Ramblings for the Evening (03/15/06)

The week is half over.
Yup.
Great intro, Leab. Oh well, moving on....
So, without further ado: HEY! WHERE'S THE OTHER GUY!?
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Brilliant Parody:
For her birthday, I bought my wife an ipod. The more I learn about Apple, it's ideas, and it's marketing, the more impressed I am. Simplicity is the easiest way to market something. That's why I really like this parody. It's dead on about Microsoft and its marketing tactics. Now, before you think, "Wow! This is really funny. Who could have ever come up with this?", you should know it was created by a guy AT Microsoft (Check out this story for details). I have seen some truly horrible marketing campaigns in my time. For every "Expedia.com" ad, there's the "Travelocity" Roaming Gnome. Now if you like the gnome, that's your thing, but I personally hate those commercials. The gnome is imcompetent, yet he's the mascot for the company. Hmmm, am I to take from these commercials that the company is also incompetent (I mean if there was a person working at the company who was as stupid as the gnome, wouldn't he or she be fired?)
There are others, as well. I can't stand the Empire Carpeting theme anymore (I have heard it WAY too much on the radio and on TV).
Back to the point, however. There are some fantastic parodies out there. One of the aspects of The Simpsons that makes them still funny is the show's use of satire and parody. I saw an episode recently that parodied the opening of Catch Me If You Can. It was brilliant. It's the same reason (dare I say) that I like the Hot Shots movies. Having seen Rambo as a kid, the spoof of the films (down to casting the same actor, Richard Crenna, from the Rambo films) is brilliant. Watch Rambo II & III, then see Hot Shots II and you'll see what I mean.
Thanks to Dennis for the ipod story.
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More Frustration:
Sigh.
I have essentially "volunteered" my services to work on a show at school. I say volunteered, because I was not told until a few days ago that I would not be getting extra pay. Beyond that, there are now two directors, and they cannot agree on where things go (upstage, downstage, upstage, downstage, etc).
You know, if it wasn't for a few key seniors working on this show, I'd walk. I'm serious, that's how pissed off I am right now. I'm trying to put together a set with no money (wait, make that my OWN money), we have only two or three working microphones for a large cast, and seven lights that I'm supposed to hit the whole stage with AND be able to isolate cast members.
The worst part is that I am actually hearing whispers about how MY work is subpar. Sigh.
I hate venting....
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Sheep
Many of my students are sheep. That was the decision I came to earlier today as we made our way halfway through Animal Farm. I love Orwell's story. If you've never read it, I highly recommend you go and pick it up. The fable is an allegory for the Russian Revolution, but it's also applicable to the world we live in today. I had to explain why being a sheep is a bad thing (you don't think, you just follow), and needed examples to prove it.
"What did Kanye West say about Bush?" I asked.
"George Bush hates black people," I hear in stereo.
"How do you know?"
Silence.
"Come on," I start. "You just said it's true, so how do you know?"
"Look at New Orleans."
"So that's all Bush's fault?"
"YEAH!"
"What about the mayor of the town? What about the governor?"
Silence.
"Ok, beyond New Orleans, are there any other examples you can give me?"
Silence again.
I waited a very long twenty seconds.
"No one can give an example?"
"No," one student tells me, "But we all know it's true."
"Why?"
"Because Kanye West said so."
This is the problem with our teenagers and with this country. Too many people take what pundits say at face value without researching the facts.
Here's an example by me:
Dick Cheney hates old white men. How do I know? He shot one. Accident? There's no such thing as an accident folks. That's what Freud says. Accidents are subconscious desires made real. Therefore Cheney's shooting of a white guy is actually a deep subconscious desire to eliminate the white man.
There you go folks. A convincing argument. Now, if you believe me without actually, oh I don't know, checking the facts, then you're a sheep. You're willing to take everything I say without question. In that case, I'm starting a religion. Yup...send me your money, and I'll tell you the secret of life.
Of course what do I know? I'm just a wolf in sheep's clothing. I could be wrong.