| Writer's Block: Licensed to Drive |
[May. 19th, 2009|01:27 pm] |
I do have problems with some of these arbitrary age requirements. Some kids are mature enough to drive at 14 while other people aren't mature enough to behind the wheel at 40. You've seen some of the drivers out there. I wouldn't trust them crossing the street, let alone operating a motor vehicle.
However, the age requirement is probably a necessary evil since no one has put together a universal maturity test. And I will admit that most teens do just fine driving. But looking at it as a whole, I don't think the benefits of letting teens drive outweigh the costs. As Allstate, the corporate sponsor of this question here points out, car accidents are the number one killers of teens. And of course, there's also the innocent lives these irresponsible drivers take with them.
So, I wouldn't have a problem with raising the driving age. I think it would save a lot of lives. The one exception is that I think 16 year-olds should be given special dispensation to drive if they need to drive in order to get to work. These kids should be allowed to drive, but only to and from their jobs.
And just on a personal note, I didn't get my license til well after age 16 and I don't see my life having been severly hindered because of it. In fact, I think it's been a good thing as it's made me less dependent on cars. I really wish more people in this country had that attitude. |
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| Warming up a bit |
[Jan. 17th, 2009|05:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cold | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the Cure | ] |
(sticking head out like a groundhog)
It's a whole 24 degrees. Above zero!
Fabulous!
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| Writer's Block: Church and State |
[Jan. 5th, 2009|08:44 pm] |
Considering that marriage grants people certain legal rights, I'd say yes.
There are some obvious legal advantages that married people enjoy here in the US. For example, spouses are able to draw Social Security benefits off their spouses. Spouses are also automatically granted automatic insurance coverage as well.
As a single person, I don't see this as altogether fair. My tax dollars and insurance premiums are going to pay to give married people extra rights that single folks don't have.
.
Even though I feel that single people get the short end of the stick, I'm certainly not suggesting the abolishment of marriage. That's just crazy talk. If I had to, I'd define marriage as the union between two consenting adults.
So that would leave out the polygamists. I really don't think that we need to give legal rights to five or 10 or 20 partners. That's a bit much. Oh and yes, I don't think someone should be able to marry a turnip. I realize I'm risking the ire of the turnip rights groups but you've got to set some limits.
Now of course, the big controversial issue is same sex marriages. There's a lot of crazy arguments against gay marriage. My favorite is that same sex couples corrupt the institution of marriage. Sorry, there's many reasons marriages fail. If your marriage doesn't work out, it's not because there's gay couples out there. You might as well blame them for global warming too.
And of course there's the hazy religious argument that because homosexuality is condemned in the Bible. Well, putting aside separation of church and state there's far more passages in the Bible condemning the rich. Does this mean the government should start putting a cap on what people can earn?
Or to take it to another level, should adulterers be put to death as it says in the Bible? Let's have some consistency here. Religious zealots can be mildly amusing, but wishy-washy inconsistent zealots are just sad.
Now the only logical argument I can think of banning gay marriages is that we're already giving extra benefits to married couples as it is. Especially considering the precarious position the Social Security system is in, can we really afford to grant rights to a whole slew of new people?
Makes sense to me but it's also incredibly discriminatory. People can't choose if they're gay or straight so how can we say one is better than the other. That would be like prohibiting marriage among blacks or people with blond hair or green eyes or something equally arbitrary. Avoiding blatant discrimination trumps the other considerations. |
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| 2009 |
[Jan. 3rd, 2009|09:14 am] |
Seems like the New Year caused everyone to reassess their lives causing them to make resolutions they'll forget about long before the New Month. Long ago I made a resolution not to make any resolutions and I'm proud to say that I've stuck with that.
Still, I've found myself feeling rather melancholy the past couple days, which is odd because I've kept myself pretty busy and usually only dwell on stuff when I have extended periods to dwell on stuff. So perhaps I've succumbed to this New Year introspection with the rest of the so-called sheep.
Despite my melancholia, I am certainly able to put things in perspective. I used to be pretty whiny and emo in my younger days. I wish I could go back in time and kick my past self in the butt. I was so busy angsting that I didn't get a chance to appreciate how well I had it.
Every day now, I give thanks for all that I do have. Especially in these days where so many people don't know where their next paycheck will come from. I also have my health and am supremely grateful for that.
So I think I've got the right mindset, but I do believe that every good thing has a natural flip side. Perhaps I've become too complacent.
I was involved in an interesting discussion a couple days ago. Which is better; to be an adventurous world traveler or to be completely happy where you are now. Is it better to be restless and driven to encounter new people and experiences? Or is it better to be perfectly happy where you are and to find new worlds of wonder in your own backyard?
