YCT Nativity Scene, or, how to create the biggest Straw Argument

Another example of how the Young Conservatives of Texas live up to their name, especially the "Young" part. At the University of Texas, the group created a "Nativity Scene" with Gary and Joseph, no Baby (because of the ACLU's stance on abortion), Nancy Pelosi as an angel, a suicide bomber, and the "three wise men" (Stalin, Marx, and another communist). You can watch a video here from CNN.

While it is remotely humorous, it reminds me of other YCT "arguments:" Holding a cookie sale to show the disparity in racce-based admissions and marrying a person to a bike to protest same-sex marriages. The tactics in these two examples and in the Nativity are the same: (1) Lets create the biggest straw argument possible that does not reflect the opposition's position (the ACLU Demands that all humans read Marx and the ACLU mnust have supported Stalin-- it is in their creed); (2) Let's not have a reasoned debate about these topics (that is the problem with displays, you cannot argue with them); (3) Let's exclude all ideas that may counter our position (e.g. they don't have cookies for legacy admissions or for athletes); (4) Let's demean all people as possible even though they seem to be "religious" (nothing shows compassion more than an analogy between a bike and human).

It must be fun to be a YCT member: You can be compassionate and support a President that allows for toture. That is the Conservative Way. Oh wait, is that a straw argument? Well then, here are other suggestions:

The Young Conservatives of Texas: Because reality and empiricism do not need to be a part of our arguments.

The Young Conservatives of Texas: For over twenty years, we make facists look like sissies.

The Young Conservatives of Texas: We Demand Equal Time for Our Views.... (But we do not want to hear your views).

The Best part about this is if you play by their rules, you can say anything you like. Other suggestions?

Belated Monday Night Raw Review from 12/4/06: On the Rhetoric of Security Guards

Monday's Raw was all about pure storyline, building rivalries. There really were no actual matches that remotely settled, or--on the immediate surface anyway--even accomplished, anything. That being said, Harrogate gives this past Raw an 'A' precisely because storyline is exactly what has been so sparse on that show. In other words,'twas not the current happenings that mattered, but rather what those same happenings did to shape future happenings.

The two builds featured were the rivalry beteen DX and Edge/Orton, and then of course the mounting tension between John Cena and Umaga. In neither case did the fans get instant gratification: the Tag Team rivalry was diluted by the 8 Man Challenge in which they participated, giving the hatred between the teams yet another week to percolate before we get the real deal. This is a good thing. Medicine Hat, Canada wasn't built in a day, after all. Neither can believable, engrossing narrative be thrown together slap-dash. Patience, as Guns N Roses once famously opined, is what we all need a little more of.

Next Monday there is supposedly going to be a match between Edge and Triple H: look for this to get interrupted rather early, so that everything remains in the air and the hatred between these people mounts.

The patience principle is even better reflected, however, by the excellent way WWE's writers have been handling the Umaga/Cena feud. Once again, they had a confrontation where nothing was on the line and nothing settled; matter of fact, now they've got a stipulation whereby Cena and Umaga cannot touch one another for the rest of the year. All of this was set up with a Rhetorical Move that Harrogate has come to refer to as the Security Guard Buffer. Watch this video to see how the Security Guards lend a sense of narrative seriousness to the feud. Watching the two wrestlers try to get to one another through the multitudes of Security makes us believe Their Coming Match For the Heavyweight Championship Is Terribly Important, So Important In Fact That We Can't Have Them Tangling At The Present Time.

Harrogate loves the Security Guard angle. Probably the most effective use of this schtick ever was by WCW in 1998 during The Great And Unimpeachable Bill Goldberg's epiphanic Championship Run. After winning the title, Goldberg (depicted below) would heroically Walk That Aisle, surrounded by Security Guards. The message being: I'm Too Important To Be Captured. You'll Get Your Chance In The Ring (Where I'm Going To Beat The Everloving Hell Out Of You), But Not Before.

