The phone bill arrives on the 16th.  Due Jan. 2.   $5.00 (penalty) added for payments recieved after Jan 2.
Remember, also, that it's Christmas time and the volume of mail is enormous this time of year due to Christmas cards and packages.

Hey, those who run the phone company!  What were your last occupations before landing your present positions?  Loan shark?  Extortionist?  Mafia henchman?

What is it with these types of people that the only way they figure they can muster any kind of compliance is by use of force, threats, or intimidation?

Oh Opinionated Man, Where Art Thou?

For whatever reasons, the OPINIONATED MAN blog has recently become a private online country club with "members only" status.

Although I'm sure he had his reasons for "privatizing" his site, I'm definitely going to miss what he had to bring to the (cyber-)table. 

You have to understand:  When I mention a web site or blog site on any of my posts it isn't just any old site I happen to stumble upon in the course of browsing.   They're always the sites which either:  display a clever, witty or flippant style of humor, or:  have what I consider profound viewpoints that you normally don't encounter just anywhere or from just anyone.  In other words, that say things I feel need to be said.  In short, among the sites I'm proud to have visited and viewed---as opposed to those "guilty pleasure" types.

I've only discovered his site about a month ago and already it's gone behind closed doors.  And just as it was getting all-the-more interesting to me.  Plus I still haven't had time to read all of his previous posts either. 

Well, O.P..  There are some of us who'll miss you.






                   Update:  Opinionated Man's blog is back in the public domain I'm happy to say.
                      Although he appears to be "starting his site over from scratch", so to speak.

Truly a "must have" for the TRUE Beatles fan.  The latest ANTHOLOGY package featuring the ultimate "reject" takes.
Hear a very young Paul McCartney sneeze midway through P.S. I LOVE YOU.  Hear all manners of assorted farts, coughs, belches, loud expletives amidst the sounds of freak accidents involving instruments and microphones. 

CRASH!!!  "Oh Fuck!!!" midway through GET BACK, followed by anonymous recording engineer:  "Aww, shit!  We're going to have to do yet ANOTHER take.  We won't be able to edit that out of the vocal track."

Isn't this what the music is REALLY all about?
Or are you thinking:  How come the dumbass record company didn't simply dispose of these outtakes once the agreed-upon masters were finally laid down?  (That's what the heathens among you would probably say.)

But you, the TRUE Beatles fans, understand what milestones these takes represent.  Even the two surviving ex-Beatles put their stamp-of-approval on this project.  Otherwise who knows what bootlegging subversives might have gotten ahold of these and made a killing profit off of them.
And, no, the-heathens-among-you, it doesn't mean that McCartney and Starkey have "sold out" to the modern-day motto "Profits over pride, dignity and integrity".

...What the hell!  Why am I wasting my time trying to explain anything?  Only the TRUE Beatlles fans understand anyway.

 

                                 WARNING
Use caution when walking or riding your bicycle through parking lots as motorists often use them as shortcuts to avoid waiting for traffic lights to change and are not required to reduce speed while doing so.
         

You know the 1959 Johnny Cash song DON'T TAKE YOUR GUNS TO TOWN?  Someone should redo it under the title of DON'T TAKE YOUR GUNS TO SCHOOL.






Why do most houses and apartment units have windows in the bathroom?  Does that make sense?
I mean, whoever looks out the window while taking a shower, or taking a dump, or while shaving or brushing their teeth?  Are you going to exclaim "Oh, what a beautiful day this is!" with toothpaste foaming from your mouth dripping all over your shirt---or while rubbing tissue paper over your butt crack?






                           Another site to check out: www.themadbaglady.wordpress.com

Guess who recently has had the torch of space exploration technology passed on to them from the U.S. and Russia?

If you guessed China you are correct.
China?  Ancient land of "great walls", Confucius, Mao Tse-tung?  3,000-year-old-plus country seemingly eternally stuck in 3rd-world mode?

Yep, THAT China!
They've recently landed an unmanned spaceship on the surface of the moon.  And they're planning MORE spaceflights in the near future.  Possibly manned ones as well.

And if that isn't inflating the self-esteem level of the general populace...  ...sort of reminiscent of how the general populace of the U.S. was back in the 1960s.
The modern-day Chinese are thinking along the line of progress; innovation; scientific, technological and cultural advancement.  They're a proud lot these days.

And where is the United States in all this?  Shooting up meth and shooting up schools and shopping centers and workplaces.
Playing video games and playing with fancy microgadgets.  And playing race and gender cards and playing each other.  And playing sick social status games.

