Saturday, January 31, 2009
Baba Yetu, Christopher Tin, Civilization IV
I hope I don't get out of control adding things from YouTube!
I started playing Civilization at version II. I'm not very good at the game. I can only play at the lower levels; I don't have a military mind that can strategize on a grand scale. My favorite part of the game is discovering the surrounding territory, founding cities, and connecting the cities with roads.
Oh! I'm having a childhood memory: We had a gravel driveway. I spent hours dragging the inside edge of my foot along the gravel making "roads" and building a whole town in the gravel. I loved that! Weird, huh? I loved the book "Harriet the Spy". I remember she had a notebook and kept a detailed description of everything that happened in the town. I must like building towns and creating environments - even abstractly.
Back to the point of the post...What I love about Civilization IV is the music. The video above is the main theme song and game graphics.
You never know where you're going to find interesting music.
The composer is Christopher Tin. I'm keeping my eye out for a CD he's creating called "Calling All Dawns". The singers are Talisman Acapella (Stanford University).
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Regrets, I've had a few...
It’s cliché to say that we don’t have regrets because whatever happened in the past has made us what we are today.
My reality is that I have regrets. I know I can’t do anything to change the past. I surely do wish, though, that I would have understood some things better when I was growing up.
See my previous post (which is what got me going on this regret tangent). When I remind myself what I thought of “Burning Down the House” and how much I would have enjoyed Talking Heads at the time, I’m reminded of many regrets.
I wish I’d paid 100% attention to things instead of the 50% I normally did.
Snap judgments are a waste of resources – who knows what else I let slip through my fingers?
I wish I’d known myself well enough to know what I liked.
I wish I’d given 100% of my attention to my own interests instead of giving 50% attention to the opinions of others and trying to fit in.
“Burning Down the House” teaches me every time I hear it.
The lesson is BE ME.
I may not be able to change the past, but I can change how I live every moment from here on out.
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Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
"Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads on the Stop Making Sense DVD
I know for sure I didn't appreciate this when it came out. As I recall I thought it was very negative and destructive to sing about Burning Down a House in those days. The truth is, I have a hard time hearing lyrics in songs and don't pay much attention to them. My evidence is that I thought "Bang Bang Maxwell Hammer" (Beatles) was a cute song about a happy guy named Maxwell Hammer. Sheesh!
Now, Talking Heads/David Byrne is one of my faves. I wish I'd known myself better then.
The most recent David Byrne/Brian Eno collaboration is "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today". I'm enjoying it.
Update 03/22/2009 - Apparently, the video from the DVD "Stop Making Sense" is gone, so here is a link to the music video for the song.
In a Big Country - Big Country
"In a Big Country" by Big Country
I don't know if I appreciated this song when it was popular. Now, its my favorite song to turn up loud! I dance and sing around wherever I am - gotta love it!
The lyrics don't fully make sense to me...
"In a big country, dreams stay with you, like a lover's voice fires the mountainside. Stay alive."
My interpretation is that its about a guy who wants to stay in the town where he grew up, but his girlfriend wants to explore the world and has big dreams. He doesn't hold her back. Or, something bad happened to her and she has to leave, but he can't.
"I never meant to take the smile away from anybody's face. And that's a desperate way to look for someone who is still a child."
"Cry out for everything you ever might have wanted. I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered, but you can't stay here when every single hope you had is shattered."
The sound of the song makes sense to me emotionally, even if the specific lyrics don't.
This was my first YouTube video embed. Yay!!
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Battlestar Galactica - "The Oath"
Last night's episode - not too bad. The part that irritated me was when Adama and Tigh stayed behind to make sure the President got off Galactica. There didn't seem to be any question that they wouldn't. The President and Baltar got away, Starbuck and Lee got away. No problem. The Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 'last stand' of Adama and Tigh seemed phony.
The preview for next week looked good. I like hearing the President issue her warning..."I won't surrender, not ever! And I'm coming for all of you!" Pretty good. I'll assume Adama and Tigh are okay through the next plot development. But, the President's outrage and determination when she thinks they're not - pretty
cool.
Since the beginning of Battlestar Galactica, I've been bothered by how the survivors are reacting to their predicament; it doesn't ring true. I imagine different categories of survivor; the ones who can't handle it emotionally, the ones who want to settle down on any planet and get on with it, the religious minded who want to fulfill prophecy and find Earth, and the people who want the protection of lots of numbers and a military. I think survivors with divergent views would have peeled off from the fleet a lot earlier than this episode.
Lee Adama represents the Capricon (sp?) colony. He votes alone much of the time. Why wouldn't the Capricorn colony people have gone off on their own? There's a minimum amount of people required to found a civilization - as long as they have that many, they could start again on their own terms. When your whole civilization and way of life is destroyed, why not start creating your own rules? The show would have you believe its the power of the leaders that keeps the humans together. I don't find either Roslyn or Adama compelling enough to make me stay if I didn't want to. Eh - what do I know? Its all speculation. I hope I never have to find out what I'd really do!!!
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Details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - House Resolution 1
Here is the link for text of House Resolution 1 - the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Open Congress is a great resource for what's happening in Congress!
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Republicans and the Economic Stimulus Plan
House Republicans lose nothing when they vote no on the economic stimulus plan; they come from staunchly Conservative districts, they know Democrats will pass the bill with or without Republicans, and if the plan fails, they didn’t vote for it but if the plan succeeds, the economy is functioning. In either case, they get elected again. Win-Win.
Republicans are short-term thinkers. Goal One: get elected. Goal Two: present themselves as fiscal conservatives (after a Republican administration that created the largest deficit in US history)
Their public objection to the stimulus is that it includes spending items that don't affect the economy until 2011/2012, which, defeats the point of the stimulus - to immediately jump-start the economy.
Obama’s plan recognizes our economy is a long-term problem with fundamental flaws. The stimulus includes spending for the next several years so the economy can sustain itself during the long road to reform and recovery.
Republicans must think once the stock market is up to X points again, the free market will trickle down and take care of the rest of us. Which is why they’re so keen on helping the banks and financial companies, but object to helping middle class Americans.
The Senate might be a different story because they aren’t beholden to one district in a state. It’s harder to be a one-note party when you have to bring moderates into the fold as well as conservatives.
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Looking forward to the 2009 Australian Open Men's Final
Who knows what will happen this time. ESPN2 at 12:30 am Saturday night (Sunday morning, really).
It's hard to watch the Australian Open because of the time difference. And, as it turns out, the networks I watch don't carry it. I forget its on.
Super Bowl Schmooper Bowl!!
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Friday, January 30, 2009
Pakistan
On Friday January 23, 2009, the first military action approved by President Obama was an unmanned drone attack in the tribal areas of Pakistan. As a result, 10 people were killed in North Waziristan, and 8 people were killed in South Waziristan. Its not been confirmed how many of the dead were part of a terrorist organization, though its believed at least 7 of the North Waziristan dead were a family who lived in the house.
Expected but disappointing.
The region is in trouble; government disarray in Pakistan, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Al-Qaeda in the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In addition, India's longstanding conflict with Pakistan over the Kashmir region affects Pakistani policy.
I understand the US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan (Richard Holbrooke) was going to be the US Special Envoy for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India until the Indian government successfully lobbied to have themselves taken out of the group.
Its hard to make change.
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Moon and ... a planet. Mars? Venus?
Clearly I don't have the camera equipment necessary to take a picture of the moon and planet (its Mars, right?). I didn't use a flash, or a tripod, or a lens that can capture that kind of image. I've been fascinated with the look of the moon and planet in the last couple nights - especially just before full darkenss when the sky is an inky blue. I was curious to see what would happen with such a picture. Even if it doesn't turn out, I'll be reminded of what my own eyeball lenses saw of the moon and planet. As it turns out...I think this is kinda cool. I like the way its blurry and the colors look run together.
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Republicans and the Obama Economic Stimulus Plan
I heard a discussion today with Chris Hayes of The Nation about the Republicans who voted no on the economic stimulus plan - the entire Republican House delegation. He pointed out that many of the Republicans come from districts that are conservative and wouldn't want their representatives to work with the Democrats (even if our economy is destroyed in the process, it seems). Those representatives have nothing to lose by voting no. I blame Tom DeLay and the excessive redistricting. I'd like all the congressional districts to be 1/2 and 1/2 or something like that.
I don't know for sure Obama's plan will work, but it would be nice if everyone could work together so we can get something that's not too extreme in either direction.
No reason for the green peppers pictures. I just added it to the blog for some color and interest.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Cookie Monster!
From Gianna's Handmade Baked Goods...
My sweet tooth is finding sweet relief from Gianna's cookies. My favorites are: Daisy Sugar Cookies with chocolate (pictured above), Mexican Wedding Cookies (pictured above), Chocolate-dipped frogs Sugar Cookies, and Half Moon Orange Sugar Cookies.
After a lifetime of cookies, cakes, ice cream, chips, dip, crackers, and candy bars, I gave it all up about 4 years ago. Cold Turkey. I did great for a very long time. Than, Christmas 2007...I saw my favorite childhood Christmas cookie at New Seasons. We called them Russian Tea Cakes; Gianna's calls them Mexican Wedding Cakes. Some versions of Mexican Wedding Cakes have cinnamon, but not this one - the cookie tastes the way I remember. Ahhh...joy and happiness.
Now, I'm a cookie monster! I love my Gianna's cookies!
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Obama's economic stimulus plan
Peculiar that none - not one - of the Republicans voted for Obama's economic stimulus plan. I understand this is only round one, but it sounds like partisan politics to me.