Ah, Goldberg!!!!!!! To paraphrase Richard III, what can Harrogate say about ye that he has not already inferred tenfold????? Harrogate's memories of ye occupy the tippity top of his late 90's Cinematic Nostalgia. Many is the time that he reflects upon your defeat of the Terrible Hollywood Hulk Hogan: Not on Pay-Per-View but, true to your populist credo, on TNT before a breathless nation. Thanks, Goldberg. Thanks for the memories.

Feeling It In Our Palms and Soles: Love Actually Countdown Goes Homestretch; Also, Harrogate Vociferously Complains About 'Lying' Soundtracks

The Love Actually Countdown To The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded continues here, with Bay City Rollers' sublime homage, "Bye Bye Baby".

But oh, the Love Actually soundtrack does not "actually" contain "Bye Bye Baby," even though every fan of the movie can immediately tell you the exact moment this song appears in the movie. The funeral scene is simultaneously one of the Saddest and most Joyful that this blogger can recall from his movie watching experience: more, it is really a Rhetorical Centerpiece of the movie, really setting up the wonderful relationship between the Stepfather and the love-sick Boy.

Why in God's name would the soundtrack people leave such a thing off of their final product? It pisses Harrogate off, it really does.

Harrogate has always thought it crass for Soundtracks to be incomplete. Despite its indisputable greatness, for example, the Forrest Gump soundtrack omits several songs, including "Freebird." This is annoying because the classic heartpounding "Freebird" guitar solo totally makes that scene where Jenny is standing in heels on the ledge of a high rise, all drugged up, thinking about jumping. So why leave the song out? Did they, while drinking tea in an English Bistro, stick their pinkies out from the cup and say "oh, there are just so many great songs, nobody will miss it"? or, "We could afford the rights to every song except this one"? What exactly contributes to an important song getting left off of a soundtrack?

About three months ago Harrogate and Mrs. Harrogate enjoyed a VHI "Movies That Rock" presentation of The Wedding Singer (and that movie really does rock, by the by). As soon as the movie was over, Harrogate excitedly delved into his and Mrs. Harrogate's expansive music collection, as he was just absolutely positive that he would find The Wedding Singer among their gems. And lo, there it was! There was only one thing left to do: Find "Love Stinks" featuring the incomparable Adam Sandler, and then crank that shit on the upside.

But wait! "Love Stinks" is not on the Wedding Singer soundtrack. Following which stunning apprehension, the only option for poor Harrogate was to have a stiff glass of Scotch on the rocks and listen to some of the other great songs on that CD. Sigh. You can't win em all.

These are a few of Harrogate's Soundtrack Disappointment stories. There are others. What are some of yours?

Bay City Rollers Bye Bye Baby

Sports and Aesthetics

My wife mocks me for this on an almost weekly basis, but here goes. From “The Internets”:

At times, I judge a sports team by their uniforms. I cannot be a fan of a team that wears horrifically ugly uniforms. I cannot concentrate on the team or game when the uniforms make my eyes bleed.

Here are some of the worst offenders. From the NFL:

The New Orleans Saints- you may be “America’s Team” but your choice of black on black means you should lose every game in which you wear that choice. The same applies to Baltimore and Jacksonville.

Miami, Seattle, Baltimore, and countless others: white on white? Is that a deliberate choice? Miami, even the orange jersey is a better choice than white on white. But that is not saying much. The same applies to the University of Texas: White on White with White helmets. I think the color sends a message, but I cannot figure out what it is.

The Denver Broncos: you blue with just an orange gives me nightmares. Go back to the Orange Crush. Orange Jerseys; white pants; blue helmets.

N.Y. Giants- the red is radioactive, or at least on my TV.

San Francisco- When you wear the gold pants and play, like you did yesterday, it looks as if you all urinate in them. Nothing seems more professional than a team that pisses their pants. Individually and collectively. No wonder why you don't win.

Cincy- I hate almost all of your uniforms. Your oragne Halloweend duds and your black on black. You're cursed because of your unform choices. At least in the late 1980s and early 1990s you were respectable.

From the NHL:
The Nashville Predators- mustard as a third jersey? And people wonder why hockey should not be played in the South, and by South I mean 150 miles south of the Canadian boarder.

San Jose: Teal is never a good choice but your third Black on Black, well, see above.

