Here's a little something that has been eating at me for no apparent good reason lately...

Now, I'm a Republican but even I admit that Georgie-boy is never going to win a contest as the best person we have ever put in the White House. Then again, either would his dad, Clinton, Carter, Ford, and in my opinion even Kennedy. So, since we now have another round of endless campaigning, speeches, phone calls begging for money, and scripted TV appearances coming up on us, I have started thinking about HOW exactly we end up with a moron like Georgie-boy. Or even better, how do we end up with any of the morons we put into public office? I cringe to think that what we have now is the absolute best we have to put into office. That thought is enough to bring up contemplation of immigration to Iran, Syria, or even France.

The only thing I can come up with is that we desperately need a "None of the Above" option (not a write-in blank, but simply a None of the Above) on the ballots. You see, if we had that, and after all the speeches, all the positioning, all the party-line bullshit was said and done and we still didn't feel that our available choices were CAPABLE of doing the job (or at least what they say), then guess what? We vote None of the Above and start the fucking process over until we DO find someone capable of doing the job.

I know many will be quick to point out all the difficulties such a thing would create such as never reaching a consensus and never electing anyone ever again, and I must point out that I never said I am presenting a perfect solution. But fuck! I am tired of feeling like all the election is going to be is a choice between the "lesser of two evils" rather than putting the right man or woman into the job who can actually do it.

Summer Time Blog Lag

Sorry I haven't been updating and providing more stuff for everyone to chew on over the last month or so, really it hasn't been intentional. I have been busting my ass in the backyard again.

But I really must say, we now have a nice large patio and gazebo that looks damn good. I will have to swipe a camera from somewhere and get a picture of it one of these days when it is not overcast and rainy here. Oh, I might wait until I get the five cubic yards of dirt out of my driveway and around the patio where it is supposed to be before I start taking pictures.

Needless to say, I have been a tad tired at the end of the day, and been starting the day after just enough coffee to get the crusties out of my eyes. Thus, the lag in the blog entries. But, that is all gonna change here shortly and I will be back in full force.

The Public Perception of a Kid

I just read today about an interview done by Vince McMahon of the WWE on the Today Show where he called Benoit a "monster." Now, since this is the second post I have done touching on pro wrestling, let me say right here that I personally stopped watching when Owen Hart died during a show after falling to the ring from the rafters of an arena due to either faulty training or less than professional rigging used for the stunt he was performing. As I said yesterday, I live in the 21st century not the 3rd, so the death of another person is not sport or entertainment to me, even if it is accidental.

Now, Mr. McMahon's statements about Benoit may appease the adults of the world, at least the ones watching the Today Show or reading newspapers. But, frankly, that is not the audience he ought to be talking to. I rather seriously doubt the majority of the audience that is sitting down each week to watch the Monday broadcast of the WWE flagship show "Raw," or attending live events, or ordering them on demand are sitting down and also watching the morning quasi-news programs like the Today Show. So basically, the interview was a public relations exercise to try and keep the parents of the kids from saying "No, you can't watch that" and blocking it forever from their televisions.

Like it or not professional wrestlers, the same as other celebrities and sports stars, in many cases hold more sway over their perspective audiences than anyone else in their lives. I don't mean that the celebrities are the ones that are telling them to do their homework or mow the grass, but in a broader sense they are influencing the opinions of those who admire them, and many times much more strongly than every day peers or parents. And this is truly where the trouble comes in when we are talking about the use, or abuse, of steroids.

As adults, we tend to rationalize it by a variety of different means. We tell ourselves that the people using the steroids are adults, and they know the risks. This being America after all, who are we to tell another person he or she cannot do something. We look at it and say things like it's not for us, but if they want to destroy their bodies and minds, that is their choice. Unfortunately, we tend to forget as adults just how influential celebrities can be because we are in large part already set in thought patterns and have a pretty clear idea of what is right and wrong for us.

Kids, on the other hand, are easily influenced even when they think they aren't being influenced. The fact that they see celebrities doing drugs, drinking and driving, getting thrown in jail only to serve a third of the time, sports stars doing steroids to improve their game and their incomes... There are many things that are capable of influencing kids, especially when they have been exposed to them for the entirety of their lives. I don't mean to say that a kid watches a half dozen wrestling programs that he is going to start using steroids. But the fact is, if becoming a wrestler is the kid's dream, and he sees the obviousness of their use, then guess what? Yeah, he's going to find a way to get steroids. All he is seeing as that all these famous people are doing it, and making a bunch of money, so why not? Can't be bad, right?

McMahon's comments may be relavent to an adult audience, but it is funny to me that the adult side (the troubling and bad side) are being dealt with in a different venue than the perceived good and fun side. If we really want to protect the youth of the country, then the message of the bad side of steroids has to be constant, and it must be stated within the sport's or entertainment's normal venue. Otherwise, nothing is ever going to change.

Steroid Delerium

Now, seriously, how many people have been able to look at professional wrestling over the past 20 to 25 years and say with a straight face "Those guys aren't on steroids, they are just really active in the gym." It has been laughable for at least a couple of decades when you see the gentlemen that own the pro wrestling organizations get up and try to convince everyone that they have nothing to do with the use of steriods EVEN IF (since their lawyers state it hasn't been proven) there are even steroids in pro wrestling. Come on, any kid with a 7th grade education (which by the way is pro wrestlings main audience) can look at the spectacle and while the word steroid may not be on the tip of his tongue, somewhere the thought of "Somethin' jus' ain't right" is going to be there.

We had the big blow-up over steroids in baseball because someone finally figured out that the number of home runs hit during a season doesn't jump 20 percent over a five year period without pharmacutical help. That went all the way to Congress, though the story was pretty much the same as it has always been in pro wrestling. Owners claiming they didn't know and didn't condone, players saying they didn't know the risks or that it was illegal, everyone getting patted on the wrist while banking the extra proceeds.

Now, we find out that the professional wrestler Chris Benoit not only killed himself, but also his wife and young son. Pro wrestling's history is littered by early and untimely deaths. Some of the biggest names in the business have died, and the two leading causes are overdose and heart attacks before the age of 50. And all the while, the men who run the show (such as Vince McMahon of WWE) always find a way to squirm away from the idea of steroids having any part in it. Sadly, since there is no real oversight of pro wrestling since they are privately held enterprises, this is probably not going to change much in the future. Or maybe it will.

You see, until this past weekend, it was just the wrestler who died. It was easy for the organization employing them, and the public at large, to say "Well, even if he was using steroids, he knew the risk and took his chances. No harm, no foul. We are sorry, but on to the next match." Now, a 7 year old little boy is dead, and I will guarantee that not only did he not know the fucking risks, he didn't have a damn choice. Maybe now, after years of turning away, someone will actually start looking at the problem and figure out what can be done about it.

Now, I'm not going to say that pro wrestling isn't entertaining. It is scripted to be so, and they pull it off just as well for the guys as the writers of General Hospital pull it off for the daytime soap crowd. However, no one actually dies on General Hospital other than from old age because they have been on the show for a hundred years. What the people in charge of pro wrestling are unwilling to take a chance on is the fact that their shows would be just as entertaining without the steroid ripped bodies. However, I only see one way of getting pro wrestling to change, and that is through public pressure, and I don't mean some blog post.

Pro wrestling is a business, and as such is there to make money. Well, guess what, if we the public stop buying tickets to the events, stop shilling out the dough for the pay-per-view, and find something else on TV during their free broadcasts, pro wrestling will either have to change or go away. Like I said, it is entertaining, but not since the time of the Roman Empire have we considered watching someone die for "sport" entertainment. This is the 21st century, not the 3rd. And somehow, just because the gladiators of pro wrestling are dying behind the curtains rather than in the ring (which has been known to happen), just doesn't seem to make it alright.

As If We Needed More Proof!

Just in case anyone was left with any doubt, keep small children away from this blog! I am liable to warp their little impressionable minds, and OMG! I might even persuade a couple of the little rugrats to think on their own!

I Want One!

Normally, I ignore advertising. I mean, come on, we all know it is geared to getting us to drool over the newest, greatest whatever regardless if we really need it or not. How many people bought Air Jordans for their kids so they could "Be Like Mike"? Not me, and not because I don't have kids. I just knew that at 5'9", mid 20's and white, I wasn't going to "Be Like Mike" short of a pair of stilts, trapeze wires, and a net! Anyhow, on to the post...

Recently I have been noticing the TV spots for the new iPhone from Apple. Since my current cell phone is about four years old, doesn't fold, flip, take pictures, or do tricks, and the battery life is now being measured in nanoseconds between charges, I'm in the market for a new cell phone. I wouldn't even mind changing carriers since the one I am on is not exactly the best out there, and I also need the ability to get a card for the laptop in the future which my current carrier doesn't offer. All in all, I am the prime candidate for AT&T/Cingular and their target audience.

Now, if the new iPhone can do HALF of what the advertising claims it can do, I must say that I want one of those puppies! I mean, I don't have an iPod or don't have a PDA with internet access. Basically, other than my laptop, I have been content with my life without having to go out and buy the newest gadgets and gizmos, and definitely without having to find a way to pay the bills that seem to invariably come along with them to make them even somewhat useful. So, why is the new iPhone peaking my interest so much?

