I thought I Posted this Before but here goes again

I watch Tiger jump through the hoops set up by the media and then wait for the criticism from that media that Tiger didn't do exactly what they wanted him to do. Never mind that he didn't create a list of untouchable subjects or, as is unbelievably more prevalent, request editorial control. He can, as is his constitutional right, not answer questions that may tend to incriminate him. I'm not saying that he committed a crime, but if he answers the questions posed, he may be subjected to renewed charges by some overzealous state's attorney who thinks it's time to get her/his name in the papers.

For a while, I was giving the golf and sports media a pass and laying this all on the tabloid press. Incredibly, the most outraged media are the golf and sports media. Why? Because they feel that Tiger needs to give them the story that nobody else will get. Funny how the media claims that Tiger shouldn't get a free pass because he has managed to make everyone that works with, near, or around him way much more money than before. What's funny is that Tiger isn't giving the golf and sports media a pass and they are screaming "unfair."

Doesn't it appear to any sane person watching that Tiger Woods could slice his wrist on national t.v. and still be criticized for not opening up enough? I watch these sports "journalists" say that what more can you expect from him. According to them his interviews were controlled and he "dodged" questions by claiming they were private. How dare he think that he can have a private conversation with his wife or undergoing therapy without it being fodder for the media. One of these clowns actually had the nerve to say that Tiger had to tell us what he was being treated for because it is important to admit he has a disease. Gimme a break. Does whatever therapy he is undergoing have to be disclosed to all these media clowns? Hell no.

They all claim that they just want to know about golf, but he's told them when he's going to return. He's told them how much he misses the game. He's told them that everything that's happened is his own fault. He won't tell them what happened in his home before his car accident and he won't tell them how the accident occurred. Anyone that thinks s/he has a right to know those things is simply feeding their own prurient interests. There's no "need to know" here. This is all "wants to know." To some it would be interesting for Tiger to list all his mistresses and maybe give them a grade in their sexual skills and overall prowess. Is that news? Sure it is, if you're the National Enquirer or TMZ, but it isn't anybody's business. No one is entitled to know about his private life now anymore than before.

He didn't make this public; he didn't "use" his family to hone his image by greeting them on the final hole of a tournament; he didn't lie to the public. Did he do things secretively that he was obviously ashamed of? You bet. But if the public never found out about these affairs and he continued living that way, what we know then. It wouldn't matter as long as he continued to play up to his standards. I am of the opinion that he could not have continued that lifestyle and play golf at his high level. This may have been a man knowing he couldn't keep up this pretense sub-consciously wanting to get caught. He did. It's over. He doesn't have a squeaky clean image anymore. So what? He doesn't care. As everyone has said, if you liked him before, you still do and if you didn't, you still won't.

What's fun is watching all the Tiger haters who had to keep their hate to a minimum because they couldn't sustain a factual argument that he wasn't as good as everyone was saying. Now, they get to point to his refusal to allow them to poke and prod his personal life as a character flaw that underlies his weaknesses and the fact that he isn't too good to be true. One particular hater has said that what we saw in his interviews was just "the same old Tiger." Controlling and robotic. What this person was saying was that Tiger hasn't changed his ways without saying that Tiger is lying about changing his ways. It's easy to hide behind subliminal references so that you can have plausible deniability. You know, I didn't mean that; I was only saying that he wasn't revealing important information. Baloney. This is a person who once said he was tired of watching the saturation of Tiger on television coverage because he really wanted to see more of Paul Goydos. Paul Goydos?!?!?!?!?

Another on-air "personality" did a stand-up report from the Accenture Championship, in ranting about the timing of Tiger's public statement, that Tiger was "preventing" him from discussing Mike Weir's great putting round because of the timing of the statement. That's it! Tiger made me do it. Maybe if we strap Tiger to a chair and dunk him in a river and he doesn't drown, he's a witch. Here's the problem, the best and most interesting character in golf is one and the same: Tiger Woods. These clowns love to get attention by being contrarians and attacking Tiger. The problem with that is: they're in the minority. The players for the most part like Tiger. The media for the most part like him. Yeah, he limits his availability, but no one can refute that he gets at least ten times more requests for interviews and appearances than any other golfer. So if he controls his availability, he's not selfish. He needs time to himself as well as practice time. Tiger is just the latest "you-can't-win-for-losing" celebrity. I guarantee you that if Tiger said, "I'll answer every question everyone has at one press conference", somebody would be upset and characterize him as "controlling" and "robotic." Leave the man alone and let him do what we all want: play golf!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larrson

