Attention ronebofh:

KEXP's Kevin Cole reports the following on 50 Foot Wave:

"Free Music: 50 Foot Wave
Okay, in my excitement, I jumped the gun on the free 50 Foot Wave MP3s. I was sent an early advance of the new songs and played a track yesterday before I should have (which I'll continue to do, so keep listening!). The MP3s will be available on December 15th. I'll send them out then."

Law & Order

I'm a huge fan of Law & Order and its spinoff Law & Order: SVU. Yeah, they're cheesy, yeah, they rely on some pretty unsettling violations of citizens' rights, yeah, you're deluding yourself if you think that watching these shows gives you a firm basis in law, but still, they're entertaining.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent just raises my blood pressure.

For one thing, they've done away with a narrative tool that made the other two shows so much fun to watch. In L&O and L&O:SVU, the story is told exclusively from the perspectives of the detectives and prosecutors (with the occasional exception of the opening sequence, wherein the body is usually discovered); this simple expedient creates an artificial sense of solidarity with the main characters and allows the episode to unfold as a mystery. See, I like a good mystery. I like discovering things a little bit at a time (in the context of a drama, mind you, not in real life). L&O:CI ruins that. The show often cuts from the heroes to the villains (or at least the suspects), and while these cuts don't always give away the entire mystery, they show you enough that the real story is guessable. (Similar accusations could just as easily be leveled at the most recent Harry Potter movie, but I'll save that for another post.)

For another thing, L&O:CI revolves around the conceit that villains are arrogant and psychologically fragile enough that, given enough badgering, they'll crack and confess. Actually, that part's fine; what's not fine is the underlying lynchpin premise of the show, which is that Joe Suspect will stick around and listen to the badgering and ego-bashing that the police inflict in order to wrangle a confession. In three separate episodes, I've watched Vincent D'Onofrio needle and badger his suspects until they finally cracked, in a fit of pique, and confessed their crimes. Not once has the suspect called a lawyer, left the scene of the badgering, or simply told the officer to buzz off.

Like I said, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief regarding the tactics the police can get away with, as long as it results in a good story. What I can't abide is the sort of illogical character twisting required to make the villains in L&O:CI give up the goods. Either make the confession work within the internal logic of the character, or just let the perp get away with it.

Not Your Grandfather's WWII

Il Presidente dropped his usual chorus of 9/11 in his most recent speech in favor of drawing comparisons between the Iraq War and WWII.

Astute readers may have already figured out that I don't buy it. But let us review, briefly, a very few reasons why Iraq is not WWII:
1) There were well-defined enemies and enemy territories in WWII.
2) Those well-defined enemies had seized territory through invasion and continued to occupy it.
3) While the ultimate decisions were made by politicians, the military planning for WWII was done by military personnel, not chickenhawks and draft dodgers.
4) We were actually greeted as liberators in WWII.

I leave it as an exercise for the reader to identify further differences.

5 More Questions

fairyarmadillo asked:

1. I can't not ask you a question about your height- how many times a week do people come up to you and make comments? Is it usually just- gosh, you sure are tall?

It's a flood-or-drought phenom. Some days I just can't get away from it, and other days it's like no one notices at all. Which is not really true, really. They notice, but on the quiet days it's more like they don't make as much of a deal about it.

When it's on in full-force, though, god, it's like the floodgates have sprung a leak. What are you going to do, though, really, at the end of the day? Grin and bear it. Mostly it's just "Gosh, you sure are tall," but there are times when it seems like everyone knows someone as tall as me.

2. Irina said you met gaming. I had no idea you were that kind of a guy! Do you still game at all? What is/was your favorite rpg?

See, this is remembered differently on my end. I recall meeting Irina in a History class. . . but that's not really your question, so I'll get back on target. (^_^)

I game with a small cadre of guys every other week or so (including, on occasion, one Finn, with whom Irina and I played VtM once upon a time). We mostly play GURPS now, 'cos we're hardcore rules geeks. Right now we're in the middle of a game set in the great Alexandrian campaigns across Asia Minor. Very history-geeky, a whole lot of fun.

3. Are you religious/spiritual at all?

Peripherally so, these days. I was raised Catholic, and I studied Buddhism once upon a time. I'm more of a non-denominational agnostic, although I'd say I'm particularly attracted to Sufism, minus the monotheistic elements.

4. What's the worst book you ever read (and finished)?

"And finished." Oh, that makes this one so tough. My brother, Darth, read The Fountainhead all the way through just so he could throw it across the room, kick it out of his dorm room, kick it down the stairs, and kick it outside. My patience is somewhat more easily exhausted.

All right, The Da Vinci Code, while not the absolute worst book I've read, takes high honors here, but it's a close second to something I read by Robert Ludlum.

5. What's the worst injury or illness you've ever had?

One of two: either coral poisoning at the age of 14 (an entire week of near unconsciousness) or mono my first year at Cal (three weeks of weakness and helplessness). I don't recommend either one, really.

Questions answered. Okay, if anyone out there wants five questions, comment here, and I'll ask.