The "All Anna All The Time" Channel

Television viewing hasn't been particularly good. Then along came Anna Nicole and her untimely demise to make it all even worse. No, I don't watch "24", the "Sopranos", "American Idol" or any tired reruns of "Diagnosis Murder" or "Murder She Wrote". I do watch some of the major cable news networks just to stay informed on what they may have a penchant for but generally I get my news from internet news services.

Anna is dominating the television news outlets, giving the talking heads face time like they've never had and filling their busy imaginations. Who gets Anna's body? Who gets the kid? Who gets the house? Who's Howard Stern? Indeed... "Ask This Old House" is more fascinating. It's been a week since she's been gone but the fever shows no signs of abating. All the paternity/custody/next-of-kin scenarios swirling around a woman who apparently lived every day as if it were Mardi-Gras.

And then there's the insipid things people say of her. For example:

Carlos Lattisaw of Miami, Florida
"I am deeply saddened by the news of Anna Nicole's passing. I've followed her career for some time now and she always managed to put a smile on my face. I recently e-mailed her to send my sympathy for the loss of her son Daniel and also congratulated her on the birth of her baby girl."

A smile on his face? I'll bet it wasn't because of her many "talents".

Brooke Holycross of Port Orange, Florida
"I am truly heartbroken from this. She was such a sweet and bubbly person, it's a sad, sad thing that she is gone. I would have never guessed this in a million years! She had a very big heart and a good soul, as she seemed in my eyes. I looked up to her and thought she was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen -- will always remember her that way, not how the press tried to make her look. And for that little baby, just love her and tell her all about her mom as she grows. I am truly sorry for your loss. I'll be praying for all who truly loved her and that little baby girl. God bless all."

It never surprises me the total ignorance people have to celebrity. It's not about what really they know, it's what they think they know. Ignore all her indiscretions and dismiss her erratic behavior to focus on ... nothing. There's no way the public would know what kind of a person she really was because few really knew her.

It's generous that people would assume the best but public opinion is fickle and turns quickly. Celebrity women generally seem to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to questions of character. Men bear the burden of proving themselves worthy of the spotlight. But the overriding metric comes down to looks. Tom Cruise had to act like a complete lunatic to fall out of favor. His looks kept him in the game for a long time.

And so, one more American princess' reign comes to an end, but not before turning the lives of consorts and commoners alike inside out. Every one caught by her spell falls in a wake of tears over someone they thought they knew as the networks rip, shred and otherwise mangle the vestige of a constructed royalty. Character really does count. People just don't recognize it when they see it anymore.

Say what?

First I read of this story about a Mardi Gras parade in Shreveport which became the focus of a local law banning the display of flags and banners. This law had stirred the fury of many a parade goer because it apparently included American flags. I had to pull up the cached site to read the article about it because it was pulled.

Then I read a follow-up article "Police chief apologizes for decision...", in which the claim comes that, "[Police Chief] VanSant said at a news conference. 'I think it was due to some officers who had never worked the parade. They were not familiar with the ordinance enough to enforce it.'

In the original article, though, it states... "Shreveport Police Captain Chipper Hayes says the ordinance shows no bias. Captain Hayes says, "I agree, it's an american flag, but the way the ordinance is wrote, there's no, uh, difference between one or the other."

A police CAPTAIN serves the force and isn't familiar with the ordinance? Can't always assume the police KNOWS the law? This may be an incidental case, after all it's just flags, but what should we presume about other "laws" they assert they "know"?

Arming ourselves with weapons takes on another meaning.

War on terror

During 2006, there were 161 homicides in New Orleans, 106 of which occurred in the last six months of the year. And this with the population having dropped from 444,000 to 191,000, or 57%! Most alarming is that about two-thirds of these murders have gone unsolved, leaving killers to roam the streets, likely to kill again.

The violence reached such a fever pitch that on January 11 of this year over 3,000 frustrated residents marched on city hall in protest. Unsure who to blame, they displayed outrage toward the police department, the district attorney’s office, Mayor Ray Nagin, and even the federal government for not offering more assistance.