Ok, these books are great. They have suspense, action, scenery, plot. They can't be beat. I'll get the only thing I don't like out of the way because it is so minor. They're set in Sweden so the names, places, streets are names I can't pronounce or have any point of reference, so that slows me up a little. But, the stories are so good and the action so relentless that it hardly matters. I'll tell you what matters: Mr. Larsson has passed away. He died in 2004, but he left these books behind and they have been published, finally, in the states.

When you read these books, you read about incredible feats performed by the most unlikeliest of characters and you never once question them. You know you have read books where you think that the book is good, but some of the things are contrived if for no other reason than to make the story take the proper turns. The "Girl" books don't do that because the characters always act as they should in the appropriate circumstances. Each character has a personality and a set of values that you are aware of and absolutely buy. Once that happens, you're immersed in the story.

As you read from one to the other (there is a third coming out, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"), the story is exposed and several new layers fall away slowly, but relentlessly, until you are seeing a more overarching plot than the mini-plot that unfolds in the context of the individual books. Then you realize that Mr. Larsson was a master story-teller. Finally, you feel sad because Mr. Larsson will never write another book again and you feel somehow cheated (there 3 more books in various stages of writing that Mr. Larsson left, but there seems to be a probate fight on who gets them, then you have to worry if the writer who completes them will have the same insight and vision as Mr. Larsson; so, in short, we're screwed out of some really great stories).

Back to the books. Fun rides, great twists, and constant surprises. The main character is Lisbeth Salander. You guessed it, she has a dragon tattoo. She is an uber-computer genius. She also has several body piercing, other tattoos, not to mention several psychoses and neuroses and is completely anti-social. You know what, you end up loving her and sympathizing with her. Interestingly, the first book also introduces Mikael Blomkvist (I hope I spelled that right), who is a journalist with ethics and virtually the entire story is about him and his conflicts. However, there is a a couple of what can only be called sub-plots about the main character (huh?) that are insightful about the character and are necessary for character development. Yeah, I was confused too, but it starts to come together in the second book and you enjoy the book because it always has some conflict that must be resolved.

I completely recommend reading these books and then reading the third. I can't vouch for the "unwritten" ones, but l'll read the first one and let you know. Grab these books, read them in order (my favorite recommendation in any series; I mean, would you read "The Return of the King" before "The Fellowship of the Ring"?), and enjoy yourself.

Sopranos Review

I just finished watching the entire series of The Sopranos. All I can say is: What's the fuss? This was a mediocre show that broke the TV barrier for sex and violence. So what? All I saw was a bunch of people playing stereotypical characters. As much as the show payed homage (or stole, depending on how one looks at it) to The Godfather, it had none of that movies' depth or richness. There were no complexly drawn characters or interest story lines. Everything was cliche and predictable. In fact, even the unpredictable was predictable. That is, when the story was stalling and meandering aimlessly, they did the unexpected. But it was unexpected because it was out of character and unrealistic. For a show that seemed to flaunt its grittiness and truthfulness, it resorted to the perceived reality of the mob to save it from inanity.

The show worked best when it was giving us comedic moments. But there are just so many caricatures one can take. Paulie was a ridiculous joke that never quite found a punch line. Christopher was a catchall character who personified all the traits the writers couldn't bother to create individual characters for. Junior and Olivia were Simply along for plot relief: if the writers lost their way, they had these two do something to keep the story moving.

I had heard a great deal of hue and cry over the ending of the series. It was anti-climactic, but it was that because it was supposed to be. There was no climax to the story because the story was going to continue as it had before. In other words, the creators, and this is the one truly unique take of the show, told the audience with that one final scene that what you have just witnessed was a snapshot of life in the mob (even though I still don't believe this is how it was or is) and that Tony and his crew will continue down the same road they always have dodging the feds and jealous families from other states, etc., while the Soprano nuclear family will continue to have its typical familial mini-dramas that all families live through.

