You're so flat the walls are jealous!

Such is a biting insult from one Joey Jeremiah to a girl on the swim team in an episode of Degrassi Junior High. Typical guys, right?

For the past 31 years in Canada, the United States, and around the world, the television program "Degrassi" has been airing in some form.  First there was "The Kids of Degrassi Street."  Then "Degrassi Junior High" and "Degrassi High."  Now we have "Degrassi: The Next Generation."  The show is a trailblazer and has been hailed by critics and viewers alike as groundbreaking, realistic, and extremely insightful into the problems faced by teenagers then and today.

The original cast of 90210

While the cast has changed, the problems have remained the same.  Nothing is off the table for these Canadian students who navigate the halls of Degrassi Community School.  Abortion.  AIDS.  Substance Abuse.  Sexuality. School shootings.  These themes and topics have been dealt with on American television shows like "One Tree Hill" and "Beverly Hills 90210," but never in such a realistic manner.

The original series followed Caitlin Ryan and Christine "Spike" Nelson along with a host of other characters including Joey Jeremiah and Archie "Snake" Simpson.  For the next generation of Degrassi, the child Spike has on the original show being of high school age is the impetus for the program.

Caitlin Ryan, played by Stacie Mistysyn

Aaron Spelling was so enamored with Degrassi, its characters, and themes, that he wanted to buy the American rights to it but co-creator and executive producer Linda Schuyler, a former Canadian teacher, said no.  That's when Spelling decided to make "Beverly Hills 90210" with 20 and later 30 year olds portraying high school and college students.

The new cast of 90210.  Kind of like when they made a new Degrassi.  Pattern anyone?

Those of us who grew up with 90210 remember that the problems were overdramatic and that the the age of the actors playing the characters was always a running joke.  Not so with Degrassi, where teenagers who are actual teenagers portray the students.  For a Canadian show the acting, writing, and production value are actually pretty good.

Claude, rejected by Caitlin

The series has never shied away from controversial topics. In the episode "Showtime, Part 2," a depressed student commits suicide after being rejected by a girl and is found in the bathroom by another student. This shocking episode resonated and struck a chord. It began a national dialogue both in Canada and the United States, and awareness of depression in teens was finally discussed as a real problem. Use of suicide hotlines and other resources to help teens with depression skyrocketed.

"Degrassi Talks" hot button issues and consequences for teens.

In two other episodes, one in "Degrassi High" and more recently in "Degrassi: The Next Generation," two of the characters both decide to go through with abortions. Both episodes did not initially air in the U.S., but eventually aired in severely edited forms that detracted from the gravity of the situation. The latter show's episode depicted the girl who went through with it as showing no remorse, another comment on morality. 

That's not to say the show is not without its funny moments.  It can be lighthearted just as quickly as it can get serious.  But the writing is great and it's a show that offers great lessons without commentary and without being preachy.  It's a great show so check it out.  It airs on TeenNick and the CW. 

Lastly, interesting Degrassi trivia:

Aubrey Graham (aka Drake), Shenae Grimes, and Lauren Collins ("Paige Michalchuk")

Notable Degrassi alums: Drake ("Jimmy Brooks," played by Aubrey Graham); Shenae Grimes ("Darcy Edwards" on Degrassi; "Annie Wilson" on 90210), and Nina Dobrev ("Mia Jones" on Degrassi; "Elena Gilbert/Katherine Pierce" on The Vampire Diaries).

Kevin Smith is also a huge Degrassi fan and references it in his movies.  For example, in "Mallrats," Shannon Doherty's character is wearing a Degrassi jacket.  In "Chasing Amy," Jason Lee's character says he would rather stay in watching "Degrassi Junior High" rather than going out, and the scene in the rain between Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck is a reference to the end of the Degrassi episode "Twenty Bucks."

Finally, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes did a three episode arc on Degrassi TNG entitled "Jay and Silent Bob go Canadian, Eh?" 

Foxy Knoxy the Femme Fatale?

For the past four years, the Italian media have been riveted by the story of Amanda Knox.   If you don't know who she is by now, she is an American student who was studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, and was accused of the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher back in 2007.

