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Sunday, June 20th, 2010
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10:56 pm - Playing with the Conan RPG Character Generator:
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1a, Race: Corinthian
1b, Preferred Clothing: Transparent Clothing
"You disdain clothing and prefer to tease and/or shock people."
2a, Base Personlaity: Logical (Int emphasized)
2d, Logical Pattern: Analyst (Priotities Int, Wis, Cha)
+1 Knowledge (any) or Craft (any), +1 gather information, +1 sense motive
-1 Intimidate, -1 Diplomacy, -1 Bluff
High Dex, Middle Strength, Low Con - "Willowy"
3: Both parents from same social class
4: Social Class: Lower Class (Peasant)
5: Both Parents Alive
7: Family in flux; no security and much is at risk
9: Family embroiled in scandal, may lose everything
10: Family involved in religious scandal
13: Personal Situation: Grew up working hard
14: Siblings, 3 Brothers, 3rd child.
15: Oldest brother: Died as infant/child
15: 2nd oldest brother: Alive and well
15: Younger brother: Died as infant/child
17: Sibling attitude: Ambivalence
Life Events: 3
Life Event 1: Held hostage for a period of time
Life Event 2: Falsely accused of theft but has no proof to the contrary
Life Event 3: Had a love affair with someone of a different race
21: Has close contact with nuclear family
Aetos was born the son of a hard-working Corinthian fisherman and his wife. Life being what it is for two peasants in the Corinthian age, out of the family's four sons, only Aetos and his older brother survived to adulthood. Aetos himself was rather sickly, but quick, dextrous, and intelligent, if somewhat brash and guileless.
Aetos wasn't hardy enough to assist his father hauling in the catch, so he went to work with his mother, preparing and selling fish in the marketplace; there he learned how to read and write and do sums, but also how to listen in on conversations and glean important bits of information.
As Aetos grew older, he met a young Zamorian dancing girl and quickly fell in love; she found it easy to seduce the Corinthian boy, and draw him into a life of petty thievery and pickpocketing. Together he and the dancing girl would liberate the unwary of valuables; though Aetos would have remained content to do this, the girl was more ambitious and set her sights on burglarizing the home of a Corinthian magistrate. She did not reckon on the city guard being hot on her heels, however, and to escape implicated Aetos by hiding the stolen property amongst his possessions and then by implicating him to the guards.
Aetos was arrested and held prisoner; in an attempt to bribe the city magistrate into releasing his son, Aetos' father agreed to smuggle a relic into the city for a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately this relic turned out to be an artefact sacred to the god Set, and was discovered by Mitran inquisitors. Aetos' family fell under suspicion of being Setite cultists, and lost all their property.
Aetos, seeking a way to uncover the truth about the cult and clear his family's name, escaped from the Corinthian Gaol and, after re-establishing contact with his family, fled the city.
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| Friday, June 11th, 2010
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8:27 pm - The A-Team and the philosophy of critique
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Here's a quote from one film critic about The A-Team
"In fact, I'll go this far: If this were called anything other than The A-Team, you wouldn't put up with it. You'd want to know why the laws of physics don't apply, or how federal fugitives can travel the world with access to unlimited resources, money, and weapons. You'd want to know exactly HOW these little capers -- escaping from prison, obtaining top-secret documents -- were achieved. Plenty of movies are all about ONE such caper. Here, they happen every five minutes. How do they do it? Well, they're the A-Team, that's how. They're just awesome."
-Eric. D. Snyder, Cinematical (http://www.cinematical.com/2010/06/10/the-a-team-review/)
Okay. First of all, he's right on all counts.
Second of all, he missed the point (he actually did give this movie a niddling-to-positive review).
The fact is, you do not go to a movie called The A-Team and expect to see Snatch, Smokin' Aces, Inglorious Basterds, Citizen Kane, Dracula vs. the Wolfman... and if you went to see a movie called the A-Team and saw a movie with the general theme and attitude of one of those movies you would call it crap. "Where are the explosions?" You would say. "Where are the flipping cars? Where's the gigantic, indestructible black guy?"
See, this is a common thread in movie reviews: You (a critic) reviews a movie favorably or unfavorably compared to movies you happen to enjoy in the same genre, by the same director, etc. While it is fair to review aspects of a movie in such a manner -- camera technique, performance of an actor, etc., when the time comes you (the critic) need to put all that stuff away because when the time comes to say "you should/should not watch this movie" you need to consider it as an individual unit, an independent concern from all other movies in the same genre, whether you like them or hate them.
It is, I would argue, acceptable to evaluate a movie that is part of a series or based on a book, stage show, television show, video game, etc. against its source material when delivering your final critique.
