Stormy Malone's Column

I Love Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway on Masterpiece Mystery

2010-09-20T15:28:00.006-04:00

I just have to say that The Inspector Lewis Series on Masterpiece Mystery is some of the best television there is. Too bad it's on PBS and, therefore, has a relatively small following compared to, say, The Mentalist or Law and Order SUV.

Why The Inspector Lewis series, set in Oxford, England, is vastly more compelling than the bucket-load of mysteries on American television is, well, a mystery to me. Oh, I know why I find it so - better writing, superior characters, lovely photography, considerably more depth, but the question is why can't American mystery dramas be more like the Inspector Lewis Masterpiece Mysteries on PBS?

Sad to say, I think we all know the answer to that question - the audience. But maybe television producers are selling the American viewers short. From what I see, even on Facebook and Twitter, the American audience is a bit sharper than television producers think. The overblown and predictable dramas on American television leave little to the imagination - the audience has little sense of participation. I wonder what would happen if Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway showed up on ABC?

On second thought, I guess it's best to leave Inspector Lewis on PBS. The commercials would destroy the dramatic flow.

There is a former PBS thriller coming to ABC network television. At least the pilot is being filmed. Known as Spooks in Britain the PBS series was known here (and loved on PBS) as MI-5. Oh, I'm starting to cringe just thinking of how the American version will devour the beauty of the original.

Now I believe more than ever that American paws should never get their claws into Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway. And there's no mystery why.

Johnny Depp as Dillinger: A Match Made in Movie Heaven

2009-06-25T12:04:00.004-04:00

With an official theatrical release on July 1, 2009, the first reviews of Michael Mann's Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale have hit the internet.

Two thumbs and eight fingers are up for Depp as Dillinger and kudos are rolling in as well for director Michael Mann.

Here's a bit of the review buzz:

Rex Reed, film critic, Public Enemies review, National Observer

Slashfilm.com pre-screener reviews.

From Hollywood Reporter online review offered a middle of the road review written by critic who couldn't quite keep up with all the characters who roamed the depression-era robbery circuit. The review is enlightening, however, for the numerous viewer comments falling along the left column. Running 90% + positive.

From what I've read, you can bet I'll be in the audience over the Fourth. Rating for Public Enemies is R.

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Horrific! Indecent! President Obama Swims Without a Shirt!

2009-04-21T12:54:00.007-04:00

Glad to see so many republicans concentrating on the stark horror of President Obama shirtless in a beach picture (much as JFK famously appeared on the cover of LIFE, I believe). See Jake Tapper's article at POLITICAL PUNCH, his ABC blog where you will find the new cover of the May, 2009 issue of The WASHINGTONIAN.

In reading the comments (playground snipes) following the article, I suspect the majority of comments were pounded out on defenseless keyboards by right wing Christians who are so terrified of life they shiver in their timbers over catching a chill on a sunny day. The outrage they express and the oh so personal venom spit at the president is different and more dangerous than the left's anger with George W. Bush. Bush ambled along unmarked until the Iraq invasion. With Obama-bashing, however, one sees the green-eyed monster thriving in the fertile ground of the insatiable right-wing hunger for approval. They appear to be against everything that isn't "them." Bitter, clinging to guns and religion. Ouch, did that ever hit home.

Please,fearful ones, instead of praying every day will be "the end of days," nut up to life here and now, show adult courage. Stifle the whimpering; go forth and rejoice in life. You might even wander down to the beach and, God forbid, take off your shirt!

I supposed Jake Tapper, who wrote the article about the shirtless President Obama, knows how to generate traffic which, no doubt, is a fine craftsman's tool. Still, I say, it's a shame ABC is fomenting another vacant story to stir up the end-timers who are sexually repressed beyond belief as it is.

I ask myself, why is 35% percent of an electorate, one that was thoroughly rejected in the last election, getting so much airplay? Why is the corporate media stirring the pot with every wedge issue it can find? Is the right truly determined to bring down this country? Is it true that corporate media has been co-opted by Republicans?

That would be enough for anyone to strip naked, put their hair on fire and pray for the end or days.

Crying Glenn Beck of FOX News a Dangerous Pied Piper

2009-04-06T10:23:00.008-04:00

Glenn Beck of Fox News is one whacked out Pied Piper. Here is some fascinating analysis and here are some great clips I found on www.unattributable.com.

More often than not, a person flirting with insanity would have my sympathy and support. But when that person threatens to unleash millions of rats scurrying about the countryside carrying a plague of hate, fear and 9 mm Glocks, my sympathy ends in a hurry. Apparently so does Shepherd Smith's (clip two).

Glenn Beck supporters on the right will counter defensively that Barack Obama also has a Pied Piper quality; unlike Beck, however, Obama's mission is to send plague-carrying rats over a cliff. Glenn? He’s bent on feeding the vermin in hopes they eventually will burst, pop, and spew their vile disease on all of us.

That said, should Obama at any point mirror Beck by slobbering, gagging and crying a river of theatrical tears, then I say, plug your ears, run for the hills and avoid cliffs at all cost.

Able to Pay Back Much of TARP, Says Ken Lewis, Bank of America

2009-04-02T09:33:00.004-04:00

In an extended on-air interview this morning on CNBC, Bank of America's Ken Lewis said that B of A is in a position to pay back a large portion of the TARP funds provided by the government and the taxpayers. Lewis went on to offer cautious, yet optimistic views on the state of the economic recovery while reminding listeners that painful job losses will be a lagging indicator of recovery.

For video of the interview with Ken Lewis, as well as written synopsis, the CNBC link is here.

A Multi-Drug Wonder Pill to Fight Heart Disease?

2009-03-31T10:16:00.004-04:00

It only makes sense that someone would come up with a combination pill to dramatically cut the risk of heart disease.

As the article points out, innovations like the polypill for the heart may be just what the doctor ordered as we take on the challenges of making health care affordable. Cost effective medicine and preventive care sounds like a sane prescription for all.

Go get 'em, polypill.

Capital One Raising Interest Rates. Are They in Trouble?

2009-03-11T12:53:00.005-04:00

N.Stormy Milam Malone

As a content producer with Associated Content, at nearly 150,000 page views, I try to be responsible with my mini-bully pulpit. Today, however, I'm going to come out with guns blazing and aimed at Capital One. I thought in advance I might call Capital One and warn them of the impending verbal slaughter headed their way, but, nah, what the heck. I'll just let 'em have it.

Since the first of the year (2009) Capital One has graced me with 7 pretty tasty offers. 7 offers on one account in 2 months and 11 days. They really must love me over there because my rates held steady for years and my payments were always above minimum and always, always on time. And my credit report and FICO score are the envy of many. Yes, I have debt from a past life but always good credit and several years of steady pay down.

But what really sold me on Capital One as my go-to card was this stalwart blurb, printed over and over on all their materials to me.

HOW YOUR ACTIONS COULD AFFECT YOUR APR

"UNLIKE SOME COMPANIES, WE WON'T INCREASE YOUR APR SIMPLY BECAUSE:
YOU PAY LATE ONLY ONCE (Never happened, nada.)
YOU GO OVER YOUR CREDIT LINE (Like I'm that stupid.)
YOUR CREDIT RECORD CHANGES WITH ANOTHER LENDER (yeah, to the upside.)

After a decade of seeing the "we got your back" reassurance from Capital One, it eerily disappeared from it's customary box about a month ago, to be replaced by the following:

HOW YOUR ACTIONS COULD AFFECT YOUR APR

IF YOU, AT ANY TIME, PAY LATE TWICE IN 12 BILLING PERIODS, WE MAY INCREASE YOUR APR ON THIS OFFER

Two weeks later, here's what my trusted financial bed-fellow, Capital One has the balls to say:

Due to extraordinary changes in the economic environment, we're reviewing our existing credit card accounts (on the down-low, natch). Having considered these economic conditions (when I failed to run up my debt with those special offers), your accounts current purchase rate (13%)and the amount of time you've had this rate and account, we will be increasing your purchase rate.

The following will be effective, blah blah, after April 17, 2009: (Cut to the quick)17.99 percentage.

I know changes are coming down the pike with the predatory credit card policies, but it takes a lot of cheek to raise rates on people who are paying lots of taxes to bail out financial institutions.

In the spirit of fairness, my other credit cards have dropped rates.

My only conclusion - Capital One must be in real trouble. They've been flying under the radar, but I think they've just popped on the screen as a bogey.

Question - should you sell Capital One stock now? Taking language from my erstwhile financial parter, Capital One, I have this advice, which is my lame opinion and nothing more:

Due to extraordinary changes in the economic environment, I've reviewed Capital One's existing actions. I can only conclude that it is time to jump off their sinking ship with all the other respectable rats and SELL, SELL, SELL.

And if you're in tough economic times and have a choice to make, to pay either Capital One or American Express, I'd go with American Express and send that Capital One statement right through the shredder.

*-+`* And here is the rest of it.

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One-sixth of the DOW 30 Flirts with Bankruptcy: Here's a List

2009-03-10T11:41:00.008-04:00

byline: Stormy Malone/Nanci Milam

American Express
Bank of America Corporation
Citigroup, Inc.
General Motors Corporation
JP Morgan & Chase & Co

American Express, General Motors,Citibank, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase - one-sixth of the DOW 30 is on the verge of bankruptcy. Were it not for the government bailout, these companies would most likely be dust. Since they are all DOW components, it isn't hard to understand why the market has been tanking, driven in a ditch by Wall Street and the talking-heads and reporters who babble about all things Wall Street.
No wonder they want a scapegoat(are you listening CNBC's Rick Santelli and Jim Cramer)? Talk about being part of the problem and not the solution. Whew! You guys are something.

Fortunately President Barack Obama has broad shoulders and, in my time-tested observation, a hundred-fold the courage of the boo-hooing Wall Streeters. Looks better in a suit, even.

Too often weak, soft folks fail to grasp how tough and resilient the middle and lower classes are, and how quickly they can spot a bunch of guilty-faced experts doing the CYA dance. My guess is that every single reporter at the WSJ personally knows, and knows well a whole lot of the geniuses at the above 5 companies who are now begging to be saved. Will you take your verbal ax to them, instead of President Obama, or would that be cutting off your nose to spite your face?

That is, if you can still save face.

Here is a current list of the DOW JONES 30 Industrial Stocks:

3m Co
Alcoa Inc
American Express
AT&T Inc.
Bank of America Corporation
Boeing Co.
Caterpillar Inc.
Chevron Corp
Citigroup, Inc.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Exxon Mobil Corp
General Electric Company
General Motors Corporation
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Intel Corporation
International Business Machines
Johnson & Johnson
JP Morgan & Chase & Co
Kraft Foods Inc.
McDonald's Corporation
Merck & Co., Inc. 22.66
Microsoft Corporation
Pfizer Inc
The Coca-Cola Company
The Home Depot, Inc.
The Procter & Gamble Company
United Technologies Corporation
Verizon Communications
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Walt Disney Company (The) (Holding Company)

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Good Bye, Tim Russert. You Were The Man

2008-06-13T16:39:00.004-04:00

June 13, 2008, 4:25 EDT Indianapolis, Indiana

Having just learned of Tim Russert's much-too-early passing at age 58, there is little that can ease the sad hearts of so many today. As the tribute shows are cobbled together there will be tears and anger at losing this bright example of journalistic integrity.

In more ways than can be measured, the steady, sane presence of the no-frills Tim Russert at the helm of Meet the Press lead us as a public through many a dark and treacherous sea.

Thanks, Captain Tim. You were a good man. God speed and drop in from time to time to see how we're doing as a country.

You will be gravely missed by your family and deeply missed by millions of people you never met.

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Rachel Maddow, 21st Century Pundit Hall of Fame and Obama Press Secretary?

2008-06-13T14:53:00.011-04:00

by Stormy Malone

As the fresh new face of political commentary, Rachel Maddow's
star is rising. Highly visible as a guest commentator on MSNBC during the long, hot democratic primary race, MSNBC announced yesterday Maddow will soon host her own show. With no official name as yet, the show is to debut September 8, 2008 at 9:00 pm EDT on MSNBC.

Clearly many have taken to this young lady's style in front of the camera. Maddow commands the cable screen with intelligent, concise commentary, seldom relying on peevish posturing or "me-ism." Take heed, Joe Scarborough and the folks at Morning Joe. Joe Scarborough and Morning Joe.

Speaking of Scarborough, some are finding the seemingly thin-skinned morning host stale as a day-old cuppa Joe. It appears some might prefer to share their Mickey D's McMuffins with Rachel at the head of the table. Just saying.

It appears, however, that MSNBC has decided to stick with Scarborough in the A.M. while adding Maddow to the P.M. schedule in the slot currently filled by Verdict with Dan Abrams.

Down the road, however, one senses even bigger things for Maddow. During the take-down of Hillary Clinton by Barack Obama in the primary season, Maddow's presence lent a calm reassurance to the endless punditry chatter. Rachel made it clear that Obama could indeed defeat the Clintons and the world would not stop. In the near future, might not she be a perfect fit with the 21st Century sensibilities of a President Obama?

If there is to be a President Obama as many predict,Barack Obama (congratulations on a landslide, BTW), there may be an even bigger step forward for Rachel Maddow. From cable host to podium spokesman? A 35 year old Rhodes Scholar with a PhD as Press Secretary? As they say, Priceless.

For details of Rachel's history and future plans, visit her at her website, RachelMaddow.com.

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Why Hillary's Lie about Bosnia is a Deal-breaker

2008-03-27T13:37:00.005-04:00

Here's what I don't like about Hillary and why I could not support her: By taking the high road she could have been classy while the Wright scandal carried on for another week or so. The only thing to knock it off course was an unprovoked, over-reaching, seemingly insane deal-breaker like her lie about Bosnia. Oops! She sure stepped in it.

To lie about a serious matter like war-zone danger, to accompany the lie with detailed storytelling, physical gestures and that silly "but I wasn't afraid" smirk indicates pathological behavior.

I don't fault Hillary for being mentally compromised but we have already had 8 years of delusional and "see-me-in-my-flight suit" immaturity. Hillary is as divorced from reality as George Bush is. Neither of them has functioned successfully in the every-day world that makes up life in America. Is Hillary in touch with the "Internets" any more than Bush is? Doubtful, or she wouldn't have stepped into the Bosnia lie.

Nothing I've ever seen in 45 years of listening to campaign parlance is as flat-out disqualifying as the Snipergate lie. It is a lie which Chelsea, when asked at Butler University about the Bosnia incident, said was just as her mother had described it. How can she be so dishonest?

What lies would be told to us if Hillary were President? We, the public, have had 35 years experience since Day One with Clinton manipulations. That is a historical fact.

