A Trouble of Our Times
Just read this story about a women suing Rogers for inadvertently exposing her extramarital affair and the resultant loss of her marriage, children, and job. This is just ludicrous.
As much as I (along with many others) hate Rogers, it is a reasonable assumption that financial matters are shared between married couples as a sign of trust in one another. Stuff like this would not be happening in the first place in a healthy marriage. Trust, honesty, and love are values we associate with marriage in society and I am sure Rogers made that association as well. Those values are what joint accounts, with all their benefits, are built around. It is unreasonable to assume Rogers intended (i.e., with "criminal intent") on exposing this woman's affair to her husband in what was supposed to be an honest marriage.
I hope this case gets thrown out. Otherwise, tax dollars are going toward defending a lying cheating scumbag who cannot take responsibility for her own actions, while at the same time increasing Rogers' expenses that would probably affect our own bills in some way. The case going forward would also undermine the very concept of a marriage. Get caught cheating? Recoup your losses by suing!
What is this nonsense of suing for "breach of confidence, breach of contract, and negligence"? That's exactly what she is doing to the vows she made on her wedding day. This case is not about privacy. It's about a lady desperately trying to cover her ass playing the victim. She made her bed and now she must lie in it! If by some miracle, she pulls off a travesty of justice and wins, the money should go to the lives she just destroyed (i.e., her children and her husband).
A trouble of our times is that there is too much pointless litigation and too little personal responsibility. Realize the role of your own actions and take responsibility for them instead of wasting energy looking for ways to blame others. Unless, of course, you did nothing wrong and injustice was truly done upon you. You know, the cases that should really go forward in the courts.
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This is just me practicing my vocabulary, writing style, and conveying an opinion. It's all in good fun.
About Toyota
I'm not liking the lynch mob and scapegoating of Toyota. Really? A car mat sticking and now Ottawa is pouring even more taxpayer dollars into a "parliamentary committee" on Toyota? Does Ottawa not find the CEO's apology sincere? Exactly how many Canadians lost their lives cause of this flaw? It certainly was not in the thousands to warrant a committee. Car accidents happen everyday. When Parliament returns from their vacation prorogation, how about they do some real work?
First, start with getting back the money GM and Chrysler scammed us for. Taxpayers have yet to see any significant return on their "investment".
And FYI, Toyota is voluntarily going to the public and apologizing. America had to drag Ford to court for their Ford Pinto (Ford actually factored "human lives" in their cost-benefit analysis with that scandal). Going after Toyota like this can only discourage such honest behavior from other companies in the future and that hurts everyone.
It's all anti-import sentiment speaking here. That's all it is. Don't follow America's lead when Toyota has provided jobs for us.
TTC and Twitpic
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/01/22/snoozing-ttc.html
We have come to a point where going outside means not just being in the public eye of the city you are in but also in the public eye of the Internet world.
One picture on Twitpic has caused quite a stir, leading up to paper newspapers running a whole-page story and a subsequent TTC review on the incident. This could potentially cost him his job (and thus, the ability to pay the mortgage and support the kids) which would really suck in this climate of unemployment.
Though, of course, it was not the intent of the photographer to take someone's job away. He found it funny and I am sure so did a lot of people.
But it illustrates the growing fact that no matter where we are, we need to be aware of our behaviour. Anyone with a cell phone camera can pull this off. So don't act like a fool in public.
This also means we must consider the ramifications of posting something on the Internet. You are speaking to a global community and could easily offend anyone. I take a lot of photos of my "adventures" / daily life but I don't post them all up on Twitpic (just mainly of delicious meals I eat, haha).
I consider, to the best of my ability, whether I am violating anyone's privacy (subjects in the background/foreground) and any other possible consequences before posting.
And well, on two extremes, maybe the guy above will still be enjoying his sleep not worrying about an inquiry or there may be sweeping reform changes throughout the TTC staff in the months to come.
District 9 – “Armond White is a Troll”
On Roger Ebert's personal blog, he calls Armond White a troll. This weekend, White was the first to post a rotten "review" - if you can call his writing that - of District 9 after 49 other critics have posted favorable reviews about the film. When I saw the meter drop to 98% after being 100% for so long, I knew it had to be him. Since then, his review has garnered 575+ comments (even after removing comments of physical harm and racism, this has to be a new record for him). With 575+ comments and Roger Ebert writing about him, I think this issue with White is reaching critical mass and it's time Rotten Tomatoes did something.