Carolina and Pheonix- Red, and red alone, does not work. But, see the 150 rule. Even the purple Kings were better or the yellow and purple for that matter.

Baseball and the NBA-
I don't watch you. I am sure you all have bad uniforms, but I wouldn't know.

For a top ten list of the all-time worst, see Fox Sports.. I disagree with the Canucks choice; however, I cannot disagree with the rest.

Other suggestions?

Stop the Press

Why does a man who dresses like a Bat get all of my press?

From the depths and shadows of nowhere Texas, I would like to announce the entrance of "The Roof Almighty" to The Rhetorical Situation.

Another voice to generate utter nonsense is always welcome here.

Response to Mommy PhD II: Wherein Harrogate's Fun Signs Continue to Spark Controversy; Defense of, Yet Distance from Rick Warren and Barak Obama

Recently Mommy PhD invited Harrogate to give his seventeen dollars and thirty-one cents on this NPR Story about Rev. Joel Hunter, who according to the article declined leadership of the Christian Coalition because the organization "wouldn't let him expand its agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage."

It is yet another case of these people earning in spades the kind of stereotypes to which Harrogate deftly alludes in the above Church Generator Sign. To say the least, Harrogate is deeply disappointed by Hunter's decision. Once again, it would seem, a prominent Christian voice of reason has allowed itself to be drowned out for all intents and porpoises.

Rather than welcoming the opportunity to use this high-profile position to reframe the mainstream discussion of what it means to be a Christian in America today, Hunter's move sends out the message that there's just no point in challenging the narrative that has been enschonced since the rise of Falwell and Robertson, and amplified recently by one of the most despicable human beings in politics today, "Dr." James Dobson. Thanks for the show of courage, Rev. Hunter. You're truly an agent of change.

Along these same lines, the controversy of Barak Obama's appearance before Rick Warren's Saddleback Congregation continues. Perhaps Harrogate's least favorite Bible-Thumping Panderer of them all, the malignant Kevin McCullough, recently added yet another piece of literary feces to this ongoing topic, spewing that if Evangelicals don't get in line and remember that all that matters is controlling women's bodies and hating gay people, then Barak Obama might become President in 2008, which would of course immediately plummet all Americans onto the fast-track to Hell:

GULLIBLE EVANGELICALS - The most reliable base of voters for the Republican Party since the days of President Reagan have been the social conservatives. Church-going born-again Christians who believe in God, the importance of His word, and the significance of living out their faith in an open and compassionate way every single day have been the backbone of the GOP. This past Friday Rick Warren, through the implied endorsement of allowing Obama to speak at one of the largest evangelical churches in America gave Obama the opportunity to split evangelicals who will be misled by Obama's words instead of opening their eyes to his actions. In my gentle admonition to Rick Warren over the past couple of weeks I reiterated time and again that it was this opportunity being extended to Obama that would be manipulated by both the press , and Obama himself to pose as a "person of faith." Warren's stubborn action of insisting upon having Obama speak at Saddleback Church in southern California has had that exact effect .

By slight contrast, Conservative Pundit Harry Jackson makes some interesting points about the vitriole with which his fellow Righties have been lampooning Warren for the last several weeks:

The so-called “controversy” over Pastor Rick Warren’s invitation for Senator Barack Obama to join Senator Brownback and others at a church sponsored summit on HIV/AIDS Conference concerns me. It seems to me that liberals are much more unified in their public views than conservatives these days. Once again our attempts at internal, conservative self-policing have become public news. Warren’s attempt to solve one of the world’s most troubling health problems should have been applauded by everyone.

Much better than McCullough, of course. And Harrogate agrees with Jackson totally that Warren has embarked on a noble thing, enlisting the power of his pulpit to make a difference in the AIDS crisis that continues to ravage many places across the Globe. Kudos, too, for Barak Obama in using his considerable voice and popularity to remind people that there is stuff in the New Testament about helping poor and oppresed peoples, about compassion, about humility. Some might argue there is even a little more of that kind of thing in the New Testament than there is excoriation of homosexuality or reproductive freedom.

