Bringing Out the Kid in Me

Discovering Dad asks, "What Brings Out the Kid in You"? Winner gets a Wii. Who could resist?

In many ways, I'm still a kid. I still love to watch old Land of the Lost reruns. I'll still read a comic book if I can find one, even from my collection that I still have. I enjoy silly songs and bad jokes and making goofy voices. I can still turn off that little part of my brain that says, "Ok, there's no way Indiana Jones could make THAT jump" just for the fun of it - like we all used to. I can still crawl around on the floor and jump cars and build Legos. I can recite the whole preamble to the Constitution - not because it was taught in school, but because Schoolhouse Rock taught me on Saturday mornings. And not just recite it - sing it. People may also look at me a little strangely when I try to sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a solo (all parts included), but that doesn't mean I'm truly off my rocker. It's because I enjoy still hanging on to that part of my childhood.

This of course doesn't mean I don't take life seriously. I absolutely do. I have a family, two kids we're trying to raise. Planning for their future is a serious business whether it's school choices, tough homework assignments, discipline or teaching morals and the difference between right and wrong. My job future is always in flux...stable one minute and murky the next. I have many friends and church that mean the world to me, as we do to them. I stay attuned to the issues of the day - politics, world affairs, money... And I'm still working on my 15+ year marriage to a wonderful woman whom I perplex on a daily basis, but still somehow loves me.

Life isn't for children. It's a very adult thing. We have to put our childish ways behind us, to a certain extent. But I don't want to be known as that guy who's still basically immature but means well. I need to present a mature image to deal with mature things.

So what brings out the kid in me? Simple. My own kids. I remember when I was young, and the wide-eyed innocence I had watching Star Wars for the first time. I remember dreaming, making up worlds, situations, stories with my action figures. A 10-yr-old dares to put people in impossible situations, and figures out ways to get them out. They read Robert Heinlen and learn what's possible. They read Franklin W. Dixon and learn how to figure things out. They read Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary and learn how to cope with siblings, parents, friends and the difficulties in growing up. They gaze at the majesty of Cinderella's Castle and hide from scary Pirates of the Caribbean and grim grinning ghosts of the Haunted Mansion. They climb trees and chase butterflies and bat balls, all with the incredible knowledge of there's still more out there. What an incredible awareness, that with all this there's still so much, much more. And I share that with my own kids, and show them what I loved when I was their age. And they love it too, thankfully. I've tried my best to show them that life is what you make it - not what others tell you it's "supposed" to be.

In many ways, I get to relive my childhood through them. In less than a week my son, Brainyboy, will experience (if he has the nerve) his first real roller coaster ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg). Probably Big Bad Wolf. And I'll be right there with him every curve of the track, knowing that the cycle has begun again.

What brings out the kid in me? Watching my daughter's eyes as they twinkle, mischievously. Watching my son's face as he sobbed real, silene tears when E.T. "died". Because I know that even though one day they will grow up, they will still keep with them an innocence of youth that transcends the cynicism and detachment of many kids today. They will keep with them the memories of glorious possibilities, the endless days of "what's next, dad?" And someday pass them on to their kids.

Our world is so sad these days. And so competitive. And so mean-spirited. Just a casual flip through the cable news and network channels will show you how simple differences of opinion divide our country. Children bring guns to school to protect themselves from bullies, while parents stand idly by. The images of children are endlessly sexed up in the media, from "Bratz" dolls to the latest line of teen clothing. 15-yr-old girls are routinely presented as objects for boy's (and men's) desires. Politicians and pundits give forth hate and sling mud only to gain a little prestige over the other side. People with different idealogies blow up buildings, kidnap boys from their villages to be soldiers in petty, greedy wars none of them understand. Other kids end up wrapped around telephone poles in their cars because mom and dad wanted to sponsor a graduation party with a little free booze. It's a cloudy world out there, and it's up to us to give our kids the wisdom to understand they don't have to feel like their destined to have to buy into it.

That's why I make funny voices at my daughter. That's why we always do the "gimme some fin...noggin...Dude!" from Finding Nemo and laugh ourselves silly. That's why I want Brainyboy to read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or keep practicing with the bat. And the piano. It's up to us as parents to get the kids ready to change the world, like we wanted to long ago in our own backyards.

What brings out the kid in me? Hey, they're already here, and always will be.

"Lost" in Thoughts: Unraveled Threads

Last night's "There's No Place Like Home" pt. 1 did a great job of setting things up for the finale. You can tell when everyone goes in slow-motion mode under montage music, chess pieces are being manuevered. Similar to the final of Season 1, with the flashback of everyone getting on the plane together...

It seems there are some threads that are beginning to possibly unravel - here are some questions..

• What are we to make now of Desmond's visions from last season? He said he saw Charlie die a number of times, averting it successfully each time until the last. All happened as it said it did in the Looking Glass station, from the blinking yellow light to the switch Charlie pulled to him drowning. But the motivating force for Charlie behind Desmond's vision was that of Claire climbing into a helicopter. Now that that idea is looking less and less likely, does that mean his visions are wrong? Or as Steph comments could their actions have shifted things such that it's now Kate or Sun (Two of the Oceanic 6)?
  
  Apparently some kind of action changed Desmond's visions before - when Naomi landed on the island, Des was sure it was Penny. But it wasn't, and as it turned out Naomi worked for Penny's father, and Penny had nothing to do with the freighter or the extraction team. So looks like his visions can change, depending on circumstances.
  
  As Yoda said, "Always in motion is the future".
  
  Speaking of Naomi, why, after all we know now, was she carrying that very familiar picture of Des and Penny together? Where did that plot point end up?
  
  For a show that has very specifically addressed Desmond's quantum-leaping and future-telling, I hope they explain this to a degree in the...um...future (sorry) such that these all makes some sense.
  
  
• My list of BuzzKill words - i.e. words that, if mentioned in conjunction with an explanation with all that's been going on, will make even me - the most forgiving of all far-fetched explanations - groan with disbelief:
  
  • Atlantis
  • aliens
  • black hole
  • Krakatoa (actually, that might be kinda cool - not the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony itself, but whatever the word might mean)
  • Amelia Earheart
  • Bermuda Triangle
  • starchild
  • hybrid
  • Cylon (you never know)
  Can you add any others?
  
  
• (Copied from my answer to Newscoma's question on how the Oceanic Six, currently so spread out around the island, come together to get off the island by themselves)
  I’m thinking Kate and Sayid will be part of the Other’s counterattack on the Orchid. Jack and Sawyer will hook up with Hurley outside the Orchid, who’s waiting to see what happens next after Locke goes inside. After or during the attack, Kate, Sayid, Jack and Hurley will escape and pick up Sun and Aaron, who have gotten off the freighter just before it explodes, and eventually come ashore on whatever island they showed them in the photograph.
  
  
• Am I right and that was Michelle "Ensign Ro" Forbes as the Oceanic spokeswoman at the beginning? If that's so, she's really made the big quadrifecta of my favorite sci-fi/action TV shows. She was, as I said, Ensign/Lt. Ro on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Lynn Kreske on "24" in the second season, Admiral Cain on the new "Battlestar Galactica" and now on "Lost". Go Michelle!
  
  
• What if there were actually eight people that get off the island, but only six make it back to civlization? What if Daniel and Charlotte are on the last launch from the island, and in the confusion of getting off the freighter rescue Sun and the baby, then pick up the other four. The eight of them could make it to the second island and somehow are killed or die of injuries? Ok, that's a far-fetched example, but it's possible there really are eight that initially escape and two die - and it's not just a lie the O6 tell the press.
  
  
• Didn't the "official" news reports on the finding of the Oceanic 815 wreckage at the bottom of the ocean confirm the corpses of all passengers and crew? Which would mean Widmore & Co. planted a fake Kate, a fake Jack, a fake Hurley, etc? How do they explain away the sudden presence of seven (supposedly Kate was pregnant before the crash) extra people on the plane?
  
  
• more to come....
  

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Ninety One

Appetizer - What is the nearest big city to your home?

I guess Nashville is closest "big" city, though it's not really that much bigger than Knoxville. Atlanta is the closest "big" city.


Soup - On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

If I told you, I'd have to... Anyway, I think I'm pretty good about it. I'm not asked to keep many secrets, though, so I'm not sure how good I'd really be if it came down to it.


