Archive for March, 2009

A most accessible President

Published: 26 March 2009 7:41 PM UTCPosted in: National
A most accessible President

It is no secret that I wasn’t a supporter of Mr. Obama, and instead was hoping the Clintons, or even Mc Cain (before I got to see his “extreme-right Republican conversion”) would make it to the White House, before this unknown guy with an odd name, who was kicking my candidate in the polls and sweeping delegates for the nomination would make it there. I thought he was young and too much of an unknown, though deep inside I respected his techie marketing skills, being one myself.

When he won the nomination, I was not happy at all. Again, that was no secret. Yet, it was the Clintons themselves who turned me around, compounded with the fact that Mr. McCain chose the dim-witted Mrs. Palin. I knew I had no choice but to support the unknown guy with the funny name. And as I began to research him more and realizing that his platform and values aligned with mine, the same way Mrs. Clinton’s did, the choice was a no-brainer.

After the Bush 8-year mess, between McCain and Obama, the choice was clear. It would be the young guy with the funny-sounding name. So I got in line with the party and promoted Mr. Obama, knowing he would be surrounded by the team that was around the last successful democratic administration, that of the Clintons.

I recognized the historic event that was his election and as I got to see the candidate transform himself in the Fall, as the only viable and reasonable option, into a “presidential figure”, I began to become an Obama supporter.

Watching Mr. Obama handle himself after the election is turning me into a huge fan of his.

Unlike other politicians who, the moment they get elected, “get to work” and we never hear from them again until re-election time, Mr. Obama has made it a point to stay in touch with the people, not only those of us who supported him or share his vision and values, but even those who do not.

I don’t care what “the media” says about Obama becoming “too exposed” to the people. That is a hypocritical thing because they know that the Obama brand brings them ratings. Wherever he appears, people tune in. But of course, that is incidental. What is more important, is his intent in reaching directly to his electorate, reminding us that he’s there, working for us, that he hasn’t forgotten about us.

Today as I ran around, I took part of my lunch time to watch him in the Virtual Town Hall meeting.

Who would have believed, Obama harnessing the reach of the Internet to reach us directly? We could virtually “touch him” with our questions and feedback. Despite the fact that this availability and transparency could put him in the “hot seat” more often, he is not afraid of it because it’s clear he has little to hide.

I love the fact that he continues to reach out to us, the average every day citizen, even though he no longer needs our vote, at least for another 3 years. I love the fact that he appears in non-Orthodox media such as the Tonight Show or ESPN. I love the fact that he uses the Internet for his Saturday “radio address” and the White House website is full of information and open to feedback.

We feel connected to him. And that is how he gets us to mentally invest ourselves in his agenda.

Regardless of what he does, no matter how perfect, or not, he will always have critics, especially the guardians of the “old institutional” thinking. No doubt, Obama is the new deal.

And even though he was not originally my candidate of choice, and I came to support him later in the game, today I am a huge fan because he is showing that he hasn’t forgotten about us.

During the courtship stage in a relationship, there is flowers, poetry, jewelry, passionate promises, which tend to die away once things are formalized such as in a marriage. People tend to get comfortable and forget the flowers, the passion etc..

Obama –as a candidate– gave us the passion, the inspiration, the hope. Once we chose to “marry” him as our president, he continues the “courtship”. I like the fact that he does not take us for granted, like many other politicians have done in the past.

And for those who criticize him about being out there too much and “not doing enough work”, I’d say, don’t forget that he has a huge team behind him doing all the work. He strikes me as a smart leader who knows how to bring the best minds around, get them to work while setting the agenda and making the visionary decisions. Have people forgotten that is the true mark of an excellent leader?

So, please, Mr. Obama, I hope you continue the virtual town hall meetings, and continue to reach out to us directly. We love hearing from you, talking to you, reaching out to you, and contrary to what the “talking heads of the political media” and other critics say, we know you’re doing the very best you can, given the mess that’s been left for you. So, keep doing what you’re doing. Millions of us support you, even if we did not initially do so.

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Bitten

Published: 22 March 2009 9:42 AM UTCPosted in: Entertainment
Bitten

As a forty-something adult, when the Twilight fever hit last Fall, I had so many other things going on in my life, that rushing to see the movie in the big screen was not exactly among my top priorities. I couldn’t see myself among all those adoring teenagers who had read the book, cover to cover, and probably had memorized the most important lines of the story. I knew I wasn’t one of them, but I will acknowledge that I’m a sucker for a good romantic story, especially that of star-crossed lovers. So, I remained curious to learn more about Twilight, and promised myself that one fine weekend day, when it would be finally available on Pay-Per-View, I would treat myself to see it from the comfort of my own home.

