Unfortuantely, I think that tonight brought about a stark change in my overall view of life. Before a recent series of events that I’ve been to, I would think that people should be free. They should be allowed to be stupid, frivolous, rude jerks. I mean people should be free, right? I noticed some of the peculiarities to which people lend themselves to when intoxicated. If I wanted to control people, I’d give them liquor that will distract them (and make them feel miserable and unproductive the next day), food that will weaken their health, holidays that don’t require any particular reverence to celebrate, music that is filled with words, sounds, and concepts that a retarded two-year could come up with. Maybe all the time and effort spent to raise individuals up, to make people better has truly been wasted. Maybe people need to be controlled, not with outright force, but with subtle, more friendly coercive forces. Maybe the party is that friendly control. I might be getting too serious about this, but I sit and watch people become weaker spiritually and freedom slipping away from us all, and I wonder… Damn, if only I had a few more drinks.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll write. I could go on, and into more detail. It won’t bring out the best in me to dwell on the remainder of the evening. The melatonin is starting to kick in just at the right time. Joy — tonight I will sleep…

In addition to the claims brought up by this documentary, I could mention others that have rubbed me the wrong way in the past. 

I know a lot of people will find something offensive about “Outfoxed.” I know, since I’ve been told that I hate America, spit on veterans, and that I am a secret member of the left-wing because I believe in getting to the truth of the matter rather than walking a party line or taking the easy way out by blindly accepting things based on appearances alone. And, more often than not, those making these ridicuouls claims were “informed” by hours-upon-hours of watching Fox News.

Anyway, there’s no requirement that people be open-minded, feel comfortable enough with their own deeply-held beliefs to question their own assumptions, etc. Apparently, a lot of folks who’ve drank the Fox Kool-Aid claim Fox News and their associated properties to be an “alternative” media outlet. Just remember, news is a biz and the goal of businesses is profit. Moreso now-a-days, news is becoming wrapped in slick marketing and public relations techniques specifically designed to drive you to a particular point-of-view.

But if it makes you feel better, you can believe whatever you want to believe. Who am I to change your reality? Hmmm, but then again, who is Fox News, and who are they to change your reality?

H/T: Daily Paul

I’ve had the opportunity over the last couple of days to sample another throwback — Mountain Dew Throwback. It’s part of a new set of product offerings from Pepsi that is sweetened with sugar instead of the much-maligned high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). And the new advertising campaign just happens to have an accompanying psychadelic commercial (like this one for Pepsi Throwback):

I’m not sure what the primary driver for such an offering is. High fructose corn syrup has been criticized for everything from being contaminated with mercury to spearheading the march toward a global obesity epidemic. That, and I’m sure Pepsi is looking to go for a younger, hipper demographic that is drawn to all-natural teas and sodas made from real cane sugar (such as the popular Jones Soda line).

As far as the experience of Mountain Dew Throwback goes, I’m still skeptical. Recently, I switched from years of being a Coke fanboy to Pepsi Max loyalty due to my desire to have a soft drink with some kick (thanks to Max’s ginseng content) and the desire to avoid highly-caloric sweeteners such as sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Ultimately, I wanted two just try a two-liter, but the only option at the Garner, North Carolina Target was a twelve pack of cans. The Pepsi Throwback packaging looked like something that was throwback, but it immediately occurred to me that there was only a slight difference in the sugar and HFCS Mountain Dew version’s packaging, which I suspect will result in some confusion from consumers. Taste was different, almost like caffeine-free Mountain Dew. I’m not sure this difference would be discernable to a frequent Mountain Dew drinker, but I did notice a slight difference. Again, with packaging similarities, some loyal Mountain Dewist in a rush might be in for a treat. Well, not really a treat, but a surprise none-the-less.

Will it be a hit? Maybe. I don’t know if “Throwback” is the right name, nor do I know that sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup makes a difference to enough people to make it profitable for Pepsi to continue beyond their “limited time only” promises. But if you’re into the latest, greatest gimmick by the soft drink industry big-wigs, try it out for youself and weigh-in here. There should be some sales at your local big-box retailers and grocery chains, for at least a week. I’d love to hear what everyone else is thinking about Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback.

Anyway, since I had a big day planned and I wanted to try my best at making a go of it, I showered, put on my around-town clothes, got back into bed, started on heavy doses of saltines and 7-Up, and hoped. While hope is sometimes necessary in life, it didn’t do much for me this time. So after a couple of hours of trying to visualize my body being bathed in a white light of perfect health, I decided that resistance was futile, put on my comfy-sleeping clothes, and prescribed myself bed rest for the remainder of the day. 

There were two events that I was really excited about attending today. Unfortunately, I’ll have to make YouTubes of similar events do.

The first event that I wanted to attend was Clark Howard’s trip to Durham, North Carolina. For those who don’t know, Clark Howard is a money expert that’s a staple on talk radio and he also recently got a TV show on the HLN cable channel (formerly Headline News). I don’t know what he talked about, although I’m sure it’s similar to what he talked about in this YouTube of an appearance in Dayton, Ohio:

I’ve seen him so much on TV and heard him so much on radio that I suspect I could out-Clark Clark Howard. I don’t know that I would have learned anything new today, but still disappointing none-the-less.

The second event that I wanted to attend is an event is the annual marijuana march and concert held in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina on the first Saturday in May every year. Here’s a video from last year’s event (with a special starring role at about the 6:40 mark):

This year’s event was probably abuzz with discussion of a possible medical marijuana bill being considered in North Carolina. This is an idea that I would have rolled my eyes at ten years ago, but I now believe the time has come. We’ll see if my fellow North Carolinians (and their representatives) agree.

All-in-all, a day lived vicariously from the confines of my bed, all thanks to YouTube. Still I wish I could’ve been out in the sun, having a good time, instead of making my slow march toward metamorphosis into a were-pig via otherwise normal flu-like symptoms. I guess that’ll teach me to get sick…

Computer problems can be bad enough, but I also faced a number of other issues that diverted myself away from the blogosphere. Needless to say, my other efforts were severely hampered during my Dell-related computer problems, since I was trying to complete a number of deadlines in the last four weeks before graduating (yeah!) and obtaining suitable employment. Talk about adding to the stress of dealing with technology… As of today, graduation is definitely happening, while I’m well on my way to meeting my goal of finding an appropriate position, even in these tough economic times.

Beyond that though, I’ve had a lot of time to think about one of my favorite fields of knowledge to which my marketing coursework has exposed me — brand management. Not just branding in general, but specifics of how it applies to some of the spiritual and philosophical movements with which I’ve been involved over the past few years, my personal branding as both an individual and a professional, and how that all ties into the amount of effort (or lack thereof) I’ve put toward branding and marketing this site. Lots of thinking, but now it’s time for some doing…

Now that I’m announcing my return to life in general and blogging in specific, I also wanted to thank everyone for their support in my virtual absense. I would also like to extend a specia thanks to those who’ve taken the time to read and comment on some of my previous stories. I love comments (the good, the bad, and even the ugly) since they make me understand better the potential for making a social impact in the brave new world of the InterWeb Tubes. I’ll be sure to weigh-in shortly on these comments, to hopefully further the conversation and to add more proof to my theory that regular readers of this blog happen to be smarter and in some way slightly more genetically superior to those who don’t.  ;-)

But in all seriousness, you can call me old school if you want, but under no circumstances will I try to get sexy with an interviewer. That seems totally inappropriate on so many levels that I wouldn’t know where to start. Unless that’s a skill that is applicable to the tasks I’ll be performing on the job, it’s not going to happen. Uh uh, no way.