I'm sure that this is a little late in coming but congratulations on winning the 2014 Winter Olympics. Generally I enjoy watching the Olympics. I love to watch the Luge and bobsledders and sometimes the downhill skiers.
However, this year I won't be watching them. I wish I could do more to protest your lack of humanity towards gay people who live in your country. I also don't believe you when you say that gay athletes will be protected from current anti-gay laws in your country. I can't think of a time in recent Russian history except under the rule of Gorbachev, where gays have not been tormented but now you've turned it in to a law that says it's ok to harm people who are gay.
I'm not surprised that this type of action has been taken or that this type of action is being condoned by Russian leadership. The new Russia, its predecessor the USSR and prior to that Czarist Russia, all have well documented histories of genocides of people who fail to conform, either as individuals or whole segments of specific cultures. If people don't agree with us, it's "off with their heads"!
I'm not sure how all these incarnations of Russia have been able to survive this long without tearing itself apart...oh wait...they haven't. When you look at your history, you can see where the people that you have oppressed have risen up against you, violently, and made sweeping changes to the status quo. Admittedly, not all these changes have been good and most of them led to other, larger uprisings.
However, today the world is watching you. Activists from inside Russia, at much great danger to themselves are working diligently to show the world just what is going on inside Russia. They are being aided by activists outside Russia in ensuring that pressure is brought to bear not only on Russia but on the International Olympic Committee to ensure that gay athletes are not incarcerated because of this ignorant law.
I agree with the athletes who say that a boycott is not the answer. This is one of those things where people must make a visible and poignant statement to the world that the LGBT community is just as deserving of civil rights and equal protection under the law as everyone else. Perhaps this issue can also be a starting point for all the oppressed ethnic cultures still under the thumb of "Mother Russia".
British actor Stephen Fry makes an eloquent case for a boycott in his blog and I do see his point. It's giving a stage to a crazy man and an unfeeling country but things are different than they were during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The biggest difference is the power of the press, not only the mainstream media but the independent folks who write about their experiences, the blogs, the podcasts that will surely take place despite how hard Russian officials will try and crack down on them.
So "Mother Russia" it is time that you put on your big girl panties and start promoting tolerance and respect for the LGBT community in your homeland. As a mother, I can't imagine taking my son and tossing him away like garbage or allowing him to be abused simply because of his sexual orientation. It is time that you started acting like a Mother and hold ALL your children close to your breast and protect them from harm.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Whining get's you nowhere...
There are times when stuff like this alternates between ticking me off and getting a well deserved "huzzah" for an important life lesson.
This particular situation got a "huzzah" for some great life lessons. You may have seen the dust up about the 12 year old Jeopardy contestant who felt he was "cheated" when he misspelled the correct answer on his Jeopardy final round. If you didn't you can read about it here.
In any game show, contestants are given a thorough explanation of what the rules are. I'm sure in this case, the rules were explained in such a way that a 12 year old could comprehend. I'd be willing to bet that they even did mock game runs to ensure the kids understood the rules as they are implemented in the game.
The young man in question was in second place, had zero hope of winning because he was far enough behind the leader that even if he had bet it all, he still wouldn't have won. (The leader amassed a $66,000 lead to his $9,600 end amount) As it was, the leader bet big thus ensuring his victory.
After his answer was disqualified due to it's misspelling, the boy later went on to state that he felt cheated because he had the correct answer and it was just a simple spelling error. It would seem that the Twitterverse was on his side as well, calling out Alex Trebek and the show in general for penalizing a kid over a spelling error. I disagree with with them and here's why.
1. There are times when you don't have SpellCheck available and you must know how to spell the words yourself. The over reliance on spellcheck by people has left this blogger in a tizzy at times because while a word may be spelled correctly, it's not the right word (think to, too and two). The lesson...you have to know how to spell and you must check your work. Always. Spelling counts. Always. Even as an adult educator, I tell anyone who does work for me that spelling does count. It can make a huge difference in how a sentence is given context within the rest of the paper. Growing up means that you have to understand the importance of being detail oriented in the work that you present to others. I've had students write great papers conceptually, but their execution was so poor that I wondered if this person would ever be able to get a job that didn't include the phrase "do you want fries with that?".
2. Learn how to lose gracefully. Not everyone gets to be number 1. The cliche that fits this one is "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." You were outplayed, simple as that. Given the disparities in the final money amounts, there was no way you could have won anyways. You don't have to like losing and I hope this spurs you on to greatness but whining about being cheated when you knew the rules ahead of time is just a case of sour grapes. The lesson...learning how to lose gracefully means you don't blame others for things YOU did. I promise you that this will not be the only time that you will feel cheated about something.
