Has Anyone Seen My Juice?

I was sitting around this evening procrastinating my eventual return to work. For a lack of something better to do, I looked through my files for old writings that I had done.

I came upon a screenplay that I had been working on for a while now. Every now and then when I get in the mood I would write out a scene. The screenplay always gives me chills when I read it. Not that it’s some literary or screenplay masterpiece or anything. I’m sure most of the things in there are derivatives of a lot of other movies I’ve seen before. But it was mine, I can almost remember every feeling of each of those scenes and where they came from.

A lot of the events are loosely based on my own experiences, or experiences that I had wished had gone a certain way. It’s nice to be able to do things over again. Even if it’s just on paper. I know we all have experiences where we’d love to be able to do another take, or do something different, say something different.

Another fun thing about writing the script is that you can put your friends in it. All of the characters, especially the comic relieves are just people I know. Those character are great cause they just write themselves.

After I reread the script tonight, I thought about writing another part. I sat here in front of the computer for about 30 min before I gave up. I used to have a million ideas. I used to be able to create so many scenes without thinking twice.

I can barely come up with a couple of lines that was neither funny nor helpful.

What’s happening to me? I blame it on the oldness, but I’m not sure if that’s the case. In the old days I would get a lot of ideas from my dreams. Most of my dreams are pretty horrific, and hence my nonsleeping, but they were still very imaginative. There were things in those dreams that were just wrong, but at least they were highly imaginative.

Not that I miss a lot of those dreams, but I haven’t had a dream (that I remember) in a really long time. And with it, I haven’t really felt that creative juice flowing. I don’t know if it’s the stress of work, being old, or everything else that’s on my mind. Whatever it is, I miss my dreams. I’m not sure what I need to do to get that back, but I would love to finish this script.

BTW, guess what kind of movie it is?

What’s the Price of No Jack?

Someone threw out a hypothetical situation last night during dinner. They asked if I would give up drinking if a girl I was dating or would possibly date asked me. Not entirely stop, but just major cutbacks on the drinking. Also, what if they asked me to stop drinking Jack (completely, or major cutback) because of some bad associations the girl has with guys that drank Jack?

Now many of you know I’m quite fond of Jack and drinking in general. Not to the degree that it’s a problem, but I do drink regularly enough.

So the question I pose is this. When is changing for someone acceptable and when is it problematic? Granted, in this situation, me drinking less is probably something I need to do anyway, but what if it was another behavior. Like something harmless that you like to do. Would you stop just because your mate asked you to? What if they had no reason other than they don’t like it?

When does it go from compromising to just the other person trying to mold you into someone else? Is that always a bad thing? Do you find that you do that in your relationships?

A lot of people say you should like the person for who they are, but we all know a little bit of tweeking maybe necessary. When does it go from Tweeking to reshaping. Are we to embrace our own individuality so much that we don't compromise?

Talk amongst yourselves..

Pup for Tots

I was on my way to volunteering at the Toys for Tots center on the other side of town.

I knew how it was going to be. Trying to be somewhere at 5pm and having to drive through the heart of the congestion in Atlanta during rush hour Traffic on a Friday. I got in the car and I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.

I hate driving, especially in any type of traffic, but it’s for the kids. I guess I’ll tough it out. Yes, I know I say bad things about them, but they deserve toys during Christmas.

When we (a friend went with me) finally got to the center, we were greeted by a couple of marines hanging out by the door. We told them why we were there and they seemed pretty confused. I thought that was strange as people should be doing a lot of volunteering this season. They pointed me to the sergeant in charged and we went on inside.

We got inside the warehouse and something seemed different. I’ve done this several times before. The storeroom is generally a mess with toys everywhere. What I was seeing was only a couple of crates and all neatly packed.

The sergeant told us what was going on when we found him. Apparently, there haven’t been any toys coming in. No one has called for pick ups or anything. Even though it’s still a bit early, they usually have a good amount of toys by now. Now they’ve got bupkuss.

It seems that people are just not donating as much as usual this year. I noticed that all the food banks were all empty during Thanksgiving and they had to really struggle to get all the dinners out to the homeless. Now of course, they’re even emptier and are looking to have a hard time filling the pantry before Christmas.

