To Whit or The (Penn) State of Things

Over the weekend, there was a record-setting event that's going to help a great many people. Over the weekend, there was an event that got a ridiculous amount of news coverage. Not surprisingly, they weren't the same event.

In State College, Penn State's annual Dance Marathon raised $10.68M for the Four Diamonds Foundation which supports pediatric cancer research. The dance marathon, THON for short, is the world's largest student-run philanthropy. The fact that it raised more than a million dollars more than last year, setting a record in the process, would be noteworthy in itself. That it came in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal that's shaken the university and its alumni so deeply makes it more so. As someone who's spent the last few months dreading the sight of network reporters broadcasting from Old Main, seeing this all over the news would have been a nice counter-balance to show the world what alumni like myself have always known, Penn State stands for a lot more than football.

Apparently, they couldn't spare the airtime to discuss that 46-hour event, because over in Newark, New Jersey there was a four hour memorial to the late Whitney Houston. I certainly appreciate that Houston was a popular talented singer whose life her friends and family would want to celebrate. However, the spectacle of Houston's coffin being carried out of the church while her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" played just seemed creepy to me. Seeing the networks show it repeatedly made me wonder if they really couldn't find something better to show, something like hundreds of college students fighting to stay on their feet non-stop for two days to help children they don't even know. Presumably, it's a lot easier for an event to make the news when its soundtrack is topping the iTunes chart.

Political Algebra or Shouldn't XX=XY

I'd initially been worried that nothing good would come out of the hearings being held by the House of Representatives on the portions of the 2010 health-care reform bill related to providing contraception for women whose insurance coverage is through certain religiously affiliated employers. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded. As it happens, the Republican congressmen, led by California's Darrell Issa, were so stimulated by the feeling of trampling on a variety of women's rights that they no longer need Viagra. Not being an accountant, I'm unable to offer an exact figure as to how much money this will save their insurance providers and, by extension, American taxpayers, but I wouldn't be surprised if the final tally is in the millions.

Common Law Iceberg

The claims of so-called "birthers" questioning President Obama's citizenship status and by extension his eligibility for office are among the cockroaches of American politics. However repetitive and discredited the claims are, no court decision nor release of documents can seem to kill them. Against that backdrop, you have to give Pennsylvania resident Thomas Barchfeld credit for finding a somewhat novel approach to trying to keep the President off the ballot in that state, even if it is nonsense.

Instead of claiming that President Obama wasn't born in the United States, Barchfeld asserts that the President isn't a "natural born citizen" because only one of his parents was an American citizen. The "basis" for this is a passage from the Supreme Court's written opinion in an 1874 case (Minor v Happersett) about voting rights for women. While giving historical context about how citizenship and the rights of citizens have been determined in accordance with the US Constitution, the court noted that in the absence of a specific definition for the term "natural born citizen" common law practice prevails. The justices then discussed some of the ways in which citizenship status has been defined under common law and acknowledged questions that had arisen about how foreign citizenship of one or both parents might impact someone's status as a "natural born citizen".

At first glance, and as reported in many outlets without any apparent attempt at fact-checking, it comes across as a credible claim. What Barchfeld (and many of those reporting his efforts) overlooks is that the legal and historical background for the 1874 case is just that, background. The case itself and the court's decision in the matter is not about how citizenship status is determined but rather whether citizenship automatically conveys voting rights under the Constitution (as it stood in the late 19th century, at least). In fact, the members of the court specifically state in the decision that they are not making any specific ruling on the question of who qualifies as "a natural born citizen", deferring again to common law, making this contemporary claim not just foolish but also ill-informed.

Ill-informed though Barchfeld may be, his words certainly show him to be passionate about this cause. "I am saddened that it seems very possible that the largest hoax in American history has been perpetrated on the people of America, undoubtedly this is just the tip of the iceberg in a very sordid tale I am just a citizen of this State, and I only needed mere hours to find this information which is readily available."

At first, I found myself wondering how much more he could have achieved if he'd spent just a few more minutes reading the next few, equally available sentences in the court decision and realized that he had no case. On reflection, though, it might be better to have him engaged in an effort like this where he can't do any real harm.

Ghost of a Chance

On the one hand, I appreciate that the lawsuit against Gary Friedrich, a writer who helped create the the comic-book character Ghost-Rider, may have been driven more by Marvel's corporate parent Disney. On the other, Marvel's history with the treatment of the writers and artists who've generated millions on "work for hire" creations may be even more dubious than that of DC Comics and their poor treatment of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, so they don't get much benefit of doubt from me. The latest wrinkle in the wake of the judgment against Friedrich is that Marvel is now demanding payment of $17,000 from Friedrich related to unlicensed Ghost Rider merchandise he sold at conventions. Putting aside that Friedrich is apparently in no financial state to pay such a judgment, you really have to wonder why no one at Marvel or DC doesn't realize that the negative publicity here probably hurts them more than that $17,000 would benefit them, assuming Friedrich can even pay it. It certainly underlines the point that Marvel's days as the "House of Ideas" are long gone.

Synergy?

If there was an award for bungling corporate synergy, NBC-Universal (or whatever they call themselves nowadays) would be the clear front-runner today. Over the weekend, Saturday Night Live featured a hilarious send-up of the UK drama series Downton Abbey, which is itself produced by a company that’s owned by NBC-Universal. Not surprisingly, considering that Downton Abbey’s ratings on PBS rival those of many things NBC shows in prime-time, this sketch got a lot of attention. One of the venues for this attention was the web-site of NBC’s Today Show, which also included a video clip of that sketch. Or, at least it did earlier today.

As of this writing, if you attempt to play the clip, you get a message explaining that the clip is no longer available due to a copyright claim by NBC. Yes, that’s right a video that features an excerpt from an NBC show that utilizes footage from another NBC show has now been removed from an NBC-owned web-site due to a copyright claim by NBC. I couldn't tell you what the leading book on the topic of corporate synergy is, but I’m confident that this approach is not in it, except perhaps as a warning.

They Had a Plan

Though the placement of the 21st century edition of Battlestar Galctica (aka BSG) on BBC America still seems a bit silly, I have to admit it got me watching the show again in earnest. Previously, I'd only revisited a handful of episodes, mostly early ones purchased on DVD. Watching it in sequence again, aided and abetted by purchasing the final season so I didn't have to wait for BBC America to get to the final episode, has been a real treat.

Some movies or TV shows are impressive on first viewing but don't hold up to a second look. With BSG, the episodes that impressed the first time around feel just as strong while others that initially felt lackluster now fit better into the overall tapestry of the series. This was especially true of the latter part of the third season, where some of the episodes felt like they were just marking time between key plot developments but on further review laid the groundwork for key events later in the series.

In particular, it was good to give the finale, Daybreak, another look. Despite wrapping up nearly all the key plot-lines in sensible ways, Daybreak somehow didn't feel quite right on first viewing. The balance between the concrete setting and the mystical overtones was off and the end result didn't feel quite satisfying. Three years later, with the series as a whole fresher in mind, the ending now feels like the inevitable culmination of the path the 70-some previous episodes had paved. While there are elements that still seem out of place (including the modern-day epilogue), the mysticism now feels like a sensible complement to the more poetic portrayal of both the flashbacks and the current happenings that bring the key characters individual stories full-circle.

The finale also reaffirms that, as good as Edward James Olmos and the rest of the cast were, the best performance over the course of the series was James Callis as Gaius Baltar. Almost all the key characters changed and grew over the course of the series, but none experienced quite as many twists and turns as Baltar who struggled as much with himself (and his own conflicted nature) as he did with other the characters. Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck came close, though, being one of the more heroic characters from the start she was generally more sympathetic and had more of the other characters sympathetic to her at any given time.

Performances like those and the scripts that provided the blueprint for them are the key reason that Battlestar Galactica is Exhibit A for why the term "science-fiction drama" isn't an oxymoron. Many shows fall into the trap of seeing science-fiction as if it's a method of storytelling in itself rather than just a setting in which to tell stories. By keeping its focus on the people inhabiting the spaceships rather than the spaceships themselves, Ronald D. Moore and the other writers made a strong case for BSG being the best American TV drama of the past decade. I think I'm almost ready to start watching it again.


Obligatory Disclaimer: The Battlestar Galactica logo above is obviously someone else's intellectual property, and anyone who's gotten to this point should be clear that no infringement is intended.

Who Watches the Guy Who Asked Us About Watching the Watchmen?

For the most part, my reaction to DC Comics' announcement of several prequel series to the iconic story Watchmen is a hearty shrug. It's not that I don't think the comics will be good. In fact, with people like Darwyn Cooke on board, I'm confident it will all be very well done. It's just that it all seems a bit pointless. Since the original series gave us all the back-story we needed for these characters, additional stories seem likely to be either superfluous because they have no connection to the Watchmen mother-ship or obligatory because they're crammed full of references that no one who isn't immersed in the original storyline will appreciate. Either way, I think it will be much more enjoyable to hear what original series co-creator Alan Moore has to say about it, as this could be the slight against him on DC's part that finally pushes him over the edge. I'll be watching.

Obligatory Addendum: Moore's reaction to DC's plans was swift and sure. Indeed, it predated the above posting. When asked for comment by the New York Times, Moore described the move as "completely shameless." He actually said a lot more than that, but that's for another column.