A picture says a thousand words.

Oops, sorry. Wrong one.

Ah, there we go. 

In other news, LEAVE OBAMA ALONE. So who cares if AIG gave bonuses to its executives. The media should go focus on Nicole Richie's baby or something more exciting and real than what this crazy situation is being made out to be. Why put Obama under scrutiny when the money wasn't doled out by him? It's like blaming an employer for giving salary to a closet pothead. Besides, AIG had contracts to keep with its employees--to break them, they'd have to fire the workers. And I'm sure we'd all have loved that, which is the exact opposite of the point of a bailout. I don't think I've seen commentary about the situation any better than the most recent xkcd comic:

http://xkcd.com/558/

Thank you, Randall Munroe.

Similarly, the whole "Special Olympics" bowling situation is insane. What, a guy can't make a joke now that he's the President? He apologized...it's fine, it's over. America is composed of a potpourri of hypocrisy--a nice melding of different shades and degrees of it. In a society that acceps dead baby jokes (the majority of us may not, but they exist and therefore are propagated somehow), how dare we waste hours of media scrutiny and minutes of typing up blog posts focusing on a two-second self-derrogatory comment made by some guy who is under an incredible amount of stress? The man was on Leno, for crying out loud. If humor on Leno isn't based on deliberately offensive comments, I don't know what it is. If society really cared about the comment that much, Leno would have to precede his nightly monologue (he is the one who does monologues, right?) with a long list of people to apologize to for the previous night's escapades. 

Please. Just let the man do his job so when I get out of college, I can have a job without relocating to China. 

Hero?

So the stimulus package has been passed. Rah-rah. Yay, Obama's going to fix the economy. Obama the magical, history-making president who inspires hope in all of today's youth.

In honor of the recently passed Chinese New Year, bullcrap.

I'm sorry. Obama is great and all, but isn't he hyped a bit too much? Still, I do agree that it's "time for a change" and that youth ought to get more involved in politics as they have been since Election 2008-- and I also concur that that Obama brought those changes around. 

It reminded me of a response letter published in Time. The reader cast aspersions on Time's pick of Obama as 2008's Person of the Year--not only because it was predictable, but because Obama was "created by the media." Instead, someone like Michael Phelps ought to have been the choice--someone who can set records through his own power (and fueled by dozens of pancakes coated in powdered sugar). 

But even Phelps fell with that recent hookah controversy, after which U.S.A. Swimming banned him for three months. He made a mistake, people. Let it go. We all do stupid things, and just because someone happens to be famous, does that justify harsher punishment? 

Even wonder-boy Obama won't be immune, especially if this stimulus package fails.

In choosing certain people to glorify as heroes, we only encourage the advent of their harsh falls, because no one can be so flawless as to never offer the prying media an opening. And even the smallest chink in a hero's armor is enough to drag his reputation down from any height.

On positive (Nas's) Hero-related note, Quest Crew for ABDC!

TooOhOhAte

So living in 2008 and watching the 08/08/08 ceremony ought to have tugged a few heartstrings out there.

We are watching history being made. World record after world record smashed to smithereens. Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian in history; I mean, who didn't get excited watching the 400 meter relay? He's got half of America's golds to his name. Additionally, May-Walsh battle ahead in beach volleyball, not having lost a game.

But along with history and achievements come the media, and the media drags along controversy. Phelps has been painted as a glutton for consuming 12,000 calories a day. The man deserves it. Give him a break.

But there may be a real issue behind the ages of the Chinese women's gymnastics team, and the proof is in every photograph of the team. And the Chinese are already under definite criticism for denying a bucktoothed girl the chance to appear in the opening ceremony, lending her voice instead to a cuter kid.

Tensions run high as countries butt heads in what should be a friendly sport. But let us not forget that in the meantime, Georgia and Russia are locked in violent combat. However healthy competition may be, it does promote hard feelings, and politics is an integral part of the current status quo. The Swedish wrestler who threw down his medal in disgust blamed politics for the judgment that lost him the gold.

But what does that mean for us, the teenagers who don't spend our entire lives training or following politics? Specifically, I've dedicated about 2 hours a day for primetime NBC screenings. What have I observed?

Well, those mens' gymnasts are pretty cute...