One thing that bothers Harrogate very much about all of this, however, is the notion that whatever the Bible says, above and beyond all other modes of consideration, is what politicians ought to be implementing. Why is it that Barak Obama has to be our great big rising star now because he's found a way to push the Bible with liberal politics? It's just really fucking sad that there's now a de facto religious test for public officials in America. In truth Harrogate thinks Obama, though he does a lot of good and is certainly better than the crazy Rethuglicans, is highly, highly, highly overrated. 'Twould be sad for Democrats if Obama got the nomination in 08. What about somebody like Vilsak or Biden or Jennifer Granholm of Michigan or Bill Richardson of New Mexico? While Harrogate is sure all of these people are Christian he is pleased to report that they don't constantly remind us of that fact every time they get in front of a camera, and they don't defend their socially progressive ideas only by citing Jesus's own Progressive Rhetoric.

Despite Christianity's huge role in the life and history of this nation, no Founding Document ever said anything about cross-checking legislation, and even candidates for President, against the Bible. It sure would be nice if we could explain, and be effective doing it, the moral imperative of engaging things like AIDS and poverty without referencing the Bible at all.

Since, you know, we live in a Republic and not a Theocracy, it might even make sense if we could do such things.

But then, if Harrogate had a wish in one hand and a pile of James Dobson in the other, which would he have more of?

A Question about wrestling

While watching a few NFL games today, I repeatedly saw an ad for the new WWE Wrestling video game. While watching the commercial, I started to think about how the game works.

When you play a wrestling video game, do you wrestle or write a script? Harrogate?

The End of the BCS as we know it (I feel fine)

"That's great it starts with an earthquake, the birds and snakes and the aeroplanes, Lenny Bruce is not afraid..." I mean...

Let the debate soon be over. Hopefully the BCS will end soon as well.

By this evening, the Commercial Bowl Series... I mean College Bowl series will be finalized by a computer, a few chimpminks, a wad of chewing gum (Big League Chew), the newly tragic friendship of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, and a patridge in a pear tree. As a result, Notre Dame will go to a major bowl (enojy that Mr. P-Duck), schools will recieve millions of dollars in money that may go to research or to athletic departments, football players (as oppossed to students) will play another game and their semester, which began in July, will end in January (as a bonus, some of those students may even have attended and passed a class), and, by the way, there will be no idea who really is the National Champion under the College Bowl Series for the 8th straight year.

Who should play in the big game? Ohio State and Michigan or Ohio State and Florida? What about Ohio State and Boise State, two undefeated teams? Ohio State and Michigan most likely are the two best teams in the country-- but there is no way to know without engaging in academic abstract theory (Maybe post-colonialism will help us think this through). Yet, according to The Washington Post, Urban Meyer-- the Coach of Florida-- believes that a major injustice would occur if Michigan played Ohio State again:

"I think that'd be unfair to Ohio State, and I think it'd be unfair to the country. Just don't believe that's the right thing to do. You're going to tell Ohio State they have to go beat the same team twice, which is extremely difficult? If that does happen, all the [university] presidents need to get together immediately and put together a playoff system. I mean like now, January or whenever, to get that done."

The response from Michigan Coach, Lloyd Carr, in The Washington Post:

"I hope that the voters will not penalize our team because we didn't play the last two weeks. I don't want to get into a campaign. That's not what's best for the game. The BCS is set in order to put the two best teams together in the championship games. We all have our views."

Again, who should play? The team who played in extra games and may be #2 in the country because everyone above them loses or the team that went into Ohio State and lost by three because of the mistakes that they made? Is this a major injustice if Florida does not play Ohio State? Is it unfair to the country? Will millions of College students refuse to read in protest if Michigan plays Ohio State again? Will we threaten the legitimacy of the conferences if Michigan, which lost their conference wins the naitonal championship? Is there any reason why division one college football does not have a playoff system; division three uses a playoff format (and, as an extra FYI-- my undergrad school is in the final four for the first time ever.) These seem to be questions only academics could decide. I am happy Lloyd Carr and Urban Meyer could enlighten us.

