Screw You Russell Smith. We’re not greasy, you’re just a dick.

Alright, well I did the viewing part of my assignment at the Galaxy Cinema in Sherwood Park. First off the building is located next to the mall there and is actually quite large and new. I noticed as I drove up that you can see the “Galaxy ” sign on the large building from quite a distance. Something I guess I don’t really pay attention to it when I see it, but this time I noticed. Yes I was aware. I was aware like a mighty beaver is of intruders. I noticed little things that I never would have were it not for this assignment. Some irked me and others amused me and tickled me right where I itch.

As you walk through the double set of doors you come across a few “instant ticket machines”. This is where I purchased my ticket for Ghost Rider. I also had the option of buy my snacks on this machine. but I did not. I had to see the oily product first to see just what kind of disgusting chemical I was going to put into my stomach today. I payed by debit and got my ticket. I looked into the lobby and found that there were only 5 other people in there. Two younger girls, a guy around 30 and a middle aged man with I’m assuming his wife. He looked slightly like a large lumberjack with his large beard. Russell Smith would probably have been revolted at this man’s shaggy facial hard and disregard for others having to see such unkempt-ness.

As I walked over to the food counter I noticed a piece of gum smashed into the carpet. (Like I said, I was aware today) It didn’t honestly bother me. It could have even have been mine from a week ago. Who knows. But the significance of this gum just reminds me of Russell Smith and what his reaction would have been to this piece of deliciousness smeared in the carpet. I’m guessing he would have turned red in the face at its revolting connotations of society and promptly shit his pants on the spot.

So anyways, as I waited to get some food there were only two girls in front of my brother, our friend, and me. I’m guessing they were 17-18ish, but who can honestly tell these days. They looked normal too me. Not greasy or abnormally grotesque. I decided on a large popcorn with butter and large Pepsi. So in Russell Smith’s view I am one of the greasy audience members that devours large buttery cartons of filth and gallons of liquid sugar. But you know what? So what. I like it. Does that make me a terrible person? I don’t think so. Does that make me a slob? I don’t think so. In fact I am willing to bet that I am in far better shape than this Smith character. If anything I should be calling him the slob.

So on our way to our particular theater I notice the wheelchair ramp. Something I don’t think I would really pay attention to normally, but there it was as I’m sure it always has been. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone in a wheelchair at this theater but that could just be me being blind again. I suppose most places now have to and are wheelchair accessible.

When I enter the theater I notice the lights are still lit and there is a slight chatter throughout. There were only a few seats available on the side so that is where we sat. My brother and I sit on either side of our friend who is a girl, because otherwise that’s just gay isn’t it. (who knows why its seen like that… it just is. I couldn’t care less but it’s almost like ‘proper’ etiquette or something. Like how you always leave one space between you and the guy at the next urinal.) The seats are quite comfortable as this theater is relatively new. They even slightly recline, and by slightly I mean they are angled so your back isn’t at a perfect 90 degrees. Besides who the hell sits that straight anyways.

Immediately the previews start once we are seated. One is for Spiderman 3.. ho-hum….then some car commercial.. again.. ho-hum… I start to look around and some people are talking, others are watching these previews like it’s a breaking news story. They don’t even seem to blink. I noticed that one long haired teenager in rather torn clothing even spilled part of his popcorn because he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen while trying to feed himself. Perhaps Smith has something here with the previews and ads section of his rant. But I don’t understand his angst at having to see other audience members and their actions. I didn’t get offended and want to puke at seeing this kid spill his popcorn. If anything it was amusing.

The movie starts and well… it’s alright but nothing special. People gasped or awed at all the right moments. I guess that always happens, but it kind of made me laugh this time at how obviously we are playing right into the whole “movie -going” experience that the big schmaltz factories and companies want us to do. There was one roughly late 20 yr old in front of me that kept moving a lot during the show. He kind of pissed me off as I had to move because of him every so often, but I guess it’s part of the experience.

At the end of the movie some people clapped and I still don’t get it. Who are they clapping for? The guy that played the reel up top? It’s something that disgruntles me, but were it not for this assignment it is something I tend to keep to myself. I don’t think society is disgusting for it, but that people are simply different.

In summary I think Russell Smith’s article is nothing more that a bucket of douche by one anally-retentive dude. I personally enjoyed the whole movie experience and all that it entailed. I liked to gorge on greasy foods at the movies. It’s fun. If you don’t want to have to experience going to the movie in these large pig-barns then don’t. Stay at home and drink your sherry and save your smug-ass remarks to yourself. If Smith thinks he is better and cleaner than others that go to the movie, he is a bum. We’re not greasy Russell Smith. You’re just a dick.

