Katrina or Jon Benet?

I conducted my own independent survey this morning. I was curious what would be the lead story on all the morning news shows. Would it be Jon Benet or the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina? ABC, CBS and Fox all led off with Jon Benet. Only NBC on the Today show led off with a Katrina story.

I didn't bother to check Nancy Grace or Anderson Cooper that night, because I knew full well what their lead story would be.

Yes, I Still Watch Survivor

My wife and I have been devoted Survivor fans ever since season 2, when Tina beat out Colby in the Australian Outback. Yes, it's mindless reality t.v., but it's fun to watch. It's also fairly kid friendly so it's one we all can watch (like the other mindless entertainment, American Idol).

But after this past season, I was pretty much thinking I'd had enough. Then came yesterday's announcement about the new season. They will initially divide into four differen tribes along racial lines. One Black, one Latino, one White and one Asian tribe. I figured that would be an immediate lightning rod for controversy and sure enough, last night on one of the talk shows, it was already being discussed.

This will certainly give a spike in the ratings for Survivor. Yeah, I'll be there to tune in to see how it all pans out. Although, as a Survivor veteran, I know full well that how the tribes are divided initially does not stay that way for long. If one of the tribes gets decimated early on, they'll quickly mix things up. It has happened every time.

Enough is Enough!

This is just incredible! What kind of a world do we live in, where a man like Tom Cruise can be treated like this? This guy shouts from the mountaintops and couches of the world what a devoted family man he is. For Paramount Pictures to unceremoniously dump him is just an outrage. For the love of humanity, this man only makes $30 million per movie. How will he support his child that no one has ever seen?

I'm sorry, I just can't continue . . .talk amongst yourselves.

Okay, I'm Tired of This Already

The arrest in the Jon-Benet Ramsey case was interesting at first. This guy they arrested in Thailand is one creepy dude. But I think there is much more to the story. Unfortunately, we'll get wall to wall coverage of speculation for who knows how long. Every news channel is covering this as their lead story, from the usual culprits like Nancy Grace to the more so-called serious journalists like Anderson "the Hero of Katrina" Cooper.

You know how it's gonna be: "In other news, a terrorist plot to blow up planes was thwarted, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is coming up. But first, back to JON BENET . . ."

A Break from the Art-House Films

One of my former roommates before I got married is Peter McFarland. We have kept in touch over the years and frequently will go to movies. We have the same tastes so we tend to go to the more off beat types of films or those that typically play in South Bend for about a week before disappearing. More of the art-house type films, or documentaries and foreign films. We occasionally go to the big blockbusters too, because we aren't movie snobs, disdaining anything that makes gazillions of dollars.

But last night, we went to "Snakes on a Plane." This is a movie that promises nothing more than what the title delivers. Not a movie that we'll be seeing on the ballot at our Oscar party next spring. How was it? Well, not all that bad really. Some rather intense scenes at times, combined with some fairly good humor. Not quite the low budget, bad acting experience I was expecting. But no, it wasn't Shakespeare either. If you know anything about all the hype about this movie, then you know about Samuel L. Jackson's big line, that was suggested by internet bloggers and actually incorporated into the movie. He says something along the lines of wanting these darn snakes off the darn plane.

Hey, what can I say? Sometimes you are just in the mood for some silly fun at the movies.

Roller Skating and Wilbur the Pig

Last night after work, we all went to the local roller skating rink for the weekly Family Night skate, where admissions is only a dollar. This is the first time I've been skating in I don't know how long. Growing up in California, I made many, many trips to "Rollertowne" in Visalia, California with our church youth group and other outings. I was actually a pretty good skater. But after leaving California, that was pretty much it. I skated occasionally in college as we had skating outings there once in a while.

So last night, I laced on the skates and found out I could still move okay. Not quite as agile as I once was and no longer can do the triple-lutz jumps (okay, I never could do that). Dorene was a little less unsure, and even more unsure when a beginning backwards skater plowed into her.

Anna loves the skates. She gets on the floor and basically skates non-stop until the skating session is over. She stops once in a while for a drink and that's about it. Doesn't bug us to go to the snack bar or play the video games. She's there to skate!

Cameron went around the rink twice, which took just about a half hour. He's not too sure about this whole skating thing yet. He had a good time, even though he was on the floor most of the time. He was a good sport. When he fell, I'd laugh and he'd look up and grin too. Didn't get frustrated.

Afterwards we went to Famous Dave's BBQ, one of our favorite eating places. Even more so because on Monday and Tuesday nights, kids eat free. That's actually a pretty good savings, so Dorene and I can each get a nice meal and pay about the same as if all four of us ate at Arby's. On kids night, they bring out Wilbur the Pig. Tonight, since it was quite a bit later (after 8:00 p.m.), the pig had retired for the evening. We hadn't been to Famous Dave's for months, but Cameron remembered the pig and was watching out for him. Our waitress basically said he was gone but that she would check to see for sure.

Now, I'm sure the employee that was dressed up in the pig costume was going home for the night since it was late and any responsible parent would have had their kids in bed by this time. But lo and behold, the pig came out and Cameron just lit up. Whoever took the time to don the pig costume for a few extra minutes certainly made my little boy happy and I thank them for it. That's what's called going the extra mile in customer service and the next time we're there, you can be sure Cameron will be on "Wilbur Watch."

Still a Republican . . .

Last night at the St. Joseph County Fair, I was there to help Kevin Mitschelen in his campaign for State Representative of Indiana's 6th District (I'm the treasurer of the campaign). We passed out campaign literature and Kevin was there to meet and greet people. Kevin is very, very personable and not at all a "politician." He's up against B. Patrick Bauer, who has been in office since Nixon's first term. So, if we pull this one off, it'll be an upset of epic proportions.

Is this the year for Republicans to be pulling upsets? Yeah, I know, not too likely. But then again, Bush wasn't supposed to win in 2000, the Republicans weren't supposed to gain seats in 2002, Bush wasn't supposed to win in 2004 and there was no way the Republicans would recapture the Senate that same year. If Democrats believe everything they read and hear, then they should easily sweep every Republican out of office in November.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised at all if that happens, nor do I think that's even a bad thing. But then again, the Democrats have a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. If they don't regain either the House or Senate, it'll be one of the most botched campaigns since, well, since John Kerry ran for President.

Rep. Charles Rangel has said he'll quit if the Democrats aren't victorious. Kind of like when Alec Baldwin said he'd move out of the U.S. if Bush won reelection. Last I checked, Baldwin was still here and starring in blockbusters like "Thomas the Tank Engine and the Magic Railroad." I'm so glad he stuck around stateside to bring such joy to our lives.