Categories: Pop Culture, Movies, Music, etc.

The Altruism Paradox

“Justin Combs”

Recently Sean “Puff Daddy”, “P. Diddy”, “Puffy”, “Swag” (something he named himself after being sick for a while, I’m thinking his fever got way too high, million other names Comb’s son was awarded a football scholarship to UCLA.  Many people think that because Diddy himself is worth $500 million dollars his son shouldn’t accept the scholarship because he can pay for school and/or that the money could go to some other student who really needs it.  What say you conference callers?  You can read the full story here.

Rice:

It is definitely an interesting situation.  Although, I don’t think he owes them anything.  If it were my son and I had Diddy’s money I’d like to think that I’d donate at least the price of the scholarship to help someone who is financially unable go to college, but who also “deserves” to go for other reasons. This is the way sports scholarships are managed the funds are not specifically donated so legally there could be issues in transferring the funds to a general scholarship fund.

Kev:

Diddy owes them not one red cent.  Who knows how much money he has privately raised or donated for scholarship funds before this situation?  Not to mention old money, trust fund kids get scholarships all the time when their parents could easily write a check for four years’ tuition.  I wouldn’t donate anything.  His son had over a 3.7 GPA and earned an athletic scholarship to play CB for a division one school.  He earned it.

Plus athletic scholarships are sham anyway.  Those scholarships are not for a full 4-5 years.  They are renewable, year to year, as the university/coaches see fit.  And no reason has to be given as to why the scholarship is not renewed.  Meanwhile, schools make millions and billions off these athletes while still pandering to their rich alumni to donate.  Blah!

Chris:

I completely agree.  He earned it, they offered it, there’s nothing else to say.  There’s a certain prestige (and I’m guessing access) that comes with being a scholarship athlete.

I do think that the year-to-year thing is wrong.  Students should be guaranteed a full 4 years unless they are fired for misconduct.

Wood:

I would agree.  I find it funny that people love to spend your money when you are rich.  Diddy’s son earned the money.  This is compensation for playing football.  As Kev said, “schools make millions and billions off these athletes while still pandering to their rich alumni to donate”.  So, why should Diddy’s son have to give back money he will be WORKING for?   Whether you are rich or poor that doesn’t make sense.  I’m going to put my heart, body, and soul into a football program for however long I can actually play.  Risk bodily harm, miss out on a lot of funny in the 1st semester and summer because I have to work out and be in bed early for games.  I have to still go to class and be a regular student on top of that.  Then you expect me to not accept compensation for that and also give you money for someone else to go for free.  Go that away with that…

 

Weigh in people of the Conference Call.  I think there is pretty much a consensus amongst us, which is totally rare.  If you all have a different point of view, we would love to hear it.

Celeb Crushes & the Proximity Issue

 

 

We’ve all had this conversation before:

Girl: (while watching tv):  Oooh!  He is so (insert sexually-charged adjective while looking at some Brad Elba-Gossling looking dude) 

Boy: Really?  Don’t do that.

Girl: No.  You have nothing to worry about.  I just think he’s gorgeous.  Besides I’ll never run into him.

*Argument ensues*

Just kidding about the argument, but most of us have had this type of conversation before.  And it always seems to occur when you’re watching a TV show or movie with your significant other:  A hot celebrity appears on screen.  Your s/o swoons.  Then you spontaneously combust.

But this conversation is usually all fun and games because a there’s an unspoken reality that you are both aware of:  The celeb crush is completely safe.  Why?  It’s an issue of proximity.  What are the odds that your s/o will actually meet their celeb crush?  And even if they did happen to meet – And this completely depending on your standards – what are the odds that your s/o actually even has a chance with their celeb crush? 

Let’s say your s/o has a celeb crush.  For the sake of convo, let’s say this celeb crush is… I don’t know… Usher.  So your girlfriend/wife says, “Omg! I love Usher!  He is so ____” (insert adjective).  You live in a town or city where you would actually have to pay Usher to visit.  Speaking of which, let’s say your s/o wants to go to one of Usher’s concerts.  Cool.  You get tickets… but she’s sitting in row XYZ.  Literally (Can’t have any threats to your happy home).