All in all, the show delivered solid acting by the principals, but the characters, in truth, didn't call for huge stretches. The plots and twists, such as they were, would never have kept an audience interested if it wasn't for all the gratuitous sex and violence. The machismo segment of society that was enthralled with this show loved the show so they called it "ground breaking." It was that, but only because of the medium not because of the content.

Roid Run On

Stop asking for apologies if you aren't going to accept them. A sport talk show host says, why can't Alex Rogriguez just admit he did it, he was wrong, and move on. Because no one will let him. He does just that and there are critics that claim he lied in his apology, he hand picked his interviewer, he was not contrite enough, he was sincere, etc. So, if we have this straight, sports talk show hosts, anchors, reporters, whatever, not only want the apology, they also want to script it and make sure that the apologist says exactly what they want him to say. Barry Bonds got it right. Shut your mouth and watch everyone else stumble and bumble along claiming innuendo and rumor are enough to certify that he did any performance enhancing substance. If you're smart, you'll realize that no apology is ever going to be enough. The cycle of sport stories is indignation at the wrong-doing (whatever that might be, not necessarily steroids or supplements or whatever), demand for an apology. If there is no apology, the story lives on with the emphasis on what a horrible human being the athlete is for not only doing this abomination, but not being "man" enough to admit it and apologize. Then, if he does apologize, there is the critique of the apology. It didn't go far enough; it didn't admit what we wanted him to admit; he lied; he held back; pick one. Cover sports and leave the human commentary to those with brains who are writing about much more substantial individuals than sports athletes.

My Roid Rage

I am sick and tired of idiotic, uninformed, unctuous, and did I mention idiotic sports "journalists" talking about the "steroids" scandal. Until one of these geniuses defines for me what was used by these sports atheletes, whether Bonds, Rodriguez, McGwire, or whoever, I am not going to get even remotely excited. There were/are any number of supplements that are "performance enhancing." Any number of these are available to anyone who walks into your neighborhood GNC or other sports nutrition outlet. And any one of them would register a positive in a urine test by baseball or any other sport for that matter. Anything that you or I could buy without a prescription would probably qualify as a "steroid" in today's hysterical atmosphere. Anabolic steroids have a distinct and limited medical meaning. Just calling any supplement, which is now unauthorized by the baseball (or any other sport's) "steroid" policy, a "steroid" is lazy and, worse, irresponsible.

Further, who cares? Anyone who believes in the worst will tell you that every player was on steroids. Fine. How is that not a level playing field? If everybody's doing it, then no one had a competitive advantage. I know that offends the phony parents who claim that we have to look out for our kids, but tough. If parents are waiting for baseball, football, and basketball players to properly bring up their children, they deserve what they get. Meet Pacman Jones.

Another important point is that these supplements, whether actual anabolic steroids, HGH, or some other supplement, only work if the player is exercising and working out with weights. The myth is that these supplements automatically make you stronger, better, faster. Wrong! All they do is help heal your muscles that you tear up through exercise. Cases in point: The Canseco twins and the Giambi twins. Jose and Jason are multi-millionaires and Ozzie and Jeremy are....exactly! Barry Bonds hit the ball. McGwire and Sosa hit the ball. Steroids don't improve your eye at the plate. If anything, pitchers would benefit way more from "steroid" use than hitters because the fatigue that their arms suffer would be minimized and their recuperation would allow them to get in more work on their mechanics.

Finally, everyone, stop calling this "cheating." A) nobody has defined for me that what these players were ALLEGEDLY taking was illegal except with perscription; B) even if that were true, there was no rule in baseball against it; and C) if everybody was doing it, nobody had a competitve advantage. If a "juiced" pitcher is pitching to a "juiced" hitter, the competitive balance is served. May the best muscle man win. This cheating talk comes from dweeby sports talk show hosts, writers, anchors, etc., who could never play and never had to deal with the pressure of performing in the most competitive of arenas. It's interesting that the sports media who were actually in sports aren't breathing fire and brimstone against those accused; they are mouthing the proper platitudes about how it's wrong, etc., but they aren't condemning these guys and taking their actions personally. It is only the jealous wannabes that whine and complain and bemoan it as a personal affront to all true sports fans. Please....spare me.