3. Don't settle for wanting to be rewarded for mediocrity. You may have felt cheated but what you were really asking for is to be rewarded for being mediocre. I hope that your parents will have a chat with your about always doing your absolute best in any situation. One shouldn't be rewarded for putting a 95% effort in. (But you did since you still went home with $2,000 anyways).
To the young man I would tell him that in the scheme of things, he had a chance to learn some great life lessons and that I hope that this small moment in his early life doesn't define the person he will grow to become. He can choose to feel cheated or he can take the life lessons and run with them, becoming a better man for it in the end.
This particular situation got a "huzzah" for some great life lessons. You may have seen the dust up about the 12 year old Jeopardy contestant who felt he was "cheated" when he misspelled the correct answer on his Jeopardy final round. If you didn't you can read about it here.
In any game show, contestants are given a thorough explanation of what the rules are. I'm sure in this case, the rules were explained in such a way that a 12 year old could comprehend. I'd be willing to bet that they even did mock game runs to ensure the kids understood the rules as they are implemented in the game.
The young man in question was in second place, had zero hope of winning because he was far enough behind the leader that even if he had bet it all, he still wouldn't have won. (The leader amassed a $66,000 lead to his $9,600 end amount) As it was, the leader bet big thus ensuring his victory.
After his answer was disqualified due to it's misspelling, the boy later went on to state that he felt cheated because he had the correct answer and it was just a simple spelling error. It would seem that the Twitterverse was on his side as well, calling out Alex Trebek and the show in general for penalizing a kid over a spelling error. I disagree with with them and here's why.
1. There are times when you don't have SpellCheck available and you must know how to spell the words yourself. The over reliance on spellcheck by people has left this blogger in a tizzy at times because while a word may be spelled correctly, it's not the right word (think to, too and two). The lesson...you have to know how to spell and you must check your work. Always. Spelling counts. Always. Even as an adult educator, I tell anyone who does work for me that spelling does count. It can make a huge difference in how a sentence is given context within the rest of the paper. Growing up means that you have to understand the importance of being detail oriented in the work that you present to others. I've had students write great papers conceptually, but their execution was so poor that I wondered if this person would ever be able to get a job that didn't include the phrase "do you want fries with that?".
2. Learn how to lose gracefully. Not everyone gets to be number 1. The cliche that fits this one is "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." You were outplayed, simple as that. Given the disparities in the final money amounts, there was no way you could have won anyways. You don't have to like losing and I hope this spurs you on to greatness but whining about being cheated when you knew the rules ahead of time is just a case of sour grapes. The lesson...learning how to lose gracefully means you don't blame others for things YOU did. I promise you that this will not be the only time that you will feel cheated about something.
3. Don't settle for wanting to be rewarded for mediocrity. You may have felt cheated but what you were really asking for is to be rewarded for being mediocre. I hope that your parents will have a chat with your about always doing your absolute best in any situation. One shouldn't be rewarded for putting a 95% effort in. (But you did since you still went home with $2,000 anyways).
To the young man I would tell him that in the scheme of things, he had a chance to learn some great life lessons and that I hope that this small moment in his early life doesn't define the person he will grow to become. He can choose to feel cheated or he can take the life lessons and run with them, becoming a better man for it in the end.
Monday, August 5, 2013
I liked Expendables 2...I'm sure I am in the minority
But then I've always kind of walked to the beat of my own drummer so that shouldn't surprise anyone.
But it was Sunday and with very little interesting programming going on I decided that tuning in to Netflix would be a stellar idea. So I brought up my "I wanna watch this movie" queue and picked The Expendables 2. I had seen the first one and enjoyed it. OK, so it's not Gone With the Wind or anything like that, it's a movie that one goes to see, enjoys and most of the time, doesn't think twice about it.
I like the fact that the original had all these action stars in it so you know that there was going to be a lot of shit getting blown up and a lot of ass getting kicked. I wasn't wrong. So how could The Expendables 2 disappoint? It didn't!
If you saw the first then you know that some of the characters in there quoted some of their most famous lines...placed nicely throughout the script, it was a pleasant, self-deprecating way to look at the roles that got them their action star status.
The Expendables 2 did much of the same thing only better! More screen time for Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a couple of cameo appearances by Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Van Damme playing the bad guy this time around.
