Dumb sports ideas

Here's a couple of dumb ideas involving school athletics that I just gotta comment on.

First is the proposed booing ban in Washington state. Yeah, you read that right. They want to ban booing at high school games. Their explanation is that they want to cut down on boorish behavior, but we all know that Washington is one of those so-called "blue states" and that they frown on such things as competitiveness because there will be winners, which means that there will be losers, who will be hurt and traumatized for life and will have to spend thousands of dollars for therapy for the rest of their life and so forth and so on and blahblahblah. Well, of course we just can't have that.

What a dumb idea. What a stupid idea, actually. Booing is part of the game. If you're the home team, booing can motivate you to do better. After all, the best way to make the boobirds shut up is to turn things around. Even a good effort will often be enough to stop the booing. If you're the visiting team, then booing will motivate you to win as well, if for no other reason than to stick it to the home fans. For the visiting team, when you make the home team go silent, then it's a beautiful thing. You don't want the crowd to be silent because they've been banned from booing. Booing sends a message, and whether you're the home team or the visitors, you take that message and respond to it. I hope this idea is fought stubbornly and ferociously. In a real sense, this is a form of restriction of free speech. So I say to these bozos: BOOOO!!!!

Next up is another idea thunked up by those who have no idea what they are doing. In this instance, I refer to the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics, which is proposing to ban the practice of women's basketball teams practicing with men (usually not the men's team, but a group of volunteers), because they feel that the usage of such men sends the message to the female bench players that they aren't good enough to practice with the starters. The coaches of these teams aren't complaining about this practice, nor are the players involved. The only ones seeing discrimination is this committee. No one asked them to step in - nope, just like in Washington state, a group of "our betters" simply decided that they need to tell us what to do.

The women basketball players benefit from practicing with men, because men give them a different challenge than does practicing with other women. Plus, who says that the starters aren't ALSO practicing with the bench, AND that the bench isn't likewise practicing with men? No one is being robbed of anything - rather, this is to the benefit of all. While trying not to sound sexist, women's basketball is boring when compared to men's b-ball. Men's b-ball is fast and furious and exciting to watch, with the bullet passes and dazzling dunks and all. By comparison, even the women's pro leagues look like high school basketball by comparison.

You ask me, women's basketball needs all the help it can get. So rather than banning the use of male volunteers, the NCAA should be ruling the useage of men practicing with women in ALL colleges and universities. If the NCAA (and whoever else came up with this clueless ban idea) really wants to help women's athletics, maybe they should ask the women themselves what they want instead of deciding for them. What this NCAA ban idea - along with the Washington state idea - actually represents is a form of social engineering by people who think they know what's better for us. I say we tell them to take their bans and shove it! Keep your social experiments out of our arenas!

Steven Wright one-liners

From an e-mail:
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If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the
famously erudite scientist and comic who once said:

"I woke up one morning and all of my stuff had been stolen and
replaced by exact duplicates."

His mind sees things differently than most of us, to our
amazement and amusement.

Here are some of his gems:

1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.

3 - Half the people you know are below average.

4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel
so good.

7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

8 - If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.

9 - All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.

10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse
gets the cheese.

11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend.....but she left me
before we met.

12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?

13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?

14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously
overlooked something.

15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong
lane.

17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to
be lazy.

18 - Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

19 - I intend to live forever......so far, so good.

20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her
friends?

21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet
engines.

22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I
made your horn louder."

24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that
you tried.

26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of
thinking.

27 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the
softness of the bread.

28 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal
from many is research.

29 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no
lifeguard.

30 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to
catch up.

31 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is
required to be on it.

32 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have
film.

33 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would
your headlights work?

I think that I shall never see...

I made an artwork with that virtual dry erase board.

See what you think of this: TREE

I like the way it draws itself. :-)

If you also make any artworks, send them my way and I'll post them. If I get enough of you sending artworks, maybe I'll have an online artshow, along with artsy-fartsy sounding critiques.
If you have any questions about how that program works, let me know and I can tell you what I've figured out so far.

New look for blog

I checked over the new templates for this blog, and the one you're seeing now is what I came up with. Let me know what you think. If most of you prefer the old look, then I'll switch back to it. It's been a whole year since I started blogging, so I thought that I'd try a new look. Maybe I'll make this a yearly event. :-D

Anyway, I'll try to post something later, because there's stuff I wanna talk about with you good folks. Stay tuned!

Virtual dry erase board

Check this out. It's a virtual dry erase board, with a few added touches. (Note: I had to open it in Internet Explorer).

It's pretty cool. I'll see if I can make something with it, then post it here. If you make something with it, then send it to me, and I'll post it.

James Cameron finds Jesus

There are two kinds of "finding Jesus". The first type is basically a way of saying that this person has become a Christian. Another way of saying that is to say that they've "found religion".

Then there's the other kind of "finding Jesus", and James Cameron, whose archaeological qualifications include directing the hit movie Titanic, claims to have "found Jesus" in this second way: He claims to have found the actual bones of Jesus Christ. And his wife Mary Magdalene. And their son Judah. Such a bold claim for someone who isn't an archaeologist, and for which scholars have said that "Jesus", "Judah", and "Mary" were common Jewish names at the time. But he directed Titanic, so we have to at least hear him out.

Jesus is "found" in this way from time to time, and often the results tell us more about the seekers and their intentions than it does the Nazarene from 2,000 years ago. By "finding" Jesus' bones, the seekers hope to undermine Christianity by proving that Jesus really didn't rise from the dead. The problem is always in their "proof". That is, how do they prove that it's actually the Jesus from Scripture? It's not like they found his driver's license in the coffin with the name, "Christ, Jesus" on it with the DOB being "12/25/0". And back then, the Romans didn't keep DNA records of the citizens of Israel.

Simple logic should tell you that there's absolutely no way for anyone who claims to have found Jesus' bones to prove it. Cameron is relying on statistical probability as his proof. But statistics aren't the same as proof. Statistical probabilities, in other words, are no substitute for hard DNA evidence. Statistically speaking, actually, it's more likely that the coffin that Cameron has found is NOT the bones of Jesus of Nazareth. It may be A Jesus of Nazareth, but not THE Jesus. Claims of finding Jesus' bones is so silly and pathetic a strategy for Christian-bashers that I'm surprised that media outlets still give it air time.

All the articles I've read so far have more comments doubting Cameron's claim than supporting it. So why keep doing it? It's the only way that these folks know how to do. But if this has been tried before and failed, what makes them think that it's going to work this time? That, I have no answer for, other than that these folks are just that desperate.

And besides, I don't need the bones of Jesus - or even something like the Shroud of Turin - to define for me what I'll believe about Jesus. I do believe that he rose from the dead, which means that his bones are not there to be found, so in my mind, searching for Jesus' bones is a fool's quest. The quote attributed to St Thomas Aquinas is a fitting way to end this particular blog entry:

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary; to one withouth faith, no explanation is possible.

Lite Brite 2K7

Remember Lite Brite when you were a kid? Well, some yahoo has made an online version of it. Knock yourself out.

And after that, you can check the Lite Brite article on Wikipedia, the encyclopedia for the rest of us.

Weekend Wrap-up 2-24-2007

Has it already been two weeks since I last did one of these? That's too long, buckaroo!

The Oscars
In recent years, I haven't cared one whit about the Oscars. So far, that hasn't changed. And despite this headline, I doubt the ratings will increase by THAT much - if at all. They're SO long and SO boring that it's hard to watch it until the very end. And rarely is it a surprise who wins in the various categories. I'll just read the paper on Monday morning to see who won. YAWNNNN... Wake me up when it's over.

Heroes
Now THERE'S a show worth watching! I hope you folks have been keeping up. Coming Monday, Mr. Bennett is facing all those super-powered folks and what he knows of what was done to them to make them that way! At the end of each episode, I'm left waiting for next week's episode! Someone at work had called it a "soap opera for nerds."

Okay, I'm a nerd. ;-)

The Teaching Company
I recently got a catalog from The Teaching Company that has pages and pages of college level courses on numerous topics. For a Master of Liberal Arts graduate like me, it's like Nerd Nirvana. Check out their website and see what kinds of topics they cover. I bet you'll find something that you'll like. As you might have guessed, I found several. If I had a ridiculous amount of money like many of the nominees in tomorrow's Oscars, I'd probably buy nearly all of the topics they have listed. I wanted to list one that I'd like to buy right now, but just looking over their list, there's too many for me to mention just one!

But one that I might get first is the one titled "Science and Religion", since that's so frequently an issue that comes up on the news. There's easily several more that I want to get as well. By the way, if anyone wants to know what to get me for my birthday in April - drop me a line and I'll send you my list from that site. ;-)

Critters and creatures in the news
This was the week for critters in the news. First was a gigantic squid worthy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. You can almost imagine that squid grabbing the Nautilus, couldn't ya? Next is something a little smaller, but you have to wonder just how slow a news day it is in New York City when a beaver makes the news. Granted, it's been 200 years since the last beaver was in town, but with all the traffic in NYC in recent days, can you blame the little tree gnawers for being a little late?

