moodyredhead

The quote on my Facebook profile page is one I lifted from Nathan Fillion on Twitter:  “It costs nothing to say something nice.  Even less to shut up altogether.”  It’s a lesson a lot of people trolling around on the internet could use these days.

I was bothered last week when Rush Limbaugh was admitted to the hospital with chest pains.  Not because I was worried about his health, although it was unfortunate, but because almost instantly (and quite predictably), the comments started on Twitter, and elsewhere, wishing Limbaugh dead and making jokes about his condition.  One particularly brilliant person even said that “Obama’s healthcare” saved Rush, apparently blissfully unaware that the “healthcare reform” legislation hasn’t gotten through Congress yet.

Now, I get that a lot of people don’t see the difference between Rush Limbaugh, the human being, and Rush Limbaugh, the on-air persona.  It saddens me that people are so knee-jerk in their reactions and filled with hate that they never stop to consider the possibility that someone may just be acting a certain way because it’s their job.  But I’ve seen enough interviews with Rush Limbaugh to realize that as a real live boy, he’s not the same person that comes across over the radio waves.  And I’d certainly hope the same is true about Al Franken and other “personalities” on the other side of the aisle.

But regardless of whether you can make that distinction, have we lost so much compassion as a society that we would wish someone dead and in hell just because we disagree with them?  I do realize that some of the people taking this approach were trying to be funny.  I just don’t see laughing at anyone’s pain or a potentially life-threatening situation as funny.  And some of it was deadly serious — there was a lot of venom out there.

(By the way, it’s not that I don’t have a sense of humor.  For example, after Rush was determined to be fine, Roger Ebert tweeted, “Tests find nothing wrong with Rush Limbaugh’s heart. Physically.”  Now, that’s funny.  And yet, he apologized!)

Before anyone thinks I just sympathize with Rush Limbaugh due to my political leanings (I don’t — I’m libertarian), the same thing happens on the other side of the political spectrum as well.  After journalist Deborah Howell died in a car accident on New Year’s Day, her obituary on PoliticsDaily.com elicited all sorts of commentary about how great it was that an obviously liberal, “anti-U. S.” journalist was gone.  Those comments were not only sick, but completely ignorant, considering that she advocated taking measures to try to correct liberal media bias.

I’ve been meaning to write this post for about a week, because I do feel very strongly about treating people civilly and not de-humanizing them with thoughtless commentary.  What finally pushed me was that yesterday, the issue became a lot more personal for me.

Yesterday afternoon, the local newspaper posted a link on Twitter about a local boy who was in critical condition after falling through ice into a pond.  When I first read the story, I panicked a little — few details were available, but the incident happened in the neighborhood where my godchildren live and often play outside.  I was relieved to find out that my boy was ok, but the relief was short-lived when I found out that the boy who was hurt was one of his friends, as were the other boys involved.

Then I made the mistake of reading comments on some of the local news articles.  I probably should have avoided it, because I know how vicious and stupid people can be.  But I was hoping for some word on how he was doing.  What I got instead were ignorant, thoughtless comments ranging from horrifying (that it was “funny”) to merely stupid and offensive (suggesting all sort of potential neglect scenarios unsupported by the facts).

I always hate those comments, especially in response to a story that has not developed enough to really understand what happened.  This time, it hit me a lot harder than usual, because I know those boys and their families.  I’ve helped supervise them at birthday parties.  I’ve attended their baseball games.  I’ve seen them trick-or-treating.  And I’ve watched them wear out my husband shooting hoops in the driveway.  They’re real people.

Furthermore, these are good kids with good parents that are not neglectful.  They were out playing, unsupervised, as 10-year-old boys do, and were involved in a tragic accident.  Blame and finger-pointing may make some people feel better, but there’s no blame to go around here.  Horrible things happen sometimes that are nobody’s fault.

The internet is a wonderful tool for exercising free speech and getting your thoughts out there.  It gives us the opportunity to hear voices and perspectives that would never have been heard in the past.  (My favorite law professor and blogger, Glenn Reynolds, describes the phenomenon better than I ever could in his book, An Army of Davids.)

I am all for free speech, and healthy debate.  I even think that it’s great when people disagree with me, because if they didn’t, who would I have to argue with?  What bothers me more and more, though, is the question of whether publishing such commentary may have become too easy to be used responsibly.  Just because we are all a few mouse clicks away from getting our voices heard doesn’t mean that we should jump at the chance without thinking first.

