Sarcasm and Condescension Are Counter-Productive

I read the blog and message board of a man whom I dont' really care for. But he's a soundtrack CD producer, this is a topic that interests me, so I read it, even though I cringe with embarrassment at the "voice" he uses when he writes his blog, and on occasion I have told him so - pointing out what I'm going to point out below - but to no avail. He is always right, everyone else is always wrong, on any subject you care to name.

So apparently a company named SAE has brought out a Blu Ray (or Blue and Ray as this guy insists on callin it) of a movie called The Egyptian and people on BlueRay.com were trying to figure out how many copies were left by some sort of complicated alchemy.

So my guy posts that what they're trying to do won't work. Now, if he'd said this in a matter-of-fact way, pointing out his name (he's writing there under a pseudonym, and it is not his usual pseudonym) and that there aren't as many copies of it as they think, etc. the people whom he was correcting would very likely say, "Oh, I see. Thanks for the information."

But he never, ever makes a straight-forward correction in this manner. Every single sentence in his posts (and he made several) reeks of sarcasm and condescension, so much so that if he said this type of stuff directly to someone's face, they'd either slap him or punch him depending on if they were a man or woman - he is that offensive.

SO, he makes his first sarcastic and condescening post, saying he knows it all because he's friends with the producers concerned, and no one believes him because a) we all have read message boards where someone pretends to be a big shot or to know a big shot and b) he's just so sarcastic that people automatically assume he's flaming them instead of actually trying to be helpful.

So after several posts, he finally proves his point, apparently, but gets no apology. And as he posts on his own message boards, in a condescending manner, "No one ever apologizes." As if he really expects people he's subjected to his condescension to want to do anything but puthim on the [IGNORE] list. It's he who should be apologizing to them for being so condescending, and wasting everyone's time with 6 posts when 1, matter of fact post would have accomplished his purpose.

But try as you might (and I'm sure a few folk on his message boards have emailed him privately and pointed it out to him) he just can't or won't realize that it's his own fault that people will never apologize to him (even on those occasions when his facts might have been right). And this puzzles him.

Yet if someone ever posts something sarcastic or condescending in response to one of his announcements (of one of his soundtracks, for example) he goes ballistic. Or really, hysterical and shrill would be a more descriptive phrase.

But of course this guy is not alone in his self-deception, which is why I'm posting this to begin with. Read a sports message board, the sarcasm and rudeness is rife.

The differnece is that the guy *I'm* talking about is 60 years old and you would think he wouldn't be quite so childish at age 60, and the fact that he's a very successful record producer and you'd thus think would be above such childishness...but I guess the truth is that people don't grow out of this childishness, if they indulge in it when they're 20 they'll do it when they're 40 and when they're 60.

Unless they learn, early enough, that their sarcasm just...doesn't....work.

Cartoon Network's Shows for Kids

I'm watching Scooby Doo movies on the Cartoon Network, at 4.47 mountain time.

Just saw an ad for a cartoon that airs tomorrow - the Regular Show. First, it's got something called the Wedgie Ninja. A ninja creeps up on people and gives them wedgies. This evokes a lot of mirth from a green faced character. Then there's some other character who knocks people over, and lays on them until they fart. Another blast of laughter from a green faced character who thinks these jokes are just hilarious.

Not sure what time this show is on...but my god.

And I've just seen a commercial for the Cartoon network. The green faced character acts like he's throwing up, does throw up, but what he vomits up turns into antother cartoon character that turns into another - none I recognize but all who must have shows on the Cartoon Network.

And their catch phrase is enough to make your teeth grit.... "Yeaaaaaaa-ugh." Pronounced Yay - uh.

No wonder American kids today have absolutely no ambition and no manners. God it's sad.

England's Media

Although I have ragging on America media for most of this blog, the truth remains that the media of other countries are far worse.

Go to Germany, for example, and girls age 13 can be buying magazines focused on advice for girls, and they get a male center fold in the middle. (I saw this ten years ago when I was in Germany.)

Japan's television is awful - you can see naked men and women having wheelbarrow races, etc.

And then we've got England, whose papperazi make our papperazi look like choir boys. Most recently of course is the News of the World scandal, where apparently for several years, reporters would hack into the phones of dead people - most recently, a murdered teenage girl. A reporter hacked into her phone and deleted messages - apparently the inbox was full - in hopes that more people would call the phone and leave messages that they could then publish.

But of course what this guy did was make it seem like the girl was still alive (who else could delete messages from phone?) and give her parents false hope when she'd actually been dead for sometime.

Billy the Extermnator - ad

I'm watching some channel... Criminal Minds is on. KCNC, whatever that is, perhaps something out of Colorado.

Anyway they showed an ad for Billy the Exterminator - a guy's "dead body" - cockroaches crawling all over him, one even comes out of his mouth, then the guy smiles. He's not dead, he must be Billy.

How sick is that? How sick do you have to be to like to watch someone exterminating bugs? Not quite as sick as someone who will let the bugs crawl in and out of your mouth, but close. What an awful reality series.

Can that corrupt people who watch it, or do you have to be corrupt before you'd even want to watch it?

Advertisers for Mark Levin

I live in Cheyenne, WY and have just tuned in to a streaming web site for 77 WABC Radi. I thought it came out of Wyoming, but an advert I just heard said New York.

Anyway, prior to that ad came one for the Mark Levin program.

The ad had excerpts from Levin's show which were presumably used to encourage new people to tune in to show.

So - what were these excerpts? "Who is the worst commentator on MSNBC.com?" He then disses Chris Mathews, and various other people whose names I don't recall (I don't watch MSNBC), making snide comments about each one.

Is that why Mark Levin is so popular? Because people tune in to hear him insult others? Is that why Rush Limbaugh is so popular? He doesn't really insult people, just makes fun of them...

But it's interesting - and sad - that radio advertiser makers know that if they want to attract people, they need to have advertisements that consist of people insulting each other or making fun of them.

Every single media covering the Casey Anthony Trial

The top story at Google News, from ABC News, has this headline: "Casey Anthony Trial: Jury Deliberates as Anticipation Grows"

What anticipation? Faux anticipation. (And no, I'm not making fun of Fox news.)

There has been TV coverage of this trial since its inception - no one cares. (Or ghouls care, same difference.)

Now the jury is deliberating...and I'm sure if there was a way for news media to get their cameras in there, they would. I also have no doubt that a few jurors are planning to write a book about their experience, and I'm sure some other authors are writing books about the case themselves.

And it's just ridiculous. The woman killed her child. Lots of women do (either themselves or by standing idly by while their boyfriend or husband does the deed, either quickly or over a period of time - i.e. constant abuse, either physical or mental).

Just more contribution to the coarsening of America.

Captain Morgan Rum (I think) Commercial

I've always found the Captain Morgan Rum commercials offensive, with guys - always guys - doing something stupid and then lifting up one leg as if they were standing on a keg of beer or something.

I saw a commercial yesterday which I'm pretty sure was a Captain Morgan commercial - lots of guys dressed in pirate costume relaxing in a boat with lots of beautiful wenches lying on top of them, then another, smaller boat - same thing, and finally, a very tiny boat, with one man in it, not looking happy, rowing them all toward shore. He is the designated driver.

What message is this commercial sending to kids?

That being a designated driver is not fun. That if you're a designated driver you won't get a woman. That if you're a designated driver you have to do all the work while everyone else gets to enjoy themselves.

That's just a bad message.

What they should have done was have a wench in that single row boat, and each time the rower leans forward to row, the wench gives him a kiss on the lips.

But that didn't occur to 'em.