Titular Posting
Someone once asked where the title "News from the back (of my mind) came from". A few years back I basically started a blog, but instead of a blog site that people came to visit, it was a series of emails I sent out that were, to me, intended to explore a bit of who I was. I would basically journal about a subject or concept or idea and send it out to people. I don't remember how long I did it or who I sent it to. I think I have it saved on my computer somewhere. I should take it out and read it some time, see if it still makes sense. It would be interesting to see how many ways I still agree with myself and how I disagree.Anyway, I sent out these emails and didn't want to just have a lame subject line, so I started calling them 'News from the back (of my mind)'. It was suggested, or at least part of it was, by Peter. I think he suggested the first part (news from the back) because I tended to sit at the back of classrooms, so it seemed fitting (correct me if I'm wrong Peter)(or affirm me if I am right)(or just take the credit if you can't remember). I added the part in brackets. I don't know why, it just seemed fitting.Then when I started this blog, it just seemed like an appropriate name.The real question is, does anyone know why I am calling my story blog Grasp the Nettle? Does anyone know what that is a reference to?Tell me what you think.
Shorty
I have updated Fools of us All.That is all I have to say.
Gas Station Thought
I was at a gas station today and a car pulled up at the same time that made me sad. It was a nice new BMW convertible. But I had seen it driving just before and it had made me nervous. The front of my car was even with the back bumper of the car in the lane beside me, and this BMW accelerates past me and slows down inches away from the car in front of it. I was on my brakes as soon as I heard his engine speeding up because I knew there wasn't room for him to change lanes and there wasn't room to be accelerating (even though he was) and I didn't want to be caught up in an accident.Once we were both in the gas station, a couple of young guys jumped out (there were a couple other people in the car - one was a woman for sure...I didn't see them, just heard them). They were shouting to each other, yelling very crude things and laughing. They turned on their very impressive stereo very loud and everything about their attitude made me sad.I don't know these people. I don't know who they are, what they think about anything, how they act - I just have a two minute perspective, but everything about how they presented themselves made me think that they didn't care about anything besides having fun and living for themselves. It makes me sad that so many people get caught up in that, and I always hope that I am not one of them, but sometimes I worry that I am. All I want from my life is to be able to love others and to help, and it saddens me to think that there are people who would think I am weak or less than they are for that reason.That was my gas station thought.Grasp the Nettle
Spanish Radio
I will listen to the sports radio station here in Calgary quite often, especially when I am driving around late at night. I like to have something that is not music playing sometimes, and I am a bit of a sports nut too, so it's interesting to hear what they think about various sports stories, though I don't care much about betting, college sports, basketball, or the NFL, so there are many times when I basically ignore what they are saying.In the evening, they just pick up the American sports radio shows from ESPN, so it is all focused on the US, which is why there is so much college and so little hockey and no CFL whatsoever. And every once in a while they have a Spanish update. But they never really announce it or explain it. They will just suddenly wrap up what they are saying, and then a voice that has such a thick Mexican accent that he is nearly unintelligible will begin to talk about soccer (I think...I can't really understand him). Every time I hear this, I get uncomfortable because it sounds like they are doing some sort of bad comedy routine where they are basically making fun of Mexicans. The accent is so thick and stereotypical that I have trouble believing that it is serious. But it is! And it doesn't make any sense to me.I think they have a Spanish language (Mexican language?) sports station, and I think this soccer moment is a cross-promotion for that station, but they never say anything about the other station. If they want people to listen to the Spanish station, why do they make the guy speak in English and then not tell anyone about the Spanish station? If they think people are interested in soccer, why not have someone give the updates in English that is less accented. It is not good business for radio stations to put people on who are hard to understand. It is not just somewhat difficult, like he has a light accent. That's not so bad. Many sports players have accents but are still understandable. This guy makes it hard to drive because I have to concentrate so hard on what he is saying that I almost drive off of the road.And the worst part is, I'm not sure if I can laugh about it or not. Would that make me racist?Anyway, I updated Grasp the Nettle. It's a little late, I know. Sorry about that.
Rant ads
I know I talk about ads quite often. I just find them fascinating. To me, most commercials aren't about selling product. They are more a reflection on the time and place and values of the time and place where the commercial is produced. I rarely see commercials apart from their societal message, if you will.For example, there is an ad out for Kokanee beer right now that makes me a little sad. It is filmed from a first person perspective and it shows a guy going through a couple of days in a fast forward time lapse. Everything he does in those two days is devoted to fun and his own self-interests. He goes out and skis and kayaks and bikes down a mountain and then goes to a party and wakes up the next morning with a young woman in his bed and then goes out and does all sorts of fantastic things, ending the night at another party full of pretty girls and he catches the eye of one of them, implying that he is going to try and pick her up next. All I can think when I see that ad is how empty a life like that would be and how pointless. It's not that I have anything against most of what he does - skiing can be fun, as can whitewater rafting and mountain biking. But this ad isn't selling beer so much as it is trying to sell a lifestyle, and, as I said, I find that lifestyle empty in the end. Maybe I have just known too many people who have nothing in their life that really seems to matter - they just concentrate on working enough to fund their toys and that is all they care about. The ad is merely reflecting and helping to reinforce that state of mind. Canada and the US are two of the richest countries in the world, and sometimes I think we are also among the most dissatisfied. Well, this got more depressing than I thought it would. Maybe working in retail has made me more sensitive to how pointless much of the wants of this world are. The amount of money and energy spent on things makes me sad.So on a bit more of an upbeat note...okay, that's a lie. It's more of a funny/grumpy old man note. The current ads for PCs amuse me. They show young kids, four to six years old, doing things that sound complicated. They are trying to say that PCs are so much easier than Macs (though they never actually mention Macs, just using the phrase "I'm a PC" brings to mind the Mac vs PC ads). However, the fact that a four year old can use the PC is not a measure of how easy the PC is to use as much as it is saying that when someone grows up with something and uses it from an early age, it becomes second nature. If those same kids were raised in a family of Mac users, they would find the Macs to be much more intuitive. I remember finding PCs odd to use at first because the few computers I had experience with when I was young were all Macs. But I have not used Macs much since then, so they are a bit odd (the whole 'one button mouse' thing is a little weird now). It shows that ads are less about informing about products and more about selling ideas.Grasp the Nettle
Auto Tune the News
To quote Dave Barry: "Best use of technology ever!" I will be updating Thunderfunk the Superchicken tonight or tomorrow night. In case you were wondering.
