Terrible Analogies

A friend and I were talking about the Olympics when he made the statement, “I see a lot of negative aspects and nothing positive about it.”  His take was that the winter Olympics was nothing more than a bunch of rich kids getting together to do what they do every weekend anyway.  He also made the statement that the summer Olympics are nothing more than, “economically-challenged kids, all they need is shoes and the ability to haul ass and jump high.”

Needless to say I was taken aback by these insights.

I asked him if he considered spirited competition, patriotism, sportsmanship, and the sharing of cultures to be a bad thing.  I continued to prod, asking him if he thought that years of practice, dedication and sacrifice, all for the chance to represent your country on a worldwide stage for a few fleeting moments was pointless.  I told him that the Olympics presented a rare opportunity in this world for everyone to put aside their differences and to come together to witness athletes at the peak of their training, to watch greatness on a level that’s otherwise alien to everyone save for an infinitesimally small percentage of mankind.

To me, the Olympics bridges languages and borders, knocks down walls of political adversity, and brings people together for a common cause, if for nothing more than a uniquely brief period of time.

I asked my friend what he thought of this.  His answer was to roll his eyes and reach for another beer.  

My reply to this non-verbal communication was to have him pay for the round.

Politics, Sports Politics, Sports

Some oversensitive types in America are claiming that a recent commercial aired in Australia is racist.  Now, on the surface I can see the problem some people in America might have with this commercial, but since this is an Australian commercial, and I personally have no idea what their society is like down there, nor do I know anything about their culture, history, and daily living experiences, it’s unfair for me to project my American prejudices upon this twenty second television commercial and shout “racism”.

As stated in the source article:

One internet poster wrote: “I wouldn’t consider this racist. Context does matter and the fried chicken thing really is an African-American stereotype thing.”

KFC Australia said of the advert: “It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team.

It’s funny how certain people are quick to play the race card without taking the entirety of a situation into account, often seeing things through American eyes and never understanding that America is just one part of a larger whole that has differing opinions, ideas, and values.

Some of you people out there have got to relax a bit.  Not everything you see is American-centric.  If that were the case, then everyone in the world would sit down to take a crap, there would be no such thing as beer vending machines (which, IMHO, are one of God’s greatest creations), and animals would not be sacrificed during certain high holy days.  Please, just get a grip on yourselves.  We’re not the center of the world.  The sooner you accept that fact the happier you’ll be.

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Looking back on a year filled with enough fear, uncertainty and doubt to last me multiple lifetimes, I’m amazed at what took place on the periphery when I wasn’t paying attention. Putting the housing crisis, political tensions, and financial hardships aside, 2009 (and the decade) shaped up to be a rather interesting time.

And with that mindset, let me introduce to you a collection of links highlighting the good, bad, and downright ugly of 2009 and beyond. If there are any that I missed, please let me know.

Top 10 Archaeology Finds of 2009
9 Astronomy Milestones Of 2009
Top Ten Space Pictures of 2009
Life’s 2009 Photos Of The Year
LA Times Best Photos Of 2009
Reuters Best Photos Of 2009
100 Best Sports Photos Of 2009
The Top Ten Google Earth Finds
The Decade In News Photographs
Top Scientific Breakthroughs Of 2009
Ten Gadgets That Defined The Decade
40 Things That Were Popular At The Beginning Of The Decade That Aren’t Anymore
50 Things We Know Now That We Didn’t Know This Time Last Year
Wired.com Readers’ Favorite iPhone Apps Of 2009
Sports Illustrated Notable Pop Culture Moments Of The Decade
Sports Illustrated Top Ten MLB Games Of The Decade
Top Ten Tech Failures Of 2009
Great And Disappointing Operating Systems Of The Decade
The 87 Lamest Moments In Tech 2000-2009
The Best Free Software Of 2009
The Best Free Fonts Of 2009
The Best Of CSS Design 2009
50 Best Websites Of 2009
Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies To Work For
Joystiq’s Top 20 Video Games Of 2009
Board Game Gift Guide Of 2009
NME’s 50 Best Albums Of 2009
Billboard’s One-Hit Wonders Of The Decade
50 Best Albums Of The Decade
Top 10 Vinyl Albums From The Past Decade
The Strokes’ ‘Is This It’ Top NME Albums Of The Decade List
Wired’s Favorite Sci-Fi Movies Of The Decade
New York Time’s 10 Best Books Of 2009
Amazon’s Best Books Of 2009
The Smoking Gun’s Mug Shots Of The Decade
11 Greatest Mug Shots Of The 2000s
‘You lie!’ On Yale List Of Year’s Memorable Quotes
Time’s The Top Ten Of Everything 2009
YouTube’s Viral Video Legends Of The Decade Compilation