And that weekend day came. It was yesterday, Saturday March 22nd, the day the movie was released on DVD. After returning from the golf range, spending time with my brother and my adorable 5-year old niece who has a penchant for the challenging and whatever is a no-no to her, I set aside sometime with my old 17-year old dog who nowadays wants to do nothing but spend her days between sleeping and endlessly sniffing the corners of the sidewalks. I guess spending time with family on a Saturday leaves you a little self-indulgent. And I will confess that I had been following on the media the release of Twilight on DVD. I had heard of the midnight launch parties and had rolled my eyes at the thought of it. But deep inside I was very very curious to learn what the “fever” was all about.

So I ditched the rest of my To Do list for the day and decided it was finally time to treat myself to this long-awaited-for Pay Per View event. Not to my surprise, my satellite provider had devoted somewhere between 4-5 channels to the movie, so I had no trouble selecting a convenient time. And I sat there, feeling like a teenager, eager to learn the famous story of Edward and Bella. All I needed was a pint of ice cream or a glass of wine and I would have made it one of the most self indulgent moments of my week.

And soon after, I was bitten by Twilight fever. And I no longer felt the urge to roll my eyes at the idea of the midnight release parties. Had I been a couple of decades younger, I would have probably participated in one myself. After all, only a decade ago I threw an Austin Powers party in my apartment, to which many people came. And none of us were teenagers!

You know a good story or a good movie has touched you when for the moments or days after, the characters and new questions, or possible new scenarios, keep popping into your mind. And luckily Pay-Per-View gives you all-day access to the movie. So it played on my TVs and surround sound speakers for the rest of the afternoon and the evening, even yes, as I finally got around to doing other things in the house.

For the last part of the evening I researched the movie and the people behind it a bit more. I was curious to learn about its writer. What inspired her? And if you haven’t done so, I encourage you to check out the Stephenie Meyer website to meet –virtually– the woman behind the story. It was interesting how she came to it, no doubt.

Upon visiting more “grown-up” sites, I began to read the reviews of adults. And it made me wonder, why is there a need to put down a story that has stirred millions? Newsweek, I think it was Newsweek, had an opinion on it. The movie was better than the book, they concluded. The writer stated that the book was badly written and the characters weak and bland in comparison to the movie. Other people blogged on the article saying that no, the movie was terrible and the directing was weak. And it irked me.

Director, Actress and Writer

Director, Actress and Writer

It is so easy for some people to sit on the sidelines and be great Monday morning quarterbacks, nitpicking on everything that they find wrong. It bothers me terribly to think that these people, who did not participate in the creative process, who do not roll up their sleeves and dare to create something of their own, are the first to take apart the hard work of the creative, of builders. It really bothers me.

It is comfortable, I guess, to watch from the sidelines and point at the mistakes and weaknesses of the work of others, while one is not in the field, giving it its all.

Thanks to the wonderful 1st amendment, no doubt, people can express whatever they want and become critics. But there should be a law that says if you were not part of the process, if you were not involved, and if it doesn’t affect you, then you have no right to speak and voice your uncalled-for-criticism.

I guess it makes people feel smarter to nitpick on the writer’s work, perhaps because the Twilight story was classified by the publishing house for the Young Adults market. That was a business decision. Stephenie Meyer was not thinking of a market niche when she put her characters on paper –or shall we say, on her computer screen. And so, I guess those who dare to criticize, feel that perhaps praising it would make them feel less smart because they are not part of the Young Adult market? Who knows? And what do we say about those who also criticize the movie, the acting, its director, Catherine Hardwicke? Do they really know better even though they were not part of the work?

Why do we do that as human beings?

We are doing the same to our president and his administration. What’s worse, is that those who participated actively, or who were in charge while driving the country’s state of affairs into a ditch, are the first to criticize the efforts to get us out of it, even though they could be involved today in the rebuilding and refuse to do so.

There is an erroneous assumption that being a critic is a smart thing, that being a “critic” is the practice of the intelligent and worldly enough who knows better.

Well, I strongly dispute that. While the critic destroys and picks apart, a work any fool can do, the creators of work –whether in literature, entertainment, government, politics, or business—build. And in my opinion, it takes more guts, intelligence and worldliness to be a builder, a creator.

So, here I sit this Sunday morning, bitten, bitten by the great story of Edward and Bella, curiosity satisfied no doubt, but eager to read the books and see the next movie when it opens in November. I have read the subsequent plots but I can’t get Edward and Bella out of my mind this morning. Of course the Sunday morning political talk shows will be starting soon and they’ll take over in my mind as I get involved in all the back and forth while doing some work here on my computer. But whether it is about Twilight and its critics, or about the efforts of the Obama administration and its critics –including the sensationalism of the media— I recognize I’m a fan of builders and creators, the Stephenie Meyers and Barack Obamas of this world, and now more than ever, I’m developing a disdain for the lazy critics –who are nowhere part of the building process—and who from the comfort of their chairs point at what’s wrong.

And I want to challenge any of you today, any of you who are reading these words, to leave the comfort of your chair, go out –or stay in—and create something, build something, something that you can leave for others. This way, you can earn the right to be a critic. And then, should that happen, I assure you, you’ll think twice before doing it.

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