Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 84, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 30, 2006 Page: 4 of 10
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PAGE 4, Seminole (Texas) Sentinel, Sunday, July 30, 2006
Sunday’s
Editorials, Columns & Letters
P.O. Drawer 1200 406 S. Main Email: sentinel@crosswind.net Phone: (432) 758-3667
Plugged In...Your computer
All About Internet Filtering...
The Ins and Outs...
By Eric Spellmann
Many times, when I speak before
groups, I get questioned about some
of the adult information on the Inter-
net. Usually, the questions come from
concerned parents or teachers Being
a parent myself, 1 understand their
concerns. There are definitely places
on the Internet that 1 don't want my
children going.
But, you have to put it in per-
spective. There are definitely places
in our COMMUNITY that 1 wouldn't
want my children going. The Internet
is like any community. Just as any
town has churches, schools, and bars,
the Internet has churches, schools, and
bars. The solution is NOT to disallow
access to the Internet altogether. After
all, in this day and age, kids without
access to the Internet are labeled 'dis-
advantaged'' by their teachers. The
Internet is the BEST resource for stu-
dents to learn more about their studies
and the world.
The key is -to ‘'control" their ac-
cess to the Net. Of course, "how this
is done" is the subject of many debates
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on Capital Hill. Congress attempted to
legislate this issue a while back. They
wrote a bill called the "Communications
Decency Act" (CDA) and attached it to
the "Telecommunications Act of 1996. '
What the bill basically stated, was that it
was "illegal for a mihor to view indecent
material on the Internet. ”
The Suprerqe Court threw out
the CDA almost immediately. They
cited two reasons: First, WHO got
to determine the definition of "de-
cent?" Eric Spellmann? Congress?
The President? The word "decent" is
incredibly subjective. Since it couldn't
be defined in a black and white man-
ner, it was unenforce
the Supreme Court quickly realized
that "inappropriate sites” would simply
move to other countries to escape our
laws. Remember: laws made by our
Congress are only enforceable as far
as our b orders. We do not have the
right to dictate the information another
country puts on the Internet.
Today, the government is a little
smarter when it comes to protecting
our youth. The president and many
congressmen have decided to back a
new solution: one that doesn't, infringe
on First Amendment rights,
Filtering software is the answer.
Here’s how it works Parents install
filtering software on their system. They
lock it with a password. ,The software
then monitors all informatics trans-
mitted or received from the Internet.
Kids are protected in three ways.
First, the software comes with a pre-
defined list of sites that are deemed in-
appropriate for kids. If "little Johnny"
attempts to go to one bf those sites, the
software blocks the attempt and logs it
for parents to view later. Most filter-
ing software also comes with a utility
Parents can add to or delete sites from
the list.
The second level of protection is at
the "word" level. If the software detects
certain language on a web page or an
e-mail message, it will not display it.
This technique not only protects the
kids from inappropriate language, but
can also be set up to prevent them from
sending personal information to strang-
ers. Once again, parents can "add to"
and delete words from this list.
Finally, the third level of protection
involves an enforced timer. Parents can
set the software to restrict Internet Ac-
cess to certain times of the day. Not-
only does this curtail mischief; it pre- ‘
vents kids from spending too much time
behind the PC. Homework and chores
h|ave to be done, too!
So, which software is the best? Three
titles spring to mind: Cyber Patrol (http:
//www.cyberpatrol.cam),- Surf Control
(http://www.surfcontrol.com), and Net
Nanny (http://wyAv.netnanny.com). All.
and,parents sign off ,on a "Proper In-
ternet Usage” agreement.
In my opinion, filtering software
is a better solution than government
intervention. Think about it: It’s not
the government telling you what you
CAN and CANNOT see. It’s not your
Internet Service Provider dictating the
information you can view. The power
is in YOUR hands. You can turn it off
or on. YOU make the final decision
about what comes into your home,or
school.
three have received awards for their One last thing: Filtering software is
performance. However, after testing not perfect. It is meant as a tool to assist
all three and talking to many parents,
.marks.
Parents and teachers need to
remember, though, that this software
should not be used as a substitute to
supervision. I believe strongly that all
kids should be monitored by an adult
while surfing the Net. School labs
should always have a teacher handy
to supervise and assist the students.
Before allowing access to the Internet,
schools should also have the students
the parent and teacher, not to replace
responsil
be emphasized in both the classroom
and at home. When it comes down
to it, we should all be held responsible
for our own actions and those of our
children.
I ll see you in Cyberspace!
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Dupree...Not for You and Me...
Wise audiences will leave
You, Me & Dupree be...
