Category: Politics

  • Didn’t See That Coming, Sort’of… (Unedited)

    Israel going off and bombing Iran; not surprised at that. The US going off and bombing Iran; a little surprised. I do use the qualifier “sort’of” because I did read an article last week how the USS Gerald Ford was making its way across the Mediterranean toward Israel. And in that same piece it mentioned that the USS Abraham Lincoln was sitting out in the Arabian Sea. Not that I know a ton about Navy operations, but when I read that two of our aircraft carriers are on the same theater of operation, it does make me pay attention.

    That having been said, I’m rather nervous about this “war.” In a very large sense, that area of the world is rather volatile, and I fear that things could spin out of control with many unforeseen consequences. Mainly being that this could grow into a larger conflict, dominos fall, and we find ourselves in a World War. Unfortunately, other world wars have been started for lesser reasons, like you built a fort on the wrong side of a river, and there was that Archduke thing…

    And yet, like the idiot I am, I have allowed myself to sit in front of the TV and flip between CNN, MS Now, and Fox News seeing if I can gleam something, anything new off of what is going on. To say that each network has a radically different take, I feel, is an easily understood understatement. “We’re all going to die!” or “We might die, but maybe not!” or “Good thing we’re not going to die now.” (I’m sure you can guess which network is saying what…) See, because I can’t trust the internet, and anything that I see on my phone or computer, I just assume is AI slop. In the end, I feel left in a helpless state, not being able to trust anything that is being presented to me as news.

    So where does this leave me?

    Being that I was a pacifist before, it’s pretty easy for me to stay a pacifist now. No to War. No to Bombing. No to killing.

    The worst thing we can do to humanity is to rob ourselves of our humanity.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Time for Some Trust Busting, Vacation, and a Cigar

    ODDS and ENDS: Time for Some Trust Busting, Vacation, and a Cigar

    (Something Clever Goes Here…)

    Looks like Paramount is about the buy Warner Bros./Discovery, which means there will be five companies that control 51% of the media. If what the Ellison’s did to CBS is any indication of what they’ll do to WB/Discovery, then we are about to enter into a dark age. Prices will go up, coverage will be pro-conservative, service will decrease, and market share will continue to be concentrated. The good news is that this has happened before in America, and we have the tools to break all these trusts up. And I mean all the trusts; media, social media, airlines, online shopping, web services, and banking. The only thing stopping it is the will of the people. The laws are on the books, but they’ll only be enforced if we elect the right people to do it. I’m telling you, we gotta get involved before its too late, and we are getting very close to it being too late.

    I think I might vacation in West Virginia this year. Somewhere up in the Appalachian Mountains. Maybe along a river or a creek. Nothing crazy, but a cabin away from everyone and it should also be a place where it gets cool at night, like low 60’s or high 50’s. This is Summer after all. Just a thought I have been having of late.

    I haven’t smoked a cigar since college; it was after a cast party and I was feeling on top of the world. I don’t particularly like cigars or the smell, but the idea of sitting on a porch as the sun sets, smoking a cigar with a glass of bourbon in my hand sounds wonderful at this point. This might be tied in with the West Virginia vacation thing from above… but it’s on my mind.

  • Personal Reflections: The Super Bowl, Commercials, and Bad Bunny

    Personal Reflections: The Super Bowl, Commercials, and Bad Bunny

    The Super Bowl sucked. Let’s just start right there. Not that it was bad so much as it was boring. Defensive battles, or whatever people are calling it, are dull to everyone except defensive players and defensive coaches.

    In the end, I’m glad that Seattle won, as I do think they were the better team, not just in the game last night, but the best team for the whole season. And it was a rather exciting NFL season, with lots of drama and close games. Which makes this “meh” of a Super Bowl such a letdown.

    But that’s sports for ya!

