If a system like this means that my car could drive me to the local MegaMall for Christmas shopping, drop me at the front door, and then come pick me up when I call it, then count me in.
You're dead on target there. He's trying to create a product that appeals to kids; if that's sincerely his goal, fine. Problem is, he doesn't know anymore what kids are really like and what appeals to them. He's tailoring his films to suit an audience that only exists in his mind - a distorted vision of childhood, in which kids love all of this cutesy stuff, the fart jokes, Jar-Jarish comic relief characters, etc.
He needs to remember - kids are a lot more tough-minded than he thinks, especially nowadays. He used to know this, back when he made ANH. Maybe having kids of his own has led him to want to create entertainment that will be "safe" for kids to watch, instead of work that they will really want to watch. This is completely understandable, from the parent's perspective. But look at the results. The generation of kids that grew up in the '70's and '80's worshipped this man and the universe he created. Today's kids are just indifferent. Maybe they're better off.
This is nothing new, in the world of so-called "children's entertainment." Everything from fairy tales, to comics, to science fiction and fantasy novels have been shunted off into the "kid's corner." Most of this stuff is written to appeal to the adult's vision of childhood. The shame of it is, the original Star Wars trilogy transcended that label of "kids' stuff." The prequels embody all of its worst stereotypes.
Ever read "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis? It's set in what is apparently post-WWII Britain, but it does tie in with both the Arthur legends and Tolkien's stuff (although only briefly - he does mention Numenor a couple of times.) It's very heavy on Christian allegory and symbolism, as one would expect of Lewis. In my opinion it's his best work of "adult" fiction. It's the final part of his "Space Trilogy" of science fiction books that also includes "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra" but is stylistically a huge break from the other two books - it reads much more like a modern novel, with real characters, than the other two in the series (and you don't have to read them to understand what's going on in "Strength."
The book was published long before "The Silmarillion," and what Lewis knew of Numenor he gleaned from some of Tolkien's early manuscripts, as Lewis mentions in his preface to the book. So there are some inconsistencies between Lewis's concept and the more-or-less final version we get in the Silmarillion. But it's still worth a read to see how the two worlds may have originally been intended to intertwine.
I knew that our touch-screen machines were hackable when last night's returns had Gandalf the Wizard leading Han Solo by 54% to 43%, with the remaining votes split among write-in and third party candidates Neo, Captain Kirk, and CowboyNeal.
Display some adaptability.
on
Quicksilver
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· Score: 4, Insightful
Words to live by. This sort of became my personal motto after reading Cryptonomicon. When things get crazy at work, I just think to myself, "What would Shaftoe do?" Display some adaptability, that's what.
True, MS may not have the number of immigrants of CA or other states. And, it's true you can live dirt poor in places. DIRT poor. Here's the catch - the places where you can live dirt poor, don't usually have businesses that hire a lot of programmers. The areas that do have businesses that hire programmers, are nowhere near cheap to live in. (Try looking at real estate prices in the Jackson area. Now compare this with what programmers in the Jackson area usually make).
There aren't a lot of tech jobs here anyway, not since the whole WorldCom fiasco basically torpedoed the state's nascent tech economy. So, to sum up: Don't come here, Californians! It's too hot anyway.
How many times have Linus or others said that the goal for Linux is NOT to attack Microsoft's monopoly, but simply to provide a freely usable and stable UNIX-like operating system for anyone who wants it. These analysts can't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that "Linux" is not just another company out to rule the desktop.
That's what I first thought too, until I re-read the quote:
We are especially interested in interfaces that link organic/biological molecules with inorganic materials that are used in microelectronics, such as silicon and diamond.
I think he really does mean "organic" as in "carbon-based life-form", not just "carbon-based molecule."
Exactly what I thought too. Whatever these marketers are on, I want some. "If you look at this ad, you may be rewarded with... ANOTHER ad for the same thing! Act now!"
A new Slashdot interview: Chris Claremont?
on
The Rights of GM Humans
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· Score: 3, Insightful
A lot of people have been commenting here about similarities between the GM issues described in the article and the good old X-Men. How about a Slashdot interview with the guy who has probably thought more about these issues than anybody else outside academia over the last 25 or so years... veteran X-Men writer Chris Claremont? Or if not Claremont, maybe Grant Morrison. I think either would have some real insights here.
I mean sure, a big chunk of the comic stories are standard superhero fare, but especially in Claremont's original run on X-Men these themes were returned to again and again. And again. And again....
Couldn't agree more. I used to subscribe to Asimov's magazine (Analog's sister publication), and this is probably the best way to get a good sampling of current authors without having to shell out a ton of money on a book by one author, that you may or may not like. Asimov's used to regularly feature stories by the likes of Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Harry Turtledove, etc., as well as Asimov himself before he died. Also, the reviews and occasional editorial pieces about the current state of SF were an invaluable tool to survey the field. Haven't read it in years, but I believe it's still being published.
