So the blog a day thing obviously did not work out, I think we all saw that coming. I'm still going to keep at it, but you should quell the need to sit on the page refreshing day after day.
Inauguration Day has come and gone and we finally have a new president. President Baraka from Mortal Kombat II is now our fearless leader, and I've never felt safer. I do, however, have various scattered comments about this that I wanted to try and deliver in some sort of organized fashion. If you were looking for something clever and humorous, well, sorry, but I don't know what you were doing here in the first place.
There's no denying the fact that my views lately have clearly scuttled in a Libertarian/classic conservative direction, and through the election I firmly supported your friend and mine, Congressman Ron Paul. This has not changed. I still think both the Republican and Democratic party have become bloated, self-serving, overspending train wrecks. But I think there'll be plenty of time to moan about that later.
I'm sort of a mixed bag on our new president though. Based on my support for Paul, whose views are essentially opposite Obama's, I should hate him, but I don't. I'm just not Rah-Rah-Bama like everyone else seems to be. I really do think he's an intelligent and good man, but this system is far too broken right now and we need more than just a new president to fix everything. Bush was a dummy and a silly goose and that makes him a perfect scapegoat for where we are now, but he was just one tiny piece of the puzzle. Our democratic congress should've essentially nulled him out, but they failed hard on all counts. This leads me to believe either our supposed "checks and balances" are completely broken or Democrats and Republicans aren't really as polar opposite as we all try to make them out to be.
Obama's speeches and promises sound great because he's a charismatic guy, but he's already pulled back on some of them, and I can't figure out how he plans to afford the rest. Not to mention his very disappointing cabinet picks so far (cough, cough)
This economic downturn is unavoidable and we're going to suffer in the short term, whether anyone likes it or not. Bad decisions were made, money and credit were created out of thin air and businesses and people lived outside of their means for too long. I think bailouts like those Obama voted for will only prop us up for so long in the short term, but will absolutely devastate us in the long term when it comes crashing down... and it hurts inside. You've got to take a stand, it don't help to hide... sorry.
That being said, Barack Obama went to Columbia and Harvard, and I did not. I do think though that it is our job as Americans not to blindly support the man with our Yes We Can t-shirts, artsy renditions of his portrait and Obama logo tattoos (yes, I saw one). Everyone's celebrating and that's well and good, but it's our duty to be skeptical and pay attention, lest our freedoms be raped for another 8 years. So if anyone asks me what I think of our new Commander-in-Chief, I respond by saying I am cautiously optimistic.
And just so you know I'm not making up the optimistic part, Obama thus far has already impressed me with some of his first decisions in the White House. Many of them are really just words at this point... I'll hold my applause for action to be taken, but still, great steps in a new, much more hopeful direction:
EDIT:
Just read a new story that actually greatly excites me about Obama, at least from a technology standpoint.
And, to balance that, one that worries me.
This pleases me most of all
This could be more for show than anything, but it sparked my interest
Important step in the right direction
You know what... I got nothing today. I guess I have to anticipate that with forcing myself to blog every day. Hopefully I'll be able to provide something of entertainment even on the offest of off days.
Until I figure out how to do that though, I'm going to take a page out of Think Outside The Pun's book and outsource your entertainment to another site.
Jurassic Park references are always welcome here
Until I figure out how to do that though, I'm going to take a page out of Think Outside The Pun's book and outsource your entertainment to another site.
Jurassic Park references are always welcome here
16 January 2009
Disclaimer: This blog will probably offend more than any others I write... sorry about that.
I'm not a sports fan... I never really have been. Typically if a local team makes it near playoffs, I'll jump on a bandwagon like a spineless, trend-seeking wannabe. Often times, I even wave the first bandwagon on and wait for the second, or maybe even the third, in hopes they can fit more people and I can be less unique. Aside from those times though, I really just don't care.
From an outsider's perspective though, I have noticed that the sports themselves have almost taken a backseat in fans' minds, lately. This somewhat new phenomenon of Fantasy teams has undeniably taken over. People can't just follow sports anymore, they need to have their little fantasy teams... be it a fantasy football, baseball, hockey, ice-fishing, or whatever team.
Now, I really don't have a problem with playing pretend like this... more often than not I play pretend band with my plastic guitar with 5 buttons on it in front of a screaming crowd of my TV, my girlfriend and my broken self-worth as it limps out the door. But can we just all meet in the middle here and admit that's what this is? A bunch of grown men playing pretend. I've known people that plan events around fantasy drafts and fantasy award presentations... and they actually cancel real-life events to attend these things.
