Culture\Politics\Law Archives

12 pm → Hey Boston, Take a Chill Pill

Yes, it's a post-9/11 world. No, we shouldn't jokingly claim to have a bomb when boarding a plane. But freaking out over an ad campaign? Get over it.

In case you don't feel like clicking through, the Cartoon Network had an ad company do some guerilla marketing for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They put up devices that look a lot like Lite-Brite in various spots around the city. Fast-forward to yesterday when people were calling the police about suspicious devices and the bomb squad had to come out and you'll begin to see the insanity.

I would just think this is all hilarious if they didn't arrest the poor kid who was told by his bosses to put these up. It may be vandalism to hang these power lines, but don't take out your anger on some guy who likes LED Throwies and not getting fired. I might have some sympathy for the Boston Police if the same devices weren't up in ten other cities around the country. You screwed up, don't be a pussy.

Bonus! I just found a link to video of the press conference with the evil-doers. They would only talk about 70s hairstyles. Everyone in the media got all pissy and it made me happy.

If you would like to give the Boston cops the finger, you can buy this shirt that says, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force is the Bomb." Indeed it is.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law   &&  Technology\Web | Comments (2) | TB (0) |

5 pm → I Cannot Wait Until 2011

Overall, I've enjoyed the first six years of this millenium. Lots of fun, lots of growth and the Bears are finally good. Unfortunately, there is one huge downside to this decade—the number of zeros.

It is clear to all that 200x years contain two zeros. The problem is that this tchotchke-makers everywhere noticed the same thing. Thus, people all around the country are wearing ridiculous glasses that say "2006" and use the zeros for eye-holes. It makes me cringe. No, it makes me cry. Wait, first I cringe, then I cry and then I lay on the ground in a ball and rock back and forth. It's not pretty.

My lovely girlfriend knew this fact and decided to surprise me with a holiday gift. Yes, she bought me a pair of these awful, awful glasses. Happy Chanukkah! Oy. Well, as long as she got them I figure I should at least share my pain with you. Here I am, in all my glory, "enjoying" these as best I can. Feel free to use this to demonstrate the evils of this glasses to your children and your children's children for the remainder of the century.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (2) | |

10 pm → On Safety and Terrorism

This morning's attacks caught me offguard. I guess that tends to happen with terrorism, but I've felt safe lately and hadn't thought much about mortality. In fact, earlier this week I was thinking about the new Freedom Tower plans for lower Manhattan and how crazy the 20-story concrete and metal base is. I also questioned why I live in New York City and put myself at risk. I love my city, but am I willing to put myself in harm's way so I can see movies two weeks before the rest of the country? Yes, I am trivializing what New York is about but this morning's bombings brought up a lot of questions for me.

When I rode the subway home, there were three police officers in my car. I suppose they are there more to make me feel at ease than to actually stop an attack. I don't know that I felt safer but I did wonder what these cops would have been doing if it were not for this morning.

Maybe we're not approaching terrorism the right way. Or maybe we'll never be able to stop it. I'm not sure, but I feel very unsettled. I guess it's appropriate I'm heading to International Falls, MN for a long weekend to go fishing. It's possible I could come back with the answers to everything. I guess you'll find out next week.

My heart goes out to all of those involved in the attacks.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (0) | |

11 am → Sit Up Front

This may seem silly or obvious, but sitting up front is the best way to get the most out of a talk or conference.

When you've got ten or fifty or three hundred people between you and the speaker, it gets easy to tune out. By sitting in the front row, it becomes a one-on-one conversation. Asking questions becomes less fear-inducing and idle chatter is less distracting.

I suppose people get self-conscious about having all those eyes bearing down on you, but if just sit down and focus on whatever is being presented, it'll make for a better experience. I just wish I had done it more during college.

And this was your pubic service announcement for the day.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

6 pm → Hey Grimace, It's Your Birthday

Coolfer found out that McDonald's will pay you up to $5 everytime a song airs that mentions the brand. I think that's hilarious and potentially lucrative.

I wonder if this will begin to work like pay-for-click advertising (i.e. Google AdWords). If it does, I'm going to follow in the Asbestos Blog's footsteps and start a hip-hop group that talks only about the hottest/most desperate brands. Once we blow up, which we will, I'll start rapping about MTV2 and Dewar's. Before you know it, I'll start bringing in real money. Hell yeah.

