Long Time, No Blog

Well I am back from my work imposed sequester (aka Mac OSX upgrade) and can free up a minute to add a post to the endless posts this site already houses.

This blog is actually from my trip to Cleveland on Halloween. Yes, Halloween. Work requested my presence in the Land of Cle and thoroughly pissed my wife off to no end. Luckily they left me home for Thanksgiving.

Anyway, for your enjoyment is a pondering I had regarding the electronic age and the "art" of writing. In this new era of Blogs, e-cards and the like, I really never thought twice about how I write. I just "write" without concentrated thought. Considering it's easier to type and then go back and correct I seem to feel I (and maybe most others) have now become lazy with their grammar, spelling and so forth. This can be seen in many emails I have received from folks. Fragmented sentences. Mispelled words (in the age of spell checkers no less). Just sloppy typing (can anyone read what they typed before sending it out??).

I know I am not the word's best typist, speller or even writer, but my sentences usually make some sense because I do try to take the time to read what I wrote at least twice.

Whatever.

TTYL.
:-)
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I find it unusual that I can't write with a pen. Simple act you would think. One skill developed as a child. But no. Something has changed me.

I'm sitting at the airport trying to kill an hour in the terminal, without drinking myself off the flight, and I decided to write out a blog entry. So I grabbed a pen from my bag and whipped open my trusty steno pad. The first strokes seemed labored and faded on the page. After half a sentence struggling to get a good feel for the pen I chucked it into a trash can. The steno went back into hibernation.

Now, I am typing the words on my Blackberry. The thoughts are making a beeline from my brain down to my thumbs. Yes, my thumbs. If you're not familiar with a Blackberry it's a small keyboard on a phone. The thing is about 2.5 inches wide so it's not too small, but smaller than a Treo or other email devices. The way (well, best way) to type is using your thumbs with the other fingers supporting the device like a fleshy desk.

So why did I develop an issue writing by hand? I mean, I do enjoy writing on a white board and scribble notes in the steno when I do IT work. But for long, extensive writing I need to use a pc or electronic device.

Is it just comfortable now in this electronically brainwashed society? Or have I just developed a style of unorganized writing that works best when dumped from brain to pc? Maybe I'm lazy and don't want to draft out the story on page; edit and correct; then type the finished product.

Do other folks follow the same style of writing? Is it more refined for editors or copy writers - both sets read this blog. How about marketing or administrative folks? Is it an age thing? Education?

It's not really a mind blowing thing but one that got me thinking of why I do what I do.

Doing A Terrific Job!

Wow, what a rough week for George W. Bush, the worst president to ever 'dis'grace the Oval Office. The wake-up call came too late, and now everybody is breathlessly saying what I've said all along, that a vote for the Bush agenda is a vote for chaos.

What I'm thinking about lately is not how he lied about weapons of mass destruction, sending our kids to war for Haliburton and the defense manufacturers, but about what a great hiring manager he is. And while he picked the 'best' people, he sure stuck to them!

First, Donald "We know where the weapons of mass destruction are" Rumsfeld. He should have resigned in 2004 after Abu Ghraib. Check that, he shouldn't have been named in the first place. He wanted a war in Iraq since the 1980s and finally got his way. What a tragedy that this guy ever had any authority. Two days before the election, Bush told reporters that Rumsfeld was 'doing a great job' and that he planned on keeping Rummy for the rest of his term. Wow, talk about a flip-flop! The day after the election, and Bush cuts and runs on the cranky SecDef. Bye bye Rummy.

Next, Harriet Meyers. Anybody remember this idiot? Probably the single worst nomination in history, nevermind that Bush nominated her to sit on the most important court on earth, the U.S. Supreme Court. This lady was not qualified to wash my sheets, but Dubya thought would do a 'heckuva job.' Wow, this was when it started to become obvious Bush was even dumber than I thought. He thinks that just because someone is a close, personal friend that they'll do a 'heckuva' job. Wrong! He got so much flack from every side that even the most self-deluded man in North America had to face up to the fact that he had screwed the pooch. Bye bye Harriet.

