Top 5 PCTVS

For awhile now I have increasingly felt television is almost on par with films in terms of quality.  Television doesn't have the same budget to compete with film in many areas such as acting talent, special effects or filming on the spot locations... not to mention time frame.  Yet with all the constraints of television I am impressed with how well it is doing.

Picture quality in some shows are practically identical to, if not better than, an average film.   This isn't too surprising though since now an HD camcorder can be purchased for around $100 and the average home video may look as good as a 70's TV show.  Special effects have come a long way too for the lower budget of TV.  Consider the last explosion you saw on TV and then compare that to Independence Day (which made me laugh hysterically the last time I watched it).

Also what good shows lack in terms of raw acting talent, they make up for it with good writing and more in depth character development.  Good films now tend to be longer and I think the extra character development is why.  A 120 min movie was quite long in the early 90's; now it's normal for a film to run 150 min to really to a good job.  This still can't compete with the time of a well written TV show than runs around 12-18 hrs over the course of a season. 

I have wondered if these factors are going to attract the really talented writers to pursue Television instead of film in the future.  Personally I like the idea of extended mini-series, if such a thing exists.  Where there is a really good story, interesting characters, is too long for a film but has a definite ending unlike TV shows.  In fact the biggest downfall of TV is that good shows can run too long.  The writers already did what they set out to do with the show but the network feels there is money to be made so they renew and renew when they would have done a bigger service to the audience by pulling the plug... Alias anyone.

Unfortunately the inverse is also true.  There are some shows that are simply amazing but are never given a real chance.  That being said here is my list of top shows that were canceled before their time or, as mysteriously abbreviated in my title, Prematurely Canceled Television Shows.

1.  Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Two words: Aaron Sorkin.  The creator of Sports Night and The West Wing gave it another try and did so beautifully with Studio 60.  This show had talent in the actors too; Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford with a slew of supporting actors who had also starred in feature films.  From the very start the story was off and running so why did this one only last a single season.  I blame 30 Rock.  Now I like 30 Rock just fine and really enjoy Tina Fey it's creator.  But seriously two shows that came out at the same time, on the same network about the backstage workings of a Late Night sketch comedy show?  They were both funny but Studio 60 also made you think.  

2.  Better off Ted
All of the shows on this list were plagued with a lack of advertising.   Better off Ted is at the top of the list on this scale.  I first heard about it toward the end of the first season (thank you Matt Kunkle for enlightening me).  The writing was genius which kept the zany, over the top nature of this show in check.  Taking place in a corporate office building the characters strive to find sanity within a company who values profits above all else.  Profits over People is their motto; it just looks better in Latin as inscribed in the building's floor.

3.  Firefly
There are plenty of people who would say I am very wrong to rank Firefly third on this list, many of whom would be arguing the number one position.  The arguments may have merit but ultimately I felt the true fans of Firefly were given a gift that the rest of these shows did not receive... a full length feature film to tie up loose ends.  The series and film are both so well done that either can stand on their own but together they complement nicely.  However, if given another two or three seasons this story could have been so much more complete.  Props to Joss Whedon on this show.  Who would have thought a Space Western was possible?

4.  Arrested Development
Most people have heard me rant about this show getting canceled at least once.  So some may be wondering why it's all the way down at number four.  Those already familiar with this show will know that it ran three seasons which is the longest of all the shows on this list.  I can't think of an episode that I didn't enjoy but it does beg the question of how long that could have held true.  I know they could have kept going but part of me is glad they stopped while they were ahead.  

5.  Life
Of all the shows on this list Life is the one that almost didn't make it.  There are plenty of other shows that arguably could take this spot (and I hope you will comment on which shows and why) or any of the other spots on this list.  For me Life made the cut because this was the show that gave me the impression of the shift in quality of TV vs. film.  The acting is quality and the cinematography for a television show is very good.  If you are not familiar with Life I would recommend checking it out.

So there's my thoughts on the issue which, if nothing else, I hope have been an enjoyable way to pass the time.  I am always on the look for great shows, so if I have left one out or there is one that you find noteworthy leave a comment so I can check it out.

Playlist up and Running

I've added a play-list at the end of my posts with different songs I enjoy. I think this will be a good way to share the new music I like as opposed to making a new post for every new band or song I come across.