Next is something even smaller, but definitely gross-out - maybe more than the giant squid. Rats were running wild in a Taco Bell/KFC restaurant in NYC. Be sure to click on the video clip to see the images that were captured - and prepare to be creeped out! This must be NYC's week for critters to be in the news or something. Meanwhile, in nearby New Joisey, the city of Clifton is going to set a time limit on how long dogs can bark. How do you make a dog shut up anyway? All I can think of is to knock it out in some form or fashion, but that would get PETA on your behind faster than a rat at KFC.

Last bit of critter news is actually a "dumb burglar" story, but a dog's involved, so it qualifies as critter news. Apparently, a burglar in Canada tried to break into what turned out to be a facility to train police dogs, but when he tried to split, he ran into a snow bank (how many of those does Canada have anyway?), and a police dog caught up to him, slapped the cuffs on him, and read him his right. Yep, that's one smart police dog. Just don't tell him any "donut shop" jokes. He hates those.

Sports
Okay, football's over, and baseball hasn't started up. For guys, this time of the year is known as the "2 months of hell". Fortunately, there's basketball going on, which helps things - especially when the college basketball season rolls around. The "Road to the Final Four" March Madness format for college basketball is exactly what college football should adopt. In this format, any given team can go all the way. That, my friends, is the classic American sports story, and the football Bowl Championship Series is robbing us of that classic American tale. Whoever came up with the BCS system should be made to eat at a KFC restaurant in NYC.

Yeah, yeah, technically there's hockey, racing, tennis, and - erk - golf also going on, but we all know that the U.S. is built around football, baseball, and basketball. If it weren't for basketball going on right now, I'd be going nuts - or I'd be writing to my blog a whole lot more.

That's it for now, folks. Have a great week!

"Governor Goodhair" Gets Jiggy with Gardasil

In recent weeks in Texas, the GOP governor Rick Perry (AKA "Governor Goodhair" so dubbed by the recently deceased Molly Ivins) got into hot water from mostly his conservative constituent base over his sudden, surprising mandate that all 11 to 12 year old girls get the vaccine for cervical cancer as a requirement for school attendance. The thing is, this vaccine only got approved mere months ago, and it also turns out that the manufacturer - Merck - of the vaccine - named Gardasil - was running a behind-the-scenes campaign to get the usage of the vaccine mandated in various state legislatures. Since there's been such a public outcry against this mandate, Merck has withdrawn its lobbying campaign.

First, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that a pharmaceuticals company runs a behind-the-scenes campaign to get a given state to run its products. Also, I don't necessarily dismiss the idea that these young girls should get vaccinated (but don't you go around saying that I accept the idea, either!). However, to MANDATE it, and to mandate it so soon after it got approved, and to discover that the company that just happens to make said vaccine was instrumental in getting a politician to mandate it is just a bit too much for your average Texas parent to take. The operative word here regarding Gov. Perry is "sellout".

I suppose that it shouldn't be a surprise that a politician has sold out on his constituency. In fact, the bigger surprise probably is when a politician DOESN'T sell out on his or her constituency. It's just that - well, Perry was so obvious about it. Yeah, yeah, he gave the ol' "I was thinking of the children" speech, but we all know that he pulled the standard M.O. for sellout politicians (is that a redundancy?) by implementing as public policy the profitary desires of a company that slipped him a campaign donation.

He also knew that some of his usual critics (liberals, in case you hadn't already figured it out) would be on board with the idea, since they're into socialized medicine and handing over your health concerns to Big Brother and all that. But to risk alienating the base that had stuck by him all these years . . . ! As the previously mentioned Molly Ivins once said, "You gotta dance with the one that brung ya!" So Perry's move comes across as almost foolishly greedy. I say "almost" because he's not up for election for another 4 years, and we don't know yet whether this will hurt his re-election chances. Time will tell. In any case, Perry has his money, and I hope both he and his money are very happy together.

Just so you know, I didn't vote for him. Now you see why!

That's Amore! Pt 1 of 2

I had initially hoped to post this on Valentine's Day, but I had some stuff to take care of last week, plus I ended up saying more than I thought on this topic. Thus, I'm posting the first half today, and the second half possibly later this week.

---------------------------------------------------

The power of love is a curious thing. It makes one man weep, and another man sing.

Sorry. For some reason, I started singing that old Huey Lewis song.

Anyway, love is indeed a curious thing. And it's also hard to pin down a definition! Love means, basically, caring for another. But there's different forms of caring. I care for my family and friends. I care more for family than for friends, obviously, but even within family, I care more for some family members than for others. Parents and siblings, in other words, should come before aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then there's the caring for another in the special way that can lead to romance, and then possibly to marriage.

Romantic love is probably the ultimate puzzle of our human existence on this mortal sphere (sounds rather deep and poetic, eh?). There's infatuation, which is basically a type of uncritical and unreasoning form of idolizing, and then there's the true and mature love. When one is infatuated, then the idolizer can't see any faults in the object of their adoration. That can get problematic (to say the least!) in that we all have faults, and some more glaring than others, but while we are "in love", we are blind to those faults - and often to our dismay later.

I've been in that state before. "Goofy in love", I mean. But it wasn't love, it was infatuation. I know this, because if it had been true love, then I would have married that woman, and I would still be with her to this day. And maybe I would have already had a child or two by now. I might also be in debt up to my eyeballs as the wife buys yet another pair of shoes from the most expensive shoe store in town while son Johnny is charging up a storm getting the latest electronic gizmo that will gather dust by the end of the month while daughter Suzie is dating some weirdo named “Skrattch” who’s wearing so much metal with his body piercings that he can’t go through airport gates without tripping all of them off at the same time.

Ahem. Sorry. Got off on a tangent there. Anyway, those infatuations proved to be just that – immature infatuations – and not true love. In other words, it wasn't meant to be; and perhaps it was for the best. It's entirely possible that "Miss Right" has already come into my life and gone.

Possible…

....but I don't think so.

Why do I doubt it? Because I think I would have known by now that “Miss Right” had come and gone out of my life. In other words, right now I'd be ruing having let her go. But I have no such regrets over any woman of my past. Actually, now I can see that those I had been infatuated with in the past would have been wrong for me for one reason or another. While I do regret not having gotten to know more women in the past, there is still not anyone from the past that I now regard as “Miss Right”.

So what does that mean? That means two things: 1.) "Miss Right" is still in my future, or 2.) I was not meant to get married. Thing is, not being married for the rest of my life no longer scares me. I've come to accept the possibility. It's not something that I necessarily desire, but at the same time, I'd rather be single for the rest of my life than to be miserable from being married to the wrong person. People marry the wrong person because of different reasons. Among those reasons (and this list does not pretend to be complete) is a lack of patience, a lack of maturity, being "goofy in love", or being afraid of NOT being married. None of those reasons will ever lead to a happy marriage.

This, I know, because I have seen many, many examples of how to marry the wrong way. Ain’t that sad? I can’t count the numbers of marriages and divorces just among the people I know or have known. And the lesson from those failed marriages is that there is such a thing as marrying the wrong way. There’s many examples of marrying the wrong way, actually. Fortunately, there are some people I know that are still in their first marriage. For those folks, it looks like it’s going to stay that way, too. They’re examples of mature love, and it’s such people that gives me hope that I, too, may one day know the truest and best form of caring for another.

I shall be continuing this topic later.

Coming soon: Part 2

Foenettic blog entrée

Hi, folks. Sorry that it’s been a week since my last blog entry, but I had some adult responsibilities to deal with. I had a Valentine’s Day entry planned that was nearly done, but I didn’t have a finishing statement for it yet, and I didn’t want to post it until it had one. That entry WILL be posted, though, either tomorrow or Wednesday. However, I shall go ahead and talk about something, just because you good folks have been as patient and understanding as Jet Blue customers (that might be another blog entry later this week, by the way). But this time, there will be a little twist. I shall be writing the words phonetically to see if you can still understand it. Just consider it a little test of reading and writing comprehension. :-)

Did yu heer abowt Britnee Speers? She’z now bauld! Whoo’dathunk that eye’d evur hav moor haeir than hur, eh?

It's uh bit saad that sumwon so yung kin ulreddy bee sew skreued uhp. Shee prety mutch haz it awl: Luhks, muhney, anduh hyoogh interrist uv thuh meedeeyuh. Anjyet, rhathur thaan helpuh hur, thuh fayme seemz to hav herrt hur groueth and devellupment az an induhvidjyuell. How kan aneewun becum ai well-adjyusted induhvidjyuell with thuh kiend uv attenshun that shee offton getts? Andjyett, eye hav trubble feeling sohry for hur, becauz she haz sew much moor than most uv us will evur hav. Eye dohn't envee whut shee haz tu goh throo. Such iz thuh pryce uv fayme, I suppozz. Let'ss juzt hope that shee duzzn't goe down thuh rowd that Anna Nikkole Smith took in hur lyfe.

Weekend Wrap-up 2-11-07

Been a while since I did one of these, so...

Dollar coins
A new dollar coin is going to be introduced later this week. The good folks at the U.S. Mint are hoping that if you weren't crazy about Susan B. Anthony or Sacajawea, then maybe you'll like a series of dollar coins that feature all the U.S. presidents. Yes, even George Bush ("Dubya", that is). I figure that those who have a strong dislike for a past or present president will be using those dollar coins in such a way to express their dislike for that president. Well, it's their money, I suppose. The Mint has been trying to substitute the dollar bill for quite a while, but with no success. There's even been a $2 dollar bill at one time. My suggestion: Make the Washington dollar into the new $2 bill. That only makes sense, I think - but what do I know?

Harvard's new president
I had wondered why Harvard's new president was news. I figured at first that it was because it was Hah-Vahd, and that was supposed to be reason enough. But once I checked out the first paragraph, then I figured it out. Hah-Vahd was where the previous president got into hot water because of his statements about genetics and gender being one possible reason why there is a dearth of women in the maths and sciences. Of course, nowadays you just can't say stuff like that, even if it might be true. The truth is supposed to be because we are an oppressive patriarchic society that keeps women out of higher places because the old boys don't want no dames where they are at. Nope, to make it something other than that means that you're one of those oppressive patriarchic types, and you just can't be trusted.

Well, hopefully the hiring of a female president will solve all of that, and there will be no more of this nonsense about genetics and the lack of women in the maths and sciences and stuff. After all, Hah-Vahd no doubt hired this woman because she was an ace at math and science, which will bounce the genetics theory out the door. Yep, surely she was hired because of her abilities, and NOT because she happened to be a woman. Yeah, I'll just leave it at that and move on to the next topic.

The Vagina Monologues
And speaking of not treating women as body parts, coming soon to my fair city is The Vagina Monologues. Okay, I'll admit that I never read the book. Judging by what I've heard about it so far, I'm not sure I want to. It's NOT because of the topic of women discussing their vaginas (although I'll admit that I'm no more likely to read a play about women discussing their vaginas than I would a book of men discussing their penises), but because it seems so - I don't know - stupid, I guess. I can see discussing women's experiences in other parts of the world, but to discuss women's experiences in other parts of the world as it relates to their vaginas...?

All this time, men have been conditioned to not treat women as just "tits and ass" - and yet this book does basically that. Is it supposed to be okay if the objectification is done by women? Also worthy of noting is the fact that the play originally contained a monologue in which a 13 year old was given alcohol and raped by a lesbian. In the play, the girl had said that it was a "good rape".

Uh-huh. This criticism has been countered by making the 13 year old into a 16 year old; but apparently, she's still given the alcohol, and still taken advantaged of. This still falls under the definition of statutory rape, and last time I checked, that was still illegal. It's this particular monologue and the lack of outrage from feminists over the story that largely keeps me from reading TVM. Rape is supposed to be wrong - no matter how it's done or who does it, and for feminists to not be outspoken and outraged over it makes me seriously question their credibility over their alleged concerns for women and their rights and safety.

Understand that I have absolutely nothing against plays that tell of the plight of women living in a man's world. More power to you, I say. But I think that there has to be better plays than TVM. I don't see how men are supposed to see that objectification of women as being wrong if a play of women doing basically that is glorified. It's called "sending conflicting messages". Maybe it's because I'm just a man, but TVM just seems so wrong in so many ways.

Anna Nicole and the astronaut
I never thought that anything would displace from the front pages the Iraq war and the amount of death and carnage that is going on. Once again, I am wrong. Sigh. When will I learn? The sudden death of Anna Nicole Smith, plus the surprising behavior of one of our NASA astronauts has taken over the headlines. There's really nothing that I can say about Smith that hasn't already been said many times over, so all I'll say is that I'll be praying for her young daughter, who is now in the unenviable position of being at the center of an estate and custody dispute. As for Lisa Nowak, it goes to show that even a woman skilled in math and science can still fall prey to human weaknesses (I guess she didn't go to Hah-Vahd).

But what Anna Nicole and Lisa Nowak demonstrate is the often schizophrenic judgment on the part of the media of what makes the front page. Again, I didn't think anything would displace the Iraq war, but to be displaced by something like this...? In recent days, the front pages of many newspapers have come to resemble gossip columns instead of hard-hitting journalism. And the media wonders why their readership and viewership is dwindling...

Election '08
Well, it's official. 3 Democratic candidates have thrown their hat into the ring, and at least one Republican is close to doing the same. I'll say right now that of that foursome - Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Rudy Giuliani - I wouldn't vote for any of them. Nope, if you want to make for an election that will be unprecedented, then go with Joe Lieberman for the Dems and Dr. Condoleezza Rice for the GOP. That way, you have two unprecedented candidates running for office. Thing is, I still probably wouldn't vote for either of them, but at least such candidacies would be VERY interesting to keep up with.

The '08 election is also likely to be a good time for an independent to also make a run for it. Well, that's if they don't pull a'92 Perot and pull out just when a movement is building! The recent Texas governor's race showed that an independent can succeed if he or she plays their cards right. Texas actually had TWO independents, and if it hadn't been for that fact, then one of them might have had a much stronger showing. I think this shows that the good people of this nation are primed for the right person to step in. Such a person would have to have a combination of a charismatic personality, independently wealthy, a flair for timing, and a personality that comes across as sincere and genuine (as opposed to many of today's politicians, who come across as manufactured and processed as canned meat).

At this time, I know of no one whom I could suggest as well as vote for. I'll have to think about that some more. But I do believe that the time is right for an independent to step in. If Perot hadn't fumbled away his opportunity back in '92, who knows where our nation might be right now? Now's the time for a new Perot to step up. And not screw up this time!

Have a great week, folks!

Dove products

As I was watching a Dove commercial earlier, I wondered if anyone ever got Dove soap and the Dove bar mixed up? I suppose you could tell if someone was either foaming at the mouth, or that they smelled of B.O. and chocolate.

Just wondering.

Promotional stunts in the news

Two promotional stunts were in the news recently. One stunt resulted in the death of Jennifer Strange, who participated in a water drinking contest titled "Hold Your Wee for a Wii". I've read various articles on this story, many of which state that since Strange signed a waiver, then the station shouldn't be faulted for the death. However, I think it's foolish to have such stunts to begin with. The attached article said that Strange drank almost two gallons of water, and that her belly was like that of a woman in early pregnancy.

She's not a camel, and that's way too much water to be drinking in one sitting. I think that this suit should go through, because any station that has such stunts should seriously think it through and speculate all the potential problems that could occur. It wouldn't have taken a lot of "Googling" to find that a couple of years ago, a college student died of the same thing. My heart is broken over the loss of the woman's life, and I think that the creators of this stunt should be made to sit in a court of law and explain their actions. Strange's children deserve that much.

The second stunt involved the placement of electronic signs that caused the city of Boston to go on alert for a possible bomb threat. Now here, I must concede that there was a bit of an over-reaction on the part of the city of Boston - but just as quickly I say that in this post 9-11 day and age, such reactions are to be expected, especially by those who plan such stunts. The emergency responders were basically just doing their job. Like the radio promoters, the producers of Adult Swim should likewise sit in a court of law and face the music.

There are good promotions, and then there are those promotions that need a little more thought before they are put into action. The two examples above should have been thought out some more. I find it very surprising that someone along the way in the planning of these stunts didn't stop and say "Should we be doing this?" I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Mainly because we live in a lawsuit-happy age, and any of these public organizations are a screw-up away from having their places of businesses sued out of existence. You'd think that keeping the nature of our day-and-age would be second nature to such folks by now. Funny how I keep being proven wrong. I don't know what that says about us.

What I would do as an editor-in-chief

Someone posed the following question to me (who asked in response to my previous blog entry) : If I were editor-in-chief of a newspaper, what would I do?

1.) First, I'd tell all the reporters that they can no longer belong to any political parties or other political organizations so long as they are employed as reporters. In other words, I don't want any Democratic reporters or Republican reporters. I want reporters, period. All political and sociological ideologies are going to be left at the entrance. Either I or someone I assign will be periodically checking for any slants in reporting. It's very important that my newspaper gains the reputation of fair, objective, and unbiased reporting. I want the story to be the news, and not the style that it was reported to be the news.

