pan6467

Maybe, I'm naive. I used to believe that people were pretty much the same today as they were 100 years ago, just more people which means you'd see more crazies, more deviant behavior and so on. Add that to 24 hour news stations that make people infamous in a mater of minutes... ok sometimes it takes hours for police to release names or the press to get them.

But anymore, I'm not sure. One of he downfalls to the Roman Empire was insanity, the people of Rome for many reasons just started going insane. Is that what is happening to our country today, we are just becoming a nation of narcissists, megalomaniacs, greedy, self serving, easily led by the media peoples?

I look around:

Sports... the NBA has refs on the take, the NFL has coaches taping games illegally (not civil but by NFL laws), the MLB has steroids, the NCAA has fucked up championships, officials gambling and more and more universities screwing the students by having their teams make millions yet it never seems to help keep tuitions down, rather they keep increasing he tuitions. (Oh yeah, the sports are separate, and that money goes into the scholarships and so on.... I find that hard to believe someone in these schools is making a mint and yet, tuitions and housing keep skyrocketing.)

Music and radio.... let's see the top 10 grossing concerts last year were.... TOP CONCERTS
1. Hannah Montana
2. The Police... 80's music
3. Céline Dion... 80's and 90's superstar, more of a Vegas act now
4. Kenny Chesney... the only one on the list to have truly recorded anything "new" in the last 3 years
5. Van Halen.... 80's super band
6. Bruce Springsteen.... been around forever hasn't done anthing good in 15-20 years
7. Jimmy Buffett..... parrotheads... been around since the 70's
8. Bon Jovi...... 80's superband
9. Soul2Soul: Faith Hill & Tim McGraw.... still what late 30's
10. Dave Matthews Band.... has an immense following but again been around for quite awhile

Anyone know where any of today's original stars other than Kenny Chesney ranked? I didn't think so, thought I'd ask.

So new music is pretty much dead in great part to FM radio stations promoting garbage. The music company monopolies manufacture singers for 1 or 2 alums and then they disappear.... (oh yeah, artist vs. record company problems... IE he artist wants paid and the monoplistic company says no... so the band breaks up, maybe has a small following left and tries to sell music on their websites.

So you listen to AM... ok talk radio maybe ok.... except it has all become primarily right winged political talk... even fricking sports talk shows are political and again more focussed on all the scandals plagueing the respective sports.

All this IMHO, is due to the monopoly of Clear Channel, CBS and a couple others owning just about every radio station and finding it cheaper to just syndicate all the programs than have live talent on the air in the city the station is in.

So let's look at television.... mmmm Reality TV.... need I say more. Ok when was the last truly original show on? And again pretty much a TimeWarner, CBS/Viacom, NBC/Universal/Vivendi, Fox/NewsCorp, Disney monopoly with maybe some a couple others owning a channel or 2.

Newspapers, magazines, books...basically publishing itself is owned by a monoploy of Gannet, NewsCorp, Thompson, Disney, TimeWarner.... and they will go with what sells which means very few new writers are discovered and pushed, when was the last great author discovered? Rowlings????? give me a break. But ok who else?

In Nov. we will have 2 candidates that scare the living fuck out of me. Obama/Clinton vs. McCain is not the best selection we could have come up with people..... BUT it is the selection the media wished for. The one they have been building up for the past year or 2. None f them are willing to do anything about the illegal alien problem.... bring in the cheap labor guys.

Speaking of cheap labor, we have companies moving overseas for cheaper labor.... so we can afford the cheaper products.... but the problem here is in the process those companies throw out decent waged employees to make far less money, so they can only afford the imported cheaper labor made goods, so that more companies have to move overseas so that they lay off more good waged people who can only afford..... it's a vicious downward spiral..... WAKE UP.

I won't even discuss how this affects the foreclosures, ok (this is an example... (actually someone I know, a good friend), has not happened to my wife and I yet)... I make $20/hour, my wife makes $17 and we buy a decent house. We can afford the payments easily and we are happy in our house and have a nice disposable income ... then my company lays me off and I have to find a job that pays me $7.50, part time because the company doesn't want to pay benefits but maybe if we tighten up.... then my wife's company closes her office down claiming lack of business (downsizing).... she has to find a job.... she is unemployed for awhile and we fall behind but she finally gets a job... at a temp service making $8.50 an hour, hers is full time but no benefits. So our happy house that was making roughly $76,000 a year now makes roughly.... $30,000....we're fucked. No disposable income, the cheapest generic products out there, sell the cars get rid of the payments and buy cheap used cars, then, if we don't have any major problems (a car/washer/dryer/fridge breakdown, no major health issues, etc.) we maybe able to hold onto the house and believe it will get better. Yeah, right.... then the Fed hikes the rate, our ARM goes up and we an no longer afford our mortgage..... Foreclosure. We look around and we can't even afford a decent apartment anymore because our credit has just become shit.

