Going with the Wall Street theme...

This article. A dramatic summary, for your pleasure:

Some years ago:

Government: "Hey, here's some money for banks."

Goldman, Morgan Stanley: "WHOOOA, there partner, we're banks! Right here."

Present day:

Government: "Hey, so we're not gonna allow banks to perform proprietary training with their own capital."

Goldman, Morgan Stanley: "WE ARE...DEFINITELY not a bank, come on, HAH. No."

I gotta say, it warms my heart to see rich, complacent people scared.

So far, that's the most enjoyment I've been getting out of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The problem I have with them is that they seem more like a wildfire: aimless, formless, frightening, though some good may come of it.

I think they are, like the Tea Party, primarily motivated by this nameless, formless outrage, although I personally think that their goals are far less full of derp. But the thing is, like the Tea Party, any hopes they have of achieving change will need to be met with the force and unity of spirit. The Tea Party had that, but its goals were effectively time-travel. No matter how hard they wanted to, they would not make the U.S. go back to the 18th century without serious societal change (read: apocalyptic breakdown). The Occupy movement, far from fighting the inertia of time, is fighting the inertia of entrenched power...they are fighting an enemy that is multifarious and creeping, that has made a life goal of infecting and permeating as many systems as possible.

But I believe it is an enemy that must be taken down to size, restrained. Like all bacteria, it can be good or bad, and right now, it's leaned towards "abusive". And that's why I'm posting this series of charts from the website Business Insider. It's a rather sobering and more importantly informative look at exactly what we're fighting for, and what stakes the combatants have.

Call of Duty: Raging Boners

I can practically hear war nerds poppin' em across the free world with the release of this trailer for Act of Valor:

Apparently, real Navy SEALS play the characters in this, and it all looks incredibly authentic. I predict that the shot of a SEAL in the water catching a guy to prevent his falling from making a sound will become an iconic image in the annals of cinematic war.

"To be dominated by me...is not as bad for human pride...as to be dominated by others of your species."

I fuckin' hate my computer. Not my current one, but the one I used to have. I got it freshman year. It was top of the line...to the extent that it was hot-rod red and had a shit-ton of RAM. But eventually... and by that, I mean "by sophomore year"...I came to hate it. And hate everything it stood for.

Speaking of computers...there's one movie and idea that have been preoccupying my thoughts the past couple of days. I'm sure very few of you have seen the 1960's movie, Colossus: The Forbin Project. A brief synopsis, before I get to the meat of this post: Colossus was adapted from a novel, written at the height of the Cold War. It's about a scientist who creates a fantastically advanced computer. The U.S. are desperate to avoid nuclear war, and so entrust this computer, named "Colossus", with preventing it, and they give Colossus control of the U.S.' nuclear arsenal. Problem is, Colossus detects an analogous computer called "Guardian" on the Russian side. Colossus, following its programming, determines that the best course to take in avoiding The Big One is to allow Guardian to link up and merge with it, thereby ensuring cooperation. Eventually, the new, amalgamated computer decides that the best course of action is to remove humans from all control for the future course of history.

Stephen Fry Sums Up America:

Even when things seem to be in the shitter when it comes to our country and our ability to live with one another and come together into a cohesive nation, sometimes an outside perspective can remind us of what we always hoped to be, and what we are, deep down within. And no one is better equipped to remind us than that incomparable British renaissance man Stephen Fry, when he was attending the Iron Bowl (Auburn vs. Alabama):

"I really don't know of anything that sums up America better...it's simultaneously preposterous...incredibly laughable...impressive...charming...ridiculous...expensive...overpopulated...wonderful...America."