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Dec 25 2009
Get your mind out the gutter, and spend it with family and friends. Tis the season for Holidays!
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Dec 24 2009
Ringing loudly from a few
A little Abstract: Simply put, minority groups – lifestyles, cultural, racial, were disadvantaged because their concerns went unheard in the general public – primarily due to the availability of distributional channels; back in the day, the only way to really rally, garner support were through newspapers, TV (if you could get the airtime), and word of mouth. In times of social unrest throughout the world, the ‘grassroots’ campaign has been the movement of choice for sparking change and voicing dissent – from the pamphlets that used to be passed around in the dens preceding the Spanish revolution to speak of injustices, to the rallies that started in the deep south in the U.S. circa 1960’s that spread across the nation – it has shown us that the minority, though small, can be very vocal in expressing their dissent.
Enter the digital age with communications passing at lightning speeds; grassroots groups can now quickly spread their message around – gaining members, support, and exposure. The most recent and salient example of this would be Obama’s 2008 U.S. presidential campaign as the mastermind of his campaign utilized the power of social network’s to connect with people; the campaign was able to quickly organize rallies and spread campaign messages to thousands of people instantly. It is said that it is because of Obama’s clever use of grassroots movement ‘mentality’ that lead him to victory in the election – in an election that everyone initially thought he had no chance in winning.
Essentially, most grassroots movements focus around inequity; the imbalance of a system – and the movements try to disrupt and/or change the lifestyle of the majority. Some of the movements I support, but for some …. I don’t know. These movements are very vocal, but their cause – I can’t identify with and/or subscribe, or I just don’t get the logic in how they expressed themselves. There are even full sites that give guides and tutorials on how to start Grassroots sites (click here) with plenty of resources.
No need to explain what doubt is; should be a universal concept as we experience everyday in our lives. Whenever you have an event, or a belief, there will always be two points of view – the Advocators and the Doubters. Let’s examine the Doubters; specifically in the light of substantial empirical evidence. Call them ignorant, believers, or motivationally driven, these people pronounce an opposing stance in the face of adversity; such as those that don’t believe in the moon landing by NASA. Maybe call them the ‘conspirators’ actually, as they cast doubt and mystery behind many of life’s popular events; and they gain traction via social networking sites and mobile technology to amplify their belief.
I only dread as the world gets increasingly smaller with communications, that the world on a whole, will be much louder – get your earmuffs out.
Dec 23 2009
Examples of the difference
This post expands on the battle between being cheap and frugal – as many of my friends, colleagues have attested that I am cheap. They are categorically wrong. To be cheap means to consciously decide products/services of inferior quality. To be frugal means to be careful in the usage of one’s resources. As to not rehash the first post (click here), I have thought of clear distinguishing examples that will help those that are wrongfully accused of being cheap, when they are actually frugal:
-Now this is just being smart, $5 for a bag of popcorn?!? $3 for a bag of candy?!? Bringing in your own treats from the dollar store does not only save you money, but is being a smart consumer.
- In some cases the difference is minimal, and if you can’t distinguish the difference, then it makes no sense to spend an extra few cents to a dollar just to have a ‘name brand’; specifically I am referring to grocery items. However, if you do have a general disdain and find the products of no name products to lack a certain taste/quality than a brand name – then sure, go ahead and go for the name brand. But choosing an equally comparative brand is not cheap, it is being frugal.
- I live in Toronto, where they like to charge enormous amounts of money for parking in the downtown core – many big cities have a similar and worse situation. So what is walking a few blocks to your event if it is going to save you money in the long run? That $15 flat rate parking is only a cost for easy convenience; while the $5 parking lot down the street or the free parking (a few more blocks away) will make you do something that you should already be doing – exercise! Get your ‘walk on’ and save a few bucks, be frugal, don’t waste your money.
Be Frugal NOT Cheap! Like moi!
.:: LiBM ::.
