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A Bittersweet Life - Easily the most pointless bit of underworld tinged violence to come out of Korea in the past few years. The main character has no likable attributes, except that the female audience may find the actor attractive. Even suspending disbelief doesn't serve to make the movie's action remotely credible. It was not an unenjoyable film, but it failed to provoke any deep thought at all. The action sequences weren't executed well enough to salvage any good comments about.

The best that can be said is that the design crew saved this piece of cinema from utter mediocrity. Some of the sets were very attractive and set a handsome tone for bloodshed and gun play. If it weren't for the photography and attention to surroundings A Bittersweet Life would be a complete waste of time. It has a big following though, and a lot of fans who would disagree strongly with this negative review.

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Nein Emerging

- I went back to music, or something a lot like it. Plan to upload eventually. It is in fact called Nein Emerging. Have not abandoned "Blood Red Mist," just giving it a major rethink. Writing about a broken family disintegrated my motivation for the work; dark fantasy rears its hideous brain filled appendage once again.

Google Earth photos of the Kumtag Desert in China show gargantuan earth projects in the middle of nowhere. The scale of some of these projects defy normal human perspective. One of them covers approximately two miles of width and four miles of length. The Nazca Lines immediately come to mind when viewing these photos. Of course unlike the ancient Peruvians the Chinese have machinery. Maybe a high ranking party member in Beijing had too much time on their hands and thought it would be fun to mess with the imaginations of Westerners. via Gizmodo.

The OWS Brooklyn Bridge march yesterday

Meanwhile, the occupation of many areas of major American cities has ended, but the Occupy movement won't be changing its name. These protesters have restored hope to some people in the United States that citizen activism is in the middle of a renaissance. No matter what name they take, the fact that so many people care enough to put their lives on the line for the betterment of the common working people of our country is highly admirable. The shortcomings of the movement are far outweighed by the existence of the movement itself. Occupy Wall Street has set a precedent worth more than any other grass roots movement in the past thirty years. As long as people have the knowledge that hordes of fellow citizens hold the same beliefs they do and are willing to take direct action to effect change, then the armor of big money can continue to be worn down. And maybe, just maybe, with continued work and diligence in this vein the tide of economic hopelessness will begin to turn in favor of an expanding middle class and greater opportunities.

Cheers to Occupy supporters nationwide for creating a bright spot on the economic horizon that has been bleak and dark for so long. A big part of that brightening is camaraderie -- an ideological one for those who can't make it out, and a physical one for those on the front lines. They deserve more recognition than simple words can give.

The end of the Internet as you know it is closer than you think. SOPA has a name that belies the horrible vagueness and potential for misuse in the actual bill. It would be more accurate to call the Stop Online Piracy Act the Totalitarian Internet Control Act. Ron Paul and Nancy Pelosi have both stepped forward in opposition to SOPA, and they don't agree about very many things. It will hurt our country far worse than it will help. I have been loathe to speak out against it since normally everything I condemn gets passed and everything I support gets trounced, but this matters too much to remain silent. I'm already bracing for a move to a national dimnet should this piece of legislation become law. The government will not be able to stop those of us determined to remain free of a federal stranglehold on information.

The above photograph was taken by a helicopter drone sent over streets in Poland by protesters there. The little white circles are the tops of police helmets. The protesters wanted to get a better view of police activity by filming it from above. Technology available only to the military and elite police for so long is now becoming more affordable and widespread. Turnabout is fair play. From Infowars, where footage from the helicopter drone is available.