The answer is “no,” for several reasons. The basis for any group is survival. In the human group, the basis for survival is commerce. We trade for what we need to continue living. This used to mean goods or services exchanged for good or services. This method is not always efficient, so it evolved into trading money for goods or services. Since money in the States represents items yet to be purchased, little has really changed. It also means that there must be a reason to exhange. For certain things, like food and medicine, the answer is self-evident. But for items like soda, shampoo, and video games, a case must be made. A desire must be emplanted into the mind in order for one to be compelled to purchase such items. When one remembers that much of the population is unhappy with their station in life, the answer becomes pretty clear.

In his book The End of Education, Neil Postman does a wonderful job explaining comsumerism as a god that we serve. Although it is a false god, its requirements are as demanding as any real one. Its worsippers are the followers, and although consumerism promises happiness, achieving it is a constant chase.

Heres the scenario: A person led to believe that following will result in a safer life gets frustrated with the futility of such a life. So, out of boredom, they turn back to the television where, while they are still being taught to follow, they can vicarously be a leader. Unfortunately, watching Leaders in action will not always inspire; it may frustrate. This is where the commercial break comes into play. Here is an unhappy person, full of pent-up energy and seeking a way to become happy and add meaning to their life. Now they are told that buying such and such an item will make them happy. Of course, they are not told that outright. Just like the cartoons they watched in their earlier days, commercials are propaganda. Many are very good at being subtle about it. They all tell a story and the story is: “If you dont buy this, you will be inconvenienced or ridiculed. People who own this product are better off than you.” Does it matter if ones life was not inconvenient before hand? The seed of doubt (Am I good enough? Is my life as full as it should be?) has already been planted. Who hasnt felt the nagging of an effective commercial? All of a sudden, we want gum and new shoes. Unhappy with your hair color? Change it. Now that thats taken care of, what about your pants? And so on. Tv certainly wouldnt lie, would it?

Leaders, of course, are not exempt from this cycle. They are divided into two camps: the ones who serve this god as a matter of status (I can afford these things, so I must buy them and show them off.), and the ones for whom satisfaction of their life as a whole enables them to ward off materialism. Two things destinguish them as Leaders: they are content with their lives, and they are also the ones commandeering this consumer-ship. A wise leader knows that in order to maintain their position of power, they must somehow exert control over their followers. This can be achieved either through fear or love. The most effective way of handling this is to instill fear in a manner that appears to be love. A Follower who follows out of love, but who is still, for reasons they might not even be able to identify, at least mildly afraid, will be the most loyal of subjects. It is by this manner that society in the States works.

***This completes my piece on society (for the time being.. :p ). I will now answer any comments.***

This message promotes a passive lifestyle. Those who are passive are more easily led. Anyone who has studied group dynamics in any formknows that a stable society is dependent upon the majority of its memebers being Followers and a select few being Leaders. This is essential to survival. If everyone tried to be a Leader, order would never be established and the group would be ruled by argument and strife. Young born into a group are taught how to behave and what is expected of them. This is called socialization. One of the manners by which our young are socialized, as pointed out in the previous entry, is certainly quite odd. A box spewing out subtle propaganda telling our citizens that following is good, desirable, almost painless. That attempting to change anything will be nothing short of destructive.

As far as determinng roles goes, even confusion is desired over certainty. Those who are confused may question their station in life but are ill-equipped to do anything in regards to changing it. Those who navigate through the conflicting messages and who become determined to reach a goal are, in essence, the strongest of the pack. The ones whos goals are actually reached become Leaders. And while most of the leaders attempt to explain the steps necessary to achieve sucess, few followers are apt to really shed the morals pressed upon them as youths and fully understand. They fail to grasp their potential and flounder in confusion and unhappiness. But even babies know that unhappiness is not a good feeling. Shouldnt our society, in manufacturing Followers and selecting Leaders, be concerned with seeing that the Followers are at least content in their roles..?

