Entertainment

http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2009/08/31/question-of-the-day-802/#comments

For the last ten years or so I have frequently turned to the obituaries.  They can be touching, informative, verbose, or a better alternative than the comics which I can no longer read.  Or they can be all those things.

This has been expurgated by about 50%; names and verbosity removed.  Be sure to read to the end.

SAVOY –Susan was mercifully escorted into eternity by her friend, Jesus, in the early morning.

Susan was born on in Chicago. Her parents raised Susan and her two sisters and a brother on a humble electrician's wage. From her mother, Susan learned to cook, sew, manage a household and take care of her little brother. From her father, she learned the value of an honest day's labor and to live within her means.

Though she graduated high school near the top of her class, she was unable to afford college; and instead, moved to Los Angeles, Calif., with her sister. While there, Susan worked a clerical job by day; and by night she enjoyed the music of some of the all-time greats of jazz in the clubs of L.A. People were often struck by Susan's radiant beauty, and for a time, she was a dancer in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter, she was selected to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine and was hired by Playboy Enterprises in Chicago where she befriended Lenny Bruce, Dick Gregory, Paul Desmond and many other artistic celebrities of the era.

 Also in 1990, Susan acquired her daily companion, Fritz: and for the next 19 years, she spoke to her little dog every day, reminding everyone. "It's OK, he understands English."

Susan loved her family, parties, humor, art, music, good books, flowers, and most of all, talking to people. She was always enthusiastic about the achievements of others and took great interest in the lives of everyone she met. Christmas was her favorite holiday and her decorations, food, and generosity were always stunning. Susan read the newspaper and listened to talk-radio every day. She cared about justice and voted in every election. Serving jury duty, she once caused a mistrial by being the lone juror to hold fast to an alternative opinion. Susan was refreshingly honest, hardworking, humble, helpful whenever asked, and thought of others more than herself. Despite suffering great hardships at times, she learned to forgive everyone who ever hurt her, and spoke about others in only positive terms - except conservative Republicans - whose policies she found despicable. Susan accepted responsibility for her mistakes and was remarkably free from prejudice of any kind. To her dying day, she embraced life with a positive attitude, was always optimistic, persevered during trouble, and was often able to see life through a comical lens.

A lifelong cigarette smoker, Susan died of lung cancer.

Please, B is for Business, tell us again how this this whole thing is the fault of the consumer, and those poor businesses got the short end of the stick.

Europe has a peculiar relationship with Jews. On the one hand, you can go to jail for questioning the Holocaust, and on the other, you can go to jail for mentioning that certain unnamed groups are planning to do it again.  But I love England. Not the real England, which often joins in this dangerous foolishness, but the England I know through Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Evelyn Waugh, Kingsley Amis and a dozen other novelists. For the last several decades, I have been plowing through these books, and with a great deal of luck, have been treated to British adaptations of the novels within a few years of my having read them. I think particularly of the mini-series adaptations of Brideshead Revisited and Pride and Prejudice, and of Bleak House, and now, Oliver Twist.

As with anyone who likes to read,  screen adaptations are often a letdown, but they are almost always interesting. Oliver Twist is a case in point.

Even those who haven’t read Oliver Twist recognize the villainous character Fagin, who had in his employ a band of child pickpockets. I should warn you that they don’t sing much. Fagin, incidentally, is a non-practicing Jew in the novel. These recent screenwriters believe that was a mistake. 

At the end of the Masterpiece Theatre adaptation, as in the novel, Fagin is tried and convicted for complicity in Oliver’s kidnapping. On the screen, Fagin is asked if he wishes to plead for mercy, and not wanting to hang he replies “Yes, I do.” Paraphrasing here, the judge says, with knowledge that Fagin is a Jew, “Get down on your knees and pray to Christ,” to which Fagin replies, “I can’t do that.” He is hung of course, as in the book, but a certain saintly glow intrudes.

