I'm Back... (Hopefully)

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything on here. Going to try to do a lot better in the coming months. Will try to get back on writing more of the fiction and stories instead of the usual political bashing as nothing ever gets changed on that front.

Random Thoughts.

In a capitalistic society, money equals power. Wall street controls the majority of the money in the US society. Why don't people understand who is actually controlling all the power here? And yet, you keep blindly defending wall street like they needed your help or cared about you in return.

Society in most major developed countries has become soft and weak. I believe this is especially true in the US. If anything doesn't go perfectly in one's way, you'll hear complaints or even law suits. Listen jackass, things happen. Sometimes things happen that doesn't go your way. Honest mistakes happen. Just suck it up and stop being a damn 5 year old.

I CANNOT stand it when I ask people about politics and they say oh I just don't pay attention to it. What in the hell is wrong with you. This affects everything that you do. It affect the very society that you live in. All the rules and laws. Everything that your society stands for.
This is why democracy doesn't work. If people are not interested in politics, then you cannot allow the public to vote because they are NOT informed. If you do not have informed voters, all you have is a mob.

There are a lot of over privileged people that really needs to learn what it means to really be discriminated against. Just because others don't agree with your insanity doesn't make you the target of some kind of discrimination. It just means you're a dumbass.

Where are the jobs?

Let me tell you a little secret. If you’re waiting for the old jobs that has been lost from the economic crisis to come back, don’t hold your breath because they’ll probably never come back. It doesn’t matter what the government does, or doesn’t do. These jobs will never come back.

The common folk will of course blame the government as they don’t really know any better. Meanwhile, wily financial and other large corporate companies will try to get some sweet deals from the government so they can increase hiring which they will have no intension of following through on.

So why is this happening you ask? Let me tell you.

Many corporations were forced to fire people as a result of the economic troubles. However, corporations did not just fire the necessary amount, but they fired as much as they possibly could. They took advantage of this opportunity to greatly reduce their workforce in order to reduce costs. They knew that they would be able to get the remaining people to do the work of 2 or 3 people, and they would be too frighten to complain. Companies also knew these people had nowhere to go as there are no jobs elsewhere. Hence, they’re able to push people to work harder without looking like the bad guy. At the same time, they will go back to their all mighty master (Wall Street) to report that they’ve done a wonderful job in cost cutting and hope to be rewarded.

So instead of facing this economic mess side by side with their employee to work through all the hardships, many corporations have taken this opportunity to make sure they come out on the other end looking good to the only group that they care about anymore. What’s worse is that this has become the norm for all corporations to behave because that’s what the culture has become on Wall Street. If your company doesn’t do it, others will and it’ll make you look bad.

Wall Street doesn’t care what the situation is around the world. It only cares that you reduce cost and increase profits any way necessary. If you don’t, you will be severely punished. End of story.

If corporations were to hire again, it would show in their bottom line that they have increased costs. Even though their employees are probably mostly burning out by now from the workload and stress, they know they’re still too afraid to complain to go elsewhere. The corporations know they can get the work done without hiring more people now, and there’s no way they would increase their operational cost at the fear of upsetting their master. You would be seriously mistaken if you think corporations care more about the well being of their employees over the views of Wall Street.

The bottom line. Making as much money as possible when given the chance without care for anyone involved. This is the mantra of capitalism. This is what happens when you believe corporations will simply behave and regulate themselves in the best interest of everyone. This is what happens when you believe uncontrolled and unregulated capitalism is good for society.

Hero.

The world is in a mess and is in trouble right now. The amount of bad things that are happening far outweighs those good things. So much of the world seems to be coming apart at the seams. Some of which are uncontrollable, but many of which are controllable and caused by us.

What world needs is a hero now more than ever. It doesn’t have to be one person that saves the world at once. It can be a person that helps out one other person when they were in need, and that person helping another. With enough heroes, we can push back this encroaching darkness that seems to be spreading.

For 2010, be a hero. Do your part to help the world. Don't standby as violence, famine, injustice, suffering and misery grow around us. Don’t standby as the helpless falls prey to the darkness. Stand up and fight. Lend a helping hand, a smile, and show that you care. Fight for yourself and those around you. This is not a fight we can afford to lose. Do something positive for the world and for someone else. Always remember that we are all in this together.

Be a hero.

You Sir, are Disgusting.