Who wants in?

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

8 pm → Breaking News from Liberty Village!

My roommate Scott and I are watching election results come in from our couch, which shall henceforth be referred to as Liberty Village. Our breaking news: NBC News has named their set location "Democracy Plaza." How ridiculous is that?

Anyway, nothing exciting has happened yet. At one point the campaign manager for Ronald Reagan said, "You know, I think it's going to come down to the swing states." I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I agree. That man is a visionary.

I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll try and entertain us until something genuinely important happens.

Update (12:47am): Am I crazy, or is it possible for ther to be a tie in electoral votes? Here's some math. Bush: 246 + 20 (Ohio) + 3 (Alaska) = 269. If Kerry can win the rest, it's a tie. Granted, he's likely to lose New Mexico, so this moot, but if Kerry has to lose, this is how I'd like it to go down -- a trip to the Senate. At least we'll finally have a chance to get rid of this craptastic election system.

Update (1:01am): Bah. Based on my estimates (looking at CNN.com's county breakdown), Kerry is going to lose Ohio. That means it's over. Fuck.

Update (2:30am): I was going to go to sleep an hour ago. I didn't. Just now Edwards spoke to the crowd at the Kerry camp and told them "we'll fight for every single vote." In other words, even though Ohio looks almost certainly like a Bush win, the Dems are going to fight it. I hope this isn't as messy as last year.

2:35am: CNN just announced three projections going for Kerry, which makes it 249 for Bush and 242 for Kerry. I think they're just trying to make it a close race because it's more exciting. At this point, I think Bush has got it, but I think Kerry will drag it out at least until the morning, if not much longer.

2:47am: That's it. I quit. It's completely and totally bedtime.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (3) | |

11 am → Vote Tomorrow!

This is a reminder to all of those who just woke up from a 31 year coma. Please vote tomorrow.

If you don't know where to vote, you can call 866-OUR-VOTE or go to mypollingplace.com. If you're not sure whether or not you're registered, please go anyway. At worst, you will fill out a provisional ballot that will be contested. The New York Times has all the voting information you'll need.

I'm incredibly anxious for tomorrow. It's like the day before the SATs, first day of school and first date rolled into one.

Finally, don't forget to watch Indecision 2004 tomorrow night on Comedy Central. It's one hour of live coverage from the Daily Show team.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | |

11 pm → Malcolm Gladwell and Drug Companies

Recently, Malcolm Gladwell published an article on rising prescription prices in the New Yorker. I'm a big fan of his, so I dutifully read it on a recent ride into the office.

In brief, it questioned who is to blamed for the rising cost of drugs. He talks about how drug companies will make small changes to existing drugs, right around when they can go generic, and rerelease them (Prilosec and Nexium were his examples). Still, he places the blame on the doctors, health care providers and consumers as well, since there are often very capable generic drugs available but people just aren't buying them as much as they should be.

Last night I was talking to Jori's dad and brother -- one is a doctor and the other works for a drug company, in that order -- about this very issue. We talked about Nexium and Prilosec specifically. They both explained to me that they have patients and customers who started out using Priolec and later moved to Nexium and said there was a world of a difference. Gladwell explains things differently.

Jori's father said the exact opposite. He's had patients who have dropped Nexium for over-the-counter Prilosec, due to high costs, only to find that it takes as much as five of the OTC Prilosec to match Nexium's effectiveness, thus nullifying any savings. So, I'm curious how much research Gladwell did.

I'd love to hear from more doctors and researchers to see which side is telling the real story. I don't think Jori's family is lying, but I'm not sure if Gladwell has unearthed information that they don't have access to. So, if you have any thoughts of your own, or know where to turn, I'd love to hear from you.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | |

11 am → What is it About Kerry?

It seems like just about everyone voting for Kerry is really just voting against Bush. Personally, I like Kerry. I didn't at first, during the primaries, but he's grown on me.

This brings me to the purpose of this post. People voting against Bush, what don't you like about Kerry?

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (2) | |

10 pm → Oh Bamma!

My lordy. This young man is an amazing speaker. My entire apartment was clapping and hooting. The only time we make more noise is during episodes of The O.C., and even that's a close call.

Obama did an amazing job bringing together everyone. It didn't feel like a Democratic speech -- it truly felt like an American speech, a Presidential speech. I was thoroughly impressed by his heartfelt comments and I was proud to be from Illinois.