So here were the majorly funny parts...not just the quips mind you. In one instance Chuck Norris saves the day. Mows down 20 bad guys, takes out a tank and walks down the middle of the street to the theme music for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". When asked if he was the one who did all that he replies that yup, it was him. Stallone asks him to join their group and Norris tells him that he always works alone and Stallone quips "yeah, I heard you're kind of a lone wolf" and of course with all the Chuck Norris jokes out there, they had to crack one about Chuck being bit by a King Cobra to which Norris replies, "yes but after 5 pain filled days, the cobra finally died". Loved it!
And let's not forget some really great fight scenes. Jason Statham has two excellent ones and we see Jet Li in the first 10 minutes of the movie kicking a couple of guys asses with frying pans...FRYING PANS people!! But the one fight scene I wanted to see was something with Van Damme in it. He's known for his epic roundhouse kicks in which he seems to get about 6 feet off the ground and just connect with someones head and he did...twice...to Stallone's head. The dude has springloaded feet, I swear he does!!
Would I have paid to go see this in the theater...probably if I had the cash to spare but I didn't. But I did enjoy the movie quite a bit; loved the fight scenes and all the shit blowing up but I think best of all was just all the funny quips about themselves and each other. Favorite quotes came from Arnold...In the middle of a firefight, Norris pops up again and saves the day...Arnold sees who it is and quips, "who's going to show up next? Rambo?" In another, Arnold tells Bruce that "I'll be back" Bruce tells him to stay put and runs off to get the SMART car, Arnold pops his head up to provide cover fire for him and says "Yippe kay ay". And who would have thought that Arnold AND Bruce Willis could fit in a SMART car? Not me...of course Arnold quips that he "has shoes bigger than this" and they proceed to drive around in a SMART car inside the bad guys airport shooting everything that moves...funny stuff right there!
If you have Netflix, watch it...it's a great movie to pass the evening away and listening to the dialogue between all the stars is comical!
Watch it!....go...watch it!
But it was Sunday and with very little interesting programming going on I decided that tuning in to Netflix would be a stellar idea. So I brought up my "I wanna watch this movie" queue and picked The Expendables 2. I had seen the first one and enjoyed it. OK, so it's not Gone With the Wind or anything like that, it's a movie that one goes to see, enjoys and most of the time, doesn't think twice about it.
I like the fact that the original had all these action stars in it so you know that there was going to be a lot of shit getting blown up and a lot of ass getting kicked. I wasn't wrong. So how could The Expendables 2 disappoint? It didn't!
If you saw the first then you know that some of the characters in there quoted some of their most famous lines...placed nicely throughout the script, it was a pleasant, self-deprecating way to look at the roles that got them their action star status.
The Expendables 2 did much of the same thing only better! More screen time for Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a couple of cameo appearances by Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Van Damme playing the bad guy this time around.
So here were the majorly funny parts...not just the quips mind you. In one instance Chuck Norris saves the day. Mows down 20 bad guys, takes out a tank and walks down the middle of the street to the theme music for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". When asked if he was the one who did all that he replies that yup, it was him. Stallone asks him to join their group and Norris tells him that he always works alone and Stallone quips "yeah, I heard you're kind of a lone wolf" and of course with all the Chuck Norris jokes out there, they had to crack one about Chuck being bit by a King Cobra to which Norris replies, "yes but after 5 pain filled days, the cobra finally died". Loved it!
And let's not forget some really great fight scenes. Jason Statham has two excellent ones and we see Jet Li in the first 10 minutes of the movie kicking a couple of guys asses with frying pans...FRYING PANS people!! But the one fight scene I wanted to see was something with Van Damme in it. He's known for his epic roundhouse kicks in which he seems to get about 6 feet off the ground and just connect with someones head and he did...twice...to Stallone's head. The dude has springloaded feet, I swear he does!!
Would I have paid to go see this in the theater...probably if I had the cash to spare but I didn't. But I did enjoy the movie quite a bit; loved the fight scenes and all the shit blowing up but I think best of all was just all the funny quips about themselves and each other. Favorite quotes came from Arnold...In the middle of a firefight, Norris pops up again and saves the day...Arnold sees who it is and quips, "who's going to show up next? Rambo?" In another, Arnold tells Bruce that "I'll be back" Bruce tells him to stay put and runs off to get the SMART car, Arnold pops his head up to provide cover fire for him and says "Yippe kay ay". And who would have thought that Arnold AND Bruce Willis could fit in a SMART car? Not me...of course Arnold quips that he "has shoes bigger than this" and they proceed to drive around in a SMART car inside the bad guys airport shooting everything that moves...funny stuff right there!
