April 29th, a Tuesday

There is a difference between over the top (ott) and outside the box (otb) .  And then there is why can't we just be nice? 

There is some kind of feud going on between the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers that doesn't seem to have a lot to do with basketball.  It's more like a bunch of spoiled, very rich, black men having a go at each other.  (Don't get your bowels in an uproar now.  I said they were black men because they are the ones involved in the feud.  Otherwise I would have left that part out.)  LeBron James, the most famous Cavalier to ever play the game, complained that the Wizards were playing too rough.  The Wizards, of course, told him to stop whining.  Jay-Z, boy toy of Beyonce, "dissed" DeShawn Stevenson, the Wizard bad boy who has been one of the roughest players, in a rap song.  DeShawn was fined $25,000 for "making menacing gestures" on the court.  This definitely falls into the category of why can't we just be nice?  Come on, boys.  Just play ball. 

Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, has been a great role model for little girls everywhere in her job with Disney.  I couldn't believe it when I heard that her merchandise is worth a billion dollars in sales each year.  And if she keeps her job, she could be a billionaire by the time she is 18.  I think her young following is so loyal because she is wholesome, fun, and parents are grateful that she doesn't dress like Madonna and act like Britney.  But then those not terrible but really stupid photos popped up on the internet of her and a boy.  She was acting a little slutty and showing her brassiere, trying to be seductive which looked kind of silly.  But then the Vanity Fair story came out with photographs by the famous Annie Leibovitz.  One was Ms. Miley with nothing on except a satiny sheet she was holding over her chest wearing a lot of darkish makeup with her hair all fluffed out.  Or how about the one where she was draped over her famous father which looked a tad bit more seductive than the internet shots with the young boy.  Disney said VF was taking advantage of a 15 year old to sell magazines.  The mag said Miley's parents were there and saw everything that was being shot.  And Miley herself said she thought they would be artistic and cool, didn't realize they would come off that way, and apologized to her fans she loved so much and would rely on her faith and her family to get through this.  (No, I didn't add that faith part, she really said it.)  The Vanity Fair website got 5 million hits yesterday.  Not bad.  This one falls into the category of someone who should have definitely never ventured otb.  Hers was such a good box until this.

And what about the Austrian man who has admitted that he kept his daughter locked up in a little soundproof compound in the basement of their family home for 24 years.  He fathered 7 children with her during that time.  The wife was "devastated" when she found out.  Guess she didn't notice that her 18 year old daughter just disappeared one day, that her husband spent a lot of time in the basement, nor did she wonder where he got the 3 babies that she raised for him in the upstairs part of the house.  This case is the gold standard for sexual abuse by a Dad and denial by a Mom.  Most definitely, and most unfortunately, ott.

Otb can mean a very creative thing, giving new meaning to something that might normally be predictable.  The movie "Young at Heart" is about a chorus of singers whose average age is over 80.  Even though they all love classical music and opera, this chorus sings only rock, blues and punk songs.  It was funny to watch them react when they were told their next song would be "I Feel Good" by James Brown.  But it was great to watch a very old black lady who was mostly pretty quiet step up to the mike and let out a shriek which was a combination of joy and anguish followed by a big smile and a spoken "I Feel Good".  They sang Talking Heads "Road to Nowhere", the Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and the Ramones "I Wanna be Sedated".  You can imagine how the lyrics of these songs took on new meaning being sung by the Young at Heart chorus.  So instead of choosing "Blue Moon" like you might expect, these singers and friends, who all had great voices by the way, went otb and it was great.  For them and us.

I am pretty sure that my blog is otb and probably ott as well.  And I often ask why can't we just be nice.  You have to take the stuff the world spews out every day and try to make sense of it.  Even a bear with a blog knows that some of it is really terrible, some of it sucks but doesn't matter that much, and some of it is so good that you have to hold on for dear life to it.  Being a believer is the only medicine for a world that sometimes can make you sick.  And it doesn't even taste bad. 

GR