Sorry, the No Index, No Follow tags are (you'll need to add the opening and closing html operators): META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"/ META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"/ Salut! […]
OK Damian, I have it working now. I also use Go Daddy, and Justin's "all in one" code also caused my server to crash, so it looks like a Go Daddy thing. I love Go Daddy though, the service is great, and this is no reason to switch (believe it or not, I also host over at Network Solutions) As for the fix: First, I did not put the rewrite code i […]
Man, thanks for the great review and info. I love that it could be argued that this movie is targeted at social workers and teachers who practice LaME. On a side-note: I hope to have that indexing turned around in 36 hours at the latest. Lots going on tomorrow. Moving furniture for wood floor dude Grandma hired for us (Christmas gift). […]
Thanks..I always wanted that comment follow-up plugin but always forget about it when I'm online. You'd think WordPress would have put that in their default code by now...How are you checking to see if it really redirects? Check Justin again and try to follow his steps. I think you may have got in too deep with the move and created a unique situati […]
What type of men smoke cigars? Let’s face it- smoking a cigar is all about status symbols, and there are very phallic reasons as well. Smoking a cigar is all about being a tough guy, and the better the cigar brand, the more high class the man’s image shows. Even with all we know about tobacco, cigars are still well sought and valued by many because of the image they portray.
Tony Vahl mentioned President Obama’s desire to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in the military. I head Schnitz mention it as well, so here are my random thoughts about the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that was pushed by Bill Clinton. Some of my thoughts echo what Tony Vahl said on his podcast.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) tries to appeal to the middle ground and wound up pissing both the left and right off. However, hard core conservatives and right wing talk radio were really against it back in 1993. The irony now is that they are against President Obama’s willingness to reverse it.
Our socially liberal society has different views about gays and lesbians in the military than the military themselves. We also have stats that show that public opinion changes:
Public opinion polls have been widely varied in their results. A national poll conducted in May 2005 by the Boston Globe showed 79% of participants having nothing against openly gay people from serving in the military. In a 2008 Washington Post–ABC News poll, 75% of Americans – including 80% of Democrats, 75% of independents, and 66% of conservatives – said that openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military.
However, an April 2009 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll showed that 48% of Americans approved of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy. A further 8% believed that the policy was too lenient on homosexuals, while only 37% believed that the policy was too harsh.
A 2006 Zogby International poll of military members found that 26% were in favor of gays and lesbians serving in the military, 37% opposed gays and lesbians serving, and 37% expressed no preference or were unsure. 66% of respondents who had experience with gays or lesbians in their unit said that the presence of gay or lesbian unit members had either no impact or a positive impact on their personal morale, while 64% said as much for overall unit morale. Of those respondents uncertain whether they had served with gay or lesbian personnel, 51% thought that such unit members would have a neutral or positive effect on personal morale, while 48% thought that they would have a negative effect on unit morale. 73% of respondents said that they felt comfortable in the presence of gay and lesbian personnel.
In other words, for our armed forced the notion of gays in the military does seem to be demoralizing. But once they “get to know them”, it’s a little better.
Anyway, some of the opinions from current members of the military are pretty strong- they simply feel uncomfortable around gays and it demoralizes them. The usual reason is privacy issues in barracks and showers. Considering the fact that our military puts their lives on the live for the general public, perhaps we should leave it up to them to come up with an official vote on it. They are in the trenches, and you’d think they would know best based on their experiences.
Last I checked, your sexual orientation isn’t protected by the federal government from discrimination. So it’s not like the military banning you because of your skin color (although your age is discriminated against in the military, and it has a gray ceiling).
Anyway, you know how neocons and religious fundamentalists get their panties in an uproar when gays protest for “rights”? Gays just want equal rights, not special rights. They want their status protected since almost every aspect of society is against them because of their sexual preference. I think gays should be able to marry if they want to. I think they should serve openly in the military if they want to. But society as a whole is not there yet.
I’m sure since the Democrats are in power now, they have a checklist of social injustices and they figure this is their chance to allow openly gays in the military. But I think everyone should be thinking outside the box to stimulate the economy and lower the unemployment rate.
Workplace rules: There are already sexual conduct rules in the military. I think if enforced, gays can be included in the already existing rules. However, let’s face it, enlisted members and officers are human; it’s just like the workplace. Stuff happens.
Bottom line: Openly gays in the military is kinda like abortion- it’s a complex issue for me. Openly gay officers should be allowed to defend the United States, but I speak as a citizen, not as an enlisted serviceman. Therefore it should ultimately be an internal policy, hopefully created by a legit vote by enlisted members and officers.
This Ennegram Type 6 is doing a parody; he misses the point, though.
Here’s a NEWSFLASH for people who constantly attack corporations and capitalism: corporations are made up of people, just like yourself. Just because laws consider a corporation to be a separate entity doesn’t mean it is somehow granted “life” or “personality”. Get ready for some deep thought provoking answers.
A corporation is made up of many different divisions, wings, shareholders, and some have thousands of employees. Many times one division doesn’t agree with another division. Other times they don’t even work with other divisions: see FOX News and FOX Sports. Comprised of many individuals with different roles, functions, and opinions, it’s incorrect to label every employee of a corporation as “evil” or “good”.
Granted, corporations are steered and motivated by charismatic CEOs who try interpret what the shareholders want. But CEO’s and Board of Directions can be replaced. A corporation is not a static entity. Directions change.
WalMart is one of the most controversial corporations because of their stranglehold on the retail and food markets, and the fact that they built the Great Wal*Mart of China. Most of their employees don’t care or know about the impact of the WalMart culture- and why should they? It’s a job and the products are cheap. Welcome to the Machine.
