More sensationalist drivel from TIME. Honestly folks, SH*T happens, has always happened, and will continue to happen. The 2000's were no worse than any other decade in history. We've just become more wired and are able to read about it NONSTOP 24/7 and THEN we get to discuss it. In thirty seconds I can pull up the news of the day for March 16, 1998 (totally random date). And then I can read a bunch of self serving analyses about it! If I really wanted to I could in about a day's time probably come up with a similar story for every decade of the past two centuries based on written reports alone. Sounds like TIME needed a filler story.
Technology has done a lot of good things for us, but for some reason it has deactivated our ability to take things in stride and realize there is a bigger picture and it's not all the time me me me, now now now I want my cookie, I want my Xbox, I want my Escalade. People have become incredibly short-sighted, childish, coddled, and frankly, idiotic -- WORLD OVER!
Everywhere we go we're bombarded by idiots like Katie Couric, Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Jerry Farwell, and their cronies telling us their half informed deluded and self-serving opinions. Before people had to actually seek information and the truth. Now it's obliterated by episodes of American Idol and 24/7 sports networks.
If you really think the 2000s were just terrible you obviously are very short-sighted, didn't pay attention in history class, or let the 90's delude you.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Happy Turkey Day...and other ramblings...
So, who's not thinking about Christmas right? It's amazing that literally as soon as the plates are cleared from Thanksgiving dinner our thoughts turn to Christmas. Call me a Thanksgiving Scrooge but I've never been a huge fan of Thanksgiving. Maybe I'm callused, I don't know. Turkey's never been one of my favorite foods (at least non-deli sliced turkey), and there just doesn't seem to be any buildup, anticipation, or sort of frivolity associated with Thanksgiving that I've always associated with Christmas. Maybe Christmas just has more meaning to me, too.
Thanksgiving came and went this year and I really didn't find myself missing anything. Actually it came twice, as I celebrated Thanksgiving with my Canuck friends as well in October. They both were about equally exciting to me -- in other words let's eat and then get back to studying. Thanksgiving to me means cold weather (relative to Georgia, that is), cousins, and football. We had football, and it wasn't a game I was even remotely interested in. I mean really, why broadcast the Lions EVERY stinkin' year. I am very much looking forward to Christmas, however.
With Thanksgiving over all the associated things were there. The James Bond marathon. The Grinch. The Home Alone 1, 2, through 63 reruns. And HOOK!! Side note: What would the world be like without Captain Hook? I always associate these movies with Christmas (some of them are no-brainers). It's analogous to Halloween and Hocus Pocus. Now, many of these movies are made for children, but as I was a child especially when the Home Alones came out they'll probably never get old to me! Even the Third one is amazing, and I don't care what you say about it! It's amazing...and we'll leave it at that.
Don't even get me started on the blown pass in the last 90s of the Georgia v. Georgia Tech game. I sat there and watched the blasted ball fall out of the schmuck's hands! (Yes I know what a schmuck is and believe me it's appropriate here!). There were down by six, and the receiver in between the 30 and 40. If he had caught that pass in all likelihood Tech would have won the game. I'd love to be happy for UGA but jeez SEC fans are so freakin' obnoxious and it doesn't help that all the dumb people pull for them. Not many dumb people pull for the ACC.... What does that say about my social prejudices, lol. Let me also say that people who can't leave the game when they turn the TV off are SAD!!!!! I grew up in the South, so these people are frequent, and unfortunately they are on both sides (more on the SEC side but whatever). Sports become a religion and their world revolves around how their team did. It's really annoying and pitiful. Ok, enough about that!
Is wrong to really looking forward to be able to dress in clothes that don't make me look like a slob????? T-shirts and shorts all the time, I feel like an undergrad, which I am most decidedly not! I enjoyed being able to actually dress like I had an ounce of self respect while I was working. Here, forget it. Polos don't breathe very well, and jeans, well I don't even contemplate wearing jeans if the sun is up. I like wearing jackets, nice shirts, clothes that present me as somebody who takes himself seriously.
I would love to have some little insights in Dominican culture, but I just don't have any revelations into that yet. I'm looking for signs, and I just don't see anything that's unique. I'm in the frustrated stage. I was around for Dominican Independence Day but they really didn't seem to do anything they don't already do. All I see is people sitting around carryin' on. Um, can you say front porch evenings? I grew up on that. That's nothing special to me about that. What did they do? They went out on the streets and danced and then stood around for a few hours. Well guess what, minus the dancing that's what they do every day anyway. It's really annoying. Do people work? Yes, but many of them act like petulant children being made to clean their rooms when at work. At first it makes you feel like you're imposing to ask for your lunch...That doesn't last long because you eventually see that they want to act like children no matter whom they're serving.
Below is an excerpt from a blog I read sometimes. The blogger's post was in response to this quote, but I just was flabbergasted when I read it so I have to include it in my own!
