I apologize to anyone who actually cares enough to read my blogs for not posting one yesterday. I have promised myself not to write when I am annoyed, as I might post something to offend someone. Who am I kidding? I am sure pretty much everything I write offends someone. Frankly, I don't care. Here's my problem with everyone today. There is no individuality anymore. Everyone wants to be like someone else or be part of a popular group. Reality TV and our new wave of pop culture shows us that being petty and stupid is cool. Following the mainstream is the way to go. People, step right up and drink the Kool Aid, because you know what, if you are one of these dime a dozen people, you might as well kill yourself.
When did thinking for yourself become a uncool. I go out on any given night and I talk smack about Sports, Religion, TV, Politics, Child Rearing, Music or any other multitude of topic. You know why? Because I can. Because I know enough about any number of topics to carry a conversation. Ask me about a catalytic converter or dual exhaust and I will look at you like a dog who lost his bone, but if I don't know anything about a topic, I won't pretend, because that will just embarrass myself. Why can't people follow these rules? Listen if you think the Baroque period was when Obama took office, you're a dumb ass. If you think Derek Jeter is a great fielder, you don't watch baseball enough. If you think Rock of Love is reality, you should dive under a bus. I watched this show the other night and didn't know who I felt worse for, the contestants or the millions of people that watch this. Absolutely disgraceful. If you have a child and they get a bloody nose and you tell them to lean their head back. Shoot yourself. That makes the blood go down their throat and will make them sick. If you think Dave Matthews is a great singer, you're wrong....OK, I'll agree that music taste is all opinion. Hell I honestly enjoy the Spice Girls. Finally, and this is for all my Catholic friends. If you think the Immaculate Conception is the birth of Christ, you are an idiot and should go right to hell. I took a religion class at Manhattan College (a catholic collge college mind you) and the teacher asked us the first day what the Immaculate Conception was and 21 catholics all raised their hand and one by one he abused them for not knowing. He got to me and I said "the birth of Mary without original sin. She was born with Divine grace." How can a class full of people who spent their life "practicing" a religion not know this. Sadly very few people know this. So thank me for the one thing you learned today! I've read the Bible (new and old testaments), I've read the Quran, I've read excerpts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, I've read books on Buddhist, Hindu, Native American and African Religions. I've read freaking everything, and while I do not have a photographic memory, I can tell you they are all nucking futs. In my humble opinion, and I am sorry to offend, but to believe, you have to suspend logic and reason to have faith. Sure, faith is important in context, but to give up common sense, even scientific evidence just to have faith. Well that's a mighty big pill to swallow. Maybe that's why I could never funnel a beer to me it was the journey that counted, not the end result?
Here's my big problem with society right now. We're all like sponges that soak up whatever we see and hear. The problem is that so few people go out of their way to soak in everything that is available to them. I'm a nerd. If I hear something I don't know, I research it thoroughly. The problem with sponges is that sometimes you absorb dirt. This is hard to get rid of. Listen, I love Jon Stewart, but there are times when I think he is a little off base. So I usually research what he says, and surprisingly, more times than not his crazy comments can be backed up with multiple facts. Then I turn on a guy like Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olberman and I listen and get the same feeling. I do some research and find that things aren't exactly the way they are said. In fact, many times they are the opposite. Problem is that most people are lazy and take what they hear to be true. I have a huge problem with this. Bill O'Reilly once said about a kid who was kidnapped for years and sexually abused, that the kid probably enjoyed the experience and that he probably was having more fun than he would have at home or school. When handed the detailed report of 94 accounts of criminal and sexual abuse, O'reilly claimed to have had nightmares just from reading the account. He still never apologized or recanted his statement. So what was said with such fervor was absorbed by his followers, but his half-hearted recanting of these comments was nothing but a blip on one of his shows. Sadly people believed his crap. Problem today is that nobody is held accountable for their actions. Maybe they should be. I'd like to think if someone ever said that a victim of sexual abuse enjoyed it in front of me, that they wouldn't be standing much longer.
