Whatch you talkin' bout willis?

I am so sad to find out today that Gary Coleman has left us. Diff'rent strokes was one of my very favorite sit-coms of all time. Despite all the controversy about him in recent times, he always showed his perseverance. I am going to miss him very very much. Love you Gary! May you be with God.

Chubby Checker Day

What is a chubby checker day? Let me explain. I got the term chubby checker from a movie by the name of "Fatso" The main character, played by Dom Deluise, is fat and is trying to loose weight. He joins a weight lose group and is very optimistic that this will finally be the time when he is going to loose weight once and for all. He does great to a point. One night, after watching his brother eat a "regular" meal while eating his diet prescribed meal, he begins to waver. He goes to bed and decides to watch a little TV. It turns out that every channel he chooses to watch just so happens to be showing food or people eating food. He can no longer contain himself. He jumps out of bed and is planning to break his diet. After a tussle with his brother he calls his weight lose support group. The support group has created a support mechanism to help members in times of weakness. They have a couple of members (called chubby checkers) that are on call to check on fellow members when they have a moment of weakness. The 2 support members arrive at Dominic's house and commence the counseling session. They listen to Dom spill his guts and provide understanding. Dom and the chubby checkers begin talking about food. It starts out innocently and the conversation builds as they continue talking about the types of food they like. They get so immersed and obsessed with the food conversation that they become possessed and tear down the chained cabinets and proceed to cook, eat and eat and eat and eat. So the chubby checkers and Dom forget all about the diet program and have a feastarama galore. So, now when I decided to have a big-time eat o rama, I call it having a chubby checker day.

Memorial Coliseum

Early on in my life I felt differently about seeing old buildings torn down. I watched the old Alice High School building demolished. I watched some of my old elementary schools torn down to make way for the newer, more modern educational edifices. It hurt not being able to gaze at the old buildings and reminisce about the days I spent there. It bothered me just knowing that the building was no longer there.

Now it's all different. Aside from the shocker I got when I drove by William Adams Junior High School and seeing nothing left of the old school. (That was a f**ing sad and surreal feeling. Because I had no, absolutely no idea the old complex was going to be destroyed.) Aside from that I don't have any expectation of anything lasting. That has always been an axiom for time in memorial. But, I guess for me, it has really hit home. It has ceased to be just a saying and has become a reality for me. A way of life so to speak. It may have a lot to do with personal experiences and most recently taking 2 geology classes. After studying various aspects of how our planet got here, it has become crystal clear that we as human beings are superfluous in the grand scheme of things. We will all die. If we make it to a time were we can inhabit another celestial body, we may have a chance to survive. But, that's not likely. The most a species has ever made it is 10million years. So, buildings of any kind don't really concern me anymore. Progress in our lifetime is inevitable. But in the end everything we see and build will be destroyed and metamorphized by our planet.

reality tv shows

So what is the attraction to reality TV shows? I guess it's the same thing that has made TV and entertainment in general so appealing. Conflict. But, it seems that the conflict in many of the reality TV shows is manufactured. Let's face it, there is very little reality in reality TV. Reality is mostly very boring. In my opinion, the closest thing to true reality TV was the very first Real World. Why? Because those people had no idea what to expect. Sure, they new cameras were going to be following them but they couldn't have know how to react to them once they were in the house. And, they had no idea what was going to be edited out and what wasn't. That still wasn't reality. But it was as close as it will ever get in a TV production. Ever since that time the people cast in that and every other reality TV show prepare for their 15 minutes of fame. They prepare to be as load, obnoxious, silly etc. in the hopes of being tapped as the next big movie star or celebrity. There are also the other types of reality TV shows. The ones that follow already famous people around. I must admit that I enjoy 1 or 2 of these shows myself. Why? It seems to me that they are already rich and famous, so what could they want to accomplish by being silly and or obnoxious? Well, just watching them be silly or rude or crazy is kind of fun. Ya they probably act a certain way to get a good scene. Or, they may do things they normally wouldn't do to get a good ratings bit. But hey, that's what they do. Those people no how to make good TV. My favorite reality TV show has to be Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Why? I don't know. I'm not really a big Kiss fan and I don't really listen to their music very much. In fact I don't even have 1 mp3 in my library. But the show captivates me. I guess it's the way Gene Simmons "carries" himself and he can be funny and entertaining. And, yes I get to see Sophie and Shannon who are both very hot. That helps.

All in all I guess it comes down to taste and choice. Maybe the fact that I'm older now and can tell the difference between genuine conflict and manufactured conflict a bit better as opposed to when I was younger and conflict of any sort was eye candy. No matter how real a person is once the cameras are on and especially when the final cut is seen, people are people and there will always be some acting that goes on along with the reality.