"I" update

I mentioned that I subscribe to ichannel on YouTube, and view their companion blog connectwithi.com where the brother posts video blog entries. After his first post, I responded with a video of my own and he actually gave me a shout out and thank you in his second video blog entry (which is so much better and funnier than the first).

Yes, my video is not the best quality, but neither was his. My point was that you can get a lot done in 15 seconds - or a minute. The odd thing is that somehow in the conversion on YouTube from my .AVI raw file, the sound and video got out of sync. I think I sound good (mostly because I don't fumble and do any UMs or AHs), and I do like my facial expressions, but I do appear to be some sort of live-action anime because my lips don't match the words.

What I'm watching on YouTube

I am picky when it comes to viewing content online. If I'm going to invent a few minutes of my time, I want something original, well executed with high production value. So here's some well written, well acted, well edited series which I highly recommend.

God, Inc. by francisstokesdotcom. It's a comedy about working in the corporate offices of God. Think if The Office were in charge of controlling the world. The production company has their blog on - you guessed it - francisstokes.com. You can even buy God, Inc. merchandise. Watch all six episodes. The link is to the first episode: "In The Beginning, There Was Paperwork..."

I on ichannel. It's the story of a man only referred to by the letter I, who's life is invaded by a video blog and comments can effect the plot of the series. Think Truman Show where the star knows he's being watched but those around him aren't in on it. There's a companion blog on connectwithi.com. There's ten episodes so far on YouTube, and the blog contains extra footage from I's brother. The link is to the Episode One: I feels someone watching.

Then there's JackDanyells. He's a clever vblogger and easy-on-the-eyes talking head. His clips are high quality with editing and effects (not that grainy home video feel at all), yet he still maintains that home-made feel as he'll often play multiple roles in one clip. He's many videos to choose from, but some must-see's are The YouTube Guided Tour and The Dictionary of Jack: Moot.

Enjoy!

I'm not the next Maytag spokesperson

Because I'm a woman.

Yes, they are searching for the Next Maytag Repairman.

But in answer to the question Is there a chance the next Maytag Repairman will be a woman? here's what their website FAQ answer is:

No. We researched the idea of a Maytag Repairwoman within our base of loyal Maytag customers and determined that, for now, it is important to stay true to the gender of the character as he has become known in American pop culture.

Well, it is merely a marketing campaign, and yes, it's part of the business - being rejected for any number of reasons I can't control: my gender, my color, my height.

But darn, I think I would make a great Maytag spokeswoman!

You know what this means, though? It just means that there's another gig I'm meant to have instead of this one. Eh, I'm already booked when they are holding auditions in NYC anyways.

Scrolling down is not closing!

It must be this blogger site, because it happens on no other websites. It's not the browser, it's not the computer. It's just here. I would start viewing it thru Firefox, only all my multi-media plug-ins are associated with IE.

Seems that every time I'm viewing a blog on this site and I want to scroll down with the mouse wheel, the browser window closes.

So, I changed to only click on the down arrow on the side of the window to scroll down whenever I view this site. And today, even THAT closes the window.

What the heck? Am I not allowed to read anyone's long posts?

Good thing this isn't my primary blog!

If only there were a cure for being different

I started to post a comment on Freakspeakers about tonight's story on AC360 regarding Can people change from gay to straight?. But it started to get so long, I decided to make it a post of it's own here.

In the post, Christiane says Our sexuality is not a community matter.
I respectfully disagree with this statement. Our sexuality is our identity and it effects how we interact with others in the community and how they interact with us. It has little to do with what we actually do privately sexually, it's about what identity we choose to project to the community and how that community chooses to respond.

I was fascinated with the story on AC360 tonight about this "gay therapy" because several years ago, I had a very close friend who was gay (I suppose he still is gay, but we're no longer close friends, hence the past tense) but told me that if he could be straight, he would. He didn't like being marginalized. He didn't like having to hide who he was (in the military - don't ask, don't tell). He really didn't like only having 10% of the population as potential mates. Honestly, if he weren't gay, we likely would have been married by now. We were that close. Everything clicked - with the exception of sex. We literally had to break up. He told me I was everything he wanted in a mate, except I was a woman.

He couldn't change who he was, and I never dreamed of changing him. He felt that being gay was his identity - even if he chose not to share it with his community. Sure, he felt his life would be easier if he were heterosexual, but he felt it wasn't something he could choose to be - or not be. He either was or he wasn't.

This notion that one can choose his sexuality to fit that of the accepted norm got me thinking... if we are to equate sexuality with identity, then wouldn't it be convenient to "cure" those who suffer from being different? What if throughout history one could conveniently change who they were to fit in with the community?

Now, I want to preface the following conjectures that these are purely for debate.

Think about what it would mean if an African American could simply choose to be white. That somehow, he be "cured" of being black. Yes, I'm extrapolating to the extreme.

To what extent can a person change who they are? And what role does the community play? Is it easier to change oneself or the community? Some individuals may be strongly influenced by a community's expression of accepted "norms" and change what they do and say as a result. Others may react to that same community and attempt to change the community's idea of what is the "norm" in order to accept them.

CNN's AC360 response to Fox News ad

CNN's new print ad in response to Fox News Channel's ad calling Cooper "the Paris Hilton of TV news." Classy.