Asymmetric

2010 Super Bowl ad reviews

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:41:52 PST

Superbowl 44 was quite pleasant. Not too many penalties or turnovers. A bold onside kick, which proved to be the momentum changer. Drew Brees gave a steady, Joe Montana-like performance.

The ads were sub-par. They weren't as funny as those in previous years. Megan Fox brought the sexiness factor to 0 all by herself after it plunged into negative territory with Betty White and dudes in their underwear.

She obviously wanted to disprove the ugly thumb rumors.

Instead of going through each one and rating them, as I did last year, I thought I'd just sit down and write about the ones I remember. I'd recall the best, worst, and most effective ones, right?

The Betty White ad was probably the worst, followed by the Super Bowl shuffle ad reprise, Kiss, and every Dorito commercial except the one with the bark collar:

Many other bad ones that left no impact.

The Tim Tebow ad successfully made NOW and Planned Parenthood look silly for opposing a very innocent ad that really said nothing. It merely invited people to learn more about pro-life issues at the Focus on the Family website. So, a big score for the forces of life.

As for social trends, the quiet (lest our wives hear) backlash against feminism was present, again. Remember last year when guys hurt themselves and said, "I'm good," and the Heineken beer closet commercials? Whereas last year's guy ads celebrated mens' goofiness; this year, men were urged to "wear the pants":

Even if this doesn't lead to real change in the dynamics of opposite-sex relationships, it's at least a recognition of a feeling that perhaps things aren't quite right.

Dodge, the dinosaur car company, celebrated the responsible male's life:

Dove, of all companies, released a paean to the good guy, bravo male:

There was another one, but I don't remember it.

The ad that has liberal control freaks up in arms is Audi Green Police. It taps into the growing sentiment that perhaps greeniness isn't motivated by a desire to address a real problem so much as by that old-fashioned drive to control human behavior, Liberal Fascism-style. This is the beginning of the end for the ideological environmental movement, my friends.

What's odd is that Audi mocks its customer base. Or, it isn't that Audi makes fun of extremist greens and them urges people to buy an 8-cylinder guzzler; they're selling a diesel car. Weird.

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg

The Denny's chicken alert ad lacked social value, except for PETA, perhaps, but is the one that made me laugh the most.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sarah Palin speech at the Tea Party convention

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:18:58 PST

For a more complete commentary, I like this one.

I heard the speech on the radio and was struck by how much more substantive it was than the Obama preacher-on-fire, cliche-ridden ones. Another thing I liked was the absense of cheap applause lines.

She hit just about everything cons have complained about the past year, the spending, secrecy, corruption. Emailing this speech to your friends would catch them up on current events quicker than reading a year of the Corner.

She showed what's likable about her, the earth-bound charm, and what was not, a Fargo-like accent that I can see grating on the urban. Overall, excellent.

In a general sense, I think the Tea Party should stop being a movement, quick. A movement based on opposition to something should cease existing as soon as it's reached its goal. Tea Partiers helped check Obama's socialist agenda. Good for them. Now, team up.

To continue as a semi-formal entity, one just cohesive enough to make specific demands and require political pandering, outside of a more established, realistic structure would only serve to divide the electorate and invite easy attacks by liberals. News outlets are already running "divided Tea Party" stories.

(The precedent is the Reform party. Libertarians have caused many Republican losses as well.)

It would be if Democrats had a visible far left called the "anti-war movement" or "net roots"...wait, they do and it's wreaked havoc on moderate Dems after Obama united (some would say "fooled") them briefly for his victory.

Warning: If you're a liberal, the video below may have the same effect garlic has on vampires.

Undead community praises Obama Corpse comments

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:46:44 PST

LGZV (Lich, Ghoul, Zombie, Vampire) community leaders praised Obama's mention of the corpsed community. unSpokesman Keith Richards said that the acknowledgment was long past due, "some people don't even know we're alive...err...that we're here."

Richards also welcomed the decision to let the undead serve openly in the military, "The undead are amongst the best soldiers in the military today. Some of us won't stop attacking until our heads are blown off. We're essential in night ops. Vampires make great medics, under proper supervision. Werewolves only need a little special accommodation, and just one day a month." Richards went on to say that the next step is to modernize the chaplain corps, "We'd need some sound-proofed rooms. The howling gets a little intense at times."

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

When asked about playing without Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom just said...

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:25:07 PST

...that "sometimes when you lose an arm, another sense takes over."

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Top Ten liberal Rock and Roll songs.

