Blog Writer, Edit Thyself

Blogs are an interesting thing - it basically gives every American the ability to create his own magazine, without having to submit the material to an editorial review panel. That's good and that's bad; it's good that you get to speak your mind, and bad because there are 9 million blogs out there, most of them not very readable. Doh! You mean there's a reason that magazines like Harpers and Newsweek look for superlative writers with advanced English degrees and other such credentials? I thought they were being nit picky.

There are such things as open mic nite, karaoke, talent contests and poetry contests where ordinary people can show their stuff. We have American Idol and in the '70's, we also had The Gong Show. What's fun about blogs though is their staying power - you don't get booed off the stage for being crappy. There again - good because your feelings are unhurt, bad because look at all that sludge that sticks around. Every nutcase, child and rambling retiree can tell a story. Sometimes, as the author, I have to be a heartless editor and put the scissors to my own material. I figure without some type of quality control, one can easily slip into that rambling nutcase category. :-) I've so far given the axe to four pieces, even after they were briefly published. Reasons include:

TOO PERSONAL - Believe it or not, there is such a thing as TMI (Too Much Information). My 2nd article ever was heartfelt and genuine, but it was material that might be better shared over a beer with an intimate friend. Decided the public at large didn't need that much of me, and removed the material.

EMBARRASSING TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY - I have friends, coworkers and family members read the blog; it definitely keeps me from "cutting loose" and putting just anything out there. At least a couple of articles had the potential to embarrass la famile. Am pretty sure one relationship ended because the person read it and determined I was weird.

INCOMPATIBLE THEME - I've posted one darkly turbulent poem, and one family saga that were OK per se, but didn't fit the general flow of the other material. Maybe if I create a blog which is a literary genre, I can "go there". Or maybe, I'll get over it, loosen up the theme and put all categories in one place. :-)

BAD QUALITY! - My senior English teacher, Mrs. Hutchinson, would need smelling salts if she saw how I dangle participles and do abrupt transitions. A good magazine editor would catch all the snafus and faux pas. And sometimes my stuff is so crummy even I can tell. I pulled a review of Desperate Housewives, because it had all the wrong stuff. If something has staying power, I'll usually send out a "new blog article" to my readership group. If I'm iffy on it, it may sneak in and sneak out in the space of two days. You'll just have to read regularly to know!

Blogs, blogs, blogs. Next, we'll have blog television where everyone can act in his own show. The results there would be comically awful in 99% of the cases, and actually produce some good results in 1% of the cases. No longer would people have to go on Jerry Springer to reveal something unholy. Come to think of it, maybe blogspot.com allows enough space for me to post a home video. Naaaa. I'm not photogenic, and I've gotten in enough trouble as it is. We'll stick with a written blog, and I'll have out the editorial blue pencil just in case I get out of line.

Dallas Under the Wrecking Ball

Doctor Pepper Headquarters Being Demolished

I've lived in Texas most of my life, Dallas for the last 22 years. Though I'm not an architect or any type of urban planner, I know what appeals to my eye and to my sense of aesthetics. We can think of settings that are pretty and enticing - SMU campus, White Rock Lake; we can think of places that offer nightlife and excitement - Deep Ellum, Lower Greenville, West Village, and Mockingbird Station. But alas, we can think of many more places that are largely asphalt, commercial wastelands - Harry Hines Blvd, East NW Highway, broad sections of our suburbs that give you shoddy apartments, lookalike shopping strips, and industrial parks. I've had the fortune of traveling to large cities in Canada, Australia and Europe and I've seen how other countries develop and nurture their urban environments. Of note - all cities seem to have their trashy areas, their "back yards" that tourists shouldn't see. The problem is a matter of proportion, how much of your city is a presentable front yard, and what portion is an ugly back yard. Dallas is mostly back yard, and that’s something that must be fixed. I have a 3-prong approach to making this city a place of beauty, a place you want to stay and see:

1) Enforce strict zoning, and encourage urban planning
2) Respect and restore older buildings – they’re our history
3) Encourage mass transit

ENCOURAGE URBAN PLANNING

When I stand at Jupiter & NW Highway, my eyes hurt. Yes, there is a new Lowes and a fairly new Whataburger, but on the whole I see a string of bland, ugly commercial buildings (Massey Cadillac has been vacant for months) and these ugly buildings are separated by oceans of ugly, weed infested asphalt. I’d have to travel 2 miles in any direction to see something pretty, and would have to do that by car, because the area is car-centric. Urban planning would give you: architectural / landscape standards, amenities like libraries, and multi-use areas where it’s possible to live and play in comfort – frequently on foot. Urban planning is not anti-capitalist. Some of the most expertly designed projects of recent vintage (e.g. West Village) are the work of private investors, not the government.


