Chef Stops Cooking at South Park

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I'm going to have to agree with South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker and call Issac Hayes a hypocrite for quitting South Park. (Thanks Karla for the story tip.)

According to the AP story, Hayes, who lends his sultry voice to Chef, said:

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins... Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored... As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

To that, Matt Stone told the AP:

"This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians... [We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."

If I recall correctly, I read an interview with Stone and Parker in GQ a couple months ago and the interviewer asked the pair why it took them so long to do a show about Scientology. Parker replied:

"To be honest, what kept us from doing it before was Isaac Hayes [who does the voice of Chef]. We knew he was a Scientologist. And he’s an awesome guy. We’re like, Let’s just avoid that for now... Finally, we just had to tell Isaac, 'Dude, we totally love working with you, and this is nothing personal, it’s just we’re South Park, and if we don’t do this, we’re belittling everything else we’ve ripped on.' "

Stone and Parker took shots at Jews, Muslims, Christians, Mormons, etc., multiple times over the course of South Park's nine years and, out of courtesy for Hayes, left Scientology out of their line of fire. I agree that the time had come (especially with the surplus of Tom Cruise material available) to finally level the playing field and take a long-overdue shot at Scientologists. The episode aired last November.

I'll keep my analysis concise: If you dish it out, you better be able to take it. Don't laugh at others if you can't laugh at yourself, Issac. You are a bad mother -- Shut your mouth.

This is Why I Don't Work on Fridays

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This is why I don't work on Fridays...

Sonicsgate Begins

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Let the Sonics move. I don't care. I can't afford $50 a ticket to sit in the upper tiers of Key Arena anyway. I get a better view of the game on my TV.

The old Coliseum was renovated to the then state-of-the-art Key Arena just 10 years ago, and it cost taxpayers $74 million, according to the AP. Now the Sonics are asking for a $220 million renovation of Key Arena, want a new arena in a Seattle suburb, like Bellevue, or threaten to move out of the Northwest altogther.

The Sonics say they have lost about $60 million in the past five years, and blame a revenue-sharing lease with the city of Seattle that expires in 2010.

"Not my" Gov. Gregoire announced over the weekend that time had run out for striking a deal with the Sonics this year. The ball is in the Sonics' court now. (Get it? Sonics' court? Nevermind.)

"A substantial amount has been done for the baseball and football teams. I'm here personally to find out whether the same is being considered fairly for the NBA," said NBA commissioner David Stern, visiting state legislators.

Stern is right. Safeco Field, the most expensive new baseball park in North America, cost $517 million. Quest Field cost $300 million (Paul Allen shelled out 30% out of his deep pockets).

I'll pay $15 to get into an M's game, regardless of the franchise's success. Safeco Field is home to the NFC Champion Seahawks, and Matt Wood will pay $200 for a playoff ticket without blinking.

The problem with the Sonics' proposal is timing. Today, few will pay more than $50 a ticket to watch a stumbling NBA franchise, especially when the alternative is watching the Mariners, for a fraction of the price, or the champion Seahawks.

Key Arena has 17,000 seats, roughly half the capacity of most NBA arenas, and the Sonics can only fill half the seats. I doubt Sonics tickets will be cheaper at a new or remodeled arena. So now the Sonics need a larger, newer arena for what? A higher empty-seat ratio? The Sonics are naive to ask Seattle for $220 million now. Build the franchise and then we can talk about building an arena.