News Bites: Donald Trump, Blurred Lines, Jeets, D&G, March 23–27
The Donald is at it yet again!
Donald Trump is forming an exploratory committee to help him decide if he should pursue a run for the White House. Seriously, Donald, you have money to burn, so burn it, but forget the White House. All the billions you have acquired as an entrepreneur will not buy you the presidency. You don’t suffer fools easily and you must constantly do that if you sit behind that grand desk in the Oval Office. You are used to people doing your bidding without questioning you. Do you think Boehner would let you get away with that? He has been a continuous thorn in the side of Barack. And guess what? You can’t just fire him. You’re better off being top honcho host on Celebrity Apprentice where you get to call all the shots. You are better off wheeling and dealing in real estate. Are you really so full of yourself that your next job must be the highest position in the land? Be content with what you have and don’t make a fool out of yourself.
Pharrell and Robin get a raw deal
By now you have probably heard about the guilty verdict on the copyright case against “Blurred Lines” and the song’s composers, Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke. A Los Angeles federal court found that the melody and chords were not copied from Marvin Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up.” Instead it was ruled that the sound and feeling were copied. Restitution of $7.3 million has been awarded to the family of Marvin Gaye for this infringement. What? First of all, this ruling sounds contradictory. If the melody and chords were not copied, how could the sound be copied? Please explain that to me, someone. And as for feeling, what are they talking about? All songs have similar feelings as all human beings experience similar emotions—happy, sad, melancholy, soulful, lonely. How is an artist supposed to find a new feeling that has never been felt before? It just doesn’t make any sense at all. In a recent interview, Pharrell Williams said, “This applies to fashion, music, design…anything. We’re going to look up one day and the entertainment industry as we know it will be frozen in litigation. This is about protecting the intellectual rights of people who have ideas.” He is so right. Now that this ruling has come down, composers will examine any work they deem similar to something they wrote and sue! But how can you sue someone’s feeling? You can’t own feelings. This ruling is absurd and will surely have wide-range negative effects on all the arts unless it is overturned. Let’s hope that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke pursue an appeal that will irradiate the blurred lines of this ridiculous verdict.
Oh Captain, My Captain!
As we approach opening day there is a great void that fills the air, fills Yankee Stadium and fills the hearts of all Yankee fans. How do we go on without your stalwart presence making everything all right even when we are losing? There’s talk from Cashman of retiring the ‘C’ with your No.2. Is that a good idea though? Are they saying that someone like you will never come again? How terribly sad—if that is indeed the case. I would rather think optimistically. Another good man will emerge from the masses to offer leadership, comradery and quiet strength. The Yankees will go on without you. They picked up the pieces before after the retirement of so many iconic predecessors. We got through last year without Mariano, we got through the year before that without Jorge Posada. We saw Thurman Munson, the great Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Lou Gehrig retire, and yet the Yankees prevailed. Enjoy your retirement, Derek, you deserve it triple fold. But maybe, just maybe, we will see you in the clubhouse picking up a jersey as co-manager. I don’t think you’ll stay away for too long.
Dolce and Gabbana: Words do hurt!
We’re all talking about it—Gabbana’s reference to synthetic children. How can you be so insensitive to people who would do anything to have children? And if a couple would do anything to have a child, you tell me what kind of parents will this child have? Let me answer that—the child will have great parents, parents who really want a child. This is a lucky child. This is a child who will be loved. Thank God for IVF! It has opened the door for so many couples, gay or straight, to have a beloved family. Previous generations didn’t have this alternative, so they were forced to live lonely, childless, terribly unfulfilled lives. IVF has blazed the trail for so many couples longing for a family. OK, Domenico and Stefano, so you tried to back pedal with your follow up comments on loving gay people and gay marriage. Wasn’t it just a few years ago that you spoke about getting married and starting a family, or am I mistaken?
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