Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

    America is in serious peril.

    Everyday, I hit the streets, talking with people. Compiling. Statistisizing (new word, take that Webster's..), realizing...

    The more people I confide in who are from other countries, the more I wrap my head around the fact that our system is absolutely going to fail completely. And I say completely because it's already been failing. It just hasn't totally collapsed yet. It's just been putting on an incredible facade. It's only a matter of time.

    PLEASE. For the sake of humanity and a happier world, a more peaceful upcoming generation, a more fulfilling life for all... please ask questions. Demand answers. Hold those responsible, accountable. Before it's too late.

-Anderson Rowe

Quote of the Day.

    I'm sure many of you have heard of Julian Assange. If you haven't, then I'm sure you were probably watching NASCAR or something that you impulsively thought was more important at the time (actually the media was probably just covering something they thought was more important like Lindsay Lohan's ceaseless legal troubles). I will inform you. Mr. Assange is the founder of Wikileaks, who was indicted for leaking classified information about the government and corporations to the public.

    Now I'm sure 99.9% of you already know what Facebook is. Of course you do. That's how things work these days. And I'm sure you've all heard the name Mark Zuckerberg, the face attached to the largest social networking site in the world.

    From the mouth of Julian Assange himself:

    "What are the differences between Mark Zuckerberg and me? I give private information on corporations to you for free, and I'm a villain.
     Zuckerberg gives your private information to corporations for money, and he's Man Of The Year."


    Anyone familiar with the term "slight of hand" from magic? It seems the general public has become the audience in these magicians' show. Oh what an illusion it has become.

-Anderson Rowe

Thought of the Day.

    I have been heavily contemplating capitalism and democracy as of late. More importantly, its inexcusable flaws. No longer (arguably, have we ever been) able to trust the concepts with which we have been trained to function societally.

    Most spend their years blindly funneling energy and time and placing value on a facade of shallow, monetary, materialistic and tangible growth. As a country, we have been trained this way; A lab experiment, mouse and cheese type of functionality that gives a sense of false safety and fulfillment.

    Have an open mind. What really matters? Is that new BMW parked in your driveway? Is it that 60 inch flat screen in your living room?

    I have a quote that I found very interesting. It was written by John Adams, President of the United States from 1797 to 1801, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, dated April 15th, 1814.

    "Democracy, while it lasts, is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide."

    It is obvious that the severity of exploitation could not have been foreseen during the times that democracy was being fashioned in America. However, this man grasped the situational flaws before democracy on this scale had ever been achieved. Nearly 200 years before it was grasped in modern terms. Now, its happening right before our eyes, and the majority still cant seem to wrap themselves around the fact that the system is failing ("BLASPHEMY!"). 


    We are few. We are rogue. We have to be the change we need to see. Never stop asking questions, its how we get stronger. Accountability will no longer rest on our shoulders.

-Anderson Rowe

America. and flawless inspiration.

    I hate to say this, but we, as a country, are screwed.

    And it didn't just happen. We've been screwed. For a LONG time now.

    America is imploding from within, its infrastructure crumbling from greed and short term thinking.

    I cant stand the election process in this country. Its a two party system, therefore we only get two choices. We are forced to choose between two candidates that may or may not even be qualified for the job. We don't even know. Why? Because that decision is made by somebody else for us.

    This doesn't make any sense to me. Our votes mean nothing. In the end, the people being chosen are granted that opportunity by others with a back door agenda in benefitting themselves, not us.

    I was recently discussing matters of our world with a very special friend of mine who is far more knowledgeable in these matters then even me. I was shocked to hear her point of view, but at the same time, it opened my mind to a surprising concept.

    Other countries laugh at us. We look like a bunch of idiots to other societies.

    Look at our pop culture. Americans idolize rappers who wear millions of dollars worth of jewelry around their necks and wear their pants around their knees. We pay sports players ridiculous sums of money to play a game, while structured education is failing miserably all over the United States, from kindergarten all the way to the university level. The Kardashian sisters can make six figure incomes being famous, for basically no reason whatsoever. (as of recent developments, a certain Kardashian sister is making an eight figure income completely devoid of the justification in her use of resources to sustain life.)

