I got 99 Problems, but a blog aint one!

What show are you watching right now? (I’m watching American Idol, and I am laughing my bum off, HAHAHAH) What is it about? Why is it on this channel? What ethnic groups are in it? Does that group dominate the whole show? If you can answer questions like these my super friends then you, yes you, are some what media literate, which is a good thing of course, your friends won’t make fun of you, if they do, send them to Mr. Puley at Orchard Park Secondary School in Stoney Creek Ontario, Canada, he’ll set them straight.

You may not think so, but knowing what you’re watching, and why you’re watching it, can actually make, or break that show for the viewer. Good, probably the best examples are music videos, especially those of the hip-hop a hippy a hippa to the hip hip hop and you don’t stop dropping to the bang bang boogie badum drop the boogie to the boogy du the boogie da be… Yeah! Hip-Hop! Just look in Jay-Z’s video for 99 Problems.

Before the video even starts, you’ve got an advisory warning, which tells you how harsh some of the scenes are in the video are (which you do not see in this particular music video, due to it being from YouTube, somebody probably edited out, and explicit lyrics so, earmuffs if you have to!). So the video starts off, Jay walking in the ghetto (symbolizing his childhood), seeing a young teen putting on a ski-mask (symbolizing criminal behaviour) walking past kids jumping on mattresses on the street for fun (symbolizing the lack of money), seeing prostitutes washing cars, as well as themselves wearing bikini’s while guys watch them (symbolizing womanizing) and at the end of it all, a few men jump out of the car and lay 6 or 7 bullets into his chest (symbolizing the violent street behavior). Now, what Jay-Z was trying to do was glorify the “hood” and give people a sense of what its like to live there, but honestly, in my personal opinion and I think some of my super friends will back me up on this one. That video is one of the most horrifying things I have ever witnessed, and then some. We as people, do not need to have that shoved in our faces, we don’t need a tour of the ghetto Jay. Prostitutes and people getting killed, that is shown enough in the movies, there is no need for that to be in a music video. Especially when that music video plays 10 times a day, how do you think that makes children feel when they see that for the first time? DESPICABLE JAY… Just despicable.

On the brighter side of things, blogging is taking over the world as we know it. Famous bloggers such as Parez Hilton are giving people the scoop on Hollywood in his personal perspective, which apparently is quite hilarious. I’ve taken a look on Parez’s site and I was pretty impressed, the way he is able to interact with his audience, providing humor, but not to much to make whatever he’s writing about sound like a big joke. But the way he is able to write with such precision is the real key to his success, and that is what I think defines successful blogging.

Parez is of course considered a “grade A blogger” but what does it take to get there Mike, you silly little man. Well people, it takes a few things like knowing where to start, like starting a free blog site at first, to practice your skills, see if people are interested in what you have to say. Updating daily, you never want people reading the same article for a week, you have to keep it fresh. Listen to your audience, if they have something to say, listen, it could help you in the long run. Last but not least, keep your articles short, and concise, nobody wants to read a thousand page story on K-Fed, try to put all of your information that you want people to know at the beginning. And there you have it, you are now a professional blogger, seems pretty easy, doesn’t it?

Now, there are some advantages and disadvantages so, bare with me. Some advantages of the almighty blog are that they are cheap and easy to run, blogs convey authority, its open, and gives feedback good and bad, which everybody loves of course. Some of the disadvantages of blogs are that most people do not have very much to say that is to any interest to anybody, people who have the most time to write have the least to say, and finally blogs are very easy to start up, but difficult to maintain.

Some of the typical stories that bloggers write on are about celebrities, and (if your lucky) actual NEWS! If a blogger can produce a good news story, then he might be able to achieve a minimal status, and somewhat of a successful blogging career (if they can maintain stories like that one) which is very difficult to do, that’s why you do (because lets be honest, a good world event to write on has less of a chance of occurring than me not eating a burrito every Tuesday night, and that’s likely so, do the math J) not hear about bloggers that talk about world peace, because unfortunately, people are interested in that at all. But, if you can be an overweight, multicolored hair, high pitched voice, white boy (WITH A SPANISH NAME-only using this as an example by the way, Parez Hilton if you are not to sure of whom I am talking about) and can write about celebrities like you can inhale and exhale, than chances are you will become a success story, people will look to you for guidance when celebrities do things without the peoples knowledge. That is why (I hate to say it) Parez Hilton is one of the most loved people in the North America today.