How could anyone, at this time of world tragedy, when so many of our fellow man needs our help, do you dare criticize those that are helping? How dare you criticize the president for having an immediate response to this tragedy? How dare you take this opportunity to falsely claim a country as having 'made a pact with the devil'? I cannot say how utterly you disgust me without filling this page with swear words, and so I will let Keith say what I think.

To all those that are in the front line or being sent to the front line to lend their help and expertise, all the best wishes to you. Do your best as you remind the world the best in humanity. Remind everyone that there are still those of us who think of others first and the fact that we help each other when in need. You are all heros to me.

To those who are suffering through this tragedy, I'm very sorry for your loss. Know that most of the world have you in our thoughts and wishes you our deepest condolences. To those that are still trapped or are awaiting aid. Help is on the way. Stay alive. We will find you.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What you should know right now

How ironic that with the spread of technology, and the ability to easily have information at our fingertips, I think more than ever, people avoid information and even more so, facts. Perhaps because there is just too much information and it’s too difficult for many people to filter through the noise, or maybe many people have the information, but lack the key ability to translate information to higher order ideas or see patterns. Maybe there're too many talking heads that are confusing everyone on what're facts and what's personal commentary. Maybe our society has become so complex that the average person is incapable of understanding most of what’s going on. Maybe we’ve all mostly just become so self absorbed with our own little worlds that so many have ceased to care about anyone else. Whatever the reason, I see people ignoring the big picture problems. Not the symptoms that so many are confused with, but the actual problems that’s plaguing society.

So to help you out, here are some for you to consider. Facing the new year and the upcoming new decade, these are the roots of all the major problems we will experience. It would be nice if you knew what they were.

Wealth Gap – Thanks to the global financial crisis, which funny enough, is caused by the greed of the very wealthy people on wall street to make more money on bad bets, has made the wealth gap around the world even worse than before. As is the case in most financial downturns, the rich will get exponentially richer because they have the resources to not only survive, but to take advantage of a financial crisis. They use their vast resources to take advantage of others while they are down. Basically, the rich gets rich when things are going well, and when things go bad, they get even richer.

This is not just a problem of having the top .01% of the population owning the majority of the wealth in the world. If you look at all the other issues in the world, most of it ties back to financials. As I’ll point out in the next few issues, it all ties back to this one. Next time a major problem pops up, don’t just look at the problem in isolation. Look at all the things that led to this problem. Looks at the ties it had. I bet the majority of times you’ll trace it back to financials.

In the US, so much emphasis has been put on Wall Street and how it has become this institution where you can make so much money without actual work. Sure, you talk with your fancy figures (that you make up, and deliberatly make confusing so no one understands), and your fancy words and acronomes, but in the end, you don't actually do anything productive. Wall Street is basically just a big casino where the rich always takes the house. Of course, I don't want to call Wall Street a big casino cause that would be an insult to casinos. In casino, there are actually rules that the house obides by.

I don't understand where this trust of Wall Street come from. Wall Street cares for one thing and that one thing is making money. It cares not for ethics, for doing the right thing, or for the greater good. It cares for making money however possible. It will do everything in its power, legally or not, to achieve their only goal, and that's to make money.

Human Trafficking – One excellent example of how the wealth gap is the root of so many other problems is in the case of human trafficking. Human trafficking is one of the most offensive and common problem that has arisen with the wealth gap issue. With the concentration of so much wealth lying in the hands of so few, everyone else is stuck with fighting for the scraps. When a situation like this appears, the scum of the earth will rise to take advantage of them.

Generating an estimated $32 billion dollars annually, human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal activity in the world today. It is also the most lucrative. According to a 2005 International Labor Office (ILO) report, just a single female held for sexual exploitation yields an average of $67,200 annually in Western Europe and North America.

Whether it is for manual labour, or at worse, in the sex trade, human trafficking is growing and will continue to grow. Human trafficking targets women and young children. Many times, they are lured and lied to about job opportunities, and sometimes, knowingly sold by their own families. This is how awful a wealth gap symptom can get. While there are hundreds getting multimillion dollar bonuses on wall street for gambling with the world’s money, others are stuck to live in a world they are bought and sold like animals in this ‘civilised’ world we live in. While a group of people thinks about what ridiculous mansion they should buy next, another lives in a hell every day of their lives.

The Military Industrial Complex – President Eisenhower warned in his farewell address that ‘we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.’

