Saturday, May 31, 2008
Entry for May 31, 2008
The people who feel the need to constantly ruin a good silence with mindless babbling are no more intellectually or socially advanced than an infant learning to speak.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Greatest News Story Ever
'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks
Wed May 14, 7:36 AM ET
A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.
Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, attacked Jedi church founder Barney Jones — aka Master Jonba Hehol — with a metal crutch, hitting him on the head, prosecutors told Holyhead Magistrates' Court.
He also whacked Jones' 18-year-old cousin, Michael Jones — known as Master Mormi Hehol — bruising his thigh in the March 25 incident, prosecutors said.
The two cousins and Barney Jones' brother, Daniel, set up the Church of Jediism, Anglesey order, last year. Jedi is the faith followed by some of the central characters in the "Star Wars" films.
The group, which claims about 30 members, says on its Web site that it uses "insight and knowledge" from the films as "a guide to living a better and more worthwhile life."
"We all love the films and what they stand for. Obviously some people are going to laugh about it," the Wales on Sunday newspaper quoted Barney Jones as saying last month. "But a lot of people do take it seriously."
Unfortunately for Hughes, his March attack was recorded on a video camera that the cousins had set up to film themselves in a light saber battle.
"Darth Vader! Jedis!" Hughes shouted as he approached.
Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the better part of a 2 1/2-gallon (10-liter) box of wine beforehand.
"He knows his behavior was wrong and didn't want it to happen but he has no recollection of it," said Hughes' lawyer, Frances Jones.
District Judge Andrew Shaw sentenced Hughes to two months in jail but suspended the sentence for one year. He also ordered Hughes to pay $195 to each of his victims and $117 in court costs.
In the 2001 United Kingdom census, 390,000 — 0.7 percent of the population — listed Jedi as their religion.
Wed May 14, 7:36 AM ET
A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.
Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, attacked Jedi church founder Barney Jones — aka Master Jonba Hehol — with a metal crutch, hitting him on the head, prosecutors told Holyhead Magistrates' Court.
He also whacked Jones' 18-year-old cousin, Michael Jones — known as Master Mormi Hehol — bruising his thigh in the March 25 incident, prosecutors said.
The two cousins and Barney Jones' brother, Daniel, set up the Church of Jediism, Anglesey order, last year. Jedi is the faith followed by some of the central characters in the "Star Wars" films.
The group, which claims about 30 members, says on its Web site that it uses "insight and knowledge" from the films as "a guide to living a better and more worthwhile life."
"We all love the films and what they stand for. Obviously some people are going to laugh about it," the Wales on Sunday newspaper quoted Barney Jones as saying last month. "But a lot of people do take it seriously."
Unfortunately for Hughes, his March attack was recorded on a video camera that the cousins had set up to film themselves in a light saber battle.
"Darth Vader! Jedis!" Hughes shouted as he approached.
Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the better part of a 2 1/2-gallon (10-liter) box of wine beforehand.
"He knows his behavior was wrong and didn't want it to happen but he has no recollection of it," said Hughes' lawyer, Frances Jones.
District Judge Andrew Shaw sentenced Hughes to two months in jail but suspended the sentence for one year. He also ordered Hughes to pay $195 to each of his victims and $117 in court costs.
In the 2001 United Kingdom census, 390,000 — 0.7 percent of the population — listed Jedi as their religion.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
You Are Not That Smart
Don’t worry, neither am I.
But what separates those of us who are a little bit smarter than the rest is that I know that I’m not that smart. My limitations are very clear to me: I do not know that much.
So when someone says that I know better than someone who has had years of training in a specific field, I know that it is not true. Case in point, while I was living in Georgia a local school system was faced with a growing parent belief that they know how to best educate their children. While coming to this belief they tried to take over the school system by forcing lawmakers to purpose new bills on their behalf. The chief theme of these bills was to take power away from the educational professionals and put them in the hands of the parents. Concerned that the local population of Georgia really didn’t have the educational training, years of experience, or professional credentials to teach the next generation, I wrote the following editorial was printed in the local paper:
Now I know that was blunt to the point of tongue through cheek, but I felt that it needed to be done. We all are not experts in everything and just because our intentions are good, does not mean that we have any idea what we are doing. So please, anytime anyone tells you that you know best, know that they are lying to you and have ulterior motives.
