Express Yourself

Most families in Canada have had the chance to be a part of organized sports.  Even if you never set foot close to an organized sport, you probably know someone who has.  I have had the pleasure (totally being sarcastic here) for being connected with one of the biggest organized sports groups in my community; Prince George Minor Hockey Association (PGMHA). 

I live in a mid size town in Northern British Columbia called Prince George.  I happen to be a proud mom of a son that loves to play hockey.  Hey, I live in Canada, what can I say!!  I love watching him play and spending my time getting to know other families who are stuck at the rink with me at 6am on a Saturday and Sunday.

Recently, I have begun to question organizations like PGMHA.  Their whole organization seems to have only one goal in life; they are only there to get THEIR child to the NHL.  Yep, I said it.  When you have people who sit on the executive and are also coaches on the ice there has to be a conflict of interest somewhere.  I know they are all volunteers and they do want the best for the children but really there are over 2000 children who play minor hockey in Prince George.  You would think that there would be enough people that the executive does not need to be on the ice coaching as well as sitting up in the office making decisions that will affect everyone.

So here is the set up for PGMHA.  You have the President who is also an assistant coach on two different hockey teams.  Most of your Divisional Supervisors (6 positions – 6 dads) also assistant coach or coach teams where their children play.  And your Risk Management person also coaches two different hockey teams.  Oh I can go on and on, but it kind of makes you think that there is a conflict of interest somewhere; doesn’t it?

Oh but if you talk to anyone of these people, they will tell you that they are there because there are not enough people to help out.  Oh really!  Are you telling me that only 16 parents out of 2000 families are interested in being on the executive or there are not parents in the stands wishing they can get out on the ice to help coach.  I think they need to give their heads a shake. 

PGMHA needs to sit down and look at how they run things.  I believe that if you have volunteered for one position that is all you are allowed to hold.  Get more people involved and see what happens.  Do not have one person be the “team manager,” “the assistant coach,” “the divisional manager,” and “the referee assignor.”  There are hundreds of people who are willing to help out.  You just need to ask.   Oh I know they ask people to come out to the AGM to volunteer for these positions and no one comes out.  Well that is because they are dumb and have the meeting at the end of April when hockey season is done and over with.  Parents are not thinking about hockey anymore they have moved on to baseball, soccer, or other sports.  Really PGMHA, and maybe all organized sports, should really take a look at how they organize there associations and try to make sure everyone (or as many as possible) is there to help out!

Tonight’s episode of “The Simpsons” had two storylines going on: Lisa’s technological dreams and desires were finally realized upon receiving a Mypod from Krusty the Klown. Finally able to access all the music she ever wanted, Lisa found herself on download overload, and was forced to hawk Mypod info on the street corner. Blah blah, boring, whatever.

The secondary storyline involved Bart, who made friends with the new kid in town who, *gasp* was a Muslim kid from Jordan. Upon Homer’s first meeting with Bashir, we see typical Homer, completely unaware of what “Salaam Alaykum” means, but easily mollified by Bashir’s good manners and flattery. Later, we see Homer at the bar with his buddies, and this is where the show begins its rapid descent. Buddies Lenny and Carl ask Homer if he knows the direction of Mecca, since Bart’s new friend is Muslim. They then begin insinuating about terrorist operations, and Moe shows Homer a brief clip from (what is supposed to be) an episode of “24.” Cue Homer’s gullibility; he is now convinced that Bashir and his parents are terrorists, and invites them over to interrogate them during dinner. There are comments about bombs, freedom, cutting the American flag…at one point it was so pathetic I turned the channel, just to give myself a break from the stupidity I was watching. Turning the channel back, I found Marge scolding Homer (of course) and Homer continuing to make assumptions based on half-heard information and the typical “patriotic” panic. Sigh.

I get it. This is “The Simpsons” attempt to show tolerance, acceptance, personal growth, etc etc, right? Nothing screams “we’re open-minded” louder than a cartoon depicting a stereotypical Caucasian (or as Caucasian as Homer Simpson looks) feeling panicked over Muslim neighbours, and the possibility for terrorist activity. Gag. True tolerance is not demonstrated by a 30-minute cartoon show showing a person’s conversion from paranoid to accepting. If the major players behind “The Simpsons” wanted to play the multicultural card, they would have been better off simply adding a Muslim family to the Springfield dynamic. There was absolutely no need to get into the terrorism thing; that is a tired, worn-out tactic that I’m getting sick of. “Look at us! We thought our Muslim neighbours were terrorists, but we were wrong! What a relief! We’re so open-minded now!”

The final scene of the episode, following Homer’s enlightenment, is a backyard bbq with the Simpson family and Bashir’s family. Over the picnic table is a banner that reads, “PARDON MY INTOLERANCE.”  Bashir’s family smiles good-naturedly, (no doubt still seething on the inside, as they should) and all is forgiven once again. “The Simpsons” should not have waded into these waters – it’s either a comedy, in which case it doesn’t need to deal with these kinds of issues, or it isn’t, in which case it should be more responsible (and frankly, creative) when undertaking this type of story. A new low for “The Simpsons.”

I finally got caught up with my PVR last night, which included watching this week’s episode of CSI:NY. Regular readers know my love affair with Wednesday nights, as Wednesday is the day for Glee, Criminal Minds and CSI:NY. I wait all week for those new episodes, as to my mind, they are the best shows on tv right now, and often the only shows worth watching. (Law and Order: SVU as the exception…it’s on on Tuesdays, not Wednesdays!)

This week’s CSI:NY had two guest stars: Kim Kardashian and Vanessa Minnillo. Viewers will also point out that musician Pat Monahan was also a guest star, but I’ll get to him in a moment. I’d like to start instead with Vanessa Minnillo, whom many will likely know best as either the ex-girlfriend of former boybander Nick Lachey, or as a regular contributor to Entertainment Tonight (as of 2005, according to her information on imdb.com).  She has a few credits to her name; including an 8-episode arc on “The Bold and the Beautiful.” I will give her performance a B+; not amazing but not too bad. I could see why casting directors would consider her, given her beauty and her skills. I don’t think she was the best guest star we’ve seen on CSI:NY, but I thought she did a good job. Presumably, the more experience she gains, the better she will be come.

Moving on to Kim Kardashian, however…she’s another story. Let’s keep in mind that this is the girl who became famous as Paris Hilton’s sidekick, and then having her own sex tape leaked. (or did she leak it herself? Nothing screams “celebrity” these days like a naked video!) If you look at her credits on imdb.com, she has a lot of projects to her name, which initially seems impressive. Look closer – almost all of her credits are on shows where she has appeared as herself. Credits abound on reality-type television shows, with little work being done as other people, a.k.a actual acting. Why might this be? Because, to be perfectly honest, Kim Kardashian is not an actress. She’s beautiful, people like to follow her life, but she is not an actress. She has no discernible acting talent whatsoever, and apparently has no good friends or family members gutsy enough to tell her the truth. Her scenes were so painful that I ended up having to fast forward through parts here and there, just to stop the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Her performance was forced, fake, and awkward to watch. It didn’t work, plain and simple.

CSI:NY lost points with me this week for taking the easy way out with ratings: put a celebrity on, and people will tune in to watch the car wreck. It doesn’t matter if the performance is any good; people’s curiosity will ensure they watch, and CSI:NY can watch the numbers roll in. Instead of finding an actor (gee, aren’t there a few of those kicking around in the business these days?) and putting together a real, stellar episode, they grabbed a reality television show “star” and allowed a sub-par performance on their show.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I’m so tired of “celebrities” being put on television and movies, with studios completely overlooking the fact that these celebrities are not actors. From the moment that Michael Jordan made “Space Jam,” it’s been a downward spiral when it comes to quality of films. Gone are the days of high-quality films and television shows; those days have been replaced by special effects and big names, regardless of whether or not they have any actual abilities. “House of Wax” failed to meet its potential by adding Paris Hilton to the mix. Sure, it got its box office draw, but was it a film creators could be proud of? Probably not, as they took the weasel way out too.

The other night, my friend and I watched To Kill A Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck. This film is black-and-white, with NO special effects (shooting of the rabid dog excluded) of any kind; in short, it is a film that tells a story. It has a strong cast and a compelling plot, and it works. It worked then and it worked now. Gregory Peck’s courtroom performance far exceeds almost anything being put out today, and why? Because studio heads knew then what they seem to forget now: it should be about the story, and the talent of the people to tell it.

These days, “reality television” people are invading our non-reality television shows, and bringing their crappy non-talents with them. I for one am completely sick of this kind of crap. Celebrities are not necessarily actors! Just because someone plays themselves on a so-called reality show does not mean they ought to be on television taking on actual roles. Save the acting for the actors, and the reality crap for the idiots who are willing to sit through painful, terrible scripted reality.

As for Pat Monahan – he is a musician/singer, who also did a guest spot on the show. I’m not sure if he is a good actor or not, since he did not spend that much time acting. He was there more as a musician, and since that’s what he does best, I though his performance was great. Had we seen more of his acting chops, he might have ended up in the same category as Kim Kardashian; who knows?

Please, writers and studio execs everywhere: stop with this TMZ-driven casting, and return to the art of television and filmmaking. Your audiences deserve better than this. What’s next? A guest spot for Heidi and Spencer?