The novel does not contain this scene, even by implication. In fact, due to the miracle of find, I can tell you the word “Christ” never appears in the novel.   Instead, here is what Dickens wrote:

The noise subsided, and he was asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him. He had resumed his listening attitude, and looked intently at his questioner while the demand was made; but it was twice repeated before he seemed to hear it, and then he only muttered that he was an old man−−an old man−−and so, dropping into a whisper, was silent again.

Later in the book some Jewish elders visit him in the prison, and he refuses to pray with them, but on the screen he says things like “L'Chayim” and keeps Kosher.

I look to you for a theory for this radical transformation of perhaps the most famous villain in literature. Did the screenwriters find Dickens’s character too offensive for the screen? Did they believe that Jews would be offended by a Jewish villain who didn’t practice his faith? For the three of you who have gotten this far, what is the explanation?

John

An interesting article today in the Gazette about the Orpheum Children's Museum.  The museum board is looking for proposals to build a new museum.

We have an annual pass to the museum.  It's a nice facility but certainly falls short of other museums.  I can only compare with a couple larger museums, but in talking to others I understand that the museum here doesn't compare with those in Bloomington or in Decatur.  I think it's safe to say that developing a better museum in the current property is going to be difficult. And, ironically, if it happened, it would bring a host of parking problems.

I hope that something can be worked out to develop a better museum.  I have long felt that the strenght of our county is all that it offers for families and that we should be looking for ways to improve and accentuate that.  A good science museum can be a part of that.  Going back a few years I discussed this in relationship with the big.small.all project.  The thread is noteworthy for the fact that I found some common ground with old friends Interloper and Lazlo.  :)

For entertainment only --

In honor of the recent mention of the (in)famous Charlie Birger, I thought it'd be fun to have a thread dedicated to Illinois stories and legends.  Williamson County, where Birger fought with the Ku Klux Klan, is also known as "Bloody Williamson" because of its history of violence.  From Wikipedia:

Williamson County is often referred to as "Bloody Williamson" due to several outbreaks of violence that have few parallels in American history. These include the following: the Bloody Vendetta, 1876; the Carterville Massacre, 1899; Coal Strike, 1906; The Herrin Massacre, 1922; the Klan War, 1924; the Birger/Shelton War, 1927.

The Illinois National Guard was deployed repeatedly during the 1920's to separate the warring parties and attempt to keep order.

The 1876 Bloody Vendetta started with a dispute over a card game in Carbondale and a lawsuit over a few bushels of oats and turned into an all-out clan war with shootings.  It finally ended when convictions and a use hanging.  Here's a NY Times story on the Carterville Massacre, titled "WHITE MEN KILL NEGROES...."  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0DEEDC173DE433A2575BC1A96F9C94689ED7CF and another story about the governor sending militia: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0DEEDC173DE433A2575BC1A96F9C94689ED7CF

The Herrin Massacre was also related to a mining labor dispute.  During a two-day period, 19 strikebreakers and 2 union members were killed by an angry mob, and the story made headlines all over the country.

The Klan War was about Prohibition, rather than racism.  The Klan viewed bootlegging as "un-American," and decided to clean up the county by going door-to-door searching for alcohol.  This made them unpopular with many people.  Charlie Birger and his allies used their firepower to defeat the Klan in Williamson County.

Traded for another big-time starter

Best record in the National League, and bunch of guys going to the All-Star game, Kerry Wood has 22 saves, and Soriano should be back from the DL soon.

How many cars will be turned over and burned in Wrigleyville when the Cubs win the World Series?

OK, IP has already stated he doesn't much care for soccer, so I will hope for info from other readers here.

Is there a good place in town to watch a soccer game, a place where the serious fans show up (and where I can get lunch at the same time)?  I have tried Guidos and Buffalo Wild Wings, and each had the radio on and TV volume down.  I want to go somewhere tomorrow to watch Russia v Spain and really enjoy myself.  Any ideas?

