Mourning?

We all know that Prince passed away last week.  Minnesotans seemed to have taken it quite hard.  And why not?  He was from Minnesota, it was a sense of pride that he came from this state.  But it wasn't just the people of this state, but the world mourned.  And is still mourning.  He was a gifted musician and performer.  I did not feel the agony of his passing like the rest of the world seemed to.  I was not a fan of his.  That's not to say I did not like his music or appreciate the influence he had on the musical world.  I say I'm not a fan of his because I didn't listen to his music.  You can appreciate someone's influence without owning or listening to their music.  For me David Bowie's passing was felt more because I listened to him. I suppose that when artists that have made music that I deeply love pass away I will feel that sting for a little bit longer. 

I don't know how to segue into my next thoughts, so I guess I'll just put it out there:  I don't feel much of anything when celebrities pass away.  It sounds cold hearted, but because I do not have a personal relationship with them, I don't feel like going into mourning for long periods of time.  Sure, I'm sad when someone passes away, I'm not that much of a monster, but I don't feel super sad about it.  Does this make me a bad person?  Probably.  I feel bad for the family and friends.  The people that knew them on a personal level. And I understand that if a celebrity or public figure passes away that has had a significant impression on you it can be difficult.  But they have also left their life's work behind.  You will still be able to channel them when you are feeling down or feel like an outcast.  

You will still be able to listen to your favorite song or record.  You'll be able to read the book or poem that your favorite author wrote.  Have a mourning period to be beside yourself with grief. But also have a period of time when you revel in the fact that their work has made a positive impression on you.  Enjoy that song that makes you dance by yourself. Read that chapter in the book that makes you cry. Stare at the beautiful picture someone painted in silence while you contemplate life. 

Musicians, writers, and artists take their emotions and throw them into their work so that we can benefit from it.  The best thing that we as fans can do is to appreciate their work for what it does for us.  How their work makes us feel.  So, while I will be sad for a little while after my favorite author or musician passes away, I will also be very thankful that they left their work for us to enjoy. Forever.

Dress Code

We are going to a family wedding this weekend back home and my wife assured me that it will be very, very informal.  So informal that a pair of khaki pants and a polo shirt would suffice for attire.  If you're going to go that route, what's to stop me from wearing shorts and a tee shirt, right?  Despite her efforts to change my mind, I am dressing up.

I have always been under the impression that there are two occasions to get dressed up for all the time:  weddings and funerals.  They are both intended to honor people and you should show up looking your best to honor them.  The saying goes 'look good, feel good' and everyone should abide by that.  I don't understand why there is this disconnect with society today where it's okay not to get dressed up. 

Dressing up my not reflect on others, but it reflects on you.  Your appearance gives others an impression of you.  If you want to look like you don't care what you look like at formal events, guess what, others will think that of you.  At least I would.  If you don't take the time to dress to impress, when it comes time for your wedding or funeral (not that you would care about that) if someone doesn't dress up, you can't complain about it.  Don't send out black tie wedding invitations if you wore khakis and a polo shirt to others' weddings...ever.  That's just a dick move. 

It's too far......

As I was helping someone at work today, the object that they were looking for we were out of.  The nice thing about our system is that we can look at other stores in the area and see if they have any of something that anyone is looking for.  Granted, the other stores have to be called and the item that someone is looking for can be put on hold, so the process takes a little longer than some may like.  If you really need or want an item, it would be best to take the time to find out if another store has it. 

So I helped this person look for an item and we didn't have it and I offered to call the closest store to ours, about six miles (at the most).  This person didn't want to drive there.  It was too far.  Oh yes, six miles is too far nowadays.  When did this happen?  Did I miss that memo? 

Resolutions

I don't quite understand why there is a focus on making resolutions at the beginning of the year. Sure it is a benchmark that can easily be tracked, but you don't need a year to go by just to try to better yourself or quit something. I have never really been one for making resolutions at the beginning of the new year, but have never deterred anyone from doing so. Most resolutions lose their steam three or four months into the year regardless.

Who the hell wants to go to the gym anyways? And the best way to deal with stress for some people is to go out and have a smoke every once in a while. Who wants to deal with someone who is trying to kick a habit like smoking? They are just cranky and looking for something new to get addicted to. Hello, crack! Okay, bit of a stretch there but still.