Chinese children are learning advanced math and physics, but what are American children doing?
Texting in class, massacring fellow students, prostituting themselves online.
And the teachers aren't much better.  A bunch of emotionally-stunted overage teenagers who view their pupils as potential temporary makeshift "lovers".  Permanently stuck in "atrophy" mode since childhood or adolescence.
American schools are no longer institutions of learning or instruction.  They've been reduced to real-life soap operas and crime dramas.

China has what the U.S. used to possess some 50 years ago:  national self-esteem, faith in oneself and faith in its future.
The U.S. has pretty much lost all of its pride and dignity and is plunging into an abyss of 3rd-world rot.  Even its own leaders and prominent citizens refuse to invest in it anymore.  They're deserting their own country, often overtly.

Viva China!!!!  They'll be the ones to eventually colonize Mars in the near future.

                 W  A  R  N  I  N  G
     Public sidewalks are for skateboarders, bicyclists and joggers
                      Pedestrians may use at their own risk





                                   (Another site to check out:  www.boomer-musings.blogspot.com)


 

For those of you not familiar with the term LIFELINE, it's a government-sponsored program that subsidizes landline telephone service for people on low to limited incomes.

I've been on LIFELINE OHIO since 1997---about 16 1/2 years, give-or-take.

I recently recieved a notice from LIFELINE OHIO for a renewal of my service in which it stated in part:  "Unfortunately we do not have a Lifeline Ohio application on file for you." (I guess 16 1/2 years is such a brief period of time I can understand not yet being "fully established" into their system.)

So I had to make a trip to the downtown library to make photocopies of my MEDICAID card, SSI award letter, and a notice from JOB & FAMILY SERVICES OF OHIO pertaining to my food assistance, no thanks to the amnesiatic computer system of LIFELINE.

If it's not bad enough having to reiterate something that should still be a long-established given, they give you only 30 days (from whatever date is posted on the top left of their notice) to send them back their form along with the proof-of-assistance forms, warning that your LIFELINE service will be "permanently terminated" if they don't recieve those by that due date.

Typical extortionist mindset common to most corporate, governmental and industrial factions.

                  B  E  A  T  L  E  M  A  N  I  A

We are fast approaching the 50th anniversary of what would be known as both "Beatlemania" and the start of the "British Invasion" period in the history of the U.S. pop charts.

To this day I'm still not sure whether or not I actually saw the Beatles' debut television appearance on The Ed Sullivan show and simply "remembering them on The Ed Sullivan show" doesn't really mean anything in terms of accurate recollectionism considering their many appearances on Sullivan's weekly variety show afterwards.

However, I was definitely part of this era.  Especially considering that prior to Christmas Day 1963 I never paid attention to radio or knew much about records outside of my parents' jazz and classical LPs. 
But, on Wednesday December 25 1963 the older sister of one of my classmates, who was babysitting me and my other two siblings that day, enlightened me to the world of "rock-and-roll radio", which in those days were the top-40 AM radio stations that "played the latest hits" (infused with the occasional "golden oldie").  From that point on I was a regular follower of top-40 radio and a lover of "rock-and-roll" (much to my parents' chagrin) ...and, even later, a buyer and collector of records (in the general consumer sense, of course).

Amazingly enough, among the latest hits getting regular airplay on that day was I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND (alongside messages like "The Beatles are coming!".  I'm assuming in reference to the anticipated U.S./North American tour that was to follow soon.)

Other songs also getting played on the radio on Christmas Day 1963:  LONG TALL TEXAN;  OUT OF LIMITS;  CALIFORNIA SUN;  SURFIN' BIRD; DAWN (GO AWAY).

By the way, The Beatles' first major North American hit was SHE LOVES YOU (/I'LL GET YOU) which went all the way to #1 in Canada in late 1963.

The first Beatles singles released in the U.S. were on VEE-JAY and TOLLIE in 1963, but they were not successful on the American charts at the time.  However, after the events of early-1964, they would be rereleased and enjoy top-10 status belatedly.

American singer Del Shannon recorded his version of FROM ME TO YOU in 1963, but it would end up becoming a less-than-minor hit for him.

Bobby Vee had a less-than-minor hit in 1964 with I'LL MAKE YOU MINE which was, essentially, a rewrite of FROM ME TO YOU and PLEASE PLEASE ME, but with different lyrics and arrangement.

The first song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard to ever get airplay on top-40 radio in the U.S. was a version of THAT GIRL BELONGS TO YESTERDAY by American singer Gene Pitney in late-1963/early-1964.

The Rolling Stones themselves wouldn't get airplay on U.S. radio until June 1964 with their version of a Buddy Holly song NOT FADE AWAY.

                      Another site to check out:  www.thephilfactor.com
                                                  "Where sarcasm gets drunk and lets its hair down". 