Blog write for ecos. Disadvantages. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://www.blogwriteforceos.com/blogwrite/2005/01/blogs_are_just_.html

Tom rafter yit. Advantages. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://www.tomrafteryit.net/the-advantages-of-blogging-for-business/

Ez INE Articles. Successful Blogging. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://ezinearticles.com/?13-Steps-to-Successful-Blogging&id=44258

Reconstruction EServer. Keyboard. 16 Jan. 2008. . http://reconstruction.eserver.org/064/images/blogcover1.jpg

Please don't stop the music!

Kill em’all, Powerage, and Black Sabbath’s self titled album (just to name a few) are said to be some of the greatest albums of all time. Even today, the fans of these old 80’s metal bands (Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath) can’t seem to move on, and continue to support the sweaty 5 man guitar solo's.

But lets be honest, teens today don’t really know that genre of music very well, because they didn’t grow up (maybe they did, with that long blonde haired father, yeah, you know what I’m talking about) with the raving mad crowds lining up for blocks just to buy a new Metallica album. But thankfully, that can all change.

80’s sounding music is making its comeback with bands such as Wolfmother, and Velvet Revolver (which is made up of some of the members of a very popular 80’s band Guns and Roses) taking their stand to not let the 80’s die.

In an interview with www.gothamist.com, lead guitarist/vocalist of Wolfmother, Myles Heskett, was asked the question, “There's a list of comparisons that often comes when someone writes about your band...Led Zep, Styxx, White Stripes, Black Sabbath...who do you count as influences?” If you are a band such as Wolfmother, trying to bring back the 80’s, and you hear a question like that, you know you’ve accomplished everything you have been striving for. That is quite a treat.

I do believe that the world will be seeing more and more bands bringing back the good times and rocking out with the 80’s tuned guitar, so don’t feel bad for your parents not having you a few years earlier, your not going to be missing to much!

Rock on baby.

Gothamist. Wolfmother Interview. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://gothamist.com/2006/06/02/gothamist_band_19.php

Hey Hey, You You, You're a Freakin' Copy Cat!

Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated, for Avril?

Nappanee’s own punk-pop princess has been charged with copyright infringement with her hit single “Girlfriend.”

Now, apparently the song sounds almost identical to a song written by a 70’s boy-toy pop band, The Rubinoos, called, “I Want to Be Your Boyfriend.” Okay, so what, the titles are almost identical, that doesn’t mean anything, right? I mean, I’m sure it was just a coincidence. Until Tommy Dunbar, the writer of “I want To Be Your Boyfriend,” released a statement that said, “"We are not so naive as to chalk it up to some sort of cosmic coincidence," Dunbar said last week. “The lyric, the meter, the rhythm (of Girlfriend) — they're identical."

Alright so, identical song titles, identical lyrics, identical meter, identical rhythm. Um, Avril? Care to explain what the heck is going on here?

Avril responded to Tommy by saying, “All songs share similar lyrics and emotions,” she said. “Luke [Gottwald] and I have done nothing wrong and there is no merit to their claim.” Well, at least she said something to back herself up, even though it was after the fact of her “writing” her song, releasing her song, getting people to love her song, getting someone taking the two songs merging them together and putting it up on You Tube for millions of people to listen to. Yeah, bad timing comes into my head as well.

Speaking of her songs being merged with other songs and posted on You Tube, here are TWO, yes two more examples of her songs being oddly similar to others.

Static Taume. Avril. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://static.taume.com/image/2007-avril-lavigne.jpg

MY-FACE!

Oh you knew this was coming ladies and gents of cyber chat. The battle of battles, the war of wars, the people that know how to use HTML, and the people that don’t at all. Mark’s Facebook versus Tom’s MySpace. This is MYYFACEEEEEEEE ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! Was that really needed? Was that necessary? Oh well you get the point. MYFACEEEEE!!

