Greetings once again all the visitors to the blogoshere. In the words of Professor Farnsworth of "Futurama" I have good news everybody. Though this is actually good news, it isn't always when he does it. I've recently listed this blog with Technorati.com. They're one of the largest blog directories out there.
They have millions of people a day coming it to peruse the blogs listed on there. So I'm hoping that will help drive some more readers to this site. Not that I don't appreciate the ones I currently have. I definitely do, however this is one of those cases where more is better
So with that said I hope to be greeting even more of you on a more regular basis as this moves forward. As always feel free to comment with your thoughts. Follow the blog using the button on here as well as on Facebook and share with your friends anyway you feel moved to do so. Til next time thanks for coming by.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
"Who says...................?"
Greetings once again all those of the blogosphere. Any of you who've been reading along or who have read through my past postings should know I'm a big baseball fan. For me Pitchers and Catchers reporting can't come soon enough. While admittedly I've been reduced to more of a casual fan status since the end of the regular season, well partially since just after the All-Star break when the M's went on their historical 19 game losing streak, but mostly since the playoffs started. When that happened I didn't really have a horse in the race anymore. So while I payed attention, it was no longer "must see" TV for me.
I have been paying attention more closely since the World Series began. Again still no horse in the race, but Texas is at least in the M's division so I continue to root against them. For those of you who don't understand the appeal of baseball, and think it's boring you don't know what you're missing. All it would take is watching Game 6 of this series even if only from the 6th inning on and you'd be hooked.
So if you've said baseball is boring in the past. Maybe it's time to give it another chance. It may just give you the roller coaster ride of your life in the process.
I have been paying attention more closely since the World Series began. Again still no horse in the race, but Texas is at least in the M's division so I continue to root against them. For those of you who don't understand the appeal of baseball, and think it's boring you don't know what you're missing. All it would take is watching Game 6 of this series even if only from the 6th inning on and you'd be hooked.
It had everything that most Primetime TV shows haven't had since the mid-late 90's and the advent of "reality" TV. It had strategy, it had intrigue, it had the unexpected. It had Texas Manager Ron Washington using 2 pitchers in an inning............TO HIT. It had the pain of defeat and the joy that can only come from getting to play for one more day. Once you started watching it sucked you in and there was no way you could turn it off.
Now while it's true the TV ratings for this series have been down, this game quite simply had something for everyone. Someone once said you watch enough baseball you see things you've never seen before and this game definitely had that. It had errors being made by big leaguers you normally only see made by little leaguers. Though when the little leaguers make them, it's way cuter. Plus win or lose they usually get to hit Dairy Queen either way. It had mammoth home runs that seemed to travel into a different area code. It had a team seemingly down and out twice, battling back to survive.
In the book "Ball Four" pitcher/author Jim Bouton wrote "You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out it was the other way around all the time." Never is that more true than in games like that. The drama is palpable and as you watch you can feel your heartbeat increase. That kind of an experience isn't one that comes along with just anything. Certainly doesn't happen during an episode of "Jersey Shore". Any feelings during that are more along the lines of needing a shower or having dinner make a return trip.
So if you've said baseball is boring in the past. Maybe it's time to give it another chance. It may just give you the roller coaster ride of your life in the process.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
"Marking the time.........."
Greetings again all those who find their way to my humble corner of the blogosphere. I've even managed to come up with something two days in a row now so I've got a bit of a hitting streak going. Though now that I've talked about it, I've probably gone and blown it. I'll do my best to keep the creative juices flowing as long as you people come back looking for more.
As far as today is concerned it's the anniversary or birthday of my musings on here. I'm not sure which one to go with though I suppose either works equally well. It was a year ago that I logged my first post on here. I started off strong but faded a bit. I'm hoping with year two I'll have a bit more staying power.
A lot has happened within that time frame. With that time passing it certainly gives us a lot to look back on. As far as this space is concerned, I'm choosing to focus more on moving forward. On expanding this endeavor and truly hitting my stride.
I definitely don't want to turn this into a political blog, though as a sort of P.S. to yesterdays post when Pat Robertson of all people calls the GOP to extreme you have to love the irony just a little bit. It's really a pot calling the kettle black situation. Not that he isn't right, but still. Was at least good for a quality laugh. Well that and Rick Perry's "genius" 20% flat tax idea. I'll let Colbert and Stewart handle the jokes on that one. I just keep waiting for him to think he's Steve Perry and break into "Open Arms."
Things here in the 'Ham, while significantly less exciting, have also been fairly unfall-like lately. The sun apparently hasn't gotten the memo that it was supposed to be on hiatus until somewhere around Memorial Day. The clear skies did make for a pretty cool view of the Northern Lights tonight. So that was a nice treat for my inner 8 year old boy.
I suppose I'll finish this up and make way in my head for my next posting. I'll bid you all adieu and continue to look forward to the future. Looking back is alright for a short time, much longer than that you just end up running into stuff.
Monday, October 24, 2011
"Answers from the great beyond."
