The Only Real Political Debate?

While the media and the current political party debate seems to indicate a battle between "Conservative" and  "Liberal" factions, that is not the reality.

The real conflict is much more deeply embedded in the way most everyone lives and dies, and simple solutions or moral authority just don't exist. The working world, from farming and food to high technology, is critically flawed - so goes the argument laid out in Naomi Klein's new book. "This Changes Everything". We are doomed to extinction at a planetary level unless momentous revisions to how we live take place.

The ideas are nicely captured in this review via The Film Doctor, who mingles writing about politics and the art of cinema in a most unusual fashion. While her book seems to center on the debate about Climate Change, there is much more underneath.

"One thing is certain: Klein's book has a clear villain--the oil companies. As she writes, "From the perspective of a fossil fuel company, going after these high-risk carbon deposits is not a matter of choice--it is its fiduciary responsibility to shareholders . . . yet fulfilling that fiduciary responsibility guarantees that the planet will cook" (148). Her observation had me wondering about how much do we individually and habitually consume petroleum-based products, and how easy would it be for anyone to switch over to only using renewable energy? When I get up in the morning, I drink coffee from Colombia, brush my teeth with a plastic toothbrush, drive to work in a car, work in air conditioning, eat food that has travelled great distances, buy a book, etc. The thought of how I might begin to cut back on this enhanced life style proves daunting given how just about every aspect of it ties in with the premise of having cheap abundant fossil fuel. ... our way of life is so energy-intensive in the United States that it seems nearly impossible to fundamentally change that addiction within 30 years before nature finds another way to take care of the problem. The challenge seems so insurmountably great, Klein's solutions can take on a Pollyanna quality of dreamy wish-fulfillment. Klein anticipates that critique by reasserting that the climate allows us no choice but to think and act in radically different ways. 

"I especially liked Klein's history of the small island of Nauru, a cautionary tale that reads like Jared Diamond's description of Easter Island in his 2011 bookCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.  ... And we tell ourselves all kinds of similarly implausible no-consequences stories all of the time, about how we can ravage the world and suffer no adverse effects. Indeed we are always surprised when it works out otherwise. We extract and do not replenish and wonder why the fish have disappeared and the soil requires ever more 'inputs' (like phosphate) to stay fertile. We occupy countries and arm their militias and then wonder why they hate us. We drive down wages, ship jobs overseas, destroy worker protections, hollow out local economies, then wonder why people can't afford to shop as much as they used to. We offer those failed shoppers subprime mortgages instead of steady jobs and then wonder why no one foresaw that a system built on bad debts would collapse."

"At every stage our actions are marked by a lack of respect for the powers we are unleashing--a certainty, or at least a hope, that the nature we have turned to garbage, and the people we have treated like garbage, will not come back to haunt us" (165-6). As Klein concludes, "In other words, Nauru isn't the only one digging itself to death; we all are" (168). "

Frightmare Manor 2014 Opens Tonight

Tonight in East Tennessee brings the opening of Frightmare Manor, one of the highest-rated haunted attractions in the country. Plenty of new and terrifying elements will be launched for another unforgettable season of fear and fun.

Night Harvest is their new adventure through the woods around Frightmare Manor - the description from their website gives a sneak peek of what to expect:

"Night Harvest – This authentic wooded environment casts you deep into the dark shadows of the once-forgotten, abandoned Lexer body farm. Lexer had a disturbing name for the process of removing the cold, lifeless corpses and disposing of them in such a way to remain undetected. He would violently drag them under the cloak of darkness to the back of the property to specific areas for disposal– he labeled this act in his manifesto as the “Night Harvest”. This thick-brushed, wooded area at the back of the plantation wreaks of decomposed flesh and marks where the majority of Lexer’s 31 dismembered victims were unearthed in July of 1902. ...

"New for 2014, victims will enter through the original cabin, where skins of animals and humans alike were hung by Lexer for drainage. Still standing today and guarding the entrance of Night Harvest, this original cabin is listed (along with the Manor) on the Hamblen County Historical Preservation List and even today smells of gut-wrenching death. No amount of nervous laughter can help you for you are walking on top of and amongst death at every turn. Enter this cabin and you will begin to see, feel, touch, smell and experience for yourself the Jeremiah Lexer Night Harvest."

And that's just one of five attractions this year!

This "Screampark" spans 20 acres, offers 3 independent, walk thru, Haunted Attractions on site, boasts a heart-pounding Free-Fall Attraction unlike anything you've ever seen in the "Lexer Jump", and features the Nationally Recognized Nightmare at Frightmare Challenge. If all 5 Attractions are successfully completed, you WILL get your money back

Tickets available online via their website.

How Many Web Sites Are There?

It's a guess, really, but trends and data available say that there is roughly one web site for every three people who use the web, according to this Washington Post report, which features the graphic shown above (via Internet Live Stats).

