blogs falling in an empty forest

sent:

NYTimes: When The Thrill of Blogging is Gone…

reasoning:

 oh how i can relate to this article. when i first started this blog, i did do it out of a small wish for fame and notoriety, not so much that people would be logging on to read about the party i went to last night, or the amazing cardamon bread pudding i made over the weekend, but i had hoped the idea behind this blog would catch on. people would start using the “no postage necessary” envelopes to send in poetry, love letters, or intellectual articles to the credit card application collection centers. soon, i’d have to created another blog to just post the responses and reasonings, something more along the lines of PostSecret with substance and commentary on social disconnect and loneliness, rather than just community picture submissions like upsidedowndogs  or look at this fucking hipster (as entertaining as it is to scan through that site every now and then). i want commenters, i want more people saying “hey, cool post”, or sending me emails about paper goods they’ve sent in to the collection centers and why.

but also, i know of the ease to start something and not complete it: diets, workout routines, fictional novellas, etc. blogging really could just be the internet fad of the 21st century, and the thought of all the abandoned blogs out there pains me to think of all the WWW space they’re uselessly and inefficiently taking up. [certainly not to say, nopostagerequired is contributing to the greater good and worth however much GB it’s using). plus, i’m reminded that i’ve got to go and delete that embarassing, old LiveJournal I wrote back in high school. another reason i started this blog was the hope that it’d encourage me to write more. if i was writing, however informally, on a consistent basis> that can only help me practice and perhaps make all the papers in graduate school much easier to complete. but alas, i’ve fallen too often into the “sorry, i haven’t posted here in awhile” trap, and sometimes this blog becomes a nagging chore that’s always in the back of my mind to work on, much in the same way of starting art projects, that Census Bureau application, or that morning workout. i will write here that I am attempting to write here at least 4 times a week until it becomes routine. it’s taken me more than a year, but i’ve at least gotten to 100+ posts, it’s somewhat reassuring that nopostagerequired won’t be listed on One Post Wonder, i’ve jsut to be more diligent in keeping it up. onward >

Don LaFontaine

recipient:

American Express/ PO Box 31511/ Salt Lake City, UT 84131-9934

sent:

Los Angeles Times: Don LaFontaine, 68; voice of movie trailers

reasoning:

Don LaFontaine, Mr. Movie Trailer Voice-Over Guy, died on Monday, Sept 1 from complications of a long-term illness called pneumothorax, air or gas in the pleural cavity. he was the voice for Space Odyssey, The Terminator, Fatal Attractions and The Simpsons. one of my favorites is this GEICO commercial from 2006, when they did their “real customer, hired an actor” campaign. “in a world where both of our cars were TOTALLY under water… but a new wind was about to blow. payback: this time it’s for real”. awesome. Pablo Francisco does a great impression of him and his ability to make even the most trivial, or ridiculous sound urgent and dangerous – arnold schwarzenegger in “little tortilla boy”.

LaFontaine considered himself a ‘voice actor’, movie trailers may just be previews to the actual movie, but he was so instrumental in making them a vital part of the movie-going experience, and contributing to the buzz and success of new movies not even out in theaters yet.  “You want to take the audience out of their seats, out of their homes, out of their complacency and pull them into the story,” he said. “You want to make that trailer so compelling that they have to go buy a ticket just to find out how the movie ends.” he was known as “Thunder Throat” or “The Voice of God”. in whatever the afterlife may be, can you imagine him now just talking and hanging out with God – arguing over what to order for lunch, playing checkers or watching “American Idol”. hope he’s making everything more serious and overdramatic up there, as he did here.

adele – hometown glory

recipient:

Boston Research Group/Bank of America Client Survey – Dept. 23/PO Box 75475-9980/ Dayton, OH 45475-9980

sent:

Adele – Hometown Glory Live on a BBC 2 show called “Sound”.

reasoning:

current music obsession. Adele, along with Duffy, are receiving big amounts of hype and seeming inextricable comparisons to Amy Winehouse. perhaps anything now that’s deep, throaty and a bit jazz-y, or soulful draws parallels to her. the blogs and the music critics say Adele and Duffy are like Amy, except less drunk and hopped up on drugs -> cleaner cut versions. whatever, i think they are each their own. according to wikipedia, Adele says she is a bit of a heavy drinker, but she’s never dabbled in drugs. one thing the media has picked up on, particularly the American media, is her weight. at size 14-16, she’s “larger” than most of the public tv/movie/music figures in the spotlight. but she’s been angrily slamming the reports, and adamant that she is not going to succumb to the pressure to lose weight, now that she’s a ’star’. she’d only consider doing it for health reasons. she’s beautiful, and her voice is amazing. it’s refreshing that she is not going to kill her body just so she can fit in better and become more successful. her voice, and her work should be enough to stand for itself, and they do.

