DEMOCRATS SHOUTING “USA! USA!”. AND IT FEELS DAMN GOOD!

I caught about the last quarter of Obama’s acceptance speech, prompted by a friends twitter. And what I saw was a bit of a shock.

A welcome shock.

Democrats, lefties, pinko liberals shouting USA. Call outs to women.

Hell, a major political candidate speaking out about our gay brothers and sisters in his acceptance speech.

Obama has disappointed me with some backsliding, on off shore drilling, in particular. But if he keeps up an assertive, strong path, if he just keeps strong and not be the passive/aggressive candidate we have so gotten used, just maybe we can pull this off.

And yeah, unabashed patriotism from the Democrats, but an eyes open patriotism…

FEELS DAMN GOOD!

Some Men of Summer TV

TV has changed for the better these last couple of years. No, really.

Basic Cable has emerged as the best place for new, scripted television. Writers have to show some restraint, while still pushing the envelope. Better still, there are new shows or seasons launching round the calendar. You want something new? Wait a day or two. Somewhere on basic cable, a new show is being born. If it’s any good, there’s a good chance you can get at least two or three seasons out of it,

Unless the show is Blade, it’s on Spike, and it’s so successful in the wrong demos the channel kills it than rather admit chicks might watch your network.

My two favorites of this season? One new, one returning.

The new discovery is ‘The Middleman.’ From tv Show to comic and back, this show is chicken soup for the geek soul. It’s written by geeks, and like Stargate at it’s best, recognizes geeks will watch it, and will be two steps ahead of the writers if they aren’t careful. The acting of the leads is strong and understated, the humor and pathos heartfelt. More importantly, characters grow from episode to episode. Matt Kesslar’s Middleman, while not perfect, really tries to be the hero he thinks he should be. All the same, he’s still learning.

Natalie Morales, she’s just plain fun. They are slowly upping her glam factor… the fact that she can be a full blown hottie as opposed to a major cutie is saved for strategic and appreciated moments… rather than have her turn from temp into uberhero over night.

Ok… she mastered the martial arts overnight, but hell, it is a tv show. It also gets away with entendres and some subject matter you would not expect to see on the former 700 Club channel. Speaking of which, when are you guys at ABC finally going to give Pat Robertson and the cultists the big brush off? Go on, you got better lawyers than he does. Have some fun.

This is a show with a caring heart beating in it’s camp and scifi covered chest. It deserves a long run.

The returnee, well, MADMEN, of course.
There’s been some talk of a Madmen backlash, which I haven’t witnessed firsthand. And I was worried after the first episode. It seemed way too slow, even for Madmen. But things picked up quickly. Don’s struggle to be a good man, however faltering, is compelling. His conversation with his son as in “Three Sunday’s” is heartbreaking.
Never mind the rest of the characters struggles. Peggy’s relationship with Father Gill is something I hope to see more of. Not only is there a nice undercurrent of attraction, but he’s actually helping her as a priest, nudging her towards accepting the child we’ve found has been taken from her custody. I’m not saying we won’t see any grand tragedy later on, but it’s nice to see a good, Catholic priest on TV helping his flock.

While hardly obscure, these are two shows that give me hope for tv,  and gratitude for basic cable.

Oh, and FX? You need a better successor to The Shield than Damages. Get cracking.

Spa Breakfasts and the Endless Loop

I was having breakfast at the Westin in Coutyard Square in Alexandria,VA. The whole hi-end spa fee was a little eerie. Especially when you the hotels promotional channel featured an attractive, professional looking young woman mentioning “mature, adult films” as one your options

When ever I am in one place for too long, and feel a wee bit trapped, i dream of being in an endless loop of that place. I particulary had that dream in my old high school during winter, when wrestling and rehearsals kept me there seven days a week sometimes. The dreams weren’t nightmarish, just strange. I’d pass the time spotting variations on reality, just going with it.

