Last week I posted somewhat of a controversial blog which broke down the comparisons between social media and traditional media and fact-based journalism and the current “insta-share” world of immediately posting and passing around independently published “breaking stories” or Associated Press releases—accurate or not. My purpose was to get a reaction just like these bait & switch nonsensical headlines do. I wasn't necessarily looking for angry responses, although I did get some hate mail if you can believe it...

A few individuals must have misinterpreted what I was trying to say... they accused me of being a “phony,” a “hypocrite” and a “media whore” among other things. I was told that I also had no business being critical of journalism without having a journalism degree. But anyone can be a critic of mine without “credentials” right?

I don't have a journalism degree, the most I did was write for my high school paper and I took creative writing as a senior. I've had articles published in many magazines over the years and I did publish MY BIG FRIGGIN' BOOK and have been penning this blog now for five years. Does any of that makes me a “journalist”? No, but that was kind of the idea behind last week's blog as well... to say that anyone could be an unauthorized author or an accredited author... Either way, the content of one's writing is indeed left up to interpretation and most of what's published regardless of the venue needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Just like anyone can be a writer anyone can be a photographer...and this was a recurring theme in the documentary “$ellebrity” which I watched on demand last night. It was partly about the history of the paparazzi and how extreme the demand of extreme photographs have increased. It was also about how anyone can indeed become famous today and it echoed so many of the other things I touched upon—including the notion that the majority of news now must contain an “entertainment” factor in 2014 but that WE are the ones to blame for that. It explored the boundaries between selling yourself and selling out and how really it's often impossible to set those boundaries. Any public figure needs the press to promote their current “projects” and keep them “relevant” but when the press needs to advance their publication's sales by printing a picture of that public figure in a bad light is that the trade-off that must be made?

The film also detailed how we build people up to destroy them. So true. Goes with actors, athletes, presidents... But don't be fooled, all the scandals are calculated and come in cycles and circles. I'll get more into that later. We kind of live in a Twilight Zone if you think about it or are players in some kind of game... but how do you win? How can we be voters trying to elect truthful officials if we can't decipher the truth?

The infamous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline happened in 1948... it's historic. How many of those such instances have occurred since then until the internet came along? You'd be hard-pressed to list them all... But SINCE the world wide web, that kind of thing is a daily occurrence. Especially political and show-biz related.

Forget Hollywood and Washington DC ethics for a second... If our daily newspapers more resemble National Enquirer and cable news networks are leading with stories about Paris Hilton, how can we expect to elect a president in a knowledgeable manner? That quote by Lucy Dalglish says it all.

Scariest line from the movie is when a regular Joe off the street says in an interview: “we have to believe what we see and read. It's there, we have no choice.” Hmmmm...... I personally prefer the quote, “believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.”

Ok, now back to yours truly. I've been criticized for being too long-winded in my blogging but you know what, I write this way in a very conscious manner... I don't write in “bulletpoint” fashion, it's not my problem if attention spans have decreased. It's your job to create your own Cliff'sNotes. I write a lot of words and paragraphs and get repetitive at times so that things resonate and you walk away from a blog with multiple words and phrases in your head... you separate the truth from the satire and put the facts and fiction into the appropriate spots in your mind.

This is another reason why I am indeed not a journalist out to prove some cause... that's why I don't get into “heavy” subjects. I would never write about the government secretly having a cure for all cancers or that they are fully aware of and in communication with aliens from Mars, that's jut not my place. I can segue into all sorts of wacky theories now like why do certain killers walk free due to “technicalities” or why are some cases plead down while others spend life in prison? Pardon me as well for questioning the particulars of the presidential pardon process on criminals... or hey what about “fixed” elections while we're at it? Mamma mia, I am opening up a whole bunch of cans of worms here so I am just gonna stop in my tracks. Like I said, it's not my place to get into these issues, especially nothing involving our justice system. Plus I don't wanna get myself blackballed, sued, committed or arrested. Far too many folks are now in the looney bin for asking too many questions. Tell you the truth, I am starting to drive myself crazy here!

