I thought I'd share a little text message exchange between a friend and I while in pursuit of a local wine store in Arlington, Va.
Me: Where's the vino place? C-Note: I told u on Clarendon Blvd Me: That's a long street... C-Note: Past Orvis Me: Cross streets are helpful C-Note: Across from the container store Me: Where's that? Cross streets are helpful C-Note: It's right past Orvis before the eye glass store Me: !!! C-Note: I don't know. Whatever street is before grocery store and after Cheesecake Factory
*Sigh*
...And notice that she gave me 5 points of reference, none of which are relevant without a cross street. At that rate she may as well just give me an address.
In case you missed it, President Obama addressed the Nation last night to outline his planned response to the gulf oil spill. Though it was met with terrible reviews, I can't help but wonder what more people want from this guy?
It reminds me of the armchair quarterbacks complaining about why Mark Sanchez, quarterback for the New York Jets, can't throw an accurate pass down field? Well...could you throw that pass? Likewise, Obama is being tasked with coordinating a clean up effort, ensuring the health, environmental and economic viability of the entire gulf region, levying sanctions upon British Petroleum (BP), and keeping literally everyone happy in the meantime. This is an absolutely catastrophic event and we are acting like he's holding out on those magical powers to clap his hands and make it all go away.
Critics complain that Obama didn't outline ANY sort of plan but rather, "once again", spoke in grandiose and inoperable terms looping in this as an opportunity to begin the pursuit of clean energy alternatives. (Conspiracy theorists a-chatter much?) Let me put it like this; this administration is comprised of some of the smartest, most calculated people in this country and the gamble that they faced was to either OVER-promise, or UNDER-promise. If he had strutted in touting to get everything cleaned up within the next month, to criminally fine BP for their entire $100B market cap value, and make gulf seafood more delicious than ever, that STILL wouldn't be enough because you'd have people saying, "how the hell does he think he's going to do that?" To be clear, I can't necessarily blame them either because we're all cynical when we're getting screwed over. That should, however, be reserved for residents of the gulf affected by this mess.
For example, it's natural to want help immediately after we break our leg skateboarding, but the reality is, we've got to wait for the ambulance. Are EMTs driving too recklessly? Is there too much traffic? Is the driver incompetent? Is there bad weather? Do they have the right equipment? Most of these are considerations for the OTHER side...- all we have to think about is how much pain we're in. Lets not forget however, that like EMTs, quarterbacks, and (most of) our government officials, they're trained at this.
Everyone has an opinion on how they can govern better than the people currently doing so because in our diluted heads, the only interests that we actually consider are our own. That goes for Tea Partiers acting like they're the only Americans being taxed. That goes for Liberals acting like they're the only ones who are poor. That goes for Conservatives acting like they're always the victim. That goes for Libertarians acting like they're the only ones who work hard. No matter who's in office, it always seems like it's those who protest the loudest that are the first with their hands out to the government in hard times... I'm looking at you welfare recipients and big banks.
So everybody just calm down. In the gulf region, livelihoods are at stake. Ecosystems are at stake. Food safety is at stake. If we had the expertise to assist here, why are we sitting behind a computer at Starbucks or in a news studio in New York jaw jacking about why the President hasn't done more? You wouldn't tell a Top Chef how to cook Bouilabaisse with Sofrito would you?
...So, since I don't see any of you down in the gulf waist deep in oil, just be quiet while the adults and experts are trying to figure this out.
We've all heard the tragic stories about individuals being fired, or not hired, because of content found in an online profile. This begs the question; Who's to blame? The person who freely consumed alcohol, whimsically flipped birds at photogs, openly spoke their mind about the world around them, yet failed to lock down their account? Or, the employer who rifled through that profile looking for who knows what...?
Late last year I was forwarded a letter which had been sent as a reply to an employer who had discontinued pursuing a candidate because of content contained within their Facebook account. It begins an interesting debate into whether or not companies are simply weeding out toxic employees, or if they are misguidedly forming assumptions about an individuals work performance based on behavior in their (seemingly) "personal" life.
To quickly summarize the note, "Kyle" (the guy's name) mentions that the employer's older age was the only thing keeping the misguided behavior of his past, in the past. He goes on to align Facebook and LinkedIn as the equivalent personal and professional personas that we adhere to in our daily interactions. To use his words, he describes LinkedIn as a "front". Lastly, he tosses over a pot shot pondering ramifications for George W. Bush had he had a Facebook profile during his college years.
This guy raises a few good questions however. We are arguably more ourselves online than we are in reality because we often remove our social filters to reveal the actual views, opinions, and ideologies that govern our daily perceptions. Just consider how many vile comments you've read in forums simply because these folks knew that they were anonymous and knew that they had social distance. You very well may be one of those people!
I'll acknowledge that Facebook is a different beast as it's not anonymous and we can arguably manipulate how we present ourselves in these spaces. The problem is, we tend to forget that our views and opinions seep through into our social networking personas simply by way of the content that we post, share, retweet, and 'like'. You might not openly say that you agree that Sarah Palin is qualified to run on the 2012 G.O.P. ticket, but if you click "like this" after a friend has posted an article supporting that notion, you may as well own it in reality too.
