February 26, 2009

I'm going to link you to an amusing clip that addresses how easily we get annoyed at the amazing things in our lives.
The little video has obviously been passed around the internet quite a bit in recent weeks, since I've already seen it posted on three or four different blogs, and even posted by one of my "friends" on Facebook.
It's simply a comedian doing part of his routine on Conan O'Brien's show, but he does uncloak some obvious truths.

Let's face it, we are becoming a bunch of whiners.
We seem to be overwhelmed by commonplace annoyances.

We spend hours online, visiting miraculous, intricate social websites like Facebook and MySpace, and then complain about how it consumes all our time, and we can't get anything done.
We subscribe to cable and satellite TV service with hundreds of channels, then moan and groan that there's nothing worth watching.
We have mini-vans and SUVs that will seat 6 or 8 people, but drive around alone, complaining about heavy traffic and no parking spaces.
We pull into fast food restaurants and get edgy because it's taking more than 3 or 4 minutes to get our "meal" after we place our order.
Perhaps we've become spoiled by our bounty.

The truth is, many of the things that trigger stress in our lives really shouldn't.
The video clip I mentioned earlier shows comedian Louis C.K. (that's his name) in an exchange with Conan O'Brien on NBC a few months ago.
It runs only 4 minutes.
In it, the comic addresses such topics as our impatience with cellphones, when just a few years ago we all had to deal with dial phones, connected to a wire at just one location in our homes.
It's a funny, revealing perspective on our society and how easily we become spoiled and bothered.

Now, you might notice that I'm not allowed -- by company policy -- to "embed" video in the middle of this essay, which really, really, really annoys me!
Think about it... if I could embed here, you'd actually see a little YouTube screen with the video right there. But nooooooo, the bosses say I'm only allowed to put a "link"... which means you'll then have to go to all the trouble of clicking on that link with your mouse, in order to see the video.
Boy oh boy, I'm really annoyed about such an inconvenience!
That's going to cost you an extra 2 seconds!
But do it anyhow... CLICK HERE... and hear Louis C.K.'s take on modern day annoyances.
Be advised, it's mildly crude, but amusing.

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