From Huffington Post -
Obama ventured to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and met separately with House and Senate Republicans in hopes of garnering their support. He invited roughly a dozen GOP moderates to the White House Tuesday evening for an extended discussion -- and cookies and soda -- with chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. And before Wednesday's vote, six House Republicans, five Senate Republicans and an equal number of Democrats gathered for a White House meeting.
Obama persuaded House Democrats to remove provisions related to family-planning from the stimulus and -- over the objections of many Democrats -- inserted large tax cuts for businesses that Republicans wanted.
None of it was enough.
Partisan hacks.
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Piling On...
From Huffington Post - "The leaders of both Russian and China slammed the U.S. economic system, blaming it for leading the world into the current financial crisis."
We screwed up; twice we allowed George Bush to be president and we didn't rise up against the greedy bankers of Wall Street.
But Russia and China (to the best of my recollection and understanding) kept quiet and took advantage – no worries for the global economy then.
Now, Americans voted for change, and suddenly its okay to dump on the United States.
Also from Huffington Post - "TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president called Wednesday for "profound changes" in U.S. foreign policy including an end to support for Israel and an apology to the Islamic republic for past misdeeds."
Puh-leeze.
I want to get my ego out of this (Eckhart Tolle), but it kinda bugs me.
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We screwed up; twice we allowed George Bush to be president and we didn't rise up against the greedy bankers of Wall Street.
But Russia and China (to the best of my recollection and understanding) kept quiet and took advantage – no worries for the global economy then.
Now, Americans voted for change, and suddenly its okay to dump on the United States.
Also from Huffington Post - "TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president called Wednesday for "profound changes" in U.S. foreign policy including an end to support for Israel and an apology to the Islamic republic for past misdeeds."
Puh-leeze.
I want to get my ego out of this (Eckhart Tolle), but it kinda bugs me.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Quick Takes
Trust Me (TNT) – better than I expected, I’ll try it on my season pass.
Beyonce/Single Ladies video – infectious, I wanna learn the dance moves too!
Stargate Atlantis – anti-climactic series finale, kinda sad
Doctor Who – the Doctor Who for 2010 is a baby! How will I have a crush on him?
Bones – new discovery, every character is likeable. Good writing. New crush – David Boreanz.
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Beyonce/Single Ladies video – infectious, I wanna learn the dance moves too!
Stargate Atlantis – anti-climactic series finale, kinda sad
Doctor Who – the Doctor Who for 2010 is a baby! How will I have a crush on him?
Bones – new discovery, every character is likeable. Good writing. New crush – David Boreanz.
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Sunday, January 25, 2009
Can I do this?
I just wrote a comment to the President on whitehouse.gov. I was given a limit of 500 characters. It forced me to restructure sentences and decide what message I was really trying to send. Should I consider doing that on this blog? If so, is 500 characters too extreme? I'll start there and work my way up as is reasonable.
I was going to copy what I wrote to the President here, but I lost it. Anyway - it was about the Republicans not supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment plan. I suggested he make a primetime speech to rally the citizens around his idea and maybe the Republicans would see that they should come to the table to work instead of bitch.
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I was going to copy what I wrote to the President here, but I lost it. Anyway - it was about the Republicans not supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment plan. I suggested he make a primetime speech to rally the citizens around his idea and maybe the Republicans would see that they should come to the table to work instead of bitch.
This post is 718 characters and 131 words.
The Top 10 television shows I'm glad I don't watch and other television thoughts
Television and TIVO can be a burden - or eye-opening.
Last year, I found myself with a series of shows on TIVO, each with multiple episodes, thinking I'd wait for a rainy Saturday and enjoy a marathon.
I discovered, though, that some shows were so unappealing (for one reason or another) that even in a torrential downpour, I didn't watch them.
I took them off my Season Pass and I don't bother watching them anymore. I'm FREE. It feels good. And its not that I no longer feel bad, its that I'm actively HAPPY not to watch these shows. If I kept a gratitude journal, the fact that I don't care about these shows would be one of the things I'd list. Multiple times.
And its not because they're all bad shows or anything. I just feel like I was tied to them more like an addiction than a choice. Which is why I feel free. And I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
If you like these shows - I'm happy for YOU!
Here, in no particular order, are the 10 SHOWS I'M GLAD I DON'T WATCH.
1. HOUSE - House gets it WRONG four out of five times. And yet they still think he's so good they put up with his rotten, nasty, arrogant attitude? He jumps to incorrect conclusions because he's blinded by his own outsized ego. His helper doctor's don't even use their brain - they try to offer solutions, but he ignores them and they do whatever he says. What a boring job that must be. He's mean just to please himself; he gets pleasure from insulting people and taunting them with their own weaknesses. Ugh - why would I want to watch that kind of behavior on a weekly basis? I started watching the show because Ellen DeGeneres said she watched it a lot. I TIVO'd the repeats and marathons on USA. At first I enjoyed it. But, soon the ridiculousness stood out like a big goiter on a little old lady. I'd say I watched just over one season's worth of the show.
2. 24 - Along the same lines as House. Jack Bauer is wrong most of the time. He moves from person to person, beating and torturing to get him just enough information to find the next person. Until finally, someone 'surprising' turns out to be behind the whole 'can you top this?' plot. I watched Season 4 in a marathon, and season 5 in real time. It was fine while it lasted, but two 'days' was enough for me. There was too much Bush/Cheney drama in the real world to be entertained by that macho attitude in my leisure time.
3. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - Very enjoyable actresses and some engaging plot lines, but after last year's 5 year jump, I felt comfortable letting it go. Lynette's rotten kids bore me, and Susan's stupid romantic choices bore me, and the next sinister person who insinuates his way into the group bores me.
4. LEVERAGE - I gave this show 2.1 chances; I watched two episodes and a few minutes of the third. I couldn't take anymore. I like Timothy Hutton - but not as this character. He doesn't fit the mold that I'd like to see. I watched Eyes starring Tim Daly and Hustle on BBC. I believed the characters on those shows were experts at their craft and had fun. That's the tone Leverage is trying to achieve, but, for me, it misses on every level. Timothy Hutton's character is supposed to be smart and he acts smug. The other people are supposed to have quirky characteristics and extreme talents, but they're cardboard cutouts of the same characters I've seen before. In the pilot episode, Timothy Hutton's character is trying to deflect attention from his people rappelling from a roof (as I recall), so he uses a baseball bat to smash the windows on multiple cars in front of a big office building in the middle of the day. The camera shows people in the lobby of the building running to the window to look outside and see what all the commotion is about (car alarms are blaring). But, nobody goes outside, and Timothy Hutton keeps smashing cars - not disguising himself, not trying to hurry, and when he's done he just walks away with an "I'm too cool, too edgy, too smart to get caught" look on his face. That scene alone is worth not bothering with the show anymore.
5. DAMAGES - Glenn Close is a great actress. And I watched the show all last season. Even though, by the end of the season, I was often only watching the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes. The story was often compelling, and the acting was very good all around. But, the characters are just too amoral, and the 'layers' of the corruption are too convoluted for me to be interested in spending my leisure time with these people. This is one I wasn't quite as eager to give up, but in the end it didn't seem like a good use of my time. Damages is another victim of my Bush/Cheney era exhaustion.
6. RESCUE ME - Same as Damages. I'm overwhelmed with corruption and sadness and negativity in the news. I can't take it anymore as entertainment. The acting is powerful and raw, and the episodes are often both intense and comical. Denis Leary does a good job. I watched this for a couple seasons and then last season I had to watch just the first and last of several of the episodes (and its a testament to the show that sometimes after watching just a bit, I decided to watch the whole episode). This is another show that if it were airing in a different year or if there were more comedies to soften the edge, I'd have the emotional energy to watch it.
7. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - Ditto on this show. I have watched it and found it intense and stirring at times. I think many of the characters are real and the actors do a nice job. But, last year it got a little silly, I thought. I saw one episode where the cheerleader girl (who's name I forget) is leading a Christian group at a prison. Huh? A minor child - she's still in high school - who is obviously sexually attractive, is going to a men's prison to participate with male prisoners in a Christian group? That seems outrageous and irresponsible on the part of the adults in her life and the wardens in the prison. I don't know the full story so I could be getting it wrong. In any event, it was getting a little too soapy for me. This was the first show I realized I could understand what was happening from week to week just by watching the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes of the show. Once I'd reached that point, it wasn't hard to realize it might not be something I needed to watch. Also, it was the curse of 'too many sad and depressing shows on television when we have a sad and depressing reality via the Bush/Cheney WhiteHouse'.
8 - GREY'S ANATOMY - Now, this show is just plain silly. I stuck with it for a long time. But, after the first Izzy and Denny storyline - she loved him, he was sick and dying, she did an illegal operation on him, he died anyway, she didn't lose her license or her job, and then she became a millionaire so she could fund the 'clinic'. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Not to mention I was never, a fan of Meredith and Derrick. Even though Meredith is overly angsty, I could maybe deal with it. Its Derrick that I think is a horrible character. I really, really don't like him. I hated that he acted like he was so noble and good and was always trying to do the right thing, but then he'd be in Meredith's face begging her to love him and manipulating her and pretending its her alone with the problem. What an ass. And I hate that people call him McDreamy and then every other male in the cast has to be McSomething. Blech! As a sidenote, I watched the preview of Private Practice with Tim Daly and although he had a really sexy, really hot kiss with Addison that gave me shivers, the show also seemed silly so I don't watch that either.
9 - MAD MEN - I don't like television shows in which people do strange things that I can't understand for what appears to me to be no good reason. I watched this show the first season. I can see why people like it - good visuals, great mood, fantastic acting. But, on some level I don't understand Don Draper and his wife. Or maybe I do understand and I'm bored of that personal intrigue. They have too many hidden secrets that I don't relate to.
