So today's news had a little story about a high school basketball team that won a game by a score of 100 - 0. The story (This link is for a follow-up, not the original) first mentioned that the scoreless team was "learning challenged", but later specified this to be dyslexic and ADD. Now the school of the winning team has made a public apology for winning by such a margin, and the coach of this team has gone on record saying that the team played with, "honor and integrity," and refused to apologize. The coach was fired for his honesty. ( and apparently for letting his team continue to play after they had a 59-0 lead at the half!) The witnesses say that the opposing team played with all of their hearts, but just couldn't get the score. Why the need to apologize? If the team with the big score gives up so that the other can get a few points what are the points worth? What is the use of getting points when the other team is giving them to you?
What has become of schools when they feel the need to apologize for winning? Lately I have realized that I must be becoming an old fogey, because I keep these words so close to the top of my mind, "when I was a kid..." And to finish the sentence this time..." we learned that sportsmanship meant being a good loser as well as a gracious winner. If we took a beating our coach chewed our asses and we worked that much harder the next time. and when we won we thanked the other team for a good game." Never once did our coaches ever tell us to, "take it easy on the other team, we don't want to beat them by too much!" Our coaches made us get every point that we could, if it was baseball we hit the ball hard and ran the bases fast. If it was football we drove the ball down the field any way we could and if it was basketball it was the three point throw every chance we could. Never did it occur to us that we should have "mercy" on the opposition. There was no quarter asked for nor given. Sadly, mine is the last generation to have this experience.
I'm a gen-Xer and that means that half of my generation was raised as a bunch of pussies who barely stand on their own 2 feet and say shit when they have a mouthful. Our parents were the boomers, and so many of them are the touchie-feelie, hippy types who were more worried about being friends with their kids rather than disciplinarians. The other half of my generation was raised by the old fashioned method, a boot to the ass when you were in the wrong and your parents were the bosses of the house and you were the child. Life was about hiding from mom and dad the things that you knew would get your ass in the shit and not getting caught. Our parents weren't our friends. They taught us to have a thick skin and that life wasn't easy and that the world wasn't going to be at our beckon call. We had a thick skin and we were and are prepared for failure and we know how to pick our asses up off the couch and get back to work. We are the ones who are doing the jobs that keep the world moving, because we don't sit around and whine that nothing is going our way. When we get layed off we go out and find a new job. If we have to work at a minimum wage job to get our foot in the door we do it. If we have to work 2 of them to make ends meet, we do it. We were once called the slacker generation, but it was truthfully only half of us. The other half, we went to work and got shit done. The new president is of the last years of the Boomers, but his wife? Oh yeah, she is an Xer and that means that she knows the score.
So the pussy Xers and their sissy kids the generation Y, are the ones who have come up with these things like "Mercy Rules" where teams are not allowed to win by a very wide margin, or they will be penalized. For winning!! It makes me so freaking mad that I wanna go kick some idiot poofter in the balls! (What the hell is the new generation called? Are they Z? or have they come up with something original like the Millenium Generation? I like that!! The Millenuim Generation! That's what I am going to call them !! ) I really feel sorry for the military as these poor saps get older and join the service. Drill instructors really will be a bunch of mommies. Their recruits will not be even the slightest bit ready to be called on their weaknesses. They will have self esteem issues when they are called maggots and cry-babies. Their poor minds are so conditioned that the world revolves around them and their feelings that all that the Millenium Generation has going for it is their self esteem. They have no concept of the real world as a nasty bitch who cares nothing for their feeling and will trip them at every opportunity. How is a mercy rule in sports supposed to help them learn about disappointment? It's okay to be diappointed if the loss isn't so big? right. I don't buy it. Go shovel shit for someone else.
If a winning team feels the need to apologize for playing well, and a losing team has to feel good about their loss, then there is truly something out of wack here. A winning team should be able to enjoy the victory for what it is, a win, whether hard won or an easy trounce. The losing team needs to work harder and maybe they will win one next time. Maybe they spend the whole season as losers, but they will have learned from their loses. They will see what other teams do to win, and maybe they will have a chance to implement what they have learned next season. Mercy rules should be called what they really are "Pussy Rules" because the pussified adults who are in charge don't want to hurt the feelings of the losers. Well guess what? Life's a BITCH! She will kick you in the balls and poke you in the eyes and steal your candy. She will take your boyfriend or your girlfriend, and screw him or her in the closet at the party and then tell all your friends about it!
Cowboy up and get to livin' or get it over with and get to dyin', but get the hell out of the way with your whinin' and cryin'. I'm tired of hearing about bruised egos and mercy rules. If you can't deal with what life has to offer, then maybe you need to run to the store and get a new life!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
rudely anonymous
What ever happened to manners? I mean it's bad enough that people are growing more and more rude as we get ourselves lost in our iPods and cell phones and we forget that we are in public. I say "we" not because I am particularly rude myself, but to encompass the entire population, because happy or not you have certainly been rude in your life, whether on purpose or by accident. Sometimes it is because we are returning the rudeness tossed at us, and sometimes it is situational build up and we just bubble over. But then there are the people who walk into a place and don't see anyone that they recognize and so they immediately make themselves the royalty in the room. Everything they do is for their own benefit or amusement. They lack manners in any form, whether it is the use of the most basic please or thank you, or even the current standard that passes for manners the quick look and slight smile, to indicate that someone else actually exists. These are the same people who treat waiters and clerks with disdain and expect exemplary service no matter what, and when they don't get it they make the employee's life miserable.
These are the people who will cut into line and grab parking spaces that you are obviously waiting for. It really shouldn't be illegal to vandalize their cars or kick them in the shins for butting in line. I have never understood this type of rude behavior, and it is too bad that society tolerates it as well, by making it illegal to teach them a lesson. A few trips to the dentist to get their teeth replaced or their jaw wired shut until it heals and they would start to understand that they are not the center of the universe. Lynching should be reserved only for those with the highest rescindivism rates. After the 4th trip to the ER for rudeness related injuries they should immediately be hanged as it shows that they have no ability to learn the rules of polite society.