Sadly, just like so many things, we are doomed because we ignore and lack the ability to learn from history. Eisenhower’s warning is exactly what we’re experiencing today. It is the norm now, to hear from the president, that his foreign affair decisions will be made from advice from the military leadership on the ground. This is exactly what the founders of the country wanted to avoid when they set up the government. The head of state/chief would not be someone in the military, but would be a civilian for the sole purpose to protect the country from becoming a military runned state.

One thing that people seemed to have forgotten is that the military exists for conflict. They are in the business of war. Their survival and continual growth depends on there being a conflict. Like any other self preserving being/group, they will never say that there is no longer a conflict for that would essentially end their own existence. No general in the military will ever suggest not using the military for that’s what gives the military their life and it’s what gives them their purpose. The military will always say that there is a military solution to any problem. To ask and rely solely on the advise from the military about foreign affairs strategies is against everything the founders of the countries wanted.

Along those same lines and back to the wealth issue, there is a lot of money in continuing conflicts and the use of the military for the private sector. It is estimated that in 2010, the budget for the military will be between $880 billion and $1.03 trillion. The lobbyist for wall street and the private sector who caters to the military no doubt will do their best to ensure that this country stays at war for as long as possible. What do you think Wall Street will do to the stocks of these huge corporations if there were suddenly peace all over the world?

One thing people don’t seem to realise is that the people and organisations who have become obsessed with wealth cares for nothing but money. People and organisations who profits off conflicts and wars doesn’t care who they’re selling the guns to. Have you ever wondered who these 'terrorists' gets their weapons from? They don’t care that by perpetuating conflicts, more people will continue to suffer, and more people will die. This doesn’t matter to them. What matters is that they continue to have huge profits to show Wall Street. Wall street has become the all powerful that everything bows down to. If it takes continuing wars and for people to continue to suffer and die, so be it. All is well as long as Wall Street is happy.

This combination of the military and the private section is what we were warned about. Together, they can and will create propaganda to make sure we perpetuate wars and conflicts. They will sell fear, and sadly, with the citizens of the US becoming less knowledgeable in the world, we will buy this fear. These companies will profit while the rest of the world will suffer the consequences of war.

Pandemic – I don’t think I need to say too much about this. There will probably be a pandemic soon, and there will probably be no stopping it. With the world becoming smaller due to air travel, the hopes of stopping a pandemic is quite small. Also, with the current global financial crisis, governments would not have the resources to respond to a wide spread pandemic.

I thought this was interesting. During the Swine flu scare during 2009, there was a great shortage of vaccines to go around. Health professionals were busy trying to vaccinate the high risk populations (kids, pregnant women, etc.). With the demand so high, many high risk individuals didn’t get their vaccines. It was then reported that firms on Wall Street was able to get the vaccines before hospitals was able to. This is how bad things have become. Even in a case like a pandemic, as long as you’re rich, you’ll be fine.

Climate change – there’s probably enough talk of this that I won’t go into it. There’s a country that’s going to disappear in a few years because of the rising ocean levels. Go tell them there is no such thing as climate change.

In case you're feeling the cold this winter and doesn't think there is a global climate change happening, let me remind you of the difference between weather vs. climate change.

Weather is "the conditions in the atmosphere in a certain place during a certain time. Weather is always changing."

Climate is "what the weather is generally like over long periods of time, such as years or decades in a particular area. A place that has little rainfall has a dry climate, and a place that has high temperatures has a hot climate."

Your insanely short attention span is probably getting in the way of anything useful you may have to add to this conversation.


Let’s give this a try in 2010. Let’s not just take care of ourselves this year, take care of those around you and those that need help. It doesn't just have to be the people that you know. We’re all people and we’re all in this together. Only by working together will we be able to get through this.

2009 Year End Wrap Up


It's amazing. I probably say this every year, but where has the time gone? It seems not that long ago that I decided to move to Australia. Now, a year and a half later, I'm so settled and comfortable here. I would've never though that I'd be here, and I'm still a bit amazed by it every day.

In the last couple of years, I was hitting a bit of a wall in all parts of my life. There was a lot of the same ol' same ol'. I needed change and the opportunity came up. Pup and I packed up and moved around the world. Still amazed by that.


This year has been filled with so many new and exciting adventures. I've been staring at this post for quite a while now. Not quite sure what exactly to write about. I've gone back and re-read a lot of my old posts. Trying to find a continuing theme to write about or perhaps to get some ideas. None of which are really coming to me at the moment.


I understand this is probably not the best well thoughtout post.


