Jan
10

Wake Up People

I stopped writing about politics because most people are pretty uninformed when it comes to the subject. It is amazing how easily people turn into sheep because they prefer to listen to the talking heads on the T.V. and also like to get their morals from other people instead of thinking for themselves. I am little pissed off right now that most of the news coverage here in the US have already begun to paint Jared Lee Loughner as just some unstable person, a lone wolf… are people seriously that naive that they think hate speech and political stupidity don’t lead to these types of acts?

I am sad that I had to go all the way to the UK’s newspapers to get more information on the guy that shot an ELECTED OFFICIAL. Trying to get through the noise I gather that he thought our government was trying to mind control us with the use of grammar, and that our currency is bad because it is not backed by gold and silver. He was not only a right wing nut, he was also pretty scary to those around him.

Some people are so stupid to think that when they start talking about politics and using hateful speech, that people around them view them as someone that should be looked up to for what they believe. In reality, most people that see and hear that level of nonsense on someone put them in the “nut” category and start dismissing not just their political view, but pretty much everything they say. The moment that you buy into hate speech it is the moment that others disassociate you from intelligence.

I know a lot of very conservative gun lovers. I was sure that something this big will outrage them and make them denounce how horrible an act this is. Nope, they are pretty busy fearing how Obama is going to really institute big brother into our lives and maybe, just maybe he is the Antichrist and will be putting the mark of the beast in all of us.

Why is this making me so upset. While the congresswoman is fighting for her life, all I can think about is those six other people that are dead. Someone very dear to my heart is involved in the political process. If the headline was not in AZ but in MO, there would have been a chance that he was at a political event.

As human we are flawed because sometimes what does not affect us directly its missed by our radar. I have no idea how I would have reacted if my friend was amongst those shot. All I can ask is that people wake up, stop the hate speech and start really evaluating what is it that you are letting into your brain and promoting. Gun violence is sad as it is; but it is a sad day when your elected officials start getting shot.

Dec
06

Greed

Recently I have been thinking a lot about happiness. I posted recently about being the positive, half glass full person I try to be, and also about how to me it does not seem like people rationalize the connection of money and evil.

This morning I was listening to sports radio on the way to work and Troy Aikman of all people started talking about greed. I am not a fan of Troy, mostly because he is always with Joe Buck and I just dislike the way he calls games. If you don’t follow the NFL, basically the next year could make or break them. There is going to be a new labor agreement as well as potentially turning the pre-season’s game into actual games that count towards the season. I was just having a conversations last night with Jimmy about how the Thursday games just seem like way too much NFL (specially with college games, etc). Troy brought that point up as well and said that he thinks the NFL is too greedy and in our lifetime football might not be the most watched sport. Again, the show must go on.

I believe NASCAR also got greedy and has seen a decline on their revenue. I don’t know much about that sport so if someone has some insight there, it would be interesting to hear if maybe greed was a player there too.

The greed of some affects many… but aren’t we the ones that perpetuate the cycle? Or in the case of baseball just stop watching?

I seriously don’t know how to begin digesting all this information. I know that if the NFL missteps in the coming years they could suffer like baseball did and become second or even third watched sport. I know college sports are really becoming more popular and soccer is becoming stronger in the US.

My bro-in-law recently wrote something on facebook that made many people think, including me. Colombia is being hit by one of the worst rainy season in 40 decades. The climate is attributed to “la niña” and it has affected millions of people. The government does not have the resources to deal with the issues, his point was simply that all the festival and big city wide parties in December were still being planned like nothing was going on. I guess the show must go on in this situation as well.

I am not the most charitable person and while I do give to some causes, I am probably part of the problem. I guess the choice to consume or not is a powerful thing, but cheap products at Wal-Mart are sometimes too good of a deal to pass up. I am not sure if I would have stayed in Colombia and never moved up here if I would be partying this December or looking for a way to help those less fortunate. I am sure by tomorrow I will have another personal endeavor that will take up my thoughts, but at least I wanted to write this to remind myself that sometimes greed can damage not just the sport I like to watch, but might deny people the resources that are necessary to simply survive.

Nov
23

To Be a Man

This morning I had a really interesting conversation. Most of it centered around a good friend venting about relationship issues, but then I starting to think about how most of the problems centered around not having the notion of what it means to be a man. Then things got a lot more complicated in my head. What does it really mean to be a man… it could mean so many different things to so many different people.

My definition is pretty straight forward. A man is a provider and protector. His word is bond and he does not engage in childish behavior. A man has his priorities in check and plans ahead. A man has an open mind, but also clearly defined set of morals and values his integrity as well as that of those around him.

One of the situations that seems to be the most confused by people is that to feel like a man, testosterone has to be involved. Out-drinking someone, punching the lights out of someone, having a bigger car, being the ladies man are all things that simple minded people see as a mark of a real man. That is not to say that a real man cannot be or do any number of those things, but he is not defined by them or need to have them reaffirmed to solidify his manhood.

