Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

MEMO TO RADIO STATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER

Dear Radio Station Program Directors: This month is October. We, the radio listening public (and people who work in radio), want to hear songs by these artist this month:








Not these people! Hold off on their music until December.






Thank you!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

I WAS UNFRIENDED ON FACEBOOK BY A CLASSMATE (WHO SAID SHE HATED ME IN 9th GRADE)


You are probably wondering why there is a photo of Dita Von Teese on this post. It is because it involves a person looks like Dita Von Teese, only this person tends to wear Western wear.

With that said, many readers to this and the other blog know that I have a sort of love - hate relationship with Facebook. Yes, you can use it to connect with people you haven't seen in many years, as well as make new friends and network with colleagues in your field of work.

On the other hand, it is quickly turning America into a middle-aged version of junior high/middle school. You "friend" someone and "like" the stuff they say, "share" or post. Of course, if you "like" something they don't like or are offended by, you get "unfriended." This happened to me. The irony is that I'm not sure when it happened, because I "unfollowed" this person quite a while back for being a major drama queen and right-wing wack job.

This person is a former classmate, who looks like Dita Von Teese. This person moved to my school in the 9th grade. I developed a crush on this new girl in school. One reason may have been because I noticed that she stared at me during class. To me, this was a sign that she liked me. I WAS WRONG. I wrote her a note I told he that I liked her. She never said anything to me about reading the note. As a matter of fact, she didn't say anything to me for a long time until one day before class she said, "I hate you. Don't talk to me." Granted, during my senior year she was more civil. I saw her a times after we graduated and she seemed friendly.

I joined Facebook because my classmates were planning a class reunion. Lo and behold, this person "friended" me. She now was married with kids and lived in another state. I soon came to regret this.

This former classmate seems to hate everyone. She hated liberals, the media (that makes two strikes against me), the government, the president, most major Hollywood stars (especially comedians who said something she found offensive), rap/hip hop artist, public schools, animal rights groups, feminist, scientist, Jewish people, Muslims, Catholics, African Americans, Asian Americans, gay people, Hispanics, Native Americans and anyone under 30.

Not only those people, but she seem to get into a fracas with some innocent person every time she left the house. She switched doctors and veterinarians (Her husband is a rancher) several times. She quit Walgreens because the didn't get her prescription filled on time. She then quit CVS because they pulled sponsorship from Glen Beck's show on Fox (She was also a big fan of Alex Jones). She had a dispute with Rite-Aid over something.

It gets better. She vowed never to got to Safeway again after they refused to make a woman leave the store because her two year old kept sticking his tongue out at her. Target also got the "never-set-foot-in-there-again" vow after the manager refused to fire a teenage checkout girl, who "snickered," because she was buying a package of Poise Pads.

The bad part was her friends were just as uptight, touchy and paranoid group of nitwits as she was. They were no help at all. Not one of these women ever posted a comment like, "You need to get a life" or "It is time you sought professional, psychiatric help." They would tell her that she was right to be angry or tell her about how it was all apart of some "conspiracy" against "good Americans."

In the end, being unfriended and this isn't a bad thing. Especially if it is someone who told you they hated you in 9th grade. Of course, my opinions are why I'm considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!    


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

CHRISTMAS IN THE OZARKS IS NEVER FUN

Dear Santa: Can I have her under my tree?

I know, I know. You are going to say, "Here we go again! Another blog post from Desdinova about how living in the Ozarks is horrible." Folks, I only want what is best for the kids, because I didn't have much fun as a kid.

Some of you may remember a post from last year about some people who complained on a local TV stations Facebook and website about how the girls in one of the high school's marching bands were dressed. They were wearing "Santa's Little Helper" outfits, like the lovely lady above is wearing. The more I think about it, the more I got to thinking about how we don't do Christmas right in the Ozarks. It isn't fun. I'll give reasons it is not fun later in the post (For one thing not enough sex & nudity, but that is for Christmas as a holiday in general).

First, I'll give an example from my childhood of this very problem. When I was a child, in the late 70s & early 80s, my sister lived in western Oklahoma. She and her husband owned two shoes stores. We would visit them on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The day after Thanksgiving, we would go to the stores in those towns for their big "Kick Off To Christmas" sales. This was before that day had been dubbed "Black Friday" by the world at large.

Remember in the movie Christmas Story how the department store and town was decorated? That was what these stores were like. An overabundance of lights, holly, ribbons and shiny silver stuff. There was also a Santa Claus in EVERY store, not just one store. Some stores had both Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. We even went to one store that had a rather buxom woman dressed as Santa with a beard. My theory is the guy who was supposed to be Santa called in sick that day and the stores owner said "Quick, Paula, put on the Santa outfit! Let's hope the kids don't notice your boobs."

I wasn't just a simple, but flashy visit to Santa Claus. THEY GAVE AWAY STUFF! Christmas coloring books, chocolate Santa Claus, marshmallow snowmen, Christmas comic books, candy canes (which I don't like), Rudolph clickers, giant jingle bells, Christmas cookies and gingerbread men were given away at the various stores.

After that, I had to come home to Lebanon, where there were some decorations on the street lights and in some store windows. There may have been a Santa at Kmart and Wal-Mart, but nowhere else.  Frankly, there wasn't much to excite a kid about Christmas in Lebanon.

Found this on Tumblr. A Christmas ad for a store in Lebanon, MO.

I should add that it wasn't always that way. When I was a small child, one of the banks had an animated display with elves making toys and a snowman that would melt and then pop back up. Another store had a teddy bear in a sled that went back and forth in the store window. Then in the mid-70s, they stop putting these animated scenes in the windows. Supposedly, they broke down and were too expensive to fix... or so they said. Probably, some cranky, redneck parent didn't like that their kids want to go look at these displays every time that came to town, went to city council and asked that there be an ordinance against Christmas being fun in Lebanon.

At the place my father worked, they had a lighted Nativity scene in the window of the lobby, that you could see from the street. They quit putting the nativity scene up because of complaints. Now, before the soldiers in the "war on Christmas" start loading their guns, let me explain that the reason some old people (a group of veterans, I believe) in town said they were frightened by the three wise men because they "looked Arab."  At least, they replaced the Nativity scene with cool Willie Wirehand statue in a Santa Claus hat.

There was also a huge wooden Nativity scene along I-44 in Lebanon. The last few times that I remember it being erected, the wind blew part of it over and it wasn't taken down until about June. Supposedly, it was "too much trouble to maintain." When I hear people say things like this, I realize that this is where cartoonist got the stereotype of Ozarkers being shoeless guys with Duck Dynasty beards, laying on a hillside, sleeping next to a big jug of moonshine. 

I will say that Lebanon STILL has one of the biggest and best Christmas parades in the area, second or maybe tied with Branson's nighttime, lighted Christmas parade. So I'm not totally saying Lebanon or other communities don't do anything fun at Christmas, but they just don't seem to make it fun for kids.    

Every time I bring this up, someone says "We don't do that stuff any more." Yet when you bring up something that needs to be changed in the Ozarks, people will get defensive and say "We've always done things that way and we will continue to do it that way." So what is the difference. Simple, what I'm talking about appeals to children's joy and happiness. I've pointed out this out before, but in Ozarks children are fourth class citizens behind senior citizens, middle-aged adults and pets/livestock.

A good example of this mentality is the women, who were complaining about band girls wearing "Santa's little helper outfits," complained when another TV station's Facebook site listed a schedule for the children's Christmas specials, that we all grew up loving (Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown & the Grinch), were going to be on.

One year there was a group of protesters at the Battlefield Mall, wearing t-shirts with a red slash across a picture of Santa Claus. Personally, I think there is no lower form of life on this planet than a person who hates Santa Claus.

These people are taking the fun out of Christmas by turning it into some right-wing-talk-radio-political-crusade. This people would deny your child the enjoyment of Rudolph or Charlie Brown, just so they can please Bill O'Reilly or Glen Beck. I'm sure they would rather their children watch Bill O'Reilly or Glen Beck than Rudolph or Charlie Brown, because Ozarkers believe you shouldn't let childhood innocence get in the way of their right-wing agenda.

As for the decorations, fix them or buy new ones. How hard is that problem to solve? Put out some effort to make Christmas time special for future customers. Many of the business that were in Lebanon, when I was a child, no longer exist. Perhaps if they had put out some of the effort, like the stores in Oklahoma did, they would still be around. Who knows.

Here is an idea. Let's have fun and joy this Christmas, whether it is with we visit a department store Santa, make a Styrofoam snowman, bake gingerbread men, read The Night Before Christmas, buy toys for needy children, buy lots of toys for your own children, cruise the suburbs looking at the lights on houses, put up light on your own house, watch Christmas cartoons and movies (I have to watch Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and the MST3K episode with the 1950s Mexican film Santa Claus every year), listen to Christmas record (download my Christmas music podcast), or watch girls in "Santa's Little Helper" outfits dance. The point is have fun and be nice to your fellow human beings.

Of course, my opinions are why I'm considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

         

Sunday, November 15, 2015

I'M GOING BACK TO MY PLOW: I WANT TO CREATE GLAM COUNTRY

My idea of what my glam country singer will look like.

It seems like every five to ten years, you hear people complain that "Country music jest ain't what it usedta be." Since I hate most country music, it all country music sounds the same to me. The big complaint always comes from the hardcore country music traditionalist is that it is "soundin too much like dat thar ole rock & roll crap."  Supposedly, there are people from Hollywood, who are manufacturing hits with autotune and rapping by people, who never lived on a farm or drove a pickup or rode a horse. Like that is a bad thing.

Must of this hatred seems to be directed at a country music act called Florida Georgia Line. I checked out some of their music on YouTube. I don't see what the controversy is. It sounded like country music to me, although I might say better than most country music acts.

I've noticed that these country music fans, many of whom I went to school with, hated the music I liked. I've been thinking about possibly creating the next big trend in country music that will hack them off.

Many of my classmates, who liked country music, hated that I liked the music of the British Invasion. Creating a country music British Invasion wouldn't be the same. There is a big country following in Great Britain. I've seen some of these British country singers on RFD-TV. The problem is they are all older men, who play extremely, traditional, country music and frankly not that good. They place a heavy emphasis on yodeling. The young girls won't get hysterical about dorky, white men in their 50s & 60s yodeling.

These country music loving classmates of mine didn't like the fact that I liked psychedelic rock either. Now there is some debate as to whether there isn't already psychedelic country. Some might bring up music by The Flying Burrito Brothers, early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Sweetheart of the Rodeo era The Byrds, The Band, a handful of Grateful Dead songs and most everything by Creedence Clearwater Revival. You could also argue Jim Stafford's "Wildwood Weed" and the Cross Canadian Ragweed song about "those boys from Oklahoma" (not sure what the name of that annoying song is). However, it is rare that country music ever tried to copy the sound of psychedelia, with about two exceptions: Buck Owens hit "Who is Gonna Mow Your Grass" features a fuzztone guitar and a harpsichord in the background, and then there is Porter Wagoner's "Rubber Room." I could also add the Dylan-esque "Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel" by Townes Van Zandt.

I thought about punk country, but a radio consulting company already thought of it, as part of a satirical audio play. Here is a NSFW portion of it.

Then, it hit me what would hack these people off: a country version of glam rock. I think country music needs its own versions of David Bowie, Elton John, T. Rex and Mott the Hoople. I want to be the creator and driving force behind this trend; a cross between Tony DeFries and Chinn & Chapman.

First, I would need to find the perfect person to be the first star of the glam country movement, although I think it should have a hipper name like "bro-country." Maybe I'll call it "Brokeback Mountain Country."

First, I need to find the right person willing to try anything, as the classified ad, that gave rise to one of America's top glam acts, said. I could probably find someone on CMT's Next Superstar, Nashville Star, The Voice, America's Got Talent, or American Idol. If this does work out, I'll put an ad saying "Do You Want to Be the Next Big Country Star?" on Gay Farmer Central or Gay-Cowboy-dot-com. At the end of the ad, I'll put, "Transgender applicants strongly encouraged."

Once I find this guy, I will give him a makeover and dye his hair a garish orange or red. This guy will need more makeup than a teenage girl in the 80s. He should put as much of an Estee Lauder makeup gift set on their face as they can.

I stole Daisy Duke's legs for this pic.

One of the complaints about bro-country is the videos seem to focus on girls in Daisy Duke cut off shorts and cowboy boots. My idea is to have this guy not only wear Daisy Duke shorts, but pantyhose under them like Daisy Duke did on The Dukes of Hazard. He will wear cowboy boots, but as a tribute to the great glam rockers of the 70s, they will have seven inch platform heels.

The big complaint with bro-country is the songs all sound the same. They are all about how fun it is to be young in a small town in the South or Midwest. It is a kind of rural sitcom milieu. After the Friday Night Lights football game, we will party with the girls from Petticoat Junction, who will be wearing Daisy Dukes shorts, but we can't get too loud or Andy and Barney will show up and bust up our party. Of course, one could point out that outlaw country songs all seem to be about being, to paraphrase President Obama, an angry white man in a Red State afraid of change, living a life that sounds like the plot line of a Daniel Woodrell novel. There is whiskey, guns, fights, whiskey, pickup trucks, whiskey, divorce, whiskey, and (as bro-country star Luke Bryan said) waking up in the gutter.