If you have Netflix, watch it...it's a great movie to pass the evening away and listening to the dialogue between all the stars is comical!
Watch it!....go...watch it!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Writing is therapy
Being unemployed sucks. It really does. You are limited financially to the different things that you can do (either by cost to enter what you want to see or gas to get there) So for me, writing a blog has become a very cheap way for me to alleviate my daily tedium.
After spending a couple of hours trolling the usual websites for new postings, I have very little to do. What few friends I do have are working (and I wish them continued employment too) and so are unavailable for even the lamest of outings like eating sandwiches on the picnic table near the swimming pool.
But then I discovered that I have a lot of shit I want to get off my chest and a blog seemed like the perfect place to do that. First, because of the low likelihood of anyone reading this, I can be extremely opinionated. (Not that I am in real life or anything) Secondly, I could care less what people think about my opinion. Its just nice to rant like a madwoman for a few moments and get it off my chest as it were. Lastly, I have an opinion and it matters...ok, it only matters to me but dammit! I'm important too!
I think more people should take up writing. Can you imaging the reduction in stress if people were able to write about their feelings in a truly honest way? I have a diary that I write in as well. That's where I put all the really deep, personal stuff. But I can't help but wonder how much bad behavior would decrease if people had a way to say what they wanted to say without being censored by themselves or by societal standards (like the one about not hitting stupid people)
There is great joy, I think, in memorializing their stupidity either in a personal journal that you can donate to a library after your death for everyone to read or on the internet where nothing EVER disappears. There was a great line in the movie, A Knights Tale where Geoffrey Chaucer, a character who is a writer, threatens Simon the Summoner and Peter the Pardoner with "undying humiliation" by putting them in his stories. (Read The Summoner's Tale and The Pardoner's Tale by Chaucer and you will see that is exactly what he did)
I'm sure that I will be able to accommodate that wish.
After spending a couple of hours trolling the usual websites for new postings, I have very little to do. What few friends I do have are working (and I wish them continued employment too) and so are unavailable for even the lamest of outings like eating sandwiches on the picnic table near the swimming pool.
But then I discovered that I have a lot of shit I want to get off my chest and a blog seemed like the perfect place to do that. First, because of the low likelihood of anyone reading this, I can be extremely opinionated. (Not that I am in real life or anything) Secondly, I could care less what people think about my opinion. Its just nice to rant like a madwoman for a few moments and get it off my chest as it were. Lastly, I have an opinion and it matters...ok, it only matters to me but dammit! I'm important too!
I think more people should take up writing. Can you imaging the reduction in stress if people were able to write about their feelings in a truly honest way? I have a diary that I write in as well. That's where I put all the really deep, personal stuff. But I can't help but wonder how much bad behavior would decrease if people had a way to say what they wanted to say without being censored by themselves or by societal standards (like the one about not hitting stupid people)
There is great joy, I think, in memorializing their stupidity either in a personal journal that you can donate to a library after your death for everyone to read or on the internet where nothing EVER disappears. There was a great line in the movie, A Knights Tale where Geoffrey Chaucer, a character who is a writer, threatens Simon the Summoner and Peter the Pardoner with "undying humiliation" by putting them in his stories. (Read The Summoner's Tale and The Pardoner's Tale by Chaucer and you will see that is exactly what he did)
I'm sure that I will be able to accommodate that wish.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Weinergate and more silly women
I've been watching this latest "Weinergate" unfold and I alternate between tearing my hair out the people involved or weeping for the women who are involved in this situation.
Let's take a look at some of them shall we?
Huma Abedin, the long suffering wife of Mr. Weiner. It's not bad enough that she was humiliated the first time back in 2011 when his original scandal broke, but here we are...again...with her husband caught with his pants down around his ankles. And his advisers decide that it would be in his best political interests to parade her out to stand next to him at yesterdays news conference. My thoughts to his advisers are "have you no shame?". If I had Ms. Abedin sitting at a table with me, I would reach over and hold her hand and ask her, "Is this what you signed up for?". I would hope she would say no and take steps to rectify the situation. But if what I suspect is true, she has fallen victim to her husbands narcissistic tendencies and put her needs on the back burner. If that is the case then I would gently tell her that her husband is NOT Bill Clinton and she is not the wife of the President of the United States. But she is the wife of a former senator who resigned over sexting allegations and is trying to make a comeback by saying he is a changed man...he's not and we all know that. I have the greatest compassion for her because I feel like she is a pawn in the political aspirations of her husband.
