By and large, I hate shopping. Especially during the Christmas rush, when I get to brave the endless masses of humanity in an endeavor to bring materialistic happiness to my friends and loved ones. Somehow people have decided that the best way to celebrate the season is to be as rude and selfish as possible, and I just want to stay away. So of course I wait until Christmas Eve to do my shopping every year. Not so this year, however, and it was magical. I came across two characters that made the whole day worth the trip. As a warning, I have to be somewhat vague as the people I buy gifts for are among the only people who actually read this so far.
My first benevolent stranger was at Best Buy where I was attempting to find a suitable game for a loved one. As I was examining a box, a voice from somewhere behind me and off to my right told me that I had made a great selection if I liked that that particular genre of game. I wasn't prepared for the sight before me when I turned to greet this keeper of video game knowledge. This man was eighty if he was a day, and he wore an eye patch. Not your typical, sterile, eye doctor affair. A large, black, pirate eye patch. I have no idea how I didn't laugh out loud because I was not prepared for Nick Fury to offer me advise on my purchase. Thank you kindly one-eyed stranger. What you lack in depth perception you more than make up for with kindness. I wish for beautiful cyclopean women to service you each night.
The other colorful character I actually did laugh my ass off as I passed. Anyone familiar with Clerks with remember the character Dante. I met Dante's doppelganger. And he was Jewish. And he worked at a mall kiosk. Dante's same stature and appearance down to the goatee, plus a yamaca and hawking cheap cell phone paraphernalia. I almost walked up and asked him if he was supposed to be here today. Figured no one would appreciate it but me.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
I know. Somehow, I've always known.
Luke: If I don't make it back, you're the only hope for the Alliance.
Princess Leia: Luke, don't talk that way. You have a power I don't understand and could never have.
Luke: You're wrong, Leia. You have that power too. In time you'll learn to use it as I have. The Force runs strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And... my sister has it. Yes. It's you, Leia.
Princess Leia: I know. Somehow, I've always known.
This exchange always bothered me. Really you always knew? That's the best you could come up with? Let's recap what's happened with these characters through 2 and 3/4 movies:
1. Luke salivates over her since seeing her hologram in Obi-Wan's cave.
2. An awkward love triangle forms with the two of them and Han Solo that persists until the end of the second movie when she clearly picks Han.
3. Most important. She open mouth kisses Luke to piss off Han.
So, if you're Luke, don't you immediately go find somewhere to throw up and take a 6 hour scalding hot shower when you get this news? You huddle in a corner in the fetal position trying to get clean and purge all the horrible fantasies you had running through your head about your... sister. Then you tell her, and she gives you, "I've always known." Then why did you put me through all that shit for 2 movies you manipulative bitch? Excuse me while I practice using the Force by throwing you against a few trees.
This is what I think about when I drive to and from Hialeah twice a week and end up getting stuck in traffic.
Princess Leia: Luke, don't talk that way. You have a power I don't understand and could never have.
Luke: You're wrong, Leia. You have that power too. In time you'll learn to use it as I have. The Force runs strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And... my sister has it. Yes. It's you, Leia.
Princess Leia: I know. Somehow, I've always known.
This exchange always bothered me. Really you always knew? That's the best you could come up with? Let's recap what's happened with these characters through 2 and 3/4 movies:
1. Luke salivates over her since seeing her hologram in Obi-Wan's cave.
2. An awkward love triangle forms with the two of them and Han Solo that persists until the end of the second movie when she clearly picks Han.
3. Most important. She open mouth kisses Luke to piss off Han.
So, if you're Luke, don't you immediately go find somewhere to throw up and take a 6 hour scalding hot shower when you get this news? You huddle in a corner in the fetal position trying to get clean and purge all the horrible fantasies you had running through your head about your... sister. Then you tell her, and she gives you, "I've always known." Then why did you put me through all that shit for 2 movies you manipulative bitch? Excuse me while I practice using the Force by throwing you against a few trees.
This is what I think about when I drive to and from Hialeah twice a week and end up getting stuck in traffic.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
And the Pulitzer goes to...
As Barack Obama accepted his Nobel Prize for peace this week, I was reminded of just how disingenuous these awards can be. In his speech, the president did a reasonable job of trying to reconcile the fact that he was escalating a war in one country and presiding over a war in another, and the fact that he is winning a prize for peace. The audience was still left to scratch its head and wonder if there might have been a more deserving if less attention grabbing choice. I'm left to wonder who the committees for some of these prestigious awards might pick as winners if they kept true to the guiding principles of their founders. For example, Alfred Nobel held the patent for dynamite and owned a large arms manufacturer, but has a prize for peace given in his name. (The story is that Bertha von Suttner, a women Nobel loved and corresponded with for years, convinced Nobel to include the peace prize in his endowment for the awards. She won the award herself in 1905.) In a few short months, the winners for another prestigious award will be decided. The Pulitzer is given to authors in many categories, with a focus on journalism. Should the committee wish to live up to the legacy of Joseph Pulitzer, than one of its awards should certainly go to Fox News' own, Glenn Beck.
The good people at Columbia University who administer the award would like us all to remember the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (still a major paper), the journalism school at Columbia, and the bequest for the awards themselves when we remember Joseph Pulitzer. That, of course, isn't the whole story. In 1883, Pulitzer purchased the New York World, a relatively unsuccessful New York based paper. While the paper had perhaps the nation's first investigative journalist in Nellie Bly, the hard hitting new stories generally weren't what garnered the attention. Pulitzer introduced the nation's first color supplement to a newspaper, had popular contemporary comic strips, and sold advertising space. All the while, the paper was damned by contemporaries as a sensationalist paper. When William Randolph Hearst burst onto the scene in 1895 with his New York Journal, the two engaged in a ruthless circulation battle that sullied the reputations of both men. The charge is always made that Hearst helped to incite the Spanish-American War, but Pultizer's role in those events can not be ignored. Each was motivated by his own greed and drive to out sell the other. Stories were routinely exaggerated or outright fabricated to increase national pride or demonize the Spanish for their presence in Cuba. When the American battleship, Maine, exploded in the Havana harbor in 1898, the public was enraged. The explosion itself was an accident, but the World and Journal both claimed to have confidential information that proved the ship was destroyed by Spanish agents. This proved to be completely false, but not until after popular sentiment coerced President McKinley into military action against Spain. Both papers enjoyed record setting sales during this entire scandal, of course.
So who in modern journalism carries on this tradition of sales at the expense of truth? It's true that most news outlets are more concerned with increasing profits than the ideal calling of the journalist: pursuit of truth. However, most of these do so by concentrating on public interest stories of little value to the national discussion on important issues. There is one man who carries on the tradition of Pulitzer and Hearst, and that man is Glenn Beck. What makes Beck different is that he fully admits he is being speculative and offers nothing but wild conjecture. For example, in 2006 Beck interviewed the first Muslim Congressman in our nation's history. He asked:
"OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly. With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, 'Let's cut and run.' And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way."
This is the kind of program Beck developed. He plays on the fears at the root of the American psyche. He is a rabble-rouser cut from the mold of Hearst and Pulitzer at their lowest. However, those men did what they did in the endless pursuit of profit and circulation. For Beck to really fit this mold, his nightly fear mongering needs to net him large amounts of money. According to watchdog group Media Matters, after urging his viewers to invest in a safe product like gold, advertisements ran for Goldline International. As it turns out, Goldline and 3 other gold sellers (Rosland Capital, Merit Financial, and Superior Gold Group) are long time advertisers on the Beck program. Goldline assured Fox News that Beck was not paid for an endorsement, nor is he a spokesperson for the company. Both of these would be egregiously unethical and grounds for dismissal from Fox. Comedy Central's The Daily Show, then aired a video of Beck specifically endorsing Goldline International in a commercial. So Beck creates sensationalist journalism designed to foster a climate of economic fear and doubt, suggests that his viewers buy gold to keep their money safe, and is then paid by the gold sellers for this advocacy disguised as public service.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the category of Commentary, Glenn Lee Beck.
The good people at Columbia University who administer the award would like us all to remember the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (still a major paper), the journalism school at Columbia, and the bequest for the awards themselves when we remember Joseph Pulitzer. That, of course, isn't the whole story. In 1883, Pulitzer purchased the New York World, a relatively unsuccessful New York based paper. While the paper had perhaps the nation's first investigative journalist in Nellie Bly, the hard hitting new stories generally weren't what garnered the attention. Pulitzer introduced the nation's first color supplement to a newspaper, had popular contemporary comic strips, and sold advertising space. All the while, the paper was damned by contemporaries as a sensationalist paper. When William Randolph Hearst burst onto the scene in 1895 with his New York Journal, the two engaged in a ruthless circulation battle that sullied the reputations of both men. The charge is always made that Hearst helped to incite the Spanish-American War, but Pultizer's role in those events can not be ignored. Each was motivated by his own greed and drive to out sell the other. Stories were routinely exaggerated or outright fabricated to increase national pride or demonize the Spanish for their presence in Cuba. When the American battleship, Maine, exploded in the Havana harbor in 1898, the public was enraged. The explosion itself was an accident, but the World and Journal both claimed to have confidential information that proved the ship was destroyed by Spanish agents. This proved to be completely false, but not until after popular sentiment coerced President McKinley into military action against Spain. Both papers enjoyed record setting sales during this entire scandal, of course.
So who in modern journalism carries on this tradition of sales at the expense of truth? It's true that most news outlets are more concerned with increasing profits than the ideal calling of the journalist: pursuit of truth. However, most of these do so by concentrating on public interest stories of little value to the national discussion on important issues. There is one man who carries on the tradition of Pulitzer and Hearst, and that man is Glenn Beck. What makes Beck different is that he fully admits he is being speculative and offers nothing but wild conjecture. For example, in 2006 Beck interviewed the first Muslim Congressman in our nation's history. He asked:
"OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly. With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, 'Let's cut and run.' And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way."
This is the kind of program Beck developed. He plays on the fears at the root of the American psyche. He is a rabble-rouser cut from the mold of Hearst and Pulitzer at their lowest. However, those men did what they did in the endless pursuit of profit and circulation. For Beck to really fit this mold, his nightly fear mongering needs to net him large amounts of money. According to watchdog group Media Matters, after urging his viewers to invest in a safe product like gold, advertisements ran for Goldline International. As it turns out, Goldline and 3 other gold sellers (Rosland Capital, Merit Financial, and Superior Gold Group) are long time advertisers on the Beck program. Goldline assured Fox News that Beck was not paid for an endorsement, nor is he a spokesperson for the company. Both of these would be egregiously unethical and grounds for dismissal from Fox. Comedy Central's The Daily Show, then aired a video of Beck specifically endorsing Goldline International in a commercial. So Beck creates sensationalist journalism designed to foster a climate of economic fear and doubt, suggests that his viewers buy gold to keep their money safe, and is then paid by the gold sellers for this advocacy disguised as public service.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the category of Commentary, Glenn Lee Beck.
