O-Town

Chris Christie is straightforward

Posted on May 28, 2010 by

Gov. Chris Christie, R-NJ has a mess on his hands in New Jersey and he’s done exactly what he said he would during his term as governor. He’s made some tough decisions in his first year as governor in an attempt to balance the budget and it hasn’t been popular with everyone. Especially, surprise, surprise, the teachers union.

Christie makes an excellent point during this exchange. When he points out that teachers know what they’re getting into when they go to school to become teachers, to me, is a real ace in the hole in terms of the teaching pay debate.

Don’t get me wrong, I think what teachers do for children throughout the country is one of the most valuable jobs anyone does. Probably the most valuable. I have several friends that teach and others that are going to school to teach. What this woman says is correct, teachers do it because they love it. If you’re in it to get rich, you’ve chosen the wrong profession. If you want to be in education and get rich, shoot for a university presidency. I’ve heard they get paid well and the state will even sometimes build a mansion for you. *Cough* NDSU *Cough*

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GUEST: Putting kids in harm’s way

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

I saw this and I had to post something.

The above Dr. Andrew Wakefield turned the world upside down with his study that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination causes autism. Since then, Wakefield has gotten a small following in Great Britain and around the world, and while autism hasn’t decreased, hospitalizations for M-M-R have increased with the first measles death in Britain in 14 years occurring when a 13-year old boy died in 2006.

Since his study, medical journals have been filled with studies disproving this guy’s theory. Even his colleagues admit he made a mistake and is wrong. So while this guy continues to spread his theory, parents are risking death of their children because of a fear of autism.

In this article, Britain has apparently banned Dr. Wakefield for the damage he did. I understand this guy’s concept. His initial study states that he believes there’s a link between autism and inflammatory bowel disease, later stating that there COULD be a connection to the M-M-R vaccine, yet he had no proof. Now he’s embracing this research and openly stating there’s a connection. That’s where his colleagues jumped off the bandwagon.

Wakefield believes that giving all three vaccines to a kid at one time could be hard on their immune system and could open the door for something like autism. He’d prefer the vaccines were given one year apart. While he may mean well, he’s already been proved wrong that it DOESN’T open the door for things like that, yet he continues to beat the same drum.

So, while autism hasn’t changed, kids in Great Britain are starting to feel the effects of not getting their M-M-R vaccine. And Wakefield continues to pimp his study and research, despite being discredited almost completely. It’s almost sickening and I hope his reputation falls even farther.

Meanwhile, Wakefield has decided to take the "preventative medicine" approach to consumers saying that big business is just trying to stop him because he could hurt the production of vaccines and the profits that go with them. Because of Wakefield’s claims, there are numerous people who have children with autism that feel they have the right to sue medical companies for millions of dollars. They’re upset they have a child who’s autistic and they want to be paid for it.

It’s an awkward chain of events that ultimately has proved that not one child’s life was saved from autism because his/her parents avoided the M-M-R vaccine, yet there are uncountable cases where kids have been hospitalized (some even dead) because they didn’t get the vaccine.

Dr. Wakefield, what have you proved?

Tagged dr wakefield is terrible | Leave a comment

GUEST: Back to cold weather, Baby!

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

We here at O-town appreciate football in cold weather. I, as well as this blog’s original poster, know how much fun football can be when it’s 30 degrees, and the team that whines the most is the team destined to lose. That’s when we find out who’s tough and who’s not.

Check this out! The NFL owners have decided to put the 2014 Super Bowl in the new $1.8 billion Meadowlands in New Jersey. The current low temperature for the Super Bowl is 39 degrees and there’s never been snow. Both of those things could change and that’s something worth getting excited about.

As the article states, the NHL has an annual game on an outdoor rink every New Years Day and it’s become so popular, teams are fighting over it. We applaud the NFL owners for doing something right.

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GUEST: It’s easy to blame Obama for the oil spill

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

Much has been made about British Petroleum’s humongous oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. It’s estimated that 5,000 barrels per day are unloading into the Gulf. The New York Times says it could be as many as 60,000 barrels (surprise, surprise) from a closed-door meeting with a BP executive.