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:04:34 PST

http://www.nelsonguirado.com/media/DonnaFargoTheSignOfTheTimes.mp3

"This isn't the Democratic party of our fathers and grandfathers. This is the party of Woodstock hippies. I was at Woodstock — I built the stage. And when everything fell apart, and people were fighting for peanut-butter sandwiches, it was the National Guard who came in and saved the same people who were protesting them. So when Hillary Clinton a few years ago wanted to build a Woodstock memorial, I said it should be a statue of a National Guardsman feeding a crying hippie."-John Ratzenberger.

Yesterday, I assembled some Rock and Roll songs that trumpeted conservative values. Today, I'm doing my far left* brothers and sisters a favor by compiling a list to encourage them as they seek to change America for the better:

1. Sign of the Times, Donna Fargo.

Podcast

Donna Fargo Winners by Donna Fargo

The Best of Donna Fargo: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection

In this song, Donna sings of the American dream turning into a "nightmare." 1863? 1933? 1942? No, the year we'd all like to forget, 1986. Apparently, Donna had access to some detailed census data, as she concluded that Jews suffered proportionately. Unemployment was at 50%?

2. Cortez the Killer, Neil Young.

Proving that extremism begs for an opposite, "noble savagery" is an attempt by Europeans to reverse European feelings of superiority over the people whose land they colonized. The problem with those who take the noble savage route, is that, in their desire to make amends, they often lie, distort, or, like Neil Young, just say stupid stuff.

The Cortez in the song is Hernan Cortez, Spanish conquistador. Why sing about Cortez and not, say, other conquests in history like in everywhere else in the world since the beginning of humanity? Because Cortez was white and the Aztecs weren't, I guess.

If you know anything about Aztec civilization, you know how ridiculous this is:

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on.

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Ayla Brown, Gail Huff, and Carlos Argentino

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:25:49 PST

http://www.nelsonguirado.com/media/La_Mama_Y_La_Hija.mp3

Scott Brown famously advertised his daughters' eligibility during his victory speech.

I think it's sweet that he wants his girls married to a respectable gentleman.

Then, the urbane, intellectual Huffington Post sandwiched a music video with Scott Brown's wife, Gail Huff, between "7 Weird Things Women do to Their Privates" and an issue crucial to the survival of the Republic, Natalie Portman's right nipple.

To prove that I can be as hip as HP, the video:

Any evolutionist knows that a pretty woman is likely to give birth to a pretty daughter (proven in my own family). I searched for the prettiest mother-daughter combination and came upon this, the poorest-written blog post since Levi Johnston gave his reason for supporting a public option. But, who cares? It's a story on the PRETTIEST mother-daughter pairs, not a dissertation on aesthetics.

Carlos Argentino, the charismatic singer for the Sonora Matancera faces the difficult task of choosing between a young senorita and her MILFish mama in the merengue, "La Hija y la Mama."

It's the podcast.

Algo Especial Por La Sonora Matancera

Research, and I found out that the Dominican Luis Kalaff sang it first. I like it better for the funky, punctuating horns and the accordion.

As you can imagine, expressing interest in both a mom and a daughter can lead to trouble.

Comeuppance:

Merengue

King of Merengue

Bailemos Merengue, Vol. 1

Bailemos Merengue Vol.2

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

David Aaronovitch Voodoo Histories

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:46:37 PST

http://www.nelsonguirado.com/2010-02-04PragerH3_VoodoConspiracies.mp3

Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History by David Aaronovitch

Dennis Prager interviews David Aaronovitch. Fascinating stuff.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Carly Fiorina campaign manager possessed by demonic sheep

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:30:58 PST

There are ads which end political careers. Usually, however, those ads are put out by a politician's opponent. Fiorina's ad attacking Tom Campbell perplexes rather than clarifies. It's bizarre, and not in a good way. It reminds me of those foreign commercials that used to come out on TV specials- the ones we'd laugh at for their cultural weirdness.

I wonder if the demonic sheep have something to do with her study of medieval history. Perhaps it was based on some Hungarian folk tale.

I've heard Carly speak for John McCain and liked her. I'd vote for her over Barbra Boxer. This ad assures me that I will never get that chance.

Top Ten Conservative Rock and Roll songs

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:48:11 PST

http://www.nelsonguirado.com/media/ThisLandIsYourLand.mp3

A couple of years ago, John J. Miller from National Review compiled what he thought were the "50 greatest conservative rock songs." It's a thoughtful list, but, quite expectedly, incomplete. Below is my contribution to Miller's fine effort, a Conrock addendum, as it were. I'll just second his introduction and dive right in:

1. This Land is Your Land, Peter, Paul, and Mary.

An ode to manifest destiny, Biblically-based dominion over the earth, property rights, and Intelligent Design. It's the podcast.

