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Facebook Personal Pop Psychology Dissection

Friday, April 10th, 2009

This posting has been influenced by personal experience with Facebook postings. It has also been influenced by the podcast Keith and the Girl. I listen to it every morning at work. It is one of the best produced podcast out there on the Internet. It is explicit, rude and sometimes can get very socially unacceptable. The truth is that it is very funny, more importantly it is very honest. If you can handle it you should become a fan too. The host Keith is very critical of social websites. People are complaining that MySpace is too childish. So they are going to Facebook to escape it. Yet on Facebook people are constantly sending fake drinks, foods and other nonexistent gifts. (Sounds childish?) As Keith says, “Someone sent me a picture of a Mahito drink…O.K….What the fuck am I suppose to do it with it now? …How about sending me a real drink? …Asshole.” I get the same things sent to me by well meaning friends. Friends I feel have too much free time. I know. It is the thought that counts. So I am now going to send those photos of foods on to websites for starving children in Third World countries. The thought should make them feel better. I am such a humanitarian. But somehow you are going to be confused and think that I am the asshole. I guess it is all about the context.

The other thing is I get a lot of postings of the results of friends’ online pop psychology quizzes. Guess which 80’s movie I am. Guess which food I am. Guess which cartoon character I am. My top 5 books, movies, TV shows, etc. And the list goes on and on. And so does the listings on my Facebook Wall. I guess they can be fun. I feel out of courtesy you should maybe do only ONE a day. Better yet one a week. How about setting a specific page where it is the only place where the results are posted. There have been a lot of news reports on how people are not getting the jobs they want because of what they post on their Facebook accounts. The potential employer sees a photo of a guy in his college days doing a beer bong. Who didn’t do ones of those in college? The photo of a female during spring break is seen “popping her hood” to win a t-shirt. Doesn’t that seem ironic? However, I do not think that is the problem employers are having is they see the page from a person who is telling them they are a “hard worker”. However, the same person posted over a dozen results from various pop psychology quizzes. The employer is seeing a person with a lot of free time on their hands. And this person may have the potential to go “gun waving crazy in the break room” if they take these quizzes and their answers seriously.

Pop culture is something we cannot escape. No matter what we think. We are neither above it nor below it. We are right in the middle of it. However, our relationship to any specific aspect of pop culture is constantly changing. Our experiences with it changes. Also what we need from it changes. It has some sense of relevance unless it has been organized into some type of “retro night”. Please whenever possible avoid them. I guess everybody goes through phases where they need to do some sort of analysis on themselves. They need to take some sort of barometric reading on the state of their circumstances. They more tests there are the more dissection of themselves. And all of these dissections will provide more foundation for a valid answer whatever it maybe. I think people take these tests and want to steer each question to a specific answer. Once again the relevance is based more on the desired outcome. People want more of the illusion rather than the cold hard facts. Everyone wants to be reaffirmed about how they perceive themselves. Take this example. Here is the test. What would your stripper name be? I am going to guess it is going to be exotic and unusual. As a stripper name should be. We do not want reality because it does not work. No one is paying for a stripper named “Low Self Esteem”, “Coke Whore” or “Daddy Issues”. We want the illusion. However, we just cannot say it directly. So we call it advertising. I am guessing if you take more than a few of these types of tests then you are looking for a bigger answer than these tests will provide.

 I am not above this need to dissect my own psyche. If I was above it then I would not be writing a blog. I am always dissected myself. As being some type of writer I am always looking out at the world and culture and making judgment calls about it. I just don’t take multiple guess quizzes trying to determine an answer to what I see. I get the “prompt” in other words the “question”. And from there I attempt to find the answer. Remember those tests are created by others. And your answers are irrelevant in the scheme of things.

That all being said.


I am still not above all of it, the analysis, dissection and worse of all the nostalgia.
Which 80’s movie represents you? (In this case. Me.)

Given my age the answer should probably be a John Hughes movie. Like the Breakfast Club. How cliché. Or maybe it is The Outsiders.

