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I tend to not get very political in anything I write because simply...I don't like politics. I don't find it interesting and think that the system, at least here in the US, is incredibly broken. But I suppose this blog post could be considered political due to the topic at hand. But anyway, let's get into it.

Yesterday, May 1st, 2011 it was announced that Osama Bin Laden was dead. The leader of Al-Qaeda and person behind the September 11th attacks was finally killed. Almost ten years after the terrible events, this man finally got his comeuppance. Yet why am I so annoyed by the whole thing?

It's turned into a media circus. People are celebrating it for all the wrong reasons. Yay he's dead, he was an awful human being who will rot in hell. But what does it affect? Sure, people will become falsely patriotic for a period of time (just like after 9/11) but sooner rather than later, it'll fade into obscurity. And that's what pisses me off. People are out chanting "USA! USA!" and waving flags around yet where were they a few years ago? Ashamed of their country and what we stood for. Wanting to practically impeach our President and yet now, they couldn't be happier with him. Those taking shots in celebration after I've never heard them utter a single political thing in their life is disgusting. People just like to celebrate and this is as good a reason as any.

Then there's Obama. He's been shit on since starting his term by the American public but now, he's a hero. His approval ratings will go through the roof and the world as we know it will be changed forever. Except it won't be. This is the death of one person. Sure, it's great in the revenge category but as far as actually accomplishing something? As far as I'm concerned, we're still fighting in the Middle East with many of our soldiers dying on a daily basis. Nothing has been accomplished. We still live in the same horrible world we did a week ago. The only difference is that USA T-shirt sales will go up and Obama can be liked by all for a few minutes.

To Scream or Not To Scream...4

No this isn't me debating whether or not I should see the newest entry in the Scream franchise. Been there done that. In fact, I've done that twice now. One paid for and one not so much. So you can definitely say that I enjoyed it (though I've done that with movies I didn't like either, out of morbid curiosity). I'm actually having trouble writing a review for it.

I'm not quite sure why. As stated above, I really liked the movie but for some reason I don't think that I've watched it well enough in order to fairly review it. No matter how much I watch it, I don't even think of the filmmaking process. I just sit back and enjoy the movie. I can't state enough how much this NEVER happens to me. Sometimes on a first viewing I'll find myself being lost in the movie for a little bit, but that'll cease and I'll think "I love that shot. I wonder how long it took to get that." It's the filmmaker inside me. I just can't turn it off.

Yet for some reason, this movie helps. And so I find myself not even able to properly review the film. Maybe after another viewing (a non-cam one hopefully) I can get my reviewer cap on and type up a kickass review. But as of now, since I don't want to half-ass it, I'm just going to leave it be.

Sex isn't Sexism

Today my sociology class watched a video about sexism in advertising. The video itself was clouded with both truths and invalid opinion, most of which I figured my peers of intelligent college enrolled classmates could differentiate between. In the post-video discussion it was obvious they could not.

Some had solid footing in that they could claim sexism on most of the arguments but that only goes so far. Where was the blaming on ourselves? On our own biologically given (or God-given based on your beliefs) sexual tendencies?

Some claimed, as was also said in the video, that the media uses advertising to display images (Super-model bodies) that very few people can accomplish. So by that argument, we are being forced to see that as the ultimate sexual attraction and that if these perfect figures weren’t forced down our throat with advertising, we wouldn’t have such “unrealistic” standards. Really? So it has nothing to do with that fact that we as humans are biologically made to find those forms attractive?

Several studies have been done to show how symmetrics work with the human mind. The same person can be viewed completely different depending on the change of one minor detail, all related to the symmetry of their face. There is a mathematical equation for “perfection” and while I don’t remember it off the top of my head, studies have shown that it’s as close as possible to proving a set attraction. So no, we don’t think your cousin with the lopsided face is unattractive due to the media telling us so, we think she is because our brains are like giant computers and we like symmetry.

