Primus show in San Jose

For those of you did not go to the Primus show at the San Jose Civic Auditorium this past Tuesday, you missed out! And for those of you who have no clue who Primus is... I feel bad for you, very very bad.

Here is a music video from Primus "Tommy the Cat"

Yes, I understand they look, sound and are strange but that makes for their great talent I say! Les Claypool the singer and amazing bass player mesmerized the audience, which included me, with his seemingly flawless playing. And of course with Tim Alexander drumming for him you couldn't ask for a better drum and bass section! You can't forget about Larry LaLonde's spiraling avant style of guitar playing either.

This concert was single handedly the best display of musicianship I have ever experienced. A trio of this caliber is a rare thing to find. And I wasn't the only one who felt this way. The friends I went with said it was the best concert they had ever been to, that includes the Tool concert that we went to a few months ago. If you have not heard the music of Primus and like the video above I highly recommend that you check out a few of their songs that I feel are some of the best... Such as: My Name Is Mud, Wynona's Big Brown Beaver, and Lacquer Head.

Have I changed?

Hmmm... Now that I think about it... I understand, analyze and interpret the media in a much more knowledgeable perspective than I did at the beginning of the semester, but I'm not sure that I have changed my ways. I still want the products that improve my life and still want to believe the good news that reporters tell me. The difference now is that I know when I'm being bulls#!ted and can see what the point of all advertisements and coverage of stories. Everyone is in it for the money, truth is just a side note to getting the information to the media's consumers.

Being in MCOM 72 has helped me understand the who, what, when, why and how's of the media. When a commercial jumps into a certain slot at a certain time it is much more clear to me why the pick the time slot and its relation to the people who watch that particular show.

I, unfortunately, would still rather watch a funny television show than study up on the important politics of the world and the country that I live in. Sad I know, but that does not mean that I haven't learned a great deal about the media, I just have not really employed into my daily life. But it has increased that is for sure.

Hope you all have a kick ass winter break!!! ROCK & ROLL!!!

Our glorious country of violence...

In Lexington, South Carolina on Saturday, November 25 a man shot his friend in the chest with a high-powered rifle after losing a $20 bet over the South Carolina - Clemson football game. The shooter, James Quick, 42, was charged with the murder of Richard Johnson, 43, today. Apparently the two friends had been drinking all afternoon and began a heated argument immediately following the end of the game. Quick went out to his car, took his hunting rifle from the trunk of his car and fired a single shot into his friend's chest.

Is this what our world has come to? A so called "friend" shots another "friend" with a rifle over only $20 and a bruised ego. It seems to me that people are increasingly becoming more aggressive in America, and for what seems to be no good reason the majority of the time. I hate to admit this, but just last night I got my ass kicked by three huge guys for no reason at all. That's the honest truth. I was simply having fun, hanging out with a group of my friends at a bar in Los Gatos when a fight broke out on the patio in the back of the bar. I looked just to see if any of my friends were in it and that's when I saw my friend, Adam, being pushed to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the face. I ran down to break up the fight and see what the problem was. I told the guy, who was easily 6'5", to stop hitting my friend, who is literally 5'5", when he decked me without having any reason other than I stopped his fun of stomping a much smaller person than himself. I tried to defend myself but two more of his friends, who by the way also looked like football players judging by their size, started punching me in the face too. Needless to say, I got my ass handed to me by three huge guys for no reason what so ever.

So that's what made me start to think... why are people so stupid? And why is it that the stupidest ones are the biggest and most violent? Maybe they blame others for their flaws or misfortunes... I don't know! But after I read about the man killing his friend over a $20 bet and having been personally beat up I started to think that our country is filled with violence. Why is this? We have all these laws that control gun possession but yet we have the largest death rate by gun fire, but countries like Canada that don't have nearly as strict of gun laws have one of the lowest gun fire death rates. So what makes this country of ours so violent? If you've seen the movie "Bowling for Columbine" then you have a slight grasp on the question I am asking but are probably still just as stumped as myself. The worst part is, I don't think it'll get any better...actually, I'm fairly sure it will only get worse.

Anti-War on the Rise!

