Hollywood glitter dims just a bit...

Listening to Whoopi Goldberg's morning show while sitting here on the porch, I was saddened to hear that Glenn Ford passed away yesterday. Not that I'm a Glenn Ford fan or anything, but it got me to thinking about all the folks in Hollywood we view more as icons than real people. Makes you realize that the glitter of Hollywood is really made up of our own near adoration of these folks.

A friend of mine who lives in LA and is "in the business" surprises me with his rather blase' attitude about it. He's been on more than a few shows and has worked with many in-the-moment actors/actresses you'd know. To him, Hollywood is gritty not glitter, and nine-to-five rather than star studded events.

Guess it is all about perception.

- Farmer Ted

The tiny politics of Farmer Ted...

There is a fantastic little quiz to chart your political leanings which you can take online, aptly called "The World's Smallest Political Quiz". By answering just 10 questions, it can plot your leanings as Liberal, Conservative, Statist , Libertarian, or Centrist. Here's my own plot:

Yeah. This fits, I guess.

I find it interesting to have friends take this because, often, I have been surprised by what it reveals about them. Or at least what it revealed to me about them.

Now, I'm going to tell this to only you and don't you spread it around, ok: I also downloaded it onto my PDA so I can have others take it.

Yeah, yeah. I'm a geek. But as everyone knows, "a geek gets things done and a nerd doesn't."

Er... right?

- Farmer Ted

A mile in my shoes...

It just about got lost in the pre-Katrina run up.

Yesterday was also the anniversary of The Rev Dr. Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Since while speaking he went away from his printed speech, I have always felt that something higher was feeding him the words that have resonated for over forty years.

While some misguided souls like Justice Clarence Thomas believe that racism is dead in America, I'm one of those that still believe that the "quicksands of racial injustice" have yet to be filled in this country. For everyone. Which is what Rev King's ideals were all about.

One of my favorite shows was "I'll Fly Away". Originally airing on NBC and starring Sam Waterston and the amazing Regina Taylor, it was the story of a pre civil rights-era white family in South Carolina and their Black maid, Lily. An impressive effort by creators John Falsey and Joshua Brand, this Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning series was eventually cancelled and was picked up by PBS, where it gave WHYY their most successful pledge break to that date while it aired.

But I mention it because at the beginning and end of each episode there was a voice-over by Lily reading from her journal about the times. In one episode where a character, Reverend Henry, spoke much like Rev King's speech, came her voice at the closing credits that summed up my own thoughts more eloquently than I ever could:

When I was little and my daddy had his Hudson, we'd drive home from relatives at night and I'd look at the lighted houses passing by and I'd think "Who lives there?" and "What's their life like?" "What are they doing right now?" Many of these were white people's houses and as I grew up I came to know the answers to these questions - because I went to work in those houses.

Sometimes at night I realize, though, that white people, even to this day, still don't know what goes on in my house. They've never been to my house. When they have been there, that'll be the time Reverend Henry talks about.

Perhaps it was Katrina that made me realize that maybe we all just need to walk a mile in each other's shoes. Or at the very least, think more about how it must feel to wear them.

- Farmer Ted

Eve of destruction...

Who knew the innocence and the lives that would be lost a short time after this rather poignant picture was taken of an unknown woman walking in the evacuated French Quarter.

This news picture dates from exactly one year ago today -- the eve of the day before hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Be moved: When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

- Farmer Ted

Words to live by...

Several years ago I had a Murphy's Law calendar from which one of the pithy pages gave me a law I live to this day, "Never change your plans because of the weather." Seemingly simple, but it is a rather high bar to live by since we as humans invariable make excuses for things. So while it may have taken an extra scarf, more sunscreen or even an umbrella I have not broken this law.

Except for today.

Today I'm supposed to go to a BBQ, complete with swimming. And it's raining so hard even Noah's looking nervous.

So it may wind up being cancelled; but that's not the problem. The problem I have is, what the hell am I going to do with 10 pounds of potato salad? Have you ever had 10 pounds of potato salad staring back at you? Trust me, it ain't pretty.

- Farmer Ted

Newsworthiness? One point of view...

What the camera sees:

What I see:

I'm just sayin'...

- Farmer Ted

What a fool believes...

So he finally just came out and said it.

During a press conference that showed more sides of his personality than Sally Field's portrayal of Sybil, President Bush to the question, "What did Iraq have to do with the attack on 9/11?" simply snapped, "Nothing!"
Over the sound of his handlers screaming in anguish, I couldn't help but marvel at the thought that despite this there are vast numbers of Americans that still believe that there was a connection between the Iraq invasion and the events of 9/11.

