Last Day of July

Ok, so I've been searching for jobs for a little over a month now and still nothing. Luckily, on Saturday I leave to Mexico for a week. I'll try and relax a little. I have a 5-hour layover so I am currently renting movies from iTunes . If you have any suggestions for movies, let me know.

On the plus side, I have now officially stuck to my 3 miles a day plan for a whole month. I feel more energetic and pleasant. Hopefully my week in Mexico won't make me get lazy when I come back.

Also, I am in love with Hulu. I have been watching the third season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and loving it. Hulu was created by NBC Universal and lets you legally watch shows for free with few commercials. It's guilt free fun and a great place to watch TV shows and movies you've missed because you were busy with work, or in my case, used to be busy with work.

Oh, and all you kids who keep crying about Scrabulous, here's some good news.

Hackers and Rabbits

The city of San Francisco nearly missed being thrown into chaos and all because one guy in their Tech Dept. may have decided to copy the plot from "Die Hard 4." The techie is accused of rigging the city's network to create a meltdown and he is currently sitting in jail awaiting his next day in court. Nevertheless, right before he was arrested, he allegedly made sure network administrators were locked out of the system, which basically means the Sheriff is banging his keyboard right now and screaming, "Dude, I can't check my email!"

I figure the suspect is using this as leverage because the Mayor had to visit him in jail and ask the guy if he could pretty please give him the passwords. I could just imagine the Mayor getting there and talking to the police commissioner:

Mayor: What do we know about this guy?
Commissioner: We searched his clothes and pockets. All we found were USB sticks and lint.
Mayor: Shit, son.

...and now for my new favorite commercial:

Federal Courts Are Totally Tits

Hey, remember in 2004 when we wanted to watch some football and ended up seeing Janet Jackson's "star power?" Well, a federal court ruled today that the FCC was totally bonkers when it fined CBS half a million dollars for an accident that occurred on live television--and I agree! Shit happens on live TV. Deal with it. No one's kid is traumatized from seeing boobs. Give the boy a beer.

This is also great news because it means we can see more great choreography in the future. I just can't get enough of seeing Justin Timberlake with middle-aged women. We've seen him strip Janet Jackson and sing about pleasuring Madonna in under four minutes. So, what's next for JT? Locking lips with Whitney Houston? Provocatively feeding Dolly Parton some pudding at a rest home? Giving Cher a suppository? Nothing brings sexy back like menopause.

Funny Bones

I found a great piece in Time Magazine about the Obama-New Yorker controversy. The NY cartoon satirizes dumb people who think Obama is a Muslim terrorist. The irony in all this is that the people complaining about the cartoon seem to be as dumb, if not dumber, than the people the cartoon satirizes.

However, I wonder if these people who are complaining are making a big stink for other reasons. What if they actually understand that it is satire but think that the rest of us are all too dumb to get it and will then vote McCain? From reading the comments that are posted on the columns about this issue, it seems like that is the underlying reason.

"Don't reference the other side's attacks or even think about making fun of the candidate. Your joke could make us lose the election and this election is important. If you say or do anything that hurts our chances of winning we will condemn you and maybe even boycott your business. Winning is more important than your freedom of speech. Don't worry, though, you can have it back when this is all over. This is just temporary. I promise."

I didn't like it when the right used this logic a few years ago and I don't like it when the left uses it for its own purposes now.

Still, I will vote for Obama. I think the country needs to fix its image on the world stage and I do get the sense that Obama can do this better than McCain. However, the childishness and hypersensitivity displayed over this issue doesn't exactly make me want to cheer, "Go Dems!"

The Idiocracy Is Coming

Although it is a very silly movie, the concept of "Idiocracy" is just so damned funny that you can't help but admire the idea and worry whether or not it might come true.

In "Idiocracy," one man (Luke Wilson) is cryogenically frozen for just a bit too long. He awakens 500 years in the future and finds that the world is dumb. Really, really dumb. The reason? Dumb people breed like rabbits even though they can't afford all those kids and smart people say they want to "wait" until their careers are stable enough before they have kids. The smart people, however, wait too long, and, ladies, as you know, once you hit 40 it gets pretty hard to put a bun in the oven. Thus, natural selection makes the "stupid" choice.

Just how stupid? Well, in the future, everyone's favorite show is "Ow! My Balls!," the President is a pro-wrestler and Starbucks has become a chain... of brothels.

Anyway, I was reminded of this movie when I saw all the complaints about the latest cover of The New Yorker.

The publication has repeatedly explained that this cover is meant to be satirical and that it pokes fun at comments made about Obama by right-wing pundits. I guess if you don't read the magazine that often, I can see how the context might be missing, but isn't this image ridiculous enough? Nevertheless, many people still take it literally including Obama's camp. People have said it is offensive and in bad taste. Too many columnists have already written great pieces in rebuttal to this unfounded outrage, so I'll just list my favorite arguments:

• Obama's campaign made things worse by complaining. They should have laughed it off and said something witty like, "Look how well they drew Michelle!" It would have made Obama look much cooler and smarter.
• The New Yorker is often considered a liberal and high-brow magazine that has traditionally included satire. How could you confuse this cartoon for anything else?
• Has our society's concept of freedom of speech become so corrupted that we are nearing a "Dutch prophet" level of outrage? Ok, maybe, that's an extreme example, but when was the last time someone made such a big deal about political satire?
  

