Newsroom

By now, you may have heard about the new show on HBO called "Newsroom". In case you missed it, you can watch the premiere episode for free here. The show stars Jeff Daniels as the anchor of an hourlong news show for a fictional news network. He is described as being the "Jay Leno" of news anchors, because he has developed a reputation for never offending anyone.

That reputation, however, takes a hit when, as part of a panel discussion at a university (later revealed to be Northwestern), he loses all patience and launches into a rant about how America is no longer the greatest country in the world, and then lists the reasons why. Watch that clip here.

 

Naturally, in today's media saturated market, the clip gets widespread distribution, and Daniels' character, Will McAvoy, is forced by his network to accept a new Executive Producer (MacKenzie McHale, played by Emily Mortimer), who challenges him to re-create the format of his show to be more about "real" news, instead of entertaining people and not offending anyone.

There have been very few shows on TV that have grabbed me with both hand from the very first episode and never let go. "The West Wing" was one. "Scrubs" was another. And now we have "The Newsroom".

An aside: The character played by Daniels seems to be a somewhat toned down version of the Howard Beale character played by Peter Finch in the movie Network. Another excellent movie, by the way. Hopefully Daniels character won't eventually meet the same fate as Finch's

The show was created by Aaron Sorkin, who also created the aforementioned "West Wing", along with "Sports Night" (a show that, sadly, was never fully appreciated for how good it was), as well as several excellent movies (A Few Good Men, The Social Network, The American President). Sorkin is a rarity in Hollyweird these days: A man who believes that people will be entertained by good, intelligent writing that can provoke lively conversation and examination of the issues.

Fans of "The West Wing" - myself included -  have been waiting for years now for something else that we could sink our teeth into. In this world of idiotic reality television shows *cough* Jersey Shore *cough* and live talentless talent shows, it is nice to know that there is still some good TV to look forward to. As I've mentioned before, I do not have cable (yes, I'm the one), so I won't be able to watch the rest of the episodes  until they become available on DVD or Netflix. But it gives me something to look forward to. And a good feeling that there is still some hope for Hollywood.

A Prime Example of Stupidity

This is my latest shoe purchase from Costco.

It's a pretty simple walking/running shoe. They run about $15 at Costco. They're pretty cheaply made, but they are comfortable and ususally fit pretty well. They usually last about a year before something causes a seam to pop somewhere, and a hole develops. At that point, I get a new pair. The old pair becomes my "grass-mowing shoes". I wear them while...mowing grass, naturally.

But that's not really my point. My point is this:

See that "Made in" label?

More than 60 years ago, President Kennedy signed a trade embargo against Cuba--an island 90 miles off the coast of Florida--because it had become a Communist dictatorship. A few years later, America engaged in a bloody and prolonged war with another Communist dictatorship halfway around the world: The People's Republic of North Vietnam. It was a war that we eventually lost. Vietnam was completely taken over by Communists. It remains so to this day, more or less.

Vietnam is halfway around the world. Although some democratic reforms have happened, it is an inescapable fact that it is a single-party Socialist state, not unlike Cuba.

And yet today, Vietnam is a valued trading partner of the U.S. (see above picture if you have any doubts). It is a popular tourist destination. Direct flights from the U.S. are available. Veterans of the war travel there to visit places where they fought. Some of them even crawl through tunnels where their enemies hid. I would remind you again that Vietnam is on the opposite side of the world.

Meanwhile, Cuba still suffers under the U.S. trade embargo. No direct flights are available.

The reason is simple. The Cuban-American community in Florida excercises an enormous amount of political clout, mostly because they have a lot of money. And every time someone even dares to suggest weakening the embargo, a tremendous outcry arises from that community. An outcry heard--and obeyed--by Florida's representatives. And most of the rest of the political community. Particularly the Republicans

You have to realize that this country has a long history of forming powerful trade alliances with its former enemies. England, Canada, Japan, Spain, Germany, and Mexico, among others, are all countries that we have fought wars with, sometimes more than once. Today, many of them are some of our strongest allies. We somehow learned that it's more profitable to be friends with them than enemies.

