Alien Vs.Predator on the Xbox 360. I know the graphics aren't the best and the handling is piss poor but it is seriously addictive. I do that slow predator laugh every time I kill someone, it's pretty sad. I've switch to "Want some candy ?!?" every once in awhile but it still means I'm a freak.
I adore Jay Z but I don't know if he can fully be considered mainstream. Obviously he uses some of the same symbols and pre-fixes we're used to in mainstream, money, drugs and "hoes". But as he's gotten older, his music seems to have become satirical. 99 Problems I would think is a great example of that, he portrays the struggles young african americans face, quantifying it with a carefree attitude, he's got "99 problems but a bitch ain't one". Yet it is not meant in a derogatory way, it's as if he is paraphrasing a the nonchalant African American who tries to pass off all his social unrest but to no avail. I can appreciate an artist who tries to put actual themes in his rap, Eminem hardly inspires with songs such as "Ass Like That".
Michael Collins or The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Whenever I see those films I can almost feel a penis forming, ready to jizz green, white and orange. The heart expands, I puff up my chest and if a form to join the army is put in front of me, I get dangerously close to signing it. Neither films particularly glorify the Irish struggle against Britain, it's gruesome and it's upsetting. But there is something about them that just gets me going, remind me fully how much I love my country and manage to make me feel like a man. An odd sensation altogether but it's kind of like an 90 minute sex change each time. I cast wildly about for a uniform, some socks or padding to shove down and a nice rifle to march onwards. I'm not even that much of a Republican, I find the level of violence that occurred in Ireland in the 70's deplorable but seriously, those films do something to the savage male Republican nestled deep in my psyche, which is quite terrifying.
The fact that the iPod has been hailed as one of the greatest inventions of this past decade is quite telling. We'd rather drown out the problems of the world then take our ignorant headphones out and just give a shit about something. I know I am no Joan of Ark but I try. My efforts may be pathetic, I work at an Amnesty International stall in a freedom market once a week, give 5 euro to a charity when I have it, none of which has probably effected one person in need but I do it anyway.. I like to think I do it for some truly altruistic cause but I don't, I do it so when my grandchildren come home from school and ask me what the fuck was up with this decade, I can at least put my hands up and say "I did what I could, considering I'm a teenager."
Maybe when I'm older, I can do more. That's a big maybe. I can understand why people turn away and crank up their meaningless sugar coated pop. They don't want to see that genocide still happens, despite world promises of "never again" after The Holocaust, they like to think we live in a uniformly nice world, entirely cut off from the third world. They turn their backs and raise their kids, it's understandable I suppose. Personally ? I can't believe how fucked up as a society we are. I'm not even working, I'm still a student, technically I'm not a fully functioning member of society yet and I still feel this huge sense of guilt over me. I'm not even saying I can hear the small children of Africa crying out in hunger or pain. But why hasn't AIDS been cured yet ? Cancer ? It could be technicalities and I fully accept that but deep down, I think it's funding or lack thereof. The fact that we shell out 200 plus for a hunk of metal that can blast us with carefree music should we so choose and not have ANYTHING to spare for other human beings slightly sickens me. I have an iPod, I am too bourgeoisie to be bitching like this. But I am, I cannot help it. My perspective is skewed. I lost a brother to cancer, before that I gave nothing to charities. Granted, I was fucking twelve but you get my point. I only realized how much a cure for Cancer was needed when it was too late and that is what happens to us all. Those that live blithely unaffected cushioned by steel consumerism only seek to change when it is grossly too late to do so and the vicious wheel of fortune rolls on. Until we break the cycle and we get people who shouldn't care, to care and before they need to, nothing can be done. It hasn't happened this past decade and I really doubt it will happen in this new one so yeah, I will be fucking ashamed when my grandkids start asking questions.
Shit in their bed and blame it on the dog. When they say they gave the dog away, scream "I KNOW ASSHOLES !!" right in their faces. Repeat process until they break down.
Since when does universal health care automatically mean bad standards ? So many people to treat ? Ireland has a mix of private and public hospitals but I can tell you now, the public hospitals do NOT have bad standards. They may not have all the equipment all the time, you might have to wait some time to be seen but if it's for a immediately life threatening disease, you are not told to wait. You do not received bad treatment, they do not withhold certain procedures due to expense and it is not all that different from private. My Dad was diagnosed with cancer 12 years ago and he was treated publicly. He Was seen quickly and efficiently, he was never ignored and for 11 years, he's gotten the all clear. He even got sent to therapy sessions to cope with the big C and the Government paid for it all.
In a democracy, the state exists for the people and it needs to support it's people. Are you all really so callus to deny the down-trodden a chance at life ? How many people have died in America because they couldn't afford for simple fucking treatment ? It is an outrage. I actually can't get my head around it. People who have the attitude of "tough shit" need to grow the fuck up. Has anyone heard of the old Greek proverb :
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
Universal health care will tough now yes, but in years to come - how many lives will it save ? This is what we're dealing with. Human lives and macro or micro economics don't fucking compare to it. This has gotten me so angry, I cannot believe people would be so selfish. What makes me laugh is if the roles were reversed, if they were lying in a hospital bed being told it would cost 10,000 dollars that they didn't have to save their life , they would give ANYTHING to have that life. But with private health care, anything isn't accepted, it's just fucking 30 silver shekels.
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