So here I am. What have I been doing if not writing here? Well. I was getting most of my news via Facebook. I had several news sources in my feed. Against my better judgement, I would get sucked into commenting on a news story. Then the trolls became more than I could stand. These are the "people" who make a point of interjecting themselves into conversations about a story for the purpose of triggering responses. Often offering nothing more than meaningless memes. I admit the adulation of Trump rubbed me the wrong way. I try to see the other side's point, I really do. I can even agree with some of it. But blind deification of Trump, I can't. Just can't.
So I cut back on news in Facebook. Unliked all but a few of what I consider reputable news sources. Resisted the urge to comment on stories. I would look at comments and see the same old same old, and made the wise decision to just not go there. I cut more news outlets out of my feed. Now I'm down to just a couple local and national news sites.
I began to use Twitter more for news. It's immediate, and easier to filter out the trolls. Maybe a little narrow-minded way to consume news, but I do try to filter for reputable sources. This is working for me for now. I can occasionally vent my thoughts without a lot of backlash. I think that's what a lot of us need is a way to safely vent our frustration or outrage or anxiety. Then there's the blog. A way to get it all out in more than 140 characters. Don't know if anyone's reading, but it can be cathartic.
Now that all that's out of the way, let me get to the meat of this particular blog entry.
First. I have to get this out. I loath Trump. Not because he's a Republican or conservative, or because he's not Clinton. No, I loathe Trump because of who he is. A narcissistic, egotistical, small minded, bigoted man, and I use the word man loosely. His every action has proven that his only goal is to make Trump great again, and he's doing it on the backs of American taxpayers. His flaunting of his use of the office of President for his personal pleasure is sickening. His constantly pushing the limits of the Constitutional Oath he swore to uphold is alarming to every true patriot.
Would I rather have Clinton as President? Well, of course I would. Was she the best alternative? Obviously not. Apparently, America wanted a change, and that's ok. It was the Republicans turn at the wheel. But Trump? That was the best they could do?
There's a lot of wishful dreaming of impeachment. Unless indisputable evidence of Russian collusion is found, I fear it's just that...wishful dreaming. The best we can hope for is that there's enough evidence to condemn Trump politically. He is so toxic that even Congress is trying to distance themselves from him. They really don't need him to advance their agenda. They have the majority to do what they want. His only purpose is to sign whatever they come up with, and he will sign whatever they put in front of him. The Democrats and Independents, they should focus on getting people of integrity into Congress to even the odds. Then find candidates for 2020 that can successfully take on the Trump regime. And really, I would like Republicans to do the same. Restore sanity, dignity, and integrity to our country. That's what we need. It will be a hard and expensive road to recovery from 4 years of Trump, let alone 8.
Our only other hope is that he resigns. That could happen, but only if Trump becomes really unhappy. Making his time miserable and unproductive is the best way to get there. A lot of people wish he'd quit tweeting and rallying, but I think that's the best way to attack him. He will always show his true self that way. Beat him over the head with it. It will make him very unhappy, and I really really like when Trump is unhappy.
Enough about that. What's else?
One of the things I wanted to talk about in this entry is the issue of Confederate statues. Here's my thoughts about this. It's a very sensitive subject right now, and with good reason. I've learned more about statues in the last few weeks than I thought I wanted to know. It comes down to what the statues represent. On the surface, statues are art, and art should never be destroyed. But these Confederate statues represent different things to different people. For some, it's their heritage. For others, they represent the most heinous time in American history. It comes down to what the statue in that particular location represents. In some cases, it is truly a depiction of history, perhaps commemorating an important battle or event. In many others, it was not doing that. It was erected to establish superiority. So a way to decide which statues or monuments stay is to establish what they represent. Was it a battle or some event in that location at that time? Or was it simple erected to flaunt Confederate white superiority? Many of these monuments were erected during periods of racial unrest in locations that had nothing to do with the Civil War. That's not heritage. That's intimidation. The statues that are removed should be placed in a museum or other non-public space. Don't destroy art, put it in its proper place.
tnt
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Ok, never mind....
...I will write about this crap.
Give him a chance, they said. Hey, he's not giving us much to work with here. So far, his cabinet is looking very anti-diverse, anti-tolerant, and anti-any color other than white. Some ultra conservative religious right guys, an anti-semantic nationalist. And by the way, who the hell does that nationalist Bannon guy remind me of? Driving me crazy. It's an actor or character of some scruffy sort that I can't put my finger on.
I said in the last post that we would be less shell-shocked if we had seen the sedate reasonable guy in the victory speech all through the campaign. Then I watched the 60 Minutes interview. It's probably the last time I'll watch him speak publicly again because I'll never respect or believe what he says. I know I'll see more of that smug smirk of a pig face more than I want, just because the nasty that is Trump isn't going away. He'll make sure of that. Anyways. In that interview, he was asked point blank if he had any regrets. The interviewer gave him the opportunity to appeal to us, to give us a reason to respect him and give him a chance, and he had no remorse. He could have apologized to everyone he hurt and insulted and threatened, for causing the extreme division, and that could have been a step toward healing, but no. He flat out said no...no regrets for anything, and he wouldn't do it differently. I'm not sure what he means by making the country great again, but as long as we are so divided and feeling so betrayed by our own countrymen, and this deplorable man, this country will not be great. It's going to be a long unhappy 4 years. Or longer.
The other thing that caught my ear in that interview was his odd interpretation of the Constitution. When asked if he'd repeal Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), he said he was pro-life and would support federal repeal, and allow states to decide. If a woman wanted an abortion, she might have to go to another state. When asked about marriage equality, he said "It's in the Constitution, it's done". Wait. Isn't Roe v. Wade in the Constitution? So what...he's going to cherry-pick the Constitution, the same way christians cherry-pick the bible to suit their bigotries?
He reportedly wants to go on a victory tour of the states that won him the election. What a Trumpian thing to do! It's like he realized that from now on, his contact with the public will mostly be via camera where he can't hear and feel the adulation of his Trumpers. He needs those rallies to pump his enormous ego. Twitter won't be enough for him since there are so many anti-Trump tweeters. He brags about his millions of followers thinking that means they all love him. Hey, I'm following him, but not because I love him. Pretty sure I'm not the only one of that mindset. That's how ignorant that dipstick is. And besides, doesn't he have an awful lot to do between now and inauguration? He doesn't have time for a frivolous tour.
Now there's this feud with the cast of the musical Hamilton. If you haven't heard, Mike Pence VP-elect, attended a performance, and was booed by the audience when he was recognized. After the final bows, the cast addressed him personally, appealing for tolerance and respect for the diversity of America, which caused him to slink out of the theater. Trump took to Twitter to blast the cast for its action. Once again showing us a very frightening image of a world leader with a paper-thin skin, and no respect for the Constitutional right to freedom of speech. And later, Pense said he wasn't offended by the Hamilton thing.
And Mrs. Trump. Awww, bless her heart. She's taking on internet bullying as her First Lady Cause when she's married to a world class bully, and maybe even bullied herself. In that interview, they tried to give us the impression she has some say in that marriage, but that would be very hard to believe. Their dynamic looked so fake to me. Unless she has something on him.
There's a word I learned about during this campaign that I hadn't paid much attention to before now. Evangelical. I had to look it up. Basically, it means the extreme right christians, the ones who insist the bible be followed literally, and laws of the land follow the law of the bible. The hell-fire and brimstone christians. It's become a foul word to me. These are people who could influence this administration to threaten my freedoms. This word is especially abhorrent because these are the most hypocritical christians. They claim they voted Republican and therefore Trump for family values. To them, family values means anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-non-christian. But bigotry, sexism, sexual assault, pedophilia, liars, and cheats are okay.
Then there's the report that Trump wants to split his time between the White House and his New York penthouse. Well, isn't that special. We, the tax-paying people will pay for extra Secret Service detail so King Midas can sleep in his golden tower.
Each day, there are more new appointments to his cabinet. There's much speculation based on who is admitted to the golden tower, and then a confirmed appointment that we didn't expect. We're losing our SC governor to be U.N. ambassador. I haven't been here long enough, or paid enough attention, so I don't know much about her, but she seemed like a level-headed woman who ran the state without a heavy hand. We might miss her. Her deputy governor will take over, and his titles/previous positions sound like he will not be a progressive head of state.
We're still waiting to hear all the cabinet appointments, but from what we've seen it looks like cronyism all around. He had said during his campaign that he "would get the brightest and smartest, the best people" to help him. Apparently, the brightest, smartest, best people are the ones that like him. Or are desperate to kiss his ring to get their foot in the door to the golden tower.
Now there's the New York Times interview. I read the transcript, and it was typical Trump. Rambling, immature and limited language and grammar. I learned an alarming new thing. Apparently, the President has more power than I thought, and even less accountability. Meaning he can rewrite rules as it suits him, and use the office to further his business goals. With his authoritarian personality, having been a powerful boss all his adult life, he could turn himself into a fucking king! How can anyone doubt this is not about America, this is about making Trump great? How can anyone trust him to run this country with its people's best interests in mind? Goddamnit.