Tax day is today and I owe the IRS money for back taxes. Guess what? My fault. I am 22 credits from a degree and owe $36,000 in loans. Didn't go back. Guess what? My fault. I have bad credit because I didn't pay bills on time. Again, My fault. I'm overweight because I eat a lot and I drink too much. Nobody to blame but myself. There are many things I can blame on other people and factors, but you know what. Does anyone care? No way! My parents did their best for me and my brother and while maybe there are one or two things they would change, we both ended up being pretty good people. But is that enough. I look at friends, friends kids, kids today, and I worry, because some won't be good people. Some won't be smart people. Some won't do for others. I know tons of parents my age and older whose kids aren't exactly swinging from the top rung of the smarts ladder and they blame everyone but themselves. Kids get in fights, in accident, arrested they blame society. We are in a time where nobody holds themselves accountable and our future generations are just getting worse. When I was in HS I worked 40 hours a week. I know kids in HS with $30,000 cars who have never had a job. I know kids who have gone through HS and college without ever having any real jobs. My friend's son just graduated college in three years and I believe got a scholarship to grad school. He also worked the entire time and had a social life. Why is this so crazy and not the norm? I'll also add that this kid had much more responsibility at a young age than almost any kid I know. Why is he not admired more by his peers?
I wish I had a bigger forum out there. I wish I could grab a hold of thousands of people instead of five or ten. I have friends who love the movie Pay it Forward. I for one, do not. I like the concept. but there is a huge problem with the concept. People aren't willing to better themselves, so how can they pay it forward. It seems to me we're paying it forward with counterfeit promises. Doesn't this in the end pay it backwards? Aren't parents who brag about how well they've done without school doing a disservice to their children? Shouldn't they be the ones to push their kids harder? Shouldn't someone who grew up eating microwave dinners learn to cook for themsleves (I'm still trying to be 1/100th the cook my mother was and she did it after working 9-5)? Shouldn't someone who was held back because of their race or religion, push their kids that much harder to achieve and not rely on the past indiscretions as their excuse? I feel I have lead a fortunate life. Not one of riches in money terms, but riches in learning opportunities, in culture (not of the pop variety), and in experiences that were made available to me. In my childhood home there were walls and walls devoted to books and records of all types, I was free to look and listen to anything I chose and in many ways it helped create the person I am today. Look at your walls and ask yourself are you bettering yourself and those around you. Or are you paying it backwards?
When did thinking for yourself become a uncool. I go out on any given night and I talk smack about Sports, Religion, TV, Politics, Child Rearing, Music or any other multitude of topic. You know why? Because I can. Because I know enough about any number of topics to carry a conversation. Ask me about a catalytic converter or dual exhaust and I will look at you like a dog who lost his bone, but if I don't know anything about a topic, I won't pretend, because that will just embarrass myself. Why can't people follow these rules? Listen if you think the Baroque period was when Obama took office, you're a dumb ass. If you think Derek Jeter is a great fielder, you don't watch baseball enough. If you think Rock of Love is reality, you should dive under a bus. I watched this show the other night and didn't know who I felt worse for, the contestants or the millions of people that watch this. Absolutely disgraceful. If you have a child and they get a bloody nose and you tell them to lean their head back. Shoot yourself. That makes the blood go down their throat and will make them sick. If you think Dave Matthews is a great singer, you're wrong....OK, I'll agree that music taste is all opinion. Hell I honestly enjoy the Spice Girls. Finally, and this is for all my Catholic friends. If you think the Immaculate Conception is the birth of Christ, you are an idiot and should go right to hell. I took a religion class at Manhattan College (a catholic collge college mind you) and the teacher asked us the first day what the Immaculate Conception was and 21 catholics all raised their hand and one by one he abused them for not knowing. He got to me and I said "the birth of Mary without original sin. She was born with Divine grace." How can a class full of people who spent their life "practicing" a religion not know this. Sadly very few people know this. So thank me for the one thing you learned today! I've read the Bible (new and old testaments), I've read the Quran, I've read excerpts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, I've read books on Buddhist, Hindu, Native American and African Religions. I've read freaking everything, and while I do not have a photographic memory, I can tell you they are all nucking futs. In my humble opinion, and I am sorry to offend, but to believe, you have to suspend logic and reason to have faith. Sure, faith is important in context, but to give up common sense, even scientific evidence just to have faith. Well that's a mighty big pill to swallow. Maybe that's why I could never funnel a beer to me it was the journey that counted, not the end result?
