Shiny Glitzy Things

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“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J. R. R. Tolkien

I've been having trouble writing lately.  I typically write about issues I care about passionately, but I'm just not feeling it boys and girls.  Caring about the important things seems to be going out of style.  Think about it.

• Mitch McConnell admits, verbally, Washington needs to raise the debt ceiling to avoid economic upheaval.  Yet, he's threatening to filibuster, knowing the chaos which a federal default and shutdown will cause. 
• Even with a Democrat in the White House, we're still exporting asylum seekers by the thousands.  Yet, since it's no longer Trump's administration in charge, there's not the same outrage over the atrocities being perpetrated. 
• According to worldometers.info, as of 09/28/2021-4:39:15pm pst, 757,710 Americans have died of Covid-19.  Yet, 40% of us can't be bothered to get a shot in the arm in order to stem the tide of the pandemic. 

|Subject: Britney Spears | Rights to PNG secured from FAVPNG Premium |

Yes folks, apathy has become the in thing.  No...  Wait...  This just in; it appears to be over for "Real Housewife" Vicki Gunvalson and her long time beau, Steve Lodge.  We care about that.  Oh and, Senator Ted Cruz has dedicated his time to leading the charge to get Britney Spears out of prison.  That's important. 

Maybe we're not so much apathetic as we are immature.  Things without glitz and sparkly pieces don't hold our attention.  Hundreds of thousands of people are dying of a disease we could squelch if 70% of us became vaccinated, but let's make sure the pop star doesn't have to serve her full stint. 

The Omarosa Factor

To begin with you should know I am not a big fan of reality TV.   OK, I should amend that statement by saying, I don't watch non-food reality TV.  I watch shows such as Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen.  As a rule though, I don't care to watch people screw each other over and act behind people's back. If that's your reality, your not living a good life.

Subject: Omarosa | Date: 02/24/2017 | Photographer: Gage Skidmore |This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

That being the case, even though I never watched The Apprentice, I knew who Omarosa was.  Thanks to commercials and general pop culture buzz, it was obvious she was the loudmouth villain of the show.  However, she was also a favorite with fans, so NBC kept looking for reasons to put her back on the show.

Her popularity made her inclusion in Donald Trump's presidential campaign a no brainer. She gave Trump's entourage a badly needed splash of color. After the campaign she was given a loosely defined White House job for the same reason. Nobody knew exactly what she was supposed to do, but she helped make the White House look at little less white.

Perhaps because of her background in reality TV, she knew enough to watch her back.  To that end, she covertly recorded many of her conversations on the job.  Last week she published a tell all book about her days in the White House.  To promote her book she has been releasing recordings to the news one by one.

Perhaps the most damaging of these recordings so far, chronicles Trump's daughter-in-law offering her a 15K per month  "no show" job in exchange for her silence upon leaving the White House.  The conversation sounded like it had been lifted from an episode of the Sopranos.

We don't know what other gems Omarosa plans to release, or when.  One can only speculate whether she has anything that Mueller can use in his investigation.  However, even though she's doing what she is doing to promote herself, she may prove to be the hero who finally nalis Donald Trump. Only time will tell.  

Treating Our Children Like Shit

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We're demeaning our kids.  Don't believe me?  Well, let me clue you in.  The newest toy fad is based on scat play.  No,  I'm not referring to the "bee bop boop" croonings of Mel Tormé.  I mean we're structuring play around simulated shit.

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Perhaps the most disgusting embodiment of this sickening trend is the toy line Poopeez.  To quote Poopeez's own Facebook page, "Welcome to the world of Kerplopolis, where it is cool to be number two! Let’s get the potty started with TP, Pooji, Dumpling the Ninja Turd, Skidmark, Lil’ Squirt and the Toot Fairy as they drop-in and take adventures across Kerplopolis! Anything can happen as our heroes go about their potty business with their fellow poopizens. Its all POO-TASTIC fun with the Poopeez coming soon to a store near you!"

This toy line not only has its own website and a Facebook page, but they also have a YouTube channel, where people can watch cartoons based on these characters.

While Poopeez is the most over the top example of this trend, they're not alone. You can also buy your kids a game where they hold their face over a toilet bowel and spin a toilet paper shaped spinner  to tell them how many times they have to flush. If one of the flushes makes the toilet bowel squirt the water into their face, they lose the game. In a similar game, one must spin to see how many times they have to pull the monkey's finger. If a pull makes the monkey fart, they lose.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a "live and let live kind of guy." If you believe in a different God than I do, or no God at all,  no problem. If you have to be tied down and spanked to get your juices flowing,  I'm cool with that too. It takes all kinds. But can we all agree that we should teach our children not to play with fecal matter? Can we all agree on that? That should be parenting 101 along with "Don't stick your tongue in a light socket."

These games teach kids to wallow in shit. Once you teach them that, it's hard to teach them self respect. If they don't respect themselves, how can you teach them to respect those around them? Without respect for others, is there any wonder that some of them find its easy to shoot up schools and malls? What do they care? They have no respect for life.

I'm not saying that these toys are the one and only cause of what's been going on. However, they do add to the problem. It's true back in the day we had Betsy Wetsy, which was a baby doll that wet her diaper.  Said doll was designed to teach little girls a life skill so they could be good moms. Holding your face over a toilet bowl waiting to be doused with toilet water doesn't teach kids anything but that they deserve to be doused with toilet water. The game is demeaning not constructive.

I'm not trying to be a poop, but let's keep this shit away from our children.

I'm Still Proud To American

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"I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land! God bless the U.S.A." ~ Lee Greenwood - (I'm Proud To American)

I've had this song running around in my head for a few weeks.  When it came on the radio, in years past, my chest would puff with patriotism.  Recently, my jaded ears have heard the anthem with irony rather than pride.

Our country is being governed by a President who's under constant investigation and a legislature who have lost the ability to compromise.  Before you think that I'm only blaming Republicans, Democratic lawmakers have banded together into a, "resistance," to oppose ANYTHING proposed by President Trump, as if they're characters from a Star Wars movie.

As a result, we're about to deport over a million people who grew up as Americans. Our lawmakers can't even agree on a way to keep our schools safe. A good number of them even want to arm teachers for crying out loud.

It's easy to look at a defunct government and lose faith in one's country.  I had.  Then, I pulled my head from my lower orifice and looked around.  The government is not America. We are America!  The preamble to the Constitution begins with the three words "WE THE PEOPLE." This country is not about the government, it's about the people.  I'm happy to report that the people, as a whole, are good.

Subject: Statue of Liberty | Date: 09/01/2005 | Photographer: Nicolai Schafer |This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Germany.