King Midas, this country will never be united under you.
tnt
Give him a chance, they said. Hey, he's not giving us much to work with here. So far, his cabinet is looking very anti-diverse, anti-tolerant, and anti-any color other than white. Some ultra conservative religious right guys, an anti-semantic nationalist. And by the way, who the hell does that nationalist Bannon guy remind me of? Driving me crazy. It's an actor or character of some scruffy sort that I can't put my finger on.
I said in the last post that we would be less shell-shocked if we had seen the sedate reasonable guy in the victory speech all through the campaign. Then I watched the 60 Minutes interview. It's probably the last time I'll watch him speak publicly again because I'll never respect or believe what he says. I know I'll see more of that smug smirk of a pig face more than I want, just because the nasty that is Trump isn't going away. He'll make sure of that. Anyways. In that interview, he was asked point blank if he had any regrets. The interviewer gave him the opportunity to appeal to us, to give us a reason to respect him and give him a chance, and he had no remorse. He could have apologized to everyone he hurt and insulted and threatened, for causing the extreme division, and that could have been a step toward healing, but no. He flat out said no...no regrets for anything, and he wouldn't do it differently. I'm not sure what he means by making the country great again, but as long as we are so divided and feeling so betrayed by our own countrymen, and this deplorable man, this country will not be great. It's going to be a long unhappy 4 years. Or longer.
The other thing that caught my ear in that interview was his odd interpretation of the Constitution. When asked if he'd repeal Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), he said he was pro-life and would support federal repeal, and allow states to decide. If a woman wanted an abortion, she might have to go to another state. When asked about marriage equality, he said "It's in the Constitution, it's done". Wait. Isn't Roe v. Wade in the Constitution? So what...he's going to cherry-pick the Constitution, the same way christians cherry-pick the bible to suit their bigotries?
He reportedly wants to go on a victory tour of the states that won him the election. What a Trumpian thing to do! It's like he realized that from now on, his contact with the public will mostly be via camera where he can't hear and feel the adulation of his Trumpers. He needs those rallies to pump his enormous ego. Twitter won't be enough for him since there are so many anti-Trump tweeters. He brags about his millions of followers thinking that means they all love him. Hey, I'm following him, but not because I love him. Pretty sure I'm not the only one of that mindset. That's how ignorant that dipstick is. And besides, doesn't he have an awful lot to do between now and inauguration? He doesn't have time for a frivolous tour.
Now there's this feud with the cast of the musical Hamilton. If you haven't heard, Mike Pence VP-elect, attended a performance, and was booed by the audience when he was recognized. After the final bows, the cast addressed him personally, appealing for tolerance and respect for the diversity of America, which caused him to slink out of the theater. Trump took to Twitter to blast the cast for its action. Once again showing us a very frightening image of a world leader with a paper-thin skin, and no respect for the Constitutional right to freedom of speech. And later, Pense said he wasn't offended by the Hamilton thing.
And Mrs. Trump. Awww, bless her heart. She's taking on internet bullying as her First Lady Cause when she's married to a world class bully, and maybe even bullied herself. In that interview, they tried to give us the impression she has some say in that marriage, but that would be very hard to believe. Their dynamic looked so fake to me. Unless she has something on him.
There's a word I learned about during this campaign that I hadn't paid much attention to before now. Evangelical. I had to look it up. Basically, it means the extreme right christians, the ones who insist the bible be followed literally, and laws of the land follow the law of the bible. The hell-fire and brimstone christians. It's become a foul word to me. These are people who could influence this administration to threaten my freedoms. This word is especially abhorrent because these are the most hypocritical christians. They claim they voted Republican and therefore Trump for family values. To them, family values means anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-non-christian. But bigotry, sexism, sexual assault, pedophilia, liars, and cheats are okay.
Then there's the report that Trump wants to split his time between the White House and his New York penthouse. Well, isn't that special. We, the tax-paying people will pay for extra Secret Service detail so King Midas can sleep in his golden tower.
Each day, there are more new appointments to his cabinet. There's much speculation based on who is admitted to the golden tower, and then a confirmed appointment that we didn't expect. We're losing our SC governor to be U.N. ambassador. I haven't been here long enough, or paid enough attention, so I don't know much about her, but she seemed like a level-headed woman who ran the state without a heavy hand. We might miss her. Her deputy governor will take over, and his titles/previous positions sound like he will not be a progressive head of state.
We're still waiting to hear all the cabinet appointments, but from what we've seen it looks like cronyism all around. He had said during his campaign that he "would get the brightest and smartest, the best people" to help him. Apparently, the brightest, smartest, best people are the ones that like him. Or are desperate to kiss his ring to get their foot in the door to the golden tower.
Now there's the New York Times interview. I read the transcript, and it was typical Trump. Rambling, immature and limited language and grammar. I learned an alarming new thing. Apparently, the President has more power than I thought, and even less accountability. Meaning he can rewrite rules as it suits him, and use the office to further his business goals. With his authoritarian personality, having been a powerful boss all his adult life, he could turn himself into a fucking king! How can anyone doubt this is not about America, this is about making Trump great? How can anyone trust him to run this country with its people's best interests in mind? Goddamnit.
King Midas, this country will never be united under you.
tnt
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Ok, I lied.
I said I'd try not to write about that again. But then there was this one thing. I finally watched his acceptance speech this morning. Couldn't bring myself to look until now. He was surprisingly nice and articulate. Why couldn't he have run his campaign like that? We wouldn't be so stunned and hurt and divided right now if that was the man we had seen for the last year and a half.
Am I more optimistic now? Ummm, not so much. He's promising an awful lot of things that will cost a lot of money. Hasn't said how he'll pay for all of that. Promises to cut taxes, but where will the money come from? I guarantee somebody, probably lots of somebodies, will lose something else to fund it.
Good luck, dear America. We're gonna need it.
tnt
Am I more optimistic now? Ummm, not so much. He's promising an awful lot of things that will cost a lot of money. Hasn't said how he'll pay for all of that. Promises to cut taxes, but where will the money come from? I guarantee somebody, probably lots of somebodies, will lose something else to fund it.
Good luck, dear America. We're gonna need it.
tnt
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Wow
I...I am...just...wow.
Before I go any further, let me start with a disclaimer of sorts. It's not that I was for Clinton. It's that I was NOT for Trump. I would have been ok with almost any other Republican president, but not THAT one.
I watched my favorite voices of reason this morning, hoping to at least get something to smile about. Even there, all I saw was raw emotion. They tried to make us laugh, they did, but even they had a hard time finding anything to joke about. It's not funny anymore. We are now a realty tv show, and not the fun kind.
I made a little post on Facebook. Very little because we have to now be very careful what we say on social media. You know he will go after anyone who says mean things about him. I wonder how that will affect my comedy news teams. They're my refuge from the real news. I truly fear for many of our freedoms, and two of the most important are freedom of speech and freedom of press.
Facebook would only let me use one of those "feeling" things in that post, and I went back and forth through that list trying to find the one that covered what I'm feeling. There were so many, how to choose. I ended up with " feeling worried", but I'm also feeling scared, disappointed, sad, ashamed, disgusted, and yeah, a little bit angry. The more I think about it, scared does seem to cover it the best.
Here's what I fear for the country.
We now have a very right-leaning Republican controlled government. He says he's for all the people, but that can't be under this administration. It just won't, because the Right isn't for all the people. The people who elected him certainly aren't. The Constitution is in great danger from this regime.
This is going to affect us for a long long time. The turmoil, the unrest, the anger, the bigotry, the fear. I saw a Trumper post somewhere that said something to the effect, "Make America great again because nobody likes us anymore". Oh, you think the world is going to like us now? We just proved that America is basically a country full of hateful, bigoted, sexist white people. From what I've seen, the rest of the world is as anxious as we reasonable Americans are right now. Oh sure, this will go down in history, but that doesn't mean a history to be proud of.
The economy? He says he'll fix it because that's what he's good at. We still don't know where his financial allegiances lie because he never released the documents that prove he isn't aligned with nefarious entities. We also don't know his true business practices. Again, no proof it's all on the up and up. I'm pretty sure any economic "fixes" will benefit him and his legacy, and his cronies. Not the middle and lower classes he claims he wants to help. Oh and get ready for another major war. I think you can bank on that. No, wait, maybe you better bury your money in the backyard.
Foreign policy and economics? He's told us what he wants to do with that. Buckle in, kids, and start hoarding your goodies. Look around at what you have, and imagine if you can still have that if global trade and economy breaks down. That fancy smart gadget in your pocket? Your electronic toys? Pfft. You'll be lucky if you can afford them. We need to get along with the rest of the world.
He stated he would shred the Johnson Amendment giving the church the freedom to lobby in government politics. The church is an extremely rich industry thanks to its tax exemptions, and corrupt nature. Non-christians would lose their voices, and very likely their freedoms. This very wealthy entity would have more than enough power to influence educational policy by insisting the bible be included in science and history curriculums. We already rank way lower than we should when it comes to education in primary schools. How sad and shameful to dumb down bright young minds even more. My taxes could pay for something I neither support or get benefit from. The exact opposite in fact, I could be forced to pay for destroying my own freedoms.
