Nemo me impune lacessit

I used to use that as my email signature. I believe I even had that as my favorite quote in my employee profile at Netscape. Now, they are not just pretty words... actually, they are quite ugly. They really do not roll off of the tongue. Besides that, I no longer can read Latin.

I used to be able to read in over 10 Human Languages (and a few artificial ones, not count the myriad of computer ones), and was able to write in most as well. Speaking was always my trouble, a disconnect between my speech center and visual center. This has made it hard for me to retain any of the language skills I had spent time acquiring. Imagine: "I think I will go to Japan, since I read/write Japanese (Kanji). Excuse me sir, I need to find my hotel, hold on while I write all of this down and show it to you, then you can write down your answer so that why I can understand what you are saying." Not really a winning strategy. And, if one doesn't use it, one loses it. I have stacks of papers and quite a few old text documents on floppies that I wrote, but can not longer read. I started throwing them away when I find them, since they have no use to me now.

This reminds me of something I read a long time ago about The Dark Ages. If one goes to some places in Europe, I hear that they have buildings built back in the Roman/Greek times that are still standing. And people are still living in some of them! Do you know what that means? During The Dark Ages, people lived in these buildings as well. Buildings over a thousand years old. And yet, no one at that time knew how to build such buildings. These people were surrounded many things from past generations, and yet they could never understand them nor recreate them nor repair them. Surrounded by the works of gods from the past.

Can you imagine what that would be like? To see a building or writing or something else, creating so long ago, and yet with all of our "modern technology" we couldn't make something just like it? I can imagine that. Because it is here right now. We call them The Pyramids, and they are even older than the Romans/Greeks and we are more advanced than the people living in The Dark Ages. What does that tell you?

The Edward

99 bottles of post on the wall...

Well, it is official! This is my 99th post on this blog, according to the little counter that it shows me when I log in! 99 long posts. 3*3*11 posts. And yet, being immortal, this is but a small fraction of the posts I am sure to make in the future! (Or, this one in a long way in the past if you are reading this in the future). Speaking of which, I am dedicating this post to The Future! Here's to you, The Future!

As I've stated before, there should be many more people reading these posts in the future, since the posts will exist much longer into the future than they have in the past. Maybe you are someone who just read my millionth post and was wondering how it all began. If so, you still have 98 others before the beginning, friend, so keep on reading! I'll assume that my skills have developed over time, so you are probably reading this saying, "Man alive, he wrote like crap way back then. How did this blog ever survive? Now, he words are as poems glistening on dew soaked leaves in the morning sun, waking souls of all who hear but one word of the days blog. But back then compared to now, it is like having someone scrap a metal file over the inner gum-line of ones teeth while having one pussy reamed with a spiked dildo." (I am assuming all of my way distant readers will be women, though with lines like that, I some how am beginning to doubt that.)

Maybe I should be more cautious in my writings? Maybe time travel will be invented, and millions of offended women will be flying back through time to beat me senseless with Baby Jesus Buttplugs for my writings? It seems as though once something is written in this modern age, it will last forever. So, I am testing this theory out. What until you see my next post, "The Problem with Black People"!

The Edward

PS I thought I would like these Mac-things, but the spell checking method I used on Windows doesn't seem to work well on Macs. I just realized that it wasn't spell checking my posts when I used a Mac. :( And of course, blogger seems to lack this very important feature! Why? They have spell check for website, gmail, text entry fields, etc, but Google thinks blogs shouldn't be spell checked? Bastards.

Childrens Laughter

So, someone was telling me about PenisLand the other day. Actually, they were telling me about PenIsland, a company that makes custom pens. When they registered their name online, they chose penisland.org (which is odd, because penisland.com is a gay porn site (imagine that), so they might have tried it, saw it was taken, then went for .org anyway). It got me to thinking: ChildrensLaughter. Someone with a Palm tried out ChildrenSlaught.com, and found that someone start the site as a place to help children, because there is nothing more beautiful to the ears than the sound of Childrenslaughter. I guess he never really looked at it that way, which is kind of funny. "You can't spell slaughter without laughter," as mom used to always say.

