One year ago today I was doing something I never thought I'd be doing: receiving the sixth out of six chemo treatments for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It was a situation that I am grateful that I went through, but I pray that I, nor anyone else reading this, have to go through it again.
Fast forward to today and again I did something I never thought I'd do: I joined a gym. Don't worry, I'll pause here to allow you to regain consciousness from passing out.
**pause**
Okay, yes, I joined a gym. The same guy who has stated many times that round is a shape. The person who you only see running when someone or something is chasing him. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't actually see myself doing it. Physically exerting myself to the point of profuse sweating and/or exhaustion never seemed as good of a time as watching a favorite movie or TV show. But as I'm watching one of the many Planet Fitness commercials that aired between Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day, I thought to myself that the $1 down & $10/month deal sounded pretty good. Well, it sounded good if you're a person that enjoys that sort of thing. It seemed to me that anyone who said they enjoyed exercise was either deranged or was seriously trying to convince themselves of it in hopes that they might enjoy it eventually.
I can't say that I fall into either of those two categories yet. I'm still not convinced that I actually will like working out, but I'm at least willing to give it a shot. No one probably gave me a second look as I went from one piece of equipment to the other, getting an idea of what it does, but I felt slightly out of place. To paraphrase a quote I heard years and years ago, I felt like I was at a black tie party and I was the pair of brown shoes. Even those who didn't appear to be in the running for Mr. Universe still looked like they had an idea of what was going on. One good thing about the membership is that it gives you some time with a personal trainer to custom fit a workout for you based on what you hope to accomplish, as well as working around any physical issues or health problems. Hopefully I'm a quick study and will start looking as if I belong soon.
Perhaps it's just the feeling of needing to accomplish something great for a new year that's moved me to do this, but I just feel that if there's ever going to be a right time, this is it. Financially it may not be the best time, but even at $20 a month for the Black Card membership, that's relatively cheap for the benefits you receive. Plus, how am I going to enjoy eventually getting myself out of debt if I don't get myself healthy to be around for it? I've been stressed out for quite some time because of work, finances, the pressure of trying to be a good husband and father...oh yeah, HEALTH (see my first sentence in this blog)...and from what I've been reading, exercise is a great stress reliever. I'm hoping that this helps me not only physically, but mentally as well.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, there are actually several reasons. One, I thought it would make an interesting blog entry and I haven't written one since before Christmas. Two, I'm going to need your help somewhere along the way. Encouragement and accountability are a must when it comes to things like this, especially if you're not a person who can self-motivate. I don't expect any of you to follow me with pom-poms, cheering on every step, but a line telling me to keep it up would be extremely welcome. Some of you already do this for me and I appreciate every bit of it. I'm not saying I'm going to be the perfect fitness nut through all of this. Next door to the gym is a decent Chinese buffet, so I'm not going to always deny the teachings of one of my mentors, the late great John Pinette. Three, I want you to all know that I'm here for you to provide the same encouragement. It's always been easier for me to build up others because, as much as I like to grumble about people (hey, I'm allowed because I work with the public), I still like to see the best in everyone and be that crutch they need to stay standing. So if you're facing a challenge, no matter what kind, and you need some moral support, I'm here to help. I'm only a phone call, e-mail, text message, FB message, tweet, or blog comment away.
2015 will hopefully be full of great things for all of us and I hope this is one thing I'm doing to help it become of my best years in a while. I've been due for a good one. I think we all are due. Let me know if I can help you with that. I hope you all had a great Christmas, a great New Year's Eve and Day, and I wish you nothing but positives for the rest of the year!
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Hall of Fame Thoughts
Once again we have an announcement from the great city of Cleveland that a new class will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2015. Accompanied with that are my feelings of complete satisfaction with some of the choices and bewilderment at others. I won't dissect each inductee, but I will touch briefly on them.
--Kudos to the Hall for finally recognizing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble as worthy. While definitely deeply rooted in blues, the rock element can't be denied.
--I'm not a huge fan of Lou Reed or Joan Jett, but many acts that followed them claimed them as major influences. For that reason, I'm not going to dispute their induction.
--Though I'm not sure why the Hall started allowing R&B acts to be eligible, I'm glad to see the accomplishments of Bill Withers acknowledged. I'm not familiar with the 5 Royales, but many of the early R&B acts that were the foundation of rock & roll before it was a phrase deserve a nod.
--I don't know who the Paul Butterfield Blues Band is. I have heard of them but can honestly say I don't know anything by them. This calls for a YouTube search.
--Ringo Starr gets the Award for Musical Excellence. If I had to rank my favorite Beatles, Ringo would be a distant fourth. Not sure what else he did to deserve this award, but I won't fight it. Besides, I'd be lying if I said I haven't rocked out to "It Don't Come Easy".
-- My "What the hell??" moment goes to Green Day. I'm only 34 and these guys were big when I was in high school. How is it possible that they're eligible? Shouldn't there be a longer time requirement? I'm sure this will be the one that I get the most hate mail about, but I'm entitled to my opinion. I just don't see their contribution to be as influential as Nirvana, who were inducted last year. But wait... they were also big when I was in school. Am I really getting old??
Overall, this class doesn't interest me as much as last year's did. I was thrilled that Hall and Oates made it in 2014 after all these years and though I'm not a huge fan, it was great to see KISS become HoF'ers. Something still sticks in my mind every year, though, that won't fully allow me to assign the HOF the legitimacy it should have. No matter what grudge Jann Wenner has, the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine and influential higher-up of the HOF should agree with millions across the world and allow the Monkees to be inducted. THEY ARE WORTHY.
Who would you like to see inducted in the next class? Give me some of your choices. As always, I look forward to your opinions. \m/
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Quantum Physics for Dummies
Most of the time when my mind wanders, it finds its way to dead ends. The random problems that my brain thinks up work themselves out when I realize that the answer was either so obvious or I decide that the problems weren't worth the time to solve. But then there are the rarities where I ask myself a question that I can't answer and it just leads to more questions. That's when, if I'm feeling ambitious enough, I start scouring the Net for the answers.
About a week ago, I started thinking about parallel universes. I know, that's not really a light subject to just conjure up out of thin air. I'm not sure how it came up, but I'm sure it was because of a TV show or something I had been watching. Being a sci-fi geek, this happens quite often. So here was the multi-tiered question that occured to me: Has a parallel universe, if it exists, always existed or is it created because of some event? If created by an event, does all history prior to that creation cease to exist for the parallel world, does it use the history of the universe from which it was spawned, or does a completely new history get assumed by the people living in it and recorded as if it had actually happened?
Right now you're probably thinking one of a couple of possible responses. "Huh?" "Are you on drugs?" "This is completely stupid." "That just blew my mind." There probably are a few more I didn't account for, but to answer those: no, I'm not on drugs and yes, it may be completely stupid, but then again, it may be mind-blowing, In preparation for writing this, I did a Google search for "Albert Einstein parallel universe" and clicked on the first link I found that looked like it would have some interesting information. http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/parallel-universe.htm was very short in length, but rich in information about theories concerning parallel universes. My questions still haven't been answered, but at least it's a start. Basically, Albert Einstein believed that alternate universes are altogether possible, but was never able to prove it. Other scientists in the years following his death, like Hugh Everett III & Dr. Michio Kaku have picked up the torch to prove he wasn't off his rocker and some have gotten closer, but still no concrete proof. Their individual theories like "Many-Worlds", "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle", and "String Theory" sound impressive and that's because they are, but no one can confirm them. That's why they're still theories. But with every day that passes, we're getting closer to some confirmation.
From what I'm reading, some theories, like the Many-Worlds or Heisenberg Uncertaintly Principle, hinge on some sort of event that actually creates the parallel universe, such as a scientist simply observing the state of a quantum object (whether in wave or particle form, wave vibration, etc...) or even by making the decision to not make a determination at all. Such an event can cause the split of the universe to accomodate for all possible outcomes of the observation. What a powerful thing to consider: that even the THOUGHT of multiple outcomes could create those multiple outcomes somewhere. If we'd ever find this to be true, the human mind should be considered the greatest object ever created. Sort of makes you reconsider trying to discuss Schroedinger's cat (Google it). Using this information to my question, my question still remains unanswered; we could still share history, there could be no history prior to the event for the alternate world, or they could create a history from shared thought-pooling once it is established. If we follow the theory of Dr. Kaku, which is called String Theory, it's much easier to believe that the universes have their own histories different from each other. His theory states that all objects in the universe, even on down to the smallest particles known currently as quarks, are made up of tinier building blocks that resemble rubber bands and what matter they create depends on these bands and how they vibrate. This creation happens across eleven separate dimensions. Because of how it's created, our universe is therefore separated by itself inside of a "bubble", which exists along side of the other parallel universes in their own "bubbles". It's theorized that they can interact with each other by sharing gravity, but that would create an explosion similar to what some scientists believe happened at the Big Bang. Probably not a good idea for this to happen. BUT, this string theory would then, as I said, give credence to the idea that any alternate worlds would have a unique history, some being just slightly out-of-phase from each other, but definitely unique to that "bubble".
These theories are just the most prominent; we've barely scratched the surface. Plenty of other scientists have their own ideas on if any of this is possible. The truth could be a combination of a couple or all of them, it could be one singular idea, or another possibility is that none of these can actually occur. Possibly by considering these in this blog, we've created some alternate realities of our own. Maybe some day we'll know...or in another reality, we already know. One thing I do know: I'm not anywhere even CLOSE to answering my own questions. But I think it's fun to keep trying!
If I haven't driven you nuts by this discussion, I invite you to join in. Any of your own theories? Questions that you think I or someone else that reads this may be able to answer? Post them here!
From what I'm reading, some theories, like the Many-Worlds or Heisenberg Uncertaintly Principle, hinge on some sort of event that actually creates the parallel universe, such as a scientist simply observing the state of a quantum object (whether in wave or particle form, wave vibration, etc...) or even by making the decision to not make a determination at all. Such an event can cause the split of the universe to accomodate for all possible outcomes of the observation. What a powerful thing to consider: that even the THOUGHT of multiple outcomes could create those multiple outcomes somewhere. If we'd ever find this to be true, the human mind should be considered the greatest object ever created. Sort of makes you reconsider trying to discuss Schroedinger's cat (Google it). Using this information to my question, my question still remains unanswered; we could still share history, there could be no history prior to the event for the alternate world, or they could create a history from shared thought-pooling once it is established. If we follow the theory of Dr. Kaku, which is called String Theory, it's much easier to believe that the universes have their own histories different from each other. His theory states that all objects in the universe, even on down to the smallest particles known currently as quarks, are made up of tinier building blocks that resemble rubber bands and what matter they create depends on these bands and how they vibrate. This creation happens across eleven separate dimensions. Because of how it's created, our universe is therefore separated by itself inside of a "bubble", which exists along side of the other parallel universes in their own "bubbles". It's theorized that they can interact with each other by sharing gravity, but that would create an explosion similar to what some scientists believe happened at the Big Bang. Probably not a good idea for this to happen. BUT, this string theory would then, as I said, give credence to the idea that any alternate worlds would have a unique history, some being just slightly out-of-phase from each other, but definitely unique to that "bubble".
These theories are just the most prominent; we've barely scratched the surface. Plenty of other scientists have their own ideas on if any of this is possible. The truth could be a combination of a couple or all of them, it could be one singular idea, or another possibility is that none of these can actually occur. Possibly by considering these in this blog, we've created some alternate realities of our own. Maybe some day we'll know...or in another reality, we already know. One thing I do know: I'm not anywhere even CLOSE to answering my own questions. But I think it's fun to keep trying!
If I haven't driven you nuts by this discussion, I invite you to join in. Any of your own theories? Questions that you think I or someone else that reads this may be able to answer? Post them here!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
I'd like to think that the group of friends that I have in real life and in social media is a diverse one. We come from all different backgrounds with different likes and dislikes, varied viewpoints and beliefs. In my opinion, that's the only way to stay true to yourself. If you don't reevaluate your positions based on new information from trusted sources (like friends and family), you really have no room to speak your mind because you're going off of history only instead of current fact. This makes things that much more frustrating when a person I normally agree with refuses to hear my point of view if mine varies from theirs, which actually happened to me today.
A contact of mine on Facebook posted an opinion in their status, along with a link to an article. The opinion was stated as absolute with no exceptions, but I saw another viewpoint that I considered to be well thought out and valid. Instead of welcoming a new vantage point to enter into the discussion, my comment was immediately dismissed as incorrect. This is from a person who shares my same conservative values, so normally we agree. But the more I thought, the more I could recall times where I found her viewpoints to be closed-minded and abrasive. They were based in truth, yet did not come across in a way that invited me to hear more.
Unfortunately, this is why I feel the conservative message falls on so many deaf ears. Often times the only conservative voices people hear to base an opinion on are the ones who are yelling the loudest. They don't hear the soft-spoken, level-headed thinkers who prefer to discuss in smaller groups or on a blog that only a few will read. I'm not saying that some topics don't require a raised voice with a passionate delivery, but for the most part I believe people would rather enter into discussion rather than being scolded. The old saying about catching more flies with honey than vinegar definitely applies.
