Benjamin Bloodworth's Blog

Archive for April, 2009

• http://tinyurl.com/cxqd37

The pirates were captured at 1 a.m. Sunday after they threw weapons, ladders and scaling equipment overboard, Davies said. Several rounds of ammunition were found on the pirates’ boat.

The pirates were detained, but allowed to go free after questioning.

There is currently no formal procedure for NATO personnel to follow once they have apprehended pirates, Davies noted. Their weapons are confiscated and they are then typically given provisions and released.

I’m not so bloodthirsty to think that all pirates should be shot, but letting them go free is preposterous.  Giving them provisions in addition to setting them free is an insult.  Having no formal policy for dealing with pirates by now is bewildering.  I really hope the powers that be at NATO are currently locked away in a room drafting a formal policy before they are embarrassed again.

I assume these attacks are taking place in International Waters, which may present some problems legally.  However, in the very same article there is hostis humani generis, which has been applied to piracy, ever since piracy started.

• Since piracy anywhere is a peril to every mariner and ship everywhere, it is held to be the universal right and the universal duty of all nations, regardless of whether their ships have been beset by the particular pirate captured, to capture, try, and either execute (which is the traditional custom of the sea) or otherwise suppress the pirate, such as by imprisonment.
• Piracy is considered an offense of universal jurisdiction, such that any state may board and seize a ship engaged in piracy, and any state may try a pirate and impose sanctions according to that state’s own law.

Given the guidelines above, why were these pirates set free?

• http://kotaku.com/5102418/trine-casting-a-lovely-spell-on-psn
• http://kotaku.com/5214509/trine-looks-even-better-with-a-friend

This game look pretty cool; especially the cooperative play.  It’s good to see more cooperative games on the PlayStation 3.  Currently, there aren’t very many available for the PlayStation 3, which is a shame.  What’s the point in having all that power if you can’t share it with your friends?

Trine Gameplay Teaser Trailer 2008 (PSN, PC)

Trine Cooperative Gameplay Video

I haven’t met a girl yet who doesn’t like Twilight.  I also haven’t met one that doesn’t think Edward Cullen is the most perfect boyfriend ever!!!  For all the single guys out there, just follow Edward’s example and you’re sure to have ladies swooning over you.

Girls Like to be Stalked

Restraining order, another way of saying "I love you."

It doesn’t matter that you’ve just met her in passing, go ahead and climb through her window and into her bedroom at night to watch her sleep.  Chicks dig it! 

You also want to follow her everywhere she goes, but stay just out of eyesight.  She doesn’t need to know you’re stalking her until you rescue her from other guys who aren’t as good at stalking as yourself.  After you’ve saved her from a gang rape, or some other equally violent crime, she totally won’t be weirded out when you admit to climbing into her bedroom at night to watch her sleep.

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight

you’ll probably get a different reaction than you will if you look like this guy.

Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferatu

Here’s a handy video to demonstrate the best way to approach a woman under these circumstances.

Threaten to Kill Her

Tell the girl you’re stalking that it takes all of the willpower you can summon to stop yourself from killing her.  This will probably get you pretty close to getting inside her pants.  To make sure you get inside her pants, also tell her that you constantly fantasize about drinking her blood.  That will pretty much seal the deal.

Follow these simple steps and you can have any girl you’ve ever watched intently from a safe distance.

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30114251/
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Loving-Memory-of-Lawrence-Kutner-on-House/63172043443

This is Confusing?
Nowhere on the memorial page does it use any of the actors’ real names.  All of the responses by the show’s other characters use the characters’ names, not the actors’ names.  Who is confused by it?

This is bizarre?
It’s bizarre because no one has ever used the web to write fiction before this episode of House.  I mean seriously, the Internet is completely devoid of fan fiction for TV shows and Movies.  No one has tried to capitalize on it by registering a website devoted to fanfiction or anything.

What’s the big deal about a TV show providing additional information on a website?  This is a great use of the Internet.  You can’t always squeeze in everything you want into a TV episode.  The Internet is a great medium for distributing additional information that isn’t a good fit for TV or had to be excluded for pacing or length issues.

It’s Lazy
If you want to criticize them, then criticize them for being lazy.  It’s a pet peeve of mine when writers kill off or depower a character because they don’t know what to do with the character.  Killing off the character prevents any future story lines involving that character without some embarrassing retcon or implausible plot line to bring the character back to life.

A character’s death should be meaningful to the story or commentary on how life is so fragile.  It shouldn’t be done just because the actor is going to work for the White House.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29898227/

Even though it’s one step closer to Gattaca, it’s still a pretty cool technology.  It puts knowledge about an individual’s potential health risks into the hands of the individual.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30121523/

It’s bad publicity for the hosting company, but this is actually a good thing.  Since the website is hosted within the U.S., our intelligence agencies can easily monitor their activity.  It sucks that we’re providing our enemies with a platform to spread their hatred of us, but at the same time it helps us monitor and locate them.

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
~Sun-tzu
Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)