Anthony Dean-Harris

My computer has crashed recently and I'm still without my own computer so I hope this explains why I haven't written anything in a while. Because I have lost my computer and means of writing, I have also lost inspiration for mostly everything writing related until now. Since I'm at work with a task that annoys me, I am writing now in procrastination. The nature of celebrity has always been something that has interested me a great deal. It's a different kind of relationship with people. A person with whom the masses are familiar feel a connection with that distinct individual. This connection is technically an inorganic one, but is organic in its own sense of artifice. The thing is, as our media continues to grow, levels of celebrity. Comedienne Kathy Griffin refers to the plateau of celebrity on which she exists as the "D-list." I personally believe the Emmy-winning reality show star is underestimating her success but her commentary on the echelons of success

In the film, Little Miss Sunshine , Michael Arndt makes an overarching commentary about the American idea of success . The ever present epitomization of these ideals is the childrens' beauty pageant. A smaller point he is making is that of the sexualization of children in these gaudy displays. Arndt hyperbolizes this ideal in Olive's routine: (pardon the clip I found, it's in French) It appears Arndt is saying the next possible step in these shows is an eight-year-old performing a striptease. While the main point of the film is the elimination of the pure dichotomy of success and failure, leading the individual to be himself/herself, Arndt is also asking what has become of our culture. Little girls are sex objects in the auspice of beauty and success. In America's drive to stay on the cutting edge, one must ask what's next when little girls are flaunting themselves in foundation and glitter. The Hoover family seems to live and breathe on the conflict of succe

I've been reading the San Antonio Current a lot more lately and on the front page of the website, I ran across this video: Most of the coverage here was from the San Antonio Zulu Association New Year's Ball. I know because I was there. What sort of gets to me is how I didn't remember there was a camera around. I mean, I was asleep in my chair between 11:30 and 11:55, but I really think I would have noted the Current around. Still, that's not what I'm writing this for. (Actually, I'm shooting for funny but I think I'm failing. Eh, we get back on the horse.) That evening, and it's captured in the video, there were two people. Two white people in this largely black social event. There they were on the dance floor, moving with everyone else (although, maybe two steps behind everyone else in the Electric Slide). When I first saw them, I immediately wondered what they were doing there. They were clearly out of place. They spoke to no one just as I

Some time ago, I was having a discussion with a friend in the wee small hours of the morning about the US Economy. He, leaning toward libertarianism, was steadily convincing me that the bailouts to various companies were really perpetuating bad business practices and that a second depression would be the kick the economy needs to put us on the right track again. He was really convincing me. That day, I became more of a conservative democrat. While I know it would be difficult for this nation to undertake such a downturn, I have faith in God and the resilience of the American people and I know that our business practices must change. That morning was a discussion of ideologies. There were feelings behind what was said but two parties were open to one anothers' ideas and were listening to each other. We learned from one another and minds were changed. You don't get discourse like that anymore. So often our level of discourse is based on the preconceived notions that the o