Reality TV (or how to torture and get away with it)

Recently while browsing the internet I came across a puzzling little post about Reality tv and where it is going. The opinions there were trivial to me but something found there caused me to investigate a show I had never heard of...

What is it (hold on to that thought). Reality TV is a farce of comedic proportions I have actually met a reality star who was prominent and widely hailed at the time of the show. Interestingly enough as we all know the truth about misconceptions and editing hold true. So the producers manipulate to make good tv (Really now). What bothers me is that there has to be a point of failure for these types of shows. A lot of smaller ones are being set up to try and spin the careers of nobodies and or even failed stars of yesteryear. It all makes for such great TV (I think its SHITE).

I prefer the Japanese style of humiliation its outright you know what you are getting into and contestants smile at the end. British TV to me has its moments they brought us THE OFFICE, American IDOL and many others who have been tremendous hits on the American airwaves. New takes on old ideas like if anyone remembers youth Idol where it was for kids under 13 or so bombed...it was paramount to abuse.

BUT now we have the utmost pinnacle of stupidity, I have no idea what parent in their right mind would think it a good idea. What are they thinking that its a 15 minutes of fame...WAKE UP we all get it at some point this is just plain wrong.
We have children to raise them, not study them like some type of animal. If this show catches on there are going to be serious repercussions for the future of these children.....


and now I bring you The reality show that should be amply named:


LORD OF THE FLIES

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/boys-and-girls-alone


might as well start having gladiatorial combat to the death or telecast executions.

CHANNEL 4 YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!!!!!!!

Deep freeze... (Or oh crap the kids got Iceskates)

Well with the weather plummeting again; the local pond is frozen. I skated there when I was a kid spending hours bouncing off the ice and sliding into the frozen banks. Since those days the pond has become a little overgrown and less maintained but this year it has frozen. So with great thoughts of grandeur and excitement the Kids have gone and rented skates from a local who has been renting since 1967. I like the idea of supporting him as I used to get my skates sharpened there. SO we get home from getting the skates and I think... I can skate or at least i used to be able to. Then the conversation came to unravel the following horror filled sentences that will shape my week.

1. The kids 3 and 5 have never skated - I knew this

2. with timing and schedules we will be able to put in some time but not a great amount on the ice - but free time should be put there to get everyone active

3. So I figure ok we can do a 1v1 situation teaching the kids to skate somewhat effectively or fall really well ( Their Choice)

and the kicker of them all


My wife has only skated a couple of times in her life!!!!!

Great here we go if the snow holds out we should be skating later today...this in its own right will probably be a blog entry to how well it goes...

I can see the bruises and red faces now...


so soon we will find out how cold it can be down in the zero...

Stimulate this...(or how to throw gas on the fire)

SO its been crazy!! there have been plenty of things out there to write on or stories to relay but just not enough time in a day to get it done. I would love to say its been work related and that its been so great but My industry right now is just south of the bottom of the pool. Which really brings me to today government STIMULUS!!!!!!!!!!! (or how to throw money at the problem)

So the dems are talking about a new $850 billion stimulus package, would this be on top of the other Stimulus package already in place? Or was that money given to Madoff to hold by the car manufacturers until they could find buyers for their private jets. Not sure either...this blog started talking about recession and it hasn't changed. The government is still in flux for another oh say 90 days until all the hoopla dies down and we move on with life. This really sucks...everyone out there is going through the same Crap just a different day. You selling or buying...selling mostly but hey if we are all selling who the hell is buying?

So back to the new idea for a stimulus package....(drum roll please)


JOB CREATION!!!!! oh FDR here we come again...there is a whole argument here... did the programs that created jobs actually stop the depression or extend it. Well some Say that it wasn't until after WWII that we saw prosperity again. So Create jobs lets see whom do you create jobs for: and what if your union rates are better paying than my current employment can I go on the program? This whole thing sounds good but its another drop in a big empty bucket...that will pad the political vote machine.

I have a great idea: lets all stop using other peoples money...hold credit for a while. What? you say, but I have 5 kids and each one needs their own room and their own TV and Their own Computer. We are so space driven because growing up we didn't get the space but now that we have the available credit we go and jump on it. I am just as guilty.

(ME) <--------- (just added on to the house for more room for the family)


not because we didn't have the room to live but we had collected so much stuff that we were out of storage. SO now I am making a pact to get rid of stuff and reclaim space to payoff that credit...then I will have less stuff and twice the space...hmm that's kinda a big empty circle.

