BLOBBY'S BLOG

PONDERINGS

Why watch the frickin' State of the Union? Shrub was slated to talk about things he'll most likely never get done, let alone start, during his less than two years left (yes folks he only has 726 days left). BTW, how is that trip to the Mars via the moon thing going?

As it turns out (I read), he was well past word 1000 in his speech before he ever uttered 'Iraq'. No one could see the elephant in the room??? Besides what he might or might not say, I literally cannot even listen to his voice. Then the thought of having to see Dick for 45-60 minutes, sitting behind him, was just the trifecta.

No, my evening was watching clips of an unwinnable war. One where people questioned military strategy. One where children were left without a parent. One that showed the fall of a country we had gone into. One where, upon coming home, people had trouble acclimating to civilian life.

Yes, I watched China Beach.

I found an odd cable channel that plays the show once per week. The time just coincided with the SotU. Unfortunately, I found this station as they are broadcasting the fourth and final year of the series. Though the series had some weaker moments, overall it was an extremely strong show. Heck, the first four episodes had Chloe Webb, post Sid & Nancy and pre-Tales of the City (whatever happened to her?) The second year had a post-Hairspray and pre-talk show Ricki Lake (whatever happened to her?)

But the last year, as uneven as I thought it was originally, is actually pretty good. It's not sequential. Timelines jump from 1982 to 1972 to 1975, etc. And all the while it flashes back to 1969 for small periods of time. A little hard to follow, but no less poignant.

As I watched, I couldn't help think that the show started a little less than a decade after the fall of Saigon. Will there be a similar show 15 years after the war in Iraq ends? If the war in Iraq ends?

There was no happy ending to China Beach. I doubt there will be for Iraq - the war or the potential series.