Original Story: http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-i-2007-06-14-157890.112113-Do_parents_really_know_best_about_education_matters_.html
Editorial: http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-i-2007-05-24-157227.112113_Parents_know_best_is_new_mantra_of_education.html
But what separates those of us who are a little bit smarter than the rest is that I know that I’m not that smart. My limitations are very clear to me: I do not know that much.
So when someone says that I know better than someone who has had years of training in a specific field, I know that it is not true. Case in point, while I was living in Georgia a local school system was faced with a growing parent belief that they know how to best educate their children. While coming to this belief they tried to take over the school system by forcing lawmakers to purpose new bills on their behalf. The chief theme of these bills was to take power away from the educational professionals and put them in the hands of the parents. Concerned that the local population of Georgia really didn’t have the educational training, years of experience, or professional credentials to teach the next generation, I wrote the following editorial was printed in the local paper:
June 18, 2007
I understand that you've received lots of mail against the new "Parent's know best" educational model that has just been signed into law, so I thought that I would be the dissenting voice to those letters.
As a parent who believes in the freedom to do their own children's dental work, I believe that I also know best when it comes to my child's education. Sure I'm not a trained educator or dentist, and don't have any fancy degrees to back up either the educational training or decent bathroom root canals, but I think that my best intentions trump decades of experience and should be good enough for my child's future.
I would also like to thank all of those representatives that I voted to give me more power over so called "professionals" who think that they know "stuff" just because they went to college in that field and spent years working on their craft. Who do those people think they are to question my absence of knowledge when it comes to directing the next generation? Not everyone can be a parent, and when you become one you immediately know what is best for your child in every aspect of life. Now if you'll excuse me, I think my son's appendix just burst and I need to find my good set of pliers.
– Brian Hamilton
Now I know that was blunt to the point of tongue through cheek, but I felt that it needed to be done. We all are not experts in everything and just because our intentions are good, does not mean that we have any idea what we are doing. So please, anytime anyone tells you that you know best, know that they are lying to you and have ulterior motives.
Original Story: http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-i-2007-06-14-157890.112113-Do_parents_really_know_best_about_education_matters_.html
Editorial: http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-i-2007-05-24-157227.112113_Parents_know_best_is_new_mantra_of_education.html
Einstein’s Supposed Religious Ambiguousness Clarified
Belief in God 'childish,' Jews not chosen people: Einstein letter
Tue May 13, 9:02 AM ET
Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.
The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.
As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".
"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.
"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.
The German-language letter is being sold Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house's managing director Rupert Powell.
In it, the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel's second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.
"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he said.
"And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."
And he added: "As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
Previously the great scientist's comments on religion -- such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" -- have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favour of faith.
Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein's real thoughts on the subject. "He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.
Tue May 13, 9:02 AM ET
Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.
The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.
As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".
"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.
"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.
The German-language letter is being sold Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house's managing director Rupert Powell.
In it, the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel's second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.
"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he said.
"And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."
And he added: "As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
Previously the great scientist's comments on religion -- such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" -- have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favour of faith.
Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein's real thoughts on the subject. "He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Mother’s Day Limerick for Barbara Bush
Mother Bush lived a life of great fortune
T'was clear she nary skimped on her portion
But son George made a mess
Caused such global distress
Even the Pope would'a blessed that abortion!
T'was clear she nary skimped on her portion
But son George made a mess
Caused such global distress
Even the Pope would'a blessed that abortion!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Grand Cayman Revisited
"Always do what you are afraid to do" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
In September of 2004 my wife and I were living on Grand Cayman when Hurricane Ivan came through wreaking massive damage and closing down the island, destroying thousands of lives, and taking most of our belongings. While the hurricane itself was fairly trying, it was the months that followed that were very, very hard. This last week we returned to the island for her graduation.
When I last left the island it did not have reliable running water and only had scattered electricity. It was still a war zone as tourists were carefully escorted down the fully restored scenic sections, making sure to never take them down a side street where people where still living under tarps in their ruined homes. Tourism powered the economy, but it was a hard sell as the grocery stores were still rationing water and milk. Being that the media is state controlled, no real information escaped as to how widespread the destruction really was.