10. AMERICAN IDOL - The only season I watched a little was Season Two when it was Clay Aiken vs Ruben Studdard. And the only reason I watched it was because the nerd kid kept moving on so I'd be curious. I know I watched the finale at least, but I don't think I watched much of the other shows except the one where I saw Clay Aiken audition and that other kid who turned out to be a bad singer but they made him a household name because he was that bad. Of course I can't remember his name now. Anyway - I think this show is boring. I like singing and dancing, but just singing? Not so much to watch. And the songs aren't that interesting. And really, what do I care about another 'nasty for his own enjoyment' person like Simon Cowell? And I don't understand what the story is between him and Paula Abdul, not to mention the overuse of 'Dawg' by Randy. I also think Ryan Seacrest is overexposed to the point of obnoxious. I don't even watch this show, but I keep tabs on pop culture type stuff so I kind of know what goes on. The fact I know as much as I do bothers me a lot. This is the only show on the list I never intended to watch anyway - but because the rest of the country loves it so much it gets talked about and referenced all over the place and I feel like I've seen it much more than I have.
*****
There you have it folks - the top 10 SHOWS I'M GLAD I DON'T WATCH!!!!!
And I could add the CSI shows, but I've only seen about 15 minutes of them so it's not like I purposefully stopped watching them; they're not on my radar. I'm glad I don't watch them the same way I'm glad I never started drinking coffee - why bother at this point? The 15 minutes I saw had a silly Grissom moment: From across the room he spotted some kind of bug and spouted off with a bunch of technical information about it and I thought that seemed like all these other 'expert' shows where no one has to look anything up - everyone is so supersmart they're hardly human and because they're supersmart they don't even have to be considerate of other people. Though I don't know if that's who Grissom was. So, there you are with that!
*****
I'd also like to make note of two shows I watch, but I have mixed feelings about...
1. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - I've watched it both on DVD, TIVO, and weekly. I get angry at this show a lot. Its way too 'mysterious' and the people don't behave in a way I find believable. So, the world you know has been nuked? You're in spaceships running away from a vengeful race of Cylon who want to exterminate you? Yeah, I'd care about the black market and electing a quorum, and political intrigue, and blah, blah, blah. Not likely.
Civilization as we'd practiced it in the past would disintegrate. The old institutions (maybe except religion) would be gone. The central government would not hold together. Many people would be devastated to the point of not being able to function. That's what I think anyway. I just can't imagine blithely accepting the same old authority figures again.
I think the 'messages' of the show about politics in the aftermath of 9/11 were too obvious for someone who already disliked the policies of the Bush/Cheney administration.
Of course, this is science fiction so its just speculation on my part...what would I do in that situation?
There was a spiritual side of the show that intrigued me (what makes us human?). But, they're not (so far) making a case for any particular point of view yet. They made it mystical, jus cuz.
I read an interview in which one of the writer/creator/producers said the 5th cylon wasn't planned or finalized until the end of the 3rd season. That tells me there has never been a central plan or storyline for the religious aspects. They've made it up as it goes along. They went for the easier, more obvious, political message.
I mostly don't like the main characters and sometimes their characteristics are changed to suit the plot.
Why are the 4 unknown Cylons having such an easy time accepting that they're cylons? One scene of anguish and its over.
When I watch the show in a marathon, its better. Watching it weekly - I have less patience. The music during the battle scenes is great. That's my favorite part. Maybe my opinion will change after the final 8 episodes are shown. If I get resolution for the parts of the story I enjoy - the mystical stuff - then I'll consider it a success. Otherwise - eh. Not a waste of time, but not as good as other people think. By the way, I'm a fan of Deep Space Nine - also produced by Ronald Moore.
2. LOST - I never watched Lost because I felt when I tried it out early on, people kept unnecessary secrets. But, last year, when the strke was on and I heard there was time travel stuff in Lost (I'm a huge sucker for time travel) I decided to give it a try. I watched via a combination of Netflix and iTunes. And I loved it. (Except Jack - he's my least favorite of the leading characters). I was hooked. Until it came on this year and I was watching it weekly. I wasn't sufficiently intrigued and I was sufficiently irritated by the secrets of the new scientist people and Jack's decisions so that I couldn't summon the emotional energy required to care if I saw the show the next week or not. I still haven't watched the last 5 episodes of last season. But, I have them on iTunes. And I'm TIVO'ing the show now, so I'll start it up again.
*****
A couple other thoughts about Television that I've been holding onto - and am ready to release...
1. I'm getting older so one reason I don't like television shows is because I've seen it before in other eras: China Beach, Hill Street Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, Twin Peaks, etc. Everything old is new again.
2. If there was a nice mix of comedies and dramas I might enjoy the dramas more. I like sitcoms that center around adults - Frasier, Mary Tyler Moore, Wings, Bob Newhart, Newsradio, Dick Van Dyke, etc.
3. I'm kind of addicted to televsion. I watch it to take my mind off things, to procrastinate, and to live in other people's worlds.
4. I wonder if there will come a time when nothing on TV sounds interesting to me anymore.
5. My television attitude has been affected by the political environment of the last 8 years. I've been drawn to DVD's of sitcoms from a simpler time.
6. I TIVO some documentary shows that look interesting to me - I really want to know the information they're going to give me. But, when it comes down to it, I'm not always in the mood to sit patiently and listen. I hold the show for a long time hoping the time when I'm in the mood will happen before the time I need more space on my TIVO hard drive. I'm usually quite happy to have watched the show. But, sometimes I just have to say "I can't watch everything!" and delete it.
7. I know none of this is important. It really isn't. But, I wanted to say it. I'd be interested to delve into why it was so important that I 'tell somebody' what I think of television, but that's for another blog entry.
Last year, I found myself with a series of shows on TIVO, each with multiple episodes, thinking I'd wait for a rainy Saturday and enjoy a marathon.
I discovered, though, that some shows were so unappealing (for one reason or another) that even in a torrential downpour, I didn't watch them.
I took them off my Season Pass and I don't bother watching them anymore. I'm FREE. It feels good. And its not that I no longer feel bad, its that I'm actively HAPPY not to watch these shows. If I kept a gratitude journal, the fact that I don't care about these shows would be one of the things I'd list. Multiple times.
And its not because they're all bad shows or anything. I just feel like I was tied to them more like an addiction than a choice. Which is why I feel free. And I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
If you like these shows - I'm happy for YOU!
Here, in no particular order, are the 10 SHOWS I'M GLAD I DON'T WATCH.
1. HOUSE - House gets it WRONG four out of five times. And yet they still think he's so good they put up with his rotten, nasty, arrogant attitude? He jumps to incorrect conclusions because he's blinded by his own outsized ego. His helper doctor's don't even use their brain - they try to offer solutions, but he ignores them and they do whatever he says. What a boring job that must be. He's mean just to please himself; he gets pleasure from insulting people and taunting them with their own weaknesses. Ugh - why would I want to watch that kind of behavior on a weekly basis? I started watching the show because Ellen DeGeneres said she watched it a lot. I TIVO'd the repeats and marathons on USA. At first I enjoyed it. But, soon the ridiculousness stood out like a big goiter on a little old lady. I'd say I watched just over one season's worth of the show.
2. 24 - Along the same lines as House. Jack Bauer is wrong most of the time. He moves from person to person, beating and torturing to get him just enough information to find the next person. Until finally, someone 'surprising' turns out to be behind the whole 'can you top this?' plot. I watched Season 4 in a marathon, and season 5 in real time. It was fine while it lasted, but two 'days' was enough for me. There was too much Bush/Cheney drama in the real world to be entertained by that macho attitude in my leisure time.
3. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - Very enjoyable actresses and some engaging plot lines, but after last year's 5 year jump, I felt comfortable letting it go. Lynette's rotten kids bore me, and Susan's stupid romantic choices bore me, and the next sinister person who insinuates his way into the group bores me.
4. LEVERAGE - I gave this show 2.1 chances; I watched two episodes and a few minutes of the third. I couldn't take anymore. I like Timothy Hutton - but not as this character. He doesn't fit the mold that I'd like to see. I watched Eyes starring Tim Daly and Hustle on BBC. I believed the characters on those shows were experts at their craft and had fun. That's the tone Leverage is trying to achieve, but, for me, it misses on every level. Timothy Hutton's character is supposed to be smart and he acts smug. The other people are supposed to have quirky characteristics and extreme talents, but they're cardboard cutouts of the same characters I've seen before. In the pilot episode, Timothy Hutton's character is trying to deflect attention from his people rappelling from a roof (as I recall), so he uses a baseball bat to smash the windows on multiple cars in front of a big office building in the middle of the day. The camera shows people in the lobby of the building running to the window to look outside and see what all the commotion is about (car alarms are blaring). But, nobody goes outside, and Timothy Hutton keeps smashing cars - not disguising himself, not trying to hurry, and when he's done he just walks away with an "I'm too cool, too edgy, too smart to get caught" look on his face. That scene alone is worth not bothering with the show anymore.
5. DAMAGES - Glenn Close is a great actress. And I watched the show all last season. Even though, by the end of the season, I was often only watching the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes. The story was often compelling, and the acting was very good all around. But, the characters are just too amoral, and the 'layers' of the corruption are too convoluted for me to be interested in spending my leisure time with these people. This is one I wasn't quite as eager to give up, but in the end it didn't seem like a good use of my time. Damages is another victim of my Bush/Cheney era exhaustion.