As I was looking back, I also noticed the number of posts has greatly declined over the last few years. I wonder if it's because I have less to write about? Maybe my ideas are drying up? Maybe just getting lazier? My theory is that I just have so much more other things going on now. Writing these posts were an escape for me for the last few years. Now, I'm in the place that I want to be, and I guess I just don't need to be in this space as much.

I do miss these posts though. I'm glad when people take the time to read these posts, but mostly, I write them so I can read them later. I really like reading the things I was interested in the past and if anything has changed. This is a good record of that.

I generally reflect on what happened the year before, but as I mentioned, there was a lot that happened. There were a lot of fun, a lot of dancing, and a lot of good times. The bad times were kept to a minimum. Overall, it was a good year for me.

Here are some things that I am looking forward to doing in 2010:


Make at least 2 major travel trips - Now that I have someone to travel with, I'll be sure to make some travel plans to visit some new countries. It's strange. Speaking with people here, it seems that everyone, and I mean everyone, has travelled more than I have. This is so different than in the US. It just seems people's priorities are different. I will also make these trips a bit longer. I've always been a bit nervous and amazed at others who take long holidays, I think I'm getting over that now. Think it's about time I take more trips for longer periods.

I know I say this every year, but I will finish the screenplays this year.

Most importantly, I think I'm going to work on enjoying right now. Right now is very good. I will try to enjoy it as much as I can and worry about other things as they come up. I'm going to focus on now, and enjoy it now.

Happy New Year everyone. Have a wonderful year. Take those chances, take the dive. Make it a year that you will be proud of.

How dare you call yourself an American?

In the last few months, these are the atrocious things that members or supporters of the GOP have been doing:

- Publicly heckled the President during a speech to both houses of congress.
- Insisted that children stay home from school instead of listening to a short speech from the President on staying in school and doing well.

- Calling the President every name imaginable, including a Nazi for his plans to ensure every American has health insurance (my understanding of Nazis must be WAY the fuck off if universal health care was what the Nazis were trying to do).

- Continuing to protect large insurance companies' interests/bottom lines instead of standing up for the average American.

- Refusing to do anything to regulate the financial industry even after this disasterous economic meltdown. FYI - Risky loans are at an all time high again.

- Cheered when the US lost the bid to host the Olympics. Way to support the country you jackasses.

- Booed and jeered when the President received the Nobel Peach Prize.
- Having one of the most vocal right wing clowns (Rush) come out to say that he agrees with the Taliban and Iran that Obama did not deserve the award. Can you imagine if anyone on the left said they agreed with the Taliban on anything.

Who's side are you on exactly? It certainly doesn't seem like you're on a side that pro-America. It's one thing to have opposing views, but what you are doing is NOT just having opposing views. You are opposing the United States and everything the country stands for and is trying to do.

You sir, do not have the best interest of the country at heart. I suggest you leave.

This is what/who you're fighting for.

You need to watch this. You need to know what you're doing when you argue against health care reform. This is the company and the person you're helping. Don't think for a damn sec that you're speaking up against some fictional govt takeover of anything noble.

All you're doing is keeping Millions of Americans without healthcare and making these bastards millions of dollars. They will keep raising the price of insurance on you and your company. That is a fucking fact because they need to keep increasing their profitablity. That is capitalism. That is what you're fucking fighting for. Uncontrollable health care costs.

Seriously. I beg you. Think. Stop being so damn paranoid and scared. Stop only thinking of yourself. Stop only listing to these bastards that are all paid by the insurance companies.

Another Sunday Night

Sunday nights are tough sometimes. It's a time I dread each week. It's the last night before another week of work, another busy week of running around. Sunday night is your last chance to relax. It's your last night to mentally prepare yourself for another week of stress and onslaught from life.

I sit here on Sunday night. Drinking a nice cup of tea (Moroccan Mint this week). Thinking about last week, and thinking of the week to come. It's always the same. The routine that is.

I know life isn't scripted, nor should it be, but one thing I do think about on Sunday nights is how I'd imagine them to be, or perhaps how they should be. I imagine us making dinner. Afterwards, we would chat on the couch with a blanket if it's cold, or perhaps on the bench in the yard on a warm summer night.

We wouldn't talk about the coming week, for that will come when we go back to the real world tomorrow. No, tonight we would give our minds a rest from the real world. An escape from schedules, meetings and to-do lists. Our minds would be given the freedom to imagine. Tonight, on Sunday nights, we would talk about worlds beyond ours and dreams of what's to come. We would let our imagination take us away. We would talk about all the things that may and could be. Reality would not be barrier for us as we talk into the night.

