What if ...

ISIS is a "rod of God's wrath" toward western societies for having become too hedonistic, materialistic and corrupt?
...and having long become spiritually dead to the point of eschewing compassion and decency?

My disdain and contempt for "normalcy" is on account of all its bigotries, dogmas and pigeonholing.

Everyone is too lazy to get to know anyone outside of their close relatives, best friends, or intimates.

Yet one's still affected by whoever one makes contact with in any way, and the "invasive" nature of such is unnerving enough one has to have a response of some kind.

Hence, the response is often to slander and stereotype in a disparaging way whoever grates on you.


                The above is my Musing For Today 

                                  Adages For Today

Any time the deeds of another messes you up, either they're clueless and incompetent or they're playing some kind of "politics" with you.


When things go wrong the problems they create tend to be so "Sisyphean".  Once something gets bent out of shape it never seems to be able to regain its original form.


You should know:  it's morally wrong to hold anyone accountable for whatever they do or say while inebriated, distressed, exasperated, or blindsided.


Society is this place where people routinely throw rocks at you for sport then act shocked and appalled when you show disrespect toward them.

                                         O   C   D   (Revisited)

Although I've never been officially diagnosed with O.C.D. I'm pretty sure I must have it.  At least to some degree.  I'm always "double-checking" what I do, often repeating the same action twice or running through my mind repeatedly what I've just done to "reassure myself".

That said, there's been recent controversy over a T-shirt the department store chain Target has been selling which states:  "OCD Obsessive Christmas Disorder".  Last I heard they took it off the market for being "offensive".

Frankly I think this whole affair is way over-the-edge in terms of overreaction and overreach.
And over what's essentially a somewhat silly lame parody slogan.  And one I think is based on the truth myself.

People ARE obsessed with Christmas.  And not in the "celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ" sense either.  More in the secular commercial aspects of the season.  (Which is why those who are atheists or non-Christians are so foolish to be flying off-the-handle over the mention of the name "Christmas", since the origin of the namesake gets so lost in all the commercialism anyway.  And, also, because Jesus Christ himself wasn't even born this time of year anyway.  I think he was born during the spring ...or maybe the fall.)

Also: The letters "o", "c" and "d" are merely three letters of the alphabet.  And "O.C.D." could be the initials of any slogan or namesake in which each word within starts with those particular letters.

Another CeleBirthdate

Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot turns 77 today.

Forty years ago the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a turbulent Lake Superior during a violent "frontal boundary" storm on November 10 1975
...a week before Gordon Lightfoot turned 37.

A year later, in November 1976, Lightfoot's ode to this tragedy was climbing the singles chart as he turned 38 that month.

The city of Columbus Ohio has recently initiated a "pedestrian safety" campaign.
The top priority?  More stringent enforcement of jaywalking laws, including ticketing jaywalkers.

Anything else?  Hmmmmmmm, let's see....
Are they doing anything about motorists who fly in and out of parking lots and driveways at full speed?
...No.

Are they ticketing motorists who violate NO TURN ON RED intersections?
...No.

Are they ensuring drivers slow down and signal when making a turn?
...No.

Are they doing anything about bicyclists who fly down the middle of the sidewalks like they were in a race?
...No.

Are they ticketing bicyclists who run stop signs and red lights?
...No

All they seem to care about is "blaming pedestrians" for all manners of traffic ills.

As a full time pedestrian and bus rider it feels great to have a cultural status comparable to that of the Jewish population of Germany during the early 1940s or of a black citizen of Mississippi during the 1950s.

"Pedestrian Safety" is clearly a synonym for "Pedestrian Persecution".

If the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or any other terrorist group wanted to, once again, blindside the U.S. population with another attack similar to the one on September 11 2001 all they'd have to do to catch us off-guard is "reverse the date":  Strike on "11-9".

WAIT A MINUTE!!!   TODAY'S 11-9!!!!
In which case I hope they never do what I just stated above.  Because I would then stand to be accused of "complicity" for having expressed the idea in this post.

And ...their doing so would be a good way to inadvertently "commit a conspiracy against" ME.




                   The above is today's Musing For Today

                       Still Undecided on the Abortion Issue

I don't question the moral aspects of the arguments presented by the anti-abortion crowd.  That, even biologically speaking, the fetus is a designated developing member of whatever given species its parents are, "pre-programmed" to become another member of whatever animal species its parents are.  I get it in the literal and clinical sense.

However, any time I have to deal with ignorant or obnoxious individuals whose actions and behaviors interfere with my own existence, either physically or psychologically, I tend to start becoming prejudice in favor of the pro-abortion crowds.

I think the real question is:  Why are all these women allowing themselves to become so carelessly pregnant in the first place?  If they kept themselves from becoming pregnant then "abortion" would never become a potential "consideration" as a "viable solution".
Are they just being coerced into satisfying the demands of a strong-arming boyfriend who "has to feel a wet bare pussy rubbing against his dick rim in order to get off"?

Another question:  Just what kind of individuals are we, as an "advanced civilization", breeding and raising in the first place? 

Ben Carson

is in the wrong profession.  He should have been an anthropologist or even an archaeologist.