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Larry David's Take on Hillary's Red Phone Moment

2008-03-07T13:21:00.002-05:00

Larry David, creator of Seinfeld, has a comic but pointed take on Hillary Clinton's candidacy over at the Huffington Post. Here's the link.

Seems to me that David's wit renders the current SNL skits vis a vis Clinton/Obama heavy-handed in comparison. Tina Fey appears to have seriously misread the political leanings of her audience. The people who watch SNL don't seem to be lower income white women over 70 who go to bed at 8 pm on Saturday night, not that there's anything wrong with that.

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What We DO Know about Hillary is the Problem

2008-03-06T15:39:00.001-05:00

In 1992 and throughout the Bill and Hillary Clinton reign of squandered talents, we were introduced to political porn as we’d never seen it before. All I remember is 8 years of wanting to crawl in a hole as the Clinton’s hung all their dirty laundry, personal and professional, in my back yard, as well as your backyard and the world’s.

A vote for Hillary, to me, makes about as much sense as sending your bank information to one of those charming fellows in Nigeria. Her message? “With me, you win the lottery!” Or maybe her candidacy is like one of those porn spams about male enhancement. Can’t imagine who might be sending those.

It appears as if quite a few hardcore politicians and news pundits are also salivating over potential Clinton spoils. Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan has already gotten some huge monetary perks from Hillary. Although she hasn’t endorsed Hillary, she is full of syrupy praise for her gal pal.

Just look at all that spam in your inbox. Each message is worded cleverly as it appeals to a need and is, at the end of the chain, nothing more than an artful scam.

It’s not what we don’t know about Obama that is a problem. It’s what we DO know about Hillary Clinton.

Scandals, victim hood, wagging fingers and wagging private parts, more shady deals than Nixon ever dreamed of and a pathological inability to face reality. We see a lot of political romping in front of the camera and a lot of bad acting. Pundits don’t get it because they are just as phony.

Does the inability to face reality and the shallow quality of stubbornness remind us of anyone we have seen recently? Perhaps if the bar hadn’t been lowered to one inch above the sewer when the Clinton’s were in office, George Bush and Dick Cheney wouldn’t have had the audacity to lie and lie.

Political porn is back big time unless we send Hillary Clinton’s candidacy into the junk mail folder of history.

I really don’t like this chick at all.

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Hillary is Political Porn

2008-03-06T15:34:00.004-05:00

Barack Obama Gets the Delegate Win in New Hampshire

2008-01-09T15:21:00.000-05:00

Despite Hillary’s 3% Victory Margin with Voters, Obama is No Loser in New Hampshire.

It appears, from blurbs on Politico.com and on CNN.com that Barack Obama may indeed came away the winner in New Hampshire after all. Not a big fan of the Electoral College here, but right now I’m kind of loving it.

Obama has come away with 9 of the New Hampshire delegates and Hillary has come away with 9 of the NH delegates. But, hold on,there are still “super delegates” to be awarded. Of those, Obama will garner 3 more delegates, whereas Clinton will garner 2 more delegates.

According to Politico.com, the margin of difference between Obama and Clinton is less than 3 %. The scorecard at CNN
awards 12 delegates to Obama, 11 to Clinton and 4 delegates to John Edwards.

Appearing on the morning shows January 9th, 2008, Obama, forever a man of grace and leadership, observed that the media had been a bit too hasty to anoint him as an unstoppable force. Pundits and polls anointed Clinton in the summer and Obama in the 3 days prior to the New Hampshire primary.

Obama stressed that a good, tough struggle would be healthy for the country and that he is anxious to be tested and further vetted. Sure, he would have preferred a win, but he's pleased not to have sustained the high percentage defeat that had been predicted less than two weeks ago in New Hampshire.

Still, one always has to fear the establishment machine in politics. After all, that's what this election is all about. Can the Democratic Machine and the Republican Machine successfully be challenged for the White House or will the change and truth-to-power candidates forever get squished?

Until the end of the primary season, if he lasts that long, Obama will always be the underdog. Even with a 20% lead he would be the underdog. The Clinton Machine could always send him to the pound. Or can they?

Although it may not be part of the Clinton lexicon, there's always hope. Hope. Sorry Bill, it's not a dirty word.

And Obama's quite happy with the larger number of New Hampshire delegates. Winning the popular vote was not quite a Pyrrhic victory for Hillary Clinton, but not a decisive win for her, either. She has stopped the bleeding. Now, please, lady, stop the pleading.

As an aside, I am so unhappy with the wild and wide-eyed Democratic women in high politics. It would be impossible for them to open their eyes any wider. Must have something to do with botox. Rudy G. has the ol' pop-eyed look, too - brrr, gives me the creeps!javascript:void(0)

No doubt Hillary will pull out all the stops. To be sure, she will bless us with her newly-minted Anna Nicole purr along with a well of victim tears appropriate when petting dogs and babies (provided the camera is rolling and the lighting is right)?

Oh, please, folks - she's George W. Bush in a blue (with braided black piping) pant suit!

Cheers,
Stormy

(I enjoy reading Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish)

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Help Me Obama… You're My Only Hope T-Shirt at Cafe Press

2007-12-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

Want to have some fun? If you have a spare hour or so, I believe you can open your own t-shirt, button, hat and sticker shop at Cafe Press. I haven't been able to figure out the finer points of design, myself, but I do like this t-shirt slogan. The back of the shirt reads

EPISODE MMVIII
A CLEAN SLATE.

I like this shirt because I'm really pulling for Obama. Originally I had thought,"Help Me O.B. Ama Kenyabe," might have sounded more clever but it would be too obscure for most people. With people getting all confused about Obama's African hertitage and the Muslim father he only met once, it seemed wiser to avoid any hint of Kenya. A shame, truly, since Obama's reach into his Kenyan heritage is one of the most beautifully expressed personal journeys I've ever read.

I do suppose, also, that all the pundits attacking Obama for his education in Indonesia know that his mother was in Indonesia because she had a pretty cool job with the American Embassy. Besides, any kid that can write an essay of any kind in kindergarten is OK by me. As I recall, even in 1st grade, most of us were happy to print, "See Spot run." And spell PRESIDENT? Forget about it.

Hopefully those with questions will read, "Dreams From My Father," by Barack Obama written 12 years ago. It is a coming of age masterpiece full of contemporary insight. It reads like fiction. Obama can write well, that's for sure.

If you are interested in the shirt, follow the link to cafepress.com/helpmeobama. There are a myriad of other political tee-shirts there as well. And some pretty cool t-shirts about politics on Ebay as well.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what the political season holds for us all!

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Bursting at the Seams! Barack Obama and Oprah Hold Rally in 80,000 Seat Stadium

2007-12-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

People have a second sense when it comes to history being made. In South Carolina, home to an early Democratic party primary, Oprah Winfrey was originally scheduled to appear with Barack Obama at an 18,000 seat venue. Then plans had to be altered.

As advance tickets (free) flew off the shelves, it was decided to hop to a grander size venue, one that would hold "one and all," tickets or no. Enter a coliseum!

The event is now scheduled for Sunday, December 9, at the 80,000 plus University of South Carolina stadium in Columbia. Although the event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (expect 70 degree weather!), doors will open at 12:30. Once again, the event is open to all.

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "We don't expect to fill the stadium, but we want to accommodate the thousands of South Carolinians who expressed interest in attending."

"We wanted to make sure everyone in South Carolina who wanted to see Barack Obama and meet Oprah Winfrey had the opportunity," said Inez Tenenbaum, an Obama supporter and former state schools superintendent. "Everyone can attend who wants to attend."

Cable newsters have debated for weeks about the pull of an Obama/Oprah combo. As a purely human being, Oprah may be the most trusted non-divine person to walk this fastly heating up planet. And Obama's a pretty hot commodity himself.

Too bad we didn't have a month to promo this event. It would have been the Woodstock of politics. 70 degree weather in December (when you're from Indiana) is my kind of trip these days.

C-Span - get that bus loaded! I want to watch this event unfold.

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Hillary Using the Bush Smirk on Obama

2007-11-28T11:50:00.000-05:00

I admit to being an Obama supporter from the get-go. As such I have had a sharp eye out this political season and have seen way more than my share of sound bites, cable clips and debate footage. Hillary has been formidable and I admired her poise and tone. But what I have been seeing lately from the Clinton campaign has me agape!

After the Philadelphia debate, which showed the first crack in Hillary Clinton's composure, she appears to have retreated into the smug, smirking, condescending speaking style of that beloved orator, George W. Bush. Who is advising this woman, anyway?

Hillary's public personality is getting way off track and becoming as managed and contrived as Al Gore's became during the 2000 campaign.

Of course, we love Al Gore for the person we know him to be, but, let's face it, in 2000, he didn't come off as either "real" nor "commanding." (As a presidential candidate, you've got to be either real or commanding with some level of consistency.)

Hillary's 'Bushy Smirk' was evident, for example, when she responded recently to Obama's statement of having an innate talent for foreign policy based partly on spending his most formative years (6-10 years of age)in a third world country.

In velvet tones, Hillary countered the Obama statement with the following: “Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next President will face. I think we need a President with more experience than that."

What rankled me so much with the response was not the point she made (more rebuttal on that point at another time), but the tone and the body language she used.

Over and over recently Hillary has slipped dangerously close to ridicule and sarcasm in tone. Have you noticed it, too? Ridicule is not a clever tool and sarcasm is a tacky attempt at wit. When confidence becomes haughty and poise looks more like condescension, the democrats will flee in droves.

We've had 8 years of silver spoon "brattitude" and now we're getting it from Hillary. Enough!

Another recent Hillary "slippage" in authenticity came when she attacked Obama's health care plan. No doubt all health care plans have room for scrutiny, but I swear Hillary was acting like she had been medicated. Her voice took on a kittenish purr and her eyes were glazed as she again ridiculed Obama with a half-smile smirk.

I've heard Hillary speak - lots of times - and I never heard that little voice before. It's the kind of thing you see in horror movies when the main character's best friend is exposed as an android or zombie.

What's happening, Hillary? You have not been yourself lately.

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Hillary Clinton Supporters Boo and Heckle Obama and Edwards at Las Vegas CNN Debate

2007-11-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

The democratic debate was held tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada. CNN really blew it. Moderated by Wolf Blitzer and John Roberts, the structure was chaotic.

The crowd, clearly packed with Hillary Clinton supporters, bordered on rude as childish Clinton supporters loudly booed Obama and Edwards when they pointed out weaknesses in Clinton's positions. Trailer-park tacky, is about all that can be said.

At the start of the squaring off between the candidates, hecklers were in evidence, as Clinton supporters, unchecked by Blitzer or the other CNN moderators, freely shouted catcalls at Obama. Why Blitzer didn't take some command of the audience is hard to understand. A few words about etiquette would have gone a long way.

Following the debate, a CNN pundit panel is composed of two former Bill Clinton staffers and one republican, J.C. Watts. The spin coming from the pundits is astounding. I'm a democratic and it quite alarming to see a network so in the pocket of a candidate. In addition to Obama and Edwards, Biden and Dodd have good performances, but CNN's panel is much too obvious in it's dismissal of everyone but Hillary.

How could CNN allow the audience to openly boo the candidates without reproach? What a failure of civility. Clinton supporters should know better. To boo someone for disagreeing with your candidate is the height of the politics of destruction.

This debate and the performance of "the Clinton camp" has convinced me, a life-long democrat, that I will never, under any circumstances, vote for Hillary Clinton. She represents everything about politics that needs to change in this country. And CNN is the epitome of what's wrong with the news media.

In short, what was Hillary Clinton's response to opposition? Rather than debating intellectually, she stuck out her tongue at the big bad bullies. And CNN seems to think that's a winning strategy. Amazing.

Oh, poor old Hillary. Boohoo.

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CuraScript, an HSA, and Enbrel Ease the Pain of Rheumatoid Arthritis

2007-11-08T09:35:00.000-05:00

CuraScript and the Care Program at Central Reserve Life

My ideal service experience in the health care maze occurred with a company called CuraScript. CuraScript facilitates the timely distribution of expensive, high-end biological drugs used by patients with chronic illness.

One such drug is a “wonder drug” called Enbrel which I have been taking for rheumatoid arthritis. Getting Enbrel in a timely manner has been an expensive and often frustrating experience.

Enbrel costs $1570+ per month. With a 20% co-pay (if you're lucky) the payment is still $350 a month for just one prescripthttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifion. To cut costs, I went into an HSA (Health Savings Account)a few years ago - a great money saver for chronic, expensive disease like mine where meeting a $2500 year deductible is a breeze. With co-pays my insurance out-of-pocket ran around $6000 A YEAR.

With an HSA, at 100% coverage once the deductible is met (I have a great employer), I am saving thousands of dollars a year, but there's one catch: I have to pay out-of-pocket for the prescription at the pharmacy, send in a receipt and wait for reimbursement before I can buy the next month's script.

For the first year the program of reimbursement worked well, but then my provider, CRL insurance company, switched to a new expediter to reimburse prescription claims. Since December, 2006, I have had constant hassles with poor service, suspect record keeping, and, more importantly, I have had to go weeks with no Enbrel as I awaited my reimbursement.

Normally I would be taking injections twice a week, but that may be more than you’re comfortable knowing about me. With that in mind, I won't even get into the many screw-ups at Walgreens!! (If you pay $1500 for a drug, you expect it to be ready for you as promised, especially when you're going on a long trip, right?)

Finally, in early June of 2007, along came a phone call from a RN with the Extra Care Program at CRL (Central Reserve Life). Somebody at the insurance company, after my constant calls from December through May was on the ball at least and hooked me up with a nurse manager named Jan H.

Maybe it was due in part to my threat to post an article with the headline, “Why Is My Insurance Company Killing Me?”

Jan was great. What a doll. For the first time in 20 years someone showed an interest in making sure I got top service and dependable service.

Jan became my conduit to CuraScript, an independent expediter of high-end biologics. For 3 months now, like clock work, Curascript gives ME a call when it’s time for a prescription refill.

I jokingly say that they treat me like the Queen of England. The day following the call, Enbrel is delivered to my waiting hands, all packed with ice and ready to use.

The best part? Curascript bills the insurance company directly.

With over 2,500 team members, CuraScript is based in Orlando, Fla. It has a network of satellite distribution pharmacies which makes the operation very efficient.

Curascript does not handle regular scripts, unfortunately. For more detail, however, please visit their website at www.curascript.com where you can investigate services in detail.

For now, I’m thankful someone out there formed the Extra Care Program at CRL. And I’m equally impressed and pleased that some savvy businessman saw the need for a company like CuraScript. It is clear, from the top down, that CuraScript has a mandate based on exceptional service and care, knowing their clients had enough to deal with.

