This is a popular topic to rage about. No taxpayer wants the money that they are required to pay the government to be wasted. We hear stories of how someone took advantage of the system and wasted their 'government assistance' on a new television or spent $300 dollars of food stamps on candy bars at the Plaid Pantry down the road. The assistance given by the government is NOT free money.
I don't like it. I don't completely understand it, however I don't think all citizens receiving government assistance are like this.
These government programs HELP people.
>Some of these people are disabled and can't work.
>Some can't get a job because of the economy.
>Some can't get jobs because they have no skills needed in the workforce.
>Some can't get jobs because they were never taught how to be someone a business would want to hire.
>Some don't know how to find a job or even know where to find out how to get one.
>Some citizens can work and have jobs but still can't cover their costs.
>Maybe they are a single parent.
>Maybe they are a student.
There are also citizens who can work and don't. They could get a job but don't. Their families and society did not instill proper values of hard work, responsibility and servitude. These people ride on the backs of taxpayers.
We are a culture of individuals. We like it that way. We like to see the fruits of our individual labor. We value the ability to not concern ourselves with the unsuccessful. We can choose to support or ignore anything or anyone we please.
We have made these people.
I have made these people.
Should we support them?
Every system has flaws because every system is made up of human beings and we are not perfect. These "moochers" are just the flaw in the system. I don't believe we should generalize this flaw to citizens who actually need assistance. There are millions of people in this country who need assistance and there are still more who genuinely need it but can't get it. We need to work to weed out assistance to those who don't need it and redirect it to those who still need it but can not get it.
If supporting citizens who need support means supporting some who don't, should we cease support?
This is America.
We are individualists who believe in helping the those who need.
Our assistance to any greater good has a cost.
Are free-riders just an operating cost?
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Why do so Many Reviews give so Little Information?
Why do most film, music, and book reviewers use opinion adjectives?! Words like nice, good, outstanding, exciting, dynamic, enthralling; are all opinion adjectives. They are all based on perception rather than fact. The purpose of a review is to give a thorough, objective view point intended to cause the audience to create their own "opinion adjectives." A review guides the audience to determine whether the media presented is to the interest. If an artist has to use primarily opinion adjectives in order to deceive the intended audience into believing the media is to their interest, then the artist needs to reassess why their media does not naturally appeal to their intended audience.
-OUTSTANDING! HAUNTINGLY EVOCATIVE! - NEW YORK TIMES
Don't take media reviews from popular media networks seriously. They obviously didn't read it.
-OUTSTANDING! HAUNTINGLY EVOCATIVE! - NEW YORK TIMES
Don't take media reviews from popular media networks seriously. They obviously didn't read it.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Act Of Valor (the movie)
I finally saw Act of Valor: the film about Navy SEALs.
I was disappointed.
It had some intense action sequences and spurred deep thoughts and insights but nevertheless it still wasn't that great.
I will tell you exactly what was wrong with it.
It did not show the building or growth of any relationships. If you pay close attention to the relationships/friendships in the greatest and most popular films ever made, you will notice one thing. Throughout the story a relationship is BUILT. It shows constant growth.
Now don't get too upset. You are probably thinking that I'm am dead wrong.
I'm not.
I did see relationships and companionship in the film, but it only showed existing and the results of an already strong relationship. A movie's goal is to draw the viewer into the story. In effect, by only showing the current strength of the SEALs' bond to one another and to their families, it left the viewer out.
Don't leave the viewer out of a story. It makes the story boring.
(I actually had a hard time paying attention)
When Chief jumped on the grenade I could see the strength of the bond Chief had to his men. (It was actually very inspiring) However, it only showed the results of a fully developed relationship.
What would have made the story interesting would have been to see how the SEAL team came together and bonded through hardship. Someone needs to sit the writer down and make him watch The Band of Brothers mini-series and The Pacific. Those two are the best war films I have ever seen. They had great effects, great action sequences, unbelievable cinematics, deep dynamic characters, damn good dialogue, the inside view to the development of the relationships between the main characters, and an overall great story line. If only every movie was like those two mini-series'!