Once again, I don't particularly care what people do with their time, but doesn't this sound a lot like something else? I went to two separate forums and copied posts from members... here is the first:
So that's obviously from a fantasy football forum. Maybe it makes more sense to the athletically-inclined, but it may as well be German text interspersed with photos of hairless cats and Craig T. Nelson pitching a tent... both scenarios make equal sense in my mind (Truthfully, I can see where the Craig T. Nelson situation would speak to some demographics). Here is the second forum post:
You would think that this was from the same forum, but you'd be dead wrong. As I've learned, there aren't caltrops in football anymore... or any sport, for that matter. This post was from a Dungeons and Dragons forum. Now, what I want someone to do is make a case that these two activities are not basically one in the same. Participants in the former pretend they're head coaches, defensive coordinators and football players, while the latter pretends they are elves, dwarves and Sauron the Dark Lord. Nothing is wrong with either, but we're all playing pretend here. This is all well and good, but I suspect when Joe Salesman gets off work on Friday, loosens his tie and rolls up his sleeves for happy hour (even though there was probably ample time to go home and change), he doesn't see the parallels between his 3rd ranked QB and someone else's level 12 Mage of Sin. I suggest you try bringing it up to him and his good ol' boys next time you see him out. You'll notice the resistance to this idea immediately. As final pieces of evidence, I present to you some photo comparisons... can you spot the differences?
I'm not a sports fan... I never really have been. Typically if a local team makes it near playoffs, I'll jump on a bandwagon like a spineless, trend-seeking wannabe. Often times, I even wave the first bandwagon on and wait for the second, or maybe even the third, in hopes they can fit more people and I can be less unique. Aside from those times though, I really just don't care.
From an outsider's perspective though, I have noticed that the sports themselves have almost taken a backseat in fans' minds, lately. This somewhat new phenomenon of Fantasy teams has undeniably taken over. People can't just follow sports anymore, they need to have their little fantasy teams... be it a fantasy football, baseball, hockey, ice-fishing, or whatever team.
Now, I really don't have a problem with playing pretend like this... more often than not I play pretend band with my plastic guitar with 5 buttons on it in front of a screaming crowd of my TV, my girlfriend and my broken self-worth as it limps out the door. But can we just all meet in the middle here and admit that's what this is? A bunch of grown men playing pretend. I've known people that plan events around fantasy drafts and fantasy award presentations... and they actually cancel real-life events to attend these things.
Once again, I don't particularly care what people do with their time, but doesn't this sound a lot like something else? I went to two separate forums and copied posts from members... here is the first:
It's a keeper league and we have the option of keeping either 2 offensive and 1 defensive player or 1 offensive and 2 defensive players. The league scores for individuals stats, even defensive players gain points, for sacks, passes defended, tackles etc. You start 1 QB 1-4 RB 1-4 WR 1 TE 1 PK and 4 Defensive Players each game a total of 12 players. If you start 3 of 4 DL/DE's you reduce the running points by 33% if you start 3/4 CB/S you reduce passing point by 33%.
Basically my question is who should I keep on my current roster?
Name: YTD PTS Bye Drafted
Grossman, Rex CHI QB 25.26 8 FA
Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB (P) 62.30 6 2.07
Rosenfels, Sage HOU QB 27.50 2 23.07
So that's obviously from a fantasy football forum. Maybe it makes more sense to the athletically-inclined, but it may as well be German text interspersed with photos of hairless cats and Craig T. Nelson pitching a tent... both scenarios make equal sense in my mind (Truthfully, I can see where the Craig T. Nelson situation would speak to some demographics). Here is the second forum post:
Martial Controllers have had trouble as a challenge bcause Magic is the usual method. Modern comics gave me an idea of how to create a Martial controller however: Green Arrow is, basically, a controller.
so the thought occurred to me of using something akin to the trick arrows and other devices as low-to-moderate-damage controls, these aren't in any particular level order, but serve as examples
Caltrops (range 5 area burst 1, 1d4 damage and slowed to anyone entering the area or starting in the area)
Daily: Explosive arrow: range 10, area burst 2, 2W+DEX in the origin square and burst 1. 2nd square of radius is only 1W
You would think that this was from the same forum, but you'd be dead wrong. As I've learned, there aren't caltrops in football anymore... or any sport, for that matter. This post was from a Dungeons and Dragons forum. Now, what I want someone to do is make a case that these two activities are not basically one in the same. Participants in the former pretend they're head coaches, defensive coordinators and football players, while the latter pretends they are elves, dwarves and Sauron the Dark Lord. Nothing is wrong with either, but we're all playing pretend here. This is all well and good, but I suspect when Joe Salesman gets off work on Friday, loosens his tie and rolls up his sleeves for happy hour (even though there was probably ample time to go home and change), he doesn't see the parallels between his 3rd ranked QB and someone else's level 12 Mage of Sin. I suggest you try bringing it up to him and his good ol' boys next time you see him out. You'll notice the resistance to this idea immediately. As final pieces of evidence, I present to you some photo comparisons... can you spot the differences?
