What happened to dialogue?

As we retreat to our giant plasma TVs, computer monitors, and cell phone screens, sometime desperately trying to connect with others via MySpace, Facebook, online classifieds and other social networking sites, have we forgotten how to speak to one another?

A half-dozen times over the holidays I encountered couples at dinner both of whom were busier on their cell phones than they were with one another.

One attractive couple at a fairly pricey restaurant, at least at Memphis standards, barely looked at one another or their food, but chatted away vigorously to someone on their cell phones. Or maybe they were talking to one another, because they no longer know how to talk face to face.

All of the people at a local dive talked on their cell phones - an entire table! - rather than turn and talk to one another.

Eating has always been a very social event for me. I enjoy taking someone, if not a lot of people, with me when I have a meal. Eating has provided a social bond going back to the ancients, when they dined at huge tables, listening to heroic tales from a bard or poet on-hand.

I just don’t understand. If you want to talk to someone else, go out with him instead of sitting at a table full of people talking on the phone. And just because the phone rings, doesn’t mean you have to answer it.

I graduated from the University of Memphis almost 10 years ago (yikes, did I just admit that?), and I hate to admit that last night’s game against Arizona was only the second game I’ve attended. Ever.

No football games. Go ahead, start throwing stuff.

And it’s not even that I don’t like sports. I’m not a huge football fan, but I love basketball. It’s the only sport other than tennis that I played as a kid and still play. I went to Bolton High School which was a basketball school and not a football school at the time. Follow that up with four years at the U of M, and you begin to see why I’ve favored basketball over most other sports. I think it’s in the water.

I’m torn anytime a hardcore tiger fan writes the paper about the lack of support for the U of M, but I also understand the people who are carrying a full load, working part or full-time jobs, and even taking care of family.

I worked about 30 hours a week in college and if I had to go back, I wouldn’t work until I was done. But that doesn’t account for the negligence for the school since I graduated.

It was thrilling to watch the U of M last night, even as they worked to find their groove in the first 10 minutes. The atmosphere at a Tigers basketball game, even 6 years ago when I went for the first time, is indescribable. It has to be experienced, and I encourage any other negligent Tiger alums to get out when they can and support their school in any way they can.

As a fan, I’ve averaged one game every five years. I’m going to work on improving my record.

The first my friends and I played Guitar Hero, we looked at one another and said “They really need to do something for an entire band.”

Now, 2 years later, Guitar Hero’s creator Harmonix has created Rock Band while their creation’s third sequel. Guitar Hero 3 - now helmed by Tony Hawk franchise creator Neversoft, will compete with one another this holiday season.

Rock Band is the better game on the surface, particularly if you have friends with whom to play it. The guitar part, which is mandatory, is a throwback to the first Guitar Hero, i.e. more fun to play, before it was complicated with three note cords and furious, arthritis-inducing, heavy metal tracks in Guitar Hero 2.

I was surprised to find the drummer really has to play drums, which even comes with a kick pedal. For real drummers, it can be a little disorienting at first, since you aren’t playing every single lick in the songs on the easier difficulties.

We haven’t tried the vocals on a setting above normal difficulty, but I’ve been able to mumble my way through most of the vocal tracks. The game seems to hold rhythmic fidelity over hitting the actual notes, so knowing the pattern of the lyrics is more important than actually hitting the notes sung. So, if you don’t know the song you are doomed to failure, whereas if you just can’t sing you might be able to make through.

Read the rest of this entry »

Presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) set the one day GOP fundraising record on (remember, remember) the 5th of November by raising over $4.2 million dollars in 24 hours.

That makes Faux News look really stupid.

For months now the mind control specialists at Fox and other cable media outlets have been trying to insinuate that the rampant outpouring of support for Ron Paul is some kind of bizarre internet hoax. That when Ron Paul wins their own post-debate polls… it’s a fluke… the poll must have been “hacked.” His supporters are labeled “spammers.” His successes attributed to computer programs.

