I happen to live in Texas, so I guess I should care about this, but really it doesn't have anything to do with me. I don't buy pre-assembled computers anyway, so what difference does it really make? This is another clear case of "you get what you work for". I don't mean to sound callous, but what do I really care if a bunch of Compaq crunching, AOL using, "user-friendly" devotees could get the shaft. It almost seems appropriate in a cosmic sort of way. If you don't like the way things are done, do it yourself!
I'll start with my take on the movie. As with most Ridley Scott films, Hannibal is more conscerned with having great visuals and ambiance and an overall "feel" that it is with other aspects such as character development. That being said, I think Hannibal was still a good film in the sense that Alien was a good movie. Certainly Hannibal showed more depth than Alien, but people are correct in saying that it is not as cerebral (well, not if you count the brain eating scene!) as its predecessor. All things conscidered, I think it was a good movie and worth seeing if you can stomach it. (hmmmm...fava beans anyone?)
Now, for the core issue for me. This movie is hideously violent and stomach churning. I don't mean this as any kind of criticism of the movie, but it is. As adults, we know how to handle this. I was repulsed, yes, but when I went home that night I slept like a baby. This isn't because I'm some kind of desensitized monster, but simply because I know how to cope with it. I enjoy being frightened and repulsed just a little now and then. It's sort of like roller coasters. Maybe it doesn't make sense, but for some reason we enjoy it.
But what is truly repulsive is not what I saw on screen, but what I saw in the theater. There were quite a number of children in the theater! As the ending credits rolled a girl no more than 9 or 10 filed passed me with her "mother". I have to put this in quotes because this woman is not deserving of the title! It's only because of my sense of chivalry and my good moral sense that I didn't stand up and belt this woman! How unbelievable sick is that! What disturbed me even more was that the girl didn't seem to even bat an eye at what she saw. It truly frightens me that what makes a grown man in his 20s flinch would have no effect on a 10 year old girl! It makes me wonder how many movies like this she's taken her daughter to see. I sure as hell know I wouldn't have been calm like that as a child after having seen Hannibal. It just isn't healthy--mark my words, this girl is gonna have serious issues when she's older if she doesn't have them already.
The truly sick thing is that this woman will probably be among the first to express shock and outrage at the next school shooting. I'm not saying that TV/movie violence is the sole problem here, but can't we all agree that taking a child to see Hannibal is completely inapropriate and unhealthy for a child's psychological development? If our common sense and moral judgment has gone this far out the window, is it any wonder that this generation has gotten a bad rap for being a bunch of gun-toting thugs?
Anyway, I do have one question I'm curious about, do you guys think it's appropriate to bitch people out when they do something that terrible or should I just keep my mouth shut?
When I first saw this article I truly didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. It made me start thingking about the entire concept of intellectual property and how truly un-American it is.
I would like to pose several questions not just to Microsoft but to anyone who believes that a thought can be owned. What would this nation be like if the great minds that came together at the dawn of the 19th century had claimed intellectual property rights on their thoughts? Where would we be if Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, the 55 men of the Constitutional Convention and countless others who founded this nation had cried "intellectual property!" instead of sharing their ideas freely? Would we be a more perfect union if they had regulated the trafficing and usage of human thought?
So to Mr. Allchin and to all the others who share his opinion (and for the sake of this nation I hope these are few) I state the simple truth with I must share freely with you: our nation is great only because it is free. Free speech is not just free "speech" but the freedom to express yourself in whatever medium you desire, be it music or programming. It is by this mechanism that we initiate and execute change. Our founding fathers knew this fact all too well because they were aware of their imperfections and in the fallacy of the document they created. To be without the freedom to share any and all expression in whatever manner you prefer is to be armless against our own folly.
In closing I have only one thing left to say about the American Way as it pertains to the open source movement. Mr Allchin, I ask you what could possibly be more American than a movement by the people and for the people that is perpetuated in no small part by our desire to not pay unreasonable costs? Need I remind you that our own revolution was due in no small part to our reluctance to pay one cent more than we have to for anything?
I respectfully submit this piece of my intellectual property. Please do not abuse it, sir.
