Humanity Bytes

News SUCKS

2009-05-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Me
Ok, so it's been forever since I posted. I've been busy with work (of which I totally hate), exercising, fishing, and cutting people out of my life that are otherwise useless, avoidant, or that piss me off. I suppose I don't post as much either since only like 3 people read this. Kind of makes a blog pointless really. I don't write shit just to write it, or like it's some diary I'll re-read someday.

North Korea
Anyhow. There's a ton going on in the news. The main thing that takes precedence over anything is North Korea getting even bigger (false) balls than usual and saying they actually will attack South Korea and US soldiers (stationed there and off the coast) if "provoked". Which basically gives them any excuse to attack while blaming us. While this is common sabre rattling device #212, this time it seems they are even more serious than usual. There's been two fatal naval battles in the last 15 years off their disputed western martime border. They're launching missles. They're testing nukes. They're defying the international community even more. Even -China- is getting annoyed. They've declared the 1953 armistice null and void. Obama, what the fuck are you waiting for? The ball-less UN to do something? I'm not saying let's nuke them, but we need to be ready, or at least move on some kind of punishment. They're testing you. Lest I remind: as a result of the Korean War, and World War II, if SK or Japan is attacked by North Korea, it is our duty and responsibilty to militarily defend them. Try and side-step that one. Even staunch libs scratch their heads and fidget nervously.

Sotomayor
I want to shift gears. I've come to the conclusion this country is fucked, both socially and politically, and it was so long before "Republicans fucked everything up". Funny how easy it is to be contemporary and cool; afterall it's popular to dump all problems on the previous party instead of realizing our own country and citizenry has failed us tremendously. Look around, read the paper, are you surprised? The media has taken collective control of most people's brains. People are so quick to label things left/right, Rep/Dem that we don't even see the issues anymore. Media pundits on both sides, Dem and Reps have ruined politics for me. However, the Dems are the belle of the ball right now, so they are the loudest voice. The Republicans are just scrambling for attention, albeit proving impotent in power, so they've reassured their irrelevance.

What I'm getting at is this latest political debacle by Barack Obama to elect Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Most of us who are well-read are aware of the un-PC comments she made regarding white men. You can find the article with the quote here. Whether you're on the side it was taken out of context for a conservative feeding-frenzy, or you think it's legit and uncooth, it's polarized the nation yet again. It amazes me how Obama so desperately wanted to "unite" the nation during his Presendential campaign, yet he continues to further divide. However, he's a celebrity, so you can't dare disagree, either that or you're a racist and/or (white) Republican jerk. It seems you can't question her record, or basically a large portion of her cases being overturned. Amazing. I feel like it's the election again: "Voting for Obama?" "No." "Racist?"

Jack Cafferty writes a poitical blog on CNN's website (he also does video bits), and often poses questions for the public to comment and respond to. The responses from the public have both scared and amused me. There's two ends of the spectrum. Basically 50% of the responses were "Republicans are dumb/stupid/idiots and the party is dying" (well maybe not far off?) etc, and about 25% were "the comments are racist, what if a white person said it?" and the other 25% were actually enlightening. It somewhat refreshed my usually-cynical outlook in that there are some smart people who cut through the bullshit media, and yet part of me is horrified how everyone else is so intent on hating Republicans, they let it blind their political awareness. Either that or people are so jaded they don't even belong to a party. People are blindly supporting things they don't research. This is drastically changing the nation, and yes, it can be scary to imagine a future America like this. Once you get so far ahead and look back, it can be hard to come back around when you see the err of your ways.

I've stated before I'm a moderate, however I tend to lean towards the right slightly, since the rabid, liberal left tends to alienate this white man. Religion sucks though. =) However, I see this country becoming a one-party deal in under 10 years with little to no opposition since Republicans are disappearing at an alarming rate. That's always good historically speaking, no? It's going to be so uncool to oppose Democrats, or think indepedently and differently; something this country was founded on. If you're still bashing Bush and Republicans, you're ok, because there's no reason to look forward or move on to other things, right? I'd feel just as fucking annoyed if it was the Republicans still doing this. Ok ok, fair is fair: shut the fuck up Dick Cheney, go home.

I just felt like rambling a bit to the internet, so by all means, read the comments and article yourself. I've tried to make it fair and take a cross-section as well as I can. However I will admit it seems the comments that are the smartest and make the most sense are people not in favor of Sotomayor. The ones that are for usually basically say "Republicans are alienating hispanic voters, the party is disappearing" and hating on Limbaugh, Gingrich, etc. There were a lot of "Republicans are dumb" so I left those out in favor of more room. I decided to allow access to America weighing in, it was both funny and scary, and well....in retrospect may not have been the best idea. Again, my job is not to persuade you one way or the other, nor do I care; I'm just putting it out there for you to figure out. Enjoy your fellow Americans' comments. However, fear the spelling and grammar. You can get the full article and comments section from Jack Cafferty's blog "Cafferty File" on CNN:

Will Republicans dare to vote against the first Hispanic woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court?

Unlike the Democrats who dared to stop Miguel Estrada from making it on the Court of Appeals. Unlike the Democrats who dared to try and destroy Justice Thomas. Come on, the difference between Democrats and Republicans are that Democrats can get away with charater assassinations and the media will never call them on it. If a Republican tried to make a logical point against the nominee then he or she would be destroyed by the media. Lets face facts Democrats can get away with anything, Republicans can’t. So to answer your question, no the Republicans will not dare oppose the nomination of the first Hispanic woman. But a Democrat would if she was nominated by a Republican.
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If the Republicans publicly and vocally offer up some moderate Hispanic alternatives to her candidacy, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be able to viably vote against her. There have been 50 Federal judicial posts that have had Hispanics appointed to them over the last 16 years and a racist, sexist jurist who thinks the Legislative and Executive branches are mere trophy wives to the Judiciary is the best Obama could come up with??? I refuse to believe that. So should the rest of America.
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Hispanic America would be behind the Reps if they vocally promoted the better Hispanic options. I would love to see what this candidate thinks about things like the Conscience Clause and how much support she gets from the Catholic Hispanic community if she is for rescinding it or on the other side the liberal community if she is for keeping it. You know…because the courts are where policy is made.
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Nope. They’re terrified and so-called “minorities” have this country in a stranglehold. G#d forbid that anyone dare to not vote for someone who is brown; that would “prove” that she/he were racist, imperialist and behind the times.

*sigh*

Haven’t you heard? We white people are the enemy and should hang our heads in shame, all the while paying for most taxes, giving most generously to charities and supporting affirmative action that allows everyone except for our own kids to thrive.
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The premise of your question today proves Obama did not select the best qualified person for the Supreme Court. Rather, like most of his decisions, this one is totally calculated to benfit Obama – politically – not to benefit the country.
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Republicans are running scared as they should be. They will tread carefully with Sotamayor and she will win confirmation easily. About the only thing the Republicans are passionate about is (1) reversing Roe v Wade (2) railing against embryonic stem cell research (3) denying homosexuals equals rights and (4) restoring school prayer.
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I’m a Republican and my wife is Puerto Rican and we’re excited about Judge Sotomayor. However, like the Democrats did with other extremely well qualified Supreme Court nominees nominated by Republicans, her record and position on judicial activism should be reviewed and discussed. Like Democrats who opposed the appointment of Clarence Thomas, shouldn’t Republicans be able to question, and if it’s the right thing to do, oppose, a Latina?
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I would hope we’ve grown beyond the identity politics that seem to be so critical to everything Democrats do. Let’s judge this nomination on the basis of individual qualifications, not on ethnicity.
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Everyone consistenly talks about ‘old white men’ as a negative.
Well these old white men helped build this country from nothing you ungrateful…..well you know.
Stop being racist.
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John asks: “Did she attain her position based on merit and qualifications or was she simply another product of an affirmative action quota system?”

