A Gallop poll released this month of nearly 150,000 people around the
world says seven of the world's 10 countries with the most upbeat
attitudes are in Latin America. can you believe it? Latin America! There
is higher positive emotionality in these countries that in the wealthy
ones or extremely poor. Apparently humans need not be kings or queens to
find happiness. To find out happiness level, Gallup asked about 1,000
people in each of 148 countries last year if they were well rested, had
been treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did
something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment the previous day.
Contentment with one's economic condition was not factored into the
survey.
Here is the list of most happy and most sad with the percentage of respondents who said they were happiest or saddest:
MOST POSITIVE TOP TEN
1. PANAMA and PARAGUAY- 85%
3. EL SALVADOR- 84%
4. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO- 83%
6. THAILAND and GUATEMALA- 82%
8. PHILIPPINES- 82%
9 ECUADOR and COSTA RICA- 81%
LEAST POSITIVE TOP NINE
1. SINGAPORE- Only 46% said they were happy
2. ARMENIA- 49%
3. IRAQ- 50%
4. GEORGIA, SERBIA and YEMEN- 52%
7. BELARUS- 53%
8. LITHUANIA and MADAGASCAR- 54%
One
common characteristic about these happy countries is they have a
culture that focuses on positives such as friends, family and religion,
this despite daily lives that can be difficult. Feeling unhappy is part
of the national mentality, probably because their is not the obsession
with gaining economically as in the less happy ones. Or perhaps they
just think they are happier, because happy and sad are highly subjective
states.
The wealthiest nation in the world, the United States,
answered 34th. And the most of the more developed nations and poorest
countries tended to be in the middle to bottom of the ranking. It's a
highly subjective poll/fun poll but seems to agree with the old adage
that says that, "Money can't buy happiness."
Friday, December 28, 2012
After Christmas, Artificial New Year's Eve
Another Christmas is over. I find it kind of sad when Christmas ends.
It's a genuine celebration in which people try to be kinder and more
gentle toward others. That's probably why we westerners don't care as
much for the New Year's Eve routine as do Asians, Mid easterners, and
Africans. New Year's Eve is anti climactic for many of us, a
disappointing almost phony day to "change the calendar". Does anyone
really think that the arbitrary "New Year" day is different from the
last day of the previous calendar year? Why that diapered Baby New Year
symbol looks more ridiculous and less possible than even the images of
Santa.
As an adult I never did celebrate New Year's Eve. It's too many people trying too hard to have fun about an event they know is not real, but that has been created by advertisers and commercial businesses. It's bad enough that the drunks are encouraged to drink until they can't see anymore (all the while driving their automobiles and killing the sober people who happened to be in their a way), but the amateur drinkers come out to cause even more damage to society. Nothing is worse and more unpleasant than a non drinker on New Year's Eve who thinks he or she has to drink alcohol to the point of inebriation. Someone should spike their whiskey with milk.
My only good remembrances of New Year's holiday was those that happened when I was a child. We used to shoot fireworks all week and on New Year's Eve night. We weren't celebrating, we were blowing things up with our heavy duty fireworks and having a lot of fun doing do. Once as an 11 year old, a handful of bottle rockets ignited while I held them in my hand (a "punk", the tall sticks we used to light our firecrackers that I held in my other hand somehow touched the ignition on one of the rockets and set them all off). I merely ran inside, treated the burns and within an hour was shooting them again.
New Year's was nothing more for we kids than a time to shoot fireworks. Today's kids don't have the opportunity to shoot them as we did because the grown-ups have banned them in many places in the U.S., on the grounds that they are too dangerous. Ironic, huh? The same grownups who drink themselves sick and who kill and main so many others with their vehicles New Year's Eve because of it, have decided to legislate fireworks and not their much more dangerous alcohol.
So this New Year's Eve I will stay at home, away from that celebration without a cause and the carnage that follows. May your 2013 be a safe and happy one beginning New Year's Day.
As an adult I never did celebrate New Year's Eve. It's too many people trying too hard to have fun about an event they know is not real, but that has been created by advertisers and commercial businesses. It's bad enough that the drunks are encouraged to drink until they can't see anymore (all the while driving their automobiles and killing the sober people who happened to be in their a way), but the amateur drinkers come out to cause even more damage to society. Nothing is worse and more unpleasant than a non drinker on New Year's Eve who thinks he or she has to drink alcohol to the point of inebriation. Someone should spike their whiskey with milk.
My only good remembrances of New Year's holiday was those that happened when I was a child. We used to shoot fireworks all week and on New Year's Eve night. We weren't celebrating, we were blowing things up with our heavy duty fireworks and having a lot of fun doing do. Once as an 11 year old, a handful of bottle rockets ignited while I held them in my hand (a "punk", the tall sticks we used to light our firecrackers that I held in my other hand somehow touched the ignition on one of the rockets and set them all off). I merely ran inside, treated the burns and within an hour was shooting them again.
New Year's was nothing more for we kids than a time to shoot fireworks. Today's kids don't have the opportunity to shoot them as we did because the grown-ups have banned them in many places in the U.S., on the grounds that they are too dangerous. Ironic, huh? The same grownups who drink themselves sick and who kill and main so many others with their vehicles New Year's Eve because of it, have decided to legislate fireworks and not their much more dangerous alcohol.
So this New Year's Eve I will stay at home, away from that celebration without a cause and the carnage that follows. May your 2013 be a safe and happy one beginning New Year's Day.
Monday, December 24, 2012
What Kids Say To Santa Then and Now
I was thinking today about Santa Claus. No, not about asking
some fat, sweaty guy for material goods. I was instead thinking about
those mall Santa's, wondering what the kids who sit on their laps at
Christmas time ask him to bring for Christmas. After all, I am as old as
Santa, have an increasingly large waist, once played Santa in a
background shot of a TV movie, and I the white beard of a Santa. No need
to attach a fake beard on me!
But I wouldn't want to be a full time Santa. I think after an hour or so of runny nose brats coughing in Santa's face, peeing on his best red suit and questioning if he is "real" or not, I would have enough of that gig. My curiosity is as to what those kids ask Santa to bring them and about what they say to him when they sit on his lap. Given that many past Santa's have written books those thoughts in past years and we have those comments on file, I wonder if kids today ask and speak to Santa in much the same way as they did when you and I were the children pooing on Santa's red suit. Can we tell anything about both kids today and about society as a whole by comparing Santa talk now to earlier generations? Hmmm That might make a great psychology thesis for some fat white bearded, grad student.
Since I am not going to subject myself to being a mall Santa to find out the answer, I have to do what I do best, escape reality and imagine the answer to those questions. I'm guessing that today's kids are not only more spoiled and badly behaved but also allot harder to love. He are some things they used to tell Santa in ...say 1955 followed by what they probably say to Santa in 2012.
Then- On greeting Santa and sitting on his lap, "I love you Santa."
Now- "What's up Fatso"!
Then- " Santa anything you can give to my little brother would be wonderful. He is such a good boy.
Now- " Listen you piece of lard, if you give me clothes again this year I'll tell the police that you molested me.
Then- "I would love a candy cane, Santa."
Now- "You probably eat all the candy anyway, forget candy in the stocking this year. You really should lose some of that blubber, Fat man"
Then- "I will leave milk and cookies for you under the tree, Santa"
Now- "I scored some mary jane last week from a dealer. I'll leave you a few joints to help you digest all those stale cookies those kids leave."
Then- " Nothing for me, Dear Santa. I only want you to make mommy and daddy happy."
Now- " My parents are cheap misers. Give it to me all this year...in cash!
Then- "Santa, grandma is so sick that she lives with us. Please help make her well.
Now- " My creepy grandma moved in with us, smells and coughs all day. They claim she is sick. Just get rid of her and my life will be normal again."
Then- "I don't need any toys this year, just more love and happiness for the world."
Now- "This is just a preliminary list, blimp stomach. I will e mail you the rest later!"
On second thought, forget this crazy Santa idea of mine. Ho Ho Ho
But I wouldn't want to be a full time Santa. I think after an hour or so of runny nose brats coughing in Santa's face, peeing on his best red suit and questioning if he is "real" or not, I would have enough of that gig. My curiosity is as to what those kids ask Santa to bring them and about what they say to him when they sit on his lap. Given that many past Santa's have written books those thoughts in past years and we have those comments on file, I wonder if kids today ask and speak to Santa in much the same way as they did when you and I were the children pooing on Santa's red suit. Can we tell anything about both kids today and about society as a whole by comparing Santa talk now to earlier generations? Hmmm That might make a great psychology thesis for some fat white bearded, grad student.
Since I am not going to subject myself to being a mall Santa to find out the answer, I have to do what I do best, escape reality and imagine the answer to those questions. I'm guessing that today's kids are not only more spoiled and badly behaved but also allot harder to love. He are some things they used to tell Santa in ...say 1955 followed by what they probably say to Santa in 2012.
Then- On greeting Santa and sitting on his lap, "I love you Santa."
Now- "What's up Fatso"!
Then- " Santa anything you can give to my little brother would be wonderful. He is such a good boy.
Now- " Listen you piece of lard, if you give me clothes again this year I'll tell the police that you molested me.
Then- "I would love a candy cane, Santa."
Now- "You probably eat all the candy anyway, forget candy in the stocking this year. You really should lose some of that blubber, Fat man"
Then- "I will leave milk and cookies for you under the tree, Santa"
Now- "I scored some mary jane last week from a dealer. I'll leave you a few joints to help you digest all those stale cookies those kids leave."
Then- " Nothing for me, Dear Santa. I only want you to make mommy and daddy happy."
Now- " My parents are cheap misers. Give it to me all this year...in cash!
Then- "Santa, grandma is so sick that she lives with us. Please help make her well.
Now- " My creepy grandma moved in with us, smells and coughs all day. They claim she is sick. Just get rid of her and my life will be normal again."
Then- "I don't need any toys this year, just more love and happiness for the world."
Now- "This is just a preliminary list, blimp stomach. I will e mail you the rest later!"
On second thought, forget this crazy Santa idea of mine. Ho Ho Ho
Those Doom Predictions
The ancient Mayan calendar (combined with a dash of New Age mysticism
and people stoned on their favorite drugs) allegedly recently predicted
that on December 12, 2012 the world would end. Unless I am typing this
in a dream state (for you anything you read from me is probably better
termed a "nightmare"), I think those nuts who believe in ancient
prophesies can come out of their caves now. Seems to me our universe is
still intact.
It's curious how many humans believe in such garbage...that Nostradamus left "predictions" for modern humans, than The Mayan Indians were fortune tellers and on and on. There are more crazy doom sources than one can list and a whole group of morons who believe in them. We used to laugh at the guy with the, "The World Will End Tomorrow" sign. Now we debate whether the prediction will come true. I wonder how much of the acceptance of the silly is due to lack of education and how much with simple disillusionment with the world in which we live. Too, the Internet and the free flow of "information" puts every crazy theory on an equal plane with those based on the scientific method. If you have a wacky idea you can find someone who agrees with you on some web site.
But what are some serious things that science says that could suddenly end the world or cause a catastrophic calamity? How about these.
* A new plague- The bubonic plagues of the past have ravaged the world. Now scientists say a newer stronger plague, probably starting in one of the overcrowded impoverished areas of an under developed nation is a possibility. Hmmm If there is a plague I bet there will be almost as many movies made about it as people who die from it.
* Solar flares- While NASA says that there is no real danger from this year's possible solar flare-ups, others believe that the solar storm could completely disable the world's satellites and electronics. Just think how many cell phone nuts couldn't bear life without their annoying phones after a solar storm....could lead to mass suicide among the cell nuts. Well, this proves that there is some good among disaster.
* The Rapture- Just like the Mayan predictions, this one has been a dud, failing to come to fruition several times already. The Rapture (The Second Coming of Christ that will occur in stages) is another of the biblical predictions that organized religion likes to throw out to remind us to listen to every non sequitor they dish out.
* World economic market crash- This would be the final crash that breaks the world's back and throws us back into the dark ages. I thought were were already having that?
* Nuclear war- Now that Lil Kim of North Korea is dead and gone, his little progeny Lil Kim II seems just as crazy as daddy. Maybe II will decide to have fun with his new technology and start firing away. Fortunately, Arnold Swarzenagger and Sylvester Stallon, older but ready to rescue us, will probably disable Lil Kim II before he can fire.
* Super volcanoes- The eruption of this or any super volcano could cause another ice age. But this would disappoint the global warming nuts since they have already promised we are all going to die soon from man made warmth.
* Waking up- Are we all just dreaming now and will we awaken to find out we weren't really in our man made world of Reality TV, cell phone mania, and mass ignorance? I hope so!
* Alien attacks- Scientists are discovering more and more evidence of life on other planets. While the current examples are closer to single celled amoebas than blaster wielding lizards from those terrible science fiction films of Hollywood, there is no telling when our celestial neighbors will pay us a visit. If we are lucky they will visit Snookie first and learn there is no intelligent life on earth and that it isn't worth zapping us after all.
* Asteroid collision- The last time the earth was hit by an asteroid it destroyed the dinosaurs and Russian scientists have determined that a giant asteroid called Apophis will likely collide with the earth on April 13, 2036. But then...who trusts the Russians to be capable of getting anything right.
Are you sufficiently worried now? I don't know about you but I'm gonna get me a crash helmet and hunker down.
It's curious how many humans believe in such garbage...that Nostradamus left "predictions" for modern humans, than The Mayan Indians were fortune tellers and on and on. There are more crazy doom sources than one can list and a whole group of morons who believe in them. We used to laugh at the guy with the, "The World Will End Tomorrow" sign. Now we debate whether the prediction will come true. I wonder how much of the acceptance of the silly is due to lack of education and how much with simple disillusionment with the world in which we live. Too, the Internet and the free flow of "information" puts every crazy theory on an equal plane with those based on the scientific method. If you have a wacky idea you can find someone who agrees with you on some web site.
But what are some serious things that science says that could suddenly end the world or cause a catastrophic calamity? How about these.
* A new plague- The bubonic plagues of the past have ravaged the world. Now scientists say a newer stronger plague, probably starting in one of the overcrowded impoverished areas of an under developed nation is a possibility. Hmmm If there is a plague I bet there will be almost as many movies made about it as people who die from it.
* Solar flares- While NASA says that there is no real danger from this year's possible solar flare-ups, others believe that the solar storm could completely disable the world's satellites and electronics. Just think how many cell phone nuts couldn't bear life without their annoying phones after a solar storm....could lead to mass suicide among the cell nuts. Well, this proves that there is some good among disaster.
* The Rapture- Just like the Mayan predictions, this one has been a dud, failing to come to fruition several times already. The Rapture (The Second Coming of Christ that will occur in stages) is another of the biblical predictions that organized religion likes to throw out to remind us to listen to every non sequitor they dish out.
* World economic market crash- This would be the final crash that breaks the world's back and throws us back into the dark ages. I thought were were already having that?
* Nuclear war- Now that Lil Kim of North Korea is dead and gone, his little progeny Lil Kim II seems just as crazy as daddy. Maybe II will decide to have fun with his new technology and start firing away. Fortunately, Arnold Swarzenagger and Sylvester Stallon, older but ready to rescue us, will probably disable Lil Kim II before he can fire.
* Super volcanoes- The eruption of this or any super volcano could cause another ice age. But this would disappoint the global warming nuts since they have already promised we are all going to die soon from man made warmth.
* Waking up- Are we all just dreaming now and will we awaken to find out we weren't really in our man made world of Reality TV, cell phone mania, and mass ignorance? I hope so!
* Alien attacks- Scientists are discovering more and more evidence of life on other planets. While the current examples are closer to single celled amoebas than blaster wielding lizards from those terrible science fiction films of Hollywood, there is no telling when our celestial neighbors will pay us a visit. If we are lucky they will visit Snookie first and learn there is no intelligent life on earth and that it isn't worth zapping us after all.
* Asteroid collision- The last time the earth was hit by an asteroid it destroyed the dinosaurs and Russian scientists have determined that a giant asteroid called Apophis will likely collide with the earth on April 13, 2036. But then...who trusts the Russians to be capable of getting anything right.
Are you sufficiently worried now? I don't know about you but I'm gonna get me a crash helmet and hunker down.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Have A Merry KFC Christmas
While munching on my traditional gingerbread snap cookies I
learned about another Christmas tradition in, of all places, Japan. It's
uh, weird, I think. Anyway, the western cultural contamination of Asia
is a thorough one as can be seen by Asian, fashion, music, food ...just
about everything. But leave it to the non Christian nation of Japan to
invent their own version of the Christian holiday tradition.
And what is the biggest Christian tradition in Japan? It's the Japanese version of Christmas dinner......to make reservations to get a table at KFC. Yes, the traditional Christmas meal is a bucket of chicken and fixens at KFC. It is so popular and well marketed that reservations may have to be made to eat at a KFC on Christmas in Japan. Wow! How did Mc Donald's miss out on that tradition? Well, I guess nothing says Christmas better than a decorated tree or a visit from Santa that a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
KFC started its first Christmas meal in 1974, one featuring fried chicken, and wine for a high price at the time of about $10. This KFC meal was introduced around the time that people in Japan began celebrating a Christmas holiday with specially decorated Christmas cakes, but, well, they didn't have a Christmas meal. KFC outsmarted the other American fast food restaurants that the Japanese liked and filled that void. KFC says these days their business in Japan jumps tenfold on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the chain starts making Christmas KFC restaurant meals reservations in early October.
But alas! KFC has some Chicken Christmas dinner meal competition now. Convenience stores in Japan now sell fried chicken year round, while more upscale restaurants offer their own Christmas dinners to attract couples looking for a romantic night out. Wow! I hope those romances don't end Christmas night over a fight about whether the man gets to eat the breast! Uh, that's chicken breast. Anyway, KFC’s has countered those other Christmas chicken meal impostors with a Christmas party barrel for two.
All of this begs more questions about Christmas in Japan.. First, do the kids leave KFC for Santa when he drops by with presents Christmas day? How ridiculous does Colonel Sanders look dressed in his Santa outfit? Is fired rice an option with that KFC chicken meal? Should I add "going to Japan at Christmas and eating a KFC Chicken Christmas meal" to my bucket list. And, have those gingerbread snaps make me hallucinate and create this crazy KFC chicken meal story?
Congratulations and Merry Christmas to everyone in Japan. Santa KFC is bringing you Type 2 diabetes for Christmas.
And what is the biggest Christian tradition in Japan? It's the Japanese version of Christmas dinner......to make reservations to get a table at KFC. Yes, the traditional Christmas meal is a bucket of chicken and fixens at KFC. It is so popular and well marketed that reservations may have to be made to eat at a KFC on Christmas in Japan. Wow! How did Mc Donald's miss out on that tradition? Well, I guess nothing says Christmas better than a decorated tree or a visit from Santa that a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
KFC started its first Christmas meal in 1974, one featuring fried chicken, and wine for a high price at the time of about $10. This KFC meal was introduced around the time that people in Japan began celebrating a Christmas holiday with specially decorated Christmas cakes, but, well, they didn't have a Christmas meal. KFC outsmarted the other American fast food restaurants that the Japanese liked and filled that void. KFC says these days their business in Japan jumps tenfold on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the chain starts making Christmas KFC restaurant meals reservations in early October.
But alas! KFC has some Chicken Christmas dinner meal competition now. Convenience stores in Japan now sell fried chicken year round, while more upscale restaurants offer their own Christmas dinners to attract couples looking for a romantic night out. Wow! I hope those romances don't end Christmas night over a fight about whether the man gets to eat the breast! Uh, that's chicken breast. Anyway, KFC’s has countered those other Christmas chicken meal impostors with a Christmas party barrel for two.
All of this begs more questions about Christmas in Japan.. First, do the kids leave KFC for Santa when he drops by with presents Christmas day? How ridiculous does Colonel Sanders look dressed in his Santa outfit? Is fired rice an option with that KFC chicken meal? Should I add "going to Japan at Christmas and eating a KFC Chicken Christmas meal" to my bucket list. And, have those gingerbread snaps make me hallucinate and create this crazy KFC chicken meal story?
Congratulations and Merry Christmas to everyone in Japan. Santa KFC is bringing you Type 2 diabetes for Christmas.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
At Christmas Time We Reflect......Sort Of
The Christmas season is the time when we tend to think about
things we don't usually examine in much depth during the rest of the
year. Why we even make "new year resolutions" after Christmas in
response to all the ugly things about our lives we have examined during
the Christmas holidays. Of course we rarely keep those resolutions and
tend to forget all the subjects we examined at Christmas, just as soon
as the season is over. I guess that makes all the reflection we undergo
at Christmas more a moment of madness than a self realization.
But it's hard to avoid the maudlin sentimentality and "joy" we feel at Christmas time. Even Christmas music can shift from the happy, feel good jingles to the sad laments people experience during the holidays. And the nostalgia aspect of Christmas, a huge part of the holiday, is filled with our memories of our childhood or a past Christmas day that we fruitlessly try to duplicate or top each year but never do. Is there any other time of the year when we more miss lost love ones than at Christmas time? That's why Christmas can also make us fell frustrated. How ironic that a holiday that makes us feel so good also makes us feel like the bottom of a shoe.
This must explain the attitudes of the Christmas haters out there. I try to avid them but they seem more passionate about their hate for than I am about my love for the holiday. They don't want any part of Christmas because they experience too much that makes them uncomfortable at Christmas time. Perhaps their nature makes them not capable of the largely artificial (but healthy) joy we pretend to have at Christmas time. I feel sorry they can't pretend like we can.
Yes, Christmas is a mixed bag, but a bag we mostly long for because the pain it can bring isn't quite as bad as the joy of the holiday. It's one of the few times when we can honestly examine ourselves and evaluate our lives as they relate to those around us. And most of us do. But given our human condition and tendency of humans to not want to face their demons and frustration every day of their lives, the reflection, examination and change we want that are born from Christmas is mostly thrown out the window as soon as the holiday season is over because we realize it's not possible to spread good tidings ever day of the year.
Can you ever remember a serious holiday resolution you kept for an entire year? Uh, maybe even for an entire month? Probably not! But that's ok. Being human just engaging in the process of reflection seems to be enough for us. The "I tried to change and do better but could not" is a mantra we all feel comfortable with because, well, maybe it isn't normal for a person to change so easily and to be so good.
Maybe the ideals of Christmas are not to be striven for every day. Perhaps we love Christmas because it just makes us feel a little more connected to the past, present and future.... but only at Christmas time. It lets us put our toe in the water and not the whole body. Otherwise we might just ruin that Christmas stocking we wear. May you have a (somewhat) reflective Christmas holiday this year.
But it's hard to avoid the maudlin sentimentality and "joy" we feel at Christmas time. Even Christmas music can shift from the happy, feel good jingles to the sad laments people experience during the holidays. And the nostalgia aspect of Christmas, a huge part of the holiday, is filled with our memories of our childhood or a past Christmas day that we fruitlessly try to duplicate or top each year but never do. Is there any other time of the year when we more miss lost love ones than at Christmas time? That's why Christmas can also make us fell frustrated. How ironic that a holiday that makes us feel so good also makes us feel like the bottom of a shoe.
This must explain the attitudes of the Christmas haters out there. I try to avid them but they seem more passionate about their hate for than I am about my love for the holiday. They don't want any part of Christmas because they experience too much that makes them uncomfortable at Christmas time. Perhaps their nature makes them not capable of the largely artificial (but healthy) joy we pretend to have at Christmas time. I feel sorry they can't pretend like we can.
Yes, Christmas is a mixed bag, but a bag we mostly long for because the pain it can bring isn't quite as bad as the joy of the holiday. It's one of the few times when we can honestly examine ourselves and evaluate our lives as they relate to those around us. And most of us do. But given our human condition and tendency of humans to not want to face their demons and frustration every day of their lives, the reflection, examination and change we want that are born from Christmas is mostly thrown out the window as soon as the holiday season is over because we realize it's not possible to spread good tidings ever day of the year.
Can you ever remember a serious holiday resolution you kept for an entire year? Uh, maybe even for an entire month? Probably not! But that's ok. Being human just engaging in the process of reflection seems to be enough for us. The "I tried to change and do better but could not" is a mantra we all feel comfortable with because, well, maybe it isn't normal for a person to change so easily and to be so good.
Maybe the ideals of Christmas are not to be striven for every day. Perhaps we love Christmas because it just makes us feel a little more connected to the past, present and future.... but only at Christmas time. It lets us put our toe in the water and not the whole body. Otherwise we might just ruin that Christmas stocking we wear. May you have a (somewhat) reflective Christmas holiday this year.
Connecticut School Massacre
For what they are worth I have some remarks about the slaughter of 20
first graders on December 13th. That stunning mass murder of "babies"
in a Connecticut school has everyone wondering "why"? The shooting was
terrible, but murderous attacks on school children is not just a problem
in the U.S. this year. Just this week a Chinese farmer took a kitchen
knife and hacked at more than 20 children as they entered their rural
elementary school. China has seen more than a half dozen school attacks
in less than three years, all of the attacks with knives since guns are
banned there.
Shootings at schools have periodically occurred in Finland and Germany. And remember the 16 kindergartners and a teacher at an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996 that were murdered by a gunman? Too in the Mid east, the Taliban often enters schools and mutilates or kills teachers and students. Killing and harming children, what used to be a non acceptable event even among the mentally disturbed, is no longer so. The disturbingly more frequent rampages against children and schools is distressing. The crazed or angry attackers often seek out the vulnerable (which includes our lightly protected children), hoping to amplify their outrage before they themselves often commit suicide. And the media spreads the idea with each killing. This may inspire other potential mass killers to imitate.
In previous generations children were seen to be special and out of bounds to this kind of violence, even among the mentally unstable or the enraged. Society had a common culture and morality that implanted that idea. Today, there is no such commonality. The many subcultures created by the new communication technologies are erasing that and are allowing people to define their own individual or sub culture morality as the "right" one. That "right perspective" is often contrary to what is in the best interest of the culture as a whole and can turn murderous.
Disaffected people who are angry at the world are no longer as restrained by the strong singular culture that existed before but is weakened now. The murderers kill as many people as they can because they see some element of notoriety and "connection" in it. If they can't fit into the now weaker common culture they make it take notice by acting out in the most horrific way imaginable against it....as in the killing of the children the culture. Attacks against schools are easy targets for taking down large numbers of victims.
These school kid killings seem to be an expression of a kind of extended suicide. The angry or crazed attackers believe the society into which they must live but do not fit, is malicious or unsafe, and this the killer wants others to die with them. As the media reports each child killing more vividly those kinds of shootings increase in frequency and becoming deadlier. In addition, each killing leaves a blueprint for others to follow. Removing the weapons themselves is not possible, as there are too many weapons and too many people to control to do that. Even guessing at which person might be the next as cool killer is an unlikely attempt. But most experts involved in such things say that providing better access to mental health services and restricting the availability of firearms are key to reducing (but not stopping) the number of children from becoming the next victims.
I think the current social environment, the one which emphasizes having many virtual electronic connections instead of a few real non electronic connections, is one factor behind this wave of attacks on kids. The isolation aspect of the technology tends to further estrange the lost soul and invite it to be found again via the horrific act (as in the Connecticut school incident). A person who chooses extreme acts to voice his or her grievances usually believes that his or her cases were unable to be handled fairly in the traditional way.
It's a problem we have to deal with if we want to avoid finding another classroom full of dead babies
Shootings at schools have periodically occurred in Finland and Germany. And remember the 16 kindergartners and a teacher at an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996 that were murdered by a gunman? Too in the Mid east, the Taliban often enters schools and mutilates or kills teachers and students. Killing and harming children, what used to be a non acceptable event even among the mentally disturbed, is no longer so. The disturbingly more frequent rampages against children and schools is distressing. The crazed or angry attackers often seek out the vulnerable (which includes our lightly protected children), hoping to amplify their outrage before they themselves often commit suicide. And the media spreads the idea with each killing. This may inspire other potential mass killers to imitate.
In previous generations children were seen to be special and out of bounds to this kind of violence, even among the mentally unstable or the enraged. Society had a common culture and morality that implanted that idea. Today, there is no such commonality. The many subcultures created by the new communication technologies are erasing that and are allowing people to define their own individual or sub culture morality as the "right" one. That "right perspective" is often contrary to what is in the best interest of the culture as a whole and can turn murderous.
Disaffected people who are angry at the world are no longer as restrained by the strong singular culture that existed before but is weakened now. The murderers kill as many people as they can because they see some element of notoriety and "connection" in it. If they can't fit into the now weaker common culture they make it take notice by acting out in the most horrific way imaginable against it....as in the killing of the children the culture. Attacks against schools are easy targets for taking down large numbers of victims.
These school kid killings seem to be an expression of a kind of extended suicide. The angry or crazed attackers believe the society into which they must live but do not fit, is malicious or unsafe, and this the killer wants others to die with them. As the media reports each child killing more vividly those kinds of shootings increase in frequency and becoming deadlier. In addition, each killing leaves a blueprint for others to follow. Removing the weapons themselves is not possible, as there are too many weapons and too many people to control to do that. Even guessing at which person might be the next as cool killer is an unlikely attempt. But most experts involved in such things say that providing better access to mental health services and restricting the availability of firearms are key to reducing (but not stopping) the number of children from becoming the next victims.
I think the current social environment, the one which emphasizes having many virtual electronic connections instead of a few real non electronic connections, is one factor behind this wave of attacks on kids. The isolation aspect of the technology tends to further estrange the lost soul and invite it to be found again via the horrific act (as in the Connecticut school incident). A person who chooses extreme acts to voice his or her grievances usually believes that his or her cases were unable to be handled fairly in the traditional way.
It's a problem we have to deal with if we want to avoid finding another classroom full of dead babies
The Greening Of Christmas
The environmental excess in Portland of the everything must be
"green" is pushing my buttons again. Even at Christmas time the green
nuts are pushing us to be "environmentally responsible". But what is
that? In this city that bans plastic bags, builds more bike paths than
roads and worships anything organic I think I am becoming a Grinch
toward their green Christmas policy. The ultimate green gifts are
entirely free of fossil fuels, BPA, PCBs, arsenic, Red Dye No. 3,
fluoride, Styrofoam, shipping peanuts and batteries. These gifts are
also not much fun, but since when is going green and celebrating the
holidays supposed to be fun?
Oddly though, most of the green people who confuse me are a little confused themselves. about the most basic of all green Christmas symbols- the Christmas Tree. The green nuts can't agree on what is the mandatory Portland Christmas tree, the artificial version or the real one. This state is the leading Christmas tree growing region in the entire world. Many people here decorate one in their homes them at Christmas time but many of the greeners say that cutting down Christmas trees "causes climate change" The other green nut faction says, no to the artificial version because the manufacture and disposal pollute the environment and help...yes...you know the routine...... they "cause climate change". They haven't come out and said it, but this divisive view probably means they would like Portlanders to forget about Christmas trees and light candles (environmentally approved, of course) instead.
Maybe I should skip Christmas and celebrate the Muslim EId-Al-Adra or the Jewish Hanukkah. Nutty environmentalists never mess with those two religions. Nah, I'll just keep a low profile and celebrate my usual non green way. But I do have some "green gift suggestions for those environmentally obsessed Christmas fans. How about these five for starters.
Sticks- There are sticks, and then there are green sticks. Give your loved one a true green stick for Christmas. You''ll find lying in native grasses where free range chickens and cows mingle all the livelong day. The ground on which the green stick lay must never have rested on any chemical fertilizer.
Mother Earth- God old dirt is about as environmentally desired as anything. It has many useful functions besides supporting out foot steps....as a pie ingredient in our famous "mud pies" of childhood, as tree fort mortar, in finger-painting and for throwing at enemies ("there's mud in your eye!").
Water- A jug of water given on Christmas may make the environmentally conscious greener seem cheap, but is anything more important to man than water? The gift recipient can bathe in it, drink it, cook with it. Beware, if you give the gift of water the recipient may drown you.
Air- If people were dumb enough to believe in air guitars, they should be deluded enough to appreciate the fresh air you give at Christmas. This means, no smoking, talking politics with it at the Christmas dinner table and no farting.
Frogs- They're green and cute. Also they carry those "natural" viruses and bacteria that will give the kid recipient plenty of time sitting on the toilet and flushing that water present you gave.
I hope you also practice the Portland Green Christmas tradition this year. But if you do, please NO green presents for me.
Oddly though, most of the green people who confuse me are a little confused themselves. about the most basic of all green Christmas symbols- the Christmas Tree. The green nuts can't agree on what is the mandatory Portland Christmas tree, the artificial version or the real one. This state is the leading Christmas tree growing region in the entire world. Many people here decorate one in their homes them at Christmas time but many of the greeners say that cutting down Christmas trees "causes climate change" The other green nut faction says, no to the artificial version because the manufacture and disposal pollute the environment and help...yes...you know the routine...... they "cause climate change". They haven't come out and said it, but this divisive view probably means they would like Portlanders to forget about Christmas trees and light candles (environmentally approved, of course) instead.
