Vince's Blog

History is Made in Iraq



For the first time in half a century, the Iraqi people have a say in how their lives will be run. Risking all for the sake of true freedom, the voters would not be deterred. This day will go down in history as one of the most significant ever for the Arab League and the world.

Proud Iraqis are raising their blue fingers, signalling a victory against terrorism, torture, and tyranny. One voter stated it best. "Each vote is a bullet against terrorism."

Bravo.

Can't Get Enough Melon Art?

Neither can I.

Chinese Melon Art

Enjoy!

What Would Jesus Glue?

The Parents Television Council is upset that 36 of its complaints to the FCC have been rejected as baseless. The self-ordained watchdog group, which prides itself in determining what your values should be, filed complaints regarding TV shows which aired from 2001 to 2004 in which objectionable material was presented. Among its complaints are:

A "Friends" episode in which Monica and Chandler talk about a fertility treatment at a medical office.

And they're not in Jail?!?

A "Simpsons" episode in which students carried picket signs reading "What Would Jesus Glue?"

Damn funny.

The new ABC brightspot "Life As We Know It" is not a live show and therefore has control over what is taped and presented.

You mean it's not actually my real life as I know it?

My goodness. I bet these people have playdates with the PETA freaks and Bush protestors.

It turns out actually that not many people outside of the Parents Television Council have complaints about TV. In 2003, 99.8% of FCC complaints regarding indecent television were filed by the obsessed folks at PTC.

One group, aimed at determining what you can and can not watch. All for your benefit of course.

The Top Ten Cancelled TV Shows

The best television has to offer is usually slain prematurely due to overreaction by networks and the lazy minds of the average viewer.

Here are the top ten best of the briefest, those stars that brightened our nights for two years or fewer.

10. "Hooperman" (ABC)
Premiered: September 1997
Cancelled: July 1999

Nifty Bocho product that combined good writing with good humor.

9. "Philly" (ABC)
Premiered: August 1994
Cancelled: January 1995

One of the more realistic law dramas with a strong lead character and compelling stories. Also a Bocho series.

8. "Brooklyn South" (CBS)
Premiered: September 1997
Cancelled: April 1998

OK, it's clear the networks hate Bocho. This was an intense, gritty, police drama that had "hit" written all over it. The pilot was the most gripping introduction to a tv series in the history of cop drama.

7. "Wonderland" (ABC)
Premiered: March 2000
Cancelled: April 2000

Fantastically compelling drama taking place in a mental institution. Two episodes aired before ABC caved to the absurdly uptight who protested the realistic portrayal of the mentally ill.

6. "Police Squad" (ABC)
Premiered: March 1982
Cancelled: September 1982

Easily better than two of the three "Naked Gun" films that spun off from this short-lived series. It was all the best elements of "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" spun into a neat little package.

5. "Sports Night" (ABC)
Premiered: September 1998
Cancelled: May 2000

"Sports Night" may very well have failed because no one knew what it was. It wasn't a show about sports at all. It was a show about a show about sports. It was a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a fictional "Sportscenter" type show. Fantastic dialog and writing was often wasted by the often hidden or missing comedy/drama on the ABC schedule.

4. "Wonderfalls" (FOX)
Premiered: August 1994
Cancelled: January 1995

Much too creative, quirky, intelligent and fun to survive in a world where "Everybody Loves Raymond" tops the charts.

3. "Push, Nevada" (ABC)
Premiered: August 1994
Cancelled: January 1995

Innovative and unusual; a thinking-persons drama with dynamic characters and addictive storyline, and a real life prize for the person to solve the ultimate mystery. Yet another premature reaction by ABC, which has killed more quality television than any other network.

2. "My So-Called Life" (ABC)
Premiered: August 1994
Cancelled: January 1995

The ultimate in "cancelled before its time" TV shows. Clare Danes as a 15 year old angst-filled teenager going through the paces of high school established a connection with women old and young and lead to the most fervent cult following in TV history.