I have tried to keep this feature as unobtrusive as possible. It shouldn't play anything unless you tell it to, but if this is not working as I hope let me know so I can correct it. I have enabled the randomize feature so that if you let it play you should get a decent variety especially since it may get fairly long as I will be adding to it from time to time.

I also want this to be family friendly so if you come across an inappropriate song let me know so I can remove it. Happy listening.

Following the Savior

I had the opportunity to speak this week in sacrament meeting. I enjoyed preparing and giving this talk so much I wanted to post it here so that those who were not in attendance could at least read it. I omitted my introduction since all of you know me but the rest I tried to keep as true to the presentation as possible.


Today we have those who are with us for the first time. The incoming freshmen who are just starting their careers in higher education. But I would venture that among us today we have for the first time brothers and sisters at all levels of collegiate development. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to extend our hands and open our hearts as we grow together in our faith. Just as Paul taught the Ephesians, I know that here we “are no more strangers and foreigners, but followcitizens with the saints” (Eph 2:19) While our individual reasons for coming today are varied, we are all here because we share a common testimony of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Earlier this year Elder Quentin L. Cook shared his general conference address on following Jesus Christ. I find it appropriate today to remind us of his words, and share with you some of my thoughts and personal testimony of the Savior. One of the greatest blessings of membership in the Church of Jesus Christ is our opportunity to partake of the sacrament. During this sacred ordinance we renew our baptismal covenants and rededicate ourselves to living the gospel. Worthily partaking of the sacrament “allows each of us to express with broken hearts and contrite spirits our willingness to follow the Savior, to repent, and to to become a Saint through the Atonement of Christ.” (84)

The Atonement “is the transcendent event in the history of mankind.” (83) Our redeemer's suffering in Gethsemane, his crucifixion on Calvary overcame death in all its forms. Because of Jesus Christ, “We will be resurrected from death and have our spirits reunited with our bodies. Based on personal worthiness, we may through His grace have the glorious opportunity of entering back into the presence of God.” (83-84) His sacrifice offers so much while requiring so little in return. Are we willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ? Are we willing to always remember him? To keep his commandments? This is what we committed to when we were baptized. This is why the sacrament is so important.

In the university setting I have found that this is where a person's testimony truly becomes their own. For some this may be their first experience of independent living. Here we are all adults. We are free and unrestrained to make our own decisions. Not all of these decisions will be in harmony with the teachings of the gospel. When this happens we can repent. We can make an even greater effort to follow the example of the Savior. If we choose to keep the commandments and listen to the Holy Ghost our time in school can be the best of our lives. A time where living the gospel's principles changes from 'what we do' to what we want to do.

As I have reflected on the Savior and His invitation to follow Him my mind often returned to the hymn “Lord, I Would Follow Thee.” The second verse is a beautiful reminder of how we can outwardly follow Christ by heeding his council to love one another. I also find these words particularly poignant in addressing our situation in this ward:

Who am I to judge another When I walk imperfectly?

In the quiet heart is hidden Sorrow that the eye can't see.

Who am I to judge another? Lord, I would follow thee.

If we are to be His disciples and follow Christ we must create an environment in His church that fosters healing the Atonement can provide. All of us have personal weaknesses. For some these are weaknesses we are comfortable discussing openly. For others they may be more serious transgressions which will require confession with the Bishop. We have among us those who carry sorrows which are hidden in their quiet hearts. There are those here today who struggle with the word of wisdom, addiction to pornography, and attraction to those of the same gender. We can gauge our commitment to following Jesus Christ in the effort we make to love one another. To encourage all to come unto Christ, to repent and experience the miracle of His forgiveness. To say as Christ said: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

In closing I invite all to more closely follow the Savior. I can think of no better phrasing for this invitation than the words used by Christ himself. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) While I may not fully comprehend the atonement, I know that Christ's supernal sacrifice does provide healing and peace.

I testify that Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior and as we draw near to him he will not draw away from us. May all of us partake in the blessings only he can provide by taking upon ourselves His name, remembering him and keeping his commandments. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Proposition 8 Reversed

Yesterday Vaughn R Walker, United States District Chief Judge in the Northern District of California, enjoined enforcement of Proposition 8 (the California Marriage Protection Act). This action has rekindled the debate on the definition of marriage and the right of gay and lesbian couples to legally marry. There are staunch supporters celebrating the latest decision and devoted resisters bemoaning the current situation. As a reader, whichever side of the debate you find yourself on, this is not a post of persuasive argument. I expect that you will, as I have, come to your own conclusions of what is right.