It’s true, once you start deconstructing corporations and labels, you can apply it to everything. For the majority of people creating labels and entities is easy. This lazy thinking enables us to see the world as black and white, with no gray. It enables us to place blame at corporations and point fingers at THEM. It also forces us to feel sympathy for “victims”. We enjoy defending groups that are really illusions our minds create. Illusions! It makes it smoother for us to get all worked up and to target entities, like “Washington”, “the French”, “Wall Street”, “liberals”, “Republicans”, “the rich”, “Haitians”, “taxpayers”, and whatever group we’d like to attack or defend.
Deep thought provoking questions: How can you describe colors to a blind person? What does honey taste like? Would you say it’s sweet? Like maple syrup? What’s that? As you can see these are a couple of examples of how the human language had limitations. You may say, yeah, okay, so what? However language limitations have a greater impact than you may believe.
It seems as if we really so much on words that we can’t see reality for how it is. Attachment to language clouds perceptions and creates a skewed reality where we must label everything. Once things are labeled and organized, it becomes easier to make snap judgments, stereotypes, and generalizations. Yup, the limitations of language enable make it easier for us to be close-minded individuals.
I guess you can see why lying is looked down upon is all of the world’s major religions. It’s bad enough we have issues with the Truth; lying just makes things even more confusing and stressful.
The bottom line is that you can never truly describe the color blue to a blind person without a frame of reference. And no matter how many words you use, explaining the way honey tastes can never substitute the subjective experience.
That’s why I like the Enneagram and Buddhism as guides in this crazy world: both are subjective schools of thought that work for me, and I couldn’t care less if you personally think they aren’t logical.
I have embraced Facebook and Twitter only because I’d be stupid not to. Anyway, back in September, I posted a Facebook review. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then; all of my initial Facebook reactions remain the same. Perhaps the most disappointing and ironic nature of Facebook is that after years of disconnect with school or day camp friends, I found out that we have nothing to say to each other. Some just accept me as a friend and never even e-mail me.
Here’s a little secret about my Facebook experience: of my 74 friends, I’ve only had a handful of personal messages (I’m not talking about family or friends in real life who communicate with me outside of Facebook). Most people just ignore me or tag my wall with crap. My good news is that I was able to know my half-brothers, well, actually just one of them. I guess the other one is busy uploading photo albums.
Many of my former co-workers or work associates are just gossip mongers who interpret everything I say to be related to Tashman Technologies, so even with privacy options, I simply don’t say anything meaningful on FB.
Regarding society as a whole: I think Facebook ruins dating and relationships. The most powerful weapon a woman has now is her “Facebook Relationship Status”. This is where you see if your relationship gets downgraded from “In a Relationship” to “It’s Complicated” to “Single” and then back to “In a Relationship” (with someone else). Your girlfriend will also get pelted with 100 compliments from guys a day, after all she is posting photos that show her body below the neck.
I think there is no privacy on the default settings and there are too many holes in Facebook’s Terms of Service. Farmville, PetVille, PetSociety, MafiaWars and other Facebook games KILL production. Facebook disgusts me; that being said I log in every day to see what’s happening.
Twitter is a website that baffled me at first, especially since I could never follow when someone responds to a faceless person. It’s like listening to the end of a conversation, and is a waste of time. As it stands now, I like Twitter because Tony Vahl and I can communicate instantly. From the marketing standpoint, Twitter is great because you have a voluntary audience. Of course, how many Twitter followers are “real”? Most are simply robots who are powered by an API to spam the bandwidth. Twitter has become the gathering ground for Internet Marketing wanna-be’s. Here’s a #newsflash, friends: unless you send me a direct @dailyskew tweet, I don’t read your crap. If you are selling the “mom finds out how to get white teeth” ad, I know you’re a spammer.
The mainstream MEDIA likes to give credit to Twitter for the Iranian “revolution” and locating Haitian earthquake survivors. Whatevah. It’s such a simple interface, that you have to wonder what Twitter 2.0 will be like. Why do I have the feeling Twitter will become irrelevant within 5 years, and the robots will find another place to play?
Facebook and Twitter never cease to amaze me when athletes and celebrities (and wanna-be celebs) get in hot water for tying something stupid. Although they bring fans closer to celebrities (the nobility of the modern age) I wish famous figures would exercise a little caution and knowledge about the lack of privacy of their comments.
The level of trivia and insignificant daily updates on Facebook and Twitter is tiring as well. Here are some actual status messages from friends:
“I’m walking to my next class at school and I DEF smell weed!!! Lol”
“We just finished dinner and it was yum yum good!!!!!”
“Spent the evening playing with my new toy. I really like it ;o)”
“Click Herefor the Secret Blueprint Everybody Was Waiting For… Learn How A Super Mega Affiliate Makes 7 Figure A Year”
It’s 2010, and online degrees have become a growing trend as technology increases, people are forced to work and continue their education, and schools deal with budget cuts. Indeed, the way we view traditional schooling and education will never be the same with the popularity of online classes and online degrees. Of course you have to be aware of the accreditation of whichever online school you choose.
What will 2010 hold for the world and you? Well, 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger. Does that mean Tiger Woods will make a blazing comeback? Just joking. Let’s use the Enneagram Personality Types to predict 2010. There are 9 Types, yet 2010 isn’t 1-9, it’s “0″. This will be Year Zero, a reboot year. How our lives will be rebooted is another question. Will the economy improve? What about our health or the health of love ones? How about society’s spirituality? Will there be more wars in 2010? Or maybe it’s not a reboot year. Maybe it’s Zero Hour- Earth Zero all over again. Maybe it’s the end. Oh well. Or maybe we see the world as Snapshot Joe, just to give it meaning. You don’t think every previous modern generations thought that the next year would be something special and that they existed in a pivotal time in history? Folks, everything is an illusion- sorry to break the news to you.