I guess it is because now I see the chance to pick up all the gizmos and gadgets in one package and be set for another four or five years. Either way, I will definitely be heading out to the local store to take a look at that little puppy and do some drooling come June 29th. I just hope the store doesn't have a "You drool, you buy" policy!

Political Comedy or Absurdity?

I'm not a Grinch, really I'm not! I love a good comedian and a good laugh. The great ones can touch on subjects that would normally infuriate many and make everyone laugh just by pointing out some small absurdity within the situation. Comedy has been, and probably always will be, a running commentary on our society: good, bad, and downright hilarious that it may be.

But then there are idiots like Bill Mahr who HBO saw fit to give a show. Trouble with this man is that comedy in most part is supposed to be unbiased. If you want biased commentary, you listen to Fox News, MSNBC, or talk radio. Why is Bill on HBO rather than these other venues? Simply because he has no fucking clue what he is talking about in any real sense. Yeah, he gets some laughs from the crowd, but how much of that is the result of the stage "Applaud" and "Cheer" lights that any TV show uses during taping?

Now, I don't mean to say that EVERYTHING he does isn't funny. I do get laughs out of some of the stuff that he does, even when he is pointing out some of the more absurd things that either party does. But for the most part, painting all Republicans as "warmongers" and "oil tycoons" while portraying the Democrats as "peace loving humanitarians" who "have all the answers" just isn't historically correct. It is merely a play on words calling Iraq (at this stage at least) a "war" while our actions in Mogadishu was a "peace keeping" expidition. Folks, our young men and women in the military died in both places! It is just that for peace keeping you don't have to have Congressional approval or oversight.

But ok, I'll accept my oil fortune and the painting by Bill Mahr, just as long as it comes with permission to do my own, equally unfair, painting of Democrats as lazy welfare junkies with big mouths and no ideas (or even worse, a cable TV show!).

A Memorial Day Tribute

Memorial Day really should be a bigger holiday than it is in this country. Or maybe it is just that we ought to get back to what Memorial Day is supposed to be about.

Memorial Day is supposed to be a day on which we stop and honor the men and women that serve, and have served, our country around the world and specifically to remember those that gave their lives to protect what we hold dear. Without these men and women, our brothers, sisters, children and parents, this country would not be what it is today. I can sit here in Massachusetts all day long talking about what we should be doing, but the fact remains that they are the ones that end up "doing" while I am merely "talking" from somewhere completely safe and out of harms way.

I was born in 1972, and have spent most of my life living in a time when Memorial Day has been more about backyard BBQ's, long weekends from work and school, and vacations than it has ever been about honoring our service men and women and veterans. It really is a shame.

We live in a climate where it is easier to take our frustrations about policy out on the military rather than on the politicians who make them. We did it after Vietnam by ignoring the troops that were lucky enough to come home. We minimized Desert Storm, Panama and Grenada because they simply didn't last long enough and not enough of our men and women died to call them a true "war." We are doing it now by bitching about the war in Iraq. It is a hard distinction to make all the time between the policy makers and the people who carry them out, but it is one that must ALWAYS be made. Be pissed all you want at the folks in Washington who are safe and sound in their backyards and country clubs this Memorial Day, but say a prayer for the ones that they sent into harms way and who have gone with hardly a complaint because it is their job.

It was my grandfather who taught me that I couldn't really depend on history books to tell the whole story. His stories about World War II and what he actually experienced drove home the difference between the realities of military service and what history chooses to remember. It is because of him, and other veterans I have had the priviledge and honor to meet and talk to, that I realize the magnitude of the sacrifice military service so often brings.

For all the people serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard: All I can say is THANK YOU! It is because of you that I feel proud to be an American, it is because of you that America is something to be proud of. Whether you served during peace time or war, this day is for you and most importantly this day is for those who gave everything so the rest can have their long weekend and BBQ.

I Need a Bigger Desk

I am sitting here this morning trying to find someplace to set my coffee cup that is somewhat level. I think I need a bigger desk! The one I have has a surface area of about three feet by two feet. It's not a bad size, in a perfect world, considering everything I do on this desk is done on a computer. I don't have to have space to write on paper or anything like that. When I have something that can't be done on the computer I move over to the table that sits behind me. However, this isn't a perfect world, it is my world and now I have to hunt for a place to set my coffee.

Memorial Day Treat

Yeah, I'm supposed to be working, and I will once I get done with a couple of chores that need to be done. For those that don't work at home, lemme tell you the "chores" can absolutely ruin a workday. But that is another story.

So this is Memorial Day weekend, and the official start of the BBQ season. Actually, BBQ season around here started the night I could get outside without a down coat and gloves. I do nearly all of my cooking out on my BBQ during the spring, summer and fall. I have learned over the years that anything I can cook inside, I can cook outside and make it taste even better. Plus, less dishes (always a plus)! Now, I'm by no means a chef, I would barely be considered a "cook" by most. But hey, I haven't killed anyone yet by cooking for them, and everyone seems to like the stuff.

So, if you are looking for something to do different for this Memorial Day cookout, here's a couple things that seem to work around here.

BBQ Spuds:

2 Medium white onions
5-6 Medium Russet potatoes
4 tablespoons of butter
salt
pepper

Peel the spuds and onions. Slice the spuds into medallions (a mandolin slicer works great) about 1/4 inch thick. Split onion in half through the root end, then slice each half into four or five parts so you end up with half rings of onion.

Lay out about two and a half feet of heavy duty foil, shiny side up, and spray with Pam or other cooking spray. Pile sliced potatoes and onions in the middle, add butter to the top in 1 tbs. slices, salt liberally, pepper to taste. Fold foil into pouch by gathering the edges together (short end to short end) and folding them over themselves three or four times. Then do the same for the ends. You should end up with a rectanglular pouch about 2-3 inches thick.

Cook on the BBQ over medium heat. I have a gas grill, with three burners and I just use the one on the end turned to medium. Makes things easy. Flip the foil pouch every ten minutes and they will be done in about an hour. If you are cooking something else, letting the spuds cook longer won't hurt them, just keep turning. During cooking, depending on how tightly you made your pouch, it may begin to balloon, just poke a couple of vent holes in the foil.

Feeds 4-6 people

Corn on the Cob:

Shuck the amount of corn that you want to cook, cut off the top and shorten the stem to your liking. Remove most of the corn silk.

Using regular foil, pull out sheets about a foot long for however many corn cobs you have. Butter corn liberally, salt to taste, and roll into a sheet of foil. Twist the ends closed.

If you have an upper rack in your BBQ, lay the corn on it, turning it about every 10-15 minutes. The corn will cook in about the same time as the potatoes above, or about an hour. When you open the BBQ and can smell the corn, it is done. Take off BBQ, even if it is early. It will stay hot in the foil for up to an hour.

Honey Mustard Porkchops:

Porkchops are hard to do on the grill since they tend to dry out. Here's a great idea to avoid eating pork flavored sawdust. The chops I use are ones that I cut about an inch thick from a pork loin so they are boneless, but any thick cut chop should work.

Combine 2 parts spicy brown mustard to 1 part honey. I like my sauce to be on the sweet side with a little bite on the back end. You can play with the ratios to your taste.

Over low heat on the BBQ, start cooking the chops. Turn them every 2-3 minutes to keep charring down. Once they are about 2/3 done, start coating them with the honey mustard sauce. Re-coat them with each turn until done.

Serve with leftover sauce on the side.

The Loss of the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Perhaps it is because I grew up idolizing "self-made" men and women rather than the current sport figure or rock star of the month. I have always looked to the entrepreneurs before me for inspiration even as a kid. Now, I'm not a kid anymore which was driven home quite clearly when I had to buy new jeans and found that my waist size was now a larger number than my inseam. I'm sure that tragedy will make for another post, but not this one.

However, this past week or so that I have spent in dandelion hell has made me aware of a few things that I just can't seem to explain to myself. You see, when I was a teenager (12 to 15 years old anyway), I was definitely the little entrepreneur. I wasn't setting up lemonade stands or anything like that, but I found out quite early that I could trade my labor for money for many of my neighbors. And there was no shortage of neighbors just north of Denver Colorado where I grew up that were perfectly happy to pay me to do a job they didn't want to do or have time to do. Things like shoveling snow in the winter and weeding and mowing lawns through the spring and summer. Nothing major, but it worked for everyone involved. I got some extra spending money for when I was in California, and they got the "chores" done.

Now, I live in a neighborhood that at this time has no shortage of teen aged boys in it. Any one of whom I would have been more than willing to hand a twenty dollar bill to for pulling the dandelions out of the front yard. It would have taken them a good afternoon, but I would have supplied the tools and probably even would have helped them along the way. Or, if dandelions aren't their cup of tea, I would still be more than willing to hire on of the neighbor kids to come mow the lawn (the front at least), with my mower and gas even. The trouble is, out of the half dozen kids that I would have thought would be up for doing this, none of them shows the least bit of initiative in wanting to do it by coming to ask about it. I find it odd, especially considering the way I was as a kid.

