EDIT ADD: California Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage Just happened. Story is breaking now.
Sad. I'm not opposed to civil unions if that's what American voters want to create, but marriage itself is an institution created by God. It represents something bigger than what we call it today. It's more than just a ceremony and a document. Much more. I'll talk more about this later.
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Girls Go Wild At School In the news this week, two instances of insane behavior by teenagers at school events. First, at Mitchell High School in Memphis, TN, the following took place:
The clip appears to have been recorded on school property, and shows at least seven students engaged in simulated sexual acts, which one parent referred to as “sex with clothes on.” While the students are dancing, others can be seen and heard in the background chanting a chorus of “Rape Dat Ho.”...
A second tape has also surfaced, featuring students simulating sex during a school talent show, as administrators casually walk by, without stopping the teens.
Next, a girl named Marche Taylor was hauled away by the police after attempting to wear a risque "dress" to the school's prom. She was told that she violated the dress code, she made a scene, the police were called, and she was taken away. The dress in question you can see below. The girl is now doing the media circuit, playing herself up as a victim. I think not. You'd have to be brain dead to actually think that what she was wearing would be appropriate for a school prom. It's not Girls Gone Wild On Tour she was trying to get into.
What a lovely prom dress, don't you think?
The difference between these two stories is that in the first school authorities stood by and let it happen. They saw what the kids were doing, engaging in simulated sex acts at a dance, and they did not take action to stop it. They are now under fire for it, and rightly so. In the second case, the school authorities did their job. Good for them. What both cases have in common is the hyper-sexualization of teenagers continues to grow. The fact that kids would stand around chanting "rape that ho" and even for a second not comprehend the foul nature of what they were saying is distressing and tragic to say the least.
I associate to this story the recent controversy over some Vanity Fair Miley Cyrus pictures. The photographer in question says that the pictures were tasteful. I say that asking a 15 year old to pose naked with only a sheet on, for a national publication, is the polar opposite of tasteful. It should be illegal. But this sort of thing barely makes our society blink these days. Hugh Hefner has already stated that Miley is welcome to pose for Playboy when she's 18. Are you kidding me? We can't even let our girls grow up - even get their drivers licenses - before we're extending offers to them to pose naked?
Why would a girl think it was okay to even try to wear an outfit like that to the prom, and why would she want to? Why would a girl willingly participate in simulated sex while people chant "rape that ho" at her?
I feel so sorry for girls in general today. Our society just keeps pushing and pushing the boundaries on what is acceptable for a teenage girl to be, to do, to wear, to act like. Paris, Britney, and Lindsay have made it glamorous and desirable for girls to debase themselves, to disdain modesty, and to find their value in how much they can be objectified rather than who they actually are as a person. It's not just their fault, though. I don't think Britney on her own would've turned into a girl who doesn't wear panties and flashes her crotch to the world, and I don't think Lindsay on her own would've decided that it'd be really great if someday she could take off all her clothes - for free - for a magazine photo shoot that's supposed to be "artsy." I don't think Britney grew up dreaming of singing "I'm a slave for u" while holding a snake and wearing a bikini. It's a symptom of our society. It's pressure from managers and handlers who put money and power ahead of the well-being of their clients (or in Jessica Simpson's case, daughter). It's a fashion and entertainment industry that is out of control and that has long since lost any moral compass, especially when it comes to young girls. It's a distortion of the concept of artistry. I wonder if these girls, who act in public as if they are empowered and in control, in the quiet of their own thoughts at home wonder if they truly are empowered, why they have to use and expose their bodies to stay relevant, and if there's any line they won't have to cross someday in pursuit of that goal. And if it's truly worth it.
Jenna Bush Marries, Liberals Attack Jenna, one of the twin Bush daughters, got married last week at the Bush ranch in Crawford, TX. Remembering how everyone treated Chelsea with kid gloves, and continues to do so to this day (and rightly so, I think, since she is not her father or mother), you might think the girl could have her special day and it be a non-political event. Not so for the Bush haters.
One writer uses the wedding as an excuse to attack the President:
“This is going to be such a different kind of situation,” said Katherine Jellison, an associate professor of history at Ohio University who chronicles the American obsession with marital pomp in her recent book, It’s Our Day. “Jenna’s father is not running for re-election,” she said. “The frivolity of a big White House wedding in the middle of an unpopular war would have used up what little political capital he has.”
Political capitol? It takes political capitol to hold a wedding for your daughter? And so the reason it's not a big shindig is because he has no political capitol?
The Daily Kos takes advantage of the ceremony to post this sorry entry, with the subtitle, "Side by side with Iraqis whose special day was turned into a living hell by the father of the bride from Crawford, Texas."
Girl Scout Sells 17,328 Cookies It's true, she sold over 17,000 Girl Scout Cookies! You want to know how? She went to Dan's house. He doesn't know how to say no. You can sell him anything. Mmm... Girl Scout Cookies. I'll take another box.
Afghan Teacher Shot Dead After Condemning Suicide Attacks He gave a speech, he condemned it, and he was killed for his moderation.
Obama's Camp Lies About Iran Remember last year when Obama kept going on and on in the debates about how our current foreign policy was too arrogant and if he were president he would meet other foreign leaders without condition? Just in case you don't remember or aren't sure I'm giving the full story, here's video:
Susan E. Rice, a former State Department and National Security Council official who is a foreign policy adviser to the Democratic candidate, said that “for political purposes, Senator Obama’s opponents on the right have distorted and reframed” his views. Mr. McCain and his surrogates have repeatedly stated that Mr. Obama would be willing to meet “unconditionally” with Mr. Ahmadinejad. But Dr. Rice said that this was not the case for Iran or any other so-called “rogue” state. Mr. Obama believes “that engagement at the presidential level, at the appropriate time and with the appropriate preparation, can be used to leverage the change we need,” Dr. Rice said. “But nobody said he would initiate contacts at the presidential level; that requires due preparation and advance work.”
That's a bold face lie on multiple levels. One, they blame McCain for putting those words in Obama's mouth. Two, they flat out lie about what he said before, and now add those preconditions that he supposedly detested just months ago. I'm glad he is singing a different tune now, because he was showing great ignorance before. But it doesn't excuse the blatant dishonesty and distortion of historic fact - with the video to prove it.
That quote above was taken from the NY Times in an article about Hamas, but the quote was made in passing. The Times did not take the time to call Obama's camp out on the 180 - a complete 180 that they themselves could've coroborated in their own pages from their own article:
Making clear that he planned to talk to Iran without preconditions, Mr. Obama emphasized further that “changes in behavior” by Iran could possibly be rewarded with membership in the World Trade Organization, other economic benefits and security guarantees.
In his Democratic presidential bid, Mr. Obama has vigorously sought to distinguish himself on foreign policy from his rivals, particularly Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, by asserting that he would sit down for diplomatic meetings with countries like Iran, North Korea and Syria with no preconditions.
That's change all right. Change we can believe in? Hopeful change? You make the call. My call is that Obama's inexperience and naivity are starting to bite him in the butt.
Speaking of inexperience, more new Obama gaffes, on the Afghan war, can be found here.
Lakers Vs Jazz 3-2, baby. Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how the Jazz always seem to have more white guys on their team than anyone else in the NBA? It'd be one thing if it happened randomly, but in all my years of watching I can't remember a time where that wasn't the case. I'm just saying.
Idol Swami Update I'll post the updated scores soon. David vs. David? Yawn.
TCON: Prince Caspian It's here Friday! Are you in line yet?
90210 Update It's official: Jennie Garth is joining the new and updated 90210 show on the CW next season, reprising her role as Kelly Taylor. I think that's awesome. Kelly was always one of my favorite characters, and it really gives the new series a grounding that a normal spin-off wouldn't have had - and also opens doors for other former cast members to make cameo appearances. How long before Brandon drops in to visit? I wasn't really interested in watching before but now I may have to tune in, at least for nostalgia's sake. I hope they keep the same theme song. Da-na-na-na, da-na-na-na, chik-chik! Okay then.
Petra Update John Schlitt speaks about life after Petra with Christianity Today.
American Idol F3 Let's talk about Syesha. She's gotta be the biggest surprise F3 contestant since Jasmine Trias in season 3. Who actually thought she'd make it this far when the finals started - well, who except dowens? But she hung in their, found her confidence, and then started to bloom. She had extensions in her hair tonight, and they looked awesome.
Round One: Judges Randy's an idiot and his judgement for Cook was just sour grapes. Grow up. Winner? Cook, Syesha, Archuleta, in that order, this round. Did you hear that Archuleta's dad was banned from backstage? He's a hyper-stereotypical stage dad, apparently, and was controling his son's choices. The producers finally had enough and he's been banned.
Round Two: Contestants Holy dang, Cook picked Switchfoot! Cook picked Switchfoot! And the band has officially peaked. (They also did Leno tonight, performing the closing song from Prince Caspian) "Dare You To Move." I didn't particularly like his arrangement; especially his vocal, but everyone was a bit weak this round. And it sounded shorter than the other performances. This round's rankings: Cook, Syesha, Archuleta. Check iTunes tommorow to see how high Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" single rises on the singles charts because of this performance.
Round Three: Producers It's official for me. David Archuleta joins Taylor Hicks and Clay Aiken as finalists who have absolutely zero musical relevance for today's scene. Syesha was decent, but in all honesty the performance exposed her as a girl who absolutely pales in comparison to a Beyonce or a Rhianna - both in terms of vocals and charisma. This round: Cook, Syesha, Archuleta.
If we're going strictly on this week's performances, Archuleta should go home and the finals should consist of Syesha and Cook. But we all know that won't happen.
This was easily the least overwhelming Final Three episode in Idol history. All of the potential we saw when the finals started really ended up fizzling, and it should be pretty obvious by now why ratings are down. Less charismatic contestants. Ringers *cough* Carly *cough*. Bad song selections. Song choices that are anything but contemporary. Theme weeks that have nothing to do with contemporary music - Mariah, good; Manilow, Webber, Parton, bad. Blathering judges. Paula Abdul. The "mosh" pit at the front of the stage. Predictability. A formula that has become tiresome and obvious. The producers need to re-focus the show around contemporary artists, themes, and songs. If we're searching for the next American Idol, let's start to make the criteria for that actually relevant to the goal. The end.
Picks are due as usual. You only need to name a boot pick this week.
Christianity Today has an interview with three ex-Idols, Mandisa, Phil Stacey, and Chris Sligh, as they all talk about what it was like to be a Christian on the show, in front of the camera and behind the scenes, and the relationships they formed while there. Good read.
Survivor Finale You could literally see the $1,000,000 slipping from Amanda's hands as soon as she won the final immunity challenge. She almost immediately morphed back into sad-eyed Amanda from China. Weepy. Crying about decisions she had to make. Confidence gone. It got worse at tribal, as she ceded control and almost apologized for voting out Cirie. You have to be confident. You have to make hard choices but then stand by them. At final tribal she continued her losing strategy, handing Parv the money on Cirie's question when she told the jury that Parv was the brains behind the operation when she should've said "it's not about Parv being better than you, it's about you being a bigger threat in the finals to me." You can't do that. You have to earn the jury vote. You can't assume they will give it to you. You have to make them not only want to give it to you but not have a reason to not give it to you. She was better this year than last, but she still ultimately did not understand that. Her doe-eyed, apologetic look is just not appropriate at final tribal. Still, I thought she might pull it out. I thought Parvati had annoyed enough people that she might only get the votes of Natalie and Alexis (I'm disappointed Alexis voted for her). Instead, Amanda becomes the first contestant in Survivor history to not only make two finals in a row, but also lose two finals in a row. It was, as Jeff said, the best season of Survivor since the show's debut, but the ending was less than satisfying for me.
One more thing. Natalie has to be one of the most unlikeable women in Survivor history. I didn't like her before, when she was talking about how great of a b*tch she was, and her performance - or whatever it is you want to call it - at final tribal tonight just sealed it for me. What the heck kind of question was that, that she asked Parvati, about the bedroom? And could you be any more insulting w/ your question to Amanda? Both of which were preceeded by a lame line about how she respected them both. I think not. I'm glad you didn't make it any further than you did and I hope we don't see you on any future editions of the show. Cirie finally earned my respect. I didn't think much of her on her initial season, but this time around she really showed me what a gamer she is and how cerebral she can be, even though her physical game is non-existant.
Stuff Just Released Chris Sligh's new album. Clay Aiken's new album. Bella on DVD.
Julianne Hough's new country album comes out next week. I'll probably pick that one up. I'll pass on Clay and Chris, but I figured Dan would want those. I never saw Bella in theaters so I'll have to finally give that a view.