So they had nothing for us to do. I thought about challenging one of the marines to a push-up contest, but I didn't think that'd be a good idea. My friend and I were now stuck in this town (traffic still bad). We did the sensible thing and found a bar and got drunk.

There really isn't much of a story here, but I would like to ask everyone a favor.

When you’re out shopping this holiday season, if you’re in a store with a toy section, pick up something. Tell your friends that instead of buying them a gift, you’re spending that money for this or other charities. They don’t really need that thing that you were going to get them. They probably secretly re-gift or return it anyway.

Perhaps if you’re a parent and you’ve bought your child a million toys, maybe you can spare one toy for a needy child. You child will have plenty and probably won’t even miss it. Having too many toys will spoil your kid anyway. I remember I got an empty can for Christmas once and had a grand old time just kicking it around with friends. Good times.

As a special offer, anyone who donates a toy will get a personalized Christmas card paw-signed by Pup himself! Act now!

What I learned from Black Friday

Like many folks out there, I was mesmerized by the great deals in the ads that promised great savings at many stores on Black Friday. Being that I’m cheap but still enjoyed giving presents, this seems like a perfect day of shopping for me.

I planned my routes, had a list of exactly what to get from each store I was going to hit, and I was out of my house by 5am.

This is what I learned from my experience –
- 5am is too damn early for any kind of savings on crap you don’t really need.

- Most things that are on sale are crap. True, it’s insanely cheap, but its still crap.

- Things that are on sale that are not crap and are truly good deals will all be gone by about 5:30am.

- I really wanted to get one of these cheap huge LCD flat screen TVs. However, rabbit ears with a nice flat screen is kinda ghetto.

- As much as a lot of people shop, most of them don’t know how to shop. I saw people buy lots of things that weren’t on sale at 5am. It wasn’t even on sale, and a lot of the stuff I saw was on sale somewhere else. Listen, if you’re going to wake up that early, you better just be hitting the good stuff.

- I went to Wally world to get one thing. I hate Wally world and haven’t step inside one in over year, but I braved it to get a cheap DVD that I wanted. Of course, they ran out by the time I got there. Who the hell is buying up ‘Over the Top’? It’s about a trucker (Stallone) who’s trying to win an arm wrestling contest to help support him and his son. Shut up, it’s good.

- If you have a cart full of stuff, and it’s all for one child, you have a problem. This is not a show of how much you love your child. You’re not doing the kid any favors by getting them everything on their list. The kids don’t know any better when they’re making the list. You should, as a parent, know better than to give a kid everything they want.

- Buy your children age appropriate toys. A laptop or iPod for a 10 year old is not appropriate. Here’s a secret for ya. They want it just so they can say they have one to their friends.

- If you want to see some very unhappy and miserable looking people, look around on Black Friday around 7am. They all look like the zombies from Dawn of the Dead. This of course is why I go. To image that I was trapped at the mall with lots of zombies. Good times.

- The only Christmas list I managed to get a lot of stuff for is my own.

- After my shopping trip I had to come home and take a shower. I know I went voluntarily, but all the consumerism made me feel dirty.

Vegas.. 2006

It’s been a while and I guess I better write down this story before I completely forget. As part of my coming of oldness birthday, I got a few guys to go to Vegas to celebrate. There were 2 groups of guys coming at differnt parts of the week which made the trip insanely long. 6 days in Vegas. My liver was not happy with me, and it showed half way during the trip.

Two of the guys arrived earlier in the day while me and Howard showed up later in the evening. We had a flight delay that got us in pretty late, but it being vegas, time was not a factor. When we arrived at the hotel, we found the other guys were doing ok without us. By ok, I mean drunk.
Much drinking ensued, but that's not very interesting. I'll skip right to the good parts.

The highlight of the first part of the trip happened quickly and powered through with some good stamina. During our first night, me and one of the guys was playing craps. We’re used to us being the loud drunk ones at the table, but that night there were 2 cute girls by us that were just as loud which was very impressive. We joined in the fun and it was an amazingly fun table.