Friday, December 11, 2009
I'm Back!
wake up and face me
don't play dead
cause maybe
someday i will walk away
and say you fucking disappoint me
maybe you're better off this way
go ahead and play dead, i know that you can hear this
go ahead and play dead, why can't you try to face me
You really have to love Maynard when you're in a mood like I am. I have know about what "Passive" is about, but that part hits home at the moment. On the bright side, I feel like I've finally cleared out the cobwebs in my head from the past two months or so. I've gotten about as much closure as I'm ever apparently going to get from the one the above is dedicated to. Back to the grindstone! I'm hoping to get some real writing going this weekend, and I'll be more active on here. Maybe I'll finally play with that Twitter account.
don't play dead
cause maybe
someday i will walk away
and say you fucking disappoint me
maybe you're better off this way
go ahead and play dead, i know that you can hear this
go ahead and play dead, why can't you try to face me
You really have to love Maynard when you're in a mood like I am. I have know about what "Passive" is about, but that part hits home at the moment. On the bright side, I feel like I've finally cleared out the cobwebs in my head from the past two months or so. I've gotten about as much closure as I'm ever apparently going to get from the one the above is dedicated to. Back to the grindstone! I'm hoping to get some real writing going this weekend, and I'll be more active on here. Maybe I'll finally play with that Twitter account.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The List
Because it came up a bunch, I figured I'd post it. Feel free to steal it.
Alice In Chains- Would
Alice In Chains- Man in the Box
Beastie Boys- Intergalactic
Beastie Boys- No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Beck- Loser
Blind Melon- No Rain
Blues Traveler- All For You
Blur- Song 2
Candlebox- Far Behind
Cold- No One
Cold- End of the World
Counting Crows- Mr. Jones
Counting Crows- Round Here
Dave Matthews Band- Ants Marching
Days of the New- Touch, Peel, and Stand
Deftones- My Own Summer
Deftones- Be Quiet and Drive
Dishwalla- Counting Blue Cars
The Distillers- City of Angels
Econoline Crush- Home
Eve 6- Inside Out
Everclear- Santa Monica
Faith No More- Epic
The Flys- Got You Where I Want You
Foo Fighters- Everlong
Foo Fighters- I'll Stick Around
Fuel- Shimmer
Garbage- Stupid Girl
Gin Blossoms- Til I Hear it From You
Godsmack- Awake
Goo Goo Dolls- Slide
Green Day- Longview
Green Day- Nice Guys Finish Last
Harvey Danger- Flagpole Sitta
Hole- Doll Parts
Incubus- Pardon Me
Incubus- New Skin
Jerry Cantrell- Leave Me Alone
Korn- No Place to Hide
Less Than Jake- Sugar in Your Gas Tank
Limp Bizkit- Counterfeit
Lit- My Own Worst Enemy
Local H- Bound For the Floor
Marilyn Manson- Beautiful People
Marcy Playground- Sex and Candy
Matchbox 20- 3 AM
Meat Puppets- Backwater
Metallica- Enter Sandman
Metallica- Hero of the Day
Mighty Mighty Bosstones- Rascal King
Mighty Mighty Bosstones- Impression That I Get
Monster Magnet- Space Lord
Mudhoney- Touch Me I'm Sick
Nada Surf- Popular
Nine Inch Nails- We're In This Together Now
Nirvana= Lithium
Nirvana- Molly's Lips
Nirvana- About a Girl
Nirvana- Frances Farmer
No Doubt- I'm Just a Girl
Oasis- Don't Look Back in Anger
Offspring- Keep Em Separated
Orgy- Stitches
Our Lady Peace- Clumsy
Pearl Jam- Even Flow
Pearl Jam- Jeremy
Pearl Jam- Yellow Ledbetter
Radiohead- Paranoid Android
Radiohead- Karma Police
Rage Against the Machine- Bulls on Parade
Rage Against the Machine- Killing in the Name of
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Suck My Kiss
Screaming Trees- All I Know
Screaming Trees- Nearly Lost you
Seven Mary Three- Cumbersome
Smashing Pumpkins- Cherub Rock
Smashing Pumpkins- Zero
Soundgarden- Blackhole Sun
Soundgarden- Outshined
Spacehog- In the Meantime
Stabbing Westward- Shame
Stabbing Westward- What Do I Have to Do
Stone Temple Pilots- Plush
Stone Temple Pilots- Vaseline
Stone Temple Pilots- Sex Type Thing
Sublime- Santeria
Sublime- What I Got
Sugar Ray- Fly
Temple of the Dog- Hunger Strike
Third Eye Blind- Semi Charmed Life
Toadies- Possum Kingdom
Tonic- If You Could Only See
Tool- 46 and 2
Veruca Salt- Volcano Girls
Verve Pipe- Freshmen
The Wallflowers- One Headlight
Weezer- Buddy Holly
Weezer- Say It Ain't So
311- Beautiful Disaster
311- All Mixed Up
Alice In Chains- Would
Alice In Chains- Man in the Box
Beastie Boys- Intergalactic
Beastie Boys- No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Beck- Loser
Blind Melon- No Rain
Blues Traveler- All For You
Blur- Song 2
Candlebox- Far Behind
Cold- No One
Cold- End of the World
Counting Crows- Mr. Jones
Counting Crows- Round Here
Dave Matthews Band- Ants Marching
Days of the New- Touch, Peel, and Stand
Deftones- My Own Summer
Deftones- Be Quiet and Drive
Dishwalla- Counting Blue Cars
The Distillers- City of Angels
Econoline Crush- Home
Eve 6- Inside Out
Everclear- Santa Monica
Faith No More- Epic
The Flys- Got You Where I Want You
Foo Fighters- Everlong
Foo Fighters- I'll Stick Around
Fuel- Shimmer
Garbage- Stupid Girl
Gin Blossoms- Til I Hear it From You
Godsmack- Awake
Goo Goo Dolls- Slide
Green Day- Longview
Green Day- Nice Guys Finish Last
Harvey Danger- Flagpole Sitta
Hole- Doll Parts
Incubus- Pardon Me
Incubus- New Skin
Jerry Cantrell- Leave Me Alone
Korn- No Place to Hide
Less Than Jake- Sugar in Your Gas Tank
Limp Bizkit- Counterfeit
Lit- My Own Worst Enemy
Local H- Bound For the Floor
Marilyn Manson- Beautiful People
Marcy Playground- Sex and Candy
Matchbox 20- 3 AM
Meat Puppets- Backwater
Metallica- Enter Sandman
Metallica- Hero of the Day
Mighty Mighty Bosstones- Rascal King
Mighty Mighty Bosstones- Impression That I Get
Monster Magnet- Space Lord
Mudhoney- Touch Me I'm Sick
Nada Surf- Popular
Nine Inch Nails- We're In This Together Now
Nirvana= Lithium
Nirvana- Molly's Lips
Nirvana- About a Girl
Nirvana- Frances Farmer
No Doubt- I'm Just a Girl
Oasis- Don't Look Back in Anger
Offspring- Keep Em Separated
Orgy- Stitches
Our Lady Peace- Clumsy
Pearl Jam- Even Flow
Pearl Jam- Jeremy
Pearl Jam- Yellow Ledbetter
Radiohead- Paranoid Android
Radiohead- Karma Police
Rage Against the Machine- Bulls on Parade
Rage Against the Machine- Killing in the Name of
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Suck My Kiss
Screaming Trees- All I Know
Screaming Trees- Nearly Lost you
Seven Mary Three- Cumbersome
Smashing Pumpkins- Cherub Rock
Smashing Pumpkins- Zero
Soundgarden- Blackhole Sun
Soundgarden- Outshined
Spacehog- In the Meantime
Stabbing Westward- Shame
Stabbing Westward- What Do I Have to Do
Stone Temple Pilots- Plush
Stone Temple Pilots- Vaseline
Stone Temple Pilots- Sex Type Thing
Sublime- Santeria
Sublime- What I Got
Sugar Ray- Fly
Temple of the Dog- Hunger Strike
Third Eye Blind- Semi Charmed Life
Toadies- Possum Kingdom
Tonic- If You Could Only See
Tool- 46 and 2
Veruca Salt- Volcano Girls
Verve Pipe- Freshmen
The Wallflowers- One Headlight
Weezer- Buddy Holly
Weezer- Say It Ain't So
311- Beautiful Disaster
311- All Mixed Up
Friday, November 13, 2009
I love the 90's.....rock.
Turns out being stuck in horrendous Miami traffic is a great place to collect some thoughts and really let your mind wander. Yesterday I was listening to a pretty solid 90's rock play list I came up with, and I immediately tried to rank two things: best songs of the genre/era (genera?) and best one hit wonders, which for me includes bands that I otherwise despise.
One Hit Wonders:
5. Marcy Playground- Sex and Candy
Needs no explanation as far as I'm concerned.
4. Cherry Poppin Daddies- Zoot Suit Riot
Remember the brief swing come back?
3. Everclear- Santa Monica
When this song came out I thought I was really going to like Everclear. Then they ripped off this riff in a half dozen other songs they put out, and basically sucked in general. I feel better if I pretend that nothing else they did exists.
2. Harvey Danger- Flagpole Sitta
It was in possibly the greatest teen movie of my generation, American Pie. Why they left it off the official soundtrack I'll never know. With the addition of Harvey Danger, among others left off, it might have rivaled the greatest movie soundtrack of my generation: Can't Hardly Wait.
1. The Toadies- Possum Kingdom
I know they had other music too, but nothing was even close to this good or even this popular. It's just a great song and a great example of rock of the decade.
Honorable mentions to Freshman by Verve Pipe, The Way by Fastball, and Fly by Sugar Ray (which might have been on the list, but they had one other huge hit and another smaller hit or two. Just no one remembers them.).
The Real List:
I can't and won't justify why I picked these. It was kind of a bitch to come up with just five. The list kept changing, and, in the end, I really couldn't settle on five anyway.
5. City of Angels- The Distillers
4. My Own Summer (Shove It)- The Deftones
3. Creep- Radiohead
2. Yellow Ledbetter- Pearl Jam
1. Lithium- Nirvana
This was the hardest to pick, and the result came from the heretofore unprecedented list within a list:
5. Serve the Servants
4. Francis Farmer Will Have Her Revenge
3. Molly's Lips
2. Heart Shaped Box
1. Lithium
One Hit Wonders:
5. Marcy Playground- Sex and Candy
Needs no explanation as far as I'm concerned.
4. Cherry Poppin Daddies- Zoot Suit Riot
Remember the brief swing come back?
3. Everclear- Santa Monica
When this song came out I thought I was really going to like Everclear. Then they ripped off this riff in a half dozen other songs they put out, and basically sucked in general. I feel better if I pretend that nothing else they did exists.
2. Harvey Danger- Flagpole Sitta
It was in possibly the greatest teen movie of my generation, American Pie. Why they left it off the official soundtrack I'll never know. With the addition of Harvey Danger, among others left off, it might have rivaled the greatest movie soundtrack of my generation: Can't Hardly Wait.
1. The Toadies- Possum Kingdom
I know they had other music too, but nothing was even close to this good or even this popular. It's just a great song and a great example of rock of the decade.
Honorable mentions to Freshman by Verve Pipe, The Way by Fastball, and Fly by Sugar Ray (which might have been on the list, but they had one other huge hit and another smaller hit or two. Just no one remembers them.).
The Real List:
I can't and won't justify why I picked these. It was kind of a bitch to come up with just five. The list kept changing, and, in the end, I really couldn't settle on five anyway.
5. City of Angels- The Distillers
4. My Own Summer (Shove It)- The Deftones
3. Creep- Radiohead
2. Yellow Ledbetter- Pearl Jam
1. Lithium- Nirvana
This was the hardest to pick, and the result came from the heretofore unprecedented list within a list:
5. Serve the Servants
4. Francis Farmer Will Have Her Revenge
3. Molly's Lips
2. Heart Shaped Box
1. Lithium
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Who can I sue?
