Thursday, February 12, 2004
Mayor Takes Illegal Action
Reaction against gay marriage ban. The issue itself aside (that's for another, uber long post that I have no time for), I found the behavior of the mayor of San Fransisco shocking. Mayor Gavin Newsom disregards the law in the name of "civil disobedience." What an example he shows to the people who elected him. If he can disregard the law, why not the average citizen? Is it not the mayor's job to uphold the law? I do not have respect for this man. Maybe it is because we disagree on the issues, or maybe it is because I think of civil disobedience as the refusal to take complying action, not the snapping action of seizing opposite action.
Monday, February 09, 2004
A song about me, really...
My new favorite song is "She's So High" by Tal Bachman. Request it on your local radio station now!
Job Market
When it comes to the economy, I'm not an expert. I know that when the stock market is up, that's good, and when it's down, that's bad. I know that when I get money I usually spend it. I know that tax cuts are cool because they mean I get money to spend. I know that soon I will have no money because of college.
I also know that I can easily find a job, and this is what puzzles me. I've heard that the economy is bad, it's hard to find a job, look at the unemployment rate. I say, look at all those "Now Hiring!" signs. I'd bet you that if I went out today and put my mind to it, I could find a job within a week. I held one temporarily during December because a family member had connections to a place that needed an extra hand during the holidays. I made good money, which I promptly put back into the economy through Christmas present shopping. In a few weeks, I'm going to be back on the hunt again (not like I really hunted before), and I'm confident I'll find a place with ease and haste. Now, I'm not going to be working at the most prestigious places. Nope, cashiers and hostesses aren't glitzy jobs, but they're jobs. Toy's R Us was hiring previously, Pizzeria Uno said they'd hire me in January, I'm pretty sure I saw a sign for jobs in the Coconuts window. And these are things I've just seen when driving by. Are these the best jobs, the highest paying? No. Will they necessarily give you enough to live off of? That depends on your family, your rent, your eating habits, if you really need that gym membership or that satelitte dish. I honestly can't say if all the jobs that are out there will pay for your standard of living. But I'm puzzled when someone screams, "Look at unemployment!" because I look, and what I see is a crowd of eager employers.
I also know that I can easily find a job, and this is what puzzles me. I've heard that the economy is bad, it's hard to find a job, look at the unemployment rate. I say, look at all those "Now Hiring!" signs. I'd bet you that if I went out today and put my mind to it, I could find a job within a week. I held one temporarily during December because a family member had connections to a place that needed an extra hand during the holidays. I made good money, which I promptly put back into the economy through Christmas present shopping. In a few weeks, I'm going to be back on the hunt again (not like I really hunted before), and I'm confident I'll find a place with ease and haste. Now, I'm not going to be working at the most prestigious places. Nope, cashiers and hostesses aren't glitzy jobs, but they're jobs. Toy's R Us was hiring previously, Pizzeria Uno said they'd hire me in January, I'm pretty sure I saw a sign for jobs in the Coconuts window. And these are things I've just seen when driving by. Are these the best jobs, the highest paying? No. Will they necessarily give you enough to live off of? That depends on your family, your rent, your eating habits, if you really need that gym membership or that satelitte dish. I honestly can't say if all the jobs that are out there will pay for your standard of living. But I'm puzzled when someone screams, "Look at unemployment!" because I look, and what I see is a crowd of eager employers.
Moon Walking
Polls on NASA plans via Rasmussen Reports. I'd love to see Americans on the moon again. I think it's a great way to expand scientifically. Besides, why not explore? There is no falling off the edge of the solar system or galaxy.
Blushing at the Grammy's
I turned on the Grammy's for about half a minute the other night, and, of course, I saw Justin Timberlake. First of all, the dude was wearing a pink shirt. What happened to his stylists? Second of all, from the clips we heard, I thought he was the worst singer (though the last guy in the series of clips wasn't too smashing either). Third of all, there was no way that the Superbowl stunt was unintentional. What happened, Justin? Did your hand spaz? What a poor choice of words. On one hand, it's nice that he apologized, but "unintentional?" What's intentional then?