Fair Park

RESPECT OLDER BUILDINGS

Recent Dallas landmarks to meet the wrecking ball are: the art deco Dr. Pepper Headquarters on Mockingbird, the Dallas Cotton Exchange downtown, and a historic Fishburn’s Cleaners building. Buildings still standing that Dallasites should take care to preserve are: Fair Park buildings, Casa Linda Theater, the Texas School Book Depository, Santa Fe Terminal, Adolphus Hotel and Mercantile Bank. An older building tells part of our collective story, and it’s not replaceable. In Europe, older buildings are seen as treasures, and meticulously maintained. If only Dallas could acquire that level of appreciation. A Walgreens or a Krogers will give a short-term business lift on the site where something historic has been razed, but the cost to the city’s heritage is incalculable.

ENCOURAGE MASS TRANSIT

I’m still somewhat shocked, but greatly pleased that Dallas, the home of John Birch and all that is free enterprise, was one of the first cities in the Southwest to develop a light rail system – DART. Light rail, after all, is vaguely socialistic. In European cities, mass transit is a given and it creates so many wonderful opportunities. It boosts tourism, it saves gasoline, it facilitates cities designed for people and not for cars. A visitor doesn’t have to rent a car or take a taxi. In a city with good walking districts, you can cover enormous ground, see all the sights and never step inside a car. Walking districts take on a life of their own – you have street vendors, artists, fairs, open air markets and what not. You might just want to buy a hot dog, sit on a bench and people watch. But that’s Boston, New York, Toronto and Amsterdam – not yet the Big D.

IN CONCLUSION…

Some people say that Dallas’ 113 degree afternoons in July would discourage my dream vision. Nonsense. Houston, Fort Worth and Atlanta are as hot as Dallas and have seen the way to vibrant downtowns. The hot weather is an excuse, not a reason. As you look at new developments in Frisco, McKinney and Allen, you might ask yourself -- will these sparkling new retail centers come to resemble East NW Highway in 20 years? Are these properties seen as permanent enhancements or temporary business opportunities? Time will tell; Dallas is certainly not the only city grappling with these issues. But let‘s hope that Dallas successfully answers the questions. With urban planning, historic preservation and mass transit, Dallas can become a pleasurable destination in and of itself, not just a DFW layover.

Ride'em Cowboy

Decided to be "wild" on Saturday and go to Billy Bobs in Fort Worth. Went with Kevin, who is sort of a cowboy and also from Tennessee. Kevin was afraid I would project too much "Dallitude" unless I borrowed one of his cowboy hats, and a western shirt. His house is exactly halfway between Dallas & Fort Worth, so I stopped at his place for a quick change into western gear. I looked pretty good, except that the Wrangler rodeo shirt was a bit snug and my belly was prominent. Kevin lives in a very nice, brick tract home – nicely maintained. If he weren’t so far out in mid-cities suburbia, it would be great.

We went in Kevin’s giant, 4 door Dodge Ram to the Fort Worth Stock Yards. After parking in a public lot toward the end, we took in a Rodeo at the Cowboy Coliseum, from 8 to 10. I kept using the wrong terminology for everything. “Is that a girl cow?” “Is that a heifer?” Have to admit I’ve only been around cows a few times. My great aunt had a farm, and my grandfather had a few head of cattle back in the 70’s. I’m not good with all the lingo, but the rodeo was still fun. Can’t relate to a lifestyle of ropin’, and wrasslin’ but what the hey. Dodge is an official rodeo sponsor and specifically the Dodge Ram is advertised all over the place, so I see where Kevin was inspired for his vehicle.

Next we strolled over and looked at the official Fort Worth herd. It’s a herd of Longhorn cattle that are driven through the Stock Yard streets twice a day. The Longhorns were huge and extremely inert, mostly sleeping. Kevin told me that these large, neutered beasts are called “oxen”. Now, I’m really getting confused.


Billy Bob's of Fort Worth

Next, we went to Billy Bobs, next door to the Cowboy Coliseum. The building is gi-normous, probably 1,000,000 square feet. A new country band called Trick Pony was playing, and I was surprised to see such a broad cross-section of people in the audience. There were many older people, and whole families with children. I was expecting a smoky, honky tonk atmosphere with single adults, but that wasn’t the case here. The high point of Trick Pony’s performance is when the lead male singer (don’t know the name) leapt from the stage to the table tops and played guitar while strolling across the tables. He showed great agility. Alas, our adventure ended with sort of a yawn after the band quit playing. In retrospect, we should have gone to the Cadillac bar afterwards. It’s truly a honky tonk that gets a bit of the rodeo crowd. Also known for fights around the pool table. Yee haw!