The fact that you ask this question of her, and would never think to ask it about a white male judge is telling. Your question assumes that she IS a product of the affirmative action quota system, and is a priori sexist and racist.
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Very few people, Republican or otherwise, will dare be so politically incorrect as to oppose the first Hispanic and only third female Justice. But what about her qualifications and philosophy? Is an inquiry into her suitability for the Supreme Court also taboo?
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This is all part of the Dem’s plan to win Hispanic votes. The real gain for Dems will be when they legalize millions of immigrants to create “instant democratic voters”. When there’s only one party left, you’ll find out that you the voter no longer matters to them and will never have a voice again.
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It’s ironic that Obama chose Sotomayor as a “biography” pick when liberals were up in arms about Sarah Palin’s nomination for VP. Identity politics have taken over the choice of a position that is supposed to be purely apolitical.
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Our Supreme Court has been around for 220 years with 110 justices serving it…only 3 of the justices have been non-white males so Republicans should proceed with caution in making a case to deny the first hispanic, especially one that’s qualified. Republicans talk about activism as if it started with liberals. Conservative activism has been part of our supreme court for hundreds of years…four amendments in our constitution to uphold voting rights exist because our courts refused to enforce laws that enable the rights for all people to vote regardless of race or sex. Judge Sotomayor should be confirmed!
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Republican Party of white guys will try to embarass Sonia Sotomayor but I got news for Rush Limbaugh and the Republicans, the world is passing you by…while America went backwards under the Republican Congress policies of the 1994 to 2006 rein.
All the white guys in the southern states and anti-choice people couldn’t get you the White House and you’ve lost Congress.
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[Republicans] Isn’t it time to change your policies that have hurt America and the American workers, such as; tax-havens so companies don’t pay any taxes to America, outsourcing good paying American jobs, tax breaks to Foreign companies to set up shop in Alabama or Mississippi, and preventing raises in the Minimum Wage…..
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The Senate might as well overwhelmingly approve Sotomayor. She can legislate from the bench since the Senate doesn’t even bother to read the bills before them, much less pass meaningful legislation. Let Sotomayor do it.
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Before all you Liberals get high and mighty, remember please that your own dear Democrats FILLIBUSTERED Miguel Estrada’s appointment to the DC Circuit (Next stop: Supreme Court) by Bush in 2001, specifically because they didn’t want him on the Supreme Court and didn’t want to skewer a Hispanic during the confirmation process. Bush tried to set up the first Hispanic Justice (just like he appointed the first Hispanic Attorney General) but because he wasn’t a LIBERAL Hispanic judge, the Democrats got out the knives. Of course, that was not seen as bigoted or intolerant because they were Democrats, and Cafferty I’m sure didn’t mention it.
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Of course they will oppose her, because that is what they do. She is not a old white man and being intelligent is not a requirement for being republican. In fact, I strongly believe, that if brains were dynamite, they would not have enough to blow their nose.
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DARE TO? DARE TO? That’s a question you should have asked the libs who voted against Bork, or Alito, or Roberts. What the hell is this? Only Democrats can vote against Republican appointees? Just because she is a woman, shouldn’t make a difference. They hate Sarah Palin. That’s OK, right? She’s Latino…..so what? You can’t call any business without having to press “1″ for English. She’s a liberal judge who wants to legislate from the bench. That’s a reason to vote against her JACK!
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This very conversation proves this country is racist. Including the very people putting forth this stupid arguement that opposing her nomination over concerns of past statements and rulings, risks alienating hispanics.
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I would like to think that Obama would nominate a person based on what that person will bring to the bench and not what political advantage you may gain over your opposition.
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If that was the reason Obama nominated her, then shame on him.

That means her race and gender were the sole deciding factors.

That my friends is very dangerous.
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Jack – the issue is not Judge Sotomayor’s race, but her view of the Constitution and the role of the judiciary in crafting policy. Your comments reflect the left’s cynical view of race baiting.

But more importantly, I do not remember you crying race when Senate Democrats filibustered Miguel Estrada, a Hispanic and Janice Rogers Brown, a black woman to the DC Circuit. I also don’t recall you complaining Senate Democrats were playing race when Manuel Miranda found documents outlining the Democrat strategy for opposing President Bush’s nominees …. on RACE.
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Stop projecting your divisive, cynical politics onto others. The issue is ideology, not race.
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It’ll be a shame if the Republicans vote for her just to be politically correct. This country is doomed for the reasons we do things anymore.
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I hate the fact that the media and the political word is trying to tell the GOP that they have to decide how to vote based on RACE and GENDER! If they find things in Sotomayor’s history that make her look to be unfit to have a lifetime seat on the SCOTUS, then they should be free to vote against her, without be labeled RACISTS!
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The Leftist Media plays the race card…..one again….
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Just the fact that you (and everyone else) has to use the term “DARE to vote against” shows the problem with this country. There is no freedom of speech. At least not for the white man anymore. God forbid someone say something negative about a minority and openly discuss her QUALIFICATIONS for the job. If you do, then you are a racist. Maybe the GOP would vote against her because she isn’t the best person for the job? Crazy thought. I’m so sick of the PC world we live in more and more and what its doing to our country. The only reason Obama put her in office is because of race and because it secures his hispanic vote. Don’t people long for a day where politicians make choices based on what’s best for the country and not their political future?
yea I know I’m crazy.
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Of course they will. It’s part of their ongoing effort to reduce their party to a few grumpy old racist white guys. At this rate, they can have their next national convention in a phone booth. And by the way, somebody please tell Rush that it’s not all white men she thinks she’s better than, just hm – and Latinas are not the only women who think so.
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Dare not vote against her? Is this what we have come down too? Who cares her gender or ethnicity? If those are the only qualifications we are banking on here then YES DARE TO VOTE AGAINST HER. We should be voting yes or no on her experience, her record, and her judicial approach not her race or gender.
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I think it is funny how 90% of the press coverage is about how the republicans are going to deal with this nomination and only 10% about the qualifications of the nominee herself and her track record. The press needs to stop creating contraversy and report on what the real issue is.
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Jack – love the show and agree with you most of the time; however this is one I have to disagree with you on. To me, we lose the center point of our two-party democracy when one side is questioned on their motive when engaging into an honest dispute of an appointment….especially to the Supreme Court. There will never be 100% agreement on anyone’s qualification for anything, and this country was built on the minority being heard and their opinions appreciated. Regardless of whether or not you / I agree with them, the GOP should lspeak out and not be villified for doing such. And let’s hope any opposition isn’t viewed as sexist / racist bias. We all should be above that by now – thanks for your always refreshing honesty!
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I assume this is still a Democracy and different opinions can be expressed.
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I think politics has finally made me lose my mind. I’m still having a hard time believing Republicans are actually saying all this and people (albeit, only a few) are lapping it up as gospel. It’s very strange, to me. I don’t know anyone (personally) that has such extreme opinions and beliefs. I have friends who are Republicans, but they’re not total whack jobs like these folks.

Freedom of Speech is all fine and well, but don’t I have the Freedom to be Sane, or something like that?
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How about we stick to the relevant facts.

Her comments are odd and perhaps important but only as to how they impact her work.

Sotomayor has had six decisions brought before the Supreme Court and decided. In five of those cases the court struck down her decision, three of them by a significant (non-political) majority. In the six case the court upheld the decision but unanimously stated that her reasoning was faulty.

Or in other words, in every case brought before her “supervisors” on matters of fact and law it was determined that she was wrong. In two thirds of those cases it was by a significant, non-political, majority.

To me this seems to be evidence that she is not qualified to be elevated. (If you receive negative performance evaluations in every review do you get promoted?)
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Steelers to Lose Super Bowl Trophies

2009-04-09T15:21:00.001-07:00

First off, sorry I've been down for a while. Been busy toiling away to pay my bills. Working like a dog, paycheck to paycheck, in a cubicle land. GOD there has to be something else in store for me in life, or I'm going to literally die of boredom. This can't be what my life must become. I must find something else. Thanks for hearing me bitch like a sassy fat girl. My laptop was broken, and now that I got a replacement AC cable, I'm up and running. Since my battery is dead, it's now a desktop laptop. Yea, I'm in electronic hell lately. GPS broke too. =( Very sad. More blogs to come.

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Anyhow, this was very interesting, and I hope you enjoy this following shocking article:

Pittsburgh, PA - The Super Bowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team to win six titles, will soon be losing half of those trophies. After a meeting between NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell and President Barack Obama, Obama decided to redistribute half of their Steeler Super Bowl victories and trophies to less fortunate teams in the league.

“We live everyday in the country that invented the Super Bowl” said Obama, “and we are not about to lose this great American tradition in the wake of these difficult times.” Obama’s plan calls for the Steelers, who are a successful NFL team, to give half of their Super Bowl trophies to teams that are not successful or have not been as successful as the Steelers. Obama explained in his plan that he has imposed on Goodell and the NFL: “The Detroit Lions are just as much a part of the same fiber of the NFL as the Steelers and they should, no rather will, be entitled to a Super Bowl Trophy as well.”

A lone, diehard fan responds to the shocking news. He was promptly escorted out of the stadium as it was a Tuesday and also months before the 2009 football season even begins.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who by virtue of hard work, excellent team play, stellar draft choices, responsible investing of free agents, careful hiring of coaches, excellent community service and commitment to their fans, has prospered greatly during the past 30 years and have won six Super Bowl trophies. However, President Obama’s plan calls for the Pittsburgh Steelers to carry the larger burden of the NFL’s less successful teams. Obama went on to further proclaim, “in these difficult times we are all in this to work together. We must reclaim the NFL Championship Dream for every team, for every city, and for every fan.”

“My plan will not affect 31 of the 32 teams in the league.” Obama assures. That’s over 95 percent of the teams in the NFL will not have to worry about losing any Super Bowl trophies. “The worst teams in the NFL and the teams that can’t seem to get a break and win a Championship will no longer have to worry about going without a title,” Obama promises. “We are a country and league of hope. We all need to make a change. It does not matter the color of the teams uniforms, the personal decisions that the teams make or their performance, but rather if they are a member of this great American league or not.”

