Confessions from a bored individual.

Like most of the population under 35, I go on Wikipedia for reasons that are otherwise pointless to the history of mankind. Don't even get me started about how awesome it is. Yes, high school teachers and college professors abhor its pure existence for merely obvious reasons. Citing Wikipedia as a source for the word "teabagger" being a historical political term is just failure on your part. But it is home to actual facts for obscure subjects. They have page listings for that girl in that random French indie movie about that hipster eccentric intellectual. There's lists of links for pages that have educational value. Lists of literature terms, lists of National Historic Landmarks by state, lists of defunct airlines, etc. Wikipedia has actually defined really weird science and math terms that my professor failed to properly explain. (Psst, I went there for a much clearer definition of synesthesia, than what my psych prof had given). Not to mention, there's actual applications on the site that allow you to cite sources if you are able. So you can't say that everything posted is crap.

But let's get this straight. I write for a living...sort of. I don't get money from doing this, but I believe I have a decent amount of talent. If I didn't, I'd be getting hate mail from all of my former English teachers who read this. But since I actually have skill, it wouldn't require me to strictly rely on the 'ol Wiki for complete information. It's notorious for letting anyone edit or vandalize a page, and it's not really top notch for web moderation. That in itself can make it even better, but not for important or academic information. On that note, let's expose what it should really be so awesome for. Well, for one, it's great amusement when I get in there and edit grammar and spelling. Proper nouns and word usage were taught in school, right? But then you stumble upon stuff like this, and I'll let you continue the Wikipewlunking at your own risk.

WikiWTF #1: California English and slang

We all have probably joined one of those groups called "You know you're from [insert place here] when..." and then laughed at how true and pathetic it is because nobody else gets it. Same for people in California. You know where to get the best Mexican food, you say gnarly or hella, etc. But did you know that there was a Wiki page for that?

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

Now I won't spoil the enjoyment of reading this entry, but here's an excerpt of what you may find:

A common example of a Northern California colloquialism is hella (from "hell of a (lot of)", alternatively, hecka) to mean "many", "much", "so" or "very". It can be used with both count and mass nouns. For example: "I haven't seen you in hella days"; "There were hella people there"; or "This guacamole is hella good." Pop culture references to "hella" are common, as in the song "Hella Good" by the band No Doubt, which hails from Southern California.

I don't really need to expand on this, but it's cool in its own sense. There's pages for other states, regions, and countries as well. I personally recommend the entry on Texas and other southern states.

WikiWTF #2: List of sexual fetishes

This one needs no explanation. In fact, it's probably not for the easily offended or with a weak stomach.

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

WikiWTF #3: People who ran in the '03 recall election for governor

I was in 8th grade when this happened, and knew nothing about politics, much less who was running. But I remember hearing that a bunch of random people were running. I wish we had this kind of lineup for this election, because I'd rather vote for Gallagher or a porn star than any of the people on the bill now. I love how I can understand how stupid and pointless politicians are now that I'm able to vote for one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_recall_election,_2003#Results

This video is awesome. Oh, and the singer is amazing.

For those of you who are fans of the anti-folk scene, and like artists such as Regina Spektor, Keren Ann, or Fiona Apple, then you will probably like this. And a random piece of trivia that I got at a random party: she used to be an opera singer prior to singing pop songs.

I can't decide to hate the person who was responsible for this, or be half in love with him.

This. I really can't even say anything without feeling confused.

Slow post day. But this should peak your interest.

So, I've previously mentioned how big of a music nerd I am. It's a bit of a problem, but I don't really care. My obsession has certainly come in handy, allowing me to get into shows, meet celebrities, and have access to insane amounts of information. One of these perks was being able to befriend and eventually interview my hero and favorite person Jim Ladd. I won't go into details about him, so just check out my giant feature I did on him last winter. I have for you my first interview with him, that played a huge role in my first term paper of college. Enjoy, and feel free to comment and critique. It's undoubtedly one of my proudest moments to this day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Minds, Think For Themselves