Next, we have to remember the guy who did the original 'heckuva job,' Michael "Brownie" Brown. The former head of FEMA during the Hurricane Katrina debacle, Brown still had the support of the president right down to the very end, as people were needlessly stranded and dying on the roofs of their own homes when our government was incapable of responding. Even in the face of hysterical and non-stop criticism from Americans and the media, Bush insisted, "Brownie's doing a heckuva job!" Sure he was, just like you are now Dubya!

The self-delusion of George Bush is nearly total, as these few illustrations show. He just can't own up to his mistakes and when he does it's only because of a tidal wave of outrage practically forces him to do it. I am hopeful that he wakes up now that the party is over, the American people have spoken loudly that they are fed up, and the Haliburton War Orgy is nearing an end. I'm optimistic, but still skeptical. I just hope no one else does what Dubya considers a 'heckuva job' in the (thank God!!!) last two years of this idiot's tenure. I'm not sure we'll survive it.

Ted Haggard is a Dick

A-Hole of the Week

Ted Haggard, who until Thursday headed the New Life Church, one of those huge megachurches down in Colorado Springs, is truly a dick. He is such a disgusting hypocrite that I am naming him the A-Hole of the Week. And that is saying something, since it's Election Week (see Kev's post about voting below).


For those of you who don't know, Haggard, according to media accounts (and by admission of his own church's board) is accused of having a three-year homosexual affair with a male prostitute.

The most interesting part of this whole thing, of course, is that, on Sundays Haggard railed against gay rights, then on Monday nights would **allegedly** pay for gay sex while snorting meth. Wow, this guy has got it figured out. How did the GOP miss this guy as a candidate for Congress?

It's pathetic enough he lived this way, it's even more pathetic he PAID FOR GAY SEX. How many commandments did this a-hole break? I'm no authority, but I think I'll do a rough count:

1) The one about not cheating on your wife
2) The one about not coveting the Domino's delivery boy's ass
3) The one about keeping the Sabath day holy (hard to do that when you're lying your ass off in your own sermon)

So roughly a third of them, plus I feel pretty confident he stole money from the church to buy drugs, so let's call it 4.

I think this particular brand of hypocrisy is the most disgusting.

My favorite part is the moronic, mindless sheep who attend Haggard's church, and were in his 'flock.' And they're defending him. Here are a few quotes from some people who are truly, indisputably, lost.

***
"It's political, right before the elections," said Brian Boals, a New Life member for 17 years.

Church member E.J. Cox, 25, called the claims "ridiculous."

"People are always saying stuff about Pastor Ted," she said. "You just sort of blow it off. He's just like anyone else in the public eye."
***
Right, Brian, it's political. The Democrats really scored a big one when they somehow convinced your faith leader (who hates gays and is, in fact, apparently gay), to snort meth and pay a man to toss his salad. Those Democrats will do anything to get elected.

And E.J., maybe people always, 'said stuff about Pastor Ted' because he's the most dangerous kind of hypocrite: The kind who while secretly being gay is working really hard to keep other gay people from living a life where they have rights to property and hospital visits should their partner die or get sick. Somebody has got to help me understand this kind of self-loathing. If you hate gay people and yet are yourself gay, why not at least just shut the hell up? Not saying anything is better than doing what this clown did.

Anyways, this just supports my theory that the people who scream the loudest that gay people are bad and evil are actually themselves struggling with the thought that maybe they are gay and they just can't fit their minds around this, so it erupts in this self-loathing vitriole. If only they could just accept themselves we would all be better off. You can love or hate gay people but they are human beings just like the rest of us.

Ted Haggard is the definition of sick. I would be surprised if he didn't just kill himself before election day.

Can you Vote?

Before the election go to http://canivote.org/ and give it your state & county and you will be redirected to a county webpage.
I put in my last name and DOB and they returned yes I am registered.

They also gave me links to a sample ballot polling places and other things.

Check it out and Vote!