Beneath The Outer Shell

this blog was inspired by a dear friend of mine who goes by the false initials of BS. all jokes aside resulting from the initials of "BS"...BS has some really good insight into today's world.

BS sent me this article from msnbc and it was quite perfect with the timing of our most recent online conversation.

we've all been there, we've all seen it, and i would even argue that we have all even partaken in the act of anonyminity and the abuse of power that comes along with it. let's start with our cars. wouldn't our mothers be surprised if only they heard everything that came out of out mouths during a lifetime of living in an age where driving is necessary to function nearly everyday? even the nicest people we've ever known have been the victim, the cause of, or the result of road rage. we feel SO safe in out little cars and we are so isolated from the others on the road that it creates a false sense of safety that bends the mind into thinking we are better than we really are. we all feel that it's only the other drivers that suck. how many times have we heard, "the driver's in [insert state or city here] are the worst in the world!". whatever. i don't buy it. there are people and so-called studies that try and prove that people in certain areas are better or worse drivers than people in other states or cities. once again...i don't buy it. fine...if ya wanna play THAT game...have ya ever driven in Kenya, Africa? HOLY GOD HELP ME NOW! that's all i have to say about that!

but next, there are the people who love to be angry. hey, i've been there. sometimes when life throws you a miserable steaming pile...you just have to 1) catch it, 2) bitch about it, and 3) MOVE ON. some people seem to get stuck at #2. hey...as i said, i've been there before.

right now though, i'm talking about people who sign into online chat boards, forums, or ANYTHING where you can "post your thoughts" without anyone knowing who you are, where you are, how old you are, how educated you are, how uneducated you are, etc.

some of these people are the ugliest people you will ever come across, YET they may even be good hearted, God fearing, loving people in their "real" life....but yet...there they sit...isolated from society, and feeling safe to post whatever they want. they feel the need to only post as "anonymous" because they are too cowardly to take any responsibility for their actions. they get off on this. they enjoy it. they LOVE it. as i quote a friend of mine...they are "spineless, nameless turds." they wouldn't have the courage to stick up for themselves in person, even if given a machine gun of communicative powers, yet they have the gaul to post ugly remarks and spread hatred across the internet like a constantly growing vile virus. and we wonder why there is so much hostility and fighting in our technological world. the internet has only made it worse. this is a fact and this is serious.

once again...here i go, talking about my favorite subject i actually call myself an expert at thinking about. TECHNOLOGY and the advancement of it is NOT a good thing in the long run! sure, it comes off as a good thing at first, and then only after time...we start to see that not only can we live with the newest technology, but we are FORCED to accept, use, and live with the newest technology. some prime examples are: electricity, computers, cars, phones, internet, etc... it's all in my favorite read...it's free online and i talk about it endlessly and i think every single human should read it. The Unabomber's Manifesto and here is the link. it's the most mind opening group of words put together in sentences i've ever had the pleasure of reading.

in my opinion...anonyminity is for the weak. gee, anyone who knows me...knows my full name because of what i choose my screen names to be or my URL's to be. BIG DEAL! and if you don't know me and happen to find me online by accident...guess what...my username is actually my name. BIG DEAL!

listen, i'm not trying to say that everyone who goes by a different name is a terrible person. i'm NOT saying that AT ALL...some of my favorite people in this life will continue to go on with not being themselves, and i love them just the same...BUT why "hide" from the world behind a facade, an avatar, a screen name? anonyminity is NOT helping the world at all. what's wrong with being yourself AND just being safe AND making good decisions so you don't feel the need to "hide"?

my overall point is...that, with the internet...everyday is like Halloweeen for most users.

i recently posted a blog about the many choices we have today as a result of our overly technological world. that past blog i wrote is in part related to this blog as well.

i was watching Heroes on TV tonight (GREAT show btw) and there was a commercial for the new AT&T influence on Apple's I-POD and it mentioned that there are over 1000 "apps" available on facebook now.

this is a BIG problem with why we may feel dull, bored, and just plain numb in our lives. a LARGE portion of our fun has been stripped from us right beneath our lives.