Lets start off with early 1999 when none of us even knew what websites were, (well, except Neopets, come on, anybody?) and MySpace was just an idea that was being passed around the table by Chris DeWolfe (MySpace's current CEO), Josh Berman, and Tom Anderson a.k.a that creepy first friend that never leaves you any comments L (MySpace's current president). These three were part of a company called eUniverse, (which in 2004 changed its name to Intermix Media) which held a contest, challenging the employees of eUniverse to see who could get the most to join this MySpace thing. I think we all know who won, the creep, and 300 million people later, Tom and his MySpace (not so much his anymore he sold it to some old geezer for 500 million dollars, not bad for a 31 year old suburban) are doing well and are standing tall and proud at the top of the internet universe. The website includes features such as blurbs, blogs, multimedia, profile customization, commenting, music, groups, MySpace TV, and MySpace mobile. So basically, MySpace carries your life in front of the triple double you dot.

Now for the prince (soon to be king, yes it will overtake MySpace thanks to all of those viruses, you know what I’m talking about people, the ones that made people delete your ass because that virus made you sound so annoying) of the internet cyber life websites, Facebook. This site was launched on February 4^th by former Harvard student Mark Zuckerburg. Originally, you had to be a student of Harvard to obtain a membership for Facebook (oh how that would have sucked). But of course, the website leaked to other colleges and universities around the US like MIT, and Boston College. Eventually, any student that had a college or university email was aloud to become a member. As of September 11, 2006 (go figure) anyone may join as long as they are 13 (12 year olds I am not encouraging that you lie about your age but, nobody will know, so take a chance) years of age or older. Facebook holds more than 60 million users. Its features include a lot of the same features as MySpace, but better in my opinion.

Now lets get to reality, MySpace was the place to be as of early 2005-mid 2006. Everybody was on it as an easy and efficient way to talk to your friends, comment photos, show people what you like, etc. Until one big nerd decided to hack Tom’s database and create a virus that virtually screwed everybody over in some way shape or form. That ladies and gentlemen was marked as one of the saddest days in history for the world. What were people going to do with no Tom to show them the way of life? DUM DUMDUMDUMMM Its Mark Zuckerburg to the rescue. As MySpace was becoming less and less popular with this “super virus”, Mark seen this as an opportunity to seize the world and introduce Facebook to the world, university or not, and it worked. Facebook is now more popular than ever, and is only going to keep growing. Myspace has finally gotten rid of that virus, but has fallen so far behind Facebook, that Tom dosen’t even know what to do. If you go on MySpace today, you will notice that it has a lot of the same features that they have taken from Facebook to try and make them their own. Sorry, isn’t working to well. I miss you Tom but, you need to take your 500 million and finally buy yourself a life.

Wikipedia. Facebook. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

Wikipedia. Myspace. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace

Tigerbeer. MySpace Vs. Facebook. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://www.tigerbeer.co.uk/www/217/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/vs.jpg

A picture is worth a thousand looks

How many of you have walked down the street, looked up at a billboard of a good looking guy/girl/creature, whatever, and let out a nice loud “daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, how come I cant find any guys/girls/creatures like that around here?” Well, say hello to the answer my little friends, you can’t, and if you do, after you meet her, go buy a lottery ticket because chances are you’ll win.

Wider eyes, thinner hips, bigger breasts, darker skin, bigger muscles, the list goes on and on of features of the human body that can be manipulated in pictures to turn heads when people look at them. Like literally turn heads, like some serious exorcist sh*t.

One instance in particular involved everybody’s favorite grandma Madonna in a December, 1990 edition of Glamour magazine. The picture of her on the front cover was actually so manipulated, that she herself didn’t even want the picture to be on there anymore. The photographer had actually bleached the picture to make Madonna’s skin seem whiter, as well (oh my god), he removed that giant gap that everybody loved so much between her teeth. Ouch Mr. Photographer, you really know how to bring somebody’s self-esteem down, I hope your kid is born with a huge gap between his toes. Good luck finding their shoe size because the stores AREN'T GOING TO HAVE IT! MUAHAHAHA.

Another example of the wondrous photo manipulation of our era came at a time when one man had the world standing on their tippy toes.

