Crichton used to do some interesting work. Andromeda Strain was a very good yarn and an engaging read. And the movie made of it -- the original movie -- was pretty good in a 50's way and creepy, too. (The remake wasn't horrifyingly bad, but it was pretty lame IMO.)
His later stuff, though... I think starting with Sphere or with Timeline... yeah, it got bad fast.
I agree with you. I don't think you can show a version of Wanted on the big screen in Western Civilization that's true to the theme and plot of the graphic novel. We're too used to our main characters being positive icons, or at least somewhat sympathetic, someone the audience can identify with. Western audiences just would NOT deal well with the main character, the pivotal character of the film, being anything like Wesley.
Now, if Wanted was shot in a noir style, toning down the language and the graphic violence -- putting it up in silhouette, say -- then... well, maybe. Wanted is a very noir film in it's theme but it's approach is a lot more graphic. (Hell, it even seems to look a bit grindhouse'y, too.) But you might loose some of the impact.
Actually, Alan Moore does write comic books and is frankly incensed about adapting his work to any other medium. He disavowed any connection to both V for Vendetta and Watchmen. It's not really Alan Moore you need to tell off.
A quick bit of research, though, seems to indicate that Class I Medical Devices aren't critical to the life support needs of the patient, and so the TSA will probably confiscate them and/or require their transport in a firearms case.
There may be many people in the/. crowd who, rightly or wrongly think any system where lawyers are needed is bad. That's besides the point. You need legal advice. Lawyers provide legal advice.
Get a lawyer.
It's all well and good to ask for input from/. and Groklaw etc., but get competent, professional, legal advice and trust it over what anyone says here. Nobody here is a lawyer. (And if they are, then they're not being contracted by you to get legal advice, and so are not liable; moreover, they don't have the full details of the letter you got.
An example: Someone said 'take it to the press.' Ask a lawyer before you do that. There are all sorts of procedural reasons why doing that could make a court rule against you. What sort of reasons? IANAL.
So before anything else, get a lawyer to sit down with you and go over the letter, have them research and follow up on the letter, and see what your legal obligations are. Is the ESA asking for a name to go with that IP address? Is this a C&D letter of some kind? Are they threatening your company with legal action? Heck, for that matter, does this organization actually exist? (Someone could be pulling an elaborate joe job. Unlikely, but possible.)
This is a shame; TR had a lot of potential to be more than just another shooty take on MMOs. Ancient mysteries, xeno-archaeology, a strong theme of religion and myth, a dramatic war.... It could have been a lot more. Instead it was pretty bland at times. They had a lot of great ideas but they never seemed to implement them in time or well enough.
I was in the closed beta, and I really really wanted to like this game. The music was cool, the settings were fantastic, the scaling was pretty nicely done, and it was open to the casual gamer... but it was flawed. It just didn't grab a person.
As I said, it's really a shame. It could have been a lot more. Oh, well. I hope they learned something from it's failure. I just hope that 'Worlds of Starcraft' doesn't waltz in and take over the SciFi MMO slot.
And second, Republicans don't seem as whiny to me as Democrats, possibly because Democrats rely on others (usually the government) to solve problems, and Republicans (used to, at least) rely on individual initiative. Of course, that last observation might be slightly controversial...;-)
Unfortunately, there is no 'constitutional duty' for anyone to do what you describe, certainly not for the press. There is no Article or Amendment that says 'The press has the constitutional obligation to do X, Y, and Z.'
Now, portraying themselves as 'news' organizations does put on them an ethical obligation to be honest, fair, and balanced... but aside from some specific cases, you can't bring someone up on charges of inethical behavior.
Although... that would be an interesting test case, for someone to bring a class-action lawsuit against a news company.
I suppose it's a pipe dream, but my idea of an ideal government is one where the 'liberals' can focus on developing sane, stable, *functional* plans to "secure the common welfare," while the 'conservatives' can peer at the government's purse and say, "Hrm, I don't think we can afford that this budget cycle. We need to talk about what we we want and what we can get."
