Angry Rant #18: Oh, we're all dying again?

Ok, so, firstly the floods in Queensland have pretty much overshadowed every single news story, both major and minor, that is taking place around the world - not that that's a bad thing - but last year the floods in Pakistan left over 1 million people displaced and it got 3 minutes air-time, Haiti still looks like it was hit by a bomb and that the current floods in Brazil have killed nearly 650 people....

BUT ANYWAY!

I thought I'd try something different and get my rant on in less news related way. Yesterday I decided to watch Waterworld with Kevin Costner - a few days prior I was exposed to the filth that is the film 2012 and even Deep Impact before that. I began to see a pattern, so I figured I'd might open the flood gates a little.

When the world turns to shit, it should end like this. Wet shoes suck.

Why are we so obsessed with our own destruction? Using the excuse "I just want to see what it would look like" just doesn't hold up. What you're watching is just someones expensive money-making interpretation in a blatent attempt to suck in viewers. But then again, I get a buzz out of zombie flicks. So why the hell do we get a twisted sense of joy when shit like this happens?

Earth decided to get a little stoned on its last day at work. 

Of the few things that I have thought about, I think the one thing that stands out is our invulnerability - or the perception that we are.  Typically, western cultures are pretty damn safe places to be - I know I feel pretty safe where I am now and unless you're in a worn torn African country being forced into a diamond mine or your village is being run by a Columbian drug lord who will shoot your family if you don't work, then I guess you could say the same. So when someone is put out of their comfort zone, or in this case, engaging in someone's interpretation of being out of theirs, we enjoy it.

Angry Right-Wing Blogger: "What about those damn terrorists!!
They are always trying to kill us Westerners!! We are never safe.
We should just buy things, put security cameras in every corner
and continue to segregate those who are different"

Oh shut up.

But does that mean that everyone who went and watched 2012 hated life? Or do we secretly hate the fact that everything is the same - day in day out - and watching millions of people drown/get hit by asteroids//killed by zombies/crushed by the Vatican, is like squeezing our internal stress ball? Why do we pay to see so much destruction - and enjoy it - but when it really happens our first thoughts are ones sympathy and sadness? We watch a news story on the floods in Queensland and think that it's terrible, but when we see a movie poster with this on it...

But we still watched it.

...we think, "Cool! Lets see that when it comes out! A movie that looks this awesome just has to be good!!" Then, when we see it, we get douche bags like this

...whoops wrong picture...

Drink Vodka. It's Russian.

We get douche bags like this who put on laughable Russian accents, who use badly placed puns at the most inappropriate times to convey humour, and who use those cringe-worthy "Hang on! It's gonna be a rough landing" lines. I wonder what people are doing in Queensland? Were they making humourous remarks when the Brisbane River flooded? How could flying a plane over the planet, literally caving in on itself, actually be funny?

Person 1: (Plays It's the End of the World as We Know It)
Person 2: Ahh... I always knew you were a crack up.

There's a problem here, but I'm not a psychologist, so understanding the inner-workings of someone's mind isn't exactly my profession. However, I do know what I think, and unless the end of the world involves Zombies, both of the running and walking type (because lets face it, sometimes we feel like a little target practice) and I have access to a shotgun, a hunting rifle, explosives, a 9mm handgun, food, beer, a '67 Shelby Mustang with a snow plow attachment, a rusty chainsaw, Rambo's compass-knife and A LOT of ammunition, I don't want a part of it.

Don't believe the Lies and Spin.

Angry Rant #17: Make it stop!!!!

On News Year's Day, I watched one of the most sickening things that I have ever witnessed - heightened more by the fact that it was advertised on pay TV as "entertainment".

The show in question, Toddlers and Tiaras delves into the world of child pageants and shows the children and how they and their families prepare for them. I have been trying to decide whether or not to write about something like this, due to the fact that the very thought of this infuriates me and I wasn't entirely sure that what I would write wouldn't just be a whole lot of swearing, and also because most people would despise any show where parents use their children as currency to fuel their own selfish needs. But if you're reading this, I've obviously decided to write it.