Hey there shiny happy blogosphere people. You're probably not all holding hands. Sorry channeling Michael Stipe there and got a little carried away. Granted it's been a while and there's not that many of you. However I will hopefully be able to provide a more consistent amount of reading material. My problem in writing has been the vast amount of information out there and not wanting to duplicate what's already been covered. I mean, when there's an entire internet as well as what's left of the newspaper industry out there what's left to cover by me.
I'll give it a shot anyway and just see what I come up with. I guess the big story of the week has been the end of the Qadahfi, Kadaphi, Gaddafi or whichever spelling everyone wants to go with this week. I swear when I did a report on Libya it was the Q version of the guy. Personally I could never figure out why as a dictator he never promoted himself beyond Colonel. This of course issues in a new era in Libya and further "progress" theoretically in the middle east. While having the Colonel out of power is obviously a step in the right direction. There's "miles to go before we sleep." Both for Libya and the region as a whole. The vast power vacuums created by the destabilization of long term dictatorships makes it easy for extremists to move in and take over. At a minimum throw a wrench in the process towards the freedom that the people have been fighting for.
Here at home the presidential election season seems to start the moment they hold the inauguration. There's also extremists here to be worried about. Though they seem to be calling themselves Republicans, Libertarians, or "Tea Party" these days. All these candidates, who if asked will tell you how much they admire the Presidency and ideals of Ronald Reagan. However if Reagan was to be running today he'd be liberal even by Democratic party standards. That's how far the political spectrum has been pulled to the right. They've gone well beyond "trickle down" economics to just plain let businesses do whatever they want. Whether that's dump a bunch of oil in the Gulf of Mexico without any penalty, or allowing banks to gamble with their clients money and making huge bonuses as those clients lose their houses.
Not that there isn't extremists on the other end of the political spectrum. Recently they've taken on a face with the "Occupy ____________" movement. What started in New York City has had offshoots show up all over. Even here in Seattle. Now while I agree with the premise of the movement. I can't say that the people who are showing up for these rally's appear to even have a clue what's going on or what the 'movement' is about. From the time I've spent in the Westlake Center area of Seattle, looking through the crowd gathered around it seemed to be made up mostly of the homeless population looking for a place to squat more than anything else. It certainly doesn't look to be made up of people likely to be filling up the ballot boxes come next November. I can hope that it raises some awareness of the issue along the way. I can hope that it gets people who have become so apathetic politically that they think nothing can ever change to wake up.
First the steps need to be taken to assure the congressman/women and senators, who are elected by the people, are actually working towards their constituencies interests instead of the interests of the corporate donors. Corporations are not people too, and a lobbyist shouldn't wield more influence than the votes at home. So that starts with closing the loopholes that allow the corporate donations to political campaigns in the first place. After that the repeal of the Dubya tax cuts for good and a return to even a Clinton Era tax structure is also a good place to start. I'd also suggest making all the corporate CEO bonuses taxable. When they can't buy the votes of congress to keep these things from happening real progress is likely to be made and the influx of money that will provide will go a long way towards making things better for everyone, not just that top 1%.
Now I'm not saying that I have all the answers or any of them really. I certainly can't do any worse than those that are already out there. I'm also not the first one to suggest them I'm sure. However, someone (most likely my mother) once told me not to complain about a problem without suggesting how I would solve it so there you have it.
I suppose that's all I've got for now. Til the next episode.
I'll give it a shot anyway and just see what I come up with. I guess the big story of the week has been the end of the Qadahfi, Kadaphi, Gaddafi or whichever spelling everyone wants to go with this week. I swear when I did a report on Libya it was the Q version of the guy. Personally I could never figure out why as a dictator he never promoted himself beyond Colonel. This of course issues in a new era in Libya and further "progress" theoretically in the middle east. While having the Colonel out of power is obviously a step in the right direction. There's "miles to go before we sleep." Both for Libya and the region as a whole. The vast power vacuums created by the destabilization of long term dictatorships makes it easy for extremists to move in and take over. At a minimum throw a wrench in the process towards the freedom that the people have been fighting for.
Here at home the presidential election season seems to start the moment they hold the inauguration. There's also extremists here to be worried about. Though they seem to be calling themselves Republicans, Libertarians, or "Tea Party" these days. All these candidates, who if asked will tell you how much they admire the Presidency and ideals of Ronald Reagan. However if Reagan was to be running today he'd be liberal even by Democratic party standards. That's how far the political spectrum has been pulled to the right. They've gone well beyond "trickle down" economics to just plain let businesses do whatever they want. Whether that's dump a bunch of oil in the Gulf of Mexico without any penalty, or allowing banks to gamble with their clients money and making huge bonuses as those clients lose their houses.
Not that there isn't extremists on the other end of the political spectrum. Recently they've taken on a face with the "Occupy ____________" movement. What started in New York City has had offshoots show up all over. Even here in Seattle. Now while I agree with the premise of the movement. I can't say that the people who are showing up for these rally's appear to even have a clue what's going on or what the 'movement' is about. From the time I've spent in the Westlake Center area of Seattle, looking through the crowd gathered around it seemed to be made up mostly of the homeless population looking for a place to squat more than anything else. It certainly doesn't look to be made up of people likely to be filling up the ballot boxes come next November. I can hope that it raises some awareness of the issue along the way. I can hope that it gets people who have become so apathetic politically that they think nothing can ever change to wake up.