Cuba, however, gets the short end of the stick. We have never fought a war with Cuba. American troops actually liberated Cuba from Spanish rule during the Spanish-American war. However, thanks to the whims of a few embittered expatriates who have never learned how to let go of a grudge, the embargo remains.
With any luck, within a few years what remains of the Cuban-American old guard will no longer be in control of policies towards Cuba. But it is shameful that such a small minority has had so much power for so long. Stupidity personified.

Yet Again

A couple of years ago, just before Christmas, I broke my right big toe when I stubbed it on a chair leg in the dark.

A broken toe is a medical problem that really can't be solved. The bones involved are so small that, once broke, they can't be reset. All you can do is wait for them to heal (out of alignment) and then deal with the chronic problems that tend to ensue.

So last Saturday, I stubbed another one. My left little one this time. I don't know if I broke bone or not, but even if I didn't, it still hurts like all hell.

There are simply some injuries that modern medicine cannot alleviate, despite all the advances that have happened.

Someone really needs to look into this.

Because sometimes the little stuff like this really fucking hurts.

It's Pointless

I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to convince my co-workers of the absurdity of the current Repuglican position.

The 'pubs', to a (wo)man, led by their Presidential nominee Willard Romney, are convinced that the surest way to economic recovery is increased tax cuts for the wealthy, less government regulation, and reduction of public worker payrolls to next to nothing. The very same policies that led to the Great Recession.

Meanwhile, almost every co-worker of mine is convinced that all Repuglicans pee lemonade. And that they could piss that lemonade all over their heads, tell them it's rain, and they would believe it completely. And they would willingly open their mouths and drink that piss until it killed them.

(What? You think that's too vulgar?! How long have you been reading this blog?!)

Romney, if he is elected President, will destroy this country. That. Is. A. Fact.

But my co-workers cannot be convinced of this.

They have been convinced by the right-wing media that Obama is a Socialist Foreigner who is working to destroy this country. Never mind that he has been working tirelessly from day one to undo the damage done by 8 years of a George W. Bush Presidency. This is not an easy task under the best of circumstances, but the President has been fighting a Repuglican Congress that has had no other stated goal for the last 3 years than ensuring that Barack Obama serves only one term as President.

Try as I might, I have been unable to convince my co-workers about this.

My reason for this is simple. They. Are. Idiots.

And I've decided arguing with them is pointless. Arguing with an idiot is like wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig enjoys it. Then he drags you down to his level and beats you with experience. And from the outside, no one knows the difference.

This country will not survive being controlled by another Republican administration. Not as the current Republican party stands. The sooner people realize this, the sooner we'll begin fixing the world they broke.

The Last Nail in the Coffin

I have, on this blog and elsewhere, repeatedly expressed my reasons why I can never even consider becoming Catholic. This story, which I just learned about today, was the last and final reason why.

For those of you who are too lazy to follow the link, let me give you the Cliff Notes version:

A 9-year-old girl in Brazil, who had been raped by her stepfather and impregnated with twins, underwent an emergency abortion. This operation saved her life, and probably her ability to have children in the future,

Brazil is a strongly Catholic country, although that faith has been tested over the years.

The Catholic church, however, excommunicated both the mother of the girl and the doctors who performed this lifesaving procedure. Apparently, the unborn fetuses that this severely underage girl was carrying were more important to them than the life and future health of the girl in question.

I'm more than willing to acknowledge that the young girl in question may have been older than 9 years. After all, it's an accepted fact that most human females don't hit puberty until age 10 or later. That is NOT an excuse for the Church's behavior. A female child--and there's no doubt that's what she was--is not biologically able to carry a baby to term, much less deliver one (or two, in this case).

But that's not the worst part. No, the worst part is that the man who raped and impregnated this child is still a member of the church.

If you can explain the logic of that, please tell me how.

The Catholic church, in the midst of growing increasingly irrelevant, continues to march steadily backwards.

I Win, They Lose. 'Twas Ever Thus.

For some time now, I've been engaged in a one-sided\  battle of wits with a few of my co-workers over the current political  situation vis-a-vis Romney vs. Obama.

It's been an uphill battle. For me. For one thing, these people devoutly believe every Republican candidate pisses lemonade. For another, they all firmly believe that Obama is a criminal Socialist who is leading this country to ruin.

