I was watching an old George Carlin comedy special on HBO Comedy tonight and I began thinking about someone I used to work with when I worked at Domino’s in high school and college. I worked with this guy for about 5 years and got to know him really well. One thing that we both had in common is that we were both huge George Carlin fans. This always surprised me because he was a bit conservative and typically voted for Republicans. If you have never seen George Carlin do stand up or read one of his books, he is a really liberal guy. He hates government (Republicans and Democrats), he hates the Right Wing, hates religion, and is all about the freedoms that make this country great. Maybe it’s just me, but in order for me to like something, I have to relate to it. Could my friend have related to it even though Mr. Carlin makes fun of the very things that my friend believes in?
I once knew a guy who was the same way with music. He listened to a lot of hip hop and one of his favorite rock bands was Rage Against the Machine. They were a really liberal band, some might even say socialistic, yet this guy loved them. Sure, you can enjoy the sound, but if you don’t enjoy the lyrics, how could you enjoy the music as a whole? I know I don’t listen to music who’s lyrics I’m not particularly fond of. One might, and rightfully so, argue about the lyrics in hip hop and if you listen to it, you’re supporting the content. There’s no argument for me there. Yes, there are songs I’ve enjoyed that have lyrics I might not necessarily agree with. Heck, my favorite rapper is 2pac and I know he’s had songs I don’t agree with on content, but he’s also had songs in which I can fully stand behind the content. Typically, if I don’t relate to the music in any way, or don’t like the message in the music, I’m not going to listen to it.
So I guess my question is, what makes people enjoy things that usually go against their ideologies? Why does my conservative friend like Mr. Carlin when Mr. Carlin stands up (pun intended) against everything that most conservatives value? There’s no simple answer to this. Just a thought I had while watching the very funny Mr. Carlin.
Ideology and Interests
I was watching an old George Carlin comedy special on HBO Comedy tonight and I began thinking about someone I used to work with when I worked at Domino’s in high school and college. I worked with this guy for about 5 years and got to know him really well. One thing that we both had in common is that we were both huge George Carlin fans. This always surprised me because he was a bit conservative and typically voted for Republicans. If you have never seen George Carlin do stand up or read one of his books, he is a really liberal guy. He hates government (Republicans and Democrats), he hates the Right Wing, hates religion, and is all about the freedoms that make this country great. Maybe it’s just me, but in order for me to like something, I have to relate to it. Could my friend have related to it even though Mr. Carlin makes fun of the very things that my friend believes in?
I once knew a guy who was the same way with music. He listened to a lot of hip hop and one of his favorite rock bands was Rage Against the Machine. They were a really liberal band, some might even say socialistic, yet this guy loved them. Sure, you can enjoy the sound, but if you don’t enjoy the lyrics, how could you enjoy the music as a whole? I know I don’t listen to music who’s lyrics I’m not particularly fond of. One might, and rightfully so, argue about the lyrics in hip hop and if you listen to it, you’re supporting the content. There’s no argument for me there. Yes, there are songs I’ve enjoyed that have lyrics I might not necessarily agree with. Heck, my favorite rapper is 2pac and I know he’s had songs I don’t agree with on content, but he’s also had songs in which I can fully stand behind the content. Typically, if I don’t relate to the music in any way, or don’t like the message in the music, I’m not going to listen to it.
So I guess my question is, what makes people enjoy things that usually go against their ideologies? Why does my conservative friend like Mr. Carlin when Mr. Carlin stands up (pun intended) against everything that most conservatives value? There’s no simple answer to this. Just a thought I had while watching the very funny Mr. Carlin.
Trivia Night
Last night I participated in a Trivia Night that a family friend was promoting. The cause was for cancer research. Amanda spends countless hours each year raising money for research and last night was no exception. I think she said they raised over $12,000. There were 38 tables (with 10 people at each table) so it was packed.
