And boy do we know how to kick it, that horse that's dead. In this episode, we find ourselves talking about hobbies at which we are talented, yet cannot make any money.
Me: Wow, you're [talent] is really improving, those [items] are very artfully done.
G: Thanks, I wish I could make a nice life for myself with it....alas....
Me: Yeah, if we could do that, I would be a coach and a writer.
G: Wanna start a "do your own thing" commune?
Me: Totes. i'll cook as long as i don't have to do dishes
G: Ditto
Me: We can get our veggies from [friend's girlfriend's] mom's garden, or we can grow our own....uh...for everything.
G: Maybe we just cultivate "things" on this commune and sell them to support our other interests.
Me: Good idear! I am fairly handy with wood working also, so I will build us chairs and tables and we can sell some of those too, quaker style, yo.
Me: Or we can just get some peanuts in bulk and crush them and sell them for $8 a jar. The labels can say 'Hello My Name Is: Peanut Butter'.
G: hahahaha, scribble some b.s. on the back, essentially copying the nutritional info from the original bag-o-nutz.
Me: Perfect. then we'd have food for lunch, too.
27 January, 2009
20 January, 2009
the new deal
I had a somewhat perplexing conversation last night, regarding today's inauguration festivities. The person on the other end of the call was not only disinterested, but seemed somewhat put off by the excitement and anticipation that Obama's impending presidency is bringing to our nation.
While I agree wholeheartedly with a robust sense of skepticism and lack of trust in any and all politicians, I also feel very strongly that a leader who understands the gravity of the task ahead of us, is what we desperately need as a nation right now. This is not some "cycle" we are in here. It's not just a housing crisis, or a mis-managed war, or a couple of corrupt, asshole guys in finance taking advantage of investor confidence.
It's a nation-wide housing crisis, where the lion share of people who have bought homes in the last six or seven years, are now losing their homes and their life savings as well. It's every single major bank in the country and a good chunk of the smaller ones, being faced with either closing their doors, or having to ask for and accept billions of dollars in financial aid in order to keep things going. It's the entire investment banking system collapsing and only four percent of hedge-funds in positive gains territory. It's the entire world being in a state of financial crisis and the economies of more than a dozen countries in peril. It's not one, but TWO mis-managed wars, and thousands of our nation's mothers hearing the knock on the door and opening it to find that their son or daughter will never come through that same door again.
I could go on, but the point is, that it's not even like it's one or two or a few of those things, it's all of those things and more. And if we are going to be the (self-touted) leader of the free world, we need someone with the resolve and humility to organize a team, both political and ordinary, that can forge ahead and make a difference.
I have been paying attention to politics, presidents and elections since Jimmy Carter and I can say with absolute certainty, that never in my life, have I seen our nation's citizens to filled with hope and anticipation. Misguided or not, people are ready for what lies ahead and if he does it right, Obama has the chance to change a host of things for every single person. He represents a new step forward in race relations and, if nothing else, I warmly embrace that change and hope to see the parts of our nation where poverty and despair are rampant, filled with hope and grit and determination to build a new community and lift each other up. I hope to see a surge of young, black men and women becoming icons of industry that were previously dominated by others and I hope to see a day where being smart and well-spoken doesn't make a black person "too white", but just smart and well-spoken.
I am willing to give this my full backing, understanding that it could (and the historical odds are that it will) go horribly wrong. My prediction is, either he will be the leader of a new generation of change and prosperity, or the whole ship will go down in flames. Either way, it will be a spectacular sight, but I suspect that if we Americans can keep our heads out of our asses long enough and really come together, we can do something extraordinary, and that's exactly what we need.
Go us.
While I agree wholeheartedly with a robust sense of skepticism and lack of trust in any and all politicians, I also feel very strongly that a leader who understands the gravity of the task ahead of us, is what we desperately need as a nation right now. This is not some "cycle" we are in here. It's not just a housing crisis, or a mis-managed war, or a couple of corrupt, asshole guys in finance taking advantage of investor confidence.
It's a nation-wide housing crisis, where the lion share of people who have bought homes in the last six or seven years, are now losing their homes and their life savings as well. It's every single major bank in the country and a good chunk of the smaller ones, being faced with either closing their doors, or having to ask for and accept billions of dollars in financial aid in order to keep things going. It's the entire investment banking system collapsing and only four percent of hedge-funds in positive gains territory. It's the entire world being in a state of financial crisis and the economies of more than a dozen countries in peril. It's not one, but TWO mis-managed wars, and thousands of our nation's mothers hearing the knock on the door and opening it to find that their son or daughter will never come through that same door again.
I could go on, but the point is, that it's not even like it's one or two or a few of those things, it's all of those things and more. And if we are going to be the (self-touted) leader of the free world, we need someone with the resolve and humility to organize a team, both political and ordinary, that can forge ahead and make a difference.