Now let’s say you live in L.A.  You’re riding around with your s/o.  It’s a nice, sunny day.  The weather is a perfect mix of cool & warmth, comfort, and pheromones.  You’re driving around the city and spending time.  You pull up to a light.  An Usher song comes on.  Your s/o says, “Omg!  I love Usher.  He is so (insert adjective).  Five seconds later, Usher pulls up right next to you two… at the light… in a convertible sex machine.  Your s/o looks over and turns into a torrent.  You share her now.

At the end of the day, all of us realize that we’re not the only game in town.  We won’t and shouldn’t expect to be the last and only person our significant others find attractive.  Celebrity crushes tend to get a pass because they aren’t hot personal trainer, the hot co-worker, or the hot barista at the local coffee shop.  Therefore, they aren’t threats.  It’s all about proximity.

But, celeb or not, there is also a difference between finding someone attractive and actually lusting after said person.  There is a also a level of respect to show your significant other by not drooling and making excessive, over-the-top comments about a celeb crush in their presence.  At the end of the day, it should be innocent, and it should start and end with being a fantasy. 

What about you out there?  How do you feel about celebrity crushes?  We’d like to hear from the ladies especially.  It’s obvious our male egos couldn’t take the thought of someone plowing our ladies.

The Dopeness that Is Louis CK

Published on: August 2, 2011
Comments: No Comments

When you have lived a significant number of years on this Earth, you come to a few conclusions:

People complain about being delayed on a runway for 30 minutes before eventually taking place in the miracle of flying.  A cell phone call takes longer than a millisecond, and we become frustrated.  This is despite the fact that the call is going to a tower miles away or to a satellite in outer space.  You just have to give it a second.  At that point, you realize that everything is amazing, and nobody is happy.

Kids, albeit cute and innocent, get on your nerves.  And sometimes, you may cuss them out in your head for saying, “Eww,” when you are trying to give them bubblegum-flavored medicine… the same bubblegum flavored medicine that 70% of kids across the world would shoot or machete you for.  As a white child, you just can’t say, “Eww,” to bubblegum flavored medicineThis is especially true for little, white girls who live in America.  Most of their clothes are made professionally by kids their own age.  That’s not to say white people can’t complain, but black people get to complain more. Contrary to claims in the comment sections of Fox News & CNN articles, slavery did not end 400 years ago.  And even when slavery ended, everything wasn’t just amazing immediately after the fact.  Black people with gray hair may remember times when they could only use certain toilets and water fountains.

When you take all of that into consideration, white people have it made. Now, I’m not saying white people are better.  But being white, well, clearly is better! White people can travel back to any time in history and have it made.  Black people wouldn’t be able to travel past the year 1980.

You also come to the conclusion that deer aren’t cute.  They’re annoying.  You realize the difference between girls and womenAnd it dawns on you that Cinnabons aren’t the healthiest things to eat.

These are a few reasons why Louis CK is one of the funniest comedians out there.

It’s Real Out Here in These Streets

Published on: July 26, 2011
Comments: No Comments

In case you didn’t know, it’s real out here in these streets. At any time, it could pop off in the Whole Foods parking lot. What you know about riding around with trash bags in the Prius, just in case you have to dump a body off… or recycle? Pusha man soliciting drugs? Wrong… wrong! How about a man with a push-pen & a clipboard, soliciting signatures for petitions?

Either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s going on in the ‘burbs.

Does Facebook = Autotune? Maybe…

Thinking that Facebook is forever is like thinking that AOL was the be-all-end-all of the Internet.  Eventually, everyone will use something else.” – Entrepreneur Max Salzberg (via Cnn.com)

Myspace… Friendster… College Club… Blackplanet…

These are just a few of used-to-be-popular social networking sites that have gone by the waste side.  If history tells us anything, it’s that Death has a Google account.  It looks like Facebook is next on his list.

But why do social media sites become less popular over time?  Are they “played out?”  Are they any less innovative? Do they fail to change with the times?  Twitter allowed us the ability to microblog and send updates in 140 characters or less.  Facebook then introduced the “Status Update.”  When you actually look at both sites, Facebook actually has way more features.

The real question is perhaps this: Is it simply that we eventually become bored with what social media sites have to offer?

