Misappropriation of terms

Something has come to my attention over the years with regards to what we learn in literature, numerous trips to the theatre, especially for opera, and even with movies and television that has arrived at my attention because of a term that does not fit with popular culture when those who attend opera and live theatre will understand when considering the news North Carolina legislators plan tax breaks for what is called a remake of a popular 1987 movie.  Fan boards are complaining about the idea, but it took a reading back in middle school of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and frequent attendance in live theatre in order for me to consider they are not using the correct term.

The correct term that is not used is a retelling of the story.  Many great stories in literature are often retold, and the retellings are given credit (such as Beowolf).  When a theatregoer attends a live theatre event, things change in each different setting of the opera or theatre play, with directors and others making key changes to make the telling of the story considerably different.  It was reminiscent of a question they asked in a middle school literature class regarding Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to imagine how it would be set in the time (1980's) and not in 44 BC, with costuming and other text. Such examples of this I have learned are a Gianni Schicchi in New Orleans that was set in the city itself and not in Italy, the local Methodist college's setting of Die Zauberflöte set in the middle of New York City, a college opera setting of Il Barberi di Sivilgia set in the Roaring 20's, with flapper dresses and the "carnival barker" type outfits, and of course, as we have mentioned in the past, Der Schauspieldirektor set in 2010 Wien, complete with Herr Frank becoming Donald Trump, complete with suit and pink tie.

So why the hubbub over movies being remakes and not being called retellings?  Sure, we know Footloose 1984 was told in the Rust Belt of wide-open Michigan near the Motor City, and the 2011 retelling was set in the middle of Georgia in a far different era, complete with different genres of music in order to make the point we are not in rock and roll Midwest but we are in the country and western South.  And we know how different versions of the Robocop franchise were set in different eras, but especially in science fiction, we are supposed to predict what will be the technologies of the future, as we saw in the Australian-taped Mission: Impossible of the late 1980's because of the writers' strike, where the show began to enter the real of science fiction -- many of the technologies thought back then were even futuristic of the time 30 years ago, but are now legitimately used by detectives now.  If you retold a science fiction movie from the 1970's in the 2010's, you would predict what the future would be in 2050, not 2000.

So if Dirty Dancing is retold in a different environment, it cannot be set in the Catskill Mountains of the 1960's.  When the story is retold as in the franchise's Havana Nightssetting, the setting is evidently in Cuba around the time of the Revolution.  There is a festival in North Carolina that is being considered for this retelling, but the director has to make it a considerably different retelling such as the Appalachian Mountains in the 1980's, the coal mines in the mountain ranges, or the beautiful skiing resorts there in the 1990's.  Those of us who attend live theatre have the understanding that when stories are retold, they have different angles that allow regionalism to show its setting.  Maybe they should theme it in Appalachia, and in the end create a reason to visit the area. There is no justice in calling it a remake when it is a retelling set not in the Catskills of the 1960's but in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1980's or 1990's.

Post script:  Bobby's home church is supporting a mission in Oceana, WV, in the Appalachian Mountains.

This Just In: God answers Barry Bonds

God Denies Bonds' HOF Claim, Says He'll Wait for Official Vote

(Heaven, March 2, 2016) Yesterday, God said that despite Barry Bonds' recent claim that “God knows I’m a Hall of Famer,” He actually has not made His final decision on that yet.

“I haven’t made up My mind,” God said. “The whole steroid, performance-enhancing drug controversy is very complicated. I think I’ll wait to see what the baseball writers decide.”

Bonds ended his playing career with 762 home runs and a .298 batting average. But because of illegal drug suspicions, he has not yet come close to receiving enough votes to get into baseball’s Hall of Fame. He has six more years of eligibility.

“It’s not just Barry Bonds I’m puzzled about, it’s Roger Clemens and a few others,” God said, clasping and unclasping His hands. “There’s a lot to figure out these days. That whole Middle East mess, the 2016 presidential election. And now that Zika mosquito. What’s next? Seems like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Maybe I should have made more of them. Hours, I mean.”

Wish I'd written that: can the Catholic Church get any crazier?

The Pope is not world leader, the Church is a Communion. Its model is some contemporary presidency anymore than it is a feudal monarchy, he is after all servus servorum Dei [Servant of the Servants of God], he has the least place in the Church. He is the Pontifex Maximus, the one who build bridges. We did not see that during the Synod on the family; rather the raking open of old wounds, the aggravating of divisions, even the playing of faction against faction. The Holy Spirit, as any reader of Jesuit discernment of spirits knows, is the bringer of unity, healing and peace whilst factionalism, murmuring, divisions, folly, strife etc come from an entirely different Spirit.

"I pray for the time when every Catholic is so imbued with a sense of the ownership of the faith that he would tear a bishop or priest from his pulpit if ever he taught his own views in place of the revealed Truth. The thing is that the Pope shares in our faith: the faith of the whole Church, a communion that is both horizontal [and] vertical. It is not 'his faith', anymore than the Church is his personal fiefdom. His role is to denounce error, and to do so with care; we all know what will happen when the [master] returns to the steward who sets about beating the men and maid servants in his absence."

- Fr. Ray Blake, February 24, 2016

Whistling past the graveyard

As many of you know, I'm something of a recovering political scientist. In my younger years I was heavily involved in the political scene: chairing committees, volunteering for candidates, hosting a cable-TV show, attending conventions, even running for office. Fortunately, I've gotten all that out of my system.

However, having caught the political bug when I was eight years old, an interest in politics - even from the point of view of a detached observer - isn't something you shed overnight. Although I've made progress - I don't watch the debates on TV, I don't belong to any groups, and some years I don't even vote - I still keep an eye on what's going on. When I have time, that is.

It's in that spirit that I must say this year has been, from a spectator's standpoint, one of the most entertaining campaigns in years. I mean, who doesn't like to see a political party have a nervous breakdown, even if it's the party you once belonged to? And who doesn't get a charge out of seeing the other party on the verge of nominating a candidate none of them really like, because the only alternative is to vote for an aging socialist? Believe me, this isn't the kind of entertainment you can get simply by watching old TV shows.

It's also been instructive, insofar as it demonstrates just how out-of-touch with the rest of us are the elites governing this country, If you've paid a scintilla of attention to what's been going on, this won't come as news to you. It does, though, apparently come as quite a shock to the elites. Things that I've been saying, that others have been saying - for years! - come as something of a revelation to these party hacks, and not in a good way. It's the kind of revelation they turn from, much like some of the Biblical figures who cover their ears when a prophet gives them some bad news, and usually just before they're struck dead or turned into a pillar of salt. That the same thing is likely to happen to today's elites seems to be promising*, but it does beg the question: what happens next?

