The Rippy Awards

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The Rippy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Obitutainment
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The Big Show

Most days, I’m pretty well fed up with humanity.

Other days, I am immensely grateful to be part of such a vastly entertaining group.

Case in point.

Executive Summary: a 13-year-old boy has a very treatable type of cancer.  But the first round of chemo made him sicker.  (It’s called “nausea”, and is a common side effect of the chemo.)  So the family declined treatment on religious grounds.  The boy is a Medicine Man in some kind of native-American-ish cult.  A judge ordered him to undergo chemo.  Now he and his mother are fleeing.

For those who don’t know me at all well, I vote Let Him Die.  Darwinism, remember?  Let’s flush some of these substandard genes out of the system.

The funny part to me is that they want to rely on alternative treatments that they discovered on the internet.  Science is bad when it comes to medicine, but good when it comes to technology to use in order to prove that science is bad.

I love it so much that my heart grew three sizes today.  Love love love love.  You just do your thing, Humanity.  I’ll make popcorn.

Den of Uniquity

Here’s something for the “I want to be unique, just like everyone else” crowd: Where all boys end up nowadays

If everyone runs in the same direction, it’s called a stampede, and you are still part of the herd.  Take that, Austin, Jaydin, Jordan, Brendan.  Et al.

Recommendations and Caveats 3

TV Show:  24: Season 7

Okay, so Tony Almeida is back.  Yes, he died in Season 5, but that is easily overcome when ratings are on the line.  The day starts out with Jack appearing before a Senate committee to answer for all his crimes against humanity, but then of course he must dash off to save the world yet again.  A key subtext to the entire season is the debate between lawfulness, represented by some by-the-book FBI agents, and pragmatism, as demonstrated by Jack and Chloe.

We have a new President, Allison Taylor, whom I liked (although not as much as David Palmer).  And the President has a daughter, which brings us to-

Caveat:  Olivia Taylor

Dumb Chicks must be part of some Hollywood formula of which I am unaware.  (Maybe that’s why they are having such trouble with the Harry Potter movies.  They probably refer to it as “The Hermione Granger Dilemma”.)

At any rate, if Olivia Taylor and Kim Bauer ever actually met, the edifices of order would simply collapse to dust.  Instaspontaneously.

The two hour finale aired last night, and the entire season is available on DVD today.

The Plane Ate My Luggage

Leave Nothing But Footprints

2 Yellowstone workers fired after watering geyser

Two seasonal Yellowstone National Park concession workers have been fired after a live webcam caught them urinating into the Old Faithful geyser.

Shocked, I am.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts general manager Jim McCaleb says the former concession workers were hired at the Old Faithful Inn and that such incidents were rare.

When I worked at Yellowstone, it was called the IPOF (I Peed in Old Faithful) Club. We even had IPOF t-shirts. And I wouldn't describe such incidents as "rare", although I admit we didn't have to contend with a live webcam back then.

Although I never made it all the way out to Old Faithful (the ground feels really weird out there, like you might fall through), I did manage to get into some trouble. I still have the summons. Did you know that any crime you commit in a national park is automatically a federal offense? Even public intox?

Recommendations and Caveats 2

Comic:  Louis CK

Caveat:  Louis CK

He’s not for everyone.

TV Show: The World Series of Poker

This is a fairly recent discovery for me, considering that I enjoy poker.  Poker is actually fun to watch.

Caveat:  Norman Chad

Norm is one of the two announcers on the show.  And he’s really annoying.  I don’t like his voice.  I don’t like his lame, self-deprecating jokes.  But for me at least, the poker is entertaining enough to overcome that and end up as a slight positive.

Movie: Koyaanisqatsi

I finally got around to watching that this weekend, thanks in large part to the fact that you can watch the whole thing at YouTube (click the link to watch).  It’s about an hour and a half long.  Inspirational and depressing.  Visually perhaps the most stunning movie I’ve ever seen.  The moonrise scene is my favorite.

Caveat: Original music by Philip Glass.  I won’t be rushing out to buy the soundtrack. If that name sounds vaguely familiar to fans of the TV show Frasier, here’s why.