Herman I. May
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30 September 2004Alternate Rossman obituaryAnother version of the obituary for Cynthia appeared in the Morning Telegraph on Sunday. It would appear to have been composed by a family member or, at the very least, with more direct input therefrom. Cynthia Lea Rossman The scholarship fund was created Monday morning by her husband, Wes. Contributions can be submitted by personal deposit at the credit union or via mail. The address is: 27 September 2004Cynthia Lea (Nelson) Rossman
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| date | time | opponent | location |
| 15 October | 1430 | Carrollton Christian | CCA campus* |
| 29 October | 1930 | Prestonwood Christian | Lion Stadium |
We invite any and all TKG alumni in the Dallas area to join us. If you are interested in attending either game, feel free to show up on your own or contact one or the other of us to coordinate a rendez-vous.
* update: Originally, there was conflicting information posted to the TKG and CCA web sites. The above has been revised to reflect the correct time and location of the game on 15 October. Those who visited earlier may wish to make note of the corrections.
22 September 2004
Star Wars Trilogy
After twenty years, the original Star Wars Trilogy (episodes four through six by today's numbering) has been released on DVD. Beginning yesterday, retailers around the world began selling the four-disk set to consumers.
Disks one through three contain the "expanded" editions of episodes four through six — those released during the twentieth anniversary revival in 1997 and containing extra footage and enhanced special effects. The fourth disk contains the documentary Empire of Dreams, a portion of which was recently broadcast on The History Channel. This is an excellent treatment of the whole Star Wars franchise and features many interesting facts that is sure to appeal to fans of all ages and levels. One disappointment of the set is with respect to the "Episode III" footage. The box advertisement suggests a teaser for next year's final installment under Lucas' direction. In reality, the teaser consists primarily of behind the scenes and raw production footage. Indeed, the epic and much anticipated duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin is almost the only scene covered; and it is not complete. Nevertheless, the set will be a welcome addition to the video library of any fan.
A cautionary note on purchasing: research well before purchasing if you seek to enjoy any discount on the $50 MSRP. On Friday, 17 September, the weekly insert for Fry's announced that customers could obtain a copy of the set for $37 on the day of its release. When I obtained my copy this evening (one day later), the price had been increased by two dollars. We were prevented from taking advantage of the $37 offering by the NFHS choir season debut, but stopped at Target on the way home. They were selling the boxed set for $45. Meanwhile, advertisements for Best Buy were touting a $44 pricepoint. Shop around, and do so quickly, if you hope to realize any initial savings.
21 September 2004
Eracism
While traveling to work this morning, I happened to be stopped behind a vehicle bearing a bumber sticker which read simply:
Eracism
...all colors with love and respect
I puzzled briefly over the meaning and came to the conclusion that it must be a hybrid espousing the "e;erase"[sure] of "racism". Doing a little research, I discovered the ERACE organization. It appears to be a grassroots effort, originating in New Orleans, which endeavors to make use of dialogue to eliminate racism from society. Started in 1993 as a response to animous feedback to a newspaper article, it has evolved into a community effort to foster a dialogue on racial differences. Similar programs have apparently been spawned in regions as diverse as Mobile, Alabama, and Sioux City, Iowa.
The philosophy of the movement is quite laudable, but I question the effectiveness of the ultimate goal. Racism (defined as racial or ethnic differences) is only a small component of the overall disparity between peoples leading to strife. One must also take into account cultural, regional, economic and religious dissimilitudes when trying to curb discrimination. In fact, the impetus for the existence of the group appears to have been based on a flawed interpretation of a reader letter. My rendering would swing more toward a cultural misunderstanding than racial. Of course, one is not given the benefit of reading The Times-Picayune series which gave rise to the banter in the first place, but the supposedly racial undertones are somewhat arguable. The information which is given leaves much room for alternate interpretation.
Nevertheless, the sticker struck a chord with me. While it is far from perfect in its implementation, the utlimate goal of this group is worthy of praise. It is only through cooperative efforts as a community that we can hope to address the finer ailments of society.
19 September 2004
Lucas' cautionary vision is still salient
It has been a fecund summer with respect to the DVD release of several of my favorite films and television series. From the release of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly in May to the upcoming release of the Star Wars Trilogy on Tuesday, this summer has been ripe with nostalgia. In the last four weeks alone, the spate of new releases has included a Night Stalker movie, the first season of Night Gallery and Duel. However, for me the most important release of the last several months was that of last Tuesday.
