tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56004482011-04-21T19:46:30.077-04:00Armchair VigilanteRexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comBlogger961100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1094228195259515722004-09-03T13:14:00.000-04:002004-09-03T12:27:37.070-04:00

It appears that former President Bill Clinton has been admitted for emergency bypass surgery in NYC! There's a post GOP-convention joke in here somewhere... Seriously, though-hope he's ok. UPDATE: it appears that Clinton is only getting "tests", possibly an angioplasty, with an eye to bypass surgery very soon- due to severe chest pains. That sounds serious, but thankfully not

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1091733616931820782004-08-05T15:20:00.000-04:002004-08-05T15:20:16.930-04:00

The ever-brilliant-and-insightful (if) Anal Philosopher, Keith Burgess-Jackson, offers his testimonial to the rotten customer service provided by Earthlink. I was considering going to Earthlink for my DSL but after reading about his experience, I won't any longer. I hope word spreads all over the blogosphere about rotten experiences with companies like Earthlink. That's the beauty of the web,

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1091732052907485122004-08-05T14:54:00.000-04:002004-08-05T15:05:17.896-04:00

The new book on John Kerry, by the swiftvets that knew him... # 1 on Amazon.com I usually don't devote too much time to election blogging, and I've already criticized John Kerry once today (about his economic policy) but I'm afraid I'm going to have to address his war record today too... Finally... a great political ad! The best I've seen yet...possibly ever. John Kerry's Vietnam War Record as

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1091729801245209272004-08-05T14:16:00.000-04:002004-08-05T14:16:41.246-04:00

Bub, featured zombie in 1985's Day of The Dead. Romero's long awaited sequel, Land of The Dead is filming in Toronto and will presumably draw its zombie extras from the Toronto area. According to this sad news the long-awaited fouth entry in George Romero's "Dead" series, Land of the Dead will not be filming in the Pittsburgh area, as Romero wished, as were the previous films. Following the

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1089740493705655842004-07-13T13:41:00.000-04:002004-07-13T17:47:07.970-04:00

Dr. John Shelton Lawrence, the leading authority on the role and influence of superhero mythology and heroic fiction in American politics and culture (and a regular Rex Stetson reader), e-mailed to let me know that just yesterday he posted his own take on what Spider-Man 2 really says about the America of 2004. Lawrence's essay tends to focus on the changing conceptions of "heroism" in their

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1089648764255226132004-07-12T12:12:00.000-04:002004-07-12T15:51:41.290-04:00

Forget Fahrenheit 9/11. The big hit film about the War on Terror that everyone's talking about is Spider-Man 2. My dear pal The Young Curmudgeon thinks it's a metaphor for America grappling with the consequences of finally standing up to face evil". He makes a pretty good case for Spider-Man's problems policing New York being analogous to America's problems policing the world: personal

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1088520395428831772004-06-29T10:46:00.000-04:002004-06-29T11:25:13.096-04:00

That's the new T-shirt slogan that has The Young Curmudgeon so ticked off today. I left a longish comment on it on his blog post about it, and decided that perhaps what I really wanted to do was make my own post/rant from those comments- so here, slightly adapted: "a vote for bush is a vote for bin laden". Jeez. Like, I'm totally sure they agree on foreign policy especially. Both pro-Iraq and

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1087845813421440452004-06-21T15:23:00.000-04:002004-06-21T15:38:54.546-04:00

Vigilantism is most popular in cases where the morality is the least ambiguous, such as in the case of sexual predators who target children. Another condition is the inability or unwillingness of the govenment or law enforcement to address the problem effectively. The same is true online, of course. A new target has emerged, however- the famous Nigerian E-mail scams, also known as "419" scams.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1086555117815423812004-06-06T16:38:00.000-04:002004-06-06T16:51:57.816-04:00

There are loads and loads of tributes out there in cyberspace to the late great President Ronald Reagan, that are far more eloquent than anything I could come up with to say, so I'll keep this short. Here's one of my favorites. The best tribute I saw, though, wasn't online, it was walking back from breakfast this morning, when I saw a guy wearing this t-shirt: Which is obviously in the

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1085763105283293332004-05-28T12:28:00.001-04:002004-05-28T13:34:17.996-04:00

A DC Resident is attacked by Cicadas upon leaving his home in NW. Walking outside of the Rex-Cave today, I couldn't help but notice that there were, all hyperbole aside, a bazillion of these red-eyed creatures everywhere in our Nation's Capital, outnumbering the humans 3-to-1 (an unscientific estimate). There were flying ones following people around,and plenty of them clinging to the side of

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1085635701033038512004-05-27T01:28:00.000-04:002004-05-27T01:31:19.296-04:00

That's what Doug Kern claims in his fantastic new piece at Tech Central Station today. The argument he makes, as I understand it, is that society has a responsibility to impart morality to its children, and Superhero cartoons are a good way to teach kids about good and evil. The trouble comes when these cartoons get wussified by censors and social scientists and their morailty becomes too

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1084993219510180662004-05-19T14:20:00.000-04:002004-05-19T15:00:19.510-04:00