Admittedly, I can be as judgmental as the next person, especially in obvious cases of neglect — and I realize that it is possible that I look at this situation differently because I know the boys and their families.

And it is very easy to comment thoughtlessly.  All I’m asking is that the next time you’re moved to post a comment, or a tweet, or a Facebook status about someone you don’t know, stop and think for a minute.  Stop and remember that these are real people, with real families and friends, who may be hurting.  Stop and think about how it would feel if it were someone you loved that was hurt, or worse.

Stop and imagine that you were the one in the midst of a crisis.  And think about whether you would want snark and ridicule or sympathy and compassion.

Well, the holidays have passed and a long winter stretches out in front of us.  What could we possibly have left to look forward to?

Mid-season television, of course!

Over at Entertainment Weekly’s website, Michael Ausiello has posted his midseason “cheat sheet”, where you can check out return dates for your favorite shows as well as upcoming midseason premieres.

Here are the ones I’m most looking forward to:

“Chuck” — season premiere on NBC on Sunday, January 10, at 9:00 p.m./8:00 p.m. Central.  Regular timeslot begins Monday, January 11, at 8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. Central.  “Chuck” was on the bubble last year, and very nearly didn’t get renewed.  Although it can be a little on the predictable side, last year’s finale lived up to its promise as a game-changer.  And let’s face it, how many spy thriller/drama/romantic comedies are there on television?  There’s not a lot of unique and original going on in Hollywood, so lets support it when we find it, okay?  Thanks.

“24” — four-hour, two night premiere on FOX on Sunday, January 17 at 9:00 p.m./8:00 p.m. Central and Monday, January 18, 8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. Central.  Every season, I always think I’m going to be over it.  But I’m always not, because it’s just that good.  Bonuses this year (or this day, so to speak) include Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s husband, a good guy and a bad guy from “Battlestar Galactica”, and the absolute best fake president ever.

“Human Target” — premieres on Fox on Sunday, January 17, at 8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. Central.  Truth told, I wasn’t sold on the premise of this drama when I first heard about it:  mystery-man bodyguard protects a variety of clients.  What convinced me was finding out that it stars Mark Valley, whom I adore.   While most people know him from “The Practice”, he was also on two of my all-time-favorite brilliant-but-cancelled shows, “Pasadena” and “Keen Eddie”.  The icing on the cake was finding out that Valley’s character, Christopher Chance, is based on a DC Comics series.

“White Collar”— premieres on USA on Tuesday, January 19, at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. Central.  In the last couple of years, there has been a real television renaissance on basic cable, producing award-winning shows such as AMC’s “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad”.  One of my two favorites on USA (now that Monk is no more) is “White Collar”.  The show could have propelled itself for a while on star Matthew Bomer’s blue eyes and charm alone, but the story of a forger-turned-FBI-consultant has proved to have twisty depths that have me excited about the upcoming “half-season”.

“Psych” — premieres on USA on Wednesday, January 27, at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. Central.  “Psych” started out a goofy comedy about a slacker who fakes being a psychic in order to use his very real detective skills to help the police.  But the characters and story arc have developed in a way that rises above the original gimmick.  And I love the potshots they’re constantly taking at “The Mentalist” for stealing their premise.

But if none of that is your cup of tea, check out the list, because there’s plenty more in store.  It looks to be a great remainder of the season.  And it’s a good thing, because I need to keep myself distracted until “Glee” comes back — April 13 feels like it’s an eternity away.

“Five to one against and falling…” she said, “four to one against and falling… three to one… two… one… probability factor of one to one… we have normality, I repeat we have normality.” She turned her microphone off — then turned it back on, with a slight smile and continued:  “Anything you still can’t cope with is therefore your own problem.” — The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I’m extremely pleased to be back to normality.

I was going to write a rant about why Christmas annoys me, and did so this year more than most.  In fact, I did write that rant.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to force the gory details on you after all.  But just to be clear, I’ve come here not to praise Christmas, but to bury it.

However, instead of inflicting upon my dear readers the details of my Christmas family trauma drama, or griping about bell ringers, or the exchange of holiday money hostages gifts, or my frustration with both pro-religious and anti-religious Christmas extremists, I decided to put all the Christmas angst behind me, and write about the part of the holidays I really like:  New Year’s.