Fist Bumping

recipient:

Discover Card/ PO Box 15162/ Wilmington, DE 19885-9508

sent:

Michelle Obama’s appearance on The View, greeting all the co-hosts with the fist bump, or “terrorist fist jab“.

reasoning:

what the media has decided to cover has been all over the place: election coverage has been crazy – either totally serious, and contentious, or completely ridiculous. it’s hard to look at the game of politics sometimes b/c how the politicians react, what they say, what they do can ultimately affect the decision of who is going to be chosen president, who is going to lead this country and represent us to the rest of the world. but if one is reassured that even if the worst candidate is chosen, there are enough checks and balances in place that the country will go, then the absurdity of American politics is kind of fun.

that said, i love seeing Michelle Obama everywhere on the news, internet, and political blogs.

gossip detox

recipient:

Meyer and Associates/18 Washington Avenue/Chatham, NJ 07928-9903

sent:

Gossip Detox: 12 steps for reclaiming your life from tabloids, article in the now defunct JANE magazine.

1. I admit that I’m powerless over gossip and the constant onslaught of TMZ, US Weekly and even CNN (the Celebrity News Network). I recognize that these “news” outlets aren’t going to slow in their gossip coverage anytime soon, so I must gain control of my own consumption.
2. In doing so, I will avoid trigger places – like nail salons, and long grocery checkout lines
3. I will look to higher powers, such as This American Life’s Ira Glass, PBS newsman Jim Lehrer and Christiane Amanpour (who recently got a Smith honorary degree)
4. If I do find myself on People.com, I will close the window, admit my mistake, and not follow up with a dose of Hollyscoop or Defamer
5. I will take a searching moral inventory of the powerlessness I feel in my own life that makes me enjoy judging Paris, Lindsay and Britney
6. I will admit that a paparazzo disguising himself to photograph a celebrity is a stalker, and that when I look at those photos, I become a stalking accomplice
7. I will humbly ask that my roommate watch E! True Hollywood Story in her own room
8. I will make a list of persons I have wronged with inane questions like, “How on earth does Wilmer Valderamma get all those hot girls?”
9. Then I will make amends to those people however possible, using conversation starters like, “So, what’s your carbon footprint?” instead
10. I will seek a sponsor, prefereably one with a degree in 18th century literature or medieval studies
11. I will seek, through meditation and online chess game, the consciousness that is required to pay attention to things like art festivals and gallery openings rather than what shower gifts Jennifer Garner received, or how much Ashlee Simpson’s nose job cost
12. Guided by this spiritual awakening, I will start my own Website devoted to gossip about politicians, religious leaders, and the entire royal bloodline of Austria – but haven’t we gotten to a point where politicians and religious leaders are just as much tabloid fodder as are the movie stars?

who hasn’t seen this picture?

reasoning:

ah, celebrity gossip. no matter how intellectual, cultural, or technologically advanced, modern societies and countries can’t seem to get away from gossip and people who are famous for just being famous.  I don’t watch Entertainment Tonight or the Insider, I don’t buy Star or UsWeekly, but yet I know about J.Lo’s twin pregnancy, and Katie Holmes’ new haircut.  WHY?!?!  somehow even those 3 minutes in the checkout line, you can absorb so much information just from simple headlines.  some have protested against why celebrities get so much attention, if we stopped buying into those media outlets, then even the paparazzi would have to stop staking out their apartments, restaurants and all the hot clubs.  the paparazzi/celebrity culture is ridiculous, from both sides : the celebrities, and the cameraman, tabloids, and readers who pursue them.  Princess Diana is a good example. sadness.   while I don’t actively go out to seek the gossip, it’s all around, and difficult to avoid. as much as i hate it, i’ve also provided links to those very gossip websites and blogs. too alluring… can’t stay away.

i like the replacement therapy suggestions, some substitutes for your gossip vices:

• “stars… They’re just like us” -> Harper’s Index
• The Insider -> Thirty-minute phone call to Grandma
• Perez Hilton -> Scrabble
• Angelina Jolie -> Charity work, like saving a super cute puppy

I guess the ultimate advice is to get your own life, go out, do you own thing, and all the focus and concentration on how “celebrities” live their lives, will fall to the wayside.  semi-satirical/semi-truthful, oh how I will miss JANE magazine so.