To me, this definitely applies to my conservative brothers and sisters who identify themseIves as Christians. I, myself, am far from perfect (as most who really know me will agree) and I don't really expect anyone else to be either. But it seems that there are some like my Facebook friend who find it easy to sit behind their golden keyboard and pass judgment, rather than hear something that could slightly alter their thinking. I'm not suggesting an abandonment of values or ignoring of Christian teachings. If you see the title of this blog entry, you'll know where I'm headed with this. My opinion: God did not put us here to be judges of one another. He gave us minds to think, voices to speak, hands to hold, and hearts to love. We should act as examples for others, but not place ourselves on a pedestal so high that others feel it is unattainable. When we try so hard to preach why we are right, we are doing something wrong by not listening. If we just took the time to hear someone out, we might just find something that will strengthen our own ideas, beliefs, and thoughts.
Conservatives, liberals, independents, and everything in between, take my advice under consideration. There are places we can find to agree, but the minute you start acting as if you know better than everyone else and shout your beliefs instead of inviting dialogue, you close the ears of those you're trying to reach. Try stepping down from behind the bench, Your Honor, and let the judging to someone more suited to slam the gavel.
Totally unrelated side note: Tomorrow is Father's Day. A happy one to my dad, stepdad, grandfather, + father-in-law, all of whom are trying every day to show me more about being a good father to my daughter.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Amateur Sociology in the Workplace
I've been out in the workforce now for basically sixteen years now. Compared to those older than me, unless they spent a considerable amount of time being unemployed, that's not a lot of time. But compared to those who spent time in college, I'm at least four to six years up on them in work experience. Sure they've got the degree, the higher salary, more vacation, a bigger house...wait, there was a positive for me somewhere...oh yeah, more time on the job. I guess that's a positive. But what I'm not getting in 0's at the end of my paycheck or in time spent traveling to an exotic location, I'm getting in the form of an education. I seriously should have taken up sociology because examining the different types of co-workers has been absolutely fascinating. Note: I'm not actually studying anything. This is more of a realization I've come to over time and just decided to blog about tonight. I've discovered a few typical types of co-worker that seem to be universal. Everyone who reads this will know someone or a few someones that fit into these categories. There may be more categories than this or people that fit into more than one category depending on the situation, but these are what I consider to be the main ones, at least in my experiences. (Please note: anyone who takes any of this seriously obviously has no idea who I am or what I'm about and should probably quit reading at this point. I am no more an expert in any of this than I am qualified to be a rocket scientist.)
Disclaimer: This wasn't really written to be of help to anyone but myself, just to air some frustrations I've had over the years over many jobs in a humorous way. Any resemblance to any former or current co-workers is strictly coincidental...or is it? :)
I hope you've enjoyed reading this. Did you come up with any other categories? Have any funny stories about co-workers that pertains to this? (Please omit names.) Feel free to comment away! Have a great day, everyone.
- The Moron - A category that's pretty much self-explanatory and the kind that is most prevalent. Some are born this way, some cause themselves to be this way due to chemical influence, and some actually choose to be this way to avoid responsibility and conflict. These are the co-workers that ask questions after months or years of service about things they should remember from the first week. Generally, you just wonder why these people are gainfully employed, let alone being in a position that requires them to know something more than alternating inhaling and exhaling. As long as you don't have to directly interact with them, they can be a great source of entertainment as they interact with others.
- The Constantly Apathetic Person - Plain and simple, this one just doesn't care. As long as they can earn a paycheck and get through the day, whatever happens just happens. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the situation. If you're needing people to stay out of your way so you can complete your job, this kind will be glad to oblige. But if part of your job is relying on them to complete theirs, this is where a problem can arise.
- The Partially Apathetic Person - Also known as the "situationally apathetic person", this is one of the more frustrating types. This is a person who generally cares about doing their job, but can all of a sudden decide that it's no use. At that point, they become useless until their own frustration passes and they return to caring again.
- The Complete A-hole - Hopefully you can avoid contact with this one, but usually it's unavoidable somewhere in the day. This one will sabotage a good mood for no apparent reason or will ruin work-related plans in some way, shape, or form just because they can. Again, you wonder why someone like this continues to be employed. My theory is that they were a Constantly Apathetic Person in a position so long that they've become bitter and bored, transitioning into the Complete A-hole.
- The Pleasant Placeholder - A ray of sunshine that brightens up the whole office! Generally an agreeable person who will be happy to help in any way. Unfortunately, if you don't know how to spot it, this could be a disguise for type 1, The Moron, and you can get horribly fooled. But a genuine Pleasant Placeholder is usually a good thing. They're happy where they are, they do their job, and they don't get in your way.
- Management - Simply put, everyone has to deal with this at some time, unless you're as high up the ladder as you can get. If so, you're in this category. You can be Management and be another of these categories, but the reason I broke them out separately is that there is nothing you can do about them. Management knows better than you do...about everything. There is no fighting them or trying to change their mind, especially if it's Ownership/Management. At this point, it's best to keep your mouth shut, nod your head, listen until they stop talking, and walk away. Even better than that, avoid them altogether.
- The Caring - Someone who knows what they have to do, attacks it like it is their own business and gets frustrated easily when it can't be accomplished. And the usual reasons why it can't be accomplished? See numbers 1-4 & 6. Simply put: if you're a 1-4 or a 6, get out of this person's way and let them do the job. If it's screwed up, then you can blame them. At that point, though, at least you can say that someone tried, which is more than most of the other types would ever dream of attempting. Give them a chance. This, as you might be able to guess, is the rarest of all of the categories. This is the one I try to be.
Disclaimer: This wasn't really written to be of help to anyone but myself, just to air some frustrations I've had over the years over many jobs in a humorous way. Any resemblance to any former or current co-workers is strictly coincidental...or is it? :)
I hope you've enjoyed reading this. Did you come up with any other categories? Have any funny stories about co-workers that pertains to this? (Please omit names.) Feel free to comment away! Have a great day, everyone.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
You Can't Go Home Again (But With Memories You Don't Need To)
My grandmother sent an e-mail out today, the subject line of which was an address: 54 Fairfield Street. That was my address in Carlisle, PA where I grew up, where we lived until October 1990 when we moved to another part of Carlisle. Curious as to what it was about, I read further & found that the house is, once again, up for sale. More intriguing, pictures of the house are included on the realtor's website. She encouraged us to take a look, noting that my uncle had looked & had seen nothing about the house that even remotely looked like when we had lived there.
With more curiousity than dread, I decided to check out the site after I finished paying some bills. I typed the address into the search on the realtor's website & immediately the house came up. Immediately I recognized the house & knew everything was loading properly, having been by the house dozens of times since we moved out & I knew what changes had been made to the exterior. When we lived there, the house was white aluminum siding, but since had been replaced with a greyish vinyl siding. They had also covered the nearby garage with it, enclosing the breezeway where we used to sit in the summertime. No matter what time of day, it always seemed there was an actual breeze & actually felt cool. Now, I'm sure, it's a bit more temperature controlled for year-round usage. I moved on to the remainder of the pictures, recognizing some of the rooms, but with a different look. Even though my grandfather spent countless hours painting before we moved out, fresh coats covered each wall in different colors than I remember. The kitchen had modern appliances & different trim. The rooms that had wooden floors looked to shine with a newness, far from the worn wooden floors we walked on. The most recent owners had even built in a wall to separate the living room & the back room, something that just really stood out to me, but looked really good. Shots of the backyard showed plenty of green grass & trees, but still seemed like an updated, newer version of what we had. I let the slideshow play through until the end & just thought for a few minutes aftewards about everything. It's when I realized that it wasn't about what they pictures showed, it's about what they DIDN'T show.
Just like my aforementioned memories of the breezeway, it seemed a lot I remembered about the old house had been covered up by new, modern advances, but if I looked close enough, I could see them in my mind's eye. The front door was hardly ever used as that, only when unknowing mailman substitutes came to drop off bills or in the summertime when we'd leave the door open to let air in (as well as the busy sounds of Rte 81). I saw nothing of the narrow hallway that led to my grandparents' bedroom, the bathroom, the door to the 2nd floor, & a small closet where an index card hung on the inside of the door with my birth date, time, height & weight (for what reason, I don't know). One of the upstairs bedrooms, the one where my uncle stayed, looked different without an Air Force poster on the door. I didn't even recognize the basement at first because it seemed to have more light in it, possibly because it wasn't full, as our basement had always been. There were no Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco cans filled with nuts & bolts sitting on shelves or on the window sills. I wondered if you still had to duck to walk down the steps to get into the basement because of the big wooden beam or if they had someone corrected that also. The garage was much the same as the basement: a lot of light & seemed far too empty. Absolutely no cardboard boxes sat on the floor, filled with old, brittle records that we used to play as Pap & I tinkered around at his work bench. No engine for an old Ford truck on a hoist, waiting to be dismantled & scrapped because it needed to go & we needed something to do. The above-ground pool that we used every summer, listening to the Drifters or the Dirty Dancing soundtrack as we splashed around, was no longer there, apparently for more yard space. I didn't even want to see what happened to the old shed in the backyard, It was rickety when we used it, but we still used it. The upper loft was a bit dangerous to explore, but I always liked walking around on the ground floor. Every now & then I'd run across an old football card laying partially covered in dirt & chewed by mice at the corners. If that had been a 13-14 year old me, I'd have been dismayed at finding them. But to a 5 year old, it was like finding treasure, no matter what condition they were in. I doubt the most recent owners were gardeners, but they had some great land for it behind the shed. My Pap loved to raise all sorts of vegetables there & we ate pretty well because of it. I'd sometimes watch him work there while I swung on the nearby tire swing.
So while all of these thoughts came back to me & I felt slightly annoyed that things had changed, I sighed & remembered that time marches on. I couldn't expect the people who bought the house from us to leave things unchanged, just as those owners can't think whoever buys it next will not want to improve it. But no matter how much paint or building materials they'd use or how much cleaning they'd do, they can't cover up the memories I had built in 10 years there. I can see things there just as clearly now as I did actually living in it back then. Time will probably make those memories fuzzier as I get older, but they'll still be in there, stored somewhere in the folds of grey matter. As cool as it would be to own that place, knowing it's where I grew up, it's not necessary as long as I still own those memories & can revisit them from time to time.
Hope you guys (and gals) didn't mind my stroll down memory lane. Do any of you have strong memories of the first house you lived in? Feel free to share any of them in the comments below. I look forward to reading them.
With more curiousity than dread, I decided to check out the site after I finished paying some bills. I typed the address into the search on the realtor's website & immediately the house came up. Immediately I recognized the house & knew everything was loading properly, having been by the house dozens of times since we moved out & I knew what changes had been made to the exterior. When we lived there, the house was white aluminum siding, but since had been replaced with a greyish vinyl siding. They had also covered the nearby garage with it, enclosing the breezeway where we used to sit in the summertime. No matter what time of day, it always seemed there was an actual breeze & actually felt cool. Now, I'm sure, it's a bit more temperature controlled for year-round usage. I moved on to the remainder of the pictures, recognizing some of the rooms, but with a different look. Even though my grandfather spent countless hours painting before we moved out, fresh coats covered each wall in different colors than I remember. The kitchen had modern appliances & different trim. The rooms that had wooden floors looked to shine with a newness, far from the worn wooden floors we walked on. The most recent owners had even built in a wall to separate the living room & the back room, something that just really stood out to me, but looked really good. Shots of the backyard showed plenty of green grass & trees, but still seemed like an updated, newer version of what we had. I let the slideshow play through until the end & just thought for a few minutes aftewards about everything. It's when I realized that it wasn't about what they pictures showed, it's about what they DIDN'T show.
Just like my aforementioned memories of the breezeway, it seemed a lot I remembered about the old house had been covered up by new, modern advances, but if I looked close enough, I could see them in my mind's eye. The front door was hardly ever used as that, only when unknowing mailman substitutes came to drop off bills or in the summertime when we'd leave the door open to let air in (as well as the busy sounds of Rte 81). I saw nothing of the narrow hallway that led to my grandparents' bedroom, the bathroom, the door to the 2nd floor, & a small closet where an index card hung on the inside of the door with my birth date, time, height & weight (for what reason, I don't know). One of the upstairs bedrooms, the one where my uncle stayed, looked different without an Air Force poster on the door. I didn't even recognize the basement at first because it seemed to have more light in it, possibly because it wasn't full, as our basement had always been. There were no Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco cans filled with nuts & bolts sitting on shelves or on the window sills. I wondered if you still had to duck to walk down the steps to get into the basement because of the big wooden beam or if they had someone corrected that also. The garage was much the same as the basement: a lot of light & seemed far too empty. Absolutely no cardboard boxes sat on the floor, filled with old, brittle records that we used to play as Pap & I tinkered around at his work bench. No engine for an old Ford truck on a hoist, waiting to be dismantled & scrapped because it needed to go & we needed something to do. The above-ground pool that we used every summer, listening to the Drifters or the Dirty Dancing soundtrack as we splashed around, was no longer there, apparently for more yard space. I didn't even want to see what happened to the old shed in the backyard, It was rickety when we used it, but we still used it. The upper loft was a bit dangerous to explore, but I always liked walking around on the ground floor. Every now & then I'd run across an old football card laying partially covered in dirt & chewed by mice at the corners. If that had been a 13-14 year old me, I'd have been dismayed at finding them. But to a 5 year old, it was like finding treasure, no matter what condition they were in. I doubt the most recent owners were gardeners, but they had some great land for it behind the shed. My Pap loved to raise all sorts of vegetables there & we ate pretty well because of it. I'd sometimes watch him work there while I swung on the nearby tire swing.