But then the right winged talk show hosts and the brainwashed Neocons want everyone to believe the above was the family that bought the house's fault not big business or the greed our society has spawned.

Our healthcare is in shambles. We promote it as the best in the world.... (if you have insurance... and if you have an emergency or for some reason you have to go "out of network", then you better have REAL good insurance or a lot of money....

So what is good out there left in our country? The internet and even that Congress and big business want to control. Hell, Yahoo is preparing to be bought out by either Microsoft or NewsCorp.... then Google will be next, then anything else original. Eventually it won't matter what's out there if they don't have the money to advertise the site to get the hits to bring in some advertising to stay running... they're as good as done anyway.

I Love my country, I love he United States, I wore the uniform for her. I just wanted a chance to have a better life than that which my parents had..... I don't see that chance out there and I sure as hell don't see a better future for my child.

The USSR and China never had to fire 1 shot to destroy this country, our own insanity, greed, self righteous, over indulging, gluttonous egos did it to ourselves.

I am just as guilty as everyone else, because 20 years ago when we saw it taking shape and people predicted it..... I was one who ignored and laughed at them. Now, they are in Europe or Australia living a life that our country today can only remember how great it was and dream that it may someday get back there.......

__________________
I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

Charlatan

I think this is just a sign that you are getting old and starting to sound like your parents or your grandparents. In other words, I am sure, with little difficulty,you could go find a newspaper column written in the 60s, written by someone over 40, that says much in the same about the world then... and how it was going to hell in a handbasket.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

A note on music... there is a ton of new music out there. In fact there is probably more than ever before. The great leveling force of computers and the Internet has allowed more people to create more music and distribute it to more people than ever before. In fact, I would argue that the do-it-yourself punk attitude is more alive than ever before (only it's being expressed in a multitude of musical forms).

The big difference is that it is not in the hands of corporate music. It is inherently independent and therefore not being heard via mainstream sources such as FM radio. There are a ton of new musicians out on tour as well. They just aren't playing giant venues and charging the kind of fees that will put you on the top ten list.

The playing field is leveling and so are the audiences. Tune into my favourite web radio station, CBC Radio 3 and you will hear a plethora of new bands (from multiple genres) that are touring, creating exciting new music and speaking to an audience that is not a part of what was traditionally called, Mainstream.

As for television... there has *always* been drek on TV. Stop looking at drek and start watching better TV. There has been a renaissance of drama over the past 10 years with programming being produced that is reaching new levels of importance and relevance. I can show you any era and point our that (most likely) 75% of what was being made was crap.

As for "outsourcing", I suggest you get used to it. Corporations are not simply national institutions any long. They are not beholden to anyone but their shareholders. Labour and skills are cheaper abroad. The market will not tolerate needless expense. That said, you should also understand that those jobs have done more good, in terms of developing nations that could otherwise be getting ready to go to war with each other or worse.

One could argue that the main reason India and Pakistan did not go into nuclear war back in the 90s is because of the risk that that war would have meant the loss of India's status as America's back office. If India had gone to war it would have meant a disruption in the services they offer, via the Internet, to hundreds of US business, worth billions of dollars. That business would have gone elsewhere (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.) and would not have come back. India pulled back.

I would suggest that China and Taiwan will not go to war for much in the same reason. They are both heavily invested in being part of the supply lines to the US and the West. They cannot break that supply chain without losing out in a huge way.

These same forces are working to bring many of the nations of Asia, that were nothing more than third world dictatorships, into the second and first world. This is just the sort of economic and social change that people point to when they argue that invading a place like Iraq is not the answer... investment is...

