I heard a story on FOX News yesterday about an Afghan prisoner who was fitted for a prosthetic leg during his imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was held for several months and then released. Several weeks later he was recaptured for involvement in an ambush of an American convoy. Today's scene details how I would handled this prisoner's second visit to GITMO.
SOLDIER: What is your name?
PRISONER: Alli babba.
SOLDIER: Ok, Alli. During your first imprisonment we treated you with the upmost regard for your particular religious needs. We supplied you and your cohorts with prayer rugs and copies of the Koran. We fed you better than we feed our own soldiers. We punished our own soldiers when they treated you any less than they would want to be treated themselves. We supplied you with medicine when you were sick. And we fitted you with a prosthetics leg when you didn't have one. Today you were caught you in an attempt to kill more U.S. soldiers. That's gratitude, huh, Alli. Ok, so today we are officially taking back your leg. It's being repossessed, Alli. Now run along..
That's today's scene.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Random Thought
What is the Turner Broadcasting System's obsession with the movies "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've got Mail" and why do they feel compelled to air them 5 times a week? It's like TBS is having a "girls' night out" over there and they are all cooking brownies and watching chick flicks.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Today's Scene
I saw a picture once that was taken from the fourth or fifth row at a concert in Japan. Everyone in the shot was intently focused on the screens of their camera phones and trying to either video or take a pictures of the band. They were substituting the real thing which was only just feet away for small digital picture versions. You really have to laugh at this because think of the money these concert goers spent to get seats so close but they weren't fully experiencing it because they were too busy taking pictures. And it is obvious that they are oblivious to what is going on around them too.
Today's scene is a picture very similar to the one above. I ask that you use your imagination because this is how I envision the world to come when we all have camera phones. The picture is of a shoot-out in front of a busy bank between the police and three bank robbers. Guns are pointed in all directions and are being fired as indicated by the smoke. There is a small crowd of people either leaving or entering the bank as the drama breaks out in their mist. The irony in this picture is the relative calm of the passer-byers and the fact that the entire crowd have their camera phones out and poised to capture the fire fight for prosperity even as they are in harms' way. That's today's scene and the future affects of camera phones in our society.
Today's scene is a picture very similar to the one above. I ask that you use your imagination because this is how I envision the world to come when we all have camera phones. The picture is of a shoot-out in front of a busy bank between the police and three bank robbers. Guns are pointed in all directions and are being fired as indicated by the smoke. There is a small crowd of people either leaving or entering the bank as the drama breaks out in their mist. The irony in this picture is the relative calm of the passer-byers and the fact that the entire crowd have their camera phones out and poised to capture the fire fight for prosperity even as they are in harms' way. That's today's scene and the future affects of camera phones in our society.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Today's Random Thought
I am thoroughly convinced, after seeing the trailer for the upcoming Spielberg mini series, Into the West, that the movie industry is currently in a Native American "drought". The trailer depicted white actors as Indians. And I'm talking big broad nosed, beer drinking, 232 cholesterol carrying Caucasians too. What happened? I always thought that if you were Native American then you had a guaranteed job in any Western flick that came out?
Today's Scene
The camera follows a sharply dressed couple into a Japanese Steak House. It's one of those that prepares the customers' orders right there in front of them on a special table that doubles as a grill. The couple is seated next to three other couples. The camera pans across the group. A few moments of small talk go by and then a waitress emerges with a cart of ingredients in preparation for the Chef's grand entrance.
The kitchen door swings open and a chef stumbles out wearing very dark sunglasses. His attire is professional but disorganized. He has misbuttoned his shirt and his fly is wide opened. He pulls out a walking cane after a few unsuccessful attempts at avoiding stationary objects in his way. It is clear now to the customers, as the camera pans across their shocked faces, that their Chef for the evening is blind. He finally finds his way to the grill and promptly places his hand down flat against its sizzling surface. He screams for a moment, then soothes his blistered hand in the bowl of butter sitting on the cart. The chef regroups but somehow looses his bearings during the chaos and is now facing away from his table. He is now addressing his audience unknowingly with his back to them. The couples looked confused and some are stiflingly laughs. The camera view is now on the Chef's grinning and bobbing head, the couples can be seen in the background slightly blurred. The Chef begins his preparations by throwing shrimp out into the middle of the restaurant, the tale-tell sound of the sizzle noticeably absent. Back to the tight shot of his face, but now with a questioning frown. The Chef realizes his mistake and turns to face the table. He fumbles for a knife and indiscriminately swings and jabs with it in a vain attempt to slice carrots. At this point there is some quick head nodding and light whispers from the couples and they make a hasty exit. That's today's scene.