First the steps need to be taken to assure the congressman/women and senators, who are elected by the people, are actually working towards their constituencies interests instead of the interests of the corporate donors. Corporations are not people too, and a lobbyist shouldn't wield more influence than the votes at home. So that starts with closing the loopholes that allow the corporate donations to political campaigns in the first place. After that the repeal of the Dubya tax cuts for good and a return to even a Clinton Era tax structure is also a good place to start. I'd also suggest making all the corporate CEO bonuses taxable. When they can't buy the votes of congress to keep these things from happening real progress is likely to be made and the influx of money that will provide will go a long way towards making things better for everyone, not just that top 1%.
Now I'm not saying that I have all the answers or any of them really. I certainly can't do any worse than those that are already out there. I'm also not the first one to suggest them I'm sure. However, someone (most likely my mother) once told me not to complain about a problem without suggesting how I would solve it so there you have it.
I suppose that's all I've got for now. Til the next episode.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
"O Captain! My Captain!"
For those of you who know me, you probably already know I'm a huge Seattle Mariners fan. Through the good and the bad, and we ALL know there was a WHOLE LOTTA bad before it got good. I've followed em either way. I'm one of those weird people who actually looks foward to the spring and hearing the voice of Dave Neihaus welcoming me to another prestegious night at SAFECO Field. It's like welcoming home a family member who's been gone for a while. It just makes ya feel good to hear that voice. It will be a sad day when he decides to retire. But today isn't about Dave. It's bout another member of the Mariners family. One who joined us all in 1994. Who, when Lou Pinella joined the team as manager in '93 from Cincinatti, liked this guy so much that he begged the Mariners management at the time to get him. Since his arrival he became a permanant fixture in the Seattle lineup and in our hearts as well. He's been a comfort to fans, the community, and especially pitchers. He played with an all out passion and effort that seems so rare to find in players these days. We knew any night that he took the field he'd do whatever it would take to help the team win. Whether it be diving into the stands, dugout, or anyplace else to catch a ball. Stopping a wild pitch in the dirt, being run over by a baserunner at the plate, throwing a man out at second or third, or laying down a sac bunt. Though in the Kingdome years there wasn't a whole lotta bunting going on. Well there was, but they went outta the park too. He sat back there while others got the glory and the attention. Ever steady, ever the rock. Always saying the right thing. Always putting the team first. He was there when Randy Johnson was more like "Wild Thing" Rick Vaughn than a future Cy Young Award winner. He was there in the Kingdome when final scores looked more like the Seahawks should be playing than a baseball game. Those first few years he put fear in the hearts of potential base stealers. Though he never won a Gold Glove, and only made one All Star Game appearance in 1996 they all knew better. They knew if they tried to take second the ball would be there waiting for em. He's given us moments we'll never forget. The "Refuse to Lose" season of 1995. The inside the park home run in '97 against the Tigers in the Kingdome. Who knew a catcher could run??? Though I'm pretty sure they had him on Oxygen after he got in the dugout. We knew what hearing Salt 'N Pepa's "Whatta Man" start playing meant. He was there for the bad season in 1994 , the season that saved the Mariners in 1995, and the incredible season of 2001. He wasn't the one that got asked for interviews. He wasn't the one w/the big shoe deal. He wasn't the one w/his name on the posters. He wasn't the one making a light bat. He wasn't the one making super human catches over the centerfield wall. He wasn't the one that would make $250 million. He was the one that came to work everyday. He was the one that helped Randy become one of the most feared pitchers in the league. He was the one that gave confidence to a very young pitching staff full of names we'd never heard of but would soon grow to love. He was the one that told em, look it's just us out here let's play some catch. And they did. So thanks Dan. Thanks for doing the little things. Thanks for coming to Seattle and making our team and community a better place. You are now and always will be one of our favorites. You'll always be Dan the man.
For those of you thinking all of that seems a little out of place, it was more of an intro to the topic of tonight's posting. I wrote that a couple of years ago upon the retiring of Dan Wilson, the long time catcher for the Seattle Mariners. Like the Bronco's losing Elway, and the Dolphins losing Marino, the Mariners haven't been the same behind the plate since.
Today the Mariners family suffered an even more devastating loss. Dave Neihaus, the voice of the Seattle Mariners since the first pitch was thrown by Diego Segui back in 1977 died of a heart attack today. Back when I wrote that original blog I said it'd be a sad day when Dave retired. Figuring we probably had a good decade left to continue hearing his gentle mid-western tones describe the pictures to us from our boys of summer. He was a Seattle establishment. A sign of spring and that summer was on it's way.
Now I could sit here and spout off about the 5,284 games he broadcast for the Mariners, but you'll get things like that in every story out there. Instead I want to give you the impact he had on me personally and on my small portion of the Mariner family.
