Scary new TV trend

Remember when television was a fun distraction, a relaxing break after the work or school day? Remember when there were only 5 TV stations (unless you counted the UHF stations), and most of those signed off at the end of the day, somewhere between 12 and 2 a.m., telling (in no uncertain terms) those late-night viewers, "Enough TV already... go to bed!"...

Well, fast-forward to 2006. The most important (read: expensive) object in our homes is the TV, and the catch-phrase of the era is "Must-See TV." There are now 40-gazillion channels, nearly all of them sending signals 24/7/365.

But the big trend in current television is the serialized episodic program. Not that serials are a new thing. "Dallas" is probably the most famous example from recent history, but soap operas have been using this format for decades. Almost every show now, however, requires a dedicated commitment on the part of the viewer to "keep up."

A recent story in the Review-Journal, titled "Pay Attention," stated this in the sub-head: "Networks tout many shows that require devoted viewing to understand."

The list of the upcoming crop is an arm long. And, it would seem, every show is "wonderful" and "Must-see TV." From "Lost" to "Desperate Housewives" to new hopefuls like "Heroes," "Kidnapped," and "Vanished," the message is strong: clear out your schedules, folks, and grab the remote - you're in for some heavy-duty must-see TV, and you can't afford to miss a single minute!

Meanwhile, as America is hypnotized, mesmerized and lobotomized, we continue to wage unlawful wars around the globe; turn a blind eye to human rights violations, destruction of the planet, poisoning of our food, air, and water; and willingly hand over more and more of our rights and freedoms to a corrupt system.

Never doubt, for one second, that this is all done "by design," folks. It is a plan. The people who own the media, are the people who have the money, are the people who pull the strings, are the people who control what we see and when we see it, etc., etc.

If they can keep us DISTRACTED by television and the media, FRIGHTENED by constant scares and terror alerts, DUMBED-DOWN from chemicals in vaccines, fluoride and aspartame in our drinks, SICK from poisons in our air and food, and (most importantly) SUSPICIOUS of each other by creating imaginary divisions like color, culture and religion... they just might accomplish their goals.

BUT - we have the power NOT to let this happen. Or we can watch some more TV.

Today is the day.

This is the day I look forward to every year. After the horrendously hot summer and the start of the new school year, there comes a day that holds a very special place in my heart. Today is that day.

It is the day the air conditioning is turned off (all day), windows are opened, and the cool Vegas breeze blows out the stagnant air (held hostage since spring) and fills the house with fresh (ok, fresh may be stretching it a bit) clean (stretching again) and invigorating new life.

To commemorate, we were greeted this morning by a surprise visitor. I opened the back door to let Mimi in, and there, sitting on the porch, was a tiny yellow bird. Apparently the little guy had flown into one of our windows and stunned himself. Mimi got hold of him in her mouth, thinking she was protecting her family from the beast, but I yelled "drop it!" and she immediately did.

I called the ladies out to have a look. We all assumed that, sadly, the bird was probably dying, as it allowed me to pick it up, the girls to touch it, and it sort of flopped around a little when I set it down. "The humane thing to do is kill it quickly," I said. Of course, whatever it would take to do such a thing, I don't have... and the girls certainly wouldn't let me, even if I did.

So, I put it in a planter, Eva got it some water and a few seeds, and we watched and hoped it would eat and drink itself back to health. Well, good thing I didn't wring the little fella's feathery neck, because within a minute or two, it came back to its senses and flew off over a neighbor's house and into the distance.

Although the first "official" day of fall is still nearly a week off, today was that day for me. Hope it was a good one for you.

Be Afraid.

Lest we forget to be afraid every second of our lives, Good Ol' GW, in conjunction with the government-controlled major media, reminds us on the front page of a recent Las Vegas Review-Journal that the "Terrorism threat persists," and that "they" remain "determined to attack the United States."

If we can be kept in fear, those in power can continue to manipulate us and strip away our freedoms. Don't give in to it. Do some research. Find out what is really going on, and be determined to do something about it.

As we near the 5th anniversary of the Sept. 11 "terror" attacks, we will be seeing more and more disinformation spread. We've already seen a supposed "exposé" when the authors of the 9/11 Commission Official Report went public about the resistance they encountered while trying to research their report.

Stories of government incompetence will surface, commentaries on the news networks will abound, and more movies and TV shows will come out, supposedly giving us insight into the "truth" behind what happened.

All of these things will only serve to reinforce the "official" story, however. "Yeah, OK, we blew it... we weren't prepared and we screwed up bad." They will even admit to low-level government cover-ups. Again, this will all be a smoke-screen to pacify the majority of people who question the events of 9/11.