On 14 September, George Lucas provided the DVD release of one of my all-time favorite films, THX 1138. Interestingly, it was simultaneously rereleased to limited distribution in the cinema as well. The two disk set contains not only the "Director's Cut" of the original 1971 cinematic release, but also has a copy of the Lucas' original seventeen minute student film from 1967 on which the commercial version was based, THX 1138 4EB as well as a short documentary on American Zoetrope. The sharp imagery and stark sets bring to light the potential threat to one's humanity and individuality which is inherent under a totalitarian State. It is not hard to imagine some influence upon the Wachowski Brothers and their interpretation of a similar future in The Matrix — even though they opt for a darker telling.
There has been a lot of media coverage concerning Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bush's Brain with respect to Liberal assaults on the Bush Administration. However, THX 1138 brings a much more subtle warning to those that would relenquish even a small part of the control of our everyday existence to the State. Especially, a State wherein subterfuge and adulterated evidence provide justification for retributive warfare.
For those who have not seen the film in many years, I heartily recommend either scheduling a trip to your local cinema (if they are enlightened enough to be showing it) or renting a copy. By contrast, for those who may have never seen it, I cannot stress enough the importance of this film for both its skilled production and relevant, cautionary themes.
16 September 2004
Shakespeare "Quartos" online
The British Library has scanned and made publicly available digitized images of its copies of twenty-one of Shakespeare's plays. Ninety-three in number, these "quartos" represent versions of the plays that were contemporaneous to his time and, thus, likely to best reflect that which he originally wrote.
This is an excellent resource and the British Library is to be commended for its hard work in making these texts available to the general public. Heretofore accessible only to scholars, now everyone has the chance to peer back in time to the early 17th Century and study the majority of Shakespeare's works in the proper context.
13 September 2004
Butler resurfacing
Following at least fifteen years of disrepair, Butler Street has finally been resurfaced. This had to have been one of the most damaged roadways within the city of Dallas for the last decade and a half. Every once in a while the city pothole crews would come by and fill a hole here or another there, only to have the patch material wash away within six months. Fissures, ruts and large cracks have also been an issue. All of these have been particularly problematic for those of us who commute on this roadway daily.
All of that began to change three weeks ago when the entire roadway was stripped of surface material. Over the course of the next eighteen days, structural repairs were performed upon the underlying concrete base. In the middle of last week a layer of tar and gravel was laid. Finally, this past weekend, close to two inches of asphalt was put down. It is now possible to travel a straight line from Harry Hines to Maple without the need to dodge various wheel damaging obstacles.
Thank you, City of Dallas! :-)
12 September 2004
Butterfly defect
Elizabeth and I watched The Butterfly Effect last night. We did so for two reasons. First, the trailer (which we had seen earlier this year at the cinema) seemed to suggest an intriguing premise, even though it was obvious that the target audience was, perhaps, not sophisticated enough to fully realize the potential. The other reason is that Rebecca has been wanting to see it and, given the "Restricted" rating, we wanted to view it first. I do not think we will be letting her see it.
The basics of the movie are that a young man, Evan Treborn (played by Ashton Kutcher) is plagued throughout his life by some sort of ambiguous neurological disorder which causes him to experience occasional blackouts. It is coincidental that during these blackouts all sorts of strange, macabre, unsettling, but nonetheless important events occur. As he ages, he longs to discover a way of retrieving the memories of events transpiring during the amnesiac periods. Part of this attempt involves confronting a childhood friend about one of the occurrences haunting his mind only to drive that individual to suicide. All of this takes place around the plot point of Evans's discovery that he can return in time by reading journal entries he has kept, including notes taken at the time of past blackouts. The balance of the movie involves his repeatedly futile attempts at finding just the precise event in the past that will prevent the eventual suicide of his friend and allow everyone to live happily ever after.
A laudable goal, certainly. However, one that is flawed from conception in this instance by well known temporal paradox and, because the creators of this movie did not take these limitations into account, detracts from and diminishes the final product. The most obvious of these defects is the fact that our protagonist is able to remember everything that he experiences along the various parallel timelines. Keep in mind that this individual is not traveling back in time to then return to the future. He is traveling back to a specific point in time to alter an event, thus enabling him to relive that timeline to a different contemporary endpoint. He should, therefore, not be able to remember events along collateral lines since they never happened.
