Veggie Love, the Super Bowl & NBC

I guess that many of you have seen the story about NBC banning the PETA Veggie Love (or vegetarians have better sex) ad from being aired during the Super Bowl.
Ok...I've watched it. Yeah, it's "hot" and sexy...anddddd, soooo.

Let's see if I have this right. NBC is not letting a veggie/sexy commercial on during a game where grown men smash into each other trying to knock their opponents (and the ball) out so that they can get a chance to "score" while scantilly clad young ladies on the sidelines cheer them on. The fans scream and yell (sometimes using obscenities) to "motivate" their favorite team to get some points on the board and beat the livin' daylights outta the guys in the other uniforms. In the mean time the cameras will spend quite a bit of time scanning the Cheerleaders as they bounce up and down.

Hmm...interesting. What else. Right! During the breaks there's always some commercials about drinking beer, driving fancy cars (often with sexual overtones), and of course the network's promos for its own shows (usually with someone shooting someone else, investigating a murder, committing a murder, or cheating somebody out of something).

Now, would I rather watch a commercial that actually tells me that vegetarians have better sex, a car company intimating it, or someone getting shot? I'll go for the honest approach. It's a shame that we, as a nation, haven't lost our thirst for violence and matured to the point where we can accept love (and sex...or at least talking about it) as something equal to (or better than) watching a group of actors figure out the reasons for a murder.

A man of promising names

Late last Tuesday night, while the inauguration balls were in full swing, I was flipping between CNN and MSMBC when I heard a discussion involving Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann about the positive affect our new President's middle name could conceivably have on the Middle East peace process. They went on about how Arab leaders and the people of the area would be able to relate to a man with Hussein as a middle name. I tend to agree. It certainly can't hurt. And hopefully it will help him build some real dialogue between all parties in the region.

However, I did find it a bit strange that not one of the journalists on the panel realized that the first name of Mr. Obama happens to be the last name of the former Prime Minister and current Minister of Defense of Israel.

Now...when you think about it, that really puts the President in a position to reach out to everyone in that area on a first and middle name basis!

Sarah Palin, Joe the Plummer, and the Pet Rock

I don't know...maybe it's me, but I think the country (or probably the media would be a better way of putting it) has REALLY lost its way.
Ok, I realize this kind of jounalism has been they way of our world for a long time - but when is the fascination with Sarah Palin (let her live and be well - just not on my time), and Joe the Plummer, gonna be over.
I think a lot of people in this country would follow a bag of compost if it was packaged well by the folks in the media and especially if the reality/TV magazine shows (including some of our "news" programs) used them to fill their air time.
But, think about it. What relevance does Sarah Palin or Joe the Plummer (another media invention that they keep harpin' on) have to our daily lives.
Let the Governor do her thing up north and let the people of Alaska question her. She's got nothin' to do with the economy, wars, and all the other afflictions in front of us here in the U.S.
It just seems she's filling up air time (and print space...including right here, hopefully for the last time) that could be used to examine more pertinent things.
Joe the Plummer - enough said. He has absolutely no relevance at all - none. Stop with him already. Does anybody really want to hear about that guy...anybody?!
And, IF so...WHY?!
Seems the Pet Rock had more impact in our lives. At least they could keep paper securely on top of a desk.

A "Swell" for Dell

Monday I was unfortunate enough to put a CD-ROM into my computer only to find that my CD AND DVD drivers had disappeared.
Where do those things go? Atlantis? The Bermuda Triangle? The pit that so cozily harbors my Sump Pump? PLEASE will someone tell me!?
Hmm...off my fingers went to call Dell customer service - thinking, of course, that those words were probably oxymoronic.
But lo...I was connected to Ritesh.
A calm in the storm, Ritesh was as mellow and competent as anyone I've ever encountered on any of my frantic "you gotta help me - my computer has malfunctioned" calls.
Yes, he was at the call center in Mumbai. A fact, I must add, that in the past the other voices on the phone would never, for some reason, disclose.
After a few minutes of getting to know each other as humans (including my condolences for the recent terrorist situation there), Ritesh went to work like a jet without turbulance.
It always amazes me when someone remotely takes control of my desktop, and even more so when that person is half way around the world.
"Mumbai...this is Philly...we have a problem."
Within minutes the man showed his magic. Drivers found. How he retrieved them from my Sump Pump hole I'll never know - but there they were!
And, he even ran me through the whole problem with my muted speakers.
Yep, dead ones...as I surmised. Ritesh tried everything, even showed me the pdf diagram of my now useless ornaments (wires, connections and all), but to no avail.
I can't wait for the new ones to arrive!
And to say that somewhere in India a man has saved the nervous system of a guy who just finished viewing a CD.
Thanks Ritesh. Swell job Dell!

NyQuil, DayQuil, NoQuill

So, I'm sittin' here after a night of NyQuil and NoQuill (just didn't feel like writing) and getting ready to take some DayQuil. Yeah...I've taken all my herbal suppliments and am currently drinking green tea with honey but, in my case - right now - I'll depend on the Pharmas too.
Maybe if I sat in a humidor for a month and became perfectly humidified inside and out I'd be fine.
Anywayz, finishing the last syllabus (sounds like a large yellow vehicle from a Monte Python skit) for this coming semester's courses (ahh...the joy of a university) when it occured to me that somewhere there's a whole bunch of college students freakin' out about books, end of break, tuition, their jobs, credits, who they're gonna be sittin' next to, and a whole bunch of other stuff.
When is this country going to realize that the greatest resource it has are its people and instead of spending billions (ok, maybe trillions) on wars, pork projects, and other useless (or careless) things they'll have an epiphany and start giving people education, healthcare, and other meaningful things that they can afford (maybe even not have to pay for).
That doesn't mean sub par. On the contrary...it should be way above par.
After all...when you invest in the resource of a country's people, you'll have a population that can figure out how to cure lots of society's ills and also take the country to new heights.
But, what do I know...maybe my head's too stuffed up to think!

Happy 2009!

Let's hope that this year turns out to be a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous one for all of us!
And, that we each have laughter and love surrounding us throughout the year.
After all...shouldn't we all be enjoying this journey?
Life's finite so never miss the opportunity to laugh, have fun and appreciate your family and friends.