Glam country will have some recurring themes that were recurring themes in glam rock, but some that will place them in opposition to both the bro-country and outlaw country crowd. Since rural rednecks don't like science fiction (probably they are not intelligent enough to understand it), my glam country artist will have sing about feeling out of place in a small town and wanting to live on another planet. He should sing about wanting to be an alien from Mars. As a matter of fact, I believe his backing band should be called The Red Dirt Cowboys from Mars. The video for this song should be shot in black & white, then solarised with a video synthesizer. The glam country singer will be dressed as a clown about to be run over by a giant steam roller, while drowning in quicksand.

One thing that is prevalent among the outlaw country crowd is a hatred for Hollywood. They believe they are trying to change country music. Anyone familiar with 70s glam rock will remember there were several songs about Hollywood icons of the past, such as Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Roy Rogers, Marilyn Monroe and even Dwight Frye. Since nobody has written a song about Rita Hayworth and bro-country sings about other alcoholic drinks, besides whiskey, I think that my singer will record a song called "Margaretta Hayworth." At some point in this song, the singer will stop and scream "Wham Bam thank you, mame!"

Also, there should be some songs celebrating 50s rock & roll. Maybe "I Want to Be The Sock Hop Queen." He should do a sexual song about cars like "Rub Yourself Against my Buick."

I also want the glam country singer to record a real pretty ballad that women will love. The kind off song a Russian dissident would dedicate to Bailey on WKRP. It should be called "Thing of Beauty." However, when anyone ask about the title, he should say, "Actually, 'Thing of Beauty' is my pet name for my cock."

This guy's interviews should be full of controversial statements like, "They said that as a country singer, I should try to look and dress like John Wayne, but I told them I'd rather look and dress like Jane Fonda in Klute. Hot pants, knee boots and a shag haircut" or "I don't chew tobacco. It is unhealthy, but I do spit rather than swallow."

Okay, I used Lita Ford's legs this time.

Since one of the complaints against bro-country is the use of audiotune, glam country will use it, but on backing vocals. They need to sound other worldly. Also, plenty of hard fuzztone guitar and synthasizers. If they use a violin, it should be a distorted electric violin. Also a grand piano must be used. There should be some songs with that Chinn- Chapman backbeat that was on Gary Glitter's hits that goes "Womp-a-chucka-womp-a-chucka-womp-a-chucka."


The album covers should be strange. I thought putting his head and torso on a cat's legs and tail to attract country kids to the furry fetish. Maybe call the album "Pussyboy." Maybe an Andy Warhol-ish black & white photo with color added, like the photo above.

He can do covers of both glam and country songs. First up, should be "Country Comfort" by Elton John. If he does country covers they should be female singer's hits. I'm thinking Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Bobbie Gentry/Reba's "Fancy" (my mama bought me a dancing dress) and Reba's "I Think His Name Was John."

He should do a Christmas song, although, sadly, he can't do a Christmas song with Bing Crosby.

Would anyone in Nashville go for this? I really doubt it, but it would be fun to try to irritate the country fans who hate bro-country's hip-hop traits and were all bent out of shape over Little Big Town's "Girl Crush."

Of course, an idea, like this one, is why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HaHAHAHAHA!!

BTW: How many references to glam rock songs and artist did up pick up on.



 
  





           



Sunday, May 17, 2015

I DON'T WANT TO BE CLICKBAIT




I hate to give you two rants in a row, but this I've been needing to say this for awhile. I started the original Desdinova - Super Villain of the Ozarks blog in 2007 and The New Adventures of Desdinova four years ago this month. Since that time, it has been an ongoing struggle to figure out how many people are reading the blogs and exactly what post they are reading.


I have used the Google Analytics, the Blogger stats and Feedjit. They give me some idea, although not a thorough picture of what is going on. I would like to know more about why and from where they are coming. Many times it may show the name of the search engine, but not if it is a link on another page.

There are times when I get sudden multiple hits on a post and I wonder if it is a link shared on another blog or social media. My fear is the my blog is being used in some way by a clickbait sight. Clickbait sights are the prostitutes of the Internet and spread their V.D on social media.

For those who don't know the terminology, clickbait is a sight used to drive Internet users to sight loaded with tones of streamed commercials and click though ads. Sometime these websites link to other websites or blogs in order to use there articles. Other times these clickbait sights create their own content. Usually, when they do create their own content, it is either some tabloid style garbage or badly researched articles masquerading as an informative article.

On the first account, the article is something trashing famous celebrity or the entertainment industry in general (i.e. "Can You Guess Which Movie Stars are Ugly and Smell Bad?") or it is something macabre or freaky (usually Victorian era postmortem photographs) or hokey stuff passed off as something "you just have to see" ("Watch this dog sing "Amazing Grace" the funeral of a soldier").

