Somewhere in a giant underground bajillion-dollar complex, agents and officers of the Federal Department of Secret Taping of All Phone Calls and Emails in America there is an entire division of recordings labeled Bad Parents.
A casual perusal of said recordings shows that every day in every location imaginable a parent says hateful, mean and nasty things to their kids. An Operative in the FDSTAPCEA, who was hired - I mean appointed - by the Office of Proving Actors Are Evil Liberals (OPAAEL) sent one of those highly classified Blue Letters (which denote Emergency News Releases) out this week because they had a tape with Alec Baldwin being mean to his daughter.
Quicker than lightning, the network and cable news broke the story played copies of the tape every fifteen minutes as mandated by the OPAAED Guidelines. A congressional hearing is planned to create a new law that all celebrity children and parents be forced to wear microphones and cameras, part of the No Celebrity Is A Patriot Act. Additional congressional conference reports will recommend that every parent in the country have implants which can supply remote-controlled taser blasts if they don't check a child's homework.
Yeah, that all sounds pretty stupid and paranoid, doesn't it?
Of equal stupidity is the story about Alec Baldwin berating his own child. Of equal stupidity is the unholy mess it has made for Baldwin and his child. Far less reported was the fact that a judge in the custody case between Baldwin and (Oscar winner) Kim Basinger had heard the tape days before and barred Baldwin from having contact with his daughter. If anything, the non-news story here was that Baldwin got slapped with a judicial order based on Baldwin's behavior.
Here's another fact -- parents from every level of society will say something mean and hateful to their children on a regular basis. I hear it in grocery stores and malls and restaurants constantly.
Every flippin' day, people.
Such parental exclamations are usually followed by the parent jerking the child's arm up to the level of the adult's chin and, usually, swinging the child back and forth like a sack of diseased potatoes. Comments like:
"I told you not to touch that! Are you stupid or deaf?"
"As soon as we get back in the car, I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life!"
"I told you to be quiet but you wouldn't listen. Now I'm going to leave you in the street so anyone who wants you can have you!"
"Once we get home, I'm going to see how hard I can really make you cry, you stupid baby!"
"I don't care what you want -- I want a lot of things and never get them because of you, you spoiled monster!"
"I hate you! You're so stupid! I wish you had never been born."
And remember, only Baldwin and Britney Spears are bad parents.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Camera Obscura - My Brother Plays A Zombie
Making a movie about zombies, being in a movie about zombies -- all these things are hard, hard work.
Down in Rome GA (which was featured as a "checkpoint" in the new TV show "Drive", though it looked like it was shot somewhere near Mulholland Drive) filmmakers are working furiously to create a movie slated for release next year called "Dance of the Dead," as I have mentioned previously here on these pages. The story follows your typical high-school prom which gets overrun by hordes of zombies ... the movie web site is being constructed.
Weather and production problems did delay a planned April 13th shoot, but the movie is getting made and that means my brother David did indeed get a moment (and perhaps even more) of cinematic fame as a zombie in the movie.
Like I said, it's not easy making such a movie, nor is being an extra an easy task either.
David sent along an email containing a sort of diary of the day's events and a picture of how he actually got made up to appear in the film. The diary of the day is first and the pic he sent follows:
"I finally got in on the shoot last night--placed right behind the stunt zombies in the prom attack scene. Please, Mr. Editor, add another second or two to my fifteen minutes.
8-10 pm -- Lots of wondering if anything was going to happen & listening to the war stories of experienced extras straight out of Waiting for Guffman. One guy, though, had been an extra in Day of the Dead & had a couple of good ones.
10-12 -- 1st AD announces that they don't have enough kids. Could we call someone? I call [my son] Daniel, promising [my wife] CB he will be home by midnight.
He comes & we watch a couple of scenes being shot, then get in the
"clean prom" shoots, dancing wildly & bopping balloons in the air.
12:30 -- CB calls. I say, "Let's finish the take & then call her back."
Once the take is over he goes home (reluctantly).
12:30-2 am -- A couple more takes as a normal guy in the crowd.
2-3 am -- They start zombie-fying us. I'm really tired & pissed that
other guys get cool head appliances while I'm relegated to the "third
tier," with just dark pancake. But I'm there, so I hang out & wait.
Chris the makeup guy comes out with a little sprayer, exactly the same kind I use to spray Roundup, full of blood. Asks for volunteers. I eagerly respond & he lines us up in the parking lot.
I tell him, "Dude, you have to take advantage of my white hair--red on silver, right?" He totally douses me. They hurry us into the gym--I don't have a clue what I look like.
When the set guy is placing us--masks in front, third tier
way in back--he points to me and says "You, mask stand over--Jesus! That's not a mask! Ok, bloody guy! Come with me."
He sticks me right behind the stunt zombies who attack & get nailed in the scene where the prom zombies converge on the two heroes. I'm right behind the bride zombie who makes the first dash at them.
4-6 am -- Long story short, I'm right in the front line of action, &
when the fight turns bad & we all close in on the heroes, I'm the first one to lay a hand on them--in all of the numerous takes! The production photographer snaps my picture.
At last I understand the emotional life of an extra--the unending quest to aggrandize the trivial. This is a movie about a zombie smart enough to hang back until the heroes are too tired & crowded to fight back!
All those Discovery Channel sequences about hyenas pack hunting finally pay off.
More shooting days to come over the next three weeks. Start the
internet buzz!
I like the glasses -- adds that "Hey, I'm just an everyday kinda zombie" look.
The director, Gregg Bishop, has begun taking his first feature to a multitude of festivals and it's getting some rave reviews. It's called "The Other Side," but I gather they are still looking for a distributor.
------
OTHER MOVIE NEWS
A longtime favorite and semi-cult classic movie about a computer which threatens the world, "Colossus: The Forbin Project" (1970) based on a trilogy of books by D.F. Jones is getting a major Hollywood remake under the team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The reports say the new movie will draw on all three books of Jones' trilogy.
"The Forbin Project" is a minor masterpiece and holds up very well. Trivia buffs note the computer seen at the beginning of the movie was actually the payroll computer in use by the studio at the time (!!!). It starred Eric Braeden, who is best known today for a long running stint on "The Young and The Restless."
And do any of you ever recall seeing a sequel to "Forbin Project"? I know, and I mean I think I know I saw one, but have found zero info about it. Anyone got some info on that? Could be I'm wrong, but the memory I have is rather persistent that I saw one.
------
Oddest news of the week -- Bono and The Edge of U2 are currently negotiating to write the music for a Broadway musical version of Marvel Comics' Spiderman. Sources say that director Julie Taymor is already signed up to direct.
Speaking of Taymor, she is fighting to have her name taken off the movie she just completed "Across The Universe," which is set in the 1960s and is loaded with Beatles music, and at the same time fighting to regain final cut of the movie. Studio chiefs say her version was just awful so they recut it and added a totally different soundtrack, all without telling Taymor.
Down in Rome GA (which was featured as a "checkpoint" in the new TV show "Drive", though it looked like it was shot somewhere near Mulholland Drive) filmmakers are working furiously to create a movie slated for release next year called "Dance of the Dead," as I have mentioned previously here on these pages. The story follows your typical high-school prom which gets overrun by hordes of zombies ... the movie web site is being constructed.
Weather and production problems did delay a planned April 13th shoot, but the movie is getting made and that means my brother David did indeed get a moment (and perhaps even more) of cinematic fame as a zombie in the movie.
Like I said, it's not easy making such a movie, nor is being an extra an easy task either.
David sent along an email containing a sort of diary of the day's events and a picture of how he actually got made up to appear in the film. The diary of the day is first and the pic he sent follows:
"I finally got in on the shoot last night--placed right behind the stunt zombies in the prom attack scene. Please, Mr. Editor, add another second or two to my fifteen minutes.
8-10 pm -- Lots of wondering if anything was going to happen & listening to the war stories of experienced extras straight out of Waiting for Guffman. One guy, though, had been an extra in Day of the Dead & had a couple of good ones.
10-12 -- 1st AD announces that they don't have enough kids. Could we call someone? I call [my son] Daniel, promising [my wife] CB he will be home by midnight.
He comes & we watch a couple of scenes being shot, then get in the
"clean prom" shoots, dancing wildly & bopping balloons in the air.
12:30 -- CB calls. I say, "Let's finish the take & then call her back."