SNL Update Pretty good episode this week. Predictable but funny Hillary cold open. The monologue was alright; I'm not a big Shia fan in general but he performed well over the show. The Digital Short was retarded. Macgruber's gay son... ltms. Suze Orman was funny - Kristin has her nailed. The match game show was funny if not abrupt. Decent Update. My favorite sketch was the La Rivista Della Televisione. That's gotta be one of my top five current recurring sketches right now. Hader is just hilarious w/ his Italian, but it's the little stuff, like Fred and Will eating spaghetti, or this week the level with the Snakes/down-arrow above it, that really make it for me. Good stuff. Next week is Steve Carell w/ the season finale.
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Cobra Commander For President! So after last blog's "Yes We Shall!" video - which has quickly become one of my all-time favorite YouTube videos - I clicked around a bit more and found that Cobra Commander is actually running for President! I'm going to have to look into what his platform is because on the surface, I'm inspired. What can I say.
Here he is announcing his candidacy:
Here he is giving an inspiring speech about why he's running, and talking about superdelegates:
And here he is with a guest spot on The View (this is for Jessica):
EDIT ADD: Survivor Here stands Erik, now officially the Dumbest Survivor Of All-Time
Wear the title proud, Erik. You earned it. And it sure made for some historically awesome TV. Thanks, man.
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Big stuff to cover today. Let's get right to it.
Iron Man I saw Iron Man. It rocked. The end. P.S. If you see it, stay until after the final credits roll.
FlipShot I signed a new contract and got a new phone:
Ex-Gitmo Prisoner Turns Suicide Bomber I still continue to marvel at those who want to close Gitmo. The people held there want us to die, and when they get out they get right back to work to accomplish that goal. It's happened before. It just happened again, as a released prisoner just turned himself into a suicide bomber in Iraq.
Abortion Is A Right! You Can't Challenge It! So say some dudes who take it upon themselves to tear down a pro-life memorial. It's captured on video. Listen to them rant about it as they pull the little crosses out of the ground. "It's a constitutional right; you don't have the right to challenge it.... do not put this in front of us!" Just sad. And weird.
(Also, umm... since when is abortion a constitutional right?)
80's Cartoon Nostalgia My friend Tim hooked me on this one, and I've been sitting at my computer all night wasting time watching more YouTube videos like it. Here's 10 minutes of pure 80's nostalgia, set to some classic 80's tunes. See how many of your favorite cartoons you can spot.
"Yes We Shall!" - Cobra Commander Edition I'm sure you've seen the now classic/infamous Barack Obama "Yes We Can" video put together by various celebs and musicians who support him. Here's a satirical response. An ingenious response. A hilarious response that almost made me spit out my McDonalds Vanilla Iced Coffee when I watched it. It's funny all on its own, but if you listen closer and actually hear what he's saying it's off-the-charts funny. Especially if you don't like Obama, and you did like GI Joe growing up.
Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
Guliani Absolutely Destroy's Obama's Credibility On Judges The title says it all. Taken from HotAir, which transcribes a Guliani interview:
KELLY: It’s funny you should mention that, Mr. Mayor, because Barack Obama in a statement responding to John McCain’s point today said and I quote, “Barack Obama has always believed that our court should stand up for social and economic justice, and what’s truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves.”
Why the laughter?
GIULIANI: Well, the laughter because that is not what a judge in the American legal system is supposed to do. That is not a really responsible definition of a judge. The judge is supposed to interpret the law. And the law is written by other people. It’s written by members of the Congress. It’s written by framers of the Constitution. It’s written by the people when they amend the Constitution.
And then a judge has to have a certain, I would say, dedication to trying to interpret what other people mean and sometimes cannot put their social views into action. This is a very fair issue. John McCain would appoint judges who are more, I would call, originalists in terms of trying to define the meaning that other people had.
I think Senator Obama has made the case very strongly that John McCain has made that, he will appoint social activist judges, judges who tend to try to solve social problems rather than trying to figure out what does the law mean?
"The other side can label and name-call all they want, but I trust the American people to recognize that it is not surrender to end the war in Iraq so that we can rebuild our military and go after Al Qaida’s leaders. I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies, like Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did."
They then nail him on his complete and utter lack of historical comprehension:
Putting aside the “labeling and name-calling”, leaving a war without winning it is, in fact, surrender. How else would anyone describe it? “Quitting” and “running away” come to mind, but both are synonymous with surrender. Leaving when the new strategy has made great progress in bolstering the elected government in Iraq is especially egregious, but in any case retreating while engaged with the enemy is surrender by any definition of the term.