I felt more alone than I have ever felt in my life and returning was one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Below is the only thing that I have written about the experience:
Winds of Change
Let me preface this by saying that I don't care what you think. Now that we have that out of the way we can continue:
At time I was the director of technology for a company that owned most of the grocery stores, radio stations and imports/exports on the island of Grand Cayman. The average house was built 10 feet above sea level when Hurricane Ivan rolled ashore with 200mph winds, a 30 foot storm surge and constant string of small tornadoes scattered throughout the two days it had ownership of the island. The real hell is the months afterwords. This is my account of the storm itself in hours as it fell through my brain. I have excluded the months after the storm because most of you would no longer speak to me as one sane person speaks to another they believe to be sane.
September 9th, 2004
1300 - Just called Kela to tell her that I’m leaving work. She’s invited two classmates to our home because they’ve closed the dorms. Don’t care, just want to leave the station after I do my last report on when and how fast it will make landfall.
1400 – Last one here, finishing last copy of backups. Leaving one in safe, taking one with me and putting one in a ziplock at another location. Evacuated work on bosses command via cell. Insisted all of us wrap our computers in trash bags in case the roof comes off. Dumbass.
1500 – Arrived home to find three nervous, excited people and one stupid dog. Dog obviously the only one with any sense. Decided to watch movie.
1600 – Power cut to the house. Van driving around with loudspeaker told us to leave. Loading the car with idiots and stupid. Don’t know where to go – headed back to work.
1630 – Back at work with group. Checking updates to storm online – it has strengthened. Going back on air to tell people that their god hates them.
1700 – Boss leaves own safe house to make sure all computers at work are covered. Thanked me for telling masses their f*cked and sends me out the door. He obviously doesn’t want to come back to dead bodies and spitefully uncovered computers.
1730 – Called friends down the street who haven’t been evacuated. They’re all drunk, have their elderly parents in town, kid hopped up on sugar and two dogs running crazy in carnal anticipation. This should be fun.
1800 – Two cases of beer and a couple hotdogs turned out to not last as long as we had hoped. Storm coming ashore, driving home to get supplies.
1830 – Arrived home, again, this time to waves crashing over pool and onto back deck. Decide to hurry.
1900 – Driving back to friends with reasonable amount of supplies. Small, unconscious three cylinder Suzuki Alto gains self realization to waves crashing over street, trees falling in path and finds 200 horsepower.
2000 – Arrive at friends, again, everyone already drunk – thank god.
2100 – Storm arrives fully and knows that we f*cked his sister and didn’t call.
2200 – Decided to wake everyone when water comes through front door. Everyone hurries to abandon food for essential electronics equipment in mad dash upstairs.
2205 – Reality sets in, we missed the DVD player. Everyone takes it personally.
2230 – Hunger sets in, forced to drink Jamaican Beer
2300 – Water slowly rising fast to first floor ceiling. Decided it was a good time to take a nap.
September 10th, 2004
600 – Woke to sounds of waves hitting the inside of the house, went outside on porch to pee.
605 – More Jamaican beer as I watch the waves slowly break on the second floor landing. God this beer sucks.
1000 – Realize that storm is not going anywhere and water is slowly deeper. Talked with friend about having to crawl onto the roof with 150mph winds. Talked about letting dogs in go into the raging current to fend for themselves. Talked about maybe having to abandoned friends parents to save the next generation. Tricked Kela into calling parents one last time to tell them we’re having fun. Potential goodbyes are worse then the real one.
1100 – Prepare final plan with male of friends family. Wait for seemingly inevitable.
1800 – Water has stopped at second floor. Can see very little left of surrounding homes around us from porch. Wanted to cry but everyone else beat me to it.
September 11th, 2004
200 – Nothing has changed. Going to bed.
600 – Wake and see that nothing has been missed.
1200 – Water has receded. Storm has passed. Wading out to see who else is still alive.
1230 – Roads are gone, homes are gone, cars and trucks have been tosses around like scraps of paper, all low lying areas are still underwater, walking to work to see if the radio station and grocery store remain. There are people everywhere who look like they’ve crawled from hell back up through the earths crust. Why aren’t the dead lying bloated in the pools with the rest of life’s remains? Where is the pain when you need to feel it?
1300 – Nothing left of the station. Roof came down, my office is missing. Someone has neatly removed the roof from next door and left stacks of paper completely untouched. Grocery store across the street being looted by machete wielding Jamaicans. Reinforcements of other employees arrive to watch same Jamaicans selling freshly squeezed and stolen orange juice for $10 a ½ gallon. They decided to take business elsewhere as more start arriving on foot.
