I read Cracked.com habitually, mostly the TV/film articles published on their site. They're a great way to kill time on a quiet day, and lots of articles on there range from enlightening to fascinating (one article published over the summer was about crappy movies that had almost turned out awesome if produced as they were originally intended). I've decided to do my own list in the tradition of their own articles, starting with this one.
1. Ransom (1996)
Mel Gibson is a billionaire airline owner whose young son is kidnapped right under his own eyes at a science fair. The kidnappers demand payment for the boy's return, and they figure Gibson will pay given an important backstory to his character in the film. The trouble is, they don't realize they're dealing with Mel Gibson. Gibson goes all Mel Gibson-y (no, not by drinking heavily and blaming all the world's problems on Jewish people), turning the tables on the kidnappers by (SPOILER ALERT) going on TV, taking the proposed ransom and turning it into a bounty on their heads. Said kidnappers go nuts, turn on one another, and ultimately only one bad guy is left to deal with Mel Gibson by movie's end.
It's a Remake of...
Ransom! (1956)
First of all, the exclamation point isn't a typo. Ironically, this film version was itself a remake of a TV episode of the series The United States Steel Hour. In the film, the boy is kidnapped at school by a nurse who's in cahoots with a group who want to extort the Mel Gibson of this film, played by Glenn Ford. Ford gets the ransom money together, and is prepared to pay the bad guys off, until he gets the wacky idea of going on TV, taking the proposed ransom, and turning it into a bounty on the kidnappers' heads. Because he isn't Mel Gibson, there's no scene of him yelling and going bats**t crazy where he has to beat the crap out of anyone. The kidnappers turn to chicken poo and hand the kid over by movie's end.
Interestingly, the original film's writers - Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume - were credited as story collaborators on the 1996 remake. It makes somewhat sense given how relatively similar the plot is to both films.
Unlike...
2. Disturbia (2007)
Shia LeBeouf stars as juvenile deliquent Kale Brecht, which means he's playing the exact same character he plays in just about every other film he's ever starred in. The Beef is under house arrest because of his juvenile deliquency where he decided to pick a fight with his high school teacher. Instead of going away to a juvie hall, the judge orders him under house arrest and forces him to wear an ankle monitor that he can't remove so the cops can make sure he doesn't go anywhere (I hope the bracelet is water proof though for when he takes a shower).
Anyways, his mother decides to teach him a lesson by doing the dastardly deed of - GASP! - disconnecting his XBox and internet. Forced to actually find ways to socialize with people the old fashioned way, The Beef meets his super hot neighbor who just happens to move in to the very house next door (Sarah Roemer). And by "meet," I mean The Beef turns into a Peeping Tom of sorts, spying on her, as well as the creepy guy across the street, who may or may not be a psychotic killer.
Creepy guy (played by David Morse) is in fact a killer, and The Beef and the Girl Next Door work together to expose him. The Beef supposedly learned his lesson to not be such delinquent by movie's end, at least until he went on to play essentially the same character in Eagle Eye.
It's a Remake of...
Rear Window (1956)
In this original film, widely considered to be one of Hitchcock's best films, James Stewart plays a decidedly-not juvenile delinquent man, stuck in his apartment thanks to a broken leg. Since they didn't have XBox Live or cable TV back then, he's used to entertaining himself by stuff like - EGADS! - reading books. But even then, he gets bored with reading, so he takes to peeking into the lives of his neighbors in his apartment complex.
He eventually notices a strange man, played by Raymond Burr, who he quickly suspects may have murdered his own wife. Stewart contacts his girlfriend and the police, who do their own investigation but naturally find nothing suspicious. Stewart tries playing a clever game of cat and mouse with Burr by luring Burr to meet him in a bar, while Stewart's girlfriend breaks into Burr's apartment to find evidence. Eventually Burr's wife's wedding ring is discovered, and evidence proving Burr's guilt is discovered. Burr confesses, and everyone goes back to a hunky dorey life.
James Stewart > The Beef
3. Fatal Attraction (1987)
The movie that led to so many husbands to think twice about cheating on their wives is also a remake. Michael Douglas plays a happily married man who gets far too close to a women he meets through work, leading to a very crazy obsession building on her part. Things build up to the famous situation that has reminded audiences ever since that anytime a character is supposedly drowned under water, it's best to empty a few rounds in the body just in case.
It's a Remake of...
Diversion (1980)
Don't give me too many points for knowing this. I actually had found out quite by accident that Fatal Attraction when I had looked up remakes online. It's a British film made for television, so it's entirely possible that some Brit actually came up with the infamous moment of a supposedly drowned body jumping back to life to scare audiences (and cheating husbands) everywhere originally.
4. Heat (1995)
The Greatest Heist Film Ever Made. Al Pacino hunts down Robert De Niro. The greatest shootout in cinematic history between cops chasing down the thieves, and all sorts of innocent bystanders get caught in the middle. And Michael Mann shows why he knows male machismo better than anyone else alive.
It's a Remake of...