So while all of these thoughts came back to me & I felt slightly annoyed that things had changed, I sighed & remembered that time marches on. I couldn't expect the people who bought the house from us to leave things unchanged, just as those owners can't think whoever buys it next will not want to improve it. But no matter how much paint or building materials they'd use or how much cleaning they'd do, they can't cover up the memories I had built in 10 years there. I can see things there just as clearly now as I did actually living in it back then. Time will probably make those memories fuzzier as I get older, but they'll still be in there, stored somewhere in the folds of grey matter. As cool as it would be to own that place, knowing it's where I grew up, it's not necessary as long as I still own those memories & can revisit them from time to time.
Hope you guys (and gals) didn't mind my stroll down memory lane. Do any of you have strong memories of the first house you lived in? Feel free to share any of them in the comments below. I look forward to reading them.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Keeping You In the Loop
Anytime I friend someone on Facebook or follow them on Twitter it's usually because we share some sort of connection, like we've known each other somewhere along the way & I want to stay in touch. Because of this, I like to keep you updated if there's something going on that I would want to tell a friend or family member. I appreciate each & every one of you.
That being said, it's time for a health update. As most of you know, I've been dealing with something unknown for over a year. It hasn't given me any symptoms, other than I've had some swelled lymph nodes. In order to figure out once & for all what's going on, I had one removed from the left side of my neck & biopsied. Last week, the information was handed down from the surgeon & confirmed this week by the oncologist I've been seeing for this year plus process: I have Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
NOW, before any of you freak out & go crazy...yes, it is cancer BUT I'm assured by my oncologist that no matter what stage I'm in with this particular strain, it is curable. Everything that I've been seeing is in the 90's percentage-wise for success rate. This is a huge load off of my mind just knowing what we're dealing with & that it can be treated/cured. Right now the toughest parts that I'm dealing with are all of the appointments leading up to the treatment. I just had my bone marrow biopsy today (NOT FUN...this should be a Guantanamo torture tactic), then a PET scan tomorrow. Next week is a pulmonary test & an EKG just to make sure I'll be able to handle treatments. Once all of this info is in & I get a second opinion from either Johns Hopkins or Hershey Medical Center, then we can start treatment. I'll be on chemo for probably about 6 months (once every two weeks for 12 treatments). I may lose some of my hair & I may be tired some days, but it's what I have to do. I'm a worrier, as most of you know, but with this, I'm not worried. I realize that I worry about things I can control (money, jobs, elections...wait, I can't control those...), but this is something that I can't. This is out of my hands. I believe in God & I firmly believe that He is in control of this situation. Just knowing that lifts the burden off of my shoulders & allows me to function where others may be flipping their lids.
The sentence that most comes out of peoples' mouths when I've been telling them what's going on is "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Honestly, this is one of the toughest questions to answer, yet it's also easy. I'm a person who doesn't like to rely on others for anything. I'd rather be the one to help if there's any needed. So really I can't think of anything anyone can do at this time except to give me all of the prayers & positive thoughts you feel it in your heart to give. I know the doctors are very positive, but if there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that there is no such thing as too much prayer...unless you're an atheist, then substitute "prayer" with "positive thoughts". Both of those are extremely welcome & I'm very touched at those who have reached out & already given these for me. On the days in the future when I will sometimes look at humanity with a stink-eye, I'll remember that there still are good people out there who come through in times of need.
So, with all of this being said, do I have any questions? I'm happy to answer anything that you have & if I don't know, I will certainly find out for you. From time to time I plan on making my blogs about what's going on with me through this process, but I won't make it all about the process. To do that would be to give too much spotlight to it & frankly, I can't handle being serious all that often. One thing I won't allow this to take away from me is my sense of humor, so don't expect that to go away any time soon :) So keep checking here or check in with me on my other various forms of social media. If you've made it this far in this blog, I'm hoping you will. Thanks for reading & thanks for caring. Love to all!
That being said, it's time for a health update. As most of you know, I've been dealing with something unknown for over a year. It hasn't given me any symptoms, other than I've had some swelled lymph nodes. In order to figure out once & for all what's going on, I had one removed from the left side of my neck & biopsied. Last week, the information was handed down from the surgeon & confirmed this week by the oncologist I've been seeing for this year plus process: I have Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
NOW, before any of you freak out & go crazy...yes, it is cancer BUT I'm assured by my oncologist that no matter what stage I'm in with this particular strain, it is curable. Everything that I've been seeing is in the 90's percentage-wise for success rate. This is a huge load off of my mind just knowing what we're dealing with & that it can be treated/cured. Right now the toughest parts that I'm dealing with are all of the appointments leading up to the treatment. I just had my bone marrow biopsy today (NOT FUN...this should be a Guantanamo torture tactic), then a PET scan tomorrow. Next week is a pulmonary test & an EKG just to make sure I'll be able to handle treatments. Once all of this info is in & I get a second opinion from either Johns Hopkins or Hershey Medical Center, then we can start treatment. I'll be on chemo for probably about 6 months (once every two weeks for 12 treatments). I may lose some of my hair & I may be tired some days, but it's what I have to do. I'm a worrier, as most of you know, but with this, I'm not worried. I realize that I worry about things I can control (money, jobs, elections...wait, I can't control those...), but this is something that I can't. This is out of my hands. I believe in God & I firmly believe that He is in control of this situation. Just knowing that lifts the burden off of my shoulders & allows me to function where others may be flipping their lids.
The sentence that most comes out of peoples' mouths when I've been telling them what's going on is "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Honestly, this is one of the toughest questions to answer, yet it's also easy. I'm a person who doesn't like to rely on others for anything. I'd rather be the one to help if there's any needed. So really I can't think of anything anyone can do at this time except to give me all of the prayers & positive thoughts you feel it in your heart to give. I know the doctors are very positive, but if there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that there is no such thing as too much prayer...unless you're an atheist, then substitute "prayer" with "positive thoughts". Both of those are extremely welcome & I'm very touched at those who have reached out & already given these for me. On the days in the future when I will sometimes look at humanity with a stink-eye, I'll remember that there still are good people out there who come through in times of need.
So, with all of this being said, do I have any questions? I'm happy to answer anything that you have & if I don't know, I will certainly find out for you. From time to time I plan on making my blogs about what's going on with me through this process, but I won't make it all about the process. To do that would be to give too much spotlight to it & frankly, I can't handle being serious all that often. One thing I won't allow this to take away from me is my sense of humor, so don't expect that to go away any time soon :) So keep checking here or check in with me on my other various forms of social media. If you've made it this far in this blog, I'm hoping you will. Thanks for reading & thanks for caring. Love to all!
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Woohoo! for New "Who"
This weekend, unless you're not involved in social media at all (in which case, how are you seeing this?) or don't watch much TV, it was announced that veteran Scottish actor Peter Capaldi will be taking over the role of the Doctor in the long-running British sci-fi TV show "Doctor Who". I join the numerous positive comments on this choice and congratulate Mr. Capaldi on landing the job. To be honest, I've only ever seen him in two other roles before this was announced. Funny enough, one of those was as the patriarch of a Pompeiian family in a previous season's episode of "Doctor Who" (before you consider that strange, check out Colin Baker, who played a Gallifreyan guard during the 5th Doctor's tenure, then went on to be the 6th Doctor). The other was in the "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Torchwood", during their "Children of Earth" series of episodes. His role was a very tortured, dark role, but well played. I look forward to exploring his other works that have been mentioned online since then (especially one called "Local Hero", which looks great).
Besides being a choice of a great actor, I applaud this decision on another level. When the original run of this show was televised starting in 1963 until the late 80's, it was all about the sci-fi entertainment. While there were other plots and elements woven in, the main points were most assuredly about the time and space traveling, the scary monsters, the strange worlds, etc... But with the kickoff of the new seasons in the 2000's, "Doctor Who" has inserted relevant issues of our day into the stories. Not only are they entertaining, but they make us think. The show does just about the best balance of this of any other show I've seen. Of course at the center of it all has always been the Doctor, the mad "spaceman" in a blue box called the TARDIS, that travels in time and space. Most assuredly he's the star of the show, but when someone else needs the spotlight, the Doctor just blends in for the sake of the story. When it was announced earlier this year that 11th Doctor Matt Smith would be leaving, a whirlwind of controversy was stirred up. Because the Doctor has the ability to regenerate and change his appearance instead of dying outright, many have left this open to interpretation about who could take over the prestigious acting role. Questions about possibly having a woman become the 12th Doctor arose. Quickly names like Emma Watson & Helen Mirren were thrown about for consideration. There was also a suggestion about someone of a different race taking over (all previous incarnations of the Doctor have been white males). I didn't disagree with anyone that was named as a possible replacement, including any of the women or guys of a different race, but in the end I think Peter Capaldi was just about the best choice of any...and here's why.
Like I said previously, the newer seasons of "Doctor Who" work so well because it has the ability to make points relevant to today's day and age (somewhat in the same way "Star Trek" did), with keeping a main character that could fade in and out for the sake of the story as needed. Now imagine pressure from various groups to suddenly change the Doctor into, for example, a black male or a female, just because it's possible and "because they can". Suddenly, with one of those changes, the Doctor becomes the focal point of every show. It becomes a change for the sake of change, not for relevancy of the story. Let's be honest: those who will actually stop watching "Doctor Who" because they picked another "white guy" probably weren't fans in the first place. Most, if not all, Whovians would want what's best for the show, what is most logical. What makes most sense is to put someone in the Doctor's shoes who blends in to the part as if he had always been there. To do anything else would interrupt what the new series has worked to build just to placate special interest groups that were only concerned about the publicity from a controversy. Ultimately, I think head writer Steven Moffat did what he felt was best. Ever since Russell T. Davies left has head writer at the end of the 10th Doctor David Tennant's tenure, Moffat has made decisions that have Whovians talking, blogging, tweeting, etc... and not always in a good way. It was his idea, though, to consider Capaldi for the role of the Doctor. In fact, according to the live announcement special, he had almost put him in as the 11th Doctor in place of Matt Smith, but decided against it, thinking the time was not exactly right. It's that type of person that I like to see in charge of such a decision. Moffat will not make a knee-jerk reaction just to ride the wind of political correctness or cave in to pressure of a select few. Again, to draw another "Star Trek" parallel, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one". The "many", in this case, are we Whovians who care deeply about this show.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait for a new "Who" episode until November, which will be the 50th anniversary episode & Matt Smith's penultimate. The no-doubt emotional on-screen regeneration of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor into Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor will come at Christmas, a time fans of the new series have come to look forward to because of the great special episodes released that day most every year since the Doctor reappeared on our televisions. If this Christmas is anything like last year's, I will hopefully receive more cool "Who" merchandise, too! (Hint, hint!) But first, I'll be patiently waiting for November to get here for the 50th. Yeah...patiently waiting... Does anyone have a spare TARDIS they're not using? There's someWHEN I have to be :)
(I hope you've enjoyed this blog, even if you're not a Whovian like me. Any questions, comments, criticism or suggestions? Post them here, hit me up on Facebook, or send me a tweet @nBoEnforcer)
Besides being a choice of a great actor, I applaud this decision on another level. When the original run of this show was televised starting in 1963 until the late 80's, it was all about the sci-fi entertainment. While there were other plots and elements woven in, the main points were most assuredly about the time and space traveling, the scary monsters, the strange worlds, etc... But with the kickoff of the new seasons in the 2000's, "Doctor Who" has inserted relevant issues of our day into the stories. Not only are they entertaining, but they make us think. The show does just about the best balance of this of any other show I've seen. Of course at the center of it all has always been the Doctor, the mad "spaceman" in a blue box called the TARDIS, that travels in time and space. Most assuredly he's the star of the show, but when someone else needs the spotlight, the Doctor just blends in for the sake of the story. When it was announced earlier this year that 11th Doctor Matt Smith would be leaving, a whirlwind of controversy was stirred up. Because the Doctor has the ability to regenerate and change his appearance instead of dying outright, many have left this open to interpretation about who could take over the prestigious acting role. Questions about possibly having a woman become the 12th Doctor arose. Quickly names like Emma Watson & Helen Mirren were thrown about for consideration. There was also a suggestion about someone of a different race taking over (all previous incarnations of the Doctor have been white males). I didn't disagree with anyone that was named as a possible replacement, including any of the women or guys of a different race, but in the end I think Peter Capaldi was just about the best choice of any...and here's why.
