The things you find on Youtube.com: I don't watch Fox TV, so I had no idea they have their own awards show, honoring Reality TV competitors and participants (they call them "stars," but then they also call their opinion reports "news"). However, I did watch Survivor the season that contestant Johnny Fairplay lied about his grandmother's death to gain immunity and sympathy from his too trusting team members. At the time, I suspected the guy was lying. Fairplay is a real creep who has, apparently, spun his 15 minutes of fame by appearing on whatever low budget reality fest will have him and as a professional wrestler. For his stint on Survivor, Fairplay in October received the trophy as the Most Memorable Reality Performer (talk about an oxymoron). Fairplay was booed by the audience, which included the prostitutes who work at the Bunny Ranch and their pimp (Cathouse, HBO), Mike "Boogie" Malin ( Big Brother), and Janice Dickinson (True Life).
Perhaps trying to be helpful, former child star and world class train wreck, Danny Bonaduce, ambled on stage to inform Fairplay that booing means the audience "hates you." And then he begins to amble off. Fairplay, who is a living example to dumb blonds everywhere, calls to Danny and proceeds to run at him, jumping into Bonaduce's non-waiting arms, wrapping his legs around Bonaduce's waist and begins to dry hump. With the greatest of ease, Bonaduce throws Fairplay over his shoulders. Here's the link, because seeing is believing: Bonaduce flips Fairplay
Anyway, Fairplay goes to the emergency room to deal with his broken teeth and Danny goes home. Naturally, Fairplay files a police report, claiming assault. But the charges are dropped when the Los Angeles DA found that Bonaduce did not intentionally injure Fairplay and his "actions fell within the realm of self-defense.’”
The saga does not end there because now Fairplay is suing everybody: Bonaduce, FOX Reality Channel, producer Natural 9 Entertainment and Boulevard3, the venue at which the event took place. Having done a little research, I find that the suit does not mention Fairplay's drunken state, apparently he'd been hitting the bottle before the event and backstage during the event and that he broke the camera of some woman who dared to take his picture when he left the event under his own power, but in an ambulance. I also found that Fairplay was kicked off Kill Reality in 2006, for defecating on another contestant's bed. Class act meet class act.
In other news, the personal letters of the late Diana, Princess of Wales have been made public in yet another inquest into her death. The inquest is being held, at taxpayer's expense, to quell the rumors instigated by Mohamed Al Fayed that Diana was the target of an assassination plot hatched by Prince Philip. To add insult to injury, correspondence from Diana to the Prince has been introduced to prove that they were on good terms (take that, Paul Burrell). When does too much information become way too much information?
Michael Vick has already been sentenced for perjury and dog fighting,but letters from his family pleading for leniency have appeared on the Internet this week. Leniency in this case means that Vick should pay a fine, that he can easily afford, but not serve time, which inconvenient. This isn't Vick's first run-in with the law, but it may be his most lasting. I can think of no other reason for these letters to be made public, other than to drum up public support for Vick and achieve an early release. His mother explained away Vick's failure of a drug test in September by saying he was distraught by comments made by his father, which indicated that Vick had a long history of dog fighting. I do not believe that Vick's football career is over. That's not how in works in the US. As long as he appears contrite, as long as he is seen to have paid for his crime, and as long as he plays winning ball, the Atlanta Falcons will have him back, and if they won't somebody else will. Vick knew what he was doing, he was not coerced, or forced, perhaps he thought he was above the law. Perhaps he believed that because of his athletic prowess he could get away with breaking the law.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A little intelligent design in your stocking, by George
'Tis the season, when people step on your toes, grab the last hot toy from your sweaty palms but wish you a Merry Christmas anyway. All this forced good will gets on my nerves. And just when I think it cannot get any worse, George W. Bush does something that really sends me over the edge.
This year, I've read, the President and his ever lovely Stepford wife have chosen as their Christmas greeting an Old Testament quotation from Nehemiah, which seems to affirm his belief in intelligent design, you know, Creationism by another name. Other presidents were happy to settle for a non-denominational "Season's Greetings," but not George.
