I'm debating on whether or not to discuss the p word here because politics make people ugly. I'm just going to make one point that bashes everyone.
The main problem with American Politics is complacency and the fear of change too soon. Those are two things, but they go hand in hand.
(And no I'm not going to go all Barack on you because I said change.)
I have no idea if the same issue occurs with our friends across the pond, but American politics are limited from ever really get things done because of these two things.
When problems arise, as they always do, Congress (the opposite of progress) springs into action. Though springs is more like crawls. If you read a news magazine, you may see that it touts some whistleblower article on some major issue. If you read it and Congress is mentioned, the author usually gives a date of when the passed bill on whatever goes fully into effect. That date is usually in 15 years.
Fuel efficiency in cars, for example. The United States has some of the lowest efficiency standards in the world, behind China even. And so, the state of California, in all its progressive wonder, decided to motion for a bill raising the state efficiency requirements to that above the federal level. Of course, the automakers and their politican lackeys raised a big fuss. The bill was shot down, which would've eased standards to a level below China's current level by 2012. Now that's a start, but that's just the problem.
It's only a start.
The lawmakers in this country are afraid to make things happen now. I'm not saying everything should happen instantly, for a few things, easing is the only way to prevent disaster. But on some of the most trivial things, we have to wait 10 years for it to take effect, almost surely when a similar problem will arise that makes that band-aid useless. The complacency of the American people (which had a prime example until recently in gas prices), coupled with the lawmakers' fears of not being reelected because they did too much too fast that hurt a little causes things to seemingly never get done.
If Capitol Hill were full of Napoleons, however, that wouldn't be an issue. Nuclear war would be.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Hello...hello...hello...
Wow. Five months. Way to be committed.
To the nonexistent audiences who care, I'll try to keep up with this, which means I'll forget eventually.
But as I compare my meager blog to that of semi-famous and even famous bloggers or vloggers, I have come to realize a trend.
With Youtube now a staple in pop culture and places like Blogger sitting here for the common man to speak his mind, it's entirely feasible for a nobody to become an Internet icon. LisaNova, Smosh, sxephil, Fred, Perez Hilton.
And even though they have good intentions, and at the beginning they think of themselves as normal people, their creativity will eventually turn them into a celebrity. Two of my favorite vloggers, vlogbrothers and Davey Wavey, are prime examples.
Vlogbrothers: On January 1st, 2007, these two brothers were nothing on Youtube. They began an incredibly creative project in which they only talked via vlogs, no text allowed for one year. At the beginning, nobody watched (I recall Hank saying that their first watcher was discovered around late January). By December (which is when I started watching), they had gained, organized, and labelled a following dubbed Nerdfighters. So the year is over, no more project? Well, they continued with the vlogging, got a ning site , and soon an entire community formed, with the co-leaders of the Green brothers.
At this point they had visibly created a rift. Soon, among the throng of projects, contacting either brother became almost impossible. John Green soon had an auto-response email when the address at his personal site was contacted. And even though obvious nerdfigther contributions were being made in the form of collab videos, there still existed over 10,000 followers whose voices couldn't possibly be heard. There were simply too many fans for these two men.
(http://www.nerdfighters.com http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers)
Davey Wavey: A blog written by a very optimistic gay man who chooses to wear very little clothing. He began just as I am now, writing merely to "document my own journey". Soon his blog turned into a vlog, and all it took was a simple tag on one of his videos for his fame to skyrocket. The word "masturbating" suddenly gave Dave an entirely new, and perverted, audience.
He seems to not have changed at all. He still posts short notes about "creating your own universe", long posts about life, "talky blogs" for him to discuss issues. He also askes viewers to "ask me questions". In the past year, this request has brought more and more responses. It's not uncommon to see 200 comments below, asking the most painful and emotional questions imaginable and others about his "size". But the real face of Mr. Davey is shown in the "contact" tab of his site. He gives the "cannot respond to all emails" disclaimer. His advice vlogs answer only about 15-20 questions apiece. It is obvious that the man has reached his limit, and I would be a fool to ask him for any more.
