billion in earmarks and, one could argue, wasted money in campaigns to kill innocent people and lose hearts and minds in the Middle East?

Time’s up. One. Representative Parker Griffith of Alabama.

Congratulations, represenative Griifith! You win the Consistency in the Face of Mind-Boggling Hypocrisy Award!

So, I get it. Healthcare spending? Wasteful. Defense spending? AMURRRIKUH!

I tried to avoid criticism of the Blue Dogs until now. But now it’s clear that they should just stop posing as “fiscal conservatives” and just admit it – they’re neocons trying to get gay, black votes. Well, any candidate campaigning as a “Blue Dog” in my districit isn’t getting THIS gay, black vote.

Er…straight, Latino vote.

I leave you on the political note with a 10-minute video on what we have money for.

The video, from the American Friends Service Committe points out how one day of the Iraq war costs $720 million per day. In addition to health care, that could be 6,482 homes, 34,904 scholarships for four year universities, higher pay for teachers, 1,274,336 homes with alternative energy, or 1,153,846 free lunches for children.

It’s enough to make you consider voting for Ron Paul.

All right, it’s late. I wonder where I can find funny pictures…maybe 4chan…OH, DEAR, GOD, NO!

Quote of the Day

Suicidal glory is the luxury of the irresponsible. We’re not giving up. We’re waiting for a better opportunity to win. – Lois McMaster Bujold

Questions for Readers

What “providers” are being referenced in the amendments to the health care bill? Who do we need to worry about paying their fair share other than doctors?

Is Robert Gates a good Secretary of Defense?

How much do you think we could be saving on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

If Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives, why are they voting for this much spending in the defense budget?

Health care – Write your Senators

Update: Hey, Reddit. Thanks for reading.

Your comments on this post have been a combination of suffocatingly cynical and understandingly skeptical. Now, at first I didn’t really expect to throw myself into this with as much effort as I’ve been pushing others to show, but I will say that part of me just wants to prove some people wrong now.

Our opinions should matter to our legislators. And I’m going to function under the assumption that they do.

Please keep commenting here with arguments for and against and efforts you’ve made to contact your senator or representative about this issue. If you’re interested in a meet-up on Capitol Hill, leave a comment to that effect and we’ll see if we can drum up support.

As you can see, the debate’s moved on past health care. The proposed plan itself is imperfect. But we’ve got to stop feeling powerless in the face of this political system. It’s not lost yet. Good luck with the fight.

Again, thanks for reading.

P.S. Come on, Digg, you’re missing the party.
—–

The following is the letter I will be sending Mark Warner and Jim Webb. Hopefully one of the aides who reads it will pass along the message that you should all be sending to your representatives.

If you fail us in healthcare, we will not be voting for you any longer. Your political career depends on this.

Help me spread the word and encourage other people to actively participate in taking back our government from special interests: spread the word on the social media sites and vote me up.

Digg or Upvote on Reddit.

I cannot stress how important I feel it is that we actually mobilize to make a plan happen. I expressed my disappointment with the proposed bill, but Congress isn’t looking to instill proper reforms — they’re looking to kill it, completely and stall for another few years.

I, for one, am tired of not having adequate health care for myself or my family. I want reforms and a public option of some sort and I want it now. We’ll improve on the system as we see where improvements are needed, but we’ll never know what we need to do if we don’t take the first step.

If you are tired of absurdly high premiums, inadequate coverage and being treated like a second-rate citizen by an HMO or a private insurer then WRITE YOUR SENATOR. They may not get to it this week, but when they get back from their vacation, they had DAMN better do their jobs and work on this bill to improve healthcare.

You live in a democracy. Exercise your rights.

Begin letter to Warner (also sending a version to Webb):

Dear Senator Warner,

My name is Phillip Murillas and this is my first time writing a letter to one of my elected representatives. I represent not only myself, but my family. My mother and my father are naturalized citizens from Colombia who have worked for over 20 years to see me and my teenage brother succeed in a country that we depend upon and, in turn, support. Without my parents’ realization of American promise, I, the son of immigrants, would not have made it to where I am today – a proud student at Virginia Tech since the fall of 2006.

Senator Warner, we supported you during your candidacy for the Senate, because we believed in the leadership you displayed as governor of Virginia, our home state for over 10 years. This is why we trust that you will listen to our voices as we join the millions of Americans calling for proper health care.

During this time of recession, my family finds itself vulnerable in this void that our elected officials in Congress have been unable to replace with a functional system. My parents are self-employed and, as you should be aware, find it very difficult to find suitable coverage for themselves, my brother, or myself, without employer-provided healthcare. The simple, inarguable fact is that the insurance premiums offered by the so-called free market would cripple my family economically and heap the stresses of claims denials, high deductibles, and limited coverage onto their existing struggles in these hard economic times.

We firmly believe that the healthcare reform bill that the Senate should be thoroughly discussing right now is not only long overdue, but a necessary step to improve our quality of life and economic prosperity. We acknowledge that it is by no means, perfect. But it introduces vital regulations, more competitive market strategies, and the promise of a public option that we could trust to provide the necessary coverage to feel safe and secure in our day-to-day lives.