Salad - Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

Brownish, curly in the back. Usually about mid-neck length though I tend to let it grow sometimes in the back when I really shouldn't. That's to compensate for the front - I have a high forehead, so while not actually "balding" when looking at the right angle it might appear to be so. I really hate my hair, to be honest...


Main Course - What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

I'm very non-aggressive and tend to lean toward following all the rules of the road - save a strict adherence to speed limits. I do feel like I am a very skilled driver, and can maneuver very well in traffic.


Dessert - When was the last time you had a really bad week?

A few months ago things really started falling all directions at work and it got a little bleak. That was not a good time.

The Challenge

I know there are several readers out there who have made pretty firm choices in who they want for president. At least they've made firm choices on who they want to win the Democratic nomination. I offer this challenge.

In comments below, in a few short sentences, lay out why you believe a) Barack Obama, b) Hillary Clinton, or c) John McCain would make a good president.

Not the best president, maybe not even the best choice of the three - I would just like to see what people think are the primary reasons or indications they've seen that the candidate they support has the qualifications, potential and vision to be the President of the United States.

One major rule. No rebuttals. You don't get to argue against a previous commenter's reasonings. I want to hear your personal opinions on why you feel your candidate will make a good president.

Be nice.

"LOST" in Thoughts: The Big Questions

Here's my preliminary list of the big, overarching questions on "Lost" that I would imagine will never be answered to everyone's satisfaction:

• Why are so many of the Losties lives interconnected? (Sawyer's con man is Locke's dad. Ana Lucia was Jack's dad's bodyguard. Libby was at the same mental hospital as Hurley. Desmond saw Charlie playing guitar in the street. Kate's dad was Sayid's military handler. Boone's father was unable to be saved because Jack was saving his future wife. And so on.)
  
• Why were all these particular people on the same plane at the same time? And why did some survive the crash, and some not?
  
• Why do "The Numbers" (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) appear interwoven through everything, from the hatch code to Hurley's lottery, all the way to the flight number of the plane (Oceanic 815)?
  
• Why was Charlie's band so inexplicably popular? (Ok, I'm reaching on that one)
  
• What's the significance of the 4-toed statue? I think this is actually a huge red herring the producers dropped in there that will end up meaning absolutely nothing to the overall plot. Just an extra added element of mystery to the island that was never meant to be explained.

Any others you can think of? Remember, these are mysteries that, when the last credit has rolled on the series finale, we'll still be wondering about..

Good Dad

Last night I opened a cabinet to get a glass and another glass rolled out and shattered on the cabinet. I thought I'd cleaned up all the glass on the cabinet and the floor.

Apparently not.

This morning, after warning her to be careful Tink cut her socked foot on a tiny sliver still on the floor. While at first she said it only felt to her like a bee sting, soon after she noticed with some drama one portion of her sock was rather soaked with blood. After calming down the resulting hysterics, we got her up on the sink (thank goodness at eight she's still small enough to pick up easily), got the foot cleaned off and band-aided.

Way to go, dad.

Lost in Thought - "Cabin Fever"

Time for some more random "Lost" thoughts. I've already left a few comments around to some various early posts (Jopinionated, Dube's World, and Newscoma), but I wanted to expound on a few things here separately.

• I think Richard Alpert, Charles Widmore, Magnus/Alvar Hanso, Abbadon, and others are long, long, long ago survivors of the original wreck of the Black Rock slave ship. Hanso was the captain, Alpert and Widmore probably crew, and Abbadon possibly one of the slaves (that sounds like racial profiling, but it seems doubtful a slave ship would have a black crewer, and Abbadon has an odd accent implying a non-American). They all survived to present day and have struggled between themselves for control of the island all along. Hanso survived to found the Dharma Initiative, while Alpert apparently later began Mittelos Labs. Widmore searched out the diary of his former captain to find the secrets of the island. Abbadon works with Widmore at Oceanic and along with Alpert have been separately meddling in Locke's (and probably others') lives since they were born.
  
  There are likely other immortal survivors of the Black Rock that we have already met and don't realize their true identities yet. Possible candidates are Sun's father Paik, Christian Shepherd, Marvin Candle (the oriental guy from all the training films) and other people associated with the Dharma Initiative and Hanso Foundation like the DeGroots and Thomas Mittlewerk.
  
  
• I think the stuff in the little vial that young Locke was given as an option to claim as "his" was that ashy stuff that, significantly this time, did not surround Jacob's cabin. At least nobody called attention to it. Which is news in itself, because they always seem to have great fun noticing the ring of ash around the cabin. To purposefully not show it seems significant.
  
  
• Oh, one more thing about Alpert and Abbadon. It's also possible they are time-traveling back to interfere/influence Locke when he was a youngster. I don't think that's likely, but it's a possibility since time manipulation is clearly a part of the show.
  
  
• When mercenary dude Keamy pulled out the "Secondary Protocol" from the safe, he seemed to say something about finding out what Ben would do next. My immediate thought was it was information from the future about Ben's moves. Which would certainly put an entirely new, but not unprecedented spin on things. However...if you know what Ben's going to do, why not exploit that knowledge immediately? That line just sounded odd to me.
  
  
• The scene between Hurley and Ben sharing a candy bar was absolutely, crystal perfect. Possibly the small throw-away scene of the entire series thus far.
  
  
• Watching Keany and the Captain interact kind of reminded me of those Star Trek episodes where Kirk would be ferrying a science team, or a stuffy ambassador, or a squad of soldiers, or whoever to some planet and Starfleet would say, "Ok, Colonel Soandso is in charge of the mission and has authority in this matter", and Kirk would say, "he may be in charge of the mission, but I'm in command of this ship", and Colonel Soandso or Ambassador Whatever would say, "Dude, I give the orders around here," and Kirk would say, "As if" and Dr. Whatsit would say, "I don't think you know who you're dealing with here, Captain - I'll have your commission for this" and Kirk would say, "Stuff it nimrod, I'm James T Kirk and I'm the best chance your team/squad/delegation has to succeed so shut the crap up and let me be in charge" and usually the guy would back down, bowing and scraping to the great CAPTAIN KIRK but on "Lost" Keamy just shoots him.
  
  
• I wonder if we started looking back in old photographs of famous people, you'll start seeing Richard Alpert or Abbadon in the background? Kind of like Forrest Gump.
  
  But seriously, I wonder how many more Losties did Alpert and Abbadon "visit" when they were young? Maybe not to test like Locke, but at least to keep tabs on and steer in the (to them) right directions...
  
  
• I half-expected Zathras to come in behind Alpert, peer strangely at Locke, and say, "Not the One...no, no, not the One. No one ever listens to poor Zathras..."
  
  
• The Fate of Claire: A lot of people have made a big deal about Claire possibly being already dead. Either she was killed when her house blew up and has been the walking dead ever since (which would explain ghostbuster Miles' strange interest in her, how she could wander off with Christian and leave Aaron behind, and hang out in the cabin with him). But I still have to think about Desmond's vision to Charlie - he saw Claire getting on a helicopter and assumedly leaving the island. So far, with some variation in details, Desmond's visions have come true. So I think eventually we have to see Claire getting onto a helicopter at some point. And she probably can't do that if she's a zombie, right?
  
  
• Oh yeah! Add Desmond's creepy old visionquest lady Ms. Hawking to the list of possible Black Rock immortals.
  
  
• What were the items Alpert showed to young Locke, and expected him to "claim" one of them as his own? Let's go over them:
  
  
  
  • Knife - Locke's job just before getting on Flight 815 was a knife salesman. He had a large pack of various throwing knives with him on the flight, which he used a great deal early on hunting boar. I actually called him choosing the knife when it first appeared, and was right.
    
  • Book ("Book of Laws") - When Eko and Locke first met at the Swan Hatch, I think Eko mentioned something about "The Book of Laws"
    
  • Baseball glove - I have no idea. Amazingly, there's no real baseball metaphors or callbacks in the show at all that I can think of. Maybe it represents father/son bonding, which is totally a theme but as for the glove itself I have no idea.
    
  • Comic Book - There was a comic book on the plane that Walt found, but it was a much more contemporary Green Lantern. This looked like an old 1950's/1960's era pulpish horror or adventure comic. The teaser said something about "what was the secret of the mysterious hidden land?" which could be a callback to the island. I don't know if it's a real comic, or one the art department whipped up.
    
  • Compass - Didn't Locke or Sayid have a compass in Season 1?
    
  • Vial of ashes - as above, I think this is the ash that forms the circle of protection around Jacob's cabin
    
  
  
  
• More thoughts as they come to me...
  

