I AM NOT A CONSPIRATOR.

Architects & Engineers for 911 Truth.

These are professionals who provide sufficient scientific facts and forensic evidence to conclude that three World Trade Center buildings #1 (North Tower), #2 (South Tower), and #7 (the 47-story high-rise across Vesey St) were destroyed not by jet impact and office fires but by controlled demolition with explosives. [This specific video addresses the mystery behind the collapse of WTC7]

NOTE that they are not extremist nuts who try to push a conspiracy theory (like “the government did it”). They are calling upon Congress and the public for a truly independent investigation with subpoena power.

I’m not putting this up to cause controversy. I’m not going to lie, these videos really blew my mind. I’m still not going to comment too much on this issue. However, I am going to say this – the level of racism and hatred against Muslims in this country is appalling. Terrorist this, terrorist that. I blame ignorance.

This segment from a bollywood movie, Kurbaan (2009), shows an atypical point of view that redefines terrorism:

 

I repeat, I am not a conspirator. I just like to look at things from all points of view. At this point, I’m not even sure what I believe in. I just think that people should really see both sides of an argument before choosing a side and dismissing the other (or worse, attacking the other). That is all.

CALL NOW!

I’m sick and tired of mind numbing commercials on American television. Especially late night cable programming. I’m a night owl. I leave the TV running in the wee hours of mornings. Sometimes I catch myself staring at the screen with my eyes half shut and my mouth gaping open. If I was overweight with a bag of chips in my hand, I’d look like a typical couch potato who has no life whatsoever.

In Korea, commercial breaks during a program on the public broadcasting channel is prohibited. That’s right. Advertisers can only insert ads before and after shows. On cable, a reasonable amount of commercials are allowed to be played in the middle of the program. The length and the number of ads depend on the length of the program, and are limited by strict regulations. If these rules were changed, there would be an uproar. A RIOT! Can you imagine? No “we’ll be right back,” no “we’re going to have a short commercial break,” yada yada yada.

One thing that bothers me the MOST is how they play the SAME goddamn ads on every goddamn commercial break during a program. I realize that this is to make sure that the ad is seen by people who’re just tuning in, but what about the rest of us who were actually watching from the beginning? I also realize that it’s to really drill the ad into our minds. But is this really how you want to approach your audience? By annoying us to death so that we’d remember your stupid commercial?

A particular ad comes to mind… The Great Neck Nissan commercial. It’s of this guy who literally YELLS AT YOU saying FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS CASH!!!!!! over and over and over again. Have you seen it? Click on the link and watch it. It’s ridiculous. Just thinking about the late nights hearing that dude yell at me on every commercial break gives me a headache. It blows my mind how IN YOUR FACE it is. Is it really necessary? Another ad that comes to mind is the 5 Hour Energy commercial. The ad isn’t TOO terrible, but I just hate that douchey guy in the end. “That was fast and easy,” he says, as he sits down and reads the newspaper like a douchey douchebag. I can’t really pinpoint why I hate him so much. I just do.

Oh and you gotta love the lawyer commercials like this one. The speaker is always staring you down. Literally. They don’t even blink. I’m guessing it’s some kind of strategy to make them seem more convincing? OH and how could I forget the countless drug commercials! Oh my fucking god, the drug commercials. They drive me insane. You know, how they show completely irrelevant visuals of people running around laughing on the beach during sunset while they list all the horrible side effects of the drug (as quickly as possible). The side effects list of the drug is always longer its benefits list. That’s why they have to say it fast. I’m sure most people don’t even hear them, they’re probably mesmerized by the beautiful images on screen… like this Cymbalta commercial (used to treat depression). I love the part where the voice over says “including increased thoughts of suicide,” and it shows a dog licking the lady’s face. Suicide… HOW CUTE. And you gotta love the commercial that comes after it, you know, one of those “If you’ve taken ____ and suffered massive internal bleeding you may be titled to compensation” ads. Ha-fucking-ha.

Anyway, my point is, American commercials are getting dumber and dumber. More obvious. More in your face. More CASH NOW and THIS NOW and THAT NOW. CALL NOW! WHY AREN’T YOU CALLING? CALL RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!! Enough already. Bloody hell. The ironic thing is, I want to go into advertising. I won’t be working on low budget bullshit though (I hope). When I was creating ads for Direct Marketing class, the professor kept telling me “you’re not showing the offer early enough,” over and over again.  My efforts of giving the ad some artistic substance and story were ignored. You gotta present the deal up front. You gotta display the call number up front. You gotta yell CALL NOW up front. That’s just how it is. Have you ever seen the movie “Idiocracy“? If not, look it up. It’s where we’re headed.

The Reality Obsession

When you think about America, it’s hard not to conjure up an image of Jersey Shore. Or some other kind of reality TV nonsense. This past summer, Jersey Shore’s season premiere drew 8.8 million total viewers. 8.8 MILLION! This was the MTV’s most-watched opener to date. The show is disgraceful and mind numbing. The participants act their parts as white trash. They are giving the country a bad rap.

However, I’m not going to go on about how dumb this show is and how dumb it makes America look (especially since it’s so outrageously popular). You should know that by now. At least I hope you do. What I really want to get to the bottom of is: why the hell are we so drawn to this type of entertainment? As much as I like to hate on reality TV, I can’t help but be sucked into the “real lives” of these characters on screen.

My dorm roommate used to be obsessed with MTV. She owned the TV. Her TV, her channel. When she had it playing, I tried to drown it out as much as possible, but sometimes I just couldn’t resist. I judged these morons and openly shared my views about them, yet I couldn’t look away. Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, I Used To Be Fat, Extreme Cribs, The Real World… The whole lot.

It all started with The Real World. They put an array of different individuals with diverse backgrounds under one roof and filmed their daily interactions. Kind of like a social experiment. The funny thing is, these individuals were instantly categorized under stereotypes in the viewers’ minds. The funnier thing is, these characters actually acted like those stereotypes. They showed us what we wanted to see. The “real world” really wasn’t that real at all. The reality of it all disintegrated as soon as those cameras were placed.

This brings me back to why we are so drawn to reality TV characters. They show us what we want to see. In Jersey Shore, for example, we expect to see outrageous, tasteless interactions. I shudder at the memory of their actions in Italy (“Jersey Shore smushes Italy.” Real classy stuff). They really showed a good image of America to Europeans, who, in turn, booed and laughed at them, as normal people should. There was a scene where Snookie and what’s her face (dressed in tiny highlighter colored dresses and furry boots) were dancing on tabletops of a restaurant at 10 in the morning, and proceeded to fall asleep with their faces in their breakfast until they were asked to leave. What a fucking embarrassment! What kind of “real people” act like that? That’s because they are not actually REAL people.

However, they still give me what I want to see. Dumb hos making a fool out of themselves in public and on mass television. They think they’re the shit, which makes my viewing even more pleasurable (in a twisted sense). What would Jersey Shore be without skanky hos? Just a bunch of orange douchebags with horrible hairdos who act like a bunch of high schoolers even though they’re actually 30. Keep pumpin those fists while you can, boys… Your fame won’t last long. A few years down the road, these “TV stars” will have nothing to show for their “achievements” other than memories of the good times and skin cancer.