Senator Warner, all across the country we are hearing citizens recall times when they spent thousands of dollars out of pocket for non-elective surgeries, broken bones, and basic medication. These are not the signs of a functional health care system. They represent a mockery of everything the United States stands for. Our health care system as it stands today restricts our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. That is why we are, for the first time, addressing you directly. This may be one of the most important pieces of legislation you come across in your career as a public servant.

Senator Warner, my family and I wish to make it very clear that we will be tracking your support of this bill very closely, along with thousands of your other constituents in Virginia. We know that there are strong interest groups in Washington that do not support reforms or a public option to introduce a competitive factor and lower skyrocketing insurance premiums for ordinary Americans. We wish to remind you that we did not elect you to legislate at the behest of lobbyists and campaign contributors. Virginians expect you to do what is best for the citizens of the Commonwealth. We can think of no bill more demonstrative of proper priorities than the Affordable Health Choices Act.

We hope that your record will demonstrate a commitment to Americans’ health and prosperity. We expect you to fight for a public option for Americans who cannot afford private health insurance. We expect you to fight for government enforcement of fair practice in the health care industry. And we expect you to fight for competitive premium rates that provide customers with fair and extensive coverage.

We also know that you have a lot of potential as a public servant. Should you prove you have ordinary citizens’ interests at heart, we will support you in your future endeavors as we have supported you in the past. But again, we must be entirely clear that if you fail to fight for our rights, we will no longer support you as our representative or in any other campaign you may run. And neither will the majority of Virginians who need Congress to bring the change that we were promised.

We are waiting. And we are paying attention.

Regards.

LOST Comic-Con promos

Well, today has been full of pretty much nothing.

But I did catch up on some Lost news from Comic-Con. Here are two “commercials” they showed during their panel, which either provide some serious foreshadowing to what happened with the bomb on the island or are simply there to **** with our heads.

Finally, something else to fuel the theory that Jack managed to change whatever happened, Kate Austen featured on America’s Most Wanted.

And here’s this fall’s ARG in the form of www.lostuniversity.org .

Let me know what you think / find out, Lost fans.

Deeds v. McDonnell – Livecast Debate

This video is lagging out all over the place, but in case it gets any better, here’s a live stream of the debate today at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia between Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell, the Democrat and Republican candidates for governor, respectively.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Post-debate Edit

That was disappointing.

What this has shown is how discussion of the issues are now secondary to prepackaged rhetoric (this man will raise your taxes) and political catchphrases (stealing from Paul to pay Peter). Rather than analyzing each other’s actual proposed solutions to the issues of transportation, business growth, and gun control, the candidates neatly sidestep tough answers by continuously trying to make it seem like they’re very different politicians.

But if the debate showed anything else with any clarity it’s that there’s not much difference between Deeds and McDonnell. They acknowledge as much in attacks on each other. Seems like an odd smear. “Oh, yeah, well this guy agreed with ME on these occasions. Do you really want to vote for someone who would do that?”

Deeds seems to have less of a draconian position on abortion than McDonnell. He also acknowledges the importance of environmental legislation. Most importantly, for all his talk about being friendly to business, I didn’t quite hear how McDonnell plans to turn Virginia into a magnet for “Bill Gates” and “Rolls Royce,” but it does sound as if he’s willing to sacrifice a lot of Virginia programs to give businesses tax breaks.

Overall, quite disappointing from both candidates. McDonnell arguably was a better debater, but his campaign appears to be the classic Republican formula: “Government bad. Put me in government to undermine it from the inside and encourage the corporate stranglehold on this society.”

CT covers discovery of Cho’s mental health records

I’ve been gone, but I have a good reason.

Yesterday our news editor didn’t come into the media writing class we’re taking together because Virginia governor Tim Kaine sent an e-mail to families of victims and survivors of the April 16 families. The e-mail said that Seung-Hui Cho’s mental heatlh records were finally found in the home of a former director of Cook Counseling Center. He may have had those records since December ’05 when he left Cook to work elsewhere with the university.

So, in addition to having to share computers with high school kids here for j-Camp, we had to pump out breaking news all day and fit it into the paper that came out today.

Obviously, pepople are pissed. Lawyers are coming down hard on Miller and this civil suit against Tech could get nastier. Here’s the full article from The Collegiate Times, Tech’s newspaper and my employer:

Cho mental health records found, former Cook director release statement

According to an Associated Press report, the former director of Cook Counseling center who found Seung-Hui Cho’s mental health records in his home has released a statement that says he did not intentionally take the documents from the center.The statement, made through attorney Ed McNelis, said Miller inadvertently removed the records of Cho and several other students when he left his post as director.

According to the Associated Press, the statement said Miller’s “candor and diligence” in returning the documents showed he had no ill intent.