“In conservative countries like Saudi Arabia, this blessed kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which, Allah be praised, is the most conservative in the Muslim world, in which a woman maintains her honor, decency, and modesty, and she does not reveal anything – not her hands, her face, or anything – how can she drive a car? Those who call to allow women to drive – according to what has been written – can be divided into two groups. The first group includes Westernized people, who want to westernize the society, to tell the truth. They want to destroy society, corrupt it, and drag it down into the depths of decay and permissiveness, like in Western societies. These people have been blinded by what they saw there when they studied or visited there, and they want our society to be like other societies. They want it to be devoid of all values, morals, and modesty. They want women to go out on the streets all made up, like a harlot, with her face uncovered, like they see in the West. They think that the shortest and best way to reach this goal is to allow women to drive, because if a woman drives, she will reveal her face, drive without a male chaperone, will have an easy opportunity to meet all kinds of young men and women, and she will get all made up, will mix with men, and so on. I don’t think that any woman throughout human history has been as oppressed as the Western woman today – and they still claim they have given her freedom. They took her out of the home in order to exploit her - to exploit her honor and dignity. Furthermore, in many countries, her salary is lower than the man’s, but she works more than him. She does not get what she wants unless she sacrifices her honor, to her bosses or her co-workers. How strange! Even though they have permissiveness there, and any man can satisfy his desires outside of marriage, he’s not satisfied with ten or twenty. Any girl he sees, who has certain features, he wants. If she consents, fine. If not, he rapes her. “
Do what??????? *insert picture of my jaw hitting the floor* This is a response to the question of why women in Saudi Arabia shouldn't be allowed to drive. Never mind that the response opens up with a MASSIVE run-on sentence, the answer completely circumvents the question!!!!!! I'll readily admit there is too much religious influence in the GOP but at the very least we don't have our entire or even a plurality of the US government run by people who spew drivel like this!!!
Well, I guess that's all I've got time for at the moment. I wish I had more time to write insightful, well thought out, cohesive posts but as it is I just basically have time to put my thoughts down in a hodgepodge fashion. I'll work on the flow for the future!
Thanksgiving came and went this year and I really didn't find myself missing anything. Actually it came twice, as I celebrated Thanksgiving with my Canuck friends as well in October. They both were about equally exciting to me -- in other words let's eat and then get back to studying. Thanksgiving to me means cold weather (relative to Georgia, that is), cousins, and football. We had football, and it wasn't a game I was even remotely interested in. I mean really, why broadcast the Lions EVERY stinkin' year. I am very much looking forward to Christmas, however.
With Thanksgiving over all the associated things were there. The James Bond marathon. The Grinch. The Home Alone 1, 2, through 63 reruns. And HOOK!! Side note: What would the world be like without Captain Hook? I always associate these movies with Christmas (some of them are no-brainers). It's analogous to Halloween and Hocus Pocus. Now, many of these movies are made for children, but as I was a child especially when the Home Alones came out they'll probably never get old to me! Even the Third one is amazing, and I don't care what you say about it! It's amazing...and we'll leave it at that.
Don't even get me started on the blown pass in the last 90s of the Georgia v. Georgia Tech game. I sat there and watched the blasted ball fall out of the schmuck's hands! (Yes I know what a schmuck is and believe me it's appropriate here!). There were down by six, and the receiver in between the 30 and 40. If he had caught that pass in all likelihood Tech would have won the game. I'd love to be happy for UGA but jeez SEC fans are so freakin' obnoxious and it doesn't help that all the dumb people pull for them. Not many dumb people pull for the ACC.... What does that say about my social prejudices, lol. Let me also say that people who can't leave the game when they turn the TV off are SAD!!!!! I grew up in the South, so these people are frequent, and unfortunately they are on both sides (more on the SEC side but whatever). Sports become a religion and their world revolves around how their team did. It's really annoying and pitiful. Ok, enough about that!
Is wrong to really looking forward to be able to dress in clothes that don't make me look like a slob????? T-shirts and shorts all the time, I feel like an undergrad, which I am most decidedly not! I enjoyed being able to actually dress like I had an ounce of self respect while I was working. Here, forget it. Polos don't breathe very well, and jeans, well I don't even contemplate wearing jeans if the sun is up. I like wearing jackets, nice shirts, clothes that present me as somebody who takes himself seriously.
I would love to have some little insights in Dominican culture, but I just don't have any revelations into that yet. I'm looking for signs, and I just don't see anything that's unique. I'm in the frustrated stage. I was around for Dominican Independence Day but they really didn't seem to do anything they don't already do. All I see is people sitting around carryin' on. Um, can you say front porch evenings? I grew up on that. That's nothing special to me about that. What did they do? They went out on the streets and danced and then stood around for a few hours. Well guess what, minus the dancing that's what they do every day anyway. It's really annoying. Do people work? Yes, but many of them act like petulant children being made to clean their rooms when at work. At first it makes you feel like you're imposing to ask for your lunch...That doesn't last long because you eventually see that they want to act like children no matter whom they're serving.
