toastykitten

I only read one page of the TWoP forums on 30 Days and already I'm pissed. People bitching about why the Gonzales did not make X, Y, or Z choice, like immigration law is actually on their side, or that they actually have to make a living from day to day and can't be expected to make the most ideal choices everyday.

I thought the episode was really thoughtful, and man, I felt for Armida, and watching her family go through a lot of the same shit we went through sucked. But as soon as I saw one of the kids playing on the Playstation, I knew people would bitch, "How can they afford a Playstation if they're poor? Why did they buy such an expensive toy? Maybe they're not really poor!" Because poor people don't have a need to escape, poor people always need to make a correct financial decision in favor of less stuff, because poor people just aren't like normal middle class people. They fucked up. It's always because they fucked up.

It happened with the minimum wage episode, too. I feel like pounding a sledgehammer into these ignorant asses: POVERTY DOESN'T LET YOU HAVE CHOICES.

Morgan Spurlock's commentary on the episode.

Donate to Armida's college fund.

I was listening to NPR today - did Rumsfeld actually say what I think he said? Because that was basically an admission of failure.

Ordering Chinese food.

My favorite new TV show now is 30 Days, produced and hosted by Morgan Spurlock, the happy-go-lucky dude who did Supersize Me. Supersize Me was, in Spurlock's own words, "a really great bad idea" in which he decided to experiment on himself and eat McDonald's food 30 days in a row. He's been compared to Michael Moore, favorably and unfavorably, but I think he's a lot more fun. He takes so much obvious joy in what he does - it's like he lucked out into the best job in the world and is wickedly gleeful about it, like a little boy running around after being told he can have all the video games he wants.

30 Days is about taking random people and placing them in other people's shoes for 30 Days. It's like they created a show just for me! Originally Spurlock wanted to do all the experiments himself, but his girlfriend told him he wouldn't "have a girlfriend for long" if he did that. Which is just as well. He and the girlfriend did do one episode - the opening, where the two attempt to live only on minimum wage for a month.

I think everyone needs to see this episode. It is so great, and sad, and brought back so many memories. All I could think was, I am so glad I'm not poor anymore.

One of the things that they brought up was the fact that during this time, they were basically living from check to check. They didn't have any money for anything, including the unexpected health care issues.

While I was watching, I couldn't help thinking that they weren't strategizing very well. They go to a dollar theater, but then Morgan stocks up on a bunch of snacks that cost as much as at a regular theater. I was like, fool, sneak the food in! This sparked a fight between the couple that was pretty familiar-the money fight. (Parents don't necessarily want to have this fight in front of the kids, but they're so tired and stressed and cranky that they do it anyway.) I cringed as I watched the vegan chef girlfriend chop up some broccoli and totally throw most of it out.

I cannot wait for next week's episode, where a hardcore Christian guy has to live with the Muslim family for a month. From the preview:

Christian guy walks away, waving his hand.
Muslim guy: "Did he just flip me off?"
Muslim girl: "No, he did like this. That was the peace sign, dude."

For some reason, that just totally cracked me up.

Alton Brown has a new show! Feasting on Asphalt follows Alton Brown as he tries road food on Route 66, traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles. Dammit, I want his jobs. I want to get paid to eat and travel.