Merry Christmas from Bob & Doug

It's old, but it's a timeless classic.

DC Elites To Get Reality Show To Further Their Self-Importance

Seeing how the President has embraced the celebrity scene of yuk-yuk jokes on late night TV and commemorating himself in coronation-style ceremonies, it's only fitting that the "look-at-me!" culture trickles down to the parasite class in DC. While they aren't busy figuring out new and improved ways to fuck over and fuck up the rest of America, DC lawmakers are going to be filmed in a new series of reality shows. Politico explains:

To be sure, the nation's capital certainly has some of the key ingredients of a hit realty series. Insiders note that "great personalities and an interesting story" are essential to successful reality show. By that measure, Washington is a perfect fit.

And in a town with as many egos as Washington, finding a cast might not be such an impossible task. After all, participating in a realty show has one big upside: exposure.

Your tax dollars at work.

I Want my MTV

White Rose's son, Kenny, will be on MTV's True Life to talk about PTSD. One might be turned off by ridiculous MTV shows like "Sex with Mom and Dad", but the network that once played music videos has a knack for debunking stereotypes about veterans. Check it out on Dec 6th.

So, Which "The Heights" Character is Most Like You?

Back during the early 90s, the country was feeling a tad guilty about the drug-addled 70s and the greed is good 80s, so political correctness reigned mainstream culture. From Captain Planet and the Planeteers to Van Halen's Right Now video, if you weren't in a multi-ethnic cause to save the rainforests from AIDS, you were something akin to Hitler. Believe it or not, Fox tried to cash in on this by trotting out a show about urban/socially-conscious hipsters struggling to make it as musicians. The show was called The Heights and it lasted a lengthy 3 months on the air in 1992. A big thanks to Ms. Kiyum for passing along the video to describe her banged hairstyle 15 years ago. For me personally, I think I aspired to be the Fabio-like lead guitarist, but was probably more closer to the drummer in the vest. Which character were you?

I have no idea how this show got canceled!

Presidential Candidate Gets to Meet THE A.C. Slater

Mario Lopez, most famously the bad-boy/dimpled wrestler from Saved by the Bell, took time from his busy schedule to meet one of his biggest fans. From ABC Political Punch:

The candidate often bemoans the media asking silly and superficial questions. The media isn't focused on the important issues facing the nation, he complains.

On Saturday in Nevada, Obama sat for an exclusive interview with Mario Lopez, the actor who played "A.C. Slater" on "Saved by the Bell," to air on the TV show "EXTRA!"

If I knew you could meet so many awesome celebs that define our cultural history, I would've run for office years ago. I think the article is supposed to be about Obama shutting out the media or something, but I'm just jealous that Obama, that lucky guy, got to meet A.C! Whether or not they broke out the synthesizer to jam out to "Friends Forever" is unknown, but would've been kickass.

The Rise and Fall of a Gen X Icon

What the Hell Ever Happened to Darlene?

So I was watching old Roseanne reruns on Nickelodeon, because I have nothing better to do on a Sunday, and saw the sarcastic, cynical stylings of Darlene. Remember her? She brought up a lot of memories from the awkward early 90s as grunge was taking off, young people were disgruntled and skeptical of their lame parents, and there was no worse fate than being labeled a "poser" for hanging out with the jocks. Darlene could have been the spokeswoman for a generation of teens who weren't buying into the paradigm of our dull society.

Unfortunately, I decided to see what Sara Gilbert was up to these days, and her wiki states that "In her teens, Gilbert became a vegetarian. Today, she supports numerous organizations such as PETA, Meals on Wheels, Freedom of Speech, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and AIDS Project Los Angeles." Not that there is anything wrong with charity, but it may highlight a trend that all anti-authoritarian Gen Xers who grew their hair long and dyed it purple may become the mainstream if Obama gets elected. Wonder who the next generation of rebels will be?

Homer Casts His Vote

A clip from an election-themed Simpsons that was supposed to be aired November 2nd got leaked to those devilish fiends who lurk on the internet. Check the Hot Air link to reveal who Homer votes for. Even though the show jumped the shark years ago, it was a massive cultural force in the 90s and responsible for much of my generation's upbringing (along with Beavis N' Butthead and Ren N' Stimpy). Although, personally I'd rather see who Gil would vote for, as he is The Simpsons character I most identify with.

Aw Gil, Why'd You Buy all that Bear Stearns Stock!

Something Good On MTV...Yes, Really!