....is how I felt. 

I've been trying to understand how a adult, a parent, could put their own child through something as bad this. I'm also thinking this comes down to one of two things:

1. The parents genuinely believe that their child is the most beautiful thing on this planet, and ultimately believe that looks and nothing else will get them to wherever it is they want to be in life.
2. The parents are a bunch of selfish, money-grubbing assholes who use their own children to make fast cash, and nothing more.

If you were to talk to any of the parents, I can assure you they would all say something similar to the first point - no person would openly admit that they use their child as currency, but that doesn't mean they don't. The episode that I was watching had a parent who openly described his child losing in the pageant like a large company dismissing a "product". How could this possibly been seen as entertainment? I can question the integrity of the parents, but this falls back on the producers of the show as well. You have to ask the question "how" in a situation like this. What has forced these parents to sell their children out? 

Bam.

The child's well being is being put last. They are being thrown into a world we're they are led to believe that looks mean everything. The children, especially the girls, are portrayed as objects that are overtly-sexualised to make them seem more appealing. Cases in point? A 2-year-old wearing Madonna's cone bra outfit and another girl loaded on Pixie Sticks because she was tired, in what I saw as an obvious attempt to mimic a drug user with cocaine. These children are brought up in a culture that emphasises the need for women to use their bodies as sexual objects as a way of progressing in life.

Can you fix this problem? Can you fix a culture? 

You just know that God doesn't exist when this is classified as entertainment, when Jersey Shore has it's own news show and when Justin Beiber is still alive.

This one has me stumped. 

Don't Believe the Lies and Spin. 

Angry Rant #16: Banana Republic?

"It's a state government that is arrogant. It refuses to deal with the public openly and honestly.''

"The people of this state will have yet another demonstration of Labor's determination to hide the truth.''

"Denial of Democracy"

- Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell on the Labor State Government.

"So I got Kristina Keneally's head..."

Sound Familiar? I could have sworn that Julian Assange was spouting the same thing. In fact, being the leader of the Opposition, I guess he's obliged to oppose the idiotic ideas of both the Federal and State Governments. I want to start with the fact that I am in no way pro Labor or Liberal, so any bias you think I might have can be put on the window sill and given a gentle push.

Barry O'Farrell must also be obliged to take on the general perception of this State Government - which is probably a good thing. (I'm wondering why most politicians don't do this.) This whole "Denial of Democracy" idea from a 'I-Want-To-Get-Into-Power' perspective is working like charm. But I can't help but wonder WHY he's trying so hard to do so.

Let me explain - The current State Labor Government has been running NSW for the last 15 years, and wasting billions of dollars on pretty much anything, in an effort to trick people into thinking that they are actually doing something - think Avatar. But now, the people have woken up and realised that they're more twisted then a corkscrew and all the money being pissed up against the wall is...well...just that.

Public Indecency or a Political Statement?

Labor haven't done anything but run this state into the ground. With that said, why is Barry O'Farrell and the Liberal party trying so damn hard to get into power? Even if the Liberal Party sat up some beach chairs and had a 2 month booze-fest on Macquarie Street, yelling out profanities about the mothers of the Labor members walking past, they would still get into power. As awesome as that would be, if Barry O'Farrell and the Liberal Party are trying to prove to the people of NSW that the party on the other side of the fence ISN'T corrupt, they've got another thing coming. Do they really think that an inquiry into the power sell-off will actually do anything? What more could they expect to gain? People in power never go to prison - they just move to The Bahamas.

Is the next NSW Government channeling Julian Assange and his Wikileaks to make themsleves seem more people-friendly? Isn't Wikileaks' sole purpose to shake the foundations of democracy i.e. not good for them? Will the new Liberal party NOT lie to the people and waste money on pointless ventures?

"...and then I said, 'No! I am NOT interested in
 long distance savings.'"