Now, people are looking to President Barack Obama to do something in an effort to stop this catastrophic event that could affect generations of people along the coast. Apparently, they would like him to get his pipe wrench out and shut the big pipeline off.

In meetings, Obama has shown that he sincerely cares about what has gone on along the coast. I hope that people don’t get to a point where they start blaming the President for what has gone on, similarly to the way Bush was treated during Hurricane Katrina. Most will admit the former President didn’t do everything in his power to help the situation, but some have been vicious toward him for it. And that’s not right.

I hope that Obama uses his power and influence to help the situation, but he should not be blamed for what has gone on down there. The people with the tools to fix this mess are the oil companies, not the U.S. government. I’m sure everyone is doing everything they can at BP to fix this problem as quick as they can. Fine the hell out of them, set higher safety standards and regulations afterwards, but don’t get into a pissing contest with BP while they’re trying to stop this thing. It’s their fault and let them fix it. They’ll have plenty of consequences to deal with after the fact, that’s for sure.

Tagged oil spills are terrible | Leave a comment

GUEST: Tell me how does it feel …

Posted on May 21, 2010 by

We’re rolling out the guest writer here at O-Town. As the new writer, my first topic to gripe about is the hypocracy in politics.

It’s everywhere and that’s OK. You can be a hypocrite and still get elected. That’s been proved time and time again. Hypocracy and partisan politics go hand and hand. However, what I get sick of is when one party says it was never this bad when they were in that position.

Case in point on Bill Maher’s column at The Huffington Post. I’m not a big fan of Bill Maher. He dogs on conservatives all day long while taking small pot shots at liberals just hoping he’ll look completely objective. His liberal agenda, however, bleeds through his work.

In the column, Maher states

Finally, one hallmark of not being adult is a tendency to exaggerate. Like this week when Newt Gingrich said "the Obama administration represents as great a threat to America as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union once did." Which is basically saying Obama is a billion times worse than any president ever! No, he’s infinity times worse! And it made me think: were we this deranged when Bush was in office? I don’t think so — and Bush merited it."

Were "we?" You mean, were the liberals this deranged when Bush was in office? You don’t think so, huh?

As we go to the quick internet search…And I mean QUICK internet search:

Nope, I guess liberals weren’t. All it takes is a quick Internet search Bill. You would have had your answer. But that would take a little common sense.

Then, Maher goes into all these things Bush did that Obama could never equal. How about having to raise the national debt ceiling to more than 14 trillion dollars? It must be nice to be be able to blame everything on the prior regime while taking credit for anything positive. With Obama’s numbers continually falling, it’s nice to see people can see past all the B.S.

UPDATE: I didn’t say anything about the headline Maher chose with his column. Real funny, Bill. It’s the law and I guess if we’re gonna make jokes about it, you won’t have a problem with people electing Arnold Schwarzenegger president. He wasn’t born in the US, but you won’t have a problem with that will you? … Yeah, I bet you won’t. Imagine the liberal screams…

Tagged bill maher is terrible, hypocracy | 4 Comments

Site News

Posted on May 21, 2010 by

I haven’t posted much recently. I’m well aware of this fact, but I hope to rectify it soon.

I’m pretty busy with my new job and I don’t get to write on here nearly as much as i’d like to. Although in the future I’ll be posting on my days off as it allows.

In the meantime, a friend of mine will be posting here and there and I hope you enjoy what he’s got to say.

Also, there might be big O-Town news in the future and a possible move to a more friendly site that allows me some more customization I don’t have here. I’ll keep you posted on that front.

Thor revealed

Posted on April 30, 2010 by

Awesome.

Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder.

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What you should be watching 2010 edition. Part 2

Posted on April 27, 2010 by

OK, I’m back with the final five on this list of the shows you aren’t watching, but should be. I don’t have some grand intro for this one. Let’s just get right to it.

