Christmas is over. There is a little deflation after the end
of Christmas because people change their outlook and behavior so to a
positive one much during the lead up to and to Christmas Day. Humans
become better people during Christmas, probably a herd mentality
reaction because the masses create that idea. It's a good thing but
impossible to maintain all year, as due to their imperfections most
people can't show "good will and love" toward their fellow humans for
too long. Haha It would kill them to do so.
Next is one of my least favorite holidays, New Year's. It's the one I
call the "Artificial holiday". Other than when I was a child and so
loved to shoot fireworks after Christmas through New Year's Eve, I have
largely ignored New Year's Eve, a time when the drunks and drunk
wannabe's roam and carnage the rest of humanity in the name of....I am
not sure. A drunk at New Year's Eve is only slightly less threatening
than an attacking viking raider.
So while I ignore New Year's Eve and New Year's day I am pondering some
of the old childhood traditions my family had during Christmas. As
children we hardly notice them, but as our family dies and the
traditions disappear we strangely retrieve them from our memories. I
think they give us comfort in dealing with the present since most of us
idealize our childhood and would like to relive it if possible. My mom
was the one in charge of all the holiday festivities. Most moms are,
given they more often have a more pronounced sensitivity than do the
males of the family.
One such tradition I remember was my mother playing her Christmas
record albums in the house. She would start playing those LP albums
after Thanksgiving and could be heard until after New Year's. We all
liked it and it gave us both an appreciation of the holiday and of
music. Now I play Christmas music on my computer every Christmas season
Christmas music is simple, but pure. Sometimes while the records play
my mom would make cheesecake, the same cheesecake recipe that I make
today. Her recipe was excellent and requested by many. My mom used to
bake several to give as presents. One year I remember she didn't make a
cheesecake for a family friend and the friend was very upset. My mom n
ever forgot to make one for her after that mistake.
Another tradition we had was to open the presents Christmas morning. In
our family Santa Claus never came on Christmas Eve, so we didn't open
them at that time a so many families do. The routine was to awaken, eat
breakfast, go to Christmas mass and return to open the presents. My
parents were generous and always satisfied me with the unexpected and
the familiar (one was a box of Russell Stover Chocolate covered
caramels that I adored and got every year). When my daughter was small
we followed the same Christmas present opening ritual.
Decorating for Christmas was always elaborate and started the day after
Thanksgiving. My mother decorated for every holiday and was in charge
of all the interior decorations, while my dad and my brother and I put
up the outside lights and other decorations. I still love decorations.
There are many who think Christmas decorations, either the tacky kind
of the fancy, are silly or "too much work". Those people have no
Christmas soul. I feel sorry for them and hope they will one day find
one. When I was a child we had no led lights. Instead it was the old
and short lived colored bulb. Changing those things was a full time
job, particularly when pranksters (like me) would loosened some of
them, to make them appear to be burned out, at neighborhood houses to
make it appear they were burned out. We thought that kind of Christmas
prank was fun. It was a destructive as we got in those harmless days.
There were quite a few more of those family traditions, but no need to
write about them. Instead, you can think about your own traditions, at
Christmas or anytime. Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
The Age Of Triviality
This is the Age of Triviality. Well, that's my name for
it. People
everywhere seem more concerned with the trivial than with the
important. It's probably because they either want to be distracted by
triviality in order to escape reality or they have been seduced by it,
since it is everywhere. If we build sandcastles in the air, the air is
the Internet. Further, I think the best place to notice that triviality
has taken over the world is to look at how that social media is used.
Even though I rarely participate in it, and only as a viewer when doing
so, I can see that social media is mostly much ado about nothing.
Most of those "tweets" on Twitter are trivial ones....or annoying ones if you dislike them as much I do. And social media sites like Face book are mostly posts about nothing. "Here I am making coffee this morning", for instance. Posting pictures of things that we don't care about is the norm on most of the social media sites. There is also an excess of exaggeration about what the person posting is trying to convey and often what is posted is untrue or meant to impress the viewer. If friend Mabel posts her photos of the local hangout, for instance, Audrey posts her photos of her recent trip to Paris....just to one up Mabel.
One thing absent from social media is the discussion of any serious subjects. There is no depth there. I guess that's why some talk about Face book being "Fake book". I suspect that allot of what is posted on Face book/Fake book and other social media sites is just not real. But then, the trivial is that way. What's posted is pretentious or egotistical or some other illusion. I doubt you'll find any serious discussions there. Any serious subject gets mentioned only because it is trendy to do so, and the posting is often nonsense rather than reality.
Social media is a mirror of what concerns humans, and a look at social media sites today shows that we are concerned more about nothing than about something. I realize that social media is seductive to some, that it is a "toy" and that many don't want or see it as appropriate to use for intelligent postings. But nonetheless, what we see on social media is mostly triviality that confirms that we are not thinking very deeply during our days on earth. . And that is troubling.
Most of those "tweets" on Twitter are trivial ones....or annoying ones if you dislike them as much I do. And social media sites like Face book are mostly posts about nothing. "Here I am making coffee this morning", for instance. Posting pictures of things that we don't care about is the norm on most of the social media sites. There is also an excess of exaggeration about what the person posting is trying to convey and often what is posted is untrue or meant to impress the viewer. If friend Mabel posts her photos of the local hangout, for instance, Audrey posts her photos of her recent trip to Paris....just to one up Mabel.
One thing absent from social media is the discussion of any serious subjects. There is no depth there. I guess that's why some talk about Face book being "Fake book". I suspect that allot of what is posted on Face book/Fake book and other social media sites is just not real. But then, the trivial is that way. What's posted is pretentious or egotistical or some other illusion. I doubt you'll find any serious discussions there. Any serious subject gets mentioned only because it is trendy to do so, and the posting is often nonsense rather than reality.
Social media is a mirror of what concerns humans, and a look at social media sites today shows that we are concerned more about nothing than about something. I realize that social media is seductive to some, that it is a "toy" and that many don't want or see it as appropriate to use for intelligent postings. But nonetheless, what we see on social media is mostly triviality that confirms that we are not thinking very deeply during our days on earth. . And that is troubling.
No Kisses Allowed
It's time for another episode of 'The Stupid Politically
Correct is at
it Again'. This one involves a 6 year old boy who is bring treated like
a sexual predator, but in actuality is acting like 6 year olds were
expected to in the pre politically correct madness that is out of hand.
It seems that a 6-year-old boy was suspended from school the other day
for kissing a girl at school. He kissed the hand of a classmate as
normal 6 year olds tend to do from time to time. The idiots that run
the school system in the Colorado county thinks that 6 year olds are
hitting on 6 year old girls because they want sex. They considered it
sexual harassment.
The "predator" boy's mother said officials at Lincoln School of Science and Technology in Canon City, a southern Colorado city of 16,000, are over-reacting. Jennifer Saunders said her son Hunter has a crush on a girl at school and she likes him back. Uh...that would be a 6 year old crush, not a post puberty one. I'm surprised the geniuses at the school didn't make the 6 year old victim take a pregnancy test after Hunter "molested" her.
