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Anyone remember Quark, a space garbage scow show from the 70's? :D It's nice to see it's time...

Quark was the first thing I thought of when I saw the heading. Life imitating art.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061027/

I think you've seen The Abyss a few too many times.

The stupidity is this:

You can, could, and still will be able to block cookies in your browser, so whatever web site operators are doing with them, it isn't going to affect your privacy or "trackability".

But, it sounds as if this new law requires the web site operators to show you screen after screen of "permissions" to continue. These permission requests are stupid as EULA dialogs, Vista-like "admin authorisation" dialogs, etc, because they (a) don't offer a meaningful change in values (be it trackability or privacy), and (b) annoy the hell out of users. I won't go into how (c) these crap warnings numb users to real warnings, which they will also mindlessly click through.

I can't decide whether this is Brazil-style bureaucracy galore, or Eastern Standard Tribe-style anti-productivity warfare.

Reminds me of a quote from The Way of the Gun ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202677/ )

Karma is justice without the satisfaction, and I dont believe in justice

Actually The Decalogue is an excellent serie by Krzysztof Kielowski, loosely based on ten commandments and it would be worrt to archive.

Yeah - typical Greek view. He seduced her like she got no say in the matter. More likely she was just tired of being married to some old king who obviously wasn't a very nice person as he was willing to kill his own daughter to please Poseidon. Personally I just attribute the whole affair to Eris, she of the Golden Apple (Hail Eris!) ;)

Anyway, we should enjoy our Greek Myth while we can. Hollywood is about to butcher them yet again.

Unless the future belongs to degenerate savages and murderous rat-men

Not the greatest movie, but this tells about a step in that direction: Idiocracy

Definitely stupid, but believable enough to make you feel uneasy about the next hundred years!

Yes, but if someone tries to create a new Biosphere and call the project "GeoCity", a website about the project will find itself needlessly blocked by filter rules set years ago and were never removed.

Well, it still wouldn't hurt their reputation as badly as if they'd called it Bio-Dome.

I don't need to waste my time making Law Enforcement MORE confused. Instead I lobby to change clauses in various laws till what I am doing is legal. Let the Sargent Stedenko's work with that.

You NEVER lie when you want to pick up men/women?

Do you wear make-up? Your face don't look like that!
Have you fixed your hair? That's not what it looks like in the mornings!
Have you brushed your teeth? That's not what your breath smells like later that night!
Have you used deodorant/perfume? That's not what you smell like!
Are you wearing the same clothes you would wear at any other time? That's not what you look like!
Are you ordering expensive drinks, because you rarely go out? You're not that rich!
Do you keep quiet about her bad habits? You're engaging in subterfuge!

Go see The Invention of Lying to get an idea of just how bad things would be, if we didn't lie.

Generally the 3D technology is only used for "gag" effects in children's and horror movies anyway.

I thought so too, but I had to watch Up in 3D (didn't notice the theater only showed it in 3D until it was too late) and came away pretty impressed. No "gag" effect that I can remember. Instead I had the impression of looking through a window, rather than looking at a poster on a wall.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/

Long live the new flesh!

What about http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120458/ ?

i did http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120804/

I remember seeing that in the documentary.

I'm not sure of the logistics but when that happened back in '84 we had Patrick Swayze around to save us.

[the Sheriff has said he'll cut out Robin Hood's heart with a spoon]
Guy of Gisborne: Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe?
Sheriff of Nottingham: Because it's DULL, you twit. It'll hurt more.

Yeah, I have nothing better to do right now than look that up.

The article contains major factual errors. I remember firefox coming out in 1982. http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0083943/

Terry Gilliam made a really good documentry about:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/

Seeing this reminds me all too painfully of the Made-for-TV movie The Big Bus

The biggest problem we face is post-scarcity technologies of abundance wielded by scarcity-obsessed people, because things like biotech, robotech, infotech, nanotech, nucleartech, and so on make terrible, if ironic, weapons. It is ironic to use military robots to fight over economic issues the robots make obsolete. It is ironic to use nuclear missiles built with advanced materials to fight over oil supplies that nuclear power or solar energy make unimportant. It even takes more electricity to produce a gallon of gasoline than an electric car takes to go the same distance, if you really want some deep irony -- we'd use less electricity if we switched to electric cars. So, as an example of post-scarcity thinking, considering that and safety issues, our society would save money and have lower taxes if everyone got a free-to-the user safe luxury electric car.
http://groups.google.com/group/openmanufacturing/msg/09eb7f4c973349f2?hl=en

