Since one of my favorite online pursuits is reading webcomics, it only seems natural that I share the good, the bad and the ugly, as I see it, with you. Just remember, I'm not a critic or a journalist. If you get confused or go cross-eyed after reading my rants, well, them's the breaks.
For this first installment, I'll begin with my unqualified favorite - MegaTokyo. MegaTokyo is a bit hard for me to describe. Part manga, part gamer comic, but stretching the boundaries of both. Alternating between moments of deep reflection and sheer lunacy (sometimes in the same strip), Piro keeps me coming back for more.
The story revolves around two American gamers (Piro and Largo) who somehow find themselves on a flight to Tokyo. After generally enjoying themselves for a day or two, they realize they don't have enough money to get home. Stranded in Tokyo, they take up residence and try to get through day to day, with each being a bit more bizzare than the last.
I'm not hardcore into manga or anime like some people, but I've started to develop an appreciation for it. I am big into videogaming, however. What's neat about MegaTokyo is that it bridges both worlds and fills in the gaps quite nicely.
My admittedly poor description doesn't do any justice to this gem. Check it out - MegaTokyo is l33t, d00d ;-) With updates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it's definitely worth a read.
Monday, September 29, 2003
DING! DING! Round 3... let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuumble!
The AP (via boston.com) is reporting this evening that, in order to counter judicial attacks on the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Communications Commission is stepping in to take over the list from the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC was blocked by a court order last week by a federal judge in Denver who stated that it is his opinion that the registry is unconstitutional. Since the judge's order only applies to the FTC, however, the FCC claims that as the enforcer of telecommunication regulations they also have a right to enforce the list. In effect, they've flipped the courts an executive bird, so to speak.
Earlier today, President Bush signed Congress' bill from last week explicitly authorizing the FTC to enforce the list. The FTC still has to deal with the most recent court order before it can implement the law.
w00t! Who says you need to watch pro wrestling to see some serious smackdown! It's not every day that you see both the executive *and* the legislative branches open a serious can o' whoop-ass on the judiciary.
'Bout time, too. Just about everyone I know is tired of telemarketers pestering them at all hours of the day. Hey, DMA, you can run but you can't hide. Congress and the Prez has you in their sights!
The FTC was blocked by a court order last week by a federal judge in Denver who stated that it is his opinion that the registry is unconstitutional. Since the judge's order only applies to the FTC, however, the FCC claims that as the enforcer of telecommunication regulations they also have a right to enforce the list. In effect, they've flipped the courts an executive bird, so to speak.
Earlier today, President Bush signed Congress' bill from last week explicitly authorizing the FTC to enforce the list. The FTC still has to deal with the most recent court order before it can implement the law.
w00t! Who says you need to watch pro wrestling to see some serious smackdown! It's not every day that you see both the executive *and* the legislative branches open a serious can o' whoop-ass on the judiciary.
'Bout time, too. Just about everyone I know is tired of telemarketers pestering them at all hours of the day. Hey, DMA, you can run but you can't hide. Congress and the Prez has you in their sights!
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Hooray for Congress!
I can't believe I'm actually saying that. On the heels of yesterday's story where an Oklahoma federal judge struck down the National Do-Not Call List, this story on Yahoo! News (via Slashdot ) reports that *both* houses of Congress overwhelming passed a bill to back the FTC's creation of the list, giving them explicit authority.
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen them collectively move so fast on a similar issue. I'm a little speechless, so I'll quote a couple of the players:
"This legislation got to the House floor faster than a consumer can hang up on a telemarketer at dinnertime," said Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey.
And my favorite, from Louisana Rep. Billy Tauzin,"We should probably call the bill 'This Time We Really Mean It Act' to cure any myopia in the judicial branch,"
Of course, the DMA continues to whine, but their days are numbered, IMHO.
UPDATE -- Thu Sep 25, 11:30pm: AAARGH!!! The list has been struck down --*again* -- this time by a judge in my own backyard, according to MSNBC.
What *is* it with these judges? While I can see some of the concerns that this new judge has, I still have a hard time swallowing the fact that telephone harassment (and in many cases it *is* harassment as they simply won't accept 'no' for an answer) is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment.
Oh, well. Off to appeals court we go...
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen them collectively move so fast on a similar issue. I'm a little speechless, so I'll quote a couple of the players:
"This legislation got to the House floor faster than a consumer can hang up on a telemarketer at dinnertime," said Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey.
And my favorite, from Louisana Rep. Billy Tauzin,"We should probably call the bill 'This Time We Really Mean It Act' to cure any myopia in the judicial branch,"
Of course, the DMA continues to whine, but their days are numbered, IMHO.
UPDATE -- Thu Sep 25, 11:30pm: AAARGH!!! The list has been struck down --*again* -- this time by a judge in my own backyard, according to MSNBC.
What *is* it with these judges? While I can see some of the concerns that this new judge has, I still have a hard time swallowing the fact that telephone harassment (and in many cases it *is* harassment as they simply won't accept 'no' for an answer) is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment.
Oh, well. Off to appeals court we go...
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Court disconnects national "do not call" list
A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission has no authority to set up a national "do not call" list, in a story published at CNN (via Metafilter).
Ok, let me get this straight -- a bunch of telemarketers are claiming they have a constitutional right to interrupt my dinner, on a phone line I paid for, to demand that I buy something from them?
I don't think so, Tim.
Apparently, this judge feels that the rights of a bunch of sleazy sales droids trump those of the millions they harass daily. I wonder if he'd think differently if he were the one forever getting dinnertime pitches for newspapers, mortgages, and long distance service...
Ok, let me get this straight -- a bunch of telemarketers are claiming they have a constitutional right to interrupt my dinner, on a phone line I paid for, to demand that I buy something from them?
I don't think so, Tim.
Apparently, this judge feels that the rights of a bunch of sleazy sales droids trump those of the millions they harass daily. I wonder if he'd think differently if he were the one forever getting dinnertime pitches for newspapers, mortgages, and long distance service...
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Oooh... shiny...
Well, I've moved the site over to Blogger - my thanks to the wonderful people at Pyra and Google for providing this service. Hopefully it'll make it easier to stay updated more than once every few months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)