Theoretically, independent artists who produce high quality work will rise above the flood of mediocrity over time. Independent artists or groups of independent artists who expect to release one product and hit it big are fools and/or gamblers.
Instances we can point to where an independent artist did release one product and was immediately swept to stardom always have outstanding factors that explain their success, usually in the form of connections to industry establishment (which, arguably, makes them not independent artists).
This does mean that independent artists are fighting against the clock, assuming that everyone has a period of productivity. They're probably going to have to work harder and longer (whee!) for less near term material reward and only scant promise of eventual material reward. For this reason, we often find that independent artists who have been revealed over time to be producers of quality work also have a high degree of integrity with regard to their specialty.
The situation has changed. Your description, updated to reflect the latest events, should now read like this:
By "Researchers" they mean "zombies" who were contacted by "zombies" who were contacted by "zombies" who had become sickened by "zombies" admitted to emergency rooms with strange "zombie skin" who had admitted to trying to sell a "brain" they found in the "dump".
You are being explicitly rewarded for the growing sadism of your kills.
Reports indicate that in Manhunt 2 players are not rewarded for the kind of thing you describe. As a matter of fact, players are penalized for engaging the most gruesome scenarios.*
* These reports are based on what we will politely call "previews" of the version of Manhunt 2 that was originally submitted for ratings. There is telling whether this structure will remain in the game, should it eventually be released.
It's true, this level of control on the part of the audience makes playing this video game somewhat different from reading a book. On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of deeper introspection in which we might expect an adult audience to express an interest. A lot of people are clearly fixated on the horror in this game. They should be excited to learn that the game gives people who are so fascinated an opportunity to further explore that subject in the context of this work, either by engaging the macabre or attempting to find some other response to the situation.
Additionally, it's worth pointing out that if you find yourself drawn into video games for "days or even weeks, at a stretch," your behavior isn't normal and you would probably benefit from psychiatric assistance. I don't care if you're playing Manhunt 2, Mazes and Monsters or Barbie Horse Adventures -- please seek help!
But the two examples you just gave are exactly the things that Moore suggests *are* working in the U.S. health care system -- people who can't afford heath care at all and people who can afford to pay whatever the cost is for whatever coverage they need (or want). Anyone in between will be a candidate for having to face choices like deciding which of two severed fingers he can afford to have reattached. Sure, you've got coverage, but not enough to save both fingers. Which one do you like more?
That severed finger example, by the way, is straight from the movie. Much like most most of the people making arguments here, I haven't even seen the film either. I saw this bit about a guy having to choose which finger he wanted reattached in a clip from the movie that was used for advertising and promotion.
Critical thinking will probably work better when you actually have some information to think critically about.
I'd never though of always typing in the wrong pin first to verify that the ATM is actually connected to the ATM network.
This sounded like a good idea when I first read it, but now I'm having trouble seeing how it would help.
With your first entry (the false/incorrect PIN) both an authentic ATM and a fake ATM keylogger device would return the result "Incorrect PIN," right?
With your second entry (the true/correct PIN) the authentic machine verifies that the PIN is valid and proceeds with your ATM transaction while fake machine would still simply return the result "Incorrect PIN."
It's not like the fake machine was going to ever complete a real transaction for you!
So, how does one identify the fake ATM keylogger device using this "false PIN first" scheme? How does one distinguish the fake machine from an authentic but broken machine? If your answer is that when the ture/correct PIN is rejected you should call your bank, why bother with the false PIN to begin with?
I suppose this scheme could help to identify a fake ATM before making a deposit (if the machine accepts your false PIN, don't put your deposit into the machine), but I fail to see how it would serve to identify devices set up to capture your PIN and the information on the magnetic strip on your bank card.
Playing a game that can be "bought" is simply no fun.
Of course, playing a game that you can't buy isn't any fun, either. We occasionally see console video games that stick to a coin-operated video game model. Why should anyone have to pay for a game with limited chances to play? If you own the thing, why can't you put another virtual quarter in it?
What you're looking for, as we all are, is balance. If being able to buy a better sword is one of many ways to advance in the game, great! If the whole point of the game was to simply acquire the sword, you weren't playing a very good game to begin with.
Not giving the entire game to a paying customer is just as bad as handing over the key to the holy of holies for a fast buck.
