Obesity

During the debate about health care I've heard a lot of talk about obesity. This country is in the midst of an "epidemic of obesity", some say. "Obesity is the number one health problem" say others. "Hey, fatso, how about a salad?" opines a third.

I'm worried that so-called "experts" are using the overweight as a convenient target to explain why health care costs so much. Now they want to put a tax on soda and candy to pay for health care.

Well, that just smacks of Socialism to me. Godless, Communistic Socialism! What's next? Government appointed "Fat panels" to decide who eats and who doesn't? Who does that remind you of? Hitler and Stalin, that's who!

They are also planning to offer nutrition "counseling" to "explain" to people why that piece of pie you are having for dessert is a threat to the future of the country.

I don't think the founding fathers would approve of the government getting involved when people are making those sensitive "end of meal" decisions.

This is a slippery slope.

It starts with "counseling", and the next thing you know they are pulling the plug on Grandma's toaster oven.

What's in a 9 name

I see two movies are opening this week with similar names.

"District 9" is about extraterrestrials who live in a refugee camp.

"Cloud 9" is about elderly people having sex.

One deals with lumbering, misshapened creatures wandering aimlessly through a world that doesn't want or understand them.

The other one is about extraterrestrials.

Now, where was I?

Well, a dear friend notified me that it has been a year since I've written in my blog.

I knew I was forgetting something.

Well, that's gonna change!

My blog is back, now there's gonna be some chuckles
Hey la, hey la, my blog is back.
The only thing that rhymes with chuckles is buckles,
Hey la, hey la, my blog is back.
Yeah! It's gonna be so funny.
Yeah! It won't be makin' any money.
Hey la, Hey la, my blog is back.
Hey, my blog is back,
oh oh yeah, my blog is back,
WTF my blog is back,
Oh yeah.

Alright, everybody! See you next year!

Hair Redux Redux

After writing my recent post about the musical Hair I started thinking about draft card burning and what it meant in my younger days. I remembered this record that was popular at that time.

It is called "A Letter To My Teenage Son" by Victor Lundberg.

I think it is worth a listen.

Hair redux

I had the pleasure of seeing a fine production of the musical Hair the other night and clearly it has held up much better than I have. I first saw it almost 40 years ago (OMFG!), but to me the music is still exceptional and I found this performance to be extremely moving.

I'm not sure how someone who has viewed the Vietnam War filtered through the pages of a history book is going to feel about this show, but, really, is the Iraq war so much different?

There might have been was a bit less torture in those days.

Before the performance began the artistic director made a point of explaining that the bits of paper being burned near the end of the first act were Draft Cards. (Remember when it was a crime to burn a piece of paper?)

The concept of a government that could pluck you out of your comfortable, everyday existence and drop you into a nightmare 8,000 miles away is something that is foreign to contemporary society.

Today's government just deceives you into going to war and then won't let you come home when you're time is up.

I agree with this reviewer when he says that the key to this production is in the song "Where Do I Go?". When I saw the show in my 20's I related strongly to that theme.

"Why do I live?," cries a confused young man. "Why do I die?"

Back then I thought as I grew older (if I grew older) I'd some day know the answer to those questions.

I was wrong.