The other freedoms we've gained since women earned the right to vote? Equal rights? Marriage rights? Respect for women? Respect for anybody? Say goodbye. When we first heard "Stop and Frisk", little did we know that literally meant grab whoever/whatever you want.
So good job, Murica. You get to keep your guns (which were never at risk), and own your bigotry. Long live King Midas, and fuck the rest of us.
Here's what I fear for myself.
I depend on the health of the auto industry and Social Security for my livelihood and medical insurance. The loss of either could put me out of my home. So I have a great fear of this administration's unclear economic policies that I'm pretty sure won't have me in mind.
I'm a non. Will I be forced to acknowledge a mythology as the law of the land? Forced to swear legal oaths on a god and ancient adulterated text? Forced to trust in a god I don't believe in, let alone trust? Forced to put the word god on my car's license plate? Forced to bow my head in meaningless and trivial prayer? Forced to say Merry Christmas? Will I be discriminated against, vilified, or burned at the stake for my lack of faith in a higher power. Will I be forced to hide?
I'm feeling so much right now. I'm having a hard time finding the words. I don't want to write about this ever again. It's done, and we have to figure out a way to live with it. Don't know what happens next. My pessimistic part says maybe it's a good thing I'm in the late afternoon of my years. I'm not sure I'd want to be young right now. The thought of a long uncertain and unsettled future would be even scarier than my less long one.
I will try not to write about this ever again. At least until it does affect me personally. But no guarantees. I have buttons that can be pushed. This will require much self-indulgence, libation, and total immersion in my fandoms and guilty pleasures to cleanse my palette. Tall order, that.
P.S. We will miss you, Mr. President and Mrs. Obama! Sooo much! There will never be a First Couple as cool as you!
tnt
Before I go any further, let me start with a disclaimer of sorts. It's not that I was for Clinton. It's that I was NOT for Trump. I would have been ok with almost any other Republican president, but not THAT one.
I watched my favorite voices of reason this morning, hoping to at least get something to smile about. Even there, all I saw was raw emotion. They tried to make us laugh, they did, but even they had a hard time finding anything to joke about. It's not funny anymore. We are now a realty tv show, and not the fun kind.
I made a little post on Facebook. Very little because we have to now be very careful what we say on social media. You know he will go after anyone who says mean things about him. I wonder how that will affect my comedy news teams. They're my refuge from the real news. I truly fear for many of our freedoms, and two of the most important are freedom of speech and freedom of press.
Facebook would only let me use one of those "feeling" things in that post, and I went back and forth through that list trying to find the one that covered what I'm feeling. There were so many, how to choose. I ended up with " feeling worried", but I'm also feeling scared, disappointed, sad, ashamed, disgusted, and yeah, a little bit angry. The more I think about it, scared does seem to cover it the best.
Here's what I fear for the country.
We now have a very right-leaning Republican controlled government. He says he's for all the people, but that can't be under this administration. It just won't, because the Right isn't for all the people. The people who elected him certainly aren't. The Constitution is in great danger from this regime.
This is going to affect us for a long long time. The turmoil, the unrest, the anger, the bigotry, the fear. I saw a Trumper post somewhere that said something to the effect, "Make America great again because nobody likes us anymore". Oh, you think the world is going to like us now? We just proved that America is basically a country full of hateful, bigoted, sexist white people. From what I've seen, the rest of the world is as anxious as we reasonable Americans are right now. Oh sure, this will go down in history, but that doesn't mean a history to be proud of.
The economy? He says he'll fix it because that's what he's good at. We still don't know where his financial allegiances lie because he never released the documents that prove he isn't aligned with nefarious entities. We also don't know his true business practices. Again, no proof it's all on the up and up. I'm pretty sure any economic "fixes" will benefit him and his legacy, and his cronies. Not the middle and lower classes he claims he wants to help. Oh and get ready for another major war. I think you can bank on that. No, wait, maybe you better bury your money in the backyard.
Foreign policy and economics? He's told us what he wants to do with that. Buckle in, kids, and start hoarding your goodies. Look around at what you have, and imagine if you can still have that if global trade and economy breaks down. That fancy smart gadget in your pocket? Your electronic toys? Pfft. You'll be lucky if you can afford them. We need to get along with the rest of the world.
He stated he would shred the Johnson Amendment giving the church the freedom to lobby in government politics. The church is an extremely rich industry thanks to its tax exemptions, and corrupt nature. Non-christians would lose their voices, and very likely their freedoms. This very wealthy entity would have more than enough power to influence educational policy by insisting the bible be included in science and history curriculums. We already rank way lower than we should when it comes to education in primary schools. How sad and shameful to dumb down bright young minds even more. My taxes could pay for something I neither support or get benefit from. The exact opposite in fact, I could be forced to pay for destroying my own freedoms.
The other freedoms we've gained since women earned the right to vote? Equal rights? Marriage rights? Respect for women? Respect for anybody? Say goodbye. When we first heard "Stop and Frisk", little did we know that literally meant grab whoever/whatever you want.
So good job, Murica. You get to keep your guns (which were never at risk), and own your bigotry. Long live King Midas, and fuck the rest of us.
Here's what I fear for myself.
I depend on the health of the auto industry and Social Security for my livelihood and medical insurance. The loss of either could put me out of my home. So I have a great fear of this administration's unclear economic policies that I'm pretty sure won't have me in mind.
I'm a non. Will I be forced to acknowledge a mythology as the law of the land? Forced to swear legal oaths on a god and ancient adulterated text? Forced to trust in a god I don't believe in, let alone trust? Forced to put the word god on my car's license plate? Forced to bow my head in meaningless and trivial prayer? Forced to say Merry Christmas? Will I be discriminated against, vilified, or burned at the stake for my lack of faith in a higher power. Will I be forced to hide?
I'm feeling so much right now. I'm having a hard time finding the words. I don't want to write about this ever again. It's done, and we have to figure out a way to live with it. Don't know what happens next. My pessimistic part says maybe it's a good thing I'm in the late afternoon of my years. I'm not sure I'd want to be young right now. The thought of a long uncertain and unsettled future would be even scarier than my less long one.
I will try not to write about this ever again. At least until it does affect me personally. But no guarantees. I have buttons that can be pushed. This will require much self-indulgence, libation, and total immersion in my fandoms and guilty pleasures to cleanse my palette. Tall order, that.
P.S. We will miss you, Mr. President and Mrs. Obama! Sooo much! There will never be a First Couple as cool as you!
tnt
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Random Musing
About climate change. Lot of talk about that these days. Some, including His Trumpness, say it's a hoax. Science says it's the real deal. I will always side with science. If you have any science education at all, you can't deny that this planet has gone through many climate changes. Change is just the nature of the universe. We can't stop it, but we can plan for and adapt to it, and we have the means to do that. That's what climate change advocates are trying to make the world understand. Coastal populations need to prepare for rising sea levels due to warming and polar ice melt. It's a sad fact that many species will be lost to a drastic change, but that too has happened many times. Evolution will fill in the gaps, but there will be further loss as nature adapts to the changes.
By the way, here is my view of the world and all. Humans may consider themselves the dominant life form on this planet, but we are not the most important. The loss of just a few key species at the lower end of the food chain will impact us tremendously. Warming seas will deplete krill and plankton which would affect fish and other oceanic species. On land, coastal flooding would kill off terrestrial plants and animals. The warmer and higher sea levels will affect the weather. All these changes will affect our food supply and lifestyles. We have to plan for this, and come up with solutions. We can't just sit here and go oh pooh pooh. (nerd note: that's a Buffy reference)
About Ancient Aliens. Yeah, I'm going there again. Not about aliens, but about ancient civilizations. I've said before that I'm not necessarily buying the Ancient Alien Theory (AAT), but that something very important was going on in pre-history. I began to think about what would survive if our current civilizations collapsed. We're in the digital age now. Would any of this survive the test of time? Nope. Paper certainly wouldn't, unless it could be preserved as some ancient scrolls were in perfectly arid conditions. Iron and steel? It would be iffy, I think. Eventually most metals succumb to corrosion and erosion. What would stand the test of time? The same thing that survived ancient times...stone and gold. What if there were civilizations in our distant past that arose to the technological level we are at now, and then collapsed (oooh, climate change?), and then we had to claw our way back to where we are now. All our previous knowledge was lost to time, and had to be relearned. All we had was whatever survived the collapse, and maybe that was whatever had been written in stone. I think we need to preserve our knowledge in true hard copy....stone and gold.