We survive because of a balance of trial and error and repetition. We will stick with methods that work rather than try new ones. This makes sense when one acknowledges that trying new things, or methods, often results in error or discomfort. However, only by testing may we discover better ways of doing things, and repetion, though comfortable, may be ineffective. Take, for example, the Coyote. Every time he tries to catch the Roadrunner, he fails. It is obvious that the reason he fails is because he doesnt vary his methods much. 98253727 episodes of this cartoon were created on the basis of the Coyote only using about five different ways of catching Roadrunner. The same goes for Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, and Tom the cat. But why are children expected, even encouraged, to watch these shows on a regular basis when they surely must know what will happen in the end?

A child is born into the world an endless supply of creative energy, but he will still grow to make the same mistakes as those that came before him did even though he was forewarned. Not only that, but he will constantly make variations of that mistake as he continues to grow. Growth is represented as moving in time from point A to point B to point C and so on with the understanding that B represents a higher level of knowledge and understanding than A, and C as higher than B, and so forth. Somewhere, someone is determining what these levels should contain and when they should occur. Each child needs to be prepared and told what to expect from life. And that is where cartoons come into play. What better way to perpetuate stereotypes, pass moral judgements, and assign roles than through television? By way of cartoons such as Roadrunner and Coyote, kids are taught that attempting to fulfill their dreams will bring them nothing but pain and frustration. They are told that the persuer is the Bad Guy and that the one beign persued, the one who goes about his day ignorant to the fact that doom lurks around every corner, is the Good Guy. Occasionally, one will see the Good Guy defending himself against the Bad Guy. Of course, the Good Guy thwarts all of the Bad Guys attempts at victory (and who wouldnt? Victory for the Bad Guy = death for the Good Guy.). The lesson here, folks, is that by ignoring doom and rejecting new ideas, one will survive. At the same time, by attempting to fulfill ones desires, one will only be met with discouragement and pain. Avoiding doom = pleasurable. Trying to get what you want = painful. Contradictorally, via other tv shows and movies, kids are told that sticking to their convictions will allow them to reach their goals. They are taught to cheer for the underdog withe the heart of gold. Is it any wonder that as they get older, kids only become more confused and frustrated about their role in life..?

Sometimes, I piddle around clicking on every link presented on sites that I regularly read. This leads me to discover many new and interesting sites. This also means, I have little to no idea how I came upon many of the sites I frequent. However, that is not the point. The point is: I love Flash. Cartoons have been a major staple in my life ever since I was a wee anklebiter. I remember watching the TNT classic cartoon show nightly (this show lasted for about 3 hours per day). However, while this show was full of great cartoons, one thing never ceased to annoy the hell out of me: Coyote and Roadrunner and Tom and Jerry. I could never stand these cartoons as a child, and I certainly cant stand them now. It is the same thing over and over again. Now, I know kids are supposed to get off on repetition, and while I could watch the same movies over and over on video, I could not stand to see the same plot re-worked to appear as something different.

Dear Coyote: You will never eat the Roadrunner. Ever. On the rare occasion on which you happened to capture him, something happened to prevent you from eating him. You may consider yourself to be a genious, but if you really were, youd realize that you were meant for a life of vegetarianism. Accept your fate and you will prosper.

The same went for tv shows such as Lassie and Dennis the Menace. I realize that it is hard to come up with new and different things to present to viewers, but how stupid do these writers think kids are? Unfortunately, I am currently unable to really sink my teeth into this topic at the moment because I have a job that I must be getting to. However, rest assured, gentle reader, that I shall be back tomorrow to finish this discussion..

I never meant to give you mushrooms, girl, I never meant to bring you to my world..

Shes sitting in the corner crying, and it’s my fault. I tried to bribe her out with My Little Ponies and Twinkies, but she has a butcher knife and she thinks shes having a seizure.

Im on the phone with the police and shes laughing, “What are they gonna do? Ill just tell them that you tried to rape me!” Shes putting “Leprichan 4″ in the VCR and now IM the one crying, but shes still laughing and bruising his arm.

Goddammit, wheres the Jaegar?

As promised:
The difference between partly sunny and partly cloudy is this: Partly cloudy means more than 50% cloud coverage. Partly sunny means less than 50% cloud coverage. You may now continue with your day a little smarter.

