Month: May 2007

WARNING: Huge movie ruining Spoilers below. Don’t read unless you want to know.

I think its fair to say that SM3 did not live up to most people’s expectaions. Sure, it made fantastic money, but that is based a lot on the trailers and the success of the first two. I saw it last saturday.

The film was fun, I’ll give it that. It had great effects (save one), good action (most of the time), a good story (poorly executed), and it serves as a “Return Of the Jedi” to the first two films in the trilogy.

That being said. Anybody ever watch Jedi and say “yeah, its good… but…”

Thats how I feel here. Like the erstwhile end of the first Star Wars Trilogy, this film follows a first film marked by its freshness and wonder, and a second film that flawlessly executes all the potential of the first. Like Jedi, SM3 decides it wants to really WOW you, and throws in everything except the kitchen sink. By doing this, like Jedi, there are moments of birlliance that exceed the first two, but moments of painful misstepping that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Problems: 1) Coincidence. In the first two movies, you had scientists near science that made them go bad. Uncanny, yes.. but nearly plausible. In this film, Alien goo just happens to land in an empty park next to Peter’s motorcycle on the same night that a totally non-scientific bank-robber accidentally falls into a particle accelerator. Spider Man coincidentally later goes to a church in NY where Peter Parker’s new worst enemy (who is coincidentally after the same job and girl as Peter, despite having never met Peter) is coincidentally sitting, pretty much by himself, and the goo coincidentally falls on this guy right after he magically sees peter’s face 8 stories up. Its too much. I know its a comic book movie, but it has to make sense withing its own universe.. and it didn’t.

2) Character assassination. By this, I mean, there are characters doing things totally out of character to move along plot. Peter is self-absorbed before the Black suit while talking to MJ, MJ is deceptive about her job status (rehashing SM2 much?), Eddie’s personality shifts from go-getter to stalker to desperate to homicidal to power-hungry… whatever is needed plot-wise in a scene, Harry gets !amnesia!!?, then is retarded and charming, then is willing to hurt MJ (who seems just slightly miffed about it later, not like – “you just threatened me violently), Peter is full of rage and is rude to MJ pre-black suit, but is attempting to be apologetic post-black-suit, Aunt may is reduced to boring speeches, Harry’s butler has been holding back essential information for 5 years that could have stopped Harry’s tailspin until the last moment of this film, Sandman goes from “I don’t want to hurt you” to being convinced after a 2 line conversation with Venom that he wants to kill Spider man (why???), then switches back at the end.. aarrg! It was the character stuff that was done so well in the first two. Disappointing.

3) Good idea, poorly done. Venom. Sucked. Hard. Camp. Shoehorned into the script in the last 30 mins, Venom looks dumb, makes no sense, and could have been awesome (I so wanted to see a battle swinging through the streets). The final battle. Unexciting until harry shows. They actually use News reporting as a plot device. Camp. Spider-Man actually jumps in front of an American Flag. Camp. It was aggravating, becaus eit sin those campy last 30 mins that th emovie runs out of steam. until harry Arrives. And lets not forget the 3 (yes 3) singing solos for Kirsten Dunst. The well-done fun dark Peter saga is started with a random decision to pull his hair down all emo. Oh, and doing the twist (I did like Peter’s dancing, though).

WHY, Sam Raimi? You had it in the palm of your hand, and you dropped it.

THAT being said, I still reccommend the movie. That’s right. If you haven’t seen it. Go in knowing that you’re gonna roll your eyes, and that you’ll be pissed that an A+ saga is ending on a B-. Its still not a C, because those D+ moments above are in a movie with the following pros.

1) The story. It is worth it to see the Peter, MJ, Harry story play out.. and this is done mostly very well. Especially almost every scene with Harry (which is nearly undone by Deus Ex Butler). Harry’s skyline fight and the fight/argument in his apartment are the best in the film and rival the best of anything else in the series. This story ends satisfyingly enough, and Harry’s story (again, except for the butler) is compelling.

2) Dark Peter. It is fun to see the once-nerd get his due, and get some of the respect he deserves. It is equally compelling to see him humorously and then not-so-humorously overdo it. Well done here.