The other is either right-wing propaganda and misinformation or it misrepresents itself by being badly researched and full of errors. Now, I will add here that I do know of one sight that linked to me for an article on a classic motion picture. The author also credited my blog, so I guess there can be some good in these.

The trick with these is to force you to watch a commercial or by something. Many of these exist to infect your computer, phone or tablet with spyware. Bad part these are shared on Facebook or Pinterest over and over again.

Do me a favor, if you come across any of my articles linked on one of these sights, please e-mail me at d4windsbar@yahoo.com. I want to see if I can get it removed before I get a disease.



Saturday, May 16, 2015

I'M ASHAMED I WATCHED THE DUKES OF HAZZARD


We've all done it. We watched a TV show we enjoyed as a child or teenager after we became an adult and thought, "Why did I like this as a kid? This is horrible." For me that TV show is The Dukes of Hazzard.


You have to understand that this was the era when most people only received four networks. You also didn't have a VCR or DVD player or PC to stream movies. The Dukes of Hazzard was also THE TV SHOW to watch among the sixth graders in Lebanon, Missouri. If you weren't watching The Dukes of Hazzard, you would be considered a worthless, piece of human garbage. Many of my former classmates are constantly posting and re-posting a meme on Facebook, which asserts that people who watched The Dukes of Hazzard and Hee Haw as kids are superior to others. I don't think there is any scientific facts to back this belief up.

Watching the show now on DVD or in reruns, it becomes obvious that after the first season, they basically did the same script over and over. As a matter of fact, most of the cast nearly quit between season four and five over this. This was part of the reason Tom Wopat and John Schneider walked off the show. According to a TV Guide article (Dec. 25 -31 1982), everyone else on the show wanted out.

Now, with that aside, the reason I can't stand watching the The Dukes of Hazzard now: The use of the phrase "good ole boys."  Bo and Luke, in the theme song by Waylon Jennings, are referred to as "good ole boys." At the time this show aired, when I was in sixth grade, I took it the "good ole boys" actually meant "a force of good in the universe" (my comic book geekiness showing).

After becoming an adult and getting out in the "real world," I noticed the term "good ole boy" used not for people doing good, but for people like Boss Hogg and Roscoe P. Coltrane. To be honest, Boss Hogg and Roscoe are Presidential Medal of Honor Winners compared to many of the "good ole boys" I've met and had to deal with in my adult life.

The phrase "good ole boy" tends to be a euphemism or secret code word for "my loud-mouthed, sleazy, unethical, racist, sexist, homophobic, smelly, alcoholic, redneck friend, that abuses his wife and kids, but I like better him than you." Every business or work place in this part of the country has, at least, one of these type of individuals under their roof.

This "good ole boy" doesn't have a college degree and just barely has a high school diploma, but somehow has ascended to a cushy management position and receives a huge paycheck. Of course, the reason is this guy kisses the butt of the boss by doing the dirty work he wants done. Usually, he is the cousin, brother-in-law, or high school drinking buddy of the boss. This guy usually bullies everyone, talks dirty to female employees, repeats dumb stuff he heard on talk radio (or sings along with a country radio station), brings Jim Beam in his thermos, reads back issues of Guns & Ammo and spits his tobacco juice in every adjacent waste basket, while everyone else does the hard work.

However, if the boss wants the tires of the employees trying to unionize slashed or a competitor's business burned to the ground or needs someone to stalk the nerdy boy sending flowers to his hot, smoking daughter, the "good ole boy" is ready to earn that paycheck he receives that is bigger than the other employees. He also is quick to run and tattle to the boss on the employees breaking a stupid company policy or talking about how they think he is a crooked tyrant. Of course, if you question this guy's unethical and downright bad behavior, you will get the response, "But he is a good ole boy." That absolves this guy of any wrong doing in the eyes of his small community.

The bad part about these "good ole boys" is that in many small communities they get elected to city council, county commission or the school board, where they usually vote against anything that would be good for the community. They always say they want to keep the community "just like Mayberry," but what they real want is for it to be just like Hazzard County. Sad part some of them go on to the state legislature and then...well, this explains most of the makeup of our current U.S. Congress. Yes folks, Boss Hogg and Roscoe P. Coltrane are running Washington, D.C. As Waylon Jennings would say, in his narration of the show, "Folks, this don't look good."

