Keanu Reeves, William Gibson, Dystopia and how much is 160 gigs really worth?

Keanu Reeves, what a guy. A more polarizing Sci-Fi icon you'd be hard-pressed to come up with. Equally revered and condemned for his role as Neo in the Matrix Trilogy, his role as Johnny Mnemonic garnered no such critical disagreement: The "thumbs down" icon was far more unanimously entered. A better argument for the "Dislike" button there may never have been.
     Here's where I stand on the issue. I grew up with Bill and Ted as a "running in the background" constant. While "Excellent Adventure" is familiar to many, far less ubiquitous is the sequel, "Bogus Journey" and its foray into the ultra-weird representations of Heaven and Hell. It's awesome and should be required viewing for any would-be theology or anthropology student. Ted "Theodore" Logan is hard for me to turn my back on, so I'll always give Keanu a little bit more credit than he deserves in any given situation.
     Of course, if he doesn't strike some as the savior of the modern Sci-Fi epic, that doesn't surprise me either.
     "Mnemonic" is an intersection of some really interesting elements, all of which I consider important and iconic,  and remains important to me for combining; pre-90's hip-hop founder(Ice-T), 90's pulp action(Dolph), 90's block-buster and future Sci-Fi savant(Keanu), Ninjas, dolphins with fricking lazers on their heads, the girl from Starship Troopers that isn't Denise Richards and, in my opinion, the Godfather of the Matrix itself and father of the modern science fiction paradigm (future dystopia and the emergence of corporation-states) in the form of William Gibson, who wrote the 12 page short story that "Mnemonic" is based on.
     Basically I'm not sure what all the rush to pan this movie was about in the first place. Keanu is...Keanu. You can't expect someone to be something their not. And he is not a thespian. But Dolph Lundgren turns in what is arguably the performance of his career and there are some really killer action sequences. The ninjas get cool future-ninja technology and do some major f-ing shit up! The lazer-garrot is a particularly awesome touch. For a pulpy sci-fi thriller I think this sweet baby delivers on several fronts. Does it do justice to Gibson's "Bridge Trilogy" world? Yes, in a lot of ways, and importantly visually, it does. We are presented with a dichotomy of haves and have-nots that has reached a biblical scale and the forces of greed and technology have long overridden principles of morality and common decency. I appreciate that "Mnemonic" doesn't bash us over the head with this though, we're simply presented with a world that looks really shitty to live in unless you are really, really rich. And lets face it, most of us can agree that from the looks of things we're headed in a direction much like this. The fact that when the leader of the obligatory underground resistance movement is revealed he happens to be a dolphin is enough to make this movie must-see material on my list.
     When I started writing this I meant for it just be a side column in response to CHUD.com's inclusion of "Mnemonic" on its 365 Days of Bad list, but the more I think about it the more important it is for me to defend this movie vision of one of Gibson's works, a rarity for some reason in this world of hastily-optioned comic book and sci-fi studio properties made even more so by the fact that it just isn't terrible. While I'm still thankful that I haven't been subjected to whatever shit-wash FOX or Sony or some such idiot tank will end up dragging "Neuromancer" through, I think that "Mnemonic" offers a pleasant re-creation of Gibson's ideology without destroying conceptions of perfection most people associate with his flagship work. William Gibson, by my count, stands as probably the most important science fiction author since Orwell as far as presenting a hauntingly real possible future scenario. The original short story "Johnny Mnemonic" was probably almost one of Gibson's afterthoughts, an idea that got cut from the final manuscript for "Neuromancer"(it features the feminine anti-hero "Molly" from the "Sprawl" Trilogy) but the movie version expounds nicely on the basic premise and gives Keanu a great space...to further prove the point that no matter how great of a vehicle you place him in, he will try to crash it.
     CHUD.com is running this monologue that Reeves recites to prove that the character and by extension the movie is no good. I think this monologue is a sad testament to the individualist desperation that would likely exist in an economically and socially debased future environment. Without further ado, the infamous "Room Service" speech...



