To Forgive

"To err is human; to forgive is divine."   This notable quote from eighteenth-century English poet Alexander Pope reminded me of Pope John Paul II, who forgave his attempted assassin.   I've always considered myself a forgiving person.  With the passage of time and a few good breaks, forgiveness has always had a way of happening.   This year, that process has not been as easy, and that is often when it is most important to forgive.  We need all our focus and strength to move past the hurt, anger and need for vindication.  Forgiveness is simply letting go.   Pride or caring can be an obstacle, but we don't have to have a resolution before forgiving.   For my sake and for those who care about me, there is no other route in facing any tough times still to come.   Commentator Ben Stein recently said that forgiveness is the best gift you can give yourself for the holidays.  It is a wonderful New Year's resolution that can make for a truly liberating experience.  

Holiday, Oh Holiday!

Happy Honda Days Ad

It's no secret that the holiday season has gotten even more commercialized as the pressure to have a big fourth quarter in sales gets greater and greater.  Sometimes one or two ads stand out to the point of total distraction.  Have you heard the commercial for Honda?  "Holiday, oh holiday, and the best one of the year," proclaims the jingle.   Now, Honda is a quality car.   If you can afford to give one as a gift, then more power to you.   But please, make that jingle stop!   It's driving me insane!   Here's the original song, if you can't get enough of it.   It's etched in my mind worse this year than that song about Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey.   I trust both will go away after Christmas or the New Year.   There's also one for Michael's Jewelers where a woman sings about being in a state of something, but that may not be wearing as thin since I can't complete the lyric.   Christmas is often about nostalgia, so I miss some of the ads I grew up with in the sixties.   Before I was old enough to shave, I remember the Norelco shaver "Floating Heads" commercials when Santa would ride on the floating heads through the snowy hills set to a Jingle Bells melody.   The shavers are still around, so why did they get rid of it?   At least they still have the Hershey's Kisses commercials where the chocolate kisses ring out a holiday tune.   If they can bring back Charlie Brown's Christmas every year, why not the Norelco Santa.   Hey, you get your Christmas memories where you can.   Happy Holidays!

Good Night, Larry

It would be easy to call Larry King's last live show on CNN the end of an era of the kinder, gentler national talk show host who maintained some degree of objectivity.  Sadly, that era had already passed and CNN's declining ratings have reflected that.  Over the past 25 years, Larry's guest list has seen the most impressive variety of celebrities and newsmakers ever assembled on one program.  He got these people because he let them talk.  While he didn't necessarily ask all the hard questions, he posed enough of them over the years without making guests overly defensive or uncomfortable.  It wasn't all about him.  Larry has been true to that premise since his late night radio days when I used to hear him on the old Mutual Broadcasting System.  He was a welcoming voice to everyone who had an opinion, not just to those who agreed with him.  As the level of discourse gets more heated, personal and polarized, I hope CNN can find its way back to being a news leader without trying to follow in the footsteps of Fox and MSNBC.   While Larry's style may have seemed outdated to many viewers these days, there is still room for hosts who can get real answers from guests.  Anderson Cooper's "Keeping Them Honest" segments are good examples of hard-hitting journalism without a predetermined political agenda.  Styles change.  Civility and objectivity are more important than ever.   Larry has consistently tried to give you what you need to decide for yourself. 

A Tragic Holiday

The mourning period continues following the horrific one-car accident on Route 201 north of Route 138 in Griswold.  Four teenagers are dead; a fifth is in critical condition.  All five were Griswold High School students.  This story of a car out of control hitting a tree has stunned a community already shocked by a domestic dispute that took the life of a despondent young man just days ago on nearby Bethel Road.   Sympathy goes out to the many grief-stricken classmates, family members and neighbors.   This region has been shaken by a tragedy that can leave the most professional grief counselor at a loss for words.      

Animal Hoarding in Montville

Photo from WTNH

It was a sickening scene.  Montville saw its most shocking case of animal hoarding ever.  Neighbors at the Mountain View Apartments reported a very strong stench that led animal control officers to a feces-filled apartment where they found about 40 animals, some dead or dying.   There were cats, a dog, ferrets, snakes , birds and other animals in cages lacking food and water.   Aside from what to do with the animals and their neglectful owner, how on earth could anyone let this get so out of control?   You probably know people who collect a lot more things than they let go of, but why would anyone hang on to these living creatures so long after they can take care of them?   Is there a relationship between animal hoarding and hoarding other things?   I have heard the theory that hoarders feel a lack of control over their own lives, so amassing more things (or perhaps even animals) gives them that sense of control over at least something.   If so, this is a very unhealthy and false sense of empowerment.   It is very sad to see this situation deteriorate to this point before neighbors finally noticed. 

Feeding Paranoia

When news of the WikiLeaks publication of 250,000 classified documents came out, the story may have seemed unprecedented in scope.  That's not to say we don't try to find historical similarities.  Daniel Ellsberg was on CNN's Larry King Show last night.  He was the guy who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971.   There is no doubt that the Pentagon Papers fueled an already high degree of paranoia in the Nixon administration that later culminated in the Watergate scandal and the President's resignation in 1974.   In the end, Nixon's downfall wasn't any leaked document.  It was his own paranoia caught on tape.  These new developments put the Obama administration's pledge of transparency to the ultimate test.  I agree with Secretary of State Clinton that these leaks do not make the WikiLeaks people heroes.  The real tragedy would be the resulting reluctance to share vital information without fear of it falling into hands of those who would kill us.  Rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea feed off the chance to justify their paranoid existence.  The WikiLeaks people never considered that.  The Pentagon Papers gave us information that shed light on the Vietnam War, whether we liked it or not.  The random nature and pure volume of these new leaks may provide more heat than light.

