Bomb threat in the Student Center
As I am writing this, I am on the sidewalk with my back on Partridge Hall, live blogging this stupid bomb threat and living off of my cell phone for updates from my paper staff.
I know the police have to take these threats seriously, but this is just dumb. It’s either someone trying to get attention, or someone trying to get out of a final or a meeting. These things just inconvenience us all and waste the time and wear on the patience of law enforcement staff. They don’t want to play hall monitor to you and you don’t want to deal with it either.
Who ever is putting in these bogus threats I really hope you get caught and punished to the fullest extent. This is ridiculous.
Pelican
Originally uploaded by Matt McCullough
According to us, the paer was started in 1928 and was first cled the pelican
Why I Probably Won’t Be Voting In 08
It seems I can’t go on digg these days without seeing 50 stories about Clinton VS Obama and how mainstream media is messing up the debates. But really, the media isn’t the problem in this election. Your votes will be tampered with, and here’s how.
This video is a bit on the long side but it brings the point across. This may just be one model of an e-vote machine, but they are pretty much all flawed, and election officials refuse to address it. Hmmm I wonder why?
I’ve always said that security and convenience work on a spectrum, where they are the extremes. You can’t have one without forfeiting the other. And for something serious like, oh I dunno, The election for the “leader of the free world”, we should probably choose security, not convenience.
An Open Letter To Movie Goers
Dear asshole in my peripheral vision,
Turn off your damn bluetooth headset. The blinking light is more annoying than if you were actually talking on it.
Dear bitch to my right,
Stop predicting plot twists and than bragging to your friends that you “told them so”. They can figure out the movie on their own.
Dear casual martial arts fan behind me.
Everyone knows about Drunken Master style. You aren’t anything special
Sincerly,
Matthew McCullough
Casual and Humble Movie Goer
Why you should watch Tokusatsu
As many of you already know, I am a big fan of Tokusatsu. Which for most people, can best be explained as “The Power Rangers” and related shows, in their original Japanese forms. From Wikipedia:
Tokusatsu (特撮?) is a Japanese word that literally means “special effects.” It is primarily used to refer to live-action Japanese film and television dramas that make use of special effects.
The term “tokusatsu” is a contraction of the Japanese phrase “tokushu satsuei” (特殊撮影?), meaning “special photography”. In production, the special effects director is given the title of “tokushu gijutsu” (特殊技術?), Japanese for “special techniques” or “tokusatsu kantoku” (特撮監督?), which is Japanese for “special effects director”, the title usually used by English language productions.
Tokusatsu entertainment is often science fiction, fantasy, or horror, but movies and TV shows in other genres can sometimes be classified as tokusatsu as well. The most popular types of tokusatsu are kaiju monster movies (the Godzilla and Gamera film series), superhero TV serials (the Kamen Rider and Metal Heroes series), and mecha dramas (Giant Robo). Some tokusatsu television programs combine several of these subgenres (the Ultraman and Super Sentai series).
Tokusatsu is one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment, but most tokusatsu movies and television programs are not widely known outside Asia. In recent years, however, tokusatsu has begun to develop a small but loyal and growing fanbase outside of Japan
My fasination started of course when I was in like kindergarten, when my favorite shows were Power Rangers, VR Troopers, Big Bad Beetle Brogs, etc. These shows are classic, and I don’t care how old you are, You can still go back and watch your favorite shows from when you were a kid. But it wasn’t until recently that I discovered, in the true magnificence of the internet, that these shows had been imported VIA fansubs.
I had watched fansubed anime before (Ragnarok the Animation), but the thought had never crossed my mind that people were fansubbing live action shows, let alone the originals of my favorite kids shows! I always knew that Power Rangers was adapted from a Japanese TV show, because every time they morphed, the footage suddenly got darker, the fighting suddenly got much more intricate, and the character stances suddenly changed. But watching the original footage, with the original characters and story lines, it was like my favorite TV show had been redone and taken to the next level.
Super Sentai still reaches out to the same audience in Japan that Power Rangers tries to reach here. The main difference I suppose, is that they aren’t taking an original show and trying to re-work it for an American audience. It’s the original work (always better) for a Japanese audience. Which think is better, because here all parents do is submit complaints to the FCC that their kid’s shows are too violent / homosexual. Really Power Rangers these days might as well be Barney the Dinosaur fighting off the boogey man with huge explosions
RE: Montclair State Citadel Criticism
So I’ve been receiving a lot of flack about my last entry. Unfortunately most of it is about the composition of the pictures, instead of the content. Yes they are over exposed. With all the excitement of the day, and everything, I forgot to take the ISO down from 1600. I can bring the shadows out in photoshop before they go into the paper, but yes, it was bad photography. I admit it, so you can all eat my shorts now. Hindsight is 20/20 folks.
The entry was merely my take on the whole situation. Yes it was excessive, but if they were really expecting something (and not just showing up for time and a half pay) they should have been guarding the 2 entrances that I was able to “infiltrate” successfully. Nobody will ever announce their attack on a school like this. VT was a complete surprise, and so was Columbine and everything else. I really think this was more of a show for the media, than an actual lockdown of campus.
I should have been a primary suspect, because I have a class in the room that the note was left in. So why wasn’t I searched, and why was I able to walk off of campus and back on again with no body stopping me? And the campus IDs don’t mean shit from a glance. They stopped putting the semester stickers on them a few years ago, so now you can’t even tell if the person is a valid student or not. My ID is the same one I first got 4 years ago, who is to say that I haven’t graduated already and was coming back to extract revenge?
Bottom line is, yes it was a lot of force and a lot of guns for a very uneventful day. But the administration knows the campus map just as well as us undergrads, and yet I was able to find big gaping holes in the “stepped up” security. It shouldn’t have happened.
Montclair State Citadel
So today there was a threat against campus. MSC pulled out all the stops to keep the campus safe. Here’s a look at how my day has been so far.
Heres me leaving the apartment. I have my gym bag and backpack, along with my camera and headphones. I hope the cops don’t think my gym shorts are deadly weapons.
Next I walked down Clove Road and onto campus. Heres some cops keeping the Child Care center safe.
No one at the Village or Clove Road though. That makes me feel safe.
Here I am past Checkpoint Charlie The Clove Road Entrance. Nobody checked either of my bags, just an ID flash. I say ID flash because they weren’t checking anything. It’s just a piece of plastic. A piece of plastic that all the alumni keep after they graduate. Again, an overwhelming sense of security.
After that, I walked down to Quinn road to take more pics. Here’s the snipers on top of Bohn.
Here’s Police HQ in lot 22.
There wasn’t much going on at the Quinn road entrance, so I walked north up Valley road. When I walked back onto campus at freeman, I got ID flashed again. This officer on the left was the only person who looked through my bags all day. I just had my camera bag then.
But, then when I walked down to the Newman Catholic center, this is what I found.
NOTHING! I was literally walking onto campus, no bag check, no ID flash. I even walked past these officers, right near the top of the walkway. They didn’t even ask to see anything.
After that I decided to see how well the President’s house was guarded. She makes more money that G.W. Bush you know, and he has the secret service. I’m sure her house had to be on extra lock down.
NOPE! Then I went and took a look at the Montclair Heights train station. Surely, there must be a police presence there.
Sadly no, but wait, whats this? I walked across the street and back onto campus. No cops?
This patrol vehicle saw me, didn’t stop.
As did these guys.
So for the second time today, I’ve walked onto a locked down campus, with no ID flash or bag check. After that, I decided it was time to work my way back to the office. I went up to the top of the Red Hawk Deck. This officer from WPU stopped me and said no one was allowed on 8. apparently 7 is ok though.
Can you see the snipers in this picture?
Here they are!
And to perfectly capture the mood of the day, My roommate Dan…
..Wearing a bullseye.
Heres some bonus pics to make you feel extra safe.
And my favorite. The kid in blue was wearing a Seton Hall shirt. Obviously a terrorist.
HAVE A SAFE AND SECURE DAY!
Messing around with HDR
So it dawned on me today that I should try out HDR photography, because apparently it’s very easy, and the results are fantastic.
I didn’t have my tripod in the office, so I just went out to Bobby’s desk and took 3 shots. Here is the after:
I think I could definitely have some fun with it once I learn all the settings.
Reggie & The Full Effect – Congratulations Smack and Katy
Girl, where’s your head full of lead?
Can’t you see what you’re doing to me?
Wipe that disgrace off your face
Look and see what you’ve done to me
Girl, you look bored
I wish everything about the danger wouldn’t make you such a stranger
So what’s the deal?
Don’t you feel what i’m dealing with?
But it’s alright
Girl, come on, I’ll show you how to deal with this.
But not tonight cause…
Girl, you look bored
I wish everything about the danger wouldn’t make you such a stranger
Hold me so close
I can tell you have the best intentions, one of those simple inventions
Never a dull situation, we could just stay on vacation
Never start an argument with you
Something I won’t do
Girl, you look bored
I wish everything about the danger wouldn’t make you such a stranger
Hold me so close
I can tell you have the best intentions, one of those simple inventions
Now that I have your attention
Best seats in the house
Originally uploaded by Matt McCullough
We got the last 5 tickets in the house. Literally