I heard this song on my MP3 player. It comes from a movie soundtrack I had loaded on it.

MUSIC: Concrete Blonde (covering Leonard Cohen)


 

It is amazing that in a sad way that this song still has relevance to the time. This version is from the soundtrack for the movie Pump Up the Volume. (It was also the first movie in which I bought the soundtrack for. And after this movie, I also pay attention to how the soundtrack is assembled.) This movie is the story about a teenager who becomes underground hero/spokesperson on a pirate radio station. Christian Slater plays a quiet kid who is socially awkward and trying to find his place in a new school. He creates this persona called “Happy Harry Hard-on”. Every night, he broadcasts through the community on his pirate radio station. The technology may have changed over the last twenty years. However, the method and desire are the same. People create screen names and post blogs and podcasts using created persona names. Everyone has an opinion and an insight they know if they put their real face on will lead to a lot of trouble.

Here is a clip.

I also know the movie was released in 1990. I was never good a math so give a little slack here.

This movie also turned me on to the Lenny Bruce autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People.

 To end.

I wish one day pop culture would embrace my writings in mass so I can officially quit my day job. It is not selling out. It is selling to.

But I will compromise on this matter of pop culture tests. If there is a test for “Which type of turd are you?” I will take it.

Happy?

Posted in General thoughts, Listening To, Movies | No Comments »

LOOK OUT!!! IT’S…

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

I know I read a lot of books most people out there will never read. I am not doing it to point that I have an intellect. I am not saying that I am necessarily a smart person even. As I said, I need to keep reading to help the writing. I need to apply my reading to what I am writing. One of my favorite writers is David Mamet. A few weeks ago, I read his book entitled Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and the Practice of the Movie Business. I also found an interview with him on the Internet. I was struck by how he was able to apply his vast readings to the interview.

I need to read books about the human condition and its nature. It helps me to flesh out better characters for my writing. The thing I have been coming to realize more and more is that people are strange interlocking of positive and negative traits and actions. The essence of a good character is that the person has strengths balanced on flaws. It is also why many of our public figures intriguing and annoying at the same time.

The other thing is that I have amassed a wide range of books over the years. Once again, let me say I am not trying to show off my intellect. I am just trying to reveal the works that have gone into my own. The one type of book I try to avoid is any that would be considered a textbook. Here is a warning. If you ever walk into a person’s office and all he has on his bookshelves is textbooks you should run away. One way to save money on education is to throw away all the textbooks. I was once a professional student. I had to buy a lot of textbooks. There is maybe 2-5 of them I still have for reference. They are for the most part useless. The only reason people write textbooks is to impress other idiots who write them too. I have a conspiracy theory about textbooks too. The textbook industry is secretly being funded by bed makers and chiropractors. If you read one you will need a place to sleep and you will eventually need a spinal realignment from hauling them around. One more comment on education. I have been around long enough to realize people have always been complaining about how we DO NOT spend on education. It is never enough. The reason is society on a whole really does not value education. We do not put enough effort into it at the beginning and we then overprice it at the end.

I want to point out a book that I have just read that has made me look at people and their actions different. It had the same effect on me as the book Freakonomics did on me. The book is Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions by Zachary Shore. It is about how people fall into various cognitive traps. I have two quotes from this book I want to point out.”…Expertise is a very good thing, but it is not the same thing as sound judgment regarding strategy and policy.” The other quote is, “History is an unforgiving laboratory. Its experiments can be only run once, and never again under precisely the same conditions.” They are both good reminders for our times. Just remember that ever crisis throughout history has had an “expert” in charge when it was happening. The captain of the Titanic had 30 years of experience.

We are flawed and we find extraordinary ways to fail.

This week, I learned that an idiot used the 911 system for customer service complaints.

