Relax Miley, It's Only Your Back

There’s no doubt about it, in today’s society, sex sells. But this isn’t news to anyone and it certainly isn’t something that has appeared on the scene in the last 20 years.

In recent days the latest controversy, or media storm, has surrounded a photo of 15-year-old T-ween sensation Miley Cyrus. Unless you’ve been held captive in a basement in
Austria the last few years (too soon?) you know that she stars in the hit Disney television program Hannah Montana. This is a show that targets the 7-12 age group and obviously if you’re a parent you probably don’t want your child’s current idol to be seen dressed in a provocative manner.

Kids like to pretend they are their hero’s and idols. Heck, I can recall as a child I loved Lee Major’s character “Steve Austin” on The Six Million Dollar Man (I'm hooked on that show lately) and my neighbourhood friends and I would jump off picnic tables or pretend to be bionic. I’m pretty sure Lee Major’s probably posed for some provocative chest hair showing photos back then but as a kid I couldn’t care less.

Of course this is a little different. In Cyrus’ case, she’s a minor and needs to be protected and at the same time, young fans also need to be protected as well. How many of you remember the recent Britney Spears mania and all of the young girls that quickly changed their clothing style and ended up exposing their midriff just like their hero? Who’s to blame for that? Is it the celebrity who is obviously being manipulated by her handlers or parents who allow their kids to dress like that?

I’m going to admit that I don’t see what the big deal is with this Vanity Fair photo of Cyrus. She’s holding a sheet in front of her and showing an exposed back and shoulder. Good Lord, I’ve seen girls that age or younger wearing less at the beach. I think they’re getting a little out of control with this one. If I was a parent, I’d be more upset about recent photos of her that were leaked on to the internet showing her flashing her bra.

Disney is worried, not for Cyrus’ well-being, but for the image of their “cash cow” being tainted. This girl and her character are worth millions to Disney and you know they’d like to avoid seeing that money disappear any sooner than it has to.

Come on, do they honestly think that fans of the show are going to turn it off in protest. OK, maybe there are some parents who are prudes and probably still believe no skin should be shown above the knee and below the neck. The reality is, in today’s society, morals have changed immensely and unless you live in a compound with 400 other Polygamists you’ve changed with the times as well.

At some point, Cyrus is going to be an adult and that audience of kids is going to disappear or grow up with her. If she’s not careful, her career will vanish as well. She’ll have to make that jump from child star to adult star…unless she plans to be the next Raffi or Sharon, Lois and Bram and just do children’s albums.

I was trying to think of some child stars that were also considered to be “sex symbols” at some point during their youthful career and how they and their careers turned out. Let me see…how about:

Brooke Shields: I’d have to check my facts but I believe she appeared naked at the age of 11(?) in a movie and later in her most famous role in The Blue Lagoon when she was 15. At the time it seemed quite shocking but was it really a big deal? Her career is still going fairly strong today.

Jodie Foster: Her role as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver earned her an Academy Award nomination and her career is still alive.

And of course I can’t forget the one child star I had a huge crush on as a youngster…Marsha Brady (Maureen McGovern). Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. I was so jealous when Davy Jones of the Monkees got to go on a date with her on the Brady Bunch. Come to think of it, I guess her career did go South after that show went off the air. Damn typecasting.

In the end we all know this is going to blow over and more often than not scandals like these are perpetrated by the stars themselves just to generate more interest in their careers and to keep their names in the public conscious. One thing is sure, I didn’t watch Hannah Montana before and I’m certainly not going to watch it now. I say lets move forward from this and concentrate on a story that’s much more fascinating…isn’t it about time for Britney to do something stupid again?

Clip of the Week - April 28/08

I wouldn't say that I "hate" television today but it just doesn't seem to be as good as when I was a kid.

Sure the special effects and quality are better but the shows seem to lack something that the shows in the 70's had.