3) Effects. Top notch (except for venom). the Sandman transformation is emotional and jaw-dropping. The swinging is seamless. The camera work is mesmerizing. You do feel a little like you’re flying. Oh, and the Office/Crane thing is a lot of fun.

4) Fights. Peter vs. Harry. Spidey Vs. Sandman in the sewer. Peter vs. Harry in the Apartment. These 3 fights are as good as anything ever put on film. There has never been anything quite like the Harry/Peter fight (save Neo/Smith in Matrix 3) and the Apartment fight is painful and harsh and unbelievably well done.

5) Bruce Campbell as the French Maitre’d. Boomstick.

So, yeah, see it, but know that unless they’re gonna fix the aforementioned problems, you’ll want them to wait a few years before rebooting the franchise again.

I woke up, I got out of bed, and threw a comb across my head. Went to the shower like I usually do, got out, put in my contact lenses, and prepared for another day. Had a great time flying my model airplanes with my neighbor for a couple of hours.

Strangely, though, I had some trouble reading the dials on my car. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I just couldn’t quite focus. Very weird.

Got home, had a great dinner with some friends. Tried to read a book… and had trouble focusing again. So strange. I spoke about the odd focus/double-vision thing with my friends, and we got started chatting long into the night about health problems we’ve had in the past, or those which people we know have had.

Wrapped up the conversation around 11:30PM. Went upstairs, took out contacts. The right one had a strange wrinkle in it and looked thicker than usual. Took out the left one… and noticed there were TWO contacts, side-by-side, stuck together.

Yep. I’d put in a fresh set of contacts on top of my first set. In both eyes.

Life’s like that a lot. You think of all these outlandish explanations for something until you figure out the real explanation is far simpler.

In a recent discussion on another thread, Sammy G asked me the following question:

Matt, I’m wondering if you could reply with which ‘few’ inalienable rights of human beings you think are in the Bill Of Rights. I would also like to know which ‘many’ inalienable rights you feel are the greater domain of rights not listed in the Bill of Rights. I’m curious, because I see the United Nations declaration as legal overkill and out of scope with what I would consider basic human rights.

I’ll start with the three basic rights established by John Locke: “Life, Liberty, and Estate (property)”. Thomas Jefferson revised this, without explanation in his lifetime, to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. The French phrase “liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, fraternity) is comparable, and the Canadian phrase “peace, order and good government” expresses similar sentiments. I’ll combine the basic rights from three Western founding documents:

• Life: You should not have your life and livelihood taken from you.
• Liberty: You should be free to make whatever decisions you will where it does not infringe on the rights of others.
• Property: You should not be deprived of your possessions.
• Equality: You should not have more or fewer rights than any other person.
• Fraternity: You should be free to associate with whom you will, where you will, and how you will.
• Peace: You should not have violence done against you.
• Order: You should have input on, and recourse through, agreed-upon societal rules.
• Good Government: You should have a government which represents the will of the people.

I do not think these rights represent “nature” in any real sense. Nature is brutal, survival is difficult, and rule by the strongest is often the case. Human rights are those we can agree on which we should work to preserve as ethical ideals which lead to amiable cooperation with one another. The US Constitution obviously has some flaws in preserving certain rights. For instance, slaves were considered property, which conflicts with Liberty and Equality. Over time, however, we have made some improvements.

According to the US Constitution, any rights which are not specifically granted to the government by it are reserved to the People or the States (Amendment IX). The Bill of Rights only enumerated rights which were particularly sensitive to the People at the time at which it was passed. These rights are:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

The Bill of Rights does not nearly cover all the rights we, as human beings, expect as a result of the basic rights I enumerated above. One institution which has been responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses is the corporation. Here are just a few examples of what I consider some of the more egregious abuses of power which have deprived us of some human rights here in the USA:

