Random Traceover Image (C)2008 ME!
Published by jp on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 03:43:02
On Philosophy and Importance in Media
Published by jp on Monday, December 8, 2008 - 00:50:53
So, what is it, exactly, that makes celebrities and sports and other peripheral things in the world an important, philosophical discussion, warranting it being broadcast on TV and radio?
Case in point, sports talk radio. What in the hell? The local 10 o’clock news adding in some local and/or important sports scores to the rest of the newscast makes sense, but entire radio stations or programming blocks (TV and radio) dedicated to nothing but philosophizing about the gritty details and ins and outs of some baseball player’s life or football player’s torn ACL and what it means to the rest of the season and their bowl chances… STFU already!
As a culture, the West and here I’m thinking of the US, we are slaves to trendchasing and idolatry of celebrity, regardless of who or why or how worthy those celebritae might be. Sports figures, actors, singers, just famous rich people - their lives are not only vitally interesting, or at least are presented as such, but are, moreover, IMPORTANT - yes, Paris Hilton’s life of wealthy excess, Britney Spears’ batshit antics, and all the crazy things rappers and sports figures do - these are IMPORTANT to us! Oh MAN are they important! Let’s make sure we follow them closely, constantly, lest we miss some absolutely essential detail about their life which can somehow complete ours, since we, the general population, can identify just SO MUCH with these down-to-earth millionaire celebrities.
Sure there’s world hunger and politics and economics and wars, you know, those pesky miscellaneous side-issues that just always seem to crop up now and again while we’re trying to find out who’s marrying who, who’s being busted for what or what some team’s defense is going to look like after a new trade - you know, those things that are really crucial to everyday life. It’s a real shame those meaty issues get interrupted every now and then with the occasional thing that actually has direct influence and consequences on us and our local or even national government.
Take for example, CNN, FOXNEWS or really, whatever else “news” channel you’d care to flip to. Ah look, it’s celebrities! It’s Showbiz Tonight or hard-hitting interviews… with f***king movie stars. I’m SO glad the news media is really keeping a close eye on what reall has meaning to us: what sequel is coming out next, what Kobe Bryant thinks of Al Qaida, and of course, Martha Stewart’s newest project.
Thank you, media, for protecting me from real issues and world events, and instead completely filling your slots with star-studded casts and bullshit gossip. We need more five and six-hour talk shows just giving the most comprehensive and detailed analysis of the world series and every team and each coach’s mother. YEAH! That’s what I’m talking about!
And don’t even get me started on so-called reality-effing-television! Talk shows, bless their putrid hearts, not only play to the lowest common denominator in us, the need for revelry in someone’s misery, but don’t even present wholly authentic situations or families - these things are chocked full of actors when the guest list gets thin. People could theoretically learn something useful or gain some insight, from some rare instances of actually applicable episodes, but let’s make sure those are few and far between and instead make sure there are plenty of chairs available just perfect for assaulting each other when it’s reveealed someone’s daughter is sleeping with their brother’s grandson or whatever messed up puke they see fit to fabricate.
But it really isn’t television or the media’s fault, in some ways, as they only put out what sells, and we’ve been buying. The Nielson families are really the ones to blame for the increasingly graphic illustrations of druge use, promiscuous sex and various other antisocial and destructive habits, and glorifying them as “good TV”. But we’ll buy anything, we’ll suck up any pablum and beg for more, because we’re creatures of comfort and love bright and shiny new things, colorful advertising and naughty and humiliating and titillating secrets and gossip.
So as soon as we pull our heads out of our asses, things should get back on the right track again. Any bets on when THAT will happen?
80’s Wrestling Video Games
Published by jp on Thursday, November 6, 2008 - 23:16:24
This would be more for the wrestling fans; it’s an entertaining trip down memory lane, waxing nostalgic about the different wrestling video games available to us in the 20th Century - 80’s Wrestling Games, including such classics as MatMania and Pro Wrestling.
President Barack Obama
Published by jp on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - 02:46:45
Congratulations from northeast Oklahoma USA to our new US President Barack Obama, and I’d also like to give out a lot of kudos to John McCain’s classy and excellent concession speech.
Wrestling
Published by jp on Thursday, October 30, 2008 - 20:21:58
Working on wrestling dice game, have bid on ebay on Simco wrestling with 500 wrestler cards.