I have been paying attention to politics, presidents and elections since Jimmy Carter and I can say with absolute certainty, that never in my life, have I seen our nation's citizens to filled with hope and anticipation. Misguided or not, people are ready for what lies ahead and if he does it right, Obama has the chance to change a host of things for every single person. He represents a new step forward in race relations and, if nothing else, I warmly embrace that change and hope to see the parts of our nation where poverty and despair are rampant, filled with hope and grit and determination to build a new community and lift each other up. I hope to see a surge of young, black men and women becoming icons of industry that were previously dominated by others and I hope to see a day where being smart and well-spoken doesn't make a black person "too white", but just smart and well-spoken.
I am willing to give this my full backing, understanding that it could (and the historical odds are that it will) go horribly wrong. My prediction is, either he will be the leader of a new generation of change and prosperity, or the whole ship will go down in flames. Either way, it will be a spectacular sight, but I suspect that if we Americans can keep our heads out of our asses long enough and really come together, we can do something extraordinary, and that's exactly what we need.
Go us.
15 January, 2009
turning out
He slams his foot on the gas, racing dangerously around the minivan making a right turn behind a school bus, and nearly plows over two people in the crosswalk (me being one of them), only to come screeching to a halt less than 100 yards in front of where he started. There was a 7 year old in the car with him at the time.
Dick.
It was a really smart use of his time and vehicle, especially since he was stopping directly in front of a playground, which serves as a dropping point for an elementary school and a junior high. Good thing he saved those 4 second though. Nearly taking two lives and endangering his kid was totally worth it.
So while I was pissed off on my own and seriously thought about picking up a piece of dirty ice and hurling it at his driver side door, I was more interested in how he came to feel that driving like a maniac in front of schools bursting with children was a good idea. Actually, scratch that. I doubt he gave a squirt of piss what he was doing just then and I'm pretty sure his poor kid is gonna turn out to be an asshole, too.
See, I have a theory on this. It's actually a well-formed theory, being that I coached upwards of a hundred kids each year for about 6 or 7 years. During that time, I had the opportunity to observe the kids both around and away from their parents. Interesting dynamics for sure, but some things started to pretty much become undeniable truths. Ie: if the parents drive like maniacs and act like assholes, so go the kids. So sad.
I wanted to go up to the kid and let him know that it doesn't have to be that way. I have actually wanted to say that to scores of kids, whose parents act like the world is their toilet and everyone owes them a favor, but it is not my place and I really don't know that it would change much anyway. My two cents would last what.....1 minute? As compared with a lifetime of moronic example, my heartfelt plea is mere pittance. Doesn't stand a chance.
I want to tie down the fuckwit parents of these poor, innocent ones and strip them and their children of their reproductive capabilities, in a slightly forced Darwinian effort to save our species from their ilk. But that would border on psychotic, and sadly, is not socially acceptable, even though in the long run, the world would thank me. Whatever.
I guess my only recourse is an icy rock. At least that would ruin their day, although now that I think of it, when you piss off an asshole he becomes increasingly asshole-y, so I think that is a lose-lose as well. Why o why must there be such unfairness?
Dick.
It was a really smart use of his time and vehicle, especially since he was stopping directly in front of a playground, which serves as a dropping point for an elementary school and a junior high. Good thing he saved those 4 second though. Nearly taking two lives and endangering his kid was totally worth it.
So while I was pissed off on my own and seriously thought about picking up a piece of dirty ice and hurling it at his driver side door, I was more interested in how he came to feel that driving like a maniac in front of schools bursting with children was a good idea. Actually, scratch that. I doubt he gave a squirt of piss what he was doing just then and I'm pretty sure his poor kid is gonna turn out to be an asshole, too.
See, I have a theory on this. It's actually a well-formed theory, being that I coached upwards of a hundred kids each year for about 6 or 7 years. During that time, I had the opportunity to observe the kids both around and away from their parents. Interesting dynamics for sure, but some things started to pretty much become undeniable truths. Ie: if the parents drive like maniacs and act like assholes, so go the kids. So sad.
I wanted to go up to the kid and let him know that it doesn't have to be that way. I have actually wanted to say that to scores of kids, whose parents act like the world is their toilet and everyone owes them a favor, but it is not my place and I really don't know that it would change much anyway. My two cents would last what.....1 minute? As compared with a lifetime of moronic example, my heartfelt plea is mere pittance. Doesn't stand a chance.
I want to tie down the fuckwit parents of these poor, innocent ones and strip them and their children of their reproductive capabilities, in a slightly forced Darwinian effort to save our species from their ilk. But that would border on psychotic, and sadly, is not socially acceptable, even though in the long run, the world would thank me. Whatever.