After gambling for quite a while, we ended up hooking up with these 2 girls and hung out with them all night. It was a really good time chatting and drinking with them. It's hard to describe, but the 4 of us just seem to mix so well. The time flew by and the next thing we knew it was almost 7am and we decided to call it quits. That was almost 12 hours together. Nice feat for someone we just randomly met.

The next night, with amazing coincidence, after watching the cardinals win the World Series, we ran into the girls again. In such a large and busy place like Vegas, it’s amazing to run into 2 people in 2 areas randomly. We were excited like we were old friends and haven't seen each other in years. We didn’t miss a bit when we got back together. We were back to joking and drinking right away. Good times.

The girls were going to stay up since their flight was at 6am and it was already about 2am. Of course, we stayed up and hung out with them. There was such a strange attraction to these girls. I think it's the conversation more than anything else. They were so engaging and shared about themselves. I know this is Vegas and they could've just made the whole thing up, but I'll take it.

We talked about everything and nothing at all. Thinking back, it was strange for as long as we talked, I can’t really remember what was discussed. Even after spending so much time talking, the conversation never once lost its interest.

Granted, I don’t remember conversations very well, but I remember things like this. I remembered how nice it was for us to sit at a little table at a corner of the casino. Talking and drinking away like we were old friends. I remember the music from a piano bar nearby and us randomly breaking out into some Journey tunes. I remember some strange contest about which restroom was closer and some obstacle course. I remember it all being a bit surreal and almost seem scripted being so good.

Around 4:30 am, we started our long goodbyes. Once again, it was quite strange as we’ve just met 2 days ago (although we spent probably 80% of the time together), but it seemed like such a big goodbye. It felt good and sincere. After a few minutes, we went our separate way.

The goodbye wasn't long enough in my book. Mainly because we knew we’ll never meet up again.

A Mystery to Me

Why are some people so attracted to bad boys and girls? Why is there such a strong attraction that it defies logic and the very nature of self preservation? In nature, it is unheard of that one would knowingly be attracted to something that he/she know is bad for them. It would be like a deer befriending a lion.

This kind of thing does not happen in nature because we all know the inevitable conclusion of this relationship.

Yet, we see this all around us in outrageous relationships that just should not be happening. Are the lives of some so deprived that they must seek others to fill them with excitement even if it’s in a self-destructive form? Are they so pathetic in their inability to live life that they must cling to the first thing they see as exciting in order to live vicariously through these bad boys and girls?

What is this attraction that’s so strong and emits such strong emotions that it takes control and overrides our genetically encoded warning system to not be with someone knowingly bad for us?

Although as I write this, I'm reminded of moth to flames or the mantis' breeding ritual which has the female killing the male after they're done with the mating. Hmm.. I'm poking holes into my own questions.

Spare me the research on attraction and how ‘opposites attract’ is a relationship myth. Yes, even though Paula Abdul sang a song about it, it's a myth. I’m not talking about the long term here. I’m talking about that initial impression.

Seeing someone across the room, that feeling that you get is what I’m asking. Almost like a drug, you feel you need to speak with or be close to that person. More times than not, it’s the ‘bad’ one in the crowd that captures the imagination of most people.

In nature, when a creature detects something bad, it runs away. Yet, humans today couldn’t be more attracted.

Perhaps my inability to understand is just masking my jealousy. Maybe I just need to stop watching so much Jerry Springer.

In a Dark Hour, Tiesto Comes to the Rescue

Yes, I realize I’m now a million years old and shouldn't be going to these kind of shows anymore. However, when my favorite DJ (Tiesto) was coming into town, I wasn’t about to miss his performance at my favorite Venue.

Many of you have heard me continuously bitch and moan about the lack of a good dance scene or death of the ‘rave culture’ all around the country and especially here where I live. Being old and pessimistic about the present scene, I was hesitant about the show. Also, my usual crew was no longer around, so I was stuck to going by myself.

I was quite hesistant about going even though it is my favorite DJ. It didn’t help that tickets were being sold for 3x face value and I was tempted to sell them a few times. Oh, but I trusted in my DJ and the beats, and I was so happy that I didn’t take the cash.