Looking at this question, it would appear that in today’s society we are slowly, but subtly being conditioned to upgrade.  A new iPhone comes out every 1-2 years.  Windows XP is the equivalent of Windows 95.  Pentium III processors, ten years ago, could get you by just fine.  Today, they could barely let you use Photoshop, watch a movie, and pay a bill online.  Do you still go to Yahoo to search for something?  How long do you think it will be before Xbox 2 or PS4 are on the shelves?

Perhaps that’s what is going on with Facebook.  Despite privacy concerns, Facebook has as many features and users as ever.  But maybe we don’t care about new features.  Maybe my Gmail suits me just fine, and I don’t care for Facebook email.  Maybe I’m tired of being tagged in photos for Jordans, Jordan heels, and fake red-bottoms.  Maybe relationship statuses only matter to 19 year olds and not 29 year olds.  Maybe I can control all of these things, but I’m just tired of the service that allows me to control all of these things.  Maybe, just maybe, I want something new presented in a newer format… even if that something new is something that I already have.

And all of that could mean, just maybe, that I have conformed… Jumping through hoops not to be part of the status quo, so that I can be part of the newest-latest.

Maybe, just maybe, we should choose what works best for us, and stick with that.

Awkward Office Moments


Ahh, the awkward office moment… It’s the point of habitual line steppage, if only for a moment, between colleagues, superiors, and/or subordinates.  It’s the point where you’re walking on eggshells, only to realize that you’re barefoot and eggshells can cut up your feet.  Laughs quickly morph into embarrassing silence.  Eye contact is avoided.  Emails go unreplied to.  Today, we break down a few awkward office moments:

Multiple Greetings

There’s always that one co-worker who you really don’t talk to, but happen to politely speak to on the regular. They could work in your office, or they could work in your building.  You get up to use the restroom, pass by this colleague, smile, say, “Hi,” and keep it moving.  Upon leaving the restroom, it’s like they were timing you… Waiting for the exact moment you walk out, only to cross paths with you again.  What’s the protocol?  Do you speak again?  Do you say, “Hi,” again as if it never happened?  Do you pretend to check your phone in order to avoid the awkward eye contact that will inevitably ensue?  Do you stare them down to see who will crack first?  Awkward!

Just Got the Internet

There is always someone in the office whose only experience with computers, or anything electronic, occurs between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.  This is the person who still sends those emails about how Microsoft will pay you for every person you forward said email to.  It is also the same person who will “Reply All” to the same types of emails.  The internet hoax is red flavor, and they drink the koolaid.  They love the koolaid.  They bathe in it.  It’s refreshing.  Will God still bless me if I don’t forward your message to 100 other people?  Are pictures of 400lbs fat ladies, wearing spandex in Wal-Mart really work safe?  You never provided your bank info, but has that Microsoft money hit your account yet?

Computer Illiterates

Similar to those above, these folks are the ones who will be the first to go when Skynet becomes self-aware.  They’re frustrated because Microsoft Word won’t open, and decide to call you to help them.  Despite the fact that you have a whopping Bachelor’s degree in History, they deem you the computer guru of the office since you have experience sending emails with attachments.  Situations like these go something like this:

Idiot:  Sorry to bother you, but this computer is acting up!

You:  What’s the problem?

Idiot:  I’m trying to open Microsoft Word, but it won’t open. Ahh, this is so frustrating!

You:  Let’s see….. There you go!  Opened right up!

Idiot:  What did you do?

You:  I think you have to double-click the icon.

Idiot:  Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

*Facepalm

This Conversation Is Over

You’re in the break room.  Your co-worker walks in.  You engage in small talk.  This person decides they want to have an in-depth conversation, simultaneously, about world hunger, Extreme Couponing, their vacation to Liberty Land, and how their kid did the cutest thing last night.  You spend the next 10 minutes, smiling, nodding, and looking engaged.  All the while, you’re plotting your exit.  Do you make up an excuse to go to leave?  Do you just walk off while they’re in mid-sentence?  Wait for another co-worker to walk in and bail you out?  Awkward!

What about you?  What are some other awkward office situations you have experienced?  Leave a comment, and chime in.

Settling the Crack Issue

Crack is wack… unless you have self control.

Charlie Sheen, in a recent radio interview, has been quoted as saying that people should stay away from crack cocaine, “unless they can manage it socially.” Of course! It all makes sense now:

Whitney Houston
Bobby Brown
Tyrone Biggums

Former D.C. Mayor Marion Berry
Robert Downey, Jr.
Courtney Love

And countless others… They weren’t addicts!  They didn’t have a problem!  They were all just socially inept!

