Tony Hawk has responded to people saying he's sold out because he is sponsored by McDonalds buy explaining that he eats there all the time so why shouldn't he accept their sponsorship. Although i may be disappointed in his food selection i can easily understand Tony Hawk's reasoning here.
Now i could agree to post ads on this site, as it is a service offered, but i choose not to. i even have deleted advertisers who have snuck ads into the comments sections. With the heavy traffic this site sees i obviously would become a kazillionaire overnight, if i just decided too. i have decided to take the moral high road, however, as punkmonks desire not material things.
i do have a product that i have become quite fond of recently and feel obligated to educate the public about. Dickies, the greatest pants you can buy for $25, have a work pant color that i have fallen for... hard. Their olive green flat front work pant is amazing looking. i'm not going to change them until they wear out. Seeing how they are Dickies that should be in about 20 years.
i had always liked the traditional blue and black Dickies and the khaki colored pants are quite appropriate for all types of situations. In the last few years i have grown quite fond of the grey or charcoal color. They quickly have become my go-to pant for both work and play but the recent purchase of olive green has caused a dramatic coupe in my closet. Although the grey have the upper hand (i own two pairs in grey) the olive green know which child i like best.
So, if a Dickies representative were to ask if they could be a sponsor for this site, the answer would of course be yes. They are a superior product for a very reasonable price and 1punkmonk would definitely be willing to be a public spokesmonk for such a quality company.
*(Take that you Carhart wearing mofo's)
**(1punkmonk also would not mind being a spokesmonk for Fallen skate-sneakers)
Aug 29, 2007
Aug 27, 2007
200th: Personal Focus
Yes boys and girls, this is the 200th entry and after sorting through the countless recommendations made by you (or the one recommendation) i am going to rant about the reader choice of... wait for it... wait for it... Jack Valenti.
Jack Valenti who passed away this past April was the man responsible for the MPAA and therefore the movie rating system which we all know and love all so fondly. Oh you mischievous little PG-13.
Where to begin, where to begin? Well i could talk about his sudden rise to political power after the Kennedy assassination but that's all too 'conspiracy theory' for me. i could discuss how he's another horrible export of Texas. Thanks for another one Texas, maybe you should be your own country so that you stop fucking up ours. Aw, Texas is too easy a target.
i could talk about his life long battle against technology. How he filed lawsuits against Sony to try and keep VCR's off the market because they would cut into the movie industry's revenues. His constant lobbying and legal battles against online movie/video services. His formation of some copyright contingent uniting movie, music, sports, and television copyright holders to urge congress to defend their moneymaking.
As a brief tangent, anything said/typed by me on this site is free to be used by anyone so long as you give me credit. All any true artist should want is credit for the art they put out there. The artists aren't the ones losing tons of money, it's the corporation who are losing the money. But i wouldn't expect dear old Jack to understand artists because he never was one.
The reality is, i don't need to discuss the copyright issues because currently dvd and cd sales are plummeting faster than real estate prices. These large corporations are panicking and flailing about as they make less and less money. Their days are numbered, we just have to wait.
No, my real bone of contention with Mr Valenti is the rating system and it's thinly veiled inner workings which benefit himself and his friends in the movie studios. He regularly claimed that he did not want to define morality but that is just what he did. He helped to establish a warm, fuzzy, easily digestible form of censorship.
The ratings are based on a group of reviewer's morals. Boobs are OK (well, they are far more than OK, but as far as movies go they are OK to show). Butts are somewhat alright. Females bellow the belt might make it into an R but male below the belt usually will get you an NC-17. Fallacio references may slide into PG-13 if brief and humorous enough but you're pushing it to get cunnilingus into an R. Oh, did i mention that those are all in a heterosexual context. Homosexual references of such sorts will all but guarantee a sweet old NC-17.
Without wanting to get much more long winded with the point, there has been established a hierarchy of what seems to be acceptable within any given rating parameter. Violence is widely accepted with only the more gruesome portrayals getting serious ratings. The more the better. Swearing is accepted to a point depending on word selection and frequency. Sex is a problem in this country and same-sex relations seem almost unacceptable on film.
The perpetuation of these puritanical ideals is beyond asinine. In fact, we seem to have moved backwards in this regard over the past decade or so. Control of art through censorship and monetary influence destroys our culture. Paintings seem to be the art medium most controlled by the few with large amounts of money determining what is fine and what isn't. Movies second due to the large amounts of collateral needed to make them. Music next with needed large industry distribution even though home engineering is ever improving in quality. The written word, especially with the advent of the internet, has seen a rebirth in it's accessibility and level of freedom.