Tomorrow when we open our eyes, it will be another week in reality. But tonight, when we close our eyes while I hold you in my arms, only our imagination will know where we'll be.

Yea, that would be a good Sunday night.

Intermission.

Too cute not to post it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjbSx89Tt5Q

Know Who the Real Enemies are in this Fight

As the health care debate goes on, there're going to be a lot of people saying a lot of different things against any type of reform. Mostly, these are the politicans and commentators from both sides of the political parties. For the most part, that's all the general public is going to know. Either you're against health care reform, and you'll be against the democrates, or you're for health care reform and you'll think the republicans are the enemies. They want to keep your focus on the political parties. That's where they want to keep your attention.

By they, I mean the real enemies in this fight. The only people who stands to lose if there is real reform in the health care system. The only people who cares more about profits than they do about people's health and well being. The real enemy here is the health care corporations. By health care corporations I do not mean the doctors and nurses who actually are helping people. No, these corporations have little care for the doctors and nurses, nor do they care for the sick. The only care they have is money and profits.

These insanely rich health care corporations (profiting off your sickness) have bought so many of your senators and congressmen/women (pretty much all Republicans and some democrates) and are using these puppets in congress to make up lies and spread fears about any type of reform. Your representatives no longer represent you. They represent the health care corporations.

By fighting or even agreeing to not have any type of reform and to keep the status quo, you're not helping yourself, you friends, your family, your neighbors, or your fellow Americans to have better health care. The only people you're speaking for are the health care companies who only cares that you're alive so they can make money off you.

One very obvious way to find out someone's true intents is to simply follow the money. Who's giving it out, and who's receiving it.

As you can see in the special comment from Olbermann, the links are simple as to who's getting money and who's speaking out against health care reform.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32277034#32277034

Know your enemy and perhaps you will be able to make a better decision on who to listen to.

How about checking your sources?

Just 3 quick points on the health care debate before my much longer and ranter post coming soon on this topic.

1. Listening to all the anti-health reform people in congress, they keep referring to a group called the Lewin Group as their source of reference. They keep repeating this study that the Lewin Group has conducted on how hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their private health insurance if the country were to have universal health care.

Sounds scary huh.

One thing you might want to check is this Lewin Group. They just happened to be a part of Universal Health Care. One of the largest insurance groups in the US.

This is the same health group that has agreed to pay $400 million dollars for skewing data in order to pass on medical expenses to consumers. Don't they sound like they would have your best interest in mind?

I'm sure the study that all these anti-health care reform people cites was completely unbiased.

2. Congress has arguably one of the best health care plans in the country. Guess what? It's run by the government. So you have all these people in congress saying how they don't want the government to run your health care, but it's fine for the government to run their health care? Does that make sense?

3. The health care industry has been spending about $1.5 million dollars per DAY on fighting health care reform. They're not out there with another plan. They're out there only to stop any type of reform. $1.5 million dollars a DAY. Does that not raise any red flags that they would be spending SO much money on this?

Think before you just give into fear.

The Guardian

This wasn’t where he wanted to be. He knew for certain he checked everything twice before leaving for a few minutes. This task wasn’t new to him. He’s been doing this for centuries and he wasn’t the kind of person that takes short cuts or make mistakes. He takes his responsibility quite seriously. Regardless of intentions or how careful he’s been in the past, the fact is, they were gone now. Both of them.

He was trusted with one task. Look over and protect the two children until the time comes. It seems like a simple task. He did not know the importance of his task when he first accepted it. No one told him before he accepted the task, to this day, he still doesn’t know, but he didn’t really care. He knew his duty was to protect the children and that’s what he was going to do.

He was a protector and a guardian, the best in the kingdom. There were none that could meet his skills in a fight, but that wasn’t why he was chosen for the task. The elders choose him for his will is strong and unwavering. He lives only to serve and complete his task. This is especially important in this task as a weaker man would be drawn to the temptations, and temptations would lead to disaster.

The children were gone. There’s no denying that. He grabs his weapon and rushed out the door. He picks up their scent instantly and begins rushing north into the forest. With him, the forest was a perfect guardian for the children, unyielding and never resting. The forest emits an unnatural sense of fear to anyone it senses as an enemy. This fear would be paralyzing and uncontrollable to all who falls within its grasp. Nothing, not natural or supernatural would dare enter the forest.