The Politics of Dancing

Jennifer Grey of "Dirty Dancing" fame won this season's celebrity dance-off on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.  Her signature dance in the finale and her touching story of overcoming physical adversity made this decision hard to debate.   While the judges and voting viewers got it right, the season was probably the most controversial thanks to Bristol Palin's placement among the top three finalists.  While Sarah Palin's daughter improved over time, other contestants with higher scores fell by the wayside.  Add this heated political season and her mother's heavy media exposure, and you have the recipe for people on the fringes getting carried away with their irrational reactions to what is basically a massively promoted dance contest.   I wonder what makes some people a "star", but I guess notoriety is the only criterion and that question didn't begin with this season.  There were undoubtedly viewers who were for or against her just because of her mother, but Dancing with the Stars should be about the contestants and nothing else.   There I go again - living in a perfect world.     

Q105 Hits 30

From left, an unidentified fan with Mike Lehman (in costume), 

Franco and co-host Jody Morris. (From The Day)

I never worked at Q105, but I know so many people who did.   They were the competition.  This past weekend, WQGN 105.5 celebrated 30 years as eastern Connecticut's contemporary hit station.   Franco, Jody and many others were reunited on air.  I never actually met Frank "Franco" Carofano, but I feel I know him through his imprint on this legendary station.  Franco's longtime Q Morning Zoo co-host Jody is a good friend from our stays across town at WBMW, and I know how excited she was to be back on the air even if only for a day.  The eighties and nineties were a different time for radio, with less consolidation and automation along with a need for someone in the studio 24/7.  30 years ago, there were about half as many radio stations covering New London County as there are now, and Q105 owned the younger market.  I knew the Q's first couple of program directors - Rick Everett and Neil Sullivan - just enough to know what strong advocates they were for realizing their visions of exciting and successful local hit music radio.  An interactive morning show where the co-hosts have great chemistry is no small part of this success story, and I got the impression both Franco & Jody miss what they shared with their audience.  I miss it too, especially at this holiday time when there are unique ways for a station to serve its community.  This market has no shortage of stations in this area which continue to make that valuable contribution.  Q105 pushes on today with a national morning show and local  information updates which have found  a successful niche.   Whether it's local or national, compelling content, good chemistry and connecting one on one with the listener will always win the day.  

One Less Local Option

The world of fast food just got a little smaller here in Connecticut and Rhode Island.  Canada-based Tim Hortons announced it is shutting down all of its coffee and baked goods shops in the two states.  The company has 3,000 outlets in Canada and 600 in the United States.  I have to say it's not a total shock.  Tim Hortons had already closed numerous stores in this area.  Dunkin Donuts is everywhere here, the way Tim Hortons is established north of the border.  I will miss the alternative to Dunkin; choice is a good thing.   Where will I find a fruit explosion muffin or maple donut now?   In my humble opinion, their baked goods were better and I liked their lunch combos (served on real plates), but Dunkin and McDonald's have them all beat when it comes to coffee.   Also on the fast food front, Wendy's announced it will change the way they make french fries.  Say it ain't so!  They're going to be crisper and less "potato-ey."  To me, Wendy's fries were absolutely the best when they are fresh and hot.   I'm not liking these developments (sigh). 

The Ultimate Penalty

Steven Hayes has been sentenced to death on all six capital felony counts in the 2007 Cheshire home invasion.  My first reaction was how Dr. William Petit Jr. and all the people closest to the three people murdered must feel about this development.  Petit, the lone survivor of the home invasion, favored the death sentence, as did Connecticut governor Jodi Rell.  I can't imagine what it will be like for Dr. Petit and others who will have to go through this process again next year with the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, but there is some comfort in knowing justice is being done.  The death penalty has never been proven more effective as a deterrent than other forms of punishment, but some crimes are so abhorrent that the ultimate sentence is the least society can impose.

Issues Take Back Seat In Connecticut Elections

They say we're all winners when we participate in the electoral process, but this year the voters of Connecticut haven't won by much.  There were just 21,000 ballots available for 69,000 registered voters in Connecticut's largest city, the Democratic stronghold of Bridgeport.  This is gross incompetence by election officials.  The most incredibly negative gubernatorial campaign at first appeared to be a win by Republican Tom Foley.  His attack ads were just slightly milder than Democrat Dan Malloy's spots, so I thought the better man won since Foley was the slightly lesser of two evils. Then the extent of the Bridgeport fiasco became apparent.  Then there's the $50 million senatorial campaign waged by World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon which relentlessly played up Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's Vietnam blunder, quoting the one occasion he erroneously said he served in the military "in Vietnam" instead of "during the Vietnam era."   Here in eastern Connecticut, Republican Janet Peckinpaugh took a refreshingly high road in her late challenge to Democratic second district congressman Joe Courtney, but she never presented a convincing argument as to how she'd do a better job at fostering job growth in a section of the state too dependent on  a few big employers.  The voters deserve better than attack ads that drag the level of discourse into the gutter.  Thank God it's over for now!    
UPDATE (12:22pm 11/3/10): Maybe it's not over.  NBC Connecticut reports:  Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz declares Dan Malloy the winner of the Governor's Race based on unofficial results.
UPDATE (10:43pm 11/3/10): A new development.  NBC Connecticut reports: The Associated Press has withdrawn its call for Dan Malloy in the race for Governor. New AP numbers show Republican challenger Tom Foley ahead by more than 8,000 votes.
UPDATE (11/5/10): Are we done?  CNN reports: Democrat Dan Malloy has won the tight Connecticut governor's race over Republican Tom Foley, secretary of state Susan Bysiewicz announced by statement Friday.  Figures Friday evening showed Malloy received 566,498 votes and Foley got 560,861 votes. 

Fleas on Steroids!

