Silver Lining

Sure, I am normally cynical and sarcastic, possibly even abrassive, but in the wake of the events unfolding on the Gulf Coast I think its time to be a little more optomistic.

What is going on now is tragic, but at the same time why were these people still there? They had a minimum of 72 hours to leave...the loss of life could have been significantly less, but the property damage would have been the same. I feel really bad for the kids that got caught up in this, especially the ones who weren't evacuated for whatever reasons.

The silver lining here is that, like a forest fire, when the water subsides the cities of New Orleans and Biloxi will experience a rebirth. New architecture, infastructure and hopefully new, stronger levees. They'll get insurance money and FEMA aid to re-build and a nation of private citizens will open its wallet to lend some aid to help out. The New Orleans of 10 years from now will still have its history, though some old buildings will probably need restoration...but nothing motivates Americans to save something that we never cared or thought about before, like a tragedy.

Include it, or say it, not both!

Ok, so I have noticed something lately about certain acronyms and abbreviations...

Watching all of this stuff on TV and reading it in the paper about the BRAC COMMISSION. (They spared Portsmouth, but closed Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine and unfortunately, close Fort Monmouth back home in NJ.)


Everyone keeps saying the BRAC Commission this and the BRAC Commission that...the acronym B-R-A-C is "Base closure and Realignment COMMISSION" so we keep saying the Base closure and Realignment COMMISSION COMMISSION. Could we not just be a little racey and call it the BRA COMMISSION? Or just say "The BRAC."

We do this with other things. The HIV Virus, ATM Machine and Microsoft Windows 2000's splash screen says "Featuring NT Technotogies" when NT stands for New Technology!

So I say, include it in the abbreviation or say it, but enough of the redundancy!

College Student

Paid my tuition, and it's official!

Who would think that it would take me until 30 to become a college student?



This is crazy.... I'm in college, Chuck has a house.... Thank goodness we still have David, or I'd think this blog was getting too mature.

And if anyone wants to join me at Western Governor's, I can get 50 bucks for referring you. I could use that for beer money.

Analogies

So a lot of my friends know that I like to use analogs. From Analogies to similes to metaphors, I love using comparisons to make things more concrete when explaining them. Even visual comparisons (2 of which appear on this site...the BTK KIller looks like James Lipton, and Rosie O'Donnell looks like Private Pyle) Recently I commented that the political atmosphere in our country is like 2 cliques of elementary school kids at recess...

Then last night I realized:

MUSLIMS are like PIT BULLS

Everyone thinks they are dangerous! Then you run into one on the street and comment how sweet and nice they are and your friend tells you, "Don't you know that was a Pit Bull/Muslim." And then you say, "No, no way that was a Pit Bull/Muslim...they were so nice."

And yet, your perception doesn't change.

On that note...

Ariel Sharon is the Neville Chamberlain of our time. He's going to learn the same harsh lesson the rest of the world learned in 1939.

Kitchen Cabinets

Ok, so I am now officially a HOMEOWNER! I closed yesterday afternoon and spend the day getting things in order. This morning I had my new hot water heater installed and while the plumber hooked it up, I started cleaning my cabinets in the kitchen. When I climbed on top of my kitchen counter I laughed my ass off.

Apparently the husband that lived in my unit before me like porno magazines...but I assume he didn't want his wife to know. So he hid them on the top of the kitchen caninets. When I went to clean up there I found 3 magazines, covered in dust. I offered them to the plumber, Sheldon, but he didn't seem interested nor did his assistant.

Whats so great about August 9th?

What a great day in history. 60 years ago today Fat Man lit up Nagasaki which led to the end of World War II. It proved to the world the might of the atom which led to many peace time uses for nuclear technology, from MRI's to treatments for cancer to making faster popcorn. It also spared the lives of hundreds of thousands of US Servicemen that would have had to amphibiously invade the Japanese mainland.

Speaking of Fat Man, today is also the 10 year anniversary of the Death of Jerry Garcia. Take that Hippie! Oh and that place you like to protest in, is a fucking Triangle!

