I have not posted a blog in a while, so you'll have to forgive me there. I've been busy / lazy / had things on my mind which don't easily fall form into a coherent blog (as though there were such a thing). But, I thought I should post today if for no other reason than so you'll know I'm still alive and won't come searching for the body, only to discover me in the buff playing backgammon with a robot (it could happen).
The biggest problem with being a news junkie is that the most easily accesible news, and the most reported, is also the most sensationalistic (i.e., depressing). For instance, the story of the teenage boy in Alabama who got in an argument with his brother over a girl and in retaliation decided to rape his own mother. How did that happen? Well, she was passed out drunk on the couch in the middle of the day, and when she awoke, the kid wanted to finish. Seriously, I share a planet with these people?
And then because I didn't learn my lesson after reading that, I read an article about a mother who hit her adopted son on the head with a hammer, causing trauma that took a week to kill him. And the husband never took the kid to the hospital because he didn't want to get in an argument with his wife.
But the news isn't all bad. I for one am very excited, and hopeful, about the elections next week. I'm not the kind of person who thinks things will instantly become better overnight, but I'm hopeful that a step in the right direction might help to make things better. Here's the part where I normally would tell you "no matter who you vote for, make sure you vote" but we all know that's a crock. If I had my way, everyone who was eligible to vote would, and would take it seriously enough to be informed and actually think about their decision. Sure, I'd think it would be great if everyone voted for the people I want to win, but it's also simple-minded and childish to say "I'm going to vote for whoever the guy is who isn't Republican" or "I'm going to vote for whoever is against the war". When electing someone to a position for a term of years where they will vote on any number of bills and issues and wield power and influence, it's stupid to pick the person based solely on their party affiliation or a single issue. That really bugs me. Almost as much as people who say "what election? Didn't we just have one?" That's the problem with the heavy-handed executive, that people start to forget about the other branches. Anyone who only votes for President and neglects to care about their other representation should be forced to only eat one meal each week, forgoing all others. If they survive, then they are free to continue being lazy simpletons.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 9, 2006
Is This Your Beer?
A few tiny things that annoy me on an average day.
When people pronounce the word "Alzheimer's" as though there were a "T" in it. I think it helps people remember because it's like "Old Timer's Disease", but of course, that's not what it's called. This wouldn't bother me as much, except newscasters do it all the time, and they should know better because a.) they are supposed to research these kinds of things and b.) they are reading it off of a teleprompter, so they can see it right there.
When people step onto an escalator that isn't running, and wait several seconds before realizing that it isn't moving and then start walking down/up because they are oblivious to the world around them. Most people have used an escalator enough times to be able to tell just by looking whether or not it is moving, and even if they can't they should know immediately that they are just standing still. Really, when an escalator is turned off, it magically turns into stairs, and after all this time if you don't know how to use stairs without needing to think about it, perhaps you should just stop leaving your house in the morning.
When people sit on the floor in the aisles of a Barnes & Noble, thus blocking access for both walking and for paying customers to get to the actual books. If you are spending enough time reading in Barnes & Noble that your legs can no longer support you, you're not browsing...you're stealing. Buy the damn book already, or go to a library (and don't sit on the floor).
When people leave their garbage just lying around, especially in a city where you are almost never more than ten feet from a garbage can. This applies to the people who take 20 napkins at a movie theater/starbucks/fast food restaurant and then leave the 1 dirty one and 19 slightly dirty ones on the table along with their empty cup and the gum wrappers they emptied out of their purse before leaving. It's even worse when they do it in a park. I'm sure that empty cup and snickers wrapper is weighing you down, but seriously, just carry it until you get to a garbage can. You were able to carry it while it was full, so now it should be easier since it's empty. Why should other people clean up after you, when clearly you wouldn't do it.
When politicians complain about things being politicized. Who do they think politicized it? They did. And if they weren't politicizing it, it would simply be called "governance", and Fox News isn't going to put their face on TV for that.
and finally....
When people talk about how everything changed after 9/11. And yes, the lives of the people involved and the people they knew changed. And certainly the political climate changed, and then we went and started our global rampage. What I mean is when politicians and pundits say it, implying that before 9/11 the world was a happy and peaceful place and then the day after, terrorists just appeared from thin air and we had to do something about it. In fact, there were many terrorists and many terrorist attacks before 9/11. North Korea had nuclear weapons programs (and rudimentary weapons) before 9/11. Iraq was ruled by a dictator and Iran was ruled by a hardliner all before 9/11. Afghanistan was a hotbed of terrorist activities long before 9/11. The world didn't change on 9/11, we just started paying attention to all the bad things that we'd been ignoring before 9/11.
Mind you, each of these thoughts pops up for about 2 seconds out of my day, and the rest of the time I am content to listen to my iPod, enjoy the beautiful weather, and read a good piece of fiction. It would just be extra nice if these little speed bumps didn't pop up in the middle of my great day.
When people pronounce the word "Alzheimer's" as though there were a "T" in it. I think it helps people remember because it's like "Old Timer's Disease", but of course, that's not what it's called. This wouldn't bother me as much, except newscasters do it all the time, and they should know better because a.) they are supposed to research these kinds of things and b.) they are reading it off of a teleprompter, so they can see it right there.
When people step onto an escalator that isn't running, and wait several seconds before realizing that it isn't moving and then start walking down/up because they are oblivious to the world around them. Most people have used an escalator enough times to be able to tell just by looking whether or not it is moving, and even if they can't they should know immediately that they are just standing still. Really, when an escalator is turned off, it magically turns into stairs, and after all this time if you don't know how to use stairs without needing to think about it, perhaps you should just stop leaving your house in the morning.
When people sit on the floor in the aisles of a Barnes & Noble, thus blocking access for both walking and for paying customers to get to the actual books. If you are spending enough time reading in Barnes & Noble that your legs can no longer support you, you're not browsing...you're stealing. Buy the damn book already, or go to a library (and don't sit on the floor).
When people leave their garbage just lying around, especially in a city where you are almost never more than ten feet from a garbage can. This applies to the people who take 20 napkins at a movie theater/starbucks/fast food restaurant and then leave the 1 dirty one and 19 slightly dirty ones on the table along with their empty cup and the gum wrappers they emptied out of their purse before leaving. It's even worse when they do it in a park. I'm sure that empty cup and snickers wrapper is weighing you down, but seriously, just carry it until you get to a garbage can. You were able to carry it while it was full, so now it should be easier since it's empty. Why should other people clean up after you, when clearly you wouldn't do it.
When politicians complain about things being politicized. Who do they think politicized it? They did. And if they weren't politicizing it, it would simply be called "governance", and Fox News isn't going to put their face on TV for that.
and finally....
When people talk about how everything changed after 9/11. And yes, the lives of the people involved and the people they knew changed. And certainly the political climate changed, and then we went and started our global rampage. What I mean is when politicians and pundits say it, implying that before 9/11 the world was a happy and peaceful place and then the day after, terrorists just appeared from thin air and we had to do something about it. In fact, there were many terrorists and many terrorist attacks before 9/11. North Korea had nuclear weapons programs (and rudimentary weapons) before 9/11. Iraq was ruled by a dictator and Iran was ruled by a hardliner all before 9/11. Afghanistan was a hotbed of terrorist activities long before 9/11. The world didn't change on 9/11, we just started paying attention to all the bad things that we'd been ignoring before 9/11.
Mind you, each of these thoughts pops up for about 2 seconds out of my day, and the rest of the time I am content to listen to my iPod, enjoy the beautiful weather, and read a good piece of fiction. It would just be extra nice if these little speed bumps didn't pop up in the middle of my great day.
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