Statista.com reports, "In spring 2017, the number of people who conducted volunteer work within the last 12 months amounted to 67.81 million in the United States." Millions of us give our time to deliver Meals on Wheels to shut-ins, mentor our youth as Big Brothers & Sisters, help the disabled, work in soup kitchens, staff volunteer firehouses, and perform numerous other tasks which keep America moving forward.

I'm personally surrounded by examples of such community mindedness.  For those readers who haven't guessed by now, I live with a severe disability.  I'd be in the tall grass without the selfless assistance of family and friends.  As a matter of fact, this blog is being made possible by the kindness of a volunteer.

My situation aside, I have friends who contribute to our country in an array of other ways.  They cook food for the homeless, organize blood drives, stock food bank shelves, and drive in funeral processions for military veterans.

While our elected officials are behaving like children and members of the mafia, the people are holding the country together. Most of us are doing our part to make our country a better place. That's something to be proud of.

"I'm Proud To Be An American," sung by Lee Greenwood - courtesy of YouTube

TV, It Is A Changin'

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Last week I commented on Facebook that I think Marvel does better movies, but DC does better live action TV. I backed my assertion by saying, I love the DC shows; Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, IZombie, and Gotham; but the last 2 Superman movies blew chunks. On the flipside, Marvel's Avengers & X-Men movies are great, but I struggle through Agents Of Shield.

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A friend of mine, Kyle, responded by pointing out that Netflix’s DareDevil is one of the best comic book dramatizations being produced today. While I had no trouble agreeing with his statement, I hadn’t thought of web based productions as being “TV” shows before. In my mind, TV shows were shows people watch on a TV set. Apparently, I had been a victim of old fashioned thinking.

Certainly there are reasons to think of online content as belonging to the realm of TV. When the sitcom Community was cancelled by NBC, Sony struck a deal with Yahoo to stream a sixth season online. Additionally, Netflix’s House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black have each beat broadcast shows to win several Emmy Awards.

While the definition of a TV show has evolved to refer to episodic material which can be viewed on a number of devices, in my mind there is fundamental difference between online fare and traditional broadcasts.

The day after a traditional broadcast, viewers can gather around the proverbial water cooler and say, “Did you see that last night? Man, Kunta Kinte stuck to his guns.” However, web content is released a season at a time. This allows people to view material at their own pace, but it eliminates that next day chat and sense of community.

Everything changes and evolves, thus is the nature of the universe. I just hope that as the nature of TV progresses, we don’t sacrifice the aspects which bring people together.

Those SUPER Heroes

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Subject: Heroes of Marvel Live | Date: 03/05/16 |
Photographers: James Kiester & Bonnie Kiester | This picture was taken by the author of this blog. |

Recently, I was at Portland's Moda Center (home of the Trail Blazers), watching a Marvel Comics based stunt show.  A few years ago I wrote a blog about comics as pop lit, but as I scanned the crowd of children and adults, many of which were dressed as their favorite character, I began thinking about America's love of superheroes.

I was 8 years old when Christopher Reeves first donned Superman's cape on the silver screen.  Not having seen a mainstream comic book superhero in a full blown movie before, I remember being giddy with excitement.  Equally rare in those days, were live action superhero TV shows.  When characters such as The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, and Wonder Woman did make the air waves, they were almost always pitted against non-super "realistic" criminals.

Fast forward to today; audiences can watch a variety of super-based shows.  From DC Comics we have The Flash, Arrow (Green Arrow), Legends of Tomorrow (featuring a Justice League-like team), Supergirl, Gotham (a Batman prequel), IZombie, and Lucifer.  Meanwhile, Marvel Comics produces Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Dare Devil, and Jessica Jones with Luke Cage (Power Man) coming in the fall.

In addition to these televised offerings, in 2016, movie goers can see Deadpool, Batman Vs. Superman, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Suicide Squad, and Doctor Strange.  Then in 2017 fans have Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wonder Woman, Spiderman: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Justice League: Part 1 to look forward to.

Given their dominant media presence, one has to wonder what's fueled these heroes' increase in popularity.  I can think of three possible explanations.

1. Those with the purse strings fund the arts.  During the Renaissance the Catholic Church was arguably the wealthiest organizations in the world.  As such, they funded the works of artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Pachelbel, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Verdi.  Today, thanks to toy and comic book sales, DC & Marvel are multi-billion dollar companies who can afford to fund block buster projects.
2. The audience has changed.  From the 30s through the 70s, comic books and super heroes were primarily for kids.  In the 80s the kids of the 70s kept reading their favorite titles, and comics began to evolve to adapt to the older audience.  These days comic shops have a large general section and a small section of child friendly comic books.   Since adults are driving the market, movies & TV shows are being mass produced for those adults.
3. We need a simplistic escape.  Typically, it's rare to see a morally complex super villain.  These baddies usually want to steal a valuable object (a diamond, secret plans, etc...), kill someone, or enslave a population.  In response to this threat, a noble hero rises to protect us from evil.  Given this moral simplicity, it may not be a coincidence that Superman became popular just as Hitler was coming to power.  Perhaps dark times make us long for symbols of hope, fictional or not.  If that's the case, it's not surprising that a country which continues to squabble over marital rights, and  has been at war for 14 years, has latched on to superheroes.

Was The Force Ever Asleep?

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On May 25th, 1977, fans of science fiction caught their first glimpse of the Star Wars Universe.  The newest chapter of this saga has been entitled "The Force Awakens," yet I have to wonder if it's ever really been asleep.

The tale of laser wielding knights, bounty hunters, royalty, monsters, and villains has, so far, spawned six more movies, weekly cartoons, novels, comic books, toys, games, t-shirts, posters, buttons, and other bobbles.  The franchise's fictional Jedi Order even inspired the formation of The Temple Of The Jedi Order: Church Of Jediism in Texas.

 While most fans haven't adopted the saga as a replacement for their personal God concept, the franchise has made an indelible mark on pop culture and, arguably, society in general.  Besides being entrenched within "nerd culture," the franchise has wormed its way into unexpected parts of civilization.

• On March 8th, 1983 President Reagan referred to the USSR as "The Evil Empire."
• The same president named his ill-conceived missile defense system "Star Wars."
• On 4 May 1995 during a defense debate, UK MP Harry Cohen referred to a the date as "Star Wars Day: May the forth be with you."
• Star Wars also made its mark in the 2001 census, when over 390,000 UK respondents entered their religion as Jedi. 
•  On March 1, 2013, President Barack Obama spoke, saying that some people expected him to do a "Jedi mind meld*" on the Republicans who refused to make a deal.
• To wish someone good luck, many of us say, "May The Force Be With You."

There are other examples, of course, but my point is that the past 38 years have been influenced, to some degree, by this fictional realm.

Two months from now, fans will be treated to the next cinematic chapter.  Stores have been selling the action figures since August, and Fandango is already selling tickets for the December 18th opening.