Flea



Happy Halloween!  What scares you?  The tone of this political season certainly scares me, but some of nature's pests can be pretty creepy when they get out of control.  My house could hardly be considered dirty or even cluttered, so I ask: Are these pests developing a resistance to traditional extermination methods?   While I miss my dearly departed cat, I suspect she had a part in bringing fleas into my house after those short periods she would get outside.  The little bloodsuckers seemed to have no trouble moving on to my dog Oreo.  I had thought his constant scratching was just a seasonal itch.  A stroke of a flea comb uncovered the tiny parasites.  I had stocked up on Frontline flea treatment and  had already put it on Oreo, yet the fleas had refused to die.  It had always worked before.  The vet put him on a Capstar pill which was supposed to kill the fleas in 40 minutes - it didn't happen.  Three flea baths didn't provide lasting relief either.  Three pesticide-filled flea bombs later, the dog was still managing to pick up the tiny bugs from someplace in the house.  The carpets got shampooed while every floor got vacuumed every day.  Oreo got vacuumed with a special pet attachment.  A flea collar - for fleas and their eggs - followed.   Nothing stopped them!   Another trip to Oreo's vet yielded some K-9 Advantix; you know, the product in the "there ain't no bugs on me" commercial.  That seemed to slow them down.  I still found a couple of stragglers alive in his blanket, but I hope we're nearing the end of this very stressful chapter as his flea comb yielded nothing.  I think I'll set off another flea bomb, just for good measure! 

News Analyst or Political Commentator?

It's hard to feel too sorry for former National Public Radio news analyst Juan Williams.  He also appeared regularly on Fox News, which is where he made comments that displeased his NPR bosses.  He was abruptly fired last week by NPR for expressing his fear of fellow plane passengers wearing Muslim garb.  NPR felt his role as a news analyst had been compromised by his statements.  Fox News had no problem at all, offering Williams a two million dollar deal to stay with them.   In this overheated political season, it's no surprise that some politicians on the right wanted to use this incident as a reason to abolish the two per cent of its funding that NPR receives from the federal government.  Some liberals also expressed their displeasure with NPR.  Did NPR have a right to let him go if they were so uncomfortable with his dual media roles?  Yes.  Did it appear to be handled too severely and open NPR to criticism from conservatives who contend the network is too far left?  Absolutely.   Even many guests on NPR took issue with the move.  Were these honest comments of his on Fox that far over the top?  I don't think so, but that's just my view and I wasn't paying him to be my news analyst.  Since leaving commercial radio back in March, I've become a big fan of the service NPR provides.   Its very intellectual presentation does give NPR a very elite, even snobbish image.  After hours and hours of listening, I have to say NPR is much more objective than their detractors give them credit for, providing less heat and more light than most commercial networks.  At the same time, they became the story themselves and a lightning rod for free speech advocates and conservative critics.   The Williams incident could have been handled more diplomatically, but he'll be just fine.  It would be a shame if NPR's reputation suffered just because of this.   

The Little Lady

They say that people learn to deal with loss better with age.  I'm not sure I see it that way after having to say goodbye to my cat, Cookie.   I really wasn't ready to let this important member of the family go after almost 12 years, but I didn't see much choice.  Cookie was adopted from the Connecticut Humane Society in Quaker Hill when she was a little over a year old.   She was a docile, perky and affectionate cat who never complained about much.   The enclosed porch was her peaceful sanctuary where she never seemed to have a care in the world.   One week in the summer of 2009, I had to leave her alone at home and she only got a visit once a day to be fed by others.  When I returned, she planted herself on my lap for an hour as if to say she'd never take me for granted again.   Those big eyes won me over every time.  I wish pets could live longer.  She brought so much into my life during the time she was here.

New Highs and New Lows

The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners was certainly the high point of the week.  Viewers all over the world witnessed what can happen when people work together for the common good.   As MSNBC's Chris Matthews pointed out last night, this story contrasts so sharply with the tone of the political season here in the U.S.   From Alaska to right here in Connecticut, the landscape is littered with ads that shoot first as too few people ask questions later.  Bob Schieffer of CBS once suggested we abolish primaries. They have certainly allowed the venom surrounding the Connecticut gubernatorial campaign to continue much longer than it should have.  I have never wanted to vote "none of the above" as much as I do now.  The senatorial campaign here started off on a higher note, but that has deteriorated to out-of-context sound bites that leave any reasonable adult totally disgusted.    

Spelling It Out

VP Dan Quayle tells student to add an "e" to potato in 1992

For the second time in a row, a segment on CBS Sunday Morning inspired me to chime in. This time they ran a story on two guys who go around correcting spelling and punctuation mistakes on signs. I remember a restaurant in Jewett City called "Classic's" that actually made the extra effort to add the unnecessary apostrophe. I assume it wasn't owned by someone named "Classic." A misplaced apostrophe drives me especially crazy. In this fast-paced world of texting and Facebook status updates because people have less patience to talk to one another, I see bad spelling and punctuation everywhere. "Its" vs. "it's" and "your" vs. "you're" and "there" vs. "they're" are my big pet peeves. I have to qualify my indignation by saying I'm not bragging about being a superior speller or punctuator, since there are plenty of things in life in which I will never excel. There have always been people who couldn't spell well, and there are legitimate reasons like dyslexia. I just wonder if our fast pace, failure to check our work or overdependence on the spell check feature mean our attention span has gotten impossibly short. Call me picky, but you have no idea how much I checked before hitting "publish" on this article!

Happy Anniversary! Happy Anniversary!

It's a page right out of history.  Fifty years ago tonight, ABC launched The Flintstones.  Seeing the first episode about this modern stone age family from the town of Bedrock was one of those great TV "Oh wow" moments for this Baby Boomer kid.  I remember that first show so well.  It was basically an animated version of the hit fifties show The Honeymooners.    For six years we loyally followed the adventures of Fred, Barney, Wilma and Betty, and saw the addition of Pebbles and Bamm Bamm.  I even remember when they had a national contest to give Pebbles her name.   If you know who Mr. Slate, Joe Rockhead and Gary Granite are, you were a fan of The Flintstones too.  Although I thought I recalled everything about The Flintstones, a look at some Ultimate Flintstones Trivia here put me in my place.  Trivia expert or not, we all had a Yabba-dabba-doo time!   So-o-oh, Happy Anniversary!

Nothing To Sneeze At?

Sneezy

Pollen!

Is it my imagination, or has this season been the worst for allergies?   This curse goes back to my childhood when I'd camp out or play in the cornfields behind our house and end up paying for my love of the great outdoors with sneezing, itchy eyes, sinusitus and stuffy nose.  It started out as a late summer thing and then evolved into different allergies throughout the year.  I got tested positive for reactions to dust, cat dander, mold and an assortment of allergens like the magnified offenders above.   If it's a hay fever medication - Benadryl, Zyrtec, Claritin and the rest - I've tried it.   I went through countless sessions of allergy shots with visits that continued for years.  Has it made me better?  It's hard to prove a negative and know how I'd be without all the treatments.  I do know this has been an especially nasty allergy season, mostly in the morning.   Is it worse for allergens due to global warming or more enclosed environments?  I'll leave that to the experts.  If you are among those affected, I feel your pain.  Oh yeah, I've tried the local honey too - still sneezing.

The Two Bells

Many political leaders seem to count on their constituents looking the other way.  That seemed to be the case in Connecticut's "Belltown" of East Hampton.  Town Manager Jeffrey O'Keefe resigned this month in a storm of controversy after town residents angrily protested his sudden firing back in June of town Police Chief Matthew Reimondo.  Most of the Town Council backed up O'Keefe, citing financial cutbacks as the reason for the firing, but most townspeople saw it as payback for the chief’s role in investigating three sexual harassment complaints lodged against O’Keefe by three female town employees.   This looked fishy to incensed citizens, and they had every right to feel that way.   Shame on the majority of the seven Town Council members for allowing this to happen and compounding the impropriety by giving O'Keefe a $170,000 severance package after the tide of raucous town meetings turned against him.  We haven't heard the end of this, as the council still has not listened to the voices demanding the police chief be given back his job.

Across the country in embattled Bell, California, it's being described as "corruption on steroids."  The city's manager was pulling down a salary close to $800,000 a year while the police chief was getting half a million and part-timer council members got $100,000.  This happened as the small city's unemployment rate hit 16%, services were cut back and taxes were oppressive.  The revelations made national news and "people power" again came to bear on their local leaders who were bleeding the Los Angeles suburb dry.  The tale of these two "bell towns" makes me wonder how many other leaders across the nation are hoping their constituents will look the other way.  If we fail to watch our leaders, who can we blame but ourselves?  

Three G.O.B. Observations

You don't have to go far in eastern Connecticut to find empty storefronts, and that didn't just start with this recession.  After nine straight years now (and a few years in the eighties and nineties) of prospecting small businesses about direct mail advertising, I feel like I can often predict whether or not a venture will make it.  That is not based on any psychic powers or superior knowledge of most businesses' products and services, and I'm sure there are others who would be able to foresee a store's survival or demise.  And believe me, I'm nowhere close to being a guru on financial success.  To this humble observer, preventing or minimizing failure boils down to three basic things.  First, and foremost according to more expert sources, is lack of capital.   Money doesn't usually start flowing in the day you open; enough said on that.  The second: distraction away from the customer.  I'm constantly amazed how many businesses ignore their clientele's needs.  They complain at length about their own problems.  Their store has, shall I say, a less than "welcome" look.  They're never open consistently.  They don't supply what the customer looks for.   Finally, it's nice to do what you like, but many simply don't do their homework.  As I learned in radio, it's not about what you think will "sound good."  It's about gathering information and going with what objectively makes sense.  In advertising, I see it all the time when someone spends all their money on media that have a very inefficient reach way beyond their actual market while failing to start with the local basics.  We all make mistakes, but if you ignore these three warning signs you depend too much on pure luck to make it through the long haul or even short sprint.  

So Long, Summer

Summer is over, no matter what the calendar says.   If summer's your season, the weather certainly didn't disappoint.  As for myself, summer seldom has ever lived up to the hype.   The commercials always tell us it's time for "summer fun."   I'll decide that, thank you.  While I have boyhood summer memories of something vaguely similar to those beach movies from the swingin' sixties and managed to fit in a few nice vacation trips as an adult, I rarely feel sad about its passing.   The time between Labor Day and Halloween is usually my favorite.   There's still plenty of daylight and mild weather without the ragweed, sunburn, mosquitoes and shoreline crowds.   Call me a Summer Scrooge.  Give me a crisp September day at a fair over midsummer air quality alerts anyday.   I remember climbing Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire in October 1995 and thinking it doesn't get any better than this.

They're Mad As Hell

And they're "not going to take it anymore."  Glenn Beck has compared himself to the Howard Beale anchor-gone-mad from the seventies movie "Network."  The conservative star does occasionally come unhinged while still appearing more compassionate than the in-your-face rants of eighties talker Morton Downey, Jr.    As with Downey - or even the mythical Beale - when does the entertainment end and we consider the real impact of what they have to say?    There is no doubt our country is in serious persistent economic difficulty and people are angry.  The economy affects everything in our culture.   Tea Party people have a right to vent like the rest of us.    Most people reject the extremes.  I thought Beck lost credibility when he said the President had a deep "hatred for white people."  That should have been a deal breaker, although he retracted it a year later, but no.   This former Connecticut DJ from KC-101 has become his own wildly successful brand, but everytime I hear him I remain totally clueless as to what he is trying to say while he often likens opponents to Nazis.   How do you claim you had no idea your D.C. rally on the site of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was on that speech's anniversary while you're calling for "taking back the civil rights movement"?    And to say it's not political?   Give me a break.  As a former Connecticut DJ myself, this Glenn doesn't think there are many radio people prepared to assume the mantle of prophet.   As a student of history, I see the focus on a cult of personality as potentially dangerous.    

Radio Flashback: College Radio Days

From Keene State College Equinox 1975

In the fall of 1974, the Keene, New Hampshire radio dial wasn't nearly as crowded as it is today.  Keene State College Radio, WKNH, was only available at certain times of the year on campus on AM or local FM cable until the station got an FM "free air" license covering the town a year later.   Even with this limited reach, I was impressed with reaction I'd get from college and community listeners from day one of my Friday shows.   It was truly free-form, underground, eclectic, progressive rock.   Some of it was very obscure; some of it became today's classic rock.  When I'd go back home to Connecticut, I'd listen closely to what album rockers like WPLR and WHCN were saying and playing so I could help share a type of alternative radio otherwise unheard in southwestern New Hampshire.  A lot of people I knew at school got involved with the station.  My first roommate, Tony, not only shared his wealth of "prog rock" knowledge with me, but he was also a natural on the air.   He first told me about some unknown from his home state of New Jersey named Bruce Springsteen.  Few from the WKNH crew went on to radio careers.  There was a level of politics I was totally unprepared for as I got more involved in WKNH, but I remember an extraordinary group of people whose names I recall to this day.  I also enjoyed every opportunity to go on the air and put sets of music together that could start with some mellow Joni Mitchell and end with earsplitting Black Sabbath.  Where's Quicksilver Messenger Service now when I need them?  It must have been a labor of love, because when it came time to go in December 1976 I didn't want to leave.  

Majority Rule vs. Minority Rights

Signing of the Constitution of the U.S.

I hear people claiming to be champions of the Constitution protesting how an "activist" judge could singlehandedly strike down the results of a California referendum banning gay marriage.  After all, how could a judge overrule the will of the people?  The attempt to open a Muslim community center less than two blocks from Ground Zero doesn't seem to be winning any popularity contest either.  Isn't majority rule what our democracy is all about?  First, the USA is a republic, not a democracy in the strict sense of the word.  The framers of the Constitution were brilliant in setting up checks and balances designed to protect the rights of groups and individuals even when they clash with the opinion of a majority or plurality.  If we took every decision purely by the electorate, many reforms we take for granted today would never have come to pass.  In the early sixties, southern segregationist governors such as Alabama's George Wallace and Georgia's Lester Maddox had the will of the majority on their side when they tried to block civil rights for African Americans.  Did that make them right?   Perhaps the federal government is a bit ahead of the curve when it goes against what local majorities are ready and willing to accept.  If so, many politicians looking for votes and talking heads seeking ratings will cast their lots with the ones trying to block a lower Manhattan mosque or California gay marriage.   President Obama has been playing a delicate balancing act himself since taking office, and these issues are no exceptions.  The generational shift increasingly accepting gay marriage may eventually make it the will of the majority anyway.  In regard to the proposed mosque, I agree with Mayor Bloomberg that it would be a sad day for America if the community rejects it because of the horrible thing 19 terrorists did on 9/11.

Ugly Primary Campaigns

Republican Tom Foley

Democrat Dan Malloy

Over the weekend, I got a call from the Quinnipiac University Poll about who I'll vote for in the Connecticut primaries. My initial reaction was to say how disgusted I was with the campaigns. Turnout was light. No doubt the overwhelmingly negative tone of the campaign had a lot to do with that. Particularly disgusting were the races on both sides for governor. Ned Lamont, Dan Malloy, Mike Fedele and Tom Foley all ran relentless attack ads for weeks. For the first time, it left me with the desire to hold my nose as I cast my ballot in Colchester. Is this what politicians need to do in order to stir up support? The big surprise was the dramatic shift on the Democrats' side as a Ned Lamont-Daniel Malloy race pollsters considered too close to call became a major 58-42 per cent upset for Stamford mayor Malloy. The bad blood was just as obvious on the GOP side, as Lt. Governor Mike Fedele poured on the effort in the stretch to impressively narrow the gap but still wind up short against former ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley. Republican businessman Oz Griebel stayed above the fray - and below the radar - by being off the air and a distant third. For U.S. Senator, I give Republican former second district congressman Rob Simmons high marks for a positive if delayed active campaign. Linda McMahon is poised to give Attorney General Dick Blumenthal a tough fight. We'll see if the AG is ready to beat back this well-financed challenger. It all reminded me of CBS newsman Bob Schieffer's comment that primaries should be abolished. The vocal and active minority tends to set extreme agendas in each party as moderate people not yet fired up stay home and the election season just gets another reason to drag on even longer. Let's hope against hope that the next 13 weeks don't go on like the previous ones did. Do you really want any of these folks who are taking cheap shots on the low road to lead or represent this state? Oh, and can we please avoid using the word "smackdown" to describe Election Night?

The Annoying Orange Goes Viral

Most YouTube videos are juvenile.  Most are a waste of time.  If it weren't for the YouTube app on my Blackberry, I would still be blissfully ignorant of a character that has the most popular YouTube series with over 60 million views: The Annoying Orange.  When I first discovered the wisecracking orange with the eyes and mouth of its human creator Dane Boedigheimer, I have to admit liking these simple yet unique (and yes, annoying) videos.  I figured if many people my age can be entertained by playing Mafia Wars and Farmville on Facebook, I can laugh at this obnoxious fruit that reminds me of a combination of Dennis the Menace, Don Rickles and Gilbert Gottfried.  Don't be surprised if some TV network doesn't pick up this series and try something with it.  Through the vast YouTube wasteland, there are some creative people finding an outlet here.   YouTube content creators like Ray William Johnson and Shane Dawson may be the next wave of mainstream TV.    I'll pass on the YouTube Harry Potter and Katy Perry parodies, but some of what I've seen on that tiny Blackberry screen may be the next primetime ratings winner.   That prospect may be annoying, but I'd bet on it. 