The problem now is that they’re not with him. The children have entered the forest by themselves and he doesn’t know what the forest will do, or how it’s going to affect the children. All he knew now was that he had to find them. He has not failed them in these centuries, he will not fail now.

He rushes through the forest. He knew every tree and every step. It almost seems as if the trees were pointing him towards the children as he ran faster and faster to find them.

Throughout the years, he’s seen everything come after them. There were creatures of good and evil, angels disguised as demons, devils disguised as honest men with the smoothest tongue, and creatures of every size and shape. They all wanted the children for these two were the key to the war. Having the children means winning the war once and for all for one side.

Countless creatures were sent to get the children, but they were never much of a problem for him. These creatures, natural and supernatural, were from the highest levels of heaven and the deepest pits of hell. They were creatures that imagination could barely grasp. Yet, one after another, they were all crushed. He would not fail at his task, and he would not fail them.

As he ran, he knew he was drawing close to the edge of the forest. If the children have been taken outside the forest, they would be gone forever. They children would not be protected outside the forest. Anything and anyone could take the children. The war would be over, and with it, everything would be over.

He wasn’t told any specifics when he accepted the job. He was definitely not told who the children were. He was told to protect and guard these children, and under no circumstances, can the two children be allowed to be taken from him either by force or persuasion. There were countless attempts during these centuries, each more complicated and elaborate than the last.

He reached the edge of the forest. The scent of the children pointed them further north, but as he looked up from trying to catch his breath, he saw the two children. They were standing in the middle of the large open field. He was so relieved for a second, but it was only for a second.

He looked up and he saw them all. This was not a figurative all, this was a literal all. Every creature from Heaven had gathered on the west side of the field and every creature big and small from Hell has gathered on the east. Both sides were rushing towards the children. The two forces were within seconds of reaching the children.

Even with all the commotion on the field, a scream like no other roared above the noise. This roar shook the very ground they were all on, and everything took notice. By the time the roar had died down, he was by the children with his weapon drawn. He knew he would not survive against these numbers, but he didn’t care. He was a protector and he would guard these children with his last breath.

The creatures from each side quickly recovered and continued their rush towards the children. This would be it. He has done all for the children, but even he doesn’t think he’ll be able to survive this. This would be the final battle between good and evil and they were trapped in the middle.

He mustered all his strength preparing himself for his final battle. As he readied himself, he saw the two children walk on either side of him. Just as he was about to scream for them to get behind him, the children held out their hand towards the attackers and turned their heads towards him.

‘Thank you for protecting us all these years’, the children said in unison. ‘Our mother knew you would be the only one that can do this. Above everything else, you protected us without regard. You did not ask what or who we were. You did not question the ones that came after us. You did not allow your curiosity to hinder your task. All you knew was to keep us safe, and for that we thank you.’

The creatures were now upon them. Beasts with fire from their breath, swords with blinding light, and claws and weapons of every form were about to crash upon him and the children. The children raised their hands in unison. As if time had suddenly froze, every creature stopped instantly in their tracks. All of a sudden, it all became quite.

‘I think you deserve to know before we leave’, the child with the dark hair said. We are the children of Chaos and Order. I embody the essence and purity of evil, anything and everything. Without me, there would no longer be evil in the universe. My brother embodies good, and the same goes for him. Without him, there would be no force of good in the world. After today, we will forget that we are brothers. We will forget all the good times we had growing up together. We will forget our love for each other and we will do everything in our power to destroy each other. We will forget, like all these creatures here, that there is something beyond good and evil.

Every one hundred eons, someone new takes over heaven and hell, but there is a period before we mature and can take over the throne. During this time, we are mortal and we can be killed. If one of us were to be taken by the other side, it would be a victory for one of the sides. Of course, being so focused on the goal, they don’t realize that without one, the other cannot exist. To destroy one side would mean the destruction of the universe.

By ensuring our safety, you have ensured that the universe will exist for eons come. The tides between good and evil will lean one way or another between my brother and I through the years, but it will never tip.

As he listened to the children he was speechless. He could not believe the words that were coming out of their mouths. The concept was too grand to handle as he stood there. He remembers the children as so young and helpless. He remembers their innocence as they grew up and played around him. It was difficult to conceive who they are and what they embody.