L.A. Takedown (1989)
Mann had been working on his script for Heat for 10 years and got tired of waiting for a budget big enough to make his movie, so six years before he finally could make his masterpiece he made a made-for-TV version of it. Again, it's super hard to find, but I'm actually curious to see what it's like compared to the real deal.
5. True Lies (1994)
After making three intense action films, James Cameron decided he wanted to make another action film, but with comedy this time. Oh there's still plenty of bullets, bombs, explosions, and crazy stunts, but you'll laugh the entire time! I mean, we've got terrorists who don't remember to charge the battery in their video camera! And Jamie Lee Curtis falls on the floor while doing her striptease dance! Oh, and Tom Arnold. We've got him too, because the man best qualified to hunt down Middle Eastern terrorists is the guy who also starred in the movie The Stupids. And was married to Roseanne.
Having said all that, the stuntwork is still first-rate Cameron, so I sound like I'm being harder on the film than I really am. It's just not on the same level as Aliens, Terminator 2, or The Abyss.
But then, the original film was a French film, so that explains a lot.
It's a Remake of...
La Totale! (1991)
AGAIN with the exclamation points. François Voisin is the hero and protagonist this time, and he's a secret agent with a pretty cool nickname ("The Sword"). He's an executive at a white collar office job by day, but watch out! At night he hunts down arms-smuggling rings and terrorist regimes. His wife has no idea what he does at night, so because she feels so neglected she decides to meet someone new. Hilarity ensues. I think.
******
I'm really not opposed to remakes in general, considering a couple of these films were genuinely excellent. In fact, I'm not even opposed to remakes changing details or plot points in films in order to update them to modern day settings. What I do find interesting is reading more about the histories and trivia behind major films such as these, and sharing that with anyone who might want to know.
But Cracked still does a better job of writing lists like these than I do.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Business As Usual
This is semi-old news, but I had to update the government furlough status: The deadline has been extended until Friday, December 23, pending Congress passing the funding bill for the current fiscal year. As a result, I'm back at work today and we're going about on our regular business for the time being.
The good news is that Congress is expected to pass the funding bill for the fiscal year by the end of the week, so we should be able to avoid any further talk of furloughs for the foreseeable future. I'm relieved that a shutdown isn't such a looming threat as it was last week, especially during the holiday season. The likelihood of a shutdown wasn't ever quite a significant possibility, but there's always that one chance in a hundred that it could happen, and I wouldn't want to be in that one chance.
Meanwhile, I can also relax this week thanks to finishing my Christmas shopping early. I actually finished it last weekend, so I can coast my way till the weekend. And since most of my coworkers have scheduled vacation time around the holidays, it's going to be a super quiet two weeks in the office till 2012.
Ray likes this.
The good news is that Congress is expected to pass the funding bill for the fiscal year by the end of the week, so we should be able to avoid any further talk of furloughs for the foreseeable future. I'm relieved that a shutdown isn't such a looming threat as it was last week, especially during the holiday season. The likelihood of a shutdown wasn't ever quite a significant possibility, but there's always that one chance in a hundred that it could happen, and I wouldn't want to be in that one chance.
Meanwhile, I can also relax this week thanks to finishing my Christmas shopping early. I actually finished it last weekend, so I can coast my way till the weekend. And since most of my coworkers have scheduled vacation time around the holidays, it's going to be a super quiet two weeks in the office till 2012.
Ray likes this.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Shutdown
Back in the spring - around the time I had first applied for my job, oddly enough - there was a lingering possibility of a government furlough and shutdown because the fiscal year's budget had not been approved by Congress. If Congress didn't approve the budget by 11:59 PM on a Friday night, all federal employees would not report to work again until the budget was approved. Congress ended up waiting until quite literally the 11th hour and less then an hour prior to the deadline approved the fiscal year's budget.
I have quite a few friends and family members who work within the federal government, all of whom were ready for the furlough if it came to be. Since I wasn't working at the time, it obviously wouldn't have affected me, but I also didn't expect the first potential government shutdown in 15 years either. I was in high school at that time and didn't follow the news that closely, so I don't remember much of anything about the government shutdown.
This morning I got a notice on my desk about another potential shutdown this weekend. Congress has yet to pass the federal budget for the new fiscal year, and so if nothing is resolved there will be a shutdown come Monday for an indefinite period of time. We don't report to work and we won't get paid for any hours missed if the budget isn't approved.
Fun.
This wasn't the type of atmosphere I had expected or hoped for when I had wanted to get in the government. I really like my job and my coworkers, and I'm amazed that twice in a calendar year Congress has argued to the last minute over expenditures and budgeting for a fiscal year. I'm sure any congressman or U.S. representative would say what is going on behind closed doors there is important and necessary, but for this type of situation to happen twice in 2011 is upsetting. There's no surprise as to why the general American public has lost a lot of faith in Congress, regardless of which party holds the majority now.
There is a potential light at the end of the tunnel, though. I looked up the latest news reports on the furlough status, and read Congress will be voting on a deal no later than tomorrow on the budget for the fiscal year. There's a good chance I'll be back at work Monday with no interruption. I hope that's the case, because I had my fill of being out of work already.
