As IF Times

link Black Eyed Peas a glittering bore at Super Bowl – Soundcheck – The Orange County Register.

It’s a revelation  to see that others are just noticing for the first time what has been in front of them from the outset.  The  Black Eyed Peas are vastly overrated.  Sure they had a hit or two a while ago, but as entertainment, the sell by date happened shortly thereafter.  However, the point here is not to diss the group.  I’ll candidly admit that I”m not the demographic that they play to. 

The issue is the tiresome way in which ‘artistes’ feel compelled to make political commentary to a captive audience without their consent.  It’s as if there’s a clause in their contract somewhere that they have to slide in some  message as a means of legitimizing their position as cultural spokesmen rather than simply being the hired entertainment.   What if you hired a clown for your children’s birthday party and he slipped in a message mid-juggle about global warming or comment on the middle east?  The most famous recent crooner to incorporate politics into his act is of course, Bono.   No one can escape his ‘events’ without being lectured about world hunger or world peace.   This annoyance is practiced by many acts from Cher at one end to the likes of Elton John and the Eagles at the other end.   The most famous recent example of this was the formerly popular group, The Dixie Chicks when one of them very publicly insulted a sitting president.   They feel compelled to use their platform as entertainers to push whatever political or social message they happen to champion.  There are venues for this: write an editorial to the New York Times; go on Letterman.  It does not say on the handbills advertising their concert,  “Performing  their greatest hits and views on child poverty!”.   People pay to see their prodigious singing talent, not a musical version of Hardball with Chris Matthews.

At the Superbowl halftime, while melifluously belting out her catchy tunes, Fergie skillfully slipped in a message to President Obama,

‘…Obama, let’s get these kids educated / Create jobs so the country stays stimulated…’

Like most messages from liberal entertainers, this one, while sounding positive is actually negative.  The notion that it is up to political leaders to educate children falls into the same overflowing bin as all of the other delusional liberal ideas.  It is not the government’s job to look after every aspect of our lives.  In this case, the responsibility for children’s education lies squarely with parents, not with the state and not with the President.   Adults generally would know this, but the impressionable minds of the audience that The Peas may cater to will absorb the idea that “it’s the government’s job”, serving to indoctrinate another generation of entitlement sheep.  Thankfully, it’s likely nobody picked up this little social message because of the general cacophony of noise in the stadium.  

How about they just stick to the advice offered by the title of the last Dixie Chicks’ album;  Shut Up and Sing.

link Sumo Hit By New Match-Fixing Allegations in Japan – WSJ.com.

With all due respect to traditional Sumo fans, the entire sport of Sumo can be summarized by the following sentence.  Two semi nude fat guys grapple in a circular ring until the biggest of the fat guys pushes the smaller one down and out of the ring. 

That’s it.  That’s the sport.  Of course that greatly glosses over the history, tradition and protocols observed in preparation for and during the matches.  There are people whose entire lives and careers are consumed with the tradition of Sumo.  Many ritual elements surrounding the sport are considered sacred and performed much as they were centuries ago when the sport originated.  Apart from their R -rated attire contrasted with their massive size, the exquisitely lacquered hairdos are signature elements of the sport.  Feeding just one of these massive blobs of humanity could engage the entire breakfast shift at a McDonald’s store.  But through the centuries, the sport has endured.  As we know, the Japanese are big on tradition and custom, consequently such attributes as honesty and integrity are prized in that society.

While there are and have been foreign participants in the sport, oddly sumo hasn’t really caught on in any other part of the world and remains peculiar only to Japan.  This may  have something to do with advertising space.  You could imprint a logo onto the surface of the grappling ring, but that would offend those with traditional sensibilities.  Despite the billboard sized expanses of flesh available on the wrestlers, having logos of McDonald’s or Coca Cola tattooed on their backs would also raise some eyebrows.  While I’m sure there are subtleties to the sport, it’s a fair guess that the bigger guy usually wins.  You would think then that the smart money is on the fattest guy; how much drama can there be?  If the 300 pound guy regularly beats the 400 pound guy, well that could be suspect.

On the other hand, if two equally robust wrestlers went at it and one tripped and fell, is that a fix?  If the average match lasts about 3 seconds,  about the time it takes to play a round of rock-paper-scissors, how can you tell if there’s a dive happening?  I suppose it comes down to the personal honor of the wrestlers, but if someone paid you oodles of money to take a dive in a 3 second match, it’d be tempting.  But this is Sumo!  A sport rich with history, tradition and honor.  This is not baseball with their corked bats or cycling with rampant steroid use.  This is not some crass commercial sport!  To paraphrase the kid who pleaded with  Shoeless Joe Jackson when he was rumored to have been involved in fixing World Series games in 1919, “Say it ain’t so Musashimaru, say it ain’t so!”