I argued for the latter which, I think, just reflects my current mindset. For once, my life has been relatively calm and stable and I've been really enjoying that. I've found that for the most part, I'm actually (gasp) happy. I'm grateful for all that I have and feel that happiness has to come from within. Too many people think something else or someone else can complete them and run like crazy to obtain that. The pursuit is a distraction from their longing but certainly not a cure.
Of course, the real answer to the question is a combination of the two. In real life, we're not relegated to just one choice or the other. I think it's best to first be happy where you are and then seek out new experiences to make life even richer.
So that's where I'm at right now. I do see what I consider my two worst traits (my laziness and my natural introverted tendency to withdraw) keeping me from taking the steps to make a good thing even better. So while I'm not going to make any resolutions, I am going to try to take small steps to get out of my self imposed comfort zone a bit.
This is certainly not a new idea and in fact, seems really cliched. But then again, a lot of cliches are cliches because they're true. And I often feel I have to either do something incredible or revolutionary or not do it all all. Which means, I usually end up not doing anything at all. |
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| Ho Friggin' Ho! |
[Dec. 22nd, 2008|01:22 pm] |
I can't remember exactly when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. You'd think this would be a semi-traumatic experience and I should be able to recall it. Then again, like most people, I claimed belief in the fat man long after I actually figured it out. No point in killing off the cash cow.
I do recall that I started having doubts about the Easter Bunny before I started questioning Old Saint Nick. I'm not sure if it was that I found the idea of a walking-talking rabbit far fetched while the idea of a guy who flies around in a reindeer-pulled sled seemed perfectly logical. Well, maybe not perfectly logical. I think I became an Easter Bunny athiest while remaining a Santa Claus agnostic.
Perhaps it was because Santa had a much richer mythology than the Easter Bunny that made the jolly elf seem more real. I could name all of Santa's reinders + Rudolph and knew he lived in the North Pole and was married and had elves making brand-name toys.
On the other hand, I really knew nothing about the Easter Bunny. Where did he live? Did he paint all those eggs himself? Why did he even do this in the first place? Santa, of course, wanted to see all the good little boys and girls happy on Chrismas morning but what's up with the Easter Bunny? Is the rabbit interested in childrens' hapiness or was he just some kind of merry prankster hiding eggs all willy-nilly?
Of course, the best lies are usually the simple ones. The ones that don't have too many details that can be disproven. So it seems to me that Santa would be the one I called out first. Sure we know a lot about him but there's a lot of holes in his story. How does a fat guy fit in the chimneys? What about kids that don't have chimneys? How does he fit all that stuff in the sleigh? And even with flying reindeer, how does he get to every single house in the world in one night?
In contrast, since we really know nothing about the Easter Bunny, there's a lot less to question. For all I know, there could be mutliple Easter Bunnies. It would be relatively easy for my neighborhood bunny to hide all the eggs in my block in a single evening. Besides, I had squirrels that got in my house once, so it would be pretty easy for a rabbit to get in there as well. So it would seem that Santa would actually be more far fetched.
Of course, a child's logic isn't anything like normal logical logic. For example, the idea of a lecherous old man spying on me to see if I'm naughty would give me the creeps now, but as a kid I had no problem with it as long as it meant I'd be getting shiny new toys. Makes me wonder if the need for privacy is a learned behavior since I obviously didn't think twice about it as a child.
Another thing that never struck me as a child was what a raw deal the Tooth Fairy got. Santa works one day a year and he hogs all the glory. The poor Tooth Fairy has to work every day; weekends and holidays, since kids are always losing teeth. Yet she doesn't get much respect. There is no Tooth Fairy Day. We get a day for the lousy groundhog and clueless Chris Columbus, but no recognition for the woman who selflessly gave her entire fortune and only asking for a tooth that I would've thrown away in return. It's just not fair. |
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| Friday (original & creative subject title, huh ;-) |
[Dec. 12th, 2008|06:58 pm] |
Don't think I've updated this thing in over a month. I've got something of a Catch-22 when it comes to LJ. When I've got all kinds of stuff going on that inspires me to write, I'm usually too busy to stop and write. Then when I have really not much going on, I also have really not much to write about.
Well, I had today off from work which was nice. However, Fridays are possibly the most depressing days to take off. I always get a sense of euphoria when I get off work on Fridays, knowing I have the weekend to look forward to. I see all those people who worked all day getting that feeling now and for me it's just another day. I sort I feel left out. Kind of like a joke I'm not in on. Ah well, It was still nice to have a day off.
And I do realize I'm lucky to have a job, especially in these times. My last review went really well, which I guess is as much job security as anything else. And I do get a sense of accomplishment from my job.
Still, like everyone else I'm really scrambling to save for both the unknown and what I do know. One thing coming up is a fortune in dental bills. My lawsuit against my old dentist that screwed everything up is just starting (he'll probably be served on Monday and I'd love to see his face) but I've been advised that these things can take years and I need to have the work done now. Meh! Dentures are looking really good right now.
