Saturday, October 4, 2008

The Sarah Palin Issue

Ok...now lets not mix words. I am politically extremely liberal and would only vote Republican if I actually saw the asteroid plunging toward the earth. But is it wrong that I find Sarah Palin attractive? I think she is a conservative crazy...not the sharpest knife in stack...and her voice is really grating. But...is it wrong that I still think she is hot?

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Great Quotes

Check out these quotes...good stuff, none of it mine. Any guesses on what books? Hint: One of the books is a modern day author who is a hit with the Academy Awards. One is a classic, that they find on shooters. One is a look at Britain in the future...also a future.

He walked out into the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of an intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.

"I don't want to scare you," he said, "but I can very clearly see you dying nobly, one way or another, for some highly unworthy cause."


"Perhaps His experiment went spectacularly wrong, sir. Perhaps He's just baffled. Seeing the mess, not knowing how to put it right. Perhaps not wanting to put it right. Perhaps He only had enough power left for one final intervention. So He made it. Whoever He is, whatever He is, I hope he burns in His own Hell."





Thursday, September 25, 2008

THE NEW US ECONOMY???

Economic Crossroads
Where Should America Go From Here


Today the leaders of America say the bailout of our doomed economy is almost complete. We are split as a nation on the details of the plan and the scope and cost such a bailout will cover. Many agree that something is needed in this time of financial crisis, and are putting forth their various theories to the media. What should happen? How much should happen? Here are my thoughts.

First, I believe that a bailout plan is necessary. I believe that the ripple being caused by America’s financial institutions are crippling our economy and are ruining people’s retirement. Company’s that need to borrow before they make profits are being forced to go under and the people who work for them are losing their jobs. I personally think that this moment in time can be a turning point in America’s Economics and America’s Culture.

1) The government should buy up the bad mortgages and do what is needed to save the financial institutions that help stabilize our economy. Then, the government should go a step further and set-up a Government Mortgage Program. Under this program any citizen over the age of 25 can apply for a Government Mortgage for their primary residence. This loan will be given at 2% interest and will all be 30 year. This will lower Americans main expense and allow housing payments to become more affordable. It will provide the government a small but steady flow of interest and will also free up citizen’s money to be put back into the economy. This would only be for PRIMARY residences and vacation homes or second homes would not be eligible.

2) Short Selling should be banned. Simple.

3) All stocks that are bought should have a mandatory 48- hour freeze before they can be sold again. This will prevent people from trying to day-trade and artificially inflate a stocks value.

4) The US government should set up a bi-partisan evaluation committee to monitor all Fortune 500 companies and to limit the amount of risk they are able to take on behalf of their stockholders.

5) Pensions should be Federally Insured. A person should not work 30 years with a promise of a 75% end salary pension, just to be surprised that they can only receive 35%.

6) Health Care should be socialized. This would take away the risk of catastrophic illness bankrupting families…along with about another thousand reasons why it is just time.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

WHAT WILL THEY SAY WHEN I AM GONE

I stumbled upon some funny things people have said at people's funerals...except T.E. Lawrence said his to a writer before his death.

FAMOUS BRITISH CRIMINAL JACK SHEPPARD:

Sheppard threw himself into a hedonistic whirl of drinking and whoring. Inevitably, his carpentry suffered.

DOC HOLIDAY:

There was something very peculiar about Doc. He was gentlemanly, a good dentist, a friendly man and yet, was a slender, sickly fellow.

CHRISTIAN FLETCHER:

His knees stand a little out and he may be called a little Bowlegged. He is subject to violent perspiration, particularly in his hand, so that he soils anything he handles.

WILLIAM MCCOY:

His life came to a tragic end after liquor and finally ended his life by jumping off a cliff in a drunken frenzy.

T.E. LAWERENCE:

I been & am absurdly over-estimated. There are no supermen & I'm quite ordinary, & will say so whatever the artistic results. In that point I'm one of the few people who tell the truth about myself.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

WHY THE WORLD ISN'T ENDING

Ok...my friend Ross told me about a month ago that the world was going to go to hell in a hand-basket. After Monday (Lehman Brothers & the ML/wall street incidents), Ross called me up and said, "See...I told you. It is starting."

I spent some of the day Monday thinking about this...since I am a post-apoc freak and am very ready to roam the wasteland looking for the scrapes of the past just to get by. Hell...I am actually looking forward to the post-apoc...no more credit card debt, wearing cool outfits like squirrel-skin pants and used hockey equipment. I watched The Road Warrior a hundred times and know the ins-and-outs of scrounging for petrol. So I took what Ross said to heart...maybe this was the beginning of the new world...the reforming of society.

