Emmy's '09 (Keep It Up)

Last years Primetime Emmy Awards was hosted by an ensemble group of retarded "reality-television" hosts that included: Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, and Ryan Seacrest...WHAT THE FUCK? I would understand choosing these morons if they actually had material written but guess what...THEY LITERALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING! And that was their whole schtick, NOT have anything written for the show, they were literally going to wing-it. Bunch of fucking morons. They actually thought it would be funny to come out on stage and say "haha, guess what we don't have anything written...(mild laughter) no, seriously we don't have anything written we're actually going to just do this off the cuff...(awkward silence followed by light applause) WOW, television FUCKING history was made.

This year however the folks that run The Emmy's made the smartest decision they've made in a while and actually hired somebody FUNNY to host the show. The amazing Neil Patrick Harris (I say amazing only becuase I've heard of him alot but I only remember him from his small part in "Starship Troopers" and his cameo as himself in "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle"). This year it was funny and worth watching, I didn't agree with some of the winners but what the hell are you going to do?

P.S. I know I haven't updated in a while but who really reads this thing anyway, right? heh...lame.

Shia Lebouf Is The Human Equivalent Of A Snuggie...

Put enough marketing and advertising behind any and I mean ANY crappy product and people will buy it. That's right, any shitty product with enough advertising dollars behind it will fly off the shelves. This is not only true with products and services but with people as well. Tom Cruise is no longer an actor, he's a movie star, there's a difference, and as a movie star anything he does (most of which is crap) people will go pay to see it, why? Because Tom Cruise is a product, he's a brand, he's a walking, talking advertisement. Cruise can at least act, he plays the same part all the time but he can at least act. Now let's take Shia Lebeouf, star of the "Transformers" movies.

Lebeof came out of NO-WHERE, he was an obscurely-known actor brought out of obscurity by Steven Spielberg, a man who should be ashamed of himself for giving up his artistic integrity and making an Indy IV (horrible film, but that's a different story) and producing these God-awful Transformers movies. Lebeouf can't act to save his life, he's good at screaming and running and flirting with Megan Fox (who also needs to stop kidding herself and start doing porno films in the Valley) yet he's had so much advertising power (or with humans "publicity") behind him that audiences have now come to accept him as this new up-and-coming movie STAR.

There's nothing wrong with being a movie star, there are a lot of said movie stars, but there was a point where you had to be a good or at least decent actor to become a star, Lebeouf is and never was a good actor he's a pretty faced little twit that looks good on the big screen. Like the Snuggie, people will buy him or at least buy into him BUT, hopefully like the Snuggie people will get over him and move on to something or someone else. I think Lebeouf will end up on some stupid celebrity-themed reality show for drinking and doing hard drugs.

At his age I wouldn't be surprised if he's already developed a drinking and/or drug problem, somebody that famous and that young and stupid usually does, remember River Phoenix? Of course you don't, he sucked too, and now he's dead for OD'ing outside a swanky New York night club. I'm sure one day people will stupidly revere Lebouf as they do with Phoenix when he OD's on something.

Marijuana: Legalize It?

Our Senior Marijuana Correspondent Alex Hickey has a very interesting take on why pot should be legalized:

Why our country is moving to legalize pot

“Like it or not, marijuana is a massive industry. One hundred million Americans admit to government survey-takers that they've used it, with nearly 15 million acknowledging use in the past month. That's a huge market -- exceeding the number of Americans who will buy a new car or truck this year, or who bought one last year. Estimates based on U.S. government figures have pegged marijuana as the No. 1 cash crop in the United States, with a value exceeding corn and wheat combined (Houston, 2009)”. Everyone agrees that the American economy is getting worse; as a result a lot of our nation’s politicians are looking for new ways to earn revenue for their states and our economy as a whole. One of the most controversial and easiest avenues to earn revenue, free up time and resources for our law enforcement is to legalize and tax the sale and consumption of marijuana. “In February, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a proposal to legalize pot for adult consumption. The measure would charge growers $5,000 to break ground on a pot plantation, and tax retailers $50 an ounce, creating a $1.3 billion in revenue, to say nothing of millions saved in law enforcement costs (“California can be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana”, says Ammiano) (rolling stone , 2009)”. What is stated above is; not only can individual states profit from the tax and sale of pot, but we can free up a lot of money and time that goes into the law enforcement system. Police and court resources would be opened up for more serious offenders.