Syndey Leathers, oh you cheeky little minx! But I would say that in all this "exposure" you've gotten that you have probably learned a few things about politics. First is that the wife always trumps the sexting partner. Always. Second is that you should be careful of who your friends are. See what your friend Colagiovanni said about you here? He's not your friend but a guy looking for a scoop he can sell. Lastly...be honest about your ambitions and how you plan on getting there. Did you see a politically related job in your future? Sex appeal is a woman's greatest weapon and should never be used to advance a career. It never turns out well and people will never, EVER take you seriously. In my opinion, you disrespected the Sisterhood. Shame on YOU!
You stated that you felt "manipulated" but you weren't manipulated were you? Sending Mr. Weiner over 30 pics is not someone who is being "manipulated" but is proof that you were a willing accomplice to his sexual predilections. We have this word that has been around for a very long time...perhaps you have heard of it? NO. A simple two letter word that carries a lot of weight. NO. Go ahead...try it. Used in conjunction with non-action ("No, I'm not sending anymore pics" and then not sending more pics) is empowering to a young lady such as yourself. In today's society, especially where nothing is secret anymore, you can't do stuff like that and then say you were misled or manipulated. Ms. Leathers, you are wearing more clothes than credibility at this point.
And lastly...Mr. Weiner. Oh you naughty, naughty man you!! Most relationship therapists would say that you were actively engaged in extramarital affairs. Honestly, I really don't care that you sent naked pics of your genitals to anyone. Let your freak flag fly! But let's be honest here, someone who has political aspirations should be slightly paranoid that at some point someone is going to out him for this behavior. And they did. I would have thought you would have learned your lesson the first time but it doesn't appear that way at all. If you can't learn a lesson from this, then how can the voters expect you to learn anything from them? I think the biggest shame of all is that you are dragging your wife through this all over again. It's not enough that you publicly humiliated her the first go round, but you do it again. I think your spouse should sit down and have a chat with Jenny Sanford.
Honestly, no one cares what Mr. Weiner does in the privacy of his own home or within the confines of his marriage. Thousands of people do this exact same thing everyday and no one gives a flying whoopee cushion that they do.
It's no ones business and I suspect that our fascination with this whole issue is the hypocrisy of Mr. Weiner in stating that he's not sexting anyone anymore but then admits to anywhere from 6-10 since he resigned from Congress. If he will not be completely honest with his own spouse, then how honest can we the voters expect him to be?
Let's take a look at some of them shall we?
Huma Abedin, the long suffering wife of Mr. Weiner. It's not bad enough that she was humiliated the first time back in 2011 when his original scandal broke, but here we are...again...with her husband caught with his pants down around his ankles. And his advisers decide that it would be in his best political interests to parade her out to stand next to him at yesterdays news conference. My thoughts to his advisers are "have you no shame?". If I had Ms. Abedin sitting at a table with me, I would reach over and hold her hand and ask her, "Is this what you signed up for?". I would hope she would say no and take steps to rectify the situation. But if what I suspect is true, she has fallen victim to her husbands narcissistic tendencies and put her needs on the back burner. If that is the case then I would gently tell her that her husband is NOT Bill Clinton and she is not the wife of the President of the United States. But she is the wife of a former senator who resigned over sexting allegations and is trying to make a comeback by saying he is a changed man...he's not and we all know that. I have the greatest compassion for her because I feel like she is a pawn in the political aspirations of her husband.
Syndey Leathers, oh you cheeky little minx! But I would say that in all this "exposure" you've gotten that you have probably learned a few things about politics. First is that the wife always trumps the sexting partner. Always. Second is that you should be careful of who your friends are. See what your friend Colagiovanni said about you here? He's not your friend but a guy looking for a scoop he can sell. Lastly...be honest about your ambitions and how you plan on getting there. Did you see a politically related job in your future? Sex appeal is a woman's greatest weapon and should never be used to advance a career. It never turns out well and people will never, EVER take you seriously. In my opinion, you disrespected the Sisterhood. Shame on YOU!