At that age, I was quite content to do the work for money rather than idling my time away. Sure, I missed a couple of weekend afternoons with my friends, but I routinely missed two and a half months of those same afternoons anyway. It wasn't that I needed the money either. I spent all my summers with my grandparents who quite frankly spoiled me. Anything I wanted all I had to do was basically ask. But it was nice to know that I could buy some things on my own, with my own money, and not have to "ask" someone for them. This is something that I don't see anymore, at least with the kids around here. Maybe it is because McDonald's pays damn near ten bucks an hour here for doing little. Maybe it is a shift in our society in general. I don't know. But I know as a kid, I would have been asking if I needed some help and getting paid, while the adult side of me would have been more than willing to pay.

Do I REALLY Sit Around Thinking This Up?

Sometimes I just gotta wonder about my brain! I mean, do I really sit around all day thinking up all this shit? How does my brain run from a comedy movie to some of the biggest challenges our government faces to how many dandelions I have sitting out in the front yard that I have to go pull up?

Well, first, yeah I do sit around all day thinking about this shit. I have always done so. I know there is medication for this sort of thing, I have been on most of them. But you know the funny thing? As long as I can still function and get my work done, I actually prefer to have my brain wandering all over the place. I know not all of it will ever get onto this blog since I would have to write nearly constantly (and that would kinda kill the idea of getting my work done and functioning, wouldn't it?). So maybe that explains why I seem to post all at once on a variety of different things. I post when I have the time to sit down and let my mind wander and it wanders right out the end of my fingers.

I guess the real proof of this whole thing is when I first met my girlfriend face to face and after about two hours she said "Holy shit, are you OCD and ADHD or what?" Oh yeah, and then some!

Thoughts from "The Man of the Year"

I know, it's a comedy, and a rather good one at that. But then I am biased since just about anything Robin Williams does I like (after Mork and Mindy that is). I thought the movie would just me be laughing my ass off about the idea of electing a comedian President, but then I find I was actually thinking about some of the stuff that the movie brought up.

First, the actual election process. I know computers are supposed to make our lives easier, but when does that ease start getting in the way of our democratic process? Put all the safe guards in place you would like, and quite frankly in the megabytes and gigabytes of code that enables the voter to go in and push a button on a computer screen is still easy to compromise. All it takes is one programmer with an agenda (politics and agendas... imagine that!) and the results can come out as anything the said programmer wants it to be. Fact is, once the code is finalized, there is very little review of it as long as it functions. Now, combined with the fact that it is largely taboo to talk about who you actual vote for, who is to say that the election results are acurate? The government? The folks that are benefiting from those very same results? Sounds a bit fishy. But think about it, if you go in and vote for Candidate A but Candidate Y wins, the reaction is largely "oh well, my person didn't win, maybe next time." Except for the scenario of a huge popular vote landslide being overturned, who the hell would think that a popular vote difference of seven or eight percent would be anything but the democratic process at work? Apparently I would.

Secondly, the whole debate structure. I know we need order and civility in debates, and since they are televised they need to be somewhat choreographed, but come on. How many times have we all sat around listening to someone answer prescreened questions that they have had their handlers give them answers (or non-answers more often than not) that follow the party line. Are we supposed to be so naive that we don't realize that these are canned answer? Even though we have been listening to the same fucking answer from both parties for the past twenty years?

Third and last, the whole idea of the financing that goes into the campaigns. Yes, there was supposed to be campaign finance reform (in case you don't know, that largely when out the window when Sen. McCain needed to get re-elected), but regardless of how you reform it as long as the money for the campaigns and the television ads comes from lobbies and the national party coffers there won't be any real reform. We are a capitalistic economy, but does that mean that our government has to be a capitalistic entity also? Wouldn't it be nice to actually be able to elect someone on the basis of what they think and what they can do other than throw mud? Maybe I'm dreamin'.

We won't get into the actual "who" we are ever electing, that is something for another time.

Anyway, get a bowl of popcorn and a copy of "The Man of the Year" and see where it takes your mind.

More adjustments from my end are in order I think. I have another blog doing dvd movie reviews which I mentioned in a previous post. I started it damn near a year ago, but I could never find the ambition to keep up with it. Then I reorganized it, and now I still don't want to go over there to post to it. What the hell is wrong with me? I like movies, I like my dvd player, I like blogging, I like everything about the concept...

So, I sat down for a bit and thought about it. Yes, I actually do think every once in a while... And I believe I have discovered the problem. What I like about movies, other than the entertainment and escapism values of them, is when I find my mind going off on threads of thought that might have been mentioned or insinuated. I love things that make me think, and that is the part of the movie thing that I am most interested in handling. I mean, let's get real, how many times can I say a movie was good bad or indifferent months after it's initial release? Gets pretty boring for me writing it, can't imagine what it does to the reader!

So, here's the adjustment. I will still sorta do reviews, but more importantly I will explore where my mind goes after watching one. Oh, and they will all be posted here under the label of GBR. Should be an interesting ride and hey, at some point I might even find out more about how my damn brain works right along with you!

Nothing New, Just My View

This isn't anything new to the Internet, but getting it emailed to me a couple of weeks ago by a high school friend brought it back into my mind, and the death of Jerry Falwell just kept it there so I thought I would spout off about it a bit.

There has been an open letter on the Internet for about the last six years in response to comments that Dr. Laura Schlessinger made during one of her radio talk shows about homosexuality. No, I'm not going to debate whether homosexuality is right, wrong, or indifferent. Frankly, I believe humans are sexual. End of story. None of us are heterosexual, bi-sexual, or homosexual. We are ALL merely sexual. That is why we have managed to populate nearly every region of this planet.

But, people like Dr. Schlessinger, Mr. Falwell, and a host of others, love to bring up Biblical "proof" that homosexuality is evil and a sin. I can't debate that the Bible says it. It does, right in Leviticus where they say it does. But the Bible says a great deal on a great many subjects, not just homosexuality. Taken literally, as the never changing "Word of God," which must be done to come to the conclusion that these folks come to on homosexuality, the Bible is not something many of us in the 21st century would be much interested in living by, literally. How would you like to be morally obligated to stone your wife to death? Or your neighbor for mowing the grass on Sunday? The Bible dictates a retributive system of justice, nearing vigilantism. You want to live in a society such as that today? I don't see many people immigrating to the Middle East right now.

The fact is, there is two ways to view the Bible. It is either the never changing Word of God, or it is a more fluid living text open to interpretation and refinement as our social values are refined. But many seem to want it both ways, and it just isn't possible. You cannot pick and choose which parts of the Bible are open to interpretation and which aren't. I know there isn't an answer to this dilemma, and that people will still be using the Bible to justify whatever social soapbox they happen to be upon at the time years from now. But just once, I wish one of them would open their ears when they are talking, or listen to a recording of themselves, and actually stop and think about how absurd most of their "Biblical proof" stances really make them sound.

Now, I am not saying that the Bible is useless, far from it. It is, and always has been, a collection of great allegorical tales and lays a pretty firm moral foundation for any society. The trouble is, it wasn't written in stone, and I don't believe it was ever meant to be. The tales and morals within it's cover have guided human societies for thousands of years, and they will continue to do so. Over that time, they have been interpreted in numerous ways, and there are new interpretations waiting in the wings. But at some point, societies have to decide if it is the Word of God or open to that interpretation.

On the Passing of Mr. Falwell

It has taken me a couple of days to get my thoughts in order about the passing of Jerry Falwell. I cannot say that I was ever a fan of his, I didn't heed much of what he ever had to say, and I was never a member of the Moral Majority. That being said, I don't necessarily like the idea of speaking ill of the dead. Which creates a tad bit of a sticky spot for me if I want to now ever again want to speak of the subjects this man held dear. Thus, it took me a little bit to get my brain to work out a solution. And here it is:

DISCLAIMER: I do not, have not, and will not be in agreement with the vast majority of what Mr. Falwell had to say during his life, or with his probable legacy after the media creates it. That being said, I hold him personally (begrudgingly) in high regard for one reason: he spoke his mind, and truly believed what he said. Please take anything I have to say further as a debate or attack on those ideas, not on the man expressing them.

Alright, so shall we get down to what I really think now? Great...

Ever heard the saying "walk softly and carry a big stick"? That is sorta the way I have always viewed Falwell. Yes, he formed the Moral Majority in the late 1970's. Yes, he enjoyed a great deal of influence within the workings of the Republican party. But you know what? I have a hard time believing that there are that many neo-conservative right wing religious fanatics in this country to go along with the idea that he, alone, controlled a huge voting block of the American people. And if he did, then something is definitely amiss in this country.

What I believe is closer to the truth is that Falwell had the biggest stick, the media, and the ability to use it. As so often happens in any society, the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" and he was a prime example of it. Do I think he was speaking on behalf of any "moral majority" in this country? Yes and no. Yes, when he was talking just plain old generic common-sense Christian values. Hell no when he started spouting off about gays, lesbians, women libbers, Democrats, non-Bible thumpin' Christians, or Teletubbies! It is just that the media allowed him to express these views, and express them loudly enough, that he created the "appearance" that he was speaking for some silent majority. Meanwhile, most of that silent majority were shaking their heads in disbelief.

So what will his legacy be? I don't know. That is for the media to create and decide, not for me. However, what he said, what he promoted and espoused and preached, does leave a legacy in my mind. He gave the "Moral Majority" and the neo-conservatives free reign and liscense to absolutely hate indescriminately. He, more than anyone else in my mind, is responsible for the widespread reaction to things we do not like or agree with as them being unAmerican, unChristian, unpatriotic, evil, dirty, and downright sinful. That is Jerry Falwell's legacy through what he said and preached. But hey, what do I know, I'm not a member of the Moral Majority, just a victim of it.