The kitchen door swings open and a chef stumbles out wearing very dark sunglasses. His attire is professional but disorganized. He has misbuttoned his shirt and his fly is wide opened. He pulls out a walking cane after a few unsuccessful attempts at avoiding stationary objects in his way. It is clear now to the customers, as the camera pans across their shocked faces, that their Chef for the evening is blind. He finally finds his way to the grill and promptly places his hand down flat against its sizzling surface. He screams for a moment, then soothes his blistered hand in the bowl of butter sitting on the cart. The chef regroups but somehow looses his bearings during the chaos and is now facing away from his table. He is now addressing his audience unknowingly with his back to them. The couples looked confused and some are stiflingly laughs. The camera view is now on the Chef's grinning and bobbing head, the couples can be seen in the background slightly blurred. The Chef begins his preparations by throwing shrimp out into the middle of the restaurant, the tale-tell sound of the sizzle noticeably absent. Back to the tight shot of his face, but now with a questioning frown. The Chef realizes his mistake and turns to face the table. He fumbles for a knife and indiscriminately swings and jabs with it in a vain attempt to slice carrots. At this point there is some quick head nodding and light whispers from the couples and they make a hasty exit. That's today's scene.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Satellite killed the radio star!
Commercial radio, for me, died on June 10th, 2005 when I bought a MyFi XM radio. I will never go back. I have been continually disappointed with commercial radio for years. I have found radio's savior to fly high in the sky. Satellite.
Today's Random Thought
One of the fundamental maxims of writing is "Write what you know". If writers write best when they write what they know, then shouldn't Steven King be locked away somewhere?
Friday, June 10, 2005
Today's Random Thought
I believe a Beatnik is a poet who understands the beauty in the way words sound and the emotions they instill more than their meaning when placed in neat structured forms.
Today's Invention
Today's Invention is an improvement on an already existing product. The Delphi MyFi is the world's first portable satellite radio. My improvement would be to add an sd slot to it to make it possible to store and burn your music.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Today's Invention
The Tin Ear and Audio Braille
The Tin Ear is one of my conceptual inventions designed for the deaf. It is constructed in the same housing as hearing aides. At the heart of its construction is what I will call Audio Braille. Audio Braille is a powerful piece of software that recognizes millions of different sounds and then interprets and translates them into vibrations or blinking lights that a deaf person could, with training, understand. The Tin Ear comes factory loaded with Audio Braille and is fully upgradable to accommodate newer software versions. A deaf person would learn to understand the blinking lights or vibrations much like a blind person would learn to read Braille. For example a certain series of vibrations from the device with a specific magnitude could be recognized as a car horn. So, Tin Ear's microphone picks up the sound of a car horn and Audio Braille translates it into the vibrations which can be felt and understood by the wearer.
The Tin Ear is one of my conceptual inventions designed for the deaf. It is constructed in the same housing as hearing aides. At the heart of its construction is what I will call Audio Braille. Audio Braille is a powerful piece of software that recognizes millions of different sounds and then interprets and translates them into vibrations or blinking lights that a deaf person could, with training, understand. The Tin Ear comes factory loaded with Audio Braille and is fully upgradable to accommodate newer software versions. A deaf person would learn to understand the blinking lights or vibrations much like a blind person would learn to read Braille. For example a certain series of vibrations from the device with a specific magnitude could be recognized as a car horn. So, Tin Ear's microphone picks up the sound of a car horn and Audio Braille translates it into the vibrations which can be felt and understood by the wearer.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Regarding "Down with the System"
Wow! I obviously touched a nerve with some Down fans. I appreciate all the comments. Most, however, did not agree with my stance, but graciously acknowledged my opinion. There were some very intelligent points made. I like to be made to think and most of these comments did just that. I take the words that people say very seriously and, much like art, lyrics mean different things to different people. It was interesting to learn other interpretations. Thanks
Today's Scene
Today our hero is on an errand for a co-worker at the cell phone store. Hero's co-worker was involved in a motorcycle accident over the weekend and has twisted his ankle. Our hero is at a grocery store buying Epsom Salt and a bag of ice and he is next in line at the check out counter. Token small talk with the clerk bores him so he decides to construe a ruse.
