No Time

What a !@!@&^*@ farce! The TIME magazine person of the year from their December 25, 2006 issue is "You".

WTF! I mean no offence, but come on. These guys can't really be serious.

Did the so-called writers of this magazine put any thought into this award at all this year, because I am kind of guessing that they really didn't.

Their cover story naming 'You' the person of the year is something I would only expect to read in some high school newspaper when the editor has forgotten about some sort of deadline and is suddenly in a state of panic forcing him to print pretty much anything.

It actually reminds me of years ago in elementary when one of my pals, Rick, brought in a rock from the alley for our 'Show and Tell' day.

He totally didn't care about school and was never prepared for anything in class whether it be assignments, tests or obviously 'Show and Tell'.

There Rick was, up in front of our Grade 2 class proudly waving the rock in the air, which he had just picked up moments earlier, claiming it had some sort of grand significance and impact on his and undoubtedly all of our lives. (It has been so long ago that I cannot honestly recall his lame story but I do remember he got a well deserved failing grade on it).

This years TIME cover and accompanying story reminded me so much of that instance, it was quite eerie.

To compound this farce, they actually had the gall (or balls, depending how you wish to look at it) to go the extra effort & put a little mirror on the front cover so whoever picked up this trashy rag would see their reflection peering back at them, with the intent of completely fooling them into thinking they were actually the recipient of this award and were now king.

To quote from their article (TIME Cover Story link):
"It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."

Well, I am just glad that the many hours of me viewing hardcore pornography sites and downloading music & movies has not gone entirely unnoticed, the award is gladly accepted but quite long overdue since I have obviously been doing this for many, many years.

But seriously, this 'community and collaboration' that the writers of the article speak of has actually been going on for a number of years already. Certainly not just in the year 2006. The fact that their editors have now just happened to wake up and actually notice the internet and this little trend is somewhat startling but unfortunately, it is not entirely newsworthy to most folks.

Let us remember that as much as we all love the internet, there are still some tough issues we need to address.

It remains a place where all kinds get together but along with good intended 'normal' people, the internet is still full of scammers, phishers, perverts and predators.

In relative terms, it is still in its infancy which is reminiscent of the old wild west in many ways. That is not meant as a criticism, but rather just a commentary of the facts. Like anything else, as time progresses it will be refined, improved upon and perhaps one day worthy of some sort of award such as this. The good of the internet far outweighs the bad, however much like life we cannot ignore the bad, hoping it will go away.

I just find it odd and a little sad that during this period in our history, that TIME magazine couldn't find someone a bit more worthy of this formerly prestigious award than some goof that spends unlimited hours viewing YouTube videos for their personal entertainment or something else just as insignificant.

I don't know who would be a more deserving recipient specifically, but here are a few ideas just off the top of my head:

• the brave soldiers and military personnel who are selflessly fighting and dying in a war not even on their own soil, in the name of freedom for us all
  
• the scientists that are diligently working in the labs attempting to find cures for diseases which afflict people we care about and others around the globe
  
• doctors & medical personnel that are working long hours to save lives in the operating rooms of the world so we can spend another day with our loved ones
  
• policemen that are going to work in every city and town, putting their own lives in harms way each day, for a safer future for you and your families
  

I mean I could go on for hours here, but I think you all get the idea. Or I hope so.

But I guess my ideas don't sell magazines as well as compared to a meaningless throw-away article accompanied by a cheesy headline with tacky little mirror paper glued on the cover.

This whole article in TIME and for that much, the whole magazine is a total complete waste. In fact they should rename the magazine "Waste of TIME", if this is the best they can offer.

I mean if you want to read some poorly thought out, incoherent ramblings with little to no effort put in by the writer, may I recommend visiting and bookmarking this blog instead of reading TIME magazine.

Both will undoubtedly leave a bad taste in your mouth that will haunt you for hours however, my crappy blog wont cost you the couple bucks a week that the alternative does.