The  Chemical Brothers’ ‘Star Guitar’ video, a favorite, captures that feel perfectly.- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBgf2ZxIDZk

Alexandria and it’s environs really evoked that sensation. It’s like driving through canyon’s of brick and sandstone. The newer construction, trying to capture the colonial feel,  just leaves a sense of vertigo, as buildings merge into each other without distinction.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s pretty, people are really nice, and I’m sure that if I wasn’t staying in the hole in spacetime that is Courthouse Square, I wouldn’t be feeling the full effects of realtemporal disruption.

Ah, technobabble and over-priced hotel breakfast. The two great tastes that go great together.

As for why I was in Alexandria, that’s a secret I’ll never, never tell.

XOX…. damn, I need more cofee.

By the by, this was the first of hopefully many posts began on Word-To-Go on my TungstenE2. Working out a check on Excel-to-Go, I realized I had a portable tool that would actually let me get some writing done on they fly, without lugging around a laptop and all the paranoia that comes with it.

We’ll see where this one more step into cheap ass portable computing takes me.

THE GRAND TOUR- and yes, I’m way too like that guy in High Fidelity.

So I’m on my third day of a stay at home vacation, and I’ve just started a monumental project.

No cleaning up the damn place isn’t monumental. Just time consuming. And you wouldn’t believe the progress I made in the kitchen in just a couple of hours. I may, I don’t know… start eating in there with a book instead of sitting with bad posture in the entertainment area watching ‘Weeds’ on DVR and trying to figure out why I bother with the show.

No.. the Grand Tour of the CD collection. A to Z, baby.

The first time I heard of someone doing this was about ‘95, a long time friend, Chris Warner, had started through his collection. Now, I can’t tell you from many how many he had, but while I go beyond the shallow end of the pool that is music, he went all the way to the deep end. Zappa, Zorn, Gwar, Beefheart… the artists people might have one or two cd’s of to show off how cool they are, he really gets and digs

So his Grand Tour was more dangerous than most folks. He got through it… astoundingly unchanged.

My collection, while consisting of way too many cd’s ( no mom, I’m not selling them all after putting them on hard drive and DVD. After all, either could fade way too soon, and constantly archiving the archive is just not a goal in my life at this time.), will be less of a journey to the heart of musical darkness.

No Mariah, Celine, Britney, Barbara, Bette, Osmond or Slim Whitman. Some may appear on Soundtracks, but that’s it.

Everyone has their own rules on how to take  Grand Tour, certainly their own alphabetization of their collections. Whether to list “The Who” under T or W. Whether Wes Anderson should be considered an artist ( for musical purposes. As much as he can show some room for growth, c’mon. This is a filmmaker who speaks in hope. GIVE IT UP FOR HIM!)

The strict Grand Tour is simply that. You listen through your entire collection, A-Z. Each Artist/Group sorted alphabetically, then chronologically. Ideally, you keep some record of it (Spreadsheets do the geek mind good), and find some CD’s that suck enough to either dump after copying, or suck so hard you just sell the fuckers. No questions asked.

My Grand Tour is not so doctrinaire. I’ve set some rules for the sake of sanity, speed, and the hope to dig consistently deep enough into my collection I don’t give up out of boredom somewhere around Depeche Mode or Erasure ( dude, Erasure made a LOOOOOOOOOOTTTT of CD singles.)

1) If a CD has been listened too repeatedly enough, you may log it as listened too and move on.
“A Life Less Ordinary.” Listened to death. First CD in the collection. Know it, love it. Why waste time revisiting it when I know will again, and again?

If there is any doubt, or you can’t recall listening to the CD within 2 years, then keep it on the Tour.

2) Group Hopping- Systematically skipping back and forth in your collection when faced with a huge number of CD’s by a particular artist/group

If you’re an obsessive, a geek, a completest or some form of freak I don’t currently have the definition for, you will make every effort to have every CD by a group in your collection. I don’t just mean the albums. I mean the cd singles, the imports with songs you wouldn’t get in the US until you buy the ‘best of’ cd that includes an extra cd with the songs you bought the imports to get, and so forth.

(I pity die-hard Green Day fans. Not for liking Green Day- the boys rock. But Green Day Fans they have to track down every CD Green Day puts out as another band, and decide whether to sort them under Green Day, or the band the name used for that project.