I know our present economy is more of a challenge than a crisis for most of the people in this country. I also know the entire economy will never turn around based on my personal spending. In fact, my personal finances make me seem insignificant on a whole based on macro economics. It almost led me to have a personal existential identity crisis. I can only go forward regardless. The economics of today were the results of many, many years of various policies. One stimulus bill put together in a couple of weeks is not going to undo things in the matter of weeks. Economies take a lot of time to adjust. I am not sure where I heard this from. There is an old cavalry quote, “When in doubt…gallop.” And guess what a lot of horses leave behind.

The world is hard to comprehend. People create fiction whether it is a book or movie so they can make sense of our present world. An example I think is the movie Gladiator has more to say about American politics than it does the Roman Empire. I was trying to think about a character that embodies our fear of the future and the confusion of our present moment.

This is the character and the situation that I think that represents American society today. Play the clip. (It was the best example I could find. Quality was a distant second.)


 

Godzilla was a creature created by the atomic bomb. (The mistake of our past) It come back to reap destruction on man. Godzilla represents the future because it is big and scary. It is also an unknown force. And nobody knows if in any sense of reality its existence is inevitable. The future is basically the unknown monster. In the movies, no one knows how to really how to deal with it. The population runs around in mass panic. No one has a good plan of action. Sound familiar? Watch the evening news. They are basically broadcasting a “monster movie”. And being able to “Beat the monsters” does not make for good evening news. News outlets need to sell the problem not the answer. It is also the mantra behind any political campaign.

Somehow, knowing all of this (I think) I will try to be a bit more optimistic.


Maybe there is an “innocent” than can beat the “monster”. Like possibly Bambi.


 

 

I now have to re-read Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.

I just wish someone could express the purpose to all of this.

Posted in General thoughts, Movies, Reading | No Comments »

Some Assembly Required- Mapping My Thoughts

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

MUSIC: Audioslave

My friend Mike sent me a link to a site called Mindmeister. It is a site for mapping out one’s mind. I really have not had the time to really delve into the site. He said it would be a good way to organize my thoughts in regards to my writing. It may be true and I might do it. However, I am a little suspicious of his motivation. I think he is just trying to “build the case against me”. And he just does not have the time to do the investigative work himself. If the state is going to prosecute you they have to do some “legwork” first. They do not have the ability to just have you fill out a survey so they can prosecute for your answers. It does not work like that in the court system. The tax system is another story.

Let me attempt a try at giving you an explanation of how my mind may work. I am by nature a curious person. This led me to a lot of trouble in my early education years. It also was scarred by being in a Catholic school. We were always being told that we had to have something to read or do quietly whenever we finished our class work. I was always in trouble for what I brought to school to read. Comic books, MAD magazine, etc. I was never told “Why” they were bad. If you are not going to explain “why” then you will never be able to satisfy a curious person. In fact, over time your lack of explanation feeds a rebellious tendency in that person. The answer, “Because I said so!” is the response of a person on seriously out of control personal power trip. For those of you who have been known to play a drinking game from time to time. It is the basis of the drinking game called Asshole. It does not require skill. It is more about having an arbitrary position.

I have a visual mind and usually see things through images. This is why I failed at math throughout my school years. I do not see “numbers” as an example. I can look at pictures and assemble things from them. This is one of my mom’s favorite stories about me when I was about two years old. I was a quiet kid who did not speak a lot. I could build things though. I used the color patterns on the rug in the dining room to build “roads” for my Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. My grandparents bought me a big can of Tinker Toys. This was a toy you build things with using various sticks and connectors. I now feel old when I realize my toys as a child required as a goal that I put them together myself. This does not seem to be as true now days. Tinker Toys came with a small booklet of things you can build with the various sticks and connectors. So for the next week or so I sat down and built them all. I just looked at the picture and then the pieces. And from there I put them together. The instructions started with simple things and progressed to more complicated ones which required all of the pieces. I eventually worked up to those. I built the most complicated one and showed it off to my mom. She looked at it and thought that I had not put it together right. I looked her and without saying a word showed her the picture in the instruction book. She studied it and realized that I indeed had assembled correctly.

