Sunday, November 21, 2010

TSOs are people too.

So I'm going to take a break from the design stuff I usually post about and post about something that has been bothering me lately; how people are treating TSA officers. I'm sure you've all heard about the new TSA naked scanners and the new "enhanced" pat downs.


I understand that no one wants their private parts to be touched but I believe there is a limit to how people should be reacting to this. I didn't really pay the whole issue much mind until I read this article. It's disgusting that people are verbally abusing TSOs (Transport Security Officers) to the point where these people are going home and crying. No one should be publicly humiliated like that. These people are simply people who have a job to do and try to do it in a professional manner. TSOs do not make the policies, so they should not be treated poorly for having to enforce them.


These quotes from TSOs had a serious impact on me,


Yesterday a passenger told me to keep my hands off his penis or he’d scream. Is this how a 40 year old man in business attire acts? He’ll scream? My 3 year old can get away with saying he’ll scream, but a 40 something business man? I am a professional doing my job, whether I agree with this current policy or not, I am doing my job.  I do not want to be here all day touching penises.”


Molester, pervert, disgusting, an embarrassment, creep. These are all words I have heard today at work describing me, said in my presence as I patted passengers down. These comments are painful and demoralizing, one day is bad enough, but I have to come back tomorrow, the next day and the day after that to keep hearing these comments. If something doesn’t change in the next two weeks I don’t know how much longer I can withstand this taunting. I go home and I cry. I am serving my country, I should not have to go home and cry after a day of honorably serving my country.




I come to work to do my job. It is not up to me to decide policy, it is up to me to carry out my duties as dictated by the Transportation Security Administration. When a person stands in front of me and calls me a pervert or accuses me of molesting them it is disheartening. People fail to understand that neither of us are happy about the intrusive pat down I am carrying out.  I am polite, I am professional and while someone may not like what I have to carry out, they came to me because they choose not to utilize the alternative and less invasive method of security at my airport.
I served a tour in Afghanistan followed by a tour in Iraq. I have been hardened by war and in the past week I am slowly being broken by the constant diatribe of hateful comments being lobbed at me. While many just see a uniform with gloves feeling them for concealed items I am a person, I am a person who has feelings. I am a person who has served this country. I am a person who wants to continue serving his country. The constant run of hateful comments while I perform my job
 will break me down faster and harder than anything I encountered while in combat in the Army.

Read the whole article to see what your harsh words are really doing to people as we approach this holiday season. 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Hipster Cigarettes

As if an ironic mustache and a stupid haircut wasn't bad enough hipsters now have their very own brand of cigarettes! Camels "Break Free Adventure" campaign highlights different cities around the nation and this weeks happens to be none only than the hipster central headquarters, Williamsburg! More after the jump!

camel williamsburg cigarettes

Get em while you can because the New York City Health Officials are pissed. Camel describes Williamsburg as, "Some call it the most famous hipster neighborhood. But it's not about hip. It's about breaking free. It's about last call, a sloppy kiss goodbye and a solo saunter to a rock show in an abandoned building. It' where a tree grows. It's Camel in the Williamsburg corner of Brooklyn."

So there you go hipsters, don your vintage American Apparel Tees and run out to the nearest bodega and rep your neighborhood! While you're at it you might also want to try and buy up as many Four Loko's as you can before they're gone!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Adobe Awesomizer Revenge Of The Nerds

A few weeks ago I mentioned the Adobe Awesomizer application on Facebook and the contest that Adobe is having with it. This weeks contest is How Nerdy Can You Look sponsored by Chegg? The cool thing about this week is that on top of the Adobe software which will be received by the winner, the winner will also receive a 1 year-long textbook rental from Chegg!


Get on this people! Here is my submission to this weeks contest! Luckily or me I just got back from a photo shoot with a client so I was already looking sharp. 



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Sunday, November 7, 2010

My Return to Flickr

So I took myself off Flickr a while ago afraid that people were going to steal my photography. But it's back up and has some recent work I've done under the 2010 set. I'll be slowly adding more to it as I comb through all I've taken this year. Here's a couple of my favorite shots.

Abandoned Beach, mgiannavola, flickr

Abstract, mgiannavola, flickr

Jillian Pajer, mgiannavola, flickr

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

So much electro!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! I know my weekend was crazy. I've really been getting into electronic music lately. I've always liked it but more recently I've given up on listening to metal and have been on an all electro diet. I was at a halloween party on sunday night and heard this amazing track. I guess I am a little late on The Bloody Beetroots train but better late than never. Check out the video for their song  Warp 1.9 ft. Steve Aoki, it's a serious banger with an awesome music video (who doesn't like slow motion).




More recent is some crazy new dubstep from Skrillex. His album "Scary Monster and Nice Sprites" dropped last week and it is awesome! It's really all I've been listening to since it came out. You can download it on beatport for free.



Stoked to see him with Huoratron and Felguk next week at Webster Hall!



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