Relevant lyrics:

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me those golden valleys
This land was made for you and me!

This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California, to the New York island,
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.

Peter, Paul and Mary - Carry It On - A Musical Legacy

2. Two Kinds of Seagulls, Tom Chapin.

Another folk-rockish ballad. Not quite Aquinas, but, still, a rather eloquent case for Natural Law.

Relevant lyrics:

There's two kinds of llamas: papas and mamas.
They wear different pajamas and that's why there's llamas.
Most creatures come in pairs. That's the way they mingle.
One kind only would be lonely. It takes two to tingle.

There's two kinds of peoples: he-puls and she-puls.
He-puls like she-puls. She-puls like he-puls.
And that's why there's me-puls, and you-puls,
And peoples.

Mother Earth

3. Jungle, B.B. King

A musical expression of the phenomenon known as "business flight" ("race to the bottom" for liberals) wherein business and people move from high tax states to more business-friendly ones.

Relevant lyrics:

I work hard everyday
From Monday to Friday night
The wages that they pay me
I swear that they're very light
The take out a little for the state
A little more for Uncle Sam
How can I ever catch up
And get myself out of this jam
Yes, I think I'll move to the jungle
Move way out in the woods
Yes, because the way things are here now
Well, I ain't doin' myself no good

The Ultimate Collection

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Lost and Avatar similarity

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:56:08 PST

I was watching the pregame show for Lost and realized that both Pandora, the planet in Avatar (for the three of you who haven't seen it), and "The Island" in Lost are the same kind of semi-conscious natural god that I describe here. In fact, The Island gives Locke a renewed purpose in life, like Eywa motivates the Na'vi.

Lost: The Complete Seasons 1-5

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

I'm glad Obama's not participating in the partisan bickering of the past

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:28:37 PST

Obama accuses Republicans of flip-flopping.

Why I was wrong about Avatar

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:06:07 PST

People worshiping at the Church of Avatar

I saw Avatar and concluded that its anti-American message and derivative story line would limit its popularity, at least in America. I was wrong.

My failure was in focusing on the political aspects of the movie instead of its potential religious appeal. According to a recent Pew poll, many Americans' spirituality has taken a heterodox turn; many of our fellow citizens mix and match beliefs to suit their needs, (often in ways that make no logical sense like combining Christian Heaven and reincarnation).

Avatar is the Passion of the Christ for the unconventionally religious.

Listen to some of the quotes from these Avatar viewers:

"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie,"

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.

"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "

Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.

Give me some of that New Age religion:

Avatarianism is a pantheism that focuses on caring and protecting nature. I've mentioned earlier that Avatar and Star Wars both have a biological basis for their religion.

The lack of a supernatural being doesn't harm the attractiveness of Avatarian theology (and may even increase it amongst the "brights") because even a biological god fulfills one comforting aspect of religion: that of a greater intelligence guiding humanity, giving it purpose.** Eywa, the nature goddess in Avatar, semi-consciously urges the inhabitants of Pandora to preserve themselves while causing as little damage to other life as possible. It's similar to other reductionist philosophies from the likes of Asimov. It implies a disdain for manufacturing and advanced commerce like many sustainable living and back-to-the-primitive advocates.

It's a counter-factual, illogical religion because nature doesn't really care if everything or nothing survived (a series that causes one to ponder this question is the Life After People series on the greatest channel in history), but logic might not be a priority for some people.

**Marxism has this as well, with its theory of human progress climaxing in a perfectly equal society.

Life After People (History) [Blu-ray]

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Syfy channel to change its name again

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:04:52 PST

The Syfy channel has had such a positive reaction to the spelling change in its name (from the hoarily traditional Scifi) that it plans on doing it again. Syfy is currently considering Sigh Figh, CyFi, Tsi Phi, and the Cthulu-inspired S'nglui Ph'nglui.

President Dave Howe said that he might eschew all of those names and choose something that brings in a female demographic like XOXOXO or BFFi.

Syfy encourages consumer feedback.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:00:21 PST

The commercial with Tebow will probably make the case that women should choose life because abortion cuts off an enwombed baby's potential. This is an oblique argument, the type made when no consensus exists on the morality of the act itself due to a disagreement over which if any moral authority has provenance over the action, and the parties, as a result, resort to common, often practical arguments.

