Insignifica

Happy Thanksgiving! May your turkey (or not, in my case) be juicy and may you enjoy the time with your family.

I thought this was funny, it's a screenshot from my email this afternoon:

Maybe they should get their story straight before emailing.

This makes my brain hurt a little, but I want to understand. It's a pretty neat theory.

I got this from Scott this morning, re: Exposing Myself. I doubt he'll mind if I pass it on.

There are only 2 performances left of "Exposing Myself"- this Saturday, November 23 at 8PM and Sunday, November 24 at 7PM. It would be great for anyone who hasn't seen the show to come see, and for those who sat the show early on, it would be great for you to see how far the show has come since it's early stages. It's a different show altogether. And this weekend is sort of a biggie because 1) it's the last weekend 2) the show is being filmed this weekend 3) there are some bigwigs coming this weekend. So it would be really great to have a nice sized, responsive audience so that I look cooler than I am. Some cool stuff is in the works with the show- I will be secretive with details (as always), but some swell people from some swell higher-up places are getting involved, so I want them to see the show at its best.

Anyway- tickets are $20 by calling 323-856-4200 (you can avoid a service charge by buying at the door)- OR mention LA Weekly at the door and receive $5 off- OR get discount tickets at www.theatrela.org by clicking "Webtix".

Exposing Myself is playing at the Hudson Avenue Theatre in Hollywood, located at 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. (between Cahuenga and Highland).

If you have the time and are in the greater LA area, check out the show - it really is fantastic.

Santa Ana cop Randy Beckx - Hero.

(Thanks to Anil for the link)

From Reuters: FCC's Copps Seeks Indecency Standard Overhaul.

Apparently, the FCC got a lot of complaints about last night's Victoria's Secret fashion show, and various parties at the FCC are considering changing the indecency standards regarding sex and violence. The FCC (as well as your standard conservative groups) say that indecency is on the rise and rules against it need to be enforced/strengthened.

First off, we have some the most severe government mandated limits on broadcast in the world. Limits include:

Nipples, even if only visible through clothes.

The underside of the breast*

Nude genitals, both male and female.

Nude buttocks*

Visible sexual arousal

Use of the "Seven Dirty Words" (though there are more than seven taboo words).

Discussion of sexual acts*

Sexual acts or simulation of sexual acts

Simulation of nudity (including many works of art).

Non-sexual nudity (usually diseased or injured body parts)*

Damnation (i.e. you can't damn someone to hell)

*Often acceptable after 10pm/"Safe Harbor" hours.

There are other rules relating to "prurient interest", usually revolving around the context of a statement. I can say "shaft" if talking about a part of an elevator, but not in a sexual context.

Secondly, why should there be limits? I'd much rather my children saw a "naughty" part of the body or heard a word than if they saw a violent act - but you can show violence on television with considerably fewer restrictions (the article above discusses this issue also). I don't happen to find nudity offensive (in fact, I'm offended that it's considered as such), but the FCC has the function of deciding what I can and can't see on television. Why not revise the current ratings system for television so it says something to the effect of "This program contains a bare breast and frank sexual discussion", then let ME decide if my children or I will watch. I realize this happens in regard to discussion and violence, but getting it passed with nudity won't happen anytime soon.

Just my ranting, but it's so strange to me to think that the same people who want smaller governments and "parental choice" for their kids are the same people who want to impose stricter standards for our main entertainment mediums. You want less government? You want to make the important moral decisions? Then get the fuck out of the media.

Thank you.

Posted by Michael Doss at 02:39 PM | Comments (1)

Please compare:



Songwriter Jim Steinman (left) and Jason Isaacs (right, as Lucius Malfoy).






Pop singer Christina Aguilera (left) and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider (right).

Scary, on both accounts.

While it's impressive and all that Chris won tickets to see No Doubt at Disneyland, I'm afraid I'm going to have to upstage him. While listening to Cool 94.3 on the way to work this morning, they were looking for caller 10 to answer a trivia question. I called up and was caller 5, then got 2 busy signals, then got a ring. It rang for about a minute, then they brought me on the air live! They asked me the following question:

What percentage of American homes eat turkey at Thanksgiving?

a) 82%
b) 92%
c) 75%
d) 50%

Assuming the number was high, I shot the moon and went for b) 92%, and was correct. So what did I win? A delicious Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving! It's been a long time since I've won anything, so it's nice to feed my family, although I won't be taking part.

Some interesting trivia:

This is approximately the 115th thing I've won on a radio contest (95% of my winnings taking place between 1993 and 1996).

This is the first time I've won a radio contest while using my cell phone.

This is my first win from Cool 94.3, though I believe I had won something from KIK 94.3 before the station changed formats.

This is the not the first time I've won Delicious Meat™ from a radio station. I won a Honeybaked ham from KEZY 95.9 back in 1996.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed!

Posted by Michael Doss at 08:07 AM | Comments (4)

Someone from 209.249.67.107.looksmart.net has been reading through the site the last couple days, reading just about every page I have here. Based on the times it looks like a night-owl and is likely someone in California. Who are you? I just want to know what you think.

April just reminded me, and I meant to write this up earlier: I saw an awesome show this weekend called "Exposing Myself" - it's about Scott Borden, a "Generation X Charlie Brown, who is forced to undergo court-ordered therapy after a hilarious mishap brings about a run-in with the law". Scott also happens to be the writer/producer/director, as well as playing himself.

Chris and I went to see the show on Saturday - it was original, funny and amazingly put together. "Exposing Myself" is playing at the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood through this weekend. If you're in the area, go see it - it's fantastic.