Since the desire for academic life will not increase at the university level, we might as well fix the college bowl series problem. Academics do not really matter with the majority of college football players-- why not have an elaborate playoff system to appease the corporate world, which in turn, would finally tell us who is number one in the country. That is what matters. Is there any reason why division one college football does not have a playoff system; division three uses a playoff format (and, as an extra FYI-- my undergrad school is in the final four for the first time ever.)

University Presidents-- listen to Urban Meyer, the football coach. You need to sit down and rethink the college football championship this week. Because, clearly, the role of the university is to determine who is and who is not the national champion. By not doing this, you are perpetuating an injustice throughout division one football. If there is no letigimacy in the college football bowl series, there is no legitimacy for the University.

I Appreciate Oxymoron...

Earlier in the day, I taveled to Oxymoron's house. While there, I met his beautiful daughter, listened to The Beatles' White Album (I mean the LP, not the CD) in thee "listening room", and received a bottle of Dogshhead 120 Minute Brew.

Oxymoron, I salute you!!!

Bye-Bye Lita; In Which Wikipedia is Copiously Referenced; Wherein Harrogate Proffers a Colbertian "Wag of the Finger"

After recently visiting the Wikipedia entry on Amy Dumas, aka Lita, and learning all about her bizarre background, how she became interested in and learned to join the ranks of Professional Wrestling, etc., Harrogate has come to feel guilty for not wishing the lady adieu as she moves on to pursue possibilities in Rock Music and Off-Broadway Theater.

Yes, this is the same Lita to whom Harrogate has often referred as a Walking Venereal Disease. But the harsh language, while applicable to the character Dumas masterfully portrayed towards the end of her run, ultimately stemmed from Harrogate's strict allegiance to John Cena. But then it was precisely Dumas's spectacular performance as a heel that made Cena's cutting and hilarious critiques possible in the first place.

And of course, Dumas underwent many turns over the course of her illustrious career, and, indeed, was often at her most compelling as a face.

All of which is to say, Amy Dumas, Bye-Bye. You and Edge were undoubtedly the most interesting thing about this past summer's WWE Raw, and that's including the Great Triple H's turn to face and the subsequent, magnificent reunion with Shawn Michaels and reformation of DX. Cena's been on fire all this last half of the year, but Harrogate bets Cene himself would be the first to credit you and Edge for providing him with the necessary thespian launching pad from which to take his game to the next level.

Now, with all of this being said, Harrogate finds it necessary to extend a Colbertian "Wag of the Finger" to Vince McMahon and his writers for letting Dumas go out as a heel. After everything she has done for Women's Wrestling (the women are still mostly eye candy, but some of them actually perform the High Risk wrestling moves now, and much of that was pioneered by Dumas), and for your oft-questionable programming in general: you guys should have let Dumas undergo a Face Turn so that she could have received ovations on her way out.

WWE, get it together. (You know, Harrogate's available if you want to hire a writer who knows how to make this thing take off, but that's another story....)

Until next time, Readers, Ciao.

Arena Rock for the Soul

Having been too long since Journey joined me on the open road, I decided to take their essential collection with me as I picked up Mrs. Oxymoron's cousin at Love Field airport in Dallas last night. Pumping from the stock stereo system in my '99 Honda Civic at a whopping 20 Watts per channel, these rockers made my trip effortless.

One of the many highlights in the collection is Lights, the video of which I posted above. Note Neal Schon's solo here. It's a simply spectacular and highly underrated. I ask you, dear readers, is it possible to listen to this solo without pulling the air guitar from the closet to play along? I don't think it is. I know I certainly can't.

Some useless rock trivia: At what age and with what artist/band did Schon begin his professional rock career? (Try to answer without consulting the Google.)

Marquee Rhetoric

Recent marquee listings at local theater - in the order in which they appeared:

The Return
The Departed

A Good Year
Harsh Times

Couch Potato - Live - Weird Al Yankovic

Obviously dated by several years but damn it's funny. Weird Al's the man.

UNC/Ohio State Lives Up To Hype; Harrogate Now Knows Players' Names; Lawson the Next Felton?

Well, Readers, if ye missed last night's heart-pounding barn-burner between #1 Ohio State and #6 UNC (ESPN/Coaches Poll), then ye missed last night's heart-pounding barn-burner between #1 Ohio State and #6 UNC (ESPN/Coaches Poll).