    Supply and demand = pimping and whoring.

    Now here is what I fear the most about all of this. The government is the same way.

    It's all about the money.

    My instinct tells me I will not be alive long enough to see the radical change it will take to fix this country. A revolution of sorts. (i.e. an overthrow?). But another part of me hopes, for the sake of the principles this country was built on, that it will happen, and we can prosper on solid ideals like our forefathers envisioned.

    There was a point in my life when I thought I would never leave my hometown. I have since moved to a different state, and now I ponder maybe living in another country within the next couple of years..

    I hate to do this to you America, but I cant watch your demise firsthand anymore :(

-Anderson Rowe

    Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. My mind only has the capacity for so much bull thats going on in this country.

    I could go on a tangent about everything that I see wrong, but it's just going to put me in a bad mood, and I don't feel like doing that right now.

    So instead, I'm going to post a cartoon I found that explains exactly what's wrong with religion today.

    Enough said.

- Anderson Rowe

TOTD.

    I know I've been absent for awhile. I apologize. For those that don't know, I work in the television industry and my job gets vey hectic at times.

    And then I may or may not have 3 months off at a time. It's the price I pay. Anyway.

    Hippies drove the Volkwagens back in their era.

    Why would a group of people whose ideology is based on peace, choose to drive a vehicle that was built on Nazi principles?

    Doesn't make sense.


-Anderson Rowe

Rant.

    Okay I'm just going to vent. I got into a very insightful conversation with a good friend of mine last night, and this is what we came up with.

    We constantly live in fear of one another. Its the trickle down effect from the government. Society learns from those that precede them. The public goes through life blindly believing that the vote they cast actually counted.

    The biggest thing I've learned is that in my lifetime, I will never see politics run in black and white. Its always been a grey area, and thats not going to change.

    Stereotypes are exaggerated examples of the worst offenders of the stereotype given.. Not just the average individual who may carry a trait or two of it. It takes the worst of everything and creates a "stereotype" like a file in a computer filled with all of the worst examples for society to use to satirically persecute an entire demographic of people, whether the entire demographic actually acts that way or not.

    Why does anyone have the right to make decisions over anyone elses head? Especially when that decision could change that persons life? Why is the president allowed to make nation wide decisions? Who can prove that he is any smarter then I am, and why is his decision allowed to affect my life? I should be the only one allowed to affect my life. I am the ruler of my domain. Besides, I don't trust any of these politicians any farther then I could throw them anymore.

    "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln


    -Anderson Rowe

Von Dutch

    Anybody remember the original "douchebag from a mile away" brand Von Dutch? It was the precursor to Ed Hardy and the eventual social sell-out of the Affliction brand. Every meat-head asshole was rocking a Von Dutch trucker hat (I specifically remember this guy in Vegas who looked like Criss Angel and drove a yellow Plymouth Prowler.. total douche.) and every high maintenance chick who dated one of these guys owned one in pink.

    And then it just disappeared.

    My roommate just told me an interesting story about the fate of Von Dutch. Apparently, the 2 guys who owned it had been best friends for decades. One night, one of them was drunk and pilled out, and went at the other one with a broken bottle, and stabbed him. That guy then shot the other and killed him in self-defense.

    The owner who lived spent 5 months in solitary confinement before he was acquitted on grounds of self-defense.

    Society, families, humanity, the world in general: 0. Pharmaceutical and Alcohol Companies: +1.

-Anderson Rowe

Thought of the Day

    Nobody can honestly say, "I know what you're going through." or, "I know what you're thinking."

    Umm. No you don't. Because you're not me. I don't care how well you think you know me, I guarantee you don't have an inkling of what goes on in my head.

    I'm not putting myself on a pedestal either. Everybody is different. And we're not mentally telepathic. Every one of us goes through life thinking something different from everyone else at all times. Even if two individuals have the same thought at the same time, it's still not the same because those two individuals are different.