This doesn’t settle the issue though. There is still unfinished business left on the table. Yes, here at The Conference Call, we will answer the age old question: Does doing crack one time make you a crackhead?

After reading what Charlie Sheen had to say, my answer is this: If you are able to try crack one time, and only one time, then you are obviously more than capable of managing it socially. So, it doesn’t make you a “crackhead.” It just makes you “crackish.”

But that rule is limited to only trying it once though. That’s the rule. Trying it twice, even 1.5 times, makes you a crackhead. One time: crackish.

What say you?  What would you say is the crackhead threshold? :)

Meeting of the Minds: Warren Buffett & Jay-Z

Here at The Conference Call, we’re not just about discussing politics and solving the world’s problems via blog posts.  We’re also about cool things.

Jay-Z and Warren Buffett talking business and philanthropy?  Cool things…

With that, here is a video of the conversation between Warren Buffett, Jay-Z, and Steve Forbes.  Enjoy!

Is it just a cartoon or something deeper?

What do you think of the Southpark situation?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

In the article Who’s Afraid of South Park.  Frida is very condeming of the execs over at Comedy Central.

Background Story:  Basically there is a extreme Muslim website that said if SouthPark aired a show that depicted Muhammed in a comedic way thay would suffer the fate of Theo Van Gogh, who was almost decapitated for a film he made about the Koran.

Frida’s editorial say’s that Comedy Central allowed fear to make them give up their 1st amendment rights.   Now some would argue that it’s just a cartoon that isn’t worth risking your life over.  So which side are you on?  Is it something deeper?   Or is it just a cartoon not worth dying over?

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/apr/29/columnists-whos-afraid-south-park-20100429/

Who’s afraid of South Park?

By BY FRIDA GHITIS MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Despite much-quoted claims to the contrary, evidence abounds that the sword frequently defeats the pen. If you don’t believe me, come to Amsterdam, to the bustling street where, in plain daylight four years ago, a man called Mohammed Bouyeri cut the throat of Theo Van Gogh, almost severing his head off.

By way of explanation, the Dutch-born Bouyeri plunged a knife into Van Gogh’s body, skewering into him a letter threatening to also kill Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fierce critic of Islam, whohad collaborated with Van Gogh on a film about the Koran. The killer, it seems, did not like the film.

Another similarly disposed art critic brought up Van Gogh’s name a few days ago in the United States. Writing on the website Revolution-Muslim.com, he threatened a fate equal to what befell Van Gogh’s for the creators of South Park, the animated cartoon that makes it a pointto offend just about everyone. According to Revolution Muslim, a South Park episode depicting the Prophet Mohammed (in a bear suit) along with figures from other religions is a crime punishable by death.

Quoting Islamic scholars, Revolution Muslim explains that, “Whoever curses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him)-a Muslim or a non-Muslim-he must be killed and this is the opinion of the general body of Islamic scholars.”

While most Muslims would not shed blood over a comedy show, we have known for a good many years that among the followers of Islam there are those who would kill anyone-even other Muslims-who offends their religious sensibilities. That is not news. What we learned from the South Park event, however, is just as troubling. In the face of threats, the bosses at Comedy Central folded like cheap TV trays. Comedy Central heavily censored the cartoon, granting the blackmailer exactly what he wanted. Forget Land of the Free, etc. They gave up without even considering a fight.

Jon Stewart, the Comedy Central faux anchorman, regaled viewers with a musical number carrying a message to Revolution Muslim. Marveling at the extremists’ chutzpah for living in New York-home of the world’s best Jewish delis-and enjoying American freedoms only to threaten South Park’s Matt Stone and TreyParker and their freedom of expression, Stewart sang a feverish, and profane, song telling the blackmailers exactly where to go, complete with backup gospel choir.

But Stewart went curiously easy on Comedy Central’s spinelessness. “It’s their right,” he allowed. “The censorship is a decision Comedy Central made to protect their employees.”

