Always looking up: In memoriam

A visit from God

Okay, not a visit, an e-mail. Who still uses those? He's old.

Hey Rob: 

What it look like. Holding up okay? Yeah, I got your messages. You'll be fine. Hang in there.

No, I don't know why no one ever thought to just ask me why I let bad things happen to America like disasters and tragedies and stuff. I mean, I'm right here. You'd think they'd just hit me up. But no, they never send me anything. No event invitations on Facebook, nothing. Whatever. Yeah, I'm sure Pat Robertson and Michele Bachmann know what I'm thinking better than I do. That's not insulting or anything.

Anyways, here's everything I can remember. There's been a lot of stuff going on since I created you little monkeys. And you are monkeys. But don't get me started on that, either.

Why I Let Bad Things Happen To America, a list by God
---

Civil War: Wanted America to resolve its bitter white/black racial divide and concentrate on hating those dirty yellow Chinee

San Francisco Earthquake: Furious over lack of gays

Spanish Flu: Trying to wipe out the Spanish, not sure what happened there

Great Depression: Decided to take a "hands-off" approach to Wall Street

Attack on Pearl Harbor: Misguided attempt to impress Veronica Lake

JFK Assassination: Wanted to distract everyone from having accidentally killed Marilyn Monroe (me, not JFK)

Vietnam: Don't remember; acid comedown

Watergate: Nixon kept that one a secret from me, which is actually kind of impressive

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster: Just kind of pissy that day

L.A. riots: Koreans overcharged me for a bottle of Crystal Pepsi

Columbine massacre: Trying to make Marilyn Manson look dangerous again after that horrible "glam" period

9/11: Not nearly enough country music on the radio

Hurricane Katrina: Massive, unprecedented PR deal with NFL

Great Recession: Dick Cheney starts cleaning his gun in front of you, you don't ask questions, my friend

There you go! That's all I can remember offhand. Not what you expected, but remember, my ways are mysterious to behold, yadda yadda yadda. As everything goes downhill, I'll be sure and keep you posted.

Psych! Come on. You know better than that. And tell everybody to not be such a nation of whiners, while you're at it. You should have seen the shit I used to pull on Europe.

Stay up, playa.

God
The Almighty / Maker of Heaven and Earth / Creator of all that is Seen and Unseen
Heaven, The Firmament
>> Check out my blog! epicbeardgod.tumblr.com

Who's at the party?

 An updated guide to social networking

Several of you may remember this adorable little bit of fanart floating around the webs a few years ago, called "Internet University Cast":

Very accurate. At the time. But the internet's not just a young kid's game anymore: what the 90s used to hilariously dream of as the "information superhighway" has become a subway full of cranky, perhaps violent infocommuters, stepping all over each other and copping a feel in the process. And social networking is the awkward get-together we all have after during work. Who invited all these idiots, anyway? Oh, we did. Or maybe Al Gore. Here's a handy field guide to inform you, as of almost 2012, what each social networking site has become... and what we've become in using them. (BUTTHURT CREAM: I myself have maintained a presence on almost all of these sites. I'm as shallow as you are. Enjoy.)  

(Since so many people enjoy acting like stock stereotypes, I've used stock images to represent them. You. Us. These were all found at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Users: 750 million

You know that overenthusiastic aunt who shows up at the family reunion and spends her whole time trying to get everybody to talk to each other? Even the people who hate each other? Especially those people? That's Facebook. She used to be cool when she was in college, which she just can't seem to stop talking about. Now, she's very, very desperate, and if this get-together doesn't go just right, her bout of nervous trembling and crying will create legendarily awkward silence to be remembered for decades. So you better talk to your mom, your ex, your old boss, everybody. Look how much work she did bringing you all together. You ungrateful little shit.

