1 Trillion new reasons to stay...

Well...it seems that Afghanistan is not just a jagged empty rock full of people who just want to be left alone, those who want to bother everyone(Taliban), & IED's. As it turns out underneath all that rock & IED's are a TRILLION dollars worth of minerals that range fro good ole Gold, Iron, Copper to Lithium (Lithium is used to make batteries...what makes your cell phones...PDA's...IPad's work)! This should be if nothing else just oh so interesting... For instance will Karzai play nice & cut major deals with us(read: Halliburton...yes that Halliburton)...or when the Chinese come a calling stick his finger in our eye? Will be give their old friends the Russians the finger? How will the Taliban react? Say screw it, play nice to get their cut or go ballistic & step up their attacks? Do they realize with a Trillion at stake what is coming their way? Do they get it if the Chinese cut some deals & they mess with them they will just throw bodies at them & slaughter villages without giving a damn? I'm sure the Russkies would like some payback...this is right up their alley. Regardless...not only is no one leaving so fast...Real Estate in Karzai is about to boom. What about their neighbors in Pakistan...some of the finds are on their borders...think they might want some? They are after all our partner in the war on terror...they just happen to train the Taliban as well...

How will this current Administration deal with this?!? Say what you will about the last...but they (ie Darth Cheney, Dubya, his Daddy etc...) had some experience & connections in the biz world. O & his boys don't have a heck of a lot(Read: NONE...they are all academics & politicians) How does O feel that his War is no longer just the"War on Terror"(currently known as the Minor Disagreement between those who are not Judea-Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, etc, Freedom Fighters who like to blow themselves up when they can't get close enough to behead non-believers live on the Internet but really are misunderstood & want to be our friends if it were not for their hatred of woman, free speech, common decency, free-trade, alcohol, sex, & sports which has yet to be tried in a court of law amongst their peers) but now possibly the War of a Trillion?!? I never believed that Iraq was about the Oil...Mexico & Venezuela are a lot closer...but this war just took one hell of a twist & turn. Too early to tell...but this story has just begun...

Vampires & Werewolfs & Rednecks...oh my!!!

Being a big fan of the Vampire genre when True Blood first came out I was really looking forward to it. While not familiar with the books the whole concept of it taking place down south sounded pretty cool. Early on I liked it. It was clearly for adults...way too much "teen-vamp" crap out there. While I liked season one...the ratio of Vamps & Blood to Red-necks & soft core porn was a little off kilter. If I want porn...I'll watch porn...hypothetically of course. If I want Vampires...I want vamps. Season 2 really changed things up & I absolutely loved it. The Eric character is great & love the dynamic between him & Sookie. The Maynard & the whole Female Pan gone bad dark & violent was great as well as the whole Church of the Golden Sun cult story. While that story is over with the death of Mary-Ann by Sam(the shape-changer) literally ripping out her heart...the repercussions of that story will be clearly felt throughout season 3.

Season 3 kicks off with Bill getting kidnapped by SPOILER ALERT...Werewolves! Now I just love the whole Vampire - Werewolf controversy. Yes ladies...your boyfriends, husbands, friends, brothers, etc...argue over which would they rather be...a Lord of Darkness...or a Raging Beast within...add it to the list of intellectually stimulating arguments/conversations that we have...such as who could beat up who amongst each other, whose team/player is better, which hot movie/TV/Model/Singer they think is hottest, which comic book must be made into a movie...best new video game, best pizza, beer...etc...

I happen to side with those who choose the Lycanthrope. While I dig vamps & their powers there are 3 major reasons I have to go Werewolf...

• Love the sun way too much...Born to Tan...pale is just not my thang...
• My nature...definitely a raging beast trapped within by nature...
• Suck or Eat...I prefer eating...

I like the fact that they are using real wolves as the werewolves & I'm really looking to see how they are incorporated into the story...a few key things set up for this season...

• What was Eric up to sending "who" to get Bill before the Werewolves got him?
• What is "Operation Werewolf"???
  
• What's up with the 50% True Blood discount...has the recession hit the Vampire community as well...
• Will the smoking hot Estonian stripper that can go at it for 6+hours have a role going forward? Will Pam get some???
  
• Will Sookie's bro Jason ever get hard again or spend the rest of the season limp watching two girls go at it?!? Hmmmm...that might work...
• What was up with the colored racism comments early on...will that play out further? I kinda thought that Vamps represented "minorities" & prejudice against them...?
• How will Andy handle his new found street-cred after taking credit for killing Tara's lover Eggs...(that Jason killed which has lead to his new found limpness)...?
• How far off the rails will Tara go???
  
