Yup, big news movie lovers, Spider-Man 3 is officially a trailer now. Irritate France and put it on your iPod.
June 30, 2006
Thefeverishly popular custom web page host MySpace.com is now facing a major lawsuit relating to an incident of assault that happened to a young female user of the site. From Agape Press:
The suit claims a 14-year-old girl from Austin, Texas, was contacted via MySpace by an adult male who allegedly pretended to be a high school student, gained her trust, lured her out to meet him, and then sexually assaulted her.
…according to Adam Loewy, the accuser’s attorney, this case is by no means an anomaly, and this is not the first time MySpace has been implicated in such a tragic set of circumstances.
“There’s a long part of our lawsuit where, unfortunately, we list up to 15 to 20 incidents in the past four or five months nationwide, all related to this site,” Loewy notes. “And that is not an exhaustive list; there are more incidents out there,” he says.
All right, without meaning anything but the utmost sympathies and good wishes for the girl and her family, this kind of thing is not the fault of MySpace. It’s a lack of involvement on the part of her parents, and it’s a lack of discernment on the part of the girl. The only party who is truly responsible for what happened is the boy, who should be locked for a very long time.
But please, folks, let’s not yet again cop-out of our responsibility to have some common sense. MySpace cannot infiltrate the life of everyone who’s approached by a would be molester. Parents, on the other hand, can.
June 30, 2006
The French government has passed what is being dubbed the “Itunes Law.” The law, specifically targeting iTunes/iPod genius Apple, will force Apple to equip it’s iPod to play songs from rival song download companies, which it currently does not do. In addition, the law would force iTunes to change it’s format so that songs bought and purchased through the music service can be played on music devices other than iPod.
As a proud owner of an iPod and an avid iTunes fan, I am absolutely appalled at this ruling. I myself have been frustrated at times by the exclusivity of the iPod+iTunes coupling, and have had to purchase an iPod (which was considerably more expensive than other devices I could have bought under France’s law) to play my iTunes songs.
However, the iPod/iTunes marketing is a brilliant display of ingenuity, consumer benefit, and entrepreneurship. The iTunes music store is the largest of it’s kind, and, unlike other music services, does not force me to pay for simply using the service. Therefore I pay for only what I download. This is a great service to music lovers. The fact that Apple conveniently equipped iTunes songs with iPod-exclusive downloading technology is their right to do. If I found a better service than iTunes, or a better device than iPod, I would switch. But I haven’t, and that’s why Apple has my double patronship.
France’s assault on capitalism and free-enterprise marketship will only harm her as a nation. Apple put out two fantastic products that have found their ways into millions of music lovers’ rooms. Apple’s genius helps consumers. Why can’t France see that?
June 30, 2006
LEGENDARY PICTURES presents
A BRYAN SINGER film
BRANDON ROUTH, KATE BOSWORTH, KEVIN SPACEY
Rated PG-13 (for action violence)
CC Rating: **1/2 (out of five)
Directed by BRYAN SINGER
Superman Returns is, like the Man of Steel himself, rather frustrating. It contains ingredients for greatness, and settles for mediocrity. Unlike it’s title hero, Superman Returns is not invincible; no, instead, it collapses under the crushing weight of a weak script and mediocre performances.
June 29, 2006
School being sued for picture of Jesus
Posted by Sam James under Faith and Values, NewsLeave a Comment
A public school in West Virginia is being sued by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State for having a portrait of Jesus in the halls. The groups say that the picture essentially makes the school out to “endorse Christianity as it’s official religion.”
Question: If federal buildings display their signs in English, does that mean the US endorses English as the official language of the country? Of course not. The First Amendment only addresses legislative respecting of religion, not passive mentions or images.
The ACLU continues it’s streak as paranoid, sue-happy and people ignoring think tank for the Democratic party.
June 28, 2006
Critical consensus here for today’s opening of Superman Returns is lukewarm. Here’s the dish (goup ratings are averages unless noted otherwise):
Yahoo! Movies Critics: “B” (critics); “B+” (Users)
Rotten Tomatoes: “79 % Fresh”
Box Office Mojo Readers: “B+”
Roger Ebert: ** (out of four)
Hmm. Some more sites for your pleasure:
Hopefully we’ll have a full review ourselves either today or tomorrow.
June 27, 2006
New theory on BBC about why certain are “born” gay.
I find it interesting that the homosexual advocacy groups are now willing to say the homosexual traits are the results of biological error before they say that it just may be a social development/choice. In other words, gay men wouldn’t exist in a biologically ideal world, but since they do, they must not by choice but by birth. Interesting, and not completely coherent.
June 26, 2006
CD Review: “Mad Season” by matchbox twenty
Posted by Sam James under Music, UncategorizedLeave a Comment
Genre: Mainstream Rock/Pop
Length: 11 Songs
Year: 2000
CC Rating: **** (out of five)
Matchbox Twenty can certainly claim a fair degree of dominance in the 90's rock scene. With the release of their first album, Yourself Or Someone Like You, the quintet from Orlando defined the energy and guitar work that became creedal in modern rock afterwards. The disc sold over ten million copies in the US alone, so expectations from fans for America's premiere mainstream rock group were high in 2000 when their second effort, Mad Season, emerged.
The disc gets off on the right foot with "Angry," using all the tools present to get a solid, catchy acoustic rock feel. Using plenty of instrumentation and electrics, matchbox twenty adds something to mainstream rock that had been regrettably absent through much of it's existence: melody.
The highlight though is lead vocalist Rob Thomas's emotive yet powerful singing and heartfelt lyrics. Even though Mad Season is dominated by themes of the loved and lost, Thomas sings out his blues with compelling energy and even optimism (reaching his most convicting moments in "Leave" and "Bent"). Thomas is so in command of his craft that even when the songs perhaps plateau in freshness, his words are rang out with irresistible force. You truly leave Mad Season with the impression that, however raw and broken, these words are straight from the author's heart.
Mad Season's plenteous melodies and smart guitar work will delight fans of the genre, but the overall mellow feel will likely bore hard rock enthusiasts. Still, "Mad Season" represents some of the best in mainstream rock, and it's a must listen for fans of this style.
June 25, 2006
And no, that's not what our beloved Iranian President has been saying. No, this idea comes from the home base.
John Murtha (D-PA), the Representative who went beserk on national news earlier this year over the alleged cover up of the Haditha massacre, is claiming that US activities in Iraq are much more harmful to "world peace" than the nuclear creations of Iran and North Korea.
Okay, first things first: this really is not a very new or incredibly shocking statement. The anti-Bush left has been preaching this for a while.
What I do find appalling is that US Congressmen can continue to look you square in the eye and swear that they support the troops, while telling the nation that what the troops are doing is much worse than the actions of the enemy they're fighting! No, Mr. Murtha, you don't support the troops: you support no-war.
Can we at least have the common decency to protect the integrity of our armed forces in the Iraq debate? Isn't that something we can all agree on? To John Murtha, apparently not.
June 25, 2006
For all the worldwide unity soccer may potentially give us, it sure is lousy to see such mass furor over balls in nets.
It's a little sad to see European civilians passively accept the gradual socialism in their countries, while passionately fighting fans of rival soccer teams.