It was also just announced that the verdict in her appeal has come in and will be read at 3:30 p.m. ET today.  While the Italian media have been all over this case like white on rice, the American media have been more restrained in their coverage of this story and I'm not sure why. 

Here we have an American student in a foreign country accused and subsequently convicted of murder who gets her appeal decision today.  Yet our media, while covering the story slightly more now that the appeal-reading nears, seems to treat her as an afterthought.  Yes, there are articles written about her every so often, but they merely remind an American populace who has forgotten her that "Oh yeah, that poor girl in Italy.  Glad that's not me."

I'm just surprised there is not more outrage in the U.S. If Amanda Knox were an American on trial in China or North Korea on charges of espionage, certainly someone from the Obama administration would have stepped in to negotiate for some sort of deal, even if that did not mean full release but a tempered jail sentence.   I have yet to hear anyone of any political clout comment on the trial, save for Maria Cantwell, Senator from Knox's home state of Washington. 

Below, the other players, from left to right: Briton Meredith Kercher, convicted killer/accomplice Rudy Guede [an Ivorian national], Rafaelle Sollecito [also convicted and in jail awaiting appeal; former boyfriend of Amanda Knox], and last but not least Foxy Knoxy as she has been dubbed by the Italian media.

The story itself, although gruesome, is fascinating because it appears that what actually happened to Mererdith Kercher (if I hear the phrase "killed during a sex game gone awry" one more time I've had it) remains unknown.   This case has everything from alleged bungled police investigation, alleged police brutality, and a media whose newspapers are allowed to portray whatever headlines they want with little regard to facts.

It appears that the judges in the case accepted the prosecution's version of events because they fit their views of what happened.  Certainly if nothing else a spotlight has been cast on the Italian justice system and its criminal investigative unit.

Regarding the criminal investigation: it seems clear that there was contaminated DNA evidence from the start and that there was a 47 DAY DELAY in obtaining DNA samples.  Furthermore, defense expert witnesses have argued that the analysis of the DNA evidence did not match internationally recognized standards and that there was not even enough DNA from Knox on the knife (the crux of the prosecution's case) to be correctly tested. 

All of this evidence was laid out by the defense before Judge Giancarlo Massei, Deputy Judge Beatrice Cristiani and six other judges at the Corte D'Assise of Perugia.  These arguments were rejected and Knox was convicted. 

And now, a little did you know... with regard to the Italian legal system (thanks, Wikipedia). The defense has limited access to prosecution documents during the discovery period.

-The jury is not sequestered.

-The "burden of proof" lies with the defense.

-Only witnesses must be under oath.

-There is no lay jury but rather "professional jurors" like in much of Europe.

-A simple majority of jurors is all that is needed to convict.

-The prosecution is allowed to use character defamation in court to try to make its case (Knox has been called "she-devil," "slut," and as recently as yesterday, "Jessica Rabbit" as the prosecution tries to paint her as a drunk, oversexed femme fatale). 

-An admitted, homeless heroin addict who helped link Knox to the crime has been a star witness in other trials in Italy.

-The prosecution used an animated cartoon depiction of events to show what they think happened in closing arguments.    

As much outrage as there was about Casey Anthony or OJ Simpson, they got a trial by jury of their peers, regardless of what anyone thinks about the result.  Sure, some will argue that the jury got it wrong in both of these cases.  Juries have made other mistakes in the past.  But in America, this is more the exception than the rule.

Apparently there exists no concept of reasonable doubt in Italy, and jurors there can read the tabloids to their heart's content during the trial phase. 

Is this a trial, or a TV show with different guest stars?   Here's hoping the appellate court gets it right this afternoon.

UPDATE: HER IMMEDIATE RELEASE WAS ORDERED PER A NOT GUILTY VERDICT...FOUND GUILTY ONLY OF SLANDER BUT GETS TIME SERVED.

Sick Sucks, and other things that are better

I thought today would be the day my cold would end.  But it wasn't.  Doesn't being sick suck?  You never realize how well you feel on a regular basis until you are sick.  Then you yearn for the times you felt good and make a promise never to take your wellness for granted.  But then you forget.