Michael Richard’s Court Speech on Racist Remarks

The Following are not my views. I merely am posting this for interest sake. This is more of a link to this blog’s article on Richard’s outburst.  This is supposedly Richard’s speech in court.
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me “White boy,” “Cracker,” “Honkey,”
“Whitey,” “Caveman” … and that’s
OK.
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink …
You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma’uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we’d be
racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we’d be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to “advance”
OUR lives we’d be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber
of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of
Commerce. Wonder who pays for
that?

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American
pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.

If we had a college fund that only gave white students
scholarships you know we’d be racists.
There are over 60 openly proclaimed
Black Colleges
in the US. Yet if there were “White colleges” THAT
would be a racist college.

In the Million
Man March, you believed that you were
marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and
you’re not afraid to announce
it. But when we announce
our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats
up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a  threat to society, you call him a racist.

I am proud.
But you call me a racist.

>> >> >>>>>Why is it that only whites can be racists?

Those F*#$ing Ads – They pay our admission to the media

I find it quite interesting that many forms of media are still paid for the same way today as they were in the ‘Partisan Period’ as mentioned in Chapter 7 of our text. Advertisers were what kept the media (newspapers) going then by paying for production costs and it’s what keeps media accessible to us today for a relatively low cost.

With the internet comes all the great “Free” software out there readily available for downloading. Even such music sharing communities as Limewire and Bearshare use advertisers/sponsers to subsidize them in providing you this servive/media. If one is not willing to buy a subscription to their service, then you can still use it but with the ’sponsers’ packages that comes with this non-subscription method.

So in order to be able to provide you with their services/media, these companies use sponser money to do so. If you download one of these ’sponsered’ softwares, then you often get pop-ups to the sponsers advertisements and other unwanted garbage features that you didn’t initially set out to get. Rather clever little scheme they got going that’s been around for a long time now.

Kind of shows that media isn’t free. By turning on your tv/internet/radio you may not think about who pays for it all for you to enjoy. Fact of the matter is it’s very costly and advertising companies have excelled like mad with the technological boom of the last 50 years. If you were to sign on to the internet and go to a webpage for a reputable newspaper, you will notice that almost every single one has advertisements some place or another. Links to sponsers and advertisers are everywhere throught the internet.

To put this all into perspective. If advertisements were all of a sudden say to become illegal in public media or say disappear for some strange reason, where would the costs of production be supplied from? You guessed it… the ones obtaining this media…you and me. We could probably each be looking at a few thousand dollars extra, if not more, just to watch tv, view the internet, or read the paper.

So the next time you get angry at that retarded Cadbury commercial or for having to see Stupid Jared in another Subway commercial, be thankful. For these companies are saving you thousands of dollars every year and are enabling everyone to be able to access the media. For without advertisers, only the rich would be able to access the media.

And I don’t know about you but I need the media. How else would I be able to see such great shows involving FESTIVUS. Man that Jerry Stiller is awesome.

Hockey Night in Canada Gone??

Upon reading chapter 5 in our text (especially the part of television shaping cultures), I realized that one of Canada’s most culture influential programs might be changing drastically in the next year or so. Apparently CBC’s contract for the rights to Hockey Night in Canada (H.N.I.C.)is up soon. Supposedly TSN and other stations are bidding for it. CBC has already lost the rights to broadcast the next two olympics. The loss of the olympics, coupled with the loss of H.N.I.C. could spell disaster for the most Canadian station Canada has.

Can you imagine not seeing Don Cherry or Don Maclean doing H.N.I.C.? No more Coache’s Corner? What are these next olympics going to be like without Brian Williams heading the broadcast? With these Canadian personas under contract to CBC, they will have a hard time migrating over to TSN should it obtain H.N.I.C.’s rights.

With the potential loss of two of the country’s most recognizeable broadcasts, Canadian culture is on the cusp of change. I don’t care who you are, if you have ever lived in Canada you know who Don Cherry is. Very few Canadians will not recognize the theme song for H.N.I.C. when it comes on tv. Check out this clip as it shows quite well the steps CBC has come when it comes to H.N.I.C. It starts off with a modern song and video clips of the current NHL but when theme song comes on after it shows just how long H.N.I.C. has been on CBC.
With it being the longest running television program in Canadian history and one of the longest running ever anywhere, it has undoubtedly shaped Canadian culture.

Before there was satellite tv and high def cable tv, there were few channels and one of them was CBC. Every saturday night for the last 50 years H.N.I.C. has had a spot in millions upon millions of homes. Of the millions who played hockey growing up, they will all remember watching this program. Even millions who never had the opportunity to play the game, joined around the tv to watch it. Very few other programs, if any, have had the effect on Canadians that H.N.I.C. has had.

Hockey Night in Canada has been a part of my Saturdays from before I could walk. And now as I am months away from departing University life, I can still say it is a part of my Saturdays quite often. Sometimes you can find me, indulging in the great Canadian past time in a crowded pub, joined by many other H.N.I.C. fans watching CBC. I hope the possibility of this happening never goes away.