Meanwhile, the site WorldWideWebSize says there are 2.39 billion web pages as of today, estimated by the numbers of pages indexed by Google, Bing and Yahoo search. The Internet Live Stats estimates there were 1.5 million blog posts today - plus one, this one you are reading right now.

While these stats don't tell us just what is on all the pages (cats? porn? advertising?). 

Every day the visualizations of so many people on the planet are manifest on the Internet. I find it interesting that (according to the above) there are 1.5 billion searches on Google so far today - interesting because that makes it seem that half of the folks in the digital world are seeking something, some information, some photo (some cats, probably).

Email appears to be the most widely used aspect - I sent about 6 today, and likely will send out a dozen more before the day is done.

Capturing the attention of billions is no simple task, especially here on this humble blog, where I noodle about with words and images and ideas. I can usually grab a few hundred views here a day - sometimes more, sometimes less. Big numbers land here mostly when I link to an oddity or a bit of someone else's hostility or such. 

But I do perceive a few things in all these numbers - people have joyfully abandoned publishers and broadcasters to share every kind of thing imaginable. It has been and continues to be liberating - for the cost of obtaining Internet access and some device to access the Internet, anyone can reach global distribution. 

And still, after only 20 some years of such new technology, we are only at the edge of what is going to happen due to this massive shift in human interaction.

I often wonder what might happen if, as in some cheesy story, all that access was suddenly gone, never to return. 

I often wonder if over the next fifty years people will somehow master this wild and wooly digital world, or if such mastery is even possible (mastery meaning that the majority of users add something to this digital conversation that is beyond rude-boy antics and advertising).

I often wonder if the future will steadily erase ideas of borders and countries and race and state and tribe ... what then will follow?

Films Saved From Mindless Extinction

Real movies made on real 35mm film will live on thanks to a handful of modern filmmakers – and I hope their efforts last many years.

Kodak alone remains today as a producer of 35mm film stock thanks to the investment from directors like Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, J.J. Abrams and Judd Apatow, and Tarantino is providing actual films from his own collection of prints to screen at the New Beverly Cinema.

Kodak says:
“After extensive discussions with filmmakers, leading studios and others who recognize the unique artistic and archival qualities of film, we intend to continue production," Kodak Chief Executive Jeff Clarke said in a statement Wednesday. "Kodak thanks these industry leaders for their support and ingenuity in finding a way to extend the life of film."

The rush to digital tech has blindly discarded film – which in fact is far superior for long term archiving. It’s stunning that it’s been the studios themselves which have driven the effort to make filmmaking extinct.

The disposal attitude might confuse some folks so think about it this way – would it make any sense for the production of paint and canvases to be eliminated merely because many artists today use digital technology to create artworks?

Would it make any sense to no longer make, say, a French coffee press because drip coffee makers are more popular?

Would it make any sense to eliminate the use of raw materials like stone or metal because of the emergence of 3D printing technology?

Such ideas make no sense.

Kudos to these wise artists.

Artistic methods and tools and technology are always changing – but allowing such tyranny because something is New is ridiculous.

Long live film!

Real Freefall Leap Rises High at Frightmare Manor/Adventure Ranch

For the past few months, an unusual structure has been rising up on the grounds of the hit attraction of Frightmare Manor in Talbott. All summer long, we could all see it getting higher and higher and higher - an impressive wooden tower with multiple levels … but what is it?

A giant new bungee jump attraction? How about the starting point for a new zip-line across Frightmare? Perhaps it would be some kind of elevator drop or … something else? 

It definitely has had people talking and wondering what’s new for Frightmare Manor 2014. At 40 feet in height, it's easily the most visible structure for miles and miles and commands your attention as you drive past on Highway 11-E. And it's really multiple attractions all in one -- The top of the 40-foot tower is an 360-degree Observation Deck with an impressive view. But there's much more to it, just read on.

The Frightmare Manor folks are always imaginative and this new element is linked to the mysterious legend and rumors of Jeremiah Lexer, the allegedly maniacal killer whose dark deeds of terror have haunted this landscape and inspired the makers of Frightmare Manor.

Legend says that Lexer, back in the early days of the 1900s, murdered his entire family in a grisly fashion and then he climbed up to the top of his house and from there leapt to his death. Only later did local authorities discover that scores of deaths could be attributed to Lexer. (Events which apparently have been carefully covered up, again, according to numerous local residents.)

Whether Fact or Fiction, the idea has turned into a terrifyingly real, thrilling and daring new free fall leap as part of the 2014 Frightmare Manor experience. It's said that blueprints of the original Lexer Plantation House, found in the early 1900s, revealed how unusually high the top of the home became, and those designs were the inspiration for this new leap.

During the evening hours, The Lexer Jump will give guests a chance to try out a free fall leap of their own, from one of two different heights, one at 11 feet and another at 27 feet, and all with complete safety, and then onto state of the art inflatable bags.

