The day the Kung Fu died

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The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Rocketdork » Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:17 am

Rest in peace David Carradine.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by bio » Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:22 pm

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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by ZIPPER » Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:49 pm

Wow! I was going to make a joke about C. Norris taking away all his parts until I looked up his IMDB Profile.
He was a very busy actor indeed.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Deater » Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:20 am

I can't believe he hung himself, at 72. I suspect foul play...
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by eddiecanuck » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:22 am

Yeah, that's one of the theories floating around. Seems better than the current story of a sex act gone wrong. Either way, gonna miss him showing up in some great rolls.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by miftah » Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:02 am

:box:

I am avoiding every story about this. I always hate it when a celebrity dies and it gets turned into the lowest-common-denominator, gossip orgy. The circumstances around his death are about as compelling to me as those that might surround the guy at the convenience store I frequent. I have a relationship with him in that he serves products that I spend money for on a semi-regular basis. But apart from that, I have no connection with him. Just because the guy is a celebrity, I'm entitled to rifle through his dirty laundry? I don't think so.

Heath Ledger was shooting supposedly heroin supplied by one of the Olson twins, until they got the official toxicology report back and it was just prescribed medications taken in the wrong combination. How bad do we have to make it to get enough entertainment out of it? Is it ruined when the truth involves no heroin or sex? Do we have to have sex rituals and ninjas or does the guy's body of work entertain us enough?

Apart from my not giving a shit, I don't think it is particularly tasteful to drag the reputations and memory through the dirt, least of all for the survivors who have nothing to do with any supposed untoward behavior - they're just trying to mourn the guy.

I mean, he's dead. Isn't that bad enough without bringing his wiener and assassins into it?
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Deater » Wed Jun 10, 2009 6:34 am

Yeah, I'm a huge media whore and I love to live my life vicariously through the tragedy of other peoples lives. :bang: :roll:

The only thing I've heard about this is what I've read here, just thought it was odd that he is 72 years old and supposedly hung himself is all. I would think it to be odd no matter who he was.

True though that the media will get all sorts of involved in other peoples lives. I feel sorry for Jon and Kate (plus 8 ). That kind of stuff goes way beyond privacy invasion. As for this, it's just natural to ask questions, but it's not like eddie and I are letting our imaginations answer questions for us.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by miftah » Wed Jun 10, 2009 8:45 am

Sorry Deater, no offense intended, but I wasn't really referring to you or Eddie. More the media environ as a whole. I wouldn't even hold it against you if it were true that the two of you were speculating or even sideways referencing the speculation of others. This is the sort of thing that the media likes to pass off as news, even though at best it is distraction. Its hard to avoid all of it, and I have to admit that as hard as I have tried to avoid this stuff, I pretty much know all of the details of what is speculated to have happened. Its just so pervasive.

As much of a knob as Don Henley is, he got it right with that song "Dirty Laundry," back in the 80s. In the 24-hour news cycle of modern media, it's only gotten worse.

If Jon and Kate weren't inviting the world to view their private lives via a "reality" show, I suppose I'd feel bad for them. But the thing I find funny in that whole story is the question of how much reality were they actually interested in showing? And if it is filtered reality, is it reality at all? You can usually tell from the editing of those shows (and I have to admit I have never seen an episode of their particular program) that there's very little reality to them. And how strange it is that in the interest of preserving the money train that is their reality show, they needed to warp and change reality to suit the artificial depiction of their reality. Very strange.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Deater » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:12 am

Some very filling food for though Miftah. I suppose if they are ready and willing to sign up for a reality show and cameras following them around everywhere, they sorta deserve to have the cameras shoved in there faces during the bad times too. Unfortunately, my fiance loves that show, so I've sat through a few episodes and that woman is a witch.

Agreed that those aren't much in the way of "reality" TV. The only show that has ever been reality TV was and always has been COPS.

Sometimes it does make me sick the way the media intrudes on peoples lives just because they are in the spotlight. Not necessarily reality TV people, but actors, politicians (of course I only feel so bad for some), writers...the media does feed us this BS, but they wouldn't be doing it if people didn't just eat it up. Is it the media, or is it the viewers? I think it's just part of human nature. It's the train wreck scenario, you don't want to stare but you can't look away. Sometimes I can resist, but other times I just want to see the carnage.

I try to stay away from the shit they put on MTV (remember when they used to play music...awe the good ole days), but if I get caught up in Flavor of Love or Rock of Love, it will become hard to change the channel. It's not like I respect or enjoy these people, it's just that I'm so shocked at how stupid and petty some of them can be. Yet, most of it is prolly instigated by the producers. It's not good TV (like LOST), but it can be entertaining to watch how fake people will get. Take away the flashy and goofy outfits, the clocks, the $$, and what is "Flavor Flave?" Just another human being looking for acceptance in this world.

Now, I may find that stuff entertaining at times, but I'll usually stick to Comedy Central, Discovery, History and Sci Fi channels. That is good stuff...of course, nothing really holds a candle to LOST, you guys should give it a shot, really makes you think and it's kinda like a big puzzle. :)
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by miftah » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:44 pm

Deater wrote:The only show that has ever been reality TV was and always has been COPS.
On this, I think there might be a giant, airplane hanger's worth of debate to be had. But somehow I don't think it's a bag of snakes we should open.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Deater » Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:50 am

Well, it's not I'm the biggest COPS fan around or anything, just strikes me as more real than a lot of the stuff they try to pass off as real. Of course, there is the whole influence of observation. I'm sure everyone acts different, cops and criminals, when they have a camera in their faces.