        Although, lately, he seems to be getting a little serious.  I do hope he returns to his parody social commentary style.  That's what made his old blogspot site so great.  Hopefully he continues to do more of the same on this site of his.

 

One thing about living in an urban area.  The number of emergency vehicles that go constantly screaming by.  I mean, like, often every five to ten minutes, and just about half a dozen times an hour on some days.

Seriously!  Where are we living anyway?  Syria?  The Gaza Strip?  Why so frequent?
Do people just keep constantly getting themselves in so much trouble that they need to be continuously monitored and rescued by those-in-charge?  Are most people really such "babies" they can't take care of themselves?

Or are those in authority simply such control freaks they have to keep reminding everyone who's "really in charge"?

Either way living in modern U.S.A. is like living in one big police state.  It really mars one's social and domestic atmosphere to have to constantly hear one loud siren after another, one set followed shortly thereafter by yet another set.  No wonder so many people are chronically depressed.

Returning to the events of November 22 1963 and beyond...

What I best remember about the Kennedy assassination is how everything just shut down, completely, and for about a whole week.  Everything just closed down:  businesses, government offices, schools...society just stopped in its tracks altogether.

There was no school the following week.  And forget about watching television.  All networks cancelled their regular programming that following week as well.  It was all coverage of the tragedy and of Kennedy's funeral---both live and constantly repeated video tape reruns.

One has to understand that back then there was more loyalty to one's country and its system-of-things.  People were more idealistic and believed in the better things about life a lot more than they would in later years.  (We've been way too cynical and jaded for way too long.)  And, of course, collective patriotism was a given as well (as was a general collective belief in God, even if in a generalized sense).

The U.S. took itself very seriously in those days.  In fact even making jokes about either the assassination or about Kennedy himself was considered tantamount to treason.  (Prior to the assassination Kennedy was fair game for everyone from standup comedians to MAD magazine parodies, much like any other politician or celebrity.  So that changed in a heartbeat as well.)

Proof the long ongoing civilian cold war atmosphere of the U.S. is starting to become a full-frontal one.
Go to www.google.com and type in "knockout popular trend" and see what comes up.



Two sites for you to check out: www.aopinionatedman.com and www.noarizona.wordpress.com


Should there be sleet or freezing rain on Thanksgiving Day would that make the next day "Black Ice Friday"?  With the reckless "bargain-hunters" sliding around and into one another it could make for a good form of population control.

Today is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Why was Kennedy cherry-picked for being bumped off considering all the Presidents who followed weren't much better?

Is it just me or was Kennedy's wife, Jackie, actually quite homely in spite of being extraordinarily wealthy, well-groomed, and donned in some of the most expensive garments? (Even as a kid I thought she was somewhat...ugly.)

It's been going on for too long now.  For months on end my phone has been ringing 3 to 5 times a day for no reason.  When my answering machine takes a message there's about 20 seconds of silence.  No voices, no nothing.

I don't know who (or what) is behind this or why they continue doing this.

It cannot be a form of domestic terrorism because terrorists have agendas.  They usually attack those they find threatening or oppressive.

It cannot be extortionism.  Extortionists make demands on those they're extorting as a condition for discontinuing their behaviors.

I would say it's conspiracy though.  Maybe even persecution.

But who's doing this and why?  I'll never know since whomever is responsible seems too pussy-like to identify themselves or state whatever it is they're after.

I am not apologizing for that last post, PRIORITIES.  The things that matter are individuality and quality-of-life amenities like the freedom to choose what kind of social climate you want to live in, what best fits your personal standards and the right to freely speak your mind.

Crusader/Activist charades are little more than a way for the narcissistic to alleviate the guilty conscience they have for their hedonistic lifestyles.
Pink-ribbon bike-a-thons do not cure anyone's cancer.  Only earnest legitimate medical research yields needed results.

In a culture that is primarily interested in financing (and that values more) the likes of live concert arenas, sports stadiums, and gentrified neighborhoods with their upscale restaurants and bars don't expect those-in-charge to be much impressed with protest marches and hand-painted banners carried by hoi polloi idiots obstructing public walkways.

Priorities

Preventing Crime
Preventing Domestic Abuse
Equality
Gay Rights
Eliminating Prejudice
Eradicating Hunger
Preventing Discrimination
Eliminating Homelessness
Eliminating Racism
Fixing the Economy
Establishing World Peace
Addressing Sexism
Fair Housing
Eliminating Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Curing Cancer
Curing AIDS
Curing Mental Illness
Addressing Environmental Issues and Pollution Problems
Preventing Terrorism

...all red herrings intended to divert our attention from the TRULY important things:
Freedom of Individuality
Freedom of Self-expression
Freedom of Movement
Freedom of Thought
Freedom of Choice

Without those five anything else is kind of useless and fruitless.