The Super Bowl XLIII trophy will be redistributed to the 0-16 Detroit Lions. Through no fault of their own incompetence, the Lions could not manage a victory all season and this trophy will help ease the pain of their lack of performance and give them hope once again. The redistribution of Super Bowl XL trophy will go directly to the Steeler’s division rival the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals who also have fallen on hard times have never won a Super Bowl. This victory will bring a smile to hundreds of Bengal fans all over the world as they can now celebrate a Super Bowl victory. Finally, one of the Steeler’s two Super Bowl victories over the Dallas Cowboys will go back to the Cowboys since the league needs to provide hope in the face of difficult times and provide hope in the face of uncertainty. This is a heavy burden for the Steelers but together we can all prosper.

All hope is not lost for Pittsburgh fans as President Obama has another plan in place. Obama has met with MLB commissioner Bud Selig on a similar plan. The New York Yankees will redistribute two of their world series trophies to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a supplement to their loosing 16 straight seasons and counting. This plan will help stimulate the Pirates and enable them to regain the American Dream. President Obama will soon be meeting with the NHL and Michael Phelps in the upcoming weeks as this issue is high on his agenda for “Hope and Change.”

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-emailed from a friend, probably taken from an ESPN message board, but brilliant nonetheless.

Sony releases stupid piece of shit that doesn't fucking work

2009-03-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

I would never use such harsh language normally to title a blog entry. However, it just fits. I came across something called the "Onion News Network" on Youtube recently. Apparently it's been around for a while, but with all my perusing and countless hours wasted on Youtube, I haven't previously run across it. I encourage all of you to check it out. They have a bunch of videos, and to be honest, many of them had me in tears or gasping for air because they're so funny. I hope you enjoy. Here's a few to get you hooked:

Sony Releases Stupid Piece of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work:

Warcraft Sequel Lets You Play A Character Playing Warcraft:

All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash:

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard:

There's many more to watch, so be sure to spare some time to check them out, a great way to make you laugh and feel happy.

Social Networking and High School

2009-03-16T22:11:00.001-07:00

Where oh where do I begin? If you don't know what Myspace and Facebook are, you're living under a rock, or just never connect to the internet, watch tv, or read anything.

I remember when both sites came into being. I remember when Myspace was brand new and "exclusive".

Person 1: "Hey, do you have a Myspace?" (actually referring to it as such)
Person 2 not in-the-know: "A Mywhat?"
Person 1: "Nevermind. It's some social networking thing."
Person 2 not-in-the-know: "Uhm ok?"

When Myspace dropped in August of '03 by Brad Greenspan and Chris DeWolfe, it was all the rage for several years, uncontested by almost any other social network. Everyone from teeny boppers to old folks now has a page. Celebrities, companies, prisoners, high school class mates, family, even hoax pages for Jesus, the Devil, and dear God- maybe your parents. At first it was decent: get in touch with some old friends here and there, meet some new people in your area, track your favorite band, fire off some emails/comments, post pictures, and if you're single, maybe hit on a few girls or vice versa (oh let's not pretend...). Then it was sold to News Corp, Fox's parent broadcasting company. It soon became a commercial mess, advertising every shitty band you've never heard of (or maybe have), every movie under the sun coming out, political agendas, political candidates, charities, holidays, blah! I can't say I blame the creator (or adventer since it's a network?), money is money, and get it while it's hot baby.

Now move over Myspace, Facebook is hotter than ever. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and fellow classmates of his program Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes in February of '04. It started off as a small networking tool for specifically for college students and soon grew. After gaining popularity it eventually allowed non-students to join. Facebook eclipsed Myspace with sheer users and visits in April of '08.

Chaos has now ensued.

Between the 50 applications and crap you can add to your profile, it's a touch overwhelming at times. Now I'm not 40 or anything, but enough is enough. I always preferred Myspace due to the easy webpage-type layout and ease of use, visually speaking. Facebook is way too busy, cramped nor do I have the time to mod it, keep up on who's slapping me with fish, inviting me to mob wars, throwing pies at me, poking me, inviting me to apps, advertising stupid events, or the like. It seems in general, both of these networks get on my nerves, but I realize at anytime I can just cancel my membership and not participate.

I don't mean to sound like a cantankerous old man but I'm sure I do despite my attempts. Don't get me wrong, some good has come of it. More people than ever get their news and information from places such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter. Hell, even Youtube got popular because of Myspace. More connectivity means more people than ever are in touch, sharing information about corporations, being consumers, and political use has never been higher. Government officials are even using these tools to their advantage now (don't think about 1984 please).

This is all great, but my second issue and original reason for posting is more of a personal matter. Have you been caught in the loops connecting with old high school people now that you're a few years out of school? I'm kind of glad Myspace was not huge when I was in school, seeing as how many problems it's caused teenagers and how many fragile egos it's violently smashed to digital bits.

Now this may piss off some, others might agree, and most probably won't care, but I find it both bittersweet to catch up with old high school chums. This perhaps might have to do with my issue of revisiting old, and sometimes unpleasant high school memories. It pertains to even some friends in college you were only friends with for the semester, whether it was by group study, helping on work, or a few drinks here or there. Anyhow, I didn't have a textbook great high school life like you see on TV and in the movies, etc (I know, I know, a huge surprise). I realize most people didn't have a perfect high school life either, so I know I'm not alone. At my high school, I wasn't exactly popular the first 2 years I was there. During my junior and senior year, I came out of my shell a little, adjusted my appearance for the better in my opinion, gained some more confidence, and made more friends. However, a lot of my friends were pot heads. Well you know where this goes. High school seemed exclusive at times, especially when you're on the outskirts of it. Now combine that with not being motivated or caring enough to change it, and well it was what it was. Now I was at times the funny guy, class clown, and knew a lot of people, but I don't think I ever truly ever felt I fit in.

So now I'm reconnecting with old classmates. This is all good and all, but it feels weird at times. Some people I'm connecting with I've never even hung out with in high school, or they probably didn't really consider me friends at all. I don't know what college they went to IF they went, anything about their recent life, or if some are married, live in other states, etc. They just see you and want to add you. Of course I could deny them, but it seems too easy just to click "accept" and just shrug it off. You're not going to hang out, you're never going to speak on the phone, and you probably barely will ever exchange emails, and if you do, it's to lie to each other that you "might see each other and hang out" in the near future.The other side is some are still just as fake and two sided as they were when they were 15, and some even give the ultimate insult and either ignore you or never respond to you when you try to add someone you yourself considered a friend. What a mindfuck for something so simple as social networking right?

Then again, perhaps I'm just bitter because I had a crappy time in high school. I go back on Facebook and Myspace and see all these people, and some have changed for the better, while others haven't changed at all. You're confronted with "old" people. I think what it boils down to is change; we've all gone through it. Seeing old high school folks being married, having kids, showing pictures of them and their ex at Hoover dam, at a party getting sloshed in Vegas, taking backpacking trips in Europe, pictures of grandma, photos with other people you know, and even girls you crushed on in high school just seems weird to me. Maybe it's normal emotions close likened with going to a high school reunion. Speaking of, I'm definitely not going to my 10 year reunion, coming up in just -1- year (my god).

So I'll end by saying that social networking has helped society and the public in many ways, probably more good than bad. It's help launch a bunch of careers for starving actors, artists, and bands who would have never had the change to get exposure any other way than by using these sites. When it comes to old high school classmates or other parts of your past other than family and childhood friends who are part of the diaspora of life, it just seems a little odd to me though. I wonder if I'm alone in thinking that? Or perhaps would only other awkward, unpopular people agree with me, and the popular kids love it? Ah fuck it, who cares. That's just my .02.

Obama: Not a good gift giver

2009-03-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Brown: "Here Mr. President, I got you some historical stuff like anti-slavery symbols, exclusive British-published authors, and a 7 volume biography of Winston Churchill who was like, I think important or something, mate."

Obama: "'Ey, cool bra. I got you some DVDs of American movies. Michelle got you some toy helicopters for your kids."

Brown: "Oh Bollocks. You American twits are for the birds, and your wife's a minger! You're lucky we don't go for a nasty row!"

Ok, so that's not how the conversation went. For heaven's sake though, I have to blog about this. It seems lately everywhere you turn Obama is being forced on us. After all, he's on every media outlet in digital, analogue, hi-def, low-def, every social networking site their is, terrestrial, satellite, internet, etc. Being the President I suppose we expect that. It's gone over the line however, and did so months before the election. Do we care about the drama of picking a dog? Do we care about what he had for breakfast? Apparently Americans do because they have nothing better to do.