There is still another class of idiot out there that has really gotten under my skin lately, this is the chatroom attention seeker. The idiot that hides in his/her anonymity and simply annoys people for the fun of annoying people. They have nothing intelligent to add to a conversation, so rather than simply reading and maybe learning something or maybe looking in other rooms where there may be a subject of interest to them, they sit and type repetitive lines waiting for somebody to respond to their idiocy. Then they attack and begin calling names and arguing with any point that is made. They make it nearly impossible to ignore them, and sadly each time you mention them they take it as attention and are encouraged to continue the lousy behavior. So what happens is that when new people come into the room they don't realize that this person is being ignored and they engage the idiot and there we go again with the rude dude attitude.
What really drives me nuts about these freaks is that half the time they are no more than kids, or in the really worst cases, young adults with time to kill and nobody to to grab them by the the throat and smack their head into the monitor! So what is the motivation for this behavior? Is it a lack of attention at home or the feeling of empowerment that they get from pissing off a bunch of anonymous strangers? What would happen if we could get the information on these idiots and have Vinny and Vito show up at their door and break a few fingers. Does it seem like I have some hostility pent up about this lack of manners? You're right I do! I was raised to be polite, not only to my friends and family, but even more so to strangers, because this is how you are perceived by the world and being rude makes you a less effective communicator. Rudeness begets rudeness and soon communication is gone and all that is left is hostile accusation.
I am reminded of something written by Heinlein in the character of Lazarus Long, "I am of the opinion that most human male children should be raised in barrels and fed through the bung. When they are 18 a decision must be made, whether to let them out or drive in the bung plug." I love that idea, because there are many a 21 year old whom I would love to stuff into a barrel and drive in the bung plug. He also said, "Manners are the grease in the gears of society. They make things run smoothly and are just as important in public as they are at home." I know that quote isn't perfect, but I can't find my book at the moment and get it perfect, but that 's the gist of it!
Do I have a solution? Nope. Do I think things will change? Probably, but sadly they will probably get worse before they get better. I think that it might be like alcoholism, where we collectively need to hit rock bottom and maybe even bounce a few times before we begin to climb out of the hole. My guess is that the current generation may find out that living with idiots like themselves is pretty crappy, and then they may begin to teach manners to their children. Yeah right!! ROFLMAO!! What's gonna happen is that eventually somebody is going to walk a mall with a sawed off shotgun and start blowing away line budgers and iPod zombies.
When the SWAT team surrounds the mall and orders him to surrender he tells them to say "Please". At the trial the jury finds him not guilty and instead awards him a multi-million dollar settlement for wrongful arrest and sends him to congress with a mandate to make rudeness illegal. The minimum fines for public rudeness are what may currently be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The escalation of the the fine for subsequent offenses move in three short steps to execution. The "3 strikes" law will make the world a much better place. There will also be no legal consequences for anyone severely beating a rude person in public as long as there are at least 3 witnesses to the rude behavior. The trials will be quick and public, the nearest 12 people will be rounded up and be the jury. The first 2 police officers will be the lawyers and one more civilian will serve as the judge. As long as the beating is found justified that is no repercussions, and the beaten rude dude, will be remanded to the authorities and given his proper sentence. ( the trial of the beater will serve as beatee's verdict as well ) I'm sure that this is just a pipe dream, but oh, wouldn't it be nice!
So thank you for reading and have a great day.
These are the people who will cut into line and grab parking spaces that you are obviously waiting for. It really shouldn't be illegal to vandalize their cars or kick them in the shins for butting in line. I have never understood this type of rude behavior, and it is too bad that society tolerates it as well, by making it illegal to teach them a lesson. A few trips to the dentist to get their teeth replaced or their jaw wired shut until it heals and they would start to understand that they are not the center of the universe. Lynching should be reserved only for those with the highest rescindivism rates. After the 4th trip to the ER for rudeness related injuries they should immediately be hanged as it shows that they have no ability to learn the rules of polite society.
There is still another class of idiot out there that has really gotten under my skin lately, this is the chatroom attention seeker. The idiot that hides in his/her anonymity and simply annoys people for the fun of annoying people. They have nothing intelligent to add to a conversation, so rather than simply reading and maybe learning something or maybe looking in other rooms where there may be a subject of interest to them, they sit and type repetitive lines waiting for somebody to respond to their idiocy. Then they attack and begin calling names and arguing with any point that is made. They make it nearly impossible to ignore them, and sadly each time you mention them they take it as attention and are encouraged to continue the lousy behavior. So what happens is that when new people come into the room they don't realize that this person is being ignored and they engage the idiot and there we go again with the rude dude attitude.
What really drives me nuts about these freaks is that half the time they are no more than kids, or in the really worst cases, young adults with time to kill and nobody to to grab them by the the throat and smack their head into the monitor! So what is the motivation for this behavior? Is it a lack of attention at home or the feeling of empowerment that they get from pissing off a bunch of anonymous strangers? What would happen if we could get the information on these idiots and have Vinny and Vito show up at their door and break a few fingers. Does it seem like I have some hostility pent up about this lack of manners? You're right I do! I was raised to be polite, not only to my friends and family, but even more so to strangers, because this is how you are perceived by the world and being rude makes you a less effective communicator. Rudeness begets rudeness and soon communication is gone and all that is left is hostile accusation.
I am reminded of something written by Heinlein in the character of Lazarus Long, "I am of the opinion that most human male children should be raised in barrels and fed through the bung. When they are 18 a decision must be made, whether to let them out or drive in the bung plug." I love that idea, because there are many a 21 year old whom I would love to stuff into a barrel and drive in the bung plug. He also said, "Manners are the grease in the gears of society. They make things run smoothly and are just as important in public as they are at home." I know that quote isn't perfect, but I can't find my book at the moment and get it perfect, but that 's the gist of it!
