"Don't be fooled by me. Don't be fooled by the face I wear. For I wear a thousand masks,
masks that I am afraid to take off and none of them are me." —Unknown

15 March, 2005 - 12:57 p.m. - Robots: a very long and rant-filled review
One of the components--if not the crucial component--of the American Dream is the "rags to riches" idea: that regardless of your humble origins, you too can attain greatness. It's an idea that fueled the arrival of millions of immigrants to the United States during the nineteenth century, an idea that was proven myth countless times over by the immigrants themselves. It is this myth that has been venerated and handed down over the generations in spite of the facts, supported perhaps by the occasional success story--and thus the idea of America as the land of opportunity lives on.

It is this concept that is central to Robots, where Robot City is the home of one Mr. Bigweld, a big-time progenitor of the American Dream. Over the gates to his massive yet benevolent corporation are the words "...you can shine no matter what you are made of..." When Bigweld goes missing and his second in command, Ratchet, takes over, that slogan is changed to "why be you when you can be new"--a call for all robots to upgrade or face the scrap heap. Under his direction, the Bigweld corporation abandons its golden age American Dream benevolence for profit-driven corporate coldness: no longer are all robots considered equals; now only those who can afford to upgrade are considered worthy, while the rest are labeled "outmoded" and, pardon the pun, dehumanized. Consider it the New American Dream: only the rich are worthy, but with enough fiscal persistence, anyone can upgrade and join them. It is up to our hero, the fresh-faced but outmoded Rodney Copperbottom, an inventor and genius repairman from a poor, outmoded family (his father is a dishwasher, if that gives you some idea of his humble roots) and his broken-down band of outlaw outmodes to take Robot City out of the hands of shiny, rich upgrades and back to the rusty splendor of its golden age.

It's a tried and true story, the perfect answer to the myth behind the Old American Dream and the reality of the New American Dream: an unlikely small-town hero of truly humble beginnings manages to rally the masses and restore the old myth in the face of the new.

There are two problems with this: first, we haven't gotten there yet. We're in the age of the new myth, but we're still dominated by large, heartless corporations, and no one has risen to unite the masses against them. Second, the concept of a benevolent corporation that actually espouses the ideals and values of the Old American Dream is laughable--because there comes a point when even the most open and embracing company crosses a threshold that forces it to dehumanize its employees in favor of a profit margin, to focus on supporting its existence with revenue while trampling the people who work hard every day to bring every dollar in.

Despite this ubiquitous story's obvious flaws, crowds of people arrive in droves to suck up the latest and greatest version, exposing their children to the myth without telling them the truth. I'd like to think that the reason people continue to buy into the myth is that it gives them hope. But the truth is that this draw to the latest corporate-driven version of the story is a proxy for real revolution. People feel inspired, they feel righteous and vindicated after leaving the theatre, and yet their desire for change has been satisfied already, having danced across the screen for nearly two hours straight, allowing them to feel like part of the revolution and then go home, go to sleep, and return to their lives as corporate wage slaves.

Okay, rant aside. The story--well, the story's been done a thousand times before, and it really presents nothing new. The characters are fairly stock. The jokes are funnier to five year olds than thirty year olds, but we expected that. Visually, however, Robots is gorgeous. The Rube Goldberg playfulness of Robot City's transit system is entertaining if jarring, and the design and antics of Rodney's creation Wonderbot are enjoyable. In the end, you can't help but think that no one is really buying into the revolution idea (even if they feel like they are), but it makes for great eye candy.

14 March, 2005 - 12:32 p.m. - AIM - and shoot it down...
This news item has been going around today: AOL Changes Terms of Service Agreement for Instant Messenger. Here's the kicker:

Although you or the owner of the Content retain ownership of all right, title and interest in Content that you post to any AIM Product, AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.

Sorry, folks, but there's more than enough exploitation going on in our little capitalist haven. The American Dream belongs to us as much as it does to AOL. GIVE US OUR MONEY, YOU BASTARDS.