Christmas at the Lemming's

The Lemming is back, just in time to enjoy a quiet Christmas with a few friends: watching holiday classics like "Wayne and Wanda's Eggnog Nightmare."

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Meet Norbert Nerdly"
  (December 18, 2015)
• "Holiday Viewing Marathon"
  (December 11, 2015)
• "Waiting for Christmas"
  (December 4, 2015)
• "The Uncle Crunchy Ploy"
  (November 26, 2015)
• "Christmas with the Lemming"
  (December 24, 2014)

Holiday Viewing Marathon

The Lemming has no idea what's going on here; or why "Chumley, the Elf Who Slept Through Christmas," "Twinkles and Popbubble: Secret Elves," "Desperately Seeking Dunder and Blixem," "Star Boars Holiday Special: The Pigs Who Saved Christmas," "Flurry the Snowman," "Seymour Osborn's Christmas in Altoona," were in the viewing queue.

Almost-related posts:

• "Waiting for Christmas"
  (December 4, 2015)
• "Christmas with the Lemming"
  (December 24, 2014)
• "Pip: Not Your Usual Fluffy Christmas Rhyme"
  (December 5, 2014)
• "Channel Surfing With the Lemming"
  (December 24, 2013)

Channel Surfing With the Lemming

Merry Christmas! Or happy holidays, or whatever.

Remember, even if you're feeling down: if you're in Earth's northern hemisphere, days are getting longer; if you're south of Earth's equator, it's summer! Either way, being alive sure beats the alternative.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Thanksgiving 2013: No Hiding Place?"
  (November 28, 2013)
• "Lemming Tracks: That's Not Santa"
  (December 25, 2011)
• "Gingerbread, Fruitcake, and Eggnog Nightmare #2"
  (December 23, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: Christmas With the Lemming"
  (December 16, 2011)
• "Vertically Challenged Persons, Four Pigs and Rudolph: Santa's a Wreck"
  (December 12, 2010)

2009 Preakness Beating: Phones, Freedom, and a Ranting Lemming

Freedom is a funny thing. Folks want it for themselves, but aren't always comfortable when others use their freedom. When the uncomfortable folks wear a police uniform, bad things can happen.

From yesterday's news and views:

'Don't Nobody Look!?' 'Nothing to See Here!?'

"Taking Liberties: iPhone, YouTube and the First Amendment"
Douglas Kennedy, FoxNews.com (December 1, 2011)

"The YouTube video shows the 2009 Preakness. A woman lies bleeding on the ground inside Pimlico Race Course in Maryland after an altercation with police.

" 'How many times are you going to punch her, someone yells at the five or so cops, who are holding the woman on the ground.

" 'Was that necessary?' another person screams.

"An officer at the scene can be heard telling bystanders to stop videotaping the incident with their cellphones.

" 'Turn that off,' he says, claiming it's 'illegal' to tape the police in a public place...."

That's where the Lemming got really, really, interested.

If it's "illegal" to tape the police in a public place, the police departments all over the United States must be routinely breaking the law. The television series "Cops" has been running since 1989, broadcasting footage recorded by dashcams.

Of course, 'that's different.' Those dashboard cameras are part of the police department inventory, and are used as a law enforcement tool.

Back to that article.

"Illegal," or Embarrassing?

"...So is it really 'illegal?' It's a question many courts are facing these days with the proliferation of cell cameras and other handheld recording devices.

"Chris Sharp was at Pimlico that day and also pressed the record button on his phone. The woman on the ground was a friend of a friend, and Sharp caught the entire confrontation, including what he calls 'the beating.'...

"...Unlike the YouTube video, Sharp says he caught the initial takedown.

" 'I got the whole thing,' he said as he paced back and forth in the parking lot behind the headquarters for the Maryland American Civil Liberties Union.

"Unfortunately, Sharp said something similar to the police at the scene. 'I told them I got it all.'..."

Sharp, in the Lemming's opinion, made a really big mistake at that part: assuming that his story is essentially accurate.

Telling someone you think is committing a violent crime, that you've got video evidence of the crime, when the perpetrator can hurt you, is, again in the Lemming's opinion, not prudent.

Collecting - and Destroying Evidence?!

"...He says the police then took his camera and erased all the contents, including the video and all his pictures.

" 'After they took my phone,' he said, 'and then gave it back to me, everything was off of it… my personal videos of my son and family and friends.'

"Sharp and his attorney are now suing the Baltimore Police Department, claiming it violated the First Amendment...."

Things get a little technical at that point. Essentially, some folks think that the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to America's Constitution, give Americans certain rights.

Some of them aren't all that much of an issue today, like Amendment III:

"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

Then there's Amendment IV:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

A key word there is "unreasonable." The Lemming figures the police officer who apparently erased the evidence he was confiscating thought what he did was "reasonable." At least, using the "I want to do this, so it's reasonable" principle.

On the other hand, Amendment I doesn't mention cell phone cameras, or videotape. Not once:

First Amendment: Cell Phones, No; Freedom, Yes

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Which makes sense, considering that video recording devices hadn't been invented in 1791. Those excerpts, by the way, are from:

• "Bill of Rights Transcript Text"
  The Charters of Freedom, National Archives, United States

Freedom ISN'T Conformity

"Freedom" can mean quite a few things, depending on who you listen to. A regrettable number of folks seem to think that "freedom" means, "free to agree with me." McCarthyism and political correctness are two recent examples of that sort of aberration.

It's the Lemming's considered opinion that freedom is the:

• Condition of being free
• Power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
  (Princeton's WordNet)

Folks in a society have to agree on some things, like which side of the road to drive on, and whether a red traffic light means "stop" or "go." Beyond that sort of thing, the Lemming thinks that freedom allows folks to make decisions.

Even if they're not exactly what the Lemming decided.

At least, that's the way it should work.

