Camera Obscura - True Obscurity; Bloody Rambo; Movie News;Sanjaya Hoax

One legend in Hollywood lore is that an actor/actress who wins an Oscar follows the win with a role so strange in a movie so odd that it could scramble a viewers' brain. Some examples are Michael Caine's appearance in "Jaws IV" after winning one or Halle Berry's role in "Catwoman" following her win for "Monster's Ball."

But these all pale in comparison to the movie "Shadowboxer" with Helen Mirren, released just prior to her win in "The Queen." (NOTE: The director of "Shadowboxer", Lee Daniels, was recently in Tennessee, making the movie, called "Tennessee" which features Mariah Carey.)

Now I really love Mirren's work - she can plan darn near any part and bring something fantastic to the screen. But "Shadowboxer" is a movie that could kill a career, turn your brain upside down, and is nearly impossible to explain - just as it is nearly unwatchable. A viewing of the movie from start to finish should earn the viewer some kind of Endurance Oscar.

It's oddity and strangeness did compel me to watch it all, as I kept wondering just how strange it could become and with each passing scene it exceeded my expectations. Strange was just the beginning point of this odyssey into the bizarre. The cast includes some other notables, and more on that in a minute. First, let me try and lay down the schematic here.

It opens with a young boy toying with a real gun. Dad enters and warns him said gun is no toy. Mom looks on fearfully. Fast forward to the future and young boy is now a grown man, played by Cuba Gooding Jr (yet another Oscar winner who just can't seem to connect to good movies at all anymore). Gooding now enacts odd criminal plots with Helen Mirren, who, we learn as the movie continues via moody montages and artsy flashbacks, is both his step-mother and lover and teacher.

What is she teaching him? How to be a hitman. Seems Mirren is a top-tier hirtman. They share weird assignments and then she bathes Gooding when he's feeling low. Just one of many scenes which leave the viewer .... well, confused barely describes it.

Oh, and we also learn Mirren is dying of cancer. It's like some weird blend of a Lifetime movie and a Steven Segal script or something.

The daring couple get a contract to kill some other crooks who have angered their crook-boss, played by Stephen Dorff. Like Gooding, Dorff seems to have a knack for finding the strangest of scripts. In addition, the contract calls for the killing of Dorff's girlfriend, who is pregnant. (The girlfriend is played by actress, Vanessa Ferlito who had a short but excellent performance in the "Death Proof" portion of "Grindhouse", and in "Descent", and I hope she continues to find better films.)

As the crooks are killed off one-by-one, Mirren walks in on said pregnant gal and just as Mirren takes aim at her, the gal's water breaks and Mirren decides to help birth the child -- "Get some water and towels!" she tells her confused partner/step-son/lover Gooding.

Not to give too much of the plot and story away (yeah, like anyone other than me would watch this from start to finish) Mirren and Gooding take the mother and child to a new home with new identities and only take occasional hit-jobs to keep the family financially well off. "You take care of her!" Mirren says of their semi-adopted young woman, and then there's a scene where Gooding and Mirren get naked and do the nasty in a public park while blossoms and such flutter artfully in the breeze and Gooding then shoots Mirren in, I suppose, an act of mercy to avoid a painful death by cancer.

Other casting oddities here are Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("Brick", "The Lookout"), who plays a doctor to the criminal underworld and his girlfriend is hilariously played by Mo'Nique.

This movie almost falls into the neo-exploitation genre of movies like "Hustle and Flow" and "Black Snake Moan." And it absolutely qualifies as Obscure Find of the Month.

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OTHER MOVIE NEWS

Quentin Tarantino showed an expanded full length version of "Death Proof", from the "Grindhouse" double feature at the Cannes Festival this week. Judging from reports, producer Harvey Weinstein says the full version is better.

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Reviews are in for the new Coen brothers feature, "No Country For Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy and the reviews are solid. I look forward to this one big time:

"Cinematographer Roger Deakins captures everything from mid-day open-sky vistas to claustrophobic night time urban action; in timing and tension, No Country for Old Men is one of the most suspenseful films the Coens have ever made, which says a lot. Cormack McCarthy's novel has also been impressively well-adapted -- improved and altered, but nonetheless full of McCarthy's clear, concise yet poetic voice."

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Looks like the FOX network will try another sci-fi series. This time, it's a spin-off from "The Terminator" series called "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." A nifty preview reel was on YouTube earlier this week but got taken down. Sarah Connor will be played by Lena Headey ("300", "Brothers Grimm") and yes I have a crush on her. A future cyborg sent back to help the Connor family is played by Summer Glau, who was River in the series "Firefly." Sadly, given FOX's track record for sci-fi, this show will air four episodes and then be cancelled.

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A preview which has been left on YouTube this week is for the movie "Rambo 4". Jeez, does Stallone look rough and old and rather ill. The preview also boasts buckets of gore and violence, especially the shot of a guy getting turned to hamburger meat while sitting in a jeep.Reports say they are fighting hard to keep it from being rated NC-17. And his co-star is the lovely Julie Benz, who was Darla in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" TV show.

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Clip of the week -- Was Sanjaya of "American Idol" a Joke??? Or is the whole dang show a joke at the expense of music itself ....

Porn, Politics and the Internets

I have to share a discovery I made this week. I suppose it should not be surprising news to some, but it perplexes me.

Early this week, I mentioned the erotic encounter reported by Knoxville porn starlet Barbie Cummings and a member of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The report was just too dang odd and inherently funny not to mention. Since then, this humble blog has been swamped at historical levels as readers sought details of the encounter. Visitors from every state and all US territories, from China, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, South America, and the UK all feverishly arrived here looking for info. I'm pretty sure if web access were available to penguins and polar bears, this blog would have crashed my server.

It's isn't news that there is porn and more porn in every corner of the internet. And I have pondered the ramifications of renaming this page Cup of Joe Porn just to drive traffic here, but I won't do that .... really, I won't.

And make no mistake, I am delighted that the abundance of visitors found this humble and lovable blog. But it is slightly disappointing that bajillions of people place a higher need on finding porn than on any other topic previously posted here. (It is worth noting too that the previous record holding post on these pages was the link to a page that features submissions of pictures of cats that look like Hitler. An insatiable desire to find Hitleresque cat pics and porn doesn't exactly boost my overall optimism in web-aware humans. It makes me wonder if there is some nefarious site of Hitler Porn which gathers billions of readers.)

And hey, if pixels of porn fill your personal needs, I hope at least such binary urges harm no one. And if only a teeny percentage of such web-walkers land here and decide to read some other posts available here or link to the sites I offer, then I am grateful for that, at least.

What I have learned does indeed add to my understanding of one peculiarity. Namely, how it is a U.S. President can be relentlessly excoriated, vilified and become an obsessive focus of humanity when linked to an episode of Oval Office erotic encounters -- as opposed to a US President who has distorted the Constitution, consistently and deliberately mislead the public and the Congress in national and international affairs, appointed incompetent leaders to jobs in emergency management and other vital offices, embrace secret prisons and generally ignore realities by the truckload. It appears such acts are just too boring and fleshy games of slap and tickle in the White House need little understanding by base minds.

It's as if the public expects a preponderance of corruption of power and blindly accept it as normal. Make the lie large enough and few will care. And scandal now is the domain of the mundane expletive or celebrity haircut.

Cable Bill Removed From Legislature, For Now

Reports say this morning that the bill to alter the laws regarding cable franchises in Tennessee has been withdrawn by it's sponsor. R. Neal has a good round-up of coverage on this action.