But, inadvertent or not, that doesn’t change the fact that a) the only copies of these records were moved without anyone knowing and b) neither Tech nor Miller thought to check his residence for files that he may have moved after he left Cook.

Here’s the CT’s editorial, which I helped write, and our comments on the matter:

At the very least, the revelation that a former Cook Counseling Center director had Seung-Hui Cho’s mental health records in his home for over two years represents two levels of negligence.The first is general negligence for any mental health institution. Difficult as it is to step back, were we to put aside the fact that it was Cho, it is still unacceptable that individuals were able to move the only existing copies of a person’s private mental health files out of the facility without leaving any record of the activity.

Any student who has used  Cook’s services could be understandably upset that there did not seem to be so much as a sign-out process for these sensitive documents. We trust our counseling service not only to keep our information confidential and secure, but to keep track of that information as long as it exists.

Hopefully Cook will institute some regulations and accountability systems to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Keeping secure electronic records seems like a logical way of preventing this.

But the greater level of negligence is the fact that the responsible parties, in the wake of the university’s greatest community tragedy and worst legal nigthmare, overlooked and downplayed the file’s disappearance.

The memo sent to members of the victimized families states that Dr. Robert Miller could have had Cho’s file as early as December 2005. One question is how the university can pinpoint the date of the file’s misplacement today when no such mention was made during the immediate investigation.

It is too far to assert that the record’s proper filing would have prevented the shootings. But it is becoming harder to believe that university officials did everything in their power to investigate the causes of violence when this essential piece of evidence was sitting in the residence of one of the top defendants in the initial April 16 lawsuit.

However the university handles this, administrators need to do more than pay lip service to preventing tragedy. Straight answers are needed and soon. The Tech community deserves to feel that its leadership is working for our best interests rather than their struggling PR image.

I welcome debate or discussion on the subject, but I would suggest commenting on this blog and not the CT’s website. Inevitably, all April 16 articles devolve into a stupid debate about gun control in the comments. It’s a shame that people can’t really look at the specific losses and causes, preferring to push an agenda.

Aside from that, all my productivity has been zapped by the fact that I can play with Peirce’s kitten whenever I want. More pictures later this week, but I’ll post one right now.

Manolin

Healthcare Bill – Eat this or pay up

The Botom Line: This supposed healthcare bill that was supposed to lead to socialized healthcare is just the government creating another crappy, bureaucratic provider of swill while taxing those who aren’t content with any of the providers out there.
——

It’s 10:43 at night and I just spent hours discussing the merits of using force against a tyrannical government, perceived or actual, among other things. I’ve also played with the new kitten (pictures forthcoming?)

This afternoon I received a story assignment on the weighty issue of concealed carry permit reciprocity, a.k.a. should states honor other states’ standards for concealed carriers when it comes to non-residents and ignore their own? Knowing I’d get no response, I decided to leave messages with Mark Warner, Jim Webb, and the sponsor of the bill, South Dakotan senator John Thune.

I also helped moderate a game of Bingo for high school journalism students current attending J-Camp at Virginia Tech.

But what I wanted to blog about all day, with Michael Steele and Obama going at it in the national media over this issue, is healthcare.

Prepare to enter the ****storm.
—–

The way I understand it there are two things going on here. One is the familiar debate of who should we trust to provide healthcare. The private, profit-seeking system? Or a public option with all the flaws and benefits of a tax-supported bureaucracy? The second thing that is happening is the actual legislation that is on the table. And I don’t really hear much about that from the mainstream media. So…let’s look into that.

What seems to be the problem?…Can you fill that out in triplicate?

Here is the bill that is currently going through the House of Represenatatives on OpenCongress.

Here’s some of what’s in it:

• The bill seems to allow existing coverage to stand so long as: a) people don’t enroll in this type of coverage after the bill was passed, b) the insurer doesn’t change the conditions, and c) insurer doesn’t target a specific group for premium increases
• It gives companies a “grace period,” looks like 5 years to pick plans that meet the standards.
• The bill outright says a “qualified health plan” (managed care program from a self-insured employer) may not impose pre-existing conidtions. It also limits the variance of premium rates (a.k.a. makes it harder to jack them up).
• Minimum services to be covered under qualified health plan: hospitalization, outpatient care, physician services, prescription drugs, rehabilitative and habilitative services, mental health and substance use disorder services, preventive services, maternity care, well baby, well child care, oral health, vision, hearing services to “children” under 21 years of age.
• Creation of a Health Benefits Advisory Committee and a Health Choices Administrator run by a Health Choices commisioner to enforce the above regulations as well as state regulations
• Has a subtitle for consumer protections in quality health benefits plans including fair marketing practices, grievance and appeals mechanisms, information transparency, timely payment of claims.
• Sets up a “health insurance exchange” to facilitate acceess to a variety of choices, including the public health option.
• There is currently a public option listed in the bill a.k.a. government-sponsored healthcare. It is only available through the Health Insurance Exchange (does this mean you need existing insurance before you can get it?) and must comply with the same standards as the other Exchange plans. It can offer basic, enhancd, premium and premium-plus plans (it sounds like they’re selling you a credit card).
• The Secretary of Health and Human Services sets the premiums and the bill calls for initial funding of $2 billion (which is paid back by the department of HHS). The premiums will be set at Medicare rates (I didn’t realize you paid premiums for Medicare?)
• If you make less than $43,000/yr as an individual or $88,000/yr for a family of four, the government will subsidize your premiums for the public option. Though, I think you have to get Medicaid if you’re eligible for it.
• Some reforms start in 2010, but it seems most of it doesn’t go into effect into 2013 (conveniently timed, no?)
• If you don’t have coverage (and you are deemed by the IRS as someone who can afford it), you pay a tax of 2.5% your adjusted gross income without exceeding the national premium. Sort of like the uninsured motorist fee, I suppose, except now we’re not just trying to charge you for potentially stiffing me on car repairs. We’re trying to charge you for not taking care of yourself. Shame on you, taxpayer. Shame on you. Get healthcare. *rolls eyes*