    This bring us to the commercials, and for the life of me, I cannot remember a single one. Nothing stood out as particularly interesting or creative. Just felt like the same old slop. And there was lots of AI slop on display, too! The impression I was left with is that America is a sickly nation that needs more drugs and screenings, likes to bet on everything, and still thinks crypto isn’t a scam. There might be something to be said that the cost for a fifteen to thirty second commercials is so expensive now, that it has made brands, marketeers, and ad wizards hesitant in trying anything new, as so much money is on the line. This situation has made what used to be entertaining advertising into something that is homogeneous now.

    Which gets us to Bad Bunny who was the real big winner of the evening. (Other than the Seahawks.) I’m not going to go into the controversy, because there was no controversy, because Trump only said the stuff that he said to try and create a distraction from the Epstein Files/Poll Number/ICE, and Turning Point USA was just a little too thirsty to get involved and in the end created a half-assed badly lip-synced train wreck of a dumpster fire that 6 million people watched which isn’t bad if you consider that 12 million tuned in for the Puppy Bowl…

    But I’m not going to get into it.

    What I will say about Bad Bunny’s show was that it was fun, and cool, and was exciting to watch and had guests and Easter Eggs, and what I thought he did was show off how wonderful, and complex Puerto Rico’s culture and people are, AND he did that really great thing that great performers do, which is makes his audience feel connected and vital to the show being performed. It was great.

    But I did make Buffalo Wings, and they were really good.

  • Thoughts on the Kid’s First Broadway Show

    We had been planning this for a while, taking the kid to see HAMILTON on Broadway. It’s her favorite musical – she has the sound track memorized, and we’ve watched the Disney+ filmed musical performance like a hundred times. We had the opportunity to take her to other shows, but we knew HAMILTON was the only “first” show she could have AND we wanted to wait until she was old enough to appreciate what “seeing a Broadway show” really meant.

    Ans last week, was the right time. (If I might add, the middle of the week HAMILTON cast, with a couple of understudies that went on, was great!) The kid was excited, we made a whole evening out of it with dinner before, and souvenirs when we got to the theatre. The kid was bouncing in her seat when the lights started to dim, mouthed along to the songs that she loves, and, though she said she wouldn’t because she knows the show too well, cried like all of us at the end of the show.

    I would love to flatter myself and say that this was a life changing moment, or one of the core moments of her life, but I can’t say that; only she can – and it might still be years before she would say anything like that to me. No, I just provided a platform, and I hope that it inspires or encourages her in some way.

    For me, it was a very big deal. I don’t do a lot of Broadway. Not that I have an issue with it, but my theatrical heart lies Off-Off-Off Broadway, in the little weird and small houses that play strange and experimental shows. I have taken the kid to see those (mainly quirky puppet shows that friends of mine do) so she knows that world of theatre. Now, after having seen a big, huge, famous show on Broadway, I think the kid has been exposed to both ends of the theatre spectrum.

    And I think that’s my job as a parent – helping the kid experience things, and see as much different art as possible. I’m not expecting her to go into the arts, and if she doesn’t, that’s fine. But art and storytelling are important, and can lead to a better understanding of the world around you. Especially when it comes to understanding that we are all the same. We all love, we all hurt, we all give, and we all take.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Snow/Ice, Oliver Cromwell’s Head, and Be Safe Out There

    (People in the streets..)

    I need to dig out my car. I mean I did a little of it, but I have a feeling that I will need to be able to drive the car out of it’s icy cocoon at the start of next week. I have been actively been avoiding this chore. I feel like a little kid – I know what I need to do, I just don’t want to do it, and I won’t do it until I have to, or someone makes me. It’s too cold. It was nine degrees this morning. Nope, too cold to shovel ice and snow. At my age, I could have a heart attack if I were to do it… So this is more like self care and preservation… In fact, it would be crazy if I did go out there. Yes, I need to stay inside and drink coffee and read.

    I don’t know how I got here this morning, but I had no idea that Oliver Cromwell’s head was lost and then found, and then buried. I did know that when Charles II came back in power that he had Cromwell dug up, and hung, and then beheaded. I just didn’t know that the head survived until the twenty century.

    Hey! Be safe out there. Those of us that are going to march; keep it peaceful, and let your voices be heard.