Monday Musings in May
The Los Angeles Times printed (I wonder if more people read it online rather than on paper) a story about how the city of Palos Verdes Estates is dealing with the so-called "Bay Boys." The story claims that officials of the city have dismissed the allegations contained in a lawsuit filed by an El Segundo Police officer. They describe them as urban legends.
I've never been a surfer but I spent two decades living in the South Bay. I know these things are not urban legends. Many surfers up and down the coast (but not all of course) have that "locals only" attitude. But nowhere is it as bad as it is at Lunada Bay. The city needs to take action before the Coastal Commission and the courts force them to act; perhaps more harshly than they want to.
* * *
I'm switching back and forth between a police procedural re-run and a 1977 episode of Battle of the Network Stars. One of Howard Cosell's co-hosts in this episode was Bruce Jenner, prior to her decision to become Caitlyn Jenner. It raised a question in my mind that a family member prompted awhile ago. With the announcement that Caitlyn Jenner will pose for the cover of Sports Illustrated wearing just her Olympic Gold medal and an American flag, is it really her medal? After all, it was Bruce who earned it was pointed out to me.
I don't agree. A person's prior achievements do not disappear because they make the difficult choice to transition to their true gender identity. More than four decades have passed since the noted author Jan Morris made the transition from being James. She had to travel from her native United Kingdom to Morocco because surgeons in the UK would not perform reassignment surgery while Morris was still married to her wife.
Did her bibliography prior to the transition simply cease to exist? No. Whatever a person achieves in life is their achievement. The person someone was before the transition is one and the same as they are during that transition and when they decide their transition is complete. A person is a person, regardless of their gender identity. We've come a long way in those four plus decades. But not far enough if the right of the winner of an Olympic medal is questioned because they decided to live as they believe themselves to be.
* * *
There are only a few reality TV shows that I watch. One is Parking Wars, which is no longer in production. I'm also a fan of Storage Wars although not so much now that Barry is not on the program.
I watch a lot of reruns and original programming on the USA network and as a result I'm inundated with commercials for a reality show titled Chrisley Knows Best. I had to look up just who Todd Chrisley is apparently a self-made millionaire who now lives in Beverly Hills where his show is filmed even though the show ostensibly takes place in Georgia (or so it seems).
Competition shows have some appeal to me, depending on the competition. But these new reality shows that are about the ordinary lives of people who have found their way into the spotlight just don't interest me at all.
I think the huge ratings that shows like this, Duck Dynasty and Keeping up with the Kardashians (I really wanted to write Kartrashians) prove nothing more than we live in a world where our ordinary lives are so unsatisfying we need even more opportunities to escape the reality of those lives than ever.
* * *
Just saw a news item where voters approved a bond issue that will fund construction of a football stadium that will cost over $60 million. Where? In Texas of course. McKinney, Texas. Less than ten miles from another high school stadium that is currently the most expensive to date. That one cost $60 million.
When I first saw the 1994 film Friday Night Lights, I had to run out and buy the book it was based on. That was when I learned that the 19,000 seat stadium that is home to the Permian Panthers cost $5.6 million when it was built in 1982.
So which is more egregious? I'll let you decide, but consider this in your decision making process. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator, what cost $5.6 million in 1982 would cost $13.8 billion in 2016.
* * *
I suspect that KISS member Gene Simmons is being honest when he says he's never been high on drugs. He's certainly not the only one. But his comments about the death of Prince being "a choice" are irresponsible. They also ignore the reality that addiction is not a choice for people who develop addictions to pain medications after being injured. I was so afraid I would become addicted to the pain medications I had pumped into me after I awoke from that nine week coma. I am fortunate that I didn't, probably thanks to excellent medical care at UCLA Medical Center.
Mr. Simmons is entitled to his opinion, no matter how insulting and ignorant of reality it is.
I've never been a surfer but I spent two decades living in the South Bay. I know these things are not urban legends. Many surfers up and down the coast (but not all of course) have that "locals only" attitude. But nowhere is it as bad as it is at Lunada Bay. The city needs to take action before the Coastal Commission and the courts force them to act; perhaps more harshly than they want to.
* * *
I'm switching back and forth between a police procedural re-run and a 1977 episode of Battle of the Network Stars. One of Howard Cosell's co-hosts in this episode was Bruce Jenner, prior to her decision to become Caitlyn Jenner. It raised a question in my mind that a family member prompted awhile ago. With the announcement that Caitlyn Jenner will pose for the cover of Sports Illustrated wearing just her Olympic Gold medal and an American flag, is it really her medal? After all, it was Bruce who earned it was pointed out to me.
I don't agree. A person's prior achievements do not disappear because they make the difficult choice to transition to their true gender identity. More than four decades have passed since the noted author Jan Morris made the transition from being James. She had to travel from her native United Kingdom to Morocco because surgeons in the UK would not perform reassignment surgery while Morris was still married to her wife.
Did her bibliography prior to the transition simply cease to exist? No. Whatever a person achieves in life is their achievement. The person someone was before the transition is one and the same as they are during that transition and when they decide their transition is complete. A person is a person, regardless of their gender identity. We've come a long way in those four plus decades. But not far enough if the right of the winner of an Olympic medal is questioned because they decided to live as they believe themselves to be.
* * *
There are only a few reality TV shows that I watch. One is Parking Wars, which is no longer in production. I'm also a fan of Storage Wars although not so much now that Barry is not on the program.
I watch a lot of reruns and original programming on the USA network and as a result I'm inundated with commercials for a reality show titled Chrisley Knows Best. I had to look up just who Todd Chrisley is apparently a self-made millionaire who now lives in Beverly Hills where his show is filmed even though the show ostensibly takes place in Georgia (or so it seems).
Competition shows have some appeal to me, depending on the competition. But these new reality shows that are about the ordinary lives of people who have found their way into the spotlight just don't interest me at all.
I think the huge ratings that shows like this, Duck Dynasty and Keeping up with the Kardashians (I really wanted to write Kartrashians) prove nothing more than we live in a world where our ordinary lives are so unsatisfying we need even more opportunities to escape the reality of those lives than ever.
* * *
Just saw a news item where voters approved a bond issue that will fund construction of a football stadium that will cost over $60 million. Where? In Texas of course. McKinney, Texas. Less than ten miles from another high school stadium that is currently the most expensive to date. That one cost $60 million.
When I first saw the 1994 film Friday Night Lights, I had to run out and buy the book it was based on. That was when I learned that the 19,000 seat stadium that is home to the Permian Panthers cost $5.6 million when it was built in 1982.
So which is more egregious? I'll let you decide, but consider this in your decision making process. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator, what cost $5.6 million in 1982 would cost $13.8 billion in 2016.
* * *
I suspect that KISS member Gene Simmons is being honest when he says he's never been high on drugs. He's certainly not the only one. But his comments about the death of Prince being "a choice" are irresponsible. They also ignore the reality that addiction is not a choice for people who develop addictions to pain medications after being injured. I was so afraid I would become addicted to the pain medications I had pumped into me after I awoke from that nine week coma. I am fortunate that I didn't, probably thanks to excellent medical care at UCLA Medical Center.
Mr. Simmons is entitled to his opinion, no matter how insulting and ignorant of reality it is.
posted by me at 10:49 AM
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