When I first walked into the venue, to my surprise, I immediately saw some Candykids (for explanations please go here). It was like seeing an extinct animal. I thought it maybe just a small group of kids, but as I followed them a little, they led me to more and more groups of Candykids all over the place.

This was a good sign of things to come.

As I walked around the venue, I saw more and more types of people that I haven’t seen in a while. People that I’ve missed in this culture. The place was not packed with the usual drunk frat guys and their slutty jump-up-and-down-bouncing-their-boobs-thinking-this-is-dancing crowd. What I saw was a place packed with UFO pants, glow sticks, pacifiers, Vicks, bottles of water, and people who were there to dance.

I got myself ‘prepped’, you know, stretching so I don’t throw out a hip, and other things and got down to the dance floor. I quickly found a couple groups of people to dance with around the stage. This is far different than the usual drunk groups that do not understand the meaning of dancing and thinks it’s odd that people are actually dancing instead of getting hammered and just jumping up and down like a dumbass.

I was quickly accepted into these groups as we danced in similar fashion. At one point when I was taking a rest (shut up, I’m old), a couple of people came up to compliment me on the dancing. This was a big ego boost as it hasn’t happened in a while (since the good ol' days). These people understood how its suppose to be broughten.

This one girl (AM) and I struck up a conversation as she mentioned that I danced very old school (her exact words). I was amazed and delighted that she knew. Having watched her dance as well, I knew she dances the same way. We started talking about the old days. We had been to many of the same venues, parties, and shows from ‘back in the days’.

Yay old ravers! This needs to be a new category in Wikipedia.

If you’ve ever gone to a show with me, you’d know that one of my big peeves is being crowed, especially by people who are not dancing. I’m there to dance and you don’t need to be all up in my space. When the crowd was encroaching on the group’s dance space, amazingly enough, AM had the same thought as I to move to another area so we can have space to dance while giving the remaining group more room to dance.

This is a usual practice in the days. It’s cool to hook up with people, but we like the dancing and always get back together later. As AM and I walked, we talked a bit more about the scene. Its difficult to explain as its a mentality, but to hear someone else talking about raving was worth the price of admission.

Speaking of old school, at one point during the night, I got a head job from one of the CandyKids. This involves a face to face light show with glow sticks while Vicks vapor is blown in your face. You have to be there, but it’s very cool. I was also asked for drugs several times. This is a great feeling as the kids don't think I'm old enough to be a Narc.

Besides meeting AM and many CandyKids, I met up with people who worked at a cool dance club who would get me into VIP whenever I’m there. I also met up with some groups that wanted to have regular meeting up of the make shift groups. I’m sure it was all just club talk, but it’s nice to be involved.

These are the kind of things I’m talking about. While most people’s objectives when going to a club is all about getting hammered and picking up, ravers are never about that. It’s always about dancing, meeting people, and unity to beats. Sure picking up happens, but its not why you're there. There're a lot of touching with this crowd, but its very comforting and not the creepy kind you generally get at the clubs. Also, certain chemicals may make touching an unbelievable feeling.

The only bad part of the night was when I had to leave during Tiesto’s set. I have never left a set early, but the venue was getting so crowed and insanely hot. Not to mention that I was dead tired by about 2am (this is quite sad as we used to go at 1am and stay till about 6am). I was too tired to dance anymore and even if I wanted to, there wouldn’t be space anyway so I decided to leave.

It was a good time. Old school good time.

OLD

That’s what I am officially now. Old.

Back in the day, and yes, now that I’m old I’m allow to use this phrase. Back in the day (sophomore year high school), I planned out what I wanted to be when I grew up. For the most part, I followed those plans and have done ok. I've hit most of the bigger things that I was aiming for. Got sidetracked here and there, but not too bad.

Interestingly enough, my plans from back in the days only went as far as this birthday. I couldn’t back then, nor could I really today, see past this old age that I’ve hit. I mean seriously, by this age, I was expecting to sit in a home and eat cream corn and yell at kids for walking on my lawn.

During my birthday dinner, there were some people there that I’m very glad I’ve met over the years. There were some really old friends. There were some that I really expected to always be there, but for some reason, just didn’t want to anymore. I am very glad for the ones that are still here.

