Hop's Thoughts

Things bother all of us, but some more than others and some more than they should. I've probably mentioned this and if you know me, have ever been away with me, or possibly just me being a jerk in your own house, you know my dish fetish. OK, maybe it's not a fetish, but dirty dishes left in the sink is enough to make me commit murder. Here are some new ones I've just realized. People who cross out the days that have passed on their personal calendars - You're not in prison. Let that shit go. Also, you're most likely not so important that you've accomplished so much, you can cross it off your to do or bucket list as if you've just discovered gravity. Couples who don't eat dinner at the dining room table....ever! - Why do you waste the room inside your home, if you're not going to use it? I get the kitchen table is fine, but sometimes people do this and don't have kitchen tables. As if sitting in the living room or the bedroom is normal. I'...

I hesitate in writing this. Even more so, in posting this. Shane would be annoyed. Secretly, he may appreciate it, but publicly, he'd have quite a bit of criticism. Therefor, I will try to keep canned praise and cliche accolades to a minimum and tell you a little bit about the man. I got a call one late afternoon, inviting me to a new Broadway show. His job's connection, called him with two last minute tickets to one of the hottest new shows in town. I was on the train in seconds. The show was magnificent and we hopped aboard the train home, cold beers in brown bags, with seconds ready and waiting. We chatted briefly about the show and then sat back to take it in. The train wobbled back and forth and I felt a relaxation and euphoria, from experiencing true art. "There this lion fucking an antelope," says Shane. Without warning, Shane tells me the funniest joke I'd ever heard. One, to this day, I can't repeat with even half the impact as his impromptu telling...

I posted to social media about the courage it took for these young men and women to give up, not only for themselves, but for their families, the single greatest moment of achievement in their young lives. My conservative friends did not agree. I then looked at who commented on this event, especially the younger ones and realized most, if not all, had never struggled. Sure, they've known those who are sick, injured or poor, maybe even they have experienced those, but almost across the board, they haven't ever had to experience a struggle by choice. They are still naive enough to believe that hard work and behaving "properly," will entitle them to a good life and I feel great sorrow for them. They do not get how life works. They do not realize, they've been sold a bill of goods proven false, time and time again. Why? The simply don't understand the historical economics of this country. What does this have to do with the commencement? It has everything to ...

Before the election, I could expect some sort of verbal attack almost every day. I was reminded that Hillary Clinton was a liar, a con artist, in a loveless marriage, secretly dealing with foreign powers and surrounded by some of the most corrupt people in Washington, D.C. Then he won. I could just leave that above paragraph and pretty much make my point. Once he claimed victory, their anger, hatred and distrust of our first viable female candidate didn't matter. The country would play out the next ten weeks under Obama and then the Trump administration would take over and the country, the world, and his supporters would move on. That didn't happen. I don't know if it was guilt, shame or some other negative emotion, but when the reality that everything they had despised Hillary for, was present in their choice a strange thing happened. They went on the offense. Now, I don't know if this was simply due to the fact that they never thought he'd win and possibly g...

Forget newspapers Forget cable news Forget bias slanted websites Twitter is where it is at I have become a news junkie and the odd thing about it is, I can't name more than ten journalists off the top of my head. I can however tell you who is in the know and who wants you to think you're in the know on Twitter. Deciphering "news" is becoming a bit of an art form and it's extremely important to understand that when you're getting your news from Twitter, reading comprehension is of utmost importance. The difference between the words is and may, is the difference between innocence and guilt. It's become a tricky landscape, but for those of us with adult attention deficit disorder, brought on by this current news cycle, it's the key to understanding what is actually happening and what is being fed to our less inclined to investigate society. Don't get me wrong, most of us who are immersed in this life of 24 hours news are missing out on thing...

I was celebrating my vegan anniversary with some broccoli, when all of the sudden my cat, I call him Swag, started jumping about with his toy mouse. He seemed overly excited to be playing with his toy, that he rarely pays attention to. I watched for a minute and then he sat, just lightly batting it. Then it hit me. This was a squeaky toy that failed to squeak. It was also much darker and thinner than his usual toy. It was then I realized he was displaying this for me to see. About six weeks ago, my landlord's hedgehog gave birth. I'd read stories about the mommy hedgehogs eating their young and when I heard an odd sound, I ran to the living room. I realized Swag had something in his mouth and I immediately feared the worst. I grabbed him and he let go and off scampered, what I initially thought was a baby hedgehog. It quickly dawned on me that the creature had a very long tail and was a mouse. He ran under a table and I assumed he was dead or dying. Hours later he scampered o...

Over my lifetime, I've realized that misogyny is the single worst act of oppression in the world. We here in the United States of America like to pretend we're above such prejudice, but we're the worst. We're the worst, because our country is young and if one is to read our Constitution, our laws and simply look at our history, women have had a voice for a very short time and their voice is often drowned out by the voices of men. Insecure, old, white men. Yesterday, as I watched Sally Yates get interrupted, while James Clapper was given the respect of a peer, it really hit me what the problem was regarding Sally Yates' past warning. She was a woman, giving information that would take down a man. A military man. In 2017, that still isn't acceptable to the Old Boy's Club of American politics, but it speaks to a bigger problem. Even in our liberal discussions, we say "what about women and children," as if they're equally as feeble and inept in...