I am having a hard time coming up witha subject to write about tonight, so I will just go with it. This entry is going to be an extemporaneous emission of thoughts and ideas that come to me as I write.
At what point do girls become women? I don't mean from a scientific standpoint, but in terms of how we as men view them? 25? 30? Or do we not base it on age, but on her marital and/or motherhood status?
Speaking of women, there was this tree trunk of a woman at work whom I almost cold cocked because she yelled "Excuse me!" to me while my back was turned to her . Some "ladies" have no manners. She also reminds me of a women you'd find in rural Germany. A lady who-slaughters-the-livestock-with-her-bare-hands type. She is a real speciman, I tell you.
Gosh, my job blows. Yeah, this has become a broken record. Why do I keep bitching about this? I have to find something else to whine about. The Lions perhaps? Or maybe Michigan's horrid defense?
Why does my roommate keep posting stupid shit on my Facebook wall? It is a rare day that he posts something that is actually funny. Perhaps he can spin his movie quote wheel and randomly cite some movie he saw 20 years ago. That would be more entertaining than his feeble attempts at trying to be funny.
Why do I keep posting stupid shit on my wall? Oh, that's right, I'm a funny motherfucker.
By the way what's with the swearing Ryan? You have a good vocabulary. Why resort to obscenity?
Why am I writing/talking to myself? Loser status confirmed--or not. This is the most intelligent conversation I've had in days.
How dysfunctional is our system that my roommate---who was laid off his job-- still hasn't received his unemployment more than a month after he lost his job?Boy, we sure get a bang for our buck when it comes to government services.
Will I ever find a women to love me? It seems highly unlikely that I will. There are many women out there, but I have yet to meet the right one. I still have not found my June or Patricia.I don't know if I am meant to have a soulmate. My life seems to have developed in such a fashion that I shall never know what a deep, lasting, relationship with a woman feels like.
My Grandfather, father, and I all share a tragic and odd similiarity--we all lost our mothers at a fairly early age. My grandfather's mother passed when he was 15(he lost his dad at the age of 5), my dad lost his mother when he was 16, and my mother passed when I was 22. Such a peculiar and sad concidence.
A year ago today our beloved black blanket beagle Snoopy died.She was a terrific dog. She was sweet tempered,loyal, and just a beautiful animal to look at. Our family lost a key member of our circle a year ago. She is missed terribly.
I could go on blathering about nothing in particularly, but I think I am going to see what college football game is on. Next time I will have a topic to discuss. Hopefully. Maybe.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for? A person to hand you a job and a girlfriend? The world does not much care for you and your trifling concerns. The mass of humanity is focused solely on their own problems, their own personal issues. Who are you but just one of 6 billion souls breathing air?
Unhappy with your job? Put in a transfer to another part of the company. What's that you say? You hate manual labor jobs? Well, then either go back to school to increase your skills or actually use your degree and write. You only spent $20,000 for the degree!
What? You have concerns about your grammar and mechanics? There is this thing we call practice. It involves doing something in a repetitious manner until one has mastered it. A good writer becomes one by spending many a hour writing. Focus on doing that. You do enjoy writing immensely.
What is with the long face? No girlfriend? It's call being sociable. You must stop being the brooding man in the corner and start being more outgoing. You certainly have the wit and intelligence to fare well in conversations. Ladies like a man who can talk about a wide variety of subjects and who can crack a good joke. But remember to be yourself. No lady is worth the cost of losing yourself to gain her favor.
Quit feeling sorry for yourself. I'll spare no pity for a 33-year-old man in good health with a stable job that has good benefits.There are far too many other less fortunate people in this world for me to expend one second lamenting your self-inflicted problems--- that by the way--are of a trivial nature.
Buck up, man. So you hate your job. So no lady warms your body and soul. So what? You have so much while so many have so little. You have great friends and family. You have a job--something your roommate has not. You have a nice car and an Iphone4. (Yes, these are material things, but things that nonetheless enrich your life.)But most importantly, you have your health. Without that, the richest, most handsome of men, is a pauper.
Unhappy with your job? Put in a transfer to another part of the company. What's that you say? You hate manual labor jobs? Well, then either go back to school to increase your skills or actually use your degree and write. You only spent $20,000 for the degree!
What? You have concerns about your grammar and mechanics? There is this thing we call practice. It involves doing something in a repetitious manner until one has mastered it. A good writer becomes one by spending many a hour writing. Focus on doing that. You do enjoy writing immensely.
What is with the long face? No girlfriend? It's call being sociable. You must stop being the brooding man in the corner and start being more outgoing. You certainly have the wit and intelligence to fare well in conversations. Ladies like a man who can talk about a wide variety of subjects and who can crack a good joke. But remember to be yourself. No lady is worth the cost of losing yourself to gain her favor.
Quit feeling sorry for yourself. I'll spare no pity for a 33-year-old man in good health with a stable job that has good benefits.There are far too many other less fortunate people in this world for me to expend one second lamenting your self-inflicted problems--- that by the way--are of a trivial nature.
Buck up, man. So you hate your job. So no lady warms your body and soul. So what? You have so much while so many have so little. You have great friends and family. You have a job--something your roommate has not. You have a nice car and an Iphone4. (Yes, these are material things, but things that nonetheless enrich your life.)But most importantly, you have your health. Without that, the richest, most handsome of men, is a pauper.
Moral imperialism
There has been much ink spilt and words spoken over the United States hegemony driven foreign policy. Many have spoken out in opposition(as well as in support of) American Empire. People say what right do we have to impose our beliefs upon another?What right do we have to take from another for our own gain?
Those are some powerful arguments to make. Morally, they are tough to challenge.Who can say that the interference in other nations affairs without a just cause is morally correct? I certainly cannot.
But when scrutinizes the beliefs of the anti-imperialists they will see inconsistency. While they refute the imperialism of old, they have embraced an new form of imperialism:moral imperialism.
For example, the animal rights activists on Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" are portrayed in a heroic light. What? These people are imposing THEIR beliefs upon others in something that does not directly impact any human.They do so because they believe themselves to be morally superior to those hunting the whales. That is, THEIR beliefs superior and so should be supreme over others. It is just to impose their conception of morality upon others.
These folks will say that international law bans such activity. That may be so but does that make the law right? And why is such a thing a law? Because a group of people who allegedly represent the nations of the world declared the protection of animals of significant value? Who are these people to tell another what to do or not to do? (I abhor the hunting of whales, but those are my private beliefs. Who am I to thrust my values upon another?)
These intragovernmental agencies are instruments of moral imperialism.These organizations take the dictates of not-so-representative bodies and impose them upon incalcitrant nations and states. The people of these states are most often not even aware or care about such laws. Who in Japan much cares about the fate of whales? Who in Afghanistan much cares or is aware of women's reproductive rights?? Yet, some feel they have the right to tell these people to submit themselves to the values that THEY have deemed to be of great importance.
What we have essentially done is replace a hard power-based method of imposing our beliefs upon others with a legal-based form of imperialism that is as based in arrogance, chauvinism, and self-righteousness as the days of the Christian missionaries ventures in the Americas. Neither regards with much respect the opinions of the indigenous populations.
We really need to re-evaluate how we do things in this world. We need to stop forcing our beliefs upon others and respect the different beliefs--no matter how odious they are to us--of other people.If you want peace you have to learn to tolerate the intolerable.That is a harsh truth many people have yet to grasp.
Those are some powerful arguments to make. Morally, they are tough to challenge.Who can say that the interference in other nations affairs without a just cause is morally correct? I certainly cannot.
But when scrutinizes the beliefs of the anti-imperialists they will see inconsistency. While they refute the imperialism of old, they have embraced an new form of imperialism:moral imperialism.
For example, the animal rights activists on Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" are portrayed in a heroic light. What? These people are imposing THEIR beliefs upon others in something that does not directly impact any human.They do so because they believe themselves to be morally superior to those hunting the whales. That is, THEIR beliefs superior and so should be supreme over others. It is just to impose their conception of morality upon others.
These folks will say that international law bans such activity. That may be so but does that make the law right? And why is such a thing a law? Because a group of people who allegedly represent the nations of the world declared the protection of animals of significant value? Who are these people to tell another what to do or not to do? (I abhor the hunting of whales, but those are my private beliefs. Who am I to thrust my values upon another?)
These intragovernmental agencies are instruments of moral imperialism.These organizations take the dictates of not-so-representative bodies and impose them upon incalcitrant nations and states. The people of these states are most often not even aware or care about such laws. Who in Japan much cares about the fate of whales? Who in Afghanistan much cares or is aware of women's reproductive rights?? Yet, some feel they have the right to tell these people to submit themselves to the values that THEY have deemed to be of great importance.
What we have essentially done is replace a hard power-based method of imposing our beliefs upon others with a legal-based form of imperialism that is as based in arrogance, chauvinism, and self-righteousness as the days of the Christian missionaries ventures in the Americas. Neither regards with much respect the opinions of the indigenous populations.