I have to believe that two near-furloughs in a single calendar year has to look badly on Obama. I don't recall any budget debate being stretched out this long in recent memory, and even though one was avoided and the second looks like it will be avoided too, everything is happening under his watch. The irony to this whole situation is that during the NFL lockout, Obama had planned on intervening so the owners and players could work out a deal if they couldn't do so. He wanted to make sure there was no interruption in the NFL season, and here we nearly had one federal government work stoppage and could have another. What does that say about his leadership?
Having said that, I do still believe a budget will be worked out in time.
I have to believe that.
I have quite a few friends and family members who work within the federal government, all of whom were ready for the furlough if it came to be. Since I wasn't working at the time, it obviously wouldn't have affected me, but I also didn't expect the first potential government shutdown in 15 years either. I was in high school at that time and didn't follow the news that closely, so I don't remember much of anything about the government shutdown.
This morning I got a notice on my desk about another potential shutdown this weekend. Congress has yet to pass the federal budget for the new fiscal year, and so if nothing is resolved there will be a shutdown come Monday for an indefinite period of time. We don't report to work and we won't get paid for any hours missed if the budget isn't approved.
Fun.
This wasn't the type of atmosphere I had expected or hoped for when I had wanted to get in the government. I really like my job and my coworkers, and I'm amazed that twice in a calendar year Congress has argued to the last minute over expenditures and budgeting for a fiscal year. I'm sure any congressman or U.S. representative would say what is going on behind closed doors there is important and necessary, but for this type of situation to happen twice in 2011 is upsetting. There's no surprise as to why the general American public has lost a lot of faith in Congress, regardless of which party holds the majority now.
There is a potential light at the end of the tunnel, though. I looked up the latest news reports on the furlough status, and read Congress will be voting on a deal no later than tomorrow on the budget for the fiscal year. There's a good chance I'll be back at work Monday with no interruption. I hope that's the case, because I had my fill of being out of work already.
I have to believe that two near-furloughs in a single calendar year has to look badly on Obama. I don't recall any budget debate being stretched out this long in recent memory, and even though one was avoided and the second looks like it will be avoided too, everything is happening under his watch. The irony to this whole situation is that during the NFL lockout, Obama had planned on intervening so the owners and players could work out a deal if they couldn't do so. He wanted to make sure there was no interruption in the NFL season, and here we nearly had one federal government work stoppage and could have another. What does that say about his leadership?
Having said that, I do still believe a budget will be worked out in time.
I have to believe that.
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (?)
I've always been one of those folks who love the holidays and the holiday spirit. I know that's hardly unique, but I really have enjoyed Christmas shopping every year. The crowds and parking at malls aren't ever much fun, but the opportunity to find the perfect gift for the people in my family more than makes up for minor shopping headaches. There's always online shopping too, but there's something about walking around a mall and shopping the old fashioned way that I can't ever completely pass up.
The last few years my family has had a bit of a tradition of taking our time Christmas morning. We've had breakfast together, and after coffee we usually put on either A Christmas Story or Christmas Vacation on the TV while we open gifts. We broke out cameras to take pictures of each other while unwrapping presents, and we've usually taken a couple hours doing so.
This year, things have taken a decidedly different turn. My parents separated again this past spring - not long after I had lost my job actually - and they're in the middle of their divorce as I type this. I've kept my nose out of their dealings mainly because I feel like ignorance is truly bliss in this case, but I know it's been taxing on them both, to say the least. What little I do know about their divorce is that it's been an ugly process (as most divorces tend to be), and it nearly led to my father not attending my sister's wedding in September (though he did still come in the end, fortunately).
The divorce process has cast a fairly dark cloud over a lot of things during the last few months. First and foremost was my sister's wedding, but there have been other events sprinkled throughout the year that have been affected by their split. In the back of my mind I've wondered how the holidays would work out given our traditions won't be the same anymore, but I guess I pushed those thoughts aside since Christmas was so far off at first.
I've been talking about Christmas even though this is Thanksgiving week for a specific reason. Since the Ravens are playing Thanksgiving night, my sisters and I are going to the game, and we're tailgating Thanksgiving dinner in the parking lot. It's a once-in-a-great-while kind of event, so we couldn't pass up on it. In a way, it's spared us all from having to deal with the change in the family for a few more weeks; whether that's good or bad is up for debate.
I've spent quite a bit of time over the last couple weeks on the friends I've known whose parents split when they were very young. Going through a divorce from the child's perspective isn't easy no matter what age the child is, but I feel like someone whose parents had split when he/she was 6 can adjust more easily than someone who's 32. A 6 year old will only know the holidays as days to split time apart between parents. The kid will have house hopped every year, or perhaps even see one parent for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas. It's more of a shock to the system for me given I'm used to spending the holidays as a single family unit.
As bittersweet as this year's holiday season will be, I'm not going to enjoy gift shopping any less. For one thing, I have a niece to shop for this time. I have to live up to my civic duty as uncle to find some toys for her to play with, preferably ones that light up and make some kind of obnoxious noise to drive my sister crazy. I've even done some looking online for gift ideas and have something in mind for just about everyone on my shopping list.