There are qualities to the screenplay that, had the writers changed two small points, would have resulted in a film that would have had both wider appeal and less paradoxical criticism. First, the elements of the film that lead to it having an "R" rating are overkill. I will concede that they lend themselves to driving home the importance of the changes that Evan elicits. Nevertheless, the same points could have been made through less graphic means. The film as released ends up being a fairie tale; a fairie tale with a restricted audience is not going to do well. Had the decision been made to go the route of the trajedy it has the potential for being, it would have made for both a more believable and effective film.
Six parallel realities are explored. The first is the primary timeline, which leads to the experimentation resulting in the other five. Had the screenwriters stopped at the penultimate permutation, the result would have worked. All loose ends would have been tied and the conclusion would have reflected the existence of only a single, tragic timeline of which the remaining four were delusional aberrations. Instead, the plot is take that one step beyond plausibility and thus into the realm of the fantasty. The escapist ending violates conventions of logic by enabling the protagonist the impossibilities of cognition mentioned above, while providing a feel good conclusion that would appeal to the mindless masses — three, in fact, according to the two bonus alternate endings offered with the Pay-Per-View showing we viewed.
Judging from the reviews posted at the IMDB, this seems to have been the goal. There is some evidence that an alternate, and supposedy, more plausible ending is available on the DVD. Cynical opinion suggsts that it was studio pressure that prompted the released ending. I am inclined to accept an equally cynical interpretation, but one less critical of the studio. The latter being that viewings by test audiences suggested the more plausible ending was too dark and depressing and that a brighter, escapist ending would appeal to the mindless masses. Bearing in mind the possibility for redemption apparently present in this alternate ending, I will reserve final judgement until I have the opportunity to see it. However, unless it completely removes the fifth alternate line, it seems unlikely to sway my opinion of the film as a whole.
06 September 2004
Seeing "Hero"
Elizabeth and I went to see Hero earlier this afternoon. This is a spectacular film which I highly recommend to everyone. One caveat, though: Be prepared to use your brain!
The basic story is that of the efforts of the first Chinese king to unite the seven warring provinces of this ancient Asian land into a cohesive whole. Several allegories throughout the film reinforce both the separations and the ultimate goal of unity. There are, however, three assassins who continuously haunt the king and thwart his attempts to bring the nation together. Along comes a nameless hero who vanquishes the three assassins and clears the way for the king's success.
The plot reveals itself through a series of flashbacks. All retell the story of the means used to achieve the end. First, one is provided the perspective of the hero, the second involves the conflicting interpretation of the distrustful king, while the third is the truth showing shadows of both. The cinematography is magnificent, making use of awe-ispiring architectural and natural vistas combined with brilliant use of color.
Those who found Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to their liking will be even more impressed with Hero. Come prepared to think, however. While some of the themes are made obvious through dialogue, others require some thought and are subject to individual interpretation.
03 September 2004
RNC 2004, part IV
The 2004 Republican National Convention came to a close last night with the nomination acceptance speech of George W. Bush. It was largely as expected with the candidate and incumbent sharing his vision for the future of America and outlining his plan for implementation. He also injected several uncharacteristic jabs at his opponent, John F. Kerry — uncharacteristic for the custom of the event, not for the arrogant personality of the candidate.
Due to a family obligation, I missed most of yesterday's broadcast. Thanks to TiVo though, I was able to catch from Pataki's oratory through to the end of the evening.
In keeping with the subliminal theme of the convention, Pataki framed New York's trials and tribulations of recent years within the context of the airplane attacks of 11 September 2001. He singled out several state delegations for praise due to the resource commitments during the aftermath. What followed was a melodramatic recounting of the rescue and recovery efforts of that day and the several weeks and months thereafter. Next, he attempted to suggest that, as a result of three and a half years as President, Bush has a record of service, while Kerry, who has served well over twenty years as a Senator, does not. The logic upon which such a statement rests seems a bit flawed. Prior to taking office, Bush held the weak office of Governor of Texas for the better part of two terms. Any record derived from that experience really has no bearing upon his performance as Commander-in-Chief. The implied dichotomy of civil service served as a segue into the campaign promises Bush has kept over the last four years as compared with the tired Kerry "flip-flop" accusations. In keeping with the Republican manipulation of the facts, Pataki chose to leave ambiguous the fact that, while Bush has proposed the means for implementing several of his proposals, many are still pending and a few are under juducial review for their constitutionality.