*Promising, in the same way that a ship full of lawyers sitting at the bottom of the ocean is considered a good start.

One of the nice things about being out of the political prognostication business is that I don't have to have an opinion on everything. If people, other than good friends, were to look to me in hopes that I could make sense of this year's campaign, I think I'd probably run screaming from the room. Since I don't have to have an opinion, however, I can simply relax in my recliner and chortle at the continuing bloodshed. That doesn't mean I don't have some opinions on the matter, though.

First of all, Marco Rubio needs to grow up. His namecalling of Donald Trump is beneath a man whom many already think is too young and too inexperienced to be President. When Jack Kennedy ran for president in 1960, he did everything in his power to convince voters that he was up to the task, that he wouldn't be learning on the job, that his youth did not signal inexperience, but rather a new and vital energy. Rubio seems content to demonstrate the kind of etiquette you see on the playground, sticking one's tongue out and saying "nyaaaah."

This isn't to suggest that Donald Trump is any better - but he is, at least in one way. When it comes to insults and namecalling, he's far better at it than Rubio, or anyone else out there. It comes off as confidence, nay arrogance, and often cringeworthy, but he doesn't sound like a petulant kid. Furthermore, he's played an important role in demonstrating to the public that the emperor, in the form of the Republican establishment, has no clothes. We may wish there was a different messenger delivering the message, but you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Someone had to expose these phonies for what they were, and Trump was apparently the only one willing to do so. Those who wish it were being done by someone else have to wonder if perhaps it's because nobody else felt that way. Or had the guts.

I'll probably be voting for Ted Cruz in the Texas primary today, because he's closest to my way of thinking, but I can't help wishing he was running a better campaign. There's no way Rubio should be beating him in some of these contests. All the same, I'm grateful for how he's made enemies within the Republican establishment. We'll just have to see what happens, but I think he has to win some Southern state outside of Texas tomorrow, or it will become much harder to take him seriously as someone who can beat Trump.

Speaking of the Republican establishment - have they been taken to the woodshed, or what? For years, I've said there was no material difference between the two parties. For example, they both want to spend your money, they only differ on where and why. But neither of them care about you. And their elitist attitude, topped off by the once invaluable but now excretory National Review, has been a shock. It's true that the politicians are out of touch, way out, but so are the pundits. If future candidates have gotten the wake-up notice that these fools aren't to be trusted, consulted with, believed, or even tolerated on the same continent, then that's been a good thing.

Which leads me to the collapse of Fox News. Yes, Fox has truly proven they aren't any better, or smarter, than CNN, MSNBC and the rest. They distort the news as much as any of them, they run with their own agenda and bend the news to make it fit, they advocate rather than report, they depend on personalities rather than serious journalists, and you can't believe a word they broadcast. For years I used to defend Fox News from the charges made by people who looked at the quality (or lack thereof) of programs on Fox broadcasting. I would point out that just because the broadcasting arm filled their time with slutty sexual innuendo and disgusting urban rap, you couldn't append that to all of Fox. The News Corporation was a completely separate entity, only sharing the Fox name. No more - with the exceptions of Lou Dobbs and Stuart Varney (and occasionally Neil Cavuto), Fox has proven that they don't know the meaning of the world quality - or of a lot of other words, either.

With all of that said, does it matter who wins in November? Well, as someone said, things could hardly get worse with Trump in office. He has said some very good things, and considering the shape of America right now, perhaps blowing the whole thing up and starting over is a good thing. It's certainly what needs to be done with our political parties, and soon - they've both shown themselves not only useless but duplicitous, utterly contemptuous of the common American, and thoroughly in tow with Big Business, for whom they will do anythng to keep them happy. Speaking as a conservative (whatever that means, nowadays), the spinelessness with which the Republicans in Congress exercise their authority reminds me of a story Churchill once told.

Referring to then-Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, Churchill proceeded to tell the story of how, as a child, his parents had refused to allow him to see a circus sideshow act called "The Spineless Wonder." He then added that, until now, he had supposed he would have to live his entire life without seeing a spineless wonder - but then he saw Ramsay MacDonald.
 
Nor do the Democrats offer anything in response. Bernie Sanders seems to think you can give away everything to everyone, and his supporters are too dumb to know any better. They are, however, right in one important way - they sense something rotten in their party, they get the feeling their own elites are contemptuous of them, trying to push Hillary down their throats whether they like her or not. And is there a politician alive, including Trump, as unlikable as Hillary? Has any candidate since Herbert Hoover ran for reelection during the depression invoked as little enthusiasm among her supporters as she has? More important, neither of them respect the public and their concerns any more than the Republicans do.

Immigration, political correctness, the economy - none of this really matters to them, not as long as they can live in a world outside of the one they've created. Peggy Noonan, with whom I've had many a quarrel over the years, hits it on the head with this diagnoses, and follows it up with a column that accurately indicates why the elites are so far out of touch, one which I'm surprised The Wall Street Journal would publish considering their responsibility in creating that world. Peggy had something to do with it as well, but when it comes to repentance, better late than never.

How does it all end? I don't know, other than I sense it won't be good. This country is headed for a fatal division between multiple factions, one which defies peace talks because none of the parties even speak the same language, hold the same values or believe in the same things. It is a dialogue that cannot happen, because there is no common ground left. That's bad enough when you've only got two sides, as was the case with the Civil War. When you've got four or five, as is the case today, the only question worth debating is whether or not the splits will be violent. I pray I'm not around to see it happen (although, again, it would be entertaining as a spectator - one who didn't have to live in it), but unless God decides it's time to call a halt to the whole thing, the disintegration of the American Experiment seems to be a fait accompli.  One could argue that this was destined to happen from the beginning, and that seems increasingly to be the case. And whether or not that's the case, when you get to the point, as I have, that you don't even feel like celebrating the Fourth of July because there's nothing worth celebrating - well, in that case perception becomes reality.

Noonan ends her first column with words that would once have been overly dramatic, but now seem prophetic:  "In Washington there used to be a widespread cliché: 'God protects drunks, children and the United States of America.' I’m in Washington a lot, and I’ve noticed no one says that anymore. They stopped 10 or 15 years ago. I wonder what that means."

So do I, Peggy. So do I.

Your Oscar recap - before it happens

Apparently the Academy Awards are this Sunday night. I say "apparently" because I'm actually writing this on the Friday before the Oscarcast, just to show how foolish and predictable the whole thing has become, and how easy to predict it is.

