Mike’s Blog: What’s Not To Like?

Shortly after the inauguration of President Barack Obama I visited the official White House website.  It sure didn’t take long for them to transition here…

Watching a Presidential inauguration is always a fascinating experience for me. Watching a usually somber outgoing President and then looking with hope to the new President always makes me wonder what those individuals are thinking in that moment. 

 I like the pomp and circumstance, the protocol, the orchestrations of an inauguration. It really is remarkable to witness such a peaceful and orderly governmental transition. I watching it on a shaky internet feed from CNN.com through Facebook. Clearly CNN was not prepared to scale their feed to serve the likely millions of simulaneous web viewers. The Facebook side of the event seemed more stable and frankly pretty intrguing in watching my “friends” update their statuses in realtime, mimicing a chat. The CNN video feed was choppy at best, frozen and contanstanly buffering in spite of my T1 connection. The audience for this webcast was probably off the charts; unprecedented, so perhaps they did ok.  But in no way was it a smooth video experience.

Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review Journal reports…

Comedy giant Jerry Lewis is getting a ceremonial Oscar.

Lewis, 82, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 81st Academy Awards on Feb. 22.

He’ll be presented with an Oscar statuette to honor his decades of work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Lewis has been MDA’s national chairman since 1952 and has raised more than $2 billion through his Labor Day Telethon since 1966.

“Jerry is a legendary comedian who has not only brought laughter to millions around the world,” said Academy President Sid Ganis, “but has also helped thousands upon thousands by raising funds and awareness for those suffering from muscular dystrophy.”

The award is given periodically to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.

Lewis, who has made Las Vegas his home for much of his life, joins a list that includes Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Charlton Heston, Danny Kaye and Quincy Jones.

The award is named after Jean Hersholt, who served as president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund for 18 years.

Lewis, who has never been nominated for an Oscar, won a Golden Globe award in 1966 for his role in “Boeing (707) Boeing (707)” for Best Motion Picture Actor in Musical/Comedy.

In the news today… President-Elect Barack Obama gave a wide ranging interview that included:

Barack Obama says his presidency is an opportunity for the U.S. to renovate its relations with the Muslim world, starting the day of his inauguration and continuing with a speech he plans to deliver in an Islamic capital.

And when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20, he plans to be sworn in like every other president, using his full name: Barack Hussein Obama.

“I think we’ve got a unique opportunity to reboot America’s image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular,” Obama said Tuesday, promising an “unrelenting” desire to “create a relationship of mutual respect and partnership in countries and with peoples of good will who want their citizens and ours to prosper together.”

The world, he said, “is ready for that message.”

This world of ours needs so much healing, more understanding and tolerance, it’s good to see the incoming administration recognizes this and is willing to reach out. Now that is change I can believe in!

The Mirage once again set the standard for Strip-front attractions today as its redesigned signature Volcano premiered to the world. When The Mirage first unveiled The Volcano in 1989 the landscape of Las Vegas was forever altered. This all-new audio/visual spectacle again raises the bar with never-before-seen fire effects and an exclusive soundtrack composed by Grateful Dead drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Mickey Hart, and Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain.

Tasked with bringing the latest innovations to the project, WET forged a primal volcanic environment of sound, light, music and heat. WET’s choreographed FireShooters - which send massive fireballs more than 12 feet into the air – were designed specifically for The Mirage using the latest developments in flame-expression technology. The FireShooters punctuate the performances with eruptions of fiery “lava” that flow down the mountain’s fissures in a series of lively flames. As the eruption ignites the surrounding lagoon, the FireShooters bring Las Vegas’ signature blast within feet of spectators.

“If hell is other people’s inane music commentary, heaven is their inanity aped to perfection. It’s that good!”

-Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired.com

I always looked forward to the Charlie Brown specials as a kid…

Politically, I identify as a Democrat although I’ve voted for my share of Republicans (and once for the Green Party) too. Now more than ever I believe a philosophical shift to the Left will help balance or un-do some of the damage done by the Right over the past eight years. I truly believe the change Barack Obama has been advocating is more than just a referendum on the failed policies of the Bush administration. I think this man has the power to heal the country and make us all better citizens of this world. Not necessarily by policy, but by changing the conversation out there. Raising the question and inviting each of us to make better choices. I admire the way this man, an African-American man, has not chosen to leverage his heritage to make us think differently about electing a person of color to the office of President. He just put his best self out there as the best candidate and made his case to the people.