I can safely recommend this movie to anyone who gets satisfaction from anything involving Paul Verhoeven or John Carpenter...and it reaches beyond there as well, although maybe not too far. Its a genre-specific piece for sure but it's up on Netflix Instant right now. So I think when I get back from the New Deal show tonight, I'm gonna cue this sucker up and check out Keanu's flat top from before he knew Kung-Fu.


-Deuces

File Under: AT&T's Rebound... a cute trist with Android

You have to feel a little bit sorry for AT&T at the moment, and maybe more importantly their shareholders. This is likely going to be a really tough week for those folks. Verizon began pre-sales for their version of the iPhone 3s Wednesday morning...and pre-orders are now closed. All the tech blogs I've checked come to the same overall conclusion; the iOS experience on Verizon's network seems to be significantly superior.

AT&T, now likely completely confused about what software platform to align itself with jumped to release what I admit is a pretty slick looking Android device by Motorola (whose original Droid I still own and swear by) in order to make some sort of statement about their hardware maintaining pace... Frankly AT&T's television ad campaigns have left me totally confused as they jump from Android to Windows to iOS and back... poor little guys with a shitty network..

A link here to Motorola's nifty flash demos on the ATRIX. I still haven't been somewhere where any of my friends sporting 4G devices like an EVO have demonstrated any kind of distinguishable advantage in speed with their network's capabilities.. I'll keep watching out of a general sense of curiosity... but one wonders what would drive AT&T to maintain the charade at this point.

More on the Verizon iPhone as it becomes available. Peep the Atrix below:


Motorola ATRIX 4G - dual-core phone - Android smartphone - Experience - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA

Z-DAY ESSENTIALS - Part One in a New Ongoing Series

ZOMBIE APOCOLYPSE GEAR GUIDE: ONLY THE BEST WHEN THE WORLD’S AT ITS WORST. Special insights from Tactical Correspondent KRIS LEBLANC

I only have a couple real concerns about the future. I’ve already destroyed my credit rating beyond any possible hope of redemption so the fear of a predatory mortgage lender taking a bite outta my hide is almost comforting… Nuclear holocaust seems so.. what’s the word, relatively painless? Nooo folks what keeps me up at night (besides researching the back story of Superman productions and general insomnia) is the fear of my doors being kicked in by mindless former human corpses missing limbs and leaking all manner of malodorous putrefying bodily fluids. Yup everybody’s thinkin’ it. I’m just the one sayin’ it out loud. We all know Zombie Apocalypse is upon us. It’s simply a matter of time. So while you waste your time taking ticks off the ever-shortening Z-Day clock updating your Facebook status and adding photos to your albums of pictures of you and all your friends in completely compromising drunken debaucherous poses for which one of your friends, unaware that you tagged him, is likely getting fired tomorrow, I’ve thankfully been collaborating with my resident Espionage, Firearms and Field Gear Guru KRS to bring you this list of the most tactical, instrumental, functional and fool-proof items for the one item all households must have set for emergency: The Z-Pack. Starting with the Pack.

Homework..

=THE MAIN KIT=
The LEVEL III Assault Pack-125 is designed for efficiency and maximum carrying power. Cool-mesh back keeps the sweat a bit further, hydration system compatible, contoured adjustable shoulder straps with D rings. This flexible and adaptable 18x10x10” team assault pack comes complete with 5 stacked compartments great for gear and ammo. Available in colors with super-slick names like Army Digital and Coyote Tan. Amazingly, this sweet baby is available at cheaperthandirt.com for a zombie-slaying $39.97

Not a lightsaber but if you can't get a blaze going with this you wouldn't need one.

