dominion

the ridiculous obsession human beings have with war and the delusional good verses evil mythologies (and so many other common delusions) is so sad that it renders humanity pathetic and superficial and redundant and ultimately meaningless... so the newest twist (not that anything is original) is the angels are egomaniacal spoiled frightened orphaned children because their father, aka god, disappeared and left them to fend for themselves and naturally (at least natural for human conflict story lines), they blame humans who are as always, ignorant slaves lead by a few corrupt power-mad male individuals who drink alcohol for strength and dress women in skimpy clothing because, after all, that is what grown ups do in the movies, right?... amazing that every variation of the same old song comes with the same old weaknesses and pretentious drama... above all else, insecurity rules...

so the commonly accepted god father is gone and the commonly accepted angels are not so good and perfect as commonly thought and humans are as stupid and corrupt as ever and, of course, there is a reluctant rebellious chosen one (is there a culture that hasn't had that one?) with a confused multi-dimensional love interest (love triangles are such triangles, after all) and... the same old song...

yeah, insecurity... anyway, i avoided the first showings and did not dvr because i seek creativity and originality and am so tired of the god and religion based good verses evil stories... but there may be some eye candy worth watching though... not high on my list, but perhaps i shall check it out now and then...

halt and catch fire

sure, the master genius coder was a cute young girl and the real push behind the pc clone was a pretty boy bisexual salesman who will sell his soul for his idea (the pc clone)... wonder if the devil is in the wings... and so where does bill gates and steve jobs come in?... was i redundant there?... or is this gonna be much more fiction than history, maybe... anyway, i'd like to meet a cute genius...

the show, halt and catch fire is based in the 80s start-up computer business with the main characters trying to figure out how to make the first home computer pc clone to beat ibm to the market and we know someone did, so i'm wondering if these are the guys... and cute girl genius coder...

no, she's not really my type if you know my type (have i mentioned mila lately?... i mean, is that guy obsessed much?... but i'm gonna just for the record mention that i am available and have an insatiable sex drive and a libido that is very particular just in case, i mean, hey, what can i say, the one {you know, all i ever needed?} might stumble across this entry, fit me like a glove, and fall madly in love with my serious irreverence... or simply someone who wants great sex who looks like my libido fantasy might get lucky tonight cuz she stopped by here and checked me out... mila?... mila?.. bueler?... yeah, i'm too cool and all that, and fun too)...

oh yeah, the tv is still on... so halt and catch fire... an odd one with enough appeal to be dvred and on in the background during sex, or whatever you may be doing...

what?... you don't come here for actual tv show reviews, do you?...

narf :)

believe

the tv series would have made a decent lifetime channel movie with a tidy and noble almost happily ever after ending, but stretched into a season series of episodes, it was fun as long as i overlooked the pretentiousness, contradictions, predictability, and stereotypes... not much more can be expected from a tv show with a pre-teen girl as the main character... she may go places, but then i thought the same thing of anna chumsky from my girl fame and i'm not sure what happened to her (apparently she is finding success on tv in shows i do not watch)... she could probably do a my girl 3 if they wanted to chance another remake... i know one old friend who might love that... anyway, the show was cancelled most likely because it was on a station that didn't believe in it (pun not intended, but i'll stand behind it now)...

it's been done before, imagining telekenetic powers... sci-fi has explored and imagined the mysterious powers of the mind in many ways (firestarter comes to mind, for one) and there was very little originality or creativity in this one... it held out hope for the underdog and for second chances big time, which appeals to many, including me... also, the unconditional belief in the goodness of people is a primary story line and while i've got a lot more cynicism and jaded edges these days, it is still the core of why i keep trying to share and help and live this life... most of the time (self-mockery... see, you can learn a lot about me reading this background tv blog, i mean, if you want to)...

anyway (nonchalance, right?), i would have dvred and watched another season of believe if it returned and i would have liked it to return and hope someone gives it (and maybe some added writers) a chance on another network, but i understand why it did not return on the prime time line-up... prime time channels are reflective of the culture, instant satisfaction, superficial, snap judgments, no depth... simply, fads... most shows that last do not really get beyond the surface until a few years go by when the writers are tested for their talents and they get those extra years mostly through luck of placement in the weekly lineup and being in the right place with the right message at the right time in every other way... often a theme follows a hit movie... usually it has a known star, or few, and a cast that finds great chemistry... but like every other fad, it makes it through the first season on being a unique idea presented cleverly with a lot of luck of the draw...

believe, alas, did not do well on any of those counts... still, it was fun for a season...

