Two sad passings

Today Michael Jackson died. When I first was told of it, I thought it might be another internet hoax, because that happened once before. But when I saw it reported on reputable news organizations, well, it was true. Regardless what you think about Michael, whether you liked his music or not, the man set industry records (no pun intended) and changed the way everyone looks at pop entertainment. From record sales to MTV, Michael influenced everything.

Also passing away today was Farrah Fawcett. She too, in her own way, influenced pop culture. Whether through Charlie's Angels and that infamous poster, that fabulous hair style and smile, to her serious roles like in The Burning Bed, Farrah made a difference.

Both will be missed.

Greetings from my new home!

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would do a quick update. I've had a very busy last few years, and haven't taken the time to do updates like a proper blogger should!

A divorce and two states later, I am no longer living in Oklahoma, but now I am in Maryland. My mother (who is in her 80s) did not want to find herself ending up in a nursing home, and asked if I would move here so family would be nearby. Since I was theoretically homeless at that point, I figured, "why not?" So here I am.

Driving here was awesome. I rarely use that term, but this describes it. Driving through the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland is truly breathtaking. I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is here, after living in relatively flat Oklahoma. I hate to admit it, but John Denver was close to right....this area might just be almost heaven!

Censored by CNN!

I've been censored by CNN! (Well, more precisely, CNN.com.)

On July 6th I commented on a story about the White House's comeback to Bill Clinton's comments about Bush commuting Libby's sentence. The story is here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/05/clinton.libby/index.html

On the bottom of the page, it said "Sound Off: Your opinions and comments." So I made some (gave my opinion and comments, that is). Come the next day, and it wasn't posted. Hmmm. Yet other commenters were posted within an hour and a half, according to their own timers.

Not that I really care if I am published online by CNN or not. I actually think its rather funny that I wasn't. But its also kind of pathetic, because it gives the appearance that CNN is NOT objective, and IS biased in their support of the Clintons. (My comments were not supportive of Bill.)

Two lessons to be learned here:

1. Both Bush and Clinton are wrong in the way they handled pardons. Clinton DID pardon convicted individuals. This is fact. Clinton pardoned more in ONE DAY than Bush did his entire term as president to date. Bush commuted Libby's sentence, yes. But he did not pardon him completely. (On this point, I castigate George. He should have showed some testicular fortitude and completely pardoned Libby. Libby fell on his sword for the administration, and all he got was this weak response. Bush should have immediately stood up and said, "Enough of this partisan political persecution. I pardon Libby 100%. Democratic Congress, drop this matter." Unfortunately, he is not that brave.)

2. If you are a public figure, consider carefully what you say in public. The past always comes back to haunt you. I don't know if Bill Clinton is being dishonest, or is just telling the Democrats what they want to hear. But the results are the same. Like that one guy said, two wrongs don't make a right. Unfortunately, its Bill who made the two wrongs: he pardoned convicted criminals, then he complained when Bush did something similar. He should have kept his mouth shut on the whole affair. I think it was hypocritical of him to say anything. I also think he is a political showboat, telling whoever he is talking to whatever they want to hear. Showboating always works against you, especially in this era of rapid communication. But that is another subject!

And just for the record, I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. I am independent (actually Constitution Party). So I think both of them are wrong. Although its a different subject, its time America go rid of the hegemony of these two worthless parties, and put someone in who is not owned by special interests and who can get something accomplished. But I know how people are, so I am not holding my breath.

Let's Get Stupid, Baby, One More Time (More on the MySpace controversy)

Here we go again. Two more cases of irresponsible female teens that are blaming their circumstances on MySpace. And the parents and adults are pointing fingers.

Ok, here's the deal. Its time we do two things:

1. Blame the girls for their own behavior. It is not MySpace's fault that they have no sense. I find it interesting that if a 14 or 16 year old shoots and kills someone they get prosecuted as an adult. But when a 14 or 16 year old seeks a romantic liaison with someone older, somehow they are "innocent and naive" and not responsible for their own actions. That is ridiculous. In most cultures, over the age of 12 is the age of personal accountability. Let's hold them accountable for their actions. Let's admit, once and for all, that teenage girls ARE NOT these innocent things that are being exploited by these nasty men. Our world is an ugly place, and adults hiding their heads in the sand do not help the situation. Its time for adults to accept the reality about today's teens.

2. Let's admit, once and for all, that teenagers are INCAPABLE of making responsible decisions and that they need PARENTAL SUPERVISION. These teen girls apparently are blinded to certain reality because they "fell in love." (If they didn't fall in love, and are pursuing a purely physical relationship, that is even worse, and refers to the point below.) Studies have shown that teenage brains are not physically developed enough to make logical decisions. So let's start treating them accordingly, and start supervising them so they will learn to make responsible decisions.

Once again, the crucial question is "Parents, where were you?" While the 19 year old who lied and said he was a younger teen was totally wrong, so are the parents for bringing a lawsuit. Personally, I hope they (the parents) get publicly embarrassed. The issue once again is the parents and the kids, not MySpace.