Do I have a solution? Nope. Do I think things will change? Probably, but sadly they will probably get worse before they get better. I think that it might be like alcoholism, where we collectively need to hit rock bottom and maybe even bounce a few times before we begin to climb out of the hole. My guess is that the current generation may find out that living with idiots like themselves is pretty crappy, and then they may begin to teach manners to their children. Yeah right!! ROFLMAO!! What's gonna happen is that eventually somebody is going to walk a mall with a sawed off shotgun and start blowing away line budgers and iPod zombies.
When the SWAT team surrounds the mall and orders him to surrender he tells them to say "Please". At the trial the jury finds him not guilty and instead awards him a multi-million dollar settlement for wrongful arrest and sends him to congress with a mandate to make rudeness illegal. The minimum fines for public rudeness are what may currently be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The escalation of the the fine for subsequent offenses move in three short steps to execution. The "3 strikes" law will make the world a much better place. There will also be no legal consequences for anyone severely beating a rude person in public as long as there are at least 3 witnesses to the rude behavior. The trials will be quick and public, the nearest 12 people will be rounded up and be the jury. The first 2 police officers will be the lawyers and one more civilian will serve as the judge. As long as the beating is found justified that is no repercussions, and the beaten rude dude, will be remanded to the authorities and given his proper sentence. ( the trial of the beater will serve as beatee's verdict as well ) I'm sure that this is just a pipe dream, but oh, wouldn't it be nice!
So thank you for reading and have a great day.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Am I a Hypocrite?
It's not really reality TV, but it might actually be my 15 minutes. OK, so here's the story, this week there was a story all over the news about "The Best Job In The World", and for some people it really is exactly that, the best job in the world. I'm one of those people. It is a chance at a 6 month contract to live and work on an Island above the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The key here is this, the job requires that the person who gets the job be a decent photographer, film maker, and writer. Basically you need to be a communicator, who can sell your experiences to others and get them as excited as you about the stuff that you see and do. The job is public relations and marketing, with some ham and fluff thrown in to make it interesting.
There is provided living space where the candidate will live and "work" because there are certain set duties, two of which are to produce a weekly or bi-weekly blog about the experiences exploring the islands and the Reef. It requires some swimming and lots of outdoor savvy. There will be many public appearances and media relations are involved, but the main idea is to be a tourist for the length of the contract and write about it with pictures and videos. They will provide all the needed equipment and electronics, as well as a fairly open itinerary of activities.
Who is "they"? "They" are Tourism Queensland, and the job is a brand new created position the brainchild of their marketing department. They made a good move because the idea of this job has really caught fire, as of today there has been well over 2 million hits on their website since Wednesday when it first made national news here in the United States. It has actually been advertised in job listings world wide for almost 2 weeks, and most people thought that it was a hoax. But it is real.
So where is my hypocrisy , you ask? I have applied for this job! I didn't do it because it's a way to get famous, but rather because it may actually be a way into what I have long wanted to do, and that is to be some sort of travel writer. I have wanted for many years to be able to travel and to take pictures and videos and to share this with anyone who is interested. To get paid for it is the dream part. In the last 30 years of my life I have been a photographer, in the last 20 years of my life I have been a DJ and an MC, and in the last 10 years I have been working in video. I have been a writer is some way, shape, or form for at least 30 years if not more. It is as if my entire life experience has been guiding me towards this cusp in time. Just in the last 2 weeks I have actually said out loud that if given the chance I would love to be a travel writer. I have thought this for years, but only now have I actually given voice to this dream. It is almost like fate was waiting for me to say it out loud. I guess that the job requires a little measure of fame to get people interested in what I will be photographing and writing about, so this may be my hypocrisy.
The pay is not in the millions by any means, but it is sufficient to make me happy. It could be a doorway to a future, or it could end up being once in a lifetime chance to live out a dream, either way I look forward to doing this job. I just can't imagine that the universe would create this opportunity and put in in front of me , then yank it away like Lucy with the football. Every person that I know personally that I have talked to about this, agrees that there could be no better candidate for this position than me. So I will be keeping a positive thought, and when the time comes I will put the links up here so that anyone who is interested in supporting me will be able to give me some points and support. I hate to think of all the disappointed people when I get the job, but I think I will still be able to sleep at night! LOL
There is provided living space where the candidate will live and "work" because there are certain set duties, two of which are to produce a weekly or bi-weekly blog about the experiences exploring the islands and the Reef. It requires some swimming and lots of outdoor savvy. There will be many public appearances and media relations are involved, but the main idea is to be a tourist for the length of the contract and write about it with pictures and videos. They will provide all the needed equipment and electronics, as well as a fairly open itinerary of activities.
Who is "they"? "They" are Tourism Queensland, and the job is a brand new created position the brainchild of their marketing department. They made a good move because the idea of this job has really caught fire, as of today there has been well over 2 million hits on their website since Wednesday when it first made national news here in the United States. It has actually been advertised in job listings world wide for almost 2 weeks, and most people thought that it was a hoax. But it is real.
So where is my hypocrisy , you ask? I have applied for this job! I didn't do it because it's a way to get famous, but rather because it may actually be a way into what I have long wanted to do, and that is to be some sort of travel writer. I have wanted for many years to be able to travel and to take pictures and videos and to share this with anyone who is interested. To get paid for it is the dream part. In the last 30 years of my life I have been a photographer, in the last 20 years of my life I have been a DJ and an MC, and in the last 10 years I have been working in video. I have been a writer is some way, shape, or form for at least 30 years if not more. It is as if my entire life experience has been guiding me towards this cusp in time. Just in the last 2 weeks I have actually said out loud that if given the chance I would love to be a travel writer. I have thought this for years, but only now have I actually given voice to this dream. It is almost like fate was waiting for me to say it out loud. I guess that the job requires a little measure of fame to get people interested in what I will be photographing and writing about, so this may be my hypocrisy.