On Thursday night I posted in entry in defense of Armond White's review of "District 9." Overnight I received reader comments causing me to rethink that entry, in particular this eye-popping link supplied by Wes Lawson. I realized I had to withdraw my overall defense of White. I was not familiar enough with his work. It is baffling to me that a critic could praise "Transformers 2" but not "Synecdoche, NY." Or "Death Race" but not "There Will be Blood." I am forced to conclude that White is, as charged, a troll. A smart and knowing one, but a troll. My defense of his specific review of "District 9" still stands.
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I agree completely. Ebert's original defense of Armond White was retracted when his case fell apart upon closer examination of White's reviews. If you don't know who White is, he is the guy who posts rotten reviews to popular and critically-acclaimed films on Rottentomatoes.com.
Yes, I am feeding the troll by writing this post. Yes, so did any of those who commented. But counting such reviews from a contrarian whose sole intention is to gain publicity by playing the game of "me against the world" only serves to discredit the Tomatometer. For as long as this guy is allowed to be factored into the Tomatometer, no popular movie no matter how much of a masterpiece it is will ever get a fair chance at 100%. This is especially true for Pixar's films who in the past has successfully achieved this.
How can someone not like The Wrestler, Up, The Dark Knight, Star Trek, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, and all movies of the Harry Potter series but at the same time give Transformers 2, Dance Flick, Termination Salvation, Transporter 3, and Confessions of a Shopoholic positive reviews? I mean, some films are indisputably better than another within the same genre; this guy deliberately picks the one that is worse. He agrees with the meter 50% of the time but often times, when he does agree with the meter is when the movie is foreign or limited release (case in point: You, the Living, which caused Ebert to say "WTF?").
Rotten Tomatoes is a site for film critics who actually review the films they have seen. Armond White does not review films but plays the Tomatometer and everyone for his own publicity and probably for the New York Press, which probably no New Yorker reads. I hope the owners of Rotten Tomatoes realize that White is hurting the site's credibility, and thus, their bottom line.
The following is the image that caused Ebert to retract his defense of Armond White:
(Image by Wes Lawson)
As for me seeing the film, which I have yet to do, I plan on it being the next time I hit the theatres. 
Michael Vick Released
So he gets out today. He has paid his dues and has suffered enough in terms of career, emotion, and family. Thus, in my opinion, all those haters should stop hating on him.
I mean, I think it would be awesome for him to have his shot at redemption and write the story of the greatest comeback ever in sports history. Such stories of fallen stars have inspired many. But it is his decision and the decision of the NFL.
We forgive not to condone the crimes committed but to stop the cycle of hatred and move on. The dogs are dead for 2 years now and they are not coming back. But right now, a human life fights to earn his freedom and reintegration back into society. Depriving him to a life of poverty (he has long since accumulated a substantial amount of financial debt) is uncivilized.
I mean - we'll be setting a double standard by dogging on him when other NFL players have killed other humans (DUI's and say... murder!?) and are still allowed to play.
All those PETA bandwagoners want Vick's head scanned for "violence" or even his head on a platter. Remember, PETA jumped on President Obama for swatting a fly. And their ad campaign seems to respect animals more than women. So maybe it's not Vick's head that needs to be checked.
And to all those red herrings playing the race card, it's totally ignorant and irrelevant in this day and age - this video does a good job of satiring the issue:
P.S. Pun unintended.
Bill O’Reilly on Michael Jackson
All I have to say is: "Oh no you didn't!!!"
Bill O'Reilly is not known for his impeccable timing (or maybe he is depending on how you look at it).
With all the anger being expressed on Twitter right now, I am not going to touch this one with a ten-foot pole. I have no comment.
Watch out! Here it comes...
This is what everyone is raging about (and it really shouldn't come as a surprise if you know who he is):
Though, with no reference to the above video, I will say that the least a country's media could do is spend a respectable amount of time to honor their recently fallen soldiers...
