Xchoboomer

Here is an interesting report I caught on ABC last night about the baby boomers hitting 65 in 2011. Today the first of the baby boomer generation hits retirement and every 8 seconds another baby boomer comes of age. By the end of the year that will equate to 2.8 million baby boomers on the retirement payroll. It’s just staggering to think of the trillions of dollars that 76 million americans will be entitled to and if the coffers of the X’rs and Y’rs can support mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa.

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A year in review from the perspective of this xchoboomer…

The devastating earthquake in Haiti began the year and spewed horrible images of human suffering and carnage that are simply unforgettable. Images that unfortunately are ingrained into the consciousness of us all. Baby Boomers, X’r, and the millennials. More so then hurricane Katrina, this may have been the one world event that actually impacted the millennials into action as many of them who are now of age volunteered or donated via  text messages or other means in large numbers.

Health care reform became a reality in March that will have an impact on generations to come. It was an act that caused much emotion from people as they were fed a slew of misinformation. The perceived “socialization” of health care seemed to carry an evil connotation, especially to the baby boomer generation as McCarthyism is programmed into their psyche. This played a role in the “public” option being dropped from the reform in order to get it pushed through the House and Senate which will be attributed as a failure of the Obama administration.

The BP oil spill in April in the Gulf of Mexico was an event that angered us all. Unlike the Haiti Earthquake, it was an event that we felt hopeless about and their wasn’t much that any generation could do about it. This dragged on well into the summer and reeked havoc on the Gulf Coast and undermined the lively hoods of baby boomers to the millennials.

In July, the United States and Russia swapped prisoners out of the blue in a story that brought back images of cold war era spies, espionage, and feelings that many baby boomers and X’rs thought were long gone. I wasn’t sure if I should crawl under my desk as we were taught in elementary school in the early 80′s nuclear fire drills. I doubt the millennials felt the significance of this story and probably just conjured up a plot for the fourth Bourne movie.

In late July, WikiLeaks released thousands of documents relating to the Afghan War which started a new conversation on the freedom of speech in the new information age and the balance of national security and transparency in government. Claiming to have over 250,000 cables of American Diplomats from the mid 1960′s to 2010, WikiLeaks released many of these which caused much embarrassment for the United States government to keep its diplomatic conversations secure. In what seemed to be a smear campaign by the U.S government, the leader of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, was accused of rape and was forced to turn himself in as InterPol closed in on him. This has interested each of our generations as we all have a stake in the outcome.

In August, Kagan was seated on the Supreme Court. This was the second appointment of the Obama administration and will truly be the President’s legacy well past his term and affect future generations to come.

Also in August, President Obama addressed the country from the Oval office and announced the end of combat operations in Iraq. Although this was merely a symbolic “mission accomplished” , it signified the turning of a page to refocus energies on the economy and the Afghan war which was good news to the X’rs and echo boomers as they are the ones serving in Iraq and trying to find jobs.

In October, a federal judge ordered that the policy of “Dont Ask Dont Tell” stop being enforced. Although it would take some weeks of politicking from judges, Congress, and the President to finally repeal the law in December, it is the end of an era and a victory for civil rights and will affect X’rs and Y’rs alike as well as future generations to come.

Also in October, the Chilean miners were rescued after months of being trapped deep underground. It was an event that the Facebook’r generation watched in their news feeds in real time as the miners came up one by one and people seemed to be inspired to post status updates. It was an event that reminded us on how resilient the human spirit is and scientifically was important because it was the longest time that humans have survived underground which was significant enough that NASA was closely involved and studying the rescue. And for everyone who was watching live as miner #2, aka Super Mario was brought up it was an inspiring scene to watch as he broke out into the Chilean national anthem and got the audience to chant along. That was pretty awesome.

November 2, the Democrats were shellacked in the mid-term elections as Independents swung there votes the way of the Tea Party. The Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives which forced Obama to extend Congress’s session almost till Christmas in order to push through a slew of legislation, including extending unemployment benefits by compromising for a $850 Billion tax cut to the wealthiest Americans,  before the Republicans can gridlock the Democrats with there control of the House.

In late November, the North Korean government attacked a South Korean Island which was the first land attack since the Korean war nearly 60 years ago. Baby Boomers such as my high school architectural teacher were especially interested in this story as many had fought or can actually remember the Korean War first hand. The MASH generation? Sorry, I didn’t get that show,  but loved the theme song. To many X’rs and millennials, this barely seemed to raise eyebrows and is somewhat expected of  the nutcase we’ve come to know as Kim Jong-Il.

These were some of the most important events that shaped 2010 from a cultural and political perspective, although there are countless others, especially from everyone’s personal perspectives. We all witness events and things that shape us and ultimately influence our generations on a daily basis. The world continues to get smaller, as information flows at the blink of an eye, and social graphs expand even to the baby boomers populous. Some of (you) are the events and things that shape and influence others. This year I was lucky enough to find a source of inspiration and I’m hoping I can tap into that in 2011.