                                                    Adage     For    Today


Being older doesn't mean you're wiser or more knowledgeable.   All it indicates is that you've been allowed to "go on living" just a little bit longer.

                          Centipede
                                           Dilemma
                                                         Syndrome
One day a grasshopper approached a centipede strolling along casually and asked him "Tell me, how do you manage to coordinate all those legs of yours so well so as to be able to move along so smoothly?"
The centipede dwelled on that question for a while, but had to move on to take care of his daily business.  However, when he attempted to continue on he found himself paralyzed, unable to walk even another inch.

Self-consciousness can be debilitating.  Some things need to remain the domain of the instinctual if they are to function unimpeded and properly.
Being "too aware" of anything can be just as debilitating as well.

Am I too "aware" and self-conscious?  I'm sure of it.
My blogsite's general theme seems to be how resentful I am of having to always "walk on eggshells" while most others around me are free to "throw stones" as often as they want.

I'll notice things that are ironic.  Like the germaphobic health nut who has to clean and sanitize anything before they use it, only consumes organicaly grown (or produced) food and drink and only uses "natural" household products.  But yet they smoke, drink, use certain illegal drugs. 

To know you is to owe you

When you're an individual of low status you have to watch everything you do or say.
If you allow yourself to become too uninhibited you stand to be accused of being "offensive" or possibly even accused of some sex crime.
If you get upset and lose your composure, raise your voice any, or throw temper tantrums, you're "being threatening" or "dangerous".

You live as a social debtor and eternal servant.  You have no friends.  Everyone's either your "boss" or some kind of "creditor" reminding you of what you "owe" everyone.

Most people are Alpha personality types---the kind who are smug, overconfident, and always-in-command of things.
People who are "always right" and are know-all/can-do-all.

Just living in this world is what would be to someone else the equivalent of living with one's boss 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.
Sometimes I feel society's little more than just one big intern camp and that I'm merely one of its prisoners.

I, myself, could never be able to actually love anyone.  Although I may still be aroused by one I find physically attractive.  But all that is is lust---no more than a desire or wish to merely use someone temporarily to satisfy a primary hedonistic longing.  Not worth much in the long-term.  Even my own desires become useless to me.

Daylight Savings Time Ends

                                      ...Hopefully Permanently


This Sunday we set the clocks back one hour.
"That means everyone gets an extra hour of sleep".

Bullshit! What it means is that those who come by early Sunday mornings to pick up friends and relatives for church will simply come around an hour later to sit in the driveway and hammer on their horn repeatedly.

It means the weekend revelers spent an extra hour Saturday night "partying" to take advantage of their "bonus hour".

So who's getting this "extra hour of sleep"?
Not me!

        The Rats Are Coming
                                   ...Maybe There's A Rat Race On


The Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus Ohio is experiencing a rat population explosion lately.
No, I'm not referring to the neighborhood residents having more children.  I'm talking about the four-legged kind.  The actual rodents themselves.

Of course this neighborhood has always been noted as being among the nation's most prominent free outdoor landfills, where it's okay to just throw one's trash anywhere one pleases: sidewalks, front lawns, alleyways, parking lots.  With that in mind hordes of rats actually fit right in with the physical environment.

One would figure as hidebound as Columbus Ohio is (in spite of all the red herrings it throws up to impress outsiders otherwise: live theatre and concert venues, numerous cultural festivals, a phony "arts" subculture, free "alternative" newspaper publications expressing token "liberal" viewpoints, and even a gambling casino) there would be more stringent health and safety regulations.  But outside of Draconian laws involving improprieties or property crimes (Ohio State University students excepted) this city seems to be amazingly lax.

Responsibility is...

Someone dumps their garbage all over your front lawn
...but since it's YOUR lawn you have no choice but to clean the mess up since you're obligated by law to keep your premises clean and presentable.

But don't you ever dump your garbage on anyone else's front lawn because you then stand to be arrested for vandalism and littering. 





                                                    Adages For Today

The two greatest weaknesses of the Alpha personality type:  an obsessive need to constantly fraternize and the feeling they're never wrong.


It's a dangerous world out there.  Not just the "criminal elements" but we also have to worry about the proper authorities themselves learning about some of our iniquities and frailties and concocting presumptive contentions around them.

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs---"Mexican-American" Style Rock n'Roll?

I can't remember exactly when or where I read that.  Maybe in a magazine or on some web site.

Frankly I've always thought of those guys as being along the line of a novelty "garage" style band.  Best known for their satirical parodies of monster movie imagerisms and children's fairy tales.

These days anything ever recorded by someone Hispanic is somehow automatically considered representative of the "Mexican-American culture", no matter how irrelevant the actual content of their music is to such or how broad-based their music is.