The pay is not in the millions by any means, but it is sufficient to make me happy. It could be a doorway to a future, or it could end up being once in a lifetime chance to live out a dream, either way I look forward to doing this job. I just can't imagine that the universe would create this opportunity and put in in front of me , then yank it away like Lucy with the football. Every person that I know personally that I have talked to about this, agrees that there could be no better candidate for this position than me. So I will be keeping a positive thought, and when the time comes I will put the links up here so that anyone who is interested in supporting me will be able to give me some points and support. I hate to think of all the disappointed people when I get the job, but I think I will still be able to sleep at night! LOL
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
15 minutes of fame
Andy Warhol said that everybody will get their 15 minutes of fame. And this was WAY before reality shows. Back when he said these famous words the closest that most people ever got to that goal was to audition for a game show, probably one of those great quiz shows from the 50's and 60's. Boy how things change, and now Warhol seems as farsighted as Nostradamus.
The popular wisdom is that the reality show got it's start with Survivor, in 2000, but it all depends on where you want to go for the beginning of the reality show. I am not going to do a ton of research here to be the defining authority in the subject, but I do know that there were many shows in Europe that were competitions between everyday people in unusual settings, and perhaps even Japan was at the very head of the curve by putting entire office groups at odd in insane physical competitions. What really intrigues me about this subject is just what lengths people will go to to try and get famous. But I always wonder, is there a line? Is there something so stupid and disgusting or dangerous that some idiot won't sign up and send in a audition tape, or stand in line for hours in the beating desert sun, or the torrential rain or freezing cold?
Consider first the gameshows, who remembers Let's Make a Deal? Good ol' Monty Hall and the ever elusive airmail stamp. People put on stupid costumes and yelled like fools and were all ready to trade their first born child for the can of creamed corn that might be behind door number 1. Don't misunderstand me, I was 8 years old and it was the most entertaining thing to watch at 10 am on a snowday stuck home from school. It stuck with me. I will never forget the crazy people dressed in Halloween costumes and digging in their pockets and purses looking for a pair of tweezers to trade Monty for a crisp $100 bill. Jump ahead a few decades.
Millions of people line up for a place on any show you can imagine, for prizes ranging from A million dollars, to a new t-shirt. The biggest prize out there is debatable, and it is a toss up between The possible music career from American Idol or Nashville Star, or the business career possibilities from The Apprentice. But What about the Million Dollar prize for winning Survivor? The very first winner has done jail time because he failed to pay the taxes due on his winnings. Duh!! They even tell you in the paperwork that you sign to get the prize that you are responsible for the taxes. What is the draw of Big Brother? Why do you want to live in a house with a bunch of strangers, schemeing and conniving a way to get them all kicked out, until your the only idiot left. Cameras following you wherever you go, and watching your every move whether you do something nice or something nasty. For prize money, and maybe you turn out to be mildly entertaining and somebody offers you something more. Or maybe you go on to more reality shows. You gain fans and ( what is the opposite of fans? Haters, anti-fans? I'm gonna go with haters.) Haters and before you know it the paparazzi are chasing you around and looking for any opportunity to make you look stupid. The haters win!! They always tear it down. even the up and coming favorite ends up with a whole crop of haters after while. Thruthfully I would be willing to bet that for every supportive fan there are 4 haters out there. They may not always be as vocal, but they are usually the majority. Then there are the other 5 million who are totally indifferent, but we don't bother with them. that brings us to the big one...
American Idol, tonight is the premier of the 8th season of the show and once again the craziness starts. Stupid costumes, lousy singers who whole heartedly believe that they are gods gift to vocals. The people who put all of their hopes and dreams into their auditions and then when they are rejected storm out the door grumbling about what a joke the show is and how they will make it no matter what. If the show is such a joke, why did you audition in the first place? I have to admit that I really enjoy the show, but over the years there have been some odd people make it for a long way into the competition. Ya know why? It's this odd little hater website called "vote for the worst". You have to wonder which of those rejected auditioners actually built the site, because over the years it have really begun to guide the early part of the competetion. To me there are a few true Idols who have come out of this show. Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Katherine Mcphee. Then there are the mid-packers who have made great careers such as Kelly Pickler, Bucky Covington, Tamyra Gray, and Jennifer Hudson. Proving that winning isn't always the first place finish. The Sanjayas, and Scott Savol's of the world will fall away and the cream will rise to the surface. But it take 10's of millions people to audition to find those few nuggets of talent that may end up at the top of the heap. And the producers put the worst of the worst on the screen. America gets to watch as people get their 15 minutes of fame and then get shot down like a tin duck in a shooting gallery. Simon, with his razor sharp comments, Randy, laughing behind his paper, and Paula, smiling in that treakely way of hers, trying to tell them nicely that they suck more than a Dyson Vacuum. Now there is a new judge, Kara DiaGuardi ( not sure I spelled it right, still new to me!) But she seems to be a little bit of all of them rolled into one. She has the experience of the singer and performer that paula and randy have, she has the producing experience of Simon and Randy, she has the sharp tongue of Simon and the humor of Randy and the niceness of Paula. Since this was only the first show it will take some time to learn her true personality. But anyway....
So then there are the odd shows, like The Bachelor, one single guy and a dozen or so women trying to win his attentions. The guy is the prize? Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire? Well, who doesn't? D'oh! Rock of love? You get to be the ultimate groupy and bang your favorite washed up rock star? Skanks lined up around the block! Average Joe? One hot babe and a dozen "normal" guys. She is misled to get there in the first place then the producers toss in a half dozen male models to make things "Interesting". And people watched this! ( I watched This! I watched this... LOL ) You know what the hot babe does, she picks the model. But the truth is that the genetic math rarely works, it is very unusual for 2 hot people to make a good looking kid. Because the good looking people are both recessive genes and when they get together they cancell each other out and the dominant uglies come to the surface. so when you think about it, it's like nature's little joke on hot couples, they end with homely kids to teach them some humility. If you really want good looking kids you need to mix the couples better. Woman need to be taught to look for the homely guys and the good looking guys need to be taught to look for the scary broads and that way the best will continue to thrive!! But how did I end up talking genetics here? Back to the 15 minutes....
