Category Archives: General

General

Jack the Ripper mystery solved…?

Wouldn’t hold my breath here, but we have another individual -in this case retired homicide detective Trevor Marriott- presenting his evidence for the identity of Jack the Ripper…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/24/jack-the-ripper-solved-investigation-german-sailor_n_3981837.html

It seems every year or three another person comes forward with what they believe is iron-clad, indisputable evidence to who Jack the Ripper was…and we’re often given intriguing bits and pieces of information which never quite add up to as solid a case as we would have hoped…

And I keep reading the theories anyway! 😉

The fact is that the Jack the Ripper case is intriguing as hell and it shouldn’t be a surprise so many people have given it a look (and offered their theory).  Mr. Marriott’s theory is just as good as any of the others, and far more plausible than those implicating assorted figures within England’s Royal sphere, yet the same problem plagues this theory as the others:  1) So much time has passed and all the witnesses and/or suspects to these events are long gone, 2) There is simply very little actual physical evidence to be found, and 3) What evidence there is was collected by a police force that was operating on a level that was primitive by today’s standards.

I’ve noted before that I believe Jack the Ripper was probably someone like Mr. Marriott’s suspect Carl Feigenbaum.  A person with a deep, disturbing level of psychosis who probably came into London from outside (either that or his “work” was done with more finesse before this), did his nasty business, and either left the London area immediately afterwards or was killed or died naturally sometime shortly after the last victim was found.

Other than that, we’ll probably never know….

…which doesn’t mean it isn’t intriguing to offer guesses!

General

Mysterious plane found in lake…

Discovered this report on CNN.com…a fascinating piece:

My guess as to the who/what about the plane relates to what was implied in the report itself:  That the aircraft might have been part of a drug running group and was lost and never reported as such, which explains how an aircraft can be found on the bottom of this lake without any report of missing planes in the vicinity.

Still, love the sonar images…so tantalizing!

General

Are Jetpacks finally here…?

Is our Jetpack future finally here?  Check it out for yourself:

7000 feet up and a speed of 50 mph?!

Count me out.

I have enough problems standing on the balcony of a tall building looking down at the ground below, so the idea of trusting my life on something gas powered and strapped to my back…something that could malfunction and stop (then what?!)…

Well, as I said, not for me, thank you, though I have to admit it is a cool device!

General

Costa Concordia time lapse film…

When I heard they wanted to essentially “raise” the ship back into an upright position, I wondered how it would look in a compressed time lapse film.

No need to wonder for here it is, complements of CNN.  One of the more fascinating clips I’ve seen in a very long time:

 

General

Four dollar gold coin to auction…

The one time coin collector in me loves stories like this one:

Never before heard of the 1880 $4 Coiled Hair Stella, but given its rarity -and the fact that this particular example looks to be absolutely mint- it doesn’t surprise me its value is estimated as high as it is.

Not that I’d ever entertain buying such a luxury item! 😉

More information about this can be found here, if you’re curious:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/14/rare-4-gold-coin-coiled-hair-stella_n_3926894.html

General

Long lost Vincent Van Gogh painting discovered…

It’s always fascinating to read stories like this, concerning the above:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/09/20400734-sunset-at-montmajour-long-lost-vincent-van-gogh-painting-discovered?lite

For those who just want to see the painting and aren’t interested in the fascinating story behind it, here you go:

General

Nullification everywhere…

Absolutely fascinating article by Emily Bazelon for Slate Magazine explores the state attempts to surmount federal law with regard to marijuana use and guns.  Her thesis:  Are liberals hypocrites when they cheer states that have circumvented federal law against the use of marijuana while booing states that have tried to do the same regarding guns?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/09/colorada_and_washington_marijuana_legalization_why_aren_t_liberals_as_excited.html

I consider myself a liberal.  I have never, in my entire life, ever used marijuana (or, for that matter, any illegal drug).  Yet I feel that the laws against marijuana are way too stringent and support legalization (and taxation) of the product.  Why?  Because 1920’s era prohibition never accomplish eliminating the use of alcohol and I don’t believe these laws against the use of marijuana will do the same.

And yet, I’m alarmed by states attempting to remove all federal laws regarding the use of firearms.

