Monthly archives: September 2007

That's so speciesist!

This entry was posted in racism Star Wars on by

Yes, The Ewok Adventure is racist. It’s racist against Ewoks. Especially Ewoks that don’t speak English. I am not joking. I believe that the cinema is more a reflection of society than an active formative agent. When I attack racism in film, it is not out of concern that such views will manifest themselves into reality. When I attack racism in film, it is because I find its inclusion discomforting and not in a particularly interesting way. That’s as categorical a statement that I am willing to inscribe at this point. In Return of the Jedi, we saw that Lucas had used some inherently racist concepts but coded them into the Star Wars universe. They were made politically correct, or I think a better term for it would be “politically neutral.” When adopting the icon of the Turkish sultan with Jabba the Hutt, he didn’t want to make any commentary toward Turks specifically; rather he just wanted to use a visual lexicon that suggests a culture of excess. The Ewoks have always been intended to be “noble savages.” Not specifically any American Indian tribe, which would again signify an entire subset of naivety and even cultural marginalization. Rather, he just wanted a visual lexicon that would suggest that Rousseau-ian ideal; that purity of essence untouched by the modern world.

You can get a two film Ewok Adventures dvd from Amazon.

In flight reading

This entry was posted in travel USA on by

This is probably not the sort of thing I want to be reading two days before flying to the States-

International travelers concerned about being labeled a terrorist or drug runner by secret Homeland Security algorithms may want to be careful what books they read on the plane. Newly revealed records show the government is storing such information for years.

Privacy advocates obtained database records showing that the government routinely records the race of people pulled aside for extra screening as they enter the country, along with cursory answers given to U.S. border inspectors about their purpose in traveling. In one case, the records note Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Gilmore’s choice of reading material, and worry over the number of small flashlights he’d packed for the trip.

Luckily I was planning to read some throw away technothriller or a suitably rightwing piece of military sf from Baen books.

via BoingBoing

Satan!

This entry was posted in flickr photo on by

Satan!, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

Spotted on the back of a PT cruiser in the cinema car park last night. I’ve only ever driven a Cruiser in Gran Turismo, from which experience I would have to agree that it is evil.

The Royal Mail is your friend

This entry was posted in flickr photo on by

I wonder if the Home Office has openly endorsed a Royal Mail service, or just said it’s a good idea to get your mail redirected?

Stuck onto a letter forwarded by my parents. Admittedly, said letter had come from the States. I’ve never had one of these stickers on anything else they’ve redirected for me.

Oh baby baby, oh baby baby

This entry was posted in Britney Spears lyrics on by

(Oh baby baby, oh baby baby)

Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know
that something wasn’t right here
Oh baby baby, I shouldn’t have let you go
and now you’re out of sight, yeah
Show me how you want it to be
tell me baby cause I need to know now
oh because

CHORUS
My loneliness is killin’ me (and I)
I must confess I still believe (still believe)
When I’m not with you I lose my mind
give me a sign,
hit me baby one more time

Oh baby, baby, the reason I breathe is you
Boy you’ve got me blinded
Oh pretty baby, there’s nothin’ that I wouldn’t do
It’s not the way I planned it
show me how you want it to be
tell me baby cause I need to know now
oh because

CHORUS
My loneliness is killin’ me (and I)
I must confess I still believe (still believe)
When I’m not with you I lose my mind
give me a sign,
hit me baby one more time

Oh baby, baby. Oh baby, baby.
Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know
Oh pretty baby, I shouldn’t have let you go

I must confess that my loneliness
is killing me now
don’t you know I still believe
that you will be here
and give me a sign
hit me baby one more time

CHORUS
My loneliness is killin’ me (and I)
I must confess I still believe (still believe)
When I’m not with you I lose my mind
give me a sign,
hit me baby one more time

I must confess (my loneliness) that my loneliness
(is killing me) is killing me now
(I must confess) dont you (I still believe) know I still believe
(When I’m not with you I lose my mind) That you will be here
And give me a sign…
Hit me baby one more time!

Britney Spears – Baby One More Time

I caught the end of a VH1 show last night “100 greatest songs of the 90s”. I was with it through the top ten and couldn’t even argue with Madonna being there. Then Britney made it in at number 4 and I just had to give up.

To take away the bad taste, here’s Travis covering the song at Glastonbury-

And Bowling For Soup performing it for a radio station-

Hanging Around

This entry was posted in flickr Mouse photo on by

Hanging Around, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

The Mouse had to wash the green out, then got hung up to dry. He was sedated for most of the process, but now he’s woken up he’s becoming argumentative again.

I guess we should be glad we’ve only got the one, some poor bastard in Russia had a whole pack of them invade his office.

Heat death of the refrigerator

This entry was posted in flickr photo on by

I should have photographed all the other messages left since we got magnetic letters, but I’ve been crap.