6. RESCUE ME - Same as Damages. I'm overwhelmed with corruption and sadness and negativity in the news. I can't take it anymore as entertainment. The acting is powerful and raw, and the episodes are often both intense and comical. Denis Leary does a good job. I watched this for a couple seasons and then last season I had to watch just the first and last of several of the episodes (and its a testament to the show that sometimes after watching just a bit, I decided to watch the whole episode). This is another show that if it were airing in a different year or if there were more comedies to soften the edge, I'd have the emotional energy to watch it.
7. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - Ditto on this show. I have watched it and found it intense and stirring at times. I think many of the characters are real and the actors do a nice job. But, last year it got a little silly, I thought. I saw one episode where the cheerleader girl (who's name I forget) is leading a Christian group at a prison. Huh? A minor child - she's still in high school - who is obviously sexually attractive, is going to a men's prison to participate with male prisoners in a Christian group? That seems outrageous and irresponsible on the part of the adults in her life and the wardens in the prison. I don't know the full story so I could be getting it wrong. In any event, it was getting a little too soapy for me. This was the first show I realized I could understand what was happening from week to week just by watching the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes of the show. Once I'd reached that point, it wasn't hard to realize it might not be something I needed to watch. Also, it was the curse of 'too many sad and depressing shows on television when we have a sad and depressing reality via the Bush/Cheney WhiteHouse'.
8 - GREY'S ANATOMY - Now, this show is just plain silly. I stuck with it for a long time. But, after the first Izzy and Denny storyline - she loved him, he was sick and dying, she did an illegal operation on him, he died anyway, she didn't lose her license or her job, and then she became a millionaire so she could fund the 'clinic'. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Not to mention I was never, a fan of Meredith and Derrick. Even though Meredith is overly angsty, I could maybe deal with it. Its Derrick that I think is a horrible character. I really, really don't like him. I hated that he acted like he was so noble and good and was always trying to do the right thing, but then he'd be in Meredith's face begging her to love him and manipulating her and pretending its her alone with the problem. What an ass. And I hate that people call him McDreamy and then every other male in the cast has to be McSomething. Blech! As a sidenote, I watched the preview of Private Practice with Tim Daly and although he had a really sexy, really hot kiss with Addison that gave me shivers, the show also seemed silly so I don't watch that either.
9 - MAD MEN - I don't like television shows in which people do strange things that I can't understand for what appears to me to be no good reason. I watched this show the first season. I can see why people like it - good visuals, great mood, fantastic acting. But, on some level I don't understand Don Draper and his wife. Or maybe I do understand and I'm bored of that personal intrigue. They have too many hidden secrets that I don't relate to.
10. AMERICAN IDOL - The only season I watched a little was Season Two when it was Clay Aiken vs Ruben Studdard. And the only reason I watched it was because the nerd kid kept moving on so I'd be curious. I know I watched the finale at least, but I don't think I watched much of the other shows except the one where I saw Clay Aiken audition and that other kid who turned out to be a bad singer but they made him a household name because he was that bad. Of course I can't remember his name now. Anyway - I think this show is boring. I like singing and dancing, but just singing? Not so much to watch. And the songs aren't that interesting. And really, what do I care about another 'nasty for his own enjoyment' person like Simon Cowell? And I don't understand what the story is between him and Paula Abdul, not to mention the overuse of 'Dawg' by Randy. I also think Ryan Seacrest is overexposed to the point of obnoxious. I don't even watch this show, but I keep tabs on pop culture type stuff so I kind of know what goes on. The fact I know as much as I do bothers me a lot. This is the only show on the list I never intended to watch anyway - but because the rest of the country loves it so much it gets talked about and referenced all over the place and I feel like I've seen it much more than I have.
*****
There you have it folks - the top 10 SHOWS I'M GLAD I DON'T WATCH!!!!!
And I could add the CSI shows, but I've only seen about 15 minutes of them so it's not like I purposefully stopped watching them; they're not on my radar. I'm glad I don't watch them the same way I'm glad I never started drinking coffee - why bother at this point? The 15 minutes I saw had a silly Grissom moment: From across the room he spotted some kind of bug and spouted off with a bunch of technical information about it and I thought that seemed like all these other 'expert' shows where no one has to look anything up - everyone is so supersmart they're hardly human and because they're supersmart they don't even have to be considerate of other people. Though I don't know if that's who Grissom was. So, there you are with that!
*****
I'd also like to make note of two shows I watch, but I have mixed feelings about...
1. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - I've watched it both on DVD, TIVO, and weekly. I get angry at this show a lot. Its way too 'mysterious' and the people don't behave in a way I find believable. So, the world you know has been nuked? You're in spaceships running away from a vengeful race of Cylon who want to exterminate you? Yeah, I'd care about the black market and electing a quorum, and political intrigue, and blah, blah, blah. Not likely.
Civilization as we'd practiced it in the past would disintegrate. The old institutions (maybe except religion) would be gone. The central government would not hold together. Many people would be devastated to the point of not being able to function. That's what I think anyway. I just can't imagine blithely accepting the same old authority figures again.
I think the 'messages' of the show about politics in the aftermath of 9/11 were too obvious for someone who already disliked the policies of the Bush/Cheney administration.
Of course, this is science fiction so its just speculation on my part...what would I do in that situation?
There was a spiritual side of the show that intrigued me (what makes us human?). But, they're not (so far) making a case for any particular point of view yet. They made it mystical, jus cuz.
I read an interview in which one of the writer/creator/producers said the 5th cylon wasn't planned or finalized until the end of the 3rd season. That tells me there has never been a central plan or storyline for the religious aspects. They've made it up as it goes along. They went for the easier, more obvious, political message.
I mostly don't like the main characters and sometimes their characteristics are changed to suit the plot.
Why are the 4 unknown Cylons having such an easy time accepting that they're cylons? One scene of anguish and its over.
When I watch the show in a marathon, its better. Watching it weekly - I have less patience. The music during the battle scenes is great. That's my favorite part. Maybe my opinion will change after the final 8 episodes are shown. If I get resolution for the parts of the story I enjoy - the mystical stuff - then I'll consider it a success. Otherwise - eh. Not a waste of time, but not as good as other people think. By the way, I'm a fan of Deep Space Nine - also produced by Ronald Moore.
2. LOST - I never watched Lost because I felt when I tried it out early on, people kept unnecessary secrets. But, last year, when the strke was on and I heard there was time travel stuff in Lost (I'm a huge sucker for time travel) I decided to give it a try. I watched via a combination of Netflix and iTunes. And I loved it. (Except Jack - he's my least favorite of the leading characters). I was hooked. Until it came on this year and I was watching it weekly. I wasn't sufficiently intrigued and I was sufficiently irritated by the secrets of the new scientist people and Jack's decisions so that I couldn't summon the emotional energy required to care if I saw the show the next week or not. I still haven't watched the last 5 episodes of last season. But, I have them on iTunes. And I'm TIVO'ing the show now, so I'll start it up again.
*****
A couple other thoughts about Television that I've been holding onto - and am ready to release...
1. I'm getting older so one reason I don't like television shows is because I've seen it before in other eras: China Beach, Hill Street Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, Twin Peaks, etc. Everything old is new again.
2. If there was a nice mix of comedies and dramas I might enjoy the dramas more. I like sitcoms that center around adults - Frasier, Mary Tyler Moore, Wings, Bob Newhart, Newsradio, Dick Van Dyke, etc.
3. I'm kind of addicted to televsion. I watch it to take my mind off things, to procrastinate, and to live in other people's worlds.
4. I wonder if there will come a time when nothing on TV sounds interesting to me anymore.
5. My television attitude has been affected by the political environment of the last 8 years. I've been drawn to DVD's of sitcoms from a simpler time.
6. I TIVO some documentary shows that look interesting to me - I really want to know the information they're going to give me. But, when it comes down to it, I'm not always in the mood to sit patiently and listen. I hold the show for a long time hoping the time when I'm in the mood will happen before the time I need more space on my TIVO hard drive. I'm usually quite happy to have watched the show. But, sometimes I just have to say "I can't watch everything!" and delete it.
7. I know none of this is important. It really isn't. But, I wanted to say it. I'd be interested to delve into why it was so important that I 'tell somebody' what I think of television, but that's for another blog entry.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Inauguration Day
Phew - I'm glad we made it.
Today the work begins.
Yesterday I watched the inauguration while working at home. I was impressed by the attitude and spirit of hope the networks depicted in the people who gathered on the Mall to watch Barack Obama take the oath of office. To a person, we heard how much everyone felt they were a part of a larger moment in history; not just the history of the first African-American president (which is huge on its own), but a sense of change and tone that reminded us what it means to be American.
During the long festivities of the day, it seemed there were formal things that Barack Obama was less comfortable with. He never looked less than calm, cool, and collected, I just had a feeling he was making the effort to do everything right because its such a big occassion and he knew there would be pictures and videos and all kinds of histoic images of the day. So, he seemed a teeny bit tense. There were moments where we saw his real self too; joking, smiling, happy. Even during the oath, when John Roberts changed some of the words around, that smile he gave was real. The part I saw him looking the most self-conscious and aware of the formality of the moment was before he was announced onto the grandstand. Understandable.
I thought the speech was appropriate for the time. Barack Obama reminded us of the values and characteristics of Americans - citizens, determined individuals, ingenious and creative people. He exhorts us to believe in those ideas of American characteristics so we can weather the storm of today's multiple crisis points.
While listening to Barack Obama I felt his speech was a clear repudiation of the Bush administration school of thought. In that way, the speech was a campaign speech. However, he also reminded us what Americans want to be and what we'll have to do to come out of this dark time. We have to grow up, we have to believe in the common good, and we have to take responsibility for our choices.
The speech didn't make my heart sing, but it made me feel determined to be who I'm supposed to be. I liked it. I liked it a lot.
I'm happy for all the African-Americans in the country who appreciate, in a way I can't experience, the value of the moment.