Time was when I really looked forward to the Oscars. That was before the show itself expanded from the tidy 90-minute-to-two-hour broadcast it had always been to the bloated four-hour telethon it has recently become, before the movies themselves separated into three categories: CGI-laden superhero spectacles, slob-driven gross-out comedies and politically-charged arthouse dramas. Back then I hadn't seen most of the nominated movies - I wasn't old enough to get in to a lot of them - but it didn't matter, because they were the movies everyone wrote or talked about, and even if you hadn't seen them yourself you'd heard about them, and you were able to develop something of a rooting interest in one or more of them. The actors and actresses in them were also common faces - you'd seen them on magazine covers or on television, and there was a very glamorous aura around them.

Even the broadcast itself was different - it was traditionally on Monday, late in the evening, which gave you something to look forward to throughout the dreary Monday workday (or schoolday, in my case). It was to entertainment what Monday Night Football was to sports, and I don't know why the Academy wasn't able to understand how the NFL made Mondays special that way.*

*I've read that one of the NFL's ambitions in constructing an entire urban village around the new Rams stadium in LA is to have a theater worthy of hosting the Oscars. Doubtful it will ever happen, but if it did perhaps they'd be able to give it some of that Monday night buzz.

If you're like me, if the magic is gone from your relationship with the Academy Awards, then it's as a public service that I present this rundown of what happened on the show last night, even though it hasn't actually happened yet. Think of this as my gift to you, freeing up your Sunday evening so you can do something fun instead.

Host Chris Rock spent most of the evening making jokes at the Academy's expense. He never explicitly mentioned "#OscarsSoWhite" because that's what everyone expected him to do, but he walked right up to the edge all evening, which became a knowing joke between him and the hip audience. Everyone had a good laugh (or two or three) at Donald Trump, with several reference to it being a "Uge" night, and at least two presenters came onstage wearing various versions of The Donald's hair. One acceptance speech will refer to the courage of women like Hilary Clinton, and at least one arriving celebrity will be shown wearing a Bernie Sanders button.

Speaking of which, attendees and participants never were quite able to figure out how to show their solidarity with this year's social justice cause. At first the idea was to wear black ribbons in support, the way they had worn red ribbons during the AIDS crisis, but this backfired when it was pointed out most viewers wouldn't be able to see the ribbons against the black tuxedos. An alternative - to switch to white suitcoats (always fashionable) in order that the ribbons would show up better, was rejected for obvious reasons, as was the idea of wearing blackface to show that "we are all black under our skin."

The Revenant was the big winner last night, taking home the awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Everyone hailed the movie's astounding ability to depict the struggle between humankind and the environment, and how people can only achieve ultimate victory through cooperation with our animal brethren. Likewise, Best Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was praised for delivering an acceptance speech largely devoid of the environmental polemics he's best known for. In a subtle, reflective speech, DiCaprio mused on how he never imagined he'd be standing at the podium holding an Oscar, concluding that it proves how "this is a wonderful world - let's be sure and keep it that way."

The Best Actress award went to Bree Larson for the little-seen Room, who praised the courage and determination of the real-life women who've undergone the same ordeal as her character. Best Supporting Actress was won by Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs, in an upset over The Danish Girl's Alicia Vikander, whose campaign was doomed by too many health-conscious Academy members who thought Vikander was playing a pastry chef. The emotional highlight of the evening was Sylvester Stallone's victory in the Supporting Actor category. The audience rose in ovation as Stallone mounted the steps to the stage, pausing at the top to recreate his famous Rocky pose on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The telecast will end sometime around 12:30am Eastern, and over the next couple of days there will be discussion over the show's record low ratings, and what can be done about it. Four months later, Jimmy Kimmel will be presented as the host of the 2017 broadcast.

There - now that you've read it all, you don't have to feel as if you missed anything. Your gratitude will be award enough for me.

Throwback Thursday: On-the-job training

The Catholic blogger Fr. Z often comments, in an attempt to keep concerned traditional Catholics calm after another of the pope's kerfuffles, that "he has to learn how to be pope."

I thought of that when I came across this book last weekend, which of course I had to buy.

How to Be Pope, by Piers Marchant

So did anyone actually think to buy a copy and send it to him?  Might have prevented a lot of grief later on, no?


Originally published May 31, 2014. Apparently some things never change.

Opera Wednesday: The death of Butterfly

The way an opera ends is as important as the way it begins. Verdi got this, and his operas often ended with a dramatic crescendo; Mozart, for all his genius, did not, as the anticlimactic conclusion of Don Giovanni proves. Puccini got it as well; as the conclusion of Madama Butterfly proves. When the shattered and despondent Butterfly takes her own life, it packs an emotional wallop. If you need more evidence, listen to the immortal Maria Callas in this unforgettable performance. The recording is from 1957, with the great Herbert Von Karajan conducting.

This Just In

Permanently Banned Mets Pitcher Looks Forward

to Future Pitching Opportunities, While Merriam-Webster Calls for Investigation into the Word “Permanent” 

(New York, New York) Feb. 15, 2016  New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia, who last week became the first player in major league baseball history to be permanently banned from the league because of repeated infractions of baseball’s “no steroid” policy, can look forward to applying for reinstatement  next  year.

Mejia, 26, who signed—and received significant portions—of multi-million dollar baseball contracts since 2010, was given the permanent ban after he failed a doping test for the third time. "It is not like they say. I am sure that I did not use anything," Mejia told a Dominican journalist after the ban was announced, a significant departure from his previous “I have no idea how a banned substance showed up in my system,” comment following an earlier failed test, for which he was already serving a year-long suspension at the time of the latest ban. 

Major league baseball allows a permanently banned player to apply for reinstatement after one year. The minimum length of a permanent ban is two years.

In a related development, editorial executives at Merriam-Webster have called an immediate meeting next week at their corporate offices in Springfield, Massachusetts, to consider possible changes to the official definition of the word “permanent.”

Remembering Nino and the importance to Decision Saturday

The death of "Nino" (a reference to Antonin Scalia) has raised the stakes for Saturday's all-important primary in the state.  With the loss of the Sage on the Court, Dear Leader has upped his stakes to fundamentally transform the country another step.  With sexual freedom and related erotic liberty replacing religious freedom and liberty in Obergefell, now he wants to ensure a permanent gun ban, a call for socialism, and more wicked invented lawmaking to assure a dictatorship as he envisioned will arrive.