While I have no sympathy for the douchebag with the scarf paying 50% taxes, I feel sad that the cute chick on the bottom has to pay a “no health care tax” (also, that her birth control isn’t covered).

• Emloyers are obliged to provide healthcare or provide funds for healthcare, but small business get a tax credit that exempts them from this.
• The rich will pay this in healthcare taxes: 1% gross adjusted income for people making between $350K and $500K. 1.5% for those making between $500K and $1 million. And 5.4% from those making $1 million or more.
• The program expands Medicaid eligibility levels and supposedly improves Medicare and Medicaid (wow! how can it get any better??)
• Undocumented aliens receive no coverage.

So….that’s the big fixing of U.S. healthcare? This…

This sucks.

Someone somewhere (maybe some hobo on the street) led me to believe that voting for Obama meant someday I could look forward to breaking my groin bone and rolling into any hospital, waiting in excruciating pain for hours, getting treated like shit by a state-paid doctor and then leaving with a bandage on my groin without having paid a cent. I would prefer that to this.

While it doesn’t sound like the bill is particularly kind to health insurers, it doesn’t seem to provide any sort of strong competition that would make them really buck up. I support all the rules about not denying customers based on pre-existings and providing a minimum of things to cover, but…why does my public option look suspiciously like standard health insurance? Where is my magical, mediocore but free care that I need to have to go back to a doctor and let him feel my balls? Where is that?

Premiums? What? Why not just tax me? Isn’t that how the government is supposed to make money?

YOU’RE DEMOCRATS. TAX ME. TAX ME!! And tax those damn suburbanites too, not just those making over $350,000. But don’t offer me more damn premium insurance plans with varying degrees of ball-busting. Give me a nation of free clinics. Do it! Do it!

The reason I’m out of the capacity for reasoned argument is because it’s 3 in the morning. I just spend hours looking at that damn bill and it’s stupid. It doesn’t do enough and I’m not sure if it even provides tangible benefits. Though it does say that if I’m still not satisfied with any insurer that I get to pay a fee.

Fuck you, government. Seriously, eat a dick. That’s all I can say at this hour.

Oh, but here’s a guy who liked it. I’m jealous. I wish I could be content with a sack of poop wrapped in an elephant’s foreskin.

Picture unrelated?

What do you think?

Is this an improvement to the current healthcare system? Will we ever see the day when you can walk into a hospital and never get charged for it?

My Break-Up with Burger King

I’ll preface by saying that I don’t truly believe I had any vested right in the parking space. But I did think I was doing them a service by hiding their grease bucket. Regardless, the general frustration I released by writing this letter (and hopefully giving it to them tomorrow) was a catharsis for the incoveniences and annoyances imposed on us by our civil institutions. The fact that public transportation is less convenient than risking getting towed and breathing in lard carcinogens every morning frustrates me. The fact that Virginia Tech insists that every piece of road on campus is ticketable seems excessive.

I was walking back from work after writing my last post and I finally saw her.

The manager of the Turner St. Burger King jotting down my car’s license plate number and looking around for the perpetrator. It was divine timing. As I wrote in my letter to BKMGMT, she caught my eye, but, feeling a little cowardly and fretful at having been caught, I didn’t confront her.

I stalled for a few minutes, then ran to my car and peeled back to my apartment. I ripped this sign off the window (transcribed exactly):

ATTENTION FINAL WARNING!!

THIS PARKING LOT IS FOR BK CUSTOMERS & EMPLOYEES ONLY!

YOUR VEHICLE MAKE, MODEL & TAG NUMBER HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED.

THE NEXT TIME YOU PARK AS A NON-BK CUSTOMER YOUR VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED AT OWNERS EXPENSE!!

THANK YOU
BURGER KING MANAGEMENT

Of course, of course, they’re perfectly right. But I couldn’t resist having the final say.

The following is my three-page response to the Burger King management that wised up to my parasitic parking predilections.

It looks kind of like this, but more indifferent to your crappy life.