• What the hell was up with Sam's gay dream?!?
• Will Hoyt and his smoking hot redheaded vampiress get back together...& did she turn her victim?!?
• Will the music be as good as last seasons?!?
  
• Will we get more words of wisdom to live by such as "Conscience off...Dick on"!

Looks like this season is going to be a good one...so stay tuned Dear Reader...same Bat-Wolf channel...same Bat-Wolf time...

O...might just be time to call Joe...

One of the many things my Father taught me was one-upmanship.Having said that I just don't get why Obama is getting so much grief over the BP oil disaster. Stay with me here...While he may have many degrees & awards...I don't believe Nautical Engineering is one of them. While he has a tendency to set up a committee for everything & be a little less decisive then I would like...I can't imagine that he is not trying to do everything he can do to get this mess fixed. I think what is happening here is funny enough...what happened to W with Katrina. Which for the record was not W's fault(unless of course you believe in the Halliburton Weather Machine conspiracy or are a total ideologue not capable of rational thought) that a hurricane hit a city built on a swamp. Nor is it his fault that the city of New Orleans...which I do love & consider one of the worlds great cities...is also rife with poverty, crime, & lack of proper public education. The city of NO & the state of Louisiana were the ones who screwed up. The only organization that got anything right was the Coast Guard who conducted a super-heroic rescue operation & got next to no credit by the left wing media for all the lives they saved. W was attacked over Katrina because of anger over the wars & economy. Obama is getting hit for the all the frustration with the economy, Healthcare, handling of International matters etc. The thing is blaming him over BP accomplishes nothing just as blaming W over Katrina was absolutely moronic. Maybe if we held our public officials accountable for their responsibilities & stopped attacking them over everything we might get something done. We need to stop being so damn partisan all the time & start being more patriotic.

Now in what O likes to call a teaching moment I as a patriot first will offer a suggestion to possibly fix the BP mess. O...you need to take off your academic & politician hats & just put on your "guy" hat. Stop looking at the problem as so complex (not that it's not) & look at the BP disaster for what it is...a pipe cracked & it is leaking...O...who do you call when a pipe breaks & you have a leak? You call a Plumber...that's right O...call Joe the Plumber...

As a final thought with hurricane season coming...I'm guessing O might really be regretting making the following quote...

This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

Smoke on the Water...

North Korea torpedo's & sinks a South Korean ship which kills 46 sailors in a totally unprovoked attack. In most cases throughout history this would be an act of war. However, for the most part the world says next to nothing. Maybe a few condemnations here & there, but no protests or riots in the street over the cold blooded murder of 46 South Koreans. Most likely because North Korea is not so much a country but an abortion gone wrong that China uses as a proxy to keep the region off-kilter & China has made it clear it doesn't mind that the country is run by an insane inbred mental & physical freak.

Israel a sovereign nation has enacted a navel blockade to protect it's borders. Humanitarian aid to Gaza is sent on ships & ordered to by the Israeli Navy to leave their waters. They don't...of course. The Israeli's board with paint-ball guns to try to avoid bloodshed. They are attacked by the "humanitarian workers" with a variety of sharp & blunt handheld weapons. They defend themselves & many or wounded & some killed. Now at this point I don't know if all of these ship only had humanitarian aid or were smuggling weapons. I don't know for sure if all on board were "humanitarian workers" or if there were those on board with less then peaceful intentions. Considering the fact the Hamas & Hezbollah have played games like this before including using UN & Red Cross painted trucks to transport weapons & attack...the Israeli's may just have had good reasons to be skeptical & suspicious. Israel like any other country has the rights to protect their borders. The "humanitarian workers" could have delivered the goods into Egypt or Jordon. They sailed into Israeli waters to provoke an incident. If Israel let them pass...they would have looked weak & that doesn't lead to peace in the Mideast...just more violence. If the Israeli's boarded as the did...then a fight was picked to make the Israeli's look like the aggressors.

In this case the world had plenty to say...a list that while it has some friendly nations...has some of the biggest hypocrites & human rights violators in the world. This makes me absolutely sick. It's just great to see how alive & well anti-semitism is on the one hand & how the world lacks the balls to take on & confront the Chinese to coral a psychopath like "Dear Leader". China by the way is on the list below. Maybe they should shut up & put up. Dear Leader is their problem & they need to take care of him. When they are done with that monster...then maybe they can take a crack at Mideast peace.