We have a socialist dictator whose judges have eliminated the Constitution and replaced it with their own feelings, which is the ultimate "progressive" utopia.  Congress cannot bow down to this dictator and do it again, or else our entire Sanctity of Human Life accomplishments in recent years also go out the window.  It would furthermore give an appeasement to criminals, giving younger criminals further incentive since they cannot be punished for their severe crimes (as seen in Roper and furthermore Graham, in that teenage criminals cannot be given proper punishments for their heinous crimes).  If we have a nation ruled by just a few cities, it would be a federalisation entirely of Reynolds, the case where large cities gained control of a few states, and we have seen the cost of those cities taking absolute control.

This makes for Decision Saturday (which I am committed, and have committed to a candidate) that will matter, since a win here will mean one step closer to a court that can overturn all of the nasty deeds.

Three commentators on the Sage of the Supreme Court.

Hans von Spakovsky

Albert Mohler  

Mario Diaz

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Flashback Friday: This Just In

Mid-Level Accountant Bemoans Office Card "Sameness"

HAMMOND, IN -- Frank Smelman, an accountant at Lardlakes Industrial Supplies, has complained to his fellow employees for what he calls "the lackluster and half-hearted" efforts they put in to his recent birthday card that circulated around the office for their signatures.

"I swear they put exactly the same stuff in there they did last year, almost like they just xeroxed it," said Smelman, who has been at Lardy's for a little over 14 years. "At first, I was really touched by their sentiments: 'Best wishes for a good year...nice working with you...happy birthday and many more to a nice guy.' I thought, 'what a great place to work, with people who really care about you.' But then I started comparing it to what they'd written last year, and there was practically no difference. C'mon, you think there'd be something else to say, something original, after all these years of working with these people. It's all so impersonal, like they hardly know me.

"There's such a sameness to the whole thing, you almost wonder if it's worth the effort," continued Smelman, who is considering going to his firm's Human Resources Department to report his complaint. "Why do they even go to the trouble of buying a card?"

Smelman sees it as a part of a bigger trend. "You see it in the other cards people sign, too," he says. "The funeral cards, the congratulations for promotions, things like that. People just seem to be going through the motions when they sign these things, and it gets very depressing. Almost makes you want to go work in another office somewhere."

Originally published July 19, 2007

An L-shaped reflection

Now some random thoughts after L:

Team loyalty?  As was the case with a certain motor racing superstar, the Carolina Panthers came "before my time".  I was a college student by the time the team was announced and later the team had played its first game.  In my youth, the television primarily aired Washington Redskins games, as the Redskins were the team our region received weekly.  The most popular station in our city aired Redskins games on most weeks, not Falcons games, so we had many Redskins games on television.  (That motorsport superstar of today is mostly burgundy with his social media discussion, but he was a month from turning 21 when the first Panthers game was played.)

Bad halftime shows.  When CBS and the NFL made the decision 25 years ago that XXVI would be Minnesota-themed with a winter carnival, complete with figure skating legends Hamill and Boitano performing to cross-promote the upcoming Winter Games in France, it led to a ratings fiasco when viewers jumped to the adult raunchy late night comedy sketch show airing in prime time as counterprogramming. The NFL changed the game for halftime, and it's been worse.  For reference, I found the last five Super Bowl halftime shows before the NFL made the change as a result of the ratings fiasco when the adult sketch show drew enough viewers to concern the NFL:

XXI (Pasadena):  A salute to Hollywood's 100th anniversary.  Hollywood legends involved
XXII (San Diego):  Radio City Music Hall performance, with Chubby Checker and the Rockettes.
XXIII (Miami Gardens):  Elvis impersonators and card tricks.
XXIV (New Orleans):  A celebration of New Orleans and the Peanuts.  Last halftime with marching bands.
XXVI (Minneapolis):  A celebration of winter featuring figure skating by Boitano and Hamill, and G. Estefan performing.

Note that I omitted XXV, since that show was not broadcast as a result of Gulf War coverage.  (It was Disney's Small World with a popular teen pop group.  25 years later, the kids performing probably will still be angry that their moment in time was broadcast late at night.)

With catcalls from many regarding the artists performing at the Super Bowl halftime, which has become nothing more than a rock concert by the pop star of the time (look at the recent lists of left-wing elite pop divas), is it time the Super Bowl halftime show return to its roots as a family-friendly show with marching bands and localised themes?  Think of Houston with a celebration of the Rodeo, or New Orleans with a show celebrating the city's comeback from Katrina, or had it happened in East Rutherford a few years ago, a celebration of Broadway including the music of the Rat Pack and the Metropolitan Opera (that was the year La Belle Renée did the national anthem, remember?).  If the NFL would go back to basics, maybe halftime would be a greater celebration of the good with marching bands and themes that would be friendly for families.  Imagine in 2004 if there was a tribute in Houston to the Johnson Space Center, on the one-year anniversary of the STS-107 tragedy, of America's travel to space, and a memorial to the Apollo 204 test, STS-51-L, and STS-107 at halftime.  It would have been far better than the show that drew outrage.

As for the Electric Football game reference recently:  Back in the day, the goalpost issue between the amateur and professional level led to the reason the term "post pattern" was used -- the idea was to put the opponent into the post.  The goalposts were on the goal line as a result of the 1932 Championship Game indoors at the Madhouse on Madison.  By the mid-1970's, the goalposts were moved back.

New logo, now?  CBS Sports debuted a new logo for Super Bowl L, finally retiring the logo that had been used by the network since the early 1980's and had been part of the network's branding.

And cross promotions?  For the Friday "go home" episode of The Price Is Right leading to Super Bowl L, CBS pulled off the theme, complete with "Posthumus Zone" (the network's NFL theme) playing during the opening to the show and into commercial breaks, prize themes with the game, NFL legends modeling (including a car modeling skit where the ex=players were waxing the car), and Super Bowl tickets.  This is triennial because it is done only in years where CBS has the Super Bowl.

Welcome to the media, Jeff.  Fox will give Jeff Gordon his first primetime show on February 20 when he hosts his Daytona 500 eve party show that will air at 9 PM ET.  That's something none of the other two Fox motorsport analysts (McReynolds, D. Waltrip) have done, though the latter has posted a publicity photo where he hosted Ralph Emery's television show, which is a byproduct of his friendships he built as a young club racer in the area when he appeared on Emery's radio show. (https://twitter.com/AllWaltrip/status/692842149692313600)

So what's Marc thinking?  The leader at a PCA church who is a baritone for choral pieces I've had the opportunity to sing in the past is bringing a 90's female supergroup to perform at his church. Back in the pre-LaRoche Era Bobby, I'd attend their concerts when they came up.  But, of course, the LaRoche Era was a new era in how I thought of music, and I am thankful for the LaRoche era.

