Last Friday a quiet anniversary passed; an anniversary remembered by few and observed by fewer. On February 22, 2007 Fox aired the final episode of The OC. As a fan of the show for its entire 4-season run (although it was closer to 3 ½ seasons), I was obviously sad to see the end come. But sorrow was overshadowed by the anger I felt toward the Fox Network. Two things in particular really irritated me about The O.C.’s situation:
1. The show did not end on its own terms. Fox announced it was cancelling the show in November, 2006, with already half a season shown. The timing didn't give OC producers enough time to develop an adequate conclusion to the show's run, a problem noticeable in a series finale that was characterized by abridged storylines, sloppy character development, and an overwhelming feeling of being "rushed". Fox could have at least had the decency to give The OC until May to finish out a full season or, that scenario not being feasible, extended the finale to 2 hours. Either choice would have provided a more honorable closure to the show.
2. For the better part of the first 2 seasons, Fox kept moving the show's time slot around, alternating between Wednesday and Thursday nights and 8:00 and 9:00 P.M. Everyone knows that one of the most important factors in killing a TV show is lack of a stable time slot. Yet Fox decided to play musical chairs with its hit teen drama despite the fact that the program's target audience, young viewers, is known to be notoriously fickle in this information age. But in Seasons 3 and 4, when The OC found itself in an un-winnable situation opposite Grey's Anatomy, Fox chose to become inflexible and refused to move OC to a less competitive night or hour. In a way Orange County's favorite characters never had a chance because Fox never them gave them a fighting chance. The show received a roving time slot when it needed stability and, later, stubbornness when it needed flexibility.
With that said, any animosity I have toward Fox has been tempered by the passage of time (although I still dislike Grey's Anatomy for killing my pet show). The past year has also given me a chance to reflect on why TV shows like The OC mean so much to ordinary Americans.
As history moves forward, people invariably reach for pieces of nostalgia that will remind them of certain periods in their life. TV shows are one such reminder. They represent a snapshot of trends—reflecting to viewers the humor, clothing, and relationship structures fashionable during that age. For the people who loved a particular program, it creates a memory bridge to years gone by, a permanent connection between entertainment and history.
And then there's constancy. In an age where the world changes more rapidly than in any previous times, we desire things in life that we can count on to happen for us. We may not know if we’re going to keep our jobs will be outsourced in this globalization age, or if our electronic devices are suddenly obsolete in this information age, or what adverse weather conditions could impact our lives in this age of climate change; but what we do know for sure is that our favorite programs will be on (if there isn’t a writer’s strike) at the same time (usually) on the same day (hopefully) every week. And in some small way, that kind of consistency gives us comfort. At least until that comfort is cancelled on us.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Greatest Streak of this Generation?
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal will be celebrating his third Masters title on clay this year. In another few weeks, Nadal will be raising his arms up in triumph at Roland Garros for the third year in a row. Go ahead: book it.
Some of you probably think I’m being foolish in jumping the gun. Some will think me a psychic after the French Open is over. I am neither a fool nor a psychic but rather an astute tennis fan. With a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Fernando Gonzales in the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters, Rafael Nadal recorded his 80th straight win on clay. Think about that number for a minute. I’ll wait………….still thinking about it……..80….80……80! Eighty straight wins! Are you kidding me? And yet hardly anybody in
The qualities of streaks are hard to measure among different sports. How do you compare UCLA men’s basketball’s 88-game winning streak to Oklahoma Football’s 47-game winning. What’s more impressive: Joe Dimaggio’s 56-game hitting streak or Johnny Unitas’s 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass? It gets even harder when different eras are thrown into the equation. How does Tiger Woods’s seven tournament wins in a row from 2006-2007 stack up against Byron Nelson’s 11-tournament winning streak in 1945? But no matter what side of those debates you take, the fact of the matter is that all of the aforementioned streaks are special in their own way. All of them awe us with the sheer grandeur of their numbers. And Nadal’s clay-court streak should be up there with them.
Speaking of which, let’s return to the original subject of Rafael Nadal’s ridiculous winning streak on clay. Sure, Roger Federer has won an unprecedented 48 consecutive matches on grass (a streak that like Nadal’s, has not ended), but there are three things that make clay harder to dominate on than grass.
First, grass is the fastest surface in tennis while clay is the slowest. That means the points are shorter in grass-court matches, resulting in less match time, which means less wear and tear on the body, which means less likelihood for injuries and exhaustion for players. Simply put, it takes better physical conditioning to excel on clay than grass.
