Sunday, May 30, 2010

Last Man Standing

Not to brag, but about 4 people have been fired from my Hockey merchandise gig and I got promoted to the "Walkie Rider" My feet still kill me from about 2 PM onward but at least I can accomplish more in the time I'm there.
I don't know what the secret to keeping this job is. I'm still pretty flaky and distracted but I've learned the computer interface and some of the secrets to boxing odd items. I do not like the job. I hate it pretty passionately, but that's normal. It's repulsive to me that some 11 year old American wants to buy a pair of shorts with a built in jock strap because he wants to be safe playing hockey. Well, after dealing with hockey equipment for 3 weeks I can say that hockey players are a bunch of fucking sissies. Knee pads? Elbow guards? Cock guards? Throat guards? Padded wrist guards? What's wrong? If the puck hits your wrist will you not be able to jerk off your boyfriend?

The thing is this...I'll keep it simple so you hockey players can keep up...WHEN MORE PEOPLE GET INJURED MAKING YOUR EQUIPMENT THAN PLAYING THE GAME THEN YOU ARE OFFICALLY MORE OF A SISSY THAN A 50 YEAR OLD ASIAN SEAMSTRESS.

I guess when a game requires so much equipment to protect you from getting hurt during the game and that game only involves a stick, a puck, and a net, then what the fuck? A pro hockey player couldn't make a single piece of his equipment. An Asian seamstress probably couldn't play hockey but I guarantee her job is more dangerous and taxing than playing hockey. I guarantee it. Hell, MY job is more taxing than playing hockey and I don't do shit compared to the seamstress in Thailand or China. Ooooh, three 20 minute periods. Wow! You could play your entire game during the time I take a break from my 12 hour job. Goalie equipment is like a NASA space suit. Why? So Mrs. Nancy Don't Hurt Me can stand directly between the puck and the goal. Uh....

Whatever. Hey, let's employ thousands of people so some guy can play hockey and not get bruised. That's a great idea. That makes sense. Maybe one day they'll promote me to the Rugby equipment department...oh, wait a second...the only equipment in Rugby is the ball.

Alright, enough hating.

Bleak Bleak Outlook

The mental junk that I digested today makes my head spin. I can't repeat it all here because if you watch television or get sucked into a lurid CNN Crime story then you know what I'm talking about. Death, cannibalism, rape, murder, war, pollution. Call me sensitive, but it's too much. I started laughing inappropriately during a "True Crimes" type piece on TV in the break room. "When we return," the commentator said, "We'll learn how this man raped his daughter every day for two years, faked his own death and then preyed on girls at a local high school after getting honorably discharged from the army..." I laughed out loud. It bordered on insane laughter (I think my sense of humor is returning after a 12 month absence) and everyone else just shook their heads. I was appalled of course, but the way it was presented as so intentionally macabre and then the very next image is a woman doing push ups. "Do you have flabby triceps? Well, you can firm up in less time than it takes to wash your hair!"

I laughed and laughed.

None of this adds up. I'm sorry for not adjusting or assimilating but it's not realistic anymore to ignore the culture I'm in. The culture is not insane, it's diabolically manipulative. There is no way in the world you would accidentally get a creepy story about a serial rapist sandwiched between a bunch of cheerful frozen pizza and Viagra ads. No. No way is that accidental. In Orwell's worst nightmare did he not imagine media would sink to the depths it is at right now.

I don't want to stick my head in the sand because this is a serious serious disease that's being inflicted on Americans. The price we are paying for free Simpson's episodes is our mental health. DO you understand? This is a mental health issue and it's national and in my opinion it has reached unacceptable status. It makes me feel like I can't really coexist with anyone who isn't deeply troubled. Are we that numbed? The worst part is that I worked for 12 hours and only had about 9 minutes of access to the world...and it still polluted my brain~!

So, I'm looking for answers. Yes, the news picks the most lurid and grotesque stories to cover. When a couple plays checkers on the couch and then goes to sleep...the news doesn't make a story about it. I get it. But holy Jesus do they have to scrape the absolute bottom of the human trough for content? It's a drug, plain and simple, to go from jaw dropping astonishment and horror of atrocities to "Happy Meal at McDonalds fills you up and makes you smile!"
You see? It's like, chemically, your brain wants to eat McDonalds as an antidote to the rape suicide sodomy story you just watched. AND CBS KNOWS THAT! Those motherfuckers! No chance can they plead innocent to this kind of mass manipulation. Rupert Murdoch, there is a special torture chamber in hell awaiting you. 1000 televisions will play Fox news while Larry King shits in your mouth. For eternity.

Sorry. I promised myself I would stay positive but I got excited. My apologies, Rupert. Keep up the good work!

Where was I? Oh, yeah...the thing is that when you turn your back on the media, which is something I recommend, then you will not be able to reach the people who are sucked into it. You have to plumb the depths to learn the secrets of the deep and map the way back out. I don't want to get spiritual on your ass but there is a chasm called Corporate Media and it is swallowing everyone's soul. The only way to solve the problem is to go to the source and return, leaving some bread crumbs so people can follow you out.

I don't mean that as a life goal. I mean that is something to do while I'm saving up money to move to Guatemala, where they worship some guy named Jesus.

Please, unplug and go outside. And while you are out there do not rape or cannibalize anyone. No exceptions! Please. By exiting this page you legally promise to behave yourself. Write a letter to your mother for god's sake!
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Man in the Van by Oggy Bleacher is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.