OJ Simpson, a once famous football player is accused of murdering his wife and her other lover in his home. An issue of Newsweek hits the shelves with Simpson’s mug shot on the cover. An issue of TIME magazine is then issued with the same picture of Simpson’s mug shot, but heavily manipulated to make the picture look more dark and scary. People started asking, and nobody really had an answer, that is until TIME Magazine’s editor James Gaines said “The harshness of the mug shot – the merciless bright light, the stubble on Simpson’s face, the cold specificity of the picture- had been subtly smoothed and shaped into an icon or tragedy. The expression on his face was not merely blank now; it was bottomless. This cover, with the simple, nonjudgmental headline “An American Tragedy”, seemed the obvious, right choice.” Okay, yes, maybe in some eyes was the OJ trial an American tragedy, but did you have to make him look like the black grim reaper? Or maybe that was the point. Like look at this face below.

I do not think that TIME was being racist or insensitive, but more trying to create a darker outlook around Simpson due to the trial that was taking place. It almost seems like TIME was taking sides. It almost seems like TIME wanted Simpson to suffer. And to put an American Tragedy under that photo is like putting an American Tragedy under the photo of a tag that was ripped off a mattress. Are we forgetting about Pearl Harbor, or the assassination of JFK, those are American Tragedies, not a simple misunderstood murder.

These are only two occurrences of the hundreds that people see everyday. Next time you look at a photo, and say daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, because that blonde bombshell or buzz cut hunk could be your best friend’s 70 year old grandparent.

Netzkobold. Billboard. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://www.netzkobold.com/uploads/pictures/blush_big.jpg

I.N. OJ. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://i.n.com.com/i/ne/p/2006/oj_480x318.jpg

MICHELLE. Madonna. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://michelleruth.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

Britney Fitney

Alright, so lets juts be honest and get this out of the way now. Britney Spears' performance at the VMA's was a monstrosity, most people will agree. What I don't get are the people that are saying how much weight she’s gained, and how "unfit" she has become. Are we forgetting that she just had two kids? Are we forgetting that after having two kids, your body mass increases slightly? I guess the critics have never felt the amazing pleasure of having something the size of a watermelon come out a hole the size of (insert Britney vagina joke here).

Britney Spears is not FAT. She isn't even chubby. I don't see where people could have gotten the idea that she is bigger than a bloated hippo. Oh wait, I know, people love to see people of high status crash, burn, get up, crash, and burn even harder! That’s sick!
But it's not like us, the people, have done this to her all by ourselves. She is more responsible than any of us put together. All of that partying, and random sightings while totally manged out on multiple drugs and alcohol, shaving her own head bald. It almost seems like being out of the lime-light for so long gives her a reason to cry for attention. Move over Lindsey, or at least hand her a rehab pamphlet, you need to clean out your purse anyways.

There is no doubt that Britney has gone through a lot over the course of her lifetime, basically molded from day 1 into this superhuman that lives a non stop stage life. It was only a matter of time until her roller coaster came to an end, or I guess you could say fell off the tracks. Everybody likes change, that’s why top of the line artists like rival Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake are still alive and kicking, constantly changing their style on, and off of the stage. Maybe Spears needs to spend a little less time killing her own children (which she lost), and a little more time bringing her life back around, cause the way she’s looking, suicide isn’t a much further travel.

Nevertheless, she did come out with a new album late 2007 which was said to be the best album she has ever written, so props for that, god bless and please tell your sister to stop following in your footsteps, we don’t need another crossroads on the silver screen.

PJ Lighthouse . Bald Britany. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://www.pjlighthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/britney_spears_shaving-hair-bald.jpg

California Rumor. Britany Performance. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://www.californiarumor.com/files/images/import/Britney%20Spears%20mtv%20performance.jpg

The Plastic Diaries

New Boy is the creator of Fulla, the Arab version Barbie doll. Located in Syria Dubai as well Saudi Arabia, New Boy is the equivalence of Mattel in the Middle East.
The Fulla doll was created for young girls of an Arab and Middle Eastern country that was more focused towards their heritage and culture. Her body image, as well as clothing attire fits more of a Middle Eastern standard, unlike the Barbie which relates to more of a North American outlook. Not like Barbie is even aloud to be displayed in Saudi Arabia anyways, where that poor little Blondie has been banned for body image and “revealing” sense of style.
New Boy has sold 1.5 million Fulla dolls since 2003 which shows popularity growth. I personally believe that Fulla is a good idea for the culture over seas FOR NOW, though I do not agree with what the women have to go through just to be accepted in the Arab/Middle Eastern society, but, that’s for another day…
People have given Fulla great reviews over the past few years, "If this doll had come out 10 years ago, I don't think it would have been very popular," he said. "Fulla is part of this great cultural shift." says Maan Abdul Salam, a Syrian women's rights advocate.
Overall, I still do not agree with Barbie, Fulla, or even Fulah, the Chinese version of the Barbie doll, because I do not believe that girls should be influenced by dolls such as those at such a young age. They should not have to distance their selves from other cultures like that. Maybe it would be better to have every type of doll in every country, so other cultures can adapt with other cultures, maybe it will stir up some world peace.