Once the take is over he goes home (reluctantly).
12:30-2 am -- A couple more takes as a normal guy in the crowd.
2-3 am -- They start zombie-fying us. I'm really tired & pissed that
other guys get cool head appliances while I'm relegated to the "third
tier," with just dark pancake. But I'm there, so I hang out & wait.
Chris the makeup guy comes out with a little sprayer, exactly the same kind I use to spray Roundup, full of blood. Asks for volunteers. I eagerly respond & he lines us up in the parking lot.
I tell him, "Dude, you have to take advantage of my white hair--red on silver, right?" He totally douses me. They hurry us into the gym--I don't have a clue what I look like.
When the set guy is placing us--masks in front, third tier
way in back--he points to me and says "You, mask stand over--Jesus! That's not a mask! Ok, bloody guy! Come with me."
He sticks me right behind the stunt zombies who attack & get nailed in the scene where the prom zombies converge on the two heroes. I'm right behind the bride zombie who makes the first dash at them.
4-6 am -- Long story short, I'm right in the front line of action, &
when the fight turns bad & we all close in on the heroes, I'm the first one to lay a hand on them--in all of the numerous takes! The production photographer snaps my picture.
At last I understand the emotional life of an extra--the unending quest to aggrandize the trivial. This is a movie about a zombie smart enough to hang back until the heroes are too tired & crowded to fight back!
All those Discovery Channel sequences about hyenas pack hunting finally pay off.
More shooting days to come over the next three weeks. Start the
internet buzz!
I like the glasses -- adds that "Hey, I'm just an everyday kinda zombie" look.
The director, Gregg Bishop, has begun taking his first feature to a multitude of festivals and it's getting some rave reviews. It's called "The Other Side," but I gather they are still looking for a distributor.
------
OTHER MOVIE NEWS
A longtime favorite and semi-cult classic movie about a computer which threatens the world, "Colossus: The Forbin Project" (1970) based on a trilogy of books by D.F. Jones is getting a major Hollywood remake under the team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The reports say the new movie will draw on all three books of Jones' trilogy.
"The Forbin Project" is a minor masterpiece and holds up very well. Trivia buffs note the computer seen at the beginning of the movie was actually the payroll computer in use by the studio at the time (!!!). It starred Eric Braeden, who is best known today for a long running stint on "The Young and The Restless."
And do any of you ever recall seeing a sequel to "Forbin Project"? I know, and I mean I think I know I saw one, but have found zero info about it. Anyone got some info on that? Could be I'm wrong, but the memory I have is rather persistent that I saw one.
------
Oddest news of the week -- Bono and The Edge of U2 are currently negotiating to write the music for a Broadway musical version of Marvel Comics' Spiderman. Sources say that director Julie Taymor is already signed up to direct.
Speaking of Taymor, she is fighting to have her name taken off the movie she just completed "Across The Universe," which is set in the 1960s and is loaded with Beatles music, and at the same time fighting to regain final cut of the movie. Studio chiefs say her version was just awful so they recut it and added a totally different soundtrack, all without telling Taymor.
Hamblen County OKs Ethics Policy, Committee
Deciding to formally adopt an Ethics Policy for Hamblen County is a major step into the 21st century, especially since state law mandated that all county commissions draft and adopt such a policy. As noted on the noe4accountability blog, the commission, on a motion from Commissioner Nancy Phillips, also took action on a recommended, thought not mandatory additional step - to create a committee to address issues which would fall under that committee's jurisdiction.
The committee would include 2 citizens not in elected office, as approved. In Knox County, for instance, only two of their 9-member ethics committee are county commissioners.
Sadly, 4 commissioners voted against the creation of the policy committee -- Commissioners Doyle Fullington, Scott Lebel, Frank Parker, and Joe Swann.
As Noe notes, " ... Joe Swann jumped in and proposed that the county adopt an Ethics policy in which there be no Ethics Committee to which complaints could be made. Swann's proposal had the county attorney serving alone as the county's "ethics officer." This proposal failed."
The remaining commissioners are to be saluted for their wise decision.
The committee would include 2 citizens not in elected office, as approved. In Knox County, for instance, only two of their 9-member ethics committee are county commissioners.
Sadly, 4 commissioners voted against the creation of the policy committee -- Commissioners Doyle Fullington, Scott Lebel, Frank Parker, and Joe Swann.
As Noe notes, " ... Joe Swann jumped in and proposed that the county adopt an Ethics policy in which there be no Ethics Committee to which complaints could be made. Swann's proposal had the county attorney serving alone as the county's "ethics officer." This proposal failed."
The remaining commissioners are to be saluted for their wise decision.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Fowler's Non-Lobbying Lobbying
Former state senator David Fowler is president of two different high-profile lobbying groups, though state law prohibits him from lobbying for one year after leaving office. He denies he's doing any lobbying, though certainly serving as the leader for lobbying corporations, and attending legislative committee sessions.
And the email he recently sent out urging legislators follow his lead on devising regulations of how doctors can or cannot advise patients about RU-486 is, Fowler claims, not lobbying either.
Still, the AP, Volunteer Voters and TGW have reported that Fowler certainly is fully engaged in lobbying efforts. All actions, which Fowler says, aren't really lobbying.
Perhaps he simply feels that the law is meant to apply to others, but not to him and his efforts to lobby lawmakers, residents and all those who already agree with his legislative action "suggestions." And perhaps he is likewise confident none of his friends in the legislature will bother with identifying him as a lawbreaker.
And the email he recently sent out urging legislators follow his lead on devising regulations of how doctors can or cannot advise patients about RU-486 is, Fowler claims, not lobbying either.
Still, the AP, Volunteer Voters and TGW have reported that Fowler certainly is fully engaged in lobbying efforts. All actions, which Fowler says, aren't really lobbying.
Perhaps he simply feels that the law is meant to apply to others, but not to him and his efforts to lobby lawmakers, residents and all those who already agree with his legislative action "suggestions." And perhaps he is likewise confident none of his friends in the legislature will bother with identifying him as a lawbreaker.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Venture Brothers: The Horrible Truth about Super-Science
The 2nd season of The Venture Brothers arrives on DVD today and if you aren't watching this show, you're missing out. The show which airs on Cartoon Network is a perfect parody of comics and cartoons and the surreal nature of science fiction and superheroes and all the fanboys/girls who have made such entertainment big business. The jokes fly fast so repeated viewings are mandatory and the DVD is a must-have.
The show captures the insanity behind shows like Johnny Quest, where parents think it's okay to take your kids along for a deadly journey deep into the Amazon to battle an army of super soldiers, and examines what the real Scooby Gang might be like. It's a television show for those long addicted to the mirthful mayhem of television itself.
Reason magazine talks with the creator of the show, Jackson Publick, and also sums up some of the basics of this brilliant half hour of television far better than I can:
"It flaunts all of the elements of the series on the adult/hipster animated landscape: irony, satire, uncomfortable pauses, outright parody. But as creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer frequently explain, the show is about failure. It's about the vision that inspired the science fiction wave of the 1950s and 1960s, the optimism of the space race, and the baby boomers' beloved, indulged idea that they could achieve anything they wanted.
" ... Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture, the failed boy genius and father of the series' eponymous brothers Hank and Dean, is such a screw-up. As we learn in flashbacks across the series 27 episodes (so far), Venture pere was a Jonny Quest figure himself who solved mysteries under the wing of his brilliant father, his friend Hector, and their bodyguard Swifty. The 1960s were an era of superhero teams, super-science, space stations, and helpful robots. And as Rusty grows up, all of that peters out. He drops out of college (after palling around with two other super-scientists and a Doctor Doom analogue named Baron Underbheit), loses portions of the family business, and enters middle-age trading off his family's successes and reluctantly fathering his two boys. When Venture's lab is broken into by The Monarch, his butterfly-fetishizing archfoe can't find anything worth defiling or smashing. "What can I do to this guy that life hasn't already?" he sulks. "I almost feel sorry for him."
The interview is here.
As Jackson Publick says:
"The beauty of failure is the beauty of human beings."
Monday, April 16, 2007
Talkin' About My G-G-G-Generation
At first, I thought, "My God, how old is Roger Daltry?" But this is a video from an upcoming documentary on the elderly, how they live and how they can be treated today.