So there are TV shows for the 15 minutes, but what else is there? YOU TUBE!!! yes I have my Youtube page and I am even in it, but I also have other stuff that I have put together on my own. What else? Infamy, become a killer!! Or worse a BLOGGER!!! yes indeed there are those who are famous because they write about stupid crap like 15 minutes of fame and idiot politicians. Hi! That's me I am not famous and I don't really want fame, just some discussion. I never expect to change peoples minds or to make a true differenc in the world, but I want to say what I think and even if nobody else ever reads it, I know that it's out there if somebody does want to read it. Then there are those people who are famous for being famous, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and a few others. They do nothing to add to the human experience good or bad, yet the world is so celebrity obsessed that they bestow the blessing ( curse?) of celebrity on someone simply because they have become famous for being famous. Not even sure how it really works, but it happens.
There will always be those who wish to be famous, who live their life wanting the adoration of the masses and they will do anything they can to get it. William Hung, the most famous of the worst auditions ever. He went on a tour and people wanted his autograph. He could barely speak the language and he sure couldn't sing or dance. Yet he was famous for exactly that! Wow, scary what passes for celebrity!
Here's to you and to me and our 15 minutes of fame. I'm doing exactly what I want to do and if it brings me the 15 minutes, great, but if it doesn't, so be it, I would rather have the can of creamed corn behind door number 1 anyway!
The popular wisdom is that the reality show got it's start with Survivor, in 2000, but it all depends on where you want to go for the beginning of the reality show. I am not going to do a ton of research here to be the defining authority in the subject, but I do know that there were many shows in Europe that were competitions between everyday people in unusual settings, and perhaps even Japan was at the very head of the curve by putting entire office groups at odd in insane physical competitions. What really intrigues me about this subject is just what lengths people will go to to try and get famous. But I always wonder, is there a line? Is there something so stupid and disgusting or dangerous that some idiot won't sign up and send in a audition tape, or stand in line for hours in the beating desert sun, or the torrential rain or freezing cold?
Consider first the gameshows, who remembers Let's Make a Deal? Good ol' Monty Hall and the ever elusive airmail stamp. People put on stupid costumes and yelled like fools and were all ready to trade their first born child for the can of creamed corn that might be behind door number 1. Don't misunderstand me, I was 8 years old and it was the most entertaining thing to watch at 10 am on a snowday stuck home from school. It stuck with me. I will never forget the crazy people dressed in Halloween costumes and digging in their pockets and purses looking for a pair of tweezers to trade Monty for a crisp $100 bill. Jump ahead a few decades.
Millions of people line up for a place on any show you can imagine, for prizes ranging from A million dollars, to a new t-shirt. The biggest prize out there is debatable, and it is a toss up between The possible music career from American Idol or Nashville Star, or the business career possibilities from The Apprentice. But What about the Million Dollar prize for winning Survivor? The very first winner has done jail time because he failed to pay the taxes due on his winnings. Duh!! They even tell you in the paperwork that you sign to get the prize that you are responsible for the taxes. What is the draw of Big Brother? Why do you want to live in a house with a bunch of strangers, schemeing and conniving a way to get them all kicked out, until your the only idiot left. Cameras following you wherever you go, and watching your every move whether you do something nice or something nasty. For prize money, and maybe you turn out to be mildly entertaining and somebody offers you something more. Or maybe you go on to more reality shows. You gain fans and ( what is the opposite of fans? Haters, anti-fans? I'm gonna go with haters.) Haters and before you know it the paparazzi are chasing you around and looking for any opportunity to make you look stupid. The haters win!! They always tear it down. even the up and coming favorite ends up with a whole crop of haters after while. Thruthfully I would be willing to bet that for every supportive fan there are 4 haters out there. They may not always be as vocal, but they are usually the majority. Then there are the other 5 million who are totally indifferent, but we don't bother with them. that brings us to the big one...
American Idol, tonight is the premier of the 8th season of the show and once again the craziness starts. Stupid costumes, lousy singers who whole heartedly believe that they are gods gift to vocals. The people who put all of their hopes and dreams into their auditions and then when they are rejected storm out the door grumbling about what a joke the show is and how they will make it no matter what. If the show is such a joke, why did you audition in the first place? I have to admit that I really enjoy the show, but over the years there have been some odd people make it for a long way into the competition. Ya know why? It's this odd little hater website called "vote for the worst". You have to wonder which of those rejected auditioners actually built the site, because over the years it have really begun to guide the early part of the competetion. To me there are a few true Idols who have come out of this show. Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Katherine Mcphee. Then there are the mid-packers who have made great careers such as Kelly Pickler, Bucky Covington, Tamyra Gray, and Jennifer Hudson. Proving that winning isn't always the first place finish. The Sanjayas, and Scott Savol's of the world will fall away and the cream will rise to the surface. But it take 10's of millions people to audition to find those few nuggets of talent that may end up at the top of the heap. And the producers put the worst of the worst on the screen. America gets to watch as people get their 15 minutes of fame and then get shot down like a tin duck in a shooting gallery. Simon, with his razor sharp comments, Randy, laughing behind his paper, and Paula, smiling in that treakely way of hers, trying to tell them nicely that they suck more than a Dyson Vacuum. Now there is a new judge, Kara DiaGuardi ( not sure I spelled it right, still new to me!) But she seems to be a little bit of all of them rolled into one. She has the experience of the singer and performer that paula and randy have, she has the producing experience of Simon and Randy, she has the sharp tongue of Simon and the humor of Randy and the niceness of Paula. Since this was only the first show it will take some time to learn her true personality. But anyway....
So then there are the odd shows, like The Bachelor, one single guy and a dozen or so women trying to win his attentions. The guy is the prize? Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire? Well, who doesn't? D'oh! Rock of love? You get to be the ultimate groupy and bang your favorite washed up rock star? Skanks lined up around the block! Average Joe? One hot babe and a dozen "normal" guys. She is misled to get there in the first place then the producers toss in a half dozen male models to make things "Interesting". And people watched this! ( I watched This! I watched this... LOL ) You know what the hot babe does, she picks the model. But the truth is that the genetic math rarely works, it is very unusual for 2 hot people to make a good looking kid. Because the good looking people are both recessive genes and when they get together they cancell each other out and the dominant uglies come to the surface. so when you think about it, it's like nature's little joke on hot couples, they end with homely kids to teach them some humility. If you really want good looking kids you need to mix the couples better. Woman need to be taught to look for the homely guys and the good looking guys need to be taught to look for the scary broads and that way the best will continue to thrive!! But how did I end up talking genetics here? Back to the 15 minutes....