Maybe this holiday season will still be the most wonderful time of the year, just different from years past.
The last few years my family has had a bit of a tradition of taking our time Christmas morning. We've had breakfast together, and after coffee we usually put on either A Christmas Story or Christmas Vacation on the TV while we open gifts. We broke out cameras to take pictures of each other while unwrapping presents, and we've usually taken a couple hours doing so.
This year, things have taken a decidedly different turn. My parents separated again this past spring - not long after I had lost my job actually - and they're in the middle of their divorce as I type this. I've kept my nose out of their dealings mainly because I feel like ignorance is truly bliss in this case, but I know it's been taxing on them both, to say the least. What little I do know about their divorce is that it's been an ugly process (as most divorces tend to be), and it nearly led to my father not attending my sister's wedding in September (though he did still come in the end, fortunately).
The divorce process has cast a fairly dark cloud over a lot of things during the last few months. First and foremost was my sister's wedding, but there have been other events sprinkled throughout the year that have been affected by their split. In the back of my mind I've wondered how the holidays would work out given our traditions won't be the same anymore, but I guess I pushed those thoughts aside since Christmas was so far off at first.
I've been talking about Christmas even though this is Thanksgiving week for a specific reason. Since the Ravens are playing Thanksgiving night, my sisters and I are going to the game, and we're tailgating Thanksgiving dinner in the parking lot. It's a once-in-a-great-while kind of event, so we couldn't pass up on it. In a way, it's spared us all from having to deal with the change in the family for a few more weeks; whether that's good or bad is up for debate.
I've spent quite a bit of time over the last couple weeks on the friends I've known whose parents split when they were very young. Going through a divorce from the child's perspective isn't easy no matter what age the child is, but I feel like someone whose parents had split when he/she was 6 can adjust more easily than someone who's 32. A 6 year old will only know the holidays as days to split time apart between parents. The kid will have house hopped every year, or perhaps even see one parent for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas. It's more of a shock to the system for me given I'm used to spending the holidays as a single family unit.
As bittersweet as this year's holiday season will be, I'm not going to enjoy gift shopping any less. For one thing, I have a niece to shop for this time. I have to live up to my civic duty as uncle to find some toys for her to play with, preferably ones that light up and make some kind of obnoxious noise to drive my sister crazy. I've even done some looking online for gift ideas and have something in mind for just about everyone on my shopping list.
Maybe this holiday season will still be the most wonderful time of the year, just different from years past.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Man Crush
I have a confession to make. It isn't easy; in fact it's quite humbling to admit this, if not embarrassing. I hope your opinion of me after reading this post isn't changed too much after reading it.
Okay, here goes.
I have a man crush. On Tim Tebow.
Whew. Glad I got that off my chest.
I'm sure I'm not the first guy who's had to admit a man crush on anyone, and certainly not on Tim Tebow. He's one of the most polarizing public figures in recent memory, mostly due to his religious beliefs and political opinions. I happen to agree with him in both those areas, but that's got very little to do with my man crush on him.
First of all, just look at him. He's a good looking guy. I'm not afraid or uncomfortable to say that. I'd be pretty shocked if most guys weren't at some level jealous of him for his looks. He's the type of guy who the NFL could easily target as its next marketing ploy now that both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are nearing the ends of their careers. But he isn't some prima donna like Alex Rodriguez who's obsessed with his looks. He's a humble man, and he doesn't let his celebrity get to his head.
Second, he's got a strong work ethic. The man is ripped. There have been plenty of young quarterbacks coming out of college who don't put in extra hours to watch film or hit the gym (Michael Vick has been open about his lack of such a work ethic when he was in Atlanta). Tebow isn't one of those guys. I read recently online that his trainer told him to stop adding weight to lift when he got to 400 pounds. FOUR. HUNDRED. POUNDS. That's about 1 1/2 of me. He could benchpress me and probably not break a sweat. And he could probably benchpress a whole lot more than just 400 pounds too.
Third, he's a leader. During his days at Florida, Tebow got all his teammates to follow him, and he won a national championship to show for it. He's taken over reigns for the Broncos, and has a 4-1 record as a starter this season so far, which has won over his teammates after having been an outsider during training camp. He obviously knows how to motivate people around him, and that kind of mentality is very easy to latch on to.
Then there are his aforementioned religious and political beliefs. I fit a bit of a stereotype in bringing this subject up, but I think it's great that a guy who's well known in the public eye is completely open about his beliefs, even though they're not "popular" among people of similar ages. There's a bit of a stigma about wearing religious beliefs on one's sleeve, and Tebow doesn't care about any stigma. He simply lives his life and openly professes his faith, and I think that's awesome. I share his beliefs, but I can't say I'm as open about talking about them very often (which is ironic considering I'm indirectly talking about them here). My close friends know what I believe, and if they don't agree with them I don't keep bringing up the subject. I may be an ordained minister, but I'm not a Bible thumper. I wouldn't classify Tebow as a Bible thumper either, but he also makes no secret about his Christian faith. I respect him for that.