Why Is It Surprising?

I poked fun at the topic of this post on Sunday, but after reading today's LA Times (which I get through email), I thought it odd that the subject of said email was "Top of the Times:HBO chief executive fired in wake of arrest." Now, I don't mean that I think it odd that someone as powerful in the cable network industry as Chris Albrecht is got fired or arrested. Rather, I thought it odd that the people at the LA Times thought (or more likely KNEW) the headline would get more people to open the email rather than just passing it over. It's the whole celebrity thing and as Americans we have this strange fascination with seeing celebrities and people in powerful positions fall from grace in the most public way possible.

But why is it surprising to us when they do fuck up? Is the CEO of HBO supposed to be more than human and not ever make a mistake? Is Paris Hilton supposed to be in college so she can take over and manage daddy's fortune? Alright, you got me there... Paris, get your ass in college and grow up! The list could go on and on about the people we love to hear about getting in trouble, or having trouble in their lives. How many copies of Enquirer has Britney sold in the last couple of years? How many mainstream newspapers sold off a little flash during the Superbowl of a nipple? Or the subsequent reaction of the FCC with the hearings and fines?

Personally, I don't have a fascination with celebrity. I don't know these people, they mean nothing to me in my day to day life. There are celebrities that I admire, but frankly, I would admire them even if they were not famous and rich. I think Charles Barkley summed it up best while playing basketball when he said he does not consider himself a role model for kids. He knew, and said, that he was just a guy who got lucky and was able to play basketball for a living. Charles, in the same interview, said in his opinion it would be much better for the kids to have role models closer to home (parents, teachers, grandparents, etc.) than to make a basketball player (or any celebrity) into one. The kids don't know the basketball player, they do know their parents. And maybe that is the reason his comments caused such an uproar among the parents and society in general. Maybe, just maybe, rather than trying to "find" decent role models for their kids, Charles Barkley pointed out they should just "be" decent role models.

Anyhow, I just think that when we pay celebrities millions to act crazy and stupid for a living, or millions to play a game, and then read in the paper that they are still acting crazy and stupid in real life, or still playing games in their personal lives, we get what we ask for. So why is it so surprising to everyone?

The Political Wrongness of Political Correctness

I do not think the whole phenomena of being "politically correct" started with some public relations spin doctor who coined the phrase (or at least thrust it into the spotlight of main stream media. I'm not sure who or when it was coined.) in the mid 1990's. The ideas behind it, and the fact that in society in general we try not to intentionally be nasty or hurt any one's feelings, have always been here. The only difference is that in the time before it was considered common decency. It was just how you acted. On the other hand, it was not restrictive when it came to your own thoughts on a subject. Prior to the political correctness craze, we had a good idea, or could get a good idea quickly, of the topics between ourselves and who ever we were talking to that should be avoided in polite, social conversation. Not that they would be avoided at all times, and not that one or the other should have to change their views. If you were in the mood for a good informal debate, you knew who to talk to, and you could.

The version of this concept that is presented through political correctness is not quite like that. It literally states that I am to express no thoughts, feelings, or opinions, that might potentially be offensive to anyone, at anytime. I just don't get that. I got the idea of "picking my battles" and the fact that some things were just off limits depending on the company, but I just cannot get my head around the idea that a change in company (to one more akin to my thinking or opinions on a subject) still does not open that subject up to discussion. It simply makes for more "pariahs" that shouldn't think that way.

So why is this so politically wrong? Simply because of the way that our laws are formed. We have a "representative" government. The whole "By the people, for the people..." thing. The greatest measuring stick our elected officials have to go by are the conversations that happen between normal folk. Gallop polls, CNN polls, MSNBC polls, or any other poll, do not even come close to giving an accurate depiction of what Americans think. Talking to us candidly does, though. However, as long as we adhere to the idea of political correctness, we cannot have candid conversations about issues effecting our society. We can merely dance around them and hope we do not step over some invisible line somewhere and perhaps offend someone.

I'm sure there's some comedic quote I could put here, but the fact is this. The Bill of Rights grants us all kinds of wonderful liberties, but it does not grant us the right to never be pissed off, or disagreed with. In fact, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution, gives us the right to be pissed off at, and disagree with, our government. Seeing as how that very same government is representative, by inference, we all have the right to be pissed off at each other and disagree. If our policies and laws are derived from public feeling on a particular subject, we then have to keep open the avenues of discussion and debate, no matter if it pisses us off or we get disagreed with. The alternative, closing these through the idea of political correctness, means that only the lobbyists, the people with enough money to donate so they are heard, get a say in how the policies and laws are formed. This in not the American way! Nonetheless, if you support the idea of political correctness, as it is now, this is the very thing you supporting no matter what comes out the other side of your mouth.

Want to change it? Start living by, and teaching the children, the idea of social decency, and throw the flawed ideals of political correctness out the fucking window.

Who's Gonna Win?

Ahh, the wonders of an early Saturday morning... What the hell am I doing out of bed already? Oh well, I'm here, so let's see what I have to talk about this morning...

Paris Goes To Jail: Wasn't that a movie about a decade ago? Oh wait, that was Ernest Goes To Jail... Paris, Ernest, what's the difference? Who cares?

Was reading through some of the articles this morning about the first Republic debate of this primary season. Gotta say that nothing really stood out to me. I think we are still looking at the exact same candidates in the Presidential election as we were prior to the two debates (Democrats debated last week). So I will go out on a limb, and make my predictions for the actual election now, and we will see how good of a prophet I am.

Democrats: Hillary hands down. Obama may indeed become our first African American President but right now there are two things working against him. First, liberals have been clamoring to get Hillary into the Whitehouse since the day she left with Bill eight years ago. Second, Obama needs more experience. He was a dark-horse nobody during the last Congressional election which he won his seat quite easily, but he still needs more experience in Washington for people to feel comfortable about whether or not he can actually do the job as well as talk the walk.

Democrat Presidential Nominee: Hillary Clinton

Republicans: John McCain is the foil again this year. He hasn't been a serious contender for winning the nomination previously, and this time around that isn't going to change. But he is actually going to play a role this time by becoming a foil between the two that do have a serious chance at the nomination: Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Romney is doing everything his speechwriters and his mouth can do to convince everyone that he is just as downright conservative as the Republicans seem to want their people to sound. The only trouble is, he's not, and we know it. Giuliani, at least, isn't running away from his moderate stances on social issues and will get the nomination in spite of it since a good portion of the votes Romney will need will go to McCain in the hope that Republicans can get their true blue conservative.

Republican Presidential Nominee: Rudy Giuliani

Then comes the election. This one will come out close because of Giuliani's moderate stances, but Hillary will indeed become the first woman President of the United States. She has the momentum, and since she is a woman there is a good chance she can pull many Republican women to her instead of them simply voting the party line. There is also enough to Republican backlash in the press to get people who wouldn't normally vote to hit the polls to vote for ANYTHING not Republican. Personally, I think either candidate would make a decent President, but neither is going to be outstanding.

Alright, there's the predictions. We will see how I do.

Now I Can Post This

Hmm, working on the fourth VO and Coke (I'll leave it up to you about how much VO and how much Coke is going into these drinks) for the evening, and feeling pretty good, so if my typing gets slurry, you'll just have to forgive me. I was planning to post this last night, but thought I might tell the person it concerns before she reads it on the blog.

You know that time when you first wake up? Before your mind has the time to contemplate all the things that will make you want to stay in bed for the day. For me, this period of time lasts about two seconds. After that, my brain goes into overdrive about who's home today, what kind of mood are they going to be in, what I have to do that I just as soon not, and all the other things that goes through my brain before swinging my feet onto the floor.

I consider myself lucky that most mornings I at least wake up to the most beautiful sight in the world to me. It's not the trees in the backyard, I don't have a water view from the bedroom, and it's not the dogs and cats. It's my girlfriend that I usually see when I first open my eyes. Because of our different schedules, she is usually coming to wake me up, and for that two or three seconds I get reminded every morning that there is something to get out of bed for.

So, I know I told her this today, but here it is to the world, me saying "thank you" to Eva for being the most beautiful thing in my life and sticking by me when even I don't want to stick by me!

Who Said Bloggin Was Easy?

Today was a lesson in how things in the blog world that should be easy sometimes just don't work that way.

You see, I started a blog project in August of last year, and while I really, really liked the concept and idea of what I was doing, I set it up wrong. That blog, or series of blogs, is done on WordPress. I don't have any trouble with WP, but I split the content of what would have been essentially one blog (for most normal people, at least, and we are getting an idea here just how not normal I can be...) and split it up over 6 different blogs. Ooops...

All I managed to do for myself was create an administrative mess, and not enough content going into any of the blogs to get any kind of critical mass going for the readers to respond to. Double oops...

