Jersey Shore -- There's No Way This Can Be Real (Is There?)

Before I started at my new job (but, after I learned I had been hired), I watched an episode of MTV's award-winning cheap & tawdry show Jersey Shore. I, obviously, was aware of the show (who hasn't heard of "Snooki," "The Situation" and "J-Woww?"); but, I'd never actually sat through an entire episode.

I watched one episode; then the next, then another. Like a bad car wreck, I couldn't turn away.

I know there's been a great deal of controversy over the show, and apparent slurs against the Italian community. And, it's hardly worth debating the merits of the show -- I don't know anyone who would suggest the show is 'great.'

Instead, I started wondering about some of the more cheap and tawdry action. Not only does the show seem to encourage the housemates entering into intimate encounters with each other (and, pretty much, any other living thing); but an awful lot of it is filmed. And, even more unnerving; many times, these encounters happen with multiple people in the room; almost as spectators....

With that, I started thinking -- obviously, was whether the show was, in fact, "real?" MTV had another show (one I've never seen, but again, heard about) called The Hills. Apparently, the show was filmed and promoted as a "reality" show; but the ending of the series gave the definite impression that the audience had been fooled, and the show was not true reality (there's debate over whether the show was actually scripted; but certainly the final scene of the series indicated the show was being shot on an outdoor movie set, not a real outdoor location).

Could Jersey Shore be in the same boat? Would MTV do it a second time? Cast and showcase a show with the presumption that it was "reality" when in fact it's completely scripted and exaggerated?

I don't know that there's a good answer to that question -- if it's scripted, then I'm disgusted at what MTV thinks the public wants to see (and, even scarier, they're right... the new season just set the record for the series viewing audience). If it's not scripted; well, that's even scarier, that people like that exist (not just he stars of the show; but also the assorted and varied people they "interact" with... I wonder what the laws for emigrating to Canada are like........

The Golden Voice - Fair?

By now, many of you have probably read about Ted Williams, the "Golden Voice" - a homeless gentleman in Ohio, who was "discovered" by a producer. Williams would stand on the highway with a sign reading that he had a "God-given gift of a voice" and was desperate for another chance.

Here's the video of the discovery:



Since the video was shot, Williams has received offers for radio work. He received a two-year offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers (with an offer for housing). It's truly a rags-to-riches story.

And yet, I have mixed feelings. This has nothing to do with the allegations of criminal activity -- none of us can truly empathize with the feeling of homelessness, and who knows what any of us would be capable of, in such a situation. From what I can tell, all the crimes involve theft, etc., nothing violent.

It has a little to do with the way he got himself into the situation he's in -- by his own admittance, he turned to alcohol and drugs, which caused him to lose his last job in radio. To his credit, he's been clean for two years.

More than anything though, having just come from being unemployed, it just seems a little unfair. I know MANY extremely talented people who are still out of work; through none of their doing -- the companies they worked for saw decreases in revenue and cut staff. These people want to work -- I know, I was one of them.

And, although I was quite fortunate to have a number of interviews, many of my friends in those job-seeking groups are not as lucky. Yet, here is a story of a man, who semi-willingly threw away what he had, and now, he's the recipient of a near-dream job for himself.

Admittedly, the uniqueness of the scenario -- the viral video -- helped immensely. While I was out of work, I thought, quite often, about a way we (myself and my fellow job-seekers) could better use video to help us find work. Unfortunately, marketing and public relations doesn't lend itself particularly well to engaging video (I'd had some ideas for creating something like a "Marketing Idol" or "Iron Marketer" show, where various marketing problems would be presented to teams or individuals. The problem there, though, is how do you vote people off, and still have them come out looking 'hire-able?' I struggled with that).

I still think video can pay off dividends to those looking for work. The world has changed, and video and social media are keys (not only to marketing efforts for companies and products, but for marketing efforts for individuals looking for work!)

My unease with this situation has more to do with the companies leaping at the chance for free publicity by offering a dream gig to someone who isn't necessarily more deserving than many of the unemployed in today's world -- was that position even advertised? Did the average unemployed voice professional have any chance of interviewing for that role? With unemployment still hovering above 9% (and underemployment still double that), there are still many qualified workers that would love such an opportunity. There's just no free, nation-wide publicity with those efforts.