I think I was pretty good at figuring out how to grow up, but now that I have, I’m not quite sure what to do with myself as a grown up.

I’m open to suggestions.

It’s That Time Again

Vegas. That magical word that instantly gets the attention of everyone on that email list. That magical word that instantly revives memories that you thought had died with your brain cells during your last trip. The memories that you thought you had buried with that dead hooker out in the middle of the desert.

Vegas

I used to go because I liked to gamble. It was exciting. It was fun. Now I go for the social aspects of it all. Seeing some good friends, catching up a years time in one weekend.

I have one goal this trip. I will come back with a story. A story that will be....

Wait for it... Legendary.

As part of the Vegas growing tradition, it’s time for………

Roulette: Blogger Style

Since I’ll inevitably play some roulette this weekend, I thought I’d get all my fellow bloggers to play along since you won’t be there.

You know how this is done. Pick a number between 0 and 36. Just one. I’ll play all the numbers I get and I’ll let you know which ones come up when I get back.

This will be a good judge of your excellence in super fun macktastical luckiness. By good judge I mean completely random of course. If your number keeps repeatedly hitting (landed on), I will send a plane for you.

Ko was the winner last year. Hopefully, the winner this year will be cuter and less hairy :D

You’re so Flamboyant

It’s probably been about 5 years since I’ve seen one of my favorite 2 man group in concert. With working hitting its crazy time, I needed a little break. In comes the group that I’ve been listening to since the 4th grade to make things all good and gay.

I don’t know what the attraction is, but I’ve always loved the Pet Shop Boys (PSB). I think it’s that mix of disco dance with the fab 80s vibe.

As usual, the PSB show delivered. It was more of a show than just a concert complete with dancers, multiple outfit changes, and an awesome ever changing stage. The fans went crazy the entire show. As I’ve complained about audiences before on this blog, there was definitely nothing to complain about this time.

The guys at the show were fabulous and the women were wild with little self-conscience. They were certainly there having fun. After all, there’s really no one to impress as the hot guys doesn’t exactly play on the right team. Everyone sang and danced during the entire show. A jolly good time for everyone.

They played ‘suburbia’, which is one of my top favorite songs in the beginning of the show. After the intermission, they played ‘always on mind’ which got the concert hall going crazy. It was a good mix of old material and new. Even though I’ve heard the old stuff a million times, it was so much cooler to hear it live. They ended the show with an encore of 'It’s a sin' and 'Go West'. Both crowd and my personal favorites.

What a great way to start the 2 week celebration to my oldness.

Keith Olbermann

'Beginning of the end of America'

What It Really Means to Protect America

This Administration and the President constantly reminds us that what they do is to protect America. They use the term “protect America” like the Men in Black would ask you to look into the blinking red light. Somehow, as soon as the term “protect America” is used, we automatically accept whatever insanity they spew at us.

There is no better example of this misuse of power than what the President signed into law on Tuesday. Before Tuesday, the principle of habeas corpus meant that anyone thrown into jail had a right to ask a judge to hear his case. He also had a right to go free if the government could not show a legal basis for holding him.

This is a basic right that we as Americans believe in and that our founding fathers put in a little document called the Bill of Rights. This administration believes that they have the precedence and authority to suspend and eliminate the Bill of Rights slowly under the banner to Protect America. The Bill of Rights is the basic blue print of freedom and what it means to be an American.

How does the administration explain their action to chip away at personal liberties? You guessed it, he did it to Protect America. How diluted is this President in that he thinks that eroding the Bill of Rights is Protecting America? How blind are you that you don’t know that this is the goal of the Terrorist? Why can’t you and your supporters see this?

Not only are you not protecting America and American with this law, you are moving us closer and closer to the ideals of the people that we are in a war with. Mr. President, we are not like the terrorist and America can NOT tolerate the suspension of what it means to be an American for you to fight this war that you’ve created. If your idea of protecting America is to rot it from the inside and take away our basic rights, I question your alliance and loyalty as I would ANYONE that supports you in this cause. You sir, are the enemy combatant.

Do not let this administration pull the wool over you ever time they say they’re doing something to “Protect America” when in reality they are doing more harm and destroying the American way of life more than a thousand 9/11s could possibly do.

