Hop's Thoughts

I have been debating the health care plan and politics in general for a few months and it truly scares me where people get their info from. There is this misconception that because it's online, it's valid.  I have people using political blogs to "source" their claims, while it's obvious from the domain name of the websites that these are not valid sources and these are nothing more than opinion pieces and political propaganda.  Sadly the average American is not smart enough to decipher the difference between opinion and fact. I'm also worried about print newspapers. Their huge headlines insinuating one thing while the meat of the article dispels the rumor propagated by the headline.  The problem is, we have become a quick fix society.  We need instant responses and stimuli.  We read the headline, draw our own conclusions and silly, miniscule details such as facts, mean very little to us. As I've stated in a blog earlier this week, I'm concerned abo...

This year during my after school program a group of kindergarten kids were waiting for the class to start.  They were having snack and one child was sitting with four of his friends.  He had three Oreos as a snack.  He was sitting with two kids who didn't have snack and he offered each of his friends an Oreo.  They both happily took it.  A few seconds later, another friend sat down.  Mentioned he forgot his snack and the child broke his Oreo in half and gave it to this friend.  He then at his half, while two of his friends ate whole Oreos and his other friend shared his.  I smiled. The first two kids didn't ask for Oreos.  They just mentioned they didn't have snack. His third friend did the same.  This giving child didn't need to be told or even asked to be kind, he did it based on how he was raised in his first five years of life.  He sacrificed his own pleasure and nourishment for the sake of his friends.  I walked over to ...

I'll cut all the explanations and just give my picks.  I'm also going to add that I believe Anthony Davis will be a below average bench player for years to come.  He's not a Rodman-type player and rebounders with no ability to score, don't get floor time in the NBA.  I'm only going to do the lottery picks this year, because it's such a weak draft, anyone could go from 6-30 honeslty 1. New Orleans Hornets - Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky 2. Charlotte Bobcats - Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas 3. Washington Wizards - Brian Beal, SG, Florida 4. Cleveland Cavaliers - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky 5. Sacramento Kings (Probably trading) - Michael Barnes, SF, North Carolina 6. Portland Trailblazers - Damian Lillard, PG, Weber St. 7. Golden St. Warriors - Austin Rivers, SG, Duke 8. Toronto Raptors - John Henson, PF, North Carolina 9. Detroit PIstons - Andre Drummond, C, UConn 10. New Orleans Hornets - Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse 11. Portland Trailblazers - Ter...

Animal Farm by George Orwell A Midsummer Nights Dream, Richard III and Macbeth by William Shakespeare Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger The Pearl and Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck Black Boy - Richard Wright Assorted Shorts by Edgar Allen Poe Poetry by Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost, e.e. cummings and others This list, with some possible additions were all part of the syllabus during my school year from 1980-81.  I was in sixth grade.  I once asked a high school student from Eastchester if they had read any of these.  They told me that other than Catcher in the Rye, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Of Mice and Men, they had never even heard of the others. I understand that I had the honor of going to a wonderful private school (at the time ranked the best in the five boroughs, if not the state), but that shouldn't make a difference.  Why has the educational system, both public and private dumbed down the curriculum so much?  Why is a 19-year-old telling ...

In the last 20 years, Unemployment has never been below 3.9%.  I have a solution. Make it illegal for any company, especially government agencies, to have automated systems during the hours of 8am and 8pm (taking into account PST).  I would have to believe almost every company affected would run smoother and unemployment would drop significantly. The primaries last too long and election/re-election process is too long. We now live in a society where more people vote for the least annoying of the two candidates than the one they think will do the best job. If the writers of the constitution were around today, they would be part of the 1%, let's not forget that. I'm starting to think there should be a general knowledge test before one can vote.  I'm amazed how over the last year of campaigning how few people know what Romney's stance on anything is.  These people are loudly campaigning for a man, who three years ago was more similar to Obama than anyone he campai...

It's nearly 6am on a Monday morning.  A garbage truck sent to remind me of my insomnia parked outside. Rattled bottles, the beeping from it's reverse, warning of danger and waking me from my slumber.  It's Monday morning, I should be getting up for something.  Something of importance or sustenance.  I lay on a sofa bed in the living room.  My father's home is quiet.  Birds chirp outside, but they aren't like home. They don't taunt me.  I have nowhere to go, but wish I did.  Nowhere to go?  Seems like a metaphor more than a situation. A tall glass of water.  Leftover avocados and tomato salad sit by my side.  This is my day.  If I do nothing else today, it will be nearly as much as today.  I think about those who live in luxury.  What do they do all day?  The chosen few, born into wealth, or those that acquired it at a young enough age to enjoy it.  MY grandmother, nearing 100, asked of me, "do you want to ...

As we all do, I set some resolutions in December and it's halfway through 2012.  Sure, the year seems to have been a blur, but then again, so was 2011.  As we get older, the years go faster and faster.  Even when we are going through the monotonous grind.  So with the year nearing it's middle, I decided to look back at my resolutions, which I declared must happen.  Things aren't looking very good. I  was 20 lbs away from the weight I was at when I hurt my knee, but unfortunately was going in the wrong direction.  I had gotten as close as 12 lbs away, but unfortunately the last few weeks has seen a gain, and as of Monday, I was 19 lbs away.  I can do this. I claimed I'd be more active about finding a career, but one that suited me. As of yet, there is nothing out there and I am getting desperate and might have to take what I can get.  Even if it's a job and not a career. I had thoughts, more like delusions of writing a book, but my inabil...