So there are TV shows for the 15 minutes, but what else is there? YOU TUBE!!! yes I have my Youtube page and I am even in it, but I also have other stuff that I have put together on my own. What else? Infamy, become a killer!! Or worse a BLOGGER!!! yes indeed there are those who are famous because they write about stupid crap like 15 minutes of fame and idiot politicians. Hi! That's me I am not famous and I don't really want fame, just some discussion. I never expect to change peoples minds or to make a true differenc in the world, but I want to say what I think and even if nobody else ever reads it, I know that it's out there if somebody does want to read it. Then there are those people who are famous for being famous, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and a few others. They do nothing to add to the human experience good or bad, yet the world is so celebrity obsessed that they bestow the blessing ( curse?) of celebrity on someone simply because they have become famous for being famous. Not even sure how it really works, but it happens.
There will always be those who wish to be famous, who live their life wanting the adoration of the masses and they will do anything they can to get it. William Hung, the most famous of the worst auditions ever. He went on a tour and people wanted his autograph. He could barely speak the language and he sure couldn't sing or dance. Yet he was famous for exactly that! Wow, scary what passes for celebrity!
Here's to you and to me and our 15 minutes of fame. I'm doing exactly what I want to do and if it brings me the 15 minutes, great, but if it doesn't, so be it, I would rather have the can of creamed corn behind door number 1 anyway!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Spending our Inheritace
America is a very screwed up country. Most people already know this, but we still have pride and thump our chests when people put us down. We are aloud to criticize ourselves, but gods help anyone else who does so! What makes me bitch today? News items from all over the country, that because of budget problems in various states, education takes a hit while politicians continue to initiate new spending! Meanwhile governments from counties up to the feds are adding to the list of required subject matter and testing standards. Just exactly how are these schools supposed to do more with less? Not only less money, but less hours, and in some cases even less days! Is it any wonder that American education has become such a joke around the world? I have always believed that teachers are generally underpaid. Not withstanding certain locations where there are exorbitant union contracts. They deal daily with who knows what, from homicidal teens to abused pre-schoolers. They have to make due with decades old text books and resources that are stretched so thin that they have probably snapped in many cases. Even in fairly upper crust suburbs the public schools are strapped for cash, to such a point that they send home lists of supplies that the parents are responsible for buying for their children. Not only general supplies but the supplies that they need for art class, and various projects throughout the school year. Schools can barely provide heat in the class rooms half of the time and now the tax money that public schools depend on is being rerouted to some other idiot project. Why is it that cities and sports teams are getting tax money to build stadiums for professional teams?
Professional sports teams charge exorbitant ticket prices for million dollar players who feel so entitled that they act barely human. They have nearly no manners or morals and treat the people who actually make them stars like idiots. They lie, cheat and kill then expect special treatment because they get outrageous salaries to play a stupid game for a few hours each week. Whether they win or lose the game that they play has no bearing on the course of history, or the develolpment of the human race. But they get tax money that could actually go towards education. Education that might uncover and encourage the next great mind of our age, the one who might develope the first viable human colony on Mar, or the one who will discover the secret of hyper space. Not every sportsman is an undereducated oaf, but there are far more of them than there are of the thoughtful, educated type. You get my point though. I know that in many cases increasing funds to schools seems like simply throwing good money after bad, but even in those cases do you simply give up on them?
I have to believe that there is a reason to try. When there is a resource to educate, somebody will use it. Maybe not every kid will use everything offered to them. We don't know why, some will feel lost no matter what is done to help them, and some will think they know it all and that the teachers are out to get them. There will never be a perfect system for educating the masses, the individality of the human race is both a blessing and a curse. But there will always be those who not only benefit, but stand out and excell. They will find what they need if it is there for them to find, and they will run with it and become great. They will become doctors and lawyers, teachers and business people, they will becomes astronomers and physisists, and any other field of endevour that you can name. They are out there now, struggling to learn in a hostile environment, where they are searched as they enter their schools and passed through metal detectors. If they are lucky enough to get to school they then have to try and survive each day, but they do it, and a small number of them learn that they can escape the cycle and maybe get a better life for not only themselves but for their children too. Granted when the time comes and their children get old enough they will be resented and rebelled against and they children will try to go back to the life that their parents tried so hard to escape, but at least they start out with the chance to go on. Right now that chance is being written off.
Our future lies in educating the youth, and not is paying the politicians who waste money year after year. They pay lip service to education, with slogans like "No child left behind." and "It takes a village." but when it comes down to it, they will take money from schools before they will take money from a sports team or take a paycut themselves. I know what the solution is, but sadly I will never be able to convince enough people to care to make the difference. But If I can convince a few people maybe they can convince a few more, and there is hope that eventually enough will care that the difference can be made. The solution is for the people themselve to call, write and visit their politicians, and not just the ones you know, but all of them from the President of the United States all the way down to your local councilman. Remind them that education should trump all else. Before they get raises, before they build stadiums, before they build monuments and parks, they need to educate the youth who will carry on the country and make it worth living in. Perhaps it is their plan, because when you think about it, an uneducated populace is much easier to convince of lies, because they simply don't know any better. You can take their rights away because they are unaware of what they are.
To save democracy and freedom, we need to be educated. It's as simple as that.
Professional sports teams charge exorbitant ticket prices for million dollar players who feel so entitled that they act barely human. They have nearly no manners or morals and treat the people who actually make them stars like idiots. They lie, cheat and kill then expect special treatment because they get outrageous salaries to play a stupid game for a few hours each week. Whether they win or lose the game that they play has no bearing on the course of history, or the develolpment of the human race. But they get tax money that could actually go towards education. Education that might uncover and encourage the next great mind of our age, the one who might develope the first viable human colony on Mar, or the one who will discover the secret of hyper space. Not every sportsman is an undereducated oaf, but there are far more of them than there are of the thoughtful, educated type. You get my point though. I know that in many cases increasing funds to schools seems like simply throwing good money after bad, but even in those cases do you simply give up on them?