Christmas in the United States has nothing to do with the birth of anybody, much less the Christian Christ and I will not bore you with my treasure trove of Christmas trivia from around the world. Suffice to say, it's a pagan mid-Winter festival dressed up in religious attire. And if you are going to practice Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men in December, why can't you do so during the 11 preceding months?
Now, I am willing to bet that if confronted, George will make doe eyes and claim that the passage about how the Lord made the heaven's and earth has nothing to do with intelligent design, and, because it comes from the Old Testament, it isn't even Christian, so there. Begging the question about who, other than fundamentalist Christians, believe that the Theory of Evolution is so much anti-Christian poppy cock.
What really offends me about the Shrub (and let me count the ways), is that his choice of a religious theme shows a lack of respect for the non-Christians who receive it. I assume, of course, and I could be wrong, that George will send the card to various ambassadors, for example, some of whom just might not be Christian. I guess the religious intolerance comes without extra charge.
I don't really care what flavor of worship turns you on, that's your business. But I do resent the Christian aspects of this very secular celebration and I know that those crazy Puritans who first fled to the Colonies did so in part to be away from the kind of Christmas frivolities we take for granted. The kind of fundamentalist pandering appeals to the yokels in Kansas who built a "science" museum to Creationism, but it should fill the majority of US citizens, who do not buy into this political-religious cant with horror and disgust. Loving the Lord, in whatever permutation, has nothing to do with patriotism, regardless of what George Waterboard Bush says.
As far as I'm concerned this proves there is no God. If God existed, he (or she) would have struck Georgie and his fundamentalist pals stone dead years ago. Meanwhile, I'm counting down the days until the next election, and I don't care who wins as long as it isn't Mike Huckabee.
Oh, by the way, Happy Holidays!
This year, I've read, the President and his ever lovely Stepford wife have chosen as their Christmas greeting an Old Testament quotation from Nehemiah, which seems to affirm his belief in intelligent design, you know, Creationism by another name. Other presidents were happy to settle for a non-denominational "Season's Greetings," but not George.
Christmas in the United States has nothing to do with the birth of anybody, much less the Christian Christ and I will not bore you with my treasure trove of Christmas trivia from around the world. Suffice to say, it's a pagan mid-Winter festival dressed up in religious attire. And if you are going to practice Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men in December, why can't you do so during the 11 preceding months?
Now, I am willing to bet that if confronted, George will make doe eyes and claim that the passage about how the Lord made the heaven's and earth has nothing to do with intelligent design, and, because it comes from the Old Testament, it isn't even Christian, so there. Begging the question about who, other than fundamentalist Christians, believe that the Theory of Evolution is so much anti-Christian poppy cock.
What really offends me about the Shrub (and let me count the ways), is that his choice of a religious theme shows a lack of respect for the non-Christians who receive it. I assume, of course, and I could be wrong, that George will send the card to various ambassadors, for example, some of whom just might not be Christian. I guess the religious intolerance comes without extra charge.
I don't really care what flavor of worship turns you on, that's your business. But I do resent the Christian aspects of this very secular celebration and I know that those crazy Puritans who first fled to the Colonies did so in part to be away from the kind of Christmas frivolities we take for granted. The kind of fundamentalist pandering appeals to the yokels in Kansas who built a "science" museum to Creationism, but it should fill the majority of US citizens, who do not buy into this political-religious cant with horror and disgust. Loving the Lord, in whatever permutation, has nothing to do with patriotism, regardless of what George Waterboard Bush says.
As far as I'm concerned this proves there is no God. If God existed, he (or she) would have struck Georgie and his fundamentalist pals stone dead years ago. Meanwhile, I'm counting down the days until the next election, and I don't care who wins as long as it isn't Mike Huckabee.
Oh, by the way, Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Ike Turner
Ike Turner died today. Another reminder to us baby boomers that nothing flies like time, whether or not you are having a good time. Ike didn't have the kind of influence he wanted, or that he believes he did, on rock music, but that isn't to say that he wasn't an important element. Turner wrote Rocket 88, which is credited as being the first rock song. It was recorded in 1951 and features an early example of guitar distortion--but not by design. The story goes that an amp was dropped before the recording session and that resulted in the distortion. But Turner knew how to take advantage of a happy accident and he knew what to do with that whammy bar on his Fender Stratocaster. But without Tina, one wonders if we would even know Ike Turner.
