I just got finished watching "WarGames" (1983), starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy as a couple of high school students who get caught up in a potential WWIII. How did it all happen?

Broderick hacked into NORAD thinking it was a gaming company. He wanted to find the soon-to-be-released games and play them at home, ahead of time, for free. What he ended up finding in NORAD (which he didn't know about until it was too late) was a learning computer that also happened to play games. So he selected Global Thermonuclear War, and the computer began the simulation.

"Joshua" is the name of that computer, and it had recently been given control of the final launch sequence at NORAD (and perhaps elsewhere) for the nuclear missiles.

Joshua combined the simulation with reality, and it looked like it would eventually launch real missiles at Russia as part of the ongoing game. That would provoke a Russian counterstrike, and wipe out all our major cities.

Ok, you probably knew some or all of that already. But I realized a couple things watching the film that I hadn't thought of before. These don't relate to the movie, but to life in general in our Nuclear Age.

First, if we could conceivably scare ourselves into launching on the Russians because of a computer error…

…and the Russians themselves seem to have had a history of faulty, malfunctioning equipment…

…then it isn't inconceivable that they could launch on us because of a computer error.

The second thought I had was with regard to the President. I realized that…

…if all the high-up military officials are acutely aware…

…of the fact that the U.S., Russia, and other countries…

…each have nuclear missiles pointed at high-yield targets all over the planet…

…and those missiles are a little more than a button's press away from launching and wiping out millions of people…

…then the President must live by a different set of rules than most citizens. On top of the whole "He's the President, he can do whatever he wants," deal.

I hadn't really been worried about a nuclear war. I didn't really dwell on it, whether I'm outside, inside, whatever. Nothing to worry about.

But I thought for the President, there must be one of two possibilities. Either he knows the risk of an unprovoked nuclear strike at any given time, and is constantly aware of the possibility that in the next few minutes he'll have to seek shelter in a bunker somewhere…

Or he lets his assistants worry about that.

But I figure when you deal with issues this big on a daily basis, you might equate a nuclear strike with rain, and your hardened bunker with a house. Stay inside the house when its raining. Take an "umbrella" with you when it looks like rain. Always keep an eye out for other places to seek shelter from the storm.

But I guess with missile defense systems, and the apparent "calm" between the U.S. and the long-range Nuclear Powers, there's not much to worry about.

…Or is there?

This Easter, when I finally got my hands on a box of 4 delicious Cadbury Creme Eggs, something strange happened. I opened up the box and removed the first egg, and paused. "Weren't they supposed to be bigger?" I thought. "Like the size of a normal egg? An average chicken egg?" Desperate to alleviate the doubt and get back into the swing of enjoyment, I quickly rationalized that "They must have always been this way," and "Maybe this is like when Robin Williams felt like Neverland was smaller upon returning as an adult in 'Hook.'"

So, ok, shrug it off, nothing to worry about. I did exactly what we all yell at the people in the movies not to do. You're a character in the movie, minding the Wal-Mart. Greeting the customers. "Hello, welcome to Wal-mart. Hi there, welcome to Wal-mart." Double take. Thinking, "Say, did that guy come in with a chain saw? …Nah."

Five minutes later your lifeless corpse rests on the floor, bathed in a pool of your own blood!!! All because you lived in denial of the truth! A truth that is reluctantly revealed…

Turns out a celebrity with an obsession even greater than mine for Cadbury Creme Eggs has been keeping score, and set the record straight on national television that there had indeed been a cover up, and it goes all the way to the top.

Wikipedia has another piece of the puzzle regarding the Eggs, saying that "before 2006 they are listed with a weight of 39 grams, while today they are listed at 34 grams."

Did you hear about the Wii? I read that the reason there was a shortage in the U.S. was the weakness of our dollar. It was more profitable to provide Europe with an abundance of Wiis than to correct the U.S. shortage, at least until now. Finally European demand has calmed down enough to justify increasing the U.S. supply.

So what happened? The U.S. dollar was weak. The Euro was strong. Nintendo could have jacked up the prices in the U.S., but instead they diverted their product elsewhere.

Could this be what happened with the Cadbury Creme Egg? I think so.

A lot of people have mentioned the page on the Cadbury site that told the lie of "You're just getting bigger!" Near the bottom of this page is the list of FAQs that has been referenced, which has since been corrected to cover up the overt misguidance of the masses. As of Monday, March 31, 2008, the relevant Q & A reads:

So, Cadbury Schweppes calls up its little buddy Hershey in the U.S. "Your dollar has decreased in value. We will give you two options. Your Cadbury Creme Egg can remain the same size as it's always been, but it will cost you more from now on. Or, you can continue paying the old rate, and we'll simply reduce the size of your eggs by 13%, from 39 grams to 34."

Hershey's deliberates. "Option number 2," comes their reply.

The smaller Eggs are put into production, and a few disappointed consumers send in emails requesting an explanation. Cadbury Schweppes pretends everything is right as rain. Acid rain.

They never thought someone would get wise. "Most people are too stupid to think for themselves, and will accept the first decent-sounding explanation as fact. We'll just say the perceived Egg shrinkage is really caused by them growing up! Mwa Ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha!"

So, how does this country's President tie in to all of this? Let's look at the steps it took for us to get here…

1. Bush mismanages the U.S. economy

2. U.S. Dollar weakens
3. Cadbury Schweppes starts losing money in the U.S.
4. Cadbury Schweppes issues Hershey's its ultimatum
5. Hershey's chooses to buy smaller Cadbury Creme Eggs
6. Cadbury Schweppes deceives the American public as it pretends the Eggs have always been small
7. B.J. Novak retrieves an old 39 gram egg and goes on national television
8. Cadbury Schweppes changes its story after the fact and apologizes "for any confusion or misleading information."

