"The Notebook" Muses

So I recently watched "The Notebook", and yes, it is almost 2012.
Here are some things I found interesting.

- true love always begins with parental disapproval
- doing something silly, like staring at traffic lights, will lead to love
- the staff in modern old people's homes are still entirely African-American
- if you annoy, aggravate, and frighten a girl enough, she will eventually go out with you
- all intimidating fathers have mustaches
- attempting to reverse your lovers dementia by reading her a book will lead to sudden death
- all real love involves writing letters
- long shots of birds flying in the distance is a reliable default ending
- a sudden rain storm is a definite per-cursor to sex (see poster)

Please leave a comment and feel free to enlighten the world with your own personal muses!

SNEAK PEEK: Radiohead (live From The Basement)

Here's a special sneak peek preview of the highly anticipated "live from the Basement" special which will be broadcast by BBC beginning July 1. It will be a 55-minute long recording of their album "The King of Limbs," which will also include songs not on the LP, such as "Staircase" that's shown in the video.

Other songs rumored to be performed are "Supercollider" and "The Butcher" which were both released as singles as part of Record Store Day 2011.

I'm really, really looking forward to "live from the Basement," especially following the success of their previous program with "In Rainbows" using the same format. It's a truly special performance because of its' intimacy; no host or audience members - just the band doing what they do best. Let's hope Thom brings his dance moves!

Ryan Dunn - First "Jackass" Fatality

Here is a video of the late "Jackass" star, Ryan Dunn, chugging a bottle of tequila in front of a live audience. Dunn died this morning in a terrible car accident where he lost control driving his Porsche, hit a couple of trees, where his car consequently lit up in flames. The other passenger also died. Just a few hours before the accident, he had posted a picture of him and his buddies having drinks at a bar. It's not too difficult to connect the dots here.

Dunn was one of the stars of "Jackass", an MTV show that centered around a couple of guys doing extremely stupid and outrageous stunts. He was best known for shoving a "toy car up his rectum", as quoted in an obituary found online.

Celebrities have not kept quiet about this. Most of them are sympathetic, and are sending prayers. But some, like film critic Roger Ebert, are using this incident to bring light to a broader issue; drunk driving. Ebert wrote on his Twitter account, "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive."

Others think its too soon for those kind of comments, primarily celeb blogger Perez Hilton. He dedicated a post to Ebert's Tweet, "We think there's no reason that anyone should be pointing fingers or poking fun at a truly tragic situation. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is somebody's son. Too soon, Roger."

Perez's fans don't think so. One responded with, "Totally true statement, I don't see anything wrong with it." Another writes, "It wasn't just Ryan who died, the dude actually killed someone, so stupid!"

There is actually a rumor going around cyberspace saying that his death is a prank for an upcoming movie. If it's true, that would be a sick and disgusting antic, but would anyone be surprised coming from the Jackass star? People have been saying on Twitter, "RIP, you were my hero!".......really? A guy who consciously hurts himself and others has become a model for living? Again, the standards of this society should be questioned.

So what it boils down to is an issue of respect. This guy was someone's friend, son, brother, cousin, and he died in a violent accident at the age of 34. But he also drank an entire bottle of Tequila for entertainment, rolled down rooftops, and jumped in front of cars.

Did he have it coming?
What do you think?

America Loves Weiner

Here's the video of Congressman Weiner resigning today. It gets pretty funny in the middle when a heckler yells out, "Was it 7 inches?"

For the past few weeks, Congressman Weiner's weiner has been in the spotlight in America. He sent pictures of his privates to a girl on Twitter, proceeded to say that his account had been hacked, and ultimately confessed that it was him. This was followed by the release of other photos of Weiner that he had sent to additional women. The photos were of Weiner's body taken in a Congressional gym (I wonder how many dirty things happen in there).

From the get-go, Weiner said he is not going to resign. Obama initially didn't condone it either, but the story got so popular and mainstream, that he later deemed it as a major "distraction" and called for his resignation. He resigned today.

But here's the thing....America NEEDS distractions. We strive off of them. So many politicians have been in the center of sex scandals that have constantly made headlines. Doesn't our government have the power to prohibit the public release of these stories? Can't they only exist among the few people involved, including a secret resignation? You can say that these stories are just examples of transparency that the government tries to practice, but why is sex scandal transparency given priority over war, oil prices, or things that should actually matter?

We live in a country where people can name all eight members of the Kardashian Family, but not the name of our Vice President. So Congressman Weiner, thanks for contributing an adult "sexting" story that we can all be distracted by, your country thanks you.

Tracy Morgan; Moral Compass or Comic?

"What did one tomato say to the other as they were rolling down the hill? Go ahead, I'll ketchup!"
"Why did the football coach go to the bank? To get his quarterback."

Now let me ask you, would you ever pay $20 to see a comedian at the Improv say these jokes? No, because they are not racist, sexist, or homophobic (and that's the truth).