I guess my only recourse is an icy rock. At least that would ruin their day, although now that I think of it, when you piss off an asshole he becomes increasingly asshole-y, so I think that is a lose-lose as well. Why o why must there be such unfairness?
14 January, 2009
a test.
Everyone I know thinks they are open. Open in the sense that they embrace new people, new experiences, new cultures......yeahhhh righhhht.
But seriously, no one I know - and my base extends across quite a few social groups - will say "oh, I'm a bigot, or a racist or a misogynist". Not a one. Even after you hear them say something that may make you raise an eyebrow and wonder where it came from, you will hear pretty much anyone deny any sort of preference for one group over another.
So I found this website and there are a whole slew of tests. I want to take them all and see how I stack up. I took the first one and I will hold my results until you people tell me how you did and if you were surprised by the outcome. It's not meant to make you feel like an asshole, but to show and prove how much prejudice is a latent and unmistakable part of our society.
Not the most salacious post, but damn is this interesting.
10 January, 2009
bombs
So a misunderstanding was had on two sides of a subject. A argument ensued that quickly led to a fight. And then there we were, fighting, fighting fighting, about nothing that matters and things that piss us off for no good reason. And no one is right, yet we still sat there fighting and fighting and fighting.
Him: Well what you should have done was--
Me: O what are you now, the fucking president of how to handle things?
Him: Well...wait, the president?
--slightly audible chuckling--
Him: I'm sorry, but that was really funny. Is it inappropriate to laugh, because my eyes are tearing.
--ensuing laughter for about 10 minutes--
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you diffuse a bomb.
Athankyou.
Him: Well what you should have done was--
Me: O what are you now, the fucking president of how to handle things?
Him: Well...wait, the president?
--slightly audible chuckling--
Him: I'm sorry, but that was really funny. Is it inappropriate to laugh, because my eyes are tearing.
--ensuing laughter for about 10 minutes--
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you diffuse a bomb.
Athankyou.
08 January, 2009
all wrong
watch this.
Watching that among other disturbing images on both sides of this long, sad war have left me with some questions.
Assuming Israel is a country, protecting their lands is perfectly and totally logical, understandable and defensible. However, Gaza doesn't recognize Israel as a country. Being scarcely more than 50 years old, and having been fought over for centuries, Gaza, it would seem, is exercising its right to defend what rightfully belongs to it. So who is right?
Just because Israel has the money and the backing of some other nations, none of which border it, have cross-cultural relationships or shared landmarks, does that mean that the Palestinian people are wrong? What if the Siberians came onto US soil and said that since they were here a long time ago and had some landmarks and religious destinations, they wanted to set up a country and move us over? What would we do then?
How would we feel if they showed up with weapons provided by the Russians and bombed their way in, and then set up a government and a bunch of laws, which kept us off of land that we had also been on for centuries or millenia, for the sake of their own "protection"? What if we didn't have the organization that they had to combat it and had to resort to guerilla tactics?
Who is right and who is wrong? And why do we feel it is okay to meddle in circumstances a 200 year old country can't possibly fully grasp?
Open ended, honest and politically incorrect questions.....my specialty.
Watching that among other disturbing images on both sides of this long, sad war have left me with some questions.
Assuming Israel is a country, protecting their lands is perfectly and totally logical, understandable and defensible. However, Gaza doesn't recognize Israel as a country. Being scarcely more than 50 years old, and having been fought over for centuries, Gaza, it would seem, is exercising its right to defend what rightfully belongs to it. So who is right?
Just because Israel has the money and the backing of some other nations, none of which border it, have cross-cultural relationships or shared landmarks, does that mean that the Palestinian people are wrong? What if the Siberians came onto US soil and said that since they were here a long time ago and had some landmarks and religious destinations, they wanted to set up a country and move us over? What would we do then?
How would we feel if they showed up with weapons provided by the Russians and bombed their way in, and then set up a government and a bunch of laws, which kept us off of land that we had also been on for centuries or millenia, for the sake of their own "protection"? What if we didn't have the organization that they had to combat it and had to resort to guerilla tactics?
Who is right and who is wrong? And why do we feel it is okay to meddle in circumstances a 200 year old country can't possibly fully grasp?
Open ended, honest and politically incorrect questions.....my specialty.
06 January, 2009
.....and we're baaaack
Well sort of, but not really.
I'm sick as hell and still sans computer, but it's been a while so I thought I'd wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.
2009 is the year of me, by the way, but I'll get to that when I stop coughing.
I'm sick as hell and still sans computer, but it's been a while so I thought I'd wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.
2009 is the year of me, by the way, but I'll get to that when I stop coughing.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)