15 January 2009
...hopefully because I don't plan on having to reboot again. Starting today, I intend to blog at least once a day for one month. Those of you following this blog know what a lofty goal this is and I'm probably just setting myself up for failure. But we're in a recession and, all things considered, blogging will save the world. So that's where we are.
The hope is that after a month of daily blogging, I may be motivated to continue out of habit. Simply by writing that, I made myself realize that it will be the easiest habit I'll have ever broken, but I'm going to give it the old college try anyways.
My safeguard to insure I don't stop blogging again is by indulging my friend at narcissisticnancy.blogspot.com and participating in an activity I typically frown upon: chain surveys. These have become all the rage lately as we show that we don't necessarily know what to write unless we are prompted to write a particular thing. My hope is that by having to participate in the hackery in order to reignite my second-rate exchange of dead-end ideas that go nowhere, I will be discouraged from ever stopping again. So here we go - this particular entry involves writing 14 random things about yourself, though I prefer to call it "11 Reasons More Than Are Necessary to Press Charges".
1. I hate not being included (That was a direct burn and it will be my last one, I promise.)
2. I love sunny, coastal areas and am also fascinated by areas of extreme cold and bitter weather conditions. Somehow, this adds up to me living in a temperate climate that leans towards miserable far more often than it does nice. Worse yet, I have no desire to leave. If this doesn't symbolize my mediocrity, I don't know what will.
3. I hate the damned ampersand. It's so much easier for me to type "and" than to hold shift and wander far, far away from the loving comfort of the home keys. This, however, also leads me to the realization that the ampersand existed before computers or even typewriters were used. Who can draw an accurate ampersand quicker than they can write "and?" What lazy asshole thought writing "and" was too much work? Some mediocre jerk that settled for a temperate climate?
4. I have an affinity for mainstream pop music. I was going to write "well-written mainstream pop music," but I don't even know anymore. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think I have decent musical tastes, ranging from the 60s to modern day and I have gigs upon gigs of music (obtained legally! LEGALLY!) in which I would like to think even the snobbiest of music critics could find SOMETHING to listen to. However, nothing seems to appeal to me more than mainstream pop. More often than not, it's "accepted" mainstream pop - I think Katy Perry, for example wrote some of the best pop songs of 2008. Britney Spears seems to be loved by all, and I share the sentiment. However, I also can't get enough of Miley Cyrus, and anyone that knows me can't argue my unwavering passion for the offspring of Billy Ray (the female one, anyways). Listen to See You Again and tell me it isn't amazingly written, whether or not it was written by HER. Obviously, everyone loves J. Timberlake, but I even go back to the N' Sync days and say Bye Bye Bye is simply incredible... but it is - you won't find a catchier hook. Lately I'm onto that Taylor Swift song, "Love Song" and I don't even know if I can defend that one... I can't even legitimately say it's that good of a song, but I can't stop listening to it. When can this be categorized as a vice?
5. Ron & Fez - Noon to 3 - XM 202
6. In any discussion regarding soda that I am involved in (yes, for some reason, this comes up a lot), two things are bound to happen. The first is that I will bring up Josta. Please comment if you remember Josta. It tasted like bad cherry cough syrup, but I couldn't get enough of it. I feel like my mother, rather than breast-feed, gave me breast-shaped Josta cans when I was a young lad, thus solidifying my love of the sugary treat. The other thing that will happen is someone else will bring up Crystal Pepsi and how it was good and I'll throw up a little in my mouth and die a little more inside. It wasn't good. It was like bad 7-Up. Bad 7-Up from a factory run by yetis... smelly yetis.
7. I once almost choked to death on one of those Necco wafer candies when I was a little boy (well, a young boy... little boy could be used to describe me now). Surprisingly, this didn't sway me from enjoying them. Them tasting like wet dog and having the consistency of old Tums did.
8. I hate ranch dressing... Whoever decided this belongs on salad is hopefully the mother of a boy who likes to step on a lot of cracks. Whoever decided this belongs on chicken, french fries, or fried anything must've had a bum tongue. Whoever decided this belongs on pizza should get together with the Necco wafer guy.
9. I get bored of lists around number 9.
10. I don't think there's such thing as "too early" as far as dark humor goes. There's such thing as being a decent human being and practicing tact as far as who you should expose this dark humor to, but nothing should be directly censored based on it being offensive. This is the speech that is most difficult to protect, but is most important that we do.