I will say...people seemed scared. All this talk about a global economic fall, that will destroy the financial markets as we know it. But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that this is just paranoid investor bullshit. I am not saying that I am ignorant to the economic woes of the country...I see that we are in hard times. But...a "the world is going to end" situation, it is not. Here is why:

1) For society to truly change you need a fast UNREPAIRABLE event. Money and businesses, although they all do something or make something can be replaced very easily by another. Also the rich of the world...we reinvent the game to stay rich...they always have and always will.

2) Something has to dramatically effect the population within a matter of months...this isn't achieved by economics...this is done by natural disaster, sickness, war, famine, or sudden lack of transportation of food.

3) Also...the "event" that changes everything can't be a...lets see how the government will help. When it happens, it will be so fast and large scale that there won't be enough time to do anything.

4) So...to everyone freaking out, the market will correct itself, it always does. Housing prices will go up and down in cycles for hundreds of years. The fun thing about economics is that the cycles involved tend to work themselves out.

Monday, September 1, 2008

The Real Inventions/Ideas That Advanced Mankind

I was watching TV and they were counting down the greatest inventions/ideas of mankind...stuff that we use everyday, like antibiotics, the printing press, computers, etc. I was thinking today on my way back from Labor Day Activities about the things that were left out...the true gifts to humanity.

1) PROCESSED MEAT:
- This has to be one of the greatest inventions ever. You take useless meat and blend it together...making something that is encases in intestines that everybody eats. Today I had 2 brats and two hot dogs...someone made money (and I enjoyed eating) the leftovers of a meat packing plant.

2) CHILD HARNESS:
-Many parents pretend to be appalled at this invention. Even though the harnesses are cute and disguised as backpacks, some parents pretend to be so above them. I say: DO NOT KNOCK IT UNTIL YOU HAVE TRIED IT. Shit...I ma use it until the kids are 18.

3) YOUTUBE:
-Where else can you look for video and secretly be hoping for a boob to pop out of a really tasteless episode (look up "Feel Like Bacon Love")

4) PLAY-PENS:
-You know..these were an invention of the 70's...so parents can drink and hang out with friends while the children played in a self-contained area.

5) THE TOPLESS ONLY GENTLEMAN'S CLUB:
-Just not as dirty as the real thing and you can drink...which is nice.

6) VIDEO GAMES THAT LET YOU KILL THINGS:
-Not a big video game fan...and some say it promotes violence...I say a good way to burn off steam without actually killing something.

7) REMOTE CONTROLS:
-I love the fact that when the remote is lost the channel doesn't change...even though I am 5 1/2 feet from the TV.

8) AMBIEN:
-This is some good stuff (do not use on a plane, or anywhere else that showing a bare chest and roaring is considered inappropriate).

9) TIVO/DVR'S:
-If everyone had one there would be no war.

10) THAT COLD-HEAT THING SOLD ON LATE NIGHT TV:
-For $19.99 you can have a device that can fuse metal together and then...moments later, is safe to the touch. These are the people who will invent cold-fusion.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Social Theories of Man

Ok...I know that the title sounds like a Harvard educated lecture is ready to get started, but I assure you that I do not have the qualities to write such a blog for the following reasons:

1) I am not as book smart as my British friend Andrew
- who is highly intelligent but also is sort of an airhead in some circumstances
2) I lack the patience to write anything that takes me more then 30 minutes to think of and do.
3) I learned 90% of what I know from TV and Wikipedia.

That being said...I like this social theory I read about...I wanted to know the if their are any other opinions out there.

THE SOCIAL CYCLE THEORY : Unlike the theory of Social Evolution, which views that society will always evolve and views human history as progressing in some new, unique direction(s), sociological cycle theory argues that events and stages of society and history are generally repeating themselves in cycles. Such a theory does not necessarily imply there cannot be any social progress..but merely that the progresses being made are over-shadowing the fact that the same social game is playing out on a loop in general terms.

I think I buy into this theory. I view society as a whole playing out similar roles throughout history. I think that through technology advancements and a "smaller world" society we tend to think that we are an advanced people...moving forward greatly, when in reality we as a "society" are not as far removed from our ancestors who emerged from a hundred thousand years ago.