I hate to admit it, but I think it's a pipe dream to imagine the massive public opposition, along with the firm opposition from city and county governments statewide were the cause of this removal. I do think such opposition helped. The plan will be back next session, I am sure.

To me, that indicates the lobbying efforts from AT&T will fade from the front pages of media and blogs and will now become an assault on individual members of the General Assembly - in other words, they are going to try this again after they can harass members in private. That will also mean the company will be spending big bucks to inundate the residents of Tennessee with propaganda promoting their plan.

The fact remains, under current law, AT&T could, if they wanted, apply to cities and counties for franchise rights. The current law does not prevent them from seeking to become legal providers. The real question for residents and legislative members is why AT&T does not do so.

See also previous posts.

Creation of New State Agency Behind OK of Cable Bill?

A new law which takes the cable TV business away from local controls and local voices sailed out of the Tennessee Senate Committee yesterday and looks to be headed to a vote by the full legislature - which, I expect means it will be adopted and made law.

As I've written before, I have no opposition to AT&T wanting to jump into the cable business - but to make that decision only after state law is altered, only after local control of cable franchises has been removed, provides no benefit to the consumer and muddles the procedures for how such franchises would be held accountable.

Yesterday I mentioned some of the reasons the Senate Committee chaired by East Tennessee Republican Steve Southerland gave in to the pressures of the high-dollar lobbying by AT&T. Senator Southerland, along with Sens. Beavers, Bunch, Crutchfield, Stanley and Wilder. Voting no were Sens. Burchett, Burks and Tate.

A plan which would have allowed for the Tennessee Regulatory Committee to provide oversight of the requirements of the now all-but-approved changes to law was scrapped and instead and entirely new state organization will be created to "oversee" the law.

The new group (no mention of it's operational costs and impact on the state budget) will be made up of twelve members nominated by the Tennessee Municipal League (which had opposed the legislation) and the Tennessee County Services Association (despite that counties statewide voted to oppose the bill), and by the State Comptroller, the commissioner of the Dept. of Economic and Community Development, and the chairman of the TRA.

Just fascinating how opposition to the bill was transformed once some of those opposing it would now be part of a creating the special government committee.

In Tom Humphrey's report today in the Knoxville News Sentinel, he has this marvelous quote from AT&T president in Tennessee, Marty Dickens:

"the Senate committee's vote demonstrates the legislators are listening to consumers"

I have heard precious few "consumers" advocate this bill. Highly paid lobbyists have been vocal, though, spending millions to push this bill.

And as Humphrey writes, opposition to the bill from Sen. Tim Burchett prompted AT&T to warn him that his opposition would cost him campaign contributions. AT&T attorney Joelle Phillips said nothing inappropriate was done, though, and that her company backs "less government, lower taxes and more freedom."

True, if you think adding a new level of state bureaucracy is "less government". The cost to the budget, unknown. Cost to taxpayers, unknown. Benefits for AT&T - large.

The bill may be voted on in the full legislature Thursday.

NOTE: Sadly, for the first time, my last email to my Senator, Steve Southerland, opposing the bill has gone unanswered.

UPDATE: R. Neal at KnoxViews has more on the topic, noting that despite local government requests for AT&T to go ahead and offer a plan without the new bill in place, AT&T declined.

Battle Intense on Flawed Cable Franchise Change

Once again today, state legislatures take up the issue of some very unwise changes to how cable franchises are provided and regulated. It's been the single most dollar-gulping lobby effort this year in state government, with current spending at just over $4 million. (And that's just the amount as of April of this year.)

Other reports note how intense the battle has become:

"TV4US [an AT&T lobbying firm] has completed two resident mailings. One mailing included an 11-by-5 inch postcard carrying a tear-off postcard to be mailed back to the group. On April 3, the group delivered 14,000 of these return postcards to state legislators. The cards asserted that cable rates have gone down 28% to 42% in communities where competition exists. The cited source is a January 2006 Bank of America Equity Research study. The card asserts that reform laws in other states have brought lower prices and better services.

“The message is completely wrong,” said Stacey Briggs, executive director of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association. The TCTA and municipal groups such as the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors are critical of such statements, questioning whether those rate estimates include unpublished, short-term acquisition rates. Cable incumbents also note that telephone companies, in discussing their video plans, state they don’t intend to compete on price.

Briggs said 18,000 visitors to the site have opted to send an e-mail or a fax to legislators, arguing against the telco-friendly bills pending in both chambers there.

Two weeks ago, TV4US supporters passed out pink plastic pigs in the legislative plaza in Nashville. The message: When pigs fly, cable rates will go down. Briggs said the effort played upon “consumer misconceptions” that alternative providers will charge lower rates. Few legislators are citing rate cuts as a reason to pass franchising reform, however, he said."

Today, and hopefully not too late, I sent an email expressing my strong opposition to the bill to Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee Chairman Senator Steve Southerland. While earlier emails with the Senator contained some doubts the bill would pass, he has over the last few weeks, supplied 10 amendments to the bill which seem aimed at insuring it's passage.

This is the email I sent:
"Dear Sen. Southerland,

I appreciate your previous responses to my emails regarding the proposed change of state law for cable franchises. I remain completely opposed to this new law, for reasons detailed below.

However, I must first express some disappointment and confusion that all the amendments to the Senate bill 1933 were sponsored by you, as you sit as the Chairman of the Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee. Rather than standing opposed to this new proposed legislation, you seem to have added 10 amendments which instead attempt to encourage support for the bill.

Countless city governments, county governments (including Hamblen), and organizations like the Tenn. Municipal League have all adopted resolutions in clear opposition to this bill's passage -- did these same groups contact you and ask you to amend the bill for easier passage?

I note that while your amendments did include sections which would not hand over local control of rights-of-way controls, the language does include requirements that any customer must first file complaints about cable service to a city or county government, which would then forward the complaint to the cable provider, and that mediation would then move to the courts if resolutions could not be found. The state, which seeks by this bill to take franchise authority away from local control, is then utterly absent from addressing concerns of customers, putting all burden on local government.

Since locals would then be the ones responsible for any court costs in a losing effort, the locals would have little interest in pursuing such cases. The state, as these amendments make clear, provide no oversight to this plan for state-licensed franchises.

The current laws also require cable franchise holders to develop plans and strategies to expand, or build out, their services to insure the broadest and most comprehensive availability of services. This new bill eliminates such efforts. Since more and more businesses and communities must have internet access in order to compete in our growing global marketplace, to remove such incentives and guarantees will, I fear, only insure that the most rural of areas will be lacking. Rural areas, Senator, are your constituents, those you should be serving.

Also, as written, current cable and internet providers who have local franchise agreements, would now be able to make a state franchise agreement which would also eliminate the requirements to further or continue their efforts to expand services within a service area. How is such a change a benefit to residents and customers?

Could please explain why you found it necessary to add these 10 amendments, which seem aimed at shoring up support for this unwise legislation? Similar bills submitted to states nationwide have failed more often than they have succeeded.

Thanks for your time and your replies to my emails,
Joe Powell

NOTE: The TML Newspaper reports that a condition on build outs was added to the bill by amendment,however, as they report:

""The amendment only required to provide video to 25 percent of the households in which it provides telephone service. This minimal requirement could be fully satisfied by offering service
in just two of the state’s largest markets; providing no assurances
or protections for the remainder of the state. Moreover, the
build out amendment adopted last week does not provide for
any penalty should AT&T fail to meet this meager requirement."

A link to the Senate directory is here.
A link to the House directory is here.

