A Primer for Western Films

The best way to look at this absolutely massive genre is by period. Not necessarily looking at the periods in order (with one exception, noted below), but looking at films from a broad selection of periods.

Period 1: The American Golden Age. This is when westerns were huge, a period dominated by the likes of John Ford and John Wayne. It's the period with the most films, but also the most shit. That's not to imply it isn't a period worth exploring, however. Some of the best westerns ever made come from this era.

The Searchers One of John Ford and John Wayne's best collaborations, a tragic film about racism, obsession, and unspoken love. It can be a challenging film sometimes, but is without a doubt one of the greatest westerns (and films) ever made.

The Man who Shot Liberty Vallance James Stewart and John Wayne, again directed by Ford, and again one of the greatest films ever made, this one a look at heroism, violence, and American progress.

High Noon an early revisionist western, controversial in its time. It plays more like a Shakespeare drama then a western, and it isn't quite on the level of the two above, but still very good.

Johnny Guitar an absolutely incredible Joan Crawford stars in this weird, cheesy, beautifully colored feminist western. Not necessarily a masterpiece, but essential viewing to understand the massive range of this period, when everyone was making westerns.

Rio Bravo The last entry from me with the Duke. This is the western equivalent of The Avengers. Take that how you will.

Period 2: Spaghetti Westerns. The Italian response. Violent, weird, and far more subversive than their American predecessors. You've already seen the two best.

A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, the first two entries in the Dollars trilogy are also essential viewing.

Django Not as well written as Leone's efforts, this uber-violent shoot em' up western is a ton of fun, and features some awesome set design.

Period 3: American Revisionist Westerns. In the 60s, the Italians seemed to seize the genre, presenting a much more violent, darker view of the American west. In the 70s, America took back the genre for one last hurrah, taking inspiration from the violence and politics of the Spaghetti westerns.

The Wild Bunch is the essential film of this period. Blood soaked, thrilling, and tragic, this is Sam Peckinpah's great eulogy to the west.

The Outlaw Josey Wales This film directed by Eastwood feels like a Spaghetti western shot in the States. Not as radical as the other films of this section, but still quite good.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Robert Altman's no hold's barred iconoclastic assault on every notion of the west anyone has ever held dear. The only film that I would call beautiful because of how shitty it looks.

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is a controversial pick, and you have to get the director's cut, but this is one of the saddest, most powerful westerns ever made. Absolutely stunning, and nearly on par with the legendary The Wild Bunch by the same director.

Period 4: The Death of American Exceptionalism. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, many of the ideals of the Cold War that espoused an old American greatness gave way. There are not many films in this period, and to be appreciated they really must be seen after you have a good knowledge of the first three periods, as these tear in, no holds barred, to every idea of the old west.

Unforgiven is the film to watch from this period. Directed and starring Eastwood, this is Eastwood lamenting the empty violence of the early days of his career, and the senselessness of the American frontier. It's hard to express just how important this film is.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford this is one of my favorite films of all time. It might not be yours. You might hate it. It's too long, too slow, too vague. It drifts through its running time with little violence or clear progress. It's a film about passion and drive focused on characters who have long given up their passions. It's a sad film. It's a film about killing your heroes. About letting old notions of glory die with age and time. When it was released, it was almost unnoticed. It's getting a new look now though, and I dare say in a decade or two it will be considered alongside the likes of The Searchers, Unforgiven, or The Wild Bunch.

Finally,

Slow West just came out earlier this year, to little real notice. It's a film lost in space, directed by a Scott, starring an Aussie and an Irishman, and shot in New Zealand. It's a romance western about the folly of romance in a violent world.

This is way longer than I meant it to be, but I hope it helps a little. I love westerns, and I'm always glad to see someone getting into the genre for the first time.

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Jake the cat

Hurry over to Sunfrog and get your Jake the Cat shirt!

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Explained

 is a multi-layered deal whose particulars have just been agreed upon by the twelve participating countries. Its stated purpose is to reduce tariffs - taxes on bringing your goods into a country or sending them out - and therefore encourage industry by making it cheaper for importers and exporters to conduct business between these countries. Its other stated goal is to create a set of easy rules that businesses can live by when dealing between these countries.

