On Being Human

Some days I'm just embarrassed to be a part of this human race. No, I'm not going to rant about the "anti-Christ" more popularly known as George W. Bush and his magical ability to make the world hate the United States more than broccoli. Had you scared though, didn't I? I'm just gonna write about a movie - well, sort of.

Most of the time, we watch movies for a bit of an escape from our day-to-day lives. Other times we watch films and are drawn into the stories on an emotional level.

I just finished watching "Hotel Rwanda" and haven't felt this ill since viewing "Crash" a couple months ago. It always amazes how much we take for granted living in this country. With all the crap our government puts us through and the crime that seems to get worse each day; I doubt we could survive living in the environment of many other countries. As well, man's aggression is beyond my ability to process such things.

I'll watch Freddie Krueger dismember teenagers and laugh with enjoyment at the sight of it. But when the story is based on true events and thanks to the "news at 11" we can see the real thing, I am shocked how cruel humanity can be to its own. And to know that our own representatives are guilty of the same crimes under the premise of "freedom fighters" is the most sickening of all.

Okay, so today this wasn't so much cute and funny prose...but I had to get that off of my chest.  Important movie. Check it out.

February 1st, 2006

Of Grasshoppers and Atomic Drops

Been battling a cold/flu the last 2 weeks which meant more video watching than normal. The pick of the period has been to catch up on season two of Kung-Fu from the early 70s.

Though the slow-motion acrobatics feel foolish, I am surprised to find that I can still enjoy the episodes after all these years. And though the "messages" from the masters in the Temple sound like bubblegum psychology, they are still ahead of Doctor Phil.

Today's episode saw Cain going toe-to-toe with the Tong. The "hatchet man" (and yes, he had a hatchet) who had the showdown with our priest was none other than a childhood hero - Kenji Shibuya!

Many a night and afternoon in the 60s was spent watching "professional wrestling" on tv. That and "Roller Derby" were my idea of sports with leagues in both San Francisco and Sacramento. I was always confused (come on, I wasn't even 10 years old yet) by the difference in champions and feuds I saw on local stations.

It was a fun afternoon surfing through all the photographs and articles I found regarding this boyhood obsession and focused on tag teams of that decade. Kenji Shibuya and Masa Saito had many bouts against Ray "The Crippler" Stevens and his partner and still in the business Pat  Patterson.

So today I salute the gladiators of old and say thanks for all the happy memories I still enjoy to this day. For those interested, the journey took me on an adventure into the history of rassling with the site of The Cauliflower Alley Club standing out as a favorite on the topic.

January 23rd, 2006

Johnnie LeMaster Can't Dance

So I've got Monday Night Football on and it doesn't even take a series of downs before I have to turn it off. Now, granted, I'm not alone in having a lack of enthusiasm for the game this year the way the 49ers have been playing. But I have to say, it's more than just a crappy season that has taken me away from the game - and that's the players themselves.

I've always been and always will be more a baseball fan than one of football. And I've been in just about all the debates on why one is better than the other. From the slow pace of baseball, to the physical endurance of meaty linemen, to which sport best displays the image of "team".

The teams line-up. There's the snap. Joe Qback hands off to "Trucker" Dumbrowski who gets tackled in the backfield by "Number 43" of the defense. But wait! The play isn't over yet. "Number 43" takes center-stage to show us his personal moves like a man who just made the play that secured his team a Super Bowl championship! But its only the third week of the season! And who is this "Number 43" anyway?

Once praised as the ultimate team sport, today's player seems to think that only he can lead his team to victory. At least that's how they act after sacking the QB, intercepting a pass, or even doing nothing more than making a tackle on a 3rd and forever play in the first quarter of the sixth game of the season for a winless franchise.

Barry Bonds doesn't "strut his stuff" after catching a lazy fly ball in the first inning. Ivan Rodriguez doesn't break-dance after throwing out a runner at second. And Johnnie LeMaster doesn't dance after bunting a runner to third.

Deion Sanders - well - nevermind.

Tonight's game of egos? The 4-9 Ravens against the 3-10 Packers! Who cares! Let 'em dance!!!

December 19th, 2005

Saturday mornings consisted of cartoons. Two of my favorites at that time were "The Fantastic Four" and "The Beatles". I mention that because today is December 8th - 25 years since John Lennon was shot and died. And yes, I remember where I was. I was busy making donuts at Sunshine Donuts. I recall coming home from work and being on the phone with my brother in Portland for a long time.

The connection? The Fan Four -vs- The Fab Four. All day in the newspaper, television news, radio we keep hearing about John and the Beatles. That's fine with me. John was/is my favorite of the lads from Liverpool. In year's past, this day would see me listening to his music, watching a video about him and reflecting on why he is my favorite and what that says about me. Yep, its all about me!

But then I got the mail.

Stay with me now...Netflix has gotten to be very busy and the dvds I would get on time or even a day early now arrive a day after the promise date. I was expecting and found Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily", a silly movie I hope I still find amusing. But surprise! Two more dvds were in my mailbox. "Dominion", Paul Schrader's Exorcist prequel the studio decided wasn't worthy of release. And the feature film of "The Fantastic Four".

This is the one I chose to watch this evening and it came to me that my favorite character here was/is The Thing. Even as a kid in the 60s, he was the one I most connected with. He was the oddest of the four. A lone warrior on his quest regardless of the other three comrades he had.

Now back to John Lennon. You might've figured it out already. I see him as the lone warrior of The Beatles and this gave him a cool aura to me 'cause I always thought of myself as being separate from those around me. Though not as glamorous as John or The Thing, but still how I viewed my personality and worth. From this, I've always been one for the underdogs (another fave cartoon) because I always felt just as out of place as they did/do.

To finish, this mostly came about due to the last writing I put up. I either needed to change 2 web pages to take off the "new" tag for this "journal", or write more gibberish to entertain the masses.  As well, I had planned on having something fun and nostalgic to honor my sister Sue's birthday last week - I may still get to it; hopefully before her next birthday is upon us!

Betcha wish you didn't check out this page, eh? I probably won't understand it either tomorrow when I look back to what I wrote.

December 8th, 2005