     I just went back and reread that. It puts humanity into perspective a little bit. How can anyone ever relate to another person? How can something like marriage even exist? How can anybody expect to find another individual who is compatible on a level like that?

    It really doesn't seem likely.

-Anderson Rowe

Obesity Rates

    I read an interesting story today about increasing obesity rates in the United States. America's population is getting fatter and fatter. In 1995, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. Today, just 16 years later, all but one state does. Wow. That's staggering.

    The fact that that America is getting fatter isn't surprising because people have been freaking out about this for years now. It's the rate at which this is happening is shocking to me. It only took 16 years for 49 states to jump above 20 percent. Colorado, which is the only state with an obesity rate lower then 20 percent today, is sitting on the edge at 19.8%. In 1995, Colorado statistically would have been at the top of the list with a number like that.

    Worse news comes when you look at the other side of the chart today. According to the report, a dozen states top 30 percent obesity, the majority of them in the south (chicken and waffles?...). Mississippi sits atop the list for the 7th consecutive year, with its confederate brethren Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana falling in close behind. In 2006, just 5 years ago, Mississippi was the only state above 30 percent.

    The reason they gave for these areas showing these numbers? They are poor and rural. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that mean that food is not in abundance? How many more times is everyone with any authority on these matters just going to look the other way and act like this stuff isn't happening.

-Anderson Rowe

Casey Anthony verdict..

    The news media has been in a frenzy over this trial for the past couple of weeks and frankly it's getting old, but then again the news networks always beat a dead horse. This case is actually extremely important.

    Some are comparing this to the OJ Simpson trial we all remember from the 90's. That's a pretty bold statement, but they're right. The biggest similarity here was the reason why OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony were acquitted. Lack of evidence.

    According to Casey Anthony's mother during her initial call to the police, she had not seen her daughter (Casey) or granddaughter (Caylee) in a month. She stated that she had just found Casey and her car, but no sign of Caylee, and Casey's vehicle smelled "like a decaying body had been inside it". Those were her words exactly.

    I'm not sure exactly what Casey Anthony originally told police because I've heard several stories. I believe at one point she told them that Caylee had been kidnapped by the babysitter. I also heard that she told her attorney that she was at home with Caylee and couldn't find her all of a sudden. After a frantic search, Casey stated she found Caylee drown in the pool. Prosecutors at one point brought up evidence to support that Caylee was chloroformed and suffocated with duct tape.

    None of us will know what really happened. But here's why this case angered me so much, and why I think our system is failing. Most of the people I discussed this with were angered like me. Very few took the position that Casey was innocent. However, some were playing the fence with the, "there really wasn't enough circumstantial evidence to convict Casey...". I understand that.

    If your daughter "goes missing", what is the first thing you would think to do? My instinct would be to file a missing persons report. Not try to find her myself for a month without telling anyone (even the grandmother). And I surely wouldn't be taking pictures out partying like the ones that showed up on Ms. Anthony's facebook, during the time I was allegedly trying to find my missing daughter.

    And let's say the story of Caylee drowning from above was actually what happened. Wouldn't you contact medical help? Instead once again, 30 days went by with no mention of it to anybody. Caylee's body was later found in a trash bag in a ravine.

    None of this adds up. But here's where the system fails. It's not what you know, it's what you can prove in court. Casey is responsible for her daughter's death regardless of how it happened. But instead Casey will be a free woman on July 13th, having given credit for 1,043 days served leading up to the trial.

    Unbelievable. Next thing you know, we will be at war with countries we sold military weapons to, and our nation's leaders will be running around sending racy photos of themselves to eachother! Oh wait....

-Anderson Rowe

Alphas, Limitless..

    I have always had a theory about the human brain and how much it can be used by individuals (who have them). I think there is a drug out there somewhere that allows one to tap more of their brain in certain situations. The movie 'Limitless' closely follows my theory. I also think there are certain individuals who can tap more of their brain without the help of a drug at all. They can do it on command. The Syfy Network has a new show premiering on July 11th called 'Alphas' thats somewhat follows my theory. Its based on human beings with enhanced abilities due to differences in their brain structure.