Also, when the brand new Adventure Ranch opens, staring Sept. 20, the lower and more friendly jump will be available for visitors to experience – The Adventure Leap is offered to thrill folks of all ages during the day.

I really have to try this. Frightmare Manor opens Sept. 26 and Adventure Ranch opens Sept. 20.

Be sure and check out the websites for Frightmare Manor and for Adventure Ranch for tickets, directions, deals and more. And follow them on Facebook too for special promotions and deals all through the Fall season. Below, some folks try out the jump for themselves.

Unboxing Videos Super Happy Wealthy Egg Surprise More More More

I noted some years back that folks were flocking to watch YouTube videos of the "unboxing" of numerous tech gadgets, phones and such. And from that, we can now view tens of thousands of video hours of folks opening packages and boxes of whatever you might wish to see.

Today, there's this woman named DisneyCollector on YouTube who has gotten over 93 million views of a video of opening some toy packages to reveal stickers and candy and maybe a toy here and there. With her own YouTube channel, it's estimated she is earning between 2 and 12 million dollars a year via ads on her page. A NYTime article ponders the trend here.

"YouTube in particular seems to have the ability to turn formerly unnamed, truly private little pleasures — the most insignificant of dopamine triggers — into rich, multichanneled cultures. Search “clean corn shuck,” and you will be surprisingly rewarded."

The writer of the article has a young child who loves watching DisneyCollector.

"Wouldn’t you rather watch a real Cookie Monster video?” I asked, after first watching it.

“No, no, Mommy,” my daughter said. “I like the toy. I like the hands on the toy.”

“Why?”

“Because I like it. A lot.”

The World Has Lost the Original Star Wars Movie

I feel your pain.

Director/producer/movie mogul George Lucas doesn't want anyone to see the movie which launched the legend of Star Wars.

"In 1978, Star Wars won seven Academy Awards. But if you want to watch that original version, the first of George Lucas’s soon to be seven-part saga, you’ll find it difficult. In fact, it’s actually impossible to buy an official copy of Star Wars as it was first released. Lucas doesn’t want you to see that version. Instead, he wants you to watch the continuously updated special editions—movies with added CGI, changed sound effects, and whole new scenes.

But fans aren’t the only ones who want Lucas to release the original. Curators at the National Film Registry picked the 1977 version of Star Wars to preserve for history’s sake, but they still don’t have a copy in the registry. When they asked for a copy, Lucas refused, saying that he would no longer authorize the release of the original version. The Library of Congress does have a 35mm print of Star Wars, one that was filed in 1978 as part of the movie’s copyright deposit, but the registry, where films are meant to be preserved for history, is still without one."

But you can't see that copy, it's archived for preservation.

Rumors flew last week an non-updated, original version of the first trilogy was headed for Blu-ray ... but I don't think so. Disney now owns all the movies - except for the original Star Wars, which is owned by Fox. They aren't talking about a new Blu-ray

I feel your pain.

I was there when it hit theaters the first time. I was there hundreds of times. .It was, indeed, glorious. 

That moment, that experience has vanished now, despite, as mentioned in the link above, the fierce efforts of fans to return to that original. Perhaps this can be a learning moment for you. Treasure your experiences. They seldom remain something you can own.

However, the world today does have the world that the movie helped create - the history, the intense fandom, the continuing saga - and for that we can be thankful.

Adventure Ranch Brings Fall Family Fun to Frightmare Manor 2014

Chris Wooden is serious about entertaining East Tennessee.

His sprawling multi-attraction Frightmare Manor is a must-see attraction drawing in visitors from all over the country. Now, he and his staff have created another enormous entertainment destination located right next door - it's called Adventure Ranch and the goal here is pure fun for the whole family.

"You know, we've had a great time scaring folks who come to Frightmare Manor over the years, and we think Adventure Ranch will be even more fun - it will be full of laughter and families enjoying the season and so much more," he said.


More than a year in the planning, they'll open up to visitors Sept. 20 and run weekends through November. Wooden and his creative team have made a place where our beautiful Fall season will make a great backdrop for all the fun and adventure. With all the things to do and experience, I'd say Adventure Ranch is the Must-Do Fall tradition for all kids ages 2 to 92. 

Attractions include:

- Huge “Chick-fil-A Sponsored” Corn Maze for guests to get lost in

- An Authentic Gem Stone and Fossil Dig

- Pumpkin Patch featuring Traditional Orange and “Pearl Pumpkins” unique to Great Smoky Farm

- Huge 70′ Long Cow Train sponsored by Chick-fil-A Morristown

- 2 Huge Jumping Pillows (one for the big and another for the small jumpers!)

- Petting Zoo filled with Adorable Farm Animals

- Adventure Tower and Adventure Leap (a Must-Do Attraction only offered at Adventure Ranch)

- 250′ feet of Super Slide!