11-14. See #9. 10 was bonus.
So there you have it. I'd like to believe I can at least get through the rest of this week before I cave miserably on my goal, so I'd say check back. Can't promise anything interesting, but maybe a picture and a limerick at least.
The hope is that after a month of daily blogging, I may be motivated to continue out of habit. Simply by writing that, I made myself realize that it will be the easiest habit I'll have ever broken, but I'm going to give it the old college try anyways.
My safeguard to insure I don't stop blogging again is by indulging my friend at narcissisticnancy.blogspot.com and participating in an activity I typically frown upon: chain surveys. These have become all the rage lately as we show that we don't necessarily know what to write unless we are prompted to write a particular thing. My hope is that by having to participate in the hackery in order to reignite my second-rate exchange of dead-end ideas that go nowhere, I will be discouraged from ever stopping again. So here we go - this particular entry involves writing 14 random things about yourself, though I prefer to call it "11 Reasons More Than Are Necessary to Press Charges".
1. I hate not being included (That was a direct burn and it will be my last one, I promise.)
2. I love sunny, coastal areas and am also fascinated by areas of extreme cold and bitter weather conditions. Somehow, this adds up to me living in a temperate climate that leans towards miserable far more often than it does nice. Worse yet, I have no desire to leave. If this doesn't symbolize my mediocrity, I don't know what will.
3. I hate the damned ampersand. It's so much easier for me to type "and" than to hold shift and wander far, far away from the loving comfort of the home keys. This, however, also leads me to the realization that the ampersand existed before computers or even typewriters were used. Who can draw an accurate ampersand quicker than they can write "and?" What lazy asshole thought writing "and" was too much work? Some mediocre jerk that settled for a temperate climate?
4. I have an affinity for mainstream pop music. I was going to write "well-written mainstream pop music," but I don't even know anymore. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think I have decent musical tastes, ranging from the 60s to modern day and I have gigs upon gigs of music (obtained legally! LEGALLY!) in which I would like to think even the snobbiest of music critics could find SOMETHING to listen to. However, nothing seems to appeal to me more than mainstream pop. More often than not, it's "accepted" mainstream pop - I think Katy Perry, for example wrote some of the best pop songs of 2008. Britney Spears seems to be loved by all, and I share the sentiment. However, I also can't get enough of Miley Cyrus, and anyone that knows me can't argue my unwavering passion for the offspring of Billy Ray (the female one, anyways). Listen to See You Again and tell me it isn't amazingly written, whether or not it was written by HER. Obviously, everyone loves J. Timberlake, but I even go back to the N' Sync days and say Bye Bye Bye is simply incredible... but it is - you won't find a catchier hook. Lately I'm onto that Taylor Swift song, "Love Song" and I don't even know if I can defend that one... I can't even legitimately say it's that good of a song, but I can't stop listening to it. When can this be categorized as a vice?
5. Ron & Fez - Noon to 3 - XM 202
6. In any discussion regarding soda that I am involved in (yes, for some reason, this comes up a lot), two things are bound to happen. The first is that I will bring up Josta. Please comment if you remember Josta. It tasted like bad cherry cough syrup, but I couldn't get enough of it. I feel like my mother, rather than breast-feed, gave me breast-shaped Josta cans when I was a young lad, thus solidifying my love of the sugary treat. The other thing that will happen is someone else will bring up Crystal Pepsi and how it was good and I'll throw up a little in my mouth and die a little more inside. It wasn't good. It was like bad 7-Up. Bad 7-Up from a factory run by yetis... smelly yetis.
7. I once almost choked to death on one of those Necco wafer candies when I was a little boy (well, a young boy... little boy could be used to describe me now). Surprisingly, this didn't sway me from enjoying them. Them tasting like wet dog and having the consistency of old Tums did.
8. I hate ranch dressing... Whoever decided this belongs on salad is hopefully the mother of a boy who likes to step on a lot of cracks. Whoever decided this belongs on chicken, french fries, or fried anything must've had a bum tongue. Whoever decided this belongs on pizza should get together with the Necco wafer guy.
9. I get bored of lists around number 9.
10. I don't think there's such thing as "too early" as far as dark humor goes. There's such thing as being a decent human being and practicing tact as far as who you should expose this dark humor to, but nothing should be directly censored based on it being offensive. This is the speech that is most difficult to protect, but is most important that we do.
11-14. See #9. 10 was bonus.
So there you have it. I'd like to believe I can at least get through the rest of this week before I cave miserably on my goal, so I'd say check back. Can't promise anything interesting, but maybe a picture and a limerick at least.
14 January 2009
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