Other oblique arguments are that torture is wrong because it recruits terrorists, homosexual adoption because it leads to worse grades; that vivisection isn't effective, cutting carbon emmissions will lead to green jobs, and legalizing marijuana will enable us to make stronger rope. I can cite others of varying degrees of sincerity and/or validity.

Not every child will grow up to be a football star and many parents wouldn't care anyways. It would still be wrong to abort even a sickly baby likely to struggle to a 6-second 40 and with an innacurate arm because unborn babies have souls and are innocent, making their killing unjust.

Saying that aborting a baby is murder probably wouldn't go over well with about 45% of the nation because they don't agree with it and another 45% because the Super Bowl should be a match between the AFC and NFC, not the sides in our culture wars. That's my oblique argument against CBS showing it.

Why would anybody want an iPad?

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:20:00 PST

Is the iPad a joke? An experiment to see how superfluous a product Apple fanboys are willing to buy?

OK. Let's say I want to:

1. Browse the web. I can do that with a cell phone- that fits in my pocket, and that I, and any potential iPad owners, already have.

2. Watch flash video. Nope. Can't do that. My less expensive laptop can. my Droid will soon be able to.

Motorola DROID A855 Phone (Verizon Wireless)

3. Read an ebook. I can do that on my phone and/or laptop (which together are less expensive than the iPad). But, then again, why would I want to read a whole book on an LED screen? The Kindle and Nook have "e-ink" screens which are specially made for long reading sessions. Instead of banning transfats, people should ban iPads.

And, the Kindle and nook books are cheaper! Am I missing something?

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

Barnes and Noble NOOK ebook reader

4. Take pictures. uh uh. Can do that with laptop or phone.

5. Video chat. No.

6. Work. Well, I can take a keyboard with me. Woops, there goes the portability. I can use real, grown-up apps or Google Docs on my laptop mini.

Yeah! I can buy and lug around a keyboard.

7. Make a presentation. Limited to 640 resolution. Need to carry some extra stuff.

8. Move stuff around. I need the dock. No USB or SD card. Seriously.

9. Find something. No GPS.

10. Do two things at once? Ha! No multitasking.

11. Impress squid friends for 90 minutes. Yes!

12. Look like a total dweeb to people who actually do useful stuff. Success!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Asymmetric response to Bob McDonnell response to SOTU

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:03:16 PST

1. McD is more stiff than Obama. It might come off as refreshing after a year of Obama.

2. I hate the anti-partisan lie whether it's from a Republican or a Democrat.

3. He quotes the Bible. Nice contrast.

4. Good move mentioning the Christmas bomber. More contrast.

5. The faux SOTU atmosphere instead of the usual office is weird. Who are those people: friends? The applause is both more vigorous and more staged.

6. Nice conservative rhetoric. Simpler. Not a huge hit, necessarily. Who knows?

7. Another contrast: McDonnell listens and does what the people want. Obama does what's unpopular.

Asymmetric opinion on Obama State of the Union Speech

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:47:10 PST

I won't comment on style, since I'm biased.

1. The president said that China and Germany have better economic plans than us. That's because he believes in top-down planning.

2. Green tech does not produce jobs if they only exist because of government subsidies. See Spain, which has 20% unemployment.

3. Obama threw a radioactive bone with nuclear and off-shore oil, "In exchange for ruining the economy with cap and trade, I'll build a plant and allow a study of off-shore drilling."

4. The federal government doesn't improve education. No evidence for that at all. But, he wants to "do something." Students have a world-class education now. That some don't want to learn is another thing.

5. What's up with the 10% student loan cap? If private industry is so important, why do we want to encourage people to enter unionized government jobs? Woops, I answered my own question.

6. "I didn't choose health care because it's good politics [I chose it because I'm a committed leftist.]."

7. Obama raises a huge straw man, "Let me see your idea that covers the uninsured," knowing that only a socialized system would guarantee coverage.

8. Obama hates political posturing.

9. "So, with that deficit, I said, 'What the heck? Let's just spend more money and blame it on Bush.'"

10. How do you "invest in people" (spend money) without increasing the debt (spending too much money)?

11. I can't believe Obama's talking about lobbyists when he gave a no-bid contract to his friends.

12. Has any other president complained about a supreme court decision in a SOTU? To their faces!

13. Transparency!

14. "Every day is election day?" Dude!