The First Amendment's "establishment clause," and odd notions about religious beliefs - - - is a topic for another blog:

• "My Take on the News: Religion, Politics, and Freedom"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (October 28, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Conspicuous, Maybe: But Not Typical
  • Faith, Reason, and Politics
• "The Establishment Clause; Religious Freedom; and Getting a Grip"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (October 5, 2011)
• "Sex, Science, and the Home Schooling Parent"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (September 17, 2011)
• "First Amendment Suspended for 9/11 Memorial Service: Wrong, but Understandable"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (September 10, 2011)
• "Religious Freedom, Niemöller, and Muslims in America"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (April 7, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Why the Rights of Muslims Matter to This Catholic

American Police: Sensible, Professional, Mostly

"....[Attorney] Jeon says the police 'harangued' Sharp to give them his phone, claiming they wanted it for evidence.

" 'Then, she says, 'they took the phone and deleted the so called "evidence." They were the ones who broke the law.'..."

At this point, what happened at the 2009 Preakness seems to be a 'he said/she said' situation. Since Sharp's video no longer exists, it can't be used as evidence for or against anybody. That's assuming that it exists, of course.

In a perfect world, everybody on every police force would act - perfectly. We probably wouldn't even need police. But this world isn't perfect, some folks are not safe to be around - and, unhappily, a few of them wear police uniforms.

Please note, the Lemming said "some," and "a few." Each time that the Lemming was detained by the police, they acted in a sensible, professional manner: and that's another topic. The Lemming is also aware that wearing a police uniform doesn't guarantee good behavior.

The Lemming hopes that there were enough witnesses to piece together what really happened: either to exonerate the law enforcement folks involved; or identify a problem before someone gets hurt. Hurt more.

If that video existed, what happened is daft: at a minimum. Seriously: Identifying something as "evidence," and then destroying the evidence?! In front of an interested witness? Without, ah, dealing with the witness later?

Never mind ethics and Constitutional rights: that's daft. And stupid.

"Ridiculous," No: Dubious, Maybe

Back to that article, again:

"...'This is ridiculous,' says Rod Wheeler. 'This lawsuit should go nowhere.'

"Wheeler is a former Washington, D.C., detective and current police advocate.

" 'Police officers,' he continued, 'do not need citizens out there with cameras videotaping each and every move that they make.'..."

The Lemming has no reason to doubt that Wheeler is sincere.

However: being sincere, and being right, aren't necessarily the same thing.

For folks in police uniforms, "...cameras videotaping each and every move that they make...." may be inconvenient, uncomfortable, or embarrassing: but that doesn't make it wrong.

Like the Lemming said:

• dashcams
• Cops

Granted, that example is a case of the police videotaping themselves.

Wheeler is probably right about police, some of them, 'not needing' citizens recording visual evidence of their activities. The rest of us, though, are arguably better off with citizen video. 'Checks and balances,' and all that. Back to the article, yet again:

Cameras "In the Way?"

"He says cameras get in the way of good law enforcement.

" 'They interfere with the arrests and, actually, that's exactly what happened with that arrest in Baltimore.'...

"...'These individuals were standing back hollering, taunting the police,' he said. 'They were interfering and obstructing the arrest.'..."

Wheeler has a definite point of view. He may be right. The Lemming wasn't at the 2009 Preakness, and doesn't have all the facts. Sometimes bystanders really do interfere with and obstruct legitimate police work.

Sometimes they interfere with and obstruct the activities of uniformed thugs.

The Lemming doesn't have enough facts to form an opinion about the 2009 beating.

Moving on.

"Recording" isn't "Interfering"

"...Sharp says he certainly did not interfere with the police.

" 'I can't disagree more,' he said. 'I was nowhere close to the incident going on.'

"He said he now believes recording the police is an important right that needs to be preserved.

" 'I think we have a right to videotape anyone we want to, especially someone that's a public servant,' he said.

"The ACLU urges anyone with questions about what they can and can't videotape in public to view their video called '"Know Your Rights.' "

Like the Lemming said, every time the Lemming and the police got up-close-and-personal, they acted sensibly and professionally. And, in a few instances, had very good reasons for detaining the Lemming. Not that the Lemming is 'one of those criminals,' and that's yet another topic.

The idea that observing and recording actions done in public is 'interfering' with the actions doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Not to the Lemming. But then, the Lemming doesn't get hissy fits over security cameras in a parking lot, or the Highway Patrol using radar to determine how fast the Lemming is driving.

Photographers Should Obey The Law: So Should Police

The Lemming's no great fan of the ACLU, but they put together a pretty good resource, "Know Your Rights: Photographers." (ACLU)

Here's an excerpt:

"...Your rights as a photographer:

"When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view. That includes pictures of federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police. Such photography is a form of public oversight over the government and is important in a free society.

"When you are on private property, the property owner may set rules about the taking of photographs. If you disobey the property owner's rules, they can order you off their property (and have you arrested for trespassing if you do not comply).

"Police officers may not generally confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant. If you are arrested, the contents of your phone may be scrutinized by the police, although their constitutional power to do so remains unsettled. In addition, it is possible that courts may approve the seizure of a camera in some circumstances if police have a reasonable, good-faith belief that it contains evidence of a crime by someone other than the police themselves (it is unsettled whether they still need a warrant to view them).

"Police may not delete your photographs or video under any circumstances.

"Police officers may legitimately order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. Professional officers, however, realize that such operations are subject to public scrutiny, including by citizens photographing them.

"Note that the right to photograph does not give you a right to break any other laws. For example, if you are trespassing to take photographs, you may still be charged with trespass...."

The next part of that page, advice on what to do if a police officer stops you, starts with:

"Always remain polite and never physically resist a police officer...."

That's good advice, in most situations: in the Lemming's opinion.

The Lemming's done photography, professional and otherwise, and had to learn America's rules for photographers. What the ACLU said matches what the Lemming got from other sources. It's also 'common sense.' But that's the Lemming's take on the matter: and the Lemming doesn't think that photographers can do anything they want.

The Lemming also thinks that America's police are:

1. Generally
   • Professional
   • Competent
   • Focused on public safety
2. Not perfect
   

Number two is why the Lemming thinks it's okay to consider the possibility that someone in a police uniform may not have acted properly. Even if that person "collected evidence," and deleted information that showed what happened.