Users: 200 million

See this guy? Looks like a celebrity, doesn't he? He isn't. He works at AutoZone. But he acts like a celebrity, which he does in the mistaken assumption that this will a) make him famous somehow and, in the process, 2) make him interesting. I mean, there he is, standing right next to Ashton Kutcher! Sure, Ashton doesn't know him, and isn't talking to him, but he's right there. And in America, mere proximity creates the illusion of importance. Which is why this guy Twitter, irony of ironies, is popular, having gotten there by creating the illusion that people just like you (and me, and him) are somehow of the same value to society as Ashton. Of course, Ashton's greatest contribution to society lately has been replacing Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men. And if he stands next to you, or retweets you, guess what? You're contributing almost as much to society as that. (Except not really.)

Users: 13.4 million

Hey you! Cutie! Did you hear about that thing? Tumblr did! And she's here to talk about it! This is a party y'all, there's no time for deep and thoughtful discussion. She's also got ADHD, which is why she is just stopping off here by the kitchen long enough to freshen her drink and ask you if you saw last night's Glee, or that HP gif, or that Marilyn Monroe quote, or... hang on, brb. HEY YOU!

Users: 120 million

No one goes to a party to enjoy themselves. They go to network. Everybody's really just networking, if you think about it. And this guy is doing just that. He has no time for personal relationships, especially after what happened last time, and he just wants to concentrate on work right now, and he certainly isn't looking to do anything dumb and irresponsible like have fun. Besides, have you seen what it's like out there? People are stealing each other's plasma. He didn't work up 100K in student loan debt just to wind up working at AutoZone with Twitter. Especially since he can't pay any of that money back. Hey, it's his old boss! Awesome! Oh, he's not working either. Shit. And Mr. LinkedIn here can forget about sex, too, if the pleading look on that girl's face is any indication. Maybe he should have told her he liked her eyes first, then asked if she was hiring.

Users: 1.3 million

OkCupid is not talking to you. That's okay; she doesn't talk to anybody. You can get her a drink, sure, but that's it. She owes you nothing. She's specifically here to hook up, but you should be lucky she's here at all, because everyone here is obviously gross, which is why she's not talking to any of them. Why doesn't anyone like her? She's a good person. She just thinks you're beneath her, which is why you never get invited to any of her parties. But you shouldn't be upset by this, for several reasons: Her parties suck, she's very lonely, and if you look closer, she's not that hot. Also, there's the whole herpes thing.

Users: 20 million  

Failbook is fail. "Oh, talk to your cousin! Talk to your co-workers! My niece is so cute, you should meet her!" Fuck a bunch of that. I may be the new guy, but just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't change the game. We should totally go out back, just you and your friends, and get high, you know what I'm saying? Fuck this bullshit. I'm Google+. I know how to throw a party. Only the cool people. We keep it simple, and we let everybody be who they are. No bullshit games. Who goes to a party to play games? Like I'm 12 or something. I'm throwing a party next week, you should come, it'll be sick. How many people? Uh, I'm working on it. Do you have some sisters or something?

Users: 2 million

Yeah, LiveJournal is still here. For now. No, it's fine. She's just been... just been going through a lot. Which she would like to tell you about. In explicit detail. For hours. She could just join the party, but that's not what she needs right now. She needs some alone time. She doesn't even know why she came here, but she's glad you're here. It's good to see you again. She's really sorry about what happened. She never meant to say those things. Enough about her, how have you been? Better than her, she hopes. It's just been really hard. She's been going through a lot...

Users: 10 million

This awkward little dude is Foursquare. He's got a Blackberry. And an iPhone. And a Samsung thing. Because they have different coverages, yes? He can't miss anything. You should totally hang out with him, bro. He knows where all the cool places are. In fact, he visits them all, every night, ostensibly to "check in" but mainly to try and chase down that elusive inner peace he is sure waits for him around the next corner. (Bar.) Embrace life, my friend! He's not ready to go home yet! This is when all the lame people go home, is best time! When he starts to annoy you -- and he will -- get rid of him by asking what he's running from. He is tired. So very tired.

