Ideology is Making America Stupid

I enjoyed this article on the XX Committee, Ideology is Making America Stupid.  It reminded me a bit of The Pervert's Guide to Ideology, currently streamable on Netflix.  At one point in the film Slavoj Žižek talks about the UK riots and says the left felt everyone needed to understand the rioters.  The right felt their should be more arrests.  The prime minister was just mad that people were taking things, like that was the biggest crime possible.  Slavoj says consumerism has become an ideology of it's own, so ingrained that the rioters don't even know what they're doing.  They just know they should have stuff.  And then there's video of the rioters all carrying televisions and other items.  It's a very good movie.  Lots to think about if no one is trying to talk to you while you're watching.

"This really all comes down to ideology, meaning the substitution of preset cliches over actual thought. I’m not here to knock down the notion of ideology altogether, since all of us have some sort of one (and if you don’t realize you do, the more powerful a hold over you it has), rather I want to point out the hazards of letting that framework shut down genuine thought, discussion, and debate, because you know the answer already. The German word Weltanschauung (worldview) comes closest to what I’m discussing here, and in 21st century America lots of people get their designer worldview, pre-fab, off TV and the Internet, without ever thinking critically about what it might actually mean. Contrary evidence is ignored, out of hand, as lies or propaganda – which of course only the other side has – and perhaps “hatred.” The problem isn’t that Americans have ideologies, it’s that so many of them have embraced a worldview based on self-deception. Simply put, they devoutly, unshakably believe things that simply are untrue."

Sweaty

Got on my bike for the first time in about 14 days.  Our internet connection in the computer room has been cutting out after about 3 second with each refresh, and no matter what I did I couldn't get the connection to stay up (I was going to say "it to stay up", but that might lead one a bit of Shakespearian double meaning).  Everything else in the house accessed the internet fine, so I suspect the card was going, despite that it was lit up.  I gave up trying to get Netflix streaming going, kept my Netflix DVD account, and figured I'd just own the account for myself and get a new DVD every two days to pop in the computer.  Not bicycling generally leads to beer drinking, so it's important to get on the bike and not swing my health completely in the wrong direction.  The video came today, I hopped on the bike, and the internet connection performed flawlessly.  SOAB.  I think someone at my internet provider is seriously messing with me.

So 62 minutes watching I Am Number Four, which shouldn't be watched once, let alone twice because you didn't review your queue after renting a stupid movie in the Redbox lookalike at Kowalski's a few months ago.  But, the bicycling was done and I feel way better than having had a beer.  Mission accomplished.

Links and Things - Bicycling, Netflix, Christine O'Donnell

I hadn't noticed, but John pointed out that you no longer need the disk for Netflix!

Secrets of the City/MNSpeak links to the Minnesota Daily article about Minnesota bike laws. I didn't know about the lights law. I thought as long as you had a reflector on back and a light on the front you were fine. And the news about Phyllis Kahn pushing for yield rules with stop signs for bicyclists was news to me.

And Christine O'Donnell's ignorance of the first amendment (among others), despite being a candidate for a party that claims to be more in touch with the Constitution, while probably overplayed, is still worth repeating. She should have an iPhone or an Android (developed by the mother of one of Eryn's classmates) so she could grab a Constitution application to read between questions. Or is that not allowed?

Hulu Is a Tool of Satan

I used to watch almost nothing on a regular basis. I had to wait for it to come out on DVD via Netflix, or catch it reruns, or just never, ever watch it. Hulu has created a problem. I can add a show, and it never goes away. If it's passable, I have it forever. Yes, I quite often ride my bicycle while watching hulu, but still...that's a lot of television. Add Miro in the mix, where I watch almost daily 10 minute episodes of Attack of the Show, and the new DVR, where I can watch The Soup and Man v. Food, and I start to get a backlog.

I submit, just the list from Hulu:

• 30 Rock - enjoyable, fortunately they're 30 minutes long and not on as frequently as other shows.
• Community - I like Joel from The Soup. I've been watching the Soup since... damn... perhaps since I lived at the U of MN? It's been a very long time. Greg K. is visibly older, I know that much. There are some moments of comic genius. And a lot of dubious moments. That's a good mix for a bicycling show. And it feels edgier than Modern Family.
  
• Defying Gravity - scifi. You'll see a pattern in my television watching. Scifi or comedy. Love this show. Well acted and they try to inject some humanity into a scifi premise. The show isn't moving very fast, but the actors really make it enjoyable.
  
• Dollhouse - hit or miss. When Whedon is on, it's great. When I have to watch s*it about backup singers and lactating mothers, I question my commitment.
  
• Eureka - I don't watch this on Hulu, although it's queued up. I keep it as a bookmark so I remember to watch it on Netflix with my wife (who loves it).
  
• Family Guy - funny.
  
• Flash Forward - new, and I like it. X-files-ish. There are some serious holes. The world should be a bit more organized after so many planes crash/etc. But willing suspension of disbelief, and it's enjoyable.
  
• Fringe - X-Files. They even make X-files jokes if you watch for them. One of my favorite scifi shows because of the actors.
  
• Heroes - not always good. I enjoy the arc, but sometimes they seem a little loose, slow and not up to the level of other shows.
  
• Modern Family - new and I'm enjoying it, although it's sort of humor aimed at white, 40 year olds, which isn't exactly my sweet spot.
  
• Sanctuary - not very good acting, but the fact that it never goes away on Hulu and is scifi makes it the backup if I get through my bicycling backlog.
  
• The Simpsons - the show I'm most likely to drop, except Eryn likes it, so sometime we watch it together before school/work when Pooteewheet isn't yet up (I get Eryn up at 7:00 a.m. because she's much more cheerful with a consistent awake time).
  
• Stargate Universe - first episode was sort of boring. We'll have to see. I'm primarily watching it because I watch all of SG-1 and a lot of Stargate Atlantis.
  
• Warehouse 13 - see Sanctuary. However, if you watch carefully, there are some excellent moments of writing in Warehouse 13, despite it being a show reminiscent of Friday the 13th (the series). Seriously, just every episode or two, a couple of lines that make you realize someone with creative talent managed to make their presence known.
  
• Spaced - old show from the Beeb. I keep it in the backlog in case I chew through other content while bicycling.

And...via Netflix, Weeds and Dexter. I am a cultural whore.