Thursday, January 28, 2010

State of the Union


I’ve decided to try a “new” journalistic tact to provide some more unique content to our little slice of the blogosphere.

My creative juices tend to flow best just as I reach the state of tiredness that makes my basic functions difficult and renders most everything hilarious. Said juices tend to flow freely just after midnight and return to a sporadic trickle just before dawn.

My circadian rhythm appears fatally flawed.

None the less, I shall bring you these ramblings- which may or may not be the continued makings of my first book- as they appear the day after.

It wouldn’t be true “gonzo” journalism if I edited them, so I’ll try to avoid the temptation to tinker, but I fear my maniacal alter-ego “the editor” may continue to inflict his knowledge upon us all.

Here are the initial impressions from POTUS' big talk, virtually unedited:


Get off the Goddamn Internets (sic) man! It’s rotting your brain from the outside in. A beautifully useful tool, yes, but there are so many fools shouting at the same time the cacophony sometimes drowns out what really matters.

As if I didn’t have enough reason to despise the dumbing down of America known as Twitter, seeing elected officials on their Blackberry’s “tweeting” during the State of the Union address puts me on edge.

I’m a 24-year-old man who has grown up squarely in the age of technology, and even I know there are times when it’s not appropriate to be on your damn phone.

I don’t even answer my phone during dinner, yet these people feel it’s totally appropriate to send messages during a speech by the President?

It’s not just any speech either, it’s the most important speech of the year hands down. For a public speaking nerd like me, it’s not unlike a huge sporting event.

Obama’s first State of the Union was a pretty good one too. It was like the previous guy’s eligibility was finally up and this year for the big game we finally had a quarterback who could throw (and didn’t fumble as much).

Obama shines under the bright lights of the big stage, and while his prose was a bit lengthy, I thought overall it was well thought out and presented.

I’m not commenting so much on the policies, those seemed to be a mixed bag. Even the general tenor of the speech was a bit too arrogant for my tastes. All this, “America! We’re #1!” nonsense is just that. However, it’s just so utterly delightful to listen to a speaker who can actually speak.

The cynical bastard will reply, “Oh well he has a teleprompter.”

To that, I must remind you he’s reading a speech that’s over an hour long on national television in front of ostensibly the entire nation. I’m not sure John and Jane Q. Public could hack that.

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails