Public Relations Nightmare

A blast from the past

2023-05-22T18:45:00.002-07:00

Well, well. What'd'ya know?

I completely forgot that this blog existed.

Since it's here, I guess I'll use it.

Let the creativity flow!

Worn out

2011-08-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

I'm tired and sore. It's not so bad standing up. But the transition from up to seated makes me cringe.
Perhaps it's a good idea to take a break today.
I'm hungry, I'm tired and there's a pain in my ass.
I am craving sugar like nobody's business.
I can't wait for cake.

Things change...

2011-08-19T02:23:00.000-07:00

...and so do people.

And sometimes these changes make people and things look less attractive to me.
Or maybe they never did change and things just look different when I have contacts on. I don't know. It could be either. It could be anything.

I find myself, again, at odds with what people hope I feel and how I think. It's not like I have anything tangible to be upset about. I feel like my brain is against me. For the past week, I've been in a creative funk. Not only that, I find myself afraid to move forward. Everything just seems harder when you can't see progress.
Maybe I stare at things too long or too often. Maybe I have to analyze every detail and get frustrated when I see things barely budge an inch. And quite possibly, I am just not happy that the things that I do want to change, the things I do want to happen, don't happen instantaneously.

Perhaps it is the curse of technology that I don't have the patience to wait on success. After reading textbook after textbook of media critiques and web design basics, I feel stupider than ever. I feel under-qualified and overwhelmed. Why did I ever think I do this? I don't have the skills or the talent to pull something like this off. I'm not even a good journalist. Why would I ever think I could produce my own show? Fall is almost here.

Ping Pong! Practicing my shooting and designing skills all over again.

2011-07-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

One of the many things that I've been doing since I've been in San Jose is working on my photography and page designing skills again. It really was great to try my hand at a once favorite occupation of mine.

One of the cool things that I discovered was that I still do have a love of design even though my skills in photography my be lacking.

It really does feel like I can now go forward with my life, my career and my happiness. It was as though the past few years I tried to do what "normal" people did and I was miserable.

I have learned that I cannot do what others want or expect of me when I expect so much more from myself. I see that now. Everything else was always a placeholder. something I had to do in order to have money to survive until I could get what I want.

Now that I can see what I want and understand the path I need to take to get there, things are much easier and I am much happier.

Who knew that all I needed to be happy was to communicate my need to be creative? I sure as hell didn't. I was ready to kill myself over the monotony of shit jobs.

Sadly enough, I feel like I've lost friends over my depression. I wasn't able to not be as sane as they liked.

It really is too bad because all I really wanted was or someone to believe that I could do something for myself and that I didn't have to it in the mold.

I could not longer be a slave to the 9 to 5, much less have a boss micro-managing my every move.

I got tired of hearing people say I needed to work harder and that I needed to get a real job.

No one knows how hard I work. My life is my job.

Just because I don't clock in and clock out and have a five- to six-figure income doesn't mean I'm doing nothing.

After I spilled my heart out to someone I thought was my best friend about my goals of wanting to be a model, she shot down my idea saying that I need to have a realistic five-year plan that wasn't so stupid.

That got me to clam up really quickly and I decided she didn't deserve to hear any of my other stupid ideas.

I told her I didn't ike living at home with my parents and wanted to live somewhere in the North Bay because it was far enough away that I could be away from everyone but close enough to still visit.

She told me not to, that I was being brainwashed by my boyfriend, not realizing that I really didn't want to be in San Jose.

During that time, I got in a heated argument with my brother and ended up getting kicked out of my parent's house.

A few days later, she sent me an e-mail, stating that she did not approve of my relationship with my boyfriend.

She said she didn't understand how I couldn't see how he was disrespecting me and she spent 25 years watching her mom go through the same thing.

By that time, I had enough.

I had my own business in the works that she thought was the stupidest idea ever and she said that she could not longer watch me drown.

