Winston Churchill - Helped Save the World From Hitler

I’ve been feeling all Presidential these days, so I thought I’d broaden the theme by including a quote by a prominent British politician. One day, during a dark time in my life, I opened a Snapple iced tea at my kitchen sink and found under the lid a great quote. It seemed apt, and timely, so the I washed the lid and put it on the windowsill.

If you are going through hell, keep going.

~ Sir Winston Churchill

Photo courtesy of the U.K. Daily Mail Online

The White House has released a series of ‘Intimate Pictures of Obama’s Big Day’. They can be found at the U.K. Daily News Online. I’ll also put the link in the blogroll (down there on the left…) The pictures are charming – they reinforce our image of the Obama family as regular Americans. I’m volunteering. I’m donating. I’m working really hard. I’ve got my fingers crossed. A girl is entitled to her dreams!

I was kind of expecting this to be an uneven match, and was pleasantly surprised. My team wasn’t playing, so I pulled for the underdog Cardinals, and they didn’t disappoint! We served a pork loin this year – different than the usual pizza and wings, and quite delicious. Superbowl TCWC style… baked brie, artichoke dip, roasted veggie guacamole. OK, and chili cheese dogs.

It’s possible that Bruce Springsteen surpassed Tom Petty’s performance at last year’s Superbowl, and I didn’t expect to say that. I hope to God I have as much fun at my job when I’m 59 as Bruce Springsteen appears to. Also, if you’re feeling suddenly old at the news that the Boss is 59, welcome to the club. You’re in good company. What a great moment for Bruce and the E-Street Band! Kind of strange that he held a 20 minute press conference to discuss a 12 minute performance, but seeing as it was his first since 1984, I’m gonna give him a pass. Also of note: Have you ever seen the cowbell played with such intensity?

I’m still struggling through ‘Football for Dummies’, but even I know that a 100 yard run is freaking incredible. I also know enough to be very impressed by Larry Fitzgerald. I’m far enough through ‘Dummies’ to have understood the game fairly well, and I’m pretty proud of myself. Yes, there is a Dummies book for everything.

My friend Russ wants to know when they’re going to come up with a helmet that’s impossible to grasp? Like, some high-tech polymer or something. Come on, people. They’re liquefying brains on Fox.

We were pretty universally disappointed in the commercials this year. The advertisers had some 3-D offerings, and we obligingly went out to the local grocery store and picked up the required glasses. I also had a pair of the ‘fancy’ glasses they now sell at movie theaters. None of the glasses worked terribly well with the 3-D technology… we’re not sure if it was the dimensions of my living room (small) or our subsequent proximity to my flat screen television (large). I really hate that, because I’m a total convert to the ‘new’ 3-D technology at the theaters.

Glory Days, indeed....

Although this was a record year for money spent on Superbowl commercials, there was less flash and sparkle. The gang counted at least a half dozen commercials that we have seen before. The state of our economy really is touching every facet of American life these days. It’s hard not to be kind of sad. Just when I was feeling a bit down in the dumps, the Cardinals came back in the third quarter and they aired the wind-in-the-jar commercial, which cheered me right up. Bruce Springsteen clearly has the right idea. We’re all going to be working until the day we die anyway… might as well take lessons in how to enjoy it!

© Copyright 2009

All Rights Reserved. All Wrongs Avenged.

Earlier this week I talked about the Willing Suspension of Disbelief, in my review of the Fox series ‘Fringe‘. The unfulfilled English teacher in me insists that we explore the literary term Suspension of Disbelief in a more complicated forum.

With almost 60% of the market share, 24 does not need my review to boost viewership. Besides which, the lifeblood of this column is to bring you a different perspective on stuff you might not otherwise enjoy. But I do watch 24 – I have since the first season – and I’m a fan.

In the opening episode of this season (aired January 11, 2009 on Fox) Jack is brought to trial. He is asked (By Red Foreman from That 70’s Show – I kept expecting to hear ‘Dumbass!’) if he engaged in the use of torture, to which he replies ‘…yes’. If I closed my eyes while I listened to his justification, it was like listening to Sean Hannity. Here’s a taste: ‘the people that I deal with, they don’t care about your rules. They care about a result. My job is to prevent them from accomplishing their objectives… at any cost’. This show certainly found the perfect home on the Fox network. Jack dodges judgment for torture as he is summoned to a ‘Washington Field Office’ (unnamed Agency) for assistance in stopping another terrorist attack. The clear message here is that torture is a necessary evil and that the world will always need men like Jack Bauer.

Now, all is not uber-conservative in the land of 24. This was the first major network series to feature a black President, and the Commander in Chief for this season bears a striking resemblance to Hillary Clinton. Even so, it’s safe to say that my political slant is a bit to the left of the folks over at Fox.

I’m a woman, a Canadian, a Global Citizen, a sister, a daughter, and an animal lover. It gladdens my heart to think that I will birth children into a world that has always known a Black President. I like to think that Rush Limbaugh is a creepy alien creature with whom I have nothing in common. I have love for Moderate Conservatives, but most of the talking heads on Fox News scare me silly. I Do Not Believe that we can afford to sacrifice our ideals for a feeling of safety. But for one hour, each and every week, for 24 weeks, I Suspend that Disbelief to the point that I agree that the Patriot Act is a great idea. As long as Jack Bauer is in charge. The man’s moral compass never wavers. He is always willing to sacrifice for love of his Nation. He gives me the quivers (you know he gives you the quivers too. Admit it).

Liquefied Brains. Seriously.

And honestly, the notion that a man like Jack Bauer actually exists requires more of a suspension of disbelief than the redneck-turned-computer-genius who created a computer virus that liquefied his enemies brains last week on Fringe.

24, Season 7 (Current Season):

24, Redemption

© Copyright 2009

All Rights Reserved. All Wrongs Avenged.

A Beautiful Costa Rica Beach

…there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

~President Barack Obama