I’m particularly bemused by the references to FDR and Truman. Both men ended up having to conduct massive wars that outlasted their presidencies, and in FDR’s case in no small measure because Western nations insisted on talk rather than action. While we maintained diplomatic contact with Germany and Japan until Pearl Harbor, FDR did not meet with Hitler and Tojo. And that diplomatic contact didn’t stop war from coming; indeed, it make it much worse than it otherwise would have been, at least in Europe, had the US, UK, and France had taken the appropriate steps to disarm Hitler when he started his Versailles Treaty violations.
Truman met with Joseph Stalin during and after World War II, but that didn’t stop the Soviets from blockading West Berlin or ringing down an iron curtain across eastern Europe, enslaving those nations for almost 50 years. If Potsdam and Yalta are Obama’s idea of successful foreign policy, then he obviously hasn’t studied 20th century history. Talking with implacable tyrants leads to appeasement, which leads to either war or more implacability of the tyranny in question.
Idol Swami Update It's a big week, because we not only have our boot but we have the official top three. This means that our preseason Final Three predictions now come into play. And that means: bonus points!
Castro finally exists stage left. About time. Syesha gets political. Everyone had Castro to go, and everyone except Christy had Syesha as the second pick.
Today what you'll see after you boot picks listed are your scores from this week, then your bonus points that you got for your F3 picks. You get 10 bonus points for each correct pick. So, for example, Downs gets 30 bonus points this week because he's the only person to get all of the final three people right. But spiritvsFLESH gets 0 bonus points, because unfortunately for him all three of his picks have already been eliminated. It doesn't matter what order your F3 predictions are this week - the goal is that they simply made the final three. Next week you'll get 20 points for each correct F2 pick you have, and if you picked the winner right you'll get an extra 30.
Final Three Predictions csemsen: 3. Carly 2. David A WINNER: David C MikeknaJ: 3. David C 2. Brooke WINNER: David A briansbabe94: 3. Brooke 2. David A WINNER: David C Dowens: 3. Syesha 2. David C WINNER: David A dsemsen: 3. Michael 2. Syesha WINNER: David A jsrichie: 3. Brooke 2. Carly WINNER: David A spiritvsFLESH: 3 Michael 2. Jason WINNER: Brooke KariStar86: 3. Carly 2. David A WINNER: Brooke curlyprincess: 3. Michael 2. Carly WINNER: David A pedro1music: 3. David A 2. Jason WINNER: Brooke HuckabeesFriend: 3. Michael 2. David A WINNER: Brooke wsemsen: 3. Syesha 2. Chikezie WINNER: David A alittlebitrocknroll: 3. David C 2. Carly WINNER: David A paulaangela: no picks made marshallismyalias: 3. Burt Reynolds 2. Alex Trebek WINNER: Sean Connery
Jedi Turns 25, Ewok Style! This is hilarious. Celebrate the anniversary of Return of the Jedi with Ewok gospel:
American Idol F4 Just train-of-thought-ing it tonight, instead of a full write-up. You know, I liked Brooke. I wasn't a huge fan of hers - not like w/ Chris Daughtry, Carrie, LaToya, Kelly, or others in the past - but I liked Brooke. And her parting has dimmed a lot of my enthusiasm for the rest of this season. I still like some of the contestants and have some rooting interests, but I don't think I'd buy an album from any of the remaining four.
Cook's "Hungry Like the Wolf" is totally by the numbers, and not early as engaging and delicious to listen to as Duran Duran's. Syesha is scorching hot with her Tina Tuner impression - she's really come alive the past few weeks and is like a different person these days. Jason Castro - what the heck? That was total cheese. David High School Musical does "Stand By Me" which I thought would be boring but I actually dug. Good vocal.
Cook is back out and he's doing The Who - sweet! This is one of my all-time favorite classic rock songs. He should do Cream's "White Room" next week, because that would rock my face off. Cool alterna-pop arrangement. I don't like Syesha's dress. Or her song. Weird ending to the song, musically. She breaks down in tears at the end and, finally, shows some real emotion and vulnerability this season. Castro picks... Dylan?!? Who's advising this guy?! You don't do Dylan on a show about vocals! And then he totally forgets the lyrics, though in his defense no one really understands what Bob is saying anyway so it's not a big loss. Castro is really hurt by Brooke's absence, since he is an obvious odd one out compared to the other three when it comes to vocal prowess. High School Musical does Elvis. I doesn't do much for me. I never liked that song anyway.