About funerals. Hey, I said this was going to be random stuff. Humans desperate need to enter an imagined afterlife has created the most environmentally irresponsible funeral practices. We destroy acres of valuable habitat or potential farm land to accommodate non-biodegradable containers to preserve (often chemically) a carcass that should be feeding the earth as nature intended. Not to the mention the waste of water, oil, and gas that large expanses of cemetery turf grass creates. Cremation is the best choice, in my opinion, and many ancient civilizations agreed. I read a story once (Sci-Fi) that had such an elegant and responsible solution. A body was buried upright in a vertical hole, and a tree was planted over it to honor the dead, and give back to the environment. How beautiful and reverent of the nature of life and death. I've read that there are organizations that can make something similar to this happen. I'd much rather my remains feed a tree than serve no purpose at all. Even cremation ashes give more back to the earth than a casket burial. But religion is responsible for this gross irresponsibility and waste, and until we let go of that, we will continue to rape the earth for our superstitious beliefs.
tnt
By the way, here is my view of the world and all. Humans may consider themselves the dominant life form on this planet, but we are not the most important. The loss of just a few key species at the lower end of the food chain will impact us tremendously. Warming seas will deplete krill and plankton which would affect fish and other oceanic species. On land, coastal flooding would kill off terrestrial plants and animals. The warmer and higher sea levels will affect the weather. All these changes will affect our food supply and lifestyles. We have to plan for this, and come up with solutions. We can't just sit here and go oh pooh pooh. (nerd note: that's a Buffy reference)
About Ancient Aliens. Yeah, I'm going there again. Not about aliens, but about ancient civilizations. I've said before that I'm not necessarily buying the Ancient Alien Theory (AAT), but that something very important was going on in pre-history. I began to think about what would survive if our current civilizations collapsed. We're in the digital age now. Would any of this survive the test of time? Nope. Paper certainly wouldn't, unless it could be preserved as some ancient scrolls were in perfectly arid conditions. Iron and steel? It would be iffy, I think. Eventually most metals succumb to corrosion and erosion. What would stand the test of time? The same thing that survived ancient times...stone and gold. What if there were civilizations in our distant past that arose to the technological level we are at now, and then collapsed (oooh, climate change?), and then we had to claw our way back to where we are now. All our previous knowledge was lost to time, and had to be relearned. All we had was whatever survived the collapse, and maybe that was whatever had been written in stone. I think we need to preserve our knowledge in true hard copy....stone and gold.
About funerals. Hey, I said this was going to be random stuff. Humans desperate need to enter an imagined afterlife has created the most environmentally irresponsible funeral practices. We destroy acres of valuable habitat or potential farm land to accommodate non-biodegradable containers to preserve (often chemically) a carcass that should be feeding the earth as nature intended. Not to the mention the waste of water, oil, and gas that large expanses of cemetery turf grass creates. Cremation is the best choice, in my opinion, and many ancient civilizations agreed. I read a story once (Sci-Fi) that had such an elegant and responsible solution. A body was buried upright in a vertical hole, and a tree was planted over it to honor the dead, and give back to the environment. How beautiful and reverent of the nature of life and death. I've read that there are organizations that can make something similar to this happen. I'd much rather my remains feed a tree than serve no purpose at all. Even cremation ashes give more back to the earth than a casket burial. But religion is responsible for this gross irresponsibility and waste, and until we let go of that, we will continue to rape the earth for our superstitious beliefs.
tnt
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Long time no write...again.
I've actually written several times (often drunk blogging), and in the light of sober day, didn't upload.
Not drunk blogging now, but I've got things to say. I don't want to bother my social media friends with my opinion in their feeds. Here, I can say it all at once and they can read it or not. So here I go.
The election is getting close, and it's very scary. For everybody. Republicans can't in good conscience support their party's candidate, but they're stuck with him. Democrats are only half-heartedly supporting theirs. America will be screwed either way.
There are a couple more candidates that are basically just side shows. If only Bernie Sanders could have come back as an independent. I believe he was the only popular choice that was a truly honest man who cared about this country. Only he could take on the 2 options we are now stuck with, and I think he could set a precedent for an Independent President. Imagine that for a minute. ANYONE could become President, not just those with the money and power. Our founding fathers wanted it that way, but big money made sure that can't happen.
I'll start with Hillary Clinton. The lesser of the 2 evils. I'm not sure why so many voters despise her. Because she's a woman? A career politician? Not Bernie Sanders? Married to an ex-President who was impeached because he lied about an extra-marital affair? Something millions of people do every day. This country is in desperate need of an experienced leader. She already knows the inner workings of the government. She understands foreign policy. She understands foreign and domestic economics. I think she is fully capable of running point for the security of this nation, and the well-being of its citizens. We can't afford a President who has to learn it all on the fly, and isn't smart enough to grasp it.
I get that many Americans don't trust her. Her opponents have spent a lot of their considerable campaign funds making sure of that. Do they have valid points? I don't know, but she has been exonerated of all of the charges, and apologized for any blunders. It's interesting that no one is calling for Trump to release his emails. What a read that would be!
I'm so tired of Republicans and the wealthy NRA going on about how Clinton will take away their guns. Nobody is going to take away your fucking guns! If you have the legal right to own and carry one, you can. All we want is more oversight into who can. The recently shot down proposed controls were perfectly reasonable and not infringing on anyone's right to a gun. Granted, criminals will still get illegal guns, but common sense measures will make it harder for bad guys to get one legally. That's all we ask. How many more people, especially children, have to die for you to get that? Republicans are so protective of the 2nd Amendment, but seem to be willing to ignore or even destroy the 1st. The very one this country was founded on. I want a President who respects and upholds the entire Constitution, not just the part they care about.
And now Donald Trump. Oh boy. I won't rehash all the things he has said and done. Murica. This derogatory term has been coined to refer to the kind of people who admire someone like Trump. Muricans are the ones that will take hits in the nuts for internet fame. The ones that will physically attack protesters at a rally. The ones who are bigots. The ones who think a man who demeans non-whites, women, and anyone who disagrees with him is the best thing for this country. Murica is why Trump made it this far. Not America.
It's not like R-voters didn't have viable options. They had a goddamn herd of them! I'm really glad Ted Cruz isn't what they ended up with, but I wouldn't have had an objection to most of them. Hell, what was wrong with the last one standing...John Kasich? Seemed like an honest, intelligent, dignified and sane guy. He could have pulled the party out of the gutter, and probably even win. But, nooo, Murica has spoken.
I can't think of a single reason Trump should be President. He has the temperament, emotional maturity, and vocabulary of a 12 year old. He and his Trumpers say it's because he's a businessman and not a politician. It's very clear he's not a politician. But you know what, the President needs to be a politician to deal with the rest of the world. Businessman, yes, but a good one? Not so much. Sure he has lots of money and a vast business empire, but his business failings are equal to or more than his successes, and very likely kind of shady. The recent reports that he may not be paying taxes due to a massive loss 18 years ago (also very possible that loss was shady) is a slap in the face of every struggling hard working American. If he has nothing to hide, why won't he release his tax returns? Any economic plan he has will benefit him and his rich cronies, not America. You say you don't trust Clinton? How the hell can you trust Trump?
One of his other platforms is immigration reform. This from a man who's on his 3rd trophy wife, 2 of whom where immigrants, and there's reason to doubt the current one was a legal immigrant. Oh yeah, and she has a thick foreign accent that sounds rather Russian. I know she's not Russian, just saying. Trump does seem to be enamored with Russia. The First Lady has a role to play, and we want to respect and admire her. I'm having a hard time imagining just what role this one would serve, and how we could respect presidential arm candy.
Trump's battle cry is "Make America great again", but what he really wants is to make Trump great again. He seems to think he can just go in and throw his weight around to meet his campaign promises. Maybe he thinks he'll be king. He doesn't have a clue.
There's a theory, and I believe it, that Trump never really wanted to be President. He just wanted to run, prove he could win, and then ride out the rest of his life and business dealings on that "success". A publicity stunt and ego boost. I and I think most intelligent and responsible Americans are terrified he'll win, and be the President mostly likely to be impeached. Which means we'd end up with Pence who would shred the Constitution if given a chance, not to mention the turmoil an impeachment would create. Make American great again? No, set it back 200 years. Either way, Trump or Pence, we lose.
I said in the beginning of this post that we will be screwed no matter what happens in November. Even though I hope (I'd pray if I prayed) Trump doesn't win, and I believe Clinton is the only sane choice, we'll still be fucked if she wins. Why? Because Republicans will fight her tooth and nail for the next 4 years, and we the people will bear the pain of those Republican tantrums. Republicans, you let this despicable man hijack your party and election. Accept your fumble, and make our government work for the people for a change.
tnt
There's a theory, and I believe it, that Trump never really wanted to be President. He just wanted to run, prove he could win, and then ride out the rest of his life and business dealings on that "success". A publicity stunt and ego boost. I and I think most intelligent and responsible Americans are terrified he'll win, and be the President mostly likely to be impeached. Which means we'd end up with Pence who would shred the Constitution if given a chance, not to mention the turmoil an impeachment would create. Make American great again? No, set it back 200 years. Either way, Trump or Pence, we lose.
I said in the beginning of this post that we will be screwed no matter what happens in November. Even though I hope (I'd pray if I prayed) Trump doesn't win, and I believe Clinton is the only sane choice, we'll still be fucked if she wins. Why? Because Republicans will fight her tooth and nail for the next 4 years, and we the people will bear the pain of those Republican tantrums. Republicans, you let this despicable man hijack your party and election. Accept your fumble, and make our government work for the people for a change.
tnt
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Season's Greetings
Wow. Really long time no write. Can't say why. Haven't had much of import to say I guess. But the internet has pushed some buttons so here I am.