without the referees

yeah, just one more opinion piece about the basketball that was on tv this year... without the referees miami had no chance to win or even keep it close... they knew that after the second game where the refs helped them... and that is why they quit... a sad reflection on the state of the game, even sadder since lebron is supposed to be the face of the game and the one kids are supposed to want to be like... remember "i wanna be like mike?"...

there is no heart of champions in a team that gives up with half a quarter to go... that is pathetic and no example for kids or anyone to follow... follow the loyalty and perseverance and never quite attitude and actions of san antonio or michel jordon if you really want to be successful in what you do... the big three for miami sat down with almost 4 minutes left in the game that would decide it all... lebron sat down with more than 6 minutes left in the game... true champions do not give up before the game is over... they quit because they were beaten down by a much better team, but they sold out the nba by not trying right to the end... that is the nba today... garbage... san antonio represents what the nba should be, a team playing a team game with class and heart... lebron wanted an easy way to the top so he sold out his home town and fans and team to join a crafted-to-win franchise (that only went 50% so far, by the way)... without the referees controlling the games like they did the last two years, the heat had no chance... street ballers need the refs to help them win in a team sport... game two showed that because it was the only game where the refs were calling crap early (though they called crap early in the first have of game five, but wisely for the nba, they stopped)... without the refs, four blow outs...

and then there are the comparisons between michael jordan and lebron james are over for anyone who knows the game of basketball... michael did not sit down and accept a loss with more than 6 minutes in a game... michael scored 50 or 60 points when his team needed it... there was no quit... athletically, michael's body held up much better than Lebrons, no injuries, no cramping, no fatigue in the 4th quarter, in fact michael only got better and was the best finisher to ever play the game hands down... michael did not need to bully his way to the basket (which is why lebron can't keep it up for a whole game), michael dazzled his way around opponents... michael did not jump from team to team looking for a winner, michael was a winner and created a winning team around him with his heart, his attitude, his leadership, and his talent - none of which Lebron has at the level Michael had it... Micheal didn't whine to referees and flop like lebron and miami does so often for help from referees, Michael relied on his talents and his teammates...

even the stats show lebron is no michael... 6 wins, no losses in championship games... and that was with taking two years off... michael had two three-peats, few players even have one... michael and the bulls won three in a row, then michael took two years off from basketball... then he came back to win three more championships in a row... and michael didn't start right out of high school yet still played 15 years even with two years off... michael lead the league in scoring for 10 years and was still defensive player of the year... lebron lead the league in scoring once... michael lead the league in steals for 3 years, lebron - none... lebron has to win the next four chamionships and make the all-defensive team the next four years to match michel in those categories... not likely... but it's so much more than stats... that's not even looking at the competition michael faced every year - way above the competition lebron walks through to get to the finals... lebron breezes through an eastern conference that offers no real competition... michael had to beat other legends of the game to win every year... even if lebron got near these records, he fails to be like mike in so many other ways that it's wishful thinking to compare them... the biggest different between Michael and Lebron is heart and maturity... Lebron is a talented bully who whines and gives up on the court when compared to Michael... any objective and honest person with knowledge of how the game is played who watched both of them play knows that...

without the referees, there is no contest... without the referees help, bullies and ballers will lose every time... it was good to see the team sport of basketball played with class and finesse once again this year... we can thank the referees for allowing that... and we can thank the san antonion spurs for believing in the game and themselves and for not quitting when so many were calling them done...

sing your face off

i didn't watch the series, but if the last two shows were anything like the series, it was way to obviously staged to be a platform for china... she is wonderful, an amazing talent, and maybe that is why she won (the final vote was not in when i wrote that)... unfortunately, calling the celebrity judges "experts" added to the farcical feeling the show presented... the lip synching may have been denied, but it was way too obvious in the finale with landry smith's little richard and briefly for china doing whitney houston... my guess is disney put this show together specifically to showcase their foourteen year old phenomenal talent, china ann mclain, who actually deserves it, but the pretense sours the whole experience... i am very glad i did not watch the series and only catch the finale... maybe they will apologize (craig ferguson was a pleasant surprise, even if it distracts us from the point of this entry, but then, when was that ever discouraged around here?... what?... i mean, it's background tv, it's supposed to be a distraction, didntcha know?)...

anyway, i dvr'd the finale after reading about it tonight and so i did a bit of and after watching in fast forward, i did a little internet search and i see it is as obvious as it appeared to me... the very strange minds at common sense media (misnomer, anyone?) don't help the show, but their very narrow view is included her mostly out of shock that they exist and someone might actually take them seriously... back to the show, ummmm, then again, it's over, i'm done...