From the info on the YouTube entry:
"www.myspace.com/thezimmersband
The oldest and greatest rock band in the world - meet The Zimmers and their amazing cover of The Who's "My Generation".
Lead singer Alf is 90 - it's quite something when he sings "I hope I die before I get old". And he's not the oldest - there are 99 and 100-year-olds in the band!
The Zimmers will feature in a BBC TV documentary being aired in May 2007. Documentary-maker Tim Samuels has been all over Britain recruiting isolated and lonely old people - those who can't leave their flats or who are stuck in rubbish care homes.
The finale of the show is this group of lonely old people coming together to stick it back to the society that's cast them aside - by forming a rock troupe and trying to storm into the pop charts.
Some massive names from the pop world have thrown their weight behind The Zimmers... The song is produced by Mike Hedges (U2, Dido, Cure), the video shot by Geoff Wonfor (Band Aid, Beatles Anthology), and it was recorded in the legendary Beatles studio 2 at Abbey Road.
Look out for the single being released from May 21
Hat tip to Sande for this one.
From the info on the YouTube entry:
"www.myspace.com/thezimmersband
The oldest and greatest rock band in the world - meet The Zimmers and their amazing cover of The Who's "My Generation".
Lead singer Alf is 90 - it's quite something when he sings "I hope I die before I get old". And he's not the oldest - there are 99 and 100-year-olds in the band!
The Zimmers will feature in a BBC TV documentary being aired in May 2007. Documentary-maker Tim Samuels has been all over Britain recruiting isolated and lonely old people - those who can't leave their flats or who are stuck in rubbish care homes.
The finale of the show is this group of lonely old people coming together to stick it back to the society that's cast them aside - by forming a rock troupe and trying to storm into the pop charts.
Some massive names from the pop world have thrown their weight behind The Zimmers... The song is produced by Mike Hedges (U2, Dido, Cure), the video shot by Geoff Wonfor (Band Aid, Beatles Anthology), and it was recorded in the legendary Beatles studio 2 at Abbey Road.
Look out for the single being released from May 21
Hat tip to Sande for this one.
Local Accounts of VA Tech Shootings
The shootings at Virgina Tech have rattled everyone, as details continue to emerge in this massive tragedy. In coming days, the grim narrative of the day will become even more vivid as officials investigate and eyewitness accounts are provided.
I did read an account today from Mike Mason at the blog Hillbilly Savants which begins:
"There’s been a shooting on campus. You all get the hell out of here! Go home!”
Those were the words of my boss as he broke the news to me and my coworker that a gunman was on the loose at Virginia Tech, a couple of blocks away from our office."
Mason's wife and brother were students at the college, and he got information that a friend was among those wounded. The small town of Blacksburg, VA.
In addition, Hillbilly Savants, which boasts a large number of contributors, has many local, state, national, international and college links with reports and information on the day.
I did read an account today from Mike Mason at the blog Hillbilly Savants which begins:
"There’s been a shooting on campus. You all get the hell out of here! Go home!”
Those were the words of my boss as he broke the news to me and my coworker that a gunman was on the loose at Virginia Tech, a couple of blocks away from our office."
Mason's wife and brother were students at the college, and he got information that a friend was among those wounded. The small town of Blacksburg, VA.
In addition, Hillbilly Savants, which boasts a large number of contributors, has many local, state, national, international and college links with reports and information on the day.
Survey On Political Knowledge
A new survey on what Americans know about politics and politicians shows not much has changed in the last 20 years, despite the rise of the digital age and constant cable news. The survey from the Pew Research Council notes that only 69% of those surveyed could name the vice-president, for example.
There are certainly more ways to get information today, but has it made much difference? The result seems to be a rather loud "No". The graphic at the left, from the survey, indicates people who watch "The Daily Show" and "The Colber Report" know more than most folks.The summary says:
"Since the late 1980s, the emergence of 24-hour cable news as a dominant news source and the explosive growth of the internet have led to major changes in the American public's news habits. But a new nationwide survey finds that the coaxial and digital revolutions and attendant changes in news audience behaviors have had little impact on how much Americans know about national and international affairs."
You might like to take their news quiz too -- I scored a rating that said I rated a higher score than 77% of those already rated. Which may mean I have loads of useless knowledge or that I know less about a heap of other things than I do about the political realm in America.
Fiction and Facts on Bill for Cable Franchises
The state continues to consider handing AT&T a sweet deal to bypass local control of cable franchises and has picked up the support of the ever-dubious lobbying of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, which continues to exude hearty support for corporate interests and little support for the average Tennessean.
The Chattanoogan offered the TCPR and their president Drew Johnson the first of three editorials on the cable franchise bill:
"By pulling the plug on Tennessee’s outdated system of local cable monopolies and allowing statewide franchises, state lawmakers can allow constituents to tune into a new world of television options. Just as dozens of restaurants mean a variety of food options at competitive prices, video franchise reform would result in cheaper television and video services with more channels and better customer service for millions of Tennesseans."
Johnson's claims are just shy of some basic facts, as noted by Stacey Briggs of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association:
"The “Tennessee Should Tune into a New Era of Cable Competition” article written by Drew Johnson and published on your site, is wildly inaccurate and an extremely misleading piece of information to appear at a time when legislators are debating whether to dismantle the local franchising system as AT&T is proposing.
Mr. Johnson writes that “it’s exactly how the cable industry operates in Tennessee” that there is a law that limits one cable provider in any city. He repeats it, “Only one franchise is given per locale, meaning there is only one choice in cable for residents.” This is simply not true. There are no exclusive cable franchises in Tennessee, and even limited exploration of the industry and local franchise law would have made Mr. Johnson – who works for the Tennessee Center for Policy Research – aware of this. No other published account has stated there is a law prohibiting AT&T’s entry into any city – in fact, the immense amount of testimony in Nashville and the media coverage about it makes it clear AT&T has had the ability the past 11 years to compete.
The fact is, AT&T can compete in any city in Tennessee today. It could go directly this afternoon to see Mayor Claude Ramsey and Mayor Ron Littlefield, file applications and get approvals within 90 days to provide video service to folks in Hamilton County. But that’s not what the company really wants – it has proposed a sweetheart deal that would give the company greater competitive standing than any cable company could ever dream, would diffuse almost every existing consumer protection and allow the company to step over the very laws that protect local public rights of way."
Neil Ritchie of the League of Rural Voters agress the bill is bad business for individuals and for local governments:
"For years, telephone lobbyists have promised new high-speed networks for our communities in return for special state legislation and deregulation. Each time their favors are granted, they quickly forget about their promises.
Enough is enough. It’s time to stop the sweetheart deals for the telephone companies, ensure that they play by the rules to which their competitors abide, and live up to their perennially broken promises to serve our communities."
Read all three editorials here.
The Chattanoogan offered the TCPR and their president Drew Johnson the first of three editorials on the cable franchise bill:
"By pulling the plug on Tennessee’s outdated system of local cable monopolies and allowing statewide franchises, state lawmakers can allow constituents to tune into a new world of television options. Just as dozens of restaurants mean a variety of food options at competitive prices, video franchise reform would result in cheaper television and video services with more channels and better customer service for millions of Tennesseans."
Johnson's claims are just shy of some basic facts, as noted by Stacey Briggs of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association:
"The “Tennessee Should Tune into a New Era of Cable Competition” article written by Drew Johnson and published on your site, is wildly inaccurate and an extremely misleading piece of information to appear at a time when legislators are debating whether to dismantle the local franchising system as AT&T is proposing.
Mr. Johnson writes that “it’s exactly how the cable industry operates in Tennessee” that there is a law that limits one cable provider in any city. He repeats it, “Only one franchise is given per locale, meaning there is only one choice in cable for residents.” This is simply not true. There are no exclusive cable franchises in Tennessee, and even limited exploration of the industry and local franchise law would have made Mr. Johnson – who works for the Tennessee Center for Policy Research – aware of this. No other published account has stated there is a law prohibiting AT&T’s entry into any city – in fact, the immense amount of testimony in Nashville and the media coverage about it makes it clear AT&T has had the ability the past 11 years to compete.
The fact is, AT&T can compete in any city in Tennessee today. It could go directly this afternoon to see Mayor Claude Ramsey and Mayor Ron Littlefield, file applications and get approvals within 90 days to provide video service to folks in Hamilton County. But that’s not what the company really wants – it has proposed a sweetheart deal that would give the company greater competitive standing than any cable company could ever dream, would diffuse almost every existing consumer protection and allow the company to step over the very laws that protect local public rights of way."