The current mania reminds me of the 1999 craze.  There had been no big screen offering of Star Wars during most of the 80s & 90s, so when Episode I was announced we were clambering to see Vader's origin story.  In that pre-Fandango world, light saber duels were being conducted and cutters were being mocked by fans in ticket lines which stretched around entire city blocks.

Even though that particular chapter proved to be the least "stellar" of the collective, the sense of mania is repeating itself.  Some say, the excitement is at such a high level because to original performers are returning.  Yet, I wonder if it's not simpler than that.  As psuedo-ideological as it sounds, I think Star Wars simply resonates with people in a way other stories don't.

In any case, I have my tickets.

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Epilogue Added 11/17/2015:

I’ll be taking a break from blogging. During the next 6 weeks I’m going to; design & send this year’s Christmas card, design next year’s calendar, rewrite a few chapters of my book, and look into raising money for a copyright lawyer so I can self publish “Murder According To Hoyle.”
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* = President Obama actually confused the "Jedi Mind Trick" with the "Vulcan Mind Meld."

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Must Sees

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During a recent coffee date, my friend, Mallorie, remarked that Carrie Fisher hadn't had any movie roles since the original Star Wars trilogy concluded.  When I pointed out she'd

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played Marie in When Harry Met Sally, Mallorie said she hadn't seen it.  I was surprised.  Until that moment, I'd thought of the 1989 romantic comedy as one of those films which everybody had seen, such as The Wizard of Oz.

So, what makes a movie a "must see?"  While MANY movies mindlessly regurgitate cliches, a must see movie, at least in my mind, is one which starts a cliche, or worms its way into the fabric of our culture in some other way.

An example from TV would be Star Trek.  Thanks to the 60s series, when people part ways they often tell one another to, "live long and prosper."  The synonym for goodbye is used today by trekkies and non-trekkies alike.

Being a man who likes to visit the outside world from time to time, I can't sit here and list every such film.  However, below you'll find a list of 10 films, or film series, in no particular order, which, I believe,  influenced the way we talk and/or think.

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01. The Wizard of Oz - This early addition to the fantasy genre taught us to appreciate what we have with the tag line, "There's no place like home."

02. The Star Wars Saga - Like Jar Jar, hate Jar Jar, the fact is that wishing the force be with somebody has become synonymous with wishing them good luck.

03. When Harry Met Sally - OK, 99.99% of romantic comedies make me want to punch kittens.  Yet, writer, Nora Ephron, understood the way people think to such a degree that this movie is frequently quoted by men who feel they can't be "just friends" with women.  Plus, the "I'll have what she's having" moment has been lampooned multiple times over the years.

04. The Godfather - If one is going to "make someone an offer they can't refuse" it helps to have some context for the classic quote.

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05. Casablanca - Not only is "always having Paris" a popular way to say you can't take away our happy memories of what was, the irony of "beginning a beautiful friendship" is lost on those who haven't seen the movie.

06. The Maltese Falcon - Bogart makes a second appearance here.  If you've ever seen a spoof of Film Noir movies with a beautiful dame sauntering into a P.I.'s office, this film best defines the genre.  It's the stuff dreams are made of.

07. Rocky I & II - Yes, there are six Rocky films, with a rumored seventh coming soon.  Yet, it was the first two which chronicled the journey of the fictional underdog becoming the heavyweight champion.  If you've ever seen someone shout, "Adrian!" after accomplishing a significant goal, these movies will lend context to that cry.

08. Dirty Harry: Sudden Impact - While the original Dirty Harry, and its four sequels, became the flag bearers for tough guy cop movies, it was Sudden Impact (the fourth movie) which inserted, "Go ahead, make my day," into our collective vocabulary.

09. Gone with the Wind - This four hour saga has given us multiple cliches from a woman who "should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how," to a determined woman swearing, "as God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again," as she shakes her fist at the sky.

10. Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock's classic shower murder scene has become a mental representation of shock and horror.

Movies of Honorable Mention

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Pre-Casino Royale 007 movies - Before the modern revamp into a grittier franchise, James Bond movies told fanciful tales of an irreverent super spy who utilized gadgets, concepts cars, bullets, booze, and babes to foil the plots of over-the-top villains embodying the fears of each film's particular era.  Notable offerings include, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Living Daylights, and GoldenEye.

John Wayne Westerns - Whether one believes Wayne was a good actor, or merely played himself in every movie, his westerns painted a picture of a noble justice driven west.  While films such as El Dorado, True Grit, The Comancheros, The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, Chisum, and The Sons of Katie Elder have been rebuked as being white friendly revisionist depictions of an actually oppressive time, I prefer to think of these offerings as a reflection of where we WISH we had come from, even if the ideal was never realized by our forebears.

Musicals - As I've said before, there's no denying that musicals deliver a certain amount of fantasy based cheese.  However, in amongst the glitz and the high steps, audiences are given access to characters inner most thoughts and feelings.  Notable offerings include, Fiddler on the Roof, The King & I, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Chicago, Les Misrables, and, for the kinky among us, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Of course, I could add 50 more movies to this list, and still not be finished.  Yet, seeing the films on this list is a good start for anyone wanting to understand modern conversational/pop culture allusions. 

What movies would you include on a must see list?
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I Can't Like Everything

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I'm a red blooded 21st century American, and as a red blooded 21st century American I

Subject: Screen Shot from my Facebook feed | Date: 04/0/15 |
This shot was taken by the author of this blog. |

spend a good deal of time on Facebook.  Many of my Facebook friends post benign tidbits featuring recipes, TV/movie updates, celebrity gossip, and other dinner party safe topics.

However, some of my friend are civic minded people who keep their fingers on the political and moral pulse of the world. These friends will post news and op-ed pieces on gay marriage, war, crimes against humanity, global warming, and other socially aware topics.

Being a friend, I like to comment on friends' posts whenever possible, it's a pretty interesting way to start a conversation.  There are times though, when I tired or pressed for time.  During these times, I like to read the ten most current posts and click "Like" to let my friends know I took the time to read what they took the time to post.  It's the polite thing to do.

The Liking shortcut works well for the more run of the mill posts.  I can like the fact that Jim Parsons (Big Bang's Sheldon Cooper) received a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame, and I can like a recipe for bacon covered turkey.  Liking those things is pretty socially and morally safe.

However, when a friend posts news about college students being massacred, or a 15 year old sex slave being locked in a coffin full of spiders for not delivering "service" with a smile, clicking Like can be interpreted as condoning slavery, torture, and murder.   It feels icky and creepy to like such posts.

Facebook needs to add a "Don't Like," or "Acknowledged," button as a reply option.  Such a button would indicate I read the information and I agree the situation blows chunks.  It would be a way for readers to give a quick nod to the poster without saying, "Gee, I like the fact that those kids are dead."

