Friday, December 11, 2009

Some stuff I'm thinking about




In case you didn't know Americans have information overload.  No shit, Sherlock.  (NOT the Robert Downey Jr. kind of Sherlock.) The average person spends almost 12 hours a day receiving information from either tv, the internet, radio, video games, books, etc according to some people who did a study.  I'm writing this while watching tv, listening to NPR and playing World of Warcraft.  In this post-9/11 world we have to stay vigilant by keeping up with all the latest news about the war on terror and discovering which porn star Tiger Woods was banging last year.  It's called being a patriot.  And I love this country so much that I decided to start a blog where I list even more places to get information.  Keep reading but only if you want god to bless America.  Or not if you're a socialist.

-Saw this dumb article on Paste chronicaling the evolution of the hipster over the past decade.  Try to check off how many people you have known like this. I defy category when it comes to this kind of thing and do not classify myself (is lower middle class white chick with loads of free time really a category?)  Being part of a lifestyle group requires a commitment towards something whether it's commiting to destroy Wal-mart or commiting to a slacker lifestyle.  Commiting is a lot of work.  I guess I would rather be a voyeur of your groups.  I'm the social equivalent of a peeping tom.  But not a fancy one like a cultural anthropologist or anything important like that.  I don't have a notepad or smart books or a pipe - those seem like things an anthrologist would have.  Except if you're Indiana Jones in which case you'd have a whip, 5 o' clock shadow, a propensity for dangerous situations and defeating Nazis.  The toolbox of a digital peeping tom includes a trenchcoat (does a snuggie count?) and getting off on inappropriate behavior.  But not my own behavior - yours.  Oh wait I guess that's more of a flasher.  I'm mixing my metaphors but regardless I still just want to make fun of hipsters. 

-How fucking dissappointed were you that Kevin didn't win Top Chef???!!!  Nothing against the fantastic Voltaggio brothers and their faces-of-no-expression and asshole charm but JESUS!!!!   Perhaps I'm just biased for a good Hotlanta boy who knows a thing or two about bacon.  I googled his restaurant and there's no way I can afford to go there.  Not even for lunch. Here's an interview (pre-finale) from Kevin also from Paste.  He's so adorable. 

- Found this really well-written and touching article here about hoarding in regards to the show as well as what it is like in real life for a family member.  I take a little issue with her claim that the show is meant to "shock and horrify" and exploit the participants - although I think that's a valid argument I think it depends more on the attitude of the viewers.  I PERSONALLY am fascinated by this show because it is real.  In a sea of non-reality reality shows, in the era of your life in "140 characters or less" and facebook and blogs (GUILTY!), in the current need for bland sterility and lack of personality in our environments it's easy to forget about what life is really like for some people.  The desired life is neat and tidy and unassuming but most people don't live like that.  The expamples of hoarders are extreme no doubt.  This is peoples' lives literally in layers upon layers - they are messy, unexplainable, unrelatable, sometimes filthy and sad.  This is part of what it is to be a human being albeit on one end of the spectrum - flawed, sick and sometimes triumphant - even if we would rather pretend that we aren't one of them. 

-Look!! Sparky lingerie!!  Here's a quick little interview with Dita Von Teese about her style choices.  I really like her.  She made it okay for all us pasty people.  I mean not-tan people not the kind of people who wear pasties.  But I guess she made it okay for them too. 

-Is your information overload only digital?  Check out these pretty pictures of books to remind you what format we used to read in before the kindle.  That's right - in paper form.  I know.  It's been a long time. 


-The blog where I got the above pictures is this.  She seems like a cool lady AND she's from Seattle (one of my fantasy cities of the northwest that I want to marry) and then when I saw that she posted about Fleet Foxes I was all stoked!  They're one of the bands that itunes and Amazon kept trying to force on me and I tried to listen to them and I was all, UGH THIS SUCKS!!  It's like you don't even know me itunes so stop recommending this shit!!!  But then one day I fucking got it and I fell in love with them.  Apparently Amazon/itunes you really DO know me!  Why did I ever doubt you??!!  Let's never let anything come between us again!  But I swear to gawd if you keep recommending Vampire Weekend I'm going to go apeshit on your ass!!

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