Maybe this version of the "good ole boy" is only a phenomenon of southwest Missouri, but I some how feel that it isn't the case. Every small community has a group of  "good ole boys" that do horrible things, but people just slaps them on the back and laugh about it.

After reading this, some will say, "So, Desdinova, are you saying that we shouldn't watch reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard. No, I'm just saying I don't enjoy it because of my experience with the "good ole boy" mentality.


However, there is one thing that I like about this show that I wish would become a common practice. I wish more women would wear pantyhose with their shorts like Daisy did. NOW THAT IS A GOOD THING! Of course, these opinions are why I'm considered the SUPER VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

THE END

Thursday, February 5, 2015

#tbt: DID YOU KNOW WHO THIS GUY WAS BACK IN THE 80s?


Earlier this year, there was quite a bit of over-exaggerated anger aimed at the younger generation, especially fans of Kanye West, because they supposedly did know who Paul McCartney was. West and McCartney recorded a song together called "Only One." If you are to believe articles circulating on social media, Kanye West fans thought McCartney was a unknown artist that Kanye discovered. There have even been "screen captures" showing "trending Tweets" by Kanye's fans circulating on Facebook, usually accompanied by condescending, head-shaking, hand-ringing comments from Generation X/Generation Jones people, who believe that the younger generation is screwed up and not wonderful, model teenagers "like we were." Several of my former classmates were among the "horrified" adults critical the "modern youth."

First off, I call BS on "screen captures" of those "trending Tweets." Any time I see a post of a screen capture of Tweets or Facebook post I'm a little suspect. Also these "Tweets" didn't sound like or look like a young persons Tweets or text. Young people know how to text and Tweet in a language older people don't know. Second, my classmates have no business slamming Kanye West fans, who were willing to greet Sir Paul with open arms, because they harassed and ridiculed me for like Paul McCartney and the Beatles in junior high. At my school, the guys liked Hank Jr. and the girls liked Barry Manilow. Because of my choice of music, I was bullied by the guys and refused romantic relationships with the girls. Now, they are acting like Paul McCartney was one of their favorite performers. Thy name is hypocrisy.

Let me give a shout out to Pam at Go Retro! She took the high road on this subject in a fun post filled with facts about Paul McCartney. She observed that every generation is oblivious to the previous generations music.
  
Of course, it is up to me, Desdinova to throw this back in my generation's face. Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Okay, 80s kids, tell me, who is the guy in these photos?



DID YOU KNOW WHO HE WAS WHEN YOU HEARD HIS NAME DROPPED IN 80S SONGS BY VAN MORRISON, BILLY JOEL, BILLY IDOL AND DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS? Did you recognize him, when he appeared in the videos of Billy Idol and Dexy's Midnight Runners? WELL, DID YOU, YA LITTLE 80's PUNKS?





I may give you the answer or I might not. I may let you live with the fact that you chastised and criticized the young Kanye West fans because they didn't Paul McCartney, yet you did know who this man with a hearing aid was when you were in junior high and high school?  You are just like Principal Dick Vernon in The Breakfast Club. How do you live with yourself?

BTW: For the answer to the identity of this singer is, click on this link.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A NEW POST ON THE OLD BLOG

Who is this guy? Check out the new post on the old blog site and find out. See what the guy above has to do with this guy from Animal House.


Sunday, July 20, 2014

WHAT THE NEWS MEDIA DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT COMIC BOOKS

SUPERMAN & BATMAN HAD SONS
I have been thinking about writing a post about this subject for quite some time. As a person who has worked in journalism and the news media, I feel I can make and accurate constructive criticism, unlike some people have unfortunately been forced to work with (i.e, scummy talk radio people).
This has to due with the coverage of a subject I have loved all my life: comic books.

The news media coverage of the comic books has improved since the dark days of the 50s comic book controversy, when the newspapers and radio commentators were calling comic books "trash." There is a generation that grew up reading many of the older characters, so when a story comes along about a "shocking storyline." The biggest news recently has been "Archie Andrews will die taking a bullet for his gay friend, Kevin." Next came the story "Captain America is being replaced by a African-American." Even stranger is some outlets reporting "Thor gets sex change."

This leads idiots on Facebook to whine that the evil media is corrupting our kids and it is the end of America (Or as they say Murica).

The truth complicated on both sides. First off, these stories are usually used as filler, at the end of a newscast or filler for the entertainment section of a newspaper. These are written quickly without very much research into the subject. The story is also simplified to just give the idea, so the details of the story are left out.