A good omen for the Socialists?  The two Socialist candidates for President have both attacked Wall Street.  The markets are likely headed for the shredder as the AFL beats the NFL, which is how the Super Bowl Index works.

Throwback Thursday: The buzz that lingers

If you were like me growing up (and, as I always say, you should have been), you remember electric football - the game with the vibrating plastic men who never went where you wanted them to, instead congregating on the sidelines against the board's edge - or, even worse, running the wrong way into the opponent's end zone.

The Tudor game pictured at left was the second electric football game I ever had, and the first one to have real teams, instead of the generic red and white teams.  This one had the Cardinals and the Bears, and included spare holes in the end zones so you could move the goal posts from the goal line (where the pros had them at the time) to the back of the end zone, for the college version.  (Although why you'd want to use college rules for NFL teams was always a mystery to me.)  For me, the real fascination with the game lie in the externals - the simulated cardboard stadium, the design of the field, the helmet logos on the side of the board, and the different teams you could buy.  I had my share of games over the years, each one of them with its unique characteristics, and although none of them played very well, I loved them all just the same.  The games have long since disappeared from the household, but they've also disappeared from the stores, a victim mostly of our continuing obsession with the latest technology.  When you can recreate games and leagues with a computer, why bother with a three-dimensional game that doesn't work very well?

My interest in them has always remained, though (as hours of trolling around eBay would attest), and so I found this article (h/t Uni Watch) of great interest, telling us of efforts to revive the electric football industry.  I know I'm not alone in my affection for the game, as this book and website show, and I really hope Doug Strohm's efforts to get the NFL merchandising license pan out.  The games have improved over the years, and besides, there's something so - social about it all.  It's not sitting in front of the screen for hours; it's something you do with other people.  It's something you can be part of in ways other than simply pressing buttons.  And I wish them all the luck in succeeding.

By the way, that game pictured on the Unforgettable Buzz website?  It was one of the great games ever made, a Tudor special edition for Super Bowl III, as the logo and the teams would indicate.  It was the first to be specially made with the Super Bowl logo and markings on the field, and it was the first game to feature an AFL team in white uniforms (previously, NFL teams came in both dark and white jerseys, but AFL teams were dark only).  I had this game, and although the Colts may have lost the real Super Bowl, in my version they beat the Jets every time.  Of course, I can't promise that I didn't help the players out a little from time to time...


Originally published April 26, 2013

Opera Thursday: The bohemians

That's the literal translation (or at least close enough) of the title of Puccini's famed opera La bohème, which was first performed this week in 1896. The story, as is so often the case, is fairly idiotic, but Puccini's music, as is so often the case - well, if the story bothers you, you can always close your eyes and listen.

This rendition of selections from the opera looks to have been from a television broadcast of 1956, though I can't find a quick description. It features two of the greats of 20th Century opera, Renalta Tebaldi and Jussi Bjorling. Is anything else necessary?

The Great One

Wayne Gretzky is now 55, same age as me, and it just doesn't seem possible. When he first appeared in the NHL, as something unlike which we'd ever seen, I never thought of him as being the same age. He was young, unbelievably young; a superstar while still a teenager. And yet the age similarity didn't compute; John Updike once wrote famously of Ted Williams that Gods do not answer letters, and I suppose there's something of that in this: mortals do not compare their ages to Gods. I never got to see him play in person, but even though our television coverage of hockey was woefully inadequate for much of his time in the game*, everyone knew about him - even non-hockey fans.

*Not that there aren't plenty of highlight reels of him; it was only living in the Twin Cities that our television coverage suffered, thanks to our lack of cable for so long. On the other hand, it also means that whenever you search him on YouTube, he'll take your breath away.

Joe Posnanski wrote about Gretzky as the greatest, in a way that's undefinable in terms of statistics or records or grace - it's worth sharing because, ultimately, there is no other way to describe him, not even as Paulina's father.

He was a child prodigy who, like Mozart, defied the rules of gravity in his craft. He imagined a new way to play. Sure defenses are tougher now, and goaltenders are better now, and he might get roughed up a bit more. But so what? Gretzky always found a way. Geniuses are like that.

We'll just leave it at that, I think.

STS-51-L: A thirty-year retrospective

When the Green Bay Packers made their appearance at the White House for the traditional presidential visit after their Super Bowl XXXI victory, backup quarterback Jim McMahon (who would retire after the game) drew controversy for wearing some Chicago Bears gear during his visit to the White House.  He explained it was a makeup visit for the 1985 Chicago Bears (which he was the starting quarterback) that won Super Bowl XX, as the team never made its obligatory White House visit, 11 years past.  It would be a full 25 years and 9 months before the 1985 Bears received their official White House visit, 12 years after the death of their star running back.

Jim McMahon's reasoning would sound unusual and hateful for many younger fans, since most did not understand the reason the 1985 Bears never made the White House visit.  Their official visit was scrubbed as a result of the days following the 46-10 victory over New England, and would not take place until October 2011.  That leads to the memory of this day, and the time, we mourn thirty years ago.

11:39:13

The cultural impact of that time stamp thirty years ago has the same as another generation would have in 2001 with 16:41 (February 18) and 8:46 (September 11).  We remember that day.   McAuliffe.  Jarvis.  Resnik.  Scobee.  McNair.  Smith.  Onizuka.

Coming up on the 30-second point in our countdown...T-Minus 30 seconds and we've had a go for auto-sequence start...

The solid rocket booster hydraulic power units have started...T-Minus 21 seconds...and the solid rocket booster engine gimbal now underway...

T-Minute Fifteen Seconds. T-Minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, we have main engine start, four, three, two, one, and liftoff! Liftoff of the 25th Space Shuttle Mission (51-L) and it has cleared the tower.

Good roll program confirmed . . . Challenger now heading downrange . . .

Steve Nesbitt, NASA public affairs officer:  Engines beginning throttling down now at 94 percent. Normal throttle for most of the flight is 104 percent, we'll throttle down to 65 percent shortly. Engines at 65 percent . . . three engines running normally . . . three good fuel cells . . . three good APU's . . . Velocity 2,257 feet per second, altitude 4.3 nautical miles, downrange distance three nautical miles. Engines throttling up . . three engines now at 104 percent.

Mission Control: Challenger, go at throttle up.