And of course there is no guarantee I'll win. I am going to be up against the insurance company's lawyers. Seriously, health care in this country would be so much more efficient if we could just ditch the insurance companies and use that money towards providing affordable health care in the first place. Yeah, I know that's not gonna happen but I can rant.
Closing my eyes and picturing a world with no insurance companies or lawyers. Ah, happy thoughts! |
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| Back From Internet Exile |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|09:22 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | obama | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  optimistic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Beausoleil | ] |
Got back from a nice (but way too short) vacation. During that week's time, I haven't been online at all. I was really having too much fun to notice all that much but it is good to be connected again.
I ended up watching the election results last night. I had told myself I wasn't going to. Sort of pointless really since my watching certainly wasn't going to change the outcome. Still, I think the best man won.
I do worry a bit with all this Obama mania going on. I think he'll make a fine president but I really hope people don't pin their hopes too high. As Obama himself said last night, some of the changes that people are clamoring for may not be realized in a year or even in a single term. There are some rough times ahead and there are limits to what a presidential administration can do. Regardless, I am cautiously optimistic.
This looks like it's going to be the last nice day for the rest of the year so I'm going to go out to enjoy the warmth and sunshine. I'm looking forward to checking out my f-list tonite to see what you've all been up to. |
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| RaNdOm |
[Oct. 29th, 2008|04:11 pm] |
I haven't really posted much here lately and, since I'll be offline for most of the next week, so here's some scattered rambling...
- Early voting has started here though, apparently, there are still some undecided voters out there. Who are these people? At first I was thinking these were probably the same people that waited for the morning of the exam to start cramming. Now I'm thinking these are the people that never even showed up for class. I'm really hoping they don't show up to the polls to randomly vote for whoever. Please, just stay at home and take your Incomplete, people.
- Speaking of procrastination, it looks like I've missed the October 11the deadline to put in my application for the Evil League of Evil. Now, sure, I could take over the world on my own, but running the world on one's own takes work. I have to find my own minions and I get larangytis having to be the only one laughing evilly while announcing that the world is doomed. And besides, you've heard the old saying 'You've conquered it, you've bought it.' Once I take over this pathetic mudball and declare Mission Accomplished, I'll be saddled with the responsibilities of running everything all on my own. No thanks! I think I'll stick with my day job.
- Public transportation is, hands down, the best for people watching. Last time I took the Metra, there was an annoying loud group of drunken stoners taking about absolutely nothing. One stoner announced to his friends "Hey remember when I made you guys all smell my socks. They smelled pretty good, didn't they?" Yes, this is quoted verbatim. You just can't pay someone to make this stuff up.
- Which illustrates, as annoying as loud drunks are, they are far superior to loud shrieking children. Bratty kids never have anything interesting to say when they're being loud and whiny. They're just loud and whiny.
- In one of the more bizarre product tie-ins, Avon is launching it's Bond Girl Perfume based on the popular 007 franchise. I have to say I don't quite get the appeal. From what I recall, James Bond was pretty much a big slut who was always jumping from woman to woman. Perhaps Avon needs to start marketing Eau de Disposable Girl or Next Conquest Perfume instead.
- There was a lot about the fact that Palin's stylist was paid almost twice as much as McCain's foreign policy advisor. I have to actually admit that I don't really blame Palin for this one. The main goal right now is to win the election and sadly, most voters are more impressed with appearances than policy. The big question here is, of course, does Sarah Palin wear Bond Girl Perfume? Inquiring minds need to know.
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| A Brady Bummer |
[Oct. 21st, 2008|01:30 pm] |
I've been away from LJ for a while. I've been trying to write on here fairly regularly so, let's see. What should I write about. Well, last Thursday, Marcia Brady came to town. Well, at least Maureen McCormick, the actress who played Marcia in the camp TV show.
So I got together with a couple friends I haven't seen in a long while to hang out, grab a bite to eat and then to head out to Border's Books where, we were under the impression, she would be giving a talk then signing a book she had just written.
Well, not quite. When we got there a pushy Border's employee informed us that this was strictly a book signing. She informed us that in order to meet Marcia.. er, Maureen.., we would need to purchace a book and then get in line.
This was totally not cool and went totally against the groovy Brady vibe. I wanted to tell her that I was just in this for the kitsch factor and that I really should not be required to pay money to enjoy my little healthy doses of irony.
We could tell from the employee's face that she would not be hearing any of this, so we just decided to leave. Oddly, there was a huge line of sad looking people clutching their books to be signed.
I'm really not into the whole autograph collecting/ celebrity worshiping thing. I know there are people who would wait for hours in line to meet their favorite celeb, but I just don't get it. And besides, this wasn't even Paris Hilton or Britney Spears or someone equally worthless. It was just Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
But the night wasn't a total bust. In fact, I had a great time and it was great hanging with my friends Margie and Mike who I hadn't seen in a while. In fact, I need to work on keeping in touch with people. I know I'm pretty bad at that. I'm a classic introvert and I tend to isolate myself sometimes. Which is, of couse, a very Un-Brady thing to do.
