Captain Digital

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

Where will it all end?

I’m a big fan of Gilbert & Sullivan. In their immortal operetta, The Gondoliers, the ingeneue’s father, the Duke of Plaza-Toro (Count Matadoro, Baron Picadoro), realizes that being a member of the nobility is at odds with his current, destitute state of affairs. His novel solution was to apply for by the public under the Limited Liability Company Act. In American terms, that means he “went public,” offering shares in his Dukedom on the stock exchange. If Gilbert & Sullivan were alive today, I’m sure they’d write The Gondoliers II – The Baratarian Pirates Strike Back, where they’d script the Duke in debt once again, applying to the government for a bailout.

First it was the mortgage companies.

Then the insurance companies.

Next it was the automobile companies.

Now the credit card companies step up for a handout.

Will somebody please tell me where this governmental largess (with OUR friggin’ money!) will end? [Read more…] about Where will it all end?

I’ve got rhythm. (And you can, too.)

 

My daughter – let’s call her “Private Digital” – is studying the violin. She played with her symphony orchestra this past Saturday. Way cool. I wish I’d been able to play with a symphonic orchestra when I was in grade school. (I got to play with a lot of jazz combos and rock groups, but that’s another story.)

What I find interesting is that in many ways, she’s much like most of my better students, back when I taught music lessons for a living. I found that the ones that were pretty sharp had more trouble with the mechanics of music, because they relied on their ears instead of their eyes. That may sound odd, since music is an aural media, but using your eyes (to read music) is essential. It’s what makes the difference between someone who plays violin and a violinist. [Read more…] about I’ve got rhythm. (And you can, too.)

Economics and Perception.

One of my favorite stories involves a blind street vendor of hot dogs. One day, one his customers suggested that if business was good, he should consider expanding. The customer offered to help the blind vendor with introductions to a banker, and so the vendor ended up buying a second cart, and hiring someone to work for him. That worked out so well, that he was able to buy more carts, and hire more people. This gave him enough discretionary income that he was able to send his son to college. The son majored in business administration. When the kid graduated, he returned home to see that his dad had purchased a corner lot and an old diner trailer that he rennovated and opened as a freestanding restaurant. The son was horrified. “Dad…don’t you know the economy is lousy! You shouldn’t be expanding right now…you need to pull in your horns and hunker down for a long recessionary period. This has got “Depression” written all over it! You’d better be careful, or you’ll lose everything!” 

The father thought, “Well…my son did go to college, which I’ve never done, and he did major in business, and he did get a degree. Maybe he’s right.” So he sold the restaurant, sold off the other carts, and went back to working a single street corner, selling hot dogs. He thought, “Boy, my son was right. The economy is lousy.” [Read more…] about Economics and Perception.

Fatherhood.

I was at a banquet tonight given under the auspices of “America Supports You,” a group that helps Americans show tangible support for our military personnel and their families. It got me to thinking about tough jobs. Anybody serving in our military has a tough job. That almost (but not quite) goes without saying. Military families have a tough (and usually under-appreciated) job, too. Keeping things going stateside while your significant other is deployed can be every bit demanding (in a quite different way) from serving in harm’s way. Tonight, I’d like to talk about another tough job: Fatherhood. [Read more…] about Fatherhood.

Getting Malled.

 

Genuine Red Sea Sea Salt (by the Sea Shore)
Genuine Red Sea Sea Salt (by the Red Sea Shore)

Most guys hate shopping. I don’t mind it. I actually kind of enjoy going to the mall, watching the teeming masses, yearing to shop free. I’ve never been a big fan of the overpriced food court offerings, nor do I flock with the other lemmings to signs that scream “SALE!” or “EVERYTHING MUST GO!” Not my thing. I prefer to walk the mall and look for cool stuff that catches my eye. Sadly, there’s a trend in the shopping malls across this country that threatens my enjoyment of a visit, and is driving me to shun the mall in favor of online or WalMart. 

 

I call it “Assault of the Immigrant Kiosk Sales Staff.” 

