Bounded in a Nutshell

The MSN Messenger link to this article had the anchor text: "DC sniper guilty of murder".

Let's ponder that for a second.

Somehow, I rather doubt that it was ever an issue whether the person(s) who shot several people in the DC area earlier this year -- most of whom, yes, did die from their wounds -- was guilty of murder. I think that was pretty clear. The issue -- the point of the trial -- was whether Malvo was in fact one of the persons involved. Labeling him "the DC sniper" before the trial is over is a bit of a prejudgement.

Honestly, the links to various featured MSN articles at the bottom of the buddy window are the best argument I've seen for using a third-party messenger client. So maybe I don't get the full range of features that way; half my friends are behind firewalls anyhow, so the Cool Stuff I actually want to use won't work anyhow.

Today's Bob the Angry Flower is priceless.

I've been wearing a poppy for the past week or so. In fact, I could well justify my last trip Back Home the other weekend as being a poppy-hunting trip, since of course it's a strictly Canadian custom. I haven't gotten nearly as many questions about it as I'd expected, but I credit that to having laid down a high baseline of eccentricity.

I find it interesting that Americans celebrate today as Veteran's Day; the implication is that they honour the survivors of war, and mourn the casualties in May on Memorial Day. Of course, AFAICT Memorial Day is just an excuse for a long weekend at the beginning of the summer. I have to admit that I prefer the Canadian custom of remembering both the living and the dead on the anniversary of the armistice; this should be a solemn occasion, and not a celebration.

(For celebration, of course, we then have a weekend in May honouring Queen Victoria, who is probably not amused. But that's another story.)

Anyhow, I don't really have that much to say, but I was inspired by ecogrrl's post to say something. And I concur with her: this is Remembrance Day. We should remember all of it: the sacrifice, the tragedy, as well as whatever triumph one might find.

After class today, one of my students came up to me and told me that the new Matrix movie kicked ass.

That's funny, I told him, because I've read a couple of rather bad reviews. And he said, yeah, I guess you really have to be a fan.

I was immediately accosted by another student (who asked me something much more mundane regarding combinations and factorials), so I didn't have the leisure to continue the conversation. If I had, however...

(Full disclosure: I have not seen the movie yet. Please do not e-mail me to tell me your impression of the movie. I could well be making all of this up.)

...OK. First of all, you really have to be a fan? The real, true, fanatical kinds of fans are going to like it anyway. If you're making a movie to appeal only to your most rabid base, then fine; that's what genre film is all about. (And a lot of genre fiction. Pop music. Sports. I could go on here.) But the original appeal of The Matrix was that is was a genre fusion: reasonably smart cyberpunk/sci-fi with a lot of good action and some interesting philosophical overtones. If a movie like that has sequels, I fully expect my mind to be blown by them. More Of Same isn't what I'm looking for, because More Of Same just isn't as exciting.

That being said, the reviewers that I referenced above are fans. They're the only two reviewers I read on a regular basis, because they understand the principle of geek appeal. They get it. And so if they -- and they usually don't agree -- both think that the new Matric movie is a massive disappointment, well, I'm willing to be convinced.

Is this going to stop me from seeing it? Well, no, probably not. I might even go see it in a cinema. But I do consider myself warned.