1. "Firefly" (FOX)
Premiered: September 2002
Cancelled: December 2002

The show I miss the most of any shot down prematurely. A western set in outer space, 400 years in the future, with deep, complex characters, dynamic storylines, and a realistic approach to science fiction (no sound in space, no wacky alien life forms, or crazy gadgets and gizmos). Buried deep on no-man's land (Friday Night Television) and released in a confusing manner (the pilot was aired last), Firefly never really had a shot to show its greatness. There has never been a finer TV series and after the way it was treated, there may never be anything close again.

Not all is lost, however. A feature-length film will be released in September of 2005. Hopefully one of many to come.

Road Rage Revenge

The Internet is a great way to stalk old girlfriends, find snapshots of scantily clad actresses, and prevent any sort of productivity at work. But who knew it could also be beneficial to the world?

The States of Washington and Arizona have utilized this world wide web gizmo to allow drivers to report dangerous or aggressive drivers to the police. If they receive enough or frequent 'flags,' they'll be watched more closely by the authorities.

Steps are also in place to prevent all my ex-girlfriends from filing false reports in retribution.

To Serve the Common Good

"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" to serve. You don't have to know the Second Theory of Thermal Dynamics in Physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant."

Excerpted from "The Drum Major Instinct", a sermon by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968.

Crazy For You

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is taking some heat for offering a straitjacketed bear for Valentine's Day.

The "Crazy For You" bear, it seems, is upsetting some mental health crusaders.

Jerry Goessel, executive director of the Vermont chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, said the bear is "a tasteless use of marketing that stigmatizes persons with mental illness."

Yes, because all people struggling with mental illness wear straitjackets. Oh-kay. Jerry needs some new hobbies.

Mad Meat Disease

A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association links consumption of red and processed meat over a long period of time to increased risk of colon cancer.

Meat consumption has been linked to colorectal cancer in previous studies, but the strength of the association and types of meat involved have not been consistent. Few studies have evaluated long-term meat consumption, as this study does, or the relationship between meat consumption and the risk of rectal cancer.

I've been red meat free since 1976 and I'm liking that decision more and more every day.

Vikings Focus on Buck

It's the NFL Divisional Playoffs. The eight best remaining teams will battle it out for the chance to advance to the league championships. Manning vs. the Patriot Defense. Vick vs. The Greatest Show on Turf. The Vikings vs. Joe Buck!?

Vikings owner Red McCombs has made a request to remove play-by-play announcer Joe Buck from Sunday's game at Philadelphia following his criticism of Randy Moss' antics after scoring a touchdown last weekend. Fox, naturally, told Mr. McCombs to get lost.

The announcers for the TV telecast should be the last thing on the minds of the organization at this point. It's no wonder the Vikings continue to be a blundering mess of a team.

Fat City

Men's Fitness has announced this year's fattest and fittest cities in America.

Houston tops the list this year, with my hometown of Detroit dropping down to third, having worn the beer-battered crown a year ago.

The fittest city this year was Seattle.

You can see the Top Ten in each category here, then plan your move to shape up or blimp out accordingly.

FindVictims.com

LONDON (Reuters) - A British man was jailed on Friday for repeatedly stabbing a long lost best friend he had traced via the popular "Friends Reunited" Web site, and the victim says he still wants to be buddies.

Brendan Walsh, 27, nearly killed Noel Duff when he stabbed him seven times in a drunken rage because he mistakenly believed his friend had attacked his sister, Karen, whom Duff had started dating.

However, Walsh immediately became full of remorse, called an ambulance and Duff was rushed to a hospital where doctors said it was a miracle he had survived a stab wound to the heart.

Ty-D-Bowl Hair Gel Anyone?

The sign on the toilet brush says it best: "Do not use for personal hygiene."

That admonition was the winner of an anti-lawsuit group's contest for the wackiest consumer warning label of the year.

The sponsor, Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, says the goal is "to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings on products."