In response to the march, city officials proposed more reforms in hopes of curbing the increase in violence. New initiatives include expanding neighborhood watch programs, installing crime cameras throughout the city, increasing drug and alcohol checkpoints, and a variety of changes in the judicial system and law enforcement.

And of course they respond to the outcry as if any of that will work. It's only meant to pacify the masses into thinking the city is solving the problem. If those 3,000 would just pack a weapon, go back to their neighborhoods and let the news get out that the operative words are "shoot to kill", they'd solve the problem themselves. Isn't it heartwarming to think that people have such inadequacies as to go crying to someone else, namely their city government?

Fight a "war on terror" half a world away so that we don't have to fight one here, so they say. I guess those are expressions of contented satisfaction on the faces of New Orleanians who've read the statistics and think they're winning the "war".

Beyond Beyonce

As an example of why the popular culture is so dispossessed, especially when it comes to music, here's the song themes on Beyonce's latest CD:

* Deja Vu -- The singer misses her man and thinks she sees him everywhere.
* Get Me Bodied -- The singer wants all the men to watch her dance and want her body.
* Suga Mama -- The singer doesn't mind covering her man's expenses since he'll be available to please her in any way she asks.
* Upgrade U -- The singer claims to be a strong woman who can help improve her man and take him to the next level.
* Ring the Alarm -- The singer can't let her cheating man go.
* Kitty Kat -- The singer decides to leave the man who has been neglecting her.
* Freakum Dress -- The singer believes every woman should have a sexy dress that can capture her man's attention.
* Green Light -- The singer gives her man the green light to leave.
* Irreplaceable -- The singer tells her cheating man that he can be replaced in a second.
* Resentment -- The singer can't let go of her resentment of the man who lied and cheated on her.
* Listen -- The singer vows to finally listen to the voice inside her heart.
* Get Me Bodied Reprise -- The singer wants all the men to watch her dance and want her body.

Notice the singularity of theme here? It's all about the allegorical singer and a/her man. Giving song to ideas and values like this are a waste.

Rubbish like this is one reason why I don't bother to follow the insipid "American Idol" phenomena, but the overriding reason is the parade of human prostitution so familiar in "reality based" television. TV in general has become so much a waste of electricity and electronics that I easily find time for other pursuits. Beyonce' and her ilk I haven't the inclination for because there's a deeper, richer, and more satisfying truth beyond her superficialities.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:1-3

Restaurant review: Featherstone

I don't live in Bridgemill but if I did I could throw more weight around about my experience at this restaurant. Being a subdivision eatery may mean special conveniences for those who live there but apparently those who don't get treated like step children.

Simply put, I've been once and will never go again. Service was extremely slow. The food served to the group I went with was lukewarm to cold. Finally, the restaurant manager was rude and boorish and made no apologies for the service. He was probably a yankee transplant anyway.

If invited, don't go. If suggested, don't bother.

Luke 11:35

In case you wonder, it's "Jesus wept". And if He were living in the U.S., the Lutheran church would give Him good reason. One Lutheran church has twisted the Gospel into a feminist deviance.

The Lutheran Feminist Movement exists to celebrate the feminine persona of God/dess and dimensions of the sacred as expressed in worship, learning, mutual care, and acts of justice.

The major denominations are slowly but steadily falling into apostasy. It's the small churches and fellowships that will be left to hold to the doctrines of Christ and disciple the faithful. I see the true church of Christ growing in numbers but not to the advantage of mega-churches.

By the way, that's a picture of a "goddess rosary" and there's a prayer that has an oddly familiar cadence to it that goes like this...

Our Mother who is within us
we celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come.
Your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits
and we let go.
You support us in our power
and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us
the empowerment around us
and the celebration among us
now and for ever. Amen

A presidential cabinet full of high heels

Dick Morris takes a few moments to put down the shoe and call it like it's going to be...

He laid out the political future: “Hillary will be the next president, and she’ll be the worst president we’ve ever seen.” No matter what happens, the situation in Iraq will “assure that the GOP gets massacred in 2008 congressional elections.” In 2010, the Republicans will take back the Congress — “Hillary will give Republicans the same gift she gave them in 1994”

The Lizard Queen's ascendancy cometh. Welcome her but change the presidential seal to lavender