Osama Was Unarmed? And Pakistan?

What is going on with these details slowly trickling out about Osama's death. We know that his pictures won't be released, which is probably a good thing. I think it'd get too gruesome if that kind of stuff was leaked to the public and might ignite more anger.

We also heard from Osama's daughter that Osama was unarmed, only his couriers were armed. Was there a need to shoot him in the head?

Finally, the question I want to really ask is what the hell was Pakistan doing? They were right under his nose in a humongous mansion/fortified building right next to a military academy. If that doesn't ignite suspicion... I don't know what does.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110504/ap_on_re_us/us_bin_laden

Celebrating Violence?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=739ZcF4B4Ys

Above is a link to a video of students celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden at Pennsylvania State University (State College, PA). Now, don't get me wrong, I hate bin Laden as much as the next American, but aren't we going a little too far in the way we are celebrating a fellow human being's death? Sure, it's great that we "eliminated" the leader of the most dangerous terrorist group in the world, but I think we are going a bit overboard with our celebrations. When federal prisons across the nation routinely execute death row inmates, college campuses all over the nation do not celebrate. There are some sick, sick people who are lethally injected with potassium choloride and nobody celebrates their deaths. Did Penn State go out and rally when Jeffrey Dahmer or Gary Gilmore was executed? I doubt it. I clearly recognize that bin Laden is a symbol of cruelty to all Americans, and I actually realize that comparing his death to that of Dahmer's or Gilmore's is a bit absurd, but I just wanted to open for discussion how much we really should celebrate the death of this man. He is still a human being, born from parents just like us, married to a woman (or in his case, women), and father of children. I think it's disrespectful to parade around and celebrate that we just shot a man in the head and ended his life. It's wonderful that bin Laden is dead, but I wish our society could have just listened to Obama's address, said a quick "thank god" or "it's about time," and went on with their lives. It's not necessary to riot in the streets and show the world how giddy we are about bin Laden's demise; as I'm sure al-Qaeda members have seen the footage and would love to seek revenge on Americans for not only killing their beloved leader, but brazenly celebrating his murder in the streets of our cities.

USA

Last night, US special forces...

ah screw it, if you don't know already, then you check the class blog a little too much, and the news a little too little.

I thought I'd post this video up for y'all to check out - John Cena announces Bin Laden's death.

I think his language could have been more direct (we didn't compromise Bin Laden to an end, we killed him - guy in the crowd @ 1:04 "But is he dead!?") but its still an inspiring video.

Great job troops, great job CIA, and great job America

Hustle, Loyalty, Respect.

Violent Instrumentals in Drum and Bass

Drum and Bass is a genre of electronic music that is widely considered to be the "father" of dubstep. Like dubstep, DnB is grounded in heavy basslines and crazy synths. However, the music itself reminds me of music that you would play if you were going to be in some sort of crazy violent battle. The drums in the music are almost violent in nature, simply because they are always so fast and seemingly uncontrolled. DnB became popular after hardcore metal and rock had come to full force in their respective audiences, so it seems as though some of the violent themes in hardcore actually transferred over into the DnB scene. Having been to a drum and bass show in Berlin, I know firsthand of what the hardcore DnB fans are like. The show was essentially one big mosh pit, with fans essentially being beaten in pits of ravenous enthusiasm. It makes sense, as the intensity of the music itself has the power to turn collected people into violent animals, simply using instrumentals.

Cowboys vs. Aliens

A recent trip to the cinema served as a reminder for to watch (and probably shake my head in incredulity) this summer’s Cowboys &. Aliens. Despite the respectable names in the cast such as Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, whose presence seems indicative that their careers are temporarily trapped in rut, I can’t quite decide whether Cowboys & Aliens aims to be the typical Hollywood summer action blockbuster a parody of the genre, or even a sly, self-aware recognition of the efforts of classic mockbusters such as Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus, and Snakes on a Train. It seems as if the producers picked these two groups for the sole reason of appealing to the nostalgia factor of old westerns as well as the our preoccupation with super beings from the unknown (c.f. Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, etc.)