Don't buy it. Seek the truth. In truth there is no room for fear.

Don't Drink The Water

No, I'm not advising you for your impending trip to Mexico. I'm talking about the water that pours through the tap of your home. It contains the main ingredient (sometimes the only ingredient) of rat poison. You guessed it - sodium fluoride, everybody's favorite cavity-fighting/vermin-killing additive!

Here is some info stolen from one website:

Fluoride is a major intellect suppressant that is being added to drinking water supplies and toothpaste. Sodium fluoride is a common ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, anesthetics, hypnotics, psychiatric drugs, and military nerve gas. It is one of the basic ingredients in Prozac and the Sarin nerve gas used in the attack in the Japanese subway system. Independent scientific evidence has claimed that fluoride causes various mental disturbances and makes people stupid, docile, and subservient. This is besides shortening life spans and damaging bone structure.

And from another:

"I have your letter of September 29 asking for further documentation regarding a statement made in my book, The Truth About Water Fluoridation, to the effect that the idea of water fluoridation was brought to England from Russia by the Russian Communist Kreminoff. "In the 1930`s, Hitler and the German Nazi`s envisioned a world to be dominated and controlled by a Nazi philosophy of pan-Germanism. The German chemists worked out a very ingenious and far-reaching plan of mass-control which was submitted to and adopted by the German General Staff. This plan was to control the population in any given area through mass medication of drinking water supplies. By this method they could control the population in whole areas, reduce population by water medication that would produce sterility in women, and so on. In this scheme of mass-control, sodium fluoride occupied a prominent place."

Woo hoo! I'll take a double-helping! Throw in some Aspartame while you're at it! (that's another blog...)

You're The Voice (lyric of the day)

Here's a song most of us have forgotten about. I heard it today, and really listened to the lyrics. The song was familiar, and it will probably be familiar to anyone who was around in the 80s. The song is "You're the Voice" by John Farnham.

At some point, we have to realize that WE are the voice. WE are the only way to effect change. How long are WE going to sit back and watch while everything we claim to hold dear is stolen from us? While our brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters die needlessly to keep money flowing into the pockets of a few huge corporate monsters? While our planet is destroyed, our air made toxic, our food and water polluted with chemicals... all in the name of profit?

How long? How long can we continue only worrying about ourselves, our greatest concern being who gets kicked off the island, or whether or not Tom Cruise is gay? Honestly, man... who the f*ck cares about these things?

YOU'RE THE VOICE (John Farnham)

We have the chance to turn the pages over
We can write what we wanna write
We gotta make ends meet before we get much older

We're all someone's daughter,We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun

You're the voice try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Oooh, Whoa
We're not gonna sit in silence,
We're not gonna live with fear
Oooh, Whoa

In this time, we know we often stand together
We give power to the powerful
Even we can make it better

Ooh, We're all someone's daughter, We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun

You're the voice try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Oooh, Whoa
We're not gonna sit in silence,
We're not gonna live with fear
Oooh, Whoa

Ooh, We're all someone's daughter, We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun

You're the voice try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Oooh, Whoa
We're not gonna sit in silence,
We're not gonna live with fear
Oooh, Whoa

Oxymoron of the Day

President Bush, in a recent press conference, said something I finally agree with:

"The question is, do we have the desire and the capacity to spread peace?"

That is the question, sir. And the answer, quite obviously, is 'no.'

Which brings up an interesting point from this morning's news. France is sending 2,000 troops to Lebanon to increase the 'peacekeeping force' in the area. Apparently, the way to 'spread peace' is to send more troops.

So, the oxymoron of the day is: PEACEKEEPING FORCE.

I've seen the "Lord" - in glorious widescreen

This is definitely going to sound trite considering the tone of my last several posts, but I have just experienced something I have to share...

The "Movie Theater Experience" in my own living room.

I'm borrowing the digital projector of a friend, have a huge white muslin sheet draped in front of the "OLD" TV, and have just watched the first half hour of "Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring."

Wow. I can't even turn it up because the kids are sleeping, and it is still just an amazing experience. The light reflecting off the screen, instead of being forced through it... the hum of the projector "somewhere" in the background... being able to pause the movie to urinate... priceless.

Whatever else I may be in life, I am a movie buff. I may forget the plots of most of the movies I watch (which just means I watch them with fresh eyes every time), but movies are a humongous part of my life, and my life with my wife. I'd say we watch at least one movie just about every day of our lives. Well... maybe that's a slight exaggeration...

I will never watch a movie on my "OLD" TV in the same way again. Everything I watch will be compared to how Peter Jackson's masterpiece looked, flying through tiny particles of light across my living room and onto that giant sheet.