15. Let's pass everything!

16. Stop with the sanctimonious better government talk! The nation is wrenching.

17. Let's not have petty partisan attacks and schoolhouse taunts, after taun...aww, forget it.

18. Who wanted to only improve the lives of Afghan men?

19. You will support the Iraqi government without combat troops?

20. We support the freedom of Iranian dissidents? How?

21. Let's all get along by prosecuting people who don't tow the line.

22. Equal pay? That old chestnut.

23. He's going to do immigration reform.

24. Values that banned gays from serving in the military.

25. "We can do what the people want or we can do what's right." Translation: The people don't know what's good for them.

26. I usually don't like when presidents speak about specific small people. "It lives on in this eight-year old..."

27. I liked his ending. The most powerful part is when he said that Haitians were chanting "USA, USA..."

28. Wait, ruined it with his campaign-style hope and change stuff.

29. All in all, all Americans can find something to like...and hate.

Obama takes Asymmetric advice

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:43:41 PST

Man, did I call it or what? Spending freeze, baby.

http://www.nelsonguirado.com/index.php/asymmetric/2010/01/19/asymmetric-advice-for-obama-and-republicans-after-scott-brown-1

I don't mean to brag, but while lefties were urging Obama to lead a socialist Pickett's charge, Obama, who must be a regular reader- probably subscribes to my RSS on his Blackberry's Viigo- goes with my instinct.

Asymmetric marriage crisis: advice needed

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:29:53 PST

So, the little woman and I are watching Batman Begins:

Wife: So, what did the bat give him?

Me: ~~Where's my coffee?~~ Huh?

Wife: When they bit him. What did he get?

Me: Huh?

Wife: Can he hear like a bat or fly or something?

Me: [look at her quizzically]

Wife: The bats bit him. What can he do now?

Me: Are you seriously saying that you think Batman has super powers? He's just a guy. A highly trained guy with stuff. Excuse me, I need to go out for some cigs.

Wife: You smoke?

Me: I guess we're both learning new things about each other.

I haven't gone home yet. What should I do?

The Dark Knight (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]

Batman Begins [Blu-ray]

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

On the Stewardess crisis, and my flight to Maryland

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:55:51 PST

1. Forget health care. The president should commission a blue-ribbon panel on the decline in flight attendant quality. It's not that they're rude or wouldn't react like Bruce Willis in Die Hard; it's just that...errr...well, at one point I confused the one on this flight with my dad. It used to be that flying was a stimulating experience. Now, I can't tell the stewardesses apart from the ladies working as See's Candy. And, a bunch of them are guys, or somewhere in between. I don't know.

It's not all bad. The change to women who have gone through "the change" allows me to squeeze in more reading; blogging, at the moment.

Delta fliers can still watch this.

The prettiest stewardess I've ever seen was this lass who served on my trip from Maine to Ireland in 2004. What a trip!

2. I have a fascinating conversation with the person next to me 95% of the time I fly. I know what you're thinking and no, I'm not super-annoying (I think). This time, it was with a New York cardiologist originally from Pakistan, traveling with his wife, son, and new grand-daughter.

Really great person. Wonderful two-hour conversation. At one point, I asked him if he was like his father. He said, "no, my father was twice the man I was." He had recently gone to Mecca.

3. I bought a jacket from Pacific Trail. Love it! I forgot the phone clip for my Droid and was carrying it in my hand. Annoying. Then, I saw the picture below on my coat:

Probably not the most current phone design.

Problem solved! I just put it in there and was on my way. A pocket just for phones: Thanks, Pacific Trail.

4. CNN is still the default news channel. They still play it in the airports, even though Fox has twice the audience. The reason is that conservatives can tolerate liberal stations, if only out of habit, while liberals can't stand Fox.

5. The good thing about the east coast is that everything happens three hours earlier. Less waiting.

Die Hard Collection (Die Hard/ Die Hard 2: Die Harder/ Die Hard with a Vengeance/ Live Free or Die Hard) [Blu-ray]

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Obama doubling child care credit

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:35:22 PST

Obama wants to subsidize women leaving the home. These are the kinds of policies that chap my hide. Specifically, I hate when the government picks winners and losers. My wife stays at home to take care of our 3 kiddies. What's in this proposal for her? In effect, my wife's subsidizing our neighbor, who works.

It's like the thing I get in the mail for reduced electricity and gas rates. If I fill it in, I'm cheating. If I don't, I pay for cheaters or, at least, my rates go up to pay for somebody else.