Like I said previously, the newer seasons of "Doctor Who" work so well because it has the ability to make points relevant to today's day and age (somewhat in the same way "Star Trek" did), with keeping a main character that could fade in and out for the sake of the story as needed. Now imagine pressure from various groups to suddenly change the Doctor into, for example, a black male or a female, just because it's possible and "because they can". Suddenly, with one of those changes, the Doctor becomes the focal point of every show. It becomes a change for the sake of change, not for relevancy of the story. Let's be honest: those who will actually stop watching "Doctor Who" because they picked another "white guy" probably weren't fans in the first place. Most, if not all, Whovians would want what's best for the show, what is most logical. What makes most sense is to put someone in the Doctor's shoes who blends in to the part as if he had always been there. To do anything else would interrupt what the new series has worked to build just to placate special interest groups that were only concerned about the publicity from a controversy. Ultimately, I think head writer Steven Moffat did what he felt was best. Ever since Russell T. Davies left has head writer at the end of the 10th Doctor David Tennant's tenure, Moffat has made decisions that have Whovians talking, blogging, tweeting, etc... and not always in a good way. It was his idea, though, to consider Capaldi for the role of the Doctor. In fact, according to the live announcement special, he had almost put him in as the 11th Doctor in place of Matt Smith, but decided against it, thinking the time was not exactly right. It's that type of person that I like to see in charge of such a decision. Moffat will not make a knee-jerk reaction just to ride the wind of political correctness or cave in to pressure of a select few. Again, to draw another "Star Trek" parallel, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one". The "many", in this case, are we Whovians who care deeply about this show.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait for a new "Who" episode until November, which will be the 50th anniversary episode & Matt Smith's penultimate. The no-doubt emotional on-screen regeneration of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor into Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor will come at Christmas, a time fans of the new series have come to look forward to because of the great special episodes released that day most every year since the Doctor reappeared on our televisions. If this Christmas is anything like last year's, I will hopefully receive more cool "Who" merchandise, too! (Hint, hint!) But first, I'll be patiently waiting for November to get here for the 50th. Yeah...patiently waiting... Does anyone have a spare TARDIS they're not using? There's someWHEN I have to be :)
(I hope you've enjoyed this blog, even if you're not a Whovian like me. Any questions, comments, criticism or suggestions? Post them here, hit me up on Facebook, or send me a tweet @nBoEnforcer)
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Know Your Elvis Lyrics
Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything here. Yeah, I know...I write that every time it's been a while, but it's actually been over a year. Just to keep you updated from what I wrote last time, currently I'm in a holding pattern (is that pilot lingo?) about whatever mystery illness is going on inside my body. I still feel awesome, but these lymph nodes keep growing. A few days ago, a surgeon removed the node from the left side of my neck & I'm waiting for the results of the biopsy. When I get some news, I'll be sure to pass it along. I'd like to say I'll blog about it here, but my track record hasn't been great with being timely. Hopefully that will change & I can keep everyone updated.
Since I felt a LOT better today (some neck stiffness, but no pain), we decided to go to the Shade Gap Festival tonight. This has become a ritual since Holly & I were married (at least I think it's been that long that we've been coming) & I only think we've missed 1 or 2 years. Friday night of the festival is usually a pretty packed night, but still fun. Of course, there's the typical fair food, which is the highlight of any day that you can sample it. I haven't had much of an appetite for most of the week, so tonight was a good night for it to return. My menu tonight consisted of a bowl of chicken pot pie (the "slippery" kind, to distinguish), a piece of pecan pie, finishing up Holly's cheese fries, mozzarella sticks with marinara (I think they got smaller this year), a scoop of butter pecan ice cream, & most of Bristol's vanilla ice cream. Healthy, right? Luckily, I don't care. If it tastes good, I'm all for it. Along with the food, there's the entertainment. Every year we've gone on the Friday of the festival, a band called the Fabulous Flashbacks plays. Last year they had almost a complete revamping of the entire band (at least, it's the way it seems), so it seemed they were slightly off. This year, the music sounded great, but the vocals needed some work. In case this gets back to any of them, it was still enjoyable, but there was room for improvement. Particularly, I'm talking about the lyrics. For a band that does cover songs (none original, at least at this gig) that everyone has heard for years, you'd think the lyrics would come a little bit easier, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Elvis. He's the King of Rock & Roll, one of the most influential entertainers of the 20th century, & will probably be required study for music courses in 50 years, yet the lead singer was stumbling over "Burning Love". Maybe it was an off-night? I'd chalk it up to that, except that it was the same way last year. I'm not saying I'm perfect at lyrics, but I tend to be more anal about them than most people...ok, I'm even more picky about them than an American Idol judge during top 12. IT'S ELVIS, PEOPLE. I can understand not knowing all the lyrics to one of his unreleased songs, but "Burning Love" is one of the King's most popular. If you're an oldies band, this should be second nature to you. I know what some of you are thinking: "If you think YOU'RE so great, why don't YOU do it?" I'm willing to do it. If anyone needs a lead singer for an oldies band, one that doesn't play an instrument, I'm all for it. Once I get over the initial stage fright, I think I'd be good to go. But that's for another discussion another day. BTW, the band played 3 sets of about an hour each, so I do give them props for that. Most bands would only do two 45 minute sets & be done. That being said, I'm looking forward to next year.
I spent a bit of time revamping the layout of this blog with some of Blogger's new templates & options, then I wrote this out. Doing all that while watching Big Brother After Dark makes 1 1/2 hours go by fast. Usually watching live feeds isn't that entertaining, but there were actually some funny parts tonight. Plus they showed Aaryn on TV a lot tonight. Yeah, I know she said racist comments, but she's still the hottest woman in the house. Watching with the sound off is acceptable, if she starts talking stupid.
Now it's time for bed. I don't have really anything planned tomorrow, except for watching whatever race is televised tomorrow. Maybe I'll blog about that...or it could be something else completely random. Who knows? Whatever it may be, feel free to comment as you so choose. That might help me decide if I should keep up with this!
Since I felt a LOT better today (some neck stiffness, but no pain), we decided to go to the Shade Gap Festival tonight. This has become a ritual since Holly & I were married (at least I think it's been that long that we've been coming) & I only think we've missed 1 or 2 years. Friday night of the festival is usually a pretty packed night, but still fun. Of course, there's the typical fair food, which is the highlight of any day that you can sample it. I haven't had much of an appetite for most of the week, so tonight was a good night for it to return. My menu tonight consisted of a bowl of chicken pot pie (the "slippery" kind, to distinguish), a piece of pecan pie, finishing up Holly's cheese fries, mozzarella sticks with marinara (I think they got smaller this year), a scoop of butter pecan ice cream, & most of Bristol's vanilla ice cream. Healthy, right? Luckily, I don't care. If it tastes good, I'm all for it. Along with the food, there's the entertainment. Every year we've gone on the Friday of the festival, a band called the Fabulous Flashbacks plays. Last year they had almost a complete revamping of the entire band (at least, it's the way it seems), so it seemed they were slightly off. This year, the music sounded great, but the vocals needed some work. In case this gets back to any of them, it was still enjoyable, but there was room for improvement. Particularly, I'm talking about the lyrics. For a band that does cover songs (none original, at least at this gig) that everyone has heard for years, you'd think the lyrics would come a little bit easier, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Elvis. He's the King of Rock & Roll, one of the most influential entertainers of the 20th century, & will probably be required study for music courses in 50 years, yet the lead singer was stumbling over "Burning Love". Maybe it was an off-night? I'd chalk it up to that, except that it was the same way last year. I'm not saying I'm perfect at lyrics, but I tend to be more anal about them than most people...ok, I'm even more picky about them than an American Idol judge during top 12. IT'S ELVIS, PEOPLE. I can understand not knowing all the lyrics to one of his unreleased songs, but "Burning Love" is one of the King's most popular. If you're an oldies band, this should be second nature to you. I know what some of you are thinking: "If you think YOU'RE so great, why don't YOU do it?" I'm willing to do it. If anyone needs a lead singer for an oldies band, one that doesn't play an instrument, I'm all for it. Once I get over the initial stage fright, I think I'd be good to go. But that's for another discussion another day. BTW, the band played 3 sets of about an hour each, so I do give them props for that. Most bands would only do two 45 minute sets & be done. That being said, I'm looking forward to next year.
I spent a bit of time revamping the layout of this blog with some of Blogger's new templates & options, then I wrote this out. Doing all that while watching Big Brother After Dark makes 1 1/2 hours go by fast. Usually watching live feeds isn't that entertaining, but there were actually some funny parts tonight. Plus they showed Aaryn on TV a lot tonight. Yeah, I know she said racist comments, but she's still the hottest woman in the house. Watching with the sound off is acceptable, if she starts talking stupid.
Now it's time for bed. I don't have really anything planned tomorrow, except for watching whatever race is televised tomorrow. Maybe I'll blog about that...or it could be something else completely random. Who knows? Whatever it may be, feel free to comment as you so choose. That might help me decide if I should keep up with this!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
What's Wrong With Me? (Well, sort of...)
I know recently I've been worrying a lot of you by my posts about prayers & positive thoughts for some health concerns of mine that have come up recently. Some of you I've been able to talk to, e-mail, DM, send smoke signals, let loose carrier pigeons, etc... to discuss personally, but frankly there are too many to do that on an individual basis. Believe me, that is in no way a burden; it's actually a blessing that I have so many people who care.
Let me start off by saying that I FEEL FINE. But what prompted this all was some back pain I'd been having at night, which woke me up pretty much every night about the same time. Add to that some frequent trips to the bathroom & I'd self-diagnosed as having kidney stones. After about a week of putting up with the pain, I made an appointment for the doctor. He seemed to agree with me, but also wanted me to get some blood work done, along with a CT scan & x-ray. I had all of those done in the same night & the results were available that night. The blood work was normal, but the scans did not show any kidney stones. Instead it showed some slight enlargement of my spleen & various lymph nodes.
Fast forward to now. After more blood work, a PET scan, visits to an oncologist & a consult with a surgeon, no one is still sure what is going on. For all intents & purposes, I'm a healthy person...just with slight enlargement of the spleen & lymph nodes. It could be that some infection is being fought off in my body causing the enlargements & it only showed up coincidentally due to the back pain (I had been lifting heavy things between putting a swing set together & moving items for an auction, which could explain the pain; remember who we're dealing with: a guy who doesn't DO physical labor). There are possibilities of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or a similar disease, but I show no symptoms of these. Also there exists a chance that I have some sort of cancer (lymphoma or leukemia), but again, I show no other signs of illness. The oncologist is pretty stumped at this point because he sees a patient that would be easier to diagnose if he felt or looked sick. But I don't & therein lies the problem. In another month I have some repeat blood tests to do, which will check levels against my previous tests. If the oncologist sees a change, I'll be scheduled for a biopsy of one of the lymph nodes (probably one at my left collarbone) to know once & for all what we're dealing with.
All I can ask from all of you is to keep up your prayers & positive thoughts, because that's all I can do for right now: keep on keepin' on & doing what I know to do. Again, to reiterate, I FEEL FINE. If that happens to change or if something new pops up from the next round of tests, I'll be sure to pass it along. Thank you again to all of those who have passed along your well-wishes &/or took a moment of your day to send me some encouragement. I've been on a roller coaster with this, but I'm determined to stay on the positive side of it. God only gives us things He knows we can handle & whatever it is that is thrown my way this time, I'll get through it. Knowing I have you all on my side helps.
Now, can someone please bring back the less-serious Shaun? I like him much better.
Let me start off by saying that I FEEL FINE. But what prompted this all was some back pain I'd been having at night, which woke me up pretty much every night about the same time. Add to that some frequent trips to the bathroom & I'd self-diagnosed as having kidney stones. After about a week of putting up with the pain, I made an appointment for the doctor. He seemed to agree with me, but also wanted me to get some blood work done, along with a CT scan & x-ray. I had all of those done in the same night & the results were available that night. The blood work was normal, but the scans did not show any kidney stones. Instead it showed some slight enlargement of my spleen & various lymph nodes.
Fast forward to now. After more blood work, a PET scan, visits to an oncologist & a consult with a surgeon, no one is still sure what is going on. For all intents & purposes, I'm a healthy person...just with slight enlargement of the spleen & lymph nodes. It could be that some infection is being fought off in my body causing the enlargements & it only showed up coincidentally due to the back pain (I had been lifting heavy things between putting a swing set together & moving items for an auction, which could explain the pain; remember who we're dealing with: a guy who doesn't DO physical labor). There are possibilities of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or a similar disease, but I show no symptoms of these. Also there exists a chance that I have some sort of cancer (lymphoma or leukemia), but again, I show no other signs of illness. The oncologist is pretty stumped at this point because he sees a patient that would be easier to diagnose if he felt or looked sick. But I don't & therein lies the problem. In another month I have some repeat blood tests to do, which will check levels against my previous tests. If the oncologist sees a change, I'll be scheduled for a biopsy of one of the lymph nodes (probably one at my left collarbone) to know once & for all what we're dealing with.
All I can ask from all of you is to keep up your prayers & positive thoughts, because that's all I can do for right now: keep on keepin' on & doing what I know to do. Again, to reiterate, I FEEL FINE. If that happens to change or if something new pops up from the next round of tests, I'll be sure to pass it along. Thank you again to all of those who have passed along your well-wishes &/or took a moment of your day to send me some encouragement. I've been on a roller coaster with this, but I'm determined to stay on the positive side of it. God only gives us things He knows we can handle & whatever it is that is thrown my way this time, I'll get through it. Knowing I have you all on my side helps.
Now, can someone please bring back the less-serious Shaun? I like him much better.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Conservatives: REALLY???
This isn't going to be a long blog, because it doesn't have to be. I could make it one, but apart from being extremely dull & boring, I probably couldn't BS my way through it enough to make it a huge blog. So here goes nothing...
