Jumping the Shark, FG Style
I love the phrase "jumping the shark" and I wish I could give credit where credit is due. Forgive me if I bounce around a bit today. I have a gaping hole where a busted molar used to be- and the vicodin is certainly working it's charms on me.
In the last days of the hit television series 'Happy Days" the writers were clearly running out of ideas. The characters were growing too old for their high school roles and Nielsen ratings were declining. In a two part series, the writers of Happy Days had the show's hero, the Fonz, water skiing over a ramp and jumping a shark enclosure which they tried to make as dramatic as possible. It was a ridiculous premise of course- a last gasp effort wherein the writers tried to lure back viewers. It didn't work obviously and the series was cancelled.
However odd and bizarre that ending was, it did serve a useful purpose. Jumping the shark has become synonymous with prolonging something that has already outlived it's usefulness. When I read the phrase "jumping the shark" I immediately know what any given writer is trying to convey.
Earlier this week, I asked readers to offer up some ideas on content and perhaps even a name change for this blog. The ideas I received were outstanding and helpful. They were authentic. Authentic people are wholesome, truthful, and helpful. We need authentic people.
I love to write and I love people. I really do. And at my very worst, when I am outraged and angry at people- I still find them fascinating. My mother, who lands here from time to time, will tell you that as a child she used to leave me or find me at the top of Hennessey's (the always in vogue department store where she shopped) escalator in Butte where I gladly passed the time as a child, watching all the different people who came in and out of that store. The attire, just the hats that people used to wear, were formal, kind of bizarre, and always interesting to me.
People don't wear hats anymore. They wear misaligned ball caps.
I have about 90 blogs on my blogroll. I read about one half of them on a regular basis. I credit many of them with my adult education along with a few of my readers including "Compleat Patriot"- a very knowledgeable prepper and friend from my past life- who I will be relying on if some sort of apocalypse takes place.
So I've been schooled. It is a humbling thing to find out just how little you know. And once you get schooled- you discover you were certainly not alone. To this day, I am in awe of how little people really know or understand things like the Federal Reserve Bank or where money comes from. Or how the price of gold and silver have been manipulated lower for years- by bankers using a paper proxy.
But more importantly, people don't care because they don't understand how all of this works. They don't know how any of this actually effects them. That's too bad because what you don't know- really does hurt you.
So I've been on here beating the war drums for 6 or 7 years. I've jumped the shark.
Moving forward, I am going to do what I do best. I am going to transition to more of a human interest blog. I am going to write about people, my observations, and my insight- and I am going to write about some of my favorite cop stories. And maybe, I will change the name of this thing.
I want to thank everyone who helped by offering advice and suggestions this week. They were authentic and I very much appreciate the time you took to write them. I am going to incorporate those ideas moving forward.
This Sunday, I am putting together a piece on some very intelligent people (generally speaking) who have found a way to game the system- manipulating people and evading responsibility. It is something I have witnessed my entire life but never really had given any thought to it- until about 10 or 15 years ago when it bit me in the ass. It's pretty sneaky. I think you'll like it.
Brian
In the last days of the hit television series 'Happy Days" the writers were clearly running out of ideas. The characters were growing too old for their high school roles and Nielsen ratings were declining. In a two part series, the writers of Happy Days had the show's hero, the Fonz, water skiing over a ramp and jumping a shark enclosure which they tried to make as dramatic as possible. It was a ridiculous premise of course- a last gasp effort wherein the writers tried to lure back viewers. It didn't work obviously and the series was cancelled.
However odd and bizarre that ending was, it did serve a useful purpose. Jumping the shark has become synonymous with prolonging something that has already outlived it's usefulness. When I read the phrase "jumping the shark" I immediately know what any given writer is trying to convey.
Earlier this week, I asked readers to offer up some ideas on content and perhaps even a name change for this blog. The ideas I received were outstanding and helpful. They were authentic. Authentic people are wholesome, truthful, and helpful. We need authentic people.
I love to write and I love people. I really do. And at my very worst, when I am outraged and angry at people- I still find them fascinating. My mother, who lands here from time to time, will tell you that as a child she used to leave me or find me at the top of Hennessey's (the always in vogue department store where she shopped) escalator in Butte where I gladly passed the time as a child, watching all the different people who came in and out of that store. The attire, just the hats that people used to wear, were formal, kind of bizarre, and always interesting to me.