We really need to re-evaluate how we do things in this world. We need to stop forcing our beliefs upon others and respect the different beliefs--no matter how odious they are to us--of other people.If you want peace you have to learn to tolerate the intolerable.That is a harsh truth many people have yet to grasp.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
A world without women
I typed in the statement "a world without men" on google and got 132,000,000 hits. Obviously, many a women has pondered a world without men. Feminists in particular, seem to be enthralled with the possibility of science eliminating men altogether. (Ah, what the fervid minds of bigots will cook up!)
I thought to myself "why not approach this statement from a male's perspective? " Afterall, my own experience has given me whatI'd like to think is some special insight into a world without women.
The first obvious difference would be the lack of child birth and how men would procreate. We would have to be borne of something other than a womb. An egg perhaps? But then where does the egg come from? Men would have to become asexual or science would have to develop an artificial womb for fetuses' to come to term in.
The second difference is closely related to the first--no sex. 3 billion heterosexual men gasped in horror at the mere thought of a vaginaless world. Where would the male's sex drive find its fulfillment? What orifice would titillate the penis? Again, science would have to provide the answers.
Virtual reality--a concept first made popular in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World(1932)---is something that could address the physical element of sex. The sensation one feels in the act of sex could be simulated through the placement of sensors upon the parts of the body most commonly used in sex and the user would be wearing a mask that provides a vision of their "partner". Huxley called these movies "Feelies".
But what of the emotional aspect of the male-female relationship? What would replace that? This is clearly the most difficult issue to overcome for science would struggle mightily to replace the intense bond between mother and child, wife and husband, brother and sister.
But even this can be eliminated.
I know this because I have never had a deep bond with any woman. My mother was more of a incubator than a parent to me. She was hardly in my life and no woman has come close to filling that void.The only woman to be consistently in my life is my step-mom, but our relationship, while friendly, is hardly that of a mother and son.I have never had a romantic relationship with a woman.Basically, women have been a nonfactor in my life.
Thus, I use my own personal experience as a basis for how men would deal with the lack of women for bonding.The elimination of the desire for a bond with a women would take a period of time, but as boys were raised without a female presence, the desire for such bonds would either be nonexistent due to ignorance of women or would fade into oblivion as replacements were found for men to become emotionally attached to.
A world without women would be harsher, less sexual, and quite frankly, boring. Women provide a balance to men. They are the yin to the man's yang.They are two separate beings who are inseparable. Neither can exist without the other. The talk of a world without either is idle and the fruit of a bitter mind.
I can say this for I have lived in a world without women since I was a toddler. It has been a dull, angry, and a deeply unsatisfying world. Though I do not need a woman for the air to fill my lungs, I do need one so I may live.
I thought to myself "why not approach this statement from a male's perspective? " Afterall, my own experience has given me whatI'd like to think is some special insight into a world without women.
The first obvious difference would be the lack of child birth and how men would procreate. We would have to be borne of something other than a womb. An egg perhaps? But then where does the egg come from? Men would have to become asexual or science would have to develop an artificial womb for fetuses' to come to term in.
The second difference is closely related to the first--no sex. 3 billion heterosexual men gasped in horror at the mere thought of a vaginaless world. Where would the male's sex drive find its fulfillment? What orifice would titillate the penis? Again, science would have to provide the answers.
Virtual reality--a concept first made popular in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World(1932)---is something that could address the physical element of sex. The sensation one feels in the act of sex could be simulated through the placement of sensors upon the parts of the body most commonly used in sex and the user would be wearing a mask that provides a vision of their "partner". Huxley called these movies "Feelies".
But what of the emotional aspect of the male-female relationship? What would replace that? This is clearly the most difficult issue to overcome for science would struggle mightily to replace the intense bond between mother and child, wife and husband, brother and sister.
But even this can be eliminated.
I know this because I have never had a deep bond with any woman. My mother was more of a incubator than a parent to me. She was hardly in my life and no woman has come close to filling that void.The only woman to be consistently in my life is my step-mom, but our relationship, while friendly, is hardly that of a mother and son.I have never had a romantic relationship with a woman.Basically, women have been a nonfactor in my life.
Thus, I use my own personal experience as a basis for how men would deal with the lack of women for bonding.The elimination of the desire for a bond with a women would take a period of time, but as boys were raised without a female presence, the desire for such bonds would either be nonexistent due to ignorance of women or would fade into oblivion as replacements were found for men to become emotionally attached to.
A world without women would be harsher, less sexual, and quite frankly, boring. Women provide a balance to men. They are the yin to the man's yang.They are two separate beings who are inseparable. Neither can exist without the other. The talk of a world without either is idle and the fruit of a bitter mind.
I can say this for I have lived in a world without women since I was a toddler. It has been a dull, angry, and a deeply unsatisfying world. Though I do not need a woman for the air to fill my lungs, I do need one so I may live.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Peace in our time
What is this peace you speak of? Is it the absence of war? Or is it the absence of violence? Is it the absence of both? How do you define peace?Is it an attainable goal?
Peace is a impossible concept to resist. What rational person wants the death and destruction of war? Who wants to suffer the pain and misery of war?
But that does not alter the fact that conflict--violent in particular--is an aspect of the human condition that is as unalterable as the desire to mate. Killing, beatings, and rape occur everywhere. There is not one society that has remained untouched by these barbaric acts.
Some blame violence on capitalism, but violence has existed in socialist countries. Others blame violence on religion, but Godless nations like the former USSR were dominated by violence and the threat of it.
History proves that violence is an universal practice. It has no knowledge of boundaries of nations nor does it fear the tenets of ideology and religion.It is an unstoppable force.
Peaceniks are akin to the overweight, zit faced, teenage boy who obsesses about the prettiest girl in school. She dominates his thoughts, rules his days, but never will be his. Peace is that unattainable girl.
Peaceniks are people who love to feel morally superior. Like the evangelist of years past, these people preach a message of hope and love guided by a strong belief in their own moral rectitude. Their ideas are unrealistic and they cause conflict with their sanctimonious attitude and simplistic view of the world. Self criticism is anathema to these folks.
What is peace? To me it is the brief interlude between conflict. It is a very limited period of time between acts o0f violence. It is measured in seconds and minutes, not years.It is not something that will last long for man is too much of a slave to the devil of his nature for there to be a world of peace.
Peace is a impossible concept to resist. What rational person wants the death and destruction of war? Who wants to suffer the pain and misery of war?
But that does not alter the fact that conflict--violent in particular--is an aspect of the human condition that is as unalterable as the desire to mate. Killing, beatings, and rape occur everywhere. There is not one society that has remained untouched by these barbaric acts.
Some blame violence on capitalism, but violence has existed in socialist countries. Others blame violence on religion, but Godless nations like the former USSR were dominated by violence and the threat of it.
History proves that violence is an universal practice. It has no knowledge of boundaries of nations nor does it fear the tenets of ideology and religion.It is an unstoppable force.
Peaceniks are akin to the overweight, zit faced, teenage boy who obsesses about the prettiest girl in school. She dominates his thoughts, rules his days, but never will be his. Peace is that unattainable girl.
Peaceniks are people who love to feel morally superior. Like the evangelist of years past, these people preach a message of hope and love guided by a strong belief in their own moral rectitude. Their ideas are unrealistic and they cause conflict with their sanctimonious attitude and simplistic view of the world. Self criticism is anathema to these folks.
What is peace? To me it is the brief interlude between conflict. It is a very limited period of time between acts o0f violence. It is measured in seconds and minutes, not years.It is not something that will last long for man is too much of a slave to the devil of his nature for there to be a world of peace.
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Job
Concrete encases me in this tomb of regret and bitterness. The pungent aroma of the stale and malodorous air fills my nostrils and lungs while I listlessly gaze into the empty corridors of the hospital.
Hollow as the words of a politician, shallow as a celebutante, the Leaders are not the Best. They are not even Leaders. One will certainly not Hail them as Champions in their field.
The peons move to and fro--except for those who move not a foot--working as bees do in a hive. Mindless, monotonous, tedious, repetitious...the work is a marathon to the soul as a Dostoyevsky novel is to the mind.
When will it end? It seems destined that I shall forever be wearing the Burgundy and Yellow Letter.
The hours and days blend into a unrecognizable blob where I lose all sense of time. Each day brings the same dull, enervating tasks that drowns my spirit in the ocean of mediocrity that is my job. I gasp for air in these suffocating seas, struggling to stay afloat with all the might I can conjure up.
No lover waiting for his amore at the train station is as eager as I am when the clock strikes 10:30 on Friday. Happiness has arrived! I am to depart this place for a splendid two day respite from this abattoir of hope and dreams.
Though it only lasts for an all too brief time, the bliss of being away from the dungeon is fully felt by I. Happiness is the unchallenged champion of my weekends.