What saddens me are the people who dislike Tebow because of his religious beliefs. They say he has no business kneeling down on the field and praying on the sidelines. They say he lacks the skills necessary to succeed as a quarterback in the NFL. They say he's a momma's boy. I don't disagree that his throwing skills and accuracy need a lot of work, but on that specific note, I humby submit Michael Vick for your consideration. In Vick's first few seasons with Atlanta, he was an awful passer as well. He was completely unpredictable in the pocket though, which was why he was a threat. He could take off and run 50 yards, blowing right past defenses. The flaw there was that he opened himself up to injury from plays like that. Tebow is like a Mack truck compared to Vick's Porsche. Tebow's only flaw is his accuracy, and that can be fixed over time (again, see Vick, Michael).
Those who dislike Tebow because of his religious beliefs are certainly entitled to their opinions as well. I get why they disagree with him, and that's their business. Tebow isn't the type of person who, if he eventually does become a more accurate passer in the league, would snub his nose in his critics' collective faces. He just takes the field and does his thing. I'd be willing to wager that if the day ever came where he did have a solid accuracy as a passer, he'd still keep his mouth shut about showing his critics up. He might still say he has other techniques to work on anyways, and he'd focus on that.
I've mentioned Michael Vick a couple times throughout this post, and I think he's the closest player to compare Tebow to thus far. They're both left-handed, unorthodox quarterbacks. Beyond that superficial likeness, Vick really took the negative path in life for several years, and probably was the embodiment of the complete flipside of Tebow. I'm no Vick hater; he did his time after committing his crimes, and he's made amends. Vick now understands the demands of his position as a quarterback, and if he had learned those lessons when he was Tebow's age, he might have won a Super Bowl already. I'm not implying Tebow will eventually win a Super Bowl, but I know I'll be thrilled if and when he does.
Okay, here goes.
I have a man crush. On Tim Tebow.
Whew. Glad I got that off my chest.
I'm sure I'm not the first guy who's had to admit a man crush on anyone, and certainly not on Tim Tebow. He's one of the most polarizing public figures in recent memory, mostly due to his religious beliefs and political opinions. I happen to agree with him in both those areas, but that's got very little to do with my man crush on him.
First of all, just look at him. He's a good looking guy. I'm not afraid or uncomfortable to say that. I'd be pretty shocked if most guys weren't at some level jealous of him for his looks. He's the type of guy who the NFL could easily target as its next marketing ploy now that both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are nearing the ends of their careers. But he isn't some prima donna like Alex Rodriguez who's obsessed with his looks. He's a humble man, and he doesn't let his celebrity get to his head.
Second, he's got a strong work ethic. The man is ripped. There have been plenty of young quarterbacks coming out of college who don't put in extra hours to watch film or hit the gym (Michael Vick has been open about his lack of such a work ethic when he was in Atlanta). Tebow isn't one of those guys. I read recently online that his trainer told him to stop adding weight to lift when he got to 400 pounds. FOUR. HUNDRED. POUNDS. That's about 1 1/2 of me. He could benchpress me and probably not break a sweat. And he could probably benchpress a whole lot more than just 400 pounds too.
Third, he's a leader. During his days at Florida, Tebow got all his teammates to follow him, and he won a national championship to show for it. He's taken over reigns for the Broncos, and has a 4-1 record as a starter this season so far, which has won over his teammates after having been an outsider during training camp. He obviously knows how to motivate people around him, and that kind of mentality is very easy to latch on to.
Then there are his aforementioned religious and political beliefs. I fit a bit of a stereotype in bringing this subject up, but I think it's great that a guy who's well known in the public eye is completely open about his beliefs, even though they're not "popular" among people of similar ages. There's a bit of a stigma about wearing religious beliefs on one's sleeve, and Tebow doesn't care about any stigma. He simply lives his life and openly professes his faith, and I think that's awesome. I share his beliefs, but I can't say I'm as open about talking about them very often (which is ironic considering I'm indirectly talking about them here). My close friends know what I believe, and if they don't agree with them I don't keep bringing up the subject. I may be an ordained minister, but I'm not a Bible thumper. I wouldn't classify Tebow as a Bible thumper either, but he also makes no secret about his Christian faith. I respect him for that.
What saddens me are the people who dislike Tebow because of his religious beliefs. They say he has no business kneeling down on the field and praying on the sidelines. They say he lacks the skills necessary to succeed as a quarterback in the NFL. They say he's a momma's boy. I don't disagree that his throwing skills and accuracy need a lot of work, but on that specific note, I humby submit Michael Vick for your consideration. In Vick's first few seasons with Atlanta, he was an awful passer as well. He was completely unpredictable in the pocket though, which was why he was a threat. He could take off and run 50 yards, blowing right past defenses. The flaw there was that he opened himself up to injury from plays like that. Tebow is like a Mack truck compared to Vick's Porsche. Tebow's only flaw is his accuracy, and that can be fixed over time (again, see Vick, Michael).