Just some thoughts.

Don't Believe the Lies and Spin.

.

Angry Rant #15: Let's start a Riot!

Those bloody protesters in London! They keep on causing havoc and kicking the Royal's Car as they were driving past. What hooligans! Those young whipper snappers just keep stirring up trouble and making the riot police have to work. For Shame...

Death To Shelbyville!

Oh.

Wait. What?

There was no actual coverage of the REASON these University Students were protesting? There was a reason?

The violence started after a vote by the Coalition Government to raise the basic tuition fees by three times the amount that they are now by 2012.  If that were to happen in Australia, I know I would be protesting my $100k+ fees. But it seems that the violence has overshadowed the reasons behind the protest itself. In fact, a news report on Channel Nine (not by Channel Nine, but with a London Correspondent) questioned the British Home Secretary Theresa May, whether or not Camilla, the wife of Prince Charles was "poked with a stick".

The object in question.

Poked with a Stick - This question was ACTUALLY asked. A respectable journalist thought that this was newsworthy. Why were they even driving through a riot anyway?!

Besides the fact that I couldn't care less about the Royals, pointless dumb, idiotic sub-stories like this distract people from the facts and the reasons behind the protest. The thing that really pissed me off is the fact that these "politicians" who voted FOR the rise in fees, never had to pay tuition fees themselves - that's all paid for by the English taxpayer i.e the Uni Students who work their arses off to make a living, and will now have more fees to pay. If that doesn't piss you off the most in this story, then nothing else will.

If I was an English University Student, I would be doing the exact same thing.

Don't believe the Lies and Spin.

Angry Rant #14: Wikileaks like crazy!

Wikileaks has hit the headlines again – this time in a very negative way, or at least what people are being led to believe is a very negative. Firstly, Julian Assange, the Australia guy in charge of the release of Wikileaks, has nothing to do with the leaks themselves – he is merely the medium that people on the inside use to get the information out. Now that aside, for a collection of United States Congressman to say that Assange should get the death penalty for releasing the information is not only absurd, but it proves that those that are in positions of power have had their cages rattled a bit – and it’s about bloody time.

Rattle Rattle.

If the Wikileaks we’re false, I very much doubt that these “World Powers” would be so up-in-arms about the whole issue. Do not believe the lies and spin when there is a press release from the U.S. government stating that Assange has engaged in a Cyber-attack on the U.S. – it’s the logical thing to expect when the foundations of a world power have been rocked by a little wikileaks earthquake

So what’s the spin from “World Powers”? That lives will be lost. Seems like a fair assumption, but   haven't lives been lost in the past - aren't lives being lost now? The most important leak released would be the knowledge that Saudi Arabia isn’t a happy camper it regards to Iran’s Nuclear Program, and want someone (*cough cough * U.S. *cough cough*) to “disrupt” their opertations. The program itself was sanctioned by the UN (But even the U.N. is only really run by five nations, the U.S. included, so I guess that won’t come as a surprise to most people.

Such a good album title.

This brings me to the main point of this whole argument – most of things that have been released by Wikileaks has already been known – it’s now been made official. For example,

• The Western World is also scared of Iran’s Nuclear Program (No surprise there)
• The U.S. thinks very little of Australia (again, no surprise
  

If everyone is aware of it, why are people afraid of talking about it? (Yes, there is a Harry Potter reference there, but I’ll let you figure it out)

I thought the “democratic Western-world” was supposed to be just that – democratic, i.e. run by the people. I’m a citizen, you’re a citizen, yet we are constantly left out of the equation – we are used to go and fight in wars that have very little to do with us; we are robbed of our money by the corporate world who run this planet. We make their wallets even heavier, yet there are more people that live in poverty and die in the worst conditions and are left to fend for themselves like animals. We keep the rich, rich and the poor continue to die.

The Problem.

So these “World Powers” are in charge of the world because they are morally and ethically correct? They care about the people, and never put themselves first? They do everything they can to help countries in need?