People don't wear hats anymore. They wear misaligned ball caps.
I have about 90 blogs on my blogroll. I read about one half of them on a regular basis. I credit many of them with my adult education along with a few of my readers including "Compleat Patriot"- a very knowledgeable prepper and friend from my past life- who I will be relying on if some sort of apocalypse takes place.
So I've been schooled. It is a humbling thing to find out just how little you know. And once you get schooled- you discover you were certainly not alone. To this day, I am in awe of how little people really know or understand things like the Federal Reserve Bank or where money comes from. Or how the price of gold and silver have been manipulated lower for years- by bankers using a paper proxy.
But more importantly, people don't care because they don't understand how all of this works. They don't know how any of this actually effects them. That's too bad because what you don't know- really does hurt you.
So I've been on here beating the war drums for 6 or 7 years. I've jumped the shark.
Moving forward, I am going to do what I do best. I am going to transition to more of a human interest blog. I am going to write about people, my observations, and my insight- and I am going to write about some of my favorite cop stories. And maybe, I will change the name of this thing.
I want to thank everyone who helped by offering advice and suggestions this week. They were authentic and I very much appreciate the time you took to write them. I am going to incorporate those ideas moving forward.
This Sunday, I am putting together a piece on some very intelligent people (generally speaking) who have found a way to game the system- manipulating people and evading responsibility. It is something I have witnessed my entire life but never really had given any thought to it- until about 10 or 15 years ago when it bit me in the ass. It's pretty sneaky. I think you'll like it.
Brian
Comments
Is that Halsted? ;)
Jumping the shark <--- your new blog title? ;)
Let's hear the story about you fishing and holding the treble hook all the way to the hospital.
Best wishes, Brian. I'm intrigued with what comes next.
I'm a little younger than you, Brian. My old relatives would say I'm green behind the ears, or I still smell like milk.
About 10 years ago I heard something that has stuck with me;
-- It's not *What* you know. It's not *Who* you know. It's *What* you learn from *Who* you know --
For arguments sake i'm going to say I know you. Therefore I have an opportunity learn from you. I don't think I necessarily care what you write about, just so long as you write. Any opportunity to extract some wisdom from your grey matter and meld it into mine is an opportunity I'll gladly take.
Rant, rave, bitch, reminisce, recount and explain. I'm all ears. (well, all eyes)
I am putting the finishing touches on the Sunday piece and I have a few ideas. Thank you very much for the kind words. And btw, I learned a fair share of what I know from people who smelled like milk. But probably the most from people who smelled like whiskey. Good stuff.
Brian
Stay safe!
Irish
Clause 18. To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
This, the so-called “Elastic clause,” is the basis for all of the legislative branch’s implied powers (powers not explicitly listed in the Constitution but held to be legitimate because they are “Necessary and Proper“ for the Congress to exercise the other powers that are listed here. Over time, this clause has been used to justify a gradual expansion in the general power of Congress and the entire federal government. Thus the congress cannot act unconstitutionally. The Supreme Court has consistently backed this as well, see; U.S. Supreme Court
RESPUBLICA v. SWEERS, 1 U.S. 41 (1779) U.S. Supreme Court Penhallow v. Doan’s Administrators, 3 U.S. 3 Dall. 54 54 (1795)Delovio v. Boit (1815)This one isspecial Barron v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore – 32 U.S. 243 (1833)Paddleford, Fay & Co. v. The Mayor and Adlderman of the City of Savannah (1854).
it just isn't what you were taught.
If that "One" human mind savior of the liberty, freedom, and pursuit of all of our happiness Man were to arrive on scene and save the day, he'd have to be one competent feller. And probably bullet proof.
While corporations are also getting the blame shouldn't one look towards the father of all corporations known as the u.s. corporation? Here's one, The United States of America, is a corporation. Here's another one. The United States. How about the British East Indies Company? Same one. So how many lives does a corporation get?
Now I hear tell the father of all corporations is a major shareholder of 185,000 other corporations. Hell dude, it even owns my corporation.
It's all it's rules after all, obey it's rules or kiss your corporation by by..
I smell a RAT! lol.