In many ways Ike was his own worst enemy, and that says a lot about an African-American who was born in Clarkdale, Mississippi, near the start of the depression. He is remembered as much for his alcohol and drug-fueled rages and the abuse of Tina Turner as for his music. In his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, Ike admits to slapping and punching Tina, but he didn't think that was spousal abuse. Most of it, maybe all of it, is attributable to his drug and alcohol abuse. But I think we cannot overlook professional jealousy, and how that is amplified in the mind of a man who grew to adulthood at a time when African-Americans were still powerless over their own fates. All of his big hits came when Tina was part of the group. That's got to be hard to take when you consider that it was his group in the first place. And in the end, when we talk about Ike Turner's contributions to music, you have to include Tina, and I think that more than anything else is what made Ike crazy.
Since being released from prison in 1993 (for a 1980s drug-related charge), Turner had maintained sobriety and continued playing music.
Ike Turner died today, and whatever else he did, or did not do, he was one of the granddads of rock. Music is richer because of him.
UPDATE: In all the obits, Ike is identified as Tina's former husband. No wonder he was so annoyed.
In many ways Ike was his own worst enemy, and that says a lot about an African-American who was born in Clarkdale, Mississippi, near the start of the depression. He is remembered as much for his alcohol and drug-fueled rages and the abuse of Tina Turner as for his music. In his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, Ike admits to slapping and punching Tina, but he didn't think that was spousal abuse. Most of it, maybe all of it, is attributable to his drug and alcohol abuse. But I think we cannot overlook professional jealousy, and how that is amplified in the mind of a man who grew to adulthood at a time when African-Americans were still powerless over their own fates. All of his big hits came when Tina was part of the group. That's got to be hard to take when you consider that it was his group in the first place. And in the end, when we talk about Ike Turner's contributions to music, you have to include Tina, and I think that more than anything else is what made Ike crazy.
Since being released from prison in 1993 (for a 1980s drug-related charge), Turner had maintained sobriety and continued playing music.
Ike Turner died today, and whatever else he did, or did not do, he was one of the granddads of rock. Music is richer because of him.
UPDATE: In all the obits, Ike is identified as Tina's former husband. No wonder he was so annoyed.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Michael Vick goes to jail
As we all now know, former, and maybe future, NFL star, Michael Vick drew a 23-month jail sentence for his involvement in dog fighting--more because he lied to the judge rather than for the act of owning a dog fighting kennel or for the dogs that are routinely injured and killed by this so-called sport.
I like animals and would not knowing hurt one. On the other hand I am an unabashed carnivore and I have always wanted a mink coat. While this sometimes means that I agree with PETA, it also means I am barred from membership, but PETA would probably accept my contribution. I'm like the rest of the world, we eat what we think of as food and if I lived in China, that might include snakes, which I pathologically fear. If I were a member of PETA, I would have written "whom" instead of "which."
I'm also told that as a white Northerner, I do not understand regional and cultural differences. I'm all about diversity and acceptance, but I draw the line at a so-called sport that requires the torture of animals that does nothing more than make the two-legged animals at the top of the food chain richer. But how do I square that with the fact that I make poultry farmers wealthy every time I chow down on fried chicken? To answer that, I turn, again, to the movies (where all life's questions are answered). In the underrated Culpepper Cattle Company, a young cooks helper asks the name of a cowboy's horse, "I don't name nothin' I might have to eat," replies the cowboy. And therein lies the difference.
I have read that there are more pet dogs in the United States than there are people in the United Kingdom. We, in the US, think of our pets as part of the family. We give them names. We buy them sweaters. We become litigious when we discover that money grubbing pet food manufacturers use the same formula (regardless of consumer cost) to buy preparations made in China, where pets are food, that are laced with poison. That's the society in which we live. If there was some cataclysmic event tomorrow and food became scarce, we might literally have Fido or Fluffy for dinner, but right now, dogs and cats, birds and lizards, and guppies are pets. We don't eat pets. We don't purposely set one dog on another for money.
