Thursday, July 24, 2014

America's Got Talent

I hate most television; but, I like talent shows. I like to watch old style variety shows, it reminds me of the Ed Sullivan Show and seeing the Beatles and variety acts. After Mr. Sullivan, that type of variety show sort of stopped playing. America's Got Talent is a true variety show and I like the interplay by the judges. I have seen some amazing acts this year and am going to post a link to the performances by my favorite ones, ones that could go professional today, in my not so humble opinion having worked as a stage manager for over a decade.

In the dance catagory, I love these two. Blue Journey. I think it is beautiful and sublime and I don't usually like dancing. This is worth your watching and I don't think you will be sorry that you did.

The Willis Clan. Music Groups. They could tour right now and I would buy a ticket, what a family, all beautiful (including the parents), all talented and a joy to hear.

David and Leeman. Magicians. I was performing magic when I was a child, I studied Houdini, I read books about his magic. My father and I performed a trick better than the one other act that was performing it and they were playing Vegas. It is a very difficult trick and I haven't seen anyone perform it in 40 years. The act only really pays off when you have a young boy and his father, it is a mind reading act and you have never seen it performed and you probably never will. It takes years to learn and you can only perform it for at best, 5 years and that would be stretching it. My father taught me the trick after he discovered that I loved magic and he also worked with me as I taught myself escape tricks. I bet this surprises some people. LOL. Magic is not about the trick, it is about the presentation and David and Leeman are very possibly the best act this year. I want to give an honorable mention to Smoothini, loved his act.

Julia Goodwin. Singer. I love the style of music that she sings and she does it well. She is only 15; but, you would never know it. I would buy her album of this type of music tomorrow.

Honorable mention and an explanation goes to this last act. Adrain Romoff. This young man is very talented and will go far; but, he will truly succeed when he writes his own music. His playing is very good; but, I have heard others equally good. He needs to grow and write his own and then we will be able to better know his abilities.

I would like to see the final two be David and Leeman and Julia Goodwin. If I based my choice on who could open a Vegas show tomorrow, it would be David and Leeman, they already have their act ready. If I base my choice on talent alone, it would be Ms. Goodwin. I want to hear her again, I would pay to see either of these acts.

Conspiracy Sites

I don't believe everything I am told and I know that the government has lied and hidden things. There is absolutely no question in my mind that we should not take things without questioning them. There is also a big difference between opinion and fact. If you believe 2 + 2 = 5, you cannot tell me that your opinion on the matter is just as valid as other peoples. The answer to the simple math question is not an opinion, it is a fact and one that is pretty hard to disprove.

Now the Pimpernel writes every week and often for days straight, questioning things that are written or produced, the claims of others; but, I don't write about conspiracy theories. I write about what is going on and cite mainstream media articles on the same things, I just try to add a little context. If I want to discuss government brainwashing programs, I post to the congressional record of the hearings on the matter or to the interview with President Clinton who apologized for the program. Extreme beliefs require extreme evidence or it should just be questions, not conclusions.

In the course of my writing a post, I read all the news of the day from multiple sources. Some of the sources are what I would call "conspiracy sites". To me a conspiracy site is a website that has an agenda that outweighs their reasonably weighing the evidence. I want to talk about some of these sites and their authors.

Rense.com. Mr Rense claims to be the most format and content plagiarized site on the web. This is interesting in that 99% of his content is links to other peoples work. One of his regular contributors is the ex head of the Klu Klux Klan, David Duke. If there is a anti-Jewish article anywhere that he can link to he will. Not a day goes by that he doesn't link to anything that could remotely support his comical beliefs. He has no objectivity.

DavidIcke.com. Now I want to start by saying that Mr. Icke has brought a lot of things to the publics attention at the risk of his own career. Now many have attacked Mr. Icke for being anti-Israel and believing that the hidden rulers of the universe are reptilian spirits; but, the problem I have is that he is unwilling to consider alternative explanations for his beliefs. I have never read where Mr. Icke recommended violence against anyone, so, we agree on that; but, I believe his focus is too narrow. I should say that I have seen him speak in person and found him fascinating. I don't have to agree with someone on everything to appreciate their abilities.

Alex Jones. Mr. Jones appears the most rationale; however, he is paranoid in the wrong way. He assumes everything is the end of the world and disagrees with everything that the President does. He seems to support people that are of the Ayn Rand school and is an extremist. I cannot recommend that people follow him.

These three are the three biggest in alternative media and I cannot find one that I recommend. If I were to recommend any site, I would recommend The Young Turks; but, I recommend nobody. I recommend reading all the sites, mainstream and alternative and questioning them all. I do not follow anyone nor lead anyone, I merely read them all and take what I find to be indicative of a bigger picture.

Never trust anyone who won't admit to being biased. I have listed out my biases in the past and and more than happy to respond to any comments asking me what they are. You should read the media and recognize that they have a bias and view what they say keeping that in mind, whether you agree with their bias or not.