Clerk: What's the ice for?
Hero: I'm a volunteer for the Donor Organ Recovery Unit at the local hospital and I'm working right now, so I don't have time to deliver the kidney and the pair of eyes that I have out in the car so I'm putting them on ice in the refrigerator at work until I get off.
Clerk: Uh.....Oh......Ok.
Hero: Yep...Yep,yep. (hero laughs inside his head)
Clerk: What's the ice for?
Hero: I'm a volunteer for the Donor Organ Recovery Unit at the local hospital and I'm working right now, so I don't have time to deliver the kidney and the pair of eyes that I have out in the car so I'm putting them on ice in the refrigerator at work until I get off.
Clerk: Uh.....Oh......Ok.
Hero: Yep...Yep,yep. (hero laughs inside his head)
Down with the System
"Why don't presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?"-System of a Down, B.Y.O.B.: Mezmerize 2005.
This lyric comes from yet another band jumping on the anti-government bandwagon to sell albums. I don't know for sure if it sparks from ignorance or greed, probably a little of both. I understand ignorance. It would be irresponsible, but forgivable. The System of a Down, whose lyric is quoted above, will see the light when they realize that the world their lyrics influence is the one their kids are going to have to live in.
Greed is a different story. Greed causes logic to be thrown out the window. We should all know a little about something before we criticize it and we definitely need to keep our law makers in check. You would think we, as citizens, would take this roll more seriously and not just blindly throw out condemnation. However, records like this sell. Green Day knows and so does System of a Down. It is obvious to me that System of a Down is ignoring their intellectual fan base by playing to their lowest common denominator. I would say, "Why do the poor always take the bait? Why do they always believe a fake?"
Is it true that the U.S. sends their poor to fight wars? Let's examine. Our military is a voluntary one. A soldier, rich or poor, has no one to blame but themselves. The System obviously don't care. If a soldier is fighting it's because he chose to. Let's educate the Down folks further.
Why would someone volunteer? The Montgomery G.I. pays soldiers' college tuition for joining. So if you can't afford college, you're poor perhaps, then the Military provides a way to get a paycheck and go to school all on the governments dime. So, logic, which has already been thrown out the window, would account for the higher percentage of lower income people in the military. This brings up another interesting problem that our Military is facing, soldiers who are either refusing to do their duty or complaining about it and bringing the Military into litigation. It has come down to soldiers who are lazy and want a free ride. They want to do their time in service and then get out and let Uncle Sam pay them. Another one of my lyrics would be, "Why do the lazy volunteer? Are they too good now for welfare?"
It's a pity that the System of the Down has taken their unique sound and used it to distort the truth and breed an anti-government mentality for the next generation. It's a pity that some bright minds don't think for themselves. I still hold hope for a punk or metal band that will entice with some intelligence.
Why do they always send the poor?"-System of a Down, B.Y.O.B.: Mezmerize 2005.
This lyric comes from yet another band jumping on the anti-government bandwagon to sell albums. I don't know for sure if it sparks from ignorance or greed, probably a little of both. I understand ignorance. It would be irresponsible, but forgivable. The System of a Down, whose lyric is quoted above, will see the light when they realize that the world their lyrics influence is the one their kids are going to have to live in.
Greed is a different story. Greed causes logic to be thrown out the window. We should all know a little about something before we criticize it and we definitely need to keep our law makers in check. You would think we, as citizens, would take this roll more seriously and not just blindly throw out condemnation. However, records like this sell. Green Day knows and so does System of a Down. It is obvious to me that System of a Down is ignoring their intellectual fan base by playing to their lowest common denominator. I would say, "Why do the poor always take the bait? Why do they always believe a fake?"
Is it true that the U.S. sends their poor to fight wars? Let's examine. Our military is a voluntary one. A soldier, rich or poor, has no one to blame but themselves. The System obviously don't care. If a soldier is fighting it's because he chose to. Let's educate the Down folks further.
