Not even Bobby Jindal's bizarre yet comical republican response to Obama's "non-state of the union" address could lighten the mood of the nation. Obama's speech was eloquent yet grave; harsh yet hopeful. Rather than glaze over the recession, he presented our nation's problems and the sacrifices that we all must make in the upcoming months.
But back to the Republican Response.
Points of Interest:
* the entrance.
Bobby, where are you coming from? Are you aware that you are live in front of the nation? Is that your version of a dramatic entrance, because it looked like you were tying your shoe or grabbing a bite to eat in the dining room. Timing is important, according to Demetri Martin, and timing made you its bitch.
*The foyer
Um, whose house are you in? Are you lost? Who puts a flag on the end of their staircase? Described by other blogs and commentators as "antebellum", I half expected a Union soldier to waltz on down the stairs to join you.
*The Presentation
The Daily Show said it best. Note alarming resemblance to Kenneth the Page.
Just Creepy, awkward, and absurdly distracting.
*The Message
Oddly threatening and disapproving in an old Southern belle way. "Now Jimmy, we all know what happened last time you disobeyed. How about some pancakes?".
I thought Chris Matthew's response was dead-on, uttering "Oh,god," before he even opened his mouth to tell us about the mean ol' Democrats and big bad Katrina.
Politics are media circus, and last night Bobby Jindal's speech was the side show.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Ultimate Rant on Technology
Society overrun by possessions- defined by Ipod, blog, facebook status,
Facebook+Relationships-scan (sparknotes for life)- before party survey the crowd, pick and choose who will identify with prior
Menu of people whatever happened to adaptation? Throwing oneself in the pit, seeing how changed after? Instead clinging to identifying markers and surrounding others
Cliques, “reinventing” just to stay the same
VICE- never before seen so many people willingly dressing the same
Hypocrisy of the counter-culture
Nothing new save the advent of technology
Social isolationism, market, ads
But not finding more about self-how many people reading? Looking at celebreality, burrowing in deeper hole instead of opening eyes
ADD generation-conversation without IM, text, vibration
Even if disconnected constantly looking around, wandering off in mind
Pills for ADD-taken to stay awake to be further subjected to a barrage culture
Where’s our generation’s Ginsberg, Kerouac, even Poe/Hemingway/Shakesspeare/Camus? The only literary giants these days are those who are referred by the queen of daytime television- A TALK SHOW. A million little pieces- a contrived biography, a FAKE. But dollar amounts don’t lie. Doctor Phil- FAKE.
Those who have made waves are false literary minds who cheats and exploitations have earned them even more publicity than say, our latest brilliant author
(this is relevant to all aspects of media and culture- 6th place Miss America out shadows winner by her ignorant comment)
online can be used as incredible resource but fritted away on trivial dribble- every time I see someone who I thought had an ounce of intrigue as soon as I scan a bubble-gum pink page with white scrawled I want to vomit the over-processed food in my stomach. Such a waste. Compare NASA to lolcats. Sad time for all of us.
Clan of Charlie browns.
Walden playlist on itunes exiled to the woods- just not the same.
Few encountered still don’t have cell phone not because overtly rebelling but just because they don’t see the need. These are the people I’d choose to be trapped on a desert island with, because the lack of the vibrating cellular device or email wouldn’t drive them batshit.
I love that song so much I'm going to use it as my personal leash.
Would you use the Beatles as your doorbell? I don’t think so.
Garage and Rock Band- computers over taking actual musicians, guitar hero and Rock band------worst phenomenon since the Wii. Um, pick up a real guitar. Try playing the drums. Instead, drones glued to the TV while virtual characters lip-synch to watered-down versions of real songs, those who don’t play merely watch a screen where bright lights flash and a series of beeps and boops rotate on a cyclical wheel. Awful.
Video games- win that battle for me baby, you’re such a HERO. And we wonder why obesity is a problem. Brilliant minds uncorrupted by one technology, owned by another. That’s like saying “I don’t smoke pot” but you’re a coke fiend. No wonder you’re stuck in the same place, stagnancy invading. Ever read (or see, sigh) the “Phantom Tollbooth”? It’s the Doldrums, darling.
