Soapbox

Ok. I have a few things that just really have been irking me lately, then my mom mentioned something she heard on the radio this morning that sent me over the edge. So I'm going to throw all of these annoyances in your face today, because you really care to hear it.

First of all, and I'll keep this one short, why is my generation so lazy and demanding? I'm embarrassed to claim it as "mine" sometimes! Why do we think that our parents owe us anything? Or our teachers? Or politicians? What happened to getting what you earned? Or hard work? If parents can afford to send their children to college that is wonderful. It is a valuable investment and one that will spur their kids' futures like nothing else can. But where did the idea come from that the parents OWE it to their kids? It is, after all, the child's future. It will be THEIR degree, THEIR career, and THEIR life. So why can't they step up and take responsibility of it? Same can be said for our teachers, our government, our employers, etc. Get off your butts and work for what you want. You'll probably appreciate it more anyway.

Second of all, people who constantly talk about how ridiculous it is that our country cares so much about meaningless things yet they perpetuate it themselves. Case in point: my morning radio show DJ's with Lindsey Lohan. First, I'd like to point out that I do not like the morning radio show that I listen to, but I don't like any of them in Denver so I'm stuck. I used to have a morning show that I LOVED. Then the 2 DJ's got fired out of nowhere because the station had the opportunity to have a "really good" DJ from their sister station come manage the entire station. His only condition was that he be on the morning show. So - enter Jonathan Wilde mornings. After a month or so I think they realized he needed a counterpart, so bring on Mudflap. Mudflap is a professional comedian, and the only hope for entertainment on the show...but even he is lacking most mornings. Cheese, cheese, cheese. But - that's not my point here. So they have a girl on the show with them who does the blogging, facebooking, tweeting, and does "brooke's buzz" with all of the hollywood gossip. So, one of the hottest topics lately has been Lindsey Lohan. Two days ago Brooke was talking about how Lindsay has hair stylists and make up artists scheduled to come get her primped before she exits the building when she gets released from jail. Mudflap commented, "How does she even have any money to pay them?" Brooke said, "I KNOW! She hasn't done anything in YEARS! but she has sold her first post-jail interview for $1million already" Then mudflap went on "WHAT? a million dollars? what is this country coming to that we care so much about her jail experience that it is worth $1million?" I DON'T KNOW MUDFLAP, TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR RADIO SHOW. Brooke goes on and on every morning about (in my opinion) useless hollywood gossip. Mudflap is always intrigued, and so are most listeners. If you think its ridiculous that things like that elicit paychecks like that, then do your part in the entertainment industry and don't highlight it. Don't talk about Lindsey Lohan. Don't mention her name. Don't buy the magazine. Don't post her picture on your site. Encourage other entertainment industry employees to do the same and squash the bad side of Hollywood - then maybe she wouldn't be making a killing for breaking her probation.

And while we're on the topic of radio DJ's, this is what my mom's radio station discussed this morning: the cult of apple users. Really? Ok, I will be the first to say that I am obsessed with apple products. I love them. I think they're cool. I think you know this already. However, I also love purses. And shoes. And scrapbooking. And baking cookies (like the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies I baked last night) I don't know that I love any one of these things more than the other - and I am not a member of a cult for any of them! For some reason people love to hate Apple like people love to hate the Dallas Cowboys. Why?

So Steve Jobs is a genius. So he makes products that appeal to consumers so much that they are willing to pay twice as much as they pay for microsoft products. Does that make him the next David Koresh? I don't think so. No more than my mom's radio DJ's are themselves. People are addicted to their morning shows like they're addicted to their morning coffee. Look at me, I listen to the same show every day and I don't even LIKE them. Why are iPhone users so obsessed with their phones? Same reason Droid users are obsessed with theirs. They ROCK. Why aren't other phone users as obsessed and dependent? Because their phones just aren't as all encompassing.

Before I had my iPhone I had a smart phone that microsoft had designed to try and compete with the blackberry. And let me tell you - it was awful. It was supposed to have 3G internet, yet I couldn't ever be on the internet longer than a couple minutes before it froze. Texting was awful, reception was awful, customization was minimal - the phone was a dud. Before that I had a "normal" phone...the kind that just made phone calls you know? Remember those? And it served its purpose wonderfully. But when your phone is designed to be your grocery list, calculator, weight tracker, weather alert system, scrabble board, email portal, among many, many other things - and it does so beautifully - its hard NOT to become dependent.

So maybe it isn't an apple cult that I am supposedly a member of so much as it is a cell phone cult. Nothing good comes without a price, and the revolution of cell phones in our nation has made us dependent on technology, expected to be available 24/7, and disconnected from face-to-face relationships. That's the price we are paying for the coolness. Maybe my mom's radio station should focus on THAT cult instead? But they won't. Why? because as much as people love to hate apple, they also love to TALK about apple. As Jerry Jones (the owner of the Dallas Cowboys) says, no publicity is bad publicity. So all you Steve Jobs haters out there: your despise for him and his rule over the entire universe is only furthering his control. Job Well Done.

I think that fulfills my ranting for the day. And I feel much better, thank you. Hope you have a fantastic weekend and don't hate me too much for my opinions :)