Neil Ritchie of the League of Rural Voters agress the bill is bad business for individuals and for local governments:
"For years, telephone lobbyists have promised new high-speed networks for our communities in return for special state legislation and deregulation. Each time their favors are granted, they quickly forget about their promises.
Enough is enough. It’s time to stop the sweetheart deals for the telephone companies, ensure that they play by the rules to which their competitors abide, and live up to their perennially broken promises to serve our communities."
Read all three editorials here.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Portents, Signs and Wonders
The death knell for appointed officials seems certain once the President says of the official under criticism "I have full confidence in ___________'s abilities to serve."
Just ask Donald Rumsfeld, Harriet Miers, FEMA's Michael "Heck of a Job, Brownie", Scooter Libby, etc, etc. The phrase has been used most recently regarding AG Alberto Gonzales and Paul Wolfowitz. The AG is slowly taking the scaffold stairs for his (mis)handling of US Attorney appointments and Wolfie is taking heat for giving his girlfriend (an Arab feminist) at the World Bank a promotion and a huge raise.
------
Favorite quote this weekend:
"They need volunteers to feed the homosexuals at the internment camps."
via Slartibarfast at NiT.
-----
The shadow of Don Imus' firing over comments he made is looming large over others in radio and television who've had long, corporate careers bashing one group after another. Or will the Outrage just fade as it gets torn to tatters in soundbites and the endless talking bobbleheads of television who'll worry and moan over what it all means for the next few news cycles?
Media Matters, never shy on such topics, has a list of nominees who they'd like to see get ... well, I suppose they want to see their shows shut down too. The list includes Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Neil Boortz, O'Reilly and more and they've got heaps of dated references to comments they say are all signs these folks spew out a lot of garbage and hate.
Is this really news to anyone listening/watching these shows?
Cliff Kincaid wonders, in a Christian Science Monitor article, if the tirade against bad talkers will play into conspiratorial hands who want the FCC to become national monitors/censors:
"This is an opening salvo in a campaign to put FCC bureaucrats in charge of what can and can't be said on the air."
It all reminds me of a line from Eric Bogosian's play "Talk Radio" -- "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words cause permanent damage."
Just ask Donald Rumsfeld, Harriet Miers, FEMA's Michael "Heck of a Job, Brownie", Scooter Libby, etc, etc. The phrase has been used most recently regarding AG Alberto Gonzales and Paul Wolfowitz. The AG is slowly taking the scaffold stairs for his (mis)handling of US Attorney appointments and Wolfie is taking heat for giving his girlfriend (an Arab feminist) at the World Bank a promotion and a huge raise.
------
Favorite quote this weekend:
"They need volunteers to feed the homosexuals at the internment camps."
via Slartibarfast at NiT.
-----
The shadow of Don Imus' firing over comments he made is looming large over others in radio and television who've had long, corporate careers bashing one group after another. Or will the Outrage just fade as it gets torn to tatters in soundbites and the endless talking bobbleheads of television who'll worry and moan over what it all means for the next few news cycles?
Media Matters, never shy on such topics, has a list of nominees who they'd like to see get ... well, I suppose they want to see their shows shut down too. The list includes Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Neil Boortz, O'Reilly and more and they've got heaps of dated references to comments they say are all signs these folks spew out a lot of garbage and hate.
Is this really news to anyone listening/watching these shows?
Cliff Kincaid wonders, in a Christian Science Monitor article, if the tirade against bad talkers will play into conspiratorial hands who want the FCC to become national monitors/censors:
"This is an opening salvo in a campaign to put FCC bureaucrats in charge of what can and can't be said on the air."
It all reminds me of a line from Eric Bogosian's play "Talk Radio" -- "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words cause permanent damage."
Saturday, April 14, 2007
TN's 100 Most Powerful People
A magazine called Business TN has offered up it's annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Tennesseans. Making lists like this says much more about the magazine than it does Tennessee, though the list is worth pondering on its own. Most of those named have been in politics or business for decades which indicates that although some changes in leadership have occurred, things do not change much or change quickly in Tennessee.
Here's their Top Ten:
10 | Tommy Frist
Co-founder • Hospital Corporation of America
Co-founder of HCA, for profit hospitals, and the key figure in Nashville’s identity as a global health care nexus (the city’s largest industry). Recently took company through its second leveraged buyout in its history, a $21 billion deal trumping all previous LBOs on Wall Street. Likely to steer public again in five years. Patriarch of one of Nashville’s wealthiest and most influential families who are among city’s greatest living philanthropists.
9 | Vicky Gregg
President & CEO • BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Leads Tennessee’s largest health insurer, recently selected to partner with the state and small business employers to provide health care insurance to working Tennesseans in the state’s new Cover Tennessee health care program. Expanding company through new subsidiaries—electronic health records and health management programming—forging the “New Blue.” Member, federal Commission on Systemic Interoperability, part of the Medicare Modernization Act. Overseeing $225 million-plus Chattanooga headquarters construction.
8 | James “Big Jim” Haslam II
Chairman • Pilot Corp.
Founded state’s second largest private company, co-owner of the largest operator of highway travel plazas in America and the largest seller of over-the-road diesel fuel. Company employs over 13,000 in 40 states and recently expanded footprint to Canada. Top Tennessee political fundraiser and currently (he is retiring soon) the most powerful University of Tennessee trustee (who gave school $34 million gift last year). Boards include First Horizon and Ruby Tuesday.
7 | John Petersen
President • University of Tennessee system
Chief operating officer of geographically diverse, well-staffed, multi-facility University of Tennessee system, making him a rare example of a person whose power is scattered from border to border in Tennessee. Now a few years in the position, and with a bold new strategic mission in place, Petersen is a person whose power is escalating fast as he emerges fully as a voice in statewide political and business circles.
6 | Ron Ramsey
Lt. Gov. • State of Tennessee
Blountville Republican who this year amassed the votes needed to at long last topple longtime Tennessee Lt. Gov. John Wilder from his Senate Speaker post. Vast new powers include selecting committee heads, determining the path of Senate legislation and serving as a roadblock to Gov. Phil Bredesen’s legislative agenda where deemed necessary by the GOP. Also appoints (or chooses not to re-appoint) citizen members to influential state boards and commissions.
5 | Jimmy Naifeh
House Speaker • Tennessee House of Representatives
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Amid political shake-up in the state Senate and U.S. Congress, Naifeh remains the iron fist of the Democrats in the state House, recently re-elected to his historic ninth term as Speaker. Covington lawmaker very seldom shares power with Republicans, wielding his legislative axe quietly but powerfully, using subcommittees to kill rival bills.
4 | Martha Ingram
CHAIRMAN • Ingram Industries
Matriarch of the over $2 billion Ingram family fortune. Chairman, Nashville-based Ingram Industries, a multi-billion dollar diversified private company among the largest in Middle Tennessee. Majority stockholder of Ingram Micro, the world’s largest technology products distributor, which she spun off. Arts benefactor extraordinaire who most recently chaired the fund-raising effort that culminated in the new $123.5 million downtown Nashville Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Boards include Vanderbilt and Weyerhauser.
3 | Fred Smith
Founder, chairman & CEO • FedEx Corp.
World-renowned businessman who created not just an industry in overnight air cargo delivery but also the ultimate economic magnet for Memphis by siting his operations there, making it the distribution/logistics/shipping capital of the world. As such, the Bluff City is home to an ever-increasing gaggle of smart companies that want to take competitive advantage of the direct connection Memphis offers to the global marketplace.
2 | J.R. “Pitt” Hyde Jr.
Chairman & CEO • Hyde Family Foundations
Founded retail auto parts giant AutoZone. Prime mover (largest local owner) attracting NBA’s Grizzlies to Memphis, fulfilling city’s dream of a pro sports franchise. Safeguarded city amid recent proposal (which fizzled) by prospective new team owners. Recent reports say Hyde may now buy the team outright. Board member FedEx and GTx, a public biotechnology company he founded, the poster child for city’s biotech push. Founding board member, Memphis Bioworks Foundation.
