The Virtual Union

Washington, D.C. – No one ever told Barack Obama that being the President of the United States was going to be an easy job. Obama too likely never believed for a second that the day-to-day stresses of the job wouldn’t get to him. There have been too many men before him to lead as example for anyone to believe that such a dream job would be dreamy. Lincoln and slavery, Truman and the bomb, Kennedy and Cuba, all examples of how tough the job can really be, all examples Obama surely learned from. Scrape TV

London, U.K. – There is little doubt that the most recent war in Iraq did exactly what it was intended to do. The ouster of Saddam Hussein and his sons, the ushering in of a new government, and the re-organization of power throughout the Middle East have all been very clearly attained goals. That result has never been in question, rather it is the rationale and motivation behind such goals that have routinely been the issue for critics of the war and those who perpetrated it, something former British Prime Minister Tony Blair now has to answer. Scrape TV

New York, NY – The hammer has finally come down for Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton after their much publicized gun duel in the locker room last month. Both players have been suspended for the remainder of the season, getting off light in the eyes of many people. This isn’t the end of trouble for the pair though as Arenas faces sentencing on felony gun charges and now both players will miss the annual bring-your-gun to work day, which this year will be held just after the All-Star game. Scrape TV

Atlanta, GA – For decades now Larry King has graced the television screens of millions, undoubtedly earning his reputation as ‘The Iron Horse of Broadcasting’. Beginning in the 1950’s, King has been talking to celebrities and personalities for most of his life. With the advent of CNN King would finally get the national and international recognition he had long sought. Now one of the longest running programs in cable history and one of the longest in television history, ‘Larry King Live’ shows no signs of slowing down, apparently for good reason. Scrape TV

Hollywood, CA – Bogart and Bacall, Hepburn and Tracy, Woodward and Newman, Burton and Taylor, are all examples of Hollywood power couples who have not only been potent box office pairings, but for many the embodiment of romance and passion. Like all couples, they too had their ups and downs but with Hollywood being the modern royalty even those difficult times have spoken to the nature of love itself and carried many an imagination away with the dreams of true love. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – There has been much talk in recent years of the instant celebrity. People like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian have popularized the term and the unique type of celebrity that requires limited talent and little or no creative contribution to popular culture. That particular breed of celebrity, though realistically nothing new in the Hollywood that made stars of people like Marilyn Monroe for no apparent reason, has in recent years also come part in parcel with sex tapes which inevitably do wonders for those very mysterious careers. Scrape TV

Cornish, NH – Every now and then and piece of art comes around that grabs the attention of the entire world. The Mona Lisa, Beethoven’s 5th symphony, Beowulf, and a handful of other works fit that description, works so impressive, so awe inspiring that they not only represent the best of their respective mediums, but also the greatest comment on, and of, the human condition. While only time will tell what works of the 20th century will stand amongst those other luminaries, one book though has been on that shortlist for a long time now, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’. Scrape TV

Cupertino, CA – Every time Apple brings out a product, at least lately, it becomes the biggest news of the day. The iPod and iPhone are now industry standards that have not only done remarkable things for the company’s bottom line, but have also had a massive sociological impact. In the process Steve Jobs has gone from misbegotten ex-business guru to one of the most revered technological minds since Thomas Edison. Those products have also evolved a cult following that most companies can only envy, inspiring devotion and fealty unlike anything the world has ever seen. Scrape TV

South Hadley, MA – Bullying is something that has plagued many children likely from the very earliest days of schools. Rarely is there any pattern to the phenomenon, though smaller children are most frequently the subject of such attacks. Sociologists have pointed to genetic rationales and the process of dominance and submission that so often plays a role in adult society as the reason for such behaviour, though no firm conclusions have ever been drawn and the practice goes on unabated, sometimes to tragic ends. Scrape TV

Beirut, Lebanon – The tale of Icarus, though a parable, has always spoken deeply to all human beings. The dream of flight is something mankind has likely had since our earliest days on consciousness, seeing birds taking to the skies, evading predators and enjoying what seems to be unlimited freedom. For most of our existence though human beings have been tethered to the ground with only the fantasy of soaring high above the Earth and stories such as those of Icarus. Scrape TV