Dec 20 2009
Some fresh fashions and tech gear for the Nerbans and Nerbanettes for this holiday season – from the highly techie stuff to the cool gear. You can be a nerd with style!
$99 via TigerDirect
$64 via KarmaLoop
$59 via Dr Jays
$169 via KarmaLoop
$26 via KarmaLoop
$96 via KarmaLoop
.:: LiBM ::.
Dec 19 2009
From paulbradley.ca
Good or Bad?
As 2009 comes to an end, this has to be one of the most bizarre years for celebrities and sports figures – from Octo Mom, Chris Brown/Rihanna, the Rick Ross/50 Cent fiasco, and the endless ‘leaks’ of personal home videos from celebrities, this year is definitely a defining moment in the ongoing moral decay of society. Combine that with the ever-so popular YouTube videos of youth fights (especially the senseless killing of a Chicago teen), it can be said that we have lost our sense of shame. This point rings louder in the aftermath of the Tiger Woods incident where we have several women ‘proudly’ coming forward in saying that they had sexual relations with the Golf superstar. Let’s analyze the situation so we are all following; up to 16 women are coming forward saying they had relations with a married man … If this was even 50 years ago, these women would have not dared to pronounce such a thing as they would feel ASHAMED and EMBARRASSED. However, some ‘reappropriation’ or ‘reinterpretation’ has happened in the last couple of years because now what used to be ’shameful’ can be almost worn as a ‘badge of honor’ on one’s sleeve.
So how did we lose the sense of shame? Was it lost with the rise of feminism as women became more vocal about their gender & sexuality? Or was it a reaction to the rise in ‘political correctness’ as a sort of a revolt or detest? I am sure there are a multitude of reasons to our moral decay, and all relates to a loss of pride, honor, and respect for ourselves. I mean, that has to be the only reasons for why women would proudly bolster themselves as hussies, modern day jezebels – we are using our greed for money and fame as an appropriate rational to engage in shameful behavior. Its funny, kind of, we are practicing the ENDS justifies the MEANS, where the ‘ENDS’ refers to money/fame/notoriety and the ‘MEANS’ is whoever or whatever we have to screw (literally and figuratively) over to get it.
This ‘loss of shame’ is everywhere through our society, and I guess it is a reflection to changing norms and attitudes. Some more relatable examples that are seen in everyday life are:
Not saying that men can be the only ones who are the ‘earners’, but there are many guys out there that are proud that they stay home, play video games all day, and just spend their girlfriend’s money … can anyone say ‘role-reversal’? Lol, just kidding to my independent women.
Has always been around, but re-ignited with Paris Hilton, this movement pretty much teaches young females that it is okay to be slack, loose, film yourself – if it leads to money & material wealth. With hip-hop, now we have rappers like Nicki Minaj who have an almost cult-like following of young women who follow her on Twitter, dress like her, and talks like her (go to her MySpace to get familiar).
The most blatant example of our ‘Loss of Shame’ can be seen daily, hourly, on Twitter – sometimes I am disgusted of the trending topics and some of the comments/posts that people share. It really is a sea of madness and nonsense – but in the same breath, is this a product of our individualistic society where we are encouraged to say what is on our minds?
From childhood, we are taught that we are ’special’, we are ‘unique’, ‘no one is like you’, and to ’speak our mind’, so is this merely the cost of our individuality – the loss of morals? It is an interesting trade-off that we seem to be battling with at the moment as it is a continuous cycle of conflicting views that go sort of like: If I am vocal of something that is perceived as morally incorrect, if I DON’T talk about it I am repressing my feelings & emotions – which goes against everything that society teaches me …. And if I DO be vocal about something that is morally incorrect, then I am expressing myself, even though I know it is wrong – so why am I expressing it in the first place.
Just thinking about this gives me a headache, as morality, ethics, freedom, and psychology interplay in this sticky quagmire of a situation.
Am I on point or far-off? Share your thoughts …
.::LiBM::.