lthank you san antonio

for bringing back basketball... it is very likely that if miami loses, there will be many excuses and the leading one will be some excuse for lebron, some injury or malady that kept him from being the greatest player of all time... really, just accept that was michael and let it go... six championships, no losses, and when needed, michael would score 60 points if that was the only way to win... let lebron four championships against better competition than lebron has ever seen, then let him retire to play another sport for two years, then let's see him come back and win two more championships without skipping a beat... without ezcuses or whining or pleading to the refs for foul calls... then start the comparisons... anyway, the best thing about the 2014 nba championships is the referees let the teams play for the first time in many championship series and that allowed everyone to play...

the primary difference in the 2014 championship series is the referees are calling it more fairly and letting the teams actually play the game... and that allowed proof that a great team, a group of players who play team basketball well, can beat any street-player superstars... and it is not as astounding team performance as some announcers want to claim, it's not 76% shooting every game, they are averaging 52% shooting for the series... 52% is not the greatest shooting, but the team defense against the street ballers have shut down the street ballers... the street ballers do not have the skill or stamina to keep up with a team playing great team ball...

at least for a few days, basketball is a team sport again, as it should be, as it always was until recent years when the nba seemed to want to crown kings and raise individual plays over executing the games of basketball well... keep the individual plays for the dunk contests, let the great team sport come back to what it was meant to be, a great team executing passes and plays that dazzle the opponents and true basketball fans who understand the game...

the nba script remains the same

lebron can do no wrong, miami must win... lebron can bully physically and verbally, no problem... just ignore the blatant violation of rules because lebron brings the money in... miami cheats... miami bullies... tony parker was taken out of the game by a deliberate elbow to the gut, the wind up and blow was clear on replay... sacrifice a player and a flagrant foul to take out the other teams better player... hockey sucks because of that... basketball sucks because of that... sad the usa culture has come to that... lebron hits tony parker in the face then hits his hand, but because he screams at the refs there is no foul called and they give them a free time out to review the play... obvious foul, no call... just before that parker was about to start a fast break and the refs stop play because they 24 second clock ran out on miami... but parket already had the ball, so why stop play?... to stop the san antonio fast break... less than a minute later ginobli is hit in the face, no foul... then lebron falls down and a foul is called... cheaters prosper in the nba... the announcers ignore it in the last minute, the refs decide the game in the last minute, that is the nba script... pathetic and the miami greatness is tainted beyond repair... three years in a row the refs decide the key games... other players would be thrown out of games for yelling ar refs, for cursing like lebron does... he gets rewarded at the end of the game... there is no doubt lebron has amazing talent, but his talent is worthless as long as the refs are not holding him to the same rules as every other player...

and the class of the spurs... the coach puts the responsibility squarely on the the spurs lack of passing and that is definitely why they lost the game... whenever ginobli tries to go one on one and shoot stupid shots from outside in the last few minutes, the spurs lose... sure, the refs took leonard out of the game with cheap and bogus fouls... and definitely the refs gave miami extra points, without which miami would have lost... but the refs would have had to make even more flagrant bias calls for miami to win if san antonio did not have ginobli on the floor in the last few minutes... just like last year... he has his place and he is a great player, but he is not the one you want handling the ball in the last few minutes, not if you want to win... the announcers are such kiss ass ridiculous wastes - leonard is oh for two?... the same announcing team said before the game leonard was the difference in game one and that miami was in trouble,,, not miami can do no wrong... what a waste of time...

before game two i wondered if the nba would let san antonio have a fair shot at winning... they didn't... every year, the nba leaves a bad taste in the mouths of anyone who really knows basketball... their popularity is losing the mainstream, whether they see it or not...

making excuses for lebron

that seems to be an important part of the job description for no matter what happens, it's never lebron james fault... kudos to the miami coach for not using the temperature as an excuse... that is why he has won so much, he opposes excuses most of the time... but the excuses and favoritism and special treatment that amounts to breaking of rules that lebron gets is a stain on every win miami has had since he got there... tonight the air conditioning in the arena broke down and thousands of fans and every single player had to endure 90+ degree heat and lebron james was the only player who could not complete the game... the king, the greatest athlete, the leader of the nba, he was the only one who could not deal with the heat... irony?... the heat come from the hottest city in the country and are the much younger team with supposedly much better athletes and their best player could not take the heat... and nobody is pointing out that every other player made it through the game... so was every other athlete's body was in better shape than lebron james, the king?... just another farce in the nba soap opera... how about questioning how performance enhancing drugs lead to more muscle cramping?... yeah, whatever, drama is easy... playing the game is what matters... street ballers everywhere are wondering why the nba players and lebron especially get so much respect when they are over-paid pampered prima donnas who simply, can't take the heat...