I will now lay blame to biggest influence on my childhood imagination. The first time I ever saw a movie that felt that it looked like the imagination in my head was Star Wars. I remember just sitting glued into my seat at the movie theater. It caught my imagination hard. A few months later, when the toys were coming out I was completely into it. I would go to school and just draw out Star Wars pictures and the after school go home and act out the scenes with my toy action figures. I would come up with new stories every time I would get a new figure. In fact, I bought certain ones based on the ideas of which stories I wanted to tell next. The problem was in second grade I would rather draw the stories then do my real school work. I would be constantly yelled and told such use of my time was a waste. I also discovered comic books. I like that I could see how images and words worked together. And this is why films fascinate me. But I could never successfully explain to my teacher why it was not a waste of time. That is called back talking. I had quite a few walks to the principal’s office. My footprints will be forever etched into that floor. However, I realize that the teacher had no imagination (most of them do not anyways). Those who can’t…teach. I still read Star Wars novels and watch the movies because I am still discovering things about them. It is a very dense story. There are many facets to it. I wish when I was kid there was Wookieepedia. I read the book about a decade ago called Star Wars: The Magic of Myth by Mary Henderson. It is about the elements that make up the story of Star Wars itself. It kept referencing the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. He explores how man has been writing and rewriting the same story since man was able to write. This is how it works for me. I find something that fuels my imagination and then I want more information about it.

I am trying to become a better writer. And that will be the goal until the end. Stephen King in his book On Writing said, “If you do not have the time to read. Then you do not have the time to write. Because you do not have the tools to write.” Here is another example of the mind in action. I like a good story. I like the story even better if there is strong character development. This is why I enjoy the Spenser series from author Robert Parker. It was the influence behind the Spenser: For Hire TV series. He has strong characters and he does not get caught up in using many words to tell the story. Spenser is man who no matter what will solve the case even when he is told to stay away. he has principals and a belief in them. Author Stephen Hunter created the character of Bobby Lee Swagger that he used in several of his novels. Swagger is a former army sniper who gets caught in situation that fall into the category of “right man at the wrong time”. I just read his latest appearance in the novel The 47th Samurai. I will not go into the plot details. I just want to point out how I find things that make me curious and I want find out more. In the book, Swagger studies Japanese samurai culture by watching that genre of films. So now a few of those titles  such as Twilight Samurai, The 47 Ronin and When the Last Sword is Drawn will go into the Netflix queue. There was also the mention of a book entitled The Nobility of Failure. And I am trying to locate a copy to read. I think it could provide some enlightenment for some other thoughts in my head.

This is how it works in a nutshell. I find a good story. I then try to find some details about elements that went into story. And from there I want to see how it all contributed to final “assembly” of the story. On top of it all, westerns, kung fu and samurai films are the ones that seem to be grabbing my attention at the moment. So you have been warned.

I know most people will not read a book or watch a movie that I mentioned. It would take some effort on their part. We are in a world where knowledge seems to be condensed into quick sound bites. And this is not what I am about. I know most people want to be told what to read or see. They do not want to empower themselves with a sense of discovery. They base their quest for knowledge more on what they know rather than what they do not know. I know I will never get to control the “remote” for the masses nor do I want to. I know I do get choose the station, book, movie or the event. So be it. I like how I am trying to discover things. Speaking of which. Last year, I went on a few ghost hunts. You can believe it or not. I did see and hear things. However, as is very common in such situations the evidence did not show up on film. But my X-Files Quest will continue. Does anyone out there know of a good area in the Northeast United States for a UFO hunt?

In the end, I am just attempting to layout a map. But to be truthful, I am not sure how the map works all the time. If I did then I am afraid it will ruin all of the magic.

Posted in General thoughts, Movies, Reading, Reference, Television | 1 Comment »

Westerns: Man vs. His Environment

Friday, January 30th, 2009

MUSIC: Ennio Morricone

This is another posting where I am trying to write out notes that have been on my notepad and in my head over the last few months. The most important thing is that I have to make time no matter what to write. It has not been easy.