It’s kinda like “Night of the Living Dead,” without the R rating, the cleavage, and the gore. But I digress. [Read more…] about Getting Malled.

Journalistic Malpractice.

Keeping to my pledge to lay off politics for a while is going to prove to be more difficult than I thought.

Yesterday, I heard a report of an on-air chat between reporters talking heads Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw, where they sat around (basking in the post-election afterglow) and opined that nobody really knows anything about our President-Elect. They were somewhat mystified that anyone could get elected to the Presidency, without knowing what they think about the important issues of the day. (Keep in mind, we’re not listening to a couple of wet-behind-the-ears, 20-something bloggers here – these two gentlemen of the press have what amounts to a lifetime of experience between the two of them.) They both remarked that “we don’t really know anything about Obama.”

Whaaaa?!

[Read more…] about Journalistic Malpractice.

Gullible’s Travels

If you listen to the media, Al “I invented the Internet” Gore, and many of the self-appointed expert witnesses we call Hollywood stars, you’d count Chicken Little as an underachiever. It seems that, every other day, we get another politician telling us that we must limit carbon emissions, or that the pollution on our planet is all our fault (humans in general, and America, specifically). According to the prevailing wisdom:

  • America is the big villain when it comes to carbon footprints, global climate change (nee: “global warming”) and the destruction of the planet
  • The only way to save our planet is to allow the government to tax us out the wazoo
  • All the experts are in total agreement on the causes and effects of global warming and climate change.

Let’s look at the last one first. [Read more…] about Gullible’s Travels

Where do we go from here?

Well, it’s all over, but the shouting. To those on the Left, I offer congratulations. You got almost everything you wanted (save a 60-vote majority in the Senate). To those on the Right, I have a few more choice words – later. I, for one, am looking forward to the next couple of months as a sort of vacation from the political arena. There won’t be much going on for us Conservatives. I have no desire to participate in or listen to what I anticipate will be the media’s deification prior to the coronation of The Chosen One. So I think I’ll simply talk about every thing else BUT politics. That’s fair, as I fully intend to give the Obama Administration a chance to do what they think is best for the country. (The moment, however, that they break their word on anything, I will howling in protest, along with the rest of my Conservative brethren.) So in the spirit of moving forward, allow me to nail down a few loose ends: [Read more…] about Where do we go from here?

The Straw Man.

As a conservative, I find it both interesting and annoying that so much of what we see on TV as “entertainment” leans (or lunges) to the left. In a weird way, it affords me a way to keep in touch (albeit somewhat reluctantly) with what the liberal side of the world is thinking. Not that I have a lot of options…most programming on the networks run from the left-of-center to the far left. The occasional shows that exhibits any love for the right (24 and The Unit) are either too popular to cancel, or anomalies that don’t usually last too long. [Read more…] about The Straw Man.

Election Day.

After what seems like a decade of debates, centuries of commercials, and eons of excess, the day has come to vote, and put this madness to rest – for at least a few months. 

Thank God. 

No matter how the election turns out, I look forward to watching television broadcasts bereft of ads slinging mud, making unsubstantiated claims, and generally boring me to death. (Whoever came up with the idea for DVRs gets to jump the line into Heaven, in my book.) I can’t think of a more important election within my lifetime – or one that I’m more eager to see done and over. 

I voted over a week ago. I’m not alone…a staggering 46% of Texas Panhandle residents voted early. (By comparison, that’s close to the total number of ALL the people that voted in the last Presidential election – early voting, absentee voting, and regular voting combined.) 

The time for bending people’s ears about who’s the better candidate – and who will lead us down the road to destruction – is, mercifully, over. If you haven’t already voted, I encourage you to do so – no matter who you support. Voting is a precious right in America, and we should never take it for granted. Whoever is elected (fair and square, I hope and pray) faces some huge challenges – perhaps bigger challenges than any President in history will confront. I pray that God watches over this election and guides us all to vote for those who will put country before party, and what is right before ideology, working not as politicians, but as statesmen (and stateswomen) and servants of We the People. 

Now go vote and let’s get this thing over with, so the nation can begin to heal from this long, divisive campaign.