And while I am certain that Michael Vick is sorry that he was caught and is now in jail, I am not so sure he understands why dog fighting is wrong. Although dog fighting is illegal in the United States, law enforcement doesn't always take it seriously (in their defense, there is a whole lot of other crime with which to contend). I'm also not sure that the kennel Vick co-owned would have caught national media attention without Vick's involvement. Still, this sorry case brought a serious problem to public attention. Dog fighting has been around for centuries and most people think of it as unsavory but acceptable as long as it doesn't involve a family pet or happen in their backyards. But according to Stephanie LaFarge, Ph.D., Senior Director, ASPCA Counseling Services, "Dog fighters represent a range of personality types and psychological disorders. School life offers them little fulfillment and humiliates them into doing socially unacceptable things in an environment where beating the system is the goal." And that should concern us. People who come from chaotic homes and who live in an environment of limited social or economic opportunity will find other ways to make themselves feel powerful and wealthy. Some sell crack, others fight dogs.
I know nothing about Michael Vick other than what I read in the papers. Apparently from modest means, Vick played ball well enough to attend college. Unfortunately, football outweighed education and Vick left school in his sophomore year. He may play ball well enough that he will return to the field after serving his time. Do you see the similarities? Michael Vick was valued for what he could do in a sport, not for who he is as a person. No matter what he does, if his team can continue to make money on Michael Vick, he will continue to play football. And when he stops playing well, out he goes into an uncertain future. Maybe if someone had treated Michael Vick with greater respect, he would have some understanding of why torturing animals for money is not a good idea.
I like animals and would not knowing hurt one. On the other hand I am an unabashed carnivore and I have always wanted a mink coat. While this sometimes means that I agree with PETA, it also means I am barred from membership, but PETA would probably accept my contribution. I'm like the rest of the world, we eat what we think of as food and if I lived in China, that might include snakes, which I pathologically fear. If I were a member of PETA, I would have written "whom" instead of "which."
I'm also told that as a white Northerner, I do not understand regional and cultural differences. I'm all about diversity and acceptance, but I draw the line at a so-called sport that requires the torture of animals that does nothing more than make the two-legged animals at the top of the food chain richer. But how do I square that with the fact that I make poultry farmers wealthy every time I chow down on fried chicken? To answer that, I turn, again, to the movies (where all life's questions are answered). In the underrated Culpepper Cattle Company, a young cooks helper asks the name of a cowboy's horse, "I don't name nothin' I might have to eat," replies the cowboy. And therein lies the difference.
I have read that there are more pet dogs in the United States than there are people in the United Kingdom. We, in the US, think of our pets as part of the family. We give them names. We buy them sweaters. We become litigious when we discover that money grubbing pet food manufacturers use the same formula (regardless of consumer cost) to buy preparations made in China, where pets are food, that are laced with poison. That's the society in which we live. If there was some cataclysmic event tomorrow and food became scarce, we might literally have Fido or Fluffy for dinner, but right now, dogs and cats, birds and lizards, and guppies are pets. We don't eat pets. We don't purposely set one dog on another for money.
And while I am certain that Michael Vick is sorry that he was caught and is now in jail, I am not so sure he understands why dog fighting is wrong. Although dog fighting is illegal in the United States, law enforcement doesn't always take it seriously (in their defense, there is a whole lot of other crime with which to contend). I'm also not sure that the kennel Vick co-owned would have caught national media attention without Vick's involvement. Still, this sorry case brought a serious problem to public attention. Dog fighting has been around for centuries and most people think of it as unsavory but acceptable as long as it doesn't involve a family pet or happen in their backyards. But according to Stephanie LaFarge, Ph.D., Senior Director, ASPCA Counseling Services, "Dog fighters represent a range of personality types and psychological disorders. School life offers them little fulfillment and humiliates them into doing socially unacceptable things in an environment where beating the system is the goal." And that should concern us. People who come from chaotic homes and who live in an environment of limited social or economic opportunity will find other ways to make themselves feel powerful and wealthy. Some sell crack, others fight dogs.
