I took my usual blogging time to put some information in my profile, since eight people (or one obsessed individual eight times) have actually tried to look at it.
I'll be back tomorrow with more incisive observations on whatever catches my abbreviated attention
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Warning! Politics AND Religion
Despite it being well known that politics and religion are the two meaty subjects that will stir up animosity regardless of what flavor you prefer, I'm going to get them both up on the table and start carving. Don't say I didn't warn you...
A presidential candidate went on record very recently with his thoughts about what in this country today would annoy or disappoint Jesus. Without getting into specifics, if I were Jesus (I'm not and any similarity is purely coincidental), I would be really annoyed that any politician thought he or she had the ability to intuitively know what would irritate or annoy me. Furthermore, if I wanted a government leader that claimed to have a direct line to the divine, I'd move to Iran or some other flavor of theocracy. Our founding fathers cagily separated the two, probably because they could probably still recall the mess that the "divine right" of kings caused in Europe.
It seems that Jesus' endorsement is now critical to become the anointed party candidate of any political entity in this country. Since Jesus is not giving interviews at the moment, we have to rely on the assurance of the candidate that he or she has in fact secured this endorsement. Apparently, Jesus is pretty indiscriminate in his political leanings, because everyone from that little Austrian corporal with the mustache forward has claimed divine approval for their domestic and foreign policies. That's just in modern times. Don't make me inflict ancient history on you.
I do think I understand why they seek this tacit stamp of approval. Think about it... "God told me to" is a pretty good excuse when things start to fall apart.
A presidential candidate went on record very recently with his thoughts about what in this country today would annoy or disappoint Jesus. Without getting into specifics, if I were Jesus (I'm not and any similarity is purely coincidental), I would be really annoyed that any politician thought he or she had the ability to intuitively know what would irritate or annoy me. Furthermore, if I wanted a government leader that claimed to have a direct line to the divine, I'd move to Iran or some other flavor of theocracy. Our founding fathers cagily separated the two, probably because they could probably still recall the mess that the "divine right" of kings caused in Europe.
It seems that Jesus' endorsement is now critical to become the anointed party candidate of any political entity in this country. Since Jesus is not giving interviews at the moment, we have to rely on the assurance of the candidate that he or she has in fact secured this endorsement. Apparently, Jesus is pretty indiscriminate in his political leanings, because everyone from that little Austrian corporal with the mustache forward has claimed divine approval for their domestic and foreign policies. That's just in modern times. Don't make me inflict ancient history on you.
I do think I understand why they seek this tacit stamp of approval. Think about it... "God told me to" is a pretty good excuse when things start to fall apart.
Monday, March 5, 2007
I Don't Like Mornings...
The most popular (so to speak) time for heart attacks is early Monday mornings. It's true, look it up. This is Nature's way of telling us to sleep in...
I touched on my feelings about Monday mornings last post. It's that gray ugly blur between coffee and lunch. Actually, that describes all mornings. Coffee doesn't really help, but it does put an edge on the blur and helps me articulate my displeasure more coherently. "Uurrgghh!" becomes the much more lucid "Go Away!" as I stumble threateningly towards the object of my displeasure. It's generally usually one of those "morning people".
Early rising is probably an evolutionary holdover from a time when we had to get up early to get all our hunting and gathering done during daylight so we could see what we were doing. Not coincidentally, this was also when all the big bad nocturnal predators were sleeping, so we could a: not get eaten, and b: kick the crap out of any we stumbled across while they were still groggy. So you see, if you're an early riser, you haven't sufficiently evolved. Try going back to sleep, it really helps.
I once read/heard/thought (I can't remember which, it must have been before noon) that people who are cheerful in the morning are actually making a desperate plea for help. If you're one of them, please consult a professional and quit trying to convince me how wonderful birdsong is at 6AM. I'm not buying it and it could get really ugly if you persist. I mean it...
I touched on my feelings about Monday mornings last post. It's that gray ugly blur between coffee and lunch. Actually, that describes all mornings. Coffee doesn't really help, but it does put an edge on the blur and helps me articulate my displeasure more coherently. "Uurrgghh!" becomes the much more lucid "Go Away!" as I stumble threateningly towards the object of my displeasure. It's generally usually one of those "morning people".
Early rising is probably an evolutionary holdover from a time when we had to get up early to get all our hunting and gathering done during daylight so we could see what we were doing. Not coincidentally, this was also when all the big bad nocturnal predators were sleeping, so we could a: not get eaten, and b: kick the crap out of any we stumbled across while they were still groggy. So you see, if you're an early riser, you haven't sufficiently evolved. Try going back to sleep, it really helps.
I once read/heard/thought (I can't remember which, it must have been before noon) that people who are cheerful in the morning are actually making a desperate plea for help. If you're one of them, please consult a professional and quit trying to convince me how wonderful birdsong is at 6AM. I'm not buying it and it could get really ugly if you persist. I mean it...
Friday, March 2, 2007
TGIF!
That acronym above has become near and dear to most of our hearts. It even merits its own restaurant chain, like a little gold star pasted on it's metaphoric forehead...
I wonder when it was first uttered and in what context? I'm guessing not by any Christian before the Reformation unless they really, really liked cod. It's probably an American invention sometime after the five day workweek finally caught on here, at least in urban centers. To all of you in service industries and agriculture, yes, I'm afraid it's true. Some people don't work weekends. DO NOT tell your boss I told you this. I don't need the angry phone calls, especially on not Saturday.
Personally, I'm a big fan of Monday mornings, because no one expects anyone to get anything done. Generally, everyone is happy if you just make it to work in reasonable proximity to "on time". Even a reasonable proximity to "at work" works most places. If you can make the parking lot, you're good to go. If the work week started at 11AM on Mondays, I'd bet just as much would get done, and there'd be fewer errors. Remember the car industry adage that one should never buy a car built on Monday? The same probably holds true for Friday afternoons, come to think of it.