To recap: Dickie V was right to insist throughout the broadcast that both of these teams are "Awesome, Baby!" "Awesome" is a powerful enough Rhetorical Move, but when it is followed by the Interlocutive Referent, "Baby!": why, then, the Speaker had better have better than a pair of threes in his proverbial hand. In this case Vitale had a straight flush; he was simply reporting that to which he was bearing witness.

Ty Lawson, whose Jersey decorates the top of this very post, is indeed "Awesome, Baby!" Harrogate very much agrees with those who see in this player a lot of (Everybody Loves) Raymond Felton. Like Felton, Lawson--incredibly--speeds up when he has the ball in his hand. Also like Felton, Lawson is a Pass-First guy who is simultaneously capable of scoring 20 points, easily. Look for this guy to cause lots of problems in the ACC and nationwide before it's over.

Of Tyler Hansbrough, what can Harrogate say that everyone in the college basketball conversation isn't already saying, hasn't already said, won't say again? Just look at the box score, linked above. Then imagine a performance about Twice As Good as what those orgiastic numbers indicate. Then you get some idea of what the Terminator did to Ohio State last night.

And really, the accolades go on. Freshman shooting guard Ellington scored 19 on his 19th birthday. Sophomore Danny Green attacked the basket and made smart decisions whenever he was in the game. Freshman slab Dion Thompson showed that he is pretty much unstoppable down low, whenever Roy called his number. Ginyard once again layed down the smack on defense: Harrogate loves this player.
Freshman power forward Brandan (I can get higher above the rim than you) Wright had a silent first half only to explode in the second, making his presence felt on both ends of the hallowed floor (game was at Carolina, that's why the floor was hallowed). Wes "Walk-On" Miller hit a couple of NBA-depth threes.

And in Harrogate's estimation, the biggest performance of them all might have come from Bobby "Pip" Frazer, who went on a small rampage towards the end of the first half and with Carolina struggling: He hit two huge threes in a row, and got a hustle-based steal followed by a full-court assist to Hansbrough who came through with the Big Ole Monkey Dunk.

In summation, Harrogate has decided that those who worry Carolina has "too much depth" this year are officially on crack. With Roy at the helm, this squad might develop a kind of Hockey Model, attacking in discernible Shifts, coming in Wave upon Wave upon Wave on Run Run Run, constant man-to-man defense, constant pressure, never tired, never scared.

They may be a little young to win it all, but they're gonna put the hurt on some teams before this season is through.

A Graphic; Wherein the Moniker 'Little Green Fascists' Experiences Analysis, Harrogate-Style

Harrogate recently came across the above picture, courtesy of Little Green Fascists. Actually, the picture itself has been around since March of 2004, but LGFascists brought it back last Friday when Our Eternal Hero, George W. Bush, swaggered his bad self right into Vietnam. Really, as everyone who was following the news undoubtedly knows, the whole thing smacked of Rambo.

But anyways, for those of you wondering about the name Little Green Facsists, it is a kind of liberal satire of the far right blog Little Green Footballs, to which Harrogate, as he is somewhat decent, cannot bring himself to link. Those who want to go there will find it.

Sort of like Hell.

More From The Love Actually Countdown: Feeling It In Our Elbows and Knees; Also Wherein Harrogate Joins in Stereotyping Cavemen

Pointer Sisters - Jump (For My Love)


As we make that final turn into December (or, as WWE likes to call it,December to Dismember), the stakes continue to shoot upwards on Harrogate's Love Actually countdown to The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded. Here are The Pointer Sisters doing their unforgettable classic "Jump(For My Love)." By the by, Harrogate just loves the use of parentheses in titles: it adds so much to the Rhetorical poignancy of the thing. And yes, it's the original video. Anything less would be uncivilized, like those cavemen in the commercials.

Now, for those who cherish the memory of where this song appears in Love Actually (truly one of Hugh Grant's finest cinematic moments), Harrogate is delighted to post the following You Tube Video for your watching and listening entertainment.

