And I thought I was busy...

The Angel of Death must've accrued serious OT over the last week. Here are just some of the big ones:

Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick and hander-outer of the Publisher's Clearinghouse check for umpteen years;

Farrah Fawcett, the iconic model/actress of the 70's and beyond;

Michael Jackson. If you need any sort of description at all of this man, you have been in a cave for the last forty-five years. His album, Thriller, is still the best selling of all time;

Gale Storm, who has THREE stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--one each for recording, radio, and television;

Billy Mays, one of the best-known Home Shopping Network Pitchmen of all time. (My father even liked him, for crying out loud--said he 'trusted him'. If you knew my father, this news would make your jaw collect the dust up from the ground at your feet);

Fred Travalena, famous comic/impressionist. He used to do all the presidents from JFK to W in one part of his routine;

Tomoji Tanabe, the oldest man in the world. Passing away at 113 years of age, Tanabe didn't smoke or drink, and is survived by more than 80 offspring;

and finally:

roughly 2,000 Nebraska cattle.

Rest in Peace, all.

Yesterday's 'moment in history'...

So, I logged on to Google yesterday--they often have some sort of artistic treatment of their logo as a nod to something significant that day. Here is the splash page from Saturday, June 6th, 2009:



It was apparently the 25th anniversary of Tetris yesterday. Now, I am a big fan of that game (if you don't believe me, you must not have read the blog entry I wrote about my addiction to the little blocks). But June 6th also happened to be the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of Normandy to save the Europeans from the Nazis. (Still waiting on that 'thank you' note, France.)

Of the two, I would have thought that the latter would have gotten the nod. But I guess it says something about our society that a video game was considered more significant than the liberation of Europe. Or maybe that the number 25 is more important than 65, in terms of anniversaries ("Silver" versus "ten more years until diamond"). Or maybe a Tetris version of the Google logo is just more visually interesting than a Normandy version. Whatever the reasoning, I thought it a little weird. Ah, America.

Clip of the week...

Twenty years ago? It seems like only yesterday:



A not-too-badly-done video here was made in 2007 as a memorial. It includes this text:

Though all records differ in their statistics, an estimated 5,000 people died. Thousands more were injured. The topic is still a political taboo in mainland China. Any public discussion of it is regarded as inappropriate. As a result of the strong Chinese government censorship, the news media is forbidden to report anything related to the subject unless it takes the Communist Party of China's view. This part of history has disappeared in most Chinese media.

There is a special on PBS called "The Tank Man" that is all about the continuing fallout of this event. If you click here (and I highly recommend you do), you can watch the entire thing online. It is essentially a program about how information is controlled in China, even to this day. It includes some footage of college students being shown photos of Tiananmen who, when asked what they think the photos represent, answered, 'I dunno...a parade?'

Hard to believe that, even now, a Google image search on the US page yields this:



While the Chinese Google image search produces this:



I wish I had a solution for Times Like These.

Observances...

It's been seven years since I used a clock radio to wake me up in the morning. On this date in 2001, I had been back in California only three years. I moved home after having worked on Wall Street for five years, only six blocks from the World Trade Center. I had friends who worked in those buildings, and in the area. I used to walk there for lunch twice a week--falafel or a souvlaki from a wonderful little cart run by a man named Sammy.

My alarm went off at 6:00am PDT on this day in 2001, and the very first thing I heard was a female reporter saying, "...Once again, a second plane has just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. We will keep you updated as the news progresses...." I turned over to face my wife, who I met in New York City. We had spent a decade of our lives there. We both looked at each other. One of us (I forget who) said, "What?"

Seven years have passed. I don't consider myself to be the type to dwell on things--especially death, which is a long conversation we shall have one day. But it wasn't until about three weeks ago that I realized why I have used my cell phone, an old-school alarm clock with those loud bells, and even a kitchen timer as a means to waking up. I considered using a clock radio to wake me up today as a step in the healing process. I could not bring myself to do it, for fear I would wake up to something terrible.

Instead, I went to a local cemetery with my girlfriend (who is from Long Island, NY), and walked the grounds with a lit candle. I found an American Flag flowing gently in the breeze, dawn backlighting the overcast sky, and took a moment to read the plaque dedicating it to veterans who have sacrificed overseas. Silently I mouthed a prayer to them, to the lost of that day seven years ago, and the lost in the current strife across the Atlantic and elsewhere. I left a page I printed out on the ground in front of the flag, with a single candle burning on top of it. It had four pictures of the World Trade Center on it, two of which were pictures of the plaza at street level--pictures you don't see often, pictures of the area I remember most.

Did I heal? A bit more every year. Maybe 2009 is the year I will be able to use a clock radio again.

Clip of the week...

Do not watch this video.

If you are still squeamish or hurting from seven years ago, skip this post. If you are convinced of the current newsline favoring terrorist attack, skip this post. If you have a unilateral distrust of conspiracy theory, a unilateral faith on our country's governmental system, an unswerving belief in the truthful reporting of our news media, skip this post.

If, however, you have an open mind and an hour and a half to watch something that will get your brain to spin around in your head counterclockwise, make yourself comfortable and watch this:



I am guessing the traffic will be insane, and download times will be ridiculous. It is worth it. It may make you angry. It may make you sick. It will definitely make you think. And that, in my opinion, is never a bad thing.