With that in mind, I was struck by how consumed the movie industry is with the depiction of massive, apocalyptic natural disaster and similar large catastrophes. Since Hollywood is fairly well attuned to the demands of movie-goers, it seems as if society by large has developed some sort of death wish. From King Kong in the 1930s to the asteroid films Armageddon and Deep Impact in the late 1990s Emmerich’s Independence Day and the Day After Tomorrow, it is clear that we enjoy seeing hundreds, if not thousands, if not millions of other people perish on the big screen. Cowboys & Aliens seems to share a similar sentiment, pitting a presumably highly advanced race of extra terrestrials against a motley crew of dusty westerners, many of whom will probably die in the face of fighting these invaders. Perhaps this is a manifestation of some kind of defense mechanism where we find it hard to watch violence when it hits too close to home, such as Spike’s attempts to rape Buffy. The violence on a large scale dehumanizes the violence and carnage, thereby divorcing it from the value we place in life. At some point, intimate and shocking violence turns into a spectacle where the marginal horror due to additional destruction is small and tempered by the thrills of watching epic battles. With that said, I can say I'm looking forward to the parody of this pseudo-parody. Let's hope it's titled along the lines of Ninja vs. Cowgirls

Spectacle of the Crash

I'll admit to not being a huge fan of Nascar. It's not that I don't respect the twitch skills of the drivers or the tireless dedication of the crew, but I just don't find multiple hours of cars circling an oval track to be terribly exciting. Living half an hour away from the Homestead-Miami Speedway, while being the son and grandson of two of the biggest gear heads, I went to my fair share of races as a kid. Most of these races ended up with me passing out of childhood boredom and being carried back to the car. But every once and a while, there would be a massive crash; nothing wakes you up and excites quite like the screeching and crunching of metal from advanced racing machines.

Crashes are a big selling point for the NASCAR franchise, if not THE major selling point. The only things ever shown on an ESPN recap of a race are the crashes and finishes. There is obviously some kind of primal want in all of us that is obsessed with explosions and crashes so we need some type of entertainment to satiate it, but what makes racing accidents so poignant is their absolute realism. There is no CGI or movie magic, just drivers risking their lives in flying metal death traps. After the tragic death Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR has been taking steps in the right direction safety-wise by creating the car of tomorrow, improving seatbelt technology, and updating the material of walls.

If you need to calm your primal urges, here is an aptly named video

BEST NASCAR CRASH COMP EVER by thpmarc

Violence in Logos

Here's a cool picture of the logos used for some metal bands. Most of them are almost impossible to decipher to someone who is an outsider to the genre, but they're all really fun to look at, because it's interesting to try to understand the character the logo's design imparts onto the viewer. In many ways, the logos themselves serve as an explanation of the genre, even when the word itself is unreadable. The words are obscure and specialized, like the genre itself. They are densely and intricately formed, even as they celebrate chaos. If you look carefully, certain motifs and symbols are echoed in many of the logos. Pentagrams are extremely prominent in this selection of logos, as are the satanic skulls meant to be inscribed within them. Many of the logos are able to work in symbolic violence, such as swords or drips symbolizing blood. The spiked appearances that appear to be a standard for this genre invoke violence, as do the letters that simulate the appearance of wounds themselves (the fifth row has some of these). As someone who doesn't know any of the bands here, I'm interested in knowing if anybody has more familiarity and can identify some of the bands? It's a lot easier to read the letters once you know what you're looking for. All I can read is Gothica Exotica near the bottom right; the rest are indecipherable to me. Perhaps, because these bands cater to individuals who seek to separate themselves from mainstream society, the deliberate obscurity of the lettering serves as a way of forming distinctions between those who can read or understand the band names, and those who can't. They certainly serve to represent the chaos and violence that should be expected in this genre.