Zero Hour (2013-2013)

And now, dear readers, it is time to lament the loss of yet another genre show.  Zero Hour showed great promise.  Here is a link to a Huffington Post article about the cancellation.

In short, there is some sort of doomsday plot that involves clocks and the Catholic Church.  Can't really tell too much more as there have only been three episodes.  Stars Anthony Edwards of ER and Top Gun fame as a publisher of a skeptic journal.  His wife fixes clocks.  Then she finds a special clock and is kidnapped.

And that's the basic premise.  Edwards spends the next three episodes flying from Canada to India in search of answers.  He gets precious few.

And then it ends.

Adieu Zero Hour.  We hardly knew ya.

A Weighty Rant

Time for a bit of honesty, full disclosure and the like.


I'm fat.  Or, at the very least on the overweight side of life.  Hell, according to my BMI, I am obese.  (I think BMI is bullshit anyway.)  I've been trying for a long time to get my weight down.  And I have.  I topped out at about 275 (124.7 kg) in 2006.  As of Monday (26 MAR 12) I was 244.8 (111 kg)  So, slow weight loss for sure.  And I've gone up and down since.  I've been less in the past six years, but its never easy.


Now, in the past year I've really started trying to make a sustained change.  And I've been succeeding.  A year ago I made the goal to run in a road race.  And I completed that goal!  Last September I ran in a relay triathlon with my dad.  And in October, I started training in America's Best Defense (a combo of Muay Thai and Krav Maga).  Recently, I was invited to move up to their Black Belt Training program.  So, I'm feeling pretty good about how I am doing regarding my weight loss and fitness.


Now to re-wind a bit.


A couple of months ago one of my cube mates was going to order her self something from the local Chinese take out.  Looking at me (and another larger co-worker) she said "Hey, you should know what item x is."  Really?  I know that she did not mean it in the way it came out, but there were several other ways to ask this question.  But you ask the fat kid about a take out menu item.  How might that make him feel?  I shrugged it off as a joke and moved on.


Since then, her and the co-worker that invited my ire today, would talk about diets, and working out etc, etc.  Neither of them really need to do either.  But what galled me is when they would complain how they are fat.  Neither of them are no where near fat.


Really?  Again, you feel the need to say this in front of the kid whose been trying for years to loose weight?  Typically, my skin is much thicker than this, but today it just grated on me.  And in talking to various internet friends it was pointed out that people like my co-workers are just looking for attention.  I know this.  Which is why I did not jump down their throats.


So, rant over.  As I always do, I will keep my headphones on and ignore the world around me when I am at work.  I know I am doing well, my family knows I'm doing well and my friends know I am doing well.  And those are the only people that matter.

A rant on the subject of a photography class...

This rant actually goes back a couple of years, so if some of you have already heard it, forgive me.  But recently this rant came roaring back into my head. (via Weird Al's 'Skipper Dan' (don't ask my mind works in mysterious ways))*


Anywhoo, lets take a trip back to the days when I was taking a digital photography class.  Now, maybe it was my own ignorance, but I thought it would be more about taking photos than editing them in Photoshop.  The class should have been called Intro to Photoshop.  But that's not even my biggest complaint about this class.


No, its with the instructor and the students.  And, to be fair, they were ok for most of the class.  But I want to focus on a few stories, that all lead up to my confrontation with the instructor.


1. We are discussing the origins of photography and where it really started to be popularized.  I brought up the US Civil War and the work of Matthew Brady and his associates.  The teacher then asks the class (I don't know WHY she did) when the Civil War took place.  This girl, who looked to be out of high school all of 20 minutes said "1880s?"  After slamming my head against the computer monitor in front of me, I had to give her points for getting within 20 years.


2.  We had to do presentations on a subject about photography.  This one guy is discussing Annie Leibovitz.  I will NEVER forget what happened next.  The student in question states (and this is pretty verbatim): "I heard somewhere that Annie Leibovitz died.  I could not find anything confirming this, so I'm guessing she's dead."


And that's not the worse part.


Oh, no the teacher then responds with: "You know, I think you are right."