it all goes back to when baseball cards were popular. the reason baseball cards were really popular at one point (around the early 90's it hit it's peak) was that people used to actually trade their cards with each other because they all had many of the same card sets by the same manufactures. i did some research and found out that at the peak of the baseball card popularity...there were approximately 10,000 baseball card stores in the United States. and today, they are hard to find and failing when you do find one...and the number of shops in 2006 has been estimated to be around 1700, and i think that number is probably much lower today in 2008. MUCH lower.

so what happened? in 2004 there were approximately 90 different baseball card sets to choose and collect from. that's right...90! and then, in 2006, there were only about 40 different baseball card sets due to the unpopularity of most of them. personally...i think if there are over 3 sets per year, you're pushing the industry too far. i used to be in the collection as a child. i still have all of my cards which include rookie cards from Larry Bird, Joe Montana, Jose Canseco (don't laugh), Ken Griffey Jr (yes, the Upper Deck version), and many others that were SURE to be worth BIG money one day. and i paid good face value money at the time for those too!

and then the oversaturation happened. when there are too many card sets to choose from, no one can relate to each other's collections or trade with each other because all of your friends had a different set than you. it took the fun out of it. baseball cards today are nearly worthless for the most part (unless you own the OLD ones from WAY back in the day).

oversaturation is the direct result of the internet and more importantly...technology. i remember having to use a land line phone to call around and look for cards around town and then get directions on the phone and get moving...then i would have my mom drive me to different card shops, card shows, and try and find certain cards i wanted or people who wanted to trade. and if we got lost along the way to the shops, we had to try and find a payphone to call and get better directions. wow. looking back...THAT was the fun part of collecting! the pursuit of completing the collection. see, once you completed your collection of something...you put it away and hardly looked at it. the fun was over at that point and you moved onto the next hobbie or collection to start. with the internet as it is today with ebay and craigslist...you can complete ANY collection of whatever you want to collect in a single day. all at once...or maybe within a week if you weren't lucky. you can find ANYTHING you want if in fact it does exist...and you can find it easier than we would have ever imagined it prior to the internet. if you want every single art plate with unicorns or Jesus on it, or if you want every single koosh ball known to man...you can get ALL of them ALL at once and complete your collection instantly. what's the fun when you can just go to one place, and buy them all at once?

oversaturation has resulted in an overall dullness to hobbies, collecting, and life in general. we can get anything we want at any time without any problem. once again...the pursuit was the fun part. because of technology, we have to find other things to keep our interests going...and it's not easy and we try and find things to do with ourselves. the fun has been pulled and sucked out of us like hungry vampires.

and now, we have facebook with "over 1000 apps" to choose from! wtf? OVER 1000 apps? are you kidding me? what are the chances of you being able to relate to someone with options of over 1000 apps? i felt like 10 apps was too much for facebook...and now...1000? it's simply unbelievable. i am not adding ANY more apps because it's a waste of time when i know the chances of my friends having the same ones i want are not that great. so what have we done? we have once again, taken the fun out of something because technology has has taken over our lives and we cannot control it. technology has a mind of it's own and is so far ahead of us...and we have NO idea where this will go or where it will lead us down the road. the sad thing is...we will not be able to control it...ever...at this pace unless we revert back to a Fight Club mentality of "to hell with technology".

mark this down in your journal...with technology, we mark the end of hobbies and collecting anything as we used to know it. we are now forced to find fun in other things as we have been spoiled with oversaturation of everything.

a friend of mine once said, the following:

"Well I am indeed doing something about it. I'm choosing not to live my life with any involvement whatsoever. If a ex-drug addicted pornstar came to me for help I'd help them. But that's my rebellion against it. Uninvolvment."

i'm REALLY glad my friend said that because it allowed me to reflect on one of the main issues i find troubling in life.

"Uninvolvement" is one of main the problems with America. None of us feel like we have any power to do anything. we don't feel like we can make a difference in this world. it's not our fault...it's the just the way society is today. we all feel like we're "just another brick in the wall".

but we must remember...we do have an actual voice, or if you really don't have a "voice", maybe you have a hand to type with, or if you don't have a hand to type with, maybe you have one of those machines where you can communicate with your mouth and tongue. my point is, unless you are dead or in a coma, you have a VOICE! and YOUR voice must be heard by as many people as possible!

