dang...

I've heard a lot about this documentary on Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart: the high cost of low prices) and I finally watched it last night. Holy crap. I haven't been so angry in quite some time.
Of course I know that editors and directors can selectively use material to "prove" their points, but there is simply too much within this film for me to believe that in reality everything in Wal-World is hunky-dorry and the director has just found a few people and only taken the bad things they say and made a movie from it. The section where they interview Chinese workers and they tell the film makers about how "rent" for the factory dormitory is automatically cut out of thier pay, regaurdless if they choose to live there or not, all the while working 12 hour days for less that $3 per day. It honestly made me sick to my stomach. Gosh, there is so much in there that made me mad. I also wonder how many other business (Lowe's, HomeDepot, Target, Starbucks) are conducting similar business practices. I do know that at Starbucks workers can at least get some kind of health care insurance, and it seems to be affordable to the workers. Anyway, not to push opinions or "propaganda" on anyone but people should check out the movie. It at very least is good fuel for thought / conversation.


Here's a clip of the director on CNN.

this round's on me...

i haven't been drinking for very long, alchohol that is, but recently i've noticed a certain culture that comes with the territory and its different than what old pastors, televangelists, and grandparents warned me of. i was always told that drinking led to all sorts of debauchery (anyone reading this can use their imagination here). i was led to believe that nothing good came from drinking, just addictions and heart ache. true, that can come but it doesn't always and that is not the side that i've experienced at all. a few weeks ago, after the funeral of a great friend of mine, some other friends and I decided to pass some stories of our friend that we are left to miss over a few pictures of beer at our local neighborhood "On Tap" sports bar. Well after a few pitchers, several stories, and many laughs the bill came. We all reached for our wallets and began to ask our overworked waitress if she could split it. but we were all stopped. stephen, the one guy at the table that wasn't a believer, said "hey guys i got it." i was kinda taken back. that was more than 20 bucks worth of beer. i wouldn't have paid for all of it. but he did and his only response was, "guys, is a few beers. seriously." then i began noticing this type of drinking congeniality / generosity in more places. at community group jimmy would bring 12 packs and share them with me, never asking me to chip in. again at stephen's wedding shower, the invitations clearly stated BYOB. i didn't but when i got there, i think every single person there offered freely of the beer they'd brought. again at community group we ate out and jon becker after already ordering one glass before gene and i got there, sees me sit down without a beer and asks, "hey you guys want a pitcher, i'll grab one," not waiting for my answer. time and again i see a spirit of generosity, welcome, and community surrounding beer. who knew? i see it in believers and non-believers alike....beer kindness tends not to be categorized like that. its pretty fantastic i think. but still everytime someone orders a pitcher, i think to myself, "better him than me." and the more that i saw that attitude in myself the more i realize that im just a selfish jerk.
well last night david called me and asked if i wanted to go to rojo. my mission was clear. i was to join the ranks of the beer buying brotherhood....even if it wasn't happy hour anymore. we got there and i called jimmy, who lives on top of rojo and didn't care to eat but i knew he'd drink some if it was there waiting for him. david and i ordered, i made sure to go first and ordered a pitcher of stella, which i was told they were out of, so then i resorted to hoegartën. we sat down poured our beers and began to talk. wonderful conversations happen over beer, this is another fact that i'm becoming convinced of. then jimmy came. "saddle up partner" (ala jim carrey....dumb and dumber) i said as i poured jimmy a glass. good times were had by all.
i liken the whole experience to the story of smurfette. see smurfette was originally designed by gargamel, the evil sorcerer, to infiltrate the smurf colony and bring it down. but eventually the overwhelming goodness of the smurf way of life changed her, and she decided to live there and be smurffy with all the others. in a lot of ways i was brought up to believe that drinking was flat wrong, but it was good to hang out with drinkers, so that they could see the error of their ways in my righteous living, and be changed. that's not why i began hanging out with drinkers, honestly most of the people i drink with have a far better understanding of how to live rightly than i do, but at any rate it's i who am being changed by the groups of people that i've been hanging out with and i think thats just smurffy.

changes...?

well i was offered a new job today. not sure that i'll take it. it's nice to be wanted though. i've said for a few years now that the guy that's running this place is probaby the best editor in town. or at least i respect his work the most anyway. he's getting a lot more business and just has to have another guy. he needs someone with a strong design sense, experience / interest in working with 3D / charachter animation, and will be able to edit on final cut and also smoke and flame. thats a tall order in any market, much less birmingham. i'm actually pretty flattered that i'm the guy he thought of when considering those needs. i don't think i fit those needs perfectly, but i think i could.
the new job offers a lot of excitement, learning new things, and playing with more powerful toys. i'd still be doing crappy car stuff most of the time, but i'd also be doing other higher profile stuff some time too. i'm not sure i'd have the comfort i have where i am now. i have great insurance, a 401(k), i walk to work, and i'm beginning to love the people here. but at the same time this gig is kind of a dead end. we're never going to have clients that want good products, they just want it fast and cheap.
i feel connected to this place. they've given me more chances to learn and prove myself than i'd ever imagined that i could have in a first job. they also gave me a $6000 a year raise last year. granted i'll probably never have one of those again, but it makes me feel very appreciated, and i'm not sure i'd feel right about walking away from this.
but i've always said that birmingham is not where i want to live and die. and i hope to work in a bigger market and work with better clients. this could be a step in the right direction. i'm just not sure. i'm supposed to get together a reel of some of what i consider my better work and give that to the guy. he's going to get some of his better work together and send that my way. then we'll meet up again and talk more nuts and bolts. i'll keep the internets up to date on the situation as well.
as always....any opinions are welcome....unless you are my current boss posing as someone else.

just some thoughts...

Recently through different circumstances and series of events I've become increasingly intrigued by words. Intrigued by the skill in which some friends and heroes are able to craft their words in such a way as to evoke an emotional response from me. It works on all levels. I'm challenged, hurt, inspired, and disenchanted by words flowing from the people around me.

"Are there black children there? I don't want my kids exposed to drugs you know."
--a coworker.

"Am I a Christian? Are you a Jew? Did you kill my Lord? Must I forgive you?
I know its hard to be original. In fact, nothing scares me more. Because Jesus only lets me do what has been done before."
--David Bazan from "Selling Advertising"

Also I've been thinking about the value of one's life story against the next guys. I read a book, "Raising Fences," an autobiographical account of a guy that grew up in the LA projects and made it out and graduated from UCLA grad school and is now a writer. I found myself comparing my life to his. How interesting his seems; how dull mine seems. The more I read though, I started to think, "if this guy lived around here, we'd probably be hanging out this weekend." I wonder if what separates a seemingly interesting life from a seemingly dull one is simply the skill with which the story is recounted.

Finally Im a little disheartened and confused now. I have a desire for diversity amongst my friends, in the relationships that I have. I love my fiends and wouldn't trade them for anything. However Im noticing that my circles of friends are quite concentric and monochromatic. It seems to be a hard ring to break out of. I don't think its going to happen by default either. I think it will take a lot of intentionality on my part to meet people that are different than I am, which isn't so bad, just difficult to start.