When we start eroding our own rights and what this country was founded for, we are stepping in dangerous territory. We must not sit by willingly while an administration drunk with power continues to cause more harm to the very fiber of being American. If we allow the administration to continue in their insanity, there will no longer be an America as we know it to protect.

I would like to quote a speech by Patrick Henry in 1775.

“Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the numbers of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.
….
There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!

…Give me Liberty or Give me Death”

These words could not hold more truth today. We can no longer shut our eyes against what this administration is doing. We can no longer just hope that things will get better. Action must be taken.

It is better to die in a country with liberty than to live in the country this administration is trying to create.

Traffic

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy listening to the traffic report each morning. Apparently, there were accidents and lights out on all major highways this morning and traffic is completely stopped up.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha

That’s what you get for living out in the suburbs or way the hell out in the middle of nowhere.


I’m a bad person for laughing I know.

Cootie Pup

I've had 4 business trips cancelled on me in the last month. What the hell?

Someone spreading rumors that I have cooties or something?

Cut it out! That's not cool.

Marie Antoinette

I must say, a very good casting decision for this last Queen of France.

I'm so there.

On Strategy

Once again, the administration and their cronies have begun another attack on the Democrats with more ferocity and careful planning than they’ve shown to the terrorist. In fund-raisers and speeches this week, the president and the vice-president are back on their soapbox to tell their supporters that the Democrats are weak on defense and would allow the terrorists to attack again.

On the anniversary of 9/11 this year, this president told the public in his speech that: ”We must put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us”. It’s taken him less than a month to go back on this idea of putting aside our differences and once again attack the Democrates and anyone that would disagree with him of nothing short of treason.

I don’t know where you learn the definition of working together, but Mr. President, working together does not mean blaming and calling others soft and just waiting around for the terrorists to attack again.

So unconnected to reality, and under so many layers of their own lies, this administration is unfit and can no longer function as the leadership of America. This president and administration no longer has the interest of the American people in mind. For whatever reason, they believe and are leading this country into a militarized zone, which in turn burns holes at the very fabric of the constitution. This administration no longer has the respect of running the government as elected leaders, but more like the Legion of Doom.

Militarizing this country is not the solution to anything. Nothing good happens with militarization. This is a nothing more than the knee jerk reaction of a war mongering administration and those people who seeks to attack the American way of life. Why cannot you not see Mr. President, that this is exactly what the terrorists wants and that you're not fighting them with these types of actions. You are doing nothing short of helping them and introducing their way of life into this country.

In case you have forgotten Mr. President, this country was founded on freedom and tolerance, not the military. Military actions has always been the last resort, not the first option.

How long can the American people allow this administration to use these tactics to divide this country? How long will the American people stand this paranoid and disillusioned administration that has caused more harm to the basic fabric of the American spirit than the terrorist could ever hope to achieve in their wildest dreams?

The American people should not and cannot continue to believe in the doom and gloom speeches that has put the public in so much fear that we've allowed the actions of this administration to go unchecked for the last 6 years. It is not the way of the American people to live in fear and we cannot tolerate a government that seeks to keep us in control by using fear as its tool.

If by using fear as a tool to control the population, we should really question the type of 'democracy' that this administration is looking to spread in the middle east.

The strategy that the current administration is following to fight terrorism is self-destructive. It causes more harm to America than it does to the terrorists.

Think of terrorism as cancer. Once can continuously attack the body with chemotherapy and radiation to ensure that there is no cancer in the body. However, you are harming the body ever bit as much as you are the cancer. When the body becomes weak, it becomes even more susceptible to attacks from other sources.

In their self-absorbed, unchecked by reason, unwillingness to listen, strategy against the terrorist, this administration is willing to sell out the very meaning of this country in order to achieve a goal that even they themselves can’t fully comprehend anymore.

It is time that we say no more and take back this country to why it was founded.

What the FUCK is wrong with you people?

Oh here we go again…

In the county that I just moved from, a mom of 4 is once again trying to ban Harry Potter books from school libraries. Her main reason this time? It’s evil and if we don’t stop it, there will be more school shootings.

Are you fucking kidding me?