However if you are looking for 2010 predictions you don’t really care about those things. So here GUARANTEED LOCK PREDICTIONS for 2010:
There may be rumblings with China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea, but there will not be a World War in 2010.
No aliens will be discovered in 2010.
Animals will not revolt against mankind (dang).
Now here is a DailySkew prediction that is shocking:
Lady Gaga- currently one of the best pop singers who churns out hit after hit, is at the peak of her popularity- and she will start to lose her momentum some time in 2010. In other words, it doesn’t get any better for her right now. By the end of 2010, you will see dents in the force that is Lady Gaga.
Back on November 19, 2007 I wrote a Youtube rant that most readers disagreed with, and will continue to disagree with today. I’ve also been known to bring many craigslist crimes to light, and how Lazy Man Ethics (LME) rules supreme about copyrighted material, prostitution, and adult videos being made readily available for children on the Internet. Although I don’t want to “re-debate” this issue, I just want to give some quick updates about YouTube and craigslist since that post.
YouTube has even more viewers now, and the only real change they made has been instituting displaying advertisements to videos that use copyrighted songs. This was a compromise that some record labels agreed with. I noticed YouTube reads metatags and keywords to determine instantly if the music theme is copyrighted or not, and will put an iTunes advertisement on it if it is. Others are still strict and demand those music videos to be taken down. When it comes to movies or TV shows, some networks or studios enforce their copyright, yet others do not. (Everything is self-monitored.)
YouTube hardcore porn has been getting phased out but the softcore porn is still available, and sometimes not flagged, so kids at the school or library can be exposed to it. In terms of hip-hop videos, violence, animal abuse, and other R-Rated material, I come across many of those videos without the age verification (which is a joke, anyway).
With the so-called Generation Y and Generation Z being so techno-savy, resourceful, and lacking a fear of authority, parents simply cannot supervise or limit surfing the internet. Therefore the trend of underage sex and teenage pregnancies will continue to grow, as will the desensitization of death, violence, and curse words.
It’s no secret that middle schoolers know all of this anyway, heck even when I was in elementary school in the 1980’s kids knew about this and sneaked into movie theaters or had access to VHS porn. It’s just that with today’s modern digital technology it is 100% more easy and there is much more out there.
Statistics from Google show that the British flag more videos than any other country, especially when it comes to gang members flashing guns around. It makes sense since much of our Western (if not all of our) traditional family values come from Victorian times.
Youtube is still the place for psycho teens to post their manifestos before shooting up their school.
A Youtube spokesman says it best:
“In terms of outside regulation verses internal regulation, this is a very new world, so the people who are closest to that world are the ones who understand best. We have a vested interest in making this site a place that’s safe for advertisers and good for the community. Regulators coming from the outside would not have this deep understanding.”
“We are not a broadcaster,” he said.
I’m very glad he said “this is a very new world”. It’s called Earth#Flush.
Now let’s talk about craigslist crimes; craigslist has forced U.S. escorts to pay for their ads with their credit card. They removed “erotic services” and replaced it with “adult services”. This scares some off. So they went to Backpage. This was predicted by a couple of DailySkew readers. However, there is no such requirement in other countries, so craigslist still enables sex tourism.
Craigslist crimes have gone up since I first attacked them here on the DailySkew, adn are reported by local news outlets much more. As more people get exposed to craigslist, fraud, muggings, hackings, and rapes increase, especially with the recession. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and craigslist are pretty much suing each other because McMaster said that they didn’t do enough to stop prostitution.
Based on the comments from the various forums around the net, I would say the majority of surfers don’t want craigslist or Youtube to be regulated or any part of the Internet to be regulated. This was a trend that could not have been stopped because users continue to be their own moderators. Google has been a trendsetter in this since the beginning: they want all data to be freely available without moral judgment and rely on the users to keep the info safe from kids.
I’m not promoting regulation because that would be impossible from the enforcement to the sheer number of growing websites. However, I will not defend peer moderation or peer flagging because why would I give the “masses” any benefit of the doubt when time and time again public opinion is revealed to be fickle, uniformed, and simply herds of unhealthy sheep?
Back in the day, it was reasonable to lay the responsibility SOLELY with the parents because there were at least one parent or grandparent at home. In fact, school and church were merely extensions and not crutches. Nowadays, both parents have to work, TV and computers are the babysitters (started with Generation X- a gift from the Baby Boomers), and the internet is mobile.
The lunatics are running the asylum my friends.
The mutants rule and anyone who talks about morality, standards, or uses the word “ought” is deemed a….a…..CONSERVATIVE. OoooooOOOoooooOOOoohhh!!
Why do men trust mistresses*? (This article is in response to the news about Tiger Woods and his 7 known mistresses; Tiger Woods stands to lose $300 million because of his habit.) Men who cheat and have “affairs” are generally irresponsible egotistical scumbags who make it bad for everyone else. I know multiple men who had cheated on their wives and have had affairs with “mistresses”. I swear, I think they all were influenced by The Godfather and think that it’s their God-given right to have a mistress who should just shut up and service them.
Here’s a list of different reasons why guys think they will never get caught:
1) The mistress loves them.
2) The mistress understands how crazy his wife is.
3) The mistress doesn’t want to get married.
4) The mistress gets money and gifts, so what’s the problem?
5) Since there is some sort of sugar daddy agreement upfront, the man thinks the mistress will honor their “work for hire” verbal contract, and not complain about him leaving.
It’s a bunch of self-delusional crap that men use to rationalize their cheating ways.