- Genuine Fire Truck Display (This fully-functional Ladder Truck is owned by Adventure Ranch and its use is donated throughout the year to Lakeway Volunteers Fire Department as they respond to Fire Emergencies in any area in Jefferson, Hamblen, and Sevier Counties.)

- Real Pony Rides

- Human-Hamster Wheels

- A Fun Nature Trail with an Adventure Ranch Twist

- The Pony-Hops Rodeo (Hop-On and Race your Friends on your Inflatable Horse!)

- Tennessee’s Largest Rocking Chair


- Picnic Area, Concessions, “General Store” Gift Shop and so much more!

Music and fun will fill the park, but Chris as always is keeping his eye on making sure this huge family attraction is beneficial to the community at large. He purchased a working fire ladder truck for kids to explore and learn about, but the truck is being used by the Lakeway Volunteer Fire Department as they respond to emergency situations in three counties too.

Educational aspects are built into Adventure Ranch, focusing on farm life and offers Field Trip Ag-In-The-Classroom Field Trips for students studying rocks, fossils and botanicals too.

And there's more! The Corn Maze includes a mystery game to be solved, called "FSI - Farm Scene Investigation". And there will be cornhole games, Adventure Ranch mascots, and much more.

Chris is building a massive tourism destination in Morristown/Talbott and Hamblen/Jefferson counties which continues to grow and expand every year. Join in the fun starting September 20. The full Adventure Ranch website is here.

And here's an aerial view of the giant corn maze, though many new onsite attractions were not in place when image was taken -

Happy Blog Birthday Number 9 plus Bonus Historical Event

This is post number 2, 281 of yer Cup of Joe, which first published August 3rd 2005. Stats show 6 people saw that initial posting. Since then, readers on every continent have visited here, either by accident or design. Millions have visited since 2005 and I thank all of you for that.

Constant readers here are used to the constantly shifting focus of my posts (I think they are used to it). I have always had an eye on political and cultural topics, however as both the Internet and myself have made our digital way, I've become slower to post and less eager to add my thoughts to the chaotic rantings and such one finds easily available. I've taken time off to ignore the digital world so that I could pay more attention to the actual physical plane, but the gravitational pull of all that is online is too strong to resist.

Perhaps, over the years I have angered some readers, amused some, challenged or depressed some, brought some measure of joys or sorrows. All of what one finds on this blog were at least items I considered worthwhile to share. Or at least odd notations on the events and experiences available on our wee planet.

I don't expect that to change. It might, but here on these pages I know I can present and provide my views and ponderings without meeting anyone else's measure of merit.

I am fond of the fact that I am alive and aging, but I know the Future belongs mostly to the young, who have no allegiances to Time or Age.

So. Here is a 13-year-old girl named Mo'Ne Davis, who can hurl a baseball at 70 mph (check out her blazing skills here) and her team, the Taney Dragons are heading to the Little League World Series this Friday as they face the Nashville team, the South Nashville LL at 3 pm eastern time, to be aired on ESPN. Her achievements will make a far greater impact on history than just about anything I do. Not many folks keep records, stats or stage playoff challenges for blog writers. I'm ok with that. If you are reading this, you too have just learned about Mo'ne and that was the point of my mention.

Oh, and keep reading, faithful followers. I'll keep writing.

Hell Is Other Selfies

The photo is from backstage during the production of "A Wrinkle In Time" I directed this summer. There's me and the weird evil alien brain known as IT.

IT was made of imagination and papier-mâché and the skills of the cast and crew. Seeing what had been imagined now made real is somewhat strange. And given the topic of this post, an appropriate selfie.

Writer Nicholas Carr ponders online writing and living via his page Rough Type has for the last few years offered various thesis statements written in "tweetform", and the title of this post "Hell is other selfies" sits at the number 23 position of Carr's list. Here are some others he offers:

15. Abundance of information breeds delusions of knowledge among the unwary.

19. Instagram shows us what a world without art looks like.

39. When we turn on a GPS system, we become cargo.

40. Google searches us.

Much of what one encounters on the Internet began as first a thought and emerges and remains as digital info in a variety of forms. What do these manifestations mean? I don't know. Will the world evolve as they tweet and type, becoming perhaps "selfie-actualized"?

Here's what I do know - this blog started 9 years ago this month. Thanks for reading!

Would It Make You Feel Better If We Sing About It?

Hey now, prisons aren't a business -- they are an Industry!

Dear White People

"There are some knee jerk reactions to the phrase 'Dear White People' and I get it. No one wants to be called racist, and some folks are still waking up from the fantasy that having a Black president means America has somehow become 'Post-Racial.' 

"The truth is, my film isn't about 'white racism' or racism at all. My film is about identity. It's about the difference between how the mass culture responds to a person because of their race and who that person understands themselves to truly be. All explored through the microcosm of a success oriented Ivy League college." -- writer and director Justin Simien

Carr Campaign Invades Lamar! Event in Morristown

A campaigner for Joe Carr arrives with signs and his pickup truck at exactly the moment Sen. Lamar Alexander arrives in Morristown for a campaign stop via a massive bus Friday afternoon. You can see the Senator at the right side of the screen.

