The Virtual Union

London, U.K. – Evolution has certainly given mankind an incredible gift. Our sophistication has been perhaps the most remarkable feat in the history of the planet. The forming of planets is relatively common, recent discoveries on Mars and Titan indicate that the genesis of life may well be very common, but with human beings something truly remarkable occurred. Millions of species live and have lived on our planet, some for incredible lengths of time, but none have made the mark that human beings have had, no other species has been able to dominate every other species and spread across the globe. Scrape TV

Tehran, Iran – Ever since they first came on the scene, nuclear weapons have been the single most sought after military tool in history. For decades the only supply was controlled by a very few countries but in recent decades have started to proliferate around the world. Nations that were either not around or in very nascent states – Pakistan and Israel most notably – have long had the bomb proving that virtually everyone can have them. While the major players of the 20th century, the U.S., Russian, U.K., China, and France have held the nuclear card for decades, the recent explosive growth in demand is rapidly expanding that boys club. Scrape TV

Los Angeles, CA – Soundgarden; Hole; Faith No More; Stone Temple Pilots; Rage Against the Machine. Taken unto itself that list would read like a who’s who in music for the year 1994 but today, all these years later, it means something different. All of those groups have jumped on the reuniting bandwagon that has overtaken many bands before them and with them have started to bring back the sound of that era. Though years older and far less hungry than in those early days, those bands (and many other) likely still have something to contribute from a sonic landscape thought lost long ago. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – Afghanistan has long been a nation of conflict. Centuries of intermittent conflict has earned the country, quite rightly, the reputation of a nation never at peace. Even in her quieter times the country is often embroiled in internal turmoil which often times leads to the kind of warfare for which the country is known. Few nations, few areas of the world, have been subject to that kind of persistent conflict which has made set the country generations behind even most underdeveloped nations. Scrape TV

Hollywood, CA – With the current spate of remakes and adaptations making a killing at the box office it was perhaps inevitable that the television industry would jump on the bandwagon. With hundreds of defunct series, many of them still beloved by modern audiences, the pool for potential remakes is huge, sixty years huge. With declining ratings and advertising revenue becoming the norm, many television executives are left looking for something familiar, something with which their audiences can immediately identify. Scrape TV

Toronto, Canada – The essence of democracy is that the will of the people supersedes the dominion of the government. By voting the people, the common man, exerts his or her will in determining their future and the way in which they are governed. In day-to-day life such high level concepts rarely play a role but occasionally we do see the will of the people exerted over the leadership. While much of that rebellion is limited to angry music and vegan diets, genuine protest does occur and can change not only a society but the world. Scrape TV

Battle Creek, MI – it has been said by mothers and doctors for decades that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That common wisdom has had little medical evidence to back it up but nonetheless many have followed the adage religiously. Whether or not ordinary people have actually benefited from a healthy breakfast some people have made a killing. Companies like Kellogg and General Mills have built their fortunes on healthy breakfasts, feeding millions and sending children and adults all over the world off on the right foot every single morning. Scrape TV

Pyongyang, North Korea – In the 1950’s the idea that Communism was spreading uncontrollably throughout the world was a defining principle of U.S. policy. It informed that way the country behaved with other nations and even affected the way they treated their own citizens. That paranoia over the threat of communism came to a head a number of times leading to wars and even a near nuclear apocalypse. While such actions now seem foreign and almost quaint to the majority of people today, the threat of the red menace fundamentally changed the world forever. Scrape TV

Hollywood, CA – There was a time when Mel Gibson was the biggest star in the world. He was, much like contemporaries such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Cruise, a King Midas of the Hollywood scene. Absolutely everything he touched turned to gold. If someone had figured out how to film his laundry, it would have been a smash. Unlike his contemporaries however, Gibson’s success lasted for decades and across multiple spectrums allowing him to become a hugely successful director and producer, something few others have been able to accomplish. Scrape TV

Salinas, CA – The story of Walmart if one of the most amazing stories in American business history. In the nearly fifty years since Sam Walton founded his first location in Arkansas the company has grown to become one of the largest businesses ever created with stores in Argentina, England, and China. By offering low prices on high quality products, the company has been able to appeal to consumers regardless of the demographic, making billions in the process and wielding a heretofore unheard of amount of power over manufacturers and even cities and states. Scrape TV