Uninvolvement will not solve anything, but Involvement will. if you REALLY want "change" as everyone is stouting during this election, then you must use your voice. voting is just ONE way to do this, but it's not even close to the potential we all have in our lives.

remember...it was Involvement that resulted in the end to slavery, it was Involvement that resulted in the passage of the civil rights movement, it was Involvement that resulted in the end to WWII, it was Involvement that made it possible for Iraq to now have a democracy with elections...it was and is Involvement that has made every change possible in America and the potential for change possible for every human on earth. isolationism is as about as useful as committing suicide, or worse...isolationism is the same as never even existing. refusing to be involved...is refusing to commit...and a refusing to commit is a sad, painful, and self centered way to go through life.

it's ok to have different opinions from everyone else. don't let others try and tell you differently. just because your friends or role models think a certain way, doesn't mean you can't disagree with them and still have them in your life. sure, people may get offended when you use your voice because we do live in an overly sensitive world of politically correctness, but really...who cares? remember THEY have a voice too! let them use it if they want to! don't let fear run your life! trust your intuition and go with it at every turn.

it's ok to live your life as if it were a movie (like a philosophy teacher once told me), and i highly suggest it! shhhh...listen...do ya hear that?...that's the sound of NOW happening right NOW! take advantage of it!! this is the only chance we get at THIS life (depending on who you talk to) so we MUST make a difference NOW because our life is a gift and life is short even if you live to be 110 years old. we are not getting any younger...and days, weeks, months, and years are flying by at lightning speed.

THIS is the time to do something and THIS is the time to make a difference.

Be Involved! Be Courageous! Use your Voice!

happiness arrives in my life at times when i least expect it. happiness is never too early, and it's always too late if ya ask me...but it is there. lately, i've been going through some major changes in my perspective on friends, thought patterns, habits, love, and life in general. you, my dearest reader, are witnessing a transformation i haven't had the privilege of experiencing in years, possibly a decade, or maybe even ever.

i guess i'll start with yesterday...i woke up and i was happy. for people who don't know about the devastating effects of depression, waking up happy and not just waking up and getting out of bed is a BIG deal. i woke up ready to throw my weight around in love at anything that came at me. talk about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...i WAS the light at the end of the tunnel. all day, i was kicking ass in life and taking names. no need for details of what i'm talking about but all i can say is...it's about time. i thank my dearest family members, my most loving friends, my faith in God AND his faith in me, and some NEW loving friends i never knew i even had the chance to know. i honestly love you all. i am finally feeling like i am back in a sense of knowing what i want to do with myself and my life. i'm talking about some major ground breaking stuff here for me.

then i was worried to go to bed last night because i didn't wanna wake up unhappy today. hey, i understand we ALL have our bad days...but depression, in case you don't know, isn't just a series of "bad days"..it's a lifestyle that invades your life like a damn parasite. what you think you can control, you can't...what you think you're grateful for...you're not...what you hate, you love to hate...and what you love, evades you like the plague.

but i did finally go to bed last night...around 5am, technically today. then, i was woken up by the usual landscapers i hear outside my window of my apartment complex...lawnmowers, weed eaters, and people screaming at each other in spanish. i woke up at at 8:40am...only after a few hours of sleep...i immediately felt like i was going to throw up. maybe i was pregnant i thought...or maybe i was just going to be depressed again today.

i grudgingly got out of bed...grabbed my cell phone and glass of water i had on my bedside table and started to walk to my living room to lie on my couch since i can't hear the outside madness as easily from there...i had my cell phone and the glass of water in the same hand...i was half asleep and hear a soft, "glump".

yep...i lifted the glass up and saw my cell phone sitting there at the bottom creating bubbles like a drowning victim from The Sopranos. i panicked, grabbed the phone, said every vulgar curse word i could possibly think of (George Carlin didn't know shit, especially about the use of vulgarity), and i started to shake the phone like my hand was on fire.

continuing to amaze myself with the words and phrases that were coming out my mouth...i took out the battery, went over to the air filter, and placed the 2 parts on it to start the drying process...and then i quickly turned to the computer and went to google and typed in, "what to do with wet cell phone"...i got a zillion options and i began to read them. all of them were roughly 10 steps..and all of them were the same.

check this out...on ALL of the sites i looked at, the first thing they all had in common was step number 1...