I am still hurt by what she said. She didn't know the entire story and the more she lectured me on my life, the less I told her, so in the end, she was lecturing me purely on the assumption that I was unhappy with my boyfriend and not unhappy with my familial situation and she was absolutely unwilling to hear me out.

But I have learned a lot from this whole bit of drama.

I learned just not to say things and not to share my ideas with people until they have come to fruition.

I have learned to hide whatever feel because, in a way, my ups are really high and my lows are pretty devastating and I have no one who can really understand it.

So right now, I'm being busy and super productive, I am on top of the world.

But in a few weeks, I'll be back on my regimen to improve on myself or my work and I know I will have days were I will lack motivation because I will be isolated, focused on training and driving myself crazy.

Do I look forward to going back? Yes, because although I get a lot of work done here with photoshoots, I can't get a lick of exercise or dieting in here because I cheat too often and am too often tempted go play instead of actually doing things for the website.

nothing is nothing

2011-06-25T18:38:00.001-07:00

My discontent is mounting.

Using cinnamon to flavor your meat

2011-05-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon doesn't always have to be a dessert spice.
It can be used to enhance the flavor of meat as well.

Baked Cinnamon Meat Loaf

2 Tbsp Nuoc mam (Substitute with soy sauce if fish sauce is not available)
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp potato starch (may substitute with corn starch)
1 oz pork fat, very finely chopped
2-3 shallots, very finely chopped
oil, for greasing
1 lb lean ground pork

1. In a large bowl, mix nuoc mam, cinnamon, sugar and pepper together. Beat in potato starch.
2. Add mince pork, pork fat, and shallots. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil baking pan and spread pork mixture in it -- it should feel springy.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes. For a more brown and crunchy texture, remove foil during the last 10 minutes.
5. Turn the meat loaf out on to a board and slice into strips.

Serve 4-6.

111 cals, 16g protein, 4.8g carbs of which 2.3g are from sugar, 3g fat, 47 mg cholesterol, 0.2g fiber, 9mg calcium, 54 mg sodium.

Can fried food and bacon be healthy? Let's try!

2011-05-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

I know that this is going to sound like blasphemy to the diet and exercise world, but I am a HUGE proponent of eating "bad" foods.
I can't help it. I'm a passionate foodie.
But at the same time, I am careful about what goes and what sticks around.
I used to go on low carb diets, low fat diets, low calorie diets, low glycemic diets, carb-cycling diets, all which suck and made me a very unpleasant person to be around.
So once a week, I have a fry day. Tuesdays, actually, are my fry days.
But don't worry, deep-fried foods and bacon doesn't have to be bad for you.
The secret to great, healthy(er) fried foods to get preheat clean, healthy oils with a smoke point of 400+ degrees F. Oils such as canola, corn, soy or peanut are good choices. Oils such as olive oil have lower smoke points (about 350) and are better for sauteing.
Try to avoid breading when deep frying as these things tend to absorb a lot of oil and flake off making the oil dirty and more likely to burn.
Now, moving on to bacon.
Yes, it can be greasy, fatty, and bad for you. But surprisingly enough, bacon is high protein, low carb, full of robust flavor and when cooked crispy and drained, not so unhealthy.

That being said, tonight's menu was fried spring rolls, fried rice, and beef and bacon skewers. Comfort food. Yum. It's not something I eat every day, but once-a-week is a good compromise.

Getting acclamated to new resistance? Let's change it up with a 6-day split.

2011-05-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Sets and reps: I like to change this about every 3-6 weeks depending on how quickly I adapt to the resistance. All work sets are done slowly, focusing on negatives.

Two-tempo training: week one and/or two's sets are performed with a 2/2 cadence (2 seconds up, 2 down) and a 3/1/3 cadence (3 seconds up, 1 pause, 3 down) the following weeks.

Standard sets: 4x12
Drop sets: 2x12 low resistance for warm-up, 2x10,8,6,4 with heavy decreasing resistance
Loaded pyramid sets: 4x10,8,6,4 with increasing resistance
Abs: 6-8x20-50
Calves: Alternate between low reps (8x8-12) and high reps (4x20-30) every 2-3 weeks

Warm-up and cardio include but not limited to 10-45 minutes of hula hooping, dancing, pylometrics or jump rope circuit.

Monday: Abs
Crunches
Bicycle crunches
Leg lifts
Cable crunches
Standing twists
Hip raises
Stomach vacuum (3x30-60 secs)

Tuesday: Chest, biceps
Bicep curls with resistance
Flat-palmed inclined push-ups
Chest presses with resistance
Knuckle inclined push-ups
Flies with resistance
Knuckle push-ups
Inclined chest press with resistance
Diamon-palmed triangle push-ups

Wednesday: Glutes, thighs
Alt. leg bridges
Glute kickback with resistance
Butt-buster with resistance
Good mornings with resistance
Squats with resistance
Dog legs
Lunges
Forward lunges with resistance

Thursday: Abs

Friday: Triceps, shoulders, back
Bent-over rows with resistance
Dips
Lateral rows with resistance
Shoulder press with resistance
Back flies with resistance
Lat pulldowns with resistance
Cable rows with resistance
Skull crushers with resistance

Saturday: Thighs, calves
Suspended lunges with resistance
Mountain climbers
Frankensteins
Calf-raises with resistance
Squat-raises
Adductors with resistance
Abductors with resistance
Side lunges with resistance

Sunday: Jump rope (10x1 min rounds alt. with side swing)
Basic jump
Slolam
Bell
Twist
Straddle
Scissor
Crossover
Heel-toe
Skip

Savoring a little splurge with the diet

2011-04-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you have leftover steak and mashed potatoes?
Consider a different take your regular meat and potato fare.
Diet:
Orzo and broccoli salad
Roasted carrots and mushrooms
Bell pepper steak with rice

Splurge:
garlicky mashed potato biscuits

Orzo and broccoli salad

DRESSING:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 med. garlic clove pressed or 1 tsp. garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp honey

SALAD:

3 c. steamed broccoli florets
8 oz. orzo, cooked al dente and drained
2 green onions, minced
1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro
1 can chickpeas (optional)
1 small can sliced olives (optional)

In a small bowl, measure dressing ingredients and combine. In a larger bowl, combine salad ingredients. Add dressing and add more seasonings to your taste. Refrigerate.

Roasted carrots and mushrooms

4-5 medium carrots
8 oz sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme or 1 T chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450F/230C.

Peel and cut carrots on diagonal into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss carrots with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Spread a single layer on large roasting pan. Roast carrots 15 minutes.

Toss mushrooms with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.

Add mushrooms and roast 10-15 minutes more. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley.

Bell pepper steak

1 1/2-2 lb. leftover sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 c. chopped onion
2 green bell pepper, cut in slices
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. oil

Sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. ketchup

Grease skillet with 1/4 cup of oil. Season steak slices with salt and pepper as needed. Brown meat on both sides. Put meat in plate. Add onions and garlic to skillet and cook until tender, stir in sauce. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes (until meat is tender). Add slice green bell pepper. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Garlicky mashed potato biscuits

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. leftover mashed potatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/3 c. milk
1/3 c. cold water
Extra milk for biscuit tops.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in butter, until pieces of butter are no larger than peas. Use a fork to stir in mashed potatoes and garlic, breaking them up into chunks. Make a well in the mixture, and pour in egg, water and milk. Stir into a loose dough using the fork.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 6 or 8 times so the dough holds together. Pat the dough out to about 3/4 inch thickness, and cut into circles with a biscuit cutter or drinking glass. Place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the tops with a bit of milk.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden.

Happy eating.