As Pandagon said, "You know how good this speech is? It will be on rap albums next year, during the tracks that are trying to be socially conscious."

Oh yeah: The full text of Obama's speech

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

4 pm → John Kerry's Marketing Campaign

Currently, I work in a marketing department. It's the first time I've done so and, as a result, I am learning a lot about email marketing. One of the first things my boss taught me was that inundating your audience with email, especially when you are asking for something -- money in our case -- is not the way to go. We try not to send anyone email more than twice a month. In the last seven days I have received four from the Kerry campaign.

Obviously, this is terribly annoying. Unfortunately, it's only the tip of the iceberg. A week ago I got a letter from the campaign that was written in ALL CAPS. It was demanding I urgently send in a donation as the campaign is in dire need of money to combat Bush. I found it offensive. Why is John Kerry acting like a spammer? I want to support his campaign, both monetarily and with a vote, but when it's hard to differentiate his mail with ones about credit card debt I have troule paying attention. It's like the boy that cries wolf or a blog about hard drive-based MP3 players -- eventually you stop listening.

If the campaign, or anyone for that matter, has something important and worthwhile to tell me, I'm happy to listen, but Kerry has taken it too far. Seriously John, you don't have to remind me to donate everytime you start a new commercial on tv. I propose you follow the lead of a software mailing list. Allow those who want to know about big news to sign up for one list and allow those who want to watch every move as it happens to sign up for the development list. It should be that easy.

I'll end this post by regretfully telling you that I've unsubscribed from your email list. It's out of control. You'll still be getting my vote in the fall but our near-daily email communication will have to stop. I'm sorry.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (8) | |

1 am → Unhand My Man Purse

That's it. I've had it. Twice now, I've been a victim of sexism and I'm not gonna take it any more. Granted, the sexism has been relatively tame and has only been an annoyance, but it's time I shared my problem with the world.

For the second time in the last six months or so, I have been forced to check my bag. The first time, I was at a Yankees game and they told me I couldn't bring my bag into the stadium. I complained as I saw women carrying similarly sized bags through the gates with no problem. When I asked a security guard why I couldn't bring my bag in, he explained that purses are allowed but bags are not. I told him my bag was a purse and he asked if I was a woman. "If being a woman means I can bring my bag in, then yes, I am a woman." That didn't work.

Tonight I went to see the Stills at Irving Plaza with my friend/co-worker Elana. When I entered, the security guard told me I needed to check my bag. I told him that I didn't want to, but he didn't seem to care. I pointed out that Elana's bag was the exact same size as mine.

"Why can she bring her bag in but I cannot?"
"She's a girl. They have...personal issues."
"I have personal issues."
"No, I mean, they have monthly issues. They bleed."
"I bleed."
"Now this I want to see."

The man leveled with me and told me that he couldn't let me bring my bag in and it wasn't his rule. He was nice enough to have the coat check guy comp my bag. That was nice, but I was still miffed.

In this age of metrosexuality, why can't a man carry a murse (man purse) around with him? Is the fact that I lack the need or ability to menstruate enough to keep me from having my books, magazines and iPod at the ready? Clearly, I think not. It's time for equal bag rights. I want to keep my bag at my side and you don't need to know why. It's my man purse, God dammit, and you can't take it from me.

If this doesn't let up soon I am going to boycott institutions that don't allow murses. Myself and all the other downtrodden and afflicted shall take to the streets and from the depths of our bellies we shall chant our war cry, "We don't want to curse, now give me back my murse!"

Although I am being a bit melodramatic, I do think this is a very silly rule. I don't mind if ladies have their bags but I see no reason why I can't have mine.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (15) | |

10 am → The Answer to This Question Scares Me

From the most recent NY Times/CBS Poll (dated 4/27/04):

It is still May and we have six more months until the election, but that makes me very nervous.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

11 am → Pat Tillman is Way More Heroic Than Other GIs

The last few days there has been a lot of press about the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman. He died in combat while serving in Afghanistan. From all accounts, he seems to have been a great man who decided to serve his country instead of play football professionally. I think that's quite honorable.

The problem I have is that Tillman's death has gotten so much press. It's clear the reason for the focus on him over other GIs who have died in the line of duty is his time in the NFL, but I think that's wrong. In fact, while reading an obituary of sorts from Newsweek, I found out that he didn't even want any notoriety for his service.