Another creep off the streets, thanks to the online vigilantes at Perverted Justice! The online do-gooders over at Perverted Justice have another feather in their cap today, as one of their trademark sting operations led to the arrest of a Brooklyn firefighter suspected of soliciting sex online from a 14 year old girl. If convicted, he gets a minimum of 5 years on prison. If it weren't for

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1084467416339718572004-05-13T12:56:00.000-04:002004-05-13T13:22:17.003-04:00

Add the Pedophile Police to the ever-growing list of viglante websites exposing online sex predators! This seems to be a real trend, here, readers. I suppose it makes sense- online sexual predators targeting kids is one of the most repugnant of the newer Internet Age crimes. And the traditional law enforcement structures don't seem quite as good as these private web sites to tackle the

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1083777108390151632004-05-05T13:11:00.000-04:002004-05-05T13:17:29.780-04:00

Interesting piece in the St. Louis Post Dispatch detailing the increasing numbers of civilian border patrol militias springing up along the notoriously porous southern US border. Their goal: to protect the ranch lands being regularly trashed by undocumented immigrants, get the offenders folks deported, and discourage the practice by making it a less effective way to sneak in. Volunteers armed

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1083618123285717522004-05-03T17:02:00.000-04:002004-05-03T17:39:29.263-04:00

Artist's conception of the Gargoyle, protector of the Bible Believing International Baptist Church, in Detroit, MI. "You don't have to worry anymore about the person who has been breaking into the church," the anonymous caller said. "You can find him at the church." The vigilante had shot the burglar, who had hit the Detroit church 8 times in as many months. Predictably, that's not good enough

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1083269453318214892004-04-29T16:10:00.000-04:002004-04-29T16:42:03.403-04:00

If you want something done right... Extremely encouraging news from Iraq today! A "Shadowy Resistance Movement" against the Shiite militiamen led by Muqtada al-Sadr has spontaneously sprung from amongst the population of Najaf- and they seem to making some real headway, and now the Sadr Gang is running scared: As is the case with most fledgling resistance groups, further details are sketchy

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1083009135999754072004-04-26T15:52:00.000-04:002004-04-26T16:07:54.950-04:00

Villanova Students are ticked off at having Carroll Spinney, who plays Sesame Street's "Big Bird", as their commencement speaker. He will be recieving an honorary degree, and will not be appearring in costume. I don't see what the big deal is- I think it would be cool as hell to have a muppet there! Even if it's just Big Bird. The whole philosophy of the Muppets, at least those on Sesame

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1082730783499062202004-04-23T10:33:00.000-04:002004-04-29T16:55:34.140-04:00

That was what my week looked like, and my excuse for why I haven't been blogging so much lately. No offense, imaginary readers, but it was a lot more fun that blogging. About a week ago, I was selected as a Beta Tester for the coolest superhero video game ever- City of Heroes!! Since then, Rex Stetson has been patrolling the streets of Paragon City, fighting criminals, and having loads of fun

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081877195907693432004-04-13T13:26:00.000-04:002004-04-13T14:32:56.610-04:00

According to this item in the Telegraph, due in part to fears of vigilante activity, and increasing reliance on private security providers, British Police have finally responded to the public outcry for better policing. More and more citizens, frustrated about sparse and ineffective police presence, have been turning to private security to guard their crime-ridden neighborhoods. Sir Ian Blair

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081807489916762802004-04-12T18:04:00.000-04:002004-04-12T18:07:39.403-04:00

Taking the law into your own hands seems to be all the rage at the box office these days, according to one source: This AZCentral piece takes a look at the common themes of "revenge" films such as Kill Bill, The Punisher, and Man on Fire: "Are we in a block of time where vigilante movies would work better? Yes, I do believe that," says Jonathan Hensleigh, who wrote and directed "The Punisher."

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081525799163203312004-04-09T11:49:00.000-04:002004-04-09T12:31:18.950-04:00

Over at Hit & Run there is a description of an an unusual Easter celebration, involving a quasi-Passion play featuring the Easter Bunny, who is whipped and beaten a la Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. Artist's Conception of the Bunny-Scourging Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer Norelli-Burke,

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081449895168733072004-04-08T14:44:00.000-04:002004-04-08T14:57:09.590-04:00

Ohio and the two regional delicacies it offers. Effective today, Ohioans may now apply for concealed carry gun permits! They need only pay a $45 registration fee, provide a color photo, pass a criminal background check, and prove they have passed a 12-hour firearms safety course. Those sound like very level-headed, reasonable regulations to me- that weigh the public safety concerns against

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081363621485036232004-04-07T14:47:00.000-04:002004-04-07T14:55:28.450-04:00

They gots vigilantes on the brain over there in England, I guess... And if this little item in The Guardian is any indication, they're agin' 'em! Regardless, yet another of the ever-increasing private attempts to curb the activity of online sexual predators is being met with heavy criticism. ChatNannies is a website that patrols online chatrooms looking for pedophiles. This is a similar (

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081351763076950902004-04-07T11:29:00.000-04:002004-04-07T15:05:32.796-04:00