According to its mission statement, “At CuraScript, we are dedicated to the delivery of extraordinary care, one patient at a time. Providing affordable, high quality care for complex chronic conditions requires cooperation among many healthcare experts. CuraScript offers a broad range of services for physicians, health plan sponsors, and pharmaceutical manufacturers to support the delivery of that care.

“Committed to our core values of compassion, integrity and quality, we measure our success through healthy outcomes, satisfied clients and clarity of vision to support the hundreds of new life-changing biopharmaceutical drugs that will help patients in the decades to come.”

Curascript does not handle regular scripts, I don’t think. I guess that would be too much to ask for in this age of drive-thru pills.

For now, I’m thankful someone out there formed the Extra Care Program at CRL. And I’m equally impressed and pleased that some savvy businessman saw the need for a company like CuraScript. It is clear, from the top down, that CuraScript has a mandate based on exceptional service and care, knowing their clients have enough to deal with.

I have no vested interest in CuraScript, but it is the kind of company that probably makes its employees feel very proud. Sometimes that kind of pride and dedication to excellence is evident even over the phone as you speak to a faceless, yet caring and professional someone at the other end of the line.

Why Do We Blog?

2007-11-01T17:49:00.000-04:00

Thought drives us from dawn to dawn through days that are, largely, ordinary. In execution of these ordinary days marked by ordinary tasks, our minds churn out ordinary thought. But occasionally, when we write, we are lead toward extraordinary, even profound insight which we can flavor with irony, humor, pathos - all manner of emotion that speaks of being human.

Blogging (by different names) happened in the past, will happen in the future, and is happening, now, at this time, in this place. And it's a good thing.

Such writings (sometimes) are the stuff of literature, but, how ephemeral they can be, trills on the wind, forever gone. That is why we try so hard to catch and preserve thought through the discipline of writing, hopefully every day. Sometimes we even get good play on Google!

Good minds and not-so-good minds have shared written thought since the time of ancient Sumeria, contributing color and, preferably, depth to human culture. Should we not build on the effort of ages past?

Yes, of course. Even if we stumble, we must try, for as we slide gingerly from sunrise to sunrise, these ever-thirsty minds lead us to one truth; since we're still here, there's evidently more to say!

Why not us, why not now?

AuctionAds

Enjoy People Pie for Christmas with Johnny Depp as SWEENEY TODD!

2007-10-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

When it comes to the Christmas release of SWEENEY TODD, there's definitely a burst of anticipation in the air. Why? Because rumor has it Johnny Depp is back with tasty, award-winning vengeance!

But of course he is - vengeance is what Sweeney Todd is all about. Some will have trouble with Depp portraying a mad slasher, but those few people who braved Depp's astounding but very dark and gritty performance in THE LIBERTINE know that this actor can go stone-cold scary with the best of them.

Although a blade will again be a prominent prop in Depp's hand, as it has been in his other films, don't expect the naiveté of Edward Scissorhands or the roguish spankiness of Captain Jack to be much in evidence. In Dreamworks' SWEENEY TODD, Depp will morph into something altogether different, altogether sinister in the end.

Stills from the film trickled forth like, dare we say, a weeping wound until finally the trailers began appearing recently on the web.

Have some fun and judge for yourself. Click here for the US trailer of SWEENEY TODD and here for the first international trailer of SWEENEY TODD.

It will be quite a treat to see Depp slip to the depths of dark depravity as he goes from the blessedly happy gentleman Benjamin Barker to the tortuously grieving demon barber of Fleet Street known as Sweeney Todd. Well, what should an honorable man do when an evil-doer (Judge Turpin) sends him to prison for life in order to steal his wife and child? Chances are, you, too, might hatch one of the most macabre and disturbing revenge plots in musical theatre history.

Musical theatre? Yes, that's right. For those who don't know, Tim Burton's version of SWEENEY TODD is indeed based on the famous, award winning Broadway production "Sweeney Todd...The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," with songs by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. In Burton's film, there is also singing, lots of it.

The mention of singing begs the question of whether Johnny Depp can actually sing. Yes, folks, he can sing. And not just a snippet of drunken salty baritone as was croaked out in Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. As Sweeney Todd, Johnny Depp sings throughout the movie (which is as much light opera as it is a musical).

The singing is demanding and it is said that Depp more than holds his own. Indeed...
drum roll, ... word has it that Depp has a "killer" voice quite up to the challenge of Sondheim's music.

In pre-production days, Sondheim himself approved Depp's singing for the role. Tim Burton didn't seems a bit concerned, knowing that Johnny began his career in Florida (and later California) in a band. Additionally, Depp's lovely mate, Vanessa Paradis is a famous French chanteuse who undoubtedly offered some special tips to her guy. Vanessa's recent album was #1 on the charts in France this September.

Nevertheless, despite assurances, movie fans waited anxiously for first-hand assessment. Finally, during the Venice Film Festival Depp, well turned out in a white dinner jacket, (see pics here) presented Tim Burton with a lifetime achievement award. Then, attendees were treated to an 8-10 minute short from the film. The first review came from Mastidon over at Ain't It Cool who had a front-row seat at the Venice debut of Depp's singing.

"And I'm here to tell you he has a killer voice. I wish I had a recording of the lyrics for you. Johnny sings a love song to the razor blade as he holds it in his hand! The song is about how happy he is to finally have the blade in his hands for his sweet revenge. Towards the end of the song, Helena joins in and they sing a duet to a knife!!!!! The scene ends with Johnny holding the knife in his hand and he says "Now, my arm is complete!"http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Nick Vivarelli of Variety reports: "Singing 'My Friends' Depp proved he can carry a tune, dueting delightfully with Bonham Carter, herself debuting as a chantoosie."

Also check out the comments on the recent sneak preview by Tom O'Neil writing for Gold Derby and the LA Times. In O'Neil's words, the film is fantastic!

Musical or not, it appears that you will not be hauling out the little kiddies to see this Tim Burton, Johnny Depp masterpiece. Even PG-13 kids may not be able to see the film; indeed, their viewing fate depends largely on Burton's willingness to wield his editing chops and cut out a bit of gore.

Although his hero, Sweeney Todd has little reluctance to slash and bake, Burton, the director, is not at all eager to hack up his movie. Time will tell whether SWEENEY TODD gets stamped "R." Regardless of its MPAA rating, the eagerly awaited film will open in wide release in the US on December 21, 2007 and it will draw a good crowd.

Clearly Burton has mastered the troll like atmosphere of London a la Charles Dickens. The sets are magnificent and compliment the horror tale of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett (with her tender meat pies) perfectly.

The cast of Sweeney Todd is a spooky treat as well. Has there ever been a better villain than Alan Rickman? In SWEENEY TODD, he plays the predatory Judge Turpin. Helena Bonham Carter is the cuddly cunning and quite odd Mrs. Lovett and Sacha Baron Cohen, quite a warbler himself, takes on the role of Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

In the end, the legendary Sweeney Todd (1756-1802) is said to have met his end at a public hanging cheered by thousands. In the Broadway play, Todd's end is equally as dire as his own cutthroat blade dispatches him. But how will the film end?

Whether Tim Burton will exercise poetic license with the ending of the film remains to be seen. However, the epilogue of the stage play most likely will apply to the film as well:

"To seek revenge may lead to hell, but everyone does it, and seldom as well as Sweeney, as Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street..."

John Mellencamp, Chevrolet and that Ubiquitous Silverado Ad

2007-10-09T12:29:00.000-04:00

John Mellencamp is a thoughtful spokesman for real America, But enough with the ad!

As a person in the music industry and a long-time follower of John Mellencamp'scareer, I sucked in a gasp of astonishment when I heard the first series of :30 and :60 spots for the Chevy Silverado commercials last year. On first listen, I thought it was a Mellencampesque rip-off; there was a time in the 80's when Mellencamp would never have "sold out" to an advertising company. On the other hand, when Bob Dylan started appearing in TV ads, I guess the cheese quotient morphed into "cool" almost overnight.

And it seems the Mellencamp Silverado ode will be with us for the foreseeable future. The previous Silverado ad campaign lasted over a decade.

Mellencamp commented recently that if the ad helps sell American trucks and thus re-employ disenfranchised American workers he's all for it. Judging from the saturation-level of his Silverado commercial, one expects he has single-handedly raised employment by US automakers a full five percent. I would like to know, however, whether all those Silverado bumpers and beds are all made in the USA, God bless it.

My guess is that Mellencamp, who lives in Seymour, Indiana, is no fan of Bushanomics. Unfortunately the flag-waving patina of the Silverado commercials leads one to believe he is an Indiana Red-Stater through and through. Then there's that $185 million plus Silverado advertising budget. Nice chunk of change for John. How much will go to charity? To be fair, quite a bit, since John Mellencamp has been a deep-pockets giver in the past.

But is Mellencamp a Republican? Not so, of course. Those in Indiana who know Mellencamp well have little doubt that he's a fan of the working class and the disenfranchised. And he's a good ol' rich liberal.

Funny how the Republican party has co-opted the working class, convincing many of them to vote against their own interests. Seemingly, it's all too easy. Drag out a tear-jerk tale, a schmaltzsy ending or a jingoistic song and you are guaranteed to bring moisty sparkle to the eyes of those dutiful followers of uniforms and patriotic buzz words lightly disguised as the Republican base. (To be sure, the Democratic working man has some explaining to do about the misuse of union funds, but that might ruin the point of Mellencamp's song.)

In former songs, Mellencamp has artfully warned of the pitfalls of lemming-ism. "Pink Houses" is no ode to the virtues of conformity. When John sings, "Ain't that America," it is done with a sigh of regret, rather than praise. I often think of the Tim Burton visuals in "Edward Scissorhands." His town of sparkling pink houses, blue and yellow pastel houses, all brimming with vapid suburban sterotypes goes scissored-glove-in-hand with Mellencamp's intent in "Pink Houses." Perhaps Tim Burton was a fan at one time of the young John Cougar, that fellow who once swore he would never lend his music to a commercial.

But we're all entitled to change our mind. That is one thing that does make America great. Sure, sometimes, as with the Bush years (seems like a century already), our leaders favor black and white simplicity, stubborn resolve, cowboy confidence and all those dangerous goodies of Imperialism.

Fortunately, as a nation, our collective sense takes hold and we self-correct, sliding comfortably into that gray area where flip-flopping can be viewed as prudent reflection and changing your mind might mean you have clomped on to useful new knowledge that has made you a more enlightened person.

Don't expect to see that enlightenment beacon rotating over the White House anytime soon (1- 1/2 years and counting), but the country is coming around. It always does.

As we slog through the swamp of Bush waste product grunted out by the miltary-industrial complex, we listen to the lyrics of the Silverado commercial:

"I can stand beside ideas I think are right. I can stand beside the idea to stand and fight. I do believe there's a dream for everyone. This is our country."

As we listen, we interpret meaning based on personal slant and bias where Republican and Democrat alike stake claim to "the truth." It would be almost funny except that countries fight wars over such slogans.

What exactly is being sold in the Silverado commercial? Who knows? Maybe someday we'll all be driving Silverados reinforced with plating to protect against IED's on the way to the corner pantry.
One things for sure. If we want to watch NFL football, we'd better get used to the ad.

Stormy Malone's Column: MS. TRIPLE SIX: The Exorcism of Ann Coulter

2007-08-21T20:37:00.000-04:00

Stormy Malone's Column: MS. TRIPLE SIX: The Exorcism of Ann Coulter

What Would You Do If You Won 100,000 USD in the Lottery?

2007-08-16T11:32:00.000-04:00

I just won 100,000 USD. In my head, at least. I am going to spend it all on myself! What would you do with 100,000 USD? Most would pay off credit cards, but credit card debt is unsecured and therefore uncollectible if you die, so I suggest that the most useful thing to do with the money is something that will insure your future security.

Why is being financially secure so important? Because it frees us to live more productive lives, for one thing, especially as we get older. Knowing that our last several decades will hold all types of surprises for us, makes it all the more important that we plan rationally.

A Rolex watch won't buy us much but a way to track time; good healthcare, a safe vehicle, a 401K, home equity and a decent insurance policy will actually buy us time. Providing we are lucid enough not to wander in front of a bus.

No amount of time on Earth can free us from that bogeyman stress, but even a windfall of $100,000 would go a long way to making the Average Joe peaceful at heart. How great it would be to start a $10,000 college fund for each of the grandchildren.

How about taking some of that money to visit those dear friends and family members who have been just out of reach for so many years? Treat the gang to a weekend of good food and good accomodations and a lifetime of warm memories.

You get the idea. If (when) you get that financial windfall, whether large or small, honor it. How you spend it, even if it is to take care of yourself, can be a long term gift to those you love.

Enjoy your money. It's coming any day now!

PLAYLIMIT: Limit Video Game and TV Use for Children and Adults!

2007-08-14T10:05:00.000-04:00

I occasionally like to monitor ads placed on my blog. If I were a louder voice in the blogosphere, I might control ad selection, but for now, Google AdSense is my helpmate. It works OK. Google does a spooky job of marrying blog content to ad relevance. Today, as it happens, I was impressed with an ad for a new-to-me product called PLAYLIMIT. Recently I posted a column titled "Are Video Games the Plague of the 21st Century?" In the article I explored the current societal fear that video game play has become addictive in large numbers. Although I argue both sides of the debate, I concede that parents have a real challenge on their hands when it comes to controlling game play as well as TV viewing.

Having grandchildren who are 4 years old and 3 years of age, the lure of video games concerns me. Fortunately, when it comes to TV viewing, my daughter and her husband, along with various sets of grandparents, make it a point to view TV with the kids. But those days are numbered, aren't they?

As my grandson enters kindergarten in 2008, video games will be a hot topic; Pandora will be permanently out of the box. So, what's one to do?

How about this? ACCORDING TO ITS WEB SITE, WWW.PLAYLIMIT.COM:

Playlimit limits the amount of time children play video games and/or watch television.
Provides a control point for stopping games.
Provides a renewable reward that can be used as an incentive for good behavior.
Provides a mechanism for sharing time on games and/or television.

As further explanation, PlayLimit offers the following rationale:

"PlayLimit allows parents a simple and convenient way of limiting the time their
children spend in front of a TV. Many studies have shown that too much TV is bad for
children. Even educational video games and programs, if not restricted, can reduce
children’s ability to think and learn for themselves.

"How can PlayLimit help? Simple. By giving kids tokens for a specific time period, parents set a definite limit on how much TV their kids can watch. What’s more, the tokens empower kids to manage their own time, so parents no longer have to be the“time’s up police!"