Also, do people need to be reminded that the love of huge breasts goes all the way back to cave man times? It’s genetically sound. A woman with big breasts will adequately supply their young with milk therefore we have an attraction for it. As with animals, it’s survival of the fittest. We look for attractiveness and what will help to keep our lineage going. It’s simple evolution.

Am I saying that advertisements aren’t sexist? Not at all. There are several very sexist advertisements out there, but there’s a fine line between sexism and good business. Sexism by definition is the inequality of sex and gender. Do I see that when I see a girl posing scantily in a magazine ad? Sometimes but certainly not a majority of the time. If anything they have more power than the males (and some women) who are oogling at them.

Some say that the “innocence” on display in the ads are meant to be demeaning and show the girls as weak. Really? Because what I see is a sexy girl biting her lip and pushing up her cleavage, it’s clear she knows she has every guy looking at her by her finger. Girls mimic this and torment guy after guy as they make their venture through life. I know because it’s happened to me. The girls I know that do this aren’t weak; in fact, they’re the exact opposite.

Now, again, I’m not saying that this is the case with all ads. Some are sick and clearly demean women. But to categorize any ad with a beautiful woman as being sexist is absolutely absurd. People like sex; plain and simple.

Only took three years but...

I have finally finished Spiderman: Web of Shadows. For those of you that don't know, it's a game for the XBOX 360 and it came out forever ago. I got it as a Christmas gift 3 X-mas' ago yet I hadn't even come close to finishing. So finally, 2 years 4 months and 6 days later, I have completed it. Being that the first half of the game was completed two years prior to finishing the second half, my memory is foggy on it so I can see myself revisiting this much sooner than later. Since I took the Red path (good guy) I'll probably take the Black suit path next time. It changes the ending so that'll be interesting. In fact, I think there are several endings.

Earlier in the day I had beaten Red Dead Redemption, a game I've owned since last May. That means it's been nearly a year from start to finish. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. The game was pretty enjoyable and one I can see myself revisiting far down the road. For those that don't want any spoilers on the game then skip the remainder of this paragraph. The ending was quite great though one of my idiot friends spoiled it for me so I'm curious as to how it would be without prior knowledge. Even knowing what was going to happen it was quite shocking to see. Also a tad annoying since I know I could have killed those guys by just going around the side of the barn. But I understand that it had to be done. Pretty epic ending if you ask me. Hopefully they do a sequel and soon. Screw LA Noire and GTA, I want me some Red Dead!

This lack of finishing games has been a pretty common occurrence for me when it comes to practically anything. I like the beginning of things, but I'm not a huge fan of the end. Some may consider it a character flaw but I see it as one of the many things that makes me human.

Also, I'm just really lazy.

Reasons for Delay

As a followup to my previous post, I thought I'd look at the reasons why I have such trouble finishing shows. Now, this problem carries over into both movies, tv, and well...pretty much everything but I'm just going to focus on TV.

If you'll notice, a majority of the shows I had listed previously are dramas. This tends to make it rather hard to just breeze through a couple episodes in one sitting. They pack an emotional punch, and deal with real world problems. This makes them a lot harder to watch than a comedy like Arrested Development where it's non-stop wit and hilarity. Shows like that may affect your mood, but in a positive way. They'll leave you laughing and smiling (mostly) but not so when it comes to dramas.

Another factor is time. Each of these shows is 42-55 minutes in length. That's quite a difference compared to the usual 22 minutes that a standard comedy will run. So, 2 hours will go by and I'm only through 3 episodes. That lack of progress can be disheartening and make it harder to continue. Comedies on the other hand, that's almost an entire disc of episodes done. Being human, I like progress. I feel good about completion. So it's obvious as to why one would be more appealing than the other.

Being that I'm a big multi-tasker and like to play video games/surf the internet when I watch TV, it's harder to do that while watching a drama. There's a lot to be invested in a new show in general, and even moreso with these complex dramas. So putting on a previously seen 20 minute comedy is the easy route and one I often take.