2.) Since we can't completely isolate ourselves from the social and political influences that are out there, I will have a greatly expanded opinion section. Opinion columnists will be allowed to belong to political parties or organizations, but they will have to note in their columns or bylines that they belong to X group if they are going to be commenting on it. They will also not be allowed to be reporters any more. The newspaper's Op/Ed page of the website will also be greatly expanded, and perhaps organized by topic. It is my hope that the Op/Ed pages will provide backdrop for the stories that are reported in other sections of the newspaper. For instance, while the front page will provide the details of Bush's latest stategem in Iraq, all the reporters will be doing is listing the details. There will be NO headlines that say, "Bush's latest strategy faulty" or other implications of judgment. The Op/Ed pages will be where such headlines will appear, along with criticisms of it.

3.) Last, and probably most important, once the reporters and columnists get the hang of my style and expectations, I also want them to get it in their heads that I will back them up on what they say - even if it is potentially controversial. For instance, I want them to feel confident being aggressive against a politician who has proven to be getting bribes or otherwise entangled in such illegal or unethical ways. This means that I want to have developed enough faith and confidence in my reporters and columnists that they'll do the job that I expect them to do, and in turn, they'll have faith and confidence in me that I'll back them up against the people they're reporting on, the public that may get outraged, or the publisher that wants us to "not be so aggressive against Candidate X". In short, so long as they do their job right and along my expectations, I'll take all the heat that results from their doing their jobs. I want the reporters to not be afraid to seek and to report the unvarnished truth, no matter where it takes him or her. And part of reporting the unvarnished truth is for the reporter to be consciously aware of not putting any "slant" to their reporting, because any "slanting" will slant away from the truth. It is said in the news business that the only commodity it has is the truth. That statement will be everywhere in my newspaper.

All this will also call, of course, for publishers with balls. Wimpy publishers produce wimpy newspapers. If they can't take the heat, then they should get out of the business. In addition to ballsy publishers will be the need for lawyers who are thoroughly versed in the law as it is related to the news business. That will be part of protecting reporters and columnists. I think that with such a dedication to the truth will come the reputation for truthful reporting, and from that will come more readers. The traditional newspaper business can - and SHOULD - be saved. Our democracy depends on it.

Editorial statement for February 2007: Free the Press!

This article ran in the Fort Worth Weekly almost two years ago. It's titled, "Speak up, Woman" by Tracy Everbach. In this article, Everbach laments the lack of female opinion writers in the Op/Ed pages. While it was a good article that brought many interesting points, I wrote a Letter to the Editor pointing out that Everbach listed only left-wing writers. In my response (last letter of that webpage), I noted that if Everbach wants more women opinion writers, then she needs to support the writing efforts of ALL women, and not just those who agree with her left wing views (I assumed that Everbach was left-leaning because she chose only left-wing writers as examples, plus in her two e-mails to me, she never denied being left-wing).

There's a reason why it's important to support ALL women writers, and here's an excerpt from my Letter that explains it:

Potential columnists need a motivation to write, and that often comes with replying to views that they disagree with. So if Everbach desires more female columnists, then I advise her to support all female columnists who are out there now, not just the ones who agree with her political slant. Or it could be looked upon this way: With more conservative female columnists will come liberal female columnists motivated to reply to whatever opinions the former express. In such a scenario, all points of view will benefit.

I got the idea for this month's editorial statement because of the death of columnist Molly Ivins yesterday. In many of the accolades that I read, I was surprised to see how often she was referred to as "liberal" and "liberal icon". I say surprised, because most time she is referred to as "progressive" rather than "liberal". "Progressive" is a liberal's way of saying "liberal" without actually saying "liberal". I never liked that liberal tendency to try to hide what they are. And calling one's self "progressive" never fooled anyone beside the person using the label.

So why am I harping on the term "liberal"? It's because of one of the problems with today's media: Members of the media are too overwhelmingly Democratic AND liberal. Why is this a problem? It's because the work environment that is slanted too heavily toward one political viewpoint (regardless of the viewpoint) is going to be reporting with that slant, whether they intend to or not. It's called "groupthink", and it can get so pervasive that those who are caught in it are not able to see it even when they are surrounded by it. This is why I chose this month's editorial statement of "Free the Press".

The numbers of newspaper circulation has gone down, partially because the Internet helps provide news instantaneously to a generation that is used to getting what it wants instantaneously. However, I believe that newspaper circulation wouldn't be suffering so much if it weren't for the predictability of what a newspaper will say about a given story. Most of the time, you know that the reporting is going to be anti-Bush, or favor embryonic stem cell research as opposed to other forms of stem cell research, or that it will give favorable reporting to cherished liberal icons such as Barack Obama or Al Gore.

By the way, did you know that Obama smokes? If Bush had been a smoker, you'd be hearing it every freakin' day. Why isn't Obama's smoking habits reported more? It's because the press loves Obama. This isn't how news reporting should be. We knew of Bush's past alcohol problems and other legal indiscretions a long time ago, because the press doesn't like Bush. However, the press is not in the business of playing favorites. If they're going to report on the skeletons in the closet of one candidate, they should be doing them all that way.

And there's another problem the media has: Political correctness (PC from here on). PC belongs only in one area: politics. PC does not belong in our universities, and it most certainly does not belong in the press. In fact, PC should be anathema to any credible news professional. Understand that this is NOT to say that news reporters or columnists need to go out of their way to be offensive, but that they shouldn't be afraid to say what needs to be said just because someone somewhere is going to be offended. The plain and simple truth is that there is NO WAY to avoid being totally inoffensive. And being inoffensive is not a value to cling to for a news professional. If they don't have the guts to say what needs to be said, then they don't need to be in the business.

And last is the problem of more and more media outlets being bought out by fewer and fewer major corporations. This makes the media accountable to a bottom line. It makes the media accountable to stockholders. These profit-driven goals totally diverts from what the press should be doing. The press is not in the business of making profit, they are in the business of reporting the news. To hold a given news entity to a bottom line is to undermine its credibility. It has to have the freedom to report the bad news even of the corporation that owns it; otherwise, they are nothing but a public relations department for that corporation. This means that they aren't in the news business, in other words.

So folks, that's my editorial statement for this month: Free the press. Free it from not just liberal bias, but all biases. It needs to get back to even-handed reporting. Free the press from PC. Dare to be offensive if a given fact or story needs to be heard. And free the press from corporate takeovers. Let the press have the freedom of not being beholden to a profit margin.

Despite what might be reported about the decline of newspapers, I still believe that there is a role and a place for them in our society. Without a free and independent press, our leaders won't feel so accountable for their actions. The press needs to return to its roots, and it needs to restore its core values of reporting what needs to be heard. That's how to get readers back.

To paraphrase a familiar movie quote, "If you print it, they will read."

Free the press!

Models in the news

Tyra Banks was in the news recently over some pics of her in a bathing suit that makes her thighs look huge. Banks took the right attitude over this, and confronted it by wearing the same bathing suit on her show.

I hope more models and others in the fashion and modeling industry also take on the dangerous habits that models often go through to get VERY thin. One New York lawmaker hopes to get that process started. It's also highly ironic that our day and age has gotten so image-obsessive at a time in which "tolerance" and "open-mindedness" are constantly preached to us like a steady drumbeat.

There's something deeper going on that's interconnected with the "thin" ideal of the modeling industry and our "inclusiveness" obsession - but I need to think on this a little more first before I address this issue with any more depth. However, I will address the response that the ladies usually give when I ask them about this issue. Their response is basically "Men prefer thin women".

That's not totally correct. While men may indeed prefer a slender woman to a woman with a few pounds or more, I don't know of a single man (myself included) that prefers the "Olive Oyl" figure to a woman with healthy feminine curves. The vast majority of men I know (myself included again) prefer women with curves. While some men may like more curves than others, most want women with figures that look feminine - and not the walking skeletons that many models adapt as ideal.

For instance, in this pic of Tyra on the recent cover of People Magazine, I think she still looks totally hot. I prefer her looking like that to her looking like Olive Oyl. If Tyra ever looked like Olive, then I'd seriously worry about her health. I wish I could find the article that gave the following statement - and I apologize for not knowing it word-for-word - but it said something along the lines that women aim for this too-thin ideal not so much to impress men as it is to impress other women.

In other words, women generally are more image-conscious and aware of how they look than men generally are. This is why eating disorders are conditions that largely affects women. It's also why Tyra Banks putting on a few pounds becomes the subject of news stories. Wanting to look good is one thing, but our society's obsession with perfection when it comes to appearance often borders insanity. That needs to change.

When I have thought on this some more, I'll bring it up here again.

Abortion and the death penalty again

Since my previous post on the abortion and death penalty issues, I've gotten some questions that I thought that I'd go ahead and answer here.