Those who dislike Tebow because of his religious beliefs are certainly entitled to their opinions as well. I get why they disagree with him, and that's their business. Tebow isn't the type of person who, if he eventually does become a more accurate passer in the league, would snub his nose in his critics' collective faces. He just takes the field and does his thing. I'd be willing to wager that if the day ever came where he did have a solid accuracy as a passer, he'd still keep his mouth shut about showing his critics up. He might still say he has other techniques to work on anyways, and he'd focus on that.
I've mentioned Michael Vick a couple times throughout this post, and I think he's the closest player to compare Tebow to thus far. They're both left-handed, unorthodox quarterbacks. Beyond that superficial likeness, Vick really took the negative path in life for several years, and probably was the embodiment of the complete flipside of Tebow. I'm no Vick hater; he did his time after committing his crimes, and he's made amends. Vick now understands the demands of his position as a quarterback, and if he had learned those lessons when he was Tebow's age, he might have won a Super Bowl already. I'm not implying Tebow will eventually win a Super Bowl, but I know I'll be thrilled if and when he does.
Monday, November 14, 2011
My Spidey Sense Is Tingling
I'm not sure what to make of this story.
It's not so much of a story as a "thing that makes you go, hmm," kind of thing, but it's piqued my curiosity, to say the least.
In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State, reports came out last week of former District Attorney Ray Gricar, who had investigated and considered prosecuting Sandusky in 1998. He ultimately chose not to prosecute Sandusky for reasons unknown (which is also curious, but I'll talk more about that in a little bit), but Gricar's story as a whole is a peculiar twist to this entire scandal.
Before I talk about Gricar himself, there's a small backstory involving his brother Roy. In 1996, Roy Gricar disappeared. His car was found, and several days later his body was found by a river, roughly a mile away from where his car was found. His cause of death was ultimately ruled suicide.
Two years later, Ray Gricar was working on the Jerry Sandusky case, and he helped the local police set up a sting operation where they had brought in a mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims. The mother had a phone conversation with Sandusky, with the police and Gricar listening in on the conversation, unbeknownst to Sandusky. During the phone call, the mother essentially got Sandusky to confess to having molested her son, which would normally form a rock-solid foundation of a case against Sandusky.
Except Gricar didn't press charges. He dropped the case instead for reasons known only to him.
In 2005, Ray Gricar's story came to a mysterious head. He called his girlfriend one day in April, saying he was going out shopping for the day and that he'd be home later.
Ray Gricar never came home.
Police found his Mini Cooper near an antique store with cigarette ashes inside the car. Gricar never smoked, so the source of the ashes remained a mystery to this day. Gricar's laptop was also missing, and two months later it was discovered under a bridge in the river, but the hard drive was missing from the computer. Then in September the hard drive was also found in the river, roughly a half mile from where Gricar's Mini Cooper was parked. Water damage had ruined the hard drive, so any information stored on there was long destroyed.
Later on, investigators had the chance to look at Gricar's home computer, and what was found on there was even more intriguing: Gricar had been Googling methods on how to destroy a computer's hard drive.
Let's review what we've got here: We've got a district attorney who had previously investigated Jerry Sandusky, and nearly built a case against him whose body was never found after he had disappeared. We've got a DA's brother with a long history of mental illness who turned up dead in a river in Ohio. We've got a DA who disappeared in a similar method to his own brother, and his belongings were mysteriously found in a river as well (though not the same river as where his brother was found). We've also got this DA researching ways to destroy whatever contents were on his laptop's hard drive, though there's nothing to suggest that the hard drive had contained anything related to Sandusky.
I'm not one who normally subscribes to conspiracy theories, but I am fascinated by them nonetheless. Connect the dots on Ray Gricar to Jerry Sandusky, and you've got a great start to a conspiracy theory for sure. And the amazing thing is, Gricar isn't the only strange case surrounding Sandusky. There's also a janitor who had been working the grounds on Penn State in 2000 - two years before Mike McQueary had spotted Sandusky in the shower with a boy - and had seen Sandusky with a young boy in a shower together. The janitor immediately reported what he had seen to his manager, and other coworkers as well.
Why wasn't this case followed up by the police? Because the witness went nuts and ultimately was diagnosed with dementia. He's now in a mental institution and under medical care 24 hours a day.
Like I said at the beginning, I'm not sure what to make of all this. But the peculiar occurrences surrounding witnesses and people investigating Jerry Sandusky sound like what happens to informants in movie thrillers. None of these details pass the smell test, but this entire scandal has me thinking of a minor line in a movie I had seen, after he had counted up the number of suspects in a case: "Five people make a conspiracy, right?"
So far, we've got Sandusky, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and Mike McQueary. That's five people right there, and I didn't even bother counting McQueary's father, Ray Gricar, the janitor who had spotted Sandusky in 2000, or Joe Paterno.
I'll still bet money that there are more details to discover as this case eventually goes to trial.
It's not so much of a story as a "thing that makes you go, hmm," kind of thing, but it's piqued my curiosity, to say the least.