1400 – Catch ride in direction of home – hope it’s there when we arrive.
1430 – Pass downtown in back of Jeep with dog and wife. Some buildings are standing, some are missing, some look as if they never were built.
1445 – Stopped in heavy traffic on road parallel to beach, forced to bail and walk. Find out road is now perpendicular to beach. Hike in deep sand towards home. It doesn’t hurt as bad I as I thought it would to loose hope.
1600 – Walk down driveway, neighbor’s roof hanging from trees. House remains standing, roof missing, stench unbelievable. House not that bad – all furniture ruined, linens stained with the past, crack running from floor to roof separates the two new different gradients of house.
1700 – Sit on wet bed with dog, wife and despair. Nothing left to do.
1800 – Decide to go on with life, not happy about the choice. Spend night sleeping on floor in 90 degree heat. Somehow lack the liquid in my body to cry.
September 12th, 2004
800 – Walk back to town, find one of the companies inland grocery stores still standing and other employees cleaning. Pull out backups and drain water out of computers. Salvage 4 out of 20. Lines are forming outside, there is very little food in the store. People look impulsive. There is only essentials for half of them.
1000 – Heavily armed police arrive quickly for an island without any guns or reasonable transport. They take up arms at the main doors and lines for limited rations begin.
1200 – Fix satellite feed and regain internet access and voice over ip phones. Call around to inform people that we lived. Doors open, people push, gun fired, warehouse truck with complete warehouse arrives as reinforcements, push of people felt in everyone's stomach.
1400 – More shots fired. Tell boss to put wife on plane immediately. Find out runway closed. Chartered flights to start tomorrow. Vague threats tossed back and forth, I win. Decided to work, nothing else to do.
September 13th, 2004
1000 – Put Kela on a plane. She cried enough for both of us. I go back to work.
September 14th, 2004
Move into coworkers house. Sleep on floor in garage with dog and other people. Learn to sh*t in a bag, bathe in the ocean and swing a knife.
September 15th, 2004
Borrow car someone carelessly left keys in. Pack remains of house in car, drive back to new garage home and store remaining crap in locked closet in nondescript boxes. Ditch car down street, keep keys. Call wife.
September 16th until December 3rd
Spend every night on concert floor with dog, sh*t in a bag, eat whatever we can steal from store, bathe in ocean, walk to work, wish for death.
December 4th
Arrived in Maine. Met wife. Wait until she went to sleep and slept on floor.
In September of 2004 my wife and I were living on Grand Cayman when Hurricane Ivan came through wreaking massive damage and closing down the island, destroying thousands of lives, and taking most of our belongings. While the hurricane itself was fairly trying, it was the months that followed that were very, very hard. This last week we returned to the island for her graduation.
When I last left the island it did not have reliable running water and only had scattered electricity. It was still a war zone as tourists were carefully escorted down the fully restored scenic sections, making sure to never take them down a side street where people where still living under tarps in their ruined homes. Tourism powered the economy, but it was a hard sell as the grocery stores were still rationing water and milk. Being that the media is state controlled, no real information escaped as to how widespread the destruction really was.
I felt more alone than I have ever felt in my life and returning was one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Below is the only thing that I have written about the experience:
Winds of Change
Let me preface this by saying that I don't care what you think. Now that we have that out of the way we can continue:
At time I was the director of technology for a company that owned most of the grocery stores, radio stations and imports/exports on the island of Grand Cayman. The average house was built 10 feet above sea level when Hurricane Ivan rolled ashore with 200mph winds, a 30 foot storm surge and constant string of small tornadoes scattered throughout the two days it had ownership of the island. The real hell is the months afterwords. This is my account of the storm itself in hours as it fell through my brain. I have excluded the months after the storm because most of you would no longer speak to me as one sane person speaks to another they believe to be sane.
September 9th, 2004
1300 - Just called Kela to tell her that I’m leaving work. She’s invited two classmates to our home because they’ve closed the dorms. Don’t care, just want to leave the station after I do my last report on when and how fast it will make landfall.
1400 – Last one here, finishing last copy of backups. Leaving one in safe, taking one with me and putting one in a ziplock at another location. Evacuated work on bosses command via cell. Insisted all of us wrap our computers in trash bags in case the roof comes off. Dumbass.