In closing, I find it amusing that we thank God for a day named for a Norse fertility goddess and on which probably 70-80% of all commandment breaking is done. Thank Freya/Frig it's Friday and have a great weekend! If you get those, of course...
I wonder when it was first uttered and in what context? I'm guessing not by any Christian before the Reformation unless they really, really liked cod. It's probably an American invention sometime after the five day workweek finally caught on here, at least in urban centers. To all of you in service industries and agriculture, yes, I'm afraid it's true. Some people don't work weekends. DO NOT tell your boss I told you this. I don't need the angry phone calls, especially on not Saturday.
Personally, I'm a big fan of Monday mornings, because no one expects anyone to get anything done. Generally, everyone is happy if you just make it to work in reasonable proximity to "on time". Even a reasonable proximity to "at work" works most places. If you can make the parking lot, you're good to go. If the work week started at 11AM on Mondays, I'd bet just as much would get done, and there'd be fewer errors. Remember the car industry adage that one should never buy a car built on Monday? The same probably holds true for Friday afternoons, come to think of it.
In closing, I find it amusing that we thank God for a day named for a Norse fertility goddess and on which probably 70-80% of all commandment breaking is done. Thank Freya/Frig it's Friday and have a great weekend! If you get those, of course...
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Second verse, same as the first...
Bear with me. this one requires some warm-up. Verbal foreplay, if you will...
A usually boring part of my job is working on our accounts receivable list, which usually means calling individuals or businesses that owe money and trying to wheedle, cajole or sweet talk them into paying us. A good rule of thumb is that the more flagrant the debt, the more offensive the debtor. Today, one such individual dropped the "F-Bomb" on me no fewer than 25 times (yes I counted) in the first minute of my attempt to convey the message that:
a: you owe us money,
b: we're trying to be nice, but we're going to pursue this
I got bored with the repetition rather quickly, and after warning him that I was going to hang up if the quality of his language didn't improve, I did. He called me less than 30 seconds later and yup... started cursing at me for hanging up on him for cursing at me. So I invited him to call back when he learned some new words and hung up again. Less than a minute later, guess who...? Two tries later, his language finally improved marginally, but he promised to sue us. I suppose I harmed him emotionally by not letting him practice Anglo-Saxon monosyllables on me indefinitely. He did need practice.
I sent him to collections.
It was the most fun I had all day.
A usually boring part of my job is working on our accounts receivable list, which usually means calling individuals or businesses that owe money and trying to wheedle, cajole or sweet talk them into paying us. A good rule of thumb is that the more flagrant the debt, the more offensive the debtor. Today, one such individual dropped the "F-Bomb" on me no fewer than 25 times (yes I counted) in the first minute of my attempt to convey the message that:
a: you owe us money,
b: we're trying to be nice, but we're going to pursue this
I got bored with the repetition rather quickly, and after warning him that I was going to hang up if the quality of his language didn't improve, I did. He called me less than 30 seconds later and yup... started cursing at me for hanging up on him for cursing at me. So I invited him to call back when he learned some new words and hung up again. Less than a minute later, guess who...? Two tries later, his language finally improved marginally, but he promised to sue us. I suppose I harmed him emotionally by not letting him practice Anglo-Saxon monosyllables on me indefinitely. He did need practice.
I sent him to collections.
It was the most fun I had all day.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Inaugural Trainwreck of Thought
This blog owes it's existence to the random thought that The Rocky Horror Picture Show might be David Bowie's secret biography. It isn't true, but it should be. Just a thought...
I was discussing with my teenage son the impact that Rocky Horror had on popular culture in the early 70s, and he asked me what it would take for a film to have the same type of impact today. My only response was that one could probably be made, but it probably wouldn't be released, as it would have to be a snuff film (or something as equally outrageous) to have the same shock value that that long slow scan from the tapping high heel-clad foot to the corset and onward and upward to the sudden realization that the body we'd just been appreciating (to put it politely) was distinctly male. Tame by today's standards, but the "in your face" impact then was immense. The humor and story still resonate, as evidenced by my son's fascination with and appreciation for the movie's wonderful camp/kink and my observation that lines from the movie still pop up as in jokes with my generation. Some things change, others don't. Most things do change, but only superficially, like trailer parks becoming "manufactured housing communities". But there's just not much "Boo!" left in taboo, unless you still hold your pants up with the Bible Belt.
To paraphrase Abby Hoffman "Anyone who claims to remember the 70s wasn't partying with the same crowd I was".
comment welcome
flames will be doused with (ethanol free) gasoline
I was discussing with my teenage son the impact that Rocky Horror had on popular culture in the early 70s, and he asked me what it would take for a film to have the same type of impact today. My only response was that one could probably be made, but it probably wouldn't be released, as it would have to be a snuff film (or something as equally outrageous) to have the same shock value that that long slow scan from the tapping high heel-clad foot to the corset and onward and upward to the sudden realization that the body we'd just been appreciating (to put it politely) was distinctly male. Tame by today's standards, but the "in your face" impact then was immense. The humor and story still resonate, as evidenced by my son's fascination with and appreciation for the movie's wonderful camp/kink and my observation that lines from the movie still pop up as in jokes with my generation. Some things change, others don't. Most things do change, but only superficially, like trailer parks becoming "manufactured housing communities". But there's just not much "Boo!" left in taboo, unless you still hold your pants up with the Bible Belt.
To paraphrase Abby Hoffman "Anyone who claims to remember the 70s wasn't partying with the same crowd I was".
comment welcome
flames will be doused with (ethanol free) gasoline
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