To prove that six year olds often make more sense than bubble headed politically correct school officials, Hunter summed up what happened. "It was during class, yeah. We were doing reading group, and I leaned over and kissed her on the hand. That's what happened," he said. Didn't that also happen a lot to you when you were 6 years old? Is that not normal 6 year old curiosity? The school's principal brought up the term "sexual harassment" during a meeting with mom. "Now my son is asking questions. What is sex mommy? That should not ever be said, sex. Not in a sentence with a six year old," said mom.
In recent years, Colorado and other politically correct oriented states have been moving to relax zero tolerance disciplinary policies blamed for increasing the dropout rate and giving students criminal records for relatively minor infractions. However, those policies have dealt mostly with safety issues, such as students fighting or bringing a replica gun to school, not sexual harassment. Psychologists say what the school did to the boy is idiotic.
Hunter's branding as a sexual harrasser could have negative consequences for his future. Kissing is normal behavior for children of that age. In fact, it is a normal stage in social development, just as important if not more than their academic subjects. Six year olds are simply curious about the differences between boys and girls and do not benefit when Politically correct adult hang-ups about sexual harassment are thrust upon them.
The "predator" boy's mother said officials at Lincoln School of Science and Technology in Canon City, a southern Colorado city of 16,000, are over-reacting. Jennifer Saunders said her son Hunter has a crush on a girl at school and she likes him back. Uh...that would be a 6 year old crush, not a post puberty one. I'm surprised the geniuses at the school didn't make the 6 year old victim take a pregnancy test after Hunter "molested" her.
To prove that six year olds often make more sense than bubble headed politically correct school officials, Hunter summed up what happened. "It was during class, yeah. We were doing reading group, and I leaned over and kissed her on the hand. That's what happened," he said. Didn't that also happen a lot to you when you were 6 years old? Is that not normal 6 year old curiosity? The school's principal brought up the term "sexual harassment" during a meeting with mom. "Now my son is asking questions. What is sex mommy? That should not ever be said, sex. Not in a sentence with a six year old," said mom.
In recent years, Colorado and other politically correct oriented states have been moving to relax zero tolerance disciplinary policies blamed for increasing the dropout rate and giving students criminal records for relatively minor infractions. However, those policies have dealt mostly with safety issues, such as students fighting or bringing a replica gun to school, not sexual harassment. Psychologists say what the school did to the boy is idiotic.
Hunter's branding as a sexual harrasser could have negative consequences for his future. Kissing is normal behavior for children of that age. In fact, it is a normal stage in social development, just as important if not more than their academic subjects. Six year olds are simply curious about the differences between boys and girls and do not benefit when Politically correct adult hang-ups about sexual harassment are thrust upon them.
Krampus Is Coming To Town
Beware! It's Christmas time and besides the fat. old guy (No
not me, I
refer instead to that Santa Clause fellow) who spreads good cheer and
gifts to everyone, there is his alter ego, Krampus Claus. Krampus is
the mean version/companion of St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus, who
rewards good children each year with those toys that soon litter the
house. Our much loved Ho Ho Santa doesn't like punishing the bad ones
among us, so legend has it kindly old Saint Nick leaves the task of
punishing bad children to his enforcer, Krampus. I wonder if Santa
watches too many Godfather films?
Krampus goes by many names there's, Ruprecht, Certa, Perchten, Black Peter, Schmutzli, Pelznickel, Klaubauf, and the most recognizable... Krampus. He's usually seen as as our traditional devil........... with horns, hooves and monstrous tongue, sort of am imitation of that rock band Kiss, I guess. I haven't met Krampus personally, but I am probably on his hit list, I'll so leave the negative descriptions of him at that. When Krampus thinks you might recognize him he avoid detection by changing his look, instead dressing as a man in black or as a hairy man beast. And what does Krampus do? He punishes the naughty children, swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them in baskets to a fiery place below. It's a real Christmas in Hell for those victims.
Krampus was born and promoted in Austria, the same place that gave the world Hitler. So much for Austria. In Austria and in other Northern European countries Krampus parties are a kind of sordid, wild teen frat style party of sex, booze and drugs. I suppose you could find that punk kid Justin Beiber at one of those Krampus parties. But I guess they don't serve egg nog at those parties, meaning Krampus isn't so bad after all. He keeps that brat Beiber occupied and away from us, and he discourages egg nog consumption. Think of Santa as God and Krampus as the devil and you get the idea.
In researching the growing Krampus attention I found that there are many Krampus events in many cities here in the U.S. and abroad. Hmmmmm This may reflect the decline of civilization today, or perhaps it's just a place for politicians to have fun in December. The desire for people to add a darker Xmas holiday has made the evil aspect of Santa Claus more evident. Movies like 'Nightmare Before Christmas', books like ' Santa's Twin' or 'Krampus: The Christmas Devil' and the increasing numbers of people in flash mobs dressed as Santa reflect a growing thirst for enlivening Santa with a naughty Santa too. Maybe the belief in Krampus is just a way for humans to get in touch with their animalistic side.
So Krampus is making a comeback now, thanks partly to a "bah, humbug" attitude in or sick pop culture. Now people are searching for more exciting ways to celebrate the yuletide season in non-traditional ways. You, know...no more chatting with Aunt Mildred and eating her dry fruitcake on Christmas Eve. For that alone, I say "Long Live Krampus"
Krampus goes by many names there's, Ruprecht, Certa, Perchten, Black Peter, Schmutzli, Pelznickel, Klaubauf, and the most recognizable... Krampus. He's usually seen as as our traditional devil........... with horns, hooves and monstrous tongue, sort of am imitation of that rock band Kiss, I guess. I haven't met Krampus personally, but I am probably on his hit list, I'll so leave the negative descriptions of him at that. When Krampus thinks you might recognize him he avoid detection by changing his look, instead dressing as a man in black or as a hairy man beast. And what does Krampus do? He punishes the naughty children, swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them in baskets to a fiery place below. It's a real Christmas in Hell for those victims.
Krampus was born and promoted in Austria, the same place that gave the world Hitler. So much for Austria. In Austria and in other Northern European countries Krampus parties are a kind of sordid, wild teen frat style party of sex, booze and drugs. I suppose you could find that punk kid Justin Beiber at one of those Krampus parties. But I guess they don't serve egg nog at those parties, meaning Krampus isn't so bad after all. He keeps that brat Beiber occupied and away from us, and he discourages egg nog consumption. Think of Santa as God and Krampus as the devil and you get the idea.
In researching the growing Krampus attention I found that there are many Krampus events in many cities here in the U.S. and abroad. Hmmmmm This may reflect the decline of civilization today, or perhaps it's just a place for politicians to have fun in December. The desire for people to add a darker Xmas holiday has made the evil aspect of Santa Claus more evident. Movies like 'Nightmare Before Christmas', books like ' Santa's Twin' or 'Krampus: The Christmas Devil' and the increasing numbers of people in flash mobs dressed as Santa reflect a growing thirst for enlivening Santa with a naughty Santa too. Maybe the belief in Krampus is just a way for humans to get in touch with their animalistic side.
So Krampus is making a comeback now, thanks partly to a "bah, humbug" attitude in or sick pop culture. Now people are searching for more exciting ways to celebrate the yuletide season in non-traditional ways. You, know...no more chatting with Aunt Mildred and eating her dry fruitcake on Christmas Eve. For that alone, I say "Long Live Krampus"
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Old Time Christmas Radio
I've been listening to old time radio broadcasts of Christmas shows
from the late 30's, 40's and 50's. That was the "golden age of radio",
long gone and never to return but a great age for entertainment and
imagination. Radio broadcasts require that the imagination be in full
mode. In my view that makes it superior to what we get today, he visual
images that require nothing more than a pair of eyes to view.
