Trying to follow

A summer or two ago my sister-in-law got my hooked on the TV show 24. We did a netflix subscription and watched the entire first season in a week or so. I think all TV can be extremely addicting if you don’t have commercials and you can watch one eposide after the next.
Earlier this week I did something foolish and watched a free download of an eposide of 24 that was offered. You can’t watch just one. I did the Netflix thing again and Mindy and I watched nearly the first 12 hours of the show already. For anyone who hasn’t seen this show, let me suggest: I really like it, but it’s probably not worth your time.

I think I’m going to have some commentary on the show later, cause there are some things about it that I’m rather uncomfortable with, but all in all I really like the show.

At work today, I happened to catch the news and there where a few things I thought worth commenting on.

Bush and Blair on the war in Iraq. I want to believe, and I do to some degree, that the statements Bush shared in a press conference yesterday were sincere. Bush acknowledge regret for saying things like “Wanted, Dead or Alive,” and “Bring it on.” He also acknowledge the setback and wrongdoing that occurred at Abu Gharib. I saw a couple of clips of Bush speaking and he definitely seemed candid and sincere.
This seems to be a different Bush then the steadfast and unwavering Bush of the last six years. Yet, I can’t help but think what has caused this change in Bush’s attitude. You might know that the polls show Bush losing support, and any politician knows they need to do something about that. So, Bush needed to do something about that, and maybe that meant putting on a regretful face for the camera.
What do you think? Was Bush’s regret sincere or just a political ploy to garner some more supporters?

Enron Verdict. I wrote about watching the documentary, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, not too long ago. Yesterday the verdict was reached convicting Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling of multiple accounts of Fraud and more. They could each face life in prison for what they’ve done. I heard someone make a statement about how this shows that we treat Corporate Fraud by CEO’s as severely and seriously as street criminals. Ironically, both Lay and Skilling are still roaming free today on $5 million bond. Thousands of Enron employees lost their pensions, or should I say had their pension’s stolen by Lay and Skilling. Does anyone else find it wrong that these guys can be roaming around on $5 million of money they are guilty of stealing?

Teacher and student. The Today Show interviewed the now married teacher and student whose affair started when the student was just 13 years old and the teacher 34. The interview was not negative, it was sincere, and came across kind and positive. I can’t help but think this sort of thing would never have happened if the teacher had been a male. And before you misunderstand me, I believe that in both situations the wrong doing should be taken more seriously. I fear this is one of those situations where the stereotype of males being the more powerful and dominating, as well as sex hungry, diminishes the wrong doing that was committed in this situation.

I always hesitate after big purchases, but for better or worse, I just bought a new bike. It’s the same brand and style as my two previous ones (I’m starting to express some brand loyalty). Here’s a picture:

A few questions for the audience as it relates to my recent purchase:

1. This will be my main mode of transportation. Did I pay too much for it? How do I decided good stewardship on something like that?
2. Should I uglify this one like I did my previous bike? Bumper stickers all over and more?
3. Is it right to want nicer things because you’ll use them more?

Because I was sure it would inevitably be mentioned, here is the explanation from the website about that magazine’s name:

For as long as we’ve been publishing B****, there’s one question that gets asked over and over. And over. “Why did you choose that word as the name of your magazine?” While we’re aware that our title is off-putting to some people, we think it’s worth it. And here’s why.

When it’s being used as an insult, “b****” is most often hurled at women who speak their minds, who have opinions and don’t shy away from expressing them. If being an outspoken woman means being a b****, we’ll take that as a compliment, thanks.

Furthermore, if we take it as a compliment, it loses its power to hurt us. And if we can get people thinking about what they’re saying when they use the word, that’s even better.

And, last but certainly not least, “b****” describes all at once who we are when we speak up, what it is we’re too worked up over to be quiet about, and the act of making ourselves heard.

Now for my quick two-cents: I’m not sure whether I necessarily agree full-heartedly that these sorts of negative words can be redeemed, but I have to agree the words seem to lose “its power to hurt us.” Maybe that’s not the case at all though, maybe it’s a sign that the agressor wins. The “N” word is another example, and there is heated disagreement about it between the younger and older generation. Is there a fully right answer one way or the other? I’m not sure.

I do know as a male, I’m not sure I’m really at liberty to enter my opinion into the conversation. If these women choose to use B**** as an empowering term, I’m not one to argue. Nor do I think that gives me any excuse not to listen.

Can someone please download this file, open it in MS Access 2003 and save it as a Access 2000 file and then email it back to me?

http://www.box.net/public/tc1u4dj09z