Jersey Boys

A few days back, I wrote about catching a special on TV called Frankie Valli - A Tribute on Ice. Well, tonight (actually Friday night...it's past midnight) the lovely spouse's boss and his wife took us to see the musical Jersey Boys, a show that chronicles the history of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The performance was at the Buell Theatre in downtown Denver, and I have to say, the guys portraying the group were dead on with the sound and the music. You could almost swear you were watching the Four Seasons as they were back in the 1960s. The show follows the formation of the group, originally known as The Four Lovers, and follows their path from the first big hit, Sherry, through hit after hit after hit; like Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like A Man, Dawn (Go Away), Rag Doll, Who Loves You, and many more. If you get the chance, and like The Four Seasons or sixties pop music, it is definitely a show to see.

This performance was interrupted during the second act when an audience member started choking. You could hear him being pounded on, and it appeared that he may have been having a heart attack. The commotion quickly spread, and finally they had fire department personnel come in and brought up the house lights, but by then, the man had ejected whatever he choked on. At first, the performers were oblivious, as all they can see is the spotlights in their eyes, but once the excitement subsided, they requeued to a point to restart, and the artists continued the performance flawlessly.

Hold On!

Well, the UAW and the GOP members of the United States Senate stared each other down tonight, and neither side blinked, thus killing the bridge loans passed in the House today. I fear tomorrow's trading on Wall Street is going to be a free fall. Could the Dow drop to 5000 or below? How many jobs will be lost in the wake of this? It's not pretty. I don't believe the automakers deserve the loans, but for the sake of the greater economy, I think they are necessary to avoid an even bigger disaster than we already have. This is not a pretty picture.

Bye Bye Polaroid Pictures

Another icon of the 20th Century is headed to the proverbial dustbin of history. Polaroid is ceasing production of its instant photography film. The advent of digital photography has killed off the experience of waiting 60 seconds and having a picture that came right out of your camera. The early Polariods I remember had to be peeled open after developing. Some of the later cameras used a film that had the developer inside a clear window on the picture so you could actually watch the image form from the gray square. The company had many hits, from the famed Polaroid Land Camera, to the 60s hip Swinger, to the Sun camera to the SX-70, Polaroid brought the magic of instant photography to the masses. Even as Polaroid makes digital cameras, they aren't real Polaroids.

Who could ever forget, "Meet the Swinger, the Polaroid Swinger". After all, it's almost alive, and it's only nineteen dollars and ninety-five! Yeah Yeah! And you know, you just gotta wonder...how many actual "swingers" used these cameras for those pictures they couldn't take to the corner drug store to be developed.

Here's the commercial that anyone alive in the 1960s should remember, featuring a young Ali McGraw.

Sunday Evening Random Ramblings

It's Sunday night, and the weekend is wrapping up. For some, it was a long holiday weekend, but my employer doesn't give us the Friday after Thanksgiving off, so it was a regular weekend for me. With the first significant snow storm of the season blowing through since Friday night, it was good timing that is was the weekend, even if it did screw up the lovely spouse's plans for me to put some Christmas lights up on the house. But I suppose that only delays the inevitable. So in keeping with this blog's theme of random ramblings, lets touch on a few things before we shuffle off to bed.

An Odd Show

This morning when I turned on the television, I saw something that struck me as somewhat bizarre. It was a program that apparently was broadcast earlier this month on NBC, but was being rerun on the Style network. It was called Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - A Tribute on Ice. Now don't get me wrong, I have always been a fan of the unique sound of this group that sprang up from doo-wop music, but there were several things that just didn't seem right.

First of all, there was Frankie himself, singing a very listenable, if lifeless performance. He looked pretty old, but hey, it happens to all of us, doesn't it? But his new group of Seasons appeared to be in their late 20s to early 30s, young enough to be Frankie's kids. What the hell did he do with the other guys?