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Ninety

Appetizer - When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?

Absolutely. Usually I'm smiling at them first, even. At least presenting a pleasant face. I'll never understand the people that decide to go through life as if at any moment they're going to be taken out back and beaten. People will almost always be nice to you if you're nice to them, or give them the opportunity not to worry you're going to bite their head off.


Soup - Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?

We have beige carpet in the living room and Brainyboy's bedroom that replaced the original bluish carpet when we moved in. Unfortunately, after 2 kids and 4 cats it still looks a bit peakish in spots. There's parquet in the entry way that had to be replaced a few years ago, and linoleum in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. The garage is floored with sod and that's where we grow mushrooms. Upstairs is all the original blue carpet, and linoleum in the bathrooms.

Ok, I made up that part about the sod and the mushrooms in the garage. It's actually astroturf and we rent it out to minor league football teams to practice.


Salad - Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.

Boy, black bats barely bite!


Main Course - Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?

I grew up with a few friends who were adopted. Some couples at our church have adopted kids from overseas - one a while back from Romania, and another adopted three kids from South America. Nobody in my immediate or extended family was adopted, or has adopted kids that I know of. Not counting as part of marrying into a family with kids already, and "adopting" them as your own.


Dessert - Name 2 blue things.

Sky - a painfully deep blue of an autumn day.

Jeans - what I wear to work every Friday.

C'mon, You Know You Want To...

It sure would be nice if my feedburner stat bar over there on the right-hand side had, like over 20 readers. It's hovered between 14-17 since I installed it several months ago.

Just sayin'.


UPDATE (5/9/08): Oops. Lost one. Dropped back down from 18 to 17. Ok, who did it? Oh wait, you unsubbed, so you're not seeing this... (giving the community at large the skunk-eye....)

It's Five-O'Clock Somewhere

Pour me something tall and strong,
Make it a hurricane before I go insane.
It's only half past 12, but I don't care.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

My band is adding this song to their playlist for a special island-themed party coming up, and we rehearsed it last night. As it's been running through my head, I started thinking about the mindset behind the song.

No, not the idea that often the bed things in our lives are the result of our own stubborn attitudes, and that good times are where and when you make them...I'm not thinking that deep.

I'm thinking of the age-old tradition of hitting the bar after work for a drink.

The crux of the song is that no matter how crappy your job is, it's always quitting time somewhere in the world so why wait till then? Go now! Get sloshed and push all those troubles away!

Now, that's a nice thought I suppose if you're into that, though it's not very practical to hit a bar at around noon and not go back, just because it's 5pm somewhere out in the Atlantic or in Europe somewhere. But for decades (maybe longer) folks - usually men - have left work at 5 and found their favorite watering hole for a few cold ones to wash away the cares of the workday. Cheers built an entire TV series around this concept.

I've always wondered about the type of men that participate in this indulgence. First of all,if you're single - more power to you. Go for it. Meet your friends, throw darts, shoot pool, find a girl, whatever. Fine with me as long as you stay off the street afterward. Enjoy yourself!

If the guy's married, there begins the troubling aspect. When a married man gets off of work, in general he should be looking forward to coming home to see his wife. Maybe she works too, maybe she stays at home. Regardless, it never would've entered my mind when I was newly married to stop of somewhere for a couple of hours to drink before going home, knowing my wife was there alone. Again, this presumes she has a comparable schedule - if she works second or third shift, I can understand wanting to kill some time. But once we're married, the marriage becomes first priority.

Then there's the married man with children. This is what gets me. If you've perched your butt on a barstool or Applebee's hightop table downing a margarita while the kids are home doing their homework - or worse, playing a ballgame or just needed some "dad" time - then you are really heading down a bad path. I'm sure some men will say they need that downtime to "unwind" after a hard day, and if they didn't get a beer before hitting home they'd be a worse person than if they came straight home. Somehow I doubt it.

I've been tempted to stop at a place for a drink after work from time to time, just to see what it was like but home responsibilities always took precedence.

Do any men out there do this after work? Did you as a single guy but slacked off as marriage and kids came into your world? Did your own dad do this? I'm curious to see what people say.

The Campaign(s)

Are these things still going on???

I just feel a huge sadness for those still covering, or even paying much attention to the Democratic presidential primaries. Is it from a sense of duty? Or is there actually a demonstrable interest one can generate from this sad, sad group of candidates?

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Eighty Nine

Appetizer - What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?

Wow, if we're talking strictly cartoons I would have to say "Super Friends". Nothing better on a Saturday morning than watching my favorite superheroes and their super pals battle the forces of evil. And it was always a treat when Flash or Green Lantern would make a guest appearance. Later on, Super Friends morphed into "Challenge of the Super Friends", with even more superheroes fighting the "Legion of Doom". Great stuff.


Soup - Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?

Oh man, no, not another one. After spending the majority of my life with no pets, our family has five. We have four cats: 1) Tas - 15 years old and the crotchety grandpa of our little clan. 2) Skye - 2 year old siamese-ish/ragdoll-ish troublemaker. He's the one that shreds things when I haven't fed him quickly enough. Like Laura's new hardback book. Or my brand new Bible ;(. 3) Fizban - 2 year old massive brown and white...thing. I inherited this behemoth from my uncle last year. Fizz is the enforcer, and also makes a handy paperweight. 4) Kitiara (or Kit) - the 1-1/2 year old sole female, raging with heat and none of the (fixed) boys able to help her out. She's Tink's favorite and sometimes her bedtime companion. Likes to climb on top of, well, everything. We also have our 4 year old dog, Ramona, who is a basset/beagle mix and stay outside most of the day.

If I were to want and get another pet it'd be a rock.


Salad - On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

If I have something that I think is decent, then I like to get dressed up. Trouble is I have a hard time believing I look good in anything like that. The last time I really took time to make a good appearance was at my 20-yr High School Reunion.


Main Course - What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?

I'm either listening to Sports Talk Radio, regular talk radio, or I'm listening to a theatre show CD. If I'm not listening to any of those, it's Jimmy Buffett. Invariably ;). I rarely, if ever listen to music actually on the radio. There's an 80's station I like that I'll sometimes flip on if I'm in the mood but that's it.


Dessert - When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?

Can't remember at all. I guess the last clock we bought was attached to our DVD player...

It All Seems So Clear To Me Now..

(Source: xkcd.com)

DON'T PANIC!!!!

SmartFIX40: Countdown to I-40 closure begins

Let the 16-month to 3-year media-generated panic begin.

I've read a hundred stories in the news about what's about to come.

And 9/10 of a mile stretch of the interstate in downtown Knoxville is about to be closed for repair and enhancement. Knoxville and Knox County residents react with a frenzy that's equal to 10 impending-snowstorm-grocery runs. Running in the streets, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria...

The media - that includes newspapers, TV stations, radio, etc - has made every effort to make this small change in traffic flow into a major, major traffic disruption. And that's now just what it will become, because people believe it will be.

If all this had been pushed to the back page of the local section, we wouldn't see traffic problems past the first day or so. Out of town travelers passing through would simply be redirected by signs through I-640 around town. Local folks traveling from West Knox to East Knox and vice versa would follow similar routes. People wishing to get downtown are surely passingly familiar enough with downtown topography to get where they need to go with only a slight delay or some extra time planning a route. It's simple - everything eastbound is open up to James White Pkwy, from which all of downtown is completely accessible. And being from the west, that's going to be the majority of the traffic anyway. Westbounders from the east may have a slightly more complicated time of it coming west, but still should know where you can go when you get off at Hall of Fame Dr. or Cherry St.

It's a huge package of a no-brainer, people. Just follow your noses and your instincts, and above all....

DON'T PANIC!!!!

All of This Has Happened Before...

It's getting more and more difficult to watch Battlestar Galactica. It really is. I just don't do well with dramatic shows that simply have no real hope. Or with characters that have collectively lost their way. The path this show travels continues to get darker and darker, and if it doesn't end this year with a great satisfaction, I'm going to be rather upset. And I'll probably feel, as I did to a certain extent with Babylon 5 and Farscape, that I've wasted some of my time being faithful to a show that wasn't faithful back to me.

I have higher hopes for Lost. But we'll see.

Anyway, about Galactica. Here are my two alternate ending theories. I don't think both could happen, though I suppose it's possible. I just think either of these revelations might occur.