One day recently while driving home from work in Miami, my mother passed a very peculiar billboard overlooking the highway. It read, simply, “Who can you sue?” The rallying cry of a generation. We’ve progressed to the point where anything negative that happens to a person is assumed to be someone else’s fault, and that the guilty should be made to pay exorbitant amounts of money for the pain and suffering caused. Lost in much of Obama’s rhetoric is a complete rejection of this sort of thinking. America is responsible for its actions. Our national problems aren’t caused by terrorists, communists, illegal immigrants, minorities, gays, or any influence outside of our control. Even when outside forces act on us, we choose how to respond. America controls its own destiny if it has the will to do so.
There are so many instances in which I see the people around me throw up their arms in frustration and wonder what we can do to change things. Yet no one votes. The 2008 presidential election had an estimated 63% of the electorate come to the polls. That would be the highest number since 1960. In the midterm elections when the President is not on the ballot, that number falls into the 30-40% range easily. In local and state elections, the numbers can be even worse. People constantly complain that politicians are corrupt and don’t care about the people, and yet a United States senator has a 96% re-election rate. These people love to talk about accountability, let’s make them learn about it firsthand. When they screw up, vote for the other guy or write in a candidate, but kick them out of office. Then vote out the next guy too. The only way to shake up a system as stuck in a rut as the American electoral system is to shake it up. It would likely take 4 or 5 election cycles, but they would get the idea that people aren’t going to let them do as they please anymore. If they want to keep their job, they need to work for the interests of their constituents and not themselves or their party.
People complain that American companies outsource jobs, or move their production facilities to the third world where labor is cheaper. Countless jobs have been lost to this phenomenon over the last decade, and yet it continues over the protests of the American public. We ask the government (whom we can’t trust anyway if the public sentiment is to be believed) to step in and save us, and then are surprised when nothing is done. Then we keep buying their products. What happened to the American spirit? In the 60’s and 70’s, Ceasar Chavez organized strikes and boycotts that brought the agriculture industry to its knees, and secured many quality of life improvements for its employees. In the 2000’s, companies fire thousands of employees and set up shop in a different country to save themselves money and we happily give them more. The government can’t legislate our way out of this problem. These companies are concerned only with profit. That’s fine, in a capitalist society, that’s the function they are supposed to serve. However, the consumer has the power as much as they will try to convince you otherwise. Next time a company closes a factory and moves to Mexico, stop buying from them. Make your friends stop buying from them. This is a country of 300 million people. If even 1% of that catches on to a boycott, all but the biggest companies would feel it.
If CEOs and politicians are the super villains of the “pass the buck” society, then teachers and cops are just under them in the hierarchy of evil. Both are in the unfortunate circumstance of not being able to do anything right in the eyes of the public. The police officer is a simpler case because they are only noticed when they screw up. The phrase “Never a cop when you need one.” snuck into our vernacular as if we think they consciously ignore people in need. People tend to blame cops for crime while they criticize them or being too watchful of “minor” crimes like speeding and marijuana possession. Teachers are thought of in such a negative way that one wonders why anyone takes up the profession any longer. If your child fails a test or a grade level, it’s the teacher’s fault not the child. Teachers are asked to fill so many roles, while having no real authority in the classroom, that it makes their job nearly impossible. So problems with schools aren’t the fault of the kids, parents, administrative officials, or the government, the responsibility falls solely on the teachers.
In my opening anecdote, the billboard posed an interesting query. Who can we sue? Thinking about it, it really doesn’t matter who because only two parties ever win in the end: lawyers and insurance companies. Mostly the latter. Schools, emergency services, doctors, businesses, drug companies, and basically every other public institution you can think of need to keep exorbitant insurances policies just in case someone decides to sue them. If you don’t think all that doesn’t raise the cost of living you’re crazy. In fact, if you really want to lower health care costs, this is where you need to start. For example, my step father is an investigator for the medical examiner’s office in Broward County and had an interesting case recently. A drug addict overdosed on oxycodone and died. Basically, he manipulated the system to get far more of the drug from a prescription than one person should consume in a year. His family wants to sue the makers of the drug because should a powerful pain killer shouldn’t be on the market and it’s the company’s fault their kid died. The sad part is they’ll probably settle out of court because the company won’t want the expense and negative exposure of a trial. Perfect example of the mindset of America today: it’s the drug’s fault I’m addicted to it, whoever made it should pay. It’s the gun’s fault I shot someone. It’s the television’s or the internet’s or video games’ fault that my kids are violent. It’s the school’s fault my kid can’t read. Who can I sue?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
O-Ver Rate-Ed
I haven't written anything just for the blog in quite a while, and its about time I did. As the title suggests (if you can't read it, you just aren't a college sports fan), this is about all things over rated. As usual with me, this will be in a top 5 list format, because, really, is there a better way? I also might throw in something about people/things I think are somehow overlooked or under rated. So without further ado...
My top 5 over rated (semi)modern rock bands:
5. U2- Have they done anything worthwhile since Joshua Tree? Admittedly, I might like them more if Bono and Edge weren't so overbearingly pretentious and just.... douchebaggy. But when your last relevent entry into the world of music was in 1987, and people still worship the ground you shred on; I do believe that qualfies you as over rated.
4. The Smiths- Quick name five Smiths songs. And "I Know its Over" doesn't count. So why does every person who likes indie/underground/somewhat not mainstream rock have to love them somehow? Hollywood continues to stick them in every movie soundtrack which features less then mainstream rock though.
3. Coldplay- Sold over 50 million records worldwide, and their last album in 2008 won several Grammys. They sound like the bastard child of U2 and Radiohead, but with all of Bono's crap and none of Radiohead's soul and angst.
2. Dave Matthews Band- Maybe I don't get them because I don't smoke weed. I just don't see what every single college kid, stoner, and female between 18 and 30 see in this music.
1. The Clash- Now, just because they are here on this list doesn't mean I don't think they are good. They are. Are they the greatest punk band of all time? Are they one of the most influential bands of the past 20 years? The Clash are like the Brett Farve of rock music, in that everyone knows they are good, but the "experts" throw so much praise at them that you just get sick of it.
My best band you haven't heard of pick has been spoiled by their recent success, though congrats to Kings of Leon. You were my go to in this category for a strong 3 years, but now I think the title has to go to The Black Keys. Good music, kind of a bluesy sound.
Top 5 over rated athletes in a sport in season now:
5. Alex Rodriguez (3B, Yankess)- A-Roid almost pushes himself off this list if he actually shows up for a post season like he has thus far. You can put up all the numbers you want on bad teams or in the regular season, if you can't put them up when it matters, its kind of worthless.
4. Jay Cutler (QB, Bears)- We keep waiting for him to be a top 5 quarterback in the league like all the experts have told us he will be his entire career. Don't hold your breath. He'll do just enough to make you think he's good before he throws another bonehead interception.
3. Alex Ovechkin (LW, Capitals) Ok, don't get me wrong here.. he's good. Really good. The next Gretzky he is not. He also just inked a 13 year $124 million dollar contract, the richest in NHL history. He's in his fourth year, he has won zero championships, and only a few playoff games. Let's let him pad his resume a bit before we start putting him in the Hall of Fame.
2. Todd Reesing (QB, Kansas) Reesing is generally brought up in the top 5 of quarterbacks in college football. He's universally thought to be a second round draft pick at worst. He lost what was then the biggest game of his career to a Mizzou team that couldn't play any kind of defense, before his Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl over an 11-2 Virginia Tech that was there because someone had to win the ACC. Maybe he becomes a solid pro... I just don't see it.
1. Tony Romo (QB, Cowboys) With so much exposure on the biggest position in the most popular sport in America, its no wonder the QB dominates my list. This guy is dangerously close to falling off this list as people start to see how really bad he is. Last Sunday, my dad and I came up with a good 15 guys in the league we would rather have under center on our team over Romo. This is the guy they ran Drew Bledsoe out of town for, people were clamoring for him in the streeets of Dallas. How's that working out?
This football season is kind of strange in that, now that the pecking order has been established, I don't see anyone sneaking up on us. The good teams are really good, the bad teams are really bad, and the middle ground is almost nonexistant. Though, if you haven't seen the Broncos play yet this season, they are good. Kyle Orton (another QB) is the real surprise of the season.
Last one... Top five over rated television personalities:
5. Stephen Colbert- I like him, but he's ridden Jon Stewart's coattails for long enough.
4. Joe Buck- Sports commentator. Ask any sports fan, this requires no discussion. I hate Joe Buck, but he does every major sporting event every year.
3. Conan O'Brian- Looks like his over rated status might be in question since the new time slot isn't going so well. I've never thought he was the least bit funny.
2. Anderson Cooper- When did this guy become the face of CNN? Who decided that was a good idea? God, I miss Tim Russert. And, you know, decent television journalism.
1. Glenn Beck- Speaking of terrible television journalism.... Beck is the Conservative rabble rouser of the day. He doesn't let little things like facts get in the way of his stories, either. "Fair and balanced" personified.
My top 5 over rated (semi)modern rock bands:
5. U2- Have they done anything worthwhile since Joshua Tree? Admittedly, I might like them more if Bono and Edge weren't so overbearingly pretentious and just.... douchebaggy. But when your last relevent entry into the world of music was in 1987, and people still worship the ground you shred on; I do believe that qualfies you as over rated.
4. The Smiths- Quick name five Smiths songs. And "I Know its Over" doesn't count. So why does every person who likes indie/underground/somewhat not mainstream rock have to love them somehow? Hollywood continues to stick them in every movie soundtrack which features less then mainstream rock though.
3. Coldplay- Sold over 50 million records worldwide, and their last album in 2008 won several Grammys. They sound like the bastard child of U2 and Radiohead, but with all of Bono's crap and none of Radiohead's soul and angst.
2. Dave Matthews Band- Maybe I don't get them because I don't smoke weed. I just don't see what every single college kid, stoner, and female between 18 and 30 see in this music.
1. The Clash- Now, just because they are here on this list doesn't mean I don't think they are good. They are. Are they the greatest punk band of all time? Are they one of the most influential bands of the past 20 years? The Clash are like the Brett Farve of rock music, in that everyone knows they are good, but the "experts" throw so much praise at them that you just get sick of it.
My best band you haven't heard of pick has been spoiled by their recent success, though congrats to Kings of Leon. You were my go to in this category for a strong 3 years, but now I think the title has to go to The Black Keys. Good music, kind of a bluesy sound.
Top 5 over rated athletes in a sport in season now:
5. Alex Rodriguez (3B, Yankess)- A-Roid almost pushes himself off this list if he actually shows up for a post season like he has thus far. You can put up all the numbers you want on bad teams or in the regular season, if you can't put them up when it matters, its kind of worthless.
4. Jay Cutler (QB, Bears)- We keep waiting for him to be a top 5 quarterback in the league like all the experts have told us he will be his entire career. Don't hold your breath. He'll do just enough to make you think he's good before he throws another bonehead interception.
3. Alex Ovechkin (LW, Capitals) Ok, don't get me wrong here.. he's good. Really good. The next Gretzky he is not. He also just inked a 13 year $124 million dollar contract, the richest in NHL history. He's in his fourth year, he has won zero championships, and only a few playoff games. Let's let him pad his resume a bit before we start putting him in the Hall of Fame.
2. Todd Reesing (QB, Kansas) Reesing is generally brought up in the top 5 of quarterbacks in college football. He's universally thought to be a second round draft pick at worst. He lost what was then the biggest game of his career to a Mizzou team that couldn't play any kind of defense, before his Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl over an 11-2 Virginia Tech that was there because someone had to win the ACC. Maybe he becomes a solid pro... I just don't see it.
