Sunday, July 29, 2007
Duh, I wish I was a Hyundai
Recently I saw what has to be the stupidest commercial I have ever seen. It is entertaining to watch this commercial because it is so stupid. But under no circumstances will I now buy a Hyundai.
The commercial begins with a dark space scene, and the playing of some chords from Richard Wagner's Also Sprach Zarathustra, also known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, the voices singing the music sing it as "Duh, Duh, Duhhhh…. Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh…" While this is happening, four jets emanate from the tires of the airborne Hyundai SUV (huh?? There's no air on the moon - it is spaceborne). While the duh music is going on, the Hyundai slowly descends onto the lunar surface, which is portrayed as black as coal. When it lands, a big sign in little light bulbs lights behind it, saying what else but "DUH". Is that what they really mean?
When I was a child or teenager, some other classmates I know were saying of things that they thought were "retarded", things like "Duh! I wish I was a frog." I don't know what frogs have to do with it; as Kermit once said, "It's hard to be green." What the folks from Hyundai are telling me with this ad is that their SUV is retarded, and so are they. I'm not buying it as long as they play this idiotic commercial. Duh, I wish I was a Hyundai.
The commercial begins with a dark space scene, and the playing of some chords from Richard Wagner's Also Sprach Zarathustra, also known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, the voices singing the music sing it as "Duh, Duh, Duhhhh…. Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh…" While this is happening, four jets emanate from the tires of the airborne Hyundai SUV (huh?? There's no air on the moon - it is spaceborne). While the duh music is going on, the Hyundai slowly descends onto the lunar surface, which is portrayed as black as coal. When it lands, a big sign in little light bulbs lights behind it, saying what else but "DUH". Is that what they really mean?
When I was a child or teenager, some other classmates I know were saying of things that they thought were "retarded", things like "Duh! I wish I was a frog." I don't know what frogs have to do with it; as Kermit once said, "It's hard to be green." What the folks from Hyundai are telling me with this ad is that their SUV is retarded, and so are they. I'm not buying it as long as they play this idiotic commercial. Duh, I wish I was a Hyundai.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Obama for President
Last time I commented on the Presidential contest for 2008, I indicated a preference for John Edwards. This was because a campaign woman for Barack Obama called me on the phone and kept insisting over and over again that I contribute to that cause, even though my preferences had not completely gelled yet. I now favor Obama. This is because Edwards and Clinton both recently tried to suppress second-line candidates like Kucinich from the race, and because Edwards said in the YouTube debate that he did not favor marriage between two people of the same sex, whereas Dennis Kucinich did. These two strikes once again puts Obama in the role as my number 1 candidate, despite that piranhic campaign woman. Once again, Mr. Obama, I call on you to fire her. Clinton is about the same as before - she performed better in the last debate, but she is still last among the Democrats as far as I am concerned. So as of right now, it's Obama. Of course, this may change, but that is what it is right now.
Ree Hart for Supervisor
A couple of months ago a Republican primary was held, featuring Jack Wilson, who apparently favors the developers and was hand-picked by Dickie King, departing the board, and Dorothy Jaeckle, sparking a grass-roots movement to do something about the degradation of life caused here by developers in Chesterfield County (see my previous blog). Ms. Jaeckle won easily, practically guaranteeing the election of an outspoken anti-development Supervisor for Bermuda District this November.
Completely unheard of in all this was Ree Hart, the only Democratic candidate for this seat. The election this November will feature Ree Hart, the Democrat, vs Dorothy Jaeckle, the Republican. In addition, there are two independents, Roy Wallace and Jack McHale III. After a week vacation, I got an ad for one of these, namely Roy Wallace. So I decided to send an email to three of these candidates and see what happens, specifically addressing Branner Station. This is a proposed new development over several square miles with 5000 houses, an enormous development which could overload the resources of the county, and runs counter to the trend we must develop in having things smaller and walkable due to impending peak oil.