So, it is frustrating to see his name plastered all over the news solely because he started on an NFL team. Newsweek said, "But Tillman's death is a startling billboard of grief, a reminder that these lost soldiers—all of them, famous or not—had so much left to give." I understand and appreciate this, but I think there are probably equally interesting stories of soldiers who had some desire to be eulogized by the media.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

3 pm → One Less DVD, One New President

Today, I donated to a political campaign for the first time in my life. I contributed $25 to John Kerry's campaign. I had been inspired by a couple sources (nedward, one of my coworkers), but this article is what pushed me over the edge. It explaied how Bush had been raising all of his money, but it also mentioned that he has already raised $159 million, which is significantly more than Kerry. Kerry is aiming for $80 million by the convention, while Bush is expected to hit $200 million.

The NY Times article stressed how the McCain-Feingold Soft Money Bill changed the focus to small donations instead large ones (due to the $2,000 cap on personal donations). As a result, I felt it was my duty to donate money to Kerry's campaign. As my coworker put it, "I don't want Kerry to lose because he was drowned out by Bush's marketting machine." Ok, so she didn't say exactly that, but it's more or less right.

As I said in the title of this post, if you can spare one new DVD, or one nicer dinner or a night on the town, then you can help Kerry to defeat Bush. So please, donate to John Kerry's campaign. Please.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

11 am → Bush is Crazy. C-R-A-Z-Y.

This morning, Bush backed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I was getting very excited about the chances of legal gay marriages becoming a reality. Apparently, Bush was not feeling that notion like I was.

Bush spoke to the country about twenty minutes ago in order to quell the "growing confusion" surrounding this issue. He wants to make it clear that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. This, clearly, is a religous notion. In the eyes of your chosen God, it likely matters if you are thinking about marrying someone of the same sex. In the eyes of the government, all that should matter is the benefits provided to those who are married.

We are supposed to have a seperation of church and state, but that seems to be less and less important these days. Think about this: Republicans want the government to be smaller and less intrusive when it comes to economic matters but want to have more control over our social and spiritual choices. Conversely, Democrats typically want a bigger government that provides more economic support while allowing greater personal freedoms. What seems to make more sense?

This brings me back to my original point. Bush is Crazy. In fact, anyone who thinks that our government should decide who I can marry, give money to religious interest groups, or tell me what I am allowed to do with my body is crazy. C-R-A-Z-Y. Period. The end.

Update (Noon EST): It just hit me that Bush wants to make this a Constitutional Ammendment. He wants to change the Constitution. I cannot fathom how big this really is and the shitstorm that is likely to follow in the next few weeks. I can only imagine what he'll do during the two months between when we elect John Kerry and when he has to leave office. Gah.

Related: The text of Bush's speech
More gay marriage talk at Capn Design - The conversation brings up the important question of, "What is marriage?" Any thoughts?

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (5) | |

6 pm → Hey, Here are Some Infographics

The Race for the Nomination
This graphic is from the New York Times and shows the primary results. It appears that new information is automatically loaded each time you select a new section. My favorite graphics are the "Results by Candidate," and "Bush's Approval Rating" (pictured below).

State-By-State Comparison on Same-Sex Marriages
This one comes from CNN and isn't all that graphically pleasing, but it is incredibly user-friendly. I looked at a similar graphic from CBS.com, which is much more difficult to understand, and realized the CNN one is quite effective. Below are graphics from a number of major news sources. You can decide which one is the best. (The graphics at their original size.)

CNN

CBS

MSNBC

If you know of others, gimmie a holler via email (on the left).

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law   &&  Design | |

2 am → I Sit and I'm Proud

This evening, Curb Your Enthusiasm discussed the little talked about, but often thought about subject of peeing positions for men. It is more or less assumed that men stand up to pee. The theory is, "We can so why shouldn't we?" Well, I think Larry hit it right on the head when he said, "Why stand when you could sit?"

When you think about it, standing doesn't make that much sense and here are a few reasons why:

• Sitting is more comfortable and relaxing.
• When you stand up you run the risk of drippage and that's no good.
• You can't forget to put the seat down if roommates/significant others usually raise a stink.