Early voting was taking place across the street, though so far early voting totals in Hamblen County are the lowest in the state.

Making A 'Wrinkle In Time'

My absence on this page is due to aliens, time-and-space travel, and even an evil brain. All are elements of Madeleine L'Engle's novel "A Wrinkle In Time", adapted for stage by John Glore, and the show I'm currently directing for the annual student production from Rose Center Summer Players.

The show runs for 5 performances only this week, starting Thursday night at 7 at Rose Center in Morristown.

So my 'summer vacation' has been one filled with travelling through the Universe via Einstein-Rosen Bridges, discussions with the cast about science-fiction tropes and traits, about Time and paradoxes, about science, family, tesseracts, and this endless multi-verse strewn with stars which we all call home.

And, as this is tech and production week, ending with 5 performances, I likely won't have time to get back here until next week. 

If you wonder how one stages travelling via a Wormhole across hundreds of light years - well, you'll just have to come to see the show. We have a very talented cast of area students, ranging from 12 to 18 years of age who bring this show to life. 

The show runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 ppm, and two matinees, at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are a mere $5 and can be purchased in advance by calling 423-581-4330.

Congress Holds Hearings on Theology

Why is a House Judiciary Committee holding hearings on theology? Seriously, why? It can't be legal. Just look at the reality here - some Christian faith based attorneys want to warn Congressman their is a war on religion in America. 

The Chair Bob Goodlatte of the committee said:

"Indeed, the founding fathers feared the effect of government on the free exercise of religion.  In a letter dated June 12, 1812 to Benjamin Rush, John Adams stated that ‘[n]othing is more dreaded than the National Government meddling with Religion.’

And then he meddles with it.

Here is the video of Congressman Louie Gohmert demanding a pastor accept his view of Christianity. Why is this Congressional business?





That witness has his say afterwards:

"t got even stranger. Soon Gohmert was talking about a “Seinfeld” episode where the character Elaine became upset to learn that her boyfriend was a Christian. This led to the real zinger: “Do you believe in sharing the good news that will keep people from going to hell consistent with the Christian beliefs?”

How can these hearings be legal?

The Bible Is Protesting

I suppose the above is not a surprising thing to see outside the Supreme Court. (via The Washington Post)

The Empty Slogan Act for 2014 Re-Election Campaigns

My Congressman, Republican Phil Roe, sent an email this morning echoing the party's press release with some words meant to gain attention - like "easing the pain at the pump" - mostly sounding like "gosh these gas prices are high and darn that Obama".

It was to draw attention to some legislation passed this week in Congress, called the "Lowering Gas Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act of 2014". Except there was really zero action to push prices down, but to open up more drilling for oil and natural gas. More product might in a few years cause prices to fall ... maybe. 

But really, it's the endless Wall Street speculation on commodities that drives prices. And worries from speculators about what continuing war in the Middle East might do to supplies and/or prices.

It's more of an Act which allows congress folks campaigning for re-election to say "I voted for the Lowering Gas Prices Act, but the Senate and Obama were against it."

Call it the Empty Slogan Act for 2014 Re-Election Campaigns.

Smartphones Can't Be Searched Without Warrants, Except When They Are

I suppose I'm a Debbie Downer today, but the Supreme Court ruling yesterday giving privacy protections to smartphones and requiring warrants to search them ... seems just a little hollow and a whole lot of ironic.

Despite the ruling's support for privacy protections, there's a telling phrase in Justice Roberts majority opinion:

" These cases do not implicate the question of whether the collection or inspection of aggregated digital information amounts to a search under other circumstances."

Well. With reports that computer and mobile devices can be delivered with components which provide agencies access to every action, warrants may be moot. Then there's the commercial agencies which have provided spying tools worldwide:

"The new components target Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry users and are part of Hacking Team’s larger suite of tools used for targeting desktop computers and laptops. But the iOS and Android modules provide cops and spooks with a robust menu of features to give them complete dominion over targeted phones.

They allow, for example, for covert collection of emails, text messages, call history and address books, and they can be used to log keystrokes and obtain search history data. They can take screenshots, record audio from the phones to monitor calls or ambient conversations, hijack the phone’s camera to snap pictures or piggyback on the phone’s GPS system to monitor the user’s location. The Android version can also enable the phone’s Wi-Fi function to siphon data from the phone wirelessly instead of using the cell network to transmit it. The latter would incur data charges and raise the phone owner’s suspicion."

The court seemed to indicate the larger issue of warrantless data collection will have to be taken up by Congress and policymakers rather than decided by lawsuits.

Still, the court's ruling is welcome - but enormous questions about privacy and security, for the individual and the nation, remain unanswered.