And finally, I am firmly engaged in this particular battle of wits against unarmed enemies. There is no more dangerous opponent to face.

There's an old saying: Never wrestle with a pig: You both get dirty and the pig enjoys it. Another old saying is that you should never  argue with an idiot, because they drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

So I try not to engage them whenever possible.

But yesterday I heard them talking about Romney Todd, the demon barber of Cranbrook Academy. And they were wondering why anyone should care about what Romney Todd did when he was 14.

I proceeded to remind them how many Fox News talking heads exploded when it was revealed that Obama attended elementary schools in Indonesia when he was six. By my math, that's about 8 years younger than Romney Todd was when he attacked a young man for being different.

They had no retort for this.

You learn to savor the small victories when they happen.

Meanwhile, I will continue to refer to the presumptive Repuglican nominne as Romney Todd, the Demon Barber of Massatwocuts. Heh.

Brita's Claims

A commercial for Brita brand water filters claims that last year (2011, presumably), Americans consumed enough bottled water to encircle the Earth 190 times. It also claims that their filters remove 300 bottles per person from that statistic every year.

Let's do some math.

The circumfrence of the Earth is about 24,900 miles at the equator, give or take a few miles.

1 mile = 5280 feet.

That makes the circumfrence of the earth 131,472,000 feet.

That figure x 190 is 24,979,680,000. Yes, that's nearly 25 billion feet! Multiplied by 12 that is 299,756,160,000. That's nearly 300 billion inches!!!

The average (plastic) bottle of water (500 mL is the standard size) is about 7-8 inches long. Let's be generous and call it 8 inches. In order to reach that figure of encircling the Earth 190 times, Americans alone would have to consume 37,469,520,000. That's over 10.2 million bottles of water every day.

That means every man, woman, and child in the U.S. would have to have consumed almost 125 bottles of water per year. Somewhat less than those 300 bottles the commercial claims. A company exagerrates its claims. I'm shocked. Shocked, I say.

These are my calculations. If anyone finds a problem with them, let me know.

Meanwhile, I do my part by using a tap water filter and reusable metal water bottles.

Movie Review: The Avengers

Movie Review: The Avengers

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Capt. America

Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow

Samuel L. Jackson as Samuel L. Jackson with an Eyepatch

(And many others)

It’s been a while since I posted one of these. Back when I went down this path, I swore to myself I would only review those movies I really liked, or perhaps those movies that possessed such a high degree of SUCK that I needed to do everything in my part to ensure they were seen by as few folks as possible.

Fortunately, this movie falls into the first category. And how.

As the movie begins, the fictional Superspy agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Look it up yourself—I ain’t your damn search engine!) has been studying, mostly without success, a mystical object called the Tesseract (which moviegoers were first introduced to in last year’s Captain America), a source of seemingly boundless, other-worldly energy that promises to solve the world’s energy problems, but also can be very dangerous. This last point is brought home quickly, as the Tesseract suddenly brings to earth the fallen Norse God Loki (Tom Hiddleston), last seen plummeting into the cosmic void in last year’s Thor. Loki, banished from Asgaard for trying to kill his brother and usurp his father’s throne (and for generally being a dick), is in search of a new world to rule. And he has decided Earth will be that world, with the help of an alien army known as the Chitauri, which he plans to bring to Earth using the Tesseract.

Long story short, Loki steals the Tesseract, corrupts some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and escapes with it, leaving behind nothing but a giant crater in the Southwest desert and a very pissed off Colonel Nick Fury (Jackson). Fury, realizing Earth’s military forces have no chance against Loki and his army, recruits a team of superheroes, many of whom we have already met in four previous movies. The idea is that this team, which includes Loki’s brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Dr. David Banner (Mark Ruffalo)—a.k.a. The Hulk—will be able to battle Loki and his minions on a more level playing field.

Of course, problems ensue when the team members actually meet each other, as each of them discovers that not only do some of the members have their own personal demons and agendas, but that the S.H.I.E.L.D. council itself is pursuing its own nefarious goals. Added into this volatile mixture is Loki, who has allowed himself to be captured by the team, and is also working to undermine the team by playing them off of each other with his own brand of mind games.

