The Meatriarchy If God didn't want me to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?
Friday, December 12, 2003
Looking Southward.
I haven't had a great deal of time to pay any attention to the race for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Although you would have to be living under a rock not to know about Howard Dean's suprising rise to the front of the pack. If you troll the Net you'd think this guy had the nomination locked up. Not so says Business Week : magazine
" Thus far, Dean's base is dominated by Net-heads and highly educated liberals. He needs to connect more solidly with other constituencies. First, there are black voters. Most African Americans don't know Dean, and many who do bristle at his clumsy remarks on the Confederate flag.
Then there are those missing Deanies in America's upscale suburbs, where Dean's populist rants alarm the investor class. 'Most suburban voters believe big corporations are getting too much of a break from George W. Bush,' says pollster Mark J. Penn. 'But they also believe in sensible pro-growth policies. They think wholesale re-regulation would cost America jobs.'
Can Dean meet these challenges? Absolutely. In truth, he has been far more nimble than many pundits reckoned. And there's no denying that Dean has galvanized once-apathetic young people and Democrats who want the party to stand for something besides low-cal Republicanism.
But unless -- and until -- the internist with the sharp scalpel shows that he can articulate an inclusive message, don't rush out and order Dr. Dean's prescription. There's still a primary battle to be won, and Dean hasn't won it...yet. "
Meantime Right Wing News: points to a great quote from Democrat Pitbull James Carville:
"I told Steve McMahon, the media guy for Dean, who was on 'Crossfire': You have one of the three most influential presidential campaigns of my lifetime. That's the good news. The bad news is the other two are McGovern and Goldwater.'
I would have included Ross Perot's first campaign as well.
Evil pundit of doom! (another good blog I just discovered) points out something very very interesting about Dick Gephardts Flag Photo OP. Read the comments - most people didn't get it.
Look at the pic really carefully. If you don't see it your a miserable failure
Slashdot | JenniCam Closing After 7 Years. Wow I remember when the whole Jennicam thing started. I actually first heard of her through old media - TV, there was some tech show on some channel that mentioned her.
I used to visit her site quite regularly but never joined as a member - I hate spending money on stuff like that. It got a little boring pretty quickly (and her taste in men was particularly repelling) but I would rate her as a true internet pioneer. The explosion of webcam sites can definitely be traced ( in large part) back to Jennifer.
According to reports PayPal is closing her account because they don't allow full frontal nudity. I don't know how long she has been with PayPal but her site regularly featured Jennifer lying on her bed masturbating. Did they not look at the site till now?
I'm sure she could hook up with another adult oriented pay provider if she wanted to. Or maybe she has finally had enough living in a fish bowl.
So outgoing PM Chretien or as the Globe has spelled it Chrytien has made another patronage appointment. This time its Jim Munson. For those who don't remember Munson was a reporter for CTV for many years until joining the PMO's office.
This isn't the only media person that Chretien has dropped major plums jobs upon. Adrienne Clarkson who made her name on CBC's "investigative journalism" program "The Fifth Estate" was made Governor General under Chretien (for those outside of Canada the Governor General is a ceremonial post but is technically the Queen's representative in Canada therefore a symbolically powerful position.) Clarkson and her hideous husband John Ralston Saul have used the office as a blank cheque for entertaining their "progressive" friends.
Also Chretien appointed long time CTV news anchor Pamela Wallin as Consul General to New York City 18 months ago.
Gee it sure is nice to see reporters who are supposed to be impartial observers and critics of the government getting plum posts.
I don't remember Mulroney ever engaging in this behaviour. And I doubt the Conservatives if elected would find anyone willing to leave journalism to work for them.
But I will content myself with repeating over and over again"
"there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media" "there is no Liberal bias in the media"
I was semi-interested in seeing this movie. Now this review has pretty much turned me off.