"Once children understand their TV limits, parents can encourage other activities
such as reading, drawing, and sports to fill the void. And that’s the ultimate
purpose of PlayLimit — to be a positive experience for both parents and children."
For children and adults, ours is an abundant age of digital candy and many parents and grandparents have been caught with our long-john trap doors flapping in the breeze.

The thought pops in mind that PlayLimit simply may be another electronic device to haunt our lives, but I do value the self-disciplining structure it appears to offer.

I have not personally tested PlayLimit within my own family; this article is not an endorsement of the product. However, as we all adopt new parenting skills to meet the demands of the age in which we live, it seems as if PlayLimit, at well under $100, is worth a shot.

Has anyone out there tried PlayLimit?

Please send along anecdotal details on PlayLimit or other creative and unique (non-punitive) methods of dealing with video game excess.

A bruised wrist from falling out of an apple tree beats carpal tunnel anytime.

graphic courtesy of www.playlimit.com

Are Video Games the Plague of the 21st Century?

2007-07-27T16:21:00.000-04:00

Gadzooks! There are 401 references to video game addiction on the Associated Content website alone – in short, Associated Content authors, along with a hoard of other web writers, have been exploring video game addiction “for ages.” It appears the American Medical Association has put video game addiction under the microscope as well. But, clinical addiction or not, what is it about playing video games that is so alluring and at the same time, according to some people, so dangerous to health and well being?

“Massive multiplayer online role-playing games,” or MMORPGs. (catchy phrase, that) such as World of Warcraft, are under special scrutiny. Should the Surgeon General slap Warcraft with a hazardous health warning? To some, "internet/video-game addiction" should be labeled in perpetuity as a disease, a plague on the American family.

Although the AMA decided against issuing an official medical warning during their June 2007 conference, video game addiction was a serious topic of debate. Similar to the discussion the AMA had in Chicago, Linda Shrieves, writing in the Orlando Sentinel, referenced both sides of the argument recently.

Shrieves cited, on one hand, Dr. Joseph Keeley, an Orlando pediatrician, who leans toward addiction when he says, "There are some kids who clearly act like they're addicted and, when you take them off, they'll go through withdrawal. They'll get irritable and hard to live with."

The problem hit home even further when Keeley drove his daughter to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois last fall. There, a dean told him that 3 percent to 4 percent of the freshmen boys move into the dorm, hook up to high-speed and seldom show up for class.

Some readers recall that back in the 70’s, speed was an entirely different kind of addiction. Ah, progress.

As readers might know, Northwestern is one of those schools geared toward the top 10% of serious-minded students in the first place. "Needless to say, that's troublesome," Keeley commented.

Troublesome indeed. But at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, just a few hours southwest of Evanston, communications professor Scott Jones says, "I'm an addiction skeptic."

As a research fellow with the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Jones explains, "Just because any activity might interfere with other activities is not enough to call it an addiction."

American society as a whole has always been skeptical of new technology and its effect on the younger generation. From the nation’s 1920’s concern about how movies were influencing kids, to the record player scourge, radio devil, villainous TV and now the black death of 21st century digital media, children are usually the first to become “threatened” by “the new.”

Once upon a time, the greatest literature of today, by authors such as Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo, as labeled as mere “pulp” fiction entertainment. While greatly appealing to the masses, it continually fended off scorn from the elite.

In the beginning, their works were fit only for serialization in flimsy periodicals. It is fun to imagine a first printing of Les Misérables (1862) used as a wrapping for stinky fish parts and tossed into a Parisian back alley.

That’s not to say the World of Warcraft or Halo will be christened as great art in the future, but then, one never knows for sure, does one?

The heaviest game players are those who play MMORPGs and those players, says the AMA, are the most likely to become socially isolated — and possibly addicted. Even with books, it’s possible to get too much of a good thing. The pejorative “bookworm” comes to mind, doesn’t it?

So the question with video games becomes the same as it does with most other hobbies-for-fun-and-pleasure. How much is too much?

By way of example, Shrieves cites Eric Frisella, 17, of Orlando. Eric, who plays World of Warcraft about 30 hours a week during the school year, often plays each night until 1 a.m.

"I can definitely see how it's possible for people to get addicted," he says. "But then I realize I can have a lot more fun hanging out in the real world with my friends." Good for Eric.

“Real world” seems to be the key. Certainly entertainment, whether it be high art or pulp fun is of vital importance to the human psyche. Whether a game is played with a real ball or a virtual one, or an adventure takes place outdoors or in cyberspace, it is important to our growth to be challenged, to be tested, and hopefully, to win occasionally. As such, video games are good and healthy entertainment.

When the number of hours spent on playing video games, or reading books or playing golf qualifies an individual for health-benefits at a real job, it’s time to go pro and start making some money with all that skill. What could be better than making a living and satisfying your addiction at the same time?

Unfortunately, that other tenet of the human psyche kicks in – the one that says that once a person “has” to do something, it slips from fun to “work” pretty fast.

But there’s hope. For those young people addicted to fun and entertainment, start thinking of a related career. We don’t hear too many complaints from those gamers at Microsoft®, that Johnny Depp fellow running around in a pirate suit or those guys at Pixar, do we?

Photo Jay Baage July 18, 2006 –

2007-06-22T15:50:00.000-04:00

The summer of 1947 provided two seminal moments in UFO lore. The June 24th sightings of "flying saucers" near Mt. Rainier in Washington State by well-known businessman/pilot Kenneth Arnold and the subsequent reports of a July 2nd UFO mishap in Roswell, New Mexico.

Fittingly, on the sixty (60) year anniversary of the summer of UFO's, the wire services are atwitter with the report of a 'Mile-wide UFO' spotted by a British airline pilot.

A London newspaper reports "One of the largest UFOs ever seen has been observed by the crew and passengers of an airliner over the Channel Islands.

Aurigny Airlines Captain Ray Bowyer, 50, flying close to Alderney first spotted the object, described as 'a cigar-shaped brilliant white light'."

Aurigny Airlines captain Ray Bowyer, 50, is making no claims of extra-terrestrials. "I'm certainly not saying that it was something of another world. All I'm saying is that I have never seen anything like it before in all my years of flying," he said.

Viewed through high-resolution binoculars, Bowyer's says of the UFO, "It was a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area.

"It was 2,000ft up and stationary. I thought it was about 10 miles away, although I later realised it was approximately 40 miles from us. At first, I thought it was the size of a [Boeing] 737.

"But it must have been much bigger because of how far away it was. It could have been as much as a mile wide."

Both passengers of the Aurigny Airlines flight and a separate pilot flying in the area confirm Bowyer's sighting.

A few weeks earlier, Pilot Magazine carried an official air-miss report on the incident.

Ufology (yoofollowgy) has become a fascinating global cottage industry. Modern day sightings (as opposed to Biblical sightings), bubbled up during WW II when military pilots began reporting mysterious globes of light toying with their planes. In the heat of battle, such "Fool-Fighter" reports, although interesting, took a back seat to fighting a known enemy.

After the war, as life settled in, UFO sightings began. Not only in Washington State, or even in Roswell, New Mexico, but all across the West and the Southwest reports poured into wire services about mysterious objects in the sky.

For those interested in further actual reports on "flying saucer" reports during the summer of 1947, check out Project 1947 on the web.

Project 1947 contains a bundle of pages with real-time newspaper reports about the "flying saucer" deluge of 1947.

For example: Portland, Oregon Daily Journal - July 2, 1947

Rankin Report Adds Credence to 'Disks'
The report of a long-time West Coast man was added today to the growing account of "flying saucers" over the west.

Richard Rankin, veteran of more than 7000 hours in the air, said he saw the much-debated mystery disks high over Bakersfield, Cal., and going "maybe 300 or 400 miles an hour."

There were 10 in formation flying north, he told the reporter, but when "they returned on the reverse course, headed south, there were only seven.

"I couldn't make out the number or location of their propellers and couldn't distinguish any wings or tail. They appeared almost round," he said.

Rankin said he saw them June 23, but hesitated to describe what he saw until he noted others were reporting the same thing.

The UFO reports were so pervasive that even as far away as Chicago, folks lined up their new aluminum lawn chairs in the backyard and spent many a summer eve scanning the heavens for mysterious lights.

For current up-to-date information on Roswell and other UFO research, try the Art Bell and George Noory website based on their highly-rated radio broadcast, "Coast to Coast A.M." heard during the wee hours by multitudes, (www.coasttocoastam.com).
UFO
For up-to-the-minute details on the current sighting by the British pilot, visit Matt Drudge at The Drudge Report. Should the E.T.'s come, there's no way Drudge won't be first with the story.

Stay tuned and keep a weather-eye on the horizon...,

Wow! Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is a Dazzler

2007-05-26T16:42:00.000-04:00

Wow! Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is a dazzler. Those who know the thread of Pirates 1& 2 will marvel at plot lines that come together beautifully and, yes, coherently

To me, pundits-as-critics appear naïve in their attempts to cleverly comment on Pirates 3. With superficial observations that perhaps come from a haphazard viewing of the film, they reveal a hollow understanding of the cinematic universe created by writers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, director Gore Verbinski, and, of course, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.Sparrow fans will relish the fantastic Johnny Depp scenes. Even after three films, the sight of Jack Sparrow in close-up will still take the breath away. The character is as visually stunning as ever and as consistently inconsistent as the reluctant hero audiences came to love in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The central story line based on the high seas romance of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is heart rendering. The true ending to the saga blossoms following the credits and is indeed a gift to fans of the trilogy.

The world of Singapore is the perfect venue for the opening adventures of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. In Pirates 1, when Sparrow quips, “Clearly you’ve never been to Singapore,” he hints at a world of seamy adventure far beyond the experiences of traditional men, even sailors of the realm.

As Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest drew to a close, the audience is promised a trip to the ends of the earth and beyond, as distant from staid English culture as possible. What better jumping off point than Singapore?

The world of underground Singapore created by the filmmakers is stunning in its palpable grit and depravity, yet ethereal and haunting as well.

Hard to imagine, but the set design, graphic art, costumes, photography, lighting and music are even more arresting in Pirates 3 than in the first two films.

In Singapore, we sense how far the Jack Sparrow rescuers have come, not only in distance, but in determination as well. Both Orlando Bloom and Kieran Knightly easily sell the audience on their authentic pirate credentials. Both are appropriately gorgeous as the larger than life lovers and both bring noble, strong resolve to their performances. It is easy to imagine that they would be pirates of legend in their own right.

As to legends, a hearty welcome back to Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barossa. Rogue that he may be, Barbossa lends a stature to the story line that was missing from Pirates 2. Barbossa is an imposing presence in size and voice, much like Rush himself. He receives much credit for the success of the Pirates 1 & 3.

Much like Rush (and of course, Johnny Depp), all actors in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise come with enviable acting credibility. Bill Nighy as Davy Jones manages pathos, despite playing a psychotic, corrupt and literally heartless villain.

As Tia Dalma, Naomie Harris is both innocent and mysterious. In many ways, she speaks a charming language only she truly understands. As odd a she appears on the surface, she is much more than she seems.

And how about the parents? Unfortunately, Jonathan Pryce as Governor Swann is not on screen long, but he does appear in pivotal scenes. Likewise Stellan Skarsgård, as Will’s father, Bootstrap Bill.

The iconic newcomer to the parental ranks is Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow’s father, Captain Teague. In a brief few minutes we sense an assurance and wisdom in Teague that lends insight into the complexity and flavor of Jack. Jack’s mum has a briefer role, but it is revealing as well. Always nice to have the “folks” around.

A surly Yun-Fat Chow as smarmy pirate lord Captain Sao Feng, brings gravitas to a role that plays nicely against the feisty nature of Elizabeth Swann. His authority as a pirate lord sets the stage for the dynamic power struggle that follows.

The adventures at world’s end are a delight to discover. Thankfully the promoters and marketers of Pirates 3 did not saturate viewers in advance with give-away scenes. By the time many fans viewed Pirates 2, they had seen the bulk of the “good stuff.” Not so with Pirates 3.

Much like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, a new mythology of people and places has been born with the Pirates’ trilogies.
Although still an earth-bound fantasy, the journey in search of Jack Sparrow and the trip back are “awesome” visually, a momentous assault on the senses.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is so full of surprises that it will be a gift from the actors and filmmakers that keeps on giving and giving to the audience. Expect fans to quickly take in, at minimum, two viewings of the movie. In order for those who have not yet seen the movie, the opportunity to be surprised we will be given away in review presented here. Get to the theater soon, before too many secrets are revealed.

Finally, as for Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, that “thing” he sets out to find at the end of the film may not be necessary. Clearly, he’s already found it.

Savvy?

Barack Obama…The $25 Million Man of the Hour

2007-04-04T12:33:00.000-04:00

Rumored for days that he would raise close to the recording breaking 26 million garnered by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama made it official today. In the first quarter of 2007, he has tallied $25 million in contributions. Some funds are from big-wig contributors such as George Soros and David Geffen, but an astonishing 100,000 regular janes and joes contributed as well.

As previously reported in my column on Associated Content, Obama's presidential campaign. much like his previous US Senate campaign in 2004, is built from the ground up. During the closing weekend of the first quarter, ordinary people around the country opened their homes and places of business to small gatherings of Obama supporters. But 100,000 people? Even in traditionally Red State cities such as Indianapolis, Indiana, including its toney suburbs of Carmel and Zionsville, dozens of meetings were held around 2 pm Saturday, March 31, as supporters joined in a live video-feed conversation with Senator Obama.

During the same weekend, March 31-April 1, previous donors both large and small (that would be me) received a call to encourage additional financial support. "Fund-raisers, frank in their approach and reportedly dedicated to their candidate, succeeded in record numbers."

Now the public has found its own voice through the internet. Obama strikes a chord with that voice when he says, "Across our country, everyday people like you have experiences and ideas that haven't previously been heard. This is your chance to speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country."

"What's your story? What's your big idea? We want to hear it."

To date, Obama's own position on the war in Iraq has seemed prophetic. In 2003, prior to the start of the war, he is on record as one of the earliest official dissenters. Not only on idealogical grounds, but on practical, common sense grounds as well.

His recent statement on health care brightened the hearts of millions of Americans. One senses his statements are a great deal more than political babble.

"In the 2008 campaign, affordable, universal health care for every single American must not be a question of whether, it must be a question of how. We have the ideas, we have the resources, and we will have universal health care in this country by the end of the next president's first term."

With the first presidential primaries over nine months away, and the presidential election itself an additional 11 months down the line, it remains to be seen which candidate will be left standing in the end of what promises to be an engaging political battle. This quarter, however, over $25 million has been placed on Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

At this rate of popularity, Obama may indeed become the de facto leader of the country long before the Presidential election of 2008.