    To touch on the first theory a bit, I think there is atleast one or two scientists throwing around the idea of a pill that can exponentially increase brain function. Much like what happens to Bradley Cooper in Limitless, this pill would allow you to soak up, comprehend, process, solve, etc. information at an alarming rate. Think flipping through a novel like cartoon flip book and taking in everything on its pages. Can you imagine what this type of drug could do?

    The second theory is about individuals who can do this (to a certain extent) without the help of a drug at all. There's a reason why Michael Jordan is the best basketball player to have ever lived. Sure, you can call it practice, and I'm not taking away anything from how hard Mr. Jordan may have worked, but have you ever gone back and watched him play? Really watched him play. The basketball just does amazing things in that man's hands. He just gets the game. That was just one example though. I think there are many types of people who can do this on many different levels with many different situations.

    I've met some (few) people in my life that are just incredible at their jobs, and it seems to come to them so easily. It seemingly takes no effort for them to surpass expectations at every aspect of it. They've found their niche and it takes off for them. Think Matt Damon in the the 'Bourne' series. Of course like I said earlier, these people are few and far between, because there's also people I've met that don't seem to have a brain at all.

    Now some of my readers (I don't judge) may say that marijuana could be considered the drug that was mentioned above based on creativity and artistry. In my opinion, that's your opinion.

    Clearly there's some dumbass people on this planet. But on the other end of the spectrum, could there actually be individuals like this, smart enough to maximize brain activity? Are the pharmaceutical companies campaigning research on a drug that can do this? (They have to be, the money hungry bastards). We will have to wait and see. In the mean time, check out 'Limitless', it was amazing. And make sure you catch the premier of 'Alphas' on Syfy July 11th. And leave me some love in the comments below!

-Anderson Rowe

(P.S. my roommate just turned me on to a new show the USA Network called 'Suits' that is based on a brilliant college-dropout who stumbles onto an associates position in a high profile law firm due to his ability to excel at whatever he sets his mind to.. Anyone see a trend here?... this is catching on.)

    

And we're back

Sorry about the lapse in posts folks! Insane weekend! I work hard to play harder. I've finished cramming my brain with all the necessary information I need for the next couple of posts so enjoy!

-Anderson Rowe

Thought of the Day

I'm sure you or someone you know has said something along the lines of, "Oh man, I can't eat Chinese food again today. I ate it yesterday."

Ummm. I suggest you never go to China, because you know what they call Chinese food in China? FOOD. THATS ALL THEY HAVE.

We, as Americans, are lucky to have all those different choices to choose from. Too many take it for granted.

-Anderson Rowe

Blog Update

I just started writing this blog a couple days ago and I'm having a blast doing it, and the response I've been getting is amazing. So it's going to continue until I get bored :)

I believe someone was wondering if my blog had any direction, or if it was just a general thing. I haven't really figured that out yet. Its too new. Right now I'm just writing what I think about the stuff that matters to me everyday.

I'm going to try to post atleast something everyday, but I don't always have time to throw together a good piece, so I'm going to launch the, ".... of the day!" posts from now on.

With no particular frequency, I'm going to throw out a thought or question of the day, and I want to see what response I get. So make sure you tell me what you think in the comments down below.

Thanks for reading!

-Anderson Rowe

The Jackass Aftermath

    The death of Jackass star Ryan Dunn is still fresh in many minds as more details emerge from the car accident on June 20th. Many of us who remember the humble CKY beginnings more then 10 years ago were left with the question, "What's going to happen to Jackass?".

    I understand as a viewer that Ryan Dunn wasn't the only personality who was a part of Jackass, so you would think the show would go on. However, I also understand that Jackass was not just a tv show... these guys were practically brothers. We aren't talking about hired celebrities who act out scripted scenes.

