Grizzly Scene

We’re driving in the badTV RV, on a dirt road 30 miles away from any city, deep in the burned woods of Montana, when I yell to Seanie, "Look, there’s a Grizzly running right in front of the jeep ahead of us!” The jeep never slowed down, and thankfully misses the intrepid bear. Then, the grizzly stops because we stopped, and he or she looks directly at us for one brief moment, but a moment burned in my mind's eye. By the time I grabbed my cameras he was meandering away like predators normally do, nonchalantly, at a 45 degree angle, never spilling a pheromone of fear, and never showing his whole back -- until the bear is at a safe distance. Sean told me he wanted to get out of the truck "and go a few hundred yards" to get better pix of the bear. I don't think ultimatums should be part of one’s vocabulary, but in this instance I felt one was necessary: I told Sean that if he got out of the badmobile, and if he managed to get back in after chasing a 1,000+ pound Grizzly or visa versa, that I’d have him drive me to the nearest airport to get on the next plane home immediately. Sometimes too much testosterone needs to be smothered by a large dose of good old motherly oxytocin.

I-Rocky Plane Ride (Iraqi Plain Talking)

On the plane ride over to Missoula, Montana, Clark, a twenty-three-year-old Marine with killer dimples and flirting strategy is returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq and asks if he can sit next to me. Sure, I say. He is one charismatic dude. I am mesmerized by his infectious enthusiasm for life despite witnessing the horror of war. I ask him questions, but he would rather flirt. If anyone knows me, I am stubbornly persistent; my mother used to call me Mosca (translation, the Mosquito). So finally he surrenders and tells me amazing stories of courage and chance, including one in particular of how two bullets missed him because he was thirsty, and how he "blew the brains away" of that sharp shooter that would have killed him had he taken one more step while clearing that mine field. He tells me this story and afterwards has his usual dimpled smile which is balanced by a strong cleft chin. As he drinks his Heineken, I wonder how he can be so positive, and not have PTSD after such an experience. He notices the look in my eyes and reminds me, "I chose to be there." This breaks my shock and awe, and we joke around some more, and I even lose a bet -- I can't remember what it was -- so my "penalty" is to kiss him on the cheek. He then asks if he can kiss me after he asks, “how old are you, 25, 26?" I should have planted one on him right then and there, but I couldn't. (Shhh . . . I'm probably closer to his mom's age than his.) Because of all the turbulence, both literally and figuratively, I let him put his arm around me when he noticed I was pretty concerned about the prospect of landing on earth. I hate planes. Should have gotten a picture of him, but I got his number, so maybe he'll send me one of him in his uniform for my bloggy blog.

Captured by VideoChick at SouthTube

I got to watch myself. Because somebody may be watching me.

This video is by YouTube Monster VideoChick770 a real hero. Check her out, she's helping change the world. I plan on going to the 888 YouTube meetup she is throwing in Toronto!

In Defense of momma Britney

Usually, I get death threats and imprecations directed at me when my offbeat parodies go up online, but not this time. Britney's foibles have touched a nerve and it seems everyone is out for her blood. But one exception comes from a poster named richie867, an admirer of Hannah Montana, who writes BadTV to tell us we are simply jealous of Brit and that we should leave her alone and that I am a bitch. Of course BadTV attorney Mr. Orange responds directly to Richie, and leaves this candid message on his youtube channel:

"I'm glad you came to Britney's defense after we posted our video. She's one of the hardest workers in show business, and we admire the way she's used her talents to become such a force in entertainment. Of course we are jealous of her and wish we could have the opportunity to impact society in the same way, and this means we are likely to do small, petty things when we can to take advantage of her skills and connections. But make no mistake: she works harder than anyone in the business and we compare ourselves to her in this sense every day. How can we do more? How do we turn our days into 12 hours of dance and choreography and song-writings and recording? She inspires us to work harder and kick butt exactly the way any artist would inspire us."

Nice to have a lawyer who does what you tell him to do.