Roy Wallace responded right away. He told me that he was going to do something about these developers. He has no web site, but I found some reports on the Chesterfield web site showing some concern about roads and schools when these developments are built. So far I have heard nothing from Dorothy Jaeckle. Ree Hart responded that she wanted to talk in person or on the phone. I wound up talking to her on the phone.
She went at length to tell me that she showed concern about this development but she had not seen too much of it yet. She had seen some plans, which show a new road being built in the new development, a retail destrict, two new schools, and widening of area roads. She thinks that these developers are using the principles of smart growth. This reminded me of the Partnership for Smarter Growth in the Chesterfield area, and she has heard of this group, making me think that Chesterfield may indeed have smarter, or even slower, growth with Ree Hart as the Supervisor.
With either Dorothy Jaeckle or Ree Hart, we can expect to see reining in of developers' attempts to pave over the county. The difference is that I think Ree will have better relations with individual citizens of the county, as evidenced by Ree talking at length with me about the problem and Dorothy not answering at all. And more is needed than a quick email pledge to do something about it, as with Roy Wallace.
So right now I favor Ree Hart for Supervisor.
Completely unheard of in all this was Ree Hart, the only Democratic candidate for this seat. The election this November will feature Ree Hart, the Democrat, vs Dorothy Jaeckle, the Republican. In addition, there are two independents, Roy Wallace and Jack McHale III. After a week vacation, I got an ad for one of these, namely Roy Wallace. So I decided to send an email to three of these candidates and see what happens, specifically addressing Branner Station. This is a proposed new development over several square miles with 5000 houses, an enormous development which could overload the resources of the county, and runs counter to the trend we must develop in having things smaller and walkable due to impending peak oil.
Roy Wallace responded right away. He told me that he was going to do something about these developers. He has no web site, but I found some reports on the Chesterfield web site showing some concern about roads and schools when these developments are built. So far I have heard nothing from Dorothy Jaeckle. Ree Hart responded that she wanted to talk in person or on the phone. I wound up talking to her on the phone.
She went at length to tell me that she showed concern about this development but she had not seen too much of it yet. She had seen some plans, which show a new road being built in the new development, a retail destrict, two new schools, and widening of area roads. She thinks that these developers are using the principles of smart growth. This reminded me of the Partnership for Smarter Growth in the Chesterfield area, and she has heard of this group, making me think that Chesterfield may indeed have smarter, or even slower, growth with Ree Hart as the Supervisor.
With either Dorothy Jaeckle or Ree Hart, we can expect to see reining in of developers' attempts to pave over the county. The difference is that I think Ree will have better relations with individual citizens of the county, as evidenced by Ree talking at length with me about the problem and Dorothy not answering at all. And more is needed than a quick email pledge to do something about it, as with Roy Wallace.
So right now I favor Ree Hart for Supervisor.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Bright Shining Old Man is a Middle-aged Woman
I have been hearing about some interesting videos as of late. One of these is Obama Girl about this young woman who really is attracted to Barack Obama. She is so attracted to her that she dances in a bikini in front of a picture of him. Then came Obama Girl vs Giuliani Girl in which debates and bikini cheerleading contests occur between two sides of young women, one of which is going bananas for Obama and the other going gaga after Giuliani. As if you had just about seen everything, here comes one about a young woman who has the hots for Hillary Clinton, Hott4Hill. She says that Obama is OK but doesn't have what Hillary has: ovaries. Further, she likes Hillary's tush.
Hey wait a minute. What has all this got to deal with functioning well as a President in what could be the most trying period in American history? Kathleen Parker, the columnist, thinks so. She says in her column for today, YouTube and politics: perfect storm of idiocy that we are so hooked on hotties that the barbarians could simply waltz in from next door, and in my opinion, set up a ruthless dictatorship. She uses some interesting wording in her essay, such as "perfect storm of idiocy", "videomentary", "teeniest bikiniest", "this president or that", or especially "hott", using the same misspelling as Hott4Hill does.