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| The Audacity of Faith |
[Oct. 13th, 2008|06:12 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | maher, religion | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Anthony Stewart Head & George Sarah | ] |
Well, I broke down and went to see Religulous, Bill Maher's documentary on religion. Now go before I go any further, I should mention there are spoilers in this post so if you don't want anything to be revealed before you see it, now would be a good time to stop reading. This is of course a documentary so it's not like I'm going to be ruining any plot twists. No 'Darth is Luke's father' or 'Rosebud's the Sled' here but you have been forewarned.
Still with me? Alrighty then. Since I strive for objectivity, I should probably state my biases upfront just as Maher himself did at the beginning of the movie. He clearly stated the agnostic mantra of 'I honestly don't know what's out there' so we'd know exactly where he's coming from. I consider myself Protestant Christian. Like many other Christians, I consider myself very open-minded and like quite a few, I have more than my fair share of doubts.
I also went into the movie with a sort of negative feeling based on something I read* where Maher said the main reason he made this movie was for laughs. This bothered me since, for both good and bad, religion plays a big part in people's lives and while I'm all for questioning just about everything, it should be done for more than just a punchline.
I'm happy to say the movie was so much more than that, with one major exception. So let's get that out of the way now since it did anger me a bit.
There's this bad dating show** where, post-production, they insert these thought baloons over the participants' heads. The captions in the baloons usually have something to do with how awful the date is going and its done purely for laughs.
Maher does something quite similar, also for laughs. He inserts his own comments post-production. The difference is, that if you're going on that dating show, you know they're gonna do that. With this movie, I don't think the interviewees knew what they were getting into.
That just seems pretty cheap and underhanded. For me, it also undermines Maher's credibility and sincerity.
Three times while filming (at the Vatican, a Mormon temple and at a bizarre Christian theme park) he is either denied entry or told to leave. The PR woman at the Christian theme park flat out said that she didn't want Maher there. Now normally, I'm on the side of the press and against anyone that tries to censor anything. However, based on Maher's antics, my sympathies in this instance, actually lie with the crazy religious freaks. I'd kick him out too.
That said, the movie has a lot of thought provoking material interspersed with the laughs and, while I have quite a few misgivjngs, I do recommend it.
I can see how a lot of people would be offended but I actually thought the movie was most intersesting when Maher was knocking my own faith. He echoed many of my doubts and made several valid points. For example, why isn't 'Thou Shalt Not Rape' one of the 10 Commandments? Yeah, desiring your neighbor's wife isn't good but isn't violently forcing yourself on someone else way worse?*** And isn't torture pretty bad? They somehow managed to leave that one out too.
And Maher did a good job pointing out that Christianity's ressurection theme had been done in other religions. Maher points out the story of Osiris among others. Maher didn't continue (possibly because he thought it may be overkill) that in the history of religion, the new religion will capitialize and/ or villify the old religion.
For example, based on the descriptions in the Bible, Jesus was probably born in the Spring yet Christmas was set in the Winter to coincide with the Roman solar holiday. Egyptians regarded the snake as holy and Christians turned the old holy symbol into the incarnation of the devil. I could go on and on but since none of this was actually in the movie, I'll get back on topic before anyone nods off.
One of the misgivings I had before going into the movie was that Maher was going to find easy targets and pick on them. Extremists are, after all, good fodder. He did do some of this but, surprisingly, this turned out to be one of the movie's strengths because it illustrated an important idea. Let me explain.
Maher made an excellent point. He said that if you knew nothing of human culture and you were presented with two tales: the story of Jonah**** eaten by the whale and the Jolly Green Giant, and then asked which was a work of pure fiction, you'd be hard pressed to say. They're both pretty out there.
He then continues on knocking so-called easy targets. And who's more easy than the Scientologists? Yep, I was laughing right along with their beliefs in extra-terrestrials. Oh, those wacky Scientologists! How could anyone seriously believe any of that?
But then Maher pressed his point saying that some of the Christian ideas like the burning bush and a snake who temps people are considered perfectly sane. In fact, in some cultures, if you don't believe these things, you're considered crazy. Why is ET outlandish while a talking snake isn't?
It's a simple idea that all religions are a little bit weird. But I've never seen it presented so simply and eloquently in this movie. I felt Maher deftly stated his case and was ready for the closing statements.
And here's where he totally dropped the ball.
At this point, he could have made a plea for acceptance of all religions (including those that don't have a religion.) We're taking a lot of faith here so why begrudge others. Let's at least try to understand or accept them first and then maybe they'll accept our own admittedly strange ideas. In other words, can't we all get along.