The more I think about it, we should be asking, "Why stand?" Really, what's the benefit? The only time I'm guaranteed to stand is when I'm in a public restroom. Then, I'll stand up for sanitary reasons and because sitting down on a public toilet isn't all that comfortable.

I'll conclude by saying that all the men out there who have been in the closet and were afraid to admit they prefer to pee sitting down, tonight is our coming out party. We shall no longer be shamed by our machismo brethren. Move over standy-uppies and say hello to the sitty-downies. Hurrah!

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (4) | |

2 am → Best Reason to Vote for Clark

The AP asked the Democratic candidates to "name the albums they most like to have in their CD players." Here are the results:

He's just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroi-oit!

In other news, our current President loves ribs.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

12 pm → People Like Bush, and Think He's Liberal?!?

Today, the New York Times released a poll showing that Bush's approval rating has gone up since the capture of Saddam Hussein. I am hereby giving that a resounding, "duh," but I was looking over the full poll and also noticed that sixteen percent of America thinks of Bush as a Liberal. At that point I remembered that America is crazy.

His general approval rating went up from 52% to 58% and his disapproval rating went from 40% to 33%. Like I said, this was to be expected, but that is still not much more than half of the country. The numbers have been creeping downward ever since the end of the war in May, with 50% being the lowpoint in the middle of November. Here are some other interesting statistics:

• The importance of different issues in the Presidential elections. Before the capture, the war was at 11%, and now it's at 3%, even with social security.
• Who you expect to win the election in 2004, regardless of how you're voting. Before: Democrat 35%, Bush 50%. After: Democrat 24%, Bush 61%.
• Have we won the war in Iraq? 46% Won, 47% Not Won (no earlier data for comparison).

I am not surprised that a lot of people are suddenly in favor of the war, or suddenly supporting Bush, but I am surprised that someone can go to the homepage of the New York Times, read about the non-stop death occuring in Iraq, and still think that this war is a good idea or that Saddam's capture is going to have a profound effect. When a big event like this happens, people who rarely read the news crawl out of the woodwork and start voting in national polls. Maybe this is what Presidents of the past have always relied on, but the whole situation is fairly frustrating.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (2) | |

3 pm → Gays Are Cool, But Not Gay Marriage

I pulled up the New York Times homepage and noticed an article entitled, "Amid Acceptance of Gays, a Split on Marriage Issue." Hmm. What does the dek say?

Woh. How can you be tolerant of a gay lifestyle but be opposed to the concept of gay marriage? That doesn't make much sense to me. I made my way into the article to see what's really going on. Right away I come upon the following quote that shed a little bit of light:

Okay, I get it. You are viewing marriage as a religious bond between two people and therefore there is no room for gay marriages. This statement is quasi-logical. The problem is that this woman claims that homosexuality is fine so long as she can't see it. Maybe the phrase "private behavior" was a creation of the author, but the quote suggests that Ms. Hall is not okay with this idea.

It seems to me that many people are becoming less homophobic, but there is still not a general acceptance for gay people unless they are amusing, hair stylists, or helping to refurnish your apartment on a cable television show. I am happy that there is progress being made in the minds of Americans, but I am frustrated by this assumed tolerance. This last quote really illustrates the point:

The bottomline is that you cannot be "okay" with gay relationships if you are against gay marriage. In fact, relationships should be more egregious if you believe the purpose of marriage is for procreation. I would be much happier if the quotes went like this, "I am homophobic to the point where it is socially acceptable."

For a moment, let's assume that you are comfortable accepting this opinion. At this point you must consider the state of marriage in this country. Aside from the majority of marriages ending in divorce, it has become less a of a religious institution for many people. It allows you a number of political and social rights that single people are not privy to (hospital visits, tax breaks, etc.). At the very least dissentors of gay marriage should be willing to accept a gay union of some kind in order to create a nation that is truly for us all.

A discussion for another time might be the concern over the government regulating a religious institution. Isn't one of our founding principles the seperation of church and state? Sometimes the backwards logic our government and people drive me to the brink of insanity. If I didn't drown myself in movies, popular culture and the few tolerable people on this planet then I would probably be crying a lot more often.

Also: Aaron linked to this OP-ED piece in Saturday's Times. It is an excellent piece. Here's what Aaron thought about it.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (5) | |

6 pm → The Issue with Panel Discussions

Last night I went to a seminar hosted by Center for Communications entitled, "Photojournalism: Tragedy in Focus." Like most seminars, I was expecting a hearty discussion of the issue at hand and hopefully there would be some worthwhile insights and possibly answers to a few difficult questions. Of course, this did not happen. Last night I came to the realization that a panel discussion is often created with good intentions but usually ends up being four people looking to plug their latest book or agenda.

