19 October 2009

It's Halloween, People!

I saw a news segment on CNN on Saturday that made my brain hurt. It seems that there are some people out there who are none too happy with a certain Halloween costume.
Immigrant rights activists are calling on U.S. retailers to stop selling two controversial "Illegal Alien" costumes that have surfaced for Halloween, saying the outfits are a broadside attack on illegal immigrants.

The "Illegal Alien Adult Costume," manufactured by Forum novelties, includes an orange jumpsuit, similar to prison garb, with "Illegal Alien" stamped in black across the chest; a space alien mask; and a fake Green Card. The "Illegal Alien Mask with Hat" also includes a space alien mask, this time with a dark handlebar mustache and a baseball cap.
Now, I happen to slightly agree with their position on the mask with the mustache. That one is pretty blatant and I can understand the outrage. But an alien in a jumpsuit and a fake green card? Come on, people! Lighten up! That's funny stuff! Have people forgotten about a certain movie and its sequel that deal with aliens that illegally reside here? That was the first thing I thought of when I saw that costume. That the first place some people go is instantly insulted is simply sad.

This outrage has caused some of our retailers to pull the costume from their stores. And I think that's a shame. So I'm supplying you with links on where you can purchase your very own illegal alien Halloween costume.

And, because this has stuck in my craw so deeply, I'm giving you an added bonus today ... a music video!

15 October 2009

Bad Blogger! Bad, Bad Blogger!

Yes, I know. I've let this site sit stagnant and cobwebby for roughly a month. I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't ... I've been a victim of the daily grind of life. In my absence, I have missed posting about a great many happenings in the world, a couple of which I want to comment on quickly.

First is the recent death of wrestling icon and music video regular Captain Lou Albano. World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (later to become World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) due to a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund) was just coming into its own in the late 70's to mid 80's. They were on TV every weekend. They were appearing in music videos. Why, the wrestling stars of that day even had their own Saturday morning cartoon. And Captain Lou was right in the middle of it all. It's trendy to mock or even criticize wrestling today for its over-the-top antics and its violence. But while the current level of "realism" didn't exist back then, the over-the-top antics and personalities most certainly did. And back then, it was good clean fun. Captain Lou, along with all of the other wrestling stars of those days, will always be a part of me because he was a fairly big part of my childhood.

The other thing I'd like to comment on, and would have done on Random Music Tuesday if I had had the time, is the 30th anniversary of the Fleetwood Mac album Tusk. The album had been compared to The Beatles (a.k.a., The White Album) due to the experimentation of the band and that it was a double album. I suppose it's up to us, the listeners, to decide if it is a good album or not but one cannot deny the power of the title track. How many other Top 10 hits can you name that makes use of a college marching band?

And with that, I would be remiss if I didn't give you something from the album to listen to. So, without further ado, here is "Tusk".