Not if the Irish government can help it! Artist's Conception of Irish Vigilante The Irish Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has just unanimously rejected public demand for notification regarding convicted sex criminals (including pedophiles and rapists) who move into the neighborhood. The government cites fear of vigilante activity as the reason. Now I realize that there has to be

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1081198844299909852004-04-05T17:00:00.000-04:002004-04-05T17:13:07.076-04:00

I wonder why it is that so many vigilantes seem to hail from the UK... It looks like some UK farmers are turning to vigilantism now, too: Here is a story reported in the East Anglian Daily Times involving farmers who have been unable to get adequate police protection from "hare coursers"- gangsters who are into some unusual and violent practices (hare coursing is really hard to explain- just

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1080750987011761202004-03-31T11:36:00.000-05:002004-03-31T11:39:03.966-05:00

The New York Times actually has a fairly evenhanded (if a little bland) writeup on the cybervigilantism covered here in recent weeks. One bright spot in the piece is this passage which highlights the libertarian underpinnings of vigilantism, at least in the online realm if not "IRL": Along those lines, the very presence of so much vigilantism on the Internet might well suggest that individuals

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1080583186990803532004-03-29T12:59:00.000-05:002004-03-29T13:02:21.500-05:00

Recently, I have documented the eBay Vigilantes, those ebayers who are sick and tired of the fraudulent auctions on eBay and ineffective policing of such by the site's administrators, and seek to expose and thwart these fraudsters. In "meatspace" or "IRL" as I like to call it, historically vigilantism has been supported by the public only when two conditions are met: 1) The crime must be of a

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1080243986160475782004-03-25T14:46:00.000-05:002004-03-25T15:03:07.966-05:00

Tired of the high price of CDs? Do you still even buy CDs? I sure don't. I bought two CDs in the past year, both as gifts. I might have bought two the year before, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. And I just got a check for $13.86 from the CD companies. About a year ago, I heard about a settlement for a class action suit aginst those evil, price fixing CD companies. All you had to do to get a

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1079977434686399272004-03-22T12:43:00.000-05:002004-03-22T12:46:22.420-05:00

The web world has been compared to the Wild West of the late 19th Century: largely unregulated, with outlaws and con artists looking to prey upon the innocent folks. Much like in the old west, the good people of one online community have recognized the value of vigilantism in keeping the streets safe for decent folks.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1078035561217624202004-02-29T01:19:00.000-05:002004-02-29T01:22:10.873-05:00

Iranian radio reports that Bin Laden has been captured and the US is just sitting on the news, until it becomes politically advantageous to reveal the good news (before the november presidential election). The Pentagon denies it, of course. Although word is that we're hot on his tail and all that. Ordinarily I chalk these nutty conspiracy theories up to -well, conspiracy nuts. But one thing to

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1077550856687821862004-02-23T10:40:00.000-05:002004-02-25T12:21:54.403-05:00

Now this is a pretty bad move for the Democrats. They may as well hold up a big sign that says "Our candidate is weak enough already- quit making him look worse!". Bad enough that the party seems to stand "for" nothing (only "against" things, most of all Bush). But now they look incredibly weak as they freak over Nader's entry into the race. Sure, one can argue that in 2000, he drew a f ew

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1077136901393549932004-02-18T15:41:00.000-05:002004-02-18T15:43:36.326-05:00

I really can't top the headline above, taken from a Zambian news service IOL . One of those really eye-catching headlines... You have to laugh at the surrealism of the whole thing ( or maybe it's the existential absurdity) -else it's pretty depressing. Further proof that Africa is one F*cked Up place. Reminds me of those dead baby jokes. Because if you can't laugh at dead babies, what can you

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1076610057100757452004-02-12T13:20:00.000-05:002004-02-12T13:33:23.903-05:00

Well, Kerry's got himself a Gennifer Flowers-type situation here, doesn't he? Sorry, but as Nelson Muntz of The Simpsons would say, "HA-HA!" Kerry has spent his whole career imitating JFK... down to the PT boat and the big hair- and apparently the wild infidelity. Pretty dumb move in the era of Lewinskygate. Once again, Drudge is on top of it. Kerry's looking more and more like Clinton

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1076554900450391672004-02-11T22:01:00.000-05:002004-02-11T22:58:43.076-05:00

It occurs to me with all this talk about the military records of George W. Bush and John Kerry, that the two men had very different jobs during the Vietnam war. George W. Bush's job was to defend his country by maintaining an air defense perimeter for the Texas Air National Guard. John Kerry's was to wage an active, agressive war- to secure the Mekong Delta and engage the Viet Cong, thus

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1076432811444306732004-02-10T12:06:00.000-05:002004-02-10T12:09:44.233-05:00

There's a number of sourpusses out there who don't find Wonkette funny, due to her lefty slant- but when I see an such an aptly chosen pop culture reference wielded so skillfully and efficiently, I have to chuckle. Of course, the fact that Howard Dean is the butt of the joke doesn't hurt. He's cornered the market on Bipartisan ridicule now after getting that Al Gore endorsement. No respect, I

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1076220301557611422004-02-08T01:05:00.000-05:002004-02-08T11:51:01.356-05:00