The description of last night's event is as follows:

Naturally, I thought that the panelists would discuss how they manage to survive while taking these photos. I wanted the group as a whole to get to the core of what makes a person do war photography for thirty years. Instead, each of the panelists ended up talking at us instead of creating a fruitful discussion. I did write down a number of poignant observations, but half of the time alotted was taken up by slideshows promoting their books or websites.

Realistically, I should have accepted that this isn't some kind of think tank and these are normal people who probably aren't ready to share intimate feelings with an audience of 200 people. Still, this has happened at many panels and ends up making the event not nearly as satisfying as it could have been.

All of that being said, there were some interesting quotes that came out of the "discussion." Here are a few:

• "When a car bomb goes off, the first thing you think is not 'What are the ethical and moral issues [with taking a photograph] here.'" -Peter Howe
• In regards to the way a camera effects or escalates the violence you're capturing, Joe Rodriguez said, "After a drive-by, the kids in East LA were saying, 'Where's Joe! Where's Joe! He needs to get a picture of this!' and the kid was laying on the ground bleeding."
• "People keep coming back going back [to violent locations] because it's easier. Coming back to 'normal life' is very tough." -Peter Howe

So the panel wasn't a complete loss, but I wish that those in the audience and those on stage pushed themselves a little harder so that we could all grow a little wiser.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | |

4 pm → Who's Imitating What?

A few weeks back I noticed a lovers' spat at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop. It was your typical fight. He promised he would do something and didn't, but says he never promised. She disagrees. Back. Forth.

As they fought, scenes from movies and tv shows flashed through my brain. It all seemed very similar -- it was difficult to figure out which events were real and which were fake.

This brings me to the question at hand -- is life imitating art or is art imitating life? It's fair to guess that in the early days of different television genres the writers were looking to gather real experiences from life, but as the development of a genre progresses we begin to cut out anything that isn't entertaining. Usually this means focusing on the highest highs and the lowest lows of people's lives. This is true for both writing, scenery and performers. The lack of beautiful people and beautiful scenery is part of the reason why The Office feels so fresh. Most programs rely on creating what the writers believe is our vision of a wonderful, or at the very least interesting, life.

By this point, people have grown to wonder why their lives aren't as exciting as those portrayed in tv or film. On top of that, the concept of immersing yourself in a program nearly every day makes your show feel a little real -- it makes it tough to distinguish it from real life.* So, you start to bring pieces of the show or the writing style into your daily life. You quote movies or you pick up ways of speaking or even mimic argument styles. You are becoming Will and Grace or Ryan and Marissa.

Now comes the tricky part. As people start to mimic their shows and movies, writers pick up on what works and begin to give it more emphasis. It has become a horribly evil feedback loop. Life and "art" are joined at the hip and no one can argue with their significant other without subconciously referencing the last Hugh Grant movie.

This concept seems to tie into the greater concept of globalization and international economy, which has led to the lack of any true individuality. There is a McDonald's in 62% of the countries in the world and movies open up in up to eighty countries at a time. Yes, there are obvious differences between cultures and even neighborhoods, but it is getting tougher and tougher to find a clothing store outside of a major city that isn't owned by a publicly traded company.

For those who were hoping for an answer to the question I posed early in the post, you have likely figured out that it was rhetorical and my true intention was to point out how society is deeply affected by its media intake and it is leading us into a world where everyone is impersonating someone else. I don't know how to avoid this, but it is certainly an issue worth pondering

*Nurse Betty is a great example of complete confusion between real life and a tv show.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | |

2 pm → Really, I am Sorry

Dear California,

I am so sorry for what has happened to you. In the beginning I was totally shocked to hear of the potential solutions to your genuine problem. The concept of the Terminator as governor was frightening, but it was softened by the humor of Webster and Larry Flynt running alongside him. Now, the day that Jack Slater has won the governorship, I am embarrased to have ever laughed at this election.

It's bad enough when "real" politicians quietly mock the system, but when a man who isn't even a good actor, let alone a politician, wins a gubernatorial race I think it's time we seriously question politics in the United States.

