I am beyond grateful for not only this important news story, but also, ALL the news that has been covered this week. Without Videogum I would have had NO knowledge of the Russel Brand yoga walkout, or the curious situation where Bradley Cooper was only recognized by his bare torso, NOT his face, and all the lives that were almost lost due to the beauty and majesty of this easily identifiable chest. I read no papers or books and only watch netflix. The ONLY other news I get besides videogum is from FilmDrunk and Morning Glow (the only three blogs that matter in America, if not the world), so I really count on Videogum to cover everything else of value that does not fit into those narrow (but wonderful) special interest blogs. I have really seen a bump up in your reporting lately, and for that I am so appreciative as i really want to be the kind of person that not only knows about the world but can also speak about it intelligently. I am so happy now be abreast, not just of all the news fit to write about, but also, about how Kelly and Gabe FEEL about the news, which is really the most critical thing. To think I might have missed the extrordinary news about diet coke and how it proves, beyond a shadow of all doubt, that the decline of western civilization is almost complete, and irreversible. Thank you for keeping me a cosmopolitan sophisticated, and CURRENT citizen of the world. I heart videogum. No sarcasmo
HI! Don't worry about how my day was-- That doesn't matter now.
Kelly- this was an absolutely wonderful post about the Mante Teo (sp?) situation. I loved every word.
i didn't want to climb on because I could tell this was a sensitive topic and I didn't want to upset Gabe, but I was really upset that this topic wasn't covered. Because I don't come here for trampoline accidents, i come here for hard hitting news, or rather the way intelligent and funny and stream of consciousness bloggers REACT to hard hitting news (by hard hitting i mean dead girlfriend zapruder situations). Not only was I very upset about this lack of coverage (I mean we covered Chick Fil A, why not this?) but not wanting to pile on (this is me not piling on) but then the Beyonce Lip Sync situation not being discussed/analysed on videogum (maybe I missed it but if I did it must not have been featured prominently enough) was just putting me over the brink. I kept clicking over and not finding what i wanted and becoming progessively more kerfluffled (which I realize is completely unjustified, but there it is).. I was briefly consoled by the foxes playing and the cat drying its face but I was still feeing pretty unsatisfied and then I came over one last time and I saw this post and I LOVED it and it was everything I wanted. So, thank you Kelly and Videogum.
Being forced out of my job for being awesome. I excelled only due to my own severe sense of inferiority- not to offend or outshine anyone--and saw the risks too late. I have been obviously awesome too long in a system that rewards mediocrity and punishes competency. The process of being tortured is excruciating, as is overwhelming chore of figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my ever shortening life. the only financially rewarding things (available to me) seem permanently soul damaging and the fun shit runs the serious risk I will be eventually living on social security in a basement hovel with a roommate eating non organic fruit.
I had drifted away from Videogum and the Walking Dead Recaps brought me back. Each week I first read the recap, then watch the show, and then re-read the recap. I have even been known to re-re-read the recaps (I really like them). Without the recaps I would have no interest in the show. Your painstaking criticism makes for great reading.
That being said, if it seems too awful for you I respect that and its ok if you switch to Homeland.
Kelly is awesome and rocks and has her own voice I have grown to love. If I had started on the Kelly blog thing I would probably go to that website looking for my Kelly fix and be annoyed by Gabe rattling on about some nonsense. I would probably go to the Kelly blog more than I do this blog right now- and I would go there looking for and expecting what I have come to love of Kelly's style.
But I fell in love with videogum (long time lurker pretty much since the start minus a few months) because i got so much out of Gabe's discourse and writing and anger and humor and writing style, and when that started dropping off I started dropping off. I love the intensely detailed vitriolic criticism of tiny minutae, i love his analysis of pop culture, I loved the WMOAT, I love the staunch feminism, I love the social commentary, loved when Gabe got mad at the people who got mad at him for GP crotch shot and explained why he, also, was offended. I loved it all. When Gabe rambles i am just delighted- the topic isn't terribly important. I think Gabe has a great writing style and look forward to him going on in writing in another medium if this one has grown tiresome or he needs time for other endeavors. But the other stuff just doesn't grab me, not because its not great, but because I am not getting the fix that i associate with the videogum branding in my head. I am like a pavlovian dog. i see the logo and the purple and just feel sad--like the dad moved away and we are in the house with other people who are really quite wonderful but its not the same and he just drops by and is like HEY- whats up? all ok? good! and sometimes stays for dinner but other times not so much, less and less, really.
I hope this was super constructive and helpful! sorry I just realized I just did the opposite of what was asked for and this is depressing and awful and I am a jerk. Please forgive me. I just had to say my piece. I do want the best for everyone and the site. if the site changes dramatically I assume it will be great and get a bigger audience and old farts like me (if there are even any more besides me) who are like 'oooh we used to have a 'WMOAT' won't matter.
