I don't get a live TV feed, so as a result most of my vid watching is on DVD or thumb drive.  So, I feel kind of odd weighing in on this topic, but...

     It seems that there is a serious flaw in the way TV networks interpret the ratings that they collect.  People who tend to PVR their shows don't seem to count.  As a result, shows like Fringe (which is at risk of cancellation) or SG:U (which was just cancelled), that find themselves stacked against sports playoff games or Dancing With The Stars (which seems to be on, in one incarnation or another, every night) are at a disadvantage.  It discriminates against "nerds" who have the intelligence and inclination to record their favourite shows for alternative viewing times because they want to let (or are forced to let) another family member watch Dancing With The Stars or WWF.  So the shows watched by those most inclined to use technology are the ones that will suffer.  Apparently, you have to watch the program on the original broadcast in order to count.  How archaic!  Another example of TV and Radio shooting itself in the foot.

     The natural consequence of such a policy is for TV viewing to devolve into a long chain of sports events and cheap, shallow reality TV.  And then people will complain about how hollow TV is (-well, as if they already aren't-) and the networks will scratch their heads in puzzlement as everyone starts watching the Internet.  Technology marches on, and those not capable of keeping step will fall behind and get lost.  (Am I overdoing the metaphor?)  Such was the case with the music industry and it's currently happening with radio.

     If The Social Network can give us two hours of Mark Zuckerberg and end up as one of the most acclaimed movies of the year, it's only a matter of time before we see the life of Julian Assange up on the big screen.

     For one thing, it's going to be a much better story.  While I thought that The Social Network was a great film, it was obvious that it struggled with the challenge of making Zuckerberg's life interesting enough to be engaging for a feature film.  You can only do so much with narcissism.  Not true of Assange (although the narcisssim will almost definitely make a reprise).  The teenage life, alone, of Julian Assange is packed full of hacker daring and exploits that was, itself, prime story material about a decade ago.  And that's just the beginning. 

     For those who haven't clicked in yet, Julian Assange is the leader of WikiLeaks, which released Gigs of classified government and military documents this past summer, creating serious diplomatic embarrassment.  He has been in the news this week for his arrest in England and his being granted bail today.  And if Hollywood writers haven't started salivating yet, his arrest is for a sex scandal in Sweden, of all places, -a country well know for sexual tolerance.  It seems that he broke some law having to do with "sex by surprise".  Come on!!  If it's true, it's just another juicy angle to the story, -but really!!

      What few people realize is that just a few years ago, Assange and WikiLeaks was praised by Amnesty International for exposing corruption on Somalia and Iran.  But, it seems that when the shady secrets of major western powers are spotlighted, the shoe's on a different foot.  Then he becomes a traitor and the leaks become "dangerous to national security"!  Well there's a lot of debate about that, as to whether any real damage was done other than to the pride of the diplomatic community.  Assange himself states that this is new ground for them and that they may have released information in as effective a manner as they could have.  That's probably an understatement.  What we can be sure of is that so many high level fingers got burned over these leaks that it will be impossible to find an objective representation of Assange in the western media.

     Is Assange a traitor or a hero?  If the leaked information truly endangers people or diplomatic processes, then he's been, at the very least, careless.  But the general idea of bringing dirty laundry into the light, no matter who's it is, can only be applauded.  Governments should not operating with secrecy and impunity.  It's too tempting.

     The bottom line is that WikiLeaks is just doing the job that good investigative and objective journalism should be doing, but isn't.  Also, this will force governments to, at least, beef up their security, and, at best, operate with a little more integrity knowing that they may be under scrutiny.

     Personally I think that Assange should be "Man Of The Year".  If what he says is true, the best is yet to come.  Hopefully, the powers that be won't use this as an excuse to shackle the freedom of the Internet, and we'll still be able to see the other goodies he has in store for us.  The next leak involves a major American financial institution.  I wonder what that could be...

     In The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff, we are given a slant on Milne's classic that is full of wisdom.  Hoff draws out the Taoist wisdom of Pooh as he relates to Piglet, Eeyore and the rest.  This book was one of my original introductions to Taoist philosophy and had a huge impact on me.

     So I had to "LOL" heartily when I saw this site:

http://www.whokilledbambi.co.uk/2010/11/winnie-the-pooh-mental-disorders-gifs/

I've discovered colour balance!!

Cold weather and tons of snow in the past week.  I know lots of people are jumping for joy, looking forward to snowboarding and skiing, -but I've never really liked the winter.  Hence...

THINGS I HATE ABOUT WINTER:

1.  The way my muscles cringe every time I walk out a door.

2.  My coat getting caught in the car door when I try to close it without being showered with snow from the roof of the car.

3.  Sitting around a campfire in the dark for hours freezing and then looking at you watch to discover that it's only 7:30 p.m.

4.  Trying to find your cell phone under layers of clothing when you just barely hear it ringing.

5..Scraping ice off car windows and wondering at what point your rear windshield wiper dropped of onto the road. 

