Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Lady Gone Gaga


Lady Gaga's choice of outfits seem to indicate that she craves attention. When the singer showed up at the New York Mets game on June 10 wearing just a leather jacket over a bikini, it was just another obnoxious Gaga creation. But when fans and photographers spotted her and attempted to document the Gaga siting to show their friends, she threw a fit, forcing ballpark officials escort her into Jerry Seinfeld's luxury box, where the Gaga gave booing fans the bird. Oddly enough, she told Mets officials she "wanted to go incognito". Maybe that is how Lady Gaga does incognito? Just your basic bra and undies to a baseball game.

Now, we all know that Lady Gaga is serious about her artistic presence. The world has had the opportunity to see her parade around in Alexander McQueen armadillo heels, bejeweled glasses and hair bows made of hair. Plus, she doesn't miss a beat when it comes to shocking the world with her risque videos- Alejandro, anyone? But in the last few weeks, Gaga has missed the memo that there is a difference between performance and reality by drawing more attention to herself with bizarre outbursts we'd never expect from her.

Gaga later continued her attention-seeking tour through NYC, attending a Yankees-Mets game wearing fishnets, a black bra and a pinstriped Yankees jersey. Although she didn't give anyone the middle finger, Page Six reported that she was permanently banned from the team's clubhouse after her boozy antics- swigging Jameson Irish whiskey and repeatedly fondling her chest. Gag.

The Yankees' general manager denied the claims, but a MLB official noted, "Just because someone is a celebrity doesn't mean they get a credential that authorizes them to the clubhouse. I am sure there are exceptions ... She never had permission to enter either clubhouse."

Seinfeld isn't a big Gaga fan either. On WFAN radio Monday night, the comedian called the pop star out for the recent ballpark chaos. "This woman is a jerk. I hate her," he said. "I don't know why she's doing this stuff. I don't know what these young people think or how they promote their careers. I'm not one of these all-publicity-is-good people. People talk about you need exposure -- you could die of exposure."

Then we have Gaga overshadowing her own family by attending her younger sister Natali's graduation ceremony wearing a black, veiled hat and nude bodysuit. Seriously? Can't she give her sister one moment to shine and not be the center of attention? No, I don't think that is possible for this Lady.

"Gaga needs to worry about looking pathetic. People will tolerate rockstar behavior like smashing guitars and destroying hotel rooms, but she shouldn't complain about the attention- that she's desperately seeking," Fuller adds. "She's clearly insecure, but if she continues this behavior, it will be the kiss of death for her career."

Well, I don't think Gaga is going anywhere anytime soon. But I do think her attitude and presence is obnoxious and generally out of line. Even though I feel this way, I listen to Gaga on the daily. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Happy Father's Day


I am in Spokane this Father's Day because it is also my little brother's mission farewell.

It also just so happens that Father's Day originated in Spokane in 1910. After listening to a church sermon at Spokane's Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909 about the newly recognized Mother's Day, Sonora Smart Dodd felt strongly that fatherhood needed recognition, as well.

It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA, and churches, Father's Day ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar.Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was often met with laughter. The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but for the wrong reasons. It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokesman-Review.

Well, Father's Day isn't a joke.

Happy Father's Day everyone! Show your dad you care!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time For Africa): World Cup 2010

This weekend, fun-loving people across America will again temporarily stop not caring about soccer. The 2010 World Cup is has finally arrived! Every 4 years Americans join the rest of the world in their love for the international game.
During the tournament’s television coverage, you will most likely hear, repeatedly, Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official anthem of the World Cup.



The Columbian born singer is joined in the song by the local Cape Town group Freshlyground. Check them out sans Shakira in "Doo Be Doo"



By the way, apparently the actual meaning of Waka Waka is blaze, burn brightly, burn well, shine in Swahili.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Twitiquette


A good tweet can be challenging, a great tweet is becoming somewhat of a rarity. I think I can be funny via twitter, but too often I give in to my natural tendency to either

A) inform my followers of completely unimportant, non-funny and non-exciting things like the weather. i.e. "The temperature outside is finally bearable" or "Going to hit up the pool! Its finally summer in Provo....for now". This is especially true when many of my followers do not live in Provo, and could care less if its hot there.

B)COMPLAIN. This is one of the worst twitter habits, but is so easy to fall into. Sometimes you just want the world to know how pissed you are. But, they don't actually care. And if they do you should really just call or text them directly. For me, this particular faux pas frequently uses the word "damn". Examples: "damn parkway authority idiots", "I wish I had more things to occupy my time than just homework. Damn." or "JUST realized I forgot my power cord. damndamndamn"

C) Excessive tweeting about the Celtics. (or anything that is a personal passion, emphasis on personal). Although some of my followers do like the Celtics, they probably are the same ones who follow the NBA on twitter and therefore don't need my often too frequent updates. I won't even provide an example for this one, there are simply too many.

Beef I have about YOUR tweets:

1. Infrequent tweets: J.K. Rowling, you are the worst tweeter ever. Why even bother?? @jk_rowling

2. Twitter updates about people, places or things that no one else knows or cares about. Almost always done from a cell phone text-messaging system.

Give a little context to your tweets. Twitter isn't the place for inside jokes. I am guilty of lacking context on occasion, and I think this rule can be broken if it is still funny, or enough of your followers are in on it.
Still okay: "Italy is roughly the size of Arizona" (Maybe not that funny, but they get it).
Should've just sent a text: "Funniest sun bathing experience of my life. I can't even explain via twitter." Then why in the hell did I send a tweet?? Go figure.

3. Extreme Retweeting

Retweet with caution. Its kind of like quoting in research papers. Only retweet when you can't say it any better. Because obviously I don't condone plagarism.
Weird/Unneccessary retweets: "@hunterschwarz you're so clever" Really? You had to retweet this? You couldn't just tell him yourself, or just think it inside your head?

Now that we are all aware of what I do and don't want to see on twitter, I hope we can all be a little more interesting and worthy of our followers.

Follow me @_khansen

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Want to Hike the Alps Naked? Okay, That's Fine.



A Swiss man saw his $87 fine lifted after he was "caught" hiking naked last week. The Swiss courts respected his rights, and it has brought out naked hikers from around the world. Who knew this was an international hobby?

The decision was hailed by supporters as a "victory of freedom." It has also sparked local debate on crisscrossing mountain paths in the nude, putting naked hikers in the spotlight as they enthusiastically fight for the cause.

"This court decision is showing that penal law is not a moral codex, and there's no way to punish nakedness in itself, unless it becomes sexual harassment," a Zurich, Switzerland, architect and naked hiker who represented the defendant explained to AOL News. The architect asked not to be identified, citing privacy reasons.

The Appenzell court ruled that the charge of indecent behavior did not apply in the case of the fined hiker. He was reported to authorities by a woman after walking past a communal barbecue area.

"Sometimes, police think that hiking, jogging or biking in the nude is something that goes under that [law] paragraph, and they fine people. The interpretation of the law is open-ended," Kettiger told AOL News. "If someone is nude walking in public, or sunbathing or having a picnic in the grass, that is not forbidden. If he is exposing himself, with a sexual connotation and offending common sense, that is forbidden."

Naked hikers, who are estimated to number a few dozen in Switzerland, say they enjoy the feeling of oneness with nature and the freedom to give up clothes.

Arguments against naked hiking range from concerns that nudity could be offensive for some to more down-to-earth problems, such as the risk of sunburn or catching tick-borne diseases. Some argue that restricted areas, as with nudist beaches around the world, could be organized for hikers.

However, the architect who represented the defendant said the point is not to be surrounded by fellow naked people. They don't want to be restricted to certain areas, either.