Educate Thyself. 

Don't talk to the police.  Don't talk to the police.  Don't talk to the police.

http://www.hackaday.com/2008/06/16/dont-talk-to-the-police/

I have never understood people who don’t like the Rolling Stones. I suppose ignorance is an acceptable excuse. Another possibility is that they were turned off by the cult of celebrity perpetually keeping the bandmembers on the brink of destruction. A third possibility is the immoral nature, mild by today’s standards, of some of the songs - probably not the songs you are thinking of. 

The remedy, as I have written before, is to steadfastly resist knowing anything about the artists personally. Forty-five years of relentless publicity makes this difficult in the Stones’ case, but it’s not too late to begin the withdrawal process. 

Martin Scorsese’s new film, Shine A Light, apparently of a small venue Stone’s performance, is being released today. I was looking forward to seeing it, but now, after exposure to the publicity, I may take a pass. More likely, I will wait and see what others think and decide later. 

One of the reasons I was excited by this film is that the Stones are impossible to see live in any musically relevant way. They are either in huge arenas where the music is lost somewhere in the half mile that separates you from them, or they are in a small venue populated by coked out models and Hollywood types. Not that I wouldn’t snort coke to get in, but I am unlikely to be invited. 

In about 1971 I actually went to a Stones concert, reasoning that they were unlikely to tour again. I don’t remember much about it, except that for every thousand feet away from the stage you are, the closer you are to not being there at all. 

The Stones concert I remember best was actually an IMAX film at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago about twenty years ago. Not only was that experience the best Stones concert, it was the best musical experience of my life. That includes ten rows back from Segovia, all three concerts the Doors did in Chicago, and our own band playing warm-up for Segal-Schwall and BB King, leaving me and my bandmates exactly front row center for BB, a perk I don’t think the promoter intended. 

That concert, exquisitely filmed and miked, included no backstage scenes, no guest stars and no bullshit. Mick ran several miles during the concert, something I would rather he didn’t do, but since he never missed a note I am not in a position to complain. I am hoping this film gets to the IMAX again in the wake of Shine A Light publicity.

 If you want to take a risk and decide to see Shine A Light, consider seeing the IMAX version. There are approximately ten IMAX theaters within a day trip of here, and any one of them will be twice as better than Carmike. 

In the category of "Spoken Word Album", Barack Obama has beaten Bill Clinton. 

Does this mean Obama will be able to brag about being the one Democrat to beat both Bill AND Hillary Clinton?  ;-)

From today's News-Gazette:

For the first time in three years, Jan. 1 will pass without an increase in cable rates for current customers of Insight Communications.

As of that date, Comcast will take over Insight's franchise in the area, including Danville. But cable rates and channel lineups will remain the same, according to Melody Brucker, Insight's district vice president.

The only difference Insight customers should notice after Jan. 1 is the Comcast name appearing on their bills, she said.

"There will not be any local change in management," she said.

All 130 of Insight's employees in the area are expected to be retained, she added.

I'm awfuly happy with my service since I switch to DirecTV and over-the-air locals, although it was a pain to get set up.  If anyone is interested in switching to DirecTV, I'd be happy to help you - and collect a $50 referral for doing so.  :-)

I still wish I could get DSL in my neighborhood.

I agree 100 percent with Tom Kacich.

If legislators want to watch the Big Ten Network, they can get a satellite TV package, go to a bar or restaurant that has it, or find a friend who's a subscriber. And they should advise their constituents to do the same.

Now, if legislators really want to be useful, they can:
* fix the boilers at Lincoln's Challenge in Rantoul,
* come up with a comprehensive mass transit funding plan for the Chicago area,
* develop a statewide school construction program that also takes care of other capital needs,
* figure out a way to make Illinois schools the best,
* do all they can to fully fund various state pensions,
* clean up state government,
* and all a hundred other more relevant things.