6.  Thinking that females look much better in shorts and t-shirts.

7.  Icicles on the moustache.

8.  Self serve gas stations where the shelters make excellent wind tunnels.

...All right, I'm getting depressed now.

    It's kind of snuck up on me this year. Not working in the school, listening almost exclusively to satellite radio, and doing most of my video watching via DVD, Christmas just hasn't been very pressing this year and I find myself surprised that it is less than two weeks away. My only exposure has really been the decorations on houses and in stores, and those started appearing right after Halloween decorations were retired, so I'm already desensitized to them.
   I don't want to sound humbug about Christmas, but for me it has always been a compromised event. I'm all for a festive time where people present their best sides, share and celebrate. An excuse for family and friends to gather is always welcome.
   But let's face it, the trappings of Christmas don't really have much of an authentic foundation. As a Christian celebration, it is evident and proven that the birthday of Jesus could never have been at this time of year. Biblical scholars agree that it had to have been in the Spring, when taxes were traditionally collected. At best we are celebrating a symbolic birthday, -and then the question arises as to why it is held in the middle of winter.
   The answer is pretty straight forward. In the Middle Ages, the Christian (Catholic) church was struggling to introduce Christianity to the people of Europe. Old traditions were deeply entrenched and were hard to replace. One of the most important of the old traditions was the Winter Solstice. As the symbolic time of renewal and rebirth, when the days began to get longer rather than shorter, traditional religions of the time regarded it as one of the most important dates on the calendar. By placing Christmas just three days after the solstice, the church hoped to overlap and overshadow the old traditions, replacing them with the new Christian ones. It was a typical strategy. Many churches of the times were built on the demolished ruins of the old religious sites for the same purpose.
   But in doing this, a whole bunch of the old pagan traditions became transferred to Christmas, such as the Christmas tree, which (like bunnies at Easter) are a pagan symbol of life and fertility. Instead of decorations, candles and various forms of sacrifices were hung on trees in this season to encourage a happy new year.
   While Santa Claus may have been inspired by Saint Nicholas in Europe, the North American version (which has gone global), with elves and reindeer and a red and white costume, was very much a twentieth century invention. It stems from two sources. Santa as a character is the creation of Coca-cola, whose artists used this version in their ad campaigns in the early nineteen hundreds. You can still see this image of the jolly Santa holding the Coke bottle, but not everyone realizes that this was the reason that this version of Santa was created. The world in which Santa lives, including the North Pole, the reindeer and all of that comes from “The Night Before Christmas” and “Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus”, -both commissioned by American newspapers as seasonal offerings to their readers. From these commercial sources sprung modern Christmas carols and a host of modern traditions, not the least important of which is the heavy emphasis on gift giving.
 (continued...)

   Like I said at the beginning, I certainly don’t want to dampen the good things about Christmas. I think, though, that it is important to reflect on exactly what “the spirit of Christmas” means to you. Is it the dominance of a commercial buying frenzy where we are led by the nose by business interests? Are you one of those people who would look down on a hand-made gift or one that had a personal rather than a monetary significance? I see it a lot, -even in the campaigns for donating toys to underprivileged children. (Now they’re asking for gift donations for 16 – 18 year olds!) The idea that the value of Christmas lies in an avalanche of toys diminishes the spirit of Christmas.
   I’m very grateful that I’ve been spared the commercial deluge that is the prelude to Christmas. I’ll go to the Christmas concert put on by my old school. I’ll spend some quality time with family and friends. I’ll have some good, festive food and feel grateful for the good things in my life. I’ll try to share my prosperity in a meaningful way with those who may be less fortunate. That, to me is the spirit of Christmas.
   As for the rest, a qualified “humbug” might be in order.

This one came out quite nicely.  Yes, it's a little Photoshopped.  The real colours and glow weren't quite a dramatic, but exagerating them really brings out the the ambient mood that I felt in the location. 

   In addition to a few days of walking on beaches, exploring swamp hummocks, getting a lot of good photographs and finding some good restaurants, I also got a chance to do a fair bit of reading and even a lot of writing.  Over the next week, I'll be dipping into all of this for ideas.

   The drive down to Floriday amounts to about 24 hours, which I did in 3 stints on the way down (stopping for a day at Huntington Beach in S. Carolina) and 2 long stints on the way back.  Keeping me company during this driving was Keith Richards in the form of his new autobiography, Life, on audio book.  I have to say that it was a delight to listen to.  His stories about the escapades of the Stones, especially during the 60s and 70s was delightfully entertaining.  His recounting and self criticism of the horrors of heroine use are dramatic and equally interesting. It's definately a dramatically strong book with lots of drug stories and a generous dose of profanity.  Although he gets off on a few tangents about certain unknown people (to me at least), giving more details than anyone probably wants, I have to say that at least 75% of the book is engaging and insightful.  I recommend it to anyone, but it probably would be best for those over 30 and under 65.  I would also strongly advise the audio book, as it is superbly read by Johnny Depp (a close friend of Richards') who brings his acting genius fully to bear on the text.  I'm sure it is identical to what we'd hear if Richards read it himself.  All in all, it made the miles fly by.

This book gets an A-.