Cruise control

[Mr._johngalt]

Warning........this is intended to be an observation but may turn into a
rant. If it does, I apologize in advance.

Been hearing for days about the Cruise/Holmes nuptuals. This morning it's all over the news (yes, I kept one TV) . Why? I think I know and find it scary, so rather than explaining what is in the heads of folks who are
interested in this (a truly frightening area to explore), I'll tell you how I see it.

Why would any thinking person care what Tom and Katy do? About anything? They are insignificant (I accept that they should be accorded
the respect due all human beings). They have done nothing of lasting
importance (okay, you can count MI, MI2, MI3 if you want). Still, 2
people get married and that's about all I see and hear in the news for days.
Personally, I would rather watch paint dry. I'm not kidding. Dull as death. EOR

JG

 

[dumpster56]

Warning........this is intended to be an observation but may turn into a
rant. If it does, I apologize in advance.

Been hearing for days about the Cruise/Holmes nuptuals. This morning it's all over the news (yes, I kept one TV) . Why? I think I know and find it scary, so rather than explaining what is in the heads of folks who are
interested in this (a truly frightening area to explore), I'll tell you how I see it.

Why would any thinking person care what Tom and Katy do? About anything? They are insignificant (I accept that they should be accorded
the respect due all human beings). They have done nothing of lasting
importance (okay, you can count MI, MI2, MI3 if you want). Still, 2
people get married and that's about all I see and hear in the news for days.
Personally, I would rather watch paint dry. I'm not kidding. Dull as death. EOR

JG

I love it, Someone as cynical as I am. There are very few THINKING humans! A bunch of Kool Aid drinking media following lemmings. Oh that never read a newspaper, watch Oprah, and drive suvs while talking about nothing on a cell phone.

 

[samclem]

Yep, I don't get it either. I cannot understand why anybody finds this interesting. Other things "don't get":

-- Why anybody finds the political views of Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, or Ted Nugent to be in any way more interesting or significant than the opinion of a total stranger on the street.

-- Professional sports: Yes, I'll watch a football game now and then if I'm at someones' house and it is on. The actual play is interesting. But I don't understand why people "bond" to a particular team, usualy the one in their hometown. The players aren't from that town, the coaches aren't from that town, and the team s just a franchise (of the football, basketball, or baseball league).

-- Major college sports: Ditto. Just money makers for the schools. Now, if the players are really STUDENTS of the school who happen to be playing sports, that is different. This is the case in the minor sports, and in the schools that are strong academically. I'd put the service academies at the top of the list in this regard.

- Being "proud" of your ethnic background. Huh? Why? Does coming from Irish, Italian, African, Chinese ancestors somehow make you better, is that where the "pride" comes from? Or, do the accomplishments/challenges faced by these groups in the past somehow confer a degree of honor upon individuals in later generations? I just don't "get" the ethnic pride thing. I don't see how your ethnic (or racial) background is anything to be proud, or ashamed, of. And, I am virtually certain that pride/prejudice are just different sides of the same coin.

(JG, I may have derailed your thread.)

 

[riskadverse]

I think some of us like to watch blowhards puff themselves up, brag about themselves, defy conventional norms, and then ultimately fail.

 

[REWahoo]

I think some of us like to watch blowhards puff themselves up, brag about themselves, defy conventional norms, and then ultimately fail.

Are you referring to TC or JG?

 

[dumpster56]

Yep, I don't get it either. I cannot understand why anybody finds this interesting. Other things "don't get":

-- Why anybody finds the political views of Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, or Ted Nugent to be in any way more interesting or significant than the opinion of a total stranger on the street.

-- Professional sports: Yes, I'll watch a football game now and then if I'm at someones' house and it is on. The actual play is interesting. But I don't understand why people "bond" to a particular team, usualy the one in their hometown. The players aren't from that town, the coaches aren't from that town, and the team s just a franchise (of the football, basketball, or baseball league).

-- Major college sports: Ditto. Just money makers for the schools. Now, if the players are really STUDENTS of the school who happen to be playing sports, that is different. This is the case in the minor sports, and in the schools that are strong academically. I'd put the service academies at the top of the list in this regard.