The shows that I listen to on my computer are broadcast by Christmas Old Time Radio http://tunein.com/radio/Christmas-Old-Time-Radio-p476480/ They present quite a view of the age of innocence in which they were played. The weekly radio shows range from comedy by greats like Jack Benny and Milton Berle to Christmas episodes of westerns, variety shows, Christmas dramas, Christmas music shows etc. The one overarching theme of each is the lack of the crass, violent or vulgar entertainment that is almost inescapable in any entertainment today. Alas! People on those shows really respected and liked each other much more than in today's entertainment world, and there is evident a unity in the culture that has been lost in the numerous subcultures today.
People who listened live then knew what was right and wrong, what was expected and tolerated, what behavior was "normal". It was a simpler time, and that may be a good thing. The shows are a microcosms of the history of social relations and beliefs of the day. There is a corny element to it all too. Commercial advertisements that promise the sponsor's products are uh...more than they really are appear on every show. I find the ads for cigarettes fascinating, for some actually praise the health benefits of a "good smoke".
One can close his or her eyes, listen and be transformed to a more stable period. I wish the transformation could be permanent, for it was a more civil age.
The shows that I listen to on my computer are broadcast by Christmas Old Time Radio http://tunein.com/radio/Christmas-Old-Time-Radio-p476480/ They present quite a view of the age of innocence in which they were played. The weekly radio shows range from comedy by greats like Jack Benny and Milton Berle to Christmas episodes of westerns, variety shows, Christmas dramas, Christmas music shows etc. The one overarching theme of each is the lack of the crass, violent or vulgar entertainment that is almost inescapable in any entertainment today. Alas! People on those shows really respected and liked each other much more than in today's entertainment world, and there is evident a unity in the culture that has been lost in the numerous subcultures today.
People who listened live then knew what was right and wrong, what was expected and tolerated, what behavior was "normal". It was a simpler time, and that may be a good thing. The shows are a microcosms of the history of social relations and beliefs of the day. There is a corny element to it all too. Commercial advertisements that promise the sponsor's products are uh...more than they really are appear on every show. I find the ads for cigarettes fascinating, for some actually praise the health benefits of a "good smoke".
One can close his or her eyes, listen and be transformed to a more stable period. I wish the transformation could be permanent, for it was a more civil age.
Expanding The One Child Policy
Money really does talk, especially to dictatorships that want
their the economy to move towards a greater
reliance on
consumption by consumers. Besides the usual economic reforms China
implements from time to time it just announced an unusual one that is
expected to create more consumers in an aging society. China has
declared the one child policy null and void and stepped up the baby
mills by now allowing parents to legally have a maximum of two kids per
family. That's not exactly freedom of choice nor the end of the
communist dictatorship there, but for China it is an admission that it
has been pushed, pushed by the reality of the world's free markets to
abandon some of the repressiveness of the state.
Trouble is, the one child policy that was instituted in 1980 as a way of controlling the strain on resources in a country that is vastly overpopulated, was probably one of the few good ideas the dictators every created. Imagine what China's population would be today if the one child policy would not have been implemented then. If not, India, the world's second baby mill nation, would have never threatened to overtake China as the world's most populated country as it is doing now. China today might have 2 billion people instead of the 1.3 it now has had the one child policy not been instituted.
I say China should rethink ending it's one child policy for the good of the world, and it should just deal with the social and economic problems that the policy causes there. On balance, one child is a very positive program for any nation that is too populated and has a culture that mom must make as many babies as possible. Though it is true that China has too many old people who have too few children to take care of them (The Chinese government has no social welfare system to take care of the elderly, so children must do it themselves) and the lack of a growing population undermines the labor and consumption pool that will keep China growing, the population thing is a far greater problem for humans to handle.
The world's overpopulation, all of it occurring in underdeveloped nations, is killing the earth's environment as it puts huge strains on and consumes and pollutes at a rate that is unsustainable. Stop having so many babies, China, Pakistan, India and Africa...... and the other undeveloped areas for that matter that spew out humans who are more and more exporting themselves to developed areas, putting a huge strain on those countries too.
No one in the west talks about it, because one who does is accused of being "racist", since it occurs mostly in nations that are in Asia and Africa. But if ever there was a real world crisis it is overpopulation. Maybe the United Nations should finally address the issue, with China leading the meetings and showing those nations with an obscenely large overpopulation problem how and why they should limit their baby mill culture. Perhaps the wealthy developed countries could pay the baby mill nations with their excess of money, each time the baby mill area shows a significant reduction in its population growth.
The world should chant in unison, "Wherever overpopulation is present Long live the one child policy"!
Trouble is, the one child policy that was instituted in 1980 as a way of controlling the strain on resources in a country that is vastly overpopulated, was probably one of the few good ideas the dictators every created. Imagine what China's population would be today if the one child policy would not have been implemented then. If not, India, the world's second baby mill nation, would have never threatened to overtake China as the world's most populated country as it is doing now. China today might have 2 billion people instead of the 1.3 it now has had the one child policy not been instituted.
I say China should rethink ending it's one child policy for the good of the world, and it should just deal with the social and economic problems that the policy causes there. On balance, one child is a very positive program for any nation that is too populated and has a culture that mom must make as many babies as possible. Though it is true that China has too many old people who have too few children to take care of them (The Chinese government has no social welfare system to take care of the elderly, so children must do it themselves) and the lack of a growing population undermines the labor and consumption pool that will keep China growing, the population thing is a far greater problem for humans to handle.
The world's overpopulation, all of it occurring in underdeveloped nations, is killing the earth's environment as it puts huge strains on and consumes and pollutes at a rate that is unsustainable. Stop having so many babies, China, Pakistan, India and Africa...... and the other undeveloped areas for that matter that spew out humans who are more and more exporting themselves to developed areas, putting a huge strain on those countries too.
No one in the west talks about it, because one who does is accused of being "racist", since it occurs mostly in nations that are in Asia and Africa. But if ever there was a real world crisis it is overpopulation. Maybe the United Nations should finally address the issue, with China leading the meetings and showing those nations with an obscenely large overpopulation problem how and why they should limit their baby mill culture. Perhaps the wealthy developed countries could pay the baby mill nations with their excess of money, each time the baby mill area shows a significant reduction in its population growth.
The world should chant in unison, "Wherever overpopulation is present Long live the one child policy"!
Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Have you ever worn or noticed those ugly Christmas Sweaters?
I don't
have one, but I do have some ugly Christmas T Shirts I trot out and
wear each year. One of my ugly Xmas T's says , "Santa! I can explain
almost everything". Another is a red one that copies fat Santa's
traditional outfit and asks "Does this shirt make me look fat". Those
ugly Christmas sweaters and shirts are a season novelty that I like.
The "uglier" the better, though ugly is in the eye of the beholder. I
find those ugly Christmas sweaters to be amusing and to lighten the
day. They are fun to wear and see.
