Multiply 365 Day 86 - TITIT #8, You didn't think I was done, did you?

I've been lack in firing off of these particular diatribes, the TITIT as it were, but since I have time right now and the TV is cooperating by there being nothing on (I swear I saw Kid Rock polluting my TV screen at one point) I might as well get down to business.

First I was getting all settled in for a night of "Chuck", which would have been fine by me, it probably also would have meant I wouldn't be doing this particular entry this evening, but the show was preempted for some music pat someone on the back nonsense that happens far more frequently than it should, but before the preemption could begin there was a speech given by our fearless leader, Barack Obama, regarding the military action that is taking place in Libya. I suppose I should have watched with rapt attention for some piece of serious information, but after watching oh so many of these things I know that is never the case. Worse still, no matter what he said, Obama wasn't going to change a single solitary mind on the matter, so I am at a loss for just what the point is. Those who like him will cite his words incessantly as though they were the stone tablets coming down from the mount as proof that the current course of action is the correct one, while those that don't would almost never be convinced that there was any sort of justification for what is taking place. Which is why I tire of these types of press conferences in general, they shed so little light that they become almost pointless. I'd rather he just come out and say, listen this is what we are doing, for those that don't agree, lick my taint. And that be it. Because it would be about and convincing as anything he could possibly say, so there really is no need to argue in flowery words when those words will be forgotten almost as soon as they are spoken.

I wish I could say that is my only issue with television these days, but it isn't even close. As I was sitting here the other evening, I forget what I was working on on the computer, but I will sometimes have the TV on above me, more as background noise (though not right now, for now that is Pandora's job) than anything else. But whatever it was I was working on, apparently the Celebrity Apprentice was on. I have railed against this show in the past, so I am not going to go down the road of the assclowns that opt to kiss Donald Trump's ass for a few seconds of screen time, but for how the show ended. By and large I hate reality shows with a genuine passion (though I do make exceptions for Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers to name two) but once someone agrees to appear on one of these piss poor attempts at entertainment, it might be nice if they actually try. But four times in the past two weeks people have volunteered to leave rather than compete (a fifth person tried but didn't succeed, that in and of itself is a skill worth noting), but if you are going to quit then don't sign up for the show in the first place. I don't want the speech of how I am sacrificing myself for the team, others need this more than me, blah, blah freaking blah. Once you sign the dotted line to appear, you are now there for my entertainment, so dance monkey.

I made note of Pitt losing to Butler in the NCAA tournament, due in large part to what Pitt was expected to do after receiving one of the tournament's 4 #1 seeds and yet they were bounced after the first weekend, losing to Butler. Butler last year made the NCAA championship game, but this year's squad wasn't as good, managing only to get a #8 seed in the tourney, so when Pitt lost to them in was an upset and all of the squawking that comes with a team allegedly underachieving, but a weekend later and the loss doesn't look quite as bad, with Butler making as far as the Final Four and now just a game away from appearing in their second straight National Championship game. So maybe, just maybe, Pitt didn't lose to that bad of a team after all. Not that their loss isn't still a disappointment, it most certainly is, but they didn't lose to a bunch of scrubs who were happy just to be there either.

The Port Authority of Pittsburgh, the organization that runs public transit in the city of Pittsburgh (buses, subway) on Sunday instituted a 15% service cut because of the often cited budget problems. Among those cuts were some routes that were eliminated, others that saw service reduced, layoffs and a closing of one of their bus garages. This after recently increasing fares once again, because of those same argued budget problems. All of that is bad enough, but if you are going to reduce service and cuts routes, one would hope that the ones that remain would be more properly run, yet there I was waiting for a bus this morning that showed up 15 minutes late. If anyone ever wanted to take a doctorate level course in mismanagement, I bet you could get a job with the Port Authority upon graduation.

Memo to NBC, it is not a premiere if the show has been on for months. I say this regarding their recent promos for "Law & Order: Los Angeles", where they are touting a premiere on April 11th. The problem is that the show has been on for a while now, the only difference between what has been on previously and what will be on come April is they are killing off a character. I can't really say that it is a beloved character either, given the show is only half a season old, rather it is a stunt killing, that by knocking off one of their characters they might draw an audience via a gimmick rather than quality writing. Maybe it is just that time for the L&O franchise, god knows it has been on forever and is harder to rid yourself of than a sexually transmitted disease, but packaging a character being killed off as a premiere for a new show reeks of desperation. If anyone wants to see desperation that bad, might I suggest you come and watch me try to pick up chicks on a Friday night. It will be far more entertaining, I promise.

On a final note, I would like to make mention of the fact that since I added the little global tracker on the side of the page we have now passed the 2000 page view moment. While I would like to take credit for about 1900 of them personally, according to the doohickey people have checked in from 6 continents (get on the ball already Antarctica) so just want to say thanks everyone. Hopefully I haven't scared you off yet. I need something for the next blog after all.