You, Me & Dupree turned
out just as the Movie Man feared
- a kernel of a good idea that
never pops.
Once again, a fine cast
doesn't al vays produce a fine
movie.
About the film
Audiences nationwide felt
the same as the Movie Man
about Dupree, apparently.
The Movie Man planned on
trying to sit through Little Man so
he could espouse on audience-
specific movies. But he didn't
make the Wayan Bros, picture in
time - which, by the way is get-
ting some of the worst reviews of
the year - so Dupree it was.
However, Little Man
topped Dupree at the box of-
fice (barely) while they all trailed
the record-setting Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
by several leagues. (In 10 days.
Dead Man 's Chest became the
biqqest moneymakinq movie of
2006 so far.)
The draw of Dupree is
Owen Wilson. Thanks to last
year's super-successful Wed-
dutg Crashers, he (and Vince
Vaughn) are hot.
Wilson, a Texan from Dal-
las* also produced Dupree and
he had early success as a film
writer. With brother Luke Wil-
son, Owen got off to a good start
when he earned indie cred with
1994’s Bottle Rocket (Which
who later made the poor [the
Movie Man thought] The Royal
Tenenbaums in 2001 [a 5], a
movie that reminds the Movie
Man very much of Dupree.)
Wilson has landed some
paits in good/successful films:
Armageddon (1998, a 7, a
movie critics love to hate [like
Forrest Gump] and are so wrong
about); Shanghai Noon (2000,
with Jackie Chan; this one has
several solid laughs); Meet the
Parents (2000, a 7, a small but
funny role); the great Zoolan-
der (2001, a 7); and Wedding
Crashers (2005, a 7).
(The Movie Man also liked
Starsky and Hutch in 2004, giv-
ing it a 7.)
So Wilson has made some
fun movies. But he's quickly
getting stereotyped as the goofy,
lovable surfer dude.
He keeps his relationship
with Ben Stiller - they've made
several movies together - with
the upcoming Night at the Mu-
seum. This movie boasts a great
trailer and, while Stiller’s the star
of the film that has the museum
residents - dinosaurs, famous
folks - coming alive at night,
Wilson will appear
(Museum isjammed-packed
with fun actors: Dick Van Dyke,
Ricky Gervais, Carla Gugino,
Paul Rudd, Mickey Rooney,
and, as Teddy Roosevelt, Robin
Williams. It’s being directed by
Shawn Levy who makes family
fare: Cheaper by the Dozen,
The Pink Panther, and Big Fat
Liar It might be decent. It’s due
at Christmastime.
The plot
In Hawaii, Carl (Matt Dillon)
and Molly (Kate Hudson) marry
with Dupree (Wilson), Dillon’s
lifelong friend, as the best man.
Wilson’s a needy guy - he wants
to stand out as being the best
man with “'•ome kind of patch,
maybe w a ligF* -:nq bolt" on
his tux. •
Back on the mainland, Dil-
lon, who had worked as a min-
ion for Hudson-Vfathef. Michael
Douglas, is suddenly promoted
to a position then quickly under-
mined by the conniving dad.
Dupree falls on hard times.
He’s lost his job for leaving for
the wedding and the only place
he has for sleeping - a cot in a
bar - has been removed.
Kindhearted Dillon con-
vinces Hudson to let Wilson
move in for just a few days.
The blissfully ignorant Wilson
quickly upgrades their cable
TV and changes their beloved
answering machine rriessage.
When his intimate en-
counter with a librarian goes
freakishly wrong, ending up
with the house getting torched,
Dupree gets evicted.
Soon, though, he's back
in the Dillon household where
the bedraggled Dillon is away
so much that. Ffudson begins
bonding with Wilson - when
he s not playing baseball or
skateboarding with the neigh-
borhood kids.
Finally, at a dinner with
Douglas, Dillon snaps. He
eventually leaves. That's when
Wilson's gift of gab and queer
organizational skills pay off.
Wilson helps Dillon settle
with Douglas and begin the pro-
cess of repairing his marriage.
And, shockingly, the ultra-
positive Wilson finds himself a
career, too.
What works
Wilson's goofy charm re-
mains intact. He can pull off
some horribly sentimental lines
then immediately deadpan a
funny one.
The opening scenes show-
case lovely Hawaii, illustrating
why tropical weddings have
become so vogue these days.
The reason the Movje Mari
was reminded of The Royal Te-
nenhaums was that Dupree di-
rectors Anthony and Joe Russo
(TV guys) set up visual humor
pieces much like Tenenbaums
did. There are static shots of a
burned out couch on the curb
Wilson and Wilson in pain dur-
ing a recent crash or fall that earn
chuckles.