Porn Barbie and the State Trooper

There just aren't many stories in the news in Tennessee about porn stars and the Highway Patrol, but li'l Barbie Cummings is changing all that.

On the Knoxville-based porn starlet's blog entry of May 7th, the actress claims she had a roadside romp with a patrol officer just outside of Lebanon. According to her, she pleasured the patrolman, who took pictures of said pleasuring, which she posted on her blog. (And fine, fine, if you wish to see the porn blog entry, [CORRECTION: after some thought, I decided it was bad ju-ju to link to a porn page here, sorry, If you are determined to find it you will, but I won't help!!], I warn you right now, this Barbie is not the one sold in stores, and her blog may make you want to wash your eyes out with bleach.)

Trooper James Randy Moss (heh heh -- 'randy") has been suspended as this event is investigated, although li'l Barbie appears in a Knoxville News Sentinel Article hoisting her copy of the ticket and says "I didn't get out of anything. It was not a trade. Just like a guy - he got his, and I still got the speeding ticket."

The KNS report has other nifty, joke-ready statements, like:

-- She gives her age as 21. (Yeah, once, for a year, about eight or nine years ago, she was 21.)

-- She says once she "advised" the trooper of her career, he let her sit next to him in his patrol car while he brought up her website on his in-car laptop. (So that's what they call it nowadays!)

I had really not noticed this story at all (yes, I avoid watching the local newscasters) until I noticed a dozen or so people searching for "Barbie porn highway patrol" and landing on my page, and found out the grim details. Of all the comments many web sites marking this roadside attraction, the one I liked best was from a fellow who said upon seeing the unclothed Barbie on her blog: "Man, she's not from the Tennessee Valley, she's from Silicone Valley."

Most Conservative and Liberal Places in TN

A question has been posed by a sort of new resident to Tennessee, via KnoxViews, about what is the most Conservative place in Tennessee and what is the most Liberal.

Like one commenter mentioned on the KV site said, the 'corridor along I-81' is mighty dang Conservative, something I can testify about having lived along that corridor since about 1977. Having lived in Carter, Washington and Johnson counties, worked in Sullivan, Cocke, Greene and Hawkins and Hamblen and Jefferson -- indeed these are deeply Conservative places.

However, back in 2000, I had the chance to work in southeastern TN, in places like Bradley, Monroe, Meigs, McMinn, Loudon and McMinn counties. I kept seeing signs on main and back roads for the Army of God, and talked to many residents who were scary in their Rightness.

Is there a single answer for either question - most Conservative and most Liberal?

My snarky first response to 'what's the most Conservative place in Tennessee?' is this: it's the part that lies between Memphis and Bristol.

Snarky response to Most Liberal? The answer is my house and the houses of my friends.

However, even a label like Liberal doesn't really describe my home or those of my friends. To me, we have always had several things in common - we tend to be open-minded, tolerant and fearful of ideologies which demand lock-step agreement.

Since I was raised mostly in Middle TN and traveled some in parts West, I have noticed the state's temperament to be less Conservative as I moved in the Middle and West directions. Still, even that has changed over the last 10 or 15 years.

My ultimate response to the question of most Conservative has to be the entire 1st District. They have solidly backed hardcore Conservative GOPers for Congress since 1881, and only once since 1859 has the Representative not been a Republican.

It boggles my mind too, since the entire area has remained a low income, drop-out ridden, good-old-boy haven for over 100 years and there exists very little thought in the public to move past this point. I've been reluctant to admit it, but the residents seem to like it the way it is. So be it. It's their decision to accept the status quo.

Am I a Liberal or a Conservative? Well, like the old saying goes, it depends on who I'm standing next to.

Camera Obscura - 100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers

Think you're a movie fan? Test your abilities with the following little video quiz which is also just fun to watch and marvel at it's creation. This clip was made available online in February of this year, but I found it via MetaFilter last night. More fun than a monkey knife fight!!

You'll see 100 movies and 100 quotes, each quote, from very well known movies, includes a number and the clips countdown from 100 to 1. Some of the selections were just brilliant - I loved the movies chosen for the numbers 8, 30, 31, and 45.

And not to brag - well, wait, yes I will brag - I watched this clip last night and with no outside help or cheating I was able to name 93 out of the 100 movies. That's why I am the Master of Motion Pictures, The Keeper of Useless Knowledge. The clip is below, try your best, and I'll include a complete list of answers in the comments on this post. Good luck!!

Gas Pains Evoke The 'Blamethrower'

The response this week from oil companies to questions about skyrocketing prices at the pumps was pure arrogance.

Thier investment strategies aren't to blame. It's all the consumer's fault, or some other group. They won't increase refineries because the government is pushing for decreased consumption over the next 10 years:

"John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a phone interview that whenever the industry tries to add refining capacity, it faces opposition from surrounding communities. Moreover, Felmy questioned why the industry would make expensive refining expansions when President Bush is calling for a 20 percent reduction in gasoline use by 2017.

"But the Consumer Federation's Mark Cooper said the refining industry hasn't even tried to build new refineries and has instead closed 50 since the 1990s rather than make investments to make them comply with pollution laws.

Oddly, crude oil prices are lower now than last year at this time.

Cooper goes on to say:

"This is just mismanagement," he said. "But they get away with it because there is no competitive discipline."

And in the Consumer Affairs statement prior to the congressional hearings this week:

"Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia now have average prices at or above $3 a gallon with Kentucky, Florida and Maryland the latest states to join the list.

Consumers are feeling the gas price bite as the average U.S. household is spending $1,000 more per year on gasoline than it did five years ago, according to several consumer groups.

Rural households have been hardest hit because they spend about 20 percent more on gas than urban residents, according to Labor Department figures.

A group representing U.S. motorists is asking Congress to investigate current gasoline refinery problems that have caused a painful spike in prices at the pump.

The American Automobile Association says lawmakers should look at the link between these supply shortages and rising oil company profits."

There were also claims that the changeover to "summer blend" gasoline was part of the supply problem, though last year that excuse emerged in March not May. All excuses are valid in the minds of big oil.

Even with profits up 39% last year, oil companies say they are helpless to affect the market.

But it's consumers that are helpless - and big oil uses the 'Blamethrower" to deflect criticism. It's your fault and it's no one's fault.

I've noticed the usual "let's boycott gas for a day" movements attempting to bring attention to the issue. I've been thinking we should start designating one day a month for the next year as boycott gasoline day. Within a few months, the boycott might just catch on. Especially since gas is headed over the $3 mark for the rest of the summer.

Gonzales and the Chaos In Justice Dept

The ever-shifting landscape of memory and action from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has become a muddled mess, with facts bobbing up and then sinking away as nearly daily accounts of troubling scandals change and move and shift.

While some neo-con pundits have cried "Nothing to see here!!" regarding the firing and hiring of US attorneys, the swirling contradictions could easily cloud man's mind like Lamont Cranston tackling evildoers in some episode of "The Shadow."

Gonzales has claimed "I am accountable even though I don't know what my department does" about the problems, claimed no solid memory of the series of events, and this week has claimed his deputy, Paul McNulty is to blame for everything.

And even more ugly beans were spilled yesterday when details were presented to Congress about how Gonzales was pushing for continuing a lawless wiretap program in the intensive care ward of John Ashcroft:

Even his colleagues and fellow grads from Harvard bought an ad in the Washington Post which blistered the man and his actions:

"I’m sure he is a very fine fellow, but it’s really troubling what he is standing for and what the administration of George W. Bush is standing for. We couldn’t stand by this any longer."