For every pro there is a con, for instance if marijuana were legalized and limited to adults (like cigarettes and alcohol) it would be understood that it would be far easier for adolescents to access the drug. Marijuana is also considered a stepping stone drug (or gateway drug), leading to harder drugs like heroin, cocaine, and or other hard drugs. “Studies show that marijuana use often progresses to the use of harder drugs. In other words, people experiment with what is often thought of as a “harmless” drug. Then, after using it for awhile, a bigger “high” is sought; thus, users then turn to harder stuff like heroin, Lsd, cocaine, etc. This is particularly a problem since most people will not directly start abusing the harder drugs that are generally understood to be harmful. Marijuana use simply emboldens them to the experiment (Messerli, 2008)”.

Yes, pot may be considered a gateway drug, maybe that’s due to how society portrays it? Maybe if marijuana were legalized, then as time went on society would see it as being another type of liquor, or some sort of whacko tobacco. Given the amount of adults out there that exclusively uses marijuana, it should be said that the drug generally is not more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation. The term “in moderation” is an interesting way to put it, everything can be looked at in that way, crack heads for instance; “I only use crack in moderation”, or obese people “I only eat double fudge cake in moderation; I don’t have a problem with food!” Moderation can be used to attack or defend any point of view of any particular item; whether it is food, tobacco, liquor, or marijuana. As long as not abused and consistently overdone these items are perfectly fine for individuals to consume or intake.

Let’s say marijuana were to help more than hurt our society if legalized, than it is believed there’s reason enough to have its prohibition termed null and void. Think of all the money saved and money earned, money saved by not having so many people go through the justice system for what is considered a petty crime. Patrolmen being able to focus their attention on serious crime, less crammed jails and prisons. Lastly no one would care whether Michael Phelps and Arnold Schwarzenegger have pictures and videos out there of them hitting a joint or pulling a tube here and there. Money earned by taxing the sale of it, if we assume that California can make “1.3 billion in revenue (rolling stone , 2009)”. Keep in mind the $1.3 billion is a conservative estimate, now imagine what the whole country could make off of the sale and tax of pot. Picture 1.3 billion dollars amplified from a state level to a national level, our country could easily say goodbye to great depression II creeping up on us.

A recent survey by Zogby International found “41% of Americans agree that the government should treat marijuana more or less the same way that it treats alcohol; it should regulate it, control it, tax it, and only make it illegal for children”. In 1972, the same poll was taken and found to only be backed 15%, since then people are more liberal when it comes to supporting the legalization and taxation of pot. This poll interviewed 1204 adults recently, chosen at random throughout the nation. They were just asked one question and whether or not they agree or disagree with the question asked”. When 2 out of every 5 people say agree that a specific law is silly, it may be a good idea to listen to those people and rethink or at least review the law listed.

We seem to forget what marijuana does for those who have cancer or eating disorders too, yes it’s a fun recreational drug but it also has legitimate uses to help people who are in need. Cancer patients usually have little or no appetite as result of the chemo-therapy they go through to help reduce cancer; a lot of these people rely on marijuana to regain the appetite they lost. Also, glaucoma patients have the option to partake in marijuana to help relive the strain and pressure in their eyes. Some suffering from depression smoke pot to rid themselves of their bleak outlook they have towards the world. Lastly people who suffer from common stomach ulcers can use marijuana to help relive the stomach pains they incur.

Aside from being a “gateway drug” has marijuana ever caused overdose? The answer is no, it would take 100 pounds a minute for 15 minutes for one to incur overdose from weed. What other benefits can our society receive from this industry? We can use hemp (stalks of the plant) for rope; seeds can be manufactured into bio-fuels or nutrition for people. In a nutshell our country cannot afford to keep pot illegal; there are just too many uses aside from intake of the pollen. “Government figures have pegged marijuana as the No. 1 cash crop in the United States, with a value exceeding corn and wheat combined (Houston, 2009)”. Marijuana would easily improve our economy, our judicial system, and our quality of life. If we are to keep overlooking this potential cash cow, essentially we would be flushing money down the drain. Money that could be used to correct many financial offsets our country has incurred in recent years. The opinion many young adults share is not if pot will be legalized, but more so when marijuana will be legalized to assist in the growth and future of America.

Can weed save our economy? Very interesting, thank you Alex.

A Day at UCLA Medical Center...

My good friend Eric Macleod, my Senior L.A. Correspondent (that's right, I have correspondents and contributors) wrote this very interesing essay about his experience yesterday at UCLA Medical Center amidst the death of Michael Jackson.

The King of Pop is dead

Here I am as a UCLA Student studying geology and I wouldn’t think I would witness crowds of people near the UCLA Medical Center yelling MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL!