Insead, Maher basically insists that religions are pretty much the root of all evil and we should do away with them.
Okay, first, not gonna happen. I'm not saying that we're all going to accept each other's beleifs but we can at least make steps to do that. We're not going to wave a magic wand and make everyone's beliefs just go away. Nor should we.
Second, religion is not the root of all evil. Just a symptom of it. Yes, a lot of blood has been shed in the name of religion. But I've seen people get violent over their favorite sports teams, the jerk who cut them off in traffic or the last Tickle Me Elmo doll. If you get rid of religion, people will just find something else to kill themselves over. Guaranteed.
A Muslim woman Maher interviews on the street insists that politics, not Islam is responsible for the violence. Maher rightly dismisses that as not altogether true. But he's also wrong in insisting that religion is the only problem. Politics and other factors such as land and oil play a great deal into it. Sure, religion in a cause and other factors (such as land an oil) play a great deal into it. It may be easy to rally folks based on religion but I wouldn't say that's the root cause. At the very least, it certainly isn't the only one.
Third, a lot of good is done in the name of religion as well as bad. But this movie never seems to acknowlege this. Maher's basic thesis at the end seems to be 'Religion Bad.' I don't think that's necessarily true. Like the Force in Star Wars, one's beliefs can lead one to the light side or the dark side. A KKK member and Mother Theresa may both pray to the same god, but that doesn't necessarily make Christianity bad. If it was inherently evil, they'd both be hating and not helping people.
Or to put it another way, you and I could listen to 'Helter Skelter' by the Beatles and have a completely different reaction to the song than Charles Manson. The Beatles are widely regarded as one of the greatest bands in history. Does Manson's reaction to one of their songs automatically invalidate that?
Yeah, as Maher indicates, faith can be kind of goofy. Not entirely rational. I'll admit to often reverting back to my old agnostic ways because it's so damn logical. There really is no way that we can know everything. At the very least, we'll never come to a consensus.
So, it's true that people are not logical. But dammit, that's what makes us human! I refuse to believe that our faith in something beyond ourselves is necessary a detriment. This so-called weakness is paradoxically one of our greatest strengths.
Lets say you could eliminate faith because, as Maher illustrates, it is illogical. Should we eliminate every other illogical facet of our personalities. Turn us all into good little brainwashed robots all believing the same thing. Sure, we may eliminate a lot of our problems but we may as well be dead.
So, no, I don't think religion is at the root of all evil. I think lack of tolerance is. Let's realize that all Muslims are not by definition, terrorists. All Christians are not by definition, close-minded bigots. All Pagans are not by definition, Satanists. All Athiests are not by definition, evil people. Heck, Mormons aren't even all rabid Osmond fans.
Let's rejoice in our own irrationality and accept other's craziness too. And yes, Mr. Maher, you're right in pointing out that we do need to question our own beliefs. I don't think that anyone can truly believe anything without first asking hard questions and listening to the other side.
But faith is not the problem. Yes, beliefs can be perverted but I'd argue that fear is the cause and religious fervor is just the symptom of that fear.
Faith has helped people rise beyond that fear and aspire to better things. I'm not saying that one has to believe in order to aspire to be better, but a lot of good has been done in the names of various religions. And you know, I personally thank God for that.
*I normally cite my source material but I honestly don't remember where I read this from and I don't want to go searching for it since I don't want to read anything that'll bias my initial reactions right after seeing the film
** Okay, yeah, I realize there aren't any good dating shows. However, if you are an insomniac like myself, it is more entertaining than the infomercials that are on at the same time. And yes, there is a point to this. Just bear with me. (-;
*** Yes, in case you were wondering, this is a rhetorical question.
**** And I will admit that I, personally, consider the story of Jonah to be one of my favorite and most powerful stories in the Bible.
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| Writer's Block: Transportation |
[Oct. 12th, 2008|01:56 pm] |
My favorite mode of transportation has been around for quite a while. Walking.
It's something I do as much as possible. It's good exercise and completely free. I experience so much more around me by walking as opposed to being locked into the confines of an automobile. The journey becomes far more important than the destination.
I've long asserted that if I can go my whole life without owning a car, I will be very happy. That's pretty much considered crazy talk here in the US. However, in light of the current gas prices, I consider it a very sane response to an insane situation.
Even when times were good, I saw no logic in isolating myself by living far away from where I work and the places I enjoy going. I saw no need in getting the largest gas-eating vehicle just because I could.
I'm sure in the future there will be some incredible advances in technology and transportation. And I plan on taking advantage of them when necessary. But I intend to be as independent of these things as possible.
Technology should serve us. With so many people completely at the mercy of gas prices and automobiles, it seems we've become slaves to the technology instead.