Baseball in America is often passed down father to son. One of those things that we all just do. Going out having afternoon or evening catches in the backyard. It's basically the entire premise of the film "Field of Dreams." Where Ray Cansela builds a baseball field in his corn field, so that he can have the catch with his father he turned down when he was growing up. For me the relationship with baseball came about a little differently. I never played organized ball. Growing up I'd watched my parents play in church softball games and "Pinch Run" in a few of them long after the score actually stopped mattering to anyone. But I'd never heard or seen a real live game.
The first memory I have of that is being in Seattle visiting my Grandmother and Great Grandmother (GeeGee). While we were there they both had the Mariners game on the radio and were listening to Dave Neihaus. Gee Gee learned to love baseball with her husband while the lived in Nebraska. Being from Missouri and with most of his family still living there he was a Cardinals fan. So no doubt she got to hear games the same way Dave himself did growing up in Indiana listening to Cardinals games and the great Stan Musial.
As my visits to Seattle continued in the summer growing up, listening to the Mariners games on the radio is just what we did whenever I was at my Grandmother's house. With Dave's style of broadcasting and way of setting the scene, you didn't need a TV. You could see it all perfectly in your mind. Once we moved closer to Seattle listening to the games became easier to do myself. By the time this happened the Mariners started getting more games on TV as well. But Dave was still the play by play guy there too.
During the late 80's and early 90's the Mariners started a program where they would give free tickets to certain games to students who got good grades. I was lucky enough to be those as were I'm sure plenty of others. They were never great seats, but to a 10-13 year old boy it didn't matter. They were free and they were mine. My first live game in person came in 1988. It was in the Kingdome against the Twins. My father and I went together along with my friend Dan. Dave came with us too as I was sure to bring my glove and my walkman so I could still hear the game on the radio. The next year it was the Athletics, the seats were a little better and my Mother went with me to enjoy the game. By then there was a 19 year old kid playing center field and lighting up the dreary grey Kingdome with his smile, with his bat, and with his glove.
It was that same smile we all grew to love. Including Dave himself. For those of you who don't know. That smile belongs to Ken Griffey Jr. Albeit now a little older, that grin can still light up a stadium. His relationship with Neihaus started back then and continued when he returned to the Mariners in 2009. He could often be caught when he wasn't playing on the field, playing in the booth messing with Dave before, or during the broadcast.
During the unforgettable season in 1995 it was Dave himself who foreshadowed "The Double" that would forever change the future of the Seattle Mariners. "Right now, the Mariners looking for the tie. They would take a fly ball, they would love a base hit into the gap and they could win it with Junior's speed. The stretch ... and the 0-1 pitch on the way to Edgar Martinez, swung on and LINED DOWN THE LEFT-FIELD LINE FOR A BASE HIT! HERE COMES JOEY, HERE IS JUNIOR TO THIRD BASE, THEY'RE GOING TO WAVE HIM IN! THE THROW TO THE PLATE WILL BE ... LATE! THE MARINERS ARE GOING TO PLAY FOR THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! IT JUST CONTINUES! MY OH MY!"
His signature "MY OH MY!" "Fly Fly Away!" and "Get out the rye bread and the mustard grandma is GRAND SALAMI TIME!" echo through all our minds at the mere mention. They even were used a few years ago in the famous Seattle Mariners commercials. In which, Kaz Sasaki was learning English the "Dave Neihaus" way.
Dave Neihaus is the Mariners sole representative in the Baseball Hall of Fame after being the recipient of the Frick Award.. While there's no doubt Junior, Pay-Roid, and The Big Unit will all eventually be inducted. As well as hopefully Edgar Martinez, Dave is still and always will be the first. I don't know how they can retire a microphone, but it wouldn't seem fitting if his name wasn't hanging in the rafters at Safeco Field where he threw out the first pitch ever on opening day. It was the fans themselves who picked him to do so. Alvin Davis was nicknamed "Mr. Mariner", however I think it can be well argued that it's Neihaus who's the true Captain of the S.S. Mariner. So with his passing I think Walt Whitman's words seem relevant.
For those of you thinking all of that seems a little out of place, it was more of an intro to the topic of tonight's posting. I wrote that a couple of years ago upon the retiring of Dan Wilson, the long time catcher for the Seattle Mariners. Like the Bronco's losing Elway, and the Dolphins losing Marino, the Mariners haven't been the same behind the plate since.
Today the Mariners family suffered an even more devastating loss. Dave Neihaus, the voice of the Seattle Mariners since the first pitch was thrown by Diego Segui back in 1977 died of a heart attack today. Back when I wrote that original blog I said it'd be a sad day when Dave retired. Figuring we probably had a good decade left to continue hearing his gentle mid-western tones describe the pictures to us from our boys of summer. He was a Seattle establishment. A sign of spring and that summer was on it's way.
Now I could sit here and spout off about the 5,284 games he broadcast for the Mariners, but you'll get things like that in every story out there. Instead I want to give you the impact he had on me personally and on my small portion of the Mariner family.