It was 2:00pm when my class had gotten out, as normal I go to the geology department to check the news and e-mail. As I walking to my apartment I remember thinking to myself, “there are a lot of people here to day; what’s going on?” Around 3:30pm my roommate and I decided to go to the campus to use the computers. As I was walking my friend Adrian, who works for a news station, called me and told me that Michael Jackson died. I didn’t pay any attention to his message since he’s always joking around. After I hung up I saw small crowds of people walking fast to the medical canter, people saying “NO, I CANN’T BELIEVE IT, WHY?” They looked upset. The message of my friend escapes my mind as I followed the crowd to the center thinking that there was a school shooting. My roommate and I where wondering if it was safe to go through UCLA to get to our apartment so I asked one of the security officers what was going on and he told me that Michael Jackson died. Realizing the magnitude of this is historic event, I followed the crowd and called my friend Adrian and told him I was sorry and was telling him what was happening near the hospital. It was some time between 4 and 5 in the afternoon that I heard a press conference was going to happen soon, so I followed the press along with crowds of fans up the stairs to the Ronald Reagan Medical Center. The doors where closed and we all waited to hear if he was really dead. At the time TMZ said that he was dead, but TMZ is as reliable as gossip goes. I stood there for one hour along with all of the fans. In the midst of waiting, people were cheering his name, cameras everywhere, and helicopters everywhere.
In the crowd and by news reporters I hears that Michael had been dead as of 2:26pm. The vibration I got from the crowd was disbelief; I was in disbelief. He was the “King of Pop” , just like Elvis Presley was the “King of Rock Roll” and Stevie Ray Vaughan was the “King of Blues Rock.” These three dead artists lived hard and tragic lives and died tragically young. Still standing in the crowd a man behind me with his MP3 player played songs of Michael. The emotions were running high with his music being played. There was a college student standing near me who was crying holding a pillow of Michael, others around were teary eyed and sang long with his music. I didn’t cry but I wanted too, the power of his music brought the crowd together. I believe this is his legacy, to bring people of all walks of life together. This is the dream of a musician.
After 6:00pm news reporters were going into the conference and I was walking back to my apartment to hear the latest news of this event. On my way back the crowd was growing, there must have been thousands of people there. They were at the two front and back entrances to the hospital, on top of the roofs of the UCLA buildings, people playing music in their cars, on the streets and in their apartments. I counted roughly 30 news vans and 5 helicopters. It is almost midnight and people are celebrating his life by playing his music. It is shocking to know that he is dead. I think when I was in the crowd at the hospital I thought he would be alive because he is a superstar so in away you are thinking his superhuman. That’s a false reality, what isn’t false is his music will live forever.

Interesting story Eric, thank you for that.

R.I.P Michael Jackson.

A lot can be said and has been said about the passing of Michael Jackson but I just want to say this: STOP WITH ALL THE SHIT-TALKING. People are quick to call him a "pervert", "weirdo" or "kiddie fiddler" but the man brought us some the best and most unforgettable music, no one comes close. Was he a strange guy? Of course, was he a pervert? That's debatable, but the man just died, cut him some fricken slack!

My condolences go out to Michael Jackson and his family, may he rest in peace.

It's Been A While...

Wow, it's been a while since my last entry. A lot has happened since, too much to go through but I'm bored at work so I will say this: REALITY TELEVISION IS SHIT. I'm watching "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here" on NBC (because I really wanted to see how bad this show is and to find out why NBC is the last place network, guess what...NOW I KNOW). It's sad too because 30 Rock and The Office are on this network yet they STILL fail as a television network. Anyway, one of the "competitions" on this shit-fest program is the "celebrities" have to collect fake grocery-store items and place them into an amazonian-themed shopping cart while suspended about 50 feet over the jungle...WOW, when I think of the jungle I don't think of trees and animals and rivers and cool shit like that, no, I think of FUCKING GROCERY SHOPPING!

Who comes up with this stuff? I mean seriously, who, because I thought the whole premise of this POS tv show was "celebriites get dropped off in the middle of the rainforest and MUST survive"...so how the hell does grocery shopping come into play? What's the goddamm point? NBC used to be a highly reputable network, they had such huge hits like "Friends" (overrated, but people loved that shit), "Seinfeld" and "The West Wing" but now for their summer programing they come up with these stupid reality shows that make no goddamn sense.

OH, and by the way, Hollywood needs to stop with these "celebrity" themed reality shows. None of the people on this show or on any celebrity-themed reality show is a celebrtiy, they're all washed-up has-beens from the 80's and 90's who if they WERE real celebrities they wouldn't appear on some half-assed reality program. You don't see Tom Cruise or Samuel L. Jackson on any of these programs do you? Hell, you don't even see Dane Cook on any reality shows, and he SUCKS.

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