Now his nature would make someone believe that he would never let this fame get to his head. And at face value, it hasn't. Yet the subtle pictures of a partially nude Dave smiling cheerfully in front of his apartment window, a sarcastic post about his dog that ends up with a picture of a Canadian friend unconcious in his bed, and a montage of him dancing in his skivvies show that he has realized his fame, and there's no turning back.
(http://www.breaktheillusion.com)
So WHAT am I blabbering about?
My point is...
Creative people who use Youtube and Blogger are entirely vulnerable to the unfortunate status of popular icon just by having people like them.
The Cycle:
1) Normal Indie Artist
2) Growing Internet Presence
3) Impersonal Internet Phenomenon
4) Waning Cultural Icon
5) A Memory
To the nonexistent audiences who care, I'll try to keep up with this, which means I'll forget eventually.
But as I compare my meager blog to that of semi-famous and even famous bloggers or vloggers, I have come to realize a trend.
With Youtube now a staple in pop culture and places like Blogger sitting here for the common man to speak his mind, it's entirely feasible for a nobody to become an Internet icon. LisaNova, Smosh, sxephil, Fred, Perez Hilton.
And even though they have good intentions, and at the beginning they think of themselves as normal people, their creativity will eventually turn them into a celebrity. Two of my favorite vloggers, vlogbrothers and Davey Wavey, are prime examples.
Vlogbrothers: On January 1st, 2007, these two brothers were nothing on Youtube. They began an incredibly creative project in which they only talked via vlogs, no text allowed for one year. At the beginning, nobody watched (I recall Hank saying that their first watcher was discovered around late January). By December (which is when I started watching), they had gained, organized, and labelled a following dubbed Nerdfighters. So the year is over, no more project? Well, they continued with the vlogging, got a ning site , and soon an entire community formed, with the co-leaders of the Green brothers.
At this point they had visibly created a rift. Soon, among the throng of projects, contacting either brother became almost impossible. John Green soon had an auto-response email when the address at his personal site was contacted. And even though obvious nerdfigther contributions were being made in the form of collab videos, there still existed over 10,000 followers whose voices couldn't possibly be heard. There were simply too many fans for these two men.
(http://www.nerdfighters.com http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers)
Davey Wavey: A blog written by a very optimistic gay man who chooses to wear very little clothing. He began just as I am now, writing merely to "document my own journey". Soon his blog turned into a vlog, and all it took was a simple tag on one of his videos for his fame to skyrocket. The word "masturbating" suddenly gave Dave an entirely new, and perverted, audience.
He seems to not have changed at all. He still posts short notes about "creating your own universe", long posts about life, "talky blogs" for him to discuss issues. He also askes viewers to "ask me questions". In the past year, this request has brought more and more responses. It's not uncommon to see 200 comments below, asking the most painful and emotional questions imaginable and others about his "size". But the real face of Mr. Davey is shown in the "contact" tab of his site. He gives the "cannot respond to all emails" disclaimer. His advice vlogs answer only about 15-20 questions apiece. It is obvious that the man has reached his limit, and I would be a fool to ask him for any more.
Now his nature would make someone believe that he would never let this fame get to his head. And at face value, it hasn't. Yet the subtle pictures of a partially nude Dave smiling cheerfully in front of his apartment window, a sarcastic post about his dog that ends up with a picture of a Canadian friend unconcious in his bed, and a montage of him dancing in his skivvies show that he has realized his fame, and there's no turning back.
(http://www.breaktheillusion.com)
So WHAT am I blabbering about?
My point is...
Creative people who use Youtube and Blogger are entirely vulnerable to the unfortunate status of popular icon just by having people like them.
The Cycle:
1) Normal Indie Artist
2) Growing Internet Presence
3) Impersonal Internet Phenomenon
4) Waning Cultural Icon
5) A Memory
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