`Hmmm I think the Chinese Government needed a different musical score for their proud national achievement.
v
Soundtrack Fail
Tag Archives: Culture
disgusted
So you want me to believe that the conservative resistance to the HPV vaccine is purely about ‘Parental Rights’, or concerns that our children are being over immunized? How naïve do you think I am? (I’m not even touching Michelle ‘Madman’ Bachmann’s Jenny McCarthy’s like idiocy.)
Let’s take a quick look at recommended immunizations for children according to CDC.
Chicken Pox –Air and direct contact vectors
Diphtheria – Air and direct contact
Hib – Air and direct contact
HepA – Personal contact, Food, Water
Hep B – Blood, bodily fluids
Measles – Air and Direct Contact
Mumps – Air and direct contact
Pertussis – air and direct contact
Polio – via the mouth
Pneumococcus – air and direct contact
Rotavirus – through the mouth
Rubella – air and direct contact
Tetanus – breaks in the skin
HPV – sexual activity
Only ONE of these immunizations has the conservatives in a lather, but I’m supposed to accept the premise that it’s NOT about the sex, but only a logical question of parental rights that somehow doesn’t get raised for any of the other immunizations? Yeah, right, and I’ve got some Unicorns to sell you.
If this was a fringe group grousing about the injections, sort like the fluoridation nuts of years past, I could ignore the whole issue, but these people are in the driver’s seat for the selection process for the presidential nominee. Leading politicians are bending knees and groveling to these idiots who believe it is better to risk cancer than sexual activity.
Drive-In theaters
A few weeks ago while surfing around local internet sites I discovered that San Diego has two still operating Drive-In theaters. I seriously had though all of those had died away in the era of THX Dolby sound, and crisp laser projections.
This lead me on a brief internet search about the state of Drive-in theaters. Surprisingly they have a devoted following who enjoy the low prices (in San Diego you can get a double feature of first run films for $8), family friendly atmosphere, and privacy of the private viewing from your own car. (No annoying people right next to talking during the film . I once dated a girl who talked through an entire film, never went out with her again.)
Then our of the blue light lightening on a clear day this memory popped up into my mind. As a child I often went with my older brothers to a drive-in movie on the weekend. I suddenly, and vividly, recalled the popcorn being popped in our kitchen, salted, buttered and put into a large brown paper bag. (they kind groceries came in before everyone went over to totes or plastic.) Teh bag then being stapled closed to kept it warm and fresh until the movie started.
I’m very tempted to relive this memeory. Pop the corn, bag it and go to a local drive-in. I’d be the adult and I’d be driving, but some part of me wants that experience one more time.
Quick thoughts on Escape From Hell
Back in 1976 Science-fiction authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle published their fantasy novel Inferno, about an SF writer who dies and goes to hell as described by Dante in if classic work, Inferno. I have read this novel two ro three times and it is very enjoyable and quite an interesting take Dante’s vision through a modern perspective.
Two years they published a sequel novel, Escape From Hell, which I purchased a few months back and now that I have time, I have finally read. I do not think this book is as good as the original and in part I think politics marred this novel, which just as easily be titled Liberals In Hell. Jerry Pournelle maintains a blog — he hates that words but that is what the world calls such things — and so as a frequent reader I have a taste for what the author thinks versus what his characters are saying. (Larry Niven does not maintain such on line presence and so his thoughts are more mysterious.)
This book in many ways feels like the authors having fun putting their political rivals in Hell and torturing them. There is a decided lack of conservative figures in hell, while prominent liberal such as President Lyndon Johnson, are named and figure as characters. Now I am not insisting that author must maintain an quota system for such works, that’s silly, but the complete absence of namable conservatives betrays the heavy bias and that undercuts any arguments and persuasive powers the text might have.
This major flaw made the book far less enjoyable than the original, even with that novel’s flaws. (Such as maintaining homosexuality as a sin, something that was seriously modified by the sequel. Apparently hell is subject to retconning.)
Wortha read, but with a large amount of salt nearby.
Is Buffy The Vampire Slayer a Conservative show?
Courtesy of Tor.com I came across this interesting article about Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The author, Evan Pokroy, posits the thesis that BTVS is at heart a conservative show, quite at odds with the normal fare produced by Hollywood and that people of a conservative political persuasion should celebrate this series.
The article is well written and nothing in it is factually in error or untrue. It is certainly possible to view this series as one the reaffirms a number of conservative values,. However it is also possible to come away with a quite opposite conclusion, that BTVS reaffirms liberal values and morality.
Let me lay out just a brief outline of some of the liberal values celebrated, promoted, and central to the truly wonderful series.
“A Slayer with family and Friends, that sure as hell wasn’t in the brochure.” Spike in the episode –“School Hard”
Historically Slayers have operated in secret and alone. Granted there was support from the Watchers’ Council, but in the field, battling the demons night after night the Slayer stood alone until the coming of Buffy Summers. Through the coordinated actions of the Scooby Gang, Buffy defeated threats that lay beyond her abilities alone. Time and again in the series we are reminded that together as a team, as a collective, are victorious.
“I’m so out I’ve got my Grandmother fixing me up with guys.” Larry in the episode — “Earshot”
Diversity is a good in BTVS, characters are fully accepted for who they are as a person, gay, straight, or werewolf. Buffy does more than just fight and defeat demons set upon their evil plans, she also fights for people and accepts people as who they are without thought to clique or acceptance, such as her quick willingness to accept Willow Rosenberg.