Related posts:

• "Freedom, Even For 'Those People Over There' "
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (November 11, 2011)
• "FCC, the Internet, Regulations, Freedom of Speech, and a Ranting Lemming"
  (December 23, 2010)
• "Police Abuse: America isn't Russia"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (February 19, 2010)
• " 'Criticism is Terrorism:' Chavez and Twitter 'Terrorists' "
  (February 1, 2010)
• "It Can Happen Here: 'Hate Speech' and Censorship"
  (January 12, 2008)

Lemming Tracks: Soap Operas and the End of Civilization As We Know It

Soap operas - those continuing stories on afternoon television - may not be around much longer.

It's the end of civilization as we know it: which doesn't bother the Lemming at all.

The Lemming has been watching 'civilization as we know it' collapse (or change, depending on your point of view) for decades, and would be concerned if the process stopped.

Over the last half-century:

• Poodle skirts gave way to
  • Bell bottoms
  • Business suits
• Computers - or, rather, the software in computers - forced folks whose chief talent was adding up huge columns of numbers to find new lines of work
• Doomsayers warned us about:
  • Cyclamates
  • Satanic messages in Mr.Ed's theme song ¹
  • Texting

Come to think of it, things haven't really changed all that much. Or, rather, the culture has changed - but people haven't. Not essentially. In the Lemming's opinion.

Here's what got the Lemming started:

---

"Real Soap Opera: Why America Hates Breaking Up With Erica Kane"
Wynne Parry, LiveScience (April 19, 2011)

"Can't bear to say goodbye to Erica Kane of the long-running daytime soap 'All My Children?"'

"If so, you're not alone. New research suggests dedicated viewers of that drama and 'One Life to Live' - both of which get the ax this year - will feel the anguish, particularly those who have stronger -relationships- with their favorite characters such as Erica Kane (played by AMC's star Susan Lucci for more than 40 years). [Lonely Hearts Find Comfort in TV Characters]

"A survey that measured the effect of the television writers' strike of 2007-08, when many shows went off the air or were replaced by reruns, on college-age viewers may offer some insight into the psychological effects of this latest disruption to TV watchers' routines...."

The LiveScience article probably won't shock and amaze you - particularly if you've got a modest awareness of American culture. It's interesting, though, to see what assumptions about 'those folks who watch the soaps' are (presumably) valid.

Then there's the Hoover exec who pulled ABC advertising. And the (probable) reason he had for pulling out of ABC:

---

"Facing the loss of its soaps, Hoover pulls advertising from ABC"
Business, Los Angeles Times (April 19, 2011)

"Millions of soap opera fans aren't the only ones who had the rug pulled out from under them.

"Hoover, the vacuum cleaner company, said it was yanking its advertising from Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC after the network's decision last week to sweep two of its three soap operas off its daytime schedule.

" 'My wife and mother are both passionate viewers of "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," as are many of my colleagues here at Hoover,' marketing executive Brian Kirkendall wrote this week on Hoover's Facebook page...."

The article points out that Hoover/Kirkendall's action may be an effective - and low-cost - publicity/marketing gimmick. Hoover's getting more coverage over those ads than they could have bought with a Super Bowl spot. In the Lemming's opinion.

Or maybe it's a Proverbs 25:24 situation.

Moving on.

---

"All My Children's Denise Vasi reacts to the show being axed"
US & Canada, BBC News (April 19, 2011)

"US television network ABC has axed two of its long running daytime soaps: All My Children and One Life To Live.

"Actress Denise Vasi, who has appeared in All My Children for the past three years, told BBC Radio 5 live she was frustrated by the decision.

" 'ABC's decision was based on business, so it's not personal,' Vasi explained to Rhod Sharp on Up All Night...."

There's a video on the BBC page, in case you're interested.

The Lemming's been told - and is inclined to believe - that soaps offered young actors a sort of 'foot in the door' in television. Sort of like vaudeville, a generation or so earlier.

---

"'All My Children': Goodbye to a fondly remembered world"
Hal Boedeker, The TV Guy, blog, Orlando Sentinel (April 17, 2011)

"Even though the end of 'All My Children' had been rumored for months, the news that ABC will drop the long-running soap was hard to absorb.

" 'AMC' superstar Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) survived a lot during the soap's run: bad marriages, strange pregnancies, business setbacks, brushes with the law and an encounter with a bear. But she couldn't outrun bad ratings. The bottom line: The epic sagas on decades-spanning soaps don't fit a Twitter world.

"ABC also whacked 'One Life to Live' and Llanview — so much soap history washed away in one day.

"When I think of these soaps, their central divas come to mind first. 'One Life to Live' showcased Erika Slezak, the Meryl Streep of daytime whose virtuosity as Viki brought her six Emmys...."

There's more - which is probably more interesting to a soap fan than to the Lemming.

You won't see a criticism of acting in the soaps in this post. Not that daytime television was necessarily the place to go for the best that television had to offer.

The Lemming remembers watching an actor's eyes scanning a cue card - probably held none-too-steadily just off-camera - while he delivered a set of highly dramatic lines.

Was that an example of bad acting? Incompetent performance? Atrocious memory?

No, in the Lemming's opinion.

Not when you consider that the forgettable lines the young man was declaiming probably hadn't been written yet, the morning of the day that episode was filmed.

It's possible that he hadn't seen those heart-rending words before a stage hand held up that cue card.

For generations, American soaps showed what entertainment professionals can do with a production schedule that demanded five new episodes a week. Under the circumstances, the Lemming thinks folks who made the soaps did a pretty good job.