The two children gave each other a long loving hug. This would be the last time they would get to see each other for one hundred eons. They would not remember who each other was until their time was up. The children walk their separate ways into the sea of creatures and moments later, could no longer been seen by him. Slowly, the creatures went on their separate ways.

Within moments, all was quite. All was left was him.

You and me against the world?

I'd love to take those odds.

What the Fuck is wrong with you people?

All you people need to look at yourselves before you opening your damn mouths and saying things that you obviously have no fucking clue about. All you hypocrites are just fucking disgusting to listen to.

You get all up and furious that 2 adults that love each other and wants to be married just because they happened to be of the same sex. You cite all your ridiculous moral high ground reasons. You made something personal such as marriage into a public affair when it really is none of your damn business.

Oh but then when someone on your side cheats on their spouse, the topic of marriage magically becomes a personal matter. It becomes a matter no one is allowed to talk about even though the person admitting guilt is a member of Congress, admitted it on TV, AND fucking speak out on some sanctity of marriage shit. All of a sudden this becomes a personal and family matter?

No. Fuck you. You're the one who have brought marriage into the public arena. You are the one that should suffer in public for being a cheating SOB adulter. You did this to yourself. You can't choose who you're going to love, but you choose when you cheat. This is ALL your fault. You did this. You chose to cheat on your wife.

What the fuck is wrong with you people? How can you even look at yourself in the mirror? How rotten and disgusting of a person are you to speak out against people who actually love each other while cheating on your wife? Somehow in all this trying to make yourself out to be some great moral person? Who the fuck is you to be telling someone that they can't be married when you're cheating on your damn wife? Way to really support that hetero only marriage concept.

And where the fuck are all you fucking sanctity of marriage people when this kind of shit happens? All I hear is others of you supporting this asshat and saying that it's between him and his wife and you hope they work it out. What the fuck?! Why do you not have the same anger when someone cheats on their partner/spouse? Does your definition of the sanctity of marriage have some kind of 'it's not that bad to cheat' clause in there somewhere? Is cheating ok by you people as long as it's all hetero?

You people are disgusting. Don't EVER EVER talk about or tell anyone what love between two adults should be like cause you don't have a fucking clue.

Open Markets

Open markets, where there are lots of stalls of people from all around the area to sell their goods. Whether it's all varieties of food, art, clothing, or other things. I've been going to a few of these markets lately. It's relatively common here in Sydney. Seems like most towns have one on the weekends.

I know this isn't a big thing or a new thing in most other countries, or even certain places in the US. I know in a lot of places around the world, this is the norm. There aren't giant mega malls or shopping centers or Super Wally-worlds. The time at the market seems to go a little slower. People aren't as rushed.

I'm really liking these markets. The more I go to them, the more I like them. I like the idea that if I'm buying food, more than likely, the dude standing in front of me is the person that grew it or raised it. There's not this big unknown chain of where did your food come from. It's the guy/gal in front of you, and they brought it from wherever they're from. Probably within a short driving distance.

If you're buying stuff, there's an even higher chance that the person selling it is the person that made it. They can probably make something else you like if you just ask. This is quite different than going to a store.

I also find people are really friendly in these markets. Both the people selling and the people buying. Since there's one in each town, it's mostly the locals. So every weekend, it's a place where people can meet or run into someone they haven't seen in a little bit. I like that idea. Actually meeting people that live around you.

As much as I'm online, you can't beat the live interactions. When you're online, for the most part, you're chatting with people you know. When you go somewhere, you could meet someone new. Just sitting around I talked to an old dude about the Health Care system in Spain and listen in on where the latest cool furniture is. I know that probably sounds quite uninteresting to most of you, but I have to stress, it's not always the topic that's interesting. It's the people that's talking about it.

I think people don't spend enough time meeting new people. At least, there aren't that many good avenues to really meet people. People always seem to have their guards up. I know there are good reasons for it as there are a lot of bad people out there. However, we can't forget that there are a lot of good people out there as well. If we keep our guards up so high all the time, everyone ends up isolating themselves. Instead of all of us world living in the same world, we're all just living in our own little world.

I for one, don't want to live in my own little world.

Happy July 4th!!