Specifically I want to target my conservative friends on this blog. Through the tweets, statuses, blogs, etc..., I've been seeing the information you post about candidates & this election. No one can say that you're not passionate about your beliefs! I know that most of you get into very heated discussions about who you think should or shouldn't be president. But the one thing that gets to me is when you say something like the following: "If (insert name here) gets the GOP nomination, I will not support them." This concerns me greatly & here is why...
(At this point my liberal friends may want to look away, because the rest of this blog may send you into fits. Are you all looking away? No? Some of you are still reading? Well, continue at your own risk.)
Conservatives know what is at stake at this next election. This country has been subjected to years of leaning towards big government & all that it brings to the party with it (diminished rights, increased entitlements, debt & unemployment through the roof, etc...), not just by our current president but by ones that preceded him. The United States is sliding down a slippery slope that is becoming increasingly difficult to reverse unless we act NOW. That's why this election is so important. We have an opportunity to start the correction that sets us all back on the right course. That's why I find the talk about not supporting this or that candidate to be so destructive. Granted, there are some vying for the GOP nomination that aren't as conservative as the other candidates, but if there is a "perfect" conservative, I haven't met them yet. Chances are we won't see them in an election anytime soon either. If he/she does exist, it's a person like you or me who tweets, blogs, talks to friends, etc... about what this country should do, but doesn't possess the strong leadership qualities or financial backing to do anything about it.
To simplify my point, here it is in a nutshell. There are a couple of choices you can make when it comes to this next election. If the person you don't like gets the GOP nod, you could go third party. Currently there isn't a big enough third party movement with enough votes to defeat either the Republican candidate or President Obama, so your vote (although noble & true to your heart) is a throw-away. A write-in of one of the candidates that didn't get the Republican nomination could be done, or to vote for a Democrat challenger to Obama, but this is another throw-away. If they were good enough to be on the general election ballot, they'd have secured the nomination. With that choice, President Obama is a second-term president. You could sit at home & not vote at all, but that's even better for the Democrat party. This counteracts some of the votes they're losing to dissatisfaction & once again, you have President Obama in the White House. Then there is the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy & voting for Obama, but that makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. If you're going to make that decision, you'd have made that already & the election wouldn't be the deciding factor in your change in political ideals. The final decision & only logical one (as I see it) is to support whoever the Republicans nominate.
I would love to see someone running that I agree with 100% of the time, but I know that will NEVER happen. It's just absolutely impossible. I can sit here & pick out at least one thing from each of the remaining GOP candidates that I can't stand, but is it really enough to not vote for them? Compare each of them to Obama, my fellow conservatives, & tell me they're not a better choice than our current president. If you honestly would place a vote for Obama over one of them, I question the sincerity of your philosophy from the very beginning.
I've said it before & I will say it again: Democrats win elections by throwing full support behind their candidate no matter if they agree with them fully or not. Don't you think the Hillary Clinton supporters were growling & snarling as they pulled the lever for Obama four years ago? Yes, but they realized it was better for their cause to rally behind the candidate chosen as the best possible to win. THAT is exactly what Republicans and conservatives need to do. When it's been narrowed to a choice, we need to throw 100% support behind that person.
Somewhere down the road I hope it becomes possible to eliminate all of the PAC's, the special interests, the lobbyists, the endless campaigning, the slanderous commercials & everything that makes presidential elections so awful. I'd like to see it become a way for anyone, regardless of their background or bank account, to be able to serve this country as president if they get the votes from the people. Let them state their case to the country for a few months as to why they are best qualified, then skip straight to a nationwide general election where you vote for the candidate that best represents you. When the votes are counted & the dust clears, the person left with the most votes will be the president.
Wow, this ended up being longer that I originally thought. But simply put, my point behind this whole blog is this: conservatives, will you REALLY not support the candidate who secures the GOP nomination if they aren't your first choice? Please let that weigh heavily on your mind before you answer that with a "no". You may be making a HUGE mistake.
Specifically I want to target my conservative friends on this blog. Through the tweets, statuses, blogs, etc..., I've been seeing the information you post about candidates & this election. No one can say that you're not passionate about your beliefs! I know that most of you get into very heated discussions about who you think should or shouldn't be president. But the one thing that gets to me is when you say something like the following: "If (insert name here) gets the GOP nomination, I will not support them." This concerns me greatly & here is why...
(At this point my liberal friends may want to look away, because the rest of this blog may send you into fits. Are you all looking away? No? Some of you are still reading? Well, continue at your own risk.)
Conservatives know what is at stake at this next election. This country has been subjected to years of leaning towards big government & all that it brings to the party with it (diminished rights, increased entitlements, debt & unemployment through the roof, etc...), not just by our current president but by ones that preceded him. The United States is sliding down a slippery slope that is becoming increasingly difficult to reverse unless we act NOW. That's why this election is so important. We have an opportunity to start the correction that sets us all back on the right course. That's why I find the talk about not supporting this or that candidate to be so destructive. Granted, there are some vying for the GOP nomination that aren't as conservative as the other candidates, but if there is a "perfect" conservative, I haven't met them yet. Chances are we won't see them in an election anytime soon either. If he/she does exist, it's a person like you or me who tweets, blogs, talks to friends, etc... about what this country should do, but doesn't possess the strong leadership qualities or financial backing to do anything about it.
To simplify my point, here it is in a nutshell. There are a couple of choices you can make when it comes to this next election. If the person you don't like gets the GOP nod, you could go third party. Currently there isn't a big enough third party movement with enough votes to defeat either the Republican candidate or President Obama, so your vote (although noble & true to your heart) is a throw-away. A write-in of one of the candidates that didn't get the Republican nomination could be done, or to vote for a Democrat challenger to Obama, but this is another throw-away. If they were good enough to be on the general election ballot, they'd have secured the nomination. With that choice, President Obama is a second-term president. You could sit at home & not vote at all, but that's even better for the Democrat party. This counteracts some of the votes they're losing to dissatisfaction & once again, you have President Obama in the White House. Then there is the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy & voting for Obama, but that makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. If you're going to make that decision, you'd have made that already & the election wouldn't be the deciding factor in your change in political ideals. The final decision & only logical one (as I see it) is to support whoever the Republicans nominate.
I would love to see someone running that I agree with 100% of the time, but I know that will NEVER happen. It's just absolutely impossible. I can sit here & pick out at least one thing from each of the remaining GOP candidates that I can't stand, but is it really enough to not vote for them? Compare each of them to Obama, my fellow conservatives, & tell me they're not a better choice than our current president. If you honestly would place a vote for Obama over one of them, I question the sincerity of your philosophy from the very beginning.
I've said it before & I will say it again: Democrats win elections by throwing full support behind their candidate no matter if they agree with them fully or not. Don't you think the Hillary Clinton supporters were growling & snarling as they pulled the lever for Obama four years ago? Yes, but they realized it was better for their cause to rally behind the candidate chosen as the best possible to win. THAT is exactly what Republicans and conservatives need to do. When it's been narrowed to a choice, we need to throw 100% support behind that person.
Somewhere down the road I hope it becomes possible to eliminate all of the PAC's, the special interests, the lobbyists, the endless campaigning, the slanderous commercials & everything that makes presidential elections so awful. I'd like to see it become a way for anyone, regardless of their background or bank account, to be able to serve this country as president if they get the votes from the people. Let them state their case to the country for a few months as to why they are best qualified, then skip straight to a nationwide general election where you vote for the candidate that best represents you. When the votes are counted & the dust clears, the person left with the most votes will be the president.
Wow, this ended up being longer that I originally thought. But simply put, my point behind this whole blog is this: conservatives, will you REALLY not support the candidate who secures the GOP nomination if they aren't your first choice? Please let that weigh heavily on your mind before you answer that with a "no". You may be making a HUGE mistake.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Don't Blame Doc Brown
Already I'm hearing comments on the Internet, and even in person, from people saying, "Back to the Future was full of crap! It's almost 2015 and nothing has come true like the movies". Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's for a good reason (other than "Back to the Future" is a movie)? I thought about this today (maybe for too long) and came up with a few answers as to why none of this has happened..and don't you dare blame Doc Brown.
First, anyone who is a sci-fi geek like I am can tell you that anything dealing with the future is an uncertainty from the word "go". While many theories exist of how time travel can occur, many agree that events that happen in the past directly affect how the future plays out. Anyone with foreknowledge of those events and means of time travel can affect the outcome. Even such a thing as killing a butterfly in the past can affect future events on a grand scale (see "the butterfly effect" on Wikipedia or elsewhere). It's very possible that Marty McFly's adventures in the future and past could have affected timelines and events so much that those displayed in the movie never occurred. Nothing shown there appears to be a "fixed point" in time, or something so pivotal to time itself that nothing can alter it. Still, not knowing how the years played out between 1985 and 2015, all of this technology could still develop sometime in the next three years. I still find it hard to believe, though, that fifteen more Jaws movies could happen between now and then. Please, for the love of Spielberg, don't let that happen.
Another theory that has just as much sci-fi goodness as the last one is that the "Back to the Future" trilogy occurred in an alternate universe. Although I don't claim to fully understand physics, some scientists are of the belief that there are universes just out of phase with our own, some with Earths having subtle differences, others having drastically different characteristics. For example, in one universe I'm writing this blog about "Back to the Future" starring Eric Stoltz (see Wikipedia info on the original screen tests). In yet another universe, I'm not writing a blog at all because electricity hasn't been invented. See how that works? Imagine a possible outcome and *BOOM* it's another universe. Want to really blow your mind? That universe both existed AND didn't exist until you thought of it. It was real AND not real simultaneously. Read up on Schroedinger's cat for more info on that bit of mind-screwing. So to recap this theory, somewhere in another universe, Marty McFly and Doc Brown are real people having real adventures.
Last, but not least, is an idea that my friend Kris thought of today, something that I hadn't considered. The technology in the movie is indeed possible RIGHT NOW, but the government doesn't want you to know about it. Yeah, I know...fit me for a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room with Fox Mulder and the Lone Gunmen (which, by the way, would be a kick-ass nerd band name). Call me a government conspirist, but I think this is totally possible. Think about it for a second with the biggest, most important technological advancement of the movies (other than time travel): FLYING CARS. Can you imagine the repercussions this would have? Citizens would all have to pass different exams to drive/fly a car. Different safety upgrades would be made for all new vehicles. Older cars would be retrofitted with this technology and THOSE cars would need to be upgraded for safety. Companies like those in the tire industry would have financial loss (why replace tires when you don't need them except for takeoff and landing?). Buildings would needed to be upgraded for safety, possibly with each including a member of Air Traffic Control, to navigate vehicles safely around them. We'd constantly have to be on the lookout for Jihadists trying to fly their explosive-laden cars into structures. Do you see the problems this causes? And that's just ONE upgrade and advancement in technology. The government probably has this stuff hidden in Area 51 with the rest of the alien technology it has captured over the years (again with the conspiracy!) but refuses to release it because of the myriad of issues that would ensue upon its release.
There may be more reasons that the "Back to the Future" trilogy hasn't come true, but I think these are three pretty good reasons why we don't see it happening in 2012 (or 2015 for that matter). I may not be able to fly my Honda Accord to work using the scraps from last night's dinner, take a leisurely ride through the park on my hoverboard, or take in a matinee of Jaws 19, but I take a minute to appreciate what I can do and what I do have. In the amount of time mankind has been living on this Earth, we've accomplished some great advancements. In an even shorter span of time those advancements have increased exponentially. If you think it hasn't, look at the smart phone you most likely carry on your hip or in your pocket. Such a thing wasn't even a reality for the general public ten short years ago. That should put some things in perspective.
So, please don't blame Doc Brown, Marty McFly, or any of the other characters (well, maybe Biff) for a near future that doesn't resemble the movie. Instead, be excited for what could possibly be even better than what the movie predicted. Look forward to what lies ahead down the road. Wait..."Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads." Yeah, that still may be a possibility :)
First, anyone who is a sci-fi geek like I am can tell you that anything dealing with the future is an uncertainty from the word "go". While many theories exist of how time travel can occur, many agree that events that happen in the past directly affect how the future plays out. Anyone with foreknowledge of those events and means of time travel can affect the outcome. Even such a thing as killing a butterfly in the past can affect future events on a grand scale (see "the butterfly effect" on Wikipedia or elsewhere). It's very possible that Marty McFly's adventures in the future and past could have affected timelines and events so much that those displayed in the movie never occurred. Nothing shown there appears to be a "fixed point" in time, or something so pivotal to time itself that nothing can alter it. Still, not knowing how the years played out between 1985 and 2015, all of this technology could still develop sometime in the next three years. I still find it hard to believe, though, that fifteen more Jaws movies could happen between now and then. Please, for the love of Spielberg, don't let that happen.
Another theory that has just as much sci-fi goodness as the last one is that the "Back to the Future" trilogy occurred in an alternate universe. Although I don't claim to fully understand physics, some scientists are of the belief that there are universes just out of phase with our own, some with Earths having subtle differences, others having drastically different characteristics. For example, in one universe I'm writing this blog about "Back to the Future" starring Eric Stoltz (see Wikipedia info on the original screen tests). In yet another universe, I'm not writing a blog at all because electricity hasn't been invented. See how that works? Imagine a possible outcome and *BOOM* it's another universe. Want to really blow your mind? That universe both existed AND didn't exist until you thought of it. It was real AND not real simultaneously. Read up on Schroedinger's cat for more info on that bit of mind-screwing. So to recap this theory, somewhere in another universe, Marty McFly and Doc Brown are real people having real adventures.
