The Pentagon wants to ban smoking in the military. The reason given is that tobacco use is harmful and it's health effects cost the Department of Veterans Affairs hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Seems to me the Pentagon could save money by properly outfitting soldiers they put into harms way, such as making sure every GI in the field has the body armor they need and the vehicles they ride in are armor plated in ways that will survive roadside bombs. Like cigarettes, those bombs have a deleterious effect on soldiers health too. Surgeries and prosthetics for those who survive the bombings aren't cheap either.
Until the Pentagon does all that and more, I say let 'em smoke.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Who?
Ryan Seacrest signed a new contract worth $45 million. Who is he again? What is it that he does?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day
The National Anthem sung as a make out song. Enjoy your freedom this 4th of July today with the understanding that only in a country like America would Marvin Gaye have the right to make the National Anthem sexy.
It's July and that means it's time for my boot heels to be wanderin'. I'm going to exercise my all-American right to hit the road, Jack. The "Gone Fishing" sign is up and won't come down until after July 12th.
Take care, don't lose an appendage to illegal fireworks, and God Bless America.
It's July and that means it's time for my boot heels to be wanderin'. I'm going to exercise my all-American right to hit the road, Jack. The "Gone Fishing" sign is up and won't come down until after July 12th.
Take care, don't lose an appendage to illegal fireworks, and God Bless America.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
really random video: Sugarland "All I Want to Do"
I'm not the biggest country music fan in the world. For the most part, my country tastes run to Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam. You know, country music that sounds like country music. Unapologetic country. The country pop of recent decades does not move me.
But there are some acts now that seem to be getting it right, mixing good ol' boy music with a little bit of rock and a little slick pop and coming up with something listenable, catchy but not cloying. Lady Antebellum is one band doing that, Sugarland seems to be another. They've got a good sound and they look good in this video. And singer Jennifer Nettles looks like she would be an awfully fun date, if only I were 20 years younger, far better looking and, most importantly, not happily married for 20 years as of today.
But there are some acts now that seem to be getting it right, mixing good ol' boy music with a little bit of rock and a little slick pop and coming up with something listenable, catchy but not cloying. Lady Antebellum is one band doing that, Sugarland seems to be another. They've got a good sound and they look good in this video. And singer Jennifer Nettles looks like she would be an awfully fun date, if only I were 20 years younger, far better looking and, most importantly, not happily married for 20 years as of today.
They Got It Right This Time
How about that? The Supreme Court ruled that racism is wrong. Duh.
In the case of the white New Haven firefighters , they were denied promotions based on the color of their skin, even though they passed exams to be promoted. This is wrong. The Supreme Court ruled as such. They seemed to understand that racism, even if it's meant to diversify the workplace, is wrong.
Hopefully, with this ruling, society will begin to reverse a trend towards lower standards in the workplace and education, all in the name of correcting past racial injustices. If you really want to have a truly diverse and equal society, a quality education for all is the answer. Fighting racism with more racism just demeans us all.
In the case of the white New Haven firefighters , they were denied promotions based on the color of their skin, even though they passed exams to be promoted. This is wrong. The Supreme Court ruled as such. They seemed to understand that racism, even if it's meant to diversify the workplace, is wrong.
Hopefully, with this ruling, society will begin to reverse a trend towards lower standards in the workplace and education, all in the name of correcting past racial injustices. If you really want to have a truly diverse and equal society, a quality education for all is the answer. Fighting racism with more racism just demeans us all.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Death Comes in Threes
Three celebrities, three members of the entertainment world died this past week. They were each at different levels of success and acclaim, and at different points in their lives when Death knocked on their doors. They each leave behind vastly different legacies.
You may not have heard, but Michael Jackson died yesterday. No, really, it's true. I know they didn't cover it much on the TV news, but yes, the King of Pop is gone. But not forgotten. How he'll be remembered depends on the person doing the remembering. Definitely a mixed legacy with this guy.
I'm in my 40s so I remember seeing the young Michael with the Jackson Five on various television programs performing any one of a number of their hits. And they were good, really good, especially Michael, who went on to a solo career. And it started off well. And then came "Thriller." Blew the socks off of everybody. It was a pop masterpiece. (I must admit I never bought it because, at the time it came out, every time I turned on the radio, they were playing a song from that album, thus there was no need to part with my cash.)
If Michael Jackson had dropped dead within a few years of releasing "Thriller" the memory of him, and the memorializing and the mythologizing of him would be far greater than what has been accorded Elvis these last thirty some odd years since his passing.
If Jackson had dropped dead before all the cosmetic surgeries, before the whitening of the skin and the straightening of the hair, before he started hanging out with Elizabeth Taylor, before the oddball marriages, before the chimp and the hyperbaric chamber and the Neverland Ranch, before admitting to sleeping with boys that were no kin of his, before the horrible accusations...
If only.
But he wasn't that lucky, lucky enough to die at the right time, the right time to leave a great legacy and nothing more than a great legacy. But let me be honest about my feelings, it wasn't the circus of Michael Jackson's life that leaves me cold about his death, it was the thing with the kinder. I can't get past that, I don't forgive him that, and I don't mourn his passing. I didn't wish him dead, but I don't mourn him.
Farrah Fawcett was another story, sometimes kind of a strange story too, but never Michael Jackson strange.