I think that Americans (which I am one of) tend to think of ourselves as this great World Power that will lead the Ignorant World it the future and beyond...when in reality we are following the same rise and fall cycle that all other great nations have followed. Hopefully the fall isn't as hard as some , and maybe we can learn a little from our most modern counterpart .Regardless the cycle is repeating...too bad I wasn't born in 1949.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

WHEN THE BEARD GOES WRONG

Ok...all of you can admit that one of the manliness displays is the growth and showmanship of the beard. For centuries beards have been statements of testosterone, intellect, academia, the disenfranchised, the lazy, and the poor. Hell...the playoff hockey beard is a cultural icon in itself.

At times, due to lack of sleep, terrible political views, or just plain run-a-way egos, man has taken the beard too far...and we all know that a beard taken too far is an injustice that is hard to put in words.

First a look at "Beards At Their Best"


NOW...WHEN THE BEARD GOES BAD:


Thursday, July 10, 2008

THINGS MEN KNOW...THAT WE TRY TO KEEP SECRET

I am bored and it is raining (what is up with Chicago's weather...Africa Hot one day, Scottish Highland cool the next, today we are Bangladesh). So...I have been on Wikiquotes finding good quotes that show what really is in the minds of men...that we really don't want the ladies to know:

Women think we are normal. Like them. Cuz we talk to them like normal people. We say 'Hello', 'How are you', 'Haven't seen you in this place before', 'What kind of music do YOU like? hoha..'. But all the time in our brains we've got the word "breasts" on a loop. If we ever lost control for a second, we'd all start shouting breasts, breasts.

Look, I like naked women! I'm a bloke! I'm supposed to like them! We're born like that. We like naked women as soon as we're pulled out of one. Halfway down the birth canal, we're already enjoying the view. Look, it's the four pillars of the male heterosexual psyche. We like: naked women, stockings, lesbians, and Sean Connery best as James Bond. Because that is what being a bloke is. And if you don't like it, darling, join the film collective. Look: I want to spend the rest of my life with the woman at the end of the table here. But that does not stop me wanting to see several thousand more naked bottoms before I die. Because that's what being a bloke is. When Man invented fire, he didn't say "Hey, let's cook!" He said: "Great! Now we can see naked bottoms in the dark!" As soon as Caxton invented the printing press we were using it to make pictures of - hey! - naked bottoms. We've turned the Internet into an enormous international database of... naked bottoms. So, you see, the story of male achievement through the ages, feeble though it may have been, has been the story of our struggle to get a better look at your bottoms. Frankly, girls, I'm not so sure how insulted you really ought to be.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

INTERESTING...YET SICK























Here are some funny photos...See if you can match the picture with the heading.

a) THE CREEPIEST JOB IN THE WORLD

b) 1984...oh no, it is the Bush Whitehouse

c) So Large, yet very misunderstood.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

JUST PAID $98.67 TO FILL TANK

Now...I realize that in the United States we are still paying less for gas then they are in Europe, but that being said I just spend almost $100 filling up my car. This got me thinking about how gas prices are creating a "ripple effect" throughout society. I read that air travel is down 65% this summer. This is when the air industry is already going to shit. Local summer car travel is also down (although I don't know the exact numbers). Hell...this summer my family and I canned both our air trip to Conn. and our driving trip to Canada because it would cost us a fortune in gas.

Now all this is impacting my life...ad my house-hold income is right around $95,000. Can you imagine what it is doing to house-holds that are making in the $50,000's.

Part of this I feel is good. The addiction to oil has got to stop. The problem is, we need a GOOD alternative and soon. The US either needs to invest in better public trans, get this electric cars going faster...figure out the hydro-car thing...and figure it out fast!

The video below is pretty funny...if you like the idea that this oil business is already too far gone to fix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEXByTrXb6k&feature=related

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

Ok...I have been watching EURO 08 and think that I have learned a lot about Europe from watching it. Even if you are not a soccer fan (Mike) you can definitely learn alot from across the Atlantic from watching the tourney.

This is what I have learned:

1) That the Turks are very hairy and seem to piss everyone off...including the announcers because lets face it, most of their country is in Asia.

2) The Dutch tend to come on strong and when it seems like they have it all wrapped up, they choke. By the way...they love the color orange, which is not in their flag....something to do with the royals.

3) The Greeks cry about absolutely everything. I mean come on...are that big of pussies. Shit, this group can't of descended from the people in 300.

4) Every good player seems to be playing in England or Real Madrid. Every player they call up-and-coming plays for the Rangers or Celtic.

5) The Germans and the Austrians almost look like they shouldn't even be on the same field together (perhaps old guilt).

6) The announcers really like to talk about Northern Ireland's run...even though they didn't make it.

7) The Swiss are much better bankers then athletes.