Branding a movie with an NC-17 means that it will most likely not be picked up for distribution. A whole slew of topics are immediately taken off the table. With this success in movie control others have tried to do the same to other entertainment industries with varying success. Music now has advisory stickers. Video games now have a rating system. This quickly turns into a slippery slope, all graded by (or buy) the man himself Jack Valenti.
That is the reality of his legacy. That is how his existence has effected this country. How easy it is for those with money to cloud the judgement of the masses, conning them into giving up control and freedom.
Jack Valenti who passed away this past April was the man responsible for the MPAA and therefore the movie rating system which we all know and love all so fondly. Oh you mischievous little PG-13.
Where to begin, where to begin? Well i could talk about his sudden rise to political power after the Kennedy assassination but that's all too 'conspiracy theory' for me. i could discuss how he's another horrible export of Texas. Thanks for another one Texas, maybe you should be your own country so that you stop fucking up ours. Aw, Texas is too easy a target.
i could talk about his life long battle against technology. How he filed lawsuits against Sony to try and keep VCR's off the market because they would cut into the movie industry's revenues. His constant lobbying and legal battles against online movie/video services. His formation of some copyright contingent uniting movie, music, sports, and television copyright holders to urge congress to defend their moneymaking.
As a brief tangent, anything said/typed by me on this site is free to be used by anyone so long as you give me credit. All any true artist should want is credit for the art they put out there. The artists aren't the ones losing tons of money, it's the corporation who are losing the money. But i wouldn't expect dear old Jack to understand artists because he never was one.
The reality is, i don't need to discuss the copyright issues because currently dvd and cd sales are plummeting faster than real estate prices. These large corporations are panicking and flailing about as they make less and less money. Their days are numbered, we just have to wait.
No, my real bone of contention with Mr Valenti is the rating system and it's thinly veiled inner workings which benefit himself and his friends in the movie studios. He regularly claimed that he did not want to define morality but that is just what he did. He helped to establish a warm, fuzzy, easily digestible form of censorship.
The ratings are based on a group of reviewer's morals. Boobs are OK (well, they are far more than OK, but as far as movies go they are OK to show). Butts are somewhat alright. Females bellow the belt might make it into an R but male below the belt usually will get you an NC-17. Fallacio references may slide into PG-13 if brief and humorous enough but you're pushing it to get cunnilingus into an R. Oh, did i mention that those are all in a heterosexual context. Homosexual references of such sorts will all but guarantee a sweet old NC-17.
Without wanting to get much more long winded with the point, there has been established a hierarchy of what seems to be acceptable within any given rating parameter. Violence is widely accepted with only the more gruesome portrayals getting serious ratings. The more the better. Swearing is accepted to a point depending on word selection and frequency. Sex is a problem in this country and same-sex relations seem almost unacceptable on film.
The perpetuation of these puritanical ideals is beyond asinine. In fact, we seem to have moved backwards in this regard over the past decade or so. Control of art through censorship and monetary influence destroys our culture. Paintings seem to be the art medium most controlled by the few with large amounts of money determining what is fine and what isn't. Movies second due to the large amounts of collateral needed to make them. Music next with needed large industry distribution even though home engineering is ever improving in quality. The written word, especially with the advent of the internet, has seen a rebirth in it's accessibility and level of freedom.
Branding a movie with an NC-17 means that it will most likely not be picked up for distribution. A whole slew of topics are immediately taken off the table. With this success in movie control others have tried to do the same to other entertainment industries with varying success. Music now has advisory stickers. Video games now have a rating system. This quickly turns into a slippery slope, all graded by (or buy) the man himself Jack Valenti.
That is the reality of his legacy. That is how his existence has effected this country. How easy it is for those with money to cloud the judgement of the masses, conning them into giving up control and freedom.
Brace Yourself Fools!
The new Dropkick Murphys album is a mear 21 days away. Unfortunately St. Patrick's Day is a bit longer a wait.
Ink-ling
i was just thinking about the subtleties of tattoo establishments. The descriptor that follows 'tattoo' makes all the difference in the world. Places to get tattooed seem to be more prevalent every day. For what it's worth these are the three categories of buzzing needle factories as i see them.
First is the 'Tattoo Studio'. Some serious art occurs in these places. These spots have a stylish feel to them and a comfortable atmosphere. Proprietors of such places usually have well-earned reputations and often are booked pretty full. They do not typically have time for walk-ins. These are for the permanent art collector. If you find one of these that fits your style you are golden.
