the blog quebecois

Say, here's something our crusadin' Parliamentarians should be investigating:

Two Swiss humanitarian organizations recently examined 20 shooting-centric video games to determine whether they allowed players to break the wartime guidelines laid out by the Geneva Convention -- rules which prohibit torture, destroying "protected objects" (such as churches or mosques), or, say, shooting a bunch of people who are waiting to catch a plane. The games observed, which include 24: The Game, Call of Duty 4 and 5 (we assume they meant Modern Warfare 2) and Metal Gear Solid, were largely panned for allowing the player to simply ignore the Geneva Convention's statutes.

According to a BBC report on the study, the two groups explained that while players of these titles may never become soldiers, these war crime violations could "influence what people believe war is like and how soldiers conduct themselves in the real world."

In short, you should feel bad about your recent airport murder spree in Modern Warfare 2. Not for the moral implications of killing dozens and dozens of innocent people, mind you -- but because it was against the rules.

Well, of course, the rules! I wonder how scrupulous the games are regarding this aspect from the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949):

This provision is based on Article 11, paragraph 3 Database 'IHL - Treaties & Comments', View '1. All treaties \1.2. Articles', of the 1929 Prisoners of War Convention. The obligation which it lays on the Detaining Power is a most important one, particularly in desert areas. On a number of occasions during the Second World War, the International Committee of the Red Cross arranged searches for springs and the laying down of pipes in order to supply internee camps with water (1). Drinking water must be "supplied" by the Detaining Power: but the same is not true of tobacco, which is, however, listed among the articles which must be stocked in canteens (Article 87, para. 1 Database 'IHL - Treaties & Comments', View '1. All treaties \1.2. Articles'). It is mentioned here, although it is not a foodstuff, because experience has shown that for many prisoners tobacco is as necessary as food. Tobacco is not an article of prime necessity; it is even to some extent a poison: many people do completely without it while others may be suddenly deprived of it without suffering physical inconvenience, and even with advantage to their health. But it is a fact that from a psychological point if view tobacco plays a very important part in the life of men in confinement. It calms the nerves of the smokers and helps them to bear their suffering, while it provides non-smokers with a valuable form of currency which enables them to procure other advantages in exchange. Tobacco is not harmful in the way that alcohol is, and the Convention, in placing it among the things like water which are essential for the internees, recognizes the important part played by this harmless narcotic in soothing men's minds and nerves.

If you've been troubled and confused by the Tiger Woods story, this helpful CGI animation (or possibly a Sims extension pack) from a Taiwanese TV station should set things clear. Comments from Digg.

Warning: People speaking Gibberish, or some other foreign language.

Wild Ammo:

Weird, very weird paintings by one Art Lacey. You'll be happy to know they're on eBay for up to $25. Oh, and many feature pancakes on the subjects' heads. I give up.

I was reading a poetry compilation in 1977 and I came across this, which I immediately thought would make a great song. It was by T.S. Eliot, and according to the editor's notes, was one of several poems written for the amusement of his grandchildren, later collected for a book, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939). Little did I suspect that an obscure composer named Andrew Lloyd Webber was apparently lurking outside my bedroom window (because where else would he get the idea?). He then ran off to London, where in 1981 he unveiled the trans-Atlantic blockbuster, Cats.

I am a simple man; I do not ask for much. A tasteful acknowledgement, say, a below-the-marquee credit, such as "Inspired by gnotalex" will do. Oh, and 3.72% of the T-shirt revenues. (They do sell t-shirts at the performances, yes?)

Being one of the approximately three people in Christendom who hasn't seen the stage production; or the movie; or the book; or the puppet show I was of course eager to see how much of my original song survived. Judging by this clip, not much.

Meh. I thought my take was much closer to Eliot's uncompromising rock and roll vision.

So here it is, at least the latter half of the song. (What happened to the first part I can't say. There was a complete version of it recorded around the same time; unfortunately on the defective cassette recorder I had, so it's the aural equivalent of molasses.) Lyrics are in the extended entry.