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I happen to live in Texas, so I guess I should care about this, but really it doesn't have anything to do with me. I don't buy pre-assembled computers anyway, so what difference does it really make? This is another clear case of "you get what you work for". I don't mean to sound callous, but what do I really care if a bunch of Compaq crunching, AOL using, "user-friendly" devotees could get the shaft. It almost seems appropriate in a cosmic sort of way. If you don't like the way things are done, do it yourself!
I'll start with my take on the movie. As with most Ridley Scott films, Hannibal is more conscerned with having great visuals and ambiance and an overall "feel" that it is with other aspects such as character development. That being said, I think Hannibal was still a good film in the sense that Alien was a good movie. Certainly Hannibal showed more depth than Alien, but people are correct in saying that it is not as cerebral (well, not if you count the brain eating scene!) as its predecessor. All things conscidered, I think it was a good movie and worth seeing if you can stomach it. (hmmmm...fava beans anyone?)
Now, for the core issue for me. This movie is hideously violent and stomach churning. I don't mean this as any kind of criticism of the movie, but it is. As adults, we know how to handle this. I was repulsed, yes, but when I went home that night I slept like a baby. This isn't because I'm some kind of desensitized monster, but simply because I know how to cope with it. I enjoy being frightened and repulsed just a little now and then. It's sort of like roller coasters. Maybe it doesn't make sense, but for some reason we enjoy it.
But what is truly repulsive is not what I saw on screen, but what I saw in the theater. There were quite a number of children in the theater! As the ending credits rolled a girl no more than 9 or 10 filed passed me with her "mother". I have to put this in quotes because this woman is not deserving of the title! It's only because of my sense of chivalry and my good moral sense that I didn't stand up and belt this woman! How unbelievable sick is that! What disturbed me even more was that the girl didn't seem to even bat an eye at what she saw. It truly frightens me that what makes a grown man in his 20s flinch would have no effect on a 10 year old girl! It makes me wonder how many movies like this she's taken her daughter to see. I sure as hell know I wouldn't have been calm like that as a child after having seen Hannibal. It just isn't healthy--mark my words, this girl is gonna have serious issues when she's older if she doesn't have them already.
The truly sick thing is that this woman will probably be among the first to express shock and outrage at the next school shooting. I'm not saying that TV/movie violence is the sole problem here, but can't we all agree that taking a child to see Hannibal is completely inapropriate and unhealthy for a child's psychological development? If our common sense and moral judgment has gone this far out the window, is it any wonder that this generation has gotten a bad rap for being a bunch of gun-toting thugs?
Anyway, I do have one question I'm curious about, do you guys think it's appropriate to bitch people out when they do something that terrible or should I just keep my mouth shut?
When I first saw this article I truly didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. It made me start thingking about the entire concept of intellectual property and how truly un-American it is. I would like to pose several questions not just to Microsoft but to anyone who believes that a thought can be owned. What would this nation be like if the great minds that came together at the dawn of the 19th century had claimed intellectual property rights on their thoughts? Where would we be if Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, the 55 men of the Constitutional Convention and countless others who founded this nation had cried "intellectual property!" instead of sharing their ideas freely? Would we be a more perfect union if they had regulated the trafficing and usage of human thought? So to Mr. Allchin and to all the others who share his opinion (and for the sake of this nation I hope these are few) I state the simple truth with I must share freely with you: our nation is great only because it is free. Free speech is not just free "speech" but the freedom to express yourself in whatever medium you desire, be it music or programming. It is by this mechanism that we initiate and execute change. Our founding fathers knew this fact all too well because they were aware of their imperfections and in the fallacy of the document they created. To be without the freedom to share any and all expression in whatever manner you prefer is to be armless against our own folly. In closing I have only one thing left to say about the American Way as it pertains to the open source movement. Mr Allchin, I ask you what could possibly be more American than a movement by the people and for the people that is perpetuated in no small part by our desire to not pay unreasonable costs? Need I remind you that our own revolution was due in no small part to our reluctance to pay one cent more than we have to for anything? I respectfully submit this piece of my intellectual property. Please do not abuse it, sir.