1) A frequent phrase used by the human-looking Cylon skinjobs is, "All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again." We've seen old-series-style Basestars, centurions and Raiders, as well as old series Vipers that were all supposedly used in the original war with the Cylons. I wouldn't be surprised if somehow the old series is tied back into the new one, as having actually happened before in the past. Or some alternate reality/dimension/whatever. That one time there was another Adama, another Apollo, a male Starbuck, a black male Boomer, etc. And as time went on and evolved, the current Galactica crew evolved into the current story we watch today.

2) The 12 Colonies were established by survivors/refugees of the planet Kobol, which was rendered uninhabitable sometime in the distant past - that much is established. Legend tells them that a fabled 13th tribe went off and founded the lost colony of "Earth". I'm thinking that last colony didn't go off into the dark, but went in search of the actual origin of mankind. That they probably found Earth - but didn't "found" it so to say. They probably resettled it, or established themselves into its own culture.

In other words, long, longer ago than even Colonial history claims, our Earth sent out travelers into the deep, taking with them the names of the Greek gods, the idea of monotheism, phrases like "We the People", the term "nihilism", toasters, neckties, automobiles, nuclear bombs and, yes, "All Along the Waterfront" by Bob Dylan. These travelers from our future eventually settled Kobol, established themselves as an original settlement, long enough to reclaim the Greek gods as their own theology, then eventually founded the 12 Colonies. One group decided to hike back to Earth and see what was up. What happened to them we'll probably eventually find out.

And this is more likely the origin of the "All this has happened before, all will happen again" motif.

Whether the two theories merge, and the old-series BSG crew is really the original returnees, I don't know. But I wouldn't be surprised to see both ideas incorporated into the ending.

Gene Rayburn! Go Gene Rayburn!

With new pistons plugs and shocks,
Flox, flox, flox!
You know that I ain't braggin'
Have you ever seen a dragon?
Gene Rayburn!!

Who knew we were singing it wrong?

Greased Lighting! Go Greas----zzzzzzzzt.....*pop*

I have been quite lax lately in blogging, some because of Twitter, some just laziness, mostly a lack of anything to say.

But some things just write themselves.

Tonight opened "Grease" at the Oak Ridge Playhouse. To give you an idea of where the band is located in the show, in the middle of the stage is constructed what's basically a giant jukebox. An open area in the middle lets a platform slide back to front, and we're on a fixed bandstand above it, in the face of the "jukebox". Because we're up in the air, power to all of our instruments, lights and amps comes from one long extension cord.

About 1/2 hour before we started tonight, our power went out. Oops! Sorry, mistake. It was restored eventually.

Fast-forward to the end of the first act. It's the final song of the act, "We Go Together" and we're coming out of the drum break into a key change and the final verse.

Our power goes out. Again.

Now, we have a bass, an electric guitar and two electronic keyboards. No sound, no lights on the stands, nothing. But we have our intrepid drummer, Carey who continues to pound out the beat. Later I heard the cast tell us that they raised a few eyebrows at the lack of music coming from behind them, but kept bravely on...

The verse ended, we were about to continue into the final repeated chorus and our power came on. We were able to pick right up where they were and ended the act.

The explanation was that when they moved that lower rolling platform out of the way, it bumped the extension cord and knocked it out of the wall! Needless to say I made my concerns known quite clearly to the stage manager and she had things fixed very quickly - they added a longer extension cord and wrapped it around the top of the set.

Problem solved! I hope. Till next time, I think I may invest in a set of acoustic guitars and a xylophone just in case...

Factum, Adeptio

When Brainyboy started middle school this past fall, we weren't sure what to expect. Especially since our school was starting a brand new subject that all sixth graders were required to take: Latin.

Latin?? Why would anyone want to take Latin? I remember in high school some of the brainiest kids took Latin, but I never could understand why. Did they just all want to become doctors? Archaeologists? Anthropologists? I was happy taking French (well, happy as a high school could be taking any foreign language).

But hey, I'm all for progress. All this school year, every night, he's brought home a set of Latin vocabulary words that he's written each onto a half of an index card to study. I can't count the number of flash cards he's made...has to be in the hundreds.

He's since become one of the best Latin students in his class, which makes us proud.

But he saw his greatest factum, adeptio (or achievement) last week.

On March 13, thirty sixth graders took the National Latin Exam. They joined more than 187,000 students world-wide who take the exam yearly. I am pleased to announce that 11 of our 6th graders have earned scores high enough to be recognized by the American Classical League. For those students who missed 9 or fewer questions on the exam, they will receive a certificate of Achievement on the National Latin Exam. For those who missed 5 or fewer, they will receive a certificate of Outstanding Achievement on the National Latin Exam. I would like to say how proud I am of the effort of everyone who took the exam and especially for those honored.

Brainyboy is a winner of a certificate of Outstanding Achievement on the National Latin Exam.

Incredibilis!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer - Name a color you find soothing.

Green. Green trees, grass, etc - anything out in nature. We have a lot of spaces of just endless green here in East Tennessee. i love living here near the mountains, and the valley with all our varieties of hollows and forests.


Soup - Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.

Parking lot - Central High School. In our station wagon, just me and dad. No injuries, no damage, no lawsuits!


Salad - What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?

Um...cotton? I have no idea.


Main Course - Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?

Probably Jimmy Buffett, if I actually had a chance of getting tickets. Although a couple of artists I've never seen in concert, namely Paul McCartney (A Beatle! I mean, c'mon, there's only two left and the other one's Ringo) and Billy Joel that won't be touring forever and it might be my last and only chance...


Dessert - What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)?

There are 4 "a's" in my first, middle and last names combined. And two "l's", two "r's", and two "w's".

A Fine Young Man on a Fine Spring Day

I hope you enjoy this video of my son, Brainyboy, playing soccer.

Not just your typical camcorder footage, this is something special... please take a look and leave comments. It's my first real attempt at video editing...

You Can Have It Both Ways

Pope: 'Ashamed' of clergy abuse scandal

Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday he was "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that stained the Catholic church and will work to make sure pedophiles don't become priests.

I hope he's sincere about it, unlike apparently his predecessor (although I would imagine the blame lies more in the US church's leadership). But I certainly hope he doesn't imply that once the "vetting" process is over, and they are satisfied pedophiles have not slipped through the priestly screening process, that they will clap themselves on the back and congratulate themselves on a job well done.

Because even more diligence needs to be paid to ensure that existing men of the clergy do not become pedophiles - or have long-suppressed urges emerge - while being around children. Because that's what happened before. Local bishops were seemingly aware of the conduct of their priestly charges and turned a blind eye.

There doesn't need to be a witch hunt, and innocent, Godly men need to not be falsely accused. There's a line between genuine fatherly affection for children - the same that Jesus showed the little ones that came to him - and unnatural, hurtful contact that can affect a child for years and years. The entire process needs to be dealt with in love, fairness and openness. But it needs to be dealt with and not again swept under the rug.

It's not enough to say we've done all we can to keep the bad guys out. We have to make sure they're not already here...

Logtar's Friday Feast

Apparently the folks at Friday Feast are taking the day off today (obviously to repair their email notification system which hasn't notified me a new feast is ready like it should in like, months) so Logtar's taken it upon himself to create one!

Appetizer - Lets start with a trio sampler of word association… I say,

Tear :: Down
Hawk :: Man
Alien :: Autopsy

Soup - If you had to pick a body of water that you have visited in your life to build a house next to, which one would it be… describe the scenery.

That's easy - the Caribbean Sea. I'd like a villa on the coast of St. Maartin, a wide stretch of beach between us and the sea, a small port village nearby. Several shady palm trees out front, just far enough apart to hang a hammock. Blue skies, fresh salty breezes, a boat waiting nearby to sail off into the harbor...


Salad - Everyone is being green now-a-days, what is your favorite green initiative?

Trees. Lots of trees and grass. And shrubbery. But seriously, hey, we recycle every other Thursday (when I remember to set out the recycle bin).


Main Course - Mexican is one of my favorite foods, share the name of your favorite Mexican dish with all of us (and where to find it) … even if it is just a Taco Bell chalupa?

I love tacos, that's the basic thing. Love-'em love-'em love-'em! Had three from Taco Bell last night - and I survived! I also really like tostadas, the flat tortillas covered in ground beef and queso. Yum...


Dessert - What was the color of your first bicycle, or the oldest toy that you remember and what fruit do you associate with that color?

I guess the first bike I had was red, and I associate red with cherries, strawberries and apples.