Second, there are more clay-court specialists than grass-court specialists. On any given day, a player you have never heard of will spring an upset in a clay tournament simply because they have grown up on clay. That means winning clay-court tournaments require not just beating the top players in the world, but also navigating an endless array of single-surface wonders. On the other hand, the list of grass-court specialists is short, especially nowadays that serve-and-volley players have become an endangered species.
And lastly, there is no one shot that gives an advantage on clay. Unlike grass, where a powerful serve or great volleying game give distinct advantages, clay’s naturally slow surface neutralizes the effects of any shot that would give one player the upper hand over another. Instead, speed, stamina, and mental fortitude are a player’s best friend on the red surface. For Nadal to have won day-after-day, tournament-after-tournament on clay, the bulging muscles on his forearms would have mattered only as much as the stubborn muscles within his mind. It is that willpower that will ultimately make Rafa one of the all-greats despite his physical limitations. If Nadal were more naturally talented, he could be challenging Roger Federer for claim as the greatest of all time. Alas, Nadal will only end up being Federer’s most consistent rival.
But wherever Rafael Nadal ends up on the ladder of tennis history, his streak will remain immortal. Someday, this streak will end—maybe at 125, maybe 140, maybe longer—but it will definitely end because that’s just the way streaks are. They have to end at some point. The tragedy will be that this streak ends unappreciated, uncelebrated, unpublicized by the American media. It should be something we can all tell our grandchildren about one day. Instead, most Americans won’t even know that this streak occurred. What a terrible waste of history.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Remembering Genocides
This article was originally published in the December 7th issue of the Tiger Town Observer.
When it comes to genocides, it seems likely only the Germans are ever willing to admit it.
If you missed the news last month, Turkey decided to suspend military relations with France because France is trying to pass a legislation that would criminalize denial about the genocide of Armenians in Turkey (then known as the Ottoman Empire) during World War One. I know what you’re thinking right now: France still has a military? As hard as it is to believe, the answer is actually yes. But seriously, I think it’s absolutely horrific that to this day the Turkish Government still refuses to acknowledge this dark period in their national history.
For those needing a history refresher—actually this will be all new material for almost everyone reading this since the Armenian Genocide is rarely discussed in American classrooms—the Ottoman Turks joined the Germany and Austria Hungary in an alliance called the Central Powers shortly after the outbreak of World War I in an effort to expand their declining empire. Armenia was still part of the Ottoman Empire back then and the ethnic Armenians were Christians as opposed to the majority of Arabs in Turkey who were Muslim. This difference of religion, along with the Armenian’s former homeland being in the way of the Ottoman’s eastward expansion plans, lead to the systematic murders of an estimated 1.5 Armenians from 1915-1918, made easy because the rest of the world was engaged in warfare.
But Turkey continues to insist that there was no genocide, that Armenian deaths were due mostly to interethnic violence, and that the number of deaths were inflated. Now, I looked up the meaning of genocide according to the United Nations Genocide Convention and it defines it under Article II as:
“any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Let’s see: killing members of an ethnic group? Check. Causing serious bodily harm? Check. Deliberately trying to destroy an entire group? Check. Imposing measures intended to prevent births in the group? Well, I’m not sure about that one but I assume mass murder of people within the group would go a long ways toward preventing birth within that group. Forcibly transferring Children of the group to another group? Check--the Ottoman Turks forced the Armenian Children they didn’t kill to convert to Islam. Congratulations Turkey: it seems you met every criterion for successfully committing genocide.
As for the claim that the numbers of deaths were exaggerated, Turkey has a point there. The 1.5 million Armenians estimated to have perished from 1915-1918 is just that: an estimate. It might only be 1.2 million casualties or maybe even 1.1 million. When you put those numbers into perspective it looks a lot better, doesn’t it? Oh I forgot to address the Turkish claim that the majority of Armenians died in World War I as a result of interethnic violence. I find it hard to fathom how 1.5 million ethnic Armenians managed to die in “interethnic violence” in a three-year period while less than 1 million Turkish soldiers suffered casualties for the entirety of the First World War.
To be fair Turkey isn’t the only nation in the world that likes to engage in genocide denial. Japan has been a master at this for years, refusing to fully acknowledge the 300,000 Chinese civilians they murdered in the Nanjing Massacre and going so far as to completely leave out that incident along with numerous other acts of war crimes committed during World War II in the textbooks their students learn from. Japanese scholars continue to insist the death toll from the Nanjing Massacre was more around the area of 100,000-200,000 (because that is just so much better) and while Japan does recognize to a certain extent that the massacre occurred, their apology has been shallow at best as evidenced by their Prime Minister’s continuing to pray at the war shrines where Japanese War Criminals are buried. If actions speak louder than words, then the Japanese Government might as well ask O.J. Simpson’s publisher about writing a book called “If We Did It, Here’s How We Might Have Committed All Of Our World War II Atrocities.” And if anybody is wondering why I even brought Japan into the issue, it’s because as a Chinese native, I’m actually quite mad about Japan’s historical revisionism and want to show how I completely empathize with the Armenian plight.
