tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post338649824549162679..comments2023-08-18T04:37:47.001-04:00Comments on Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie: Seeking the Middle?Kelly Sedingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-3616950186045727452009-08-17T11:04:54.243-04:002009-08-17T11:04:54.243-04:00Human beings are complicated and we rarely make ch...Human beings are complicated and we rarely make choices logically. For Mr. Spock, logic was a good thing. In real life a person who tries to be absolutely logical in their choices is just an anal retentive prick and ends up being not all that logical after all. <br /><br />I unapologetically shop at Wal-mart. I'm from the part of the country where it originated and I can remember when it was the little local discount chain that could. I find all the Wal-mart hate rather amusing, frankly.Lynnhttp://www.lynnspace.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-83075569516478345742009-08-17T04:49:30.112-04:002009-08-17T04:49:30.112-04:00I haven't seen a Gibson film in years, but it ...I haven't seen a Gibson film in years, but it was the content - Passion of the Christ? No thanks. The last movies of his I saw were What Women Want and Chicken Run, both in 2000. He's only been in 3 movies since then: we Were Soldiers (not a war movie fan), Signs (M. Night going to the well too often, reviews suggested), and the Singing detective (which I never even heard of).Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-24965638305466777562009-08-17T04:35:25.245-04:002009-08-17T04:35:25.245-04:00There are lots of dads (and maybe even a few moms)...There are lots of dads (and maybe even a few moms) who were distant, busy with the job with spouse #1 and then figures it out with family #2. Surely John was a philanderer, even before Yoko (and after - see "the lost weekend" of a year and a half). Julian didn't get his dad; the world did.<br />But he finally figured it out. For the brief time he had a chance, John was a great dad to Sean. <br />I'm old enough that I can say that the "lost weekend" did diminish my purchases of solo Lennon items, but the total solo output wasn't that great, and his redemption changed my buying habits back.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1613880803980988722009-08-16T23:14:07.625-04:002009-08-16T23:14:07.625-04:00I agree. It is a Simpson's for the slow witted...I agree. It is a Simpson's for the slow witted.Thee Earl of obviousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-9979328425551450172009-08-16T23:01:45.191-04:002009-08-16T23:01:45.191-04:00I don't watch "Family Guy" on any ki...I don't watch "Family Guy" on any kind of regular basis, but from what I've seen, getting outraged at anything that show does is pretty much a sucker's bet. Creating outrage is part of that show's MO.Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-6222939613650839342009-08-16T22:45:00.070-04:002009-08-16T22:45:00.070-04:00Okay. I don't want to drift into debate. I wil...Okay. I don't want to drift into debate. I will stop.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Just seems a little odd<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />a tad over done<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Portrayed as a nazi in family guy.seems harsh.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />a little<br /><br /><br />I suppose<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />No outrage though.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />hmmmm<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Its nothing. Nothing at allThee Earl of obviousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-17020468585314574872009-08-16T22:16:30.750-04:002009-08-16T22:16:30.750-04:00And as is becoming the trend, I have no idea what ...And as is becoming the trend, I have no idea what you're talking about. If you're insinuating something about Gibson being blacklisted of late, well, he hasn't been blacklisted of late. He's been focusing on his directing and producing over the last seven or eight years, but he does have some acting roles in the pipeline. He hasn't dropped into some nether-realm into which non-politically correct actors go (although his high-profile divorce is undoubtedly consuming a good deal of his energy right now, I'd suspect). He is, as far as I can tell, still an active filmmaker.Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-25348784001319347822009-08-16T21:13:55.969-04:002009-08-16T21:13:55.969-04:00That's a roundabout way of saying so what? I f...That's a roundabout way of saying so what? I feel the same way and extend the feeling to Mel Gibson.