The Only Way It Would've Been Sweeter...

...is if it had been UConn....

But no matter - the Tennessee Lady Vols win their EIGHTH Total and Second consecutive National Championship and with a 64-48 win over Stanford.

Nothing more need be said :)

When is a Cylon not a Cylon?

...when it just thinks it's a Cylon.

Bear with me, all those who do not partake in the joyous nectar that is Battlestar Galactica.

Ok, maybe that's over-romantacizing it. I'll leave the hyperbole to Michael discussing it and Doctor Who. But for those that follow the show closely, I have some ideas..

As we all know in last season's finale and this past Friday's final season premiere, four of our beloved Galactica cast members discovered they were actually Cylons. More specifically, four of the "final five" Cylons, a subgroup of the total twelve human-looking models that supposedly exist. Only the elusive twelfth remains unseen and unidentified.

However, I think we should actually take this with a grain of salt at this point, and here's why...

All during the two-part season finale last year, Tigh, Anders, Tory and Tyrol began hearing music in their heads. Snippets of a tune none of them had heard before, but seemed to be broadcasting from somewhere in the ship. All throughout the two-parter they searched out the source before finally in the heat of the battle came together in common purpose. Each had a line from Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" being sent to their brains, a signal which led them to the conclusion that they were all Cylons...

What??

Ok, this may rehash arguments that have raged over the summer, but the leap of logic from "We all hear tunes in our head" to "We're Cylons" is a pretty big leap. A leap that seems to have been pushed along a bit by whatever is causing the signal in the first place.

Ok, now jumping ahead to the premiere episode.

Of the four cast members, only Tigh and Anders have actual experiences that might lend us (and them) to believe they are truly Cylons. Tigh reports to Admiral Adama on the bridge with renewed belief that he is in control of his own destiny. He is is own man, a Colonial Warrior for many years, and fiercely and faithfully human. Then he sees himself shoot Adama in the head, assassinating their leader and his best friend in cold blood just as another newly-discovered-Cylon did, Boomer. It's a vision, but an incredibly real one and it shakes him to the core. Proof he's a Cylon - ready to betray his friends and his people at the worst possible time, right?

No. Seems to me to be an easily explained hallucination of self-doubt. Tigh is a man who wants to be the best he can, but is continually attacked by his own inner demons. Demons of the bottle, of the wrong women, of anger, of power. He is extremely insecure and would consider betrayal the worst thing he could do. So of course, what would a Cylon controlling influence want to play up in his mind? The scenario that he might indeed become a traitor to his people. Which would make him believe more than ever he was actually a Cylon. Whatever influence the music signal has over him has suggested the idea of betrayal in his head, which manifested itself in a hallucination.

Anders is a natural hero, from sports to resistance and finding himself a bit useless - especially with his wife, Starbuck supposedly dead - becomes a nugget Viper pilot. When all available pilots are called to the air to defend the fleet, Anders is hesitant. He has the same doubts and fears Tigh has - that he will turn on a fellow pilot in combat. What happens to Anders is a bit different... he freezes when a Cylon Raider is in his sights - wait, his safeties are on. How did that happen? Did his Cylon programming subconsciously cause him to lock the safeties without him knowing it? But wait...it gets worse. The Raider he's chasing turns a quick 180 and locks him in its sights. The red laser eye of the Raider Pilot zeros in on Anders, and we briefly see our hero's eye turn red - red glows being a running symbol of Cylon-ness.

To many that was the big confirmation. Anders eye turned red...yep - it's confirmed for sure now. He's a Cylon! They're all Cylons! Everybody's a Cylon!

It seemed to me on further review that all the Raider Pilot did was illuminate Anders' eye with the beam, identify the Viper Pilot as one of the contacted "four", understand that Anders had had him in his sites and failed to fire which confirmed the contact and "suggestioning" was successful. The Raider turned and ran, and the attacking Cylon fleet did the same.

Again, the power of suggestion at work. I think the real Cylons found a way to send a signal to certain individuals to make them think they are Cylons. Tigh, Anders, Tory and Tyrol - all in positions of authority and close proximity to important people in the fleet (Adama, Starbuck, Roslin and...hm, not sure about Tyrol. Callie? Athena?) Regardless, all we've seen so far is the power of suggestion. The Cylons suggested, via the music signal, that the four were Cylons. Their imaginations and deep-seated fears and insecurities have taken care of the rest.

Until I see some of the current Cylon hierarchy acknowledge the four's identities (something I don't believe even they know for sure - witness Six's reluctance to even think about them) or see some kind of incontrovertible proof I am not yet convinced.

And I think this is a much more interesting plot direction to take, personally. Letting someone's fears work for you. Nice job.

Other Thoughts:

* If these guys are not four of the final five, who are the four? Other Galacticans we've seen before? Totally new faces? If there are four other cast members that actually are Cylons having them pop up later in the season would seem like a cop-out and retread, which is not good story-telling. This is the biggest hang-up to my theory, and I hate it because it's not a plot hangup it's a dramatic one.

* Which possibly means the Final Five aren't like we think they might be. As a matter of fact, I think the Final Five don't even have the same agenda or motivations as the original Seven. Why so mysterious? Why so "ethereal" as in Six and Baltar's vision? Why don't they come out in the open?

* I thought Baltar's Cylon detector actually worked, but that he made it appear to be a failure. The cast discussed it, saying it didn't work at all because it didn't detect Boomer. But I think I remember it did detect Boomer, but Baltar supressed the information. Am I remembering that right? If it does actually work, could it be used to test the "final four" at some point?

Movie Quotes Meme UPDATE

I'll be posting the answers to the rest of the Movie Quotes Meme this afternoon around 3. Better hurry and get those last second answers in, or a Sandman might get you!

Ok, that a was a clue if you weren't paying attention.

Here's some more:

The main guy from Enchanted is quoted (from another movie).
Two of the quotes are from non-human characters.
One is from a screen musical.
One was based on a hit TV show of the time, and had the same actors.
One's a horror movie from the 80's.
One's a remake that has subsequently been remade again. So it's like the middle remake.

UPDATE - THE ANSWERS:

1. Play the sunset.
(Glen Holland/Richard Dreyfuss, "Mr. Holland's Opus")

2. It wouldn't be terrible at all. It would be a miracle, not to mention the money I'd save on epsom salts and ace bandages.
(Audrey, "Little Shop of Horrors")

3. I need to talk to you. Every time I call you're either taking a bath, washing your hair or you're out of the country. That was a good one, by the way.
(Ronald Miller/Patrick Dempsey, "Can't Buy Me Love")

4. Now hear this, now hear this. This is your Captain speaking. My fine pinioned pirates, we're approaching the tricky buoy! Sharpen your cutlasses! There may be skullduggery ahead!
(The Penguin/Burgess Meredith, "Batman the Movie (1966)")

5. My little brother got his arm stuck in the microwave. So my mom had to take him to the hospital. My grandma dropped acid this morning, and she freaked out. She hijacked a busload of penguins. So it's sort of a family crisis. Bye!
(Lane Myer/John Cusack, "Better Off Dead")

6. Well, it's a puzzle because, technically, you're not alive. Except you're conscious, so we don't know what it means.
(Paramedic, "Return of the Living Dead")

7. Fish, and plankton. And sea greens, and protein from the sea.
(Box, "Logan's Run")

8. Remember you told me to tell you when you were acting rudely and insensitively? Remember that? You're doing it right now.
(Jim Sting, "WarGames")

9. Hey, hey, I'm sorry, okay? Twenty-six years buried in the deepest, darkest jungle and I still became my father.
(Alan Parrish/Robin Williams, "Jumanji")

10. Not beautiful you understand, but you have a certain prettiness, different from my other heads. I believe I'll lock you in the tower for a few years until your head is ready. And then I'll take it.
(Mombi, "Return to Oz")

11. Jack, let me straighten you out on a couple of points. One, that wall is an ancient ruin. Two, this island is uninhabited. [Loud drumming begins] ...And three, there's an uninhabited German beer hall down there with a mechanical band.
(Fred Wilson/Grodin and Jack Prescott/Jeff Bridges, "King Kong (1976)")

12. So that's how my twelfth husband died. So, now I'm a widow. Well, I've always been a black widow, so now I'm a black widow widow.
(Rosie/Bonnie Hunt, "A Bug's Life")

13. So, let me get one thing straight here... We have a pro football team now, but they're in Nashville?
(Chuck Noland/Tom Hanks, "Cast Away")

14. Patriotism swells in the heart of the American bear.
(Fozzie Bear/Frank Oz, "The Muppet Movie")

15. They were about to confront the villain in its lair, FVB, the evil force that would poison young minds, pollute the environment, and subvert the democratic process.
(Mr. Kite/George Burns, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band")

Shave and a Haircut - Two Hits!

