Bill O’Reilly is a twat. That’s all I have to say about that.

The unusual things that parents must protect their children from never cease to amaze me. Maybe that’s because I don’t have kids… anyway, now this: R-rated movies wallpapering the insides of commercial airplanes. Eeek! Mommy why did that scary man cut off the pretty lady’s head?!

There’s no excusing parents that have a choice and refuse to control what their kids watch. But how do you turn off dozens of non-repositionable video screens? Here again is the intersection of individual freedoms and responsibility to the public. It’s a theme I’ll write about repeatedly. Ostensibly, in choosing in-flight movies airlines are merely following the consumer trend toward more violence and sex in films. The fact that FCC regulations and MPAA rating guidelines don’t apply to them creates an awesome burden to placate both parents and single adult passengers. However, since “asses in seats” equate to “brass in pocket”, many airlines continue to show material unsuitable for children.

Chapel Hill, NC photographer, Jesse Kalisher created kidsafefilms.org to address the issue. This informative website offers a place for like-minded parents to vent and sign a petition asking for Congressional action. While making it clear that the responsibility to fix this problem lies with the airlines, Kalisher doesn’t advocate for the outright censorship of in-flight movies. But he and nearly 5800 others to date agree that publicly viewable material needs to be appropriate for all of the viewing public.

The argument immediately reminded me of Tipper Gore’s (and the PRMC’s) fight to label explicit content in popular music. Perhaps the most benign aim of the PRMC, compulsory labeling was an uphill battle at the time. Now the black and white stickers are commonplace, accepted, and frankly quite useful. Most importantly, the stickers haven’t stopped the suggestive lyrics of the mid-80s from growing into the unabated declarations of hatred, violence, disrespect toward women, rampant drug use and consequence-free sex we enjoy today! Millions of CDs and downloads still occur, so it seems labeling is a win-win for all concerned.

In time and with the Congressional pressure Kalisher seeks, this conflict too will hopefully reach a conclusion that benefits all involved.

This Salon article about an MIT student arrested for a hoax bomb threat is disturbing. What disturbs me about it is how some people interpret the event. Without doubt, many will view the occasion as an example of our disappearing freedoms. But freedom and responsibility are joined at the hip. Any discussion of individual rights vs. public safety has to start with the understanding that a society is more than a collection of individuals. Consequently, societies have rights that may limit how individual members express themselves.

I left a post at Salon’s Tech blog with my thoughts on the matter. An excerpt is below.

In NC we have a General Statute that says you “cannot go armed to the terror of the public”. It basically means that your right to own and carry a gun (any weapon) has some restrictions. Those restrictions are partly determined by the public’s perception to and reaction of a person walking around “strapped”.

Rissi Palmer teeters on the precipitous edge of a breakthrough. No, she hasn’t discovered the cure for cancer. Well, maybe she has. Rissi Palmer is a country singer. Understand that last sentence. Rissi Palmer sings country. What I heard is definitely fresh, but her country roots are unmistakable. And her music refuses to wallow in the tar pit of “Crossover”.

Rissi also happens to be black. If the rest of her CD is good as the songs on her website, she may have cured the cancerous growth called “new country”. I don’t say this because she’s black. In fact, when you listen to her, close your eyes. Aside from a subtle round timbre and sweet warmth in her voice, you might not guess her ethnicity. So what (or who) does she sound like? Although comparisons are unavoidable, they often help a new audience place music in context until a more deliberate listen. Listening to Anybody Out There, you’d have to be deaf not to hear traces of Reba McEntire in the lilting chorus,

Is there anybody out there?
Somebody out there?
That one body out there…

Country Girl, the single apparently aimed at the CMT crowd, is the anthemic country pride song required of new singers. Yet a hint of Beyonce in the chorus livens it up without straying too far afield. All the singles at her website showcase an emotion-laden songstress belting out mature lyrics devoid of kitschy phrases and innuendo. She also writes most of her songs.

Her band’s sound is pristine, with a darling mandolin leading the pack. Some of the music has that dobro and slide “‘gator country” feel to it. The musicians may not wow you with genre-bending pyrotechnics, but they don’t confuse retread Loverboy licks for country either. Of course, my review is based on four songs I heard at her website. The rest of the upcoming album may be a disappointment, but I doubt it will.

Rissi has talent, looks, and the publicity machine necessary to succeed in today’s music world. Will she make it? It’s a tough call. The intersection of politics and music is sharply defined in the country genre. The Dixie Chicks discovered that the hard way before winning a basket full of Grammys. It’s not that Palmer is billing herself as anyone other than a country musician, but historically there have been few slots in the public spotlight for Major League black country musicians.

Remember Cleve Francis? I didn’t think so.

Recently, Cowboy Troy has made quite a stir. But stirring a pot of boiling water doesn’t make it soup. And frankly, “country-like” music isn’t country music. At least Rissi doesn’t have to battle the sexual context caused by a good-looking black man whoopin’ it up with a passel of attractive white women.