As for the snobbish 'One never views such things?' Not gonna happen. Decades back, the Lemming enjoyed watching Dark Shadows. Think Kolchak: The Night Stalker meets Little House on the Prairie. Sort of.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: My Take on 'The Future' "
  (November 8, 2010)
• "Peter Graves, Mission Impossible, and All That"
  (March 15, 2010)
• "Mayberry, Murder, Mount Airy, and Small Town America"
  (November 2, 2009)
• "Trying to Write for Television? Learn the Tropes"
  (September 7, 2009)
• "Analog to Digital Television: A Wired Look at the Transition"
  (February 20, 2009)

News and views:

• "Real Soap Opera: Why America Hates Breaking Up With Erica Kane"
  Wynne Parry, LiveScience (April 19, 2011)
• "Facing the loss of its soaps, Hoover pulls advertising from ABC"
  Business, Los Angeles Times (April 19, 2011)
• "All My Children's Denise Vasi reacts to the show being axed"
  US & Canada, BBC News (April 19, 2011)
• "'All My Children': Goodbye to a fondly remembered world"
  Hal Boedeker, The TV Guy, blog, Orlando Sentinel (April 17, 2011)

---

¹ You can't make this sort of thing up:

"Satan Taking Mr. Ed Along For The Ride?"
Justin Mitchell, Scripps-Howard News Service, via Chicago Tribune (May 8, 1986)

"Southern Ohio evangelist Jim Brown claims that he and cohort Greg Hudson have discovered that the theme song to the old 'Mr. Ed' television show contains a satanic message when played backward.

" 'A Horse Is a Horse' contains the backward messages 'the source is Satan' and 'someone heard this song for Satan,' Brown claimed recently during a seminar he held for teenagers about rock and country lyrics in Ironton, Ohio...."

That's right up (or down) there with a complaint about the "effete custom of men growing beards," and identifying David, king of Israel, as a "Christian."

The Lemming doesn't assume that all religious folks are a few tacos short of a combination plate, though. More about what the Lemming believes, elsewhere:

• "Why I Became a Catholic"
  A Catholic Citizen in America
• "Lemming Tracks: The Lemming Gets Transparent"
  (April 18, 2011)

St. Patrick's Day, Michael Gough, and Love

"Batman's 'butler' Michael Gough dies at age 94"
The Associated Press, via News10.net (March 17, 2011)

"...He died of old age at home in England on Thursday, surrounded by family, his ex-wife Anneke Wills said through her agent.

"Wills said in an obituary posted on the Doctor Who website: 'As his body was deteriorating this week, he said that he wanted to hang on for St. Patrick's Day. And he did, just. In the end ... there is only love.'..."

His IMDB biography says that Michael Gough had roles from the voice of the Dodo Bird in Alice in Wonderland (2010) to Spintho in Androcles and the Lion (1946) And, like the AP article said, Alfred in Batman movies (1997, 1995, 1992, 1989) and Dr. Who (1966-1983).

More:

• "Michael Gough (I) (1917–2011)"
  IMDB

Accura Commercial; Baudette, Minnesota; and Weather That's Not Boring

An Accura television commercial's narration caught the Lemming's attention:

"Every year year we travel to Baudette, Minnesota, to see how our luxury vehicles ... perform under the most brutal, punishing conditions. If your winters are tougher than this, you don't need a new car: You need a new place to live."

Baudette, Minnesota, is near the Canadian border, a bit south of Lake of the Woods. The Lemming thought you might like to see what current conditions are in Baudette:


Despite what that Acura commercial showed, temperatures around 25 below Fahrenheit aren't quite typical. The Lemming checked the Wunderground.com almanack for today (February 15) in Baudette, and found that the average high today is 19 degrees above, with a low of minus five . Fahrenheit, that is. Celsius, that'd be be about minus seven down to minus 20.

Here in central Minnesota, where the Lemming lives, the average is a comparatively balmy 25 degrees for a high and three for a low. Celsius, about minus four and minus 16.

We're both in Minnesota, so "average" weather is more of a mathematical abstraction than something that actually happens. According to the Wunderground.com records, a place near here had a record high of 45 °F in 1981, and a record low of -23 °F in 1970, 'on this day in history.'

For Baudette, Minnesota, it's a record high of 47 °F in 1981 (that was a warm year), and low of -45 °F in 1939.

Say what one may about Minnesota, our weather isn't boring.

Lest Acura be accused of exaggerating the ruggedness of Baudette's winters, today's average high and low in Winnepeg, Manitoba are 22 °F and 2 °F. The records were 32 °F in 1998 and -31 °F in 2003.

Of course, there are places with colder winters than Minnesota. Like the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. And that's another topic.

More:

• City of Baudette, Minnesota
• lakeofthewoodsmn.com

Farfel!

"Farfel"
Farfel Puppets, Dogs, TVAcres.com

"Farfel - A friendly, floppy-eared hound dog puppet of wooden dummy Danny O'Day who was created and operated by ventriloquist, Jimmy Nelson.

"Talking with a sleepy drone, Farfel appeared in a series of Nestlés Quik chocolate commercials from 1953-65.

"After the little jingle of 'N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestlés tastes the very best,' Farfel in an extended yawn delivered the closing line 'CH-A-A-A-W-CLIT.'

"The distinctive snapping shut of Farfel's jaws after saying "CH-A-A-AW-CLIT" initially happened by accident during rehearsals for the Nestle's commercials when Nelson's sweaty hands caused his finger to slip inside the puppet. Luckily, the folks at Nestles liked it and the rest is history...."

There's more, about Farfel's ad-lib beginnings in Wichita, Kansas; Danny O'Day (puppet); Frank Marshall (not a puppet); and the Texaco Star Theater.

For the Lemming, this page was a short trip down Memory Lane. Your experience may vary. Particularly if you're under the age of, say, 25.

Think about it, though: 50 years from now, the AFLAC duck and today's version of Tony the Tiger may not seem quite as fresh and - sophisticated?? - as they do today.

Sort-of-related posts:

• "A Sentimental, Heartwarming Holiday Movie: Despicable Me"
  (December 20, 2010)
• "Roadside Attractions, Minnesota: Voyageurs and Nature; Animals and Birds; Fish and - Things"
  (April 14, 2010)
• "Yogi Yorgesson's "I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas" and the Hamms Bear"
  (December 15, 2009)
• "New Abraham Lincoln Statue Cheesy: Literally"
  (July 5, 2009)
• "How to Make Editors Hate You, Plus: Freelance Failure; and Writing Worser Than Nobidy"
  (January 12, 2008)

Life on Other Worlds: Limited Only by Imagination and Production Budgets

This post isn't about Star Trek. On the other hand, the original series' first words are a pretty good introduction: "...to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations...."
(Star Trek opening narration, via IMDB.com)

Life Out There: Some Science, Some Fiction

Life on other worlds isn't a particularly new idea. For example, practicing Catholics have been forbidden to claim that there can't be life elsewhere in the universe. Since the 13th century. (A Catholic Citizen in America (April 19, 2010))

During the 20th century, the idea of life on other worlds got popular: particularly among editors, authors, artists and readers of science fiction magazines.