For your reference the complete decision can be found here. Its introduction states: "Plaintiffs allege that Proposition 8 deprives them of due process and of equal protection of the laws contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment and that its enforcement by state officials violates 42 USC § 1983."

I would also reference a press release issued the same day by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I add my support to their communication and "urge people on all sides of this issue to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility toward those with a different opinion." With such strong feelings on both sides of this sensitive issue, it is unlikely that this latest decision will be the end of its discussion.

Language obfuscation, obnubilated future

English is a pretty screwed up language. Anyone who attended grade school can testify that the grammar and pronunciation rules are ridiculous. There are words that cannot be pronounced without context (heteronyms) like: bow, lead, permit, or dove. We use homonyms that have diverse spellings but sound identical like: air, heir, ere, err and e'er. Not to mention that laughter and slaughter are only different by one letter and yet sound so distinct. Yes, English as a language is far from perfect. What I find far more frustrating than the language itself, however, is how the electronic age is destroying the English language.

Perhaps there are bigger battles to fight than preserving the sanctity of a language as twisted as English, but I truly feel that the apathy of so many toward this topic is leading to dire consequences that we do not easily foresee. Written language was a necessary development for the progression of civilization. Throughout history the most successful of empires used an official language since it provided a uniformity to its subjects; as we continue in this timeline when the integrity of language broke down the collapse of the government that upheld it was not long after.

A warning which resonates strongly with me was shared by Mosiah when they found the people of Zarahemla, "and their language had become corrupted; and they brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator" (Omni 1:17). I find the order of this verse interesting. It's as though it were a causal relationship between the perversion of the language and their eventual apostasy. I feel that the degradation our language is currently undergoing is a factor that contributes to the decline of our nation.

I realize that the title of this post uses words that are not easily recognized, but I used them to make a point. Language is powerful. Unless people are willing to actively work to confront the corrosion of language, our society will inevitably decline as well. With four words I can summarize the idea that it has taken me four paragraphs to make. Perhaps it's worthwhile for us to pull out a dictionary or thesaurus and do what we can to counter the debasement of English. I'm not advocating that we need to haughtily use difficult words and make those around us feel foolish, but I would like to outline a few things I have noticed that may be of use to others in this cause.

1. Texting - For the longest time I refused to text. Texting is perhaps where the worst infractions in English occur since it is designed to be short; people, therefore, resort to abbreviating words and entire thoughts. In the rare cases where I do text, I take the time to spell out everything and use the appropriate punctuation. Sure it takes a little longer but I have yet to have someone ask me for clarification on any of the messages I have sent.

2. Capitalization - A few years ago, I was dating a girl who lived in Idaho Falls. When she went home for the summer we would keep in touch mostly through email since it was free. It was agonizing for me to get these long messages from her that looked like a single run-on sentence. There was no capitalization, separation of paragraphs or even punctuation. I wasted so much time trying to decipher her writing. In retrospect I can see why we broke up... It is fairly demanding to ask a person to occasionally use the shift key.

3. LOL - It should be fairly obvious by now that I disapprove of these types of acronyms when writing, but it blows my mind when I hear people actually say the acronym. TTYL, L8R, LMAO and WTF (I'm pretty forgiving on that last one though given the alternative). I have heard people actually say these things in conversation. How is this helpful? I think it actually takes more time to verbalize el-eight-ar than it does to say 'later'.

4. Fail - There is a trend now to refer to things considered stupid or wrong as 'fail.' It is actually maddening to listen to someone use this verb as a noun. In the basics of sentence structure you need a noun, a verb and a subject (which can be implied). So when I hear 'That's fail.' I think That = subject, 's = is = verb to be, fail = verb to fail... where is the noun?

5. Vocabulary - This one is not a condemning entry, to the contrary this is where technology is helping. A tool I have found useful is vocabulary building websites. There are many websites that feature a 'Word of the day.' I try to visit one of these a few times a week and incorporate the word into my usage that day. Some words I have kept for future use and some are simply entertaining that day. English can be a very concise language if one has the vocabulary to make it so. Words that are not recognized immediately would be if they were used everyday. Sometimes it is a shame to let these words go to waste.

