FRENCH ME SOME OXYCODONE MOMMY

So I was reading for some interesting material and I came across the most disturbing tidbit of the day. The headline read "Mom Son Drug Kiss." This is the kind of thing that makes you wonder: What the fuck? Apparently the mother of some jailbird was passing her son oxycodone by kissing him in the mouth. The article that I read did not specify if the kiss was French or even slightly Parisian in nature. 

I am not quite sure if the inmate, who was identified as William Partridge, was trying to distribute the pills or if he was just using them for his own purposes. There are so many angles here. The guy's last name is Partridge so you could go with the semi obscure I think I love you reference or perhaps do a write up on him being Shirley Partridge's long lost son. 

In all seriousness this is a disgusting piece of news not just because of the kiss angle but also because of the unforgivable enabling nature of the mother. I understand the whole idea of giving your kids the best but this is a bit much. Go on mommy dearest feed more drugs to your idiot kid, oh wait I think she's going to prison too. 

RACIST RABBITS!

I saw a news story about a California family that is suing Disney because the person playing the Rabbit character was behaving in a manner that could be considered racist. The person did not want to hug their kids, who are African American, and was hugging white kids. When I first saw the headline I wondered if this was for real simply because Disney is supposed to be the place where everyone is equal. I know that Disney can't really tell if a person is racist or not but their attitude has been that of a company backing the racist rabbit.

I think Disney with its abysmal track record for subliminal and sexually suggestive animation as well as racial undertones in film really needs to work its way out of this one. According to the news story Disney has attempted to get the African American family to sign a waiver in exchange for tickets. Disney always seems to want to cure everything with tickets and Mickey Mouse watches.

At the end of the day Disney should more carefully screen its people because although you can't always tell who's racist and who isn't you can get some sort of idea. If the person in the costume did not want to hug the kids because they were black and in front of them hugged white kids then that person is racist. I can understand the family wanting to sue on principle because this type of bullshit cannot be covered up.

I wish the family the best of luck making rabbit stew.

THE ART OF SCRIPTING REALITY

I was watching an episode of Hardcore Pawn and I wondered if reality is so overly scripted that actual reality can't be separated. The episode I watched was about an employee stealing from the store. What I found interesting was how everything was set up in the previous episode and resolved in the following installment. Don't get me wrong, I worked on reality television series and I know that 99% of what happens is scripted.

What made me question this particular set of episodes is the fact that theft does occur in retail environments and I should know because I was a retail manager for years. The thing I find interesting is that even with all my instincts very clear I could not tell if the show was working the audience or if it was actually real in terms of the situation. I guess it's safe to say that certain writers have really learned how to get a sector of the audience confused enough to question their own instinct.

I like shows like Hardcore Pawn because they use real environments and give viewers a glimpse into what certain environments are like. I still wonder if reality has gotten to the point where you can't tell the difference anymore simply because even when an event that's real occurs it's overacted to blend in. Scripting reality is a truly an art that's hard to master given the audience as well as the nature of the series.

Shows like My Big Redneck Wedding and TLC'S Truth Be Told were prime examples of the story being magnified and manipulated to tell a story far removed from the real one. Reality television is simply a way to create content without spending the money required to make something good. While most audiences would rather watch a good CSI or a good 30 Rock networks want to give us something that can make the same advertising dollars without spending five to ten million per weekly episode.

Shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo give audiences that train wreck feeling that makes them want to watch. The real story in the end is the trumped up ideas of the "Story Producer" whose job it is to not only create interest but also help cut together something that when seen by audiences will leave them hungry for more.

Let's just say that nothing's as real as it seems and a scripted story drives us to look at our peers on television.

THE NEW GEORGE BURNS IS: BETTY WHITE!

Every decade there is a comedian that stands out because he or she manages to beat the clock through laughter. The cool elder statesman of the 1970's was Jack Benny and after him came George Burns. Burns rejuvenated his career in the 1970's after his performance in The Sunshine Boys which garnered him an Academy Award and a legion of new followers that saw him move on to performances in Oh God among other films as well as as the release of a country album. I think that the long lasting nature of these comedians is due to their ability to make people laugh.