The TPP is far more complex than that, however. Its subtextual function is to serve as a foundation from which to spread that set of easy rules to other Asian nations, with an eye to preventing China from setting standards among these countries first. The Obama administration is concerned that it's either "us or them" and that a Chinese-led trade agreement would set rules that American businesses would find problematic.

So what does it mean for you? Let's assume you are a citizen of one of the participating nations.

• A deal like the TPP involves identifying which tariffs affect market access and competition by creating a market that favors some producers over others instead of letting price, quality and consumer preference decide. For instance, it is very expensive to bring milk in to Canada, so even if you could sell your milk at a lower price, you will have to account for the cost of the tariffs, which will make your milk uncompetitive on the Canadian market. New Zealand and the US both want to see Canadian dairy tariffs lowered so that their milk producers can sell on the Canadian market more easily.
• When the market can decide and the barriers are down, we expect to see open markets offering more products/services than could previously have been made available. Prices should go down for certain products due to increased competition.
• A deal with as many players as the TPP rarely functions on one-to-one trades; instead, each party has a list of things that they want and needs to go shopping around to find ways to get their positions filled - a chain of deals wherein, for instance, Japan pressures Canada on the milk issue so that they can in turn see motion on their own priority, such as car parts. This is why the negotiations have taken so long.
• The TPP wants to standardize rules for trade among its participants, which cover a lot more than just tariffs and quotas. Other issues that have to be considered and negotiated include intellectual property rights and protections; rules regarding patents; environmental and labor regulations. In short, it tries to set standards on how business is conducted, both internationally and at home. It does this because uneven practices can result in uncompetitive market access.
• This standardization is hoped to improve labor and environmental laws across the board, as the need to conform forces countries that have been lagging behind in their standards to catch up with the rest of the group. By setting rules that apply equally to the US as to Malaysia, it is hoped that people will be better off and enjoy more protections in their working environment.
• To that end, the TPP will also have a process in place for what happens when someone breaks the rules - a tribunalwhich will decide based on terms laid out by the TPP instead of following the laws of any one government. This helps ensure that foreign companies are treated fairly and can conduct business under the same standards and with the same opportunities.

Tl;dr the TPP is out to make business between these 12 countries more fair, predictable and even. It should provide more choice in goods and services and more bang for your buck, while making labor standards improve for people outside of North America who may be operating under less protections than a Canadian or American enjoys.

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What are some concerns?

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What are the serious issues?

• The TPP has been negotiated in heavy secrecy. While it's easy to see why keeping such a huge deal secret from the public is problematic, it is also reasonable for governments to work on negotiations and come to terms before letting elected officials decide if the end result is in the public interest. It lets others at the bargaining table know that what is said there won't be changed by a public opinion poll two days later, and it has been argued that such secrecy is therefore necessary to make these meetings work at all.
• The TPP has a scope that concerns many parties as it addresses trade and industry regulations on a 21st century scope - everything from upcoming cancer drugs to internet regulations to, yes, a cup of milk in Canada is all being covered by the same negotiation. It is a reasonable concern to say that the number of issues being covered in the same deal will make it hard for the public to reasonably read, understand and decide on.
• The removal of tariffs provides new foreign opportunities for business, but it also means that industries which rely on a protected domestic market will become exposed. It is not unreasonable to suggest that any given country is trading away the success of industry A for success in industry B, which, if all things are equal, should come down to a zero-sum game. Economics does not, of course, work like that, but it's still a fair question to examine.
• While supporters of the TPP say that it will encourage countries to improve their standards and reform, those elements are at their strongest during the negotiation - and the heat on issues such as human trafficking and human rights abuses have been sidelined as pressure to secure a deal of any kind has mounted on major nations facing upcoming elections. What should have been an opportunity to engage and demand reform as a condition of involvement in such a major global trade deal has been left by the wayside, a casualty of ambition.
• While the TPP has been kept secret from the public, large corporate interests have had a seat at the table throughout the process. These businesses have an obligation to make as much money as possible for their shareholders. This means that a great many of the deals that form the basis of the TPP have been negotiated with an eye to advantaging those businesses, potentially at the expense of the average citizen.
• "Free trade" as the TPP proposes is nothing new - globalization has already happened, and we are all the beneficiaries. What this deal will offer is not for the average citizen, who might see a few price differences on common products - it is for the large corporate interests who will have more freedom to move jobs and production to areas where it is cheaper to conduct business.
• There should be no such areas within the TPP zone, but part of the negotiation involves exceptions in place specifically to help these companies. The consistent standards that the TPP desires to set? Corporations would like to see those standards lowered - it is in their best interest to have access to a labor, property and capital market where they pay the least amount of money to conduct their business.
• Tariffs exist in part to protect domestic industry - jobs - from the vagaries of a global market. If cheaper US milk is sold in Canada, Canadian milk producers will have to choose whether to sell their own products more cheaply or else close down and go out of business. If it is not possible for these farmers to sell at a lower price and still remain profitable, then that choice is not a choice at all.
• The TPP's intellectual property provisions, which have been the subject of several leaks, are harsher than existing law, a product (again) of corporate involvement in the deal. They aim to crack down on several ways people use intellectual property, fairly and otherwise, and their scope means there is significant possibility for abuse and harrassment.
• More damagingly, the TPP applies those laws to drugs with an eye to preventing cheaper medicine from being available on the market - products that by rights should be subject to competition as their prices are heavily inflated beyond the cost of production.
• The TPP will offer a method by which companies can attack laws that affect them, suing governments through a tribunal for such offenses as trying to protect youth from cigarette marketing images, trying to protect the environment from dangerous industrial contaminants, or even refusing to pass laws removing or suppressing regulations where beneficial to corporate activity. These are all issues that already happen under various trade deals.
• We, the public, and our elected representatives will not have a great deal of time or means to push back against this trade deal if we dislike it. The text will only be released when absolutely necessary (a period of 60 days in the US) and steps have already been taken to ensure that elected officials cannot muck about with the deal. While this is logical (it would not be fair to negotiate terms and then change them back at home without discussing it), it does mean that instead of being able to debate and dissect we're committed to an all-or-nothing deal.