I can't help but feel that the US is going through a change. A very important change. I feel, however, that it will come out the other side stronger and leaner... and perhaps very different but also a lot smarter and a much better International partner to all.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

n0nsensical

Before I try to answer your question, I will look at the good. Everything dies and all empires fall. That is the way of life. But whatever survives is stronger. Mass culture is dead, but the democratization of culture has taken its place. Art and culture do not die with mass production. You just have to dig a little deeper to find it. I think most of the best music, TV, and movies ever made have been in the last 10 years, but most Americans haven't heard of half of it.

Now the executive summary of my answer, in convenient bulleted list form.

• Overextended military fighting in places most people can't find on a map. (didn't that ultimately destroy the Roman Empire?) Our military budget is roughly equal to that of the entire rest of the world combined, and is now largely financed through deficit spending.
• Increasingly undemocratic and poor leadership (also see Roman Empire), which now seems to serve not people but corporations
• Debt—personally and nationally, we just can't control our spending. We want it all (including the weapons) and we're willing to sell our future to get it.
• Globalization—now you have to compete with some guy in India for a job, and we've exported the means of production. MBAs, bankers, and lawyers do not actually produce anything, they just coerce other people into producing what they want. (is that the definition of power or what?) Not that I'm opposed to globalization in principle, but this is just a natural result of the change. Basically, it's a two-way street and we have certainly had the advantage until recently.
• Legal system—this is the most litigious society on earth, usually for the purpose of making money not actually protecting the rights of individuals or promoting innovation
• War on Iraq—No explanation necessary
• War on Terror—Not that we shouldn't try to prevent terrorism, but we're going way overboard with the fearmongering, trampling international law and civil rights while mostly serving government contractors rather than actually stopping terrorists.
• War on Drugs—let's spend hundreds of billions of dollars fighting something most people who want to do are still doing anyway and destroy civil rights in the process. I can't think of a better way to preserve individual rights in a purportedly open democratic society.
• The prison-industrial complex—We have the highest prison population rate of any country. Largely due to the War on Drugs, the basic goal here is to put people we don't like in prison for the longest time possible, but it does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners into productive members of society.
• Religious idiots, who, among other indecencies, obstruct such basic knowledge as science and sexuality
• Loss of spirituality—The big organized religions are anachronisms or plain nuts, the new ones are too newage-hippy or outright illegal (see War on Drugs) for most people, where does the average rational person turn for this need? Money is the new religion but it doesn't serve the same ends.

There is still hope. We could end most of that today with rational thinking. Not that I'm very confident in that happening, but we'll either figure it out or continue to wallow in the bad results.

Push-Pull

I agree with this a lot. But, that being said, if words of this type had caused enough people to pause, reflect, and eventually, rebel, then maybe we wouldn't be saying them again today.

I won't bother to speak on the OP (mostly due to it being way too early for me...) but I will say that I've been feeling as if it "can't last" for much longer. Something is bound to give, and I won't be surprised that if in my lifetime, something major will happen to this country.....

__________________
"No laws, no matter how rigidly enforced, can protect a person from their own stupidity." -Me-

"Some people are like Slinkies..... They are not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." -Unknown-

DAMMIT! -Jack Bauer-

Charlatan

I think missed the core of the point I was trying to make and it wasn't that people haven't paused and don't rebel it's that they did. The issue is that older people (heck most people) have issues with change. Change is often seen in light of an imagined, "good old days" where things were "better".

Nostalgia is a bitter mistress. It can soothe you with fond memories but if you hold it too close it can also make you feel old and out of touch.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

roachboy

i think the questions in the op should be split apart: i'll only talk about the culture industry:

i dont think there is any diminuition in the production of new and interesting work in any of the arts.
if you think that's true, it follows from the fact that you are probably looking in the wrong place.
if you want innovative and exciting new work, chances are it's all around you.
turn off classic rawk radio and explore what is happening, what folk are doing. if you dont like what you find, do it yourself.


in music in particular, you'd never know anything about 99/100 of what is new and innovative because--well---where would you hear it?


commercial radio is bullshit and has been bullshit for years.
this is not because it's commercial--it's because, well, its mediocre. risk-free, toothless, repetition entertainment designed to keep you vaguely interested until the advertising comes on.
nothing else.
the radio wasteland is such a shame, it is so suffocating and monotonous: i dont know why folk dont just say fuck you to the lot of it and, say, start lots of low-powered stations. start a little revolution. look at prometheus project's website. they've been after clear channel and the monopoly of the beige that is american radio for a long time:

http://www.prometheusradio.org/

you cant rely on purveyors of advertising to shape your horizons. so make your own. it's easy and its cheap. or start a netradio outlet. it's easier and its cheaper. or learn an instrument and start a band that plays what you like.

but fucking do something: find out what's actually happening around you---the problem is not that there isn't a pile of new work--its that you dont know where it is--so find it.

