I have hit a snafu—cannot get the new WM machine to boot as it’s currently sitting there like a beautiful paperweight. Well, I am noodling on how to wake that baby up so I can get to my advanced video tasks, I am reflecting on the state of modern TV. If you look back to the ‘50s, in the days of the blacklists, any actor, writer or producer who even knew how to spell the word communist was kicked to the curb. The fear was triggered by advertisers who didn’t want their products associated with these pinko-Commies.

One of today’s most original shows is MTV’s "Pimp my Ride." We are huge fans and I know my wife would like nothing more than to pimp my ’92 Honda accord. Last night, we watched as XtotheZ helped a cool young man, who teaches inner-city youth, pimp his Accura. The end result was sheer magnificence.

One of the keys to the show is how X keeps his personality in tact (street cred, that is) yet somehow is accessible to the public at large. It’s sheer marketing genius on his part, MTV’s part, etc… In contrast, I was just listening to "Weapons of Mass Destruction," the unedited version of Xzibit’s new "album." Whoa. The rather provocative opening in which he takes a Bush speech and edits it to the point where The President says he’s turning weapons of mass destruction on the American people, is quite mind-blowing.

This is not a comment on the merits of X’s work. He’s talented and truly has something to say. This is to show how we’ve changed as a culture. X is the commercial pitchman for Right Guard or some similar deodorant. Obviously, the sponsor either doesn’t know of or care about X’s political bent. That's to be admired.

I recommend the film, "The Front," starring Woody Allen, for more insight into the blacklisting of the ‘50s. I guess 50 years is a LONG time