Claire's blog

NBC Has No More ‘Pride’ (imdb.com)

””During a week of low TV viewing, NBC has decided to blow off three unaired episodes of its animated flop Father of the Pride tonight (Tuesday). (All other network shows airing tonight are reruns.)

“The network is hoping to lull you into suspended animation,” the Boston Globe quipped.

Commented the New York Daily News: “Clearly, the network is looking forward to the day when it has no Pride left. Memo to NBC: With a schedule that includes this show and the likes of TheBiggest Loser, you’re already there.”””

Typical NBC SUCKAGE!

They killed God The Devil & Bob [which finished in Europe, I downloaded the remaining episodes 2 years later when they finally turned up, then only later did they finally release it on DVD.  Idiots.].

They killed Stressed Eric [which went up to episode #18 in Europe, but never made it past episode #4 in america.].

Now they’ve killed Father Of The Pride.

They just wont keep an animated show on long enough.
They don’t understand that cartoons take longer to catch on.
Fuck them!
And fuck SpikeTV for doing the same thing with a WHOLE FUCKING LINEUP of
great cartoons that rivaled adultswim.

Looks like Cartoon Network is the only safe haven for cartoon shows.

Fox’s saturday morning lineup of 1995 is shitty in comparison today.  Most other networks don’t have cartoons anymore. EVERY  network-primetime-cartoon has been killed prematurely — except King Of The Hill and Simpsons (And this from the network that killed Futurama and Family Guy).

If all you adult cartoon watchers out there weren’t so incredibly fickle and picky, we’d have more to choose from.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/

I also used http://www.junkbusters.com in the past to eliminate most of my direct marketing postal junk mail. (But the best solution was to not answer mail for 3 months. The companies think you died and stop sending you junk.)

i would love to not install 90% of the “features” winXP comes with:
i.e. IE (i don’t want a damn integrated browser!), windows media player, and tons of other crap.

I still don’t understand why an integrated browser should or could ever be considered a bad thing.

Doesn’t unix come with Lynx? Ohh noo!!! Same thing, right? If not, explain why.

Is IE bad simply because it does a better job than Lynx?
Both unix and microsoft are OSes that have browsers out of the box.  One is better (IE). Both are conceptually the same thing, a way to do  what people want to do when they get their computer. Once upon a time I was content with Lynx and it had most of the “browser market share”.

Or is IE bad because microsoft is an evil empire with evil practices?  So I guess IE would be okay if it came with Unix/Linux then? My point being: Business practices have zero to do with functionality.  If you don’t agree with their business practices, don’t do business with them.  I don’t give Microsoft money.

Here is an undeniable fact: People buy computers to do stuff. People don’t want to build things from the ground up. People want stuff that works. Each year, computers do more than they did the last, and this trend should continue unabated.

Furthermore, surfing the web is the ONLY reason many people have a computer. How can someone buying their first computer GET to the web if they don’t have a browser? How do they download that critical security update? (And don’t say Unix/Linux never has security updates.)

I downloaded my first windows web browser (Netscape 2.x or 3.x) with Lynx, a web browser that is, oh no!, **integrated into unix**.  I could not have done so without an integrated browser (Lynx), and sure as hell would not have compiled Lynx myself. I would have waited for something better to come along or found something else to do.

Only the truest zealouts could ever suggest that REMOVING basic functionality from ANY os could ever be viewed as a positive thing.

P.S. Be that as it may, it would be nice to be able to remove IE after the fact, but alternatives exist regardless. You can use Windows and never use IE (assuming you somehow got the firefox installer on your harddrive, which would require getting it somehow, PROBABLY WITH AN INTEGRATED BROWSER ON SOMEONE ELSE’S MACHINE… regardless, burning a cd with an installer file on it is beyond the capability of most n00bs.)

I got a piece of spam today. The subject is:

“Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion.
You have got to set your self on fire for it.”

Words to live by, indeed.

Dear Napster:

Here is why I am cancelling my one month free trial. Let’s review:

1) Tracks claimed to be 12 minutes are really 30 seconds. That means an overpayment by a factor of 24.

2) Paypal partnership encourages customers to use paypal instead of their credit card, thereby removing customer fraud protection becuase paypal does not cover immaterial goods.

3) Your email support is non-support. You waited 10 days to answer me.