Oh, sorry: A Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of Alabama's judicial building violates the constitution's ban on government promotion of religion, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Thank goodness. For those of you who haven't been following this case, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (yes, Chief Justice) had a 5,300 pound monument to the 10 commandments installed in the Alabama judicial building in the middle of the night (after being told offically he couldn't). Then he argued that the 10 commandments were the foundation of American law, and the monument didn't force anyone to believe in the Christian God. I wonder if he would have felt the same if the Koran was similarly displayed.

Yay! Another "Pledge of Allegiance" rant!

It seems that Pennsylvania state senate bill would require students in public school to recite the pledge or sing the national anthem every morning. Students could opt out, but their parents would be notified of their decision to do so.

My first issue is a "requirement" of a pledge. Does the seem a little Nazi to you? Part of the power of a pledge to anything is that it's voluntary - a mandatory pledge is like a compulsory volunteer - it loses a lot of it's meaning.

Then there's that pesky little "God" issue. Yes, the 9th circuit court said it's not constitutional. However, that only covers western states, and is being hotly contested anyway. Effectively, this Pennsylvania law would require public school students to pledge to a nation under "God". They can, of course, bow out, which means coming out to their parents, who the student may very well not want knowing he or she doesn't pledge. There's also the "unwilling protester" argument brought up by the 9th circuit court.

Lastly, why do we need a law for this? I've never heard of a public school that doesn't already say the pledge, and as it stands, kids have the right to say it or not. Making a law in this regard seems like a spectacle for the state senate, to show the citizens how much they love god and country.

Oh, to be in high school again and to be able to raise a stink.

An interesting Fark headline: "Bush slams Christian Right with left hand and signs legislation supporting references to God in pledge and national motto with other"

And it's true. Bush is "Christian Right". His policy over the last 2 years (faith based programs, opposition to stem cell research), his alliances in and out of the government, his statements about his faith - Bush is a conservative Christian. When a California court decided (with a good deal of support from legal experts) that the pledge amounted to a government endorsement of religion, there was an uproar from the Christian Right and from almost all members of congress denouncing the decision as an attack on the fundamentals of the country (forgetting that that aspect of the pledge dates only from 1954).

Though I'm not exactly sure what a law "reaffirming references to God" actually does legally, it strange to see it happen the day after Bush denounces the Christian Right for it's anti-Islam stance. Could it be that while the perceived popular opinion was for Christian influence in our pledge/motto, Bush had to "show" he wasn't anti-Islam because it would get us in trouble as a country with the rest of the world? I just don't see a big split in the conservative Christian camp on this issue. The man who purposely chose the word "crusade" in describing the "war" on terrorism is now breaking with those who say Islam is fundamentally violent, but still backing those who see nothing wrong with introducing Christian dogma into classroom. Can you say "two-faced"?

I don't typically report too much celebrity news here or rant about the rich - I'd rather spend my time talking about silly politicians and religious nutjobs. However, the stories of one celeb really amuse me: Sean Puffy Puff Daddy P. Diddy Combs.

Exhibit A: The invite to his "ostentatious" 29th birthday party (as provided by The Smoking Gun). The provided "Party Policy" lists rules about scuffed shoes, haircuts, pedicures, body hair and clothing. This isn't to meet the queen; this is a birthday party where you might, if you're lucky, see Sean Puffy Puff Daddy P. Diddy Combs.

Exhibit B: A recent Yahoo!/Reuters article highlighting his thoughts on the upcoming MTV Europe Music Awards, J-Lo's engagement, and his after-show party:

When asked if he felt upstaged by Jennifer Lopez's engagement: "By Thursday, everyone will be focused on me again".

Combs had turned up an hour late for his news conference earlier, blaming indecision over what to wear.

When asked about the after-show party: "The P. Diddy party policy will be in force. Manicures and pedicures will be required as will waxing and good hygiene. Everyone will be checked out at the door".

Flashing a huge canary yellow diamond on his finger, Sean Puffy Puff Daddy P. Diddy Combs promised to lavish his future wife with such jewels.

Conclusion: Sean Puffy Puff Daddy P. Diddy Combs is a man-princess.

Posted by Michael Doss at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)

This has to be on purpose:

Scary thought, none the less. If Bush is the savior, feed me to the lions...

Ok, an update:

Insignifica is working fine. I'm still having some problems with directory permissions, but my host and I are working on it and it's not affecting the rest of the site.

Now, the bad news: I'm still having trouble with the other MT sites. I hope this has an easy fix. I could just reinstall (like I did with Insignifica), but since I can't log in at all, I can't easily save the entries or templates or configuration settings (most important on badassbaseball.com, which has all sorts of weird settings). Again, my host and I are working on the problem, and hopefully we can make it easy.

Posted by Michael Doss at 09:08 AM | Comments (5)

Ok, that was annoying. For the last 3 weeks, my copy of MT's been down and out and not working. I ended up backing everything up and reinstalling (with MT 2.51 - it's nice). I'm still working out some bugs, but all the sites should be back up by the end of the weekend.

Back on the subject of sex laws: A lot of states have them, but few enforce them. Texas, however, convicted two men of "homosexual conduct" in 1998, and the men are currently fighting the convicion in the Texas supreme court.

Does this trouble you as much as it does me? These men were engaged in consensual acts and were arrested, effectivly, for being gay. Think about this next time you're with someone in the privacy of your own home: many states also have laws against oral sex, non-standard positions, and sodomy. You may go to jail.