One of the biggest mysteries in life is discovering the reasons behind human behavior. When we see a person get angry, we wonder what caused the person to show resentment. The exact same reaction occurs when we observe a situation. Our first instinct is to see who the culprit is, what the actions were to cause the instance, and why it even happened in the first place. Michael Moore's essay titled "Idiot Nation" covers a wide variety of aspects as to why many young adults appear apathetic in regards to politics and world news. One of those factors explicitly alluded to the media's influence on how we think and make decisions. I selected three different sources that coincide with Moore's thoughts, in order to enhance my own opinion. One choice is an essay titled "America The Beautiful", a Canadian internet source titled "The Culture Of Commercialism," and the final is a personal interview I did with a well known disc jockey in Los Angeles.

In Moore's essay, he stresses how easy it is for us to model what is shown to us through advertising and television. An article I found through Canadian site Media Awareness Network explains how easily we fall into the trap of commercialism. The site specializes in spreading awareness of how the media affects us. Not only does it contain this article about commercialism, but the site also features how the internet, books, and even music can influence the beliefs and opinions of a person. The site's article mentions how advertising encourages us to buy things that we don't really need as an attempt to build our egos and social status. In a sense, that alludes to Moore's point about how distracted we are from the issues that matter. If enough commercials tell us that we aren't celebrity status if we don't dress in a certain way, we end up becoming more concerned with how we look than searching for more important things, such as sources for alternative energy. By doing this, the media is condoning us for caring about ourselves so that we buy products that we think are beneficial to our existence. If we can be so easily swayed to behave in a specific way through basic psychology, then it drastically increases our risk to be brainwashed and not think for ourselves.

Our media can be a powerful tool when it comes to spreading one's personal ideas. We have a great deal of access to a wide variety of materials, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Due to the availability of everything from politics to pornography, it isn't difficult to come across anything. I came across an article from our homework by Dinesh D'Souza that seemed to pinpoint how the media can have a strong influence on people who are not well rounded, particularly when it comes to politics. These people fit as an example for how they can easily fall into a sheep-like mentality.

Dinesh D'Souza is a conservative writer, who has worked with the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and also the New York Times. He worked in the White House as a policy analyst during the Reagan Administration. While I have nothing against his own views, I feel that this is important in recognizing how people can easily be swayed. D'Souza makes statements in his essay "America The Beautiful" that are based on stereotypes, which can be interpreted as being the truth by those who don't know any better. He falsely states that, "Islam is the only non-Western civilization to pose a mortal threat to the West" (771). That one quote in itself is entirely false. There have been many other eastern civilizations that we've considered a threat to America: Vietnam and Pearl Harbor, anyone? Those countries are some of our most infamous "threats" where we thought that we would lose control of our country over something like communism. In turn, we usually realize that we had set the entire situation out of context. Our current culture war is the same thing, but with different places and faces. Throughout the essay, D'Souza continues to make false accusations and generalizations, like claiming that all Muslims who practice Islam behave and think in the same way. Considering what I know about the religion, D'Souza is incorrect in stating that all who practice Islam want to destroy the foundation of America. Those who desire to see our country's downfall are extremists, and practice a more radical side of Islam. The basis believes that capitalism corrupts morals, and while many believe that, the majority population of Islam does not go to the extent of destroying capitalism as a whole. Based on publications of this sort, "facts" like these wind up into the minds of people who do not have a proper understanding of both sides. The easily provided information, such as D'Souza's essay, can be accessed by anyone. When misinterpreted or believed, articles similar to this have a very dangerous potential.

While I do believe that the media can have a negative affect on our current generation, I have observed with optimism that media can indeed be beneficial, if used with common sense. I recently interviewed Jim Ladd, a radio legend who works for Los Angeles station KLOS. For over thirty years, he has been able to practice and support free form radio. Free form is defined by having no format regulations for his show, and he is permitted to play whatever he wants during his time slot. I was fortunate to personally meet him at a signing, and keep in touch with him regularly through his MySpace page. During our interview, he mentioned how technology has expanded his fan base drastically, and had also enhanced the show's content in ways he had never experienced.