1500 – Arrived home to find three nervous, excited people and one stupid dog. Dog obviously the only one with any sense. Decided to watch movie.
1600 – Power cut to the house. Van driving around with loudspeaker told us to leave. Loading the car with idiots and stupid. Don’t know where to go – headed back to work.
1630 – Back at work with group. Checking updates to storm online – it has strengthened. Going back on air to tell people that their god hates them.
1700 – Boss leaves own safe house to make sure all computers at work are covered. Thanked me for telling masses their f*cked and sends me out the door. He obviously doesn’t want to come back to dead bodies and spitefully uncovered computers.
1730 – Called friends down the street who haven’t been evacuated. They’re all drunk, have their elderly parents in town, kid hopped up on sugar and two dogs running crazy in carnal anticipation. This should be fun.
1800 – Two cases of beer and a couple hotdogs turned out to not last as long as we had hoped. Storm coming ashore, driving home to get supplies.
1830 – Arrived home, again, this time to waves crashing over pool and onto back deck. Decide to hurry.
1900 – Driving back to friends with reasonable amount of supplies. Small, unconscious three cylinder Suzuki Alto gains self realization to waves crashing over street, trees falling in path and finds 200 horsepower.
2000 – Arrive at friends, again, everyone already drunk – thank god.
2100 – Storm arrives fully and knows that we f*cked his sister and didn’t call.
2200 – Decided to wake everyone when water comes through front door. Everyone hurries to abandon food for essential electronics equipment in mad dash upstairs.
2205 – Reality sets in, we missed the DVD player. Everyone takes it personally.
2230 – Hunger sets in, forced to drink Jamaican Beer
2300 – Water slowly rising fast to first floor ceiling. Decided it was a good time to take a nap.
September 10th, 2004
600 – Woke to sounds of waves hitting the inside of the house, went outside on porch to pee.
605 – More Jamaican beer as I watch the waves slowly break on the second floor landing. God this beer sucks.
1000 – Realize that storm is not going anywhere and water is slowly deeper. Talked with friend about having to crawl onto the roof with 150mph winds. Talked about letting dogs in go into the raging current to fend for themselves. Talked about maybe having to abandoned friends parents to save the next generation. Tricked Kela into calling parents one last time to tell them we’re having fun. Potential goodbyes are worse then the real one.
1100 – Prepare final plan with male of friends family. Wait for seemingly inevitable.
1800 – Water has stopped at second floor. Can see very little left of surrounding homes around us from porch. Wanted to cry but everyone else beat me to it.
September 11th, 2004
200 – Nothing has changed. Going to bed.
600 – Wake and see that nothing has been missed.
1200 – Water has receded. Storm has passed. Wading out to see who else is still alive.
1230 – Roads are gone, homes are gone, cars and trucks have been tosses around like scraps of paper, all low lying areas are still underwater, walking to work to see if the radio station and grocery store remain. There are people everywhere who look like they’ve crawled from hell back up through the earths crust. Why aren’t the dead lying bloated in the pools with the rest of life’s remains? Where is the pain when you need to feel it?
1300 – Nothing left of the station. Roof came down, my office is missing. Someone has neatly removed the roof from next door and left stacks of paper completely untouched. Grocery store across the street being looted by machete wielding Jamaicans. Reinforcements of other employees arrive to watch same Jamaicans selling freshly squeezed and stolen orange juice for $10 a ½ gallon. They decided to take business elsewhere as more start arriving on foot.
1400 – Catch ride in direction of home – hope it’s there when we arrive.
1430 – Pass downtown in back of Jeep with dog and wife. Some buildings are standing, some are missing, some look as if they never were built.
1445 – Stopped in heavy traffic on road parallel to beach, forced to bail and walk. Find out road is now perpendicular to beach. Hike in deep sand towards home. It doesn’t hurt as bad I as I thought it would to loose hope.
1600 – Walk down driveway, neighbor’s roof hanging from trees. House remains standing, roof missing, stench unbelievable. House not that bad – all furniture ruined, linens stained with the past, crack running from floor to roof separates the two new different gradients of house.
1700 – Sit on wet bed with dog, wife and despair. Nothing left to do.
1800 – Decide to go on with life, not happy about the choice. Spend night sleeping on floor in 90 degree heat. Somehow lack the liquid in my body to cry.