The Los Angeles City Council passed a mandate 4 months ago to shut down over 400 dispensaries throughout the city that did not register with the city prior to 2007. Today that mandate goes into effect. The dispensaries ordered to shut down are concentrated in the Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, and Venice/Santa Monica areas but are sprawled throughout the city. This map of the dispensaries ordered to shut down is rather eye opening. Not on that map is still another 100+ dispensaries located throughout the city that will remain open.

Most dispensaries are expected to comply with the order and will be shutting there doors for good at midnight. There are some that are expected to fight the mandate based on the premise that it violates consumer rights. However, the City of Los Angeles says it is prepared to enforce the mandate so it will be interesting to watch how this enfolds over the next week.

This mandate is just another example of the failures of the Los Angeles City Council.  The council had the opportunity and the responsibility to construct a system that would benefit the many patients and citizens of Los Angeles and serve as a shining example for the rest of the state as well as the nation to legitimize what the voters asked for. Instead they chose to keep pushing the issue to the back burner and left loopholes in their policy that  allowed all these dispensaries to grow like weeds (pun intended). And who can blame these businessmen of these dispensaries. There was an opportunity due to the failures of the city council and they took advantage. Now they are the victims not to mention the citizens of Los Angeles who will have to deal with the crowd of the remaining dispensaries, although I’m sure the owners of the remaining dispensaries will reap the rewards. The city council has done  a disservice to its citizens and to the nation as we struggle to overturn madness. We’ve come so far since Prop 215 was passed in 1996 with a 55% majority. It was only a dream to many that we would legally be able to walk into a dispensary and purchase marijuana. So considering there are still over 100 dispensaries left in operation within city limits should still be considered a victory. I know it doesn’t feel that way. Let’s only hope that this new mandate which will keep dispensaries out of residential neighborhoods works only to legitimize the cause further.

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.

http://bit.ly/GJNAM

I just heard the news about Dennis Hopper ’bout a couple hours ago and we’ve lost a great artist.  I can’t say that I (we) didn’t see this one coming though. It was only a month or two ago that he was getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He looked so frail and it was evident that the time was near.

Nice to see George, err, I mean Jack out there seeing an old friend off.  To bad they didn’t light one up for old times sake. I’d like to think they did behind the cameras but that was the thing about Easy Rider, written and directed by Hopper. It was all in front of the cameras like a big middle finger to the “man” a.k.a, the  “establishment”!

Dennis Hopper was the embodiment of  “coolness”. Even in his early days of Rebel without a Cause he was banging Natalie Wood off-camera. Now that’s cool!  I wonder if she tasted like peaches too? (True Romance reference if you didn’t get that.) Cultivating his skills in the Actors’ Studio payed off in roles as a photojournalist in Apocalypse Now,  Easy Rider, Hoosiers, and even in the last few years with his hit series “Crash”, a Stars original series, he always came across with that aura of coolness. Heck, I even thought he was cool in Red Rock West and Speed! Plus did you know he directed “Colors” too? He probably came up with the name Pac-Man for Sean Penn!

Well, it just so happens, and probably not by accident either, that Dennis Hopper stars in one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history, in my mind at least, in one of my all-time favorites, True Romance. Starring opposite Christoper Walken playing a Siccilian mafioso, who was also phenomenal in this scene I might add, Dennis Hopper, with the help of  Tony Scott I’m sure,  just nails it with the language and tone as he insults the Sicilian as he realizes he is facing certain death whether or not  he gives up his son. In true Dennis Hopper fashion he verbably and intellectually  sticks a middle finger in the Sicilian’s face, choosing not to give up his blood and savoring his Chesterfield before the inevitable.

His method acting was is a beautiful thing to watch. He had a thing about that middle finger. He was the counter-culture before their was a counter-culture. He was cooler then cool. Let’s hope he finds his “Freedom” now. R.I.P.

		PHOTOJOURNALIST
"Do you know what the man is saying? Do you? This is dialectics.
It's very simple dialectics. One through nine, no maybes, no
supposes, no fractions -- you can't travel in space, you can't go out
into space, you know, without, like, you know, with fractions -- what
are you going to land on, one quarter, three-eighths -- what are you
going to do when you go from here to Venus or something -- that's
dialectic physics, OK? Dialectic logic is there's only love and hate, you
either love somebody or you hate them."

Kurtz throws a book angrily at him :

		PHOTOJOURNALIST
"This is the way the fucking world ends! Look at this fucking shit
we're in, man! Not with a bang, with a whimper. And with a whimper,
I'm fucking splitting, jack!"

Photojournalist leaves :

That line that always ended with this face never got old!  It still makes me laugh 30 some odd years later.  Regardless of his troubled personal life and chronic health issues, he gave us all the gift of laughter.  Such a shame he got fleeced for $18 million. But he took it on the chin and tried to earn a decent living. The younger generations don’t know what they missed!  R.I.P Gary Coleman!

