Brian's Blog

About two weeks ago or so I was listening to NPR and they were celebrating Mozart's 250th birthday. I have a wide taste in music and enjoy classical from time to time but I'm not an enthusiast by any degree. However, during the course of one of the talks on Mozart and his works they mentioned The Musical Dice Game . Basically, the entire thing is generated by rolling dice to choose the measures. And each measure is written in such a way that no matter how it works out it still sounds good.

Well, I thought this was one of the coolest things I've heard of in a long while so I just had to hear it played. Unfortunately the only working site I could find requires Quicktime. Even so, I booted up into Windows, installed Quicktime and generated a few versions just to hear and they really did sound good no matter what I rolled! Pretty neat stuff.

Well, I finally got around to seeing Episode 3. After the last two I was sort of worried that this one would suck too. But it seems that George Lucas finally got it right without the help of Joseph Campbell. Or maybe it's just that Jar-Jar's part is only about 30 seconds long and he doesn't actually talk or do anything? Except for the lame "NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!" it was pretty good. And I like that the effort was taken to tie it into the originals.

I guess the first two didn't totally suck. I still bought them and watch them every once in a while but there is still something missing compared to the originals that I can't put my finger on.

Anyway, I guess I'll be buying this one too.

This weekend I finished reading 1984 by George Orwell. Some years ago my friend Chris introduced me to 1984 via the movie which prompted me to check out the book. Unfortunately I never finished it back then. I got to the point there Julia and Winston were in their little hideout just before they got caught by the Thought Police then put it down and never finished. I think part of that is because on that first pass through the story was nothing more than entertainment to me. All the while that I was reading it I was thinking, this is an interesting story, but this could never happen. Not here in the United States anyway!

Well, this time through I read it in a new light. This time it struck home more than that first time since I think we are seeing things come about that could lead to this sort of world. I don't mean were all going to have to learn Newspeak and call everyone comrade or anything like that. I think it will be a much more subtle sort of control if we aren't careful and the general population (the proles in 1984) don't start to care a heck of a lot more about what's going on in the world.

The technology is there, or soon will be there, to have unprecedented surveillance on the general public. For instance, police may be able to see through walls in the not so distant future. And RFID tags are another interesting one in that they are so small that they can be hidden in cloth or, even paper. Supposedly the newer $20 bills already have them. Of course, these technologies, and many others, are developed with the idea of having a practical use that is to benefit people in some way. However, as with all technology, it can be a very bad thing in the wrong hands. And that is exactly the part the worries me. I don't trust human nature to lead people to do what is right in general. And least of all, I don't trust those in power to do what is right. A good example of this can be found in the recent Pennsylvania lawmaker pay raises in which they increased their pay to the 2ND highest in the country and also discovered, and exploited a loophole in the State Constitution that allowed them to take the pay raise in the current term when the raise isn't supposed to take effect until the next term. If this sort of thing is happening on the State level I'm sure there is a good chance it's happening on the Federal level.

And then comes in the issue of influencing the minds of the people, or manipulating them to think what the government/media wants them to think. For instance, there is the large number of people who believe that Saddam Hussein played a part in 9/11 when anyone who was awake and should have noticed the sudden transition from Bin Laden to Iraq. Some how or another the media/government played the general population into thinking and actually believing something that was not true. I can remember personally thinking, "But what about Bin Laden?!" when we were hearing about Iraq and their mythical weapons of mass destruction. So, at some point 40 plus percent of the American public was manipulated into believing a lie.

The point being there is a similarity with the Party's goal of controlling minds and manipulation of the US population to gain support for a war in Iraq. Albeit, on a much smaller scale than the fictitious world of 1984. Now, the reason I think this was so easy to do is that, well, people are generally living their lives in their own little bubble and don't really care about the big picture. They aren't watching those who are in charge of maintaining their rights. And, as they say, then the cat is away the mice will play. In this case, the cat is the people, and the mice are those we elect into office.