Maybe I should skip Christmas and celebrate the Muslim EId-Al-Adra or the Jewish Hanukkah. Nutty environmentalists never mess with those two religions. Nah, I'll just keep a low profile and celebrate my usual non green way. But I do have some "green gift suggestions for those environmentally obsessed Christmas fans. How about these five for starters.
Sticks- There are sticks, and then there are green sticks. Give your loved one a true green stick for Christmas. You''ll find lying in native grasses where free range chickens and cows mingle all the livelong day. The ground on which the green stick lay must never have rested on any chemical fertilizer.
Mother Earth- God old dirt is about as environmentally desired as anything. It has many useful functions besides supporting out foot steps....as a pie ingredient in our famous "mud pies" of childhood, as tree fort mortar, in finger-painting and for throwing at enemies ("there's mud in your eye!").
Water- A jug of water given on Christmas may make the environmentally conscious greener seem cheap, but is anything more important to man than water? The gift recipient can bathe in it, drink it, cook with it. Beware, if you give the gift of water the recipient may drown you.
Air- If people were dumb enough to believe in air guitars, they should be deluded enough to appreciate the fresh air you give at Christmas. This means, no smoking, talking politics with it at the Christmas dinner table and no farting.
Frogs- They're green and cute. Also they carry those "natural" viruses and bacteria that will give the kid recipient plenty of time sitting on the toilet and flushing that water present you gave.
I hope you also practice the Portland Green Christmas tradition this year. But if you do, please NO green presents for me.
Fat Check
As a people are we too sensitive today? In the United States I
think the answer is, YES. Too many citizens here fell that having their
feelings hurt equals a violation of their rights. Some here attempt to
sue because of hurt feelings, as in the case of three the "fat girls" of
California. Christina Huerta, Isabel Robles and Christine Duran say
they were cruelly picked on about their weight after enjoying a quick
bite during a (fat) girls night out. It seems their check at "Chilly
D's" restaurant located at a Cameo Club Casino in California was brought
with the waiter's designation 'Fat Girls". He stupidly typed it on the
check to help remember to whom hand the check.
Here is a more detailed explanation
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2012/12/12/1764009/
Well, as you can see they are fat......very fat. There is not a thing wrong with being fat, and one would think that three heavyweights like those would not be traumatized by the bad mannered waiter. I am sure it isn't the first time a rude person mentioned their weight. The girls were initially offered only 25% percent off on their meal by the eatery's manager, but ended up with a comped meal after a dispute. So they got to eat free and got an apology. But the three are not happy and are considering suing over "hurt feelings"? My goodness, if we sued every instance when our feelings were hurt we would spend 24 hours a day in court. Too, our speech might be dramatically shortened and guarded, for hurt feelings from speech is as common as blue skies and laughter. It seems to me those three should understand that if they don't want to be called fat, then they might take a more logical position and lose weight to stop the few people who are awkward enough to say it. It was indeed rude of the waiter to write that on the check, and he has been suspended by the restaurant for doing it. That's enough punishment for labeling them what they are..... fat. But the three fat women say that no number of apologies will erase the "difficult memory" of reading "Fat Girls" on the check. "They can't ever change it," Robles said. "This is something that we got to live with – all three of us."
My oh my.....how easily they seem to be traumatized. Hmmmmmmmmmmm My doctor told me recently that I was getting too fat. "You need to lose weight, she said". I agreed with her and can't imagine suing her or anyone for pointing out the obvious. If those three fat girls wanted to join the military they would be told, "No. You are too fat." They also wouldn't be allowed to work at Hooters, to be horse jockeys, to be the top girl on the cheer leading pyramid and on and on. Being fat is not a negative, and a fat person should expect that he or she might be singled out because of his or her fat condition. It was thoughtless by the waiter.
Being fat doesn't carry a negative connotation about the worth of a person. It is just a condition of varied reasons of excess weight some carry. Yes, the waiter was unkind and thoughtless. But that's it. We all have flaws in appearance, character, intellect etc. It should not be shocking if clue less, unkind people point them out. Being human requires we understand that. The waiter didn't cause any real injury to the three nor say anything untrue, and if those three sue the restaurant I think they have a "fat chance" of only embarrassing themselves.
Here is a more detailed explanation
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2012/12/12/1764009/
Well, as you can see they are fat......very fat. There is not a thing wrong with being fat, and one would think that three heavyweights like those would not be traumatized by the bad mannered waiter. I am sure it isn't the first time a rude person mentioned their weight. The girls were initially offered only 25% percent off on their meal by the eatery's manager, but ended up with a comped meal after a dispute. So they got to eat free and got an apology. But the three are not happy and are considering suing over "hurt feelings"? My goodness, if we sued every instance when our feelings were hurt we would spend 24 hours a day in court. Too, our speech might be dramatically shortened and guarded, for hurt feelings from speech is as common as blue skies and laughter. It seems to me those three should understand that if they don't want to be called fat, then they might take a more logical position and lose weight to stop the few people who are awkward enough to say it. It was indeed rude of the waiter to write that on the check, and he has been suspended by the restaurant for doing it. That's enough punishment for labeling them what they are..... fat. But the three fat women say that no number of apologies will erase the "difficult memory" of reading "Fat Girls" on the check. "They can't ever change it," Robles said. "This is something that we got to live with – all three of us."
My oh my.....how easily they seem to be traumatized. Hmmmmmmmmmmm My doctor told me recently that I was getting too fat. "You need to lose weight, she said". I agreed with her and can't imagine suing her or anyone for pointing out the obvious. If those three fat girls wanted to join the military they would be told, "No. You are too fat." They also wouldn't be allowed to work at Hooters, to be horse jockeys, to be the top girl on the cheer leading pyramid and on and on. Being fat is not a negative, and a fat person should expect that he or she might be singled out because of his or her fat condition. It was thoughtless by the waiter.
Being fat doesn't carry a negative connotation about the worth of a person. It is just a condition of varied reasons of excess weight some carry. Yes, the waiter was unkind and thoughtless. But that's it. We all have flaws in appearance, character, intellect etc. It should not be shocking if clue less, unkind people point them out. Being human requires we understand that. The waiter didn't cause any real injury to the three nor say anything untrue, and if those three sue the restaurant I think they have a "fat chance" of only embarrassing themselves.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Have A Politically Correct Christmas
That 'War on Christmas' is on again this year and traditional Christmas
may soon be a thing of the past. In this country the massive
immigration of people of non Christian faiths and the general decline
in the number of and fervency of Christians makes Christmas an easy
target. The Muslims, non Christians and atheists just don't want to
hear those religious Christmas carols or see baby Jesus in the manager
when those things are in the public domain. They say that no public tax
money should be used to endorse any religious sentiment, even if it is
what is now a more secular Christmas holiday.
Need some examples? Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee for deciding not to host a Christmas tree lighting ceremony because....well...he says there is not such thing as a Christmas tree. It's a "holiday tree" and the Christmas holiday is instead the 'Holiday Season'. N need to mention any religious terms when it comes to Christmas because some non Christians might vote against Chaffee if he utters them. One of the reasons why "Happy Holidays" has risen in use as an alternative seasonal greeting to "Merry Christmas" is simply that it helps avoid occasions of offense and confrontation. It's used commonly by public schools in every corner of the United States.
The Santa Monica City Council to end the tradition of erecting nativity scenes or other displays in Palisades Park because atheists demanded "equal time" and erected displays there that criticized traditional Christmas. Rather than give "equal time" they city banned al Christmas displays. And residents in a California senior apartment complex protested what they said was an order by management to remove a Christmas tree from their community room because it was a religious symbol. I guess they should have called it a "holiday tree".
I could give a hundred more politically correct attacks on Christmas in this year's War on Christmas, but instead how about a compromise. Hmmmmm I think I can come up with a Christmas that will include every faith or non believer. Better rename Christmas first or we won't be able to rebrand the celebration of it. How about 'Faith/Faithless Day'? Who could claim they are excluded from that one. I have some suggestions for rituals of the replacement for Christmas. Here are some fun things we can do at 'Faith/Faithless Day' in order to not offend anyone.
- Instead of gingerbread houses FFD worshippers will create tasty 'Community Centers' made out of Matzo bread, humus and decorated with fried rice and curry powder.
- Santa will have to lose the red suit, adapt a more Buddha like physique and chant "Allah Akbar" instead of Ho Ho Ho
- No more religious Christmas carols. Instead atheists will shout their proof that God is not only dead, but never existed.
- All Christmas trees will have to be artificial ones since the Green religious crowd thinks it's a sin to cut down a natural one.
- Baby Jesus images will be replaced with images of a computer generated composite "world' baby" that represents every racial characteristic known to mankind.
- Decorating your house for Christmas? Forget it! Muslims don't allow icon images.
I wish you a "Happy FFD"....err...if that is all right with everyone.
Need some examples? Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee for deciding not to host a Christmas tree lighting ceremony because....well...he says there is not such thing as a Christmas tree. It's a "holiday tree" and the Christmas holiday is instead the 'Holiday Season'. N need to mention any religious terms when it comes to Christmas because some non Christians might vote against Chaffee if he utters them. One of the reasons why "Happy Holidays" has risen in use as an alternative seasonal greeting to "Merry Christmas" is simply that it helps avoid occasions of offense and confrontation. It's used commonly by public schools in every corner of the United States.
The Santa Monica City Council to end the tradition of erecting nativity scenes or other displays in Palisades Park because atheists demanded "equal time" and erected displays there that criticized traditional Christmas. Rather than give "equal time" they city banned al Christmas displays. And residents in a California senior apartment complex protested what they said was an order by management to remove a Christmas tree from their community room because it was a religious symbol. I guess they should have called it a "holiday tree".
I could give a hundred more politically correct attacks on Christmas in this year's War on Christmas, but instead how about a compromise. Hmmmmm I think I can come up with a Christmas that will include every faith or non believer. Better rename Christmas first or we won't be able to rebrand the celebration of it. How about 'Faith/Faithless Day'? Who could claim they are excluded from that one. I have some suggestions for rituals of the replacement for Christmas. Here are some fun things we can do at 'Faith/Faithless Day' in order to not offend anyone.
- Instead of gingerbread houses FFD worshippers will create tasty 'Community Centers' made out of Matzo bread, humus and decorated with fried rice and curry powder.
- Santa will have to lose the red suit, adapt a more Buddha like physique and chant "Allah Akbar" instead of Ho Ho Ho
- No more religious Christmas carols. Instead atheists will shout their proof that God is not only dead, but never existed.
- All Christmas trees will have to be artificial ones since the Green religious crowd thinks it's a sin to cut down a natural one.
- Baby Jesus images will be replaced with images of a computer generated composite "world' baby" that represents every racial characteristic known to mankind.
- Decorating your house for Christmas? Forget it! Muslims don't allow icon images.
I wish you a "Happy FFD"....err...if that is all right with everyone.
Monkey Mall
Frequently I refer to the mass hordes of frenzied Christmas shoppers
as "ape like". Well, in the case of on Christmas shopping excursion I
was right! A monkey was found wearing a faux shearling coat and diaper
in the Ikea store in Toronto the other day. I wonder how many those
shoppers even noticed. After all, it was a big sale at the mall that
day. The unnamed monkey only made it into the front entrance of the
story yesterday afternoon. By then he was spotted by a few customers who
took pictures with their annoying cell phone cameras before security
grabbed the monkey shopper to ensure his safety from the real the eat-
those crazy human mall shoppers.
Of course all of this was duly noted on twitter tweets, proving that even apes have no privacy in this world of electronic mania. Animal Services were called to take charge of the monkey, and eventually the owner (who must be an ape himself for bringing a diapered money to a shopping excursion) came forward to explain that the monkey had escaped out of its crate in his car that was parked in the mall parking lot and that it had wandered into the store on it's own. Once inside, reports were that the monkey shopper was more afraid of the weird human shoppers than they were of him. I can relate to that monkey's feeling. Ever been in the women's shoe department when shoes are selling at a 50% discount!
Given that it is illegal in Toronto to keep a monkey as a pet, Toronto animal services will keep the monkey until it can be found a proper home. Ok, I am sort of wasting your time reporting this stupidity, but I thought it a good example of how humans become obsessed with a non story simply because the technology they possess makes it entertaining. There were more tweets and news stories disseminated about the money shopper that day than about the world's grave economic crisis or any other single news event. In fact, the money shopper tweet now has his own Twitter page now (Yes, some jokester has taken on the monkey's identity as his or her own). The Monkey Twitter account already has 1,500 followers. Haha I hope no one checks on the mental health of those 1500 followers.
But one tweet from the account said it all about the attention span and seriousness of people today, "The only time Toronto makes international news is when our mayor falls over or someone finds a well dressed monkey." So....uh...if you see any well dressed monkeys in the mall let us all know. It's so important.
Of course all of this was duly noted on twitter tweets, proving that even apes have no privacy in this world of electronic mania. Animal Services were called to take charge of the monkey, and eventually the owner (who must be an ape himself for bringing a diapered money to a shopping excursion) came forward to explain that the monkey had escaped out of its crate in his car that was parked in the mall parking lot and that it had wandered into the store on it's own. Once inside, reports were that the monkey shopper was more afraid of the weird human shoppers than they were of him. I can relate to that monkey's feeling. Ever been in the women's shoe department when shoes are selling at a 50% discount!
Given that it is illegal in Toronto to keep a monkey as a pet, Toronto animal services will keep the monkey until it can be found a proper home. Ok, I am sort of wasting your time reporting this stupidity, but I thought it a good example of how humans become obsessed with a non story simply because the technology they possess makes it entertaining. There were more tweets and news stories disseminated about the money shopper that day than about the world's grave economic crisis or any other single news event. In fact, the money shopper tweet now has his own Twitter page now (Yes, some jokester has taken on the monkey's identity as his or her own). The Monkey Twitter account already has 1,500 followers. Haha I hope no one checks on the mental health of those 1500 followers.
But one tweet from the account said it all about the attention span and seriousness of people today, "The only time Toronto makes international news is when our mayor falls over or someone finds a well dressed monkey." So....uh...if you see any well dressed monkeys in the mall let us all know. It's so important.
Too Much Face book
Did you see the story about the Cathay flight attendant who
lost her job after writing on her Face book page that she wanted to
throw coffee in a passenger's face. Bad idea to post that, particularly
because that passenger was a high profile one, former Thai Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Cathay fired the attendant and announced on
its Thailand Face book page (How ironic to announce it there) that the
posting of a passenger's personal information was unauthorized and
against the airline's privacy rules.
Well, I can't say Cathay was wrong. Why is it people post private expressions on Face book when they know those can quickly become public? It's no secret that many have lost jobs or never gotten them because of Face book postings. Yet they keep posting what they would never say face to face to the employer. Given than many employers check the Face book pages of applicants and employees to see those postings and to react to them, why do people continue to show those private thoughts publicly?
It's probably because we are addicted and hypnotized by the technology we use. There is so much technology that can be used in so many ways, for so many reasons we often do not stop to think about how we use them. They blur the normal concept of rile playing, that in which an individual acts differently with an employer than he or she does with his mom or with the neighbor next door.
Instead, when we post our private thoughts on Face book we abandon those roles, the ones that help us maneuver the minefield of human relations.
We adopt one "profile' we show to all. That just won't work in any world. Unless we can separate the different faces we have to fit the person or place with whom we communicate, we instead present one view that many (the employers in the case of the Cathay corporation) can misinterpret.
Maybe Face book should post a warning that it can be injurious to its users who lose discretion when posting there.
Well, I can't say Cathay was wrong. Why is it people post private expressions on Face book when they know those can quickly become public? It's no secret that many have lost jobs or never gotten them because of Face book postings. Yet they keep posting what they would never say face to face to the employer. Given than many employers check the Face book pages of applicants and employees to see those postings and to react to them, why do people continue to show those private thoughts publicly?
It's probably because we are addicted and hypnotized by the technology we use. There is so much technology that can be used in so many ways, for so many reasons we often do not stop to think about how we use them. They blur the normal concept of rile playing, that in which an individual acts differently with an employer than he or she does with his mom or with the neighbor next door.
Instead, when we post our private thoughts on Face book we abandon those roles, the ones that help us maneuver the minefield of human relations.
We adopt one "profile' we show to all. That just won't work in any world. Unless we can separate the different faces we have to fit the person or place with whom we communicate, we instead present one view that many (the employers in the case of the Cathay corporation) can misinterpret.
Maybe Face book should post a warning that it can be injurious to its users who lose discretion when posting there.