Green Day die hards- i raise my Excederin to you.)

I mentioned Depeche Mode and Erasure above. U2, James… heck, imagine the dilemma if if I had a sizable Dead or Stones presence in my collection?

Group Hopping is allowable, but only in batches of 2. In otherwords, after listening to two CD’s ( or at least 4  EP’s) by a single artists, you are allowed to skip to the next artist. HOWEVER, you must maintain chronological order.

3) Actual CD’s versus Downloads- Should you include virtual albums in the Grand Tour?

This is a big one. For some folks, the majority of their collection is on a hard drive, hell, the majority of their collection may not even be paid for. We all have had lapses when it comes to copyright protection, but the Grand Tour is an epic undertaking. Simply turning on iTunes and activating a playlists lessens it.

Here’s my take on cd’s vs. downlods- Unless your collection is overwhelmingly downloads, the Grand Tour should be actual CD’s first, with a virtual tour second. Use of iPods for ripped albums is allowable, but not ideal.

And making CD back up of downloaded albums isn’t the worst idea, and would give you poor home stereo system a chance to sing. It’s feeling very neglected these days.

If your collection is overwhelmingly downloads, then yes, a virtual Grand Tour is appropriate. Just stick to the rules, and listen to each album one at a time. Just listening through a playlist of kazillions of songs undermines the chance to listen to each album, AND increases the chance of it all becoming background noise.

Why take a Grand Tour if you aren’t going to take in the sounds?

Oh, and if you find the majority of your collection is illegal downloads, why not start looking online for used CD’s? Check out local record stores- besides full price, you can find some great bargain bins, particularly at Virgin these days. Or buy the downloads from a legal online entity of your choice.

The artist may not get all the money they deserve from these sales, but at least someone who worked to get the music out there will get paid for it.

4) Breaks In The Grand Tour- taking time off from the tour to listen to CD’s out of order.

Now, breaks kill Grand Tours dead. No two ways about it. Breaking requires the utmost discipline.

You should only break if

- you are mixing a high priority compilation ( and yes, I know mixes are copyright violations. I’m in the black ethically on this one, and recognize it.)

-you get a new CD that you have to listen to for professional reasons. This happens so rarely for most of us, but some folks have a job based on keeping current in music.

-you get one CD by a new artist that you have to listen now or you will absolutely die. Literally.

Look, avoid breaks in the Grand Tour. You will be a better obsessive for it.

So any Grand Tour stories you want to sure? Special rules you’d like to add?

Join the Confusion.

Salon Reviews “Y-The Last Man.”

It’s been a good day, net wise. Finally posted and did some replies, Added some more folks to my blog roll.

Yay, accomplishing one or two things.

I also caught up on Salon, where Douglas Wolk was reviewing “Y-The Last Man.” Now, Wolk’s review is pretty good, except he argues that Y is really putting a “wig on the world”, that it’s the women don’t really act like women in it.

Well, the bad news is my response is a mess grammatically. Some of the points are dropped.

Main lesson kids: REVIEW YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INTERNET BEFORE PUTTING THEM ON LINE.

The good news, is despite the mess that it was, my post was one of the Editor’s choices. Hopefully I stand firmly in the gender equality realm, rather than with the feminist back lash crowd. There are some dudes who really need some hugs, from the look of some of the responses.

Most importantly… go buy “Y.” It’s worth a trip to your nearest comic store, even if you are not a comics reader.

And I’ll take more care in the crafting of my internet blather.
Here’s the original review-

http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/07/14/last_man/index.html

Duffy- No Restraining Order Required.

The nice thing about working too much in insane schedules is you can more easily opt in and out of hype. You let artists pop in and out of your consciousness until you finally give during the monthly/bi-monthly media splurge

Duffy I’ve been hearing good stuff about, and she is one of those people who are designed at a genetic level for me. Gaelic, having a nicely retro look, actually possessing her own eye-brows, incontestably a talented singer, and also responsible for her own sound and content. Yeah, she has writing partners, yeah she survived a “Welsh Idol”, but the girl found her own place in the North Atlantic Blue-Eyed Soul Movement ( aka, really, really white girls singing old school style soul. And yeah, they ain’t all Blue Eyed. Why North Atlantic? Cause they ain’t all English, kid. That’s why.)

