Social Commentary

Here's a lyric particularly apropo this week:

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde

who comes on at five,

She can tell you 'bout the plane crash

with a gleam in her eye

It's interesting when people die

Give us dirty laundry.

- Don Henley, 1982, "Dirty Laundry"

Can someone please tell me why the corporate media is so bent on airing Anna Nicole Smith's dirty laundry on my television?

Who cares about this crap?

You know this is just the exploitation of people's lurid interests. In fact, anyone with three working brain cells understands the vapidness of the story; yet Anna Nicole Smith's story loops over and over again on the news cycle.

Stop it, stop it, stop it!!!

On how many wild limousine rides with silly bubble headed heiresses must I ride along?

I would care more if the people involved had real talents or had contributed substantially somehow to society, art, politics, science, culture, athletics, or even the lives of their own families and friends in some meaningful way.

Heck, at least the astronaut here in Orlando, Florida had done something real with her life before she went around the bend.

But Anna Nicole Smith? Sheesh, I have lawn furniture that has contributed more to humanity than she ever did.

I don't know if re-hashing Smith's death is a sign that we are going the way of ancient Rome; but at least in Rome they had "Bread and Circuses". Today there is no bread, we just get the circus.

Frankly, I suspect that if the mad Emperor Nero were able to watch what passes for news these days he would be demand to know "Just what the f*** is going on here? - You people are f***ing insane!"

Instead of providing real news about real subjects like the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, real suffering in Darfur, those still suffering in New Orleans, or what really goes on in government; the corporate media distracts us with non stop nonsense about the latest celebrity scandal.

The obsession with Anna Nicole Smith is just another example of how the corporate media has failed us utterly.

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: Anna Nicole Smith - media feeding frenzy - Nero - bread and circuses

Note: This was edited with Paul -V-.

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Last week a friend, let's call him Brad, and I stopped at a gas station so he could pick up a pack of cigarettes.

Near the the cash register were a number of point-of-purchase candies, cigarette lighters and plastic roses - typical fare for a gas station counter.

One of the items were York mints in a tin. The box containing the tins featured a model with a fashion accessory I'd never seen before:

The model has feathers - glued to her eyes.

Feathers. Glued. To. Her. EYES!

Remember that I live in a small mountain town, fashion takes a while to catch up here. Besides, Ashevillians tend to prefer hippie-style clothes that you can't buy at the Gap. Eyeball jewelry is an entirely alien concept here.

So I'm marveling that anyone would think it's a good idea to stick feathers in your eyes, when Brad pipes in:

"Cool. Those feathers make her look hot."

"What do you mean?" I reply, "She's gorgeous no matter what she puts on."

Brad: "No way man. Those feathers totally make the picture."

Me: "No, I'm sorry. An attractive woman could wear a birds nest on her head, and it would still look sexy."

Brad: "Not true. If you gave the York mint model a Chinese hat, and smeared some poo on her face she would not look nearly as good."

So I asked the station attendant if I could have the box, took it home, and then applied some photoshop:

Behold! Despite a glowing woo-woo Chinese hat, poo-smears and holding a lump of crap - she STILL looks hot. Poking the girls eyes with foreign objects does nothing for the picture other than say: "Look at me! The next time moisture hits my face not only will I have to worry about mascara running - but I might go blind."

Ladies, what you do to your bodies is your own business. But c'mon - gluing stuff to your eyes? If you're attractive, it doesn't add anything. If you're not - it sure as heck isn't going to help much.

Heck, if you're going to stick stuff to your eyes, why not take a cue from pre-WWII Japanese women and get into foot binding? That way it won't matter if you're blind - you won't be able to walk far in any case.

/end rant.

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: Beauty - feathers - eyeballs - York mints in a tin - poo - Paul, you have got too much time on your hands.

P.S.: Be sure to take a look at the counterpoint. Enjoy.

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It's still early in the year, but one of the most brilliant works of of art I've seen in a long time came to my attention, and I wanted to share it with you.

It's called "Blessed Art Thou," by Kate Kretz: (You can click on the image below to view a larger version.)

"Blessed art Thou" portrays Angelina Jolie hovering above her primary fan-base in the oppressive temple of consumerism that is Wal-Mart. Shoppers may not have anything beautiful in their own lives, yet unattainable glamor and celebrity silently dominates everything in the scene.

To quote the artist's blog:

"I chose a setting where the cycle begins: psychologically oppressive environments like this one are one of the feeding sources for the consumer, hungry for “information” about the celebrity's private life. I am interested in the psychological ramifications of celebrity worship, particularly as they relate to class."

This painting captures the banality of box-stores and celebrity-worship in a way I've never witnessed before.

Bravo, Mr Kretz! Bravo!

Tags: Angelina Jolie - Celebrity - Wal-Mart - Art - Celebrity - Blessed Art Thou - Kate Kretz

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The Oriental Trading Company has a pinata for your tike's next birthday party. It's about as appropriate for a kid as whipped cream is on fried chicken:

And yes, OTC is an American corporation from Omaha, Nebraska. (According to the Better Business Bureau.) No word if they are selling these to parents of future-insurgents in Iraq.

If you didn't think that was disturbing enough, then here's a little gift from the Pentagon for children whose fathers are away fighting oil wars in armored SUVs so that the rest of us can drive one at at home: A life-sized, cardboard cut-out of the absent father.

Wheeee!

And no, the above picture is not satire. This is direct from The York Times.

Mad world. Sometimes I don't know when to laugh or cry.

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: children - Iraq - SUV - pinata - flat dad

Credits: Second image was by Linda Coan O’Kresik for The New York Times

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