Anyhow, this article was a riot, especially to me. I won't go into a political diatribe on this post because this is more for my own amusement. Apparently Obama SUCKS at giving gifts. Gordon brought over some really cool stuff for Obama, and well....he gave him some DVDs. DVDS??? What the hell? Is this your uncle you don't really care about, but just get him a gift so he doesn't feel forgotten? Seriously, this is embarrasing. Anyhow, here's the article:

Let's hope he's a Star Wars fan.

President Obama gave British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of 25 classic American films to mark his historic visit to the White House, British media reported on Friday.

Brown, the first European leader to visit Obama since his Jan. 20 inauguration, was presented with a "special collector's box" of DVDs during his two-day visit to Washington.

Downing Street, which reportedly tried to keep the present a secret, declined to say what movies were included in the set.

"One reason for the secrecy might be that the gift seems markedly less generous and thoughtful than the presents taken to Washington by the Prime Minister," London's Evening Standard newspaper reported.

The Daily Mail, however, reported the movie set included ET, Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz and was produced by the American Film Institute on "special request" from the White House.

Brown, who is not known to be a movie buff, gave the president and his children several uniquely historical gifts.

The first of which is a pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

Another treasure given to Obama is a framed commissioning paper for HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.

Finally, Brown gave Obama a first edition of Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.

For Sasha and Malia, Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, gave each an outfit from Topshop, a British chain of clothing stores, and selected six children's books by British authors which have yet to be published in the U.S.

In return, First Lady Michelle Obama presented the prime minister's two boys with toy helicopters modeled after Marine One.

Obama was so touched by the gifts, he called Brown on board his private jet on Thursday to thank him. The call was placed after Brown addressed a joint meeting of Congress, the White House said. The two reportedly spoke for 10 minutes.

The White House later issued a press briefing to put on record how much Obama appreciated the gifts.

"The pen set is being displayed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and the books are in the President's personal study adjoining the Oval Office," the White House said in a statement.

During Brown's first trip to America in the summer of 2007, he was given a fur-trimmed brown leather bomber jacket by President George W. Bush.

The prime minister's reaction to the DVD set is not known.

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(Haha)

Not bloggeresque of me

2009-03-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

I would like to apologize to everyone out there in Bloggerland. Or is it Blogoland? Blogville? Whatever. My apology goes out especially to my 2 followers, of only 1 who actively reads my blog (thanks Lyndon). It's not good to start a blog then take a 3 week break. I see too many things I want to blog about, but too little time to think up great articles/posts to write. Not to mention I was at a computer for about 9-10 hours a day and it's the last thing I really wanted to do when I got home.

I've been on hiatus as of late because I was in the job hunt yet again. Nothing says "epic success" like working for a temp agency out of college. My contract ended with a stupid data entry job. In a way I'm glad; I was going nuts sitting there typing on the computer all day like a monkey for a wage. I miss the paycheck obviously. It's amazing when you think of the life you'll have out of college. Not that I expect to come out and make 100k a year, but you certainly think that in this great land of opportunity, aka "America", you would be able to make a good living and secure a great job out of college. Unless you're highly specialized like medical, law, or science/engineering, it's just not going to happen like it did 20 years ago. Like many other people I'm struggling, but it's just a sign of the times. I've even thought of going back to school to learn a trade or something that I could find immediate work in (radiology tech, something of the sort).

If there's one thing I learned, it's that I don't want to be in a cubicle all day for the rest of my life. Unless it's my own business or I own the office, I feel that would be different case becayse I could leave when I wanted to.

Anyhow, I digress with other information and tidbits. You all love this stuff right? I sure do.

Think you had a bad week? Try getting hit by a truck, which was hit by a train, but you're still an idiot because you idly stood by way too close to some train tracks to begin with. Luckily, this man only got a broken arm. See the video and article here. So now he's celebrating it as his new "birthday" with a ridiculous looking cake, and promising to marry his fiancé. Isn't that sweet? Nothing like getting smacked by a train to appreciate life and to make you marry your sweety. The Turkish are no longer plane crazy, they're just train crazy. Enjoy my terrible pun like an adult, damn you.

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In other news, the woman who had her face ripped off and her hands all jacked up by the 200 lb chimp can possibly get a face transplant. WHAT? Since when did this become a medical procedure? I'm baffled. I'm going to be lazy and just let you read about it, but apparently, it can be done. Another motto to live by: Wild animals should stay wild.

I'm sorry, but when you raise wild animals in your household, something is bound to happen. When it does, I don't feel sorry for the person. Well maybe this woman, since she wasn't the owner, but in any other case it's just plain crazy. Wild animals, hell even domesticated dogs, can snap and attack without warning. Chimps are 4 times as strong as humans, and can KILL. People underestimate them. Where do you think humans evolved from and got our aggressive tendecies from? Just ask this man. He had his nose chewed off, face broken, and testicles removed from a chimp attack at a California sanctuary back in '99.

St. James had his nose chewed off, his face mangled, and his testicles pulled off by angry chimps.

Unlike my previous post, I can't even laugh at this guy. I feel so bad for what he went through. However, I never get too close to wild animals, because they're....ya know, wild.

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I recently watched a documentary about our prison system. Not only does it scare me shitless and make my asshole pucker in pain, but I know I would NEVER want to go there. Between the beatings, gang wars, race riots, and extortion, it doesn't seem like a swell place to go. What is interesting though is that our nation has 5% of the world's population, yet 25% of the world's inmates. We have the most people behind bars on EARTH. A good majority are from drugs usually, but the rest are realll bad people (rape, murder, "Chester" charges). What's the solution? You can't let some of these crazy people back on the streets. How do you rehab them? What programs can we implement to REALLY help them? Amazingly, a lot of murder inmates respond well to animal therapy. They'll even, pardon the pun, kill if someone tries to harm their little kitty. Irony, to say the least. They'll cut off someone's head with vengeance and not care, but they'll cuddle with a prison stray (and I mean cat).

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Sadly, Robin Williams must cancel the rest of his one-man comedy tour due to his needing open heart surgery. He needs an aortic valve replacement. We here at Humanity Bytes wish him the best of luck and Godspeed to a quick and healthy recovery. You can read the details here.

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Oh yea, and finally: Pakistan is still fucking nuts. In Lahore ("that's what she said"), a Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked with small arms fire and grenades in broad daylight. Seven people were left dead, six of which were cops and 1 driver. Will someone please take this country off the map, and Afghanistan too while you're at it? I feel sorry for honest citizens, but lately there's just too many terror attacks coming from that part of the world. Your humanity status card has been revoked. Read the article here about the brazen attack.

Watch the video of the attack here:

Anyhow, this post was just to share some recent thoughts and news tidbits, and also let everyone know I am still alive. I promise to make time to write more.

Remember, have a good day and don't be a twat bag to your fellow man, unless they of course deserve it.

White trash, bombs, failed suicide....

2009-02-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

How do they all mix? Surprisingly they aren't in the great state of Florida either! I know right?!

Browsing the interwebz recently, I saw this guy's blog. Now even though this is from year's ago (August '07 to be exact), I'll help summarize if you don't feel like link-hopping.

Salt Lake City, UT - Thirty two year-old Cody Wirick lives with his mother and sister (what a surprise) and apparently they tipped off authorities to bunch of bomb-making materials he had in the house. You don't say!? Authorities said it was enough to level or at least damage several houses nearby. They were forced to evacuate the house and the whole neighborhood, whilst scaring the shit out of the neighbors in a mile radius. Sucks living next to white trash who looks like they'd probably be straight out of Deliverance.

The blogger quotes "from the same story" that Wirick tried to kill himself with a gunshot blast a while back, and well, failed. Now he's horribly disfigured. Talk about an "Epic Fail" internet pic. Sweet god. I don't know about you guys, but he'd sure fit the profile of a failed-suicide dude who builds bombs, and lives with his sister and mom. Let this be a deterrent to playing with guns. It looks like someone beat his face in with an ugly stick: -literally-. I feel like I'm doing a public service by showing this.

You ready to see this man?

Are you sure? Please make the kids leave the room.

"I ain't dun nuthin! I ain't makin' no dern bombs!"

Happy Monday! Have a great week.

How to archive old B&W photos

2009-02-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, being single, I was bored on this Valentine's Day. I decided to finally tackle my photo archive I've been compiling. I also decided I would take some pictures and show you how to safely archive photos so you can do it yourself as well. This doesn't only have to be for old photos, nor do I claim it to be professional or the most perfect way to preserve them for a thousand years. It's certainly better than I'm sure most of these people stored these in the first place. This can work on new or digital prints as well; the possibilities are endless. I apologize in advance for the date stamp on all the pics. I realized it after the fact and now it's disabled, so sorry for the distraction.