And somewhere in there, apply regulation where it needs it. Because frankly, any industry that can shellac our economy the way the housing, lending, investment industry just did, deserves to be regulated to within an inch of it's margins.
I'm not entirely for the bailout -- the vindictive SOB part of me wants these guys to go DOWN! IN! FLAMES! or something like that. At the same time... I have to reluctantly admit that something had to be done, and it was going to cost someone a lot. And frankly I wouldn't trust the corporations to do anything remotely resembling the right thing.
I just wish Congress had looked at Rep. Kaptur's plan at least a LITTLE before freaking out.:(
I do agree that Wall Street now needs a tighter leash. Any industry which can do THIS to our economy needs to be regulated to within an inch of their margins. And anyone who burbles something sweetness-and-light about Free Market Capitalism working should be hit with the Chair Leg of Truth.
Basically, the admins of Wikipedia are trying to make WP into a 'legitimate' encyclopedia. Unfortunately, no high school or college prof in their right mind is ever, ever going to allow Wikipedia as a source in any sort of assignment. WP is useful for a quick lookup of something but considering it's about as reliable as Tom Cruise's sanity, anyone who relies on it is getting what they asked for.
So all these attempts to make Wikipedia a 'legitimate' information source are hilarious at best and sad at worst. Being a 'wikipedia admin' is not going to give you academia cred, ever, and it's not going to make for any sort of remotely useful e-peen. These deletions are just people trying, desperately, to make Wiki into something it never will be.
Whatever happened to Wikipedia being 'Everything about Everything?'
I personally say it's only because no movies have yet taken the idea of LHC and mangled it into nonsense to use as a plot device the way they've used killer artificial viruses. And that's probably only because "complete oblitheration of the world" is a pretty boring plot.
It's worse than that. The Office of POTUS is extremely stressful -- have a look at 'before' and 'after' pictures for recent presidents. They seem to age ten years for each term. McCain is not only 72, he was also tortured in Viet Nam, which amongst many former POWs has shortened their lifespan considerably. I would accept odds for McCain surviving one term, but most definitely not two.
By all means, lets restrict all IT work to people who have the piece of paper, rather than the actual ability.
And this is different from the way things are run now... how?
Employers who are looking for personnel ARE looking for those pieces of paper. And some of those pieces of paper are worth more than others. And some of those pieces of paper are worth jack shyte, but they're still required.
Some of those pieces of paper are MCSA certs, some are A+ certs, some are Cisco certs, some are GEDs, and some are college diplomas. Most employers LIKE the idea of an outside source looking at potential candidates and giving them a Stamp of Approval(tm).
Now, I do not disagree with you. I do not think unions or more certs will entirely help a profession such as IT. Right now it's just a bit too wild and woolly to carve things into stone, and just about every decent if different IT professional brings *something* to the table. However, I do have to stress that those pieces of paper that we all disparage have meaning, if not for us than for the people who will be doing the hiring.
See above. It's possible that the ISP has a 'zero risk' policy as far as threats to technicians go... and it kind of makes sense. It's one thing if you're at a commercial site, quite another if you're at a residence.
However, the article is pretty light on actual facts. Much of it is he-said/she-said. the lack of a weapon does bode ill for the tech's case, though.
That's something that her lawyer/solicitor can take care of, I imagine. I'm sure the court order prevents her from personally contacting the ISP, but her solicitor would not have that order placed upon them.
Slashdot Mirror
Once upon a time, microsoft.com was running on Apache.... =)
Crichton used to do some interesting work. Andromeda Strain was a very good yarn and an engaging read. And the movie made of it -- the original movie -- was pretty good in a 50's way and creepy, too. (The remake wasn't horrifyingly bad, but it was pretty lame IMO.)
His later stuff, though... I think starting with Sphere or with Timeline... yeah, it got bad fast.
I agree with you. I don't think you can show a version of Wanted on the big screen in Western Civilization that's true to the theme and plot of the graphic novel. We're too used to our main characters being positive icons, or at least somewhat sympathetic, someone the audience can identify with. Western audiences just would NOT deal well with the main character, the pivotal character of the film, being anything like Wesley.