Am I a hypocrite?  I don’t believe so.

Marijuana is a drug that from what I’ve read is considered relatively harmless versus so many other, stronger and addictive drugs.  One of the claims often made against marijuana is that it is “gateway” drug, a means by which people start using the “harder stuff”.  If that’s the case, then wouldn’t alcohol be a gateway drug as well?  And what about cancer patients (among others) who suffer crippling pain and low to non-existent appetites who claim the use of marijuana helps them ease both conditions over prescription pills?  Why deny them the use of a potential day to day aid?

Guns, on the other hand, were designed and created for one use and one use only:  To kill.  And guns, unlike marijuana, are not illegal to own and purchase.  What the gun lobby/nullification cause is trying to do is kick down whatever laws there are regarding federal regulation of firearms.  Laws that, let’s face it, are fairly weak to begin with.

The article discusses in much more depth the legal issues regarding both gun and marijuana regulation and the pros and cons of each.  As I said before, a fascinating read.

General

Never get another traffic ticket…?

Fascinating (and very short) article by Elliot Hannon for Slate.com regarding a move by the European Union to, and I quote, “introduce a new law requiring cars to come fitted with technology that would keep drivers from going over the speed limit.”

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/09/02/a_new_e_u_proposal_looks_to_install_technology_that_keep_cars_from_going.html

The other day I was watching a panel of reporters on TV (I believe the show was Chris Hayes on MSNBC) and they were talking about self-driving cars.  The panel noted the technology to make self-driving cars existed already, and the only thing keeping self-driving cars from becoming a reality were issues regarding the law and insurance.

Mr. Hayes noted that the mortality/accident rates for air and rail travel were almost non-existent compared to the same for automobile travel, and that it is strange we as consumers aren’t more alarmed by this.  He stated, quite rightly I felt, if the same mortality rates were present in air travel as they were in automobile travel, no one would use an airplane.

The article above notes that the European Union is being proactive in trying to lessen the mortality/accident rates on the road and that by having technology in a car that stops drivers from speeding those rates are bound to drop.  I agree with this as well, but feel that if we go to completely driver-less cars, the rate will drop even more.

Granted, there will be people who want to keep driving on their own, just as surely as there will be a large contingent of people who will be only too happy to let a computer focus on their morning and evening commute while they engage in any number of things with their now free time, from reading the paper to watching a movie to checking their email/texts.

I suspect driver-less tech will slowly work its way into the big cities and will not only reduce the rates of mortality/accidents but also significantly reduce traffic jams and the rush hour commute.  By the above action, the European Union is essentially taking the first step toward driver-less tech by implementing their system to keep drivers from speeding.

On the other hand, the book writer in me can’t help but think of the possible scenarios where a computer driven car might be a very big danger.  Perhaps I should keep those scenarios to myself…there’s always the next book to write! 😉

We live in interesting times!

General

Cloudspotting…

Some days, you wake up angry at the world.  This very funny cloud image captured by Jamie O’Connell while walking his dog in Scotland seems to perfectly encapsulate that feeling…in cloud form:

http://weather.aol.com/2013/08/29/cloudspotting-is-this-cloud-angry-at-the-world/

For those too lazy to click on the link, this is what Mr. O’Connell photographed:

General, Movies

On Joss Whedon…

So director/writer Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers) offered some opinions regarding popular films and, more specifically, criticism directed at them.  His first major comment, regarding Empire Strikes Back, went like this:

“Empire committed the cardinal sin of not actually ending. Which at the time I was appalled by and I still think it was a terrible idea. Well, it’s not an ending. It’s a Come Back Next Week, or in three years. And that upsets me. I go to movies expecting to have a whole experience. If I want a movie that doesn’t end I’ll go to a French movie. That’s a betrayal of trust to me. A movie has to be complete within itself, it can’t just build off the first one or play variations.”