Congressional Folks Sway and Sort of Sing

With Congressional approval ratings hitting a low of 16%, the moment yesterday when House and Senate leaders held hands, swayed and sort of sang along to "We Shall Overcome" is quite bizarre.

The moment occurred during a ceremony commemorating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Given the years of hostile refusals to work together, the song perhaps which might have been more akin to Congressional action is "We Shall Not Be Moved".

The First Baby-Boomer Horror Film Returns

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was a raw, relentless assault on moviegoers in 1974. And it's still as grim and challenging today - forget those weak generic "remakes" of recent years. They are not worth ten seconds of your time. The original is being re-released in a new digital restoration in theaters this summer (slated for Nashville's Belcourt July 25 and seeing this one in a theater is an amazing experience, bested only by seeing it on a drive-in movie screen, the sounds of saws and screams echoing in mono sound across the parking lot.).

Here's the trailer for the re-release (maybe NSFW)

Writer John Bloom, aka Joe Bob Briggs, authored a terrific history of the making of the movie in this 2004 essay, go read it. Bloom keenly observes:

"Chainsaw was the first baby-boomer horror film, in which pampered but idealistic suburban children, distrustful of anyone over thirty, are terrorized by the deformed adult world that dwells on the grungy side of the railroad tracks. There had been other films that treated rural America as a place of seething, barely contained violence—notably Deliverance—but never one in which the distinction was so clearly made between an old America, of twisted, deranged adults, and a new America, of honest, right-thinking children."

And there's this:

"We had no prop man, so I found the props. We didn’t even have a chain saw. I found one. Of course, today I would know that if you’re making a movie with ‘chain saw’ in the title, you should have ten, not just one. But we had one. A McCollough. I had to take the teeth out of it so it wouldn’t hurt anyone. I remember we wrote a letter to McCollough, thinking they might want to invest in the movie. They never answered us.”

Bloom details the movie's connection to a wee baby Gwyneth Paltrow, director Sidney Lumet, and the resignation of President Nixon. Bloom of course is a horror/drive-in legend for his Joe Bob writings, and was even given a cameo in the 1986 sequel, the movie which also gave us Bill Mosely as Chop-Top and Dennis Hopper in all his bizarro glory as a Texas Ranger hunting down the cannibal family. But this sequel is more of a mash-up of Looney Tunes and Chainsaws.

The original is a take-no-prisoners descent into madness.

Director/writer Tobe Hooper did such a good job scaring the crap out of audiences and Hollywood, his career never really took off, despite his success with "Poltergeist". And oddly the formula he created for the independent (now mainstream) horror movie was copied and repeated to bring massive success to John Carpenter and Sam Raimi. But Hooper, the first to break thru so many barriers, was a casualty.

This Blog Under Attack

I've noticed that in the last few days, I've gotten thousands of hits on this page from China - thousands. Spam comments land constantly, so it isn't a bot, since any comment requires word verification. 

So that means actual persons are getting paid to visit and comment.

Today, I realized this all began about the same time our Governor went to China for "undisclosed business."

Coincidence? Maybe not.

Sen. Ramsey's Attack on the Supreme Court

Why is Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey intent on taking out 3 members of the state's Supreme Court? Is it a political power grab?

The reasons appear quite murky and dubious, and the impact a high dollar political election campaign will have on the state's judiciary branch will likely diminish the role of our third branch of government. Slate offers a good perspective (hat tip to KnoxViews for the link):

"Three justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court are facing an election-year attack, not for any particular decision they have authored or even for any unpopular opinion they have espoused. No, in an ugly campaign in Tennessee that appears to be getting ever uglier, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, who is also the state’s lieutenant governor, is attempting to oust three state Supreme Court justices in their Aug. 7 retention elections, chiefly for the judicial outrage of having been appointed to the high court by a Democrat.

"When judicial races turn into spending races, what suffers most is not Democrats or Republicans, but judicial independence and integrity. As has been exhaustively chronicled by one nonpartisan study after another, judges don’t want to be dialing for dollars from the attorneys who litigate before them, and litigants don’t want to appear before judges who dial for dollars. All of the data shows that the effect is a decline in confidence in the independence of the judiciary and a spending arms race that spirals ever more out of control.

POSTSCRIPT: Whatever happened to the "laser focus" on jobs or education?

Where Are The Women?

I noticed an image of four film directors who have been the premiere filmmakers of the last few decades, Scorsese, Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas – which I liked for simply the way it looked and for the influence these fellows have had over movies. But the image prompted a friend to say that despite the radical changes these men made, they didn’t really provide much change for opportunities for women as filmmakers.

It’s a good point, to which she added that perhaps in decades to come we’ll see a collection of grey-haired ladies who have made movie history. I think it’s worth noting that an elite group of women have been crucial to the success of these fellows, though.

Scorsese has had one person, film editor ThelmaSchoonmaker, craft all his films into shape, from “Woodstock” to his current projects. His films have a total reliance on editing, providing the rhythms and structure that are seen as hallmarks to his work. Likewise, Spielberg’s first two film s, “Sugarland Express” and “Jaws” were edited by Verna Fields – let’s be honest, it’s the editing that makes “Jaws”.

