My Reality Show Pitch

Heard on the radio (unconfirmed) that the oldest living person died again today. Occurred to me that we have so many lame-ass 'reality' TV shows, why don't we have one for the person who is, by definition, the Ultimate Survivor? I would love to see a show that followed the crown around the world as the oldest living human passed on the throne. Although, a crown might be a bit much for their frail necks, maybe a nice over-sized mesh baseball cap would be easier on them. Not to be mean, I just ... well, OK that was a bit mean; but, I am serious, I think this could be a great show. Imagine the possibilities. If the oldest living person is in the 115-130 year-old range, they were born before the turn of the last fucking century! That's just nuts. Parents probably lived through the American Civil war. Our subject will have lived through Wright Brothers, both World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Space Race, the Civil Rights era, the advent of computers and the internet. Regardless of where in the world they live, some of these things either impacted them, or (even more interestingly, perhaps) didn't.

The old-timers, products of a long gone era, might be more racist, more homophobic, or have insane religious beliefs that would dismay modern sensibilities, or -- even more interestingly -- they might be surprisingly progressive. Their stories could be told Ken Burn's style, or Real Housewives style (they probably have some nutty progeny, the odds favor it), but no matter what style of documenting them was used, there must be a wealth of a stories in each of their lives. Some will probably be in hospital beds hooked up to machines: opportunity to examine end of life care. Some will probably be spry old Okinawan fish-mongers or something, working 'til the last day of their lives: opportunity for anecdotal promotion of whatever they swear by for the longevity. Betcha booze has preserved more than one. Whether they have wisdom or only ignorance to share, an unflinching portrait would only have to be honest to be fascinating.

I imagine the job of Oldest Living Human must have pretty high turnover, so there'd always be a opportunity to get to know new folks. If one has a long reign and the material dries up, profiles of the next in line could always be used as teasers for the next season or story arc.

Every show, if it's going to be a hit, should have spin-offs; there's no shortage of potential OLH spin-off potential. MSNBC already has their Lock Up show, how about Oldest Living Human In Captivity? The stories on that one should be enlightening. "Yeah, I shanked another hobo in a boxcar between St. Louis and Memphis for trying to steal my can of beans." Oldest Living [Nationality]. Oldest Living Active [Politician]: there should be plenty of Robert Byrd stories, and Ralph Hall also looks at first glance to be suitably nutty to deliver some tragi-comedy.

Time to polish this idea up and track down Mark Burnett.

FriendFeed #Userdrive (Triptych Cryptic Import)

Twitter / Search - userdrive:

Friendfeeders encouraging tweeters to check out FF. Twitter has it's uses but I'm all for promoting FF. Go, you FF, go!

Philosopher: Why we should ditch religion - CNN.com

Philosopher: Why we should ditch religion - CNN.com

More Burr Despicableness

Sen. Burr Was The Objecter Who Forced Committee Hearings Off Schedule (VIDEO) | TPMDC:
"With a few words Wednesday - 'I would have to object' - N.C. Sen. Richard Burr joined an angry Republican pushback to the nation's sweeping health care overhaul.
Burr used a parliamentary maneuver to derail an Armed Services Committee hearing for which commanders had traveled from South Korea and Hawaii to discuss the Pentagon's needs for the next year.

It was one of several hearings on issues ranging from homeless veterans to police trainers in Afghanistan that were upturned by Republican tactics to slow the workings of the Senate."

Sports Fella on Wrong Side of History (Triptych Cryptic Import)

Sports Fella Leaves The Yard - Yard abandonment - Deadspin: Olbermann is no Maddow, and say what you will about Simmons's relevance, he is funny. Those things said, Simmons is clearly on the wrong side of history in this little tussle.

Go You Huskies (Triptych Cryptic Import)

Connecticut Huskies Look to Make History Tonight at Women's Basketball Championship: "A few more wins and Connecticut is set to become the second team to run through two straight seasons as the No. 1 team in women's basketball. The Huskies are No. 1 in The Associated Press women's Top 25 for a 42nd straight time over a two-year span after receiving all 40 first-place votes from the AP's media panel."

The consecutive win streak record seems like the bigger deal here. Should be a great game tonight.

IM2 Trailer (Triptych Cryptic Import)

New “Iron Man 2″ Trailer Debuts Sunday : Slice of SciFi:

Forget the Oscars and set the DVR for the Jimmy Kimmel post-Oscars specials.
Why, you ask?
Because that’s when we’ll get our next look at “Iron Man 2.”

The Case Against Sen. Richard Burr (R) - NC

North Carolina Senator Richard Burr is up for reelection in 2010.  Personally, I think it's critical for North Carolina, and the nation, that he be defeated.  Republicans in the Senate are, to be blunt, doing more damage to our ability to govern ourselves and address serious social and economic problems than the terrorists they are supposedly such experts at defeating.  Whether it's health care reform, dealing responsibly with our economic woes, or just not being evil they are doing everything in their power (lying, distorting, filibustering, etc.) to prevent any progress in improving the lives and livelihoods of working Americans.  For that reason alone, I'm opposed to any Republican winning any election. Following is a list of the most obvious reasons we need a new another Democratic Senator from NC in place of Burr:

1. He's part of the Republican health care reform roadblock. His website deliberately distorts the the current proposal as "government-run health care."
2. He favors a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage.
3. He voted against the Lily Ledbetter Pay Act.
4. He supports the privatization of Social Security.
5. Reaction to the 2008 Banking Crisis was to panic and tell his wife to start withdrawing as much as possible from their bank. Personally undertaking a course of action that, if practiced by all, would have lead to a real run on banks, exacerbating the crisis and accelerating path to another Great Depression.
6. He is pro-life and supports the death penalty.  (Putting the "moron" back in "oxymoron".)
7. He voted against the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.
8. He supports easing federal restrictions on purchase and possession of guns and legislation that would protect manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms from civil lawsuits by crime victims.
9. Last but by no means least: that bill to extend unemployment benefits that Bunning was holding up, 19 Republicans voted against it when it finally came to a vote.  One of them was Burr.  There are about 400,000 unemployed in NC.  Just sayin'.

Burr is probably the Republican in the most precarious position for reelection this year but recently he's been gaining over potential Democratic candidates in the polls.  (Carolinians, WTF?)

Elaine Marshall, NC's current Secretary of State, is the leading Democratic candidate.  Here's hoping whoever wins the Democratic primary, Marshall or any one of the others, can unseat Burr when the time comes.

All the information in this post is sourced from OpenSecrets.org, Wikipedia, WRAL.com, newsobserver.com, firedoglake.com, Project Vote Smart, & Burr's webpage.