Now, if Wanted was shot in a noir style, toning down the language and the graphic violence -- putting it up in silhouette, say -- then... well, maybe. Wanted is a very noir film in it's theme but it's approach is a lot more graphic. (Hell, it even seems to look a bit grindhouse'y, too.) But you might loose some of the impact.
Actually, Alan Moore does write comic books and is frankly incensed about adapting his work to any other medium. He disavowed any connection to both V for Vendetta and Watchmen. It's not really Alan Moore you need to tell off.
That's... actually a really good question.
A quick bit of research, though, seems to indicate that Class I Medical Devices aren't critical to the life support needs of the patient, and so the TSA will probably confiscate them and/or require their transport in a firearms case.
Get a lawyer.
There may be many people in the /. crowd who, rightly or wrongly think any system where lawyers are needed is bad. That's besides the point. You need legal advice. Lawyers provide legal advice.
Get a lawyer.
It's all well and good to ask for input from /. and Groklaw etc., but get competent, professional, legal advice and trust it over what anyone says here. Nobody here is a lawyer. (And if they are, then they're not being contracted by you to get legal advice, and so are not liable; moreover, they don't have the full details of the letter you got.
An example: Someone said 'take it to the press.' Ask a lawyer before you do that. There are all sorts of procedural reasons why doing that could make a court rule against you. What sort of reasons? IANAL.
So before anything else, get a lawyer to sit down with you and go over the letter, have them research and follow up on the letter, and see what your legal obligations are. Is the ESA asking for a name to go with that IP address? Is this a C&D letter of some kind? Are they threatening your company with legal action? Heck, for that matter, does this organization actually exist? (Someone could be pulling an elaborate joe job. Unlikely, but possible.)
In short, get a lawyer.
This is a shame; TR had a lot of potential to be more than just another shooty take on MMOs. Ancient mysteries, xeno-archaeology, a strong theme of religion and myth, a dramatic war.... It could have been a lot more. Instead it was pretty bland at times. They had a lot of great ideas but they never seemed to implement them in time or well enough.
I was in the closed beta, and I really really wanted to like this game. The music was cool, the settings were fantastic, the scaling was pretty nicely done, and it was open to the casual gamer... but it was flawed. It just didn't grab a person.
As I said, it's really a shame. It could have been a lot more. Oh, well. I hope they learned something from it's failure. I just hope that 'Worlds of Starcraft' doesn't waltz in and take over the SciFi MMO slot.
And second, Republicans don't seem as whiny to me as Democrats, possibly because Democrats rely on others (usually the government) to solve problems, and Republicans (used to, at least) rely on individual initiative. Of course, that last observation might be slightly controversial... ;-)
But only slightly controversial. ;)
Unfortunately, there is no 'constitutional duty' for anyone to do what you describe, certainly not for the press. There is no Article or Amendment that says 'The press has the constitutional obligation to do X, Y, and Z.'
Now, portraying themselves as 'news' organizations does put on them an ethical obligation to be honest, fair, and balanced... but aside from some specific cases, you can't bring someone up on charges of inethical behavior.
Although... that would be an interesting test case, for someone to bring a class-action lawsuit against a news company.
I feel your pain. :( RDM/BLK, and Corsair looks like it could be fun....
Exactly. If I had mod points I'd give 'em.
I suppose it's a pipe dream, but my idea of an ideal government is one where the 'liberals' can focus on developing sane, stable, *functional* plans to "secure the common welfare," while the 'conservatives' can peer at the government's purse and say, "Hrm, I don't think we can afford that this budget cycle. We need to talk about what we we want and what we can get."
And somewhere in there, apply regulation where it needs it. Because frankly, any industry that can shellac our economy the way the housing, lending, investment industry just did, deserves to be regulated to within an inch of it's margins.