Plus a song called “Warwick Avenue?” I lived there. Have nice nostalgic connections, even at least one last good bye there that haunts me to this day.

In a nice way.

So having bough the album, watched some videos, let my eyes drift over those lovely cheek bones, yeah.

No restraining order required

Of course I have my Siren Obessions. Lilly- still dig her, but Lily has to prove she has another album in her. I had to reassure Nina Persson I still have a place for her in my heart, and pondering whether Britta Phillips over all coolness is multiplied by having been Jem, or expanded exponentially by having been Jem.

(Hearing her belt “BAYYYYYYYYYYBBEEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEEEE!” less than ten feet awayat Max’s in Hoboken on New Years Eve… yeah, time was spent deciding whether Dean was to be more hated, respected, or congratulated>)

But back to obsessing or not obsessing about Duffy.

Is she rilly rilly cool? No. rilly cool? Yeah

I’ve listened through Rockferry a couple of times, and the songs just sound a little too similar. The real emotion the lyrics promise never comes through.

Through no intention of her own, she comes across as a safer Amy Winehouse. And Amy Winehouse, as any one who really has their head too far up music’s a…. uhm, follows music really closely, well to you owes it all to Sharon Jones and the Dapp-Kings.
So, Duffy, we can just be acquaintances. I will enjoy your songs, and let others obesses.

But let it go. Really get that growl in there. And someday, maybe you will be ready for the summons.

NKOTB- GOD HELP US ALL!!!

So it’s Wednesday, I’m at the farewell party for my boss at the Pig n Whistle on 3rd in the 50’s, and one of the girls in attendance hatches a plan.

“OH MY GOD! WE SO GOTTA GO AT 6AM AND SEE THE NEW KIDS AT THE TODAY SHOW!!!

Now, I’ve been convincing myself that this whole New Kids things was a myth. It had to be. They sucked back in the day ( they worked hard, put time and effort in, don’t get me wrong. I wish I could suck artistically as much as they did and get paid bazillions. I’m a NKOTB Hater, but I give all due respect.) The little one had done some decent Broadway, and Donnie..
DONNIE WAS IN THE FRICKIN BAND OF BROTHERS. He played a tough as nails fucking AIRBORNE SERGEANT IN ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED AND LEGENDARY UNITS TO EVER SERVE IN THE US ARMY.

WHY? WHY GOD WHY! When they record the 10th anniversary commentary track of the DVD, what will the rest of the boys say to him. “Be forever my girl, Sarge? HAHAHAHHAHAHHA!”

Ok.. so he’s a Wahlberg. He’ll kick their asses, but still….

So, wanting to support my co-workers, I mentioned I wouldn’t show up, but I’d dvr and burn a DVD for them.

So… wow, I use “so” a lot in my posts… so, anyway, I wake up this morning, see the DVR burning away, and shudder at what it must be going through. At work, I find none of them are making it. None of them ran with my witty idea to incorporate our store logo into a sign. None of them participated in the horror

And now, I’m watching the spectacle. Oh god help us all.

They still suck like a black hole in over drive. They suck like a Dyson making love to a Red Devil. They suck like an ex-porn star singing on a Christian Rock CD ( And by the way, Traci Lords techno album back in the day did not suck. Just a shout out.) They suck like… seriously.

Donnie was wearing a black baseball cap… like a balding New Kid was somehow not possible..

“SARGE! WHY DID YOU DO IT!?!?!”

So the fans have fun. The guys play humble, and they get to cash in while making new music which sucks in ways so horrible even Dick Cheney wouldn’t employ them.

God help us. Even if for only a short time, NKOTB is back. God fucking help us.

You see, they suck so bad I’m asking for help from a philosophical concept- an omnipotent and omnipresent deity- I lost all belief in back before somebody thought “Hey, New Edition…. but WHITER!!!!!”