This also led me to two further ones: ChildsCare and of course for Halloween, ChildrenScream. So, the question I planned on answering with a quick program was: how many words in the the English language begin with S but are also words without that S. That way there could be no end to the fun with Childrens! (or Clowns if one is sensitive about the word children)

Sure, this S thing wouldn't catch Penisland, so I wonder is there a more general list of words, two words that when sandwiched together can be split differently to for two different words, with what I hope are very different meanings. ChildrensLaughter had some of us almost rolling on the floor, so there must be a better one out there! And is there an English word for the combining/spliting concept (like anagram is for randomizing)?

The Edward

Wealth Unlimited

Chatting at work today with the topic of the richest people, and idea was formed. If you had 100 Billion Dollars, how would it change your life? One person claimed he would continue to dress the same, which I find hard to believe. With that kind of wealth, you wouldn't even notice the difference between a $1,000 outfit and a $10,000 outfit, much less a $100 outfit. Your time becomes more valuable than the cost of caring about the price of something.

Most people think of the basics - bigger house, faster car, more pussy, cooler watch, etc. But, what most people with untold wealth do not do is dream big. At least, in this country. Seems that they are building an island in the shape of the world over in one of the Gulf countries. Every continent will be there, and able to support 100,000 people living there. They love to flaunt there wealth in some countries, while here we are supposed to act like "old money." For here, I guess Vegas is the closest thing to Big Dreaming, which is one of the reasons I like it so much - it stands as a testament to what people would do with limitless money: a big, gaudy set of buildings in the middle of nowhere. I can not help but smile to myself every time I go there.

But, those things take time, and though they seem to be made of bigger dreams, can we not go further? Why do you need a watch when you can hire someone to follow you around all day and night, ready to tell you the time at you mirest asking. "What's the time?" "The time will be 11:20 pm at the beep, sir... Beep." You could hire a human to be an alarm clock, in case you wake up in the middle of the night and want to know the time. With your kind of wealth, why stumble round looking for a clock, just ask the human alarm clock. Make sure you put a snooze button on him, in case you want to sleep a little longer in the morning. Or made have a large stick by the bedside to give him a good whack. Or whatever you want.

With $100,000,000,000 you could pretty much do whatever you wanted. Well, at least anything that involved another human. You couldn't really break the laws of physics with money, or go to a different solar system, or read all of the books of the world, etc. All the power of that money solely exists in the minds of you and your fellow humans, so anything you would want would have to be human in nature. Which is why I never wanted that kind of power, only real power for me.

So, think over all that you would want, and ask yourself, isn't it just power over other humans?

The Edward

My Solution to yesterdays E-Mystery

Thanks to everyone who tried, and a special thanks to those who posted their answers.  Let's compare!

It is true that I read the original story, so there is a lot more to it than I posted, as Aravind pointed out.  I tried to turn the real story into a mystery, since it seemed to be a mystery to the person who was living it.  With the facts presented in my version, here is what I would say are some of the solutions to the mysteries.

The WoW dude (let's call him Bob, since that makes it easier, and Bob's your uncle) was upset that no one contacted him after he left the game, so he thought that those bastards weren't really his friends after all.  But Bob's Real World friends were still there for him after he left.  Actually, it is Bob who is the bastard.  See, he snubbed his Real World friends and they waited for him.  But, what did he do to this WoW friends?  He isn't playing the game, so his WoW friends are like he used to be (not talking to people in the Real World), and he is now in the role of his Real World friends.  Did Bob say, "I was addicted to the game, but now I am done with it.  And I will wait for my WoW friends until they can leave the addictive game, as my Real World friends waited for me."?  No, he thought of himself, as he did while in the game.  Bob is just a self-centered bastard who didn't realize what he put his Real World friends through, and once he was in the same situation, he didn't recognize it and instead blamed the addicts for his feelings of abandonment.