Last, but not least, is an idea that my friend Kris thought of today, something that I hadn't considered. The technology in the movie is indeed possible RIGHT NOW, but the government doesn't want you to know about it. Yeah, I know...fit me for a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room with Fox Mulder and the Lone Gunmen (which, by the way, would be a kick-ass nerd band name). Call me a government conspirist, but I think this is totally possible. Think about it for a second with the biggest, most important technological advancement of the movies (other than time travel): FLYING CARS. Can you imagine the repercussions this would have? Citizens would all have to pass different exams to drive/fly a car. Different safety upgrades would be made for all new vehicles. Older cars would be retrofitted with this technology and THOSE cars would need to be upgraded for safety. Companies like those in the tire industry would have financial loss (why replace tires when you don't need them except for takeoff and landing?). Buildings would needed to be upgraded for safety, possibly with each including a member of Air Traffic Control, to navigate vehicles safely around them. We'd constantly have to be on the lookout for Jihadists trying to fly their explosive-laden cars into structures. Do you see the problems this causes? And that's just ONE upgrade and advancement in technology. The government probably has this stuff hidden in Area 51 with the rest of the alien technology it has captured over the years (again with the conspiracy!) but refuses to release it because of the myriad of issues that would ensue upon its release.
There may be more reasons that the "Back to the Future" trilogy hasn't come true, but I think these are three pretty good reasons why we don't see it happening in 2012 (or 2015 for that matter). I may not be able to fly my Honda Accord to work using the scraps from last night's dinner, take a leisurely ride through the park on my hoverboard, or take in a matinee of Jaws 19, but I take a minute to appreciate what I can do and what I do have. In the amount of time mankind has been living on this Earth, we've accomplished some great advancements. In an even shorter span of time those advancements have increased exponentially. If you think it hasn't, look at the smart phone you most likely carry on your hip or in your pocket. Such a thing wasn't even a reality for the general public ten short years ago. That should put some things in perspective.
So, please don't blame Doc Brown, Marty McFly, or any of the other characters (well, maybe Biff) for a near future that doesn't resemble the movie. Instead, be excited for what could possibly be even better than what the movie predicted. Look forward to what lies ahead down the road. Wait..."Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads." Yeah, that still may be a possibility :)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
And They Wonder Why I Watch Wrestling
Sitting here tonight in front of the laptop, I'm reflecting on today's sports events and thanking God that I'm not a huge sports fan like a lot of people I know. Some of them would be testing the strength of their closet rods with a paisley tie noose if they had my "sports luck". Let me set the scene for you by giving some examples sport-by-sport.
MLB: My uncle is a huge Phillies fan, so I followed the Phillies off & on as I was growing up. In the mid 90's my stepdad & mom took me to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Immediately I was hooked & started rooting for the O's as my AL team. I really looked up to Cal Ripken Jr., a class act in every definition of the phrase. Then the 1996 playoffs happened. Jeffrey Maier, a Yankees fan, reached out at the right field wall & snagged a ball away from Tony Tarasco. What should have been ruled an out (if it hadn't been for the interfering little snot) was ruled a home run by first base umpire Richie Garcia. Since then the O's have had losing seasons EVERY year. As of late my NL team, the Phillies, have had good fortune, but lost this year in the playoffs after setting a ball club record for regular season victories.
NFL: Though I wasn't big into football until the late 90's, I was raised in a Redskins household (living in Carlisle, PA where they practiced, it was hard not to be). I also started following the Indianapolis Colts...I like the team as a whole, but I really was a Peyton Manning fan. He reminds me of the NFL's answer to Cal Ripken Jr. The Colts have been consistently good up until this year, when Manning was sidelined with a season-ending neck injury & the rest of the team decided to forget how to play the game without him. It's not even worth mentioning the Redskins. Just when they show flashes of brilliance, Dan Snyder (their owner) blows them out as if they were candles on an obscenely huge & costly but underachieving birthday cake. One other side note: I have plenty of NFL jerseys of players I like from various teams. All of the players are either injured, retired without the accolades they should've had, or dead.
NCAA CFB: Penn State has always been my first team, but I started to like Hawaii. They'd always be my team in seasons of NCAA Football for the Playstation. It was even better when Colt Brennan led them to HUGE seasons, even appearing against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. They lost the Sugar Bowl, Colt Brennan was drafted by (who else?) the Redskins as a 3rd string QB who was injured & was last seen on the side of a milk carton, & haven't made any big waves since (no tsunami jokes, please). Penn State, while they've had some good seasons, has not been at the same prominance they once were. Kinda hard to do that when you play teams that should be Division II & barely beat them, then get horribly dismembered in games against ranked opponents.
NASCAR: As with all of these other sports, my family has always watched NASCAR. I really didn't get into it until the middle-to-end of the 90's, but I always liked to see Dale Earnhardt win. He was a badass & it was fun to see people so divided when he'd win. Of course, everyone knows he was killed at the Daytona 500 in 2001. I've rooted for his son ever since, which was good while he was with DEI, but hasn't been so great since he joined Hendrick Motorsports. I thought that would be a turnaround point for his career, but it hasn't been great so far...just mediocre. Australian Marcos Ambrose has also gotten my support the past few years. He finally won his first Sprint Cup race this year at Watkins Glen, but other than that & a few good finishes, he's not close to any championships.
So, as you can see, I've had my share of rough spots in sports. Most of you can probably relate in some way, shape, or form, but I feel personally like I'm an albatross around the necks of all sports figures/teams that I choose to support. I almost feel sorry for them that I like them. But even in my sports depression, I don't feel the need for harakiri because there has always been one professional sport that I can rely on: professional wrestling.
Most of you are going to laugh hysterically at this point, but frankly I DON'T CARE. Each one of you at one time or another has watched it & ENJOYED it. Now, you may not watch it anymore or you may just watch it off & on, but you can't deny its entertainment power. I'm damn proud of the fact that I've watch wrestling since I was five years old, starting with the Hulk Hogan era in the WWF. There have been rough points throughout the years (early 90's WWF & WCW, late 2000's WCW, WWE in the past few years, etc...) when I've questioned my loyalty, but I realize it's just like anything else...it has its cycles.
You have to tough it out in the rough times to get to the great times (a good motto for pretty much anything). If I hadn't toughed it out, I'd never have seen the nWo era in WCW in the late 90's. I'd never have experienced the original ECW, which was some of the best entertainment ANYWHERE even to this day. DX would have been just two letters in the alphabet, The Rock would have been a mediocre Sean Connery movie, & I'd never have felt the joy of imagining delivering a Stone Cold Stunner to my bosses every single day. (If you've ever thought about doing that, gimme a Hell YEAH!) I'll admit that wrestling is currently in a low point, but I see signs of improvement. WWE has a future Hall of Famer in John Cena that entertains the crowd every single time he steps between the ropes, a controversial wrestler named CM Punk who isn't afraid of ad libbing & saying things that aren't quite in the script, some great heels (bad guys) like the Miz & R-Truth that also make you laugh, & some like Mark Henry or Alberto Del Rio that you love to hate. The WWE's only competitor, TNA, also has a great show on Thursday nights. Many fans are critical of it because the storylines seem jumbled (and they do), but they show signs of improvement with a change in head writers. The level of talent in the ring has always been there. Watch any X Division match for high-flying action from young talent like Brian Kendrick or Austin Aries, see Hall of Famers and legends like Ric Flair, Sting & Hulk Hogan still compete, & see some of the main-eventers that have been with TNA since its inception like AJ Styles & Robert Roode make their case for legend status some day.
Like I said, some of you will roll your eyes & attempt to make fun of me for enjoying a "fake" sport with pre-determined outcomes, featuring guys & girls in situations resembling soap operas, but I really don't care. As many wrestling fans can tell you, there is an old saying: "For those who don't know, no explanation will do. For those who do know, no explanation is necessary." I still enjoy watching all of the sports that were mentioned above, but I'm not nearly as discouraged as some of you will be when watching them. So what if Dale Jr. wrecks on the 3rd lap of the race? The O's didn't make it to the post-season AGAIN? No problem. The Redskins just drafted WHO? Not a big deal. I mean, yeah, I'll still have a level of frustration, but it'll pass. Most nights I'd rather predict who will be in a tag match with whom & what the outcome will be then watch it unfold than to go to bed angry from another loss where I thought my team had a chance. Call it "playing it safe" or what you will, but I look at it as always finding something positive. If you're looking for that, maybe you should give wrestling a chance.
By the way, what got me started on this? As I said at the beginning, I was reflecting on today's sporting events. Dale Jr. was favored to finish well in the race today, but finished in the mid 20's. Marcos Ambrose was poised to win but got involved in a late race crash that sent him back further in the field. The Redskins lost yet another game in a season where they actually showed some promise but can't quite deliver. I just turned on the Colts/Saints game to see the Colts losing by 34 points. Yet through all of this, I'm looking at the match results for the WWE Vengeance PPV tonight & I'm smiling, wondering what Triple H is going to do when he calls out Kevin Nash tomorrow night for interfering in his match. Screw you, ESPN...I love Monday nights for a different reason!
Blogger's Block
My wife is watching another rerun of "Sex & The City", where Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) narrates every episode as if she's writing another of her columns. A lot of episodes show her in front of her laptop, typing away as if the right words and sentences come easily. For her, maybe they do. But for someone like me, I need the inspiration. Realizing I hadn't written here in a while, I signed on, read through some of my previous posts & tried to think of something interesting to write. What I came up with was this...what you're reading now. Interesting? I highly doubt it, but at least it's something.
My problem lately is that I really want to write, but the things I want to write about are best left in a diary. Does anyone actually do diaries anymore? Those handwritten day-to-day volumes of one's most inner-most thoughts seem to have gone the way of the dodo & the rotary phone, unless someone tells me they actually still use them. It's just become so easy for everyone to share what they're doing, where they're going, etc... via social media, but the thoughts that we think to ourselves & never dream of sharing with another living soul stay bottled up. Many times these thoughts are the things on which we continue to dwell until they eat a hole right through us. I'm not saying I have anything like that, but maybe a diary would still be a good idea for a lot of people who are struggling. Perhaps instead of therapy, drugs, or something else, a diary could be a big, inexpensive help. On the other hand, it could plunge someone further into madness or obsession, depending on how it's done.
So what have we learned from this post?
1) I still have nothing interesting to write after five months and I need to come up with something better for the next post.
2) I should not become a psychiatrist or therapist, as I'm suggesting a diary as a possible substitute to therapy or medication.
3) Quite possibly I'm the one who is most in need of therapy and/or medication.
4) I know Sarah Jessica Parker's character's name on "Sex and the City" so have I watched the show many times before? You bet your Manolo Blahniks. Does it make it any better if I say that most episodes I watched just to see Kristin Davis (Charlotte York on the show)? No? Well...I tried.
Keep checking in...I promise I'll write a better one soon!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Conservatives: United We Stand, Divided We Fall
I had to take the time to write this blog, because every day I log onto my Facebook account and see the same things over and over again. No, not just the Farmville and Cityville requests...political statements that make absolutely no sense. I see a group of people who are so alike, yet are so far apart. It's like watching brothers and sisters playing "Marco Polo" but no one ever comes close to winning.
As many of you know, I am a conservative, but by no means am I textbook. I don't think there is anyone that fully fits an actual definition of a label to a "t". If they do, they're probably trying too hard to be the label and in the process they lose their true self. Most of the friends that I've made politically on Facebook have been conservatives (like-minded individuals tend to gravitate towards one another), but I do have some very liberal friends, as well as some who are very non-political. It's one reason why I refer to my timeline as a melting pot, because I have so many diverse viewpoints mixed together This blog, however, is mainly to my fellow conservatives. Right now, if the rest of the conservatives in this country act like the ones in my timeline, the liberals win again in 2012 and we will see a second term for President Obama.
It boils down to one simple fact: we conservatives can't agree on anything except the fact that we want conservatism to win. The problem is that no one really knows how to accomplish it. Take a look at the GOP candidates for President in 2012. Yes, I know not all Republicans are conservatives, but the two go hand-in-hand more often than not. Right now the front-runners are Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain. Rumored to also enter are Mitt Romney, Allen West, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman and a host of others. But ask a handful of Republicans who they'd vote for and chances are you'll get different responses every time. Not one of the candidates in the field seems to be enough for everyone to agree on...and that's part of where the problem exists.
As everyone is fond of pointing out in this day and age, everyone is different and diversity is a good thing. I fully agree, but conservatives haven't quite figured this out. As soon as someone gets an idea that partially strays from the conservative playbook, they're dismissed. Everyone who runs for president as a conservative is automatically compared to Ronald Reagan. Not a bad person to compare to, especially since I consider him to be a great president, but you can't compare people like that. That would be like comparing me to one of you. We're all different and no two of us are exactly alike...just like snowflakes. So why do we put such emphasis on finding that ONE person who has EVERY view point the same as ours, when we know it will most likely only be possible in a Utopian world?
