Susan Boyle Just Pulled off a Caper

You Go Girl.

Sometimes in life you encounter strange things. One day you will have that dream you could have sworn was real, one day you’re going to be walking and a $20 bill will magically blow in your direction, and one day you will hear Susan Boyle sing. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. It was the equivalent of seeing a spaceship hover above my apartment. For those of you who do not know Susan, “Ms. Boyle seemed to be merely a frumpy 47-year-old unemployed church volunteer who lived alone with her cat, Pebbles, and had, she said, “never been kissed.” These are generally the symptoms of a complete wack job, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she literally shocked the world. I have fallen victim to stereotyping. It feels terrible, but I know I am the culprit. I grouped Susan into the category of “wack job” without ever meeting her, getting to know her, or anything. It was clear fundamental attribution error on my part. I underestimated the impact of situations on Susan’s lifestyle and singing ability. Susan is not the exception. Stereotyping is ingrained in our lives through a combination of cognitive, sociocultural, and motivational factors. We all do it. If you see someone in a Bentley, you assume they’re rich and vice-versa. Click on the youtube link above and close your eyes. I guarantee you will be surprised (if you haven't seen her) and if you are like me, feel disappointed in yourself.

Wait a Second...The NBA Actually Cares?

Ric Bucher Kickin' Some Serious Knowledge

If you are like me and follow basketball, you may have seen a couple thousand “NBA Cares” commercials during a game. I’d like to chime in on those. Take 6 year old me and put me in a room with 7’5 Yao Ming and there are going to be some problems. These kids are eerily unafraid of these giant people (as 6 year old me would interpret them as). I was convinced the NBA was using this as a sly PR campaign and type of moral hypocrisy. It was as if the NBA was trying to convince themselves and others that they are driven to help others by moral principles when in actuality they are motivated to benefit themselves by appearing to be moral. After reading this article (the link up top) I realized that those kids were generally happy to be around Dwyane Wade and Steve Nash and that those guys were genuinely glad to help. It is pretty darn heartwarming, and if you don’t agree you have no soul. If you are a basketball fan, put the idea of “oh these guys are bazillionaires, they just take a couple of pictures and never actually help” out of your head. It is just another textbook case of don’t judge a book by its cover, unless I’m figuratively the book and the cover is figuratively awesome.

Does Post-College Life=Online Dating??!!

See you on May 18th.

This isn’t your grandma’s dating world. As I mentioned before, VH1 exists and so do Bret Michaels, Ray-J, and Flava Flav. Times are steadily changing and I am not prepared for it. Growing up I learned about the traditional way of getting involved in a relationship, but when I finally grew up, the dating universe was not at all how I imagined it would be. The only way to grab a girl these days is at the bar or at a party. Keep in mind I have a limited view of the dating world. Going to Boston College, I have, on more than one occasion heard the utterance of “what the hell is a date?” Sadly, I am unable to answer that myself. I have had two girlfriends and I don’t know if I have ever been on a date before. Depressing, I know. I put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and investigated what relationships are really about and what they are composed of and I found that they are based on three key components: feelings of attachment, fulfillment of psychological needs, and interdependence. Another thing worth noting is the social exchange theory, which is the idea that people seek to maximize gains and minimize losses in their relationships. I surprisingly still believe in that, but 2009 is throwing me for a loop. Match.com, Eharmony, and Plenty of Fish are all very popular online dating site that have seen a hike in members the past couple of years. The question I have is how can you develop this attachment, fulfillment of needs, and interdependence through a computer screen? I need to know this answer because this is obviously where my dating life is going on May 18^th.

Should We Start Auto-Tuning Everything?

This writer is a non-conformist.