1. Tony Romo (QB, Cowboys) With so much exposure on the biggest position in the most popular sport in America, its no wonder the QB dominates my list. This guy is dangerously close to falling off this list as people start to see how really bad he is. Last Sunday, my dad and I came up with a good 15 guys in the league we would rather have under center on our team over Romo. This is the guy they ran Drew Bledsoe out of town for, people were clamoring for him in the streeets of Dallas. How's that working out?
This football season is kind of strange in that, now that the pecking order has been established, I don't see anyone sneaking up on us. The good teams are really good, the bad teams are really bad, and the middle ground is almost nonexistant. Though, if you haven't seen the Broncos play yet this season, they are good. Kyle Orton (another QB) is the real surprise of the season.
Last one... Top five over rated television personalities:
5. Stephen Colbert- I like him, but he's ridden Jon Stewart's coattails for long enough.
4. Joe Buck- Sports commentator. Ask any sports fan, this requires no discussion. I hate Joe Buck, but he does every major sporting event every year.
3. Conan O'Brian- Looks like his over rated status might be in question since the new time slot isn't going so well. I've never thought he was the least bit funny.
2. Anderson Cooper- When did this guy become the face of CNN? Who decided that was a good idea? God, I miss Tim Russert. And, you know, decent television journalism.
1. Glenn Beck- Speaking of terrible television journalism.... Beck is the Conservative rabble rouser of the day. He doesn't let little things like facts get in the way of his stories, either. "Fair and balanced" personified.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
What has he done?
Barack Obama, one term president. Some readers will rejoice, some will lament, but early signs point to this president joining that unfortunate list. He’s a unique case in so many ways in the history of the American president. Expectations for the man were somehow both exceedingly high and pessimistically low at the same time. In the same year, he has been compared to Kennedy and FDR, as well as Stalin and Hitler. In the latest bit of strange Obama news, he has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace. This despite the voting taking place in February when he had hardly been in office for two weeks. To put this in a bit of context, there were three previous American presidents who have earned the prestigious award: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter. Roosevelt won for negotiating the peace treaty to end the war between Russia and Japan, Wilson for being the architect of the League of Nations, and Carter for his numerous global charities. In many ways, this award is a microcosm of the early Obama presidency thus far.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Water Towers
I recently wrote about many scientific issues that are affecting the country and its politics today. One criticism that I often hear when I write or speak about these things is: “Why should we care?” As someone who enjoys asking “why?” as often as possible myself, I respect that question. Most of the issues that I raised seem philosophical in nature, or, at least, so far off in the future as to not be our problem. I find that second justification used with climate change fairly often. People think that anything that would happen from raising temperatures would occur long after they are dead. However, with the spotlight shining so brightly on climate change with the upcoming summit in Copenhagen in December, it has been revealed that the glaciers in the Himalaya region are melted far faster than in any other region of the world. In fact at the current rate, they will disappear completely by 2035.
Now you might still wonder why this would be a concern. Especially to an American audience, this problem is nearly literally on the other side of the planet. One thing we do know, if that water is the most precious natural resource on the planet. Civilization as we know can’t exist without clean water supplies. The Himalayan glacier system is the largest in the world outside of the arctic. The runoff from this massive network of ice is the foundation for all of the region’s major rivers. India, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and several other countries depend on this water for their household drinking water, agriculture, fisheries, and power. Some of the largest rivers are extremely significant culturally, religiously, and historically. The region is so important it is known as “The Water Tower of Asia.” Roughly 40% of the world’s total population would be affected by a sudden disappearance of these glaciers.
As the glaciers start to melt faster, the first problem these people will face is the flooding. This is already becoming a problem in some places and villages have already been destroyed. Millions of lives could be lost in the regions closest to the river sources as catastrophic flash floods tear through the region. On top of the loss of life and property, farm land and crops are destroyed as low lying farms are simply washed away and irrigation systems are overloaded and destroyed. The rich nations can hold off the famine this would cause for a while, the poorer nations would starve without aid. As the rivers began to dry up for good, any remaining sources of fresh water become exponentially more important, and expensive. In the course of human history when vital resources are scarce and held by a relative few, violence ensues. This region in specific has a history of skirmishes over water resources as several regions have harsh dry seasons. Now add in to this powder keg of an equation that three of these countries (India, Pakistan, and China) have nuclear capabilities.
So what the world is facing if nothing is done over the next 25 years is, at best, a humanitarian crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. At worst we could see literally billions (China and India each have well over a billion citizens themselves) of dead and all out war in the region. These are the kinds of problems the world faces by doing nothing about climate change. This is why we should care, and why our best and brightest should be coming up with ways to avert the crisis. And this is why we need to listen.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Eureka!
Amid this hectic week filled with flu bugs and packing bags I heard someone on a political debate show of some sort mention that science should be allowed to operate on its own, without politicians telling scientists what is right or wrong. This person seemed to think that at some point in the history of America that this unfettered scientific pursuit was allowed to take place. At first, I agreed. When I actually thought about it, however, I realized that this seemed to be rose-colored nostalgia. When was this great time of scientific free thinking? Perhaps during the Scopes-Monkey trial, when a Kansas teacher was facing incarceration for teaching evolution? One can think back all the way to the days of Galileo or Copernicus and see that science was always treated as a fantastic thing, as long as it didn’t upset the established order too much. Or as long as it made obnoxious amounts of money, of course. Now the traditional foil or science has been religion. Although many people fly the flag of faith when combating a scientific advancement or concept that they disagree with because it is a convenient rallying point rather than the major point of contention. Even today there are several issues relevant to current politics that would be better served by allowing scientists and experts to do the necessary research and experimentation to give unbiased results. I’d like to break down a few of these issues and clarify what is known through experiment and observation without the slant that politicians and the television media tend to put on things.
Though the debate about evolution has waned some with much of the country’s focus centered on the economy first and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan second, there are many states in the country that still attempt to find alternative theories to teach their children. I think the main problem in this debate is the public misconception of the word “theory” as it pertains to the scientific method. In the states that teach Creationism or Intelligent Design, the claim that is made is that if one theory can be taught, then so can another. However, a theory in science isn’t just their best guess at how something might work. It is a principle verified though thorough experimentation and observation. A key element of something becoming an accepted theory is that the experiments must be able to be repeated anywhere at any time with the same results. The concepts discussed as alternatives to evolution would be very welcome in a discussion on philosophy or religion, but they cannot be verified through the scientific method. That being the case, it would be very hard to make a case for including those topics in a science class.
More contentious is the issue of global warming although, these days, the debate has switched its focus greatly. As I write this, there are no American or international organizations of science that disagree with the basic concept that the world’s median temperature is increasing and that human byproducts are at least partly to blame. It is true that some television personalities will still claim the concept is a hoax, but these people are increasing moved to the extremes. They are the exception rather than the rule. Today the debate is centered on ways to combat or adapt to climate change. The leading school of thought is to simply limit the amount of greenhouse gasses that can be released into the atmosphere. These are the gasses in our atmosphere that, at their naturally occurring levels, keep our planet at the pleasant, livable temperature we are so familiar with. When their levels go to high, too much radiation is trapped within the atmosphere and temperatures rise. However, if these gasses were completely removed the Earth’s temperature would be about 59 degrees colder. Currently, the international treaty that governs greenhouse emission is the Kyoto Protocol, and it is ratified by every leading producer of these gasses in the world except the United States. In its current form, it is set to expire in 2012, but a meeting is set to convene in late 2009 to discuss a new treaty. The only two options left to the United States if we choose not to limit our greenhouse gas production would be to simply adapt our society to permanent higher temperatures or to use technology to somehow control the climate. The latter has been suggested, but no projects are known to have been proposed or undertaken.
Perhaps no scientific issue has been more contentious than the use of human embryonic stem cells for research. By definition, a stem cell is any cell that can reproduce itself through cell division and differentiate the copies into any number of cell types. There are several types of stem cells, but the ones that most concern the topic at hand are found in human embryos. They are generally harvested about 4-5 days after fertilization, and these cells can become nearly any type of cell in the human body. Because of the nature of some types of cells, especially neural cells which largely do not divide or regenerate, there is great hope that stem cell research can be used to discover treatments for many currently incurable ailments. At this time, no embryonic stem cell research has yielded an approved treatment for any condition, but the scientific community remains optimistic. Contrary to popular belief, this research has never been banned in the United States. Then President George W. Bush merely removed all funding to establish new lines of embryonic stem cells. President Obama signed into law this year a provision that would allow such funding from the government again. There is also some hope that adult stem cells could be used in this research to similar effect so that the objection to destroying a human fetus would be removed. There are many good arguments both for and against the use of embryonic stem cells in the quest for treatments for a plethora of conditions. My hope is that people will take the time to consider the science and the empirical evidence collected before they rush to any knee-jerk reactions. The worlds of religion, philosophy, and science need not be mutually exclusive. In these issues and any future disputes that arise between the politicians and scientists, I simply ask that we allow these people to do what we pay them to do, and we take their advice seriously. Science doesn’t yet have an answer for everything, but that in no way invalidates the answers it has brought to light.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A Touch of Class
Today I'd like to introduce a term I've come to call qualified greatness. This comes into play when someone is so great in their field that their accomplishments or contributions cannot be ignored, but neither can some horrible personality trait that comes close to overshadowing what they did. In popular usage, you would hear it as, "Joe Everyman is so great at whatever it is he does... but he's a murderous sociopath. Michael Jackson was that way until he died, and everyone mysteriously forgot he was insane and possibly a child molester. Then again, qualified greatness is a common them for artists of every ilk, but musicians in specific seem to get it a lot. Another example, Kurt Cobain revolutionized modern rock... but he was plagued by debilitating insecurity which led to heroin addiction and, ultimately, suicide.
The case I would like to present today is Michael Jordan. I think his ego has finally grown to the point where we can say it overshadows what he's done on the court and we can no longer ignore everything we have up to this point. The tipping point would be his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend. This is a momentous event in the life of any professional athlete, there is no higher honor. Most players use this occasion to thank the people that got him there, look back fondly on their career, and graciously, humbly accept the honor their peers have bestowed upon them. Jordan took the opportunity to blast several of his opponents from his storied career, to the point where even the mild mannered John Stockton, also inducted, looked like he wanted to choke Jordan. The argument can be made that an athlete is only as good as his competition, because it is the only true measuring stick of your ability. Guys like Stockton, Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing, and others are as much a part of why Jordan is in the Hall as any that helped him in his journey. Eleven years ago, Jordan had the ball in the closing seconds of Game 6 of the NBA finals. If he hits this shot then his Bulls win their third consecutive championship. As the clock runs out, he pushes his defender, Byron Russell, off the ball and hits a shot that defines his career. No foul is called; the television announcers for the game don't even mention it. He's Jordan; he gets that call in that moment. It’s just understood. So now, in 2009, you choose to call this man out for not being able to cover you, while you stand at the podium accepting induction into the Hall of Fame? Utterly classless. No one had the guts to call you on pushing him out of the way then, and the replays of that shot today are generally altered to only show the shot and nothing before. His legacy is built, in part, on a foul that would never be called against the Golden Child of the NBA. In his unending tirade of a speech, he also called out former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, Isiah Thomas, and his old high school coach, for slights and insults both real and imagined.