It's That Time Of The Year Again
It's that time of the year again. No, not Christmas time. I mean it's
time for the eight days of Hanukkah. Hanukkah, also known as the
festival of lights, commemorates the Jewish uprising in the second
century B.C. against a somewhat oppressive Greek kingdom which had tried
to impose its culture on Jews and adorned the big Jewish Temple in
Jerusalem with statues of Greek gods. It lasts eight days because when
the Jews rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem that had been taken over
and laced with statues and images of Greek Gods, a single vial of oil
that the Hebrews placed there, supposedly enough for only one day,
instead burned for eight days. Hmmmm Either that was a Hanukkah miracle
or the manufacturer's product warranty and directions of use were wrong.
Ok, I know they didn't label products then, but nonetheless I like this holiday. Having attended a private school for 10 of my 12 primary and secondary education years that was populated with at least 1/2 being the Jewish faith I learned quite a bit about Judaism and Hanukkah, and I like both. I remember in elementary school one of the kids brought and shared those Hanukkah donuts for everyone in the class.
Any religion that worships donuts has me hooked. The kids in my classes sometimes also used to bring presents to exchange during Hanukkah. They talked about their Hanukkah bushes at home their menorahs in home windows and they sometimes played with their dreidels (It's a spinning top) at recess. I even remember one kid telling me about her family's ritual to light a single candle at home each day of Hanukkah as a representation of how the single day temple candle burned for 10 days. She seemed so excited about it. How often today do kids get excited about religion?
Judaism is a tradition centered religion with plenty of rituals and traditions inherent to the worship. I like that, probably because I like old things. But what I most like and respect about Judaism is the fact that it places the value of humanity so high in the sphere of the religion. Humans are also seen as sacred beings to be respected alongside rather than apart from God. Hanukkah itself is basically the celebration of the triumph of man's good over his evil nature. Judaism may not be a humanistic belief but it embraces the value of humanity and marries it with worship of God far more than most other religions.
Hanukkah reminds all of us, even non Jews like me, that confidence in one's identity and hope for the future are powerful forces that cannot be defeated, even in the darkest of times. And we are living in dark times now. Happy Hanukkah!
Ok, I know they didn't label products then, but nonetheless I like this holiday. Having attended a private school for 10 of my 12 primary and secondary education years that was populated with at least 1/2 being the Jewish faith I learned quite a bit about Judaism and Hanukkah, and I like both. I remember in elementary school one of the kids brought and shared those Hanukkah donuts for everyone in the class.
Any religion that worships donuts has me hooked. The kids in my classes sometimes also used to bring presents to exchange during Hanukkah. They talked about their Hanukkah bushes at home their menorahs in home windows and they sometimes played with their dreidels (It's a spinning top) at recess. I even remember one kid telling me about her family's ritual to light a single candle at home each day of Hanukkah as a representation of how the single day temple candle burned for 10 days. She seemed so excited about it. How often today do kids get excited about religion?
Judaism is a tradition centered religion with plenty of rituals and traditions inherent to the worship. I like that, probably because I like old things. But what I most like and respect about Judaism is the fact that it places the value of humanity so high in the sphere of the religion. Humans are also seen as sacred beings to be respected alongside rather than apart from God. Hanukkah itself is basically the celebration of the triumph of man's good over his evil nature. Judaism may not be a humanistic belief but it embraces the value of humanity and marries it with worship of God far more than most other religions.
Hanukkah reminds all of us, even non Jews like me, that confidence in one's identity and hope for the future are powerful forces that cannot be defeated, even in the darkest of times. And we are living in dark times now. Happy Hanukkah!
Police Ho Ho Ho The Crooks
The local police department in Manchester, New Hampshire is
trying to find out who is naughty or nice this Christmas season. They
left a cash filled purse and a bag with a DVD player in an unattended
shopping cart outside stores in Manchester to find that most holiday
shoppers did the right thing and tried to find the rightful owner. The
cart was left outside a Walmart, in a TJ Maxx Plaza, and at the Mall of
New Hampshire. Just two people have been arrested after walking away
with the items and putting them in their cars. The law says a person who
obtains lost or mislaid property needs to try to return it if the
unattended items have markings indicating ownership. So the two
Christmas thieves may have to wait for Santa to visit their jail this
year. Ho Ho Ho! I love it.
My faith in humanity took a leap upward when I read about this. I must be cynical because I would have thought a lot more than two people would behave dishonestly and taken the money in the purse. The entitlement mentality today that "I am entitled to have what anyone else has and it should be given to me" is contrary to the evidence in this case of an overwhelmingly honest behavior. I would think that both of the thieves have that mindset and probably feel they have done nothing wrong in stealing the money. Let's hope the judge puts them in prison so they can think more about that moral dilemma.
Here in Portland the latest Christmas theft is to steal UPS or some other delivery service delivery from the front doors of residents who have ordered something to be delivered. I have been victimized by this twice myself since moving here. I suspect those porch theft thieves are organized criminal units rather than people who innocently stumbled on Manchester police bait.
Christmas doesn't make everyone a joyful, loving individual. the same crooks who operate off season probably increase their activity at holiday time, given the number of people shopping and spending. How about these examples. In Ottawa, Canada the theft of Christmas trees in years past has the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center hoping new, donated fencing will better protect its lot this year. Good luck to them. I hope the fence is electrified! Just one day after making the shocking announcement that $2 million worth of toys had disappeared from one of its major warehouses over a two year period, a Toronto, Canada Salvation Army declared 'Christmas 2012 will go forward.' They will have to go forward on something other than those skate boards that were stolen.
In Whitney, New York spirit in one neighborhood was dampened by someone who stole holiday decorations from several yards. Look for a stolen Rudolph on the internet auction sites, because that's probably where the merchandise will be fenced. But even security won't foil the Christmas thieves. In Sacramento, California this week an on-site security guard confronted a man at a Christmas tree lot as he was taking the trees, the man pulled out a shotgun and fired three shots at the guard.
You get the idea. 'Tis the season to be jolly, but also to be wary and to have one eye out for the Christmas thieves.
My faith in humanity took a leap upward when I read about this. I must be cynical because I would have thought a lot more than two people would behave dishonestly and taken the money in the purse. The entitlement mentality today that "I am entitled to have what anyone else has and it should be given to me" is contrary to the evidence in this case of an overwhelmingly honest behavior. I would think that both of the thieves have that mindset and probably feel they have done nothing wrong in stealing the money. Let's hope the judge puts them in prison so they can think more about that moral dilemma.
Here in Portland the latest Christmas theft is to steal UPS or some other delivery service delivery from the front doors of residents who have ordered something to be delivered. I have been victimized by this twice myself since moving here. I suspect those porch theft thieves are organized criminal units rather than people who innocently stumbled on Manchester police bait.
Christmas doesn't make everyone a joyful, loving individual. the same crooks who operate off season probably increase their activity at holiday time, given the number of people shopping and spending. How about these examples. In Ottawa, Canada the theft of Christmas trees in years past has the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center hoping new, donated fencing will better protect its lot this year. Good luck to them. I hope the fence is electrified! Just one day after making the shocking announcement that $2 million worth of toys had disappeared from one of its major warehouses over a two year period, a Toronto, Canada Salvation Army declared 'Christmas 2012 will go forward.' They will have to go forward on something other than those skate boards that were stolen.
In Whitney, New York spirit in one neighborhood was dampened by someone who stole holiday decorations from several yards. Look for a stolen Rudolph on the internet auction sites, because that's probably where the merchandise will be fenced. But even security won't foil the Christmas thieves. In Sacramento, California this week an on-site security guard confronted a man at a Christmas tree lot as he was taking the trees, the man pulled out a shotgun and fired three shots at the guard.
You get the idea. 'Tis the season to be jolly, but also to be wary and to have one eye out for the Christmas thieves.
Lincoln
Recently I made a rare appearance at a movie theater, the first time
in about three years. I am largely anti modern movie because, for me,
the films lack substance and target the adolescent audience. At last
look in the mirror it still showed I am not an adolescent. But apart
from that, the film I saw was 'Lincoln', one I have viewed and read
about in the mediums and have heard anecdotally from people here who
have seen it as being worth giving it time. It promised to be a
"grown-up" film in that it was historical and not a Hollywood-ized
version of history. It was that.
I have always been enamored with American history and knew the characters in the film. As far as I know they were portrayed realistically. Having read a couple of biographies of Abraham Lincoln I also found his characterization in the film to be true to life. Anyway, a review of the film's content itself is not why I write about this. Instead, I wanted to comment on the audience which saw it that day and on the difference between politicians then (the film is set in the year 1865) and today's politicians.
The audience numbered only about 30 people. It was a weekday matinee, so the bulk of the film-going crowd (kids) were in school. I doubt if many children or teens would have watched this film as it is a serious film that requires attention and is a highly verbal film. Other than the wardrobe there was little that was visually attractive. Many movie-goers today say they attend films to see special effects, violence, sex or fantasy. This one would leave that group unsatisfied. Most of the 30 or so who attended looked to be over 65 years of age, with only two people who appeared to be under thirty-five years old. Yet 'Lincoln' has been in the top 5 of box office sales in its first two weeks of release. I wonder if older movie-goers have been going to see it because of this film, or if it is because more older viewers are returning to film theaters. I think the former is the case.
The difference in politics in the U.S. then (1865) and now is portrayed strikingly in the movie. The politicians of Lincoln's day were just as corrupt as our current ones, but in a more positive way. In times of real emergency, they worked to compromise and sold their votes more for the good of the nation than for personal gain. Today it's all about self and political party, with lying being the modus operandi. Compromise is seen as a negative today.
Another difference between the politicians of yesterday and those of today is the way in which they used language, as to the proficiency. Today's leaders are representative of the population at large in that they are far less literate than their predecessors. Our use of the language has degraded, probably because of technology including mass communication devices that have informalized all language we use. In Lincoln's day one had to listen to the speaker because he or she spoke with little use of slang, tended to use a broader vocabulary and followed the constructs of proper grammar and usage. Uh, if you said "lol" at that remark you probably understand my remark.
Anyway, if you care for a film that challenges rather than merely entertains vicariously, 'Lincoln' might the the one to see.
I have always been enamored with American history and knew the characters in the film. As far as I know they were portrayed realistically. Having read a couple of biographies of Abraham Lincoln I also found his characterization in the film to be true to life. Anyway, a review of the film's content itself is not why I write about this. Instead, I wanted to comment on the audience which saw it that day and on the difference between politicians then (the film is set in the year 1865) and today's politicians.
The audience numbered only about 30 people. It was a weekday matinee, so the bulk of the film-going crowd (kids) were in school. I doubt if many children or teens would have watched this film as it is a serious film that requires attention and is a highly verbal film. Other than the wardrobe there was little that was visually attractive. Many movie-goers today say they attend films to see special effects, violence, sex or fantasy. This one would leave that group unsatisfied. Most of the 30 or so who attended looked to be over 65 years of age, with only two people who appeared to be under thirty-five years old. Yet 'Lincoln' has been in the top 5 of box office sales in its first two weeks of release. I wonder if older movie-goers have been going to see it because of this film, or if it is because more older viewers are returning to film theaters. I think the former is the case.
The difference in politics in the U.S. then (1865) and now is portrayed strikingly in the movie. The politicians of Lincoln's day were just as corrupt as our current ones, but in a more positive way. In times of real emergency, they worked to compromise and sold their votes more for the good of the nation than for personal gain. Today it's all about self and political party, with lying being the modus operandi. Compromise is seen as a negative today.
Another difference between the politicians of yesterday and those of today is the way in which they used language, as to the proficiency. Today's leaders are representative of the population at large in that they are far less literate than their predecessors. Our use of the language has degraded, probably because of technology including mass communication devices that have informalized all language we use. In Lincoln's day one had to listen to the speaker because he or she spoke with little use of slang, tended to use a broader vocabulary and followed the constructs of proper grammar and usage. Uh, if you said "lol" at that remark you probably understand my remark.
Anyway, if you care for a film that challenges rather than merely entertains vicariously, 'Lincoln' might the the one to see.
Monday, December 3, 2012
No Kadashians Welcome There
Those crazy extremist, fundamentalist Muslims and I finally agree on
something. I am assuming it is not that I have become as nutty as they,
but rather a recognition of good that taste has overcome them. Muslim
protesters chanting "God is Great" near a shopping complex in Riffa,
Bahrain were out in force to protest, no not we infidels, but instead
one particular infidel........Kim Kardasian. Kim was in Bahrain to help
open a business called " Millions of Milkshakes". But to prevent a riot
police fired tear gas to disperse more than 50 hard line Islamic
protesters denouncing her presence in the Gulf kingdom. Too bad we don't
have riot police to keep her from re entering the U.S.
How can it be that the most irrational of all humans but not the saner ones, recognize the vapid, tasteless routine that Kim and her reality TV "starts" present? Earlier the lawmakers of Bahrain had tried to ban Kim with a resolution that claimed that she is "an actress with a bad reputation", but it failed when the parliament remembered all those sex tapes and bad reality shows they saw Kim in. What Muslim wants to ban those. So the crazy mullahs came to the rescue of Bahrain with organized protests of her appearance and the standard death threats to Kim. The joke is on the Mullahs though, for Kim has been brain dead for years.
Sigh...I hate to agree with the crazy Muslims, but about this I do. Maybe I should write to the Mullahs and suggest a few more protests for them initiate. The world would be better off for it. How about telling Sheik Mohammed (I assume there is a Mullah Mohammed...must be plenty of them because their are more Mohammed's and more sheiks in the Mid east that one could count) that cell phones are an infidel plot to brainwash the pure minds of Muslims? Could help rid the world of plenty of those cellular devices and bring peace and quiet to public places everywhere.
Hey Mullah Mohammed! Did you listen to the lyrics of rap music lately? They call Muslim women "bitches" and "ho's". If they can eliminate rap music I may decide to join the Muslim Bortherhood League. I am feeling solidarity. I should make a list of protests causes for Mohammed to lead. Gee, crazy Muslims are not so bad after all.
How can it be that the most irrational of all humans but not the saner ones, recognize the vapid, tasteless routine that Kim and her reality TV "starts" present? Earlier the lawmakers of Bahrain had tried to ban Kim with a resolution that claimed that she is "an actress with a bad reputation", but it failed when the parliament remembered all those sex tapes and bad reality shows they saw Kim in. What Muslim wants to ban those. So the crazy mullahs came to the rescue of Bahrain with organized protests of her appearance and the standard death threats to Kim. The joke is on the Mullahs though, for Kim has been brain dead for years.
Sigh...I hate to agree with the crazy Muslims, but about this I do. Maybe I should write to the Mullahs and suggest a few more protests for them initiate. The world would be better off for it. How about telling Sheik Mohammed (I assume there is a Mullah Mohammed...must be plenty of them because their are more Mohammed's and more sheiks in the Mid east that one could count) that cell phones are an infidel plot to brainwash the pure minds of Muslims? Could help rid the world of plenty of those cellular devices and bring peace and quiet to public places everywhere.
Hey Mullah Mohammed! Did you listen to the lyrics of rap music lately? They call Muslim women "bitches" and "ho's". If they can eliminate rap music I may decide to join the Muslim Bortherhood League. I am feeling solidarity. I should make a list of protests causes for Mohammed to lead. Gee, crazy Muslims are not so bad after all.
Winning Too Much Money
There was a multi state power ball lottery here this month
and the grand prize amount for it was over $500 million dollars. Two
winners split the prize total. Lottery fever has caused the winnings to
go up and up the last few days as the media reported both the prize
total and the frenzy that it helps cause by promoting it. Many people
are by nature both greedy and in search of the easy way to gratify
themselves. So throwing their money away on lottery tickets makes sense
to them. I guess they have too much hope and too little common sense.
A local radio station here posted a poll with the question, "If you were to win the big Power ball jackpot, would you quit your job?" Over 60% of them said yes. I am only surprised that more didn't answer that way. I don't waste my money buying lottery tickets and even I would quit work (If I were still working) if I won a big lottery prize. Well, whomever wins the lottery should probably keep in contact with their former employer because more than half of all multi million dollar lottery winners wind up eventually broke...and it doesn't take long for them to become destitute.
Almost all governments who pay off lottery winners do nothing about counseling them on how to handle their winnings. The fair way of handing over the money would be to require some instructional time on finance and a lock on some of the money by placing it in a trust find the winners could not access for quite a few years. I suggest a 10 year trust fund invested in government bonds. At least that money would still be there for them after the winners blow the rest and become homeless.