Ladies and gentlemen, people almost died that day.  I was furious with this ignorant student who did such piss poor research and claimed that a world famous photographer was dead.  A 30 second search on Wikipedia IN CLASS told me that she was alive, and lives in CT.  I was equally furious with the teacher for just agreeing with this and NOT looking it up on the computer IN FRONT OF HER FACE.


To cap it all off, one day during class break the teacher asks to speak with me.  She says that I seem... upset recently. (Ya think?)

I fire off my opening salvo: "The general level of ignorance in this class is pissing me off."
Her response: "...well, I don't know..."
I turn broadside and let loose another salvo: " For the record, Annie Leibovitz..alive."
Her response: Blank Look (i must have taken out the generators)
I cross the T and fire another shot: "Oh, and the Civil War... 1860s."
Her response: "..well this is a basic college class..."
I swing around and let loose my final shots: "That's basic fucking high school."


So, just remember, do your research, have some basic knowledge and nobody gets hurt.


One final thought.  I know that not everybody will have knowledge on the Civil War.  And I'm not even asking them too.  However, we were seated in front of computers, so it would be pretty easy to get the correct info, instead of making yourself look like an ignorant ass.


Rant finished.


*I knew you would ask, so...There is a line in Weird Al's Skipper Dan which goes :..and Annie Leibovitz would shoot me for Rolling Stone..."  This then set off the rage.

Leave Huck Finn Alone!!!!!

Huck Finn Word Replacement

So, I'm sitting here enjoying a quiet evening watching Hawaii Five-O, when I received a phone call from my mother, who had a piece of information.  Apparently, some Twain scholar decided that race needed to be expressed differently in the 21st century.  As such, he has taken it upon himself to change the 200+ 'n' words with 'slave', and to take out the word 'injun' as well.  Really?  Are we as a culture really that screwed up that we need to have things sugar coated for us?  I think not.  With proper discussions in classes you can still teach to the original un-modified text.  Explain to your students about the context of the words, and the period that it was written in.  Huck Finn is a timeless piece of work, that does not deserve to be messed with.  Really, what's next?  Changing Winston Zedemore's line in Ghostubsters: "I've seen shit that will turn you white." to "I've seen shit that will turn you paler than your base skin tone?"

People in this country ( or any country ) that advocate the banning or editing the books that offend them, need to get the stick out of their asses.  You want to ban or edit a book?  Take a look at the Bible.

P.S.  I don't mean any disrespect to the Bible; it was just the best analogy I had.

'Professional' quality my ass

Ok....


Very quick rant here.  I was very fired up about this, but have since cooled off and want to offer some insight and suggestions to Mohegan Sun Arena.


On the 15th of October, I went to see Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie at the Mohegan Sun Arena.  I have a Canon EOS XS Digital Rebel.  Detachable lens?  Yes.  Professional?  Perhaps...


See, just because I have the fancy camera does not mean I am going to take shots of any decent quality.  I had a short lens (18mm-55mm), seats in the upper level, and the lighting issues that you always have at a concert.  So really, the pics would have sucked.


I have two issues:


1.  For twenty minutes prior to going into the venue itself, their security stared at me with the camera around my neck.  At one point I even went up to them to ask about the camera, but after staring at me, and not engaging me in conversation I thought I was in the clear


2. Their policy.  Here are the two pursuant parts of their policy:
               Prohibited:
                              Professional quality camera equipment


                 Cameras in general:
                              

                       Cameras - As a house rule, disposable cameras are permitted, but may be prohibited based on the request of the performing artist and their management. Call in advance to find out what the camera policy will be during the event. Video and audio recording equipment are prohibited in the Arena at all times.

Where oh where does it specify that a detachable lens constitutes professional?  I saw plenty of camera equipped cell phones taking pictures of the same or similar quality!!  Oh, and BTW Mohegan Sun, did you know many phones can now take video?  That means all cell phones should be checked and and placed in coat check (which is not for coats BTW, but professional cameras and bulky items).  I'm just saying.

So instead of an AWESOME shot of Mr. Cooper playing (Zombie seemed to phone his performance it) all I have to show for it are these: