Here are my predictions for 2004, some of which I mentioned before:

A new reality TV show will be about the making of a reality TV show. It will be called "Meta-Reality" and will have contestants compete to come up with and produce reality TV shows. The winner will get his/her own reality TV show.

The Stock Market will go up, except sometimes it will go down.

Oprah Winfrey will run for Governor of California.

bin Laden will be caught around late July or early August, in time for Bush to milk the moment for his election campaign.

Bush will win the election, due to voter apathy, a Democratic meltdown leading to a candidate exciting as mud, and rigged electronic voting.

The erosion between Church and State will continue thanks to the Administration until Christianity is declared the National Religion and all public schools will require crosses in the classrooms. The Pledge and our currency will change to say "under Jesus". Jews, Muslims, and other "Peoples of Concern" will be required to wear identifying patches on their clothing.

Schools will be required to teach to the lowest common denominator. The teaching of Evolution will be replaced by the simpler concept of Creationism. Most school topics will be replaced by Religious Studies, namely that "Jesus is Lord!" and all else depends on your Preacher. School test scores will plummet but who will care?

Our Civil Liberties will be further eroded with little bleating from the masses due to Ashcroft and his Gestapo, and the Department of Homeland Security keeping a tight rein on the citizens, all in the name of National Security and stopping terrorism.

The Environment or what's left of it will be open only to those who can afford the National Park passes, namely CEOs. It won't matter much since the National Parks will be logged under, driven over, or coated with oil.

(Oil company: "Oooops, we had a little oil accident."

Administration: "We see you supported Bush in the campaign. Your fine will be $10 million..."

Oil Company: "That's a little steep. Our shareholders (cough) Cheney might not approve that."

Administration: "Skip the fine then. Clean up the oil."

Oil Company: "Can we get a grant for the cleanup?"

Administration: "Of course, have some Superfund money.")

Bush will find the need to invade more countries but only those posing real threats to National Security (translation - countries with oil): Venezuela, Mexico, Iran...

We will as a nation become our own worst enemy thanks to an Administration that cares little about anything except its own selfish concerns.

(Note about predictions: I'll publicize the successes ad nauseum. Failures will be glossed over. My goal is to become a famous Predictor, make lots of money, and appear on talk shows to snootily look down on those who don't have the "Gift". Wish me luck!)

An appropriate quote by a great author:

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual."
- John Steinbeck, East if Eden

Trick 2 Review

Oh blissful New Year. I finished watching the DVDs of a *GREAT* TV show called "Trick 2". I stumbled upon this marvelous show quite by accident when channel flipping during a commercial break of Alias. In Los Angeles our Channel 18 shows mostly Asian programming and so while flipping I stopped - hmmm, english subtitles, strange acting and cinematography, plots about shams and scams - PERFECT!

Synopsis from here: "Nakama Yukie plays Naoko Yamada, an amateur magician who has a series of adventures debunking claims of paranormal phenomena along with her sidekicks, a professor and a pair of oddly-coiffed police detectives. In "Trick 2," these cases include a ghost cab murderer, a "psi-trailer," a young boy who can visit "divine punishment" on unsuspecting victims, and an ancient wizard in a remote forest village. (This latter story gives the series' creators the chance to parody "The Blair Witch Project.")

Along the way, plenty of strange things, both chilling and hilarious, befall our heroes. In fact, there is quite a bit of humor in the "Trick" series, mostly puns (both verbal and visual). Not all of these translate accurately into English, but that just adds to surrealism of the show."

Official Trick 2 website

Sunday nights came down to Jennifer Garner or Nakama Yukie. OK, I stuck with Alias until the repeats started then switched to Trick 2. But happiness to discover the Trick 2 series on DVD.

I got the 4-DVD set on Ebay from a seller based in Taiwan for $18 plus $8.50 shipping. This is a great deal - cheaper than buying in the U.S. - and the package arrived quickly and in fine shape. I noticed another offering on EBay from a seller located in the U.S. but the price is about $10 more. Regardless, get the DVDs for a great show comparable to and perhaps better than the X-Files. It's rare to have a non-documentary show that takes on these paranormal frauds and explicitly reveals tricks of the trade.

Now if the powers that be would see fit to release Trick (season 1) and the Trick Movie on DVD with English subtitles, life would be properly peachy. If James Randi would produce a similar show, life would be more than properly peachy - it might actually be more rational and less irritating. And I don't mean a re-hash of The Magician that once starred Bill Bixby, more like Trick 2, a show that skewers current trends of idiocy in both blatant and subtle ways. one of these days...in the meantime, get Trick 2 and watch out for the scene with the supposed double-blind experiment.

PBS Down The Rabbit Hole

PBS usually has great shows and certainly deserves support. It's willingness to have programming that "normal" TV won't touch, shows with intelligence, plays, Britcoms, musicals, Education. However, I recently caught a show about Feng Shui, you know, the trendy, politically correct movement concerning arranging a house to improve "chi".

Plain and simple - what a load of rubbish.

The few moments I saw and that was all I could take showed a diagram of 8 attributes over which they plotted a diagram of a house and showed that because the house didn't cover a certain area, the chi was out of balance. This imbalance however could be corrected by filling in the space with a plant, or a pool, or re-building the house.

Folks, I'll save you the cost of a Feng Shui specialist. Are you dissatisfied with the way your house looks? Change it. Lighten up dark corners. Move furniture around. Add in plants. Take away plants. Clean up the cat poop. Put in a skylight. Change the shades. Change the paintings. Move.

Why do you need someone else (much less pay them) to tell you how you should feel about living in your own space? Are you that much of a sheep? Are you not capable of having your own opinion? Must you follow every ridiculous trend just to puff up your meager life to your friends? Cliche time: Get a life!

BCS, USC, and BS

Quite amusing actually. Here we have USC, a team voted number 1 in the two main football polls, a team which has just trounced Michigan in the Rose Bowl, a school that I cannot stand, wailing and whining that they're Number One when according to BCS they're not. Either Oklahoma or Louisiana State will be Number One. East Coast Bias screams the Trojan Faithful. Damn Computers yell the pollsters.

Yet. If anything the BCS needs to get rid of the poll element and keep it mechanical..errr...electrical. The polls are the fickle points. Oklahoma dominates nearly the entire season, loses one game, and - bam! - the polls knock them down. USC loses early on, plays weaker teams, and - bam! - they're Number One when Oklahoma falters. C'mon, the coaches and sportswriters' polls are popularity polls based mostly on who has the best record. The people doing these polls can't compute strength of scehdule or average margin of victory week-in and -out. They get the poll sheets, check the sports section, see who won and lost, and adjust accordingly. The fact that they put out polls during preseason shows little basis in reality.

That's why the human element needs to be reduced in BCS. Keep it formulaic based primarily on strength of schedule. That'll penalize a cream-puff schedule and reward shit-tough football. Of course, that will penalize creampuff Conferences but, hey, nothing's perfect.

The bigger problem is Playoffs versus Bowl games. I just can't see a solution for this. Too much money and tradition involved.

By the way, UCLA, listen up! There's a coach available just fresh from the NFL. Steve Spurrier - heard of him? He sucks at the NFL level but he's had some success with the College game. You should invite him out to L.A., wine him, dine him, wine him some more, stick some starlet tits in his face until he signs on the dotted line. "Run-and-gun" is just fine for Bruin football.