All-White Basketball league announces teams

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:02:30 PST

Don "Moose" Lewis, founder of the world's second all-white basketball league in history (The NBA desegregated in 1950), the AABA, announced the league's first 12 teams today. They are:

1. Orlando Ofays.
2. Little Rock Crackers
3. Atlanta Honkies.
4. Jackson Burnt
5. Tallahassee Sheets.
6. Washington Grand Wizards
7. Utah Speed Metal
8. Montgomery Masters
9. Baton Rouge Necks
10. Boise The Man
11. Chapel Hill Billies
12. New York Ni**erstompers

The season will last two months and culminate in a championship to be held in April. The opening game will begin with a performance of Deutschland Uber Alles by the Lewis' wife and cousin, Anabel Lewis. The halftime show will feature a cross burning (fan participation encouraged), an unfree throw contest, and musical performance by Danzig.

To vote for league all-stars, fans will have to prove that they can read, that their grandfather voted in a previous all-star game, and pay a ballot tax of $10.00.

Asked why he chose to start the league, Lewis said that only allowing white players is the only way to assure a high quality of play, "all that jumping and dunking: it ruins the game for people who just like crisp passing and two-handed set shots."

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Review: Asus SBR-02E1S-U External USB Blu-ray player

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:17:38 PST

SBR-02E1S-U Bd-rom 2X USB2.0 Galaxy Blue

Every time a new optical disc technology emerges, products related to it become interesting: One reads reviews, investigates features, considers the price. For a while, and then the drives commoditize and nobody cares. I remember agonizing over which CD burner to get. Then, I spent $300 dollars for a DVD burner that burned both + and - (!). Now, it's more complicated to buy a mouse than a DVD burner. I don't think they even sell cd burners anymore.

Blu-ray is the latest optical technology. Blu-ray isn't a huge deal for me, but it only costs a couple bucks more to get Blu-ray discs on Netflix, and if I ever do purchase a movie, it will be Blu-ray.

Another change has been the emergence of the multi-PC home. In the Asymmetric household, we have a desktop running the TV in the living room. The kids use that one. My wife and I each have our own laptops.

We bought a Sony BDUX10S internal Blu-ray reader for the desktop. It worked well. Not every Netflix shipment is kid-friendly, however, and my wife wanted to see some of the movies on her laptop.

Sony BDUX10S SATA Blu-ray Disc-ROM Drive (Internal)

I needed to buy an external Blu-ray drive. The only reason this review is slightly interesting is because one really can't be sure if Blu-ray will work on their computer. One's PC has to have a compatible video card (My wife's Intel 4500 MHD video on her Dell Vostro 1320 qualifies, the "HD" standing for "High definition.") and a 2 GHZ or thereabouts processor, amongst other issues. You have have the benefit of my three hours of research below:

There are surprisingly few models available, maybe having to do with the cost of tech support. I disqualified the expensive ones that burn (as opposed to just reading) Blu-ray, as I didn't anticipate using that feature.

The portable readers I investigated were pretty cheap, under $150.00. A caution here: Many of them don't come with software. Blu-ray will not play on Media Center or any free player, and purchasing the software separately can be as expensive as the drive itself.

PowerDVD 9 Ultra

I chose the Asus SBR-02E1S-U. It comes with Cyberlink PowerDVD. It's an attractive shiny black and can set up to operate horizontally or vertically. It's different then some of the other drives in that it doesn't run completely off of the USB bus- you have to use an AC adapter. This fact is more comforting than an annoyance to me. If Asus engineers felt the need to require AC power, they must have had a good reason. Who am I to argue? I also noticed that some people on Amazon complain about other drives not working well under USB power.

The most important thing is that it works. After a software update, I successfully saw a Superman cartoon, both of the watchable Batman movies, and Independence Day ( I doubt the 100Mhz Powermac in the movie could have played Blu-ray). It worked so well, that I'm selling the internal Sony and sharing the Asus player with all three computers in my house.

Another question I had was whether the VGA connector (also RGB connector, D-sub 15, mini sub D15, and mini D15 connector) would be able to export the Blu-ray image to an external monitor (my wife's computer doesn't have DVI). It works fine, for now. Movie studios can turn on ICT copy protection which would require blu-ray to play through a digital connection meeting that DRM standard, and then we'd be sunk.

I doubt that this would happen, however. Media companies are rarely that inconsiderate.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Asymmetric advice for Obama and Republicans after Scott Brown

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:56:33 PST

Obama:

Don't do anything. You can pass health care reform, but just reform the broken stuff. Don't build a new system from the ground up, in three months, based on a book by a college professor, supported most fervently by graduate students in sociology. Don't do anything on education; I guarantee it will make things worse. Don't fix immigration. Avoid any bill containing the adjective "comprehensive." Don't give speeches. Don't declare war on the culture. If we want the culture changed, we'll do it ourselves. Just go home, host Easter egg hunts, play basketball. Leave us alone.