Dear BURGER KING MANAGEMENT,

I would like to express my disappointment at the dissolution of our short-lived and mutually beneficial relationship.

I am a student at Virginia Tech taking courses in the communication department, located on Virginia Tech’s campus in Shanks Hall, a building perhaps 50 yards away from your store (this is, of course, a poor estimate, I was never good with measurements). As the letter I received on the windshield on my car stated, you have noticed that, this being my first summer in Blacksburg and the first time I have had use of a vehicle in college, I had chosen your fine parking lot as the launching point to my academic day. Daily, I would get up, realize I had no time to shower and catch a bus, get in my car and dutifully drive to my designated parking space which was behind your store and next to what can only be described as a four-foot tall grease bucket.

The walk to my class was five minutes.

Yes, I had noticed the sign that said “PARKING FOR BUGER KING CUSTOMERS ONLY. 24 HOUR TOWING ENFORCED.” And believe me when I say that I weighed the moral implications of your sign very heavily. However, your sign never said that I had to be a customer the same day I was using your parking lot. And I have, in fact, been a patron at Burger King before. Not only have I bought food there, but I have defended it against people who spit upon its very name.

The Double Whopper happens to be one of my favorite burgers. Sure, often times it’s singed, squashed, dropped, smushed, and has suffered other unappetizing fates, but there was just something special about it, you know? It really was one of the staples of my childhood diet.

Unfortunately, my consumption of Double Whoppers contributed to a condition that I believe is scientifically referred to as “XY Mammary Expansion” or “man boobs” in layman’s terms. It may also have been a factor in the malignancy of my love handles, gut, and acne in my teenage years. The psychological impact of my physical deformities on my high school career are certainly none of your concern, but I just wanted to explain why I haven’t touched a Burger King Whopper during the time period that you have been graciously providing me with parking.

I do estimate that I’ve given Burger King about $300 in my lifetime and I figured that this would grant me some sort of parking service.

Naturally, I accept fault for not leaving you a note explaining my financial claim to your property.  However, instead, I saw an opportunity that would help everyone involved. You see, I needed a parking space. And you needed to make sure no one would park next to that rusting pile of scrap metal coated in hardened fat and gristle.

It's like this, but imagine your food being dipped in it.

I mean, have you considered the ramifications on a customer’s appetite? I could have the world’s largest craving for a Burker King Whopper, take one look at that abomination of grease and never look at a Burger King ad again. So when I came across this lard-dribbling monstrosity I remembered my childhood Burger King memories fondly and decided to help you out. So long as my car was parked next to your grease dumpster in the mornings, a time when customer’s fast-food appetites are most fickle, no one else would get close enough to see the pattern of oil that spells out CORONARY on the side of your dumpster. I would shield your patrons from your nastiness and you would provide me with the convenience of getting up fifteen minutes before my class.

Now that you have sadly failed to see the value of our relationship, I am left with few options.

This would not at all have come to pass if Virginia Tech Parking Services were slightly less zealous about collecting revenue for parking tickets year-round. There would not have been a problem at all if Virginia Tech committed itself to finding a solution to the fact that there are five times as many cars prowling around campus as there are parking spaces. You know, besides hitting them with $35 tickets the minute their meters run out.

Oh, I know, I know, that the Blacksburg Transit picks up a mere five minutes from my apartment. I consider myself a great advocate of the public transit system. Certainly, this world would be a better place if we could just swallow our pride, shove our car keys in our pockets and step on a bus. I tried this system for several weeks before coming across our parking lot.

The main issue was a feeling that I was unimportant to the Blacksburg Transit system. After the second time that the bus failed to show for its scheduled pick-up, I began to have my doubts, which culminated with being left behind by a bus that came too early.

Have you ever walked toward a bus stop and been seconds away from the sign when the bus suddenly appears from behind you and passes you without so much as a glance (figuratively, of course; buses can’t glance at people). Do you know how frustrating that is? Also, why only pick up every half hour? It takes me precisely half an hour to decide I don’t want to go to school, so increasing my wait time does nothing to facilitate my mode of transportation. I think if the BT picked up every fifteen minutes, even in the summer, I would be much more enthused about getting in a packed box and clinging to a pole next to some guy with sweaty armpits listening to Nirvana loudly.

And so, facing hostility from my own university and indifference from the institution I wanted to see succeed, I turned to you, BURGER KING MANAGEMENT. You were my only friend in a world of callousness and greed.

And you turned me away.

Why have you forsaken me???

I understand that you’re only doing your job. I understand that you can’t give a parking space to every Tom, Dick, and Jane who is too lazy to get up before 8:50 a.m. and get to the bus stop at a twenty-minute window during which the bus may or may not come. I guess I had just hoped that you would have left me a nicer sign or perhaps an invitation to come in and discuss my plight over soft drinks. I would have left if you’d asked me nicely and I would have told everyone how the Burger King on Turner Street was the only fast food establishment to support in Blacksburg.