You see, this is where I feel liberals have an edge on us. Look at the last election and how quickly the Democrat field was narrowed down. In the end they were down to two candidates: Obama and Clinton, to which Clinton finally caved. I know it had to be killing her, knowing that she had HUGE support on the left and middle, but she bowed out for the good of her cause. Republicans and conservatives can't do this. If we don't like Romney because he had his own version of socialized medicine in Massachusetts, we can't back him, even though a lot of his other ideas are good for the country. We can't put support behind Palin because of her lack of political experience on a national level, as well as her "folksy" personality. Herman Cain is no good because he was once involved in the Federal Reserve. You see what I mean? We're quick to throw the baby out with the bath water just because of a couple of flaws. Instead, we should all be looking at who has the best shot of winning the election and promoting the great ideas that conservatism has to offer.
I hesitate to make this comparison for the possibility that it might be misunderstood, but I think everyone that reads this will understand its intent and realize the meaning is exactly as I have written here. When ratifying the Declaration of Independence, many Northerners (especially John Adams) were absolutely opposed at the idea of striking references to abolishing slavery, knowing how important the issue was. But slowly they realized that the first steps to be taken could not be huge leaps and that if they were to ever get slavery abolished, they must first get the Declaration in place, then work towards abolition and other goals. While some would argue that issues we face today are nowhere near the importance of the slavery issue, I feel we must do the same for the election. We must find a candidate with whom we agree on MOST issues, then once that candidate becomes president, we will work on the other issues which require fixing.
As I've said before and I will continue to say, all Americans should unite on those ideas where we agree, then work together to get closer on the ones where we don't. Specifically, thought, I think the Republican party and conservatives in particular would benefit from this if there is any hope of victory in 2012. Conservative Facebook and Twitter friends (and any others who may be reading this), I challenge you to take in all opinions and weigh all possibilities before you dismiss someone that may just be our best hope at getting a fellow conservative in the White House. If not, we're opening the door for another four years that may continue this country in a direction we can't afford in so many ways.
I always look forward to your opinions, as long as they're presented in a respectful manner and with real thought behind them...or dripping with heavy sarcasm.
As many of you know, I am a conservative, but by no means am I textbook. I don't think there is anyone that fully fits an actual definition of a label to a "t". If they do, they're probably trying too hard to be the label and in the process they lose their true self. Most of the friends that I've made politically on Facebook have been conservatives (like-minded individuals tend to gravitate towards one another), but I do have some very liberal friends, as well as some who are very non-political. It's one reason why I refer to my timeline as a melting pot, because I have so many diverse viewpoints mixed together This blog, however, is mainly to my fellow conservatives. Right now, if the rest of the conservatives in this country act like the ones in my timeline, the liberals win again in 2012 and we will see a second term for President Obama.
It boils down to one simple fact: we conservatives can't agree on anything except the fact that we want conservatism to win. The problem is that no one really knows how to accomplish it. Take a look at the GOP candidates for President in 2012. Yes, I know not all Republicans are conservatives, but the two go hand-in-hand more often than not. Right now the front-runners are Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain. Rumored to also enter are Mitt Romney, Allen West, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman and a host of others. But ask a handful of Republicans who they'd vote for and chances are you'll get different responses every time. Not one of the candidates in the field seems to be enough for everyone to agree on...and that's part of where the problem exists.
As everyone is fond of pointing out in this day and age, everyone is different and diversity is a good thing. I fully agree, but conservatives haven't quite figured this out. As soon as someone gets an idea that partially strays from the conservative playbook, they're dismissed. Everyone who runs for president as a conservative is automatically compared to Ronald Reagan. Not a bad person to compare to, especially since I consider him to be a great president, but you can't compare people like that. That would be like comparing me to one of you. We're all different and no two of us are exactly alike...just like snowflakes. So why do we put such emphasis on finding that ONE person who has EVERY view point the same as ours, when we know it will most likely only be possible in a Utopian world?
You see, this is where I feel liberals have an edge on us. Look at the last election and how quickly the Democrat field was narrowed down. In the end they were down to two candidates: Obama and Clinton, to which Clinton finally caved. I know it had to be killing her, knowing that she had HUGE support on the left and middle, but she bowed out for the good of her cause. Republicans and conservatives can't do this. If we don't like Romney because he had his own version of socialized medicine in Massachusetts, we can't back him, even though a lot of his other ideas are good for the country. We can't put support behind Palin because of her lack of political experience on a national level, as well as her "folksy" personality. Herman Cain is no good because he was once involved in the Federal Reserve. You see what I mean? We're quick to throw the baby out with the bath water just because of a couple of flaws. Instead, we should all be looking at who has the best shot of winning the election and promoting the great ideas that conservatism has to offer.
I hesitate to make this comparison for the possibility that it might be misunderstood, but I think everyone that reads this will understand its intent and realize the meaning is exactly as I have written here. When ratifying the Declaration of Independence, many Northerners (especially John Adams) were absolutely opposed at the idea of striking references to abolishing slavery, knowing how important the issue was. But slowly they realized that the first steps to be taken could not be huge leaps and that if they were to ever get slavery abolished, they must first get the Declaration in place, then work towards abolition and other goals. While some would argue that issues we face today are nowhere near the importance of the slavery issue, I feel we must do the same for the election. We must find a candidate with whom we agree on MOST issues, then once that candidate becomes president, we will work on the other issues which require fixing.
As I've said before and I will continue to say, all Americans should unite on those ideas where we agree, then work together to get closer on the ones where we don't. Specifically, thought, I think the Republican party and conservatives in particular would benefit from this if there is any hope of victory in 2012. Conservative Facebook and Twitter friends (and any others who may be reading this), I challenge you to take in all opinions and weigh all possibilities before you dismiss someone that may just be our best hope at getting a fellow conservative in the White House. If not, we're opening the door for another four years that may continue this country in a direction we can't afford in so many ways.
I always look forward to your opinions, as long as they're presented in a respectful manner and with real thought behind them...or dripping with heavy sarcasm.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
The End?
After all this time, I think I may be done with politics.
Yes, you all heard me right...I may be done with politics. For those of you who really know me, this will be either a moment of shock or a "yeah right" moment. But really, truly, I may actually be done this time. Unfortunately it took a huge tragedy to force me to this point.
It's been a while since I've been able to listen to talk radio at my desk because of my current work situation (one of my bosses actually sits beside me now & I know for a fact he's not a fan of talk radio) & I can honestly say that I haven't missed it all that much. While I miss some of the entertainment & high-brow humor that you don't find really anywhere else, I find myself a lot less pissed off. Surprisingly enough I'm still able to keep up on my current events & understand what is happening in the world. If there is one thing talk radio has taught me, it's that you take whatever they present as news, from multiple sources if possible, then come to your own informed conclusion. This vacation from talk radio had started my exit from politics, but it wasn't until the tragic events of this weekend that I made the decision to try & walk away completely.
As you all know by now, a shooting took place in Arizona that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords gravely injured and six others dead, including an innocent nine-year-old girl. Immediately upon hearing this news, I saw multiple posts about the shooting on Facebook & Twitter. I was expecting to see "prayers & thoughts" for those involved & their families, which I did see, but the majority of the posts sickened me. Here was a senseless act done by an obviously mentally deranged person & people were trying to assign logic to it by entering politics into the equation. Before anyone starts more finger-pointing here, I saw it from BOTH sides of the political aisle, not just one side.
The comments I saw included the following (& since there were many, I will paraphrase here): "I wonder what his political affiliation was", "Sarah Palin should be held accountable", "Blame Obama", "If it weren't for all the illegals...", etc... The comments went on & on & on & on & on... No one was able to look at this situation from the outside, take politics out of the equation, & see this for what it was: a horrible tragedy that should never have happened. If anyone wants to place any blame, I will tell you who to blame, though you may not want to hear it.
If you have a bathroom, here is where I will ask you to walk to it, go inside & look at the big glass thing hanging above your sink. Recognize the face? We the American people are all responsible for tragedies like this. We have placed so much weight on who wins an election & who is on the right side of what issues that we have created these monsters. Instead of having the human reaction & mourning for the losses of life, we automatically try to assign blame to political parties, ideologies, & individuals. We try to apply a twisted type of logic that should not enter into the equation. I take politics very seriously & I love engaging in conversation, but I'm not willing to kill someone whose party affiliation differs from me. That's what I'm afraid American politics is becoming.
Many of the people I consider to be political opponents as well as friends will know that I always try to look at each situation with logic and compassion, trying to see a subject from both sides. To me there is no political topic that can't be discussed or debated civilly & some kind of compromise or agreement be reached. There is always some kind of common ground where we can stand. I fear that less & less people are seeing this as common ground, but instead as a piece of ground to be won & claimed. If it can't be won by topping someone in an argument, then violence comes into play. When someone feels that by killing a nine-year-old girl they'll get their point across to me, the original point ceases to be the focus of my concern.
I implore anyone who reads this to now go from looking at themselves in the mirror, to finding that person or those people who you hold most precious & tell them you love them. All of the philosophies, ideologies, opinions, facts, issues, debates, etc... mean absolutely nothing if there is no value assigned first to human life. When we use the loss of that precious life as a gain for an agenda or cause, that cause or agenda no longer has any substance. It ceases to be relevant.
One day I hope we can return to the point where politics can be debated in a healthy manner, competitive but not to the extent of forgetting what is most important. Until that happens, I'm not really interested in continuing any further with politics. I'm trying to put an end to the politics as it exists right now by saying it's The End for me before humanity & decency comes to an end from the politics.
PS: If you're reading this, chances are I know you personally or through one of the social media I use on a regular basis. If so, know that I cherish & appreciate your love & friendship. I hope that you take my words to heart & that you will come to the same conclusion I did.
Yes, you all heard me right...I may be done with politics. For those of you who really know me, this will be either a moment of shock or a "yeah right" moment. But really, truly, I may actually be done this time. Unfortunately it took a huge tragedy to force me to this point.
It's been a while since I've been able to listen to talk radio at my desk because of my current work situation (one of my bosses actually sits beside me now & I know for a fact he's not a fan of talk radio) & I can honestly say that I haven't missed it all that much. While I miss some of the entertainment & high-brow humor that you don't find really anywhere else, I find myself a lot less pissed off. Surprisingly enough I'm still able to keep up on my current events & understand what is happening in the world. If there is one thing talk radio has taught me, it's that you take whatever they present as news, from multiple sources if possible, then come to your own informed conclusion. This vacation from talk radio had started my exit from politics, but it wasn't until the tragic events of this weekend that I made the decision to try & walk away completely.
As you all know by now, a shooting took place in Arizona that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords gravely injured and six others dead, including an innocent nine-year-old girl. Immediately upon hearing this news, I saw multiple posts about the shooting on Facebook & Twitter. I was expecting to see "prayers & thoughts" for those involved & their families, which I did see, but the majority of the posts sickened me. Here was a senseless act done by an obviously mentally deranged person & people were trying to assign logic to it by entering politics into the equation. Before anyone starts more finger-pointing here, I saw it from BOTH sides of the political aisle, not just one side.
The comments I saw included the following (& since there were many, I will paraphrase here): "I wonder what his political affiliation was", "Sarah Palin should be held accountable", "Blame Obama", "If it weren't for all the illegals...", etc... The comments went on & on & on & on & on... No one was able to look at this situation from the outside, take politics out of the equation, & see this for what it was: a horrible tragedy that should never have happened. If anyone wants to place any blame, I will tell you who to blame, though you may not want to hear it.
If you have a bathroom, here is where I will ask you to walk to it, go inside & look at the big glass thing hanging above your sink. Recognize the face? We the American people are all responsible for tragedies like this. We have placed so much weight on who wins an election & who is on the right side of what issues that we have created these monsters. Instead of having the human reaction & mourning for the losses of life, we automatically try to assign blame to political parties, ideologies, & individuals. We try to apply a twisted type of logic that should not enter into the equation. I take politics very seriously & I love engaging in conversation, but I'm not willing to kill someone whose party affiliation differs from me. That's what I'm afraid American politics is becoming.
Many of the people I consider to be political opponents as well as friends will know that I always try to look at each situation with logic and compassion, trying to see a subject from both sides. To me there is no political topic that can't be discussed or debated civilly & some kind of compromise or agreement be reached. There is always some kind of common ground where we can stand. I fear that less & less people are seeing this as common ground, but instead as a piece of ground to be won & claimed. If it can't be won by topping someone in an argument, then violence comes into play. When someone feels that by killing a nine-year-old girl they'll get their point across to me, the original point ceases to be the focus of my concern.
I implore anyone who reads this to now go from looking at themselves in the mirror, to finding that person or those people who you hold most precious & tell them you love them. All of the philosophies, ideologies, opinions, facts, issues, debates, etc... mean absolutely nothing if there is no value assigned first to human life. When we use the loss of that precious life as a gain for an agenda or cause, that cause or agenda no longer has any substance. It ceases to be relevant.
One day I hope we can return to the point where politics can be debated in a healthy manner, competitive but not to the extent of forgetting what is most important. Until that happens, I'm not really interested in continuing any further with politics. I'm trying to put an end to the politics as it exists right now by saying it's The End for me before humanity & decency comes to an end from the politics.