Many winners have no experience handling money and have lived paycheck to paycheck most of their lives. After they win a lottery they often spend their new wealth as fast as it comes . One of the biggest sources of loss is from relatives, friends and acquaintances who come from former invisibility to ask the winners for money. Most winners hand it over or invest in the wild business schemes those people pledge to them. In short, they become a huge target. Statistics show that about 70% of all lottery winners are completely broke within five years after wining the lottery.
The good news for lottery winners is that they really don't have to be rich to be happy. Research finds that household income, once above $75,000, does not bring more happiness. Life experiences bring more happiness than possessions, research suggests. So if you are poor, smile and pity the winners of that $500 million prize.
A local radio station here posted a poll with the question, "If you were to win the big Power ball jackpot, would you quit your job?" Over 60% of them said yes. I am only surprised that more didn't answer that way. I don't waste my money buying lottery tickets and even I would quit work (If I were still working) if I won a big lottery prize. Well, whomever wins the lottery should probably keep in contact with their former employer because more than half of all multi million dollar lottery winners wind up eventually broke...and it doesn't take long for them to become destitute.
Almost all governments who pay off lottery winners do nothing about counseling them on how to handle their winnings. The fair way of handing over the money would be to require some instructional time on finance and a lock on some of the money by placing it in a trust find the winners could not access for quite a few years. I suggest a 10 year trust fund invested in government bonds. At least that money would still be there for them after the winners blow the rest and become homeless.
Many winners have no experience handling money and have lived paycheck to paycheck most of their lives. After they win a lottery they often spend their new wealth as fast as it comes . One of the biggest sources of loss is from relatives, friends and acquaintances who come from former invisibility to ask the winners for money. Most winners hand it over or invest in the wild business schemes those people pledge to them. In short, they become a huge target. Statistics show that about 70% of all lottery winners are completely broke within five years after wining the lottery.
The good news for lottery winners is that they really don't have to be rich to be happy. Research finds that household income, once above $75,000, does not bring more happiness. Life experiences bring more happiness than possessions, research suggests. So if you are poor, smile and pity the winners of that $500 million prize.
Sleeping Beauty Syndrome
I have sleep apnea so I am jealous of people who can sleep normally,
or even more than 5 hours a nights. But I am not jealous of those who
have a different kind of sleep disorder, one that makes them sleep too
much. The rare sleeping disorder Kleine-Levin, nicknamed "Sleeping
Beauty Syndrome", is something I was not aware of until reading about a
teenage girl from Pennsylvania who has it about as bad as it can get.
The few who have SBS may go for a period of weeks, months or even years without experiencing any symptoms, and then they reappear with little warning. In addition to excessive sleeping, symptoms include disorientation, hallucination, child-like behavior, binge eating and periods of hyper sexuality when awake. Actually, the person who has this isn't really asleep, but rather in a kind of trance that is induced by an unknown brain malfunction.
Nicole Delien, 17, from Pennsylvania said she's missed out on past Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and even the first family trip to Disney World. (I hope she missed the U.S. presidential campaign and election too. It almost put me in a coma too!) Her mom says Nicole will sleep 18 or 19 hours a day, and when she does wake up to eat, she said Nicole is in a sleepwalking state which she doesn't remember. Nicole frequently falls under sleep spells and wakes up in a confused state while sleepwalking. When awake, the person with SBS has a change in personality is changed. They most often appear childlike. When awake they experiences confusion, disorientation, complete lack of energy , and lack of emotions.
Hmmm It's sort of like a person who watches too much reality TV.
Well at least Nicole doesn't have to go through all the madness that the world has to offer. I think considering the way illness works, all politicians need to catch it. If we can give the politicians this Sleeping Beauty Disease I am confident no Prince Charming would ever appear to awaken them.
The few who have SBS may go for a period of weeks, months or even years without experiencing any symptoms, and then they reappear with little warning. In addition to excessive sleeping, symptoms include disorientation, hallucination, child-like behavior, binge eating and periods of hyper sexuality when awake. Actually, the person who has this isn't really asleep, but rather in a kind of trance that is induced by an unknown brain malfunction.
Nicole Delien, 17, from Pennsylvania said she's missed out on past Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and even the first family trip to Disney World. (I hope she missed the U.S. presidential campaign and election too. It almost put me in a coma too!) Her mom says Nicole will sleep 18 or 19 hours a day, and when she does wake up to eat, she said Nicole is in a sleepwalking state which she doesn't remember. Nicole frequently falls under sleep spells and wakes up in a confused state while sleepwalking. When awake, the person with SBS has a change in personality is changed. They most often appear childlike. When awake they experiences confusion, disorientation, complete lack of energy , and lack of emotions.
Hmmm It's sort of like a person who watches too much reality TV.
Well at least Nicole doesn't have to go through all the madness that the world has to offer. I think considering the way illness works, all politicians need to catch it. If we can give the politicians this Sleeping Beauty Disease I am confident no Prince Charming would ever appear to awaken them.
The End Of Christmas Cards
I wonder if the tradition of sending Christmas cards is
dying, maybe nearly dead. I think it might be. It's another end for
tradition killed by technology and changing taste. Whether it's a good
thing Christmas cards are disappearing is a matter of taste, I suppose.
But just as the old postal system, snail mail as the electronic tech
crowd derisively named it years ago, dies so will mailing Christmas
cards.
I did just mail out some myself, though in a lower volume than last year. Whittling the list and not sending cards to those people who don't return the greetings I send is shrinking my card list. I did notice a decline in cards received the past few years. People to whom I send cards don't always respond with a card of their own, a message that, "We don't do Christmas cards anymore". A few do send me electronic cards, but those have little appeal to me. They are too easy to send. Without the investment of time and effort in sending a Christmas greeting the greeting itself loses appeal. And a card in the mail is tangible, can be held in the had and stored as a memory. Electronic cards are here in an instant and just as quickly forgotten.
I think that our easy to use technology discourages such quaint , old traditions as sending Christmas cards. I remember my dad, who was the family member who sent the Christmas cards, sitting at the kitchen table in late November, cards, stamps and his list of the names and addresses of past recipients and senders who were to receive a card that year. It was a task of labor and endurance that took more time than most of us would want to spend in this age of instant gratification.
I guess many of the Christmas traditions are disappearing. Does anyone kiss under the mistletoe anymore? In our age of environmentalism and political correctness, those artificial trees are no more common than a real, live tree. Traditional Christmas cakes of all types are rarely baked at home anymore and we now avoid fruitcake as if it were a virus. The Christmas stocking... more than half of families don't hang them anymore. I remember as a child walking the neighborhood with a group and singing Christmas carols to both the willing and unwilling neighbors. Try caroling today and you may risk arrest.
Maybe the new, modern Christmas traditions will become as endearing. But I doubt it will for me. It just seems more fun to kiss under the mistletoe than to "Christmas shop" at a mall. Anyway, the good news is we'll probably continue to have Christmas in some from for a long time to come.
I did just mail out some myself, though in a lower volume than last year. Whittling the list and not sending cards to those people who don't return the greetings I send is shrinking my card list. I did notice a decline in cards received the past few years. People to whom I send cards don't always respond with a card of their own, a message that, "We don't do Christmas cards anymore". A few do send me electronic cards, but those have little appeal to me. They are too easy to send. Without the investment of time and effort in sending a Christmas greeting the greeting itself loses appeal. And a card in the mail is tangible, can be held in the had and stored as a memory. Electronic cards are here in an instant and just as quickly forgotten.
I think that our easy to use technology discourages such quaint , old traditions as sending Christmas cards. I remember my dad, who was the family member who sent the Christmas cards, sitting at the kitchen table in late November, cards, stamps and his list of the names and addresses of past recipients and senders who were to receive a card that year. It was a task of labor and endurance that took more time than most of us would want to spend in this age of instant gratification.
I guess many of the Christmas traditions are disappearing. Does anyone kiss under the mistletoe anymore? In our age of environmentalism and political correctness, those artificial trees are no more common than a real, live tree. Traditional Christmas cakes of all types are rarely baked at home anymore and we now avoid fruitcake as if it were a virus. The Christmas stocking... more than half of families don't hang them anymore. I remember as a child walking the neighborhood with a group and singing Christmas carols to both the willing and unwilling neighbors. Try caroling today and you may risk arrest.
Maybe the new, modern Christmas traditions will become as endearing. But I doubt it will for me. It just seems more fun to kiss under the mistletoe than to "Christmas shop" at a mall. Anyway, the good news is we'll probably continue to have Christmas in some from for a long time to come.
Black Friday Weekend Madness
According to a survey conducted by The National Retail
Federation of the U.S, apparently we Americans are a nation of
sheep...err...greedy sheep at that.
A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and web sites over Black Friday weekend (Thanksgiving Day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday), up from 212 million last year. That's right! The retailers brainwashed that many Americans (about 2/3 of the population) that they had to Christmas shop those days in order to get "sales prices and save money."
This despite the fact that there are many of those "sales" from Thanksgiving day to Christmas day, many of those often offering lower prices than are found on Black Friday weekend.
According to the survey, the average holiday shopper this year spent $398.62 this weekend, up from $365.34 last year. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion. Additionally, shoppers also checked out retailers’ deals online, spending an average of $150.53 on the web – 37.8 percent of their total weekend spending. And "Black Monday" another Christmas sale where the buyer buys on line instead of storming the store gates, set another record. I thought the economy was bad? But 28.7 million people shopped online and at stores on Thanksgiving Day instead of eating their turkey and chatting with crazy Aunt Ethel and Uncle Harry.
You think these maniacs love shopping! Here are 10 ways they amused themselves this year on Black Friday.
Black Friday violence:
1. A Couple Was Hit By A SUV At A Washington Walmart
In the parking lot of a Walmart about 30 miles south of Seattle, a couple in their 40s was run down by a reportedly drunk 71-year-old driver. Both victims had to be rushed to the hospital, but seem to be okay, and the driver was arrested.
2. Two People Were Shot And Wounded At A Tallahassee Walmart
A man and woman were shot in broad daylight in front of a Walmart as a result of a dispute over a parking space. Fortunately, their injuries were not life threatening.
3. A Gun Was Pulled On A Man Who Tried To Cut In Line At A Texas Sears
A potential shopper waiting in line at a San Antonio Sears confronted another shopper when he allegedly cut in line. Shopper 1 confronted Shopper 2 about his perceived line cutting, which Shopper 2 responded to with mocking and a punch to the face of Shopper 1. Shopper 1 then pulled out a gun and everyone scattered.
Shopper 1 was not arrested because he had a permit to carry the gun
4. A Cashier Passed Out At A Kansas City Dick's Sporting Goods
A young cashier at a Dick's Sporting Goods in Kansas City, Missouri, was overwhelmed by all the madness and passed out at her register. She had to be carried out by medics.
5. A Fist fight Broke Out At A South Philadelphia Walmart
In the electronics section of a south Philadelphia Walmart two men came to blows over $200 TV sets. No one was injured, but some customers in the area were knocked down in the brawl.
6. Two Shoppers Were Arrested For Fighting At A Michigan JC Penny
At a mall in Kentwood, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), two shoppers got into a fistfight outside of a J. C. Penny. Police needed to use pepper spray to subdue the shoppers/fighters.
7. A Man Left A 2-Year-Old Boy Outside A Massachusetts Kmart
A 34-year-old man brought his girlfriend's 2-year-old son with him to a Massachusetts Kmart, but left him outside while he shopped flat screen TVs. After exiting the store and being unable to find the child, the man panicked and called a friend to drive him home. Police found the boy sleeping in the man's car in the Kmart's parking lot.
8. Police Were Called Twice To An Illinois Mall
Police were called twice to the CheeryVale Mall in Rockville, Illinois. Both instances were due to fights breaking out that resulted in two men being arrested and two being hospitalized.
9. A 14-Year-Old Boy Was Robbed Outside A Maryland Bed, Bath, & Beyond
Outside a suburban Baltimore mall, a group of five men robbed a 14-year-old boy after he walked out of a Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
10. The Mall of America in Minneapolis Banned Teens From Shopping
This one technically isn't a crime, but it's a prime example of Black Friday Madness. The Mall of America banned teens from shopping all day on Friday unless they accompanied by a parent or an adult. Smart move. Some of those teens love to practice their shoplifting techniques among the masses on Black Friday.
Haha The Christmas spirit on Black Friday may have been aided by a few bottles of spirits some of those shop addicts imbibed. Black Friday shoppers have been known to beat one another and use tasers and pepper spray to get the best deal, and view is as "competition" for good deals. Sigh.... It's enough to make me convert to Islam.
A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and web sites over Black Friday weekend (Thanksgiving Day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday), up from 212 million last year. That's right! The retailers brainwashed that many Americans (about 2/3 of the population) that they had to Christmas shop those days in order to get "sales prices and save money."
This despite the fact that there are many of those "sales" from Thanksgiving day to Christmas day, many of those often offering lower prices than are found on Black Friday weekend.
According to the survey, the average holiday shopper this year spent $398.62 this weekend, up from $365.34 last year. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion. Additionally, shoppers also checked out retailers’ deals online, spending an average of $150.53 on the web – 37.8 percent of their total weekend spending. And "Black Monday" another Christmas sale where the buyer buys on line instead of storming the store gates, set another record. I thought the economy was bad? But 28.7 million people shopped online and at stores on Thanksgiving Day instead of eating their turkey and chatting with crazy Aunt Ethel and Uncle Harry.
You think these maniacs love shopping! Here are 10 ways they amused themselves this year on Black Friday.
Black Friday violence:
1. A Couple Was Hit By A SUV At A Washington Walmart
In the parking lot of a Walmart about 30 miles south of Seattle, a couple in their 40s was run down by a reportedly drunk 71-year-old driver. Both victims had to be rushed to the hospital, but seem to be okay, and the driver was arrested.
2. Two People Were Shot And Wounded At A Tallahassee Walmart
A man and woman were shot in broad daylight in front of a Walmart as a result of a dispute over a parking space. Fortunately, their injuries were not life threatening.
3. A Gun Was Pulled On A Man Who Tried To Cut In Line At A Texas Sears
A potential shopper waiting in line at a San Antonio Sears confronted another shopper when he allegedly cut in line. Shopper 1 confronted Shopper 2 about his perceived line cutting, which Shopper 2 responded to with mocking and a punch to the face of Shopper 1. Shopper 1 then pulled out a gun and everyone scattered.
Shopper 1 was not arrested because he had a permit to carry the gun
4. A Cashier Passed Out At A Kansas City Dick's Sporting Goods
A young cashier at a Dick's Sporting Goods in Kansas City, Missouri, was overwhelmed by all the madness and passed out at her register. She had to be carried out by medics.
5. A Fist fight Broke Out At A South Philadelphia Walmart
In the electronics section of a south Philadelphia Walmart two men came to blows over $200 TV sets. No one was injured, but some customers in the area were knocked down in the brawl.
6. Two Shoppers Were Arrested For Fighting At A Michigan JC Penny
At a mall in Kentwood, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), two shoppers got into a fistfight outside of a J. C. Penny. Police needed to use pepper spray to subdue the shoppers/fighters.
7. A Man Left A 2-Year-Old Boy Outside A Massachusetts Kmart
A 34-year-old man brought his girlfriend's 2-year-old son with him to a Massachusetts Kmart, but left him outside while he shopped flat screen TVs. After exiting the store and being unable to find the child, the man panicked and called a friend to drive him home. Police found the boy sleeping in the man's car in the Kmart's parking lot.
8. Police Were Called Twice To An Illinois Mall
Police were called twice to the CheeryVale Mall in Rockville, Illinois. Both instances were due to fights breaking out that resulted in two men being arrested and two being hospitalized.
9. A 14-Year-Old Boy Was Robbed Outside A Maryland Bed, Bath, & Beyond
Outside a suburban Baltimore mall, a group of five men robbed a 14-year-old boy after he walked out of a Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
10. The Mall of America in Minneapolis Banned Teens From Shopping
This one technically isn't a crime, but it's a prime example of Black Friday Madness. The Mall of America banned teens from shopping all day on Friday unless they accompanied by a parent or an adult. Smart move. Some of those teens love to practice their shoplifting techniques among the masses on Black Friday.
Haha The Christmas spirit on Black Friday may have been aided by a few bottles of spirits some of those shop addicts imbibed. Black Friday shoppers have been known to beat one another and use tasers and pepper spray to get the best deal, and view is as "competition" for good deals. Sigh.... It's enough to make me convert to Islam.
Attacking The Greeters
I don't know if you have any Wal mart stores there, but if
you do they probably also have the elderly "greeter" at each of the
doors in the store. Greeter at Wal mart is code for untrained, formally
retired, inexpensive security guard. Oh, grandpa and granny security.
They're using little old ladies and old men to guard against
shoplifting. I doubt if granny is going to, or is even capable of
wrestling with a shoplifter who exists with stolen goods.
