My thoughts…on stuff

On January 30, Prime Minister P.J Patterson officially signed Jamaica into the CSM. Heads of Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago also signed on. The event took place at the UWI Mona Visitors Lounge at 4 pm, and was attended by many dignitaries, including Jamaica’s Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke. The CSM offically came into effect on January 1. The other member states (Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) will sign up by the end of June.

All you non-Caribbean readers must be wondering, “What is the CSM?” Well, it’s the Caribbean version of the EU. It is believed to benefit all participants, by offering easier movement of citizens, encouraging trade, strengthening regional ties, etc. Unity is strength after all. While it seems beneficial in theory, I doubt it will be so in practice. I believe some countries will gain much greater benefits than others. Others will get little, and some will get none. Remember the great economic miracle that globalization was promised to be?

I think countries like Barbados and T&T will use the CSM to invade Jamaica’s private sector. There are already a few Trinidadian firms here, most notably RBTT and the formerly Jamaican-owned Carib Cement. Most countries prefer to employ nationals over foreigners. The opposite is true in Jamaica, and the CSM will make already scarce jobs even more so. But in the words of the immortal Bob Marley, “Time will tell.”

Yesterday, January 29th, the Chinese celebrated the new year, at a time when the newness of the year is lost on most of us Western folk. And what a celebration it was! Multicoloured dragons and lions roamed the streets, Chinese restaurants prepared traditional new year dishes, and homes were filled with decorations symbolizing prosperity, health, togetherness, etc.

The Year of the Rooster has officially ended, and the Year of the Dog has begun. The Chinese Lunar Year is the most celebrated event on the Chinese calendar, lasting for 15 days. According to Chinese folklore, the Year of the Dog will be a year when people become more charitable, more reflective, and more willing to fight for just causes, due to the Dog’s noble nature. But his intensity will cause clashes and rebellions. People born in the Year of the Dog tend to be honest and loyal. They are also selfish, stubborn, and emotionally distant. Kung Hee Fatt Choy (Happy Chinese New Year) everyone!

P.S. The 29th was also my father’s 47th birthday. May he live to see many more.

I planned put up this post over three hours ago, but I had a project to do that took up all my time, and it isn’t even fully finished yet. Better late than never though. The long standing James Frey controversy has finally been put to rest. His best selling memoir “A Million Little Pieces” has been confirmed as a literary lie. The truth behind the controversy was revealed when James was interviewed by the queen of talk herself on the Oprah Winfrey Show, the place where it all started, so I guess it was the most fitting place to end it. She carefully dissected every questionable event in his book, the time in jail, the dental surgery, the death of “Lilly”, everything. Frey broke down under Oprah’s barrage of questions, yet still tried to defend the validity of his book. How brazen! I knew his book was a lie all along. It all began with the Smoking Gun’s report, and when the publishers of his book began offering refunds to customers.

Even though I’m glad the truth was revealed and Frey was exposed as a lying rat, I somehow felt sorry for him. He looked like a criminal under trial, blank stares and all. Woe be unto those that invoke the wrath of Oprah. If you’ve been living in a cave for the past few months and are unaware of this whole thing, I have a post that clears it up. And the sad thing is that it was such a compelling book that he could’ve just sold it as fiction. But non-fiction books obviously have more appeal, as they have that “reality” factor. Frey’s little stunt has done damage not only to his reputation, but the reputation of rehab centers and the memoir business. Drug addicts reading his book will see rehab as a place of torture instead of hope, and every memoir following this will have its validity questioned. Despite that, I just glad that the truth came out before his lie could do any more damage.

I’m a big fan of Smallville, and watch it religiously. So naturally the 100th episode couldn’t miss me, especially with the all the hype over the impending death of someone close to Clark. I even fought my little sister for the remote, which made her cry. She wanted to see “The Planet’s Funniest Animals” on Animal Planet. Now before you call me a bad brother, tell me, which is the better show? One chronicling the formative years of the greatest superhero of all time, or one with animals doing remotely humourous things to the tune of canned laughter?

