The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I've always been fascinated by controversial art. I think it's because I've found it intriguing to witness what constitutes as "controversial" throughout history; how the definitions have differed/evolved over the years; and just how wrong people often are when it comes to the genuine message and intent behind such works.  The latest such hoopla has centered around the French film "Cuties," which was released on Netflix over the past month. The film's release prompted a nationwide cyber-protest/boycott of the film-streaming giant, which resulted in roughly 8 times the number of cancelled accounts as was typical. So, how did the controversy come to be? Honestly, not until Netflix grabbed hold of it. "Cuties" was praised by critics upon its international release, so much so that it resulted in an award at Sundance. When Netflix picked it up, however, they decided to release an unseemly poster of the 11-year-old girls, at the center of the fil...

Due to a #NikeBoycott tweet of mine, I got mentioned in Penn Live :  https://articles.pennlive.com/nation-world/2018/09/do_americans_know_how_to_prote.amp If you'd like to regularly stay updated with my tweets, just go to this link and click "follow":  https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun...

I had some fun with the trending hashtag #BoycottHawaii on Twitter the other day. Here are my posts, ordered from the most popular to the least popular (all my tweets can be seen here -  https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) Trumpsters: "We hate liberal snowflakes! By the way, let's #BoycottHawaii, Starbucks, 'Hamilton,' Pepsi, Oreos, Netflix, & reality, bigly!" 7,545 Likes, 2,617 Retweets 2) I have a dream that #BoycottHawaii is only the start for Trumpsters, before they boycott the U.S., boycott Earth, & boycott Uranus. 1,500 Likes, 378 Retweets 3) While I tried to fit all of the Trumpsters' boycotts in an earlier tweet, I'm only allowed 140 characters, not 140,000. #BoycottHawaii 96 Likes, 11 Retweets Totals: 9,141 Likes, 3,007 Retweets (Averages of 3,047.0 Likes, 1,002.3 Retweets)

Over the past week, I've had some fun with the trending hashtags #DumpKelloggs, #BreitbartCereals, and #TheDailyShow on Twitter. Here are my posts, ordered from the most to the least popular (all my tweets can be read here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) Breitbart headline: "Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?" Kellogg's: "We're pulling your ads." Trumpsters: "#DumpKelloggs!" 1,322 Likes, 819 Retweets 2) Grope Nut Flakes #BreitbartCereals 667 Likes, 209 Retweets 3) Tomi Lahren: "I don't protest. I haven't been victimized." Well then, she should thank those that protested before her. #TheDailyShow 609 Likes, 204 Retweets 4) Honey Bunches of Deplorables #BreitbartCereals 525 Likes, 156 Retweets 5) Fact-Free Charms #BreitbartCereals 506 Likes, 159 Retweets 6) Cuckoo Puffs #BreitbartCereals 482 Likes, 142 Retweets 7) Honeycomb-Over #BreitbartCereals 175 Likes, 67 Retweets ...

As long-time readers likely know by now, I'm not a fan of the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Not only do I find the quality of writing to be at about a high school of a C-student (that may be too generous), but the actual content of the writing I feel is degrading to women on multiple fronts. As studies have shown, the Fifty Shades of Grey series does a very poor job of depicting a consensual BDSM relationship. What it does do is depict an abusive relationship. Yes, there is a stark difference between the two and as many consenting BDSM partners have adamantly declared, it's appeared as though author E.L. James is unaware of that very difference. Given all this, it seems pretty safe to say I was thrilled to hear that the series was going to be hitting the big-screen, the first of which will be opening this Valentine's Day weekend! I know, what spells romance more than an abusive and controlling man? If I were a woman, I'd, as E.L. James may put it, bite my lip, raise my...

Walmart has received a lot of criticism in recent years, in recent months especially, for the treatment of its workers. This is especially due to the low-wages Walmart employees are typically paid. The validity of this claim won't be painted in any clearer fashion than at a Canton, Ohio Walmart, where a holiday canned food drive is being held for its employees, so that they may enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. Oddly enough, even if the canned food drive is successful, many Walmart employees will have to work on Black Friday, which, oddly enough, will begin at 6 pm on Thanksgiving day. Walmart spokesperson Kory Lundberg had this to say about the drive: "This is part of the company's culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships." How sad is that? It's part of the "company's culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships"? How about the wild idea of taking care of them...

Some Tea Party activists went on a 4-day boycott recently. Whom did they boycott? Fox News. ...and why? For becoming too liberal. No, this is not an article written by someone at The Onion . There are, however, a number of Onion -worthy moments in this very article. So, let's get to know some of these boycotters a little better, shall we? One such Tea Partier - 70-year old Stan Hjerlied - said the following to The Daily Beast regarding the boycott: "Particularly after the election, Fox keeps turning to the left... We are really losing our only conservative network." If Hjerlied means this in a literal sense, perhaps Fox is role-playing as a NASCAR driver. If he means this politically, let's check out what Fox News currently has posted on its website. At this current juncture on FoxNews.com, the following headlines are posted:  - "Greg Gutfeld fires back at Jim Carrey's anti-gun skit" - "ObamaCare forces a good doctor to quit" - ...

Former Ron Paul aide Eric Dondero added to the chorus of angry conservatives following the re-election of Barack Obama. He went above and beyond all those before him, however. In a post he made on the site LibertarianRepublican.net, Dondero wrote: "All family and friends, even close family and friends, who I know to be Democrats are hereby dead to me. I vow never to speak to them again for the rest of my life, or have any communications with them. They are in short, the enemies of liberty. They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt. I strongly urge all other libertarians to do the same. Are you married to someone who voted for Obama, have a girlfriend who voted 'O'. Divorce them. Break up with them without haste. Vow not to attend family functions, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas for example, if there will be any family members in attendance who are Democrats. Do you work for someone who voted for Obama/ Quit your job. Co-workers who voted for Obama....

I would be extremely hesitant about purchasing food at Papa John's on Papa John's Appreciation Day this coming Friday. The day is celebrating CEO John Schnatter's contemplations of cutting employees' work hours so he doesn't have to provide t hem with healthcare. No, there is not going to be any risk at all with this... Employee #1: "What's with all the people here today?" Employee #2: "They're celebrating the fact our hours will be cut so we don't get healthcare." Employee #3: "Seriously? Screw that!" Employee #2: "What are you two doing?" Employee #1: "We're going to take all the pizzas to the bathroom and add our own special ingredients." "Better ingredients. Better pizza. Papa John's." http://blog.al.com/wire/2012/11/papa_vs_obamacare_group_calls.html