Baseball in America is often passed down father to son. One of those things that we all just do. Going out having afternoon or evening catches in the backyard. It's basically the entire premise of the film "Field of Dreams." Where Ray Cansela builds a baseball field in his corn field, so that he can have the catch with his father he turned down when he was growing up. For me the relationship with baseball came about a little differently. I never played organized ball. Growing up I'd watched my parents play in church softball games and "Pinch Run" in a few of them long after the score actually stopped mattering to anyone. But I'd never heard or seen a real live game.
The first memory I have of that is being in Seattle visiting my Grandmother and Great Grandmother (GeeGee). While we were there they both had the Mariners game on the radio and were listening to Dave Neihaus. Gee Gee learned to love baseball with her husband while the lived in Nebraska. Being from Missouri and with most of his family still living there he was a Cardinals fan. So no doubt she got to hear games the same way Dave himself did growing up in Indiana listening to Cardinals games and the great Stan Musial.
As my visits to Seattle continued in the summer growing up, listening to the Mariners games on the radio is just what we did whenever I was at my Grandmother's house. With Dave's style of broadcasting and way of setting the scene, you didn't need a TV. You could see it all perfectly in your mind. Once we moved closer to Seattle listening to the games became easier to do myself. By the time this happened the Mariners started getting more games on TV as well. But Dave was still the play by play guy there too.
During the late 80's and early 90's the Mariners started a program where they would give free tickets to certain games to students who got good grades. I was lucky enough to be those as were I'm sure plenty of others. They were never great seats, but to a 10-13 year old boy it didn't matter. They were free and they were mine. My first live game in person came in 1988. It was in the Kingdome against the Twins. My father and I went together along with my friend Dan. Dave came with us too as I was sure to bring my glove and my walkman so I could still hear the game on the radio. The next year it was the Athletics, the seats were a little better and my Mother went with me to enjoy the game. By then there was a 19 year old kid playing center field and lighting up the dreary grey Kingdome with his smile, with his bat, and with his glove.
It was that same smile we all grew to love. Including Dave himself. For those of you who don't know. That smile belongs to Ken Griffey Jr. Albeit now a little older, that grin can still light up a stadium. His relationship with Neihaus started back then and continued when he returned to the Mariners in 2009. He could often be caught when he wasn't playing on the field, playing in the booth messing with Dave before, or during the broadcast.
During the unforgettable season in 1995 it was Dave himself who foreshadowed "The Double" that would forever change the future of the Seattle Mariners. "Right now, the Mariners looking for the tie. They would take a fly ball, they would love a base hit into the gap and they could win it with Junior's speed. The stretch ... and the 0-1 pitch on the way to Edgar Martinez, swung on and LINED DOWN THE LEFT-FIELD LINE FOR A BASE HIT! HERE COMES JOEY, HERE IS JUNIOR TO THIRD BASE, THEY'RE GOING TO WAVE HIM IN! THE THROW TO THE PLATE WILL BE ... LATE! THE MARINERS ARE GOING TO PLAY FOR THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! IT JUST CONTINUES! MY OH MY!"
His signature "MY OH MY!" "Fly Fly Away!" and "Get out the rye bread and the mustard grandma is GRAND SALAMI TIME!" echo through all our minds at the mere mention. They even were used a few years ago in the famous Seattle Mariners commercials. In which, Kaz Sasaki was learning English the "Dave Neihaus" way.
Dave Neihaus is the Mariners sole representative in the Baseball Hall of Fame after being the recipient of the Frick Award.. While there's no doubt Junior, Pay-Roid, and The Big Unit will all eventually be inducted. As well as hopefully Edgar Martinez, Dave is still and always will be the first. I don't know how they can retire a microphone, but it wouldn't seem fitting if his name wasn't hanging in the rafters at Safeco Field where he threw out the first pitch ever on opening day. It was the fans themselves who picked him to do so. Alvin Davis was nicknamed "Mr. Mariner", however I think it can be well argued that it's Neihaus who's the true Captain of the S.S. Mariner. So with his passing I think Walt Whitman's words seem relevant.
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; | |
| The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; | |
| The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, | |
| While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring: | |
| But O heart! heart! heart! | 5 |
| O the bleeding drops of red, | |
| Where on the deck my Captain lies, | |
| Fallen cold and dead. | |
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; | |
| Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; | 10 |
| For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding; | |
| For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; | |
| Here Captain! dear father! | |
| This arm beneath your head; | |
| It is some dream that on the deck, | 15 |
| You’ve fallen cold and dead. | |
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; | |
| My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; | |
| The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; | |
| From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; | 20 |
| Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! | |
| But I, with mournful tread, | |
| Walk the deck my Captain lies, | |
| Fallen cold and dead. With that God it's time to put away the Yankees hat, we all know you've got it. Tell Ruth and Gerhig to stuff it. Lay out the rye bread and the mustard, cause the grand salami himself is on his way and he'll want to keep watching the Mariners. |
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Stop The Insanity!