Blast away that fat with a high intensity jump rope circuit to revv up your sleepy Sunday

2011-04-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jump rope circuit (Sn): 1 min alternating with side swings
Basic jump
Slolam
Bell hop
Twists
Straddle
Scissors
Crossovers

Tuesdays and Fridays are lower body days

2011-04-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Warm up: Hula hooping (10 min)

Strength: 1 set with heavy resistance band to failure

Lower Body (T,F):
Squats
Good Mornings
Lunges
Abductors
Adductors
Glute kickback
Hamstring curls
Calf raisers

Cardio:
Step-ups(3x10 min)

Mondays and Thursdays are upper body days

2011-04-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Warm-up: Hula hooping (10 Min)

Strength: 1 set with heavy resistance band to failure

Upper Body:
Shoulder press
Bicep curls
Bent-over rows
Chest presses
Lateral rows
Flies
Back flies
Inclined chest presses
Skull crushers

Cardio:
Boogie on down and dance that booty off! (45 min)

Fabulous abs on Wednesdays and Saturdays

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Warm up: tai chi

Strength:

Abs (W,St):
Crunches 6x25-50
Bicycle crunches 6x25-50
Leg lifts 6x25-50
Cable crunches (with resistance band)6x12-25
Twists (with resistance band)6x12-25
Plank position band pulls(with resistance band)6x12-25
Stomach vacuum (3x60 sec)

Cardio:

Pylometrics (W,St): 4x25
Jumping jacks
Bunny hop squats
Speed skater jumps
Jump tucks
Step-ups
Patty-cake push-ups

Heavier resistance means it's time to change it up.

2011-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Overview of the new workout routine:

Strength: 1 set with heavy resistance band to failure

Upper Body (M,Th):
Shoulder press
Bicep curls
Bent-over rows
Chest presses
Lateral rows
Flies
Back flies
Inclined chest presses
Skull crushers

Lower Body (T,F):
Squats
Good Mornings
Lunges
Abductors
Adductors
Glute kickback
Hamstring curls
Calf raisers

Abs (W,St):
Crunches 6x25-50
Bicycle crunches 6x25-50
Leg lifts 6x25-50
Cable crunches (with resistance band)6x12-25
Twists (with resistance band)6x12-25
Plank position band pulls(with resistance band)6x12-25
Stomach vacuum (3x60 sec)

Cardio:

Pylometrics (W,St): 4x25
Jumping jacks
Bunny hop squats
Speed skater jumps
Jump tucks
Step-ups
Patty-cake push-ups

Jump rope circuit (Sn): 1 min alternating with side swings
Basic jump
Slolam
Bell hop
Twists
Straddle
Scissors
Crossovers

My bags are packed: on the go workout for 4/8/11

2011-04-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ready for travel and all my stuff is packed and I'm too lazy to unpack for the resistance.

Warm up: tai chi

Stregth training: pyramid sets 4x10,8,6,4 (5 sec pause between each set of reps, 30 seconds between each set)

Flat-palmed wide push-ups
Squat raises
Chin-ups
Walking lunges
Knuckle push-ups: Standard push-up done on the back two knuckles.
Speed skater lunges
Gorilla chin-ups
Sumo squats
Diamond-palmed triangle push-ups
Side lunges
Chair dips
Mountain climbers

Cool down: Yoga

Workout 3/26: Great gams

2011-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

Remember to eat bananas. The potassium will help speed up your recovery!

Warm up: 10 min dancing

Strength training: pyramid sets 4x10,8,6,4
Suspended lunges
Mountain climbers
Frankensteins
Calf raises with resistance bands
Squats raises
Adductors with resistance bands
Abductors with resistance bands
Stationary speed skater lunges

Cardio: Jump rope circuit 10 min
Basic jump 1 min
Side swing 1 min
Slolam 1 min
Side swing 1 min
Bell jump 1 min
Side swing 1 min
Twist jump 1 min
Side swing 1 min
Straddle jump 1 min
Side swing 1 min