This is, by my count, the fifth movie in Marvel’s “Avengers” series, and believe me, it was well worth the wait. Marvel studios did two things right for this movie. First, they hired Joss Whedon to both write and direct. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he created the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, as well as its spinoff series “Angel”. To give you an example of how talented a writer he is, he once received an Emmy nomination for writing an episode of “Buffy” wherein not one of the main characters had a single line of dialogue for nearly 30 minutes.

The writing in this movie reflects his skill as well, with dozens of witty one-liners and numerous hilarious sight gags. There are poignant moments as well. In fact, one of the best moments comes as Loki is forcing a large crowd in Germany to kneel before him as he belittles them. One older man, however, refuses to kneel, saying he will never kneel to a man like Loki. Loki chides him, stating, “There are no men like me.” The elderly man responds, “There are ALWAYS men like you!”

The second thing they did right was focus on the characters instead of the special effects. This movie’s strength is not its special effects, or its star power--although both serve to compliment the movie well instead of taking it over. The writing and direction of Whedon, and the chemistry of the actors involved, combine to create a greatly entertaining movie. Nearly the entire middle third of the movie is devoted to the exploration of the developing relationship between the protagonists and the way that they slowly learn to work together as a team. Such a dialogue-heavy section can easily bog down a movie mid-stream (Tron: Legacy, I’m looking in your direction!) but the sharp banter between the characters keeps the movie humming along.

It’s not without a few flaws, of course, which is why I can’t give it a full 5. My biggest problem is Iron Man, for the same reason I've had a problem with the previous Iron Man movies. I mean, yes, his armor is super strong, and nearly impervious to external attacks, but unless it has some kind of space-age microscopic super shock-absorbent air bag system inside what appears to be a fairly form-fitting suit, I don’t know how the man inside survives the shock of the impacts he suffers (can anyone say “blunt-force trauma”?)

Also, the character of Hawkeye is somewhat weak. I mean, the Earth is being invaded by an enormous alien army, and his solution is—to shoot at them with a bow and arrow. Yes, they are explosive-tipped arrows, but seriously, my friend—there’s a reason the Indians lost. Also, the character spends almost 3/4ths of the movie under Loki’s mind control, and has little screen time.

But those are minor flaws. The final climactic battle scene is spectacular without being overwhelmed by CGI, and it the characters manage to battle while effortlessly tossing off one-liners which had the audience alternately cheering and roaring with laughter. And at the end, the audience stood up and applauded. That’s when you know people enjoyed themselves.

I look forward to the sequel, especially if they get Whedon to do a repeat performance.

Just a Bit of a Stretch

The Toledo Blade published (I'm not sure why) a story today in which Republican (snicker) "Congressional candidate" Joe Wurzelbacher--aka "Joe the Plumber, or, as I call him, "Joe the dumber", called President Barack Obama's "conversion" to Christianity "a miracle". He also says that "Barry" (his nickname for the President of the United States) came to Christ, and that he is his brother.

OK, first, where do I start?

Well, step one. They are both humans (presumably).

Two: Both are male.
Three. Both are American. (Yes, birthers, Obama WAS born in America!) Hey, 3 down. We're on a roll.
Four: Both are Christian. I think we may be onto something here!
Five: Both are relat--er, wait. Strike that.
Six: Well, they are both good frien--er wait. Strike that.
Seven: They went to college togeth--shoot. Not looking good.
Eight: Both are President of the Unit--Ah, crap.

Not much of a case for the "brothers" thing here.

If you read the article carefully, you see where Joe the Dumber manages to get in digs at the President, calling particular attention to his admitted drug experimentation and the fact that he lived in Indonesia as a child. He also calls Obama's "conversion" to Christianity the reason for his election to the Presidency. There couldn't possibly be any other reason for that.

I'm not entirely sure what this is meant to accomplish for Joe. After all, he's not running for President, he's running for congress (no, really!) (stop laughing!) (I said stop laughing, dammit!) How this helps his "campaign" is something of a mystery.

I'm not really sure why this man is still being taken seriously by the national press.

