When I first got these, I imagined they’d look better in jeans than with just ankles … but now I’m thinking they may be ugly either way. It’s probably the black trim that puts it over the top.
It was a classic case of “Wow these shoes are cheap” find vs. “Do I really have anything to wear these with?”
We can see who won. Curse you 75-percent off Target end-caps!
For the record, there’s three pair of shoes in the “Ugly” file. All three are Converse. Is this a theme?
Tagged cheap, converse, Culture, sale items, shoes, shopping, target, ugly shoes
Have you noticed the similarities between the movie posters for The Adjustment Team and Source Code? People running (towards you, or away from something else?), muted colors, dominant black and gray themes …
Despite the similar posters, though, there is something fundamentally different in the world view these two movies present
The Adjustment Bureau presupposes that there is a God. Albeit unseen, this God is active in the lives of humans. Even though the actors work hard to “defy” God in order to get their free will, there is still a God. He is involved in the life of his creation. He wants what is best.
In Source Code, there is no God pulling strings. It’s just a hobbled man and his greatest creation: technology. Technology is the god of Source Code. Technology, in the hands of man, can be used to change the past, direct the present and forestall the future.
The Adjustment Bureau is based on a 1954 Philip K. Dick short story, “The Adjustment Team.” So we can assume, even though it is a science fiction (futuristic?) romantic thriller, that it reflects the predominant worldview of its time, even if the point of the story is too defy the worldview within which it reflects.
So, in the past 57 years, we’ve gone from man trying to gain freedom from an all-seeing, all-knowing God pulling the strings from afar, to Man using his scientific might to create a God that can pull those same strings.
This reliance on technology to do so also calls to mind the old McLuhan quote:
“We shape our tools and our tools shape us.”
Look at what technology has done, in the view of Source Code. Man needs nothing other than the mind and technology to defy the construct of time itself. Man doesn’t need a sound body — the creator of technology can’t walk without crutches and his main agent is nothing more than a brain encased in a dead half body.
I’m sure we could ramble on as to why this has happened, but I just wanted to point out the difference. You can discuss why.
Posted in Culture
Tagged cultural shift, Culture, God, marshall mcluhan, movies, Rambles, source code, technology, the adjustment bureau, worldview
… And just as mysteriously as it started, it seems that the whole silly band craze is has ended.
Clearance at Target.
Tagged Culture, humor, picture, popular culture, silly bandz
As outgoing Florida governor Charlie Crist ponders the fate of poor Jim Morrison (see articles here and here), I thought it fitting to post this song about Paris’ most-visited grave.
(And yes, I realize I’ve posted this video before in another context.)
But let’s think about this: is pardoning Jim Morrison what’s best for Jim Morrison? Isn’t his whole deal about being the outlaw, the Lizard King, the one who wants to sleep with his mother and kill his father? Wouldn’t a guy like that WANT a conviction on exposing himself to a crowd in Miami 41 years ago?
And further, what’s this going to teach the children? Well, it teaches us all a valuable lesson: culture co-opts the fringe element and makes it mainstream. And once something gets into the mainstream, it eventually goes downstream (I’m copyrighting that, by the way; or at least putting it on a t-shirt. Or tweeting it. And secretly hoping it gets co-opted …).
So what’s the state of Florida really saying? “Eh … you’re just a jerk. And there’s no law against that.”
So congratulations, Jim Morrison … Charlie Crist and the state of Florida thinks you weren’t that big a deal after all.
Posted in Culture, Media, Rambles
Tagged charlie crist, clemency, Culture, Florida, jim morrison, jim morrison's grave, pardon, steve taylor, video
Ever wonder why your parents don’t seem to like television?
Parents LOVE television. But every parent also knows that once they start watching something, you’re going to come in and start whining about what YOU want to watch.
Parents hate whining children more than they like television. Hate. I’m using the word “hate” here. Mathematically, it can be expressed as:
H = WK >> E = TV
Or: “the hatred of whining kids are much greater than the enjoyment of television.”
So, in order to have just a moment’s peace, without the incessant yapping of whining kids, parents, through the ages, have steadily given up television.
This explains the amount of research dedicated to the detrimental effects of television on children:
it makes them violent;
it makes them fat;
it lowers their math scores …
All of these studies were conducted by parents who’d had enough of the whining and needed a “legitimate” excuse to tell their bratty kids why the TV is off.
So, thanks a lot children. Once again, you’ve ruined it for everyone.
