Billy Preston, grand theft auto, Jerry Lewis
Let me take a break from the World Cup action to mention a few things. First there was the passing of music great Mr. Billy Preston. He had quite a career, and made contributions to several generations of musicians and fans. It can be argued that without him several songs by the Beatles may never have been made, and his importance to them can be seen in the fact he performed with them in their last live performance. Not only that, but Mr. George Harrison, Mr. Ringo Starr and Mr. John Lennon each made records with Mr. Preston. Bit this influence was not limited to working with just this Rock and Roll band. Performances and recordings were made with the Rolling Stones, Sly and the family Stone, Ms. Aretha Franklin, Mr. Bob Dylan, Ms. Mahalia Jackson, Little Richard and Mr. Ray Charles. If that isn’t a massively impressive resume the fact that he also released solo projects, like Nothing from Nothing and others, add up to a career that is matched by few entertainers in one genre let alone so many. Entertainers of this caliber are always missed, even moreso when they pass so young.
Also recently a settlement has finally taken place in the “Hot Coffee” case against Take-Two Interactive software and Rockstar Games. I’m sure many out there are familiar with the famous and in some respects infamous games of this company. The Grand Theft Auto series of games. Now I’ve mentioned before how I despise these games. And the pathetic efforts of Democrats (in particular Sen. Hilary Clinton) to cash in on the sort of hidden modification to the most recent version of the game. The settlement was a minor fine, and doesn’t compare to either the 24 million in refunds or the roughly 75 million in sales this version has generated in just one month net. I for one am upset, not because of the virtual sex-like motions made by a couple of clothed pixel characters, but that still no one makes any fuss about the depiction of the characters and the message the game exports to children and gamers around the world. I have yet to hear N.O.W. or other women’s groups that want to rant about an anchorwoman who believes raising her family is more important than her career, say even one thing about the depiction of women in this game. Why can’t the NAACP say they think that Black African Americans can be shown as better than just gang bangers, felons, addicts and criminals. I realize that video game characters are often violent; but it would be nice to see more than a mere gesture of characters that were the protagonist and were Black African American or Hispanic. Like many other gamers, of various ages, seeing characters like myself would be nice and far more compelling if they weren’t the obvious villain or reinforced stereotype.
On a lighter note, Mr. Jerry Lewis just received his 3rd roast from the Friar’s Club. The reason is his appointment to the position of abbot of the club. I’ve seem tapes of previous roasts and have heard about what can happen at those roasts only members are allowed to. I can only guess what may have happened at a roast where Ice-T, members of the Sopranos cast and the Godfather movies were all attending. It may not be the French Legion of Honor but I have to think it’s a pretty good honor for a comedian who helped shape not only comedy but also how television and movies are made. Congratulations Mr. Lewis.
Lastly, I must mention that I really thought the American announcers spoke in poor taste during part of the Iran - Mexico game Sunday. There was no call to discuss Iran’s political actions during the game. That is the wrong forum. Discussing politics of a country we do not like in this venue would be like Mr. Yao Ming discussing how horrendous it was to use 2 nuclear bombs on the Japanese after winning the NBA finals. Or for Mr. Danys Baez Gonzalez to comment on how we are currently waging a war against an ideal, and in a country due to fabrications, while we have millions dying of poverty and drug addiction during the World Series. It’s not that I don’t find those sports events important, or that I question our troops. My comments on http://vasandtheworld.blogspot.com speak for themselves. The point is any kind of comment like that would create a wave of complaints. What the announcers did is no less insulting than what kayne west did during the Katrina Relief effort. It was just massively inappropriate.
This is what I think, what do you think?
Also recently a settlement has finally taken place in the “Hot Coffee” case against Take-Two Interactive software and Rockstar Games. I’m sure many out there are familiar with the famous and in some respects infamous games of this company. The Grand Theft Auto series of games. Now I’ve mentioned before how I despise these games. And the pathetic efforts of Democrats (in particular Sen. Hilary Clinton) to cash in on the sort of hidden modification to the most recent version of the game. The settlement was a minor fine, and doesn’t compare to either the 24 million in refunds or the roughly 75 million in sales this version has generated in just one month net. I for one am upset, not because of the virtual sex-like motions made by a couple of clothed pixel characters, but that still no one makes any fuss about the depiction of the characters and the message the game exports to children and gamers around the world. I have yet to hear N.O.W. or other women’s groups that want to rant about an anchorwoman who believes raising her family is more important than her career, say even one thing about the depiction of women in this game. Why can’t the NAACP say they think that Black African Americans can be shown as better than just gang bangers, felons, addicts and criminals. I realize that video game characters are often violent; but it would be nice to see more than a mere gesture of characters that were the protagonist and were Black African American or Hispanic. Like many other gamers, of various ages, seeing characters like myself would be nice and far more compelling if they weren’t the obvious villain or reinforced stereotype.
On a lighter note, Mr. Jerry Lewis just received his 3rd roast from the Friar’s Club. The reason is his appointment to the position of abbot of the club. I’ve seem tapes of previous roasts and have heard about what can happen at those roasts only members are allowed to. I can only guess what may have happened at a roast where Ice-T, members of the Sopranos cast and the Godfather movies were all attending. It may not be the French Legion of Honor but I have to think it’s a pretty good honor for a comedian who helped shape not only comedy but also how television and movies are made. Congratulations Mr. Lewis.
Lastly, I must mention that I really thought the American announcers spoke in poor taste during part of the Iran - Mexico game Sunday. There was no call to discuss Iran’s political actions during the game. That is the wrong forum. Discussing politics of a country we do not like in this venue would be like Mr. Yao Ming discussing how horrendous it was to use 2 nuclear bombs on the Japanese after winning the NBA finals. Or for Mr. Danys Baez Gonzalez to comment on how we are currently waging a war against an ideal, and in a country due to fabrications, while we have millions dying of poverty and drug addiction during the World Series. It’s not that I don’t find those sports events important, or that I question our troops. My comments on http://vasandtheworld.blogspot.com speak for themselves. The point is any kind of comment like that would create a wave of complaints. What the announcers did is no less insulting than what kayne west did during the Katrina Relief effort. It was just massively inappropriate.
This is what I think, what do you think?
posted by M. Vass | 2:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home