Døh!

From thepiratebay.org:

SITE DOWN

In the morning of 2006-05-31 the Swedish National Criminal Police showed a search warrant to Rix|Port80 personnell. The warrant was valid for all datacentres of Rix|Port80 and was directed at The Pirate Bay. The allegation was breach of copy-right law, alternatively assisting breach of copy-right law.

The police officers were allowed access to the racks where the TPB servers and other servers are hosted. All servers in the racks were clearly marked as to which sites run on each. The police took down all servers in the racks, including the non-commercial site Piratbyrån, the mission of which is to defend the rights of TPB via public debate.

According to police officers simultaneously questioning the president of Rix|Port80, the purpose of the search warrant is to take down TPB in order to secure evidence of the allegations mentioned above.

The necessity for securing technical evidence for the existance of a web-service which is fully official, the legality of which has been under public debate for years and whose principals are public persons giving regular press interviews, could not be explained. Asked for other reasoning behind the choice to take down a site, without knowing wether it is illegal or not, the officers explained that this is normal.

The TPB can receive compensation from the Swedish state in case that the upcoming legal processes show that TPB is indeed legal.

What we've got here is failure to communicate

I keep seeing these promos for Comedy Central's Secret Stash, where the movies are purportedly "uncensored, unedited, and uncut." I was skeptical, but the other night I decided to check it out. The movie was Coming to America, so I knew Comedy Central's claim would be put to the test early and often.

During the opening sequence, immediately after Eddie asks his aide if he can just once use the bathroom by himself, the movie abruptly cuts to the scene of Eddie picking out his clothes, awkwardly skipping over one of the best lines in the movie, "The royal penis is clean, your Highness."

Now, I wasn't really expecting Comedy Central to show nudity, and if they had left that scene intact I would have been pleasantly surprised. But given that the scene was obviously censored, it leaves me to wonder just what exactly Comedy Central means when they say, "uncensored, unedited, and uncut." I suppose "somewhat less censored, edited, and cut than our regular programming" just didn't have the same ring to it.

Are you there God? It's me, Tom

How embarrassing is it that Ron Howard and Tom Hanks -- arguably two of the best in the game at their positions -- got together and managed to turn such a popular novel into such an awful movie?

The da Vinci Code currently sits at 23% on RottenTomatoes.com. For comparison's sake, the next three higher-rated movies are R.V., Hoot, and Phat Girlz.

Now I haven't actually seen the movie yet, so maybe I'm not fit to judge. But the consensus seems to be that the movie is just blah, so it probably wouldn't even be worth watching for the sake of ridicule.

Or is this actually a big conspiracy by the Catholic Church to downplay the movie so that no one goes to see it? Someone else go see it and let me know. If they'll let you....

Al Gore for President

Last weekend Saturday Night Live opened with a skit set in a parallel universe in which Al Gore addressed the nation as President. Playing himself, the former Vice President delivered a witty four-minute monologue in which he addressed the problems of reversed global warming, a gasoline surplus, and the loss of California to immigration. His commentary was amusing and current, and it reminded me of the good old days when cast members like A. Whitney Brown and Dennis Miller delivered monologues that were insightful and funny.

But here's the thing. Can you even imagine W giving a speech like this? Think about it. The man who lost to Bush in 2000 -- at least in part because everyone thought he was an uncharismatic automaton -- makes our sitting President look (even more) like a fumbling moron. Thank God for parallel universes.

Fabulous secret powers

Rediscovering He-Man

And yet there's something in He-Man that transcends criticism. Despite the show's crass badness, I enjoyed rewatching it on many levels. The deep magical connection I felt as a child was still there, and the show was also a powerful shot of a cultural innocence that doesn't seem to exist anymore. As I watched, He-Man kept reminding me—in temperament, bearing, and even tone of voice—of Ronald Reagan, and of the cheerful, rule-bound pop-cultural naiveté that seemed to reach its term limit around the same time as the Gipper. In the era of South Park, Adult Swim, and TV Funhouse (whose "Ambiguously Gay Duo" picks up on the sexual comedy of He-Man perfectly), cartoons have become carriers of adult attitudes and ideas. Even today's kids' programming is self-conscious and ironic. SpongeBob would have mocked He-Man until he cried. It's a very long way from here to Eternia.

Get your head out of, um, the sand

Spot a Bug, Go to Jail

On April 28, 2006, Eric McCarty was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. McCarty is a professional computer security consultant who noticed that there was a problem with the way the University of Southern California had constructed its web page for online applications. A database programming error allowed outsiders to obtain applicants' personal information, including Social Security numbers.

For proof, the man copied seven applicants' personal records and anonymously sent them to a reporter for SecurityFocus. The journalist notified the school, the school fixed the problem, and the reporter wrote an article about it.

The incident might have ended there, but didn't.

The school went through its server logs and easily traced the activity back to McCarty, who had made no attempt to hide his tracks. The FBI interviewed McCarty, who explained everything to the agents. Then the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles charged the security expert with violating 18 U.S.C. 1030, the federal computer crime law.

What kind of thanks is that? This reminds me of how the RIAA prefers to deal only in lawsuits, rather than admitting they have a security problem and fixing the technology. But this is worse, because the accused are only trying to help. I'm filing this under technology, fear, and ignorance.

Your tax dollars at work

Drunk Monkeys Mirror People

It was not unusual to see some of the monkeys stumble and fall, sway, and vomit," Chen added. "In a few of our heavy drinkers, they would drink until they fell asleep."

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys?

A barrel of drunken monkeys!

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

The Battle of Puebla and Cinco de Mayo



Sponsored by Corona

Fenway like school in the summer

No class.

Jeers Johnny: Damon Booed in His Return



Related post: The Voice of Reason