This week I've spent more time on my writing than I have in a long time, however, I've also spent most of the week watching Mythbusters and the auditions for American Idol. I'm not a fan of the singing show once the auditions are over - I feel it's just a showcase of mediocrity - but the auditions are awesome. Where do they find these freaks? I can't help but to laugh at these people who seem to think they have talent and go completely ape shit when they get turned down. I'm a bit more sympathetic with the ones who genuinely thought they had a chance and get turned down and take it with some amount of humility. But I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the weirdoes, like this guy:
Who knows if that guy was for real, but there are plenty of people who are borderline looney. Maybe it's a character flaw, but I love watching them. I couldn't care less of the "talented" ones who get to go to Hollywood.
Last night while I watched these wretched auditions, I kept flipping to Mythbusters, which is the television equivalent of hanging out with your buddies and playing with matches and gasoline. One of the myths they were testing was whether a bullet could pierce a propane tank and cause it to explode. They tried a pistol, but it didn't work. They tried using a rifle, tried tracers, none of which caused the tank to explode. They finally attached a small explosive to the tank - and the goddamn thing burst into a beautiful ball of flames. But they decided to use a friggin' mini-gun, which fires 50 rounds a second, armed with incendiary bullets. Again, a wonderful result of fire and destruction.
And as I flipped back and forth between both programs I realized that they had more in common than one would think. The reason I like both is that they both display destruction and ruin. We enjoy watching things being destroyed. A person who self-destructs in front of three idiots who they think holds their future in their hands is just as fun, albeit more guilty on the part of the witness, as watching something explode.
Another example is the glee I get from watching Brittney go completely nuts. You follow it with a certain amount of unbelief, but admit it, it's a form of entertainment to watch a star spiralling down to the bottom. Paris Hilton off to jail? Awesome. O.J. back in court? Pure heaven. These are our gladiators. Are we not entertained? Yes, but we're always hungry for more.
Poltics can be the same. When Hillary teared up (and showed there was an actual human being under there somewhere) and was behind in the polls in New Hampshire, pundits and news commentators were happy as hell watching what they thought was her downfall.
Violence? It's the same thing. I like to watch violence in movies, on TV, or read it in books. (But let's clear something up right now, I'm talking about glamorized violence in action movies or in football, not violence against the innocent - that is completely ugly and disgraceful.) I thought Hostel was a great movie, and I found myself laughing at many parts that some may find rather disturbing, and would question my sense of decency and humanity. But it's destruction.
The Hindu god Kali was the god of creation and destruction, and I always thought it was weird that one would worship a god of destruction. But I can see it now. However, I am not a theology student and have zero knowledge of any world religion, so my theories may be way off base in relation to the true meaning of Kali or anything else.
Am I the only one like this? Because I enjoy watching flame wars on the internet, or the demolision of a building being torn down, or Bruce Willis taking down a helicopter with a New York City police cruiser; does that make me a bad person? What about you guys and gals?
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