The Art of Growing Up

Admittedly, this post was first written about 8 years ago; however, it still feels just as valid as it did back then. I re-ran the post a few years later when I was publishing an online magazine for my boardgaming group for several years.

The first time I wrote this post, I was in a tough spot in my life. I had been unemployed for about 15 months after 9/11. I had just completed my student teaching rotation, and simultaneously come to the realization that I didn’t want to be a teacher. And, although I didn’t know it, I was about to set onto an 11-month journey that would see me submit nearly 2000 resumes in less than a year before I would land at the company where I’d spend the next six years.

The post focuses on boardgaming, because that was my impetus. Interestingly, my life seemed much simpler then – I didn’t own a home, I wasn’t running a boardgaming group, I hadn’t won awards for my work.

But, I think, even if you’re not into boardgaming (and, admittedly, many aren’t), the sentiment still holds true. And, for some reason, every year – whether my life is going great or a little less-than-great – the Christmas/New Years holidays stir these emotions in me. Originally, I’d titled my post “Jaded” – when I’d first written it years ago. Today, I think it’s more accurate to simply call it “The Art of Growing Up.”

Here’s my original post:

I’m sitting here, going through old Abandon-Ware sites, finding vintage Commodore64 games that I can run on an emulator on the PC.

Had to run downstairs to get an old Avalon Hill catalog, because - growing up, there were SOOOO many games I wanted. Started looking through it...wow...have I grown up.

I can remember being 14...15, maybe...seeing “Pennant Race” - and “Baseball Strategy”...”Statis- Pro Football”...I remember getting ALL the games one Christmas, and just sitting there. I remember going through Street and Smiths and tearing out that amber-yellow page, which had the ad for Ultimate College Basketball...and spending what seemed like a FORTUNE at that time...

Now...hell...I have more games than I know what to do with. I have - damn...probably close to 300 different sports games...another 250-300 family and war and role-playing games. 150 PC games (with even more downloading...)

I’m ONLY 33...Was it REALLY 20 years ago that I was so wide-eyed at all that these games offered? Now, it’s like an addiction — I buy, trade, plan, plot - all types of projects, and yet, I no longer can just sit down and play ONE Title Bout fight...hell, I actually played a whole 82 game SEASON of Slapshot (and for those of you who know the game...ha ha...yes, it was a VERY silly project)...But now...wow...

So...as another year comes to an end, I find myself wondering/hoping that, at some point, I’ll regain that child-like enthusiasm; instead of these games hanging like some Sword of Damocles over my head, can I ever just, simply, remember how it felt the first time I got a new game? How I looked at EACH and EVERY player card, in detail? How fascinated I was by all the rules and dice and cards and charts?

Gosh...I sure hope so...

In the eight years since that post was written, my gaming collection has grown to nearly 1500.

Truth is that one Christmas, when I was quite young (13-14 years old), I DID receive every sports game I asked for – tons of them. I spent the entire Christmas day opening games and reading them and poring over them, much to the chagrin of my family (since I insisted on looking over every aspect of the game before even OPENING the next present).

Now, I buy a new game, and I barely have time to read it. It’s almost as though it’s simply tossed onto a giant pile, to be looked at ‘later.’

So it’s easy to see why I would long to have that emotion, that ‘thrill’ of new games that I experienced when I was younger.

There’s a lingering sense of incompleteness though, which is why I dedicate myself to ‘tracking’ things – making certain no stone is left unturned. I may have a wee bit of obsessive compulsiveness and therefore, the feeling of incompleteness is amplified in me.

But, I also realize that life is short. Certainly, it’s shorter for me now than it was eight years ago.

I don’t make New Years resolutions anymore, since they seem doomed to fail. Reading back over my post, I had planned to be well into a completely different stage of my life by now; and I’d expected to have pared down my collection (instead, it’s practically tripled).

Clearly, this past year has been trying – not only for me, but for many I know. But, I’ve tried to not lose sight the good things in my life. It’s pure folly to think, at any point, that I’ll reverse my entire outlook and suddenly, I’ll no longer have these feelings at the end of each year. But, I do think the acceptance of the fact that this is just a natural progression of life; and it’s important to know that, is incredibly useful to keeping one’s sanity through the good times and the difficult times.

I’m hoping everyone had a fantastically happy new year!