Maybe it's just that there's too many "reality based" shows now. I don't mind Survivor or Amazing Race but every time I turn the TV on, somebody I've never heard of is either trying to lose weight, win a singing competition or some has been celebrity has a television crew in their home.

As for scripted shows today, among the few I watch are LOST, Law & Order and The Office. I'll also watch a few cartoons like The Simpsons and Family Guy but I don't really count those.

Growing up I can recall lots of quality programs that may have lacked the polish by today's standards but were very entertaining and you actually planned to be home to watch.

Among the programs I grew up with and loved were M*A*S*H, Happy Days, All In The Family and Fantasy Island.

But the three shows I enjoyed the most can be found in these clips.

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World Travel - Good & Bad

I love to travel and see how other people and cultures live in their own environment and countries. To be honest if I just want to see other cultures, I could probably visit Toronto for the day and I’ll see all the colours of the rainbow. One thing about Canada, we’re a melting pot with multiculturalism coming out our butts. But that’s another rant I can go on another time.

I’ve been fortunate to see many parts of North America and the Caribbean but I have yet to travel overseas to Europe, Africa or Asia. I’ve been to the United States (several States but mostly Florida), Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama.

I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to visit these places as I know there are many people, like my parents, who have never traveled much. Sure they go to Florida once a year but that doesn’t show you different cultures really as the Americans are more or less like Canadians…just not as polite.

One thing I’ve found with traveling, it gave me a real appreciation for home and my country of Canada. If you’ve ever thought “I’ve got it bad”, then you’ve obviously never been to places where survival and day to day life are not taken for granted.

Living in Canada and having to pay so much money for taxes, gas, food, housing and just the necessities of life can be draining on your emotions and your bank account but I’ve been to places where people don’t have homes or much money to survive.

One of my least favourite trips had me in Jamaica and in particular Montego Bay. If you’ve been to Jamaica to a resort you might not see how bad things are if you don’t venture off the resort property and I certainly don’t recommend it as you could be mugged, robbed or worse. There are some wonderful people in Jamaica and the Red Stripe beer was tasty but of all the places I’ve been this is where I felt the least safe. That’s saying a lot considering our tour group in Panama had an armed escort with two guys on a motorcycle…one driving and the other carrying a nice sized gun.

Montego Bay was a very dirty place and as a tourist stop you were hounded everywhere to buy stuff. People were lined down the middle of the road trying to sell items through the windows of the cars as we stopped in traffic. There are some side streets in the town where you wouldn’t want to venture for fear of being rolled. The small river through town was filled with garbage and stunk. The roads and sidewalks were very dangerous with huge holes. Overall, it wasn’t too pleasing to the eyes.

Upon arriving by cab in Montego Bay, I had a young man (early 20’s maybe) who attached himself to me as my personal tour guide. He ignored my friendly protests saying I didn’t need him to show me around and stayed with me. He tried to lead me down one street which looked like trouble and that was enough as I headed back to where the cab dropped me off. Before I said goodbye to him he informed me that I owed him $40 for the guided tour to which I told him I wasn’t paying for it as I never asked for it. Wanting him out of my hair, I told him I’d give him $5 and that didn’t go over well but when I said it was five or nothing, he took the five and went on his way looking for the next unsuspecting tourist. I got in a cab and quickly got out of there and I have no plans to ever return.

The only cool thing about that day was that the Queen and Prince Phillip were there to dedicate the new town hall (clearly the newest and cleanest building in the town). There were snipers on the roof tops and lots of security around so I can only imagine what my visit might have been like had the security been sparser. I only managed a quick view of the Royals as they were coming into town as I was heading out.

Oddly enough my visit to Cozumel, Mexico was a lot of fun but considering the number of Canadians in recent years that have been killed, injured and arrested in Mexico since then, I probably visited at the right time.

With what has happened to Brenda Martin in the news recently and of course all of the other well publicized killings of Canadians in that country, I will avoid it like Montezuma’s Revenge and I certainly wouldn’t recommend any of my friends visit Mexico either.

