yanowhatimean?

So I have a few things to get off my chest today, so I decided to opine freely right on this here blog. I'll try to make this quick, but I would LOVE it if you experience a few "oh, snap" moments with me. If you do, comment please!!! I'm dying for commiseration and vindication in my WTF?-ness on these topics.

1.

First of all, I know I'm probably REALLY late to this party (don't watch TV), but what the HELL is this freakish show Mad Money and how does Jim Cramer suck so badly? He's gotta be an alien. In this clip (above) he goes off on Obama being the cause of the economic issues. (Warning: if you watch this viddy, it's long.) 

But it's not Jim's dumb ass insights that annoy me as much as his madcap gestures and self-aggrandizing. He looks like he needs medication. It's disturbing that this is a financial show. If it were like a kid's show and Jim was Bozo, I'd be down. 

And yes, I realize that me commenting on his assy lameness is just adding to his buzz, but I was just so needing to get this off my chest, it trumped all logic. When I first saw Mad Money at my nabe's gym, I was on the elliptical machine and staring gape-mouthed around me at all the other people working out, trying to make eye contact with at least one other person that was disturbed by this, but everyone just went about their elliptical-ing and ignored me. Can I get an AMEN, peeps? 

2. 

Family Guy is getting so misogynistic lately that it makes me sad. The worse thing is that more dudes that I've gone out with lately LOVE the show, and I realize somewhere deep in my heart, that this makes them kind of repulsive to me somehow. 

Don't get me wrong, I loved Family Guy when it first came out. The show helped me get through a knee surgery recovery period with a smile on a my face. I think the flat-out hatefulness of the show was less intense in earlier seasons. And, to be honest, I do really love American Dad right now. And that show is also created by Seth MacFarlane, (the dude behind Family Guy), and also has its share of misogynistic undercurrents. 

But it's just not as deeply, ugly, bluntly misogynistic as Family Guy. I have no time to give you all a feminist's blow-by-blow recap of an episode, but check this post out if you need it laid out for you. Lois is pretty much always getting ripped on, shot at, splooged on, and the like. It's just dehumanizing. And yeah, I know it's a freakin' cartoon. So I guess that's why I'm wondering why it has to be so unfunny? I feel like dudes who really think the latest Family Guy episodes are funny are guys who have been emasculated or have a really small penis. It sucks to be a dude and not a have a nice penis. Is that the problem, Seth? Do tell...

3.

Twitter...

Okay, so I love the sheer simplicity of the original idea--a messaging utility with versatility. But even with all the apps, plug-ins, and buzz around it, I still find myself wondering if it will ever be a money-making model. And even if it is, will it make up for all the useless hours I've spent talking about it? 

A video dedicated to me gets a mention

My friend Ross (a strategy guy at Modernista! in Boston--check his site) sent me this video and I guess I like it enough and am enough of a sap to post it.

It really is a jam. And I really am a sucker for the gift of music. Screw conversations. Just play me a song. 

Happy day peeps. Enjoy. 

What are you listening to lately?

Relationship Retards Unite!!!

A very good pal of mine, Matt Brand, launched Love in the Dumps, a site for the romantically challenged this past week. The site that he and the lovely PHP developer Isabel Chang created "marries heart-on-sleeve to tongue-in-cheek", says the NY Daily News article that announced the site's launch.

Please check out the site now, and click the Join button to create your own Impersonal ad (har!) and become one of the site's community. I'll be adding content to this site too, so be on the lookout for some sordid tales.

Joaquin gets his FREAK on

If you didn't see Joaquin on Letterman last night, you must WATCH THIS NOW.  

You'll glean this from the viddy, but Joaquin is in full-on freak mode in this clip. He appears homeless or something, sporting a huge beard, glasses and weird personal tics. He's claiming that he's done with acting, and concentrating on his music.

To me, it looks like the dude's taken a few too many pills...but the comments I've read so far in real time on YouTube and Twitter seem to indicate that I'm overthinking things, since many of the inital reactions call Joaquin's behavior a put-on and a publicity stunt. 

Really?! I mean I don't want to be all doom and gloom about it, but he looks too crusty to be faking. You can't just get crusty at the snap of your fingers. My prediction? Heroin or some other form of super nasty habit-forming narcotic.

What do you think?

YOU NEED THIS PLAYLIST

I'd embed, but the freakin'  code is screwed up. It's a Ghostly International compilation and includes artists you probably know like Matthew Dear, Michna, Osborne and Kill Memory Crash, plus a ton of other artists who are really pumping out new, fresh, ALIVE jams. Yum.

To download the zip for free, click here.

American Apparel in the Mission? ugh.

Just read this post from the Squid List about American Apparel setting up a storefront on Valencia in the Mission. Chicken John, the author of the post, is very objective in his consideration of the benefits of gentrification VS its many pitfalls.  But in the end, he makes it very clear that he is against AA's outpost on the traditionally indie street that is Valencia. 

My take? Of course I don't think American Apparel should be on Valencia in the Mission. They belong in Union Square or maybe Hayes Valley and across the street from one of the gazillion Art Institutes. But not on Valencia. 

That being said, even as I respect Valencia's indie pedigree, I have to step back and question the street cred of that area.  I mean, Medjool is right around the corner for chrissake--pretty much the epitome of gentrification. Not that we should just throw our hands up and let the yuppies take over, but I'm not sure if the American Apparel outpost is really going to push things over the edge. I'm just sayin...

Meanwhile, I'm still pretty disgusted that this may be in the works. And those who feel similarly can check out the Stop American Apparel blog to see what they can do to stall the gentrification a little, if not stop it completely.

Finally, I offer hope in the form of a put-down: American Apparel isn't exactly the pinnacle of hipsterdom that it once was. The 70s porn look of their ads are played as are most of the silhouettes, and I sometimes feel like I'm in 2005 when I pass by their other storefronts. Which poses another question: If AA is built and becomes a supremely unpopular storefront on Valencia, is it because they aren't indie enough? Or is it because people figured out there are only so many ways you can wear a fucking t-shirt.

All growed up music

Why is music letting me down so much lately? I don't know. But I do know that bitching and moaning ain't gonna get me anywhere. So here goes the 1st music reco from yours truly. I just got Bon Iver ep called Blood Bank. It's only got 4 tracks, but those four tracks will make you swoon and remember yourself and maybe even believe in love.

I've never had a crush on a dude from Wisconsin before, but Justin Vernon (the man who IS Bon Iver) has changed all that for me. Read all about him here. This Pitchfork article gives you background on HOW OFF the record execs were when putting together the tracklist for previous Bon Iver efforts. (And yes, I know that I'm often hating on Pitchfork, but let's just go ahead and avoid that subject right now.)

The posted viddy is my fave song on the EP, called Woods. This song features Vernon on vocoder, so it has a little old school R&B feel about it, even though Vernon himself is mainly neo folk. His other tracks are packed with smart lyrics and lush soundscapes, but the pared down beauty that is Woods makes me pine for mid west boys.