As Lost finally concludes, it is evident how much of a cultural and generational impact this show has had. This is evident in the myriad of articles and postings found throughout the blogosphere all the way to main stream media such as the Wall Street Journal. Many of these posting attempt to give a final explanation to the series. This is not one of those. Many of these attempt to answer lingering questions left open by the writers for interpretation. I won’t attempt to answer any of these burning questions. I am however amazed at the sheer amount of angles that have been covered by some of these articles already but also by the many comments. There seems to be a love/hate relationship with the LOST series and especially with the finale. So many people are confused by what they just witnessed. Some are perplexed. People have vested so much and thus have been so polarized by not being fulfilled by the conclusion. Yet so many others have come to terms with the fates of their favorite characters and are at peace with the ending. I am in this camp. Although I am so lost and confused and have my own questions like so many others, I am fully satisfied with the well fitted ending. I have watched this series from the beginning and although at times fell off the wagon, was able to catch up and keep up with one of the most iconic television shows in television history. Some may laugh at that now but I believe LOST is truly an iconic work of art that will go down as such and will be tied to this generation forever. It speaks volumes to the many talents that brought it to life logistically, not to mention artistically as well. It is obvious looking back to the very first episode at the deliberate nature of what the writers were trying to convey.  And it is even more amazing that they actually pulled it off 6 years later. As with any art, it has its flaws and leaves plenty of room for interpretation.  That’s the beauty of art though. Some people will look at it and may see complete randomness while others will see many complicated layers, colors,  and deliberate brush strokes. People should take it at face value and for what its worth and apply what they can to their own lives. If nothing else it was entertaining and will allow for debate and interpretation for generations to come.

This is the end, beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend, the end, of our elaborate plans, the end, of everything that stands the end, no safety or surprise, the end, I’ll never look into your eyes… again, can you picture what will be, so limitless and free, desperately in need… of some… strangers hand, in a desperate land… the end.

Part of me is disgusted by what I heard come out of the mouths of top executives from Goldman Sachs during today’s senate hearings, but there’s a part of me, something in the back of my mind that is saying ‘sons of  bitches… good for you’.  These guys just basically testified that they knowingly were selling “shitty” deals to their clients, thus shorting the market and profiting 3.7 Billion dollars while the housing market was collapsing and triggering the worst financial disaster since the great depression. As if to say “And what the fuck are you going to do about it, Grandpa?” to the senate, they all held their ground, admitting no wrongdoing, regretting nothing,and feeling no remorse about the havoc caused, all  based on the position that they were the opposite agent in the market and this is what their clients wanted. Yah, I’m disgusted that these guys are balling while the rest of us our fending off this depression, but if your gonna fleece the wool off a sheep that’s gotta be the way to do it!

Growing up in inner city LA in the mid 80′s was no picnic. I was intitiated into my first gang by the time I was in the third grade. It was a two step process as I was peer-pressured into first hitting my childhood friend on the school playground before I was jumped in by 6 or 7 older kids as they kicked the shit out of me on the corner just outside the gates of my elementary school on the grass between the sidewalk and one of the busiest streets in LA as traffic wizzed by and no one stopped. If it were not for the recognition and intervention of teachers and good choices by my folks who knows where I’d be today.

When Stand and Deliver came out in the 80′s it was something I could relate to. I remember watching this and seeing a movie that was about people I knew, not literally, but I knew these people. This movie was about us, our time, our culture, the way we spoke, the way we thought about ourselves, our environment, and our circumstance. It was about people I innocently idolized and looked up to. It was about people I let down (Sorry ‘cisco). It was about choices and making good ones. It was about believing in yourself and beating the odds. It was a positive influence for people who were surrounded by so much negativity.

I’ve never met Jaime Escalante but I knew people like him that changed my life. His movie  influenced me and people around me at a young age. It was a light for my people and we are all indebted to the man. Today we bid farewell to someone who guided us out of the dark and someone who taught us to believe in ourselves. May he rest in peace and his family be comforted by the fact that he touched the lives of so many.

As I sit here and watch Niel Young sing a classic and closing the 2010 Olympics, I cant help to feel the sentiment of the moment. After weeks of hearing some amazing stories, people overcoming tremendous adversity, watching some amazing athletes live a dream, and triumph or fail, its always inspiring.  Now I’m not any under any illusions. I will never win an Olympic medal. But hearing the national anthems and watching these athletes receive their medals it always makes me wonder how can I reach my full potential. How can I feel that triumphant feeling instead of the stresses of day to day life?  How can I overcome the adversity of the world trying to break me down at every corner? And then something takes me back to my childhood and puts it into perspective. Watching Michael J. Fox closing speech, battling his Parkison’s at every syllable, it makes me realize how insignificant some of my adversities are compared to what he is dealing with. Everyone faces challenges and adversities. How will I overcome mine? How will you overcome yours?