06.11.07
Posted in General at 9:49 pm by brmeyer
After spending an amazing five minutes watching the program Hell’s Kitchen on FOX, I simply could not take any more television for the night. The program features two sparring teams of chefs that are cooking for an elegant restaurant run by a pompous, loud-mouthed chef named Gordon Ramsay. The chef that wins the competition becomes the head chef of a fine Italian restaurant in Las Vegas. Sounds like a cool idea. But the show should fall by the wayside.
Not even two minutes into my watching, Ramsay is screaming at his chefs and uttering profanities that FOX has thankfully censored. Focusing on the quality of the food being prepared, Ramsay loses no opportunity in making a personal slam at any chef who fails at his or her task. He referred to one female contestant as a dumb blonde because she prepared the wrong number of appetizers for a table. Do we not all make a mistake? When Ramsay spit in the food prepared by the chefs of one team, my Hell’s Kitchen experience found its way to a desirable termination.
It shocks me that such television is popular among people. Have we evolved into a culture that is just so hell bent on belittling each other to make ourselves feel good? This is common in the corporate world, and I can see why. People are constantly exposed to this sort of garbage. The fact that people would rather watch this stuff than laugh for a half hour about the simple exploits of some down-to-Earth American family is beyond comprehension for me. The days of simple shows with great laughter and important lessons - shows such as All in the Family and Sanford and Son - are all but gone.
Give me Raymond or Fred G. Sanford anyday.
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06.08.07
Posted in General at 6:00 pm by brmeyer
Wow! In more than ten years of being an avid Civil War enthusiast, this is one of the most interesting news stories I have read on the subject. A priceless treasure missing for over 150 years was discovered in a drawer at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The relic is a letter from President Abraham Lincoln written on July 7, 1863 - four days after the Battle of Gettysburg ended - to General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck. Lincoln’s writing emphasized that recent victories by Major General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Major General George G. Meade at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, were positive steps toward the end of the war. However, Lincoln advised Halleck that Meade must vigorously pursue and destroy Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia before the desired conclusion could be reached. Lincoln had been irate - in private - about Meade’s failure to crush Lee’s army on the retreat to Virginia after Gettysburg. He had written Meade a strongly worded letter urging him to pursue Lee but did not send it as he feared he might cause the commanding general to resign.
The contents of this letter had been well known for many years as it was telegraphed to Meade at Gettysburg by Halleck. The letter verifies the contents of that telegram. The text is given below for ease of reading, followed by an image of the actual document.
“Major Genl Halleck, We have certain information that Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant on the 4th of July. Now, if Gen. Meade can complete his work so gloriously prosecuted thus far, by the litteral (sic) or substantial destruction of Lee’s army, the rebellion will be over. Yours truly, A. Lincoln”
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