I would submit that employers sifting through the Facebook accounts of potential candidates can very quickly lead down a road of profiling out certain individuals based on anything from political affiliation, to the types of television shows they enjoy. There's obviously a reason that people are on their best behavior when going in for a job interview; we want them to be professional! It's just an unrealistic expectation to think that people can be professional in all corners of their lives and then, consequently, base the quality of their professionalism on how their downtime is spent.
...but if you were an employer, would you use social media profiles as a means of screening candidates?
So today President Obama began urging Americans to be patient with the health care reform laws passed early last week. (See the USA Today story detailing his appeal to Americans to give this some time to work.)
I can't help but think our President is completely out of touch with both the people who elected him as well as those who think that he should be impeached since he has direct lineage with E.T. and ALF. If he really thinks that we Americans comprise a nation of enduring and conscientious individuals who are willing to patiently, and without complaint, wait for things to work themselves out, he should go lick cats.
Lets see. We are a nation of people who:
1) ...love get rich quick schemes 2) ...want more! (But want to pay less...) 3) ...can't wait until payday so we seek payday advances 4) ...will shoot someone dead for stealing the 50 Square feet of space in front of them in gridlocked traffic 5) ...will consume fast food even if saving 10 minutes of food prep time will give us high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high likelihood of looking completely AWESOME when dancing
Thus, I pledge that you join me in telling the President that "I Want It NOW!"...(or, "I Don't Want It NOW!") whichever side you're on. Either way, if it only takes nearly 100 years to pass this type of legislation, then it should have been implemented last year. ...And hurry up with my plate of Hope and side of Change. Things are looking pretty familiar right now...
So why am I circling back for yet ANOTHER post on Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga? Well, there were a lot of people who objected to my previous post which outlined why Lady Gaga's talent is overshadowed by the production of her songs.
There are quite a few videos below so before you go clicking away, let me first be clear. As you'll soon find, she is a GREAT singer and talented pianist.
Let me say that again for those of you who are already poised to contest an argument that they have not yet heard: She is a GREAT singer and talented pianist.
Now, if we're all in agreement, find out for yourself below exactly what I'm talking about. Bottom line, if the piano version of 'Poker Face' went head-to-head with the instrumental track, her acoustic version would have no chance...as with 'Paparazzi'; and as you could imagine, "Just Dance" or "Bad Romance". This is why I cannot, in good conscience, say that Lady Gaga is famous because of her talent. To quote my previous post:
"...her music is not a sole product of her fixed creation; rather, she is a byproduct of/and outlet for, the music that she represents."
The amazing thing is that as you listen to these instrumentals, your brain will automatically begin to insert the vocals. While that might be because she's such a great vocalist, I would argue that it's because the track is so catchy and the production so seductive. Could you possibly imagine anyone else in the world singing this song? Maybe yourself perhaps? That woman down the hall?
Yeah, the song is still pretty catchy regardless of who's behind the studio mic...
Either way, I can't imagine your girlfriend falling over a pile of clothes on a Friday night while getting ready to go out because she was jamming so hard to the acoustic version of "Paparazzi". Acoustic versions give you coffee shop play, not global recognition. A hit track gives you fame, and fame gives you fans...
As a child, I don't recall being offended by someone seductively waving a fried chicken leg in my face, I don't recall being offended by someone offering me watermelon, and I certainly don't recall being offended when people said "purple" kool-aid and laughed. All I knew was that fried chicken was tasty, watermelon was refreshing, and purple kool-aid was the best flavor.
At some point between then and now however, I irresponsibly learned to take offense to those things. After watching white person after white person on television apologizing for using these references (and most recently, Dan Rather), I began to realize that while I didn't know why I was supposed to be offended, I just knew that I was.
This creates confusion.
In attempt to protect the cultural image of my history in America, my priorities quickly became muddled while trying to police any potentially bigoted representation of my heritage. I found myself defending "Watermelon" on Wednesday and the "N-word" on Friday. All of a sudden I began to realize however, if I keep this up, how could my appeals ever be taken seriously?
I say all of this because I have found it absolutely essential to pick my battles. Although I don't always adhere to that, recognition is the first step. To criticize and mis-categorize my intelligence, drive, and humility to humanity, is something of which I will take offense every.single.time. Those are things WORTH defending. Someone suggesting that I'd prefer fried chicken over the swordfish while at a fine dining establishment, is something not dignified enough to secure a reaction. More than anything else, that's simply an illustration of how little this person knows about me as in individual; not a knock on my entire cultural upbringing and overall purpose in the universe.
Bottom line, the prioritization and distinction of these things are essential. I friggin LOVE watermelon, but who doesn't? I'm pretty sure fried chicken is just chicken wrapped in a crispy layer of salt which everyone enjoys, and who has ever turned their nose up at kool-aid? Seriously?!?! Everyone likes these things (among others) so why portray them as something that only black people like? Likewise however, I myself cannot bait these stereotypes by treating them as an all encompassing representation of who my people are. Afterall, you only get to cry 'wolf' but twice...
Amidst my attempt to understand the online space a little better, I figured that instead of watching the field- maybe I'd jump in and see what this is really all about. Half of this stuff I don't get, but that's probably because I haven't learned about it yet. This is my pursuit...