Those Were the Days

America's Foist Family

My final sitcom review (at least for a while) is All In the Family which debuted in January of 1971. Where Mary Tyler Moore broke the ice with subtlety, AITF used more of a hammer approach. The show depicted a working class family in Queens. We had Archie, the bigoted dock worker, Edith his patient wife, Gloria his strident, liberal daughter and Mike, the liberal son-in-law ("Meathead") who challenged all of Archie's cherished precepts and prejudices.

AITF was revolutionary in several respects. It showed a blue collar family making ends meet, where most shows at the time (Brady Bunch, My Three Sons) swept economic need under the rug along with race, sex and politics. It's interesting that in a time of such political upheaval, the name "Nixon" was never said on scripted TV. AITF went much further than that, usually framing political discussions as heated arguments between Archie and Mike. The show also tackled many (most?) other taboo topics - abortion, gay rights, rape, women's rights, organized crime, hate crimes, civil rights, sexual freedom, etc.

The Jeffersons, the Bunkers' black next door neighbors, provided excellent foils for Archie. Midway thru the series' run, the Jeffersons were spun off to their own series (one could say they "moved on up to the East Side") and they were replaced with neighbors Frank and Irene Lorenzo. The Lorenzos had a metrosexual husband who was sensitive and liked to cook. Irene was the handy man of the pair. The Lorenzos didn't quite click as well on the show, and AITF started to fade. The shows tended toward preachiness or pop psychology after a point.

They did evolve Edith's character and show her to be more self-confident after a few seasons. She could stand up to Archie and stand on principle in general. What's interesting about AITF, is that it had a dramatic decline in quality over its nine year run; it's a perfect example of a show overstaying its welcome by probably 3 seasons. The Mike and Gloria characters left and a Puerto Rican housekeeper, along with a little girl named Stephanie, were brought in to shore up the cast. These two new characters were no equal to the Mike/Gloria duo. At the same time, Archie's character was watered down to that of a kindly, politically correct, slightly gruff care bear. One can suppose the writers were trying to show that a person can become enlightened and change; the net result in this case was to take a zesty soup and turn it into cold broth. Archie Bunkers Place replaced AITF @ 1980, and it was a very pale approximation of the original show. One can see why Seinfeld and Raymond decided to close down operations when they detected the first signs of staleness.

Still and all, one can have no better entertainment than the first 3 seasons of AITF. Many of the discussions on the show have tremendous relevance now. America just reelected a very conservative president in 2004, and one ponders whether Mike or Archie would be considered more out of touch now. Another interesting footnote: Current TV shows are very liberal with regard to sexual subjects, but sitcoms that take on politics are few and far between. AITF was first and almost alone in its political daring do. For those of us aging boomers who remember watching the AITF shows on their original run, it's a wonderful reminiscence.

Four Americans in Paris

(Left to Right) Me, stepdad John and Mother

PREFACE

I usually don't do personal bio material because my life isn't that exciting and I'm not photogenic. So on this rare occasion, enjoy!

TRIP IN A NUTSHELL

I spent 5 days in Paris with my mother, stepdad and brother. We stayed at the pricey Axial Beaubourg Hotel near Rue de Rivoli/Notre Dame in the heart of Paris. The US dollar is at an all-time low, and Paris is expensive anyway, so the high prices were sort of to be expected. We did the standard touristy things: visited the Notre Dame Cathedral, Latin Quarter, Eiffel Tower, Ecole Militaire, Champs Elysee, Napoleon's Tomb. We took a day trip to see the palace of Versailles, and we also took in L'Arche de Triomphe as well as the newer L'Arche de la Defense. On the last couple of days, we also took in the Louvre Museum, the Moulin Rouge (just looked at it from outside), Sacre Couer Church and the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. I'm not spell-checking any of these French names, so beware! :-)

LOUVRE MUSEUM

To see the Mona Lisa, you have to walk down the hallway of Italian painters. My mother took strong objection to two of the pictures. One showed the baby Jesus being nursed by Mary. Problem was, Jesus appeared to be five years old. Am not thinking it was anything kinky myself, just artistic license. Then another picture showed Mary cradling the crucified body of the adult Jesus. For some reason, in this one, her breasts were exposed. My Mother wondered how relevant Mary's breasts were to the topic at hand. I have to admit, there is something weirdly oedipal about these two paintings. I'd have to give Mother the "John Ashcroft" award, because I have a feeling she would be covering up some of the paintings if she could.