1) get it out of the water as soon as possible.

geesh, i'm sure glad they feel the need to put that there as an important step to take...seriously...because there was a part of me that initially thought about just letting my cell phone sit in the glass of water indefinitely...i mean, i don't have any fish, and it kinda looked like a really bad modern day art exhibit i could imagine people praising for it's "reflection on the madness of today's overtly technological world."

anyway, turns out i was doing the right things anyway. the funny thing is that this past Monday, i had just gotten a land line for the first time in...well...nearly a decade or so. so i was thinking it was a sign that i had subconsciously murdered my cell phone...plus, i do have all of the email address to everyone i love or a way to at least contact people from the phone list, so even if it did die in my arms like a family member dying in bad movie...i knew the world wouldn't end.

but the amazing thing is...i calmed down, and went back to sleep as my cell phone continued to dry. hours later, i woke up HAPPY. nothing else mattered...as i was just plain happy regardless...but i walked over to the phone resting on the air filter, plugged it up, turned it on...and low and behold, it worked.

:)

happiness is something that i am learning to control and create myself because that is the ONLY way it happens in reality...but this IS life and life does have the tendency to wear ya down to the bone.

happiness is also something we should never take for granted...nor the ability to rescue a cell phone dropped in a glass of water.

take it from me...miracles DO happen...you just gotta have a little faith.

I am under 45 years old,

I love the outdoors,

I hunt,

I am a Republican reformer,

I have taken on the Republican Party establishment,

I have many children,

I have a spot on the national ticket as vice-president after less than two years in the governor's office.

Do you know who I am?

I am Teddy Roosevelt in 1900

And, I became President of the United States at the age of 42, when McKinley was assassinated.

i'm tired of hearing from people who think that conservatives are the only ones responsible for the "personal attacks"...especially lately. get real!

ever since Sarah Palin has entered the picture, the democrats have been extremely anxious and in sheer panic mode...and they should be worried. Sarah Palin is a force to be reckon with!

here are a few of things i just found in about 5 minutes of looking...it's nothing new, but i was recently told from someone on the other side that the right is always attacking the left. so i need to prove the opposite is true if you actually pay attention...that the mainstream media on TV, so-called journalists, Newspapers, and so-called political websites are anything but fair on their coverage. as of today, people are scared that Obama may lose the election and they are lashing out at the VP...Sarah Palin. that's all they can do, because they have NOTHING on McCain! and the funny thing is...the more they talk about Sarah Palin in a negative way...the better off she gets in the polls with McCain. it's a beautiful thing to watch people destroy their own party once again after electing the wrong candidate (once again) and jeopardize their entire integrity with sheer stupidity.

**Politico, and Yahoo News reported with the following headline on September 9th: "Obama, Dems sharpen personal attacks on Palin." once again, proof that a purposeful intent on going after Sarah Palin has been discussed by the liberals due to sheer desperation. here is the article.

**the AP reported on September 11th that former Rhode Island Senator, Lincoln Chafee called Sarah Palin a "cocky wacko". here is the article.

**Politico and Fox News reported on September 10th, that South Carolina Democratic Chairmwoman Carol Fowler said that the Sarah Palin's "primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion." i still find it funny when experience is attacked to the VP when the Democratic Presidental nominee has far less experience and more importantly NO Executive experience whatsoever. Carol Fowler made an apology later on that day, but it was all clearly designed to be a hit and run and then apologize statement. classic politics. here is the article.

**the International Herald Tribune, which is known as the Global Edition of the New York Times (whatever that means), reported on Septemeber 12th with a headline that states: "Obama plans sharper tone as party frets." once again, their whole point is that the only way they think they can gain any ground at this point, is to sharpen their attacks and strategy against Sarah Palin. here is the article.

**Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden (remember him?) recently said that Sarah Palin would be a "backwards step for women". this is just a stupid comment to make and he has no grounds for it. Joe Biden has been known to have a big mouth, and this is a perfect recent example. here is the video.