Johnny Depp's Daughter Recovering from Dangerous E. Coli Virus

2007-03-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

We hear the term "E. coli virus" bandied about in periodic food safety warnings. Fortunately, the virus and its attendant diseases seldom hit home with overwhelming force. Recently, however, 7-year-old Lily Rose Depp, daughter of the much-admired actor Johnny Depp, was lucky to survive a rumored battle with the deadly virus, according to reports at ITN news.

As Depp and his partner, Vanessa Paradis held vigil for weeks at their daughter's hospital bedside during the month of March, fans prayed while the press wondered what had happened to Lily-Rose. All mainstream media handled the story with caution. A bit of (false) speculation popped up regarding possible blood poisoning from a rusty nail. Responsible fan sites and Depp's spokesman, however, cautioned against speculation. All urged respect for the Depp family's privacy during the period. Remarkably, it was granted.Now it has been reported that a production crewman on Depp's new movie SWEENEY TODD is saying the child may have been struck down down by the E. coli virus. Regardless of the cause, Lily-Rose is now thankfully on the mend and out of the hospital.

While caution is still urged in speaking of the Lily-Rose's exact condition until her family issues an official statement, caution is not urged in examining the dangers of E. coli.

E. coli is found in contaminated food, but where does the virus itself come from?

As the FDA can attest, the source of an E. coli virus can be impossible to detect. On March 20, 2007, Brandon Bailey of the San Jose Mercury News writes the following:

FDA hearing fails to discover cause of E. coli outbreak in spinach:

Despite an unprecedented investigation over the last six months, federal and state health officials said Tuesday that it is unlikely they will ever pinpoint the exact cause of bacterial contamination that caused a nationwide outbreak of illness from tainted spinach last year.

The disclosure, just weeks before a final report on the investigation is expected to be released, came at a hearing where representatives from consumer groups and a national trade association for the produce industry called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set mandatory rules to assure that fruit and vegetables are safe to eat.

Growing and packing practices need to improve said Dr. David Acheson, the chief medical officer for the FDA's food safety office. But he also warned that another outbreak of food-borne illness would likely occur.

"We're never going to get to the point of zero risk," he told reporters during a break from the day-long hearing, convened by his agency to get public input on ways to improve food safety. "Is this likely to happen again? Yes."

And not solving the mystery makes it harder for farmers, trying to prevent future outbreaks. Hank Giclas of the Western Growers Association said farmers would like to know how the contamination occurred so they can reduce the chance of it happening again.

The investigation by state and federal health officials led them to a single 50-acre field in San Benito County where spinach tainted with the deadly E. coli O157:H7 bacteria was grown last summer.

It is the same type of deadly E. coli O157:H7, which killed at least three people and sickened 200 more from tainted spinach last year alone, which may have affected Lily-Rose.

Especially problematic is hemolytic uremic syndrome, a most serious form of kidney failure that is sometimes a complication of E. coli infection. Although it is one of E. coli's more rare complication, it is potentially deadly. The elderly and young children are particularly at risk.

One assumes officials in the UK, where Lily-Rose may have become ill with E. coli, are as concerned with food safety as US officials. While the recent outbreaks related to tainted produce have focused government and industry on improving food safety, Dr. Acheson further stressed the need for "100 percent compliance. As we've seen, you don't need a large area of land to produce enough produce to make lots of people sick."

Lily-Rose Depp was treated at Great Ormand Street hospital, funded in part with full royalties from J.M. Barrie's children's classic, PETER PAN. Johnny Depp was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Barrie in the 2004 film, FINDING NEVERLAND.

Much like Barrie, Depp, is involved with children's charities. He was honored in 2006 for his quiet work with children's charities, most notably with The Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition.

After a brief hiatus, filming for Depp's current starring vehicle, SWEENEY TODD, to be directed by Tim Burton, will pick up again this week.

Revered for a series of iconic characters, Depp is best recognized for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLDS END, the third installment in the series, is due to open on May 22, 2007 to staggering box office figures.

Raines Reigns. Do Goldblum and NBC Have a Hit?

2007-03-16T11:19:00.000-04:00

As LAPD detective Michael Raines, Jeff Goldblum reluctantly accepts the weird detour his thought process has taken every since the traumatic loss of his longtime cop partner, Charlie (Malik Yoba). Whether he is conversing with perceived ghosts, figments of the imagination or paranoid delusions is not clear at first; nevertheless the back and forth conversations he has with the "beings" brim with the sotto voce wry wit so often associated with Goldblum's other memorable characters from films such as Independence Day (1996), Jurassic Park (1993), and The Big Chill (1983).

While the other-worldly exchanges between Raines and his imagination offer great fun for the audience, as well as heart and depth to the story line, there's plenty of old school, L.A. Confidential cops and robbers atmosphere to play against. As Newsday comments,
"It's all so L.A. noirish that you almost expect Sam Spade or Jake Gittes to show up and slap some dame around…Raines has a splendid imagination and talent, which make him unique among his brethren. One day, the image - or specifically, the figment - of a murdered woman appears to him. She doesn't say much, though her presence is testament that something is gnawing at his subconscious. The clues don't add up. As he learns more about her, she morphs before his very eyes, changing (at one point) into a cigarette-toting vamp while a sax wails in the background. Raines stops himself: "It's not right - all of a sudden, you've turned into Kathleen Turner from 'Body Heat.'" Indeed, the ghostly prop victim must have had more costume changes than Celine Dion in Las Vegas.

Granted a lead character in bad need of mental meds is no longer ground-breaking, nonetheless, it is still an engaging device when done well. Perhaps in real life we all have our share of leading characters who, like Monk, House and Raines, are a pinch unstable, (okay, more than a pinch). These wobbly characters, however, are also the most memorable and sometimes the most talented folks around.

Vincent Donfrio as Detective Robert Goren on Law and Order/Criminal Intent for the last six seasons comes to mind as another quirky, tic-besieged character; yet Donofrio's performance lacks the subtlety of Goldblum's. A little of Vincent goes a long way - too much exposure leads to, well, nervous tics! Goldblum, by contrast, has such smooth acting chops that stammers and pauses never interfere with the flow of presentation.

At 6 foot 4 inches tall, healthy looking and trim as asparagus, Goldblum's striking yet unique looks add quite a bit to the likability of "Raines." Given the chance, the series could develop a nice female following as counterpoint to the melodramatic heart strings being bowed over at ABC's October Road.

In one of many positive critic reviews, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune says, "Much to my surprise, the beautifully shot “Raines” disarmed most of my preconceptions. Creator Graham Yost (“Boomtown,” “Band of Brothers”) has given the show not just the trappings of film noir — neon signs, snappy patter, a tormented gumshoe — but also wisely imported what the best noirs possess, which is a doomed sense of romantic yearning.

What matters to Raines is not necessarily the who, what, where and “what time was the screwdriver inserted in the victim’s skull.” He’s dogged in his own way, but this evocative show is more a rumination on the “whys” than the “hows.” “Know the victim, find the killer” is Raines’ mantra."

To know the victim, Raines talks to the dead. The conversations lend insight as they unravel some sticky stumbling blocks for the detective. Well, who doesn't talk to the dead, anyway? Not much of a stretch there. You don't have to be a DUI candidate or even a psychic to talk with the dead. Thanks to Raines, that skeleton is out of the closet.

With viewership on Thursday, March 15, of 10.3 million, 2.9/8, somewhat in the Ugly Betty range, here's hoping we'll see lots more of Jeff Goldblum and Raines. With the itchy trigger finger jitters at NBC, who can predict? Let's check with Patricia Arquette.

Why did Britney Spears shave her head Anyway?

2007-03-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

Depression, chaos, too many altering substances, a body gone haywire after two babies born so close together they are more twins than siblings. How is a woman to survive? She starts with the most basic of all steps to recovery - a new hairdo.

Although many of us have never shaved our heads completely we have certainly done so symbolically when we bring out those shears and start whacking away on a Saturday night. As we stand before the mirror, we hope someone new, fresh and totally authentic will emerge under the vanity lights. Suddenly pounds seem to shed, brightness returns to our eyes and we are ready to begin on some bold new path.

Too many women, at one time or another, have been close to the edge like Britney - one has to wonder whether it is easier to go through the agony of metamorphosis while in the spotlight with too much help offered or to do so away from the spotlight, indeed, all alone in the silence of a tiny apartment on a Saturday night.

For a lucky bunch of us, there are a handful of dear, close friends to offer wisdom and a shoulder, a smile and a thumbs up as we fight to find the light in the dark valleys of our lives. In truth, those are the times when best friends are made.

One truly hopes that the talented and lovely Britney Spears will land on the other side of baldness with a great head of hair and a much wiser heart. And a couple of great new friends.

THE REALITY BEHIND THE MISSING SOCK

2007-03-07T10:27:00.000-05:00

By Emily Wolfgang

We have all lost a sock or two in the dryer. Some blame it on bad luck, misplacement or even witchcraft. But, I have discovered it is only the adorable little Cryptogooymites. These small golf ball- sized creatures live in the high heat environment of the drying machine.

Cryptogooymites use the sticky substance on their feet to cling to the dryer walls (similar to the fly). If you were to actually touch the foot, it would have as much strength as a piece of duct tape. The tail, which is a crab claw-like appendage, allows the Cryptogooymites to clamp on to the sock, using their strong four-legged power to escape out of the sight of the victim awaiting his clean, dry clothes.

For camouflage, the Cryptogooymites have a heather gray turtle-like shell. The shell also protects them from tumbling into other objects in the dryer. The lizard skin helps them withstand the heat. They need little water to survive; therefore, they are able to use their large lips to suck the moisture out of the wet socks or other articles of clothing, if needed.

The male's extremely large sabertooth-type fangs are used to tear the sock to pieces, using two front limbs which have a thumb similar to a Panda's to stabilize a catch. All their nutrition is from the cotton in the socks and other fibers. (Waste appears similar to small, white lint balls which are disposed of in the dryer.)

Cryptogooymites prefer white socks, due to the chemicals used in coloring other socks, but during the mating season, more colored socks turn up missing for unsuspecting humans. This is because the male, who usually does the stealing for the family, uses bright colors to attract the female.

Their nests are located behind the dryer's rotating bin. Nests are made of lint and unwanted sock parts. The female lays the eggs and cares for them for about five months after birth, until they reach adult size. The average birth rate it two; the record for simultaneous birth is five eggs in one nest. (Discovered June 8, 1983.) The female's teeth are smaller in order to feed her young, mouth to mouth.

One family of Cryptogooymites occupies almost every dryer in America. They travel from dryer to dryer via clothesbaskets by clinging to large articles of clothing.

Although they have altered hard parts, fossilization is very difficult. They live in a very active environment for fossilization and have a life span of five to seven years. One fossil has been reported. It was found in the lint compartment of a thirty-year old dryer which had never been cleaned and was highly impacted.

We finally discovered the truth behind the sock thefts. Please do not destroy one of these critters if you find one. Research is still being done on the Cryptogooymites and specimens are needed.

The legend behind the Cryptogooymites is that they steal socks and turn them into coat hangers, but this is highly unlikely. Continuing investigation is being done on the subject.

Greenspan Predicts Recession on Monday, Stock Market Plunges on Tuesday

2007-02-27T17:07:00.000-05:00

How much do we miss Alan Greenspan? A lot, it seems. The former Federal Reserve Chairman, known for his economic prescience, speaking via satellite from Hong Kong on Monday, February 26, 2007, mentioned the U.S. economy was at risk of sliding into a recession by year's end. Warning that the expanding economy, on an upward trend since 2001 (thanks in part to defense spending and inflated oil prices) has shown signs that it has peaked, Greenspan words had a truer ring than many expected.

Weighed down by a ball and chain deficit, many have feared the economy was shakier than spiking stock prices would indicate. Apparently the weight of concern pulled hard enough at the economic tree of the Dow Jones that on Tuesday, February 27, 2007, its soaring branches drooped like a willow's. Could Tuesday's 416 point be ushering in Greenspan's predicted recession months ahead of schedule?

One expects the Bush administration to spin the plunge into a "good thing," akin to the "positive" withdrawal of Brits from Iraq. Meanwhile, as the spin machine of the right dusts off its platitudes (is there any one slicker than Tony Snow when it comes to condescending punditry?), average Americans are left to wonder what will happen next.

Already disenfranchised from the recent economic prosperity, average Americans must guard what little hoards they have. Be advised, in addition to the knocking at the door of feared recession are the ever increasing gas prices. As gas creeps back to $3.00 a gallon, run-a-day blokes wonder what role they are to play next in the ever darker comedy being written by an illiterate administration.

Name Your Top Favorite Movies of All Time

2006-12-08T17:19:00.000-05:00

Have Some "Top of the Mind" Fun!

By Stormy Malone

December 21, 2006

Want to have a fun discussion around the water cooler or on a speed date (surely no one really does that)? Top of the mind, rattle off your favorite five movies. The answers may surprise you. Mine surprised me. It's easy to get uppity when naming the all time greatest anything - we tend to overshoot with hyperbole. In this case, however, I just asked myself, what are those movies that keep playing over and over and over and every time I see them, I have to catch at least a few frames? Even if I've seen the movies 100 times each.

Here's what I came up with.

1. Star Wars, the original. (For newbies, it is now called A New Hope.)

When Joseph Campbell devotes an entire lecture series to the underlying social significance of Star Wars, you known you are looking at a Monomyth. Campbell who is known through The Power of Myth, the PBS TV series based on his books, was an eloquent voice in the evolution and cultural significance of mythology.

According to media critic Steve Persalls, Campbell's books, Masks of God and The Hero with a Thousand Faces, are premium guides to the concept of the Hero Cycle, "a course of events that occurs as a rite of initiation in every myth, pinpointing the need for mentors, villains, elixirs and jesters along the way. Each step can be traced in the adventures of Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker."

I'll wager Star Wars is the favorite movie of hords of myth lovers like myself.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl

Here we have the introduction, from scratch, directly on to celluloid, of a fantastic new larger-than-life character pulled right out of the quirky, creative mind of Johnny Depp.

In the past, most "super" film heroes have spent decades building a following on the flimsy pages of colorful newsprint-style comic books.

Captain Jack Sparrow, however, wasn't even a full-fledged figure on the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Walt Disney World. From a stick figure concept provided by the screenwriters, Depp created Captain Jack, a character who will be with us from now on.

Big grosses, big DVD sales, big fan base and big fun makes for an all-time movie favorite! Look for POTC3 in May, 2007.