Republicans:

Don't do anything. Don't gloat. All victories in a democracy are temporary. Don't declare a revolution. Please don't say anything about ethics or "the tone." Roll back the dumb stuff. Say "no." We don't want new stuff. No new wars, taxes, forms, programs. When you get back in power, just go about slowly scaling back government. Start with a freeze perhaps. People like the word "freeze." It makes them think of how they handle their own money, "OK, we'll eat out twice a month, but no more, and we won't order soda."

We live in a great and prosperous country. People want to be left alone to watch 24. Let them. Be like the guy who monitors the water meter. The less we notice you, the happier we are.

Culture battles only cross people's lives in schools and on TV. One's local and the other's market-driven.

Olbermann pulls punches on Scott Brown

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:28:08 PST

Above is Keith Olbermann's analysis of the Brown-Coakley race. Of course, the corporate powers at MSNBC, one of whose founding members provided ball bearings made from Native American teeth to the Nazis, won't let him expose the depth of the vile evil where Republicans wade before and after coming ashore to consume the oppressed and disenfranchised.

I, friends, have no such overlords and am thus free to bring you the unfiltered truth. I also do things cowards like Olbermann don't: I sent my friend Shaun forth amongst the human refuse present at today's Scott Brown rally. The good-hearted goof ended up trading his phone for some hemp products, but he swears that he took notes as carefully as he does in his psych class. Ha! As I suspected:

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

24 things about 24 Season 8, Hours 1-4

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:52:30 PST

1. Same old stuff: Assassinations, moles, nuclear weapons, torture. I love it! I wish it could be on every night.

2. Elisha Cuthbert looks a little better than at the end of last year. My wife is worried about her skin.

3. Jack sure recovered quickly from a 30-minute beating. No marks!

4. I think the Iran-like "Republic" and Russia plot is fairly realistic. The Islam-Caucasian (from the Caucasus, no less) axis should defuse criticisms of racism.

5. The cutting off of the hand was legitimately shocking. I hope they show her as an example of how officials should not be tough.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Review: Book of Eli- The Christian Mad Max

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:14:16 PST

The Book of Eli starts with a vicarious thrill: I often glare at my cats and wish I held a deadly longbow. Eli lives out this fantasy for all of us.

From this auspicious beginning, we learn that Eli (Denzel Washington) is a drifter in a post-apocalyptic world. Well, not quite a drifter. He's a man making steady progress towards that holiest of American cities, San Francisco, to deliver the temporal salvation of mankind, a King James Bible, all copies of which have been destroyed since the war.

On the way, he encounters a town that resembles what I imagine any American city would if the Democrats were to win 30 strait elections cycles: Godless, barren, crime-ridden, with all commerce going through one man and his flunkies. The leader in this nameless town is Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who wants the Bible so that he may better control his residents. Well, Eli doesn't want to give it to him because 1. it's not his mission and 2. Carnegie obviously isn't properly disposed to dispense the Gospel.

Carnegie first tries to convince Eli to give up the Good Book by bribing him with food and water. When that fails, Carnegie deploys that near sure-fire corrupter of men: he sends Eli his step daughter, the post-apocalyptic babe Solara (Mila Kunis), along with a full complement of wiles. That stuff doesn't work on a holy man, of course (it would have worked on me), and sensing in him a nobility not present amongst the other men in her town, Solara decides to follow Eli.

Eli uses Solara's knowledge of local water sources and ditches her. Eli can't look the other way as highway bandits attempt to rape Solara, however, and once again employs Kitty-slayer (+1) to rescue her. Eli lets Solara tag along up until they encounter an elderly, disco-loving cannibal couple. Carnegie catches up to them and they fight. We get a legitimately clever ending.

What makes this movie unusual is that it places the stylistic action of a Tarantino movie in a non-nihilistic context. This no doubt will throw nihilists off, used as they are to senselessness. Conversely, it will refresh the cinematic palates of the God-oriented who rarely get to see cool God movies.

As a work of cinema, The Book of Eli is fine. There aren't any glaring errors (except that soap is not hard to make). It's funny without being silly. The fight sequences are original and well-done (and it's difficult to impress modern audiences with fights; creative fighting thrown at us every other movie- Bourne, Kill Bill, Matrix, etc).