Death Penalty
One person thought that I was a bit harsh on death penalty supporters (DPSs from here on). This was mainly in regard to my statement which said that if the death penalty is morally and ethically right, then it wouldn't matter how the execution was carried out. That is, it wouldn't matter if it was by lethal injection, electrocution, or beheading. I further said that if beheadings make DPSs squeamish, then perhaps their conscience is telling them something that they need to hear. I don't see what was particularly harsh about the way I said it. Sometimes the truth hurts, and maybe that's what sounded "harsh". I stand by what I said in my initial post.

One curious note that I want to bring up here is the choice of words in the headline of this article. It referred to the hanging of Saddam Hussein's half brother as a "botched execution". They chose the word "botched" because he was supposed to only hang, but his body dropped with such force that the rope decapitated the head. As in my previous post, I have to say something that may unintentionally come across as flippant, but I don't know how else to say this: Wasn't the whole point of the hanging to kill him? If so, then what was "botched" about it? He would have been just as dead had the rope not severed his head from his body. Certainly decapitation wasn't the intent, but the end result is still the same. To me, all this does is prove how barbaric the death penalty is, and this "botched execution" illustrated my point rather effectively.

In regards to whether I'd kill someone who was threatening to kill me, well - that's kinda a no-brainer, donchathink? That's called self defense. I'd do the same if that same homicidal maniac was also threatening someone I love. The circumstances here are different because of the immediacy of the act. However, if this homicidal maniac is behind bars, then his threat is neutralized so long as they keep him (or her, just to be fair) behind bars.

Another DPS's comment also made me realize that I need to add this clarifier: A life sentence should indeed mean "behind bars for life". Those who are opposed to the death penalty should also be the most vocal about "life means life". The more bleeding heart types among the anti-death penalty crowd who want to give a homicidal maniac a shortened sentence only hurt the credibility of the anti-death penalty movement.

So to you bleeding heart types: Stop being stupid and accept the concept that "life means life". If you're that opposed to the death penalty, then you need to accept this perfectly reasonable alternative to the violence of state-sanctioned death. Otherwise, you'll look like a clueless idiot that doesn't know what they're talking about.

Abortion
A question was posed to me that I think needs to be answered: Is there ANY form of abortion that I would accept? There is one. This is in regards to ectopic pregnancies. From what I understand about this condition, there is NO WAY that the unborn can be carried to term, and to allow the pregnancy to continue could be fatal to the mother. In this instance, the abortion is the RESULT, and not the INTENT. BIG difference.

And a miscarriage is also morally neutral for the same reason: the abortion is the result and not the intent. I know the difference between a miscarriage and a willful act of abortion, so I don't see why I was asked this question other than for me to demonstrate to this person that I know the difference. Hopefully I have done just that.

And with that, I hope that I've taken care of just about everyone's questions about these two issues. But feel free to ask me anything else if I haven't quite covered what you want to know.

Interesting scientific stuff

This link will take you to an entry from the blog titled Opinion Dump. In it you will find some very interesting advances in the field of science. Check it out!

By the way, Opinion Dump also has a link on my sidebar if you want to read the other things the author writes about.

SpongeBob SquarePants a hit with Japanese women

Who'd a thunk that a sponge could be a hit with the ladies? According to this article, SpongeBob SquarePants is a hit not just with the kids in Japan, but also the young women. I don't know whether this says something about the nature of Japanese culture, or of women in general - or of Japanese women in particular.

However, I wonder if the costume below would make me a babe magnet in Japan? What do you think?

Interesting online clock

Got this in an e-mail. It's an online calender/clock.

From the bottom to the top, it shows the year up to the seconds. Very interesting.

Gas prices again

Ask, and ye shall receive.

I got two responses to my gas price blog entry that I shall post here. First, one reader provided a link to a website that gives the lowest prices in your area.

Next is this reply, which explains some about the effect that independent stations have on prices:

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It works this way: The little guy -the retail dealer, Gurbinder or Akbar down at the Gas-n-Go - buys his gas from the oil company 8500 gallons at a time. That's what a tanker truck holds. When wholesale prices go up, he raises his price based on replacement cost. He has to replenish his tanks at some point. It may be 3 or 4 days before his next load, so his price changes daily. If he waited until his next load to raise the price, it would jump 20¢ in one day. The public balks at that. When wholesale prices drop, he stops using replacement cost. What if he has 15,000 gallons in the ground, some of it bought when prices were 20¢ higher? His profit margin is only about a nickel a gallon. He'd be selling it for less than he paid! So he charges based on what it cost him. That is why it goes up rapidly, and down slowly.

The "awl binness" is tough. The branded dealers are locked into a purchasing agreement with the oil company. The independants can buy from whoever. If there's a glut, the oil companies unload their product on the independants. They have only so much storage, there are full tankers already heading this way, and it has to go somewhere. I recall a time a few years ago when the local independant was selling gas for less than my boss could buy it from Shell! Now it's true that name-brand gas has better additives so it costs a bit more, but I doubt if the additives add 30¢ a gallon to the price. And don't forget, Visa charges about 3% to process transactions. At 2 bucks a gallon, Akbar is paying 6¢ a gallon so you can use plastic.

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Thanks to those two for their responses. If other helpful info comes my way, I'll post that as well.

Gas prices

Back when gas was over $3 a gallon, I had told others that the oil companies kept raising prices because the newspaper headlines kept saying "Gas prices to keep going up", so what could the gas companies do other than raise prices? Well, you think that the media would have learned their lesson from that whole experience, but what do they go and do?

They saw that the prices were getting higher - REALLY high, actually - so they go and foolishly run headlines that say "Gas prices reaching record high". Well again, what could the oil companies do but keep up with the headlines? Up the prices went, to record levels. This was a whole vicious circle that only benefited the pocketbooks of the oil companies, so to you media guys: Knock it off!

Lately, however, gas prices have started to come down. One Shell station near me has actually reached $1.97 a gallon. I haven't seen prices that low in quite a long while. Headlines have been saying "Prices continue to go down". See, that's what they should be doing. Upcoming headlines now need to say "Prices reaching lowest level in years" so that the oil companies will feel compelled to honor that headline.

Okay, I've had my fun. :0)

You ever notice, though, that when prices DO go down, the spokesfolks of these oil companies will explain away why prices at the pump don't go down as fast as the prices of crude oil? They'll say such things as "Well, there's a multi-step fiscal process from the refinery to the pump. There's various local, state, and federal taxes and fees and ..." other blahblahblah stuff. What they're basically saying is that these various fiscal processes from refinery to pump inhibit instant responses at the pump when the price of crude oil goes down.

I might believe all that if it weren't for the fact that, when crude goes UP, the very next day, the prices at the pump also go up. So to these pencil pushers at the oil companies, I ask - if these multi-step fiscal processes inhibit instant responses at the pump when the price of crude oil goes down, then why doesn't this also work in reverse? That is, when crude goes up, why don't these same multi-step fiscal processes inhibit instant price increases at the pump?

I'm sure they'll have an explanation for that as well, but we all know that they're pulling our legs. They get their money one way or another, because they know we need our cars. If many of the places I go to weren't so far away on foot, I'd just walk everywhere to protest the control that oil companies have on our lives. It's the price we all pay, I suppose, for the convenience that our cars provide. I'll still use my car, but I won't enjoy myself!

Time to get caught up!

Sorry that it's been a week since I posted, folks, but being sick put me behind on stuff that I needed to do. Also, Texas had some icy weather that kept me at home and put me further behind. But now I am reasonably caught up, I shall just do a mini-Weekend Wrap-up to get me up to snuff on recent goings-on in the news. I'll just hit the ground running here, so try to keep up, okay?

First, the one entry that I was close to posting last week was one that was going to be on the execution of Saddam Hussein. However, in the process of writing it, that particular entry became more of a commentary on the media, and it kinda changed the focus of it. So thus, I'm revamping it so that it's more of a column instead of a blog entry. I hope to have that done and posted this week.

Next, on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I don't think either candidate is "winnable" for the Dems. The reason is thus: Hillary has too much "baggage" while Obama doesn't have enough. Also, both will provide field days for the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world, so I think it's best to run with someone else. I suggest Joe Lieberman. Since Lieberman is pro-choice on abortion, I likely wouldn't vote for him unless the GOP have someone even worse, but Lieberman would be harder for the Rushes and Seans to argue over, because he's such a likeable guy.

As for whom among the GOP should be selected for '08, I'm still working on that one. I think Dr. Condolezza Rice would be a good choice, although I wouldn't vote for her because she's also iffy on the abortion issue - but she'd be hard for the Dems to overly criticize because she's a successful black woman. If it does indeed come down to Rice and Lieberman, I'd probably have to vote for a 3rd party, but I would definitely be paying attention to such a ticket.