OK So I Missed a Month and Missed a Lot

I haven't posted an entry on this blog for quite a while now, and it seems that the posting format has changed. A lot.

I'm still getting used to it. So you, the 3 readers of this blog, who have been pining away for me for a month now (yeah, who am I kidding) will have to bear with me while I get used to it.

Mostly I've not posted lately because I've been seething with so much anger over so many things that have been happening that if I posted what I really think I might just explode the entire blogosphere with my rage. Seriously. We're talking nuclear detonation. Possibly plasma explosion. Which doesn't even exist yet.

I'm working to get control. But it's been hard. And I hope to fix that soon.

Dick Cheney Has a New Heart

Just in case you haven't heard, former Vice President Dick Cheney has received a heart transplant.

Question #1: Why?

Question #2: What the FUCK were his doctors thinking?!

I'm sorry, but this is the man who is deliberately responsible for so many policy disasters that if there was a hall of fame for those who are destined for a one-way trip to the ninth ring of hell, he would be the principal exhibit.

He gave us two terms of George W. Bush.

He got us into two wars that have collectively cost this country over a TRILLION dollars.

He made cabinet appointments that resulted in the largest government deregulation since the Great Depression. With similar results.

He, more than anyone else, is responsible for the dominance of the neo-conservative movement that set this country on a course that would do it possibly irreparable harm both at home and abroad.

And now he has a new heart. He will probably live another decade or more as a result.

I think that someone else more deserving could have been giving the heart he received. A drug dealer who molested children would have been more deserving.

If you disagree, please articulate your arguments. I'm listening.

Mitt's Ford Field Speech

Mitt Romney gave a speech today at Detroit's Ford Field, promising to tout his new economic agenda. As you can see, the place was...um...not exactly...packed:



Here's a different view:



You know, Mitt, it doesn't matter how big you make those black curtains, or how closely together you pack the roughly 1200 people that you somehow managed to cram into a stadium that normally holds over 60000. You simply can't hide the fact that when you consistently follow an economic policy that favors the One percent, you shouldn't be surprised when they're the only ones who show up to listen to you.

Susan G. Komen...

...Is surely spinning in her grave.

Yesterday, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation announced that it was pulling all of the money it donates to Planned Parenthood for funding Breast Cancer Screenings for impoverished women.

I really don't know where to start.

Seriously. I am almost at a loss for words. Almost.

WHAT can possibly be the rationale for this decision?!

This is a foundation supposedly dedicated to the eradication of breast cancer. And now they want to make that objective harder?!

Planned Parenthood provides countless reproductive and other health services to impoverished people--men AND Women--who would have no place to go otherwise. And yes, they provide counseling about, and in some cases perform, abortions. Abortions are only a tiny fraction of the many services they provide. In addition to providing sex education and advice about contraception, they also provide general health care as well as a friendly ear about sexual identity, and many other services.

The most disgusting thing is that this all came about as a result of intestinal parasite James O'Keefe's continuous assault on progressive organizations using dubious tactics. You may recall I have blogged about this before.

I'm flat broke. I have been for a long time (You don't go into public service to get rich--despite Republican claims to the contrary). But if I had more than 2 nickels to rub together, I would make a donation to P.P., to try to make up for what has been done to them by an organization that has caved to pressure from right-wing organizations that are using scare tactics to desperately prove they still have some relevance.

If anyone out there reads this, please do what I can't. Please give some money to Planned Parenthood. Do the right thing.

Blackout

As I write this, the English language version of Wikipedia, the worldwide on-line encyclopedia, is unavailable. And it will be for the next 24 hours, give or take a few minutes. Along with several other popular websites. Note: Google, as usual, caved from their promise to join this boycott. What a surprise.

This is in protest to the Congress's so-called Stop On-line Piracy Act, or the Senate version, the Protect IP Act.

Under these new laws, any website that even posts a tiny segment of copyrighted material could be immediately and permanently shut down, with no legal recourse.

That means this blog could disappear. Which would, I know, bring great grief to you, the three people who read it. Because I have probably posted videos here that show clips of copyrighted material. I don't know what precisely, and I'm not going to go back through my last nine years of posts to find and remove them.