What do you think?
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My Heroes Have Always Been Human

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Dirk Benedict (born March 1, 1945) is a television actor who played the characters Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica and Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck in The A-Team. I vividly remember watching both shows as a kid. I remember the excitement I felt as I watched him blast the feldercarb out of the bad guys, first in space, the as part of the Los Angeles underground.

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This weekend I had a chance to meet one of my childhood heroes at Rose City Comic-Con. While giddy as my 12 year old self, I carefully prepped for the convention by writing my question for Mr. Benedict, wording it just right, and packing my Battlestar Galactica cast photo, which had already been signed by Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Lt. Boomer).

I arrived at the Oregon Convention Center at 12:30 pm, with Mr. Benedict’s public address scheduled for 1:00 pm. After getting through the ticket line, making sense of the floor map, and finding an elevator that worked, I was afraid I’d be late and locked out. Luckily, I met Star Trek: Voyager’s Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim) in the elevator on the way to Mr. Benedict’s address. Mr. Wang, being the moderator for the address, was kind enough to escort me through the staff only hallway to make sure I wouldn’t be late. Oddly enough, even though I’m a huge Star Trek fan, I’d been so focused on Mr. Benedict that it didn’t dawn on me that Mr. Wang had played the Voyager character until I returned home.

I sat for the better part of an hour listening to Mr. Benedict speak about a variety of topics. Among his reminisces of working on Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team, the man I’d come to see dropped a series of ideological bombshells, including:

All liberals need to grow up,

One should eat brown rice & veggies, avoiding all red meat, dairy, sugar, cola, and too much water, and

Social media is society’s new cocaine.

I was heartbroken. Being a liberal blogger who loves steak, cheese, chocolate, and cola, Mr. Benedict and I apparently didn’t agree on ANYTHING.

Out in the hallway, I sat and watched the endless parade of costumed fans hurrying from one exhibit to the next and posing for pictures. Superman was photographing Wolverine, Darth Vader was posing alongside a female version of The 10th Doctor, and a Viking was exchanging notes with the Lannisters, from Game of Thrones.

As I viewed the array of mock characters hob knobbing with one another, I asked myself why I was upset. Just like the people mingling before me, Mr. Benedict was a man with his own beliefs and quirks, who happened to have played parts I’d liked. With that in mind, I made my way to his booth, had him sign the photo I’d brought, and thanked him for his body of work.

In the end, we’ll never share a rare steak and a Coke, or campaign for the same candidate. That’s OK though. Thirty years ago, he spent one night a week entertaining & inspiring a young boy, which is really all I can ask for.
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I Want To Live In Springfield

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As I write this, FOX owned FXX Network is running every chapter of "The Simpsons" -- all 552 episodes, plus the movie -- in a 12-day marathon. What began, in 1989, as a series of family based animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, 

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has evolved into a 25 year chronicle of the, fictional, town of Springfield. While I haven't watched the entire marathon, needing at least enough time to catch the premiere of DOCTOR WHO's 8th season and True Blood's grand finale, I've caught enough stretches of the marathon to know that I want to live in Springfield.

While many of its inhabitants are simplified  caricatures of societal stereotypes, Springfield seems to work somehow.

First, everyone has a productive roll to play, and no one is treated like an outcast.  Even Otto, the town stoner, is employed as a bus driver, and Barney, the town drunk seems to have an automatic spot on any sports team the town puts together.

Equally impressive is the glaring lack of hard core crime in the town.  Sure, Nelson is the school yard bully and Fat Tony is the local mob boss, Springfield never sees 17 year old boys raping & killing 6 year old girls.  Crimes in Springfield are more benign and easily solvable.


Most alluring though, is the long term maintenance of the status quo.  Babies can be fawned over for decades, childhood never ends, friend today are friends tomorrow, and family units are stable.

Of course, such a place doesn't exist.  Freezing time with photos, journals, and cherished memories may be as we can get to living in Springfield.
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This Is Mork Signing Off

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I won’t rehash his biography, or list his extensive library of cinematic roles.  NBC Nightly News has already done that.  I’m not going to talk about his struggle with addiction, speculate on the causes of his depression, or try to discern the motives for his final solution.  A special episode of 20/20 will undoubtedly do that.  All I can do here, is to record my reaction to the August 11th suicide of, the comedy genius, Robin Williams.

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In 1980, my father organized the parking garage for the, then brand new, Marriott Hotel, in Portland.  As a job perk, dad was given a suite, for our family, for a three day weekend.  Part of the package were tickets to the double feature, Flash Gordon & Popeye.

The ten year old me loved the Star Wars-esc action of Flash Gordon, but I remember also being enchanted by the music and comedy of Popeye.  Seeing the man, I knew as Mork, play E.C. Segar’s classic character was a treat for my young eyes.

 His unpredictable wit has entertained me for decades.  I enjoyed his improvisational wit and his willingness to step, even leap, outside of the box for a laugh.  Meanwhile, I found myself inspired by his charity work for organizations such as Comic Relief, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the LiveStrong Foundation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and more.

Robin Williams’ talent, humor, and compassion literally brought joy to millions of people.  Keep in mind, I’m also a huge fan of Maverick and The Rockford Files, but I don’t think the recent death of James Garner hit me nearly as hard as the death of Robin Williams.

By ending his own pain, Robin Williams chose to stop spreading joy by denying his talent to the world.  He chose to quit making millions of people happy; that’s the part that stings the most.

R.I.P. Robin Williams.
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Once OK - Once Taboo

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I can see the jolly African American singer, Fats Waller, sitting at his piano and merrily belting out the following tune in a dance hall in 1936.

"Say up in Harlem at a table for two,
There were four of us,
Me, your big feet and you,
From your ankles up, I'd say you sure are sweet,
From there down; there's just too much feet,
Yes, your feets too big.
Don't want ya, 'cause ya feets too big.
Can't use ya, 'cause ya feets too big.
I really hate ya, 'cause ya feets too big."
This song would NEVER fly today.  It’s offensive.  The song has the singer withholding love from a woman, because of a single physical deficit.   Hardly PC.  Yet, the song serves as a prime example of how artistic standards change in response to the values of an era. 

When women and minorities "knew their place," 80 years ago, songs such as "Your Feet's Too Big," and Ernest Hogan's "All Coons Look Alike to Me," were common place.  The moment the songs were over, or once Bugs Bunny escaped from Little Black Sambo‘s stew pot, very few people thought about the social or political ramifications of the piece. 

Today the NAACP, and other watch dog groups, would be up in arms over such artistic depictions.  Likewise, Hogan’s Heroes, the 1965 sitcom about the whacky goings on at a NAZI prison camp, wouldn’t last a season, now that most of us have seen pictures of gas chambers and mass graves.