Rex would like to say that he's been undergoing some sort of elaborate training montage in faroff sabbatical locations, to bring you readers bigger and better armchair vigilantism. Unfortunately, Rex has just been busy working and whatnot, and after being throughly demoralized by the loss of his archive, (since restored- see two posts back) Rex thought he had better hang it up and take it easy

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1076108835521482612004-02-06T18:07:00.000-05:002004-02-07T17:02:37.326-05:00

Under Construction- Cut me some slack for a bit.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1070307670266188542003-12-01T14:41:00.000-05:002003-12-01T14:41:46.686-05:00

Thanks to an alert reader, it has come to my attention that my entire blogspot archive has been mysteriously deleted! No doubt this is an attempt by some vast conspiracy involving the government and the mainstram media to keep the truth from YOU, dear readers! But rest assured, the archive will be up and running again soon! Until then, there's always Google caching. I guess do a search for "

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1069974951544915732003-11-27T18:15:00.000-05:002004-02-07T19:10:21.966-05:00

Today we have witnessed the beginning of the end of the Democratic Party. Rex has called it. 10 years, no Democratic Party. Gone the way of the Whigs. It's over. Long without a Raison D'Etre, All arguments and posturing have effectively been defused by the singularly amazing Thanksgiving gesture in Iraq today.... W has fucking beat FDR and Reagan and everyone by actually putting himself in

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1069693278102151822003-11-24T12:01:00.000-05:002004-02-07T19:13:42.890-05:00

As an Armchair Vigilante, it is my sworn duty to sit back comfortably while passing unsolicited judgement on public figures whom I believe have committed some grave offense to society at large: sometimes this is criminal behavior, sometimes it is just immoral, sometimes it is just bad judgement or a sin of omission. Today, however, I am passing judgement on those who would pass judgement, namely

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1068872068160041172003-11-14T23:54:00.000-05:002003-11-15T00:00:31.310-05:00

Supposedly this Paris Hilton Sex Video is all the rage, and I am curious to see what kind of traffic spike I get by linking to the video. I could have just put the words "Paris Hilton Sex Video" on this page, without actually linking, but I would feel bad for misleading people, or misrepresenting myself (which are two things typically done by people offering content like the Paris Hilton Sex

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1068848275140253792003-11-14T17:17:00.000-05:002003-11-14T17:26:37.793-05:00

I finally read the script for The Reagans and I don’t think it’s too bad- or too liberally biased. Maybe they spun it differently during production when Brolin and Judy Davis came to the project. The actual script has the “they who live in sin die in sin” and “I am the antichrist” scenes in it, but they don’t read very badly in context. Aids: nancy is feeling bad about people who die of aids (

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1067893125594856272003-11-03T15:58:00.000-05:002003-11-03T16:32:11.913-05:00

The ever-brilliant Mark Steyn has a funny column up about Wes Clark and John Kerry's Iraq positions. About Clark's political metrosexuality:"He may have spent the last year giving off warlike vibes but he insists that his orientation is strictly anti-war...what are we to make of Clark's call -- on April 10 -- to break out the champagne: ''Let's have those parades on the Mall and down Constitution

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1067891899081631942003-11-03T15:38:00.000-05:002003-11-03T15:45:43.900-05:00

The various Democrat presidential candidates took pot shots at northeastern liberal Howard Dean's hamhanded attempts to appeal to the South in order to win it back for the Democratic Party. They do this every election year and few of them ever manage to carry even a single Southern state even if they get the nomination... Now these guys are fighting each other like this was the make it or break

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1067012634240633722003-10-24T12:23:00.000-04:002003-10-24T16:08:39.816-04:00

First Jack Tripper Dies, Now Rerun, Too?? Just Kidding. I come to bury Rerun, not to praise him. The story of Rerun's decline and death is a hilarious near-parody of those "pathetic washed up stars" VH1 specials. I quote some of the funnier bits of the eulogy: Rerun was a 1970s version of latter-day goofball TV characters like Steve Urkel from "Family Matters": loud, a little whiny, a little

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1066946062044954642003-10-23T17:54:00.000-04:002003-10-24T00:29:01.570-04:00

Today The Senate passed an Anti-Spam bill modelled after the wildly popular "Do Not Call" list operated by the FTC. The Do Not call list targets the nuisance of telemarketers, and I support it 100%. Rather than some who see it as excessive government regulation, I see it as government excersizing its few legitimate functions: and protecting free association and voluntary trade. By signing up

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1066681702434501462003-10-20T16:28:00.000-04:002003-10-20T16:35:44.363-04:00

The Treasury Department has launched a $40 Million media blitz promoting their new $20 Bill (see Sept 9 post Goofy-Ass Looking Rainbow sissy Money To debut October 9th). it's bad enough that the government is changing our respectable-looking currency into some fruity-pepples looking euro-monopoly money. I don't know if that's some subtle conspiracy to merge the US and Canadian dollar ( check them

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1066238433941178542003-10-15T13:20:00.000-04:002003-10-17T11:28:10.856-04:00