Field Marshall Bryan and Mother at Versailles

FIELD MARSHALL BRYAN

The whole time we were there, my brother Bryan was in speed-walking mode. He is physically fit, and likes to cover a lot of territory by foot in one day. Problem is, I'm not so fast, and we had two people in their 70's with us. My Mother has bunions and arthritis, so she was definitely not walking fast. I have this silly thing about vacations - I like to take my time and enjoy the scenery. Like to window shop. Don't like to be rushed! My brother and I "had words" over this. My Mother was about to have heat stroke from too much walking, and we had to use the Metro anyway. My brother was disgusted by all the slow people, and opined that our 72 year old Mother needs to "get in shape" (I guess that means cross train) for a possible trip to Rome next year. Oh, that we could all be obsessive compulsive speed walkers.

JIM MORRISON

Jim Morrison is buried in an old, well-established cemetery. The cemetery has other celebrities (Yves Montand (sp?) and Colette) and many wealthy people are interred there. Instead of gravestones, many graves have monuments - small buildings and statues. Morrison's grave was very modest by comparison - but there were easily 20 people visiting it, and the grave was covered with flowers and votive candles. His grave stone said "James Douglas Morrison 1943-1971". Then below, it had a cryptic Greek phrase that means "fighting the devil within". (Which he was I guess, he overdosed on drugs). What was odd was that there were many new graves with shiny new statuary and dates like 2003 or 2004. How could there still be space in such an old cemetery? A friend at work informs me that French graves are rented! You keep the plot and monument as long as you have survivors or an estate that's willing to pay rent. When the rent stops, the bodies are exhumed and put in a public burial place, wherever that is. One can only imagine what the spirit world thinks about this! Maybe we should all get cremated.

THE FRENCH THINK DIFFERENT

I was amused by some of the Frenchiness I witnessed. In multilevel buildings, the ground level is 0 not 1. Confusion aplenty to someone from Texas. I went to a cyber cafe to send an email to friends in the US. Easy enough -- I'll just use my Yahoo account or AOL Mail web interface, right? Turns out the French keyboard doesn't use QWERTY layout. Furthermore, they have 3 characters per key on many keys! You have to press an 'alt group' key to get the 3rd character -- took me a long time to figure all this out. The trendy French love Apple computer and dislike Microsoft. Guess they have a counterpart in the US (We call them Mac-heads) but over there it seems more universal.

The French use a comma where we use a decimal, so we might be thinking that a shirt is 60,00 Euros, way too expensive. Clearly, you would get used to all of this, but 5 days is probably enough for me en France.

CONCLUSION

We all had a good trip, and my Mother was thrilled to see it all. People could tell we were American a mile away, and I'm still not sure what was giving us away. The Parisians were generally very cordial and welcoming. We had one waiter tell us that he loved us, "but not George Bush". On the next trip, we clearly need to get some cardiovascular training, or my brother will leave us all behind.

Love Is All Around

It’s you girl, and you should know it

Lets replace gut laughs with cogent character development as our selection criteria for best-ever sitcom. The Mary Tyler Moore Show of 1970 wins hands down. There's the opening sequence showing Miss Richards coming to Minneapolis in her white '69 Mustang, throwing her knit cap in the air. The theme song, "Love is All Around" is perfect in and of itself. The MTM show did so many things new, and so many things well; it's great to look back.

Prior to MTM, single working women were portrayed as ditzy (think Lucy Carmichael or "That Girl") or they were shown in stereotypical jobs (secretary, nurse, school teacher), or they were prim, joyless sideline characters (e.g., career women with thick glasses and hair in a bun). Television played into every negative silly, stereotype there was. In 1970, TV news itself was also portraying "women's libbers" as bra burning man-haters. MTM presented the possibility that a woman could be smart, pretty, aspire to a non-stereotypical job, keep on the bra, and not hate men. What an amazing prospect! MTM did some other things as well:

o Established working relationships between men and women, not always overwrought w/ sexual dalliance & tension
o Established sitcom dialog that developed character without requiring guffaws and canned laughs at every turn
o Portrayed a single woman who wanted to date, and maybe marry, but wasn't preoccupied with it
o Showed both men and women thru a more complex prism; a woman could sometimes be a rescuer, a man could sometimes be a ditz, but nobody (with the possible exception of Ted Baxter) was locked into a stereotype.
o In a television medium that previously gave us 8 colors (of sitcom personalities) MTM showed 64,000 colors. You had Phyllis, the acerbic landlady, Rhoda the Jewish would-be princess, Lou Grant the recently divorced gruff teddy bear, Murray the wag, Sue Anne Nivens the middle-aged nympho and so many others.