I'm happy for all of us in the country who now have a leader who understands leadership. Its not just being a decider; its knowing how to take people to their own best self.
I'm happy for Obama himself because I think what he wants to do most is govern, and today he gets to make things happen.
I'm happy for the Obama family because Barack expresses with comfort, confidence, and ease that he loves his wife and children.
*****
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Today the work begins.
Yesterday I watched the inauguration while working at home. I was impressed by the attitude and spirit of hope the networks depicted in the people who gathered on the Mall to watch Barack Obama take the oath of office. To a person, we heard how much everyone felt they were a part of a larger moment in history; not just the history of the first African-American president (which is huge on its own), but a sense of change and tone that reminded us what it means to be American.
During the long festivities of the day, it seemed there were formal things that Barack Obama was less comfortable with. He never looked less than calm, cool, and collected, I just had a feeling he was making the effort to do everything right because its such a big occassion and he knew there would be pictures and videos and all kinds of histoic images of the day. So, he seemed a teeny bit tense. There were moments where we saw his real self too; joking, smiling, happy. Even during the oath, when John Roberts changed some of the words around, that smile he gave was real. The part I saw him looking the most self-conscious and aware of the formality of the moment was before he was announced onto the grandstand. Understandable.
I thought the speech was appropriate for the time. Barack Obama reminded us of the values and characteristics of Americans - citizens, determined individuals, ingenious and creative people. He exhorts us to believe in those ideas of American characteristics so we can weather the storm of today's multiple crisis points.
While listening to Barack Obama I felt his speech was a clear repudiation of the Bush administration school of thought. In that way, the speech was a campaign speech. However, he also reminded us what Americans want to be and what we'll have to do to come out of this dark time. We have to grow up, we have to believe in the common good, and we have to take responsibility for our choices.
The speech didn't make my heart sing, but it made me feel determined to be who I'm supposed to be. I liked it. I liked it a lot.
I'm happy for all the African-Americans in the country who appreciate, in a way I can't experience, the value of the moment.
I'm happy for all of us in the country who now have a leader who understands leadership. Its not just being a decider; its knowing how to take people to their own best self.
I'm happy for Obama himself because I think what he wants to do most is govern, and today he gets to make things happen.
I'm happy for the Obama family because Barack expresses with comfort, confidence, and ease that he loves his wife and children.
*****
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Before Inauguration Day
Tomorrow is the inauguration of Barack Obama.
Supporting any candidate for President of the United States, contributing to their campaign, and believing in them as a leader is a very personal choice. Because I went through the process of choosing him as my candidate, I feel like I know Barack Obama; I support him because he's my buddy and I'm proud of him.
When I see millions of other people who feel the same way and have personally invested their hopes and dreams in Barack Obama, its disconcerting. Oh yeah - I don't really know him! HA!
There are many elements that come together to make this the historic event its becoming.
1. Today is the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Tomorrow is, at the least, a partial fulfillment of the dream, for all Americans.
2. The Obama administration has made this a day of service. Obama's leadership will determine how we approach the coming months (years?) of hard work and sacrifice.
3. The last several years have been difficult on many levels; our government has twisted the truth, spun the story, subverted the constitution, used intimidation and negative energy and tried any number of other things to fulfill the vision of Dick Cheney and the neocons. My version of America doesn't mean "America First - at any cost!". Because things have been so bad, we're all aching for a new perspective and have hope. Barack Obama has given us hope.
Supporting any candidate for President of the United States, contributing to their campaign, and believing in them as a leader is a very personal choice. Because I went through the process of choosing him as my candidate, I feel like I know Barack Obama; I support him because he's my buddy and I'm proud of him.
When I see millions of other people who feel the same way and have personally invested their hopes and dreams in Barack Obama, its disconcerting. Oh yeah - I don't really know him! HA!
There are many elements that come together to make this the historic event its becoming.
1. Today is the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Tomorrow is, at the least, a partial fulfillment of the dream, for all Americans.
2. The Obama administration has made this a day of service. Obama's leadership will determine how we approach the coming months (years?) of hard work and sacrifice.
3. The last several years have been difficult on many levels; our government has twisted the truth, spun the story, subverted the constitution, used intimidation and negative energy and tried any number of other things to fulfill the vision of Dick Cheney and the neocons. My version of America doesn't mean "America First - at any cost!". Because things have been so bad, we're all aching for a new perspective and have hope. Barack Obama has given us hope.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Bill Moyers is a wonderful writer and speaker and thinker
I haven't followed news reports in the last several days.
This is from the transcript of his December 09 show "Bill Moyers Journal"
"In a city made noisy by hammers and saws preparing for the inauguration of a new president — a city already reverberating with partisan rancor, and with the constant chattering of the opinionated — it was hard to hear the sound of a single snare drum along Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and Capitol Hill, but there it was: a mere handful of men and women, 70 at most, had come out this rain-swept morning to bear witness to the dead - to the victims of war.
DAVID SWANSON: They carry the names of the dead in Iraq, in Afghanistan and the recent dead in Gaza along with ages and places and in many cases, very little more is known except that these are people who should still be alive. These are real human beings with family members and loved ones and friends, and we're killing them.
BILL MOYERS: They were there for the first hour of the first day of the new Congress.
DAVID SWANSON: It's a general assumption that power rests at the other end of this street in the White House and that we may have a better president there than we had last time and we should wait and see what happens. Well, our country puts the power to begin and end and fund and de-fund wars here, in the Congress.
BILL MOYERS: A short distance away a noisy media circus surrounded Illinois Democrat Roland Burris as he tried to take a seat in the United States Senate, while scarcely anyone recorded the March of the Dead.
MARCHER #1: Haya Hamdan, 44, killed last Monday in Gaza.
MARCHER #2: Najim Abdullah Hamid, 41, killed 3/7/04.
BILL MOYERS: Inside the Hart Senate Office Building the marchers unfurled their banners. Seventeen were arrested.
MARCHER #3: We will not be silent.
DAVID SWANSON: And I'm thrilled that people are willing to bring this message on day one and not assume that an election solves everything because elections have never created peace, only what people do in between elections has ever created peace.
BILL MOYERS: Their act of conscience could not have been more timely. For one thing, the "Washington Post" reports this week that the U.S. Army sent letters to the 7,000 family members of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every letter began, "Dear John Doe." Yes, it was a mistake and the Army has now apologized. But we were reminded of the anonymity that has been conferred on America's fallen warriors whose homecoming in caskets the Bush White House has tried to keep from the public. They, their parents, spouses and children are far removed from the gaze of official Washington. The marchers along Pennsylvania Avenue this week were reminding us that every casualty, every victim of war has a name.
For too much of the world at large the names of the dead and wounded in Gaza might as well be John Doe too. They are the casualties and victims of Israel's decision to silence the rockets from Hamas terrorists by waging war on an entire population. Yes, every nation has the right to defend its people. Israel is no exception, all the more so because Hamas would like to see every Jew in Israel dead.
But brute force can turn self-defense into state terrorism. It's what the U.S. did in Vietnam, with B-52s and napalm, and again in Iraq, with shock and awe. By killing indiscriminately - the elderly, kids, entire families by destroying schools and hospitals — Israel did exactly what terrorists do and exactly what Hamas wanted. It spilled the blood that turns the wheel of retribution.
Hardly had Israeli tank fire killed and injured scores at a UN school in Gaza than a senior Hamas leader went on television to announce, "The Zionists have legitimized the killing of their children by killing our children." Already attacks on Jews in Europe are escalating — a burning car crashes into a synagogue in Southern France, a fiery object is hurled through a window in Sweden, venomous anti-Semitic graffiti appears across the continent, and arsonists strike in London.
What we are seeing in Gaza is the latest battle in the oldest family quarrel on record. Open your Bible: the sons of the patriarch Abraham become Arab and Jew. Go to the Book of Deuteronomy. When the ancient Israelites entered Canaan their leaders urged violence against its inhabitants. The very Moses who had brought down the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" now proclaimed, "You must destroy completely all the places where the nations have served their gods. You must tear down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred poles, set fire to the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their name from that place."
So God-soaked violence became genetically coded. A radical stream of Islam now seeks to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. Israel misses no opportunity to humiliate the Palestinians with checkpoints, concrete walls, routine insults, and the onslaught in Gaza. As if boasting of their might, Israel defense forces even put up video of the explosions on YouTube for all the world to see. A Norwegian doctor there tells CBS, "It's like Dante's Inferno. They are bombing one and a half million people in a cage."
America has officially chosen sides. We supply Israel with money, F-16s, winks and tacit signals. Our Christian right links arms with the religious extremists there who claim divine sanctions for Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Our political elites show neither independence nor courage by challenging the consensus that Israel can do no wrong. Although one recent poll found Democratic voters overwhelmingly oppose the Israeli offensive by a 24-point margin, Democratic Party leaders in Congress nonetheless march in lockstep to the hardliners in Israel and the White House. Rarely does our mainstream media depart from the monotonous monologue of the party line. Many American Jews know, as Aaron David Miller writes in the current "Newsweek", that the destruction in Gaza won't do much to address Israel's longer-term needs.
But those who raise questions are accused by a prominent reform rabbi of being "morally deficient." One Jewish American activist told me this week that never in 30 years has he seen such blind and binding conformity in his community. "You'd never know," he said, "that it is the Gazans who are doing most of the suffering."
We are in a terrible bind — Israel, the Palestinians, the United States. Each greases the cycle of violence, as one man's terrorism becomes another's resistance to oppression. Is it possible to turn this mindless tragedy toward peace? For starters, read Aaron David Miller's article in the current "Newsweek". Get his book, "The Much Too Promised Land". And pay no attention to those Washington pundits cheering the fighting in Gaza as they did the bloodletting in Iraq. Killing is cheap and war is a sport in a city where life and death become abstractions of policy. Here are the people who pay the price.