1 | Phil Bredesen
Governor • State of Tennessee
Won all 95 counties in November election, capturing the most votes by a gubernatorial campaign in state history—70%. Facing state Senate now fully under GOP control; but he’s armed with a clear mandate and the second term freedom to burn political capital where necessary. Terminated TennCare as we know it. Established statewide pre-K. Now working to hike the cigarette tax (raising $220 million for education), ban public smoking, buy up forestland, invest in alternative fuels research and implement his novel small business friendly health insurance program. Could end his term in office considered Tennessee’s most powerful governor ever.
The full list and article is here.
Here's their Top Ten:
10 | Tommy Frist
Co-founder • Hospital Corporation of America
Co-founder of HCA, for profit hospitals, and the key figure in Nashville’s identity as a global health care nexus (the city’s largest industry). Recently took company through its second leveraged buyout in its history, a $21 billion deal trumping all previous LBOs on Wall Street. Likely to steer public again in five years. Patriarch of one of Nashville’s wealthiest and most influential families who are among city’s greatest living philanthropists.
9 | Vicky Gregg
President & CEO • BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Leads Tennessee’s largest health insurer, recently selected to partner with the state and small business employers to provide health care insurance to working Tennesseans in the state’s new Cover Tennessee health care program. Expanding company through new subsidiaries—electronic health records and health management programming—forging the “New Blue.” Member, federal Commission on Systemic Interoperability, part of the Medicare Modernization Act. Overseeing $225 million-plus Chattanooga headquarters construction.
8 | James “Big Jim” Haslam II
Chairman • Pilot Corp.
Founded state’s second largest private company, co-owner of the largest operator of highway travel plazas in America and the largest seller of over-the-road diesel fuel. Company employs over 13,000 in 40 states and recently expanded footprint to Canada. Top Tennessee political fundraiser and currently (he is retiring soon) the most powerful University of Tennessee trustee (who gave school $34 million gift last year). Boards include First Horizon and Ruby Tuesday.
7 | John Petersen
President • University of Tennessee system
Chief operating officer of geographically diverse, well-staffed, multi-facility University of Tennessee system, making him a rare example of a person whose power is scattered from border to border in Tennessee. Now a few years in the position, and with a bold new strategic mission in place, Petersen is a person whose power is escalating fast as he emerges fully as a voice in statewide political and business circles.
6 | Ron Ramsey
Lt. Gov. • State of Tennessee
Blountville Republican who this year amassed the votes needed to at long last topple longtime Tennessee Lt. Gov. John Wilder from his Senate Speaker post. Vast new powers include selecting committee heads, determining the path of Senate legislation and serving as a roadblock to Gov. Phil Bredesen’s legislative agenda where deemed necessary by the GOP. Also appoints (or chooses not to re-appoint) citizen members to influential state boards and commissions.
5 | Jimmy Naifeh
House Speaker • Tennessee House of Representatives
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Amid political shake-up in the state Senate and U.S. Congress, Naifeh remains the iron fist of the Democrats in the state House, recently re-elected to his historic ninth term as Speaker. Covington lawmaker very seldom shares power with Republicans, wielding his legislative axe quietly but powerfully, using subcommittees to kill rival bills.
4 | Martha Ingram
CHAIRMAN • Ingram Industries
Matriarch of the over $2 billion Ingram family fortune. Chairman, Nashville-based Ingram Industries, a multi-billion dollar diversified private company among the largest in Middle Tennessee. Majority stockholder of Ingram Micro, the world’s largest technology products distributor, which she spun off. Arts benefactor extraordinaire who most recently chaired the fund-raising effort that culminated in the new $123.5 million downtown Nashville Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Boards include Vanderbilt and Weyerhauser.
3 | Fred Smith
Founder, chairman & CEO • FedEx Corp.
World-renowned businessman who created not just an industry in overnight air cargo delivery but also the ultimate economic magnet for Memphis by siting his operations there, making it the distribution/logistics/shipping capital of the world. As such, the Bluff City is home to an ever-increasing gaggle of smart companies that want to take competitive advantage of the direct connection Memphis offers to the global marketplace.
2 | J.R. “Pitt” Hyde Jr.
Chairman & CEO • Hyde Family Foundations
Founded retail auto parts giant AutoZone. Prime mover (largest local owner) attracting NBA’s Grizzlies to Memphis, fulfilling city’s dream of a pro sports franchise. Safeguarded city amid recent proposal (which fizzled) by prospective new team owners. Recent reports say Hyde may now buy the team outright. Board member FedEx and GTx, a public biotechnology company he founded, the poster child for city’s biotech push. Founding board member, Memphis Bioworks Foundation.
1 | Phil Bredesen
Governor • State of Tennessee
Won all 95 counties in November election, capturing the most votes by a gubernatorial campaign in state history—70%. Facing state Senate now fully under GOP control; but he’s armed with a clear mandate and the second term freedom to burn political capital where necessary. Terminated TennCare as we know it. Established statewide pre-K. Now working to hike the cigarette tax (raising $220 million for education), ban public smoking, buy up forestland, invest in alternative fuels research and implement his novel small business friendly health insurance program. Could end his term in office considered Tennessee’s most powerful governor ever.
The full list and article is here.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Black Friday
It is Friday the 13th after all. This is a fierce and fine song which builds to an impressive jam, and an exceptional video of Steely Dan live. And is it just me, or does Donald Fagen kinda look like a vampire here? Creepy. I've been wanting to post this for a few weeks and so here ya go. Would it be ironic/funny or just tasteless to dedicate this today to Don Imus?
Camera Obscura - More Ultra Noir Movies
My optimism for you fell somewhat last week. Reading that audiences were so dim they left the movie "Grindhouse" after the first feature, failing to see the second one because they did not know "Grindhouse" was two movies -- how the heck did they travel from home to theatre without hurting themselves? And to read other stories that audiences balked at seeing two movies for the price of one likewise makes me scratch my head. I suppose Rodriguez and Tarantino have shown us how impatient people are today. It's like these people stand in front of a microwave oven and yell "Hurry up! Why is this taking so long?"
Whatever. All I know is "Grindhouse" was the most satisfying time at the movies for me in a long time. And the car stunts in Tarantino's "Death Proof" are jaw-dropping. Zoe Bell riding the hood of that car is just amazing. And Kurt Russell's girly screams as he gets his payback are hilarious. Maybe the audiences weren't up for all that for an Easter Weekend. Well, this is Friday the 13th, so haul yourself into "Grindhouse" and thank me later for the recommendation.
Speaking of Friday the 13th, I am both deeply proud and somewhat envious of my brother and his son on this day. They are working as extras in a movie being made in their hometown of Rome, GA -- and not just any old extras. They get to be zombies!!
The movie is called Dance of the Dead and my brother said last week he was pondering a plan to be a zombie-priest with a rig for an altar cross stuck in his chest. Yes, I have asked for photos of the momentous day. This makes the first time anyone in our family has been in a bona-fide zombie movie. Can't wait to see the final product when released next year. And I loved the plot outline on IMDB -- "On the night of the big Homecoming Dance, the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn't get dates to the dance."
While this weekend offers seven (!!) movies opening, I return to my old habits of suggesting some movies now on DVD which bear repeated viewings.
First, the 1999 movie "Payback" starring Mel Gibson as a crook who is assumed to be dead and instead returns to demand his share of a heist that got him (almost) killed. This tough-as-nails noir thriller has some fantastic performances -- the always vile Gregg Henry as the double-crossing partner, Maria Bello as Gibson's sort of girlfriend, and Lucy Liu as a vicious, leather-chaps-wearing hooker.
A new version is out now, and I do mean new. Writer/director Brian Helgeland lost control of the final theatrical version of "Payback" and this week he got his version released on DVD I do like the theatrical cut very much, and usually Director's Cuts offer few changes, but this is truly a different movie. Entire characters are gone, there is a new soundtrack and the final third of the movie is all new. I own a copy of the theatrical release but this new one has been ordered and I'm looking forward to it. If you like lean, mean thrillers, this is a little gem worth repeated viewings.
Still unsure? Then let me add that "Payback" is a remake of the 60s classic "Point Blank" with Lee Marvin and is based on the novel by Donald Westlake, one of America's handful of excellent crime writers. The pedigree for "Payback" continues with Helgeland, who penned the Oscar-winning "L.A. Confidential."
------
Another 1990s movie jammed with street-realism I recommend is "Fallen Angels," from 1995 by director Kar Wai Wong. The story concerns a hitman and his manager-partner and a mute young man, whose lives all collide in the neon nights and cramped rooms of Hong Kong.