Dirt Poor Robins

For a while now I'm been listening to a husband and wife musical group that goes by Dirt Poor Robins. They have a cool folk/rock sound and use a variety of musical elements in their songs. It appears that they started out in 2006 and put out their album "The Cage" in 2007. As is the trend with many underground groups, their album is only available via electronic download. I am not one who tends to purchase songs that is just in electronic format since I like to own the physical CD but in this case I made an exception.

I would have to say that what peaked my interest in Dirt Poor Robins was their cover of "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles. My first impression when I saw a cover of a Beatles song was that of disbelief. It seemed pretty ballsy that anyone would have the audacity to try to improve something put out by them. So I gave it a listen to see how bad it was... but the joke was on me because it was incredible. It sounded great and was in no way disrespectful to the Beatles.

"The Hollywood Song" and "Love Again" are two others that stand out as great songs but the entire CD is worth listening to. Dirt Poor Robins hasn't had any official news releases since late 2007 so I'm a bit concerned that they haven't received enough support and are being left by the way side. I really hope this is not the case but if anyone is able to enjoy their music as a result of this post, my job is done. Happy listening.

Ruger Rebellion

The first year I went to Scout Camp I discovered that I really enjoyed shooting guns. The Rifle Shooting merit badge was offered there and for a penny per shot you could do as much target practice as you wanted. I earned that merit badge my first year there and in subsequent years regularly visited the rifle range.

Part of the merit badge requirements were to learn how to use guns in a safe way. Keeping guns pointed in a safe direction, keeping the firearm unloaded until ready to shoot and correctly using the safety are all basics that eliminate the chance of accidents that many in today's society automatically associate with gun use and gun ownership.

Since using guns with respect and in appropriate ways is completely safe and lots of fun, I have never been able to understand the arguments for gun bans or gun control. It always seemed like it would take guns away from people who respect them, while those who are using guns to break the law won't really care whether the gun they are breaking the law with is illegal or not.

I've always wanted to own a handgun, for recreational shooting. During the last election I looked at many issues, including gun control, and the respective stances of each candidate towards them. President Obama is certainly not the most fanatical opponent to gun ownership as his record can show. However, with such an overwhelming majority of democrats in the House and Senate, I began to worry that owning a handgun may not be an option forever. So when I got my tax refund back I went ahead a splurged a bit to finally buy my own handgun. I thought it was fitting that I should use the money that was withheld from my earnings by the government to make this purchase.

So now that I am the owner of a Ruger SR9c, witch feels really good to hold by the way, if people want to shooting sometime just let me know.

Collection of Goods

At first glance the title for my blog may not make much sense. "Collection of Goods" was taken from the title of a song by my favorite band Collective Soul. Ed Roland, the lead singer and songwriter for the band, writes some of the greatest lyrics I've ever come across. Ever since I first listened to their self-titled CD all the way back in 1995 Collection of Goods has always been one of their great songs to me.

Resonate tones of saving grace
Separate from the gods of hate
Alleviate all out doubting ways
Congregate to more loving days

A collection of peace where we could live
A collection of hope for us to give
A collection of words that mean we care
A collection of love for us to share

Recognize all equality
Vocalize solidarity
Exercise your tranquility
Glamorize all of love's needs

I thought it was fitting to use this for my blog title since this will be where I can compile my "goods": events, thoughts, reviews and the like. If not already familiar with the song you can use the link provided above.

Introduction

Let me be honest, I never thought that I would have a blog. I don't believe that my views on topics are exceptional or even original. I am not an authoritarian on anything. So why have I finally decided to give in and create this site? I am doing this for my family both present and future.

As my siblings have gotten older and we have become more geographically separated staying in touch electronically has been an immense help for me. I have enjoyed following my sisters' blogs and seeing the updates in their lives and the lives of my niece and nephews. So this is for them and the rest of my family.

I also have never been great at keeping a journal to chronicle the events in my life. While I don't claim this is or should be a replacement for a personal record, I hope this will at least create a partial record that my future children and grandchildren will be able to access.

I would like to thank my family for their influence to me and I hope they can enjoy/appreciate what I post here.