I am getting so sick and tired of the negative ad campaigns for governor. Neither one will tell you why we should vote for them, but have no problem telling the voters why we shouldn't for the other. Stop with the negative ad-buys already. No one is buying it. No one cares! My question is who is the third choice? I don't think we're going to be in safe hands with either candidate. Whitman doesn't appear to know what she's doing, and Jerry Brown just can't be trusted. I thought California was supposed to be this land of great minds and brilliant solutions, when did it become a circus?
Every time I turn on the TV, there is an ad from one of these saying how badly the other person would do as governor. I can't honestly say that these two people will get my vote. I am not prepared to let one of these two people run my state. I can say my state, because I have lived here all my life. Like so many other Californians, we are proud of our state, we love our state. We have it all. Is it any wonder why we are the most populated state in the Union?
We have mountains, rivers, beaches, Disneyland, Sea World, Universal Studios, Los Angeles, Orange County, Hollywood, San Diego, and idiots who want to be taken seriously as leader. Come one there has to be a leader among us. There has to be someone who can make something of the mess the bureaucrats have made of our fair state.
Do I have to do everything around here? :) I am taking this opportunity to announce my candidacy for office of Governor of California. I am asking my friends and readers to write my name on the ballots in November. This has to stop. The insanity must come to an end.
This is what I stand for: stronger police force, money going into our schools not going out, raising school standards to give students a chance to succeed in this world, restructuring of our DMV so that people don't stand outside for hours on end. Increasing aid on the border, and raising taxes on incomes over a million dollars so that we can pay for this. I will also encourage our courts to be much harsher on celebrities who break the law. No more tolerance. No more favors. No more probations. Do the crime, you do the time.
Think about it. I won't let you down.
Until next time
P
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
America's Team?
I can understand it if you are a fan, but the term should carry more weight than it does. I would think that there are other teams out there that would find this term insulting. Oh, and have you seen them lately? Certainly this moniker should go to someone that can actually play and win. Sorry, that remark was mean, and I'm pretty sure someone is going to hurt me for that one. My apologies. But I'm not wrong, I really do think we need to revisit this one soon.
I'm referring to this idea that the Dallas Cowboys should get the term, America's Team. I know where it came from, I've seen the video. I understand why it was said, they had the most TV coverage at the time it was released. They had the most recognizable players in the NFL at the time. Certainly the 1990s would help that nickname hold up. I also understand that no other team in the NFL has more haters and lovers than does the Cowboys. And they are not just found in Texas, but everywhere in the country. I get it. I just don't agree with it.
Now this isn't about me putting over my favorite team in the hopes that they will be viewed with such lofty admiration. I'm not that petty, and wouldn't waste peoples time with it. I simply don't think that this title of importance, this amazing honor should fall to this team anymore. I don't think of the Cowboys when I think of football. I don't. That's what this term should mean, the team you associate with America or the team you would talk about to a foreigner who is new to America and wants to know about American Football. So who is that team? Right now, in this era of football, who is that team that you would talk about fondly and say, this is who you need to watch? I think it's up to the individual. I think it depends on who you're talking to. Some will say, New England, others... Indianapolis, others, Green Bay, what about the Raiders? Certainly all of these teams can lay claim to that moniker as well. It's all in the eyes of the beholder which is where I land the plane on this one.
This term, America's Team is something that should be up to the individual to decide, not some panel of experts that think because someone said in the 1970s that it should hold true today. I don't think so. It's my opinion and I'm entitled to it. I don't want to take away from their great history, don't want to take anything away from the most amazing stadium I've ever seen, don't want to upset the millions of fans that love their Cowboys; but I just don't agree with the term. I don't. I think that it should be a term that people on their own feel for their favorite team. I don't want to go somewhere in the world have people ask me where I'm from, and then like some comedic moment from some 1980s movie about a guy getting lost in a country that he doesn't know has someone come up to him and during the conversation the local learns where he's from and declares the Dallas Cowboys, America's Team. That was a mouthful. Sorry about that.