As I re-read my post from a few weeks ago about cutting down on the amount of beer I am going to buy, I thought that this could be construed as a resolution. I suppose it could be, but I don't want to look at it as such. I want to think about it and look at it as an experiment in financial responsibility.

Excellent point!

One of my friends is attending graduate school in the Washington D.C. area and is having trouble finding a great bar. He is in search of an English Pub and all the qualities that go with it (read all about it here). After reading it you may think it is very particular, and it is, but what he is in search of is what makes a bar great. After careful consideration, I have come up with two bars in the Wichita area which I absolutely love.

One is the Chalet. It is cheap, dark, it has a few pool tables, has great deep fried bar food, and is smokey. The smokey aspect of the bar is what makes it a little less desirable. Another great thing to consider is distance. It is within three miles of the apartment. Quick to get to and it is back off the road, and is not close to the downtown bar scene. They have a dollar beer night on Thursdays. Great deal, but it attracts the college crowd and I have outgrown that crowd. These days, they just bug me. I don't ever feel old until I come across some frat boy douche convention.

The second bar is the Artichoke. It is first and foremost a sandwich bar. They have great food, is smoke free (mostly), decent prices, it's small (which can also be a draw back), and have live music from time to time. It isn't loud bass thumping music, but mostly acoustic. It ranges from country to folk to open mic. The one downside is the distance. It is way downtown and is away from the main scene. It is the best place to go and have a few pints and just sit and talk. An excellent 'catch up' bar. A place to hang out with people you haven't seen in some time.

If I were to pick one over the other, it would be the 'Choke. The tipping point is the smoke free aspect. Last year, bars and restaurants started to go smoke free in Wichita. It is fantastic. It is up to the owner whether or not they want to be smoke free, so those who want to voluntarily get cancer can just scope out those bars. The smoke does not irritate me as much as some others, but it is nice to wake up the next day and not smell like it.

There are some other bars that I enjoy going to down here, but they don't have the same 'charm' as the Chalet or the Choke.

A moment of humanity

As I was driving home from dropping off someone else's packages at the post office (looking in your direction A), I witnessed a moment that made me believe in humanity once again.  

A mother duck and five ducklings were crossing four lanes (and a turning lane) of traffic.  This wasn't at five in the morning when there is hardly anyone on the road, but it was at three in the afternoon.  Very busy time.  However, all four lanes of traffic stopped.  

It made me smile.  A lot.  

u.s. of 'a'?

I have to weep, not for the future, but for the present.  Why?  Because I heard this on the radio today:

'Did you know that California is the only state in the U.S. that ends with the letter 'a'?'   

Yeah, this is from a professional radio show, granted, they are a bunch of douchers, but still they get paid for this show.  In case you are missing any of them, the states are:

• Alaska
• California
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• North Dakota
• Montana
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Alabama
• Arizona
• Oklahoma
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• Florida
  
• Nevada
• Nebraska
• Georgia
  
• Pennsylvania

That is just over twenty states, two out of every five states.  Four states away from being half of the country.  How do people not at least think of some of these state?  

Were they educated in Kansas?

politics and athletes

Listening to At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash.  It is a fantastic live album, probably the best one I own.  

I watched a segment of First Take on epsn this morning.  They were debating whether or not athletes (they also mentioned musicians and actors) should openly support politicians.  A few football players from the Cleveland Browns organization have been to McCain rallies and a few have been to Obama rallies.  These players have also come out and are quoted in news papers as to supporting those candidates.  Of course they have the right to do so, but I'm on the fence on this.  

Historically speaking, Ohio is huge when it comes to the election, everyone knows that.  A big swing state, plenty of electoral votes.  The fact that the Browns are in Ohio, I think, is one reason why this can be important.  If these athletes are popular amongst the fans, some may vote for who the athlete supports.  Of course basing your vote on someone else's opinion is ridiculous.  So there is that, but still, that could be a lot of votes for one candidate or the other.  Imagine the presidential election being decided in Ohio, the election being close, and this kind of story being out there.  

This could be nothing, just a slow sports news day.  I highly doubt anything will come of this, and if it were taking place in a state like Minnesota or Colorado, it wouldn't be worth talking about.  It all has to do with location, and this time it is Ohio.  