Your Friendly Neighborhood New Yorkers
Who said people in New York aren't friendly? I was in East Harlem on Sunday, and I stopped by McDonald's for breakfast. The guy sitting next to me started talking about Bush and Saddam and on and on and I made the mistake of wondering if he was talking to me and made eye contact with him. He talked to me about fifteen minutes straight, ranging from politics to how I should go into biology to make lots of money and how he was going to get millions in a little while. I hardly had to say anything, just smile and nod. Eventually I had to interrupt, I had to leave, and he was very polite and said it was nice talking to me, and I said the same, and vowed never to stay and eat at that McDonald's again. Friendly, yes. A little scary, that's true too.
Friday, February 06, 2004
"Hello, my name is Amy..."
Hi, my name is Amy, and I'm... a blogger. Careful, it's catching. There's little to say about me, more to say about my new blog. Scriva is Italian for "write," an apt title considering what a blog is, simply a collection of writings. A collection on a myriad of different topics to. I'm prepared to write about anything and everything. Movies, music, travel, what little I know of politics, current events, stories I'm working on, what guys need to know about girls to stop frustrating us, etc. This blog may be a small voice, but a voice it will be. It comes fully equipped with plenty of opinions, and I'd like to hear any responses back (considering I can figure out how this thing works.).
I hope you enjoy your time here. Cheers!
I hope you enjoy your time here. Cheers!
The Reveal
"The Reveal"
Sounds charming and seductive, doesn't it? Absolutely opposite of the shameful display that was Janet Jackson's performance at the Superbowl Half-time show. Thankfully, I didn't see it, didn't even know about it until the next day. On Tuesday, I was sucked into the public debate.
I don't normally listen to morning talk shows. I think they're boring and silly, and I'd much rather listen to music when I'm half asleep and trying to wake up. The Tuesday after the Superbowl, though, I had 95.5 on, WPLJ for all you Tri-Staters, and they were going on and on about Janet Jackson, none of them upset by it. One of the hosts said it was a generation thing (more on this later) that was causing the debate. I continued listening, and the hosts started putting people's phone calls on the air. There was a succession of about four or five callers, most of them saying they had no problem with what Janet Jackson did, most of them - sorry to say this - men. Then one host said, "Where are all the women?" That's when I grabbed my phone. It took me a while to get through, but when I did, I was adamant about what I had to say.
"Hi," I blurted out to the female call screener. By this time I was shaking with nervousness. "My name's Amy, and I just wanted to say that I think this Janet Jackson thing's horrible, and it's not a generational gap because I'm 18 and I think it was disgusting."
Or something along those lines. It was early, I was nervous. The caller took down my name, my opinion (I have a lot of those), where I was from, and told me to turn down my radio and wait. Woohoo, I was going to be on the radio (I had been snubbed once by Z-100, but that's another story)!
One of the previous callers had said that it was no big deal, that people go around topless all the time in Europe. The host laughed and said that maybe American needed to loosen up. Bwaha, another opinion to hit them with!
When I finally heard them announce my name and welcome me to the show, I jumped right into my arguments. No, this was not a generational thing. No, just because people in Europe go around half naked does not mean it should be allowed on TV here in America (I went off on something about how even though people do drugs doesn't mean we should make marijuana legal. I should have thought of a better argument than that, but that's what I said then, so I'm sticking to it.). And if this was what happened this year at the Superbowl, what's going to happen next year, and the year after that, and the year after that?
The hosts were very polite and made some acknowledging comments, thanked me, and then I was off the air. That long story for this opinion.