If Congress does not demand Gonzales' resignation very, very soon then the chaos and the stink of this mess may follow them all back home. Likewise, those who claim there is "nothing to see here" are deceiving themselves and everyone else at the nation's peril.

Fave Restaurant Meme

It's a most intriguing question, presented to me by the lovable Tits McGee -- name your five favorite places for dining out. It must be noted that her food blog makes me delirious with hunger. I'll happily offer my faves and then ask some other bloggers to play along with this list-madness is they wish. Or if you, dear reader, can suggest your faves, I'll be equally happy to receive your input.

There are many challenges in answering her meme about my favorite places to dine out, as the selection of restaurants in Morristown is truly bleak. If you love fast food or the omnipresent buffet/trough menus (sheltered dining via a sneeze-guard), you're in heaven in Mo'town. (Which Hardee's location do yo like best? The one on the East end of town or on the West end?)

Otherwise, there just isn't much to recommend. There are some non-chain/franchise choices, but sadly, none that ever made me want to say "I love to eat there!"

Some years back while working in Prison Forge -- I mean Pigeon Forge, sorry -- we would often go to a local cafeteria, whose name I have erased from my memory. It only had two good points - it was very close to where I worked and it had the funniest staff. Every time we ate there, some scowling woman would yell at us "Havin' a meat???" I just loved that. The food wasn't very good, but for some reason "Havin' a meat???" always made me feel great.

So I go most often into Knoxville, where there are also many fast food or chain options, but also many unique places too. Some of my favorites are no longer in operation, I fear, like La Paz, where the food portions were huge and the pitchers of Margaritas were endless. Anyway, in no particular order, here are my choices:

1. Nama Sushi Bar - great sushi and Japanese food, which The Editor took me to on my last birthday. I was in swooning from the food and the plating there was a notch above most places (hell, they actually have plating). In fact, I plan to go there in the next few days and experience it again.

2. Tomato Head - if there is a food I never get tired of, it's pizza. Tomato Head makes the best in East Tennessee. Period. The End.

3. Ridgewood Barbecue - this place is legendary and worth every legend. It's a small place to dine, in a small building on the Elizabethton Highway near Bluff City, but they have the best barbecue in the state in my opinion. You must order a side of their beans. Better than words can say.

4. Italian Market and Grill - another long drive out to west Knox for this place, but every time I go inside the place, my eyes water from the aroma of garlic. That's a fine thing. I could almost fill up on their fresh bread, which you must dip into some olive oil and black pepper.

Obviously, I am going to have to go sample some new places, as I cannot list 5 places, only 4.

And I'm really hungry now, writing about food. The one other place I always like to eat is my kitchen. Whether it's a burnt-weenie sandwich or something off the grill the food here is always fine. Cooking meat outside is always a pleasure.

For five folks to tag to add to this meme -- here ya go:

The Editor needs to jump in on this one.
So does her sister in California, Valley Grrrl.
The Vol Abroad gets a tag too. I wanna know where she goes in London.
And Alice at 10,000 Monkeys And A Camera gets tagged.
And Mack gets a tag at Coyote Chronicles.

Remember, I need suggestions too. so add yours in the comments!

More on The Student Field Trip Gone Wrong

The school motto for Scales Elementary? It's Always About The Children!

This story of school faculty faking a gun attack on 6th grade students is being widely reported and late yesterday the school announced the suspension without pay of two faculty members, who are suspended for a few weeks until the end of this school year.

From accounts I've been reading, the "prank" is a regular feature of these student trips. It's worth noting these days that any "prank" committed by students is likely to lead to disciplinary actions, so the faculty cited at Scales should not be surprising.

And while the event is being called a 'fake gun attack' or a 'common hazing' on students, it reminds me of the frat I joined in college. I was reluctant to join any frat, but what sold me was the fact that Lambda Chi Alpha outlawed hazing at their chapters in the mid-1970s. Hazing is meant to do just one thing - humiliate new members. And there was no way I was going to volunteer to be treated like crap in order to join any organization. It's mindless and pointless and wildly dangerous - and the average behavior at any frat can turn crazy-dangerous anyway, so why create a chance for even more danger?

Perhaps parents nationwide should just be grateful that 'gun attack drills' aren't a common part of the school year, though I won't be surprised when that does become common. Parents perhaps would be better served if school faculties were given some sort of disaster prep training - but given that most schools already have security teams working, then it's those security forces which need proper training.

I find it rather astonishing that someone from Scales attending the week-long trip did not stand up and say to the planners of the fake attack that is was a bone-dumb and dangerous idea. Doesn't the state mandate anti-bullying codes and procedures? Did the faculty at Scales feel they were above reproach?

I'd bet most students past the 3rd or 4th grade would tell you they endure copious amounts of discomfort and challenges from their peers and their daily experiences in the system. Much of those types of events certainly inform students that you have to be tough on the outside, be able to walk away from some hateful times and learn to cope with stupid and mindless rituals.

Aunt B pegged it very well with her response to Kleinheider's claim that this event was good, manly behavior by the now-suspended school faculty:

"It’s not good clean manly fun to take a bunch of eleven year old kids into the forest and pretend like, no matter how briefly, you’re going to kill them".

TN Student Field Trip Turns National News

6th-grade students from Scales Elementary in middle Tennessee and their teachers have been making the cable news networks reports following an incident last week while they were on a field trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park. The KNS article reports it like this:

"Staff members of a Murfreesboro elementary school staged a fake gunman attack during a school trip, telling them it was not a drill as children cried and hid under tables.

Parents of the sixth-grade students at Scales Elementary were outraged after learning about the prank that occurred Thursday night during a weeklong trip to a state park.

Assistant Principal Don Bartch, who was present, said the scenario was intended as a learning experience and only lasted five minutes.

"We got together and discussed what we would have done in a real situation," he said."

Over at Volunteer Voters, Kleinheider weighs in with his take:

"What this incident tells us is that we cannot treat young men and women like what they need to become — adults. What we are telling each other is that children need to be coddled and sheltered from anything that approaches a deviation from “the way things are done.”

We have, all due respect, become a feminized and sissified culture. I’m no alpha male, but I know that much to be true.

Our elementary schools are run by women, by and large — they are, they have been and they will continue to be. Not only do our kids have to get by the overemphasis on security in our culture, not only to they have to try and emerge as true men and woman in a therapeutic culture, they have to deal with the fact that they may go through many, many years of elementary school and even middle school without ever encountering a male teacher."

Brittney responds to VV, sensing some oddness to his perspective.

What say you?

Shhh!! Ethics Committee Quietly Appointed

Hamblen County Commissioners met last week to appoint members of their new Ethics Committee.

But, as mandated by the state's Sunshine Law, did the public have any notification the meeting occurred? The answer appears to be No.

Linda attended the meeting last week, and did raise the question and reports on what happened here:

"How can you conduct public business in public if you don't tell the public that there is a public meeting and if you don't provide notice as to when and where the meeting will take place?

There wasn't any Sunshine at the May 8th meeting even though it was an especially important meeting--a special called meeting during which appointment of the Hamblen County Ethics Committee would take place. The only other item on the agenda was termites in the Courthouse.

Mayor David Purkey, as expected, appointed commissioners Stancil Ford and Joe Swann and Trustee Bill Brittain to the Ethics Committee. Joe Swann then jumped in and nominated Jack Cartwright and Jim Harrison for the "regular citizen" positions."