4) Your email support is impotent: You simply told me to call on the phone. I had to wait 10+ days for that wonderful email advice.

5) Your phone support was slow. It took me 15 minutes to get my issue resolved. 13 of those minutes were being on hold. The hold music was the worst music I’ve ever heard in my life.

6) I found out I would have been charged monthly if i didn’t cancel my service. I NEVER AGREED TO THAT. I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT. THE ONLY WAY I FOUND THAT OUT IS IN THE HOLD MESSAGE WHEN I CALLED TO COMPLAIN!

I don’t do business with those that charge me without permission.

You are the weakest music provider.

Good-bye.

“Iraqis like to point out that after the 1991 war, Saddam restored the badly destroyed electric grid in only three months. Some six months after Bush declared an end to major hostilities, a much more ambitious and costly American effort has yet to get to that point.”

This quote is from October 2003, but remains true today.

This is a random posting of mine on slashdot, defending the ending of the movie A.I. after seeing people talk about “that stupid alien shit at the end, the movie should have ended sooner”.

(more…)

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence.

From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance,
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency,
from complacency to apathy,
from apathy to dependency,
from dependence back into bondage.”

[Currently I consider america somewhere between complacency, apathy,
and dependency, depending on who you are and, very generally, how old you are.]

This is a good quote I just added to my email signature:

“People who talk about revolution and class struggle
without referring explicitly to everyday life,
without understanding what is subversive about love
and what is positive in the refusal of constraints,
such people have a corpse in their mouth.”
-Raoul Vaneigem, “The Revolution Of Everyday Life”

For more info, go to http://www.wikipedia.com and look up “situationism”.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a4YojZM1phgM&refer=news_index

He told the soldiers at that town-hall style meeting that it was a matter of physics, no expense was being spared on upgrading the armor on their vehicles. Turns out, that statement was "inoperative".

The company who supplies the vehicles says they could upgrade their production run 20% or more per month no problem, just send them the order
to do so…

Lying is absolutly the first instinct with these guys.

———————–

Armor Holdings Could Boost Humvee Armor Output 22%

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Armor Holdings Inc., the sole supplier of protective plates for the Humvee military vehicles used in Iraq, said it could increase output by as much as 22 percent per month with no investment and is awaiting an order from the Army.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday the Army was working as fast as it can and supply is dictated by “a matter of physics, not a matter of money.'' A Pentagon spokeswoman declined comment.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Armor Holdings last month told the Army it could add armor to as many as 550 of the trucks a month, up from 450 vehicles now, Robert Mecredy, president of the company's aerospace and defense group, said in an interview today.

“We're prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles more per month,'' Mecredy said in the telephone interview. “I've told the customer that and I stand ready to do that.''

Insurgent attacks on the vehicles with homemade bombs and rocket-propelled grenades account for as much as half of the more than 1,000 U.S. deaths and 9,000 U.S. wounded in Iraq, and have fueled criticism by members of Congress such as Representative Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, that the Pentagon didn't adequately equip U.S. troops.

Tesia William, a spokeswoman for the Army Materiel Command, which handles the armored Humvee program, had no immediate comment on the status of orders.

"Best Possible Equipment"

President George W. Bush said concerns raised by soldiers in questions to Rumsfeld yesterday in Kuwait are being addressed,'' Bush said in response to a reporter's question. “We expect our troops to have the best possible equipment. If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country I'd want to ask the Secretary of Defense the same question, and that is are we getting the best'' equipment, he said. “They deserve the best.''

U.S. troops preparing for deployment to Iraq told Rumsfeld yesterday in Kuwait that they are salvaging armor from landfills to install “hillbilly armor'' on their Humvees. Rumsfeld replied that “you have to go to war with the Army you have.''

Senator Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, called Rumsfeld's remarks “unacceptable'' in a letter sent to the secretary.

“Our troops go to war with the Army that our nation's leaders provide,'' Dodd wrote. “Our military should spare no expense to ensure the safety of our troops, particularly as they confront a hostile insurgency and roadside bombs throughout Iraq.''

Higher Output

Armor Holdings has already boosted output from 60 vehicles per month a year ago, said Mecredy, 58. As a result of the increased output, Armor Holdings has cut the price for the armor its supplies for the trucks to $58,000 per vehicle, from $72,000 per vehicle a year ago, Mecredy said.