In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State, reports came out last week of former District Attorney Ray Gricar, who had investigated and considered prosecuting Sandusky in 1998. He ultimately chose not to prosecute Sandusky for reasons unknown (which is also curious, but I'll talk more about that in a little bit), but Gricar's story as a whole is a peculiar twist to this entire scandal.
Before I talk about Gricar himself, there's a small backstory involving his brother Roy. In 1996, Roy Gricar disappeared. His car was found, and several days later his body was found by a river, roughly a mile away from where his car was found. His cause of death was ultimately ruled suicide.
Two years later, Ray Gricar was working on the Jerry Sandusky case, and he helped the local police set up a sting operation where they had brought in a mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims. The mother had a phone conversation with Sandusky, with the police and Gricar listening in on the conversation, unbeknownst to Sandusky. During the phone call, the mother essentially got Sandusky to confess to having molested her son, which would normally form a rock-solid foundation of a case against Sandusky.
Except Gricar didn't press charges. He dropped the case instead for reasons known only to him.
In 2005, Ray Gricar's story came to a mysterious head. He called his girlfriend one day in April, saying he was going out shopping for the day and that he'd be home later.
Ray Gricar never came home.
Police found his Mini Cooper near an antique store with cigarette ashes inside the car. Gricar never smoked, so the source of the ashes remained a mystery to this day. Gricar's laptop was also missing, and two months later it was discovered under a bridge in the river, but the hard drive was missing from the computer. Then in September the hard drive was also found in the river, roughly a half mile from where Gricar's Mini Cooper was parked. Water damage had ruined the hard drive, so any information stored on there was long destroyed.
Later on, investigators had the chance to look at Gricar's home computer, and what was found on there was even more intriguing: Gricar had been Googling methods on how to destroy a computer's hard drive.
Let's review what we've got here: We've got a district attorney who had previously investigated Jerry Sandusky, and nearly built a case against him whose body was never found after he had disappeared. We've got a DA's brother with a long history of mental illness who turned up dead in a river in Ohio. We've got a DA who disappeared in a similar method to his own brother, and his belongings were mysteriously found in a river as well (though not the same river as where his brother was found). We've also got this DA researching ways to destroy whatever contents were on his laptop's hard drive, though there's nothing to suggest that the hard drive had contained anything related to Sandusky.
I'm not one who normally subscribes to conspiracy theories, but I am fascinated by them nonetheless. Connect the dots on Ray Gricar to Jerry Sandusky, and you've got a great start to a conspiracy theory for sure. And the amazing thing is, Gricar isn't the only strange case surrounding Sandusky. There's also a janitor who had been working the grounds on Penn State in 2000 - two years before Mike McQueary had spotted Sandusky in the shower with a boy - and had seen Sandusky with a young boy in a shower together. The janitor immediately reported what he had seen to his manager, and other coworkers as well.
Why wasn't this case followed up by the police? Because the witness went nuts and ultimately was diagnosed with dementia. He's now in a mental institution and under medical care 24 hours a day.
Like I said at the beginning, I'm not sure what to make of all this. But the peculiar occurrences surrounding witnesses and people investigating Jerry Sandusky sound like what happens to informants in movie thrillers. None of these details pass the smell test, but this entire scandal has me thinking of a minor line in a movie I had seen, after he had counted up the number of suspects in a case: "Five people make a conspiracy, right?"
So far, we've got Sandusky, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and Mike McQueary. That's five people right there, and I didn't even bother counting McQueary's father, Ray Gricar, the janitor who had spotted Sandusky in 2000, or Joe Paterno.
I'll still bet money that there are more details to discover as this case eventually goes to trial.
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Sum of All Evils
Every now and then, I come across a story that involves a prominent public figure being accused of and/or charged with sexual misconduct. They can range from the amusing (e.g. Larry Craig or Anthony Weiner), to the embarrassing (Rick Pitino or Marv Albert), to the disturbing (John Edwards). The latest public case that came out over the weekend somehow managed to transcend all three categories and went right to angering.
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was indicted by a local grand jury for a long history of sexual abuse of children. As sickening as that was, there was so much more that made me furious. For starters, all the children abused were young boys, typically between 8 and 12 years old. Sandusky allegedly took showers with at least some of the boys, molesting them in the process (Sandusky is 71 years old now).
But wait; it gets worse.
Sandusky met these children from his charity called The Second Mile, which provides aid to underprivileged children through interaction, athletics, and academics. Sandusky had helped found the charity in 1977, and it's a great cause in the local community. So it only further sickens the idea that he would use his own charity as a venue to undermine the entire purpose of the organization.
Oh, but that's not even the half of it.
Sandusky's allegations go as far back as 1996. That's not a misprint; they go as far back as 15 years ago. There are over 40 counts of various misconducts on his part during that time.
But there's even more to this story.
In 2002, a Penn State grad student found Sandusky in a shower room with a young boy. The grad student reported the incident to Joe Paterno, who then informed the athletic director. From there the details are a bit hazy, but a grand jury was formed to investigate the matter. Allegedly, the athletic director and vice president for business and finance for the university both ordered Sandusky to keep his business off the Penn State campus. In essence, they chose to cover up the story instead of contacting the police.