My daughter specifically went to a thrift store a couple of years ago here in Portland to find an ugly Christmas sweater. When she could not fit it and some other items she wanted to take back to New Orleans I was asked to bring her " ugly Christmas sweater", as she put it, with me when I visited at Thanksgiving. Ugly Christmas sweaters are now trendy, with the younger set wearing them in jest at ugly Christmas sweater parties and the older crew (mostly women) wearing them because they like the look.
Hmmmm It seems that the ugly Christmas sweater represents the generation gap. Old Aunt Mildred might be sincere with her holiday cheer as she dons the ugly Christmas colorful concoctions of yarn. But when her niece or nephew, who typically are dapper fashion plates, wear a sweater covered with bows, beads, glitter and ice skating bears....well, you know they are making fun of the UCS.
This might be the year for you to find one of those uglies. Be brave, this year show your Christmas spirit....err...or you lack of taste, depending on your view of the ugly Christmas sweater.
My daughter specifically went to a thrift store a couple of years ago here in Portland to find an ugly Christmas sweater. When she could not fit it and some other items she wanted to take back to New Orleans I was asked to bring her " ugly Christmas sweater", as she put it, with me when I visited at Thanksgiving. Ugly Christmas sweaters are now trendy, with the younger set wearing them in jest at ugly Christmas sweater parties and the older crew (mostly women) wearing them because they like the look.
Hmmmm It seems that the ugly Christmas sweater represents the generation gap. Old Aunt Mildred might be sincere with her holiday cheer as she dons the ugly Christmas colorful concoctions of yarn. But when her niece or nephew, who typically are dapper fashion plates, wear a sweater covered with bows, beads, glitter and ice skating bears....well, you know they are making fun of the UCS.
This might be the year for you to find one of those uglies. Be brave, this year show your Christmas spirit....err...or you lack of taste, depending on your view of the ugly Christmas sweater.
Conservative And Liberal Stereotypes
There is a big war going on between conservatives and
liberals in the
United States. They usually fight with each other, but now they are
practically nuking each other with hatred and polarization. It's to the
point now where we have two nations, one conservative and one liberal.
Those who do not identify with either side are just voyeurs who watch
the stupidity of both sides. We don't even like to agree with either
side on any single issue because they might think we agree with all
their positions.
President Obama is the king of the liberals. He says and does anything that will win votes from his subjects, even when doing so may bankrupt the country or make it vulnerable to collapse. And he seems more than willing to sacrifice the good of the nation for his ideology. His subjects think he is infallible, while the conservatives think he's always wrong and never dare agree with anything Obama proposes. If Obama suggested that conservatives honor their moms on Mother's Day, the conservatives would accuse him of subversion.
I have no idea who is the king of the conservatives in the U.S., but then, they don't know either. That group includes the normal conservative and the crazies who think anyone who disagrees with them is a communist or mother raper, I guess. The so called 'Tea Party' faction of conservatives is the most extreme part of the conservatives. Conversing with a Tea Party person can be challenging because they live in a big bubble that often does not include the real world. Liberals hate them and think that Tea Party people hate the liberals even more than the liberals hate them.
It's sad that the two political persuasions today have drifted so far from the core beliefs that most people once held and that each side refuses to compromise with the other to make the country better. Traditional liberals and conservatives used to be much easier to recognize, and one could civilly disagree with them about issues. In former times one could choose which group to join (but I have never belonged to either the conservative Republican Party, nor the Liberal Democratic Party) because each had consistent behavior.
Here is the way one used to identify a conservative or liberal American. It's all changed now, due to the current paranoia of hate of both the conservatives and liberals.
- Conservatives wanted less government and liberals more
- Conservatives hate welfare payments and think people should be responsible for their own lives. Liberals believe some citizens can't take care of themselves and that taxpayers should be their mom and dad and do so.
- Liberals love illegal immigrants because their sympathizers vote for them. Conservatives believe that all illegal immigrants are here to commit crimes or live off the taxpayers.
- Conservatives are certain that change is bad. Liberals are certain change is good.
- Liberals are overly optimistic while conservatives are overly pessimistic.
- Liberals like to think about things for a long time before acting. Conservatives never think much because they want to keep things as they are.
- Conservatives are determined. They never get thrown out of college but liberals often due....sometimes because they are too busy smoking joints.
- Conservatives are likely to farm., Liberals are likely to be professors in universities.
- Conservatives own guns for protection. Liberals leave their front doors unlocked and never worry about needing protection.
- Liberals think the government should protect their freedoms. Conservatives believe that the government is taking away their freedoms.
- Conservatives don't like environmental regulations because they think the nation has unlimited resources. Liberals don't want a single tree cut or oil well drilled because they are sure the climate will turn hot if any are.
- There are more rich conservatives than rich liberals because big business is the sphere of conservatives.
- Liberals are dreamers but don't realize it. Conservatives are practical to the point of stubbornness.
- Your favorite actor or actress is probably liberal, your plumber probably conservative.
- Liberals and conservatives both think they are morally superior.
After reading these liberal and conservative characteristics I suspect you are just as confused and disgusted by both liberals and conservatives.
President Obama is the king of the liberals. He says and does anything that will win votes from his subjects, even when doing so may bankrupt the country or make it vulnerable to collapse. And he seems more than willing to sacrifice the good of the nation for his ideology. His subjects think he is infallible, while the conservatives think he's always wrong and never dare agree with anything Obama proposes. If Obama suggested that conservatives honor their moms on Mother's Day, the conservatives would accuse him of subversion.
I have no idea who is the king of the conservatives in the U.S., but then, they don't know either. That group includes the normal conservative and the crazies who think anyone who disagrees with them is a communist or mother raper, I guess. The so called 'Tea Party' faction of conservatives is the most extreme part of the conservatives. Conversing with a Tea Party person can be challenging because they live in a big bubble that often does not include the real world. Liberals hate them and think that Tea Party people hate the liberals even more than the liberals hate them.
It's sad that the two political persuasions today have drifted so far from the core beliefs that most people once held and that each side refuses to compromise with the other to make the country better. Traditional liberals and conservatives used to be much easier to recognize, and one could civilly disagree with them about issues. In former times one could choose which group to join (but I have never belonged to either the conservative Republican Party, nor the Liberal Democratic Party) because each had consistent behavior.
Here is the way one used to identify a conservative or liberal American. It's all changed now, due to the current paranoia of hate of both the conservatives and liberals.
- Conservatives wanted less government and liberals more
- Conservatives hate welfare payments and think people should be responsible for their own lives. Liberals believe some citizens can't take care of themselves and that taxpayers should be their mom and dad and do so.
- Liberals love illegal immigrants because their sympathizers vote for them. Conservatives believe that all illegal immigrants are here to commit crimes or live off the taxpayers.
- Conservatives are certain that change is bad. Liberals are certain change is good.
- Liberals are overly optimistic while conservatives are overly pessimistic.
- Liberals like to think about things for a long time before acting. Conservatives never think much because they want to keep things as they are.
- Conservatives are determined. They never get thrown out of college but liberals often due....sometimes because they are too busy smoking joints.
- Conservatives are likely to farm., Liberals are likely to be professors in universities.
- Conservatives own guns for protection. Liberals leave their front doors unlocked and never worry about needing protection.
- Liberals think the government should protect their freedoms. Conservatives believe that the government is taking away their freedoms.