Well, I procrastinated all winter under the guise of "thinking" about what I was going to do with it and how I was going to fix it. I knew I needed to combine everything back into the main blog, but I just didn't have the energy since I had a feeling it was going to be a job and a half. So I got up this morning, and after getting back into the whole writing thing again with this blog set out to finally do something with the other one and get it back in the public's view. And guess what? I was right about it being a job and a half! I am exhausted! (oh wait, the exhaustion may be from the cubic yard of rock we got today for the greenhouse, but that's another story)

So now it's midnight, and I don't know if I have the job completed, but it is presentable and as good as it is going to get for tonight. The other blog is called Gotta Be Reel and can be found at http://gottabereel.com. Basically, it's authentic reel reviews from the peanut gallery, and where I let my more sarcastic side out while giving the scope on the new products from Hollywood. Go check it out!

A Couple More Tidbits

Yeah, I know I have posted a lot today, and it seems that this may become a habit for me. When I have things on my brain that I want to get out there, I just need to get them out there. They may come in bursts, I may hit dry spells, but like I said at the beginning, we will see where this goes.

Right now I'm not feeling particularly depressed. How do I know this? Because I can sit here and think about it, and what it does to my life. I can't do that when I am depressed. I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder long enough ago that it was still called Manic-Depression (about 20 years ago). I was in my mid-teens at that time. I don't ever get out of my depressions I don't think. Looking back over my life, I can honestly say that the times I have felt "happy" would be consider just "doin' okay" by most folks standards. I have tried before to explain what depression feels like, and for me, a poem I wrote over 15 years ago seems to sum up my brain pretty well:

Walking The Straight Line

Rust and sandy tan marbled swirl through shale,
The floating foundation of existence.
Limited boundaries of reality
Cloud supported finger of land and trail.

Look back as upon a moment of life.
Sight of blue-gray billowing nothingness.
Not a sight or sound from the world outside
Even though you just stepped from it’s strife.

Squint your pain blurred eyes to the left and right.
Just the same billowed mass of cloud and fog.
In the space occupied by companion
Emptier void than that of the pitched night.

Forward to future only way to gaze.
Follow with teared eyes the course of the rock.
Imagination vexed by depthless view.
No judgements of distance allowed by haze.

Impossible to retreat to haven.
Once left, sanctuaries form triggered snares.
No use trying to scale either blanked side
Cannot rise minus wings of the raven.

Tread onward in search of life in future.
Unsure of frail trail’s continuance.
Narrows to diminished point, fused with clouds
Promised existence no law of nature.

Ambition for movement coming from faith.
Beings dominion over all mankind.
Power of all life encompassed in one,
May it be god, spirit, demon or wraith.

The hiding point of the running torrent.
Moving at speed equal to your approach.
Never glimpse the future, only life of now
Fog shrouds only with your unthought consent.

Close your eyes tight and now witness the view.
The marbled mesa, light hued sky of spring.
Brightness of future, contentment with world
Picture of such power no mortal drew.

Secret of existence, live while awake.
Let the mind not linger on memories.
Nor continue pondering upon hope
For in this gamble, your self is the stake.

Poet I may not be, but I hope you enjoy none the less.

Pagan Faiths and Religions

If you haven't figured it out yet, I consider myself Pagan, though I do not follow any specific religious order just as many Christians have not stepped foot inside a church except on wedding and funeral occasions. One of the things that I get asked most frequently is: "What exactly does being Pagan mean?" Of course, just as asking someone what it means to be Christian, there is not a concise anwer that is accepted by everyone. But here is mine in a round about way.

By definition, according to the Illustrated Oxford Dictionary printed in 1998 (ISBN 0-7894-3557-8) pagan is:

n. 1.) a person not subscribing to any of the main religions of the world. 2.) a person following a polytheistic or pantheistic religion. 3.) a hedonist

adj. 1a.) of or relating to or associated with pagans. 1b.) irreligious. 2.) identifying divinity or spirituality in nature; pantheistic.

Or in other words, a pagan is someone who is does not follow either the Christian, Jewish or Moslem religions. There is also an argument over the word "paganus" from which the word pagan is derived from Latin. It seems that when Latin was actually spoken outside of churches, the word was used to refer to either "civilians" as opposed to "military" persons, or as a reference to people living outside the cities (ie: country folk). Neither of these uses would have implied any denigration.

However, this does nothing to explain what it means to be pagan. Before I get into all that, though, let me give a very short list of what is NOT pagan:

Satanism, or Devil Worship: Quite frankly, Satan (also referred to as Lucifer) is a creation of the three main world religions. He is used as the counter-balance in the moral tales of these religions to God's innate goodness. Therefore, if Pagans are those who do not follow these three religions, we are NOT Satanic since the worship of one requires the belief in the other.

I would also list "witch," "sorcerer," and "magician" in this category, personally. Yes, witchcraft is closely associated by most people (including other Pagans) with most pagan religions. It is not a requirement of them, however. I split witchcraft away from the faith of Paganism. Witchcraft is a learned skill, and can be performed as long as there is a belief in a God or Gods. It is the different higher beings that we believe in that makes the distinction between Pagan or non-Pagan.

Now that that is done, let's actually talk about what it means to be Pagan. First and foremost, Pagan religions, in general, are much more focused on "faith" rather than structured religious ceremony. I don't have to go to a certain building in order to get in touch with my god. Secondly, the vast majority of Pagan religions have their roots firmly planted in pre-Christian faith. In a very real sense, what is taught in schools as Greek and Roman "mythologies" are in fact courses teaching those two Pagan religions.

For me, at least, Paganism is simply a reliance on my inner feeling that 1.) there is a "higher being" than man, possibly more than one, and 2.) none of the three dominate religions of the world coincide adequately with what I feel to be true. It is nothing more than that, though nothing less either. It is just a different way that I look at my personal faith (which I am convinced that everyone has). I don't know which is "right" and which is "wrong" in the big picture, I only know what is right for me.

Before anyone goes off thinking that by definition "pagan" only covers such things as ancient mythologies or such belief systems such as Wicca, Druid, Thelema and a host of other sects whose names you have never heard of, let me give you a couple more that also fall under the definition as "pagan." Hinduism and Buddhism are also by definition "pagan" religions. Why do I bring this up? Because it is easy to discount pagans as a couple thousand (or even a couple hundred thousand) isolated wackos when only speaking of Wicca or followers of Greek and Roman mythologies. It is much harder to discount the 2.4 billion followers of these two religions in such a way.

Men and Abortions

I know this is a topic that I'm not supposed to talk about. I know it is taboo to even think, in the dark corners of my mind, that a mere man might be able to tell a woman what to do with their bodies... But guess what? I'm going to anyway.

This is one of the things that I mentioned in a previous post that I would like to see changed when it comes to the laws about abortion in this country. We accept the fact that it takes two people, male and female, to make a child. Even the most scientific methods of artificial insemenation cannot get past the fact that you at least need a sperm donor.

We accept the fact that men who father children have a responsibility to that child and its mother even if the adult couple is no longer together, or even if the child was conceived during a "one night stand" with no relationship. Neither of these things do I have the least bit of trouble understanding or accepting. If you are a male in this day and age and do not know how to keep from fathering children you do not want, you ought to be castrated. Plain, pure, simple, and let's save everyone a whole damn lot of money!

But, here's the thing that gets me. In our society, it is readily accepted that it take two to make the child, it takes two to raise it, but for that couple of months right at the beginning of the pregnancy... It only takes one to make all the decisions.

I do not have the right to force a woman I impregnate to have an abortion. I cannot physically pick her up and take her to the clinic. It is absurd to most that I would even mention the possibility of such a thing, myself included. On the other hand, I have no right to stop an abortion that I am against even if I am the admitted father of the child. I have no right to demand that the woman I slept with carry that child for nine months. I have no say either way. In fact, depending on the age of the woman involved, her parents have more say in the matter than I do as the child's father.

Once the child is born, I still have no say, but I do once again have responsibility. I pay child support regardless. Every family court in this country awards child support as a matter of course. I don't necessarily have a problem with the idea of child support, it wasn't the child's fault the relationship between its parents went to shit. A man cannot go into family court and tell a judge that "Well, sir, I am not going to pay child support because I offered to pay for the abortion and she refused." He would be laughed out of the room and all the way into a jail cell most likely.

I don't have an easy answer to this dillemna that presents itself day in and day out in our society. But I do have some ideas. One, the father's opinion must be heeded. If we expect the father to take responsibility then there should not be a break in the middle when he is considered as nothing more than a donor without an opinion. I do believe a man should have the right to request the option of being able to compensate the woman for carrying a child if he is against abortion and abortion is her choice.

I suppose what it all comes down to is equality between the sexes. Yes, equality. But equality is not very popular when it comes to this subject. We still live in a mindset that a man's contribution to a child is nothing more than a little sweat, a squirt or two of semen, and eighteen years of bill paying if it comes to that. When will we ever learn that "equality" has nothing to do with weighting one side against the other? Point blank, if it takes two to make the child, then it should take two to make the decisions about the future of that child from the day of conception, not the day of birth. Even if it means that us men have to start paying child support early, during pregnancy, to cover things such as medical bills and trying to make sure the mother has a proper diet. I would much rather be faced with that possibility than what I am faced with now. Afterall, what is another nine months of bills when I am literally faced with 18 years of them due to a decision that I have no say in, no control over? Equality isn't necessarily fun, and it definitely isn't pretty, but dammit, it is time that we stop paying lip service to equality and actually start living in an equal world, on this subject and all the others.