    In my opinion, Bam Margera will never recover from this. I don't know him personally, but most of us have seen his projects on tv over the years and he never seemed to be a stable psyche. Bam found himself in the hospital in July 2009, due to dehydration from a 4 day drinking bender based on marital problems with his wife Missy. They're still together. Bam just lost what he saw as a bestfriend and brother and he's not handling it well.

   Regardless of how this tragedy will affect lives, I really wanted to talk about what happened at the crash site.

    Just hours after the investigators left, crazed...er... fans?... were scouring the wooded areas around the crash site, making off with the remaining pieces of Dunn's customized Porsche 911 GT3 (tampering with evidence) that were still left, and whatever else they could find. Even worse, some of the first responders to the site had their treasure finds for sale on eBay just minutes later. This type of behavior makes me sick.

    I can understand if family members were there paying their condolences and trying to salvage any last memory they could of Ryan. But these were regular (sick) people, looking to make a quick buck off of a celebrity death. And it gets worse.

   Yesterday, TMZ reported that the crash site was vandalized, accompanied with pictures showing "Ritch (sic) Pr*ck" spray-painted along the guard rail. What good does that do anyone? I'ts good to know that some people get a kick out of desecrating a memorial. Nobody is allowed to just rest in peace anymore.

    To top it off, everybody's favorite hate-mongering religious extremists, the Westboro Baptist Church, has protested at the crash site, though they deny any involvement in the vandalism. Ummm... really? Clearly there is nothing better for these people to do. How do you protest a crash site anyway? I didn't know WBC was specifically anti-Ryan Dunn.

(sidenote: I'm not accusing the WBC of the vandalism, I just thought it was interesting they made a statement clearing their name.)

    The Jackass Crew's outlandish behavior caused many to think something like this would have happened years ago. Now, over 10 years after its start, the future of Jackass and its stars are clearly in jeopardy. One thing is certain, Ryan Dunn will be dearly missed. And the car in the condom clip from the first Jackass movie will never, ever be forgotten.

-Anderson Rowe
  

"To Catch A Chris Hansen"..

    Oh the irony.

    For those of you that haven't heard, Chris Hansen, the news anchor who hosts Dateline NBC's "To Catch A Predator", was caught in a sting operation, using hidden cameras, cheating on his wife.

    I will let that sink in for a second.

    This guy hosts a television show that uses hidden cameras to trap would-be perverts in sting operations. And he's been caught cheating on his wife... in a sting operation using hidden cameras. Wait, it gets better. According to 'The Daily Mail' the woman he was caught with is 21 years his junior. I can't even make this stuff up.

    Apparently the Connecticut based Hansen has been spending alot more time in South Florida recently, reportedly investigating the disappearance of 'Jimmy T' Trindade for Dateline. You're a clever one Chris.

    Now he's not only put himself to shame, but taken a blossoming 30 year-old Florida journalist named Kristyn Caddell down with him.

    Damn that deep voice of yours Mr. Hansen. I imagine you're irresistible to most women.

    And to add insult to injury, the National Enquirer, of all publications, is responsible for breaking this story. And get this, they've been on it for 4 months. ARE YOU SERIOUS? Since when does the National Enquirer stake out someones personal life for 4 months? New lows in media here people. New all time lows.

    Chris Hansen's memorable catch phrases from "To Catch A Predator" will inevitably have a sarcastic undertone from now on. This whole ordeal oozes hypocrisy and its almost painful to see. Emphasis on the word almost. "Just have a seat Chris. We were just talking about you."

-Anderson Rowe

Thoughts?..

I know I posted already today but I want to end the day with this thought. Feel free to respond to it in the comments below. I want to know what you think.

"The greatest form of control is when you think you're free when you're being fundamentally manipulated and dictated to. One form of dictatorship is being in a prison cell and you can see the bars and touch them. The other one is sitting in a prison cell but you can't see the bars but you think you're free. What the human race is suffering from is mass hypnosis. We are being hypnotised by people like this: newsreaders, politicians, teachers, lecturers. We are in a country and in a world that is being run by unbelievably sick people. The chasm between what we're told is going on and what is really going on is absolutely enormous. The greatest hypnotist on the planet Earth is an oblong box in the corner of the room. It is constantly telling us what to believe is real. If you can persuade people that what they see with their eyes is what there is to see you've got them. Because they'll laugh in your face of an explanation then which portrays the big picture of what's happening... and they have."