Politics. Hate em. I just don't have the words for how disgusted I am with what's going on in this election season. Or maybe I have too many words.
Religion. Yeah, too many words here, too. I'll just leave this paragraph at this for now. That image of that county clerk with her beatific smile and arms raised like the Slow Loris and a fucking presidential candidate holding up her arm while an iconic rock song plays like she just ran up a mountain of steps will forever haunt me.
The K Klan. No, not that one. The Kardashian one. Still hate em. If there's a god, why doesn't it do something about that? And isn't anyone talking about the fact that they named the latest future scourge on the world Saint? Is no one offended by this? Catholics, you out there?
I have a guilty pleasure. Okay, lots of them, but I'll just talk about one for now. "Ancient Aliens Theory" and religion from the perspective of archaeology and historic investigation. I know that's two things, but I put them together because it's basically about the same thing. I'm fascinated by the documentaries on these things. They raise questions, and make me think about what the answers could be. The reason these two things go together is that they both debunk religion so beautifully.
I'll start with Ancient Aliens Theory. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I'm not disagreeing either. Some of it is a stretch, some is just plain silly, but a lot of it...well, I haven't heard a better explanation. Something very important in human history was going on long before the biblical stories were conceived. Even before the ancient stories that were plagiarized by the bible. If not actual extra-terrestrials, then maybe there were highly advanced civilizations that failed for whatever reason. It's a lot easier for me to accept physical ETs as gods than mystical gods. An idea that came to my mind is that humans are the ETs. We came here, did amazing things, and then some apocalypse caused a collapse leaving just enough alive to begin again from scratch. We scattered and forgot what happened, or didn't write it down, or did write it but not accurately or legibally, and now today, we're trying to piece that early history back together.
One theory suggested in the AAT series was the existence of a "god gene". According to the documentary, someone studied this, and did find a gene that seems to be common to devout people. The scholars wondered what evolutionary advantage such a gene would have, and thought it might have made it easier for people to live and work together. They invented an idea they could rally around, and the people had to be susceptible to accepting it. My thought is that it wasn't an advantage, it was just exploited. Human nature being what it is, certain dominant personalities used it to their advantage to become leaders, and then control the community for their personal gain. As the population was controlled, and the gene pool somewhat closed, the god gene was perpetuated. Now there's a huge number of people that refuse to believe what science has learned, and cling to outdated and implausible doctrines that don't apply to modern times. The god gene is no longer necessary as we've become numerous and educated enough that we can work together without a controlling mythology, but the powers that be are still using it to this day, and the masses are letting them. The AAT also suggests this gene was planted in the human genome by ETs, but I think it more likely that it was a mutation that arose naturally as a consequence of a restricted gene pool. That's if there really is a god gene. I obviously don't have it, and I'm thankful for that.
The series that investigate religion, and particularly the bible, are also fascinating to me because for the most part, they validate what I think. God is a man-made concept, not the other way around. Religions started as stories that fancifully explained the natural world. The bible ripped off stories that were told thousands of years earlier, and powerful men convinced (or forced) people that this was divine law and truth, and said bow down. It wasn't about spirituality, it was about power. Myself and other freethinkers, we just don't get how everyone doesn't see this.
I'll say here that I only have a problem with religion when it affects me. Unfortunately, it does. All the time. My taxes are higher because of the vast number of churches enjoying their tax-exemptions. Door-knockers intrude on my home way too often. Too many of the presidential candidates are pandering to the religious right. Every attempt to insert religious agenda into the government affects me because one of my fears is that they'll succeed. What will happen to people like me if that happens?
Another pushed button. Selfies. Stop it. Just stop. Unless there's something or someone else in the picture to make it interesting. And no, the empty backseat of your car or bathroom or bedroom doesn't qualify. And for fucking sake, stop with the fish lips. You don't look sexy or cute, you look stupid.
The Winter Solstice is finally here. The original reason for the season, and the one of most importance for me. If I worship anything, it's the sun, and I live for the days to grow longer.
Happy Holidays from The Wee Dark Hours.
Politics. Hate em. I just don't have the words for how disgusted I am with what's going on in this election season. Or maybe I have too many words.
Religion. Yeah, too many words here, too. I'll just leave this paragraph at this for now. That image of that county clerk with her beatific smile and arms raised like the Slow Loris and a fucking presidential candidate holding up her arm while an iconic rock song plays like she just ran up a mountain of steps will forever haunt me.
The K Klan. No, not that one. The Kardashian one. Still hate em. If there's a god, why doesn't it do something about that? And isn't anyone talking about the fact that they named the latest future scourge on the world Saint? Is no one offended by this? Catholics, you out there?
I have a guilty pleasure. Okay, lots of them, but I'll just talk about one for now. "Ancient Aliens Theory" and religion from the perspective of archaeology and historic investigation. I know that's two things, but I put them together because it's basically about the same thing. I'm fascinated by the documentaries on these things. They raise questions, and make me think about what the answers could be. The reason these two things go together is that they both debunk religion so beautifully.
I'll start with Ancient Aliens Theory. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I'm not disagreeing either. Some of it is a stretch, some is just plain silly, but a lot of it...well, I haven't heard a better explanation. Something very important in human history was going on long before the biblical stories were conceived. Even before the ancient stories that were plagiarized by the bible. If not actual extra-terrestrials, then maybe there were highly advanced civilizations that failed for whatever reason. It's a lot easier for me to accept physical ETs as gods than mystical gods. An idea that came to my mind is that humans are the ETs. We came here, did amazing things, and then some apocalypse caused a collapse leaving just enough alive to begin again from scratch. We scattered and forgot what happened, or didn't write it down, or did write it but not accurately or legibally, and now today, we're trying to piece that early history back together.
One theory suggested in the AAT series was the existence of a "god gene". According to the documentary, someone studied this, and did find a gene that seems to be common to devout people. The scholars wondered what evolutionary advantage such a gene would have, and thought it might have made it easier for people to live and work together. They invented an idea they could rally around, and the people had to be susceptible to accepting it. My thought is that it wasn't an advantage, it was just exploited. Human nature being what it is, certain dominant personalities used it to their advantage to become leaders, and then control the community for their personal gain. As the population was controlled, and the gene pool somewhat closed, the god gene was perpetuated. Now there's a huge number of people that refuse to believe what science has learned, and cling to outdated and implausible doctrines that don't apply to modern times. The god gene is no longer necessary as we've become numerous and educated enough that we can work together without a controlling mythology, but the powers that be are still using it to this day, and the masses are letting them. The AAT also suggests this gene was planted in the human genome by ETs, but I think it more likely that it was a mutation that arose naturally as a consequence of a restricted gene pool. That's if there really is a god gene. I obviously don't have it, and I'm thankful for that.
The series that investigate religion, and particularly the bible, are also fascinating to me because for the most part, they validate what I think. God is a man-made concept, not the other way around. Religions started as stories that fancifully explained the natural world. The bible ripped off stories that were told thousands of years earlier, and powerful men convinced (or forced) people that this was divine law and truth, and said bow down. It wasn't about spirituality, it was about power. Myself and other freethinkers, we just don't get how everyone doesn't see this.
I'll say here that I only have a problem with religion when it affects me. Unfortunately, it does. All the time. My taxes are higher because of the vast number of churches enjoying their tax-exemptions. Door-knockers intrude on my home way too often. Too many of the presidential candidates are pandering to the religious right. Every attempt to insert religious agenda into the government affects me because one of my fears is that they'll succeed. What will happen to people like me if that happens?
Another pushed button. Selfies. Stop it. Just stop. Unless there's something or someone else in the picture to make it interesting. And no, the empty backseat of your car or bathroom or bedroom doesn't qualify. And for fucking sake, stop with the fish lips. You don't look sexy or cute, you look stupid.
The Winter Solstice is finally here. The original reason for the season, and the one of most importance for me. If I worship anything, it's the sun, and I live for the days to grow longer.
Happy Holidays from The Wee Dark Hours.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
End of year clearance.
Clearance? Seemed like as good a title as any for the last day of the year. I feel like clearing a few things out of my brain.
The war on Christmas. Yeah, I'm going there, albeit a bit late. You know by now, religion is not my thing. So I get a bit irate by all the shit about Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. Allow me to break it down to show why this is the stupidest argument ever.
Everyone knows (or should by now) that Christmas traditions were adopted from pagan observances. Christians go on and on about how this is their holiday, Jesus is the reason for the season, yada yada. When the Christians were trying to convert the masses, they decided the best way was to roll the customs already in place into the religious holiday. Including the date. The Winter Solstice was the most important date to pagans, and Christians invented a mythological birthday to usurp it. I haven't heard any scientific evidence that Jesus was actually born on this day. Very little about Christmas is original to Christianity. Yet, Christians claim it as THEIR holiday.
