Get Your Riot Gear

I made a music blog. It's just a way for me to spread a bit o' love and spark some conversations. There's only two posts so far; the first one is long, but the second might be of [more] interest to most of you.

'Kay, bye.

Simply Put

I've been reading a few random blogs and articles about simplifying life, and I, too, yearn to simplify mine as well. Simplification can lead to saving, and saving can lead to giving, and giving can lead to happiness. Simplification, therefore, is a thing worth achieving, and even the process of transitioning to a simpler lifestyle can be gratifying.
Most of these random blogs and articles define simplification in terms of conserving resources (i.e., money and energy) and give plenty of suggestions. Don't use the clothes dryer; hang dry your laundry. Don't use the dishwasher; wash the dishes by hand. Cancel cable television. Turn off the lights. Unplug electronics when not in use. Reuse plastic grocery bags as wastebasket liners. Don't use plastic grocery bags at all and tote a canvas one. Etc., etc., etc.
These tips are all fine and dandy, and yet they leave me feeling disheartened, even shocked to some degree. You mean to say that those aren't common practices already? I mean, my family and I have been abiding by those ideas for as long as I can remember; it's just practical common sense to us. I remember the first time I did my laundry away from home and my friends teased me for not knowing what fabric softener was. My brother had a similar experience -- he didn't know that there was a kind of detergent specifically for dishwashers until his college friends laughingly explained. Are these incidents embarrassing? No. Really, they're not. What's truly embarrassing, in my opinion, is that most people don't realize how wasteful their lifestyles are. And what's even more embarrassing is how most people don't bother adjusting them when they do realize.
For example, you have got to know how expensive cable television is. Why not use that money to sponsor a child? Your cable subscription can feed at least twenty kids in underdeveloped countries. Your cable subscription is a fortune. Or at least just save that money and quit complaining about how broke you are, you couch potato slob.
Hey, I'm not saying that spending a few bucks now and then is a bad thing. Or that watching TV is a terrible sin. Or that using the dishwasher after a Thanksgiving dinner is shameless (but at least turn off the heat drying option, please). But don't be such an... average American. Start caring for things, like simplicity and conservation.
Thanks.

Politics Suck

This is stupid. Why are people so stupid? Why are politicians so stupid? Everyone knows that this is not a quick fix to our snowballing oil problem, if it's even a fix at all.

I am also not too happy with Charlie Crist right now. Honestly, I am all for the environment, but this whole Everglades restoration project seems a little, well, iffy. You're spending $12 billion of our tax money and forcing more than a thousand people to lose their jobs in hopes of "restoring" a swamp? Is that even likely to work? Why not just ban the sugar industry from expanding further into the Everglades? Have they (and I mean not just Crist and the Republicans, but Democrats, the U.S. Sugar Corp, and environmentalists as well) ever considered to simply stop tinkering with nature and leave it as it is before they cause even more damage? Alternatively, if it's such a fool-proof idea, what's up with the standstill? And isn't it a tad inconsistent that Crist touts his oh-so-green politics and yet backs up the idea of offshore drilling? What in the world?

Politics doesn't make any sense.

Politics is politics.

Blargh.

Movies ain't Math

There's no denying that M. Night Shyamalan has a gift -- an admirable golden touch of potent creepiness. I have yet to watch his latest psychological horror film "The Happening", but just viewing that one part in the previews - you know, the one where a slew of construction workers seem to fall from the sky to their deaths - was enough to give me the willies. Good movies, however, are more than individual scenes of eerie or emotional brilliance slapped together. They're meant to entertain and provide a dollop of thrills, sure, but more importantly, they're meant to tell a story. Shyamalan did an amazing job with "The Sixth Sense", but since then, he's set himself up for a repeatedly disappointed audience. And he did so by sticking to a formula.
The Unexpected Twist. In "The Sixth Sense", it was genius, it was perfect. But what worked the first time should not necessarily be relied on forever; after multiple casts, the spell loses its magic. You shake out three, four, five "unexpected twists", and suddenly adhering to the formula becomes lame, but breaking away from it becomes tricky. Suddenly, you're facing an uncomfortable situation in which your audience will either feel bored or cheated. But unless you're in the business of cranking out special-effects laden, action packed, Will Smith box office smashes every Independence Day - which, while successful in a monetary sense, are easily forgettable when the next summer rolls around - I'd say go ahead and take the risk of trying something different. Movies - and all forms of art and media and modes of expression - ain't math. They shouldn't be formulaic. Even if the formula calls for a supposedly unexpected twist.
So here's my encouragement to any directors, artists, musicians, bloggers, fashionistas, etc. out there: Break free. Lose the formula.