Another point that really galls me about this Turkish genocide denial issue is that the United States is taking a stance against the French bill because they fear it would “get in the way of reconciling the Turks and Armenians.” Somehow, the U.S. has come to the conclusion that reconciliation is best achieved by pretending something never happened, even if that “something” was an utter violation of human rights. Of course this shouldn’t be really that surprising since the U.S. hardly takes any interest in Japan’s textbook problems, did next to nothing in trying to alleviate the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, and is acting as passively as possible over the Darfur Genocide currently going on in Western Sudan. As a World Superpower, it is imperative the U.S. takes a more active approach to handling genocide other than pumping out more Holocaust movies.
Finally, I would like to ask every reader a favor and please spread the message about the French bill. I think if everyone starts taking this issue to heart, that perhaps we will have a strong enough voice to get the U.S. Government to finally care about nations like Turkey who refuse to accept responsibility for their past actions. We are often taught in history classes that we must learn from history so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. Genocide is about as big a mistake as anybody can make and yet countries who commit it are repeatedly getting away with denial over the facts merely because we let it happen. And as long as we continue to let it happen, countries will feel no fear engaging in systematic killings of ethnic groups they consider expendable or inferior.
In 1939, while planning to overtake Poland, Adolf Hitler told his generals: "Thus for the time being I have sent to the East only my 'Death's Head Units' with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish race or language. Only in such a way will we win the vital space that we need. Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?”
Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?” Almost a century later, we’re still trying to answer that question. And somewhere in hell, Hitler is clapping his hands.
When it comes to genocides, it seems likely only the Germans are ever willing to admit it.
If you missed the news last month, Turkey decided to suspend military relations with France because France is trying to pass a legislation that would criminalize denial about the genocide of Armenians in Turkey (then known as the Ottoman Empire) during World War One. I know what you’re thinking right now: France still has a military? As hard as it is to believe, the answer is actually yes. But seriously, I think it’s absolutely horrific that to this day the Turkish Government still refuses to acknowledge this dark period in their national history.
For those needing a history refresher—actually this will be all new material for almost everyone reading this since the Armenian Genocide is rarely discussed in American classrooms—the Ottoman Turks joined the Germany and Austria Hungary in an alliance called the Central Powers shortly after the outbreak of World War I in an effort to expand their declining empire. Armenia was still part of the Ottoman Empire back then and the ethnic Armenians were Christians as opposed to the majority of Arabs in Turkey who were Muslim. This difference of religion, along with the Armenian’s former homeland being in the way of the Ottoman’s eastward expansion plans, lead to the systematic murders of an estimated 1.5 Armenians from 1915-1918, made easy because the rest of the world was engaged in warfare.
But Turkey continues to insist that there was no genocide, that Armenian deaths were due mostly to interethnic violence, and that the number of deaths were inflated. Now, I looked up the meaning of genocide according to the United Nations Genocide Convention and it defines it under Article II as:
“any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Let’s see: killing members of an ethnic group? Check. Causing serious bodily harm? Check. Deliberately trying to destroy an entire group? Check. Imposing measures intended to prevent births in the group? Well, I’m not sure about that one but I assume mass murder of people within the group would go a long ways toward preventing birth within that group. Forcibly transferring Children of the group to another group? Check--the Ottoman Turks forced the Armenian Children they didn’t kill to convert to Islam. Congratulations Turkey: it seems you met every criterion for successfully committing genocide.
As for the claim that the numbers of deaths were exaggerated, Turkey has a point there. The 1.5 million Armenians estimated to have perished from 1915-1918 is just that: an estimate. It might only be 1.2 million casualties or maybe even 1.1 million. When you put those numbers into perspective it looks a lot better, doesn’t it? Oh I forgot to address the Turkish claim that the majority of Armenians died in World War I as a result of interethnic violence. I find it hard to fathom how 1.5 million ethnic Armenians managed to die in “interethnic violence” in a three-year period while less than 1 million Turkish soldiers suffered casualties for the entirety of the First World War.