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| One extra large mushroom soul, hold the anchovies |
[Oct. 10th, 2008|05:07 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | pizza, souls | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  soulful | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Bel Canto | ] |
I overhead some people on the bus the other day talking about this pizza place that was buying souls as part of some promotional campaign. So of course, I had to get on Google to find out exactly what they were talking about.
So yes, apparently a local pizza place is actually offering free slices of pizza in exchange for your soul. According to many of the entries on yelp, the pizza sucks so this sounds like a truly Faustian rip-off.
Not to mention, this whole thing illustrates the disturbing trend that just about anyone can just buy souls all willy-nilly. So, what's next? Are people going to start selling their souls on ebay now?
Back in my day, Beelzebub was the only one I knew of who was involved in the soul buying racket. I always assumed this is because he was the only one that had the facilities to use them. I mean, unless you've got souls to torture, hell is just a big empty basement with extravagant heating bills. Likewise, purchasing a soul without a place to play with them is a bit like owning a video game without a Wii. Pretty pointless.
But now people will be buying and selling souls left and right. Poor lending & borrowing decisions are going to lead to a subprime soul crisis. The government is going to start having to offer bailouts and, since most elected officials already owe their souls to the devil , this will obviously end badly.
And since I believe were destined for a much better place, why not just shell out a couple bucks for that crappy piece of pizza instead. When you think about it, souls are a pretty stupid form of currency anyway.
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| Writer's Block: United Nations World Teachers Day |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|05:50 pm] |
Instead, I'd rather just comment on the two subjects I hated most in school that I still think were totally worthless.
Geometry:
This was probably my most hated class. I actually enjoyed Algebra. I didn't mind finding 'x,' though I would have liked it if someone would have explained why 'x' always seemed to go missing. We never had any problems with 'm' or 'q so what was the deal with 'x'? ' But I sort of liked Algebra and I have found practical uses for it.
Geometry, on the other hand, taught me nothing. I remember the teacher telling us that there is no such thing as a perfect circle or a perfectly straight line. They why are we wasting time studying them? Why don't we just study leprechauns instead?
And we had to do all these proofs. But we were proving things that had already been proven so what's the point? Their reasoning was that it was to get us to think logically. To which I'd answer, wouldn't it be more logical to try to prove something that hasn't been proven yet. I never got a logical answer to that one.
Latin:
Even though I didn't attend Catholic school, I was still required to take three years of Latin from 7th to 9th grades. One of the reasons for this, I was told, was because Latin is the root of English and most other languages. So if we understand Latin, we will have a better understanding of all languages.
This excuse is even shakier than the reason we had to prove proven proofs in Geometry. All Latin did was make me get Spanish and Latin words mixed up when I got to10th grade and was finally able to study a language that people actually spoke.
And I don't really remember any Latin. The only full sentence I can say is "Puella est agricola." This means "the girl is a farmer." Since I've never had any reason to use this sentence in English, I don't see the point of having to learn how to say it in Latin.
The high point of my Latin studies was in 9th grade when we were reading Caesar's Gallic Wars. Our teacher told us that, for laughs, the Roman soldiers used to put their prisoners in catapults and shoot them against cliffs. To illustrate this, he crumpled up a ball of paper, put it in a toy catapult and shot it against the podium.
Now I don't know if this story is true or not but there have been many people over the years that have pissed me off. Rather than get mad, I just picture myself splattering my enemies against a cliff using my own personal catapult.
This always brings a smile to my face and proves that, even in the most worthless of subjects, there are important life lessons to be learned.
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| I'm catnip_dreamz and I approve this message. |
[Sep. 27th, 2008|03:50 pm] |
I'm not going to comment specifically on the presidential debate. I doubt I could add much that wasn't said already. However while watching, I started thinking that we should have more of these. Of course the debates aren't perfect, but at least it gives the candidates a chance to address each other and the American people.
Right now, it seems one of the main sources of information the public gets about the people running for office are the political ads. I would propose that we get rid of these altogether.
For one thing, look at all the money spent on these advertisements. The amount spent on political advertising for television alone will probably reach $3 billion by Election Day. Three friggin billion! Imagine all the good that could be done with that money.
So let each candidate take all that money that would be wasted on a 30 second commercial and put it to some practical use. If Obama is concerned about the state of eduction in this country, have him find a creative way to use that money to help the schools. If McCain in concerned about the soldiers coming back from Iraq, have him use that money to provide medical care for them and for their families. Seems a lot better way to use these billions of dollars that paying for an ad that makes them look good and the other guy look bad. Let's make them prove that they can do some good. After all, considering the president is responsible for how our tax dollars are spent, let them prove they can put the money to good use by spending their own instead.
And if we had regular debates, say each week, then each of the candidates could discuss the good they've done. It may restore some people's faith to see politicians can be part of the solution rather than part of the probelm.