While our sensibilities have evolved, and increased enlightenment has moved certain artistic slants to the taboo list, other topics are OK to talk about today, which were once kept hushed.  Gay culture/rights is, arguably, the best example of a liberated topic.  As late as 1974, it would have been unthinkable for Beaver Cleaver or Greg Brady to be depicted as having a gay friend.

The tide began to turn in 1979 when Officer Zatelli came out to NYPD Captain Barney Miller and the fictional captain took up the cause of gay rights in the work place.  A bold sitcom topic 35 years ago, now seems rather common place in an era that’s been privy to “Will & Grace,” “The L Word,” and “Queer As Folk.”

Similarly, until relatively recently, disabilities were rarely discussed in polite society.  Even the liberal leaning Kennedys hid Rosemary, JFK’s mentally disabled sister, in a nursing home and never acknowledged her publicly.  Plus, there were few, if any, handicapped characters within mainstream media, unless they were deformed and/or evil, such as Captain Hook & Bedford Falls' Mr. Potter.

These days we’ve been exposed to heroes with disabilities such as X-Men’s Xavier, “My Left Foot’s” Christy Brown, and San Francisco’s Chief Ironside.  Plus, we can’t watch TV without seeing ads for wheelchairs and catheter supplies.

There’s little doubt that as society’s values evolve our taboos change.  The once acceptable is now unthinkable, and the once shocking is now considered mundane.  Today popular music & fiction can talk about gay rights, disabilities, and other sensitive topics, but we can no longer mock groups, based on surface differences.

As our morality evolves, I wonder what will be acceptable tomorrow?
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May The 4th Be With You

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               Photo courtesy of Amazon's Affiliate Program. 

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....    It is a period of civil war. Rebel  spaceships, striking from a hidden  base, have won their first victory  against the evil Galactic Empire.    During the battle, Rebel spies managed  to steal secret plans to the Empire's  ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an  armored space station with enough  power to destroy an entire planet.    Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents,  Princess Leia races home aboard her  starship, custodian of the stolen  plans that can save her people and restore  freedom to the galaxy..."
Since first reading these words on May 25th, 1977, fans of science fiction have been enthralled with the universe of Star Wars.  The tale of laser wielding knights, bounty hunters, royalty, monsters, and villains spawned five more movies, and more novels, comic books, toys, games, t-shirts, posters, buttons, and other bobbles than I can count.  The franchise's fictional Jedi Order even inspired the formation of The Temple Of The Jedi Order: Church Of Jediism in Texas.

While most fans haven't adopted the saga as a replacement for their personal God concept, the franchise has made an indelible mark on pop culture and, arguably, society in general.  This Sunday, fans will be celebrating Star Wars Day with movie marathons and themed parties.  I even plan to "get my geek on" by digging out my Luke Skywalker t-shirt and watching a few of the films.


First recognized in Toronto, in 2011, May the 4th was chosen for its phonic similarity to, "May the Force," within the franchise's popular tagline, "May the Force be with you."  While this observance may seem to lay nerd centrically outside the box, it's actually not unique.

In England and Scotland, January 25th is known as Burns Supper, in recognition of the UK's premier poet—Robert Burns.  The celebration features a set menu of Scottish favorites, including haggis, which is touted in Burns' poem Address To A Haggis. Other poems are read, speeches of appreciation are given and, in the case of more formal gatherings, the night ends with a dance.

May 20th is recognized, by My Fair Lady fans, as Eliza Doolittle Day.  Based on the lyrics, "One evening the king will say, 'Oh, Eliza, old thing — I want all of England your praises to sing. Next week on the twentieth of May, I proclaim Eliza Doolittle Day,'" the day is celebrated with showings of  the 1964 film and lots of chocolate for fans to eat.  Wouldn't it be lovely?

Bloomsday is a celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, during which the events of his novel Ulysses (which is set on 16 June 1904) are relived.  On June 16th, in Dublin and elsewhere, enthusiasts dress in Edwardian costumes and retrace Bloom's route around Dublin via landmarks such as Davy Byrne's pub. Avid devotees have even been known to hold marathon readings of the entire novel, some lasting up to 36 hours.

Title: Robert B. Parker at the Manchester (N.H.) Library | Date: 05/17/2006 | Photographer: Manchester (N.H.) Library | This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

I personally set aside January 18th, each year, to remember the life and works of Robert B. Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010), an American crime writer who's work helped me learn how to write fiction in the first person while including omnipresent narration. His most famous works were  novels about the Boston P.I. Spenser. Since they were known as Bullets & Beer stories, I spend the day with some beer and one of his many novels.

Fiction and poetry, when it's at its best, speaks to us in entertaining, instructive, and./or profound ways.  They can put issues into perspective, answer questions for us, impress us with their structure and flow, and provide us with a temporary escape from life.  Given the impact fiction and poetry have on readers and viewers, it's not surprising that we assign days to commemorate our favorites.  Thus, the observance of Star Wars Day may not be that far outside the box after all.
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My Guilty Pleasure - Game Of Thrones

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Photo courtesy of Amazon's Affiliate Program.

I must begin by stating that I HATE the term "guilty pleasure."  Typically used to refer to high calorie/salt/fat foods, the terms "guilty pleasure," "sinfully delicious," and alike make me want to punch the speaker in the throat.  By my way of thinking, good food is good food.  Unless you're trying keep Kosher or something, there's no SIN involved  in eating a bacon cheeseburger, or any other tasty morsel.

That being said, I find myself assigning the term to, of all things, a TV show.  Weekly depictions of murder, torture, incest, orgies, and other reprehensible behavior put the show in a morally questionable category.  Yet, even as I squirm during certain scenes, I find myself unable to look away.   Why?

One strength of the show is the fact that all the characters are intelligent.  The show, unlike many shows today, does not feature idiot droolers doing off-the-wall things just to do something to  fill screen time.  As an audience, we don't always like what the characters do, but their actions make sense and add to a well told story.

Additionally, I love the fact that the story, for those of us who haven't read George R. R. Martin's books, is completely unpredictable.  Any character can die at any time.  Main characters, who would have been presumed safe on other shows, have been killed without warning.  This uncertainty keeps viewers on the edge of their proverbial seats by maintaining an air of constant danger.

Ultimately what keeps me tuning in is the chance to root for the underdog.  Surrounded by an array of powerful morally bankrupt characters, we're given a handful of, seemingly powerless, noble characters who struggle to do what's right.  Recently, we saw one such hero refuse to allow his servant to endanger himself in order to get the hero out of some pretty dire straights.

Like HBO's Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones is a smorgasbord of sex and violence for adult viewers.  Other than the use of swords and magic though, the audience's ability to pull for someone other than a criminal sets Game of Thrones apart from its network alumni.