Any movie that ends with
Young MC’s “Bust a Move"
can’t be all bad.
Best scene '
In good faith, Wilson tries
to get a job. He applies at a
Levitz Furniture where he’s
interviewed in the dark depths
of the building.
While a bored interviewer
listens silently, Wilson jab-
bers that if he’s “looking for a
workhorse," Wilson’s probably
not his man. And the applicant
wonders if Columbus Day is a
holiday from work.
Wilson manages to talk
himself out of the job and he
knows it. So he calmly reclaims
his resume and walks away.
It’s a funny, witty scene
- like one Wilson would write.
What doesn’t work
Also like The Royal Tenen-
baums, Dupree has zero laugh
out loud moments. Oh, there
are some chuckles, but it’s not
anything near funny.
Hudson is as perky as her
mother Goldie Hawn was in her
day (how Hudson must hate
hearing that all the time, but it’s
true); yet she’s invisible here.
And Dillon, the straight man
in the movie, is seriously under-
used comedically.
Creepiest of all is Douglas.
In a Hawaii scene, he looks
exactly like his father, Kirk. He
simply seems to not know what
to do with his role. Is he pure
evil? Does he have a heart of
gold? Does he come around?
(If that ending was supposed to
show that, it failed.)
'• A couple of talented bit
players are completely wasted,
mainly Bill Hader (the funniest
guy on Saturday Night Live
right now [he does a great
Vincent Price]) and Seth Rogan
(who earned cult status from
last year’s The 40 Year Old
Virgin.)
The rating
Except for a brief heinie
baring by Wilson - one of those
static laughs - the movie is pretty
tame, overall.
There’s one use of that
word. Still, the PG-13 is mid-
dlin’.
Summing up: a 4
Dupree continued the sub-
average summer trend. It’s the
kind of movie that you might see
then completely forget about an
hour later. It’s skippable.
Next up
Several interesting movies
are due. The Movie Man will
have to decide between Monster
House and Lady in the Water.
Making a Difference
t,' isy Gina Caswell Kelly
I guess everybody lost phone service earlier this week. What
a shock to your system that is! We not only had no cell phone
service but we had no home phone service either. And if you
were downtown trying to conduct business, you were in a heap
of trouble. I was just busy trying to get the car wash to work. I
finally had to resort to using cash in order to be able to use the car
wash. You do remember cash, don’t you? I know also that many
computer systems crashed and much information was lost. Wow!
Have we become way too dependant upon technology or what?
I actually kind of enjoyed the part where the phones weren’t ring-
ing but then later as I tried to get on the internet I wasn’t enjoying
it quite so much.
Occasionally at stop lights I will count the number of people
that go by talking on a cell phone. It is amazing. What on earth did
we ever do without them? I know that at the farm, they can save
you a lot of driving and much down time. And ideally, if we did
only usecern when it was necessary they would be a great time
saving and even life saving device. But, I also know that much of
the time, the talking done on cell phones is just talking and has
nothing to do with time or life saving. Not that there is anything
wrong with that! I am as bad as anyone. Technology really is a
good thing but when everything crashes, it kind of makes you a
little wishful for the old way of doing things. I said kind of. 1 am
not totally ready to give up everything just yet. I say this as I am
sitting out in the backyard, typing on a laptop computer that is not
even plugged into anything and when I finish this, I will email it to
Lynn and never even have to leave my home to do this. So no, I
am not really ready to give up on any of this.
But, as everything was shut down the other evening, I thought
about how lucky we are to serve a God who is far more techno-
logically advanced than anyone anywhere and how we never have
to worry about His system crashing. It amazes me to think that
giving wisdom to the leaders of our world and healing those who
are sick and providing sunshine and rain for crops, He is still just
holding me in the palm of His hand and answering my smallest little
prayer every second of the day. How does He do it? I don’t know.
And actually I guess 1 don’t really even care how He does it. The
fact that He does this and so much more is enough for me. \ can’t
even comprehend what He does, much less trying to understand
how He does it! We just know that He loves us and is looking out
for us and His cables never get plowed up or cut His satellite never
loses contact. The line to Him never loses its “bars" and we never
have to worry about His office hours or holidays.
Really, I guess the only thing we have to think about is whether
or not our phone line to Him is charged up. The thing about this line
is the more you use it, the more charge it has. It builds up power
from use. So use the technology that God has made available to
you. It will make a difference.
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Wright, Dustin. Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 84, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 30, 2006, newspaper, July 30, 2006; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth864217/m1/4/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.