Obesity- walk. Haven’t noticed a house down the street when you’ve lived there for over a year? You have a problem. Get out of your imitation climate and take a look around. Life is riddled with distractions anyway, why not purposely find them instead of ex. A:
Deciding you need to write a paper than spending 5 hours of YOUR LAST 20,000 days playing jetman. Go to an orchard- pick up a freaking apple. Hike a mountain. Open up your damn eyes. The environment surrounding you is typically free people…leave your cell phone, Ipod, camera, sidekick, and everything other mechanical parasite at home. Go to the beach and sit for a couple of hours. Feel that silence? Have a strange sensation welling up inside of you as you gaze out into the crashing waves? It’s called an original thought, nitwit.
Listen, technology and modern society are addicting. Trust me, I know. But let’s not ignore the fact that it’s whittling away our personalities and lives, without the benefit of achieving any real gain. People should be making a conscious effort to escape. Progress is beneficial, and I’m glad to have some form of security. I understand that modern conveniences make everyone’s life easier. But think about it, how much success is put in your life if your computer breaks for an hour? A week? A month? Maybe if we didn’t rely so heavily on possessions life would truly be easier. If computers and email (warning: hypocrisy & irony alert!) weren’t relied on so heavily, a huge stressor would be eliminated. Pen runs out of ink? Get another. Computer breaks down? Only a mere $700 to get a new one. Awful.
I have witnessed far too many nervous breakdowns on account of a cell phone left at home. Even I, the staunch opposer of technology, have felt like my life was spiraling downward when my Ipod was stolen, my cell phone was lost, and my computer broke. But why? I was in perfect health, I was surrounding by caring friends and family, and I was exactly where I wanted to be in my life. So modern personal technology facilitates existence as we know it. But does it? Anyone else remember Y2K? HELLO? Aren’t we supposed to be the epitome of advanced civilization and evolution of the human race? How could a switch of integers possibly put us on the brink of mass chaos and destruction?
It’s time to take back the reins in our lives. New technologies eliminate old ones faster with every day- a cannibalistic breed that we created. Everyone loses when a piece of mass-produced metal dominates our very existence. Algorithms connecting people online- arranged marriages ring a bell? Isn’t that considered primitive by today’s standards? Well, a computer is doing it for you. Have fun being told how to live your virtual life. I’ll be sure to send an e-card of sympathy after the webcast of your funeral.
Facebook+Relationships-scan (sparknotes for life)- before party survey the crowd, pick and choose who will identify with prior
Menu of people whatever happened to adaptation? Throwing oneself in the pit, seeing how changed after? Instead clinging to identifying markers and surrounding others
Cliques, “reinventing” just to stay the same
VICE- never before seen so many people willingly dressing the same
Hypocrisy of the counter-culture
Nothing new save the advent of technology
Social isolationism, market, ads
But not finding more about self-how many people reading? Looking at celebreality, burrowing in deeper hole instead of opening eyes
ADD generation-conversation without IM, text, vibration
Even if disconnected constantly looking around, wandering off in mind
Pills for ADD-taken to stay awake to be further subjected to a barrage culture
Where’s our generation’s Ginsberg, Kerouac, even Poe/Hemingway/Shakesspeare/Camus? The only literary giants these days are those who are referred by the queen of daytime television- A TALK SHOW. A million little pieces- a contrived biography, a FAKE. But dollar amounts don’t lie. Doctor Phil- FAKE.
Those who have made waves are false literary minds who cheats and exploitations have earned them even more publicity than say, our latest brilliant author
(this is relevant to all aspects of media and culture- 6th place Miss America out shadows winner by her ignorant comment)
online can be used as incredible resource but fritted away on trivial dribble- every time I see someone who I thought had an ounce of intrigue as soon as I scan a bubble-gum pink page with white scrawled I want to vomit the over-processed food in my stomach. Such a waste. Compare NASA to lolcats. Sad time for all of us.
Clan of Charlie browns.
Walden playlist on itunes exiled to the woods- just not the same.
Few encountered still don’t have cell phone not because overtly rebelling but just because they don’t see the need. These are the people I’d choose to be trapped on a desert island with, because the lack of the vibrating cellular device or email wouldn’t drive them batshit.
I love that song so much I'm going to use it as my personal leash.
Would you use the Beatles as your doorbell? I don’t think so.
Garage and Rock Band- computers over taking actual musicians, guitar hero and Rock band------worst phenomenon since the Wii. Um, pick up a real guitar. Try playing the drums. Instead, drones glued to the TV while virtual characters lip-synch to watered-down versions of real songs, those who don’t play merely watch a screen where bright lights flash and a series of beeps and boops rotate on a cyclical wheel. Awful.