So let's add up the evidence. Jordan in his playing career was known as a bully, a trash talker, and an over the top competitor. He punched teammate Steve Kerr in training camp after he came back from retirement the first time, and was known as a terrible teammate. In fact, while playing minor league baseball, the team chartered him his own bus so he didn't have to ride with the rest of the team. He has a well documented gambling problem. He is and always has been a man that knows his greatness all too well and looks with disdain on anyone else. He gets utterly offended when someone suggests there might be a "next Jordan" and won't even entertain discussions about Kobe Bryant or LeBron James (almost as egotistical as Jordan himself). Jordan replies simply, every time, that there is only one Michael Jordan. Somehow, because we're talking about Jordan, all this gets ignored when other athletes are blasted in sports media and talk radio over similar offenses. So, for me, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players in basketball history... but he’s also a self absorbed egoist of the highest order and has no regard for the game or anyone else who plays it.
The case I would like to present today is Michael Jordan. I think his ego has finally grown to the point where we can say it overshadows what he's done on the court and we can no longer ignore everything we have up to this point. The tipping point would be his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend. This is a momentous event in the life of any professional athlete, there is no higher honor. Most players use this occasion to thank the people that got him there, look back fondly on their career, and graciously, humbly accept the honor their peers have bestowed upon them. Jordan took the opportunity to blast several of his opponents from his storied career, to the point where even the mild mannered John Stockton, also inducted, looked like he wanted to choke Jordan. The argument can be made that an athlete is only as good as his competition, because it is the only true measuring stick of your ability. Guys like Stockton, Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing, and others are as much a part of why Jordan is in the Hall as any that helped him in his journey. Eleven years ago, Jordan had the ball in the closing seconds of Game 6 of the NBA finals. If he hits this shot then his Bulls win their third consecutive championship. As the clock runs out, he pushes his defender, Byron Russell, off the ball and hits a shot that defines his career. No foul is called; the television announcers for the game don't even mention it. He's Jordan; he gets that call in that moment. It’s just understood. So now, in 2009, you choose to call this man out for not being able to cover you, while you stand at the podium accepting induction into the Hall of Fame? Utterly classless. No one had the guts to call you on pushing him out of the way then, and the replays of that shot today are generally altered to only show the shot and nothing before. His legacy is built, in part, on a foul that would never be called against the Golden Child of the NBA. In his unending tirade of a speech, he also called out former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, Isiah Thomas, and his old high school coach, for slights and insults both real and imagined.
So let's add up the evidence. Jordan in his playing career was known as a bully, a trash talker, and an over the top competitor. He punched teammate Steve Kerr in training camp after he came back from retirement the first time, and was known as a terrible teammate. In fact, while playing minor league baseball, the team chartered him his own bus so he didn't have to ride with the rest of the team. He has a well documented gambling problem. He is and always has been a man that knows his greatness all too well and looks with disdain on anyone else. He gets utterly offended when someone suggests there might be a "next Jordan" and won't even entertain discussions about Kobe Bryant or LeBron James (almost as egotistical as Jordan himself). Jordan replies simply, every time, that there is only one Michael Jordan. Somehow, because we're talking about Jordan, all this gets ignored when other athletes are blasted in sports media and talk radio over similar offenses. So, for me, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players in basketball history... but he’s also a self absorbed egoist of the highest order and has no regard for the game or anyone else who plays it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Nerve of Some People
People these days. What's wrong with them? I mean first our president issues a speech to kids encouraging them to stay in school, work hard, and follow their dreams. Think of the damage such a message could cause. Catastrophic really. Here's a little taste of the horrifically biased rhetoric the President spewed at our impressionable youth:
"Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer... And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is... There is no excuse for not trying... Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it... The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have... At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents and the best schools in the world, and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities."
How dare he. I mean when politicians are so insanely jaded that they are up in arms about a speech before it even happens because the President might use it as a platform to push his health care ideas on impressionable young minds, then maybe we should consider retiring Democracy. You have to admit, it had a good run. I think its time to go in a different direction when the people running the show display such startling hypocrisy that it no longer phases you. For example, former Bush supporting Republicans criticizing a President for trying to equate blind loyalty to the President with patriotism. Especially when it concerns a speech that hadn't been given yet and included no such rhetoric. Or when Fox News praises the demonstrators protesting health care reform based on lies they either made up themselves or don't care to correct, but vilified those protesting the Patriot Act or the war in Iraq as crazy people or traitors. So don't let anyone fool you. Anyone who was pissed about Obama's school address, and there were plenty, wasn't pissed about the message he delivered. They were ready for the one he never did.
And then today he just went too far. In a speech before Congress, he didn't make idle threats or attempt to strengthen his point merely by discrediting his detractors. This is the big league, Obama, you can't go up there and actually try to make sense. Where have you been for the past 200 years?
"And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have."
Clearly he doesn't have a grasp on how Washington politics work. You don't offer reasonable alternatives and attempt to work on a compromise solution that satisfies both parties and moves the country forward in a positive direction. No, that's just crazy talk. What you do is dig up irrelevant dirt on your opponent, because if they are tainted, than clearly their cause is terrible as well. Should that fail you make up terrifying, worst case scenario, hypothetical situations to strike at the primal, fear based areas of the public psyche because no one bothers to check if those things could actually happen anyway. Because compromise clearly shows weakness, and it's far better to leave a broken system alone than to let the other guy get the credit for fixing it. Especially if he fixes it in a way that pisses off your friends, and (more importantly) donors.
So who does this Obama think he is? Talking about hope and hard work and compromise. I mean, he said right in his campaign speeches that health care reform was going to be a major priority of his first term. Then he actually goes and tries to enact that very legislation? Talk about mixed signals. The nerve of some people.
"Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer... And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is... There is no excuse for not trying... Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it... The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have... At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents and the best schools in the world, and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities."
How dare he. I mean when politicians are so insanely jaded that they are up in arms about a speech before it even happens because the President might use it as a platform to push his health care ideas on impressionable young minds, then maybe we should consider retiring Democracy. You have to admit, it had a good run. I think its time to go in a different direction when the people running the show display such startling hypocrisy that it no longer phases you. For example, former Bush supporting Republicans criticizing a President for trying to equate blind loyalty to the President with patriotism. Especially when it concerns a speech that hadn't been given yet and included no such rhetoric. Or when Fox News praises the demonstrators protesting health care reform based on lies they either made up themselves or don't care to correct, but vilified those protesting the Patriot Act or the war in Iraq as crazy people or traitors. So don't let anyone fool you. Anyone who was pissed about Obama's school address, and there were plenty, wasn't pissed about the message he delivered. They were ready for the one he never did.
And then today he just went too far. In a speech before Congress, he didn't make idle threats or attempt to strengthen his point merely by discrediting his detractors. This is the big league, Obama, you can't go up there and actually try to make sense. Where have you been for the past 200 years?
"And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have."
Clearly he doesn't have a grasp on how Washington politics work. You don't offer reasonable alternatives and attempt to work on a compromise solution that satisfies both parties and moves the country forward in a positive direction. No, that's just crazy talk. What you do is dig up irrelevant dirt on your opponent, because if they are tainted, than clearly their cause is terrible as well. Should that fail you make up terrifying, worst case scenario, hypothetical situations to strike at the primal, fear based areas of the public psyche because no one bothers to check if those things could actually happen anyway. Because compromise clearly shows weakness, and it's far better to leave a broken system alone than to let the other guy get the credit for fixing it. Especially if he fixes it in a way that pisses off your friends, and (more importantly) donors.
So who does this Obama think he is? Talking about hope and hard work and compromise. I mean, he said right in his campaign speeches that health care reform was going to be a major priority of his first term. Then he actually goes and tries to enact that very legislation? Talk about mixed signals. The nerve of some people.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A Question of Fandom
I've always thought that college sports were infinitely more fun to watch than professional, and the fans are one of the biggest reasons why. These are people that feel like they as least have some emotional investment in the outcome of the game. You go to the school, your kid goes, your parents went, you know some of the players, or a multitude of other reasons, but all of that means things are a little more passionate, more intense. Intensity and competition breed rivalry, it just happens and you can't stop it once it starts unless one of the programs involved disbands or completely falls apart. Nothing in American sports can compare to Michigan/Ohio State, Duke/UNC, or any of the long term, storied college feuds. The rivalry in question today is between the Miami Hurricanes and the Seminoles of Florida State University. Now, as a Florida Gator, I (of course) hate them both. But there are two teams I can never bring myself to root for under any circumstance. One is FSU, the other is Georgia, so for one day a year I am a Miami fan.
The scenario is this:
Miami plays a game on the road at Florida State. The "U", as Miami fans are so fond of calling them, comes in unranked and the clear underdog. Over the course of the game, they continually shoot themselves in the foot with dumb penalties and questionable play calling. Defense had been the calling card of the program for decades and it looked terrible this game. However, your opponent's was just as bad. Their coach was too senile to realize the game clock was still running and they had a time out to spare and so ran off a good 20 seconds from the clock at the end of the game. And no one taught their receivers to catch a low ball with their hands underneath so the ball doesn't hit the ground first. They also miss an extra point in a game that was decided by 4 points. Miami wins.
What anyone not from South Florida doesn't realize is that Miami fans of any sort, even the pro teams, are obnoxious front runners by and large. Really the only worse fans are Philly fans, but that's a whole other story. Its my contention that, while you should be excited for a road upset over a rival, a Hurricane fan's joy should be tempered by the fact that a competent team would have won that game. Thus, they have earned bragging rights over the fans from Florida State, but any crazy conjectures about winning conferences or bowl appearances need to be put aside until they show they can beat someone good. Fortunately they have plenty of opportunity. You beat Virginia Tech in Blacksberg, and those privileges are yours.
Now the Florida State fans have to feel like they just caught a kick to the groin. The end of that game was just painful. You do get a shot at redemption when you play at the Swamp to end the year. But you have to be legitimately worried. You gave up 38 points to a Miami team who started a young quarterback and had questions at many of the skill positions. And you were at home, with the crowd on your side. You get to play at BYU, at UNC, and at Florida. All high powered offenses. Throw Georgia Tech and that crazy option they run into the mix and you could be looking at a 5 loss season.
Its amazing what one 4 point, last second victory can do to the psyche of the two associated fan bases. It really isn't like this with professional sports, and its not nearly as intense of a feeling if it isn't a rivalry game. Miami fans feel invincible, while Florida State fans are feeling sick.
The scenario is this:
Miami plays a game on the road at Florida State. The "U", as Miami fans are so fond of calling them, comes in unranked and the clear underdog. Over the course of the game, they continually shoot themselves in the foot with dumb penalties and questionable play calling. Defense had been the calling card of the program for decades and it looked terrible this game. However, your opponent's was just as bad. Their coach was too senile to realize the game clock was still running and they had a time out to spare and so ran off a good 20 seconds from the clock at the end of the game. And no one taught their receivers to catch a low ball with their hands underneath so the ball doesn't hit the ground first. They also miss an extra point in a game that was decided by 4 points. Miami wins.
What anyone not from South Florida doesn't realize is that Miami fans of any sort, even the pro teams, are obnoxious front runners by and large. Really the only worse fans are Philly fans, but that's a whole other story. Its my contention that, while you should be excited for a road upset over a rival, a Hurricane fan's joy should be tempered by the fact that a competent team would have won that game. Thus, they have earned bragging rights over the fans from Florida State, but any crazy conjectures about winning conferences or bowl appearances need to be put aside until they show they can beat someone good. Fortunately they have plenty of opportunity. You beat Virginia Tech in Blacksberg, and those privileges are yours.
Now the Florida State fans have to feel like they just caught a kick to the groin. The end of that game was just painful. You do get a shot at redemption when you play at the Swamp to end the year. But you have to be legitimately worried. You gave up 38 points to a Miami team who started a young quarterback and had questions at many of the skill positions. And you were at home, with the crowd on your side. You get to play at BYU, at UNC, and at Florida. All high powered offenses. Throw Georgia Tech and that crazy option they run into the mix and you could be looking at a 5 loss season.
