The L Word has become that bad accident on the highway that you can't help but stare at as you pass it. I mean, really, what else do I have to do on Sunday nights?
So I have stayed with it, although all through the past two seasons I continually threatened to stop watching. This season, Lucy Lawless is about the only reason I plan to tune in. That, and the fact that when this season is over, I hope to have a cathartic completion to the story arc and can reflect upon the work as a whole to comtemplate its various themes and .... yeah, okay, even I can't keep that up.
But what prompts this is the trailer I just watched and the spoiler I just read. The twist that is supposed to be awaiting us within the first ten minutes of this season is one that will no doubt re-invigorate watchers like myself. Hell, I'm up at 2:00 am blogging about it, right?
But my need to blog is not really related to my excitement at the coming season and if this spoiler is true, and if so, how will they handle the explanation of it... No, it's more one of initial disbelief and betrayal. If what I just read is true, then there can be no explanation to justify it. There can be logical story lines that could lead to it, but even IF the story line is handled with the care, attention, and sensitivity that I feel it deserves, it is still only a stereotypical ending for a character that I think has been anything but.
And really, given the writing of the last two seasons, I think we are more likely in for a Jerry Springer type story line than anything truly dramatic, intelligent, or philosophical.
Good lord woman... don't we already get enough from mainstream tv and film of what you're about to shovel on us?
Maybe I am wrong... maybe the spoiler is wrong. Only time and the completion of this season will tell. I will keep my fingers crossed, but not get my hopes up.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
O Canada!
Over the past several weeks, the morning radio show that I listen to was talking about hearing McCain supporters say thay they would move to Canada if Obama was elected.
Well.....
Country First, huh?
So, for a radio bit, they decided they would pick someone who had made that statement and help them move to test the veracity of their assertion. And the one couple who is taking them up on it is a very young couple who decided to make the move when they were told that Obama is actually the Antichrist.
This young couple, freshly out of high school, and working at Steak and Shake, had concerns about an Obama presidency, although neither one could actually articulate why they were filled with such dread. They both swear up and down that it has nothing to do with the fact that he is a black man.
So what happened to push them to the point of turning their back on their country in such dire times? They overheard some customers talking, and the customers told them that Obama is the antichrist. They were told, and at least one caller called in and agreed with this... that the Bible actually contains a passage that says that the Antichrist will be a black man of Muslim heritage in his mid 40's who will rise to lead a country, and that the whole world will respect and follow him. And that was all they needed to hear to push them over the edge into their decision to move to Canada.
Forget the fact that:
1) there is no such passage in the Bible.
2) the reason there is no such passage in the Bible is because there were no such things as Muslims when the Bible was written.
For people who are supposed to be such good Christians, the fact that they just blindly accept a statement like this, should send cold chills down all of our spines. For one thing, point number 2 should have been the first thought in their heads. I know it actually was the first thing I shouted out at the radio when I heard it!
Apparently, there is an email making the rounds that presents this "Bible passage". So, be warned and check your emails. Who knew the way to salvation was through our Spam filters?!
I don't usually end up getting those kinds of emails forwarded to me, but there are a couple people in my very, very, extended email world who might actually send that to me, and I can't wait for it! If I do get it, it will be the last time I get any email from them, for sure!
The complete and immediate accpetance of assertions such as the one these young people heard in Steak and Shake really scares me. If someone tells you that something is in the Bible, don't simply believe them. Make them tell you chapter and verse, or at least make them narrow down to Old or New Testament, then go find it yourself. I knew there was no such Bible verse but I went to one of my Bibles anyway and looked up the word Antichrist in the Concordance. Then I read each of the Bible passages listed. 'Cause I'm just that way. I don't want anyone telling me what is in there... I want to know for myself.
Especially not just some person off the street.... especially not when the passage would promote fear and hate. But that's just me.
So I'm not sure which aspect of this story upsets me more... the circulating email with a flat out lie about a "Bible passage", or the fact that I know there will be SO MANY people who will just blindly accept it as fact.
Maybe the internet is the antichrist...
But if these folks do move to Canada, our national IQ might rise a few points. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?
Oh, and take supporters of California's Prop 8 with you when you go.
Well.....
Country First, huh?
