I don't know the case. I didn't watch it. What I do know is that there are more productive uses of network news time than micro-analyzing the modern day OJ trial. Sorry Casey, there will only ever be one Juice so you better set your sights on squeezing out your last few drops of fame. The 16th minute is nigh.
Sure, maybe justice wasn't served, but neither has it been served for every US citizen who pays daily into a fractured federal economy or for the Libyans straining for a piece of democracy. My utilitarian calculus leas me to hope the later cases get the coverage that is now spent on this murder trial.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Sunday, January 10, 2010
CSI Miami: Really?
It's 1:00 AM, which can only mean one thing: I have just finished watching CSI Miami. Now, the CSI franchise has been booming for what seems like a good 30 or 40 years but in fact is not even a decade. It all started many moons ago in the sleepy little town of Las Vegas, which is Spanish for "the vegas." Soon enough the show had gained a robust following of loyal viewers who were willing to murder each other if it meant getting to watch their favorite show about solving murders, and with that the CSI train was on the roll. It didn't take too long though for producers and viewers alike to figure out that Las Vegas was not a town conducive to good television, with its legalized prostitution, rampant debauchery, hedonistic worship of the rulette wheel, and countless other traits that would make Hugh Hefner blush. The real problem in filming a crime-solving show there was that anything that would be considered a crime by the rest of the world was, technically, completely legal by Las Vegas standards. Still, it was no secret that people like seeing the CSI equation played out each week and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer would have likely pawned off his own mother to the guys on the history channel sooner than throw away his newest cash cow. The solution: Move the show from the filthiest, most dysfunctional city to the shiniest, freshest, though still rather dysfunctional location of Miami Beach, Florida.
CSI Miami took everything that its predecessor lacked-- A racially diverse cast, even stater-of-the-art technologies, close up shots on women with nothing to hide-- and mixed it all together in stew of cultural tensions (apparently retirees Isaac and Sarah Lieberman were none too happy when Cuban Cartel boss, Vincente Hernandez moved in nextdoor. Go figure). Yes, CSI Miami is a slight improvement on CSI Las Vegas, but then again CSI Boise would have been a considerable step up also. So whats my beef with the show? This brings me to the thrust of current rantings, which is the complete and utter disregard for anything even remotely resembling realism. I know it is a fictional show, but presumably they were at least trying to infuse it with some sense of believability.
Lets take the Miami-Dade Police Department to start. The camera pans onto a building that appears to have better groundskeepers than the whitehouse, and once you go inside it only gets worse. Every friggin thing in there is made out of glass! Tables: glass. Walls: glass. Even the jail cells are hand-crafted from fine swarovsky Crystal. Now, I'm not saying I don't appreciate transparency, but let's be honest, is that really the best environment for the guy who just committed a triple homicide and knows he's going away for life? Forget that though, lets move on.
The next irksome point is the attire. Not ONE person in that show is poorly dressed! Now, I have never been to Miami, so it is entirely conceivable that it really is just a city full of people with exquisite fashion sense. Assuming that's not the case, there is no reason that every single criminal they arrest must be wearing designer slacks.
But what is most far-fetched about the whole situation, other than the notion that a conspiracy murder can be solved in about 60 minutes (we assume they keep working during the commercials. DNA doesn't analyze itself, you know.) is the brooding yet brilliant Lieutenant Horatio Cane. Horatio is perturbed by nothing. The space shuttle Atlantis could smash into a restaurant he is about to enter for lunch and all you would hear from him is is something along the lines of a an cool, "Well boys...I guess it's going to McDonalds today."
The worst breach of reality can always be counted on to arrive at the end of each show. As the criminal is lead in slow motion out of the interrogation room, Horatio inevitably swipes the sunglasses off his face, turns to the nearest fellow investigator, cocks his head, lowers his eyelids and delivers some concoction of the most velvety smooth, penetrating lines you might ever hear. "You see, Kelly... sometimes when you set the trap...the bait turns out being what you were trying to catch."
CSI Miami took everything that its predecessor lacked-- A racially diverse cast, even stater-of-the-art technologies, close up shots on women with nothing to hide-- and mixed it all together in stew of cultural tensions (apparently retirees Isaac and Sarah Lieberman were none too happy when Cuban Cartel boss, Vincente Hernandez moved in nextdoor. Go figure). Yes, CSI Miami is a slight improvement on CSI Las Vegas, but then again CSI Boise would have been a considerable step up also. So whats my beef with the show? This brings me to the thrust of current rantings, which is the complete and utter disregard for anything even remotely resembling realism. I know it is a fictional show, but presumably they were at least trying to infuse it with some sense of believability.
Lets take the Miami-Dade Police Department to start. The camera pans onto a building that appears to have better groundskeepers than the whitehouse, and once you go inside it only gets worse. Every friggin thing in there is made out of glass! Tables: glass. Walls: glass. Even the jail cells are hand-crafted from fine swarovsky Crystal. Now, I'm not saying I don't appreciate transparency, but let's be honest, is that really the best environment for the guy who just committed a triple homicide and knows he's going away for life? Forget that though, lets move on.
The next irksome point is the attire. Not ONE person in that show is poorly dressed! Now, I have never been to Miami, so it is entirely conceivable that it really is just a city full of people with exquisite fashion sense. Assuming that's not the case, there is no reason that every single criminal they arrest must be wearing designer slacks.