I have to believe that there is a reason to try. When there is a resource to educate, somebody will use it. Maybe not every kid will use everything offered to them. We don't know why, some will feel lost no matter what is done to help them, and some will think they know it all and that the teachers are out to get them. There will never be a perfect system for educating the masses, the individality of the human race is both a blessing and a curse. But there will always be those who not only benefit, but stand out and excell. They will find what they need if it is there for them to find, and they will run with it and become great. They will become doctors and lawyers, teachers and business people, they will becomes astronomers and physisists, and any other field of endevour that you can name. They are out there now, struggling to learn in a hostile environment, where they are searched as they enter their schools and passed through metal detectors. If they are lucky enough to get to school they then have to try and survive each day, but they do it, and a small number of them learn that they can escape the cycle and maybe get a better life for not only themselves but for their children too. Granted when the time comes and their children get old enough they will be resented and rebelled against and they children will try to go back to the life that their parents tried so hard to escape, but at least they start out with the chance to go on. Right now that chance is being written off.
Our future lies in educating the youth, and not is paying the politicians who waste money year after year. They pay lip service to education, with slogans like "No child left behind." and "It takes a village." but when it comes down to it, they will take money from schools before they will take money from a sports team or take a paycut themselves. I know what the solution is, but sadly I will never be able to convince enough people to care to make the difference. But If I can convince a few people maybe they can convince a few more, and there is hope that eventually enough will care that the difference can be made. The solution is for the people themselve to call, write and visit their politicians, and not just the ones you know, but all of them from the President of the United States all the way down to your local councilman. Remind them that education should trump all else. Before they get raises, before they build stadiums, before they build monuments and parks, they need to educate the youth who will carry on the country and make it worth living in. Perhaps it is their plan, because when you think about it, an uneducated populace is much easier to convince of lies, because they simply don't know any better. You can take their rights away because they are unaware of what they are.
To save democracy and freedom, we need to be educated. It's as simple as that.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Why is Peace so Elusive?
I don't wish to sound like a sap here, but I have to wonder and I decided to wonder on a page, Why is peace so elusive? What is it about the Jews and the Palestinians, and the Sunnis and the Shiites, and the crap in Darfur? Is it a religious difference? What is the difference? 2000 years ago when these religions took hold it was a better way to control people and hold on to resources.
Religion was and is the new mythology. I can't be convinced that it is now or has ever been a good thing. How can something that is supposed to be so beneficial to the people be used so blatantly to kill and maim someone else? Once in our history there was actually some sense to the violent side of the religion, because you wanted an army that would follow it's leaders into the the face of the raging enemy. They needed to protect their vital resources, their crops and their people. There was a need to tell the troops that they would end up in a better place when they died for "the cause" and it gave them a reason to fight without the fear of dying. It was also a way for leaders with limited resources to keep their populations under control. I know it sounds callous, but think about the tyrants of old, what better way to have enough grain stores to get through the winter than to get a chunk of the population killed? Especially after a particulary lean harvest. That was one of the reasons for the caste system, the royals and ruling classes were taught to see the lower classes, and serfs as no more than chattel, pawns to be used for their own amusement and benefit. You wish to gain something from the neighboring kingdom? Send in an army of the lower classes as cannon fodder to get the attention of the neighboring king and maybe even have a victory and get what you were wanting. Now it's not so clear cut.
Today the world is smaller and the resources much more mobile and easier to distribute. Why is it that a country as large as Russia feels the need to argue over the resources that they have to sell? They have enough oil in their fields to give OPEC a run for their money, yet they are quibbling with over prices with half of Europe and the former Soviet Republics. I understand National pride, but not the need to control more land and more resources. What is it about human greed for Control! "If you don't believe as I believe then you must die as it is the only form of control that I can exert!" The thought process eludes me on this one. There are cat lovers in this world who understand that not everything is easily within our control. Dog lovers on the other hand wish for instant obedience and gleeful worship from their subjects.
Why is it that there is so many people who believe that, "it's my way or the highway( to hell)?" So much of the world lives with self imposed blinders on, never willing to look beyond their narrow view for whatever reason. Usually the reason is ideological, they are taught not to question authority, be it religious or governmental. The Pope imposes his will upon the devout Catholics around the world, no birth control, you must breed! No meat on Friday, No wait that's not the rule any more... Oh I know , give the Church 10% 0f your gross pay, or you will not get into Heaven! No sex Before Marriage, Says the Celibate priest! Muslims claim to have the peaceful religion yet the radical among them find in their Koran the words to inflame passions to the point that their youth will die in a fiery explosion with bombs strapped to their bodies in hopes of getting into Paradise. The world here sucks so bad that they take the easy way out! Sure it sucks here, their woman are treated like so many goats or horses and they aren't allowed to even look at them until they're married. They have to stop and pray how many times a day, and kiss the ground wherever they happen to be. Yuck, I would be willing to blow myself up to get out of living like that too! But why is it this constant drive to make the others live as you live? Why must there be a conversion? If I live my life without causing you harm, and I can do business with you honestly and openly, why must I believe the same mythology that you believe? What difference does it make to me or you? If I don't insist that you live like I do, why must you insist that I live like you do?
Some of the death and destruction is no more than a hillbilly feud that has carried on since time immemorial. The Jews killed a Palestinian and then the Palestinians killed a Jew to retaliate and it has since gone on as ever, and ever escalating. Yet there are Jewish kids and Palestinian kids who play soccer against and with each other in the streets of Jerusalem, they know no malice, simply the face of a friend and a fellow player. There is so much focus on the differences by the adults that they forget what it was like to be a child and only know your friends, and the things that you shared. Children don't know prejudice, it is taught to them and that is a shame. It takes no more effort to teach a child tolerance and understanding than it does to indoctrinate them with hatred and a narrow minded world view. I could never understand the need to pass such destrcutive teaching from one generation to the next. Did your Grandfather's grandfather's grandfather die so that you could send your son to his death? No, of course not, he died hoping that his children would be able to live in peace.