The price of gas in connection to the spending of shells

'What's the Frequency Kenneth?' by R.E.M

There was an article on yahoo (always reliable the internet is) about how ships firing on other ships is going to raise the price of gas......again.  

These weren't any old ships, these were ships under contract of the US department of defense.  And they were firing on ships from Iran in the Persian Gulf.  There are other factors into the raising prices of gas.  Pipeline attacks in Africa, and possible refinery strikes in Scotland (to name some major factors) and there is a little bit of occupation taking place in Iraq (which is a small factor, I believe.  Or not).  At any rate, the people you need to be upset with because it takes one hundred dollars to fill up your H2 (fuH2, again) is yourself for buying that car and the government for fighting a war that doesn't need to be fought.  Yes, its a war for oil and dude we are taking it right on the chin.  However, the government doesn't feel it, we do.  Every other friday, we get paid and how much of that goes to gas tanks?

My thoughts on this subject is that I just ignore it all together.  I know, horrible me.  I could give a shit less if we are 'winning the war on terror' or not...which we aren't.  I can't change the fact that it costs about 3.50 a gallon.  It's just one of those things that is out of our hands and that is how it should be looked upon.  Write your senator, write your congressman (or congresswoman) about it.  They'll look at it, and throw it away.  Let's be honest.  

The one thing that I think will change the price of gas is the withdrawal of troops from the middle east.  Personal opinion, that's all.  And it can't be this 'let's train an Iraqi army to sustain a democracy' bullshit that they keep talking about.  Nixon's Vietnamization thinks that's a joke.  Sure we can train Iraqi troops but we'd pull out and they'd get rolled over and we'd say, well shucks we tried.  And we would feel better about it.  But the oppressive governmental body of a foreign country would no longer be there.  That would in turn, I think, lower the price of a barrel of oil.  I'm not saying that it'll go back down to a buck twenty five, but I think that it could get back down to three bucks.  Which, sadly, seems reasonable.  

I'm not big into political activities for one side or the other, these are just my thoughts.  and to quote my dad, 'If it doesn't work, piss on you.'  

I love my dad.

remembering

I'm being crooned to by George Strait singing rockin' in the arms of your memory.

I finally remembered what I forgot about the other day. Someone at work over the weekend made reference to a song that I had never heard of. And it wasn't some old song from the sixties or seventies, apparently it came out recently. However, I don't listen to a ton of radio (and by 'I don't listen to a tone of radio, I mean hardly ever) so I didn't quite get it. It was explained to me later at break. They made reference to the song 'Soulja Boy'(which I first thought was soldier boy....it makes sense. I just kind of smiled and nodded. The point is that I try to disconnect myself from the popular music mainly because it just plain sucks balls. big balls. I'm talkin' HUGE balls. The two most recent albums that I bought were the White Stripes and Robert Plant & Allison Krauss. I do have current songs on my ipod and the whatnot, but I just prefer to listen to music by people who, you know, play their own instruments or write their own songs.



They're called musicians.

the absence of soul, the sound of money

As I sat on the couch this morning flipping through the useless channels on the tv, I stopped on Mtv cribs. Sad, yes I know. It was one of the guys from good charlotte and he had a huge fucking house (like they all do). As I was watching him talk about is three cars (which he probably rarely drives...and who cares about how big your tires are [wait, excuse me, your rims, whatever]) and how they are all custom made and blah blah blah, I thought 'would money change me'?

Sadly, I think it would. I can say now that if I had a ton of money I would pay off car loans, student loans, buy a nice house, that kind of stuff. But if I were a rich snob from a band or an actor, I wouldn't have to worry about those kinds of things. Maybe I could be like Bono and find a cause to throw money at. That would make me at least feel a little bit better about myself. Or I could buy a sports franchise. I can sit here today and yell and rant and rave about how I would try to be giving and modest, but that is not who we are as people. That is why Capitalism won over Communism. We aren't about caring and giving on a huge scale.

