Monthly Archives: March 2016
March of a Penguin’s Love
We know that people would walk 500 miles (and then 500 more), but what about penguins?
Since elementary school, my love for penguins has been absolute. These flightless birds have majestic qualities and even received the documentary treatment with narration from none other than Morgan Freeman. Whether it’s the waddle, the serene way in which they swim or their impeccable formal dinner party style, this animal seems to have a special place in people’s hearts. This despite the fact that a penguin is not the fiercest, not the strongest and not the most agile creature on Earth.
However, there’s an argument to made for penguins being the best animal on this planet.
With all of the chaos and problems around the globe, it’s inspiring to see a story like Dindim and his Brazilian friend that reminds us of the wonder and love in the world.
Is it legal to adopt a penguin as a pet?
Apple’s Core
Taking a bite out of Apple isn’t as easy as one may think.
The pivotal debate of national security versus personal liberties is shining its spotlight on revolutionary tech giant Apple because the FBI insists that a “backdoor” be created to peek inside an iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, California terrorist attackers. From 36,000 feet, most Americans support our nation’s security forces doing whatever they can to learn, infiltrate and defeat terrorist cells and networks. And reasonably so. However, when Americans zoom-in from the birds eye view of this complex, serious situation (from a drone in the sky, you could say), the collective damage this individual request poses gives reason to push back.
Precedent is inevitably what’s at stake.
Once a government can legally force the hands of a public company consisting of private citizens to do its bidding, regardless of outspoken reservations and, more bluntly, refusing to perform such a service after careful consideration, the door then swings wide-open for an uncertain expansion of said questionable action.
What kinds of expansions? How will this affect you? Will this security measure definitively makes us safer or will it expose us to a myriad of unforeseen digital invasions?
There will never be a perfect balance between the equitable assets of national security and personal liberties. Each situation needs to be dealt with individually and with a fresh set of eyes with considerations to the past and future, especially in an increasingly connected world/digital grid. Moments will arise when tough security responses must be green-lit with immediacy, as well as difficult scenarios when security officials should practice restraint for the sake of protecting the bigger issue(s) at hand.
Should Tim Cook’s Apple “open” the San Bernardino phone? He says no.
Does co-founder Steve “The Woz” Wozniak think Apple should “open” the San Bernardino phone?
Apple vs. The FBI will directly influence how the United States (and possibly its allies) combat the guerrilla terrorism used by ISIS and similar terrorist networks for the foreseeable future, especially as technology continues to evolve and expand.
The stakes in this dispute are insanely great.
Gone Fishin’
Learning to fish is one of the most important skills a person should master.
But not in a river or a pond.
Well, not a literal river or pond.
Daniel Wallace’s literary masterpiece Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, translated into the cinematic masterpiece Big Fish by the perfectly weird and surprisingly sentimental Tim Burton, does not dethrone The Great Gatsby as America’s favorite novel, but it surely has earned a spot on that same top-shelf.
The stories, the characters and the extraordinary circumstances experienced by an ordinary man should be read, seen and enjoyed by anybody who sees life through a dream-filled lens. This imaginative wonderland forces us to pause and challenge our surroundings and the people we meet and the people we become. It even dances around (though barefoot) the supreme question, “why are we here?”
Unfortunately, there is no magic sentence or grand reveal from Mr. Wallace or Mr. Burton that definitively answers that eternal uncertainty.
Fortunately though, Big Fish reminds us that earthly hints to answering this question are sprinkled along the long, winding path we walk.
It’s just an issue of how you see and hear the world.
Before we get too far into this week, remember that your wild imagination is not limited to the weekend.
Walking up a busy stairwell could simply be walking up a busy stairwell.
Or…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 