The movie is deeply indebted to the 1950s laconic thrillers of Jean Luc Goddard, filled with characters who embody alienation and isolation, drifters and oddballs who roam the streets in the wee hours of the morning. Wong's camera work is also a featured player here - hand held shots, often wide-angle, capturing the characters as they sit in blurry reflections of jukeboxes and dirt-streaked windows. It gets the claustrophobic feel of a city packed beyond reason with people whose lives endlessly stream past in the background and the foreground.
The city is a character too, and admittedly the movie often plays out like a student art film. Jagged and rough at times, and at others deliberately as composed as an art student photo exhibit. The movie demands you ride it all out and never wastes time spoon-feeding you with rational narratives. Wong also made another movie I've seen numerous times which is rich in textures and metaphors, "2046" and he's currently wrapping production on a remake of the Orson Welles thriller "Lady From Shanghai."
------
From the pages of Cinematical comes a most interesting reader survey, which I'm asking you to consider this week too. Celebrity crushes are one thing but I like this survey better -- If you could date a movie character, who would you pick?
Some of the answers submitted at Cinematical are here, and I must say the choices are - at best - really odd. It's as if no one has seen a movie prior to the year 2000.
Feel free to add your thoughts here. Me, I'll have to think some more on this topic and I'll offer my answers next week.
Whatever. All I know is "Grindhouse" was the most satisfying time at the movies for me in a long time. And the car stunts in Tarantino's "Death Proof" are jaw-dropping. Zoe Bell riding the hood of that car is just amazing. And Kurt Russell's girly screams as he gets his payback are hilarious. Maybe the audiences weren't up for all that for an Easter Weekend. Well, this is Friday the 13th, so haul yourself into "Grindhouse" and thank me later for the recommendation.
Speaking of Friday the 13th, I am both deeply proud and somewhat envious of my brother and his son on this day. They are working as extras in a movie being made in their hometown of Rome, GA -- and not just any old extras. They get to be zombies!!
The movie is called Dance of the Dead and my brother said last week he was pondering a plan to be a zombie-priest with a rig for an altar cross stuck in his chest. Yes, I have asked for photos of the momentous day. This makes the first time anyone in our family has been in a bona-fide zombie movie. Can't wait to see the final product when released next year. And I loved the plot outline on IMDB -- "On the night of the big Homecoming Dance, the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn't get dates to the dance."
While this weekend offers seven (!!) movies opening, I return to my old habits of suggesting some movies now on DVD which bear repeated viewings.
First, the 1999 movie "Payback" starring Mel Gibson as a crook who is assumed to be dead and instead returns to demand his share of a heist that got him (almost) killed. This tough-as-nails noir thriller has some fantastic performances -- the always vile Gregg Henry as the double-crossing partner, Maria Bello as Gibson's sort of girlfriend, and Lucy Liu as a vicious, leather-chaps-wearing hooker.
A new version is out now, and I do mean new. Writer/director Brian Helgeland lost control of the final theatrical version of "Payback" and this week he got his version released on DVD I do like the theatrical cut very much, and usually Director's Cuts offer few changes, but this is truly a different movie. Entire characters are gone, there is a new soundtrack and the final third of the movie is all new. I own a copy of the theatrical release but this new one has been ordered and I'm looking forward to it. If you like lean, mean thrillers, this is a little gem worth repeated viewings.
Still unsure? Then let me add that "Payback" is a remake of the 60s classic "Point Blank" with Lee Marvin and is based on the novel by Donald Westlake, one of America's handful of excellent crime writers. The pedigree for "Payback" continues with Helgeland, who penned the Oscar-winning "L.A. Confidential."
------
Another 1990s movie jammed with street-realism I recommend is "Fallen Angels," from 1995 by director Kar Wai Wong. The story concerns a hitman and his manager-partner and a mute young man, whose lives all collide in the neon nights and cramped rooms of Hong Kong.
The movie is deeply indebted to the 1950s laconic thrillers of Jean Luc Goddard, filled with characters who embody alienation and isolation, drifters and oddballs who roam the streets in the wee hours of the morning. Wong's camera work is also a featured player here - hand held shots, often wide-angle, capturing the characters as they sit in blurry reflections of jukeboxes and dirt-streaked windows. It gets the claustrophobic feel of a city packed beyond reason with people whose lives endlessly stream past in the background and the foreground.
The city is a character too, and admittedly the movie often plays out like a student art film. Jagged and rough at times, and at others deliberately as composed as an art student photo exhibit. The movie demands you ride it all out and never wastes time spoon-feeding you with rational narratives. Wong also made another movie I've seen numerous times which is rich in textures and metaphors, "2046" and he's currently wrapping production on a remake of the Orson Welles thriller "Lady From Shanghai."
------
From the pages of Cinematical comes a most interesting reader survey, which I'm asking you to consider this week too. Celebrity crushes are one thing but I like this survey better -- If you could date a movie character, who would you pick?
Some of the answers submitted at Cinematical are here, and I must say the choices are - at best - really odd. It's as if no one has seen a movie prior to the year 2000.
Feel free to add your thoughts here. Me, I'll have to think some more on this topic and I'll offer my answers next week.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Goodbye, Methuselah, or Poo-Tee-Weet!
All around the world and especially in America people on this day will be writing to mourn and celebrate Kurt Vonnegut Jr who died yesterday at age 84. I'll bet cash money that the majority of writers today were inspired to write because of Vonnegut. I know I was.
I can recall with much clarity the day I picked up "Breakfast of Champions" in a bookstore in the old 100 Oaks Mall in Nashville in the mid-1970s, read the first page and fell in love with the book and the writer. It broke every rule I had been taught about writing in school and was one of the most powerful tales I've ever read. That book showed me that what I needed to do to be a writer was to believe in whatever writing voice I had, and to love my readers and my characters and to be honest with them and with myself. The rest would take care of itself.
Vonnegut was the best writing teacher I ever had, though we only met each other on the pages he penned. I got drunk on those pages, lost time, got dizzy, and would lift up my eyes from the page and look around to see if anyone had noticed that I had left the world and been ... somewhere else.
I remain astonished at how he could be simple and profound and silly and say so much is seemingly small ways. Little phrases have always stayed with me - So it goes ... diddley-squat ... chrono-synclastic infidibulum .... rented a tent a tent a tent ....
Vonnegut would occassionally provide commencement speeches for college graduations. Here is one he gave to grads at Rice University:
"Have we met before? No. But I have thought a lot about people like you. You men here are Adam. You women are Eve. Who hasn't thought a lot about Adam and Eve?
I can recall with much clarity the day I picked up "Breakfast of Champions" in a bookstore in the old 100 Oaks Mall in Nashville in the mid-1970s, read the first page and fell in love with the book and the writer. It broke every rule I had been taught about writing in school and was one of the most powerful tales I've ever read. That book showed me that what I needed to do to be a writer was to believe in whatever writing voice I had, and to love my readers and my characters and to be honest with them and with myself. The rest would take care of itself.
Vonnegut was the best writing teacher I ever had, though we only met each other on the pages he penned. I got drunk on those pages, lost time, got dizzy, and would lift up my eyes from the page and look around to see if anyone had noticed that I had left the world and been ... somewhere else.
I remain astonished at how he could be simple and profound and silly and say so much is seemingly small ways. Little phrases have always stayed with me - So it goes ... diddley-squat ... chrono-synclastic infidibulum .... rented a tent a tent a tent ....
Vonnegut would occassionally provide commencement speeches for college graduations. Here is one he gave to grads at Rice University:
"Have we met before? No. But I have thought a lot about people like you. You men here are Adam. You women are Eve. Who hasn't thought a lot about Adam and Eve?
This is Eden, and you're about to be kicked out. Why? You ate the knowledge apple. It's in your tummies now.
And who am I? I used to be Adam. But now I am Methuselah.
And who is a serpent among us? Anyone who would strike a child.
So what does this Methuselah have to say to you, since he has lived so long? I'll pass on to you what another Methuselah said to me. He's Joe Heller, author, as you know, of Catch 22. We were at a party thrown by a multi-billionaire out on Long Island, and I said, ''Joe, how does it make you feel to realize that only yesterday our host probably made more money than Catch 22, one of the most popular books of all time, has grossed world-wide over the past forty years?''Joe said to me, ''I have something he can never have.''