From Post-scarcity Princeton:
http://www.pdfernhout.net/post-scarcity-princeton.html
"""
* Some comments on the PU Economics department and related research directions from a post-scarcity perspective

The PU economics department, of course, should be abolished as part of this transition. :-)

OK, that will never happen, so it should be at least "strongly admonished" for past misbehavior. :-(

What misbehavior? Essentially, the PU Economics department has taken part in a global effort to build an economic "psychofrakulator". How does a psychofrakulator work? Consider a paraphrase of something Doc Heller says in the movie Mystery Men:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132347/quotes

Dr. Heller: It's a psychofrakulator. They used to say it couldn't be built. The equations were so complex that most of the scientists that worked on it wound up in the insane asylum [in Chicago]. ... It creates a cloud of [dollar denomiated] radically-fluctuating free-deviant chaotrons which penetrate the synaptic relays [via television]. It's concatenated with a synchronous transport switch [of values from long term seven generation life-affirming love of caring to short-term immediate profit and immediate gratification suicidal death-affirming love of money] that creates a virtual tributary [back to large corporations]. It's focused onto a biobolic reflector [of the elite controlled mass media] and what happens is that [economic] hallucinations become reality and the [global] brain [and global ecosystem] is literally fried from within.

Or in other words:
"Screwed: What 30 Years of Conservative Economics Feels Like"
http://granby01033.blogspot.com/2008/04/screwed-what-30-years-of-conservative.html
Or:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-autistic_economics
And:
"Obituary: Conservative Economic Policy"
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2007/10/19/obituary_conservative_economic/

Conservative economic policy is dead. It committed suicide. Its allegiance to market solutions, tax cuts and spending cuts, supply-side nonsense, manipulative and corrosive ties to industry and the rich, have left it wholly unable to cope with the challenges we face. Its terribly limited toolbox simply cannot address the economic insecurities and opportunities generated by today's global, interconnected, polluted, insecure, dyna

Beginnings? It was first done almost 25 years ago, as this excellent documentary demonstrates.

Possession laws in general are dubious to start with, but at least with, for example, drugs, people aren't trying to buy sugar and ending up with heroin, or having people just wander by and stick five kilos of cocaine under the seat of their car.

Oh, but that does happen. All to often drugs are hidden in goods, luggage or vehicles known to go to a certain location. Pray it doesn't happen to you, cause when you get caught in for example: Morocco, you are in hell. That one got out alive, although in very bad shape. If it happens in Singapore, you probably end up dancing on air.

The observation period in this study is way too short to see an effect on body weight.

Muscles are heavier (more dense) than fat and exercise has some anabolic effect too. So in the first period a study person is loosing fat and gaining muscle mass. When the muscle amount stabilizes on the higher lever, you will see the weight drop. This effect was nicely seen in SuperSize me.

... but there was another PKD story that portrayed the same tech first. Of course, that one was turned into a crappy movie starring Ben Aflac!

If only it had had Cuba Gooding Jr. in it - he's much better than Ben Affleck...

(did I say that out loud?)

The idea that there's a special chemical signal for "fear in relation to criminal acts" seems to come out of absolutely nowhere.

It comes from studying skydivers. What more can you ask for. We know they're up to no good.

...except for a bunch of Mini Coopers driving down the sidewalks.

I'm not sure what study you have given to election, but maybe I can give you a different way to think about it. (You don't have to agree of course, but I generally like various viewpoints on a subject.)

God did give us free will. This is why the fall of man happened (AKA, Adam and Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden). As a result, we (humans) always make our own decisions, although we may be influenced by God (via our conscience, the study of the Bible, etc) or Satan (via...well...lots of bad stuff out there - though I do not subscribe to the idea that everything that is not "good" is inherently evil). But, at the end of our day, we make a decision, for better or for worse.