Its amazing what one 4 point, last second victory can do to the psyche of the two associated fan bases. It really isn't like this with professional sports, and its not nearly as intense of a feeling if it isn't a rivalry game. Miami fans feel invincible, while Florida State fans are feeling sick.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Disney.... owns... Marvel....
There is a part of me, maybe the rational part, that says this could end up being a positive. Disney is the evil empire, but they won't hesitate to put money into a property that they feel will make them money. You would think they are smart enough to let Marvel's people maintain the comic side of the business, while the good people at Miramax will take over the film licenses. The hope would be that they would leave the creative people well enough alone, but ensure a greater film quality and higher budget with their near infinite resources.
That's likely just me trying my hardest to put a positive spin on things. However, with the exception of properties currently in production, Disney will have creative control over all of Marvel Entertainment's current cast of 5000 characters. And, thus, will have the ability to whore them out to sell the rest of their crap as they see fit. The first time I see the Disney insignia in front of a Marvel game or movie, I might lose my lunch (a warning to those that might accompany to such an occasion). Can you imagine teenagers dressed as Wolverine hanging out in Cinderella's castle at Disney in Florida? Iron Man on Saturday mornings on the Disney channel? Maybe the most horrifying prospect is the next batch of Disney groomed teenage stars cutting their teeth in "big boy" movies in Marvel features. If you thought Kirsten Dunst sucked as Mary Jane Watson, imagine Miley Cyrus... and try not to cry.
The other scary part of Disney's "creative control" would be the potential censorship and content control a company like this would impose on all books, movies, etc that are associated with its brand. For example, imagine if Wolverine's or Nick Fury's trademark cigars are replaced with chewing gum. Or if Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, suddenly stopped his drinking and womanizing and settled down with a wife and kids. Could the Punisher even exist in a Disney universe? It saddens me that these titles that I've grown up with and loved for years will likely never be the same. I'll have to tell my (god help the world) grandchildren about the days when comics were still good, and a place where free expression was possible. Much like science fiction writers, comic writers are given license to imagine the world they way it could be, and tell their story in a completely unique medium. They are able to dream up their world in word and color, and it would be a shame for the biggest of these companies to have their creativity stifled by a company that cares about imagine first, profit second, and quality somewhere further down the priority line. I hope I'm just being alarmist and nostalgic, but I think another piece of my childhood is about to be dismantled as I watch.
That's likely just me trying my hardest to put a positive spin on things. However, with the exception of properties currently in production, Disney will have creative control over all of Marvel Entertainment's current cast of 5000 characters. And, thus, will have the ability to whore them out to sell the rest of their crap as they see fit. The first time I see the Disney insignia in front of a Marvel game or movie, I might lose my lunch (a warning to those that might accompany to such an occasion). Can you imagine teenagers dressed as Wolverine hanging out in Cinderella's castle at Disney in Florida? Iron Man on Saturday mornings on the Disney channel? Maybe the most horrifying prospect is the next batch of Disney groomed teenage stars cutting their teeth in "big boy" movies in Marvel features. If you thought Kirsten Dunst sucked as Mary Jane Watson, imagine Miley Cyrus... and try not to cry.
The other scary part of Disney's "creative control" would be the potential censorship and content control a company like this would impose on all books, movies, etc that are associated with its brand. For example, imagine if Wolverine's or Nick Fury's trademark cigars are replaced with chewing gum. Or if Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, suddenly stopped his drinking and womanizing and settled down with a wife and kids. Could the Punisher even exist in a Disney universe? It saddens me that these titles that I've grown up with and loved for years will likely never be the same. I'll have to tell my (god help the world) grandchildren about the days when comics were still good, and a place where free expression was possible. Much like science fiction writers, comic writers are given license to imagine the world they way it could be, and tell their story in a completely unique medium. They are able to dream up their world in word and color, and it would be a shame for the biggest of these companies to have their creativity stifled by a company that cares about imagine first, profit second, and quality somewhere further down the priority line. I hope I'm just being alarmist and nostalgic, but I think another piece of my childhood is about to be dismantled as I watch.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A list! The first of many...
I'm really fond of lists. I will order anything you like into some sort of list of ascending importance and/or quality. Now in my first post, I mentioned a couple of great games from the past decade or so, and it got me to thinking. So, here's my top five, and a couple of reasons why, as well as some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions-
These didn't make the cut for whatever reason, but are still great to me.
The Madden franchise: I do love a good sports game, these are the best.
Goldeneye (N64): I'm generally not a fan of shooters, but the pure chaos of a four man free for all from this game was a ton of fun.
Super Metroid (SNES): Pretty much speaks for itself. Great game, great franchise.
Diablo (PC): Another Blizzard Entertainment classic. I've loved these Diablo games for quite some time.
Soul Caliber 2 (PS2): My favorite fighting title. Its a great game and a lot of fun.
5. Baldur's Gate- PC
Very possibly the first successful adaptation of Dungeon's and Dragons to the world of video games. I can't count the amount of times this game kept my up until 3 or 4 in the morning playing just to see what happened next. Which is exactly what set this game apart from many other role players that I had previously attempted to play: the story. It was interesting and well told, featured voice acting for all of the major characters (including 4 or 5 choices for you depending on your sex), and it responded to choices you made. Your companions would object to things you did that they didn't like, random people wouldn't talk to you if they didn't like you, and there were actual consequences for most of your actions. The game had an expansion and a sequel, plus another game with its associates set in the same universe called Icewind Dale. Everything in the line was fantastic, but the original, as usual, is the best.
4. The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past. - SNES
For my money, its the best of the Zelda franchise. This one clearly set the mold for all the others to follow and is the gold standard for action/adventure games of the time. Its one of those rare games that has held up very well over time, despite the poor graphics of its day. Its also one of the first games I can recall where you improved your character in multiple, unique ways as the game continued. You collected hearts to improve your health, jars to enable you to collect more potions or faeries in the event you die, improved weapons and armor, and gadgets to help you pass the game's many puzzles. It was a genre defining title, and an eternally replayable game.
3. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness- PC
The advent of the modern RTS (Real Time Strategy game) lies here. Collecting multiple specialized resources to build your base and your army, and bring the world (of Warcraft?) to its knees. Anyone between the ages of 25 and 30 remembers the epic LAN battles this game would cause. I spent half my algebra class in the 8th grade playing Warcraft in the back of the classroom against the other smart kids who could similarly get away with murder. For me this game began a life long love of the RTS. Without it I never would have discovered Command and Conquer, Age of Empires, Starcraft, or many others that I've enjoyed over the years.
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic- PC
Honorable Mentions-
These didn't make the cut for whatever reason, but are still great to me.
The Madden franchise: I do love a good sports game, these are the best.
Goldeneye (N64): I'm generally not a fan of shooters, but the pure chaos of a four man free for all from this game was a ton of fun.
Super Metroid (SNES): Pretty much speaks for itself. Great game, great franchise.
Diablo (PC): Another Blizzard Entertainment classic. I've loved these Diablo games for quite some time.
Soul Caliber 2 (PS2): My favorite fighting title. Its a great game and a lot of fun.
5. Baldur's Gate- PC
Very possibly the first successful adaptation of Dungeon's and Dragons to the world of video games. I can't count the amount of times this game kept my up until 3 or 4 in the morning playing just to see what happened next. Which is exactly what set this game apart from many other role players that I had previously attempted to play: the story. It was interesting and well told, featured voice acting for all of the major characters (including 4 or 5 choices for you depending on your sex), and it responded to choices you made. Your companions would object to things you did that they didn't like, random people wouldn't talk to you if they didn't like you, and there were actual consequences for most of your actions. The game had an expansion and a sequel, plus another game with its associates set in the same universe called Icewind Dale. Everything in the line was fantastic, but the original, as usual, is the best.
4. The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past. - SNES
For my money, its the best of the Zelda franchise. This one clearly set the mold for all the others to follow and is the gold standard for action/adventure games of the time. Its one of those rare games that has held up very well over time, despite the poor graphics of its day. Its also one of the first games I can recall where you improved your character in multiple, unique ways as the game continued. You collected hearts to improve your health, jars to enable you to collect more potions or faeries in the event you die, improved weapons and armor, and gadgets to help you pass the game's many puzzles. It was a genre defining title, and an eternally replayable game.
3. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness- PC
The advent of the modern RTS (Real Time Strategy game) lies here. Collecting multiple specialized resources to build your base and your army, and bring the world (of Warcraft?) to its knees. Anyone between the ages of 25 and 30 remembers the epic LAN battles this game would cause. I spent half my algebra class in the 8th grade playing Warcraft in the back of the classroom against the other smart kids who could similarly get away with murder. For me this game began a life long love of the RTS. Without it I never would have discovered Command and Conquer, Age of Empires, Starcraft, or many others that I've enjoyed over the years.
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic- PC
Any gamer/Star Wars geek will tell you, most games of this license are forgettable at best, and painful at worst. This one is the exception. Much of the creative team behind Baldur's Gate was behind this one as well, and it showed in the quality. Everything I loved about what they did with Baldur's Gate was present, and it had Jedi. It also developed a spin on the system developed for BG for how your companions and NPC's (non player characters) react to you which is uniquely Star Wars. Actions most would consider good gave you Light Side points, and evil actions award Dark Side points. Playing as dark or light also affects which powers from the Force you have available to you.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3- NES
The game that made me fall in love with gaming. I'd played the previous versions of Mario, of course, as well as Tecmo Bowl and other sports games, and a variety of other early Nintendo mainstays. But this one was the first to get its hooks into me. The first game I ever lost sleep over. The first game I dared to defy the orders of my parents to play. Looking back anyone can see the moment in time where they first develop that interest for something that later sparks into something bigger. So you can tell me there are better games, and I'd believe you. But this is a sentimental favorite for me, and it always will be.
So there you have it, my list. Feel free to comment me with suggestions, criticisms, games I may have forgotten.
Edward Moore Kennedy
I've been toiling away in ole Dixie, helping my brother move into his new place in South Carolina. Computer time has been nonexistent for the past few days, but with the funeral service for the late Senator this weekend I had to offer a few words on the subject. I think many people my age, especially if they don't follow politics, don't realize just how influential and important Senator Kennedy has been over the past five decades that he served the nation in office. In his age, I think he became something of a character. Known only for his impressive name and as fodder for late night talk show comedians.
It would have been easy for Kennedy to get into public office based on only his name, and then proceed to coast by on that reputation and live forever in mediocrity (see Bush, George W.). However, that isn't the route this man chose. At a young age, as the junior senator from Mass., he was quick to make a name for himself. He was instrumental in pushing through the immigration act of 1965 that finally eliminated ethnic quotas for people immigrating into the United States. His eulogy of his brother Robert, after his assassination in 1968, was one of the more memorable speeches of the past 50 years of American politics.
"As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."