I don't understand why the media is covering this so much. Big deal, China finally puts a man in space 42 years after the Soviet Union, 41 years after the US did it. What's next, transistor radios?? Color television? Touch-tone dialing? Actually, far worse- Rumor has it they are on the verge of developing a 500Mhz microprocessor! I guess the theoretical "reason we should care" is that this

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1066059167779666042003-10-13T11:32:00.000-04:002003-10-13T11:32:47.483-04:00

There is a new series of GM car commercials airing these days, which feature the ghost of car designer Harley Earl (creator of the corvette) talking to today's designers, in an effort to inspire them to think "outside the box". At the end of the commercial they create a high-tech, though fairly standard-looking SUV. Hm. Still, I like the commercials, especially the one where Harley talks about

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1065647697761603932003-10-08T17:14:00.000-04:002003-10-08T17:14:57.706-04:00

Greetings, readers. some of you have been writing in, concerned about my health! Wondering if I were dead, even! Well, thanks you for your concern, and for the continued visits despite a dearth of new content this past week. In case you were wondering, I have recently started a new job, which is why I have been- gasp!- too busy to blog! Unfortunately the nature of the new job must be kept secret

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1064868455345808852003-09-29T16:47:00.000-04:002003-10-01T12:34:07.106-04:00

Many of you loyal readers have been writing in to ask how you can support some of the fine blogging that occurs here at Rex Stetson, Armchair Vigilante. Well, folks, let me tell you: it's expensive to watch all the movies required to make the movie, superhero, and pop-cultural references you so enjoy. Many a time I've been in the middle of a post, and wished to make reference to a particular film

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1064858716228370752003-09-29T14:05:00.000-04:002003-09-29T15:09:18.853-04:00

I know everyone is sick and tired of hearing me whine about John Ritter's death, but I just had one more thing to say about it. As a fan of John Ritter, and of superheroes, I have been recommending the underrated Ritter superhero film Hero At Large (1980) for a while now. Trouble is, the film is fairly hard to find. I did happen to stumble across, however, a site which has several screen

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1064589798924915082003-09-26T11:23:00.000-04:002003-10-01T12:35:11.526-04:00

I attended the AFF Happy Hour last night, and had a great time hanging out with all the libertarian scenesters. But now I am essentially too hung over to blog. I am really serious here, readers. Ow. My head hurts. I feel so sick to my stomach. I have sweats and chills. This is one of those "I'll never drink ever again"/freshman-year-of-college-and-you-haven't-learned-to-pace-yourself-yet kinda

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1064331900574169352003-09-23T11:45:00.000-04:002003-09-23T11:47:45.420-04:00

Chief Wiggles, a blogging American soldier currently working on the Iraqi reconstruction efforts, has organized a toy drive for Iraqi kids. These poor kids have so little due to the bad luck of being stuck in a war, it seems like a golden opportunity to show them how nice Americans can be, when we're not dropping bombs on them. People always talk about how our enemies in the Middle East

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1064242185976463032003-09-22T10:49:00.000-04:002003-09-22T10:49:45.640-04:00

Well, the dreaded Hurricane Isabel has come and gone, having cut a swath of destruction laying waste to much of the Eastern seaboard- obliterating nearly everything in its path. I thought I would relay my own hurricane story- a stirring tale of the triumph of the human spirit, of the struggle of man against nature. First of all, kudos to the vigilant weather teams for their round the clock

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063824115982534572003-09-17T14:41:00.000-04:002003-09-26T11:44:42.636-04:00

A new kind of superhero has appeared in Kent, England: ...Axle Grinder Man! Batman he isn't. Rather than going after violent criminals, AGM performs a very specific public service, namely cutting the "boot" or "wheel clamp" from cars immobilized by traffic police. Additionally, The Grinder alerts citizens to the locations of speed trap and security cameras, a popular target of public derision.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063728099407321222003-09-16T12:01:00.000-04:002003-09-16T12:02:46.250-04:00

The ever-brilliant Mark Steyn has a great piece up related to the assassination of Swedish politician Anna Lindh. He argues that the European nannyocracy mentality (let the government take care of all of life's problems, not the individual) is responsible for Lindh's stabbing death in a department store. "How could this happen? Why didn't the Government do something?" are the questions of the

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063641375220621832003-09-15T11:56:00.000-04:002003-09-15T16:49:58.906-04:00

Usually Reason Online is just online HQ for the forces of liberty in the war against the socialist and lifestyle fascist elements in government, law, and public policy. On September 12, however, its "Hit and Run" section became a Gen-X wailing wall, following the untimely death of Three's Company star and Classic-TV icon John Ritter. A sampling of the remembrances from the discussion board:

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063377651048259592003-09-12T10:40:00.000-04:002003-09-12T10:46:02.143-04:00

Ok, I could handle Death Wish dying, he was old, and we all saw it coming. I had sort of prepared myself for the death of Johnny Cash- who was too sick to attend the MTV Video Music Awards this year, and who died yesterday. I had prepared myself for these small sadnesses the way people could prepare themselves for the 9/11 anniversary, or the way Catholics are prepping themselves for the imminent

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063291535504446432003-09-11T09:35:00.000-04:002003-09-11T10:48:00.503-04:00

