Mike Williams
Movie Review: Harry Potter 7
(image from gothamist.com)
Ok. I’ve read the other reviews on the internet over the weekend and most of them say this movie is great.
Huh?
One reviewer even said she read the book and still thought the movie was great.
Huh?
The movie effects were pretty good.
That is the only positive thing I can say about this movie.
I didn’t expect the first half to be as exciting as the second half promises to be but my major disappointment lies with how much the movie deviated and sometimes never resembled the book.
I have to admit that seeing Snape fly into Malfoy manor in the very beginning made the movie feel promising.
The cafe’ fight wasn’t long enough. The camera bouncing around during the forest fight scene with the snatchers gave me a headache.
For those of us who enjoyed the book, this movie was bad.
Slave Update: Real Ownership
As I was contemplating the universe this morning fellow slaves, I began to wonder about home ownership and in particular the role of the tax payer burden on a home that is already owned.
I don’t think there should be any.
I think when you have finished paying off your home, your tax liability should go away as well. Why? Because, you already own the property.
Let’s say I go out and buy a Suzuki Quad Racer (a four wheel off road vehicle for those of you who live in Cleveland) and I pay for it in 12 payments.
The taxes and my whole liability is already calculated into my payments and when I am finished and make the last payment. The bike is mine.
If I don’t ride it on the road, I don’t need to license it so I owe the government no more money beyond the taxes I’ll pay for gas.
If I do decide to license it and ride it on the road and I decide not to pay the next license fee, no one will come to take my bike away. Why? I own it.
Along the same lines, does the government have the right to take your toaster or do you own it?
Why is home ownership so different? Why have we allowed the politicians to maneuver the tax code and laws in such a way that even if I own my home and don’t pay taxes on it, the government can still take it away from me?
The idea that buying a home doesn’t really mean buying a home should be frightening to most people.
Additionally, why should I pay school taxes for public school when I don’t have any children in the public school system? The very idea is ludicrous. Yes, ludicrous was a word before it was a rap star.
This is what happens when government gets out of control. These changes didn’t happen over night. They happened gradually and over time and in such small measure that the small proposals might have even made sense when they were first voted on. Fast forward to the present.
You don’t really own your home. If you doubt me, just stop making a few tax payments. When the sheriff comes a callin’ you’ll be saying to yourself “damn, that geek dude was right…and stuff.”
This has been an official Slave Update
10 Plot Holes You May Have Missed
I saw this post this morning and pretty much agree with all of them.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – This is a problem in the book as well, but it’s in the movie so it counts. Barty Crouch, Jr., disguised as Mad-Eye Moody, arranges for the Triwizard Cup to be a portkey to take Harry to the graveyard in Little Hangleton so that he can be used to bring Voldemort back to life and then killed. He’s in the guise of a teacher at the school, so he had any number of opportunities to make a portkey out of, well, pretty much anything that he could be sure Harry would touch — Harry’s schoolbooks, his shoes, whatever. It’s been argued that Voldemort wanted to keep his existence a secret and make it look like Harry perished during the task, but really, having Harry just disappear without a trace wouldn’t be any more suspicious. And, incidentally, why did he make the cup a two-way portkey? It’s been established that most portkeys are one-use, one-way only. Why not make this portkey one of those, so that Harry had no way to escape?
The Harry Potter one is definitely “spot on.”
How Many Floppies For…
Very cool post about how many 3.5″ floppy disks it would take to install modern programs.
Basically, it’s slamming how poorly coding is done these days; rightfully so. Ask Steve Gibson. He’ll tell you all about it.
Placebo Buttons
Similarly, many office thermostats are dummies, designed to give workers the illusion of control. “You just get tired of dealing with them and you screw in a cheap thermostat,” said Illinois HVAC specialist Richard Dawson. “Guess what? They quit calling you.”
Go over and read the article. It’s short but funny.
Hmmm
I woke up this morning thinking that this was some big kind of day.
I shook my head and then it came to me.
I’ve got Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts!
Rock on.