3. Jaws

Jaws is on my list as a fovorite movie because those razor teeth and gobblin' choppers took a bite out of the summer box-office in 1975 and in so doing burped out the first of the summer blockbusters.

Jaws gets additional kudos for being a tour de force horror flick as well as being the big break for Steven Speilberg.

4. Die Hard

It's difficult to parse the favorite movie action-adventurer category between Die Hard with Bruce Willis and The Terminator, starring Arnold (who needs no link) Schwarzenegger, both stellar genre flicks that shall never grow stale.

Although, "I'll be back" is a catch phrase, so is, "Yippee kai yay M-----------." In an age of terrorism, let's give the nod to Die Hard.

Alan Rickman is an all time best villain, only topping his slimy performance here by his portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991's Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Oh, he's in those Harry Potter things, too.

As for Bruce Willis, the 'Yippee-Kai-Yay" hero (aka John McClane) still has it happenin' with the release of Die Hard 4.0, Live Hard or Die Trying, currently slated for release on June 29, 2007. Now that's huge.

5. Wizard of Oz

Ubiquitous, and rightly so. When it comes to The Wizard of Oz, nearly everyone has a personal imprint forever embedded in his or her psyche. Perhaps it's the first brush with abject terror at those flying monkeys, or the unofrgettable music or the indelibly colorful scenery; nevertheless, few will dispute that The Wizard of Oz is a one of a kind classic.

"I'll get you, my little pretty!" Still gives me the shakes...There are many wonderful elements in this film; it merits an essay of its own.

These are my favorite films. What are yours?

Getting Older and the Desiderata (Things to Be Desired)

2006-12-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

Getting Older and the Desiderata (Things to Be Desired)

Go Placidly Amid the Noise and the Haste

By Stormy Malone

December 02, 2006

As I get older I realize I've galloped through life as if it were some sort of horse race with a winner's circle up ahead. How misguided is that? Twenty-something, thirty-something, on to forty, then fifty, married, unmarried, with kids underfoot and then with an empty nest, etc. In short, I've pretty much run the same race as most of middle-class America. Now, being past the half-century mark, I know that the starting gate is a long way behind me and the finish line is not far from the bend in the rail up yonder. I can just see it out of the corner of my eye… Oh, Yippee-Ki-Yay (not).

Not every day, but sometimes that finish line up ahead has me worried. I wonder, do have enough money saved to even get there at all? (Follow the preceeding link - pretty glum for me personally). Or, will my world end if I don't get a mammogram? As I fret over such things, I ask also why preventive health care is so expensive. Does the government want me to die? It seems that, while the decision-makers don't want me to die in a terror attack, they amazingly don't give a hoot if I die of cancer. (Fortunately, a few doctors care about affordable healthcare.) But that's a detailed discussion for another time. In another ten years will I be consumed by thoughts of estrogen, broken bones, and nursing homes? That doesn't sound too good.

But, then I get a grip on my doom thoughts for just a moment. I ask myself if I really want to think about such maudlin things. After all, with raising children behind me, what I choose to do is center stage in my life for the first time since I was in my early twenties. My paycheck, although not overly large, is nevertheless mine to manage as I see fit. For the most part I think I look and feel immeasurably better than my mother did at my age. It's great that the race has brought me to a new phase of life, which I hope to enjoy. To occupy myself with pending decline when I've just begun to enjoy a new "life" suggests irony that is less than pleasing.

The Desiderata - along with every other inspirational poem on the subject of life - tells me not to undermine mental well being by railing against cosmic law. I wonder, if I light a rose herbal candle, for example, and say a prayer in remembrance of the many blessings that already are, can I keep the doom of aging at bay? Perhaps that's a lot to ask even from the Almighty and from one precariously flickering flame. I am resolved, however, to put a copy of the Desiderata on my refrigerator. It goes like this:

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

- Most likely written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s -

The Powerful Eat the Young: Comments on the War in Iraq

2006-10-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

In each studied generation, the young have served and died for the powerful. It would serve us ill to assume otherwise now. In the lead up to the Iraq war, threat to our homeland and tacit approval polls (which never quite got the question right), flashed such a green light in front of all the president's men that they couldn't rev up and race around the world fast enough crying Foe! Foe! Foe be gone! After all, what ever would have become of our budding country, way back then, if we hadn't nipped the imminent threat of Native American culture in the bud?

War waged by a nation, any nation, more often than not, is a farce of ethical relativism more rooted in power and profit than in passion and principle, despite the lingo shoved down the gullet of the masses. The notion that much fighting is carried out by young, sometimes pubescent "soldiers" seems to indicate that not too many strong older men are willing to risk their lives for the profits of the few who stand to gain by bloodshed. Will war tactics change in this lifetime? Not likely. Not until the guys at the top start sending legions of their own to die.

Is it a surprise, really, that those wars waged in the twentieth century, as well as the inaugural war (if Bush had said "last war", he'd have made it into my personal Bartlett's) of the twenty-first century, are dowsed with fuel that is relentlessly fanned by the old, (and older still), guard of the power elite? Many people, seemingly most of those under 35 years of age, and a few of us older "ignorant" few who study bona fide literature and history, get it. "It" would be the folly of fruitlessly fighting and dying in manufactured wars where a pot of gold awaits political leprechauns, those tricky greedy guys. The ideologically duped are to be buried once again, figuratively and literally, beneath a fading hope of fractured cause. This war in Iraq will not achieve its objective because an army can not fight terrorism, only Rambo can, and democracy can not be imposed on hungry people who need to be fed food, not rhetoric. It hurts to see an ill-conceived war upon us again. The cost of wrongful war can bleed a country's heart for decades.

All That was Good Happened YESTERDAY. Now That's a Sad Song.

2006-08-11T14:01:00.000-04:00

"I believe in yesterday…" Clearly I'm not the only one who believes "Yesterday," by Paul McCartney, is one of the greatest sad songs ever written. Many feel it is the top pop song, period, sad or otherwise. (Many statisticians who track such things list it as the most covered song of all time.)

As a sophomore in college, the Viet Nam war raising it's ugly head; angst was my middle name. When I personally first heard "Yesterday" on the radio, I trotted out and bought the album and listened over and over to the lilting melody, the delicate string passes and heartfelt delivery of McCartney as he searched for a place to hide away. When someone leaves your life without telling you why or saying goodbye, truly that is the harshest hit of all.

Now, I ask you, what could be sadder than thinking that all the good that has ever happened or will happen to you has happened "yesterday" The song lyric delicately searches with a decidedly European sensibility as melancholy pervades the melody. More than speaking to a single tragic loss or event, "Yesterday" speaks to a state of mind which offers little hope. When it comes to words, by contrast, in her uniquely American way, Scarlett O'Hara utters those memorable lines, "After all, tomorrow is another day." Would have been a good title of the song on the flip side of the "Yesterday" '45. ("Act Naturally" by Ringo is on the actual flip side.)

I offer no judgement on which attitude serves one best in life. Looking to tomorrow is hopeful, but too often leads to expedience and tearing down of the past; whereas, remembering the best of yesterday, although sad at times, fosters reverence for beauty, art and lessons learned.

Perhaps it's best to remember that a wee bit of both is the right blend in the teapot. I expect Sir Paul is having a cuppa' right now. Cheers, Sir Paul and thanks for a great song.

MS. TRIPLE SIX: The Exorcism of Ann Coulter

2006-08-10T16:07:00.000-04:00

Liberals Take Heed! Conservative Christians Can Detect Verbal Hate-Spam, too.

Stable people view the fundamentalist bile spewing from Ann Coulter's over-wide goofy grin as so much bee buzzing. Yada yada yada. Verbal spam. However, in an age when killer bees, uh, kill, liberals too often take the aggressive sting of Coulter too seriously. (I was tempted to write "someone "like" Coulter," until it struck me that there is no one else quite "like" our Annie. In her uniqueness as the loquacious viper of the decade, with Michelle Malkin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad mere wannabes, one wonders which scum-covered pond in the forest primeval burped out this forked tongued toadess with the string neck and bulging eyes.)

Lord, forgive me. Did I just launch a verbal attack myself, or have I simply crafted a Coulteresque-type tirade disguised as clever banter (AKA sophomoric) in the media world of the twenty-first century? Sad to say, the latter is the case. Happy to say, to my surprise and relief, real people aren't buying it. Did you know that only a relative handful of people read non-fiction best-sellers and even the highest rated cable news show can't compete with re-runs of Sponge Bob Square Pants? You might question my assertion that Ann is less important than she thinks. If so, please stick with me as I bolster my point with some anecdotal observations from the heartland of America.

No one would ever profile Indiana, where this writer lives, as a state burdened by effete East Coast liberal college graduates, (e.g. Columbia, which educated Coulter and Harvard, a la mater to Bill O'Reilly). Nope. Indiana is such a red state it used to drain the blood right from my brain. According to the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute in 1999, Indiana retains nearly 30 percent fewer college graduates than the national average. I often jump to remind people that I'm just passing through (since circa 1970) and that I'm from northern Illinois, which is like being from a different planet, solar system, galaxy even. But, I've made peace with the fact that the flowing river of my life hit a snag in the bend and spit me out on the cattail banks of Prairie Creek, Boone County, Indiana. And I've come to understand that this state (and country as a whole) is still made up of people who work hard, concentrate on their families and who know b.s. when they hear it, from whatever quarter, regardless of personal politics. Let me tell you a bit about the unscientific demographics of the business where I work.

We have two fervent Christian Fundamentalists who adhere to creationist theory, can tell you how old Adam is and exactly how many thousands of years ago Earth was created. Jonah was in the whale as surely as George Bush fought heroically in the National Guard and they check home frequently to see if anyone is "missing," as in "taken up in the rapture." One of them has never heard of Ann Coulter and the other thinks she is a screeching media pig who is roasting herself (along with Rush Limbaugh) by butchering the three primary tenants of the New Testament: (1) Love, (2) Tolerance, (3) The Golden Rule.

Next employee on deck is one of two bosses who is a Father and deacon in the American Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy is quite an interesting little band of devout Christians who adhere to the Bible before it was changed and politicized by the more popular Roman Catholic Church. It has remained quite unchanged and true to itself since the earliest centuries of the Common Era. Although there are elements within the church that are socially tolerant and New Age in regard to mysticism, the church's stance as pro-life over-rides most issues. My boss is a dedicated follower of James Dodson and Focus on the Family, as well as a two-time Bush supporter. He has no cable TV, reads C.S. Lewis and is, for the most part, oblivious to current events. He is a college graduate. He is more interested in walking the walk of his faith by volunteerism and family church services than he is in listening to someone like Ann Coulter. In short, he is not a maniac.

Rounding out the pack of managers at the office, we have two recovering Fundamentalist Christians who are now praise and worship leaders at a Baptist Church. Both are anti-war and one is a Kerry voter. Sorry Annie. Last up is a Jew who is socially tolerant, but politically conservative and, hence, a Bush supporter. Kind of cute to seem him writhing in anger on the floor when someone mentions Ann Coulter. Maybe his sister, the liberal doctor, twisted his mind.

As the only vocal Liberal around the water-cooler, it took me many months to accept that I was more similar to my co-workers than I was different from them. I attribute my prejudice to my own personal tendency to listen to talk radio and cable news. It was I who had succumbed to the irrational spewing and fear mongering of Ann Coulter and not my legions of conservative friends. They had the sense not to listen. Good choice based on common sense and heart from the heartland.

HOPE IN A NUTSHELL by Keith Cymry - book review

2006-01-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

Wit and wisdom explode from a precarious piñata of life/ death, ying/yang, good/evil, and despair/hope in Keith Cymry's novel HOPE IN A NUTSHELL. Hope, as the author neatly states, "is the golden thread from which the world swings like a pendulum hanging from the Kingdom of Heaven." The nutshell in the title? That is another matter altogether and as difficult to explain as the concept of hope.

Cymry has as much quirky "stuff" crammed between the covers of his book as Tom Robbins and John Irving do in "Jitterbug Perfume," and "World According to Garp," combined. Case in point? How about a mystical 2000-year-old walnut coated with Arizona gold, which serves as the tale's touchstone of hope as well as its center of conflict? Add the fact that the stolen medallion comes from the City of Forever, (somewhere out there), which allows the author to expertly knit together the natural and the supernatural.

With a crazy cast of mismatched characters, from the hippie hero, Uriah Freestone, who travels blue highways of Arizona and "the badlands of gnawed skulls and scattered bones known as New Mexico," to a supernatural raven named Rocker, to an occasional Ethiopian as well as an ancient Navajo pal named Laughing Puma, the action is non-stop. And an added plus is a gem of a character, the ever-slimy Sheriff Joe Garbonzo. Garbonzo is a sweet morsel of satire offered up to Cymry's fellow Arizonians who have their own Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the troll of Maricopa County, as a dangerous irritant.

As the humans who are able to save the world, Freestone and his beloved Mary Beth, nimbly straddle the universe of us and the universe of them, the gods (little "g"). (Both worlds are peopled by the sane and the insane.) In constant conflict with both the natural and unnatural worlds, Uriah and Mary Beth are tasked with ciphering clues found on the aforementioned ancient medallion encased in a golden walnut. Mary Beth has knowledge of nuts and bolts science/math while Uriah has mastery of the ancient Celtic language and all matters mystical. Their combined skills represent a symbolic blend of science and humanity. Can they solve the puzzle in the nutshell in order to save the world or might the world drift into nothingness on the proverbial Mayan doomsday of December 21, 2012? As with Arthurian legend (immeasurably updated and brushing on Pythonesque) getting to the end goal is the fun that makes the journey worth while for hero and reader alike. Parts of the journey are quirky and absurd, parts are dramatic and tense and parts are poignant and sniffley.

In recap, to reach the end game of the story, the author weaves a tender love-story into a fantasy landscape while telling a taught suspense thriller at the same time. And he does it with language that flows in many, many instances with the best contemporary word-smithing this reviewer has come across in many a magical moon. To include all the remarkably turned phrases would cheat the author of one of the prime reasons to read his novel, but as enticement, a few one-liners are shared here:

"Tequila will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no Tequila."

"Are they trick questions? Do they move when someone tries to answer them?"

"Those eyes could launch a thousand ships," he thought. "Or at least a thousand of his own tiny mariners upon some great odyssey."

"In Las Cruces are still to be found those cheap sort of motels that once dotted the main thoroughfare of every small town in America. Nowadays the few that remain cluster in cities like rotting hope."

Continuing to speak of seedy motels, Cymry refers to them tautly as "dilapidated remnants of America's greatest generation." So much for misguided jingoism.