---maybe there are these tiny informal venues around where you can hear new stuff: check them out.
---organize house concerts if nothing appeals. why not? it's easy. people will come out.
you'll hear something you dont know about. i
t's win=win.

look around. listen around. do something. if you let the commercial wasteland define your tastes, the joke, comrade, is on you.

but perhaps what the real problem with clear channel et al is that they do not feed you what you want to be fed--the problem underneath that is not being fed things, being told what you want--the problem is that you'd rather be fed something else.

that is different...
if that is your issue, i really dont care about it.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

QuasiMondo

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

filtherton

I can't really comment on how things used to be, because the halcyon days of the 90's aren't really all that long ago- and i would have a very difficult time claiming with a straight face to miss an era where vanilla ice was a cultural icon.

That being said, things are always changing, and i generally prescribe to the "same shit, different day" policy of dismissiveness. Music has always sucked in its own peculiar way; athletes have always been over-appreciated relative to the actual value of their contributions to society, and a certain portion of them will always cheat; politicians have always been politicians; business has generally always come down firmly on the side of profits when questions of ethics and morality come into play; ninjas have always been awesome; etc.

Plan9

Spongebob Squarepants.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

dksuddeth

Pan, the answer you seek is summed up in this simple phrase

'money is the root of all evil'

Those that have alot, want more.
Those that have little, need more.
They will eventually do what they need to do to get money, no matter what it may entail.
If they cannot get what they need by honest means, they will resort to dishonest means, even violent means.
If violent means can't get them money, they will resort to violence against those they feel denied them.

That is what is wrong with the world today. It's not even a rightwing/leftwing issue. Those in power, right or left, have one single thing in common and that is elevating themselves above the little guy, that would be you and I.

__________________
"no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."

Cynthetiq

I'll pick a few of the topics in the OP since you've got a lot in there.

TV. there's lots of GOOD TV out there. My Tivo shelters me from alot of the crap, becuase like a good responsible person, I look for what's "good" to me, and I watch only that. Now, Skogafoss on the other hand, she's got a broader base of interest in TV. So she sometimes watches things I'm not interested in.

Drama, the big 4 ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX each have some good offerings, yes there's the CSI franchise, the Law & Order franchise, but 24, Alias, Lost, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Houswives, Prison Break. Fox has locked in animation offerings with Simpsons (19th Season), King of the Hill (12th Season), Family Guy (7th season), American Dad (4th Season). Comedy, it is always a hit or miss. Everyong is looking for the next Seinfeld, Friends, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond. And slowly and quietly they are building their audiences, Two and a Half Men (4th Season), How I Met Your Mother (3rd Season), According to Jim (6th Season)

Game shows are making a resurgence into prime time again, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Power of 10, Deal or No Deal, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, while the format is "reality" the genre is still game show, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Survivor, Big Brother, Last Comic Standing.

Children's programming, Nickolodeon, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Disney Channel, all give kids 24 hour tv choices. Cartooons used to be relegated to the mornings, afternoons, and Saturday morning (all of which programming were designed create a demographic channel to sell advertisements Saatchi and Saathi lead the way on that.)

The envelope is pushed because of new cable offerings like The Sopranos, The Wire, Dexter, Sex and the City.

But now, you don't like any of the NEW offerings? Buy DVDs and watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it. Whole series is available for consumption from WKRP in Cincinatti to the last season Lost.

20 years ago, you'd not even think of these choices and freedom.

The 10 top grossing concerts, that's a misnomer since the person with the disposable money is what is fueling these concerts. Is today's teen going who will pay a face value $200 ticket like they would for The Police? Tickets to see Kanye West/Rhianna are $59 - $109. People pay absurds amounts of money to see Celine Dion, Cher, Bette Midler.

But again, depending on where you live, there are many other choices and alternatives. Many smaller venues are available to see acts in small venues. Yes, we've lost some originals like Tonic and CBGB's here in NYC, but there are still many places to catch acts.