So sometimes a crook will try to sneak out with a bag of stolen good. Well, more than once the thief has shoved or run from the greeter who asks to see the shoppers receipt before exiting. Occasionally there is a physical confrontation. Last December once such incident happened at a New York Wal mart. The employee, 70-year old Grace Suozzi , asked 26-year old Jacquetta Simmons to see receipts for items she was carrying in store bags. After shoving Grace to the ground and pummeling her with punches, Jacqueeta ran out of the store. But employees and customers quickly surrounded her until police arrived. The happy resolution is that today Jacqueeta was found guilty of assault and was was sentenced to five years in prison. Simmons was convicted under the state's "Granny Law," which gives stiffer penalties for an assault on someone 65 or older.
Wal mart greeters have been assaulted more ways that one can catalogue, and almost all of this violence against granny and grandpa has occurred in the past 2 or three years. It's become a norm to hear of these stories and, as a result, we seem not to notice or care what is happening to society. Might this be a reflection of the coarsening of society, the dishonesty of some and the disrespect toward others? As our technology more and more separates us from direct interaction with others, do other people become less "real" to us? Do we more often see them as apart of the electronics we use, rather than as humans we should love and respect?
I am not blaming bad behavior on the proliferation of frivolous technology that separates us from others. But it sure could be one small factor in why the world in which we live is a little less kind and gentle these days.
So sometimes a crook will try to sneak out with a bag of stolen good. Well, more than once the thief has shoved or run from the greeter who asks to see the shoppers receipt before exiting. Occasionally there is a physical confrontation. Last December once such incident happened at a New York Wal mart. The employee, 70-year old Grace Suozzi , asked 26-year old Jacquetta Simmons to see receipts for items she was carrying in store bags. After shoving Grace to the ground and pummeling her with punches, Jacqueeta ran out of the store. But employees and customers quickly surrounded her until police arrived. The happy resolution is that today Jacqueeta was found guilty of assault and was was sentenced to five years in prison. Simmons was convicted under the state's "Granny Law," which gives stiffer penalties for an assault on someone 65 or older.
Wal mart greeters have been assaulted more ways that one can catalogue, and almost all of this violence against granny and grandpa has occurred in the past 2 or three years. It's become a norm to hear of these stories and, as a result, we seem not to notice or care what is happening to society. Might this be a reflection of the coarsening of society, the dishonesty of some and the disrespect toward others? As our technology more and more separates us from direct interaction with others, do other people become less "real" to us? Do we more often see them as apart of the electronics we use, rather than as humans we should love and respect?
I am not blaming bad behavior on the proliferation of frivolous technology that separates us from others. But it sure could be one small factor in why the world in which we live is a little less kind and gentle these days.
The Dumbing Of America
A genetics researcher at Stanford University says people are
getting less intelligent with each generation because we simply no
longer need to be smart to survive. Hmmmmm I'm not a researcher and I
can tell that just by observing people today. They mindlessly tweet,
watch reality TV, chat endlessly about "nothing" on their phones. They
even promote rap music as "art".
Anyway, the researcher guy, Gerald Crabtree, argues that humans may have peaked when they were hunter gatherers who were non verbal and who needed intelligence to find food and shelter. He says human genes have mutated over thousands of years as we shifted to agricultural and city life. Essentially, because we have it too easy today with too few challenges, we are losing our capacity to think and grow intellectually.
Gerald Crabtree, who is an esteemed professor and researcher of biology and developmental biology, claims the brain drain has been going on for centuries. The brain is mutating, he said, because of advances in society that have made survival less stressful. This has been going on for v centuries and is eroding our intellectual and emotional capabilities. So I guess he is saying that due to advancement sin society that were made by a few select intelligent beings, society as a whole is now able to support and protect the dumb members who would ever have been able to survive in prior times (due to their stupidity). This has an effect of dragging down society as a whole.
It makes sense to me. I have long thought we were becoming a more stupid society as we faced fewer and fewer challenges that would make us smarter and as technology insulates and protects the dumbest. The dumb thrive because technology makes it easy for them and because society as a whole protects them. No wonder the gene pool is watered down each generation. Uh... simply put it is much easier today to be survive while being stupid and to breed more of the stupidity into the gene pool.
In case you disagree with this, I present as evidence of this contention the names Kardashian and Snookie. How could any society with those idiots call itself a more advanced one.
Anyway, the researcher guy, Gerald Crabtree, argues that humans may have peaked when they were hunter gatherers who were non verbal and who needed intelligence to find food and shelter. He says human genes have mutated over thousands of years as we shifted to agricultural and city life. Essentially, because we have it too easy today with too few challenges, we are losing our capacity to think and grow intellectually.
Gerald Crabtree, who is an esteemed professor and researcher of biology and developmental biology, claims the brain drain has been going on for centuries. The brain is mutating, he said, because of advances in society that have made survival less stressful. This has been going on for v centuries and is eroding our intellectual and emotional capabilities. So I guess he is saying that due to advancement sin society that were made by a few select intelligent beings, society as a whole is now able to support and protect the dumb members who would ever have been able to survive in prior times (due to their stupidity). This has an effect of dragging down society as a whole.
It makes sense to me. I have long thought we were becoming a more stupid society as we faced fewer and fewer challenges that would make us smarter and as technology insulates and protects the dumbest. The dumb thrive because technology makes it easy for them and because society as a whole protects them. No wonder the gene pool is watered down each generation. Uh... simply put it is much easier today to be survive while being stupid and to breed more of the stupidity into the gene pool.
In case you disagree with this, I present as evidence of this contention the names Kardashian and Snookie. How could any society with those idiots call itself a more advanced one.
Thanksgiving Day Shopping
Thanksgiving Day used to be a quiet day with family, eating
turkey and pumpkin pie, seeing those relatives you hate but only for a
few hours (Anything is tolerable when displayed in short duration). The
family would sit in the living room and chat (embarrassing the kids with
alleged "cute" stories of their early childhood clumsy ways) and maybe
watch the one football game on TV. That was it. There weren't many other
options than that. But no more.
Thanksgiving has gone from family to frenzy. There are a multitude of sports and special events on TV, the stores are hawking their Christmas sales even on Thanksgiving Day, and people fly away from Uncle Fred and Aunt Mildred by taking a Thanksgiving vacation far away from family. The biggest day for flying in the U.S. is Thanksgiving Day, and it's not all passengers flying to see relatives on the day. Just as many others are off to ski or frolic apart from the Thanksgiving tradition. Just about everything is open for business on Thanksgiving, to the extent that many families eat their Thanksgiving meal in restaurants.
It's all fine. Holiday traditions change but the most annoying aspect of Thanksgiving today is the retail blitz of their "Christmas sales". A few years ago some retailers switched from the midnight day after Thanksgiving sale to Thanksgiving sales. Now they open at 12 am Thanksgiving morning instead of the day after Thanksgiving. This means mom is at the mall instead of cooking the turkey, chasing after a loss leader sale items amidst the mobs of crazed shoppers who image they have to buy "now" or they won't see a fair price later.
Of course the sales are, by and large, not special. A few days after the crazed Thanksgiving day/night mobs clean the shelves there are more sales just as big as what is offered on Thanksgiving Day. The problems is an addicted shopper forgets that fact and hallucinates that he or she has to buy on Thanksgiving to get the best bargains. Maybe shopping is a new sport and the shoppers see it as a competition. Every year hordes of shoppers are trampled, hit, or otherwise abused physically while fighting over that last sale item on display.
It's not for me. I avoid malls even on normal shopping days. It may be the only "normal" thing I do all year.
Thanksgiving has gone from family to frenzy. There are a multitude of sports and special events on TV, the stores are hawking their Christmas sales even on Thanksgiving Day, and people fly away from Uncle Fred and Aunt Mildred by taking a Thanksgiving vacation far away from family. The biggest day for flying in the U.S. is Thanksgiving Day, and it's not all passengers flying to see relatives on the day. Just as many others are off to ski or frolic apart from the Thanksgiving tradition. Just about everything is open for business on Thanksgiving, to the extent that many families eat their Thanksgiving meal in restaurants.
It's all fine. Holiday traditions change but the most annoying aspect of Thanksgiving today is the retail blitz of their "Christmas sales". A few years ago some retailers switched from the midnight day after Thanksgiving sale to Thanksgiving sales. Now they open at 12 am Thanksgiving morning instead of the day after Thanksgiving. This means mom is at the mall instead of cooking the turkey, chasing after a loss leader sale items amidst the mobs of crazed shoppers who image they have to buy "now" or they won't see a fair price later.
Of course the sales are, by and large, not special. A few days after the crazed Thanksgiving day/night mobs clean the shelves there are more sales just as big as what is offered on Thanksgiving Day. The problems is an addicted shopper forgets that fact and hallucinates that he or she has to buy on Thanksgiving to get the best bargains. Maybe shopping is a new sport and the shoppers see it as a competition. Every year hordes of shoppers are trampled, hit, or otherwise abused physically while fighting over that last sale item on display.
It's not for me. I avoid malls even on normal shopping days. It may be the only "normal" thing I do all year.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thinking About Christmas Food
It's barely Thanksgiving and I already see Christmas all
about me. The other day I saw signs for u-cut trees (you pay a fee and
cut your own tree from the Christmas tree farm), the stores have
Christmas decorations and are selling Christmas specialty items. Since I
am a food nut I always check out the Christmas foods for sale,
particularly the sweets. I have already bought seasonal peppermint ice
cream, Christmas hard candy and varies peppermint candies, some
gingerbread cookies and....well you get the idea.
One thing I hide from every year is eggnog. The varieties sold in stores isn't really true eggnog and is much worse than the real stuff. But even real eggnog sends chills up my spine. Yuk! I don't particularly like eggs, and when you put raw eggs in a drink it is wholly unpleasant to me. Some people make their own eggnog. I suppose they also make fruitcake, another seasonal food that many people despise (though I like very much). Fortunately, eggnog is perishable, so the nuts who make their own rarely give their eggnog as gifts.
All those Christmas food offerings facing me made me think about some of the traditional Christmas foods of New Orleans. One who grows up in New Orleans is never food deprived but the local Christmas favorites take their food to an even higher level. At Christmas time, when eating at home, someone else's home or in a restaurant one will see a number of favorite New Orleans Christmas foods. Some are strictly local and others found elsewhere , but like most food in New Orleans, just prepared better in New Orleans.
Here are some of my favorites: oyster dressing (dozens of oysters and the oyster 'liquor" goes into this type of stuffing for a turkey. Even people who don't like oysters like the dressing); oyster/artichoke soup (Yes, another oyster dish. Oysters are at their peak in December, that's why); Shrimp with remoulade sauce (this dish uses a New Orleans style variation of the classic French remoulade. It has mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, paprika and Cajun seasonings as the base.); Shrimp or Duck and Sausage Gumbo (the favorite soup of New Orleans that is served over rice and is therefore not so soupy in consistency) ; Spinach Madeleine ( an enhanced version of a creamed spinach....very well seasoned and not bland like most spinach dishes); Turduken (It's a chicken stuffed inside a duck, which is stuffed inside a turkey. Each layer has a highly seasons rice stuffing accompanying it); Daube Glace' (slow cooked beef in a sinful gravy. After cooking it is refrigerated in its stock to form a cold, jellied meat, which is then simmered down to create the Glacé .) Dirty Rice (It only looks dirty, but it does have pureed chicken livers and gizzards in it); Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton (Mirlitons are a weird vegetable that grows wild in New Orleans. Trust me on this, they are wonderful when stuffed with shrimp, spices, veggies, and bread crumbs) ; and Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce (made with stale New Orleans style French bread and tons of cream and butter).
Ok that is SOME of what they eat in New Orleans at Christmas time. I can't go on any longer writing about this because the cravings of those missed delicacies are too much for me to take...
One thing I hide from every year is eggnog. The varieties sold in stores isn't really true eggnog and is much worse than the real stuff. But even real eggnog sends chills up my spine. Yuk! I don't particularly like eggs, and when you put raw eggs in a drink it is wholly unpleasant to me. Some people make their own eggnog. I suppose they also make fruitcake, another seasonal food that many people despise (though I like very much). Fortunately, eggnog is perishable, so the nuts who make their own rarely give their eggnog as gifts.
All those Christmas food offerings facing me made me think about some of the traditional Christmas foods of New Orleans. One who grows up in New Orleans is never food deprived but the local Christmas favorites take their food to an even higher level. At Christmas time, when eating at home, someone else's home or in a restaurant one will see a number of favorite New Orleans Christmas foods. Some are strictly local and others found elsewhere , but like most food in New Orleans, just prepared better in New Orleans.
Here are some of my favorites: oyster dressing (dozens of oysters and the oyster 'liquor" goes into this type of stuffing for a turkey. Even people who don't like oysters like the dressing); oyster/artichoke soup (Yes, another oyster dish. Oysters are at their peak in December, that's why); Shrimp with remoulade sauce (this dish uses a New Orleans style variation of the classic French remoulade. It has mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, paprika and Cajun seasonings as the base.); Shrimp or Duck and Sausage Gumbo (the favorite soup of New Orleans that is served over rice and is therefore not so soupy in consistency) ; Spinach Madeleine ( an enhanced version of a creamed spinach....very well seasoned and not bland like most spinach dishes); Turduken (It's a chicken stuffed inside a duck, which is stuffed inside a turkey. Each layer has a highly seasons rice stuffing accompanying it); Daube Glace' (slow cooked beef in a sinful gravy. After cooking it is refrigerated in its stock to form a cold, jellied meat, which is then simmered down to create the Glacé .) Dirty Rice (It only looks dirty, but it does have pureed chicken livers and gizzards in it); Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton (Mirlitons are a weird vegetable that grows wild in New Orleans. Trust me on this, they are wonderful when stuffed with shrimp, spices, veggies, and bread crumbs) ; and Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce (made with stale New Orleans style French bread and tons of cream and butter).
Ok that is SOME of what they eat in New Orleans at Christmas time. I can't go on any longer writing about this because the cravings of those missed delicacies are too much for me to take...
Punishing Idiots
The courts here in the U.S. are getting creative when meeting
out punishments to the dumbest or most inconsiderate of criminals. A
Municipal Court judge in Ohio recently ordered 32-year-old Shena Hardin
to serve a highly public sentence in shame on Tuesday and Wednesday for
the citation she received. Shameless Shena was caught on camera driving
on a sidewalk to pass a Cleveland school bus that was unloading
children.
Yep! She not only doesn't she stop her car to wait for the bus to unload, as required by law for the safety of the kids, Shena just drives around the stopped bus imperiling the lives of the kids and anyone else who might walk on the sidewalk. And apparently she has done it may times before. One witness, parent Lisa Kelley, whose 9-year-old daughter boards the bus that Shameless had been passing on the sidewalk, said the sentence fit the crime. "She did this almost every day last year," Kelley said. "She won't stop laughing. She's not remorseful, she laughed at every court appearance. She's still laughing, so she needs to be humiliated like this."
And what was the humiliating punishment imposed by the judge? It was to hold a sign that said, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus." One hour both Tuesday and Wednesday Shameless was herself shamed....maybe. Stupid people often feel no shame., and Shameless wore a set of headphones to listen to music and ignore any comments while she paraded around with her sign. Oh, Shameless Shena was also fined $250 and had her driver's license suspended for 30 days and she was ordered to pay $250 in court costs.
I like the idea of this kind of light humiliation of those who deserve to be humiliated and probably can't be convinced of their bad behavior unless they are humiliated. It's the old world eye for an eye justice.This kind of sentence is a nice trend. Recently some other judges across the country have resorted to unconventional sentences.
* In Utah a teen had landed in court in May because she and another girl used dollar store scissors to cut off the hair of a 3-year-old they had befriended at a McDonald’s. What did the judge do. He agreed to reduce the hair cutters community service time if her mother chopped off her daughter's ponytail in court. The mother has since filed a formal complaint, saying the judge in Price intimidated her into the eye-for-an-eye penalty. Sigh..someone should cut off mom's hair too!
* In Houston, Texas, Daniel and Eloise Mireles were convicted of stealing more than $265,000 from the crime victims fund in Harris County, Texas. In addition to restitution and jail time, the Houston couple were sentenced in July 2010 to stand in front of the local mall for five hours every weekend for six years with a sign reading, “I am a thief.” A sign was also posted outside their house stating they were convicted thieves. Hmmm Maybe we should also do this with our thieving politicians.