My favourite places were Limon, Costa Rica and Grand Cayman. In Costa Rica I went white-water rafting through the rainforest with my brother and it was incredible. I was dead tired by the time we got to the launch point but it was worth it as we hit some amazing rapids and had an awesome time. The rain was coming down and it was one of those moments I’ll always remember and cherish.

When I went to Grand Cayman I had a chance to swim and snorkel with the Stingrays and that was incredible. Keep in mind this was prior to the well publicized death of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin after he was attacked by one. I might think twice about it today. There were hundreds of stingrays all around us and they were obviously used to human contact so it wasn’t quite as risky. You had to be careful not to step on one though as they would defend themselves.

Before I pass on I’d love to see Scotland where my ancestors are from, England and Paris. It would also be cool to go on a Safari in Africa but I think if the lions or tigers saw me they’d think a smörgåsbord had arrived and I’d be quickly placed on the endangered list.

I’m sure everyone’s experiences are different and places I didn’t like others will visit over and over again. I just hope you don’t visit a place one time too many and regret it.

Clip of the Week - April 21/08

The hockey playoffs are here and of course that means despite the much nicer weather outside, I will of course be planted in front of the TV watching hockey for the next month and a half.

Mind you, I'll likely lose some interest if my Montreal Canadiens are ever eliminated as it's always more fun when you have a team to cheer for.

Earlier tonight I was doing plenty of cheering as the Habs avoided elimination in Game 7 of the East Conference Quarter-Final against the Boston Bruins.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous but once the game started I could sense that the Canadiens were in full control and were not going to disappoint their fans.

In the end Montreal left no doubt who the better team was as they cruised to a 5-0 victory and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

The only disappointment followed the game when some brain dead idiotic "fans" decided to cause trouble and riot in downtown Montreal by burning police cars and looting. How is that a celebration?

I can recall back in 1993 I was in Toronto when the Blue Jays won their second World Series and there were several hundred thousand people crammed onto Younge Street and it was a very peaceful celebration. Everyone was hugging and kissing and cheering and just having a good time. The police were present but they only had to sit back and watch or maybe deal with a few idiots but nobody felt the need to do damage or cause trouble.

Any way, here are the highlights from Game 7 for you to enjoy...especially the Toronto and Ottawa fans. Sorry, I couldn't resist rubbing it in a little.

It's Golf Season Again

Well it has finally arrived. With temperatures back at or above normal it's only natural that the golf courses in my neck of the woods are open for business.

Last night I ventured out for a quick and fun nine hole round of scramble golf with some friends. I hadn't swung a club since Boxing Day in Florida so I knew I'd be rusty but I wasn't prepared for all the rust I had. I was playing like a FORD vehicle that's how rusty I was.

I thought I was going to play well. I stepped up to the first tee and my first shot of the season settled about 2 inches away from the hole. I damn near had a hole-in-one with my first swing of the year. I thought, "Hey...this might not be too bad after all."

Sadly, after getting my birdie on the first hole it was all down hill from there. I was sculling the ball, topping the ball and one time I even missed the ball completely. It's funny how you, or I, have to retrain myself after having all the time off. I needed to tie my head down so I wasn't peaking but I couldn't stop myself and my swing was looking like a folding lawn chair. Ya, I'm not sure what that means either.

Any way, I managed to finish the round and other than my tee shots, the rest of my game wasn't too bad.

Here it is the following morning and I'm in a lot of pain. I guess I found some muscles I haven't used all winter and they're letting me know they didn't appreciate being ignored for the last six months. On top of that my left foot and my right knee are both feeling less than top notch as well.

I think that's just my body telling me to wait until the golf carts are allowed on the course and I should ride the rest of the season. In fact, that's probably why my game stunk so much...I was in too much pain and tired from climbing the hills.

I'd like to think that's the reason. Oh well, it's just the beginning of the season so there's plenty of time to work on some better excuses.