Besides, this forum has been so dead as of late, we could use a good lively conversation. :twisted:
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by miftah » Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:49 am

Well, see, I think Cops is problematic for one central reason: You see lots of poor people making mistakes. You never see the cops making mistakes. And I know that they're very clear about how the people are supposedly innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but the cameras never seem to take that position. Everyone looks guilty on that show, but statistically, wouldn't the odds demonstrate that at least a few of the suspects per season were victims of extenuating circumstances? Context is always missing on that show, and I think it suffers for it.

But getting back to the main point, the thing that really pisses me off about that show is that it doesn't show fuck-up cops in action, of which there are many. The byproduct of that is that the show tends to paint police in an extraordinarily flattering light. Sure, the best of our police force deal with unsavory types, face endless ignorance and drudgery and put their lives at risk doing it. But some of them harass innocent people, extort criminals, and displace their personal, emotional problems on the people they supposedly protect and serve. I wouldn't begin to try and work out a proper statistic as per what the proportion is, but you know its consistent enough of an issue if the impression could be taken that these stereotypes are pervasive.

I would also observe that you don't usually see many obese cops on the show, but I've seen more than a few. Just seems weird that in the two cities in which I spend most of my time, almost all of the cops are obese (many of them morbidly so).

It just doesn't seem realistic to me the way this show depicts them. But to head anyone off at the pass, yes, the police have a lot of great people among them and no, I don't think they're all bad.
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Rocketdork » Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:04 pm

Of course, Miftah...I completely agree with your assessment of COPS.

BUT, don't all reality shows follow the same formula? They have an agenda they are attempting to portray, not stated explicitly, but definitely there. The agenda may not have been there at the beginning of the show (survivor comes to mind) but is developed during the season.

Lets explore cops as an example. The officers are typically fit, good natured, "good" cops. Could it really be any other way? If you were a police department that was approached by a TV reality show, would you allow them to film if you had seen previous episodes where the officers were fat, irritable and from the bad cop pool? For the show to continue they must show the best of the officers and leave behind the things that would show the department in a bad light. To do differently would prevent most departments from agreeing to the taping of the show. Of course, the criminals in show weren't consulted...

Another example that may be better. The New Yankee Workshop. I look at the DIY shows as some of the first reality television. I personally find these shows enjoyable. Norm Abrams is pby one of the best wood workers on the planet. Few would argue with that, but do you believe that he's never made a mistake? I've never once witnessed him making a mistake on his show. His agenda is to "show" you at a high level how to make the thing on the show. Do mistakes have any place in that agenda? No. Would it help you to build the thing if you saw his mistakes? No. It would help you to see how he FIXED his mistakes, and he's had shows dedicated to that very topic.

Is this reality? No, but at the same time, its required for the show to succeed. Sometimes that's palatable, other times its not. So, all reality shows are there with an agenda they wish to exploit and don't really portray reality in its entirety, but rather, show a version of reality that will ensure the show continues.

I can't say that I support all reality shows, but I find it difficult to find fault with their agenda of success...
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Re: The day the Kung Fu died

Post by Deater » Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:53 pm

Well, what I mean by the show being reality TV, is that at least the show isn't scripted and full of producers egging people on. I don't think those people are acting that way to get a career in acting. The editing and bias can be pretty effed up though. Also, COPS was the first pioneer in the "reality TV" industry, so that's another thing I was saying.

I honestly haven't seen a lot of obese cops myself, but maybe that just coincidence because I'm sure there are a lot out there. On TV (scripted TV) I see a lot of obese cops, but not in real life. Maybe it depends on location though, I don't know.

Believe me, I am not one to support or glorify cops, I think that many of the laws they are sworn to protect are BS, and a lot of them are huge hypocrites. There are far too many cops employed and the whole force needs to be downsize to PROTECT the people, not control their morality. And like you said, a lot of them are passing their bad experiences down on innocent people. They can be power hungry a$$holes and it takes a certain personality type to be that kind of cop. On the other hand, I know there are some out there that are genuinely trying to help people. I'll bet being in the job also bring some desensitization with it.

As for the people who end up on cops, sure, a lot of them are just at the tail end of a very bad day, but a lot of them are also ignorant people who have made those trashy lives for themselves. I have no sympathy for a drunk drivers, or violent people, or most of the people that end up on that show. Of course, some of them have just made some honest mistakes, I'm not talking about them.

I have seen some episode of COPS though that didn't make the cops look so good. I've seen some with some really bad busts where the perp really did nothing wrong. Sometimes it shows the cops in a bad light. The editors may not think so, but when I watch it, I've seen cases where I thought, "that's fucked up, they should let this guy go, he didn't do anything wrong." For example, I saw one where there was a prostitution sting and they arrested a guy for asking about prices and walking away. He just wanted to know the price for crissake. It's those kinds of busts, and drug busts on non-violent people, that are BS.

The criminals actually are consulted, they get to say whether their face is shown or if they get blurry pixels all over their face.
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