Tl;dr the TPP puts local industries at risk, threatens jobs, attacks your privacy, and you may be looking at paying more for important medications (either directly or through your government). It's being sold as lower prices and better standards across the board, but lower prices are meaningless by themselves - purchasing power is what you really want - and there is no guarantee that standards need to be raised instead of lowered.

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How to Choose a Video Card

Nvidia consumer cards (Geforce) are easy. They have two lines of cards, desktop and mobile. Both are separate, but follow the same naming scheme. Difference is the mobile ones (meant to be built into laptops, obviously) have a M at the end.

The cards may be called GTX or GTS, that actually doesn't matter, what matters is the three digit number. the first digit is the generation. Current model nvidia desktop cards are designated with 900 numbers. they skipped the 800s for some reason, so the previous generation were the 700s.

The last two digits tell you the intended audience and use case for the card. Generally, the larger the last two digit number is the more powerful is the card.

Up to x30 or so (630, 730, 930) you've got low end and/or passive cards meant to be used in office PCs.

x40 to x60 is the mainstream line for general users and casual gamers.

x70 to x90 is the premium line for hardcore gamers.

Generally, at least the x80 and x90 cards come at a disproportionate premium, which some people are willing to pay for bragging rights. The sweet spot in terms of computing power per dollar has traditionally been with the x60 or x70 card of every generation. Right now the 970 is considered to be the sweet spot.

Sometimes, there will be a card that has a Ti at the end. Like 760Ti. Nvidia uses these to sell cards that are a bit better than their base cards but not as good as the next higher card. Like, 760 < 760Ti < 770.

Before they started the 3 digit numbering scheme, they had a 4 digit numbering scheme. Which essentially works the same, except there's an extra zero at the end. But all 4-digit type cards from nvidia are now horribly outdated, so no need to bother about those, but it's useful to know from a historical perspective.

Also, Nvidia often rebranded cards into the next generation. For instance, if I remember right, the GTX 670 became the GTX 750. So they move them down a notch or two in the scheme of the new generation and keep selling them. They haven't done that in every generation, but a few times if it worked (i.e. no big processor type change, just a speed bump on generation transition)

Also, sometimes they have a very very top end card at an outrageous price, which I suppose is the video card equivalent of a large pickup truck in a city. Expensive to buy and to run (electricity...), useless due to bottlenecks in other places, but I suppose good for extra super bragging rights or something. Currently that card is called Titan.

In addition, for AMD these days it is pretty easy as well. They have 3 lines of cards; the r5, r7 and r9 line. R5 are low end cards, r7 are mid segment cards and the r9 series are the high end cards.