Being a history nerd and an enthusiast of photography (esp. B&W), I decided to combine the two. I've recently bought a lot of photos off of Ebay that are original WWII photos. Most of them are of German origin and actually shipped from there. Usually taken at the time by photo attachés to the Wehrmacht army in German, French, and Russian campaigns. Allied and American photos are harder to find, and usually a lot more expensive. So here I had 50 or so original WWII B&W prints. Nothing like having some real history of one of the worst wars humanity has seen. I want to be able to save these, archive them, and pass them down the line for either family, or for future generations to see when many more years have passed. Nothing like authentic photos, and these are one of a kind, very interesting photos. As with any old prints, you should scan them as a backup in case the originals are destroyed or damaged. At suggestion from a friend, instead of pulling out the originals to show, I will scan them professionally and make prints to be able to make a quasi-original display album to show my nerdy friends. This is a 2nd project as it won't be a cheap one. Anyhow, I digress.

How do I archive all these great photos to weather the years? (Click for a sweet closeup.)

Black and white photos can last a very, very long time if stored correctly due to the chemicals in development and lack of other pigments. Like humans, photos don't like extreme high and low temperatures, or a lot of humidity. Keep photos in a dry, climate-controlled place like a room or shelf. Control temperature fluctuations and extremes; that means no attics, basements, or outside storage. Always handle photos with clean (wash them first), dry hands. If you wanted to be extra careful, even use cotton gloves. The oils, bacteria, and chemicals on your hands can destroy or damage old photos. Sun and water are two of the worst destroyers of photographs.

The first step is to figure out your maximum photo size and work backwards. Since my biggest were 5 8x10's, I knew I could use standard 8x12 page-size photo protectors for the largest photos. The box is 8x10, so I had to trim back the protectors a little to fit inside the box. Since the next largest of the photos were just under 4x6, I knew I could order the plastic photos sleeves at that size and be ok. Once you've figured out your dimensions and storage method, you're ready to order and go to the next step.

Largest: 8x10's in acid-free, Avery brand page protectors. (These are intel photos of Allied bombing maps/flight plans. Shown are flight paths out of Belgium into West Germany for bombing, and also locations of German troops and AA flak emplacements. Click for a better view)

8x10 Acid and lignin-free, museum archive box.

I ordered some supplies from an archival company called Archival USA. Under fifty dollars got me 100 4x6, 6 mil individual plastic photo sleeves, a museum-quality archive box, and some specialty photo interleaving tissue paper (acid free). The tissue paper is for if I wanted to ever just leave "naked" photos out in the archive box (which I don't recommend). The tissue paper keeps the emulsion layers from touching the back of the other photos if you're keeping them in a stack.

Now when you have all your materials, the next step is to create a nice, clean work area. I used a cotton towel to lay on my coffee table to put the photos on. The last thing you want is dirt, food, or liquid to get on the photos. Make sure your work area is neat, clean, and free of clutter to avoid unforeseen disasters.

Besides the 5 large 8x10's, the rest of the photos are a considerably smaller. I didn't want to order a smaller box just for that though, I'd rather just combine them in the one archive, and save money on the storage method. How you want to do it is up to you. Be sure when you use archiving supplies to always use acid-free materials. The museum archive box is crush proof with metal corners and a drop front feature for easier access ("that's what she said").

Drop-front access. Makes life easy.

Crush-proof metal corners. A must-have for long term
survival for packrats like myself..

The museum-quality archive box is specially treated to absorb environmental pollutants from the air, and is also acid-free and lignin-free. I then just put each photo in its own individual sleeve. These are 6 mil plastic sleeves of which 3 sides are sealed. These are top-load, so it's easy to slide the pictures in so they won't easily fall out. They are PVC-free, so they won't effect the photos or the emulsion layer. Do not keep more than 1 photo per sleeve no matter how tempted you are to save space or money. You never know how two photos will react in the same plastic sleeve. Never store anything else in the plastic sleeve with the photo just to be safe.

100 4x6, 6 mil, PVC-free photo sleeves.

This is how it looks when the photos are placed in the sleeves individually. Ultimate protection from the elements. (Click for closeup.)

Never let two photos touch each other outside of the plastic sleeve or store them touching each other without tissue paper or in a sleeve. You may damage the photo paper or emulsion layer (hence the interleaving tissue paper for "naked" photos). Never write or stick any labels on the BACK of the original photo, as it could bleed through or affect the emulsion layer over time. Leaving labels on the outside plastic sleeve is ok though, and exactly what I plan to do to index them.

This is the final product, all secure for archiving and storage on one of my shelfs.

Finally, you should index your photos. I have a bunch of sticky, printable labels of the address-type to later fill out. This will include information, location, details, or titles of the photo so 50 years down the road I don't have recall this. I strongly recommend you start your own kind of index system so that you are organized. If you ever need to make an album or sell the photos in the future, you know what you have and are ready to go (and not to mention in great shape).

Happy archiving, and to all the history buffs, take care of old photos; they are invaluable pieces of still life. For all the current digital photography buffs, keep your photos of today, for 50 years from now, you'll wish you had kept them. Get some kind of copying and backup plan, if you have only one source of a backup, it's not a backup. Keep your photos safe.

P.S.: When I scan my photos in, I will share them in a Picasa album for everyone to see.

Mid-week Annoyances

2009-02-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a mid-week diatribe of where I'm at. I'm annoyed and cranky today. I hate people just that much extra today. Even porn won't lift my spirits.....so to speak.

I just realized I hate work. Like, I wanted to be anywhere but there today. I also realized I cannot be at a cubicle or stuffed in an office all day. Humans are not meant to live like that; it's not healthy mentally or physically. I need to choose what I want to do with my life but I can't decide just yet. I know I'll be there for quite a while, though, to my chagrin. I hope my college degree pays off like everyone said it would, or I'll be even more bitter.

I hate traffic. I'd rather rip my hair out by each strand individually than sit in it. I wish I could be traffic-free. We need to take a lesson from Europe. Let's get a reliable public transportation system going. If traffic itself isn't bad enough, the fuck tards behind the wheel add the Y factor to the X factor currently working. That's f=(x+y)^n. Dear God.

I realized today that our economic problems are deeper than the average American knows about. The average person just chooses to plod along their mundane, routine lives and just tries to ignore it. I seriously hope our brightest minds figure this out. We've been through worse, and we're a nation of thinkers. We need to solve this mess. The collective American mindset needs to change to. We need less want and greed, and more practicality and self control.

Some of the best rap albums are: GZA: Liquid Swordz, Raekwon: Only Built for Cuban Linx, The Roots: Things Fall Apart, Tribe Called Quest: Low End Theory. Pantera blared loud as hell on the way home helps me vent out my anger. I also listen to The Strokes: Is This Is It? -ALOT-. Yea I know it's trendy and emo or whatever, but it's a really good album, the best of the litter I think. Isn't it great hearing about music from someone not qualified to really go on about it?

Ebay is like a drug. It's so addicting it's ridiculous. I bought a PS2 and am going back to old school gaming.

Ignorance is rampant in society. People with attitudes suck.

Youtube is a great place for nerd videos like old internet stuff, old commercials, old home movies, documentaries, and of course, obese black women focusing in on only their large asses shaking to "Booty Meat".

Hopefully, I'll be moving soon.

Apparently, hot girls do bong hits too.

That's all for now, I'll write something a little more elaborate or interesting later. Been busy this week. Until then, this is meant to scare you shitless and also give you food for thought. Amazing what I find on the net. Forgive me if you all have heard of this, but I sure as hell haven't, and I'd like to think I'm well informed. The world's smallest body builder is....yup, you guessed it! He's Indian. Imagine mini-me, but like a 1/4 of the size. This man haunts my dreams. Here's the Pint Sized Punjabi.

Give me the money you owe, you fuckin' asshole, or your little dog gets it too.

Dick Cheney or Nazi War criminal?

2009-02-06T17:13:00.001-08:00

I knew it all along. I thought Dick Cheney looked oddly familiar; a vague, misty memory from my past. For such a cold, callous, and evil man, he had an unforgettable face that still haunts me from when I was a young boy.

I was browsing the super-high resolution, panoramic photo of the inauguration of Barack Obama here. As I looked at the crowd, Obama, the secret service, the band, etc., I decided to zoom in for a closer look. I examined the surviving Ex-Presidents and the exiting President, George Bush. Besides the ridiculous look on Bush's face and crossing his legs like a weenie, he's sitting next to his wheelchair-bound "Vice President Dick Cheney". It now all made perfect sense! It came to me in a staggering collage of images and memories.

Dick Cheney was the Nazi Major Arnold Toht from the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I never thought of "Cheney" as a German surname, much less associated his looks of someone from the World War II era. Amazing plastic surgery this man has had, since many men of the same generation have long since passed. His age has finally riddled his legs useless. We all saw him at the inauguration, but no one has said anything since or even questioned it. It's been kept quiet.