Oh the pain.

Christians and Falun Gong and Scientologists, OH MY!!!

So it’s Friday night awhile back, and I’m going from the ESPN ZONE ( pro-athletics on the projection screens, anti-athletic food on the table), in Times Square to the A train, up to Fibi’s in Harlem. If you never had the pleasure of walking underground around the Times Square area anytime from the 1970’s to the mid-90’s, you would be hard pressed to understand just how much these tunnels have changed.

While not gorgeous, they seem wider, better lit, certainly cleaner and better smelling. The walk from Times Square to Port Authority just isn’t the hellish trudge it used to be. While you don’t feel you are going to be shot, stabbed, assaulted, or targeted by the body fluids of assorted lunatics, there are still those seeking to lead you off your intended path.

Right at the stairs to the 7 train is the Areana of RELIGIOUS KOMBAT! ( FIGHT!!! CHOOSE YOUR RELIGION! CHOOSE YOUR SPIRITUALITY! FIGHT!!!)

First was a Christian with literature spread over 12-15 feet of tables, signs suggesting with extreme prejudice that you “THINK JESUS”. If you didn’t get that message, more verse was computer-stitched on the back of his hoody, complete with different colors, bold face and underlining.

New York has long been a target for Christians looking for not-Christian enough folks. I remember one time a couple of years back, a whole choir of blond, blue eyed Southern teens and their long haired pastor were crooning “There Is Power In The Blood.” near Bryant Park. Of course, my first thought was to ask him for their passports and how much for the lot of them. (Isn’t that always everyone’s first thought on seeing a choir of Southern gals from an unaffiliated church singing on 42nd street?)Instead, I chuckled to myself and walked on.

In all fairness, they were more polite and cheerful in their p.d.f. (public demonstration of faith) than most.

And a couple of them gals was really, really cute. So why be rude?

The guys at the table by the 7 train? Not so pretty or cheerful. They were much more in the “Believe-or-go-to-hell-and-die” tradition. Still, they didn’t go out of the way to stop you from goingwhere you were going.

And they were actually honest about what they thought about you.

Right after passing the tables and tables of Chick tracks we came upon back-lit billboards for the “Holiday Extravaganza.” This was one of the many covert/overt efforts by the Falun Gong to publicize both their practices and the persecution by the Chinese government. After a couple years of failed, very blatant protests, they’ve shifted tactics. These last two years, they had followers spread throughout New York in traditional Chinese costumes, some even making it onto network morning shows.

Looking and sounding like, well, blissed out cult members, they’d talk up the traditional Chinese values and splendors of their show, while not mentioning a thing about it being a Gong show. And, from many posted reports, people who actually went were bored to tears by bad performances and anti-Chinese propaganda.

Now, the commonplace persecution of well… not just the Falun Gong but about anyone who doesn’t toe the Party line in China deserves protest and condemnation. We’ve been bad here in the US, they’ve been worse. If you don’t get that, start reading some different newspapers and history books.

But the Gong’s manipulative practices, like the bait and switch of the Holiday Spectacular, doesn’t help their cause. Just because the PRC’s actions are wrong, doesn’t mean the Gong are right, or shouldn’t be a cause for concern. After all, if a group is generating cult-like devotion, making cult-like claims of the powers of its’ beliefs and practices, and acting in really creepy ways, well, maybe they are a cult.

Just because you have two wrongs, doesn’t mean you have to choose one of them as right.

Also, maybe the MTA should get around to rotating it’s subway ads more? Just a suggestion.

So guess who we ran into next? Think cults, un-scientific claims, manic devotion and sleazy practices.

Right by the stairs to the downtown the A.C.E and the RAG shop, were our friends, the Scientologists. Big tables, lots of E-meters and books, three Sci guys, one person having a reading taken and not much else. They were looking a little down. This was right around the time Tom Cruise’s private rant leaked on video, just before Anonymous started doing it’s net-vigilante thing.

As we passed, I remarked “Sorry, I’m a suppressive.” And kept going.