The only image Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs ever projected was one of spoofing the modern-day stereotype of ancient Egyptians.  There isn't anything even remotely "ethnic" about their style.
It's simply "fun rock" mid-60s style.

                      Have any I.D. on you?


My state I.D. card is set to expire in 2014.
I'll have to get it updated before October of the next year, which is just as well since I've recently moved and now live at a different address than the one listed on the current I.D..  One really should have their correct address on their I.D. card.

Frankly I wish this society would implement some kind of biometric means of identifying people--i.e. fingerprints, eyeprints, DNA matching.  True, it would put a lot of people out of work: credit card companies; the licensing bureaus (minus the driving instructors); those contracted to print up everything from social security cards to bank debit cards and the like.  But to be able to get through even the most complicated transactions via simply "being scanned".  Besides, this country isn't much on prosperity any more these days anyway.  What's a few more "unemployed"?

Would this take us one step closer to "Big Brother"?
Not really.  Actually the world's societies, past and present, have always been paternalish in nature. Think: Why is it most laws and regulations involve restrictions and what one's forbidden to do while a mere fraction concern themselves with benefits and entitlements?

"The Mark of the Beast"?
There's always been that.  Even ancient Egypt had their currency exchanges wherein one had to look at whatever coin they had in their hand to make sure it was the correct denomination before spending or accepting it.
"The Beast" is simply a metaphor for the way a major society takes on a life of its own and becomes more powerful than its creators and curators.

Reputation or Credibility?

There's a website run by a group of P.R. experts claiming to undo damage done to businesses by disgruntled ex-employees and dissatisfied customers who go online and make malicious and disparaging claims against these businesses regarding services, products, attitudes and practices---resulting in potential customers avoiding said businesses and the financial ruin that follows.

The concept is to have a good P.R. staff put up sites which praise and commend various aspects of these businesses in a bold attempt to counterbrainwash impressionable internet users (who apparently believe whatever they read online).

I think maybe instead of chastising individuals who may be simply exposing unethical business practices or various forms of discrimination they've experienced from certain establishments or maybe exposing plain-out incompetences, someone should also put up another website for businesses titled SOCIAL DIPLOMACY, which would entail among its premises the importance of:  treating all customers and clients equally and fairly; the importance of not favoring certain customers over others---as in treating select regulars like kings and queens while ignoring irregulars and eccentric ones or treating them like shit; and the importance of not having inside corruption in the workplace itself: you know, allowing domineering employees to bully fellow workers and act like they're the ones who own your establishment. 
Oh, and not to mention: TRAIN YOUR DAMN WORKERS THOROUGHLY AND COMPREHENSIVELY.  Few things worse for a customer to experience than dealing with staff and management or workers who don't quite know all the ins-and-outs of whatever they're supposed to be getting paid to do.

I know it sounds radical:  the notion that business owners should actually be responsible themselves (beyond just merely tallying the cash register at closing time).

These Landlines Could Use An Enema

One thing I can't understand: Why in the world do mutes have telephone service?
I can see for texting, but why do they call landline numbers and then say nothing and hang up?
And why do they keep calling the same numbers over and over again, day after day?  Often 5 or 6 times a day?

Paranoia

You know the story of the man who thought a certain neighbor of his was guilty of stealing items off his back porch.

So he enlisted the help of a few friends and one day, when this neighbor was away, they all broke into his residence to look for those stolen items.

Upon failing to find any of those items they all figured "He probably sold them all by now" and proceeded to trash his place and damage a few personal items before leaving out the way they broke in.



                                                 Adage For Today
                         One cannot navigate around caprice and impromptu.

On Being Offensive (Revisited?)


Trying not to be "offensive" to anyone is always somewhat of a dead-end prospect of an agenda.

Most people are such alarmists.  Anything that rubs their fur the wrong way will set them off, either running away terrified or lunging toward you in full jackboot fashion.

And just about anything can potentially offend most people (especially if they see it either gives you pleasure or benefits you in some way.)  If it's not to their liking or goes against any of their personal standards they respond like you just did something really vile or hideous.

Also, when one does do or say something another considers "offensive", society is always so harsh on the "offender" as if that was the primary reason for said words or act:  like you meant to be offensive, like it was all you had in mind.

I have no way of knowing or figuring out what's going to bother or upset another person.  I don't possess any kind of telepathic aptitudes, and most people are strangers whose lives I have nothing to do with anyway.  If anything I do or say "offends" it's purely incidental and not part of some conspiracy to intimidate or undermine any specific individual or group.

I just can't see putting myself "on hold" or allowing certain persons or groups to stifle or muffle me or curtail my personal activities simply because of their own arbitrary disapproval of whatever it is I'm doing or saying at the time.