1. Life:
   • The recent innovation of “no knock warrants” have resulted in the taking of life from citizens by police officers recently. We conducted 50,000 of these last year, up from 3,000 just 25 years ago.
   • The rise of H1B and outsourcing have deprived many Americans of their livelihood, not due to inexorable technical progress, but due to bureaucratic loopholes and rampant abuse of the system by corporations focused solely on profits.
   • The death penalty remains a violation of this human right.
   • We have tortured at least 46 detainees to death in our conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
   • Our inability to come up with a reasonable solution with Mexico has resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 people in the past ten years along the US/Mexico border. While I acknowledge many or most of these deaths are a result of attempts to cross the border illegally, that is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.
2. Liberty:
   • The US “war on drugs” is a blight. It deprives people of the right to make choices regarding their own bodies which do not harm anybody else. While we should strictly regulate certain substances which are known to cause widespread harm when used unwisely — like alcohol — forbidding the use of some substances entirely increases the risk of violence and the probability of a user being deprived of liberty. No, I’ve never done any form of drugs in my life (not even alcohol, unless you count a tablespoon taste here and there or NyQuil), so I’m not trying to justify my own behavior here.
   • Direct interference in national sovereignty of other nations by our government (vis: Chile, 1973. Iraq, 2003. Nicaragua, 1980.)
   • Free-speech zones. I’ve talked about this before, and it still makes me angry as one of the most egregious abuses of the First Amendment by corporations (such as the LDS church regarding General Conference protesters) and presidential visits.
   • SLAPP lawsuits
   • We imprison more people than any other nation on the planet, most of them black.
3. Property:
   • Once again, as a result of the so-called War on Drugs, US police departments routinely steal property without a criminal conviction. Luckily, several states have passed laws against the sale of assets without a conviction.
   • It’s become common practice to condemn otherwise habitable residences and businesses — abuse eminent domain — in urban areas in order to appropriate space for well-moneyed corporate real-estate interests. This is a symptom of the uber-citizen status of corporations.
4. Equality:
   • Corporations are uber-citizens.
   • Multinational Corporations are above the law, in that they can, like Halliburton, move their headquarters and operations to areas where they can dodge laws designed to ensure equality.
   • Blacks represent only 13% of the US population, but 65% of the prison population. What possible explanation is there for this fact other than police bias? (Note: Statistics vary by state, some are as low as 12% population with 44% incarceration.)
   • Gay partners are denied common spousal rights. They can be turned away from hospital visits to their partner due to not being “family”. They have no rights regarding property upon the death of their partners. They cannot collect social security benefits for their partners. There are more, but these need to be addressed. I see this as a human rights issue.

There are a lot more items to address in the following categories, but I ran out of time to take care of them all. Perhaps others can fill in the blanks or I can cover them. Suffice to say, yes, a great number of our rights are being unnecessarily abridged.

5. Fraternity:
6. Peace:
7. Order:
8. Good Government:

Sorry that this blog entry is just not complete… I got really depressed after starting to list so many, and kind of gave up.

The Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen, golfers and tourists in general to take extra precautions and keep alert for alligators while in : Alachua, Marion, Lake, Collier, Lee, Seminole, Osceola, Polk, Brevard, Putnam and Orange counties.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their shoes or clothing to alert but not startle the alligators unexpectedly.They also advise the carrying of pepper spray in case of an encounter with an alligator.

It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity. People should learn to recognize the difference between small young alligator and large adult alligator droppings.

Young alligator droppings are smaller and contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers. Adult alligator droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

I arrived at what may seem like an obvious conclusion to you, but made me stop and go “Whoa!” (a la Keanu/Neo):

My problem, and I think one of the majot problems with the Christian religions today is that they are forced to base their whole belief system on a flawed foundation.

Namely, the Bible.

I’m not saying the Bible, which includes slavery, sexism, misogyny, violence, mysticism, repressive sexual mores, and homophobic content, is a bad thing to base a religion on. Really, I’m not 😉

Science has made a lot of the Bible look foolish, and the ideals in a lot of the Bible are extremely out-of-touch with modern life. Some bemoan that fact, but I don’t think we need to re-embrace slavery anytime soon, nor death by stoning. There are parts of the Bible which are extremely apropos to modern life, especially my favorite part, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

Now, all the usual caveats apply, not all Christian religions are the same, not everyone who practices Christianity takes the Bible at face value, etc, etc. By my point is this:

Wouldn’t Christianity be wise to review the 2000 year old document and come up with something that makes a lot more sense for today? No meat on Friday? Sexist roles? And the values about sex drive me crazy, because all that does is use one of the strongest drives and desires we have against us in order to control us.

I would be much more likely to consider a religion which wasn’t 2000 years out of date, but that’s just me.

My $.02 Weed