But most consistently, he has relied on producer Kathleen Kennedy – from “E.T.” onwards, and she recently took the helm as the boss at Lucasfilm, and has control over all the upcoming “Star Wars” films as well. Kennedy’s work has garnered 120 Oscar nominations so far. Her credits are most impressive.

Yet, she is quoted on IMDB as saying:

“I don't think there's a great deal of discrimination -- although I'm completely perplexed and confused as to why there aren't more women. For instance, if we're looking for new, young directors, which is something we do all the time, we certainly never go look at films because they're directed by a man or a woman. We look at films because they are winning awards, they're good, and it has nothing to do with gender. And women certainly have equal opportunity to get into a university like UCLA or USC, to get into the film department, to take the same courses to allow them to make films, to deal with a whole gamut of subject matter, and yet I don't know what happens. There's something that happens in the process of getting there that seems to turn many women away.”

As for George Lucas – an interesting fact – his wife Marcia was integral to his earliest works, again as a film editor, for the “Star Wars” films, and on “Taxi Driver” with Scorsese. But, once the couple divorced in 1983, she left Hollywood and filmmaking. Scorsese’s wife Barbra Da Fina was also his producer from “Color of Money” to projects now underway – but they too divorced.

Coppola – well, that has brought us his daughter Sofia, a rising star director.

In truth, these four men did much (successfully or not) to mark the end of studio control and the rise of independent filmmakers, but they are certainly the Old Boys network leaders today. Fighting those powers, asserting control, all was a rather constant and often brutal struggle.

And let’s be honest too – when it comes to the forms of Western drama, women were just barely allowed onstage as late as the mid-late-1800s. That’s a huge hurdle to overcome. Oddly, back in the old Hollywood studio days, women were pretty much in charge of all film editing, as wage-workers mostly, since studio heads saw the job as rudimentary and lacking artistic merit.

Recently, film director Lexi Alexander has been writing about the lack of opportunities and challenges women face in today’s filmmaking world. She is tackling the problem head-on:

“Gender discrimination in Hollywood goes far beyond women simply not getting the gig. It is reflected in movie budgets, P&A budgets, the size of distribution deals (if a female director's movie is lucky enough to score one), official and unofficial internship or mentorship opportunities, union eligibility, etc.

“Women in Hollywood have no male allies. There are some who pretend to be on our side, but yeah, not really. They may say the right thing because, after all, they're liberals and that's a public image they'd like to keep up. Others may actually believe in gender equality, but are not willing to put up a fight for it that could sacrifice their own status or relationships.”

Here’s what I know for certain, no matter that much of the world can’t seem to grasp this idea: It’s a grave error to marginalize women, no matter what the field of endeavor. And changing this view is indeed a large obstacle.

Guns Yes, Cartwheels No and Donuts That Threaten Rainforests

Who knew?

Cartwheels at public meetings in Arizona - that is prohibited by law. One lone lady fights for her right to cartwheel.

Toting rifles into stores and restaurants, though, now that's protected speech and action.

A toy gun at school, brought by accident, reported to school officials by the boy who had it, that will get ya suspension.

And turns out that donut you just ate was made possible by deforestation.

Gov. Haslam Needs History Lessons

For some years I've been a fan of Betsy Phillip's writing, she's wicked smart and has a razor sharp style and calls out BS for what it is. I'm sure some readers get a little uncomfortable with her honesty and her views since she doesn't shrink away from tough issues. Her work at Pith In The Wind has been a must-read.

Example - her take-down of what she calls our "beloved rich-person governor", Bill Haslam. 

"He can't claim that things are worse now than it was 50 years ago, which anyone who's had a decent recent US history class would know is just laughable on its face, and expect that claim to have rhetorical weight AND to want more people to have the opportunity to have good educations. Governor Haslam, either you need a state full of people who don't know better to believe your campaign speeches or you can have an educated populace. But you can't have both."

Her post takes issue with this quote from The Gov:

"The Republican answer — I think, the smart answer — is to say we’re going to give everybody the opportunities that they deserve,” he said. “There’s some people who say ... we can just tax more people at the top end and that can help more people at the bottom end, (and) it’ll all work out.

"But we’ve been trying that for the past 50 years, with the Great Society and all of that. The problem has only actually gotten worse.”

That idea that Republicans are going to "give everybody the opportunities that they deserve" ... I don't think most folks see that as the role of government. Isn't it more "protect the opportunities" of state residents? And oh yes, 50 years have seen huge improvements in most every aspect of life for Tennesseans, not a spiral down into Doom and Gloom. Always defining lifestyles and politics as stuck in the landscape of Us vs Them circa 1960s is a losing and deceptive game for all.