This may turn out funny, this may turn out stupid, but without saying what the person said or what pic or cartoon they posted, I'm going to give a very brief synopsis of my friends over the last two hours Weather Promoting friend's business Woe is me Me commenting on things I like Awful music video Drink water Don't kill animal Pet an animal Delicious animal cooked and on a plate Friend with little kid Friend with pretty teenage daughter Music quote Music video Hot friend I haven't seen since she was a kid Promotion Weather Weather Weather Vacation Lebron James Eating Drinking Save a pet Dissing a school Ethnic Joke At the Game Checking in at work Seeking info Complaining about work Pics of kids from months ago Picture of work Tag Sale promotion Commute home Cute friend with cute little kid Old Friends Look what I'm doing tonight Funny poster Happy post Old Friends Me talking about grandma Look we're on vacation and you...

Found it interesting that my blog on Fifty Shades of Grey was the least read of all my blogs lately.  I guess most women figured I didn't get it and most men really didn't care.  I actually thought it was one of my more thought out blogs, whether you agree with me or not. I'm so tired of seeing bullying videos.  If you have a child and they video tape themselves bullying another child or an adult, you are to blame.  Plain and simple.  Don't give me peer pressure either.  There is a line that  every child knows they shouldn't cross and if they cross it, they should be penalized severely, maybe even legally.  This also goes for adults who bully.  Laws need to be tougher on bullying. Last night, my father made a flank steak, which he butterflied and rubbed down with oil, garlic, shallots, parsley and oregano (maybe rosemary too), then topped with proscuitto di parma and provolone and then rolled it into pinwheels.  Cooked over charcoal,...

Last night a friend mentioned that Ryan Gosling might be cast as the lead character in the movie adaptation of the uber-popular 50 Shades of Grey.  After wincing in pain at this thought, I decided to try and find some excerpts from the book.  What I found was some of the most simple-minded text I've ever read.  What struck me most was the repetitive nature of, not only the text, but of the situations.  I'm assuming anyone reading this will know what the book is about, so I'm going to conserve some energy. This morning a friend e-mailed me about her reasoning behind the books success and her feeling was that there are way too many women out there who are unhappy with their husbands or boyfriends and those are the types who have this growing infatuation with Christian Grey.  She also feels that the amateurish style, in which the book is written, lends to not only people's inability to decipher more difficult text, but allows the reader to plow through these book...

Charlie Sheen appears on the cover of my new Rolling Stone magazine and it made me seriously contemplate one question.  How is this guy famous?  He is a perennial ensemble actor in good movies and on occasion has been a good co-star, but has never carried a movie.  His television show was awful and basically just him being himself, a jerk.  If you need confirmation that his show was awful, just know it was the #1 rated show in America for years.  Enough said. Aside from being a good looking man, who has aged pretty well, what does have going for him?  He seems to be of average intelligence.  He's a drunk.  He's a womanizer.  He's basically everything we would hate in someone we know.  The funny thing is that our society reveres these types.  We make them famous for their inadequacies rather than their actual abilities. In his early career he had bit parts in tons of teen/twenty-somethings movies.  He had some starring roles...

While my delusions of grandeur are overrated and there are maybe 15 people who follow my blog, it has caused my frustration that I can't write lately.  Not because I feel some masterpiece is going to flow from my fingertips, but this blog has been a true source of therapy for me. I haven't really been able to concentrate on anything lately. I have two movies that have been sitting waiting to be viewed for weeks and someone gave me the first season of The Wire and I have yet to start it.  Even baseball games have me flipping away and searching for something to stimulate.  The other day, I was on my computer and I looked at the screen and realized I was losing my mind. I had so many windows open it was crazy.  I was tweeting, on Facebook chat, checking scores, playing a game on my phone, checking the weather, writing a blog and reading articles about the economy.  All this while I had the TV on and was eating. It seems recently, I don't have the ability to do ...

Today was a weird day from start to finish.  I had lots of thoughts today, but none about things I need to be thinking about.  I need to get some stuff done, but didn't feel like attempting them today.  I think it's because I was afraid they'd stress me out, but the irony is that by putting them off, I'm stressing myself unnecessarily. Today I was thinking about someone who means a lot to me, but frustrates me too.  Part of the frustration is the distance that has been between us recently and part of it is there actions and some of them are mine.  It's rough when friends or family mean the world to you, but they also cause you pain.  It's hard to balance at times and once again, stress is caused. I didn't want to face the day this morning.  I didn't eat a lot.  I didn't drink a lot.  I basically didn't really move today.  I had wanted to do a few things, but I couldn't get motivated.  I don't want to call it depression, but toda...

I haven't been in a writing mood lately.  I honestly think I need to start medicating myself, because I have the attention span of an avid porn watcher.  I haven't watched a movie or a TV show in almost two weeks.  So here are some things I've been thinking about....a lot. I have one question for my friends who are Romney supporters.  How can you vote for someone who criticizes Obama for job creation when his state was 47th during his tenure as governor? I am currently obsessed with twitter. I had Kilt nachos yesterday for the first time in about two months.  And two wings.  I was happy. My stay in the hospital changed my views on a lot of things and a lot of people.  Mostly positively. As much as I hate him, because of his affiliation with the Yankees, I'm starting to appreciate Derek Jeter more and more and his imprint on the record books. I have absolutely no desire to know anything about 50 Shades of Gray.  Life has taught me, if e...