You don't see celebrities living a normal life in a three or four bedroom ranch house. They buy (or build) houses with pools, movie theatres, and living rooms they never use. You know, the 'formal sitting room' where all the nice leather couches and chairs are with the grand piano in the corner that they never use. And those are the houses they use most of the year. They don't talk about their houses in other states or their summer homes. Watching shows like that iritate me for the reason that they don't really know how to live. They just go spend money and sit in empty houses and think that they are living a good life.

In actuallity, they are just dying inside wishing their houses weren't so big and empty...or not.

work revelation number two

Once again, a nice scene at work has led to a great life learning revelation. I have made the comical statement that if I ever have kids, they are going to get a spanking one day a week. That will install fear and disciple into the kid (who may also grow up to hate me...but that is okay). Very German thought mentality, which works being German and all. In actuality, I wouldn't do that, but it is in the back of my mind.

The reason I bring this up is because I saw a mother snap at her child today. I don't mean snap as in lose her mind and start yelling at the kid, I mean snap with her fingers. At the kid. As to say 'hurry up'. Yeah, it blew my mind. I have seen a lot of parenting techniques from bribery, to yelling, threatening, to just leaving the kid screaming on the ground. But this was the first time I had seen a parent snap at a kid.

It was an entertaining sight at first, but then I started to think about it. That is what you do when you are mad at a dog and want it to come to you, not at your kid when you want them to make a quick snack decision. What does that say about the society we live in when it is okay to not talk but snap at your kids? The kid was being a bit obnoxious, but still...that just wasn't cool overall. It isn't a big deal, it didn't affect the kid, but is that something they teach in parenting skills 101?

keep your religion off your bumper and mine

I'm just going to throw this out there and get it out of the way...religion is pissing me off. I'm sick of those fucking jesus fish on the backs of cars, and sick of the darwin fish, or the jesus fish eating the darwin fish, or the darwin fish eating the jesus fish, or the darwin fish eating the jesus fish that is eating...get my point? SICK OF IT I highly doubt that the person behind you cares if you believe in evolution or creation. They only care that you get off the phone. It's not going to change someone's mind. 'Hang on, maybe evolution did happen because that person has a fish that has legs on their bumper.' I surely hope that is not the thought process as people put that shit on their bumpers.

I do have a little wiggle room to talk about this. I openly admit, I do have three stickers on the back of The Jeep. And all have a good reason.

sticker 1: 'Marxists get crazy laid' Obviously I have a man crush on Karl Marx, its the wicked beard. I have his most popular book, I titled this whole reading and typing experiment after said book, and I own a sticker with an entire political theory based on him on my vehicle. Plus, it makes people read it a couple of times and still won't get it. He developed the greatest government (in theory) in communism: you really can't predict the greed of an entire nation...or can you?, and his development of communism led to several key events in our history in the United States, just within the last fifty years:

• The Korean War
• The Vietnam War
• The Cold War
• Our landing on the moon (we were trying to beat the Soviets there, for what I do not really know. Maybe moon rocks)
  
• Cuban missle crisis
• Fidel Castro
• Our supplying upstart Al Queda against the Soviets in Afghanistan (didn't see that end game, did we? Oops)
  

The list goes on. Think of everything that may not have happened if Karl Marx had never been born.


sticker 2: 'Don't tread on me' A wonderful statement to come out of the American Revolution. This can be applied to our current state of affairs. I try to avoid politics and the war, but this is a great thought for anyone trying to persuade someone towards the left or right.

sticker 3: 'Unamerican' Don't get me wrong, I enjoy living in this country. However, there is that great running joke revolving around that if you go outside of the North American continent, just claim to be Canadian, and I feel like doing that ALL THE TIME. People blame george bush for our current state of affairs, and rightly so, but don't forget about the rest of the politicans who either back him or didn't fight hard enough to get their agendas pushed through. In all honesty, I have lost faith in the american way. It is too commerical, for lack of a better word. It revolves heavily on what you own (for example, do soccer moms really need that H2 or yukon?) and unfortunately that is what people notice.

It'll be twenty years down the road before china takes over as 'world power', but let them have it now and let's go back to an isolationist practice until Germany tries to take over the world again.


One last thing. If it were not against some law (which I'm sure it is one), I would rip off every single bumper sticker that dealt with the 'one man + one woman = marriage' every single mother fucker that has that on their car needs to get beat. Marriage is for everyone.