Another Workplace Tragedy

Scene after Manchester Shooting (WVIT)

The death toll climbed every time I checked the news today in this tragedy so close to home.   At last count, nine people were dead and two seriously injured as an employee apparently facing termination came into a beer distributor in Connecticut this morning at 7:30 and began shooting.  Police in Manchester say Omar Thornton, 34, opened fire at Hartford Distributors, killing eight coworkers and then shot himself.   We as a nation have become almost numb to this type of tragedy, with the usual discussions of gun control, workplace stress and the gunman's background to follow.   In recent history, that has resolved little or nothing.  It is time to reflect on the loss to families, friends, co-workers and the community as a whole.  The victims were just people trying to make a living.   So soon after the loss of two Bridgeport firefighters, the state has another occasion to mourn.

I Predict A Sequel

It's been ages since I went to the movies, so when I visited a friend in New Hampshire I had to check out the new cinemas in Hooksett near Manchester.  "Salt", starring Angelina Jolie, certainly filled the bill for anyone looking for nonstop action and intrigue.  It was about a CIA agent planted as a mole and trained as a child by the old Soviet KGB and activated to wreak new havoc in a post Cold War world.   The movie, which was originally supposed to star Tom Cruise in a role similar to his "Mission Impossible" character, got mixed reviews.  I'll give it high marks for Jolie's portrayal.  She even did her own stunts.  I really couldn't tell what side she was working for until two-thirds of the way through the plot.  That alone kept me on the edge of my seat.  By the time the movie's over, you'll think two things: 1.) Who CAN you trust?   2.) The scene has definitely been set for a sequel. 

Lessons from an Old School Journalist

Daniel Schorr

The passing of the great CBS/CNN/NPR journalist Daniel Shorr happened the same week the flap over how blogger Andrew Breitbart's incomplete video posting unfairly cost agriculture official Shirley Sherrod her job.  These seemingly unrelated stories actually serve to remind us how news coverage has changed, and not necessarily for the better in a world where anyone can start a blog and declare himself a journalist.  This trend did not escape the notice of veteran ABC Nightline anchor Ted Koppel, who was a guest yesterday on NPR.  Koppel pointed out how government has also gotten caught up in this new media cycle and then having to do damage control.   I noticed how bad the Obama administration, the NAACP, conservative bloggers, journalism in general and the cable news channels in particular looked when practically everyone involved paid more attention to poltical expediency or media sensationalism.  While Fox News led the cable pack in spreading an inaccurate story for a day, they later spent more time blaming the administration for overreacting than sufficiently owning up to their own part in laying it on so thick.  MSNBC's liberal primetime hosts devoted their energy to blaming Fox more than the officials who were involved in improperly firing Sherrod.  Ted Koppel sounded a cautionary note about today's media focusing more on giving the public what they want than what they need.    Koppel, Schorr and other great journalists searched for truth.  That was their agenda.  

The Sonic Experience

Commercials for Sonic Drive-in restaurants have been seen in Connecticut on cable channels for years, but Sonic did not have any locations here.  Those shakes looked so tempting too!  That all changed July 14th with the opening of the first Connecticut Sonic in Wallingford.   There were special traffic advisories in anticipation of the throngs of fast food fanatics who were expected to converge on this spot on Route 5 off the Wilbur Cross Parkway - did they ever.   I was visiting someone nearby and had to check out the mob scene up the road, but there was no way I was going to enter that fast food fray.   They get an "A" in traffic control, but I can't imagine waiting an hour or two or three just to get the first crack at what are still drive-in hamburgers, shakes and fries - carhops or no carhops.   Six months ago in Fort Myers, Florida, I felt compelled to see what all the Sonic fuss was all about and pulled into a Sonic twice during my week there.   I did love their smoothies and the whole retro atmosphere.  That was all well and good, but it wasn't the high point of my culinary experiences while on vacation.  What I witnessed driving past the new Wallingford Sonic last weekend reminded me of the traffic jams on the Berlin Turnpike stretch of Routes 5/15 when Krispy Kreme Doughnuts came to our fair state.  That store is now long gone.  After the Sonic experience spreads to Manchester and then all across Connecticut, I hope they don't go the way of Krispy Kreme around here.  I loved those hot donuts and at least they're still in Mohegan Sun, but with their rapid regional rise and fall it makes me wonder if they were also cooking the books.      

Wisdom from a Facebook Friend

You can't turn on a TV without somebody reminding us how something is broken.   It can leave people with a sense of helplessness and a yearning for some straight answers.  There are many people out there willing to try to supply them, and most fall short.  Instead of easy answers, maybe we need some common sense perspective.   One source for everyday wisdom is Facebook.  What?  True, most of what's posted there is far from wise or even relevant, but type in Dalai Lama under "search" and you can receive observations from this revered Tibetan Buddhist leader each day.  You don't have to be very religious at all (or know Richard Geer) to relate to what the Dalai Lama has to say.  Here's a quote from yesterday: Some people think that cultivating compassion is good for others but not necessarily good for themselves, but this is wrong. You are the one who benefits most directly since compassion immediately instills in you a sense of calm, inner strength, and a deep confidence and satisfaction, whereas it is not certain that the object of your feeling of compassion will benefit.   I feel a sense of serenity already.  It makes me rethink what had me all hot and bothered in the first place.

Don't Boycott BP

I have to admit I've been reluctant to get gas at any BP station in eastern Connecticut, and there are many.  At first I felt it would be sanctioning their negligence in the Gulf of Mexico and one of the worst records of violations by an industry already wielding way too much influence over government policy.  Apparently an attempt to boycott BP is having a nationwide effect at stations displaying the BP sign.  But who is hurting when customers shy away?  BP stations are locally owned and operated, not company run.  They pay BP to use their name.  Many are contractually obligated to continue with BP for years.  I saw one of those station owners on CNN, and it was clear that he was taking the hit and not BP.  It also could leave one less choice for consumers who may not even be buying BP gas when they go to a BP station.  That revelation makes you wonder about truth in labeling, a whole other topic.  Make no mistake about it.  BP should pay.  They should pay big.  Thankfully, they have capped the leaking well for now, but there are too many unanswered questions about their corporate conduct.  If you boycott, you may not be punishing the right people.  Maybe we should also look at ourselves when we support politicians who say "drill, baby, drill" as our fossil fuel addiction forces oil companies to search in increasingly risky places.