Be A Witness

Andrew recently added a link to the sidebar of this blog and it struck a real chord with me. When I was in High School I was the editor of our paper, I was ready to become a journalist and that link shows the exact reason that I did not pursue a career in journalism. The OJ Simpson trial was the last straw for me. Before that, when we landed on the beaches of Somalia and the press was there illuminating our SEALs who came ashore in complete darkness and face paint to avoid snipers, that was so irresonsible. It was all about getting the scoop, about sensationalism. The fact that if you watch FOX news they include the latest round of American Idol in the first 5 minutes or CBS includes the latest castaway to get booted off survivor just details how in the US, News outlets treat News as a form of ENTERTAINMENT.

What is happening in Sudan is horrible, but there is another issue there. It is obviously genocide, but since the US has no vital interests there the government looks at it as internal strife. Meanwhile any other place we want to go to we just say the words genocide or ethnic cleansing and thats our ticket in.

Remember when journalism was balanced, informative and thorough? Once a story loses the buzz it drops off the map and you never even know how it was resolved. Everyone knows that some idiot bruned themself with a cup of HOT McDonald's coffee sued and won a large settlement, but no one knows if that case was appealled and thrown out. Because thats not as entertaining.

The worst example to me was after the gulf war, we sent a strike against Iraq because they were violating the no-fly zone. There was a CNN journalist standing at the foot of the runway, F-15 Strike Eagles soaring over his head theorizing that an attack was about to begin. Last I checked it takes 2 hours to get to target and Sadaam could possibly have CNN. Thanks for telling them we are en route.

Practice makes perfect

Now this is my kind of story....

Giant's Shockey fights 2 Jets during joint practice



And oh yeah, both play the season in New Jersey.

Shirt

Cool shirt from threadless.

Vegans

I am so sick of VEGANS. I think they should be eaten alive by wild animals to learn the error of their ways...and not by like a lion, tiger or bear, but by a chipmunk or squirrel so they get gnawed to a slow painful agonizing death (by an herbivore no less)...the same agony they inflict upon me when they try to make me feel guilty about being at the top of the food chain. I didn't evolve over the millennia to eat grass and soy.



Feed Me Vegans, I'm Hungry...and I am so sick of Acorns!

Kelly Clarkson

So I was walking across the street and saw some blonde girl waving her arms talking to some guy on the corner of Free street and Center street (in front of The Cumberland County Civic Center) She looked ridiculous...bad dye job, tacky tatoo, ugly pink outfit...annoying voice and manner...

Yeah, it was Kelly Clarkson

How is this woman famous? She can't sing, she can't write her own songs and she's hardly a sex symbol. She was so caked in make-up that at first I thought she was Tammy Faye Baker...and she wasn not even on stage. Although I would love to have the mineral rights to her face, I mean...I'd start strip mining right away and make a fortune!

What a catty little bitch I am ;)

I only figured out it was her because there were a ton of tour buses and I asked what was going on and they said it was a Kelly Clarkson show. We should send her to Iraq...I don't think the insurgents could take her either...may work to drive them out like the pied piper of Hamlin.

The War In Iraq

First of all I think its important to say that you can support our troops without supporting the war. I have had discussions about this with several people, most recent;y my friend Nate. Just because you may not agree with what is going on over there, doesn't mean you want anything to happen to our servicepeople.

That said...one of the radio stations I work for is an air-america affiliate. They have been going on all morning about teh war in Iraq and how we can't get a staright answer from the Bush Administration about what is really going on there and what we plan to do there.

Bottom line is, I think we can all agree that the Bush Administration says we are there to Liberate the Iraqi people from Sadaam and to help them secure a democracy. If that is the case, now that they have had free elections I suggest another vote that will end the debate and the partisan politics.

LET THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ VOTE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT US TO STAY THERE OR RETURN HOME.

If the people of Iraq say they need us and want us to stay, then we have a respobsiblity to them. Afterall we are a major factor in their current state of affairs. It also tells the world, especially other Middle Eastern Nations that we are not occupying them, but helping them and they want our assistance.

If they tell us to go home, we should leave. Why risk the lives of our men and women in the military to protect or serve a nation that really doesn't want us there?

Oh and we should bring some rubber tubes and syphon some oil as we head home. Oh and maybe bring some bulldozers and freight ships to steal some sand too, I mean they have TONS of SAND in the desert and we have major beach erosion problems on the Eastern Seaboard.