Outsourcing the War in Iraq

Listening to the demands from the White House regarding the funding of the war in Iraq, the drumbeat message appears to be "must have money for the troops." Shouldn't citizens and representatives be asking how much money is given to private contractors versus how much actually goes into the US military?

Between 100 and 200,000 private contracts provide the military with laundry services, meals, latrine operations, transportation of materials, and an unknown number of private and heavily armed security forces. Without these contracts, could the military today conduct any operation? And does that mean that the White House is now lobbying for businesses to receive tax dollars?

On May 10th Jeremy Scahill testified before a Congressional Committee about what has become the "outsourcing" of the war in Iraq and the questions such operations bring --

"Many Americans are under the impression that the US currently has about 145,000 active duty troops on the ground in Iraq. What is seldom mentioned is the fact that there are at least 126,000 private personnel deployed alongside the official armed forces. These private forces effectively double the size of the occupation force, largely without the knowledge of the US taxpayers that foot the bill.

"These forces work for US companies like Blackwater, Triple Canopy and DynCorp as well as companies from across the globe. Some contractors make in a month what many active-duty soldiers make in a year. Indeed, there are private contractors in Iraq making more money than the Secretary of Defense and more than the commanding generals. The testimony about private contractors that I hear most often from active duty soldiers falls into two categories: resentment and envy.

"They ask what message their country is sending them. While many soldiers lack basic protective equipment--facts well-known to this committee--they are in a war zone where they see the private soldiers whiz by in better vehicles, with better armor, better weapons, wearing the corporate logo instead of the American flag and pulling in much more money. They ask: Are our lives worth less?"

Scahill notes that 40 cents of every dollar for the war goes into private contracts, and asks about the wisdom of relying on the profit motive for private firms working in Iraq. Does it simply create a shadow army?

Also testifying was Robert Greenwald, who's film "Iraq For Sale" (previously mentioned) reports on the war profiteering taking place in Iraq. Congressman Jack Kensington (R-GA) does not seem much interested in investigating the use of tax dollars, but quizzes Greenwald on the money made by those who report on the war profiteers. It's an amazing video.

The recently vetoed legislation on funding, however, would have had minimal effect on private contractors:

"The legislation vetoed by the president last week would not have reduced the use of private military operators in Iraq. As originally passed in the House, the Democrats' plan would have cut only about 15 percent, or $815 million, of the supplemental spending earmarked for day-to-day military operations "to reflect savings attributable to efficiencies and management improvements in the funding of contracts in the military departments." But even that mild provision was dropped in late April by the Democrats, who said they needed to hold more hearings on the contractor issue. Instead, they moved to withhold - not cut - 15 percent of total day-to-day operational funding, but only until Defense Secretary Robert Gates submits a report on the use of contractors and the scope of their deployment. Once the report is submitted, the 15 percent would be released.

While the discussions have centered on accountability, fiscal responsibility, and oversight, the big question that Congress has not confronted is: Should the U.S. government even be allowed to use mercenary forces, whose livelihoods depend on war and conflict, to help fight its battles in Iraq?"

And the Free CDs Go To ......

Thanks for reading and playing along for this simple contest. And thanks to Universal Music and Buzztone for providing the CDs to give away.

Here are the winners of the Number Ones collections:

George W. - Marvin Gaye
Snikta - James Brown
DSwann - Diana Ross and The Supremes

I'll be contacting each of you via your emails to get your land addresses and will then ship them to you ASAP. I also have one more CD with Number One hits by The Temptations, and will select a winner among all the other entries.

And thanks for having that cup of Joe!

Brain Drained

Delicious blue skies and abundant sunshine the last few days here in East TN, which means the hot and humid days of summer are near and that's my favorite time of year. But there has been a drawback - I haven't been able to enjoy it.

I've been weighed down this week with a nasty chest cold. The result is I feel lousy and most medications to ease such woes make me as loopy as someone huffing airplane glue from a sock. You know it's bad when you wake up at 3 am and the TV has some infomercial about the miracle of a new hunk of rubberized exercise equipment and I sit and stare at if for forty minutes with slack jawed attention. The thought of changing the channel befuddles me for so long, I start wondering if I am holding a jillion channel remote control or maybe an abacus from the 13th century.

All that to say this - I have been a poor blogger this week. The news or views which might have been here have oozed past me in the haze of over the counter dope. So I am posting now, writing via a window of brief consciousness, aware that I am headed back to my previously puddled state of sub-aware stupidity. (the occasional detractors of this humble yet lovable blog all say "AHA!")

I will provide some further details in coming days about all the fun of my trip to Washington (and isn't it time they installed Google maps on the windows of airplanes so you know just exactly what you are flying over?) Until things get back to normal, you still have time to win some free CDs.

Since I can't even taste my coffee anymore, I think I'll mix generous amounts of cough syrup into my cup and stare out the window at the beautiful day, ignore the news on TV and follow the ebb and flow of the vile stuff invading my precious bodily fluids.

Foo on being sick.

Last Day to Win Free CDs

You have just until tonite at midnight to win some free CDs which collect the number one hits of some of the best performers of the 60s and 70s. All the details are here - just leave a comment in that post and you could win.

All winners will be announced tomorrow and will get their free CDs next week!

Paradise "Lost"

Puzzling out the actual number of hours spent watching the show "Lost" along with the time spent searching online sites to determine just what the heck is going on in any episode may lead you to decide to find a better way to spend your time.

Fortunately, once you've seen a few basic episodes, you can leave the actual viewing of most any show to folks who do have time, and they can recap it all for you to read in less than one-fourth the time of an hour-long episode. And they even write up the recaps complete with the snarky comments one might make about any odd episodic elements.

Here's a wee bit of the recap from last week's "Lost" which sort of captures how much fun the writers at Television Without Pity can have:

"Sawyer has his brow furrowed in confusion and consternation. He asks, "Locke is dead because you threw him out a window?" Bad Dad says that he didn't die from being thrown out a window; he died when his plane crashed in the middle of the Pacific. Sawyer looks relieved. He says he was on that plane too, and he's not dead. Bad Dad fills him in on the fact that they found the plane's wreckage and all the bodies. Sawyer refuses to believe that he's dead, because he's standing on an Island. Bad Dad asks again if Sawyer is sure it's an Island. Sawyer punts by asking, if it's not an Island, what is it? Bad Dad laughs that it's a little hot for heaven. Sawyer rolls his eyes, but Bad Dad says, "One minute I'm in a car wreck, the next I'm in a pirate ship in the middle of the jungle. If it's not hell, friend, where are we?" I think that was supposed to mirror Charlie's line from the first episode ever, but I don't really have the energy to parse it out, because during the last five minutes of the show, I have wandered over to my bedroom and slammed the closet door on my head about twelve times."

The full recap is here. And if you are a devoted follower of most any show, they've got dozens of forums for you to debate "what it all means."

Free Number Ones CDs for You!

A pause here today in the retelling of my great good fortunes of the last week to share some freebies with you. I've got some CDs to give away, part of a massive collection of music from Universal Music.

I've been listening to the Jazz Number Ones collection myself and it's fine stuff. Quincy Jones' "Killer Joe," Etta James' "At Last," Nina Simone's "I Put A Spell On You" are just some of the 17 tracks of jazz hits.

Here's what I have for you readers -- The Marvin Gaye Number Ones, The Temptations Number Ones, James Brown Number Ones and Diana Ross and the Supremes Number Ones. How can you get one of these must-have collections?

Just leave a comment on this post telling me which of the four you want and why you want it -- maybe it brings back great memories or maybe the music is something you are still discovering. Leave your entry before midnight on Thursday, May 10.

