Wednesday, April 22, 2009

And another thing...

I’m not sure what news surprises me more: That Dog the Bounty Hunter was shot at by one of the people he was trying to well not arrest more like apprehend in a forceful manner or that there wasn’t a camera crew there to catch the shooting. Seriously, the only reason anyone knows about the guy is that a camera crew follows him around. Even with that no one really cares. Finally something interesting happens and they miss it. If you shoot at a reality television star and there is no camera there to film it does it make a sound? Guess it depends on whether the guy used a silencer or not.

Also, can someone please explain to me why I would care about what Miss California has to say about anything? To start we are talking about the Miss USA pageant, the low rent cousin of the Miss America pageant. So we aren’t even talking about the real Miss California here. If you want to get a sense of how high end the Miss USA pageant is notice that not only was Perez Hilton a judge so was Eric Trump. I wouldn’t recognize Eric Trump if I passed him on a street corner begging for loose change. Actually, I think I have. But my main point is that we are having this huge media event over a flubbed answer in a competition that no one cares about. The only reason that it has become important is that we are so tired of all the depressing news that we have decided to make this important. I don’t expect that too many people are taking their views on gay marriage or opposite marriage from beauty contestants. So can we please stop talking about it?

Add to that the woman in Britain who sang a song from Les Miserables. So has every single person who has ever tried out for a high school musical and we don’t keep their stories in heavy rotation. That is the most patronizing thing I have ever seen. Ooh, let’s carefully edit something so we can all act surprised when someone who doesn’t look like a model shows that they actually have some talent. We’ll feel good about ourselves for seeing that looks aren’t everything. It’s contrived and downright mean when you think about it.

The fact that all of these stories have made pretty big headlines in the past week (as in becoming featured stories on CNN) gives an indication as to where we are as a culture at the moment. Mainly that we have been so beaten down by bad news that we are now focusing on the trivial just to make it through the day. I wouldn’t even call it uplifting trivia. We just don’t want to hear about the economy or war or strife or anything of that sort. We want to escape the hard news cycle and return to a simpler time. If I was working in Hollywood I would be trying like mad right now to just get some straightforward, funny sitcoms on the air. Some really dumb comedy like Alf. Self aware that it knows that it is dumb but well written enough to be interesting. It would be a huge success. Because what we are looking for right now is an escape.

Wednesday Night Music Club: I think that I have been posting videos for about two years now and I don’t think that I have ever posted a Kasey Chambers song. That surprises me as I just think her voice is amazing. Here is a video that always reminds me of Jackson Square, mainly because I have a feeling that it was filmed there.

2 comments:

uleiJ said...

LOL very funny about DOG, I was thinking the same thing. Where in the world was the camera crew?

The lady that is all over the news lately, I hope gets a record deal after all this because they have really been making fun of her. It is really sad. I hope she is making some money at least.

short blonde english major said...

Maybe we wouldn't all be so eager to escape if an absolute village idiot with "several years of community activism" wasn't the head of the world. I, too, am more interested in the overweight woman from Scotland than I am in what is going on in the USA. By the time the tax increases occur, I won't be able to afford cable to watch her progress. I wish her and my paycheck farewell.