You stated that you felt "manipulated" but you weren't manipulated were you? Sending Mr. Weiner over 30 pics is not someone who is being "manipulated" but is proof that you were a willing accomplice to his sexual predilections. We have this word that has been around for a very long time...perhaps you have heard of it? NO. A simple two letter word that carries a lot of weight. NO. Go ahead...try it. Used in conjunction with non-action ("No, I'm not sending anymore pics" and then not sending more pics) is empowering to a young lady such as yourself. In today's society, especially where nothing is secret anymore, you can't do stuff like that and then say you were misled or manipulated. Ms. Leathers, you are wearing more clothes than credibility at this point.
And lastly...Mr. Weiner. Oh you naughty, naughty man you!! Most relationship therapists would say that you were actively engaged in extramarital affairs. Honestly, I really don't care that you sent naked pics of your genitals to anyone. Let your freak flag fly! But let's be honest here, someone who has political aspirations should be slightly paranoid that at some point someone is going to out him for this behavior. And they did. I would have thought you would have learned your lesson the first time but it doesn't appear that way at all. If you can't learn a lesson from this, then how can the voters expect you to learn anything from them? I think the biggest shame of all is that you are dragging your wife through this all over again. It's not enough that you publicly humiliated her the first go round, but you do it again. I think your spouse should sit down and have a chat with Jenny Sanford.
Honestly, no one cares what Mr. Weiner does in the privacy of his own home or within the confines of his marriage. Thousands of people do this exact same thing everyday and no one gives a flying whoopee cushion that they do.
It's no ones business and I suspect that our fascination with this whole issue is the hypocrisy of Mr. Weiner in stating that he's not sexting anyone anymore but then admits to anywhere from 6-10 since he resigned from Congress. If he will not be completely honest with his own spouse, then how honest can we the voters expect him to be?
Thursday, July 25, 2013
5 Things I learned from watching Mission:Impossible re-runs
I love old TV. The stuff that is on TV today isn't really funny anymore unless it appears to be denigrating someone and don't even get me started on the trash that is "reality" TV.
Currently I am unemployed. After a couple of hours of daily job hunting, running through the job boards, chasing down leads friends and former co-workers have sent along, I sit down in my recliner and turn on Netflix.
I've always enjoyed the Mission:Impossible series but I've only seen it in re-runs as I was about 8 years old when it went off the air after seven seasons. And honestly...what is not to like? What great characters! The grand leader of the group who was highly regarded and well respected by his fellow group members (Steven Hill played Dan Biggs in season 1 but was later replaced with Peter Graves (Jim Phelps) for seasons 2-7). The original crew of Martin Landau (Rollin Hand), Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) Barney Collier (Greg Morris) and my personal fave, Willy Armitage (Pete Lupus). I honestly wished they had given him a bigger role in the beginning. With his Greek ancestry, he was gorgeous when he smiled but it's something that we never got a chance to see until the final two seasons where his role was expanded and he was interacting more within the scenarios that had to be completed for the tasks.
So it became a goal that I set for myself to watch the entire run of Mission:Impossible on Netflix. Yesterday I completed that goal and honestly, I was a bit sad! But I did learn a few things while watching the show and here are my top 5 things I learned while watching Mission:Impossible;
1. People react the same no matter where they live. Almost every task given to the MI team was planned using peoples carefully planned reactions to certain stimuli. For example, if the team knew that you were a highly paranoid dictator in some fake European country, they would set up your second in command to look like he was betraying you. Your paranoia kicks in and viola! dead dictator and country headed towards free elections!
2. You can be sexy without being slutty. Let's take Cinnamon Carter for example here. Cinnamon exuded sex appeal, indeed her cover for spying was the fact that she was a high fashion model and VERY well known due to her looks. Most of the series was shot in the 60's with Cinnamon appearing in the first 4 years. She could really carry off sensual and sexy in her 60's attire as well as her hair and makeup. But you never ever saw her go beyond kissing a guy. She could hook a guy but she still made kicking him to the curb look sexy.
3. Never judge a book by its cover. Rollin Hand was a master of disguise and could imitate anyone's voice. Invariably he took over someone's identity to further the master plan along. Of course everyone was fooled, much to their later dismay and had they but checked a little deeper, they may have just seen their doom coming towards them.
4. Being a nerd is very cool. Barney was the electronics guru of the day. He always had the latest gadgets for the team to use and whatever else they needed to have done, he did it. I think most of the MI missions would have been complete and total disasters had it not been for his interest in electronics and all things mechanical.