What Janet Jackson did was disgraceful (and illegal), and we should not tolerate it. There were kids watching the Superbowl with their parents, people who would prefer not to see that kind of indecency. Not just your grandparents, either. I would have been mortified if I had been watching that with my guy friends. Let's just make pop singers, women in general!, more of a sex icon than they already are. And to think this was shown on national TV w/o warning or advisory. There are other channels for this shame, you know. And just because people in Europe go around topless doesn't mean that America's uptight. We have topless/nude beaches here to, but we still have some shred of propriety left. Cover up, Janet Jackson! If Eve can realize that she needs clothes, than I think you can too. I get very frustrated, because I know that what she did just isn't right, but many Americans are just too callous to see it. It wasn't funny. It wasn't cool. It was disgusting.
Come on, America, where has your sense of decency gone?
My parents said that my call sparked a few others in protest. I just heard the guy who IMed in to say that I needed to shut up, in not so few words. That's okay, though. I still like his comment the best.
Sounds charming and seductive, doesn't it? Absolutely opposite of the shameful display that was Janet Jackson's performance at the Superbowl Half-time show. Thankfully, I didn't see it, didn't even know about it until the next day. On Tuesday, I was sucked into the public debate.
I don't normally listen to morning talk shows. I think they're boring and silly, and I'd much rather listen to music when I'm half asleep and trying to wake up. The Tuesday after the Superbowl, though, I had 95.5 on, WPLJ for all you Tri-Staters, and they were going on and on about Janet Jackson, none of them upset by it. One of the hosts said it was a generation thing (more on this later) that was causing the debate. I continued listening, and the hosts started putting people's phone calls on the air. There was a succession of about four or five callers, most of them saying they had no problem with what Janet Jackson did, most of them - sorry to say this - men. Then one host said, "Where are all the women?" That's when I grabbed my phone. It took me a while to get through, but when I did, I was adamant about what I had to say.
"Hi," I blurted out to the female call screener. By this time I was shaking with nervousness. "My name's Amy, and I just wanted to say that I think this Janet Jackson thing's horrible, and it's not a generational gap because I'm 18 and I think it was disgusting."
Or something along those lines. It was early, I was nervous. The caller took down my name, my opinion (I have a lot of those), where I was from, and told me to turn down my radio and wait. Woohoo, I was going to be on the radio (I had been snubbed once by Z-100, but that's another story)!
One of the previous callers had said that it was no big deal, that people go around topless all the time in Europe. The host laughed and said that maybe American needed to loosen up. Bwaha, another opinion to hit them with!
When I finally heard them announce my name and welcome me to the show, I jumped right into my arguments. No, this was not a generational thing. No, just because people in Europe go around half naked does not mean it should be allowed on TV here in America (I went off on something about how even though people do drugs doesn't mean we should make marijuana legal. I should have thought of a better argument than that, but that's what I said then, so I'm sticking to it.). And if this was what happened this year at the Superbowl, what's going to happen next year, and the year after that, and the year after that?
The hosts were very polite and made some acknowledging comments, thanked me, and then I was off the air. That long story for this opinion.
What Janet Jackson did was disgraceful (and illegal), and we should not tolerate it. There were kids watching the Superbowl with their parents, people who would prefer not to see that kind of indecency. Not just your grandparents, either. I would have been mortified if I had been watching that with my guy friends. Let's just make pop singers, women in general!, more of a sex icon than they already are. And to think this was shown on national TV w/o warning or advisory. There are other channels for this shame, you know. And just because people in Europe go around topless doesn't mean that America's uptight. We have topless/nude beaches here to, but we still have some shred of propriety left. Cover up, Janet Jackson! If Eve can realize that she needs clothes, than I think you can too. I get very frustrated, because I know that what she did just isn't right, but many Americans are just too callous to see it. It wasn't funny. It wasn't cool. It was disgusting.
Come on, America, where has your sense of decency gone?
My parents said that my call sparked a few others in protest. I just heard the guy who IMed in to say that I needed to shut up, in not so few words. That's okay, though. I still like his comment the best.
Scriva
Bobby Knight once said, "All of us learn to write in second grade. Most of us go on to greater things." As much as I am humored by this quote, I have to disagree with Bobby. I'm here to prove that some of us do go to write, and it is a greater thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