“New Watcher? Is he evil?” Buffy in the episode Bad Girls
Buffy questions authority, the wisdom of the ages is forever being tested, challenged, and overthrown. Mothers, fathers, step-fathers-to-be, father figures and mother figures are mocked and usurped. The Old Guard is always suspect and not always right. Parents in the show do not, in general, fare well . While Joyce Summers, Buffy’s mother, eventually comes to supporter her daughter as the Slayer, her initial reaction was to throw her daughter into the street. Willow’s mothers is a hopeless academic, clueless to her daughters reality, and Xander’s unseen parents a warning sign that not all parents are to be honored. Beyond the parental figures, nearly all authority figures are distrusted, evil, or foolish. Giles, Buffy’s watcher and mentor, starts the series more at odds than respected, and become respected the more like Buffy he becomes until he too is challenging the accepted wisdom of authority in the episode Helpless.
“Anyone who’s not having fun here, follow me.” Buffy in the episode–Anne.
Buffy protects and defends the weak from abuse and exploitation. She clearly sees it as part of her duties to use her strength to protect and defend those who cannot. This goes beyond fighting demons, to protecting those who are bullied and threatened. The liberal aspect is best observed in the episode Anne, there Buffy, temporarily in Los Angeles, finds runaways are being used as slave labor by a demon. Armed with a Hunga Munga and a hammer she frees the workers from their exploiters. The Hunga Munga, a sickle-like weapon, helps create an impression of a hammer and sickle used in a beauty-shot for the rest of third season’s credit sequence.
The point of my essay is not to say that Mr. Pokroy is wrong, because he is not. Buffy The Vampire Slyer is truly a work of art, and the best works of arts are multidimensional. They possess many facets just as a well cut diamond does. BTVS is a well of truly exceptional art, and as such people of all philosophical beliefs can find something in the show that speaks to them.
I think we should celebrate well-crafted art for its own sake, and not try to fit it into the tight, restricted left/right paradigm of political discourse. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a wonderful show, with well-scripted characters, interesting deep thoughts, and exciting action. When you watch it you think about what it might mean, lets keep that a personal journey and not one where we impose a philosophy.
Some thoughts on the Wisconsin Issues
First: Once again we have the horribly heated rhetoric in which your opponents are automatically the equivalent to Hitler and or the Nazis. This, as it was with the protest on the right, is simply absurd. While the move to break a set of public worker unions is a major political step, one certain to generate intense feelings, it is not in any way comparable to the degenerate, racist, insane positions of the NAZI party. This is a perfect example as to why I dislike extremes in nearly all its forms, it is blinding and when you are cocooned in its comfortable black-and-white world you are unreeachable by reason or rational thought. Continue reading
Sunday Afternoon
Just a quick update on how my day has gone.
Actually in spite of the arthritis flare today has been a fairly nice day. My sweetie-wife and I went to Balboa Park and walked around for a couple of miles getting in much needed exercise for yours truly. On Sunday at Balboa park they have open houses for their international houses. These are organizations that promote their host countries. It’s really a celebration of culture and heritage. Each house will have flyers and foods from their culture and occasionally music and dancing.
The big impression I had this go around — like I said this happens every Sunday and it was not our first time there — was at the Ireland House. First they had live music and it was spunky and fun and I wanted it on a CD. Secondly I tried a new food, Colcannon. Damn, that was good! It’s a dish made from mashed potatoes. with other ingredients tossed in. It is definitely something I want more of.
Also in another section of the park the International Dance Association was hold a celebration with music and dancing all day long. We popped in long enough to see a bit of English Morris Dancing, but not much more. we did see a number of young people practicing and rehearsing for their performance on the bag pipes.
I recorded it for your amusement.
This is so cool.
Hat Tip to my pal Ed Green for the pointer. (it is a weird coincidence that I saw this after watching part of Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow while at the dentist.)
Sarah Palin®
So it turns out that Saint Sarah Palin, Profit of the Republican party, has trademarked her name. (h/t to TPM for the story.) Now some people of a less than clever nature have thought that this is an attempt by Sarah Palin® (gods that’s fun to type) is hoping to use the ® as a method of shutting down her critics. This is utterly wrong. You can trademark your name until you reach George Lucas levels of absurd legalisms (after all his company did try to trademark Nazi) and your opponents can still use your name and print all the horrid stories about you that they want. A trademarks will not stop that, nor will it stop satire and other forms of political attack. Further more I fully believe that Sarah Palin® knows all this and people who think this is her motive grossly underestimate her.
No, I think she has very good cause and reason to file for this trademark. Sarah Palin® is about celebrity and making money, she must move to protect her most valuable asset, he name and image. To protect any potential line of products, speeches or seminars she must trademark or risk getting ripped off by copy-cats and other intellectual property thieves. This is a smart and savvy business plan.
What this indicates to me though is she is not going to run for president. (As I have theorized at this blog before.) Those, like Andrew Sullivan, who quaked with fear at a Sarah Palin® candidacy were trembling at shadows. This woman is in her happy spot and I fully expect her to stay there for as long as it lasts. I suspect that will be until 2012 when it becomes clear that she is not running and interest in her wanes. She will not have a long politically oriented entertainment career like Rush Limbaugh. Hers will be brief and bright.
Despotism and the Tea Party
Just a quick observation. There are those — and I am not saying all or even a majority — within the Tea Party movement that like to call the initiatives of the Obama ‘socialism’ or a move towards tyranny. This sort of hyperbole is pointless. However, as I watch the Arabic world erupt with people longing to overthrow the despots who have ruled over them. (Often in very socialist-like setting) I can’t help be feel that these people who like to hurl Nazi themed insults and comparisons are acting like spoiled teenagers. They live in a system free enough for them to whine that they are not free.
(edited for clarity)