Mike Hoffman's Blog about Art and Life
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
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Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
The Year Love Got Drafted...
It's pretty irritating seeing the word "Love" in almost every ad, email subject line, TV commercial, billboard etc. these days, I feel it seriously cheapens the most precious Human attribute, hence this poem...
The Love Button
Love that folder?
Love our new "app"?
Love to go shopping
At the "Shop Now" command?
Love that ol' eBay
Love posts, pins and pics
Hardly any left
For all the people we'll miss
That are right here around us
Beside us, in fact
But those who'll co-opt that "Love"
Don't care about that
Sure, "like" turned to "love"
It wasn't strong enough
To make you dig in your pocket
Or push buttons on demand
Is that "Love" for a button
The same as the Family kind?
Or the one that you've cared about
Since the dawn of Time?
The ante was upped
Around 2015
The year Love got drafted
By the Powers that be
Don't let them take it away
Have your own say
'Coz Love belongs to People
Not Products and Profiteers
Okay?
The Love Button
Love that folder?
Love our new "app"?
Love to go shopping
At the "Shop Now" command?
Love that ol' eBay
Love posts, pins and pics
Hardly any left
For all the people we'll miss
That are right here around us
Beside us, in fact
But those who'll co-opt that "Love"
Don't care about that
Sure, "like" turned to "love"
It wasn't strong enough
To make you dig in your pocket
Or push buttons on demand
Is that "Love" for a button
The same as the Family kind?
Or the one that you've cared about
Since the dawn of Time?
The ante was upped
Around 2015
The year Love got drafted
By the Powers that be
Don't let them take it away
Have your own say
'Coz Love belongs to People
Not Products and Profiteers
Okay?
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Merry Christmas 2015...
I've released a newly-colored version of my Santa Claus comic, you can get your own softcover copy on Amazon at The Jingle Book.
It's a new take on an old tale, the mythology of Santa Claus, hopefully relevant to our day and age. Some say Santa's really just an invention of Corporate America, and there's probably some truth to that. At the very least old "Saint Nick" got a little co-opted to make a buck.
Corporate re-structuring of Christmas is certainly at full thrust today, as a trip to any chain store like Target or Walmart will illustrate. All the Big Boys are lined up there to deliver: Marvel, Nerf, Disney, etc. etc. The dominance is so total that there's literally no room left for anything else. No cracks at all; totally sewn-up, and scientifically engineered to penetrate kids' heads.
The device or "toy" shown above is only a halfway measure to overtake natural development in a child. Next are devices for intra-uterine use, so kids can get accustomed to pushing buttons while still in the womb. Would you feel comfortable giving your child this gadget "at birth"? If so, why? To prepare them for "the workplace"?
Then there's the sheer expense, mainly the robotic "toys" that kids tire of in about two days but which cost families a sizeable chunk o' change. I remember the robot dinosaurs from about ten years back, do you? They're mainly forgotten in the landfills, but the profits definitely went to the Top.
Lastly, we have the clear messages that corporate toys send to children. Plenty of injuries are on record from kindergartens and elementary schools due to karate-chops inspired by Power Rangers, superheroes and violence-oriented toys. I realize that most stories need some level of conflict to reach necessary conclusions, but in most cases I'd trust the opinions of an expert on children like Mister Rogers rather than corporations, Hollywood or the NRA.
It's not really complicated: showing violence as a solution presents violence as a solution. But discussing this subject publicly can naturally lead to some violent verbal arguments, harmless karate chops and nerf-shootings.
 | |||
| The magnificent new wraparound cover. |
It's a new take on an old tale, the mythology of Santa Claus, hopefully relevant to our day and age. Some say Santa's really just an invention of Corporate America, and there's probably some truth to that. At the very least old "Saint Nick" got a little co-opted to make a buck.
Corporate re-structuring of Christmas is certainly at full thrust today, as a trip to any chain store like Target or Walmart will illustrate. All the Big Boys are lined up there to deliver: Marvel, Nerf, Disney, etc. etc. The dominance is so total that there's literally no room left for anything else. No cracks at all; totally sewn-up, and scientifically engineered to penetrate kids' heads.
 |
| A push-button prison. |
The device or "toy" shown above is only a halfway measure to overtake natural development in a child. Next are devices for intra-uterine use, so kids can get accustomed to pushing buttons while still in the womb. Would you feel comfortable giving your child this gadget "at birth"? If so, why? To prepare them for "the workplace"?
Then there's the sheer expense, mainly the robotic "toys" that kids tire of in about two days but which cost families a sizeable chunk o' change. I remember the robot dinosaurs from about ten years back, do you? They're mainly forgotten in the landfills, but the profits definitely went to the Top.
 |
| You can't possibly be a good parent for less than $189.99 |
Lastly, we have the clear messages that corporate toys send to children. Plenty of injuries are on record from kindergartens and elementary schools due to karate-chops inspired by Power Rangers, superheroes and violence-oriented toys. I realize that most stories need some level of conflict to reach necessary conclusions, but in most cases I'd trust the opinions of an expert on children like Mister Rogers rather than corporations, Hollywood or the NRA.
 |
| Recommended for children age 3 and up. |
It's not really complicated: showing violence as a solution presents violence as a solution. But discussing this subject publicly can naturally lead to some violent verbal arguments, harmless karate chops and nerf-shootings.
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