The number after the r5/r7/r9 is the generation of the cards (eg r9 2xx is a generation older than the r9 3xx series).

Then you have the second number which indicates the performance level. A r9 390 is more powerful than a r9 380 for example. All r7/r9 series of cards have a x-version as well (r9 270 and r9 270x for example). The x indicates that a card is a little better than the non-x version, but not as powerful as the next card in the lineup (r9 270 < r9 270x < r9 280).

Last but not least, the top cards of the AMD line up are the r9 Fury and r9 Fury X. These are positioned just above the r9 390 in price and performance.

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How to Get Started as a DJ

I've been DJing (mostly in clubs, okay almost entirely in clubs when clubs would book me) for about 6 years now and can at least tell you how to get started.

Step One: Equipment

You have two choices depending on budget, either get a cheap mixing software (which I wouldn't recommend getting immediately this comes later) or find the cheapest set of CD-J's (with built in mixer preferably) that you can. Only one feature is good for this set, Autodetect BPM. Once upon a time DJ's had to calculate and memorize the Beats Per Minute of each song in their heads if they wanted to mix the way they do in the clubs today. Today the decks do all the math for you, but more on this later. What's important right now is that you get your hands on the worst piece of equipment you can find. This is what you will be practicing on.

Step Two: Practice

This sounds more rigorous than it is, what you're really doing is fucking around. Find some crappy house techno (I don't care if you like it, you need a 4/4 beat around 120 bpm and don't you dare go any more complicated than that) and pop it in then fiddle with shit until you get an idea as to what the hell is going on. Leave no button unpushed or knob unturned.

Next you're going to attempt to mix two songs together, this is why you wanted something crappy. Use auto-detect to get the two songs at the same pitch and just get used to the timing and practice timing the songs so they blend together as seamlessly as possible. You see, all the best DJ equipment can literally do all this for you. It leaves you with more time to focus on your levels, effects, or even running multiple tracks together on a four deck set up. But the technology isn't perfect, some songs can confuse the software and sometimes it just doesn't work (or is available.) And if you don't acquire this skill you won't be able to compensate. Maybe your audience will never be able to tell the difference but believe me other DJs will and that could hurt you as there's always competition.

Practicing on bad equipment helps you in another important way; learning to deal with equipment failure, which happens and often. When I first went to digital I had a buddy who was still running CD-J's. The club we were booked at told him that he could just use the house set (which he'd used before and liked) so he came planning to do so. The house set was down that night; he couldn't spin. 

One night I was asked to patch into another DJs mixer but I had lost the proper cable to hook my decks up, while a friend hunted down the right cable for me I spun off a set of loners that was actually worse than the first decks I spun on. Because I had spent so much time practicing no one noticed that I sandbagged my first set, so I was able to make it up for the second set and packed the floor (I even recorded it.)

So practice with shitty music at first and as you become more comfortable with mixing and beat matching start using the music you like to hear. It's vitally important that a DJ love what they spin. DJs who are passionate about the music they play always spin the best sets. The ones who are bored and just going through the paces are plainly transparent.

Step Three: Mixing Software

This is where it gets better. After spending hours upon hours messing around with your crappy decks move up to a cheap or free mixing software, since now you know the basics you'll be able to pick up the software pretty quickly. Mixxx is free (I've never used it) I would suggest Virtual DJ because its cheap ($50) either way these will give you a better idea as to what a good set of decks can actually do. And here's where you'll want to make your first big decision:

Step Four: To Laptop or Not to Laptop

There's little difference for all but the best DJs and the truth is that most decks like OP is using can be run as controllers. The big difference is that if you already have a decent laptop, then running off your laptop is cheaper. But if you have the cash for a good set of decks (and the cases to protect them) you'll find them more versatile and give a better sound. I run off my laptop because I'm poor and already own a laptop. Though I wouldn't turn down a good univeral Numark decks. Yeah...that's some good deck.

So right about there is where to start. DJing can be as fun and rewarding as you like. Matter of fact, once you learn the basics DJing can be as easy or difficult as you like. If Steve Aoki or Tiesto have taught us anything it's that you don't necessarily have to actually spin to play a big crowd, or to get them dancing. So if you're going to spin, why not have some fun with it? God knows you're not really needed.