Let's go back to that line...the reason for the season. SEASON. Season is not 1 day, it's a series of days. In the USA, it begins with Thanksgiving, and ends with New Year's Day. Over a month of days! And it's not just those 2 holidays. It's Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, and if you count Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve, there's 8 holidays in that period. 8! Christmas is only 1 day, and to insist that we say Merry Christmas the whole time is absurd. Happy Holidays (my preference) or Season's Greetings covers it all very well. Say whatever you want, however you feel about it, but don't push your agenda on the rest of us. Aren't there more important things to argue about?
Oh and one more thing. The reason for the season...the entire season beginning with Thanksgiving...is consumerism. You can't say Jesus is the reason until you give up the gift buying and getting, and the other pagan customs. And if you participated in Black Thursday/Friday insanity, don't turn around and thump a bible. Pretty sure it's not what Jesus would do.
I like to write Xmas. Some think this is rude or lazy. No, it's not. Look it up. I did. It's actually a perfectly acceptable way to write the word based on historical facts about early language and writing. You would think Christians would like it because their beloved cross is right there in the word. But noooo. They want it to clearly include the word Christ. OK, maybe it's bit lazy in my case. BTW - I often don't capitalize words commonly capitalized by religion, either. It's my way of expressing my disdain for organized religion.
What else?
Haven is killing me! Turns out I was wrong, Audrey and William were lovers, and apparently really evil people...or... Witches? Fallen angels? Gods or demi-gods? Aliens? That's going to be interesting to learn. Probaby witches. We learned that Audrey was originally Mara, and the Barn made her forget her original self, I guess to redeem herself for what she and William did. But now she remembers who she was, and the Mara persona has resurfaced. And that's how the season ended. Grrrr! Gonna be a long wait to see what happens next. I wonder if we'll ever learn what the Barn is, and who the people in charge of it (Agent Howard) are.
Doctor Who's December episodes were awesome! Every bit as good as a Whovian could want. We got a glimpse of #12 (actually #13) and I think he'll be a wonderful Doctor!
Remember how I ragged about Dish Network's dispute with the local carrier for CBS? Shortly after that one was resolved and the station returned to my programming, here came another. This time it's NBC, FOX, and CW. I'm only getting ABC and CBS now. For crying out fuckin loud! So I called Dish to complain, and suggest I should get a break on my bill. I'm paying extra for those local network channels, and also for the Hopper that was designed specifically for the 4 major networks, and I'm not getting what I'm paying for. Well, sometimes it pays to complain. I got a $5 discount on my monthly bill for 6 months. Yeah, 6 months! Even if the dispute is resolved before then (jeez I hope so!), it's for 6 months. Thanks, Dish.
CW isn't considered one of the 4 covered by the Hopper, but it's one I'd really miss. Happily, my package includes CW from the west coast (airs after EST prime time) so I'm not missing my shows. I just hope the dispute is resolved soon. It's not been that big a deal right now during holiday season. Most shows aren't picking up again until 2nd week of Jan.
Big changes coming for me in the near future. Let's just say I got what I wanted for Xmas, and the New Year looks brighter. That's for another day, and elsewhere.
Happy New Year!
The war on Christmas. Yeah, I'm going there, albeit a bit late. You know by now, religion is not my thing. So I get a bit irate by all the shit about Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. Allow me to break it down to show why this is the stupidest argument ever.
Everyone knows (or should by now) that Christmas traditions were adopted from pagan observances. Christians go on and on about how this is their holiday, Jesus is the reason for the season, yada yada. When the Christians were trying to convert the masses, they decided the best way was to roll the customs already in place into the religious holiday. Including the date. The Winter Solstice was the most important date to pagans, and Christians invented a mythological birthday to usurp it. I haven't heard any scientific evidence that Jesus was actually born on this day. Very little about Christmas is original to Christianity. Yet, Christians claim it as THEIR holiday.
Let's go back to that line...the reason for the season. SEASON. Season is not 1 day, it's a series of days. In the USA, it begins with Thanksgiving, and ends with New Year's Day. Over a month of days! And it's not just those 2 holidays. It's Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, and if you count Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve, there's 8 holidays in that period. 8! Christmas is only 1 day, and to insist that we say Merry Christmas the whole time is absurd. Happy Holidays (my preference) or Season's Greetings covers it all very well. Say whatever you want, however you feel about it, but don't push your agenda on the rest of us. Aren't there more important things to argue about?
Oh and one more thing. The reason for the season...the entire season beginning with Thanksgiving...is consumerism. You can't say Jesus is the reason until you give up the gift buying and getting, and the other pagan customs. And if you participated in Black Thursday/Friday insanity, don't turn around and thump a bible. Pretty sure it's not what Jesus would do.
I like to write Xmas. Some think this is rude or lazy. No, it's not. Look it up. I did. It's actually a perfectly acceptable way to write the word based on historical facts about early language and writing. You would think Christians would like it because their beloved cross is right there in the word. But noooo. They want it to clearly include the word Christ. OK, maybe it's bit lazy in my case. BTW - I often don't capitalize words commonly capitalized by religion, either. It's my way of expressing my disdain for organized religion.
What else?
Haven is killing me! Turns out I was wrong, Audrey and William were lovers, and apparently really evil people...or... Witches? Fallen angels? Gods or demi-gods? Aliens? That's going to be interesting to learn. Probaby witches. We learned that Audrey was originally Mara, and the Barn made her forget her original self, I guess to redeem herself for what she and William did. But now she remembers who she was, and the Mara persona has resurfaced. And that's how the season ended. Grrrr! Gonna be a long wait to see what happens next. I wonder if we'll ever learn what the Barn is, and who the people in charge of it (Agent Howard) are.
Doctor Who's December episodes were awesome! Every bit as good as a Whovian could want. We got a glimpse of #12 (actually #13) and I think he'll be a wonderful Doctor!
Remember how I ragged about Dish Network's dispute with the local carrier for CBS? Shortly after that one was resolved and the station returned to my programming, here came another. This time it's NBC, FOX, and CW. I'm only getting ABC and CBS now. For crying out fuckin loud! So I called Dish to complain, and suggest I should get a break on my bill. I'm paying extra for those local network channels, and also for the Hopper that was designed specifically for the 4 major networks, and I'm not getting what I'm paying for. Well, sometimes it pays to complain. I got a $5 discount on my monthly bill for 6 months. Yeah, 6 months! Even if the dispute is resolved before then (jeez I hope so!), it's for 6 months. Thanks, Dish.
CW isn't considered one of the 4 covered by the Hopper, but it's one I'd really miss. Happily, my package includes CW from the west coast (airs after EST prime time) so I'm not missing my shows. I just hope the dispute is resolved soon. It's not been that big a deal right now during holiday season. Most shows aren't picking up again until 2nd week of Jan.
Big changes coming for me in the near future. Let's just say I got what I wanted for Xmas, and the New Year looks brighter. That's for another day, and elsewhere.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Politically correct nonsense
Social networks may have broken civilization. Sure, we are all connected, but the fact that anyone can post anything they want means that many things that used to be private, and still should be, now are forever available on the net. Some issues have become a much bigger deal than they really are thanks to everyone sending things viral.
Take bullying for instance. In a certain Facebook community that I'm part of, some people have taken it upon themselves to expose and exploit every instance of what they perceive to be bullying. Notice I said "what they perceive". Don't get me wrong. There is bullying going on and always has, and it's terrible. My definition, and I'm pretty sure the correct definition, is a directed and prolonged attack for the purpose of degrading, humiliating, or tormenting an individual.
In this particular FB community, some adults were found to be acting like stupid mean kids in a private forum, and then mercilessly persecuted to the point of shunning (an archaic practice) and even (rumored) to have cost one of the idiots his job. At that point, the offended parties looked more like the bullies than the idiots. Some of the offenders publicly apologized, but that wasn't enough for a couple of the group's founders, they continue to call for blood. I saw some of what was done, and to me, it was just stupidity. It was a private forum so the "victims" would never have seen it if another member of the private group hadn't leaked it. So was this bullying? Not in my book. It wasn't a direct attack. It was just people acting badly.
Now I see bullying apparently also includes any form of rudeness or insensitivity. Two more things that have always been around. This anti-bullying group has spawned members looking for any kind of unpleasant behavior, and they are reporting these slights to the group as bullying. Yeah, it would be nice if everyone in the world could be polite and pleasant all the time, but hey, that's human beings for you. Not gonna happen.
On another subject...dumb games. Apparently, there is a bizarre game roving around FB, and I have to wonder what sick mind thought of this. I've only seen parts of it, but I guess it's a sort of "Lying Game". Someone is given a list of things to post on their status, and they have to choose from the list. The list sounds sick! Like one posted "I'm pregnant". Concerned friends (not in on the "game") immediately responded with shock or sympathy or whatever they were feeling knowing this person as they do. My friend played, and her status was so disturbing that I had to call her to find out what the fuck was going on. When she realized that friends were scared for her, she deleted the damn thing, and promised not to do that again. From her, I heard a few other weird items on the list.
This is what Facebook as done to us.