One entry per person and you must be at least 18 to enter. Be sure and include your email address in your comment, and I'll pick four lucky winners by this Friday, May 11 and post their names and then I'll send you the CD. Free.

One thing I like about this collection is that the CD package is made from recycled materials, and isn't a maze of plastic and stickers to untangle. Easy to open and earth-friendly!

The complete list of CDs in this collection can be explored here at Number Ones. Sample tracks and complete CD tracks are also listed. You can also choose ringtones and wallpaper from the collection too.

The collection includes number one hits from Country, Soul, Dance, Jazz, Motown, Soundtracks, hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s and even more individual artists and groups, from Hank Williams Sr. to Lionel Ritcie and Elton John and many more.

This is simply a way to say thanks to all the readers here as Cup of Joe Powell closes in on 100,000 hits -- some free hits for you too!

Da Vinci Goes to the Air and Space Museum

The blend of work and pleasure has happened to me more than once, but the past week was one of the most memorable such blends. I hope it is also a sign that the future holds even more opportunities where work and pleasure co-exist for your humble narrator.

I'll explain some of the details of the how and the why in a later post. For now, let me just offer some tantalizing examples of why I had a fine week.

Imagine getting an offer to fly to Washington DC and stay at the ritzy Washington Court Hotel, all expenses paid, and to spend my working hours entertaining folks as a historical character -- in my case I performed as a Russian Cosmonaut and as Leonardo da Vinci. Added bonus - I was told I would be performing the da Vinci role at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, which would be closed for the evening for a private catered party.

I had to pinch myself more than once at Air and Space. It's a place which I had visited before, spending hours wandering thru the exhibits and gawking at the displays of planes and rockets which made history. To be strolling casually through it, sipping wine and acting as da Vinci ("I invented everything here, you know. I never finish, I just make a sketch.") while a jazz combo played just under the heat shield of the Apollo 11 Command Module ... and to be paid while doing all that ... it makes you say Life is Good.

It also made me think if I ever do go to space, I want a jazz combo on board playing the whole time. Jazz and Space. Each compliments the other.

As I mentioned in my previous post , my camera wasn't working, but fellow performer MountainGirlXD was kind enough to share the photos she took. So here you are -- first, me as daVinci. The costume wasn't too uncomfortable, but man that hair and beard took some work so it did not look like Santa. A little bit of make-up was needed too, so that the wig did not look Mamie Van Doren's hair and too much would have made me look like Bob in Twin Peaks. One thing I learned was that about half of those I talked with thought that da Vinci painted the Sistine Chapel. And just for the record, I doubt there would much difference between da Vinci's astonishment inside that museum and mine.

Sadly, as exciting as the exhibits were, I hate to think we now see space exploration as merely an exhibit in a museum, part of our past. It must remain part of our future, too.

Here's a shot of the X-1, which broke air speed records when piloted by Chuck Yeager.

I admit to being stunned when thinking that a company could rent out the museum for the evening and have dinner catered. I'm sure I could live quite well for years on what that must have cost.

In the next post, I'll have more on how I landed the job last week and other tales from Washington, so stay tuned.

Oh, and why not take a peek at MountainGirlXD as she played the role of Amelia Earhart?

Return of the Blogger

I have returned from Washington, DC and have many stories to share with you.

It was a truly busy week, and the networking and meetings were endless. So many of us were in DC this week - all the big dogs in Hollywood were there for the Jack Valenti funeral, also the Queen of England and her massive entourage arrived to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the folks with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and of course, me, your humble narrator.

I noticed that as the President used his mighty veto pen this week on ending the war in Iraq, the entire GOP-For-President Gang all fled to the other coast, gathering at the President Reagan library for a debate. It was kind of sad to see them reaching deep into the past to find some relevance to 2007. Does not bode well.

I noticed numerous Obama For President bumper stickers and only one other name was visible on any bumper -- someone was driving about with a Fred Thompson for President sticker.

And someone in DC needs to be fired for putting this motto on DC license plates: Taxation Without Representation. Leaving out the word "No" before "Taxation" is just anti-American. Or is the word's absence just an indication of the times we live in?

My digital camera crapped out the first day, so all pictures presented over the next few days as I recount my adventures will be verbally created. For instance, I was really hoping I could show you what I found when I went to the Jefferson Memorial one day around sunset. The site was utterly empty and there were tears streaming down the cheeks of the bronze face of Jefferson.

"Why are you crying, Tom?" I asked, standing on a floor made of Tennessee pink marble.

His bronze arm slowly rose and he pointed to words on the frieze circling the dome of the memorial, which read "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every tyranny over the mind of man."

Then a low voice from the frozen form of our third president said "I fear the tyrants have defeated my country."

"No," said I. "Not all minds have been overtaken by the tyrants. I will tell others what you have said so well in defense of our Freedom and our nation."

"You? Your camera doesn't even work, you chucklehead, no one will believe a word you say."

"Wellllllllll, yeah there is that. But I can Google a picture for my blog. And if America can just recall some of your words, that is the place to start."

"Google a picture? Great, another witless entry on the internet. Thanks for nothing. Just go, please. I want to sleep before they convert this space to another Starbucks."

I suppose Tom has seen too much of his efforts falling by the wayside of late.

And I did Google him, anyway --

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.

Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions. During the throes and convulsions of the ancient world, during the agonizing spasms of infuriated man, seeking through blood and slaughter his long-lost liberty, it was not wonderful that the agitation of the billows should reach even this distant and peaceful shore; that this should be more felt and feared by some and less by others, and should divide opinions as to measures of safety. But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.

Mr Powell Goes to Washington

I'm headed to Washington, DC for the week. Posting will be limited to whatever time and access allow. I don't think I can advise anyone in DC on forward movement in policies, but who knows?

Still, I've been invited to attend a business convention and talk about this man.

Don't ask. I'll do my best to provide pictures and an explanation as the week progresses.

Rubber Duck, Come Back

A top-notch movie debate about the best movie car chases is running full tilt at No Silence Here courtesy of Les Jones and MetaFilter. Clips of nominees are featured, along with a great History of Chases website at filmsite.org, which starts in the silent era and continues up through "The Matrix" movies.

I've left my views already in the comments and won't repeat them here, other than to underscore one of the best ever car chase scenes ever which you can still see in theatres - Zoe Bell riding the hood of a car in the Tarantino portion of "Grindhouse", which is absent special effects and is a sweat-inducing thrill ride that ranks as one of the best in decades. (And of course, Kurt Russell, as Stuntman Mike, drives a car with the legendary Rubber Duck Hood Ornament.)

So head on over to the KNS site and cast your vote. For my two cents, I can hardly decide between Bullitt, Ronin and Road Warrior, so I went with Road Warrior 'cause it last for 12 minutes of metal-bashing carnage.

The one time I participated in a road race with friends, we took insanely unprepared drivers and vehicles (a Gremlin, a Pinto and a Rabbit) out at night on a dangerous mountain road and I (or perhaps I should say We) were a.) young and stupid and lucky; b.) no one was hurt, hence the lucky part; and c.) about 180 seconds of adrenaline madness embedded in my memory with more fondness than I should admit.

Camera Obscura - The CIA and Jack Kirby; Hot Fuzz and More Movie News

There's a connection between the CIA, Spock's ears, comic book legend Jack Kirby and the Iranian Hostage Crisis from the Carter era. The story could and likely will be made into a movie soon, especially since Wired magazine this month has a story on how the CIA used all those elements in a daring rescue of hostages.

