Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Spectacle was far from super

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003 | 8:30 a.m.

Who could have imagined the drubbing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Oakland Raiders in Sunday's Super Bowl?

The only thing I enjoyed less than the game itself was the halftime show.

How I miss the intricate maneuvers and stirring music of marching bands.

Instead, we had to watch scantily or grunge-clad singers wriggling their way across the stage. Background music was a cacophony of sound intensified by psychedelic lighting. The whole effect was frenetic.

Today's best-selling albums usually feature some weird situations to complement the singer's voice. It's distracting and takes away from the music itself.

As for "rap," I leave that for more astute music lovers to analyze; although, I admit there's a certain mesmerizing beat that has a strange appeal.

I spent my early years in the land of big bands, crooners, the Ames Brothers, the Mills Brothers and other combos. Such names as Frank Sinatra, Russ Colombo, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Vaughn Monroe, Frankie Laine, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Teresa Brewer, Kay Starr and others come to mind.

When irascible Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly criticizes some of our modern purveyors of popular music, I agree wholeheartedly. Usually he is taking exception to the lyrics. Unfortunately the song is drowned out by loud background music and I can't understand those lyrics.

I don't like this new music.

Thousands of fans do. It's a case of to each his own.

Most people agree responsible and capable public officials deserve to be kept in office.

But election by default isn't good for a democratic government. There should be some opposition if only to remind easy winners of the arrogance of power.

The late Herders publisher, Sorry Zenoff, encouraged candidates to file even if they didn't campaign. On at least one occasion, he filed himself just to "give the voters a choice."

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink -- or irrigate parched agricultural land.

Our oceans cover most of the Earth's surface but offer no relief from the droughts that are becoming more severe as the years roll by.

There's water, but it must be desalinized to become palatable to humans, and for agricultural purposes.

Some countries have experimented with a process of desalination, but admit that the cost is far too high.

Soon, we will realize that expense cannot be an issue with so much at stake.

Time well spent.

That's how I felt after taking a few minutes to read the entire "I Have a Dream" speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King.

The speech was delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., 30 years ago.

An analysis of the situation in the world today reminds one of the warning, "Beware. Your friends today could be your enemies tomorrow."