The results were, occasionally, somewhat well-thought-out.


(from Tales of Future Past, used w/o permission)

Don't laugh: that 1939 illustration was made four decades before a robot would land on Mars, long before we realized that Martian air was really thin, and that Martian water was frozen. Given what serious astronomers knew and guessed at the time, a human on Mars might need a pressure suit - but creatures like that big-eared Martian might find it comfortable.

An imaginative, informed, writer and artist wouldn't have much trouble making pictures of aliens like that 'Hugo Gernsback' Martian.

Star Trek, Star Wars, and Dead Martians

A casting director for a television series like Star Trek? Human beings come in a relatively narrow range of shapes and sizes: and special effects technology is a tad more pricey than dipping into a studio's wardrobe for a suit of clothing appropriate for some 'real' setting.

Which is a major reason why, in the Lemming's opinion, Star Trek's 'aliens' looked so remarkably human.


(from Ephemeral Isle, used w/o permission)

The first Star Wars movie (1977), raised the bar a little. But even then, most of the aliens in the famous cantina scene looked like people in alien suits. Which, for the most part, they were. Budget and technology again.


(from Wookipedpia, used w/o permission)

Then you've got your science fiction convention folks.


(Robert Sorbo, via Reuters, used w/o permission)

That's a photo of folks going to a VIP party for the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, back in 2004, by the way: perhaps not quite a science fiction convention.

Not all television and movie science fiction portrayed aliens by putting funny clothes and makeup on actors. The plot of "Quatermass and the Pit," AKA "Five Million Years to Earth," for example, involved Martians who were very sincerely not human.


(from Tales of Future Past, used w/o permission)

No doubt about it: that fellow in the foreground isn't human. At all. Producing a screen drama with characters who were strictly special-effects work may have been more practical, since the 'Quatermass' Martians spent most of the 97 minutes being very, very dead.

Space Aliens: Seriously?

Remembering the 'flying saucer' silliness of the 50s, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Three Stooges in Orbit, the Lemming might be expected to dismiss the idea of real, live space aliens as 'science fiction:' outlandish, impossible, but good enough for 'escapist fiction.'

The sort of thing in the original Lost in Space series, Killer Klowns From Outer Space and Plan 9 From Outer Space? The Lemming does not take those 'aliens' very seriously.

What we may find on Titan, under the surface of Mars or Ceres, or circling another star? The Lemming sees no reason to assume that Earth is the only place with creepy crawlies - well, creeping and crawling.

And that's another topic.

Posts about aliens, silly, serious and somewhere in between:

• "Alien Contact: National Geographic Documentary"
  (January 1, 2011)
• "Carry-Out, Neptunian Style - or - What 14 Flopwaps Will Buy"
  (December 10, 2009)
• "Beautiful Space Princesses, Almost Certainly Not: Flying Whales, Maybe"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (December 8, 2009)
• "Astrobiology, the Vatican, and the Meaning of Our Existence"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (November 12, 2009)

More related posts, at

• "A Serious Search for Other Worlds, Life, and - Maybe - Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence"

Social Media Helps Folks be - Big Surprise! - More Social

"Social Media Make You More Sociable, Study Says"
Hugh Collins, DailyFinance (November 24, 2010)

"Social media websites such as Facebook make people more sociable, researchers say.

"The findings contradict a widespread belief that online socializing is replacing in person contact as people shun the world beyond their computer screen.

" 'Our findings suggest that Facebook is not supplanting face-to-face interactions between friends, family and colleagues,' said S. Craig Watkins, an associate professor of radio, TV and film at the University of Texas.

" 'In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community, Watkins said, according to Reuters...."

The Lemming might be more surprised about the result of this research, if the Lemming didn't remember when chronic hand-wringers were bemoaning the death of social interaction - being caused by the telephone.

New technologies - the telephone, television, movable type, the Internet - seem to be scary. To some folks, anyway.

Let's look at what Reuters had to say:

"Facebook makes people more social: study"
Reuters, Edition: U.S. (November 23, 2010 )

"Contrary to common belief social media websites such as Facebook do not weaken personal ties, they strengthen them in unique ways for different age groups, according to a new study.

"The rapid spread of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has prompted concerns about its negative effects, but researchers at the University of Texas have reached a different conclusion....

"...The researchers questioned 900 college students and recent graduates about how and with whom they interact on Facebook.

"More than 60 percent of Facebook users said posting status updates was among the most popular activities, followed by 60 percent who wrote comments on their profile and 49 percent who posted messages and comments to friends.

"The researchers also found that although about the same number of men and women use Facebook, they do so in different ways.

" 'There is a noteworthy difference in orientation in how to use a tool like Facebook. We found that for women the content tends to be more affectionate, and (they) are especially interested in using it for connection,' said Watkins.

" 'For men, it's more functional,' he added.

"Watkins pointed out that, for example, women are more likely to post pictures of social gatherings with friends, while men are more likely to post pictures of hobbies, or post a political or pop-culture related link...."

What! Men and women aren't the same?! Looks like this isn't the eighties any more. And that's another topic. (July 30, 2009)

About online social media involving - of all things - social behavior. Well, like the Lemming said: this may not be quite as amazing as it may seem.

The Lemming also thinks that this is another case of 'what everybody knows' not necessarily being so.

So, does the Lemming thinks that social media will have no effect? That we'll just keep on being social with each other like we did in the nineties? Eighties? Seventies? Do I think Disco is coming back?

Hardly.

Teenagers in the Victorian age didn't spend time on the telephone. Not because they were repressed - the technology wasn't there. By the sixties, the teen with a phone semi-permanently attached to the ear was a feature on the cultural landscape. These days, it's texting.

