Reflections on the ten-year anniversary of September 11,2001, part 1

Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing that day. I was in high school, freshman year. As soon as I found out what had happened, I immediately worried about my father. I found out later that day that he had managed to catch one of the last flights out of New York City hours before the attacks happened, and was back at home, but I was still shaken for long thereafter. I don't think any of us have ever fully recovered from what happened on September 11, 2001. In the weeks, months, and years that followed, this country went through some of the important changes in it's history. On this, the ten-year anniversary on the 9/11 attacks, it's important to reflect on everything that's happened in the past decade and ask: What have we learned? Have we learned the right lessons? Looking back, i can't truly say that we have learned anything at all. At that time in my life, I didn't know anything about the Middle East, about Islam, about U.S. foreign policy, or about world history. Very little to nothing of substance related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  I always had an interest in history, literature, American political affairs, and in taking high school journalism classes, interests that began to develop two years earlier in junior high. (Notice that when I refer to "political affairs", it's not the same as "politics" or anything "political". I have come to absolutely hate those two words, after hearing countless people in my life use them to describe anything even vaguely more enlightening, serious-minded, or intellectual than this happy-go-lucky culture of willful ignorance we live this. This is not to be so arrogant as to say I'm more enlightened, serious-minded, or intellectual than anyone else, it's simply frustrating to bring up certain topics in conservation, only to hear people dismiss it as something "political", even if it isn't. )

But ENERGY DRINKS Are Perfectly Legal?

To follow up my War On Drugs post: Isn't it truly amazing what is against the law in this country compared to what is allowed? What substances are banned compared to what is perfectly legal? What can be bought at any store, that you and I love and can never get enough of? Not only the alcohol, tobacco, etc., but also the prescription medicines that can result in side effects worst than the diseases that these drugs are supposedly curing? Another product  that seems to have been embraced by society: Energy drinks. It never truly occurred to me how many brands of energy drink are available on the market until a few days ago when I was looking around a convenience store one day. It suddenly hit me how many products promising to keep people energized and focused at work and elsewhere are available. You see macho shitbags walking around with cans of these energy drinks in their hands (the kind of people who actually watch mixed martial-arts), and you even see these guys putting energy drink logos on their cars and pick-up trucks, especially here in Vegas. The kind of Facebook Thugs who live to act like Bad Ass Mother Fuckers, and swagger around town with arrogance and Ed Hardy clothing and no sense of respect for others (meanwhile, you can easily imagine these guys sniveling and begging for police protection if they ever had to drive through certain parts of the city).  I counted at least five and nine different brands of energy drinks, as well as assorted items that promise to enhance your levels of energy, such as energy chewing gum. Can anyone explain this bullshit market for "energy" products? Have we become so lethargic and soulless and defeated that we need an artificial rush of adrenaline to endure the soulless culture we live in? I would argue that we are, if anything, too fired up and passionate about certain things in our society. Specifically, we have people in the media (as well as everyday life) who have very strong, very passionate opinions about subjects they know nothing about (Or, they choose to only hear one side of the subject and scream, laugh, and sneer at anyone who disagrees). Elsewhere, we have spoiled kids and teenagers, as well as supposedly mature adults, who behave like drama queens on a crap reality-show and get worked up about things that don't matter AT ALL. Is the problem too LITTLE energy, or in fact, beyond TOO MUCH ENERGY?

The Forty-Year Anniversary Of The War On Drugs (Warning:heavy sarcasm and anger)

I know this commentary is a few days late, but I still have to post this. On behalf of street gangs, drug cartels, violent addicts, third-world dictators, international terrorists, and the prison-industrial complex: THANK YOU FOR DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY AND PLANET, RICHARD NIXON, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!!!!!!! (I know this commentary is noticeably shorter than my movie reviews from last week, but really, if we are still this stupid that we aren't angry about what our government's out-of-control drug policy and foreign policy have done to our country and our world, then what more can be said? We deserve everything that is happening to us. What will it take for us to wake up?)

Another rant about Hollywood

I've been going to the movies a lot more than usual, so it's time once again for movie reviews. I will start with the movie I actually liked, followed by the one I hated.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
 Although I felt it could have been rewritten at certain points, I have to admit I found it enjoyable, nothing more than old-fashioned popcorn entertainment with something in it for everyone. The fact that they got ride of the characters of Will and Elizabeth turned out to be an excellent improvement. This movie allowed the audience to just relax and enjoy the kind of adventure story they would have loved as kids. (The addition of cannibal mermaids was also a great touch, I must admit.)
The Hangover: Part Two
A brief story before my opinion of the movie: A couple of my friends and I had been planning to go bowling at one of the off-Strip resorts the night we saw this movie. When we arrived at the hotel's bowling lanes, we discovered that the entire bowling center had been reserved for some beer company-sponsored event, and that we would be unable to get an open lane until 10:00 that night (I showed up at 6:20 when we discovered this). We decided to see a movie at the hotel theater instead. For lack of any other ideas, I decided to go along with the majority vote to see The Hangover 2, and we walked to the theaters. We bought our tickets an hour before the show. As we waited in the lobby, I looked at the movie posters that adorned the walls, and could not help but think to myself: Did the public lose all appreciation for humor, originality, and taste at some point in the past decade? Did Hollywood stop pretending to search for original, thought-provoking, trailblazing screenplays? Almost every movie poster I saw was advertising some remake, sequel, adaptation, or sequel to a remake. Anyone looking forward to Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes? (Because we all remember the 2001 remake and what a modern masterpiece it was, Right??) Or for that matter, the upcoming remake of Fright Night? This is not to say that all sequels and remakes are terrible. Sometimes they can actually exceed the originals. And I certainly cannot exactly claim to be a great screenwriter, but as I was looking around the theater, it was hard not be dismayed. And when we watched the movie we paid to see, my suspicions about the state of cinema were confirmed. I must admit, I enjoyed the first "Hangover" when it came out years ago. As many of you know, I absolutely hated "Due Date" by the same director. Now, having seen Hangover Two, I finally realized that I had no reason at all to like Hangover One, and that this director is a complete hack. He specializes in movies in which likable, honest people are put through horrible situations by mindless, insensitive man-children. The kind of movies that the people who create think are "edgy" and "provocative",when in fact, they attack soft targets and come off as mean-spirited to everyone else . Hangover Two is the perfect example of this. During the closing credits, when we see a photo montage of the events that happened during the characters' drinking binge, two photographs are shown that are supposed to parody two infamous Vietnam War photographs. The fact that the filmmakers thought this was funny shows how spineless they truly are, because you can just imagine how they would react to a movie with a photo montage that parodies the disgusting photos from Abu Gharib.(Food for thought: They found nothing objectionable with the Vietnam jokes in the closing montage, but the filmmakers had the balls to fire Mel Gibson because the cast and crew "refused" to work with him? This is their idea of "conscience"? Give. Me. A. FUCKING BREAK.)  So needless to say, I hated it. I'm not a snob or philistine, but all I can say is this: The film industry had better start thinking about the quality of the films it releases, because people WILL turn on Hollywood more and more if we continue to receive god-awful frat-boy "bromances" (does anyone still say that? I sincerely hope not!), loveless crap "romantic" comedies, and remakes.

Some Changes

OK, everyone, due to recent changes that have been occurring in my life, You'll be a lot more postings on this blog throughout the summer. I'll be speaking my mind on life in Las Vegas, pop culture, current events, society, and basically anything else that pops into my head. Strap the hell in, I'm not holding back anymore.