I Rant, Therefore I Am

Hate to lean so heavy on the negativity today, but I gots to get stuff out of my system.  So, I'll warn you in advance that this ain't a real positive post, thus giving you, gentle readers, the option of passing or playing...

MORE VA. TECH THOUGHTS
Let’s hear it for "The Today Show" for seizing the chance to broadcast their show live from the Virginia Tech campus.  It’s not as if these poor people haven’t had enough disruptions there without you people to get in their way, is it?  It wouldn’t surprise me if the other morning shows did this too, but "Today" was the only one I caught in the act.  As I’ve previously ranted about on this blog, I think it's total bullshit when TV news outfits do this sort of thing—using the scene of a tragedy as the stage for their shows.  It doesn’t make them look any more timely or enhance their credibility at all—it merely makes them look like a bunch of opportunistic vultures, and it’s just plain wrong!

Oh, by the way, I’m amazed that Pat Robertson hasn’t proclaimed that all the victims of the massacre had it coming to them anyway because its God’s revenge over America’s "secular agenda"…

On a more positive note, a heartfelt salute to the Washington Nationals baseball club for wearing Virginia Tech caps during their game with the Phillies last night at R.F.K. Stadium.  It was a somewhat spur-of-the-moment thing, but a local D.C. sporting goods store helped round up the caps for the team, which they donned during the 2nd inning (with Major League Baseball's blessing) in a classy show of support for the people of their region.  It wasn't much, but it came from the heart, and I commend them for it.  Well done, gentlemen...

A RETRACTION
I wrongly accused Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss of saying next to nothing on their official website following Mark St. John’s passing a couple weeks back.  Gene and Paul did indeed issue subsequent separate statements regarding Mark, so I hereby take back my previous remarks.

"Mark tried his best to become the guitar player that KISS and our fans needed, so that we could continue moving forward. I enjoyed and am proud of our work together on Animalize and know how much he wanted to take that leap to the stage to play with us live. He was gracious in his acceptance that it wouldn't happen and was supportive of Bruce and a gentleman when it was clear that his ailment would end his time with us."—Paul Stanley

"Mark was a great guitarist and a good man. He will be missed." —Gene Simmons

As for my belief in the sincerity of Gene’s statement, let’s just say that it rings pretty hollow and leave it at that…

#42
I found the ESPN broadcast of the Dodgers-Padres game/Jackie Robinson tribute thing on Sunday night rather comical.  It was almost as if the ballgame itself was intruding on the celebration, the way they kept going on and on about him.  I thought for a while there that the Guinness World Record people might need to get their erasers ready for the Most Utterances of the Same Man’s Name in a Three-Hour Sports Broadcast...

Don’t get me wrong—I absolutely do think Jackie Robinson should be honored for what he did, and in fact, this whole tribute was about 35 years too late.  Where was Major League Baseball on the 25th anniversary of Robinson’s debut?  It would have carried a lot more weight if they’d honored the man while he was still alive, rather than doing it now when it’s so fashionable and good P.R. for the league.  And of course, our buddy Jesse Jackson was there doing his token appearance/photo-op.  It also seems kinda warped to do this L.A., because although the Dodgers were Jackie’s team, he never played one inning in California!  Doing this at a Mets game might have been more appropriate…

I SUPPOSE...
...this may not be the most appropriate time for the following anonymous adage, but here goes:  "Life is not a garden, so stop being a hoe!"