On Turner Classic Movies from time to time, they've shown a little behind-the-scenes movie about makeup master John Chambers, who did design and make Spock's ears, as well as creating the unique (at the time) latex mask method for the "Planet of the Apes" movies.

As the Wired article reports, agent Tony Mendez put together a fake movie production company they called Studio Six Productions with Chamber's help and made a plan to use latex masks to disguise a handful of the hostages and help them escape:

"All they needed now was a film — and Chambers had the perfect script. Months before, he had received a call from a would-be producer named Barry Geller. Geller had purchased the rights to Roger Zelazny's science fiction novel, Lord of Light, written his own treatment, raised a few million dollars in starting capital from wealthy investors, and hired Jack Kirby, the famous comic book artist who cocreated X-Men, to do concept drawings. Along the way, Geller imagined a Colorado theme park based on Kirby's set designs that would be called Science Fiction Land; it would include a 300-foot-tall Ferris wheel, voice-operated mag-lev cars, a "planetary control room" staffed by robots, and a heated dome almost twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Geller had announced his grand plan in November at a press conference attended by Jack Kirby, former football star and prospective cast member Rosey Grier, and several people dressed like visitors from the future."

Few thought the idea would work, and the story of how it all came together is fantastic. The magazine even includes some of the storyboard drawings used to fake the Iranians - and many in Hollywood.

Another behind-the-scenes movie master is the center of a new documentary, film and sound editor Walter Murch. Cinematical's James Rocchi got a viewing of the film and reports on it here. Murch is probably more responsible for the look and sound of movies today than any other person. He went from editing movies by hand on the Movieola system to computers, then on to Avid and the non-linear Mac based Final Cut Pro. His sound designs and creations also led to the 5.1 sound systems used today.

Still, his interests and intelligence go far beyond film. He was recently interviewed for the architectural blog, BLDBLOG, where he discusses cosmology and architecture and offers a theory that the Heliocentric Pantheon in Rome was a key used by Copernicus to create an accurate description of our solar system.

" ... I then superimposed Copernicus’s drawing over an image of the Pantheon’s dome – and found that the ratios of the circles in his drawing and the ratios of the circles of the Pantheon line up almost exactly. Seeing that alignment was one of those wonderful moments where you suddenly feel a strong current of connection with the past.."

Walter Murch just rocks, people.

---- In some other notable news this week, a scene was shot for the production of the Will Smith version of the "I Am Legend" movie which is being touted as the most expensive single scene yet made. The cost is a minimum of $5 million, but may in fact be much higher. It's no simple task to take over the Brooklyn Bridge for a few hours.

---- One of the funniest movies in recent years was the British zombie-comedy "Shaun of the Dead." And I admit it, they had me as soon as the Goblins' music from Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" started playing. And the movie just got better and better. This weekend, the same crew of filmmakers and actors turn to another genre to have fun with - the buddy-cop movie. Some behind the scenes talk for this weekend's new movie, "Hot Fuzz", with Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg can be heard here, at DVD Talk Radio. Other interviews on the site include Oliver Stone, Stan Lee, Kevin Smith and Eli Roth.

---- Rasslin fans get to see their faves blow up real good in a movie opening this weekend called "Condemned". I doubt if the script here will be any better than the scripts rasslers use on any given title match. However, the idea for this movie was much better when it was called "Battle Royale." Take my advice and seek that one out, unless yer rasslin love has you pinned.

---- Thank the good Freedonian for pointing out the very best ever moment in the history of the show "American Idol." Jack Black takes the show to it's peak.

Cities of Lonesome Fear

Ignoring reality at your own peril - an old story, I know. I grew up in the world of Baptist churches, and that was a constant theme. Religion was a kind of salve, an elixir to soothe the troubled brows furrowed in fear and angst about the evils of this old world. More and more, I sense that fervent bloggers/pundits/politicians opine that the "right kind of government" can stave off all ills, chills, fevers, and maladies of the world itself, offering up an old time religion spirit -- yet another advertisement for snake oil.

The belief that a political system can chart a course of Moral Value is negated by the obvious reports of Time and History itself. For most all of my life, I've known the folks who founded this country knew full well that neither the political nor the religious systems could provide what a person needed most. They knew two things were more important - Freedom from oppression and reliance on self-determination.

But somehow the concepts of Morality and Politics have become married, as if some 1950s sitcom Mom and Dad Know Best has staggered out of the corrupt cultural mists to lead us all to glory. Mom and Dad would always make sure the kids were alright.

What's been the effect of this union? It's a kind of lunacy, not only in this country but in other emerging world powers and wannabe powers: "If you are not part of our politics or morality, you are an immoral animal."

The current trend of bloggers/pundits/politicians have been playing a deceptive game of We'll Make A New Law and All Will Be Well. The Mom and Dad answer to all problems begins with "From now on ....." and all is well by the end of the 30-minute episode. Until next week's episode, when Mom and Dad must straighten it all out again.

A result of such a capitulation to the Mom and Dad political worldview has now provided us with a myriad of problems which the founders of this country knew too well and had experienced for generations within Europe: corruption and incompetence can thrive in that kind of environment. The Moral/Political blend has but one purpose - to continue it's own existence at all costs, despite the peril to the populace.

I'm not witty nor wise enough to craft the words needed to explain all this. Some of you know it already, and some so embrace the Moral/Political Mom and Dad that words or wisdom may never re-engage their minds. Some are incredibly bored by the requirements of maintaining Freedom and Self-Reliance, much less reducing incompetence and corruption, so again no words or wisdom contain enough Spectacle to capture their attention.

I did read something today by the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Rahm Emanuel of Illinois which does lay out a well-written assessment of how incompetence and corruption have done damage which will take years to correct. Most recently, Rep. Emanuel was "in the news" for advising colleagues not to appear on "The Colbert Report," so it's not that I have lofty opinions of the man. I am not one to elevate a politician to a pedestal anyway. But I do think his article is worth reading. Some excerpts:

"As Jim Hightower has noted, [the Bush] Administration eliminated the middleman. The corporations don't have to lobby the government, because they are the government. This cronyism transcends the regulatory agencies.

There were early signs, not heeded, that this Administration would be driven by partisan politics, not public policy. In Ron Suskind's book The Price of Loyalty , former-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill complained that he couldn't interest anyone in policy discussions at the White House, because it was populated with political operatives rather than policy experts.

Even the President's highly touted faith-based initiative turned out to be a purely political play. The top two leaders of that new office both quit in frustration. John J. DiIulio Jr. left after being forced to work in a White House that he likened to “the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis.” Former Deputy Director David Kuo later alleged that then-White House political affairs director Ken Mehlman knowingly participated in a scheme to use that government office to mobilize religious voters in 20, targeted congressional races—of which the Republicans won 19.

The Bush Administration has redefined the famous challenge of President Kennedy's inaugural address. Instead of “Ask not what your country can do for you,” it has become “Ask what your government can do for our party.”

That's one of the most obvious scenes being played out on blogs and campaigns and talk radio and television and on and on - that one party not only has the all the right answers, but to even consider other views is the same as being a Godless, treasonous, anti-American and anti-Mom and Dad monster.

I know it's embarrassing to admit you've been duped by your political party or poorly chosen heroes. (See yesterday's post for more on that.) However the continued adoration of the incompetent and corrupt is the most 'defeatist' move we could make.

Like it or not, it's like that old songwriter sings - we live in a political world. And to politicize all things will only serve politicians best, first and last.