A quick note on my “Journey to Nerdville”: In the past two years, I’ve made quite a bit of progress on my journey to hi-tech Nirvana. The main acquisition has been my laptop PC with a wireless set-up. Being connected to the Internet without actually being connected to anything is just cool beyond words. I feel like I’m on Star Trek’s Enterprise or something.

The next coolest is my cellphone. I had been hesitant to get a phone because I’m hard of hearing and the phones that I’ve listened to have been hard for me to hear with. But thanks to an aunt who works for the phone company, I’ve got one to “test drive” with. It’s a basic model with nothing fancy - no camera phone or text messaging, but I don’t need that stuff anyway. I don’t know how long I have this one to “test drive”, but once I change over to a new phone, I’d like to try one with more features. Maybe something akin to the Blackberrys.

After that is my digital camera. Before my digicam, I had used film cameras all these years. But now that I’ve been using a digicam, I don’t think I’ll ever go back. It’s that cool. I especially love being able to reshoot pics and deleting them until you get it right. No film wasted!

My next cool gadget will either be a new desktop PC with a bunch of whizbang stuff, or a fancier digicam that has a lot of the features that the film SLR cameras have. Either one is roughly in the same neighborhood as far as price, and I don’t know which one I want more.

And now, some quick words on sports. Even though Dallas Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo bobbled that hold on that last game, I still think he should be the starter next year. I think, though, that it’s probably time for head coach Bill Parcells to go. It’s definitely time for Terrell Owens to go. I’d like the owner Jerry Jones to go as well. Maybe Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban can buy the team instead?

Speaking of the Mavs, they have really shifted gears after starting the season 0-4. Now they have the best record in the league. But things aren’t going to be all fine and dandy until they win a championship. I believe that the coach Avery Johnson will get them back there, especially now that he got a taste of the championship.

Okay folks – that gets me caught up somewhat. I’ll try to not go another week without posting again. Just pray that I don’t get sick like that again. I hate being sick. It reminds me that I’m not immortal, and I don’t like those kinds of reminders of my mortality. It must be a guy thing.

Have a great week, folks!

Fantasy Rec Room update

Hey, folks! I'm back, and I'm better. I'll spare you the details other than to say that I had something that disagreed with me. Anyway, this Weekend Wrap-up is going to be an update on the responses that I got for my Fantasy Rec Room, and boy, did you folks have ideas!

Attached below are some of your responses (in italics blue), followed by my reactions (in black):

* Loved it...my additions--the blown up pix of Nolan Ryan bleeding from the cut on his lip, and The Jimster in Cow gear celebrating that first Super Bowl....

Here is one such pic of Big Tex (aka Nolan Ryan) with blood on his shirt. Here is another that I really like, when Robin Ventura rushed him on the mound, and Tex took him in a headlock and took to pounding his face. It was cool. And every game after that in which Ventura came to Arlington (Texas, that is), he was booed every at bat - even though it was years after the fact.

* Not bad, but you forgot the chest-sized humidor, the chilled-tequila tap and the 200 inch HD projector with Sunday NFL ticket. Oh, wait, that will be MY rec rom….

I may have to look at this guy's rec room so that I can get further ideas. Sounds like quite a set-up. I wonder if he ever leaves his room?

* You forgot this - http://www.lyonspinball.com/intro.htm

I did mention pinball machines, but I didn't have a link to a site. Much obliged. :-)

* That was good. if you didn't mention some large flat screen tvs, I would definitely add about 2 or 3. Need to have several to monitor several games at once. Of course, you need the surround sound system with a large enough subwoofer to generate "mondo bass". The universal remote that controls everything is a must as well as a couch or several recliners for viewing this stuff. For the pool tables you need the light fixtures that hang over them. Oh, and if you want to complete the media room, the big screens should have the ability to be switched to a computer with internet access to look up stats on players and teams during the game. Don't forget video game systems for the time between games. Maybe a console of each major system to suit all the possibilities out there. Finally, if you didn't mention them, you need a refrigerator and microwave for the drinks and snacks.

Whenever I start setting up my rec room, this guy is SO hired to help with the set-up!

* You forgot the Pink Floyd poster and a black light.

* If you have any room add some music equipment. Maybe a few 350w guitar amps, a couple of gibsons, and a DW Drum kit.

* Let's not forget the dice, indoor shuffleboard and perhaps indoor washers!

* Are you going to have a bar with leather covered padding on the front and a big mirror on the wall in behind it? Oh and you need a disco ball. Song suggestions: Great Balls of Fire, Chantilly Lace (I think that's what it's called), Lollipop

* Don't forget a top of the line air hockey table.

* How about a couple of one armed bandits??? (slot machines) and a pachinko machine. The decor could be enhanced with a bear skin on the wall

* Don't forget some classic video games, like "Space Invaders", "Asteroids", and "Pac Man".

All excellent ideas. The disco ball is cool especially for New Year's Eve. Other songs that I thought of are songs by Bruce Springsteen - especially Born in the USA, and songs by Billy Joel. Some Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin songs are cool, too.

* John... I think you're going to have to build a house that's just a rec room.

You know, you're right. I'll just have to make a rec hall! Maybe I can have a mezzanine floor where all the arcade machines, pinball machines, air hockey, darts, and foozball table can go.

* Let me be the first to donate to the cause... but I really could donate a few shot glasses from my collection!

You know, a shotglass collection would be pretty cool, especially since so many of us travel to so many other parts of the country and the world.

* Where is the hot tub?

Uh, I guess in the back yard, with the outdoor grill and patio.

* Bravo, John! And yes, the BBQ grill/patio is a must!

Thank you. :-D

* I'll contribute my collection of Carlos n' Charlies and Cabo Wabo swag but only if Sammy Hagar tunes are added to the mix.

It's a deal! Mr. DJ, please add "I can't drive 55" to the music mix...

*That I would like a movie screen kind of tv/dvd thing.. Leather chairs... a small kitchen for making snacks... and a library of old movies........ and old movie flyers/posters for the walls........ ahhhhhhhhhhh that's just thing for me...

* Well, considering how much I love movies, my ideal "rec room" would actually be one of those Ultimate Home Theaters with padded seats, and a big screen on one wall. Of course front and center where one such seat would ordinarily be, I'd just have a space to park my wheelchair . I'd have a DVD projector, and surround sound speakers built into the walls.

* (My question: Do those hi-def TV projectors work outside? In other words, could I have a nighttime movie party outside? Just wondering. That would be cool if it would work.) Yes the projectors work outside, but you also need one of these: http://www.superscreenusa.com/

Since the "home theater" idea was mentioned by several respondents, then I definitely need to work in a means of playing movies in this rec hall of mine. An inside set-up of course, but I also like the idea of an outside nighttime set-up as well. That would remind me of the old drive-in movie theaters. Man, I haven't been to one of those in ages.

Well, as you can see, folks - there's several good ideas here, all of which makes me want to make this rec hall even more. Now if only I could win the lotto...

Thanks for dreaming with me, folks! It's been great! If I ever do get this set up, you're all invited to check it out! :-D

I'm feeling bad, ol' gang of mine

Folks,

I'm gonna be gone at least until Saturday as I recover from my illness. I shall be commenting on the topics that I said I'd be commenting on - it will just be later in the week.

In the meantime, your prayers and well wishes are greatly appreciated.

Saddam's hanging "deplorable"

I found the statements at the start of this article a bit odd. Here's what it says:

"LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Gordon Brown has condemned the way Saddam Hussein was hanged as "deplorable" -- in contrast to British Prime Minister Tony Blair who has yet to comment in person on the execution. "

Not to sound flippant, but - is there GOOD way to be hanged? Isn't the condemned person just as dead whether he was hanged in a deplorable way or not? It seems irrelevant to be discussing how an execution took place, given that the end result is still the same. I shall be commenting further later this week on Saddam's execution and the images of his hanging that were later posted on the Internet. There's a point from that which connects to my earlier blog entry about "legalized barbarity".

My fantasy Rec room

One day, I hope to have the following Rec room:

First, it's going to have wood paneling. Gotta have that. It also has to be large enough to hold the following: A pool table, a table soccer game, a pinball machine, a bar, and a large screen TV. It also needs to have a dartboard - and maybe two. Of course, there will be stools and mismatched furniture as well as one of those large industrial spools to use as a table for poker or other card games. If possible, I'd also like to have a moose head and a cigar store Indian. Oh yeah, and I'll need playing cards, perhaps several decks. On the walls will be various neon signs of beer labels.

And of course, the cheesy black velvet paintings. One painting that is a must is the classic "Dogs playing poker." Another is of Elvis. Gotta have the King. There's even a site to buy them. Check this out. Other possibilities are black velvet paintings of Aztecs, Pancho Villa or other types of bandidos, and of Emmett Kelly. How's it looking so far, you think?

