Life imitating art ...

Does anyone remember watching Back To The Future II??  I watched it a few months back and thought, could things turn that far south???  EVER???  Turns out we are about to find out...

yikes... When I woke up on the Wednesday after the election, actually I almost didn't actually sleep, the results were already known and I had known because I couldn't get to sleep... And this needle dick was still president and I thought... This feels like Back To the Future II, the one with the alternative time line... Maybe if I get a better night sleep Wednesday I'll wake up Thursday and things will be back to normal...  No such luck but then I still haven't had a good night sleep and anyone who this election outcome  bothered them like it did me, they still haven't gotten a good night sleep yet and likely won't anytime soon...

So if you could turn the clock back would you and would it be to before the election and why??  For me the answer is.. NO.. The reason??  My feeling was the only way there is a difference is if they had a better selection process for the democrat running against Trump..   I had felt even before the election that Hillary was the anointed one..  Super delligates what a crock.. Anyway from the early parts after Trump has been elected (I still can't say that without a certain amount of vomit forthcoming)... But.. He won.. And what has he won, Johnny Olson tell the bright candidate what he just won.. Well.. He has a huge job ahead of him, he has inherited an economy that isn't horrible but has become stagnate, with incomes that are frozen and minimum wage set at early seventies standards and of which won't change any time soon.. I got an email or saw something on a site that says the economy is about to take a huge plunge.. Worse than 2007/08.. Which means we are headed for a serious recession.. And it won't be anything Trump necesarily does or doesn't do.. This is still fallout from the 2008 collapse in the financial area..  It was never fully fixed and so we will have an even worse collapse And Trump will take the fall for it although kicking and screaming.. Like George W Bush, Trump won't know how to fix it... He will want a quick fix and if he lets it fix itself we will be better off..  But they said that about GWB and he was completely lost..

From the Mike Rowe Facebook.." THE PLAY IS THE THING!

“I'll have grounds more relative than this—the play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.”
- Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2.

Mike - Please pardon my “white privilege,” but I’m pissed. I was at The Richard Rogers theater Friday night in NY. I thought the show was fantastic. I thought the cast was amazing. How though, can anyone justify their unsolicited comments to Mr. Pence during the curtain call? I didn’t pay (exorbitantly, by the way,) to hear someone’s personal opinion spouted from the stage. Just curious on your take, as a self-proclaimed former thespian.

Jack Boyer

Hi Jack

It’s true. I have indeed committed acts of dramaturgy on more than a few occasions, and shockingly, I do have some thoughts on the difference between art and artists. First though, I have to correct you about the nature of what you “paid for” last Friday. Hamilton is in fact, a personal opinion. Specifically, that of the playwright – Lin-Manuel Miranda. Make no mistake, that’s the opinion you paid to hear. If you're pissed, I suspect it's because you got some other opinions as well. But since you asked, here’s another!

I think the cast of Hamilton shared their feelings publicly, because it felt really good to do so. Unfortunately, I think their comments diminished the impact of an excellent show, and probably accomplished the exact opposite of the playwright’s intent.

A brief digression, before I circle back.

Last week, Matt Malone, the CEO of Grub Hub, wrote a letter to his employees that encouraged anyone who agreed with Donald Trump to tender their resignation. Frankly, I was stunned.

What kind of CEO would alienate a public company from half the country? Is he, as some have suggested, “a leader of deep personal conviction?” Or is he just a very bad businessman who values his personal feelings more than the feelings of his board, his shareholders, or his customers?

I had a similar question when Colin Kapernick refused to stand for the National Anthem. What kind of American refuses to respect a flag that so many died defending? Is he, as many seem to believe, a courageous and principled patriot who took a stand by sitting down? Or is he a disrespectful, self-serving opportunist with no regard for his team, his league, or his fans?

Beats me. It's hard to know the motive of another. However, I do know how satisfying it is to share my feelings with millions of people. Unfortunately, I also know that my feelings - in and of themselves - are profoundly unpersuasive things. It's satisfying to share them, but it’s almost never convincing. And yet, that’s precisely what the whole country appears to be doing - including the cast of Hamilton. They just told the next Vice President that they are overcome with feelings of “alarm and anxiety.”

In my opinion, that was a mistake. Because unlike athletes and CEO’s and protesters and millions of other concerned Americans with similar feelings, the cast of Hamilton didn’t have to deliver a lecture in order to make their point. Because the cast of Hamilton has at their disposal, a far more persuasive device. They have a play.

When Shakespeare wrote, “The play’s the thing,” Hamlet was telling us the most effective way for him to make his point was to keep his personal feelings out of the conversation. So Shakespeare constructed a play within a play, in which Hamlet was able to achieve his goal. Brilliant. And that’s precisely what’s so ironic about Friday’s outburst.

Hamilton is already a love letter to diversity. It's a very persuasive homage to inclusiveness, individuality, and many other things that make America a place worth immigrating to. The play delivers that message to everyone - including people who may have voted for Trump and Pence. But the cast - speaking out as they did – failed to make the play more persuasive; they simply made it more personal. More partisan. Smaller. The cast forgot that the play is the thing! By sharing their personal feelings with paying customers, they turned a play into a polemic. And polemics are the most unpersuasive things of all.

Please – don’t misunderstand me. Few things are more critical to our democracy than the first amendment. I know that. And if the cast of Hamilton wants to express their personal feelings from the stage, that’s fine by me. Likewise, if athletes want to nap during the Star Spangled Banner, and corporate CEO’s want to publicly proclaim their contempt for those who vote the “wrong way,” I say go for it! Just remember, the first amendment does not include the right to be agreed with, or the right to be understood, or the right to express your feelings without consequences. Last I checked, Grub Hub stock is down over 10%. And the NFL ratings are down 14%.

I’m sure the future of Hamilton will be just fine. They're sold out through 2017, and I say good for them. It's a hell of a good show. But if I were Lin-Manuel Miranda, I’d be the one demanding an apology. From my cast. And I'd be having a very serious conversation with them about the eternal wisdom of Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2.

Mike

PS. As for Trump’s return tweet, I think he’s also mistaken. The theater should not be a “safe place for everyone.” If you want a safe place, go to Yale. Or Rutgers. Or Brown. Whatever else our universities are becoming, our theaters should continue to be a place that challenges us. A place that makes us think. A place that makes us occasionally uncomfortable. That’s what a good play can do. Assuming of course, the actors can stick to the script, and let the play speak for itself."

What is Mike Rowe that smart or what.. He actually had people write him in on election Tuesday.. We don't want a smart person in the white house. Why??  I have no idea.. 

The SNL skit that has Twitter Boy Trump all a twitter... poor guy, has no sense of humour... 

I really like Seth Meyers a closer look segments on his show Late Night With Seth Meyers..  

Jon Stewart talking about the weird world we live in.. Trump is president.. 

Spoofina on YouTube, i've never heard of this channel before.. Shouldn't post it but...  Why not, either way..  

Sometimes these cartoon and other funny things are poking fun at Trump and other things and they can be funny, but other times they are more truthful..  We can laugh, and we do very nervously.. Why are we so seemingly afraid??  we don't like change and truth be told had almost any of the other early candidates in the Party part of the primaries we might could take..  But there were others that are just as off their nut Trumplike..  Scary??  Better believe it.. But when it came right down to election Tuesday we had someone who was possibly over qualified, and another who was so underqualified that it seems like it was a gimme as to who should win...  Crooked Hillary, and I don't think she was any worse than any other candidate in the past few elections So what??  

Stephen Colbert..  Making fun of Trump might be more fun than ever.. Or.. Not.. Depending on how much Trump will be able to take when the congress says NO a lot..  

Why do mens bikes have that rack you cross bar??  

Badge Henry