6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 20, 2006 Commentary The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Guest Columnist Hard to be humble Ainsley MacIntyre Oakville high school student I think there's a lot to be said for modesty. Seriously, as a virtue, I believe modesty is highly underrated. Sure: honesty, loyalty, courage or wisdom are all admirable traits to possess, Ainsley MacIntyre but they get their due. How many clichés have been modeled after truth-telling? How many countless Hollywood movies chronicle the feats of the loyal friend, or the courageous soldier? Modesty, on the other hand, has rarely if ever been glamourized to the same extent. We live in a society that not only downplays the importance of modesty, but outright rejects its value. Our culture celebrates egoism and excessive self-centeredness. Professional athletes and actors are paid millions of dollars, simply because they demonstrate skill areas which are not especially beneficial to civilization. With these extraordinary salaries come extraordinary egos a sense that these individuals are somehow better than the rest of us, and are justified in enjoying an overly extravagant lifestyle. I know Mac Davis says it's hard to be humble, but the almost otherworldly existence we have created for our celebrities is ridiculous. On the other hand, modesty should be less of a priority when praise and recognition are honestly deserved. Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I must follow the above selfrighteous rant on the upside of modesty by shedding an equally positive light on the upside of gloating. Because, you see, I have recently experienced the very essence of victory, and this newfound familiarity has compromised my formerly idealistic views. For the past four years, I have been involved with the planning of the "Connections Conference" a large scale event, with participants from all seven high schools within the Halton Catholic District School Board. The purpose of the conference is to develop relationships between the schools, as well as provide enrichment opportunities in various subject areas. Though the event has always enjoyed moderate success, in late years the number of participants waned. The word "conference" does not always inspire the greatest enthusiasm within students. Knowing this, the organizing committee chose to revamp the structure of the event, so that it became less of a "conference" and more of a "competition". The final product: Connections XVIII Battle of the Best. Which brings me to the source of my current state of reveling. Because what was the ultimate result of this competition? Why, my school, Holy Trinity was proclaimed to be the best, of course. Seven areas of academic interest were used as areas of competition: Sciences, General Trivia, Geography, Drama, Business, Engineering and Sports. Each event demonstrated innovative thinking and creativity, on the part of the presenters. The Science competition, for instance, involved the making of ink by using only a select few ingredients. In addition, the geography and business contests were modeled after popular reality shows The Amazing Race and The Apprentice. While it would be nice to say that the most important thing is that all the participants enjoyed themselves -- the truth is, the most important thing is that HT dominated in almost every category. I'd go into specifics, but this paragraph is too full with self-congratulations already. After giving much consideration then, to both sides of the modesty-egoism paradox, I have come to the unsurprising conclusion that modesty, as with all things, is best in moderation. While I maintain that the selfishness that appears to run rampant in Hollywood is both excessive and undeserved; I also believe that those who accomplish truly amazing feats, those who distinguish themselves as the best are thus quite deserving of commendation and some ego-stroking. With that in mind then, I'd like to extend my most sincere congratulations to Holy Trinity's 2006 Connections team, as well as to the Connections steering committee. You guys are awesome. Ain't it hard to be humble, indeed. 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And told some new friends that I'd certainly see them again come September. It's that time of year. Time for goodbyes both permanent and temporary, time for television's often over-hyped season finales and, in some cases, series finales. And while many a finale fizzled under the weight of unreasonable expectations, some succeeded beyond a viewer's wildest dreams. Take Grey's Anatomy. I'm a latecomer to this wildly popular series. I missed all of Season One and most of Season Two, tuning in and turning on to the slick, hospital quasi-soap opera only about four episodes ago. But make no mistake: this show is good, and addictive. So, Sunday night I found myself watching the first hour of a three-hour finale (the final two hours aired Monday night). Honestly, I thought, who has the bravado to even attempt a three-hour finale a finale that is longer than most motion pictures? And, to boot, who can possibly pull off such a feat? Well, Grey's Anatomy had the bravado and the show pulled it off: three hours of entertainment that put to shame the last dozen tepid-to-terrible movies we've rented. Seriously, for three straight hours the action and emotion were ratcheted up, until not a dry eye in the house (except mine, of course, because I'm a real man and I don't cry unless someone takes my teddy). Speaking of hospital dramas, old reliable ER wrapped up its 12th season 12 solid, steady years as one of television's brightest lights (115 nominations, 23 Emmy Awards) with a wild-west shootout and, of course, a cliffhanger to carry the cast and ER's remarkably loyal audience into lucky season #13. Speaking of well-written shows, what Andy Juniper was once the most thoughtful, reflective and best-written show on the tube bid its final farewell last Sunday, as The West Wing closed out a sevenyear run. And what a run. In the words of one critic, in the beginning The West Wing "startled viewers who could scarcely believe a TV series could be so smart, thought-provoking, beautifully written and well-acted all at the same time" as it portrayed "a video version of President Kennedy's Camelot." The show definitely had its peaks and valleys, declining with the departure of creator Aaron Sorkin in 2003 after a contract dispute, but eventually rebounding nicely under the direction of John Wells. The finale was emotional and nostalgic, albeit thankfully not cloying. The final scene? Outgoing President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is asked by his wife Abbie (Stockard Channing) what he is thinking about? And he answers, simply, "Tomorrow." For those in mourning for the stellar show and incredible cast, take heed: come September, Sorkin is at it again with Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, a so-called "dramedy" about the backstage antics on a Saturday Night Live-type comedy show. Starring former Friend Matthew Perry and The West Wing's Timothy Busfield and Bradley Whitford, the show will air on Thursday nights. Finally, this week marked the end of That `70s Show, my mindless, guilty pleasure for eight years. Although the show really should have been put out to pasture at the end of last season with the departure of Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher (who returned periodically as a guest), it fumbled through one last year. Sure there were some decent episodes, but the glue was gone.Still, I'm going to miss the laughs and lunacy provided by the goofy gang from Point Place, Wisconsin. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.