How Generous of Nature to Ensure That Such Einsteins Keep Reproducing


Dear L.M.,
      I'm curious why my girlfriend will suddenly pee on me sometimes during sex.  I'll either be going down on her or having sex or mastubating her and then all this pee comes out and everything gets wet.  She's not that freaked out by it 'cause it happens to her all the time.  She claims it's not pee.  it doesn't smell like pee either.  What is it?
                                                   Signed,
                                               Oh My Gush!


Dear OMG,
      It is not pee.  It's female ejaculation.
      The anatomy of a woman's vaginal canal is an extraordinary landscape, filled with nerves, ducts, and spongy tissue...   (etc.)

"...You are what you eat, you are what you see, what you touch, what you smell, and what you hear."


...to quote the late ex-Beatle George Harrison.


Be careful of what kind of company you keep.  Those who spend most of their time among wise ones will themselves develop wise ways.   But those who spend most of their time among the foolish and reckless will themselves develop unwise ways.

...to quote the Bible.


Many ask:  Can exposure to violent forms of entertainment, like action movies and violent video games, affect the attitudes and behaviors of individuals?

A better question:  Can living in a dysfunctional, corrupt, discordant, inefficient, and turbulent culture have any adverse effects on an individual?





                                                                        Adages For Today

          These days the students have to teach the English teacher how to read and spell.

         Responsibility is:  having to do certain things you have no interest in nor aptitude for,
            and having to care about things you're not really all that concerned about.

I Have a Sick Sense of Humor

...and I'm proud of it.

I admit it.  I'll laugh at jokes about death, disaster, or tragedy.  I'll even laugh at real-life tragedies---including accidents, homocides, rapes, fires and the like.  It's not the tragedies themselves I find amusing, but rather the manner in which a lot of them occur.
A lady causes a wreck on the freeway texting while driving and I'll laugh about it.  Because: How can someone presumably educated and intelligent behave so ignorantly?

A lot of these tragic events are just ridiculous and unnecessary.  The undue recklessness, the overinflated egos, the undisciplined loose cannons, the know-it-all/can-do-all, the quest for one's own pleasures forsaking critical responsibilities.

The babysitter who gets drunk or high and passes out while on the job and a small child has to watch over his baby sister while the parents are still out on-the-town.
I would laugh hysterically upon hearing about it and everyone around me would think I must be demented.  But it's the elements of irony and absurdity that gets to me.

Most of my life, if I got myself in trouble whether out of ignorance or foolishness, others would make fun of me and find my predicament amusing, as if I somehow deserved all the harsh wrath I was getting.  Likewise, when others get in a jam, especially as a result of their own greed or stupidity, I wish to have a good laugh on them.
(Fair is fair.)

Still Throwing Pearls to Swine

One of the greatest miscarriages of modern times is how easily available high-tech gadgets are to the average person.

There are simply too many "genetically-altered" individuals running around in this world, most likely pre-lobotomized while still in the womb (the wonders of laser surgery, I reckon) where they're born minus the mental functions that govern intelligence, discretion, perception, and reason.
These people grow up to plague every aspect of society.

To put a cellphone in the hands of chronically brain-damaged plebeians is a practice in social-engineered cultural destruction.
You have all these twits either texting incessantly or constantly shouting into their cellphones any time anywhere with no sense of circumstantial propriety (or boundaries).

You have idiots at the public library with phone-glued-to-ear running their mouths while sitting in a computer terminal even as others in adjacent terminals are trying to view material themselves.

What about GPSs?  Do you really need to use one while traveling on an interstate highway?  In town, yes. Towns and cities can be laid out a little weird in spots.  But major boulevards and highways?
Learn to read a map already.

Babysitting the Babysitters

Recently I had an exam at the dental clinic of a major university.
Now, the dental clinic itself is a subdivision of the university's (overall) medical center complex.  But even by itself the dental clinic comprises numerous subdivisions of its own.  It, too, as a microcosmic entity, has within its own boundaries numerous other microcosmic entities, each with their own set of plans and rules.

I need work done on a couple of teeth, so (following the basic cleaning and checkup) they referred me to one of those microcosmic worlds within their overall world---specifically the "limited care" division.  Upon which they informed me that this department would call me within the (following) week to set up an appointment.

Well, that "following week" has since come and gone and still no word from limited care.
I guess that means I'll have to be proactive and take it upon myself to try to somehow get in touch with them myself.

I hate this sort of thing: the way I'm always forced to be codependent on someone else and then that other party doesn't come through for me, and I'm, like, eternally stranded and hung-up as a result.

I end up feeling like a small child whose babysitter gets drunk or high while on the job and passes out so I'm looking after my baby sister while my parents are still out-on-the-town.