I prefer celebrating the new year to Christmas for several reasons, but the biggest one is the idea of a fresh start.  Right now, 2010 is stretched out in front of us, all shiny and fresh and unspoiled, with all sorts of potential to be better than 2009.  And much like on the starship Heart of Gold in Sakura restaurant in Jackson, Tennessee.  Each New Year’s Eve (and Valentine’s Day), they have a sushi buffet including all-you-can eat appetizers — edamame, tempura shrimp and vegetables, beef teriyaki, pork katsu — and we indulged mightily.

But as good as the food was (there’s nothing like an Alfredo roll made by Alfredo himself), it wasn’t the real point.  The real point was getting to spend time with people we love.  And my favorite moment of the night was when my darling “niece” — the 35-year-old trapped in a six-year-old’s body — decided she wanted to try grownup chopsticks instead of the kids’ version.  Listening very carefully to my husband’s instructions, she tried it.  And, predictably, got it right on the first try:

Another interesting part of the evening was when my 11-year-old “nephew”, sweet kid that he is, attempted sitting in my lap.  Which is a very interesting prospect now that he’s five-foot-tall and 120 pounds.  I’m just glad the chair survived both of us.  But I digress…

The next day, we slept in, with only a small altercation over my husband’s use of his new cpap machine.  (Yes, I expect such incidents to be a regular part of the new year, too, at least for a while.)  Also a good indicator for 2010 — hopefully, I’ll be able to get more rest, and my husband won’t be waking up with sleep apnea 78 times an hour anymore.

After finally getting up and moving, we had traditional New Year’s Day lunch at my Mom’s house.  In addition to a lovely smoked pork shoulder, we had candied yams, cornbread, mac and cheese, and her best homemade cheesecake EVER.  Of course, we also had black-eyed peas and collard greens for good monetary fortune in 2010.  But somebody really needs to explain two things about that tradition to me:  (1.) how many years does it take for the collard greens thing to finally kick in? and (2.) wouldn’t the “greens” thing work just as well with some nice creamed spinach?

Later, after taking care of some family responsibilities (no rest for the weary — or is that “no rest for the wicked”? hmm…), we had a late dinner out.  I hope the service we had is not a harbinger of things to come this year, although in all fairness the kid was trying, and it was late on a holiday. But the food was good, and spending some quality time alone together (just me, my husband, and our new iPhones), was also a great way to start the year.

Plus, I didn’t have to buy presents for or spend time with people I don’t like.  So what’s not to love?

The only part of the traditional celebrations we skipped was New Year’s resolutions.  I resolved not to make any more resolutions a few years ago, and since I was finally successful at that one, I’m sticking with it.  Admittedly, I would like to work harder at being the best I can be, but that may just be a sentimental reaction to “Dollhouse” getting cancelled.

So, there you have it.  Whether you love it like I do or not, the New Year’s celebrations are over, 2010 is well underway, and normality has been restored.  Therefore, anything you still can’t cope with is, well… you know.

As I’m writing this, it’s raining in Memphis. Which, around here, since it’s autumn, means little more than it’s a day that ends in “-y”.

I have to confess, I’m one of those weird people who prefers dreary days, even when we’ve had more than our fair share, as we have in the Mid-South recently. Rain is good, heavy rain is better, and storms are just fabulous (assuming the power doesn’t go out — I do need my electronics to work, thanks). Something about the rain gives me a sense of peace that I’m ordinarily missing.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t enjoy driving in the rain; Memphis traffic is crazy and dangerous enough on a sunny day. And I’m pretty tired of having little league baseball games rained out — fall ball is quickly turning into winter ball around these parts. But once I get home? That’s a different story.

On the rare occasions when time permits, my greatest luxury is to curl up under a blanket with a good book. And if I can do that on a rainy day, or night, well, I’ll gladly trade in the satellite dish/DVR, the laptop, and the Wii for a good, old-fashioned paper-and-ink book. The opportunity to get all comfy in bad weather and lose myself in another world is more than enough reason to disconnect from Twitter, Facebook, the phone, and all of the other distractions.

Mind you, I haven’t tried it with a Kindle. And if anyone I’m married to that’s reading this thinks I should have one for my birthday or for Christmas, I’d certainly be willing to give it a shot.

But in the meantime, I think I’m going to head on to bed while it’s still raining. I’m interrupting my current reading projects in order to re-read Twilight and New Moon before the next movie comes out next month, and it seems like a perfect night to make a visit to Forks and then fall asleep to the sound of the rain. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. ‘Night, y’all.