Delicious LiveJournal Links for 4-14-2009

[andrewducker]

• The real reason why developers are awkward.
  An interesting thesis that has some merit. I don't think it's more than part of the story though.
  (tags: psychology coding geek people)
• Amazon calls mistake 'embarrassing and ham-fisted'
  "Many books have now been fixed and we're in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future."
  (tags: amazon amazonfail)
• What happens if you drop a cannonball into Mercury?
  Watch and see
  (tags: science video physics)
• Da Fug? Jeff is Enslaved by Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye
  I've been looking forward to volume 2 for a long time. I must dig out volume one for a re-read while I wait for the trade to come out...
  (tags: grantmorrison comics)
• Alistair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders
  A Mike Resnick short story. That manages to read like a holdover from 1950s SF, but seems somehow much more modern. Recommended.
  (tags: sf short_story)
• How the government uses dirty data to legislate morality
  Or, in some cases, no data at all.
  (tags: research government statistics UK censorship law morality)
• Attempted rape used for laughs
  I had felt tempted by The Boat That Rocked. I now feel rather revolted.
  (tags: movies RichardCurtis rape)

Comments

[lizzie-and-ari.livejournal.com]

Are you judging The Boat That Rocked purely on Richard Herring's opinion of it?

[lizzie-and-ari.livejournal.com]

(because that seem very out of character)

[andrewducker]

So far, yes. If someone wants to tell me that it _doesn't_ have an attempted rape scene played for laughs then I'm very happy to be better informed.

[lizzie-and-ari.livejournal.com]

By broad definition, yes, it is attempted rape.

But:

1)it's a tiny scene within an epic film and although I didn't find that scene particularly funny, it's also certainly not reflective of the film as a whole.

2) the attempt is so ludicrous and obviously entirely not going to succeed, which makes it not a genuine attempt. The attempted rape is not played for laughs. The complete ludicrousness of the situation is played for laughs.

3) It's a highly characatured (sp?) film, particularly with regards to women, sex etc. It is also potentially incredibly offensive to lesbians, glamourises casual sex and drug taking and encourages severe bullying. But it's not a soap opera or a real life drama or a film designed to be looked up to as an inspiring guide on how to live you life. It's a comedy. All of these things happen for a reason within the context of a story, set over 40 years ago.

I really enjoyed the film as a whole, but I'm not saying you necessarily would/should or that it's not valid for some people to regard it as offensive. It seem very unlike you to read one person's opinion of something and take that opinion on as your own without doing any further research. I was just very surprised given that you normally seem to research points fairly meticulously.

[andrewducker]

I don't have a problem with casual sex and drug taking :->

I can totally see that a single instance of something doesn't have to ruin a whole film for people, and that it might be something that most people will laugh off, but it's something I feel quite sensitive about. I don't have a problem with other people seeing it and enjoying it, and I certainly enjoy all sorts of things that other people might find offensive, I just personally find it offputting as a subject of comedy.

[erindubitably.livejournal.com]

Speaking of supposedly funny rape in comedies...

[andrewducker]

Yeesh. Cheers for that.

I think the first time I got incensed about that kind of thing was probably this:
http://slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com/485682.html

I find other people's internet rants very educational :->

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Erin and me were both a bit thrown by that being the first major gag of the film, and slightly concerned about where it was going. It was so utterly silly and inept though that it was hard to stay terribly mad at.

Secondly and more importantly, it seems to be to be of note that Nick Frost's character is repellent and is not portrayed sympathetically at all - I don't think we're meant to think the incident is just 'a bit of a laugh', and the poor lad that's sucked into the idea is not at all keen on it. I found sections of American Psycho hilarious despite its portrayal of horrific violence towards and treatment of women - and I'm quite sure I was meant to. There's a difference between something being played for laughs as a minor incident and something that has a certain (black or otherwise) comedic aspect to its portrayal that is in itself nonetheless a disgraceful act. I think Richard Herring is confusing one with the other.

Mostly, I do think it was a little close to the edge, and women weren't exactly given the best showing in the film. But then again, neither were the men. There are very few of them that we're supposed to actually like, as far as I can tell.

Finally, I think my distaste at some of the attitudes displayed in the film was somewhat assuaged by the determination of our fresh-faced young virgin to have safe sex, regardless of his desperation and morally loose surroundings.

There are plenty of reasons not to bother with the film - although I enjoyed it it was far from perfect. But I think Richard Herring's mostly just being a pernickerty dickhead as usual.

[andrewducker]

Cheers for that. Gives me some more clarity. If it's someone who is clearly repellent then I'm a lot happier with it. Still won't be going to see it, but that's largely because I've not heard any raving reviews.

[broin.livejournal.com]

It's a bad film. But it was no more attempted rape than Cyrano de Bergerac.

I liked the developer article. Last summer, I worked as a system tester for a few months. So for a few months, very little contact with my team beyond IMs and mails, very little contact in an office where everyone was working on their own project, and lots of time spent learning and improving my skills. The work also needed lots of eye-for-detail stuff, obviously. So long hours spent just *staring*.

Most evenings, I went home headachey and tired, had problems stringing sentences together, and just spent a few more hours online.

Now, I have a nice job with lots of sociability, varied tasks (from financial analysis and simple database work to carrying things), and feel better.

So mebbe coders should only do the job part time. And spend the rest of the week dog walking. :)

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Excellent aticle about government data. Should be required reading for MPs.

Reminds me of that old joke: I'm into sadomasochism, necrophilia and bestiality. Can anyone recommend a good lawyer? ;-)