Enough of that, I want to talk about TV. Finally, Dish settled their dispute with CBS, and it's back in my programming as of yesterday. Bout time. The shows I watched most have always rerun episodes, so I hope that happens. One I really missed was The Good Wife. I'll be so far behind.
The much anticipated Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode is this weekend, and then the Christmas special where the 12th Doctor debutes in December. I now have the entire series (Docter #9 to present) collected on the DVR. It took a while to gather it all, but luckily BBC ran it during the day as well as during prime time. Everything will be going on hiatus for the holidays, so it looks like a good time for some marathons.
Still loving the Peter Pan arc on Once Upon A Time, and still ambivalent about Once...In Wonderland. At least I've now got it straight that these are in no way connected. The Pan character is fascinating and the actor plays it perfectly. Now we know his backstory, and I didn't see that coming. Spoilers.
Another of my favorites has taken a dark turn that I didn't expect. On Haven, William has become really evil, and is somehow connected to Audrey and the Troubles. He says they created the Troubles together. Can't say I'm pleased with this twist. I loved Colin Ferguson as the lovable and funny sheriff on Eureka, and I was hoping he could be a regular in Haven. Now it looks like he has to die, so that's kind of wrong for me.
I have theories about who William is, and how he's connected to Audrey. One is the obvious...they were romantically involved. He has said that she loved him. But it's so obvious, I'm not really buying it. Their connection is physical and supernatural, so I'm favoring another theory. They're siblings, maybe even twins. That would explain their love and connection. Or they are one person split into dark and light sides. This is a bizarre universe so that could happen. Can't wait to see if I'm right, or if there's something completely different. It says a lot about a show that when it first aired, I wasn't sure if I'd like it, and now I'm obsessed.
Letsee, what else. Dancing With The Stars has gone the usual ridiculous way. Good dancers gone, and clutzy looking people surviving on sympathy votes. I was really surprised by Snooki's run. Yeah, that Jersey Shore trainwreck is all growed up and behaving like a responsible adult. Good on her! She was a damn good dancer, and a pretty cute package, but then she was gone. The finale is next week and I don't give a shit who wins. It no longer matters. We're not going to see amazing dances (except maybe Corbin), and I expect the Free Styles to be meh.
Oh and can we say Saturday Night Live! Fabulous! I saved the one with Kerry Washington parodying "What Does The Fox Say?" Sooo goood! Miley Cyrus has been back, and last week it was Lady Gaga. Someone break Gaga into acting, she can do it! I loved the skit where they slammed Kimye (you know I hate them!), and Gaga was a hapless Apple employee. It was just great all around. You're missing good stuff this season if you aren't watching SNL!
Good morning.
Take bullying for instance. In a certain Facebook community that I'm part of, some people have taken it upon themselves to expose and exploit every instance of what they perceive to be bullying. Notice I said "what they perceive". Don't get me wrong. There is bullying going on and always has, and it's terrible. My definition, and I'm pretty sure the correct definition, is a directed and prolonged attack for the purpose of degrading, humiliating, or tormenting an individual.
In this particular FB community, some adults were found to be acting like stupid mean kids in a private forum, and then mercilessly persecuted to the point of shunning (an archaic practice) and even (rumored) to have cost one of the idiots his job. At that point, the offended parties looked more like the bullies than the idiots. Some of the offenders publicly apologized, but that wasn't enough for a couple of the group's founders, they continue to call for blood. I saw some of what was done, and to me, it was just stupidity. It was a private forum so the "victims" would never have seen it if another member of the private group hadn't leaked it. So was this bullying? Not in my book. It wasn't a direct attack. It was just people acting badly.
Now I see bullying apparently also includes any form of rudeness or insensitivity. Two more things that have always been around. This anti-bullying group has spawned members looking for any kind of unpleasant behavior, and they are reporting these slights to the group as bullying. Yeah, it would be nice if everyone in the world could be polite and pleasant all the time, but hey, that's human beings for you. Not gonna happen.
On another subject...dumb games. Apparently, there is a bizarre game roving around FB, and I have to wonder what sick mind thought of this. I've only seen parts of it, but I guess it's a sort of "Lying Game". Someone is given a list of things to post on their status, and they have to choose from the list. The list sounds sick! Like one posted "I'm pregnant". Concerned friends (not in on the "game") immediately responded with shock or sympathy or whatever they were feeling knowing this person as they do. My friend played, and her status was so disturbing that I had to call her to find out what the fuck was going on. When she realized that friends were scared for her, she deleted the damn thing, and promised not to do that again. From her, I heard a few other weird items on the list.
This is what Facebook as done to us.
Enough of that, I want to talk about TV. Finally, Dish settled their dispute with CBS, and it's back in my programming as of yesterday. Bout time. The shows I watched most have always rerun episodes, so I hope that happens. One I really missed was The Good Wife. I'll be so far behind.
The much anticipated Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode is this weekend, and then the Christmas special where the 12th Doctor debutes in December. I now have the entire series (Docter #9 to present) collected on the DVR. It took a while to gather it all, but luckily BBC ran it during the day as well as during prime time. Everything will be going on hiatus for the holidays, so it looks like a good time for some marathons.
Still loving the Peter Pan arc on Once Upon A Time, and still ambivalent about Once...In Wonderland. At least I've now got it straight that these are in no way connected. The Pan character is fascinating and the actor plays it perfectly. Now we know his backstory, and I didn't see that coming. Spoilers.
Another of my favorites has taken a dark turn that I didn't expect. On Haven, William has become really evil, and is somehow connected to Audrey and the Troubles. He says they created the Troubles together. Can't say I'm pleased with this twist. I loved Colin Ferguson as the lovable and funny sheriff on Eureka, and I was hoping he could be a regular in Haven. Now it looks like he has to die, so that's kind of wrong for me.
I have theories about who William is, and how he's connected to Audrey. One is the obvious...they were romantically involved. He has said that she loved him. But it's so obvious, I'm not really buying it. Their connection is physical and supernatural, so I'm favoring another theory. They're siblings, maybe even twins. That would explain their love and connection. Or they are one person split into dark and light sides. This is a bizarre universe so that could happen. Can't wait to see if I'm right, or if there's something completely different. It says a lot about a show that when it first aired, I wasn't sure if I'd like it, and now I'm obsessed.
Letsee, what else. Dancing With The Stars has gone the usual ridiculous way. Good dancers gone, and clutzy looking people surviving on sympathy votes. I was really surprised by Snooki's run. Yeah, that Jersey Shore trainwreck is all growed up and behaving like a responsible adult. Good on her! She was a damn good dancer, and a pretty cute package, but then she was gone. The finale is next week and I don't give a shit who wins. It no longer matters. We're not going to see amazing dances (except maybe Corbin), and I expect the Free Styles to be meh.
Oh and can we say Saturday Night Live! Fabulous! I saved the one with Kerry Washington parodying "What Does The Fox Say?" Sooo goood! Miley Cyrus has been back, and last week it was Lady Gaga. Someone break Gaga into acting, she can do it! I loved the skit where they slammed Kimye (you know I hate them!), and Gaga was a hapless Apple employee. It was just great all around. You're missing good stuff this season if you aren't watching SNL!
Good morning.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Long time, no write
I'll start with TV. The fall season has finally started, and the DVR is busy busy busy.
The Originals on CW is DELICIOUS! Finally, a new vampire series for adults. I watch The Vampire Diaries, but I'm usually annoyed by the teenage angst. And Elena. Even when she was bad, she was incredibly annoying. The main reason I watch is Damon (Ian Somerholder). He's hot, he's funny, and he has an honest soul...he's true to himself. I never understood the Stephan character being the main love interest because I don't find him the least bit attractive. Same for Robert Pattinson (Twilight). I'd like to see Damon crossover to New Orleans sometimes. Without Elena. That would be cool.
I will add The Originals to the Library when it's released on DVD. I really hope they include the episodes from The Vampire Diaries that told of their origins. This family of original vampires is fascinating and sexy. And no, TVD has not and will not be added to the Library.
BTW, what is it about Louisiana and New Orleans that's so attractive to supernatural beings? True Blood is there, Anne Rice's vampires and witches are there. I believe there are more I can't think of right now.
Also looking forward to the Dracula series. Jonathan Rhys Meyers has been a crush since August Rush, which is one of my favorite flicks. I'm not really into period pieces, so I didn't follow The Tudors, but I did watch a little to see JRM. I think he'll make a perfectly sexy vampire.
Not sure how I feel about Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, yet. I'm glad that Once Upon A Time seems to have returned to the original concept this season. That being the twisted retelling of fairy tales, and weekly back stories. It got a little unnecessary and boring in season 2. So far, I don't see that with In Wonderland. It looks a lot like every other version of it. I guess it will be told, but I'm confused by the Red Queen. We know that Cora (Regina's mother) was the Queen of Hearts, so who is the Red Queen? One character I was hoping to see In Wonderland was the The Mad Hatter. I loved him in Once. He's been mentioned as being gone for a long time. Was he really and truly killed? We know that doesn't always mean anything.
