Things that get my goat
Since 1968, the U.S. has had a rating system for theatrical movies. These ratings are of dubious value as they are vague and often tainted by politics or studio pressure. Given the forty years of experience we now have, I think it’s time that we re-examine how we rate our movies.
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You know, I like to think of myself as a fair-minded individual. In the past few years, courts, and now state legislatures, have begun approving of same-sex marriages. Given the numbers of conservative-minded folk in the United States, is it no wonder that there has been a vocal backlash of sorts? I have to say, I’m totally amazed that this is really an issue at all.
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Even if we don’t admit it, at some point just about everyone with a television will watch one of the 1/2-hour product infomercials. You can’t help it. They suck you in. The thing I hate is how they subtly suck your wallet.
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I love DVRs. They shame VCRs. Unfortunately, almost all DVRs come with shortcomings. That’s unfortunate since they could be, in the words of Barney Stinson, “Legen–wait for it–dary”. If I were able to get the one that I want, this is the one that I want.
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As Emperor Overlord of the United States, my days are full. I mean really full. You think you’re busy. That’s nothing in comparison. I try to leave it to the Washington branch to take care of the details, or even leave it up to all y’all to use common sense to fix things. So I can’t begin to convey how miffed I am that I have to take time away from playing Pop Answers on Facebook to deal with this schoolyard stuff.
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I read in the news that Somali pirates threatened revenge after snipers “pink-smoked” three poopy-heads that had been holding hostage the captain of a previously pirated cargo ship. I can’t help but chuckle. The revenge to be had was ours, you poopy-headed idiots. Fortunately, we have a solution.
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Children of the late 60s had a shared habit that was wrested from them by our oh-so-protective government. The FDA banned the additive in 1969. As subsequent studies have not shown there to be a significant risk to humans, there is no reason to keep the substance banned.
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The world has a rhythm. You wake at sunrise, you sleep soon after sunset. With the advent of clocks, most people’s lives are regulated to meet an 8am-ish to 5pm-ish local time work schedule. Since the bulk of the population are either naturally early risers or can adapt to that with no great hardship, the world has standardized, for the most part, on this sort of workday plan.
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Long time readers of this blog know that I place a heap of blame on lobbyists for the ills of this country. So, excuse me for not shedding any tears when lobbyists complain that President Obama is severely limiting their access.
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The 2009 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, like any 64-team tournament, holds the promise of many interesting games. Games that will be competitive. Games featuring teams I want to watch. This tournament is touted by ESPN as having all the games available. Well…perhaps for some.
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When it comes to acting, I’m not a fan of “The Method”. While I sort of agree with the concept of it, the fact is that I think it has hurt American acting (especially) more than it has helped.
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In the many pushes to repeal death penalties around the country, the most compelling in recent days has been the cost of death row inmates versus life imprisoned convicts. Clearly the system needs to be adjusted, but how?
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I’ve gotten a lot of emails about my articles about the necessity of the U.S. converting to metric soon (President Obama, Give Us a Yard and We’ll Take a Meter; Some Practical Consequences of Going Metric). Let me address a few of them.
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The time has come to stop depending on the statistical few to have the same tastes as the variety of viewers across the country. When they are picking from half-a-dozen choices, that might have had some merit, but when picking from about 1,000 choices, those 5,000 Nielsen families seem woefully under-representative. With just a new twist with available technology, there can be upwards of 200,000,000 votes as to what is worthy of being on the air and what isn’t. Whether watched live on DTV, or a week later off your laptop’s hard-drive, you can tell the powers that be that you are watching.
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OK, this is driving me nuts. People, attend to your aspect ratios. I’m sick to death of 16:9 (widescreen) videos being scrunched to 4:3 (normal). Though it happens a little less frequently, stretching 4:3 vids to fit 16:9 is just as awful.
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The stock market continues to tank. Banks are teetering on the brink. General Motors’ auditors say that it likely will end up in bankruptcy. Meanwhile the new Congress and President are settling in for their very familiar dance. As I’m getting tired of hearing the same ol’ same ol’, I think it’s time that we just deal with what needs dealing with.
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In prosecuting their wars, both the president and the Congress have taken the politically safe road while simultaneously flouting the intent of the founders when they drafted the Constitution. Wars are fought though never declared. The forces are under-manned. As an American, I find it insulting.
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As Emperor Overlord of the United States, I have to give that new kid, Obama, credit. He doesn’t do things small. A $3.55 trillion budget. That takes some brass ones, it does. I should probably say a little something about this amusing little income/expense outline of his.
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