But someone could, if either of these bills passes. And I could lose my internet privileges. And go to jail.

We expect this sort of thing to happen in China. Or Iran. Or some other totalitarian regime.

We don't expect it to happen here.

In the meantime, since you can't access Wikipedia on-line, I suggest to you my very few but loyal readers to go to your library and find a book by Sinclair Lewis called It Can't Happen Here.

And be afraid. Be very afraid.

Tebow: Go Blow

Just in case you missed it, the Denver Broncos got pretty thoroughly crushed last night.

Maybe, just maybe, now the country will stop talking about Tim Tebow. At least for a few minutes.

Tebow may be a great QB in the future. He may become the next reincarnation of Joe Montana, Fran Tarkenton, and Johnny Unitas all rolled into one. Probably not. But in the meantime, right now he is what he is: A stunningly mediocre second-year quarterback who got incredibly lucky in about 5 different games.

Religious leaders pointed to divine intervention in some of his games this year, based on his repeatedly professed strong Christian faith. I tend to see it for what it was: a combination of luck, weak opponents, and some incredibly poor coaching decisions made by those same opponents.

Last night, the Broncos faced one of the best teams in the NFL. With, as much as I hate to say it, one of the League's better QB's. And as much as I hate Tom Brady, he's a QB with 3 Superbowl rings and a better than average chance of adding a 4th to his collection this year. A QB who has passed for nearly 40000 total yards and 300 TD's over the course of his career. And one who was apparently rather miffed at all the attention being paid to this wunderkind from Denver. And demonstrated his anger convincingly.

As for Tebow? Well, he spent more time on his back last night than a $20 hooker at the New York pier during fleet week. He was sacked 5 times, while passing for a mere 136 yards and NO touchdowns.

And yet, still, everyone talked about how "poised" and "professional" Tebow was in the post-game interviews. And about how what an asset he'll be for the team next year.

Memo to the news media: Of the six TD passes in last night's Broncos-Patriots game, not ONE of them came off the hand of Tim Tebow. There were TWO quarterbacks in last night's game. One of them clearly deserved to be there. One of them did not. No matter how much he expounds about how strong his faith in God is.

To paraphrase a line from a favorite movie of mine, El Dorado:

"Faith can move mountains. But it can't beat a better team."

It Happened Ten Years Ago

Today.

We had all packed for a long car trip. My Aunt (by marriage) Jeanine had just died after a protracted battle with Cancer.

My dad, my mom, and me, were getting ready to get in the car to go to her funeral. My mom was not feeling well, as a result of extensive chemotherapy sessions from her own struggles against her own Cancer. But she wanted to be at the funeral of her sister-in-law to support her family members. It was in her nature.

We got ready to go. My mom felt nauseous. She ran to the bathroom to vomit.

Dad and I knew at that point that we wouldn't make it out of the driveway. My mom was too sick.

We unpacked the car. We got my mom into the house, and tried to make her rest. But she got sicker.

We were forced to take her to the Hospital. She was weak, and could not keep any food down.

Upon our arrival, she was taken immediately to intensive care. As a result of her chemo-weakened immune system, she had developed pneumonia. And, after nearly 20 years she spent fighting a sure losing battle with a particularly insidious form of Cancer, she was unable to recover from it. She died less than 24 hours later.

That was ten years ago today.

It is often said that Cancer patients do not die of Cancer--they die with it. This was what happened. She did not die because she had this horrible disease. She died because all the treatments that she endured over the nearly 2 decades she spent in a relentless battle to defeat a disease that her doctors told her would kill her in 5 years finally did--18 years later.

There is no cure for Cancer. Seriously. Cancer can be treated. Cancer can be destroyed. Cancer can be sent into remission. Cancer can be removed, surgically or otherwise. Cancer cannot be cured. And I'm not entirely sure that some of the available Cancer treatments today don't do more harm than good.

All I know is that this disease took my mother away from me ten years ago today. Along with probably thousands of others. And it will continue to do so, until someone decides that it's more important to find a real cure instead of raising money to find one.

Just Remove the Middle Letter...

The BCS is over. Alabama wins the BCS National Championship.

Big. Deal.