One shouldn't have to "babysit the babysitters".  Those in-charge need to be more dedicated to their duties and responsibilities.

(CALL, you assholes!)

Invent-A-Law


What, exactly, is an "Invent-A-Law"?
It's a law concocted solely for the purpose of controlling people, or to satisfy the whims of a "special interest" faction, as opposed to honestly being in the interest of public safety or dealing with moral character or public behavior like most average quintessential laws (presumably) do.

The worst offenders are usually government agencies and local municipalities.

Take the U.S. Census Bureau's "American Community Survey" for example.  The underlying idea is to gather current information about pubic facilities and services: hospitals, schools, emergency services, businesses, etc., for the purpose of balancing out any inadequacies and filling in any "missing links" where needed.

No problem there.  But they mention "You are required by U.S. law to respond to this survey".  Does this mean that, if you toss out the form or simply ignore it, you stand to be "criminalized"?  A bit extortive don't you think?

While I respect the premise and intent of this project I'm still bothered and miffed by their license to invade our entitlement to freedom-of-choice.

Lonely Existence

One must feel for the bonafide reclusive.

Without any intimate ties to anyone the only human contact made is with strangers in public places.
No-one to talk or behave freely around or to lose one's inhibitions around.  No-one you can trust or who'll trust you.

All interactions with others resemble a board meeting rather than any kind of intimate one-on-one.

Life would be so much easier if everyone would just ride the train

I know that's a bit socialistic and collectivistic, but so many people don't know how to handle "having liberties" properly.
They end up "taking over" everything and hampering the rights of others.


But that's not what I'm "invading" the cyberspaces about this time around.
I'm here to spout off about the habit those-in-charge have lately of changing the MEDICARE drug prescription plan every two to three years.
What's the deal here already?  Have they never heard the adage THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO MAKE SILVER AND ONLY ONE WAY TO MAKE GOLD?
...or its modern-day counterpart:  GOD-DAMN-IT, JUST FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS AND STICK WITH IT!!!

I think it's just another "power-and-control obsessive" game those-in-charge like to play with us "lesser" types.  They seem to think we're just serfs and pawns, created by God simply for their own amusement to be played with like some kind of Barbie wind-up toy.
I really believe that's all they think of most of us.

Change should only be implemented either out of necessity or for the purpose of enhancing and improving.



Quote of the day:
Real-life situations are usually the infusions of various arbitrary nuances occurring in impromptu manners.
And most conflicts involve incompatible divergencies more so than they are about right or wrong or about morals.

When your toes keep getting stepped on every time you turn around and no-one's doing you any favors, that's when you get "attitude".


I'm not a prolific blogger.  To me blogging is little more than a freelance hobby, done only for the purpose of putting some of my ideas, opinions, and perspectives out into the world.
I'm not ever in it for any kind of profit or to attract hordes of "followers".

I wish to do more viewing than producing---to be more disciple than preacher.
As much bourgeois doggerel as there is on the web, there are also a small percentage of sites which offer keen insights and perspectives on meritable subjects.
The trick is to shy away form sites containing too much jargon or too much trend-obsessiveness as well as sites strictly catering to ephemeral pleasures.

As for me---my perspectives are still pretty much the same as they've always been:  I still feel fettered and encroached upon by the world and it's inhabitants, and that authorities in general tend to suck up to the overprivileged and favored at the expense of the forsaken and unknowns, and that quality-of-life issues are unjustly ignored and disavowed.

Gambling Addictions


So---ever since gambling has become legal in Ohio, it's reported that there's been an increase in the number of those reporting being addicted to gambling.

I, myself, when I used to hitchhike here-and-there, have had occassions to pass through the state of Nevada and would enjoy putting a few quarters in one of the many "one-armed bandits" that were a regular part of not only casinoes, but also restaurants and cafes.

The trick is to designate, say, maybe $10 worth (of quarters) and let that be the limit.  If you get anything back, fine.  If not, you're only out $10.
Maybe you'll be lucky enoug to get back $5 or so---enough to buy a drink or a sandwich with.

Essentially gambling is nothing more than paying another for the right to "pick your pockets", to embezzle from you right to your face.  Hardly anything to be passionate about enough to become obsessed with or addicted to.

Just do it for sport and nothing else.
And, next time you visit the casinoes---just have fun.

Street Life

I was listening to one of my many "oldies" (or "solid gold") based audio discs recently and that 1979 hit by the Crusaders came on (among other songs of the 50s 60s 70s and 80s) and I started thinking:  You know, the "jazz crowd" are actually a pretty sleazy bunch---but they're also quite sophisticated with it at the same time.  They can be semishady, yes, but always with personality and style.  Not like the hiphoppers, punk rockers, bikers, metalheads, and cocky modern-day "rock-and-rollers" who only know how to be rude, crude, and lewd.

