Comments on: Past Imperfect http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/ Two lawyers on law, legislation and liberty. And other stuff. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:16:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: skepticlawyer http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4972 skepticlawyer Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:50:43 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4972 Wordpress is definitely the goods, Adrien. A bit less intuitive, but a much better looking result overall. It's possible to import all your blogger stuff as well. Be prepared for some fiddling (Sukrit and I went through this process for <a href="http://alsblog.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">Thoughts on Freedom</a>), but it's worth it. WRT Holocaust movies, I don't think a really great one has been made as yet, despite some great visuals in <i>The Pianist</i> and <i>Schindler's List</i>, and some seriously trippy humour in <i>Europa Europa</i>. Fiction tends to cope much better, although as I had to explain to a couple of directors who were interested in turning <i>The Hand</i> into a movie (I had interest from the <i>Felafel</i> guy, and the bloke who made <i>Struck by Lightning</i>), there was no way an effective (as opposed to faithful) adaptation was going to get past the OFLC. Evah. Wordpress is definitely the goods, Adrien. A bit less intuitive, but a much better looking result overall. It’s possible to import all your blogger stuff as well. Be prepared for some fiddling (Sukrit and I went through this process for Thoughts on Freedom), but it’s worth it.

WRT Holocaust movies, I don’t think a really great one has been made as yet, despite some great visuals in The Pianist and Schindler’s List, and some seriously trippy humour in Europa Europa.

Fiction tends to cope much better, although as I had to explain to a couple of directors who were interested in turning The Hand into a movie (I had interest from the Felafel guy, and the bloke who made Struck by Lightning), there was no way an effective (as opposed to faithful) adaptation was going to get past the OFLC. Evah.

]]> By: Adrienswords http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4971 Adrienswords Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:38:02 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4971 Jason I am working on the problem, well Blogger.com is apparently. I switched to Blogger beta and (of course) it's full of bugs. Never buy the first vers. out Rule #1 of the IT industry. I switched the text to a serif typeface today and made it a little bigger but it doesn't work on Internet Explorer for some reason. It's also the reason there's still flaws in the text and the links don't show/are broken. If it's not fixed in a couple of weeks I'll switch to wordpress. Thanks for the interest. Jason

I am working on the problem, well Blogger.com is apparently. I switched to Blogger beta and (of course) it’s full of bugs. Never buy the first vers. out Rule #1 of the IT industry. I switched the text to a serif typeface today and made it a little bigger but it doesn’t work on Internet Explorer for some reason.

It’s also the reason there’s still flaws in the text and the links don’t show/are broken.

If it’s not fixed in a couple of weeks I’ll switch to wordpress.

Thanks for the interest.

]]> By: Jason Soon http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4970 Jason Soon Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:33:34 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4970 Adrien Sorry to go OT but any chance you can make the text on your blog like ... bigger? You've gots lot of great material there but I have both astigmatism and myopia ... Adrien
Sorry to go OT but any chance you can make the text on your blog like … bigger?

You’ve gots lot of great material there but I have both astigmatism and myopia …

]]> By: Adrienswords http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4969 Adrienswords Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:28:41 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4969 The one thing <i>War of the Worlds</i> did best was the world blowing. Better than all the other apocalypse movies. The one thing War of the Worlds did best was the world blowing. Better than all the other apocalypse movies.

]]> By: Adrienswords http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4968 Adrienswords Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:27:48 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4968 Oh well I guess I must've missed out on that one. The ending was definately silly. I think that image Amon Goeth's shooting people in the morning was the best. It was the beer belly, it just said everything. Oh well I guess I must’ve missed out on that one. The ending was definately silly. I think that image Amon Goeth’s shooting people in the morning was the best. It was the beer belly, it just said everything.