Publishing, the internet leveled the playing field to finding new talent. "Rowling, give me a break?" She's made more than $1B, and that's just HER share, Scholastic and Warner Bros have made alot off her back. Focusing on new column talent, you've got the Motley Fools, Michelle Malik, Huffington, Coulter, these people all are relatively new to the scene.

Radio? Old distribution system. Podcasts are delivering some incredible amounts of diversity. Streaming Radio, also delivering incredible amounts of diversity.

Your credit being shit is your problem. Not mine. Your ARM is your problem, not mine. I didn't tell you to love above your means. First and foremost, having an ARM is just stupid. I have a mortgage on an investment property that I've been hemming and hawing on refinancing. I signed up for a fixed/ARM and I've let it stay as an ARM for the past 3 years. I should have refinanced earlier but that's MY fault not anyone elses. This place happens to be my safety net. When I couldn't afford to buy something in NYC, I bought something in the market I could afford, Las Vegas. I even made sure that if everything went to shit I could still work at a minimum wage job and still make ends meet with food, shelter, and transportation. My collegues? They were all living the high life smoking Cohibas and drinking Grey Goose. What do they have to show for it? Memories of standing in the bathroom pissing it out? Ashes in the ashtray? They money they spent on their lifestyle, I saved and bought a safety net.

Cheap labor, blame the consumer. We like to buy things cheaply. I'm of the opinion that Walmart obfusicated the actual inflation of the 90s to date because prices of goods should have gone up but haven't.

People aren't interested in decreasing their day to day money, so they dip into savings, over extend themselves with credit.

Now wax nostalgic about Australia or Europe all you want. They are just as debt laden. Many Europeans carry debt in excess of $75,000 at the last article I read. EU is creating problems with cheap labor migrating from the poorer countries to the wealthier countries who are claiming the same types of issues.

Talking about better life than your parents, what does that mean? Buying a new home? There are more programs than ever today to help people buy their own home that aren't predatory lending instruments. Buying a car? There are more choices than ever to buy a NEW dependable car below $10,000.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

levite

I'm not necessarily going to speak to what kind of music people are enjoying, because I'm not sure that's likely to be a phenomenon of anything more than different tastes. But I would certainly agree that a major ill in our society is the monopolization of the media. Right now we basically get all our news, cultural commentary, and political coverage from six or eight sources. That is not what a free press is supposed to be. It is an unfortunate consequence of campaign finance laws permitting what is essentially legal bribery by special interests, ultra-right wing nutballs filling the positions on the FCC, and the Executive and Legislative being far too interested in playing petty power games and lining their pockets to agree on strengthening our antiquated anti-trust legislation and directing the DOJ to puruse vigorous prosecution of media conglomerates for violating anti-monopoly laws.

It is shocking how, if you go to other countries, their news and political coverage is far more thoughtful and nuanced than ours. Also, it was only after I spent a couple of weeks in Europe, that I realized how saturated our media is with Christian religious rhetoric. Try taking a couple of weeks and counting how many stories you see in newspapers, magazines, and on television that have to do with "religion" (which almost invariably means Christianity) or religious beliefs. Try counting how often that kind of language appears in our political discourse over those couple of weeks. I did this, when I got back from Europe a couple of years ago, and I was sickened, especially when my count went into the triple digits before the first week was up.

I am spending the year living in Israel, The Jewish State. And when I read their major newspapers and magazines, there is far less presentation of Jewish religious rhetoric than there is of Christian religion in the newspapers and magazines in America. There is also a much broader spectrum of coverage of news, society, and politics, than there is in American newspapers and magazines-- despite the fact that Israel has no law providing a free press. I can't help but suppose it might have something to do with the fact that there are independent news sources, with different owners and publishers, and the whole thing isn't conglomeratized. It seems to me that if a country like Israel, which has no laws about free press or monopolies, and which actually is literally in the middle of a war on terrorists (not an abstract excuse for using the military to fund the military-industrial complex, but actual fighting with actual terrorists, right at the country's front door, so to speak) can have free, independent, thoughtful, critical press coverage, there is no excuse why America, which ought to have a leg up with its laws and protections, cannot.

__________________
Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)

uncle phil

__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
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never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

Willravel

If I'm 24 and I sound like that, does that mean there's something wrong with me?

Cynthetiq

you sound like billy joel?

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

uncle phil

he doesn't even LOOK like billy joel...

__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
-----------------------------------------
never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

Willravel

I am a piano man.