I mean, his theory about Joseph being primarily responsible for initiating the creation of the pyramids.

All that sophisticated design and structure, the top-quality materials used and molded to geometric perfection and bonded airtight and weather-and-environment-proof.
And the usage of top-notch architects and construction crews in addition to the best materials.

And for the purpose of storing essential food supplies.

And to think all this time I took for granted the great pyramids predated Biblical times.

Computers

are not intelligent.  They can't do anything on their own.  They depend on electronic input from an outside source.  They're the ultimate "minions".  Only as good as either whoever installs their programming or whoever creates and produces the content that's infused into their system.

If the programmer or scriptwriter is lacking in knowledge or wisdom, or is unscrupulous in their intent or purpose, then what you end up with, in the system or on-line, is total crap.

Reliability and credibility are just as important on-screen as they are on paper.

Prejudice is a tricky thing.

You and the other guy make a conditional truce to refrain from slandering and defaming each other.

Then the other guy says something disparaging about "the way you look" or about your beliefs or lifestyle, and your reaction is "Oh yeah?  Well, since you told me what you think of me I'll tell you what I think about your gaudy excuse for a wardrobe, the crappy-looking clothes you parade around in.  That myopically idiomatic religion you're so committed to that's such an 'end all'.  Your roguish line of ancestry.  Your lascivious and kinky lifestyle..."

THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is why there'll always be bigotry and prejudices. 
Parade around with your banners and chant your mantras all you want, but that'll never put an end to six-million-plus years of any of the vices of human nature.




                                          First Musing For Today

                      This world has been so consistently bleached
                       It's lost all it's color and flavor
                      And it's fabric has been worn away.

                      Everything is so bland and without character.
                      The only dynamics left are all in nostalgia, in it's past.




                                     Second Musing For Today
                      

                                          Musing For Today

I get tired of other people's "rights" and "liberties".  I think that kind of rhetoric is little more than a front for the desire of others to hog more for themselves and to engage in select manners of undiscipline while evading the consequences of such behavior.
I also think it's a front for those who are "bothered by whatever I do" to conjure up excuses to interfere with my activities by simply stating that whatever it is I happen to be doing is somehow "offensive" or is "bothering" them.

I think if we're going to have laws and rules EVERYONE should have to be subject to them.  No favoritism or being deferential to certain individuals or groups.
Enough of this "freedom" and "rights" crap.  ALL countries ever in existence (past and present) are "republics"---countries primarily ruled by "the letter of the law".  As such, ALL countries are a little "communistic" and somewhat socialistic by virtue of default due to the necessities surrounding their being inhabited by large numbers of people within their borders.

There HAS to be certain restrictions and a bit of despotism on the part of ANY type of government in their attempts to prevent any and all manners of anarchic behaviors.

               BRUEGGERS BAGELS

"Yes.  May I help you?"
"Yes. Cinnamon sugar bagel and small coffee."
"Room for cream?"
"No thanks."
"Do you want anything on your bagel? Cream cheese? Butter?"
"Would it be extra?"
"Yes."
"No thanks."
"Alright ...99 cents for coffee, $1.50 for bagel..."
"Wait a minute.  It says coffee is $1.99."
"Well the coffee itself is only 99 cents.  But the cup is a dollar extra."
"Oh ...it just says $1.99 for a small coffee."
"Well, people always get confused if we list the price of the coffee and cup separately.  So, rather than having to explain, we just list the whole price as $1.99."
"And the bagel?  The price listed is $2.50."
"The plate is a dollar extra."
"A 'dollar extra'? For a small styrofoam plate?"
"EVERYTHING is 'extra' here."
"Why?"
"Because ...this is Brueggers Bagels."



Just for the record:  I DO like their cinnamon sugar bagels.
Nonetheless it doesn't escape me that Brueggers is a bit ...modern-day "hipster"esque.
Probably part of the "grand gentrification" effort of the 21st century.

Responsibility (Revisited)

I think the disdain one may have toward the concept of "responsibility" is on account of not wanting to be the one for whom "the buck stops here".  No-one wants to be "held accountable" for all that's not well when they're simply "one among many".

But "responsibility" is not so bad when it's either self-imposed or aligned with one's personal beliefs.
Taking on anything from owning a pet to engaging in a passionate hobby, for example, one understands what's involved in doing such properly and effectively.  One is willing to be "their own dictator" because it's being done for a purpose and for their benefit.
There's also the "necessary evils" one must engage in out of necessity/default: shopping; cleaning; bathing;washing.  You can't allow essentials to get used up without being replaced.  One must maintain cleanliness because one shouldn't wish to live in filth or in a messy personal environment.
There's also the "moral obligations" one has by default as a result of being an integral part of the world in general.

What's undesirable is "responsibility" that's either extorted, imposed, or done with "revenge" in mind.  Rules you're not totally in agreement with that are mandated, or those who feel animosity toward you--- trying to make you "responsible for" alleged wrongdoings or who find anything you do or say "offensive" and have to be retaliatory toward you in response.
In cases where "responsibility" is but a front for some kind of underlying prejudice or attempts at scapegoating.