DarkObserver, 30. Oktober 2002 um 12:33:49 MEZ

Random surfing

Ok, I did a little web-surfing this morning and found these rather funny and interesting websites:

The first one will take you to a random site on the Web, try it out you'll never know where you might end up

www.randomwebsite.com

The next one takes a rather different approach to reporting about celebities of all sorts, I'm not sure if I should call it "satirical" or not but the 'Hey, it's that guy" section certainly is

www.fametracker.com

Apparently Saddam Hussein gets a lot of e-mail these days, according to this Wired News article Wanna send him a computer virus? Don't bother, others already did it for you.

I found the link to the Saddam story on this website. It's a weblog but it's also featuring, among other things, robots that automatically generate rock music critique or texts bashing left/liberal personalities. Although obviously I don't like the latter the concept is rather funny and it all might be a satire anyway, judging from topics like advice on "America's New War" from a 'Col. Sam Trautman' -really a character from the 'Rambo'-movies.

DarkObserver, 28. Oktober 2002 um 16:08:58 MEZ

Remember Twin Peaks?

I'm an avid fan of director David Lynch and his weird, surreal kind of film-making.

In the 90's of the last century -or millenium if you like the sound of that better- a ground-breaking TV-series introduced a wider audience to his remarkable -and to some- incomprehensible visual style and storytelling :

Twin Peaks.

Back then I sat in front of my television, awed by what was presented in soap-opera format and length but containing so much allusion, meandering plots and sub-plots that you could spend months or years trying to make sense of it all.

Shamefully the series was cancelled after two seasons, because the "average joe" wasn't able to follow events anymore is my guess.

There are still a lot of websites out there, paying tribute to this masterpiece of TV programming. These are two of my favorites:

www.twinpeaks.org

www.twinpeaksgazette.com

Luckily, the pilot episode and the first season are now being released on DVD in Europe and also in the U.S. I think. Let's hope, the 2nd season will follow suit.

The motion picture that was released after the series had ended "Twin Peaks -Fire walk with me" left fans and critics unsatisfied, partly because of lots of cuts made to the material and also because it lacked the sly humor of the TV show: It plunged rather deeply into the to dark side of Twin Peaks instead, but I must say I personally liked that nonetheless. The intensity of some scenes is hardly bearable during a first viewing, because they are subtly loaded with a strange mix of eroticism, desperation and lingering violence. If you've never seen "Twin Peaks", don't start with the movie is my advice.

DarkObserver, 25. Oktober 2002 um 13:21:01 MESZ

My thoughts on the sniper case

It seems as if U.S. police have finally caught the people responsible for the sniper attacks in the Washington area.

What struck me as odd is the fact that they are black. It's well-known that most serial killers are white, single men between 20 and 40. Black serial offenders are pretty rare, as are women.

But then this case lacks the typical markings of the serial killer like the usual carefully selected type of victim fitting the criminals (sexual) fantasies -except maybe for the want of the feeling of power over others.

I know all that from the book "Mind Hunter" by John Douglas who practically invented the technique of psychological profiling while working for the FBI.

There are other motives that can drive someone to crime and it remains to be seen what they were in this.

I admit, that I'd rather wanted the sniper turn out to be one of those white, right-wing, gun-toting militia types with a "my-mom-completely-fucked-up-my-mind" syndrome. Not this time, it seems.

That one of the suspects apparently converted to Islam last year and allegedly made sympathetic comments about the men carrying out the 9/11 plane crashes won't make things easier for Muslims and/or blacks in the States. I sure hope, that this case won't start a new wave of racial/religious violence.

Gun laws in the U.S. are a joke from my European vantage point. If guns weren't so easily obtainable, they wouldn't be readily at hand every time someone goes loco.

The obsession of Americans with guns borders on the grotesque, even the insane!

Here's an example I found on the Web, adequately named Arm the Populace

Check out their offer for the Bushmaster XM-15 rifle -the one used by the sniper- and the "Check here for Wholesale prices for your children" link, both right on the frontpage.