Don't want to guess why, but photographer Kerry Skarbakka likes to stage pictures of people losing balance or in precarious positions.

With the 'Shower' scene I built the set in my studio and even sent running water through the pipes. Ultimately, this was a very difficult image to make as I had to use my body as sort of a human cantilever. I attached a rope around my waist and repeatedly threw my legs out from underneath myself, flipping completely over. It was one of the most uncomfortable shots I've ever made, giving me one of the worst headaches ever from hitting my head so many times on the side of that bathtub.

A sort of publicity stunt-PSA from Cabbages And Condoms, a (very good, apparently) resort/restaurant/aid agency in Thailand.

George Bush, Queen Elizabeth, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell.

While there, they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth. Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he was finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million
dollars, so Putin writes him a check.

Next Queen Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she was finished the devil informs her that cost is 6 million dollars, so Queen Elizabeth
writes him a check.

Finally George Bush gets his turn and talks for 4 hours. When he was finished the devil informed him that there would be no charge for the call and feel free to call the USA anytime. When Putin hears this he goes ballistic and asks the devil why Bush got to call the USA free.

More of the cheery Yuletide blaze here.

This is an old folk/blues song called variously "Poor Boy," "Po' Boy Blues," and "For God's Sakes, Will You Stop Playing That It's 3 O'Clock In The Morning For Crying Out Loud!" In fact, it's the earliest recording I have, with the date of 1974(?) scribbled in my notebook. (These early tapes are not in exact linear order.) The question mark could mean that I wasn't sure if I'd recorded it in 1974; or that I wasn't sure that 1974 existed at all. Indeed, I'm drawing a blank trying to remember anything of the year.

I think I did a competent enough job on it -- the vocals are somewhat ragged in spots and the guitar playing is clumsy. But when combined with the powerful technique of multirecording it is both ragged and clumsy simultaneously.

The grey cat at the rear seems to have it figured it out, opting for only an upper body workout (or possibly using it as a scratching-post). If you're curious about the title or the music, it's a tribute to OK Go's indie rock hit "Here It Goes Again" of a few years ago, which won every video award in sight.

Hellacopters drummer trashes ice drum set from purity withatwist on Vimeo.

I do not know this band "Hellacopters" nor its former drummer Robban Eriksson. But he plays with an icy precision.

The name "purity withatwist" appears to be that of the videographer. Here's a short video on the making of it (and the drum kit), for a promotion by Icehotel, a Swedish franchiser of bars built of ice.

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a Birkenstock stamping on a human face -- forever.

.

Well, not for the camera, I suspect, once the bird figured out he'd been punked.

Via The Presurfer

"Is that it? Is that all there is?"

This was written in the spring of 1978 and recorded on my way back to Canada; more specifically, at the Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal, where I spent a few days. I don't remember much of my room, but it had hardwood floors, and very good acoustics. (I didn't even think to request the John Lennon Suite, where he and Yoko held their "bed-in" and recorded "Give Peace A Chance" some years before.)

As for the song -- typical atrocious, overwrought lyrics, but my guitar playing was improving. (Not that I had previously had set the bar very high in that regard.)

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Warning: Music (and language within song).

Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after two days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn’t realize that it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of the many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn’t take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard.

Snopes.com:

Christmas carols and other holiday songs, rife as they are with seldom-heard words and phrasings and clever wordplay, are fertile fields for the sowing of mondegreens - especially when children, with their limited vocabularies, are involved. (We note that Mondegreens are based upon a genuine misunderstanding of lyrics, a distinctly different phenomenon than the deliberate creation of parodic lyrics such as "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg," or "We three kings of Orient are, tried to smoke a rubber cigar.")

to all of you and I hope the season brings you joy. I'm going to be doing a lot of running around in the next few days, so I probably won't be posting again until the New Year

Wonderful Christmassy picture courtesy of b3ta. That'll cure the damned chimney-spelunker.