First off, New Year’s Resolution #1 down there…has not been carried out, obviously. This has led to…

New Year’s Revelation #1: I suck.

Ok. well…what else.

AH! My Morning Jacket was on SNL last night, and even though I’m only halfway through the show on our DVR (yes…i suck at keeping up on watching recorded TV, too)…i saw their first performance.

They played a song from their upcoming CD, “Evil Urges”, which comes out June 10. The song is called, “I’m Amazed”, and I REALLY like it. Here it is…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2TqaOWYYgE

hey…also, they’ll be back in their home city of Louisville in August…you should go check them out…the 2 or 3 of you who actually read this posting.

in an attempt to not expose children to anything that might cause them any emotional trauma, i think we’re going to end up either producing a nation full of really boring kids or really, really strange ones. the funny thing is that the movement to reduce violence in cartoons was based on the belief that the cartoon violence would lead to real-life violence. as the cartoons have gotten more watered down, however, the behavior of children definitely has not. it seems like it has become commonplace to hear about violence in schools now. guess it is time to find something else to blame. (does that mean we can get all those great Looney Toons cartoons back on the air?!??)

and heaven forbid we show anything sexual on television. violence? no problem…but just let a boob slip out at the super bowl and all hell breaks loose. folks…come on…what is it exactly we are trying to protect everybody from? janet jackson’s breast was exposed on tv for like a split second, but the tv and radio industry have been hounded and watched over by the FCC ever since. everyone is so afraid of saying the “wrong thing” and incurring a huge fine from the FCC that they are afraid to say anything. i sort of thought all the racket would die down and things would get back to normal, but unfortunately, that has not been the case.

also, we’ve apparently become a nation that can’t take a joke. you may have recently heard about the publicity stunt pulled by the Cartoon Network that resulted in total FREAK OUT in boston. here’s a snippet from ABC:

Bomb squads were called in and bridges and highways were shut down Jan. 31 when authorities found more than three dozen electronic boards depicting a boxy cartoon character giving the finger.

The devices planted in a subway station, on bridges and other spots turned out to be part of a publicity campaign for the Cartoon Network’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

The campaign also had been staged in nine other big U.S. cities in recent weeks without drawing as much attention.

Lite-Brite. That’s what the blinking boxes were. a bunch of friggin’ lite-brites. not bombs. not a terrorist plot.

so, because boston lost its mind over this, turner networks, which owns the Cartoon Network, has agreed to pay $2 million dollars to avoid any possible litigation, and today, the head of the Cartoon Network, Jim Samples, stepped down as head of the network over the event. so that is where we are now as a society? someone shows a little creativity and ends up jobless. don’t misunderstand. it is a shame that things went the way they did and resulted in all the craziness, but i would think that all of the parties involved could come together, agree it was an unfortunate situation, say their apologies and move on. however, this man felt he had to step down FROM HIS JOB…over a JOKE. you know what people? LIGHTEN UP! man, this pisses me off.
it doesn’t stop with all of this politically correct bullshit, either, and it isn’t just the power elite who have lost their damned minds. a bunch of the people walking around with you every day have really checked out, too. they carry as much blame in all of this as the government.

so what is my suggestion? i don’t have one. i wish it was as easy as just telling everyone to lighten up and then “POOF!”…everybody would just chill out and relax. i fear that we’re too far beyond that point now, though.

we’re walking down a very ugly and boring road…my suggestion to all of you is to get off at the next exit.

over the past few days, i’ve been sick, so i’ve been covered up on the couch and watching more tv than usual.  that meant seeing more commercials, and one in particular has just driven me NUTS.

ford motor company’s commercials for their new “Edge” vehicle are not so bad, as a commercial goes.  i mean, you get to see plenty of shots of the vehicle riding around, so what more can you ask for in a car commercial?  but the SONG for this damn thing is just HORRIBLE.  the commercials end with the singer announcing, “i like to live on the ed-JA!”.  think of those sunday morning preaching shows on the radio and tv, where the preacher makes it a point to over accentuate the last syllable of certain words…you know, “people get ready-AH!  the new ford ed-JA is coming to take you away-AH!”  it is AWFUL.  in my opinion, ford motor company has been out of touch with american car buyers for a LONG time now.  their designs seem “old” to me.  the newly designed ford mustang is a very sharp car, but that’s the first “hit” in a long line of misses for ford, if you ask me.

they’ve been desperately trying to change their image lately, it seems, but i just don’t think they are getting it right.  this ad just goes to further prove that point.  in an attempt to be young and cutting edge, they come across as old and annoying.  does that make YOU want to buy a ford?  i didn’t think so.