<br /><br />Just seems interesting that here is this very popular actor, a box office draw, who all of a sudden does not appear in movies. Kind of hard to calibrate the public reaction to his atrocious comments if he is not given an opportunity to star in movie. <br /><br />Hmmmmm<br /><br />It probably is better if others decide on the public's behalf. I mean his comments extend far beyond anything we could call free speech. I am just shocked that he is even allowed to film his own movies. Imagine, a movie about Jesus Christ, the nerve!Thee Earl of Obviousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-82241234011022960902009-08-16T13:41:00.932-04:002009-08-16T13:41:00.932-04:00Well, I'm not sure, really. I'm not talkin...Well, I'm not sure, really. I'm not talking about judging people as people, really; I'm talking about how my impression of them as people affects my decision to follow their creative endeavors. That said, there's a large extent to which one's quality as a parent is a personal thing. What extent? Not sure. There's "being distant", or "being too strict", or "being uninterested". And then there's "being abusive", which is certainly bad. Or "not being there at all because he left us for someone else" -- that's certainly bad. But wherever Lennon falls in whatever of those categories, or something else, may not be my business in the first place, and it need not color my appreciation of the Beatles. (Within reason, of course -- if he was a drug-addled philanderer who committed crimes, then that's something else. But judging someone's parenting skills isn't really for me.)Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-71105273539519154222009-08-16T12:47:23.899-04:002009-08-16T12:47:23.899-04:00His son Julian may, at least from what I read he w...His son Julian may, at least from what I read he was a lousy father.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6eV7ZsghCs<br /><br /> In the lands of obvious we put a high value on someone who is a good parent. If not then they are full of shit. Being a good spouse is next. A good friend.<br /><br />Being acclaimed for your work and or creativity is pretty low on the totem pole in obvious.Thee Earl of Obviousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-29451601065813592422009-08-16T11:46:02.616-04:002009-08-16T11:46:02.616-04:00I'm not really sure I'd "rank" G...I'm not really sure I'd "rank" Gibson or Vick in some way, but I'm confused as to the Lennon reference -- is there some reason I'd rank him low?Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-21145192005950179042009-08-16T11:35:38.213-04:002009-08-16T11:35:38.213-04:00Sounds as if Mel Gibson is deemed a lower form of ...Sounds as if Mel Gibson is deemed a lower form of life than Michael Vick. Where does John Lennon rank?Thee Earl of Obviousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-83264256664533606432009-08-16T09:18:22.380-04:002009-08-16T09:18:22.380-04:00fwiw, Paul di Filippo was namechecked not because ...fwiw, Paul di Filippo was namechecked not because he edited "The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing SF," - that would be Mike Ashley, who includes no works by women or people of color, which aroused the ire of many. Rather Paul swam against the stream of discontent and posted a comment that defended Mr. Ashley's editorial prerogative when assembling the anthology. (It should be noted, in all fairness, that Paul has a story appearing in the anthology in question.) Paul was shouted down and the conversation wandered over to tor.com into an interim thread about how to develop better anthologies by being wider read ('better' and 'wider' being subjective terms, but the gist was pretty clear). Paul stayed out of that thread but watched from afar.<br /><br />In summary, it is not that Paul edited the anthology, it is that he was the first to strongly defend it, and he was firmly shouted down.<br /><br />http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/08/toc-the-mammoth-book-of-mindblowing-sf-edited-by-mike-ashley/<br /><br />http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=49828<br /><br />http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=50514Phyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17308107138465049785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-29210644797012750042009-08-16T08:02:29.150-04:002009-08-16T08:02:29.150-04:00"No one condemns the Founding Fathers for not..."No one condemns the Founding Fathers for not realizing, right at the outset in 1787, that slavery should have been ended and blacks made citizens with all the rights and privileges thereof." Actually, a number of people do. And I think the example is different than the others, such as Wagner. The colonies fought a war to free people from tyranny. They enlisted black soldiers to fight along side of them with vague or specific promises of freedom. And then, for the most part, it didn't happen. Even the Founding Fathers felt conflicted about it; Washington freed his slaves, albeit after he died. So there's the hypocrisy factor.<br /><br />When I went to Williamsburg, VA last year, I learned that some blacks fought on the Tory side because of promises of freedom.<br /><br />Are you telling me that our boycott of Wal-Mart hasn't brought the company to its knees yet? DAMN!Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.com