Workout 3/23: It's a kick-ass butt day of squats and lunges

2011-03-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Warm up: 10 min dancing

Strength training (pyramid sets with increasing resistance):
Alternating leg bridges 4x10,8,6,4
Glute kickbacks 4x10,8,6,4
Butt busters 4x10,8,6,4
Good mornings 4x10,8,6,4
Squats with resistance bands 4x10,8,6,4
Dog legs 4x10,8,6,4
Lunges 4x10,8,6,4
Walking lunges 4x10,8,6,4

Cardio: 45 min dancing

Workout 3/22: biceps and chest on the go means push-ups and resistance band routine

2011-03-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

The nature of my existence requires that I travel between the West coast and mountain states, and the cheapest hotel/casino doesn't always have a gym. That it why I am a huge fan of keeping workouts simple and portable.
Here is my workout using Reebok's braided resistance band on loaded pyramid sets.

Warm up: 10 min hula hoop

Strength training:
bicep curls 4x10,8,6,4
flat palm incline push-ups 4x10,8,6,4
chest presses 4x10,8,6,4
knuckle incline push-ups 4x10,8,6,4
chest flies 4x10,8,6,4
knuckle push-ups 4x10,8,6,4
incline chest press 4x10,8,6,4
diamond palm triangle push-ups 4x10,8,6,4

cardio: dance 45 min

Workout 3/14: working on that 6-pack abs

2011-03-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

Warm up 10 minutes hula hoop.

Abs:
Crunches 6x50
Twisting crunches 6x50
Leg lifts 6x50
Cable crunches 6x50
Bicycle crunches 6x50
Reverse crunch 6x50

45 min. aerobic dance.

Workout 3/13: great gams and calves

2011-03-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

My workout for today:

10 minutes hula hoop warm up.

Strength training calves and thighs with loaded pyramid sets of increasing resistance.
Suspended lunges 4x10,8,6,4
Mountain climbers 4x10,8,6,4 secs
Frankensteins 4x10,8,6,4
calf raises 4x10,8,6,4
Squat calf raises 4x10,8,6,4
Adductors 4x10x8x6x4
Hip abductor 4x10,8,6,4
Speed skater lunges 4x10,8,6,4

Jump rope circuit:
1 min basic jump
1 min side swing
1 min slaloms
1 min side swing
1 min bell hop
1 min side swing
1 min twist
1 min side swing
1 min straddle jump
1 min side swing

Workout 3/12: sculpted back, shoulders and triceps

2011-03-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

Here is my workout for today:

10 minute warm-up with a hula hoop.
Bent-over rows 4x10,8,6,4 loaded pyramid sets
Dips 4x10,8,6,4
Lateral raises 4x10,8,6,4
Shoulder presses 4x10,8,6,4
Back flies 4x10,8,6,4
Lat pull downs 4x10,8,6,4
Cable rows 4x10,8,6,4
Skull crushers 4x10,8,6,4
45 minutes of aerobic dancing.

The Great Fake Debates: Is being young overrated?

2011-03-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Is being young overrated?
Business trends don’t seem to think so.