I would say my ways are gonna change but I doubt it. Of the TV shows I own, I would say the ratio of watching between comedies and dramas is 10:1. They're just easier. I hardly go back to watching a dramatic television show a second time through because it really is such an investment. And there I go using that word again. Clearly I'm losing my mind and can't come up with new words so that's where I'll leave this entry.

My Terrible TV Watching

I have a new goal: Blog more. I've had a bit of writer's block lately and I can't seem to figure out why. So I figure what better way to combat that then to pour all my random incoherent thoughts out onto the interwebz in blog form. That way I can attempt to write more and not be constricted by the barriers of storytelling.

Lately I have been watching TV shows again. A lot of TV shows. I'll try to watch a few episodes a day but there's one problem: I'm currently alternately between 6. I'll go on spurts of watching a certain show, then switch for no apparent reason. It's very inconvenient and it means it takes me forever to even finish a season (unless it's Eastbound and Down which I can finish in a weekend). So here is a list of all the shows I've been watching and a few thoughts on them.

Big Love - I recently got all 5 seasons of this show on my computer and I can't believe it's taken me so long to watch it. The series finale aired just days after I watched the pilot. So, needless to say, I've been a little behind. Rarely has a show caused me to change my views but this has caused me to see the bad rap that polygamy gets. Not everyone is like how we see on TV and while I couldn't EVER see myself doing it, I don't have a problem with it. I've always been of the belief that you must do what makes you happy, so people just need to get over themselves.

Friday Night Lights - The fifth and final season of FNL is one of the few shows that I'm confident in saying that I'll be done with in a couple days. It's just that good. Not that the other shows are not, but this is good in a feel good kind of way, which isn't always the case with the other shows. Dark dramas are sometimes hard to watch back to back cause it really does affect your mood. This is not the case. The characters are just too good that you just want to see what they're going to do next. The uplifting moments are good enough that they can leave you happy for days. I can't speak enough of it's praise. Which, being that this is the final season, I'm sure I'll be shedding a tear or two come the final episode.

Dexter - I've been halfway done with S5 of Dexter since December and for some reason I just can't seem to finish it. It's not out of lack of interest; this season has been absolutely phenomenal. Julia Styles never really impressed me before but she does a great job. This may be the season that gets Michael C Hall an Emmy (seeing as how clear winner Bryan Cranston is ineligible this year) and I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He's been doing a phenomenal job. Not sure how much mileage the show has but as of now it's remaining fresh and interesting. Hopefully they end it before it jumps the shark.

Boardwalk Empire - I have only seen the first episode of this show but have the entire season. I'm hoping to finish it but this is the only show out of all the shows here that I am not really interested in. I've heard it gets a lot better but seeing as how I have so many other great things to watch, I doubt I'll be going to this right away. However, I'm glad to see that Omar is still getting work. If anything, this just anticipates my next show:

The Wire - Only two seasons into this gem and I already see it as one of the greatest television shows of all time. It's absolutely fantastic in all regards. Makes me feel as though I'm watching a documentary. One of the few shows I can completely lose myself in. Unfortunately I only have access to it over breaks since the DVD's are my dads. So with summer looming, I'll finally be able to (hopefully) get up to at least S4. I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up in my top 5 shows of all time by the end.

Dollhouse - I was only 6 episodes away from completing the series only a few months ago yet I've made no new progress. And that's solely due to the fact that it's just so good that I don't want it to end. I also made the decision that I was sick of watching it on Netflix and wanted to finish it up on Blu-Ray for S2. So I'll finally finish the show whenever they drop the ridiculous price tag (here's hoping for an Amazon Deal of the Day at some point).

Reaper - A CW show? On a list of all these high caliber shows? I'm just as surprised as you but it absolutely deserves to be. It's unlike any of the other tripe on the network. This show has an interesting story, great characters, and actually some good actors. These feats can't be boasted by ANY other CW show so I can see why it would be getting a bad rep. The show itself defies those low values and could easily fit in with other great comedies on TV. Tyler Labine and Ray Wise are two classic characters that can carry the show through anything. There's only two seasons and I'm halfway through one, so hopefully I can catch up soon.

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