For the second part:  Bob thought that the WoW world was unlike his Real World.  He had achieved much in WoW, but was he happy?  No.  He wanted it to be all fun and games, he wanted the riches without the work that goes along with them.  He didn't make the connection that the Wow world and his Real World are very similar - the WoW world is just a sped up version.  In the Real World, someone can work very hard and rise to the top, like he did in WoW.  But, it is hard work, takes a lot of time to get there, and a lot of time to maintain it.  He just wanted the playboy lifestyle, the cool parts that they show on TV, not all of the actual behind the scenes stuff that goes along with that success.  He seems to think that his life will be more rewarding in the Real World, when there really isn't one.  What are dollars, but other people ideas of wealth?  How can you "own" land in the Real World any more than in a virtual one?  It is all group consensus.  If all of the people vanished from both of the worlds, he would see that they are both the same, WoW mirrors life, because it is populated by Humans and designed by Humans to be a mirror.  If the rules of WoW were very far from Reality, the game wouldn't have sucked him in.  With the advanced pacing in WoW, he was able to experience a rise to the top that would take many, many years in the Real World - and he found it not to his liking.  He is no Bill Gates.

So, how did you do?  Based on my understand of what people posted, I would have to say madpuppy got pretty close to my answer for the second part.  Congratulations!

It is still up in the air whether I will do this again, but I believe I had fun with it.

The Edward

E-Mystery Wednesday

Hello and welcome to what I am calling E-Mystery Wednesday. (It bares no relationship to Slambo's Mini Mystery Monday, though I did get the idea from her, so it is more like a tribute rather than an outright theft.) I thought rather than rant about something, I will make it a mystery and see what comes of it. If this works out, I might make it a regular thing... if.

Today's tale begins with a website story someone sent to me about a person who loved to play World of Warcraft. This is a massive online game, with players from all over the world working together to find virtual items in order to make their virtual character better than everyone else's. There are quite a few people who are addicted to these types of games, playing endless hours to the exclusions of all Real World friends, family, and events. Shocking.

The story on the website was about a person who spent the past year, 30+ hours a week playing the game. He gave it up recently, and decided to share his keen insights on why these types of games are so much worse than the Real World. He stopped talking to his friends in the Real World because he had so many friends in WoW. He said that the game was so addictive that it caused him to abandon everyone who didn't play the game. So, he played and played, until he became the top character in his world. People all over the world envied him. His character had the best virtual items in all of the kingdom. Yet, he was unhappy. :( He realized that with great wealth and power comes great responsibility. He was spending 10+ hours a week just maintaining his position of power, helping out those who allied themselves with his group.

So, he quit playing, for some of the reasons already stated - too much time to maintain, not enough having fun. And he was addicted, so he was breaking this horrible addiction. When he left the game world, he started talking to his Real World friends, and they welcomed him back! Yet, when he logged in to close out his account, no one cared. Three days later, it was like he never existed online. He said that was the final and most painful part, since he spend so much time online helping others, making the game more fun for them, and yet no one thanked him while he was playing and no one missed him. But his Real World friends missed him and now they are all together, living happily ever after.

So, where is the mystery in this story? Actually, there are quite a few, but I'll just pick out two. He is upset with his online friends because they were never really his friends, yet he was wrong, why? He left the game because it took too much time "not playing", so he is in the Real World now, yet there is a mystery about his thinking, what is it?

The Edward

A New Holiday

I got to thinking about Holidays the other day. I was invited over to some friends' house for Thanksgiving. But, it wasn't the normal Thanksgiving, it was the Canadian one. I was surprised, I didn't know that they had taken one of our Holidays. But, it was a lot of fun none the less!

The thing that actually got me thinking was more recent - I was at dinner with a large group of Canadians and they were talking about what they did for Thanksgiving, without the Canadian prefix (they implied it). I realized that even though I did Thanksgiving with these friends, it probably didn't have the same meaning to me as it did to them. To me it was just another dinner with friends (although a really good one). I didn't have the holiday feeling as I would for a real Holiday.

Why the difference? If I had invited people over to celebrate a Holiday that they we unaware of, they would enjoy themselves, but it would feel like they were not part of the Holiday Spirit. Was it all of the build up in the mind? Someone else who was non-Canadian asked if there was a story to their Thanksgiving, in-which I believe the answer lies: it is the fable of a Holiday that makes it special to people.