This was not the story of some Cinderella underdog team coming from behind to claim a victory over a powerhouse team. No. This was the story of a team that had only one loss the entire 2011 College Football season. To the team they just played last night. A loss that resulted from a single missed field goal in overtime.

And I sincerely believe that not one single person outside the state of Alabama really gives a flying f$%&.

The whole BCS system has gotten even more ridiculous than it already was. In the 14 years since the BCS was instituted, by my count it has worked right exactly one time. At the end of the 2002 season, 2 undefeated teams existed in college football: Ohio State and Miami. These two teams met in the Fiesta Bowl, and OSU won in a dramatic Overtime. Everyone, while not exactly happy about the result, was satisfied that a clear champion had been established. And as far as I can tell, not one time since then has that ever happened.

There is so much wrong with the BCS that I hardly know where to begin. Let’s start with the fact that only certain college football conferences are even allowed to compete for spots in the coveted BCS bowls (and the huge payoffs that come with them). There are, of course, the so-called “at large” spots that the less powerful conferences can sometimes claim, but often only by virtue of going undefeated, a difficult task to accomplish in any football season. And don’t even get me started on the so-called “Notre Dame rule”.

Then there’s the whole notion of computers picking who the better teams are based on things like strength of schedule and points scored, to name a few. Not only does this encourage teams to pad their schedules with weak teams in order to boost their records, it also encourages coaches to run up the score of games, instead of giving starting players a break and letting the second and third-stringers get some much needed playing time.

And, of course, the coaches poll. Not only does this tend to be very subjective, it can end up having a profound impact on the final game. A few years ago, after Ohio State had beaten Michigan when both teams were undefeated, Michigan’s chances of getting a rematch in the BCS championship game came down to a vote by the coaches, one of whom was the coach of Florida, the other contender for the game against OSU. Guess which team wound up playing OSU? (OSU’s coach, Jim Tressel, graciously declined to vote).

So usually what happens is that no one is happy, outside of the fan base of the team that is eventually declared “the Champion”. Every year, calls are made for the system to be changed, and every year those calls fall on the deaf ears of the BCS.

Now, I understand, BCS officials are meeting to discuss changing the format. The most likely scenario is that the final pool of teams will go from 2 to 4, with a 2-round playoff. This, while slightly fairer, is not nearly enough.

The fairest solution would be to invite the champions from every FBS conference to compete in the lesser bowls. As each conference was eliminated, the winners would advance to the next bowl, until the top 8 teams could play the 4 major bowl games on New Year’s day, followed by the aforementioned 4 team 2 round playoff, winner take all. Not only would this encourage more interest in the minor bowls (which would equal more money—always a plus to bowl promoters), it would help the less powerful conferences with their recruiting, since every conference would potentially have a chance at producing the national champion. The playing field, while not completely level, would be far less tilted toward the BCS conferences. This would also leave plenty of bowl games available for non-champion teams.

Oh, and screw Notre Dame. Tell them they either join a conference or they don’t get to play in the big dance. They’d change their tune pretty quick, I think.

The Year 2011 in Review

2011: In Review

I know, I’m a couple days late. I’d offer some excuse, but it would just be complete and total bullshit. So without further ado, let’s get started.

Favorite Sports moment of the year:
Ohio State 31
Arkansas 26

The record books can claim the game never happened if they want. I saw that game with my own eyes. Vacated, my ass!

Runner up:
St. Louis defeats Texas 4 games to 3 in the World Series.

Screw Texas.

Worst Sports moment of the year:
Pretty much the entire 2011 Buckeyes season. They set a lot of records this year that you never want to set.

Runner up:
Michigan 40, OSU34.
I guess it had to happen eventually. They can have their next win 7 years from now.

Favorite Movie of the Year:
Captain America: The First Avenger.
Cap kicks ass! ‘Nuff said.

Runner up:
The Adventures of Tintin.
This late entry beat out a few others, including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I literally saw the day before. I loved the Tintin graphic novels as a boy, and it was a special treat to see them come to life on the big screen. More importantly, it was done well, with Steven Spielberg at the helm.

By the way...
Most disturbing movie of the year:
The aforementioned The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
This movie is not for the faint of heart. I may have a review up in a day or two.