Fox News- Ron Paul Supporters May Be Using ‘Botnets’

News.com.au- Ron Paul in Possible “Fake Online Campaign”

Well… guess what kids… $4.2 million doesn’t come from “botnets” and it doesn’t just fall out of the sky.

(Unless you’re a defense contactor in Iraq, in which case billions of dollars fall all the way out of existence, regularly.)

Mostly it came from average people. People desperate for an alternative to what is being offered in the Republican (or Democratic) Party.

Now let it be known that I disagree with several of Ron Paul’s stances. I think most Americans will find something in Paul’s litany of beliefs they disagree with. This is often the case with politicians who hold firm and consistent ideals, those who are not simply trying to please as much of the masses as possible. Many Americans are sick of the modus operandi of the current presidential candidates, a combination of fear mongering, flag waving, and agreeable rhetoric.

Paul’s straightforward style is finding favor even with those who oppose one or more of his beliefs.

Paul is a vehement opponent of the Iraq War and the neo-conservative imperialistic agenda.

He’s a firm constitutionalist and believer that many of our current problems can be laid at the failure of this administration to follow our basic constitutional law, and the stranglehold the (private) Federal Reserve holds over our economy.

I’m with him there.

But… Ron Paul is also on the books as anti abortion rights.
He would seek reductions of federal government support in education, health care, and other social programs.
He believes a limited government and the free market economy will always benefit the American people, while I find that the unchecked power of the coporatocracy has no interest in serving the American people and needs a strong government to keep it in balance.

A simple glance at the current disaster in Iraq or in our health care system is evidence enough that it’s not always beneficial for big business to exert such a level of influence over our legislation.

But with the increasingly intrusive nature of this government, many Americans are willing to embrace a more limited approach.

According to the numbers, anyway.

Paul has raised over $7 million since Oct. 1 and is well on his way to his goal of $12 million by the end of the year.

“What is your point, Walter?”
-”The point is! I’ll tell you my point, dude.”

I suppose it could be possible for some extremely computer savvy supporter of Ron Paul to manipulate online polling in some way.

But it’s in no way comparable to the blatant marginalizing of Paul by sycophant Whitehouse mouthpieces like Fox News.

And why is the Murdoch media empire so afraid of Ron Paul?

Because they want you to believe that Rudy and Hil-dog are your only options.
Because they want to reinforce the status quo. (to which Paul is a threat)
And because they know that their viewers will believe them.

New DNA evidence filed today offers fresh hope to three men who claim they were falsely convicted in the horrific 1993 West Memphis child murders and points a finger at a stepfather who sat through two sensational trials in a front row as a grieving parent.

Click here for full story.

Click here for the West Memphis Three section.

As the heat drops back into the 80s and 90s and summer comes to a close, the weekend nights are finally quiet enough for me to return to the blog page. 

We took a few days off to learn the system for the new web site.  Before that, I was back out the door as soon as I turned the scanner on.  As the temperature peaked a few weeks ago, I wrote five stories in three days – shootings, stabbings, you name it. 

It’s nice to return to the blog and have the freedom to write what I want, instead of finding new ways to say someone got shot. 

I’ve written on this site before about all the things that aren’t reported by us - burglaries, assaults, car wrecks, minor fires, gun play, and fights.  But those August weekends kept me busy even with events that ended up being nothing, on top of the ones that were real events.  For every story about a fire or a shooting, there is usual at least one other story that ended up being nothing. 

Last Monday for example, the emergency crews responded to a report of 17-year-old boy who was shot in the chest, but it ended up that no one at all was shot.  I’ve hunted reported fires that didn’t exist, shootings that didn’t happen. 

The break won’t last, though.  Even though it’s been quiet the last two nights, Labor Day is one of the most violent holidays of the year.  Three days off and lots of drinking at summer’s unofficial end.  Even the cops are expecting tomorrow to be a “storm.” 

I guess we’ll see tomorrow.

I’ve finally figured out how to post video without messing the site up…

I’m not sure if either of us is ready for that…