PS: If you're reading this, chances are I know you personally or through one of the social media I use on a regular basis. If so, know that I cherish & appreciate your love & friendship. I hope that you take my words to heart & that you will come to the same conclusion I did.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
I'm Offended That You're Offended
If you've ever seen a movie or a TV show that shows the stereotypical auto repair shop or garage at a car dealership, you'll no doubt see calendars hanging up on the toolboxes of the mechanics/technicians or on the walls. Some have the types of cars the dealership sells, some will have antique autos of different body styles, and yet others will have pictures of a whole different kind of body...you know what I mean. Such a calendar hung at the back wall of the car dealership where I work, though it was nowhere near as risque as you might think. The tool companies that frequent the dealership will bring these calendars around yearly and distribute them to the techs that give them the most business. This particular calendar had beautiful women that were wearing revealing outfits, but could not be called scantily clad by any stretch of the imagination. Basically I've seen calendars that show a WHOLE lot more. Yet, on a recent walk-through by our insurance company, it was suggested to our owners that this calendar, in plain sight of customers, could be offensive and should be removed immediately. One of the owners immediately complied.
The question I have for you, ladies and gentlemen, is this: do I have any recourse that I may take for this action, which I deem to be offensive? Before you answer, I can already tell you the answer is no. I'm finding that in this day and age, especially in our country's current configuration, if you're offended by something someone says, does, thinks, etc... you immediately have the upper hand. Whatever ruling body in charge that can make a decision to pacify the offended party almost has no other choice but to give in to the demands. So by this choice, the offenders could now also become the offended, taking an offense to the offense felt by the original offended party (this really does make sense, people...if you need a program to follow, one is for sale). Back to my situation. Not that I looked at this calendar all that much, but it did have a certain beauty to it that was a change. Now, instead of taking a minute to look at this calendar, all I can see from my desk are the technicians...and believe me, this carnivore isn't into the sausage-fest.
I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen, that we as a people are getting too thin-skinned and sue-happy. Just because someone has a varying opinion from us or of us, we have to take offense to it. At the same time, we have to acquiesce to the needs of every individual, which is in all actuality impossible because we are all different. If that doesn't happen, it's time to get legal representation involved. Instead, why don't we just agree where we can but disagree if we must? I think we've got some work to do here in the country and this is just one of the areas that could use some help.
The question I have for you, ladies and gentlemen, is this: do I have any recourse that I may take for this action, which I deem to be offensive? Before you answer, I can already tell you the answer is no. I'm finding that in this day and age, especially in our country's current configuration, if you're offended by something someone says, does, thinks, etc... you immediately have the upper hand. Whatever ruling body in charge that can make a decision to pacify the offended party almost has no other choice but to give in to the demands. So by this choice, the offenders could now also become the offended, taking an offense to the offense felt by the original offended party (this really does make sense, people...if you need a program to follow, one is for sale). Back to my situation. Not that I looked at this calendar all that much, but it did have a certain beauty to it that was a change. Now, instead of taking a minute to look at this calendar, all I can see from my desk are the technicians...and believe me, this carnivore isn't into the sausage-fest.
I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen, that we as a people are getting too thin-skinned and sue-happy. Just because someone has a varying opinion from us or of us, we have to take offense to it. At the same time, we have to acquiesce to the needs of every individual, which is in all actuality impossible because we are all different. If that doesn't happen, it's time to get legal representation involved. Instead, why don't we just agree where we can but disagree if we must? I think we've got some work to do here in the country and this is just one of the areas that could use some help.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Building a Better Mosque Trap?
The late, great comedian Bill Hicks once said, "A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see an f*****g cross? It's like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a rifle pendant." I can't help but think that if he was living today, Bill would modify the last line to read, "It's like allowing the building of a mosque near Ground Zero". Although, maybe I'm wrong about him saying it...but at least he'd think it.
Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I'm a very tolerant person. I'm pretty well open-minded & I'm okay with whatever floats your boat. Black, white, red, yellow, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, straight, gay...it really makes no difference to me. But there are some things that when done blatantly cross the line. This whole mosque issue has done so. While I don't believe Islam to be a particularly peaceful religion, I understand Christianity has had a past which doesn't show its peaceful side either. Christians are attempting to change that and I would hope that many Muslims are trying to do the same for Islam. This is not fully why I have a problem with this mosque being built. My problem with it exists in the almost defiant nature that the proponents have in where the location must be. Why must it be built so close to Ground Zero?
When September 11th, 2001 occurred it put a bad taste in the mouths of many people around the world concerning Islam. While most, including me, understand that not all people who practice Islam are hateful murderers, there is a large section that is FULL of them & they are the ones who we constantly see in the news as spokespeople for their religion. Some of those extremists are the ones who hijacked the airplanes that caused such devastation nine years ago. Knowing this to be the case, why would the people in favor of this building be so gung-ho for it to be built near Ground Zero? It's as if they purposefully want to poke and prod a still-healing wound while pouring salt into it. I've also played enough strategy games like Warcraft to know that there is nothing more satisfying than placing your flag on enemy turf to boost your morale and destroy your enemy's at the same time. PERHAPS it is truly a gesture of peaceful Muslims trying to bridge a gap of understanding by getting people more familiar with their faith. If this is the reason, then I regretfully inform those people that they are going about it the wrong way. It is too soon to be attempting something like this.
So, I'd like to deliver some messages to some people about this issue, even though they will never read them, but at least I'll feel better getting it off my chest.
Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I'm a very tolerant person. I'm pretty well open-minded & I'm okay with whatever floats your boat. Black, white, red, yellow, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, straight, gay...it really makes no difference to me. But there are some things that when done blatantly cross the line. This whole mosque issue has done so. While I don't believe Islam to be a particularly peaceful religion, I understand Christianity has had a past which doesn't show its peaceful side either. Christians are attempting to change that and I would hope that many Muslims are trying to do the same for Islam. This is not fully why I have a problem with this mosque being built. My problem with it exists in the almost defiant nature that the proponents have in where the location must be. Why must it be built so close to Ground Zero?
When September 11th, 2001 occurred it put a bad taste in the mouths of many people around the world concerning Islam. While most, including me, understand that not all people who practice Islam are hateful murderers, there is a large section that is FULL of them & they are the ones who we constantly see in the news as spokespeople for their religion. Some of those extremists are the ones who hijacked the airplanes that caused such devastation nine years ago. Knowing this to be the case, why would the people in favor of this building be so gung-ho for it to be built near Ground Zero? It's as if they purposefully want to poke and prod a still-healing wound while pouring salt into it. I've also played enough strategy games like Warcraft to know that there is nothing more satisfying than placing your flag on enemy turf to boost your morale and destroy your enemy's at the same time. PERHAPS it is truly a gesture of peaceful Muslims trying to bridge a gap of understanding by getting people more familiar with their faith. If this is the reason, then I regretfully inform those people that they are going about it the wrong way. It is too soon to be attempting something like this.
So, I'd like to deliver some messages to some people about this issue, even though they will never read them, but at least I'll feel better getting it off my chest.
- To Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Patterson, President Obama & all other politicians in favor of this building: I don't know what your kickback is for supporting the mosque, but you are seriously endangering your own careers and your credibility for any other agenda you'd like to ram down our throats. Listen to your constituents and KNOW that the majority is NOT in favor of the mosque. Heed the warning or you'll be in the unemployment line.
- To the peaceful Muslims in favor of this mosque: I appreciate your efforts, but please go about this a different way. I would love nothing more than to have peace with your people, but this isn't going to work. Let's work on a different way. Oh, by the way, flush out the extremists from your religion so it'll make things easier.
- To the Muslim extremists: your efforts will NOT be successful and you will NEVER destroy America. If you plan on using this mosque as a launch pad, you will fail in one way or another. The American people will never allow you to succeed.
- To the American people: stay strong and diligent. Question with boldness. Investigate everything yourself and make informed decisions. Embrace honesty and sincerity, but be cautious of deception.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Beating a Dead (Dark) Horse
It seems that no matter where I go, I can't get away from him.
News print, best seller lists, Internet, talk radio, News TV, and now on every awards show imaginable, there he is.
I am, of course, referring to media darling and former Vice-President, Al Gore.
Now I know that there are those of you out in this vast expanse of cyberspace that hope Al dusts off the proverbial hat and throws it ever so gingerly into the political ring for President this year, but unless he can find a way to hold up Obama and Clinton for the money already given to them, I doubt he'll find the scratch. Oh sure, he'd get close and with some well-placed Chinese donations, he might attain it, but I doubt you'll see him enter, no matter how tempting it is right now. I must admit that I don't see any front runners in either party right now and it might be that fact that would act as blood in the water for the Gore shark.
What I don't think he realizes is that he's getting the ego-stroking of his life by all media outlets in order to make him think about running. For example, I'm watching the Emmys tonight and he accepted an award for Interactive media with TV (forgive me for not knowing the exact name) for his Current TV. Haven't seen it? Surprise, neither have I, nor have many other people. To paint an accurate picture, picture YouTube for a TV audience, although with less shots to the groin, beer pong tournaments, or rare 80's music videos. As a matter of fact, forget all of those and add small shorts sent in by people with a liberal bias talking about the government, the war, and other topics. Sounds like something I need to watch right now! So, factor in that no one watches this channel, add in that no one knows how things get Emmy nominated, and also the largest fact that this category never existed before, and you get Hollywood trying to get Al Gore in the spotlight again.
Personally, I hope Al finally sets these people straight and tells them that, once and for all, he is not running for office anymore. Unfortunately these people haven't gotten over the "inconvenient truth" that Al Gore lost the election in 2000 and a majority of the American people are smart enough to never vote him in as President ever. Hopefully Al wises up soon, realizes he's being pandered, and tells the left once and for all that he's done running. Then we'll see the sad puppy dog faces and tails between the legs as they scurry off, looking for the next best thing. Fortunately for me and this country, I don't think the next best thing is a liberal agenda.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!!
PS: It's been 3 years since I posted here last, so if I'm a little rusty, take that into account.
News print, best seller lists, Internet, talk radio, News TV, and now on every awards show imaginable, there he is.
I am, of course, referring to media darling and former Vice-President, Al Gore.
Now I know that there are those of you out in this vast expanse of cyberspace that hope Al dusts off the proverbial hat and throws it ever so gingerly into the political ring for President this year, but unless he can find a way to hold up Obama and Clinton for the money already given to them, I doubt he'll find the scratch. Oh sure, he'd get close and with some well-placed Chinese donations, he might attain it, but I doubt you'll see him enter, no matter how tempting it is right now. I must admit that I don't see any front runners in either party right now and it might be that fact that would act as blood in the water for the Gore shark.
What I don't think he realizes is that he's getting the ego-stroking of his life by all media outlets in order to make him think about running. For example, I'm watching the Emmys tonight and he accepted an award for Interactive media with TV (forgive me for not knowing the exact name) for his Current TV. Haven't seen it? Surprise, neither have I, nor have many other people. To paint an accurate picture, picture YouTube for a TV audience, although with less shots to the groin, beer pong tournaments, or rare 80's music videos. As a matter of fact, forget all of those and add small shorts sent in by people with a liberal bias talking about the government, the war, and other topics. Sounds like something I need to watch right now! So, factor in that no one watches this channel, add in that no one knows how things get Emmy nominated, and also the largest fact that this category never existed before, and you get Hollywood trying to get Al Gore in the spotlight again.
Personally, I hope Al finally sets these people straight and tells them that, once and for all, he is not running for office anymore. Unfortunately these people haven't gotten over the "inconvenient truth" that Al Gore lost the election in 2000 and a majority of the American people are smart enough to never vote him in as President ever. Hopefully Al wises up soon, realizes he's being pandered, and tells the left once and for all that he's done running. Then we'll see the sad puppy dog faces and tails between the legs as they scurry off, looking for the next best thing. Fortunately for me and this country, I don't think the next best thing is a liberal agenda.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!!
PS: It's been 3 years since I posted here last, so if I'm a little rusty, take that into account.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
State of emergency? Grab your tofu...
All of this recent weather fluctuation we've had up here in South Central Pennsylvania because of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan have left me thinking about the ritual dash to the supermarket which occurs before a major weather event, such as a snowstorm is scheduled to hit. It was always bread and milk that were cleared off the shelves due to some preconceived
notion that these staples would be enough for someone to survive, even in a nuclear crisis. I'm just wondering, though, if recent trends won't put a halt to this. It seems like everyone is now on a health kick or diet fad system, such as the ever-popular Atkins diet. Will bread and milk be replaced by Slim-Fast and bacon? Or perhaps spring water and wheat grass? I know this much...if I'm in a crisis state, all diets are off. I'm eating whatever food I can find, no matter how many carbs it has or how high its fat content is. If I need food and I can get my hands on it, I'm eating it. Not that it's really any different than how I live my life anyway...
Side question: Where did the name "tofu" come from? Doesn't sound too appetizing, does it? Those marketing wizards need to go back to the drawing board.
notion that these staples would be enough for someone to survive, even in a nuclear crisis. I'm just wondering, though, if recent trends won't put a halt to this. It seems like everyone is now on a health kick or diet fad system, such as the ever-popular Atkins diet. Will bread and milk be replaced by Slim-Fast and bacon? Or perhaps spring water and wheat grass? I know this much...if I'm in a crisis state, all diets are off. I'm eating whatever food I can find, no matter how many carbs it has or how high its fat content is. If I need food and I can get my hands on it, I'm eating it. Not that it's really any different than how I live my life anyway...
Side question: Where did the name "tofu" come from? Doesn't sound too appetizing, does it? Those marketing wizards need to go back to the drawing board.
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