Israel's actions drew condemnations or requests for explanation across Europe, the Arab world and the rest of the globe on Monday:

Britain: Foreign Secretary William Hague deplored the killings and called for an end to the Gaza blockade. In London, demonstrators protested the Israeli action.

China: A member of its permanent mission to the U.N. told an emergency Security Council meeting China was "shocked" by the attack on "a multinational convoy carrying international aid to Gaza which resulted in heavy casualties," and called for Security Council action.

Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak condemned Israel's "excessive and unjustified use of force against innocent civilians," state news agency MENA said. The government summoned Israel's ambassador, demanding an explanation for the violence.

European Union: Foreign-affairs chief Catherine Ashton called on Israel to carry out an inquiry.

France: President Nicolas Sarkozy said he "condemns a disproportionate use of force." Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said "nothing could justify the use of such violence." Riot police drove back hundreds of protesters demonstrating outside the Israeli Embassy in Paris.

Gaza: Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, condemned the "brutal" Israeli attack and called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene.

Germany: Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called for an immediate investigation by a neutral party. He said the German Embassy was seeking information on six German citizens believed to have been aboard the ships.

Greece: Prime Minister George Papandreou condemned the military intervention. The government suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief. In Athens, one of 20 Greek cities reporting protests, riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse an estimated 2,500 Greeks and Arabs protesting outside the Israeli Embassy.

Iran: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the raid "an inhuman act.'' Dozens of angry students pelted the United Nations offices in Tehran with stones and eggs, burning Israeli flags and chanting, "death to Israel" and "down with the U.S.''

Jordan: Hundreds of demonstrators urged the government to cut ties with Israel.

Lebanon: Several hundred Palestinian and Lebanese activists protested in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut, setting Israeli flags on fire.

Saudi Arabia: The cabinet called on the international community to hold Israel responsible for its "barbaric" policies.

Spain: Summoned Israel's ambassador, demanding an explanation for the violence, and condemned what it called the disproportionate use of force.

Switzerland: Called for an international inquiry and summoned Israel's ambassador.

Syria: Called for an Arab League meeting; the League condemned what it called a "terrorist act."

Turkey: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terrorism." The Turkish government said it was withdrawing its ambassador to Israel, canceling three joint military drills and bringing home a Turkish youth soccer team currently in Israel. In Istanbul, a crowd tried to storm the Israeli consulate.

United Nations: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence and called for a thorough investigation. The Security Council held an emergency meeting.

U.S.: President Barack Obama voiced "deep regret," and the White House said he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to quickly collect all the facts about the incident.

West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the "massacre'' and declared three days of mourning across the West Bank.

Twenty-twenty-24...Jack needs to be sedated...

If any show really truly captured the anger & need for vengeance of post 9/11 America...24 was it. While Lost represented post 9/11 America's bright side...multi-cultural people working together to survive in a hostile environment 24 was our dark side & Jack Bauer was our Avenging Angel. What started out as an interesting concept...a show that operates in real time & takes place in one day turned into an 8 season show that stayed to it's unique formula & ended with our beaten & bruised hero on the run...to a Hollywood Full feature film. Over the years Jack took on threats to Americas securities that included Russians, failed Russian states, Chinese, Islamic Terrorists, American Presidents gone rogue(Logan), Us Militia nuts, African super-soldiers (that infiltrated the white house via the Potomac!), an ex-lover(Nina) a best friend(Tony Almeda), a Lady Macbeth like first Lady(Sherry Palmer) even a mountain lion going after his daughter Kim.

Jack endured every form of mental & physical beating throw his way. He is the personification of the American Underdog(interesting we still see ourselves this way since we are still the only real true superpower) a mutt, the average looking & built everyman..but skilled in the arts of war. Pretty much a Western hero that did what he had to do against impossible odds & yet being on the side of right persevered. He also used every means necessary to do so including beating, killing, hitting women, & torturing rather brutally in some cases to get the job done. Where this may have turned off those with more Liberal views...the fact that this show gave us our first African American President in David Palmer & our first female President in Rosalind Taylor showed that the show had a good grasp of who we are, where we are headed & tied in real world problems & issues.