The new elder of comedy is Betty White, whose double entendres and grand dame demeanor make her one of America's treasures. What's amazing about how these comedians get to that point is the fact that they creep up like cotton headed ninjas full of energy and youth. Slowly but surely these comedians show why they stand the test of time. Betty White makes up material using current trends like Facebook and vaginas. You have to admire someone that at 91 years of age can make a younger generation crave her work.

Lasting long and staying fresh is a testament to the healing power of laughter but it goes deeper than that. People like Betty White have a quality that draws others, it's the humor and the subtle nature of its delivery. I think it's only proper to say thank you to Betty White as well as her predecessors because without them the world would be a rather dreary place and we would not have certain beacons that remind us of the fact that aging is only a physical necessity.  

THE BLACK DAHLIA

There are certain stories that never leave your subconscious once you hear about them. One particular story that has always fascinated me is the story behind Elizabeth Short's death. Just about everyone knows Elizabeth Short as The Black Dahlia. What brought Short to prominence was her grizzly and unfortunate death in 1947.

I remember first learning about the murder while watching the show Hollywood Babylon, hosted by the late Tony Curtis. I remember seeing pictures of the body and watching the show's re-enactments of how and why the murder may have happened. The case went cold and for years has been the subject of legend. One of the most impressive aspects of the case was the state her body was found in. The Black Dahlia was found naked and severed in two. Short's body was drained of all blood and completely mutilated.

Recently the murder made headlines again as the son of Dr. George Hill Hodel stated that he was sure his father committed the murder at the "Sowden House." On an episode of Ghost Hunters a cadaver dog found the smell of death on a vent outside the basement. I don't think that the smell of death in a basement really clearly establishes the identity of a killer nor does it solve the crime.

I don't think this is a case that will ever go beyond a dark and grizzly legend that fascinates people because it happened in the days when there was far more "control" and "value" in society.

DIGITAL HIGHLANDER

I read an article about the management of Facebook pages belonging to those that have passed on. The article basically says that some states are looking into creating a bill that takes a deceased person's social media page and hands it over to the executor of the person's estate.

This is great idea but at the same time kind of morbid. I am surprised that Facebook is being referred to as a digital asset. I guess this is a sign of the times, we live in an age where what we have online is almost as important as our day to day lives. I can imagine what a last will and testament with Facebook stipulations would read like:

I Ric Acevedo of sound mind and body do hereby bequeath control of my digital assets to my son provided that the following stipulations are met within ten days of my passing.

1. Tell friend #12 that I do like that.
2. Reveal something shocking for every 100 likes.
3. Make a fan page for my funeral.
4. Send out 6,000 invitations to Farmville, Lucky Slots, and Diamond Dash.
5. Have a kinky Arena memorial. 
6. Like at least twenty random pages. 
7. Inbox that sexy prostitute and book her as a gag.

I guess it's necessary to keep things in order in this digital age especially when you consider there are well over a billion active users in the world of social media. There was mention of this kind of legislature helping bring closure to families. I think that it's noble to assume families can get closure but truthfully if a media page stays open I think it further drives home that feeling of loss and pain. 

I like to think that we have reached the era of digital immortality if this legislature is passed on a federal level. Someone call Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul because I have a script for " Highlander: The Social Media Quickening."  

SOME PEOPLE NEED TO PAY HARD

I rarely ever get so moved by something that I decide to put common sense aside and write from a different place. Fayhan al- Ghamdi needs to be hung and tortured for his actions. Fuck the idea of two wrongs not making a right, someone should make him feel what his five-year old daughter felt as he raped her and tortured her. What bothers me about this whole situation is that he is getting off with a damn fine and a few months of jail time. This ugly bastard admitted to using wires and cables to torture the girl.

I want to know how in the hell made his actions acceptable. This man paid $50,000 in "blood money" for his crime. What this man paid is half of what he would have to pay if his child would have been a boy. This sick bastard doubted his daughter's virginity and had her checked. The little girl was five, I want to know this fucker's reason for checking to see if she was a virgin.

This man is a sick piece of garbage and he deserves the worst kind of punishment. These were the actions of a religious "leader" that enjoyed a great deal of attention as a "celebrity" figure. I just don't understand why this guy was allowed to just walk so easily without so much as a slap to the wrist.

I hope that this will change because taking a life isn't something that should be negotiated with a few dollars and a warning.