by katie
Archives for posts with tag: blogs
Perez isn't the only one who knows how to Photoshop. Original image, Flickr.com/macadaan
OK, I meant to say something about Perez Hilton Thursday, just after he posted a pretty callous and insensitive post about Michael Jackson faking illness to get out of his upcoming world tour (turns out, the health problem reported that morning was real. And fatal, as anyone in the free and not-so-free world must know).
I don’t think the guy should get any more attention, even from a blog no one reads (ahem), because it just fans his flame. Perez takes to controversy in such a compulsive, almost aggressive way that it’s truly sickening to think about how powerful he is. It was surprising to see how shocked he was that so many people were happy he’d gotten sucker-punched by Will.I.Am’s tour manager; as John Mayer [shockingly] wisely Tweeted shortly after, fans didn’t want him hurt, but equalized. He’s a normal guy who got really famous being really mean, and not even in a creative or funny way. He has become a millionaire because he’s succesfully managed to become a horrible, untalented celebrity — just like the ones he tends to deface. Perez is totally comfortable being offensive, and that makes people angry.
John Mayer, the unexpected voice of reason
Let’s talk about the gay rights movement for a second. It’s sad to see someone so powerful be a completely ineffective voice for a cause. The way he asked a loaded question at the Miss America pageant and subsequently relentlessly attacked not “separate marriage” activitists but a bumbling beauty queen; the way he used the word “faggot” as a way to insult and provoke a physical attack and the press’s attention and the way he refuses to apologize to GLAAD, his former employer, for such a glaring misstep. For someone so powerful, he has no idea how to organize, or get things done, or even rule the Web benevolently.
Perez is also misogynistic. He frequently calls women whores, sluts, bitches and a melange of other insults in his posts. He loves to blur out the faces of girlfriends of the young guys he’d rather be dating. He is kind to women like Gloria Estefan, Madonna and Lady Gaga; his allegiance seems to lie with those most likely to let him ride their coattails, put him in front row at their concerts or accompany him to awards shows. They’re happy they’re not being slaughtered by his Photoshop paintbrush, so they reciprocate with invitations. The women who play nice — the ones who say they ignore him — tend to get crude drawings of drool, vaginal discharge and ejaculate drawn all over their bodies. Unfortunately, this isn’t seen like a big deal, as this complaint could easily be deemed too feminist, and, therefore, frivolous.
Lastly, my problem with him becomes a question of culture: Why is he so damn mean, and what does this do to us as readers? Recession, war, civil rights issues and other real problems plague American culture already, and now we’ve got some asshole ripping into celebrities left and right. And no, celebrities don’t warrant much sympathy, but why can’t pop culture just be a little bit more highbrow; or, if it’s not, why not satirically, hysterically funny, like Dlisted? TMZ, Gawker and GoFugYourself are blogs that offer similarly entertaining perspectives on our culture without being downright crude. (Perez, by the way, is an awful writer.) I wonder if Perez’s livelihood was effected — if the large TV banners and screen wraps disappeared, and site traffic slowed — would he really still continue to say he doesn’t care what anyone thinks?
So, the next time you’re tempted to check out his site or click on a link to his Twitter, think twice: Day-to-day life is complicated and stressful enough — do any of us really need to deal with more shit?
#Unfollowperez
Grad school Quarter #2 Week #1 is miles away from what it felt like to start the program in January. The reorganization of people has worked in my favor — I think everyone is benefiting from the better chemistry that comes with choosing where you want to be. I’m much happier.
We went to Bloomberg (111 S. Wacker in the Financial District) this morning to learn how to use a terminal, i.e. two big computer screens attached to a keyboard with lots of colorful but unfamiliar buttons. A Medill alum sped us through a breakneck tutorial. The free food and soda made the intimidating speed of things more acceptable than it was.
I’m business reporting. I am neither business nor number inclined, so the whole experience has been pretty intimidating so far. It’s refreshing to feel unfamiliar concepts click together in my brain, but those happenings are few and far between.
Coding HTML in my interactive course … I already know how to do the basics, but I’m looking forward to seeing where this is going.
Is Medill training coders or journalists? That’s a question my roommate’s friend posed in an editorial submission yesterday (and no, he’s not in the program right now). I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately.
Random post, I know, but actually my main reason for writing is to share this blog link. It’s one of the coolest, most beautiful examples of community-minded feature journalism I’ve seen lately (The Chicago Reader tipped me off). The subject matter is Detroit, but I’m hooked as if the city were my own.
Detroitblog.
Anyway, night.
By now, we’ve all seen it.
With Tina Fey’s ‘SNL’ portrayals of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and Palin-herself’s subsequent cameos — I’m kind of convinced this election has turned into a total circus. But I’m not really here to talk about primetime TV. I want to talk about how (forgive me) The Average Joe’s ability to self-publish has impacted the way we’ve paid attention to this election. After all, I did get the screenshot at left from a pop culture blog.
Maybe I shouldn’t call this phenomenon "pop culture politics," but it just sounds better to me than "cyber culture politics" does. Let me explain: Anyone, anywhere is available to set up a blog for free at sites like WordPress, Blogger or Livejournal. Then comes the Twitter account. And let’s not go into the ways anyone, anywhere can express his or her opinions on Facebook (the "status" option has become the bane of my existence, both during the occasional election season and, unfortunately, annual baseball season due to overzealous Cubs fans). Anyway, the list of ways we can express ourselves on the Internet goes on and on. And this makes available a literal countless number of avenues for the rest of us to consume news.
In gathering research for a print story, no one I spoke to saw limitless access to the Internet/virtual soapbox (same thing) as a bad development. As someone who learned from an early age the joys of self-publishing, I can’t say I feel it’s a bad thing, either. Hopefully the nasty stuff gets weeded out with the quality, creatively-driven blogs and projects out there on the Web.
While you’re waiting for a print story, check out these fun election links:
Sarah Palin as president. Alright, this one exhibits a bit too much of the macabre for my taste, but I included the link because the animation is awesome. Looks like Flash animators have a lot of time on their hands, what with the current recession and all …
Help Josh decide. Eek! There’s an undecided voter living in Ohio! Quick, convince him to come over to your side — he’ll let you know if your input was helpful or not.
Presidential pumpkin carving. Templates. One unique way to stick it to the man (or woman) of your choice.
Yes we can hold babies. A blog featuring pictures of Sen. Barack Obama cuddling babies on the campaign trail. Kinda precious.
Presidential bingo. Perhaps a great way to pass the following 8 days, sure to be chock-full of sound bytes from both camps.
And a local option: Haley speaks Youtube series. More on this young lady later.
That’s all I’ve got for now. And since I don’t have the option to hibernate until after the election is over, I’m off to plunge the depths of cyberspace for more quality election coverage from Joe Six Pack/Plumber/Laid Off Flash Animator.
Technorati tags: election 2008, pop culture, politics