For the next two-and-a-half hours, the film advances the thesis that the life of honor is incompatible with, and in fact preferable to, the modern world (as represented by the United States), with all its technology, wealth, and spiritual hollowness. Although the idea has some appeal in the abstract, as a practical matter it is difficult to swallow the premise that Japan would be a better country today without having been Westernized, which is the case that the film so earnestly attempts to make.
I guess it might be a sign of my age but the only movies I have gone to see over the past few years have been the Lord of The Rings films and one or two others (Signs was one - and it was very good).
Mostly though I just hate being hammered on the head by Hollywood propagandists.
The Blog Quebecois points us to an excellent site which debunks the bad physics that populates most Hollywood movies. Y'know things like exploding cars and the attraction of plate glass windows to shooting victims.
There is also a need for a serious debunking of fight scenes in movies. As someone who has studied martial arts for 15 years I am continually amused at what passes for hand-to-hand combat in movies and TV.
Some things you should be aware of when it comes to fighting.
1 Almost all fights end up on the ground within about 60 seconds. After the first flurries of punches (or kicks) are thrown combatants have generally moved close enough that they often grab onto one another. This leads to them falling to the ground and rolling around (this is why Judo and its allies are such good fighting arts).
2 Punches do not make noise. Trust me I have been hit by and hit people with punches. The only noise you might get is a wet barely audible thump if you hit them in the face and maybe a low cracking noise if you break a bone. Yet punches in the movies sound like whip cracks or gunfire. Be aware of this because if you get in a fight and really hit someone you will be disappointed that it doesn't make a dramatic noise.
3. Size counts. In a hand-to-hand combat situation where the two combatants possess equal knowledge the larger will win. Period. That is why there are weight classes in all forms of combat sport. If a smaller person wishes to defeat a bigger person they have to be much better trained and skillful. A 100-pound karate black belt could probably hold his or her own against a 250-pound assailant with no training but it wouldn't necessarily be automatic. The smaller person could conceivably do damage but they would have to hit fast and hard. If you are in a fight with a much bigger person and you don’t knock them down with your best shot immediately you are in trouble. Especially if he grabs you and you have no grappling skills.
4 Physics counts. If someone hits you hard enough in the head that you fly across a room and into a wall breaking part of that wall – you are probably dead. Yet this seems to happen an awful lot on Buffy and Angel and Dark Angel and whatever other silly show is on this days where the heroine is a 90 pound teen age girl. How many times have you seen a demon backhand a Buffy character (not just Buffy but Zander or any other character) and he or she goes flying across the room? Well that person’s head should have popped off from the force. Consider the type of impact that would have to be applied to your head to lift you off the ground and hurl you through the air. Not even Mike Tyson in his prime could have exacted this type of power – the most that would happen is you would crumple to the ground in an unconscious heap with a broken jaw if Iron Mike hit you. However if a demon hits you hard enough to make you fly across the room you should be dead.
5 Nature’s laws don’t change because you want them to. Mike Tyson can hit hard because he is huge. Mas Oyama the famed Japanese (he was of Korean heritage though) martial artist who could kill bulls with his bare hands would do over 1000 pushups a day. I had the chance to see him up close about 10 years ago (he died soon after) and can attest to the fact that even in his 80’s he was very powerful. But most significant he was very very large – not tall or fat but very wide. His back muscles and shoulder muscles were wide enough to land a plane on. And this guy in his glory could kill a bull with one punch. But to get to that point in his body had to become strong enough. In other words he had to develop the muscles to get the power to generate the type of force needed to kill a bull.
So it isn’t impossible for a smaller person to develop powerful kicks and punches but it requires training and training will lead to larger muscles. So it is impossible for someone with the physique of Jessica Alba or Sarah Michelle Gellar to generate any type of knockout power. If you are diligently trained in the martial arts and can kick well you will have strong butt muscles. That’s where your kicking power comes from. I have seen women and girls join my karate club with little stick figure legs and narrow little butts. If they stay and work up to black belt one thing is certain – their thighs and butt get bigger (sometimes a lot) this is one reason why a lot of them quit – because they are always so concerned about how big their butts are getting (actually there are many reasons why people quit karate but some women have mentioned this reason to me, so I know it’s true).