Disclosure: I'm voting for Obama in November. Still, I agree with the sentiments expressed by one columnist in the SF Chronicle: Lighten up, people!

July Happenings

Things are sure picking up in my neck of the woods. I am about to own my first car. I have been printing ads from vehix.com like crazy and I am leaning toward a used Saturn with less than 60,000 miles on it. I'm going to peruse the car lots next week and I know everyone hates dealing with car salesmen, but I'm going to enjoy this. Why? Well, I like to pretend like the salseman is an employee that I am five minutes away from firing. Also, I have watched a lot of "House" this past week and studied his particular brand of behavior to prepare myself for this.

On another note, the job hunt is going excellent. I was waiting on a contact from NBC, but since that is taking awhile (and hey, these guys are busy so I don't blame them), I'm being extra cautious and I have restarted my vigorous application program. I have finally perfected the art of writing cover letters, so all is well. In just two days, I have applied to twelve more jobs (Warner Bros., Disney, CBS, ABC) and I think there are two that I just might be a shoe-in for.

I was also tickled by an opening for an editor position at DC Comics. I didn't realize until after I applied that the job is in New York. However, if for some reason I actually get a call...why the hell not? Otherwise, it's L.A. all the way for me.

I'm also looking at some awesome apartments in L.A., particularly in Burbank. Great spots with air conditioning, garbage disposal and a pool all for under $600 a month.

Lastly, good news! I have stuck to my "3 miles a day" jogging routine for a week now. I'm about to head out right now for a jog, but I have to say: I'm excited for this new life post-college.

Runner's High

Update: Trying out a new blog design here. The theme sort of matches my title (which I rushed so I could start writing sooner), but I may change the design back because I think the new one hurts my eyes. Thoughts?

Okay. I'm making a public announcement: The last few days I have been jogging. A lot. It helps me clear my head and I feel pretty good after I've done three miles. I tell you this so that I will continue to do this "healthy" exercise.

Why does this help? Well, when people bug me everyday and ask me how my routine is going, I don't like having to give the embarrassing answer of, "I'm a big stupid quitter. Sorry." Thus, the incentive for me to run is now "embarrassment prevention." Every week, I plan to add an extra mile to my routine. I imagine at some point there will be a day where I say, "Okay, you can keep jogging everyday, but you can't run 50 miles a day. You're not Forrest Gump... and you'll probably die." Until then, we'll see what I can endure.

Side Note: I considered adding the clause "OR AM I?!" after the "Forrest Gump" remark but then I realized you would think less about the physical challenges I have proposed and more about, um, "mental challenges." Too late, though, because you're already thinking about it, aren't you? I hate you.

Lastly, as controversy continues to surround the upcoming Olympics, I'm going to have to take a rare stance and actually agree with Bush on this one. For me, the Olympics are about every country dropping the dramas and getting along just for a little bit. It's a nice sentiment and I fail to see the benefit of a boycott. I say relish the spirit of the games. Then, everyone can go back to protesting and hating each other.

I'm Over "Overproduced"

Ok, I'm guilty of using the word as well, but as I was driving up to Berkeley yesterday, I decided that music critics need to wipe the word, "overproduced," from their lexicons. It is a phrase that says and means nothing, but is used in many ways such as:

1) When the critic thinks there are too many instruments in a song. Okay, come on. That's not what you really mean. If having lots of instruments in a song makes it bad, then why the hell does everyone gush about the London Philharmonic? No, what you mean to say is that you hate that someone added an annoying tambourine part to a song that could have otherwise been good. So say that. Say the tambourine sucks and move on.

2) When the critic thinks there are too many effects. Oh, you don't like the reverb on that track? Hate the use of "phaser" on the lead guitar? Really not digging the clicks, bleeps and bloops added by the keyboard? Well, then I respect your opinion because all of that tells me much more than the word "overproduced."

3) When the critic thinks the band or solo artist had writer's block. Sounds like the guy was trying too hard, huh? As if there was no emotion or inspiration involved and the band was just calculating what group of rhythms would lead to a hit single? Again, all of that tells me more than the word "overproduced."

4) When the critic thinks the band had little say in the music and the guy at the soundboard was trying to call all the shots and make his own album. So, the band wanted to create a breakthrough rock album, but it sounds like the producer made it into a rock-opera instead? Hey, now you're telling me something about the album. This is interesting, however, you might also want to ponder the relationships between producers and bands before you elaborate further.

"Overproduced" was a term that was more commonly used in the business world when factories made too much of their product and didn't sell enough. How did this cross over into the music world?

Well, no more. "Overproduced," I banish thee.