(You can read more about this here: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/26/star-wars-joss-whedons-critique-of-the-empire-strikes-back)

I couldn’t agree with Mr. Whedon more.  It is my opinion that if you intend to end a film (or a book, for that matter) with the glimmer of a possibility of a sequel, you should nonetheless make sure that whatever work you are creating is as complete as possible on its own terms.  Compare, for example, the original Star Wars to Empire Strikes Back.  In Star Wars, the film clearly gives us a hint of a sequel (the main villain, Darth Vader, gets away), yet the film accomplishes everything -storywise- it intended, from setting up the “big danger” and the heroes’ quest to their ultimate triumph in ridding their world of this threat.  Empire, on the other hand, seemed to present a series of events culminating in nothing at all being resolved…and indeed all the characters in flux…until the next film.

Now, does this necessarily diminish the film?  Empire is considered by many to be THE BEST of the Star Wars films, so clearly Lucas and company did something right.  Yet Mr. Whedon’s comments, I feel, are nonetheless on target.  Empire is a film without an ending, and as such is ultimately an incomplete experience…until you see Return of the Jedi.

(An admission:  I am not a big fan of the Star Wars films.  I don’t hate them, mind you, just never got into them as my peers did back in the day.)

Mr. Whedon’s made another comment, this time regarding self-referential humor -and the problem with it- in movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  I find this comment even more intriguing:

A movie has to be complete within itself; it can’t just build off the first one or play variations. You know that thing in Temple of Doom where they revisit the shooting trick? … That’s what you don’t want. And I feel that’s what all of culture is becoming — it’s becoming that moment.

Germain Lussier at /Film takes up Mr. Whedon’s comment and offers a wonderful explanation/examination of what he is essentially saying.  I underlined what I believe really gets to the heart of the matter:

The bigger issue Whedon is getting at here is that Spielberg relied on what had already happened for a cheap joke. Magnify that onto a larger scale and you have Saw VII, The Amazing Spider-Man reboot, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and One Direction. Things that are simply copying creative endeavors that have proven to be successful. Whedon’s issue is very few people create something new these days. And, even scarier, no one seems to care. They simply consume the same crap over and over again. This sentiment is a valid one.

(You can read the entire article here: http://www.slashfilm.com/joss-whedon-points-at-temple-of-doom-scene-as-example-of-cultural-problem/#more-192045)

There is, of course, some irony to be found in Mr. Whedon’s comments, even while I generally agree with them.  Wasn’t Mr. Whedon responsible for a TV show which essentially featured a character versus vampires (and other evils) as threats week in and week out?  And wasn’t that vampire show given a spin off series?  Yes, they were both very entertaining shows, but still.  And wasn’t Cabin in the Woods, a film he produced and co-wrote, essentially a long riff on many horror movie tropes/cliches?  Does one not need to know many of these horror movie tropes/cliches coming into that film to truly appreciate it?

Given that, how is Mr. Whedon’s use of such tropes/cliches to create his work all that different from the same example he points out in Temple of Doom?

Setting that aside, and going back to Mr. Lussier’s wonderful comments, the underlined elements are, in my opinion, the meat of the matter.  Thanks to the internet and new technologies, we live in a society where we are stimulated more than we have ever been, be it via video games or music or movies or shows.  We consume entertainment near constantly, and are always looking for the next fix.

Thing is, the next fix requires an awful lot of work.

Making a TV show or an album or a book or a movie isn’t something you can (in the most vulgar terms) “shit out” in your free time.  It requires hours and hours of heavy work and, once it is ready, there is the very real possibility that it never catches fire and is immediately forgotten or, worse, completely ignored.

Audiences are hard -if not impossible- to judge.  You may work your tail off and come up with something you feel is worthwhile and original and are meet with little more than yawns.  You may do a riff on something currently popular (yesterday it was Vampires, lately it seems to be either Zombies or superheroes) and instantly connect with audiences and have great success.  You may even hit it big with something that wasn’t so big before and, to keep the success going, start making your own spin-offs of said material…over and over again, to keep up your success.

The copying and re-copying of material carries with it, even in these over-stimulated days, diminishing returns.  What was popular can become tiresome and audiences might suddenly decide to turn off.

I suppose pop culture has always worked this way.  There are those who create material that offers a path for others to follow (and, if you want to be blunt about it, rip-off) until that path and creative direction is worn out and the “new” material -whatever that may be- takes over.  Until it becomes old and worn out as well.  Then the new-“new” material takes over, and off we go again…