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Eastern Indiana Man Taps Into Backyard Oil Well. Will he be moving to Beverly Hills shortly? ›
Where not to be a terrorist. Because America is not the only country doing its best (and worst) to fight terrorism. ›
My new favorite design firm, for the moment: Memo. [37] ›
The Art Gallery of Ontario gets a new logo. Too bad they can't switch around "Before" and "After", because the "old" one seemed a bolder, wiser choice. ›
Microwaved CDs. Hate to admit it, but I find this pretty intriguing. Doubt I'll kill my microwave though. ›
Take me to Ninja Town!!! My favorite's the Ninja Dropping. ›
Google Health is now live. Who needs doctors anyway? Bunch of overpaid, overschooled misfits! ›
25 resources for ornaments, fleurons, and "filly bits". Is it Christmas already?? ›
Hope. I can't think of a better word to describe this. People in West Virginia would disagree. ›
Poster by Dutch designer Otto Treumann. I'm a sucker for multi-layered birds. ›
Proud Creative. Another one added to the list. Great work! [fff] ›
Covering Bond. The Penguin Books original James Bond series cover designs. ›
Hang Drum Solo. Inspiration for your Monday morning. I've never heard of this instrument before, but I'm ready to buy an album. ›
Cubescape, your own digital landscape. Marc, you should definitely check this one out. [dan] ›
Meet John Gall, art director and avid book reader (for reasons obvious). Great video on his creative process. ›
Said elsewhere:
By month:
May 20, 2008
America is $943.5 billion in credit debt. Are you fucking kidding me?! How in the hell did this happen? Did we all collectively spend too much time at Macy’s?! Did we all buy way too many grande lattes?! Did we all at once decide to buy those designer jeans on “sale” for $175?!
Jesus Christ. What is wrong with us? There’s no way I’m going to throw this high-tempered rant at everyone except me. I drive the boat with the rest of you. We’re all in this together. This is collective conscious here. No finger pointing. Except at ourselves.
So, back to my point. Holy shit.
We all complain about the war debt we’ve accumulated, except we all complained while purchasing items we probably don’t need. Gas is up. Food is up. Living costs more. And I don’t mean a standard of living. I mean just living. However, this can’t be the only thing dragging us down. Can it?
Gas is going up to $4. We’ll cry bloody hell, but keep paying. Exxon made $41 billion in profit in 2007. They thank us whole-heartedly while we keep bent over in the touch-your-ankles and hold-your-breath position. We just keep paying. We just keep buying big fucking vehicles we don’t need. Suzy the soccer Mom does not need the Ford Excursion. I don’t care how hyped up her son is on anti-ADD meds. She doesn’t need it. Neither does Bob the broker with the Rolex watch. This genius paid for his watch and Porsche Boxster with an American Express card. Welcome to slavery.
Throw me in the pile. I drive a Ford Explorer. I “bought” it seven years ago, simply because I wanted an SUV. Not like I need the thing. I’m a hypocrite, too. I can’t afford a different car. I can afford the gas to push this tank around. Barely, and with a little help from Visa. After I fill up I have those real engaging conversations where I praise the new hybrid cars, yet claim I’m not quite there yet, “I’ll just wait until it won’t cost so much to maintain the engine.” Sounds great. We all say it. Great excuse to stick to our shitty SUVs.
Let’s forget about gas prices and SUVs. I’m sick of that subject anyway. I’m American. I know I live a lifestyle way above the norm. Can we all stop complaining about the blasted wealthiest 1% in this country? They’ve never helped, nor will they ever. This is about our own lack of responsibility. They are not moving from their perch. Hell, even struggling Americans still live way above third world countries. But let’s not go there either.
So corporations are greedy assholes. The rest of us are hypocrites for the simple fact that we’re naive enough to not care. This big machine is not stopping. Anything is possible. Sure. I completely and absolutely believe that. However, in the realm of reality, today, it’s not stopping.
Forget about rising gas prices, dairy prices, and food (Christ, food’s going up?). Let’s focus on those lovely shopping sprees. The four cars in the driveway. The big screen TV (I need that for football season, you know?), the thousands of DVDs, cable service with 80 movie channels, the bed from the Cindy Crawford collection (it’s like, you know, softer), the Banana Republic wardrobe (aka The Gap but nicer and more expensive), and the iPhone.
Segway: I love Apple. I love their products. They make the world easier to navigate. Their prices are ridiculous. Yes, that’s right. $600 for a phone is ridiculous. Yes, it’s more than a phone. I agree. So I change my statement: $600 for a phone that does way more is ridiculous.
To get back on point (and after pissing off quite a few fellow designers), we’re nearing a trillion in debt. It’s due to our lifestyle. Not one thing, or another. Or the other. It’s everything. Everything we’re told. Everything we tell them (whoever they might be). It’s how we justify our spending. It’s how every choice we make. It’s every choice made for us. It’s greed on the highest level. Maybe it’s greed at my level, too. It’s wanting what we think we deserve. It’s not appreciating what we already have. It’s everything, and maybe it’s none of that.
For every blog post just like mine that tries to make sense and fine reason, most people who read it (myself included) will agree, possibly post a comment, then keep moving forward with our own nasty habits. I’m no motivator, nor would I ever consider telling you how to live your life, which is why I won’t do much either. Sad but true. World moves so fast, we have to stay on the ball of our own lives. Changing drastically might alter the course. We wouldn’t want that.
Somebody Might Say:
