As IF Times

Source: Rob Kardashian Blac Chyna: Couple Grills Together After Engagement Reveal : People.com

Since the invention of the IPhone, an entirely new industry has sprung up dedicated to supplying the public with applications (apps) that enhance the experience of phone users.  While some have been quite useful, including navigational apps, or ones that point out the location of a restaurant, gas station or massage parlor,  there have been many more apps invented for all kinds of conveniences that we never knew we needed.  For amusement, take a look here, useless apps, to take in some training wheel  samples of human ingenuity.  For those too lazy to click on the link, they include such cutting edge human experiences as a tickle app; an app that measures how long you can hold your finger on a spot and an app that simulates the draining of a beer glass as you tilt the screen are among the gems.

Notwithstanding the improvements to the human condition that these apps represent, the reality is that for most people past the age of giggling when someone mentions boobies, apps that convey newsworthy information may be among the most useful of computer and phone apps.  The whole point of having a portable communication device is to be plugged in to the social world.  Here’s an idea for some smart app developer out there: create a filter that automatically deletes or blocks any reference to the inane revelations of most pop culture from a news feed.  Let’s assume that you don’t think that the gripping adventures of the Kardashians are newsworthy, or don’t find stories of Miley, or Justin, or Ben, or Jennifer, or Snoop Dog worthy of using up your bandwidth as you read about the latest Global Warming tragedy: you should  be able to filter out these cultural gems and only read about things that aren’t intellectual pablum and which threatens to cap your IQ.

It’s not that the lovable antics of the Hollywood prodigies aren’t interesting to some; heck they are the millennials’ version of the pet rock from another time.  But the embedding of their breathless exploits into real news feeds requires that you sift through them as if you were filtering junk flyers from your regular mail delivery.  Anyone who can develop such a filter app will not only be doing a service to the news business, they will also be helping to increase the general IQ level for all.

link Rep. David Wu’s staff confronted him over concerns about his mental health | OregonLive.com.

The bizarre behavior of Mr. Wu has been documented by the local papers and paints a picture of someone who may not have all his wires connected.  What the newspaper fails to say is whether his odd behaviour is something that is normal for him and just became apparent, or if he just only recently went Hollywood star on them.  

Mr. Wu is hardly the first politician to exhibit bizarre behaviour.  The donning of a tiger costume may have been a bit unusual, but hey, it’s all good, he’s just eccentric.   The important thing is that he is of the correct political persuasion, so personal eccentricities can be overlooked.  When you take into account the recent utterances of many of his ideological brethren, wearing a tiger outfit and yelling incoherencies hardly moves the needle on the wacko meter.    According to staffers, he was loud and sometimes angry.  Has anyone ever heard of Alan Grayson, thankfully now the ex congressman from Florida?   The article goes on to state that he recently delivered a “belligerent and rambling 19 minute monologue” to fellow Democrats.  Does the name Keith Olbermann mean anything to anyone?  Finally, staffers testified that  “…Wu became unpredictable and sometimes loopy, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and often not making sense …”   Boy, should we list some names alphabetically?

I’m not sure exactly how they could discern that Wu was exhibiting anything other than acceptable  normal behavior for that party.  Incoherency, belligerence, anger?  The article goes on to recount how in 2007, he accused the Bush White House of acting like  “fake Klingons”, whatever that means.   The best incident was in 2003, when he appeared to go catatonic before a vote.  Clearly the sane response was to flee to another state and avoid the vote altogether.   I’m not sure what’s happening in the Democratic party, but if they start to weed out people like David Wu, good luck  fielding candidates in the next vote. 

As far as David Wu is concerned, he just had the misfortune to pick the wrong profession.  If he was in the entertainment business, he’d be adored, have his picture all over the gossip rags and his own TV show.  There just happens to be a job opening at CBS now that Charlie Sheen has gone.  That show would have had to be renamed One and Half Men, but didn’t poll well with focus groups.  On the other hand, Charlie has a possible career in politics…or MSNBC.