I've had my cold since I woke up at 6 a.m. Saturday to go in to teach my 4 hour lecture. I thought I would come out of it that day, so I went home, exercised, and showered.  Then before I went to dinner at my parents' house that night as a "reunion" since they got back from Italy, it hit me.  I felt terrible.

The dinner itself was good, but I felt like I was going to fall asleep at the table.  Yes, the pictures were nice.  Yes, the food was good.  But I realized that I was run down.  And I still am as I continued to go to work and teach this week, despite being extremely tired and achy. 

A small few family members have followed up to see how I was doing, along with a few friends, but that's it.  When you're sick and it's not happening to you, I guess you don't care.  C'est la vie. La vie.  Get it?  If you've seen "Easy A" you might.  That's a gem I'm keeping. 



But I'm hoping that I finally vanquish my fever that has been persistent, along with my cough and aches, by Friday.  I'm taking it easy as best I can in the little time I have at home, but just when I go to sleep it's seemingly time to wake up and do it all over again.  Here's to getting well.

On a more interesting note, the fall TV season is in full swing and it's great.  With cable networks rolling out programming all year long, it's detracts from the fall season. Personally I feel like I've had new shows to watch all summer, a time when reruns and reality shows sated the cable-waves.

Yes, I'll admit, it was sad to see summer shows "Weeds" (SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW THE END, BUT SKIP TWO PARAGRAPHS AHEAD) end, along with "True Blood," but at least we had something to follow each week. 
With "Weeds" the question might be for next year, "Who Shot Nancy Botwin?"  But if you look closely, there was a silencer on the gun and the shot we heard could have been someone taking out the shooter, who I think was the son of the DEA agent vowing revenge at the end of an earlier season. "True Blood,"  on the other hand, ended in horror with Tara dying on the floor in Sookie's arms after Debbie has shot her (Sookie took out Debbie).  Nan Flanagan is dead and it seems there will be hell to pay from the authority. 

But as for fall shows starting up, the NBC comedy block of "30 Rock," the ever better "Parks and Recreation," and the underrated but hysterical "Community" have all started back up in full swing. 
I'm excited for the upcoming fall season and I hope you all are too.  There's too much good TV out there.  As for new shows, I watched "The Playboy Club" for about 20 minutes and decided its premise and plot lines are ridiculous. I tried "Pan Am" and found it a little boring, but it wasn't terrible and has some potential. 

Aside from that I will need to catch up on "Person of Interest" and "A Gifted Man." I'm super excited for the fall TV season and even more excited to have some nice crisp, cool weather with leaves changing and the smell of wood burning in people's fireplaces in the air.  I hope that you are excited about fall as well not only because of the weather and new TV, but also because it's football season! Have a great night.

First Year at Deacon's Walk/LOST in Deacon's Walk

So the vlog has been going a lot better lately, mainly because I have gotten back to basics in keeping with the video styling of Mr. Ethan M. Roth and his ASU vlog.  This was at the request of MoreBattleCat, so last night's video was more about my day, upcoming events, and a couple of things that annoyed me. Again, MoreBattleCat asked so I shared.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF2M9mjcx8Q

I had said in the beginning I wasn't sure what this blog was going to be about; I did the Lost in Deacon's Walk video on Monday night because I wanted to be creative and different.  Who knows?  Maybe I will intersperse more ideas and themes from Lost as it applies to my house and to the neighborhood of Deacon's Walk.

So at least for last night, the WaWa Initiative could wait; I'm sure we will explore it in other videos.  I discussed the estate and special needs trust, and the problems of my students texting in class last night.  To catch up, here is the link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zjx2rBt7Ek

One thing I do wish I knew how to better do was edit videos, but I just found a feature on youtube called video editor, so maybe I'll check it out tonight and see if it will help.  Myself talking might be interesting to some, but I've got to spice it up and make it different somehow. 