September 12th, 2004
800 – Walk back to town, find one of the companies inland grocery stores still standing and other employees cleaning. Pull out backups and drain water out of computers. Salvage 4 out of 20. Lines are forming outside, there is very little food in the store. People look impulsive. There is only essentials for half of them.
1000 – Heavily armed police arrive quickly for an island without any guns or reasonable transport. They take up arms at the main doors and lines for limited rations begin.
1200 – Fix satellite feed and regain internet access and voice over ip phones. Call around to inform people that we lived. Doors open, people push, gun fired, warehouse truck with complete warehouse arrives as reinforcements, push of people felt in everyone's stomach.
1400 – More shots fired. Tell boss to put wife on plane immediately. Find out runway closed. Chartered flights to start tomorrow. Vague threats tossed back and forth, I win. Decided to work, nothing else to do.
September 13th, 2004
1000 – Put Kela on a plane. She cried enough for both of us. I go back to work.
September 14th, 2004
Move into coworkers house. Sleep on floor in garage with dog and other people. Learn to sh*t in a bag, bathe in the ocean and swing a knife.
September 15th, 2004
Borrow car someone carelessly left keys in. Pack remains of house in car, drive back to new garage home and store remaining crap in locked closet in nondescript boxes. Ditch car down street, keep keys. Call wife.
September 16th until December 3rd
Spend every night on concert floor with dog, sh*t in a bag, eat whatever we can steal from store, bathe in ocean, walk to work, wish for death.
December 4th
Arrived in Maine. Met wife. Wait until she went to sleep and slept on floor.
Friday, May 09, 2008
So You Want a Dumbass for President?
There is an ongoing trend that I just can’t seem to wrap by brain around. It’s the use of the word “elitist” as an insult. Thinking that maybe it’s just me who doesn’t understand what “elite” means, I searched for it on dictionary.com and found the following:
e•lite [i-leet, ey-leet] - noun - the choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group or class of persons.
So an elitist would be someone who acts like that, whether it is warranted or not.
The question that naturally follows is, are we offended that someone is actually more intelligent than us or is it that we are more comfortable with someone of superior mental power blatantly patronizing us by dumbing things down to a level our little minds can understand?
I’m really at a loss on this one. Personally, I want someone embarrassingly superior to me running the country. They need to be able to make me sit back and say “wow” when they speak, I want to work harder to appreciate what it is that they are talking about, and most importantly, I want them to move me intellectually. I want someone who occasionally talks over my head to let me know that I need to work harder on my own level of comprehension and understanding. It keeps me on my toes and involved in the world around me.
Besides, haven’t we had enough presidents who are less comfortable talking on difficult matters and more comfortable knocking back beers and talking football? Isn’t it time we tried something a bit, I don’t know, better? Sure they may seem “elitist”, but haven’t the last eight years taught us that voting for someone of seemingly average intelligence, someone we can have a beer with, isn’t going to end well?
So here is my new definition of elitism: It is someone who knows more in the face of ignorance without being arrogant and condescending. And anyone who tries to lob it as an insult does nothing more than proclaim that they are a moron who will only vote for their own kind.
e•lite [i-leet, ey-leet] - noun - the choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group or class of persons.
So an elitist would be someone who acts like that, whether it is warranted or not.
The question that naturally follows is, are we offended that someone is actually more intelligent than us or is it that we are more comfortable with someone of superior mental power blatantly patronizing us by dumbing things down to a level our little minds can understand?
I’m really at a loss on this one. Personally, I want someone embarrassingly superior to me running the country. They need to be able to make me sit back and say “wow” when they speak, I want to work harder to appreciate what it is that they are talking about, and most importantly, I want them to move me intellectually. I want someone who occasionally talks over my head to let me know that I need to work harder on my own level of comprehension and understanding. It keeps me on my toes and involved in the world around me.
Besides, haven’t we had enough presidents who are less comfortable talking on difficult matters and more comfortable knocking back beers and talking football? Isn’t it time we tried something a bit, I don’t know, better? Sure they may seem “elitist”, but haven’t the last eight years taught us that voting for someone of seemingly average intelligence, someone we can have a beer with, isn’t going to end well?
So here is my new definition of elitism: It is someone who knows more in the face of ignorance without being arrogant and condescending. And anyone who tries to lob it as an insult does nothing more than proclaim that they are a moron who will only vote for their own kind.
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