Quantum Spin

Well, due to some spammer having found this obscure blog, I have been forced to refuse Anonymous posts. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause for legitimate posters, but since I am unable to send feedback to the offending servers causing them to explode and burst into flames - well, I do what I can. Thank you to all my sincere commentators and may the spammers rot in digital agony.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

What Ho, Hollywood?

Last week - or was it the week before? - TCM showed several old Harold Lloyd silent movies. They were great.

Too bad Hollywood has lost focus on the STORIES and, instead, focuses on camera shots, special effects, gore and nudity. I am reminded of a difference I noted between the original Star Trek and the Next Generation. The original may have had hokey sets and a low budget - both time and money - but they filmed with drama, theatrics. Things even as small as the gash of light across Kirk's face in tense moments or just the colored lights in the overhead panels on the bridge; things that lend emotion to a scene. Then, along comes Next Generation - antiseptic, sterile, well-lit. Sure, the bridge on the NextGen Enterprise was probably more realistic, but it was certainly not as dramatic and never told its own story as did the original Enterprise bridge.

Where are the films like Casablanca? 12 Angry Men? The Day the Earth Stood Still (not the Keanu Reeves dreck)?

Rather than simply make a good movie, Hollywood insists on "pushing the envelope."

Of course, we, the viewing public, are also to blame; mainly for our "celebrity-worship." We go insane over the mere chance to catch a glimpse of someone whose only skill is to be able to pretend to be something one is not. These people are paid millions of dollars for playing make-believe, something any five-year old kid excels at. But, who would even get out of their seat, if they saw one of the cameramen or boom operators - assuming they were even recognized?
As a result, prices are ridiculous. I've seen maybe enough movies in over a decade to count on two hands. Last summer, the pickings were incredibly slim. The garbage that is coming out of California is beneath contempt.
So, I'll wait until something comes out on DVD or BluRay, rather than drop almost 50 bucks on something that lets me sit in a crowd without even an arm-rest to myself.

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

We Are The Government

I see all these posts about the government is out of control, the government is taking over, the government etc...

Thing is, we have EXACTLY what we voted for and it's been building since FDR.

WE are the government. The problem is, too few of us take our responsibilities seriously.

Voting is a pain, so we don't vote - or, we let it be done early, so we can make sure we get our naps in. As a result, we end up with a government that is amenable to the activists, not the People.

Jury duty is so inconvenient that we take great pains to get out of it. So, we end up with ignorant jurors who lacked the imagination to get out of serving. Also, too few realize that when they are on a jury, it is not only the defendant who's on trial; the LAW is, too.

When asked what the Constitutional Convention gave to the nation, Ben Franklin is said to have replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

Well, maybe we can't. Maybe no one can. As Rome did, the US keeps its citizens in line with Bread and Circuses. Rome fell, we are probably falling. We could stop the fall, but that takes effort and - well, there's American Idol to watch or something neat is on YouTube.

In school, kids are taught that the Constitution is malleable, a "living" document, changing at the whim of society. I know; I was a teacher. They are not taught that it is the LAW.

But, even if they were, so what?

We have too many laws and far too many of what we have address piddling issues. As a result, we go ahead and justify breaking those little laws. By doing so, we train ourselves that the law is something to be broken and we find it far easier to ignore the bigger laws - like the Constitution.

Does anyone think that the laws we have in place today would have passed even a cursory review by the Founding Fathers? I don't think so. I think they would be offended and distressed by what we have done to their gift to us. Although, they had a far different attitude back then. People were, in general, nobler, I believe. The Founding Fathers had no idea what dregs their prodigy would be.

Democracy lasts until the People discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasuries. Then the slide to failure becomes almost unstoppable.

Bread and Circuses. The bane of societies.

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