Below is an excerpt from a blog I read sometimes. The blogger's post was in response to this quote, but I just was flabbergasted when I read it so I have to include it in my own!
“In conservative countries like Saudi Arabia, this blessed kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which, Allah be praised, is the most conservative in the Muslim world, in which a woman maintains her honor, decency, and modesty, and she does not reveal anything – not her hands, her face, or anything – how can she drive a car? Those who call to allow women to drive – according to what has been written – can be divided into two groups. The first group includes Westernized people, who want to westernize the society, to tell the truth. They want to destroy society, corrupt it, and drag it down into the depths of decay and permissiveness, like in Western societies. These people have been blinded by what they saw there when they studied or visited there, and they want our society to be like other societies. They want it to be devoid of all values, morals, and modesty. They want women to go out on the streets all made up, like a harlot, with her face uncovered, like they see in the West. They think that the shortest and best way to reach this goal is to allow women to drive, because if a woman drives, she will reveal her face, drive without a male chaperone, will have an easy opportunity to meet all kinds of young men and women, and she will get all made up, will mix with men, and so on. I don’t think that any woman throughout human history has been as oppressed as the Western woman today – and they still claim they have given her freedom. They took her out of the home in order to exploit her - to exploit her honor and dignity. Furthermore, in many countries, her salary is lower than the man’s, but she works more than him. She does not get what she wants unless she sacrifices her honor, to her bosses or her co-workers. How strange! Even though they have permissiveness there, and any man can satisfy his desires outside of marriage, he’s not satisfied with ten or twenty. Any girl he sees, who has certain features, he wants. If she consents, fine. If not, he rapes her. “
Do what??????? *insert picture of my jaw hitting the floor* This is a response to the question of why women in Saudi Arabia shouldn't be allowed to drive. Never mind that the response opens up with a MASSIVE run-on sentence, the answer completely circumvents the question!!!!!! I'll readily admit there is too much religious influence in the GOP but at the very least we don't have our entire or even a plurality of the US government run by people who spew drivel like this!!!
Well, I guess that's all I've got time for at the moment. I wish I had more time to write insightful, well thought out, cohesive posts but as it is I just basically have time to put my thoughts down in a hodgepodge fashion. I'll work on the flow for the future!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Little friend greeting me as I get home...
I got back to my apartment tonight and went into my bedroom. Right after I turned on the light I noticed something frantically scurrying across the wall. I freaked for a second, thinking it was a centipede (vile, evil little cretins). I looked up to see that it was just a gecko. Whew! Ok, you must be asking why am I freaking out about a centipede?? Well, to be frank, THEY STING! A friend of mine was bitten just the day before yesterday. And it hurts! And they're aggressive. Sometimes the spawn of Satan will chase you down (the larger ones anyway). So, back to the Geiko gecko...It scurried behind my AC unit and I haven't seen it since. A rational person would say, well, dummy, it's still behind the AC unit. AHA, you'd be wrong! I looked with a flashlight and the little bugger is nowhere to be found! Honestly I don't mind that he's there. One fewer ant for me to worry about. Here's a picture of a gecko at a friend's apartment, since this little fella was too quick for me to snap a picture of him!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
bladdy blah...
That's how I feel! I've been rather tired for about three days in a row. I've been sleeping a fair amount, though, so I'm pretty sure the tiredness is the normal end-of-the-semester wind down that I've experienced since the beginning of undergrad. When tired, of course, certain things (and people) tend to irritate me A LOT more: superfluous talking, people who stand in the middle of sidewalks and don't get out of the way, idiots who don't know what they want when they get to the counter because they're too busy blabbing about the color of their toenails.... At the moment the focus of my aggravation has been the I-don't-give-a-rip attitude of the Dominican worker. Sadly the worst offenders are the Subway workers! It's like they're doing you a huge favor. Sorry lady, you're not doing me a life-saving favor by fixing that sandwich for me, I can very easily eat somewhere else. I saw one lady insult and just being flat-out rude to the three people in line in front of me and when I said I didn't want a combo and she said "cheap" under her breath, that was it. I got my card back, took my sandwich, and said, "It's generally considered rude to insult your customers when they can hear you..." She said "I beg your pardon" in the sense that she couldn't hear me, but I had said what I wanted to say, and she was going to be too dense to try to make a point with, so I just walked out the door...I won't be patronizing Subway if she's there... Give me my sandwich and I'll leave you alone so you can go about sulking about having to work. Honestly, what else are you going to do??? There's nothing to do on this island! AHHHH, rant!!! That's not always true because there are plenty of nice people who at least pretend they want to help you. I'm going to have to chalk it up to differences in upbringing because otherwise it just makes me mad!
Today it's official, just one month until I'm back in the States, and I think it's going to go FAST. Think about it. Three tests and a final between now and then, yikes!
Today it's official, just one month until I'm back in the States, and I think it's going to go FAST. Think about it. Three tests and a final between now and then, yikes!
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