5. There are some things in life where failing isn't an option. I think I enjoyed the first 4 years of this series the best. They were always saving some country from an evil dictator or some evil external influence. Of course most of these shows were filmed at the height of the Cold War so it's not surprising that we saw so many of these types of scenarios. But failing was never an option because so much was at stake. The same goes for me too...giving up or quitting my job hunt isn't an option.
I will miss all my MI friends...thank you for letting me hang around for a bit.
And for those of you who enjoyed the theme for the show done by Lalo Schifrin, here ya go...enjoy!!
http://youtu.be/mWGeRgFa-hI
Currently I am unemployed. After a couple of hours of daily job hunting, running through the job boards, chasing down leads friends and former co-workers have sent along, I sit down in my recliner and turn on Netflix.
I've always enjoyed the Mission:Impossible series but I've only seen it in re-runs as I was about 8 years old when it went off the air after seven seasons. And honestly...what is not to like? What great characters! The grand leader of the group who was highly regarded and well respected by his fellow group members (Steven Hill played Dan Biggs in season 1 but was later replaced with Peter Graves (Jim Phelps) for seasons 2-7). The original crew of Martin Landau (Rollin Hand), Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) Barney Collier (Greg Morris) and my personal fave, Willy Armitage (Pete Lupus). I honestly wished they had given him a bigger role in the beginning. With his Greek ancestry, he was gorgeous when he smiled but it's something that we never got a chance to see until the final two seasons where his role was expanded and he was interacting more within the scenarios that had to be completed for the tasks.
So it became a goal that I set for myself to watch the entire run of Mission:Impossible on Netflix. Yesterday I completed that goal and honestly, I was a bit sad! But I did learn a few things while watching the show and here are my top 5 things I learned while watching Mission:Impossible;
1. People react the same no matter where they live. Almost every task given to the MI team was planned using peoples carefully planned reactions to certain stimuli. For example, if the team knew that you were a highly paranoid dictator in some fake European country, they would set up your second in command to look like he was betraying you. Your paranoia kicks in and viola! dead dictator and country headed towards free elections!
2. You can be sexy without being slutty. Let's take Cinnamon Carter for example here. Cinnamon exuded sex appeal, indeed her cover for spying was the fact that she was a high fashion model and VERY well known due to her looks. Most of the series was shot in the 60's with Cinnamon appearing in the first 4 years. She could really carry off sensual and sexy in her 60's attire as well as her hair and makeup. But you never ever saw her go beyond kissing a guy. She could hook a guy but she still made kicking him to the curb look sexy.
3. Never judge a book by its cover. Rollin Hand was a master of disguise and could imitate anyone's voice. Invariably he took over someone's identity to further the master plan along. Of course everyone was fooled, much to their later dismay and had they but checked a little deeper, they may have just seen their doom coming towards them.
4. Being a nerd is very cool. Barney was the electronics guru of the day. He always had the latest gadgets for the team to use and whatever else they needed to have done, he did it. I think most of the MI missions would have been complete and total disasters had it not been for his interest in electronics and all things mechanical.
5. There are some things in life where failing isn't an option. I think I enjoyed the first 4 years of this series the best. They were always saving some country from an evil dictator or some evil external influence. Of course most of these shows were filmed at the height of the Cold War so it's not surprising that we saw so many of these types of scenarios. But failing was never an option because so much was at stake. The same goes for me too...giving up or quitting my job hunt isn't an option.
I will miss all my MI friends...thank you for letting me hang around for a bit.
And for those of you who enjoyed the theme for the show done by Lalo Schifrin, here ya go...enjoy!!
http://youtu.be/mWGeRgFa-hI
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Tell me again socialized medicine is evil
Let me get a few things clear before I start on this particular rant today. First off, for the most part, I think that the government should stay out of the private lives of people. When people are putting themselves or others at risk, then they have an obligation to step in and care for that person until they can either care for themselves or someone steps forward to care for them. Secondly, it is very clear that we as a society have failed big time on taking care of our neighbors. 100 years ago, no one would have thought twice about bringing an injured person in to their home and either treating them as best they knew how, or giving them shelter until medical help could arrive. I still saw a lot of that when I lived out west. Of course, when your nearest neighbor is 50 miles down the road and medical care even farther, one did what one had to do because, no matter your religious affiliations, it was just the decent, human thing to do.
