Mich Cardin

Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category

Give It Up

In Activism, Benefits, Rants on March 23, 2011 at 10:51 pm

There’s a lot going on in the news right now……Libya, the disaster in Japan, the GOP candidate race, Charlie-mania (*sigh*)

Oh and don’t forget the constant hissy-friction between major news networks like CNN and FOX (are they still known as news?), left vs. right wing talk-show hosts duking it out, and of course Charlie Sheen taking over the airwaves because, well, apparently we care a whole lotta’.

TV is much more dangerous than the internet because at least we can attempt to weed out the toxins when we’re online  – jump off a site and look for a better one. (there are millions – you can be your own research detective)

With what seems to be too few major news brands dominating our screens and all appearing to brainwash us with the same merry-go-round  fear-laden gossip – we have little choice in the situation. I was just forced to hear (on a high-rep’d news channel) what went wrong in all eight of Liz Taylor’s marriages, a descriptive impeachment process that may or may not occur to Obama (and was SO taken out of context), to how Snookie has become a  symbolic cultural phenomenon.

Don’t be surprised if I abandon arts and culture and enter the realm of political reporting. Artists and arts journalists will always be ok – individuals, usually open-minded and not afraid to be fallible and those reporting on them – offering enriching stories without the intention to persuade you on any sort of agenda. Not to mention our work effects a much smaller audience. Political news seems to deteriorate every day and needs help AND facts (at least there’s Maddow) – and effects all of us on a daily basis as long as we have eyes, ears and a remote.

Please, if you haven’t already donate any amount to the victims in Japan – something the networks should be reminding us to do every ten minutes.

In between Lohan DUI updates.

Here’s a list of some social, creative ways to GIVE if you so demand it.

Bad Review

In Music, Rants on March 10, 2011 at 5:02 pm

Lupe Fiasco’s long-awaited album, Lasers, debuted on Tuesday to immediate criticism from the top.

Ok, so yes it’s a bit eclectic to say the least with a mix of trancy-like music thrown in some tracks – and you do get the feeling that he’s holding back.

But if you read the right reviews - that’s exactly the problem. Lupe – whose rep is that of substance, a brain, and the refusal to maintain a pc tongue has clearly been stifled by his record label and forced to go majorly commercial. (Skylar Grey seems to be Dido reincarnated from Eminem’s “Stan”)  

Despite that, the record is politically charged and accurately portrays what appears to be Lupe’s emotional conflicts du jour – it echoes frustration, confusion (record label?) and anger towards American government and media. It also shows experimentation – which does not always succeed….but should we blame Lupe or Atlantic records?

Either way, he still arouses more intrigue and emotion and proves enough talent  to wipe out most of his mainstream pupils.

But    I   won’t    name    names.

Your Life is a Cult Classic

In Dance, Photography, Rants on December 10, 2010 at 12:39 pm

If “Office Space” seems more familiar to you than it should – it’s time for a change.

Sure, your job may get you to CEO one day – but by then your social skills will be so diminished you’ll be known as the mumbling logic-freak that everyone dodges at the holiday party.

Make a resolution to take on something creative this year and flex the right side of your brain – before it dries up.

Losing weight and joining Match.com can wait, Milton.

Is going out, dead?

In Rants on September 10, 2010 at 2:45 pm

If you haven’t heard of their blog yet – you are out of the loop.

Or take yourself too seriously – or you wear a lot of pink and still go to tri-level clubs.

Yesterday’s post on “Stuff Hipsters Hate” gets to the point. It unapologetically asks the question – has nightlife all together become too trendy to even bother?

FLASHBACK

Manhattan

Dude, no one goes to Manhattan anymore—unless, it’s like, Thursday night and someone cool is playing at Cake Shop or something. The LES is soooooo over, and don’t even get me started on the Villages, anything above Houston and the entire fucking UES. If I wanna go out, I’ll just go to that dive bar directly across from my apartment (the authentic one where real people hang out—you wouldn’t like it) and stumble home afterwards—fuck taking the L train with all those fucking hipsters.

Generation Sloth

In Rants on July 13, 2010 at 2:11 am

On July 20th Lindsay Dee Lohan is due to surrender to the court after being sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in rehab. She had violated her probation on a 2007 drug and alcohol-related DUI charge.  Word is she has hired a new lawyer and may never see jail. Her father blames her downfall on prescription drugs. Her mother is scrambling to appeal. Her younger sister just got more plastic surgery. How do I know all this? I saw it on CNN and MSNBC while trying to find out the update on the BP oil spill.

Whether Lindsay ends up behind bars or not, let this serve as a turning point. The Goliath of the Debu-tarts has fallen – so let’s stop caring.

 LL was one of the more redeemable characters in the heaping pile of hallowed-out mannequins. She actually had a craft and some talent. Unfortunately, the profits of her semi-hard work fell through the fingers of her dysfunctional stage parents and went up her nose. When she started pulling no-shows on movie sets and becoming more notorious for half-conscious, coked-out car chase photos – she became the meal-ticket of tabloids such as TMZ, sponsored by us.

There are already talks on the table that post time-served she would be offered close to $1 million for an interview. Because she has become one of the most searched women on the web and networks know the ratings would be through the roof. Because we can’t seem to get beyond this insatiable thirst to throw a young, shallow American Dream into a fishbowl and watch her drown. We have become a society that believes any inconsequential talent should be rewarded with quick fame and infinite wealth – which is why too many of us want it and enjoy watching the demise of those who have achieved it.

Which is why LL is on CNN.

No, Generation Sloth is not referring to Lindsay and Co.

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