This is the first time I've been out of the country on July 4th since I don't remember when. It feels a little strange as it's just another day here. In the spirit of things I threw a July 4th party. Here 's the food that I made for the party:

Chili
Ponzu Garlic Shrimp skewers
Seared Scallops on the shell (with Worschester, soy sauce and a dash of tabasco)
Deviled Eggs
Mustard potato salad
Fresh Salsa and Chips
Rice Krispy treats

I think it all came out really well, especially the chili. The seafood was really good as well. I discovered this morning that I'm only a 15min walk to the Sydney Fish Markets. That place is so great. All this seafood everywhere. I can't stop drooling every time I'm there. So much fresh seafood and all so close!

I can't believe no one here's ever heard of Deviled eggs.

They don't make rice krispy treats here. I think that's a bit odd. They make mix in chocolate with their rice krispy here. Also, they call them rice bubbles, not rice krispy. Oh the things you learn.

All in all I think it went really well. I had no left overs whatsoever. It was actually a bit embarassing as I did run out of food. That did make the clean up very easy.

You're Wrong Dick.

I'm probably a few days late on this I know, but am just finding the time now to write about this.

Yesterday, US forces began withdrawing from major Iraq cities as part of an agreement signed by then president Bush. Almost immediately, Dick Cheney got on the air and vocalized their scorn for the withdrawl. A withdrawl that was agreed to by his administration and his president.

Once again using his old allies of fear and paranoia, he says that he is concerned that the insurgents may be awaiting “an opportunity to launch more attacks." He further exclaimed, “I would not want to see the U.S. waste all the tremendous sacrifice that has gotten us to this point."

Where was this concern when Bush made the agreement in the first place? Was all their talk of when the Iraqis stand up, we will step down, just talk? Does Cheney truely think we need to be there forever to babysit a soverign nation?

Ah, now there lies the question. What is his end goal? Does he really care about the safety of the Iraqi citizens? Does he really want to see democracy blossom? Does he really care about our men and women bravely fighting in Iraq? Is he just doing this to help the Republicans take a stab at the Obama administration? The answer to all those questions is no. I don't believe Cheney gives a rats ass about any of those things. If you think he cares about any of those things, I've got some nice beach front land in the outback to sell you.

Much like what he did to start the war, he will say anything to continue the war for as long as possible. It doesn't matter to him the sacrifices that are made by everyone involved. The pain and suffering of families that are broken up each day this war continues. That's not something that concerns him. What concerns him is him and his friend's ability to profit off this mess and misery.

Cheney has, and probably always will, be only concerned with one thing. That thing is money. Pure and simple. Directly or indirectly, this war he has masterminded has made some people very rich. The longer America and Americans are in Iraq, the longer he and his friends will have the golden goose.

Before we go, let me just quickly give you a couple of examples of when he's wrong.

"There's overwhelming evidence that there was a connection between al Qaeda and the Iraqi government."-- Cheney; Jan. 2004

WRONG!

"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."-- Cheney; Jun. 2005

WRONG!

Cheney stated for years that the position of VP is NOT part of the Executive Branch; all while seeking more "Executive power" for the position -- while simultaneously claiming he didn't have to comply with an Executive order on safeguarding classified information.

WRONG!

"...whatever the president does during war is legal."-- Cheney; Dec. 2008

WRONG!

You're WRONG Dick. You always have been. You probably always will be.

Going Backwards?



I look at my life a year ago. I was living in my own 3 bedroom house by myself with a nice new hybrid car. I lived around my family and friends. I had several routines that I did like grocery shopping, the sunday routine, etc. The majority of my friends were married or married with kids. We plan weeks advance to go out together. When we talked, the conversation seems to always go to kids, finance stuff, kids, or something about the future and by future I means years ahead and the kid's future.


I look at my life now. I live in the opposite side of the world in a 3 bedroom townhouse with 2 flatmates. My flat once again has a beer fridge. I have not driven in almost a year now. When I say I live around my friends now, it means a few minutes walk. Not the 30-45min drive I used to do. I have no friends that are married and def none that has children. Going out is the norm. We plan weeks advance to have a night in. When we talk, the conversation seems to be about work, food, things to do, places to go. When we talk about the future, it is generally not about any longer than 12 months ahead.

I'm not sure what exactly is happening here. It seems that I've gone down the path that everyone goes down, but suddenly for whatever reason, I made a U-turn. I don't know if that's the right decision. I don't know what exactly what I'm doing now or in the future. I do know that I quite enjoy it now and I think that's what I'm going to do for a while. I'm just going to enjoy it without thinking that much more ahead. I'll think about all this deeper meaning crap later.

Hopfully, that's a sign that I'm actually moving forward.