Now some people may say that we need the ads because that's how many people get their information about the candidates. People may not want to watch a debate each week, but they will watch their favorite shows and, by default, the ads. Well, I think that's kind of scary that people are getting so much information from such obviously biased sources. And even if they weren't slanted, you cannot get a handle on the issues with just a 30 second ad.
Come on. Even with American Idol, you get to hear the contestants sing before voting for them. So shouldn't you have to at least hear what the potential President of the United States has to say before casting your vote? It's pretty scary to think someone would put less effort in voting for Obama or McCain as they would choosing this guy.
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| Writer's Block: Health Care |
[Sep. 23rd, 2008|01:38 pm] |
In this country, sadly it's more of a privilege than a right. I support universal health care but I believe there need to be conditions. First off, I think anyone participating in this program needs to not smoke or, at the very least, enroll in a treatment program. Sorry, but it says these things will kill you right one the box! If you want to live dangerously, that’s your right, but the taxpayer shouldn’t have to foot the bill. I believe in a safety net but I also believe in some personal responsibility as well. If this program were to be implemented it’s going to cost a lot. There’s only so much money to go around and there have to be limits somewhere. There would be a lot of debate over what these limits should be, and I don’t think it’s possible to come up with a perfect idea list. But it should cover common sense things like not smoking. And if you don’t like it, take your chance with the insurance companies. At least the conditions would be listed upfront and I’d say it’s a lot fairer than our current system where people are generally excluded just because they’re poor.
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| One More Reason I'm Glad It's Friday |
[Sep. 12th, 2008|04:58 pm] |
There's that old joke about the guy who's in an alley looking for his for something. I can't remember exactly what he's looking for, but it's a generic joke so it really doesn't matter.
Anyway, another guy comes over and asks him if the place that he's looking is the same place that he dropped it. The first man answers, "No I lost it over there but the light is better over here."
No, I didn't laugh either but that joke did remind me of something that happened today. I work customer service and the caller was asking for something. I explained that we don't handle that but I gave him the phone number of the company that does.
A few minutes later, the same guy calls back. I again explained that I couldn't help him. He told me that he knew that, but when he called the other company, all he got was a recording and he wanted to talk to a real person.
We're going to be getting an automated 800 number by the end of the year. I wonder if that means people will stop calling us too. |
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| Snoopy Dies )-: |
[Sep. 3rd, 2008|09:55 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | snoopy | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sad | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Lisa Germano | ] |
Bill Melendez, who provided the voice for Snoopy and was the only animator that Charles Schultz let work with his Peanuts characters, died today at age 91.
More here on this link.
I've never heard of Bill Melendez before, but he got to work with a wide variety of well known characters in addition to Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. I personally wouldn't mind working behind the scenes in relative anonymity if I got to have an exciting career like that.
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 1st, 2008|07:39 pm] |
Last night I went to the Aimee Mann concert. Well, actually it turns out Aimee Mann was just the opening act but she got to play for quite a while so I was happy.
Apparently Squeeze was the main band. I don't dislike Squeeze but I just don't get how anyone could really get in to them. Most of their songs, which sound the same anyway, are fairly forgetable. Last night they played a bunch of songs that I knew but that I had forgotten about. And I've pretty much erased them from my memory now. But my friend (who got us free tickets by the way) was a big fan so it was all good.
I've seen Aimee Mann three times before. I'd say this would be the fourth time, except I really didn't see her. This was because the concert was at a venu called Ravinia. The place does have a stage and seating and all that but most people (us included) sit out on the lawn and chill. You can't see the stage from the lawn. There's raised speakers all over piping the music out to the lawn, but you don't get the visual concert experience.
Which is not as bad as it sounds. It fact, it's actually a cool laid back scene. People bring portable tables, food and do the whole picnic thing.. They just hang out drinking wine and listening to the music from the stage broadcast to the lawn. It sort of reminded me of a a bunch of deadheads just chilling outside the show. Well, I guess it would have if deadheads dressed better, didn't smell and sipped Chardonnay.
It was something of a surreal experience. Not because after each song, we were all clapping to a speaker rather than to a live band. Though I will admit that was pretty odd.
No, for me, it was because I was lying there on the lawn drinking a beer, chowing on hummus and having a grand old time when just about three years ago to the day, I was fleeing for my life from Hurricane Katrina. With Gustav, that memory came back as clear as yesterday. People were going through that whole mad, frightening ordeal again. I was worried about friends and aquaintances and thinking back to the Katrina experience with vivid detail. While this was hanging heavy on my mind, I was staring up at the blue sky of a perfect Illinois summer evening while listening to music. Two worlds so far apart. 900 miles and three years ago clashed with the here and now.
This morning I spent too much time watching CNN and the Weather Channel's coverage of the storm. While it may have a few bruises, it looks like NOLA will bounce back. My friends checked in and are safe. So, basically, all's well that ends well.