Usually when you think of MTV, it's all about the crass commodification of culture and stupid teeny boppers getting new BMW SUVs. But IAVA put out an email alert for a show called "Homecoming" , which has rapper Kanye West visiting with Iraq vets suffering from PTSD. The picture above is Tirann Laws, who is having trouble adjusting to normal society in OKC, but isn't running around the woods like Rambo as the press often depicts vets with PTSD. Pretty powerful stuff (I'm watching it right now) that shows a younger audience the face of veterans. Read more at from the NYT here.

For Those That Can't Let Go

So I was watching this Mr. Belvedere opening sequence for reasons that shall remain private, and I thought "Hey, they should put all the stupid crap from the past in one place". Well, lucky for us, they do over at RetroJunk. It was at this site that I found information on Captain N, a Fred Savage PSA, and a crazy Japanese commercial for Gyromite. Pretty cool for those that have a lingering mistrust of current cultural trends.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Christian Teeny Boppers Run Amok

Guess which Teen Got Knocked Up

The new ABC family show The Secret Life of the American Teenager is from the creator of 7th Heaven, so wholesome Christian values resembling a modern day Leave it to Beaver were to be expected. Unfortunately, it was an outrage of epic proportions when we were treated to a girl who got knocked-up at band camp, the young hunky football star who lusted after a new Jezebel when his virtuous girlfriend wouldn't "put out", and even the grandiose wisdom of Molly Ringwald was unable to salvage the moral character of this show.

An examination of the official blog affiliated with this televised cesspool shows comments from young lasses, which highlights a decaying society:

• ive already had my 1st kiss (12) and have had sex (15) but its called using a condom i mean please. ppl (LT Nixon Comment: can someone please explain what "ppl" means?)
• I had a baby at 16. I know what it's like to go through something like this. There is one thing though that always got me mad. People showing shame in the baby, when it isn't even his fault. What me and the father(who is NO longer in our lives) did was a mistake NOT the baby.
• I kinda like the show. I agree that not all teens have sex on there mind, but i am not any better b/c i am pregnet and 16 :-/ Its very hard to tell your parents & the hardest part was telling my boy friend.

Ye gods, is there no hope for America? Please take heed to not hang around the blog for lengthy periods or leave racy comments if you are male, because you will likely be tagged by the FBI as a possible Class III Sex Offender.

For a more appropriate way to conduct yourself as a teeny bopper, please view this clip from the classic Troma film, Toxic Avenger:

Inside the Reality of the Bad Voodoo Platoon

I first heard about the Bad Voodoo platoon from JP over at Milblogging. PBS Frontline ran a 1-hour special that was sort of like the ultimate embed. Iraq reporting often gets mired into political diatribe as the war itself has become the most decisive issue amongst the American public in recent memory. This documentary strictly focuses on the perspective of the soldiers and leaves all the punditry on the cutting room floor. The platoon does convoy security missions from Kuwait into Iraq, which is quite the brave endeavor (especially up north). The documentary focuses a lot on the head NCO, SFC Toby Nunn, and it's good to know that there are leaders like him to take care of business. The documentary runs the emotional gamut and discusses their anxieties, boredom, and comradery. Well worth checking out and it's a much more authentic portrayal of the military in a time of war than that Stop-Loss movie, which I'm sure is too Hollywood. People often say they don't know what life is like in Iraq for the soldiers...well now's your chance. I've linked to JP and Nunn's milblogs, and I found another one entitled Hard Soldier. Some screen captures are below.

Convoy Rollin'

Secondary IED found

SFC Nunn chats it up with the Iraqi Security Forces

Problems with the Old Lady on Deployment is nothing new

Jericho Runs Afoul of Blackwater

These guys are lookin' familiar...

I'm no big fan of TV ever since the Simpsons started suckin' back in 1998, but I picked up the first season of "Jericho" when I was back in the states. I had never heard of it before, but I looked on the back and the description of the series reminded me of the Steve Guttenberg (of Police Academy Fame) classic "The Day After". Both take place in Kansas and both consider the ups and downs of small town life after the apocalypse. I actually thought the series was pretty damn good! Call me old fashioned, but the post-apocalypse genre is classic American media. This is despite the fact that the protagonist is more to draw the female audience. I was hoping for more of a Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds" type character, but in this day of television, you'll take what you can get.

Anyhoo, one thing that I thought was pretty funny is that there's a group of Private Security Contractors that go apeshit and shoot up a hospital in one of the episodes. The company is called "Ravenwood" in the show, which I guess is some Hollywood political potshot at Blackwater. It's cool though, they come to try and take over the town, but the nice folks of Jericho scare them off (reminds me to buy more weapons when I get back to the states). It's nice to know that I'm living in a place that can generate a pop culture reference, the Green Zone. Reminds me of my days in LA.

Just like when we took on the Blackwater guys for control of the ping-pong table at the chow hall