Then there was the fact that ice skaters were skating his songs as he sang them. For example, when Frankie and his new boys were singing Tell It To The Rain, a female skater was doing some skating with an umbrella. Now, ice skating is okay, pop music is fine, but putting them together seemed just a bit, twisted. Kind of like those Tropicana Twister commercials of years ago, talking about flavors Mother Nature never intended. It made me wonder what next? Perhaps "A Bullfighting Tribute to The Village People"? Maybe "The Monkees - A Shuffleboard Tribute".

Still, I never fail to enjoy a nice dose of Four Seasons music, be it the early stuff like Dawn Go Away or Mary Ann; to the later stuff like Grease or maybe Swearin' to God.

TV or Not TV, That is the Question

Everytime I go to Costco or Sam's Club, I see the deals getting better and better on new HDTV sets. Part of me really wants to get one, but after looking at them, I always walk away. Even the lovely spouse says to get one if I want it, but so far, I have resisted the siren call of HD. I probably will give in sooner or later, but several things hold me back. First, I hate to spend the money when my 36" regular TV still looks as beautiful as it did when brand new eight years ago. In some ways, you can't beat a direct view CRT. Second, it is the start of an entire series of upgrades. Upgrade my DISH Network setup, upgrade my DVD recorder to Blue Ray, upgrade my audio-video receiver to handle HD. Then I would have to figure out how to move the massively heavy old TV down to the basement. Plus, in these uncertain economic times, bargain or not, I am not too hot on buying much of anything.

Shivering, Hungry Squirrels

This morning, the LS and I were watching a couple of squirrels shivering up in the branches of a neighbors tree. They were eating what few leaves are clinging on, and trying to stay warm as the snow was coming down. I meant to get some squirrel peanuts or corn for them, but forgot as the day wore on. That is something I will still have to do. They can be pesky, but I don't want the bushy tailed little guys to starve during the cold weather. Here is one of them chewing on a leaf this morning.

Fox Broadcasting - Rotten to the Core?

Do you trust the news media to tell you the truth? Do you think it is fine that deregulation has concentrated America's media into just a few hands, such as News Corporation, Clear Channel, and a handful of others? Does it not trouble you that media magnate, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owns The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Sky News, and a slew of local TV stations among others? Well, look at this video about Fox 13 in Florida, a Fox-owned outlet. Watch it, and tell me if you believe advertising dollars don't dictate what is passed off as news...in this case, outright lies.

The media plays an important role in a society. By caving to threats of lawsuits and withdrawal of advertising revenue, they abdicate their responsibility to the public.

A Funny Family Photo

Well, if anyone who knows me wonders why I am the wacky, crazy, fun kind of guy I am; one needs only to look a little further back down the family tree. This gem of a photo was taken many years ago. The man grimacing and the woman sitting on the running board of this old car and holding an ax are my paternal grandparents. The kids on the car are a combination of some of theirs and some are just neighbor kids getting in on the silliness. This picture is one of my favorites. It shows that even in hard times, there was time to cut up a little and let your hair down. And as you can see, given my genetic makeup, I never stood a chance! :-)

I am not quite sure if this was taken in Texas or Oklahoma, but it was one of the two. As usual, you can click on the photo for a larger version.

Thursday Ponderings

Well, it's Thursday, Thanksgiving holiday, and a day off work. And now the madness known as the Christmas season kicks into gear, as lights start going up on houses and stores. Sadly, the Christmas message of "Peace on Earth" is nothing but an empty phrase, as it has been almost every year in history. With the terrorist attacks yesterday in Mumbai, India, we once again see that there are severely defective human beings capable of horrific acts of death and violence against others who have done them no wrong. The American occupation of Iraq continues, and the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan. An attack on government officials in the South Ossetia region of the Republic of Georgia following the Russian invasion, along with Russia cozying up to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela threaten to further degrade world order. We even have pirates seizing merchant vessels off the coast of Somalia. So while "Peace on Earth" remains a wonderful ideal, there are people in the world who will not allow it to be.