The Western movie genre is one that reflects the American culture over the last century. Although quite a few Western movies were remakes of Japanese samurai movies. Two examples were the films from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven. Yojimbo was remade as A Fistful of Dollars, the movie that started the Clint Eastwood “spaghetti westerns” trilogy. Interesting side note the movie starred an American actor, directed by an Italian, and financed by German investors. I think what makes the Western an intriguing genre is the story is essentially a question of “moral” action. It is usually about the lone man who is battling his circumstances. These movies use scenes of a harsh weather environment as the background to the story. Another reason why this genre continues to endure is because these movies have men who for “good or bad” live by a personal code of conduct. These are men of their word. And they are willing to do what it takes to survive. These films lead the viewer to some form of escapism. It is a chance to watch what they long for in their own lives.

Here a few Western Movies I like that reflect this idea of my mine. But I am sure many have had the same thought out there.

Unforgiven: Clint Eastwood takes a revisionist look at the Westerns he helped to make popular. This film questions the idea of what does it take to really shoot a man.

The Wild Bunch: William Holden is the leader of gang of bank robbers who is becoming aware that the ways of the West are coming to end in early 1900’s America.

High Noon: The Gray Cooper classic of man who has to take a stand for a town not willing to do it for itself. I read once that this film is the one that is screened the most at the White House.

3:10 to Yuma: Both versions. The 1957 and 2007 releases. They both are about what a man is willing to take on in hard times in order to provide for his family.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: It may not really fit into my idea. However, it is really is just an entertaining Western to watch. Paul Newman was just wonderful in this movie. He was a man of action and had a sense of humor. Like in this scene.

There was another film that really defines my premise entitled The Proposition. If you like the Western genre then this movie should be in your NetFlix queue. This film is not set in America but in the Outbacks of late 1800’s Australia. This movie does fit into American Western genre. The screenplay for this movie was written by singer Nick Cave. I know most people will not immediately recognize his name. His song Red Right Hand was featured in all of the Scream movies and The X-Files. Personally, I am a big fan of his song The Mercy Seat. His songs are mini stories within themselves. His songs are about damnation and salvation. He uses Biblical ideas in many of songs. The Proposition is basically an updated retelling of Cain and Able to even more extremes. In this movie, Charlie Burns (Guy Pierce) who is a wanted criminal must save his younger criminal brother from the gallows’ pole. However, in order to do this he must hunt down and kill his older psychopathic brother. This movie is very harsh and violent at times to watch. I think every now and then you should watch a film that challenges your own sensibilities. It is healthy. Here is the trailer for the film.

 

There is another example of a man vs. his environment. However, this time it is neither a Western nor even a movie. It is also an odd choice given my current mental state to read. It is a book titled The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic America. (It is never explained how America came to be this) In this story, a man and his son are traveling a road trying to find a better place. The post-apocalyptic state is also another genre that seems to be popular from time to time. Watch the Mad Max trilogy. I think it is popular background to stories for man is basically reduced to his primitive elements. Survival is crucial and man does not have all of his extra items available in order to do it. It is about what a man is willing to do survive. Life is reduced to the essentials. It is about what a man is willing to endure in order to survive. I think that this genre attracts people because deep down they want to read or hear stories in which no matter what happens in the end “Hope” survives.

Now how did I come to the movie and this book? The Proposition was directed by John Hillcoat who directed the upcoming movie adaptation of the book The Road. The movie should be out sometime this year. This movie has had its released date changed several times. I think the film studio behind this is having a hard time trying to find the right time to market. I say just release it already. A good story will eventually find an audience. And keep finding one.

And also read Nick Cave’s book And the Ass Saw the Angel.

Posted in Movies, Reading | 1 Comment »

Personal Weather Forecast Update

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

MUSIC: Social Distortion

The last few days brought some really, really cold air to area. It was the cold that just runs right through you. It kind of fueled my already low mood. As Shakespeare might say “Now is the winter of discontent…” And the book The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck is on my “to read” list.

