i think humanity is taking a turn for the worse, and i dont know if we can ever recover from it. Maybe im overreacting, maybe its just American culture, but I am seeing far too much admiration going to the wrong trends and the wrong types of people. america leads the world when it comes to entertainment so i assume theres at least some sort of a ripple effect.
              Why do people look up to gangsters, hustlers, cracked out popstars, and spoiled heiresses?  50 cent shouldnt be a role model, hes a scumbag thats lucky to be alive. it isnt bc hes "from the streets" that he survived, he got lucky.  but thats beside the point, what makes this guy a musician? can we even call him an artist? he spits rhymes into a microphone, a producer drops a beat onto a track and all of a sudden he deserves the respect of millions?
 this stuff isnt music, and he isnt an artist. hes an entertainer, more a circus clown than a visionary. if the money wasnt rolling in, he wouldnt even be cutting tracks, and hes said that himself. thats not what art is about.
and then theres people like britney spears, this girl should have been put out in a cabin in the wilderness and forgotten about. it wouldve been better for her and the industry as a whole if she disappeared from the public eye. but no, i gotta deal with her shitty music, crazy antics, and worst of all, her nasty snatch in every tabloid. everytime i see a myspace with the headline "its [insert name here] bitch" it pisses me off to no end. why do you listen to that garbage? for christ sakes im sure you can find something else to dance to, if thats all you find important. 
              im not going to delve into anymore examples...  like tila tequila,  paris hilton, or lil wayne, im just gonna say fuck em. the point that im trying to make is we cannot admire trashy people in our culture because it will encourage trashy behavior. I guarantee criminal activity and drug abuse would drop substantially if people had some class when it came to entertainment.
 
Honor, pride, and respect- ive said it all my life, if you dont hold these ideals close youre lost.

...sigh i dont know why i posted this, i doubt anybody will read it, perhaps i just needed to vent. Ive been seeing too much greed and treachery in the news and i think its because no one has faith in doing the right thing anymore.  everyone just wants to get rich or drunk or laid and no one cares what happens to anyone else. its sad, humanity used to have unity but as the years pass the people next to us become strangers.

5.  Primus- Mr. Krinkle
      One of my favorite groups ever. This entire video was shot in one take! I love its weird imagery and the over the top strange behavior from all the people. Ive actually had friends tell me they had nightmares from seeing this video.  At 3:08 you can see Les Claypool (pig suit guy) checking out the chick with the hot ass, hilarious.


4.  Incubus- Dig
       This video was actually made by a fan who referenced the album art created by the drummer of the band. The story is about a man who hides behind his alter ego until the right woman comes along and "digs at him" to reveal his true self, all the while finding comfort and love in one another. I think the lyrical content and story are very emotionally moving and the lyrics synched up perfectly with the video.

3. Aphex Twin- Window Licker
     This is simply the most bizarre thing Ive ever seen. I dont know whether Richard James' objective with this video was to make a mockery of hip hop videos, redefine beauty in his own twisted way, or just profess his love for himself but everytime I watch this video Im entranced by how disturbing it is.


2. Depeche Mode- Enjoy the Silence
      Y'know, I dont wanna sound like a queer or nothin, but I think Depeche Mode is a sweet band. This video is simply amazing and I can relate wholeheartedly to what they portrayed with the lyrics. The video starts out with the band together and suddenly flowers flash and David is the only one left. All his friends found love and broke away from the group and he remained, without love, and now without friends. The lyrics speak of a man broken by past relationships that went afoul with unkept promises. So he is left, the king of his domain, all alone, living out his days in silence. 


1. Pearl Jam- Do The Evolution
     This is easily my favorite video of all time. Pearl Jam's message in the lyrics, the outstanding animation, the unbridled aggression of the music that builds and fades, it's overall an incredible piece of work. What is Pearl Jam's message? Humans are greedy self-absorbed creatures whose entire existence is perpetuated by their own desires which are often achieved with a "by any means necessary" mentality. Hence the senseless death, slavery, destruction, rape, poverty, and genocide we experience in our civilization. Im sure they dont mean to seem completely negative, we are not all murderers and rapists! But I dont think most of us concern ourselves with all the harm we do to the world.

   

Im not into the whole chain mail thing so I decided to make a blog out of this.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against.. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or gettin g ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he' s talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the news papers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're n ot sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best Regards.

Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

 My Opinion: People need something to believe in, it is in our nature and even those who dont believe in the bible can still look to it for moral guidance.