Love Actually Hugh Grant Dancing

Raw Review 11/27: Among Other Philosophical Stances, WWE Weighs In On Richards-Gate

First of all, for those looking for a scholarly source, Wikipedia has an authoritative entry on WWE's Tag-Team Cryme Tyme, which many experts around the Beltway predict will be the next Tag Team Champions. Anyway, last night, these guys performed a response to Richards-Gate that Harrogate invites all to watch. Already the blogosphere is alive with commentary. Renowned wrestling scholar Todd Martin of Smashmouth Driving, for example, powerfully observes:

They did a lame satire of the Michael Richards incident, with Cryme Tyme laying him out. It wasn’t funny, and WWE has some nerve knocking racism by having their racist caricatures beat up the racist

Harrogate tends to agree with this analysis on a surface level, although he suspects Martin might be joining the zillions who cannot find a shred of humor in serious things. Caricature and satire are longstanding American traditions, in politics and entertainment interchangeably. Does anyone really think Vince McMahon is taking "Cryme Tyme" and saying "look, here's how black people are"? Of course not! Instead McMahon is tapping into something, an archetype, a stereotype, whatever you wanna call it, and exploiting it for cash. What could be more American than that?

Anyway, thoughts on the clip?

Other than this skit, the other Rhetorically Provocative thing that went down in Pittsburgh was the bloody beat-down Ric Flair received at the hands of Edge and Randy Orton. Ostensibly a "message to DX," this beat-down nicely illustrates something Harrogate has been talking about for a long time. Readers, as you watch this excruciating clip, pay less attention to the actual event than to the expressions of the fans watching it. Indeed, consider the mood of the scene. It is the sublime artificiality of the thing that keeps us coming back for more, it is an example of what Theater can do better than anything else, including Live Music. Obviously, if the beat-down were really happening, people would stop it and thus get a kind of release. So it is the fakeness of the thing that ultimately freezes them. They are left transfixed before a horror they can barely comprehend. Only to witness the spectacle, that is the choice, the only choice. There is no asking the spoon to bend here. Pro wrestling does this as well as any artistic expression. Period.

Thoughts?


And for your viewing pleasure, Harrogate closes this post by presenting Readers with what it looked like when Umaga finally extended an official challenge to John Cena for the Championship. This scene Vince's writers handled well. The two stared each other down, talked some shit, but never came to blows. This rivalry continues to build, and Harrogate likes it. Indeed, Harrogate gobbles it up.

If handled properly this rivalry might take WWE Raw to a whole 'nother level. Ciao.

"Do You Know Who You Are?" II

Bonus Post: The title, "Do you know who you are?" are the last words of whom?

"Do You Know Who You Are?"

An article from American Sexualty Magazine discusses an
Ex-Gay Community

The focus of Ex-Gay Communities is to provide "hope for heaing" in the conversion process. These communities deny an orientation approach to homosexuality and do not want to extend out rights (same-sex marriages) since there is no identity that correlates with the right.

This is a very interesting article for its discussion of identity. Last week, I attended a conference and, during one of the panels, a philosopher asked an ethnographer about how the ethnographer can conduct a study on the identity of others since philosophers possess so much doubt on the identity of the self. In this article, there seem to be a lot of existential issues: development of an identiy from anxiety and lonliness; development of an identity based on personal comfort; development of an identity to remove problems in life (drugs, alcohol); and devlopment and reinforcement of an identity through a community.

At the end, the discusison of "relapses" seems very important, especially since it contradicts the establishment of a new identity. It seems that the power to believe in something may override the "pure identity." Some individuals may adopt a religion that states homosexuality is a moral wrong and not a human condition even though the person may possess a same-sex orientation. In that case, the "Will to Believe" trumps biological dispositions.

In the end, one question remains: how can we know?

Facts of Life Flashbacks; Wherein It is Postulated That Girls Experience Peer Pressure Too, and Blair and Jo Kick Ass; Pete's Couch Foreshadowed....

Natalie's Reputation at Stake




Bongs: There Ought to be a Law!



You take the good.
You take the bad.
You take 'em both.
And there you have.
The Facts of Life.
The Facts of Life.