That's it for the Journal. I'm Bill Moyers. We'll be back next week."
This is from the transcript of his December 09 show "Bill Moyers Journal"
"In a city made noisy by hammers and saws preparing for the inauguration of a new president — a city already reverberating with partisan rancor, and with the constant chattering of the opinionated — it was hard to hear the sound of a single snare drum along Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and Capitol Hill, but there it was: a mere handful of men and women, 70 at most, had come out this rain-swept morning to bear witness to the dead - to the victims of war.
DAVID SWANSON: They carry the names of the dead in Iraq, in Afghanistan and the recent dead in Gaza along with ages and places and in many cases, very little more is known except that these are people who should still be alive. These are real human beings with family members and loved ones and friends, and we're killing them.
BILL MOYERS: They were there for the first hour of the first day of the new Congress.
DAVID SWANSON: It's a general assumption that power rests at the other end of this street in the White House and that we may have a better president there than we had last time and we should wait and see what happens. Well, our country puts the power to begin and end and fund and de-fund wars here, in the Congress.
BILL MOYERS: A short distance away a noisy media circus surrounded Illinois Democrat Roland Burris as he tried to take a seat in the United States Senate, while scarcely anyone recorded the March of the Dead.
MARCHER #1: Haya Hamdan, 44, killed last Monday in Gaza.
MARCHER #2: Najim Abdullah Hamid, 41, killed 3/7/04.
BILL MOYERS: Inside the Hart Senate Office Building the marchers unfurled their banners. Seventeen were arrested.
MARCHER #3: We will not be silent.
DAVID SWANSON: And I'm thrilled that people are willing to bring this message on day one and not assume that an election solves everything because elections have never created peace, only what people do in between elections has ever created peace.
BILL MOYERS: Their act of conscience could not have been more timely. For one thing, the "Washington Post" reports this week that the U.S. Army sent letters to the 7,000 family members of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every letter began, "Dear John Doe." Yes, it was a mistake and the Army has now apologized. But we were reminded of the anonymity that has been conferred on America's fallen warriors whose homecoming in caskets the Bush White House has tried to keep from the public. They, their parents, spouses and children are far removed from the gaze of official Washington. The marchers along Pennsylvania Avenue this week were reminding us that every casualty, every victim of war has a name.
For too much of the world at large the names of the dead and wounded in Gaza might as well be John Doe too. They are the casualties and victims of Israel's decision to silence the rockets from Hamas terrorists by waging war on an entire population. Yes, every nation has the right to defend its people. Israel is no exception, all the more so because Hamas would like to see every Jew in Israel dead.
But brute force can turn self-defense into state terrorism. It's what the U.S. did in Vietnam, with B-52s and napalm, and again in Iraq, with shock and awe. By killing indiscriminately - the elderly, kids, entire families by destroying schools and hospitals — Israel did exactly what terrorists do and exactly what Hamas wanted. It spilled the blood that turns the wheel of retribution.
Hardly had Israeli tank fire killed and injured scores at a UN school in Gaza than a senior Hamas leader went on television to announce, "The Zionists have legitimized the killing of their children by killing our children." Already attacks on Jews in Europe are escalating — a burning car crashes into a synagogue in Southern France, a fiery object is hurled through a window in Sweden, venomous anti-Semitic graffiti appears across the continent, and arsonists strike in London.
What we are seeing in Gaza is the latest battle in the oldest family quarrel on record. Open your Bible: the sons of the patriarch Abraham become Arab and Jew. Go to the Book of Deuteronomy. When the ancient Israelites entered Canaan their leaders urged violence against its inhabitants. The very Moses who had brought down the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" now proclaimed, "You must destroy completely all the places where the nations have served their gods. You must tear down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred poles, set fire to the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their name from that place."
So God-soaked violence became genetically coded. A radical stream of Islam now seeks to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. Israel misses no opportunity to humiliate the Palestinians with checkpoints, concrete walls, routine insults, and the onslaught in Gaza. As if boasting of their might, Israel defense forces even put up video of the explosions on YouTube for all the world to see. A Norwegian doctor there tells CBS, "It's like Dante's Inferno. They are bombing one and a half million people in a cage."
America has officially chosen sides. We supply Israel with money, F-16s, winks and tacit signals. Our Christian right links arms with the religious extremists there who claim divine sanctions for Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Our political elites show neither independence nor courage by challenging the consensus that Israel can do no wrong. Although one recent poll found Democratic voters overwhelmingly oppose the Israeli offensive by a 24-point margin, Democratic Party leaders in Congress nonetheless march in lockstep to the hardliners in Israel and the White House. Rarely does our mainstream media depart from the monotonous monologue of the party line. Many American Jews know, as Aaron David Miller writes in the current "Newsweek", that the destruction in Gaza won't do much to address Israel's longer-term needs.
But those who raise questions are accused by a prominent reform rabbi of being "morally deficient." One Jewish American activist told me this week that never in 30 years has he seen such blind and binding conformity in his community. "You'd never know," he said, "that it is the Gazans who are doing most of the suffering."
We are in a terrible bind — Israel, the Palestinians, the United States. Each greases the cycle of violence, as one man's terrorism becomes another's resistance to oppression. Is it possible to turn this mindless tragedy toward peace? For starters, read Aaron David Miller's article in the current "Newsweek". Get his book, "The Much Too Promised Land". And pay no attention to those Washington pundits cheering the fighting in Gaza as they did the bloodletting in Iraq. Killing is cheap and war is a sport in a city where life and death become abstractions of policy. Here are the people who pay the price.
That's it for the Journal. I'm Bill Moyers. We'll be back next week."
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Reality Bites
According to Democracy Now's news report this morning, 1045 Palestinians have been killed, and 4860 Palestinians injured since the war began. There have been 13 Israelis killed, including 4 soldiers by friendly fire.
As of Tuesday January 13, 2009, at least 4226 members of the US military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 566 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations according to the Associated Press
As of Tuesday January 13, 2009, at least 4226 members of the US military have died since the start of the Iraq war and at least 566 have died as a result of the Afghan war and related operations according to the Associated Press
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Infomercials
Its the hour between 5 am and 6 am...of the 70 stations I buy from Comcast, 26 of them are trying to sell me something. I'm paying for them to advertise to me! Outrageous!
I think many networks are getting lazy.
I think many networks are getting lazy.
Another commercial I like, and one that I like but don't like the product
I've only mentioned commercials I don't like because they get my blood boiling.
But, there are at least a couple commercials I really like as well.
1. From fatherhood.org, the commercial (click the word 'cheerleader' on the right) of the man doing cheerleading moves in front of his rowhouse. At first you think he's kind of a goofy guy, but as the camera pulls back you see he's helping his little daughter with her cheerleading routine.
It's sweet and surprising and makes me think Awwwwwww....
2. Even though Comcast is using the Slowski's to show why DSL is so bad and people should purchase Comcast High Speed Internet - I love the Slowski's. I'm a Slowski - in spirit and in my internet usage; I use Verizon DSL and it makes me perfectly happy. To me, the Slowski's represent a refusal to be caught up in the mania of 'new' and 'fast'. Being a Slowski is about living life the way you CHOOSE to live rather than how the advertisers and corporate media would like you to live. If you want to be fast because its your CHOICE, that's great. If you want to live life at your own speed, you shouldn't be mocked. And if you're going to mock me for being slow - don't use such appealing characters as the Slowski turtles. I'm taking it as a compliment that I'm not allowing myself to be manipulated by the Comcast juggernaut!
Long Live the Slowski's!!!!!
But, there are at least a couple commercials I really like as well.
1. From fatherhood.org, the commercial (click the word 'cheerleader' on the right) of the man doing cheerleading moves in front of his rowhouse. At first you think he's kind of a goofy guy, but as the camera pulls back you see he's helping his little daughter with her cheerleading routine.
It's sweet and surprising and makes me think Awwwwwww....
2. Even though Comcast is using the Slowski's to show why DSL is so bad and people should purchase Comcast High Speed Internet - I love the Slowski's. I'm a Slowski - in spirit and in my internet usage; I use Verizon DSL and it makes me perfectly happy. To me, the Slowski's represent a refusal to be caught up in the mania of 'new' and 'fast'. Being a Slowski is about living life the way you CHOOSE to live rather than how the advertisers and corporate media would like you to live. If you want to be fast because its your CHOICE, that's great. If you want to live life at your own speed, you shouldn't be mocked. And if you're going to mock me for being slow - don't use such appealing characters as the Slowski turtles. I'm taking it as a compliment that I'm not allowing myself to be manipulated by the Comcast juggernaut!
Long Live the Slowski's!!!!!
Another commercial I don't like
The corn syrup commercials. Horrible. Smug.
There are three of them I can recall...a girl with her boyfriend and a popsicle, two mothers at a kid's party and a punch bowl, two brothers and cereal.
In each case, one person says that high fructose corn syrup is not good for you, and the smug one looks act them with pity and like the person is a fool for believing the manipulative media sources; high fructose corn syrup is just as healthy as sugar and fine if used in moderation. The innocent dupe of false advertising is now on board with high fructose corn syrup. Victory.
But, isn't it true that the corn refiners association is using the same manipulative media sources to make their point. Plus they're using ridicule and mocking people's intelligence to do it.
I hate these commercials.
There are three of them I can recall...a girl with her boyfriend and a popsicle, two mothers at a kid's party and a punch bowl, two brothers and cereal.
