Another Wednesday, more stuff.
Again, GMA and
the people and commercials therein provide ample blogosphere ammunition.
Let's start today
with yet one more desperate attempt by Tim Tebow to become relevant again in
sport, any sport. This time it's professional baseball. He has signed with the
Santurce Crabs of a winter league in Puerto Rico, which needless to say, is delighted
to have a recognizable name as a draw for fans. One imagines him "Tebowing" after a
strikeout; or perhaps not. Meanwhile the
real deal ex Gator QB, Jesse Palmer, continues to delight as a broadcaster on
GMA.
When did the
idea catch hold that the best way to assure people notice your child is to either
take a common name and customize the
spelling or to invent a name out of thin
air? I get ethnic and traditional names
which have origins elsewhere, but I'm considering those names invented out of
nothingness, apparently on the premise that economic disadvantage may be overcome if we just pick the right first name. A separate but common category of this is simply deciding that if
the name is a good solid name, just add "La" to it.
Today I saw a
commercial with a pretty blonde hawking a tooth whitener, her first name
scrawled under the commercial - "Cassaddee." Really? Did you mean Cassidy? Other recently
observed examples include: Harmonnee, Frooti (Pebbles as a middle name?),Clitorisandria
(really), Perpetua (may she live
forever), Guuuuuurrrrrrllllll, (which at least sounds reasonable) and my
favorite new boy's name "Rocket Zot" (actor Sam Worthington's son).
As my rather prosaically named grandson, Jacob, might have said, "Papa, what were they thinking?"
Then we have
the stirring, (patriotic sounding?)
music just one level below "God Bless the USA," urging us to hustle down to the gas station
and fill up with a "full tank of freedom!" Really? We're now dispensing
freedom at $1. 93 per gallon, apparently, but only at your local Marathon
station. I assume Petrol fuels Pickup Trucks and together, they
drive the great American dream, while
boosting CO2 emissions.
Among the persons interviewed today were
two Americans who couldn't be more different. The first was Olympic champion
Dominique Dawes. Her commentary and analysis of gymnastics was simply superb,
as expected, but when she admitted to being 40, I was absolutely awestruck.
Having seen her in the Olympics, but not specific as to which years, I would
have guessed her to be oh, maybe 26! What an absolute stunner.
Dominique Dawes
On the other hand, fresh from his audition
for the Vampire role in the remake of Nosferatu, we were subjected to yet
another semi lucid rant by Former NYC mayor
Giuliani. His attempts to "clarify" Trump's recent foot in mouth re: "You
Second Amendment people") were lame beyond belief, as were his efforts to
deflect legitimate questions from George Stephanopoulos. When Giuliani asserted
that "everyone in the hall understood" what Trump meant, George
pointed out the stunned incredulity of the
look on the face of the man sitting right behind Trump's left shoulder.
The immediate response was to avoid the question and do the Far Right version of "nanny nanny boo boo," pointing out that the Pulse nightclub shooter's father was at a Clinton rally. This person was uninvited and no one knew he was there, especially since Mrs. Clinton had condemned his son's actions in no uncertain terms.
The term Trump uses , by the way "Mrs. Clinton's
judges" creates a sense in the minds of the unwashed and under informed that
no one else has any say in the process. Ask Robert Bork and Harriet Meirs! In truth, just under 20% of all USSC nominees historically have been rejected. In
recent history, since the Reagan coronation in 1981, of 16 persons proposed for
the USSC by Presidents, 5 or just under 1/3
have been rejected. In point of fact, the primary concern should be control of
the US Senate, since the Majority Party controls the Judiciary committee, which
can "kill" a candidate's chances.
Sorry for the history/government lesson,
but I'm committed to the stamping out of ignorance where it lives.
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