Come Monday, the misery becomes King again. But that is two days off.
Meanwhile, I will gleefully imbibe drink and merriment in celebration of a work week survived. The days are short, but the good times are long.
A smile returns to the face, joy comes again to the heart, and contentment is restored to the spirit.Such ephemeral ecstasy these weekends are.
Hollow as the words of a politician, shallow as a celebutante, the Leaders are not the Best. They are not even Leaders. One will certainly not Hail them as Champions in their field.
The peons move to and fro--except for those who move not a foot--working as bees do in a hive. Mindless, monotonous, tedious, repetitious...the work is a marathon to the soul as a Dostoyevsky novel is to the mind.
When will it end? It seems destined that I shall forever be wearing the Burgundy and Yellow Letter.
The hours and days blend into a unrecognizable blob where I lose all sense of time. Each day brings the same dull, enervating tasks that drowns my spirit in the ocean of mediocrity that is my job. I gasp for air in these suffocating seas, struggling to stay afloat with all the might I can conjure up.
No lover waiting for his amore at the train station is as eager as I am when the clock strikes 10:30 on Friday. Happiness has arrived! I am to depart this place for a splendid two day respite from this abattoir of hope and dreams.
Though it only lasts for an all too brief time, the bliss of being away from the dungeon is fully felt by I. Happiness is the unchallenged champion of my weekends.
Come Monday, the misery becomes King again. But that is two days off.
Meanwhile, I will gleefully imbibe drink and merriment in celebration of a work week survived. The days are short, but the good times are long.
A smile returns to the face, joy comes again to the heart, and contentment is restored to the spirit.Such ephemeral ecstasy these weekends are.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Animal
Inside my body lies an Animal. An Animal that has a thirst. A thirst that has yet to be satiated.
This Animal is feverishly clawing and scratching, trying desperately to free itself from the flesh and bone prison in which it is confined.
How shall this beast make its escape? How shall it break from the bonds of misery? How shall it find the way to freedom?
The Animal desperately seeks a way out from the cage, it cries and cries, but no one hears it pleas. No one hears it clamoring for freedom.No one is there.
What shall the Animal do? How shall it break free from the fetters that bind him with such hopeless firmness?The Animal knows not what to do.
The Animal is suffocated by the sentries of torment. Anger, Depression, Dejection...the Animal knows all on a first name basis. The Warden--Misery--rules with a cruel hand.
The Animal is not defeated--will not be vanquished--by the malevolent thugs who have cast him into this dungeon.He is not broken, he is not bowed.
He will get out. He must get out.The Animal is destined to roam free and it will be so.
This Animal is feverishly clawing and scratching, trying desperately to free itself from the flesh and bone prison in which it is confined.
How shall this beast make its escape? How shall it break from the bonds of misery? How shall it find the way to freedom?
The Animal desperately seeks a way out from the cage, it cries and cries, but no one hears it pleas. No one hears it clamoring for freedom.No one is there.
What shall the Animal do? How shall it break free from the fetters that bind him with such hopeless firmness?The Animal knows not what to do.
The Animal is suffocated by the sentries of torment. Anger, Depression, Dejection...the Animal knows all on a first name basis. The Warden--Misery--rules with a cruel hand.
The Animal is not defeated--will not be vanquished--by the malevolent thugs who have cast him into this dungeon.He is not broken, he is not bowed.
He will get out. He must get out.The Animal is destined to roam free and it will be so.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Love knows no limits
Where does one find love? Where should one NOT seek love? These are questions that plague the minds of the unattached throughout these united states.
But these are also the wrong questions to ask for it is not WHERE you meet someone, but WHO you meet. The location is mere background for the drama that is love.
What matters is not the physical space where you and your paramour first laid eyes upon each other, but the chemistry that causes the fire of your passion to burn brightly.
Some say that having a relationship with a co-worker is a bad idea because work can create difficulties because of the close proximity of the two lovers. But if the love is meant to last then how can spending more time with your love be a bad thing?
Sure, working with someone may potentially cause issues that aggravate the lovers, but if you love someone you will find a way to minimize the stresses of working with a loved one.(More serious issues will arise if the two break up, but that is an issue of maturity.)
The bad idea here is not having a relationship with a co-worker, but placing limits on where to meet a potential mate. To do so is to needlessly restrict yourself to a small population of potential mates. One cannot emphasize enough the foolishness and quite frankly, counterproductive nature of such beliefs.
What is more is that such beliefs also ignore an essential element of love--that it knows no bounds.It is a wild, unpredictable emotion, that cannot be planned or dictated. You cannot cage it like an animal nor can you place a date on when you will find it. It just happens.
What people should be concerned about when pondering love is not where or when to meet someone, but the characteristics they desire in a partner.They should also simultaneously be engaging in self evaluation for personal growth is key to sustaining any relationship--romantic or platonic.
Love is the greatest gift one human can give to another. It is the sharing of your soul with another human being. Such a magnificent thing cannot be controlled. It occurs on its own in every conceivable environment at the most unexpected time.
Those who think they can control the unseen,uncontrollable, and irresistible force called love are the maddest of people. Love operates at a plane far beyond our ability to master it.
But these are also the wrong questions to ask for it is not WHERE you meet someone, but WHO you meet. The location is mere background for the drama that is love.
What matters is not the physical space where you and your paramour first laid eyes upon each other, but the chemistry that causes the fire of your passion to burn brightly.
Some say that having a relationship with a co-worker is a bad idea because work can create difficulties because of the close proximity of the two lovers. But if the love is meant to last then how can spending more time with your love be a bad thing?
Sure, working with someone may potentially cause issues that aggravate the lovers, but if you love someone you will find a way to minimize the stresses of working with a loved one.(More serious issues will arise if the two break up, but that is an issue of maturity.)
The bad idea here is not having a relationship with a co-worker, but placing limits on where to meet a potential mate. To do so is to needlessly restrict yourself to a small population of potential mates. One cannot emphasize enough the foolishness and quite frankly, counterproductive nature of such beliefs.
What is more is that such beliefs also ignore an essential element of love--that it knows no bounds.It is a wild, unpredictable emotion, that cannot be planned or dictated. You cannot cage it like an animal nor can you place a date on when you will find it. It just happens.
What people should be concerned about when pondering love is not where or when to meet someone, but the characteristics they desire in a partner.They should also simultaneously be engaging in self evaluation for personal growth is key to sustaining any relationship--romantic or platonic.
Love is the greatest gift one human can give to another. It is the sharing of your soul with another human being. Such a magnificent thing cannot be controlled. It occurs on its own in every conceivable environment at the most unexpected time.
Those who think they can control the unseen,uncontrollable, and irresistible force called love are the maddest of people. Love operates at a plane far beyond our ability to master it.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Cutting ties
Recently, I foolishly convinced myself to engage in a flirtation with a female co-worker even though I was not convinced that she was a suitable match.
I blame loneliness for causing this rupture in decision making on my part. This woman--of whom I have written about before in this blog--while sweet in temperament and attractive in looks, was lacking in other crucial areas.
She dated a co-worker of mine who was and is in a relationship with a woman with whom he has two children. What sort of person does this? No person with any moral scruples.
This lady lives with a man whom she has know for only a few years. This man one night broke into her room not once, but twice, to apologize for acting the fool earlier in the night. Yet, she still lives with him. What kind of person would continue to live with a person who has no respect for your personal boundaries?? No intelligent or sane person I know of.
What kind of person openly flirts with men on a regular basis, but who has repeatedly failed at long term relationships? She is a friend of many men, but the love of none. What does that say about her potential as a mate? Nothing positive I am afraid.
Therefore, I decided to cut ties with this woman tonight. No more fooling myself that I could have established a relationship with a woman who knows not what she wants. No more wasting time on a woman who knows many men, but few of quality.
I have chosen this route because I have no desire to pursue a woman who is not worthy of being pursued. Why should I expend emotional energy on a person who is found wanting in so many areas?
There are too many good women out there for me to spend another second trying to win the hand of a woman with such a questionable nature.
I blame loneliness for causing this rupture in decision making on my part. This woman--of whom I have written about before in this blog--while sweet in temperament and attractive in looks, was lacking in other crucial areas.
She dated a co-worker of mine who was and is in a relationship with a woman with whom he has two children. What sort of person does this? No person with any moral scruples.
This lady lives with a man whom she has know for only a few years. This man one night broke into her room not once, but twice, to apologize for acting the fool earlier in the night. Yet, she still lives with him. What kind of person would continue to live with a person who has no respect for your personal boundaries?? No intelligent or sane person I know of.
What kind of person openly flirts with men on a regular basis, but who has repeatedly failed at long term relationships? She is a friend of many men, but the love of none. What does that say about her potential as a mate? Nothing positive I am afraid.
Therefore, I decided to cut ties with this woman tonight. No more fooling myself that I could have established a relationship with a woman who knows not what she wants. No more wasting time on a woman who knows many men, but few of quality.
I have chosen this route because I have no desire to pursue a woman who is not worthy of being pursued. Why should I expend emotional energy on a person who is found wanting in so many areas?
There are too many good women out there for me to spend another second trying to win the hand of a woman with such a questionable nature.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Where have you gone?
Where have you gone most cherished amore? Where have you have taken your invaluable gift, your precious commodity? Where have you stolen to?
Like Raleigh in pursuit of El Dorado, I search and search, yet my hands remain empty. I wander the world in an everlasting quest to find that which clears away the overcast days of life; that brightens my face and lifts my soul.
Where have you gone most handsome amore? Where have you taken your boundless talents, your outstanding abilities? Where are you hiding my dear?
I sail the seas like Ahab in a futile hunt for the object of my obsession. Ranging far and wide, I circumnavigate the globe in the quest to gain the affections of She.She who washes away the troubles of life with a tsunami of affection.
Where have you gone most comely amore? Where are you so I may enjoy the dimples of your cheeks and the bright sheen of your eyes when you smile?
Like Odysseus, I defeat all obstacles to my goal to be where I desire--her arms. Neither fiend or woe shall bar me from satisfying my thirst for her love.
Where are you most adorable amore? Where art thou so I may tan in the radiance of your beauty? Where are you so I may drink the nectar of your love?
I know not thee, but I love thee. Where, oh, where are you my destiny? Where have you gone?
Like Raleigh in pursuit of El Dorado, I search and search, yet my hands remain empty. I wander the world in an everlasting quest to find that which clears away the overcast days of life; that brightens my face and lifts my soul.
Where have you gone most handsome amore? Where have you taken your boundless talents, your outstanding abilities? Where are you hiding my dear?
I sail the seas like Ahab in a futile hunt for the object of my obsession. Ranging far and wide, I circumnavigate the globe in the quest to gain the affections of She.She who washes away the troubles of life with a tsunami of affection.
Where have you gone most comely amore? Where are you so I may enjoy the dimples of your cheeks and the bright sheen of your eyes when you smile?
Like Odysseus, I defeat all obstacles to my goal to be where I desire--her arms. Neither fiend or woe shall bar me from satisfying my thirst for her love.
Where are you most adorable amore? Where art thou so I may tan in the radiance of your beauty? Where are you so I may drink the nectar of your love?
I know not thee, but I love thee. Where, oh, where are you my destiny? Where have you gone?
Monday, September 13, 2010
On Vegetarianism
Vegetarians are interesting people. My father is one and while I love him deeply, I have always been slightly perplexed by his refusal to eat meat.
The reason he and other vegetarians give is that they find the consumption of animal flesh to be repulsive and cruel. They cannot accept inflicting pain upon another of God's creatures so we may sustain ourselves.
The moralistic perspective they have taken on the subject is an alluring aspect of vegetarianism. Who afterall, wishes to inflict unnecessary suffering on any living thing? A psychopath perhaps, but no person who is mentally well-adjusted would desire to visit upon an animal undue pain unless they felt they had to do so.
But why do they look at something that is perfectly natural--the consumption of meat--as immoral? Animals eat animals. Humans are animals. If a human was in the wild they would be seen as prey by whatever creature that stood at the top of the animal hierarchy.
I see little sense in applying morality to something that is done to guarantee the continuation of life.Meat eaters consume the flesh of other animals because of reasons of taste and nourishment, not because of reasons of malice.
Vegetarians will say that one cannot compare humans to animals for animals are guided by instincts that are amoral while humans have a developed conception of morality. While that maybe true that does not alter the fact that human beings are animals.Dining on other living creatures is as natural as mating.There is little room for moralizing when it comes to what one should or should not eat.
All this being said, I personally do not care what someone believes in so long as it does not impact my life, but that does not mean one should not analyze others beliefs(as well as their own) if for no other reason than to engage in intellectual calisthenics.
Vegetarianism is mystifying to me as pacificism. Both are on the surface based on noble intentions, but both are impractical in environments where there is no strong guiding structure.
The reason he and other vegetarians give is that they find the consumption of animal flesh to be repulsive and cruel. They cannot accept inflicting pain upon another of God's creatures so we may sustain ourselves.
The moralistic perspective they have taken on the subject is an alluring aspect of vegetarianism. Who afterall, wishes to inflict unnecessary suffering on any living thing? A psychopath perhaps, but no person who is mentally well-adjusted would desire to visit upon an animal undue pain unless they felt they had to do so.
But why do they look at something that is perfectly natural--the consumption of meat--as immoral? Animals eat animals. Humans are animals. If a human was in the wild they would be seen as prey by whatever creature that stood at the top of the animal hierarchy.
I see little sense in applying morality to something that is done to guarantee the continuation of life.Meat eaters consume the flesh of other animals because of reasons of taste and nourishment, not because of reasons of malice.
Vegetarians will say that one cannot compare humans to animals for animals are guided by instincts that are amoral while humans have a developed conception of morality. While that maybe true that does not alter the fact that human beings are animals.Dining on other living creatures is as natural as mating.There is little room for moralizing when it comes to what one should or should not eat.
All this being said, I personally do not care what someone believes in so long as it does not impact my life, but that does not mean one should not analyze others beliefs(as well as their own) if for no other reason than to engage in intellectual calisthenics.
Vegetarianism is mystifying to me as pacificism. Both are on the surface based on noble intentions, but both are impractical in environments where there is no strong guiding structure.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
New season, new method of losing
The Detroit Lions started off the 2010 NFL season like they ended the 2009 season--with a loss. There was a significant difference, however, in the manner of their defeat.
Wide Receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson had caught an apparent 25 yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Shaun Hill with 18 seconds left to take a 20-19 lead over the Chicago Bears when one official overruled the referee closest to the catch and ruled that it was an incomplete pass.
The reasoning for the ruling was elucidated by referee Gene Steratore after the game.
"We're talking now about the process of the catch. He's catching the football, as he goes to the ground, he must maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process. So as he continues to fall if he fell with two feet and his elbow hit the ground and came out, it would be incomplete."
Steratore added further."...the process was not finished until he finished that roll and the entire process of the catch."
From a rules standpoint, the correct call was made. The referees only act in accordance with the rules set down. Thus the official who overruled the other was correct in doing so.
But this incident only highlights the increasingly burdening of the game of football by restrictive rules that are borne from the minds of lawyers and not of people who spent their lives in the game of football.That is a damn shame for football is supposed to be fun.
I suppose such a thing was inevitable considering how much money is in the NFL. When you consider the huge amounts of money spent on the game by advertisers, teams, ands fans, it seems logical for the NFL to have rules that eliminate any grey areas.
But after watching the debacle in Chicago, I have become convinced that in their effort to ease the decision making process for the referees the NFL is losing its grasp on common sense.
Historically, a catch was defined as maintaining possession with both feet on the ground and/or keeping the ball after hitting the ball. Now the rules stipulate that you have to keep possession BEYOND these simple guidelines as part of a the catching process.
What makes this problematic is that Johnson's catch occurred in the end zone. Anyone who follows the game knows that all you have to do is break the plane with the ball.If the ball is knocked from the ball carriers hands AFTER the ball breaks the plane, the touchdown still counts for the play is dead.
Johnson caught the ball with both feet inbounds, falls with his hand hitting the ground before the ball in his other hand does.The ball only comes loose as Johnson pushes himself up to celebrate what he thought was the game winning catch.
Alas, the excessive requirement for a catch ruined what should have been a terrific ending to what was a poorly played football game. The NFL through the application of such absurd rules has sullied the game.They made it more like the courts of law than the fields of play. A lustily boo to the NFL for doing that.
Wide Receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson had caught an apparent 25 yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Shaun Hill with 18 seconds left to take a 20-19 lead over the Chicago Bears when one official overruled the referee closest to the catch and ruled that it was an incomplete pass.
The reasoning for the ruling was elucidated by referee Gene Steratore after the game.
"We're talking now about the process of the catch. He's catching the football, as he goes to the ground, he must maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process. So as he continues to fall if he fell with two feet and his elbow hit the ground and came out, it would be incomplete."
Steratore added further."...the process was not finished until he finished that roll and the entire process of the catch."
From a rules standpoint, the correct call was made. The referees only act in accordance with the rules set down. Thus the official who overruled the other was correct in doing so.
But this incident only highlights the increasingly burdening of the game of football by restrictive rules that are borne from the minds of lawyers and not of people who spent their lives in the game of football.That is a damn shame for football is supposed to be fun.
I suppose such a thing was inevitable considering how much money is in the NFL. When you consider the huge amounts of money spent on the game by advertisers, teams, ands fans, it seems logical for the NFL to have rules that eliminate any grey areas.
But after watching the debacle in Chicago, I have become convinced that in their effort to ease the decision making process for the referees the NFL is losing its grasp on common sense.
Historically, a catch was defined as maintaining possession with both feet on the ground and/or keeping the ball after hitting the ball. Now the rules stipulate that you have to keep possession BEYOND these simple guidelines as part of a the catching process.
What makes this problematic is that Johnson's catch occurred in the end zone. Anyone who follows the game knows that all you have to do is break the plane with the ball.If the ball is knocked from the ball carriers hands AFTER the ball breaks the plane, the touchdown still counts for the play is dead.
Johnson caught the ball with both feet inbounds, falls with his hand hitting the ground before the ball in his other hand does.The ball only comes loose as Johnson pushes himself up to celebrate what he thought was the game winning catch.
Alas, the excessive requirement for a catch ruined what should have been a terrific ending to what was a poorly played football game. The NFL through the application of such absurd rules has sullied the game.They made it more like the courts of law than the fields of play. A lustily boo to the NFL for doing that.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Single Ad Infinitum
I cancelled my Match.com subscription today.A month-and-a-half of unreturned emails, winks from fat chicks, and a steady stream of homely women checking out your profile has made this decision easy.
What is frustrating about sites like Match are that the women you are interested in are not interested in you and the women that are interested in you, you are not interested in. My pursuit for love in the province of internet dating has proven to be as fruitful as the the search for the Holy Grail.
My problem--- besides not possessing the body of a MMA fighter, the looks of Johnny Depp, or the money of Bill Gates-- is that I am not the most outgoing of people. I am inherently distrustful of other people. Why, I cannot tell you. I just am.
One factor that should mention is that I did not grow up with much of a female influence in my life. My mother left me with my dad when I was two years old.There was no significant, consistent, female presence in my life until my dad remarried when I was 13. But as anyone who has been in a "blended" family can attest to, relationships between a step-mother and a step-son can be problematic. Such was the case with me.
A person who has anti-social tendencies and is largely ignorant of women is generally not going to flourish when trying to attract a mate he is interested in. Of the two, the former has been by far the more stubborn obstacle for me to overcome.
My ignorance/lack of familiarity as well as the transference of residual anger at my mother to females in general, has created a lack of confidence that has crippled my feeble attempts at finding love. I have not even ASKED a girl out in some ten years.(This ineptitude feeds my anger and creates feelings of bitterness and distrust of women. It is a vicious circle.)
It is because of my trouble relating to women in person that I turned to internet dating, but it has proven to be no more of a solution than making a weekly pilgrimage to the local bars and dance clubs to seek female companionship.
I know I want a woman in my life. I enjoy romantic movies and songs as long as they are of good quality. I love the smell of female perfumes and find much gratification from viewing scantily clad women as any heterosexual man does.Attraction is not an issue in regards to me and women.
If anything, I probably want a woman more than any other man simply because I have never had one of my own. I do not mean this as physically possessing a woman as a child does a doll, but possessing the heart of a woman. I want to be her world and her to be mine. Most people find this in their mother and then a wife/girlfriend. I have never had either for my mother was a mother only in biological terms.
At this juncture in my life, I would have to say that I am likely to remain single until the day I breath my last.I do not see my Facebook status ever changing from "single" to "in a relationship".Such a belief is neither sad or pathetic to me, it just is what it is.
What is frustrating about sites like Match are that the women you are interested in are not interested in you and the women that are interested in you, you are not interested in. My pursuit for love in the province of internet dating has proven to be as fruitful as the the search for the Holy Grail.
My problem--- besides not possessing the body of a MMA fighter, the looks of Johnny Depp, or the money of Bill Gates-- is that I am not the most outgoing of people. I am inherently distrustful of other people. Why, I cannot tell you. I just am.
One factor that should mention is that I did not grow up with much of a female influence in my life. My mother left me with my dad when I was two years old.There was no significant, consistent, female presence in my life until my dad remarried when I was 13. But as anyone who has been in a "blended" family can attest to, relationships between a step-mother and a step-son can be problematic. Such was the case with me.
A person who has anti-social tendencies and is largely ignorant of women is generally not going to flourish when trying to attract a mate he is interested in. Of the two, the former has been by far the more stubborn obstacle for me to overcome.
My ignorance/lack of familiarity as well as the transference of residual anger at my mother to females in general, has created a lack of confidence that has crippled my feeble attempts at finding love. I have not even ASKED a girl out in some ten years.(This ineptitude feeds my anger and creates feelings of bitterness and distrust of women. It is a vicious circle.)
It is because of my trouble relating to women in person that I turned to internet dating, but it has proven to be no more of a solution than making a weekly pilgrimage to the local bars and dance clubs to seek female companionship.
I know I want a woman in my life. I enjoy romantic movies and songs as long as they are of good quality. I love the smell of female perfumes and find much gratification from viewing scantily clad women as any heterosexual man does.Attraction is not an issue in regards to me and women.
If anything, I probably want a woman more than any other man simply because I have never had one of my own. I do not mean this as physically possessing a woman as a child does a doll, but possessing the heart of a woman. I want to be her world and her to be mine. Most people find this in their mother and then a wife/girlfriend. I have never had either for my mother was a mother only in biological terms.
At this juncture in my life, I would have to say that I am likely to remain single until the day I breath my last.I do not see my Facebook status ever changing from "single" to "in a relationship".Such a belief is neither sad or pathetic to me, it just is what it is.
Burn, baby, burn
The controversy over the proposed burning of the Quran by Rev. Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, reveal for all the stupidity, hypocrisy, and fanaticism of men.
Why are Moslems so enraged over the burning of their holy book? At the end of the day, the destruction of said book has no bearing on them or their religion. If some Christian preacher wants to incinerate a million copies, so be it. Why become enraged at the act of a man who lives so many thousands of miles from you? Do you not realize that this person is doing this to get a rise out of you? By rioting, burning flags and bibles, and generally acting the fool, you are giving him what he wants.
All involved are men of low intelligence and maturity.
Furthermore, it is not as if Moslems have not similarly disrespected other religions. The Taliban's infamous destruction of Hindu sculptures in Afghanistan is one such example. Why is it okay to disrespect Hindu's symbols, but not the Quran???
While I think Rev. Jones act a silly and needlessly provocative act, I find myself having a hard time generating much sympathy for a religion that has basically declared war on the world. Islam is not worse then Christianity when it comes to intolerance or violence, but then Christianity is not currently at war with the United States, Russia, China, India,England, Spain, and as well as a Islamic civil war. Islam is a religion in tumult.
I am a fervent defender of religious tolerance, but I have little tolerance for people who go crazy at some offending act while themselves committing acts that offend others.
Why are Moslems so enraged over the burning of their holy book? At the end of the day, the destruction of said book has no bearing on them or their religion. If some Christian preacher wants to incinerate a million copies, so be it. Why become enraged at the act of a man who lives so many thousands of miles from you? Do you not realize that this person is doing this to get a rise out of you? By rioting, burning flags and bibles, and generally acting the fool, you are giving him what he wants.
All involved are men of low intelligence and maturity.
Furthermore, it is not as if Moslems have not similarly disrespected other religions. The Taliban's infamous destruction of Hindu sculptures in Afghanistan is one such example. Why is it okay to disrespect Hindu's symbols, but not the Quran???
While I think Rev. Jones act a silly and needlessly provocative act, I find myself having a hard time generating much sympathy for a religion that has basically declared war on the world. Islam is not worse then Christianity when it comes to intolerance or violence, but then Christianity is not currently at war with the United States, Russia, China, India,England, Spain, and as well as a Islamic civil war. Islam is a religion in tumult.
I am a fervent defender of religious tolerance, but I have little tolerance for people who go crazy at some offending act while themselves committing acts that offend others.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Who are the real beasts?
Oh, how wickedly ridiculous creatures we humans are. We tell ourselves that we are different--superior--from wild beasts yet we kill with an impunity that no phylum of organisms can surpass.
When animals kill or engage in acts of violence, it is for sustenance, self-defense, or a part of a ritual that guarantees their place within the community. There is a logical end behind these savage fight to-the-death contests.
That is not always so with humans. We rape, assault, and kill each other for no reason at all. We invent ways to kill more of us in more efficient ways. The partner to progress in science has bee the progress in methods to slaughter human beings on a mass scale. From the flint tipped spears of pre-history to the table sized nuclear weapons of modern times, the effectiveness of weaponry have evolved to become so powerful that they now threaten to eliminate life from this rock we call earth.
How can it be that the creatures with the most advanced intellect routinely defy said intellect to
commit atrocities that would send tremors of terror into the most ferocious of beasts?
20,000 British soldiers killed on one day at the Somme in World War I, 45,000 Romans butchered by Hannibal at Cannae, 1,000,000 Armenians killed by the Turks, 12 million Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other "untermenschen" murdered by the Nazis',800,000 Rwandans murdered by fellow Rwandans in 100 days...these are just a small sample of the sickeningly long list 0f human depravity on a mass scale. This does not account for the innumerable individual atrocities committed on a daily basis throughout the world.
The only thing I can glean out of this is that intellect is overrated.
We have created magnificent structures to marvel, cured many a disease, sent people to space, flown at supersonic speeds, increased our food supply many times over, and have tamed the physically stronger beasts. All that due to our superior intellect.
Yet, we have this dark side that the lowly animals of the wild do not have. They do not rape or kill. They do not invent reasons to murder large numbers of other animals. They do not crash planes into buildings because they believe in some myth that tells them that they will
go to heaven if they do so.The simplicity of their mind forbids such notions. All they know is eat, procreate, and defecate.
Humans meanwhile, have to invent rules and a otherworldly punishment to keep people in line--though even these often fail. No amount of threats or deterrents can cure man of his wanton disregard for life.
The truth is that we are a brutal, violent, race. We kill not just for need, but for pleasure. That fact makes us far more savage and bestial than all the subjects of the Animal Kingdom.
When animals kill or engage in acts of violence, it is for sustenance, self-defense, or a part of a ritual that guarantees their place within the community. There is a logical end behind these savage fight to-the-death contests.
That is not always so with humans. We rape, assault, and kill each other for no reason at all. We invent ways to kill more of us in more efficient ways. The partner to progress in science has bee the progress in methods to slaughter human beings on a mass scale. From the flint tipped spears of pre-history to the table sized nuclear weapons of modern times, the effectiveness of weaponry have evolved to become so powerful that they now threaten to eliminate life from this rock we call earth.
How can it be that the creatures with the most advanced intellect routinely defy said intellect to
commit atrocities that would send tremors of terror into the most ferocious of beasts?
20,000 British soldiers killed on one day at the Somme in World War I, 45,000 Romans butchered by Hannibal at Cannae, 1,000,000 Armenians killed by the Turks, 12 million Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other "untermenschen" murdered by the Nazis',800,000 Rwandans murdered by fellow Rwandans in 100 days...these are just a small sample of the sickeningly long list 0f human depravity on a mass scale. This does not account for the innumerable individual atrocities committed on a daily basis throughout the world.
The only thing I can glean out of this is that intellect is overrated.
We have created magnificent structures to marvel, cured many a disease, sent people to space, flown at supersonic speeds, increased our food supply many times over, and have tamed the physically stronger beasts. All that due to our superior intellect.
Yet, we have this dark side that the lowly animals of the wild do not have. They do not rape or kill. They do not invent reasons to murder large numbers of other animals. They do not crash planes into buildings because they believe in some myth that tells them that they will
go to heaven if they do so.The simplicity of their mind forbids such notions. All they know is eat, procreate, and defecate.
Humans meanwhile, have to invent rules and a otherworldly punishment to keep people in line--though even these often fail. No amount of threats or deterrents can cure man of his wanton disregard for life.
The truth is that we are a brutal, violent, race. We kill not just for need, but for pleasure. That fact makes us far more savage and bestial than all the subjects of the Animal Kingdom.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Moby Bitch
Thar she blows! The Great Black Whale surfaces to expel the hot air contained within her enormous, blubber-encrusted, malodorous, body. All who witness the leviathan's explosive ejection from her habitat, shudder in expectant terror--for this is no normal whale.
This cetacean resides not in the deep blue seas of the world, but in the dungeon of a hospital where she reluctantly--for cetaceans such as she disdain movement--lumbers to and fro belching commands to the smaller fish.
Effusive in talk,obnoxious in manner, this behemoth treads heavily upon the rights of man. Rules, laws...what are these, but mere annoyances to Moby Bitch?
Of what concern is an employee to her? A knee injury hardly merits filling out the the incident report, says she.
Call off? No pay--unless you are a favorite of hers. Then it is to be tolerated.
Has the work been completed? Who knows? Moby is much too busy consuming her fifth meal of the afternoon.
"I have a right to bully my employees for I am the Queen of these miserable helots." says Moby Bitch."If they dare challenge my power I shall send them to back to their wretched abodes."
A Queen in her mind, but a vulgar commoner in reality, this loathsome beast demands tribute, but receives derision. Who can honor a dishonorable person?
This cetacean resides not in the deep blue seas of the world, but in the dungeon of a hospital where she reluctantly--for cetaceans such as she disdain movement--lumbers to and fro belching commands to the smaller fish.
Effusive in talk,obnoxious in manner, this behemoth treads heavily upon the rights of man. Rules, laws...what are these, but mere annoyances to Moby Bitch?
Of what concern is an employee to her? A knee injury hardly merits filling out the the incident report, says she.
Call off? No pay--unless you are a favorite of hers. Then it is to be tolerated.
Has the work been completed? Who knows? Moby is much too busy consuming her fifth meal of the afternoon.
"I have a right to bully my employees for I am the Queen of these miserable helots." says Moby Bitch."If they dare challenge my power I shall send them to back to their wretched abodes."
A Queen in her mind, but a vulgar commoner in reality, this loathsome beast demands tribute, but receives derision. Who can honor a dishonorable person?
Living life My Way
Music is a splendid demonstration of Man's ability to put complex thoughts and feelings into an
easily digestible form.Love and hate, war and peace, passion and indifference...music has spoken of every feeling and experience known to man.Many a songs has been created that touches someone somewhere in a profound way.
Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is such a song for me. "My Way
perfectly encapsulates my philosophy of how I live my life and how I hope that I will be remembered when I have passed from this earthly realm.
(Since Blogger will not permit me to copy the words here I will link the lyrics:http://www.lyrics007.com/Frank%20Sinatra%20Lyrics/My%20Way%20Lyrics.html)
In "My Way" Sinatra is saying that he has lived a life that was a full. It had its' ups and it had its downs. There were times he took on more than he could handle and there were times he was master of the situation.His life was literally was the best of times and the worst of times. But no matter the circumstance, he did it HIS way. No one dictated to him how he would live his life.
To paraphrase William Ernest Henley's "Invictus", Sinatra was the master of his fate, the captain of his soul.And so am I.None shall dictate to me how I shall live.
The concluding lines of "My Way" are an fiercely eloquent expression of living life your way. These lines more than any other in the song are why I cherish this song.
For what is a man?What has he got?
If not himself--Then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows that I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes, it was my way.
To speak your mind, to live your life as you desire even if you falter and bring ignominy upon yourself, is the essence of the living life My Way philosophy.A life lived in docile service to others wants is a contemptuous, miserable, existence.
easily digestible form.Love and hate, war and peace, passion and indifference...music has spoken of every feeling and experience known to man.Many a songs has been created that touches someone somewhere in a profound way.
Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is such a song for me. "My Way
perfectly encapsulates my philosophy of how I live my life and how I hope that I will be remembered when I have passed from this earthly realm.
(Since Blogger will not permit me to copy the words here I will link the lyrics:http://www.lyrics007.com/Frank%20Sinatra%20Lyrics/My%20Way%20Lyrics.html)
In "My Way" Sinatra is saying that he has lived a life that was a full. It had its' ups and it had its downs. There were times he took on more than he could handle and there were times he was master of the situation.His life was literally was the best of times and the worst of times. But no matter the circumstance, he did it HIS way. No one dictated to him how he would live his life.
To paraphrase William Ernest Henley's "Invictus", Sinatra was the master of his fate, the captain of his soul.And so am I.None shall dictate to me how I shall live.
The concluding lines of "My Way" are an fiercely eloquent expression of living life your way. These lines more than any other in the song are why I cherish this song.
For what is a man?What has he got?
If not himself--Then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows that I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes, it was my way.
To speak your mind, to live your life as you desire even if you falter and bring ignominy upon yourself, is the essence of the living life My Way philosophy.A life lived in docile service to others wants is a contemptuous, miserable, existence.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Country before ideology
I was just reading a letter on AnnArbor.com that claimed that Michigan gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero, had created more jobs as Mayor of Lansing than his rival for the governorship, venture capitalist Rick Synder did. The letter cited 3100 jobs created the result of construction and clean up funds distributed to Lansing by the Federal government.
What the author of the letter fails to grasp is that such jobs are temporary in nature for clean up and construction jobs have a beginning and an end. Those jobs will be like the leaves on a tree--around for a period, then gone as the seasons cycle.
The Democrats talk of sustainable energy, but what use is that to people who lack jobs?They need to develop a sustainable job creation strategy that puts people to work NOW, not later.
What they need are more business friendly ideas because ultimately, it is business who puts Americans to work. Instead of the mindless corporation bashing we so often see from the Left, it would be nice of the Left to attempt an rapprochement with their ideological adversaries.It also be far more productive than making inflammatory documentaries that condemn those who give Americans jobs. It really serves no benefit to Americans for the Left to continue to revile the people who generate the capital and jobs that permit Americans to live and work in the lifestyle they have grown accustomed to.
The best way to prove your concern for Americans is to compromise. People who refuse to compromise in politics are people more concerned with matters of ego than the people they were elected to serve.This goes for both the capitalists and the socialists in this nation.
A nation cannot be governed by adherents of the myth-driven Socialists or the amoral, money-worshipping, entities we call corporations. Both are necessary--the socialists as a check against corporate avarice and corporations as engines of the economy that has created the affluence that this country enjoys.
But neither should have more influence beyond their own narrow areas of expertise. Both have exhibited an amazing ability to pervert values, to divide communities, and a willingness to forcibly impress their views on the unwilling if give the power to do so.
Liars, thieves, intellectually dishonest...capitals and socialists are some of the
most debased inhabitants of these United States of America.Like religion, these groups are so convinced of their own moral and intellectual superiority that they have long lost the ability to be self-critical.Such people are not fit to rule a nation.
This country needs policies that protect workers, but help businesses grow. To get to the point of a society balanced on protection of labor and healthy growth of business we will need for both capital and labor to compromise. Sacrifices will have to be made.
The current crop of ideas have thus far proven to be ineffective or as the example I cited earlier shows, a temporary fix. That does not solve our problem of unemployment and slow-to-nonexistent growth. We need ideas that infuse our moribund economy with a vitality unseen since the 1990's.
Who is to do that remains a mystery. But it is not a mystery that such an occurrence can only happen in a state governed by reason and compromise than fervent adherence to political dogma.
What the author of the letter fails to grasp is that such jobs are temporary in nature for clean up and construction jobs have a beginning and an end. Those jobs will be like the leaves on a tree--around for a period, then gone as the seasons cycle.
The Democrats talk of sustainable energy, but what use is that to people who lack jobs?They need to develop a sustainable job creation strategy that puts people to work NOW, not later.
What they need are more business friendly ideas because ultimately, it is business who puts Americans to work. Instead of the mindless corporation bashing we so often see from the Left, it would be nice of the Left to attempt an rapprochement with their ideological adversaries.It also be far more productive than making inflammatory documentaries that condemn those who give Americans jobs. It really serves no benefit to Americans for the Left to continue to revile the people who generate the capital and jobs that permit Americans to live and work in the lifestyle they have grown accustomed to.
The best way to prove your concern for Americans is to compromise. People who refuse to compromise in politics are people more concerned with matters of ego than the people they were elected to serve.This goes for both the capitalists and the socialists in this nation.
A nation cannot be governed by adherents of the myth-driven Socialists or the amoral, money-worshipping, entities we call corporations. Both are necessary--the socialists as a check against corporate avarice and corporations as engines of the economy that has created the affluence that this country enjoys.
But neither should have more influence beyond their own narrow areas of expertise. Both have exhibited an amazing ability to pervert values, to divide communities, and a willingness to forcibly impress their views on the unwilling if give the power to do so.
Liars, thieves, intellectually dishonest...capitals and socialists are some of the
most debased inhabitants of these United States of America.Like religion, these groups are so convinced of their own moral and intellectual superiority that they have long lost the ability to be self-critical.Such people are not fit to rule a nation.
This country needs policies that protect workers, but help businesses grow. To get to the point of a society balanced on protection of labor and healthy growth of business we will need for both capital and labor to compromise. Sacrifices will have to be made.
The current crop of ideas have thus far proven to be ineffective or as the example I cited earlier shows, a temporary fix. That does not solve our problem of unemployment and slow-to-nonexistent growth. We need ideas that infuse our moribund economy with a vitality unseen since the 1990's.
Who is to do that remains a mystery. But it is not a mystery that such an occurrence can only happen in a state governed by reason and compromise than fervent adherence to political dogma.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Finding fulfillment in this world
There are people in this world who from an early age, know what they want out of life. They will accomplish the goals they have set for themselves because their temperament demands nothing less than total satisfaction of their desires. Be it a career in law or in athletics, these people will not stop until they have achieved their end.
But for most people, the road to personal fulfillment is far less certain. Many only have the ambition to survive their circumstances, while for others their mission in life is to determine what bar they will patronize that night.
Then you have people like myself. People who have the intelligence and passion to achieve something notable, but have failed to accomplish anything near what they are of capable of because of lack of confidence, opportunity, and focus.
These are what I call "non-achievers". People who cannot be said to underachieve for that infers that they actually TRIED to do something. Rather, these people excel at living in a state of stasis, where they are neither moving forward nor backward. They are just existing.
People who reside in this category experience the worst of both of the aforementioned worlds. They have the hopes and dreams of the achievers, but the aimless direction of those who live a life with no guiding aspirations. They know they are meant to be more than what they are, but they are not sure what exactly that "more" is.
Until recently, I was one of those wandering souls. I was lost, but now I am found.I have finally recognized what I am meant to be.
I am a writer. I still am a non-achiever for that will not change until I have attained a position where my talents will be used. But I have finally crossed an important psychological Rubicon. I have passed from a man uncertain of his ability to a man who fervently believes in his skill as a writer.
Now I must take that next step. I must now use my talent to find an emotionally and financially rewarding job. It is going to be a long, hard journey, but I know--I MUST---make it.
But for most people, the road to personal fulfillment is far less certain. Many only have the ambition to survive their circumstances, while for others their mission in life is to determine what bar they will patronize that night.
Then you have people like myself. People who have the intelligence and passion to achieve something notable, but have failed to accomplish anything near what they are of capable of because of lack of confidence, opportunity, and focus.
These are what I call "non-achievers". People who cannot be said to underachieve for that infers that they actually TRIED to do something. Rather, these people excel at living in a state of stasis, where they are neither moving forward nor backward. They are just existing.
People who reside in this category experience the worst of both of the aforementioned worlds. They have the hopes and dreams of the achievers, but the aimless direction of those who live a life with no guiding aspirations. They know they are meant to be more than what they are, but they are not sure what exactly that "more" is.
Until recently, I was one of those wandering souls. I was lost, but now I am found.I have finally recognized what I am meant to be.
I am a writer. I still am a non-achiever for that will not change until I have attained a position where my talents will be used. But I have finally crossed an important psychological Rubicon. I have passed from a man uncertain of his ability to a man who fervently believes in his skill as a writer.
Now I must take that next step. I must now use my talent to find an emotionally and financially rewarding job. It is going to be a long, hard journey, but I know--I MUST---make it.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A Conversation with an Idiot
(This fictional conversation IS based on a real person. The words are made up, but the essence of the man is the same.For privacy sake, I have given the subjects different names. WARNING: CUSS WORDS!!!!!!!)
The conversation is taking place in the dark, dank basement of a universally renowned health care facility.Cliff--the Idiot---is holding forth on a variety of subjects. Surrounding Cliff are several co-workers who had the misfortune to be dragged into the irresistable Black Hole that is Cliff.
Cliff: Hey,, hey, did you know that oranges were originally purple? I've been reading up on it. They found some DNR of some old oranges that tells them that they were purple.
Arnold: Where did you read this?
Cliff: On the internet.
Dan: DNR? You mean DNA?!
Cliff: Yeah, that.I know alot about DNA. I been reading up alot on DNA. The moonaluctides and all that jazz. It takes an unignorant person to know this stuff.
Freddy:It sounds like it.(rolling eyes)
Cliff: I do know alot. Don't question me you ape's ass!
Arnold: Calm down, Cliff. No need to get your panties in a bunch.
Cliff: Hey, I'll defend myself against assholes, that you can count on.
Cliff: Speaking of assholes, did you see the show about elephants on Discovery? They showed these two elephants fucking. Man, it reminded me of my old girlfriend. It brought back memories of me working that ass all night....
Arnold: Dude, shut the fuck up. No one wants to hear about you banging your girlfriend.
Cliff: I was a stud when I was younger. I was buff and I wore these tight jeans that hugged my butt. Man, you should have seen me with the ladies. They were all over me.
Freddy: Oh, boy.(sighing in disbelief)
Cliff: SHUT THE HELL UP FREDDY! I WAS A LADY'S MAN! YOU ARE BEING IGNORANT WITH YOUR STUPID WORDS!
Arnold: Cliff, calm down. You don't want Angie to come back here do you?
Cliff:I'm not scared of that hairy bitch. Just because she is our supervisor that don't mean she can push me around. I'm not afraid of her or anyone here, you can count on that!
Dan: Did you guys hear what happened between Angie and Mark? They got into it something fierce. I heard she threatened to send Mark home.
Freddy: Angie does that shit all the time. She whips out the "I'll send you home" threat all the damn time. That bitch needs to shut the fuck up.
(Everyone shakes their head in approval of Freddy's statement)
Cliff: Hey, hey, did you guys hear about this lady who could crush cans with her tits? Size DDF I hear. Man, what a babe!
Freddy: Sounds lovely.
Cliff: I dated this chick who had the nicest rack I have ever seen. These tits were so round...
(Cliff has position his hands as one would hold melons)
Arnold: Settle down, big boy. Save the x-rated details for your beer buddies.
Freddy:Changing subjects, did you guys see Obama on the television last night?
Cliff: Obama is a Communist. He is trying to destroy this country with his communism. These commies need to go.
Freddy: Obama is not a communist, he may have socialist tendencies, but he is not a commun---
Cliff: Bullshit. Obama is a believer in Groucho Marx and John Lenin..
Freddy: You mean Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin?
Cliff: Doesn't matter. He hates Jesus because he is an atheist, faggot lovin', commie.Obama is destroying this country.
Arnold: I wouldn't say----
Cliff: Don't be ignorant. Obama is going to take away our freedom. We are going to be a socialist country.
Freddy: Don't your parents receive Medicaid and social security?
Cliff: Yeah, so?
Freddy: That is socialism, Cliff.They are being supported by the government.
Cliff: No...well... I guess...(Cliff's rant sputters out)
(To be continued at some future date)
The conversation is taking place in the dark, dank basement of a universally renowned health care facility.Cliff--the Idiot---is holding forth on a variety of subjects. Surrounding Cliff are several co-workers who had the misfortune to be dragged into the irresistable Black Hole that is Cliff.
Cliff: Hey,, hey, did you know that oranges were originally purple? I've been reading up on it. They found some DNR of some old oranges that tells them that they were purple.
Arnold: Where did you read this?
Cliff: On the internet.
Dan: DNR? You mean DNA?!
Cliff: Yeah, that.I know alot about DNA. I been reading up alot on DNA. The moonaluctides and all that jazz. It takes an unignorant person to know this stuff.
Freddy:It sounds like it.(rolling eyes)
Cliff: I do know alot. Don't question me you ape's ass!
Arnold: Calm down, Cliff. No need to get your panties in a bunch.
Cliff: Hey, I'll defend myself against assholes, that you can count on.
Cliff: Speaking of assholes, did you see the show about elephants on Discovery? They showed these two elephants fucking. Man, it reminded me of my old girlfriend. It brought back memories of me working that ass all night....
Arnold: Dude, shut the fuck up. No one wants to hear about you banging your girlfriend.
Cliff: I was a stud when I was younger. I was buff and I wore these tight jeans that hugged my butt. Man, you should have seen me with the ladies. They were all over me.
Freddy: Oh, boy.(sighing in disbelief)
Cliff: SHUT THE HELL UP FREDDY! I WAS A LADY'S MAN! YOU ARE BEING IGNORANT WITH YOUR STUPID WORDS!
Arnold: Cliff, calm down. You don't want Angie to come back here do you?
Cliff:I'm not scared of that hairy bitch. Just because she is our supervisor that don't mean she can push me around. I'm not afraid of her or anyone here, you can count on that!
Dan: Did you guys hear what happened between Angie and Mark? They got into it something fierce. I heard she threatened to send Mark home.
Freddy: Angie does that shit all the time. She whips out the "I'll send you home" threat all the damn time. That bitch needs to shut the fuck up.
(Everyone shakes their head in approval of Freddy's statement)
Cliff: Hey, hey, did you guys hear about this lady who could crush cans with her tits? Size DDF I hear. Man, what a babe!
Freddy: Sounds lovely.
Cliff: I dated this chick who had the nicest rack I have ever seen. These tits were so round...
(Cliff has position his hands as one would hold melons)
Arnold: Settle down, big boy. Save the x-rated details for your beer buddies.
Freddy:Changing subjects, did you guys see Obama on the television last night?
Cliff: Obama is a Communist. He is trying to destroy this country with his communism. These commies need to go.
Freddy: Obama is not a communist, he may have socialist tendencies, but he is not a commun---
Cliff: Bullshit. Obama is a believer in Groucho Marx and John Lenin..
Freddy: You mean Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin?
Cliff: Doesn't matter. He hates Jesus because he is an atheist, faggot lovin', commie.Obama is destroying this country.
Arnold: I wouldn't say----
Cliff: Don't be ignorant. Obama is going to take away our freedom. We are going to be a socialist country.
Freddy: Don't your parents receive Medicaid and social security?
Cliff: Yeah, so?
Freddy: That is socialism, Cliff.They are being supported by the government.
Cliff: No...well... I guess...(Cliff's rant sputters out)
(To be continued at some future date)
The limits of law
We live in a litigious society. Lawsuits are filed for everything from trifling offenses to the most outrageous of acts. Lawyers now are becoming more than just our legal representatives in the court of law, but advocates in the public court of opinion. As a result of this, lawyers are now becoming celebrities in their own right.
Some take this as a sign of our country becoming more civilized. Where we used to settle our scores in the streets with our fists or weapons, we now employ warriors in three piece suits to wage our wars.
Law has become increasingly powerful in this country, so much so that wars now are waged in close adherence to the law. Law is ubiquitous and omnipotent--or so it seems.
How real is the power that lawyers wield?
History and current events tell us that law only matters if it is backed by force in a stable environment. As evidenced by the chaos of Somalia and our Old West, law means nothing without some centralized power monopolizating theuse of force.
In Somalia fo example, there exists a state of lawlessness that finds the nation infested by roving gangs terrorizing the populace.Somalia's government is too weak to successfully crush these groups,who basically have divided rule of the nation amongst themselves. This has lead some to try to establish a Somalia-style Taliban called Al-Shabab in an effort to bring some level of stability to that disordered state.
In the US history, sheriffs ruled the Old West through the liberal application of the Colt revolver,Winchester rifle, and the noose. Formal legality mattered little in lands where towns were hundreds of miles away from the nearest cities and military installations.
In nations where there is a powerful centralized government, it is at times necessary to quell internal revolts through force--or the threat of force--because law alone was insufficient to solve the issue. Bite needed to be applied in order to make the bark relevant.
If President Kennedy had not sent federal troops into Oxford, Mississippi, in September of 1962, what could have law done to force the South to integrate? What could have lawyers done against Hitler's Panzers? Or Bin Laden's suicide bombers?
Brute force, not words on parchment, are what keeps our society from descending into chaos. It is fear of lethal retribution that prevents armed mobs from doing as they please. It is in acknowledgement of government's monopolization of armed force that forestalls any organic movement for violence on a mass scale.
A lawyer's power finds its source in the soldiers and law enforcement officers who are trained to use to deadly force if called upon to do so. It is this most elemental aspect of law that is often lost today on Americans. The power the lawyers have is but an illusion. They only have as much power as we wish them to have. We could crush them tomorrow if we so desired.There is no man who can deny a bullet's power to silence the most effective of attorneys.
As a student of World War II, I have come to learn the absurdity of laws when confronted by men backed by immensely powerful militaries. It is not law or morality that prevents us from doing evil, but the people who have the physical clout to impose the law upon the recalcitrant.
Some take this as a sign of our country becoming more civilized. Where we used to settle our scores in the streets with our fists or weapons, we now employ warriors in three piece suits to wage our wars.
Law has become increasingly powerful in this country, so much so that wars now are waged in close adherence to the law. Law is ubiquitous and omnipotent--or so it seems.
How real is the power that lawyers wield?
History and current events tell us that law only matters if it is backed by force in a stable environment. As evidenced by the chaos of Somalia and our Old West, law means nothing without some centralized power monopolizating theuse of force.
In Somalia fo example, there exists a state of lawlessness that finds the nation infested by roving gangs terrorizing the populace.Somalia's government is too weak to successfully crush these groups,who basically have divided rule of the nation amongst themselves. This has lead some to try to establish a Somalia-style Taliban called Al-Shabab in an effort to bring some level of stability to that disordered state.
In the US history, sheriffs ruled the Old West through the liberal application of the Colt revolver,Winchester rifle, and the noose. Formal legality mattered little in lands where towns were hundreds of miles away from the nearest cities and military installations.
In nations where there is a powerful centralized government, it is at times necessary to quell internal revolts through force--or the threat of force--because law alone was insufficient to solve the issue. Bite needed to be applied in order to make the bark relevant.
If President Kennedy had not sent federal troops into Oxford, Mississippi, in September of 1962, what could have law done to force the South to integrate? What could have lawyers done against Hitler's Panzers? Or Bin Laden's suicide bombers?
Brute force, not words on parchment, are what keeps our society from descending into chaos. It is fear of lethal retribution that prevents armed mobs from doing as they please. It is in acknowledgement of government's monopolization of armed force that forestalls any organic movement for violence on a mass scale.
A lawyer's power finds its source in the soldiers and law enforcement officers who are trained to use to deadly force if called upon to do so. It is this most elemental aspect of law that is often lost today on Americans. The power the lawyers have is but an illusion. They only have as much power as we wish them to have. We could crush them tomorrow if we so desired.There is no man who can deny a bullet's power to silence the most effective of attorneys.
As a student of World War II, I have come to learn the absurdity of laws when confronted by men backed by immensely powerful militaries. It is not law or morality that prevents us from doing evil, but the people who have the physical clout to impose the law upon the recalcitrant.
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