What's On The News

When something big happens, you tend to hear about it on the news all the time. I never really thought about it much until now. At times, it was pretty annoying. Other times, the news coverage was actually informative and helped all of us keep up with new discoveries in whatever big case or situation.

I have a pretty bad memory. I'll get my dates mixed up. When I'm telling a story, I can't remember whether it was a Monday or a Wednesday. I'll get the facts straight but they'll be jumbled up. I'll be the first to admit "I don't really remember for sure" or that facts are "vague." But if I know I'm remembering things right, I'll say so and I'll know I'm right.

So - because of my bad memory, I thought I'd record what I've been seeing on the news lately. Mostly for myself - so I can read this 5 years from now and be able to remember accurately what went on. Also, I thought it'd be fun to have another chance to complain about a few things.

First off - more than a month after Michael Jackson's funeral, I'm seeing news EVERYWHERE about him. People are still writing/talking about the funeral and how LA paid millions (1.2 million, I think) for his funeral. The funeral was free to spectators who wanted to visit and pay their respects. Later on, LA decided they wanted to ask citizens for help in paying for the funeral by making donations. Oops - guess they realized that they can't afford it. Not only they're STILL talking about the funeral (did you know that they're saying that MJ wasn't actually IN the coffin during the service at Staples Center?), there's lots of attention on his estate and his children. Who's going to get the estate? There was a brief argument over who would take the children - and ultimately the courts decided that MJ's mother will have full custody of them. NOW people are expressing concerns over the children's upbringing because MJ's mother is allegedly a Jehovah's Witness and Michael wanted to raise the children Catholic. Apparently it says so in the will... or maybe not. I'm not sure where the "catholic upbringing" is coming from.

What business is it of ours (including the media) to express concern over the children's religion? All that matters now is that they grow up in a loving, stable home environment that will teach them values and help them become good adults. Whether they're JW, Catholic or Baptist shouldn't matter at this point. They just lost their father and they are being uprooted from their home and they're trying to grieve in the middle of all this attention. Leave them alone.

I've been getting chain emails with a link to a video that supposedly shows MJ's ghost at Neverland Ranch recently. I was curious so I checked it out. I was able to discern the "shadowy figure" that people were talking about. Yes, it looks like a figure walking across the doorway. BUT - that's all I'm willing to acknowledge it as - a shadow. The footage could have been doctored. What made me laugh was that some people said "I thought ghosts only come out a year after they die? So that can't be MJ" People were taking this seriously. I thought it was crazy and moved on.

Another thing that I'm seeing on the news constantly is the careful watch on this year's Hurricane Season. Typically, hurricanes should have already been coming (and missing us). However, this year - no hurricanes have formed at all. Some people are rejoicing. Could this be a sign that we will not have any major storms that could wreak havoc on one of our cities and kill our citizens? Maybe so. Our weather has been really strange lately. We've had almost NO rain (except for a few days of downpour). What could this mean?

News stations are saying that this is indeed good news - BUT to be careful and still be prepared. In 1983, Alicia was the season's first hurricane (and most destructive for many years) and Alicia didn't come until August 15th. While it's valid to be concerned about the lack of hurricanes and be happy about it at the same time - I don't think it merits the amount of attention it's garnered.

Other than the upcoming tax free weekend, there isn't much on the news (that I care about). I'm about to go and watch this newest reality show - Dating in the Dark - it's funny, new, and an interesting social experiment. I wonder what else TV will come up with.