Hey, how do I get in on this action?

Apparently SayUncle blogged about the new Gentlemen’s Top Cuts hair salon on Middlebrook Pike, got noticed by the folks that do their website, and was given a complimentary haircut and manicure as a way of saying thanks.

That's pretty nice of Gentlemen’s Top Cuts to do. It's an inexpensive way for Gentlemen’s Top Cuts to increase their awareness in the community, and maybe Gentlemen’s Top Cuts, by being affiliated with one of the region's top bloggers can boost some business. You know, some business for Gentlemen’s Top Cuts.

Because in today's society increased exposure on the internet can only help businesses like Gentlemen’s Top Cuts. I hope Gentlemen’s Top Cuts stays around for a long time, and possibly reaches out to, you know, other bloggers that might spread the word of that new hair salon, Gentlemen’s Top Cuts.

I hear the folks that work at Gentlemen’s Top Cuts are a really nice group of people, too? I mean, the best. Really. Seriously.

Did I mention their name? Gentlemen’s Top Cuts.

SU, let us know how it goes ;)


UPDATE: Looks like Michael Silence blogged about SayUncle getting treated so well at Gentlemen’s Top Cuts. See what happens when businesses embrace bloggers? Their exposure grows! Gentlemen’s Top Cuts is a prime example...

Ok, I'll stop now. :)

Movie Quotes Meme

Becky's been doing this for a while and Logtar has challenged me, so here it goes:

* Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
* Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
* Post them on your blog for everyone to guess. Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed.

The Rules

* Leave guesses in the comments.
* No Googling or using IMDB search functions. Don’t cheat, suckas!
* Know-it-alls, limit your guesses to three movies.

The Quotes

1. Play the sunset.
(Glen Holland/Richard Dreyfuss, "Mr. Holland's Opus" - Becky)

2. It wouldn't be terrible at all. It would be a miracle, not to mention the money I'd save on epsom salts and ace bandages.
(Audrey, "Little Shop of Horrors" - Rich)

3. I need to talk to you. Every time I call you're either taking a bath, washing your hair or you're out of the country. That was a good one, by the way.

4. Now hear this, now hear this. This is your Captain speaking. My fine pinioned pirates, we're approaching the tricky buoy! Sharpen your cutlasses! There may be skullduggery ahead!

5. My little brother got his arm stuck in the microwave. So my mom had to take him to the hospital. My grandma dropped acid this morning, and she freaked out. She hijacked a busload of penguins. So it's sort of a family crisis. Bye!
(Lane Myer/John Cusack, "Better Off Dead" - Rich)

6. Well, it's a puzzle because, technically, you're not alive. Except you're conscious, so we don't know what it means.
(Paramedic, "Return of the Living Dead" - Rich)

7. Fish, and plankton. And sea greens, and protein from the sea.

8. Remember you told me to tell you when you were acting rudely and insensitively? Remember that? You're doing it right now.
(Jim Sting, "WarGames" - Cathy)

9. Hey, hey, I'm sorry, okay? Twenty-six years buried in the deepest, darkest jungle and I still became my father.
(Alan Parrish/Robin Williams, "Jumanji" - Cathy)

10. Not beautiful you understand, but you have a certain prettiness, different from my other heads. I believe I'll lock you in the tower for a few years until your head is ready. And then I'll take it.
(Mombi, "Return to Oz" - Misty)

11. Jack, let me straighten you out on a couple of points. One, that wall is an ancient ruin. Two, this island is uninhabited. [Loud drumming begins] ...And three, there's an uninhabited German beer hall down there with a mechanical band.

12. So that's how my twelfth husband died. So, now I'm a widow. Well, I've always been a black widow, so now I'm a black widow widow.

13. So, let me get one thing straight here... We have a pro football team now, but they're in Nashville?
(Chuck Noland/Tom Hanks, "Cast Away" - Susan)

14. Patriotism swells in the heart of the American bear.

15. They were about to confront the villain in its lair, FVB, the evil force that would poison young minds, pollute the environment, and subvert the democratic process.
(Mr. Kite/George Burns, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - Cathy)

Good luck!

Futility

Last night the UT Basketball Vols lost to Louisville in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The closed out a 30+ win season with a regular season SEC Crown and a 1 week #1 ranking.

Is that satisfying? Not even close.

This group had the teamwork potential and depth to make a deep run in the tournament, but once again proved that Tennessee basketball is ultimately about lack of discipline and schoolyard hoops that they always have been known for.

Multiple turnovers, little focus, bad passes, poor shooting, ticky-tack hand check fouls....I'm highly disappointed and not a little bit upset.

I'm mostly disappointed, really, in our new wunderkind Bruce Pearl. SEC Coach of the Year, Pearl worked magic since the day he stepped onto campus but in the games it counted most he couldn't come up with the words or plan to reign in the Wild Bunch.

From last year's Butler and Ohio State games, to this year's Arkansas and Louisville - the games with the most on the line - we looked helpless, lost, bereft of leadership and a plan. When UT doesn't have a plan, they fall back on the old blaze-it-down-the-floor-and-put-up-something most kids learn on the playground.

True, it looked a couple times during the game we were going to pull it together and wipe off Louisville's lead. Both times we fell apart around the 3-pts down mark and let the Cardinals build it back up to 10 or more. They let their momentarily success get to their heads and lost focus.

So, except for those nice milestones mentioned earlier - 30+ win season, #1 ranking, SEC season championship - we progressed no further than we did last season. Lost early in the SEC Tournament, lost in the NCAA Sweet 16. Normally I'd be happy with even that progress. But not with this team.

We had the best first 10 players I've ever seen on a Tennessee team, and maybe the best in the country. We had the potential for so much more, but failed to take advantage of it.

I think we may have just seen UT's best shot at making the Final Four evaporate. One of the best UT players ever, Chris Lofton, is graduating. As are JuJuan Smith (2nd best player on team) and Jordan Howell. It's even possible, now even more likely after this loss, that Tyler Smith (3rd best player on team) may go pro early. We could be left next year without our 3 best players and an inexperienced freshman class coming in.

You think Florida had trouble this year after losing so many of its talented leaders? Yikes.

But.

How many people said in 1997 after Peyton Manning played his final game as a Volunteer that UT just lost its best chance ever to win a football National Championship? I probably did, as did many, many other Big Orange faithful.

You may remember a motley group of no-name scrubs led by Tee Martin and Al Wilson that went defied the odds, went 11-0 and won the 1998 National Championship. So there's always hope.

You just have to focus.

Particularly Proud

I'm Seventh on Google searches for the name "Barry".

At least at this writing...

I don't know why this makes me happy but it does...

Stupid Is As Evil Does, But Communication Trumps It All

I kind of like this adage:

Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. (Source)

...but I don't think it goes quite far enough.

I've found that a lot of the problems that plague us today when there is interpersonal strife is much less likely to be attributed to one or other of the parties actively seeking to undermine the other. It's much more likely that they just don't realize what's going on.

In fact, while stupidity might be a major factor I typically feel fairly charitable to my fellow human beings and see more a lack of communication as the cause of friction and conflict. One person has a problem with another person, person A speaks to a friend, person B speaks to a co-worker, words are exchanged, rumors spread, inappropriate actions taken, all leading to hurt feelings and lack of forward momentum - all due to the fact Person A never really spoke to Person B about their conflict.

Amazing.

I'm caught up in a situation like that now with our church, but I see it everywhere - especially politics. Democrats and Republicans don't agree and hate each other not because it's in their nature - it's because they don't communicate. At least, they don't communicate with any real desire to see the other side of the argument and understand the other's position. It's not that either side is evil, and they're not (usually) stupid. They just don't know how to learn and develop ideas.

You can see that here, in an editorial in yesterday's News Sentinel by a young woman named Jessica Davis:

Ode to conservative evangelical

Liberal-infested academia despises the Religious Right for its small-minded inability to simultaneously contemplate the nuances of each side in political matters and sagaciously realize that truth is relative. But, by its very nature, Christianity demands absolutism and rejects relativity; it cannot reconcile with other religions' core theologies. These Christians, then, are merely acting rationally in accordance with what they know to be true.