The "coupon" isn't a coupon at all. PalmOne has a program wherein anyone who registered for and attened their recent roadshows can purchase a Treo 650 for $350. The "coupon" is simply a photocopied note directing you to a website (viennachannels.com) where you can place an order. If your name is not in the database, you won't be able to place an order.
You're half right. I won't respond to your troll (debating specs) but it's true that this is really only an evolution of the Treo 600. If you had problems with the overall feature set of the Treo 600, you will probably still have problems with the feature set of the Treo 610/650/ACE/whatever. The best explaination for why such a device is being released is that PalmOne needs to take ownership of the Treo line so that there is no remanents of the Palm vs. Handspring legacy.
On the other hand, simply adding a high-res (320x320) screen to the current Treo 600 is a *significant* improvement. This change will definitely make the Treo more attractive to the average user (and it was already, debateably, a hit) but as an enthusiast I will absolutely be embracing this evolutionary upgrade. Absolutely.
(Plus, the removeable battery is a swell addition.)
The Treo 600 came out in October 2003. Handspring had an upgrade plan for Treo 300/270/180 owners -- $400 straight from Handspring.
This is one of the reasons people are thinking the 610/650/ACE/whatever will come out in October 2004 (or one reason that we're *hoping* it'll come out in October). There is no reason to think PalmOne will offer the same upgrade plan as Handspring, but we're all hoping they will....I certainly am, otherwise I'll be paying full price for a Treo for the first time.
I always implicitly rate my pilot based on the landing, how much of a bump, whether we hop, etc. Just like I rate Chinese restaurants based on their Hot & Sour Soup.
You rate your soup on how much of a bump it gives you, whether you hop, etc.?
In Joe Sacco's excellent comic documentary "Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995" he talks about how the residents of Gorazde built floating water-powered generators in order to run lights and electric applicances like TVs and VCRs during the siege of their town. The generators were called something like "mini-turines?" (I borrowed the book from a friend and have since returned it.)
I don't think the RIAA is looking down at all the little people they're stepping on. I think they're looking up to the giant government that looms over them.
The RIAA is saying "Look at this -- everyone is ripping us off, even little girls and old men! And see how much money it costs us?! Giant government, you have to help us!!"
This whole situation is probably not a win for us, it's a boon for the greedy sleazebags...and they're about to get richer.
Yes, I noticed the word "among" -- it was among all the other words.;) You're right, though -- I should have chosen my words a little more carefully.
All in all, it's sort of a weird list, though, don't you think? This makes me think that it would be nice to see the actual Honduran document describing this ban. What *is* on the comprehensive list? And why do the people who wrote this news blip about the ban think this is a significant list of titles from the comprehensive list?
It seems to me that more information would be required to form an opinion about this ban.
It would be nice to see the actual Honduran document describing this ban -- the list of "named" games here is fairly ridiculous.
This could just be a case of sloppy journalism (no surprise to find that here on the Internet) but how could any list of violent games fail to include Grand Theft Auto? GTA3 and Vice City are not only incredibly violent games, they're really good games. This combination will result in the maximum violent media exposure.
Assuming that is the concern here, games like this (how about DOAX Beach Volleyball -- that looks like it'll be the best volleyball game ever made!) should be gigantic targets for censorship.
All in all, though, this kind of censorship is going to prove fruitless. Even if all the children in a country of six million people play Grand Theft Auto until their eyes bleed, only a very small number of them will be able to pull of the feat of attaining a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher and learning to steal cars in order to recreate their gaming experience in the real world. This would be such a small number of children, in fact, that it will be fundamentally impossible to positively pin sole blame on these violent games.
However, take a game like Kingpin. (Anyone remember Kingpin?) Every single child in Honduras could emulate the swearing exchanges from Kingpin and the only result would be teachers giving up in disgust and grand parents weeping silently on their death beds. All that swearing and macho posturing would be very easy for a child to copy, there is really nothing to control that kind of behavior.
Sure, video games can be strong role models and, sure, they can be very bad role models. But let's think about exactly how that works.
And let's get some more information, for crying out loud.
Slashdot Mirror
Theoretically, independent artists who produce high quality work will rise above the flood of mediocrity over time. Independent artists or groups of independent artists who expect to release one product and hit it big are fools and/or gamblers.
Instances we can point to where an independent artist did release one product and was immediately swept to stardom always have outstanding factors that explain their success, usually in the form of connections to industry establishment (which, arguably, makes them not independent artists).
