Captain Digital

Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.

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TV is dead. Long live TV!

tv-tombstone

I am a child of Television. No kidding…my first word? Not “mama” or “dada,” but “Popeye.” I was a disciple of Larry, Moe and Curly, and George Reeves taught me to believe a man could fly. I don’t think you could find a kid that was more plugged-in, tuned-in, and aware of television than I am. Which is why it somewhat pains me to report that TV, my lifelong companion, is dying, and near death. It was a good run. We had some great times. But I come not to praise TV, but to bury it – drive a stake through it’s 49 share heart. And to give you hope for the future.  [Read more…] about TV is dead. Long live TV!

Are Progressives Schizophrenic?

I’m at an age where I value consistency. I view it as the opposite of hypocrisy. Now keep in mind, hypocrisy is an Equal Opportunity Destroyer – it strikes both Liberal and Conservative alike, with an equanimity only dreamt of by the EEOC. For every political scandal on the Left, I can cite you chapter and verse of one on the Right. But there’s one huge difference between the Left and the Right, when dealing with hypocrisy. Those on the Right tend to vilify those on the Left AND the Right, when they are caught, red-handed. Those on the Left seem to excuse the behavior of those on Team Lefty, while excoriating those on the Right. This requires some fairly impressive mental gymnastics on their part, with some contortions that would put Nadia Comaneci in traction. To wit… [Read more…] about Are Progressives Schizophrenic?

Teen Teachable Moments in (Louisiana) History.

Well, we (my 14-year-old daughter) and I just got back from Lake Charles, LA, where she competed in the Louisiana State Social Studies Fair. Well, “competed” isn’t exactly the right word. She entered. She did her best. She excelled. And she did not win. But for her to have “competed” would have required that they actually stage a competition, which, sadly, they did not. What they did do bears some explanation – and analysis. [Read more…] about Teen Teachable Moments in (Louisiana) History.

Where do you get your ideas?

If I’ve heard that once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. And there’s no single – or right – answer to the question. Not trying to be difficult. I just really can’t tell you, because I don’t know. In this, I’m not alone. Most creative people have the same dilemma. But I divide ideas into two categories in my own work – revolutionary and evolutionary. I’ll use a recent project to explain what I mean.  [Read more…] about Where do you get your ideas?

There’s humor in all things. (Unless you’re a Liberal.)

So I’m innocently blogging along over on Facebook (http://facebook.com/captaindigital and http://facebook.com/captaindigitalspeaks) when I happen to post a funny story I heard from a fellow Conservative. Six or so friends of generally right-leaning viewpoints thought it was a howl. But one, ultra-left wing person of my acquaintance unloaded on me like a B-17 Flying Fortress over Dresden – with about as much tact. He resorted to the typical Liberal tactics (name-calling, Judas-goats, hyperbole, and other assorted nonsense) and ranted about how Conservatives are all wingnuts and idiots. (Somebody get this guy a mirror. Please.) But it occurred to me that there’s a fundamental inequality here – Conservatives can find the humor in a Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert (most of the time), even when they poke fun at Conservatives. But Liberals seem uniformly incapable of reciprocity. Why is that?  [Read more…] about There’s humor in all things. (Unless you’re a Liberal.)

Is motherhood a “real job”?

After the dust-up from the Sunday, talking-heads news shows about Ann Romney, where Obamanista Hillary Rosen declared that Ann Romney was unfit to comment as a spokesperson for American women because “she never had a real job,” it would seem that the Right and the Left are falling into two camps: those that think that Motherhood IS a real job, and worthy of the same “real” status as any other, and those that feel as though you can’t be “fulfilled” or a “real woman” unless you have a day job in addition to raising kids. And Rosen’s statement seems to have lit a fuse on a powder keg. So that leaves the question hanging out there – is motherhood a real job?  [Read more…] about Is motherhood a “real job”?

The ‘Coz’ Lets Me Down, Once Again.