Nobody is perfect though, and we all make mistakes when it comes to wanting to feel macho by answering to nobody and just getting crazy. I know when I go to Michigan and hang out with some of my friends out there debauchery and childish behavior ensues. However, I don’t need to get drunk every single week and be out all night to feel like I am a real man.

So my question is pretty simple, and it goes out to both sexes. What is your definition of a real man if you are a woman. And dudes, what things make you feel like a real man? Do you need some kind of reaffirmation? Do you need a man-cave?

Oct
18

Crazy Old People

There is a new radio commercial for a hot sauce where the tag-line goes “I put that sh!t on everything.”* I have been known to drop an f-bomb here and there and I am not offended by the language; but where have we really gone to in a society where the voice-over is clearly done by an elderly woman?

Betty White is hilarious, I laughed very hard when I saw her superbowl commercial. I know that Viagra brought has made it possible for many people to regain their stamina and I am sure that more and more people are having sex in their later year. I think that is awesome but I don’t want to think about it. So when recently I could not get away from the story of Betty White and William Shatner getting it on. It was one of those mental pictures I could not block, I was a little nauseated (mostly because of William).

I really don’t get when we turned the corner from the elderly being revered to them being the new thing to laugh about.

I am all for older people living their lives the way they want to, but a bleeped commercial on the radio is to me just a little too much. I am sure there are plenty of old ladies with a dirty mouths out there(Yes, I know I left that one wide open), but this is on a radio show when I am sure a lot of parents are driving their kids to work.

I recently had a discussion with someone about swearing. They believed that grown people should not be protected from it or any other type of offensive language. I completely disagree and think that if I have a group of friends over to my house, I am in my total right to ask them to not speak a certain way. Sure, when I watch TV or a movie, a little swearing does not bother me and I don’t think it should be a law, but just a matter of good manners to not use any kind of offensive language in public. There are plenty of ways to express yourself in conversation without the use of words that might be offensive.

I don’t agree with complete sanitation or “think about the kids” mentality, I can chose to not listen to a radio station or show that advertises something that I don’t find funny. I remember I used to listen to Mancow back in the day and the moment he started making of Michael J Fox for having Parkinsons I stop finding him entertaining and found him offensive. Same with d-bag Chelsey Handler. As a society we can all make choices as to what we let in and what we don’t. But isn’t respecting our elders an important thing for America anymore? Is this where we are going as a society; where we need to constantly find the next thing to make fun of?

* I am purposely not giving them any more advertisement by mentioning them or linking to them.

Sep
14

Where did the nice people go?

Going shopping is one of those things that I dread more than cleaning the bathroom or even cleaning the cat box. I think the older I get, the less tolerant of rude people I become. Grocery shopping is one of those things that could be an enjoyable experience if I could get in and out without having to interact with other people. Now that we are back in Chicago I am even considering going back to peapod, which was an actual great experience when I used it in the past. You get home and your groceries are waiting for you.

This last trip to the grocery store was one that made me lose the hope in humanity.

I come in prepared when I grocery shop, either with a list to check off, or a short mental one that gets done quickly. Depending on if it is a familiar store or not, I have a route I take most of the time. I know where everything is for the most part and try to be efficient and hopefully not in a hurry.

The first creature that I encounter that just gets on my nerves is the person at the deli counter that does not seem to have ever seen a cheese selection. I am all for browsing the sales and the new in stock deli meat goodness, but don’t take a number until you are ready. I am hoping that if I keep on bumping into the same deli guy at our grocery store he can start cutting what I need before I even have a chance to ask.

This week I had to deal with two self important rush grocery shoppers. The kind that want to run you out of the isle just bump on you next to on the next one. God forbid that you are going to be selecting an item in the same area they are because they will even go as far as ask you to move out of the way. I actually had to step away from the tortillas because this lady was frantically looking for a special cheddar flavored ones looter style.

The kicker this week was a motorized Grandma. I almost said something out loud to her but I though about how I should respect my elders.

The lines were pretty busy and they only had 2 actually human operated ones. The self checkout ones are really not conducive to the amount of stuff I was getting. The lines were going into the isles and instead of blocking the way for other people I got in line and left a gap for people to move through if they were still shopping. This lady on her motorized cart just pushes her way through the line next to me and proceeds to get in front of me. I am clearly waiting in line. I would have had no problem letting her go first, I often do with people that have less items than me and a handicapped Grandma for sure would get my go ahead. However she just barged in, made no eye contact.

I respect the elderly, I respect the wisdom, I even have reverence for their knowledge and how some of them are from an ear where manners mattered… but what is wrong with some of people now, just because a lot of people don’t have manners it does not mean you should lose them too Grandma!

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