NewYork Times. Fullah Barbie. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/international/middleeast/22doll.html

REEL Arabs are not Real Arabs!

If I had to create a media product to correctly portray Arabs I would would create at least 20 booklets each containing two very short, but true stories. One story would tell the people about an act of violence, or terrorism that was brought forth at one point on earth. The other story would talk about something good that happened, something that was humanitarian, something that has changed the earth for the better. Each story will have one or more main characters. After the 20 people read the 20 booklets of two stories each, they will have to choose which race, Arab or Westerner, pertains to each story. Now, heres the little twist, assuming that most people will match the stereotypical Arab with the story of terrorism and violence, i will swap the stereotype and research all of the nice and humanitarian things that Arabs have done for this earth, and research all of the nasty, violent, and terrorist like acts that westerners have done to this world, and put them both in the booklet as a story. When the people find out that all of the nice stories were Arab and all of the bad stories were Western, it will give people a sense that anybody of any race can be nice and make this world a better place, like Arabs, and that anybody of any race can make this world a somewhat scary place, like Westerners. I will target these stories first to teenagers, than possibly create a lighter version for children and a more heavier complex version for adults. Once viewed by a large enough audience, i believe that people all around the world will be greatful for what the Arabs have actually done for this world, and not necessarily start to hate Westerners, but know that they can also be guilty of awful acts of violence. I personally think that these booklets will be a great success.

Peace Project. Reel Bad Arabs. 14 Jan. 2008. . http://www.peaceproject.com/graphics/dvds/larger/DVD149.jpg

No Love for the DoubleYuh

George W. Bush is said to be one of the worst presidents that the United States has ever seen. His goofy humor, lack of intelligence, and poor vocal skills (to say the least) are pin points for people to take in and say things like “I am ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas” – Natalie Manes [The Dixie Chicks].

Natalie Manes is arguably one of the best singer/song writers of the country music genre, as well as the lead vocalist of the #1 female music group of all time.

During a Dixie Chicks performance at Shepherds Bush Empire (ironic) in London, England, Natalie walked up to the microphone, looking as confident as she has ever looked and said, “I am ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO says the wolf. Yeah that probably would have been a good time to bite your tongue Natalie. Maybe she should have sung that sentence or something. Anyways, at the time, Natalie thought it was a pretty good joke, laughing along side those other two that she shares the stage with. Oh gee gollies were they in for a surprise.

The Dixie Chicks arrive back home in America to only that they are now one of the most hated people on the face of the earth. What did they think whatever happens in London, stays in London? Sorry ladies, your music is not allowed to be played on the radio anymore, your record sales diminished, and you are hated by millions of people, oh and on the side, here’s a death threat for Natalie, hope you enjoy it lovely J.

This just proved that one little comment can create quite the political uprising. People were saying things like,” Why don’t we strap Natalie to a bomb and drop her over Iraq.” A lot of protestors that were actually on the Dixie Chick’s side started protesting freedom of speech, and how people should be able to say anything they want. That’s not what one man thought where he proceeded to say “Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, but don’t do it in other countries and don’t do it in front of mass amounts of people.” Well sir, that isn’t really freedom of speech if you can only say anything in one specific area. So I guess freedom isn’t free at all, according to this man.

But of course, this story has a happy ending. The Dixie Chicks bounced back with a new hit album that talked about the last couple of years that they have gone through. People liked it, radio stations had no choice but to play it, and the Dixie Chicks were back on whatever road they were originally traveling on. They actually traveled back to the same stadium in London, England where Natalie made that remark, where she proceeded to say “I am still ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”

You little bad ass.