Rant starts in 3...2...1
I am depressed. Not in the "oh, I'm feeling a bit blue today"...I'm talking the chronic, I need mild drugs to alleviate the worst symptoms type depression. Some of you who have been following this blog will remember my permanent layoff notice. You know, the one that I got on a Saturday telling me all my medical benefits would be ending on Sunday. Yeah...that one. This gave me zero time to call my doctor and get any of my medication renewed. Not that it really mattered, there wasn't any money to buy the prescription anyways but it would have been nice to have had that option.
Enter the evil socialized medicine. I would have been able to still go to a doctor and not only get another checkup but to obtain needed prescriptions too. So would all of my former co-workers, many of whom didn't have health insurance anyways due to the cost of it through our company. Let's not kid ourselves here...people who get paid 1.5X minimum wage still can't afford health coverage for themselves, let alone their family members.
For those of you who don't know my history, I spent 4 years living in Germany and have traveled to countries all over Europe that have some form of socialized medicine. Here is something you hardly EVER saw in the streets of those countries and that would be people who are mentally ill and homeless, families who have been forced out of their homes due to exorbitantly high medical expenses from diseases like cancer. How can we as a society say that THAT is not our problem? since when did we stop caring for our fellow man in every way shape and form? Since when did we start turning a blind eye to the suffering of people around us? Granted, many of us are not in extreme circumstances but more and more of us aren't doing that well either.
Socialized medicine allows people that need healthcare to get it. Period. We are concerned about corporations being "healthy" and bail them out time after time but we don't care about the humans that WORK in those corporations. If you believe that all life is sacred, then why not help sick people get the medical care they need to stay alive or even healthy so that they can go to work and support their families and get employer provided healthcare? Here's the scam for you too folks...people will exaggerate or even fake illnesses so that they can get Medicaid. Would they need to do that if we treated them so that they could go back to work even if their job was low paying?
Our country is crippled in so many ways and while some of its financial, much of it is spiritual, emotional and mental. We've lost our heart for our fellow human beings, we no longer care about doing the right thing for our fellow man and even worse, we actively fight against those that want to help others.
I've seen how offering medical care for everyone regardless of their means to pay can lift up a country and give its citizens opportunities to get healthy, stay healthy and better still, create a country that understands that its citizens are special, they matter and that they will do the right thing to help them.
Rant starts in 3...2...1
I am depressed. Not in the "oh, I'm feeling a bit blue today"...I'm talking the chronic, I need mild drugs to alleviate the worst symptoms type depression. Some of you who have been following this blog will remember my permanent layoff notice. You know, the one that I got on a Saturday telling me all my medical benefits would be ending on Sunday. Yeah...that one. This gave me zero time to call my doctor and get any of my medication renewed. Not that it really mattered, there wasn't any money to buy the prescription anyways but it would have been nice to have had that option.
Enter the evil socialized medicine. I would have been able to still go to a doctor and not only get another checkup but to obtain needed prescriptions too. So would all of my former co-workers, many of whom didn't have health insurance anyways due to the cost of it through our company. Let's not kid ourselves here...people who get paid 1.5X minimum wage still can't afford health coverage for themselves, let alone their family members.
For those of you who don't know my history, I spent 4 years living in Germany and have traveled to countries all over Europe that have some form of socialized medicine. Here is something you hardly EVER saw in the streets of those countries and that would be people who are mentally ill and homeless, families who have been forced out of their homes due to exorbitantly high medical expenses from diseases like cancer. How can we as a society say that THAT is not our problem? since when did we stop caring for our fellow man in every way shape and form? Since when did we start turning a blind eye to the suffering of people around us? Granted, many of us are not in extreme circumstances but more and more of us aren't doing that well either.
Socialized medicine allows people that need healthcare to get it. Period. We are concerned about corporations being "healthy" and bail them out time after time but we don't care about the humans that WORK in those corporations. If you believe that all life is sacred, then why not help sick people get the medical care they need to stay alive or even healthy so that they can go to work and support their families and get employer provided healthcare? Here's the scam for you too folks...people will exaggerate or even fake illnesses so that they can get Medicaid. Would they need to do that if we treated them so that they could go back to work even if their job was low paying?
Our country is crippled in so many ways and while some of its financial, much of it is spiritual, emotional and mental. We've lost our heart for our fellow human beings, we no longer care about doing the right thing for our fellow man and even worse, we actively fight against those that want to help others.
I've seen how offering medical care for everyone regardless of their means to pay can lift up a country and give its citizens opportunities to get healthy, stay healthy and better still, create a country that understands that its citizens are special, they matter and that they will do the right thing to help them.
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