So, for a radio bit, they decided they would pick someone who had made that statement and help them move to test the veracity of their assertion. And the one couple who is taking them up on it is a very young couple who decided to make the move when they were told that Obama is actually the Antichrist.
This young couple, freshly out of high school, and working at Steak and Shake, had concerns about an Obama presidency, although neither one could actually articulate why they were filled with such dread. They both swear up and down that it has nothing to do with the fact that he is a black man.
So what happened to push them to the point of turning their back on their country in such dire times? They overheard some customers talking, and the customers told them that Obama is the antichrist. They were told, and at least one caller called in and agreed with this... that the Bible actually contains a passage that says that the Antichrist will be a black man of Muslim heritage in his mid 40's who will rise to lead a country, and that the whole world will respect and follow him. And that was all they needed to hear to push them over the edge into their decision to move to Canada.
Forget the fact that:
1) there is no such passage in the Bible.
2) the reason there is no such passage in the Bible is because there were no such things as Muslims when the Bible was written.
For people who are supposed to be such good Christians, the fact that they just blindly accept a statement like this, should send cold chills down all of our spines. For one thing, point number 2 should have been the first thought in their heads. I know it actually was the first thing I shouted out at the radio when I heard it!
Apparently, there is an email making the rounds that presents this "Bible passage". So, be warned and check your emails. Who knew the way to salvation was through our Spam filters?!
I don't usually end up getting those kinds of emails forwarded to me, but there are a couple people in my very, very, extended email world who might actually send that to me, and I can't wait for it! If I do get it, it will be the last time I get any email from them, for sure!
The complete and immediate accpetance of assertions such as the one these young people heard in Steak and Shake really scares me. If someone tells you that something is in the Bible, don't simply believe them. Make them tell you chapter and verse, or at least make them narrow down to Old or New Testament, then go find it yourself. I knew there was no such Bible verse but I went to one of my Bibles anyway and looked up the word Antichrist in the Concordance. Then I read each of the Bible passages listed. 'Cause I'm just that way. I don't want anyone telling me what is in there... I want to know for myself.
Especially not just some person off the street.... especially not when the passage would promote fear and hate. But that's just me.
So I'm not sure which aspect of this story upsets me more... the circulating email with a flat out lie about a "Bible passage", or the fact that I know there will be SO MANY people who will just blindly accept it as fact.
Maybe the internet is the antichrist...
But if these folks do move to Canada, our national IQ might rise a few points. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?
Oh, and take supporters of California's Prop 8 with you when you go.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Sanctity of Marriage
Below is an email I sent to the local radio morning show. I had come to a point where I was frustrated with Californians and others who won't support marriage equality because it would somehow lessen the institution of marriage....If you don't listen to the Atlanta station Q100 and the Bert Show, you won't get most of this. But for those of you who do, here are my thoughts today.
Dear Bert Show,
First, I want to say that I love the show. I moved here from Tennessee a year ago and was wondering what I would do for morning radio... and was SO glad to find your show! I really do enjoy it. Second, let me say that I don't want to come across as someone who takes themselves and life too seriously. I try to maintain a sense of humor about things, and try not to be one of "those" people who get all riled up about things they hear on the radio. But in light of recent events around the election, namely the passing of Prop 8 in California, along with the other measures passed against Marriage Equality, I just have to say something about some of the story lines you were talking about this morning.
I can't get married, legally, to my partner. My partner, the love of my life, whose ring I would be proud to wear no matter where, when or what, and I can't have the same legal protection under the law that Vegas Amy has. Or that Superbowl whoever would have if her $3 million dollar effort finds a man for her. And the reason that I keep hearing over and over and over again is that allowing gay people to be legally married would somehow denigrate the sanctity of the institution of marriage.
The same institution that Vegas Amy is seemingly so willing to shrug off for a weekend. The same institution that Superbowl ad woman thinks she can buy her way into. The same institution that Trey is making a "game" out of trying to find a partner for. And I wonder how many people that you feature on your show that play so fast and loose with the sanctity of this institution would also cast a vote to deny me and my partner the right to participate in the same institution... All the while screaming about the sanctity of marriage.
