My really ultra sad and depressing assessment of tonight's SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 40th anniversary nostalgia

I was looking forward to this 3+ hour extravaganza celebrating SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’S 40 anniversary for weeks.. Tonight when it finally began, I couldn’t to turn it off..

Let me explain.
I grew up watching the show.. from an early age, I recall my parents allowing me to stay up late on a Saturday to watch the cold open, usually with Phil Hartman nailing his Ronald Reagan impression. I typically was only able to stay away until the band’s first song.. As I got older, the show was a staple of my existence on weekends.. after working late at a restaurant for several years, this program was the go-to before turning in and waking up the next day to do the same grind job again. There are even particular seasons I find the best: The 92-94 years, and then 97-the early 2000s..

The special airing tonight is giving me a different sense of SNL.. In a sense, I think the forced nostalgia is a bad thing. The live recreation of old skits using the same actors—actors clearly who have aged and gained weight—are not kind.  The parade of stars is obviously interesting to watch, but it’s also a bit unnerving to see how fast 40 years went by. And how many stars have left our world.. the number of unfortunate deaths of cast members is normal with a program that spans four decades.. But the sharp recall it gives so many people seemingly makes them also think of their own demise..

Call me a little too negative on this, but I was reminded watching it of my own aging process as well.. Some may call me young yet.. But when you realize that you’re about 6 years younger than this program, you get the ‘oh boy’ moment..

There are some other things that are called to mind when seeing this many years of memories. First off, SNL is running shorter clips of the classics. They used to be 20 years old.. but now as they age, the life of the memories has become abbreviated to fit more..

And in fitting more, it also showcases how the ‘not ready for prime time’ comedians of the 1970s have led to a ‘does anyone still watch this show?’ mentality of our current age..

The modern world of comedy is a bit different.. The youth of today, for better or worse, like watching clips on Youtube or short 10 seconds VINES.. or even shorter three second GIFs.. Or better yet, one frame memes usually featuring some sarcastic or rude commentary about life. The live entertainment offered up on SNL is not cutting edge. While they have attempted to mix the internet generation onto their show, the last effective cast to do that was Andy Samberg. And really, he only gave us a ‘dick in the box’ as the fondest memory some have of him on the show..

I am really not trying to be negative—I am not. But seeing Chevy Chase’s weight start gathering around his neck like a brace, and “Opera Man” coming back, Steve Martin singing ‘King Tut’, and Dan Aykroyd blending up a fish al-la-70s style, I get a bit nostalgic. And a bit sad.. And quite honestly a bit too much.

Maybe some nostalgia should be left to the personal moment, the time when you’re alone and contemplating all you have seen and done.
Maybe this 40th anniversary special is a little unhealthy..

Yes, I am seeing the Facebook and Twitter messages of people “LOL”ing  .. And they are taking photographs of the show from the smart phone of the TV, mostly trying to brag about the APPLE TV or SAMSUNG in their homes… It all seems so vacant.. It seems so forced..
Compared to the early clips of racy and risky humor, the current incarnation of this show is overly safe and about as cutting edge than a dull butter knife.

This is my honest assessment and gut instinct of this NBC special..I may be wrong.. But it’s how I feel.

Perhaps I am alone..
Or maybe 40 years worth of three generations is LOL in spite of themselves tonight.. and when it’s over they will wonder where their night has gone. And their lives.. As the beat goes on.

We are on borrowed time

I heard this description of life: It’s a bus ride that has no stops. You just keep going faster and faster

… the only way out is a crash: Death.

I think that sums up the gravity of the situation we are all in.

Please don’t consider this a negative posting about life. Life is actually quite fun for me right now.

I have a 17-month-old little man who is the joy of life.. My wife and I have been forever changed by his existence in our world. I have a wonderful family. Friends I cherish. We have jobs. We have a roof over our heads.. we have food when we are hungry. And I have an iPhone, and all the other technology that comes with life these days, too.