What kind of crazy ass Kool-Aid are you drinking lady? How could you possibly make a link between Potter and school shootings? What version of Potter are you reading? Linking Potter and school shootings is about as solid of an argument as linking Iraq and terrorists/WMDs.

Even if I give in to your main argument that Potter promotes Wicca. Do you know what the hell Wicca is? Wicca promotes living in harmony with the earth. No where does it EVER say anything about shooting up schools. How many Wiccas have you known to lock up a room of school girls and shoot them execution style? HOW Fucking many?

I can name one Christian right off my head though.

Before the shooting, this piece of shit guy in PA was considered a good Christian. If this is your idea of a good Christian, I’ll take my chances elsewhere.

How dare you compare Potter to evil? I bet my life that more people have killed and died because of the Bible than the Potter books. What kind of definition of Evil are you working with? Is evil promoting friendship and fighting through adversity through your own abilities and teamwork with your friends? Is that evil? Is that what we’re trying to ban from our kids from learning?

All you ever preach is this lazy, do-nothing and just hope attitude that hopes for some mysterious force to take care of everything. That is the exact definition and purpose of prayer. That’s fucking pathetic.

Don’t pray for things to get better. Go out and fucking do something about it. Stop being fucking lazy and just sit around praying and pretend that’s doing something. That’s like someone on welfare praying that someone knocks on their job and gives them a good job.

Yes, you’re a fucking spiritual welfare case.

After the shootings in PA, I watched as they put one of the fathers of the Columbine victims on TV. This is what he said:

…This country is in a moral free-fall. For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum, expelling God from the school and from the government, replacing him with evolution, where the strong kill the weak, without moral consequences and life has no inherent value. We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion. Abortion has diminished the value of children. Suicide has become an acceptable action and has further emboldened these criminals. And we are seeing an epidemic increase in murder-suicide attacks on our children….

Evolution and the lack of prayers is what you’ve resorted to blaming the shootings on? Abortion has diminished the value of children?

No sir, you, and parents like you have diminished the value of children. By saying that you want to ‘protect’ all these children even though they are in horrible situations and will have a very difficult chance in a good life, you have sentenced them for life in misery. By saying all children are special, none are, and it is you who is diminishing their value.

It is the quality of life, not the quantity of life. When people learn this, the world will be a better place.

Instead of blaming other outlets, why don’t you look in the mirror first? So many of you are failures as parents and refuse to admit that it’s your fault. You don’t have the first idea on how to be a parent. Instead you blame things like Potter, the music a kid listens to, or even teaching evolution.

I hear so many of you wanting to have kids. You don’t have the first clue on how to be a parent. I understand that it’s programmed into our DNA to have children to ensure the survival of the species, but for whatever egotistical or selfish reason you think you want to have a child, how about learning how to raise a child first before having one? And no, you don’t just ‘know’ how to raise a child. And no, the Bible is not a good reference on raising a child.

Here’s a little secret. Just praying that your child becomes a good person doesn’t really work. You actually have to be a good parent in order to raise a good child. This takes a lot of work. Yes, this goes against everything you believe I know.

So instead of spending your energy on blaming Potter as evil or the teaching of evolution as the cause for school shootings, go read a book on how to raise a kid or just go hang out with your kid. No, there’s no more ‘me’ time for you. This is what you signed up for when you had a kid.

Start taking the responsibility and act like a real parent.

Top 10 Searches Engine Links

Got this idea from E-Lo to look at my last 10 searches so here we go.

10. Cavilers marching band recordings – Odd that this search linked my site. Although I love DCI, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned them on this blog. I much prefer the Blue Devils or Madison Scouts. Shut up, marching bands are cool.

9. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood – Are woodchucks and woodpeckers the same things? There’s a giant spider web in one of my trees. Wonder if it can hold a bird. Now that’d be something.

8. Speak and Math band Texas – I’ve heard of pep bands for sports, but apparently in Texas, the Speech and Math clubs get their own pep bands too. Fantastic.

7. coolio north carolina shirt helicopter – I don’t think Coolio sang that song with the taking off of the shirt and swinging it over your head like a helicopter. I would like to know the song writer's muse and inspiration.

