Save PBS and NPR!

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I sent off an e-mail to my senators and representatives about the proposed slashed budget (a 23% cut!) for NPR and PBS, and I encourage you all to do the same:

You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

A House committee has voted to slash half of the public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would eliminate more than $200 million for NPR, PBS and local stations immediately, with more cuts likely in the future. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

The House will vote on the cuts as soon as Tuesday. Can you help us reach 1 million signatures calling on Congress to save NPR and PBS? http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the New York Times story on the threat to NPR and PBS at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=753

Batman

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I saw Batman Begins today. It's a good movie, better than all previous Batman films, though I really only liked the first one. Michael Keaton was a great Batman, because he really made you believe that Bruce Wayne was more than a little nuts, as the character should be, unlike the smarmy George Clooney Batman or the be-nippled Batman of Val Kilmer. Well, Christian Bale is even better than Keaton, and once he dons the BatSuit, he'll creep you out. You know how in the average superhero movie you get a two-minute montage that shows them coming to grips with their superpowers/new identity? In this case, you get a whole movie of it, and it's great. This is a movie not dominated by special effects, but by storytelling, and good storytelling at that.

I have a few nitpicks though. I've got some physics problems with the "microwave generator" in the film, (which doesn't make sense to me for about 15 different reasons) and after watching some of the recent Chinese action films, the action scenes are hard to follow, because they cut so much you can't get any sense of the geography of the fight. I can understand this if you don't want to risk your star being injured, but since Batman is in a BatSuit, you'd think you could put some stunt guys in the suit and do some longer shots, no?

The supporting cast is outstanding, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, Liam Neeson and Michael Caine, add a lot to the film, though the recently-brainswashed Katie Holmes was forgettable.

This is the Batman movie that makes you understand why Batman is Batman, why criminals fear him, why Alfred helps him, where the BatToys come from, why Commissioner Gordon trusts him, and even why he has a BatSignal.

This is the third excellent film I've seen by director Chris Nolan (the other two being Memento and Insomnia), and I can't wait for more. Please let him (and the cast) return for one or two more Batman movies, and bar Joel Schumacher, Michael Bay, or Paul Verhoeven from even coming on the lot. Want a second opinion? Roger Ebert's review is here.

Two more UNI jobs

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There are two more technology jobs open here at UNI, for anyone who's interested: Assistant Applications Administrator:

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information management, or related field required. Experience in Microsoft Operating Systems or UNIX required. One year of experience in Oracle/SQL with an understanding of data security, integrity and consistency; familiarity with backup, recovery, utilities, tuning and performance monitoring; and knowledge of technology market and trends preferred. Student experience will be considered.

and Programmer Analyst – IBM Mainframe/WEB:

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information management, or related field required. Candidates must possess an understanding of administrative uses of computing services, have a working knowledge of COBOL, knowledge or exposure to a relational DBMS and SQL, and course work or practical experience with modern programming languages such as Perl, C, C++, or Java.

Michael Jackson - Not Guilty

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For purely selfish reasons, I'm glad Michael Jackson was not found to be guilty, simply because this means I won't have to sit through endless appeals and even more media hoopla, other than the obligatory civil trial(s). I wish my TV/TiVo had keyword blacklisting, I want to be able to program it to not display any show containing the words "Michael Jackson" in its closed captioning data.

I'd also use that capability for Puff Daddy/P.Diddy/Sean Combs, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and anyone who is a Scientologist. Oh wait, crap, that means I couldn't watch The Simpsons, since Nancy Cartwright belongs to that cult. Damn... Uh, okay, it needs to be a filter that's only applied to non-fiction shows...

Can I patent this?