I've inserted a photo that I personally put together to show the dynamic link between his past and present that I've concluded from my investigation. He thinks he's safe, I think otherwise. Despite faking his death in the movie he starred in before his "political career" (part 2), I knew that bastard was dirty. Last time someone was this close to bliss of blowing his cover, they took a shotgun blast to center mass while "hunting"; an epic fail assassinaton no less, but the mark got the idea. Keep quiet, or there won't be another "accident".

This time his past has come to haunt HIM. He'll never find me either. I'm here, to expose you, Mr. "Cheney". Your day of reckoning awaits you. Your friends in Brazil are not safe any longer.

A British Psycho

2009-02-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

Here at Humanity Bytes, we love a good, old fashioned meltdown of the "fuck you" type, even if it is rich movie actors.

This is one of the best movie set meltdowns ever on the set of the new Terminator movie. Complete with "fuck" used about 37 times.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Christian Bale. I loved Dark Knight, Rescue Dawn, The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, and of course, American Psycho.

I just can't believe he flipped out on set at a guy like this. Pardon my French, but in tune with the article, this man 'as some muva fuggin' rage issues. He sounds like the biggest douche bag ever.

I've lost some respect for this man. Even if he had a reason to be this upset, NO ONE in the world has a right to get up someone's ass like this. If it was me, I would have beat Christian Bale's face in to a bloody bat pulp. Anyhow, this article does a lot better job than I could about describing what happened.

His breakdown has gone viral, and he even has a fan-made music video on Youtube and Myspace.

I normally don't get involved in the celebrity gossip, because well, they're overpaid primadonnas in most cases and I just don't care. Since I do like his movies, and this is a crazy meltdown, I just had to share it with the world.

To date, one of the best movie lines ever is from American Psycho: "I want you to wash your vagina."

Listen to the freakout here, before Christian Bale kills you.

The remix music will make you die laughing too, if Christian Bale doesn't re-kill you.

Leavvvvve Phelps ALOOOOOOOOOOONE!

2009-02-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

I am SO sick of this witch hunt against Michael Phelps. Will the media and the rest of the world get off of his nuts? Michael Phelps, a 14-time Olympic gold medal dominator, 7 time world-record setter, and swimming phenom is on public trial for a photo of him that surfaced where he's hitting a bong at a party while visiting USC.

Phelps winning a gold medal for hittin' the cheeba frat-style.

I won't even go into the fact this man is an AMAZING athlete and competitor, and has the utmost dedication in training and taking care of his body when he's in full training mode. Who cares if he smokes a little on the side while he's not training? HE JUST WON 14 MEDALS. Can the fat asses writing these articles (myself excluded) do that? Could they even win a competition in anything athletic? I seriously doubt Mr. Phelps is cheefin' 7 hours a day getting baked into his skull, eating Doritos all day, and watching Dazed and Confused. However, on second thought, minus his swimming gift, he'd probably fit the role perfectly. Either way, he was at a party for god sakes, having a good time. The man who released the photo and started this snowball is a sorry sack of crap as well.

Anyhow, I get really annoyed at America's legal system and law enforcement with their vigilance towards marijuana. As a Schedule 1 narcotic, you can do some serious jail time if you're caught with enough of it. It's classified with the same brethren as heroin, china white, psilocybin (shrooms), and LSD. How RIDICULOUS is that? While states like California with "medical marijuana" clauses are starting to slowly change the course of action and collective thinking in America towards marijuana, it's sadly not coming fast enough in my opinion. Our prison system is utterly clogged with inmates to begin with (1/4 of our population in prison), and I'm sure there's a decent portion doing serious jail/prison time for selling a plant. We saw what Prohibition did, and apparently the War on Drugs has failed too. Just a side note: our government could tax the crap out of it and help supplant our piss poor economy and deficit especially in the current economic times.

While my original intent is not to get into a classic debate about the legalization of marijuana, I guess I couldn't help dropping a
little information and my personal opinion about it.

While I think most people could agree that we don't want young kids smoking pot, or thinking it's cool, skipping school, etc., there will come a point in time where they will most likely try it or, or at least GUARANTEED they will be confronted with the opportunity to. I believe the statistic is around 50%+ of Americans have tried weed. I will admit I think it's definitely a gateway drug to other harder drugs. There are also latent psychological, mood issues, and personality differences regarding addiction that can also affect a person's voluntary path into the drug world. It's not so black and white as statistics make it sound. Substances like alcohol and tobacco are far more addicting and destructive to the body than marijuana, at least from what current science has shown.

I'm like, too stoned to understand these bubbles, man. Just kidding, curteousy of the British medical journal The Lancet.

So why does this destroy Phelps' character? Why should he be humiliated, dragged down, and scrutinized? Why are they publicly hanging him? He was the media's darling months ago, the world's best athlete, and now they're talking about stripping his endorsement deals and hanging him out to dry (I swear I didn't try for that pun). Is it because he's some drug-dealing demon, or is it because it's a clash with collective America's opinion on marijuana? He's already issued an apology and admitted he used bad judgment, especially for a person of his importance. What else can he possibly due?

Now you have fat, unemployed housewives across America screaming for his head, saying he's a druggie,a bad role model, and proclaiming they don't want their kids looking up to him, need I go on? If anything, he's an inspiration for lazy, disillusioned pot heads everywhere: "hey man, like maybe I could put the bong down every now and then and possibly win a good medal!". Well maybe not, but you get the idea. People from all walks of life have partaken in a little herbage from time to time. Need I mention a certain famous ex-President and our current celebrity President as well? So our Presidents can smoke pot and no one cares after 2 weeks, but when it's an Olympic swimmer, the space-time continuum is collapsing? I don't get it.

The latest is this article where the local sheriff (Barney Fife) is actually trying to bring charges against Phelps! How ridiculous is that?! Charged with smoking pot after the fact? On what planet is this legal? Regardless, even if it DOES hold legal (bong) water, the fact they're taking it this serious is a bitch slap to my intelligence and my tolerance of the average uptight American.

I just hope as a people we learn to be more accepting of marijuana. While I don't mean smoking it all over public places and selling it to kids, etc., serious jail time for it and ruining lives for minor possessions has got to stop. When you start going after 14-time Olympic gold medal winners and disregarding anything else about his character, it's gone a little too far. I think we as a culture have become too vigilant against a plant that has been used for centuries for spiritual, recreational, and medicinal purposes.

I'll close with a neat picture of a vaporizer, the Volcano. I bet Phelps has one of these for after a good, hard swim.

Someone (possibly Phelps?) getting ready for a lung-buster.

Highlight: Hotghettomess.com

2009-01-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

My oh my, have I stumbled upon a shining little gem deep in the depths of web servers.

We've all seen those "ghetto" emails with pictures of some extremely ghetto people going to the clubs, prom, etc. This week I randomly came across a funny picture and noticed the address in the bottom right corner. Naturally, I had to have more. My appetite for these photos is insatiable. Ergo, I discovered Hotghettomess.com.

Before I get into the photos, I would like to applaud the editor, Jam Donaldson. Not only is she intelligent and well-written, she makes perfect sense in her Note From the Editor. As an African American woman, she's tired of stupid stereotypes and basically any negative images that hold back the community. She also doesn't care if people are offended by her making fun of these ghetto people. My interjection is this: white people are just as guilty of this too. Redneck photos like ghetto photos are hilarious, but just as equally sad and deplorable. Either way, aside from the photos and videos of hot ghetto messiness she has a section for music, a book feature, lyrics, gear, and a blog. She also has a message for the African American community: move forward as a whole to shatter stereotypes (and stop perpetuating fashion atrocities in the process). She even features interviews about positive, successful African American role models and business men that youth can look up to. Not to mention, her blog post about Obama basically said what I've been thinking for a lonnnnnng time about people "finally being proud" to vote. AMEN.

Blah blah blah. I know what you all really want though.

If you want to cut to the real juicy stuff, you can start with the photos here. Oh yea and to my fellow caucasians: we are not spared either: white hot. As always, the comments on the photos are the best part. Without further adieu, I will present quickly some of the goodies to get you hooked:

What good friend -wouldn't- hold up your saggy sweet potato titties?

Best way to take a picture: a.) block other person, b.) have your tattooed ass exposed, c.) have your back to camera, and d.) make people at the JC Penny photo place wonder what the hell is going on.

This is what alcohol, crack, and meth (in order of appearance) can do when combined.

What you don't know is the kid's been passed out for 10 minutes from lack of oxygen to the brain. What we do know is that's one sexy, sweaty FUPA she's showing the world.

She was either sexually assaulted or purposely dressed this way. Look at the floor too, jeez.

There -HAS- to be a weight limit. Can he feel his legs?

Brunhilda loved her new life in America.

Fifty pounds of chewed bubble gum saddle bags. HOT. Apple bottom jeans jeans ya'll.

