Saturday, January 22, 2005
Trying Too Hard
CNN.com - Police:?Woman threw sex parties for teenagers - Jan 21, 2005:
ARVADA, Colorado (AP) -- A 40-year-old woman held sex and drug parties with teenage boys, telling police she wanted to be a 'cool mom,' authorities say.Aww.. How cute? She let the boys have the party why she turned her cheek and pretended it wasn't happening! How... novel!
Sylvia Johnson allegedly provided marijuana, methamphetamine and alcohol to eight boys at parties held at her suburban Denver home in 2003 and 2004. According to court papers, she admitted having sex with five of the boys.Don't ever bitch about your parents again.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Oath-er spending?
I'd say it was the DN's view, and it is...
...but I wrote it, damnit. Thus, I must say that I agree. :)
The Ball State Daily News - OUR VIEW: It's his party ...and it costs $40 million:
This week's presidential inauguration ceremonies are expected to cost over $40 million dollars when all is said and done. In all fairness, this money is all provided by private donations, and inauguration officials have reassured us time and time again that taxpayer money is not directly involved.
But still, how much is too much?
There's a thin line between proper and unnecessary -- one that President George W. Bush and his inauguration committee may be crossing in this time of such great need around the world.
Not to mention the very country which he is leading is in the midst of a $5 billion-a-month war, according to the Associated Press.
Across the globe, 220,000 are now confirmed dead in the horrid aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunami. It seems slightly insensitive for America, meanwhile, to throw itself a multi-day celebration. A celebration that includes nine Inaugural balls, one of which, to Bush's credit, honors some 2,000 U.S. troops.
Is the U.S. planning on throwing this massive of a celebration in Iraq after its U.S.-inspired Jan. 30 election?
We didn't think so.
Regardless of whether this money could have been spent on tsunami aid, national debt or Super Bowl advertisements, there is still a bottom line.
Is the spending really necessary?
Look at the required money needed for such large-scale, high-security events such as this. The capitol city's security expenses add up to $17.1 million dollars, not to mention other federal costs -- most of which, inevitably, fall back on the taxpayers.
Now, this is not to say that Bush does not deserve a celebration for his victory, or that he should never have won to begin with: This argument is about economics, not politics.
That is what we would like to think, anyway.
It seems that most of the $40 million being donated has come from major corporations, many of which claim to give to each and every inauguration regardless of party affiliation. Their intentions are clear: company executives get time to meet up with Washington's elite to entertain, wine and dine.
Or, should we say, "whine and dine." In reality, it gives America's largest and most wealthy corporations a chance to help lobby and influence votes in Washington for the coming four years.
Meanwhile, the president has reportedly dismissed suggestions that this week's inaugural spending is a bit over the edge. "People are going to come from all over the country who are celebrating democracy and celebrating my victory, and I'm glad to celebrate with them," Bush told the AP.
He's glad to celebrate with those who are lucky enough to get those coveted seats, anyway. Of course, for a $100,000 donation, corporations could receive ticketed seats to the swearing-in ceremony.
And you thought Super Bowl tickets were bad.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
The Column: Reality Hell
The Ball State Daily News - BEWILDERED SOCIETY: Theme park rides, shows to meet TV:
Apparently, fear is not a factor for you.
But synergy is!
The newest corporate clusterfunk on the block, NBC Universal, has announced plans to add "Fear Factor Live" to its twin theme parks in the United States.
The show is planned to be audience-participation based with many of the same ideas that the NBC program uses, sans weird bugs, fast moving semitrailers and a smart-assed and occasionally annoying Joe Rogan. Company officials are tight-lipped on what prizes or rewards might await contestants, as well as what exactly they might face to earn them. The stage show is set to begin this summer at the company's Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Fla., and Hollywood.
Of course, if you ask me, just walking around Hollywood/Los Angeles is enough to be declared a stunt show. Nonetheless, all of this conversation leads us to one important point:
Why in the hell do we still care?
Just when we thought it was ending, reality television comes back with a vengeance -- and a live amphitheater audience. All we need now is for MTV to jump on the bandwagon, and the rest are sure to follow. Just imagine the possibilities:
Yes, it's "The Real 'Real World!'" Enjoy the thrill of a lifetime as you and five other predetermined contestants cram into a small, enclosed space with unlimited alcohol. Spend time to get to know your new friends: a gay guy, a "princess" girl, a large, black male, a racist and a Southern Baptist. Sleep with them all, but in the end, only one can be your friend. All in front of a live audience instead of cameras!
Fox could bank big on its landmark reality earful "American Idol." What could be better than watching the show when you can... be the show? It's "American Idol: LIVE," hosted by a robotic version of Ryan Seacrest which will be, to most 17-year-old girls, as attractive as the real thing. For everyone else, who will notice the difference? That, and "Simon Cowell: The Ride" are really lacking in appeal to me.
CBS could use its flagship show "Survivor," but that's too expected. Instead, visit "Dan Rather's 'The CBS Experience.'" Come along for an hour of makeshift reporting, document forging and major controversy that only CBS and its crack team of journalists can bring you. Try your hand at the signature forging competition and see if you can win prizes with "Fire Me: the Memory Game." Sorry kids, this show's rated "R" for the brief and unexpected appearance of at least one audience member's nipple.
For the family-friendly viewers of CBS, there's always "The Amusement Race," a rip-off of the fast-paced reality "The Amazing Race." Watch and cheer as two families, both with a mother, father, 16-year-old brat, 9-year-old whiner and 3-year-old twins, compete to see who can successfully make it around the given amusement park with the fewest arguments.
Back over at Universal, we could see a debut appearance of "Queer Eye for the Person-sitting-in-row-12-seat-14." Watch as an awkwardly horrible imitation of the Fab 5 attempts to makeover random audience members for the remainder of their stays at the park. (Sure to be a hit at the Hollywood location.) This, while playing that bubbly, somewhat-catchy and utterly annoying theme song non-stop in the background. What is the coincidental twist? When everyone finds out the audience member is... actually gay!
(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
With enough poker reality shows to pay for a casino, any network could have their whack with a ride or stage show. "Hold 'em!" will surely be a treat for any vacationing family looking to train the young on the finer points of betting, folding and mean "poker faces." What is one thing this, and the other attractions for that matter, will be horrible at?
Getting people to stay.
©2003-2007 David Studinski/Bewildered Society, unless otherwise noted.