5.) Community (Thursdays, NBC) (Below) – There are several reason to like this show. 1.) Joel McHale from E!’s Talk Soup gets back to acting and is as funny on this show as he is when ripping on reality TV shows. 2.) Chevy Chase apparently has been saving up all his humor over the last 15 years for this show. I thought he could have been dead. 3.) The interaction between the Middle Eastern kid, Abed, and the African American kid, Troy, is always hilarious. 4.) Two hot chicks including one Alison Brie, also of Mad Men fame. (I’ll let Warming Glow explain to you why she’s awesome.)

4.) Chuck (Mondays, NBC) (Below) – Show about a geek who becomes a spy with a computer in his head that teaches him how to fight and serves as a database for international bad guys. It would be a good concept with really any background for the main character. Plus, you get to look at Yvonne (Blonde in the picture) each episode. But it’s not just a pretty girl and a good concept. The supporting cast is top notch as well. You find yourself caring about what happens to each of these characters. A sign of a good show.

3.) Justified (Mondays, FX) (Below) – Timothy Oliphant plays a U.S. Marshall in this show, which is just truly too awesome to describe with words. You should take an hour out of your time each Monday and check this one out. Nip/Tuck went off the air last month and I thought I didn’t have any reason to turn it to FX except for the random movie here and there. Now, I find myself watching this every week.

2.) Doctor Who (Fridays, SyFy) (Below) – The longest running television show in the UK and I think even possibly now the world? I’ll have to look into that. The story of a ageless Gallifreyan Time Lord who travels throughout history in his TARDIS (time machine) and helps set right the wrongs of the past before they go wrong. That’s a pretty simplified explanation. Oh, he’s also now been played by 11 actors since the 60s, because, as a Time Lord, he can "regenerate."

I have to be honest and upfront with you. I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since I was a kid. Like six or seven years old. I grew up watching the old Tom Baker (The Fourth actor to play "The Doctor") episodes from the 70-80s on PBS on Friday nights. Campy goodness. So I have to admit a bias when this show came back on the air in 2005. I don’t want to talk about that though, I want to talk about the show where it stands today. The new Doctor Who, Matt Smith, is incredible. His immediate predecessor in the role, David Tennet, comes in as a very close second as my favorite Doctor behind Baker. Smith, however is flying quickly to the top after only four episodes. Most likely because the reins of the show have been handed from Russel T. Davies, who relaunch the show in 2005, to Steven Moffet. Moffet wrote the best episodes from 2005-2009 and has the show running on all cylinders now. That is due in no small part to Smith and The Doctor’s new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillian). Pond steps away from the Davies companion mold where they quickly fall in love with the Doctor to just a fellow traveller marveling at the planets and times she’s seeing while with The Doctor. A definite improvement and a movement back to the good old days.

This is the perfect time to jump onto this show that has been running for five decades.

1.) Spartacus: Blood and Sand (On Hiatus, but on Stars here and there) (Below and header) – OK, I spoiled which one would be No. 1 up top, but for those of you who haven’t even heard of this show I figured I’d give you two chances. Here’s an explanation of just what this show is about from it’s website.

Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend.

Starring Australian actor, Andy Whitfield (McLeod’s Daughters) as Spartacus, Lucy Lawless ("Xena: Warrior Princess") as Lucretia, John Hannah (The Mummy, Four Weddings and A Funeral) as Batiatus and Peter Mensah (300, The Incredible Hulk) as Doctore, this unique mix of live action, graphic novel effects and brutal battle sequences is set to make "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" an epic television event.

I’ll admit, the first couple episodes of this show I didn’t know what to think. It seems like it could be awesome, but it seemed like a glorified orgy of blood, violence and nudity. But then something happened, the shocked value of all that stuff wore off about four episodes in and I started to pay attention to the story. Holy crap! This thing has more levels then Obama has questionable associates. I’ve found myself watching the first season over again just so I can see all the things I missed. It’s one of those shows where a seemingly meaningless gesture in an earlier episode comes back to bite someone in the ass. Writing in detailed arcs like that is a storytelling technique which isn’t used much these days. This is a great show. Yeah, the blood and gore is overwhelming at first, and the green screen work is at time laughable. Forget that. Watch it for the story. You’ll get dragged right into it.