- Conservatives don't like environmental regulations because they think the nation has unlimited resources. Liberals don't want a single tree cut or oil well drilled because they are sure the climate will turn hot if any are.
- There are more rich conservatives than rich liberals because big business is the sphere of conservatives.
- Liberals are dreamers but don't realize it. Conservatives are practical to the point of stubbornness.
- Your favorite actor or actress is probably liberal, your plumber probably conservative.
- Liberals and conservatives both think they are morally superior.
After reading these liberal and conservative characteristics I suspect you are just as confused and disgusted by both liberals and conservatives.
World Toilet Day
I've heard of some strange day celebrations in my
days, but this one is as strane as it gets. There's Bubble
Wrap Appreciation Day, What if Dogs and Cats had Opposable Thumbs Day,
Respect for Chickens Day, National Kick Butt Day, Don't Step on a Bee
Day..... you get the idea. But I just found out that November the 18th
is 'World Toilet Day'. We are supposed to sit and...er...appreciate the
fact that we can sit and dump when 1/3 of the world still poops in the
open. The goal of the Toilet Day founders is get the 1 billion humans
who still poo off a loo, to use one.
Apparently, sanitation problems abound from defecating (a high class word for an act of elimination, I think) off the toilet. The World Toilet Organization that sponsors the day says sanitation is their goal, given that open field pooing causes contamination of water sources which causes illness and death all across the world. But are not toilets a modern invention? People have been eliminating their body wastes wherever they happened to have the urges, for centuries. In fact, go to any busy bar any night and you might see some drunks eliminate in un toilet like areas of the bar.
I checked the web site of the World Toilet Organization to learn more about what I should do on Toilet Day next year. As far as I know, I use a loo every morning for my daily dump. And I swear that I wipe and flush! Anyway, the mission statement of the World Toilet people seems nice enough-" A clean and safe toilet ensures health, dignity and well being-yet 40% of the world's population does not have access to toilets. World Toilet Organization is a global non-profit committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide. We believe in empowering individuals through education, training and building local marketplaces opportunities to advocate for clean and safe sanitation facilities in their communities."
Those guys are serious about poo! They even have a World Toilet College (I wonder how one prepares for the entrance test to get into that college) to train people about toilet and sanitation practices. The college wants to "elevate the image of sanitation workers". Good luck on that. When one wades through other people's poo it's hard to envy that occupation. The good news is you can get certification as a poo-ologist or something, if you graduate from the World Toilet College.
Oh, I know you won't want to miss the World Toilet Summit next year. It's being held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It could be held in a worse location though. This year they pooed in Solo, Indonesia. And one year the summit was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If you have ever been to Philadelphia you know there isn't much more to do there than take a good dump.
Cheers for World Toilet Day, and may all your defecation be on a golden toilet.
Apparently, sanitation problems abound from defecating (a high class word for an act of elimination, I think) off the toilet. The World Toilet Organization that sponsors the day says sanitation is their goal, given that open field pooing causes contamination of water sources which causes illness and death all across the world. But are not toilets a modern invention? People have been eliminating their body wastes wherever they happened to have the urges, for centuries. In fact, go to any busy bar any night and you might see some drunks eliminate in un toilet like areas of the bar.
I checked the web site of the World Toilet Organization to learn more about what I should do on Toilet Day next year. As far as I know, I use a loo every morning for my daily dump. And I swear that I wipe and flush! Anyway, the mission statement of the World Toilet people seems nice enough-" A clean and safe toilet ensures health, dignity and well being-yet 40% of the world's population does not have access to toilets. World Toilet Organization is a global non-profit committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide. We believe in empowering individuals through education, training and building local marketplaces opportunities to advocate for clean and safe sanitation facilities in their communities."
Those guys are serious about poo! They even have a World Toilet College (I wonder how one prepares for the entrance test to get into that college) to train people about toilet and sanitation practices. The college wants to "elevate the image of sanitation workers". Good luck on that. When one wades through other people's poo it's hard to envy that occupation. The good news is you can get certification as a poo-ologist or something, if you graduate from the World Toilet College.
Oh, I know you won't want to miss the World Toilet Summit next year. It's being held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It could be held in a worse location though. This year they pooed in Solo, Indonesia. And one year the summit was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If you have ever been to Philadelphia you know there isn't much more to do there than take a good dump.
Cheers for World Toilet Day, and may all your defecation be on a golden toilet.
Deadbeat Dads
There's a great idea that is being practiced in my former
state of
Louisiana that attacks one of the world's greatest problems- parental
abuse of children. Louisiana's social services department has put out
a "Most Wanted" list of 18 parents who owe at least $20,000 each in
child support. Combined, the men owe nearly $866,000 to their children.
None of the 18 deadbeats has paid child support in six months or more.
The poster showing them,
released Wednesday by the Department of Children and Family Services,
includes their photos, last known addresses and amounts owed, along
with a
hotline to call with tips for tracking the men down. A little public
shame goes a long way toward making many negligent parents behave
responsibly.
There is a web site for viewing the despicable 18 and sadly, it says that here are more than 166,000 cases of unpaid child support in Louisiana. That's a lot of deadbeats in a state with a population of about 4 million. There are also a few deadbeat moms around too, since the court (only rarely) asks mom to pay dad child support when he has custody of the kids. In the U.S. the mom is routinely awarded custody of the child in a divorce, absent any proof that mom is an abusive or seriously negligent parent. So the dad who doesn't have physical custody of the little ones usually gets the bill to pay mom money that she is supposed to use (but many divorced men claim mom uses the money to buy clothes for herself, visit a beauty parlor etc.) on the kids.
One may ask what do the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services employees do at work all day? Should they search for the deadbeats, catch them and jail them until they pay. But the deadbeats would not be able to pay while behind bars? And some of them probably have good arguments as to why the monthly child support payments should have been lowered or modified. They may have had no money to pay an attorney to get the court case reviewed and modified. So, because of an irresponsible nature, some unwisely decided to duck and run from their responsibilities to their kids..
Hmmmm One frightful question to add to the mess. How many other children have they parented? They type that regards children so callously probably has fathered a number of illegitimate children that the taxpayers of Louisiana and the U.S. pay for. It's sad that some humans can harm their own children and not be held accountable for their behavior.
There is a web site for viewing the despicable 18 and sadly, it says that here are more than 166,000 cases of unpaid child support in Louisiana. That's a lot of deadbeats in a state with a population of about 4 million. There are also a few deadbeat moms around too, since the court (only rarely) asks mom to pay dad child support when he has custody of the kids. In the U.S. the mom is routinely awarded custody of the child in a divorce, absent any proof that mom is an abusive or seriously negligent parent. So the dad who doesn't have physical custody of the little ones usually gets the bill to pay mom money that she is supposed to use (but many divorced men claim mom uses the money to buy clothes for herself, visit a beauty parlor etc.) on the kids.
One may ask what do the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services employees do at work all day? Should they search for the deadbeats, catch them and jail them until they pay. But the deadbeats would not be able to pay while behind bars? And some of them probably have good arguments as to why the monthly child support payments should have been lowered or modified. They may have had no money to pay an attorney to get the court case reviewed and modified. So, because of an irresponsible nature, some unwisely decided to duck and run from their responsibilities to their kids..