In each case, one person says that high fructose corn syrup is not good for you, and the smug one looks act them with pity and like the person is a fool for believing the manipulative media sources; high fructose corn syrup is just as healthy as sugar and fine if used in moderation. The innocent dupe of false advertising is now on board with high fructose corn syrup. Victory.
But, isn't it true that the corn refiners association is using the same manipulative media sources to make their point. Plus they're using ridicule and mocking people's intelligence to do it.
I hate these commercials.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Gaza - Day 11 still
I agree with this article from The Nation. Particularly this sentence: "the Israeli government maintains that it is providing Palestinians with assistance so that it can have a free hand in attacking them."
War is odd and makes no sense. Its strange that we assume a person/country who initiates violence or reacts with violence would then follow some strange ideas of what a 'fair' war is. And what about morality? What is moral about anyone or any country that uses physical force to get people to do what they want? Ridiculous.
Anyway - here's the article:
War is odd and makes no sense. Its strange that we assume a person/country who initiates violence or reacts with violence would then follow some strange ideas of what a 'fair' war is. And what about morality? What is moral about anyone or any country that uses physical force to get people to do what they want? Ridiculous.
Anyway - here's the article:
Israel's New War Ethic - by Neve Gordon
Watching Israeli public television (Channel 1) these days can be an unsettling experience, and lately I've abstained from the practice. But after being stuck for seventy-two hours with our two young children inside a Beer-Sheva apartment, the spouse and I decided to visit my mother, who lives up north, so that our children could play outside far away from the rockets. My mother, like most Israelis, is a devout news consumer, and last night I decided to keep her company in front of the TV.
For the most part, the broadcast was more of the same. There were the usual images and voices of suffering Israeli Jews along with the promulgation of a hyper-nationalist ethos. One story, for example, followed a Jewish mother who had lost her son in Gaza about two years ago. The audience was told that the son has been a soldier in the Golani infantry brigade and together with his company had penetrated the Gaza Strip in an attempt to save the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
"Because members of his company did not want to hurt civilians, they refrained from opening fire in every direction, which allowed Palestinian militiamen to shoot my boy," the mother stated. When the interviewer asked her about the current assault on Gaza, she answered that, "We should pound and cut them from the air and from the sea," but added that, "We should not kill civilians, only Hamas." The report ended with the interviewer asking the mother what she does when she misses her son, and, as the camera zoomed in on her face, she answered: "I go into his room and hug his bed, because I can no longer hug him."
Thus, despite the ever-increasing loss of life in the Gaza Strip, Israel remains the perpetual victim. Indeed, the last frame with the mother looking straight into the camera leaves the average compassionate viewer--myself included--a bit choked up. Over the past few years, I have, however, become a critical consumer of Israeli news, and therefore can see through the perpetuation of the image that Israel and its Jewish majority are the victims and how, regardless of what happens, we are presented as the moral players in this conflict. Therefore, this kind of reportage, where the huge death toll in Gaza is elided and Jewish suffering is underscored, no longer shocks me.
What did manage to unnerve me in the broadcast was one short sentence made by a reporter who covered the entry of a humanitarian aid convoy into the Gaza Strip on Friday.
My mother and I--like other Israeli viewers--learned that 170 trucks supplied with basic foodstuff donated by the Turkish government entered Gaza through the Carmi crossing. That the report had nothing to say about the context of this food shipment did not surprise me. Nor was I surprised that no mention was made of the fact that 80 percent of Gaza's inhabitants are unable to support themselves and are therefore dependent on humanitarian assistance--and this figure is increasing daily. Indeed, nothing was said about the severe food crisis in Gaza, which manifests itself in shortages of flour, rice, sugar, dairy products, milk and canned foods, or about the total lack of fuel for heating houses and buildings during these cold winter months, the absence of cooking gas, and the shortage of running water. The viewer has no way of knowing that the Palestinian health system is barely functioning or that some 250,000 people in central and northern Gaza are now living without any electricity at all due to the damage caused by the air strikes.
While the fact that this information was missing from the report did not surprise me, I found myself completely taken aback by the way in which the reporter justified the convoy's entrance into Gaza. Explaining to those viewers who might be wondering why Israel allows humanitarian assistance to the other side during times of war, he declared that if a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe were to explode among the Palestinian civilian population, the international community would pressure Israel to stop the assault.
There is something extremely cynical about how Israel explains its use of humanitarian assistance, and yet such unadulterated explanations actually help uncover an important facet of postmodern warfare. Not unlike raising animals for slaughter on a farm, the Israeli government maintains that it is providing Palestinians with assistance so that it can have a free hand in attacking them. And just as Israel provides basic foodstuff to Palestinians while it continues shooting them, it informs Palestinians--by phone, no less--that they must evacuate their homes before F-16 fighter jets begin bombing them.
One notices, then, that in addition to its remote-control, computer game-like qualities, postmodern warfare is also characterized by a bizarre new moral element. It is as if the masters of wars realized that since current wars rarely take place between two armies and are often carried out in the midst of civilian populations, a new just war theory is needed. So these masters of war gathered together philosophers and intellectuals to develop a moral theory for postmodern wars, and today, as Gaza is being destroyed, we can see quite plainly how the new theory is being transformed into praxis.
Gaza - Day 11
If it makes no difference that violence is not the way to respond to violence or make lasting change, then I suggest Israel should stop this round of violence because its not good public relations. When a party feels they are aggrieved, they will gather more allies to their cause when they hold themselves to a higher standard than they even hold their enemies.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Gaza: Day ?
In the Washington Post online area called PostGlobal, Saul Singer wrote, in part,
Well, I took that to mean that any moral judgement would be unable to distinguish between the two because a dead person is just as dead no matter whether you tried not to kill them or not. Dead is dead. I assumed the author was suggesting both sides are wrong and the title of the article "Israel's Moral High Ground" was meant to be sarcastic (? is that the right word?).
The commenters took it the other way - that the author really does believe Israel has the moral high ground because they're trying to limit civilian fatalities and casualties.
I still say dead is dead. There's no moral justification for choosing deadly force to get what you want. Geez, what if everybody did that? Ridiculous.
This war won't end until one side or the other decides to stop using violence to force the other side to do what they want.
"Imagine terrorist group A attacking country B, where A is trying to maximize civilian casualties on both sides and B is trying to minimize them. What sort of moral judgment would have trouble distinguishing between the two?"
Well, I took that to mean that any moral judgement would be unable to distinguish between the two because a dead person is just as dead no matter whether you tried not to kill them or not. Dead is dead. I assumed the author was suggesting both sides are wrong and the title of the article "Israel's Moral High Ground" was meant to be sarcastic (? is that the right word?).
The commenters took it the other way - that the author really does believe Israel has the moral high ground because they're trying to limit civilian fatalities and casualties.
I still say dead is dead. There's no moral justification for choosing deadly force to get what you want. Geez, what if everybody did that? Ridiculous.
This war won't end until one side or the other decides to stop using violence to force the other side to do what they want.
Oprah Winfrey
I don't live Oprah's life and I don't know anyone who has her kind of lifestyle. I can't even imagine what it must be like.
And, I have a lot of love for Oprah. She's a trailblazer who isn't afraid to reveal her own frailities. And she does it because she knows it helps her and other people.
Good energy for you, Oprah!
And, I have a lot of love for Oprah. She's a trailblazer who isn't afraid to reveal her own frailities. And she does it because she knows it helps her and other people.
Good energy for you, Oprah!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
More Gaza
From The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan
*****
04 Jan 2009 09:12 am
The Missiles They Used
This may help explain some of what is going on:
*****
That scares me - that this is a prelude to war with Iran.
*****
04 Jan 2009 09:12 am
The Missiles They Used
This may help explain some of what is going on:
"The Israel Air Force used a new bunker-buster missile that it received recently from the United States in strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, The Jerusalem Post learned on Sunday [last week].
The missile, called GBU-39, was developed in recent years by the US as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low collateral damage strikes. Israel received approval from Congress to purchase 1,000 units in September and defense officials said on Sunday that the first shipment had arrived earlier this month and was used successfully in penetrating underground Kassam launchers in the Gaza Strip during the heavy aerial bombardment of Hamas infrastructure on Saturday. It was also used in Sunday's bombing of tunnels in Rafah."
The attack on Gaza may be a test-run for Iran's nuclear sites. In that case, what we may be witnessing is Israel's initiation of full-scale war with Iran. That would certainly make as much sense as the current stated rationale for invading Gaza.
*****
That scares me - that this is a prelude to war with Iran.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
This is the Center of the World
I agree with this article. I know Israel has reason to be angry and afraid and want to protect their very existence. But, now, so do Palestinians. Someone has to stop. I wish it would be Israel.
"Israel in Gaza: Irrationality
by Wallace Shawn December 29,2008
Jews, historically, have been irrationally feared, hated and killed. Given that background, it's not surprising that the irrationality which surrounded them for so long, the fire of irrationality in which they were almost extinguished, has jumped across and taken hold of the soul of many Jews and indeed dominates the thinking of today's Israeli leaders and their American supporters.
Recent history shows that the Jews, as a people, have found few friends who are honest and true. During World War II, when Hitler's anti-Semitism was responsible for the murdering of the millions of Jews, the world and the United States expressed their own anti-Semitism by refusing to house and welcome the tortured race, preferring instead to let it be exterminated if need be. After the war, the world felt it owed the Jews something--but then showed its lack of true regard for the tormented group by "giving" them a piece of land populated and surrounded by another people--an act of European imperialism carried out exactly at the moment when non-European peoples all over the world were finally concluding that European imperialism was completely unacceptable and had to be resisted. And now we have the spectacle of American politicians encouraging and financing Israeli policies which will ultimately lead to more disaster and destruction for Jews.
