Something you are doing right now is killing you, tune in later for details.

As many of you may be doing right now, I have been watching the Olympics the last week or so. Sure, I'm not a sports fan most the time, but who can look away when a 22 year old man with 6 knee surgeries under his belt is flying down a mountain at 65 mph? I also think viewing them is doing my American duty to consume and support our economy. My happy consumption has been distracted though by, of all things, commercials! Specifically news spots trying to seduce me into watching their 10 PM broadcast. I hate local news and never watch it unless Im visiting my parents and am only the co-copilot of the remote. Since I never really watch the major networks I have never really concentrated on the siren song of news promo spots that are inserted throughout prime time.
But.... they speak to our society and it's curiosity, fear, and short attention spans. Yes I am often critical of people in general and the American public specifically, yet I include myself in this news seduced group. I have almost unwillingly watched the news for two days in a row to satisfy the curiosity sparked by commercials. Sad. But how can I resist when the ad (yes this is a real one from the other night) says something like "There are thousands of barrels of nuclear waste in Utah's Tooele landfill run by Energy Solutions, but are they safe? We'll tell you at 10." Uhhh yes, I would appreciate knowing if tons of nuclear material stored miles from my home is safe.

But really isn't this indicative of the way our society works? Everything is a danger, conspiracy, or shocking scandal. Local news is "sex, violence, and the weather". To borrow and spice up a movie line: "A prostitute was shot dead in the middle of a hurricane today... but could this be happening in your neighborhood threatening your kids? We will tell you if your children are at risk of prostitutes, STD's, and gun violence tonight at 10" This would scare most folks enough to look online and they would find out that Obama prayed to his heathen god to cause the hurricane and recently proposed a bill to use 1.6 trillion of their tax dollars to force prostitutes and abortions on 11 year olds.
Of course those things are not true but they make a great headline and that's what counts these days. My real question is "is this what people really want?". Or is it just human nature against human nature like the Wal-mart effect, two groups using self-interest against each other. Do I really want to fear everything I do and touch? My personal answer is no! I resent the news ad and the republican party using "questions" as statements to scare me. "Does Obama hate America?" is not a legit question. It is meant to imply he really does. "...But is it safe?" isnt actually meant to inspire me to research a drug's safety study. It is meant to scare me and get that brain chemistry charged for a fight because we all kinda like that pumped up feeling.
~sigh~ Which means... Yes it is what the people want. Deep down we want to be be scared (skydiving and horror movies on a tiny but daily scale). Why else would that 22 year old throw himself down the ski mountain at highway speeds when he clearly knows it's a bad idea?
We come full circle. The Olympics that caused me to be pissed off ended up answering my questions and giving me that little charge of excitement in doing so.
And by the way, the nuclear story ended up being a worthless way to get me to watch. I'm safe.... or am I? I'll tell Sunday at 10.

I enter the murkey depths of cyberspace!

Well, I have decided to start a blog! After all, what kind of hip and tech-savvy 25 year old does not have a place online he can brag, rant, pout, sell himself, and scramble for self-validation by soliciting comments? Blogging for me is like screaming into an unknown microphone.... you have no clue who, if anyone, will hear what you are saying of if this thing is even on ~tap tap~. My screaming into this microphone is not exclusively for others to hear. Like the homeless man on a park bench talking to the pigeon, my blog is for me to say what I'm thinking to myself..... and solicit comments from others. I will not be asking the pigeon where he got that piece of cheese.
This blog will have posts about me, my boring life, family, friends, politics, religion, media, healthcare, dating, and maybe a margarita recipe.
So Join up! You have nothing to lose but your valuable time.