Here’s a #newsflash: mistresses always wind up spilling the beans for exposure, book deals, and more money once they realize their run is up. If you are a guy and you think otherwise, you also probably think you can grow cannabis out of your house in Port St Lucie, make $150,000 a year, and you will never get caught. Prisons are full of drug dealers who have said they “would have never gotten caught if it wasn’t for [insert excuse]“.
Most mistresses want money. Others have low self-esteem and love to compete with “The Wife”. Others love the power to manipulate a man with this secret to feel an emotional rush or power and eventually engage in emotional or monetary blackmail. Others are groupies or stalkers who want a famous man’s attention. Spurning any of these types of women will only result in career and marriage suicide, not to mention losing half of your fortune.
By the way, I used to know a few of “the other women” as well- and they will never admit it’s about the money. They usually say that they felt sorry for the man because his marriage was on the rocks, and they had hoped that the man would divorce the wife and have a steady relationship with them instead. You see, the mistress must also rationalize the affair so she feels motivated about being spurned and to justify the TV appearances, newspaper interviews, and TMZ documentaries.
*Only the MEDIA calls these women “mistresses” or “lovers”. This is because if the MEDIA called them “whores”, “tramps”, “sluts”, “hookers”, “escorts”, “concubines”, “harlots”, or “prostitutes” they wouldn’t get the exclusive interview.
With the bourgeois flying to Copenhagen and driving their limousines to discuss the future of the United States converting the world to being carbon neutral at the tax payer’s expense, ladies and gentleman, Mr. Al Gore:
One thin September soon A floating continent disappears In midnight sun
Vapors rise as Fever settles on an acid sea
Snow glides from the mountain Ice fathers floods for a season A hard rain comes quickly
Then dirt is parched Kindling is placed in the forest For the lightning’s celebration
The shepherd cries The hour of choosing has arrived Here are your tools
Thanks, Al Gore. Your poetry reads like a Dark-Truths.com parody.
As the late Michael Crichton had demonstrated: being Green is a business. And even today with the Global Warming Hoax revealed, legislation, tax benefits, and corporate “initiatives” have already gone into motion and will continue to dominate our lives.
We live in a world where THEY created terms like “carbon footprints” and “carbon neutral”. THEY make you feel guilty for using a computer or burping. Meanwhile THEY practice “do as I say, not as I do”.
At first I imagine corrupt multi-billion dollar corporations hated the Green movement because of the regulations and costs, but thanks to tax breaks and the benefits of saying “Our company is carbon neutral” or “Our company is green”, even the most devious corporations get defended by THEM for complying with carbon neutral protocols. “Yeah sure Company X may have exploited child labor in India and defrauded shareholders, but they have a low carbon footprint.”
We’ve already seen government bids incorporating Green standards. The special interest groups have won, even with the Global Warming Hoax, because the machine had already started.
Now, me, I’m a tree-huger and vegetarian, but I never agreed with the stats behind global warming or the world governments getting involved to force Green.
Generation Y and Generation Z are taught about carbon neutrality and global warming as an accepted fact in school.
DEEP THOUGHT PROVOKING QUESTIONS about Generation X vs Generation Y vs Generation Z: I personally don’t like cut-off years and labels about “generations”- it makes no sense if you think hard enough about it. Neither does the so-called “Greatest Generation” or the often used “Baby Boomers”. Most of, if not all of these labels and year ranges come from magazine articles, authors named Howe and Strauss, or Wikipedia.
Like other labels such as “Third-World Country” or “Superpowers”, they really have been accepted by social commentators, which in turn plant these labels in our heads like they mean something tangible. Yet they are all generalizations with nothing scientific about them. There is so much overlap and so many exceptions- not to mention it being so American- that it’s hard to take seriously. It seems to be totally skewed to modern times as well, like the world didn’t exist before radio or TV. Even history books show that the United States started to shape a national cultural identity in the 1950’s thanks to TV. So heaven forbid people that existed in 1833 have a “name”.
If nothing else, using terms like Baby Boomers and Generation X just create another class war, this time based on age and “shared cultural experiences”. One problem with this is the influx of immigration in the U.S.: many immigrants haven’t experienced many shared U.S. events. Perhaps they might have listened to some of the same music as I did in 1986, but there is no doubt that their home county had local stars I’ve never heard of, and events such as U.S. sporting events or U.S. disasters lose all meaning.
When I was a kid I had problems with people saying “generation” because most of my friends had different aged parents, grandparents, and most didn’t have great-grandparents like I had the honor of having. Also, my grandfather was born in 1919, and my grandmother was born in 1925; according to most year ranges, they come from separate generations- which is ridiculous.
Another problem with generations is that some “expert” changes the time-line, and does some retroactive continuity. When I was a kid, I never thought of myself as “Generation X”. I was born in 1977. Experts have it from 1961 to 1981, which is mind-boggling. Meanwhile, some define Generation Y as children born in 1982 to 2001 (the onset of DailySkew’s Earth-Zero). Again, all of this is fun, but not scientific.
So I spent so many paragraphs ripping generations to shred- does that mean they are without any value? It seems kinda crazy to define generations based on if one grew up with Pokemon vs if they grew up watching He-Man, but ultimately there is some value in this when trying to predict future trends.
In the past, with technology like radio, telephones, cars, and TV, citizens of the U.S. had shared cultural events due to limited MEDIA outlets, a more homogenized cultural base, shared value systems, in addition to events that shook the U.S. like World Wars and famous assassinations.
Generation Z, the post-9/11 generation- the sons and daughters of Generation X- however- they have no identity and are bombarded with information at the speed of light. Members of the so-called Generation X and Generation Y fall into this category as well. Generation Z is totally digital and everything about them suffers from ADD (attention definite disorder). Baby boomers to them are authority figure dinosaurs from a time not recorded by Youtube.