I said, ''What's that, Joe?''
And he said, ''The knowledge that I've got enough.''
.....
''The good opinion of our neighbors.''
Neighbors are people who know you, can see you, can talk to you -- to whom you may have been of some help or beneficial stimulation. They are not nearly as numerous as the fans, say, of Madonna or Michael Jordan.
To earn their good opinions, you should apply the special skills you have learned here, and meet the standards of decency and honor and fair play set by exemplary books and elders.
It's even money that one of you will get a Nobel Prize. Wanna bet? It's only a million bucks, but what the heck. That's better than a sharp stick in the eye, as the saying goes.
This speech is now almost twice as long as the most efficient oration ever uttered by an American: Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was murdered for his ideals. The founder of this university, William Marsh Rice, another idealist, was murdered for his money. Whatever! The good both men did lives after them.
Up to this point this speech has been new stuff, written for this place and this occasion. But every graduation address I've delivered has ended, and this one will, too, with old stuff about my Uncle Alex, my father's kid brother. A Harvard graduate, Alex Vonnegut was locally useful in Indianapolis as an honest insurance agent. He was also well-read and wise.
One thing which Uncle Alex found objectionable about human beings was that they seldom took time out to notice when they were happy. He himself did his best to acknowledge it when times were sweet. We could be drinking lemonade in the shade of an apple tree in the summertime, and he would interrupt the conversation to say, "If this isn't nice, what is?"
So, I hope that you Adams and Eves in front of me will do the same for the rest of your lives. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud: ''If this isn't nice, what is?'' Hold up your hands if you promise to do that.
That's one favor I've asked of you.
Now I ask you for another one. I ask it not only of the graduates, but of everyone here, including even Malcolm Gillis, so keep your eyes on him. I'll want a show of hands, after I ask this question:
''How many of you have had a teacher at any level in your educations who made you more excited to be alive, prouder to be alive, than you had previously believed possible?''
Hold up your hands, please.
Now take down your hands and say the name of that teacher to someone sitting or standing near you.
All done? Thank you.
If this isn't nice, what is?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
And The Band Plays On ...
Scathing is barely the word to describe it:
"We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”
That's an excerpt from an upcoming book by Lee Iacocca, "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?"
The full excerpt is here.
Today's news that the White House, attempting to reorganize (again) the running of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is having trouble finding a military official willing to take such a job is another troubling indication that the policies are floundering.
"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," said retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting the job."
"We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”
Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore."That's an excerpt from an upcoming book by Lee Iacocca, "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?"
The full excerpt is here.
Today's news that the White House, attempting to reorganize (again) the running of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is having trouble finding a military official willing to take such a job is another troubling indication that the policies are floundering.
"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," said retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting the job."
Thinking Blogger Award
Back when I started this blog, I wanted to expand and explore good writing first and foremost. Sometimes, I know, that I am guilty of plopping prose down here that can be, as a dear and now departed professor of mine used to say, "as dry as mummy dust."
And I know I often veer from topic to topic like drunken fiend fat with cash and bleary-eyed affection for the neon nights. I also know that sometimes having a worthwhile post is a true challenge requiring buckets of coffee and re-writes aplenty. The posts here can require too much time to read, or may ask the readers to go to a variety of other sites to read and review whatever crust of sand got stuck in my velvety-smooth insides which irritated me to the to point of trying to convert it into some pearl. My mom often says the posts are too long and I ramble some. Well, yeah, that'll happen.
So ok, the point of this post - my good friend and tireless web-writer and newspaper maven Newscoma was generous enough to nominate this humble but lovable blog for a Thinking Bloggers Award. Mucho thanko, NC. Your assessment of this page made me smile and maybe blush a wee bit.
In order to properly participate in such a weighty accolade, it falls now to me to nominate 5 blogs which make me think and ask them to join in this process too. As NC says:
"1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote
So be it. For the record - this was not easy for me to do, and I hate not to include all those whose blogs you can link to via this page. I hope you visit them all and I include them because they are fine places to visit and read. Here's my list of 5:
1. KnoxViews -- If you live in Tennessee and you don't read the offerings here, you're missing out. R. Neal and others have been expertly articulating viewpoints on not only local and state topics, but national ones too. Posts are typically well-researched, and also provide some plain spoken responses to much of the political world. Claims that it is a 'liberals only' blog miss the mark by a wide margin. Sometimes the discussions get heated, sometimes they get most hilarious. What I like best about KnoxViews: When a political policy is bogus or botched, it gets called out. When the Emperor Has No Clothes, KnoxViews says "Yo, bub - yer nekkid!"
2. Atomic Tumor -- Some great writing here, whether it's about music, raising a family, politics, culture or the Sunday haiku. I can't write a haiku but AT spins them out with ease and much humor. Some may recall the tragic reality that filled AT's life last fall as his wife suddenly took ill and died within weeks. AT stood like a giant in the midst of that and explored what it all meant with unflinching honesty. Some may have become readers because of that sad time, but I was already hooked on AT. AT can be a prolific writer, makes me kinda jealous. I am constantly enriched and rewarded for reading.
3. Tennessee Jed -- "Trying Hard Not To Make Matters Worse" is a heck of a credo. Others should remember it and act accordingly. All topics are here, and as with all those I am mentioning for this Thinking Bloggers Award, readers can discover a distinctive voice. He amplifies that voice with some great graphics and designs. Be sure to check out his design work page too. And his page has one of the hallmarks of a good blog - I always want more.
4. The Vol Abroad -- Another fine voice here, one that I only discovered in the past few months. But I quickly became a regular reader. A Tennessee gal living in London and awaiting the arrival of a new baby, The Vol writes on many topics too, from gardening to politics both London and U.S. And one of the ones I liked recently was her request for things she can't get in London, like Krystal's and catfish and hush-puppies. Baby Cletus is due to arrive in about 40 days. I hope The Vol still finds time to blog and to parent too.
5. The Coyote Chronicles -- Mack is fun to read, but be careful. You might learn a few things while you are smiling. I like how he does that. His recent post on Don Imus is a good example of his voice and his ability to tell a good story while trying to offer some insights into life in America.
One reason I selected these blogs is not just for what they have already done, but for the expectations I have for what they can do and will do. Yeah, the pressure is on now!
A Different Standard for Imus?
The media again covers a minor story until it becomes a major story, but is reporting on what Don Imus said about the Rutger's basketball team more than a celebrity-gone-crazy-bad story? Is he being held to a far different standard for word choice? If he was so grossly out of bounds, how is that the public, or at least the media, constantly gives a pass and a wink and a nod to the likes of Ann Coulter?
Her career-long nastiness and virulence gets an occasional news report, and she has lost outlets and advertisers in recent months for her lowbrow name calling. Most news outlets, for instance, have said little to criticizer her for her column last week as she bemoaned the idea that the genoicide in Darfur is taking too long. As if some more efficent and quicker efforts were used to kill the millions there would be a better thing.
"These people can't even wrap up genocide. We've been hearing about this slaughter in Darfur forever - and they still haven't finished. The aggressors are moving like termites across that country. It's like genocide by committee. Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA? This is truly a war in which we have absolutely no interest."
Her take on Imus? According to her, Imus should be praised for being "the only person who watches women's basketball."
Hell, even I watch women's basketball. A massive thunderstorm knocked out my reception for the UT-Rutgers match-up, sadly, but I did watch most of the UT-NC game and it was as intense a game as I've ever seen.
News Hounds reports on the odd disconnect as Coulter goes on (where else) the FOX Network to say Imus is apologizing too much. Others, I noticed this morning, are also asking much of the same questions about the constant media pass handed to Coulter.
I do think that Imus, with his program offered via television on MSNBC, has a far larger audience than Coulter has ever had, so perhaps that's why he is on the roasting spit du jour.
Her career-long nastiness and virulence gets an occasional news report, and she has lost outlets and advertisers in recent months for her lowbrow name calling. Most news outlets, for instance, have said little to criticizer her for her column last week as she bemoaned the idea that the genoicide in Darfur is taking too long. As if some more efficent and quicker efforts were used to kill the millions there would be a better thing.
"These people can't even wrap up genocide. We've been hearing about this slaughter in Darfur forever - and they still haven't finished. The aggressors are moving like termites across that country. It's like genocide by committee. Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA? This is truly a war in which we have absolutely no interest."