"Free beer was always the best beer, provided it wasn't 'Milwaukee's Best.'"

And finally, to sum up some of the insanity our hero faces, the "narrator seeks to put an eye-of-newt up the arrogant nostril of a chained consumer society whose course will ultimately lead humanity to near certain bloody, chaotic rebellion, mass starvation, and the annihilation of civilization." Clearly the stakes are high.

This novel is a quick read and, because it functions on so many levels, the experience of reading it will delight any thinking person.

Don Juan DeMarco (and Johnny Depp) Get Better and Better…

2005-07-07T11:18:00.000-04:00

Film Review: Don Juan DeMarco
(for full credits see copy of this review at www.amazon.com)

Most of us know that with a movie featuring Johnny Depp, one viewing is not enough. First time, let's admit, we just watch Mr. Depp. His presence in a scene draws the eye like none other - not only the face and voice, but the subtly of gesture make it imperative to keep an eye on him at all times. Such is the joy of Don Juan DeMarco. Depp is captivating in the title role, charming from first viewing and the film continues to improve through multiple viewing.

In Don Juan Demarco, the tone is light, absurd and fun, with the exception of two pivotal scenes where the essence of the visionary Don Juan (Depp) breaks apart to reveal the anguish of youth confronting life's pain, the anguish of loss.

Still those critical deep moments never weigh down the optimistic intent of the film. As psychiatrist Marlon Brando breathes in the ephemeral aura of his patient, Don Juan, he breathes new life into his own aging heart. Although, the theme is an old warhorse, its presentation in this film is fresh and articulate.

One feels that the Brando character, along with his lovely wife played by Faye Dunaway, who both come to care deeply for Don Juan, have embarked on a well-deserved journey of a life time as they enter the world of Don Juan - a world seen rarely and only through the eyes of true love.

Crushing good looks aside, as an actor, Depp is one of a kind. Nothing like Brando physically, but every bit his peer in the ability to cross that celluloid barrier and become real inside the head and heart of the viewer. It's a gift to be reminded of the magic of love through excellent dialogue and who better to deliver the message than Mr. Depp. Men, heads up, you should watch this film, too.

SB 1: OR GOD - "But Why's the Rum Gone?" (Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean)

2005-06-10T16:59:00.000-04:00

"But Why's the Rum Gone?" (Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean)

When an actor can deliver a line like "But Why's the Rum Gone?" with the same depth and angst as the philosophical line, "But why are we here (on this planet, in this solar system, etc.)," he probably "gets it" as much as anyone can. So it was with interest that I read the Johnny Depp (hoax or not) review on Amazon of the THE GOD CODE: The Secret of Our Past, the Promise of Our Future by Gregg Braden. I had some interest in the book, but after reading Depp's review, I figured I would skip THE GOD CODE. Instead I ordered SB: 1 OR GOD by Karl Maddox which Depp recommended in his review.

So, I'll let you know.

I have a lopsided stack of books sitting on my coffee table - lopsided as in ready to topple over, but also lopsided in content. Have you ever read MIDDLEMARCH? I'm tired of hearing how great this classic is; it's on the list. So are FOLLOW THE RIVER, DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL, a Clancy book, a Critchon novel and MY FATHER'S DRAGON which was a childhood favorite. I ordered it for my grandson but can't wait to read the stories (3) again myself. The author is Ruth Stiles Gannett - it's got that BABAR look to the artwork, so I'll bet (and hope) it's French in origin.

The French. Seems they "get it" as well.

Ron Artest - the guy is no monster.

2004-11-24T13:20:00.000-05:00

Witness for the Defense: Re: Ron Artest.

I feel I'm well enough acquainted with Ron Artest to make some comments.

These incidents on the basketball court when Ron over-reacts, mistakes all, are taken to heart by him, deeply. Seldom do you see a kid so readily acknowledge that he's got a problem and be so eager to improve. I'm not a Ron apologist - he does some goofy things, but there are few in Indianapolis who don't know how hard this guy is trying to do the right thing. Sure, he's not a rocket scientist that can simultaneously calculate in a nanosecond the cause and effect of ten courses of instinctive action, and then choose the appropriate response, but he's honest and without guile.

This morning, NBC corralled him at a radio station publicity promo for his label (planned long ago) and then proceeded to let their next guest call him an oaf for promoting his R & B album on the air. Hmmmm. THEY came in a ratings grab to HIS long planned, contractual publicity event. Could it be the media failed to contextualize its cherry-picked sound bites?? Gee, like THAT's ever happened before…

So, I guess the word is out now about THE FAN - 3 drunk driving arrests, arrest for carrying concealed and one arrest for assault and battery.

The Load-bearing wall: Church v. State

2004-11-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

As we discuss the conflict between church and state, Red Religiosity V. Blue Secularism, how about asking this: If a black church, a mosque or a synagogue were bombed (again), knowing full well that it would be by a fringe group, which is more likely? That initiators of said terrorist deed supported Bush or that its instigators supported Kerry? This thought exercise matters because it deals with the load-bearing wall that must remain standing between church and state. All religions have extreme factions. Within Christianity, one can travel from Quakers to the KKK and still be under the same canopy.

When we add a measure of religious zeal and state approval to the religious principles (whether distorted or not) of a particular fringe group, that group becomes emboldened, swells and, indeed, often overwhelms the main body it attached to originally. The Blue Secularists don't tell us this; it is our founding fathers that tell us this, our own history tells us this (think Salem) and, indeed, the history of man has pounded this lesson into our heads ad nauseam.

Vaunting one religion over the secular principles of state can morph much too easily into suppression of non-members. The secular state itself can, of course, run amok when it suppresses religion, or, in some cases, replaces it, becoming a "religion" in itself (think Communism, Big Brother). Equally bad. The War in Iraq, as a thinly disguised war of self-defense as opposed to outright aggression, comes uncomfortably close to elevating Democracy to the status of religion. Is our quest to liberate like-minds or to convert the unbelievers?? Well, we just don't quite know the truth to that question.

It is good to keep in mind that there are many, many people of faith (all faiths) on both sides of this issue of religiosity v. secularism, with the majority smack in the middle, supporting the separation of church and state. The media is doing a disservice when it frames this important argument with inflammatory language, pitting fringe against fringe for ratings. Is the newly ordained media shoring up the load-bearing wall of our democracy, or tearing it down brick by invective brick?

Letter to Keith Olbermann re: Coulter, etc.

2004-11-11T11:46:00.000-05:00

Letter to Keith Olbermann re: Coulter, etc.

Dear Keith,

Now you are going after Ann Coulter - have I died and gone to heaven?? Oh, I forgot, all the spots are taken by God's cheerleaders who seem to need daily affirmation that they are on the fast track to heaven. Go, please, and God speed. Nothing could make me happier than waking up tomorrow and finding that the Reds have been scooped up as promised (promised by them). The ultimate irony, of course, would be to see the Blues raptured and the Reds left behind. I'm sure Ann Coulter would find a way to spin it. Next book? "God, the Traitor." Of course, my opinion is that we're here for the duration, or at least should be planning as such. We've all got our work cut out for us.
Years ago my mom, who was a Big Ten debate champ at Northwestern in the late '30's, cautioned me about the use of sarcasm in intelligent discourse. Said she, "In debate, nothing brands you as ignorant faster than the use of sarcasm. It's easy, mentally lazy and cheap" (Of course, sometimes it just feels soooo good). In the face of the constant sarcastic assault from the right on tv, on radio, in books and blogs, I'm thrilled to have your show. The only other bright voices we have are the satirists(a brilliant form of communication)like Stewart, Maher, and on SNL. BTW, no wonder people think Dems wear tin foil hats - the only non-offensive talk radio we can find on the dial is Coast-to-Coast AM. I mean, have you ever tried to fall asleep listening to Bill O'Reilly? Talk about Night Terrors!
Thanks for your continued good, balanced reporting. You have found your voice and people are enjoying it. I don't mean to overstate it, but your show is a real life-saver to those of us who are being ridiculed by the media for our preference for logic. Faith is wonderful. Handling poison snakes is just plain dumb.
--

A Divine Breath, The Soul and the Petri Dish

2004-11-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

"And The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being."

When I was in high school, our religion teacher really got us going on a theoretical debate about the definition of life as it relates to the soul. Ask many American Christians (as opposed to Indian Hindus, Asian Buddhists, Native American Shamans, etc.) what makes it okay to harvest higher mammals, say, whales or other prey, and they will often point out that, after all,"whales don’t have souls.” Based on such logic one is naturally led to the follow-up question: “What is the soul and how does it get into the human animal to set him so apart from other creatures?” Most theologians attribute the soul to a divine spark imparted by God. Next question? When exactly, then, does God ignite the human animal with said spark? At conception? At 3 months gestation? 7 months? 9 months? At birth? At 6 months of age, 12 months, 2 years? When exactly does this miracle of souldom take place?

Some who argue against embryonic stem cell research argue that the cells in a petri dish are already human beings, as opposed to just a bunch of animal cells, meaning that the soul therefore, must be an automatic response to fertilization. In other words, the birthing of the soul is a a done deal - when the egg is fertilized, in pops the soul, or thus blooms the soul, or however you wish to visualize it, the birth of the soul and the fertilization of the egg are simultaneous. Of course, Genesis has a different set of rules. To my understanding, Adam was a biological entity first and then was endowed with a soul. “And The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." The breath of God gave Adam his soul. Likewise Eve sprang from Adam’s rib, not from a fertilized egg. This might lead one to believe that the soul is something apart from simple biology such as an aggregate of cells.

If one believes in Genesis, as most opponents of embryonic stem cell research do, how does one then argue that the soul is just a product of biological function? What happened to God’s breath? Did He just decide not to take an active role in soul placement post Adam and Eve? Did he think He would be too busy to pay attention to imparting his divine breath to each and every soul and assign the task to some kind of automated function of cell reproduction instead? Gee, that’s not a very special chain of events. I, for one, don’t care for its implications.

I propose that, should a God be omniscient and involved in allocation of divine souls, from the very first to the very last, He also would be fully capable of knowing the fate of each and every fertilized egg that has ever been formed or will ever be formed. Do not most Christians believe He indeed knows what is in store for each of us? Even if we have free will, can not He see into the years and know today what choices each of us will make with that free will? Even in a long and prosperous life, can He not see how each biological entity will end, or at best, make its transition? So my question is simply this: Given that God knows all that has ever taken place and all that will ever take place, and if the soul is indeed the divine breath of God,would He impart that most precious divine spark into a fertilized biological cell cluster in a petri dish knowing full well that that soul will never have a host body?

I don’t the know origin of the soul, of course, because I’ve been thinking of this question for decades, long before modern technology led us to the ethical conundrums of today. One thing I do believe, however, is that the each soul is a mysterious gift from a mysterious God who is fully in charge of the power to impart souls at His own pleasure and in accordance with His divine wisdom as opposed to being forced to impart a soul to four cells in a petri dish because of immutable biological laws of Nature. Is it possible that just as every sperm does not become a baby, not every fertilized egg becomes a soul? And if not a soul, then, what separates it from the fate of the whale which, when harvested intelligently, has sustained whole populations of indigenous people for generations?

If we are to argue theological questions when it comes to matters of science, we must argue them to their completion using the biblical tenets we use to support our position as equally valid arguments to oppose our position. The ethics of embryonic stem research go deep and deserve much more than superficial sound bite posturing.

Azure E for Education

2004-11-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

There's one thing that the Reds and Blues can both say - they're both getting the media shaft. Oh, I know I've harped on the cable news guys for a long time, but I do think they are letting us all down because we're just not getting any meaningful discussions. I can watch cable news at five - and anticipate everything that's going to pop up on all the shows that follow with the exception on Olbermann and Greta. I don't count O'Reilly because his stories, although sometimes different, are way too tabloid for my tastes.

What strikes me more than the repetition of material is the way all the so-called headliners are playing it safe. Predictably the common wisdom now is this clap-trap about Republican values bringing people to the polls, when if fact "values" brought most everyone to the polls. As a Democrat, I believe my values trump Republican values every time and we could argue forever about which value is better, war or peace, especially when I tend to think of Iraq as an unjust war of greed and my Republican friends might view it as a war of hope and freedom for an oppressed people. So, the real struggle is not between values and no values, but one of competing values and perception. This time, Republican values won.

Now, how about this for a value? Let's make everyone with a first-class education walk around with a big Azure E stitched on his/her chest, (shades of Hester Prynne, in case you need the reference to follow me). Ahhhhh the shame of having an elitist education!! Well, if it's so hand-wringing awful, just exactly what are the goals of all this "no-child-left behind" propaganda Bush speaks of (out of the side of his mouth)? What WILL the Republicans do when the all the munchkins have elitist educations? Ah, I see Red Babies turning Blue around about 19 years of age!! Now you know why Republicans have been noticeably ineffectual in education reform for the masses. No Child Left Behind inflexible testing is geared to give the haves an even further leg up, while leaving the disadvataged students in the dust, but, mark my words, Repubs might get more than they bargained for. BTW, didn't Bush go to Yale? His daughter, Barbara? Yep. Yale. I didn't seem her being packed off to Bob Jones.

Stay tuned - coming up is my question of the millennium -

Does God Put Souls in Petri Dishes??

RED v BLUE versus red v blue

2004-11-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

Please someone make the point that the uncontested blue states (California, 38% and NY,45%) had much low voter turnout compared to the uncontested red states where the folks stood in line for 4 hours on a done deal (can you say "lemming"?). See, that's because it's not a popular vote contest, duh! ALSO, THAT FINAL VOTE TALLY IN OHIO IS SHRINKING LIKE A VIOLET IN WINTER. Oh, not enough (14,000?), but someone has to point out the real story because the media is again going for the easy story - lazy journalists are spouting away about the superior values of the jack-booted war-mongers! Hey guys, habitual intolerance is not a virtue, sniveling fear is not a virtue, setting traps for wild animals and shooting them point blank is not a virtue. A gun doesn't make you a man. All of you know when the exact moment was that you chose to be heterosexual, right? Why are Reds so weak that they need laws upon laws upon laws to define virtuous behavior? Well, by golly, just read "Lord of the Flies." Oh, I forgot, Reds don't read literature, just sound-bite tripe a la O'Reilly and Coulter.

Without laws controlling their behavior, do Reds run amok, kill and plunder? I've always wondered what they are up to when no one is looking. Do they just have to have all the goodies? I wonder what 100,000 dead Iraqis would say, because more women and children there are dying daily now than they did under the 10 years prior to invasion.

I love the way Reds rationalize away the dead and maimed people of a country that never attacked us. War of Aggression versus War of Self-Defense is the moral difference between first-degree murder and self-defense. If my neighbor has a gun and I think someday he may shoot me with it, should I just shoot him first? If my values were Red, then, yes, I guess that would be okey-dokey.

