I just can't get enough of this controversy.... [27 Jan 2006|12:24pm] [ mood | surprised ] Now, I just want to make this known. I only get three channels at home and often keep the TV on for background noise because being alone is scary =p However, over time I've become rather...fascinated by Oprah, Dr. Phil, The View, when I catch them in between classes. These bored house-wife television shows are beyond amazing to just...watch and see what sort of ridiculous rhetoric they are spouting to their loyal viewers. But that's a story for another post. I sort of like The View in theory. A panel of women discussing current hot topics is a pretty good idea. Too bad they have to gay it up with fashion, house cleaning, and diet tips. But I understand, it appeals to their audience. I particularly enjoyed how they handled discussing the James Frey vs. Oprah controversy. There seemed to be an obvious difference of opinion, and a small amount of backing Oprah merely out of comradery. They surprised me; I thought they would join the Oprah crusade to further shame James Frey. Instead they quickly moved on to discuss the real issue, the literature industry and how memoirs tend to sell better and gain more notoriety since the story is more real and people can take something away from it. Memoirs just sell better. They continued on to discuss that a memoir seems to be much more personal and it will be embellished since it denotes a person's memory and your memory is inherently biased or flawed. Now in the case of James Frey it was obviously him embellishing for the sake of a better story and better sales, but I just wanted to applaud The View for honestly surprising my skeptical and cynical self. It's a refreshing change from crusading Oprah. Perhaps I should get up early and catch The View before class instead of watching Oprah afterwards more often. Express your motherfuckin' freedom

On the topic of literature [26 Jan 2006|08:03pm] [ mood | amused ] I originally had this in my other entry but through no one's fault but my own technological retarded-ness I accidentally deleted the whole thing and forgot to include it. It's small, but ya know. Gavin Menzies and his pseudo-historical book 1421 is another key example of people not thinking about what they read and questioning the world around them. Now, I read this book and studied the theories for class, only to later on debunk them. However it sickens me that their are many people who still believe that Mr. Menzies theories are...plausible. A basic background in science and history can lead just about anyone to be skeptical about the Chinese traveling around the world. His evidence is scanty and circumstantial at the very best. I feel I'm giving him too much credit even to just say that. People are so keen to just accept this new paradigm breaking theory without really doing any research themselves beyond reading his book. More over it's pushed by the Chinese a lot as it makes the growing empire look even grander. There are so many ways to debunk his evidence. Menzies isn't a historian and he is known to do things like rotate and alter maps to make his theories work and ignore other evidence as well. Please for the love of god people, think about what you read!! It's so important to question the world around you, because trust me, people are trying to pull the wool over your eyes all the time. And I'm not a paranoid conspiracy theory freak. 2 Motherfuckin' Freedoms! Express your motherfuckin' freedom

Let's get the freedom train a rollin' [26 Jan 2006|04:32pm] [ mood | giddy ] Well I guess I'll just dive right in. HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY James Frey author of the highly popular and praised novel "A Million Little Pieces" has been ousted for fabricating parts of his memoirs. The media has, yet again, sensationalized the issue. It could easily be solved by removing memoirs from the publication and have it become recognized as fiction. Unlike half of America, Oprah, and many of my fellow students I haven't read this novel. Everything I've heard claims that it's intriguing style comes from the events Frey portrayed in his novel, and that the writing style leaves something to be lacking. I knew there was a reason I put it back down after picking it up in an airport bookstore a few months ago. It isn't even worth reading if these extraordinary events didn't even take place if hearsay is correct. Of course I'm not going to make judgments on something I haven't read. However, despite the fact that James Frey is a lying sack of shit, I'm going to applaud him. Why would I do such a thing? Because he played infallible Oprah and the world for a fool. Reading has become a chique and hip form of entertainment. Pseudo-intellectuals bask in Starbucks with their freshly bought best seller and read to be seen reading. Now, the problem there in lies, that these people do not think about what they are reading on any sort of significant level. They may discuss the imagery and the metaphors, but not question this supposed work of non-fiction and it's ridiculous stories and claims. Oprah and her readers (and those who read the book before Oprah popularized it even more) were so emotionally caught up in the story they didn't think for a SECOND to question it. Oprah basically admitted this on her show today. The publisher said it was legit and they were able to put complete and utter faith in this claim. It's ridiculous to believe everything people hand to you, especially when they are trying to sell you something. Literature is now a big business and people need to realize and question things that they read. Just because it is published doesn't mean you should regard it as the truth. Of course because Oprah can do no wrong, she admits she was fooled by James Frey but then starts the witch hunt so that she can continue to look like the infallible, honest, dignified, successful black woman and leader of bored housewives. She lambasted James Frey on her show, albeit it very deserved, as well as his publisher. She spoke down to the two of them and it was easy to see she was enraged over looking like a fool to America. Now I have always had mixed feelings about Oprah, but now I can say that when she gets called out and things get rough she calls out all the stops so that those who made her sacrifice her incredible crucial integrity are shown for the liars and morons they are to bandage her own reputation with America. In her assault on James Frey and his publisher she demanded to know why they didn't have a fact checker check the story. Well, obviously this is a fault by the publishing company, one would think Oprah would have her OWN fact checkers, especially when she is putting her name on something and putting her own integrity at stake. Alright I think I'm done. That was way too long a rant spurned from 30mins of watching Oprah and a few minutes of research. 1 Motherfuckin' Freedom! Express your motherfuckin' freedom

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