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Poor little Molly dog is probably going to need surgery on her foot, but as we try to see if she will heal without it, she is proving difficult to gain cooperation from. She ate the bandage they put on her at the emergency room, and when we put the Elizabethan dog collar on her, she broke the snaps and tore off the new bandage that the lovely spouse had made. I fear that we will be hard pressed to keep her from messing up any surgery, making healing even more difficult. It is a sad sight to see her limping around with a bandaged up foot.

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Having owned a retail pack & ship business for 3 years, I am very glad to not be in that business this holiday season. With the suppliers (FedEx and UPS) competing with us by encouraging on-line shipping; plus buying Kinkos and Mail Boxes, Etc. respectively; business just kept declining. On top of that, our franchiser was all help and smiles before they get your money. After that, they were worthless. They live on turnover and selling new franchises rather than helping their existing ones succeed.

Now with this horrible economic situation, I fully expect to see more and more retail businesses shutting down right after Christmas & New Year's Day. After what the LS and I went through, I have great empathy for the Mom & Pop stores out there struggling to stay in business in an environment where even big box outfits like Linens & Things and Circuit City can't make it. Already, the new Circuit City store that opened six months ago here in Parker is going out of business. Several other businesses have gone down, even as new ones continue to pop up. This is not a good time to be a retailer. I can honestly say that nearly four years since we shut down our stores, I am so glad to not have that burden anymore. We paid dearly for the lesson.

Can you believe it?

Today, I had to get gasoline in my car. Just a few short weeks ago, it was about $4.25 per gallon, and over $60 to fill up. Today, I paid $1.53 and went from almost empty to full for about $20. Just two weeks ago, it was around $1.80. Now this could signal more of the underlying problems with the economy to see oil fall from its record highs, to this level so quickly. I imagine this cannot be good for the oil companies either. Still, at least this is one small bright spot for consumers.

The Weekend is Almost Done

It's Sunday night again, and what a rough Sunday it has been. Molly, the smartest dog in the world, is ailing today. We had noticed her starting to limp a bit, but today it was very pronounced. We took her to the emergency room after the Lovely Spouse noticed that Molly has a large, bloody looking knot on her left front paw, on the pads. To take X-Rays of the poor little thing, they had to give her major sedation, and she has been lethargic all day. She hasn't eaten, she won't take a drink of water, and we are very concerned about her. She has a bandage on her foot, and will likely require surgery if antibiotics don't help.

Now, my antibiotics typically are a $4 Target or Walmart buy, but doggie pills are still way overpriced. Today's visit was over $400, and we have yet to really do anything. I am worried about her not drinking. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for her.

Have They Killed The Goose?

A fable attributed to Aesop, from the Sixth Century B.C.E. tells the story of a couple who had a goose that laid golden eggs. They decided to kill the goose to get all the eggs inside it out at once, rather than waiting for it to lay them, only to find no eggs inside the goose. Oh, if only the greedy captains of American industry had heeded the wisdom of this ancient Greek story teller.

First it was investment banks and bad mortgages. Now we find the so-called "Big Three Automakers" on the verge of collapse. Though decades of poor management, taking multiple givebacks by the United Autoworkers Union, building cars that were sub par, and shipping American jobs to foreign nations, these companies find themselves in serious trouble, and could be the the thing that tips us into a major financial depression.

The inept, greedy CEOs of General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford flew in their mulitimillion-dollar private jets to sit in front of our representatives in Congress with their hands out, asking we, the American people, to give them money we don't have, from the public coffers. We find ourselves in a quandry. If these companies collapse, who will build our tanks and other military vehicles? Toyota?

I don't believe we can afford to let these companies collapse, only because of the economic tsunami that would ensue. However, any aid should be predicated upon ousting these inept management teams, requiring the return of jobs to the United States, and a clear plan to bring these companies back to profitability and repay the American taxpayer.

It seems that the entire house of cards is falling apart rapidly. I not only fear for our long term future, but for our short term survival as well. I have never felt this pessimistic about the future of this nation and its people. Many people pointed to the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 as evidence of the flaws of the Communist economic system. I find it entirely feasible that we could see a similar collapse of the capitalist system of the U.S., and very rapidly also. This consumer-driven economy cannot forever sustain itself if people don't have jobs.