MTM opened the door to a whole new school of television comedy. The situations were never ridiculous, but rather credible and down-to-earth. Many shows (e.g., "Cheers" and "Taxi") have since taken a page from MTM and done well with it. In fact, gimmick and slapstick shows were never as funny or popular after MTM raised the bar. The show was probably its very best in the first couple of seasons. It never "jumped the shark" and was pretty consistently good right up to that last season. Any gripes? Of course! .....

o They spun off two of the best characters (Phyllis and Rhoda) sapping the show of two great players.
o They started centering too many shows around Ted Baxter who wasn't profound or credible enough as a character to warrant that much attention
o They had Mary become more self-confident and strident over the seasons, but I somehow liked the shaky-voiced, girlish Mary Richards of the first two seasons, in her hip hugger pants.

When I watch reruns, I still love Mary's efficiency apartment with the "M" on the wall and the fold-out bed. For a show that wasn't guffaw-focused, they had some pretty good lines:

Rhoda: "They were the nicest couple I ever dated."

Rhoda, about her recent ex: "Would you like somebody spying on you, reading your mail??"
Mary: "No!"
Rhoda: "Well.. neither did he."

In sum, MTM was a great show and a cultural ice breaker. The first episode is now 35 years in the past, and yet it has a contemporary, 5-minutes-ago feel to it. 35 years later, MTM is still a TV Land favorite. And 35 years later, Mary Richards is still America's sweetheart.

God Talk

Raphael's God

Today's topic is way off the usual path. (Don't worry, I'll soon return to current events, TV and other frivolity). I'm talking about that controversial word, "God". God is spoken of freely in religious settings, but is somewhat forbidden elsewhere in the secular community. Somewhere in the mid-19th century, the secular, academic community became implicitly atheistic/agnostic. It put itself at arms length from religion. Such things as the Crusades, the Inquisition, and insistence that the Sun orbits around the Earth put theology in a dim light, so the distancing is somewhat understandable.

Now, if you bring up God in a science-oriented, secular setting you will be greeted with cynical smirks. If one were to propose theology as a necessary component of cosmology you'd be laughed off the campus. Words you might hear: "Well, why don't you also include a study of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny?". Because it is a terrain of the invisible and unprovable, it gets no place at the table. In the religious community on the other hand, you're welcome to talk about God -- on terms established by organized religion. Between atheism and mainstream religion is a small group of people including myself, who see God as part of the picture but would like to discuss it more. Questions I'd like to ask about God:

- Is God male, female or no gender?
- Is there one God or many? If many, is there a hierarchy?
- Is God fallible, can He, She or They make mistakes? (for simplicity will refer to God as "He" hereon).
- Is God mortal himself, changing or evolving?
- Does God have a personality or a sense of humor?
- Does God have a physical presence or locality?
- Does God have manlike attributes, are we really in his image?
- How does God interact with our physical world?
- Does God have time, material and budget constraints like humans?
- Does God have a preferred religion or group of people?
- If life exists on other planets, what implication does that have for the primacy of Earth life? What if creatures on other planets have their own religions and messianic figures?

Now, in theological seminary 101, you'll be welcome to ask these questions. However, if you don't allow yourself to be corralled pretty quickly into the prevalent monotheistic belief, you'll be rapped on the knuckles with a ruler. Welcome to the state of theology -- a science who's last big contributors were Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther. The objection that the secular community gives to theology is that it's faith-based and has no basis in provable facts. Well, where to begin. The soft sciences of sociology and anthropology are 90% subjective theories that serve mostly to drive the academic careers of professors in those areas. Many things in science are speculation and hand waving: black holes, dark matter, string theory, time travel, worm holes, behavior of quarks, neodarwinism, etc. I'm not saying these things are necessarily wrong, but that discussions are indeed allowed. If I go that wobbly step further and say "I think a superior intelligence had a hand in this", why can't there be a discussion about that? But start with a clean slate, and devise a God model that is consistent with what we have around us (and for that matter, consistent with known scientific facts). Don't rap anyone's knuckles with a ruler, or make them recant.

Well, now I've gone and done it. I've ticked off the believers and the atheists (probably 99% of humans are either atheist or practitioners of mainstream religion). If God is reading this, He, She or They could be very displeased. On the other hand, He, She or They might think it's good idea to throw open the windows and let some fresh, theological air into the room.