I don't like being lied to, but here's a thought. If this lie happened, and was found out, there are probably a lot of other lies that nobody knows about. We must live in a world full of lies, and most people just don't think or worry about it. Some might even feel motivated to comment and provide their own personal justification in favor of those lies.

I don't really blame the President. I blame Hershey's and especially Cadbury Schweppes. I wish they would have just jacked up the price and kept the Egg the same size. At least then the unfortunate changes would have been out in the open from the beginning.

Today I visited RapArtists.com, and it looks pretty cool. There’s a rap forum for discussing whatever comes to mind, related to rap and hip hop. I thought this post was neat:

“Hip Hop in the White House - Yo, if Obama wins the prez race, does he blast something like ‘Eric B is President’ in the Oval Office? How pimp would that be,,,,,”

I think it would be wild if Obama or any other candidate happened to win and then televised a celebration that a lot of people could relate to. But then again, I’ll be some stressed-out people somewhere would say, “Get to work! What do we pay you for…” And the President would have to say, “Yes sir, Uncle Sam.”

Another topic on the forum was about old school vs. new, and how some people were concerned about the changes in music over time. It looks like the artists who started it all are, for the most part, staying true to their original concepts. Still, the threat is lurking that commercialization and other forces will dilute the purity of those ideas. For more on the issues concerning rap and hip hop, check out RapArtists.com.

I was watching something on TV, and it showed a fictional character of intense charisma. I thought, "How did he get that way?" So I surfed on over to Wikipedia and looked up "Charisma."

This part reminded me of Obama:

"The following are Professor Wiseman's general tips on how to be more charismatic:

• General: Open body posture, hands away from face when talking, stand up straight, relax, hands apart with palms forwards or upwards

• To an individual: Let people know they matter and you enjoy being around them, develop a genuine smile, nod when they talk, briefly touch them on the upper arm, and maintain eye contact
• To a group: Be comfortable as leader, move around to appear enthusiastic, lean slightly forward and look at all parts of the group
• Message: Move beyond status quo and make a difference, be controversial, new, simple to understand, counter-intuitive
• Speech: Be clear, fluent, forceful and articulate, evoke imagery, use an upbeat tempo, occasionally slow for tension or emphasis."

I don't know who Professor "Wise man" is. Maybe it's a gag?

Anyway, I thought of a sketch that SNL might consider doing, showing Obama in preparation for his reentry into the political sphere. Just before he enters the Presidential race, he'd be searching Wikipedia for any and all information that could help him.

"Let's see here — charisma — blah blah blah, comfort as a leader, move around, lean forward, blah blah, make a difference, be new, simple, beyond status quo, blah, blah, be clear, forceful, use imagery, blah, blah, slow for emphasis………… Got it!"

"Mr. Obama, you're needed on stage! Are you ready to speak?"

(leaning forward, with slow emphasis) "I am now."

About a month ago, I remember reading someone's opinion that Hillary Clinton was a sure bet for the next Presidency. Right now she's slipping behind in the polls. I've seen and read in a few different places that she's becoming emotional, even tearful, and vowing to struggle on.

There's a theory that nothing the Clintons do is unplanned. Everything is supposedly mapped out in incredible detail. If you take Mrs. Clinton's emotion at face value, it seems very normal. She wants so badly to win that even the thought of not being able to take America in a new direction is enough to bring tears to her eyes. But maybe there's more to this.

Yesterday I saw a clip on a news program about what Hillary said when confronted with a statement along the lines of, "What do you think about voters siding with this other guy?" Her response was, "That hurts my feelings." It was at that moment that I realized she was probably advised to play up her differences as a woman, when compared to a man. The old stereotypes say men are stoic, and women are emotional. So Hillary was probably coached into making it as obvious as possible that she's a leader of a different caliber, and since most people are looking for change, that's a big selling point.

But here's where things get interesting. Hillary has fallen behind (or it seems that way, or it is being made to seem that way), so she gets emotional. That garners her more attention, and the more attention you've got, the more likely you are to gain public favor. If you're unknown, nobody cares. If people are aware of you, they'll make up their minds one way or another. So to win an election, it's best to get as much attention as possible.

I once read about a memory test done with average folks who sat down and looked at some names of people they'd never heard of. Then they took a break of an hour or two. After the break, they were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding celebrities. The form had a bunch of names, and boxes that were to be checked off if a name belonged to a famous person. Most people ended up checking off names that weren't famous at all, but did in fact appear on the original list of random names. The conclusion was that the people looked at the questionnaire, recognized a name, assumed they knew it for a reason, and marked it as famous. This could work in politics, as well as with marketing your blog.

They say no press is bad press. A blog was once involved in a lawsuit. The "negative" press sent major traffic to the site, and it ended up earning record revenue. My theory for how this applies to politics is this: When you're falling behind, you need to get back in the public eye through any means necessary. The more people who are aware of you and what you're about, the more votes you'll get. That's a potential reason for why Hillary is hitting the media with a display of emotion. She wants more attention, which could lead to a reversal in her recent slippage trend.

How does this help us bloggers? The idea is pretty simple. Get as much attention you can, for reasons that appear on the surface to be entirely natural. If you come across as wanting attention, or obviously trying to pull some media stunt, it won't work. Hillary's getting attention because her emotional behavior is interesting, but not unbelievable. To put your blog on the map, you've got to be just like a Presidential candidate, and get enough attention and publicity to win over your fair share of voters and visitors.