This is the kind of post that made Videogum great. anytime Gabe explodes the contents of his thought processes, unfiltered, out onto the interwebs, whether its about this mess or a bad movie, its just an absolute delight.
This 'do non humans deserve empathy' theme has been going on for about a month now and I am over it. This was my happy place and its not any more. I don't know if videogum is changing or I am changing but lately I just don't get as blissed out by reading it lately and things like this actually bum me out. Whatever. Its been a great few years of lurking and I have gotten alot of joy from this site and all of you.
leaving this after the fact which no one will read which is fine. I don't want to fight. just want to put my 2 cents in. i do think they took a risk by doing all cgi, and it looked fake. I do think it was a bold move. I think peta gets criticized too much for being negative so a positive protest sounds like a good idea to me. i really can't wait until videogum moves on from the 'lets not be TOOO nice to animals' theme. Videogum is my favorite blog and animal rights is my favorite cause. The cognitive dissonance is hurting my brain and my monkey heart.
Basically any logic that humans deserve better than animals because we are human and lets protect our genetically similar first is indefensible morally once you break it down into a serious of propositional arguments and look at the morality of those arguments and historically, WHO used them in other contexts, you will find yourself in no good company.
Animals are great and I wish all dogs had helicpotors.
no sarcasmo.
Taking less than perfect dogs and rehabilitating them often inspires people to rescue dogs. This happens when the rescuers walk around in the park with our happy part robot dogs which leads to pleasant interest and conversation. Which leads to less people buying from breeders. which means less deliberately created dogs who eat factory farmed horribly tortured animals that are eating a food supply that could feed the world and farting their way into global warming hell. i have a two legged dog (born that way). her stubbs are delicate so i dont think that she could have prostheses. But i bought a custom made wheelchair from a very wonderful old hippy-ish couple in upstate NY who are truly great people and they live a great life and support great causes and eat local beets and local eggs that are not so ethically terrible and they labor over these custom made wheelchairs with so much local economy love. I love my dog and she is so happy in her chair. It was worth every penny and I can't imagine spending a dime of it elsewhere.
I just really enjoyed this WMOAT . I do think I remember the WOMAT's were what got me started on videogum lurkage and fanage. I read them all at once and forced everyone around me to read them, especially City of Angels, that was my original the best/worst. Not everyone got it ('why are you making me read this blog? Can I stop reading this blog? Its very funny, but now I don't want to read this any more. It is very long. Another one?') but I just remember that feeling of being so delighted I wanted to experience it with everyone else.
I think my real problem with the Kushner campaign and the inflated numbers is not that sex trafficking should not be considered a 'big deal' even if just a few kids are affected, but that it fed into a Lifetime movie of the 90's fantasy that the white picket house down the block that nice Mr. Smith lives in actually has Russian girls in the basement and everyone's husband goes there, OMG. Yes true on some blocks, but not most, i'm nearly certain. To assume that sex trafficking is everywhere, all over, and if you are not a slave or a pimp you are probably a John, and its clearly unstoppable, so lets just CUT down on the demand, like with vegetarianism, by making it seem 'uncool' is silly nonsense at its silliest. For one thing, its not everywhere. And you are not going to cut down on the demand by making it seem unhip. Its NOT HIP TO RAPE ENSLAVED KIDS IN AMERICA. Its just not. If someone is doing this at the white picket house down the sububan cul de sac (they are not) they are probably really sick and/or under the throes of an irresistible compulsion, not that we shouldn't chemically castrate them or put them away forever or whatever you want to do with them, ok, I am not going to get into defending child rapists here, heaven's no! I get that its a seriously bad thing with a super high recidivism rate. I just don't think that its a breezy choice that can be changed after being told that Justin Timberlake would not approve. Really, the child rapist never thought Justin Timberlake would think its ok. There is a societal stigma, FOR ONE THING. And yes, it does makes sense that it was the work of a ridiculous celebrity PR campaign and not an issue Ashton or Demi REALLY feel passionately about, and yes, Celebrities mucking about in areas in which they know nothing really DOES damage the cause, because right now the issue is minimized and trivialized by the V. Voice's poking holes in the inflated data (and yes, it does appear that their motivation may have been just to draw attention away from their own complicity). The end result of the deflated and clownish campaign is to make any movement to end this (how about lets support a non celebrity movement based on trying catch really bad people on the ground floor of the exploitation/organization rather than a casual media influenced metrosexual consumer who does not exist? YEAH TRY THAT maybe???) seem tainted by the brush of this TOMFOOLERY. So, yes.
Ya I think the tweet was a douche move and the apology was a douchier move. I like what Vince at Film Drunk said about it. Its like Ebert was scared to say he carelessly made a fucked up joke so he chose to defend it senselessly rather than saying 'my bad'.
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