Details, in the Lemming's opinion, change as technology makes it possible for folks to communicate with each other in new ways. The basics - communicating with friends, meeting new people, and expanding your circle of friends and acquaintances? The Lemming doesn't think that's going to change all that much, as long as we're dealing with human beings.

Sort-of-related posts:

• "Using Facebook Can (Hey! That's Cool!) Result in - Something"
  (September 8, 2010)
• "Twitter Safety Tips: You Probably Know This Already"
  (August 29, 2010)
• "How to Build Influence in Social Media: One Person's Ideas"
  (August 12, 2010)
• "Social Media and - Old Web Habits?!"
  (August 2, 2010)
• ""Multiple E-dentity Disorder" - Or, Welcome to the Real World"
  (July 3, 2010)

My take on technology and people:

• "Mirrors, Television, and MP3 Players"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (November 6, 2010)
• "The Web Rewires Your Brain: Ain't That Great?"
  (July 2, 2010)
• "Next-Generation Prosthetic Hand - and Intel Says Direct Neural Interface Brain Chips by 2020"
  (December 2, 2009)
• "Tofu Turkeys, Genetically Altered Foods, and the Evil Eye"
  (November 14, 2009)
• "Hard Science Fiction, Cultural Blinders and Laban's Sheep"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 29, 2009)

---

A tip of the hat to Steveology, on Twitter, for the heads-up on the DailyFinance post.

He is Not Spock: It's Official Now

"Leonard Nimoy Hangs Up His Spock Ears"
Space.com (April 21, 2010)

"Leonard Nimoy, the actor who has famously portrayed "Star Trek's" original alien Spock for over 40 years, has announced he's officially hanging up the pointy Vulcan ears for good.

"Nimoy, 79, plans to retire shortly from show business and the 'Star Trek' convention circuit, according to the Canadian newspaper Toronto Sun.

"The actor, director and photographer will be attending the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend, and told the paper that beyond this event he only has a few more public appearances scheduled...."

There's quite a bit more about Leonard Nimoy and Star Trek in the article. It's not a 'Trekkie' approach, but you might be interested.

Or, not.

I remember Star Trek in its first runs, most of season two and three, anyway. I was - and am - something of a fan.

I also think that having one of the lead roles in Star Trek was something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it pretty much guaranteed an income from convention appearances. On the other hand, it was hard to shake your role.

For a serious actor - which I think is a reasonable way to describe Leonard Nimoy in the early seventies - being immediately identifiable as Mr. Spock, the pointy-eared alien in Star Trek must have made getting other roles something of a challenge. Anybody remember "I Am Not Spock?" And how several of Nimoy's characters smiled - a lot - after Star Trek?

James Doohan, of course, embraced his role as Scotty. But that's another topic.

3D TV Health Concern: Sort of

"Is 3D TV hazardous to your health?"
New York Post (April 14, 2010)

"If conventional wisdom says that watching TV is bad for your eyes, watching 3D TV may be three times worse, we're beginning to discover.

"Doctors and researchers are starting to warn viewers about the potential dangers of spending too much time in front of a 3D boob tube.

"Guidelines for Samsung's new line of 3D TVs warn against prolonged exposure to 3D TVs for kids (kids under 6 shouldn't watch at all), teens, pregnant women, the elderly, sleep-deprived people and anyone buzzed on alcohol.

"They also point out that watching 3D programming might cause motion sickness, lingering depth perception problems, disorientation and 'decreased postural stability.'..."

There's more detail about the warnings that Samsung has on their 3D TV, which would seem more over-the-top to me if we weren't in a society where a jar of peanuts has a "...WARNING: CONTAINS PEANUTS" label. (I'm not making this up)

The New York Post goes on:

"...While most of the warnings may be the work of overzealous lawyers, there's 'a small method to the madness,' says Dr. Norman Saffra, director of ophthalmology at Maimonides Medical Center.

"This is especially true if you happen to have an ocular condition -- such as weak eye muscles, lazy eye or the inability to see 3D. In those cases, 'you're stressing the [eye] muscle system so that everything can stay in focus all the time,' Saffra says....

"...'People under the influence of alcohol lose some of their control over their eye muscles, so watching a 3D movie or TV show becomes more challenging for them, he says.

"This could cause major problems -- especially after a long afternoon watching, for instance, the planned ESPN 3D channel.

"'At the end of the day, taking off those 3D glasses and walking down the steps while you're inebriated could be a problem,' he says."

For that matter, after an afternoon of doing anything and chugging down beer, you might have trouble walking down steps.

Oh, well. I suppose eventually we'll all have to have signs dangling in front of our eyes that say, "WARNING: BEING STUPID MAY CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH."

True? True.

"Monkey See, Monkey Blue" - Who Knows? Somebody May Try This

"Monkey cops, when it's a jungle out there!"
Oddly Enough, Reuters blog (April 1, 2010)

"Okay boys, prepare yourselves for the new smash hit series of the fall TV season. This is the kind of high concept creativity that made network programming what it is today.

"It's about this small town that can't afford to fund its police force, so a bunch of monkeys come out of the jungle and take over the cop duties. Is that brilliant, or what?

"We're calling it 'Monkey See, Monkey Blue.'

"Imagine the possibilities! Milk come out of my nose when I think of monkey cops driving patrol cars, shooting at bad guys, eating doughnuts all the time….

"In the teaser a monkey cop handcuffs a robber, see, and then he takes out his Miranda card, we zoom in on his face, and he just grins and says, “Ooh ooh ooh..."

What's a little scary is that I can imagine a studio trying something like that. When you think about it, the premise isn't all that much less reasonable than many that have been made.

Besides: the 'Monkey cop' is real. He's not actually a law enforcement officer, though: more of a mascot.

Snow Angels: Now That's a Snow Fort!

"Snow Angels"

anoasisproduction, YouTube (March 16, 2010)
video, 8:37

"North Dakotan Kids build a giant snow fort from a 8ft. snow drift."

I think I'd have enjoyed watching this video, even if my son-in-law hadn't been holding the camera.

It's a sort of home movie, but with better editing and focused on the idea that kids can have fun in their own back yard - or any (safe) outdoor area they can get to.