It is not rational to believe that the Palestinians in the occupied territories will be terrorized by force and violence, by cruelty, by starvation or by slaughter into a docile acceptance of the Israeli occupation. There is no evidence that that could possibly happen and mountains of evidence to the contrary.
Many right-wing Israelis and American Jews clearly believe that Jews have always had enemies and always will have enemies--and who can be shocked that certain Jews might think that? To these individuals, a Palestinian throwing stones at an Israeli soldier, even if his life has perhaps been destroyed by the Israeli occupation, is simply part of an eternal mob of anti-Semites, a mob made up principally of people to whom the Jews have done no harm at all, as they did no harm to Hitler. The logical consequence of this view of the world is that in the face of such massive and eternal opposition, Jews are morally justified in taking any measures they can think of to protect themselves. They are involved in one long eternal war, and a few hundred Palestinians killed today must be measured against many millions of Jews who were killed in the past. The agony the Israelis might inflict on a Palestinian family today must be seen in the perspective of Jewish families in agony all over the world in the past.
It is irrational for the Israeli leaders to imagine that the Palestinians will understand this particular point of view--will understand why Jews might find it appropriate, let us say, to retaliate for the death of one Jew by killing a hundred Palestinians. If a Palestinian killed a hundred Jews to retaliate for the killing of one Palestinian--for that matter, if a Thai killed a hundred Cambodians to retaliate for the killing of one Thai--which, from the point of view of the Israeli leaders, would of course be unjust, that would be racist, as if one Palestinian or one Thai were worth a hundred Israelis or a hundred Cambodians. But if a Jew does it, it's not unjust and it's not racist, because it's part of an eternal struggle in which the Jews have lost and lost and lost--they've already lost more people than there are Palestinians. Well, it's not surprising that certain Jews would feel this way, but no Palestinian will ever share that feeling or be willing to accept it. What the Palestinians see is an implacable and heartless enemy, one that considers itself un-bound by any rules or principles, an enemy that can't be reasoned with but can only be feared, hated and, if possible, killed.
As poor and oppressed people around the world are very well aware of the events in the occupied territories, and as they strongly identify with the Palestinian struggle and point of view, the future of the Jews looks increasingly dim.
Consequently it is disgraceful and vile and no favor to the Jews for American politicians--for narrow, short-term political advantage, for narrow, short-term global-strategic reasons and, yes, also in expiation of the residual guilt they feel over what happened to the Jews in the past--to pander to the irrationality of the most irrational Jews.
Actions based on irrational premises inevitably fail in their purposes--they fail, and if the premises don't change, then the actions are inevitably repeated, in forms which are more and more grotesque. It is unbearable to think that the new American administration would begin with more American dollars being poured into what is unjustifiable. It is also unbearable to think that among the first words we would hear from our new, clearly rational president would be preposterous sentences trying to persuade us that Israeli policies which seem to be appalling are actually quite normal and acceptable. Certainly nothing our new president could do would be of greater value to the world--and greater value to the Jews--than to abruptly end the sickeningly patronizing habit of supporting an irrationality which was born in tragedy and will end in more tragedy."
"Israel in Gaza: Irrationality
by Wallace Shawn December 29,2008
Jews, historically, have been irrationally feared, hated and killed. Given that background, it's not surprising that the irrationality which surrounded them for so long, the fire of irrationality in which they were almost extinguished, has jumped across and taken hold of the soul of many Jews and indeed dominates the thinking of today's Israeli leaders and their American supporters.
Recent history shows that the Jews, as a people, have found few friends who are honest and true. During World War II, when Hitler's anti-Semitism was responsible for the murdering of the millions of Jews, the world and the United States expressed their own anti-Semitism by refusing to house and welcome the tortured race, preferring instead to let it be exterminated if need be. After the war, the world felt it owed the Jews something--but then showed its lack of true regard for the tormented group by "giving" them a piece of land populated and surrounded by another people--an act of European imperialism carried out exactly at the moment when non-European peoples all over the world were finally concluding that European imperialism was completely unacceptable and had to be resisted. And now we have the spectacle of American politicians encouraging and financing Israeli policies which will ultimately lead to more disaster and destruction for Jews.
It is not rational to believe that the Palestinians in the occupied territories will be terrorized by force and violence, by cruelty, by starvation or by slaughter into a docile acceptance of the Israeli occupation. There is no evidence that that could possibly happen and mountains of evidence to the contrary.
Many right-wing Israelis and American Jews clearly believe that Jews have always had enemies and always will have enemies--and who can be shocked that certain Jews might think that? To these individuals, a Palestinian throwing stones at an Israeli soldier, even if his life has perhaps been destroyed by the Israeli occupation, is simply part of an eternal mob of anti-Semites, a mob made up principally of people to whom the Jews have done no harm at all, as they did no harm to Hitler. The logical consequence of this view of the world is that in the face of such massive and eternal opposition, Jews are morally justified in taking any measures they can think of to protect themselves. They are involved in one long eternal war, and a few hundred Palestinians killed today must be measured against many millions of Jews who were killed in the past. The agony the Israelis might inflict on a Palestinian family today must be seen in the perspective of Jewish families in agony all over the world in the past.
It is irrational for the Israeli leaders to imagine that the Palestinians will understand this particular point of view--will understand why Jews might find it appropriate, let us say, to retaliate for the death of one Jew by killing a hundred Palestinians. If a Palestinian killed a hundred Jews to retaliate for the killing of one Palestinian--for that matter, if a Thai killed a hundred Cambodians to retaliate for the killing of one Thai--which, from the point of view of the Israeli leaders, would of course be unjust, that would be racist, as if one Palestinian or one Thai were worth a hundred Israelis or a hundred Cambodians. But if a Jew does it, it's not unjust and it's not racist, because it's part of an eternal struggle in which the Jews have lost and lost and lost--they've already lost more people than there are Palestinians. Well, it's not surprising that certain Jews would feel this way, but no Palestinian will ever share that feeling or be willing to accept it. What the Palestinians see is an implacable and heartless enemy, one that considers itself un-bound by any rules or principles, an enemy that can't be reasoned with but can only be feared, hated and, if possible, killed.
As poor and oppressed people around the world are very well aware of the events in the occupied territories, and as they strongly identify with the Palestinian struggle and point of view, the future of the Jews looks increasingly dim.
Consequently it is disgraceful and vile and no favor to the Jews for American politicians--for narrow, short-term political advantage, for narrow, short-term global-strategic reasons and, yes, also in expiation of the residual guilt they feel over what happened to the Jews in the past--to pander to the irrationality of the most irrational Jews.
Actions based on irrational premises inevitably fail in their purposes--they fail, and if the premises don't change, then the actions are inevitably repeated, in forms which are more and more grotesque. It is unbearable to think that the new American administration would begin with more American dollars being poured into what is unjustifiable. It is also unbearable to think that among the first words we would hear from our new, clearly rational president would be preposterous sentences trying to persuade us that Israeli policies which seem to be appalling are actually quite normal and acceptable. Certainly nothing our new president could do would be of greater value to the world--and greater value to the Jews--than to abruptly end the sickeningly patronizing habit of supporting an irrationality which was born in tragedy and will end in more tragedy."
Israel and Gaza
Some of the people who make their living discussing current events on television and blogs seem to think the Israeli incursion into Gaza is an exercise, essentially by both Hamas and Israel. That's the impression I'm getting anyway.
They say Hamas was flexing its muscles and trying to be the scary dog barking behind a fence. They wanted to encourage a scenario like 2006 when Israel invaded Lebanon to root out Hezbollah. Israel came out of that looking worse for the experience. Hamas hoped for a similar outcome.
Israel has an election in the next month so their intention is to stake out political ground for their candidates. Also, they want to give themselves some breating room because at the least, Hamas will need time to rebuild.
And, the American government needs this situation to quiet down because there's an economic crisis to be taken care of. Let the Israelis deal the blow to Hamas and give the U.S. time to do something about the economy.
If this is an exercise - an exercise designed for political gain and to establish positions (a reset so to speak) then I think its disgraceful on both sides. I think its disgraceful to play such frivolous political games when it results in the death of people just trying to live day to day.
Israel had a blockade against Gaza. Why? I don't really know, but I assume its because they thought rockets or something were going into the region. The blockade was devastating to the people in Gaza. As soon as the current cease-fire expired, Hamas started sending rockets into Israel again.
Both sides - wrong. Neither more or less wrong than the other. Sad. I wish I lived in a country that had some moral authority so we could maybe have some influence. I wonder if Nelson Mandela could help?
They say Hamas was flexing its muscles and trying to be the scary dog barking behind a fence. They wanted to encourage a scenario like 2006 when Israel invaded Lebanon to root out Hezbollah. Israel came out of that looking worse for the experience. Hamas hoped for a similar outcome.
Israel has an election in the next month so their intention is to stake out political ground for their candidates. Also, they want to give themselves some breating room because at the least, Hamas will need time to rebuild.
And, the American government needs this situation to quiet down because there's an economic crisis to be taken care of. Let the Israelis deal the blow to Hamas and give the U.S. time to do something about the economy.
If this is an exercise - an exercise designed for political gain and to establish positions (a reset so to speak) then I think its disgraceful on both sides. I think its disgraceful to play such frivolous political games when it results in the death of people just trying to live day to day.
Israel had a blockade against Gaza. Why? I don't really know, but I assume its because they thought rockets or something were going into the region. The blockade was devastating to the people in Gaza. As soon as the current cease-fire expired, Hamas started sending rockets into Israel again.
Both sides - wrong. Neither more or less wrong than the other. Sad. I wish I lived in a country that had some moral authority so we could maybe have some influence. I wonder if Nelson Mandela could help?
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