We have Thanksgiving, where we have the fable of the starving Pilgrims and the friendly Indians helping them out. For Christmas we have snowmen, Santa Claus, mangers with baby lords, etc. For birthdays we have cake and candles and tales of aging. So, to create a new holiday, one needs a really good story, one that is told about that day, something that will make that day seem special to those that know about it. Which is why I want to tell you about October 22th, the day John's son saved the world.

Ever wonder about the story of his son and why we wear glow-in-the-dark condoms on this day in his Honor? Well, I will have to save that story for another day... maybe on the Day of John's son...

The Edward

Over analysis

As much as I live in my own mind now, it used to be more (though, I guess...). I used to think that everyone analyzed every detail of every aspect of life. I thought people picked up on subtle word usage to determine hidden meanings. I thought humour derived from subtle meaning shifts in words. I lived in a Monty Python world and thought that the world was the same as my view of it.

But, I now know that to be wrong. People are all trapped in their own little worlds, never having time to really explore others. I used to think people were staring at me, watching me, waiting for me to trip up or something. But, through a strange sequence of events, I came to know the truth - everyone else is doing the same thing. People think others are waiting for them to trip up, so they are watching others to see if anyone notices, etc.

I used to think that the popular kids in school were unapproachable, because they were better in some way. Then one day, I saw through them, and knew that they were just like everyone else - afraid. After that I could talk to anyone of them without the fear of them others had, because I knew they existed solely in the minds of others.

How does that lead to the actual topic? Well, I tell you. Actually, I already have, and that is another aspect to this Realization - people do not spend time looking for hidden meanings, like I do. As I've said more than once, I pepper my writing and speaking with what I really want to say, and I believe that others not only do this themselves but are actively looking for it in others. I think I am being clear in my intentions, but others see it differently. I remember back in school, I wouldn't finish my sentences, because I assumed that once all of the relevant information was out there, the ending was obvious - it took me years to correct this "problem." Now, I believe I over explain. But, do I? I guess if I am still not getting the point across, I must not be, but it seems that I use too many words, doesn't it? Or do I...

The Edward

Superman vs Kill Bill

I hated the Kill Bill movies - over the top action and story, but not in an interesting way for me. After sitting through parts 1 and 2, and feeling the life being sucked out of me the entire time, especially during the climax where all was revealed < shudder >, there was a nugget there. Something I could sink my teeth into. An interesting idea, one that had never occurred to me before.

Bill tells the audience that Superman was who Superman was - Clark Kent was who Superman thought humans were. Other super-heroes were normal people, with normal lives, but who gain super powers some way, then go off and develop an alter-ego that is super. But, Superman was always super and to fit in he had to hide who he really was. So, he created a persona that he thought wouldn't draw any attention to himself. Therefore, Clark Kent was what Superman thought of humans - bumbling, dimwitted, never get the girl, kind of a nebbish.

I was stunned by this idea. Why had this never occurred to me, considering...? I liked this idea, and kept it as my own little secret idea for a few years. I would bring it out anytime I wanted to feel good about myself, and lord it over the Humans around me. Then I stated this blog thing a few months ago, and I started actually analyzing my thoughts through the lenses of philosophies that I used to believe in (General Semantics, etc). The next time I brought out my little pet thought, I realized that like the rest of Kill Bill, it was crap. So, I cast it aside without a so much as a tear.

Clark Kent is not Superman's indictment against humanity, but rather Superman's view of what he thinks humans really are. It is a subtle difference, but a major one. Superman didn't really know what it means to be human, so when he had to create a human persona, he wouldn't be sure how far to go to hide who he was. He had to determine how fast, or strong, or smart he wanted others to believe he was. And since he couldn't get into their minds, he tried his best. Clark Kent is his view of his beliefs, and really says nothing about Humans as a whole, just Superman. Basically, it was a very inaccurate model, since he was biased by his own model.

To summarize: Kill Bill was utter crap to me. Superman was really a jerk who under valued humans. And I need a new pet idea.

