Being the Thanksgiving season and whatnot, here’s some stuff I’m thankful for:
I’m thankful for back pain, which reminds me that I have a spine.
I’m thankful for being unemployed, which gives me plenty of time to think about what I want to be when I grow up.
I’m thankful for the greedy assholes who gave us the economy that ultimately lead to the aforementioned unemployment.
I’m thankful for uncertainty. Not sure why.
I’m thankful for modern technology, which gives me the ability to stay in touch with friends and family without actually having to leave the couch, thereby minimizing my risk of catching swine flu.
I’m thankful for douchebags, which remind me that I am not one.
I’m thankful that I speak proper English, which allows me to surreptitiously talk about the douchebags on the interwebs without risk of them understanding me.
I’m thankful for my guitar, which–no matter how much I neglect her or play other guitars–never gives me the stink eye.
I’m thankful for a wide variety of interests and skills, which makes it hard for me to settle on anything.
I’m thankful for stuff I don’t know, which keeps me curious.
Finally, and most of all, I’m thankful for the amazing people in my life who (God only knows why) continue to choose to be around me.
Ken Ober, former host of the 80’s MTV game show “Remote Control” (aka bye-bye music videos), was found dead in his home. No cause of death has been released.
“Remote Control” was responsible for spawning the careers of such celebrities as Adam Sandler, Kari Wuhrer, and Colin Quinn. So… yeah. Thanks for that.
The Black Eyed Peas are terrible… just terrible. I don’t know why this even needs to be said, but seeing as they keep releasing songs and showing up on TV, apparently people aren’t paying attention to the damage The Black Eye Peas are doing to America. Every time you buy a Black Eyed Peas CD, the terrorists win.
Let’s see… 3 talent-light guys “sing” (read: talk) in unison, while a dubiously hot chick (with admittedly great legs) hangs out until it’s her turn to “belt.”
This brings me to the only part of this group worth much: Fergie. By the way, why does anyone call her “Fergie” instead of “Stacy Ann Ferguson?” I think that name is a lot classier and sounds a lot less like a butcher. If I had a butcher, I’d call him “Fergie.”
What is Fergie’s job, anyway? Slow-motion walk-in-place in pre-strip stripper clothes while the other guys talk in unison, then “sing” for a measure while the fellas drop back to watch her onion wiggle? Fergie… why so conservative? Love the butt-chin, BTW.
If you remain unconvinced, let’s delve into their lyrics… shall we?
“Boom Boom Pow”
Gotta get that
Gotta get that
Gotta get that
Gotta get that that that, that that
And can we forget the classic “My Humps?”
My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump,
My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps (Check it out)
She has a hunchback? Ew.
And then there’s “Don’t Phunk With My Heart,” which… ugh… why even bother?
How do you think their “songwriting” sessions go?
Guy 1: “Yo, how ’bout we go ‘no no no no no no no no no’?”
Guy 2: “Word. Then we say ‘yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.'”
Fergie: “[squeak].”
Lighting: The light source goes in front of you, but behind the camera. Not behind you. Not in front of you and also in front of the camera. Put the damned light in front of you and behind the camera. Overhead lighting will work in a pinch, but only if it isn’t in frame, or so bright that it whites out everything. See, the way light works is that it has to bounce off of something, then back to our eyes, in order for us to see it clearly. How well can you see when you do the sun stare? Is this starting to make sense?
Hot chicks: First, on behalf of all mankind, thank you for your services. Now, on to my point. Before filming your next masterpiece, please double-check to make sure that there are no unrestrained dogs, cats, or boyfriends that might wander douchebaggily into the shot, thereby ruining my moment. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is.
Hot chick friends: If you have hot friends who want to join in, by all means… please invite them. Nothing inspires young teenage girls to pull out their best freaky circus Hannah Montana stripper moves like a little healthy competition for daddy’s attention. Exception: if your hot friend is a buzz-kill, please lock her in the bathroom for the remainder of the shoot. There is very little in this world that is worse that you doing something incredibly hot, then stopping to spend the next 5 minutes trying to convince your giggling simp of a friend to shake her ass for me.
Un-hot chick friends: Just don’t.