There was The Poster. We all know about The Poster. Many boys had one on their bedroom wall back in the day, and, to be honest, she was a fairly good looking woman, even up until the end. There was The Hair. Many women wanted that hairstyle; many bands in the 1980s wanted it too (I'm talkin' to you, Bon Jovi). There was "The Burning Bed." There was The Appearance on Letterman's show, where she was perhaps more than a little flighty. (Don't bother looking; the video has been removed from YouTube.) There was The End. Who knew such a thing as anal cancer existed? I feel sorry for anyone afflicted with cancer.
So the legacy of Farrah Fawcett is what? A good lookin' chick who persevered, possibly despite the hair and the teeth and the looks, how about that? Not a bad legacy.
And then there is Ed McMahon. Despite all the other work he did, and he worked a lot, McMahon will forever be remembered as Johnny Carson's sidekick.
You know what, that's not a bad legacy to leave.
McMahon was a rock of support for Carson, always quick with a laugh or helpful comment. The two of them for thirty years did the best late night show TV will ever produce, and McMahon was an indispensable part of that show.
In the days after his death, I read or saw interviews with people who knew him, worked with him, met him in the street. To a person, they all said what a genuinely nice person McMahon was, always enjoying life, even in the times of struggle, such as his financial problems of the last few years.
People remembering him as a nice man who enjoyed life. You know what, that may be the best legacy of all to leave behind.
Here's a little clip of Ed and Johnny back in the time when they did live commercials on "The Tonight Show." You can see here just what made them so much fun to watch.
You may not have heard, but Michael Jackson died yesterday. No, really, it's true. I know they didn't cover it much on the TV news, but yes, the King of Pop is gone. But not forgotten. How he'll be remembered depends on the person doing the remembering. Definitely a mixed legacy with this guy.
I'm in my 40s so I remember seeing the young Michael with the Jackson Five on various television programs performing any one of a number of their hits. And they were good, really good, especially Michael, who went on to a solo career. And it started off well. And then came "Thriller." Blew the socks off of everybody. It was a pop masterpiece. (I must admit I never bought it because, at the time it came out, every time I turned on the radio, they were playing a song from that album, thus there was no need to part with my cash.)
If Michael Jackson had dropped dead within a few years of releasing "Thriller" the memory of him, and the memorializing and the mythologizing of him would be far greater than what has been accorded Elvis these last thirty some odd years since his passing.
If Jackson had dropped dead before all the cosmetic surgeries, before the whitening of the skin and the straightening of the hair, before he started hanging out with Elizabeth Taylor, before the oddball marriages, before the chimp and the hyperbaric chamber and the Neverland Ranch, before admitting to sleeping with boys that were no kin of his, before the horrible accusations...
If only.
But he wasn't that lucky, lucky enough to die at the right time, the right time to leave a great legacy and nothing more than a great legacy. But let me be honest about my feelings, it wasn't the circus of Michael Jackson's life that leaves me cold about his death, it was the thing with the kinder. I can't get past that, I don't forgive him that, and I don't mourn his passing. I didn't wish him dead, but I don't mourn him.
Farrah Fawcett was another story, sometimes kind of a strange story too, but never Michael Jackson strange.
There was The Poster. We all know about The Poster. Many boys had one on their bedroom wall back in the day, and, to be honest, she was a fairly good looking woman, even up until the end. There was The Hair. Many women wanted that hairstyle; many bands in the 1980s wanted it too (I'm talkin' to you, Bon Jovi). There was "The Burning Bed." There was The Appearance on Letterman's show, where she was perhaps more than a little flighty. (Don't bother looking; the video has been removed from YouTube.) There was The End. Who knew such a thing as anal cancer existed? I feel sorry for anyone afflicted with cancer.
So the legacy of Farrah Fawcett is what? A good lookin' chick who persevered, possibly despite the hair and the teeth and the looks, how about that? Not a bad legacy.
And then there is Ed McMahon. Despite all the other work he did, and he worked a lot, McMahon will forever be remembered as Johnny Carson's sidekick.
You know what, that's not a bad legacy to leave.
McMahon was a rock of support for Carson, always quick with a laugh or helpful comment. The two of them for thirty years did the best late night show TV will ever produce, and McMahon was an indispensable part of that show.
In the days after his death, I read or saw interviews with people who knew him, worked with him, met him in the street. To a person, they all said what a genuinely nice person McMahon was, always enjoying life, even in the times of struggle, such as his financial problems of the last few years.
People remembering him as a nice man who enjoyed life. You know what, that may be the best legacy of all to leave behind.
Here's a little clip of Ed and Johnny back in the time when they did live commercials on "The Tonight Show." You can see here just what made them so much fun to watch.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Down South America Way; or, Don't Cry For Me, South Carolina
As we all know by now, the governor of South Carolina decided to go away for a long weekend. In Argentina. Did he really believe he could leave his rather high profile job for five days without telling anybody where he was going, nor having any contact with anyone?
"Honey, I'm going out for a walk."
"Why do you have your passport with you?"
"Oh, no reason. Gotta go."
You know, this governor dude was critical of Bill Clinton for his extra-marital monkey business, but at least Clinton didn't have to go to another continent just to have a good time. I do have to give Gov. Sanford credit, though, for coming up with hiking the Appalachian Trail as an excuse for his whereabouts. That's creative.
"Honey, I'm going out for a walk."
"Why do you have your passport with you?"
"Oh, no reason. Gotta go."
You know, this governor dude was critical of Bill Clinton for his extra-marital monkey business, but at least Clinton didn't have to go to another continent just to have a good time. I do have to give Gov. Sanford credit, though, for coming up with hiking the Appalachian Trail as an excuse for his whereabouts. That's creative.
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