Yep that's the gist in today's struggle. Prices are going crazy, one minute its way cheap the next its way too much. HEY YOU!! Retailers and restaurants and suppliers who raised your prices because Gas was at $4 a gallon, YOU need to bring the prices back down....funny how that works "hey they are still paying that exorbitant price heh lets not change it, more for us" and the excuse: well we are still using the product that we bought when the prices were high... woohoo free money just get involved.

it just seems stupid to be spending more and going into more debt to get us out of a hole that was created by debt...Doesn't it? I sure am glad we have all those brilliant people in Washington working for us. What would all us dumb people do without them?

lets touch on this WWII thing...first FDR created jobs then we went to war and because we were at war we created military surplus for the war. Then the War was over so we had Military surplus and oh here we go....we sell the surplus to the highest bidder to correct our economic downfall and about 15 years later we go get involved in the conflict we started by shipping off weapons to make money....hmmmm maybe we just need to become arms dealers? let them blow each other up and hmmm maybe this goes to far but it worked didn't it?


i'm gonna go hide now maybe on Monday things will look brighter...

Its always cold down here in the zero...

Bowl me over!!!!

Well here we sit amidst the culmination of the college football season; with bragging rights to go around the country. I am biased being a Buckeye so let me start there. It was a great game it came down to the wire and was won by the better team. Sure I swallow a little pride on that one but the comeback was a good one. A first down that was questionable that led to the ensuing touchdown.

Simply put ..... Congratulations Texas.

So after it is said and done I start reading the reports about the game Ok now im just shaking my head... "A game of miracles!!!" WTF game of miracles my Arse. Lets see; OSU was a mircle for hanging with Texas...Not if you realize that the game started at 0-0 come on get off your high horse the Bucks year wasn't great but everyone looks back at an early season pounding by USC and because of a game that they were behind and had to take risks in which USC punished the Bucks for those risks; The Buckeyes are a Cinderella team. WAKE UP...

Texas a miracle of a comeback UMMMM What the HUH... Look at the rankings Texas at 3 and OSU at 10 and Texas should have won hands down. No miracle; it was a good well fought game by a bunch of kids and lets leave it as a simply well done Texas.

OK Utah now gripes that they were left out and that they should have a shot at thirsdays game...well schedule strength comes into play and you aren't playing. Scheduling for college teams happens in advance. The Bucks used to play Alabama and Notre Dame every other year and if we were to play those teams today it would lighten our strength of schedule. Scheduling is a gamble and yes UTAH you got a short end. So did the Patriots damn they were 11-5 and an 8-8 chargers team squeaked in. STOP the insanity figure it out folks the chargers won their division thems the rules; Utah had a softer schedule thems the rules. It all comes down to money anyway. Utah wants a bigger game with more money to grow...ok understood. The patriots want the bonuses that come along with playoffs and beyond...ok understood. The Media needs desperately to cause conflict through excessive sensationalism in the way they put forth the story not understood it breeds dissent and hatred.

break down the OSU Texas game : According to the reports TEXAS is great because they came back to win and those OSU kids are just lucky to have witnessed it first hand.

Break down UTAH story: Utah kids are being punished by a BCS system that doeant work

Break down the patriots: The Patriots were robbed by a rule that allowed a terrible chargers team to get to the playoffs leaving the glorious Pats at home


Texas should have won and the Buckeyes were awesome what a great Job by those kids to play with pride and emotion.

Utah kids aren't being punished as they wouldn't see a dime and they have played a long hard season and now will move on to their good lives ahead.

The pats should have been in but hey those crappy little chargers took down the Favorite pick to go all the way to the Super Bowl.

There are always to sides to every story and this bowl season has been a coaster just enjoy it and give some props to the little guy.

So Thursday we see Oklahoma and Florida should be a game. hmmm if it goes the wrong way doors will open for speculation of if USC or Utah should have been there...well I didn't lose any games what about me Ill play sure id get blown out and most likely mauled by the defenses keying in on my run sans blocking but hey it would be a miracle for me to just hit the field.

So my advice for Thursday: Shut the doors and play angry its a national championship nothing else matters its the end and the loser is well the one who lost.....

its always cold down here in the zero...

Christmas (parenting and sleep)

So last night was christmas eve!!! Had a good dinner psyched the kids up until they were frothing at the mouth and then it was bedtime.

OK Kids get your cookies on the plate Pour Santa some eggnog with rum (slow down not so much Nog more rum. Yeah thats it more RUM)

"But dad why put the eggnog in at all?" I was asked.
"For color...just creamy color."
"Oh looks like dirty Milk."
"Yep thats the way Santa likes it. DIRTY MILK."

so it was off to bed and ..... "Uh Dad your forgetting something? The stockings silly!!!"