I admit, growing up does have its advantages. People take you more seriously and for some, like fine wine, age only does well to improve the flavor. But for others, vinegar is still vinegar no matter how old you make it.
So is youth overrated? Not in this economy.
Youth has the ability to think creativity without the hardships of the rest of life weighing down on them. They have the ability to create innovative technology that the rest of the world can only keep up with.
The most booming industries are those targeted at youths or those who want to remain youthful. Gaming, electronics, social-media, fashion, these are all industries that rely on active participation of the young to utilize their products and services to make money.
And for those who are no longer as youthful as they hoped, healthcare, promises to reverse your problems.
The goal nowadays is not to remain immortal. People don’t want to live longer just to live longer. They want to be Dorian Gray without the painting. They want to remain youthful. So much so that health and beauty is one of the hottest business trends to explode on the scene and is only expected to get hotter. Vitamins marketed with age-reversing antioxidants, ginseng, etc. are increasing advertised as restoring youthful vitality, enhancing libido and turning back the clocks of time. And people are paying for it.
It has employed entire industries of personal trainers, vitamin slingers and spa workers where people work to make other people feel good.
For women, that means one more thing: boobies.
So what do breasts have to do with youth? If you’re a woman, it has everything to do with it.
Unlike for most men, status for women is based on youth and beauty.
If you’re “young and perky,” there is an array of cleavage baring, youthful fashions for you in anything from casual everyday wear to evening attire marketed to older middle-aged women known as “cougars” and “hot wives.”
If you’re not, I believe there’s an oversized sweater in the frump section.
The young and cute waitress gets better tips, the starlet get better roles. The young 24 year old is promoted to the top of the Heffner wifey list, while the older, first wife is still estranged. And yes, I said promoted. It’s hard work servicing an old man on a $1,000 a week allowance.
You can hide crow’s feet and laugh lines with Botox, but nothing says old like leathery saggy breasts. And women know it and use it to their advantage.
According to Plastic Surgery Research,"For the first time in the twelve years these statistics have been collected liposuction is a runner up in popularity to breast augmentation,” Alan Gold, MD, Aesthetic Society president said.
There is great value in youth: longevity, carefree spontaneity, creativity, libido, fertility – people pay thousands of dollars to look young again, feel young again and to revisit their past, hence vaginoplasty and hours at the gym trying to reverse the toll that all those years of gravity and partying takes on the body.
Youth may be overrated to some; the youth “industry” is the hottest business trend to hit market in the next ten years.

The Great Fake Debates: Is the world a smaller place?

2011-03-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Big Technology, Tiny World
by M. A. Cornejo

Of all the places I have called home through the years, my first apartment was by far the most interesting. The simple combination of thin walls, narrow courtyards, one laundry room for 250 units, and the mere fact it was filled with the type of people living in the Paradise neighborhood of Las Vegas taught as much about the world as I have ever learned before or since. I always knew what the lady upstairs was cooking, as the odors would emanate through my ceiling. I could tell when the young couple across the way were both home from work, because it’s hard to avoid the loud, passionate screams and moans — from both of them — as they enjoyed the other’s company. And as for my next-door neighborhood, there was plenty of evidence seeping into my simple one-bedroom apartment to alert me when his dealer had came through. Add in the fact I not only knew when just about everyone around me was upset, but I could tell you exactly what they were upset about as their anger spilled out in boisterous tones for the world to hear.
Yes, 2006 was an eventful year for all those residing near me. When I moved out that November, I was extremely happy to be away from the never-ending sensory barrage. A few years later, thanks to Facebook, Twitter, blog posts, streaming video, and the like, I was tossed back into the life I had one thought I had escaped from for good. Thanks to the recent technological advances, I now know that a person who I attended a few classes with in high school, “is about to hit the gym.” Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love to get up-to-the-hour information on the guy who I barely spent any time with from my fraternity when we lived 20-feet from each other — let alone his ex-girlfriend.
Am I happy about these new trends in our society? Obviously, from my pervious statements in this piece, you know there is a lot I dislike. However, without these advancements, I would have lost touch with many of the people I had once called my closest friends. There are people who I met in San Jose, who grew up in the South, and now live in the Mid-West or on the East Coast I have access to in a way I never thought possible. It is amazing how I can see wedding pictures of people I was sure I would have lost contact to years ago, whether we still talk or not.
It’s truly an amazing feat of humanity I can see places and people through a computer screen — or even on an iPod — I would never have had the fortune to witness if not for the technology that has turned the world into one, gigantic small town. I think of someone like my grandfather, who had only the writings of the famed travel essayists of his youth to describe cities like Vienna and Prague, or grand experiences such as walking the Great Wall. Sure, the Internet cannot replace those experiences entirely, but there is nothing one could see up close at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe I cannot by typing those words into Google. The world is, without a doubt, a far smaller world than anyone could have imagined just 30 years ago. Our lives, whether we consciously decide to or are simply forced to by picture-happy Facebook friends, are on display for the whole of humanity to behold. Where once you had to be transcendent in literature, sports, film, science, religion, or politics to be known throughout the world, you must only process a cursory knowledge of technology and an IP address today.