But what is most far-fetched about the whole situation, other than the notion that a conspiracy murder can be solved in about 60 minutes (we assume they keep working during the commercials. DNA doesn't analyze itself, you know.) is the brooding yet brilliant Lieutenant Horatio Cane. Horatio is perturbed by nothing. The space shuttle Atlantis could smash into a restaurant he is about to enter for lunch and all you would hear from him is is something along the lines of a an cool, "Well boys...I guess it's going to McDonalds today."
The worst breach of reality can always be counted on to arrive at the end of each show. As the criminal is lead in slow motion out of the interrogation room, Horatio inevitably swipes the sunglasses off his face, turns to the nearest fellow investigator, cocks his head, lowers his eyelids and delivers some concoction of the most velvety smooth, penetrating lines you might ever hear. "You see, Kelly... sometimes when you set the trap...the bait turns out being what you were trying to catch."
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Returns
It is that time of year once again. You know, the special day when we commemorate the birth of Santa Claus. Well, not quite. Actually, December 25th was the day when Santa defeated the Nazis and, as an act of victory, invented electricity so that all of his followers could celebrate and pay homage by hanging miniature light bulbs on their houses. Oh Santa, how great thou art!
There is another, lesser known version of the story that involves a Jewish guy who just couldn't play by the rules, but few people know about that. Actually, it is unfortunate how few of those ubiquitous mall-goers maxing out their visas on over-priced plastic bobbles DO know (or care) about the significance of the holiday season. Christmas, though it is now devoted to the birth of Jesus Christ, has ties to very unchristian holidays.
For one, Jesus was almost certainly not born in winter, but rather sometime in the summer, when Mary and big Joe would have been making the trip to Jerusalem for the census. Before this ever happened though, several solar deities from Persia, Syria, and other parts of the middle east were collectively worshiped during Sol Invictus,which was in December during the winter solstice. Initially, during the first centuries after Christ there would have been no celebration of his birthday. Christian writers soon found it convenient to connect the birth of the sun to the birth of the son, and the rest is history.
Please don't misread my intentions: I am happily a christian and mean no insult to Jesus or his cause, but rather I wish to point out the facts of history, facts which indicate that even things as harshly divided as religion often flow into one another along a cultural continuum. With that said,the next time you are standing in line to purchase that Malibu Barbie (which will almost certainly give its owner a severely distorted self-image and equally tough eating disorder) as a gift for Christmas, take a moment to remember the man from Bethlehem and the all the pagans who came before him so that you might have one more annual excuse to eat too much and spend time with those you love.
There is another, lesser known version of the story that involves a Jewish guy who just couldn't play by the rules, but few people know about that. Actually, it is unfortunate how few of those ubiquitous mall-goers maxing out their visas on over-priced plastic bobbles DO know (or care) about the significance of the holiday season. Christmas, though it is now devoted to the birth of Jesus Christ, has ties to very unchristian holidays.
For one, Jesus was almost certainly not born in winter, but rather sometime in the summer, when Mary and big Joe would have been making the trip to Jerusalem for the census. Before this ever happened though, several solar deities from Persia, Syria, and other parts of the middle east were collectively worshiped during Sol Invictus,which was in December during the winter solstice. Initially, during the first centuries after Christ there would have been no celebration of his birthday. Christian writers soon found it convenient to connect the birth of the sun to the birth of the son, and the rest is history.
Please don't misread my intentions: I am happily a christian and mean no insult to Jesus or his cause, but rather I wish to point out the facts of history, facts which indicate that even things as harshly divided as religion often flow into one another along a cultural continuum. With that said,the next time you are standing in line to purchase that Malibu Barbie (which will almost certainly give its owner a severely distorted self-image and equally tough eating disorder) as a gift for Christmas, take a moment to remember the man from Bethlehem and the all the pagans who came before him so that you might have one more annual excuse to eat too much and spend time with those you love.
Ho,ho,ho, and welcome to the premier post of The Philosophizer! Who is the philosophizer? Well, some who philosophizes, such as, but certainly not limited to, myself. Philosophy may be considered the study of fundamental issues such as the nature and function of existence, knowledge, being, ethics, language, science,and mind, to name a few.
So, for all of us who are wise (or stupid) enough to confidently hack away at the problems that go typically unspoken yet are influential in each day of every creature's life, here is your home! My wish is is to apply philosophical principles and analysis to contemporary events/people/trends, etc because after studying the subject at university for nearly 4 years, I am about done with the vicious cycle as it exists-- those who study philosophy do so in order to teach philosophy to those who study philosophy in order to teach philosophy, and you can see how it progresses from there. Consider the cycle broken as of now. The field of phil. is too big and beautiful to be eternally separated from its natural lover--reality-- so let us begin planning the reunion here. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so may this post be the first of many.
It is my hope that this grows into an eclectic blog with very fuzzy and loose borders. I must preface though that I have a particular interest in psychology, so I may tend to approach issues from a perspective harmonious with my natural inclinations, and may you do the same.
So, for all of us who are wise (or stupid) enough to confidently hack away at the problems that go typically unspoken yet are influential in each day of every creature's life, here is your home! My wish is is to apply philosophical principles and analysis to contemporary events/people/trends, etc because after studying the subject at university for nearly 4 years, I am about done with the vicious cycle as it exists-- those who study philosophy do so in order to teach philosophy to those who study philosophy in order to teach philosophy, and you can see how it progresses from there. Consider the cycle broken as of now. The field of phil. is too big and beautiful to be eternally separated from its natural lover--reality-- so let us begin planning the reunion here. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so may this post be the first of many.
It is my hope that this grows into an eclectic blog with very fuzzy and loose borders. I must preface though that I have a particular interest in psychology, so I may tend to approach issues from a perspective harmonious with my natural inclinations, and may you do the same.
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