Just go to the magazine section of your local BookMartCo, and see what's out there.
Re:An Interesting Alternate Universe Idea
on
Superhero Smackdown
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· Score: 2
Correction: It's Mark Millar, not Mark Waid. More information here.
Re:An Interesting Alternate Universe Idea
on
Superhero Smackdown
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· Score: 3, Interesting
There's actually a miniseries (comics format, not TV) in the works similar to this, called Superman: Red Son, where Superman crashes to earth in the USSR instead of Kansas and becomes the champion of Soviet ideals instead of Truth, Justice and the American Way. I think current big-shot comics author Mark Waid is writing it, correct me if I'm wrong. I actually like your Nazi idea better though.
That's the only problem I had with the movie: the demotion of Saruman from an independent third force, trying to play the other sides against each other, to a mere henchman. I suspect that the change was made in order to present the movie-going audience with a clear delineation - this is the "good team" and that is the "bad team" - and thus avoid any potential confusion. Especially since, in the books, a lot of Saruman's treachery towards Sauron occurs off-camera, so to speak. And who knows, maybe in the next movies we'll see some of that.
But I would have loved to have seen Christopher Lee give that recruiting speech to Gandalf. Great stuff.
You should check out some of the books edited by Tolkien's son Christopher. They don't really go into detail about pencil weights, but they do give a fascinating (YMMV) insight into the processes that went into writing LOTR and the different shapes the narrative took until it was given its final form.
Disclaimer: this is only recommended for the hard-core or those who like a peek (OK, more than a peek; an exhaustive examination) into how a writer performs his craft. To the casual fan the whole project starts to seem like your dry-ceaning analogy.
OK, so by the time The Two Towers hits your local multiplex, it will have been on the net for four months. It will be interesting to see how the box office is affected. LOTR stuff is prime geek bait, so you know that a large contingent of people with a nerdish bent will be scouring the net trying to find it. And these people would be the same ones lining up outside the theater in December. So let's see how the numbers add up when the movie is released.
Slashdot Mirror
If a system like this means that my car could drive me to the local MegaMall for Christmas shopping, drop me at the front door, and then come pick me up when I call it, then count me in.
I just hate Christmas shopping traffic.
I read it as "grits."
You're dead on target there. He's trying to create a product that appeals to kids; if that's sincerely his goal, fine. Problem is, he doesn't know anymore what kids are really like and what appeals to them. He's tailoring his films to suit an audience that only exists in his mind - a distorted vision of childhood, in which kids love all of this cutesy stuff, the fart jokes, Jar-Jarish comic relief characters, etc.
He needs to remember - kids are a lot more tough-minded than he thinks, especially nowadays. He used to know this, back when he made ANH. Maybe having kids of his own has led him to want to create entertainment that will be "safe" for kids to watch, instead of work that they will really want to watch. This is completely understandable, from the parent's perspective. But look at the results. The generation of kids that grew up in the '70's and '80's worshipped this man and the universe he created. Today's kids are just indifferent. Maybe they're better off.
This is nothing new, in the world of so-called "children's entertainment." Everything from fairy tales, to comics, to science fiction and fantasy novels have been shunted off into the "kid's corner." Most of this stuff is written to appeal to the adult's vision of childhood. The shame of it is, the original Star Wars trilogy transcended that label of "kids' stuff." The prequels embody all of its worst stereotypes.
Ever read "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis? It's set in what is apparently post-WWII Britain, but it does tie in with both the Arthur legends and Tolkien's stuff (although only briefly - he does mention Numenor a couple of times.) It's very heavy on Christian allegory and symbolism, as one would expect of Lewis. In my opinion it's his best work of "adult" fiction. It's the final part of his "Space Trilogy" of science fiction books that also includes "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra" but is stylistically a huge break from the other two books - it reads much more like a modern novel, with real characters, than the other two in the series (and you don't have to read them to understand what's going on in "Strength."
The book was published long before "The Silmarillion," and what Lewis knew of Numenor he gleaned from some of Tolkien's early manuscripts, as Lewis mentions in his preface to the book. So there are some inconsistencies between Lewis's concept and the more-or-less final version we get in the Silmarillion. But it's still worth a read to see how the two worlds may have originally been intended to intertwine.
I knew that our touch-screen machines were hackable when last night's returns had Gandalf the Wizard leading Han Solo by 54% to 43%, with the remaining votes split among write-in and third party candidates Neo, Captain Kirk, and CowboyNeal.
