Next Stop, Delta City: How Robocop Predicted the Future

Posted on May 17, 2012 by wellsdc

Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) was a stupid, silly, implausible, satirical, strangely-brilliant, unsettlingly-prescient movie about a cyborg police officer created by a corporation angling to take over Detroit’s city government. What’s interesting is that part of that premise might be happening now. What’s disappointing is that it has nothing to do with cyborgs:

Detroit is a city in flux. There are bright spots — pockets of development, a vibrant art scene, sophisticated restaurants, and a growing number of community gardens — but signs of life are overshadowed by miles and miles of blight. Last May, the state turned Detroit’s public schools over to an emergency manager, a businessman named Roy Roberts with a long history in the auto industry and financial markets.

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Could Detroit become the first major city in America to have all of its public services privatized? Signs are pointing in that direction. The question for those living on the precipice in the Metro Detroit area is whether to stay and turn things around or leave before they get worse.

Continue reading →

You might need a thneed, but you do not need this

Posted on May 16, 2012 by wellsdc

'Is That a Cock or Your Legs?' by Bas Kosters [Fair use], via Bas Kosters Studio

Click to embiggen. I dare you.

And by “this,” I am of course referring to Penis Pants.

Dutch designer Bas Kosters has these for sale on his website for the low-low price of €119, under the heading “Is That a Cock or Your Legs?”

According to Fashionista, that currently comes out to roughly $150.

My birthday is coming up in a few months. Now you know what not to get me.

Seriously, I will end you.

(h/t Bob for the story, and Dr. Seuss for the literary reference.)

A touching story, questionably used

Posted on May 15, 2012 by wellsdc

I came across this video via a Facebook friend. (The host site, Godvine, doesn’t allow embedding, sorry.) It’s a sweet story, but the way the site presents it troubles me. To summarize, a young mother tells her story with a series of statements on slips of notebook paper while inspirational-sounding Christian music plays. I’ve never understood this style of video, but I could see how it is more effective than just writing out the story, and also easier for people who might not want to talk on video (for my part, I have no problem speaking directly to a group of people, but I tend to seize up in front of a camera.)

I should note that this woman is a natural in front of the camera, beaming with joy as an ecstatic new mother, then shifting towards obvious pain when the story turns to her son’s difficulties. And this is all done without saying a word.

She tells the story of falling in love and getting married, and her pregnancy with her son, Christian. She learned during the pregnancy that something was wrong, although she does not say exactly how much they knew. He was born with a cleft palate and cleft eye sockets. I’m unclear on the latter problem, but it meant that he was born without eyes. She’s a mother and she loves her child, and you can tell that she will defend her child to the ends of the earth (that’s the benefit of this style of video, I now realize.) Unfortunately, people are assholes, so she endured stares, whispers, and “what’s wrong with your kid?” questions. She also says that:

One girl even told me I was a horrible person for not aborting Christian in utero.

That’s at around the 4:40 mark. I hope everyone can understand what a horrible, repulsive thing that is to say. I mean really, I actually hope this mother smacked that girl in the face, then stepped on her. No one is going to mess with Christian on this mother’s watch. Continue reading →

You had a good run, NBC, but there will be no forgiveness for this

Posted on May 14, 2012 by wellsdc

As far as I am concerned, 30 Rock and Community are two of the greatest sitcoms of the past few decades. That could just be that the sitcom format has evolved to the point where the bizarre meta-narrative offered by these shows is one of the few original ideas left. Community has a brilliant ability to dangle standard sitcom tropes in your face, make you think you know where the show is going, and then surprise you. 30 Rock is a television comedy about television comedy, always skirting the event horizon of its own humorous singularity. I’m not good at cosmological metaphors, so I hope that made sense.

Anyway, both shows have persisted despite, as the hipsters might say, being too good for the TV masses. Community even made a triumphant comeback from the brink of semi-cancellation. Still, it’s disappointingly unsurprising that NBC may “gently” cancel both shows, along with the almost-as-brilliant Parks and Recreation:

A trio of devastating television developments today: NBC reportedly plans to raze 75 percent of its beloved Thursday-night comedy lineup. The rumored casualties: 30 Rock, Community, and Parks and Recreation—all three of which represent some of the smartest (if only moderately watched) comedic output by any network right now. Instead of canceling the shows outright, the Peacock network will reportedly announce shortened final seasons for each at next week’s annual “upfront” presentation in New York City. The fourth Thursday-night sitcom, The Office, which is in its eight season, is predicted to remain on the air.

Bite me, NBC.

Confronting empathy head-on

Posted on May 14, 2012 by wellsdc

A fascinating thing happened the other day. A Republican insider (at least, I think that’s a fair way to describe him), Jan Van Lohuizen, penned a memo urging the party to get with the times, so to speak, on the issue of same-sex marriage. On the heels of North Carolina’s farce and various other national embarrassments, it is a remarkable document.

He starts out citing statistics about increasing support for same-sex marriage (or at least civil unions) across the political spectrum. This may be a good political argument for changing positions on the issue, but that’s as far as I would be willing to go. The question of how many Americans favor extending these rights to same-sex couples implies that these rights are somehow ours to give, which they are not.

The policy statements he recommends, however, are very interesting. In essence, he makes arguments in favor of same-sex marriage based on what might be termed traditional conservative principles of “equality under the law.” He goes on to eviscerate the tired argument about “special rights:”

This is not about giving anyone extra protections or privileges, this is about making sure that everyone – regardless of sexual orientation – is provided the same protections against discrimination that you and I enjoy.