In 1971, he passed the National Cancer Act which was meant to increase government funding and research aimed at combating the disease. In that same year, he began to call for peace in Northern Ireland, a place afflicted by sectarian violence for decades. Ending the violence here became one of his many career spanning goals, and one which was achieved in the late 1990's. He also began to campaign for health care and insurance reform, which was another battle he fought until his passing recently. He was a strong supporter of Obama's current plan which is before Congress today. After Watergate, he championed the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendment of 1974 which limited the amount of money that could be contributed to candidates and set up a means for public financing. He made only one unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1980, losing the Democratic primary to Jimmy Carter, who would later lose to Ronald Reagan. His speech at the '80 Democratic Convention is considered the best of his career and a rallying cry for all liberals, even now nearly 30 years later. He expanded the powers of the Voting Rights Act to enable all persons aged 18 years or older to vote, gave equal funding to women's college sports under Title IX, fought for AIDS research funding, and fought for equal right for homosexuals, all under the overwhelmingly Republican government of Reagan's first term. He also fought tireless against the Apartheid government in South Africa, and was one of the leading American officials speaking out against the injustices there. Even leading the override of Reagan's veto of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 which enacted harsh sanctions on the government of South Africa as long as conditions there remained the same. In 1990, he fought with the George H.W. Bush's administration and Republican Senate to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Ryan White Care Act (to provide funding for low income or uninsured victims of the AIDS virus to get treatment).
It was after this that the troubled Senator's personal life started to overshadow the good he did for the nation, and he was in the news more for his alcoholism than for his politics, and this is where the political consciousness of much of my generation begins. Above I listed only some of the major contributions the man had made, not only to America, but to the world as well. He remained an effective symbolic and, for lack of a better word, spiritual leader to the Democratic party until his passing a short week ago. His is an inspiring presence, a larger than life figure. His chair will be a tough one to fill. One can only hope that his successor will try to live up to his legacy as best he can.
It would have been easy for Kennedy to get into public office based on only his name, and then proceed to coast by on that reputation and live forever in mediocrity (see Bush, George W.). However, that isn't the route this man chose. At a young age, as the junior senator from Mass., he was quick to make a name for himself. He was instrumental in pushing through the immigration act of 1965 that finally eliminated ethnic quotas for people immigrating into the United States. His eulogy of his brother Robert, after his assassination in 1968, was one of the more memorable speeches of the past 50 years of American politics.
"As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."
In 1971, he passed the National Cancer Act which was meant to increase government funding and research aimed at combating the disease. In that same year, he began to call for peace in Northern Ireland, a place afflicted by sectarian violence for decades. Ending the violence here became one of his many career spanning goals, and one which was achieved in the late 1990's. He also began to campaign for health care and insurance reform, which was another battle he fought until his passing recently. He was a strong supporter of Obama's current plan which is before Congress today. After Watergate, he championed the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendment of 1974 which limited the amount of money that could be contributed to candidates and set up a means for public financing. He made only one unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1980, losing the Democratic primary to Jimmy Carter, who would later lose to Ronald Reagan. His speech at the '80 Democratic Convention is considered the best of his career and a rallying cry for all liberals, even now nearly 30 years later. He expanded the powers of the Voting Rights Act to enable all persons aged 18 years or older to vote, gave equal funding to women's college sports under Title IX, fought for AIDS research funding, and fought for equal right for homosexuals, all under the overwhelmingly Republican government of Reagan's first term. He also fought tireless against the Apartheid government in South Africa, and was one of the leading American officials speaking out against the injustices there. Even leading the override of Reagan's veto of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 which enacted harsh sanctions on the government of South Africa as long as conditions there remained the same. In 1990, he fought with the George H.W. Bush's administration and Republican Senate to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Ryan White Care Act (to provide funding for low income or uninsured victims of the AIDS virus to get treatment).
It was after this that the troubled Senator's personal life started to overshadow the good he did for the nation, and he was in the news more for his alcoholism than for his politics, and this is where the political consciousness of much of my generation begins. Above I listed only some of the major contributions the man had made, not only to America, but to the world as well. He remained an effective symbolic and, for lack of a better word, spiritual leader to the Democratic party until his passing a short week ago. His is an inspiring presence, a larger than life figure. His chair will be a tough one to fill. One can only hope that his successor will try to live up to his legacy as best he can.
Friday, August 28, 2009
A Tribute
I stumbled across a news item today that shocked me. I pay attention to the goings on of the world quite a bit, and yet I somehow missed the passing of a fantastic film maker. I don't know if its because we're just numb as a society from all the the celebrity passings lately or because he was always under appreciated, but the lack of coverage was astonishing. If you had to put together a list of movies from your childhood (if you are my age or a bit older) to make your kids watch when they are teenagers, what would be on that list?
The Breakfast Club
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Weird Science
Pretty in Pink
Sixteen Candles
National Lampoon's Vacation
What do all these have in common? John Hughes. In addition to those classics, he was also behind Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and many others. He passed suddenly of a heart attack earlier this month. The sad thing is that it wasn't until he died that I really sat down and looked at everything he did. Half of those movies I listed I didn't even realize were his. How different would not only my childhood have been, but American comedy in film have been if Hughes had never picked up a camera? So maybe he would never have won an Oscar, but he made films that millions of people genuinely love. He captured the spirit of a decade's youth perfectly. So rest in peace, John Hughes, your films will be beloved by millions for some time.
The Breakfast Club
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Weird Science
Pretty in Pink
Sixteen Candles
National Lampoon's Vacation
What do all these have in common? John Hughes. In addition to those classics, he was also behind Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and many others. He passed suddenly of a heart attack earlier this month. The sad thing is that it wasn't until he died that I really sat down and looked at everything he did. Half of those movies I listed I didn't even realize were his. How different would not only my childhood have been, but American comedy in film have been if Hughes had never picked up a camera? So maybe he would never have won an Oscar, but he made films that millions of people genuinely love. He captured the spirit of a decade's youth perfectly. So rest in peace, John Hughes, your films will be beloved by millions for some time.
Football, Part Deux
So thus far, I have my Giants coming out of the NFC. Vegas has my back on this one, so I'm not too much of a homer making that pick. With a quick glance at the AFC, you have to like the Pats, but let's break it down.
Let's start in the AFC East, where there are plenty of questions going in to this season. Does Brady recover from the devastating knee injury? Were the 'Phins a fluke? Can Sanchez pull a Matt Ryan on a decent Jets team? Why the hell did the mediocre Bills sign TO to kill their young QB? Yes, yes, no but it won't matter, and... I have no idea. The Pats are clearly the class of the division. Even if Brady can only play at 75% all year, they have too many weapons. I think the Jets ride their defense and running game to second in the division and compete for a wild card. Sanchez is good, but not great in year 1. He won't kill them, but won't win a game by himself. Miami comes back to earth at 8-8 most likely. The Bills are likely in the 8-8 or 7-9 range as well, but with Dick Jauron at the helm and Trent Edwards under center, plus you-know-who on the roster, well anything is possible.
In the AFC North, I think you can throw away the Ohio teams right off the bat. Look at their schedules and see if you can find more than six wins, I dare you. The other two teams in the division were playoff teams last year, and not much as changed. You have to give the nod to the Super Bowl champion Steelers to win the division. With no real offseason injuries or departures to fret about, the Steelers should compete with the Pats for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Ravens defense should be solid as ever, and the offense has had another year to grow and mature. This looks like a playoff team to me as well.
Tennessee remains the biggest enigma to me in the South division. I can't imagine Kerry Collins being a long term solution at quarterback, but Vince Young hasn't proven to be a viable option either. Who knows how the defense will play without its leader, Haynesworth, who departed for greener pastures? One thing is certain, their running attack should be one of the best in the league, but I don't think thats enough. Houston is a sexy pick to be a contender this year. Then again they are every year for the past 3-4 years. Then they go 8-8. They have talent, let's see what they do with it because I'm not buying any Houston preseaon hype any more until I see it on the field. Jacksonville is a throw away team this year. The defense still can't stop the pass and the offense rests solely on the back of Maurice Jones-Drew, who can't carry this team. This leaves me with Indy as the winner here, and I think reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated. They'll be in contention, yet again. I don't think they're Super Bowl good, but they make the playoffs for sure.
I don't know what it is about the West in football lately. The AFC is nearly as atrocious as the NFC's version. San Diego is the only team worth discussing really. Denver is falling apart at the seams in the wake of Shanahan's firing, and Oakland is just terrible. Kansas City is building something interesting, but is at least a year or two away. Chargers steam roll this one.
So my playoff picture looks like this:
1. Steelers
2. Patriots
3. Chargers
4. Colts
5. Ravens
6. Jets
I'd pick Baltimore and San Diego to win in wild card weekend. Then the Ravens in an upset and New England to continue their ownership of the Bolts. And only because I want the epic rematch, I pick New England to go to the Super Bowl.
So my preseason Super Bowl pick is... the New York Giants.
And in other news, the Sun rose in the east today...
Let's start in the AFC East, where there are plenty of questions going in to this season. Does Brady recover from the devastating knee injury? Were the 'Phins a fluke? Can Sanchez pull a Matt Ryan on a decent Jets team? Why the hell did the mediocre Bills sign TO to kill their young QB? Yes, yes, no but it won't matter, and... I have no idea. The Pats are clearly the class of the division. Even if Brady can only play at 75% all year, they have too many weapons. I think the Jets ride their defense and running game to second in the division and compete for a wild card. Sanchez is good, but not great in year 1. He won't kill them, but won't win a game by himself. Miami comes back to earth at 8-8 most likely. The Bills are likely in the 8-8 or 7-9 range as well, but with Dick Jauron at the helm and Trent Edwards under center, plus you-know-who on the roster, well anything is possible.
In the AFC North, I think you can throw away the Ohio teams right off the bat. Look at their schedules and see if you can find more than six wins, I dare you. The other two teams in the division were playoff teams last year, and not much as changed. You have to give the nod to the Super Bowl champion Steelers to win the division. With no real offseason injuries or departures to fret about, the Steelers should compete with the Pats for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Ravens defense should be solid as ever, and the offense has had another year to grow and mature. This looks like a playoff team to me as well.
Tennessee remains the biggest enigma to me in the South division. I can't imagine Kerry Collins being a long term solution at quarterback, but Vince Young hasn't proven to be a viable option either. Who knows how the defense will play without its leader, Haynesworth, who departed for greener pastures? One thing is certain, their running attack should be one of the best in the league, but I don't think thats enough. Houston is a sexy pick to be a contender this year. Then again they are every year for the past 3-4 years. Then they go 8-8. They have talent, let's see what they do with it because I'm not buying any Houston preseaon hype any more until I see it on the field. Jacksonville is a throw away team this year. The defense still can't stop the pass and the offense rests solely on the back of Maurice Jones-Drew, who can't carry this team. This leaves me with Indy as the winner here, and I think reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated. They'll be in contention, yet again. I don't think they're Super Bowl good, but they make the playoffs for sure.
I don't know what it is about the West in football lately. The AFC is nearly as atrocious as the NFC's version. San Diego is the only team worth discussing really. Denver is falling apart at the seams in the wake of Shanahan's firing, and Oakland is just terrible. Kansas City is building something interesting, but is at least a year or two away. Chargers steam roll this one.
So my playoff picture looks like this:
1. Steelers
2. Patriots
3. Chargers
4. Colts
5. Ravens
6. Jets
I'd pick Baltimore and San Diego to win in wild card weekend. Then the Ravens in an upset and New England to continue their ownership of the Bolts. And only because I want the epic rematch, I pick New England to go to the Super Bowl.
So my preseason Super Bowl pick is... the New York Giants.
And in other news, the Sun rose in the east today...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Football season!!!
That magical time of the year is almost here. There's really nothing better then spending a Sunday, or even a Saturday with college ball, in front of the TV with my beloved NY Giants, beer, and fried food. I'm happy to say that this year I'll be watching on my cousin's large Hi-Def plasma, which is a big upgrade from the little pos I had last year.