8) The Portuguese seem to not like to play defense...at all. They defended about as well as they did with the Moorish invasion.

9) That Spain doesn't seem to have many fans at the games...maybe they are ashamed at all those naps they take.

10) That Croatians scare me...they look like they can steal a kidney pretty fast.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

5 DUMBEST TV SHOWS

Ok...here is a list of some of the dumbest TV shows that lasted at least 2 seasons. Please feel free to add:

1) Perfect Strangers: ok...a third cousin shows up at your doorstep in Milwaukee and you become buddies and adventures ensue.

2) ALF: An alien puppet? He eats cats? How did this one go past the "meeting" stage.

3) The A Team: I know we want it to be hip and cool...but Vietnam Vets hanging out in a van...not a cool combo. To make matters worst, no one ever dies. They just fell.

4) Knightrider: Two problems here: A) talking car B) The Hoff.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

TEE BALL

Ok. I love sports. I played sports growing up and still play sports as an adult. I love the competition, the exercise, and most of all the task of going against someone with all that you've got.

My daughter started tee ball this week. It was my wife's idea. We have had two practices and my theory on sports has just been totally validated. Kids shouldn't play organized sports until they are 8. A 4 year old trying to play tee ball is like watching a fat guy lay out on the beach. It is mildly entertaining, but after a short while you feel that it is just wrong and a waste of time.

Young kids do not have the ability to play team sports, nor do they have the attention span to fully understand what is being asked of them to do. The Swedes do not allow kids to play team sports until 8 years old...they still practice the basic skills of sports, but the competition is taken out, as well as the expectation to play together as a unit.

I would say that 60% of the tee ballers out on my daughter's team do not even understand the concept of "points" and "team". A good 15% of them don't want to even be there. The remaining 25 % are very interested in their glove, hat, or the dirt.

So why do we throw our kids into sports so early? I think part of it is because of ourselves...we feel that we get to relive sports through our kids and want to start reliving ASAP. Another reason may be that we as a society want our kids to be adults ASAP. Trust me...I have been grown up for years and would love to have done it slower. Lastly, I think we do things because the neighbor kids are doing it. Hell...if Joey across the street can play tee ball at 3 so can my kid....it is as simple as keeping up with the Jones.

Any comments?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

FATHER'S DAY

I think this is appropriate since it is Father's Day. Hope all the Fathers are having a good day...although the on-fathers are probably having more fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nojWJ6-XmeQ&NR=1

Thursday, June 12, 2008

BAD GREEKS

I am soo glad that the Greek National Team lost to Sweden. First off, they are an offensive joke...who literally stole EURO 04 in what had to be the biggest bit of luck ever. Secondly, we keep hearing about the "Great Defense" of the Greeks...that's funny their defense looked about as good as the Russians or maybe even the Turks.

Anyone else glad Sweden won?

If you have a chance read Andrew's newest blog...pretty funny:Link

http://britishexpats.com/blogs/pondwater/5390/A+few+things+I+don%27t+miss+about+London+%28plus+one+that+I+do%29.html

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Netherlands Beat Italy 3-0

Anyone see that EURO match yesterday (6-9-08)??? I know a lot of people will say that their defense is shit, but I love how the Netherlands play as a team. The game against Italy was fun to watch and action packed. The Netherlands just go all out, which is an exciting style to watch. The Italians stay back too much, and many National Teams seem to play "not to lose" instead of to "win". Any comments?

Sunday, June 8, 2008

REASONS WHY AMERICA IS HATED

Ok...Americans are not exactly the "Cool Kids" on the block. Now...there are many political reasons why we are not liked...but here are some reasons that CNN doesn't talk about:

1) We vote more for American Idol and Dancing With The Stars then we do for President.

2) The OC was considered good television.

3) We spend over 30 billion dollars a year on pet supplies.

4) David Hasselhoff

5) SUV's

6) Our gay love of the "Cowboy Era" (this was an extremely short period of time when people worked their asses off for the "boss" and hardly got paid...they had to endure horrible conditions and many became alcoholics...But hey those were cool hats).

7) Zuba Pants (you know...somewhere there is a guy tail-gating wearing them right now).

8) NASCAR

9) Calling Football Soccer

10) George Bush (ok...this is political, but he was elected TWICE)

Political Cartoons

Well...it is a tad on the humid side in Chicago. I found a few of these political cartoons and thought they were good. The McCain one is funny when you compare his big speech Tuesday against Obama's. I also like the great artwork on Tony Blair's wife...was she ever hot? I don't understand how these politicians find some of their spouses.