**reminds me...i watched Barack Obama on David Letterman on September 10th, and he was asked about his "lipstick on a pig is still a pig" comment. yes, we all know the phrase has been used in the past by MANY politicians...but when Obama said it at that speech, he paused and allowed the audience to laugh and applaud. look again. Sarah Palin was clearly the center of attention and has been since she was introduced and everyone knew he was REALLY talking about her...plus, he KNEW what he was saying was wrong AND he knew it was at the wrong time. he messed up there BIG time, and he knows it. regardless, Obama felt the need to verify even further with David Letterman by saying, "Keep in mind, technically, had I meant it this way, [Palin] would be the lipstick. The failed policies of John McCain would be the pig, just following the logic of this illogical situation." hey Obama!...i'm not sure that the clarification actually helps you at ALL. the best advice i can give you is to get some sleep and SHUT your mouth! here is the article.

**and then there are the Hollywood jerks who are so out of touch with reality, that they feel the need to open their big mouths too. Breitbart.tv reported on September 10th that Matt Damon thinks Sarah Palin is like a "bad Disney movie" (wtf does that mean anyway?). plus, he goes on to say that he wants to know if she banned books and he wants to know if Sarah Palin thought that the dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago (don't ask...i honestly don't understand elitists who are so far outside the realm of reality). btw...Sarah Palin has NEVER banned ANY books whatsoever. that was another made up pile of BS by the liberals. how can you ban the Harry Potter books a full two years before they were even released? anyway, back to Jason Bourne and his comments...the political mastermind he is. here is the video.

**Pam Anderson also has some negative things to say about Sarah Palin by telling her to "suck it!", but this one really isn't even worth our time, but here is the article.

i'm tired...the list goes on and on...and on.

but BRING IT ON! the more liberals attack Sarah Palin, rather than John McCain...the more stupid the liberals look and the lower the ratings go. and when you talk about McCain possibly not making it until the end of a term due to his age...the stupider you look!

fine with me...KEEP IT COMING! dig that hole deeper and deeper and deeper, jack ass!

how many times have i and so many others thought that if Barack Obama had picked Hillary Clinton as his VP running mate, that election day would be a landslide? Sarah Palin wouldn't have been selected, and the liberals wouldn't be so focused on her alone. that's all we here today from the liberals...personal attacks against Sarah Palin...because the liberals know that they cannot even compete when it comes to John McCain, who is actually running against Barack Obama.

now, as a lot of us have already heard, the current running mate of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, recently even agreed that Hillary may have been a better pick than himself.



wow. that's the smartest most honest thing i've heard from the liberals all year.

i just had a thought (hey, take a picture!) but honestly, you heard this aspect from me first...don't put it past the liberals to ask Joe Biden to step down from his position as Obama's VP running mate in a "thanks but not thanks" kind of way in order to "save the country"...which would of course leave room for only one thing to happen. the return of Hillary Clinton to the ticket, which would look bad for only a few weeks...before the country would forgive Obama for being arrogant and not selecting her in the first place.

all i'm saying is, that i wouldn't be surprised...especially after this "lunch" between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama today. this election has been filled with nothing but surprises.

side note...remember what Bill Clinton originally said about Barack Obama when his wife was losing in the preliminary? it wasn't very pretty. here is a list i found of poorly compiled segments of the drama between the Clintons and the Obama campaign just months ago when they clearly hated each other:

this is truly unbelievable. as a white man living in America where i grew up constantly being reminded that i owe our fellow black man because of slavery, i feel sick. John Sidney McCain and Sarah Lousie Palin have gone out of their way to make sure that their campaign never even comes close to using the race card. the truth is, aside from the constant double standard of the "N" word debate, as white men and women, we have to dance around words to the utmost precision to avoid being called a racist. especially during this election season, we are constantly on guard due to the fear of being called a racist. that British jerk-face Russell Brand on the MTV Awards the other day said that if you don't support a black man for president, then you are racist. hey Russell...brush your greasy hair, and for God's sake...brush your filthy teeth...(and use Colgate Total because it's the best)...and i'll send ya back home where you belong if you hate America so much. these so-called comedians i used to enjoy, like Jon Stewart and David Letterman, are more afraid to make any real joke about Barack Hussein Obama...because they know they may be labeled as a racist. hey...i understand...when you're weak...you're weak.

but remember...it was Barack Hussein Obama who first said the following in regards to how the other side will try to win:

We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?

