"Even if I got rid of all my problems, I'd just go out and get new ones..."

A terrorist, Peter Jackson, and an elephant walked into a bar...
8:16 a.m. on 2004-03-05

So here's today's bit of insanity from The Independent. Ready?

The only man jailed for the events of September 11th has had his conviction quashed by a German court, because the US originally withheld vital evidence from the trial which could, the defence argues, have proved that the defendent knew nothing of the impending attacks.

He will face retrial. And it may be that he is found guilty - not of direct involvement, but of knowing about what his 'friends' were about to do. But whether or not he is guilty, the US are quite clearly guilty themselves of committing a huge travesty of justice. They have no right to withhold evidence from a trial, regardless of any current 'war on terrorism'.

And don't get me started on that whole thing. War on terrorism. Hah! It seems to be an excuse for everything now. There are rumours circulating that the US want to install their own security people in Heathrow, to provide extra screening to anyone arriving the UK.

Not to sound like the Daily Mail here, but get the hell out of our country! I can see no real reason for this 'intervention' other than the US's continuing desire to impress upon the world how dire a state we truly live in. Terrorists are waiting around every corner, ready to steal candy from babies and steal purses from old ladies! Aargh!

Yeah, right. You know how many US citizens in the US were killed last year? Zip. Nada. Not one. In the UK? Nope, no-one.

Maybe, when Bush launches his election campaign with pictures of 9-11, Kerry should respond by pointing this out.

I'm certainly sick to the back teeth of Blair making speeches about how we need to take radical steps to stop terrorists. As far as I can see, my life is not at any greater risk from terrorism than it was before. Well, aside from the fact that Bush and Blair have successfully pissed off the whole of the Middle East. And yet they both use this thing as an excuse to enact all sorts of changes to law.

Wake up people. Terrorism is NOT a huge threat.

Actually, it's a myth, created by our politicans to keep us in a state of fear, to allow them to run slipshod over any damn law they please. Hence Guantanemo Bay, the Patriot Act, and all sorts of other bullshit. Yes, 9/11 was terrible, but it was an abnormality, not the norm. The only people really out to get you are sitting in the White House and in the Houses of Parliament.

In other news... I have booked a holiday. Yup! I am semi-out of my rutness. Well... I have a cool holiday to go on anyways. 16 days in Sri Lanka. Buddhists and elephants, woo-hoo! What else does anyone need?

There was another article in the Independent which caught my eye. Titled 'Bored by the Rings' (how about, bored by that headline?), the author explains how, whilst he appreciates Peter Jackson's genius in creating computer-generated armies, and in depicting castles and lands which are perfectly 'Gothic,' neither Disney-fied nor grim, he criticises the movies for moving away from the characters of the books, and points towards the lack of any Oscar nominations for ROTK as evidence.

I think he's missing some seriously big bits of counter-evidence here. Like, for example, the argument that the reason ROTK had no acting nominations was because all the participants were too damn good for just one individual to be singled out. I mean, sure, Sean Astin was amazing, but so was Viggo, and how can you choose one over the other?

Second, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in love with the movies BECAUSE of the characters. Sure, the battle scenes are pretty stupendous, but in 10 years time when technology has moved on, I'll still be watching my battered DVD copy because the movie makes me weep, laugh, swell with pride. The author noted that PJ prefers to talk about Weta and the incredible achievements there, but he fails to notice the number of times PJ celebrates the acting achievements, lauding Elijah Wood and Viggo and the rest for what they've created. How about considering that LOTR anecdote of how, when Sean and Elijah were filming the Mount Doom sequence, PJ burst into tears?

For me, LOTR is all about the emotion. I'm not going to deny that watching Legolas leap up onto a Heffalump and strike it down in one fluid shot isn't very cool, because it is. But that's not why I, and millions like me, watch the movies.

The author of the article finishes by opining that when the inevitable trilogy DVD box set is released, people will choose the movies over the books. Obviously this isn't true, since the release of FOTR led to sales of LOTR sky-rocketing.

I mean, yes, the movies seem a little more tangible than the books, because whilst Tolkien is dead, those involved with the creation of the movie trilogy are busy getting drunk at fan parties, and hugging anyone in their vicinity, and letting people hold their Oscar. That's the reason I'm a fan - not the special effects, but the one thing PJ can't fake - the characters of the actors.

Listening to: My Life Story - New New Yorker

Quote: ""`This must be Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer, `I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'"

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