Ms. Davis champions the belief that Christianity is an absolutist religion that morphs into a political philosophy. Because she - and many other Christians - believe that the absolutism of their religion must, by definition, extend to their interaction with everyone else in the world they reject the idea of open-minded communication. We don't live in a world where Christians are isolated on a hilltop and the unwashed rabble of the world are spread below, unworthy of interaction. To work through problems with people who may not necessarily believe the same as you requires communication, cooperation, and possibly putting for an effort to actually understand what they believe. This doesn't just apply to people of other religions (or no religion) but even to other Christians who don't quite subscribe to every tenet of their interpretation of Christian doctrine. Left-Behinder Capital-E-Evangelical Real True Christians (tm) don't mix with the rest of us, because we don't subscribe to their views. And as such, since the light should not have fellowship with the darkness, refuse to communicate in an effort to make the world (the one, incidentally, in which ALL of us live) a little better for all who live here.

Are they evil? No, I don't think so. Stupid? Some, maybe, but mostly I think they're scared of communicating with others and risk their world-view being shaken. And maybe learning things about other people - things that they're afraid will cause them to rethink their positions, but just as possibly will get them to strengthen their positions and understand how the world works.

So therefore, I offer:

Barry's razor: Never attribute to malice or stupidty that which can be adequately explained by inability to communicate.

Thus I communicate to you. Are you listening?




UPDATE: Ok, maybe I wasn't clear...

I wasn't trying to say that I thought people could just pick and choose what to believe in the Bible.... I just feel very strongly that there are parts of the Bible we don't understand, and some that we have misunderstood. And parts are mightily misunderstood, I think. We only have to look back 50 or so years in our history and remember there were churches in the south that were ready to preach blacks had no part in white society, because GOD said so. And they were believed.

There are people who believe the Bible tells them to condemn mightily homosexuals - not just in word but in deed, picketing funerals of soldiers who are defending this country. There are some who believe the Bible tells them, clearly, to beat their children within an inch of their life, and to horribly opress their wives to the point of involuntary servitude. And to handle snakes without fear of being bitten. And so on...

Yes, there is a Truth. And it's in the Bible, I just don't think humans have figured it all out yet. And probably never will, until the second coming... until that time no mortal or groups of mortals has a monopoly on the Truth..

Now, I'm sure that we all believe we understand the Truth. Or rather, believe our own interpretation of the Bible and God's acts, to be The Truth. And that's fine... it's great to believe. It's great to have Faith. But we have to be intellectual enough to understand that just because we believe we know The Truth, it doesn't mean we can't learn from other people. Even people of other faiths - even radically different faiths. There are always Truths to learn out there, Truths to better understand... Truths to get better perspectives on. And so forth.

You don't have to drop a belief of your own in order to understand someone else's. Communication can strengthen one's own faith, but we don't have to be so afraid that we might introduce ourselves to something so radical it changes our beliefs.

Don't be afraid to reach out to other people, test communications, test boundaries. Be strong in your faith and you'll grow even stronger.

Quick LOST flash (*SPOILERS*)

Spoilers for tonight's "Meet Kevin Johnson".

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Ok, so supposedly the island won't let Michael die when he's on the mainland. Something about the island, some property of it is twisting fate and course correcting the world to keep him from offing himself.

In Jack's flashforward at the end of last season, we see him reading the obituary of someone while on a plane (apparently from hanging), getting tremendously upset, attempting to commit suicide himself, attending the person's funeral, and finally committing himself to going back to the island. People have been speculating for a while that the dead person was Michael, especially since no one came to his funeral and it was in a black section of town. But why the anonymity? And why was Jack so upset?

Somehow in the time between now and when the Oceanic 6 left the island, they discovered what kind of power would keep someone alive back home. They figured out or were told this property. Whatever it is. And there was always a constant threat that that power might someday go away. And if it did go away, they would all be in danger. That's why Jack wasn't afraid of being in another plane crash, and even prayed for it with every flight from the LA to the Far East and back.

Since he read that Michael hanged himself in the obituary (or "Kevin Johnson", since nobody came to his funeral because nobody knew his name but the Losties and the O6), Jack realized that protection was gone. You could be killed out on the mainland. He tried to kill himself, but was stopped from jumping off the bridge by the car wreck.

That knowledge drove him to the drunken despair we saw in the flashforward. And it finally strengthened his resolve to get to the island and rescue those left behind. Whatever happened on the island to remove its protection galvanized Jack to action.

I think that's what we'll see play out over the rest of this season - the O6 being rescued and we'll catch up to the flashforwards. Then next season will pick up with FutureJack and FutureKate at the airport and we'll move forward from there in real time to the end of the series.

Note - I can't remember. Is next season the last season? If not, then they may stretch out the game plan somewhat.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer - Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

Depends on how you define "city" and "country". I wouldn't want to live in a big city like New York or Chicago - too many people, too much steel and concrete. I wouldn't want to live out in the country - not enough people, too far from civilization. I like right where I am - right outside a nice, medium-sized town next to the mountains. If there was a beach on the other side instead of, well, Farragut it'd be perfect!


Soup - Who is the cutest kid you know?

Both my kids, of course. What else am I going to say?


Salad - Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

Salad - Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard Battlestar Galactica wasn't starting up again until APRIL!?!?.


Main Course - If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Carnival Cruise Lines, or Walt Disney World. I'm not picky.


Dessert - What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

I don't take any vitamins, per se, but I do take medicine for high blood pressure and cholesterol which both work amazingly well. And I take a baby aspirin every day, as probably everyone my age or so should.

GREASE is the Word. Hopefully, For a Long Time to Come...

I just started rehearsals for "Grease" at the Oak Ridge Playhouse, and things are thus far going swimmingly.

It's great being a more-or-less established musical director, because I use the same musicians over and over (and being such a swell guy) they just tend to enjoy coming back and playing again. I'm using the same pianist from "The King and I", and my drummer and bass player have done several shows with me. It's great to go into a show without constantly worrying about putting together a band.

The cast is great, young people who are excited about a show that's been around for years and is ready for a fresh chance. One of the big problems about producing a show that's a) been around for a long time, and b) spawned a highly successful movie version, is that cast members can fall into the trap of imitating the previous performers. Being that John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John made their parts so famous and distinctive (along with Stockard Channning, Jeff Conaway, Fabian and other stars) it's difficult to go back to the original script and score and treat it as if it were brand new. As I told the cast in the first rehearsal, if people wanted to see them imitate Travolta, Newton-John and others onstage they should just go rent the movie. It's our job to create something fresh, new and entertaining.

And that's really the same for every play or musical. Directors shouldn't simply copy a convention or design that's been used in the past, either in their own experience or based on a particular staging from a famous version of the show. They should always try to bring something of themselves, and the performers to the show and make it unique to this place and time. This is something I believe community theatre has over professional and maybe even regional theatre. Professionals perform in dozens, hundreds, even thousands of shows over a lifetime. Their experiences and memories or particular shows begin to blur over time. Even as my own resume' grows, memories of shows start to run together. But more often than not, I remember very distinctive parts of almost every show I've ever been involved in. And that should be the same for anyone who's ever worked in community theatre. Each one is separate and unique, and the good memories of casts, performances, relationships, friendships and emotions should be treasured their whole life. I certainly hope to for myself.

I recently got back in touch with an actress that was in "Company" almost 5 years ago. She's in college pursuing a masters. I've worked with several people in "Grease" before, one in particular who's playing Danny also played Horton in "Suessical" and Drake in "Honk". Another friend from "Company" and "King & I" I keep in touch with via Facebook. So connections continue and experiences go on.

Anyway, "Grease". The performances are weekends of April 25-May 11. I hope you'll try to

LOST in Thoughts

My thoughts on "Ji Yeon"...

• I was completely faked out on the flashback/flashforward. In fact, I didn't realize it was a dual flash until I came onto some messageboards after the episode. In my brain, I'd worked out the elaborate pretense that somehow Jin had arrived back in the world separate from Sun, and had to mask his identity. He had moved to China (hence visiting the Chinese ambassador, disregarding the fact you don't visit the Chinese ambassador in China, you visit them in whatever country they're ambassador to, like, oh, South Korea?), taken another wife for two months, and had taken pains to drop out of site of the rest of the world - even from Sun. And that Sun actually thought he was dead. Somehow as part of the Oceanic 6 deal, he had to disappear (something like Sayid). Of course, presenting yourself as a representative of Paik Automotive should've been the tipoff but it didn't occur to me till later after reading the boards.
  