The one thing that I have determined based on my knowledge of the Auto-tune is that I would be a multi-platinum selling artist if I used it. It may be the best get rich quick scheme ever invented and I would like to include it in as many ways as I can into my daily life. When I have a baby I am going to auto-tune his/her baby monitor and send in a demo of that to a big time record producer. Ok, I am a conformist, sue me, but so are multi-platinum recording artists T-Pain, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. As soon as T-Pain began using it, frenzy occurred and now everyone is using it. Why did Kanye and Lil Wayne jump on the bandwagon you ask? Informational influence is the answer. They conformed because they want to be correct in their judgment (in this case record sales) and they assume that when others agree on something they must be right, much like Sherif’s Autokinetic task. It comes down to power in numbers. Kanye and Wayne saw T-Pain jumping on every track and putting his little auto-tune touch on things. People listened and the platinum records and ring tone sales piled up. This translated into mucho dinero, which is sadly the driving force for 90% of the people in this country. Don’t hate me for wanting to include auto-tune in my everyday life and don’t hate me for wanting to make my baby the first infant to go platinum. Hate T-Pain. Or you could just follow in his path....everybody’s doing it.

How to Legally Be a Con Man

Advertising Firm Focuses on Pursuit of Persuasion

Have you ever been sitting on the couch watching television when you realize you are pretty hungry? Soon after you realize that, does a Burger King commercial come on advertising some quadruple stacked, mayonnaise lathered piece of goodness you swore you'd never eat again? Good, I’m not the only one. After 21 years of existence I have just realized that every advertising agency is a company that promotes the use of conning people. Sure, some say its persuasion, but I swear Burger King tricked me into taking 2 years off my life. Burger King specializes in the central and peripheral route to persuasion, which means they use the message to sway a person’s thoughts. When you are hungry and see “The King” waving a Whopper Jr. in your face, it’s already over for you. This is the central route. Those times you aren’t really thinking about food and you see Sir Mixalot doing a “I Like Square Butts” song promoting some deal at BK, you all of sudden want need some chicken fries. This is the peripheral route otherwise known as subliminal messaging. It’s not rocket science; Burger King knows what it’s doing. All I ask is that you are all aware of what these commercials are doing. That’s why Nike scooped LeBron and made him a $90 millionaire before he took his first NBA shot. I have two pairs of LeBrons. It’s ludicrous I tell you. Wait a second, Dominoes is offering pasta in a bread bowl? …..I gotta go.

If Detroit Didn't Have Enough Problems....

This is what happens when you try to make a difference.

The city has the highest unemployment rate in the country, the football team was the first to go 0-16 in an NFL season, the baseball team is the perennial doormat and now the schools are racist. Detroit cannot get a call (literally and figuratively). “Madison Heights' former interim school superintendent on Tuesday blamed racism for his firing after less than two months on the job, saying his efforts to recruit Detroit schoolchildren didn't sit well with some residents.” This guy is doing his part to bring Michigan out of the third world, but the heavy issue of racism within this school district is causing problems. While the residents of Madison Heights continuously claim that they are not racist, they cannot provide a reason why they do not want Detroit kids in their schools. Progress is a slow process. The residents of Madison Heights are entity theorists. They basically classify everyone within a group as having the same values and traits. That is where black stereotypes come in and why people feel that these Detroit schoolchildren would not be suitable for their school. Something bad happened to Michigan and I hope that one day they wake up and realize that it is 2009.

The World Is Probably Going To End

This is going to be a problem.

“The comedian Jim Davidson, who was kicked off TV show Hell's Kitchen for alleged homophobia in 2007, is to make a program in which he learns to become more "politically correct.” What?! I knew reality television was going down a sour path when I flipped on VH1 the other day and saw “Daisy of Love”, the creatively titled spin-off of the popular “Rock of Love” show. But now the UK is coming out with a show that highlights people’s prejudices and tries to reform them. “The new one-off show, commissioned by Digital TV channel Virgin1, will be titled 'So You Think I'm an A***hole' and is to focus on racism, sexism and homophobia”. Something about that sounds wrong to me. It is clear that this Jim Davidson (who?) is homophobic and now they want to make a show to highlight his social dominance orientation. Jim’s homophobia and the other prejudices that will be encountered on this show develop from an innate desire to exert dominance over other groups and a willingness to create cultural values that facilitate this oppression over other groups. It is sad that television has come to this point, but I guess the premise is good. I just hope it doesn’t create an uncomfortable atmosphere.