Her take on Imus? According to her, Imus should be praised for being "the only person who watches women's basketball."
Hell, even I watch women's basketball. A massive thunderstorm knocked out my reception for the UT-Rutgers match-up, sadly, but I did watch most of the UT-NC game and it was as intense a game as I've ever seen.
News Hounds reports on the odd disconnect as Coulter goes on (where else) the FOX Network to say Imus is apologizing too much. Others, I noticed this morning, are also asking much of the same questions about the constant media pass handed to Coulter.
I do think that Imus, with his program offered via television on MSNBC, has a far larger audience than Coulter has ever had, so perhaps that's why he is on the roasting spit du jour.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
U-Turns and The Iraq Problem
The problems are vividly reported in the media, debated in Washington, and make for even more arguments on the internet. One constant theme emerges - what can the U.S. do to create stability in Iraq and the middle east? Is there a practical, effective solution or are we stuck in a lose-lose situation?
A piercing and grim assessment was offered today in a column by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, as he talks about a new book from Iraqi politician Ali Allawi, called "The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War and Losing the Peace". The bottom line here is that resolving the war and establishing a secure and peaceful Iraq continues to fall well short of success. A sample from the column:
"The book condemns the "monumental ignorance" of American war planners and the "rank amateurism and swaggering arrogance" of the occupation authority. Allawi had previously written that the Middle East is in a "death spiral" and that "another 100 years of crisis are being sown" in Iraq."
"So what's the solution? "I think the time has come for the United States to take the lead, actually, in doing a U-turn," this "adviser" to Maliki announced. "And by a U-turn I mean a fundamental turnaround in thinking in terms of -- strategic thinking in terms of what's important and what's not important in the Middle East. And you have to move from this military fixation to this new architecture."
The Washington Times also reports on the Allawi's book and speech.
A piercing and grim assessment was offered today in a column by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, as he talks about a new book from Iraqi politician Ali Allawi, called "The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War and Losing the Peace". The bottom line here is that resolving the war and establishing a secure and peaceful Iraq continues to fall well short of success. A sample from the column:
"The book condemns the "monumental ignorance" of American war planners and the "rank amateurism and swaggering arrogance" of the occupation authority. Allawi had previously written that the Middle East is in a "death spiral" and that "another 100 years of crisis are being sown" in Iraq."
"So what's the solution? "I think the time has come for the United States to take the lead, actually, in doing a U-turn," this "adviser" to Maliki announced. "And by a U-turn I mean a fundamental turnaround in thinking in terms of -- strategic thinking in terms of what's important and what's not important in the Middle East. And you have to move from this military fixation to this new architecture."
The Washington Times also reports on the Allawi's book and speech.
Monday, April 09, 2007
On A Code of Conduct for Blogs
The conduct of people writing and commenting on websites and blogs was mentioned in a post today from Mike Silence at his KNS blog. His headline sums up his approach to the topic neatly: "Code of Conduct for bloggers is a bad idea."
There are many ways to allow or not allow comments, anonymous or otherwise. There are sites I go to not only for the info they offer, but for the comments. MetaFilter and Nashville is Talking always have comments that are immensely entertaining to read. Some national sites have informative posts and the comments are pure drivel.
Some folks loooove to pick fights and get nasty in comments. Some don't. Heated arguments, those that don't dip into childish name-calling, can be informative too. What I've found is that you can pretty much determine the standards of writing and commenting just by reading thru a few posts, without ever bothering to read Site Rules page.
So the idea there should be some "standard code of conduct' in place is just inane and also a sign that the person or persons who operate a site are pretty clueless. There have been comments I have deleted myself on these pages, usually when someone decides to get nasty and mean in attacks on other people who leave a comment. You wanna leave a comment that rips me, have at it. I do not worry about it, because I run this site. I have all the power to delete or not delete.
Sometimes folks have used coarse language in comments here which I don't use on this page. I may cringe a little, but I leave those comments in. Usually, they are funny, but if someone were to start hurling invectives at others for no reason -- well, like I said, I run the page and I make the rules. And just like in much of life, the rules are not written down. You cross a line and get smacked, well, you learn from it hopefully.
So if you feel the need to establish a 'code of conduct' for your web site, then do it. Rules on posting can vary from site to site, depending of the person or persons who run the site and that makes sense to me. But to expect others to do likewise is a fool's dream. People create groups of like-minded blogs all the time and there is no reason to demand all blogs fit into one category only.
It's like that old joke when the guy goes to his doctor and waves his arm up and down and says, "Hey doc it hurts when I do that." And the doc replies "Then don't do that." If you are contstanly shocked and dismayed by the comments you read regularly on some site, then maybe don't read them or (over)react to them. If you have something to say, say it. If you can't make a coherent comment, that's your tough luck.
There are many ways to allow or not allow comments, anonymous or otherwise. There are sites I go to not only for the info they offer, but for the comments. MetaFilter and Nashville is Talking always have comments that are immensely entertaining to read. Some national sites have informative posts and the comments are pure drivel.
Some folks loooove to pick fights and get nasty in comments. Some don't. Heated arguments, those that don't dip into childish name-calling, can be informative too. What I've found is that you can pretty much determine the standards of writing and commenting just by reading thru a few posts, without ever bothering to read Site Rules page.
So the idea there should be some "standard code of conduct' in place is just inane and also a sign that the person or persons who operate a site are pretty clueless. There have been comments I have deleted myself on these pages, usually when someone decides to get nasty and mean in attacks on other people who leave a comment. You wanna leave a comment that rips me, have at it. I do not worry about it, because I run this site. I have all the power to delete or not delete.
Sometimes folks have used coarse language in comments here which I don't use on this page. I may cringe a little, but I leave those comments in. Usually, they are funny, but if someone were to start hurling invectives at others for no reason -- well, like I said, I run the page and I make the rules. And just like in much of life, the rules are not written down. You cross a line and get smacked, well, you learn from it hopefully.
So if you feel the need to establish a 'code of conduct' for your web site, then do it. Rules on posting can vary from site to site, depending of the person or persons who run the site and that makes sense to me. But to expect others to do likewise is a fool's dream. People create groups of like-minded blogs all the time and there is no reason to demand all blogs fit into one category only.
It's like that old joke when the guy goes to his doctor and waves his arm up and down and says, "Hey doc it hurts when I do that." And the doc replies "Then don't do that." If you are contstanly shocked and dismayed by the comments you read regularly on some site, then maybe don't read them or (over)react to them. If you have something to say, say it. If you can't make a coherent comment, that's your tough luck.
Phone Company Wants It All, Promises Nothing
The lobbyist-sponsored cable franchise bill is bad for everyone and would be a massive benefit to only one group - the phone company. Hollow promises and the elimination of local control of land rights likewise benefits only the phone company. A bill which would negate all local control, HB1421/SB1933 is up for review again in committee meetings in the Senate and House and simply needs to be rejected, not delayed or deferred or handed off to a 'study group'.
Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey is presenting a resolution to the full commission this month to oppose this bill, and he joins a statewide rejection of the bill from cities and counties across the state.
The only group who claims this bill is worthwhile is the group which benefits from it - the phone company. This is no consumer-created call for change, and local residents and government do not want to give up their rights to control land usage, to negotiate with cable providers, to insure continual efforts to expand services in a community.
R. Neal at KnoxViews has been tracking the growing opposition to this bogus bill, showing it is a statewide effort to block the bill. But your voice is needed to end this bill now and forever. Send an email to your representatives. Tell them to vote no on HB1421/SB1933. The committee meetings are set for the 10th of April, so do it today.
A link to the Senate directory is here. A link to the House directory is here.
Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey is presenting a resolution to the full commission this month to oppose this bill, and he joins a statewide rejection of the bill from cities and counties across the state.
The only group who claims this bill is worthwhile is the group which benefits from it - the phone company. This is no consumer-created call for change, and local residents and government do not want to give up their rights to control land usage, to negotiate with cable providers, to insure continual efforts to expand services in a community.
R. Neal at KnoxViews has been tracking the growing opposition to this bogus bill, showing it is a statewide effort to block the bill. But your voice is needed to end this bill now and forever. Send an email to your representatives. Tell them to vote no on HB1421/SB1933. The committee meetings are set for the 10th of April, so do it today.
A link to the Senate directory is here. A link to the House directory is here.
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