The episode started out well enough. Clark revealed his secret to his girlfriend Lana and proposed to her. She said yes. His father, Jonathan Kent, beat Lex Luthor in the race for Senator. All wonderful news, obviously done to create joy, which would ultimately be crushed by overwhelming sadness. But who would die? Certainly not Clark, Lex or Lois. All signs pointed to Lana. And bingo! She died, in a nasty car accident after being chased by Lex Luthor. Clark was distraught, and asked Jor’el why she had to pay for this mistake. If you’re late to the party, Clark lost his powers and to regain them, a life had to be exchanged. Jor’el gave him the chance to save her life, but a life still had to be taken.

Clark went back in time and saved his love’s life. But his happiness was short-lived, because by saving the woman he loved the most, he lost the man he loved the most - his father. His dad died of a heart attack. I was surprised, but I’m reading websites saying that in the comics he was the first of Clark’s parents to go, so I guess I’m not the comic book connoisseur I thought I was. It was one of the best and most emotional episodes ever. But like winning an Oscar, the 100th episode carries a curse. Many series get canceled after reaching that milestone because they’ve run out of material. Let’s hope that fate doesn’t befall Smallville.

Oh goody, another game-based movie is being released, and right on the heels of my D.O.A post. Threshold Entertainment, makers of the two previous Mortal Kombat films have announced that Mortal Kombat 3: Devastation is officially in the works. You may visit the official site here. Prepare to be underwhelmed though. The cast for MK3 is pretty much the surviving cast from MK2. Sandra Hess, Chris Casamassa, Talisa Soto, Christopher Lambert, and Linden Ashby will make up the cast. Earth is in trouble…again, and our rag-tag team of heroes must stop the conquest of the planet by the forces of Outworld. The movie will follow up on the events of MK2, and is the rumoured to be the final of the three movies. It is also rumoured to be released in summer 2006.

I hope that this movie does well, as it is based on one of the popular franchises of my youth. Ah yes, this takes me back to a simpler time, a time when my pals and I would save our pennies, go the arcade and eat the bejesus out of each other. In the game people! I hope it’s better than that god awful MK2. I saw a rerun of it earlier this year, and it was AWFUL. I was a wee lad when I first saw it, and my friends and I talked about it for days. Now I can’t believe I thought it was cool! They’d better capture the spirit of the first movie, or the proud franchise will suffer immensely.

Tecmo and Constantin Film have announced that the Dead or Alive movie is in development, and the trailer has already been released, which you can see here. It will cost approximately $30 million to make, and will be directed by Cory Yuen, director of The Transporter. Cast include Jaime Pressly, Holly Valance, Devon Aoki, Sarah Carter, Kane Kosugi, Nastassia Malthe, Matthew Marsden and Eric Roberts. It is being marketed as “Charlie’s Angels” meets “Enter The Dragon.”

D.O.A fans love the series because of the excellent game play, the high quality graphics, the well-developed characters, the… aw, who am I kidding! They love the series because of the insanely beautiful women and their huge, gravity defying breasts. The fighting is also a factor in its success, but it’s the juggs that steal most the spotlight. Some of you may be wondering how a successful gaming franchise could be built off boobs, but consider the typical gamer, a teenage male with raging hormones and a virtually non-existent social life. And come on! Look at the girls! Doesn’t seem so ludicrous now does it? The movie will have scenes with the D.O.A babes in bikinis, and maybe a volleyball scene, which is sure to make all the fanboys drool with delight.

I’m hoping that this movie will have some substance behind it, and that it will be worth watching. But this is a game-based movie, and they haven’t been known to do well at the box office. And, even if this movie does have a good storyline, most moviegoers will be too hypnotized by the girls’ bouncing breasts to care, and most non-gamers will dismiss it as nothing more than that. Seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

I’ve heard a lot of talk about this NSA eavesdropping thing, and I’ve decided to add my two cents to the issue. Now most of the people talking about it are pissed-off liberals using this to criticize and demonize the Bush administration yet again. Talk about sore losers. Am I the only one tired of hearing them yammer on? They say it violates the Constitution and the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and that Bush is acting “above the law.” The remainder are people who are truly concerned about the issue.