Books, Computer, Movies, Music, Politics, Random, holiday Books, Computer, Movies, Politics, Random

There’s been quite a bit of talk these past few days regarding a halloween costume called “Illegal Alien Adult Costume”, manufactured by Forum novelties.  Frankly, I don’t see what all the fuss is about:

Apparently the immigration activists are up in arms about this costume, strutting around in feigned exasperation and anger, because they perceive this costume as an attempt to mock illegal immigrants.  Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but this costume appears to be of an extraterrestrial in an orange jumpsuit.  On the jumpsuit of this extraterrestrial are the stenciled words “Illegal Alien”.

Get it?  Extraterrestrial.  Alien.  Hence, “Illegal Alien”.

How is this a swipe at terrestrial illegal aliens?

I think that the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, the people most “offended” by this costume, lack a sense of humor.  Honestly, if they want to play this game, let’s be fair across the board and demand that stores stop selling other tasteless, inflammatory, and offensive costumes such as:

The Indian snake charmer costume

The African-American costume

The Japanese sumo wrestler

and the ugly America tourist costume.

Where is the “anger” and “frustration” from any activist group regarding these costumes?  Each and every one of them takes a condescending, disparaging dig at stereotypes, belittling a wide swath of the American populace, yet I don’t hear word one from any so-call activist group demanding that these costumes be removed from any and all stores immediately, and that a public formal apology be offered to anybody who might have been offended by these vulgar, objectionable costumes.

Come on, guys.  It’s either all or nothing.  Where do the activists stand on this?  Do they at all?  Or is this a case of them cherry picking a “so called” controversy to drum up support for their pet cause?  What if this alien costume was trying to bring to light the issue of German, Swedish, or Samoan illegal immigration?  Why does the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles automatically assume that this costume is poking fun at Mexican illegal aliens?  I wonder…

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At what point does the adulation and idolization become just a bit too much to bear?  Could it be the 24 hour television news coverage?  Perhaps it’s the print media overzealously picking the bones of the celeb-du jour clean?  Or maybe it’s when you want to listen to the radio but the AM/FM stations are simulcasting the Michael Jackson memorial, then rebroadcasting them in repeat?  Whatever that tipping point it, I think we’ve surpassed it long ago and are committed to desperately hanging on to this tumbling, frenzied, thrashing beast we call “news” until we crash head first on to the jagged rocks below.

If the media would quit feeling each other up for just one minute and dedicate a tenth of the energy they’ve spent on covering the Michael Jackson circus towards useful news about, oh…say the financial mess our nation is in, and what exactly is each of our elected officials doing to resolve it.  I mean, camp out at their homes, stalk them into their offices, shout out towards the heavens, press the issue, and don’t back down from these dogs who should be doing the will of the people.  

Let’s turn this car around and start focusing in on what’s really important.  It’s time to ask the tough questions and get people involved.  Question the government.  Question special interests.  Question pork/pet projects.  Question the illegal issue.  Question the tax issue.  Question the bailouts.  Question why the government hemmed and hawed when the banks wanted to pay the money back.  Question the partisanship.  Question why we’re even paying politicians if they can’t do their damned jobs.  I want to see ABC / CBS / NBC / TMZ / Cable news and television shows asking why we can’t get our collective heads on straight, and why we can’t shake ourselves out of this financial mess.

If it were up to me, I’d throw open all the books and have independent analysis of the numbers run.  Post everything on the Web.  Find out exactly where the money is going, and what we’re getting for it in return. I want to know how much they spent on coffee, pencils, and office parties.  I want to see the receipts, and if the receipts are missing, I want to know exactly why they’re missing, and whose job was it to save them?  Then I want to ask that person who their boss is, and I’ll want to then question that person about said receipts.  I want to treat the government in the same spirit that the IRS treats us.  Then, have each and every one of these jackals responsible for this mess answer to the American public.  No spin.  Just the truth.

…Forgive me if I sound upset, but I think our whole system is shot to hell and something needs to be done about it.  We’ve become so distracted from the truth that we’ll swallow anything the media dishes out with no questions asked.  

I think it’s time that we woke up from our celebrity-induced stupor.  No more distractions.  We have work to do.

Celebrities, Politics, Rant Celebrities, Politics, Rant