Portions of Orwell's description of the Proles seem to describe the mind set of the general masses in the real world pretty well. A couple of them follow:

They were born, they grew up in the gutters, they went to work at twelve, they passed through a brief blossoming period of beauty and sexual desire, they married at twenty, they were middle-ages at thirty, they died, for the most part, at sixty. Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbors, films, football, beer, and, above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.

-- From 1984 by George Orwell

It was not desirable that the proles should have strong political feelings. All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer work hours or shorter rations. And even when they became discontented, as the sometimes did, their discontent led nowhere, because, being without general ideas, they could only focus it on petty specific grievances. The larger evils invariably escaped their notice.

-- From 1984 by George Orwell

In other words, people in general are so sucked into their selfish little worlds that they don't have the time or the care to observe what is going on around them. 1984, in my mind, is a big warning of what the world could be like, at least in part, if we don't wake up, smell the roses, and start to watch and care about what goes on in our government as well as the world.

Reviews of the greatest Linux distro (in my humble opinion anyway) seem to be terribly rare. I just found a nice one on Madpenguin that sums up things I've though on my own. Come to think of it, I can't say I've ever found a Slackware review that was bad that wasn't total BS. But then again, I am a little biased.

Yesterday I finally got out to see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I have to say it was well done, especially considering how difficult it probably is to pull of this type of humor. It's a different type of humor though, that I think will be lost on most of us Americans. I'm still not sure I like the way they did Zaphods heads, but that is really a minor thing. One thing though, I don't think it would have been nearly as funny for me if I hadn't already been a Hitchhiker's Guide fan from reading the books. Don't get me wrong, it would have still been funny, just not as funny without the pre-knowledge of having already read it.

I finally got my copy of WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception and sat and watched it. I must say, while it doesn't shock me, that it does offer food for thought and confirms to some degree what I've suspected for some time regarding main stream media.

WMD is by Danny Schechter who supposedly had worked for the very networks he's critical of. This may be just my perception but it seems that he got out of the main stream news because he wasn't pleased with what he saw.

Anyway, in a nutshell, this documentary is about how the media in the United States failed the American people by reporting inaccurate, non-critical, one sided information about the war in Iraq. It points out how different the news was presented and what was shown depending on where you lived. One interesting statistic was that, in a study he sited, 71% of American news was pro-war while only 3% were found to be against it. The explanation offered is simply that the major networks are now owned by a small number of large corporations who have been lobbying the government for law changes. To be critical of the actions of the current administration while simultaneously asking it a favor doesn't seem like a good way to get what you want. This is just one of many things he brings up.

One thing I did like about it though was that it is not delivered in a sensational manner. It was pretty much a down to earth documentary. In my mind, putting sensationalism into something like this makes me doubt it's accuracy. For instance, I like what Michael Moore has to say, but find it hard to take him seriously at times.

Overall I think this was worth the money I spent on it. I'll keep it on my shelf along with The Corporation as one my favorite documentaries.

Yet more Hitchhiker's Guide goodness has appeared today on the front page of Amazon.com in the form of a new trailer. Looks good and we get a nice look at what Marvin looks like too.

Update

It looks like Amazon took it off their front page already. It's now here.

Cindy and I don't go out to dinner often, and when we do it's usually no fancier than Perkins or Friendly's. Also, we would normally scoff at dinner at a place like the Apollo Grill since it is far from cheap. But, we had a $60 gift certificate that was close to expiring so we went and lived the high life for a short while last night. The menu actually had mostly normal food, not the type of stuff that I'd expect from a fancier place, you could get burgers, Potato Skins, steak and the like which is good. But, I was in the mood for something I don't normally get. I went with Black & White Sesame Crusted Grilled Salmon with a Soy Glaze which was quite a treat for me even if it was on the expensive side. My wife had the Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Lemon Aioli. We thought both meals were very well done, they looked good and tasted great on top of it. Both came with mashed potatoes that were well seasoned and tasty. I don't recall exactly what was in them but I remember they had roasted red peppers in them which gave them kind of a yam like color. It also came with mixed veggies but they weren't the typical style of mixed. Each type of veggie was cut in a different way, some cut big, some small, some at angles, etc so it was pleasing to the eye.