I understand having a girls' night out or a whole weekend, I honestly do. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that at all! And I remember how depressing and scary the dating scene can be. But to take off your rings and present yourself as something that you aren't is, at best, offensive, and at worst is lying. I know some people who would consider it cheating to openly and purposefully flirt with people as if you were single. Even if your intentions are to not do anything beyond flirting, it is not respectful to your marriage vows or to your partner. And shows like the Bachelor and this attempt to put a Superbowl ad up to find a partner do nothing but make relationships seem more like a commodity that can be bought, consumed, and tossed aside like any other disposable item in our lives than the attempt to find someone with whom you can build a serious relationship.
As Melissa stated earlier, if Vegas Amy was Vegas Andy, there is no slack or sympathy that would be afforded to him. And any double standard is wrong, wouldn't you agree? And yet these same people think there is nothing wrong with what they do, while at the same time they believe or would actively work to prevent my partner and I from having equal protection for our relationship under the law. Double standard? Hypocrisy?
Like I said, I love your show and usually find the humor in all story lines you present for our enjoyment, but the wounds from Prop 8 are apparently more raw than I even realized, and today it was just too much to hear this sacred institution of marriage being treated so lightly and with such disrespect by some of your listeners. Seriously, people, if you don't want gay people to get legally married, come up with a better argument than this whole concept of the sanctity of the institution.
Wow... I feel better. Thanks for letting me vent some of my frustration. Like I said, I really do love your show and will keep listening.
Thanks,
Angie
Dear Bert Show,
First, I want to say that I love the show. I moved here from Tennessee a year ago and was wondering what I would do for morning radio... and was SO glad to find your show! I really do enjoy it. Second, let me say that I don't want to come across as someone who takes themselves and life too seriously. I try to maintain a sense of humor about things, and try not to be one of "those" people who get all riled up about things they hear on the radio. But in light of recent events around the election, namely the passing of Prop 8 in California, along with the other measures passed against Marriage Equality, I just have to say something about some of the story lines you were talking about this morning.
I can't get married, legally, to my partner. My partner, the love of my life, whose ring I would be proud to wear no matter where, when or what, and I can't have the same legal protection under the law that Vegas Amy has. Or that Superbowl whoever would have if her $3 million dollar effort finds a man for her. And the reason that I keep hearing over and over and over again is that allowing gay people to be legally married would somehow denigrate the sanctity of the institution of marriage.
The same institution that Vegas Amy is seemingly so willing to shrug off for a weekend. The same institution that Superbowl ad woman thinks she can buy her way into. The same institution that Trey is making a "game" out of trying to find a partner for. And I wonder how many people that you feature on your show that play so fast and loose with the sanctity of this institution would also cast a vote to deny me and my partner the right to participate in the same institution... All the while screaming about the sanctity of marriage.
I understand having a girls' night out or a whole weekend, I honestly do. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that at all! And I remember how depressing and scary the dating scene can be. But to take off your rings and present yourself as something that you aren't is, at best, offensive, and at worst is lying. I know some people who would consider it cheating to openly and purposefully flirt with people as if you were single. Even if your intentions are to not do anything beyond flirting, it is not respectful to your marriage vows or to your partner. And shows like the Bachelor and this attempt to put a Superbowl ad up to find a partner do nothing but make relationships seem more like a commodity that can be bought, consumed, and tossed aside like any other disposable item in our lives than the attempt to find someone with whom you can build a serious relationship.
As Melissa stated earlier, if Vegas Amy was Vegas Andy, there is no slack or sympathy that would be afforded to him. And any double standard is wrong, wouldn't you agree? And yet these same people think there is nothing wrong with what they do, while at the same time they believe or would actively work to prevent my partner and I from having equal protection for our relationship under the law. Double standard? Hypocrisy?
Like I said, I love your show and usually find the humor in all story lines you present for our enjoyment, but the wounds from Prop 8 are apparently more raw than I even realized, and today it was just too much to hear this sacred institution of marriage being treated so lightly and with such disrespect by some of your listeners. Seriously, people, if you don't want gay people to get legally married, come up with a better argument than this whole concept of the sanctity of the institution.
Wow... I feel better. Thanks for letting me vent some of my frustration. Like I said, I really do love your show and will keep listening.
Thanks,
Angie
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