Words to live by. This sort of became my personal motto after reading Cryptonomicon. When things get crazy at work, I just think to myself, "What would Shaftoe do?" Display some adaptability, that's what.
True, MS may not have the number of immigrants of CA or other states. And, it's true you can live dirt poor in places. DIRT poor. Here's the catch - the places where you can live dirt poor, don't usually have businesses that hire a lot of programmers. The areas that do have businesses that hire programmers, are nowhere near cheap to live in. (Try looking at real estate prices in the Jackson area. Now compare this with what programmers in the Jackson area usually make).
There aren't a lot of tech jobs here anyway, not since the whole WorldCom fiasco basically torpedoed the state's nascent tech economy. So, to sum up: Don't come here, Californians! It's too hot anyway.
How many times have Linus or others said that the goal for Linux is NOT to attack Microsoft's monopoly, but simply to provide a freely usable and stable UNIX-like operating system for anyone who wants it. These analysts can't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that "Linux" is not just another company out to rule the desktop.
That's what I first thought too, until I re-read the quote:
We are especially interested in interfaces that link organic/biological molecules with inorganic materials that are used in microelectronics, such as silicon and diamond.
I think he really does mean "organic" as in "carbon-based life-form", not just "carbon-based molecule."
The stupid names. "Flooz"? "Beenz"? And I'm not thrilled with "PepperCoin," either.
Ah, Slashdot. I do love it so.
Exactly what I thought too. Whatever these marketers are on, I want some. "If you look at this ad, you may be rewarded with ... ANOTHER ad for the same thing! Act now!"
A lot of people have been commenting here about similarities between the GM issues described in the article and the good old X-Men. How about a Slashdot interview with the guy who has probably thought more about these issues than anybody else outside academia over the last 25 or so years ... veteran X-Men writer Chris Claremont? Or if not Claremont, maybe Grant Morrison. I think either would have some real insights here.
I mean sure, a big chunk of the comic stories are standard superhero fare, but especially in Claremont's original run on X-Men these themes were returned to again and again. And again. And again....
Living human brain, eh? Hmmmmm... I'll need a case mod for that, I guess. Back to the lab!
I get your point but ... 1986?
Couldn't agree more. I used to subscribe to Asimov's magazine (Analog's sister publication), and this is probably the best way to get a good sampling of current authors without having to shell out a ton of money on a book by one author, that you may or may not like. Asimov's used to regularly feature stories by the likes of Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Harry Turtledove, etc., as well as Asimov himself before he died. Also, the reviews and occasional editorial pieces about the current state of SF were an invaluable tool to survey the field. Haven't read it in years, but I believe it's still being published.
Just go to the magazine section of your local BookMartCo, and see what's out there.
Correction: It's Mark Millar, not Mark Waid. More information here.
There's actually a miniseries (comics format, not TV) in the works similar to this, called Superman: Red Son, where Superman crashes to earth in the USSR instead of Kansas and becomes the champion of Soviet ideals instead of Truth, Justice and the American Way. I think current big-shot comics author Mark Waid is writing it, correct me if I'm wrong.
I actually like your Nazi idea better though.
Instead of voting for some athletic hero, or a pretty boy, you have elected me, your intellectual superior, as your king. Good for you!
That's the only problem I had with the movie: the demotion of Saruman from an independent third force, trying to play the other sides against each other, to a mere henchman. I suspect that the change was made in order to present the movie-going audience with a clear delineation - this is the "good team" and that is the "bad team" - and thus avoid any potential confusion. Especially since, in the books, a lot of Saruman's treachery towards Sauron occurs off-camera, so to speak. And who knows, maybe in the next movies we'll see some of that.
But I would have loved to have seen Christopher Lee give that recruiting speech to Gandalf. Great stuff.
You should check out some of the books edited by Tolkien's son Christopher. They don't really go into detail about pencil weights, but they do give a fascinating (YMMV) insight into the processes that went into writing LOTR and the different shapes the narrative took until it was given its final form.
Disclaimer: this is only recommended for the hard-core or those who like a peek (OK, more than a peek; an exhaustive examination) into how a writer performs his craft. To the casual fan the whole project starts to seem like your dry-ceaning analogy.
OK, so by the time The Two Towers hits your local multiplex, it will have been on the net for four months. It will be interesting to see how the box office is affected. LOTR stuff is prime geek bait, so you know that a large contingent of people with a nerdish bent will be scouring the net trying to find it. And these people would be the same ones lining up outside the theater in December. So let's see how the numbers add up when the movie is released.
Your hometown is called "Hydroshock?" Cool. Didn't he fight Spider-Man?
Yeah, that would be nice until you see the blue lights in your rear view mirror. [Alt+F4][Alt+F4][Alt+F4]
We should be working on clones! Clones, man, not droids! Droids suck!