Another Post about TV

While I wouldn't go as far as MXPX and sing "TV sucks!", there are quite a few things about television that I find highly annoying, such as when a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune" screams out a letter that someone else had already called, consequently wasting a turn. Or when the host of a reality-competition show dramatically stalls before stating who is about to be eliminated, only to be interrupted by a commercial break. Or FOX News. Period.

And then there are those TV personalities-turned-phenomenons that I find extremely annoying, yet somehow everyone else adores.
In the summer of '05, I was sucked into the vortex of brazen drama known as "The OC". On top of the awkward love triangles and messy teenage angst, the show's characters were alluring to many, but no one would go so far as to suggest that any of them were lovable. That is, except for a certain Seth Cohen. With his knack for spewing sarcastic remarks and geeky references, Seth captured the hearts of just about every female "OC" follower. But I, well, I hated Seth. His so-called witticisms were at best obnoxious, and every word he uttered dripped with obvious egotism. The other characters, at least, weren't such snobbish chatterboxes; Seth, however, needed to STFU.

Three summers later, I once again am introduced to another popular TV series. This time, instead of the beaches of "The OC", I was to observe the office of… "The Office". And while these two shows cannot be any more different, I once again am met with a character that everyone loves but I personally cannot stand:

Jim.

Jim is a schmuck. I don't understand how this Jim character can be so favorable, who interestingly enough, in my opinion, is infinitely inferior to Seth. While Seth at least tries to impart clever dialogue as an overhyped smart aleck, Jim is only capable of pulling incredibly lame pranks as a sleazy desk tyrant. And when it's apparent that he has nothing better to do, he makes this goofy goldfish-esque face at the camera. Seriously, every effing time he does that, I want to go Oedipus on my eyeballs.

Still, Jim is not the only problem. Maybe this is an unfair review based on a small smattering of episodes, but I simply don't get what the big deal is with "The Office". For a supposedly comedic series, it certainly isn't very funny. It's not witty, satirical, or even plain ol' slapstick clowning. It's not "The Simpsons" or "South Park" or "Arrested Development" or "Friends". It's not even "Family Guy", and that show is stupid. "The Office", on the other hand, is brainless.

Or maybe I'm just frustrated with the idiocy of "The Office" after having to endure the mind-numbing boredom of a real life office for nine hours every day. Why would I want to extend that further to the length of an entire episode?? Oy vey.

Television honestly doesn't suit me. I desperately need some new books to read. Brainless books, to match my brainless summer and brainless job. Also because any book, however brainless, cannot be as brainless as television, even "The Office". Unless it's "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants".

Any suggestions?

Lux Intensified

Some time ago, I posted a whimsical proposal for an admittedly cheesy project that hoped to emphasize connection, and apparently others are spawning some [conceptually superior and actually implemented] brainchildren of their own. Here is an interesting article on a grassroots movement encouraging homeowners to "trade their mowed and ornamental lawns for artistic arrangements of organic produce". I totally dig the fresh, economically conscious, community-oriented concept. Lately, it seems almost trendy to glorify such ideas; I keep seeing websites and articles on everything from buying homemade products to throwing out your possesions, all in an attempt to simplify life, to utilize resources more effectively, and to foster a bit more sense of humanity in what you produce, what you consume, what you keep, what you give away. It's good to see people making efforts - however seemingly small - like these, especially considering all that is going on with the world nowadays.

Now for a completely different note. I'm normally not one to get particularly excited over television, but if you didn't watch "So You Think You Can Dance" last night, you must at least take a look at this. Awesome.

My Childhood Dreams Come True

My Indian friends weren't at lunch today. Probably because they went out, it being Pay Day Friday and all. So I ate lunch all by myself. Sad face.
But! This article cheered me up: Unicorns exist!