RickMcCharles.com

I don’t know anyone who disliked Friends as much as I did.

Four Six (Dana had to correct me.) good looking white people whining about their lives. 63 Emmy Awards. That’s my definition of over-rated.

Glee, in contrast, tries to tackle important issues. They did a terrific job on Rachel’s nose.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

Glee doesn’t always hit the right note. But when they do, it’s awesome.

… less Hebraic and more Fabrayic …

That mash-up was voted Best Glee Song of All Time by TV Line readers in a July 2011 poll.

Jeff Jarvis is at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the elite of the elite.

The theme is “jobs, jobs, jobs.”

… They’re discussing growth strategies and so far we’re hearing the same notions we hear elsewhere in Davos, the complete trick bag: spend money on infrastructure, be nice to business, regulate less, reform taxes, reform immigration. OK and OK.

“The problems of job creation are more complicated than that. …

Buzz Machine – Efficiency over growth (and jobs)

For example, Apple and Google are two of the wealthiest companies in 2011, but they don’t have many employees. Some jobs have been eliminated by technology. Others are gone overseas because people just as competent as you are willing to do it cheaper.

Obama’s State of the Union again chastised the American rich for not doing enough. That might be good politics, but it’s not going to do anything to create many American jobs nor reduce the “wealth gap“. I appreciate that he’s trying. … It’s better than nothing.

Is there any solution?

I don’t think so after listening to a new BBC audiocast documentary: The Wealth Gap: The View from London.

The future looks grim for most wealthy nations. The “occupy” protesters, most jobless, will continue being frustrated. And the rich will get richer. If you try to tax them, they’ll relocate abroad.

source – BBC – The Wealth Gap – Inequality in Numbers

If you have a job, I’d recommend you keep it. And start putting away emergency resources. (I’ll not be following my own advice, as you might guess.)

… One of the few bright spots is philanthropy – Davos 2012: Bill Gates commits $750m to fight AIDS

A guy who stands up for what’s right, even when it’s not politically convenient.

GOP candidates are silent when audience boos a gay soldier at their Orlando FL debate. Rick Santorum doesn’t even acknowledge the soldier’s service. The Commander in Chief calls them out on their failure to honor our men and women in uniform.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We’ve seen far too little of that Obama since he became President.

The clip is from an October 2011 Human Rights Campaign dinner.

What am I missing here?

Isn’t Newt Gingrich the lowest of the low? An egomaniac with no morals whatsoever?

The guy who earned $1.6 million consulting for Freddie Mac?

Why did South Carolina Republicans vote for a guy so brashly amoral?

He can’t win the Presidency. And the Republican establishment knows it.

That would be a disaster for the USA. And the world.

related – Democrat Chris Dodd is a scumbag, happy to sell his soul for $1.2 million / year as chief lobbyist for the movie industry. He and Newt will be in the same circle of Hell, so far as I’m concerned.

I listened to an excellent audiocast:

Hosts: Leo Laporte and Tom Merritt

Best known as a prominent blogger, and Vice President and Chief Evangelist of Expert Labs, Anil Dash is this week’s guest.

Triangulation

Three of the smartest internet gurus, together.

Of greatest interest to me was Anil’s opine on why true blogging (better) was eclipsed by microblogs like Twitter & Facebook (inferior). The true blogging platforms (e.g. WordPress & Blogger) are still too much work. Tumblr is better.

Next … the pros and cons of online comments.

Gurus MG Siegler and Anil, amongst others, recently turned comments off on their sites.

Matt Gemmell did too. Then posted the most detailed commentary I’ve seen on online comments – Comments Still Off

Personally, I have few enough hateful and ignorant comments on my blogs not to feel compelled to turn them off. The value — especially comments correcting my many errors — outweigh the negative Karma.

Issues regarding comments come up about once a week or so on my Gymnastics blog. I try not to delete or edit, but am forced to occasionally.

My advice, as always — DON’T READ COMMENTS.

Thanks Kate.

My personal philosophy now has a catchy acronym – LOVOS.

… oriented to health and sustainability; and … critical of consumption and consumerism. …

Unfortunately it doesn’t really dovetail with my new religion, the Missionary Church of Kopimism.

“In our belief, communication is sacred.”

Firstly, I’m Canadian.

But if I could vote in the USA, I don’t think I could get past Gitmo — promise #1.

“I DON’T want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantánamo.” So said Barack Obama in January 2009, giving himself a year to do it.

Economist – How to close Guantánamo

… Despite promises to close Guantánamo and reverse the illegal policies of the Bush administration, President Obama has attempted to legitimize them. He has signed an executive order formalizing indefinite detentions at Guantánamo, resumed illegitimate military commissions, and refused to hold U.S. officials accountable for torture. …

CNN – Gitmo: 10 years of injustice and disgrace

Read Lakhdar Boumediene’s story and tell me YOU wouldn’t have freed him long ago, regardless of the political consequences.

I don’t care if the President didn’t have the power to close Gitmo. If you can’t deliver, don’t promise.

I’m reading Game Change, the story of what happened exactly 4yrs ago in the American election.

(via Kottke)

On the resort island of Boracay in the Philippines you see many of these culturally and age mismatched couples.

I don’t blame you for jumping to conclusions.

You’re probably right.

Yet some of these couples are in Boracay to be married. Many men of European ancestry, past their prime, look for younger Asian brides.

It’s not always the case that the rich dirty old man is taking advantage of the young, naïve woman from a developing country, more interested in the bulge of his wallet than anything else.

There’s a perfectly innocent story behind some of these photos.

Dave Adlard has his own paintball course and gear. I joined in the annual tradition of doing unto others before they do unto ME.

Here’s why you ALWAYS wear a face shield.

Andy Dec. 31st, 2011

That was a fluke shot. Right?

Here’s Andy Jan. 1st, 2012.

A paintball can suck the eyeball right out of the socket.

More paintball photos.

He should resign from the campaign right after he fires the guy who recommended he post the most hated video in the history of YouTube.

Check the numbers … 9,576 likes, 403,251 dislikes (as I post).

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Pandering to his Christian, Family Values base, he underestimated the power of a viral meme gone wrong.

Amber Mac has a good write-up on the issue – Should Rick Perry’s YouTube ad be banned as hate speech?

… perhaps not “hate speech”. But he’s certainly got some of his ‘facts’ wrong.

I’m not happy with the job Obama’s done as President. But when the alternative is a nob like this cowboy, or — worse — the Newt — ’merica is in trouble.