I don't watch the network news very much, but it seems like there's always some "investigative report" that just blows the lid off of some obscure scam or other pointless story. And increasingly, the stories sound like some reporter's, producer's, or executive's personal grudge. Does anyone else notice that? For instance, I imagine a producer waking up one day to see that the garbage men didn't pick up his trash that morning, so the next week the 11 o'clock news runs a story that exposes how lazy and incompetent garbage men are. Cut to a reporter jumping on the back of a garbage truck, confronting a worker by shoving a microphone in his face and imploring, "isn't it true that you're lazy?! Isn't it true that you take lunch breaks that are 3 minutes too long?!?! Do you expect the taxpayers to pay for your incompetence?!?!"
It's silly. Actually, I saw a real example tonight on 20/20 which made me feel better knowing that Barbara Walters and her posse are covering all the important issues of our day. They exposed the multi-thousand dollar anti-baldness scam, finally. They harassed several people, including salesmen and phony doctors (does anyone really believe TV doctors on commercials?) to show that those guys are trying to cheat YOU, the balding rich guy, out of your hard-earned money. Thank goodness for 20/20. It makes me wonder which of the balding producers lost a bunch of money on minoxidil pills. "Let's get those bastards!"
What's next, an exposé that reveals the scaly underside of the penis-enlargement industry? Maybe Andy Rooney can cover that one.
I recorded a video of my novice rendition of "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd using this webcam. Here it is (8.2MB and requires Quicktime). Of course, IANAG (IAm Not AGuitarist), so keep that in mind.
It seems like the plans have fallen through on the trip to New Orleans, at least as far as going with Lorin. It's disappointing, but I'm thinking of alternate plans....The gears are turning.
I'm trying to contact America's Wetlands to find more information specifically regarding photography.
In other news, Apocalypse Now - Redux is a long movie but worth seeing, definitely.
In other other news, Judy scratched me. ouch.
Two Democratic Congressman have introduced a bill that would reinstate the draft. They hope to raise questions concerning the composition of our volunteer military and the disproportionate number of minorities and poor people who go to war and die for the country. In the proposed bill, college students and others who were previously exempted in the last draft 30 years ago would be conscripted into the military. The bill, however, stands little chance of passing but is rather designed to challenge the administration's gun-ho attitude towards a unilateral preemptive strike against Iraq and possibly North Korea.
I thought this bit of news was amusing considering a recent conversation I had....
So the plan is to leave for New Orleans with Lorin on January 20th, making stops in New York, Philadelphia, Birmingham, and possibly other places along the way. We'll be very frugal and return by the 30th. Louisiana is a fascinating place -- the birthplace of jazz, zydeco, cajun food...It also accounts for 80% of the U.S's land loss. Every year, between 25 and 35 square miles of Louisiana sinks into the ocean because humans have sought to divert and contain the mighty Mississippi River. It's a very big environmental problem, and I'd be interested to see the effects on the land and the people, while some of it is still there.
More updates later.