In the past two weeks I have been to two funerals. I will keep the overly personal information out, and just say that one was for someone who was 95 and a World War II POW. Another was for an uncle who lived to the truly ripe old age of 94. Both were pushing 100 when they met their respective final resting places. They both had long lives and lots of memories.. they both had stories.. both had a memories.. both had loved ones, cherished friends.. We all have stories, too. No matter the person.. From the richest to the poorest. From the oldest in the world to the child that dies at birth. There IS A MEANING to life.. right?

After contemplation, I have determined that we have become overly busy with our selfish pleasures of newsfeeds and campaign stats and sports stats and bla bla bla bla bla. At least I have.

I have neglected so much in the real world because of the online world. The internet and technology have become habits instead of pleasures. It went from being a novelty to a way of life. We all have been touched by the net bug. We are addicted!! Addicted to virtual reality. Addicted to virtual everything……virtually nothing.

But back to life for a second. REAL LIFE, not virtual.
What is the purpose to all this? Why ask! you know there is no answer. Lots claim to know the truth. Many others ponder it forever. In the end we don’t have a clue. What happens when we do die!? Again, here.. no word from anyone who did perish. We are left to wonder if near death experiences are really experiences of truth or just brain waves going awry. We are left to question tenets of religion.. question all things.

In the net age we have oodles of knowledge at our fingertips. All we have to do is Google or Bing it or MetaFilter it.. or whatever it. Do people even ask Jeeves anymore? Or AltaVista? .. Asta La Vista ..

Search results would amount to tons of data if you printed it on paper. But in our paperless society paper doesn’t exist anymore… right? Even though a paper-stack of bills sits next to me, that snail mail sent me, that was licked by some underpaid secretary in a cubicle maybe even AGHAST! with a typewriter…somewhere in the world.

There are bits and bytes of data flying around the world at a record pace.

And with all this knowledge you’d think by now someone would have found the meaning of life! The closest I know that found something was John Clease in MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE. The death penalty introduced to us in that show was, well, one many men wouldn’t mind having.

The information superhighway.. that is what it was once dubbed. Now it’s filled with potholes and dead sites that have dead ends.

Where does it all go in the end, though?

No where.. bits and bytes go bye bye for us.

Our bodies were dust and to dust they return. Despite the big plans we have to strive for big goals, we are cut down by something..whether it’s fate, God, time.. science. Whatever you believe. You can be five months, 15, 35, or 95. All dust.

So after this week, with two funerals (and a wedding, congrats bro), one can only leave the day with a renewed perspective on this strange place called earth.

A new lease on life!?

Not a chance…

A constantly expiring lease?

Now that is more like it..

Truly cannot believe how fast time is going.

I am an Art Bell fan. There are nights I can’t stand current Noory Coast to Coast AM. Maybe he means well but the night lacks the magic it once did. Being the Bell fan I am, I listen often to U7 radio and FineArtStream.com radio… often they play blasts from the pasts of aliens in the freezer and Area 51 conspiracy… from those old days of 1999. 2000. 2001. 2002. All time gone by..

Today in particular I listened to a show during my morning commute from 1999 about reincarnation. It was typical Art Bell. But 1999!? March of 1999 to be exact. I was 18 and not even done high school yet, that would come in June of that year. So I wondered what exactly I was doing that night.. where I was… how I felt. How the years have gone by.. how remarkable they have been, but how incredibly fast they are, as well.

On the same front, my niece turned 21 this past weekend… Wow. That is big. Considering that I remember, not vaguely but fondly, playing with her when she was born. I was just a kid, full of energy, crawling around. Now with my own son there are some nights my legs cramp up and my back kills me. I am only 31 but often wonder … if this is how 31 feels I dread 40. And 50.

And before I know it I will be 40, 50, and 60. Maybe by then FineGeorgeStream.com will exist..? Maybe by then we will all be programmed robots. Nanotechnology will take over and eliminate human emotion from life. Leaving just a stagnant and lifeless corpse, filled with blood and a brain that remembers nothing? There will be drones littering the sky.. there will be flying cars (maybe not).. However maybe we can all agree: Pay phones will be gone.