The issue with the Book of Eli is that it feels flat. The acting's very good so that's not it. The plot is fine.

Why?

Possibilities:

1. TBofE implies what's wrong with a Bible-less world- purposeless-ness, rampant violence, rule by might. Usually, I prefer implied meaning over explicit explanations, but here it's not enough. The rapes, bad hygiene, and cat meat don't instill the creepy terror that the robot-controlled false reality of The Matrix or the almost-familiar societal dysfunction of the Surrogates, Blade Runner and Robocop does.

2. Explicitly Christian movies, books, and other media tend to unimpress because the obviousness of the solution saps the work of any drama. The best Christian movies are about real people and their struggles like Song of Bernadette and Ben Hur (I know, not real), have Christianity in the periphery like Blindside and Not Easily Broken, or operate in a misty religious haze like Knowing.

That this fix has been around for 2000 years and is controversial doesn't help.

(If non-Christians wish to crow that this is somehow a flaw in Christianity, consider that this rule would have applied if the book were the Communist Manifesto, Rights of Man, Declaration of Independence [Star Trek episode The Omega Glory], Shakespeare [The Postman], or the Audacity of Hope.)

Now, if the book were to have contained a discredation of the current on-screen oppressive regime, inspirational words (like Shakespeare's Henry V speech in The Postman) or some fictitious "All Spark," even if it that object referred to a real item or idea; that would be different: It seems to me that the more specific and realistic the solution to the problem, the less effective, from a cinematic perspective.

3. Its a McGuffin movie. McGuffin movies are those that center around one particular person or object. They don't have to be bad. Lord of the Rings is the McGuffin movie that rules them all and it's great. Perhaps because, again, the ring is an abstraction of evil, a weapon, and not a positive, culturally-baggaged solution.

4. TBofE just isn't big enough. All of the action takes place in a small town and a road. The climactic battle involves just a few people. My friend mentioned that no scene really distinguishes itself.

5. The fighting takes away from the movie. Cool fighting brings in the kiddies, but lowers the intelligence level of movies at least two notches. Had TBofE not had severed hands flying about, it may have reached a lower depth level.

Message/Politics:

Christianity as organizing force has precedent. At the end of the Western Roman empire, Christianity rallied the remaining remnants of the Roman empire and barbarians to create the most influential civilization in history. It served the same function for Russia, the Americas, and everywhere it's gained prominence. That it can do so after the collapse of itself, saving another religion filling the vacuum first, is an interesting proposition.

Religion gives men the strength to ignore the temptations of the flesh and focus on a higher purpose. Tiger Woods, Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer, et al should take notice: nothing brings a man more respect than doing so.

The Book of Eli is a very Protestant movie. Sola Scriptura is the underlying theology, as the world will seem to be reconstructed by amateur preachers slinging verses instead of direct successors of the Apostles dispensing sacraments. Catholics and Orthodox believe that Christianity would survive the burning of every Bible, but not the burning of every Bishop.

A note on the movie's violence. As anybody who's read the Bible, studied history, even the history of Christianity, or looks at the plight of many Christians in the world today knows, violence has, does, and will likely be part of the Christian experience until the Coming.

It's right for Christians to dislike violence and try to minimize it- it's what separated Christianity from the war-loving Romans and Norse. It's not OK to think that violence is always wrong. As long as one tries to avoid violence and not like it for its own sake, it's OK to participate in it. In fact, it's our duty to defend Christianity, even with violence.

If you look at the composition of the military, American soldiers tend to be more religious than the general population. One of the reasons is that religious people are more willing to see the need to defend things with one's life, if necessary.

Eli tries to avoid violence at several points in the movie. When confrontation becomes inevitable, however, Eli whoops booty. This is in keeping with Christian Just War theory. Eli is a complete Christian in this regard.

**Spoiler alert**

One may assume that Solara heads back to her home town at the end to preach Christianity, but the directors hedge their bets a bit. None of the Bible quotations Eli uses are from the New Testament. The printers at the end place the Bible in between the Tanakh and the Koran, making it seem one amongst equals and suggesting that Solara may preach a syncretic religion. I'd also like to mention that transcribing the Old Testament is a huge waste of time when one has a Tanakh on hand, as they're the same book.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Republicans don't want you to follow your dreams

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:26:18 PST

Best and worst CES tech demonstrations

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:41:09 PST

What is this man saying?

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

I will be live-tweeting the premiere of 24

nguirado@yahoo.com (Nelson Guirado) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:02:24 PST

http://www.twitter.com/asymmetricblog