These clueless executives are more interested in getting free government money to sustain their own lavish lifestyles while changing nothing; rather than creating fundamental change in the way business is done in this country. Mr. Obama, I fear you have been dealt the biggest mess of any incoming president since Franklin Roosevelt, and perhaps since Abraham Lincoln. America is sending you to The White House to effect change. We have never needed it more.

Oklahoma, WTF?

I have written about some of the things I saw last week in Oklahoma. Now, I must say there are many things to like about The Sooner State, but their politics isn't one of them. Following the recent election, I was looking at state by state maps of how the counties went either for Obama or McCain. One thing became readily apparent; Oklahoma is the only state out of the fifty that did not have one single county that had a majority vote for Mr. Obama. Not one. Every county went red.

Now I can think of a number of reasons for this. The Oklahoma education system outside of the excellent OU and OSU is not the best. People tend to be less educated than the U.S. as a whole. Its two metropolitan areas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, are not among the largest in the country. This is a state that also re-elected James Inhofe to the Senate. Yes, the same Inhofe who questions whether or not Mr. Obama loves America; the same James Inhofe who thinks global warming is a scam perpetrated by The Weather Channel. This is the state where young student, Brandy Blackbear, was expelled for allegedly placing a curse on a teacher that put him in the hospital.

So now we clearly see that Oklahoma once again reinforces the stereotype that it is a backwards-thinking state. When America overwhelmingly went for historic change, Oklahomans decided to stick with the GOP. In browsing the web about this phenomenon, I also found that former Oklahoma governor David Walters wrote about this on his blog in an entry titled, What's The Matter With Oklahoma?

As a native Oklahoman, I would love to see the state of my birth become more progressive. However, I fear the culture of ignorance makes such a change unlikely for the near term. Okies are, for the most part, good, hard working, and honest folks, who have endured a lot of hardship. However the combination of lack of opportunities, inadequate public education, and the ever present influence of fundamentalist Christianity holds them in an intellectual death grip.

Dobson At It Again

The hatemongers and bigots at Focus on the Family are at it again. Taking up the mantle of the so-called "War on Christmas", the Dobsonites have compiled a list of retailers who they consider to be either "Christmas Friendly", "Christmas Negligent", or "Christmas Offensive". In other words, if the retailers don't use the holiday shopping season to push Christianity on all of their customers, you get put on Dobson's naughty list.

First of all, these idiots don't know or care, that retailers are in business to serve all of their customers. Not all customers celebrate Christmas. What if offensive about wishing customers a happy holiday, regardless of which one they may or may not celebrate?

What is even more amazing is the irony that is lost on these people. Consider the following from their website:

Retailers will be presented with petitions — thanking those that embrace "Christmas," and alerting those that have purged or marginalized "Christmas" that you object to the secularization of Christmas. We hope you will "stand for Christmas" with us and encourage the continued acknowledgement of this historic Christian observance in our culture.

So, in other words, while you are out celebrating the birth of Jesus by running up the credit cards, be sure to piss and moan about stores "secularizing" Christmas. Whatever happened to "love thy neighbor"? In a retail season that promises to be the worst in decades, Dobson is out to throw his substantive weight around the economy, and in effect, punishing even the Christians working at stores on his Christmas Offensive list. Good job, numnuts.

So let's all be sure to support the businesses on Dobson's hit list:

Christmas Negligent

• Barnes & Noble
• Bed, Bath & Beyond
• Best Buy
• Borders
• Circuit City
• Dick's Sporting Goods
• The GAP
• KB Toys
• Kmart
• Toys "R" Us

Christmas Offensive

• American Eagle
• Banana Republic
• Bloomingdale's
• Lane Bryant
• Old Navy
  

Makes me proud that the Lovely Spouse just dropped a few bucks at Lane Bryant over the weekend!

Oh, and by the way, it will be a Christmas to remember for 202 Focus employees, as they are getting laid off by the Dobson machine, just in time for...yes, I'll say it...the holidays!