I just want to put this to a vote. I think we need to revisit this term and honestly take a look at the era we are in and honestly, very honestly, think about this. Are they still deserving of this term, and if not, who is?
Please don't hate me... I didn't intend to hurt feelings, or destroy your illusions that your Cowboys are infallible. I speak my mind, and this was something I wanted to speak about.
Until next time
P
I'm referring to this idea that the Dallas Cowboys should get the term, America's Team. I know where it came from, I've seen the video. I understand why it was said, they had the most TV coverage at the time it was released. They had the most recognizable players in the NFL at the time. Certainly the 1990s would help that nickname hold up. I also understand that no other team in the NFL has more haters and lovers than does the Cowboys. And they are not just found in Texas, but everywhere in the country. I get it. I just don't agree with it.
Now this isn't about me putting over my favorite team in the hopes that they will be viewed with such lofty admiration. I'm not that petty, and wouldn't waste peoples time with it. I simply don't think that this title of importance, this amazing honor should fall to this team anymore. I don't think of the Cowboys when I think of football. I don't. That's what this term should mean, the team you associate with America or the team you would talk about to a foreigner who is new to America and wants to know about American Football. So who is that team? Right now, in this era of football, who is that team that you would talk about fondly and say, this is who you need to watch? I think it's up to the individual. I think it depends on who you're talking to. Some will say, New England, others... Indianapolis, others, Green Bay, what about the Raiders? Certainly all of these teams can lay claim to that moniker as well. It's all in the eyes of the beholder which is where I land the plane on this one.
This term, America's Team is something that should be up to the individual to decide, not some panel of experts that think because someone said in the 1970s that it should hold true today. I don't think so. It's my opinion and I'm entitled to it. I don't want to take away from their great history, don't want to take anything away from the most amazing stadium I've ever seen, don't want to upset the millions of fans that love their Cowboys; but I just don't agree with the term. I don't. I think that it should be a term that people on their own feel for their favorite team. I don't want to go somewhere in the world have people ask me where I'm from, and then like some comedic moment from some 1980s movie about a guy getting lost in a country that he doesn't know has someone come up to him and during the conversation the local learns where he's from and declares the Dallas Cowboys, America's Team. That was a mouthful. Sorry about that.
I just want to put this to a vote. I think we need to revisit this term and honestly take a look at the era we are in and honestly, very honestly, think about this. Are they still deserving of this term, and if not, who is?
Please don't hate me... I didn't intend to hurt feelings, or destroy your illusions that your Cowboys are infallible. I speak my mind, and this was something I wanted to speak about.
Until next time
P
Friday, September 17, 2010
Make it a good one
Next Friday, I think, will mark the end of an era.... it will be the beginning of the end. It will be the 10th start of something that has proven to be amazing and super all the same. I am speaking of the season premier of the final season of Smallville.
For those of you not privy to this amazingness... Smallville was the telling of Superman before he became Superman. It is the tale of young Clark Kent learning who he is, where he came from and trying to build his super powers. Over the course of nine seasons he has learned to shoot fire from his eyes, see through things that aren't encased in lead, run at extremely fast speeds, use his amazing lung capacity to knock down steel walls, and he one time, learned to fly.
It has become, at least to me, one of the great shows that has aired on tv this decade. The stories are fun, exciting, and very well told both thematically and visually. Just watch the season premier of season 5 where his fortress of solitude is built. STUNNING.
What is also fun to watch is number of cameos from people who were in the motion pictures or past TV shows that were about Superman. This was highlighted in the season two episode entitled ROSETTA, where Clark learns of his Kryptonian roots courtesy of Mr. Christopher Reeve. It was amazing. It was one of the episode from any show that made you proud and made you just a little weepy. Several others have made appearances on the show with the exception of Gene Hackman. What is he waiting for?
I have loved watching the show and hated it at the same time. As a Superman fanatic like myself, you have been waiting and waiting for him to put on the cape and become Superman. The series has done a great job of hiding that fact from him while telling the fans that they know what he will become even if Clark does not. You get mad at him for not embracing his destiny and for thinking that his father, Jor-el, has evil intentions for him.
