When O’Donnell laudably experimented with to target the audience’s attention onand hopefully previous, Charlie Sheen trainwreck interview, courtesy of the tragic undertow that threatens to pull Sheen underneath for superior, I used to be overtaken, not through the pulling on the thread, and the voracious audience he serves. It did not make me sad, it built me angry.
With regards to celebrities, we could be considered a heartless region, basking within their misfortunes like nude sunbathers at Schadenfreude Seashore. The impulse is understandable, to some diploma. It may possibly be grating to listen to complaints from most people who love privileges that most of us can’t even think of. Once you can not muster up some compassion for Charlie Sheen, who would make far more capital for a day’s operate than most of us will make in a very decade’s time, I guess I can not blame you.
Together with the speedy speed of occasions on the net and therefore the facts revolution sparked through the Net, it is particularly quick for your engineering marketplace to consider it is exceptional: always breaking new ground and engaging in factors that no person has ever before accomplished in advance of.
But there's other types of company that have previously undergone a lot of the exact same radical shifts, and also have just as terrific a stake with the future.
Get healthcare, for instance.
We normally imagine of it being a significant, lumbering beast, but in truth, medicine has undergone a series of revolutions inside previous 200 years that happen to be no less than equal to individuals we see in engineering and information and facts.
Much less understandable, but nevertheless inside of the norms of human nature, is the impulse to rubberneck, to slow down and take a look at the carnage of Charlie spectacle of Sheen’s unraveling, but from the blithe interviewer Sheen’s daily life as we pass it from the correct lane of our daily lives. To become straightforward, it can be hard for people to discern the difference involving a run-of-the-mill interest whore, and an honest-to-goodness, circling the drain tragedy-to-be. On its individual merits, a quote like “I Am On a Drug. It is Labeled as Charlie Sheen” is sheer genius, and we can’t all be expected to consider the total measure of someone’s lifestyle each time we listen to something humorous.
Speedy ahead to 2011 and I'm attempting to examine would mean of getting a little more business-like about my hobbies (generally audio). Through the end of January I had manned up and started to advertise my weblogs. I had developed several several blogs, which were contributed to by close friends and colleagues. I promoted these actions by using Facebook and Twitter.
Second: the minor abomination that the Gang of Five around the Supream Court gave us a 12 months or so in the past (Citizens Inebriated) definitely consists of a tad bouncing betty of its very own that may highly properly go off during the faces of Govs Wanker, Sacitch, Krysty, and J.O. Daniels. Due to the fact this ruling prolonged the idea of “personhood” to both equally companies and unions, to attempt to deny them any suitable to run inside the legal framework that they have been organized below deprives these “persons” on the freedoms of speech, association and movement. Which means (after once again, quoting law school trained household) that either the courts need to uphold these rights for that unions (as person “persons” as assured by the Federal (and most state) constitutions, or they have to declare that these attempts at stripping or limiting union rights must use to significant companies, also.
The day his fans have been waiting for has arrived, but Lupe Fiasco doesn't appear to be basking in the glow of his latest album, "Lasers."
The Chicago lyricist's third studio album comes after his critically and commercially successful offering, "The Cool." After some delays - and even scheduled fan demonstrations demanding the record's release - "Lasers" eventually leaked a couple of weeks before the official March 8 release date.
In a candid Q&A compiled from two interviews with New York Magazine, the 30-year-old rapper, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, was asked about his hopes for "Lasers."
"To be blunt, I don't really give a [crap]," Fiasco said. “I've grown very distant from the business, very numb to it...I don't really care about the success anymore. I don't really care about the fame. Three, four years later, I look at my bank account statements, and I haven't made any money with my record label. You start to think a little bit differently about your motivations and why you're doing what you're doing."
Despite his bold claim, Fiasco insists that there is no longer any ill will towards his label, Atlantic Records, calling their current relationship "copacetic." Hopefully, he went on, "we'll get through the rest of our contract without too many big hiccups."
Label issues aside, Fiasco has a different problem with the industry: a lack of creativity.
"I’m guilty of it, too," he admitted. "Hip-hop today — talking solely about the commercial space — it’s the same producers, sound, over and over again. The artist with that particularly poppy song is given the first look as opposed to that ethereal, weird artist with the brand-new music."
Take, for example, the Grammys win that had Beliebers targeting their wrath towards one Esperanza Spalding. "The person who wins Best New Artist is this really abstract left bass player," Fiasco said, "[b]ecause it’s about who’s making music, who’s making something different. Justin Bieber sounds just like everybody else, to be honest. He’s the homie; he’s dope. But he’s no different than Sean Kingston, Usher."
Does Fiasco have a point? If you picked up his album, let us know what you think of it in the comments. To hear more on the latest in pop culture, check out the Hollywood Hangover podcast.
On Monday night, I watched my first, and hopefully last, Charlie Sheen trainwreck interview, courtesy of The Last Word host Lawrence O’Donnell. While O’Donnell laudably tried to focus the audience’s attention on the tragic undertow that threatens to pull Sheen under for good, I was overtaken, not by the spectacle of Sheen’s unraveling, but of the blithe interviewer pulling on the thread, and the voracious audience he serves. It didn’t make me sad, it made me angry.
When it comes to celebrities, we can be a heartless country, basking in their misfortunes like nude sunbathers at Schadenfreude Beach. The impulse is understandable, to some degree. It can be grating to listen to complaints from people who enjoy privileges that most of us can’t even imagine. If you can’t muster up some compassion for Charlie Sheen, who makes more money for a day’s work than most of us will make in a decade’s time, I guess I can’t blame you.
Less understandable, but still within the norms of human nature, is the impulse to rubberneck, to slow down and check out the carnage of Charlie Sheen’s life as we pass it in the right lane of our everyday lives. To be honest, it can be tough for people to discern the difference between a run-of-the-mill attention whore, and an honest-to-goodness, circling the drain tragedy-to-be. On its own merits, a quote like “I Am On A Drug. It’s Called Charlie Sheen” is sheer genius, and we can’t all be expected to take the full measure of someone’s life every time we hear something funny.
But the people who are inviting Charlie Sheen to star in his own slo-mo snuff film don’t get a pass, and at a certain point, neither does their audience. It should be clear, to anyone who’s paying attention, that Charlie Sheen is in serious trouble, and that his next big exclusive could very well be with the LA County coroner. I disagree with Mediaite Managing Editor Colby Hall that interviewers like Piers Morgan are enabling Sheen, or even exploiting him. They’re not just pointing at Charlie Sheen’s self-immolation, they are throwing gasoline on it, and with Sheen’s distress as obvious as it is, making accomplices of the audience.
As it happens, I really like Charlie Sheen. I know it’s fashionable to snark about his TV show, but Sheen really is a gifted actor, and for those of you who think he owes his success to his famous father, I have two words for you, and one of them is “Emilio.” I don’t know if any man really deserves the kind of money that Sheen makes, but then again, if I had a nickel for every gag I laughed out loud at through two Hot Shots movies, I’d have a big-ass pile of nickels.
But even if you don’t care for Sheen, or you’re one of those people who can’t muster compassion for addicts who “bring things on themselves,” doesn’t decency at least dictate that you not make things worse?
Lawrence O’Donnell speaks knowingly about the trouble that Charlie Sheen is in, and with regard to Sheen’s current trajectory, he’s right, it is sad. But the interview he uses to illustrate that downward spiral is much more a symptom of our own sickness than Sheen’s: (from MSNBC)
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