So we hung the stockings and went to brush the teeth. Brushed Pajamed and ready we went to the front porch to look for Rudolph. We approached slowly when my 5 year old looked to the sky and turned and ran in storming the stairs and hitting the bed. When asked what he had seen he exclaimed he had seen Rudolph. HMMMMM, after the heads hit the pillow and they understood that Santa only comes after they are asleep they tried. They did try. My 5yr old covered himself up in the blanket and his smile could be seen for miles. He was done now the little one 3yrs old and a little perplexed at the whole idea of what was going on.

"Daddy I dont want Santa to come get me..."

Ok so now Santa has been compared to a gypsy but she went down. So Bells in hand I went to explore the rudolph Phenomenon Ha a radio tower on the Hill on the horizon blinks a slow red light (had a good laugh and up to wrap the rest of the presents) 1 hour two bathroom breaks for the kids and it was downstairs to put together the new DELUXE Wooden Kitchen for the 3 yr old she does love it and she had better we worked on it until 2am. So time to relax and have a drink lasted an hour and went to bed. SILENT NIGHT!!!

Xmas began at 8:30am thank you Santa was thinking we would be dealing with a 5 am wakeup call. Ahhh now the presents are opened the kitchen is being played with and the tools rolled in my favor...hmm no project list to go with it (Yay)....My turn to build the 12 year old lego set we got for a 5 year old (shaking my head) But it is INDIANA JONES!!!!

And for dinner the request is in for Shredded Beef Tacos (smiles) good food and fun times ahead...

PASS THE RUM AND MERRY CHRISTMAS

sometimes its pretty nice down in the zero....

Got Milk?

a quick strange note today that drives me utterly crazy.

What are the colors of milk? When I was a kid you had two colors RED and Green containers...we all know what they stand for and what kind of milk goes where.

So um noticed that last night after going for some milk at the store and needing 2%, Blue? and Skim, green? HAHA nope you are incorrect ... the store I was shopping at wanted there 2% to be green um HELLO!!!! ok so your Skim is blue reversed good thing I needed one of each.

Seriously though Milk is one of those things that are universally packaged...when Im in Europe its Red and Green and Blue and yellow the containers not the milk; but they are in the right containers. I like things to be simple stop changing the colors of the milk cartons please and if you are gonna drink 1% just forgo the fat and drink skim.

drinking 1% is like eating a twinkie without the filling its just not done!

its always cold down here in the zero.....

Heating up? or cycling through?

GLOBAL WARMING run for the hills!!!!!!!!!! The water will rise icecaps will melt and oh yeah my house; the brown one, with the porch, in that small historic town. Yeah, im gonna have Beach front property. Wahoo!!!! Well, actually no. The whole global warming trend of stories that can be found all over those magazines and that web page and web rings and all those ECOblogs; the weather is warming a bit. I can remember when we had snow for December and we skated on local ponds and sledded all over town; not so much anymore. The average temperatures are a bit warmer and things are changing but this irrational media hype over climate change is going too far. I read somewhere that the next four years will be "imperative for the governing bodies of the world to take action." Um, yeah, well maybe that is true the imperative part of the next four years i mean with the global economics needing an overhaul. The Media has the wrong thermometer.

The mean global temperature, at least as measured by satellite, is now the same as it was in the year 1980. Over the 5 past years sea levels have stopped rising. Hurricane activity in the northern hemisphere is at a 24-year low and sea ice globally is also the same as it was in 1980. The storms maybe a little more devastating because of overcrowding and the population retreat to surrounding areas to get away from the urban populace. They built houses with a focus on land conversion for population growth putting some people in places that were hit 100 years before; the doom of historic amnesia. No im not all for devastation of peoples anywhere but im really getting fed up with the Panic and violence tactics of the media. Go back those 29 years to 1980 and take a look at how the media handled things. They didnt have a huge Internet competitor or 24 hour cable program to compete with; the media climate has changed.

The Newspapers and television now need to turn to sensationalism to attract readers as more people find their news from the internet. The local news needs to show you how violent things are around you so that you stay tuned. The local news reports have almost become serials. STAY TUNED "Why a 5 year old threw his best friend from a 5 story building in midtown!!!!" So we watch the commercials only to find that the kid was part of a science project about gravity and the best friend was his 4 inch tall POKEMON figure. This is irrational and faulty. Its bait and switch. Its rubbernecking on the TV. The audience wanted blood.

News today can be achieved from so many different places its time to blame the media for its tactics and cross reference your reports folks. No longer can one person, station or website be responsible for reporting what the news according to their side is.

GIVE ME THE UNBIASED TRUTH!!!! Then let me decide if it merits of my involvement. The world changes; look at ratios of temperatures over a 100 year period anywhere and you will see change. Spikes of change every 10 or so years...maybe we are just at the height of a 200 year cycle that will start to fall and in a 100 years if we are still around people will be talking of the next ICEAGE!!! It might be warming somewhere but its been damned cold here!!!!


Its always cold down here in the zero......