Honestly though, do you have any idea how much is withheld or how “manufactured” things are with regards to how/when they are released? We are told what the powers-that-be choose to tell us... There are special interests at play in all areas. Also the shifting of the “balance of power” comes into the equation. Every few years, eggs or coffee or whatever is deemed bad for you... Few years later, we are encouraged to eat those same foods as “new” studies reveal benefits to doing so. Gimme a break. Problems require solutions which cost money... But until the problem solvers can benefit, the problem must produce its profits... Everyone gets a piece of the action. Then the cycle starts again. Why do we get a dusting of accumulation sometimes when a big storm is predicted? We all run to stock up on bread and milk like maniacs (citing to Vic Dibitetto). Are the weathermen in cahoots with the stores? You all draw your own conclusions here. Maybe with age I have grown more cynical. Or maybe society with time has grown more gullible.

You know what we need? An updated version of “We Didn't Start The Fire.” We really do. Now that was the ultimate in entertainment-based teaching and tongue-in-cheek references.

Look, I've been covered in the press more than I've been published myself, so that fact right there makes me an entertainer and not a reporter. My prop is my food... Johnny Meatballs is my brand and I am the person behind it all, here to serve my consumer. Yet another cycle broken down in the “$ellebrity” movie. Anyone who is famous or aspiring to be famous is really a re-manufactured shell of their former raw self. Publicists and agents and a combination of both authorized and unauthorized press carefully calculate their clients' commercialized creation. See, I'm really a tongue-twistin' meatballer! (Without a PR firm.)

But let's put a fancy bow on this whole topic here with a few serious notes, none of which I mean in satire. CNN, MSNBC, FOX News.... it does not matter what the network is, there is an “agenda” with all of them. Things are getting to a point where EVERYTHING is a circus. It's all a business and it's all about ratings and money. There is no difference anymore between once reputable publications and all the tabloid rags overflowing the racks. There's also no real difference between a “serious” actor anymore and a reality show star. Years ago there was a romanticized idea of what it meant to be a star.... performers and those who covered them were held to more of a standard. But you know what, who really knows if we all had more class back then or if there was just less means and ability to focus on the less-than-flattering side. Maybe we just cared more about directing our focuses our attention elsewhere.

If we were raised with any sort of value system whatsoever we should know overall right from wrong as adults. In a nutshell, that's that. There should not be any major changes in one's lifestyle based upon reading any one new piece of written or broadcasted material whatever the source. We've been alive as a human race for many years now. Exercising a little more common sense should be done. If I were in a position of power the first order of business I would do is implement a moderate group of moderators to weigh in and add perspective and balance on all issues. That's the only way we will ever achieve any sense of unity but this will never happen because nobody budges off of their extreme stances or even tries to meet in the middle on things. Partisanism is perpetuated. I wouldn't want to party with the tea-partyers or the Wall Street occupiers. See blind loyalty to any one group is bad for you, but not doing so is bad for “business.” That's why have such division and hostility. Let me not go off on another tangent though, let's stick to scandals and sensationalism shall we!!!

The intellectual level (or just common sense level) of the material we consume is purely dictated by how much we want to actually improve our value system at its core... or if we just don't give a damn about that kind of thing and just really only care about escaping our workaday lives of boredom. To go where? Maybe to enter into some sort of alternate universe of mindless nonsense that is made to generate reactions that don't help us improve quality of life on this planet but rather regress us into cave people. Or Adam and Eve if you believe in their existence. In which case the original sinners who succumbed to temptations. Problem now is, the forbidden fruits are the gluttonous over-consumption of all things highlighted in “$ellebrity” and are not so forbidden (or nearly as out of reach) anymore. So either we way could be screwed if we don't prioritize what's important.

For me, that would be my family and friends on a personal level and just doing the best I can to make the most out of each day with my loved ones and try to be a good person. On a professional level, that would be continuing my ventures as Johnny Meatballs. So I'll be beginning to bounce back to balls in this blog moving forward. And spitting out rhymes, jokes, puns and maybe more media madness.

I hope I got you all thinking once again. No reaction is needed on this one but feel free to leave comments. I'll say one more thing before I end this all... EVERYTHING is about interpretation and perspective. Ballsy statements from the Meatball King.