I do like a couple twists in Wonderland, so hopefully that sort of thing will continue. Like Peter Pan. What a fantastic, sinister version of him, and the actor is perfect. Tinkerbell as a fallen fairy was unexpected. Don't care for the nightmarish Cheshire Cat, isn't he supposed to be benevolent? And how come the White Rabbit wasn't human when he went to Real World? That's one of the things that make it look like every other version of the story.
Actually, as I reread what I just wrote there, I realize I'm confusing the 2 series. Yeah, that's the problem with Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. They shouldn't have run the story lines at the same time. How can this be happening in Once Upon A Time at the same time? Is In Wonderland actually the back story for what's happening in Once?
Haven (Syfy) is back. I'm so hooked on this one. Last season was outstanding as we learned more about Audrey and the Barn. I just wish her love interest was Duke instead of Nathan. I really don't care for Nathan (like Stephan). Duke on the other hand is like Damon...a sexy, funny, honest soul.
Sleepy Hollow is cool! So is The Blacklist. I love me some James Spader! Look up some of his early movies, he was pretty hot when he was young, and had surfer boy hair to die for. Boston Legal is when I fell in love with him, and I watch the reruns whenever they come around.
A series I thought would just go one season apparently is going for a second. Under The Dome. In the first few episodes, we wondered, is this the government or aliens? I ran across a reference on Facebook to the Stephen King novel it's based on, and went a-googling, and found spoilers. I don't hate spoilers, sometimes I just really want to know. The drama was getting in the way of my knowing! Turns out it's aliens. It looks like the series is pretty true to the book, but I think they could have wrapped it up in one season.
Another series getting in my way is Revolution. I want to know more about the nano-tech, and the how and why of it, but there's all that fuckin fighting going on. I actually fast-forward through a lot of it. It's boring and doesn't interest me. Tell more story, less unnecessary action.
Pretty annoyed with the Powers That Be. Dish Network is in dispute with the company that controls CBS in my area, and I'm not getting it at all. I think Dish owes me some credit. I'm paying extra for local network channels, and the Hopper (which I also pay for) is specifically designed for the 4 networks. Luckily, there aren't that many shows on CBS that I miss, but there are some. Sure hope I can catch up in reruns when they finally get it worked out. If this dispute has anything to do with the lawsuit against Dish for the auto-hop feature, I say let it go. I don't need this if it will end up costing me. Still got the FF and skip buttons on the remote, and that's good enough. Auto-hop only works on the 4 networks during prime time anyways.
What else?
I feel embarrassed to be an American these days. We are supposed to be the most powerful and enlightened country in the world, and look at us. I imagine the rest of the world is laughing at us, and our enemies are rubbing their hands in delight as they watch us bicker and implode. It's just too sad.
Warning...here's my inner hippie coming out. Why must we always be at war? We are, you know. When we don't have a real war we make one up. War on Terrorism, War on Drugs, War on Christmas. Really? It's like we need War to define our place in the world. We don't need a War on Terrorism because there are already laws against it. War on Drugs, well, we know that's a bust (pun intended). War on Christmas, ok, that's just plain silly, but the media made it a thing.
I admit I don't follow things that closely. I just get so bored and annoyed with the media going on and on about shit to the point that it makes no sense at all. But it seems to me the ones who are crying that Obama (the Democrats) is destroying the constitution have forgotten what the Republicans would do to it. Sure, you'd get to keep your guns and your wars, but you'll lose personal freedoms to the conservative (religious) agenda. To my eye, Republicans are Big Business, and Democrats are the Common Man. Which one are you?
And again I ask. Why are there parties in the first place? I should look that up. Just when did the Parties form, and who formed them? How, when, and why were those lines drawn?
Good morning.
The Originals on CW is DELICIOUS! Finally, a new vampire series for adults. I watch The Vampire Diaries, but I'm usually annoyed by the teenage angst. And Elena. Even when she was bad, she was incredibly annoying. The main reason I watch is Damon (Ian Somerholder). He's hot, he's funny, and he has an honest soul...he's true to himself. I never understood the Stephan character being the main love interest because I don't find him the least bit attractive. Same for Robert Pattinson (Twilight). I'd like to see Damon crossover to New Orleans sometimes. Without Elena. That would be cool.
I will add The Originals to the Library when it's released on DVD. I really hope they include the episodes from The Vampire Diaries that told of their origins. This family of original vampires is fascinating and sexy. And no, TVD has not and will not be added to the Library.
BTW, what is it about Louisiana and New Orleans that's so attractive to supernatural beings? True Blood is there, Anne Rice's vampires and witches are there. I believe there are more I can't think of right now.
Also looking forward to the Dracula series. Jonathan Rhys Meyers has been a crush since August Rush, which is one of my favorite flicks. I'm not really into period pieces, so I didn't follow The Tudors, but I did watch a little to see JRM. I think he'll make a perfectly sexy vampire.
Not sure how I feel about Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, yet. I'm glad that Once Upon A Time seems to have returned to the original concept this season. That being the twisted retelling of fairy tales, and weekly back stories. It got a little unnecessary and boring in season 2. So far, I don't see that with In Wonderland. It looks a lot like every other version of it. I guess it will be told, but I'm confused by the Red Queen. We know that Cora (Regina's mother) was the Queen of Hearts, so who is the Red Queen? One character I was hoping to see In Wonderland was the The Mad Hatter. I loved him in Once. He's been mentioned as being gone for a long time. Was he really and truly killed? We know that doesn't always mean anything.
I do like a couple twists in Wonderland, so hopefully that sort of thing will continue. Like Peter Pan. What a fantastic, sinister version of him, and the actor is perfect. Tinkerbell as a fallen fairy was unexpected. Don't care for the nightmarish Cheshire Cat, isn't he supposed to be benevolent? And how come the White Rabbit wasn't human when he went to Real World? That's one of the things that make it look like every other version of the story.
Actually, as I reread what I just wrote there, I realize I'm confusing the 2 series. Yeah, that's the problem with Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. They shouldn't have run the story lines at the same time. How can this be happening in Once Upon A Time at the same time? Is In Wonderland actually the back story for what's happening in Once?
Haven (Syfy) is back. I'm so hooked on this one. Last season was outstanding as we learned more about Audrey and the Barn. I just wish her love interest was Duke instead of Nathan. I really don't care for Nathan (like Stephan). Duke on the other hand is like Damon...a sexy, funny, honest soul.
Sleepy Hollow is cool! So is The Blacklist. I love me some James Spader! Look up some of his early movies, he was pretty hot when he was young, and had surfer boy hair to die for. Boston Legal is when I fell in love with him, and I watch the reruns whenever they come around.
A series I thought would just go one season apparently is going for a second. Under The Dome. In the first few episodes, we wondered, is this the government or aliens? I ran across a reference on Facebook to the Stephen King novel it's based on, and went a-googling, and found spoilers. I don't hate spoilers, sometimes I just really want to know. The drama was getting in the way of my knowing! Turns out it's aliens. It looks like the series is pretty true to the book, but I think they could have wrapped it up in one season.
Another series getting in my way is Revolution. I want to know more about the nano-tech, and the how and why of it, but there's all that fuckin fighting going on. I actually fast-forward through a lot of it. It's boring and doesn't interest me. Tell more story, less unnecessary action.
Pretty annoyed with the Powers That Be. Dish Network is in dispute with the company that controls CBS in my area, and I'm not getting it at all. I think Dish owes me some credit. I'm paying extra for local network channels, and the Hopper (which I also pay for) is specifically designed for the 4 networks. Luckily, there aren't that many shows on CBS that I miss, but there are some. Sure hope I can catch up in reruns when they finally get it worked out. If this dispute has anything to do with the lawsuit against Dish for the auto-hop feature, I say let it go. I don't need this if it will end up costing me. Still got the FF and skip buttons on the remote, and that's good enough. Auto-hop only works on the 4 networks during prime time anyways.
What else?
I feel embarrassed to be an American these days. We are supposed to be the most powerful and enlightened country in the world, and look at us. I imagine the rest of the world is laughing at us, and our enemies are rubbing their hands in delight as they watch us bicker and implode. It's just too sad.
Warning...here's my inner hippie coming out. Why must we always be at war? We are, you know. When we don't have a real war we make one up. War on Terrorism, War on Drugs, War on Christmas. Really? It's like we need War to define our place in the world. We don't need a War on Terrorism because there are already laws against it. War on Drugs, well, we know that's a bust (pun intended). War on Christmas, ok, that's just plain silly, but the media made it a thing.
I admit I don't follow things that closely. I just get so bored and annoyed with the media going on and on about shit to the point that it makes no sense at all. But it seems to me the ones who are crying that Obama (the Democrats) is destroying the constitution have forgotten what the Republicans would do to it. Sure, you'd get to keep your guns and your wars, but you'll lose personal freedoms to the conservative (religious) agenda. To my eye, Republicans are Big Business, and Democrats are the Common Man. Which one are you?
And again I ask. Why are there parties in the first place? I should look that up. Just when did the Parties form, and who formed them? How, when, and why were those lines drawn?
Good morning.
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