Month: November 2003

Categories
Miscellaneous

Blogging in China a Dangerous Game

China released the “Stainless Steel Mouse” and two other Internet essayists who were detained a year ago for criticizing the government. Stainless Steel Mouse, (the moniker used by Liu Di) is a 23 year old college student in Beijing whose arrest on subversion charges had attracted international attention.

Although the Chinese authorities said she’d be charged with crimes relating to ‘illegal organizations’, no arrest documents were ever issued. Nor was she allowed visits from her family.

CNN Reports that at least a dozen other dissidents who have posted “anti-government” articles on the Web remain incarcerated.

After reading this it really makes me realize how we really do have it good in North America.

Categories
Disney

Roy Disney resigns from Disney, slams Eisner

MiceAge.com shares Walt’s nephew, Roy Disney’s, resignation letter. Roy blames Michael Eisner’s poor leadership and relates point by point reasons how Michael Eisner has failed:

  1. The failure to bring back ABC Prime Time from the ratings abyss it has been in for years and your inability to program successfully the ABC Family Channel. Both of these failures have had, and I believe will continue to have, significant adverse impact on shareholder value.
  2. Your consistent micro-management of everyone around you with the resulting loss of morale throughout the Company.
  3. The timidity of your investments in our theme park business. At Disney’s California Adventure, Paris and now in Hong Kong, you have tried to build parks “on the cheap” and they show it and the attendance figures reflect it.
  4. The perception by all of our stakeholders — consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers — that the company is rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the “quick buck” rather than long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust.
  5. The creative brain drain of the last several years, which is real and continuing, and damages our Company with the loss of every talented employee.
  6. Your failure to establish and build constructive relationships with creative partners, especially Pixar, Miramax, and the cable companies distributing our products.
  7. Your consistent refusal to establish a clear succession plan.
Categories
Miscellaneous

New Media Project

I am finished one of my two new media flash assignments. Anna-Maria said of all the flash stuff she has seen me make she liked it the best – that was before it even had sound! However, don’t get your hopes too high, it’s cool but not my best ever.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Ten More Days!

I’m heading down to Utah in aproximately 10 more days, then after some great fun and partying it’s off to California for more great fun and partying! I’m really excited.

Anna-Maria, it looks like, won’t be leaving for Utah until Sunday. I wish she were still here, but alas, such is life.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Pot Luck Christmas Gift Exchange

Apparently I broke 6 years of tradition tonight. Last year at the Horns Christmas Gift exchange I was “lucky” enough to have received a really ugly doll that has been passed along for years each Christmas. Tonight I missed the party because I had to work and therefore the doll never made it back into circulation. I guess there’s always next year.

Categories
Disney

Big Thunder Mountain Broken By Negligence

Not that we didn’t all know this before, but Disney has now officially stated that the Big Thunder Mountain railway accident last September was caused by poor maintenance.

Leslie Goodman, senior vice president of strategic communications for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts made the statement, “Our own analysis found that the accident was caused by incorrectly performed maintenance tasks required by Disneyland policy and procedures that resulted in a mechanical failure.”

The victim’s parents have made a settlement with Disney for an undisclosed amount of money.

Categories
article technology

Behind the Scenes at Google

Via Slashdot:

Fortune Magazine published a fairly long but tremendously interesting article about Google.

“Instead of the usual exultation over PageRank algorithm and Larry-and-Sergey biographies, we get a different message – is Google growing up, and is trouble brewing at Google? Here’s Fortune’s description of the pre-IPO days: ‘Google has grown arrogant, making some of its executives as frustrating to deal with in negotiations as AOL’s cowboy salesmen during the bubble. It has grown so fast that employees and business partners are often confused about who does what. A rise of stock- and option-stoked greed is creating rifts within the company. Employees carp that Google is morphing in strange and nerve-racking ways.”

Categories
Miscellaneous

What’s really undermining the sanctity of marriage?

From MeFi:

Dahlia Lithwick has an interesting article on Slate commenting on the real threats to marriage in light of Massachusetts Supreme Court’s declaration that same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution. Lithwick lists:

1. Divorce (~43-50% of all US marriages end in divorce)

2. Frivolous marriages (i.e. it is easier to get married than it is to drive a car, buy a gun, buy alcohol, etc.)

3. Birth control (is marriage “only for procreation”?)

4. The various challenges to our time and attention that take away from quality time with our spouses

Categories
Miscellaneous

Flexitarians Don’t Eat Much Meat But They Do Eat Meat

The other day I told my sister, Jackie, that I was an unofficial vegetarian. Basically I meant that while I don’t usually eat very much meat, I am not opposed to it completely. Today I discovered a new term to describe my situation. I am a flexitarian.

flexitarian

(fleks.uh.TAYR.ee.un) n. A person who eats a mostly vegetarian diet, but who is also willing to eat meat or fish occasionally. —adj. (Flexible + vegetarian.)

Categories
Miscellaneous

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