Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Write your own "Twilight"

TwilightIf you've ever thought about writing a supernatural novel, whether it's about vampires, demons, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, or aliens, now is the time to do it.

With the huge success of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, publishers and (especially teen) readers are getting sucked in to the genre.

Personally, I love vampire stories; for some reason they've always fascinated me. But my criticism of most (mainstream) vampire books and movies is that they're not scary; they're love stories, or at least strories about seduction.

Usually the vampires are sexy, mysterious, sometimes kind-hearted, and mostly men. (I'm thinking of Angel from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, Louis from Interview with the Vampire, Lestat from Queen of the Damned, and of course, the newest blood-sucking charmer from Twilight.)

30 Days of NightAs much as I didn't like 30 Days of Night, I think they had the scariest vampires yet, not only because of their black hollow eyes and pointy blood-stained teeth, but because of their unconventional anti-Prince Charming behaviour.

Do we really need another version of The Perfect Guy to compare to the not-so-perfect guys out there? (No offense to all the guys, but seriously, no one's that perfect.)

Give me something to be scared of!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Another Documentary: America's Most Hated Family

Shirley PhelpsWARNING: The following contains foul language and very bizarre thinking. May also cause outrage.


I really don't want to give these people any more exposure than they’ve already had, but since this blog is all about lunacy and things that I find just plain nuts, I can’t resist.

About 2 years ago the BBC did a really, um, interesting documentary on a religious cult that's become America's most hated family - at least that's the title of it.

They're known for protesting the funerals of AIDS victims, murdered Amish children, and soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to name a few, by holding signs and screaming, “Soldiers are fags,” “God hates fags/soldiers/Muslims/Jews,” and “Thank God for dead soldiers." And they're still at it today.

They also call themselves Christian. No, sorry, the only true Christians.

The mother, Shirley Phelps-Roper (crazy lady extraordinaire), even has the smallest of her 11 children saying those things and waving signs...and they don’t even know what they mean! Obviously Crazy Lady doesn’t even know what she’s talking about. (She’s crazy after all). There's definitely some serious brainwashing going on there.

Their entire belief system, or whatever you want to call it, is just another case of I’m right and you’re wrong, with absolutely no intelligent (or even slightly human)things being said – aside from Louis Theroux piping in with Reason and all the passersby flipping them off.


This is just part 1/8, but I promise there isn’t a dull moment.




(Image: NowPublic.com)

Watch This: Canadian in Afghanistan

In my last post, “Make Jobs, Not War,” I mentioned that I know some people who have fought in Iraq. One of them is a guy I went to middle school with named Glen Villa. (And he was actually in Afghanistan. Sorry for the mix-up.)

While flipping through channels one day back in January, I saw Glen in a CBC documentary, "Fighting Ghosts,” which showed clips of his video journal from Afghanistan.

But what I remember most about that broadcast when it actually aired – I mean, besides the scary horrible realness of the footage – was that at the end, Peter Mansbridge said the military wasn’t exactly upset with Glen for sharing his experiences, but asked him not to speak to the news media anymore.

Pshh! If anything, this is what the news media should be showing. But since it’s “not allowed” or whatever (*cough bull@#$% cough*) there’s no reason I can’t post it here.

It’s really good and I want to encourage everyone to watch it!

Part 1


Part 2

Monday, March 9, 2009

Make Jobs, Not War

graduation cartoon
I found this cartoon a while ago, and I just kept it bookmarked. But I think now would be a good time to use it.

Like the guy in the cartoon, I’m about to graduate. But it just so happens there’s a recession going on. And it just so happens I want a career that’s not in demand and already pays pretty crappy.

But my fear of graduating after spending $20,000 and countless hours studying and overcoming last-minute project panic attacks, oh, and not finding a job after all that, isn’t the entire point of this post. As the cartoon suggests, this has something to do with war.

I’m going to say something "daring" now. Ready?
Unemployment in the US is the highest it’s been in 25 years because of a certain $3 trillion war (for the most part).

$3 trillion?! I don’t even know what that means. That’s like 12 zeros with a 3 on the end.
Now here I go attempting to do math: $3 trillion + 1 big war – nearly 100,000 lives = 1 giant mistake.


Support Our TroopsWhen I showed my mom this cartoon, she thought it might be offensive to soldiers. That’s not what I’m saying here. I know people who have fought in Iraq, and people who still are, so I’m definitely not trying to insult them (or anyone else who’s risked or given their lives for that matter).

My own personal turmoil aside, and that of the thousands of unemployed Canadians (which still isn't that bad considering), wouldn’t it really suck to go to war in a foreign country, get shot at, see your friends get injured or killed, only to come home and not be able to find a job?

It’s almost like history keeps repeating itself…

Sunday, March 8, 2009

How to be Green (spoof)

If you don’t know the environment is in trouble, you must be living in a cave. If you’ve seen The Day After Tomorrow and weren’t scared out of your mind, you must not be human. For those who were, you know what will happen if we don’t change our ways.

Tidal waves will take out the most popular American cities; Canada will instantly be covered in snow; the only people who will survive will be rich, powerful, celebrities. Don't give them the satisfaction!

Follow these green tips and you can hold off environmental collapse, at least until the end of your lifetime.

1. Don’t Drive...Less

Even though most major highways now have carpool lanes, you can still be environmentally- friendly when driving alone. First of all, keep your speed above 100 km/hour – the faster you drive, the faster you’ll get where you want to go, and the less gas you’ll use.