My grandmother always tells me that things changed in the 1960’s when it comes to children lacking fear or respect for their parents. It could be that every generation has a brash cockiness about themselves, and this may have been amplified with how easily Generations X, Y, and Z grasp electronics- from programming the VCR in 1984 to surfing the web in 2009.
Yet despite all of the education and technical mastery that new generations have, it appears on the surface that they generally don’t have a curiosity about expanding their vocabulary (they type very casual and everything gets shortened thanks to texting/IM’ing). This started with Generation X’s use of computers, calculators, and spell-check. The laziness will continue with people simply looking up something on a search engine or wiki, accepting the first result, and moving on, as opposed to researching or digging further. With so much data to digest, the ADD aspect kicks in as well.
The ugly charactiture of Generation Z was perfectly demonstrated by writer Jim Krueger in Earth-X, where earth’s future tyrant is a young boy who doesn’t even know who Adolf Hitler was, and had no sense of spirituality, cultural identity, history, or morals. I hope that future doesn’t come true.
Of course, I grant everything I just said generalizes and provides little or no real evidence- that’s the problem with trying to discuss generations coherently.
Anyway, food for thought regarding which direction we are headed.
Since the topic of racism will never go away in our lifetime, you may be interested in taking Harvard/Yale/Washington’s IAT Racist Test (actually called the Race Implicit Association Test) which I have linked at the end of this article.
Race (‘Black – White’ IAT). This IAT requires the ability to distinguish faces of European and African origin. It indicates that most Americans have an automatic preference for white over black.
Anyway I point to prehistoric man and the current animal kingdom to see the roots of racism and why people feel more comfortable with their own flock. Living beings trust their own tribe, kind, or group. It’s a survival mechanism born out of fear of other tribes. In other words, I believe racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice are biological and humanity’s true nature. It doesn’t give people an excuse to indulge, but I think it takes effort not to have racist tendencies. It’s the same with unchecked sexual pleasure that leads to cheating on your spouse- we must rise above our evolutionary instincts.
Over time, anthropology, psychology, and sociology provided different reasons for racism. If you throw scientific racism (whites are superior to blacks) and political correctness (blacks and whites are equal in every way) the reasons for racism becomes further muddled.
To me the prison life is a good showcase of human behavior although it is also a great mockery of humanity because it is a mentally unhealthy place to be. But in prison – which is survival of the fittest- humans revert back to their prehistoric selves. Blacks stay with blacks. Latinos stay with Latinos. Asians stay with Asians. In the absence of sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, homosexual behavior is accepted. Might makes right. So much for the condescendingly enlightened Western civilization. The sad part is my high school was just like this, and almost every office in the U.S. is like this.
Many people in today’s era like to give reasons or excuses for racism, because they don’t want to conceive that it is in our genes and our human nature to be racist:
1) We learn it from our parents 2) Portrayals of stereotypes from TV, movies, music create our perceptions 3) Low-self esteem causes us to lash out or blame others to feel superior 4) Ignorance of the way other people live- we don’t like cultures that we don’t understand 5) The attachment people have to label things- we have a longing for the world to be simplified 6) Racial justice- Blacks and Native Americans are allowed to “get revenge” on the white man 7) A bad experience: if a purple man beats you up, all purple men are evil
All of the above reasons may aid in unlocking our racist selves, but they don’t cause it. Racism is biological, just like body odor and facial hair are evolutionary throwbacks to prehistoric times. Thankfully, we can have the ability to learn and educate ourselves to overcome it. We can intermingle and be friends with other races and learn their cultures and world view. We can marry outside of our race. Indeed, in 2010 and beyond it could be argued that the day of the “pureblood” is over, and that is impossible to have “race” anymore. And that is a good thing.
On a final note for this article, I would like to use the Enneagram Personality Types to show how how some people I know view racism. (In my view, healthy people can overcome our racist tendencies). Please note this is totally unscientific and may be a small sample size.
Enneagram Type 1: Generally prefer their own kind because they are influenced by a belief systems and authority figures, which usually promote one culture. Enneagram Type 2: They don’t like labels or being judged, and open-minded about dating other races. However others simply are a product of their childhoods. Enneagram Type 3: Usually think that their race is superior. Enneagram Type 4: Tend to stay with people they see similarities with, whatever that may be. Enneagram Type 5: Well, they can literally be racially blind because they hate rejection or they can come up with weird racist theories out of fear. Enneagram Type 6: Males seem much more open-minded (and some may “switch” racial identity) than females, who tend to distrust much more. Enneagram Type 7: Notoriously racist, sorry. Enneagram Type 8: Don’t get them started. Enneagram Type 9: Very much into stereotypes and very sensitive to race relations and what other people are thinking.
I believe that the current generation of students (the so-called Generation Z) have a super-advantage when it comes to education thanks to the Internet. In the United States, depending on your grade level, homework assignments and book report due date calendars are online. You can take an LSAT prep course online instead of hiring a private tutor. And of course, you have Wikipedia and essays online.
This editorial is in response to my partner Tony Vahl’s two articles on Michael Savage and Rihanna.
We are fortunate to live in a society where we can debate like in this forum. My issue with the Michael Savage controversy is that he is an entertainer (i.e. not to be taken seriously), who makes a living on radio ratings, website hits, books sales, fueled by free publicity thanks to his controversial personality.
The reason I used the pro wrestling/Tito Santana “injustice” analogy is because it’s all a work and there was no true injustice, just like Michael Savage getting banned is not a true injustice. The price of freedom of speech may be hateful statements, which are generally non-criminal, but the price of hateful statements for the sake of self-profit is bad karma, i.e. you will be isolated from many groups, be threatened, sued, advertisers will leave you, local stations will drop your show, and you may be banned in certain places. Savage loves the ban because the newswires picked it up, and he painted himself as a victim. It was better than when Obama made a comment about Rush.