Hmmmm One frightful question to add to the mess. How many other children have they parented? They type that regards children so callously probably has fathered a number of illegitimate children that the taxpayers of Louisiana and the U.S. pay for. It's sad that some humans can harm their own children and not be held accountable for their behavior.
Veterans Day
We just had another one of those 'Veteran's Day' holidays.
It's a day in which those who were or are in the military are singled
out as special. Hmmm. But why? Why does this country and most others
only honor with a special day those people who were in the military
service, and not all the other professions that are so important to
making a nation what it is? Rather than entering the army, navy, air
force or marines of their own volition, some of the veteran honorees
were drafted against their will into service. Among that group are
those who hated being in the military and would never have joined if
they had a choice. Others like me (I was in the navy strictly to avoid
being drafted into the army during the Vietnam war) joined because the
military draft was going to get them anyway.
Fact is, many of those who "risk their lives" as a soldier often want to do so. In fact, every nation has far more people involved in war activities than in peaceful ones. Countries have war colleges and institutes that plan for war. I think every war contingency plan that could possibly have ever been constructed has already been so by most of the nations in the world. The excess of weapons and armaments match the huge excess of armed forces most countries have. I am not sure I want to honor any part of that. Maybe we should just have a peace day and give thanks whenever the military doesn't fight.
Soldiers may or not be "heroes" when they risk their lives in combat. But every day each citizen who contributes to a nation through work, parenting, charity and a hundred other services, give more to their nation than all those soldiers fighting those battles. Yet we never honor or glorify them. They are themost important "soldiers" in a community. They make a country what it is. If they want to honor the soldiers that are in the military, perhaps the people of a nation should give them a pay raise every year they don't fight anywhere in the world. A little incentive to make peace, not war, would change the image of the military from an aggressive force to that of a protective force. Isn't that what a miulitary force is supposed to be?
Come to think of it, maybe we should cancel Veteran's Day and just have a Non Veterans Day to honor all those people who have had nothing to do with killing or war. I would salute that.
Fact is, many of those who "risk their lives" as a soldier often want to do so. In fact, every nation has far more people involved in war activities than in peaceful ones. Countries have war colleges and institutes that plan for war. I think every war contingency plan that could possibly have ever been constructed has already been so by most of the nations in the world. The excess of weapons and armaments match the huge excess of armed forces most countries have. I am not sure I want to honor any part of that. Maybe we should just have a peace day and give thanks whenever the military doesn't fight.
Soldiers may or not be "heroes" when they risk their lives in combat. But every day each citizen who contributes to a nation through work, parenting, charity and a hundred other services, give more to their nation than all those soldiers fighting those battles. Yet we never honor or glorify them. They are themost important "soldiers" in a community. They make a country what it is. If they want to honor the soldiers that are in the military, perhaps the people of a nation should give them a pay raise every year they don't fight anywhere in the world. A little incentive to make peace, not war, would change the image of the military from an aggressive force to that of a protective force. Isn't that what a miulitary force is supposed to be?
Come to think of it, maybe we should cancel Veteran's Day and just have a Non Veterans Day to honor all those people who have had nothing to do with killing or war. I would salute that.
Drunken Thanksgiving Turkeys
In New Orleans and South Louisiana some people cook their
Thanksgiving
turkey with the beer on the turkey instead of in a glass. It makes a
nice gravy. But when it comes to pairing beer with turkey a turkey
farmer guy from New Hampshire named Joe Morette takes it a step
further. It seems that since Joe's turkeys will drink just about
anything he has been giving his birds beer since 1993, when he and his
workers popped open a few cans after work on a hot July day. That day
one turkey knocked one over and started drinking, and they've been
sipping the suds ever since.
I am not sure if that qualifies as animal cruelty". Don't ask the turkeys. They like getting drunk and don't have Alcohol Anonymous membership. Too, Joe insists the beer makes birds fatter, more flavorful and juicier. "Oh, yeah, it's noticeable," he said. "It's not a strong, gamey flavor, it's a nice turkey flavor." According to Joe's customers the turkeys are far superior to the supermarket varieties. "They claim that even the gravy is much darker, and much tastier he. The bird overall has a slightly different taste that is very appealing.....especially if you drink a few glasses of beer before eating it.
The animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said turkeys shouldn't be fed beer and that "farmers across the country use questionable practices to keep costs down or to alter the taste of animals' flesh because their priority is profit, not the animals' welfare." No word if the PETA members who claim that drink beer themselves. But a turkey expert with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension said it is unlikely the birds are suffering. "I don't know exactly how much beer each turkey is consuming, but it would have to be a lot in order for it to kind of have the same effect as too much beer on people," said Carl Majewski, field specialist in food and agriculture. "I imagine it's not enough to really make 'em tipsy or anything like that. It's just enjoying a beer with their meal. Why not?"
Also, Humane Heartland, which oversees the treatment of farm animals, said that standards from the American Humane Association don't prohibit serving beer to animals.
Veterinarians say that giving beer to turkeys is not a standard protocol, the hops in the beer could be beneficial for the intestinal tract. And..............Japanese farmers have been said to feed cattle beer to stimulate their appetites. Those Japanese will eat anything. A wine maker and farmer in the south of France have experimented with feeding cows the remainders of pressed grapes to produce meat they've dubbed "Vinbovin." It seems that farmers today have way too much time on their hands these days.
Turkeys are said to be among the dumbest of species, a little like the human customers in a bar on ladies night. I suspect they will drink anything and not complain. Now that Joe is endorsing getting turkeys drunk, the Thanksgiving question for this year might be, "How do we hide the beer from the turkeys this Thanksgiving.
I am not sure if that qualifies as animal cruelty". Don't ask the turkeys. They like getting drunk and don't have Alcohol Anonymous membership. Too, Joe insists the beer makes birds fatter, more flavorful and juicier. "Oh, yeah, it's noticeable," he said. "It's not a strong, gamey flavor, it's a nice turkey flavor." According to Joe's customers the turkeys are far superior to the supermarket varieties. "They claim that even the gravy is much darker, and much tastier he. The bird overall has a slightly different taste that is very appealing.....especially if you drink a few glasses of beer before eating it.
The animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said turkeys shouldn't be fed beer and that "farmers across the country use questionable practices to keep costs down or to alter the taste of animals' flesh because their priority is profit, not the animals' welfare." No word if the PETA members who claim that drink beer themselves. But a turkey expert with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension said it is unlikely the birds are suffering. "I don't know exactly how much beer each turkey is consuming, but it would have to be a lot in order for it to kind of have the same effect as too much beer on people," said Carl Majewski, field specialist in food and agriculture. "I imagine it's not enough to really make 'em tipsy or anything like that. It's just enjoying a beer with their meal. Why not?"
Also, Humane Heartland, which oversees the treatment of farm animals, said that standards from the American Humane Association don't prohibit serving beer to animals.
Veterinarians say that giving beer to turkeys is not a standard protocol, the hops in the beer could be beneficial for the intestinal tract. And..............Japanese farmers have been said to feed cattle beer to stimulate their appetites. Those Japanese will eat anything. A wine maker and farmer in the south of France have experimented with feeding cows the remainders of pressed grapes to produce meat they've dubbed "Vinbovin." It seems that farmers today have way too much time on their hands these days.