Press start to read: My book ran out of batteries. A pseudo-serious rant... sorta kinda

2011-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

by Shaminder Dulai

Information is power. Governments know it, The Church knew, even your mom knew it when she told you finishing your plate at dinner meant Santa would come to town.

Controlling information is strategically advantageous then, obviously, and history is littered with reminders of controlled information doled out in situations that swayed an alignment with their own.

Don’t let people fool you, behind everything there’s a stakeholder with an invested interest and as it is in Glenn Beck’s wettest dream of dystopia, the best way to control the current is to limit information. Or limit the truth with rambling disinformation as it were, but I digress.

Gutenberg’s press changed all that and brought the printed word to the masses. Literature, News, Science, technology, religious freedom, original thought and knowledge spread like wildfire.

For hundreds of years the free flow of information brought prosperity and with the advent of the consumer version of the Internet the dam burst open once more creating the landscape of today where any wingding with a laptop could write anything and scrape together a book if they held their resolve long enough, but now something threatens that balance.

A man in a turtleneck harbingers the efforts of an Amazonian from the pacific northwest and the coming onslaught to a free press and a return to information control.

He brings with him a tablets. Tablets which create a class system for knowledge. Tablets which create a gatekeeper culture where only the books that the company holding the keys approves of will be released... Right now the big boys are Amazon and Apple and Apple’s already shown us they’re anti-competive (Google voice?) on the appstore and Amazon caved to pressure over Wikileaks and censored the free flow of information.

With books, anyone can self-publish, find a local vegan feminsit bike friendly cafe/bookstore and get the message out there. Odds are few will see it and it’ll go on to live a long life as a dust bunny ranch, but at least the book had a chance.

Given the records of the companies behind eBookstores, what’s the wiser choice?

Books are for everyone, tablets are for those who can afford it... in a country were a large chuck of the population doesn’t have Internet access, what are the odds everyone will have a tablet?

Consider why libraries were created.

To make knowledge accessible to all, but tablets will make them pointless and create a have and have not culture.

I still don't have a smartphone and I already feel the pinch in this microcosm, extrapolate this to a wider scoop with books and imagine.

And what of bookshelves? How many more American woodcutters working for Canadian companies that ship fresh chopped trees to China so that you can buy a shelf at Walmart must we put out of work? Someone think of their children!

Since you mention children, books have a special place in their learning to read and bonding with parents.

Yet, tablets would destroy what’s left of bedtime stories.

Suzy: Daddy Daddy, read me a story.

Dad: (groan) ... ok, let me go get the tablet from it’s cradle in the living room.

Dad runs downstairs, gotta hurry gotta hurry...

Dad: OW!!! Stupid f*ckin table! Bleepbleepbleepitybleep!!!

Suzy: Daddy!

Dad: rabblerabblerabble... coming!

Dad runs back upstairs.

Dad: Ok kiddo, here we go.

Suzy: yay (in five years I’m going to hate you).

Dad: Ok... soo......um.... hmm.... … … …

Suzy: I want a stooooory.

Dad: It won’t come out of sleep mode cupcake... um... it says it charged.... hmm....

Suzy: Did you try to restart it?

Dad: …

Suzy: Well?

Dad taps at the device and finally gives up and removes the battery to restart it.

Dad: Here we go... shit.

Suzy: I coulda learned to read by now.

Dad: Hold your horses kumquat, I just need to install some new firmware... and update my bookstore app... and... delete some stuff... to... make... space... and--

Suzy: Hurry the bleep up!