Overall the effects, cinematics, and action were well done. Its too bad the writer missed the basic element in every good story; the growth of a relationship.
I was disappointed.
It had some intense action sequences and spurred deep thoughts and insights but nevertheless it still wasn't that great.
I will tell you exactly what was wrong with it.
It did not show the building or growth of any relationships. If you pay close attention to the relationships/friendships in the greatest and most popular films ever made, you will notice one thing. Throughout the story a relationship is BUILT. It shows constant growth.
Now don't get too upset. You are probably thinking that I'm am dead wrong.
I'm not.
I did see relationships and companionship in the film, but it only showed existing and the results of an already strong relationship. A movie's goal is to draw the viewer into the story. In effect, by only showing the current strength of the SEALs' bond to one another and to their families, it left the viewer out.
Don't leave the viewer out of a story. It makes the story boring.
(I actually had a hard time paying attention)
When Chief jumped on the grenade I could see the strength of the bond Chief had to his men. (It was actually very inspiring) However, it only showed the results of a fully developed relationship.
What would have made the story interesting would have been to see how the SEAL team came together and bonded through hardship. Someone needs to sit the writer down and make him watch The Band of Brothers mini-series and The Pacific. Those two are the best war films I have ever seen. They had great effects, great action sequences, unbelievable cinematics, deep dynamic characters, damn good dialogue, the inside view to the development of the relationships between the main characters, and an overall great story line. If only every movie was like those two mini-series'!
Overall the effects, cinematics, and action were well done. Its too bad the writer missed the basic element in every good story; the growth of a relationship.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Ice Cream's Enigma: Blue Moon
YES! Whats not to like? Its bright blue, cold, creamy, and its ice cream! Greater yet, it is an enigma!
>the Flavor?<
.Blue moon is truly Ice Cream's greatest Enigma.
The understanding of ice cream flavors stop at Blue Moon. If you can find it, you should try it. Its been my favorite for years, but after moving westward, it has been nearly impossible to find. Blue Moon ice cream is usually only found in the northern states of the Midwest: Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Its my goal to visit Sherman's ice cream parlor when I'm in Michigan. There are a few brands that profess to make the stuff, but Sherman's is my fav. I think its the bluest. (In case bluest wasn't a word, then it is now*;)
>note<
An interesting fact to note is that there is currently no patent for Blue Moon ice cream. (to my knowledge)
Most dairies that make this dynamic flavor refuse to reveal their secret ingredient. Blue Moon's origin is still an enigma. There are leads that suggest the possibility for the time of invention and the name of the inventor, but they are all mere possibilities.
>the Flavor?<
This flavor has the ability to confound even the most sensitive taste buds. How can the Blue Moon flavor even be described? The closest I have ever come to describing its flavor is its similarity to cotton candy. However, cotton candy still doesn't do this engimatic ice cream justice. Many have hypothesised this ice cream to be marshmallow, honeydew, cantaloupe, orange, raspberry, pineapple, Fruit Loops, lemon, cherry, peach, pistachio, coconut, almond, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, buttercream, licorice, bubble gum, Blue Curaçao, Crème de cacao, Amaretto, cotton candy, cola, and combinations of many of these.
It all depends on who's tasting.
Blue moon is truly indescribable.
.Blue moon is truly Ice Cream's greatest Enigma.>Other Articles<
In 2007, Nara Schoenberg: a reporter for the Chicago Tribune; went on a quest to discover the truth about Blue Moon ice cream. Few solid conclusions were made but I suggest it for further reading. The link I found is below.