So, I'm back to whining about having to get up early for work tomorrow. It's good to have things back to normal.
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| Pomp & Circumstances |
[Aug. 30th, 2008|12:48 pm] |
The Democratic Convention's over, so now we've got to wade through the Republican version followed by a continuous wave of negative political ads from both sides.
I caught the tail end of the Dem's convention and despite my generally favorable opinion of Obama, I was just shaking my head at the pageantry. The fact that it was going on as the same time that Gustav was cranking towards the US just emphasized that the political process is just so, well, political.
Everything was so carefully orchestrated and planned at the convention. The well rehearsed speeches were pretty, the media response was predictable and everything pretty much ran like clockwork.
Contrast that with the chaos and frenzy of an approaching storm of potentially biblical proportions. Thousands of people scrambling to pack up their belongings, not knowing whether they'll have anything to return to. Top that with the fact that most of these people have had to live through this before and are still feeling shell-shocked. I've been through that once. I can't imagine the post traumatic stress of having to go through it again.
Still, like on the Titanic, the bands play on at the Conventions and the seemingly unflappable candidates delivered their speeches amid the high & dry Denver mountains. If I was scrambling for my life, anything anyone said would have struck me as somewhat hollow, no matter how eloquent.
Yes, I realize it obviously has to be this way. Politics like anything else these days, needs to be packaged and sold or it will be ignored. That doesn't necessarily means there's no substance beneath the pretty packaging. It's just that, regardless of the message, it'll never fly without a touch of P.T Barnum.
So whether it's the spectacle of the conventions or McCain's calculated VP choice, these things are painstakingly planned.
Real life, on the other hand, is more like a hurricane ; messy, unpredictable and chaotic. You can't debate it or put it before a focus group. With political candidates or approaching storms, you make the best choice you can and hope for the best.
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| ______-A_Thon |
[Aug. 25th, 2008|08:48 pm] |
This Saturday was the 6th annual Slay-a-thon, a 13 hour marathon of Buffy and Angel episodes along with games and contest and prizes. All good geeky fun. I've look forward to this event every year. It's always great to find people that didn't look at me like I was crazy for watching a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Then again, anyone that doesn't get the ironic quirkiness of the title probably isn't going to appreciate the ironic quirkiness of the show anyway.
Another great thing about the Slay-a-thon is that it's a charity event that raises money for the Make A Wish Foundation. Sure there are other ways to raise money for charities but these usually involve something strenuous like running. Sure it's sort of embarrassing to ask someone to pledge you for sitting on your butt all day watching TV but according to the site they've already raised $10,982 for Make a Wish so far this year, so they must be doing something right.
This was, as far as I know, this was the first non-Slayer Slay-a-thon. In other words, they couldn't show any Buffy episodes. Some crazy legal thing.
From what I understand, it all started with another group that put on a sing-a-long to the Buffy musical episode. Since this group was charging money for the events, someone somewhere decided they weren't getting their cut so the attorneys shut the whole event down.
Fair enough, I guess, but I still don't totally see why it makes sense to hinder a group trying to raise money for sick kids. Even more puzzling was that Slay-a-thon was allowed to show episodes of Angel (a Buffy spinoff) but not Buffy. Both shows are owed by Fox so I don't see any copyright/ ownership issues. If the problem somehow lies with the musical episode, just don't show that one.
Of course I probably shouldn't try to make any sense of all this. The laws are so complex that even seasoned attorneys don't always get them. Despite this, we're slaves to the letter of the law regardless of how illogical or incomprehensible it may be.
So it's a bit like talking to a five year old where you have to be painstakingly literal to get an idea across. Now picture that same annoying 5 year-old with a Harvard Law degree. The law's a bit like living with an annoying idiot savant that no one understands but everyone has to live with.
Well, regardless, I was happy to veg out to some Angel episodes. I actually prefer Angel to Buffy. It's a lot darker and more intense. However, a fun group situation like Slay-a-thon lends it self far better to the fun campiness of Buffy. I think this was the reason there were far less people attending this year.
Of course, there's a flip side to everything and the advantage of less people means more prizes for those who did attend. Which of course boils down to more prizes for me!
A lot of my fellow fans are collectors. They get into the autographed photos of the actors and the toys and all that peripheral stuff. I like the show, but I really don't care about much aside from that. The comics are cool, since they're pretty much a continuation of the show. So, I was happy to win some comics and trade paperbacks this year, but usually ignore the other stuff.
Well, that said, I won some cool toys this year that I'm actually going to keep. One is a figure of Lorne, the karaoke lounge singing demon. Why is this so cool? Well, the figures all come with accessories. For example, Buffy's come with a stake and the Giles figure comes with ancient tomes to research demons.
The Lorne figure's acessories include a bottle of vodka and a martini glass! Believe me, if more kids would get toys like this, the world would be a much better place. |
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