Betsy's right - coming from a family worth a billion dollars, The Gov has a disconnect when it comes to income inequality - mostly because he just hasn't brought any wisdom to the issue. He's kept everything status quo, same as it ever was. Longtime party leaders are calling the shots and defining the state's policies. The Gov is just along for the ride and too often he sounds deeply misinformed.

10,000 Innocent Americans In Jail

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." --- Desmond Tutu

Federal Judge Jed Rakoff has been crunching the numbers and says our judicial system is broken - plea deals may reduce the number of cases in courts but the reality is that thousands and thousands of innocent Americans are in jail. A recent interview with the Judge is here. Some excerpts:

"Nationwide, 97% of federal defendants plead guilty instead of taking their chances at trial.

How many innocent or partly innocently people are locked up on false plea agreements? Rakoff says estimates have ranged from 1% to 8% of the prison population. Even 0.5% would total more than 10,000 people, Rakoff said."

Judge Rakoff presented his perspective and how to improve the judicial system in a recent speech.

In a related note, writer Nell Bernstein warns the nation's juvvenile justice system is also broken, in her new book "Burning Down The House." After years of research and study, she says:

"One in three American schoolchildren will be arrested by the time they are twenty-three and many will spend time locked inside horrific detention centers that fly in the face of everything we know about how to rehabilitate young offenders. In a clear-eyed indictment of the juvenile justice system run amok, award-winning journalist Nell Bernstein shows that there is no right way to lock up a child. The very act of isolation denies delinquent children the thing that is most essential to their growth and rehabilitation: positive relationships with caring adults."

You Won't Believe What These 10 Bloggers Said!

And a fine Saturday morning to you, dear readers. Does it seem like I have not been writing? Sadly, this is true - I've not been writing and I fear I may be suffering from an affliction of age perhaps or of aging, which I shall try to explain. (NOTE: There is no list of what bloggers said in this post, I'm utilizing a click-bait post headline.)

News and information storms the world from every outlet, being shared and repeated and misreported and re-oriented, invented and re-invented, magical mathematical formulas hoovering up every nano-bit of content for global distribution and personal consumption - each keystroke and image commingling like turbo-charged teenage desires,captured and stored and re-visited and re-distributed .... the digitization of civilization means there is room on some remote server for your great aunt's collection of googley-eyed potato chips she's been "crafting" since all her kids grew up and left, just as every troll-fired insult, every secret, every wrinkle in Fame's fabric are all residing in numerical notations in vast continents and seas of data.

It sort of reminds me of the old-style tourist trap stores, where endless shelves of unspectacular crap are crowded with artifacts which no one really wants or needs - a mundane proof of life.

And yet here in this odd store, one could discover the works of poets and philosophers, of heads of state and victims of those same states, history, geography, science ... both real and unreal ... and then there are the commentaries of folks who have access to this tsunami of details. 

Outright lies, theories and fantasies endure among the eternal flow of what your child did or did not do, what you ate or did not eat, what you heard or saw or imagined you heard or saw, among the steady rain of outrages and screeds of the Offended. Petty cruelties live alongside endearing tales of pure goodness.

I've discovered that though I am (in digital terms) an old practitioner of online writing, I prefer to wait until I've found something worth saying, worth writing down for all or none to see and read.

The brittle and bitter and the superfluous all bellow for attention. My fingers poised above the keyboard - but what could I say? Some aspect or trend or idea strides across the digital landscape and I ponder what (if any) insight such items offer. The result is that I may decide not to add to the negativity swirling overhead, or to proffer some heartwarming tidbit, or simply to be satisfied that some other person has made note of the event.

And being somewhat non-young, I move and think slower than the hotshot young gunmen and gunwomen who stomp out into the streets for high noon showdowns. 

And so this post has an ambiguous ending -- did anything change? Was some realization made? You will have to return here to find out ... and I will be here.

High Schoolers Use 3-D Printer and Pythagoras to Solve Ketchup Mystery

Yeah, what goof off thing is this? It's a by-product of American education reform, STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. And two Missouri boys puzzled out why that first blotch of ketchup out of a container is always watery. Then they used a 3-D printer to fabricate a doo-hickey to prevent it from happening. That's Science!!!

All snark aside - consider this a crystal clear notice: all the good jobs in the next 30 years? STEM, people, STEM.

Now,  the story:


"The prompt was that they had to come up with something that was relevant to them. So we always start with the phrase, ‘it really bugs me when.’'"

"It is based on the pythagorean cup idea .."

So some teenagers using STEM methods and tech, use an idea from 500 BC. to solve a modern complaint. That sure sounds rather like Education.

Attention Knoxville - It's Your Fault

Dear Knoxville voters -

You really, really need to do better in choosing your representatives ... unless maybe you agree with Senator Stacey Campfield that signing up for health care is the same as participating in the Holocaust. The state's Republican Party says his comments are: " ... ignorant and repugnant."

Thank you,
 Ashamed Resident