Dad: Well, if you’re going to be a twat... oh dear, there go the batteries...

Suzy: Augh... you’re an idiot!

Dad: Hey!

Suzy: I wish it was you that was eaten by peacocks on safari instead of Mom!

Dad: Suzy--

Suzy: Stupid fcukin bleepitybleepybleep wanker! rabblerabble

Dad slaps Suzy

Dad: Suzy!

Suzy: I hate you!!! Get out! I wish I was never born!

Daddy: Me to! If only the coin came up heads!

Congratulations tablets, another family destroyed. Did I mention Suzy was 3? And that dad was a recovering scotchguard huffer who blamed himself for being too drunk to shoot Petty the Peacock?

He still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, clutching the pillow next to him, the veins in his temple throbbing as her dislodged left eye flies toward him pleading he step to the left to spare the tangerine ascot around his neck and its matching cardigan she’d purchased before the trip from Donna Karen’s winter collection. In those escapes from night terrors, for a weest of wee moments he sees her next to him again. It’s the happiest part of his day.

Oh, and Suzy never learned to read because the tablet just read everything to her her entire life.

Way to go. Tablets 1, American family 0.

Actually forget about even having a family in a world of tablets.

How will anyone know you’re hip and f-able if they can’t see that they’re reading “Everything is illuminated,” “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” or an unauthorized biography of Charles and Ray Eames?

That time honored classy pick-up line of asking the mousy girl with the hair if that McSneweeny’s is good? Gone. Birthrates would drop in Williamsburg and Seattle!

But it doesn’t end there, the scourge of the tablet isn’t satisfied with forced contraception, they’re going after mom and pop too.

Their main street used book store and the time honored tradition of sharing books or passing them on to others after you’re done will die.

It’s already happening in the used video game business with publishers employing DRM and one time use keys to ensure they will always control the content, it’s availability and at what price you can have it.

And there goes the American tradition of book burnings. Gathering around a church to hit delete on cue just won’t be as satisfying and with nothing else to due on a Saturday night, the south will rise again. Can’t say they haven’t been warning you for a 164 years.

Your parent’s already know this, but nothing makes you feel old like popular sayings going out of favor. You’re like a broken record anyone? Yea.

What about throwing the book at someone? Kiss it goodbye geezer, no one’s going to risk throwing their tablet?

How was that book? It was a real page,er, finger swipe...er?

Tablets will never live up to books. Books are durable and transportable with ease. With a book you pick it up and go with little concern. Get some sand on it at the beach? Shake it off. Fall asleep on it? Wipe off the drool.

Can a tablet give you that sensation?

The feel of pulp, the smell of ink, the tingle in your ear with the cracking of the spine, giving life to dog ears, licking your fingers to flip a page to show everyone around you how un-gressy your hands are, falling asleep under it in a park, or passing it on to a friend, loved one or new acquaintance to see their eyes light up.

And when the zombie apocalypses you can’t burn tablets for heat. So, yea, think about that.

The Great Fake Debate Contest Week 2/28 Topics

2011-02-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

Due by Sunday 2/27 midnight PST.

Rules:
Min. 600 words unless it's written lyrically or poetically.
Lies are permissible as long as they are apparently false or satirical.
All facts must be attributed.

Topics:
1. Books are important~ Shaminder Dulai vs. Tablets have rendered books obsolete~ Kevin Lindsey

2. Is legalizing opium cultivation in Afghanistan a better option than forcing it down? Yes~ Dave Soto vs. No~Liz Nguyen

3. The world is a smaller place nowadays~ M.A. Cornejo vs. The world is a larger place~ Liz Nguyen

4. Poverty is a state of mind (after dinner speech)

5. Being young is overrated~ Chhun Sun vs. Growing old sucks~ Liz Nguyen

Thinking about putting it to a vote and doing prizes or a virtual trophy for most outrageous but believable argument, most interesting persona/character and overall best argument. What do you guys think?