The main thing that is left out of these stories is that comic books have what are called alternate universes. This has been going on since the early days of Superman and Batman. Archie is no exception. Archie has cashed in on popular trends over the years. He was a Man from UNCLE-like  secret agent, a superhero and X-Files-like paranormal investigator. In the 70s, Betty was a soap opera heroine in a alternative storyline called Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper, and Jughead has even taken up time travel like Dr. Who. The Life with Archie title was revamped as an adult themed storyline about a grown Archie married to Veronica after apparently divorcing Betty. It is this older Archie Andrews who bites the dust in the current issue of Life of Archie. My guess is this wasn't a big success, so this will be the last issue. However, in the regular Archie titles, he will still be in high school, drinking malts with Betty and Veronica.

The Captain America and Thor stories make more sense to the long time fans of the characters, when more details are given. Captain America is injured and his long time sidekick, the Falcon, dons the famous red, white and blue outfit while Cap recuperates. This wouldn't be the first time Cap was replaced. While he was frozen in ice, there was another Captain America in the 50s. They wound up fighting it out in 1972.

After Watergate, Steve Rogers decided quit being Captain America and became a superhero called Nomad. Several people tried to be Captain America and failed tragically.

At one point in the 90s, Captain America was replaced by the government and he had to take on another identity. In a graphic novel called The Truth: Red, White and Black, Steve Rogers found out the super-soldier serum was tested on an African-American soldier before him. So really, nothing new for Captain America.
THUNDER THIGHS (Sorry I had to do it)

Thor is a woman??? Nothing new there either. The idea that someone else picks up the hammer isn't new. In the 70s and 80s Marvel series, What If, both Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, and X-Men's Rogue have picked up Thor's hammer.


Of course, this is not the first time the news media have left out details about a "shocking development" in a popular comic book.  In 1988, DC Comics had readers call a toll free number to vote if they wanted the Joker to killer Robin in a story arc called Death In the Family. Fans voted to have him killed. What wasn't reported in the media, what was neglected by the media was the fact that this was not Dick Grayson, but a new (and very unpopular) Robin named Jason Todd. Dick Grayson had become Nightwing in 1984 (and like Falcon, he was Batman for a few issues when Bruce Wayne was hurt).

Also this wasn't the first time Robin had died. He was killed in 1964 (above).


Then again, Batman died, but that was after he replaced Commissioner Gordon and he married Catwoman. Confused yet? This was my first exposure to the alternate universe concept. I received several comics books one Christmas. One of them was the issue above with Batman in a coffin.



Truth is this had happened before too.


In DC Comics Earth-1 featured the modern superheroes and Earth-2 featured the Golden Age versions. Some may remember a few months ago, there was a story about a upcoming "gay" Green Lantern. It was the son of the Earth-2 Green Lantern, which you wouldn't have known from any of the mainstream news media stories.


In 1992, the big news was the death of Superman, but that had happened before too.


After Superman's return to life, the news media was a buzz with his marriage to Lois Lane, which DC had already done to death (an early story of this scenario was turned into an episode of the 50s TV show). They even conceived several Super-babies.


DC also had Lois dying after marrying Superman and committing suicide.


Then again, Superman killed Lois once.



Also, the recently media mangling of the Captain America storyline isn't all that shocking considering that in one early 70s story, Lois Lane had Superman use a machine to turn her into an African American woman.

Now, you are probably saying, "Why didn't the news media cover those stories?" It all goes back to my earlier points. Before the late 80s, comic books were seen either as stupid kids stuff or trash that will corrupt kids. In the late 80s, there was a boom among Baby Boomers that collecting comic books were a great investment. They were not just something on a newsstand, they were big business. Also, many people in the media were of the Baby Boom generation and had grown up with these comics. It was apart of their lives. These characters are icons that are old enough to be our grandparents.

At the time, these other stories were done, it was simply to grab the attention of a kid at the supermarket newsstand. Essentially, that has been the complaint of the death of Superman and death of Robin stories. DC issued commemorative issues and they sold so well that they are pretty worthless now. 

Yet, going back to what I stated earlier, much of the confusion goes back to a lack of research on this subject. To many reporters, there is just one Archie, one Superman, one Batman, one Green Lantern. There is also no knowledge of comic book history and it's alternate universes. That is part of the real world.  It isn't as important as political bickering or plane crashes. Why bother?

Because you can still end up with egg on your face if you screw the story up. Us comic book geeks will nail you for your mistakes. Also, the people who hate any form of entertainment media will want to use it as an excuse to censor the industry much like Dr. Frederic Wertham did in the 50s. Even if it wouldn't come to that, you still have cranky adults who would forbid their kids from any enjoyment of comic books because of what they heard in a badly researched news report on comic book. Even if it is about comic books, we in the news media need to get the facts straight.