I usually don't advocate wallowing in grief- I like the old tradition of mourning for a year (wearing a black armband or dress)after a death in the family. By that reckoning, we should just "get over" 9/11- it's been long enough, although it is still understandable and forgivable for those who wish not to get back to "normal", and I don't begrudge them their way of dealing with it. However- we

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063127322008846162003-09-09T13:08:00.000-04:002003-09-09T13:10:50.820-04:00

New Rainbow-colored $20's are set to debut on October 9th. The goofy-looking bills incorporate a peach-colored background, blue eagles, the traditional black and green ink, and little yellow "20"s all over the place. The Bureau of Printing and Engraving offers an interactive demonstration of the bill's features. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this is just the first stage in a plan to

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063125098749376162003-09-09T12:31:00.000-04:002003-09-09T12:44:33.313-04:00

Leni Riefenstahl, documentarian and Nazi propagandist, best known for her 1934 film Triumph of The Will , has died at age 101. The Internet Movie Database called Triumph "a chilling prequel to genocide". Even in her later years, Riefenstahl continued to express an admiration for Adolf Hitler, and remained unrepentant about her role in promoting Nazi ideology and anti-semitism: "I don't know

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063116429849541462003-09-09T10:07:00.000-04:002003-09-09T14:59:42.963-04:00

Happily some political commentators in the media have followed my lead in recognizing the late Charles Bronson as an influential cultural figure over the past few decades, primarily due to the film Death Wish, which, like the film Dirty Harry, struck a chord with many Americans frustrated with high crime and ineffective policing, who wished to reclaim their cities from the great urban crime wave.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1063050464365424232003-09-08T15:47:00.000-04:002003-09-08T16:49:46.530-04:00

I don' t usually blog about drug issues, but here's one that caught my eye, as an example of how bad science leads to bad policy leads to unintended bad consequences: Apparently the anti-ecstasy crowd just lost some legitimacy to their argument about how horrible raves are, as it was revealed that the long-standing claims of Ecstacy's neurotoxicity were the result of a labelling error on the drug

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1062788262335969342003-09-05T14:57:00.000-04:002003-09-05T17:02:25.516-04:00

This interesting news item is one of the rare instances of vigilantism where readers will find me- (gasp!)- critical of vigilantism. Apparently, some Amish and Mennonite men in their late teens and early twenties were hiding at an intersection, in an adjacent cornfield, throwing rotten tomatoes and shooting paintballs at the passing "english"- the modern Americans driving by in their cars. The

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1062614869096594422003-09-03T14:47:00.000-04:002003-09-03T15:02:52.550-04:00

Beloved movie tough guy Charles Bronson, best known for his portrayal of bleeding heart liberal-turned- kickass urban vigilante Paul Kersey in the "Death Wish" films, died Saturday at age 81 of pneumonia. In the 1970's and '80s, city dwellers across America were beleagured with high crime rates, ineffective police protection, and court decisions which tended to favor the rights of accused over

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1062605690324908742003-09-03T12:14:00.000-04:002003-09-03T12:21:05.936-04:00

Driving Back from my Labor Day vacation, I happened to pass right by the Monroeville Mall just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. This Mall as the filming location for one of my favorite movies, Dawn of the Dead. The Mall looks fairly different 25 years later, but the basic layout is the same Unlike many malls built in the 1970's that have been allowed to decay ("dead" malls- ha ha) the Monroeville Mall

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1062165016327543262003-08-29T09:50:00.000-04:002003-08-29T10:27:08.010-04:00

Finally some vindication for what I have been saying for some time now- In addition to making you boring, grouchy, and tired, suburban sprawl is to blame for your ever-increasing waistline. Mostly it's the commute ( which also makes you tired and grouchy) and the lack of anything to do or any energy to do it with when you get home (which also makes you boring or eat "fast food") but it's also the

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1061931974226349852003-08-26T17:06:00.000-04:002003-08-27T10:11:32.213-04:00

Spam is a fact of life that most of us have reluctantly accepted as a cost of doing business on the internet. I used to getting spam, although I never seem to get as much of it as everyone else, judging from how much everyone complains. My Yahoo account filters out about 95% of it, and I am closely guarded with my supersecret "real" e-mail address. I avoid picking up cookies and block spyware and

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1061503649336436642003-08-21T18:07:00.000-04:002003-08-22T12:51:42.516-04:00

I took a spin over to BookBlog today and tried out a new computer program that's been very popular on the blogosphere the past couple of days. The Gender Genie analyzes written text and can predict the gender of its author with 80% accuracy. It accurately predicted that I was a male, that my significant other was a female, based on writing samples I scrounged up. However, certain people confused

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1061488298360666622003-08-21T13:51:00.000-04:002003-08-21T14:24:43.806-04:00

Childcare centers in Melbourne, Australia have banned superhero costumes, claiming they encourage agressive play among children such as hitting and kicking. I personally think this is sheer craziness- part of this movement to label normal childhood behavior as abberant and pathological. And the movement to blame TV, video games, and other media for why our kids are "screwed up", instead of their

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1061405354425393442003-08-20T14:49:00.000-04:002003-08-20T15:25:53.663-04:00