The "jazz crowd" are (or were) just average-to-well-educated types who have a "devious" streak or two, and who relish dabbling in the "dark corners" of life on-and-off, but with no intention of ever actually committing themselves to it.
Unlike the gangsters, punks or roughneck types who live those elements 24/7.


I myself don't enjoy frequenting "night life" places.  The false promise of living an "adult life" where one is finally free to choose how they want to live and take responsibility for deciding for themselves how they want to live, have fun, and whether or not to indulge in certain "sinful pleasures" has long worn off for me when I finally realized that "growing up" means simply trading in your parents for other "guardians" and "overseers":  the government, the police, and the business communities.
Plus I don't care for the disposition of the average surly/cocky bartenders or for the "mafia-bred" security staff, all of them silently anticipating (and seemingly almost hoping for) some kind of trouble.


Of course anything to do with sex or alcohol is automatically associated with the dark elements of life: unruliness, exploitations, violence...

When you hear or read about sexual matters it's never about someone making love to one near and dear to them.  It's always about stalking, rape, harassment, infidelity, promiscuity.

And when you hear or read about alcohol consumption it's never about, say, a retired college professor enjoying a quiet evening of Tchaikovsky, Grieg, or Bach while slowly savoring brief sips of rum-and-coke.
It's always about getting shit-faced drunk and acting wild, or rowdy redneck honkytonks, or gunfire erupting in club settings, or loud wealthy alcoholics, or rioting bikers or punk rockers or gangbangers, or about date-rape mickeys, or drunken jocks getting into brawls, or about addictions and rehab...

I don't know...I can have a beer or two myself while listening to my music alone in my apartment, and it hasn't "ruined" me yet.
 

Freedom

is not determined by government documents written over 200 years ago that make grandiose promises based on fictitious mind-tickling ideals.

If you want to know how much freedom you really have, then take note of your society's priorities.
Whatever it either holds in highest esteem or considers extremely important in any way, those are what are going to be the most regulated and restricted.

Whatever it's lax or unconcerned about, or considers "secondary", those are the areas where you're likely to have the most liberties.

It's like:  If you were living in 15th-and-16th-century Spain, during the Inquisition, you would know to never express any atheistic ideas out loud, or express any kind of dubiousness about or levity toward "the church" because of the dire consequences of severe and harsh punishment.

But it's the same principal when dealing with any culture past or present.  There are always "sacred cows" one does not dare "butcher" in full view of everyone else.

Interdependency

...or "When the surgeon makes a mistake it's the patient who dies".

It's like: You're the captain of a fishing boat and while you're in your quarters doing paperwork you're pondering what kind of catch this day will bring
...only to find out, when you return to deck, that your dimwitted crew members forgot to cast the net into the water, hence you've just wasted four hours at sea and it's now time to return to port.

Civilization is amazing!

Consider: A lot of people succeed in life by metaphorically "kissing ass", "sucking dick" and "licking cunt" of individuals who would instantly have them locked up for "attempted molestation" if they were to try to do the same thing in the literal sense.

Teach Your Children...

I think two of the worst things a parent can teach their offspring are arrogance and entitlement...

...to believe one's "always right" about everything, and that one always "has the right to"...

...being peremptory and encroaching are not desirable traits to possess.
So, why are such traits (seemingly) always the norm?

Trickster of the Universe

...some cosmic force that's always messing in our affairs and we never really know why.
Or so some believe.

Frankly I think what's really "mesing in our affairs" are meddling laws, nosey troublemakers with no sense of boundaries, and local communities with their fraternal-obsessed xenophobia who'll persecute anyone they deem "suspicious" or offensive.

Inappropriate
...is that a synonym for being too candid, blunt, straightforward, or for thinking and acting too freely?

The demise of radio

If you've been reading Kent Kotal's site FORGOTTEN HITS (www.forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com) lately, it's been (in part) on the subject of how much in the past 15 years (or so) radio-in-general (AM and FM bands) has become more and more "unlistenable", redundant and homogenized.

In my view the only REAL "oldies" format would be to combine Joel Whitburn's Top-100 hits of 1954-1989 with as many local surveys of radio stations from the same time period as possible, and create an ultimate playlist comprising ALL the songs on those lists.  Which would be over 20,000 songs plus.
And play them in rotation.
Now THAT would be the ultimate nostalgia radio format of all times.
Afterwards do the same for R&B, country, and adult-contemporary pop as well.

Then it wouldn't matter who they played or which song they played (provided they rotate the playlist) since even the most now-overplayed songs would also come on once-in-a-blue-moon.