Author: Andy Labis

For this podcast, The Dude on the Right is disappointed at missing a classical music concert, is trying to see four movies in two days, laughed during “Trapped in the Closet,” and gets a little teary knowing his niece needs sensitivity training.

By:

The Dude on the Right
The last podcast I did solo, well, I tried to keep it under 10 minutes, and came
pretty damn close.  I did this specifically at the request of my sister and
my niece.  What thanks do I get? – A slam from my niece.  That being
written, for this podcast I give you some incite into the world of "Carmina
Burana" from Carl Orff, and discuss my plan for seeing four movies in two days,
namely "My
Super Ex-Girlfriend," "Monster
House," "The
Lady in the Water," (or as Ivan Reitman calls it, "The Chick in the Pool"),
and "Clerks
II."  It’s a busy weekend for me.  I was also happy to see
Comedy Central
re-run the South Park episode of "Trapped in a Closet" and I give a teary-eyed
discussion about my niece needing sensitivity training.

And if you know the secret to printing a
Google Calendar in
color, in an easy manner, I’ve got a free Entertainment Ave! golf shirt and hat
for you if you’re the first to e-mail that secret to me at
podcast@entertainmentavenue.com.

Thanks for listening.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Much of my life is about dilemmas, or at least the dilemmas I personally create
in my life.  My latest dilemma is coming up in trying to see four new
movies opening this weekend in a span of two days.  If I accomplish this
feat I will have spent a lot of time sitting on my ass between seeing the
movies, driving to the theater, and writing my reviews.  Man, my dilemma’s
are tough.  But what kind of dilemma would the FCC have found themselves in
if our Congress had passed the original version of the "Broadcast Decency
Enforcement Act," President Bush had signed it, and our networks were covering
said President Bush’s attendance at the G8 summit lunch, live, with his
discussion with British Prime Minister Tony Blair being aired with an open
microphone, and, well, President Bush saying the word "Shit."

The original
version of the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act" looked for a two-fold fine –
One against the company who aired it, and the other against the person who said
it.  Congress, later, removed the portion fining the individual (although
some companies seem to be trying to make individuals sign agreements saying that
if there is a fine levied, the individual will have to pay the company back, but
that’s another story for another time. I’m sorry, I digress), but Congress did
raise the fine to something like $325,000 with some kind of cap.  But if
that original bill went through the process of "I’m just a bill, Yes, I’m only a
bill, and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill," to "He signed you Bill!  Now
you’re a law!", right now The President of the United States should be faced
with a fine nearly wiping out one year of his salary.

For me, I don’t know if
that is irony, or a bummer.  I seem to get those things confused ever since
that Alanis Morrisette song, because I think all of her ironies are actually
bummers, but in this case, would the FCC actually, under that original version,
fine "The President of the United States?"  The second question is this: 
Even if the Big Four Broadcasters, over the open airwaves, namely CBS, ABC, NBC,
and FOX, had been airing that luncheon, live, without delay, because, well, who
would assume that the S-Bomb would be aired at this summit, and they let the
"shit" word fly, would they all be subject to a fine, in all of their markets,
if I set up a campaign of complaints via e-mail?

I’ve written a few blogs
about my thoughts on the FCC and what their role in indecency should be, and my
thought is that they should have no authority over indecency because the
airwaves regulate themselves, via their ratings and their advertisers.  But
right now had Congress approved that first proposal, and President Bush signed
it into law, our President might be out nearly a year’s pay.

How fucked up is
that?  And do any of our lawmakers actually realize this?

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
It’s hot here this weekend in the Chicago area, so of course all of the local
news stories are about drinking a lot of fluids, checking on the elderly, and
creative ways to beat the heat.  Some try to blame global warming, and I’m
not dismissing the notion of global warming because I do think we are messing up
our environment, but for the most part, lost in all of these stories, is the
fact that there have always been hot spells from time to time, but maybe we have
just lost our ability to adapt as the weather changes,  maybe lost some of
our connection as family because we no longer necessarily live near our loved
ones, and we also no longer really give a damn about our neighbors.  I for
one thank, I mean blame, one man for this, and his name is
Willis
Carrier, and he is considered the man who invented air conditioning.

There
was a time, and I don’t remember it, when air conditioning in your home, in your
car, at work, at the store, didn’t exist.  You didn’t live your life to be
at a comfortable 70ish degrees, you adapted as the temperature outside got
higher.  You learned how to get a breeze through your house when it worked
to your advantage, you kept the windows closed for a time because the coolness
of the night was still trapped inside.  But your body knew things were
getting warmer, because, well, it had been doing so in the weeks leading up to a
hot spell, it didn’t have the benefit of getting out of the heat for most of the
day, and you adapted.  And if you were older, your kids probably lived
nearby.  Nearby so much that they, or at least your grandkids, stopped by
to say "Hi Grandma!" at least once a day.  And when they did, and Grandma
didn’t have her fan on, they would say, as kids are want to say, "Grandma, can
we put on the fan?"  And when they also came over Grandma would offer them
something to drink, probably lemonade, and you know what, Grandma would have
one, too.  Getting the elderly to put on a fan and have something extra to
drink were done because we were close enough to visit.  Everyday.

And you
also probably knew your neighbors because, in a worst case scenario, at the end
of the day, when it was cooler outside of the house rather than inside the
house, you went outside, and constantly reunited with your neighbors.  And
back then, neighbors always being nosey yet still being friendly, they would
wonder why "Mrs. Thompson" hasn’t come out of her house yet, and would actually
go over to her house, knock on the door, and politely ask, in that nosey kind of
way "Emma, are you all right in there?"  If Emma didn’t answer, well, her
door wasn’t locked, and they might find her crying in the kitchen because her
husband…, well, in any case, they would get her outside of the house, into the
cooler night air, and not to get her out of the stifling hot house, but to just
get her out of the house.

This is how I, a Dude who doesn’t know life without
air conditioning, sort of sees how lots of people in your city didn’t die
because of the heat, because, back then, I bet it wasn’t news that told you to
keep cool.  You just learned to adapt, and you either had children or
grandkids close enough to visit, or at least neighbors who cared to do the same. 
And you always had some lemonade and stoop to sit on in some cooler night air.

And as much as I like to think of those simpler times, thank you Willis Carrier,
because it was 100 degrees here outside the dude-pad today, but inside it was
nicely in the 70’s.  And I even picked up some lemonade at the grocery
store because, well, it’s summer, and what is summer without lemonade?  And
you know what, maybe I should get to know my neighbors?

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!