Watches and Laptops

I do the vast majority of my posting here working on a laptop. Until I started typing on this thing all the time I never realized just how inconvenient wearing a watch can be. We can put a man on the moon (if you happen to believe it happened on a soundstage in Hollywood, you at least have to admit that it took some damn good technology to pull off the hoax), we can make a car get 50 miles to the gallon, we can even develop weapons capable of killing the entire human race, but somehow we can't seem to make a laptop computer that is comfortable to type on if you have a watch. Incredible!

About The 93 Prophet

It occurred to me the other day that using an archaic greeting, and the word "prophet" as the title to this blog may need some explaination. Don't worry, it's nothing painful, and hopefully will make those with misgivings a little more at ease.

The "93" is simply a greeting that members of the Thelema religion use as a "shorthand" for the longer greeting of "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (used for Hello) and it's customary response of "Love is the law, love under will." Without getting too terribly mystic on anyone, the number 93 represents both Love and Will when you are working with Thelemic numerology. If you want more information on Thelema (and it's founder Aliester Crowley) please visit here.

Which brings me to Prophet. No, I do not see myself as some sort of prophet for the masses, either in the religious sense or in the sense of being the next Nostradamus. I do, however, believe that all of us are our own prophets in the sense that with Love and Will combined we have the power within ourselves to become whatever we wish. We also have the power to create the society we wish to live in. To me, a prophet is nothing more than a person who sees their world, and lives within it accordingly, through a different lense than most. That is an apt description of my life so far.

So, if you had any misgivings about what this blog was about, just remember that the title of it literally translates to "The Will and Love Prophet." I might have actually used that, but seems a little too mushy for my tastes.

The NFL Draft and Changing Loyalties

I'm not normally one that pays attention to the NFL draft, which as anyone how glanced at the sports page of a newspaper undoubtedly knows happened over this past weekend. With the exception of a few outstanding high-profile college players, I don't need to know who went where at the end of April. I'm not going to see the vast majority of these guys on a field consistently for at least a couple of years. But the draft, and it's seeming insignificance, was brought home by the fact that the trade of a 10 year veteran between the Raiders and Patriots could overshadow the whole thing. Of course, I'm talking about the Randy Moss trade.

Now this trade poses a problem for me. I live in Patriot country, actually within hearing distance of Gillete Stadium if the wind is right and the amps get cranked loud enough. Why is this a problem? I don't like the Patriots! I grew up just north of Denver, and if you have ever met a football fan from there you know there is only one team in the NFL we are ALLOWED to like: The Broncos. I am an Elway fan. I like Shannahan's coaching. And yeah, I wish Elway would somehow come back from retirement!

Trouble is, I haven't lived in Denver for damn near 20 years. I have been on the east coast and my solution to this is that while the Bronco's are my team, I pick individual players that I like to watch from other teams. This meant that when I couldn't get the Bronco game on TV here I would watch a game with one of my favorite players. This is how I got to like Randy Moss. He is in my opinion the best wide reciever in the game now, and a very close second to Jerry Rice all time. This was great while he was in Minnesota. I didn't have to worry about wanting to go see a game so I could see him. He's good, he's not worth a two day drive. The last two years he spent in Oakland was a bitch, since of course he was in the division with my beloved Bronco's. But Art Shell predictably made it easier on me by not knowing how to coach. But now, Randy Moss is going to be here, which brings to light another trouble spot.

I picked individual players, but football is not an individual sport, which in turn meant that invariably I would end up rooting for the team they were playing for. Minnesota worked because of being the perrineal underdog, even Oakland worked since they were the "bad boys." But the Patriots? I liked them better during the early 80's when they couldn't win a game if the other team stayed on their buses. At least then they weren't a threat to the Broncos. Maybe it is time to change my loyalties from childhood, and just stick with the individual player thing. It seems what the NFL wants me to do with the whole free agency thing. I can live with that.

Sometimes We Just Move Too Fast

I just finished watching Cars... Yeah, the animated, G rated flick put out by Pixar... Yeah, I know I'm a single 37 year old male who happens to be sitting alone watching a "kid" movie... I know, I know, I need a life, and I'm working on it...

Anyhooo... there was one point in the movie when they were explaining what happened to Route 66, and all the little towns that straddled it before the huge expansion of the interstate system that got me thinking. Sometimes, we are just in too big of a hurry in this country.

I don't mean just the act of driving across it, though that is definitely a great example. But this plague is striking at every part of our day to day lives now. We are either in a hurry to "get on with life" and start making our killings in the business world, or in a hurry to have kids and get the family started, or in a hurry to hit the bar before last call for alcohol so we can manage to get through a night with a spouse we just can't stand. There are a million things we are in a hurry for, and not one of them makes most of us a damn bit happier than we were sitting on the sofa watching the Soprano's!

Or we are in a hurry to get gardens planted, flowers in the flower beds, the yard fertilized and the weed killers spread. I know these things need to be done, even that some people actually want to do them. But whatever happened to taking a walk on the first nice spring day and actually getting out of the house, out of the office, out of the cars, to just relax and enjoy the outdoors even if only for a couple of hours? Is it going to kill the garden dreams if it gets planted over two evenings instead of one? Are the flowers going to bloom a different damn color if they are planted two days late? Somehow I just don't think so.

I know we live in a culture that measures everything on what you have or don't have materialistically. What kind of car you drive, how nice the damn lawn is manicured, how much money did you make last week, month or year. I know we live busy lives and most of us are just managing to keep up. But I know something else, too. Taking that drive down Route 66 at 50 miles an hour rather than staying on the interstate at 70 may mean spending an extra hour or two to get to your destination. But I know for every minute you spend on Route 66 is an hour more you can manage to keep your sanity when you get back on the interstate of your life.

Why Men Hate Instruction Manuals!

Ever wonder the reasoning behind men NOT using an instruction manual to put something together? I don't mean something as simple as a bicycle that most of us have been putting together and taking apart since early teens, but complex things that come in enough boxes to fill the garage. Well, I'll tell you...

The instructions LIE!!!

Somewhere in there the manufacturer has probably been nice enough to put in an "estimated time to complete" or some other similar bullshit. It's a LIE! It's a marketing ploy to make it seem simple, that anyone can do it, therefore you as the customer is not daunted by it as much.

Case in point, Rion states that it should take approximately four hours to put together their Prestige model greenhouse. No big deal! Two able bodied men can knock that puppy out in an afternoon and still have time to shower before going out to dinner with the family, right? Fuck no! Granted, if there had been eight guys here, a couple cases of beer, and the ONLY thing we had to do was put the greenhouse together (not build and level the foundation, check the packing lists, or any of that other "extra" shit they never mention), we could have had a greenhouse done in four hours. Not going to get into whether or not all the pieces are where they should be, or the box or two of "extra parts" or if the damn thing is square...

But, even with all that there is a better reason most men hate instruction manuals...

Somewhere in the house, in the air conditioning, there's a woman that knows just enough of how that fucking greenhouse is supposed to go together to know it should take about four hours. And when they start bitching that their worthless, good for nothing, guys are just "slackin off and milkin the job," THAT'S when guys start hating the damn instruction manual!

Social Engineering

When it comes to politics one of the things I hate to see is promises of "social engineering." Regardless of the candidate, it seems that abortion is the one topic that seems to come up in the platform. I don't know if it is because of the two opposing lobbying parties, or a perception of what the public thinks matters that I just don't get, but I wish it would go away.

First, let me explain my position on it. Personally, I dislike the idea of abortion, and I have made sure that all of my sexual partners either have had similar views or would be willing to abide by mine. I just cannot stomach the idea of a child I had fathered being aborted. Politically, however, I remain convinced that abortion must be protected and remain legal. There are a couple of different reasons for the political side to it.

One, abortions did not just start happening with Roe vs. Wade. They were being performed even when they were either downright illegal and quasi-legal. Unfortunately, the abortions performed during those days were often just as fatal to the mother as to the child. The idea that a bunch of lawmakers in Washington can write up a bunch of new laws and then there wouldn't be anymore abortions just doesn't make common sense and can only be formed with a total disregard of both history and human nature. Abortions would simply go underground again, and as a result we will have a bunch of doctors and would-be mothers sitting in prisons and jails.

Second, abortion is a social morals question, not a legal one. If, like me, you don't personally approve of abortion, then it is not an option for you. You have the power to talk about it on a personal level with your partner, and teach your children and instill your values in them. However, there are a lot of people that do not hold the same social morals and do not see a problem with the option. That is their right. They also have the ability to talk about it and teach their children just like I do.

So, any legislation on the subject, other than the basic keeping it safe variety, is only an attempt at social engineering. History tells us our government is not very good at social engineering. Remember Prohibition and the 18th Amendment of the Constitution? During the fourteen years that the 18th Amendment was in place, it had the EXACT opposite result of what was planned by its social engineers. The idea was that by banning intoxicating beverages (except those used in religious ceremonies) the country's social morals would improve. Instead, we produced more alcoholics during that period that at any time in history, gave rise to numerous all powerful illegal cartels dealing in illicit booze, and host of horrific social disasters. It was a mitigated disaster, as attested to by the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th in its entirety.