- Being "proud" of your ethnic background. Huh? Why? Does coming from Irish, Italian, African, Chinese ancestors somehow make you better, is that where the "pride" comes from? Or, do the accomplishments/challenges faced by these groups in the past somehow confer a degree of honor upon individuals in later generations? I just don't "get" the ethnic pride thing. I don't see how your ethnic (or racial) background is anything to be proud, or ashamed, of. And, I am virtually certain that pride/prejudice are just different sides of the same coin.

(JG, I may have derailed your thread.)

As I watched the Rutgers game last night and saw them lose, so what I noticed two New Jersey State troopers escorting the Rutgers coach off the field after the game, funny the game was played in OHIO. Again bonding with a team? Nope and I am an alumnist. My problem there is with a state budget so screwed up 5 BILLION in the red they pay this coach 1.2 MILLION DOLLARS, and shouldn't the state troopers be patrolling the state highways or something that would benefit the citizens of new jersey instead of being with a college football coach?

Our priorities are so screwed up.

 

[youbet]

-- Major college sports: Ditto. Just money makers for the schools.

You sound as though that's a bad thing.......... Perhaps, after they cancel their highly profitable sports programs, they should also fire their financial management team and bury their endowment funds out on the quad.......

 

[OkieTexan]

"Been hearing for days about the Cruise/Holmes nuptuals. This morning it's all over the news (yes, I kept one TV) . Why? I think I know and find it scary, so rather than explaining what is in the heads of folks who are
interested in this (a truly frightening area to explore)"
=======================================
Some thoughts on "Cuise Control"...........

This guy has been out of control for a long time! But, somehow he has positioned himself nicely in the film production industry. Should the arts and big business be joined at the hip? Certainly for me, the quality has gone down and the price has gone up! All those channels and nothing to watch.

PBS's Nighlty Busniess Report (NBR) did a special report on the Advertising industry recently that details the desparation the ad execs have felt since the public has embraced the choice of viewing or not viewing their work. Now they want to interrupt your internet service more. The public is muting and ignoring the media's bread and butter stuff (ads) more and more; especially the 20-somethings.

I agree with JG and others. TomKat, KFed (now FedX) and other heavily promoted celebs are really not relevant in the big scheme of things. Once they lose their ability to make $$ for others, they will go away.

If life imitates pop-culture, that's scary! If pop-culture imitates life, we call it a reality show. At this point, I don't see too much value in either point of view.

It is more fun to rally the neighborhood kids and throw a football around outside in the fresh air and sunshine than to sit in front of the tube!

 

[dumpster56]

Seriously who pays attention to any of the advertising that goes on? I mean I ignore all ads on the internet use pop up blockers, fast forward thru TV commercials throw out all the flyers in the sunday newspapers except from the grocery store and its only to see whats on sale.

And most people do the same. Google and yahoo ads are a waste . Funny yes most people do not watch your ads you ad execs!!

 

[Donzo]

I get a kick out of some ads - and how they do not sell....one of my favorite ads id "messing with sasquach" someguys put bigfoots hand in a pot of warm water(he was sleeping) - BF wakes up peeing on himself and finds/kicks the pranksters butts - very funny ---don't remember what they were selling

 

[Patrick]

Seriously who pays attention to any of the advertising that goes on? I mean I ignore all ads on the internet use pop up blockers, fast forward thru TV commercials throw out all the flyers in the sunday newspapers except from the grocery store and its only to see whats on sale.

And most people do the same. Google and yahoo ads are a waste . Funny yes most people do not watch your ads you ad execs!!

Then how do you explain the frenzy over Sony's PS3? There were riots over this thing and one purchaser was followed home and robbed of his PS3 at gunpoint. They must have created this demand somehow.

 

[samclem]

You sound as though that's a bad thing.......... Perhaps, after they cancel their highly profitable sports programs, they should also fire their financial management team and bury their endowment funds out on the quad.......

No, but it has nothing to do with the mission of the school (which is education, hopefully). It would be like a school starting up a car dealership to make money. Okay, I guess, but not related in any way to the school's purpose. Maybe they should set up brothels. This would provide a meaningful service to an appreciative customer base and would probably have a lot of advantages over the present big money sports programs: fewer fights, less alcohol abuse, fewer players employees getting into trouble outside of work and overall less damage to the school's image.

Oh, and Ohio State beat Michigan yesterday! Go, Buckeyes!