I know nothing about Michael Vick other than what I read in the papers. Apparently from modest means, Vick played ball well enough to attend college. Unfortunately, football outweighed education and Vick left school in his sophomore year. He may play ball well enough that he will return to the field after serving his time. Do you see the similarities? Michael Vick was valued for what he could do in a sport, not for who he is as a person. No matter what he does, if his team can continue to make money on Michael Vick, he will continue to play football. And when he stops playing well, out he goes into an uncertain future. Maybe if someone had treated Michael Vick with greater respect, he would have some understanding of why torturing animals for money is not a good idea.
Oh, my how things have changed
I'm a sucker for old movies, and if the old movies include singing and dancing, I am in old movie heaven. One of the things I've noticed, because you cannot miss it, are the sizes of those dancing girls. Now, they are not, by any stretch, hefty ladies, MGM left the dancing hippos to Disney. But by today's standards these lovelies are behemoths. It's difficult for me to judge, but most women looked to wear a size 10, maybe 14, but it's their muscular thighs that caught my attention. When you compare them to the boney twigs of a Terry Hatcher or that walking bag-o-bones Victoria Beckham, well, they do look, how shall I put it--outsized. And yet, they look so good in their dresses, but then the 1930s style was flattering and very feminine.
We women are susceptible to image because regardless of what brains or skills you may have, it's easier to get a foot in the door if it's attached to a shapely leg. Consider, for example, the hoopla over Ugly Betty, and what makes Betty so ugly: she has braces, bangs and does not wear a size zero. I actually knew someone who wore a size zero, and even she was displeased with her appearance because her arms were too skinny. She looks much better at a size five, but now she thinks she's overweight.
But men are also falling prey to the everlasting, and often futile, chase for the perfect appearance. Frankly, a perfect six-pack turns me off, it looks so unfriendly. But then I am an old bird, so my opinion doesn't count. But what is interesting is that body image is now a problem for men. According to people who know, about 10 percent of men have either anorexia and bulimia, both of which can kill you.
I'd like to think that we have grown beyond the beauty beats brains theory, but I know better. What scares me is that when I look at a line of 1930s chorines, my eyes go to their thighs and without even thinking, I think about size. Imagine what kind of influence this has on teen and now pre-teen girls who take as their role models the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. I suppose it isn't fair to single out those two train wrecks, but a whole generation of girls have followed those to from their pre-teen stardom to the current chaos they call their lives. And while I don't think that most teenage girls will follow in the footsteps of either Lohan or Spears, I do think that their body image is often the result of unrealistic expectations.
I don't expect this to change. I don't even expect it to get better. I just wish we lived in a different more accepting world.
We women are susceptible to image because regardless of what brains or skills you may have, it's easier to get a foot in the door if it's attached to a shapely leg. Consider, for example, the hoopla over Ugly Betty, and what makes Betty so ugly: she has braces, bangs and does not wear a size zero. I actually knew someone who wore a size zero, and even she was displeased with her appearance because her arms were too skinny. She looks much better at a size five, but now she thinks she's overweight.
But men are also falling prey to the everlasting, and often futile, chase for the perfect appearance. Frankly, a perfect six-pack turns me off, it looks so unfriendly. But then I am an old bird, so my opinion doesn't count. But what is interesting is that body image is now a problem for men. According to people who know, about 10 percent of men have either anorexia and bulimia, both of which can kill you.
I'd like to think that we have grown beyond the beauty beats brains theory, but I know better. What scares me is that when I look at a line of 1930s chorines, my eyes go to their thighs and without even thinking, I think about size. Imagine what kind of influence this has on teen and now pre-teen girls who take as their role models the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. I suppose it isn't fair to single out those two train wrecks, but a whole generation of girls have followed those to from their pre-teen stardom to the current chaos they call their lives. And while I don't think that most teenage girls will follow in the footsteps of either Lohan or Spears, I do think that their body image is often the result of unrealistic expectations.
I don't expect this to change. I don't even expect it to get better. I just wish we lived in a different more accepting world.
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