The Edward

I knew this Lesbian once...

Stop me if I've said this one before... well, I guess there really is no stopping me, you can only stop yourself from reading more. But, isn't that true for most things? Kind of like "Stop me if it starts to hurt." or "I'll just put the tip in." or "Just let me slip it in for a second." or "Just one finger, then we can stop." Doctors, who can trust them?

So, this lesbian, she worked where I did, a long time ago. Or, should I say we worked together? Am I implying something by my words already? Let's find out. This was back in the day, the days when being a lesbian wasn't the hip, cool thing to be, like it was in the late 90's, early 00's). Quite the opposite, she was afraid of possible repercussions if anyone knew she was a lesbian, so she tried to hide it.

I remember when I first met her, I didn't know there were such people as lesbians (I lived a very sheltered life early on). All she would talk about was men. "Did you see that hunk of man meat walk past? Man, I would love to ride him." "Sorry, I didn't hear what you were saying, I was eyeing up that stud over there." Really, things very close to that. Besides being way over the top, the tone in her voice wasn't very convincing. So, I hope you read the previous lines in monotone with a hint of disgust.

So, what's the point? Well, since she felt no attraction to any of those men, she didn't know a non-lesbian would act in mixed company, so she had to fake it. But, she couldn't ever be convincing, because it was obvious that she lacked the actual desire by how mismatched her words and reactions were. By trying to mask who she was in a world she didn't understand, she overacted, but was unaware that she was doing this. That is why everyone who worked with her actually knew she was a lesbian, but no one had the guts to tell her that.

The Edward

Spank me a new one

Sure, I have some interesting topics, ones I've worked on for a while (though by worked on, I mean "have plagued my thoughts, keeping me awake at night, until I scribble down some of it on scraps of paper that I search for in the middle of the night so that the voice in my head will shut up about it"), but I do not feel like exploring those topics right now. As a matter of fact, when it came time to write down something, the only thing I could think of was the title. No idea where that came from, and no idea what it means. It was just a random set of words that buzzed around until I typed them in the Title area. And all of this, hard to believe it is all unplanned, just like most people's first child. "We were just typing away all night long, and the next thing we knew, she was pregnant. Maybe if we hadn't typed so fast, I wouldn't have spilled white-out all over the inside of the keyboard. We will definitely have to use a glove the next time we type, even though I can not feel the keys with a glove on. Those keys feel oh so good on the tips of my bare naked fingers... Screw it, let's just type bareback and take our chances!"

I just watched this week's South Park. It had its moments. The funniest part, in my opinion, was the The Hardly Boys who were, get this, a parody of The Hardy Boys! They mostly stood around saying "I think I'm getting a clue. Yes, it is a raging clue. It is pointing this way. All this talk is giving me a clue too. This is the hardest clue I've every had. I was getting a clue like every minute. I had so much clue that I almost got clue juice all over John." I never knew the Hardy Boys were so clueful. And of course, it got me thinking, one can use most any word and say it the right way, and people will read sexual innuendo into it. Well, okay, I always knew that, which is why almost all of my posts are like that - I think it to be very funny, because it says to me how much the human world is about sex. Though, that is one of those other Future Posts that have been in my head poking through. (Though, now that I think about it, I have to look through my 91 previous posts to see if I already have one called "I once knew this lesbian.")

Amazing how much one can write without saying anything. The question is: how much can people read without reading anything? Actually, that makes no sense whatsoever. The real question is: Is it better to write random crap than nothing at all? Will Others read random crap, or will they skim once they see the topic, totally missing all of the hidden in-jokes? I already know the answer to that one... maybe I will write about it some day...

The Edward

Death of Single Human Males

Well, I am back from my birthday/road trips! Enough of that world.

I noticed something: society is trying to kill single human males - let's call them "men". The means of doing this? Stress, you might think, but you would be wrong. Lack of pussy? Possibly, but my understanding from married men is that that is a resource that dries up after marriage, who are not single by definition. Well, my friends, as cute as it is to see you guessing such obviously wrong answers, I'll break down and tell you: it is society and fast food.