Steinbrenner's Legacy

This has been a week of sad news for the New York Yankees.  First we learn of the passing of legendary Yankee Stadium announcer Bob Shepherd at 99.  Now comes news of the death of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner at 80.  He had been in poor health for several years and the team was being run by his sons Hank and Hal.   Few sports celebrities and fewer owners have drawn as much controversy in the years since he bought the team in 1973.  I confess to never being a big fan of the Steinbrenner style.  He deserves credit for the Yankees earning 11 pennants and 7 World Series titles.  He spent money to make money in the country's largest media market.   If the talent pricetag was beyond the reach of some competing teams, don't blame George.  The people who produced - or did their best - were the ones who made me a Yankee fan.   He deserved a return on his investment, but his micromanaging and grandstanding too frequently made the Yankees story all about him.  His character as portrayed on Seinfeld actually boosted his image, and it was clear that he could be a good sport and laugh at himself.  He was a phenomenal businessman with a larger than life image who brought in great people.  Like many American business leaders, he often forgot about letting great people do their jobs.  You hire their expertise; you don't own them.   You can't take it with you, but this is one boss who left a sports franchise so much stronger than he found it.  It's only fitting that he was around long enough to see the new Yankee Stadium and his team on top.     

A Baby Boomer Moment

It's been decades since Saturday night TV has had much of anything worth watching, but this past weekend found this baby boomer in front of the tube for an hour watching PBS and CPTV.  This time, California Dreamin': The Songs of The Mamas and the Papas, originally released in 2005, brought back some great memories in a beautifully produced retrospective of the group's relatively brief time in the spotlight of sixties pop culture.   This unlikely foursome had a familiar sound that defied labels.  Their hits and even a few of their misses sound as fresh today as when you couldn't put on an AM radio without hearing them.  Steeped in early sixties folk, the counter culture and then peaking in 1967's "Summer of Love," these Rock n' Roll Hall of Famers weren't strictly rock at all.   Their autobiographical hit "Creeque Alley" says they decided to "leave the folk music behind," but I think they just refined it with great lyrics and lush vocals arranged by John Phillips.  Mama Cass Elliot was one of a kind and was clearly destined for greater things in a solo career before her untimely death in 1974.  Drugs and the tension within the group eventually brought them to the breaking point, although the group did tour with a shifting roster of members for years afterward.  When I saw them at WDRC-FM's Oldies Fest in 1996, Denny Doherty was the only original member still on tour.  Of all their songs, the one that still stops me in my tracks only made it to number 20 on Billboard: "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)".   Just like the clock that always says 12:30, it's easy to get frozen in time with any of their songs.

Dramatic Diversions - No Big Deals

So, Lebron James is headed out of Cleveland and toward the Miami Heat.  To see the reaction in these towns and others, you would think the world as we know it had radically changed forever.  Cleveland's NBA team, not to mention its economy, will most likely survive LBJ's departure.   He had every right to go where he wanted, and Cleveland fans need to get over this feeling of betrayal.  What could have been spared?  An endless hour on ESPN that could have been a minute!  At least the Dancing With The Stars results shows have something called entertainment leading up to who gets the boot.   The other drama that needed to end was Lindsay Lohan's reaction to the judge's jail sentence.  She showed no respect for the court up to that point, losing all credibility.  Her hysterics were more an angry, incredulous reaction to a sentence she thought she was above.  She needs treatment for her drug problems, but nobody can be too shocked by what the judge decided.   In both cases, it's time for a lot of fans (and Lindsay herself) to get real.   Were these huge water cooler topics of conversation?  Sure.  Did they affect our lives more than the time spent following them on ESPN or TMZ.com?  No.   

Eastern CT's Road to Nowhere

Every time I drive on Route 85 between the Crystal Mall area and Salem Four Corners, I think how much better the trip would be if they only finished Route 11.  Just the other day around 5:00 p.m., my 20-mile trip from New London to Colchester took over 50 minutes thanks to pure volume snaking its way from the Chesterfield Road intersection and the Route 161 merge in Montville  back down to Waterford.   Think about how much time people waste here each day, how many serious accidents occur on this stretch of Route 85 and how there would be no way to successfully evacuate the shoreline via this road.   Route 11 - all 7.42 miles of it - is one of the least stressful drives on a limited access highway in a region infamous for overcrowded interstates and treacherous two-lane state highways.  Planners had envisioned an expressway running from Route 2 all the way down to I-95 near the 395 split.  A drive to and from New London could be a breeze.  Funding ran out and in 1972 the road opened only half finished, ending at Route 82 in Salem.   Despite painstaking proposals for a "greenway" to limit environmental impacts, promises from politicians and support from local residents, the funding never materialized.   In this economic climate, I won't hold my breath for Route 11 dollars to flow, and we can only wonder how much the completion of Route 11 would have saved lives and been a shot in the arm to southeastern Connecticut. 

The Other Football

I don't know what folks beyond our borders call what we know and love as football, but mention "football" to most people outside the USA and you'd be talking about "soccer."  Once in a great while, soccer takes center stage among this country's sports fans.   With Team USA's 2-1 loss to Ghana today at the World Cup in South Africa, that prominent position will now revert to another sport.   Whenever soccer grabs our attention the way it did over the last few weeks, the question always arises as to whether the USA will soon join the rest of the world in making soccer a major spectator sport.  Well, Pele has been the only international soccer star Americans have ever heard of for decades.   During that time David Beckham has been the only addition to that short list.  Bottom line: it's not happening anytime soon.   There are signs of slow change.  "Soccer moms" were nonexistent when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere.  The added influence of Latin American and other soccer-friendly cultures point to the likelihood of the "other football" gaining more attention here in the USA.  Let's just hope that those South African Vuvuzela horns that sound like thousands of angry bees don't become a staple here as well.  

