In a Galaxy far far away

The Star Wars story has unfolded over the past three decades. When it first arrived it seemed like a simple sci-fi flick, but on May 19th when the final chapter arrives in theaters, the Star Wars story will become a myth for modern times. The merging of science fiction and fantasy is what Star Wars is all about. The two are difficult to define and even more difficult to distinguish. Science fiction provides a scientific explanation for all phenomena, where as fantasy mostly takes the supernatural for granted. However the science behind the explanations often are no more than mumbo-jumbo.
The first three movies; A New Hope 1977, The Empire Strikes Back 1980, Return Of The Jedi 1983, are all about the Galactic War. The Rebel Alliance battles the Galactic Empire in an epic struggle between good and evil. The last three movies; The phantom Menace 1999, Attack Of The Clones 2002, Revenge Of The Sith 2005 are all about the Galactic Civil War.
Unlike heroes of most films, Luke is not militaristic but is a romantic individual who faces his fears in a struggle between good and evil. Luke learns that fear is the path to the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering. The villain Darth Vader is elevated above most bad guys by the bridging of his character between the light and dark side. He tortures Princess Leia and even uses the Death Star to destroy her home planet of Alderaen, but when Vader has a chance to kill Luke, he does not. The light side over seeds the dark side.
Power always currupts and when you are incharge, you start doing things you think are right when they are actually not. Some see Star Wars as an advocate of democracy over ditatorship where others see it as supporting monarchy over democracy. We should remember that the Republic presented in Star Wars was initially a suitable form of democracy, yet one which demostrated an almost inherent tendency to fall into corruption.
Ever few hundred years the same story is retold because we have a tendency to do the same thing over and over again. The people who control the planet fall prey to power and corruption and a rebellion takes place. It will not be any different just because the USA holds the power.
I think it is safe to say that the rebellion will not come before May 19th so most Star Wars fans will get to see Revenge Of The Sith, I however will wait a couple of years and watch it on TV. It has been 28 years since I saw A New Hope, so waiting a couple of more years to see the last chapter is no big deal and by then I will have a HD-TV making Revenge Of The Sith that much better.

168 Chairs

On a spring morning 10 years ago evil met goodness at 9:02 am. Strength and faith were tested but neither wavered. It was a terrible day. Timothy McVeigh drove a Ryder truck filled with 5000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and netromethane to the street in front of the Murrah Federal building. The explosion of that truck caused the north side of the Murrah building to shear off killing 168 people. McVeigh said he did it to avenge the deaths of the Branch Davidians in Waco Texas. He modeled the bombing on a similar event described in the Turner Diaries. He was convicted of murder in 1997 and executed in 2001. In many ways the bombing spelled the end of anti-government militia movement to which McVeigh was linked. Anti-government groups either disbanded or were pushed to the fringes of American politics.
At the Memorial there is a bronze and stone chair for each person who died in the blast that day. Next to the field of chairs is a lone tree that survived the blast and fires that followed. The foundation of the building has been left intact so people can see the scale of the destruction and a portion of the chain link fence erected after the blast that thousand of people left flowers, ribbons and teddy bears on in the weeks after the bombing surrounds the chairs.
Time takes it's toll on youth and beauty, but also on tragedy. Tomorrow will come sometimes almost against our will and bring healing and hope, responsibilities and new possibilities.