I give Game Of Throes 8.7 out 10 stars, only marking it down for a few sadomasochistic scenes, over the years, which really made me squirm.
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Those Days Of Yester Year

"I think you're going to find out that westerns will be coming back. It's Americana, it's part of our history, the cowboy, the cattle drive, the

Title: Dodge City [Kans.] Peace Commissioners. L to R: Chas. Bassett, W. H. Harris, Wyatt Earp, Luke Short, L. McLean, Bat Masterson, Neal Brown | Date: cCirca 1890 | Photographer: Unknown | This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.

sheriff, the fight for law, order and justice. Justice will always prevail far as I'm concerned." ~ Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger, 1949 - 1952 & 1953 - 1957)

Every winter I seem to acquire a hankerin’ for westerns.  Watching rough and tumble men; drink strong coffee over an open fire, ride across miles of picturesque plains, and mozy up to the bar for a shot of whiskey and a cigar; somehow provides me with a cozy down home feeling I simply don’t get from other genres.

While I agree with Moore’s overall sentiment, I must disagree with him on one key point.  Westerns aren’t about history.  Westerns are about mythology.  These heroic tales don’t depict where we came from as much as they depict where we wish we had come from.

Occasionally, a western will depict the tragic plight of Native Americans, and strive to accurately paint the picture of near genocidal conditions.  However, typical westerns generally depict “Indians” as a force to be overcome, like weather or mountain lions, as Americans struggle to tame the west and realize their manifest destiny.

Although this skewing of the history of attempted ethnic cleansing bares undeniably racist overtones, westerns also convey messages of community, loyalty, justice, faith, camaraderie.

• When the local bank was robbed, men dropped what they were doing and joined the posse.

• When a neighbor’s barn burned, town folk spent the next Saturday building a new one with no thought of pay.

• If a crime was committed, the varmint would be brought to justice by the  incorruptible law man.

• Everyone went to “Sunday meeting,” or at least  respected the institution.

• There was always a poker game a fellah could join, after a hard day tending cattle on the north 40.

Of course, the real “old west” was much dirtier, messier, and meaner than these tales would have us believe, but so what?  It doesn’t matter that Wyatt Earp may not have always waited for his rival to draw first.  It doesn’t matter whether the real Bat Masterson disarmed would be scoundrels with his cane, before reaching for his gun.  It doesn’t even matter that The Lone Ranger never really dispensed an even handed brand of justice.

These fictionalized figures of yester year entertain us by representing the noblest parts of our past in straightforward morality tales.  Although the historical slants may be iffy, at best, the senses of romance and escapism, delivered by these stories, are valuable in their own right.
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James Bond - Then & Now

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On October 5th, 1962, movie goers,were treated to their first glimpse of the tuxedo clad James Bond in Dr. No.  Audiences first met this suave hero as he was being ordered away from a winning run at the Baccarat table to receive his first assignment as a Double Oh Agent (Specifically Agent 007).  This new designation granted him the right, even the responsibility, to kill in order to further the interests of Queen & Country.  

Since receiving his license to kill, 007 - James Bond has protected the free world in 23 cinematic adventures, 24 if you count 1983's Never Say Never Again (the court mandated remake of 1965's Thunderball), 25 if you count 1967's Casino Royale (Woody Allen's spoof of the Bond franchise).

Most 007 film fans consider the "official" cannon to be comprised of the following 23 movies though, and consider the other two films to be outliers featuring Bonds of other quantum realities.

Movie Title	Year	Played James Bond
Dr. No	1962	Sean Connery
From Russia with Love	1963
Goldfinger	1964
Thunderball	1965
You Only Live Twice	1967
On Her Majesty's Secret Service	1969	George Lazenby
Diamonds Are Forever	1971	Sean Connery
Live and Let Die	1973	Roger Moore
The Man with the Golden Gun	1974
The Spy Who Loved Me	1977
Moonraker	1979
For Your Eyes Only	1981
Octopussy	1983
A View to a Kill	1985
The Living Daylights	1987	Timothy Dalton
Licence to Kill	1989
GoldenEye	1995	Pierce Brosnan
Tomorrow Never Dies	1997
The World Is Not Enough	1999
Die Another Day	2002
Casino Royale	2006	Daniel Craig
Quantum of Solace	2008
Skyfall	2012

Actually, hard core Double Oh fans probably choked on their proverbial popcorn when I lumped all 23 features into a single cannon.  Die hards recognize two official Bond Cannons, or timelines, these days. 

The first, or classic, timeline stretches from 1962's Dr. No all the the way to 2002's Die Another Day.  As with similar action heroes such as Robert B. Parker's Spenser, fans accept the fact that each adventure took place within the year each movie in question premiered, but our hero remained in his late 30s to early 50s during the entire span.

This Bond, played by; Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan; was the irreverently dashing gourmand who could dodge a barrage of bullets one moment, and the next moment be enjoying a medium dry vodka martini (shaken not stirred) with some caviar, quail's eggs, and foie gras before making love to his next sexual conquest.

It was this Oxford educated sophisticate who could taste a quality sherry and explain on which wine vintage it had been based, (see Diamonds Are Forever),  speak multiple languages, and memorize dossiers of potential enemy operatives such as Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun).  In addition to his roguish charm, heroic talents, and refined palette, four additional components define the classic era in my mind.

• Gadgets & Cars - Q Branch (MI5's tech department) didn't equip Bond in Dr, No. Bond's station chief, M, merely replaced 007's beloved Beretta with his first Walther PPK in the genesis of the series.  The following movie, From Russia with Love, first introduced Desmond Llewelyn as Q, who reprised the role until his death in 1999.  

Q's first allocation to Bond was, perhaps, the most realistic allocation of spy equipment during the franchise's tenure.  An ordinary looking attache case contained 40 rounds of ammunition concealed in two tubes disguised as metal studs on the bottom of the case.  A flat throwing knife was concealed in the side of the case, and was releasable by pressing a button under the clasp.  A disassembled and compactly stored AR7 folding Sniper's Rifle complete with scope and infrared lens, 25 gold sovereigns hidden in each side of the strap, and a tear gas cartridge disguised as a tin of talcum powder rounded out the covert kit. 

Since then, Q has supplied our hero with a dart shooting watch, exploding pen, inflatable ski coat, poison cigarettes, a jet pack, collapsible gyro-copter, cable & piton expelling belt, and a host of other gadgets which have saved the day on multiple occasions.

This list doesn't take into account his parade of top of the line luxury cars, modified by Q, with weapons such as assault rockets, headlight machine guns, buzz saws, oil slick dispensers, and ejector seats.  We've even seen a Bond car which could double as a miniature submarine.   Part of the fun of going to a Bond movie, during the classic era, was to see what new gadget & car Bond would be given next.