My opinions are why I'm considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Saturday, July 5, 2014

HAPPY FIFTH OF JULY!

Sorry I wasn't around to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July, so instead I'll wish everyone a Happy 5th of July.

The play, Fifth of July, takes place in Lebanon, Missouri. It was written by Lebanon native Lanford Wilson. One of his uncles lived next door to my grandparents. When the play began its initial run on Broadway, the star was Christopher Reeve. However, people in Lebanon, will never mention Christopher Reeve when they talk about this play. They will refer to it as "the one John Boy was in." This always made me mad as a kid because you know I like superheroes more than I do The Waltons.

This is why I'm considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Friday, June 6, 2014

WHY IS IT NO LONGER OK TO BE OK?

I don't like to do the whole "why-can't-things-be-like-they-used-to-be" shtick, because when dig deep most of the stuff people are longing for is still with us or a collective fantasy memory spread by talk radio show host, televangelist or bad Facebook memes. However, when I speak of something that has changed for the worst, I tend to pick something that really needs to be addressed that nobody else is even talking about. When did we turn being "OK" or "okay" into a bad thing?

When I was growing up "OK" or "okay" meant good or great. Chevrolet dealers used the term OK for its used lots (the sign is pictured above) and a popular self-help book was entitled "I'm OK, You're OK." This old laxative commercial from the 60s used "OK" as something positive.

At some point, within the past few years, "OK/okay" has become a dirty word with the service industry. Servers in restaurants, tellers in banks and salespeople in grocery and department stores seem to be offended if  when they ask "How are you doing?" you answer "OK/okay." They want to force you to upgrade your mood or condition. This seems to happen more with large national chains. The worst offender is Chilis. I love the food and the service - except when they scold you for saying the food or my life at the moment is "Just okay?!?!"  I'm sorry, when I say "OK/okay," it means "great," "terrific" or "wonderful." It is not an insult. Target is also bad about doing this.

The stupidity of this was driven home to me a few nights ago. I went to Hy-Vee to buy my groceries. As I was walking in, a Hy-Vee employee was walking out to the parking lot.

"How are you tonight, sir?" he said.

"OK," I answered, because I was feeling good and content with life at that moment.

"JUST OK?!?!" he snapped.

What did this little dweeb want me to say? "OMG! I AM MARVELOUS! I AM IN ECSTASY! I AM ABOUT TO PEE MY PANTS IN EXCITEMENT BECAUSE I'M GOING IN TO HY-VEE TO BUY STUFF TO EAT!!!" or would he want me to say, "To tell you the truth, my life is Hell. My wife left me, I have terminal cancer and I was just fired from my job. Thanks for wanting me to fake joy." Since this is a pet peeve of mine, I snapped back, "Yes, just okay!"

Later, I'm in the check-out line when this employee walks up with a grey-haired lady and two cucumbers (or two zucchini, not really sure) and says to the guy checking me out, "We are going to have to give these to that lady for the lower price because blah, blah, blah. Now I have to go back out to clean up that mess in the parking lot because blah, blah, blah."

I pay and take my grocery bags to my car. The guy walks past me on his way back into the store and he says to me, "I hope your life improves before you come back to our store." WTF?!?! Apparently, my typical easy-going nonchalant attitude upset Grumpy Gus, who was about to have a meltdown over a messy parking lot and the price of produce, so he was going to punish me for not being happier than he was. If he was in such a fowl mood, would he want me to come in to Hy-Vee dancing and singing like the guy in the pink suit at the end of Groove Tube?

In the 70s, the trend in customer service was to say "Have a nice day." It became so associated with that decade that Rhino records in the 90s released a compilation of kitschy singles from the 70s entitled "Have a Nice Day." As time wore on, a common complaint became that when a supermarket checker, fast-food worker or bank teller said to a customer, "Have a nice day" they may not know the circumstances of the customer's life at that moment: such as saying the phrase to a person who just lost a spouse. That could defiantly be said for saying "Just OK?!?!" to a customer. It is kind of like the employee is secretly saying, "I don't care if your child has leukemia or you had to file for bankruptcy, the corporate office demands that I force you to be overly happy! So help me, Pharrell Williams!" At least, "have a nice day" sounded pleasant. Asking "just OK?!?!" has a rude arrogance to it.

Think of it this way, you are happy when a doctor or EMT says you or a loved one is "OK/okay," so why should a business expect a customer to be more than "OK/okay."

Of course, my opinions are why I am considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 


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