QuasiMondo

Anybody remember that old Temptations classic, "Ball of Confusion"

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

Tully Mars

I was going to respond to the OP but then I read your post and figured you said everything I was going to say. Only likely better.

Only thing I'd add is I would have guessed Buffett would have been higher on the concert list. His latest album was 1# on the country charts and 4# on billboards. But what do I know I'm just Tully.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_the_weather_with_you

__________________
I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

mixedmedia

You make your own world. Fuck all that other shit.

I tell you, I have spent my life gathering things - thoughts, sounds, concepts, images, words, ideals - and I discover new ones almost every day. I really couldn't care less what is happening in mass culture. I take from it what I want and ignore the rest. And having been on the planet for a while, what I notice is...these things pass along and are replaced again and again by newer and shinier products, while the things I love tend to grow and morph and continue to give me joy and inspiration.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

As for concerts, their popularity is a direct response to the segment of the population that is able to buy tickets to them.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Tully Mars

In the future could you try not to be so vague and tell us what you really think?

__________________
I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

mixedmedia

Fuck yeah.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Willravel

There will always be part of the world that need fixing, and as people who don't have their heads up their asses, it's our responsibility to try and fix them otherwise no one will fix them.

I'm probably going to be alive for another 60 years. I will not watch everything go to shit in my lifetime. My kids kids and my decedents will be able to look back and say "Grampa Will took care of his shit. He left the world better for his kids than his parents left for him."

Tully Mars

Good for you. Could you start by getting Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears out my news every time they fuck up their lives a little more?

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I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

mixedmedia

They are out of my news. Stop watching the news.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

uncle phil

/me didn't mean to get so many of you so excited about a life so mundane...

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"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
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"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
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never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

Willravel

The real trick to this is effecting the market via a popular blog. Serious stock and investment blogs run hollywood. If whatever evil corporation that owns TMZ suddenly starts losing investors because a big blog talked about how Paris and Britney are going to be unpopular in the next 2 quarters, you'll see the stories disappear.

It'd have to start with a big entertainment blog like http://www.thesuperficial.com/ then move on to a stock blog like www.istockblog.com.

QuasiMondo

I like the Paris and Brittney stories. It helps me laugh at people who are more fucked up than I am.

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

Willravel

Bush isn't enough for ya, eh?

Tully Mars

Last time I found Bush humorous was in 2001. Somewhere around the 10th of Sept.

Actually that's not true. I was with him until he started talking about Iraq.

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I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

sheldonking5

it's on ebay......don't expect me to say anything smart......

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dont expect me to say anything smart...

roachboy

Not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don’t think it matters.

trick is that i think the book sounds kinda facile.
read on.
yes, it's a book review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/bo...364&ei=5087%0A

problems of crotchedly generalization aside, it's kinda difficult to deny that us amuricans live in a culture of stupid. entertainment is easy: gathering information and processing it in an autonomous but coherent way is not.

but if you want a one-sentence explanation for much of the handwringing about cultural malaise---which i think obtains for almost everything about mainstream american life (almost--->it must regenerate itself and so cannot enclose itself in this--->whence it's need to act as parasite on the underground):

Not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don’t think it matters.

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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

Hain

Hey Crompsin, another reason I want to see the world end.

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////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

Gh0s7

One word... APATHY

powerclown

Ah, but then why is America still the smartest, richest and toughest nation in the world?

USA! USA! USA! USA!

Charlatan

Crass jingoism is always the solution...

carry on.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

spindles

Another one lulled into a false sense of security

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who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

mixedmedia

Waiting for my daughter to get out of school in the afternoons, I very often end up in line behind this one car that is covered with patriotic bumper stickers and one of them says 'Support America. Be an American!!' and it's very annoying 'cause here he is in his '80s-era, gas guzzling American landyacht with bumper stickers plastered all over the back...ya know...telling people to be more American.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Redlemon

Which always reminds me of this video:

(The main song starts at 1:00)

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

willynilly

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yeah, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Always has been, always will. I say take it back to King Arthur's days, where every knight sat at a round table, where everyone was equal. Except for the peasants. And christianity was the only religion. And justice came at the point of a sword. I say that for people who want to know and be informed, more information is available then ever before. But many people have always been satisfied with their limited knowledge and their tiny perspective on the world. I know my views have expanded and broadened, even in the past year.