Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Beauty Pagent Controversy

I know that of all the countless things going on in the world, and most of them of the utmost importance, why am I blogging about what happened at the Miss U.S.A. Pagent? I usually abhor such things, and find them a momnumental waste of time and resources. I think it's drawing a lot of attention, even mine, over the one contestant's position on gay marriage.

There is a lot of talk that Miss California lost a crown that might well have been hers over her position on gay marriage. It started when this Perez Hilton guy (who is a "celebrity blogger" by the way. He actually makes a pretty good living off it. It shows how much America has devolved into a nation that produces and manufactures absolutely nothing of significance. If it were, "want fries with that" would likely be a part of Mr. Hilton's regular vocabulary) asked Miss Calfornia basically how she felt about gay marriage. Miss California, in a kinda incoherent answer (similar to that Miss Teen USA contestant who I poked fun at in the past), basically stated that she felt that marriage should be one "between a man and a woman".

Okay, that's a perfectly normal answer, and a position that millions and millions of Americans have. I go the other way, although I'm not gay myself, I think homosexuals should have the right to be unhappily married like the rest of us. Anyway, Mr. Hilton took umbarge to it, and apparently used his position as a judge and as an openly gay man, to nix Miss California's dreams of wearing the crown.

According to Hilton, it wasn't her answer, but in how she answered it. What way should she have answered it? Is Hilton suggesting that she lie about her beliefs in marriage, just so she would have stood a better chance at winning? Isn't that unethical? In any case, I think it's admirable how Ms. Prejean took a possibly unpopular position, even under enormous pressure (as the flamer Perez Hilton looked on)and at great cost to herself. If Mr. Hilton did not want a controversial answer, he should not have asked a controversial question. Let alone use his power as a judge to cost this woman a crown that might have been hers. Shame on him.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Sarah Connor Chronicles--Season Finale Tonight

One of the reasons why I regret not blogging as much as I'd like to, is to advocate for something I like, or a cause that people should know about. This is the former, but I also look at it as a cause, in that there's a significant chance that it won't return in the fall. My favorite television series, without question, is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Despite ratings that have often been lackluster, it will be airing its Season 2 finale tonight, after a total of 31 episodes. Many shows do not make it to this stage, so I am grateful. But I want more! I have a feeling that if cancelled, it will become a cult hit like Firefly, but I would rather still have it on the air. Remember a few years ago, when the fans of that show "Jericho" (which I later saw and concur that it was a great show) got together and sent tons of peanuts to CBS in protest after they cancelled it? I thought that was crazy, but am ready to throw in with some of those same fans for the sake of this show.

The reasons that this show is in trouble are (1) the Nielsen system (used to judge how many people watch a television show) is woefully outdated and inadequate, and needs a complete overhaul. I refuse to believe that so few people watch this show; (2) when there is a recession or other hard times, people want to escape into a reality show like American Idol, or a sitcom, or something of that nature. A show about a mother and son running from killer robots to prevent a nuclear doomsday is probably the last thing people want to see, unless it's filled with action like Terminator 2 was, and that brings me to reason (3): I believe that a lot of people came into this show expecting to see T2 every week, since the Terminator movies are action-packed. This is not that kind of a show. While it does have its moments, SCC is much more story-driven and character based. Themes like humanity, religion, and the use of technology in our lives is given a much deeper look here than the films ever gave. So, it's kind of a catch-22. This was promoted as an action show, and action and traditional Terminator fans coming into this were disappointed, while people who would really give a show like this a chance were turned off by what they thought was a mindless shoot-em-up show.

Anyway, please watch the show tonight, write Fox to let them know to keep this great series, and watch Season 1 on DVD. There are later Season 2 episodes on Hulu, and the earlier ones are around the Internet too if you know where to look. Here's a clip from episode 13 of Season 2 that captures the show pretty much perfectly, IMO: