- Well, tomorrow morning I'm leavin' on a jet plane, bolting out of Burbank and eventually ending up at Bradley airport in CT after approximately 37 stops. I'll be in the always-exciting state of Connecticut from Wednesday to Sunday, and I have a feeling that after a few short days I'll be ready to get back to Hollywood. Sure, it will be nice to chill out a bit in sub-90 degree weather, take in some authentic October weather, and see some actual Fall foliage, but the fact is there's always something going on here in LA and a week away is often at least a couple of opportunities missed. That being said, sometimes one needs to get away in order to refocus, so my plan is to stop in CT, clear my head, and come back to California with renewed energy and the will to get to work on all that "Phase 2" stuff I was ranting about last week on my birthday. I'll be in CT for Yom Kippur, so I won't be worrying about which slightly-shady LA-area group I'll be spending the holiday with this year. I'll be in good ol' Beth Hillel synagogue, average member age approximately 72 years young. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you can't exactly make the case that suburban CT is a magnet for the young and on-the-move. But, the best thing about being in CT is that one can easily shut off one's brain for a bit. For five days, my biggest worry will be my parents nagging me about helping to clean the house. Which, yeah, is somewhat headache inducing, but in the grand scheme of things worth sweating about as compared to leading a call with some of NBCU's high-powered partners.
So, I'm off to east-coast suburbia for a week of long flights, Jewish holidays, family, and hopefully a little fun as well. Wish me luck.
POLITICAL RANT OF DOOOOOOOOM:
- You know what? Up until now I've been annoyed with, disturbed by, and frustated with the McCain-Palin ticket. But as of this weekend, I am downright pissed off. McCain has done just about the worst thing that a politicain can do - and that's show himself to be a complete and total hypocrite willing to stoop to any low in his pursuit of the Presidency.
McCain and Sarah Palin should be ashamed. Talking about Obama as palling around with terrorists ... totally and utterly disgraceful for them to stoop to that level of discourse. Palin, in her remarks, blatantly played off of people's latent rascism and fear of "the other" by going all out in trying to paint Obama as someone different from us, someone not to be trusted, someone who was hiding his true self from the public.
Are you kidding me, Palin? Obama has been 100% forthright in talking about his flimsy connection to William Ayers. Meanwhile, what has Palin done but provide non-answers when it comes to HER life? Isn't SHE the one who is currently under investigation as we speak for potential misconduct as governor of Alaska? Isn't she the one who's husband belonged to a backwoods political party that actually wanted Alaska to suceed from the Union? Isn't SHE the one whose own pastor is known for going on modern-day *witch-hunts* ?
Now, what McCain and Palin have done crossed the line from "Swift-boating" tactics into the realm of the truly dark and scary. At more than one McCain / Palin rally in the last few days, crowds of supporters have been whipped into hate-filled frenzies, screaming out "terrorist!" at the mention of Obama's name and some going so far as to yell "kill him!"
McCain, Palin - are you proud of the fact that you have played off of the latent rascism and hatred and fear that some possess in order to get a few extra votes? Are you proud of the fact that some people actually believe that Barack Obama - by all accounts a good and decent human being - is a terrorist? Are you proud of the fact that speakers at your rallys are *still* using Obama's middle name as some kind of fear-mongering device?
And Palin, we know in a short time that she's ignorant, that she's a political opportunist, that she brings nothing substantive to the table - and so it's no big surprise that she is resorting to these types of hateful tactics.
But McCain - what a disgusting hypocite. The same guy who calls himself a maverick based on his calls for campaign finance reform - now taking the Karl Rove-style politics that he once railed against to new lows. The same guy who always talks about being willing to lose an election if it means better serving his country ... Well, now it's clearer than ever that all the posturing about suspending the campaign was simply political maneuvering. If McCain had half the dignity he claims to, he'd rather lose an election than try to win by smearing his opponent with obvious propoganda. The fact is, McCain himself, IN HIS OWN BOOKS, has talked about lying in order to win elections, and it's now apparent that McCain has yet to learn from his past sins. He's using the same politics of fear that George W. Bush used, that Dick Cheney used, that Karl Rove used. And yet, even in their lowest moments, I don't recall any of the above equating their political opponents with terrorists.
It's really and truly sad ... because I think that ultimately these smear-tactics will backfire on McCain and Palin and only help to increase Obama's lead in the polls. But here's the thing - there will now be a handful of angry people out there who will be filled with hate and fear when Obama is elected, convinced by McCain and Palin that our president is some kind of evil terrorist villain. Again, just sad, that that kind of hate can thrive in a country like America.
So there you go, McCain, there you go, Palin. There's your lasting political legacy - driving a new wedge between red state and blue, fanning the fires of hatred and bigotry, and being responsible for some backwater idiots who, thanks to your ill-conceived propoganda, are now convinced that a good man in Barack Obama is a terrorist. Mission accomplished.
TV ROUND-UP:
- Okay, let me talk for a minute about PRISON BREAK. For two weeks now, Prison Break has oficially been back, kicking ass and taking names like nobody's business. Things have really picked up on the show, with the plotlines really starting to gel and the characters really beginning to shine. William Fichter as Mahone is really stealing the show, giving new meaning to the term badass. Michael Rappaport is really coming into his own as Agent Self - it's almost enough to atone for the evil that was The War At Home. Seriously, it's always great to see a cool actor like Rappaport actually get some good material to work with. Meanwhile, the return of Gretchen to the fray has been a welcome addition to the mix - she is positively EVIL and one of the absolute best villains on TV. In tonight's episode for example, her opening scene with T-Bag ... well, wow, talk about an unholy alliance. I have to agree with the great Stephen King's latest column in Entertainment Weekly. While I don't always agree with the Pop of King, the master of horror is a man who knows a thing ot two about well-written villains and who has written a classic ex-con or two in his day. When King calls Prison Break the most entertaining show on TV, I'm inclined to agree. Especially after the last two weeks' worth of action-packed episodes, in which business has really picked up. Check out King's PB praise:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20230819,00.html
My Grade (last week and this week's ep): A
- I also have to mention last night's FAMILY GUY. I've been down on FG for a while now, with only a few bright spots here and there over the last couple of seasons. And last night's ep, as a whole, was a bit of a mixed bag too. But, here's the thing: the first 10 minutes or so of the episode, well, they were ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. The Bird is the word! Too bad that, after 10 glorious minutes of awesome randomness, the episode became a somewhat bland story about Jesus Christ resurfacing on earth and bcoming a sort of stock Hollywood celebrity. But man, that opening ... if only they had just kept it going for the whole ep.
My Grade:
First 10 Minutes: A
Rest of the Episode: B -
- Alright ... I'm out for now ... my next blog post will be from the CT!
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