The word of the day1 for March 7, 2007 is “piracy” — noun 1 : an act of robbery on the high seas; also : an act resembling such robbery. 2 : robbery on the high seas. 3 a : the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright b : the illicit accessing of broadcast signals.
This is because of the movie, Deep Rising, which Lloyd and I watched on cable last night. It was sort of an amalgam of Aliens, The Posieden Adventure, Lost, Tremors and Ghost Ship. Most of the characters in the show could be characterized as pirates. They were certainly all out for the Main Chance, as were the writers and the rest of the movie crew. Although the characters played by Treat Williams, Famke Janssen and Kevin O’Connor survived to the end credits, you can tell that none of them will come to a good end. (The end line of the movie is, “Now what?!”)
Wonderful special effects abound with slimy gooshiness, skeletal remains and slightly off-color gore. Anthony Heald looks like a low-rent Nick Nolte. The dialogue was smarmy. The heroine manages to change clothes while escaping the monsters. Bombardier Ski-Doos get a big plug. Still, after a slow building start, the end is edge of the seat watching.
The quote2 for today is from Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918), Letter, July 11, 1905, to Brooks Adams. Letters, Vol. 2, ed. Worthington Chauncy Ford, Houghton Mifflin (1938):
As for piracy, I love to be pirated. It is the greatest compliment an author can have. The wholesale piracy of Democracy was the single real triumph of my life. Anyone may steal what he likes from me.
;^) Jan
1 The definition is from either Merriam-Webster Online, 10th Edition or The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition and is used by permission.
2 The quote is from either Bartleby: Great Books on Line or The Quotation Pages and is used by permission.
2 The quote is from either Bartleby: Great Books on Line or The Quotation Pages and is used by permission.
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