With today being All Hallow's Eve, people tend to get a little crazy. Which is fine, everyone needs to blow off some steam and deserves to have a little fun in costume once in a while. As I've said before I'm all for girls putting on as little as legally possible and running around in public.
However, without even leaving my apartment last night, the insanity found it's way in. My next door neighbors went out to a party and came back to continue the festivities at their place around 1am. Which was fine they were obviously highly inebriated at that point and made a serious amount of noise coming in. That was fine too, I wasn't in bed yet and had just finished a movie. By the time I did head to bed and get ready the festivities next door had quickly erupted into the stairwell. One of the patrons felt it necessary to take his girlfriend into stairwell to yell at her and berate her. As if that somehow meant that the people inside the apartment could no longer hear him yelling. At that point I'm fairly certain half the county could hear him. He continued escalating until I couldn't stand it anymore. I got dressed and decided to intervene. This girl had obviously done nothing wrong, but was being made to feel that way with every word that came out of his mouth. She was also being made to do so while in costume. Let's just say parts of it resembled a firefighter, kinda. "You're a stupid b****." "I hate you and never really loved you anyway." "Why don't you listen to me?" "Do you see what YOU are causing?" Since obviously none of it was his fault. I don't know what started the argument. But I went out to put a stop to it. After I came out, in typical victim fashion she defended him, and how it wasn't his fault. I told her how she didn't deserve to be treated like that, and how he wasn't worth it, but she stood there and defended him. Then got chastised for it in the process by him.
The behavior on the guys part was obviously irreprehensible. There was no excuse for it, not justifying it, but there she was walking off and defending him anyway. Finally she left him and he started to leave. Not a few minutes later she was back down in what was an attempt to regain some dignity and tell him off. However, this quickly backfired on her, as her girlfriends in the party offered no physical or moral support, and she decided to confront the guy in front of his 3 buddies, thus he had to macho it up further to save face. He regained the upper hand the way those arguments always seem to go, and eventually verbally bullied her into the car. Where it was apparent she didn't want to be, but felt she had no other recourse.
This is a situation that happens far to often and as a guy I apologize on behalf of my gender to those who have to be the victims of it. No one should have to be treated like that. Now or ever. It's horrible that this kind of things happens, and like this incident far to often goes completely unreported. Even if that girl does get the courage to end things with him at some point. The scars of last night will echo long after he's gone. Those are the things we all carry around, and some other guy is going to have to deal with that pain he inflicted. Hopefully her choice in guys improves, but I have a feeling that unfortunately there's more of that same guy in the future.
To wrap this portion of the program up all I can do is hope for a few things. 1) That girl realizes sooner rather than later, that he's not worth it. 2) That her friends see that she needs help, support, and get it for her. 3) That somehow someway this plea finds a way to reach her or them. 4) That women who do read this don't allow a guy to do that to you. 5) If it does happen, say something, to someone. The help is there, you're not wrong and you have nothing to be ashamed of. He does. So help yourselves and help stop that insanity from happening.
Onto other things that seem to fit the headline. Last night I read this article. http://www.popeater.com/2010/10/28/how-much-do-teen-mom-stars-make/?ncid=webmail
It hits on a topic I had discussed with a few people last week. Dr. Drew Pinsky, of LoveLine fame, started this show to illustrate a problem that this country has. One that far to often gets ignored or glossed over. Teenage pregnancy. Obviously it's a "Reality" show, aired through his long term partnership with the people at no longer Music TeleVision. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's called "16 and Pregnant." From the pieces of it I've seen it for the most part does the job it was set out to do. Shows the perils and life changes these girls go through because they got pregnant before they graduated high school. Usually by guys with no education, no way to support them or the child. The over all message is definitely "Don't let this happen to you."
However, that message is getting blurred by the "celebritization" and exploitation of these girls. Not only are they paid $60,000 a year to do the show, but on top of that there's the money they get by allowing their faces to be plastered all over the supermarket tabloids in the process. $60,000. That's more than most teachers, as much as Police Officers, and Firefighters get for jobs that actually contribute to society. Are our priorities that far off? Have they done ANYTHING to deserve that other than get pregnant and fail to graduate High School? Should we REALLY be rewarding this behavior? Maybe it's just me and my cynicism. But some girl somewhere is going to see this and think that these girls getting pregnant is a good thing. She's going to think that she can be next, that it's her ticket to fortune and fame.
Granted it may be a girl who was already a fairly high risk for this situation to happen already. But it certainly adds encouragement where it's not needed. I don't know how many minds this show it changing. I would hope that good parenting can convince kids that it's not something they should be doing. I'm sure in most cases it does. However, I'm also more and more convinced that good parents are an endangered species. They're becoming as rare as long term successful marriages.
My concern is for the girls who get the added kick they needed to want to get pregnant before getting a High School diploma. My concern is for the girls who are in the middle, who maybe wouldn't have had sex or gotten pregnant before, but now see this and the money they get for doing so, and think "Maybe this isn't so bad after all." Television and shows like this carry a profound impact. If you don't believe me take a walk out tonight and count the number of "Snooki", "The Situation." and "Lady Gaga" costumes. Sure most of them are going to be in jest, but the actions they have work their way into society when we're not paying attention. So I ask that parents talk to their kids about these things. Turn the tube off, take away their cell phones, shut down their laptops, and have a conversation. It just may be the thing that changes their life, because as large an impact as TV has, it's can be overcome by the parent. If they're not to busy to do so.