OK, I don't usually post personal stuff on here, but because we've talked often about Cable television (specifically, competition from AT&T U-Verse and and the Big Ten Network) on here.  I'll share my personal saga as it may be useful to someone experiencing similar issues. 

As some of you may remember, I switched from DirecTV to Insight cable this spring.  I wanted my local stations in HD, and I wanted a DVR with no home phone line, and DirecTV couldn't or wouldn't make those things work for me.  I switched, and I've generally been pretty happy back on cable.

Unfortunately, the Big Ten Network, despite its shoddy implementation and strategic stupidity, has caused me to be unhappy with Insight.  As you may know, Insight's local franchise is being purchased by Comcast, and Comcast and the BTN are engaged in a nasty contest to see who can create the most dissatisfied customers in the quickest fashion.  The net result is that a number of Illini sporting events aren't available on local cable television, including about 15 to 20 men's basketball games.

So, I'm caving in to the Big Ten. Despite the crappy quality of the network and the stupidity behind creating it ("We want to be sure our product is seen by as few people as possible!"), I'm now switching back to DirecTV.  I just won't be able to stand missing that many Illini basketball games, especially now that they're available in HD on BTN.

I have been working with DirecTV and Good Vibes for the past two weeks to figure out how to make it work.  They're installing an "off air" antenna to give me my local stations in HD.  And their new HD DVRs can hook into my internet router rather than a phone line. As an added bonus, I'm going to get some of my favorite "geek" stations in HD - A&E, Animal Planet, Discovery, HGTV, History Channel, National Geographic, Science Channel, Smithsonian Channel and Weather Channel.  It'll be a geek extravaganza, especially for the 1 AM feedings.

On Monday night, the whole installation should be complete, and I'll just be one more customer turning off my cable television, and probably for the last time.  And while the Good Vibes people have been a pleasure to work with, the DirecTV folks are modeling their customer service on that provided by the cable company.

UPDATE:  Somewhat related - this is an easy way to add the Illini Men's Basketball schedule to your Outlook calendar.

Here is the invitation to one and all to join us for the 2007 Champaign County Republican Fall Festival this weekend. This family-friendly event will be held at Frasca Air Field (US 45   and Airport Rd.) on Sunday, Sept. 9, from Noon to 2:00 pm. The event promises something for everyone:

• Bounce house, slide, face painting and crafts for the kids 
• Live music by the Tons Of Fun Band
• Free kettle korn and ice cream
• Dunk tank featuring Mark Shelden, Jason Barickman and other famous officials
• Chicken/BBQ lunch catered by Town & Country Catering
• Celebrity emcee: Erika Harold, Miss America 2003
• State and local elected officials

Tickets are CHEAP:  $5/adults, $2/kids over 4 and $20/family max.

The weather looks great and we expect 400-500 people!  Come out and join the fun with the Champaign County Republican Party!

Thanks to the relatively new additon of a DVR to our household, a guilty pleasure this summer has been CBS' Big Brother 8, a voyeuristic and banal show about a bunch of people stuck in a house competing to see who can stay in the house the longest.  I know it's mindless and silly, but we like it, and that's why it's a guilty pleasure.

One of the nicest things about the DVR is that it records the shows, and we can watch whenever it's convenient for us, fast-forwarding through all the commericals and other tripe.  Unfortunately, we've been unable to miss the non-stop promotions for another show on CBS this fall, another "reality" program called Kid Nation.

Settling in Bonanza City, New Mexico, once a thriving mining town but now deserted, these Kids, ages 8 to 15 and from all walks of life, will build their own new world, pioneer-style. They will confront grown-up issues while coping with the classic childhood emotions of homesickness, peer pressure and the urge to break every rule. Episodes end with a town meeting in which the kids award one child a gold star worth $20,000, all leading to the grand finale, with an unimaginable test, the biggest awards and a special surprise for every child.