We have a society that turns a questioning eye to people dining out alone. I've often heard "Your table is ready. Just one for tonight? What, you couldn't even convince someone to eat with meal with you if you paid? Well, I guess we can seat you right here in the middle of the room... at a table, no booth for you!" With this kind of social resistance to eating out alone (which we can all admit is tough to do), what is a man to do? Fast food!

At the local fast food emporium, they are happy to serve up some grub for one person. Go into any one at any time of the day, and one can always find at least one single man there eating, face towards the plate, not looking around. This is socially acceptable. And this is where death comes in - fast food isn't as healthy for one as food at a restaurant. Not even close.

So, we force these single men to eat less healthy food, or else feel unloved and on display in the middle of a crowded place with real food, crying on the inside while pretending to read a fascinating book on the outside. Society is trying to kill them all off! Proof, I tell you, proof! What about preparing food for one's self at home? Come on, look in any cook book - the meal sizes in there are not for one. So, following this path, one is either forced to eat way too much (also unhealthy), or save the food not eaten, then eat this partially spoiled food at some future time (also unhealthy).

What's that you say, what about single human females ("women")? Since they are most often recipients of the aforementioned free meals at nice places, that argument doesn't apply. It isn't socially unacceptable for a single woman to eat at fast food - I do not think I have ever seen one there. And for the last point, they can cook food for themselves, and do not generally seem to mind eating that which was not eaten when the food was fresh.

The Edward

PS I know I was speaking in generalities, and you can probably point to at least one person who doesn't fit the mold. All I can say is: generalities are true, and the person you are pointing at is lying to you. I know these things to be true.

Birthdays

In my religion (Church of Satan), birthdays are the most important day of the year. For without ones birthday, all of the other holidays are meaningless.

I've noticed that others do not share my beliefs, which could either be because they have not hear the good word of Satan and what he can do for them, or some other reason. I'm always happy that people help me celebrate my birthday every year, so I try to do the same for them. But, some people do not consider birthdays special, so it can be awkward: "I emailed all of your friends to arrange a party for your birthday! What, you do not want to be reminded that you are now a year older? You do realize that you are actually only a day older and the party is to celebrate the anniversary of your birth, right? Depressing to be XX years old? But you were that old yesterday (minus a day)." Then everyone sits around gloomy, while the birthday boy/girl struggles to get out of the straight jacket. Not as exciting as someone who is really into birthdays, someone who is willing to blow out the candles, no matter where they have be placed on his/her body.

I consider my birthday to be the start of the New Year. I take time off, I reflect on the past year, I look forward to the coming year, I usually quit my job or make other big changes on my birthday. It is too easy to let time slip away, so having one day be a day of reflection makes sure that years don't pass away unnoticed. Though, noticing them can suck to "Another year alone. Why have I never had a girlfriend on my Birthday? I hear it can be a lot of fun... (sob)."

So, make sure you celebrate your birthday - it is what Satan wants you to do. (at least that is what he told me) And be sure to celebrate with a Black Mass, which usually entails blowing out some candles while in a darkened room. And have your gifts wrapped in paper, so that the demons of this world will not realize that there are goodies inside. And have a steak, which is what I plan to do this Saturday.

The Edward

Dinosaur Meat

I eat meat.  Pretty much nothing else.  Well, grains.  But no vegetables!  Meat is even easier to spell!  And it sounds like something is going on "I'm going to meet someone."  "Yum, meat."  "Let's get to the meat of the matter."  I can not say that I have heard anyone, not even a vegetarian say, "Let's get to the vegetable of the matter."  "He was beating his vegetable all night long."

So, when a friend told me about meat they found preserved in a dinosaur bone in the form of marrow, I was hooked.  I have to know what it tastes like!  Though, I do not know if I want to try the 150 million year old version (aged) or the newer version from the clones that will surely be produced in the near future (fresh).  The aged version would have been made from what the dinosaur ate back then, which would be very different from modern plants, so it will surely have a different taste.

People (rich people) buy dinosaur bones for their own personal museums.  Somewhere out there, there has to be someone with so much money that they will want an exclusive experience, and I think this dinosaur meat could be the key.  I need to find this person, and be sure to get invited to the tasting party.  So, if you know anyone...