Commander Scobee: Roger, go at throttle up.

Nesbitt:  One minute, Fifteen seconds . . . Velocity 2,900 feet per second . . . altitude nine nautical miles . . . Downrange distance seven nautical miles.

Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation . . . Obviously a major malfunction . . . We have no downlink.

We have a report from the Flight Dynamics Officer that the vehicle has exploded. Flight Director confirms that. We are looking at checking with the recovery forces to see what can be done at this point.

After homework and dinner, along with a continuous pipe of WDIX radio (now defunct) to catch updates on the disaster, it dawned on me that it was a disaster like no other I knew. After homework and dinner, the television was on the disaster for the whole evening. It was the first time I had witnessed a national tragedy of this proportion. And it was devastating to a nation in a fight against the Soviets.

Contingency procedures are in effect.

We will report more as we have information available. Again, to repeat, we have a report relayed through the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded. We are now looking at all the contingency operations and awaiting word from any recovery forces in the downrange field.

This is Mission Control Houston. We have no additional word at this time. Reports from the flight dynamics officer indicate that the vehicle apparently exploded and that impact in the water at a point approximately 28.64 degrees north, 80.28 degrees west. We are awaiting verification from . . . as to the location of the recovery forces in the field to see what may be possible at this point, and we will keep you advised as further information becomes available. This is Mission Control.

This is Mission Control Houston. We are coordinating with recovery forces in the field – range safety equipment, recovery vehicles intended for the recovery of the (solid rocket boosters) in the general area. Those parachutes are believed to be paramedics going into that area. To repeat, we had an apparently normal ascent with the data coming to all positions being normal.

Up through approximately the time of main engine throttle back up to 104%, at approximately a minute or so into the flight there was an apparent explosion, the Flight Dynamics Officer reported. Tracking reported that the vehicle had exploded and impacted the water in an area approximately located at 28.64 degrees north, 82.8 degrees west. Recovery forces are proceeding to the area, including ships and a C-130 aircraft. Flight controllers reviewing their data here in Mission Control. We will provide you with more information as it becomes available. This is Mission Control Houston.

Additional Resources:
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NASA Transcript

Posted: NFL regulations for Super Bowl L themed show

CBS posted recently the attire regulations for an upcoming Super Bowl L themed episode of The Price Is Right to air the Friday before the game.  The NFL and Nike have assured only current era logos are permitted, and only current era Nike jerseys are permitted.  No visible logos from adidas (which had the NFL uniform contract until 2013) are permitted -- only official NFL gear is permitted, and the only logos allowed are Nike.  Here is the show's official statement:

"IF YOU CHOOSE TO WEAR FOOTBALL THEMED ATTIRE, IT MUST BE OFFICIAL NFL MERCHANDISE ONLY. NO VISIBLE REEBOK LOGOS OR FAN MASH UP JERSEYS WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE STUDIO. ALL ELIGIBILITY RULES APPLY. "

Looks like the NFL and CBS (which has used Price for many NFL promotions) is tightening the regulations to ensure for NFL official gear.

Wish I'd written that: Rod Serling's suggestion we'd do well to emulate

I'm delighted. Let them write anything they want. I don't think we're in trouble in this country if we let people say, talk, think, comment. This isn't our problem. It's when we start to abridge that."

- Rod Serling, regarding the frequent hate mail he'd receive after writing various controversial episodes of The Twilight Zone. (H/T Vote For Bob Crane)

Talking the ball and going home?

RAND PAUL HANGING OUT WITH TREVOR NOAH INSTEAD OF HIS FELLOW REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Rand Paul, as unhappy as he is of not making the top seven in the two polls that determined the lineup for last night's Fox Business press conference - essentially an Eliminator Seven round - decided instead that he would not participate in the dinnertime press conference at the Casa del Ray.

This forced me to consider the question:  Is he reminding me of a golfer who is 2-3 strokes behind the cut line early in his second round decide to take the clubs and go home, and withdraw instead of attempting to improve his game and attempt to go on a roll from the outside looking in to where by the time his 36th hole is finished, he is on the positive side of the cut line, potentially even looking at making a run for the lead by moving day or in the final round?

If he went in the dinner time press conference and scores huge, he could easily make a return to the main stage for the next crucial press conference.  But no, he prefers to take his ball and go home, not trying to work his way back to the premiership.  Is this the type of leader we can afford?

Throwback Thursday: The power to move the world

Lately, I've been spending a good amount of time in the year 1968. Several of the TV Guides I've written about in the last few weeks have been from the 1967-68 period, and I've been studying some media coverage of the news events of that year, in particular the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

I've never been a fan of the Kennedys politically, but I have often admired their style if not their substance. John was in a class by himself, and Ted had a long life, which means that Robert has been caught somewhere in the middle. To be honest, I'd never given a great deal of thought to his impact on history, despite the fact I have clearer (if still limited) memories of his death than I do of John's.

Quite by accident, I happened to stumble onto a website that proved a treasure trove of radio coverage about RFK's assassination and funeral, which I wrote about over at the TV blog. In listening to the broadcasts, and investing some money in the accompanying television broadcasts, I came to a bit more of an appreciation of Bobby Kennedy's style, and some of the convulsive reaction to his death. There is much that is hyperbole about his life and death; for example, I don't think he would have won the Democratic nomination, much less been elected president; Hubert Humphrey was already quite close to the number of delegates needed to win, and RFK's victory over Gene McCarthy in the California primary (which Kennedy had been celebrating when he was shot) was in fact much narrower than it should have been. Many of Kennedy's most astute advisors (Lawrence O'Brien, for example) felt that he never really had a chance of winning. At most, he might have assumed the position that wound up residing with George McGovern, and in that light one can contemplate whether or not Kennedy would have given Richard Nixon a run for his money in 1972.

Kennedy speaking at the University of Cape Town, 1966

But I digress. One of the benefits of being plunged into the Kennedy phenomenon is that it's given me exposure to some quite remarkable things. Whereas Jack's gift was his charming demeanor, and Ted's was his debauchery, Bobby's appears to have been his eloquence in the written word. In 1964, introducing the JFK memorial film at the Democratic convention, he quoted Shakespeare, which was perhaps the last time anyone spoke that literately at any political convention. I excerpted one of his most famous speeches last week, one that he'd given in South Africa in 1966, and I'm going to present another, longer excerpt here in a moment. I've recordings of Kennedy giving this speech, and I'll admit it comes across with a bit more power on paper than in his delivery, which at the time was more halting, more self-conscious than it would be later on. This portion of his speech was read by Ted at Bobby's funeral, and for all the grief I've given Ted Kennedy over the years for his bloviating style, in this particular case he nailed it. The words themselves, and the phrases, carry such power that Ted's flat, emotionless delivery stays out of the way and allows one to ponder their true force. If you want to hear either Bobby or Ted delivering it, you can easily find clips on YouTube; I prefer to look at them on the page. Some comments will follow.