But then again, those are the same ones that think African-Americans orginally came here as "immigrants."

Or that the Holocaust never happened.

Must be nice living in a world without the least connection to reality.

I'm just sayin'...

- Farmer Ted

Farmer Ted looks like...

A good friend of mine sent me a fun on-line activity: Put the phrase "your-name looks like", including quotation marks, into Google and see what it returns on the first page only. Now as the cows had moved out of view into the north pasture anyway, I went ahead and tried it.

Using "Farmer Ted looks like" only returned one hit: Farmer Ted looks like one creepy guy.

Hardly inspiring.

So I just used "Ted looks like" and got a veritable cornucopia of hits:

Ted looks like my mom!
Ted looks like someone's prison bitch. (I must take exception to this one!)
Ted looks like a woman!
Ted looks like the kindly drugstore man in a Norman Rockwell painting.

And my favorite:

Ted looks like the cat facing the monster in Alien.


Give it a try!

- Farmer Ted

Let's Get Physical

OK, I go to the gym regularly now. Not from any misplaced he-man sense, but rather because of my doctor supplying an Oda Mae Brown moment at my recent physical exam (as in "Farmer Ted? You in danger, girl.")

As the days have passed I've begun to notice certain character types. What might those be?

The Fashion Plate - Comes to the gym all gussied up to be seen. Every hair in place. Perfect outfit. Latest gear. Even their sweat rags are coordinated. This type is not gender limited, if that's what you were thinking.

Mr Personality - Seems to be at the gym to fill up their social lives. Rather than exercise they talk - to anyone who'll listen. And they seem to know everyone (I'm always wheezing too hard to talk, let me tell ya).

The Squatter - This person gets to a machine, does a rep or two to show they're "serious", and then sits there staring into space doing nothing while others hover around them waiting their turn.

The Gym Bunny - The ones who spend all their time at the gym, usually with a clique of other Gym Bunnies. And I do mean all the time. At one point, because of shift work, I was going at different times and would see them there: be it 6am, 2pm or 7pm. Gym Bunnies are good for uprooting The Squatter since, after all, "I simply must do my lats today."

The Lizard - This person treats the gym as their own personal meet market. Typically drawn to The Fashion Plate type. May come off as Mr Personality but with a more desperate edge.

The Hard Hitter - Comes to the gym, exercises, and leaves. Never speaks to anyone but does glare pretty well when disturbed. Annoyed greatly by Mr Personality who just... won't... leave... them... alone.

Hmmm, seems to me there is a similarity between these people and those at your local bar. Just substitute that setting in these observations and you'll see what I mean.

So which are you?

- Farmer Ted

The thing with Mondays is...

I know it can't just be me.

Mondays have to be the most odious day of the week.

I'm tired. I'm grumpy. I dislike personal interactions. In short, I hate people, especially Monday mornings.

Tuesdays on out are great.

But on Mondays? All I want is the porch.

- Farmer Ted

On TV viewing: I'm just saying...

I have to admit, I'm sort of a television nut. Even from the porch I can see into the TV room through the curtains. One of the shows I very much enjoy is the program "Kyle XY", the cross-over from ABC Family to ABC broadcast TV. Combining a lead character with the charm of Starman and the storylines and reality of "Degrassi High", this series is about a young man with no navel and no memory who lands in a high school in present day Washington State. Of course, all the young ladies on the show (and I would imagine, the actor in real life) find him completely irresistable. Plus, each episode has a moral - that's pretty cool.

What I have to admire is the fact that ABC Family has chosen a series that deals rather realistically with issues facing teenagers: like teenage sex, peer pressure, and the transition to adult relationships. So much so that on occasion it leaves even me sorta breathless.

For all that it gets snaps up.

But I've notice something and so have one question.

Is there room for any person of color anywhere, of any type or hue, in this "Kyle XY" world they've created?

Just an observation from the porch.

- Farmer Ted

Setting down for the first time...

This is my favorite place to sit, you know. Yes, that blog picture above my profile. It's quiet, it's peaceful and the only thing that happens is the cows move from one end of that meadow to the other while you're not looking.

Welcome to my blog.

Friends have been after me for this for a while just because as I sit and watch stuff happen they are amused by my ramblings. I promised I'd give this a try so let's see how long this lasts.

And yes, Sixteen Candles is arguably one of the 10 greatest movies ever made.

- Farmer Ted