Allow me to defend the embattled president. Firstly, its targeted towards Al-Qaeda associates, not US citizens (or so they say). I mean honestly, why would the US government use their high tech equipment to spy on regular folk? Joe Nobody, why would they bother to sort through your inbox, filled with chain letters and spam, or spy on your calls to other average Joes and telephone personals in a desperate effort to combat the overwhelming loneliness in your life? What, will they send a sniper to execute you if you you’re found out to be a liberal? Say it with me, YOU’RE…NOT…IMPORTANT. Good. Now you can sleep at night.

Secondly, this isn’t the first time it has been used. FDR and Churchill spied on all Trans-Atlantic calls before Pearl Harbour and through 1945. Thirdly, it’s not illegal. Check Article II of the Constitution, which gives the president the responsibility and authority to deal with an enemy that threatens the U.S. This isn’t the first time Americans freaked out about privacy. Remember the cookie controversy? But I’m not 100% in agreement with the president’s actions, such as the attempted seizure of Google’s private user data.

Today, while reading random blogs, I came across a blog featuring a blogging personality test. So I decided to take the test. Here is the result.

Your Blogging Type is Logical and Principled

You like to voice your well thought out opinions on your blog.And if someone doesn’t what you write, you really don’t care! Serious and blunt, sometimes people take your blog the wrong way. But you’re a true and loyal friend to those who truly get you.

What’s Your Blogging Personality?

Pretty much spot on don’t you think?

This post will interest just about anyone, from those who can speak fluent Klingon to those who think a Ferengi is some kind of Italian sports car. William Shatner, most famous for his role as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, has sold himself.

No, not like that. He isn’t that strapped for cash. He sold his kidney stone to online casino GoldenPalace.com for $25,000 to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. GoldenPlace.com has quite the collection of oddities, including a cheese sandwich said to have the image of the Virgin Mary. The ring-sized kidney stone will boldly go where no kidney stone has gone before, on tour with the rest of GoldenPalace’s oddities. I know Star Trek fans will be faithfully following the tour, eager to get their nerdy little hands on the jewel of Kirk’s kidney.

This has made me wonder how much some celebrity body parts are worth. How much would Micheal Jackson’s infamous nose cost? Or maybe Paris Hilton’s dignity? Oh right, almost forgot. She has none to sell.

Picture this. You’re homeless, dirty and smelly. And to make matters worse, you’re black. Life is not easy. Then while you’re chillin’ at that patch of concrete you call home, two white teens suddenly appear and begin clobbering you mercilessly with baseball bats. You’re thinking “Is it because I’m black?”, but that thought is quickly pushed aside as you try to fend off the blows. Then they leave as suddenly as they arrived, leaving you battered and bruised.

Well, Norris Gaynor didn’t have to imagine it. He experienced it, when Brian Hooks, William Ammons and Thomas Daugherty brutally attacked him. Ammons shot Gaynor with a paintball gun, and the others beat him. They also attacked Jacques Pierre and Raymond Perez. They were the lucky ones, as Gaynor succumbed to his injuries. What would cause them to do such a thing? They were described as good students, never displaying any signs of being violent (They never do, do they?). Hooks was even an athlete (So? Hitler was a choirboy and look how he turned out). People are desperate for answers as to why this happened. Some blame videogames - I know Jack Thompson does. Some blame the parents, and others blame the decline of morals in society.

I tend to agree with the latter. Values have been pushed aside in pursuit of material gain, producing a generation without restraint. When the teens were caught, authorities say they seemed “disconnected from reality.” When 17 year-old Daugherty showed up at court, he broke down in tears (Reality hurts huh?). I wonder what they were thinking to commit such a crime? Maybe they wanted to rebel, as teens often do, taking out some of their aggressions in the process. Maybe they wanted a thrill, or perhaps live out a GTA fantasy of unbridled lawlessness. And what better target than the homeless. They’re human refuse, no one will care. Plus they’re defenseless. Easy prey.

Well that line of reasoning led them to where they are now, facing jail time. And it was all caught on tape, thanks to their brilliant planning (If you’re going to commit a crime, at least try to cover your tracks). Plus this incident will haunt them for the rest of their lives. All for a cheap thrill.