When I saw you glare at me suspiciously as you walked away from jotting down my car’s information, I wanted to say something to help clear things up. But I got the distinct impression that nothing I could say would help. And so, I walked in, pretended to look in the menu, and bolted as soon as you passed by.

But I did want to say thank you for giving me a first and final warning. I suppose it was completely in your rights to cost me a lot of money by towing my car the very moment you got sick of seeing it (I think it’s a very pretty car, myself). So, again, you have my gratitude. And I do hope someone decides to obscure that overflowing, nauseating, eyesore of a liability claim you call a waste receptacle. If you’re lucky, it will soon develop consciousness and stalk away terrorizing the nearby McDonald’s of its own accord.

I hope you have a good day,

The Owner of the Blue Hyundai Accent and (Former) Turner St Burger King Patron

I think I’ll send a copy to Parking Services and Blacksburg Transit.

I’m going to use my video camera to take pictures of the grease dumpster and the new KITTY that Peirce got and is currently prowling around our apartment.

Special weekend update. Signing off.

Virginia Tech Blind Driver Challenge

Hey, everyone, what’s up?

Not very many Fotos on the interwebs for Foto Friday, but I did find some Science.

You know, it really amazes me how many people are out there trying to solve the energy crisis.

Well, no, that part’s not as amazing as the fact that our society doesn’t reward them with a fraction of what the people who contributed to the recession are making in profits and bonuses.

But I digress. Designer Chiyi Chen has designed a Hybrid bike with a “regenerative braking system” which stores the energy it makes while you drive and would feed it back into the power grid when you’re done with it.

Green design is sexy.

You find your usual mixture of awe and cynicism in the comments section. I find one of the drawbacks to internet communities is that every idea, indiscriminately, gets shot down. Nothing ever works how it should. No problem can ever be truly fixed.

I am all for realism, logic, and skepticism. But, Internet commentators…you’re no longer arguing logic or sense. Your worldview accomplishes nothing but keeping us in the shitter.

This idea may not be the most practical thing we could have. But it’s an idea and more people should listen to it. Hell, I’d learn how to ride a bike if it produced energy for the city (and got me on the bus for free).

But enough about me and my lack of a real childhood, let’s talk about blind drivers.

My friend Snuggle is part of the Virginia Tech Blind Driver Challenge which is finally getting some press.

"Wesley Majerus, an access technology specialist with the National Federation of the Blind's Jernigan Institute, finishes driving the Virginia Tech Blind Driver Challenge vehicle around a roped-off driving course on a campus parking lot. The experience, he said, was liberating." Credit: Steven Mackay

Blacksburg, Va. — A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is providing the blind with an opportunity many never thought possible: The opportunity to drive.

A retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy developed by the Blind Driver Challenge team (http://www.me.vt.edu/blinddriver/) from Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory uses laser range finders, an instant voice command interface and a host of other innovative, cutting-edge technology to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake, and accelerate. Although in the early testing stage, the National Federation of the Blind — which spurred the project — considers the vehicle a major breakthrough for independent living of the visually impaired.

“It was great!” said Wes Majerus, of Baltimore, the first blind person to drive the buggy on a closed course at the Virginia Tech campus this summer. Majerus is an access technology specialist with the National Federation of the Blind’s Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, a research and training institute dedicated to developing technologies and services to help the blind achieve independence…

Sitting inside the vehicle, a blind driver can turn the steering wheel, stop and accelerate by following data from a computing unit that uses sensory information from the laser range finder serving as the ‘eyes’ of the driver, in addition to a combination of voice commands and a vibrating vest as guides. A member of the Virginia Tech student team sat next to Majerus in the passenger seat to monitor the system’s software operations.

Snuggle’s in Chile right now teaching English to high school students, but I hope she knows how successful the project is becoming.

She’s also a fan of Dr. Horrible, so I hope she knows that it’s getting nominated for an Emmy. Its category? Outstanding Special Class – Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs.

Best work on your evil laugh, Dr. Horrible.

Here’s a clip to celebrate.

Finally, I was talking to my friend Lilypenny and she said she and a friend agree it’s difficult to read my blog. Something about light text on a dark background. But I love this theme. Readers, what do you think? Please take the poll below and if you have any suggestions for a more legible theme to use, please include it in the comments.

Alright, I’ve been in the office far too long. It’s going to be a fun weekend, but I’ll try to visit the blogosphere tomorrow. Fair warning, I might be a bit tad incoherent.

Here’s one piece of photo spam for Foto Friday.

Quote of the Day

“Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.” – G.K. Chesterton

Half-Blood Prince takes liberties that pay off

The Good: Great attention to details of Hogwarts, solid acting from the main characters, Horace Slughorn, several scenes for fans and audience to enjoy, spot-on portrayal of high school romance and hormones, intriguing plot, emotional resonance, excellent soundtrack by Nicholas Hooper

The Bad: Pacing issues robs the ending of necessary details, lacks one of the key scenes from the novel, runs a little long at 2 and a half hours

What the book fans say: OMG, I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY CUT OUT “X” SCENE! WHERE IS PENSIEIVE FLASHBACK “Y?!?!”