* In Pennsylvania residents Evelyn Border and her daughter, Tina Griekspoor, 35, were caught stealing a gift card from a child inside a Walmart. I'm not kidding. They stole form a baby. In response the district attorney of the county said he would recommend probation instead of jail time because the women stood in front of the courthouse for 4 1/2 hours holding signs reading, “I stole from a 9-year-old on her birthday! Don’t steal or this could happen to you!” An pair of idiots imposed a preemptive punishment to avoid more harsher punishment from the court. I like it.
* In Wisconsin a man named Shane Mc Quilan who crashed his car into the gates at a Wisconsin waste water treatment plant spent eight hours holding a sign saying, “I was stupid.” Sewer guy Shane decided he would rather do that than spend 20 days in jail on a charge of criminal damage to property because he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.238 percent, nearly three times the legal limit for driving, at the time of the "accident". Might have helped if the judge made Shane also clean a few sewers.
* An Ohio judge ordered a man and woman who vandalized a baby Jesus statue in a church's outdoor nativity to march through town with a donkey to apologize. They led a donkey provided by a petting zoo through the streets carrying a sign that said, “Sorry for the jackass offense.” After the 30 minute march, the pair were taken to serve 45 day sentences that included drug and alcohol treatment. They also were ordered to replace the statue. No word on whether they have been able to replace their self respect.
Oh, if you have a suggested sentence for me for writing about this stupidity, just forget it. I also have no shame
Yep! She not only doesn't she stop her car to wait for the bus to unload, as required by law for the safety of the kids, Shena just drives around the stopped bus imperiling the lives of the kids and anyone else who might walk on the sidewalk. And apparently she has done it may times before. One witness, parent Lisa Kelley, whose 9-year-old daughter boards the bus that Shameless had been passing on the sidewalk, said the sentence fit the crime. "She did this almost every day last year," Kelley said. "She won't stop laughing. She's not remorseful, she laughed at every court appearance. She's still laughing, so she needs to be humiliated like this."
And what was the humiliating punishment imposed by the judge? It was to hold a sign that said, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus." One hour both Tuesday and Wednesday Shameless was herself shamed....maybe. Stupid people often feel no shame., and Shameless wore a set of headphones to listen to music and ignore any comments while she paraded around with her sign. Oh, Shameless Shena was also fined $250 and had her driver's license suspended for 30 days and she was ordered to pay $250 in court costs.
I like the idea of this kind of light humiliation of those who deserve to be humiliated and probably can't be convinced of their bad behavior unless they are humiliated. It's the old world eye for an eye justice.This kind of sentence is a nice trend. Recently some other judges across the country have resorted to unconventional sentences.
* In Utah a teen had landed in court in May because she and another girl used dollar store scissors to cut off the hair of a 3-year-old they had befriended at a McDonald’s. What did the judge do. He agreed to reduce the hair cutters community service time if her mother chopped off her daughter's ponytail in court. The mother has since filed a formal complaint, saying the judge in Price intimidated her into the eye-for-an-eye penalty. Sigh..someone should cut off mom's hair too!
* In Houston, Texas, Daniel and Eloise Mireles were convicted of stealing more than $265,000 from the crime victims fund in Harris County, Texas. In addition to restitution and jail time, the Houston couple were sentenced in July 2010 to stand in front of the local mall for five hours every weekend for six years with a sign reading, “I am a thief.” A sign was also posted outside their house stating they were convicted thieves. Hmmm Maybe we should also do this with our thieving politicians.
* In Pennsylvania residents Evelyn Border and her daughter, Tina Griekspoor, 35, were caught stealing a gift card from a child inside a Walmart. I'm not kidding. They stole form a baby. In response the district attorney of the county said he would recommend probation instead of jail time because the women stood in front of the courthouse for 4 1/2 hours holding signs reading, “I stole from a 9-year-old on her birthday! Don’t steal or this could happen to you!” An pair of idiots imposed a preemptive punishment to avoid more harsher punishment from the court. I like it.
* In Wisconsin a man named Shane Mc Quilan who crashed his car into the gates at a Wisconsin waste water treatment plant spent eight hours holding a sign saying, “I was stupid.” Sewer guy Shane decided he would rather do that than spend 20 days in jail on a charge of criminal damage to property because he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.238 percent, nearly three times the legal limit for driving, at the time of the "accident". Might have helped if the judge made Shane also clean a few sewers.
* An Ohio judge ordered a man and woman who vandalized a baby Jesus statue in a church's outdoor nativity to march through town with a donkey to apologize. They led a donkey provided by a petting zoo through the streets carrying a sign that said, “Sorry for the jackass offense.” After the 30 minute march, the pair were taken to serve 45 day sentences that included drug and alcohol treatment. They also were ordered to replace the statue. No word on whether they have been able to replace their self respect.
Oh, if you have a suggested sentence for me for writing about this stupidity, just forget it. I also have no shame
Biggest Liars
In honor of our recent presidential election in which
President Obama proved to be the bigger liar and, as a result, the
winner of another term comes the annual Bridge Inn (London) Biggest Liar
contest. Sigh, but Obama and his kind aren't eligible. Politicians and
lawyers are barred from entry, as they are considered to have an unfair
advantage. What a shame. Obama would clearly win.
Anyway, the contestants have five minutes to impress the judges with a whopping but convincing lie. Since the event is held in a pub they are mostly fortified with beer when making their presentations before the judges. Last year's winner was nuclear power plant worker named Glen Boyland (Unless he also lied about his name), for a story about racing snails with Prince Charles. As dull as Prince Charles is I can believe it is true.
And what profession can probably should skip the contest since most of us believe they are possessed with honesty? A Gallop poll two years ago found that nursing is the most trusted of all professions. 75% of people asked which profession is the most honest said nurses were the ones to count on. 70% had a high regard for the honesty of pharmacists and doctors. Grade school teachers also ranked well, at 67%. Americans consider car salespeople and members of Congress to be the least ethical. Only 9% of those surveyed say the members of Congress have high ethical standards. But you probably already knew that.
Uh, I trust you believe everything I wrote about this.....
Anyway, the contestants have five minutes to impress the judges with a whopping but convincing lie. Since the event is held in a pub they are mostly fortified with beer when making their presentations before the judges. Last year's winner was nuclear power plant worker named Glen Boyland (Unless he also lied about his name), for a story about racing snails with Prince Charles. As dull as Prince Charles is I can believe it is true.
And what profession can probably should skip the contest since most of us believe they are possessed with honesty? A Gallop poll two years ago found that nursing is the most trusted of all professions. 75% of people asked which profession is the most honest said nurses were the ones to count on. 70% had a high regard for the honesty of pharmacists and doctors. Grade school teachers also ranked well, at 67%. Americans consider car salespeople and members of Congress to be the least ethical. Only 9% of those surveyed say the members of Congress have high ethical standards. But you probably already knew that.
Uh, I trust you believe everything I wrote about this.....
Do They Want To Leave The U.S.?
How bad is the Obama administration (and congress)? Well, bad
enough for some of the states to want to leave the U.S. and become
independent nations. Petitions seeking secession by citizens in every
state have been filed on the White House web site asking the Obama
administration to "peacefully grant" the states withdrawal so they can
create their own government. It won't happen, since no state can leave
without the permission of the U.S. government, but it does reflect the
dissatisfaction with the U.S. government and direction of the country
(toward being a European style welfare state).
The latest to mention succession is a big and powerful state, Texas, that probably be one of the few that could make it on their own if it did become independent. Texas has the world's 15th largest economy. More than 25,000 people have signed the petition in Texas. "The U.S. continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government's neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending," the petition says. "The citizens of the U.S. suffer from blatant abuses of their rights." I think a substantial number of Americans would agree with that statement and with the fact that the Obama administration has been negligent..about half the population if one looks at the voting from the presidential election.
Ok, this succeeding thing is only symbolic, since the Supreme court long ago ruled that no state can secede without the approval/permission of the others. But it shows that Obama will be in for a rough second term as president. And perhaps it is the first protest against the welfare entitlement system that President Obama has pushed the past four years.
The greatest conflict in this country today is the battle between the givers and takers. The givers work and pay taxes, while the takers live off welfare benefits supplied by the taxes the givers pay. During the past four years under the Obama program the number of people taking "free stuff" has risen to an all time high, while the number of tax payers is at an all time low. At some point it may become financially unfeasible for the takers to contribute so much of their funds for the ever growing taker population. If so, the U.S economy will screech to a halt.
Maybe Texas and those other states have the right idea, abandon the sinking welfare state ship before it falls to the bottom of the sea.
The latest to mention succession is a big and powerful state, Texas, that probably be one of the few that could make it on their own if it did become independent. Texas has the world's 15th largest economy. More than 25,000 people have signed the petition in Texas. "The U.S. continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government's neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending," the petition says. "The citizens of the U.S. suffer from blatant abuses of their rights." I think a substantial number of Americans would agree with that statement and with the fact that the Obama administration has been negligent..about half the population if one looks at the voting from the presidential election.
Ok, this succeeding thing is only symbolic, since the Supreme court long ago ruled that no state can secede without the approval/permission of the others. But it shows that Obama will be in for a rough second term as president. And perhaps it is the first protest against the welfare entitlement system that President Obama has pushed the past four years.
The greatest conflict in this country today is the battle between the givers and takers. The givers work and pay taxes, while the takers live off welfare benefits supplied by the taxes the givers pay. During the past four years under the Obama program the number of people taking "free stuff" has risen to an all time high, while the number of tax payers is at an all time low. At some point it may become financially unfeasible for the takers to contribute so much of their funds for the ever growing taker population. If so, the U.S economy will screech to a halt.
Maybe Texas and those other states have the right idea, abandon the sinking welfare state ship before it falls to the bottom of the sea.
Too Much Tech Slang
Again, I just heard that most annoying technology slang
term/phrase of all. It's the "going viral" phrase. That idiotic slang
and much more has entered into the mainstream news outlets now and is as
common as the "you know" is in non tech slang world. This time I heard
"going viral" about a Yu Tube video. A newscaster on my local late night
news said that a video had "gone viral". In fact, in recent months his
mouth has been going viral while spouting cutsie technological slang.
And he is not alone. I hear tech slang every day, read it in the media
and might start having nightmares about it tonight.
I know there is no escaping this garbage that masks for English, so I thought today I would throw some of that mess at you (so you can suffer too) in the form of a list of some of my least favorite tech slang. You can put "going viral" at the top of the list, and I do hope you would hate it too. When humans ape slang and over-use it, it seems to cut off some of their cognitive abilities. They use the terms so much that they assume the listener understands what they imply. But this is not so. Language must be precise to best be understood. I think if that newscaster said that the video was " immediately popular", viewers might have greater confidence in his command of the English language, because broadcasters are supposed to speak the language better and with less imprecision that are we the listeners.
Here's ten samples of the more annoying tech slang I hear and read way too much.
* beta- a new product released for testing. I think "new product" is a clearer alternative
* hacker- has come to mean a malicious computer user. I prefer "computer criminal' and perhaps a stretch in prison for them.
* spam- computer junk mail. It would best be identified as what is is "garbage"
* avatar- damn that awful movie that put that term into the trendy geek slang world. How about "icon" instead?
* low bandwidth- This means that the computer session gave little information. How about saying "slow" instead?
* skimming- First we had scamming and now skimming, which is a scam in which thugs steal your credit or debit card numbers with a hidden reading device. "theft" sounds better to me.
* smishing- Think another stupid tech term, "phishing", and apply it to phishing on cell phones rather than computers. So smishing is phishing with cell phones. They used to call that kind of theft tactic "bait and switch'. I think the latter is more descriptive.
* texting- electronic messages. Why not just "message"? Do we have to technological identify the source of every message?
* blog- a journal one posts on line. "Journal" is sufficient.
* screenagers- teenagers who are on line too much. Do we really need a word for that?
Well, after writing that there is one good outcome for you. I am now speechless....
I know there is no escaping this garbage that masks for English, so I thought today I would throw some of that mess at you (so you can suffer too) in the form of a list of some of my least favorite tech slang. You can put "going viral" at the top of the list, and I do hope you would hate it too. When humans ape slang and over-use it, it seems to cut off some of their cognitive abilities. They use the terms so much that they assume the listener understands what they imply. But this is not so. Language must be precise to best be understood. I think if that newscaster said that the video was " immediately popular", viewers might have greater confidence in his command of the English language, because broadcasters are supposed to speak the language better and with less imprecision that are we the listeners.
Here's ten samples of the more annoying tech slang I hear and read way too much.
* beta- a new product released for testing. I think "new product" is a clearer alternative
* hacker- has come to mean a malicious computer user. I prefer "computer criminal' and perhaps a stretch in prison for them.
* spam- computer junk mail. It would best be identified as what is is "garbage"
* avatar- damn that awful movie that put that term into the trendy geek slang world. How about "icon" instead?
* low bandwidth- This means that the computer session gave little information. How about saying "slow" instead?
* skimming- First we had scamming and now skimming, which is a scam in which thugs steal your credit or debit card numbers with a hidden reading device. "theft" sounds better to me.
* smishing- Think another stupid tech term, "phishing", and apply it to phishing on cell phones rather than computers. So smishing is phishing with cell phones. They used to call that kind of theft tactic "bait and switch'. I think the latter is more descriptive.
* texting- electronic messages. Why not just "message"? Do we have to technological identify the source of every message?
* blog- a journal one posts on line. "Journal" is sufficient.
* screenagers- teenagers who are on line too much. Do we really need a word for that?
Well, after writing that there is one good outcome for you. I am now speechless....
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Democracy At Work...Sort Of
Election day has come and gone and, as usual, most voters are not
happy. Let's face it. Democracy and happiness are mutually exclusive
concepts when the votes are counted. We wonder why all those other
voters are so stupid in that they seem to vote for the wrong candidate
or issue every election. Hmmm Maybe one day the voters will wise up and
vote as I do.....ensuring the best possible result. Uh, I guess you can
see by that comment that election day also makes voters hallucinate. I
certainly am doing that.
I thought I would mention some things about the voting patterns this past election here in my state of Oregon. In this last election, both here and in every other every state in the U.S., the election results that proved the truth of what Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst system devised by the wit of man ...except all the others". Churchill wasn't kidding. The other non democratic systems are even worse, though those who live under democracy often find that hard to believe until election returns come in. But at least in a democracy we get what we deserve, since we choose the winners and losers and merit the suffering those idiots we elect inflict on us.
Everyone and every persuasion gets or doesn't get something in a democratic election system. Here in Oregon those liberal voters who love a big government that gives them "free stuff' won the day with the weird liberal Portland politicians winning again. The legalization of marijuana passed as well as a strange "women's rights amendment"....even though women are given the same rights as men in the Oregon constitution. The liberal bubble nesds "symbolic amendments" as well as those that are truly needed
Yet the conservative crowd got some victories when propositions to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and to require special labeling for so called genetically altered food ( 80% of all food is gaf) both failed.
How inclusive is a democratic election? Well, here in Oregon in recnet elections a transgendered mayor, Stu Rassmussen, of Silverton, Oregon won re-election for the fifth straight time. I guess Stu's win proves that transgendered politicians don't really change their minds, positions or sex as often as other politicians do. We should start a Transgendered arty here in Oregon. The slogan for campaigns could be, "We only change our minds once."
And two years ago, the strangest case here in Oregon shows why democratic elections really includes everyone....even when the elected party doesn't want to be included.... is that of Lillian Slater. Lillian is 95 years old and has been a member of the elected town council (the legislative branch of the town government) of Bonanza, Oregon for 27 years.
But Lillian and her husband said that Lillian has had enough of politics and wants to retire. She ran unopposed to the town council position, and she was reelected despite not even voting for herself. Lillian got 92% of the vote but swears she doesn't want the job. After the win she announced, "It's not that I don't like serving on the council, I just think some other folks should be on it". But Lillian hopes those crazy voters will let her retire before she hits 100. Now how crazy is that kind of democracy?
I thought I would mention some things about the voting patterns this past election here in my state of Oregon. In this last election, both here and in every other every state in the U.S., the election results that proved the truth of what Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst system devised by the wit of man ...except all the others". Churchill wasn't kidding. The other non democratic systems are even worse, though those who live under democracy often find that hard to believe until election returns come in. But at least in a democracy we get what we deserve, since we choose the winners and losers and merit the suffering those idiots we elect inflict on us.
Everyone and every persuasion gets or doesn't get something in a democratic election system. Here in Oregon those liberal voters who love a big government that gives them "free stuff' won the day with the weird liberal Portland politicians winning again. The legalization of marijuana passed as well as a strange "women's rights amendment"....even though women are given the same rights as men in the Oregon constitution. The liberal bubble nesds "symbolic amendments" as well as those that are truly needed
Yet the conservative crowd got some victories when propositions to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and to require special labeling for so called genetically altered food ( 80% of all food is gaf) both failed.