Sure, not many folks have back yards a half-mile deep with eight-foot snow drifts. Including this set. That's a field in the Red River Valley of the North. The drift built up on the leeward side of a shelter belt.

(Doesn't look much like a valley, right? Land around the Red River of the North is about as flat as any you'll find on Earth: why it's called a "valley" I don't know.)

If "Oasis Productions" sounds familiar, you've probably been following this blog and have a pretty good memory. I wrote about a to-be-released-this-summer video by that company a few weeks ago. ("Art of Serenity" is still in production and on schedule.)

About Oasis Productions: It's a company with two divisions: for-profit, making video presentations for businesses and civic organizations; non-profit, "To provide network-quality programming with a Catholic worldview to entertain and educate committed Catholics....". (More on their About Oasis Productions page) I think they're pretty good: but my son-in-law is involved with the company, so I'm biased.

Related post:

• ""Art of Serenity...." - a Trailer"
  (February 24, 2010)
• "Leftover Chocolate, Microwave Ovens, and the Speed of Light"
  (February 16, 2010)
• "Plumpiemousie - an Endearing Home Page"
  (September 8, 2009)
• "What Kids in the Car Shouldn't Have"
  (August 24, 2009)
• "Surviving an Amusement Park With Kids"
  (July 29, 2009)

Peter Graves, Mission Impossible, and All That

"Peter Graves"
Telegraph.co.uk (March 15, 2010)

"Peter Graves, who died on March 14 aged 83, appeared in a multitude of films and television shows during a career which spanned nearly 60 years, but will be remembered principally for his roles as a spymaster in the TV series Mission: Impossible and as a pilot in the spoof disaster movie Airplane! (1980)."

"In 'Mission: Impossible' he was Jim Phelps, leader of a special unit of spies and saboteurs. Each episode began with agent Phelps listening to a tape-recording of instructions which detailed his unit's latest mission; if any member of the team were captured, it said, the government would 'disavow any knowledge of your actions'. The tape self-destructed within seconds of being played...."

I was (and am) a fan of "Mission Impossible." It'll never eclipse, say, the works of Shakespeare in English drama: but it was fun to watch.

Peter Graves was on the screen or the voice we heard quite a bit: from Winning Your Wings (1942) to Darkstar (2010). That's according to the IMDB.com filmography of Graves.

I've seen him in earlier films: in one (I saw it well over 40 years ago, and the thing was best forgotten) he displayed some of the least-plausible and inspired acting I've seen. That may have been the direction. The impression left in my mind by the film is that it was one of those cinematic works with a budget just a little over what the studio executive spent on a night out, and about a week to slap the thing together.

Don't get me wrong: I think Peter Graves was a pretty good actor. Which may help explain how long he managed to stay in the business. Six decades is a long career.

Obituaries don't, as a rule, say bad things about the deceased. Even allowing for that, though, it sounds like Mr. Graves was easy to work with. In an industry with a reputation for being infested with self-centered, demanding, irresponsible prima donnas - and primo uomos - that must have been refreshing.

I suspect that Mr. Graves' willingness to take parts that weren't terribly fraught with artistic worth and social relevance may have helped him, too.

Somebody's got to make those pot-boilers, you know.

'Human Tetris:' Another Strange Japanese Game Show

"Human Tetris The Grand Master 4 (Japanese Show)"

aaaaaaa4000, YouTube (October 04, 2007)
video, 6:19

"Human Tetris 6 is here.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch...

"The original title is "BRAIN WALL"."

Following overwhelming response (two comments) to an earlier micro-review of the weird and wild world of Japanese game shows, I'm back: with "Brain Wall" - or, as aaaaaaa4000 calls it, human Tetris.

It's not, really, much like the Tetris game - but I see the connection.

And, it looks like a lot of fun. If you're limber and don't mind wearing a gold lamé hooded jumpsuit.

My favorite of the lot was the second "breakdance" contestant. For riding it through to the end, if nothing else. The team event after that? Good heavens. I don't know what to say.

I think this video would be more fun for someone who understands Japanese - but the action alone is fun. My opinion. (8,147,547 views, when I checked, show I'm probably not the only one.)

Related posts:

• "Better Ideas from Japan: Crazy Game Shows"
  (February 22, 2010)
• "Human Tetris - The Video"
  (June 6, 2009)
  • Not about a game show
• "Tetris: Invented in Russia (This Time, Chekov's Right)"
  (June 6, 2009)
• "Better Ideas From Japan: Human Tetris"
  (January 20, 2008)
  • This is about a game show

Scone: It Was a Dark Night in the City?

"Scone"
Disapproving Rabbits (February 03, 2010)


(from Disapproving Rabbits, used w/o permission)

There's a bit of text that goes with that photo. Which I think may be the most dramatic photograph of a rabbit I've ever seen.

Leonard Nimoy as Spock (More or Less): Singing, In Spots, About the Human Race

"Leonard Nimoy - Highly Illogical"

synthastia, YouTube (September 15, 2008)
video, 2:24

"Leonard Nimoy: Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space, Track 12 - Highly Illogical"

I suspect that Leonard Nimoy had some fun with this. He's not (quite) in character for Mr. Spock, first officer of the Enterprise.

The song is a sort of outsider's view (what else?) of the human race, it's technology and foibles.

On the automobile: "...but you never can find a parking space: highly illogical...."

At the prospect of humanity going into outer space: "Well, there goes the neighborhood."

Enjoy.

Optimal Earl Grey: Top Tea Brands

"Top 5 Earl Grey Tea Brands"
Personal Blog of Justin Germino (January 13, 2010)

"I have been drinking Earl Grey tea on occasion since I was ten years old. When I was a boy I idolized Captain Jean Luc Picard and his favorite tea on the show Star Trek: The Next Generation was Earl Grey, at ten I had never heard of the tea so asked my mother to buy some. I have been hooked on the unique flavor ever since and drink it at least once per week, sometimes more.

"The unique flavor of Earl Grey tea comes from the Bergamot essence that is used in the tea, this is a type of orange and the rind itself is where they extract the oil from instead of the flesh. Some Earl Grey tea’s are very potent and the bergamot can be overpowering and bitter, others are too light and delicate. The trick to brewing Earl Grey tea is to never...."