You can't Keep those Zombies Down! You think those Zombie movies are dead dead dead, but the genre just slowly, clumsily creeps back up to get into your brains when you aren't looking. And I for one thing it's a Good Thing. There really isn't enough attention paid to Zombies these days. As a Zombie fan ( not to say that I root for the Zombies, mind you) I was thrilled to see the excellent

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1061224577672312322003-08-18T12:36:00.000-04:002003-08-18T13:11:57.476-04:00

NYC Photographer John Wehr has posted some trulycool photos of New Yorkers calmly and unhysterically enjoying good clean fun during the 2003 NYC blackout. Each picture is labelled with an informative caption describing the scene for those who couldn't be there to experience it, such as this:"Young people, in the street, drinks flowing to the steady drumming of an impromptu drum line. August 14th

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060716081928283552003-08-12T15:21:00.000-04:002003-08-15T16:11:07.930-04:00

Right Wing News recently conducted a poll among "Right Wing" and "Left Wing" Bloggers, asking them to name the 20 Worst Americans in history. The highly politicized, highly polarized, and highly publicized results of this poll have captivated the Blogosphere in recent days, cited as an example of the petty partisanship of the radical, extremist blogger. Never one to jump on the bandwagon

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060611851692073082003-08-11T10:24:00.000-04:002003-08-11T12:15:12.883-04:00

The Congressional Research Service has released a report critical of the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Advisory System, or HSAS- the vague, confusing color-coded, randomly flipflopping estimate of the likelihood of terror attack. The report makes the argument that terror warnings should be a little more specific and targeted, so that people have a clearer idea of what might

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060377640366554692003-08-08T17:20:00.000-04:002003-08-11T11:43:09.283-04:00

I found out today that a man has now successfully sued another man for having an affair with his wife and breaking up their marriage. A jury awarded him $175,000 for his pain and suffering. Maybe putting a dollar amount on someone's pain like this seems silly. But it is done in wrongful death suits because money is the only compensation the law can give, it can't make life fair. Maybe the

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060356578167716012003-08-08T11:29:00.000-04:002003-08-11T11:46:13.343-04:00

Whilst taking my morning constitutional on the web this morning, in search of blogworthy news items, I happened upon this very kick ass President Bush Action Figure that I absolutely must have. This is not the "Talking Presidents" DOLL that speaks an assortment of well-known Bushisms. Some people may picture George W. as some dimwitted "math his hard" "let's go shopping" Barbie Doll , but not me-

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060274961068758112003-08-07T12:49:00.000-04:002003-08-08T09:50:15.796-04:00

I always try to include at least one or two movie references in my posts, but this competely surreal California recall election thing has me just overwhelmed. Apparently the Special Gubernatorial Election in California requires the winner to recieve not the majority of votes, but merely a plurality (the most votes). This has flooded the ballot with all manner of wackos, celebrities, and

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060193287868889562003-08-06T14:08:00.000-04:002003-08-06T16:14:11.046-04:00

The State of Florida unveils its new all-knowing supercomputer this week called (seriously)"The MATRIX"(The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange) . The supercomputer is rumored to be able to cross-index law enforcement databases with all available commercial data and public records, to aid in national couterterrorism efforts. The project is surprisingly similar to DARPA's Total

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060182804755433572003-08-06T11:13:00.000-04:002003-08-06T12:56:46.460-04:00

Erstwhile political economist and postmodern civilizational theorist Francis Fukuyama can always be counted on for an interesting if iconoclastic take on international affairs. Today Dr. Fukuyama takes on the presumed Iraqi WMD intelligence failure, and links it to what he sees as a larger, systemic intelligence problem affecting not only intelligence agencies, but the UN as well. Fukuyama

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060116151547998092003-08-05T16:42:00.000-04:002003-08-06T13:01:42.520-04:00

The Pentagon's now-defunct PAM program, which would have allowed future trading-based terrorism prediction, lives on in a quasi-parody site called the American Action Market. AAM is highly critical of the Bush Administration, the Pentagon, the Intelligence Community- and leans a little "tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy nut". The site isn't funny enough to be amusing, and looks too nutty to be

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1060012117562916812003-08-04T11:48:00.000-04:002003-08-04T14:11:49.246-04:00

Hilarious findings today from the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy. Sunscreen, designed to protect skin from harmful solar radiation known to cause sunburn, freckles, moles, and cancerous melanoma, ironically increases the risk of skin cancer! Since those most susceptible to sunburn are also the most likely to develop skin cancer, it was believed that sunscreen would reduce that

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059754162697487042003-08-01T12:09:00.000-04:002003-08-01T12:09:22.790-04:00

The best defense of PAM's potential I have yet read. A better articulation of each of my arguments than I provided, plus several others. Highly Recommended.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059673491780388952003-07-31T13:44:00.000-04:002003-07-31T14:47:38.250-04:00

Presumably in an attempt to be "hip" and "with it" and connect with young, internet-savvy liberals so profitably courted by 2004 Democratic Presidential Candidate Howard Dean, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle will begin blogging Thursday: "My staff told me a while back about a blog," Daschle said. "I learned a new word. ... This new 'blog' concept appealed to me. At the end of the day, wherever