This wasn’t the only slap in the Texan face that Bush received.

August 2005, during a NBC Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser, controversial rap power house Kanye West said something that literally shocked America. Kanye and a video camera with millions of viewers and a microphone, oh my! You know when you see Kanye on television, something stupid is going to come out of that mouth of his, and oh was this comment ever stupid. He looked into the camera with those big brown eyes and he said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

(Watch Mike Myers' Reaction..HAHAH PRICELESS!)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOW, somewhere around the world a kitten just died. That was probably the most talked about line in hurricane relief fund history. Sadly, the 10 star line quickly vanished from the scene and was forgotten by many, but remembered by few, *sob*.

And last but not least, P!nk released a single called, Dear Mr. President, which I just heard for the first time today, and I must say, I’m impressed.

The one thing that stood out for me in this song was the chorus.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

P!nk does ask some good questions in this song, I guess she is waiting for Bush to personally give her the answers.

Unlike the Dixie Chicks, P!nk was praised for writing this song (maybe because the Dixie Chicks beat her to the outcome of saying something about the leader of a country). But like the Dixie Chicks, radio stations refused to play the song, and some US television shows would not let her perform the song on their station. But that still didn’t stop her from performing it at every single one of her shows. The fans loved it.

I think I better watch my mouth the next time I travel to the states.

FunFacts . George W. Bush. 15 Jan. 2008. . http://www.funfacts.com.au/images/george-w-bush.jpg

Family Household Statistics

1. Favorite

Mike – Computer

Mom – Television

2. Least Favorite

Mike – Telephone (id rather just talk to more people at once on the computer)

Mom – Cell phone (she doesn’t even own one; she just uses the home phone)

3. Yes, children of different ages and sexes prefer different items due to the fact that some want to be the “cool guy/girl” with their cell phone so they can text all of their friends, while others would just like to remain “normal children” with their Saturday morning cartoons. I think both sexes can enjoy the same things equally to an extent.

4. The computer is probably used the most because it can do the most things. It can text like a cell phone, communicate like a telephone, and provide visuals like a television.

5. I would say that for me, the telephone is used the least because I have my computer and my cell phone, but for my mom, the least used is the cell phone due to the fact that she doesn’t own one.

9/11 IN THE MEDIA

Tuesday, September 11^th, 2001, was what I thought would have been just another repetitive, boring elementary school day. That all changed at 8:46 am that very same day, when terror had reared its ugly head. I was front row, second from the left when the announcement came on the P.A for all students to meet in the gymnasium. Students took it as a free waste of time, I hate to admit it but, so did I. As students crowded into the gymnasium, trying to find a spot to sit with their friends, the teachers seemed a little uncomfortable about something, which made me a little worried. As soon as everyone was seated, the principal, Mrs. Banks, stood in front of all of us and said, “The World Trade Centers have been attacked by terrorists!” The students, as well as some of the teacher’s reactions were somewhat priceless; I think I was the only student in the whole gym that realized what she had just said. It was an early dismissal that day. I guess we were sent home to mourn or something, I don’t know, I never really asked. All I know is t hat many people died that day, many people lost their loved ones, and many people seen real fear for the first time at 8:46 am on September 11^th, 2001.

There is a song called “Where were you” by Alan Jackson, which asks the question, “Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day (a direct quote from his song)?” Well Alan, I’m sure we weren’t listening to your song as the smoke and debris of falling buildings were smothering the citizens with New York City. Most of us were watching whatever news station we could find on television, most likely CNN, which Alan also criticizes in his song.

“I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran”

Alan, if it wasn’t for CNN, most people wouldn’t even know what Iraq or Iran were, so no need to criticize. Alan does get some credit for writing what he feels, but did he have to put that song out literally 2 months after such a tragedy, telling people where they were and what they were doing? More like a cry for attention Alan, you’re already rich enough; no need for a few extra bucks promoting a song 2 months after over a thousand people lost their lives. Of course he will make money off a song like that at such a time period. People needed something to give them some form of comfort, and Alan’s song did that, even though the connotation of the song brought no realistic comfort to anybody at all.

“But I know Jesus and I talk to God”

Well, that’s great Alan, but that still isn’t going to change what happened, so why don’t you stick to your hillbilly ways and sing about your ranch with the twelve cattle.