Video games- win that battle for me baby, you’re such a HERO. And we wonder why obesity is a problem. Brilliant minds uncorrupted by one technology, owned by another. That’s like saying “I don’t smoke pot” but you’re a coke fiend. No wonder you’re stuck in the same place, stagnancy invading. Ever read (or see, sigh) the “Phantom Tollbooth”? It’s the Doldrums, darling.
Obesity- walk. Haven’t noticed a house down the street when you’ve lived there for over a year? You have a problem. Get out of your imitation climate and take a look around. Life is riddled with distractions anyway, why not purposely find them instead of ex. A:
Deciding you need to write a paper than spending 5 hours of YOUR LAST 20,000 days playing jetman. Go to an orchard- pick up a freaking apple. Hike a mountain. Open up your damn eyes. The environment surrounding you is typically free people…leave your cell phone, Ipod, camera, sidekick, and everything other mechanical parasite at home. Go to the beach and sit for a couple of hours. Feel that silence? Have a strange sensation welling up inside of you as you gaze out into the crashing waves? It’s called an original thought, nitwit.
Listen, technology and modern society are addicting. Trust me, I know. But let’s not ignore the fact that it’s whittling away our personalities and lives, without the benefit of achieving any real gain. People should be making a conscious effort to escape. Progress is beneficial, and I’m glad to have some form of security. I understand that modern conveniences make everyone’s life easier. But think about it, how much success is put in your life if your computer breaks for an hour? A week? A month? Maybe if we didn’t rely so heavily on possessions life would truly be easier. If computers and email (warning: hypocrisy & irony alert!) weren’t relied on so heavily, a huge stressor would be eliminated. Pen runs out of ink? Get another. Computer breaks down? Only a mere $700 to get a new one. Awful.
I have witnessed far too many nervous breakdowns on account of a cell phone left at home. Even I, the staunch opposer of technology, have felt like my life was spiraling downward when my Ipod was stolen, my cell phone was lost, and my computer broke. But why? I was in perfect health, I was surrounding by caring friends and family, and I was exactly where I wanted to be in my life. So modern personal technology facilitates existence as we know it. But does it? Anyone else remember Y2K? HELLO? Aren’t we supposed to be the epitome of advanced civilization and evolution of the human race? How could a switch of integers possibly put us on the brink of mass chaos and destruction?
It’s time to take back the reins in our lives. New technologies eliminate old ones faster with every day- a cannibalistic breed that we created. Everyone loses when a piece of mass-produced metal dominates our very existence. Algorithms connecting people online- arranged marriages ring a bell? Isn’t that considered primitive by today’s standards? Well, a computer is doing it for you. Have fun being told how to live your virtual life. I’ll be sure to send an e-card of sympathy after the webcast of your funeral.
A-Rod Editorial
With the recent media coverage concerning Alex “A. Rod” Rodriquez’s performance-enhancing drug use in 2003, attention is brought to several problems in our society.
Alex Rodriguez is considered to be one of the top players in baseball today. As a contender for breaking the home run record, Rodriguez is a hero of America’s pastime. However, his PED use has not only tarnished his reputation and record, but shattered the hopes of those who love baseball. Use of performance-enhancing drugs is essentially cheating. Rodriguez, no matter his level of skill, had an unfair advantage over those players who did not chemically induce their talent. He cheated to advance his career. This theme of greed is a trend that has helped land us in our current financial crisis. The avarice of CEOs, Wall Street moguls, and politicians has decimated America’s economy and weakened our spirits. The last thing we need right now is the same mentality in sports. Sports are supposed to take our minds off of the cruelties committed. Instead, our depression over the recession has crossed tracks.
Greed of another sort arose with the A. Rod scandal and the Michael Phelps drug incident; the voracity of journalists to get the story. Given the nature of the athletes’ popularity, due coverage is understood. However, the hype associated with these recent events is alarming. The overblown media attention was a distraction, especially with more important issues at hand. Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, the proposed closing of Guantanamo Bay, conflicts with Iran and Israel, and the dwindling economy all hold more weight than the drug behavior of sports celebrities. But with the print and media industry reeling from lack of advertising and the recession, journalists seek only one thing: sales. This new form of greed is driven by fear and instability. By compromising important stories for gossipy hype, journalists impair their credibility. Even worse, they devoid their readers of crucial reporting.
Times are hard; this is true. But taking the easy way out provides only short-term solutions. What does the American public need right now? Not more proliferation of greed, but those who are willing to work and live with honesty, fairness, and integrity.
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