There's more: advice on brewing the optimal cup of Earl Grey tea.

And, I appreciate the mention of Captain Jean Luc Picard, of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994).

Ah, yes, I well remember the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, telling the computer to make him a cup of tea, Early Grey, shaken, not stirred. No, wait. That's not right.

Hats off to Patrick Stewart: he played his part well.

---

A tip of the hat to dragonblogger, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this post.

Mayberry, Murder, Mount Airy, and Small Town America

"Man Charged With Killing 4 in North Carolina Town"
The Associated Press, via FOXNews (November 2, 2009)

"Police arrested a convicted kidnapper early Monday in the fatal shooting of four men in a parking lot in the town that inspired the idyllic community of Mayberry on the 1960s TV series 'The Andy Griffith Show.'

"Marcos Chavez Gonzalez was charged with four counts of murder in the slayings late Sunday outside a TV store in Mount Airy, about 100 miles north of Charlotte, Mount Airy police said.

"The town with a population of approximately 8,700 is the hometown of Andy Griffith. It has built a tourist trade on nostalgia for the show that continues to thrive in syndication...."

There's an old saying, "any publicity is good publicity."

There's something to it: particularly for people and businesses that rely on public attention. That's probably what's behind some of the outrageous behavior of some performers. ('Hey, Mable! Lets go see that movie. The star was arrested for wearing a chihuahua.')

On the other hand, my guess is that quite a few people living in Mount Airy, Surry County, North Carolina, would rather have seen their small town in the news some other way.

Small Town America, Mayberry RFD, and the 21st Century

"Small" is a matter of perspective. Mount Airy's 8,700 citizens make it over twice the size of the town I live in. Still, that's far from the millions living in places like Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago.

That AP/FOXNews article used "idyllic" to describe the fictional Mayberry, where Sheriff Andy Taylor, Barny Fife, and all, lived: thirty minutes at a time, on television. There's nothing wrong with nostalgia - in moderation - and my hats off to Mount Airy's leaders for building a tourist trade on the strength of their town's connection to Andy Griffith.

But 'small town America' is very much a part of today's world.

Gray Flannel Suits?

I've run into accounts of 'small town America' that leave the impression that places like my adopted hometown aren't, quite, connected to realty. Men wear sport shirts and cardigan sweaters or gray flannel suits. Women wear dresses, and so do the girls. Boys wear bib overalls, a ragged straw hat - and look like Tom Sawyer clones.

We don't look like that. Not in central Minnesota, anyway.

Away From the Hustle and Bustle of City Life

The 'relaxed pace of life' that's part of the stereotype doesn't fall quite so wide of the mark. In the town where I live, you won't encounter crazed motorists driving about 30% over the speed limit. We've got our gung-ho residents: but the town's fairly compact, and the old-fashioned street grid lets us get to where we're going in maybe 20 minutes - tops. At rush hour.

Ignorant and Parochial

People living in small towns may have been ignorant of happenings outside their community: in the 19th century. Along with paved roads, electricity, running water and an efficient sewage treatment system, small towns in America have telephones, radios, televisions, and - to an increasing extent - Internet access. We're not cut off from the 'real world' of big cities, except by physical distance. If anything, I think someone in a small town is more likely to know what's going on in places like New York City or San Francisco, than the reverse.¹

As for having distorted views of how others live, I remember the lady I met in a city, who informed me that farmers in North Dakota don't have to work: because they had grain stored in an elevator in Grand Forks. I suspect that people with quaint notions, and folks with 20-20 mental vision can be found just about everywhere.

Biased? You Bet!

I'll freely admit that I have a bias. I've lived in Minnesota's Twin Cities, San Francisco, and elsewhere: and am very glad to be living with the 4,000 or so other people in this small town. I'm pretty sure that some folks here feel that 'nothing ever happens around here,' but I keep my eyes open - and have been writing about life in the community, from my point of view, for several years. (Sauk Centre Journal)

The Mayberry Connection

Mayberry, RFD, the setting for The Andy Griffith Show, is fictional. I think some of the similarities between Mayberry and Mount Airy are points that the fictional town shares with many - probably most - small towns in America. We have our Main, Oak, Elm, Maple, and Willow Streets, and quite a few small towns have a River Road. So, for that matter, to many cities.

An article (re-) posted this year gives a pretty good look at The Andy Griffith show and its background:

"The Andy Griffith Show" / Behind The Scenes Of The REAL Mayberry (Telovation (September 3, 2009))

"...While Griffith often dismissed any ties between his show and the sleepy little town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, even Andy can't deny the many similarities...."

"...During the dedication ceremony, Andy, then 76, said 'I'm proud to be from the great state of North Carolina. I'm proud to be from Mount Airy. I think of you often, and I won't be such a stranger from here on out.'

"Then he gave the local residents what they had been hoping for, for years: Validation. 'People started saying that Mayberry was based on Mount Airy,' Griffith said. Then pausing with a sly grin, he added: 'It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?'"

So: is Mayberry a fictional version of Mount Airy? I don't think that Mayberry is a re-creation of Mount Airy. On the other hand, Andy Griffith grew up in Mount Airy: and that Telovation post showed an impressive number of parallels. I'll go with what Mr. Griffith said: "It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?"

More:

• Mount Airy, North Carolina
  "Come Visit Mayberry!"
• The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
• The Surry Arts Council
  Includes the Andy Griffith Museum
• Andy Griffith Biography (1926-)
• "The Andy Griffith Show"
  Behind The Scenes Of The REAL Mayberry
  Telovation (September 3, 2009)

In the news:

• "Four dead in North Carolina shooting; suspect sought"
  CNN (November 1, 2009)

---

¹ I contrasted 'small town' stereotypes and reality in another blog:

• "The New York Times, Insularity, and Assumptions" Another War-on-Terror Blog
  (October 21, 2008)
• "The Effect of Information Technology and Media Preoocupation with Urban Events on the Relative Sophistication of Urban and Rural Populations" Another War-on-Terror Blog
  (April 13, 2008)