Users: 10 million

deviantArt usually doesn't come to parties. Or leave the house, really. She much prefers to spend time with her real friends, fictional characters who never judge her, or ask her to leave the house. It's hard sometimes, trying to explain your love for Riley Biers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sakura Haruno, especially when Riley's a woman and Sakura is fat for some reason and Sonic is in a dress. It's even harder to draw them all, or write about them making sweet love to each other. These artistic expressions of admiration will, likely as not, be very very horrible. But she will insist on showing them to you. And you will be repulsed. Because you, poor boy, have no soul.

Users: 20 million

where doid everybody go/ fucking lame ass motherfuckers i don't give a shit!!!! youc ant handle my kick ass fuckihg myspace website with the unicorns and the glitters because you ALL SUCKK!!! fuck all u hatas face it i;m stoo sexy for you retards so stfu plus oi think i just peeded in your bathtub so HA HA B(TCHES SEE WHAT U GET when u FUCK WITh THE bEST

Review: Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter IV"

Tha Carter IV
Lil Wayne
Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Republic
08.29.11

..and in this corner of the rap octagon stands Weezy, one of the last survivors in what used to pass as hip-hop, the Cash Money Millionaire no one would ever have picked as the breakout star, much less the biggest seller in the business. Lil' Wayne's secret superpower has always been his unselfconsciousness, his utter inability to be (or see) anything other than what he is. As a geto businessman, he understands that rap became everybody's business about 15 years ago, and so he makes music directly aimed at the frat party and the club and the teenage girl's iPod as well as the hood. For this, he's been vilified by hip-hop fans who miss the point: Mr. Crazy Flow takes not giving a shit to a whole new level, and his other secret weapon -- that amazing flow, bolstered by a tighter grip on his stream of consciousness than any rapper, ever -- means he can be whatever he wants.

As long as he keeps that flow, that is. Like a troubled fourth installment in a winning franchise, Tha Carter IV finds Wayne tired of his own formula, and not sure how to break back out. It's not that he doesn't have the backdrop: the leadoff single, last winter's "6 Foot 7 Foot," positions itself as the official "A Milli" update and does just fine that way. (We now know who Cool and Dre were saving all those beats for when they kept them from Game's comeback.) But when the Dirty South killer Jay-Z himself touted as his lyrical heir gets stranded in a minefield of hashtag raps, marking time until the anthem comes back around, something's wrong. Frankly, he sounded more engaged on his last couple of mixtapes. Maybe the pressure's getting to him.

Or, as he himself suggested in interviews, maybe he's ready to quit the game. The reused metaphors, lame puns, and shallow philosophy on IV seem to bear this out: "All I had to do was put two and two together / But that just makes four, but not 'four-ever'" is the closest he comes to an insight on love, and his big disses are on the order of "You faker than some titties/You get titty-fucked." No less than three times does he remind us that the "F" in "Weezy F" stands for "Fuck you." Tired, tired, tired. (III's "You see I handle mine / I dismantle mine / I told her, tool box, bitch it's hammertime" turns into "Unload nigga / reload nigga / tools on deck / Home Depot nigga.")

This might not mean much to Young Tune's legion of fans, most of whom like him for the attitude no matter how he expresses it. (Although you can almost hear them, drunk off their douche asses, trying to explain a line like "Real Gs move in silence like lasagna.") They might want go back, though. and listen to the impressive array of guest stars, from Tech N9ne, Rick Ross, Shyne, Nas, Busta Rhymes, and an (uncredited) Andre 3000, all ostensibly brought on board to praise The Best Rapper Alive, and all of whom end up burying him with superior rhymes. When it comes to the intro and some of the interludes, Weezy doesn't even bother to show up. Should you?

Graded using the Third Eye Method:

Impact: 70. The beats are still tight. If they don't pay too much attention at the party, you can make this pass.
Invention: 54. The ballads are mediocre as usual, the pop stuff is reliably shiny, and there are no emo rock moves. But you can get more experimentation (and more payoff) on the free Sorry 4 the Wait mixtape.
Integrity: 58. ...in fact, given that Lil Wayne's mixtapes are looser and more street by definition, you should just retreat there until he reworks Carter V.

The Loaded Question: 9/11/11

How will Americans commemorate
the 10th anniversary of 9/11?