And it doesn’t matter how good your technique looks or how high you can kick. I’ve known plenty of people whose karate looks spectacular yet who couldn’t break even one board. This is because they don’t have the proper technique to generate power and it comes from strength in your muscles. You don’t have to be huge in fact one of the most powerful karateka I ever knew was a bone thin fellow. But he knew how to apply all his power into a technique. When I see fight scenes on TV and movies all I can think of is that any dancer or gymnast could replicate these moves quite easily but they would not do any damage. One of my students was a girl who used to take gymnastics; she was very flexile and could kick over her head. But she couldn’t break a board to save her life.
I am always amused when movie stars (like Lucy Liu or Cameron Diaz) brag about how they took grueling martial arts training for 2 months before doing a movie. What a load. It takes years of training to become proficient. And you can shorten it up by training longer periods of time. Chuck Norris used to train four hours a day in Korea for seven days a week. And he doesn’t look like a stick figure.
Worst of all is the Hollywood contention that you can become a good fighter without hard training. I have so many students that think they can be super killers with one or two lessons. It used to be that just boys were victims of this type of Hollywood/Nintendo bullshit. Now a whole generation of girls have got the idea that you can be a super martial artist and still be bone thin. At least the boys want to build big powerful muscles. But the girls see Jessica Alba and Sarah Michelle Gellar and think that this is a legitimate goal to strive for.
When I have people tell me they want to be able to defend themselves against larger stronger attackers and they want to be able to do it quickly and easily.
My earlier post (click here to read it - actually now the permalinks arent' working so you'll have to scroll down to Sunday's entry. ) about the Fan 590's Suicide attempt has attracted attention over at The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum where readers have raised some criticisms but I can't respond there because I am not a member.
So I will respond here.
First of all thanks to the person (Zager) who posted the link to my site - it drove some great traffic over here.
Someone mentioned that I didn't go after Mojo's Bill Watters for being critical of the Leafs. Watters the former assistant general manager whose release from the Leafs wasn't handled well by the organization has plenty of reasons to have an axe to grind against the team. Yet he manages to be fair and even handed. His critiques aren't rooted in hysteria and he doesn't (so far) treat the fans with scorn and contempt (he saves that for Gary Bettman, which is also uncalled for). I am not opposed to anyone (media, fan, or otherwise) being critical of a team or its management. I just think the Fan has gone beyond legitimate criticism and has descended into childish invective.
Another person pointed out that the Fan still handily beats Mojo overall in the ratings. This is a fair point but its true because largely most of Mojo's programming is dreadful. The only bright lights are their Leafs related shows. I would be willing to bet that "Leafs Lunch" will be beating the Fan's Mike Hogan soon -if not already. Also you can bet that the Fan's ratings are at near zero on nights when the Leafs games are broadcast on Mojo.
Finally someone mentioned (quite legitimately) that the Fan has a big advantage because they were first to market with the format and as such have developed loyal listeners around their personalities (like McCowan and Gord Stellick). This is true but the fact remains they haven't had any real competition. CHUM switched their AM oldies format to sports for a brief period, but they didn't stay with the format long enough to make it work (I think only two ratings periods). Of course the audience for this format is finite. So any alternative doesn't increase ratings per se, it only splits the audience.
I guess the news is heavily censored in Australia or maybe people just don't bother to check their history books.
"The police beating also recalled memories of the killing of Rodney King in 1992. Los Angeles erupted in violence after four white officers were acquitted of beating the black motorist to death. "
Wow - I guess the LAPD stashed the body and then had a clone wandering around saying "can't we just get along".
a lot of the problems W. is dealing with today are left over from the Carter and Clinton administrations. Carter stood back and allowed the Shah of Iran to be toppled, which allowed a group of terrorist supporting, nuclear bomb developing crazies who are still giving us headaches today to get into office. He also came across as so weak to the Soviets that they invaded Afghanistan. That set about a chain of events that led to Osama Bin Laden forming Al-Qaeda and the Taliban taking over in Afghanistan.
In Clinton's case, he actually declined an offer from Sudan to turn over Osama Bin Laden to him in 1996 and engaged in such weak responses to threats (including the now infamous Black Hawk Down incident) than Bin Laden actually came to believe that he could defeat the United States with terrorism. Clinton also twice ignored provocation from Saddam Hussein that should have led to war -- his assassination attempt on former President George Bush Sr. and Saddam's refusal to let the inspectors do their jobs in 1998.
Clinton and Carter even teamed up on the 1993 deal with North Korea that led to the US sending them a vast array goodies in return for an empty & unverifiable North Korean promise to stop working on their nuclear program. Unsurprisingly -- well to anyone except liberals -- the North Koreans later admitted that they had been lying all along.
Now that George W. Bush is actually cleaning up all their faux pas, foul-ups, and messes, foreign policy "experts" Slick Willie and the Peanut are publicly giving him "advice" at every opportunity. Hey, George Bush needs their foreign policy "expertise" like a daycare center needs Michael Jackson to do private counseling.
What to make of the local sports radio station (CJCL) in Toronto. The largest radio market in the country with the most professional sports teams (3 - NBA, MLB and NHL) certainly needs a dedicated sports station. Why however is Toronto's seemingly intent on alienating the bulk of its core market?
Consider this - the most popular sports team by far in this city (if not the country) is the Toronto Maple Leafs (for those out of the loop its our hockey team). The Fan 590 once held the broadcast rights to Leafs' hockey games (radio that is) but a few years ago they lost that right to another talk radio station AM640 (talk radio for guys).
Ever since then the Fan has been on the warpath. Led by the evening drive host Bob McCown and his sidekick Toronto Star columnist Damian Cox the station is unrelenting in its mean-spirited and often childish attacks on the team, its management and the fans.
When the Leafs were losing just a few weeks ago Fan reporter Howard Berger began darkly hinting that the team had stopped playing for the coach (Pat Quinn) and that his firing was imminent. When the team began winning Berger wrote a peice in the National Post chastising the fans for calling for Quinn's head. This is typical behaviour at the station. When the team is losing they pile on the criticism. When the team is winning every host can be heard saying “gee only last week all the fans were ready to fire the coach”.
Damian Cox has had a hatred for Pat Quinn from day one and spent most of his time for the past three years nit-picking over the fact that Quinn held both the coach and GM's job. Now that Quinn has relinquished the job to John Ferguson Jr. Cox figures that the latest win streak proves his point. In his latest column, which has been "fisked" over at the Canucks Weblog . Cox points out that teams on a winning streak (the Leafs have confounded critics by winning 8 in a row) don't necessarily win cups. So we are left wondering what the team should do? Lose games every so often just to keep his theory going?
Cox and McCown aren't the only offenders. Midday host Mike Hogan (who seems to suffer from a permanent head cold) a rabid football fan and Leaf hater recently had a call in segment devoted to this topic: What do you hate most about Leaf fans? This in a city where the Leafs are the number one sports team. This in a city where you could put 100,000 people into an arena to watch them play, if you could build a hockey arena that large. This kind of segment would make sense in Buffalo where the close proximity of the two teams makes for an easy rivalry, but here in Toronto??
You have to wonder what the program directors at the Fan are thinking? Is pissing off your largest segment of fans a great way to attract advertisers?
Down the dial the competition has taken notice. Talk 640 now runs "Leafs Lunch" from noon till two everyday competing head to head with Hogan on the Fan. Featuring former Leafs Assistant GM Bill Watters the show is much more even handed and focused on talking about the team - not trashing the team. You can bet the ratings for that time slot will soon start to tilt heavily in Talk 640's favor.
Meantime you have to assume that the Fan will continue to bleed listeners till some wholesale firings take place. They can't be that hell bent on self-destruction.