That sounds innocent enough, but the commercials are truly disturbing, showing kids in some awfully dangerous situations, all for entertainment and CBS' profits.  As we've watched these promos, we've kept asking, "Why would any parent ever allow their kid to do this?"

Some details:

If you haven't heard of "Kid Nation," it's a CBS reality show set for a Sept. 19 debut -- if the network airs the program, that is. "Kid Nation" is now under investigation by New Mexico authorities, who are looking into whether producers broke any laws during the show's filming in that state a few months ago.

Though CBS denies any wrongdoing and has said that the making of the show did not violate any laws, some "Kid Nation" participants -- all of whom were between the ages of 8 and 15 -- were injured during the course of the filming, according to news reports. A few young participants accidentally drank bleach, one kid sprained an arm and one child sustained a burn from hot grease.

The kicker? The parents of these kids had to sign a contract saying they would not sue over anything that might happen to their kids -- up to and including death.

According to the document posted on TheSmokingGun.com, the parents were told, via the contract they signed, that the show was "inherently dangerous" and could expose their children to "uncontrolled hazards and conditions that may cause serious bodily injury, illness or death." The parents had to relinquish all legal claims on CBS if anything did happen to their children. Oh, and unless the families stick to the terms of a confidentiality agreement that the network is still enforcing, they could be liable for a $5 million penalty.

All for a $5,000 "stipend," which is what most kids got for participating in the show. (Some kids got an additional $20,000 if they won competitions within the show.)

By my calculation, many of the kids who participated in the show -- if they did work 14-hour days for 40 days -- got less than $9 an hour.

Ugh.

Governor Rod Blagojevich, in between insulting members of the General Assembly, signed the cable competition bill.

The legislation Blagojevich signed allows new video service providers, principally telephone companies like AT&T or Verizon, to win statewide approval to offer services rather than going through the time-consuming process of negotiating franchises with individual communities.

It was only a few months ago that the Champaign City Council summarily dismissed AT&T's effort to win permission locally to offer service, and AT&T didn't even bother asking the Urbana City Council. Now AT&T, going around local city councils, must apply only to the Illinois Commerce Commission before it starts building the infrastructure necessary to offer video services.

Illinois is one of a number of states, including Indiana, Michigan and California, to allow new entrants into the home video market to obtain approval from one state agency rather than hundreds of individual communities.

I did notice, while watching Urbana Public Television last night (save the wisecracks, please) that there were PSAs running that UPTV and other community access stations would no longer exist if this bill were enacted.

The cable television bill (also referred to as the "AT&T bill") passed the State Senate yesterday, and is heading to Governor Blagojevich for a signature:

Lawmakers predicted cable TV viewers would get better service, more competitive rates—and even credits when a cable technician is tardy on service calls—under legislation the Senate sent to the governor Tuesday.

The proposal would make it easier for AT&T and other telecommunications companies to go up against cable operators in Illinois by streamlining a cumbersome franchising system that requires new TV service providers to seek town-by-town approval.

New customer service requirements were included in the legislation as part of the extensive negotiations between lawmakers and companies on both sides of the issue.

Cable operators would have to give customers a four-hour appointment window for service, and if a technician doesn't show up within that period, the customer automatically would get a $25 credit on his account. Currently, some customers have to wait eight to 12 hours for a technician, who sometimes never shows up, state officials said.

The bill would limit cable contracts to one year instead of two, giving consumers more flexibility.

"We are frankly thrilled by the service-quality standards that are in this bill," said David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, a public watchdog group.

I've bounced between cable and satellite since 1999 or so, and haven't ever been happy with either.  Hopefully, a little competition will spur some improvements, especially in customer service and customer choices.

You may remember earlier this year, when AT&T came before the Champaign City Council, and their effort to enter this market as a provider were rebuffed, for very valid reasons.  I don't know if this bill will completely eliminate the city from the franchising process, or if it just "streamlines" it.