Social engineering does work, but it is not a machination of legislation. It works when children are taught, and continue to uphold, the morals of the generation before. This is the only way it works outside of a totalitarian state.

This is not to say that I wouldn't like to see SOME changes in the laws dealing with abortion, but that is a topic for another post.

Just Because We Can, Doesn't Always Mean We Should

Went grocery shopping today. Nothing strange in the act, do it every week, just not normally on Sunday with all the blue haired old ladies after church. You don't want to get between one of these ladies and the pot roast they are spying for Sunday dinner. Talk about competitive shopping! But that is a topic for another day.

One of the things that has been bothering me about the grocery store recently is the presence of the self-checkout lines. Even though I used one today, they really do get on my nerves. I know they are supposed to be there as a "convenience" to the customer (which it was today), but I normally take a different view about them.

I go to the grocery store and pay whatever is listed on the label because it is cheaper than shopping at a convenience store like 7-11. I know it is. However, I also know that part of the pricing of the food I am buying is to pay for the cashiers. When the people who dictate the pricing sit down to figure out what they can sell the hotdogs for, the price doesn't magically appear. They have to take into account what they pay for it wholesale, what it costs them to transport it to the store, stock it, and how much it costs to employ the cashiers to handle the customers. It's called overhead. The self-checkout lines help with the store's overhead since they can use one cashier to cover four or five registers. So, in real terms, by me checking myself out, and basically doing a job that I am paying them to do for me, I am saving the store money.

Now, I realize the amount of money I am talking about here on any given item is maybe a penny or two. Doesn't sound like much right? Well, if you figure that I buy 100 individual items on average, that one or two pennies is suddenly a buck or two. I know people who will drive half way back across town to get the coupons they left on the fridge in order to save a buck or two! And that for me is really the thing that gets me with the whole idea of self-checkout.

If the savings were being passed back to the customer (either by lower prices overall, or even a one cent per item discount on the bill for checking out yourself) I wouldn't have a problem. But as it is now, I am doing a job that I am already paying to have done for me. To make matters worse, stores have now figured out that with all the self-checkout lines, if they do NOT open the traditional lines, their customers are more willing to use the self-service lines rather than wait.

Now, I am a business man, and I completely understand the business idea behind it. But as a customer, I have to say that just because technology made it possible for the self-checkout to be possible, it doesn't necessarily mean that the store should do it. Whatever happened to the customer service aspect of the grocery store? We are still paying for it, but they aren't providing it. I felt like walking up to the manager and asking for a refund on my bill for doing their damn job!

The American Dream

I am part of the so-called Generation X. I have no idea what it means, and have doubts if anyone else does either. Luckily, it seems to be a label that has died out a bit. Unfortunately, some of the ideas which were typical of the Generation X are taking a bit longer to die off.

One of the worse things our generation does is how some of us seem to twist the concept of "The American Dream." For some damn reason we have turned it to mean a sense of entitlement. A guarantee of end result. Maybe it was because the Babyboomers where too busy "keeping up with the Jones'" and deciding which car was to be the new yuppy icon rather than teaching us what the American Dream was really all about.

It was never about the result, it is about the pursuit. Rather than have a rigidly stratified society, our is more fluid. You can be born with nothing, and achieve greatness. You can go the other way, too. But the end result isn't guaranteed. It is the right of pursuing your interest, of determining your own destiny within the culture, that is the foundation of the American Dream.

The American Dream has never been about entitlements, or handouts. The American Dream simply means you have the right to work your ass off, achieve anything you are capable of, and NO ONE has the right to say you don't deserve the rewards because of where you came from and which family you were born to.

So, dream your dreams, as big as you wish, and know that the American Dream is still there alive and well to make sure you can still pursue them.

The Hallowed Institute of Marriage

I have to laugh when I think of how some people, who are otherwise perfectly rational individuals, when the topic of marriage comes up. There are so many different views to the subject, and so many bodies and institutions that want everyone to be married that it is hard to believe that the institution of marriage really means much anymore.

I am not married and have no plans to ever get married. I am just as committed to my girlfriend, and she to I, as if we were married. We just do not have the piece of paper. And that is really what "marriage" comes down to anymore, a piece of paper. Sure, that one little piece of paper has a lot of advantages. You get lower tax rates for a married couple than two non-married individuals. Insurance companies insure wives/husbands and families but not boyfriends and girlfriends.

But I just get stuck at the point that you have to pay for a license, pay for the ceremony, and should it not work out, I'm gonna pay to get out of it. So let me get this straight: I am going to pay some disinterested third party for the right to spend the rest of my life with someone? Are they going to live with her when she is on the war path? Are they going to step in when she "has a headache"? I don't think so. The latter would more than likely end with me paying the same disinterested third party to get me away from my wife before one of us is dead! So what exactly is the advantages of being married?

And then, to top it all off, we have gay marriages. I'm all for it, since it really is a decision between two individuals. But the very same disinterested party that is going to get more money out of the deal are strikingly against it. Now they want to protect the hallowed institution by keeping it limited only to mixed-sex marriages. Gotta protect the family! Excuse me, but homosexuals are perfectly able to adopt, or find other means to have a family. How is excluding them from being able to marry protecting family? And worse than that, why is our government protecting a largely religious structure when we are supposed to have separation between Church and State?

Cave Dwelling

I get teased by my family about wanting to live in a cave. I don't like light, and I have never understood why, not that it matters a whole lot. But just to give an example, right now at three in the morning I am sitting in my family room with a TV on behind me, and the only other light in the room is the glow of four computer screens. There are lights in the room, I just choose not to turn them on most of the time.

It may have something to do with my depression. A dark room mimics how I feel inside most of the time, I think. And, I have to admit that right now I am pretty well depressed. But oh well, that's what therapy is for, right?

They Are NOT Peacekeepers!

Republican here, and I must say I did not want to see Bush Jr. become President the first time he won in 2000. I was sitting in my little apartment watching the election returns with a buddy of mine and I told him that night that we were heading back to Iraq. Now, I didn't predict 9-11, but I knew Bush Jr. would use any and all pretense to get us back into Iraq to take out Saddam. Not saying that Saddam didn't need to go. All things considered he probably did.

My trouble started when the actual "war" in Iraq (you know, the actual military action) was over. We eliminated Saddam's army, his Red Guard, even had his butt once we found the whole he crawled into. Everything was going good, then they turned what we are trying to do over there into a "peace keeping" mission rather than a military mission.

I'm sorry, but our military are not peacekeepers! We developed the most advanced military in the world for two reasons, and two reasons only: To kick people's asses and to use the threat of power. It's their job, and they are the best in the world at it. The trouble starts when we start trying to harness that power into a little box called "peacekeeping" or "advisor." We train our soldiers to shoot, to kill, to completely dominate their enemy. And believe me, they are quite good at what we trained them to do. But we never trained them to take fire WITHOUT returning it because suddenly they aren't soldiers but Peacekeepers because some idgit in Washington decided that a name change would be a good idea.

Bush Jr. isn't the only President to not understand what the military is good for. Clinton didn't get it either (think Mogadishu). Kennedy sure as hell didn't get it when we went into Vietnam as "advisors." Bush Sr. did get it. He used the military to kick Saddam's sorry ass out of Kuwait, then brought them home.

I know the world needs "peacekeepers," but if the US is going to supply them we need to develop a "peacekeeping force" that is separate from our military. Until we are willing to cough up the tax dollars to do so, please, let our young men and women in the military do what they do best and come back home. If that means that Iraq ends up under US Martial Law (like Japan at the end of WWII) to keep our military safe, so be it. But trying to man road blocks between the Shiites and Sunnis (who have hated, and been killing, each other for a thousand years) is NOT doing us or them any good.

I don't want to see any more people die in Iraq, us or them. But, if I have to choose, let it be them.

Insomnia is a Bitch!

I hate this shit! Worst part of it is that I don't even know if I actually have insomnia or not. But this is a typical night for me.

I went to bed at 11pm, woke back up at 1:30am, tossed for about 45 minutes before getting up so my girlfriend can still sleep. Now, it's quarter 'til four and I'm still up. But the screwy thing to me is that when I finally do go back upstairs in probably another hour or so, I will fall asleep and stay that way for a normal 8 hours or so. If I had stayed up past 11 and gone to bed at say 3:30 I would have slept.

Needless to say, I'm not a "morning person."

One God

Here's something to chew on, and I'm sure to come back to it again and again over time...

I have done a considerable amount of study in my own search for a religion that would fit with my brain. Not that I'm a theology study by any means, but in general, I know quite a bit about various religions. All this searching has led me to one strange understanding:

There is only ONE God (or set of Gods, at any rate)

Different religions use different names for this higher being, have differing means of worshipping it. But all in all, every human is praying to the same one (or set). All through human history, or at least recorded history, the one theme that has always remained constant is that there is a higher power, sometimes more than one.

Monotheism vs Polytheism

It would seem on the surface that these two concepts break apart the argument I just laid out above. But consider this, the Catholic religion states that you pray only to God, but just in case you need some extra help with something specific, feel free to plead with one of hundreds of saints to come to the rescue. Maybe it's just me, but this sounds like a system of Chief God (Zeus) and lesser gods and goddesses (Aphrodite, Ares, etc.), only with different names and titles. Am I to seriously contemplate the idea that by changing "pray" to "plead" and "God" to "saint" that I am in essence doing a damn thing differently?