I am not advocating illegally enhancing anyone's performance, but let's not be too hypocritical about it. Nobody was saying, as McGwire, Sosa, then Bonds were nearing their records that they should stop. Nobody stopped going to watch Marian Jones dominate her sport or Lance Armstrong dominate his. Not fans, not owners, and not the media. McGwire had a bottle of androstenedione in his locker in plain sight of reporters. Tickets were sold and money was taken in. Let's not start now demanding our money back. We got what we paid for and what we deserve.

To say that the Hall of Fame would be diminished if we included any of these players is ludicrous. It would be one thing if the Hall was a symbol of true, unspoiled greatness, but it's not. Lawrence Taylor and Michael Irvin, both caught (as in actually seen) taking an illegal narcotic. Both are in the Football Hall of Fame. Ty Cobb, the biggest racist ever to strap on cleats is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Nevertheless, the hitter who passed Cobb's hit record is not in, but Jim Rice, for crying out loud, is. This is not some sacrosanct temple. So, should Bonds be in, yes. Should McGwire, yes. Even Palmeiro, idiotic as he is, should be in. If Gaylord Perry, who never made any bones about throwing a spitball (without actually admitting it), which is clearly cheating, is in the Hall, no one can arbitrarily bar these men who were only giving us what we wanted.

Dr, King's Dream Comes True

I saw the speech at Grant Park.  Actually, I saw the replay,  I fell asleep before President-Elect Obama was declared the winner.  I fell asleep because I was traveling early in order to not miss the declaration.  Irony.  i tried so hard to watch it to the end, but I was fearing that what had occurred in the past two presidential elections was on the horizon.  An idiot candidate who had no business on the ticket trumping a qualified, caring individual who has only public service in his heart.  Twice.  We had our hearts ripped out two times by a backwater moron who couldn’t run a 7-11, let alone a country.  Wait, not just a country, but the greatest country ever conceived.  Yet there he was smirking and mugging for reporters thinking that this was enough to lead.

Regardless, he’s history and not good history either.  Fortunately, no one named Bush will likely be a serious contender for this office again.  Thank goodness.  We now have a new history and it is being written every minute of every day from now on.  However, don’t be surprised that it is repeated.  Or should I say: was repeated. 

Back to the feeling of watching the first African-American president address this nation.  Hang on.  Let’s say that again:  THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT.  Say all the ways that were politically correct for 200 years.  Colored President, Negro President, Black president.  Any way you slice it, it is historic and it is liberating.  

I say that as a liberal.  I qualify my statements and opinion with the fact that my politics make President-Elect Obama appear as a right-wing zealot.  Nevertheless, I have to admit that no matter what, I always viewed people through those racially charged eyes.  There is no way that any white American can honestly say that any one of them ever saw an African-American without thinking that they were superior to whoever they were viewing.  Without question, every person who looked at a person of color viewed them as inferior.  Even if you believe yourself as a liberal, enlightened human being you always felt yourself superior because you deigned to believe yourself superior to all others for thinking them as “equal” but not really equal.

I am ashamed for all those times that I thought any remotely racist thoughts.  I am not a racist, but I acknowledge that I have had racist thoughts, regardless of how fleeting and regardless of how well-intentioned.  I am now able to see how wrong and pathetic I was.  Particularly when I looked at Obama the early candidate and said, “This country won’t elect this man.”  I believed, “Regardless of the circumstances, the electorate won’t vote for him due to their lack of sensitivity.”  The only thing holding back this great and patient man was my reluctance.  If we, all good-intentioned, highly educated, morally superior liberals had taken a moment to really view him as the equal that the Declaration of Independence had proclaimed him to be, he would have won 49 states.  He wouldn’t have won Alaska, but those people voted for Palin to begin with and are in the process of electing a convicted felon to the Senate.

Everyone is talking of being proud of being an American.  I am relieved.  Relieved that enough Americans realized that there are more important things in this world than carrying out misplaced prejudices.  Relieved that another idiot is not allowed to sit in the most venerable building in the country (I do not for a moment mean Senator McCain).  Relieved that we are starting to view ourselves as one country instead of two parties (with a few notable and back-water exceptions).  