This all reminds me of an old Onondaga tale about the Bright Shining Old Man, which I tell in my class on the stories of the constellations in the sky. Once upon a time, a tribe of Onondagas moved into a new area, and they needed to set up camp and prepare for the winter. But the teenagers and young adults in the clan did not help their parents. Instead every day they would dance out in the woods. They had glorious fun doing this until an old man in brilliant white dress confronted them and told them that if they did not stop their dancing, something terrible would happen. They ignored his advice and continue to dance. Something terrible did happen. One day they floated off in the sky and became the Pleiades, never to be seen again on Earth.
This is an allegorical myth, and likewise so is this man. So he could appear in any of a number of guises. He could be a woman, for instance. He could be middle-aged. He could be a columnist of a paper. Could he be Kathleen Parker?
We have been warned.
Hey wait a minute. What has all this got to deal with functioning well as a President in what could be the most trying period in American history? Kathleen Parker, the columnist, thinks so. She says in her column for today, YouTube and politics: perfect storm of idiocy that we are so hooked on hotties that the barbarians could simply waltz in from next door, and in my opinion, set up a ruthless dictatorship. She uses some interesting wording in her essay, such as "perfect storm of idiocy", "videomentary", "teeniest bikiniest", "this president or that", or especially "hott", using the same misspelling as Hott4Hill does.
This all reminds me of an old Onondaga tale about the Bright Shining Old Man, which I tell in my class on the stories of the constellations in the sky. Once upon a time, a tribe of Onondagas moved into a new area, and they needed to set up camp and prepare for the winter. But the teenagers and young adults in the clan did not help their parents. Instead every day they would dance out in the woods. They had glorious fun doing this until an old man in brilliant white dress confronted them and told them that if they did not stop their dancing, something terrible would happen. They ignored his advice and continue to dance. Something terrible did happen. One day they floated off in the sky and became the Pleiades, never to be seen again on Earth.
This is an allegorical myth, and likewise so is this man. So he could appear in any of a number of guises. He could be a woman, for instance. He could be middle-aged. He could be a columnist of a paper. Could he be Kathleen Parker?
We have been warned.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Sicko Shows What Can Be Done
I recently saw the movie Sicko by Michael Moore. I find the movie better than both Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. In both of those movies, there were many snide remarks about how things are, and a continual decrying of our present gun laws and handling of the events of 2001 September 11. Michael Moore does give us some examples of what has really gone wrong with our health care system. Then he provides us with 4 good examples of what health care should be like: Canada, UK, France, and Cuba, of all places. In most of these, the people seem honest and sincere enough, and they make the case for changing health care drastically in this country. The case of Reggie Cervantes is especially poignant, and I feel that our country has mistreated her. There are a few problems; for example, did Castro purposely give these people excellent health care to the extent of exceeding what the average Cuban gets, just to humiliate the US? In general, this movie was well worth the time and money, and I rate it excellent.
I think our government and especially the nineteen 2008 Presidential candidates need to take notice of this film. This country's medical system needs a drastic overhaul, and the private insurers, as Michael Moore says, need to be eliminated. I will consider this issue a major one in selecting which candidate to vote for. Hillary Clinton seemed to have a good plan going in the 1990s. I hear, however, from the film that she is now taking health insurer money. She needs to stop this and go back to her 1990s ideas if I am to consider voting for her next year.
I think our government and especially the nineteen 2008 Presidential candidates need to take notice of this film. This country's medical system needs a drastic overhaul, and the private insurers, as Michael Moore says, need to be eliminated. I will consider this issue a major one in selecting which candidate to vote for. Hillary Clinton seemed to have a good plan going in the 1990s. I hear, however, from the film that she is now taking health insurer money. She needs to stop this and go back to her 1990s ideas if I am to consider voting for her next year.