Turkeys are said to be among the dumbest of species, a little like the human customers in a bar on ladies night. I suspect they will drink anything and not complain. Now that Joe is endorsing getting turkeys drunk, the Thanksgiving question for this year might be, "How do we hide the beer from the turkeys this Thanksgiving.
The Real Kennedy And Real Obama
On November 22nd the assassination of President John Kennedy
will be
remembered. Actually, it already has been remembered in TV re
enactments, series, films, books, opinion pieces etc. displayed all
during November. The problem is
most of those are more maudlin than real. Kennedy was widely unpopular
as president on the day he was shot to death November 22, 1963 in
Dallas, Texas. But the popular media seems to have a different view of
Kennedy, and many accept that one instead of the reality.
President Kennedy was always a press favorite, much as the bumbling, incompetent President Obama is today. He and his pretty young wife and their adorable young children made the Kennedy family, in the eyes of the media of the day, made them the enchanted family. Just as Obama's mistakes seem to be ignored by today's media, the media of Kennedy's day did the same. The difference though is in the perception the voters have of each. There is and was great voter dissatisfaction with both of the presidents that is contrast to the adoration the media has for each.
Polls of the day in 1963 showed Kennedy was headed for defeat in his upcoming campaign for re election. His popularity was hardly what those current day Kennedy pieces tell us it was. The lesson is how history can be re written to fit the desires of the society to "feel better" about itself. instead of the young, incompetent, philandering, reckless, manipulating president Kennedy was, we get a view of Camelot. It sounds familiar to me. President Obama might already be the second camelot of the past 50 years as he flounders and steers the United Sates toward the icebergs that lay ahead.
The Kennedy legacy is one that is both not factual and romanticized. I suppose it is understandable that a President who was murdered in office is given a few passes, but it might be better to represent a person as he was , rather than as we want him to be, I wonder what will be said of Obama in 50 years. It's not possible to say, but I am betting it will be more like the Kennedy remembrance than a real one. Society sometimes selects oddly its heroes.
President Kennedy was always a press favorite, much as the bumbling, incompetent President Obama is today. He and his pretty young wife and their adorable young children made the Kennedy family, in the eyes of the media of the day, made them the enchanted family. Just as Obama's mistakes seem to be ignored by today's media, the media of Kennedy's day did the same. The difference though is in the perception the voters have of each. There is and was great voter dissatisfaction with both of the presidents that is contrast to the adoration the media has for each.
Polls of the day in 1963 showed Kennedy was headed for defeat in his upcoming campaign for re election. His popularity was hardly what those current day Kennedy pieces tell us it was. The lesson is how history can be re written to fit the desires of the society to "feel better" about itself. instead of the young, incompetent, philandering, reckless, manipulating president Kennedy was, we get a view of Camelot. It sounds familiar to me. President Obama might already be the second camelot of the past 50 years as he flounders and steers the United Sates toward the icebergs that lay ahead.
The Kennedy legacy is one that is both not factual and romanticized. I suppose it is understandable that a President who was murdered in office is given a few passes, but it might be better to represent a person as he was , rather than as we want him to be, I wonder what will be said of Obama in 50 years. It's not possible to say, but I am betting it will be more like the Kennedy remembrance than a real one. Society sometimes selects oddly its heroes.
Miss Universe 2013
I watched a little of the annual Miss Universe Pageant.
It's because I accidentally stumbled on the broadcast while trying to
find something, anything for that matter, to merit watching the idiot
box. That's a hard thing to find. I wound up watching the Miss
Universe show because I am a male chauvinist pig who likes to see
pretty ladies strut on stage like dogs. Sad to say, that makes me a
typical male, I think.
Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, beat out 85 other international beauties in the contest that was held this year in Moscow. Gabby is pretty, but I wonder.....Venezuela is in a contest with South Korea as the nation were the women do plastic surgery more often than in any other country. I wonder if Gabby is real or not. No matter, she is lovely and if her plastic surgeon remade her she will probably send a thank you note for an operating job well done. Miss Spain, Equador, Brazil and Philippines made up the rest of the top five. This must mean that the prettiest women this year come from Spanish speaking countries. I wonder if all the Russians were upset that their candidate didn't come close to even making it to the top ten.
I noticed the judges who selected the winner were not exactly experts on beauty. They included a singer, a figure skater. a chef, a TV host and just one who seemed qualified, a super model named Anne V. In addition to strutting in a swimsuit and showing boobs and legs, the contestants displayed a "talent" in a performance and answered a serious question if they made it to the final round. Asking a beauty contestant what she thinks is the world's greatest challenge is like asking a 5 year old to be your financial planner. I heard two of those answers and had enough, leaving the contest at that point before I barfed onto the screen. The answers given were, uh, not memorable though somewhat comical I must attest. It confirms the idea that beauty contests should be exclusively about beauty and not include imagined talent or philosophical observations on the state of the world.
On the odd side, Jin Ye, Miss China, was dubbed the 'Angelina Jolie' of China. Ugh! No wonder she never made it to the top twenty. The commentators also said that Miss Dominican Republic “helped deliver a baby when she was 17″ and Miss Switzerland “once pulled a drowning girl out of a pool. Gee, Maybe they got lost on their way and thought they were in the Superwoman contest. It proves that when entering a beauty contest it doesn't pay to be a super hero. Those two were trounced a by the contestants with better t and a's. After all, that's what wins beauty contests.
Winner Gabby of Venezuela in answering her question about what her greatest fear was said, “I believe we should overcome all of our fears and this in turn will make us all much stronger, and thusly, we can become stronger persons.” Huh? With answers like that my greatest fear is my already weak brain may have been further damaged by watching that mess. The things a man will do to eye sexy babes in bathing suits......
Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, beat out 85 other international beauties in the contest that was held this year in Moscow. Gabby is pretty, but I wonder.....Venezuela is in a contest with South Korea as the nation were the women do plastic surgery more often than in any other country. I wonder if Gabby is real or not. No matter, she is lovely and if her plastic surgeon remade her she will probably send a thank you note for an operating job well done. Miss Spain, Equador, Brazil and Philippines made up the rest of the top five. This must mean that the prettiest women this year come from Spanish speaking countries. I wonder if all the Russians were upset that their candidate didn't come close to even making it to the top ten.
I noticed the judges who selected the winner were not exactly experts on beauty. They included a singer, a figure skater. a chef, a TV host and just one who seemed qualified, a super model named Anne V. In addition to strutting in a swimsuit and showing boobs and legs, the contestants displayed a "talent" in a performance and answered a serious question if they made it to the final round. Asking a beauty contestant what she thinks is the world's greatest challenge is like asking a 5 year old to be your financial planner. I heard two of those answers and had enough, leaving the contest at that point before I barfed onto the screen. The answers given were, uh, not memorable though somewhat comical I must attest. It confirms the idea that beauty contests should be exclusively about beauty and not include imagined talent or philosophical observations on the state of the world.
On the odd side, Jin Ye, Miss China, was dubbed the 'Angelina Jolie' of China. Ugh! No wonder she never made it to the top twenty. The commentators also said that Miss Dominican Republic “helped deliver a baby when she was 17″ and Miss Switzerland “once pulled a drowning girl out of a pool. Gee, Maybe they got lost on their way and thought they were in the Superwoman contest. It proves that when entering a beauty contest it doesn't pay to be a super hero. Those two were trounced a by the contestants with better t and a's. After all, that's what wins beauty contests.