"in the hands of a monster a box-cutter is a weapon of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein was a monster, a walking talking weapon of mass destruction."This was Pataki's most controversial statement of the evening. He appears to suggest a direct tie between Hussein and the 11 September hijackers. Apparently, he has inside information that neither the White House nor the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States has been able to discover. Whereas the administration seems to have made attempts to distance itself from this hubristic premise, Pataki brings it right back to the forefront at the National Convention!
Following a brief respite during which a propaganda film was shown, Bush took the stage at a little past 2115 CDT. Though I have little respect for the man, it must be recognized that the oration he gave last night was, perhaps, the best of his career thus far. He gave the appearance of one capable of eloquent discourse — even though he continues to mispronounce nuclear — and he presented his plans for the future with clear insight. The fact that several of the latter were nothing new, were stated four years ago and have yet to come to light seems to have been beside the point. What was obvious is how scripted the whole affair obviously was. At least two hecklers interrupted the speech and were quickly drowned by the loyal delegates. Nevertheless, instead of offering some witty quip, Bush simply stood there with a smug look upon his face. As if anything that fell outside the realm of the carefully organized evening was offensive to his sensibilities. His sniping at Kerry and persistent placement of all of his policies and actions within the context of the 2001 attacks reflect the weakness of both his governance and his effectiveness.
The battle for the vote of the American public has now been officially enjoined. Both parties have nominated their candidate of choice and both nominees have accepted their calling. Exactly eight weeks from this coming Tuesday, the citizens of the United States will go to the polls to cast their ballot for President. Let us hope they choose well.
02 September 2004
RNC 2004, part III
As expected, the theme of "A Land of Opportunity" was devoted primarily to the benefit Bush Administration policies have brought to business; more specifically, small business. The evening's broadcast schedule was peppered with testimonial vignettes crediting the current executive branch with enabling individuals to become successful business owners. Throughout were examples of grossly exaggerated benefits and patent mistruths about the state of the economy at the time Bush took office and his ability to turn the tide, enabling small business owner success. OTOH, this is the National Convention and one should expect a little truth bending for the benefit of the malleable masses.
The most anticipated speeches of the evening were those by the two spotlight orators, Zell Miller (Sen, D-GA) and Dick Cheney (VP). Miller's appearance was expected to be controversial and he did not disappoint.
During his speech, Miller pondered the loss of bipartisanship. Yet, it is he who has been a divisive politician. It was Miller who proposed removal of the "Stars and Bars" from the Georgia flag as governor of that state. A position that nearly cost him the next election. His speech last night was no less wishy-wahsy. Early in his diatribe he states that "while young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrat's manic obsession to bring down our Commander-in-Chief." I guess the immediate threat to military personnel somehow trumps the hypocrisy of that statement. For it was the Republicans who practiced "manic obsession" in their quest to forcibly remove Bill Clinton from office. It did not work then and the reciprocal will not work now — at least with respect to the possibility of impeachment. Showing further ignorance he went on to say, "nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators." Of course, he obviously prefers to overlook the fact that Bush himself has referred to the U.S. troops in Iraq as occupiers.
For all of his acrimonious commentary, Miller did have some meritorious points that bear further analysis. He questioned Kerry's fitness to be Commander-in-Chief in light of the latter's Senate votes against several key military equipment expenditures. Miller continued with "[t]wenty years of votes can tell you much more about a man than twenty weeks of campaign rhetoric." These are valid points. The Democratic National Convention was notable in its avoidance of specifics regarding Kerry's twenty-plus years of Congressional representation. Instead, they chose to focus on his military record and the integrity that it purports to reflect. There are flaws with Miller's critique, but the fact remains that Kerry does give the appearance of avoiding discussion on his Congressional voting record.