Shares of Armor Holdings rose $1.82, or 4.5 percent in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 12:37 p.m.

When he was asked about current production yesterday, Rumsfeld said he wasn't sure of the exact figure. “It's something like 400 a month are being done,'' he said.

“It's a matter of production and capability of doing it,'' Rumsfeld, 72, said.

Making the armor has to be coordinated with output of the actual trucks by AM General LLC of South Bend, Indiana, Mecredy said. AM General spokesman Lee Woodward also said that truck output could also be increased.

`Not Close to Capacity'

“If they ordered more trucks, we'd build more trucks,'' Woodward said. “We're not close to capacity. It might take some time to ramp up but we can do it.''

Woodward declined to provide exact details on production capacity.

The main reason there isn't enough armor is because the military has underestimated its own needs, said Meghan Keck, spokeswoman for Senator Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat. Bayh wrote a letter to Rumsfeld in October calling for a more accurate estimate of Humvee needs.

“If the Army would be up front about the number of Humvees needed, the companies would be able to set their production accordingly to meet the need,'' Keck said in a phone interview. At Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Capt. George Petropoulos came up with a design for armor cut from steel plates bought locally or imported and welded on to Humvees.

“If an improvised explosive device hits the armored Humvee, it “would destroy the vehicle but save a life,'' said Petropoulos, a 32-year-old reservist from Milwaukee, who commands the 172 Transportation Co., in an interview at Navistar, a staging area for convoys to Iraq.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edmond Lococo in Boston at elococo@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rob Urban at
robprag@bloomberg.net.

Special thanks to David Milstein for forwarding me the article.

Plus, you get to vote for all the other categories too!

http://www.pcavote.com/voting/film/f01.shtml

—–

Fahrenheit 911 has been nominated for a People’s Choice award, but Bill O’Reilly [who I don’t actually mind when he agrees with me -Clint] and others have already got their big guns out trying to say anything to spin their “war of ideas” their way.

Here’s our chance to show our support as Americans — not liberals, not blue or red staters, not “morally corrupt” Saddam apologists, but as Americans — for this great film. See Michael Moore’s letter below for how to vote for the People’s Choice.

December 8, 2004
Dear Friends,

May I take a break from our post-election despair to share with you a little
piece of happy/silly/cool news?

“Fahrenheit 9/11” has been nominated by the People’s Choice Awards as the American public’s “Favorite Film of the Year.” The five nominees were chosen from a poll of thousands of Americans in mid-to-late November. The other nominees for best film are “Spiderman 2,” “The Incredibles,” “Eternal Sunshine
of the Spotless Mind” (with Jim Carrey), and “Shrek 2.” It is the first time ever a documentary has been nominated for best film by the People’s Choice
Awards.

The People’s Choice Awards are considered, among all the awards shows, to be the one which most accurately reflects the “mainstream” public opinion in the United States.

OK, now, here’s the best part: YOU get to vote! Online. Now. Just go to http://www.pcavote.com/voting/film/f01.shtml, click on the little circle next to “Fahrenheit 9/11” in the “Favorite Movie” category and press the “vote” button.
Voting is going on now and continues only through this coming Monday, December 13, at 3:00pm ET, so send an e-mail to your friends and let them know they can vote, too. Winners will accept their awards live on CBS on January 9.

Now, normally I wouldn’t make a very big deal out of something like this. It’s nice and I’m honored, but it’s not exactly the number one priority on any of our minds these days. In fact, when we found out we were nominated over a week ago, I didn’t even think to tell you about it or put it up on our website.

But then a group of top Republicans took out a full page ad in USA Today (and
placed a similar one in the Hollywood trade magazine, Variety) proclaiming that “An election is over, but a war of ideas continues.” The point of the ad was to say that while they, as right wing conservatives, were proud of getting rid of Kerry, there was still one more nuisance running around loose they had to deal
with — me! They also issued a not-so-subtle threat to the Academy Awards voters that, in essence, said don’t even THINK about nominating “Fahrenheit 9/11” for Best Picture. And Bill O’Reilly recently bellowed that if the Oscars recognize my work this year, Middle America will boycott Hollywood.