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059669982027071792003-07-31T12:46:00.000-04:002003-07-31T13:10:18.463-04:00

As Predicted earlier this week by Rex Stetson, Armchair Vigilante, the media's penchant for preparing obitiuaries for celebrities and public figures well before their death ( and thus ready to go at a moment's notice) has led to some very dated obituaries for comedian Bob Hope, who finally died Sunday after appearing near-death for many years. Most noteable among these was this New York Times

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059659050211387182003-07-31T09:44:00.000-04:002003-07-31T11:16:23.053-04:00

Defenders of the Pentagon's now-defunct futures-based terrorism prediction program (PAM) struck back at its critics on Capitol Hill, whose arguments they called "purely political". For all their blustering and moral outrage, none of the Democrat senators like Tom Daschle and Hillary Clinton ever said the program wouldn't work...only that it was "grotesque" and "immoral". Offering a profit

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059589781914814482003-07-30T14:29:00.000-04:002003-07-31T10:39:36.043-04:00

Michael Moore, Oscar-winning director known for the funny, successful, but factually-challenged "documentaries" like Roger and Me and Bowling for Columbine, was the subject of a scathing opinion piece in this week's Wall Street Opinion Journal by Kay Hymowitz. I do not share Mr. Moore's political views, But I consider him an immensly talented and entertaining filmmaker- a talented propagandist

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059575253321711782003-07-30T10:27:00.000-04:002003-07-30T16:24:09.030-04:00

Critics of the now-defunct "Terror Trading" scheme Policy Analysis Market/FutureMAP called its it "grotesque" and "morally repugnant" because it "encouraged terrorism". In reality, it merely offered a financial incentive to accurately predict terror attacks. This is extremely different from providing a financial incentive to commit terror attacks. Dumping all your United Airlines stock doesn't

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059502025120485362003-07-29T14:07:00.000-04:002003-07-29T17:28:26.180-04:00

The BBC claims to have now definitively proven that the Loch Ness Monster is no more real than say, Bigfoot- who was finally revealed to be a hoax by the family of the legend's creator, following his death last year. With that in mind, here is a poem, dedicated to Nessie and Bigfoot, now gone the way of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy: Science! True daughter of Old Time thou art! Who alterest

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059499432818690452003-07-29T13:23:00.000-04:002003-07-29T15:38:48.030-04:00

The Pentagon has now cancelled FutureMAP-the bizarre but clever "futures trading" approach to terror attack prediction, amid heavy criticism from Congressional Democrats This is another humiliating PR defeat for the Terrorism Information Awareness Project, who have already had to change their name, remove the Masonic imagery from their logo, and downplay and reduce the scope of their

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059487551570305812003-07-29T10:05:00.000-04:002003-07-29T12:57:44.240-04:00

The inventors of the internet (no, not Al Gore, DARPA!) have developed a terrorism prediction scheme that allows ordinary citizens or even terrorists themselves to place bets on the likelihood of terrorist attack, The Washington Times reports today. Called FutureMAP (Futures Markets Applied to Prediction), the program takes the form of an online anonymous casino, and uses the efficiency of market

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059407051174642102003-07-28T11:44:00.000-04:002003-07-28T11:50:10.293-04:00

It's About Damn Time! At age 100, Bob Hope has at long last died, to the delight of "Celebrity Death Pool" players everywhere. Death Pools, a game where players score points by correctly guessing which celebrities will die that year, have never caught on in a big way- the highwater mark of the pastime's's popularity being in 1988 when Detective "Dirty Harry" Callahan (Clint Eastwood) expressed

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059144268508758482003-07-25T10:44:00.000-04:002003-07-25T15:08:31.033-04:00

This is an example of a "Back End Deal" and the "Points" that only stars and execs can negotiate, not cameramen and stagehands as the MPAA claims(see earlier post): Matt LeBlanc, star of TV's successful "Friends" sitcom (star of the unfunny "comedies" Ed and All The Queen's Men , and the boring space "adventure" film Lost in Space ) has agreed to appear in a "Friends" spinoff called "Joey".In

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059140584482291702003-07-25T09:43:00.000-04:002003-07-25T15:17:38.240-04:00

In a desperate yet bizzare move to combat digital piracy of movies, the MPAA today begins showing Anti-Piracy Public Service Announcements before each film, adding to the ever-increasing ordeal of ads and admonishments audiences must endure before their feature presentations start. These PSA's make the argument that digital piracy takes food out of the mouths of industry workers who are not

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059068974068738032003-07-24T13:49:00.000-04:002003-07-24T13:49:34.003-04:00

Apparently an innocent Disney animal was minding its own business when from out of nowhere, God struck it dead with a powerful blast of highly charged plasma hotter than the Sun, emanating from Heaven. I suspect this is a warning shot over Disney's bow. Very old testament. I predict frogs and locusts next.

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600448.post-1059063334136837482003-07-24T12:15:00.000-04:002003-07-24T12:15:34.216-04:00

Today is the first day of the rest of my blog...

Rexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07287912938631706752noreply@blogger.com