A few months ago, I finally read Generation X (1991). I like Coupland, though everything I have read by him (Gen X, jPod, Microserfs) seems to fizzle out 3/4 of the way through. But in reading Gen X, I was struck, many, many times by how similar it is to Fight Club (1996).

And I’m not talking like a Harry Potter / Star Wars thing. People have long pointed this out, so I know I’m not breaking new ground here. But having finally read both, I felt it was worth bringing up, especially for those of you who haven’t read both.

Here is a passage from Gen X:

you have to give up your apartment, and all of the silly black matte objects inside as well as the meaningless rectangles of minimalist art above the oatmeal coloured sofa and the semi-disposable furniture from Sweden.

Exactly.
And there are more.

Some people are mad about it, while Coupland doesn’t seem to care. I don’t either, really, though it does make Palahnuik seem less like a genius visionary and more just someone who was wise enough to ride a wave and add his own voice to the sentiment that was going around at the time.

Dig around if you are interested, there are a bunch of links about this. I just wanted to bring it up.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]

I got an email forward this morning that drove me straight through the roof. I couldn’t find anything online refuting this obnoxious and incorrect piece of junk, so I wrote my own. I don’t want to junk up this post with the details, nor do I want to link to this piece of garbage on another site. The lesser of two evils is this: I will answer inline.

Tomatoes and Cheap Labor

CHEAP TOMATOES?
This should make everyone think…be you Democrat, Republican or Independent.

From a California school teacher

As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I’m not talking a glass of milk and roll — but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

You complain that the “free breakfasts” aren’t being eaten and being wasted. This has nothing to do with illegal immigrants, nor is it based on any facts other than you claiming to see people throw some food away. If this is truly a problem, get to the real issue — why aren’t people eating breakfast?

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight.

Obesity is from bad food/health habits, not from actually eating food (or wasting it). That’s not an argument at all except to make it seem like people are getting fat off “your” generosity. And it counts even less when you are ‘estimating.’ I estimate 95% of the people in the world are idiots, but that doesn’t mean anything.

About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK AGAIN)

You complain that the school offers day care for students with children. And that it’s a waste of tax dollars? Seriously? Because the alternative is to not offer that service, have the teenagers drop out of school and then never have an education. How is offering help to better oneself a waste of tax dollars? If you don’t like the program, then toss everyone on the street and then see how happy you are with that solution. If the real problem you are having is unwanted teen pregnancy, fix that. That happens way before the day care comes along — by at least 9 months. And has nothing to do with immigration.

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America . (MORE OF OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK).

You complain people have carved up your new computers. That isn’t tax dollars at work. The tax dollars at work are forcing you to spend 700k on stuff you don’t need. That’s the problem. Use that money (and it is a lot of money) for some constructive programs instead of just buying crap. And don’t blame delinquents for wasting tax dollars. You did that yourself. (And carving into school property doesn’t have anything to do with appreciating an education — hell, I wrote on desks in college. Doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy and thankful to be there.)

(And I believe I know where you can get about 700,000 dollars to put towards some programs to help with respect, teen pregnancy and other issues. But that’s beside the point.)

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less than 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them ‘Putas’ whores and throwing things, that the teachers were in tears.

You complain that kids are mean to substitute teachers. I have news: it isn’t just immigrants who are “bad kids.” I know I helped cause a teacher to retire because we abused her non-stop. This isn’t an immigration issue, it’s a teacher-control one. And again, has nothing to do with the argument. It has nothing to do with culture or immigration, it’s just a way to make a group of kids seem worse than another group. And, in this instance, all kids can be viciously mean to teachers who let them walk all over them.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care, etc., etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements ?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I’ll pay more for tomatoes.

Wow. None of these things are backed by any facts, any arguments or any rational ideas. None of these things are true. Amazing what you can make up and just toss out as fact. Really? Medical facilities closing? Where did that come from?

We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster, because we won’t have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about “political correctness” that we don’t have the will to do anything about it.

Wait, which culture are you talking about here? America? Last I checked, we don’t seem to value education, we accept children getting pregnant and dropping out of school. Those who live in glass houses…

And ok, I won’t be a jerk:
None of these things you say above are true either. Prove to me that, somehow, what you are suggesting is that Mexico doesn’t like education and encourages kids to have babies at a younger age. Look at it rationally: it isn’t Mexico, it’s poverty. We see the same things here in the States with lower income families. Fight the real issue, don’t be xenophobic and push your issues onto a group that has nothing to do with them because you are frightened.

(My sister adds: today [1/30/08] on NPR (or was it yesterday?) I heard that education is a HUGE issue for the Latino population: It’s bigger than immigration and national security. To say that third world nations do not value education (and that Latino immigrants to the US also do not value education ) is a lie.))

CHEAP LABOR? Isn’t that what the whole immigration issue is about?

Business doesn’t want to pay a decent wage.

Consumers don’t want expensive produce.

Government will tell you Americans don’t want the jobs.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase “cheap labor” is a myth, a farce and a lie.
There is no such thing as “cheap labor.”

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for
$5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax yet at the end of the year, IF he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an “earned income credit” of up to $3,200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.

He qualifies for food stamps.

He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.

His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school!

He requires bilingual teachers and books.

He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.

If they are or become aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer’s expense .

He doesn’t worry about car insurance, life insurance or homeowners insurance.

Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.

You launch into how an illegal immigrant takes advantage of the system. Hey, guess what? An immigrant here illegally doesn’t pay taxes. And you know what? He then doesn’t get to collect on government programs. So it isn’t exactly fair to double up like that.

If you are complaining about offering services for low-income people — well, all the services listed are available to anyone who qualifies, not just Mexican immigrants. Don’t try and confuse the issue by bringing in illegal immigrants. That has nothing to do with being upset that people draw Social Security or qualify for food stamps. If someone is a citizen, they have a right to these services.

If you have an issue with that, change the system. But illegals don’t get these services.

Working class Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills AND his.

I believe you mean to say “Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying bills and taxes.” Stop trying to push all of this on an group of people who have nothing to do with the issues you are complaining about.

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.

None of which can be pushed onto illegal immigrants. Just stop. We pay for cleanup services because there are people who act irresponsible. But you don’t get to argue that any of these things are because there are immigrants (illegal or otherwise) in the country.

Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!

THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON’T DO AS WE SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!

Finally:
The problems we have as a nation have little to nothing to do with cheap labor or immigration. They have to do with building and providing services that aid those in need without taking from those who can’t afford it. There is no reason to be xenophobic or fearful or irrationally protective — let’s fix the actual issues addressed in this email instead of trying to pin them on a group of people that you probably don’t even have face-to-face daily interactions with.

Stop trying to point fingers and turn this into a ‘us against them’ issue. Instead, let’s identify the true problems and fix them. don’t confuse issues by making up “facts” or trying to vilify groups who aren’t as lucky as you are. Let’s just find the solutions together.

[Update] I put together a post about Obama’s and Hillary’s opinions as they relate to this issue. Take a look, let me know what you think.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Goodness, a bunch of things on my mind. I’ve had tabs and tabs in my browser open for days and days, waiting to post. When it rains, it pours. Let’s start:

• Saw The Host and Talk To Me. c and a-, respectively. Really, really enjoyed Talk To Me, though I found some of it a bit odd structurally.
• I’m enjoying American Gladiators still, which is something I shouldn’t be admitting publicly. But it has filled that gap in my life where, once a week, I like to have a couple of drinks and yell horrible things at the TV. Kid Nation was also primo for this and, surprisingly, AG has filled that gap nicely. Although, some people believe the old version of the show was better.
• There is someone who is watching all the Criterion movies and blogging about each one. It’s interesting and many of the reviews are quite fun to read. But oh, how I was delighted when I cam across Armageddon. Seriously, I always forget this and The Rock somehow snuck through. Oh, and at the bottom of his review for Rushmore (which Roxy has never seen!) is a nice in-joke about Armageddon as well. Highlights from this review:
  

  • There’s an entire commentary track with the “science advisors,” a NASA employee and a former astronaut, who tried to make the movie as scientifically accurate as possible. Listening to these guys talk about their constant battles to get Michael Bay and company to make the film at all relate to the world of science (for example, when Mir explodes, it explodes, like it’s in an atmosphere) is a case study in cognitive dissonance.
  • The Armadillo, the drill car they drive around on the asteroid, has a chin mounted chain gun. You might wonder when NASA started putting weapons on their vehicles, or what they were expecting to shoot at on an asteroid, or even how they expected bullets to fire in a vacuum. But in fact, this wasn’t NASA’s decision so much as Mattel’s; there was a toy version of this car, and toys with guns sell better. I’m not kidding; plot points were decided on by the toy company.

• Cola increases the odds of kidney issues/problems hugely. Though I don’t drink much cola, so that ain’t my issue. But seriously, time to give this shit up. Tea, coffee, water, maybe juice and milk. That’s all you’re allowed to drink.
• Finally, Hank, I expect a full review of: Strawberry Cheetos, salad flavored water and cucumber pepsi. And if you can pick up a few of those masturbation cans*, that would be cool. Oh and I won’t be sad if you can find a similar haircuttery to this:

  [via: the consumerist, fimoculous and joey devilla]

• Finally, and perhaps most exciting, a new Gnarls Barkley track has been spotted. Released. Leaked. Anyway, it’s call Run and now you need to go grab it.

Seriously, this is from the FAQ:
“7. Is it safe to drink the lotion inside the cup?”
Who are these people who think its ok (or a good idea) to drink the lotion that comes inside a sex toy?

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Look, I know I can go dizzy over a dame but I’ve got my own filly so I’m not out for a honey cooler or pitching woo. How about a list of slang from the 30s?

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do you have babies?  do you have friends who have babies?  are you a baby?

if you answered yes to any of the above, you need these.

rockabye baby are CD compilations of rock songs transformed into beautiful, kid-friendly instrumentals.  the range of artists covered is pretty extensive – radiohead to the stones to tool to smashing pumpkins to metallica.  you can preview the tracks or buy them as single mp3s at amazon and some of them are nothing short of amazing – ethereal and gorgeous.

i already have quite a few i want to purchase for my own hypothetical future offspring, not to mention those hypothetical future offspring of my friends, as super-creepy as i realize that sounds.

tripp’s babies will get rockabye baby U2, michelle’s will get rockabye baby led zeppelin, and dutton’s, will of course, get rockabye baby NIN.

who wouldn’t want to put their babies to bed to such quality?

Popularity: 2% [?]