If I go to a movie like, say, The A-Team, I am expecting a certain kind of film. I expect there to be four principle characters: a cigar-smoking mastermind, a faceman, a badass, and an insane chopper pilot. I expect there to be explosions and lots of flipping/wrecking vehicles. I expect a plan to come together. I expect these things because I know the source material from which the movie is drawn.
If I went to see, say, The Karate Kid, I would have an entirely different set of expectations. I would expect it to have some karate in it, all apologies to kung-fu enthusiasts. It would have a kid, kind of twerpy, in over his head and taught how to kick butt and also a valuable life lesson by an Asian martial-arts master.
If it had the flipping cars and insane chopper pilot I would be sort of confused.
So when Mr. Snyder says that if this were any other movie, we'd think it was dumb, he's right.
But no, Mr. Snyder, this is not any other action movie. This is The A-Team.
And it is awesome.
(This is in fact my endorsement of the movie).
current mood:  amused
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| Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
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6:10 pm - Cassandra Cain:
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Okay, those few of you who read livejournal entries, I'm going to fess up here:
I don't understand the cult of personality around Cassandra Cain, A.K.A. Batgirl III.
Usually in order to have a CoP devoted to you, you need some kind of personality for it to revolve around. She never had one. She was the creepy little girl who was good at fighting but NOTHING else and the whole point of her character was that she had to learn things most people pick up naturally.
Somehow this evolved into "she is the best fighter ever because she can read people's body language AND her father is a deadly assassin AND her mother is Lady Shiva or is she YES she is!" Unbeatable Cassandra Cain (unless she's fighting the Joker, who is so CRAZY he doesn't know what he's going to do until he does it) who invinci-fights all her problems until they go away.
Yeah. I pass.
And I'm sure there are plenty of arguments to be made against this, but the above is true enough that Batgirl III bores me to tears. So rumors and girlish squeeing to the contrary, I hope the Bat-office is in no hurry to bring her back. Meh.
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| Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
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11:58 pm - The Rise of Arsenal
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So I've been looking at Daily Scans' bits of the Rise of Arsenal and a realization hit me.
I have never liked Roy Harper. The dude is boring. But this comic has officially bridged the gap from mere dullness into being aggressively lousy. Nobody writes something this shitty and is proud of it, and no Editor lets it escape their soul-rending talons.
SO what the crap is going on?
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| Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
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6:53 pm - Music Meme Day 4 and 5
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Day 01 - Your favourite song: Blondie - "Maria"
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy: Disney's Robin Hood - "The Phony King of England"
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad: Johnny Cash - "Give my Love to Rose"
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone:
Take a guess.
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere:
The rough parts of Buffalo, since you asked.
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event:
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to:
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep:
Day 09 - A song from your favourite band:
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favourite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
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| Sunday, May 16th, 2010
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11:18 pm
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Day 01 - Your favourite song: Blondie - "Maria"
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy: Disney's Robin Hood - "The Phony King of England"
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad: Johnny Cash - "Give my Love to Rose"
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone:
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere:
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event:
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to:
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep:
Day 09 - A song from your favourite band:
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favourite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
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| Saturday, May 15th, 2010
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10:34 am - The Music Meme, Day 2
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Day 01 - Your favourite song: Blondie - "Maria"
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy: Disney's Robin Hood - "The Phony King of England"
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad:
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone:
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere:
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event:
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to:
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep:
Day 09 - A song from your favourite band:
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favourite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
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| Friday, May 14th, 2010
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11:30 pm - The Music Meme, via  ahumblepen
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Day 01 - Your favourite song: Blondie - "Maria"
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy:
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad:
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone:
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere:
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event:
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to:
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep:
Day 09 - A song from your favourite band:
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favourite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Monday, May 3rd, 2010
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10:54 pm - What's On My Mind
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Right now I feel like I have what I would call "day friends." Or "weekend friends." I see them and am social with them during the day or on the weekend, but at night during the week I am largely alone.
It's getting a little maddening, not having anybody to talk to. I think my schoolwork slipped because of it.
I barely see my roommate. Two semesters living together and I swear we have spent less than three hours in the same room. I am not joking. Is it me? I don't know.
Also, 'fuck you' to every ST ever who punished someone for not understanding an aspect of the game.
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| Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
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4:16 am - Just Enough Rope to Hang Myself or the 4 AM Blues
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Zero Accountability:
I am not the only person making mistakes. What was I angry about? The inability of other people to admit their errors, and thus dumping everything on me.
You made mistakes too. Your outright refusal to admit that you, too, were wrong hurt me in ways I don't think you understand. I felt disrespected and unwanted. And I will not just accept it. Claiming such was not the case only made things worse.