]]> By: skepticlawyer http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4967 skepticlawyer Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:16:03 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4967 The US military had been fighting the martians in the surrounding area and he grabbed the grenade belt either from the vehicle or a dead body nearby (it's a while since I've seen it). He had the grenades in his hand when the tentacle picked him up. Remember there were a couple of soldiers in the wire basket? One of them yelled 'get down!' after Cruise pulled the pin while wedged up the alien's clacker. The ending damn near buggered that film, though. And I like <i>Schindler's List</i>, too. There are some amazing images in it. Goeth lining people off his back veranda, for starters, and Oskar heading off into the sunset like something out of a western (where the movie should have ended imho). The US military had been fighting the martians in the surrounding area and he grabbed the grenade belt either from the vehicle or a dead body nearby (it’s a while since I’ve seen it). He had the grenades in his hand when the tentacle picked him up. Remember there were a couple of soldiers in the wire basket? One of them yelled ‘get down!’ after Cruise pulled the pin while wedged up the alien’s clacker. The ending damn near buggered that film, though.

And I like Schindler’s List, too. There are some amazing images in it. Goeth lining people off his back veranda, for starters, and Oskar heading off into the sunset like something out of a western (where the movie should have ended imho).

]]> By: Adrienswords http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4966 Adrienswords Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:09:40 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4966 Yeah Fiennes was brilliant as Goeth. I wrote a review of <i>Schindler List</i> arguing that it was all about the Director's Oscar. I stand by it, the quality of the film notwithstanding. <i>War of the Worlds</i> remember when Tom Cruise gets snagged in a net by the tripods and he blows the tripod up with a grenade. Where did the grenade come from? These people get millions of dollars for these scripts. C'mon. For that kind of money - where did the grenade come from. Yeah Fiennes was brilliant as Goeth. I wrote a review of Schindler List arguing that it was all about the Director’s Oscar. I stand by it, the quality of the film notwithstanding.

War of the Worlds remember when Tom Cruise gets snagged in a net by the tripods and he blows the tripod up with a grenade. Where did the grenade come from?

These people get millions of dollars for these scripts. C’mon. For that kind of money - where did the grenade come from.

]]> By: skepticlawyer http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4965 skepticlawyer Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:46:48 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4965 I actually thought <i>Schindler's List</i> had the cheesiest ending in cinema until I saw <i>War of the Worlds</i>, a genuinely scary (and thoughtful) movie. Until the last five minutes, that is, which put me in a foul mood for the next 24 hours. At least <i>Schindler's List</i> had Fiennes, though. He was bloody lucky not to get typecast into Bond villain roles after that performance. I actually thought Schindler’s List had the cheesiest ending in cinema until I saw War of the Worlds, a genuinely scary (and thoughtful) movie. Until the last five minutes, that is, which put me in a foul mood for the next 24 hours.

At least Schindler’s List had Fiennes, though. He was bloody lucky not to get typecast into Bond villain roles after that performance.

]]> By: Adrienswords http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4964 Adrienswords Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:34:53 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4964 <i>Schindler's List</i>: Spielberg is the only director in the universe who could make a Holocaust film that ends with a group hug. Schindler’s List: Spielberg is the only director in the universe who could make a Holocaust film that ends with a group hug.

]]> By: Adrienswords http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2007/01/past-imperfect/comment-page-1/#comment-4963 Adrienswords Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:33:25 +0000 http://catallaxyfiles.com/?p=2475#comment-4963 There's a big long graded line of history. At the one end you've got books like David Christian's <i>Maps of Time</i> and maybe more technically Nick Everett's <i>Literacy in Lombard Italy</i> which utilize or discover new data and fill out the jigsaw puzzle without an ideological agenda. At the other you've got the we are right history: rewrite the history of the world to prove they've <i>always</i> been the bad guy and we've <i>always</i> been the good guys. This sort of thing is massive right across the political spectrum. There’s a big long graded line of history. At the one end you’ve got books like David Christian’s Maps of Time and maybe more technically Nick Everett’s Literacy in Lombard Italy which utilize or discover new data and fill out the jigsaw puzzle without an ideological agenda.

At the other you’ve got the we are right history: rewrite the history of the world to prove they’ve always been the bad guy and we’ve always been the good guys.

This sort of thing is massive right across the political spectrum.

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