Yes, they can do it. But that doesn’t make it any less scandalous. Comedy Central should have hired bodyguards for Stone and Parker and aired the episode uncut. That way the rich and powerful corporation (Viacom) could have really protected them-protected their safetyand their freedom of speech and their ability to do their work and to give Americans their often-hilarious and frequently cringe-worthy material. It goes without saying, but let’s say it anyway, that nobody is required to watch the show. Not Muslims, not Mormons-whose theology South Park mercilessly mocks. Not Jews, not Christians, not anybody.

The show often goes over theline. Those who find it offensive can change the channel. They can write letters, start boycotts, picket the studios. Death threats are simply not acceptable. Caving in to them is shameful.

Too many times in the West we have seen powerful media empires behave like craven weaklings. It was Bart Simpson, aptly, who put it best, writing a hundred times on the blackboard “South Park-We’d stand beside you if we weren’t so scared.”

A few years ago, after extremists threatened (and later attempted) to kill a Danish cartoonist for depicting Mohammed in his work, I saw the artist interviewed on CNN, my once-proud home. When the cartoonist tried to hold up a page with the drawings, CNN almost tackled the camera to the ground to keep the pictures from airing. Cowardice was never so pathetically hilarious.

Theo Van Gogh, whose antics occasionally resembled South Park’s in their tastelessness, discovered that his pen was no match for a killer’s sword. And yet, the pen, the keyboard, the comedian, the editorial cartoon, Bart Simpson, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny actually hold enormous power. To win, however, they need their backers to show backbone. Too bad South Park’s bosses have none.

Jackie Robinson Day

by Rice
Published on: April 16, 2010
Tags: No Tags
Comments: 2 Comments

kevin-blackistone.fanhouse.com/2010/04/15/jackie-robinson-day-whitewashes-baseballs-sordid-history/

No, conference callers Rice has not left the building, been deleted or shuffled loose this mortal coil. Not going to offer excuses, but I have returned.  Yesterday, apart from being tax day, was Jackie Robinson day in major league baseball. This prompted the article above from Kevin Blackistone.  I heard a lot of discussion on my local (Houston) sports radio affiliate about the merits of the article and the designation by MLB of Jackie Robinson day.

Mr. Blackistone calls the institution of Jackie Robinson day in major league baseball “a most-remarkable whitewashing of American History” and “one of the greatest public relations and marketing campaigns of all time.” He claims that “it pulled the wool over the eyes of an increasingly philistine public.” He also makes the assertion later in the article that Larry Doby’s charging of the mound 10 years later a more significant contribution for black dignity.

I believe that Mr. Blackistone is entitled to his opinion, of course, but I find that I disagree whole heartedly.  I believe that Robinson’s contribution was dramatic and deserving of praise for exactly the reasons why Mr. Blackistone dismisses it. Robinson was a fighter, as evidenced by his willingness to suffer a court martial rather than take a seat at the back of the bus while stationed in Fort Hood TX, but he was also smart enough to know what weapons served him best in the fight before him. He knew that he was fighting for something greater than himself. He knew that whatever personal satisfaction he may have garnered from physically fighting back was dwarfed by the consequences that they would have for future generations of non-white baseball players.

Was it wrong that he should have to approach the game differently than his white teammates? Yes. Was MLB’s instituting of Jackie Robinson day a PR “stunt?” Probably, but lets be honest what these days is not part of someone’s PR campaign. Should he have had to endure the racial epithets thrown around by fans, players, and umpires alike? No. What is right is the way he conducted himself. When others were behaving like animals he was a man and rose above the petty taunting of those around him proving himself better than those who would judge the worth of a man by anything other than his character.

I don’t claim to know all about everything that transpired between the beginning of the segregation of MLB and Robinson’s arrival on the scene, I wasn’t yet born, but I do believe that Robinson’s contribution is worthy of notoriety and honor. I also am of the opinion that sometimes the most heroic people in our lives are not the ones who make the biggest splash, but the ones who simply behave better (read more human) than anyone has any right to expect they should. Hows that for dignity my friends?

So, yeah I’m a fan of Jackie Robinson day, and not only because my Astro’s won their first game of the season with the whole team wearing #42 ;-)

What say you?

~Rice

page 1 of 3 »
Categories
Archives
May 2013
M T W T F S S
« Jun    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
Polls

What Do You Think Is the Most In-Demand Skill in Today's Job Market?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Welcome , today is Saturday, May 18, 2013