Monday, August 22, 2011
wanted: experienced Con Man
There is a large demand in the US of A for good con men/women. For the unemployed, getting a job is not as easy as it should be. Employers either require a four-year college degree or experience for a position where neither is needed. Just today I saw an advertisement for a scrap metal burner. A scrap metal burner cuts up metal with a gas or oxy-acetylene torch. They were looking for someone with 3 years experience. Their second stipulation was sounded silly: "No shop fabricators or casual torch users please." To start off with, it takes 15 minutes to teach someone everything there is to know about cutting scrap metal with a torch. Give that newbie an hour or two and you couldn't tell their work from a pro's work. There's really nothing special about cutting scrap metal. Their second requirement is just absurd. "No shop fabricators or casual torch users please." That's a bad joke. They have to have some good reason for this! The only thing I can think of is that they are looking for speed. Give a hard worker a break! In a day they will get the feel for how fast they need to go and by then they will be up to par.
Experience is required where it shouldn't be. Generally speaking: in the blue-collar world, it takes a mere month to turn from a new-hat to an old-hat (assuming they had proper training). Experience doesn't change much between a month and 30 years. It really doesn't. There are still many blue-collar jobs where experience changes some(and it helps, it really does!), but when it comes to getting the job done it doesn't make much of a difference. I've seen young guys fresh out of high school do the same job, with the same quality as a 30 yr exp old-hat. Experience is everything in the white-collar world, but in the blue-collar world, it is drastically overrated.
You can get a great blue collar job if you can pull off a good con. Very little experience is really necessary. What you don't know, go to your local library a grab a couple books on the topic. If you can get the vocabulary and have a little experience, then you are set up perfectly.
Check out job advertisements online. There are thousands of them and most of them are hilarious. You won't BELIEVE what kind of experience they require now.
When I work I believe in two things: Git r done, and Git r done RIGHT.
Experience is required where it shouldn't be. Generally speaking: in the blue-collar world, it takes a mere month to turn from a new-hat to an old-hat (assuming they had proper training). Experience doesn't change much between a month and 30 years. It really doesn't. There are still many blue-collar jobs where experience changes some(and it helps, it really does!), but when it comes to getting the job done it doesn't make much of a difference. I've seen young guys fresh out of high school do the same job, with the same quality as a 30 yr exp old-hat. Experience is everything in the white-collar world, but in the blue-collar world, it is drastically overrated.
You can get a great blue collar job if you can pull off a good con. Very little experience is really necessary. What you don't know, go to your local library a grab a couple books on the topic. If you can get the vocabulary and have a little experience, then you are set up perfectly.
Check out job advertisements online. There are thousands of them and most of them are hilarious. You won't BELIEVE what kind of experience they require now.
When I work I believe in two things: Git r done, and Git r done RIGHT.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Book to Film adaptation: why they mess it up.
Many of us are familiar with Hollywood's infamous botchery of many classic and popular books. Many times a book may have an excellent storyline yet Hollywood pillages and rapes the story into something that little resembles the original masterpiece. I have three possible theories for this phenomenon.
- What makes a book's storyline great differs dramatically from what makes a movie's storyline great.
- The book's storyline may be too difficult to adapt to film as it is.
- The screenwriters, directors, and/or producers are fucked up.
the Quest for Originality
So many times I have observe someone trying to create something completely original; something that resembles nothing else in the world, future, past and present. Back during my days in high school, originality was the achievment of the great. They and I wanted to accomplish something significant to make our mark on the world. The path to significance was originality. I saw it less after high school, but instead of disappearing, it went underground. I see the quest for originality all over the place. It eats at the core of western culture. I first noticed this when I started avoiding America's most well known coffee shop because it seemed cliche. In my mind it lost its worth when it lost its originality. This certain well known coffee shop started on an original idea: quality coffee/espresso. Up until then, big brand coffee companies sold the cheapest coffee they could produce. Instant coffee (which you have to be desperate to drink) was invented in 1901 and became popular in the '50s when anything considered "old" was avoided and left behind. Instant coffee became the norm in most households. Espresso was just beginning to make it's way into North America when this well known coffee company started its first shop. They pioneered the Latte Languish. In America it was original. Sadly, they verge on cliche now.