Jack always had a great supporting cast...but who would have thought it would be meek little Chloe who ended up being Robin to Jack's Batman? One of the shows greatest moments I thought was when Chloe had to go into the field to retrieve something & an Assassin tracks her down. Jack talks her through how to use an M-16 (standard CTU issue in the trunk) to gun down the Assassin! Jacks Joker in a cruel twist is none other then his best friend & CTU co-worker Tony Almeda. The loss of Tony's wife Michelle a fellow CTU operative threw him over the edge. While we didn't see Tony this season...my call 24 the movie takes place in Europe(if it's not covered in volcanic ash or sunk into the sea from the debt of the PIIGS)w/ Tony as the antagonist.

All in all a fantastic show that had our hero beat up & drive one US President to commit murder & suicide, another to resign, made Chloe shoot him after he put her in a sleeper hold, bit off a guys ear, took out single-handledly in full body armor a Presidents entire security detail & in revenge for the Russians killing Renee after they finally give in & sleep with each Jack goes absolutely biblical...not medieval...but Biblical & slaughters an entire heavily armed security detail for a Russian Diplomat who ends up dead with a fire poker driven through his chest(the fact that they didn't show this happen...just the aftermath made it that much more powerful)! He gets captured, beaten, blown up, & when just about to be shot...saved by the President with a Predator Drone armed with hellfire missals...then wounded with nothing but the shirt on his back, on the run again after serving & saving American interests...he pixelates out...on his way to another 24 hours...

Lost...what long strange trip it's been...

"It's the journey not the destination". I don't know who said it first...a Manager of mine used to quote it & I have always really liked it. I think the writers of the show Lost must have been fans of it as well. For this show over the last 6 years was truly about the journey & not as evidenced by the season finale about the destination...or all the unanswered questions. The finale was if nothing else true to the show. A great story with great characters, that opens up as many questions as it answers. I do consider Lost one of the better TV shows of all time. Originally it was created to be a fantasy version of Survivor & last a season. However, from the get-go it caught on due to it's great cast of characters & it just hit dead on the zeitgeist of the time. The Tom,Dick, & Jane love triangle of Jack, Kate & Sawyer were some of my favorites. Jack the troubled "Good-Guy", Sawyer the "Bad-Boy" who evolved to be far more & of course Kate the not-quite-Girl from next door...could she be any cuter & more beautiful at the same time? I think Sayid was the shows best character. 3yrs after 9/11 & months after the invasion of Iraq we are introduced to a former Republican guard Communications officer who was also a Torturer. Accused of being a terrorist early on he proved to be an invaluable member of the group & in the end sacrificed himself to save his friends. He was a man of violence & was one in his flash-backs, flash-forwards & in the side-ways story. Yet I always found him one of the most intriguing characters & one of the good guys. To create a character like him during the time he was created really showed some talent by the writers. I could go on & on about all the others...(no pun intended)

Lost could get frustrating at times & it really required your attention & commitment. You could not just miss an episode & catch up next week. All in all one of televisions greatest products. It's ingenious use of the Internet to get fans to learn more about Dharma & other secrets really took things to the next level.

Now while the bulk of the 2 1/2 hour were great...I wasn't crazy how it was strongly implied that the "sideways" stories were some form for purgatory for the characters to re-unite in. Why they didn't go with an alternate time-lines or dimensions like Faraday implied is beyond me...it would have made more sense. The very end with Jack lying in the bamboo forest on the beaches edge watching the plane fly off after saving his friends...then his eyes close. Dead...sleeping...or just a device to book-end the beginning (The first episode starts with Jack lying in the bamboo...then opening his eyes...then runs around helping everyone while hell is breaking loose)?

I've seen this ending used before (Stephen King's Dark Tower series a perfect example) & I'm not a big fan of it. The truth of the matter is many writers can create great stories & characters...but few can close. I think it might have something to do with human nature...we never want the story to end...our quest for immortality. The other thing about the finale was the many questions about the island that were not answered. I think this show was originally about the characters & how they dealt with being stranded & as it went on the writers kept creating all this mythology & science to the island...& then got lost themselves somewhat along the way. In the end I think they decided either this show was about the island & it's mysterious or that the island & it's secrets were there just to drive the characters stories. I guess it safe to say they choose the characters...for now. I don't believe for a second this is the very last we will see of this island or these characters. It's been a long strange trip & a wonderful thought provoking journey. More TV should be like this...we may want closure...but like life...it's not the destination...it's the journey...