"There is," said an Italian philosopher, "nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." Yet this is the measure of the task of your generation and the road is strewn with many dangers.

[M]any of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. "Give me a place to stand," said Archimedes, "and I will move the world." These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation.

[…] It is from numberless diverse acts of courage such as these that the belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. […]

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change the world which yields most painfully to change. […] I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the world.

[There is] the temptation to follow the easy and familiar path of personal ambition and financial success so grandly spread before those who have the privilege of an education. But that is not the road history has marked out for us. There is a Chinese curse which says "May he live in interesting times." Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind. And everyone here will ultimately be judged -- will ultimately judge himself -- on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort.

These are timeless words, more stunning because of how applicable they are to our times. For as we've experienced the collapse of confidence in government, the contempt (most of it justified) in which politics is seen, the decay of institutions formerly held in esteem, we realize that much that is important in life has been reduced to a bare essential.

There are many ways to, as Kennedy put it, "enter the conflict." It is not necessary for us to do everything, but imperative that we do something. For one man to stand up and fight the machine, whatever that machine happens to be, may seem a futile act; it is when others see and follow that man that change becomes a possibility. But, as Kennedy says, it takes the courage to stand up - despite threats, despite ridicule, despite the loneliness and isolation that often comes from being the first one to stand up.

And the change that will happen, the change that must happen, cannot come from institutions, but must come from people acting together. When I retired from competitive politics I remarked on the single most important lesson I'd learned: you can't change the world by passing a law; you can only change it by converting hearts and minds. And it isn't done in Washington, or in some state capital; it comes in your interactions with your family, your friends and loved ones, your neighbors, your co-workers, those in your wider community. It comes in the church you attend, the organizations to which you belong, the places you spend your spare time. And all the money, all the power, all the prestige in the world doesn't mean a damn otherwise.  You can't let the standards of the world determine your definition of success, of happiness, of making a difference.

There is much lamenting within the conservative movement that the culture war is lost, that Hollywood and the media have combined to freeze out the conservative voice. There are those on all sides who decry the corruption of Big Business, of the multimillionaires that often worship at no higher altar than the bottom line; and of Big Government, and those politicians who seek only to preserve their own power and line their own pockets. And here we must exhibit the courage of which Kennedy speaks, to turn away from the wealth and power which the modern world offers, in order to take the road less traveled, one which may contain hardship and heartache but ultimately emerges triumphant.

As I said, this is a remarkable speech, and whether or not RFK was responsible in toto for writing the words, he undoubtedly believed in what they meant. One of Kennedy's contemporaries, Ronald Reagan, was even more gifted at it - unparalleled, in my opinion.  Is there anyone today who uses such words to appeal to man's higher nature with an essentially optimistic message? And if not, why not? And what does that say about us?

Bowie

I quoted from this song once, when I was running for the state legislature so many years ago. There was something noble about it, the idea that it wasn't old-fashioned to dream of big things and grand deeds, to think that such things were possible for ordinary individuals.

It's perhaps the quintessential Bowie song, the one that so many have come back to in the days since his death, and I think it's because it strikes something in the hearts of people, the possibility of striving for something, even if it's just for one day, even if you wind up failing in the end. And there is something noble about that, particularly in the "why bother" world we seem to have lapsed into too often.

There's no sense in adding to the millions of words written, not when one has nothing new to offer. A couple of very good posts from people I follow in unlikely places, ones you might not ordinarily read: F1 journalist Joe Saward here, and Catholic blogger Steve Skojec here. Check them out when you get the chance.

And here's perhaps the quintessential performance of the quintessential song, at least given the context: Bowie singing Heroes at Live Aid in 1985.

The stupidity of the Powerball jackpot

The jackpot for the "SuperQaeda" known as Powerball, a government expansion ring that teaches false hope and has never delivered in education, but has paid more to jackpots and gambling service providers with state endorsement as the bookie, is likely to reach over two thirds of a billion dollars for the drawing set Saturday night while Carrie hates herself for loving you.

The disgrace of this government expansion has been an issue that I have fought because of the false hope it teaches, and this entitlement generation is more likely to believe they can make more money out of a numbers racket than they can with hard work because of advertising, and the entitled generation from "free" education paid with this racket has proven themselves to be absurd, as the Occupiers, the voters that have shifted the country hard left on government as a deity, those that adore the Socialist and Communist candidates for President, and Protesters of College Now were raised on this type of freebies.  All of their actions are being paid by "scholarships" from gambling that has raised the cost of school for everybody else.  If you make things free, everyone else has to pay, and we are seeing that now.

Dave Ramsey, whose radio talk show airs in the afternoon here, and has inspired how I even purchased my car and other savings ideas, has this to say from 2012 about the numbers racket that is the sweetheart of the country based on the false hope of that two thirds of a billion dollar racket.

And radio host Clark Howard once posted the odds of those huge jackpots.  I would be much better off with the perfect lady around my arm than to win this jackpot!

And our own Throwback on gambling.

Remember:  This mega-ball "jackpot" will lead to doom and failure.  You will never win this racket!

We officially end the Christmas season

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."

-- Matthew 2:7-12

And this we reach the end of the Christmastide, the Christmas season, which runs from December 25 to January 6, with yesterday's celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We celebrate the Wise Men coming, as seen in those verses posted, with the final part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, which has parts that are to be sung in the new year.  This Epiphany part is to be sung during this time.

The disaster that is Corporate America

Hi everybody, and welcome back! Oh wait, I'm the one who's been gone! In that case you should be welcoming me back.  Or maybe not, depending on what you think.

Anyway, last month I ran across an interesting article from Rod Dreher, who can be equal parts depressing and fascinating, and this one is probably both in that it gives us an insight into the moral corruption of Corporate America, which is fascinating, but because of that it also paints a dim picture of the future, which is depressing. It comes from video of a talk by Patrick Deneen, which you should definitely watch when you have the time, but since I'm already a month late with this post, I'll share the same quotes that Dreher did - it got Mitchell going when I showed it to him (he hadn't seen it yet), and if you feel the same way we do, it will likely get you going as well.