Secondly, if you're planning to buy a car, a fuel-efficient one is a smart choice. It may be less expensive and less polluting to take a bus, but let’s face it, a hybrid is just more convenient (and you don’t have to worry about sitting on someone else’s gum).

Besides, cow farts are the primary cause of methane gas pollution anyway, and that’s hardly your fault. In fact, by 2040, the government plans to harness methane gas as an alternative fuel, or at least utilize it for wind power.

2. Don’t let it Mellow

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.” This is a fool’s motto. Letting things “mellow” means that extra-dirty toilet water is being flushed into our lakes and rivers, which are becoming increasingly crappier.

As a result of this scarcity of clean water, many cities have designated water use restrictions; however, if you don’t want to risk your beautiful rosebushes to dehydration, you can still be green by watering your plants with a watering can filled with tap water instead of a hose. Your neighbours won’t even know. Plus, roses are part of the environment too.

3. Don’t Donate

We all know that newspapers, pop cans, and water bottles are recyclable. But more and more people are starting to recycle their old clothes, furniture, books, and electronics by donating them with the belief that they're creating less waste.

In reality, when you donate your old possessions, you’re just wasting gas in order to get there. Also, people who buy what you decided was too good for you will likely wash them before use, thereby wasting water as well. The landfills aren’t getting any smaller, so what’s another pair of socks or entire living room set?

4. Don’t Flick Off

Sadly, there is no way to conserve electricity. We always have something on: the television, the computer, the lights, the razor, the washing machine, the dryer, the hair straightener, the refrigerator, the microwave, the coffee-maker, the vacuum, the cell phone charger, the blow dryer, the PlayStation, the air purifier, street lamps, some vehicles, McDonald’s golden arches, highway billboards, and office building lights, photocopiers, fax machines, and of course, the logo on the outside.

There's really no avoiding it, so just take advantage of electricity while you still can.


And remember: Don’t stop buying. Just buy green.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Queen: Dinosaur or Dinosauroid?

Dinosauroid QueenIn my post, “Human Rights Can be Funny Too,” I mentioned conspiracy theorist David Icke.

For those who aren’t familiar with Icke’s work, he’s pretty much famous for spreading the idea that the world is being controlled by a secret society called the Illuminati, which he believes is comprised of reptilian-humanoids (a term that can also be substituted with Snakepeople, Reptoids, Lizardfolk, Lizard People, or the lamest of the bunch, Dinosauroids).

Icke claims that George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Hillary Clinton, and Tony Blair are just a few members of this scaly clan.

This sounds crazy, I know. Like something right out of The X-Files. (Actually, I’m pretty sure the overarching plot of the super amazing show that should have never ended was based on this theory.)

But I found this video on kindastrange.net, my new go-to for paranormal news, which actually makes the whole Icke-reptoid thing seem more convincing. It talks about the different cultures around the world that believe humans are descended from, and even created by, reptiles.

Strange thing is, the only places that don’t have these beliefs are places where the government and Church have dominated knowledge and understanding. (Oh, so that’s why it sounds so insane!)



As if the evidence against our leaders being human couldn’t be any more damning.


By the by, you can get your own Dinosauroid Queen paraphernalia at Teach the Controversy.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

YouTube, ITube, WeAllTube: Response to An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

An Anthropological Introduction to YouTubeWhenever I tell people I’m in MIT (Media, Information, and Technoculture), they always ask, “What do you do? Watch movies in class?” And when I say, “yeah, sometimes,” they give me this disappoint head shake, as if that’s nothing. As if what we’re doing doesn’t matter, or is so easy and fun that it’s completely pointless.

This is not the case. At all.

As Marshall McLuhan said (and I think this quote might actually be the MIT catchphrase), “The medium is the message.” The reason we watch movies, TV shows, news broadcasts, and YouTube in class, is because everyone does it. Because media affects us and plays such a major part of everyday life, us MIT-ers are just trying to find out the why and how.

In the YouTube video, “An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube,” there was one line in particular that caught my attention: “When media change, human relationships change.” So why shouldn’t it be studied?

Without TV, the internet, and cell phones, we probably wouldn’t be alone as much. We might not even feel the need to be as self-expressive, to set ourselves aside form the anonymous mass. Being separated/fragmented individuals, it’s obvious we want a solid community. It just so happens that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and the blogosphere is it.

online communities chart

People were offended and hurt when lonelygirl15, for example, was revealed to be fake, resulting in a YouTube “authenticity crisis.” You wouldn’t want your friends or family to lie to you, so why is it any different when your online friends (people you trust and talk to and listen to) aren’t who you thought they were? It brings the loneliness back, and people don’t like that feeling. No one likes to be played like that.

Sometimes...no, every time I YouTube I find the rudest comments (and some I can’t even read because apparently spelling and grammar are a thing of the past). I almost want to tell them to shut the F up if they’re going to be so negative, but then it really wouldn’t be YouTube.

The anonymity of the “invisible audience” is what makes YouTube a place for and of authenticity; if everyone knew it was really YOU speaking, you might not say what you really think. You might not even bother to say anything.

Newspapers, the telephone, the radio, the television, and the Internet have all changed the way we work, interact, think, and basically live. But there’s one scenario that can change everything, and I mean, everything: a power outage.

Imagine you couldn’t watch TV, check your email, drive, buy groceries, check your email again, text your BFF, cook. Our world as we know it would fall in on itself; without our technology and our media, we’d be completely lost and probably very lonely.

Then again, it might mean we’d start connecting more physically, say, having a conversation with someone while in the same room. Not that we don’t do that now, but now we have a choice not to.

See? There's more to MIT than just “watching movies.”

Now watch this movie.