Yes, indeed. How fast time flies truly freaks me out. I often wonder where it goes? Stephen King may have an idea. Maybe the Langoliers actually do eat the time that is gone.. Old time a flyin? The same flower … tomorrow.. dyin’…..

Yes, indeed. 

Since old time is still a flyin’ perhaps it’s best to resist the dyin’ that eventually will occur. Unless we do reincarnate like the person who was a guest on Art Bell in 1998 believed. Reincarnation over and over again. Living through old time over and over again. Time that flies by regardless of what life we live…

"It's not easy connecting with Nick"

Robert MacNeil goes back to reporting for a special on his 6-year-old autistic grandson.

MacNeil narrates the comments of Nick’s mother: “I couldn’t be more sick of the word awareness. If I were any more aware of autism, I’d be dead,” she said. “I think we’ve moved beyond the point where awareness is necessary. I think it’s time we moved to action.”

Amazing statement. And how can anyone not agree..?

There is autism in my own family—and with one in a hundred or so kids having the condition, I’m sure your family too.

And I agree with the mom in this situation.. Awareness. What a word. AIDS awareness, Cancer awareness..autism awareness. Domestic violence awareness. We are all aware of these situations. It’s sad that have to compartmentalize and dedicate a block of time for the particular situation we need to have awareness of. Who does that help? And does it work to solve immense problems that autism, AIDS, cancer, and anything else supply us?

No.

I have heard a number of people argue that autism is over-diagnosed now, that it was always the same as it is now, and that there really aren’t more cases today than there were years ago. I have no hard evidence to tell me what opinion to have, but I’d defer to the startling numbers of a rising rate of autism. I just don’t believe ‘it was always this way’ and just not diagnosed the right way. Sure, you can argue that mental health clinics and eugenics programs were fully stocked with kids in time gone by, but I just can’t get myself to agreeing that autism is not a more severe problem than it was decades or so ago. I just can’t.

I see the challenges that my own family faces with autistic kids. The toughest part is getting to know them. After all, they are kids, and they like and do things kids like to do. They are not a new species.. they are not ‘pathetic’ or ‘unfortunates’. They are people.. individuals with habits, happiness, tears, and hunger pains.. They go to the bathroom. They get potty trained. They learn to read, write, and in the case  of my nephews, they probably are a lot better at math and learning than I am. As a matter of fact, they may be a lot better at many things than their adult counterparts.

Perhaps the scariest thing for any parent is understanding that, despite a Google search result of the question finding millions of websites, no one really absolutely knows for sure what causes autism. No one.. There are theories. Most famous, of course, is the MMR shot. And then lots of people attacked Doctor Wakefield over his study they say was shoddy from the beginning. Interesting Wakefield stands by his 1990s research—and the journalist who constantly writes about him continues to do so.. Autism got political. When vaccines were put into the limelight of criticism, big drug companies came out in full force to tell us everyone saying their product caused the learning disorder was wrong. And then they silently too thimerosal out of their product.. I guess just in case. 

Plus, who really wants to argue with Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy, who like many others, believe vaccines are a factor in autism.

Vaccines would be simple.. If only we can correlate the date together exact. It would be a relief.. But what of the kids who get vaccines and do not get autism? And why boys more than girls getting it? And why..? And how? .. the questions go on.

It would be great to have an easy answer.. 

Maybe it’s a lot of things.. perhaps our kids’ brains have become a stew of over-advertising on TV, chemicals on toys from China, GMO crops from Monsanto, kids food not being healthy.. too much WIFI… to little early learning?  And why so many higher numbers in the United States? What is different here compared to other places?

I just don’t know.

So there you go. We’re aware. Lots of people are. Awareness. 

Awareness has yet to solve the problem. However, I guess the first step is admitting there is one.

SO WHY DO SO LITTLE PEOPLE CARE THAT 1 IN 100 CHILDREN GET AUTISM!?

So there you go. My thoughts. My awareness. My confusion, my anger.. All in this long post.  

The lack of answers cause me to fear the MMR shot.. a lot.