Editing: Do it. Nobody needs to see 5 minutes of you cleaning piles of Hello Kitty paraphernalia off your floor and giggling with your friends before you get down to shaking your booty for daddy. The walk of shame back up to the camera to turn it off may be left in if it’s particularly hot. Remember… editing is your friend (and mine).
Sound: We’re talking music and audio quality here. In all honesty, neither really matters, as I’m probably just going to mute it anyway. If, however your choice in music is absolutely vital to the experience, or if you are planning on moaning and calling out my name, please let me know in advance so I can plug in my earbuds.
Mise en scène: This is a cinematographic phrase of French origin that means “If you’re on the floor shaking your booty, please make sure that the camera is pointed at you.”
Choreography: A little time invested in planning out your routine is very welcome. This ties into mise en scène as well. If you are planning on dropping it like it’s hot, please make sure that your camera operator knows about this in advance and is capable of moving a camera properly to capture your art uninterrupted.
Camera operation: Never, ever turn your camera sideways, upside down, tilt it to a jaunty angle, move it around, or do anything similarly annoying that is likely to make me throw up in my lap. If I wanted to see sucky camera work, I’d turn on MTV. Holding the camera while running/dancing/prancing around is also discouraged. Remember… tripods are your friend.
If you’ve recently purchased a new iPod and have transferred files from your old iPod to the new one, only to find that your podcasts are now “missing,” I may have good news for you. The same happened to me this morning, but I found that they were all still there… just hiding. Here’s how I fixed it:
If you try to search for the “podcast” genre or even the specific title of the podcast/episode, it won’t show up. However, if you make a smart playlist based on the genre “podcast,” everything should show up there. Once you’ve done that, select all files in that smartlist, right (ctrl) click on the selected files, and click on “get info.” From there, go to Options, and change the Media type to music. Your podcasts should now show up in your Music folder.
According to a story at MSNBC.com, “Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and the rest of the loud-mouthed right wing are… engaged in the vile evil of Holocaust denial” when they protest against Obama’s healthcare initiative.*
Huh?
I get that MSNBC hates right-wingers. No big surprise, there. Trying finding “fair and balanced” reporting of any kind on MSNBC or FOXNews is like trying to find a drug-free virgin at a party at the Kardashians’.
But this is a little batshit crazy… even for MSNBC.
Do you remember when the left-wingers in this country were absolutely livid when their protests against the Bush administration over the Iraq war left them labeled as “Anti-American” and “Un-Patriotic” by Pro-Bush right-wingers?
So why is it that they’ve now adopted the right-wingers’ exact approach to stifling opposition and protest? Perhaps because this time, the object being protested is a Left-wing sacred (free-range, organic) cow?
Different words, different objects, same… exact… tactic.
Normally, we’re used to seeing Republicans as pussies who whine and moan about what the Democrats are up to. But now, a group of right-wingers are taking a page from the left’s own book. (Literally.) And the left-wingers don’t seem to like it one bit.
So now, according to leftist MSNBC, exercising our right (and, I dare say, responsibility) to speak out and protest a “healthcare” bill which a) the “authors” of which haven’t actually read, b) will trash the greatest healthcare system in the world, c) will definitely burden what is left of the greatest economy in the world for generations to come, and d) will kick open the door to even more government intrusion into our private lives, is considered “Holocaust Denial?”
Does anybody give a shit about liberty anymore?
Regardless of what you think of this HMO-meets-the-DMV-meets-the-IRS-with-machine-guns on steroids and crack piece of legislation, surely you’re concerned about the implications such irresponsible rhetoric holds for the First Amendment? Right? Hello??
What’s next? “Calling Obama a ‘Socialist’ is really code for calling him the ‘N-Word?'” Oh wait… never mind. Someone already beat me to that. At least it wasn’t MSNBC again… oh… wait… oops.
The easy solution to most of our woes is less government intrusion, not more. Lower taxes, less government waste, fewer programs… especially the ones that are strictly designed to redistribute wealth and centralize power in the hands of a few. Washington: Stay the fuck out of our lives and let us live them as we please. Please.
(*Obama hasn’t really written a “healthcare plan,” you know. The “plan” is being “written” by the Congress. And by “written by the Congress,” I mean by someone else. Namely lawyers.)