Freestyle 11/30/09 - Adam Lambert, The Insider, Flash Physics Games

I haven't been paying much attention to this Adam Lambert thing. I know he did some erotic things on stage, and people are debating whether it was appropriate or not, and if the uproar is simply because he's a gay male. Those people argue that we've had females kiss on the air before, blah blah blah. One comment he made struck me though. On the CBS Early Show, Lambert said "I'm not a babysitter" in response to complaints that children were watching. He said it was well past 10 PM when he hit the stage, and children's eyes were the furthest thing from his mind.

I'm a huge supporter of the "TV is not your babysitter" theory, but in this case, I think he's a little wrong. It was a network awards show. It was probably in hour 16 by the time he got up there. It was probable children were watching. Had this been his own video, MTV, another cable outlet or whatever - fine. I think parents who think it's the media's responsibility to make everything kid-friendly is bogus. But I think it's a little out of hand to suggest the AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS were anything near "adult entertainment." His actions didn't offend me at all, but this defense is a little slipshod.

Have you seen "The Insider" lately? Move over celebrity news, hello over-the-top panel! Joining former-news-correspondent-turned-smarmy-anchor Lara Spencer are luminaries like Star Jones and Niecy Nash to scream about the headlines. They make little pretense that this new format is anything but noise and conflict to keep the viewer tuned in. Lara's segue to a new story when I watched said it all: "Our next argument..." This was the same lowest common denominator creation that saw Jon Gosselin giving "his side of the story" complete with a melodramatic pose for the camera.

If you've got time to kill online, let me recommend a Google search of "Flash Physics Games." PhysicsGames.net in particular has a good selection. These are games in which some part of the action behaves in a lifelike manner. Among my recommendations: the clever Magic Pen games, where you literally draw your own tools to get a red ball rolling into the goal. Demolition City, where you find the right place to put dynamite, and take down a building successfully. Storm the Castle, where you use a trebuchet to heave rocks at a tower. 99 Blocks, where you use Tetris pieces to build the highest tower you can (against the enemy that is gravity). There are countless others. Check them out.