• Bond Girls - Famous for their sexually provocative names and gorgeous bodies, Bond's romantic interests were key elements to the films of the classic era.  As with the gadgets & the cars, viewers hurried back to theaters to see which beautiful woman 007 would woo next.  

Would she be a lone damsel in distress, such as Dr. No's Honey Ryder or Thunderball's Domino? Would our hero have to rely on his charms to reform a moll gone bad as in the cases of Goldfinger's Pussy Galore, A View to a Kill's May Day, or Octopussy's title character?  He may even find himself temporarily partnered with fellow agents such as Moonraker's Holly Goodhead, Die Another Day's  Jinx Jones, or The Man with the Golden Gun's Mary Goodnight.

The earliest Bond girls were little more than bubbly headed eye candy.  These early girls pleasantly accepted their customary slap on the bottom and dutifully left the room so the men could talk.  When Bond wasn't saving them, he was correcting their ditzy ideas and trying to get them to focus on the matter hand, rather than his raw sexual vibe.  In From Russia with Love it was all the poor chap could do get Tatiana Romanova to record details about the Lektor decoding device, instead of James' dreamy eyes.

Beginning with Teresa di Vicenzo of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the only classic Bond girl to get 007 to the marriage altar) however, women characterized by this vapid docility slowly began to be replaced by stronger leading ladies with attitudes of rugged independence and self assuredness.  By the time Die Another Day came along, movie makers were choreographing one battle for Bond and a separate battle for Jinx, the Bond girl, in the finale, essentially acknowledging the two characters as heroic equals.

• The Bond Villains - For starters, it was usually rather easy to spot the villain in a James Bond movie; he was almost always the guy in the Nehru Jacket, with the notable exceptions of Auric Goldfinger and The Spy Who Loved Me's Stramberg.  Seriously, all 007 had to do was find a suspect sporting a traditional hip-length tailored coat with the mandarin collar and it would've been a good bet this was the guy who stole the micro-chip, nuclear missile, or decoder.  Of course, there was a reason for this odd form of consistency.

In the first movie it was established that Dr. No was a chief operative of a criminal organization called  SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion).  For the next six films, again with the notable exception of Goldfinger, the villain would  be a member of SPECTRE; the coat was to be a quasi-uniform of sorts.

Due to a lawsuit between producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman over the script of Thunderball, Broccoli lost the rights to mention SPECTRE and its founder Blofeld in any movie after Diamonds Are Forever.  However, Broccoli kept the jackets on his villains as nod to the organization he could no longer name.

Besides on the fashion front though, Bond's enemies were symbolic in another way as well.  If you look at the year each film was released, many of the villains were representations of what people were scared of, or at least worried about, at the time.  Beginning with Dr. No's attempted disruption of the space race in '62, to the atomic terrorism of Number 2's Thunderball in '64, to Scaramanga's attempted exploitation of the energy shortage in '74, to Kamal Kahn's manipulation of the nuclear cold war in '83, etc...  These and other Bond villains served as personifications of the looming menace of a given period which could be defeated in 2 hours by a martini sipping hero.

• Tongue in Cheek Humor -  Bond's irreverence and boyish charm were most made evident by his occasional flippancy and tongue in cheek one-liners.  The movies were, by no means, comedies in the vein of Austen Powers, or anything like that.  Yet, there was a playfulness about the character as he lay in bed with a Russian spy and told his superior he was, "doing his bit to keep England's end up," (The Spy Who Loved Me).  Another favorite example is from Diamonds Are Forever when Plenty O'Toole introduced herself.

Plenty O'Toole: Hi, I'm Plenty.

James Bond (scans Plenty up & down, taking note of her ample measurements before answering): But of course you are.

There was no goofy silliness or slapstick BS going on.  However, you got the feeling that being in constant danger made it necessary for him to poke fun at his circumstances in order to maintain a functional level of sanity.  As he did, he let the audience in on the joke.

Arguably, the one classic era actor who didn't grasp this aspect of the character was Timothy Dalton, who tried to play Bond completely deadpan straight, much like a Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy's heroic spy) or a Jason Bourne (Robert Ludlum's) title spy.  It didn't work, and Dalton was released from the series after his second film, Licence to Kill.

2006's Casino Royale changed all that by having M (Judi Dench) call James Bond (Daniel Craig) into her office to receive his first assignment as 007.  This revamp gave fans a grittier, somewhat darker, James Bond.  This Bond hasn't been through the cold war, is less gadget oriented, and probably couldn't tell, by tasting, if a martini had been shaken or stirred.  The latest film, Skyfall, featured an erotic shower scene, but I wouldn't say there was a significant "Bond girl" to speak of.

In many ways today's Bond is a completely different character than the one I grew up with.  Yet, his sense of duty is still in tact, as is the number one rule of the James Bond Universe.

What's that rule, you ask?  Simple, the number one rule of the James Bond Universe is that James Bond CAN do the seemingly impossible in order to save the day.  I can't tell you how many times I've been in a theater watching 007 perform some stunt such as diving from a cliff to climb inside a twin engine plane, or chase an enemy across a high scaffold, only to hear some idiot in the audience say, "He can't do that."  You're there to see him do what can't be done.  Making such a criticism is like going to a Mel Brooks movie and saying, "That's stupid."

Without giving too much away about the plot of the current film, I'll wrap things up by saying, I found Skyfall to be the most enjoyable of the recent three films.  OK, the villain here didn't pose much of a global threat, granted.  Yet, we saw glimpses into Bond's past, as well as an emotionally vulnerable side our hero, neither of which Bond fans are used to seeing.  It was also fun to see 007 temporarily shatter the forth wall, reach back into his other timeline in what can only be described as a Dr. Who-esc moment, and retrieve his 1964 Aston Martin from Goldfinger and Thunderball.

The film also re-introduced several classic elements to the modern series, including an all new younger long haired genius version of Q, reminiscent of Criminal Minds' Dr. Spencer Reid.  I can't list the other elements which were re-introduced without giving away key plot points and some fun surprises.  What I will say is that the inclusion of said elements may signal shift back to classic  007 story telling.
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Pictures within the entry are linked to products which may be purchased from Amazon.
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This Summer's Salmagundi

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Introduction:
 
Salmagundi: [sal-muh-guhn-dee]
noun
1. a mixed dish consisting usually of cubed poultry or fish, chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions, oil, etc., often served as a salad.
2. any mixture or miscellany.

In my last newsletter, I promised  I'd do my next blog on the best & worst new TV shows of 2012.   Due to health issues though, I've neglected this blog during most of this summer, and there are a few other things I want to talk about as well.  Thus, this entry will feature said reviews, but will be a hodge-podge, or salmagundi, of topics which will serve as a summer wrap up.  Hopefully, I'll be able to  post on  more consistent schedule this fall, which is practically already upon us.
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Best New Show:

Undoubtedly, the best new show, or at least the most intelligent new show, is HBO's The Newsroom, created and written by Aaron Sorkin, creator of the politically charged drama, The West Wing. The series chronicles the behind-the-scenes events at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel. The show features Jeff Daniels as anchor Will McAvoy, who, together with his staff set out to put on a truly informative news show in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles. 