What's Myspace?

    Obviously I'm kidding.


    Who can forget Myspace? Launched in 2003, it quickly became the most popular social networking site in the world. At its peak in 2006, Myspace had over 100 million active users. In 2007, the massive site was worth $12 billion.


    And as quickly as it skyrocketed to the top, it seemingly disappeared.


    Today, Myspace's parent company News Corp. (Rupert Murdoch) sold the website to "advertising targeting firm Specific Media" (whatever the hell that means) for a bargain $35 million. Ouch. Even worse? News Corp. bought Myspace in 2005 for $580 million. Double ouch.


    I bet they wish Tom had more friends right about now.


    Enough about the financial side of that though. Everyone knows Facebook is king right now anyway (atleast in the U.S.).


    What really surprised me about this is how quickly Myspace slid into obscurity. It felt like it happened overnight. As soon as people jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, Myspace felt absolutely dead. Nobody was even trying to tag-team the social networking world, and do both. Everything just stopped.


    And for anyone who was there when it happened, you know what I mean. It didn't actually stop. Just the stuff everybody wanted to see stopped. The people left. The bands, fake accounts, spammers, and ridiculous internet personalities and socialites trying to add everyone and they're mother didn't stop.


    That's what ruined Myspace. Twitter has this problem too, but atleast they dont blow up your bulletin box.


    Now it seems as if Facebook has nowhere to go but down. It's currently ranked 2nd in the world amongst the largest social networking sites, and my guess is that's only because there is probably a China-specific social network site that all 300 trillion of them are on at all times. Are we going to see the demise of Facebook?


    I personally don't think so.


    I think much like what happened to Myspace, a bigger better deal is going to catch on, and a paradigm shift in the largest body of daily internet traffic will switch from Facebook, to whatever that new site may be.


    Or will it?


    What about Twitter? Many thought it was the next big thing. Maybe it still is. Right now, it seems to be co-existing nicely, with many (including myself) tag-teaming the two sites. Maybe this is the future of social networking? Is there enough room for the both of them in this town?


     That's not even the worst part of this. Myspace has cut its workforce from 500 employees to just 50 as of June 2011. I hope Facebook has room for them all to go work at their 150,000 square foot Palo Alto, California headquarters. Surely there's a few empty desks.


    This could go on and on, involving Tumblr, Tagged, Youtube etc. but those all have a few different elements uncommon from these others. Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have, and will continue to draw our attention away everyday for years. I'm curious to see what happens next.


 -Anderson Rowe

Radar Detectors

      Everytime a friend gets in my truck, they always ask me, "whats that?", inquiring about the 2" LCD screen shining brightly from the top of my dashboard. Its my radar detector. I usually get the same response as well. "Do those work?"

      Well they do work. Sort of.

      You always get what you pay for when it comes to this stuff. If you're interested in buying one, I'm not saying you need to go out and buy the most expensive one you can find to be happy with it. However, when it comes to trying to avoid police detection due to a lead foot, a $49 radar detector probably won't help much.

      I found mine online for around $400. That may sound pricey, but reread the above paragraph, and then hear this: It will pay for itself if it prevents me from getting just 1 speeding ticket. It picks up 14 different types of radar, has a built in compass, and a volt meter, as well as the above mentioned 2" LCD display.

     If you don't have a problem with speeding, then one of these clearly isn't for you. But if you're like me, then you've probably had a few run-ins with the law, and your drivers' license may or may not have been hanging on by a thread at some point. A radar detector can turn out to be a good investment, as it has for me. Go online, do your research, check out the forums, and find one that suits you. And make sure you check with your local laws as well, because possessing a radar detector in a vehicle can be illegal in itself.

      - Anderson Rowe