Always on the grid?

Several years ago there was an episode of NCIS where then Director Shepard( Lauren Holly) made a clandestine  trip to Moscow in search of information that would either clear her father or help her in capturing ”  la grenouille” . During that time she went off the grid as was bluntly called to her attention by good ole Leroy Jethro Gibbs ( Mark Harmon) , once she returned to Washington.

For my purposes, the key element in that scene was the grid to which Gibbs referred. In this case it was not the electric power grid that  is  somewhat well publicized, but  a different kind of grid.  Holly’s character was the head of an armed federal agency and as such could not  become incommunicado. And in our story she did that very thing.

I was reminded of that  upon seeing a segment of the Today Show that dealt with the death of the telephone. The part that I saw interviewed at least two people  in the know about such things, one of them from Wired magazine, who opined that the telephone was dead and it was about time. His feelings are most definitely shared by  outsidethebeltway.com writer James Joyner. He wrote an article on July 31, 2010  expressing how annoying and terribly intrusive a telephone call actually is. And he made this point that really ties in to the point I am trying to make. The current generation hardly ever makes phone calls because they are in constant  lightweight contact, defined as texting, instant messaging , tweeting, etc.

So, its it a good or necessary thing to be in constant contact. to be always on the grid, so to speak? The majority of us do not need to be always available via  a tweet or Facebook or hundreds or thousand of  daily text messages. I   share Mr Joyner’syner that this is,generally speaking, lightweight communication. Surely a part of my inclination is that I am from  a generation that has not always been  totally wired, but I think/hope it is more than that.

My wife and I have shared many times with one another in  a phone call the  words that” I just wanted to hear your voice” . We do text, but for us, it will never be an adequate substitute for the voice of the one person who means more to  you than any other.

Perhaps, Mr Bell’s invention is on the way out.  But from my  perspective, I hope that it takes the long way.

The NCIS Guessing Game

Old Shane Brennan and the guys at NCIS are really stirring the pot this time. As they barrel downhill towards the end of season 7, they have  achieved a remarkable feat of confusing just about everybody about not just the outcome of this season, but the fallout  beyond. Almost like a tv nuclear explosion in terms  of who will be affected. Except we are really unsure as to who that  will be.

This is unlike Kate’s or  even Jenny’s death which were not set up as much this scenario has been. Some  cast members have even said that the groundwork for this finale began as far back as December episodes. Pauley Perrette has said that all the cast members do not know how the season will end. But Michael Weatherly, who has been making the rounds of various talk shows, said that someone will not survive the finale. He added that the final 30 seconds will be  a shocker.

Being a die-hard fan, I had to speculate. One knows that Harmon, McCallum and Carroll(aka Leon Vance) are under contract for season 8. They will survive the ending in some manner. Who could the team or show  best survive without? I actually gave this  some thought and sounded out another fan or two. My theory would have McGee as the most likely departure although I could get no agreement from ny fellow fans.

Suffice to say, that their” back to the future”  tactic of dredging up  the worst time in Gibbs’ life makes for good television and great hype. Doesn’t do much for that Gibbs/Abby father daughter relationship does it?

Makes you wonder who is responsible for that particular cold case  surfacing? Any guesses?

Mayor Brad Pitt?

Yesterday, I alluded to whether a celebrity’s viewpoints on political or social viewpoints should affect how I view or patronize his/her body of work. There are many individuals  that one could use to illustrate that. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I often choose whether or not  to watch a program or movie starring say, Julia Roberts or George Clooney as prima facie  examples, based on their political views. Silly, perhaps, childish, also possible and maybe even nonsensical. Both Mrs THT and my son think all of these things are not only possibly true but are more than likely facts. Admittedly, these principles are not inviolate since I like Forest Gump  quite a lot. Hey, at least Gary Sinise is in it. Just recently, I visited the website for CBS Channel 3 in Philadelphia and  they were thoughtful enough  to provide a slideshow with some of  the more hardcore liberal Democrat celebrities. Now, having said all that, if they choose to be outspoken liberals, that is their right and more power to them if they feel that way. Be a bit more  consistent  I  would ask and don’t resort so strongly to personal attacks that are (opinion, here) given  more credence than they  deserve just because a person is a celebrity.  Does this work both  ways, yep. But as my good friends at  CBS3 in Philadelphia say, “Hollywood stars are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community.” Take notes, Sean Penn and Woody Harrelson.