Are they right? Typical fanboy/fangirl stubbornness. The movie includes several scenes that flesh out Hogwarts and the characters well and should be considered boons to the fans. The movie would have suffered if it relied on Rowling’s pensieve device to exhaustively explore Voldemort’s past.

The Bottom Line: This is the best Harry Potter movie yet and can be enjoyed by anyone who’s seen the first five movies or only has a cursory knowledge of the book series. Fans can also love the movie, so long as they allow the filmmakers some leniency in the adaptation.

—–

I had heard bad things.

While not the type to dress up as a character and line up for a midnight showing (if I had been anyone, I would have been Lupin), the Harry Potter franchise is one I consider important to our culture. The books, despite misteps at the end of the series, were well-crafted stories of heroism, tolerance, and free thinking. Of course, more importantly to America, they were a lot of fun. Some on the Internet grumble about the movies being nothing more than a lifeless cash-in on the franchise, but I disagree. I felt the movies were, for the most part, steadily improving and embracing the more complex themes of the later books. Cinematically, they have brought cutting-edge special effects to the screen and, on occasion, have used talented strokes in cinematography and directing to produce a distinct feel, separate from the books.

So, given my regard for the last movie, Order of the Phoenix, I was initially confident that Half-Blood Prince would top it. After filming some fans for work, I skipped on the midnight premiere, but watched my friends’ reactions on Facebook about the movie — and they weren’t that positive. The negative buzz built up over the day about pacing problems, a boring first two acts, and awful evisceration of the source material. But I had already pre-ordered my ticket for Wednesday night, so I walked in expecting to see a misstep in the film series. I also hadn’t read the book since before the release of the last one, so I wouldn’t make unfair comparisons to Rowling’s writing.

By the middle of the movie, I was very glad that my friends were wrong. This is the best Harry Potter film of the series and a worthy addition to any film library, Harry Potter or otherwise. This movie delivers the most original stylistic approach to a Harry Potter story and does justice to the intriguing plot of the sixth book without falling into the source material’s somewhat redundant narrative frame.

"Professor, perhaps I could learn more about Voldemort by...you know...confronting him?"

Plot

It is Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts. The 16-year-old (played by Daniel Radcliffe), renowned in the wizard world that exists in the shadows of our own, is trying to take his mind off the pressure of being the one prophecized to battle the dark wizard Voldemort, whose return has brought an increase of attacks and terrorism in both the wizard and the Muggle worlds. Unfortunately for Harry’s normal teenage instincts, Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, is beginning to give Harry more responsibilities as the final confrontation moves nearer. Luckily, Dumbledore continues to encourage Harry’s friendships with Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), whose continued support are essential to his destiny. And fortunately for his teenage instincts, Harry is never far from Ron’s sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), who has grown into quite the firebrand.

Harry’s main mission is to find out a key element to Voldemort’s past that could destroy him. To do this, he has to befriend new Potions master Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) who knew Voldemort as a student. Slughorn, who has a natural attraction to young people with potential for power, is initially delighted to get close to Harry, but begins to suspect his motives as his questions about Voldemort grow. While Harry persists, his rival Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) struggles with a dangerous task mandated by Voldemort himself and which could spell the ruin of Hogwarts. Malfoy expects Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) to have his back, though Dumbledore continues to trust Snape unwaveringly and  despite Harry’s misgivings.

Acting

Each returning actor gives a solid performance. Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson aren’t going to win any Academy Awards, but that’s fine, because most teenagers wouldn’t either and they do manage to portray the increasingly hormonal relationships very well. The friendship between Hermione and Harry is exceptionally portrayed by Watson and Radcliffe. As for Grint, he still lacks Ron’s charm as portrayed in the books, but he does manage to be less offensively oafish than he has been. Gambon is a sturdy and formidable Dumbledore, though he conveys the Headmaster’s ailing health subtlely.

The standout performance goes to Jim Broadbent who plays Horace Slughorn. In the book, Slughorn is an unsympathetic and somewhat repulsive character. Broadbent’s Slughorn comes across as meeker and it works. The Harry Potter universe is full of vile characters who we love to hate, but after last movie’s successfully atrocious Dolores Umbridge, it’s a relief to get to know Horace as a humble character. He’s simultaneously good comic relief and capable of top-notch dramatic speeches. My favorite such moment was his conversation with Harry in Hagrid’s hut.

Though it would have been hilarious to see Wilford Brimley in a Harry Potter movie.

As for Hagrid, McGonagall and various other supporting characters, their roles really have been condensed to “supporting.” Remus Lupin, Tonks, the core Weasley family, Neville Longbottom, and familiar faces like Seamus Finnigan all pop up. Their smaler roles are to be expected, as the movie runs fairly long. I don’t regret them cutting out scenes, but it would be interesting to see what roles they had to play in an extended edition.  Of the supporting cast, Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) is the best comic relief and is evolving into one of my favorite characters in the film series.