Now (and this is where God's Will comes into play), God never intended for the world to be "fallen." In his creation, he did not intend for sin, sickness, disease, or whatever to enter the world. Because it did, though, he allows it. If he didn't, we wouldn't have free will. With this said, that does not mean that God won't use bad things towards his good purpose (see End of the Spear for a movie which demonstrates just this). Of course, this brings up the question - "Well, God can only respond to events. He sounds pretty impotent." This is where, as the Bible shows, God can exert his will however he wants - he just chooses not to (most of the time - miracles still happen. And I mean real miracles; not the image of Jesus on some toast).

So, in this context, God can both allow free will, exert his will in bad situations, and, should he deem it necessary, overtly use his will.

Hopefully that makes some sense. Again, I'm not looking to say that this is right, but this is some of what I learned in my own study of the topic because, as you just pointed out in your post, it can all be very confusing and I wanted to learn more.

I AM handicapped, I'm psychotic!

That case is like something out of a funny movie from the 1980's. :)

But have they got a picture of a 'tingler' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053363/ yet?

[....]Movies with stupid premises that no one in their right mind would go see, wouldn't get funded enough to be made. [....]

The problem this runs into is, you would need a population enlightened enough to go along with this mindset... not gonna happen.

Actually the problem you run into before you get to the population is the people who make those movies. Obviously they have the money to do it, regardless if they make money.

Further, thanks to modern Hollywood, putting butts in seats is far far from the only way these a**hats make money.

To quote the authority, Yoghurt: "Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs-the T-shirt, Spaceballs-the Coloring Book, Spaceballs-the Lunch box, Spaceballs-the Breakfast Cereal, Spaceballs-the Flame Thrower.

[turns it on]"

-Matt

it is not the duty of the Christian to convert,

Do you recall the saying, joke, about Mormons and others who go door to door spreading the "Word of God"? It goes something like this, I don't recall what it goes exactly. When a person answers the door when the evangelical knocks the evangelical says they're there to spread the word of God. The person then asks what is the word of God and the evangelical says that God exists and those who heard but do not believe go to hell. The person who answered the door then tells the evangelical "you've just sentenced me to hell."

Personally I can't understand how, if there is a Supreme Deity, it can require faith. And that those without faith go to some "hell" to suffer for eternity. It reminds me of Keanu Reeves' Constantine. If you haven't seen it I don't want to spoil it but Reeves' character knows of the existence of God and angels. He grew up seeing them, but thinking he's imagining what he sees his parents put him in therapy which includes electroshock before he commits suicide. When he'd dead he comes to know what he sees is real, then he's revived. Afterwards he goes through life knowing that because he committed murder and he doesn't have faith he's going to hell. Why have faith when you know the truth?

Falcon

...

Remember the parable in Terminator:

The Terminator: The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

Sarah Connor: Skynet fights back.

Step one, remove humans.

Step two, machine learns.

Step three, it does something we didn't expect it to do...

Obviously we don't go from one to three without some magic. That being said, why are we even considering approaching step one? And in this case, I think this is exactly what we're doing. We're inching slowly towards allowing the machine to pull the trigger.

I'm afraid the Terminator hype actually detracts from an important point that you are making. If you knew anything about the state of computer science today you would feel quite secure in knowing that "step 2" ain't going to happen for a very long time (step 3 always happens even today :-)

Still there are a number of very important people who are concerned about how much autonomy we might eventually give to a robotic entity with lethal capabilities and there is legitimate scientific discussions happening today. Asimov's Robotic Laws seemed to make a lot of sense before we had armed Reapers roaming the skies. Since I work in the defense industry I am less concerned about what our own government will do in this regard than I am with rogue nations and terrorists groups. People who don't work in the defense industry have no clue how conservative the military is when it comes to giving up human control! Although reading all the FUD posts on this article give me a chance to chuckle, I recognize that this technology can be used for causing harm. The swarming technology described is not easy to replicate, but is ultimately based on simple, cheap platforms running what are basically simple programs. Thus while UBL is unlikely to ever replicate even a relatively simple Predator, he COULD develop unmanned swarming capability.

Personally, I feel that it is nearly inevitable that this technology will fall in the hands of the wrong people. When that day happens, I would much rather have a military that has experimented with, understands, and has prepared defenses against such a technology. That's why we need to approach step one and learn.