I'm an unashamed Giants fan, and I really like our chances this year. The defense is looking strong, especially with Ossi back. We should have one of the best secondaries in football, and if the linebackers are decent, this D will be a terror. On offense, we just need one of these young receivers to step up now that Plax is gone. The running game is going to do most of the work anyway, and Kevin Boss is already a beast across the middle at TE. Coming off this Mets season, I'll enjoy watching a professional sports team again. I usually make predictions at this time of year like every other armchair quarterback out there. So I'll do it on the internet this year and give everyone fuel to make fun of me in six months when this is all wrong.
Let's start with the deadly NFC East. Hmmm.... I wonder who I'm picking here? Seriously, this is the toughest division in the league yet again. Any team that comes out of it if going to be in good shape to make the Super Bowl down the road if they stay healthy. I do think the Giants will take it, and that's not completely a homer call. You can never really trust the Andy Ried/Donovan McNabb combo in a big game, late in the season... assuming Michael Vick isn't the starter by the year's end. They are an interesting team to be sure, and potentially a Wild Card. I just don't think they have the chops to win the division. Dallas and Washington are both good teams, I don't see them as playoff teams. Felix Jones could be a superstar, but Romo is overrated and Wade Phillips is the wrong coach for that team. The 'Skins defense will keep them competitive, but where are the points coming from? They finish last in the division.
The NFC North will probably be one of the more interesting divisions to watch with all the off season intrigue. I, and I can't believe I'm saying this, think the Bears might win this thing. Favre will play one big game for Minny early in the year before he fades into the sunset again and becomes a $12 million interception machine. Detroit is, well, Detroit. Stafford ain't Matt Ryan. I thought he was overrated at Georgia, but even if he was as good this team just has nothing. The Kittens are a joke again, but improve to 3-13! Big news. I think the fate of the division rests on Green Bay's defense. If they are as miserable as they were last year the Pack might finish third in the division, but if they shape up into a top 15 unit, this team becomes dangerous. The Bears round out this "What If" machine of a division with questions about their offense. Is Cutler the savior for this team? I've never really liked Cutler, but even if he is as good as people think, who's catching the ball? And was Forte a one season wonder? Honestly, the Vikes, Pack, and Bears could each end up 7-9 or 11-5 and neither would surprise me. I close my eyes and say Chicago.
The NFC South is a two horse race as I see it. The Saints and Falcons are going to compete. The Bucs are rebuilding and probably won't be much of a factor this year. The Panthers are fading. Deangelo Williams will put up numbers, but on a mediocre team. I think we'll see the last of Jake Delhomme this year. If the Saints can put together anything remotely resembling a defense they would be scary. They can score points is huge chunks, but their defense can't get off the field to get that high octane offense back out. The Falcons are a tough team to predict. The usually follow a winning season with a losing one. Michael Turner couldn't run against good defenses. But they did add the greatest pass catching tight end in NFL history. Tony Gonzalez is a game changer. I think the Saints put it together and win this year, and the Dirty Birds probably take a Wild Card spot.
And then there's the NFC West. I mean, if the Cards didn't play in this division would anyone care about it at all? The Rams and Niners are just... bad. The Cards felt like a fluke last year, but they have one of the most exciting players in the game in Larry Fitzgerald. I'm convinced Kurt Warner will never willingly retire. Either he'll finally stop getting contracts or he'll drop dead right on the field. Seriously Kurt, don't go all Farve on us. The Seahawks could be good, but their QB is Matt Hasselbeck, and I still don't understand who thought this guy should ever have been a starter. They also have a history of injury problems. Its bad when your huge divisional showdown is between Arizona and Seattle, well this incarnation of those teams anyway. I guess I'll take the Cards, only because they won it last year. Wouldn't be surprised if Seattle took it though.
They way I call it...
1. Giants
2. Saints
3. Bears
4. Seahawks
5. Eagles
6. Falcons
I'll take the Bears and Eagles in the wild card round. The Giants and Saints go to the NFC championship, and the New York football Giants advance to the Super Bowl.
I'll do the AFC tomorrow.
I'm an unashamed Giants fan, and I really like our chances this year. The defense is looking strong, especially with Ossi back. We should have one of the best secondaries in football, and if the linebackers are decent, this D will be a terror. On offense, we just need one of these young receivers to step up now that Plax is gone. The running game is going to do most of the work anyway, and Kevin Boss is already a beast across the middle at TE. Coming off this Mets season, I'll enjoy watching a professional sports team again. I usually make predictions at this time of year like every other armchair quarterback out there. So I'll do it on the internet this year and give everyone fuel to make fun of me in six months when this is all wrong.
Let's start with the deadly NFC East. Hmmm.... I wonder who I'm picking here? Seriously, this is the toughest division in the league yet again. Any team that comes out of it if going to be in good shape to make the Super Bowl down the road if they stay healthy. I do think the Giants will take it, and that's not completely a homer call. You can never really trust the Andy Ried/Donovan McNabb combo in a big game, late in the season... assuming Michael Vick isn't the starter by the year's end. They are an interesting team to be sure, and potentially a Wild Card. I just don't think they have the chops to win the division. Dallas and Washington are both good teams, I don't see them as playoff teams. Felix Jones could be a superstar, but Romo is overrated and Wade Phillips is the wrong coach for that team. The 'Skins defense will keep them competitive, but where are the points coming from? They finish last in the division.
The NFC North will probably be one of the more interesting divisions to watch with all the off season intrigue. I, and I can't believe I'm saying this, think the Bears might win this thing. Favre will play one big game for Minny early in the year before he fades into the sunset again and becomes a $12 million interception machine. Detroit is, well, Detroit. Stafford ain't Matt Ryan. I thought he was overrated at Georgia, but even if he was as good this team just has nothing. The Kittens are a joke again, but improve to 3-13! Big news. I think the fate of the division rests on Green Bay's defense. If they are as miserable as they were last year the Pack might finish third in the division, but if they shape up into a top 15 unit, this team becomes dangerous. The Bears round out this "What If" machine of a division with questions about their offense. Is Cutler the savior for this team? I've never really liked Cutler, but even if he is as good as people think, who's catching the ball? And was Forte a one season wonder? Honestly, the Vikes, Pack, and Bears could each end up 7-9 or 11-5 and neither would surprise me. I close my eyes and say Chicago.
The NFC South is a two horse race as I see it. The Saints and Falcons are going to compete. The Bucs are rebuilding and probably won't be much of a factor this year. The Panthers are fading. Deangelo Williams will put up numbers, but on a mediocre team. I think we'll see the last of Jake Delhomme this year. If the Saints can put together anything remotely resembling a defense they would be scary. They can score points is huge chunks, but their defense can't get off the field to get that high octane offense back out. The Falcons are a tough team to predict. The usually follow a winning season with a losing one. Michael Turner couldn't run against good defenses. But they did add the greatest pass catching tight end in NFL history. Tony Gonzalez is a game changer. I think the Saints put it together and win this year, and the Dirty Birds probably take a Wild Card spot.
And then there's the NFC West. I mean, if the Cards didn't play in this division would anyone care about it at all? The Rams and Niners are just... bad. The Cards felt like a fluke last year, but they have one of the most exciting players in the game in Larry Fitzgerald. I'm convinced Kurt Warner will never willingly retire. Either he'll finally stop getting contracts or he'll drop dead right on the field. Seriously Kurt, don't go all Farve on us. The Seahawks could be good, but their QB is Matt Hasselbeck, and I still don't understand who thought this guy should ever have been a starter. They also have a history of injury problems. Its bad when your huge divisional showdown is between Arizona and Seattle, well this incarnation of those teams anyway. I guess I'll take the Cards, only because they won it last year. Wouldn't be surprised if Seattle took it though.
They way I call it...
1. Giants
2. Saints
3. Bears
4. Seahawks
5. Eagles
6. Falcons
I'll take the Bears and Eagles in the wild card round. The Giants and Saints go to the NFC championship, and the New York football Giants advance to the Super Bowl.
I'll do the AFC tomorrow.
MMO's are a government conspiracy to destroy my life.
They are, honest. For the unwashed, an MMO is a Massively Multiplayer Online game. They basically create an entire virtual world, which is so vastly superior to the actual world, that one wonders why you'd ever spend any time in this "real world" shit. To say they are addicting is like saying Mt. Everest is big. They're the friggin heroin of games. Seriously, they make you lounge around in a semi-comatose state and chase dragons. I dare you to find me a better analogy. If I start free basing my keyboard, I know I have a problem. So why is this suddenly a bigger problem? Glad you asked, but first, some background info.
I've been playing World of Warcraft since 2004, and Warcraft games in general since Warcraft 2 (still one of my top 5 games of all time) was released in 1995.
I'm a ridiculously huge Star Wars geek. So on top of all 6 movies, I own at least that many computer/console games, a dozen novels, action figures, mini series, and a working lightsaber. I quote/reference Star Wars constantly.
Now for the conspiracy. Blizzard Entertainment is releasing the third expansion of WoW, titled "Cataclysm". It features a nearly complete revamp of the original world, and the return of some fan favorites and premier of long awaited features and areas. In the very same year (potentially), Bioware (the company that brought us Knights of the Old Republic, only the greatest Star Wars game ever made and another of my favorites) is releasing Star Wars: The Old Republic. An MMO based in the Star Wars universe made by Bioware. Excuse me while I recover from my nerdgasm. This can only be a plot to destroy my life and shatter my sanity. Now I have to find time to pwn the Horde, and Force choke a bitch or two all the the same day? I am but one man.
I have to say, I'm a little more amped about TOR. Its set thousands of years before the events of Episode 1 in the middle of a war between the Rebulic and the Sith Empire, which returned suddenly from the depths of space outside the known galaxy. The great thing about it is that Jedi (or Sith, you know, the bad ones) aren't the be all, end all of existence. You can play a bounty hunter or a smuggler and go toe to toe with a Force user and come out on top. Combine that with stellar graphics and an immersive story, and you've got a title that looks like it can't fail. On the other hand, after these both come out I could lose my job, my friends, and everything I hold dear until I'm naked on the side of the road trading sexual favors for play time.
I have a bad feeling about this.
I've been playing World of Warcraft since 2004, and Warcraft games in general since Warcraft 2 (still one of my top 5 games of all time) was released in 1995.
I'm a ridiculously huge Star Wars geek. So on top of all 6 movies, I own at least that many computer/console games, a dozen novels, action figures, mini series, and a working lightsaber. I quote/reference Star Wars constantly.
Now for the conspiracy. Blizzard Entertainment is releasing the third expansion of WoW, titled "Cataclysm". It features a nearly complete revamp of the original world, and the return of some fan favorites and premier of long awaited features and areas. In the very same year (potentially), Bioware (the company that brought us Knights of the Old Republic, only the greatest Star Wars game ever made and another of my favorites) is releasing Star Wars: The Old Republic. An MMO based in the Star Wars universe made by Bioware. Excuse me while I recover from my nerdgasm. This can only be a plot to destroy my life and shatter my sanity. Now I have to find time to pwn the Horde, and Force choke a bitch or two all the the same day? I am but one man.
I have to say, I'm a little more amped about TOR. Its set thousands of years before the events of Episode 1 in the middle of a war between the Rebulic and the Sith Empire, which returned suddenly from the depths of space outside the known galaxy. The great thing about it is that Jedi (or Sith, you know, the bad ones) aren't the be all, end all of existence. You can play a bounty hunter or a smuggler and go toe to toe with a Force user and come out on top. Combine that with stellar graphics and an immersive story, and you've got a title that looks like it can't fail. On the other hand, after these both come out I could lose my job, my friends, and everything I hold dear until I'm naked on the side of the road trading sexual favors for play time.
I have a bad feeling about this.
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