It's easier to be held accountable when you're face-to-face. Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm always wrong, and you're one hundred percent right.
Then I'll know for sure that I'm not wanted. And I can go back to the business of being alone in a crowded room.
I will never be a part of it.
As an aside, a poetic moment:
White letters on black blink back at me.
They play together and smash their toys when I draw too near.
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| Monday, March 8th, 2010
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12:14 am - Writer's Block: Best book ever!
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Is there any book you can read over and over again without ever getting sick of it? Do you discover something new every time you read it?
Let's see. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny.
Rogues in the House by Robert E. Howard.
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| Thursday, February 11th, 2010
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11:46 pm - Note to self: D&D monsters suitable for Conan D20 plus alternate names
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Aboleth (Abomination)
Achaieri (Hell's Vultures)
Allip (Mad Spirit)
Assassin Vine
Barghest (Black Dog)
Basilisk
Behir (Thunder Dragon)
Bodak (Thing of Darkness)
Chaos Beast
Chimera
Chuul (Sea Horror)
Cockatrice
Demon: Babau (Stalking Fiend), Beblith (Spider Demon), Dretch (Wretched Demons), Quasit (Imp), Succubus.
Devil: Barbed Devil, Bone Devil, Erinyes (Succubus), Hellcat, Imp, Lemure (Wretched Demons).
Devourer (Astral Horror)
Dinosaur (Any)
Dire Animal (Any)
Eagle, Giant (Int reduced to 2)
Frost Worm
Ghast
Giant, Fire
Giant, Stone
Gibbering Mouther (Shoggoth)
Golem, Any
Grick
Griffon
Hag, Any
Harpy
Hell Hound (And Nessian Warhound)
Hippogriff
Homonculus
Howler (Shrieking Demon)
Hydra
Invisible Stalker (Invisible Strangler)
Lich
Lizardfolk (Lizard Men)
Minotaur
Mohrg (?)
Night Hag (Daughters of the Black Goat)
Ooze, Any
Otyugh (?)
Giant Owl (Int 2)
Pegasus
Purple Worm
Rakshasa (needs extensive alteration)
Roc
Roper (Cave Horror)
Shadow
Shambling Mound
Skeleton
Skum
Spectre
Sphinx, Any
Tendriculos
Troglodyte
Unicorn (Int 2)
Wight (Barrow Wight)
Will-O-Wisp
Winter Wolves (White Wolves of Ymir)
Worg (?)
Wraith
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| Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
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11:05 pm - Home Again?
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...What do you do when the place where you grew up no longer feels like home...
But there's no place else that does?
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, December 25th, 2009
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7:45 pm - Christmas 09
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...One year ago I had the Great Holiday Breakdown, which I've come to accept was predicated on a few things: hitting an age I had never really thought past, realizing that my relatives are aging also, starting a massive change and knowing that this is it; adulthood is happening, and whoa boy do I feel unprepared for it.
I was a wreck. A complete and total train-wreck of a man. A shaking, over-anxious, nervous, shattered mess. Enough said on that.
One year later, my anxiety on the subject is far from cured; in fact many of the same notions continue to occupy my thoughts from time to time. But I am managing them, for now. I was able to enjoy my day and the presence of my relatives, and I accept the fact that not only am I not a kid anymore, I am far from it.
As of this writing I am not even halfway through my 20s--that won't happen until March. And I'm okay with turning 26, I think.
The thought has come to mind that it is time to put away childish things; to stop playing games and start focusing on school and my career. But another part of me knows that eventually the pendulum would swing back the other way. I need to seek balance, and start examining my hobbies from a more mature perspective.
WHY do I role-play? What is the deeper motivation and how can I both improve my skills and gain greater satisfaction from it? The first step is to stop reacting with frustration when things don't go my way, and begin examining my options to turn situations to my advantage.
On a slightly less pontifical note, I got a pack of socks, new slacks, a springform pan, a cookbook, new shirts, the Wizard Knight novels, a manicure set, the "Mesmerize" toiletry set, and Dragon Age: Origins. I can't play it until I get back to Buffalo, since I didn't bring home my 360, but that's okay.
current mood:  okay
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| Monday, December 14th, 2009
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4:05 pm - Things to do this week:
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Re-organize the files on my computer
Clean the bathrooms
Clean the living room
Clean the kitchen
Exercise at least three times
Return my overdue library book
Go to the doctor (Tues., 9 AM)
See the counselor (Wed., 6 PM)
Make an appointment to get my teeth cleaned
Do a little writing
Get my christmas shopping done
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| Monday, December 7th, 2009
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4:13 am - Magic: The Gathering
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It gets to the point where a game becomes a parody of itself.