Something else needed are photos of Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Dean blown up to poster size. Along with them is this colored photo of Curly Howard. Added to all that is a standing cardboard cutout of Marilyn Monroe in that scene from Seven Year Itch.

The room also needs movie posters. Casablanca is a must. So is the original movie poster of the 1977 Star Wars.

Ah, and a jukebox. It doesn't have to be one that plays actual records (for those of you who were born post-records, records looked like this ), but one that can play digital music. As for the songs that need to be on it, well, here's a short list:

* Louie Louie by the Kingsmen
* Jailhouse Rock by Elvis
* Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry

Others will be added as I think of them.

Anyway, this is a start. I'm open to your suggestions as to what else can go in my fantasy Rec room. Who knows? One day, maybe I'll actually build it. :-)

Editorial statement for January 2007: End legalized barbarity

January is the month that prolifers organize protests against legalized abortion. They pick January, because it was in January that the U.S. Supreme Court had handed down its decision on Roe vs. Wade. However, some prolifers use this month to also speak out on other prolife issues; namely, the death penalty and euthanasia. I'm one such prolifer.

Legalized abortion is wrong in many ways, and I've discussed some of those ways in this blog. One question that I've never gotten a reasonable response to from pro-choicers is how abortion makes someone a more responsible adult. If that's true, then why have some women had multiple abortions? How many does it take before she has reached a certain level of responsibility where she can raise a child?

When a woman has had multiple abortions, she should then be the most responsible person around, regardless of where she goes. But aren't multiple abortions a sign that a person is actually very irresponsible? Logically, it seems much more likely that the more abortions a woman has, the less likely that she'll ever be a responsible adult. So thus, why even bring up this flawed argument that having an abortion makes someone a responsible adult?

Next is euthanasia - or, as it is referred to by its supporters, "death with dignity". The story of Terri Schiavo in 2005 blew the arguments in favor of euthanasia right out of the water. The parents of Terri Schiavo were ready, willing, and able to take over care for her. Terri's husband Michael won't had to have contributed a dime or a minute of his time to her care, but instead, the state allowed the "death with dignity" to take place, so Terri was slowly starved to death over a two week period. Somebody please explain to me on how dignified it is to be starved to death for two weeks.

What the whole story showed is that it wasn't Terri's life that was important, but what she represented to supporters of legalized euthanasia. In other words, a political agenda became more important than a woman's life. So basically then, Terri was sacrificed for the benefit of the supporters of legalized euthanasia, thus making the ending of Terri's life a de facto death penalty for being too disabled to care for herself. Terri deserved better than that.

And last, the death penalty. I saved this for last because my statments here are the longest, and I particularly want to discuss the issue of trying to make the death penalty "kinder and gentler". Think about this: Why don't we use the electric chair anymore? Or how about hanging? Or beheadings? It's because those forms of execution are too much of a spectacle. The electric chair causes painful spasming. Hanging causes death by slow asphyxiation. And beheadings are bloody and messy.

That's why most of the time nowadays, executions are done by lethal injection. Lethal injection is quiet and less of a spectacle. It's also supposed to be less painful for the person being executed. The person just lies there and slowly succumbs to the lethal dosage that has been pumped into his or her veins. No muss, no fuss, just kinder and gentler. But why should it matter how the person is being executed? The end result is still the same: a person is being killed by the state. And is lethal injection truly less painful than the other forms of execution?

No, the reason to execute someone by lethal injection is not because it's better for the person being executed, it's because this form of execution is less painful to the consciences of the supporters of the death penalty. But why spare their tortured consciences? If they're going to support the death penalty, then it shouldn't truly matter how it's done. Beheadings seem to be the least painful for the executed. The blade drops, and the head comes off. Much, much quicker than succumbing to a poison in one's veins. So if the pain of the executed is truly a problem, then bring back beheadings.

But no, beheadings are so - French Revolution. It's too public, too bloody, too much of a spectacle. Can't have that. But supporting the death penalty - no matter how it's done - is still a matter of supporting a state-sanctioned killing. If supporters find themselves bothered by the more public forms of executions, then perhaps they should question why those other forms of executions bother them. It could very well be their consciences that are telling them that it's wrong. They shouldn't have to execute their consciences to support the death penalty.

What all three of these practices have in common is that they are - plain and simply - barbaric. They are holdovers to our more violent past. Why don't we still do "eye for an eye"? Because it's barbaric. Can you imagine someone actually trying to justify cutting out someone's eye for having caused blindness to someone else? Well, why not? If we can "terminate pregnancies", "die with dignity", and "exact justice", then why not adopt "eye for an eye"? Just don't call it "eye for an eye" because that's calling it what it is. No, better to call it something else, like "equalizing reparations".

But clever, euphemistic terms do not cover what these acts ultimately are. They are barbaric, and the sooner that we realize that, the sooner that we can evolve beyond our violent and bloody past. Holding on to them only guarantees that we will eventually sink back to those less civilized ways. We want to believe that we are a better, more enlightened society, but if we were truly that way, we wouldn't be trying to hide what we're doing with clever word play. Ultimately, lying to ourselves will catch up to us.

Year-End Wrap-up Dec 30 2006

This is not just a Weekend Wrap-up, but a Year-End Wrap-up. :-)

Basically, this will be like a Weekend Wrap-up, but for the whole year. I suppose that I'll be making this an annual event. Why the heck not? Onward!

War In Iraq: What to do?
The war in Iraq became a real booger for Bush and the GOP. It basically cost the GOP the election. But I'll get back to the GOP in just a bit. SOMETHING needs to be done, but what? The usual clueless response from the left is that we need to pack up and leave right now. Somehow, they seem to believe that leaving will cause some sort of reset button to be activiated, and things will return to the way things were before. This needs to be told to them as many times as it takes: Things Ain't Going Back the way they were, so shaddap about that already.

But - what ARE we gonna do? Leaving right now would be disastrous. We removed the power structure and substituted it with ourselves, so we are stuck. There is no alternative but to ride this out, because when we became the power structure there, we took the responsibility upon ourselves, and we can't leave until Iraq is ready to take care of itself. It may have indeed become a quagmire there, but it's OUR quagmire.

So what's my solution to this? In a nutshell, our leaders need to stop being so short-sighted here and stop seeking short-term political gains. We need to look at the big picture. We need to put the good of the Iraqi people, the good of the U.S., and the good of the world first. The issue of short-term political gains need to drop out of the picture completely. Iraq needs from us an unwavering message of what we plan to do there. No more of this "We're leaving!" and "We're staying!" We need to stay there and finish the job - even if it means sending in more troops in the short term and possibly long term, but we need to get this done. Yes, it will be costly, but not as costly as leaving now, and having to go back later to clean up a mess that spiraled out of control because we chose to cut-and-run from our responsibilities. We the people need to hold our leaders accountable for this, and we can't let up until they do this right.

GOP
The GOP pretty much got what it deserved in the '06 election. They deserved to lose power, because they failed to live up to what they were elected to do time and time again. Will they learn their lesson in time for the '08 elections? Whom they select for their presidential candidate will tell us everything. In other words, we're going to have to wait and see.

Dems
I don't know if the Dems necessarily have anything to celebrate, for they got into power not because they said or did anything deep, profound, moving, or inspirational - rather, they got in because they aren't the GOP. However, they could use this chance to do things right. And they can do that by not listening to the extreme left in their party so much. They need to stop being so beholden to the left wing special interest groups, and start being beholden to the people that got them elected. Like the GOP, whom the Dems select will speak volumes on whether the Dems have learned their lesson from the '06 election. But I will say this: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton aren't it. Same for Howard Dean.

Celebs gone wrong: who's to blame?
From Mel Gibson to Michael Richards to Britney Spears to Rosie O'Donnell, it's been a bad year for celebs. It's hard to say what's worse though: The previous practice of the media protecting celebs' reputations by hiding what probably should have been brought to light, or the current practice of printing all the lurid details of a given celeb's life. There really are instances of the media giving "too much information". Perhaps that the media seems to have no more limits or standards on what it will report is the problem here. But what would we prefer: To have the media cover up too much including what we should know, or to have the media report everything - even what we don't need to know? Why does it even have to be either/or? Surely some sort of balance can be struck here. Apparently though, learning how to make such judgment calls has become a lost art.

Sports
What a year for the local sports teams! In order:

Dallas Mavericks: So close - OH so close! Knocked down the first two games of the championship series, and then they lost it. Auuggh!! In short, what the Mavs need to do is this: the sooner they go back to the championship, the better - especially right now while we still have basically the same core team and coaching staff that got us there last season. Get it done!

Dallas Cowboys: Getting T.O. was a mistake. Fortunately, Tony Romo has given us hope. Sure, he's had a bad game or two, but even Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman had their bad days, so I say, give the guy a chance. I'd rather hear about Romo than about the latest chapter of the T.O. soap opera anyway.