No.

Money = Power

It’s taken a while for these countries to aquire it, and they’ll do all that is within their power to make sure that they stay on top.

Don’t surrender Julian Assange.

Don’t believe the lies and spin.

Angry Rant #13: Top Gear or No Gear?

Where has my passion for Top Gear gone? It also must have been sold off for advertising when the show made the move from SBS to Channel 9 (That damn Channel 9 likes to screw things up all the time doesn't it?... but I digress) It seems my beloved show has become nothing more than a visual blender of pointlessness. It has become a show for all three men, who understand their fame, and will do anything to stay on top.

What happened to show that used to be about fast cars and how incredible they where!?!

Jeremy, you're show doesn't blow me away anymore.

What happened to those night's where I'd sit back after a tough day in Yr 12 and watch Mythbusters, then some serious car action!! And by car action I mean super-fast cars, and not racing upside down caravans and an assortment of other idiotic pointless stunts to get media attention.

"Wait...what? So, you want to see if I can drive this underwater, crossing

the English Channel, while racing a sea lion and a flipper-wearing rabbit?"

At what point did the producers of the show think that changing the entire formula was a good idea? When they realised that their wallets would become a lot thicker? I know people directly who hate driving and everything to do with cars, but enjoy this new version of Top Gear. Where does this leave the real car fans? I don't care about them smashing cars up for the sake of smashing them up - I have Mythbusters for that. What we don't need is another variety show for the masses - I enjoyed watching Top Gear on SBS, you know back when it was about the cars - not about the hosts. It seems they have become the victim of their own fame.

I knew something was fishy here...

Even James May admitted that "It's a different programme now. It's turned into something else. It's really a sitcom now, so we are the characters" (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a285471/james-may-top-gear-is-a-sitcom-now.html)

Bring back the old Top Gear - bring it back now

Don't believe the Lies and Spin.

Angry Rant #12: Is this an Ad or is it News?

Nine News reported on a story this afternoon, and then again on the 6pm news, detailing the final result of the TV show, The Block and I have a few questions:

1. Who the hell cares?
2. Advertising makes news?
3. Does anyone actually like Australian TV?

How can a TV network like Channel Nine get away with this kind of news story? I, like most people, do not care about some stupid, worthless "reality" TV show or how it's idiotic contestants are feeling. I don't care about how much money they've won, or what they're going to spend it on. I don't care about the problems they face when they try to restore some house - It means nothing to everyone. Is there NOTHING else going on in the world besides that one pointless TV show?

Nope. It doesn't look like it. 

Then when a show like Media Watch does a story on why that particular news story is just shamelessly plugging their own garbage, the word from the Channel Nine camp sounds something like, "Do the "journalists" at Media Watch have anything better to do?" 

Wait...so there are Journalists at Channel 9? Journalists? Channel 9? Now there's two words that should never go together. Take, for example, earlier in the year when there were floods in northern Victoria. All the reporters on the scene were getting knee deep in the water except one - Laura Turner. In short, Laura is accused of being on her knees to make the flood waters look worse.

Decide for yourself

The most striking point here is how the SES urged people not to go into the flood waters because it was dangerous. I'd discuss the problems with Channel 7 and their "news" but I would go on for a while, so I won't yet, but I digress...

Back on topic, don't just think that Channel 9 turns advertising into news, because both Channels Ten and Seven have done the same thing. It's the reason why I don't watch TV for news anymore - it's all about making money and making us buy things we don't need, or in case make us watch stupid shows about stupid people. 

Problem: There are too many news programs, and for them to fill news slots up, things must either be made out to be worse than there are (i.e the floods), dragged out so that the news day is easier to manage (i.e Jessica Watson and her yacht) or they are filled with nonsensical fluff stories like that wedding between Kate and William. 

Also, Peter Overton needs to be kicked. Nothing is worse than an up-himself news anchor. 

I'd fire him.

Don't believe the Lies and Spin.