Tom Welling has done a magnificent job in my mind of taking the humanity of Superman and Clark Kent and making it something we can all aspire to have. He has more screen time as the man of steel than any other actor combined to ever play the role. He has the chiseled looks, the hair, the smile, and the sensitivity of the role to make a wonderful Superman.
When the creators were putting the show together they has two rules, No flight, No tights. They were determined not to show the audience Superman, but rather Clark Kent. They wanted us to discover along with him who he was and what he will do despite the fact that we know he will become the best of the best... SUPERMAN. It has been frustrating and captivating at the same time. You keep coming back in the hopes that this season will become the season that Clark Kent embraces his destiny and understands what his future will hold.
I am looking forward to this last season. I am hopeful that it will go out on a high note. It has become part of my life. Much the way, that MASH, Brady Bunch, and Dallas were part of my mothers life, this is part of mine.
It is time that Clark Kent become Superman. The fans deserve to see the suit, the cape, and the shield. We deserve to see him take flight. We have devoted nine seasons to watching him grow and whine and grow some more, we need the payoff. I am excited, yet sad. This show has made Superman cooler, like that was possible, and has reached a new generation who didn't get to see Reeve prove to us that a man could fly.
To the producers I ask this of you... Make it a good one. Make this the season by which all other are measured. Make this the season that you will be remembered for. It is time. Who knows, maybe this will be the kick in the butt people need to make a second movie. I need more Superman... Superman Returns was a great start, you just need to follow it up.
Until next time
P
For those of you not privy to this amazingness... Smallville was the telling of Superman before he became Superman. It is the tale of young Clark Kent learning who he is, where he came from and trying to build his super powers. Over the course of nine seasons he has learned to shoot fire from his eyes, see through things that aren't encased in lead, run at extremely fast speeds, use his amazing lung capacity to knock down steel walls, and he one time, learned to fly.
It has become, at least to me, one of the great shows that has aired on tv this decade. The stories are fun, exciting, and very well told both thematically and visually. Just watch the season premier of season 5 where his fortress of solitude is built. STUNNING.
What is also fun to watch is number of cameos from people who were in the motion pictures or past TV shows that were about Superman. This was highlighted in the season two episode entitled ROSETTA, where Clark learns of his Kryptonian roots courtesy of Mr. Christopher Reeve. It was amazing. It was one of the episode from any show that made you proud and made you just a little weepy. Several others have made appearances on the show with the exception of Gene Hackman. What is he waiting for?
I have loved watching the show and hated it at the same time. As a Superman fanatic like myself, you have been waiting and waiting for him to put on the cape and become Superman. The series has done a great job of hiding that fact from him while telling the fans that they know what he will become even if Clark does not. You get mad at him for not embracing his destiny and for thinking that his father, Jor-el, has evil intentions for him.
Tom Welling has done a magnificent job in my mind of taking the humanity of Superman and Clark Kent and making it something we can all aspire to have. He has more screen time as the man of steel than any other actor combined to ever play the role. He has the chiseled looks, the hair, the smile, and the sensitivity of the role to make a wonderful Superman.
When the creators were putting the show together they has two rules, No flight, No tights. They were determined not to show the audience Superman, but rather Clark Kent. They wanted us to discover along with him who he was and what he will do despite the fact that we know he will become the best of the best... SUPERMAN. It has been frustrating and captivating at the same time. You keep coming back in the hopes that this season will become the season that Clark Kent embraces his destiny and understands what his future will hold.
I am looking forward to this last season. I am hopeful that it will go out on a high note. It has become part of my life. Much the way, that MASH, Brady Bunch, and Dallas were part of my mothers life, this is part of mine.
It is time that Clark Kent become Superman. The fans deserve to see the suit, the cape, and the shield. We deserve to see him take flight. We have devoted nine seasons to watching him grow and whine and grow some more, we need the payoff. I am excited, yet sad. This show has made Superman cooler, like that was possible, and has reached a new generation who didn't get to see Reeve prove to us that a man could fly.