Tracy Morgan recently said that if his son were gay, he'd stab him with a knife, and that women should be in the kitchen cooking rather than becoming CEOs. Michael Richards told his security to get rid of the "niggers" in the audience during his well-documented rant. Although these statements took place in the context of a comic routine, these specific instances have been repeatedly highlighted within mainstream media, carrying the heavy power to completely destroy the comedians reputation while consequently ending their careers.

Yeah, they might have been on the extreme side, but that's what comedians do. Their content revolves around making fun of the world we live in, which includes different races, genders, and sexualities. After a long day at work, people want to kick back and see some guy talk about something NOT politically correct, something that might be on their own mind but obviously not expressed for societal reasons.

In the wake of Morgan's recent scandal, does he deserve to be treated by the media with statements like "anti-Gay tirade," "homophobic rant," or "violent and disturbing"? If we're following these standards and protocols, shouldn't every comedian be put under the spotlight after every act?

Here are similar jokes by comics that probably didn't make it to the 5-o'clock news.
Carlos Mencia: "It's never a good idea to sit next to KHHKH on an airplane. Those fuckers hate us, and if you see a KHHKH flying the plane, don't be surprised if he comes on the intercom and says the planes going to fly into a building...it's what they do!"
Dane Cook: "I was swerving in my lane and as I was stopped at the red light, the guy tells me 'can you please not swerve anymore?', but if he was black he'd say, 'stop that motherfucker!"
Sarah Silverman: "I was raped by a doctor, which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl."

Ultimately, you can't punish Richards if you're not gonna punish douchebag Dane for his (unfunny) jokes against black people. And if you're looking at a comedian to act as your moral compass, do our society a favor and move to Canada.

Starbucks, Stop the Abuse.

John Proctor from The Crucible once said, "How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"

He was actually yelling at a Starbucks barista.

You can say that a name isn't that important. It it just a label placed on someone upon birth to merely differentiate from the other kids in the playground. But the majority of people would disagree; a name has a much more meaningful purpose, to define the roots, history, and disposition of the said individual. And if this name were to be tampered with any way, the identity would ultimately be tampered as well.

Then I come into the picture; an Armenian with Lebanese and Russian roots, born in America. My parents must've thought that they were still living in ancient Anatolia when they dubbed me "Mhair Karnik Zeitounian." (each name has an elaborate explanation that traces down my family tree) Albeit, I can boast about my uniquely rich name to David Jones standing next to me at the cash register, but David has to say his name once, and David will never be mispronounced, misspelled, or completely butchered.

That's when my identity takes temporary beatings. I've heard it all; Maher, Muhair, Mair, Myhair, and Morehair. My favorite interpretation came during my graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California, where just as I was about to be rewarded for my four years of hard work and dedication, I proceed to be publicly called "MOOhair."

Yes, the temptation is there. When the Starbucks barista asks for my name, I wanna say Mike, Tom, or Rob to save themselves and myself time to correctly spell a five letter name. But I don't. I stop and remind myself that I'm practically an alien compared to Billy behind me, and that awkward thought actually makes me happy. I'm proud with who I am, and how my people come from distant lands with history so rich it couldn't even compare to the United States.

Yep, I just wasted two minutes because I corrected the barista in spelling my name, and yep they still managed to get it wrong. But at the end of the day, my name is the only thing that's not going to change throughout my entire lifetime, and I'm not changing that for anyone.

How Social Media Influences Self Worth

A few decades ago, your status was determined by the size of your house or by the type of car you drove. This status is now dominated by your online presence.

Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, are shaping people's streams of confidence and self-worth. With tools such as "commenting" people's pictures, or "liking" someone's wall post, users are increasingly seeking gratification from such reaction on their social media profiles.

It's as simple as this: Grace gets a brand-spankin' new hairdo, and posts a picture of her new hair. Instead of seeking opinions from a few family and friends like previously, Grace's new haircut is now being judged by her entire friend's list; a list that includes childhood friends, coworkers or teachers, and mere acquaintances. With every "notification" that she gets regarding this picture, she can either feel great about her haircut or think it's extremely lousy based off her so called "friends" reactions; so she stays glued to her Facebook page to help give her a reaffirmation of her haircut.

Besides just appearances, more serious matters are being judged, such as intellect and professional experience. Where you got your education, which company you are currently employed at, and even your interests in entertainment comprise your complete online presence. This presence becomes the cyber version of yourself, and stays in cyberspace to be constantly perused, accidentally encountered, and ultimately judged.

Social status has also evolved due to the digitization of one's network. People you connect with on Facebook are called "friends," and people who want to read your tweets on Twitter are known as "followers." The makers of these media are smart in choosing their words; using friends & followers to indicate a social media presence adds a level of competition among these sites that will drives the number of unique users skyward. It has evolved from the high school group of "cool kids" to the tech geek on Twitter who has followers from all seven continents.

With all of these devices utilized in social media, is it no wonder that younger generations are almost addicted to Facebook and Twitter. Once the major source of self gratification and self worth is achieved through the number of comments one gets on a picture or the multitude of "retweets" on Twitter, why would these users even worry about the size of their house? Social media has created a cheap thrill in reaffirmation by constantly nurturing a pseudo social identity, and as long as the world keeps going in a more digitized platform, serious identity issues become the inevitable.