Tough Decisions

Economic reality caught up with the Norwich school system this week.  The $62.9 million school budget passed this week, meaning dozens of fewer teachers citywide along with the closing of the Greeneville and Buckingham elementary schools.  It may not have made anyone happy, but at least the people of Norwich know where they stand and deserve a collective pat on the back for fiscal responsibility.  A Catholic school also fell victim to its own budget crunch as St. Joseph's School on Cliff Street closed after 101 years.  Griswold also passed a $24.3 million school budget.   Now comes the reality of living with these budgets and how they will affect neighborhoods.  In Norwich, moving school children away from their neighborhoods to classes with more students per teacher can be very disruptive.  The Rose City is a sizeable chunk of real estate, and everyone knows longer bus rides do nothing to enhance the quality of education.  Norwich is also defined by a collection of communities within a community.  A school is no small part of that.  The poorest neighborhoods are the most affected by these cuts, but this move toward regionalization can't be good in the short term for any elementary student in Norwich.   They had to do it, but let's hope we can restore much of what we've lost before we get too far down the road.     

Things Happen For A Reason

When a change happened in my life a few months ago, many people made the usual "things happen for a reason" comment.  It now dawns on me how right they really are.   Most changes are neither accidents nor unpredictable.   With any loss comes sadness, but I find much of that sadness revolves around wishing how a situation could have been instead of the sudden shock of losing a wonderful thing.   By that fateful day, things in this case just hadn't been the same for months.  Time brings more perspective.    I've spared the details, but you've just witnessed true closure.   That episode is over.   If I accept that, I'm less likely to be that guy who was "never quite the same" afterward.

New London to New York by Ferry

New London is expanding as a transportation hub.  The City Council gave its approval to the Seastreak company to operate weekend passenger ferry service from City Pier to Manhattan starting in July.  For $69 round trip, you can take the water route to or from the Big Apple in three hours.  Compared to a train trip or to driving I-95 and paying to park, the price and time frame seem reasonable enough.  If you're like me and think it doesn't get much better than cruising Long Island Sound on a clear day, then you'll be tempted to give this a try.  There may be a few catches.  A 90-minute ferry trip to Orient Point, Long Island is one thing.  Indulge in one of those big pretzels they serve on board and gaze for awhile at the mysterious Plum Island and you're in Orient before you know it.   Three hours one way?  That could get a bit tedious.  When I think of a three hour trip in rough seas, the plot of Gilligan's Island comes to mind.   On that cautionary note, I wish this new venture well.        

National Donut Day

Happy National Donut Day on this first Friday in June!  The idea was created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I.   Donuts have always been one of my biggest guilty pleasures.  I was devastated when I couldn't find the vanilla filled glazed Krispy Kremes in their Mohegan Sun shops anymore, but the raspberry "filled" that void pretty well.    Now that I am on doctor's orders to watch my glucose levels, I can't say that this national holiday is as much fun as it used to be.  That doesn't mean I want to ban this calorie-laden day, but haven't Americans been emulating Homer Simpson's dietary habits regularly enough?   Since I now have to avoid these incredibly rich indulgences like the plague, I admit to being a killjoy at least on this day.  While I guess an occasional treat is fine for many folks, I am not the only one who has reached for a donut one too many times.  The donut shops will still get my coffee business (with cream and three Splenda), but I plan on skipping the donuts and other baked goods.   This is the part where I sigh but take heart in the knowledge that there's an entire National Salad Week in the middle of summer.  I know - it's not the same. 

Beyond Petroleum

BP has become a lightning rod for public outrage over what has become the largest ecological disaster in U.S. history.  Much of that is richly deserved, given the amount of times this immensely profitable foreign oil giant has been cited by regulators for all kinds of major violations, the way they and other oil companies have maintained a cozy relationship with these same regulators, the heartwrenching stories from the survivors of the platform explosion that killed eleven workers and BP's initial downplaying of the oil spill.   Government is culpable as well, with lax enforcement that led up to this disaster and officials coming across as detached while BP seemed to run the show.  President Obama denied this, but there's a time for staying cool and a time to forcefully let BP, its contractors and most of all the public know who's in charge from the beginning.  The Obama administration was slow to recognize that.  They would be wise to heed the passionate statement of Democratic strategist and Louisiana native James Carville.  True, the blame game may not "plug the hole", but Carville's call for prison sentences is not out of line.   Our economy and quality of life cannot survive repeated hits like this.  We need to learn some lessons that go beyond energy independence and certainly beyond the idea that what's good for the oil companies is always good for the country.  Wasn't the Exxon Valdez spill bad enough?   

Pac Man Fever

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the biggest phenomenon to hit video gaming: Pac-Man.  Up to that point, Asteroids and Space Invaders were the standard.  My first experience with video games was in the mid seventies, when the pinball machine was replaced by the very rudimentary game of Tank in the Keene State College pub.   I must have had a lot more free time back then, because I remember spending hours playing Pac-Man, especially after getting my own home Atari game.  My apartment roommate Pat took the intensity to a new level, racking up a million points one time.  I can't say my level of focus would ever have allowed that.  As much as Pac-Man (and Ms Pac-Man) were eighties icons, I preferred Centipede and Frogger.  I guess that gives me what is hopefully the only thing in common with George Costanza on Seinfeld.  I must have stopped being hooked on Pac-Man and all the others when I decided it was time to grow up.  That reasoning may not have made much sense, since I still don't know what I want to do for a living when I grow up!