Too say I don’t indulge my scorn the these particular cult flunkies would be both dishonest, and pointless, given that it’s here in plain html. But tearing into them doesn’t do much good, and is just plain self indulgent.

Unlike posting on a blog 4 or 5 people may actually read.

All the same, to take a stroll through the depths of the Earth being accosted by false prophets and their advertising buys was a strange way to start a Friday night.

So what did we learn on this stroll?

One- Strange things in NYC always come in threes.

Two- Overbearing religious zealots are just that. Overbearing religious zealots. But a little bit honesty on their part helps

Cute blonde girls in pastel with lovely singing voices helps as well.

Three- While the underpasses beneath 42nd street may be less crime ridden than they used to be, sometimes it’s still safer to walk above ground.

About Flashing Time…

A brief note. A happy, brief note.

According to Syfy Portal (http://syfyportal.com/news424879.html), the SciFi Channel quietly canceled “Flash Gordon.”

Honestly, that’s not how it should have been done. This show was so amazingly awful, it made the “Black Scorpion” tv show look mediocre. Besides the obvious success stories (“BSG” and the ongoing decent if not incredible “SG” franchise) SciFi has at least tried to keep airing some great but unsuccessful shows. ( “G vs E”,”Invisible Man”,”Farscape” being worthwhile efforts. And if memory serves, at least one season of “Sliders” aired by Scifi was decent. )

But then there’s the crap. (The other Scifi produced seasons of “Sliders”,the final season of “Andromeda”, any ‘reality’ show they air, etcetera and so forth.) As I paraphrase from a Wired article a while back, they make a lot of cheap product that just enough people watch, that they can make money on it.

But of all the crap they made, “Flash Gordon” was among the worst. Badly acted, directed, sucking all the pulp glory out of the property, and so clearly “Canada passing as America” it made Stargate’s constant use of the same damn forest look like a brilliant idea.

They shouldn’t have let it die quietly.

They should air, on regular intervals, an apology for allowing it to ever reach the airwaves. Development execs who allowed it to live should be kneeling, spreading ashes on the faces, keening with regret. They should be made to clean and light scented candle’s around Buster Crabbe’s Star on the Walk of Fame.

Forever.

Like, after man has fallen, and Will Smith and Vincent Price and Charlton Heston are fighting to be “The REAL Last Man on Earth”, Scifi will have to maintain a monastic order, who knows not why they do it, but maintains and defends the mysterious star of Buster Crabbe, using hardware from the “Lost World of Man and Mass Market Media” as weapons against the mutant hordes.

I’m not asking them to guarantee decent, watchable TV, or give up on ECW wrestling, but at least that monastic order idea would be a way to start building back Karma for Flash Gordon.

I’m Being Stalked By The Bretheren of Banderas and Rodriguez

I’m being stalked.

It happens on the subways. Almost every time I step on the “Q” in Brooklyn, after a stop or two of peace and quiet…

They are there. Walking on to the train, and now that they’ve locked the doors between subway cars, I am trapped.

No. There is no escape.

Three of them. They always travel in packs.

Their instruments of torture strapped to them. Some times bedecked in unique clothing, at others looking normal, until you see the large, leather straps across their body.

Subway Mariachis have found me again.

They’ve started moving deeper into Manhattan as of late. Traditionally in Manhattan, it’s all panhandlers with an agenda- (usually that everyone in the car will someday be in their situation, so pay to keep karma from being a bitch) or the occasional breakdancer/s. (When a crew of 4 to 5 young man try to start the big mass clapping while the train is vaulting down the tunnel at obscene speeds, contributions are really less for the dancers and more for medical bills- theirs’ and of any spectators’ hit in the face by a white Nike at the end of a breakdancer’s red nylon panted leg.)

I’m at least tolerant of busking taking place off the subway cars. You can move away from a busker while at a station, but when trapped on subway car, interaction with a passing mariachi/crazy preacher/close-quarters break dancer is sure to lead to tragedy, tears, and contusions.

Don’t they get that I’m trying to catch up on the Lword, for crying out loud?

Where is Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe in a bad-make up job, or  Joaquim de Almeida when you need them?