How inclusive is a democratic election? Well, here in Oregon in recnet elections a transgendered mayor, Stu Rassmussen, of Silverton, Oregon won re-election for the fifth straight time. I guess Stu's win proves that transgendered politicians don't really change their minds, positions or sex as often as other politicians do. We should start a Transgendered arty here in Oregon. The slogan for campaigns could be, "We only change our minds once."
And two years ago, the strangest case here in Oregon shows why democratic elections really includes everyone....even when the elected party doesn't want to be included.... is that of Lillian Slater. Lillian is 95 years old and has been a member of the elected town council (the legislative branch of the town government) of Bonanza, Oregon for 27 years.
But Lillian and her husband said that Lillian has had enough of politics and wants to retire. She ran unopposed to the town council position, and she was reelected despite not even voting for herself. Lillian got 92% of the vote but swears she doesn't want the job. After the win she announced, "It's not that I don't like serving on the council, I just think some other folks should be on it". But Lillian hopes those crazy voters will let her retire before she hits 100. Now how crazy is that kind of democracy?
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Voting
Tuesday was election day in the United States for
most voters. But my state and a growing number of others have the so
called "early voting" period in which a voter can substitute election
day for a more convenient time to vote from within the range of dates
allowed. The idea is to make it simple for voters to cast their ballot
in order to increase the participation rate. It is a bad idea, I think.
Like most important tasks, voting should not one which is a painless
process. If it is, sometimes people cast ballots who would not otherwise
vote. They tend to be uninformed or apathetic who only vote because of a
narrow personal gain to be obtained from voting for a particular
candidate or issue. I wonder why society wants those kinds of people to
vote more often. A little inconvenience, as in taking a n hour off work
to visit a polling place and casting a vote, is a good measure of
interest. Those who are unwilling to do that probably don't care enough
to make an informed vote.
The vote is a singularly nice, yet unappreciated gift. We can do many things with our votes and there are many motivations to vote or not vote. Some will not use it, and that can be a nice way to protest disdain or to simply show a lack of interest. Others can vote "for" a candidate or issue, and still others might vote just to be against a single candidate or issue. It is not unheard of that some people "sell" their vote to someone who gives them something in return. In a democracy voting gives everyone the right to do something stupid.
Too, voting is a way to feel both invested in and responsible for the community in which we live. If we vote for a good candidate who has governed well we can brag that "I voted for him," or if we voted for a bad candidate who has shamed, it can shame us as well (though we may not admit voting for the bad one). It's odd how many people won't say who they voted for. This may be to save themselves shame if their candidate wins and turns out to be a dud. But really, in free nations, if voting changed anything it would be abolished.
Of course all of this is irrelevant in countries that have voting but that don't really have a free or honest process. Nations who pretend to have voting decide their elections tend to have a much higher voting turnout than those who have real and honest ones. It's not normal for most people to vote. Humans are not sheep who all follow the same ritual. Any country for instance, that brags that it has a 95% turnout is most likely a dictatorship that only pretend to have a real voting process.
Hmmm, I wonder if the dictators might not be right about the folly of letting citizens vote. The great cynic Ambrose Bierce said it best when asked about voting he said, "The vote is the instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country." But then, most citizens in a democracy will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in an election.
The vote is a singularly nice, yet unappreciated gift. We can do many things with our votes and there are many motivations to vote or not vote. Some will not use it, and that can be a nice way to protest disdain or to simply show a lack of interest. Others can vote "for" a candidate or issue, and still others might vote just to be against a single candidate or issue. It is not unheard of that some people "sell" their vote to someone who gives them something in return. In a democracy voting gives everyone the right to do something stupid.
Too, voting is a way to feel both invested in and responsible for the community in which we live. If we vote for a good candidate who has governed well we can brag that "I voted for him," or if we voted for a bad candidate who has shamed, it can shame us as well (though we may not admit voting for the bad one). It's odd how many people won't say who they voted for. This may be to save themselves shame if their candidate wins and turns out to be a dud. But really, in free nations, if voting changed anything it would be abolished.
Of course all of this is irrelevant in countries that have voting but that don't really have a free or honest process. Nations who pretend to have voting decide their elections tend to have a much higher voting turnout than those who have real and honest ones. It's not normal for most people to vote. Humans are not sheep who all follow the same ritual. Any country for instance, that brags that it has a 95% turnout is most likely a dictatorship that only pretend to have a real voting process.
Hmmm, I wonder if the dictators might not be right about the folly of letting citizens vote. The great cynic Ambrose Bierce said it best when asked about voting he said, "The vote is the instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country." But then, most citizens in a democracy will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in an election.
Trick Or Treat 2012
Halloween 2012 and trick or treat was marginal for the kids
in the neighborhood. It rained all a day, but just before nightfall it
stopped and the kids did have the opportunity to put on their costumes
and trick or treat. I enjoy handing out the goodies to them because it
makes me a child again and reminds me of how my mom would make a ghost
outfit for me (that I sometimes tripped over when running house to house
on search of the candy treats) and my dad would escort me and my
friends on the trick or treat. I always thought my dad enjoyed it more
than the kids and when I started taking little Jane I realized he and I
both did.
I always give out good and copious amounts of candy and novelty items. The kids appreciate it and will remark year to year that "we like to come to this house because you give "good stuff". In addition to individual treat bags of candy I also handed out: glow sticks; Dracula fangs; Halloween pencils, Halloween puzzles and Halloween activity books; Halloween stickers and Halloween stamp kits. Surely the kids met at their friend's home after ending the trick or treat walk to trade candy and toys. I can remember Jane and her friends sitting on the living room rug, candy all about, as they traded their least favorites for something better someone else got. I also remember how I asked for a few pieces when I saw my favorites on the rug. Adults love to see the candy swap because it is an opportunity for them to get "the good stuff" too.
The costumes the kids wore this year were good and there was no single type or identity that predominated. I saw few movie or TV personalities this year and more of the traditional costumes. Also, there were an equal amount of store bought and home made costumes. The youngest of costumed kids seem most proud of their outfits, so I try to compliment them from time to time on their costumes, and even pretend to b e scared by the little Dracula or wolf man trick or treaters. Haha Thanks God there were no Lady Gaga or Honey Boo Boo costumes this year. I am already sick of the real life versions.
Anyway, Halloween is over and in 4 weeks Thanksgiving is next on the holiday agenda.
I always give out good and copious amounts of candy and novelty items. The kids appreciate it and will remark year to year that "we like to come to this house because you give "good stuff". In addition to individual treat bags of candy I also handed out: glow sticks; Dracula fangs; Halloween pencils, Halloween puzzles and Halloween activity books; Halloween stickers and Halloween stamp kits. Surely the kids met at their friend's home after ending the trick or treat walk to trade candy and toys. I can remember Jane and her friends sitting on the living room rug, candy all about, as they traded their least favorites for something better someone else got. I also remember how I asked for a few pieces when I saw my favorites on the rug. Adults love to see the candy swap because it is an opportunity for them to get "the good stuff" too.
The costumes the kids wore this year were good and there was no single type or identity that predominated. I saw few movie or TV personalities this year and more of the traditional costumes. Also, there were an equal amount of store bought and home made costumes. The youngest of costumed kids seem most proud of their outfits, so I try to compliment them from time to time on their costumes, and even pretend to b e scared by the little Dracula or wolf man trick or treaters. Haha Thanks God there were no Lady Gaga or Honey Boo Boo costumes this year. I am already sick of the real life versions.
Anyway, Halloween is over and in 4 weeks Thanksgiving is next on the holiday agenda.
Forced To Eavesdrop
The times not only "are a changing", they have changed when
it comes to privacy. Go to any public place today and listen to the
sounds of the cell phone nuts screaming the most personal information
about themselves or others into their phones and to anyone else around.
Years ago we had phone booths as a matter of privacy and politeness.
now we have people broadcasting their lives to uninterested others and
more.
Now, many members of society are not just unconcerned about overheard phone calls, they purposely broadcast their personal business to large groups of "friends" and "followers" on Face book or Twitter. Just a century ago, when the first home phones were "party lines" shared by neighbors, "worrying you were being listened in on was a common feature of American culture. Now, privacy seems unimportant as the addiction to communication technology has such a hold on society that it is erasing what little is left of public manners and consideration for others.
I wonder if we are we're fast becoming a nation of casual eavesdroppers because, unwillingly or not, we hear more and more private maters All this "sharing" (annoying , in my view) may be feeding a tendency toward exhibitionism, and devaluing the very privacy that earlier generations so desired. Ergo Reality TV that humiliate humans for the sole purpose of their getting a few minutes of attention on television.
Cell phone cameras photograph us, grocery shoppers chatter loudly on phones while shopping, often telling anyone who is nearby intimate financial or personal or information the cell addict would feel indignant of "sharing" if by any other way. And this leads to more than eavesdropping. Eventually those who hear inadvertently may want to hear other ways as well. they may spy on others, intercept and read E mail, bend over to eye the screen of a cell addict or computer user, looking in an opened window or door...
But wait! The real "victim" is no longer the person being eavesdropped on, it's those who overhear them and can't escape the exhibitionists who assault them with their phones and use other mediums from which the victims can't get away. What had once been private behavior has now become public and is being shoved in our faces and we can not escape.
In reality, I think the end of privacy has as much to do with people wanting attention at any price. The unimportant are trying to make themselves feel important, and technology makes that not so hard to do. Perhaps the only remedy is for society to just tire of it all, ending both the eavesdropping and the ego gratification of broadcasting. At that point we will realize that chattering loudly about ourselves on a phone or a web site doesn't make us important. It only makes us look self absorbed and appear loud.
Now, many members of society are not just unconcerned about overheard phone calls, they purposely broadcast their personal business to large groups of "friends" and "followers" on Face book or Twitter. Just a century ago, when the first home phones were "party lines" shared by neighbors, "worrying you were being listened in on was a common feature of American culture. Now, privacy seems unimportant as the addiction to communication technology has such a hold on society that it is erasing what little is left of public manners and consideration for others.
I wonder if we are we're fast becoming a nation of casual eavesdroppers because, unwillingly or not, we hear more and more private maters All this "sharing" (annoying , in my view) may be feeding a tendency toward exhibitionism, and devaluing the very privacy that earlier generations so desired. Ergo Reality TV that humiliate humans for the sole purpose of their getting a few minutes of attention on television.
Cell phone cameras photograph us, grocery shoppers chatter loudly on phones while shopping, often telling anyone who is nearby intimate financial or personal or information the cell addict would feel indignant of "sharing" if by any other way. And this leads to more than eavesdropping. Eventually those who hear inadvertently may want to hear other ways as well. they may spy on others, intercept and read E mail, bend over to eye the screen of a cell addict or computer user, looking in an opened window or door...
But wait! The real "victim" is no longer the person being eavesdropped on, it's those who overhear them and can't escape the exhibitionists who assault them with their phones and use other mediums from which the victims can't get away. What had once been private behavior has now become public and is being shoved in our faces and we can not escape.
In reality, I think the end of privacy has as much to do with people wanting attention at any price. The unimportant are trying to make themselves feel important, and technology makes that not so hard to do. Perhaps the only remedy is for society to just tire of it all, ending both the eavesdropping and the ego gratification of broadcasting. At that point we will realize that chattering loudly about ourselves on a phone or a web site doesn't make us important. It only makes us look self absorbed and appear loud.
Hurricane Sandy
That big east coast storm is surely wrecking havoc there. It
actually was a minimal hurricane due to the fact that tropical systems
lose strength as they hot colder air and water. The upper Atlantic is
much colder than the tropical conditions in Louisiana and the Gulf of
Mexico. I think Louisiana receives storms that size almost yearly. They
do much less damage because the Gulf Coast infrastructure and the people
there are built to withstand those storms and are used to storms.
The East Coast infrastructure is not built for such storms. Levees are lower, the electrical grids are not prepared for water or wind, buildings are not built to a "hurricane code" standard of strength, etc. No wonder that storm has devastated the east coast. I feel for the people there. But if the same one would have hit Louisiana, the damage would have been much much smaller. I think the recovery will be much slower there too. That area has had little experience in hurricane recovery and will need support (as in electrical crews and equipment from other states) from areas that are experienced in it, particularly in fixing the electrical grids. I think those areas will face recovery tasks they have never had to before.
To be cynical, I am waiting for the Obama and Romney campaigns to politicize the recovery. No doubt they will make the grand tours of the devastation and make piteous speeches about the victims, but they also will probably cast aspersions against each other and "dance on the graves" of the victims in the process. I suspect it won't matter. Obama has a clear lead in the electoral college and should be re elected.
I find that a sad commentary on our voters, who are choosing demagoguery, incompetence and entitlements over the welfare of the nation. Another four years of Obama may be as destructive as was Hurricane Sandy.
The East Coast infrastructure is not built for such storms. Levees are lower, the electrical grids are not prepared for water or wind, buildings are not built to a "hurricane code" standard of strength, etc. No wonder that storm has devastated the east coast. I feel for the people there. But if the same one would have hit Louisiana, the damage would have been much much smaller. I think the recovery will be much slower there too. That area has had little experience in hurricane recovery and will need support (as in electrical crews and equipment from other states) from areas that are experienced in it, particularly in fixing the electrical grids. I think those areas will face recovery tasks they have never had to before.
To be cynical, I am waiting for the Obama and Romney campaigns to politicize the recovery. No doubt they will make the grand tours of the devastation and make piteous speeches about the victims, but they also will probably cast aspersions against each other and "dance on the graves" of the victims in the process. I suspect it won't matter. Obama has a clear lead in the electoral college and should be re elected.
I find that a sad commentary on our voters, who are choosing demagoguery, incompetence and entitlements over the welfare of the nation. Another four years of Obama may be as destructive as was Hurricane Sandy.
Handing Out Morning-After Pills To Children
How badly has the public education system in the U.S.
strayed? That is, why do kids today get to little educational
instruction and too many social services? Well, one example is in New
York. The New York City Department of Education is making the
morning-after-pill available to high school girls at 13 public schools.
Yep, for kids as young as 14 they hand them out, no questions asked and
no parent consulted. That system already hands out condoms to the kids.
There is something fundamentally wrong with handing out condoms and morning after pills to kids. It, uh, kind of says to them that we expect them to be immoral and irresponsible in their behavior. Maybe handing out math tests instead of condoms might work better, for an educated child will more often behave responsibly sexually and otherwise. Schools now not only act as the surrogate parent, but also as the child's physician, dietitian, social director, and it seems also... but rarely... as educators. Note I out education last on that list.
In the vast majority of cases the parent is more interested in the welfare of his or her child than is the school. So let parents make those other decisions, and let schools educate the child. The handing to educators by society of responsibilities unrelated to academic matters is a reflection of the society's failure to carry out the roles of those things at their former source. I have often felt that is teachers were allowed to teach and not be asked to parent, the children they educate would be far better off academically as a result.
Too, the lesson of free and easily available morning after pills for children is a lesson that teaches personal responsibility means sex for kids is ok as long as their is morning after to prevent pregnancy afterward. The real lesson is that there is not need for personal responsibility for reckless actions. While unwanted teen pregnancies may end with the free birth control for all teens, the emotional, relational, and other physical issues of being sexually active, particularly at such a young age, will remain. And that may prove to be the most damaging thing our society fails to teach to its children..
There is something fundamentally wrong with handing out condoms and morning after pills to kids. It, uh, kind of says to them that we expect them to be immoral and irresponsible in their behavior. Maybe handing out math tests instead of condoms might work better, for an educated child will more often behave responsibly sexually and otherwise. Schools now not only act as the surrogate parent, but also as the child's physician, dietitian, social director, and it seems also... but rarely... as educators. Note I out education last on that list.
In the vast majority of cases the parent is more interested in the welfare of his or her child than is the school. So let parents make those other decisions, and let schools educate the child. The handing to educators by society of responsibilities unrelated to academic matters is a reflection of the society's failure to carry out the roles of those things at their former source. I have often felt that is teachers were allowed to teach and not be asked to parent, the children they educate would be far better off academically as a result.
Too, the lesson of free and easily available morning after pills for children is a lesson that teaches personal responsibility means sex for kids is ok as long as their is morning after to prevent pregnancy afterward. The real lesson is that there is not need for personal responsibility for reckless actions. While unwanted teen pregnancies may end with the free birth control for all teens, the emotional, relational, and other physical issues of being sexually active, particularly at such a young age, will remain. And that may prove to be the most damaging thing our society fails to teach to its children..
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