To the producers I ask this of you... Make it a good one. Make this the season by which all other are measured. Make this the season that you will be remembered for. It is time. Who knows, maybe this will be the kick in the butt people need to make a second movie. I need more Superman... Superman Returns was a great start, you just need to follow it up.
Until next time
P
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Infamy
I still remember where I was nine years ago. I still remember waking up and turning on the news and seeing flight 175 crash into the South Tower. I sat back and watched as the world changed. As a historian, I have seen President Roosevelt's speech to congress after the attack on Pearl Harbor and his declaration as "December 7th, 1941 as a date which will live in Infamy"... so too will September 11th, 2001.
Here we are, nine years later and things are better and worse. America is not naive anymore and the world has become a stronger place because of it. Well, I guess that last statement depends on your point of view and your opinion. I for one feel that as a result of our losing naivete that we have paved the way to making our planet stronger.
We remember this day for the horror that was unleashed, we remember the sadness that came without warning, and we remember the destruction that was brought forth. However, we also remember the courage of fire and police officers who ran into burning buildings to save strangers. We remember a plane full of passengers that fought back and prevented their plane from reaching its target and destroying another federal building. We remember the heroism of the many and we remember the sacrifice of the men and women since that day that have died to keep our country safe.
It is indeed a date that will live in infamy. The world changed forever that day. There is no going back to the way things were before 9/11/01. We must move forward and we must not look back and wonder where our lives would be if this did not happen.
My heart goes out to the ones who are without family today because of this moment in human history that we wish we could erase. My prayers are with them and it is my hope that they can find peace in this lifetime. I am proud of our men and women in uniform whether they are soldiers, airmen, marines, police, firefighter, whatever; thank you for your service to this nation. Thank you for your dedication to defeating terror. Thank you for your commitment to this country and to its citizenry. We owe you so much more than that, but I am truly thankful.
On this day, we have so much to reflect upon and we see where the city of New York in the aftermath. There is the construction of a new tower, the Freedom Tower, there is hope in the form of a city united again, and there is concern with the talks of building a mosque so close to the site of destruction and chaos. I've already said my peace on this matter, you can read it yourself. This isn't about that. It is my hope and prayer that cooler heads will prevail and that intelligence will win out in the end over pride and ego.
We remember the sacrifice. We remember the brave. We remember the lost. Please, take a moment and have a moment of silence today to honor our brave so that they are not forgotten.
Until next time
P
Here we are, nine years later and things are better and worse. America is not naive anymore and the world has become a stronger place because of it. Well, I guess that last statement depends on your point of view and your opinion. I for one feel that as a result of our losing naivete that we have paved the way to making our planet stronger.
We remember this day for the horror that was unleashed, we remember the sadness that came without warning, and we remember the destruction that was brought forth. However, we also remember the courage of fire and police officers who ran into burning buildings to save strangers. We remember a plane full of passengers that fought back and prevented their plane from reaching its target and destroying another federal building. We remember the heroism of the many and we remember the sacrifice of the men and women since that day that have died to keep our country safe.
It is indeed a date that will live in infamy. The world changed forever that day. There is no going back to the way things were before 9/11/01. We must move forward and we must not look back and wonder where our lives would be if this did not happen.
My heart goes out to the ones who are without family today because of this moment in human history that we wish we could erase. My prayers are with them and it is my hope that they can find peace in this lifetime. I am proud of our men and women in uniform whether they are soldiers, airmen, marines, police, firefighter, whatever; thank you for your service to this nation. Thank you for your dedication to defeating terror. Thank you for your commitment to this country and to its citizenry. We owe you so much more than that, but I am truly thankful.
On this day, we have so much to reflect upon and we see where the city of New York in the aftermath. There is the construction of a new tower, the Freedom Tower, there is hope in the form of a city united again, and there is concern with the talks of building a mosque so close to the site of destruction and chaos. I've already said my peace on this matter, you can read it yourself. This isn't about that. It is my hope and prayer that cooler heads will prevail and that intelligence will win out in the end over pride and ego.
We remember the sacrifice. We remember the brave. We remember the lost. Please, take a moment and have a moment of silence today to honor our brave so that they are not forgotten.
Until next time
P
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