This show and every other "Reality" show like it have become a plague. They've taken over the airwaves until we're hard pressed to find anything else on. Personally I refer to them as "Television for the illiterate." Often depicting the worst in people and society has to offer. They make people feel better about themselves who watch it. My question is, if we feel so bad about ourselves that we NEED these shows around to make us feel better about our lives, isn't there a bigger issue? Television networks air these things because they're dirt cheap to make and the ratings for them are through the roof. Meaning they can jack up what they charge the advertisers to show commercials during the show, and increase their profit margin in the process. Should we really be helping TV execs who already make 10's to 100's of MILLIONS pad their bottom line? We should demand better. If we're going to watch it, we should have standards and demand it actually has some kind of content. Not just gluttonous voyeurism to boost our own egos. So stop the insanity, and read a book.
However, without even leaving my apartment last night, the insanity found it's way in. My next door neighbors went out to a party and came back to continue the festivities at their place around 1am. Which was fine they were obviously highly inebriated at that point and made a serious amount of noise coming in. That was fine too, I wasn't in bed yet and had just finished a movie. By the time I did head to bed and get ready the festivities next door had quickly erupted into the stairwell. One of the patrons felt it necessary to take his girlfriend into stairwell to yell at her and berate her. As if that somehow meant that the people inside the apartment could no longer hear him yelling. At that point I'm fairly certain half the county could hear him. He continued escalating until I couldn't stand it anymore. I got dressed and decided to intervene. This girl had obviously done nothing wrong, but was being made to feel that way with every word that came out of his mouth. She was also being made to do so while in costume. Let's just say parts of it resembled a firefighter, kinda. "You're a stupid b****." "I hate you and never really loved you anyway." "Why don't you listen to me?" "Do you see what YOU are causing?" Since obviously none of it was his fault. I don't know what started the argument. But I went out to put a stop to it. After I came out, in typical victim fashion she defended him, and how it wasn't his fault. I told her how she didn't deserve to be treated like that, and how he wasn't worth it, but she stood there and defended him. Then got chastised for it in the process by him.
The behavior on the guys part was obviously irreprehensible. There was no excuse for it, not justifying it, but there she was walking off and defending him anyway. Finally she left him and he started to leave. Not a few minutes later she was back down in what was an attempt to regain some dignity and tell him off. However, this quickly backfired on her, as her girlfriends in the party offered no physical or moral support, and she decided to confront the guy in front of his 3 buddies, thus he had to macho it up further to save face. He regained the upper hand the way those arguments always seem to go, and eventually verbally bullied her into the car. Where it was apparent she didn't want to be, but felt she had no other recourse.
This is a situation that happens far to often and as a guy I apologize on behalf of my gender to those who have to be the victims of it. No one should have to be treated like that. Now or ever. It's horrible that this kind of things happens, and like this incident far to often goes completely unreported. Even if that girl does get the courage to end things with him at some point. The scars of last night will echo long after he's gone. Those are the things we all carry around, and some other guy is going to have to deal with that pain he inflicted. Hopefully her choice in guys improves, but I have a feeling that unfortunately there's more of that same guy in the future.
To wrap this portion of the program up all I can do is hope for a few things. 1) That girl realizes sooner rather than later, that he's not worth it. 2) That her friends see that she needs help, support, and get it for her. 3) That somehow someway this plea finds a way to reach her or them. 4) That women who do read this don't allow a guy to do that to you. 5) If it does happen, say something, to someone. The help is there, you're not wrong and you have nothing to be ashamed of. He does. So help yourselves and help stop that insanity from happening.
Onto other things that seem to fit the headline. Last night I read this article. http://www.popeater.com/2010/10/28/how-much-do-teen-mom-stars-make/?ncid=webmail
It hits on a topic I had discussed with a few people last week. Dr. Drew Pinsky, of LoveLine fame, started this show to illustrate a problem that this country has. One that far to often gets ignored or glossed over. Teenage pregnancy. Obviously it's a "Reality" show, aired through his long term partnership with the people at no longer Music TeleVision. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's called "16 and Pregnant." From the pieces of it I've seen it for the most part does the job it was set out to do. Shows the perils and life changes these girls go through because they got pregnant before they graduated high school. Usually by guys with no education, no way to support them or the child. The over all message is definitely "Don't let this happen to you."
However, that message is getting blurred by the "celebritization" and exploitation of these girls. Not only are they paid $60,000 a year to do the show, but on top of that there's the money they get by allowing their faces to be plastered all over the supermarket tabloids in the process. $60,000. That's more than most teachers, as much as Police Officers, and Firefighters get for jobs that actually contribute to society. Are our priorities that far off? Have they done ANYTHING to deserve that other than get pregnant and fail to graduate High School? Should we REALLY be rewarding this behavior? Maybe it's just me and my cynicism. But some girl somewhere is going to see this and think that these girls getting pregnant is a good thing. She's going to think that she can be next, that it's her ticket to fortune and fame.