To be fair Turkey isn’t the only nation in the world that likes to engage in genocide denial. Japan has been a master at this for years, refusing to fully acknowledge the 300,000 Chinese civilians they murdered in the Nanjing Massacre and going so far as to completely leave out that incident along with numerous other acts of war crimes committed during World War II in the textbooks their students learn from. Japanese scholars continue to insist the death toll from the Nanjing Massacre was more around the area of 100,000-200,000 (because that is just so much better) and while Japan does recognize to a certain extent that the massacre occurred, their apology has been shallow at best as evidenced by their Prime Minister’s continuing to pray at the war shrines where Japanese War Criminals are buried. If actions speak louder than words, then the Japanese Government might as well ask O.J. Simpson’s publisher about writing a book called “If We Did It, Here’s How We Might Have Committed All Of Our World War II Atrocities.” And if anybody is wondering why I even brought Japan into the issue, it’s because as a Chinese native, I’m actually quite mad about Japan’s historical revisionism and want to show how I completely empathize with the Armenian plight.
Another point that really galls me about this Turkish genocide denial issue is that the United States is taking a stance against the French bill because they fear it would “get in the way of reconciling the Turks and Armenians.” Somehow, the U.S. has come to the conclusion that reconciliation is best achieved by pretending something never happened, even if that “something” was an utter violation of human rights. Of course this shouldn’t be really that surprising since the U.S. hardly takes any interest in Japan’s textbook problems, did next to nothing in trying to alleviate the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, and is acting as passively as possible over the Darfur Genocide currently going on in Western Sudan. As a World Superpower, it is imperative the U.S. takes a more active approach to handling genocide other than pumping out more Holocaust movies.
Finally, I would like to ask every reader a favor and please spread the message about the French bill. I think if everyone starts taking this issue to heart, that perhaps we will have a strong enough voice to get the U.S. Government to finally care about nations like Turkey who refuse to accept responsibility for their past actions. We are often taught in history classes that we must learn from history so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. Genocide is about as big a mistake as anybody can make and yet countries who commit it are repeatedly getting away with denial over the facts merely because we let it happen. And as long as we continue to let it happen, countries will feel no fear engaging in systematic killings of ethnic groups they consider expendable or inferior.
In 1939, while planning to overtake Poland, Adolf Hitler told his generals: "Thus for the time being I have sent to the East only my 'Death's Head Units' with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish race or language. Only in such a way will we win the vital space that we need. Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?”
Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?” Almost a century later, we’re still trying to answer that question. And somewhere in hell, Hitler is clapping his hands.
Making Sense of the “U”
This article was originally published in the November 11th issue of Clemson University's convservative newspaper The Tiger Town Observer.
University of Miami athletes take pride in referring to their school as the “U.” I used to think “U” stood for university, as in a place of higher learning. But after watching the behavior of its football players these past few years, I’m beginning to rethink what the “U” actually means.
Perhaps it stands for Unruly. Yeah, that could be it. It’s certainly an apt description for how Hurricane players tried to incite a fight by jumping up and down on the Louisville Cardinals’ midfield logo prior to their game this season. Unruly also describes that ridiculous fight in the third quarter of Miami’s game against Florida International. Why players from the “U” would indulge in a brawl with a football school as insignificant as Florida International is beyond me. Perhaps they remembered former Miami Tight End Kellen Winslow Jr.’s quote about “being a soldier” and, figuring that applied to every football player at the program, determined to combat FIU trash-talking by making it a war zone. If so, somebody should tell the Hurricanes that helmets are not a particularly effective weapon to use in real wars. And that football players have no idea what it’s like being a real soldier.
Or maybe the “U” stands for Unapologetic, as in the way your University President responded to the fight. This is what Miami President Donna Shalala had to say publicly about the consequences of that brawl:
"This university will be firm and punish people who do bad things, but we will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation. I will not hang them in a public square. I will not eliminate their participation at the university. I will not take away their scholarships."
Are you kidding me Donna? You really thought that suspending 12 players for one measly game constitutes as firm punishment? And that one game happened to be against perennial ACC doormat Duke. So that wasn’t even actually a one-game suspension because you could have rested those same 12 players the entire game and still beat Duke. Good job. At least you suspended that one guy indefinitely, the one who swung his helmet at an FIU player. Guess you couldn’t go lenient on him, huh? Nobody’s asking you to put a noose around the players’ necks but at least you could have handed down a real suspension of 3 to 4 games to show that the University of Miami actually cares about maintaining discipline among its athletes instead of just pretending to care.
Know what else I think that “U” possibly symbolizes? Try Unscrupulous, as in that unscrupulous rap song recorded by those former Miami football players who called themselves the “Seventh Floor Crew” and containing sexually explicit lyrics about gangbanging girls. But maybe I shouldn’t be so judgmental. That song was probably just an audition tape for helping to get drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
Let’s not forget Unbelievable, as in the unbelievable comments by color commentator and ex-Hurricane football player Lamar Thomas.