This does mean that independent artists are fighting against the clock, assuming that everyone has a period of productivity. They're probably going to have to work harder and longer (whee!) for less near term material reward and only scant promise of eventual material reward. For this reason, we often find that independent artists who have been revealed over time to be producers of quality work also have a high degree of integrity with regard to their specialty.
The situation has changed. Your description, updated to reflect the latest events, should now read like this:
By "Researchers" they mean "zombies" who were contacted by "zombies" who were contacted by "zombies" who had become sickened by "zombies" admitted to emergency rooms with strange "zombie skin" who had admitted to trying to sell a "brain" they found in the "dump".
Send more researchers.
LHC is obviously a doomsday machine.
If that's true, CERN should really consult with Dr. Strangelove:
Yes, but the... whole point of the doomsday machine... is lost... if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world, eh?
Orthopedists are poseurs?
22, dammit! I guess the radiation mutated my math, too.
21 sure is a pretty odd 30.
You are being explicitly rewarded for the growing sadism of your kills.
Reports indicate that in Manhunt 2 players are not rewarded for the kind of thing you describe. As a matter of fact, players are penalized for engaging the most gruesome scenarios.*
"The version of Manhunt 2 that was supposed to hit shelves next week featured multiple endings depending on your actions throughout the game."
"Through the publication it has been confirmed that the version they played came complete with alternate endings and also completely different final levels depending on how the game was played."
"A game which punishes people for being violent and rewards them for not being violent has been deemed unsuitable and unacceptable?"
* These reports are based on what we will politely call "previews" of the version of Manhunt 2 that was originally submitted for ratings. There is telling whether this structure will remain in the game, should it eventually be released.
It's true, this level of control on the part of the audience makes playing this video game somewhat different from reading a book. On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of deeper introspection in which we might expect an adult audience to express an interest. A lot of people are clearly fixated on the horror in this game. They should be excited to learn that the game gives people who are so fascinated an opportunity to further explore that subject in the context of this work, either by engaging the macabre or attempting to find some other response to the situation.
Additionally, it's worth pointing out that if you find yourself drawn into video games for "days or even weeks, at a stretch," your behavior isn't normal and you would probably benefit from psychiatric assistance. I don't care if you're playing Manhunt 2, Mazes and Monsters or Barbie Horse Adventures -- please seek help!
But the two examples you just gave are exactly the things that Moore suggests *are* working in the U.S. health care system -- people who can't afford heath care at all and people who can afford to pay whatever the cost is for whatever coverage they need (or want). Anyone in between will be a candidate for having to face choices like deciding which of two severed fingers he can afford to have reattached. Sure, you've got coverage, but not enough to save both fingers. Which one do you like more?
That severed finger example, by the way, is straight from the movie. Much like most most of the people making arguments here, I haven't even seen the film either. I saw this bit about a guy having to choose which finger he wanted reattached in a clip from the movie that was used for advertising and promotion.
Critical thinking will probably work better when you actually have some information to think critically about.
In Firefox try "View->Page Style->No Style."
With your first entry (the false/incorrect PIN) both an authentic ATM and a fake ATM keylogger device would return the result "Incorrect PIN," right?
With your second entry (the true/correct PIN) the authentic machine verifies that the PIN is valid and proceeds with your ATM transaction while fake machine would still simply return the result "Incorrect PIN."
It's not like the fake machine was going to ever complete a real transaction for you!
So, how does one identify the fake ATM keylogger device using this "false PIN first" scheme? How does one distinguish the fake machine from an authentic but broken machine? If your answer is that when the ture/correct PIN is rejected you should call your bank, why bother with the false PIN to begin with?
I suppose this scheme could help to identify a fake ATM before making a deposit (if the machine accepts your false PIN, don't put your deposit into the machine), but I fail to see how it would serve to identify devices set up to capture your PIN and the information on the magnetic strip on your bank card.
Playing a game that can be "bought" is simply no fun.
Of course, playing a game that you can't buy isn't any fun, either. We occasionally see console video games that stick to a coin-operated video game model. Why should anyone have to pay for a game with limited chances to play? If you own the thing, why can't you put another virtual quarter in it?
What you're looking for, as we all are, is balance. If being able to buy a better sword is one of many ways to advance in the game, great! If the whole point of the game was to simply acquire the sword, you weren't playing a very good game to begin with.
Not giving the entire game to a paying customer is just as bad as handing over the key to the holy of holies for a fast buck.