There were two films that were made in "honor" of the horrific acts that took place on September 11th, World Trade Center, and United 93. The productions of these films both have their positive and negative aspects. United 93 tells the story of passengers aboard flight United 93 standing up and fighting against terrorist hijackers that took over the planes cockpit on September 11^th 2001. The passengers fought off the hijackers and brought the plane to the ground killing the hijackers and themselves in the process, but possibly saving hundreds of other lives. Sources say the plane was headed towards the Whitehouse or the Capitol building.

The film didn’t use any big Hollywood actors either, which gave it more of a realistic taste, more than the “Brad Pitt saves the day yet again” mouthful. The movie actually did pretty good in the box office too, and didn’t get much criticism, unlike another movie about 9/11 appropriately titled “World Trade Center”.

This movie tells the story of two firemen who had been trapped under the rubble of one of the collapsed towers. The film stars Nicholas Cage (oh come on, that’s the best they could do?) Playing the lead fire fighter who gets called in a 747 hits the first tower.

Co star Michael Pena, accompanies him for the most part as he helps (sort of) Cage’s character get people out of the burning building. This movie received way more criticism than United 93, especially from the viewers, more so the ones that were actually present during the attacks. People were saying that this movie was made for Cage’s gain, and why would someone make a blockbuster out of such a tragedy, not to long after the tragedy had happened. I would say that those statements are very agreeable.

Both United 93 and World Trade Center gave people a little, little tiny wee taste of what it was like to be there, not necessarily be there but, be in that situation, right? But you should never try to reenact a tragedy, such as that of September 11^th, put it on the silver screen and expect people to come together, as Americans (in this case) and say things like “wow, that movie really put you in their shoes.” Or, “I really liked the part when…” That is just plain ridiculous. The sad thing is, both of those movies were top at the box office at one point or another, World Trade Center doing $18,730,762, on its opening weekend, $162,970,240 world wide, while United 93, didn’t doing as well as World Trade Center, but still making $11,478,360 in its opening week, and $76,238,038 world wide. Both of these movies both achieved the same goal which was bringing in loads of undeserving cash that came out of the viewers pockets.

People paid to see Nicholas Cage run into a burning CGI’d building, which was supposed to represent real fire fighters running into the real building of the real (once upon a time) World Trade Centers. There is no real comparison, and there was really no need for an attempt to be.

United 93, can be taken off of the hook a little bit for not using any Hollywood actors to make the movie, which maybe gave it somewhat of a greater chance to not win any awards, even though it did, many. Regardless, United 93 had absolutely no reason to be made.

Speaking of awards and movies of absolute tragedies being made for commercial wealth, World Trade Center was nominated for 8 awards winning two of them, one of those wins being “Hollywood Movie of the Year” at the Hollywood Film Festival (go figure). Go Cage Go, you did it once again buddy. What, “Wind Talkers” in Vietnam wasn’t enough gunho, for you so you had to turn to another American tragedy? Give me a break.

United 93 was even more shocking. This film was nominated for 2 Oscars, accompanied by another 23 wins and 17 nominations. All of these awards that were won by people who probably thanked their ma’ pa’, and uncle Christoff when they received it, only received it thanks to one of Americas largest most devastating tragedies to date. How could you say thanks for that at an award show? “uhh, Id like to thank the terrorists who hijacked the planes, and uh, Osama, and uh, those 400 people who jumped out of the window, and uh, rest in peace, but thank you for this award.” The only awards that these two evens deserve are our condolences for the bravery shown by the real firefighters and the REAL common folk who took those hijackers on to save hundreds of other lives. These real people did real things, and they should be the people who are commemorated for such a catastrophic day.

Box Office Mojo. United 93 Box Office. 13 Jan. 2008. .

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=united93.htm

Box Office Mojo. World Trade Center Box Office. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wtc.htm

Heal911. Twin Towers. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://www.heal911.com/aaHeal9-11Self_files/towers.jpg

Celluloid Film Review. World Trade Center Movie. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://www.celluloidfilmreview.com/images/World-Trade-Center.jpg

Imageshack. United 93 Movie. 13 Jan. 2008. . http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/3452/b000gh3cr001lzzzzzzzyw2.jpg