Im sure that many of you are wondering where Ive been lately. Since this site re-started, Ive posted a total of less than 10 times, which, comparatively, is NOTHING!! This fact has, of course, everything to do with my plan for world domination. And, if not the world, then at least the e/n scene.

We all know what wet dreams are. Most people have them while dreaming about sex, or something else that gets them off. I have them while dreaming about writing for websites (note: this is not true). My master plan is to write for a total of 10 different sites simultaneously by the end of the year 2001 (note: this is true). I dont want anyone to log onto any site anywhere without seeing “by Foster” jumping off of their screen and directly into their pants. So, if you have a site and are looking for up-daters, or just some random babbler to fill in the spaces when you dont feel like writing anything, e-mail me. I have a feeling that Ryan will respond to this with a nasty e-mail, and I will simply ask him: “You were a fat baby, werent you?”

Tomorrow, I will be explaining the difference between “partly cloudy” and “partly sunny.”

In our hectic day-to-day life, many products that we use all the time get overlooked. Perhaps it is because we use them so much that theyve ceased to exist on their own and are only present in our routines. These prducts deserve recognition and theres no one better than me to provide it.

Peanut Butter Think of all the poor children who would have no lunch if it werent for the all-mighty peanut butter sandwich. And who hasnt, while high or drunk, said, “Hey, if you give the dog peanut butter, it looks like hes trying to talk!” Hours of amusement will ensue.

Wet-Naps Lemon-scented. Moist. Pocket-sized. My three favorite things in one foil-lined pouch.

Glass Cleaner Lemon-scented. Moist. When aimed correctly, can soak a person 5 feet away.

Sharpie Permanent Markers They can mark on any surface. ANY SURFACE!! Not only that, but it’s permanent. God smiled on the day these things were invented.

Igloo Ice Packs The convenience of ice without the water. Also available in a small size thats perfect for drinks. I can enjoy cold Kool-Aid that hasnt been watered down by melted ice. This truly is a great nation.

“Did you want to scream, when you were a child, seeing nothing but fat ineptitude around you, knowing how many things could be done and done so well, but having no power to do them? Having no power to blast the empty skulls around you? Having to take orders – and thats bad enough – but to take orders from your inferiors! Have you felt that?”

“Yes.”

“Did you drive the anger back inside of you, and store it, and decide to let yourself be torn to pieces if necessary, but reach the day when youd rule those people and all people and everything around you?”

“No.”

“You didnt? You let yourself forget?”

“No. I hate incompetence. I think it’s probably the only thing I do hate. But it didnt make me want to rule people. Not to teach them anything. It made me want to do my own work in my own way and let myself be torn to pieces if necessary.”

It has been said that there is something like 6 original plot lines in existance and that every story is just a modification of one of those. Yet, even with this knowledge, humans continue to “create” “new” stories and share their experiences as though no one else on earth has ever been through exactly the same thing. We have a need to interact; we are social beings. We, therefore, attempt to interact. And while we may be able to achieve the simplicities of socializing, we often fail to actually communicate.

“When people think youre dying they really listen instead of just waiting for their turn to talk.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we conduct ourselves on a regular basis. Just as essential to the communication process as speaking is listening. One person talks, the other listens and responds. That is the cycle. Thing is, none of us care what the other person has to say. We interrupt, or are restraining from interrupting, while eagerly ignoring what our partner has to say. At the same time, we think that they will find what we have to say terribly interresting. We expect them to hang on our every word. Unfortunately, they, too, are simply waiting for the next opportunity to open their mouths.

Why do we feel that we are so important? Why even bother to engage in socializing when you know that you arent really paying attention? Why bother to put ideas out there when no one really cares about your attempted originality, but only their own advancement? Speak not to be heard, but rather to entertain yourself. It doesnt matter if anyone hears you since, most likely, theyre not interrested in what you have to say anyway. Write to read your own words, sing to hear your own voice, play to feel your own movements. Only when you are truly happy to be in your own mind will others want to enter. Funny thing about that is: once youve built your own playground, the company of playmates doesnt matter much. Even funnier: the more they know you dont need them, the harder they try to get in. Nothing gathers an audience quicker than a well-guarded secret.