Being a prime time show on a premium cable channel, the show, of course, features a juicy love triangle and a story of true love denied.   Beyond the heartbreak of unrequited love however, is the more intriguing story of a news team who just wants to educate the public, ratings be damned.

What makes this show a delight to watch is  Sorkin's use of real news events and issues within each episode.  From the New Orleans oil spill, to shooting of Giffords, to the Presidential Primary Debates the show attempts to explore how each story should have been handled in order to provide the American people with the most accurate information.

On a final interesting note, The West Wing was often accused of "Republican bashing" during its tenure on NBC.  Perhaps in an attempt to avoid such criticism this time, Sorkin has made his new hero,  McAvoy, a Republican, albeit an extremely moderate one with many of the creator's liberal leanings.
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Worst New Show:

I need to start this section by explaining that I have absolutely no use for, so called, Reality TV unless it's somehow food related.  I find most reality shows to be extremely low brow and insulting to anyone who is indeed smarter than a fifth grader.  NBC's Stars Earn Stripes is certainly no exception.

Don't misunderstand, I'm the biggest flag waving son of a biscuit eating Uncle Sam you're ever likely to meet.  I'm all for supporting and honoring our troops.  That's not what this show does.  Eight celebrities each team with a special ops specialist to compete in a series of live fire exercises as a concerned general watches a live video feed from his tent, and paces back & forth.

Yes, the competitors are shooting real ammo at prearranged targets.  However, NOBODY'S SHOOTING BACK!  To compare these games to actual live combat, especially when we actually have real soldiers harm's way, is incredibly tacky.  It devalues actual sacrifices being made by our troops by making it look like any buff actor or female wrestler can do what our troops do every day.
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The 2012 Summer Olympics:

This year, I eagerly watched The 2012 Olympics, well the first week of them anyway.  By the second week, I was pretty much Olympicked out.  The opening ceremonies were a brilliant summary of the history and culture of The British Isles.  I didn't even mind Paul McCartney opening the games, which stress anti-doping rules, with a diddy about LSD.  Yet, as I watched the games themselves, I found myself grow increasingly frustrated by bizarre officiating.

Being primarily a boxing fan, one glaring example of bizarre officiating comes immediately to mind.  Azerbaijani boxer, Magomed Abdulhamidov, started the third round of an elimination bout with a two-point lead.  In the third round, he touched the canvas, was knocked down, six times by Satoshi Shimizu of Japan. Rather than delivering a minimum three standing eight counts and scoring the round in favor of Shimizu, Referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov, from Turkmenistan, waved off all six knockdowns and the judges scored the round with mysterious 10-10 tie score giving the bout to Magomed Abdulhamidov.

Even with the six knockdown blows being ignored, one could theoretically accept the round having been scored 10-10 if one could only point to the ten scoring blows which Abdulhamidov supposedly landed in the third round.  Nobody seems to be able to spot those blows while watching the tape however.  While this particular bout was later over turned, and Referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov was expelled from the game, erroneous results of bout after bout featuring; mystery points being awarded, legitimate points being ignored, and Teddy Atlas throwing spastic hissy fits from ringside; were allowed to stand.

Additionally, Gymnast Jordyn Wieber did not advance to the all-around final due to the rule limiting participating countries to two competitors in the all-around final, even though her scores were greater than many of her foreign competitors.  Yes, rules are rules, but the rule in question strikes me as being a politically motivated rule, designed to keep certain countries from dominating an event, rather than a sporting rule, designed to find the best competitor within the sport.

Sure, many athletes legitimately won their events.   Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings are the women's beach volleyball champs.  Missy Franklin is a champion swimmer and seemingly a complete sweetheart.  Ashton Eaton is a gold medal decathlete.  I'm not knocking any of them, or anyone else who trained, sacrificed, and brought medals back to their country.  I'm simply saying that bizarre officiating and politically motivated rules have taken the wind from my Olympic sails, and I probably won't be as gung-ho to watch it four years from now.
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The National Election - Economics:

I'm an unapologetic liberal.  Thus, I was going to steer clear of talking about the election this year simply because when I correct something Romney  said, or give Obama a thumbs up, my liberal bias shows and people tend to write my points off as predictable.  Fair enough.

Yet, I keep hearing people who should know better saying that Romney's plan to cut tax rates for corporations and the wealthy is the best way to fix the economy.  The argument is that tax cuts free up money to create jobs.

That sounds good until you take into account the fact that it's never worked before.  It didn't work under Reagan or either Bush, Sr. or Jr., and there's no reason to believe it will magically work under Romney.  Trickle down economics fails every time because the tax savings trickles into bonuses for top executives then stops before the money reach levels where it can fuel the economy with new jobs.

Of course, if they're referring to capitol gains tax cuts, partner run financial advising companies, which have no employees other than a few secretaries, stand to make millions in tax savings without creating a single job.  Thus, those millions are denied to local, state, and federal budgets while society as a whole sees no return on that sacrifice.

The Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy conducted a study comparing states with the lowest income tax rates to states with the highest income tax rates.  According to the study, the states with higher tax rates have much more robust economies across the board.  One likely explanation for these numbers is that when businesses look for states to move their employees to they look for areas with healthy infrastructures; roads, schools, police, mass transit; which are supported by tax dollars.   Hence, the areas with the most tax dollars in the kitty can build the strongest infrastructures which thereby attract new businesses.

Bottom line, I'm not sure how Romney's plan to give corporations more than a trillion dollars in tax cuts is going to work in paying off the deficit, unless he's planning to make sacrifices to infrastructure and cut essential services; medical care, food stamps, heating assistance, etc...;  from people who need them to survive.
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The National Election - Hoppy Tactics:

I have to say, Obama is a bit of a crafty fox.  For the last few weeks, he's appeared on The Today Show, and other news shows, talking about the White House's line of craft beers; Honey Ale, Honey Blonde, and Honey Porter.   Meanwhile, newspapers are being fed stories about citizens clambering for the recipe, and they're being reminded of The Beer Summit which saw our president calm racial tensions between black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and white Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley over pints of the frosty beverage.

What makes this so cleaver is that Romney has no obvious counter move, since Mormons don't drink alcohol of any kind.  Obama alone gets to sell himself as someone who'd have a beer with the guys.  "He's one of us, he drinks beer," is the message the DNC wants us to internalize without anyone actually verbalizing it.

It's brilliant!
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One Final Note:

 Mr. Todd Akin, rape is rape.  'Nuff said.
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