Savage loves this…he was probably hysterical laughing and then hacked into a coughing fit, that’s how happy he was, when Jacqui Smith(who most English citizens can’t stand) in the U.K. put HIS name on that list. Instead Savage said he was angry and depressed. I doubt Savage would make a stink of this if Uruguay banned him – it’s not marketable enough: “Banned in Uruguay”. Savage can’t travel to the U.K. Neither can an anti-gay preacher or a terrorist. No sweat off my back if I get banned from the U.K. because of a blog post.
Jacqui Smith is like a version of GW Bush: she’s trying to impose cultural standards and ban hate mongers from visiting the country. I don’t agree with her, but U.S. rule of law does not apply in the U.K. As far as Savage not literally saying to take up arms and overthrow the government, to me that’s being semantic. If someone listens to him every day (and believes his speech- after all Savage is never out of character) they may buy into his theories and decide to “take matters in their own hands” when it comes to some injustices Savage rants about.
Therefore I cannot defend Rush, Beck, Maulkin, Hannity, Olbermann et al when they spread the fear, hate, and anger every day as entertainers. They want it both ways. They want to push people, but not take responsibility. The LDoTR (Last Days of Talk Radio) will not happen as long as ratings are high and advertisers are happy. If a deranged Rush fan does something dumb and tells the world he did it because of Rush, well, maybe Rush will lose some radio outlets.
Usually the ACLU helps people like Savage, but Savage hates the ACLU, so why should they help- that’s the price of venom:
“If I had the power by executive order, I would round up every member of the ACLU and of the National Lawyers Guild, and I’d put them in a prison in Guantánamo and I’d throw the key away. Or I would reopen Devil’s Island and I’d put everyone in the ACLU into — onto Devil’s Island.”
And what does Savage himself say about freedom of speech?
“Deportation, not re-education. You can take C-A-I-R and throw ‘em out of my country. I’d raise the American flag and I’d get out my trumpet if you did it. Without due process. You can take your due process and shove it.”
Or freedom of religion in the U.S.:
…in order to “save the United States,” lawmakers should institute an “outright ban on Muslim immigration”. Everything about Savage is a “work”.
He wants to sue the U.K. for defamation, yet he compares Obama to Castro and Obama to Hitler all the time. It’s all a big joke like The Comedian from Watchmen, so I don’t really think this particular case should be used to defend freedom of speech. Savage is actually a poster-child for freedom of speech in the U.S. since he gets away with so much. He is part of the de-evolution of society as well, just like Howard Stern. Maybe one day society will rebound. (ha!)
I’m sure the U.K.’s decision will be reversed. If this happened in the U.S. (as in Savage was expelled or imprisoned) then I can see the issue as being “real”. I believe- for the most part- the U.S. has a good system when it comes to allowing freedom of speech, and if the U.K. doesn’t- well, it is what it is.
Regarding your deep thought provoking questions based on censorship and Rihanna: I don’t dig the song either…wouldn’t want your daughter to listen to the song. I think with songs, books, TV, and movies society dictates what is offensive and what is acceptable. Since our society continues to devolve and sink to lower depths, the standards are gone and more and more things become accepted.
Like socially acceptable sexual acts on a first date.
There was much more censorship in the past, and it has been proven to be wrong time and time again. All we can do is exercise our freedom of speech by pointing out our misgivings about songs like Russian Roulette, perhaps protest or boycott things which offend us. Unfortunately, we get into situations like craigslist, where the lunatics run the asylum because they have no standards. We get into the silent majority and LME (Lazy Man Ethics tm) when it comes to accepting the de-evolution of society.
So keep up the good work my friend and call people and systems out and spread your messages.
Deep thought provoking questions have always been prevalent throughout my entire life. It has been both a blessing and a curse. Why? ™ I mean, is ignorance bliss or is ignorance just ignorance? Whoops, there I go again asking deep thought provoking questions. Before I get into a list of deep thought provoking questions that are covered in two fantasy books called Dream Seeker: The Velvet Mask and Dream Seeker: Return of Joshua, let me just give you some background.
Concepts and beliefs must pass the “smell test” with me, and I do not believe in one source of knowledge. So, throughout my spiritual journeys in life, I have come across many different belief systems, theories, philosophies, and methods. I try most of them out, and discard some that are no longer practical. Deep thought provoking questions have always been my guide. Perhaps my personality was already formed during conception. Perhaps it was because I didn’t trust people as a kid. As you can see deep thought provoking questions are all over the place with me.
Deep thought provoking questions cause me to digress; I guess that’s why I have thousands of blog posts and articles all over the Internet. Believe it or not, I am not that much of a snob- just because I like to talk about deep thought provoking questions doesn’t make me intelligent or wise. Who knows? Maybe talking about deep thought provoking questions is just a product of my setting and era (21st century United States of America). Would I ask many deep thought provoking questions if I was a Neanderthal woman thousands of years ago? Would I be obsessed with deep thought provoking questions if I was born in 1765 in one of the King’s colonies in the New World?
Let’s get to Dream Seeker: The Velvet Mask. Here are some deep thought provoking questions in that novel:
Do dreams have meaning?
Why do we dream?
Are there beings or things that exist which we cannot experience with out senses?
What is the affect of time on our human perceptions?
Is energy immortal?
Why are nihilists so passionate about denying belief in God?
Return of Joshua has deep thought provoking questions such as:
How would society react if Jesus returned?
Does the world need a savior?
Are good and evil concepts?
What is morality?
Does the MEDIA overstep its bounds when it comes to reporting information?
