Worser Stuff: Conspiracies, Writers Srikes, and Flash

Wow, lots of stuff I wanna talk about. I’d write about each subject individually and give each one the attention and patience it deserves but the fact is I don’t have that patience.

So, here we go:

TOPIC 1: Conspiracy, Theories, and Stuff Adam Believes

Props to my friend Chrissa who posted some compelling videos on her blog:

They are 10 minutes each, so devote some time to them. In fact, I won’t update for the next few days so you’ll have time. heh If you really don’t have the time, just pretend you’re watching a TV show. If you really, really don’t have the time, at least just watch the first one.

Is it alarming? Does it scare you? Or are you just laughing? I’m kind of stretched between all three. A few things I believe:

1.) Any kind of world government will never last. One thing I learned in my higher education days was that to have any form of unity, you must be united against (or at least in contrast to) something else. Example: something is white only because there is black. So, unless we make contact with a bunch of other alien civilizations the way the old world made contact with all the other countries on the planet, we aren’t uniting against anybody. And if we do, it will fundamentally fail, civil wars will break out, and “territories” will divide upon themselves naturally. Kind of like how monopolies get broken up into smaller entities.

2.) “Wacko” theories aside, Bush is up to something. You can google this for more info, but I recently read an article about how the administration just passed a directive allowing the president the authority to suspend the constitution. Yup, that’s right. Bush can say, “hey, let’s, uh, get rid of that pesky constitution.” It’s called National Security Presidential Directive 51, or NSPD-51 for those in the know. So, in theory, Bush could totally declare an emergency (or fabricate one) and suspend the 2008 elections, and it would “technically” be 100% legal. Does that scare you?

3.) The North American Union sounds incredible feasible, but I won’t believe the media covers it up. In today’s world of independent “bloggers” and Bill Maher-types, there are just too many voices and I refuse to believe something like this would be voluntarily silenced by everybody. However, the Project for a New American Century was just as eerie, but the only way I know about that is a professor at college whom everyone deemed a “conspiracy theorist.” The thing is, that thing exists.

4.) The do-ability of implanting everyone on Earth with a microchip is small. I could see everyone in a developed country like America getting a chip. But what about the babies born outside the all watchful eye? We forget that half of this planet is home to undeveloped civilizations, where things we take for granted aren’t even heard of. There’s no way “they” could get to everybody.

Thoughts?

Dave, what do you think? Dave, why have we not seen each other except for 2 times since July?

TOPIC 2: The Writers Strike

The bottom line here is the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) vs the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The writers want a little more money for their work, or, more specifically, residuals each time their work airs for future financial security. Naturally, that money has to come from somewhere, and that place is naturally from the people in charge, who also happen to be the people making the decision: the AMPTP (otherwise known as “the suits”).

Far be it from me to form opinions on something I really don’t know if I know much about, but, it seems to me like the AMPTP has more to lose in the long run if they don’t give the writers what they want. Let’s say they drag this thing out and refuse any more money for the writers, thereby keeping the money they have. Sure, they make out great now. But in nine months when no new shows are on, or, worse case scenario, LOST gets pushed back until 2009 (a real threat), nobody will be watching. No viewers = no draw for advertisers = no money for anyone, not even the suits.

Simple logic, right? I think so, anyway. I don’t get it.

The following paragraph is an excerpt from an article about the strike and how it effects Lost:

If the strike extends into the new year, there is a slight chance ABC may opt to hold the eight completed episodes until 2009 (that’s not a typo). Under that scenario, Lost would have 24 original episodes (eight from this season, 16 from next) that could run uninterrupted from January until May — much like a certain Fox drama that features a ticking clock. Says Lost cocreator Carlton Cuse, “Damon (Lindelof) and my concern about running the episodes we will have made is that it will feel a little like reading half a Harry Potter novel, then having to put it down. There is a mini cliff-hanger at the end of Episode 8, but it’s like the end of an exciting book chapter; it’s not the end of the novel. Damon and I didn’t write [the ending of Episode 8] differently [with the looming strike in mind]. We wrote it to be the ending of Episode 8.”

If you want to help, drop the suits a line here and tell them what’s up.

The human attention span is a feeble thing. Putting a 13 week hiatus in the middle of Lost’s third season almost killed it. Having an 18 month break will be the equivalent of it getting canceled. We’ve waited 3 years for some kind of payoff and if it gets canceled, well, I can’t see any writer devoting their talent to a medium that doesn’t take them seriously. The end result = no good progrums on the TV. End of TV, beginning of… new TV? No more scheduled programs, just on-demand.

WORSER CARE SCENARIO: They hire new writers. That would be like attempting to switch bus drivers doing 80 down the highway.

Thoughts?

TOPIC 3: Flash

I attended a Flash class today. U of M (my employer) offers classes on various pieces of software for employees. So I got to leave for a few hours today and learn the basics of Flash. The end result? I made a video. How sweet.

Bye for now, suckers!