Texas Rangers: The season went according to script: Did well in the first half, then fell apart in the second half. The only new thing to mention here is the trend that takes place when Buck Showalter leaves a team. Whenever Buck leaves, the following season, that team has won the World Series. In other words, We're going to the World Series!

Bowl Championship Series: It still stinks, and here's why: Teams like TCU are criticized because they never play 'better' teams - which is generally defined as 'teams from a BCS conference'. Well, they can't show what they can do, because the way the BCS is rigged, they never get the chance to play them! Instead, TCU plays in bowls against teams that don't really show what TCU could do. It's time to have a playoff system, because the BCS system is robbing the fans of the traditional American drama of the underdog rising to the top. Where's those darn Democrats when you need them?

TV still stinks - except for one show
I know it can't be just me who thinks this, but I think that a lot of stuff on TV nowadays is crappy. Well, except for one show. I've been watching "Heroes" to the extent that I used to watch Star Trek. My favorite character is Hiro Nakamura, who's taken to his time-affecting powers like a little kid with a new toy. Peter Petrelli, however, is a close second, because of his unique power-mimicking ability. The show ended for the year earlier this month, and it will start up again on January 22nd (I think). I can't wait!

Family traditions for New Year's Day
Way, way back in the day, we would stay up until midnight. On the next day, we would have tamales. In later years, the meal became lasagna from this one place that made it SO good. We also played "the last game of the season" of our annual traditional family football games. Apparently, the beating and bruising from the previous week wasn't enough, and we were gluttons for punishment. In recent years, though, we haven't gotten together at all. The plain and simple fact is that the bigger families get, the more they grow apart, and that's exactly what's happened to us. It's why we must enjoy the times we do have together. Back then, though, I didn't have nephews and a niece, so now there's a new group to make memories with. The cycle starts all over again, in other words, with a new group of people.

Website News
I've been ferociously at work, creating new blogs for my artwork as well as making a MySpace page and a ComicSpace page. I am aiming for the end of January to have it all up and started. I shall be keeping you all updated. The recently deceased (and may he rest in peace) James Brown was once known as the "hardest working man in show business". I want to be known as the "hardest working man on the Internet". :-)

Buffaloed
Maybe someone can answer something that I've always wondered: What's "buffalo" about "buffalo wings" and "buffalo snow"? I don't see the connection. Is the usage of "buffalo" referring to the bison or to the city? Just curious.

On a final note...
Now I can wish you good folks something that won't cause someone to get their panties in a knot. I wish you folks a Happy and prosperous New Year. In case you always wondered what the lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne" were, here ya go (be sure to grab someone to dance with):

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

In case you're wondering more about that tune, here's the Wikipedia article on it.

Have a great year, folks! It's been fun writing for you in '06! I shall certainly be back in '07!

Gerald Ford edtoon

I have a totally new editorial cartoon on my new blog for edtoons.

It's on Gerald Ford. Check it out. :-)

Reaching for the ceiling

Recently, I helped watch my two nephews and niece. The niece is the youngest at 4 years old, and she is a very bright child. I shall call her Alicia here. During the time when I was playing with the kids, Alicia wanted me to pick her up so that she could touch the ceiling. I picked her up, and I raised her up until her little hand made contact with the ceiling. She said excitedly, "I did it! I touched the ceiling!" Kids are funny that way, being excited over something like that.

Having nephews and nieces are as close to having my own kids as I have gotten so far, but even with them, I've learned quite a bit about life and one of the purposes of it. One lesson is, you don't know how fast time flies until you are around kids. Kids grow FAST. For instance, when my cousin's son was 4 years old, he used to like me to "fly" him around like Superman. Basically, that meant holding him up as he straightened himself horizontally with fists forward, and I would "fly" him around the room.

Well, now he's 14 and almost my size. No more "Superman" for him! In fact, he could do that for my niece now! As an adult, 10 years may not seem like a lot, but when you go through 10 years with a child around, then you get a MUCH better idea about how much time has passed! No doubt my niece will be 14 in no time as well. But getting back to my point...

As I held Alicia up so that she could touch the ceiling, a thought hit me. With this act of raising her up, I was acting out symbolically what we of the current generation (that is, the adults) do for the next generation: We raise them up. Even as tall as I am, I can't touch the ceiling; that's beyond my ability (without a stepladder, that is) even if I stand up on my toes. However, I can help HER reach the ceiling.

And that's what we do for those of the next generation: We help them to reach beyond what we can do. We teach them our lessons, and guide them through their mistakes. And if we do our job right, then they'll go beyond us and our accomplishments. We can help them touch something that is untouchable for us. And one day, they'll do the same for the children in their lives. This is one of the purposes of life.

One day I won't be around anymore - however, it is my hope that Alicia will still remember me fondly after I'm gone. I hope that I will have provided her important lessons on life and living it, and that I will have helped her in other ways to go beyond what I had been able to accomplish in my own life. Besides helping her touch a ceiling, I mean.

That's quite a responsibility even as an uncle. But as I look into Alicia's eyes, and in the eyes of my nephews, they still look up to me. I'm still someone for them to emulate, someone whose example they will try to follow. My job is to be worthy of that emulation, and to provide good examples for them to follow.

I know that I'm not perfect, and that I make mistakes; being perfect and mistake-free isn't what I'm trying to be for them anyway. What I must do - the example that I must try to set for them - is to learn from my mistakes, and to do so in a way that will demonstrate to them the importance of learning from our mistakes. Hopefully I will have accomplished this well enough so that they will never lose their love and respect for their uncle.

The bond between parent and child runs very strong and very deep, and the more I feel those emotions, the more I realize how serious the responsibility of raising a child is. It's amazing what having children in your life will do for you - even as an uncle. No doubt if and when I have my own children, these feelings will run even deeper.

One day, Alicia will raise a child up to touch the ceiling. It could be her own niece or nephew, or her child. I hope that when she does that, she will recall when I did that for her - and I also hope that the same moment of revelation that hit me when I raised her up will also hit her. Then she will also feel that same sense of life coming full circle.

And it will warm her heart. This, I know.

Gerald R. Ford passes away

Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the U.S., has passed away. Mainly, he's remembered as the guy who pardoned Richard Nixon after Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal. Those of us who were teens or in their early 20's at the time will also remember him from Saturday Night Live skits in which Chevy Chase imitated Ford's well publicized stumbles out of airplanes and other locations. I think Ford even had a bandage on his head a time or two.

However, in reading articles of Ford's career, I found out other things that I didn't know. For instance, "Gerald R. Ford" isn't his birth name. Instead, it's Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Imagine that. We could have had a President King, which sounds kinda funny, because one of the reasons that the U.S. separated from England was so that it could change its form of leadership from a monarchy to a presidency.

The other thing that I didn't know was that Ford was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. What a difficult task that must have been. Ford's efforts in that commission, however, got him noticed enough so that when Nixon needed a replacement for Spiro Agnew, he chose Ford.

However, what Ford will be remembered for the most is the pardon of Richard Nixon. At the time, the pardon was greatly resented (to say the least!) . In fact, it was the main reason that Ford lost the election of 1976. But in retrospect, it was probably the right thing to do at the time. A long, drawn out court process of a former president probably would have done more harm than good for the country, and for Ford to consider the good of the country over the cost that the pardon would have on his political aspirations shows what kind of man he was. Certainly, Nixon deserved the grief and punishment that would have otherwise come his way, but Ford was right about the damage that would have been caused to the office of the presidency. The humiliation to Nixon's enormous ego was probably enough punishment anyway.

Another prominent news event that happened during Ford's watch was the fall of Saigon and with it, the end of the costly Vietnam war. Thus, this makes Ford's presidency a transitional one. His presidency ended two painful chapters in American history and allowed the country to move on. Leaders in such transitional times can do little more than make sure that things don't fall apart, because any other more assertive actions would likely be taken the wrong way. At the time, the country needed a "bus driver". Unfortunately for Ford, "bus drivers" don't generally win elections, and the country was primed to try someone new and untested such as Jimmy Carter .

Ford's death and the recollections of his presidency makes me realize how much the country and the world has changed since Ford's time in office. At that time, things such as cellphones, home computers, and the Internet were still in the distant horizon. People such as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were virtual unknowns to those outside their home states. And "blogging" sounded like some sort of plumbing problem. My, how the times have changed. In some ways, it is for the better, and in other ways, it is for the worse. But they have changed, and we have, for the most part, moved on since those hectic days.

May Gerald R. Ford rest in peace, and may he find his way into paradise. Even if he takes a little tumble on the way there. ;-)

(By the way, I betcha that many editorial cartoonists are going to make edtoons on that very idea of Ford stumbling into paradise. Keep an eye on Cagle Cartoons to see if I'm proven right.)