For the baddies, Helena Bonham Carter does an adequately venemous job returning  as Bellatrix Lestrange. Werewolf Fenrir Greyback (Dave Legeno) is introduced in this film, but he has little to do besides snarl and have a hairy chest.

Finally, Alan Rickman gives his best performance as Snape. Wheras Snape usually comes off as an unforgiveable dick in the books, Rickman adds complexity to Snape’s emotions that keep fans unfamiliar to the book series guessing at his loyalties until the end.

Babewatch

It’s not entirely appropriate someone my age to drool over characters that are 15 and 16 (even if their actresses are legal), but teenage boys dragged to the movie by their girlfriends will appreciate Emma Watson more than ever, particularly in the Slug Club Christmas party scene. And Bonnie Wright is not only adorable, but attractively mysterious. Her subtle scenes with Harry are actually better executed than the sudden progression of their relationship in the book.

I swear she looks older in the movie...officer.

Also, the cute waitress Harry hits on in the beginning? …DAYMN!

Cinematography and Pacing

This is one of the most entertaining Harry Potter movies to take in, visually. While the colors are saturated to convey the impending darkness, it’s not  as annoyingly gray and lifeless as Azkaban’s saturation. There are several little shots on faces and set piecees that bring out character in both the people and Hogwarts itself. The special effects seem like a natural integration rather than a garish display of a bloated CGI budget. The climactic scene in the dark cave is very impressive and the zombie-like Inferi were appropriately frightening.

Though the attention to certain details highlights unique moments that make Half-Blood Prince stand apart, the camera’s lingering does come across as kind of awkward sometimes. The whole effect is a feeling of imperfect pacing, which would have made the movie pretty terrible if the individual scenes weren’t so well-crafted. I expected the 2.5 hour running time to be a result of over-indulgence on screenwriter Steve Kloves’ part, but I was actually really happy with the scenes they decided to include. Not every scene may have been essential to the core plot, but, as with the cinematography, it really helped round out the movie into an original and fun experience.

Quidditch fans will be happy to see a couple of matches that show off Ron’s ability as a Keeper. Quidditch has always been one of the more interesting things to see on screen and I was disappointed that it was cut from Order of the Phoenix, but the scenes in this movie make up for it.

I'm not actually entirely sure if that's his Qudditch uniform or his seizure helmet.

However, Half-Blood Prince does majorly drop the ball with how they handled the ending.

***SPOILERS***

Cutting out the Battle of the Astronomy Tower robbed the story of the little action it had in the first place. It also kept the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army from having any cool scenes in the movie’s climax. I’ve heard the argument that this would have only detracted from the battles in the Deathly Hallows movies, but I call Bull. No battle is fought the same way.

Also, it makes the Death Eaters’ plot make no sense. “Hey, guys, let’s finally find a way past Dumbledore’s defenses, kill the guy, and then break his dining room. Voldemort always hated that dining room.”

But, okay, if David Yates and Steve Kloves insist that they’re saving up their battling for the next two movies, there had better be a huge, forty-five minute long final Battle of Hogwarts at the end or there’ll be hell to pay.

****END SPOILERS****

Music

Nicholas Hooper returns from the fifth movie to compose this installment. He did really good work in the last movie and improves upon his own work in Half-Blood Prince. He develops thoughtful themes for the romantic tensions among Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry, transforming a potentially silly scene with Lavendar Brown into a poignant reminder of high school love. He also sprinkles in some lighthearted themes to highlight the comedy brimming in Hogwarts. Some of the best dramatic music of the series is used in the scene leading up to the cave with the Inferi.

One of my favorite parts of the music was actually the use of a theme from the last movie, “Fireworks” which is still used for George and Fred Weasley scenes. Hooper seems to really enjoys the Weasleys, as he gives them a theme for their new joke shop and titles the ending suite on the soundtrack, “The Weasley Stomp.”

Fred and George Weasley will be starring in a sequel to Stomp the Yard next year.

I’ve listened to the entire soundtrack and recommend it enthusiastically to anyone who likes film scores. Listen to it on Lala.
—-
To sum it up, Half-Blood Prince is not only a great movie in the series, it’s a great movie on its own rights. Fans unfamiliar to the series will admittedly be confused at some point of the film, but on the whole, there is a methodical approach to the film that displays a real care for the characters, their feelings, and their relationships with each other. Most of the film is about growing up while still in school, which is essentially what drew in fans in the first place.

The film’s major misstep is its missed potential in the ending. Even so, it’s not fair to judge a movie mainly on its comparison to the superior medium of literature. So changes made to the ending don’t really detract from it as a movie, however the pacing of the movie could have been tightened to allow for more time to the movie’s ending, which did feel oddly fast-paced compared to the rest of the movie.

I’m glad the movies have been continuously improving and I’m actually pretty excited for the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that will come out in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The movie’s characters have earned my admiration separate from the nostalgic love I have for the book’s and I look forward to seeing the culmination of several years of movie magic.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince gets NINE out of TEN Pensieves.