What's the deal with...?

...the Knight Rider episode The Mouth of the Snake'?
Hasselhoff is barely in this 2-part episode which mostly focuses on David Dalton, played by L. Charles Taylor, an actor I'd never heard of who sort of resembles a young Robert Davi. Dalton seems capable of superhuman feats, leaping fences in a single bound as a faint ”Bionic” sound effect is played. He is, in his own words, “just a guy”, despite being able to stop, drop and roll out of the path of bullets, or hang from the skids of a helicopter. As I watched this episode on DVD I could accept all these things from Glen Larson, but not the amount of screentime the character was getting. I forgot that there was a time in the history of television when such a practice was common, that rather than air a pilot for a new show producers would showcase a character on one of their existing shows with hopes of garnering an audience for a spin-off. In this instance, the spin-off was called ”Code of Vengeance,” aired years after his appearance on Knight Rider, and lasted a mere six episodes. More importantly, I never heard of the show before yesterday. Has anyone seen it? It also starred Erin Gray of ”Silver Spoons” fame.

....people putting all their stuff in the gym lockers at work and not using a lock?
I've lost track of how many times I've had to open and close doors three times before finding a vacant locker. People leave nice bags, wallets, clothes, EVERYTHING in there like no one's going to take anything. I of course never have, but I have been tempted on many an occasion to leave the door to the occupied compartment open. You're an adult. You work in an office. Buy a damn lock.

...Wang Chung not looking remotely asian?
Seriously, I guess I was deprived not having MTV growing up. Tonight's ”Hit Me Baby One More Time” was remarkably educational for me, even if Wang Chung was robbed. Seeing them perform Nelly's “Hot in Here” may well be the sole reason I was put on this planet. Also, did anyone else who caught the show feel that Howard Jones once bore an uncanny resemblance to Dave Coulier? If nothing else, Jones definitely had the most musical ability out of all the featured performers tonight, even if I was rooting for Wang Chung all the way.

...the portrayal of Asian-Americans in ‘80s films?
I was watching The Dead Pool last night, and Eastwood is partnered with an Asian-American. I found nothing particularly unusual about this, but one of his superiors makes a point of commenting how it will be good for the department's image to pair him with an Asian-American. Eastwood scowls and asks the moron if he has any children, and when the guy says “no” he says, “lucky them.” Several scenes later, while foiling the robbery of a restaurant in Chinatown Eastwood loses one of the perpetrators, who flees out into the street. He chases after him in time to see the guy run in to his partner who pauses, before delivering a flurry of open-palmed blows and finishing the guy with a roundhouse kick. Eastwood saunters over, smiles, and says “maybe it's good being partnered with an Asian-American”--! Later in the film we learn that, true to stereotype, he has a wise grandfather who has him paint protective sigils on his arms, chest and back. I guess the age of politically-correct films has altered my perceptions. When I watched The Enforcer over the weekend, I was surprised that Eastwood objected to having a female partner. Tyne Daly? Lacey? I couldn't fathom where he was coming from.

...Tupac?
Today's his birthday and, despite being dead for several years now, he's still hard at work on albums and movies.

...feeding Gremlins after midnight?
Isn't it after midnight SOMEWHERE at any given time? If you feed them breakfast at 10AM, isn't that ten hours AFTER midnight? Or was it based upon light? If there was an eclipse at noon and you fed a Mogwai, would that trigger the metamorphosis? Maybe I'll never understand Magic.

...traffic patterns on the Long Island Expressway?
I've come to accept the perpetual construction. But why on a Saturday afternoon when no work is being done, and three lanes are open, does it turn in to a parking lot for six exits and then suddenly open up? One would assume that at the point where the flow of traffic shifts from 20MPH to 60MPH that a mass exodus can be noted at whatever the nearest exit was. Such an assumption would be wrong. If cars were leaving in droves, it's subtle enough for me to have missed it.

...the word “subtle”?
If anyone can provide a justifiable reason, factual or creative, for the necessity and contribution of the letter “b” to that word, I might just have to award a prize for the best answer. What do I have to offer? How will the best answer will be determined? I have no idea. At some unspecified point in the not-too-distant future we may learn what the deal is...