thanks Barack Hussein Obama! you succeeded in "playing the race card" in a campaign where you have already clearly been identified as a sexist due to your attacks on Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Louise Palin. and ya know what...i will continue to use your middle name, Barack Hussein Obama...why? because that's what presidents do in case you haven't noticed. in fact i may even change my middle name to Hussein too!

and now this in regards to playing the race card...i'm literally sick to my stomach today because of what i just saw on CBS and found here in this article. the governor of New York, a blind black democrat by the name of David Paterson said the following:

I think the Republican Party is too smart to call Barack Obama 'black' in a sense that it would be a negative. But you can take something about his life, which I noticed they did at the Republican Convention – a 'community organizer.' They kept saying it, they kept laughing. I think where there are overtones is when there are uses of language that are designed to inhibit other people's progress with a subtle reference to their race.

what? what? what? now we cannot even call someone whose main accomplishment was that he was a community organizer a community organizer without a black man accusing us of playing the race card? what? what? what?

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

there are already numerous opinions and anticipations that there will be mass race riots if Barack Hussein Obama is not elected, as is the case with this co-called columnist whose name is Fatimah Ali in this article here. typical...if your candidate doesn't win, then you will cry foul and act a fool. whoops, was THAT racist? bite me!

sounds like a bunch of sour grapes if ya ask me. remember in 2000 when the left refused to admit defeat for a month while you and i paid for those people to count ballots by hand while the economy was sinking? Bush won every time we counted, and we wasted money because of sour grapes. and remember in 2004, when the "Bush cheated in Ohio" campaign started again? sour grapes again. hey i understand...when you're a baby...you're a baby.

bottom line...the Barack Hussein Obama campaign is desperate and losing as of today. who knows who will win in November (even though if Hillary was on a ticket, the election would be over already) but regardless...the country is far from ever being united on any sense...and the Barack Hussein Obama supporters are sure to keep it that way.

take it from me. i am the result of my actions. we all are, whether we want to accept it 100% or not. i have made mistakes in my life and i am forced to deal with them everyday. there is a new threat that has been around, is easily available, and is totally legal in many states at the moment...including Georgia.

it's called Salvia Divinorium, and here is an article about it that came out yesterday about the "potential medical benefits". when i hear people talk about medical benefits in the same sentence as extreme psychotropic drugs without the advice of professionals...i do nothing but worry about a generation of kids thinking it's okay to self medicate. the fact is...no, i don't think drugs should be legal. people who are raised in an environment where they are more prone to use drugs as a coping mechanism don't get any advice from "professionals"...and when it comes to your mental health, you need nothing but advice before making bad decisions that could affect the rest of your life. mental health is something people take for granted, until they lose it. take it from me...i have experienced it, i have seen it time and time again with friends, and i worry about the kids i don't have yet as a result.

Salvia Divinorium is a scary drug with intoxicating effects that cannot be fully understood. the immediate effects after ingesting it have been linked to peyote, DMT, PCP, and the strength of the LSD available in the 1960's. if you think this is a cool thing, you should seek help...once again, take it from me. yes i've tried Salvia Divinorium, and i've tried it more than a few times. at first, i thought it was "cool" because it was so strong and intoxicating and it was and is as i write this completely legal to buy and own, at least here in Georgia. i went to all my friends and told them to try it, wrote about it, and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! why wouldn't it be okay for me? here's why: you should be very concerned with any drug that suggests you have a sober sitter sitting next to you when you take it. now, why would they put that on the packaging itself? think about that "warning" for a minute. where else would you see that kind of warning? the fact is, you need someone to watch over you just in case you want to do something stupid, like jump out of a window or shoot yourself in the face like a guy reportedly did here hidden in this article suggesting the "potential medical benefits" that stemmed this blog. Salvia Divinorium is NOT to be messed around with. youtube is filled with videos of users getting high on it...for me, watching people laugh, fall down, and talk about insanity after taking it doesn't make me laugh...it makes me very concerned.