Talkin' Tech

2009-01-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

After a recommendation by my friend to get into listening to Podcasts while at work, I recently stumbled upon Leo Laporte, the Tech Guy. I joke with my friends that I have a man crush on him, for he knows all things tech and digital, but he's so nice and just so geeky that you want to hang out with him and talk about nerd stuff. Anyhow, he's really brought me up to speed in the technical world, and has rekindled my previous waning love in the field/subject of technology and computers. I now find myself reading more and more about this stuff. Anyhow, here's some interesting tidbits I ran across on the interwebz that I'd like to share with you:

Apple is poised to bitch smack Palm right in the tiny testicles with their 358-page iPhone patent book (read: Apple Bible). Apparently, Palm's new smart phone, the Pre, is a close rip off tech-wise to Apple's iPhone (or so they claim). One of the examples used is the pinching motion to zoom in/out on the iPhone. This has the potential to be a geek's version of the OJ trial, or one of the biggest tech court cases in a long time (or at least one we'll remember). Apple is feeling the fire under their asses from this potential "iPhone killer" while Palm's profits have been struggling tremendously in the last few years by getting slammed by the iPhone and Blackerry. So will Palm stay afloat or shrink into history? Or will Apple get told sit down and shut up, and suffer sales from a potential iPhone killer (although the money's been made)? We'll wait and see. Here's the article.

Uhm. Yea. Technical, eh?

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So a New Zealand man buys a used MP3 player from some (for comedy sakes) crazy corn farmer in Oklahoma for 9 dollars on Ebay. We're assuming Ebay.com since the site was not named in the article, and I'd like to believe he got it there and not some old washed-up hooker off of Craigslist. Ok so anyhow, said guy receives MP3 player, synchs it to his computer, and voila! He finds out there's a shit load of private information. He found soldiers' SS#'s, base equipment inventories, mission briefings, etc. What.....the.....fuck???? What's with all the security leaks lately? This story is weird, but lately it's no surprise. What is a dude in OK doing with this information in the first place anyways? Luckily, it is dated by 4 years, but still, this is highly unnerving. There's obviously a national security risk here and then there's also the potential danger to our soldiers, not to mention identity theft. This is just shameful. In the last year there's been so many instances of security leaks, breaches, and information "gone missing", that's its almost ridiculous by this point. Remember the laptop being stolen from the VA hospital worker's car with 500,000 SS#'s of vets in the US? The sensitive blueprints for the US Embassy in Iraq being posted online "by accident" for a few hours? Now this? The downside of modernizing our world and putting everything online to make our lives easier, is also making it more dangerous than ever. Sensitive and "secure" information is so prone to hacking you that it seems laughable. Between Palin's email account being hacked during the election and Obama's BB to now be closely watched by hackers worldwide, we have no idea what's going to happen in the near future. I only pray some nasty, foreign enemy-of-state hackers don't succeed in getting vital info; it's not only dangerous to millions of lives here in the US, but other countries and the world's security in general. China and Russia seem especially adept at acquiring info or flipping informants. We live in an interesting time and we'll see how this saga will unfold. Where and how will humanity and sensitive information coexist on the interwebz? How will web security constantly keep up in the cat and mouse game with hackers? Who can we entrust our private information to? Can we trust online sources? These questions might still even be up for debate for the next generation. Check out the article on the "cheap-skate-MP3-buyer-but-he-got-bonus-secret-military-files" guy. Bet that wasn't in the ad.

Duuuuuuuude, these files are like, secret.
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Gross, regardless of what form it takes.

Spam: how I loathe thee. No, I don't want to join your webcam site. No, I don't want a bigger penis (at least not from your products). No, I don't believe you're the President of Indonesia, nor do I believe you're holding 50 million for me to deposit because you're aunt is sick or someone died. We all hate this shit, but it's become a part of our daily digital lives. The "inventors" (or "adventors" really) of email never foresaw this problem, and boy, did we miss a chance to possibly nip this in the bud. Either way, a few weeks ago, a server, McColo, was taken down in CA from the interwebz. Apparently this server was a giant cesspool of spam, malware, and kiddie porn. Oops, looks like someone's going to be in jail for a while. Anyhow, when this server went down, internet spam dropped a WHOPPING 80% overnight! Just from one server! If you're a real geek, this will blow your flippin' mind. The sad news: it's all coming back online, seemingly to spite humanity as if it's sentient and has a bone to pick with us. In the last few weeks it's been back with levels around 150%. Ugh, someone save me now. I can look forward to more of those awesome, life changing penis enlarging emails daily now. I hope these rat bastards who send this drivel out and run these servers have their hot day in hell eventually (or court). I've just accepted it as part of digital life, much like you can't help traffic or long lines. Die spam..........bots of Satan, die! Article on the Dark Side infiltrating the very being of digital space is located here; don't worry, there's no spam there, but you still should look into somehow getting a bigger penis.

Heritage? Hate? Or just stupidity?

2009-01-23T16:07:00.001-08:00

A friend sent me this article. Well well, didn't we hear enough about this retarded hot mess months ago? Now these "history aficionados" are back just in time for the Superbowl Extravaganza in Tampa to remind the rest of the country why they make fun of us and call us rednecks. Nothing says "git r dun" and "we'ze tolerant and edjookatid" than the world's largest Confederate flag on a giant flag pole. Thanks fellow white Southerners, for setting us back approximately 150 years.

Oh how I loathe living in the South at times. Don't get me wrong; I love fishing, football, barbecues, hunting, honing my Sig Sauer 9mm skillz, and other such "Southernesque" activities often attributed to the reddest of rednecks. I don't intend to agitate my fellow prideful Southerners, Florida cracker brethren, or urbanly challenged folks. I've just gotten a little sick of seeing the Confederate flag down South, and Florida isn't the only state to blame for this offense (coughtherestofthebiblebeltcough).

I will admit that growing up I thought the Confederate flag was kind of neat, like something that made us really different from the northern part of the US. The orange colors, the stars, the history (at least the tiniest of what you're exposed to when very young). As I got older, wiser and took more history classes past the elementary school level, I realized that it was the standard bearer of slavery and separatism that led Confederate forces into battle.

Here's where I get miffed. If you've studied history at all in your life and actually cared, most learned people realize the Civil War was NOT fought over JUST slavery (while it later became an issue no doubt). While there are many reasons the war was fought, I still respect the men who fought and died on both sides. We were not alive then, so we can't fairly judge with an honest heart and unbiased vision. The South thought they were fighting for a just cause and preservation of their way of life, and the North was trying to preserve the union and later free the slaves. History tells us that the South was obviously very wrong and therefore lost one of the worst wars the USA has ever seen.

So why in the hell would someone flagrantly display the Confederate flag like they're "honoring" Confederate history? What do they think they are representing? Even if they had family members who fought in the war, why celebrate it? I just don't get it. So they're proud to represent their "heritage" of rebel separatists and slave-owning states that wanted to separate from the Union?

While some intentions may be just to honor the memory of the Civil War for whatever backwater, hillbilly reason, have these people thought how African Americans (or other ethnic groups) felt about it? I'm sure diverse ethnic groups living down South have grown accustomed to seeing the Confederate flag and just ignoring it (I've asked). I can almost guarantee that to them it doesn't represent lofty historical American ideals like "history" and "heritage". I'm sure to even non-African Americas, it represents slavery and racial intolerance. Does anyone honestly think Hispanics, (West Indie) Indians, Asians, or Muslims think the Confederate flag means "Southern historical pride"? Probably not, especially if it's displayed on the back of Ford 29,000 4x4 raised up on 50" mud boggers as opposed to a museum wall.

Give me a break. I don't see many highly educated people toting the Rebel flag around and bragging about it.I think "Southern Rebel pride" is synonymous with "racial intolerance and bigotry", but cleverly disguised and rationalized by the guilty parties who embrace the ideal.

As a white, Southern, college educated male I find this old debacle pointless, embarrassing and basically a stain on civil rights and the image of Southerners nationwide. We're already made fun of enough and viewed by some as less than average intelligence, why the hell embrace the Confederate flag and buy into it? I hope people wise up and realize this is 2009, and if you want to act like you have a sense of humanity or education, drop the Confederate flag and sport the modern rendition of the good ol' American flag. You know, the red, white and blue one people have fought and died for for countless wars? The country that was founded by immigrants who killed the Native Americans, but now is a bastion of freedom and culture all over the world?

Whew, I'm done. Thanks for reading.

PS: The only exception to this post is the General E. Lee car from Dukes of Hazard. That car was just too bad ass.

Addictively nostalgic and creative art: pixels!

2009-01-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

If you're geeky like me, you might have played many video games growing up in the 80's and 90's. If you did, then you're certainly familiar with pixels, or pixelated graphics. This is basically digital art edited at the pixel-level. Pixel art gets far more technical and involved than I really care to explain here. Sierra is a great example, and was renowned for their "state of the art" pixel graphics, such as King's Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest etc. I could even go a step farther back and delve into the early days of BBSing (using dial up modems to call message boards) and compare ANSI graphic pictures to the precursor of refined pixel images. Basically, these were even more rudimentary pictures made using different colored blocks of ANSI (and ASCII) characters using a simple DOS graphic editor. It took great skill or an artistic eye to be adept at this, despite its simplicity.

