So I had two firsts yesterday: The first time I've ever seen TV in High Definition and the first time I've ever watched TV on a 63" screen. Wow, what a revelation. I've heard about the high quality reception of HD before but never seen it in person. I think I saw much more than I wanted to, HD is really TMI in action. We were watching USA network's Covert Affairs with the beautiful Piper Perabo and I could see every wrinkle, pimple and flyaway strand of hair up close and personal.
Then I had said revelation: Being able to see all of Piper's surface imperfections didn't make me feel so insecure about my own. In spite of professional make-up artists and stylists, celebrities - or rather people who make a living as actors, singers, models, etc. - are just like anyone else in spite of their publicist's efforts to pass them off as perfect beings. Piper wrestles with breakouts, will soon be struggling with getting older in a young person's business, and is as vulnerable, fallible and filled with flaws as anyone else. The closeups gave her away. The same is true for anyone in the image business.
Why do I think HD is the greatest equalizer since the National Enquirer? Because it exposes the reality beneath the glossy surface. The National Enquirer has broken more celebrity scandals than any other news/entertainment medium in the last ten years and reveals the pimples of the entertainment/political world. Thank God, since everyone else is too cowardly or lazy to do it.
HD is inadvertently doing the same thing. It's a laser-like surface view of those we put on a pedestal, a visual "outing" if you will, and makes us realize that we're all the same; that celebrity worship is a ridiculous waste of time. I think I might eventually invest in a HD television so that I'll always remember that lesson... 63 inches not necessary.
It seems everytime you turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper, someone is issuing an apology for something they said in jest or complete honesty just days before. The climate of political correctness that currently permeates Western culture has officially ruined fun, funny and the expression of real emotions, thoughts and feelings. There are so many examples I don't even know where to start. David Letterman recently had to apologize to Larry King over Letterman's very funny top ten list which skewered King after his firing by, ur, decision to retire from, CNN (see Letterman's list below).
Pretty funny, huh? Well, boo hoo. King didn't like it and Letterman soon succumbed and said he was sorry. ESPN's Tony Kornheiser was suspended (!) for his right-on views about colleague Hannah Storm's (she hosts Sports Center) ridiculous outfit on a show saying Storm was dressed in "a horrifying, horrifying outfit" (see below, Tony left/Hannah right) and a "very, very tight shirt." Kornheiser added, "She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body. I know she's very good, and I'm not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won't ... but Hannah Storm ... come on now! Stop! What are you doing?"
The BBC just apologized to TV host Eamonn Holmes after a comedian poked fun at the overweight Holmes during a comedy sketch. Holmes's feelings were hurt and so he got a lawyer and threatened litigation. Read it here, http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/835495-eamonn-holmes-takes-legal-action-against-fat-jibes-on-comedy-sketch. Howard Stern ran into the same problems recently when he was criticized for speculating that actress Gabourey Sidibe would find it difficult to land parts in Hollywood after all the hullaballoo around her Academy nominated role in the movie "Precious" died down. Most likely than not, he's absolutely right and thank goodness, he didn't succumb to public pressure and apologize for his comments. One of the very few public figures to act like a man and stand by what he said.
Okay so where are we headed with all this PC BS? No more Saturday Night Live because they dare to make fun of politicians, actors and any other person making news at the moment? Commentators, comedians and newscasters will have to think and rethink any slightly critical comment that comes out of their mouths? All thought and speech will be banned if it's not deemed "nice?" Seriously, when exactly did we usher in this culture of oppressive - and if you ask me, dangerous - political correctness where a sportscaster can't express his honest opinions about a colleague's outfit? And he was right! When did we become a society so afraid to express the truth that we'd rather shut someone up than confront the facts?
This whole "let's bury everything in the sand" mentality is heading towards self-imposed societal dictatorship where the Let's Be Nice To Everyone police will be monitoring what you say and I say to the point of censorship and maybe even fascism. No-one will be able to say anything unless it's approved by a higher power. Laugh now but it's always the little things that start a tidal wave. Ix Nay on the PC police. Express your thoughts and don't apologize for your thoughtful opinion. Everyone isn't going to like it but they're yours. At least for now.
I started this blog because I couldn't stand the nonsense anymore. By nonsense I mean the lies - from the top down - selfishness, inconsideration, lack of thought and intellect, dumbing down of societies everywhere, lack of compassion, our overly PC culture that's just a form of self-imposed, societal dictatorship (more on this in a future post), and all the other signposts that dot the highway to a collective insanity that will eventually be deemed normal. So this is my daily reporting on the crimes and misdemeanors of daily life around me and from what I see on TV and in newspapers. It's a place to voice my thoughts, vent my frustrations and point a finger at the miscreants who make life miserable for others. Agree or disagree, I don't care. These are all my opinions and point of view. Start your own damn blog if you don't like it.