After all that I was pretty darn full, but we don't do it up to often so we decided to force in some desert. Cindy had a slice of warm Banana cake with a scoop of Peanut Butter Ice Cream. And I had the Mexican Chocolate Cake layered with Peanut Butter Mousse and Ganache. Both deserts were huge and I couldn't finish mine. They even had what looked like a hand poured chocolate heart as a garnish presumably for Valentines Day.

What impressed me most though was that on the way out everyone we passed that worked there took a moment to smile at us and thank us for coming. Also the waitress was probably the most attentive one I've ever seen. As in, the bread dish never was empty and she asked me if I wanted more to drink before I actually ran out. I'm not used to that type of treatment. To bad you have to pay out the nose to get it.

A Public Service Announcement regarding the crisis that is known as Service Support Termination Trauma (SSTT) can be found here.

Please, don't let SSTT happen to you.

I feel so ashamed! I can't believe I totally forgot to mention The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie on my list of anticipated things. It's to be released May 6Th, only 3 months or so away!

Oddly enough I was reminded of this when I ordered a hoagie for lunch and saw my order number was 42. I wonder how many towels I'll see at the theater on opening night?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price
My wife pointed out to me yesterday that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is to be released July 16th. I'm not as huge of a fan of Harry Potter as I am of The Lord of the Rings but I find myself following Harry Potter anyway. One of these days I'll actually read the books but until then I'll watch the movies.

Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four movie is supposedly going to be released in early July. In the Pre-Release Buzz section of movies.com there is a sweet looking trailer that they just released.

Star Wars: Episode III
Even after the disappointment I felt with Episode 1 and Episode 2 I'm still anticipating this one. After all, we are going to get to see, supposedly, an epic battle between Obi-wan and Anakin along with the fall of Anakin to the Dark Side. Of course, there is a trailer at movies.com. Maybe we'll get lucky and get to watch Jar-Jar die a horribly slow and torturous death! One can only hope.

X-men 3
This one is projected to be released some time in 2006. I haven't heard to much about this one and there isn't much on movies.com about it. What little there is seems like there is some turmoil going on. Hopefully this will make it off the ground. I want to see how they do Phoenix.

I recently read Beowulf in which it is mentioned fairly often about the warriors drinking in the Mead Hall. Since it's mentioned so often it got me thinking, what the heck is Mead and how does one make it? Especially since I've never seen Mead offered anywhere on a menu. This got me searching the net and browsing a slew of home brew websites covering Mead, Wine, and Beer. To made your own Mead isn't hard. In its most basic from it consists of water, honey, and yeast. The problem is the process takes a year or more. I don't want to invest a year of time into making something like that until I know I can actually brew something successfully.

This got me thinking of beer. I checked the yellow pages looking for any kind of home brew shops in the area and found none. Google gave plenty of hits though and I found three types of kits. One was so simple a retarded monkey could probably make beer. If you can add water and mix in a pouch of beer mix powder then that's about all the skill you needed for this one. That's not making beer to me, I want to feel like I made a difference in the final product so I looked farther. This time I came up with what looked like a mad scientists setup from some horror movie. I don't have a chemistry degree so that was out for now. Then I came across Mr. Beer which seems to be a happy medium. This is what I wanted so I ordered it up.

While I was waiting for it to arrive Ricardo S pointed out that a new home brew shop opened close to us called Keystone Homebrew Supply. I stopped in and they have all the stuff of the mad scientist setup but, after talking to the person at the store it didn't seem that bad. Well, to late now, Mr. Beer was on the way but at least I have a place to go to get ingredients and advice. If this turns out to be something I like to do then maybe I'll upgrade.

Anyway, through all this I'd been talking to one of my fishing buddies, Bob. And we decided to go into this together as a treat for the rest of the guys on the next annual fishing trip.

So, Mr. Beer arrived yesterday. We got the Premium Edition which comes with the keg, the ingredients to make West Coast Pale Ale, and eight 1 liter bottles with caps. We also bought the recipes and ingredients for Dutch Apple Ale and Ginger's Castaway Ale. Bob stopped by this evening and we decided to go with the basic West Coast Pale recipe that it came with to get a little experience before we tried anything else out.