6. Camp for unloved children cartoon – Worst cartoon idea…. EVER.

5. we movin on up from the eastside 2006 version – Whoa, I didn’t know there was a soundtrack about my move. Sweet.

4. Drunken things to do on your birthday – Now this is where I do have a bit of expertise. Of course, the only drunk thing I seem to do on my birthday is pass out.

3. kentucky governor's daughter stripper – Really? Anyone got a pic?

2. a nasty beat down after a guy mistakenly laps a dude's girl – By lapping I hope they mean give a lap dance. That in itself is disturbing as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a male lap dance but I don’t think it would be all that exciting. Maybe I’m just not going to the right places.

And the winner for best search that got linked to this page..

I don’t love you I won’t – Fine. I hate you and hope you end up on Springer. How does this search get to this page? The internet Gods must be telling me something.

Mr. Pup Goes to Washington, Part 3

The last time I was in DC, it was in the 10th grade. We were there to march in the Cherry Blossom Parade. It might look like all fun and games on TV, but marching in a parade is hard. Just imagine a hot day, big polyester uniform, marching for over a mile without being able to scratch yourself. Because as you know, as soon as you do that, you’ll end up on TV.

I continued my journey by walking towards the White House, and it’s doesn’t hold the grandeur that I remembered. When I last visited, there was a fence. Other than that, it was a clear view at the magnificent building. When I saw it this time around, I couldn’t help but notice how insanely militarized the White House has become.

I think it’s a shame what this country and the world has become. Militarization of anything has never been the path to peace. How do we say that we want peace when we militarize so much of our own world? There’s a line that I think we have crossed in trying to achieve some imaginary sense of ‘safety’. I digress.

As I mentioned before, I had my mp3 player on. I walked towards this grassy area by the building to get a better view of the White House. All of a sudden, I feel this hand grab my shoulder. When I turned around, a man in a black suite, who didn’t look particularly cheery said “You need to leave this area now”.

Apparently, he had been yelling at me for a bit now, but with my headphones on, I didn’t hear anything. He was clearly secret service and not happy about having to come after me. I played the tourist card and was sent on my way. I don’t know why that was exciting for me, but it’s not everyday I get the attention of the secret service.

I was getting hungry so I walked towards Chinatown because I had a craving. In case you didn’t know, here’s a tip on Chinese restaurants. There’re 2 things that you have to look for. 1. Lots of people in the restaurant. 2. Lot of Asian people in the restaurant. If you’re in a new area and looking for a good Chinese restaurant, just find one with lots of Asian people and you’re good to go. Even better, look for part of the menu to be on little sheets of paper taped to the wall. This ensures quality.

This assumes you wanted real Chinese food and not some bastardized American version of course.

I ended up at a place called Big Wong’s restaurant. I thought this would be funny to put on my expense report. Despite the name, it was filled with Asian families so I gave it a shot. Nothing much to report here except it was fantastic. Not the best I’ve had by a long shot, but it did the job.

I began my trek back to the hotel. It was still early and I didn’t want to go back right away. I remembered that I saw a bar right by my hotel in my drunken stumble back last night.

So I went in the BG. It was a nice small bar with a little grill on the other side of the room. I sat at the end of the bar next to a couple of seemingly drunk guys who was talking to the cute bartender. Eventually, we struck up a conversation when I agreed with one of the guys that when your girlfriend secretly reads your email, she’s crazy.

Turns out the bartender worked for one of the guys for her day job and as I got in good with this guy, the beers and shots started flowing. Of course, knowing the bartender makes one’s bar tab significantly cheaper. Fantastic as I’m not able to expense drinking binges.

In general, I’m not a fan of eating alone, especially in public. However, as I have to travel for work, I’m pretty much forced to eat by myself pretty often. Not that I need another reason to go to a bar, but I’m beginning to find that eating at a bar really isn’t as bad even if you have to do it alone.

Naturally, there will always be people there by themselves. Bartenders are usually quite friendly, and if you wait long enough, people will be drunk and everyone will be friendly.

The rest of the trip was quite uneventful, but I think the protest, run in with secret service, and the night at GB made the 3 day meeting tolerable.