Speaking of new surveillance (refer to my earlier "Ol' Internet Trail" post) check out some of these new fangled devices used to keep an eye on the general public. The RoboFalcon (killing only pigeons for now) and Talking Camera Signs in London are already in use. Then there's the new hi-tech Venezuelan Zeppelin, used to spy on n'er-do-wells, is on its way to being a staple in the air in Chavezland. Makes the Patriot Act and those dumb traffic cameras in my hometown seem a little less intrusive... though not much... it all feels a little 1984 meets V for Vendetta to me. I remember seeing some other similar items in CIA specials on the Discovery and History Channels recently -- mostly as it relates to spying and counterintelligence. But some of the stuff in 2057 and the future/convergence of technology and its impact on our lives... man, some of it was pretty scary, like it was right out of a film script or something. How long do you suppose it will be before the Precrime Division of your local Police opens up, like in Minority Report?
Not long, I suspect... how terrible was our Scientologist friend Tom Cruise in Minority Report, by the way? It was bad. He can't be anyone but himself in a film, can he? I give the guy props for his charity work for the 9/11 heroes, but what a terrible actor. Cruise does his whole "legendary" Maverick routine in the 80s classic Top Gun, then follows it up with the same... exact... character... over and over again... in classics like The Color of Money (a.k.a. Top Pool Shark), Cocktail (Top Bartender), Days of Thunder (Top Stockcar Driver), Far and Away (Top Immigrant), A Few Good Men (Top JAG), The Firm (Top Lawyer), Interview with a Vampire (Top Bloodsucker), Mission: Impossible (Top Spy), Jerry Maguire (Top Sports Agent) and Eyes Wide Shut (Top Nymphomaniac). Why do people go and see his movies? Hmmmm..... I pray he doesn't end up in the Watchmen.
Anyway, back to Precrime Departments in the Police... it won't happen here in Cleveland any time soon: The last police report I filled out down there was on a scrap sheet of paper... That leads me to my next post, about the new nine inch nails Year Zero CD I have for review for this week's Cool Cleveland. Want to get primed for that one? Then call this number from the back of the nine inch nails CD and see if it doesn't scare the living heck out of you: The U.S. Bureau of Morality: 866.445.6580.
PCHQ