We have before us an unbridled future.  We are not aware of the greatness that awaits us if only we allow this thoughtful human being to lead us where we need to go.  Everyone has different agendum and different needs.  Economists need their programs, environmentalists need their programs, labor unions need their programs, and sociologists need theirs.  We are going to attempt as hard as we can to pull this man apart.  He must, according to us, begin governing before he sets foot in Washington.  Leave him be and follow his lead.

Our job now is to follow his lead and be willing soldiers in his war against oppression, detractors, and hate-mongerers.  We must daily protect his flank because he is too busy fighting for our well-being to protect himself.  Let him do his job and we can do ours.  When the name-calling begins, like it already has, we have to stand up and say, “Stop.”  When the bigots (although they maintain their altruism saying that they are only looking at his qualifications) dissect his every move like it was the last vital piece of the puzzle leading us to ruin, we must say, “Stop.”    When the so-called pundits point and say, “Well, what did you expect from him, he is unqualified,”  we must say, “Stop.” 

We are fortunate to have him and this country will be a better place because of him.  This is not whistling past the graveyard or wishful thinking but a real sense of impending greatness.  No president has walked into this office with such high expectations and such incredible odds against him since FDR.  However, FDR was a white American and he had a very forgiving press.  This man is a Flying Wallenda without a net and with a gale force cross wind.  The first misstep and he is fodder for the beast.  An entire world is watching and waiting for the mistake.  He has to tread carefully and cautiously take action.

Fear not, America.  He will.  He will lead us like we’ve never been led before.  He will inspire each and every one of us to great heights.  He will comfort us when we are inconsolable.  His voice will be enough to change our fear into hope and our dreams into a reality.  He will do this because we will be inspired to help him get us there.  After so many years of ineptitude, we have a true leader.  We have a real president.  One that isn’t embarrassing or a puppet for corporate America.  

For those countries out there who think that they can overcome this man, I say this:  bring it on.  Think you can intimidate President Obama, bring it on.  Think you can bully President Obama, bring it on.  Think you can fool President Obama, bring it on.  He is ready and can handle anything you terrorist, oligarchs, and tyrants can throw at him.  Simply because he is pure of heart and clear of mind.  Moreover, he has resources never available to a president before.  He has inspired followers who are no zealots.  We are wide-eyed and committed.  Not blinded by hate or fear.  

For those americans (lower case intentionally provided) who attack from within, know this:  you cannot distract us from our goal.  That goal is the one you pay lip service to, but never truly sought.  That goal is for a strong, free, and equal America.  An America that was truly foreseen by the forefathers.  The America that truly believes in all Americans as resources and not as sources of exploitation for their own wealth. The America where all persons are created equal and not just men or seven tenths of any one person.  We are strong, resilient, and resolved.  You are weak, cowardly, and dispassionate.  Your only goal is to tear down, we seek only to build up American strength and prosperity.   

I truly hope all people in America view this man with love and devotion.  I believe that we as a people can accomplish anything if we follow his lead and be true to our beliefs.  But I give you this warning: do not follow him blindly.  If he makes a mistake, correct him.  I he missteps, right him.  If he falters, support him.  But do not unquestioningly  accept anything he says or does.  We have had too much of that and we can stand no more.  No more leading by fear-mongering.  No more governance by degrading our enemies.  No more hatred disguised as “christian” ideals.  We are, as of November 4, 2008, better than that.  We have demonstrated our far-sightedness and our belief in the greatness of the eternal soul.

It has been said that “soul” is defined as the ability to deal with adversity and overcome it without rancor or hate.  We are now a country with soul.  We are now a people with soul.  We are now individuals with soul.  We can overcome anything without invoking hate, fear, or degradation.  And we will.  Because we now have what we have always deserved.  What America was built upon.  What our philosophy of government has always demanded.  A great leader.  You can list them on one hand:  Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Roosevelt, and now Obama.  In that tradition, we must revel.  We are blessed to be provided the right leader at the right (wrong?) time.  Take advantage of that, not of him.