http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sun, 8 Dec 2002 22:42:33 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/12/08/224233.php Matt ValentineI continued studying for my finals today. Oh, those wacky professors with their all too amusing "final" examinations.Who am I kidding? I hate finals as much as the next guy.This is one of the most interesting weeks at my university. It is one of the few times during the year when, walking through the university union, you get to see those overstressed, overworked, over-caffeinated folks who, during the rest of the school year, operate as normal college students. Many which you see have nice bags under their eyes, a sign of their obvious insomism.A random bit of information: college students have some of the highest suicide rates in the nation.We slave over a book, re-reading a sentence or theorem. Wisdom of the ages flows through us, only to be forgotten a few weeks after the final has ended. Some classes require us merely to fish the concepts from our mental digestive system and spit them back at the teacher.I am sure teachers have it tough, as well. They are the ones who must go through pape after page of inane, student psychobabble and assign it a grade. In addition, they only have a couple days in which to complete their task.My finals are Friday. Four days to study and take pictures of my colleagues sleeping in understuffed, uncomfortable chairs. Drool with slip from their mouths and fall in neat puddles on the ground, or cause little wet patches on their shirts. Culture2182@blogcritics.org Sun, 8 Dec 2002 22:42:33 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/11/20/015521.php Matt ValentineI attended my speech class, as I have a tendency to do, this Thursday evening.I usually scribble the alphabet on a piece of paper when listening to speeches, as I was this evening. However, something caught me off my guard and bothered me for the rest of the evening.A fellow speech student had taken "statistics" from a random website and used them in his argumentative speech. He had not bothered to explain what the website dealt with, or why it's numbers were credible. He had merely stated numbers from a website. I believe the reason it upset me so much was that I try to make my sources as credible as possible. Even if he had just stated that 'this website deals with my subject in regards to x, y and z' would have helped his case, in my opinion.One other thing: his introduction included a drawn out, angsty poem dealing with anorexia from a different web site written by a '17 year old'. Perhpas it is my cynicism, but that poem might have just as well been written by a 43 year old balding man looking for skinny girls.The internet is a scary place. Wherever you go selling yourself, you are sure to find a buyer. Culture1937@blogcritics.org Wed, 20 Nov 2002 01:55:21 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/11/16/170357.php Matt ValentineI enjoy going into a movie theater, sitting down with a container of popcorn the size of a small child and a cherry cola. For the most part, a movie experience can be a nice, relaxing, mindless excursion.The movie is coming to a close. The final volley was just shot, the last punchline delivered, the final dissolve after seeing the protagonist's face.And right next to me, the young couples get on their jackets and leave the theater.I have to say, this is one of the most frustrating parts of a movie for me: when the credits have not even begun, and there are already people leaving the theater.So why would people leave the theater? I have no idea. Headaches? Heartaches? Backaches? There is no telling. However, I have a few thoughts on why they should at least watch the credits.First, if the viewer enjoyed the movie, it is pleasant to stick around and discuss which your favorite scene was or who was your favorite character. It is a way to enjoy the alternate reality of the film which you just watched, without having to leave the comfortable, womb-like state of the movie theater.Second, the credits can offer some extra views on the thought process of those involved in creating the motion picture you just watched. Just like the introductory sequences offer some previews of what may occur during the movie, the credits can be enlightening from the angle that you almost get to look into the mind of the director, producer, writer, etc.Third, some credits are merely comical to watch. People tend to stay and watch their favorite actors and actresses in cutesy outtake scenes. People love to watch the actors, who, just ten minutes ago, were portraying real people in real situations, being themselves. It harkens back to the dual reality, that actors can be both attached to existence and yet have the ability to become alternate people in alternate times.Finally, you just shelled out $6.50. As for me, I like to get the most bang for my buck. If I was just paid my hourly wages from Staples, you're mistaken if you think I am leaving that theater early. I am going to experience as much of the movie as I can. Video1865@blogcritics.org Sat, 16 Nov 2002 17:03:57 EST