Here's my big problem with society right now. We're all like sponges that soak up whatever we see and hear. The problem is that so few people go out of their way to soak in everything that is available to them. I'm a nerd. If I hear something I don't know, I research it thoroughly. The problem with sponges is that sometimes you absorb dirt. This is hard to get rid of. Listen, I love Jon Stewart, but there are times when I think he is a little off base. So I usually research what he says, and surprisingly, more times than not his crazy comments can be backed up with multiple facts. Then I turn on a guy like Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olberman and I listen and get the same feeling. I do some research and find that things aren't exactly the way they are said. In fact, many times they are the opposite. Problem is that most people are lazy and take what they hear to be true. I have a huge problem with this. Bill O'Reilly once said about a kid who was kidnapped for years and sexually abused, that the kid probably enjoyed the experience and that he probably was having more fun than he would have at home or school. When handed the detailed report of 94 accounts of criminal and sexual abuse, O'reilly claimed to have had nightmares just from reading the account. He still never apologized or recanted his statement. So what was said with such fervor was absorbed by his followers, but his half-hearted recanting of these comments was nothing but a blip on one of his shows. Sadly people believed his crap. Problem today is that nobody is held accountable for their actions. Maybe they should be. I'd like to think if someone ever said that a victim of sexual abuse enjoyed it in front of me, that they wouldn't be standing much longer.
Tax day is today and I owe the IRS money for back taxes. Guess what? My fault. I am 22 credits from a degree and owe $36,000 in loans. Didn't go back. Guess what? My fault. I have bad credit because I didn't pay bills on time. Again, My fault. I'm overweight because I eat a lot and I drink too much. Nobody to blame but myself. There are many things I can blame on other people and factors, but you know what. Does anyone care? No way! My parents did their best for me and my brother and while maybe there are one or two things they would change, we both ended up being pretty good people. But is that enough. I look at friends, friends kids, kids today, and I worry, because some won't be good people. Some won't be smart people. Some won't do for others. I know tons of parents my age and older whose kids aren't exactly swinging from the top rung of the smarts ladder and they blame everyone but themselves. Kids get in fights, in accident, arrested they blame society. We are in a time where nobody holds themselves accountable and our future generations are just getting worse. When I was in HS I worked 40 hours a week. I know kids in HS with $30,000 cars who have never had a job. I know kids who have gone through HS and college without ever having any real jobs. My friend's son just graduated college in three years and I believe got a scholarship to grad school. He also worked the entire time and had a social life. Why is this so crazy and not the norm? I'll also add that this kid had much more responsibility at a young age than almost any kid I know. Why is he not admired more by his peers?
I wish I had a bigger forum out there. I wish I could grab a hold of thousands of people instead of five or ten. I have friends who love the movie Pay it Forward. I for one, do not. I like the concept. but there is a huge problem with the concept. People aren't willing to better themselves, so how can they pay it forward. It seems to me we're paying it forward with counterfeit promises. Doesn't this in the end pay it backwards? Aren't parents who brag about how well they've done without school doing a disservice to their children? Shouldn't they be the ones to push their kids harder? Shouldn't someone who grew up eating microwave dinners learn to cook for themsleves (I'm still trying to be 1/100th the cook my mother was and she did it after working 9-5)? Shouldn't someone who was held back because of their race or religion, push their kids that much harder to achieve and not rely on the past indiscretions as their excuse? I feel I have lead a fortunate life. Not one of riches in money terms, but riches in learning opportunities, in culture (not of the pop variety), and in experiences that were made available to me. In my childhood home there were walls and walls devoted to books and records of all types, I was free to look and listen to anything I chose and in many ways it helped create the person I am today. Look at your walls and ask yourself are you bettering yourself and those around you. Or are you paying it backwards?
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