Figaro's Hightime

It was last night, while watching Marriage of Figaro here in Pforzheim that a sudden realization came over me. I have the strangest profession ever. People get up, put on costumes, and sing, for hours on end, works hundreds of years old, usually dated and about silly subjects, get clapped for, then go take their make-up of and go home. That’s just weird. And, frankly, not quite the lofty goal I had made it out to be for such a long time. It’s weird, but, if I end up not making it in opera, I don’t think that my heart will be broken. At least not after seeing the Marriage of Figaro. Chris loved it. I found it musically interesting but über-trite.

Speaking of Chris… Today is his birthday, so if you get a chance, you should email or call him. He would love that.

Obama Vincitor!

The problem with Obama? A comment yesterday asked “So why can't Obama ever seem to close the deal?” Well, I’ll tell you why…

Yes, Obama made a gaffe by calling small-town America bitter and xenophobic. But, truth be told, small-town, small-minded people are Obama’s biggest problem. It really doesn’t matter what he says, how eloquent he is, what kind of vision he has for the future of America. All of this is moot for your everyday hick. They only see “blackie” and refuse to vote for him. I know a significant number of people who won’t vote for the man because he’s black. In my mind, considering how little baggage he has as a politician, there can be very few other viable explanations.

If anyone wants to know why such a ray of hope is having trouble being the nominee of the party, and will continue to have trouble until he is slimly elected to the White House, one must take a good look at who we are as Americans. That’s painful isn’t it—to turn the magnifying glass back upon ourselves for an explanation? We are comprised of a people that pride themselves on their under-education, their simplicity, their “common sense” way of viewing the world. Educated people are to be feared, not to be trusted, and are just plain difficult to talk to. There is nothing worse, after all, than being an intellectual in American society. Believe me. I know.

Americans want a President who is only slightly smarter than they are. They want someone that they could go have a beer with, not someone who would possibly lecture them. Let me put it this way, George Bush was elected President a second time. That should say it all. Obama’s patriotism is measured only by whether he puts his hand over his heart during the Natonal Anthem and whether he wears an American flag on his clothing. Wow, that is such a developed way of looking at things… If that is the measure of one’s patriotism, then America, quite frankly does not deserve Senator Obama.

What ever happened to the days of FDR, when even poor Americans knew that he represented hope and voted for him again and again? You want to talk “elitist”? Just listen to some recordings of the man, his very speech gave away his blue-blooded heritage. Why are people pointing to Obama as unelectable? He is that intellectual-type like Dukakis, Kerry, or Gore, all of whom were unelectable themselves. Part of me thinks this argument has validity, while the other part wants to hold onto this hope that America is not really what it is.

Oh well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…

Why did Hillary win big in Pennsylvania? Because she won big amongst the state’s number one big constituent: whites making less than $50,000. And, more difficult to calculate, she won big amongst perhaps the biggest core constituency in the nation as a whole: racists.

America simply does not know what is best for it. GW is the shining example of this. So, this will be no different. I am sure there are millions of people like me, wishing that perhaps, for once, things really will be different. Let’s just say, I’m not holding my breath.

Part This

Am I the only one sickened by this over-the-top, Hollywood deification of Charlton Heston? I mean, the guy wasn’t all bad…he did participate in the de-segregation of the sixties. But, in his old age, he did say a lot of racist things, not the least memorable of which was on screen in Michael Moore’s film “Bowling for Columbine.”

The guy was an extreme gun rights activist, a lifetime NRA member. He was the one that coined the phrase “from my cold, dead hands”, daring anyone to take his firearm away from him. Without getting into the debate for the 1000th time, I can tell you first hand that gun violence in Germany is a rare occurrence indeed, because guns are restricted and controlled by the government here. America will only be so lucky to someday be the same way.

I just can’t believe that people see this man as some kind of holy icon simply because he played Moses in a movie. The working word of that sentence is “played”. He was not Moses, people. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he was the scum of the Earth or anything, but the guy was a bit of a clod, and to see him revered by the public like this is a sad commentary.

Hillary Deathwatch

The percentage you see below illustrates the chances that Hillary has to win the nomination, according to Slate.com:

Mike TV

Is it possible to make up for years living abroad, without the luxury of television, I mean American television? So many of the snob intelligentsia of America look to TV as the downfall of the all society. I think I have yet to see a “Kill your television” bumper sticker o anything but a Volvo station wagon. But with the advent of technology and the means to program and watch whatever programs you favor the most, the watching of television is surely at a whole new level for most. Somehow, with the avoidance of laws by rogue states, it is possible for me to watch, via the internet, a whole slew of American shows that I have never before seen (“Mad Men”, “Noah’s Arc”, “Dexter”), or even rewatch old favorites from Andy Griffith to “My So-called Life” or “The Facts of Life”.

The meaning that I have so cleverly masked here is what this technology means, how it impacts my everyday life. Well, I’ll just put it to you like this: you know those statistics that come out every once and a while that say that children sit in front of the TV for three hours daily on the average. I am putting that measly number to shame. I am ingesting media at this point to such an extent that, if TV were a actual nutrient, I would be unable to fit through the door for my sitcom girth…Richard Simmons will have to come and unplug me from the set so that the firemen can chainsaw a hole in the house big enough for the crane to lift me through. I will not go willingly, though, and some famous designer will make headlines as he revisits high school algebra in order to calculate the dimensions for my tailor made straightjacket, a necessity as I start to convulse and fight when losing visual of that beloved screen.

But, you know what, to hell with excuses; I am having so much fun at this point that I almost don’t mind gorging myself on TV like seawater for some shipwrecked, overly tanned, extremely parched soul on a life raft. I am happy drinking this pixeled brine for the time being. Batten down the hatches, I’m on my way to TVLand euphoria and neither hell nor high water will stop me. Kill my TV? Heyl no! I am actually toying with the idea of watching two screens simultaneously.

So true.

My Left Hemisphere

This is a fantastic video that really changed my way of thinking. Watch it! (Thanks, Monica.)