>I copied John Lennon and created Imagine<
As a young song artist I was struggling in my quest for originality. The first few ideas I came up with were almost identical to a couple of favorite songs. The tune was different but the tone was the same, the lyrics were similar, and the style was the same. After my first few attempts I would dink around with a couple of tunes and cords but nothing I came up with ever became a song. I stopped creating. I gave up. I was frustrated with my music. I didn't want to copy anybody nor make music that sounded like a takeoff of another artist's sound. I wanted to make my music. I admired bands such as the Beatles who created music that seemed completely original. The Beatles had an original sound. Not surprising, the music the Beatles grew up listening to was from the '50s. It makes sense. What surprised me was that the Beatles attempted to imitate many sounds they heard from other bands before them. For many years they were a cover band playing the stuff everybody played. They copied. What many of the best artists come to understand is that no matter how hard they try to copy, they will never duplicate. It will always be different. In the attempt to copy they create something new: something good. So I found that if I focused making music that I liked, then I always created great music.
(TANGENT #1) >Indie Culture<
Some Indie bands put out some great stuff, but too many times I hear an Indie band that it so focused on creating an original sound that it ends up sounding strange and boring. The stuff sounds like trash. Its like the baker who specialized in fruity desserts. He decides that sweet dessert is way to cliche and boring so he puts salt in instead in order to create something new. The way our society is going we just might start eating salty desserts if someone said sweet was overrated. On a positve note: I doubt sex will ever turn cliche.
(TANGENT #2) >Cliche Pop Culture<
We know. Everyone knows. Its that damn Rihanna song Whats My Name. (actually this has to do with preference. I don't like this song. Everytime I turn the radio on this song seems to be playing.)
Actually pop culture is by definition cliche. It is common. It is the average. It is what most people will agree upon. Why can't I like something thats unoriginal, common, or cliche? I can. In fact, I should if it brings me pleasure.
>my Final Thoughts<
By focusing on creating something good rather than something new, I have allowed myself to be open to anything. This mindset breeds original and new ideas.
>I copied John Lennon and created Imagine<
As a young song artist I was struggling in my quest for originality. The first few ideas I came up with were almost identical to a couple of favorite songs. The tune was different but the tone was the same, the lyrics were similar, and the style was the same. After my first few attempts I would dink around with a couple of tunes and cords but nothing I came up with ever became a song. I stopped creating. I gave up. I was frustrated with my music. I didn't want to copy anybody nor make music that sounded like a takeoff of another artist's sound. I wanted to make my music. I admired bands such as the Beatles who created music that seemed completely original. The Beatles had an original sound. Not surprising, the music the Beatles grew up listening to was from the '50s. It makes sense. What surprised me was that the Beatles attempted to imitate many sounds they heard from other bands before them. For many years they were a cover band playing the stuff everybody played. They copied. What many of the best artists come to understand is that no matter how hard they try to copy, they will never duplicate. It will always be different. In the attempt to copy they create something new: something good. So I found that if I focused making music that I liked, then I always created great music.
(TANGENT #1) >Indie Culture<
Some Indie bands put out some great stuff, but too many times I hear an Indie band that it so focused on creating an original sound that it ends up sounding strange and boring. The stuff sounds like trash. Its like the baker who specialized in fruity desserts. He decides that sweet dessert is way to cliche and boring so he puts salt in instead in order to create something new. The way our society is going we just might start eating salty desserts if someone said sweet was overrated. On a positve note: I doubt sex will ever turn cliche.
(TANGENT #2) >Cliche Pop Culture<
We know. Everyone knows. Its that damn Rihanna song Whats My Name. (actually this has to do with preference. I don't like this song. Everytime I turn the radio on this song seems to be playing.)
Actually pop culture is by definition cliche. It is common. It is the average. It is what most people will agree upon. Why can't I like something thats unoriginal, common, or cliche? I can. In fact, I should if it brings me pleasure.
>my Final Thoughts<
By focusing on creating something good rather than something new, I have allowed myself to be open to anything. This mindset breeds original and new ideas.
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