We live in a political world
In the cities of lonesome fear
Little by little
You turn in the middle
But you're never sure why you're here.
We live in a political world
Under the microscope
You can travel anywhere
And hang yourself there
You always got more than enough rope.

Thought For The Day

As a confrontation over government authority and warfare is gearing up, a Thought for All Those In Washington --

"Self-deception proves itself to be more powerful than deception.

We all make similarly irrational arguments about decisions in our lives: we hang on to losing stocks, unprofitable investments, failing businesses and unsuccessful relationships. If we were rational, we would just compute the odds of succeeding from this point forward and then decide if the investment warrants the potential payoff. But we are not rational--not in love or war or business--and this particular irrationality is what economists call the "sunk-cost fallacy."

via

The Good, The Bad and The Internet

There are too many topics rattling around in my own head today, some are fine and good things, some are ugly and idiotic. What follows is, obviously, the result of what I just said.

1. Big ole' Happy Happy Birthday wishes to one of my favorite places to read and discuss just about everything. Brittney runs the Nashville is Talking blog and it's her consistent effort to provide a wide range of topics to discover, pictures to marvel at, people and things to laugh at, provide a forum for all kinds of viewpoints and she's mighty expert at calling BS when something is just that - BS. Happy B-Day!

2. I've recently found another fascinating place to read about all things Appalachian. Hillbilly Savants has a staggering amount of information, links to bajillions of newspaper, television and radio sites, bloggers from across the South, colleges, research and policy groups, a hefty list of contributors and much, much more. Exhaustive work is evident here. The topics cover culture and politics and tall tales of the region, history, science - you name it. I was more than honored to find they linked to this humble but lovable blog, too. How they describe themselves: "This blog is about our Appalachia - the real one, not the Hollywood-stereotype nor the third-world nation-esque stereotype being sold by do-gooders, or even the neo-Romantic sylvan stereotype that Rousseau would probably buy into. It should be interesting."

3. I noticed too at Hillbilly Savants they have an image made by Tennessee Jed:



In explaining a little bit about himself in the above-linked post, Jed offers the following:

"I don't like being over charged, over taxed, tricked with schemes and lawyers, underpaid, under served, under appreciated, neglected, ignored, belittled, deceived or anything that takes from me without asking in a very real and obvious manner. If a subject takes too much haggle after the fact then it most likely is purely designed to fool the lesser gifted sorts like Jed. I will call them out in my normal "whiney-assed-wish-things-were different" way that is my own. I think that capitalism has reached a plateau in America where some aspects need to be changed to protect workers/consumers from legalistic loophole side stepping. If this sort of thinking makes me a socialist-pinko-commie, then so be it. It doesn't need be another law or ethics committee (we got too many that ain't workin'), it needs to be a matter of known fact, obvious really: take no more than you need from your dealings, examine your needs daily. Do it because you care and want to make a fair place for your babies (or any beloved ones) to live and grow. Turn the soil fine for your land, don't show up for the harvest and leave. Make someplace your real home and it will pay off. It appears to this observer that past superpowers have fallen due to the same mistakes we are seeing/making now. Misplaced goals, it is as simple as that. Invest in people, invest in people because without them there is no market at all. Invest in exploration, because there are things to be found. Our table of elements has some open spaces, one of them might be the solution to unlock the Utopia we all seek.

OK - That's the Good that's been in my head of late. Now for The Bad,

1. Bone-dumb ignorance and intentional hatred are promoted by the King of The Daily Hate, aka R. Limbaugh regarding the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. He and his chorus of doom crusaders naturally know exactly the cause of Cho's insane rampage -- Liberal college professors, and specifically the school's English Dept. (You know, the one that had been persistently warning administrators about Cho, the one encouraging him to seek counseling.)

Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings has the details in his post "Lower Than Dirt" --

"For some reason -- don't ask -- I was looking at Rush Limbaugh's web site, and I saw this headline: "Can Any Good Come from V Tech Horror?" followed by this blurb: "Maybe, just maybe, we'll face the hatred for American traditions and capitalism infesting our campuses." No, I thought. No, no, no. So I clicked the link. The transcript I found quoted at length from an article called "Was Cho Taught To Hate", by one James Lewis ....

"Lewis' article would be beyond despicable even if it accurately represented the Virginia Tech English department. That it's just another hit piece against an academic department that makes precisely no attempt to characterize that department accurately, that Lewis chooses instead to treat the members of that department as mere instantiations of some "trend" that exists only in his head, and that he does this at a time when the people he uses as political props must be suffering enormously, makes it lower than dirt."

Sadly, others too have jumped on the Blamewagon, like the American Family Association, who says the killings were all the fault of "lack of school prayer and video games" - they even have a video to explain it to you. Warning - watching this will induce adverse reactions.

I think you'd have to be deeply and truly uneducated to blame the violence in the world today on something that happened since 1950, like comic books, television, video games, or not voting Republican. It's been pretty damn constant in human history that a handful of reasons are at the heart of brutal violence - tribal/ethnic warfare, religion and religious intolerance, treating other humans as possessions, and there are some folk who, as Kurt Vonnegut once said, have some bad wiring in their heads.

OK, Now on the topic of the Internet.

Yes, yes, I know this post is kind of all over the place. But my brain takes the oddest paths at times.

For example. just this morning I woke up from a dream where (no lie) I was making a crowd of French people angry at me because they did not like the way I was imitating the way Maurice Chevalier sang a song called "Louise." In my dream, heck, I sounded pretty good, in my opinion.

I have no idea what that was all about. It's not like I spend much time pondering the French. Much less songs by Maurice Chevalier. And how the heck did the lyrics to that song get lodged in my memory? I will admit I watched an old French film by Jean Luc Godard, "Alphaville" the other night, but that had no reference to Maurice Chevalier.

Anyway, after I had some time to ponder that dream, I wondered if Maurice or that song had their own piece of the internet to call their own. Naturally, of course they do. Here's a video someone made in appreciation of an actress named Louise Brooks, a silent film star, set to Chevalier's singing. Funny thing too, this video was uploaded just within the last week.



PS - I cannot think of Chevalier without thinking of this scene by the Marx Brothers, where they steal Chevalier's passport and all try to pretend to be him.

SMARTech, Gonzales, and the 2004 Election

The media offers a collective yawn to the reports that the White House has been by-passing laws regarding email communications related to government operations. It's as if they can't wrap their brains around a possiible effort to act outside the law. And a Chattanooga company may soon find itself on center stage in a bizarre maze of manipulating information.

This story isn't going away, and it is also related to the rampant oddities in the Ohio election results in 2004. Just what role has the Chattanooga-based company, SMARTech been playing in elections and secret emails?


"Did the most powerful Republicans in America have the computer capacity, software skills and electronic infrastructure in place on Election Night 2004 to tamper with the Ohio results to ensure George W. Bush's re-election?

The answer appears to be yes. There is more than ample documentation to show that on Election Night 2004, Ohio's "official" Secretary of State website -- which gave the world the presidential election results -- was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's firing of eight federal prosecutors.

Recent revelations have documented that the Republican National Committee (RNC) ran a secret White House e-mail system for Karl Rove and dozens of White House staffers. This high-tech system used to count and report the 2004 presidential vote- from server-hosting contracts, to software-writing services, to remote-access capability, to the actual server usage logs themselves -- must be added to the growing congressional investigations."

Full story here, and it will take some time to read. it's time well spent.

"These strange election results were routed by county election officials through Ohio's Secretary of State's office, through partisan IT providers and software, and the final results were hosted out of a computer based in Tennessee announcing the winner."