Worst Movie of the Year (that I saw):
The Green Lantern
Three words: Box. Office. Bomb.

Speaking of which...
Movie I’m Glad I never saw:
The Green Hornet
Seth Rogen? Seriously? What, was Jack Black too busy to play the part?!

Movie I most look forward to in 2012:
Tie: The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.
Both look AWESOME!

Favorite new TV show of the year:
“Person of Interest”
I’ve always thought Jim Caviezel was one of the more underrated actors in Hollywood. They couldn’t have picked a better actor for his role if they’d tried.

Worst new TV show of the year:
“Charlie’s Angels”
This show died a quick and well-deserved death. One of my co-workers said she was sad to see it go because her 8-year old girl loved it. Need I say more?

Favorite political moment of the year:
Occupy Wall Street.

Least favorite political moment of the year:
Debt Ceiling Standoff.

Thing I am least looking forward to in 2012:
Two words: Presidential. Election.
Seriously. This is shaping up to be the worst election cycle ever. And that’s saying something. Note to the Repuglicans: Mitt Romney?! Really? That’s the best you could come up with?

Utterly Ridiculous

The NCAA has announced its sanctions of Ohio State today. Among others, OSU is prevented from playing a bowl game in 2013, and they lose 3 scholarships per year for the next 3 years.

All because 5 players sold memorabilia that they EARNED to a shady character because it was the only way they could see to make a profit of the INDENTURED SERVITUDE that was forced upon them by the ridiculous NCAA rules they have to abide by--Namely: College athletes receive NO monetary payment of any kind.

Baseball players go into the Major Leagues right out of High school. Basketball players spend only a year in college before being draft eligible. And that's only because CBS wanted to make sure that their ratings for the NCAA tournament broadcast stayed high.

I realize that football is different. It only takes one play for a top college athlete to go from top prospect to undraftable due to injury. And the average career for an NFL player lasts 4 years.

But the NFL enjoys an advantage that no other Pro sport has: The free Minor League system that the NCAA provides. And if the top athletes of the NCAA don't like the teams that draft them, they have almost no way of escaping them.

So when the NCAA punished an entire program for the actions of a few players, they merely reinforced their hypocrisy.

I sincerely hope that whoever was responsible for these sanctions spends an eternity burning in hell. And I hope that the OSU athletic director joins them. Instead of appealing them, he will make the school bend over and take it. And tell them "Thank you Sir, may I have another?!"

Sad. These guys sold memorabilia they had earned. They didn't party with hookers on yacht parties organized by drug dealing boosters, or rape young men in the shower.

My New Favorite Word!

Today I came across a new word, and it has officially become my new favorite word of all time:

Teahadist

Don't you just love the way that rolls off your tongue?

And while I can't claim credit for inventing the word, I would like to make a stab at giving it an official definition. So, without further ado, here goes:

(Clears throat)

Tee * HAHD * Ist (n.): An uninformed member of the American voting public (usually a Republican, but not always) who believes that the teachings of the secret corporate creators of the American TEA party should be followed 100% without deviation, even when those teachings are designed to harm the very people that follow them. (emphasis added).

How about it? I mean, what is really the difference between a person described above and an actual Islamic Jihadist? Do not both follow the misguided directives of those in power who have taken a mostly benevolent organization and twisted its teachings in order to achieve their own sinister objectives?

The only difference I can see is that the corporate organizers of the TEA party are far more sinister than their Muslim counterparts, for the damage they can achieve can be far greater and far longer lasting (see "George W. Bush, Presidential administration of". See also "2008, Great Recession of", and "Election, 2010 Congressional").

Also, neither the Teahadist nor the Jihadist can be persuaded to change their views via logic, reason, or any other form of intellectual argument. And they believe so strongly in their cause that they are willing to do almost anything to further it.

Teahadist, by the way, replaces my old favorite word:

In * ter * nut (n.) 1. Any person who takes any information they receive via electronic mail or read on the internet as the absolute gospel truth without checking to see if the information is at all factual. 2. Any person who immediately spreads such information to as many others as possible without first checking to see if it has any basis whatsoever in fact.

I claim credit for inventing THAT word, as well as its definitions.