I was a bit disappointed in the categories and questions. The categories were pretty difficult (Art Smart? Really?) The questions were incredibly detailed and it amazes me that anyone knew some of them. I’ve been in a lot of Trivia Night events and my teams have usually placed within the top three. I don’t even think we placed in the top half last night. There was one creative category entitled “This tastes like…” There were 10 bags of Jelly Bellies on the table. The first 8 bags had enough candy for everyone to have one. We then had to decide what it is and write it down on the answer sheet. The last 2 bags had only one Jelly Belly and one person had to eat them and say what they were. I was chosen (because no one else wanted to). The first one was black pepper. It wasn’t that bad at first but it just kept getting stronger and stronger, even after I swallowed. The second one was dirt. That was disgusting. It tasted like a humid summer day right after it rained, when you inhale deeply around a bunch of mud. It was quite disgusting.
All in all, it was a good time. Hopefully if they do it again they create easier questions and categories. When more people can answer the questions it makes it more fun for everyone.
Wii Wishes
Yesterday I read an article on how to turn the Nintendo Wii into a media center. Now, remember, this isn’t a real media center. The Wii has no hard drive, it doesn’t play DVDs. This was essentially a way to stream the media on your PC to the Wii. I tried it, and it actually does a pretty good job. The video quality is less than stellar and if I had a lot of videos on my PC and it wasn’t in the same room as my Wii, it might be worth it. There is one thing I would love to see working on the Wii, Hulu. The flash version with Opera isn’t compatible with Hulu. It needs an update of the flash player, which as far as I know, you can’t perform on the Wii. Hopefully an update will be available soon, because I will stream videos from Hulu. I’d love to watch Monk, Psych, Chuck, and other shows on the TV instead of the computer.
And when will Mario Kart Wii come out? Come on already!
Obama Keeps Winning
Last night we saw Barack Obama win his 9th and 10th consecutive victories in the race to become the Democratic candidate for President. Hawaii and Wisconsin both chose Mr. Obama over Hillary Clinton. These are no long insignificant victories, as Mrs. Clinton’s campaign was saying after Mr. Obama’s South Carolina win. She’s got some serious fighting to do if she wants to stay in, but I think she should drop out and not rely on the Super Delegates, who do not have to vote the way people want, in order to win the Democratic nomination. Leslie Sanchez, a Republican strategist, stated on CNN
Very well put. Do we (the Democrats) really want someone who has all the “toys” and still can’t win? That doesn’t look good if she has to go up against John McCain in the fall.
New Cell Phone
I would like a new cell phone. I don’t really need a new one, but I’ve had my Razr for two years and it’s time to upgrade. I can get a new phone with a discount from Verizon at the end of this month, or I can wait until April when my contract is up and go with another company. Really the only company I’ll consider switching to is AT&T. One reason I don’t want to switch is because I have a good deal with Verizon and the family plan I’m on with my sisters and brother-in-law. On the other hand, Verizon cripples their phones with their crappy OS and they disable features. That bugs me. I’ve had T-Mobile and I won’t go back to them and I’ve heard bad things about Sprint in the St. Louis area.
Lately, I’ve been taking notice in the phones offered at various stores and kiosks. I’m not impressed at all. At all. Many of the phones are either feature-less or have too many features. No Verizon, I don’t want an mp3 player phone with your horrible interface. If I really wanted an mp3 player on my phone, I’d go with the iPhone. I want something simple, but one thing I would like it to have is a web browser, and I don’t mean a WAP browser. I would like an HTML browser. The problem is, most of the phones that offer these are the Blackberry, the iPhone, and Windows Mobile smart phones. I don’t need something that complex because I’m not someone who needs to constantly sync up with his office and be in constant contact with people. I would like to have IM that works and web access so I can check Gmail and whatnot. I also want the phone to be relatively small, and if possible a Qwerty keyboard, though that’s not crucial. Why can’t I find a phone that suits me and why does it seem like Europe has all the best phones?