A quick update and a quick rant

Again, for you "Produce Department" fans, all episodes have been located as well as some great extras for the DVD. No idea when it'll be completed, but hang in there. It is everything you ever thought it was and worse. I think I have a temporary neck spasm from all the cringing I've done watching these tapes.

Completely unrelated, check out this article from the New York Times Magazine that a friend passed along.

I'm not in any position yet to agree or disagree with anything the writer said. Heck, I won't even be in the same country. But for those of you worried about our increasingly "socialist" tendancies here in the US, you ought to give this article a serious look and consider the following point:

There is another historical base to the Dutch social-welfare system, which curiously has been overlooked by American conservatives in their insistence on seeing such a system as a threat to their values. It is rooted in religion. “These were deeply religious people, who had a real commitment to looking after the poor,” Mak said of his ancestors. “They built orphanages and hospitals. The churches had a system of relief, which eventually was taken over by the state. So Americans should get over ‘socialism.’ This system developed not after Karl Marx, but after Martin Luther and Francis of Assisi.”

I am constantly irritated with this rush to label increased social-welfare as "socialism." Call it what you will, but refusing to help your fellow man strikes of serious hypocrisy from a group often (but not always) associated with "Christian values."

I am on the verge of a serious rant here. But it is late and I need some sleep. I also don't want to alienate anyone. At least not yet, anyway. If you get a chance to read that article, feel free to share your thoughts here.

I might be getting the hang of this after all

Ok, I'm finally starting to find some empty boxes here. I spent a good part of this holiday weekend emptying out old boxes and files. At the same time, I've created a monster project for myself somewhere down the road. I finally went through several boxes of old video tapes. These tapes were full of school projects and family events. Of all the tapes I gathered up, I found I could pitch about 1/3 without hesitation. Others needed a quick scan to see if the label was actually correct. The rest, however, are completely unlabled. That is so like me to do that. This evening I drove in to work and started digitizing some of tapes. Some are keepers, but a lot of the more cringe-worthy performances are now relagated to the scrap pile.

For those of you familiar with the legendary MUTV program "The Produce Department," expect the long-awaited DVD sometime in the next year, complete with bonus footage. I have yet to find Episode 2 which features the infamous (although rather appropriate) bathroom sketch as well as the teacher sketch. I hope that it is on one of the unlabeled tapes. If not, the project may be in jeopardy. If anyone has any information on this video, please let me know.

By the way, for those of you following along, drop me a note sometime and let me know where you're from and what you do. Any of you go through a similar move? Any tips on preparing?

And finally, here's one for you "Produce Department" fans. It isn't the original Young-Holt Unlimited cut, but it'll have to do for now.

Wack-Wack - Maynard Ferguson