  
• So is Jin dead? I believe that Sun thinks so. That was no "you're not here, you're still on the island, but I'm going to pretend your dead to play along with the cover story" performance at his gravesite. In her mind (and possibly Hurley's, though that's not certain) Jin is dead. But is he really dead? Either he dies at some point between now and when the O6 are taken off the island, or Sun thinks he dies but he's still alive and being held with the rest of the O816 survivors. I hope it's the latter, because no man should totally miss his first child...
  
  This of course means that if Sun is, what, 9-10 weeks pregnant now (and in 3 weeks will be going through the 2nd trimester), and it appears the baby was born slightly premature due to labor starting painfully and all of a sudden in her hotel suite, she was born probably somewhere around the 36-40th week. And of course Sun doesn't die of SIDS (Sudden Island Death Syndrome), so she must leave the island in the next few weeks, make it back to civilization and become part of the Oceanic 6 within the next 20 weeks of show time. That means the flashforwards start as early as, say, March or April 2005.
  
  
• The dates on Jin's headstone state he was born in November 1974 and died on 9/22/2004 (the date of the plane crash) so obviously the cover story is he died on the plane crash. Obviously nobody tested Sun back in civilization to discover she got pregnant after the crash, or it didn't matter to anyone. Is there a body in the grave? Is it the body of the fake crash victim that was at the bottom of the ocean? Is it Jin's real dead body they bring back from Lostopia Island? Is it empty? Who knows. Another question - there's another date on the opposite side of the headstone, that just says a date in 1980. I assume that's Sun's birthdate, and they bought the dual plot long ago for both of them to make final use of eventually?
  
  
• I was actually shocked that nobody tried to take the baby. Combine the sudden labor, the substitute physician, the overly helpful and friendly nurse, the mysterious passerby in the hallway the Sun thought was Jin....I assumed as a matter of course that Widmore/Oceanic/Dharma/Ben/Paik/Hanso/whoever was orchestrating to take the baby soon after birth. When Hurley turned up at the apartment later and the baby was right there, I was actually surprised. Way to telegraph an obvious plot development and actually not go the easy route, Lost!
  
  
• I am surprised that the cabal mentioned above wouldn't have interest in Sun's baby. It was conceived on the island and the mom survived to give birth.
  
  
• Although, Juliet, who has been known to tell a fib here and then, maybe lied about the conception date, or was mistaken. Maybe it isn't really Jin, and could still be her lover's? Nahh, that's a stretch.
  
  
• Two episodes this season end with women holding babies...
  
  
• Where did Frank fly off to with the helicopter???
  
  
• Man, Daniel Faraday, you are a terrible liar. At least pretend you're more than not a geeky spazoid... "That's....not.....really....my....call...." I love how Sun is direct in her questions.
  
  
• Does Desmond know Michael? I can't remember if their paths ever crossed...
  
  
• Where's Walt? Is he onboard the ship? Guess we'll find out next week.
  
  
• I would bet Walt's the last of the Oceanic 6. His identity as such will be revealed next week. Michael will likely not survive the season, and will die to protect his son. The Oceanic 6 would thus be Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, Sun and Walt. Aaron and Ji Yeon don't count, because they were born after the crash. Ben doesn't count because he's not likely in the open, nor was he on the plane (as well as Desmond and Juliet).
  
  UPDATE: (Saturday, March 15)
  
  
• I liked seeing Bernard, and wish the show would use he and Rose more as mentors to the younger cast members. The show really needs some age and wisdom - everyone's so young!! I was surprised they made Jin to be 30, when in real life Daniel Dae Kim is about 39. Usually when age of a character comes up later and isn't integral to the plot, they make the character close to the age of the actor. In this case they deliberately made Jin 7 years younger than the actor (allowing for the 2004 time period of the show). I wonder why? Similarly, Yunjin Kim who play Sun was born in 1973 which would make her 7 years older than Sun.
  
  
• I really wanted to see a parrot on the shoulder of one of the swabbies on deck of the freighter ;)
  
  
• Hurley, dude, how many polyesters died in the line of duty to make that suit for you?
  
  
• Kinda makes that web-episode with Jin on the golf course take extra meaning...
  
  
• People are all up in arms over Zoe Bell's brief appearance as Regina. She's guarding the cabin, reading a book upside down. Then she's taking a dive covered in chains. I checked her IMDB page - who is she? She doesn't seem to have done that much except as a stunt person. Why is she so supposedly well-known?
  
  
• Do we trust the captain or not? He seems trustworthy, but we know the people who hired him aren't (Widmore, Abbadon) and at least some people on the boat we knew weren't trustworthy (Naomi). Why should the captain be one of the good guys? Sure he laid some cards on the table we can probably assume are true, but if they have no intention of rescuing Satid, Desmond and the others, why should he care if they know? After it, it helps earn their trust.
  
  
• Whose blood was all over the wall? Ick. Someone sure cut themselves shaving. Nice CGI cockroaches ;)
  
  

That's all I have for now...

OneWords

Sarcomical posts these from time to time - they're a quick, fun diversion.

Here are the ground rules:

1. After reading my answers, copy and paste the list into your comment.
2. Change my one-word responses with yours (yes, only ONE WORD, even if it hurts the most painful of hurts).
3. Submit your comment.
4. And hey, you can always post your finished list on your blog, too.

You're Feeling: Unsure
To Your Left: Carbonation
On Your Mind: Frustration
Last Meal Included: Pimentos
You Sometimes Find it Hard To: Fortify
The Weather: Cool
Something You Have a Collection of: Starships
A Smell that Cheers You Up: Popcorn
A Smell that Can Ruin Your Mood: Gif Jif
How Long Since You Last Shaved: Hour
The Current State of Your Hair: Long
The Largest Item On Your Desk/Workspace Right Now (besides computer): Triceratops
Your Skill with Chopsticks: Laughable
Which Section You Head to First In the Bookstore: Sci-Fi
...and After That?: Fantasy
Something You're Craving: Clarity
Your General Thoughts On the Presidential Race: Pointless
How Many Times You've Been Hospitalized this Year: Zero
A Favorite Place to Go for Quiet Time: Computer
You've Always Secretly Thought You'd Be a Good: Director
Something that Freaks You Out a Little: Spiderwebs
Something You've Eaten Too Much of Lately: Chips
You Have Never: Skiied
You Never Want To: Skydive

Day 4 of the Lost Crisis

"Lost" update: Four days later, and Jin and Sun are still searching in the jungle. No sign of them emerging before Thursday.

Return to your homes, citizens...

I Feel Sorry For...

Sun and Jin, from "Lost", still wandering the jungle looking for Daniel and Charlotte...

How long did they search around, in the pouring rain, till they headed back to camp? And when Jack and Juliet didn't return, did they just go back to bed?

Failed His Final Saving Throw

Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons creator, dies

Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

This is too bad. Thanks, Gary, for creating the game that gave me (and my wife) many, many hours of enjoyment while we were in college. I'll always have many great memories of the great adventures my friends and I embarked upon.

**Warning: Extremely Geeky D&D Talk Ahead**

I had never played D&D until I was at UT and in the marching band. Several of my friends played, so I joined them in rolling up a character or two in the basement of Andy Holt Apartments. My first and overall main character was a fellow named Joshua, a Ranger who eventually made it to about 12th level. The first module I ever played was called "Ravenloft", which I'm sure many D&D alum will recognize as one of the best ever written. My novice, low-level character was the one to deliver the killing blow with a special artifact the Dungeon Master provided himself.

My enjoyment of D&D and eventually doing some Dungeon Mastering myself came from a strong storytelling place inside me that is still there today - it manifests itself in my love for theatre and dramatics, and for that I'm grateful. Even the Dragonlance world this site, "The Inn of the Last Home" is based on is a D&D creation.

So thanks again, Gary, and may you find the Happy Hunting Grounds...


UPDATE (03/05): I think this photo sums it up:

Our Name in Lights

There's something indescribably cool about seeing this:



Doug, Rich and LissaKay were kind of enough to join The Atomic Horns last night at Ray's ESG - Doug has a great review, and Rich will have video soon. Watching bloggers at an entertainment event, Twittering, Utterzing, Seesmicing and blogging away was a bit surreal but fantastic. Thanks guys, it meant a lot to have your support!