So that was the video two days ago.  If you saw it and didn't know me, you might think I was a weirdo. But I'm not.  Trust me.  At least I don't think so, although others might disagree.  Ethan M. Roth (second from left) and crew: they do an interesting youtube video channel so subscribe!

Next, if I may, I'd like to put a plug in for my videos.  I'd love to have more subscribers to my youtube channel and I'd like you all to see me in action.  Even if you're bored, subscribe once, and then delete all subsequent alerts that I've posted videos, that's ok.  But at least give them a try.

After an irksome experience in the testing center today with one particularly ignorant male student trying to showcase bravado, tonight I will discuss this further along with much much more!  Please watch and subscribe!!!! I thank you, Husky Taco thanks you, as do Battlecat and Mickey. 

Mickey

Also, just got an invite to Google+ and am uber excited!  If anyone wants an invite let me know and have a great day!

Battlecat's sister, Oreo

Taco!

Lost in Deacon's Walk

Well, the videos for the vlog got off to a semi-rocky start, but I think we've now found our groove thanks to comment posters.  While first year at Deacon's Walk day (whatever) sounded interesting and I was trying to model my vlog after the guys at ASU,  I think there is much mystery surrounding my neighborhood, house, and inhabitants that's too good to pass up.  We are now Lost in Deacon's Walk. 

Subscribe and comment, as I love hearing from all of you.  It's been a fun project, and hopefully it will only get better with time.  Here's a link to what you might have missed.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyDDuGGLZQ4

Last night Black Taco (Mickey) and Battlecat were engaged in a battle royale downstairs.  Lots of noise was heard; as you saw I was attempting to contact Chloe O'Brian for help a la Jack Bauer but was unsuccessful initially.  24 was trying to invade a world of Lost and it kind of worked initially, but we realized we were in the wrong show. 

In the video we were able to reach Chloe, who informed us of a silence downstairs that was eerie.  More comments and subscribers came to the Vlog, and I think it was the best video yet, despite one of my viewers bemoaning a lack of production value and my intentionally backwards sign. But when you're dealing with others, other others (cats), and possible smoke monsters and other mayhem in the hatch (to be introduced tonight I hope), production value matters less. 

We either live together, or die alone.  The saga continues tonight and I'm not sure what we will encounter when we attempt to enter the hatch.  The hatch, you say?  Yes, the door was welded shut and Taco had to use the litter box, so he improvised by exploding something since he couldn't get through.

And now we have another area to explore tonight.  Hopefully the other others will make an appearance and perhaps we can finally understand them.

One of my viewers suggested a rap battle between myself and Battlecat, but as I already told them, even in the mysterious place of Deacon's Walk cats can't rap.  And neither can I.  But, stranger things have happened.  Tune in tonight at I'm not sure what time, but definitely closer to 7 or 8 pm.  If you like these videos, subscribe!!

The YouTube Chronicles

Last night as I was browsing through You Tube after a long day (just to see what's new and exciting, and to view some old favorites like man getting hit by ice cream truck), I came across a subscription channel and was immediately hooked.

This channel is a vlog (video blog) of a student from Arizona State University which chronicles his daily life at school.  Most broadcasts are a minute and a half, but some are longer.  The idea seemed really cool and I began watching.



The point of the vlog is to show what goes on with this kid's (Ethan M. Roth) friends, dorm, and school life.  I thought that it was fascinating, even though I don't know any of the people involved.  However, I soon felt like I knew them after watching some of the videos. 

They let me into their world, and it got me thinking: I need a hobby, and maybe this could be it.  So tonight I am going to attempt to upload a video of myself to youtube.  I haven't quite decided the format, or what to call my youtube channel, but many possibilities are running through my mind.

But it will definitely be a brief summary of the day, and perhaps a word of the day.  I don't know but I need something for my schtick.  My roommate Dave Robles and I used to have a word of the day in college on our bulletin board outside the dorm room.  We picked interesting (to us) words and wrote definitions of them.  People would come by every day to look for the word, and sometimes got upset if we were too busy and forgot. 

We were usually pretty unique in our selections and came up with some good sentences relating to Holy Cross and the people we knew.  Sometimes we got lazy with words, such as with antidisestablishmentarianism.  I think our sentence was "Don't display such antidisestablishmentarianism." or something lame like that.