And so, I apologize that you and your inhabitants are going to be governed by Schwarzenegger, but I think we need this. I'm praying that he fails miserably so we do learn something from this mistake. I also fear that he will do well as it is proof that a dim-witted womanizer (at best) can run the largest state in the country.

I will end this letter by wishing you luck in these trying times and praying that Schwarzenegger does not take a few months off to shoot Twins 2.

L'Shana Tovah,
Capn Design

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | |

11 am → AirPorn

A while back I heard a comedian discuss the availability of porn in airport magazine shops. It immediately struck me as odd and I wondered, "Who buys porn at the airport?"

I mean, even if you buy the porn and you have no intention to put it to use, are you going to read it on the airplane? Yes, Playboy has articles, but Tons o' Jugs does not. The point is, no sane person would ever consider looking at porn on the plane.

This brings us back to our original question. The only rational explanation I could come up with was that these people are too busy to get to a magazine store. After reading that sentence I realize that even that explanation is far from rational. I have absolutely no clue who buys porn at the airport.

I am writing this on the plane*, so when I get off I think I am going to go to a WH Smith and ask one of the sales clerks if he/she has ever sold porn to someone. I need to get to the bottom of this.

Off the plane and back home: I started to walk up to one of the stores when I noticed a man with a sizeable gut, striped button-down shirt and graying, thinning hair peaking at one of the magazines. He wouldn't take it off the shelf but he had a gross smile on his face. I didn't get up the guts to ask the clerk, mostly because I think I would've frightened her, but this event gave me a pretty good answer.

*It's currently 8:33 CST on Thursday.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (2) | |

1 pm → On Language and Bosses

A couple of minutes ago someone in the office just said, "If we can't get this accounting together I'm going to get my ass raped." Now I have no problem with profane language but it just seems very out of place when used by "suits" in a big company. As soon as it left his lips I wondered what it would be like if that were the actual punishment for not having his expenses worked out. I guarantee he would never screw them up or be late again.

This is an example of one thing I don't understand about suits -- their general need to be rough, tough and full of testosterone. "I'm in charge! Do it now! Why the fuck isn't this done? I asked for it five fucking days ago?!?" They assume that everyone responds positively when demands are yelled across an office. What makes it worse is that they are rarely descriptive while spewing demands. So, when you finish something you'll often hear that it the result is "not what we had talked about." Bah.

This is reason #203 why I want to get out the corporate world. Sure, I could make more money going into business but it's going to be the same shit every day and I'm not going to be happy. It's time to get my act together and find the right job.

IN OTHER OFFICE NEWS: This girl in my office just said in a sing-songy, OC kind of way, "I just got my two Dave Matthews tickets!" I have no problem with Dave Matthews, unlike many music connoisseurs, but anyone who utters this statement in this manner is definitely not cool. (The fact that she regularly calls things "gay" and loudly discusses her weekend exploits over the phone only confirm her bogus-ness.)

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | |

11 am → California is Truly Insane

It's official. Ah-nold is running for Governor of California. This alone is completely ridiculous to me. Does he not realize we were laughing at him in Kindergarten Cop? He reminds of Hagrid or the Big Friendly Giant -- you just want to hug him. I'm fairly positive this isn't something I'm looking for in a political candidate of any sort (although I admit that it isn't so bad either).

I could end this post right here, but the whole thing just gets crazier. It seems as though both Gary Coleman and Larry Flynt are also running for governor. Coleman has said that he is not going to be campaigning now that the Terminator is in the race. Good thing for Arnold as that could have brought things down to the wire. Flynt is going to run full-force and hopes to shake things up.

The icing on the cake is something I heard on the Daily Show. Gov. Davis is looking for a way to enter the re-election race. He wants to replace himself. That is just too ridiculous. I was almost able to handle the concept of Porn vs. Muscle vs. Kinda-Scary, but this is just too much. This whole thing has to stop. Do people understand that this is the future of 54 million people? I honestly don't know if any of these people are capable candidates, but does it really matter?

Forgive the ranting, but I just think this is a prime example of what our government has become. It is a dog and pony show. Nothing really happens there, it is a way to placate the populus and build up your ego. Arnold has no more to do in the film world so he has to find a higher exposure job. That's it I think. It is incredibly frustrating.

