Hey, I Gotta a Idea

I have been half-watching one of the "Lord of the Rings" movies as I surf on my computer. It is kind of neat to look up and see those trees ambling through the woods while carrying a couple of whom I presume to be the good guys - pretty good special effects. I remember when the first movie of "The Shining" came out, the scene from the book in which the hedges cut into animal shapes (the topiary) came to life couldn't be done convincing enough to keep them in the movie - they were replaced by the movie's maze (interestingly, the creeping hedges was one of the few scenes in the book I as being really chilling).

Anyhow, the scene now on that caught my attention was a (THE?) battle scene where these really ugly dark creatures are storming a castle - the scene strikes me as one of the true epic battle scenes of the big screen (now smaller as I am watching it on TV). Among the weapons are swords, spears, battle axes, arrows, rock, and the like. The whole thing takes place in the darkness of rain, night and is massive. The juxtaposing of the warriors, the men guarding the castle, and the women and children waiting it out somewhere in the castle is powerful.

So, at the start of the battle, it's all hitting the fan! Thousands of these disgusting creatures are storming the castle, putting these crude ladders up against the walls and the defenders are pushing them over almost as fast. It's all quite intense, and just as I'm getting into it and one more ladder gets pushed over... there's a commercial... right in the middle of this incredible battle. That got me thinking (uh-oh). As you must already know, the current Iraqi war is costing us a pretty penny (http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home [now I know why they're called "red states"; they have helped support pushing us so far into the red....). Why can't the military take on sponsors! Instead of the private contractors making all the big money over there, we can spread it around, help corporate America, and cut costs at the same time. Combat boots can have logos, uniforms can all have all the hottest brand names (all still made in and imported from China, of course... and don't let me see any Army soldiers wearing Old Navy), and the food! Instead of swapping canned peaches for cigarettes, people can swap McDonald's fries for a Subway foot-long or a bag of Fritos. You get the idea.

Another thought I have (no, it isn't lonely) is in any war to get both sides (or in the case of Iraq, all five or six or more sides) to agree to have crews around who periodically (like every twelve minutes or so) call a halt to whatever action is happening and show commercials. Large screens could either be wheeled in or already set up on street corners, and a series of ads could run - several minutes worth. There could even be a requirement for one or two "feel-good" ads in every set, and maybe fighters might rethink the error of their ways (not us, of course, because we're there to, uh, well, uh, well, not us because we have a mission [though I am not sure anyone knows what it is and how we'll know when the next mission is accomplished {the first already was - our president said so}]). With enough pauses, there might be no momentum, and the whole war thing might fall apart. That might make a lot of people pretty happy... and make a lot of money for corporate America. I mean, isn't that ultimately what we're really fighting for?

Later.