Winner Gabby of Venezuela in answering her question about what her greatest fear was said, “I believe we should overcome all of our fears and this in turn will make us all much stronger, and thusly, we can become stronger persons.” Huh? With answers like that my greatest fear is my already weak brain may have been further damaged by watching that mess. The things a man will do to eye sexy babes in bathing suits......
What Is Offensive?
The latest "you hurt my feelings and have no right to
do that! moment
came after a Halloween costume was pictured on the front page of the
British newspaper, The Sun. The headline labeled it "Towering
Stupidity." In the image, two 19-year-old women who were winners of a
nightclub costume contest on Halloween night are shown wearing tube
like costumes labeled "North Tower" and "South Tower." The costumes,
which include hats with American flags, depict planes crashing into the
Twin Towers in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.
The women, both students at the University of Chester, later apologized, saying the costume "was not intended as a joke," but rather meant to "depict a serious, modern day horror." That's good enough for me. I wonder why people today get so upset about "their feelings being hurt" by every day, innocent life experiences like the costume. It used to be that more than ten years from a tragic event, people would be open minded enough to accept satire of it. Not any more. Surely, that costume might remind some of a bad event itself and may be offensive to the more sensitive of people who were directly effected by the 911 terrorists act. But should we castigate the two women and ban such costumes? Is it "not right" to use satire and cynicism anymore because a few humans won't like the parody?
I say "cheers" (imagine a British accident for full effect) to those two Brit ladies. They have imagination and have de sanctified an event that has become way too sacred to many Americans. The over sensitivity today, as in when we have those almost daily insincere but politically correct "apologies" by celebrities for public statements or behaviors that some dislike and find "offensive", might be the result of the blur between the real world and the virtual one many people have sought refuge in today. I wonder if humans are beginning to fuse reality and the virtual now, given they are addicted to vacuous devices like cell phones. Before the explosion in communication media we were not "offended so much or so often by satire. People might feel better about themselves and their lives if they did not seek offenses that others commit against them.
Do we now even know what is real and what is not? Have we started to define the two the same way? Being offended by a Halloween costume? Ugh! Because humans have flaws life is a mixture of the offensive and non offensive. It's not nice to hurt anyone's feelings, but we do have the right to do so. If not, we confine ourselves to living in a politically correct bubble, and that's something I find very "offensive". Maybe a better approach to not liking a Halloween costume is to simply ignore it, not roar about hurt feelings and offense. Focusing on what is truly important in the real world might reduce a great deal of the alleged offenses with which others present us.
The women, both students at the University of Chester, later apologized, saying the costume "was not intended as a joke," but rather meant to "depict a serious, modern day horror." That's good enough for me. I wonder why people today get so upset about "their feelings being hurt" by every day, innocent life experiences like the costume. It used to be that more than ten years from a tragic event, people would be open minded enough to accept satire of it. Not any more. Surely, that costume might remind some of a bad event itself and may be offensive to the more sensitive of people who were directly effected by the 911 terrorists act. But should we castigate the two women and ban such costumes? Is it "not right" to use satire and cynicism anymore because a few humans won't like the parody?
I say "cheers" (imagine a British accident for full effect) to those two Brit ladies. They have imagination and have de sanctified an event that has become way too sacred to many Americans. The over sensitivity today, as in when we have those almost daily insincere but politically correct "apologies" by celebrities for public statements or behaviors that some dislike and find "offensive", might be the result of the blur between the real world and the virtual one many people have sought refuge in today. I wonder if humans are beginning to fuse reality and the virtual now, given they are addicted to vacuous devices like cell phones. Before the explosion in communication media we were not "offended so much or so often by satire. People might feel better about themselves and their lives if they did not seek offenses that others commit against them.
Do we now even know what is real and what is not? Have we started to define the two the same way? Being offended by a Halloween costume? Ugh! Because humans have flaws life is a mixture of the offensive and non offensive. It's not nice to hurt anyone's feelings, but we do have the right to do so. If not, we confine ourselves to living in a politically correct bubble, and that's something I find very "offensive". Maybe a better approach to not liking a Halloween costume is to simply ignore it, not roar about hurt feelings and offense. Focusing on what is truly important in the real world might reduce a great deal of the alleged offenses with which others present us.
Strange Questions They Ask
I'm glad that I am not the age when it's time to apply for
admittance to college. I'm too stupid now for college and the
application process is, well, strange. I remember when I was a high
school student, the university would ask the applicant to furnish his or
her test scores, grades and to write an essay. usually it was something
boring like my life achievements and goals. But now they are getting a
little less concrete with their essay demands. The geeks hate it, but
the sloppy student who always did things the odd, but successful way,
finally feel better able to fit it.
Now a college might ask an applicant a question like, "Tell us your favorite joke and try to explain the joke without ruining it". I assume all those dirty jokes we hear and remember wouldn't be appropriate, but they shouldn't ask questions like that unless they are prepared for any joke. Good thing I am not applying. But anyway, a growing number of colleges have turned to more open ended and less obvious questions to see if the applicant is one who memorized huge amounts of information and reproduced successfully it on tests, or is the college wannabe a more creative type. Creative is in today, and the computer brained nerd is out. It's probably for the better too. Colleges worry that those high grade point average high school students are more likely to just be high achievers than to be independent thinkers. I think colleges want students who are willing to take more risks and not those who make all A's in classes but never think deeply about what they are studying. Those kinds of students make the college a better place.
Not only that, businesses interviewers are also starting to take the same tract when interviewing new hires. Right...I am not employable so I need not worry about it. Employers want to see if the applicant can think on the spur of the moment, and can respond to something they don't expect. In today's competitive world it's more important to use what we know than to recite the facts. A computer can handle the remembrance of information better than can a human.
I like this new trend. If the college applicant or job seeker are put off by the oddball questions for whatever reason, that's a good indicator that the school or job may not be the right fit. Now, tell me that favorite joke of yours.
Now a college might ask an applicant a question like, "Tell us your favorite joke and try to explain the joke without ruining it". I assume all those dirty jokes we hear and remember wouldn't be appropriate, but they shouldn't ask questions like that unless they are prepared for any joke. Good thing I am not applying. But anyway, a growing number of colleges have turned to more open ended and less obvious questions to see if the applicant is one who memorized huge amounts of information and reproduced successfully it on tests, or is the college wannabe a more creative type. Creative is in today, and the computer brained nerd is out. It's probably for the better too. Colleges worry that those high grade point average high school students are more likely to just be high achievers than to be independent thinkers. I think colleges want students who are willing to take more risks and not those who make all A's in classes but never think deeply about what they are studying. Those kinds of students make the college a better place.
Not only that, businesses interviewers are also starting to take the same tract when interviewing new hires. Right...I am not employable so I need not worry about it. Employers want to see if the applicant can think on the spur of the moment, and can respond to something they don't expect. In today's competitive world it's more important to use what we know than to recite the facts. A computer can handle the remembrance of information better than can a human.
I like this new trend. If the college applicant or job seeker are put off by the oddball questions for whatever reason, that's a good indicator that the school or job may not be the right fit. Now, tell me that favorite joke of yours.
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