You gotta keep the devil way down in the hole.

When you walk through the garden
You gotta watch your back
Well I beg your pardon
Walk the straight and narrow track
If you walk with Jesus
He's gonna save your soul
You gotta keep the devil
Way down in the hole
He's got the fire and the fury
At his command
Well you don't have to worry
If you hold on to Jesus hand
We'll all be safe from Satan
When the thunder rolls
Just gotta help me keep the devil
Way down in the hole
All the angels sing about Jesus' mighty sword
And they'll shield you with their wings
And keep you close to the lord
Don't pay heed to temptation
For his hands are so cold
You gotta help me keep the devil
Way down in the hole

"Way Down in the Hole" - Tom Waits

It all started years ago when we first heard the phrase "This is the story of seven strangers picked to live in a house..."

From that point on, the lines between reality and fantasy have been blurred. Blurred to the point now where it's sometimes hard to tell where the entertainment ends and the real life begins. I have two issues here that I want to talk about - one somewhat trivial compared to the other.



Now first off, I'm personally insulted that MTV has gone 13 years with this program, and has yet to do a season in my fair city. Key West? Are you serious? After the season in New Orleans, I was sure a season in Atlanta wouldn't be too far behind. Anyway, I'm too old for this somewhat cliched show that has ironically lost touch with what is indeed "real", so don't think that I am lobbying just so I can get some face time on cable TV. What has me disappointed with what was one of my favorite TV shows is that the formula is exactly the same year in and year out, save for some ethnic pieces of the puzzle to be finalized. While I am sure the "hookups" and the standard racial, sexual orientation, religious arguments are quite enlightening and entertaining to the average 17 year-old, it is quite boring for me. "The Real World" has lost it's relevance in my opinion, as they don't cast "real" people anymore. I'm willing to bet that all of the people on the current cast have closet TV and movie aspirations that they are hiding until the end of this season. Reality TV has become a new outlet for stardom, and has taken away the sincerity of the project. Granted, almost everyone that has been a part of this show has taken full advantage of their 15 minutes, but I really wish there were more Kevin Powell's to be produced from this experience than Teck $ or "The Miz", although they are doing what they ultimately wanted to do - can't knock the hustle, right?

Anyway, sorry for what looks like a mini-rant. There's only so many "night-vision" bedroom scenes, and 21 year old's yelling "you don't know anything about me" I can stand. Think of something else. Or at least come to the ATL so I can be entertained again.

OK, second item on my agenda...



Another example of life imitating fantasy... or is it the other way around? It's not quite the exact same thing, but a police informant on "The Wire" calls the police and reports a drug deal going down with a African American minister - the police promptly track him down and ransack his car and find nothing. The informant was lying because he was upset he wasn't getting any help for his "informing."

Turn off HBO and turn on the news... right here in Atlanta, a 92-year old woman allegedly shoots three police officers, and they promptly kill her. I won't even get started on the latest shoot-em-up fiasco in New York (another reason I don't want to live there). The woman's funeral was this past Wednesday, and the investigation is in full effect. Just some thoughts:

• How does a 92-year old woman get three shots off before the police do anything?
• How does a 92-year old woman that uses a cane to walk get three shots off before the police do anything (it was announced today that she used a cane)?
• It was common knowledge to the neighborhood residents that the house next door to her and behind her were drug houses. Why doesn't the police know this?
  

It's just amazing to me how this happens literally the day after a similar event happens on a fictional TV program. I am happy with how Shirley Franklin and Richard Pennington have responded by calling in the FBI and GBI for an investigation, instead of covering up their tracks like they are doing in New York.


Turn off the boob-tube, and pick up a book.