I also had yet another repair to do last week. The windshield of my truck cracked. Last summer, a truck kicked a stone and put a small chip in my windshield. Two weeks ago that chip became a ¼ crack. And driving to work last Wednesday morning the crack grew right across the windshield as I was driving about 60 MPH. I want to make the commute to work just once without having to say the phrase “What the Fuck?!” This was just the latest in series of breakdowns I have been experiencing over the last 2-3 months. I am completely drained of energy right now. And I learned another item a couple of days ago (which I will not mention because the circumstances are not completely my own to talk about) that I am hoping will resolve itself. However, the only approach that can be taken is “wait and see”.

I have also been having major problems staying focused and resolved on my writing. Every time that I resolve myself to spend time just doing nothing but writing it seems a “problem” comes that needs to be addressed immediately. It also happens every time I also resolve to clean the apartment too. There seems to be some unknown force in my life that wants to “clutch defeat from the jaws of victory”. There are many days in which I come home with low energy and doing something I enjoy would be a good idea. I.E. writing. However, I fear that dreaded problem phone call. I do not want to get defeated. And I end up just “vegging out”. Surprise! This method does not work well either. But I need a “cease fire” and to a chance to work out what I already need to work on. I do not want to get crushed yet again by interruptions.

It is hard to explain to people about my writing. It is an internal manifestation for me. People I think may try to understand it stand it if there was external cause for my writing. They would understand it if the writing was done as an assignment. Many people also need to see something external like a pay stub. It seems like there needs to be something hanging on the wall in order for them to acknowledge it. I think they feel there has to be something external in order for them to feel it is validated. Acknowledgment and validation has been a struggle for me to achieve. I am always looking at my blog stats to see what is being read. My web host logs, Word Press stats, Googling myself and other sites all give a different report of what is being clicked on. I heard an author once say that such tools were invented to torture writers. And they do.

I heard an interview on the radio the other day with comedian Robert Schimmel. He was talking about how he made through some tough personal times over the last few years. This is what he said that caught my attention. “When people start dictating their definition to you and if you do not live up to that then you are not successful. Then you need to come up with your own definition of success.” I come from a family and also have friends who seem to imply that success is being “married with children”. I am not married. But I do have a “child” in a sense. What is a child? A child is something that you create that is something that is bigger than yourself. It is a love-hate relationship. But you want it to grow and will do anything for the “child”. My “child” is my writing. I wish I could find a way to show this point better to others. But there will always be “the loneliness of the long distance runner” when it comes to being a writer.

Remember even Hitler’s father had “The World’s Greatest Dad” coffee mug in the cupboard. Think about that.

I heard once that you know you are in the right profession when you are willing to do it for free. That maybe true but this logic does not work when I have to pay the web hosting fee.

I have also watched a couple of movies this week that also seem to fit into this concept of struggle. What can I say? If I am going to “veg” I might as well be watching some movies. They were both fight movies. One was martial arts and the other was a boxing movie. I think this movies fighting is used more as metaphor for the struggle within. The first was Redbelt, the latest film from David Mamet. I like his writing because he is willing to push boundaries. I like his works because it is about people struggling within their own circumstances. Read his work Glengarry Glen Ross. The other movie was Rocky Balboa. It was sixth movie in the series and the best one along with the original. The character of Rocky is one of the best film characters. I know the series had a lot of ups and downs. I know this character has been the subject of parody over the years. But you need a good character in order to have good parody. A bad character will just be lampooned. And there is a difference between parody and lampoon. Rocky talking to his son says, “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward.” This quote best sums up the story line for the movie. It think why the character is still relevant today is because it is about a person who just wants a chance to compete. To compete whether or not it ends up being a “win” or even a “lost”. And run those Rocky Steps.

And I want to leave with a laugh. This clip is kind of a metaphor on my current status courtesy of Ren & Stimpy.


 

 

Finally, I am looking for help painting two vacant apartments next weekend. The quicker I get it done the sooner I can get back to writing.

 

 


Posted in General thoughts, Listening To, Movies, Writing | No Comments »

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