The approach that was originally taken from my perspective leaned more on the pessimistic side. But through the progression of my interview with Ladd, my views took a different and more positive approach. As a radio personality, I asked him how he felt about radio and television providing what appeared to be reliable views in their news. Ladd explained how the large issue was that too many sources are biased, "and the only way to get truth is from different sources." He used conservative network Fox News as a prime example. "Fox News is not balanced. They consider themselves to be a reliable news source, but they don't give all sides." Ladd then mentioned how he makes it perfectly clear where his views are coming from during the broadcast. I then asked him if he felt that television was more of a distraction, rather than a tool. While he agreed that it can act as a distraction of some sort, it also can bring awareness to things like the upcoming election. "It seems like a lot more people are paying attention," said Ladd. "The people are focusing on the issues." In regards to benefits, I asked how media has helped him personally with his career in the music industry. His MySpace page, he feels, allows his show and opinions to be accessed by anyone, therefore expanding his fan base and allowing others to hear what he has to say. "MySpace is a positive thing for me," said Ladd, in response to artwork posted on his page during his broadcast. "I can see what [the listener] is thinking when they post." He stressed, however, that technology and the media works with the proper intentions and common sense. "It's up to you what you do with the tool. It's just wires in a box."

Just going through all of these different resources gives new eyesight as to how the media can act within our society. The main thing is that the media just presents what is given to them. Rarely are things verified, interpreted, or questioned. It can be a source for the truth, lies, or just purely mindless amusement. What matters the most is how the material is being presented to the public, and who is listening to what is being said. Yes, the broadcaster or writer can talk endlessly about what they believe to be the truth, but it is up to the individual to evaluate, determine, and understand whether they believe the statements to be true or false.

Here are five of the awesomest Springsteen videos ever. I know, what else would you expect me to be posting.

Elvis wannabe gets invited onstage. Elvis wannabe then gets dissed by Bruce. He fails at life.



A live version of a great song, that he somehow manages to make incredibly sexy.



It's all about the intro, but the song is a favorite of mine. Maybe it's because he brags about how good he is at oral sex. There's probably a Freudian explanation for that.



His cameo in one of my all time favorite films of all time, High Fidelity.



And this just makes me want to marry him. He's just so...adorable.

For those of you who spent too much time on ze interwebz.

We've all done it. Trolled Yahoo! Answers, posted sarcastic comments on some poor person's video like "omg, u sucks lawls jk i like dis vid," and fought with some person who probably posted about Nazis to get everyone annoyed. Welcome to the new world order of ze interwebz.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Yes, I've been lacking. Don't guilt me.

Ok, so I've been lazy. I'm a college kid who, as of the middle of the spring semester, began to have no life whatsoever. Now that school's out (not counting the upcoming summer school session) I am back to resuming a social life that doesn't involve studying and writing for classes I loathe. But that's all said and done, so I virtually have no excuses to not post here, except for openly admitting my laziness. However, with computer failures, school, and just being totally swamped with other stuff, you can't really blame me.

I have, however, have found the greatest website devoted to the reason why so many people have been given a reason to hate rap.

http://rappersthatsuck.com/

I really can't help but have a love for

1. Watching stupid people fail miserably while still thinking they are awesome

2. White guys trying to rap when we all know that Eminem is the only guy who has managed to pull it off

3. And things like this that really can't be explained:

Seriously though, during this span of being inactive (and I apologize for any of you who thought I abandoned this) I discovered some of the greatest things that could probably ever be found on the internet. Procrastinating during finals had to be taken care of in some fashion, and when you've got the internet in front of you, you really can't go elsewhere. But here are a few other things I've discovered that are just great.

-Home to people posting ignorant, amusing, and just overall facepalm statements on Facebook.

http://failbook.com/

-A site of gold stars to the geniuses who write hilarious notes to annoying coworkers and neighbors that have loud sexual encounters.
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

-And one of my personal favorites, the STFU series on tumblr. Ode to sappy couples, religious fanatics, and parents who post pictures of their kid's first poop.
http://stfuparents.tumblr.com/
http://stfumarrieds.tumblr.com/
http://stfubelievers.tumblr.com/

I shall now leave you with this gem as my final thought.