Listening to people discuss Magic: The Gathering cards, I think ol' Magic hit that point about five years ago.
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| Friday, November 27th, 2009
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1:00 am - Notes: Hewie Ingram
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The following is penned in Arabic, encoded into a cipher, in a locked book.
The Surrogate: Vain. Likes to extrapolate upon statements, often believing disrespect is implied where none was intended. Pompous. In some kind of relationship with the Wall-Crawler.
The Wall-Crawler: Believes the only way to get ahead is to be a cowardly shit. May be right; is no less aggravating for it. Expect to be promoted soon. Extrapolation: Shallow, stupid. Expect to turn into an ignorant bully when gets power. Has possibly seduced the Surrogate.
The Magus: Lacks most of the weaknesses from kind, except for ego; supremely confident. The most dangerous vampire in the city, because isn't incompetent. Something more here...
The Long Arm: Obsessed with making self feared? Ham-fisted, cares more about perception of self in position than doing job.
The Wild Dog: In same position as myself. Does not realize depth of incompetence of city elders, and how dangerous incompetence makes them.
Current Verdict: Almost all worthless, acting out pre-rehearsed lines and not paying attention to anything going on around them. But one. Feel contempt for the others, fear the Magus. Hope Wild Dog is smart enough to escape.
May be able to dominate this city... if I can last long enough and not be killed by ignorant or fearful or leave in disgust. Last becoming very likely.
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| Saturday, October 24th, 2009
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3:09 am - ARRRGHHHH
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I CANNOT READ YOUR FUCKING MIND
I AM NOT YOUR BUTLER
WHEN I GO RUNNING ALL OVER HELL LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FOR YOU TO GIVE AS A GIFT, YOU'D BETTER BE FUCKING GRATEFUL
THE NEXT TIME YOU ARE THIS RUDE TO ME, I AM GOING TO HAVE TO TELL YOU TO GO FUCK YOURSELF
I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT
BUT I WILL
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, October 1st, 2009
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2:00 pm - Roman Polanski OR In Which Austin Flaps His Big Fat Yap
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Roman Polanski drugged and raped a thirteen year-old girl. No question about this; he pled guilty. Then he left the country. He has, in Europe, had an accomplished and storied career. He won an Oscar (which he couldn't collect). He has created very famous movies.
And now he's been arrested. Several very prominent people in the entertainment industry are calling for his release, using the following as grounds for their statements:
It was 40-odd years ago.
Polanski fled the country because he was afraid of being viciously crucified by the judge and jury.
The victim would desperately like to forget about it, so why do you keep pushing?
Polanski is now an old man.
Those pushing the case have been trying to trap Polanski for years; this is now a personal grudge.
Polanski is brilliant; thus, sending him to prison deprives him of the ability to participate in new projects.
All of these statements are true, at least for a given value of truth. The "personal grudge" bit is subjective, but hell, they've been trying to snare the guy for 40 years; that indicates a passion for what you're doing that delves into the realm of the personal crusade.
But ultimately, the final issue is at what point does fame and privilege (and Polanski is both famous and privileged) allow one to escape the rule of law?
Answer: It shouldn't.
There isn't any statute of limitations I know of that has expired to let Polanski off the hook.
Whatever reason Polanski had for running, it's still a fact that he ran.
Strange as it may sound, the victim's role in this is done and she should be left alone--this is about Polanski and what he did, not who he did it to. Not anymore.
There are lots of old men who commit crimes and are sent to jail.
The grudges or lack thereof of the district attorney and assorted lawmen and women are not the point.
Roman Polanski can still write screenplays if he goes to prison.
The point is, Roman Polanski committed a sexually deviant crime. He drugged another human being--a minor--and had his way with her. This is not really disputed.
Fame and privilege or the rule of law?
Let's find out.
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| Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
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1:45 pm - Things to Do
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Gaming:
Check LARP boards. Send downtime E-Mails. Decide on XP spends.
Christopher: Necromancy 5? What ritual? Thaumaturgy (Wanga) 1? What ritual? Thanatosis? Fortitude? Medicine?
Antoine: Serpentis? Thaumaturgy (Wanga) 3? What ritual? Occult, Occult Influence, Underworld Influence, Sabbat Lore, Serpents of the Light Lore
Benny: Performance (Guitar), Medicine, Academics, Melee, Brawl, Firearms. Celerity. Brujah Lore, Camarilla Lore.
Luca: Political Influence, Melee, Celerity, Academics. Toreador Lore, Camarilla Lore.
Atlanta: Evening Red: Finish magic packet. Continue work on city packet.
Classwork:
Find book on Native American culture. Post.
Read "Hotlanta" and "Gossip Girl" (I might just skim these...)
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