The Human race is quite unique on the plant Earth, as we have both the means to destroy ourselves completely, or the means to elevate ourselves into the stars and to truly find the secrets of the universe. Sadly the former is the most likely scenario, because in order to elevate, we must first have a peaceful society that can co-operate within all of the relms of science and technology, and rather than use the knowledge to try and destroy one another, use it to expand the horizons of human knowledge. In every field of human endevour we could advance, simply by eliminating the need to dominate each other, and pool our resources and knowledge for the good of all. We could feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. We could send our species into the solar system beyond the Moon, and beyond Mars and out into the limitless Universe. We could gain so much from simply shedding the old prejudices and learning from our children, how to focus on the good stuff, and to not bother about the differences.
I want to believe that there is a future where the need for weapons of mass destruction no longer exsists. I want to believe that Humanity will opens it's eyes one morning and realize that the answer to all of our problems is to stop the killing and to start the healing. Political lines and religious lines become meaningless and useless because there is not a need for division, when we will all work towards the next step for the entire species, and not just for our own greed, but the future of our children and their children's children.
Religion was and is the new mythology. I can't be convinced that it is now or has ever been a good thing. How can something that is supposed to be so beneficial to the people be used so blatantly to kill and maim someone else? Once in our history there was actually some sense to the violent side of the religion, because you wanted an army that would follow it's leaders into the the face of the raging enemy. They needed to protect their vital resources, their crops and their people. There was a need to tell the troops that they would end up in a better place when they died for "the cause" and it gave them a reason to fight without the fear of dying. It was also a way for leaders with limited resources to keep their populations under control. I know it sounds callous, but think about the tyrants of old, what better way to have enough grain stores to get through the winter than to get a chunk of the population killed? Especially after a particulary lean harvest. That was one of the reasons for the caste system, the royals and ruling classes were taught to see the lower classes, and serfs as no more than chattel, pawns to be used for their own amusement and benefit. You wish to gain something from the neighboring kingdom? Send in an army of the lower classes as cannon fodder to get the attention of the neighboring king and maybe even have a victory and get what you were wanting. Now it's not so clear cut.
Today the world is smaller and the resources much more mobile and easier to distribute. Why is it that a country as large as Russia feels the need to argue over the resources that they have to sell? They have enough oil in their fields to give OPEC a run for their money, yet they are quibbling with over prices with half of Europe and the former Soviet Republics. I understand National pride, but not the need to control more land and more resources. What is it about human greed for Control! "If you don't believe as I believe then you must die as it is the only form of control that I can exert!" The thought process eludes me on this one. There are cat lovers in this world who understand that not everything is easily within our control. Dog lovers on the other hand wish for instant obedience and gleeful worship from their subjects.
Why is it that there is so many people who believe that, "it's my way or the highway( to hell)?" So much of the world lives with self imposed blinders on, never willing to look beyond their narrow view for whatever reason. Usually the reason is ideological, they are taught not to question authority, be it religious or governmental. The Pope imposes his will upon the devout Catholics around the world, no birth control, you must breed! No meat on Friday, No wait that's not the rule any more... Oh I know , give the Church 10% 0f your gross pay, or you will not get into Heaven! No sex Before Marriage, Says the Celibate priest! Muslims claim to have the peaceful religion yet the radical among them find in their Koran the words to inflame passions to the point that their youth will die in a fiery explosion with bombs strapped to their bodies in hopes of getting into Paradise. The world here sucks so bad that they take the easy way out! Sure it sucks here, their woman are treated like so many goats or horses and they aren't allowed to even look at them until they're married. They have to stop and pray how many times a day, and kiss the ground wherever they happen to be. Yuck, I would be willing to blow myself up to get out of living like that too! But why is it this constant drive to make the others live as you live? Why must there be a conversion? If I live my life without causing you harm, and I can do business with you honestly and openly, why must I believe the same mythology that you believe? What difference does it make to me or you? If I don't insist that you live like I do, why must you insist that I live like you do?
Some of the death and destruction is no more than a hillbilly feud that has carried on since time immemorial. The Jews killed a Palestinian and then the Palestinians killed a Jew to retaliate and it has since gone on as ever, and ever escalating. Yet there are Jewish kids and Palestinian kids who play soccer against and with each other in the streets of Jerusalem, they know no malice, simply the face of a friend and a fellow player. There is so much focus on the differences by the adults that they forget what it was like to be a child and only know your friends, and the things that you shared. Children don't know prejudice, it is taught to them and that is a shame. It takes no more effort to teach a child tolerance and understanding than it does to indoctrinate them with hatred and a narrow minded world view. I could never understand the need to pass such destrcutive teaching from one generation to the next. Did your Grandfather's grandfather's grandfather die so that you could send your son to his death? No, of course not, he died hoping that his children would be able to live in peace.
The Human race is quite unique on the plant Earth, as we have both the means to destroy ourselves completely, or the means to elevate ourselves into the stars and to truly find the secrets of the universe. Sadly the former is the most likely scenario, because in order to elevate, we must first have a peaceful society that can co-operate within all of the relms of science and technology, and rather than use the knowledge to try and destroy one another, use it to expand the horizons of human knowledge. In every field of human endevour we could advance, simply by eliminating the need to dominate each other, and pool our resources and knowledge for the good of all. We could feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. We could send our species into the solar system beyond the Moon, and beyond Mars and out into the limitless Universe. We could gain so much from simply shedding the old prejudices and learning from our children, how to focus on the good stuff, and to not bother about the differences.
I want to believe that there is a future where the need for weapons of mass destruction no longer exsists. I want to believe that Humanity will opens it's eyes one morning and realize that the answer to all of our problems is to stop the killing and to start the healing. Political lines and religious lines become meaningless and useless because there is not a need for division, when we will all work towards the next step for the entire species, and not just for our own greed, but the future of our children and their children's children.
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