A former classmate of mine once e-mailed me that feelings are merely chemical reactions and don’t really “exist”. Indeed it is a struggle for humans to overcome the wave of emotions and focus on logic. However, I believe that by labeling the human experience with numbers chemistry dehumanizes us. As you can see there is no end to deep thought provoking questions and I went on a tangent again.
If deep thought provoking questions are your thing, check out the Dream Seeker series. It is loaded with deep thought provoking questions (and answers) on politics, psychology, sociology, and much more.
“Do You Have A Dollar?” That’s what the African American youth with dreadlocks on a bicycle asked me and my family as I was unloading WalMart groceries in front of my house. I just stared him down, and we all shook our heads “no” since we come from New York where we all know the moment you reach into your wallet is the moment it’s gone. I had given this teenager a buck a year-and-a-half ago, but that’s when I had a buck to spare. Guess he remembered where I live. Sorry, bud, but I’m not going to be held hostage again.
Obviously the kid lives in the area, and obviously he gets a lot of mileage out of that bike- he probably collects a dollar from people all day to afford those $150 sneakers, XBOX360, and cutting edge cell phone.
You know what I heard? I heard that the Weed Man is all dried up in South Florida. I heard the cockroaches are coming out of the woodwork now, and they are getting antsy. I heard things are going to be boiling over very soon. I guess some people are getting desperate or are maybe getting more bold in terms of robbing.
I mean, I would never, ever ask total strangers for a dollar without giving a logical explanation (i.e. I need busfare, my wallet was stolen, I have to make a public phone call, etc.). This guy just felt entitled for me to job out for him. Last time he at least made up a story about school fundraising for his football team. But now he judged me as someone to ask free money for, so I feel I can judge him as a street punk with no white guilt that my peers have.
This post can be filed in the same category to what Tony Vahl said about a woman dressing up in a nurse’s uniform to robs things to buy food, and when Vahl and R.A.W. talk about crime, drugs, and economy. This is from the perspective of someone that doesn’t even have a dollar in his pocket to give to total stranger, and how I would not have given him the dollar anyway. It’s another example of the new economy. I can’t even say “Get a job” like Sean Hannity does, because I know that there are none. So I nodded my head now, and he said “Aight” and disappeared in an instant. He was an expert with those pedals.
Why is microwaving popcorn considered an art? Why do so many people continue to burn microwave popcorn after the first time they ruined it and created one of the most foul smells? Which personality types are best suited for microwaving popcorn efficiently? Before we that, let’s examine why it is do darn hard for people to microwave popcorn:
Microwave power and settings vary. So your microwave at work may be underpowered compared to your microwave at home.
There are many different brands of popcorn, and they have different instructions. For example, some bags give ranges like “1:30 to 2:00″ or “press the PopCorn button”. That being said, every popcorn bag has the instructions BEGGING you to stay nearby and listen to the pops to avoid overcooking.
Contrary to popular belief, cooking popcorn in the microwave is not hard, folks. So let’s analyze the reasons why humanity has a less than perfect microwave popcorn success rate:
We are “too busy” and multi-task everything. So we put the bag of popcorn in the microwave, hit “2:00″, and have the confidence that we will hear the pops while we perform another task. Other tasks include: taking a dump, feeding the kids, watching TV, surfing the web, writing an e-mail, blog post, or comment, talking to someone on the phone, walking your dog, or something else like that.
We live in an ADD society. Now, I may not even believe that Attention Deficit Disorder exists in the sense that it is a disease that needs to be treated with medication, but I know as a society we suffer it. After all, we can’t even stand in front of a microwave for 1:30. Many people actually forget the popcorn is in the microwave!
Now, let’s examine this microwave popcorn burning phenomena by Average Enneagram Personality Type:
Enneagram Type 1 (Reformer): Would rather undercook than overcook; does not burn. Enneagram Type 2 (Helper): Totally forgets how to use this modern technology. Enneagram Type 3 (Achiever): Enneagram Type Threes don’t burn popcorn. Enneagram Type 4 (Individualist): Type Fours “get burned” once and vow never to get burned again. However, they may get hung up if they don’t read the instructions for a new brand. Also, if they are feeling rather self-absorbed, they will “forget”, and then create a blog called “I Burn Popcorn” and relish in it. Enneagram Type 5 (Investigator): Distracted by something else, maybe their non-stop internal monologue, they have been known to stink up their apartments by burning it, Enneagram Type 6 (Loyalist): Enneagram Type Sixes have the world record for burning popcorn in the microwave since the machine requires their full attention, and focus is very important to Sixes. Enneagram Type 7 (Enthusiast): This is where we see personality differences between men and women; Type 7 men know what to do; Type 7 female will mess it up because they were distracted by a shiny object. Enneagram Type 8 (The Boss): Although you would think an Enneagram Type Eight dominate the microwave popcorn efficiency scale, they at first suck at this technology. After they eventually find out how to use it, they will be proficient at it, and be sure to yell at you and treat you like a kid for not understanding the nuances of microwaving popcorn. Enneagram Type 9 (The Peacemaker): Enneagram Type Nines have been known to almost burn down offices and houses because of their lack of instincts/awareness. You see, everything is an emotional struggle for them. Heaven help them if there’s a lot of stuff going on in their lives. Add laziness to the equation for some Nines, and the microwave will explode.
Did you hear about the Clash of the Titans remake in 2010? Oh, you didn’t know? Well, the Clash of the Titans CGI looks fantastic, and I see a few familiar actors in there. Just based on the trailer, the Clash of the Titans remake looks pretty cool. So why can you detect my underwhelming excitement?
Could it be…that there was no reason to have a Clash of the Titans remake? Yeah, that could be it. Here’s another one: is the plot going to be the same? It looks so based on the trailer. So all we will have is enhanced graphics, better music, and maybe some sex.