Next is the 'Tattoo Shop'. These remind me of the old t-shirt shops located in malls in the 80's where you'd pick one of the iron-on pictures from the walls and they'd put it on the shirt of your color choice while you wait. The 'tattoo shop' is usually a sterile white with florescent lights and walls covered in flash, usually behind Plexiglas. These places deal almost exclusively in walk-ins. You pick out the skull, rose, or looney-toon cartoon character of your choice and they ink it on you. Sobriety is not a prerequisite for customers. Later in life you'll probably bump into that guy who got the tribal armband before you again in the waiting room of the laser removal clinic. Ouch.
Lastly is the 'Tattoo Parlor'. These are the old school joints. You should probably have been invited or know the secret hand shake before entering these doors. If you've got the guts and neither of these prerequisites, enter this locals hangout at your own risk. Once you know what tattoo you want, you may have to arm wrestle the proprietor. If you win he'll give you the tattoo (maybe even with a fresh needle). If you lose he gets to tattoo whatever he wants wherever he wants. If you don't get shot by someone in a rival biker gang you are going to have one hell of a bad ass tattoo and story, one way or another.
Go ahead... play it cool hot shot. The choice is yours.
First is the 'Tattoo Studio'. Some serious art occurs in these places. These spots have a stylish feel to them and a comfortable atmosphere. Proprietors of such places usually have well-earned reputations and often are booked pretty full. They do not typically have time for walk-ins. These are for the permanent art collector. If you find one of these that fits your style you are golden.
Next is the 'Tattoo Shop'. These remind me of the old t-shirt shops located in malls in the 80's where you'd pick one of the iron-on pictures from the walls and they'd put it on the shirt of your color choice while you wait. The 'tattoo shop' is usually a sterile white with florescent lights and walls covered in flash, usually behind Plexiglas. These places deal almost exclusively in walk-ins. You pick out the skull, rose, or looney-toon cartoon character of your choice and they ink it on you. Sobriety is not a prerequisite for customers. Later in life you'll probably bump into that guy who got the tribal armband before you again in the waiting room of the laser removal clinic. Ouch.
Lastly is the 'Tattoo Parlor'. These are the old school joints. You should probably have been invited or know the secret hand shake before entering these doors. If you've got the guts and neither of these prerequisites, enter this locals hangout at your own risk. Once you know what tattoo you want, you may have to arm wrestle the proprietor. If you win he'll give you the tattoo (maybe even with a fresh needle). If you lose he gets to tattoo whatever he wants wherever he wants. If you don't get shot by someone in a rival biker gang you are going to have one hell of a bad ass tattoo and story, one way or another.
Go ahead... play it cool hot shot. The choice is yours.
Aug 26, 2007
Halloweenie Candy Has Arrived
New survey to the right y'all. Sorry to all you gigantic truck drivers who were bullied as a kid.
Summer News Coverage Recap
i don't need to be kept up to date on what drunken cunt with loads of money chose not to have someone drive her home because her two brain cells were busy fighting, today.
i don't need to be kept up to date on which state had a coal mine collapse this fiscal quarter unless you are going to cover why they are risking their lives and destroying their health in the first place: to collect the dirtiest possible source of energy. It's destroying our environment, killing workers, and polluting our lives all so fossil fuel investors can reap in historic amounts of wealth.
i don't need to see another politician paying lip service to the war, either for or against. i don't need to see footage of another protest. i don't need to see footage of another person waving a flag. People need to see footage of the actual war. People need to see footage of the high school cafeteria enlistment campaigns that are constantly occurring across this country. The teenagers are told lie after lie so that more of our middle and lower class youth can take over for their older brothers and sisters who are being killed and maimed. Why isn't that being covered
Media feeds sugar coated lies and America eats it up. Just because someone hands you a bowl full of shit and a spoon, it doesn't mean that you have to eat it.
i don't need to be kept up to date on which state had a coal mine collapse this fiscal quarter unless you are going to cover why they are risking their lives and destroying their health in the first place: to collect the dirtiest possible source of energy. It's destroying our environment, killing workers, and polluting our lives all so fossil fuel investors can reap in historic amounts of wealth.
i don't need to see another politician paying lip service to the war, either for or against. i don't need to see footage of another protest. i don't need to see footage of another person waving a flag. People need to see footage of the actual war. People need to see footage of the high school cafeteria enlistment campaigns that are constantly occurring across this country. The teenagers are told lie after lie so that more of our middle and lower class youth can take over for their older brothers and sisters who are being killed and maimed. Why isn't that being covered
Media feeds sugar coated lies and America eats it up. Just because someone hands you a bowl full of shit and a spoon, it doesn't mean that you have to eat it.
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