Cheney was not much better than Miller in the logic and legitimacy of his attacks. However, he was much more collected and rational. After much ballyhooing and self-congratulation (much of the veracity of which was stretched for effect ;-), Cheney laid into Kerry. He first attacked the understandable issue of the record avoidance. Criticism of Kerry's disagreement of the Bush Administration prosecution of the "War on Terrorism" then followed. Cheney belittled Kerry's opinion that a "more sensitive" methodology should be employed. He then started down the tired path of the flip-flop accusations. These apparent dichotomies have been explained time and time again. However, the Republicans keep playing to the fact that the vast majority of Americans are ill-informed of the facts in an effort to fuel discontent. In the end Cheney accomplished his intended role as bulldog for the administration. Nevertheless, just as with most players in this part, he did so only through the use of inflammatory rhetoric and half-truths.
One particularly disconcerting theme resulted in consistent jeers from the audience of delegates. Both Miller and Cheney (as well as a few of the bit players if I remember correctly) made reference to Kerry's willingness to let the United Nations dictate U.S. policy. In every instance the crowd let loose its ire at this concept. This is not only a gross exaggeration, but is also reflective of the misunderstanding of a vast majority of the population.
The world is a changing place. No longer are nations separated by distance and culture as they were just a few decades ago. Globalism in some aspect or another is here and here to stay. If the U.S. hopes to continue to be seen as the "shining city on the hill", then we are going to have to agree to play nicely with the rest of the planet. The U.N. plays an important role in the world as an impartial arbitor and advocate for the weak. It does not tell any single nation what to do or how to act. Rather it serves to negotiate an agreeable resolution to an international issue. Sometimes the latter requires police action; usually, however, diplomacy achieves the goal. The U.N. and the vast majority of the planet were behind the U.S. retaliation against the Taliban and al Qaeda — the letitimate "War on Terrorism". It was not until Bush went off on his tangent of paternal retribution against Saddam Hussein that many of the other nations turned their support away from us. Potential voters are well advised to remember this.
01 September 2004
RNC 2004, part II
Republican compassion is a conditional sentiment. Most of last night's lesser speakers put forth their best efforts to show that the "Grand Old Party" is sensitive to the needs of the American public, provided one is willing to concede to their fundamentalist ideology.
The first speaker to voice this sentiment was Sam Brownback (Sen - KS). Speaking on the subject of HIV/AIDS research funding, he touted the administrations efforts worldwide to combat the ravages of the HIV pandemic. Not surprisingly, he neglected to state that the U.S. has placed severe restrictions on the dispersal of these funds. Basically, any program wanting monies from our government must agree to an abstinence based prevention program. Please, no condoms here.
Whereas Borwnback was guilty of omission, Bill Frist (Senate Majority Leader - TN) committed the more despicable act of outright lying. Frist criticized Kerry's statements about the "sweeping ban" the Bush administration has placed upon stem cell research, citing that the "government is funding ... stem cell research at record levels." He then went on to justify this hypocritical statement with the rationalization that "[a]n embryo is biologically human." So? It is biologically human. That is true. However, adult human stem cells are also biologically human. What Frist was really attempting to convey is the flawed premise that an embryo is a living human being and should be subject to the same protections as any other human life. Of course, this is a religious call and has no basis in fact. An embryo is a parasite. Mind you, a contolled parasite that must feed upon its host (its mother) for the majority of its gestation period. But a parasite nonetheless. It does not think; it has no self-awareness; it will not know if its existence is sacrificed for the greater good of mankind
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few; or the one
The evening's most compelling speaker was, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Gov - CA). One has to suppose that he was intended to be the companion rising star to the Democrat's Barak Obama. Sadly, he failed in this endeavor. Though I had hopes that he would present a truly bipartisan call for unity — he is, after all, considered to be quite moderate to left leaning on most social issues — he instead tried to sway the nation's immigrant population to swing right. Arnie could not resist the urge to show his immature ideologies through belittling comments about "economic girly-men".
The Bush twins introduced their father (via satellite) who in turn ultimately introduced Laura Bush, the evening's final speaker. Barbara and Jenna were apparently meant to attract the youth vote. However, the ill-advised foray into their propensity toward underage drinking was probably more hindrance than help. Laura doted upon her husband's compassion to round out the evening. She spoke of his walks on the White House lawn fretting over one decision or another; his commitment to a purpose once he puts his mind to it; and how his policies have helped so many in need around the nation. Pretty mush what one would expect a devoted spouse to say.
Tonight we hear about "A Land of Opportunity." The nation will also hear from the flip-flopper Zell Miller! ;-)
continue to the August 2004 archive ⇒
HIM 
last BBEdited: 2004.11.02