Me vs. Cracked.com

Hey everyone! Hope all of you are doing well! I know it’s been a bit since I have written in my blog. Been kind of busy, between my job, working out, and of course putting the finishing touches on my new book, “The Princess of Infinite Tomorrows: Child of Prophecy.” If you haven’t checked out my new novel yet, feel free to do so (hint hint, wink wink).

Anyway, here is my latest blog article and thoughts about life in general.

 

I’m not really a big fan of the website cracked.com. I’ve enjoyed some of their articles but in the past few years or so I feel that the writers in general try way too hard to sound edgy and cynical. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily bad to write something edgy or cynical, but oftentimes when I have read the articles on cracked.com, I feel that they often try way too hard. Also there have been multiple times in which I have found that facts touted in the site’s articles are often just plain wrong.

 

One of the articles cracked.com posted is titled, “9 Lame Hobbies White People Love (For Some Reason).” When one reads the article in question and reads in-between the lines, the writers seem to be talking mostly about white people who are either upper middle class or even rich (even if they don’t explicitly say so). When reading the article I found it not so much as offensive to people who happen to be white, but to anyone of any type who searches for joy, meaning, or success in their lives.

 

Item number eight of things supposedly lame is upcycling. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, it basically means taking something old (perhaps from the curb or a flea market) and turning it into something new and useful. The writer seems upset about this whole idea, stating that only poor people who can’t afford to go to IKEA should be able to upcycle. So does that mean that once one reaches a certain income level, that morally they shouldn’t be allowed to reuse and recreate old items into something new? Recycling in any form, including upcycling, can be good for the planet. So again, if one reaches a certain income level, one automatically should be obligated to spend money on objects that take more from the environment in their creation? Also people, whether they be rich, middle class, or poor, sometimes feel a need to feed a creative outlet. I know that I do with my writing and artwork. For some upcycling could feed one’s creative urges.

 

Reading that reminded me of a time in which I had a conversation with a former manager of a store I worked for. For some reason we were talking about Steve Wozniak and I mentioned the fact that he dated comedian Kathy Griffin for awhile, and that he took her on a date to Big Boy Burgers (as seen on the excellent show “My Life on the D List”!). He then said, “He shouldn’t be eating burgers! He’s a billionaire!” So in my former manager’s mind, once one hits a certain income level, one shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy fast food every now and then, just lobsters and caviar. I have a feeling that if I ever actually became rich, that I would still enjoy Jack in the Box tacos every now and then.

Further down the list is item number six, which is home-brewing beer. The writer tells a story and states, “I have a friend who tried making his own beer with the intent of maybe, possibly, if everything went well, knock on wood, being able to sell it to local bars so that he may one day, possibly, God willing, leave his day job to become an independent brewer. A short while into this, he said to me, (and I quote), ‘My house smells like pussy.’ This was not because his life had turned into a Budweiser commercial.” In this case the writer seems to be criticizing his friend for attempting to try something new, for attempting to find a way to make some extra income and find a new career. I’m not even someone who really drinks and in my head I’m applauding the man who decided to try to do something with his life other than to be content with a job he didn’t like and watch TV.

 

Other items on the list include board games and road trips, both of which are things that I personally enjoy. Maybe that makes me incredibly white and lame, but I gain joy and don’t really care what this cracked.com writer thinks of me. 

 

Speaking of cracked.com, there was another article titled, “15 Famous People With (Unknown) Super Weird Hobbies.” They include the actor Fred Astaire learning how to skateboard in his seventies, Bob Dylan using wielding skills to build gates, Terry Crews painting, and the late Bruce Lee writing poetry. Oh, and also the current Dutch king flying planes! Barely any of the celebrities and hobbies listed seemed weird to me, more interesting and fascinating. If I had a ton of money I would probably learn to fly a plane. And people of practically any income level could probably learn to skateboard or write poetry.

 

Reading these, I wonder if many of the writers of cracked.com gain any real enjoyment out of life. Or do they simply criticize the people in the world around them without offering any real solutions?