So I don't know if its just me but I've been noticing a lot more anti-war angles on television cartoons that are widely watched by a variety of aged viewers, such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. I know I've written twice already about the Simpsons take on the war but I didn't go into much detail about the Family Guy episode that aired recently and basically bashed the U.S. Army, Bush and the war in Iraq itself.

Check this Family Guy Army clip

The clip above is just a few clips from the Family Guy episode that I am refering to. I laughed pretty hard when I watched the commercial that they made to show how "cool" joining the Army is. It exteremly over emphasizes the real Army commercials that show the soldier back in civilian life and describes how his experiences of war and training make him a leader and successful in his new careers and in life. Psssh... right! If you don't die first. And besides, so many soldiers come back from war with physical problems (wounded, handicapped, dead) and/or mental problems (shellshock, anxiety, etc). This Family Guy episode is a definite stand against military advertising and the depiction it uses that joining the military is not only rewarding but fun. Watch the video below... notice the smiles on some of the soldiers faces while they are training to kill!

Check this Army commercial

I would have to say that there are a lot of Americans that do NOT support our involvement in any war and do NOT like the way that the Army and other military branches recruit by preaching false pretenses of military life. Here is a video of a couple guys that are fed up with the Army commercials that show how a soldier doing something in the field for the Army has become a tool for the soldier to us in civilian life and mainly in the business world. Watch their parody on the Army commercials... (Warning: Parody contains gore and comedic situations!)

Check this student's version of an Army commercial

It seems like the more I search the more it seems that America does NOT support our involvement in Iraq and other military related issues.

Desperate Video Games

I don't know how many of you have heard about this yet, but the popular TV series "Desperate Housewives" went PC. The video game company, Buena Vista Games, introduced their sim-like computer game to the world this last September. The video game website EBGames.com allows its customers and non-customers alike to give their personal ratings of video games which two people did post for this game giving the game a 4 1/2 star rating. That doesn't say much for the game considering it is only two people's opinions but its a good start for this female geared video game.

The idea of the game is that you are a new housewife on the block, who you get to personalize, along with your husband and son. The plot is forwarded by the twist that your character is suffering from amnesia and you have to uncover secrets about your neighbors and yourself. All of the main characters from the show are in the game as well for you to talk to, harrass, steal their husbands and even slap.

Mary Schuyler, the producer of the title at Buena Vista Games feels that "As fans of the show would expect, the game is loaded with gossip, betrayal, murder and sex — you know, all the things women like."

In my opinion this game is gonna suck hard! I've never liked the show and never saw the point in those sims games in the first place. The graphics are terrible and the plot sounds like a friggin soap opera! And this game is supposedly playable for ages 13 and up, so now you have little girls slapping their neighbors and whorring the neighborhood for other women's husbands... that sounds like a smart idea!! What kind of example is that supposed to be setting, that its not only ok to ruin people's lives but its FUN TOO!!! What's next? Porn Star games for children 13 and up!?! (Hmmmm.... don't tell anyone, I can probably make millions off of that idea haha!)

So why was this game produced anyway?? The show is supposively popular, why a video game? Is it getting to the point that video game companys like this one, Buena Vista Games that I've never heard of but are apparently successful, are so DESPERATE themselves that they are clinging to the bandwagon success of the show? If you're gonna make a video game like this at least make the graphics somewhat decent so guys will at least buy it to control the hot chicks of the show. That might sound like petty reasoning but it's the truth!

So I watched the Simpsons episode...

...That I was talking about two posts ago. To be honest, it didn't push the boundaries that I thought it would. I think the hype was more than the episode actually conveyed. It did have the comments I used in the previous post about references to the war in Iraq but it didn't have the resonance that I thought it would. The aliens that were supposed to represent the U.S. in the war but basically all they say is their two lines, "weapons of mass disintergration" and "you said we would be greeted as liberators," and then the short segment of the show ended. To any common viewer of the show that would have easily gone over their head and not had any relevance, I admit that I probably would not have caught on if I didn't already know they were going to say it. So as I see it, The Simpsons still stand on neutral ground when it comes to their views on the war... and I was really looking forward to some bad mouthing political controversy over it but what are you gonna do? Can't win 'em all!