I’ve long been a fan of Bill Cosby. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s black, and I’m white. Funny, that – when someone is talented and funny, race makes no difference. I grew up in a household where our mindset was Talent Über Alles. And make no mistake, Bill Cosby is a talented guy. He’s also someone who’s ‘made it,’ in a time where there was a glass ceiling on TV and in the movies for black men. No matter. He’s so good that glass ceilings proved no match for him. (Even a mega-turkey like Leonard Number 6 couldn’t sink his career.) But Cosby the Comic, Cosby the Actor, Cosby the Pitchman – they are all to be admired. But what of Cosby the man himself? Like most of the rest of us, he has feet of clay. But for the most part, I’ve really admired him. But this week, he put a rather large ding in his coat of shining armor, at least as far as I’m concerned. He seems to think the Trayvon Martin incident happened because of our “gun culture.” Sorry Coz. You’re wrong.  [Read more…] about The ‘Coz’ Lets Me Down, Once Again.

R.I.P. Thomas Kincaid, 1957-2012

I just heard that Thomas Kincaid died suddenly today. It’s estimated that one in every twenty homes in America have one of his mass-produced masterpieces in it. Not ring a bell? Okay, how about this: Go to virtually any mall in America and look for the shop that sells paintings. Odds are the sign outside the door reads “Thomas Kincaid, Painter of Light.” Ahhhh. Now you get the connection. Now being an artist myself, you might think I’m all about mocking Kincaid. But I come not to bury him, but to praise him.  [Read more…] about R.I.P. Thomas Kincaid, 1957-2012

Whither (Miss?) Canada?

Okay. I’m gonna wade right into the middle of this minefield, fully aware that I’m liable to tick a lot of people off. If you haven’t heard, the Donald Trump-owned Miss Universe organization learned that Miss Canada, one Jenna Talackova, was barred from competing for the Miss Universe title by virtue of having been born a man instead of a woman.

Ahem.

Okay, there are so many ways to go with this story, I hardly know where to begin. First of all, lemme say that it is a sick, sad sign of our times when a pageant has to include in its rulebook that contestants must meet the legal requirements of being an actual, you know… WOMAN. Things were so simple when I was a kid. We turned on the TV, and if someone was in a dress and had breasts, they were a woman. (Okay, they could have been Milton Berle, but I don’t think he fooled anybody.) Sure there were drag acts way back when, but I don’t recall a case where a guy decided to switch operating systems, as it were, and then decide to enter a beauty pageant contest as a woman. Now I understand “Jenna” entered an earlier contest for “transgendered” individuals, so it’s not like this should have come as a big surprise to our neighbors in the Great White North. And looking at pics of Talakova, I can understand the confusion. She looks like a woman. But I can’t blame the pageant officials either. I mean, who in the Hell would think to run DNA tests on contestants to make sure they’re really women. (Okay, I know, I know. East Germany women’s weight lifters. But still…) [Read more…] about Whither (Miss?) Canada?

Scattershootin’ Fridays…

NEWS ITEM: Keith Olbermann was fired today from his gig with CurrentTV. Yep. AlGore fired the Keithanator. Never heard of CurrentTV? Neither has anybody else other than the half-dozen left-wingnuts that watch it. But don’t feel too badly for them. Gore’s hired Former N.Y. Gov. Elliot Spitzer as his replacement. Rumored first guest: Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Lord knows what they’ll talk about…

NEWS ITEM: This week, the Little Rock Airport Authority announced plans to rename their airport to “The Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.” The media immediately nicknamed the airport the “Hill-Billy National.” In other news, the airport announced plans for a walk-in humidor, which is curious, since the airport is a designated no-smoking area.

NEWS ITEM: Vice President Joe Biden today called for a “Global Tax,” since he believes the world just doesn’t pay enough in taxes. In a related item, the stock price of pharmaceutical companies that manufacture anti-psychotic drugs fell today, on reports of lower earnings.