The black hole will destroy earth, but it won't matter since the Farcasters will let us go to any number of other fun planets in the galaxy, so who needs Earth?

(I just finished "Hyperion" and "The Fall of Hyperion"...)

#34 and #4: yay, other people who've seen that movie!

I just find it sad that in a world where the economy is collapsing, where the government is investigating whether the #2 Big Dog country in the world is poisoning medication intentionally or unintentionally, in a world where greed has run rampant and head-in-sand attitudes threaten to destroy the actual physical nature of our whole planet...

... that people are upset over a video game that provides escapist violent entertainment and skewers the society that I just described.

*cliche* Of All The Things To Worry About... */cliche*

For those who are saying that the internet still lets us 'consume' to fill the cognitive surplus, perhaps it would be the difference between 'consuming' The Bernie Mac Show (the only sitcom I've seen in a few years, and which horrified me with its skewed outlook on family life) and consuming the Discovery channel.

However, there's another interesting force at work in TV, an even further dumbing down. Look at A&E, Bravo, The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, the Food Network. Look at what profiteering and reality television have done to all of these outposts of thoughtful and useful information. Look at what Bravo is now; it's the 'oh snap!' reality channel. Look at TLC and its macho "super big stuff and awesome motorcycles!" contingent.

I think that there should be some punishment for a prank. Suspension? At the end of school? Meh. That's pushing it. Detention? Sure. Disruptive social pranks are something that should be discouraged, but not HEAVILY.

On the other hand, if it was a serious prank like when kids poured baby oil down the hallway and stairs of my high school (this happened before I was there, so maybe it was a myth!), I would say that there should be consequences beyond the school's own discipline. In that case, someone was injured.

Banana suits and gorillas? Oh come on. It was probably more fun and exciting and rallying than an official 'pep rally' was!

Am I the only person who thought that maybe, just maybe, due to the lack of accountability that email has, this person didn't actually send this message?

(I'm mostly just posting this reaction because no one else has done it.)

@shedside: I think that the idea is Universal is sending out CDs to people who do not ask for them. Then, the recipients are being told that they cannot throw them out because that is unauthorized distribution.

So, while 'it's illegal to throw away the promo CD we sent you without our permission' should read 'it's illegal to throw away, without our permission, the promo CD we sent you'... the way the title written means "We sent you a CD without your permission, and now it is illegal to throw it away."

Since this law appears to benefit companies in the United States, perhaps...

okay, I'm going to put on my tinfoil hat and apply the Time Cube...

...this is intended as some sort of beginning step towards justifications for the North American Union that would consist of all the North American countries (or at least Canada, the U.S.A, and Mexico.)

(I don't really believe this stuff, but it makes me wonder...)