Now, on to  more specifics. ubercelebrity Brad Pitt or Mr  Brad Jolie has been rumoured to interested in maybe, perhaps being mayor of New Orleans. Got the name recognition part down already. Based on an interview he did with Bill Maher recently, he has his  Democrat creds well in order.

Among other things he is pro  gay marriage and in fact understands it better than religion which according to him doesn’t make sense and doesn’t make sense for him in in the long  Surprise, something we agree on, religion doesn’t always make sense to me either. Continuing…”like gay marriage…You have a group of people telling other people how to live their lives and you can’t do that.”  There is at least one law , probably more than one that you or I don’t like or agree with that is telling us  how to live some aspect of our lives. Gotta work on those political skills , Brad. Commenting further on the marriage issue he says…”Let’s stop the nonsense.”

One more issue he touched on was marijuana. Maher also asked him about his joint rolling skills. Pitt said that yes he was an artist at that.Why did he give it up? You will love this or I did. ” I’m a dad now. You want to be alert.” Well, there you go. telling your kids how to live, really.

Hey, if you run for mayor  of New Orleans, can you get your wife to make a campaign appearance in North Carolina? Just kidding, I think.

( Info was also in a Parade magazine article.) Boy if  I find out Mark Harmon’s politics are way different from mine, am I in trouble. I know, I just won’t find out!

Working For Gibbs

Now that season 6 of NCIS is in the books and not yet available on dvd, we addicts need something on which to dwell. I have often commented to my wife (also an NCIS addict, another of her brilliant qualities) about Gibbs’  excellence as a  boss. I have also said that it would be nice if people I  work  for  have worked for in the past could emulate some of these qualities.

So, what makes  Gibbs a good boss? You certainly agree that he is of course.

• Easy to work for- no
• High expectations – oh yeah
• Cares about his team- definitely
• Respects their abilities – true again
• Demanding !!!
• Lets you do your job- Check

All of the above qualities seem to be rare in a boss, at least those for whom I have worked. There are doubtless others that I have should have listed that are sort of reflected in the list, such as honesty and loyalty, to name a couple.

Early Version of Team Gibbs

If we buy into the assumption that theses qualities are rare, why is that? I think it may have something to do with the  fact that Gibbs has no hidden agenda, is not power hungry and for certain does not care for recognition or publicity. A line in the first episode of the series made the point that there wold always be more of them than of us, them being being other agencies . So much for winning the publicity battles..

So, Gibbs and his people do their job largely under the radar, with liberal doses of humor,” sarcasm” and a drive to excel. No question, they all want to make Gibbs  proud and all are pleased with the well dones that he bestows. I  think this is due that their knowing that his praise while not necessarily frequent is genuine and well earned.

Since, there are probably no openings for any of us on the  team, in spite of  Ziva’s obvious discomfort in the season ending episode.We  must console ourselves in learning as many of the Gibbs rules as necessary and hoping more of the uninitiated can learn from the show.

Notice that what  has been said does  not make him a perfect boss, but one that would definitely  make the workplace interesting. Suppose there will ever be a college course on the Supervisory Skills of Leroy Jethro Gibbs; probably not.

Mark Harmon(aka Leroy Jethro Gibbs)

Time for  some  fun with NCIS, one of  America’s most watched shows, in spite of American Idol. Current Nielsen numbers show that NCIS  ranks sixth even though it doesn’t do all that great in the coveted 18-49 age bracket. Scuttlebutt has it that there will be a new series spun off as well, just like NCIS got its beginnings from JAG( my second favorite show).

Obviously, NCIS gets its mojo from Mark Harmon as Jethro Gibbs, retired Marine gunney, who is tougher than shoe leather but resonates well with children and backs his team with a sort tough love a parent could envy.

Many people know of Harmon’s previous roles on stage and screen, particularly one as Ted Bundy. His earlier years might not be as familiar. I came across an interesting article in an old North Carolina football program from September, 1973. Harmon was interviewed along with his dad, Tom, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1940. At the time of the interview, the elder Harmon did play by play for his son’s  UCLA team. Alert NCIS viewers might remember Kate Todd wearing a USC jersey in one episode,alas; not Mark’s old number.

Even from this picture, you can the future Jethro. “On it boss” or maybe “This one’s on me , boss.”

Leroy Jethro Gibbs With Hair

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