Why would someone volunteer? The Montgomery G.I. pays soldiers' college tuition for joining. So if you can't afford college, you're poor perhaps, then the Military provides a way to get a paycheck and go to school all on the governments dime. So, logic, which has already been thrown out the window, would account for the higher percentage of lower income people in the military. This brings up another interesting problem that our Military is facing, soldiers who are either refusing to do their duty or complaining about it and bringing the Military into litigation. It has come down to soldiers who are lazy and want a free ride. They want to do their time in service and then get out and let Uncle Sam pay them. Another one of my lyrics would be, "Why do the lazy volunteer? Are they too good now for welfare?"
It's a pity that the System of the Down has taken their unique sound and used it to distort the truth and breed an anti-government mentality for the next generation. It's a pity that some bright minds don't think for themselves. I still hold hope for a punk or metal band that will entice with some intelligence.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Ebonic Translation....
"Where Christ is in all this crisis?"-Public Enemy, He Got Game: 1998.
It's a good question. Doubt is normal and questions indicate that the search has not been abandoned. I was amazed to learn, the benefits of hurricanes while watching the Discovery Channel. We hear of their destructive nature and see images of death and catastrophe on television during hurricane season but what we don't readily know is that farmers in these coastal areas rely on them to bring in moisture and nutrients to their crops. We would doom ourselves to starvation if our meteorologists where to one day learn to eliminate hurricanes. I never had an answer to why there are hurricanes until now. Where's God? He's providing food for the world by bringing sustenance to the world's crops.
What about school shootings, domestic violence, other crimes? Where's God? He's not in the hearts of those who commit theses acts. These are the results of sin in people's lives and man is to blame for that. Did God cause the woman to drink and drive? That was her choice and had she made a better one the family in the van she hit might still have their father. Is that a good example? Well, this kind of thing happens everyday. Take your pick of examples.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Today's Random Thought
Why does it always take Dr. David Banner so long to become enraged to the point that he transforms himself into the Incredible Hulk? Is he some sort of Zen scientist that only gets enraged when his Feng Shui is off kilter? If Taco Bell messes up my order, I'm already green.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Fainting Goat Update!
Mike has commented with a video link about fainting goats in my Today's Scene column about these nervous oddities. Check out the video here.
Today's Random Thought
What is it about the Vietnamese that predisposes them to nail care? And why do my hands look like snarly paws that have been foraging in a land fill somewhere?
Today's Invention
The Digital Life
The DL idea that I created would be a media storage device like an IPod or something similar that can store pictures, video, text files and audio. The idea is similar to the Time Capsule phenomenon that haunts us at High School reunions. All the seniors who are graduating put a little reminder of their high school days into a box that isn't opened until their 10 year class reunion. The DL is based on this principle but the media that is recorded is a collection of memories of a person's life; childhood photos, recordings of them singing their kid to sleep, video of a graduation, a picture shaking the hand of the company boss, or poem that was written, that all can be laid to rest with a person when they die. It would be like a digital tombstone.
The Digital Life has other purposes that aren't so morose. They can be incorporated into the construction of buildings with the life history of the structure's name sake. The J. Edger Hoover FBI Building might, for example, could have a DL unit installed in the foyer of the building and another one somewhere else more permanent. These units would be historical, educational, and act as a digital ID for the building. My idea can be thought of as a Black Box for life.
The DL idea that I created would be a media storage device like an IPod or something similar that can store pictures, video, text files and audio. The idea is similar to the Time Capsule phenomenon that haunts us at High School reunions. All the seniors who are graduating put a little reminder of their high school days into a box that isn't opened until their 10 year class reunion. The DL is based on this principle but the media that is recorded is a collection of memories of a person's life; childhood photos, recordings of them singing their kid to sleep, video of a graduation, a picture shaking the hand of the company boss, or poem that was written, that all can be laid to rest with a person when they die. It would be like a digital tombstone.
The Digital Life has other purposes that aren't so morose. They can be incorporated into the construction of buildings with the life history of the structure's name sake. The J. Edger Hoover FBI Building might, for example, could have a DL unit installed in the foyer of the building and another one somewhere else more permanent. These units would be historical, educational, and act as a digital ID for the building. My idea can be thought of as a Black Box for life.
Today's Random Thought
I wonder if we all could recall alien abductions if we were all hypnotized and asked just the right questions?
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