Anyhow, recently while bored and surfing the interwebz, I came across some "pixel city" pictures and was immediately fascinated by them. These are basically city pixel images created on an isometric grid. They instantly gave me that warm, fuzzy nostalgic feeling that I love. What makes the pixel city art so interesting is that it's always so busy and there's so much going on, and reminds me of old DOS games of yore. It may seem to many as "simple" and even "primitive" compared to today's high-def and realistic images you can create with digital photography or art programs, but I find it pretty cool nonetheless.

Either way, I'll provide some links to some pics for you to enjoy and decide on your own. I'll even throw in a huge bonus and leave a link for Garbage Pail Kids. That's right! If you're over the age of 24, who can forget those lovable, nasty cards your mom would scoff at but would still buy for you as a kid? I know I had them plastered all over my room (however I first learned of them from my older brothers who were perpetually cooler than me growing up). Ahhh, being an 80's kid was ridiculously awesome, but I think I could turn that into a whole other blog post. Take some time and enjoy some art, you'll make more wrinkles in your brain!

Feel free to comment or leave your own links.

My Picasa Pixel Art album:

Pixel Art

Pixel City Homepage (animated- really cool)
Garbage Pail Kids
More Garbage Pail Kids

On the 46-year old college plan

2009-01-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

This man is what's right with humanity. Not to mention he's got more tassels than a 50 year-old ex-Vegas stripper (just look in the background).

Here's one that slipped passed you: Michael Nicholson, a 67 year-old Kalamazoo man, has redefined what it means to be a "career student". So far he's earned 27 degrees from various colleges since 1963. His first two degrees were a bachelors degree in religious studies from William Tyndale College in good ol' Detroit, and received a master's in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary college.

If that wasn't enough, he received an additional 2 associate's degrees, 18 master's degrees, 3 specialist degrees, and 1 doctoral degree.

He is currently pursuing two more master's degrees as we speak. This is truly amazing! This man is a beacon of knowledge in a ignorance-filled, pop culture obsessed world. Let me rephrase: in a pop culture obsessed AMERICA. While record numbers of people are attending college and getting degrees (more women now receive degrees than men), this man obviously sets the bar high for American college students. You'll however take solace in the fact this is the exception, not the rule!

Education has been on the decline in America for many years now at least at the secondary level, despite the influx of college students and graduates. You've heard the stats in the news about finding Iraq on the map, etc., I don't need to reiterate the stupidity of a lot of our stoned out, misguided youth. I hate to be so retro-cynical, especially with education, but we really need to step it up and invest in our youth if we want to be competitive with the world and effectively keep this country going with some of the brightest minds. While India's population is far more vast than ours, they have more honors students in their country than we have STUDENTS. Wow. +1 for Punjab.

This man has amassed an unimaginable debt, but possesses some of the most amazing knowledge and smarts that are unmatched by most people. This man has drive, ambition, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Not only that, his wife, Sharon, has earned herself 7 degrees! Needless to say, I can imagine the conversations around the dinner table are very high brow, or at least enough to make your cerebral cortex twitch from too much brain power. I wonder if they have strange telekinetic powers as well? Anyhow, Michael is very humble and a not a braggart which makes him even more likable and the story even more genuine.

Hats off to you Michael, for your scholarly endeavors. You're an example to many people what you can accomplish with dedication and perseverance. I admire you and your wife and your vast knowledge you possess. May you be an inspiration to many more people.

I encourage everyone to attend college; the experiences and knowledge you receive are invaluable as no matter what major or degree program you pursue. Just the information, environment, and social interactions and bonds you make with people who are different than you help you mature and grow in ways you never knew existed.

Even if you can't afford college or can't get loans, at least do yourself a favor and go to your local lyebrury and holla at some bookz.

Linky

One of the oldest displays of why people suck

2009-01-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

Yes you guessed it. Of course I'm referring to theft. I believe murder would be a close second perhaps, but I'm inclined to believe people were stealing before killing each other, if even in the simplest forms (food, water, resources, females, territory, etc). Although it's not hard by any means to imagine stealing leads to murder.

Anyhow, I digress. One of the reasons humanity sucks in general is that since the dawn of man there have always been THIEVES. There are many motivations and reasons why people steal whether it's poverty, opportunity, jealousy, greed, etc.

The fact remains is that when people steal, there is always a victim. Now, I'm not going to sit here and sound holier-than-thou and say I've never stolen in my life; I have. However, I have never stolen anything "serious" like cash money, cars, electronics, belongings, etc.

Recently, my mother's house was broken into. My mother and her fiancé had left town for a week, and during that time someone had broken in and stolen two of their TVs. Usually, you only hear about these things after the fact, but this was truly strange, and anger- inducing. I actually was supposed to stop by the vacant house and pick up a bag of stuff my mom left for me a few days before. I work around the corner and figured I would stop by on this particular day to pick up said bag. When I pulled up, I see a police car and a crime scene unit van. Immediately, I put 2 and 2 together and knew what happened: they'd been robbed. They always had very nice things and lived in a great/ritzy neighborhood, and I always thought perhaps it was only a matter of time until they were hit.

When I walked up, my brother (who was contacted to arrive on scene to secure the place) was already outside pacing around. I peered inside and immediately felt sick to my stomach. The giant flat panel TV was missing as was another TV in the bedroom. In the scheme of things, that's all they made off with, and left countless other valuables, so in a sense my mom and her fiancé "got off lucky". However, just knowing the feeling that someone was in MY MOM'S house, and went through everything, throwing shit all over the place with disregard didn't sit well with me. It's hard to describe the emotions you feel when someone has tread into your (or a loved one's) house/territory and you see it first hand. Someone who was not invited or welcome came into your home, went through your stuff, and took whatever they wanted and selected.

Nothing could be more angering than that. When I was 12, the same thing happened to our house in Town N' Country (for those not local, that's West Tampa). However the police showed up and chased the burglars down and arrested them. This time though, the person was long gone, and left nothing but an open door, and a messy house sans 2 tvs. I can't say enough how glad I am no one was home and no one was hurt.

I really hope they find this guy, but I seriously doubt they will. If they never do find this person, I hope he gets some bad karma his way, like he goes to jail on some other charge, gets raped by a rusty screwdriver and dies of AIDS, or basically suffers some type of slow, horrible death. Stealing is low and basically feels like a kick in the gut to the person, so if you do it, you deserve any bad karma you get. I'll feel bad for a person if they ever broke into my house while I was in it, as they would be catching a hot surprise when they entered my place.

So please people, we know there's always going to be thieves. It's a fact of life. It seems like in today's world you can't anything nice without someone else wanting it for little effort. With that said, make sure you go out of your way to take precautions with your own safety and your belongings, be vigilant, and most of all, be smart and aware of your surroundings. Get an alarm system, and lock your doors and windows when you leave. It's better to be "paranoid" and inconvenienced securing things than to be a victim and coming home to a ransacked house.

Helpful hints and links:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

Greetings/Salutations/Introduction

2009-01-15T20:24:00.001-08:00

Thank you all for taking the time to stumble across my little sliver of 1's and 0's on the internet (of which I most likely will joke and call "interwebz" from here on out).

I'm new to the blogging universe, and I must say, I appear to be a Johnny Come Lately. While I'm no stranger to writing, I've never really started my own blog, and now seems as good a time as any. I've been meaning to get started and have my own place to call home, so to speak. I've always had a way with humor and wit, have loved to delve into sarcasm and debate, and have always liked to make people think about their own ethical and moral viewpoints.

While I will admit I haven't had the "craziest" life, I have had some interesting things happen to me over the course of my life. Some good, some bad, and well I'm here to share some of it. Expect some random/funny stories from time to time.

My blog will not have a theme, relatively speaking. It's more or less going to be a forum for me to share some ocassional random blips of sporadic memory, an interesting article or piece of juicy news (funny/controversial/weird), or basically just to bitch and rant about HOW MUCH HUMANITY SUCKS. While I'm not a true cynic, I sure may appear to seem like one, I won't lie to you. Feel free to reply however you like, but I will reserve the right to edit or remove any comments I deem necessary to keep some artistic integrity intact and human decency afloat (that doesn't mean I'll remove something if I don't agree with it). Also, I love commas, parenthesis, and hyphens, and probably use them too much and unnecessarily.

In conclusion, these are some basic tenets I wanted to lay out to the public. I don't expect many people to read my blog or stumble across it. For those who do however, welcome, and I hope you may find some of this entertaining, enlightening, or useful. There will be more posts to come. Also, things will be under construction for a bit until I get some images I like, do some html tweaking, and get the fonts and colors configured how I like them. Best to you all, this is about as nice as I'll ever get.

Tschuss,

Rant N. Rave