The Edward

Pictures of Crimes

I was watching The News the other day - they were showing a high speed chase as it was happening. I thought "Wow, we are seeing a crime, live! I wonder if I should report it to the local police?" I was watching America's Dumbest Criminals a bit ago, and they showed someone robbing a bank, but they took their masks off on the way out, so the video showed their faces. I was tempted to call the police so I could pick them out of a line up.

In the above cases, people would think I was insane if I called the police because I saw a picture of a crime, and I would be. But, if I saw a picture of someone committing a crime of a sexual nature (underage, forced, animal, or some other illegal act), I would be in violation of the law for see, storing, or seeking out such pictures. Why is this true?

If someone is interested in high speed car chases, so he collects every picture of these criminal acts that he could, he would serve no jail time for their possession. Why? Would not the fact that he collects them make other people more likely to commit those crimes? If someone collects pictures of shootings, this is not a crime either. Yet, once again, collecting pictures of sexual crimes is a crime in and of itself, because it encourages others to commit those crimes in some way. (Though, with the internet, if someone post images online of crime, and people download it via usenet, there is no feedback to the commiter of crimes, so it seems that there is no encouragement to commit crimes, therefore no reason to say one has encouraged a crime thereby commiting a crime oneself. If a downloader emails asking for more images, then they are potentially enticing people to commit a crime. (which I do not consider a crime, but human law does for some reason that still eludes me.))

Are not the media profiting from pictures of crimes? Some people plan their crimes to get the maximum media exposure! I believe the news is encouraging crime and bad thinking in general (housing prices, shopping riots, etc). It is solely to entice people, to get an emotional response of outrage, or human interest, or something that will increase their ratings and their profits ("See the shocking footage of a shooting tonight at 11"). I also believe that owning a picture of any crime is as much of a crime as using words to describe a crime - the thoughts are all in your head.

The Edward

PS I also know that people with guns will lock up other people for doing something that those with the gun believe to be wrong, which is why I always obey every letter of the law, no matter how absurd. I've seen people locked up for no reason I believe to be wrong, so it seems that it is better to live with limited freedoms than no freedoms in the land of the free. I mean, what would happen if the only people that were locked up were those that actually commited a crime against someone else? And if people were free to do what they wanted to do until they crossed that line? What kind of country would we have? What would god think if we didn't judge others or try to force others to live as we have chosen to live our own lives?

Plea Bargain

Sorry, my "real" world has impinged upon my Arcane World! Some sort of illness has kept me tired, so no reading other's blogs, no posts on my blog, etc, for the past week. :( What a sad, lonely week. :(

The other thing that happened to me: a person close to me accepted a plea bargain for 10 months. Now, if you have watched any crime drama, you know that the cops pound their fists into the table and say "We had him and now he gets this light and easy plea bargain. Is there no justice in this world?!" Yeah, if only TV mirrored reality (which is why I hate courtroom dramas, medical shows, any kind of drama about which I know a little something).

This person shows up for sentencing. Bargains had been made. 10 months was a very long time, especially with a reasonably new baby in his life. But, he was willing to do it to save the court costs and not risk a longer sentence that a trail might produce. The problem is that a plea bargain is not like on TV. A plea of guilty is what it takes to make a Plea Bargain. And the judge is in no way bound to accept it bargain part of it, just the plea. So, he had a guilty plea, which the judge accepted, but then the judge said he didn't think 10 months was really good enough, so he gave him the maximum sentence, 2-5 years. Wow. That really sucks.

The sentencing happened a good 10 hour drive from his home, so he will probably only see his kid a few times before he gets out. And she will be in school by then, probably. Quite a shocking experience for all that are close to him.

So, I give you these words of warning: do not watch TV or movies, except for comedies and farces. Do not accept a Plea Bargain, because it is no different than going to trail and getting sentenced - you are just pleading guilty and that is all. The bargain is just to give you hope that you will get a lighter sentence because you cooperated. Bullshit.

-Edward