The Pendragon's Hall

I caught a glimpse of a tabloid headline today: "HOLLYWOOD TO THE RESCUE!" And it showed Sean Penn trudging through New Orleans with what looked like a BB-Gun although the caption said it was actually a shot-gun. Boy, did he look heroic. So I broke my longstanding rule about not caring what the tabloids said and looked at the article. The full caption cracked me up as it featured a quote from "his publicist" saying that he had found the gun on board a boat and had turned it over to "the authorities." Good grief. That's certainly a rescue mission to be proud of. What amuses me constantly about actors is they can't seem to separate reality from the fantasy they play on TV. Penn has played fearless, macho gunmen before so he sometimes forgets that he is really a pacifistic pantywaist. What killed me even more was that what the Hollywood crowd seems mostly to have done is tell the crowds of refugees how abused they are and how we're all "ashamed of how you've been treated." Oh, thanks, guys, this is helpful. First of all, I am not ashamed at all. Secondly, what purpose does this possibly serve except to help people gain and persevere in a feeling of bitter victimization? And what do victims do? Do they really set out to help make sure no one ever suffers the way they did again? Sometimes. But not usually. Usually they do one of two things: they try to get revenge or they victimize others, neither of which is really all that helpful in rebuilding a shattered society. Gosh, this stuff makes me sick!!!

So, having worked myself into a frenzy now, I will calm down by turning my attention to this weekend's football matchups. I was woefully off last week so let's see if I can redeem myself this week.
Buffalo Bills @ New Orleans Saints. Bills by 3.
Denver Broncos @ Jacksonville Jaguars. Broncos by 7. They're hot this year.
Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bucs by 12.
Houston Texans @ Cincinatti Bengals. Bengals by 14.
Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans. Colts by 3.
San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots. Patriots by 10.
Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Redskins. Redskins by 2.
Saint Louis Rams @ New York Giants. Giants by 1.
New York Jets @ Baltimore Ravens. Jets by 3.
Dallas Cowboys @ Oakland Raiders. Cowboys by 6.
Minnesota Vikings @ Atlanta Falcons. Falcons by 7.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs. Eagles by 2.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals. 49ers by 8.
Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers. Packers by 3.