Voices of the Electronic Wilderness

Carlton's Corner will always be a personal outpouring, a kind of digital diary. It will feature everything from opinions to rants to memories. I am free to say what I think. I write on the basis that an opinion shared is an opinion halved. It is almost overwhelming to know it is shared with one and maybe millions, who knows! The freedom of expression is very powerful, perhaps because the internet is so virulent. Ideals and opinions can spread faster than bacteria on a petri dish. With very few technical skills I have become a publisher. That is why writings Corlton's Corner every week is so intererting. It is kind of a revolution for myself. Anything I write that makes it easier for the average person to say " hey that's not right " is a positive thing. It's not a one to many relation, it is a many to many relationship. The reader has a chance to digest, filter, and develop the information on Carlton's Corner in a different way from what one gets from tradilional media. There is something about that authentic feeling of "been there done that" the stirring of emotions that lets the reader project a human face to Carlton's Corner. My writings are a way to have a relationship with the reader. I always try to be frank and honest, that is part of my strategy so readers can begin to understand my thinking. Every Friday I write about my life, a particular subject or event that I find interesting or irritating. I try to give a candid and unique insight into my life and thinking, alto some might feel it is boring selfindulgent drivel even to the point of self opinionated, but that's what opinions are all about. The ability to publish to the world cheaply and instantaneously has turned my writers ego into one giant snow ball that gets bigger and bigger as it rolls out another edition of Carlton's Corner each and every Friday. I have become an avid writer, using it as an tool to become more open about myself. Life is too short to go around not expressing your beliefs and feelings. If you do not like what you read on Corlton's Corner I suggest you start your own page and besure to e mail it's address to Corlton's Corner so I can express my opinion about your page. Web pages such as mine are just part of the digital internet driven revolution that is sweeping our world. The tools of mass media are now in the hands of the public. There is no need for credentials, sources, rules, editors, or accountability and I hope the internet will always continue to travel the path of freedom of expression.

A Man For All Seasons

In one week the world will wait for white smoke to curl up from the Sistine Chapel. The smoke will be a signal that a new Pope has been chosen. On an October evening in 1978 smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel telling the world John Paul the second had been chosen as the new Pope. The faithful gathered at St. Peters Square as they waited for words from their new Pope. John Paul's first words were "Be not afraid". Pope John Paul the second died Saturday after a providential life. In the post Berlin Wall World he did so much to shape the world. In the twenty six years he sat in St. Peters Chair many would come to admire him and to disagree with him. John Paul's teachings on marriage and homosexuality stired strong feelings in the worlds population. In western chistianity, most find themselves centered in a series of Thou Shalt Nots when they try to interpret John Paul's teachings. To fully understand the teachings of Christianity it is important not to confuse modern man with an American lileral. Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit is all powerful and moves in mysterious ways. More than a quarter century ago we were given a man of powerful intellect, courage and determination who possessed wisdom and charity in ample measure and whose patient and work for his church and humanity was crowned with unusual success. We must pray his successor is worthy of such a rich heritage.

Keep your hands off My candy

If you have brothers or sisters you have heard your Mother say these words " Ok everybody share and share alike". I will admit if I had the candy in my hand when I heard those words, I always looked for the good candy before I shared. These days people are getting arrested for sharing, Oh yes the dilemina of downloading. Everybody wants their music and film without paying for them. We all know it is wrong but we are caught between greed and a guilt complex. The theory holds that all music downloaded is legal as long as it is for personal use, that's the "Fair Use Doctrine". If you are copying notes at the library or burning a CD or DVD for friends that's ok. The courts have ruled that the video tape recorded does not violate copyright laws. What is the difference between copying a TV show vs online file sharing which allows people to download music or video files from another computer? When the VCR was introduced, hollywood and music company's tried to scare people into not using it. Now hollywood and music company's have joined forces once again in the rerun of that same argument, trying to protect themselves from peer to peer network software. They want anyone who provides this software or uses it to download files from the internet to be held liable for file sharing. It would be naive to think either practice will stop. The VCR not to mention advances such as TiVo are accepted and peer to peer software is wide spread. Today it would be hard to imagine what the world would be like if Sony had lost their court case in 1984. All the devices capable of copying including the computer, home printer, VCR, TiVo, and Mp3 players would never have navigated the legal minefield. Even if the entertainment company's win their court battle it will not be easy to shut down centralized computer links used to trade songs and film. I do not think you can go into people's homes and pull software out of their computers. I see the software as autonomous communications. Regardless of the outcome of the case before the lands highest court, there will be consequences for both sides. It will still be illegal to download copyrighted material without permission, though millions of computer users will continue to do it everyday.