So, why bring this up now? With the apparent troubles between largely Christian America and largely Islamic Middle East, I have one point to remind everyone of: We follow different prophets (Christianity follows Jesus, Islam follows Muhammad) but WE PRAY TO THE SAME GOD! Just something to chew on when you think there is nothing in common between us.

Alright, I'm hooked

I am by no means a techno-phobe. I have been online since 1996 and even still have and use my original Hotmail email account from that time. But you know, when "blogs" came about, I just wasn't into the concept.

I was more a "website" type of person. Nothing worthwhile ever comes about without tons of work right? May have to rethink that one...

Then, I got into running a small internet based business for myself, and I kept hearing about how I needed to get a blog up. The thing was, I was absolutely no good writing about a business. I'm not that much of a salesman, and once I had dealt with the business for eight to ten hours, I sure as hell didn't have anything left to say about it for the day. I would start blogs, end blogs, never visit them, never update them. It was a mess.

But, then I started watching my girlfriend who has her own blog, that is not business related. I started noticing how she would sit down and write a little if she felt like it, or maybe not. But she was writing about something that she liked, so it worked. Now, I have the 93 Prophet, and while it may not become socially ground breaking, it is about stuff that I find interesting. I have to admit, that it has pretty much taken over my brain. I sit through dinner wondering about what I am going to post about next. Makes it much more interesting to eat at least.

So, thanks go to my girlfriend (or the hate mail if you don't like the blog), and we continue our journey. Oh, and our businesses, they are doing just fine. You can see for yourself at http://nexusexchange.com and http://cachearticles.com

Religion In Politics

I live in a country where Church and State are supposedly separated, but are they really? Our laws, customs, social norms, just about everything in our society is based on a religious idea. We are uptight about sex, why? Because our country was largely founded by Protestants and Puritans escaping persecution in Europe and they were uptight about it. All of our Presidents have been Christians... All but one have been Protestant. Coincidence?

I am not saying that we therefore live in a "religious state" the likes of Iran where a cleric rules the country. But, our laws are reflect a decidely Christian moral standard. Is this a bad thing? In the big picture, no. The majority of our country is Christian, and the fact that we do not enforce sectarian differences helps. It is definitely more livable than the days when you could be burned, hung, stoned and ostracized by simply thinking maybe Luther was more right than the Pope. All the same, we live by a Christian moral code whether we be Christians or not, and it is this moral code upon which our laws are derived.

So what happens to the minority of non-Christians? Mostly we are quiet on the topic of religion in general. Not because our views cannot be supported, but because over the years we have become tired of having to explain our beliefs to the incredulous majority. Luckily, most religions have very similar moral codes so we go along our daily lives without much trouble.

True, there are the "extremists" who want to twist and turn ancient words and misinterpretations to validation for their personal vendettas, but Christianity has had, and still has, their own fair share of those idiots. The only difference is instead of hiding them in a cave, we put them in the glass house of the Whitehouse for all to see.

Here's to the first Pagan President, and a Maypole on the West Lawn!

Yet Another Va. Tech Chime In

There are many different views, and a lot of speculation going on about the "reason" behind the Va. Tech shootings that claimed the lives of 32 people this week. You know, the "reason" was that the kid was fucked up, short, sweet and to the point.

I'm not a member of the NRA, but I do agree that guns DO NOT kill people. PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE! It's not the presence of the guns that caused this tragedy, it was the work of a fucked up person. It can be argued that if the guy hadn't had access to the guns he maybe wouldn't have killed anyone, or at least not as many. But then again, Jack the Ripper didn't have a gun and it didn't seem to bother him that much. And for all those who are trying to come up with their therories about "why": What does it matter? We can't change it, we can't fix the kid that did this. We might be able to learn the signs, but then to do anything about it takes a change in our social culture. There is an old saying about it taking a village to raise a child. I think it still does, only the village doesn't much seem to care until a Columbine or Va. Tech happens. Maybe we need to look at how to fix our village first, and get it back to raising kids. Perhaps then the kids might learn different ways of fixing problems than with a gun.

For all the parents, friends, and families, I am terribly sorry. No one deserves to be touched by violence the way you have. For the rest of us, rather than trying to rationalize the why, and before we center all the blame on the shooter's parents, let's look at ourselves. We are the village that should have raised that boy.

Sex, Sex, and More Fetishes!

It's amazing, the human race has managed to be on this planet for millions of years, and whether you believe in Creation or Evolution, one thing is clear: There's been a hell of a lot of fuckin going on! We managed to populate the entire planet, and we're still at it.

But why is it that with the creation of the internet everything suddenly became a damn fetish? I am pretty sure that somewhere in the history of man there is a painting on some cave wall extolling the virtues of some woman's foot. But now... instead of it being just another part of our varied sexuality, it's a fetish with it's own subculture.

Just once, I would like to enjoy what I enjoy, with my partner, in the privacy of my own house and room, WITHOUT the feeling that I need to go find some fetish support group because my parents don't understand me, or society doesn't approve. Why can't it just be as simple as I like my latex toys and nipple chains? It's what turns me on so I can do my part on helping with the continuing population of the planet!

What's next? The fetish of Viagra and ED?

Systemic Overhaul!

By registration, I'm Republican. By thought, I'm usually nowhere near Republican, or the Democrats for that matter. I am usually to be found right smack dab in the middle somewhere in LaLa Land.

This country has basically three political parties: Republicans are the conservative tight asses who seem to believe the government was just fine in 1905, Democrats are the liberal suck asses that figure we can all either be in government or at least get a check from it, and the third affiliation I call the "Green Piecers", not just because they are the environmental fundamentalists out huggin trees but they seem to piece together platforms on what is the most current social outrage.

I am firmly convince that like me, most Americans are somewhere in the middle of this quagmire. Sorta like walking right down the double yellow line hoping like hell you don't get sideswiped by some redneck's mirror on the old Ford or get the hood ornament of a yuppy's new Mercedes shoved up our own tailpipes. On some issues, I am conservative, on others, I'm down right liberal, then on others, I just don't give a shit!

Now, when our system is working like it is supposed to, the running of the country ends up being somewhere in the middle between liberal and conservative because our system is designed around the concept of compromise between the two. Great, that puts most things right in line with me walking the double yellow. But every once in awhile, we get one group or the other that refuses to compromise and gains the power so that for a time it doesn't need to. By the end of Bush Jr.'s tour, we will have basically spent 16 years in this situation!

I say we force the politicians to once again realize they have to compromise with each other. How? Simple. We hold general elections, and the candidate with the most votes becomes President, and runner-up is the VP. Yeah, I know, we would end up with a Republican President and Democrat VP (or vice versa), but you know, they would have to compromise and so would Congress! This shit of us leaving our country up to "the lesser of two evils" and getting an entire branch of our government that is NEVER elected save for one has got to stop!

The State of Equality

You know, this is something that I have had difficulty with most of my adult life. Equal is equal. It's not some political, or even social, split test with different variables and rules that just happens to return the equal results.

In the 70's it was the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) which did not result in equality for women in the workforce but rather a dual set of tests designed to bring more women into occupations they were not qualified or physically able to do. Should women make the exact same money as men for doing the same job: ABSOLUTELY! Should women be artificially inserted into male dominated fields (such as police, fire, oil rigs, mining and manual labor) just to fulfill some political quota: ABSOLUTELY NOT! I have no trouble accepting a woman in any of these positions as long as they are willing to perform the work AND are capable of doing so physically. Male or female, I'm not going to be real happy if they are in a fire suit and can't carry my 160 pound ass to the curb before the roof of my house falls on my head.

Race is another place where I run into difficulty. I am American, I only want to be American. I don't want to be African-American, Latino-American, Greek-American, Asian-American or French-American. Fuck, I was born in San Jose, California! If that don't make me a damn American, without the need of a hyphen, we really are screwed! I want to be treated as an equal, and more importantly, I want to treat EVERYONE as an equal. I don't want, or need, to know your fucking geneaology in order to know you and I are both equal in this state we call humanity. For all those who want or like the hyphen, I have a suggestion: Live a year in both places (I don't care which two they are), pick the one you like the best, move permanently, and lose the fucking hyphen so you can be ALL of one thing or another!

The point is this: Mabye, just maybe, once we can start addressing everyone as an equal we can start TREATING everyone as an equal. I do not foresee the human race becoming blind so we cannot see a nice ass or a cute face or someone's skin color so the question of equality is going to be with us for quite a while. But damn, do we HAVE to point out our differences all the time?

The Dreaded First Post!

Yep, everyone hates them, and I am no different. You want to know why you should come back, and I want to know what will make you come back and we both lose in the end. Oh well, guess it is time to set the tone for this thing the right way and we go from there.

I am American, and damn proud to be so. But... That being said, America does have some very fucked up things going on at any given time in history. No, I'm not talking about the shooting at Va. Tech, or even 9-11 and another war that we don't seem to want to win. Those aren't history to me, they are life. But this isn't to say that there are not just as many great things going on at the same time. You see, I live, we all live, in a country and world that is a study in contradiction. Come to think of it, it's not all that different from our own lives is it? So let's start exploring it and see where we end up!