Other times, we were better, such as with tyro (a novice or newcomer): Danielle, the new Community Development Coordinator of Hanselman hall, is the tyro of our group because she has not been here long.  Now, if you didn't know what tyro meant before, now you do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elPI1KBG-tY

Ethan's vlog starts out with him mentioning which year (freshman or sophomore) and on which day his vlog takes place.  He usually then goes on to give a description of his day or whatever the topic of discussion is at hand, sometimes he has special guest stars, and he usually closes it by saying "Subscribe" (referring to his youtube channel).

So anyway, check out the ASU vlog on youtube and look for my video late tonight.  First though let's make sure I know how to videotape myself and put it up on youtube.  I'll try to have a special guest star tonight, although the only possibilities for that are Taco, Mickey, or Battlecat.  Here goes nothing.
Not Taco, but a very similar looking cat.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V04EPbaFSdA

I saw a movie a few weeks ago.  It was a sad, dystopic movie.  I like those kinds of movies for some reason.  But even though it was made in 1969 and took place during the Great Depression, I feel like its themes are relevant today, especially in our terrible economy. 

Directed by Sidney Pollack ("Tootsie," "Three Days of the Condor," "Michael Clayton"), the film tells the story of Americans pinning their hopes on winning a dance marathon and a cash prize of $1500, quite a lot of money at that time.

Jane Fonda (clearly most famous to younger generations for the movie "Monster-in-Law" with Jennifer Lopez, although best known for her Oscar-winning turn in the movie "Klute" among other films in her career) is one of the main characters (or antagonists, you be the judge). 

Other stars of the film include Red Buttons (Academy Award winner, "Sayonara"), Bruce Dern (the one who turned in Charlize Theron's character in the fact-based "Monster" but was more famously in "Black Sunday" and "Coming Home"), and Bonnie Bedelia (Mrs. John McClain in "Die Hard").

I'm not here to inundate you with trivial minutiae regarding movies; I offer you context.  The original movie I was talking about, however, the one about the horses?  I think that if you watch it you might be able to relate to it.  Although some of its themes are extreme, it shows how far Americans will go for the almighty dollar.In the movie, young and old are competing in this brutal contest.

More poignantly, it shows what Americans will actually do (the original "dance marathon" in the movie soon becomes interspersed with track meets in between to weed out other couples as people are staying in the contest much longer than the emcee expects) and what ridiculous lengths they will go to for money to support themselves and their families. They are caught in the rat race because that is how we survive. 

The same thing holds true today.  You'll notice that although the prize in the movie remains the same, the task becomes more difficult.  There are no bonuses, there are no extra rewards.  The people in the movie are being asked to work tremendously harder and longer in order to earn the same pay.

The film also shows the strength of the American spirit.  The characters are mired in the Great Depression and are fighting for their economic and social survival, much as we are today. I understand that today's so-called "Great Recession" is not nearly as bad as what Americans experienced in the 20s and 30s, but it certainly is the worst financial crisis many of us have seen in our lifetimes. 

"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"  shows how dire the economic situation is for the people in the movie.  Although its overtones are sad and the story does not seem to offer much in terms of a happy ending, we need to remember that, as Arwen stated in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," there is still hope.

We are all hoping for a better future and for the economy to improve.  We still hope.

We are underemployed and exhausted.  We work, but for what?  But we still hope it will get better.

Back to the movie: do you really think that if you're told you're going to win $1500, you will get exactly $1500?  Maybe some people believe that.  But others of us know that taxes, fees, and other expenses eat away at the salaries we receive.  But we still hope.

We pinned our hope on Barack Obama.  I personally am almost at the end of my rope with him.  But ahead of his jobs speech, I still hope for a better tomorrow.

Watch the movie if you like good cinema and in particular if you like Sidney Pollack.  Don't watch the movie if you don't like dystopic themes, motifs, or symbolism, though.  But most importantly don't lose hope.  We will come out stronger than ever, regardless of how long it takes.