Those horrible Blue liberals in Mass. have a 30% divorce rate compared to 50%+ divorce (and adultery) rate for the Red states like N.C and S.C. Now, does that mean that the Reds don't have a right to live according to their own personal beliefs? Maybe the Blues should make divorce illegal, punishable by 5 years in prison? Of course not. I would wager, without a doubt, that, if unchecked, the Reds would tear down mosques and synagogues long before the Blues would blow up a church - BTW, who blows up those African-American churches? Not the Blues, that's for sure.
I urge the media to do some real stories. Remember that whole "Redskins" football thing prior to the election? That was an original Keith Olbermann cute story, I think, but within one news cycle all the others hopped on - like I said, can you say "lemming"?

Now that I have done an Extreme Rant to counter the extreme rant on the other side which has trouble with the concept of nuance, I'd like to say a word about red people with a little "r" and little "b" blues. Often referred to as adults. I believe I work in a truly Christian environment, 50/50 red and blue - there are no George Bush gloaters or John Kerry losers. We care about family, business ethics and common goals.

Our fundamentalist bookkeeper is going to see her son marry a woman with Lesbian (20 years) parents, and she's fine with it. Our ranting Blue director of operations would die before she had an abortion. Another habitual red (boss)who did vote for Kerry, his only blue vote, has had numerous affairs, two wives, is a bit of a clepto, is the musical director and tirless volunteer at his church, and is always trying to be a better person, husband and father. The other boss is on his way to becoming a priest in the orthodox church and I've never seen him so torn over a vote.
We all hate this war and the out-of control deficit, and we all have our eye on George Bush's truth bending.

If Bush screws up, he will fall faster than a dead tree on a Kansas prairie during a tornado.

Some Thoughts on Music

2004-10-21T16:21:00.000-04:00

In music, long careers are revered. A fickle public may think it sad when an artist tumbles from the charts, but most often the artist himself knows how lucky he was to get there in the first place. Even one modestly successful album is something an artist can build on for a lifetime, providing a financial leg-up that will allow for a continued career in music at some level. And that's a good thing - if you think listening to music is a high, you should try creating it! Pure joy, whether the music is simply realized or masterfully orchestrated.

When things go moldy, as in all careers, when others get their fingers in the pie - we all know how hard it is to dodge sticky fingered creeps and the occasional psychic vampire - the musician can slip away to an ethereal joy too few of us know.

Is the Bush Base Eroding?

2004-10-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

Is Bush's base eroding?

At the risk of having right wing zealots burn a cyber-cross on my blog posting, I'd like to relate the meat of a conversation I just had with some of the people who work with me, i.e., my boss.
In election 2000, all ten of the people who work in our small corporation, along with 80% of our clientele, voted for George Bush. Big donations from our business go to Focus on the Family and everyone tithes big time. I, and my son, who also works here, would be the exceptions. I never would have believed such a thing could happen, but as this election approaches, I see their support for Bush crumbling. My boss tells me he's been reading Molly Ivens!! just to get perspective on the Ann Coulterish viewpoint. And how my boss used to love listening to Rush…but not anymore. In fact no one around here listens to Rush anymore. This change in thinking didn't come about from my influence - I long since gave up even mentioning politics around the office.
For the first time this cadre of staunch Republicans openly chat against George Bush. I don't know whether they'll vote for Kerry, and I'm not advocating that they should, but my guess is that Bush's base is eroding big time.

The issue?? Iraq. As I heard it explained, government policies can't make an individual get an abortion and they can't make you leave your spouse to marry a gay person, but those policies CAN put a gun in the hands of your sons and daughters and make them kill for oil. NOT ONE of the Republicans here, not even the TBN faithfuls, believes Iraq is about liberation. The way I see it, George Bush has finally become a uniter, not a divider, but I don't imagine he knew he would be uniting the people against him rather than for him.

I thought I would share this information because I had no idea that these stalwart Republicans were wavering and I am personally amazed!! Bless their little hearts.

Tom Robbins Jitterbug Perfume

2004-10-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I have the honor (?) of leading a discussion on the novel Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. It's been over two years since I read the novel, so I'd better start digging for some fruitful insights to share with the group. I'll let you know what I find…
The usual suspects pop up in my first search-lots of reviews that are generally well-written, but generally general as well. I remember that Jitterbug Perfume was a great read, a work that fell instantly into my mental category for "real literature." Robbins is a writer to take seriously and as I search further, I find out just how seriously he is taken.

A most resourceful sight for those wishing to study Robbins, or any other author, in depth is http://www.rain.org, a site with the heading National Public Internet. I ran off seven (7) pages of reference material - a complete bibliography to include review links to all Robbins' novels, short stories, translations, and articles as well as personal interviews, dissertations and graduate theses.
If you haven't read any work by Tom Robbins and you are a lit lover, you must read something by this author. As for Jitterbug Perfume it will take you on a fantastic saga spanning 1000 years. The verbal painting is vivid and lasting and the quirky journey will remain with you forever.

Rain.org is a new site for me. The range of general resources on its "learning assests" site include Camp Internet on-line courses, Rural Community technology resources, live radio, video archives, telemedicine, wellness, GIS mapping, abundant homeschooling resources and National Public Internet access. Check it out. It's a good one.

Presidential Debates 2004

2004-10-14T14:52:00.000-04:00

Today is a downer for most political junkies. The stage is dark and all that. No more can we anticipate the outcome of the Stymie in Miami, Hooie in St. Looie (courtesy of Keith Olbermann) and Tempest in Tempe.

The verdict is in: Kerry 3, Bush 0; but the cowpoke from Texas isn't gonna be headed to boot hill any time soon. Though I'm no fan of the Gunslinger from Dry Gulch (he of the prep-schools, summer homes and cheerleading school at Yale), I'll admit he hung in there - after that first debate, if I were George, I would still be hiding under a rock like a de-fanged rattlesnake.

These guys who run for high political office are something else. I admire Bush and Kerry for having the courage and confidence to walk onto a stage where bullets are flying; the chance of taking one in the gut is dang high. I give them both credit for truly believing in the rightness of most of their own convictions. As a country we need to honor the good fight they've put forth in the debates - remember the world was watching and for that reason alone I didn't want Bush to under perform the way he did in debate #1.

When our President looks foolish, our country looks foolish, and so I say that I'm grateful that George Bush acquitted himself with some dignity last night. Will I vote for him? Well, that won't happen until Phoenix becomes a rain forest, but at least I give him props for not self-destructing.

Going Up River, The Long War of John Kerry/comment

2004-10-07T14:34:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much to JustJules over at the Blogging Network (blogit.com) for letting us know about the film, "Going Upriver, the Long War of John Kerry." I'm thankful it will be on DVD soon because I'd much prefer to watch it in private. I don't have a tragic tale personally, because my husband survived the war physically - a bit messed up in the head, but that's to be expected.

But it was such a hard, crushing time. We were being whipped into submission by an insane world of bureaucratic adults who wanted to strip away any remaining idealism and hope we had for our future and the future of mankind. The hope, of course, that Kennedy inspired in us and our parents inspired in us by their grand example of strength, courage and survival during the depression and WWII, made us believe we could end the madness of nuclear bombs we'd been on the lookout for since we were seven. Our folks loved us, we had grand purpose, and we would make the world a better place. As young adults, we were catchers in the rye who would keep the little kids safe. Well, it sure didn't turn out that way, did it?

When we got out of college, my husband's only alternative to being infantry was to enlist in OCS to become an officer in Viet Nam. Before he left for the war we were at a high profile wedding where some of those type people who would be voting for Bush/Cheney today patted him on the back and asked him if he was taking me and our kids along (as well as our '65 Mustang). By the time he landed in country, he at least had captain's rank which basically meant he had a bit better chance of survival, especially when it came to being fragged by his own men. He lead truck convoys into Cambodia the night Nixon was on tv saying we had no troops there. And his buddy who had gone on to law school was teaching third grade now to avoid the draft. His other buddy, though, had enlisted in the MARINES! and was in OCS at Quantico, headed for Viet Nam. Today the draft dodger is a Republican judge and the guy who enlisted is a Democratic book editor fighting against the madness in Iraq.

Morsel by morsel our flesh was stripped of innocence in a way our kids today would never understand because they are much more aware than we ever were that the bogey man is real and in their own back yard. Good for them. Some of us have grown to adulthood with a hyper vigilance against being duped again by the very people who are elected to serve us, not the other way around. I hope against hope that we can also teach our kids that, with due diligence and with the great tools of communication in the hands of everyman, the bogey man can be caught. Like Jason and Freddy, he may keep coming back - what a shelf life the bogey man has! - but he gets less scary each time. Still, never turn your back and sleep with the light on, especially if Bush gets reselected.

Oh, mercy, just thinking of Bush/Cheney for four more years makes my fingers quiver in horror.

VP debates/Andrew Sullivan

2004-10-06T18:56:00.000-04:00

I sent an email to Andrew Sullivan whom I've never met personally, to commend him on his clear take re: the VP debate. His site is www.andrewsullivan.com. He's a super (as in important) blogger. I wrote that Cheney was a Humpty Dumpty who fell off his stone wall of Iraq - I know my pun is too precious and I should be ashamed, but, hey…

Once you start with the egg metaphor, oh my, the images and cliches can get scrambled in your brain, but no matter where the mind wanders it's hard to deny that Cheney rolled off that wall all by himself with his fried facts about the war and nothing can put the pieces of his credibility back together again at this late date. Time for the little whiskered chap from Rocky and Bullwinkle to start sweeping into his dustpan the Bush-Cheney crumbs our country been trying to survive on these last 3.5 years.

I have wondered, scratched my head, over the American public - how could they not see what has been so plain to so many of us since before 2000? I am adept at reading people, but I'm not always right, so I do savor these moments when FINALLY Toto pulls back the curtain on both these guys. In all due respect to Cheney, he only gets the runner-up trophy for being rotten - Bush set a record for bad debating that will remain in tact well into the first war of the 22nd century, which will get here eventually, provided no more Bush blood relatives become president to finish us off before then.

Blogging - it does a body good and is keeping many writers almost sane.

Oak Tree V. Shrub, Presidential debate #1

2004-10-06T16:55:00.000-04:00

Friday, October 1, 2004

Oak Tree vrs. Shrub. The 9/30/04 presidential debate

Did you ever watch a bully boy strut his bluff stuff around a 7th grade playground as he pretended to manhood? With a few intimidating cliches up his sleeve, a dismissive air and a pocketful of perceived previous victories, he would troll among the weak to gather a following of lap dogs who yearned desperately for a pat on the head by the BMOP (Big Man On Playground). Last night, during the September 30th presidential debate, we again met the all too familiar boy with the bluff; this time, fortunately, he came up against one of those guys who's not afraid to point out that the emperor is swaggering around naked.

Young George stood podium to podium with a real man, a man with the right stuff. Hard to imagine how the contrast of immature youth vrs. mature adult could have been more starkly drawn.

To my mind, Bush is a kid playing with a loaded gun. Let's hand that weapon to a man who would wield it responsibly. I expect when he was in his 20's, John Kerry was more mature in thought and character than George Bush ever, ever could be. As the Bush supporters scurry to find some more phony clothes for their defrocked leader, the health of our country is at stake.
Oak tree. Shrub. You choose.

Election Hurricane of 2004

2004-10-06T16:53:00.000-04:00

Friday, September 24, 2004

Election 2004, another hurricane?

As we hit the home stretch of the presidential election, 2004, it occurs to me that none of us has a clue what's going to happen in the next six weeks. The society we live in has become so liquid that its bordering on unstable; one news cycle is all it would take to cause the river of these United States to burst its dam and run amok into unchartered territory. Get on your floaties and prepare for a bumpy ride! If you read my rant about the cable news media, you know that I view our current woes as a systemic illness affecting all our check and balance go-to institutions. Unlike the citizens of Florida, we don't have the option of escaping to higher ground. This election of 2004 promises to be one heck of a storm. Let's hope we're all still standing when it's over.
And I always thought of myself as an optimistic person! 4 more years of Bush makes me weak in the knees, and not in a good way.

CBS/Rather Flap

2004-10-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

Open letter to the chattering class.

What's wrong with you cable news people?

I am amazed that a cable news show asking for one hour of my time, would devote 1 minute to the most recently beheaded person in Iraq, 1 minute to the unfortunate 1000+ who drowned in Haiti during Hurricane Jeanne, 1 minute to Scott Peterson and 50 minutes to CBS and Dan Rather. What's wrong with you cable news people? How can you be getting your importance in the world so wrong? Whether Rather stays or goes, whether CBS is guilty or not, whether CBS stays or goes or whether the whole news media as it is will stay or go, just isn't that big of a deal. Whether our country stays or goes, now that's a big deal, and if you news guys don't stop making everything about yourselves, you won't have any one to impress because your audience will be politically, if not literally, dead.

How astounding that you are unable to see the daily harm you do to this conceptually beautiful country. Until you can admit to yourselves, looking in the glass face-to-face, that you, each of you, is complicit in this war in Iraq and complicit in the deaths of all who have died there, you will not mature into professional newsmen.

Were you not, as the collective media, especially the cable media, wetting your pants over Gulf War II when you realized you, too, could make your names at the Baghdad hotel, or as an embed or as the nightly news reader who cranks out the middle of the night reports of missiles (hopefully, you think) sailing into Kuwait and maybe, with any luck, into Israel. Nothing could top those glory days when the Scud Stud stepped up to the plate and CNN cameras captured modern warfare's razzle-dazzle first hand, LIVE! No matter that it was David vrs Goliath. Imagine, we managed to win!! Ghouls.

Was it in the hopes of capturing those spontaneous news events from Gulf War I that you all so easily went along with, indeed, salivated over, this contrived, staged, totally bogus war in Iraq?
If there's one thing the CBS fiasco should teach the media, it's that we average pajama joes out here are paying attention. Those of us who were looking for ways to avoid war in Iraq found plenty of support months in advance of the invasion just looking closely at statements issued in newspapers, on CSPAN, in opposing view segments. That those tidbits of truth - no WMD, Saddam having no real army, defense contract giveaways and, most importantly no link to Bin Laden - were pushed aside and ignored in favor of the self interest of the news media and it's personal bent toward self-glorification has brought not only shame, but real, tangible harm to this country. Remember, a gilded lilly usually ends up dead and alas, me thinks your blooms are looking a bit withered as we speak.
Get off your high-horses and slog your way down the road to real journalistic truth - and that means ALL of you, not just Dan Rather.