As long as this merry band of characters are running for governor, who would you like to see run? It only takes 65 signatures to get on the ballot. I think I'd like to see my grandpa run. He knows a lot of good jokes and watches cable news a lot. That should be enough, right?

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (2) | |

1 am → My Ideal Candidate

I took a little quiz at SelectSmart.com to see which candidates match with my political point of view. I don't think you can represent your views in multiple choice questions, but it's not too far off from what I was expecting. For instance, I'm a huge fan of Russ Feingold and they put him further down than I had expected. You should go there and read through all of the biographies of the candidates as it gives pretty good rundowns (available after completing the quiz). Here are my top fifteen. They listed twenty-seven, some of whom haven't declared their candidacy.

1. Kucinich, Cong. Dennis, OH - Democrat (100%)
2. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat   (88%)
3. Gephardt, Cong. Dick, MO - Democrat   (85%)
4. Green Party Candidate   (85%)
5. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol IL - Democrat   (82%)
6. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat   (80%)
7. Lieberman Senator Joe CT - Democrat   (78%)
8. Jackson, Cong. Jesse Jr., IL - Democrat   (77%)
9. Leahy, Patrick Senator, Vermont - Democrat   (75%)
10. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat   (72%)
11. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat   (71%)
12. Biden, Senator Joe, DE - Democrat   (69%)
13. Feingold, Senator Russ, WI - Democrat   (68%)
14. Graham, Senator Bob, FL - Democrat   (67%)
15. Kaptur, Cong. Marcy, OH - Democrat   (61%)

Howard Phillips got a whopping 5% and G.W. Bush got 23%. He is dumb.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (1) | |

9 pm → 7up is Green?

Earlier today I made my way over to Shaolin (Staten Island) to pick up my car and bring back to Brooklyn. When I arrived I was hot--hot enough to enter the seedy bodega near the entrance to the SI Ferry and pick up a cold drink. It had been a while since I was able to enjoy the refreshing relief that comes with a 7up, so I had my heart set on that beverage.

I went in and had trouble locating a bottle. Eventually I found one and thought, "Green?" I knew that 7up had gone and made their logo all crazy and upside-down like, but I didn't realize that their beverage had become Hulk-colored. I bought it and everything tasted the same, but then I realized that it was now caffeinated. 7up had always been caffeine-free, but they must have changed it as a part of their rebranding. This makes little to no sense to me.

Something about this new, hip 'tude struck me the wrong way. Also, I realized that there is 75ish grams of sugar in a 20 ounce bottle and that is ridiculous. So, I am dropping what was once the pure, beautiful, clear lemon-lime beverage that was 7up and moving to something similar and probably diet. I'll give Sierra Mist a go and support my aunt, who is a loyal employee of Pepsi Bottling Company. I could try dropping soda pop altogether, but that would clearly be absurd.

Drop soda pop? Puh-lease.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (4) | |

1 am → NYT Sunday

Rarely do I have a chance to peruse the Sunday NY Times, but my parents bought this weekend I got to bring a couple sections home with me. Here are a couple articles that piqued my interest. (You'll need a free user id to access the stories)

My Son, the Cyborg
This was a very annoying piece that was kinda, sorta about videogames. All it said was, "Here are a bunch of stereotypes. Here are some new studies. We still don't know what's true, but we're skeptical." It was worthless, but I read in anyway because I liked the photograph.

Soldier Field Renovation Brings Out Boo-Birds
The NYT looks at the reactions to the new Soldier Field. I haven't seen it since the construction just began, but friends have told me it looks ridiculous. Now there are a lot of people scrambling to spin this the right way. Read the article if you're interested in architecture, Chicago and craziness.

A Strength Not Yet Tested, Not Yet Known
Why Don't Women Watch Women's Sports?
The first was more interesting because it gave a good cursory explanation of the dominance of men in competitive sports. I could explain it for you, but the article is short so you can read it yourself. The second looked at why men watch more women's sports than women. Both articles mentioned that men have a natural competitive attitude -- since they have historically tried to woo women by proving their dominance over other men -- that leads to a greater interest in competitive sports. The big question is whether this is a nature or nurture situation.

Digital Artists Find a Muse in SARS (And Each Other on the Internet)
A look at the SARS folk art that has been on display at Boing Boing all month. It's nice to see it get some good recongnition.

Posted in Culture\Politics\Law | Comments (2) | |