Wired Magazine had what I thought was a fairly balanced piece on this ongoing controversy. I encourage you to read it:

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/1,70254-0.html

Its the Internet, Part II

Here we go again. A "high ranking" employee of the Department of Homeland Security was arrested for propositioning an alleged minor over the internet. Once again there is an uproar.... in the wrong direction.

Ok, lets face it...that guy is a moron. He's totally wrong. BUT...

So are:

a) The law enforcement agency that LIES to pose as a minor on the internet. That is entrapment, folks. Why do the law enforcement agencies of America think that breaking the law themselves or being deceptive in order to capture a "dangerous criminal" is ok? Are our law enforcement agencies THAT unethical?!? What ever happened to good police work?

(And just an aside: This would have never made the papers if that guy didn't work for the Department of Homeland Security. It seems to me that maybe this is really a case of one agency trying to zap another one, but I could be wrong. )

b) Where are the parents in all this??? Actually, I know the answer to this question. They are either not involved in the lives of their kids, or they trust their kids (who turn around and violate that trust).

c) Part of the fault HAS to lie with the kids themselves. I got news for everyone: no one can force anyone to take their clothes off on a web cam. If a kid takes off his/her clothes on their web cam, its their own decision. They can say no. They can close the chat box window. They can hit the computer's "off" switch. No one can force you to do anything like that from a distance, especially when you have so many "run away" options. This directly relates to my previous post. Kids are NOT innocent bystanders who are seduced by perverted adults. In many cases, they are worse than the adults, and appear to be seducers themselves. (No hard science on this, just based on my experience reading Yahoo, MSN and MySpace profiles.) Predators are out there, but the kid has to say yes first. Unless we are willing to say that kids today are SO STUPID that they do not realize that they can end a conversation or are SO STUPID that they cannot turn off their computer, then they have a responsibility in the whole situation.

I put out the real problem in my previous post. Until we tackle the problem of our sex soaked society, we will continue to see stories like this. To paraphrase the immortal words of Pogo, "We have seen the enemy, and they are us."

Let's Blame the Internet Again

There is a big flurry of activity on my local TV station about the myspace.com incident and controversy. These stories usually consist of "oh, you have to keep your kids away from the nasty internet."

I get so tired of stories like this. First off, lets get real. The "internet" isnt a person, its a method of communication. "It" cannot do anything unless a living human being wants it to do something. Second, lets put blame where blame really belongs, which is with people, not computers or the internet.

You never hear an outcry about other things, but computers and the internet are easy targets. I think this is because most adults do not have a clue what is on the internet (or how to use a computer) so its easy to point at what you don't understand. Here is an analogy to think about: if a person is murdered by being beaten over the head with a hammer, do we blame the hammer? Of course not. We blame the person who used the hammer as a weapon. A hammer by itself is nothing.

We cannot blame myspace.com for the actions of people. The people are responsible for their actions and decisions. I personally am a myspace.com user. I got my account to support new and independent music. I am a member of the "Bass Guitar" group. Nothing unusual happens there.

But...and this is important...there ARE people who abuse myspace.com. I think its totally wrong for someone to put "99" as an age when they are really 14 or 15. This does happen. However, this is not the fault of myspace.com. This IS a reflection, however, on the poor moral values the young person has, both by lying about their age, and by manipulating a quirk in the system.

The real problem, as illustrated above, is not with the internet or with myspace.com. It is with the moral values of young people. Now, before you think I am going to dump on young people, I'm not. Young people can only have the values they do if ADULTS FAIL THEM. When adults only care about making money, and ignore actively raising their children, they have failed them. Or, in the case of the movie, television, music and video game industries, when adults care more about making money than being responsible for the lives of future generations, then the adults have failed the young.

The real issue here is adults who are not responsible for their actions. It has nothing to do with computers or the internet. When parents fail to instill values in their children, and the children act on the negative values from TV, movies, music or wherever, don't blame the internet. If we in our society want real solutions to our problems, the adults need to start pointing their fingers at themselves.

At Last!

After wanting to find it since 1977 when I first found out it existed, I finally got a copy of Ivan Kral's homemade documentary "The Blank Generation."

This movie documents the early years of the American punk rock movement in New York City, particularly at CBGB's (although its pretty obvious it was filmed some other places too). Its fascinating to see these artists in thier early, pre-record label signing years. The songs, while familiar, sound different than their later, well-polished album versions.
Its amazing to think I was around in those early years. Not in New York City, but in Boston, where I watched the punk scene there bloom. I wish I had pictures from when I went to the Rat, which no longers exists. I wish I had the photos from when I played the Rat on February 14, 1977!

I guess I am just waxing nostalgic. Today is also my 48th birthday, and in a way its hard to believe we were ever that young, or that it was so long ago. I think I rock better now than I did then. At least I have a better idea of who I am musically. Sometimes rock and roll is too important to be left to the young, but they have to be there because of marketing. I don't know what we will do when Chuck Berry passes on.

I guess it will be up to us current old folks ::laffs::
Keep on rockin'!