The thing that actually seemed to be more controversial in the Sunday night Fox line up were the shows that followed The Simpsons. American Dad and Family Guy pushed a much more extreme view, which I thought friggin rocked! But I have to say that American Dad went to far with the slander on the gay community, which I'm sure will get them a few phone calls. Here is a small excerpt from the episode, this should give you an idea of what I'm talking about. "So it's ok to alienate gays??" "Yes it is son, gays are the new blacks."

When I heard them say that I was speechless. First off, how the hell did they get past the censors with that and second HOW THE HELL DID THEY GET PAST THE CENSORS WITH THAT!?! I mean, I don't discriminate against people no matter what their skin color or their choices in life, but to hear something that blatantly prejudice shocked the hell out of me. I mean I'm all for joking around for a good laugh but that seriously went too far. I understand that the characters learn their lesson by the end of the episode but they definitely pushed all kinds of boundaries.

Even the Family Guy episode after American Dad pushed the debate of the war in Iraq and the Army in general much more than the The Simpsons episode. They show an Army recruitment presentation at the son, Chris', school where they tell all the kids how cool joining the military is and how much fun you'll have hanging out with girls in bikinis and partying all around the world. Family Guy always knows how to say what's on their mind without having to obviously tell the viewer. The best part is, their points are very accurate. I can't tell you how many Army commercials I see where they show a soldier taking charge, saving the day, seeing the world or just straight out being proud of what they do without actually showing or telling you the true side of the military and war-life. If you missed this episode, I don't know what to tell you...I guess hopefully you'll get another chance to see it they show a re-run.

Why are people in power so dumb?

I'm sure by now most of you, if not all, have heard about the political blunder that Sen. John Kerry made Tuesday Oct. 31 by attempting to make a joke during a speech at a college. He said:

"You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well...
If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Many American soldiers, soldier families, politicians and American citizens took a great offense to the Senator's comment that he was belittling our soldiers' intelligence. Kerry insists that his comment was aimed toward the President and not at soldiers. The White House representative, Tony Snow, quickly jumped on the opportunity to put Kerry in his place stating that some of America's finest are in the military and that he owes them and our country an apology, which Kerry did today.

In my opinion, Kerry is an idiot for thinking that his comment would in anyway be directed at Bush and the actions he has taken in the war... because to me it sounds pretty dead on that he is saying if you don't do well in school and aren't smart you'll end up in the military with the other non-intelligent people of our country. NOT A SMART COMMENT! It was stated by CNN that this is just Kerry's way of jumping into the spotlight and getting attention, which I definitely agree with, but if that's the case... that is a dumb way to go about that. It makes Kerry look like a dumbass for thinking it was supposed to be aimed at the President and second, that it isn't going to make him look good and get good support from Americans.

In the words of Carlos Mencia... Kerry definitely gets the Dee Dee Dee award of the week!!

The Simpsons - Just a cartoon or an advocate for anti-war?

Though the Halloween special of The Simpsons that airs every year around this time has not aired yet, thanks to www.radaronline.com, you can get an inside scoop on what's to come.

Apparently the upcoming Halloween episode of The Simpsons is going to parody the war in Iraq with clever twists to make the episode a little less controversial. If you read the article by Jeff Bercovici of radaronline.com, he gives a few quotes that shed some light onto the kinds of anti-war sentiments that you might see. The main plot of the episode is that aliens from outer space have invaded the town of Springfield to prevent humanity from possessing "weapons of mass disintergration," sound familiar to anything war related that you've heard? Another reference to the war comes when one of the aliens says to the other "you said we would be greeted as liberators!" A not so subtle way of talking about their view of America's participation in the war.

Though this episode may be pushing some boundaries, I cannot wait to see how far they will take it. I personally am all for bashing our politics of war for the sake of truth and humor!

The Simpsons annual Halloween special will air November 5 so be sure to watch and write me back with what you thought, because I will definitely be writing again after I see it too... So long as I don't forget to watch. haha

Oh...and this post also relates to a previous post about the 3 most important shows, or rather adds to my reasoning.