He goes on to point out the real reason why changing public opinions are important:

As more people have become aware of friends and family members who are gay, attitudes have begun to shift at an accelerated pace. This is not about a generational shift in attitudes, this is about people changing their thinking as they recognize their friends and family members who are gay or lesbian.

The problem with many of the positions taken by today’s Republicans is that they rarely survive a head-on collision with empathy.

He concludes with a shoutout to “the freedom to decide how you live and to enter into relationships of your choosing” and “the freedom to live without excessive interference of the regulatory force of government.”

The problem, of course, is that Republicans probably have some biological imperative to oppose same-sex marriage now that Obama has voiced support for it. Their all-but-chosen presidential candidate isn’t exactly winning empathy points, either.

It’s like a high-quality Buffy fan film, except…

Posted on May 13, 2012 by wellsdc

The things you find on YouTube. This is completely SFW, and Buffy fans may find this to be a remarkably astute recreation of the characters and settings:

Aside, of course, from the fact that these are probably all the scenes in the movie where people aren’t schtupping. Still, you know there’s serious geek cred here when an actress goes by the name April O’Neil (of Ninja Turtle fame, of course).

Also, it’s directed by a guy named Josh Wheldon: Continue reading →

Adopt a Kitty!

Posted on May 13, 2012 by wellsdc

Austin Animal Center has taken in far more dogs and cats than it normally does this time of year, and they could use a good home.

“MO” A626768 from Kennel M04, He is a little how shall we say, CONFLICTED. It’s like he WANTS loving (I don’t know if you can hear him purring) but then he gets scared and hisses. He only needs about 2 weeks in foster care and is ready to go today. Ideally he would go home with a kitten friendly cat or dog so he can learn how to be properly social with people AND animals. He looks very hearty and healthy and is eating well on his own.

“MORRIS” A626832 from Kennel M09. He seems a little depressed and I guess I would be too. He also only needs about 2 weeks and would like to go home to a foster with other animals he can cuddle with. Check him out, sorry, it is kind of dark. He is ready to go today.

“Bruiser” A626766 from Kennel M07 is a HOOT and a HALF, outgoing, vocal and ready to GET OUT OF HERE. He is a little smaller than the other two and will probably need about 3 weeks to get big enough for adoption but he is FULL FULL FULL of personality. Very affectionate as well.

Stepping out of the hipster bubble: My evening at a Tom Petty concert

Posted on May 12, 2012 by wellsdc

I rarely pass up an opportunity to make fun of hipsters. The problem is, I think I might actually be one.

Last Saturday, I fulfilled a childhood dream by seeing Tom Petty live in concert. He played at the Frank Erwin Center, the only large venue available in the city of Austin (unless you count the football stadium, which you shouldn’t.) Tom Petty has had a long, successful career, amassing a wide array of classic, beloved songs. His appeal is broad and his music is oddly timeless. As a result, he serves as an effective hipster repellant.

Part of my issue with hipsters en masse is that they defy description–in fact, defying categorization is a defining characteristic of the hipster. A hipster is largely defined by what he or she isn’t. Rather than contribute new ideas, fashions, or innovations, they tend to recycle old ones (often ones better left discarded.) Outdated fashions become the latest “ironic” trend, which drives me mad because of its abuse of the very concept of “irony.” Continue reading →

Good news, everyone! UT Law has a new dean!

Posted on May 12, 2012 by wellsdc

The announcement just came down on Wednesday: the University of Texas School of Law has chosen a new dean:

Ward Farnsworth, associate dean for academic affairs at Boston University School of Law, has been named dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin.

Farnsworth’s appointment, effective June 1, fills the position currently held by Interim Dean Stefanie Lindquist.

“As a teacher, a scholar, and a leader, Ward Farnsworth is just what UT Law needs,” said President Bill Powers. “I’m confident he’ll not only continue the tradition of first-class legal education and service to society at the University of Texas, but take the Law School to even greater heights.”

I wish Dean Farnsworth the best of luck in the wacky madhouse that is UT Law School. The building is very confusing, but people are generally happy to give directions. I presume that you will not have any specifically professorial duties in your role as dean, but I hope you don’t mind if I at least think of you as Professor Farnsworth.

Yup, this whole post was a setup for a Futurama joke. What else did you expect from me?

Photo sources: UTLaw Magazine and Wikipedia [Fair use].

The bullying is not the issue so much as the not remembering

Posted on May 11, 2012 by wellsdc

It seems well-established now that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Willard Mitt Romney engaged in acts of bullying against at least one gay classmate when he was in prep school in the 1960’s. For my part, I am a firm believer that the mistakes of youth should not, in and of themselves, define a person’s opportunities as an adult. In other words, I believe people who do stupid, mean, petty, vindictive things in their youth, or even just earlier in adulthood, deserve the opportunity to change and to demonstrate that change to others. When I hear about something someone did in the past, I am at least as interested in what they have to say about it now as I am in what they did. What they did helped create the person they are today, but it is not the only factor.

One of the many tensions in evaluating presidential candidates is that we don’t want to disqualify them based on the stupidity of their youth. George W. Bush’s blanket denial that “when I was young and irresponsible I was young and irresponsible” seems like a good rule. On the other hand, we want to know who these candidates are who seek to lead us (especially when they spend so much time offering us synthetic versions of themselves). We are looking for some piece of evidence, some sign of what makes them who they are. Many of us prize “character above all” in a president and a lot of those hints about presidential character are located in the stories of youth. If you want to be president, your résumé, accomplishments, and experience are not enough. Your origins matter.