 

[Martha]

- Being "proud" of your ethnic background. Huh? Why? Does coming from Irish, Italian, African, Chinese ancestors somehow make you better, is that where the "pride" comes from? Or, do the accomplishments/challenges faced by these groups in the past somehow confer a degree of honor upon individuals in later generations? I just don't "get" the ethnic pride thing. I don't see how your ethnic (or racial) background is anything to be proud, or ashamed, of. And, I am virtually certain that pride/prejudice are just different sides of the same coin.

I think it is because people like to belong, like to feel a sense of community. We also may feel a need for a sense of history. The US, outside of native Americans, is such a young country. You feel pride much like you feel pride about your family.

The danger as you say is pride turning to prejudice.

 

[astromeria]

More people read articles about celebrities than about scientific discoveries (Comet Heading for Earth! excepted), economics (taxes going up/down excepted), what's new in classical music (maybe if Yo-Yo Ma or Placido Domingo were accused of a sordid crime?). Most people are more curious about people than about facts. We call them...late retirees

 

[BarbaraAnne]

There is a lot of complaining about out-of-control compensation for CEO's (and rightly so, IMHO). What I don't get is that there is not outrage over the ridiculous sums that celebrities and the nightly news anchors, (who basically just read teleprompters) are paid. :

 

[Patrick]

There is a lot of complaining about out-of-control compensation for CEO's (and rightly so, IMHO). What I don't get is that there is not outrage over the ridiculous sums that celebrities and the nightly news anchors, (who basically just read teleprompters) are paid. :

It's what the market will bear. Why does Jim Carrey get $21M a picture? Because he puts the asses in the seats, the studio makes a huge profit, and so they're willing to pay him megabucks.

 

[donheff]

Then how do you explain the frenzy over Sony's PS3? There were riots over this thing and one purchaser was followed home and robbed of his PS3 at gunpoint. They must have created this demand somehow.

That didn't take ads just word-of-mouth. My son (32 and gainfully employed) was at Best Buy the other day. He mentioned that he saw a bunch of kids watching a basketball game in the large screen TV section and wandered over. It was PS3 or XBox 360. He said the graphics blew his mind. He was almost ready to fork over $700 or whatever it costs.

 

[dumpster56]

That didn't take ads just word-of-mouth. My son (32 and gainfully employed) was at Best Buy the other day. He mentioned that he saw a bunch of kids watching a basketball game in the large screen TV section and wandered over. It was PS3 or XBox 360. He said the graphics blew his mind. He was almost ready to fork over $700 or whatever it costs.

I spent 700 dollars yesterday on a beautiful topaz and diamond ring for my wife.

Priorities.

 

[sgeeeee]

. . . . Maybe they should set up brothels. This would provide a meaningful service to an appreciative customer base and would probably have a lot of advantages over the present big money sports programs: fewer fights, less alcohol abuse, fewer players employees getting into trouble outside of work and overall less damage to the school's image.

. . .

I wonder if they would then need to hire brothel scouts and brothel recruiters. How would they keep the team from going pro before they graduated?

 

[Cut-Throat]

It's what the market will bear. Why does Jim Carrey get $21M a picture? Because he puts the asses in the seats, the studio makes a huge profit, and so they're willing to pay him megabucks.

OK, please explain How Michael Ovitz received over $160 Million from the shareholders (despite their objections) for a few months of work that was judged detrimental?

 

[Patrick]

OK, please explain How Michael Ovitz received over $160 Million from the shareholders (despite their objections) for a few months of work that was judged detrimental?

It's what the market will bear.

 

[Cut-Throat]

It's what the market will bear.

If a mugger ever sticks a 44 Magnum up your nose and demands you drive him to an ATM to withdraw your money and you agree. Remember - It's what the market will bear.

 

[HFWR]

"A man with a briefcase can steal more money, than any man with a gun..."

Don Henley

 

[Patrick]

If a mugger ever sticks a 44 Magnum up your nose and demands you drive him to an ATM to withdraw your money and you agree. Remember - It's what the market will bear.

A different situation than Mr. Ovitz, but he'll have to get past my Glock first.

 

[Nords]

-- Why anybody finds the political views of Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, or Ted Nugent to be in any way more interesting or significant than the opinion of a total stranger on the street.

Anyone who can backflip off stage gear in platform soles, who disciplines their kids by threatening to strap them to their concert speakers, or who hunts bear with a compound bow, is more than entitled to whatever opinions they care to discuss.

I'm referring to Ted, not Barbra or Bruce...