The war between open source, and commercial software rages on as hot as ever, without a clear view of who will come out on top. These companies are deploying buggy beta versions like unarmed soldiers hoping to find a weapon on the corpses of their fallen comrades. It's a technological bloodbath, and the consumer is caught in the crossfire. Does someone know the answer? Nothing seems to be 100% standard as of yet, since some browsers fail to support certain features, but why? Someone must hold the key to these questions! Well, it's "The Almighty Dollar", kids.
After much careful consideration, and searching, I discovered that a lot of "Information Authority" on the world wide web is complete and utter bullshit. Over the last few months, I've made extensive examinations of web development techniques, and other Internet related issues, and I've seen nothing but tons of people arguing about what the accepted variations of code are, and what browsers are compliant with which standards. Each company is pushing it's standards to match it's software. A lot of the copyright laws are also influenced by the projected movement of revenue. I think that makes sense, when you are talking about millions of dollars, and a complete work, but I think it's crap when some chubby kid in Indiana gets sued for having people come to his Youtube account to watch a movie trailer.
When asking the officials of an internet media company what the exact terms of "Fair Use" were, I was told, "Heh...Well, there's this wiki here." It basically says that you're safe unless someone finds a reason to go after you. The exact limits of "Fair Use" always seem to retain a murky, ominous tone. Anyone who has ever been in an entertainment contract can see this is wrought with loopholes to protect large corporations. As I read them, I couldn't help but internally voice Jeremy Irons, or Tim Curry, but I think I'd rather it be Scarlett Johansson though.
Three months ago a very petite older woman moved in upstairs from my apartment. She was soon saying hello, and being as easy going and personable as I would have expected. Besides her colorful late 80's bohemian appearance, nothing ever seemed strange. She's the kind of person you would have expected to see dancing in the background of a C&C music factory video, or maybe sculpting in a montage-with lot's of afro-centric synth music- that now has me picturing an all black of broadway production of the movie GHOST, which would totally cast Mario Van Peebles in the role of the dead husband. Flawless.
Anyway ... everything seems fine, until she begins hanging out with some locals I've never seen. A month ago I asked her "Hows it goin?" and she repies, "Nothin.... Nothin.....Nothin.... Nothin.....nothin.... nothin....." as she walks up to her apartment. I imagine that I didn't hide any confusion in my face, but her back was turned.
A week later I see her and I say "Hows it goin?" with a smile. She replies, "I'm just minding my businesssssssssss...". At this point I'm thinking she must really not want to talk, so I'll leave her alone.
Over a period of weeks, Felicity and I hear her making a lot of noise and banging around of sorts. It sounds like she's constructing a replica of STONEHENGE, and I'm irate, but being the cool neighbor that I am, I say nothing. Last week however, Felicity asks if she needs help, because she heard a great amount of weight being shifted around in the upstairs apartment. Much to our surprise, she replied something to the effect of, "YOU PEOPLE ARE RACISTS AND I HEARD YOU SAYING ****** AND I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!!" She continued on this rant for some time, also claiming that the owner of the building (who lives in the building with us) is a racist. Later on, she calls him, accusing the owner and I of raising a neo-nazi hate group to persecute her... calling us rapists, and criminals. She insists that people are coming into her apartment when she isn't there. I work from home so I know no one has been there but her. She also draws a cross on her door... IN CRAYON. She yells, "Anybody messes with me, I'll burn 'em with a blowtorch!!"
Finally now in the forth week, the amateur masonry has gotten to be too much, the police are called, and arrive to find that this woman has been walling herself into her empty apartment with bricks. Everyday. For 3 weeks. She was also using sticks she found around the neighborhood as bars for her windows. I hadn't noticed, because I thought she was just being a hippie. "That was the last brick!!!!" she yells out. "My boyfriend stole my 300Z...." (She has never owned a car) "..and people are coming in my house through the windows!!!" Which are on the 2nd story with no ledge.
The police can tell she nuts right away, give her warnings and leave - but here's what I've gathered:
Frail woman+bad neighborhood+crack house visits+barricading your home with absurd structures+"I've got a blowtorch!!" = You've probably been on drugs for a while without sleep.
If you live in an empty apartment, but you own a blowtorch, you're probably on drugs. I seriously doubt she grabs her blowtorch, dons a mask, and runs around mending fences, or children's bikes in the night - but that would make a great story.
Unfortunately, there is already a GI JOE named, "Blowtorch".
So I go to the QuickCorner to get a tea, and some chips. In front of me in line, is one of those women that you know has partied way too hard for way too long, and looks like something like a cross between a leather suitcase, and the beef jerky that no one buys in the big clear plastic container marked 50¢ (in black marker).
She's holding up a coupon, and as I begin to translate her lack of consonants into a form of recognizable English, I see the small dark skinned man at the counter shake his head and say, "This is old - it is from August 2008." What I gathered from the previous conversation, was that the coupon was for a free pack of cigarettes. Flabbergasted, the woman stares at the coupon, and back at the man, and then glances back toward the cigarettes. She then says, "Wait a second, do you mean you've been selling me year old cigarettes?" The man simply looks at her, and shrugs. As she storms out of the store, she turns and says, "I'm going to contact the health department about these cigarettes!"
So I'm going to be blogging here from now on, but right now - I'm going to sleep. My eyes are are about to shoot out of my skull like the Tall Man's eyes from Phantasm III. If you don't know those movies, look them up.
it's official, I'lll be singing on a hip hop record. I'll be posting some pics from the studio in the next week. Stormshadow is an awesome lyricist. I think I'll post something every sunday night. See you guys soon.