Cure for Tinnitus

Place the palms of your hands over your ears with fingers resting gently on the back of your head. Your middle fingers should point toward one another just above the base of your skull. Place your index fingers on top of you middle fingers and snap them (the index fingers) onto the skull making a loud, drumming noise. Repeat 40-50 times. Some people experience immediate relief with this method. Repeat several times a day for as long as necessary to reduce tinnitus.

All About ISIS

The intelligence reports are saying that that there's 1.2 billion Sunni Muslims on earth, much of that population consists of young, poor, impoverished men, the Iraq and Syrian conflicts have caused 2 massive open wounds attracting foreign fighters from all over the world at a staggering pace like flies to rotting meat, the Islamic State has captured 80% of its war capital from winning battles, the group is making $1 million a day, they are run by former professional military generals and officers who know how to conduct warfare, and they have an extremely slick internet propaganda wing in a world fueled by twitter and youtube.

The reports are saying all of this, that there's no ground forces currently battling them other than the Kurds, who are out matched, out gunned, out equipped and out manned, along with the fact that Turkey is bombing them. The only other force is Shia militants from Iran, who aren't necessarily concerned with defeating ISIS as much as they are with filling in power vacuums left in ISIS wake in Iraq. Every city they capture, the people greet them with open arms, but our media and politicians would tell you its just a blood bath of murdering and slave markets. ISIS knows what they are doing, they know better than to take large urban areas that wouldn't sympathize with them, what little resistance they encounter is immediately crushed to the sound of applause and religious cheering.

One of ISIS senior bomb makers was recently captured and interviewed by western journalists. He said, "What the Islamic State has done in this last year, it cannot be undone, the Caliphate is established and Islam is coming." That statement is true, US leaders and public can't stomach another middle east war for a while so don't count on us, and Europe is just filled to the brim with pacifists who never think war is a solution even when its on their doorstep. That basically leaves Israel and Russia. Israel won't do anything because the UN would be screaming at the top of their lungs humanitarian crisis, and Russia can't do much because every bullet they fire will be supporting Assad, and apparently removing this single man from his power is more important than millions upon millions of displaced worn torn people living in a fucking gaping open wound of a country.

So Russia, one of the nations that might be willing to do what it takes to take out IS is pressured to stay out because they appear to be helping Assad (which is true). This dynamic does nothing but help IS by blocking any Western invasion because they would cross Russia, and it blocks any Russian invasion because of pressure from the west to remove Assad. Great, so all ISIS has to do is keep Assad eating lobster in Damascus and they prevent both Russia and the West from lifting a finger. The only strategy currently in place is this drivel repeated again and again about the 'Gulf states' who are secretly are rooting for ISIS (the same states who won't even take Syrian refugees) and don't even think about any of the Gulf states putting boots on the ground, for every one of their soldiers who enter Syria, 3-4 militants will enter from that same country to help ISIS. There is no 'gulf states solution' those countries are filled with young Muslim men watching IS on liveleak like its HBO prime time. We might feel warm and fuzzy when the Queen of Jordan says gulf states should fight ISIS, but make no mistake that is definitely not what the people of Jordan are saying, along with any of the other nations in the region.

This is what the intelligence reports are saying. It doesn't look good... the bombing campaign is like trying to kill a bunch of wasps with a large truck (good luck). The Islamic State will not be stopped until boots are on the ground, fighting them door to door, street to street, and good luck with that when every town and city they invade greets them with open arms. It would be Iraq 2006 all over again, but much worse. IED's going off on every block, and a much more organized, powerful and driven resistance group fighting you on every street corner. If you do manage to remove ISIS, you will have done so by leaving a generation of men, women and children with pain and suffering 10 fold of that which caused IS in the first place.

Make no fucking mistake about folks, IS is here to stay. This is the perfect example of a wicked problem, and no that's not an excuse for not having a solution for a difficult problem, its what happens when several large geopolitical forces all want to have it their way. Its what happens when a bunch of fucking elitist assholes start playing chess with human lives, nations become meat grinders.

Reminds me of Vietnam to be honest. That entire war started with everyone thinking a month of bombing runs would end the entire conflict. Several years and a few 'advisers' later and America is drenched in one of the most brutal and confusing conflicts it's ever faced half a world away with people at home defiant against it the entire time. The only difference is that Vietnam didn't have a history of religious fanatics sweeping over the entire middle east in a few decades with an ultra zealous religious army. People forget that this is not new for Islam, and history is repeating itself.