"You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. You don't come into the OB [Orange Bowl] playing that stuff....You can't come over to our place talking noise like that. You'll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing.....I say, why don't we meet outside in the tunnel after the ball game and get it on some more? You don't come into the OB, baby. We've had a down couple of years but you don't come in here talking smack. Not in our house."
It’s nice to see that graduation and the real world hasn’t toned down the “thuggish” tendencies of certain ex-players. But calm down there Lamar; if you had actually went down there to join the fight as you said you wanted to, there’s a good chance you would have thrown out your back at your age, or at least dislocated a joint.
But after much thought, I conclude the most accurate word that “U” could stand for should be Unfit. The Miami Hurricanes are unfit to be part of the ACC. At least in the past we could tolerate your indiscretions because the success of your football team brings in revenue. But you’re not even good anymore; you’re 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. You got spanked 31-7 in that aforementioned Louisville game, won by a single point over Houston, and took three quarters to score 14 points against Florida International. So go away Miami and take your thugs with you. Maybe you will finally figure out what the problem is and fire Donna Shalala. I hear there’s a GM job waiting for her with the Vikings.
University of Miami athletes take pride in referring to their school as the “U.” I used to think “U” stood for university, as in a place of higher learning. But after watching the behavior of its football players these past few years, I’m beginning to rethink what the “U” actually means.
Perhaps it stands for Unruly. Yeah, that could be it. It’s certainly an apt description for how Hurricane players tried to incite a fight by jumping up and down on the Louisville Cardinals’ midfield logo prior to their game this season. Unruly also describes that ridiculous fight in the third quarter of Miami’s game against Florida International. Why players from the “U” would indulge in a brawl with a football school as insignificant as Florida International is beyond me. Perhaps they remembered former Miami Tight End Kellen Winslow Jr.’s quote about “being a soldier” and, figuring that applied to every football player at the program, determined to combat FIU trash-talking by making it a war zone. If so, somebody should tell the Hurricanes that helmets are not a particularly effective weapon to use in real wars. And that football players have no idea what it’s like being a real soldier.
Or maybe the “U” stands for Unapologetic, as in the way your University President responded to the fight. This is what Miami President Donna Shalala had to say publicly about the consequences of that brawl:
"This university will be firm and punish people who do bad things, but we will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation. I will not hang them in a public square. I will not eliminate their participation at the university. I will not take away their scholarships."
Are you kidding me Donna? You really thought that suspending 12 players for one measly game constitutes as firm punishment? And that one game happened to be against perennial ACC doormat Duke. So that wasn’t even actually a one-game suspension because you could have rested those same 12 players the entire game and still beat Duke. Good job. At least you suspended that one guy indefinitely, the one who swung his helmet at an FIU player. Guess you couldn’t go lenient on him, huh? Nobody’s asking you to put a noose around the players’ necks but at least you could have handed down a real suspension of 3 to 4 games to show that the University of Miami actually cares about maintaining discipline among its athletes instead of just pretending to care.
Know what else I think that “U” possibly symbolizes? Try Unscrupulous, as in that unscrupulous rap song recorded by those former Miami football players who called themselves the “Seventh Floor Crew” and containing sexually explicit lyrics about gangbanging girls. But maybe I shouldn’t be so judgmental. That song was probably just an audition tape for helping to get drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
Let’s not forget Unbelievable, as in the unbelievable comments by color commentator and ex-Hurricane football player Lamar Thomas.
"You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. You don't come into the OB [Orange Bowl] playing that stuff....You can't come over to our place talking noise like that. You'll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing.....I say, why don't we meet outside in the tunnel after the ball game and get it on some more? You don't come into the OB, baby. We've had a down couple of years but you don't come in here talking smack. Not in our house."
It’s nice to see that graduation and the real world hasn’t toned down the “thuggish” tendencies of certain ex-players. But calm down there Lamar; if you had actually went down there to join the fight as you said you wanted to, there’s a good chance you would have thrown out your back at your age, or at least dislocated a joint.
But after much thought, I conclude the most accurate word that “U” could stand for should be Unfit. The Miami Hurricanes are unfit to be part of the ACC. At least in the past we could tolerate your indiscretions because the success of your football team brings in revenue. But you’re not even good anymore; you’re 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. You got spanked 31-7 in that aforementioned Louisville game, won by a single point over Houston, and took three quarters to score 14 points against Florida International. So go away Miami and take your thugs with you. Maybe you will finally figure out what the problem is and fire Donna Shalala. I hear there’s a GM job waiting for her with the Vikings.
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