We had a hell of a good time setting up and starting our first batch of beer which is currently sitting on top of my dresser getting ready to ferment. It'll take at least a week before it's ready to bottle and then another week after that to carbonate. Until then we took a few pictures of our fun and I put them up in the Photo Gallery for the world to see. I'll take more photos of the bottling process and add them to the gallery when it's ready.

A minimum of 2 weeks to wait! I hate waiting. I guess I'll just have to buy some beer to drink in the meantime.

Tomorrow my wife and I are officially married for 7 years making the grand total from the first date to now about 13 or 14 years. Yes, we dated a log time. Anyway, tonight we celebrated by going to dinner at Olive Garden then went to the movies. Originally we were going to see National Treasure, but it was sold out so the backup plan was to see The Phantom of the Opera. I'm glad National Treasure was sold out because, finally, we have a Phantom movie that does not suck. It was very well done. I've always been a Phantom fan and saw it on Broadway some years ago. The movie is essentially the play but into movie form, music and all. It's directed by Andrew Loyd Webber, and the screen play is also written by Andrew Loyd Webber and some other guy. It brought back many memories of that trip with my wife to NYC to see it. The movie is very well done and we both enjoyed it immensely.

An unmentioned part of my holiday loot was The Return of the King Extended Edition. A couple of days ago I had an extra 4 hours of time just laying around so I took the time to watch it and I wasn't disappointed overall. A few of the major goodies added in is the scene where Gandalf and Saruman have their confrontation. That scene was very well done with some obvious but needed changes from the original text to make it fit in the movie. Related to this scene in a way is the fact that one of my favorite sections of the book, The Scouring of the Shire, is not included in the film. Thus Saruman and Grima get to meet their end here vs in it's proper place in the Scouring. But, since the Scouring was supposedly never filmed I guess it just had to be.

There was another really cool bit where they added in The Mouth of Sauron who is Sauron's ambassador. This guys mouth is huge and it bugged me enough to turn on the commentary to see if they mentioned how they did it right after I finished the movie. Basically, they just digitally magnified his mouth 50%. It looks subtly wrong when you view it. I though it was well done even though my bud Bob doesn't like it. But what does he know.

Among the other goodies that I noticed as new were The Houses of Healing and a bit about Faramir and Eowyn meeting there. Plus there are a load of extended scenes. The only real disappointment I have is the exclusion of the Scouring of the Shire. Still, it's awesome. My wife and I are going to watch it again tonight.

Aside from that, today ended up being a surprise day off (unpaid unfortunately). So I've spent some time with the kids, did some more reading of Beowulf which is excellent so far, and did a little shopping for drinking supplies for tonight. My wife can't have alcohol since she is breastfeeding, so I guess I'll have to drink for the two of us. It's a hard job to take up, but I'll do my best.

Tonight I've finally finished reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I've only been reading the thing since the beginning of the First Age it seems. I must say that The Silmarillion has fleshed out the stories in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for me nicely. None of the information is really needed to enjoy and understand The Lord of the Rings but knowing the little back ground details is nice. For instance, I learned a little bit about the origins of Shelob in Chapter 8 - Of the Darkening of Valinor. And in Of Beren and Luthien is the full story of, oddly enough, Beren and Luthien that Aragorn mentioned in The Lord of the Rings while he is guiding Frodo and company to Rivendell. There are also other goodies about the origins of Sauron, the rise and fall of the Dunedain, and the main part which is the full history of the Elves. I also enjoyed the Ainulindeale which is the creation story of Arda.

The problem I have though, is I started reading this so long ago that I'm sure I've forgotten things from the beginning, so I'll have to read it again sometime. And, hopefully, having read it once, I won't have to spend as much time looking up the huge amount of names, referencing the map, and visiting The Encyclopedia of Arda so much. And instead just read and enjoy the stories.

It's definitely a re-read for me. I'd like to read The Lord of the Rings again sometime and see how much more detail I pick up. It seems every time I re-read a book by Tolkien I pick up more and more.