Monday, December 18, 2006

Finally . . . YOU Grew a Bit


"The conflict in Iraq only got bloodier and more entrenched. A vicious skirmish erupted between Israel and Lebanon. A war dragged on in Sudan. A tin-pot dictator in North Korea got the Bomb, and the President of Iran wants to go nuclear too. Meanwhile nobody fixed global warming, and Sony didn't make enough PlayStation3s."

So says TIME Magazine. Lots of Intriguing and Important stuff happened this past twelve months, huh? And yet, TIME, in all of it's infinite wisdom, chose YOU to be Person of the Year for 2006.

History will look back and say:

"TIME's Person of the Year thing always was a bit of a gimmick, but the choice for 2006 was a clear sign that the editors at TIME were clearly getting ready to give up on the whole process. I mean, come on . . . all of those people that we mentioned at the beginning of Burb's blog post will be much more influential down the course of history than the flash-in-the-pan technology that is MySpace, blogging, FaceBook, and all the other social-networking items that made the TIME people cop out and select YOU as Person of the Year in 2006."

Hey, thanks for reading my blog History. I appreciate your comments. You should look into getting a new font, however. You're never going to get past your dusty, boring image if you don't find a better way to market yourself. I'm just saying you should think about it, okay?

ANYWAY . . .

While trying to further describe my feelings of disappointment regarding TIME's Person of the Year choice, I also thought it was funny that on the same webpage touting YOU as so important, you (or should I say "one" so we won't confuse you with YOU--Person of the Year) can also see pictures of people that might really have had a significant impact on the year that is now ending. (You can judge for yourself by clicking on this link and checking out the Gallery of Less Important People.)

I feel that there is more to be said on this topic, but I just can't get my brain to say it. I guess that it is odd that I am against this choice, since I do or am familiar with many of the YOU-things that made YOU so important this year. I am a blogger (though not at all famous or even slightly influential). I know what YouTube is about and have even wasted precious bandwidth with my own video offerings. I frequently listen to a variety of podcasts, though I have the good sense not to try and create any of my own.

So, you would think that I am the perfect guy to stand up and applaud this decision. But, it just seems wrong--for all the reasons listed in the quote at the top of this post . . . and the TIME people are the ones that WROTE that! Wouldn't you have liked to be in the meetings where the editors struggled to come up with a good definitive choice for 2006, struggled and struggled and struggled and then finally with sweaty brows and fear shining behind their eyes just gave up and went with YOU.

(Actually, I am a bit surprised they didn't go with iYOU, because everything is better with i iin ifront iof iit.)

And if you think the TIME brass had trouble swallowing this choice, I can't imagine what the good people at Chrysler think right now.

What's next year's choice going to be? ME . . . WE . . . TREE . . . GRASS . . . WICKER. Only time (and the smart guys at FameTracker or maybe The Onion) can tell. While you wait, go over to Who in the What Now? and play word association games.

2 comments:

Sven Golly said...

So many ironic, snarky comments to make, so little time...
First, thank you, Burb, for continuing to write in the midst of change, upheaval, gluttony, and decking halls with boughs of holly. My personal chaos has temporarily shut down the blogging process, adding to the cluttered mind and sense of personal chaos.
Second, I gave up on TIME long ago (shortly after embracing it as the greatest info source ever), but I clearly recall "Middle America" being named Man of the Year in 1969. The editors apparently are making their periodic deep sociocultural statement.

David said...

Thanks to brother MSqured who forwarded to me another commentary on YOU as person of the year.

Mr. Dvorak is hereby on notice for stealing my thoughts and more effectively reaching millions with it. Maybe HE'LL be Person of the Year for 2007?