Oops. I guess he spoke too soon. Because now along comes Middle America’s favorite awards show, the People’s Choice, and the People’s Choice this year, along with a Spiderman superhero and a lovable green ogre, is a film that apparently continues to resonate throughout the country. The truth about  Iraq, Bush, terror and fear. The election has not altered or made irrelevant,
unfortunately, a single one of these issues. That they (and the film that dealt with these issues) are still at the forefront of the majority of the public’s minds should give serious pause to Mr. Bush as he brags about a nonexistent “mandate” and begins to spend his “political capital.”

He may have been (barely) the people’s choice on November 2 (Ohio recount
excluded), but now the people get to vote again, this time for a movie. It’s about the best we can do right now, and, trust me, it won’t be long before we start the real work we need to do to get our country back.  Again, go to http://www.pcavote.com/voting/film/f01.shtml if you want to vote for our film. I promise, if we win, to give a nice and polite speech.

Yours,

Michael Moore http://www.michaelmoore.com mmflint@aol.com

P.S. Please feel free to post or forward this to your friends…
P.P.S. Yes, it’s true, I’m on the Barbara Walters people of the year special
tonight. Did I cry? You’ll have to watch to find out! :-)

Indecency Complaints Come from One Group, Says Report

The startling rise in indecency complaints — from fewer than 350 in 2000and 2001 to 14,000 in 2002 to 240,000 in 2003 — was attributed Sunday toa single activist group, the Parents Television Council, part of L. BrentBozell’s conservative Media Research Center. Mediaweek reported that an FCC analysis of the complaints dated Oct. 1, 2004 found that 99.9 percentof all indecency complaints had been brought by the PTC. The tradepublication’s report came only two days after FCC Chairman Michael Powellwrote in a New York Times Op-Ed article: “Advocacy groups do generate manycomplaints, as our critics note, but that’s not unusual in today’sInternet world…that fact does not minimize the merits of the groups’concerns.” But Jonathan Rintels, head of the Center for Creative Voices inMedia, an artists’ advocacy group, told Mediaweek that its report demonstrates how “a tiny minority with a very focused political agenda istrying to censor American television and radio.”

No surprise here: America is full of fascists and mini-Hitlers.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/03/1439218&tid=126

What we did there was far, far worse than Sept 11th, and America got away with it.

Just testing this photo-blogging program. nothing to see here.

The controversies surrounding the 2000 and 2004 election have revealed that our electoral system is broken. Far too many people are still voting on outdated machines. Far too many voters cast their ballots on touch-screen machines that have no paper trail.

In the recent presidential election, too many voters–mostly the poor and people of color–stood in lines that were hours long. And too many citizens remain cynical about the basic mechanics of our democracy, the result of partisan administration of the elections.

Sign the Voters Bill of Rights petition and tell America you are ready for
voting reform:

http://www.globalexchange.org/getInvolved/petition_voter_bill_of_rights.php

Here’s another post I read on http://www.Slashdot.org, which summarizes how I feel quite well (but note that i do vote, usually Libertarian):

Is there even a reason we vote anymore.

In a word, no.

Democracy was a great experiment but now it’s dead.

The vast majority of the pupulation of the US now lives in a house district where the candidate from one party wins overwhelmingly. The party made sure the district got drawn that way.

The vast majority of Americans now live in a state which always votes for the candidate of one party for president.

The vast majority of Americans live in a state who always votes for the senator from one party.

In America anyway (the supposed birthplace of democracy) vast majority of votes don’t really matter.

Finally the politicians have perfected the art of manipulating the masses. They know what buttons to push to get you to vote for them.

For example when the next election cycle comes up the people will completely ignore this case and will instead vote purely on guns, abortion, homosexual marriage, or some other wedge issue. The fact that they are getting fleeced never occurs to them when somebody claims that joe shmoe will take away their guns or end (or begin) abortion.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/29/221636/33

This sums it up so much better than *I* could.

This was a rant I sent my best friend’s mother back in May of 2004. She sent me a chain letter that was very patriotic and made some good points, however, I just didn’t buy it’s message: That America is the best. It used to be. It currently is not.

“Oh please! America has the highest percentage of prisoners of any country in the world, and has only not been the leader in this cateogory during about 5 yeras of the past 20. Over half our prisoners have never committed a violent act against someone else; they are political prisoners. (more…)

That was easy.
Maybe I’ll do this more often.
But I’m going to have to make it bigger because I do everything on my 36inch TV…