I'm not entirely for the bailout -- the vindictive SOB part of me wants these guys to go DOWN! IN! FLAMES! or something like that. At the same time... I have to reluctantly admit that something had to be done, and it was going to cost someone a lot. And frankly I wouldn't trust the corporations to do anything remotely resembling the right thing.
I just wish Congress had looked at Rep. Kaptur's plan at least a LITTLE before freaking out. :(
I do agree that Wall Street now needs a tighter leash. Any industry which can do THIS to our economy needs to be regulated to within an inch of their margins. And anyone who burbles something sweetness-and-light about Free Market Capitalism working should be hit with the Chair Leg of Truth.
Basically, the admins of Wikipedia are trying to make WP into a 'legitimate' encyclopedia. Unfortunately, no high school or college prof in their right mind is ever, ever going to allow Wikipedia as a source in any sort of assignment. WP is useful for a quick lookup of something but considering it's about as reliable as Tom Cruise's sanity, anyone who relies on it is getting what they asked for.
So all these attempts to make Wikipedia a 'legitimate' information source are hilarious at best and sad at worst. Being a 'wikipedia admin' is not going to give you academia cred, ever, and it's not going to make for any sort of remotely useful e-peen. These deletions are just people trying, desperately, to make Wiki into something it never will be.
Whatever happened to Wikipedia being 'Everything about Everything?'
Given that it's a tear in the fabric of space/time, it will be impossible to do anything about it. How the hell do you sew space/time back together?!
Not to mention when space/time has been folded, trimmed, and hemmed.
Angry enough to send a payload of Explodium-294 to us to make an Earth-shattering kaboom. Oh, my, yes.
So you mean tomorrow isn't Resonance Cascade Day?
Aw, man. I'd gotten lambda-shaped doughnuts for nothing, then; they're not gonna keep till 21 October....
KLAATU, BARADA! NIK-*cough*cough*cough*
*shlurrrrp....*
It's interesting to point out that there are some physicists who believe that a very tiny black hole is, in fact, in the center of Earth. Very tiny.
I'm not sure how that works out with the 'crush all matter beyond recognizability inside it's event horizon' thing, but, well, there you go.
I personally say it's only because no movies have yet taken the idea of LHC and mangled it into nonsense to use as a plot device the way they've used killer artificial viruses. And that's probably only because "complete oblitheration of the world" is a pretty boring plot.
You might be surprised....
It's worse than that. The Office of POTUS is extremely stressful -- have a look at 'before' and 'after' pictures for recent presidents. They seem to age ten years for each term. McCain is not only 72, he was also tortured in Viet Nam, which amongst many former POWs has shortened their lifespan considerably. I would accept odds for McCain surviving one term, but most definitely not two.
I think we've disovered what they think 'Step Two' is....
Hmm.. Space Academy/Star Command Online.... >.> .
By all means, lets restrict all IT work to people who have the piece of paper, rather than the actual ability.
And this is different from the way things are run now... how?
Employers who are looking for personnel ARE looking for those pieces of paper. And some of those pieces of paper are worth more than others. And some of those pieces of paper are worth jack shyte, but they're still required.
Some of those pieces of paper are MCSA certs, some are A+ certs, some are Cisco certs, some are GEDs, and some are college diplomas. Most employers LIKE the idea of an outside source looking at potential candidates and giving them a Stamp of Approval(tm).
Now, I do not disagree with you. I do not think unions or more certs will entirely help a profession such as IT. Right now it's just a bit too wild and woolly to carve things into stone, and just about every decent if different IT professional brings *something* to the table. However, I do have to stress that those pieces of paper that we all disparage have meaning, if not for us than for the people who will be doing the hiring.
See above. It's possible that the ISP has a 'zero risk' policy as far as threats to technicians go... and it kind of makes sense. It's one thing if you're at a commercial site, quite another if you're at a residence.
However, the article is pretty light on actual facts. Much of it is he-said/she-said. the lack of a weapon does bode ill for the tech's case, though.
That's something that her lawyer/solicitor can take care of, I imagine. I'm sure the court order prevents her from personally contacting the ISP, but her solicitor would not have that order placed upon them.