But Rissi has more going for her than golden pipes and solid songwriting. While Troy’s musical collages are decidedly niche (perhaps even gimmicky), Palmer’s music is genuine country. And it’s delivered with an honesty as sweet as homemade banana pudding.

Thank you Jet magazine for the short take on Rissi.

Facing death is never easy. It’s even harder to face when it’s a friend’s death. You may not know him or even care, but Mark Copeland was a great guy. He was competent, creative, and genuinely friendly. It’s inspiring that he was able to live his life doing what he loved. Many others were inspired as well.

Life goes on, just a bit duller.

Technorati Profile

With over 71 million blogs being tracked at Technorati, it shouldn’t feel this lonely.

We are infatuated with re-imagining history. Music, politics, and recently cult classic TV shows have all been subjected to a most basic human desire: the “do-over”. Given a second chance at life, the results are often mixed. Many fans old enough to remember the original Battlestar Gallactica were affronted by Ronald Moore’s and David Eick’s sex-laden, ultra-violent remake of BSG. It’s like the old vs. new Metallica debates. For the record, I’ll take the new versions of both BSG and Metallica. Now David Eick tackles another classic.

Tip-toeing through the minefield of public opinion and return on investment again, NBC breathes fresh anthrocites into Bionic Woman this fall. I’ve watched the 14-minute preview and am already hooked! It’s dark and edgy, and casts two incredibly attractive, strong female leads. Michelle Ryan (Zoe Slater of EastEnders) plays Jaime Sommers, and the ultra-yummy Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from new BSG) is her antagonist.

The new series premieres Wednesday, September 26 at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Some observations are so astute that I wonder why people aren’t screaming them through megaphones in the street. David Louis Edelman’s take on Fox News’ “missing white woman” bias qualifies for the megaphone treatment. Better yet, replace any future primetime speeches from the Decider of the United States (DOTUS) with Edelman’s post.

It’s a bias that has previously received national attention. In June of 2005, USA Today’s story, Spotlight skips cases of missing minorities, highlighted the trend. Then, national media attention was concentrated on Natalee Holloway, an 18 year old white woman who went missing in Aruba. A year previously Tamika Huston, a 24 year old black woman had also vanished under suspicious conditions. Attempts to place Tamika’s plight on the national stage were disappointing. Huston’s public relations specialist aunt, Rebkah Howard, surmised “… that networks have found a formula that has worked for them. And they tend to be about young, white attractive, middle- to upper-class women.” Bill Shine, Fox News’ senior vice president of programming commented at the time:

“The stories that ‘go national’ all have a twist or an emotional aspect to them that make them interesting.”

I guess we know where national interests lay now. Unfortunately, the phenomenon is not solely a Fox News bias. But until people learn to interpret the news and not just watch it, keep your friends close and your white women closer.

Not having cable or actually giving a damn about MTV, I watched Britney Spears’ performance online. I’ve never really followed her career, but that hasn’t dulled my awareness of it. From cuddly, thick nymphet through cut, domineering lesbian chic, Britney has delivered, and a grateful press and fan base has eaten it up. Yet hearing the reviews of her comeback, I imagined a curvy version of Shamu in sequins.

That’s why I was puzzled after seeing the video. She certainly isn’t up to her old standards as far as dancing, or actually walking at times. I want discuss the lip-syncing other than to say I’ve seen similarly bad ADR in major movies. But it’s the criticism of her looks I find most disturbing and most telling.

This nation (among others) is hyper-obsessed with the super-chiseled ideal. As trends go, I honestly thought the notion of the muscular stick would go away. But the marketeers refuse to allow it. Not even a nuanced version of the word fat can be applied to Spears. Yet, one article said she looked “embarrassingly out of shape”. Perhaps it was embarrassing. But it’s people’s expectations that are out of shape.

Every abusive experience in Spears’ life predicated her poor performance at the MTV awards. If she had succeeded, those same experiences would still be responsible. In essence, Britney may have asked for the tabloid smackdown she’s receiving. But what tumultuous abuse empowers the rest of society to equate a woman’s self-worth with her Body Mass Index?

Every once in a while one encounters a tidbit of information that challenges an unconsciously declared assumption. Discovering web design visionary and storytelling provocateur Lance Arthur is gay is a qualifying example of the phenomena. Of course, the realization holds much more importance to him than to me in my moment’s reflection.

Let me state unequivocally that I’m not judging Lance Arthur’s or anyone else’s sexual orientation. I’m one of those strange individuals who thinks bedroom doors are good for something besides plugging that gaping hole in the wall. I believe one’s choice of companion is sacred as one’s choice of religion, or hair color for that matter.

Yet for some reason, this newly found information kept turning in my head, like a cat treading circles before settling down to nap. Perhaps it’s the human desire to seek similarities between people we respect and ourselves. When presented with such a diametric contrast, the CPU times out. Maybe the only true growth in life comes from resolving our expectations with our realities, even completely unvoiced or unfounded expectations.

Whatever the truth, it’s great to see Lance’s still relevant vision.