Am I being jaded? How long before Clash of the Titans 2010 will be streaming in the Netflix Instant Browse section?
Remake, remake, remake. Because you demanded it. You demanded a King Kong vs Godzilla remake, so you’re going to get it.
What, a new generation must experience Clash of the Titans in full CGI HD? They can’t enjoy the 1981 version? Or is that a myth: perhaps children and young adults actually watch and enjoy movies and TV shows pre-1998?
By the way, what’s the difference between watching the 1981 Clash of the Titans on DVD or TBS vs. going to the movie theater in 2010? Why must be spend $10 per person to experience the same story, but with “updates”? It’s the whole Madden 2010 syndrome. Newer = better in our world.
Why are we as a society so attracted to the new, shiny, gold jewelery that someone is dangling in front of us like a pendulum? Why do we drool and say “that’s awesome” when we see CGI. Twenty years from now this “cutting edge CGI” will look like those Styrofoam rocks in Star Trek: The Original Series. Okay, so I’m exaggerating, but I’m just sayin’. WHY ™?
Okay, it’s cool. But was it necessary to create a Clash of the Titans remake? If you ever watched the original (which I suggest you do if you haven’t) did you ever say, “Man, I wish they could remake that movie.” Can we get Chris Rock to play Calibos?
Titans. Will. Clash. Wow…sounds like a WCW pro wrestling pay-per-view from 1990: Sting vs Ric Flair, this time in a CAGE.
Hollywood marketing and ideas board room meeting (various voices):
“Any new ideas?”
“Well, I was with my girlfriend last night, going through the channels, and I saw this old movie- Clash of the Titans. I don’t know it must have been made in the 1960’s or something. But it was pretty cool. I was thinking- with the success of 300 and Beowulf, we should do a Clash of the Titans remake.”
“Sounds great!”
“Yes, let’s get May and Manfredi on the phone and see if they can come up with a screenplay!”
“Liam Neeson would be a great Burgess Meredith!”
“Who?”
“Nah, cast Neeson as Zeus.”
“Sam Worthington should be the lead.”
“Perseus?”
“Who?”
“Perseus- the hero!”
“Get Worthington’s agent on the phone.”
“Worthington was excellent in Terminator Salvation.”
I was at Wendy’s the other day (I had to use the BATHROOM for FREE) and I saw two guys eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinking their own plastic mugs of water. They were just sitting there and did not have any Wendy’s yellow napkins or Wendy’s food tray as evidence that they bought something there. As I sat down on a chair to take in the FREE air conditioner, I had such a grin on my face; management didn’t care that these two guys were freeloading. No one cared.
The next day when I went to McDonald’s to use the bathroom for FREE, I was cracking up when I saw two guys were running a call center there- no joke! They had their laptops plugged in the wall (free electricity), and their BlueTooth cell phones hooked up, and they were SELLING, SELLING, SELLING. I had no idea you can use McDonald’s as an office. These two guys were obnoxious, too. The younger white dude was pacing back and forth trying to close a deal, while the older white guy was using his Wi-Fi connection to look for shipping information for a client. They were at it for the 30 minutes that I was there checking out who was walking in and out of the restroom, while enjoying the FREE air conditioner and some ketchup bags. A lady walked in and SAT DOWN next to them without going to the cashier- she had brought her own sandwich and thermos. Everybody make yourselves comfortable!
My next story occurred in Burger King- an older Latino was dressed in a fancy suit and was wearing a bunch of rings, and had a laptop, portable white board, and a cell phone. He was telling his client to meet him at Burger King for their business meeting. He didn’t even get french fries, salad, or drink. In comes in a young black dude that looked like a rapper from an MTV video, and they sat down in the booth and conducted a business deal with no food. I couldn’t contain my laughter.
Back in the day, it used to be a major issue if you brought small fruit drinks into a movie theater to give to your kids. Now, thanks to the recession and the hopelessness of the economy people are conducting business at fast food restaurants and they bring their own food to restaurants.
And I love it.
I endorse it- I don’t know if it’s legal, but I endorse it: BRING YOUR OWN FOOD, bring your laptops, bring your cellphones, use Burger King as your office space. Welcome to 2009, I hope you enjoy your stay.
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Sometimes people who speak English as a second language have some funny mispronunciations. For example, I know someone that mixes up rugs and rags. So she once said, “It’s a rugs to riches story” or “Use the rug to clean up the spill”. You have to wonder if “rag” and “rug” some from the same root word origin. However the most embarrassing is when she mixes up the letter P and the letter F at a hockey game.
The search for diets that work has eluded many seekers. Before looking into any specific type of diet, the person must have the following personality attributes: dedication, drive, commitment, and discipline. Yeah, it sounds like joining the army, I know, but the bottom line is that you have to keep on top of your diet [...] […]
NPR: - Blockbuster is about to go bust OPINION ALERT – we’ll be covering the end of Blockbuster here, with lots of apocalyptic-style photos; Blockbuster has been behind the curve for years — what. They couldn’t negotiate to get rights for streaming movies like Netflix did? They didn’t see the idea of a DVD rental machine like [...] […]
This time around I realized that the raccoon was free from suffering now. It's a shame its life had to end like that- it was blameless; humans built roads in the middle of his ancestor's forest. Progress and technology broke that raccoon's legs and took his life tonight. But now the suffering has ended for it. I mourned the raccoon and the way […]
ust a quick observation before I run: I jumped from watching 1980's pro wrestling to the 1991 Survivor Series because WWE put up the whole PPV online for a limited time. It never fails to amaze me how much things change. It was like I was in a time machine from 1987 to 1991... […]
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