I grew up in a neighborhood where voting for an African-American candidate was not a very popular idea. When Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago in 1983, I remember hearing the most vicious, overtly racist comments about how the city would ‘go to hell’ if he were elected. Race was an issue - a big issueback then. Now we as a society are in a place where race is mostly an after-thought. Same in part can be said of gender with the candidacy of Sarah Palin. I am aware there is still a great deal of racial prejudice and gender in-equality. I am constantly challenging myself in this regard every day - even more-so lately. It seems my self image and the reality of how open and ‘color-blind’ I am are not always in perfect alignment. This is a work in progress for me.

I believe Barack Obama serving as President of the United States can help to make us better citizens of this world. I do not agree with all of his initiatives specifically, but philosphically, I think his would be the perfect successor (antidote?) to the Bush administration. Financially and economically by every conceivable metric, this nation is worse off now than the day George W. Bush was elected President. I do not believe the booming economy inherited and severely damaged by Bush administration policies would have stayed on the same upward trajectory had Al Gore been elected in 2000, but I think the inevitable market corrections would not have been as dramatic and devastating to this economy. We as a nation would have likely been less reliant on fossil fuels, and more conscious of how we consume energy in general, specifically gasoline. For example, when the price hit $4.30 per gallon a few months ago people suddenly began consolidating trips, walking, riding a bike or bus, car pooling or just staying home. The price dropped as demand dropped. proving we can do it, we have the power to affect change! We have proved capable of making some different choices when faced with the consequences. I think a Gore administration would have fostered this more thoughtful way of living over the past eight years.

With the political leadership of a Barack Obama administration, I believe we have the opportunity to re-examine how things are done in government and in ourselves.  This historic opportunity is now before us once again. My vote goes to Barack Obama - not only for change in government, but for real change in our society. 

To paraphrase the great Stevie Wonder, I’m seeking a higher ground.

Listen to “Higher Ground”:    Higher Ground MP3 @ Amazon

I’ve always liked the Edgar Allan Poe classic The Raven.  One of my favorite grade school teachers, Mrs Harper, used to read it to us, thrilling the dickens out of our little ten-year old selves.  I ran across Garrison Keillor’s rendition of the poem a year or so ago and believe it among the finest I’ve heard.  Here it is…

The Raven - as told by Garrison Keillor

With the tragic events surrounding the senseless killings of Oscar winning actress Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother, and now 7-year old nephew ringing through the airwaves, I am called to wonder once again why the hell does anyone need a gun?

True that in a desperate domestic situation, the perpetrator could use any number of weapons to carry out their crimes of passion.  Gun availability made that situation go from bad to worse, ending in a triple murder.  As the father of a 5yr old, it breaks my heart to hear of the violence that ended the life of Hudson’s nephew. Why on God’s green earth do any among us outside of law enforcement need to have guns? I will never understand that Second Amendment argument given the reality of today’s society.  Sure, in the 1700’s or even 1800’s one certainly needed to defend themselves, defend this country at a moments notice and in some cases hunt for their food each day.  But today we have an organized police department, a trained army, and Jewel Foods to serve those needs. 

Now I see this article and my head spins trying to imagine what people can possibly be thinking. This story is the result of a negligent parent, irresponsibly allowing an 8-yr old - eight year old- to fire an automatic weapon. This kind of stupidity is inconceivable to me. The article says the guy is a certified instructor.  Who certified him to allow an 8yr old fire a weapon, any weapon, let alone an Uzi submachine gun? 

Boy, 8, fatally shoots self in head while trying out Uzi submachine gun at Mass. gun club show

By Associated Press
1:55 PM CDT, October 27, 2008

WESTFIELD, Mass. (AP) _ An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.

The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club, police Lt. Lawrence Vallierpratte said.

Police said the boy, Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., was with a certified instructor and called the death a “self-inflicted accidental shooting.”

As the boy fired the Uzi, “the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head,” police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. The boy died at a hospital.