people who swear by marijuana say they will be "high till i die". i've been there. i understand that kind of talk. i've even said that...when i was HIGH! and i struggle everyday with it too as a result. but that philosophy makes me cringe with serious concern too. i wonder what their real potential in life could have been, if it weren't for a drug known to demotivate individuals to the point of being a lifelong loser with one thing always on their mind. sure we can talk about "moderation" until our ears fall off. i don't wanna hear about people who are able to function just fine from it. people who say that statement, are HIGH...or are at least the enablers in denial of the people who are HIGH! in my opinion, marijuana is NOT okay and should never be legal. and alcohol? yes, this is dangerous and personally i think prohibition should return. speaking of, drunk driving is something that can easily be prevented...by the police sitting back and arresting people who drive away from a public bar. how easy would that be to make their monthly quota of arrests? and how many deaths could we save each year from this overly simple task? it astounds me everyday that we allow people to drive away after having drinks in public. simply amazing.

i watched the new film starring rising star Seth Rogan called Pineapple Express yesterday at my favorite website. this movie was VERY funny, BUT if you think the long term affects of a movie that shows people driving around while smoking pot throughout the entire film is a good thing for society? wow. yeah yeah, Cheech and Chong, Half Baked, whatever. doesn't mean it's okay and it isn't helping our world at all. regardless...it's illegal and we wonder why so many of our kids are getting arrested for driving under the influence. it impairs you anyway you look at it...and if you don't agree with me, you must be HIGH!

that reminds me...i don't see too many movies being released focusing on people who drink and drive (maybe aside from one of favorites, Sideways), have fun while doing it, and never see the negative consequences. why is that? when there is a scene with people drinking and driving in films...it's nothing but serious foreshadowing that some devastating event will soon happen. with marijuana based films...it's different most of the time and the people get through it and laugh. yes, i do think alcohol is worse than marijuana...but that's beside the point. they both are dangerous to everyone, especially everyone outside of the user, unless done in moderation and in a home away from the public or away from "heavy machinery"...period. plus, marijuana is illegal and yet we celebrate it in so many films today as an activity of the characters without noting the potential long term side effects. whatever...i don't America to turn into a socialist or a communistic society, but i do feel strongly about a few things.

and now there is Salvia Divinorium, a highly dangerous drug with serious concerns i know quite well. this needs to be illegal in all 50 states, and i believe eventually it will, but until then we need to be aware of the long term side effects, which really haven't even been fully studied or understood.

trust me on this one. ingest at your own risk.

our life has come to this. you're at the grocery store. you need to buy toothpaste. you see approximately 137 different brands, types, and colors. some even have 3 different colors swirled around like candy! all "approved" by dentists and all are "recommended" on various levels by "scientists" and so-called "experts".

so...which one do you buy? who do you trust?

personally, when it comes to toothpaste, i actually listen to my dentist, because i have had a few (2) say that Colgate Total is the best one around. i'm not sure how much their payback is for telling me that, but i seem to have bought into it.

in other words...i'm a sucker when it comes to buying toothpaste.

but in our world, especially here in America, we have choices, choices, and even more choices than we know what to do with.

another aspect in regards to the number of choices we have is with the invention of "TiVo" and the number of television channels we currently have to choose from. is it just me, or does anyone else think that watching television channel number 254 out of over 300 channels is a strange concept to accept? i remember when 70 channels seemed a little overwhelming.

friends of mine who have TiVo seem to swear by this amazing invention. the funny thing is, that everyone of my friends that has TiVo also seem to consistently have hours and hours of unwatched programs backed up that they constantly "need to catch up on." i find that statement to be a little on the funny side. just WHO is controlling WHO here?

yes, we have so many choices, and so many interests as a result of today's unbelievable technological world. children born in today's (1990 and after) world have no idea how different things used to be. the rate that technology is advancing is something we really don't quite fully understand yet. and at this rate, i'm not sure we ever will catch up with it. i know, i sound like Ward Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver when i talk about the "good old days", but it's true...it's even come down to the fact that we can completely eliminate sitting through commercials and advertisements for crap we really don't "need".

what's my point? life is clearly harder today because of the number of choices we can select from at any given moment. i just recently learned about a website called linkedin.com where you can post your resume online along with a profile...it's the next step up from the so-called adult version of myspace known as facebook. apparently i didn't get the memo about linkedin.com and i feel bad for not knowing about it. you can post your resume and sit back and not get any calls regarding it because there are too many posted already. or, on the other side, you can try and search through the million profiles of people who have mastered the art of inflating their resumes to sheer perfection.