The EXO-Tac nanoSTRIKER ferrocerium firestarter takes the “Oh SHIT!” out of having to start a rapid fire in a Cats ‘n Dogs sideways “oh SHIT!storm”. This tool sets a new standard of small and uses two types of stainless steel to create a nearly undefeatable sparking device. Small enough o clip on a keychain, pack ring or just throw in your pocket. Whatever you do just don’t leave home without it.


=BLADES=

Oh sorry sir, here's your steak knife..

Knifes are just cool any way you slice it (ha!) but when the bogeys get too cloose (intentional, it’s a Lando thing) and you gotta go from fully auto to arterial spray mode, there’s nothing on the market that feels as good in your hand as a Benchmade. The first choice of U.S. Special Forces for a reason, Benchmade come in many varieties of weight and length to suit your exact specs, but we recommend the 141Nimravus Tanto, a Molle sheath compatible, 154 cm blade featuring a full-tanged anodized machined 6061 T-6 aluminum handle. I don’t know what that means but I know what it feels like in my hand. Feels like victory.
For additional functionality you got to add an all-purpose larger-scale blade. Though we don’t recommend setting up any type of long-term camp deep in the woods since Zombies have been known to roll deep in such areas, some sort of side-blade is an essential for post-human existence. The direct quote from Guru KRIS “I could take you thru the selection process but rest assured FISKARS axes are the way to go.. lifetime warranty and multiple options depending on needs...” It’s important to remember that our needs may involve kindling as well as head-splitting and limb removal. With a shock-absorbing FiberComp handle and non-slip grip, the FISKAR X-11 Splitting Axe will give you hundreds of one-strike log(or skull..) splits with perfected weight distribution, advanced blade geometry and a nearly-unbreakable force-maximizing design. We always endorse function over fashion but this baby looks sweet hanging from a leather Alice webbing sheath. Another steal at $37.99 from FISKARS website direct.

Hungry-Man

..I’m not totally sure about this one but KRIS swears up and down that the telescoping fork is a can’t-leave-home-without-it style necessity. Not rated for human meat consumption, no matter how long you’ve been working on special sauce. Another steal from Amazon at $6.27







=ILLUMINATION=

The Surefire SAINT LED Headlamp is a beauty, but runs about the same price as an X-Box clocking in at $185.00. That said investing in a virtually indestructible light source, weight with batteries 9.4 ounces, submersible to 3 feet for up to 30 minutes let-me-count-the-ways perfect may be worth forgoing the next couple copies of Call of Duty you were going to invest in. The variable-output light source is vision-field optimized and adjustable from 0 to 100 lumens even in cold or with gloved hands. The housing is made from hard anodized aerospace-grade aluminum. 2 double AA batteries will get you up to 100 hours of illumination depending on lumen variance.

Streamlight’s Knucklehead series with adjustable headstock with a Moonlight setting 20-day runtime offers engineered optics and dual parabolic reflectors within a larger textured reflector optimizes light-to-target ratio. C4 Premium LED tech offers up to 200 Lumens, the Knuckleheads are designed to put light where the sun don’t shine with the slightest of ease. 2-meter resistance tested high-impact super tough nylon polymer. IPX4-rated water resistance. Only the strong baby…

=ONLY FOR ISOLATED ROOFTOPS…=

Step in to my parlor

Eureka!’s solo series offers several variable options but the Solitaire has a durable 6.3mm fiberglass fram, shockcorded for quickset and retrieval. Floor size is 2’8”x8’ and weighs in at 2lbs. 9oz. $89.90 gets you equipped from Eureka!’s website. The Assault Outfitter 4 sleeps 4 survivors with floor space of 8’6”x7’6” but weighs a hefty 13lbs. 5oz. This is for really digging in, preferably from a snipers position or well isolated and secured cuz if yer dug in this hard you better be sure those flesh-devouring creeps are kept well-enough at bay.


This represents the first in our series of Z-Day Essentials. Thanks to Tactical Correspondent KRIS for taking time to field-test and review all of our gear. We look forward to covering ammunition and ordinance in our next episode….