No New Ideas?

The common complaint about Hollywood is that "there are no new ideas."  Generally there are new ideas, but most of Hollywood is just updating old ideas in new packages.  Movie studios are more interested in making money than making stories, which is why there is a plethora of sequels, remakes and movies based on famous books (the forthcoming Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starring Daniel Craig takes two of these). The studios know that these are bankable as they are already commercial successes.  Why take a chance and lose money when you can just cash in on the gravy train that is already established.
     As for new ideas, I was watching Person of Interest -- I like this show and its premise -- when I thought "He's kind of like a modern day Lone Ranger."  Then I thought about it some more and that's exactly what it is.  The main character, Reese, played by Jim Caviezel, is a wanted man, former special forces military man with a heart of gold who's done some bad things in his career.  Fitz, his partner, created a machine for the government that can predict terrorist activities by monitoring ALL communications -- email, cell phone calls, text messages, security cameras -- and then collating the data in context and predicting terrorist activity.  Sometimes it spits out numbers (Social Security numbers of people involved in some way) of more "mundane" crimes: murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, etc.  The government agency Fitz was reporting to didn't care about these numbers, but Fitz did for reasons as of yet (through episode 5 anyway) unexplained.  Fitz, as seen in the flashbacks where he was still working on the machine, is a normal, healthy man.  Now he has a pronounced limp, maybe an artificial leg, back problems and has trouble turning his head on his neck.  His story hasn't been told yet, but I'm sure it's coming.  Whatever had happened to him is the catalyst that pushed him to find Reese and hire him to help the people involved in the "mundane" crimes.
     It's not so much a retelling of the Lone Ranger in modern day (even though, if I remember right, Reese was an Army Ranger) or an update to the character, but let's call him an archetype.  The wanted man who is actually helping people while working outside the law to do it.  If Fitz and Reese ever get caught with what they are doing, they would probably be charged with treason and crimes against the country, as well as violating national security, but I digress.  And while Reese doesn't wear a mask or leave silver bullets, his reasons and methods for helping others are very similar to the Masked Man.
     Another archetype that's made it to the small screen again, once I started thinking about this, is Robin Hood, and I don't mean the BBC's version from a couple years ago.  I mean Leverage.  Timothy Hutton's show where they are kind of a revenge organization.  A client contacts them because someone stole like a family heirloom from them and they have no legal recourse to gain it back (lack of evidence, etc.).  Hutton's team do a Mission Impossible type operation, using quasi-legal and sometimes illegal means, to avenge their client.  It is very much a Robin Hood type archetype as he has his band of "merry men" (and women), and their clients are usually poor, the people they are going up against usually rich (having more money to hire expensive lawyers to keep it out of courts, etc).
     I don't plan on analyzing all shows out there for more of these archetypes, but these kind of jumped out at me today.  I don't think Person of Interest has the popularity to sustain itself right now, as I think the Lone Ranger archetype has been overdone to varying degrees the past few years.  He has become an anti-hero archetype (outlaw with heart of gold helping people) in a lot of incarnations and it's becoming tiresome.  Because Hollywood doesn't like new ideas.

Tiresome Organizations

Bothersome people are everywhere.  Non-profit organizations collect them, as well.  Leaving an organization with a lot of tiresome, bothersome people, especially one of which you've been a member for awhile, will relieve that feeling of irksomeness in you.

My wife and I recently left an organization that has a lot of tiresome people -- tiresome to us, not necessarily to each other or other people in the organization.  One of the main reasons we found them so bothersome was that there is a prevalent attitude in this local group of intelligence -- which a lot of them are -- but their intelligence, knowledge and experience apply only to skills that apply to that particular organization and not really anywhere else in society.

I understand the want and need to grow and learn new things, but if there is no practical application other than the that organization, I'm not going to concentrate on it or worry about learning too much about it.

I had been working a lot on artistic applications with this organization, things that I could do in my own time without a lot of effort or cost to me or my family.  I could draw and practice calligraphy as it is pure art.  Fake sword fighting might provide some physical workout, but not enough reward for the effort put into it.  I think that shows with the physique of some of the long-time sword fighters in the organization.

I may continue to work on the calligraphy and illumination because I do enjoy it, had enjoyed it even before becoming a member of the organization.  It was something that I was able to do to contribute to the organization, but it wasn't celebrated, it was looked upon as a necessity rather than a contribution.  I had the ability and so it was required of me to do it.  For them.  Not for any reason I might have for wanting to do it, but because I could, I should be doing it for them.

No thanks, I'll take my talent elsewhere where it will be more appreciated.

Cubs vs. Cardinals

Growing up in central Illinois I was caught right in the middle of one of the biggest rivalries in baseball. I'm talking of the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals.

And seeing the fans -- I'd say over 90% of the residents are fans of either of these two teams -- you can tell a lot about the personalities of the fans depending on which of the two teams they root for.

Cubs fans, due mainly to the fact the team hasn't won a World Series in over a century, going almost as long for an appearance in the championships, are hopeful, optomistic people.  The World Series doesn't matter to Cubs fans. They have greater love of the game rather than the outcome.  To Cubs fans it's not about winning or losing, they'll remain loyal even though the Cubs don't regularly make it to the playoffs.

Cardinals fans, on the other hand, are assholes.  That's not right, well, not all the time, just in the way they are during baseball games or around known Cubs fans.  I have never seen a Cubs fan tell a 2-year old child in a Cardinals shirt, "Oh, I'm so sorry that your parents make you wear that shirt." And whenever the Cardinals beat the Cubs, Cards fans have to make sure that EVERYONE knows it, yet if the Cubs win, Cards fans have an attitude of "Oh, so what?  When's the last time you were in the World Series?"

I don't know if Cardinals fans are like this outside of central Illinois, and not all Cardinals fans are like this.  But a lot of them are.  Why?  There was no rivalry like this between the Bears and Rams, or the Cardinals NFL team before they moved to Arizona.  Granted, the Bears' NFL rivalry is with the Green Bay Packers, but it's not as bad as the one between the Cardinals and Cubs.  Is it because it's been so long since the Cubs' World Series appearance?  If so, why does that matter?  Is it elitism on the Cards fans' part?  Is it only because they are both so close to Peoria (where I live)?  Is it maybe a fair weather thing -- i.e. the Cards fans are worse when they are really going strong, but there's still that animosity when they aren't doing so hot?

I've heard some Cardinal fans (I'm friends with a few) who say it's just friendly ribbing.  It doesn't seem that way all the time.  Partly because it's being done all the time.  Even during the off-season, someone will see me in a Cubs hat and decide they have to say something about it.  Why?  I don't bug you about your choice of headwear, or your lack of taste in music because you're singing Lady Gaga.  Yet you feel the need to berate me for my choice of baseball team I root for.  I'm above that.  And that's why I like being a Cubs fan.