So typically I'd reserve my Idol-dishing for tomorrow and just get it all out in one big spooge session, but I feel the need to comment, if ever so briefly, about David Archuleta.
K... sorry... I don't get it. Well, I get it in the sense that people are batshit nuts over him... he's ignited a firestorm of pillow-humping amongst tweenage girls and their desperate 40-something mothers that borrow each other's clothes. I get that part of it.
But no - I don't get it. I didn't think his version of "Imagine" was all that gripping. Yes he's got a pleasant little voice that would surely be the high point of any glee club. And yes, an adorable little baby face. But guess what people - HE'S GOING TO GROW UP. He ain't gon' be cute f'eva, y'all.While I was watching last night I was like "Who the fuck does he remind me of Who the fuck does he remind me of" and I hit it - HAL SPARKS. He looks exactly like former host of Talk Soup turned star of Queer As Folk Hal mothafuckin' Sparks. So before you throw your support behind the ever-so-cherubic present-day David Archuleta, go 'head and aks y'self - are you willing to buy his fucking records twenty-some-odd years from now when he looks like THAT?! (I'm of course referring to the pic of Hal on the left).
I'm guessing not.
Anyway...
INTERESTING, INTERESTING READ: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3475200.shtml
In short, it quaintly categorizes the generation known as "Mellennials".
Also referred to as "The 'Me' Generation", "The MTV Generation" or "The Baby Boom Echo" it does a bang up job categorizing anyone born betwixt the years 1980 to 1995.
Take the very first paragraph:
"There are about 80 million of them, born between 1980 and 1995, and they're
rapidly taking over from the baby boomers who are now pushing 60. They were
raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little
leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies
just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the
birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it."
Throughout this article I kept saying "YES! HOLY FUCK YES! THAT'S SO ME/US"...
We truly are the generation who only takes 'yes' for an answer, and although I can't relate to the whole 'rewarding just for participating thing' as much as the majority of those who were ardently involved in athletics growing up - the expectation to continue being rewarded for just showing up is very prevalent.
Some points that stood out:
- The fact that more than half of Post-Secondary grads move home/rely on parent's support after grad... something that would have been shameful for Baby Boomers or Generation X, but is actually seen as a smart economical decision by us.
- It's no longer negative to have many jobs on your resume within a year. It's more representative of exploring and adapting than it is failure...
- We believe adolescence ends at 30 and middle age starts at 60.
- We put friends, family and lifestyle ahead of "blind careerism". After seeing our parents struggle and sacrificing so much to achieve middle-class security, we're simply not interested in doing the same. A lot of people saw their parents screwed by the system - be it the company, the government - so the idea of showing loyalty or investing trust into either of said entities seems downright retarded to us... I know that's something I learned the hard way... the first job I had in the city screwed me six ways to Sunday after I went all sorts of extra miles for it, and now when the job I currently have even merely suggested that do more than was initially established that I do, I made things very clear that's not what I'm here for and how expendable the circumstances were... Boomers or even X-er's would have NEVER dreamed of doing that...
- In terms of bosses, we need them to be more of a coach to maximize effectiveness out of us. And if there's too much cold barking orders, we'll walk in a milisecond and good luck getting someone to replace us.
Now, I mean this doesn't speak for everyone. There are always going to be jobs where you'll do anything for, and are lucky if you can get your foot in the door of... Anna Wintour's assistant, for example. And fuck you if you're a millennial or not. I know that none of these generational rules apply in the entertainment industry - the last great bastion of blithe and blatant racial/gender/sexual orientation/disability discrimination - and that'll become clear to you after about three milliseconds after getting into it. So at least that's... grounding...
A point that they didn't delve into nearly enough - clearly, this article was written by a Boomer of Gen X-er, ha - was how inherently multi-tasking this generation is. We're the first generation that was raised with multi-screens which chopped up our attention spans - we can read, listen, watch, and write at the same time. Also, because of the internet, we're surely the most communicative, entrepreneurial (or entrepreneusial), tolerant-to-other-cultures and eager-to-question-authority generation so far. I'd have to imagine anyway.
Anyway... that's something to think about...
In other news:
Well well well... looks like Brangelina's expecting again. There's no keeping THAT bump a secret - am I right? Shoot.
In other, other news:AHHHHH!!! 6 DAYS AWAY!!! HOLY SHIT!!!
Continue to vote for the Bitch YOU Loved in February HERE and the Bitch YOU Hated in February HERE!!!
Tight,
--- Aj