Now the athletic director has taken a leave of absence, and the VP of business and finance has retired. Both men are facing perjury charges for denying the story to the police in 2002, and the entire university's reputation has been tarnished, to say the least (not to mention Second Mile's).
My God, I don't know where to start with this.
It's amazing that grown adults will abuse their positions and connections to serve their own perverse desires. I'm disgusted at the irony of a non-profit organization like Second Mile being a feeding ground for Sandusky. It's really no different than Catholic priests who have abused altar boys behind closed doors.
Then there's the fact that this behavior had been going on for a full fifteen years before any actions were taken on the law's part. There are other reports that showed Sandusky was allegedly caught in the act as far back as 1998. How in the world did anyone in the police department take so long to finally make a move on this guy? Predators like him manage to ruin life after life while running around freely.
Perhaps what's worse of all was the actions (or rather, inactions) taken by Penn State's administration. The choice to cover up the case made everyone look guilty, even parties such as Paterno who likely had done no wrong at all. Their lack of condemnation was essentially a pass given to Sandusky to continue his actions, as long as they weren't conducted on Penn State grounds.
This was one of those cases where a wrong was committed, and another wrong was done to cover up that wrong, and a third wrong was done to cover up the previous one. It's the worst of all worlds. Individually, each sin by itself was reprehensible, but piling each crime on top of one another brought the sum to be greater than the individual parts.
There's another tragic irony to this story. The media tends to protect the identities of the victims here, out of respect to their dignity. It's a generally accepted tactic on their part, and I understand why they do that. However, by not putting names or faces to the victims, all the general public gets to see is the damage done to Penn State and The Second Mile as organizations. We don't get to see the real fruits of the hurt and pain caused by Sandusky over such a long period of time. The true evil nature of these crimes isn't ever fully realized by the public because we don't get to see the actual victims. Maybe it's better that way though, because otherwise we as a society would become desensitized to truly evil people like Jerry Sandusky.
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was indicted by a local grand jury for a long history of sexual abuse of children. As sickening as that was, there was so much more that made me furious. For starters, all the children abused were young boys, typically between 8 and 12 years old. Sandusky allegedly took showers with at least some of the boys, molesting them in the process (Sandusky is 71 years old now).
But wait; it gets worse.
Sandusky met these children from his charity called The Second Mile, which provides aid to underprivileged children through interaction, athletics, and academics. Sandusky had helped found the charity in 1977, and it's a great cause in the local community. So it only further sickens the idea that he would use his own charity as a venue to undermine the entire purpose of the organization.
Oh, but that's not even the half of it.
Sandusky's allegations go as far back as 1996. That's not a misprint; they go as far back as 15 years ago. There are over 40 counts of various misconducts on his part during that time.
But there's even more to this story.
In 2002, a Penn State grad student found Sandusky in a shower room with a young boy. The grad student reported the incident to Joe Paterno, who then informed the athletic director. From there the details are a bit hazy, but a grand jury was formed to investigate the matter. Allegedly, the athletic director and vice president for business and finance for the university both ordered Sandusky to keep his business off the Penn State campus. In essence, they chose to cover up the story instead of contacting the police.
Now the athletic director has taken a leave of absence, and the VP of business and finance has retired. Both men are facing perjury charges for denying the story to the police in 2002, and the entire university's reputation has been tarnished, to say the least (not to mention Second Mile's).
My God, I don't know where to start with this.
It's amazing that grown adults will abuse their positions and connections to serve their own perverse desires. I'm disgusted at the irony of a non-profit organization like Second Mile being a feeding ground for Sandusky. It's really no different than Catholic priests who have abused altar boys behind closed doors.
Then there's the fact that this behavior had been going on for a full fifteen years before any actions were taken on the law's part. There are other reports that showed Sandusky was allegedly caught in the act as far back as 1998. How in the world did anyone in the police department take so long to finally make a move on this guy? Predators like him manage to ruin life after life while running around freely.
Perhaps what's worse of all was the actions (or rather, inactions) taken by Penn State's administration. The choice to cover up the case made everyone look guilty, even parties such as Paterno who likely had done no wrong at all. Their lack of condemnation was essentially a pass given to Sandusky to continue his actions, as long as they weren't conducted on Penn State grounds.
This was one of those cases where a wrong was committed, and another wrong was done to cover up that wrong, and a third wrong was done to cover up the previous one. It's the worst of all worlds. Individually, each sin by itself was reprehensible, but piling each crime on top of one another brought the sum to be greater than the individual parts.
There's another tragic irony to this story. The media tends to protect the identities of the victims here, out of respect to their dignity. It's a generally accepted tactic on their part, and I understand why they do that. However, by not putting names or faces to the victims, all the general public gets to see is the damage done to Penn State and The Second Mile as organizations. We don't get to see the real fruits of the hurt and pain caused by Sandusky over such a long period of time. The true evil nature of these crimes isn't ever fully realized by the public because we don't get to see the actual victims. Maybe it's better that way though, because otherwise we as a society would become desensitized to truly evil people like Jerry Sandusky.
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