Granted it may be a girl who was already a fairly high risk for this situation to happen already. But it certainly adds encouragement where it's not needed. I don't know how many minds this show it changing. I would hope that good parenting can convince kids that it's not something they should be doing. I'm sure in most cases it does. However, I'm also more and more convinced that good parents are an endangered species. They're becoming as rare as long term successful marriages.
My concern is for the girls who get the added kick they needed to want to get pregnant before getting a High School diploma. My concern is for the girls who are in the middle, who maybe wouldn't have had sex or gotten pregnant before, but now see this and the money they get for doing so, and think "Maybe this isn't so bad after all." Television and shows like this carry a profound impact. If you don't believe me take a walk out tonight and count the number of "Snooki", "The Situation." and "Lady Gaga" costumes. Sure most of them are going to be in jest, but the actions they have work their way into society when we're not paying attention. So I ask that parents talk to their kids about these things. Turn the tube off, take away their cell phones, shut down their laptops, and have a conversation. It just may be the thing that changes their life, because as large an impact as TV has, it's can be overcome by the parent. If they're not to busy to do so.
This show and every other "Reality" show like it have become a plague. They've taken over the airwaves until we're hard pressed to find anything else on. Personally I refer to them as "Television for the illiterate." Often depicting the worst in people and society has to offer. They make people feel better about themselves who watch it. My question is, if we feel so bad about ourselves that we NEED these shows around to make us feel better about our lives, isn't there a bigger issue? Television networks air these things because they're dirt cheap to make and the ratings for them are through the roof. Meaning they can jack up what they charge the advertisers to show commercials during the show, and increase their profit margin in the process. Should we really be helping TV execs who already make 10's to 100's of MILLIONS pad their bottom line? We should demand better. If we're going to watch it, we should have standards and demand it actually has some kind of content. Not just gluttonous voyeurism to boost our own egos. So stop the insanity, and read a book.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Exhibit This
Greetings Gouls and Goblins. Since I'm currently suffering under the weight of writers block I figured I'd get this pre-weekend entry in and use it for shameless plugs instead. Maybe they'll stem the tide and break through the block. The juices just weren't flowing last night. I considered writing about the mid-term elections. But those have been covers 10 ways til Sunday by every news network out there. Plus here in Washington there's not even polls to go to anymore since it's all done by mail. Hopefully those of you reading who can vote did.
Halloween is this weekend obviously, but there's not much that can be added to that either. Plus who doesn't like a weekend where girls break out the smallest things in their closet, then wear them in public. So I'm all for that.
For those of you not inclined to be dressing up this weekend, there are a few other things going on. If you're in the Bellingham area and into some quality art there's a quick drive down to Seattle to check out the Picasso exhibit at SAM. http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/exhibitDetail.asp?eventID=18788
If you're looking to get your geek on there's the BSG exhibit over at EMP/SFM. This is one that I fully intend on checking out. For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym. BSG is Battlestar Galactica. A show that originally aired in 1978-79. It was brought back in 2004 on the Syfy channel then this new version ran for 4 seasons. If you didn't see the show when it aired. YOU SHOULD. It may seem to geeky as most Sci-Fi genre shows are, but it's well written and the characters are well developed. It's completely worth adding to your Netflix, and more so if you have the Blu-Ray option. It'll blow your frakin' mind hole. The exhibit started a couple of weeks ago, and has not one but THREE full size ships from the show. Now who wouldn't want some pics of that on their Facebook. If you say you don't, you either don't know what fun is, or are lying. So unleash your geek and check it out.
http://www.empsfm.org/exhibitions/index.asp?articleID=1491
Halloween is this weekend obviously, but there's not much that can be added to that either. Plus who doesn't like a weekend where girls break out the smallest things in their closet, then wear them in public. So I'm all for that.
For those of you not inclined to be dressing up this weekend, there are a few other things going on. If you're in the Bellingham area and into some quality art there's a quick drive down to Seattle to check out the Picasso exhibit at SAM. http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/exhibitDetail.asp?eventID=18788
If you're looking to get your geek on there's the BSG exhibit over at EMP/SFM. This is one that I fully intend on checking out. For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym. BSG is Battlestar Galactica. A show that originally aired in 1978-79. It was brought back in 2004 on the Syfy channel then this new version ran for 4 seasons. If you didn't see the show when it aired. YOU SHOULD. It may seem to geeky as most Sci-Fi genre shows are, but it's well written and the characters are well developed. It's completely worth adding to your Netflix, and more so if you have the Blu-Ray option. It'll blow your frakin' mind hole. The exhibit started a couple of weeks ago, and has not one but THREE full size ships from the show. Now who wouldn't want some pics of that on their Facebook. If you say you don't, you either don't know what fun is, or are lying. So unleash your geek and check it out.
http://www.empsfm.org/exhibitions/index.asp?articleID=1491
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