how in the hell are we supposed to keep up with everything? i mean that as a serious question? there is currently a commercial that REALLY makes me wanna punch through the TV every time it comes on. it's from Citibank, and the narrator says the following during the 1st 20 seconds of the 30 second add:

every night you sleep
but your dreams are wide awake
because ambitions never sleep
aspirations never sleep
goals never sleep
hopes never sleep
opportunities never sleep
the world never sleeps...

now you might be wondering...why does that commercial get me all up in a tizzy? i feel like it just reminds me that i am behind the times, that i need to go faster, that need to catch up, that i need to get my crap together, that i need to keep up with the ridiculous speed that the technological world is moving at...because if i don't, i'll be left behind. plus...maybe it's the music in the add that makes me go crazy too...it's an indie sounding repetitive guitar weep of someone plucking the same notes over and over again along with the tingle of a xylophone that makes you wanna cry. it just strikes me the wrong way every time it comes on, so i immediately change the channel or hit mute. the commercial is on all the time now, so my channel, mute, and volume buttons on my remote control are quite worn. yes, maybe i just need to get out more. or maybe i just need TiVo.

but my point is that there are so many choices in the world and so many different options and so many different things we can master and so many things we can learn about. it's pretty much infinite, wouldn't you say? i find this to be overwhelming.

making decisions has always been a weakness of mine. i have my passions, but details i really could care less about. like, "where do you wanna eat tonight?", or "what do you wanna do tonight?" or "do i want the toilet paper with the cross stitch zig-zag pattern, or the the double roll that is as thick as a cloth?" details are just not in my agenda, especially at this time in my life. I JUST DON'T FREAKING CARE ABOUT DETAILS THAT DON'T MATTER! since i'm cheap, that makes my choices quite easy for the most part...aside from toothpaste.

i just find it a little depressing to know that with so many choices, it makes it harder to accept the decisions you have already made and will have to make every day. this goes with every possible aspect of life we can think of...consumer goods, career paths, the dating scene, raising kids, etc...with so many choices, it's far too easy to wonder..."did i make the best choice?" or the inevitable worry of "will i make the best choice?"

so what's the answer you ask? i don't know. there are too many choices to pick an answer. but i do think you just gotta have faith in yourself and a greater force to know and trust that you are making the "best" choices...as we know, there really aren't any "correct" answers in life because every one's life is always subjective and is simply a matter of perspective and opinion...but i think we can try and have a little faith that we will make the best choices from the infinite number of avenues available in life.

WOW!

did you feel that?

that was a really weird sensation!

everything around us has changed!

look around!

look at the date on that newspaper!

it's November...in 1955? HOLY CRAP!

look at the movie that's playing at the theatre...it's The Seven Year Itch, starring Marilyn Monroe!

and those cars! WOW! simply unreal!

and do ya hear that? is that Mr. Sandman playing on the radio? amazing!

here we are...it's 1955...let's talk about women and their place in this world.

a woman cannot be a doctor...for she has dishes to wash! a woman cannot be a lawyer...for she has to cook for her husband! a woman cannot be an astronaut...for she has kids to raise! let's be realistic here, ok? GEEESH! we all know quite well that women are NOT as equal as men.

you DO know that women are not as strong or as intelligent as men, don't you? hell, it's been scientifically proven by that Freud guy! a woman has only one place in this world...and that's the kitchen, in her home, with her kids, and pleasing her husband as needed. PERIOD! that's the way things are, always have been, and always will be.

damn, i mean women are lucky to even have the right to vote! i STILL don't understand why we caved on that one!

and that reminds me...a woman woke up the other day, (because it was time for her to get up and cook for her kids and husband) walked in the bathroom, looked in the mirror deep into her own eyes, and thought to herself..."i want to have a family and be President of the United States of America."

Ahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaha!

now THAT'S a good joke! i mean...what a punchline! i'll have to remember that one!

i can't stop laughing...our BEST presidents, which have only been men of course, have had to balance a family and be the leader of the Free World at the same time.

and the nerve...to even think that a woman can have a family AND be President of the United States of America?

Ahahahahahahahaha! that's the funniest thing i've ever heard in my entire life!

hell...i must be dreaming!