I agree with this as well. "Human in the loop" should be absolutely required for all ordinance. Despite what we're being told, I'm unconvinced. What I'd want to see and hear is that the weapons system is discrete from the flight system, with separate communications and control. If they're touching, even at the communications level, they can bleed over to one another.

Remember the parable in Terminator:

The Terminator: The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

Sarah Connor: Skynet fights back.

Step one, remove humans.

Step two, machine learns.

Step three, it does something we didn't expect it to do...

Obviously we don't go from one to three without some magic. That being said, why are we even considering approaching step one? And in this case, I think this is exactly what we're doing. We're inching slowly towards allowing the machine to pull the trigger.

It reminds me more of an episode of "Masters of Science Fiction"; Watchbird

A scientist guy creates flying drones that aid in wars, taking out the enemy - specifically anyone who has intent or is in the process of harming US soldiers.
But the government think the 'birds' will help fight crime at home by autonomously flying around in the sky above cities looking for people committing crime or even thinking about it.
It all goes wrong when the 'birds' stop listening to their masters and start killing people for even minor infractions of the law.

I've seen that movie, it's call "The Manchurian Candidate"

BUY beachfront property NOW!

After a while* you'll be sitting on a goldmine!

There was a documentary on this business strategy a while ago.

You mean this ?

They did that already.

A few folks have corrected my historically inaccurate definition of "piracy" - mea culpa, point taken. Yes, TPB incorporated it into their name. Still, the nerds and geeks (terms used with the most respect possible, of course) running the most persecuted torrent site on the planet seem about as pirate-y to me as that pirate dude from Dodgeball.

That being said, I stand by the rest of it ... any comments there?

Or this.

T-H-X eleven-thirty-eight will be taken into custody at a minimal monetary expenditure. Total operation cost: six thousand credits under budget. Congratulations. Be efficient, be happy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066434/

If I tap on the breaks in my car the cruise control disengages, it does not fight me.

Computer: Resuming computer control of Icarus II.
Cassie: Negative, Icarus. Manual control.
Computer: Negative, Cassie. Computer control. Returning vessel to original rotation.
Cassie: What? Icarus, override computer to manual control.
Computer: Negative. Mission in jeopardy.

Sometimes, maybe you *do* want the computer to fight you...

Sunshine

My first thought was this.

How many times do you have to post about the NSA and CIA before your phone starts having issues and your Mac, Windows or Linux box starts becoming extra unresponsive?

How many tymes do you have to watch Enemy of the State before you're put of the lists?

Falcon

Have you ever seen Romero's batshit film Knightriders? It was his first big studio film. It's about a traveling jousting troupe that rides motorcycles instead of horses. (It's also a fucking disaster of a movie -- watch The Crazies if you want more good early Romero.)

Anyway, these biker-jousters live noble lives, going from town to town to perform these great honorable jousting acts. And what are their audiences like? Brainless, artless, drunken idiots; people who live with no purpose, no ethics, and no honor. The people in the biker-jousting shows are zombies.

This, I claim, cracks the code of Romero's zombie metaphors. In Night and Dawn, the living survivors holed up in the house/mall represent Romero himself and his film crew -- people attempting to be aware of their own existences, and attempting to bring meaning to their lives, and generally trying to live fully. We, the audience, vicariously live by watching their movies; we live by feasting on their ideas. We're the zombies.

The thing I always find scary about zombies is that they can't be reasoned with, there's nothing to connect with. If you look at many of the other horror movie/story staples, there's often something that can be connected to. Frankenstein's monster had some humanity left that could be connected to, the same with vampires, and even serial killers, but the zombie is unable to communicate, and can't be connected to. (unless you're talking about one of those weird zombie movies where they can, like one I watched part of on AMC the other day, I want to say return of the living dead or something, about some kids in a mortuary). At the same time, I find the older style zombie stories about the witch doctors less scary for this exact same reason. Perhaps the witch doctor can be reasoned with, or in some cases even the zombie itself. It's for this reason that I didn't really find the serpent and the rainbow http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096071/ a scary movie at all. At the same time, I did find it an interesting and good movie.

What about Zombie Strippers?

Zombie Strippers