It begins with Deneen discussing how big business leaped on the homosexual "rights" bandwagon so quickly after Indiana passed RFRA last year, the bill that allowed companies to "assert that their exercise of religion has been, or is likely to be, substantially burdened as a defense in legal proceedings." (H/T Wikipedia.)

There is a deeper reason for corporate support [of gay rights laws], however. ­Today’s corporate ideology has a strong affinity with the lifestyles of those who are defined by mobility, ethical flexibility, liberalism (whether economic or social), a consumerist mentality in which choice is paramount, and a “progressive” outlook in which rapid change and “creative destruction” are the only certainties. The response to Indiana’s RFRA law shows very clearly that corporations have joined forces with Republicans on economic matters and Democrats on social ones. Corporate America is aligned with the ascendant ­libertarian portion of each party, ensuring a win for the political, economic, and ­social preferences of libertarianism. In effect, there is only one functional party in America today, seemingly parceled between the two notional parties but in reality unifying them in its backing by financial and cultural elites.

[...]

What this means is that today’s cultural power elite is entirely aligned with the economic power elite, and they’re ready to steamroll anyone in their way. In the case of Indiana’s RFRA, corporate and gay activists combined to bring to heel conservative Christians in a rural, Rust Belt state that struggles at the margins of America’s global economy. The threat to demolish Indiana’s economy is only a more explicit expression of a project that corporations like Apple and Walmart have been carrying out with the ­assistance mainly of Republicans (as well as free-trade Democrats) for a generation.

To see the glee with which ­liberals joined forces with corporations revealed the deepest fact about the American ruling class: politicians and corporations will join forces to effect the change preferred by corporations, change that too often damages the working class and benefits society’s elites. Corporate America is willing to join any coalition that advances its financial interests and deeper philosophic commitments, at the expense of Americans on the wrong side of history, especially those Americans living in places like Indiana who aren’t part of the meritocratic global elite.

And finally,

Americans of both parties once believed that no center of power in America should become so concentrated that it could force its views on every other citizen. What we saw in Indiana was not just a “miscalculation” by Republicans. We saw fully unmasked just who runs America, and the kind of America that they are bringing more fully into reality every passing day. It will be an America where the powerful will govern completely over the powerless, where the rich dictate terms to the poor, where the strong are unleashed from the old restraints of culture and place, where libertarian indifference—whether in respect to economic inequality or morals—is inscribed into the national fabric, and where the unburdened, hedonic human will reign ascendant. No limits reflected in political, social, or religious norms can be permitted: All are allowed except those who would claim the legitimacy of restraint.

What's most interesting about this is that large companies, and here I'm thinking back to the era of Robber Barons, have frequently tried to deny their desire to control the lives of Americans in order to achieve a bigger profit. They use a lot of fancy words, but they would never admit what they're really up to. But now they flaunt it in front of us, daring us to do something about it.

The effrontery of their arrogance is breathtaking, or at least I would have said that a few years ago. I suppose at least they honor us by not being so condescending with their denials that they insult our intelligence. The idea that they can pronounce who is and isn't on "the right side of history" is laughable, except that they have the power to say it and then enforce it. They've come out of the closet (so to speak) as elites who not only fully believe they know better than you, they'll tell you that and then dare you to stop purchasing their product.

This also confirms what I've been saying for years, which is that Republicans and Democrats are really two sides of the same coin. The only difference between the two, I suppose, is that the Democrats don't really have a grass-roots opposition in the same way that the Republicans do. The fringes of the liberal left want to make the Democrats even more leftist, whereas there are at least a few conservatives out there trying to reign in the Republicans and get them to see that big business is not their friend, that in fact the only friends they have are the American people themselves, and they'd better be careful how they treat them.

It's part of why Donald Trump continues to defy the political experts, why he continues to dominate the Republican side of the presidential race. Now, it may be true that Trump is part of that big business cabal that's trying to run everything; I don't think so, but the point nonetheless is that you've got someone out there saying, in essence, "FU!" to the elites, be they from politics, media or business. That's what a lot of us are thinking right now, and if The Donald isn't the one to fix it, at least there's someone out there besides Howard Beale who has the guts to stand up and say he isn't taking it anymore.

Three deaths as the hours waned

Three notable deaths made New Year's Eve in 2015 feel very sad, considering the value of those we lost in just one 24-hour span.

Marvin Panch. The 1961 Daytona 500 champion, the oldest living Daytona 500 champion (born 1926), died Thursday.  Seventeen Sprint Cup Series wins, he won the race at just under 150 MPH, then a record.  Some of his wins, according to the family statement, included those with Ford's works team run by Peter DePaolo, the man who was an Indianapolis 500 record setter, as he won the first Brickyard classic to go under five hours in 1925.  He also won the second of NASCAR's then-three majors, the World 600, with Richard Petty (his boss) as relief driver.  Panch's 1961 Daytona victory was known for being in an older car when top driver Glenn (Fireball) Roberts had the engine expire on his new 1961 model Pontiac late in the race, allowing Panch to win.  Legend has it that Dewayne (Tiny) Lund (who was very big despite the nickname), who pulled Panch out of a Maserati that had caught fire after a nasty crash during a testing session for the Daytona Continental (now Rolex 24), was given Panch's Wood Brothers ride for the 1963 Daytona 500, and Lund, an Iowan who made his home in Berkeley County, won the race.

Natalie Cole  A pop singer who transitioned from R&B to jazz to match the standards of her late father Nat King Cole, her success came at a price.  She admitted in her early years to drug use and alcohol problems, and criticised NARAS for awarding their awards to a drug addict who later died at a fairly young age.  Her jazz standards will forever be remembered for the trickery used to make listeners think she was doing a duet with her father, who died when she was 15, but she had success on her own as well.  She also enjoyed modest success in television and film work. She was a legend in the jazz standards market, and most assuredly will be missed.

Wayne Rogers.  For younger people, he will be remembered as a financial analyst on Fox News, often appearing as one of the Cashin' In panelists in its original format.  However, another generation will always remember him as the one and only original Trapper John McIntyre on M*A*S*H (Pernell Roberts did the spinoff drama Trapper John, M.D.). After leaving the show in 1975, his career was fairly modest (as was the case with so many actors who leave successful programs, particularly M*A*S*H, as most of his shows that he starred in - City of Angels and House Calls - were either short-lived series or guest spots in TV movies. There was something inherently likable about him, though, with a friendly smile and ingratiating personality, that will ensure he, like Marvin Panch and Natalie Cole, will be remembered.