The "coupon" isn't a coupon at all. PalmOne has a program wherein anyone who registered for and attened their recent roadshows can purchase a Treo 650 for $350. The "coupon" is simply a photocopied note directing you to a website (viennachannels.com) where you can place an order. If your name is not in the database, you won't be able to place an order.
You're half right. I won't respond to your troll (debating specs) but it's true that this is really only an evolution of the Treo 600. If you had problems with the overall feature set of the Treo 600, you will probably still have problems with the feature set of the Treo 610/650/ACE/whatever. The best explaination for why such a device is being released is that PalmOne needs to take ownership of the Treo line so that there is no remanents of the Palm vs. Handspring legacy.
On the other hand, simply adding a high-res (320x320) screen to the current Treo 600 is a *significant* improvement. This change will definitely make the Treo more attractive to the average user (and it was already, debateably, a hit) but as an enthusiast I will absolutely be embracing this evolutionary upgrade. Absolutely.
(Plus, the removeable battery is a swell addition.)
The Treo 600 came out in October 2003. Handspring had an upgrade plan for Treo 300/270/180 owners -- $400 straight from Handspring.
...I certainly am, otherwise I'll be paying full price for a Treo for the first time.
This is one of the reasons people are thinking the 610/650/ACE/whatever will come out in October 2004 (or one reason that we're *hoping* it'll come out in October). There is no reason to think PalmOne will offer the same upgrade plan as Handspring, but we're all hoping they will.
Attention, Unqualified Idiot:
judgement
IANAL,BIAALWPO (I am not a lawyer, but I am a legal word processing operator)
Err... on the PS2 neither Action Replay or Gameshark work as boot disks for copied games or games from another region.
You rate your soup on how much of a bump it gives you, whether you hop, etc.?
In Joe Sacco's excellent comic documentary "Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995" he talks about how the residents of Gorazde built floating water-powered generators in order to run lights and electric applicances like TVs and VCRs during the siege of their town. The generators were called something like "mini-turines?" (I borrowed the book from a friend and have since returned it.)
screw reading the newspaper on my morning metro ride!
Yes -- you should be reading 30 newspapers on your handheld instead.
Now this doesn't sound good.
...and they're about to get richer.
I don't think the RIAA is looking down at all the little people they're stepping on. I think they're looking up to the giant government that looms over them.
The RIAA is saying "Look at this -- everyone is ripping us off, even little girls and old men! And see how much money it costs us?! Giant government, you have to help us!!"
This whole situation is probably not a win for us, it's a boon for the greedy sleazebags
373 titles seems like a very poor sample size.
That's nice. How much does this one cost?
Spang!
-Dylan
Yes, I noticed the word "among" -- it was among all the other words. ;) You're right, though -- I should have chosen my words a little more carefully.
All in all, it's sort of a weird list, though, don't you think? This makes me think that it would be nice to see the actual Honduran document describing this ban. What *is* on the comprehensive list? And why do the people who wrote this news blip about the ban think this is a significant list of titles from the comprehensive list?
It seems to me that more information would be required to form an opinion about this ban.
Spang!
-Dylan
It would be nice to see the actual Honduran document describing this ban -- the list of "named" games here is fairly ridiculous.
This could just be a case of sloppy journalism (no surprise to find that here on the Internet) but how could any list of violent games fail to include Grand Theft Auto? GTA3 and Vice City are not only incredibly violent games, they're really good games. This combination will result in the maximum violent media exposure.
Assuming that is the concern here, games like this (how about DOAX Beach Volleyball -- that looks like it'll be the best volleyball game ever made!) should be gigantic targets for censorship.
All in all, though, this kind of censorship is going to prove fruitless. Even if all the children in a country of six million people play Grand Theft Auto until their eyes bleed, only a very small number of them will be able to pull of the feat of attaining a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher and learning to steal cars in order to recreate their gaming experience in the real world. This would be such a small number of children, in fact, that it will be fundamentally impossible to positively pin sole blame on these violent games.
However, take a game like Kingpin. (Anyone remember Kingpin?) Every single child in Honduras could emulate the swearing exchanges from Kingpin and the only result would be teachers giving up in disgust and grand parents weeping silently on their death beds. All that swearing and macho posturing would be very easy for a child to copy, there is really nothing to control that kind of behavior.
Sure, video games can be strong role models and, sure, they can be very bad role models. But let's think about exactly how that works.
And let's get some more information, for crying out loud.
Spang!
-Dylan