Too Much To Ask?
I took an online "personality test" recently.
The results showed that, for the most part, I tend to have a generous and helpful nature
...however, it did mention I also have a psychopathic tendency to "get whatever it is I want or desire any way I can, by whatever means necessary or available".

So I also tend to be an opportunist.  Why is that necessarily "psychopathic"?
Isn't that the way a lot of successful individuals got where they are today?  Taking advantage of opportunities and loopholes?

So why is it so "terrible" if I do similar for myself?  Why does that make ME some kind of "predator"?
What's my alternative?  Continuing to settle for being deprived, oppressed, vulnerable, still "kept in the dark", still "held out on", still given the runaround?  Why NOT try to "grab a little for myself" if and when possible?

Should I just casually allow myself to be harshly judged by a world of fortunate types who make six-figure incomes, have good social and sex lives, are allowed to hop-scotch from one continent to another like it's just another walk around the block, eat out every night, go to fancy clubs or concerts or theater venues or illustrious arts and cultural events every weekend?
...and then treat the likes of me with contempt for merely wishing twopence for myself, like I'm attempting to bankrupt the National Treasury?

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday

...and back to normal time for another five months.

Why don't they just leave the clocks alone?  Having to readjust the clocks twice a year is just one more thing to have to "also remember to do".

You don't "gain" or "lose" an hour by simply changing the position of the hour hand on your clock.  The clocks just read an hour later or an hour earlier, that's all.

I'm intrigued by the fact that this whole thing is actually legislated.  The state and federal courts have the time and resources to waste on a frivolity like this, in lieu of all the serious issues chronically plaguing us left and right.
Have they nothing better to do?
Oh yeah ...of COURSE they do: obsess over abortion, gay rights, hate speech, figuring out how to "abolish hate and prejudice" and deal with drug and alcohol addiction without having to make any efforts to improve the quality-of-life of the average citizen, how to destroy Medicare and Medicaid
...I keep forgetting how busy these guys really are.
Engaging in all these endeavors sure to accomplish so much for mankind.  

                                  Musing For Today
One thing that bothers me is the way one's made to feel they have to explain or "justify" anything they do or say.

Why can't one simply do what they do or say whatever they say because it's just their style and honest viewpoint?

I don't like the way I always seem to "owe the other person something".  Who are these people that they seem to have so much command over everything?  They get to decide what goes down.   Why should I have to "answer to" them if they don't "approve of" something I do or have to say?

And why does the world literally hand all these "others" the keys to everything it has to offer while keeping the likes of me caged and boxed in?

And why are these "others" allowed the monopoly on the world's amenities, on even the right to freedom-of-expression and on satisfying basic desires?


They can talk loud and blast their music and televisions without being accused of "disturbing the peace"
They can feel sexual desires without being looked upon as being "perverted" and "lascivious"
They can get outraged or angered or excited or elated and raise their voices or shout and scream without being considered "threatening", "menacing", "annoying" or "imposing".
Whatever their conjectures and however myopic their perspective they still "have the last word on" everything.

What's most bothersome is that when I wish to claim even a minute bit of space for myself they have to shove me aside and claim even that for themselves.

Any time the world takes offense at me it always seems to be when I start expressing myself too freely, or loosening up a bit and becoming more confident, or start expecting entitlements, acting too "uppity".
It's like the real offenses don't really have anything to do with ethics, morals, or "lack of consideration".  It seems to be more about me "muscling my way into their 'monopolies'".
The retaliations are really about putting me back in my "place".

                          We are all cultists
A cult is any ideology, group, or organization that demands unconditional loyalty to and belief in whatever it deems to be proper or to be true from its members (or those aspiring to be members).

The family is the first cult most people end up being a part of.
Parents raise their offspring to be loyal to "the family" first and foremost---loyal to the parents, to their siblings, to their grandparents, to the beliefs espoused by the parents.  Any show of individual autonomy on the part of any one offspring is looked upon as "treasonous" and "a betrayal of the family unit"
Children are never raised to be independent, to think or do for themselves, or to have a life of their own.

And the schools and churches are not much better.  They teach loyalty to the "community" and to the social mores, and to worship society and its "system".   And the notion that each person constantly "owes" everyone else around them, and to not do or say anything to another that could be interpreted as being "disparaging".

As a result we have a whole world of shills and sycophants, people who do not dare have thoughts of their own or act on their true desires or feelings, whose biggest concerns involve "fitting in" and "being accepted".

...and a world full of all kinds of cults for the people of the world to attach themselves to, as they've all been raised to commit themselves to others at their own expense ...
    ...just take a look for yourself at some of these typical collective cults:
*Liberals
*Conservatives
*White Supremacists
*Black Lives Matter
*LGBT
*Feminists
*Men's Rights Activists
*Fraternal Order Of Police
*Democrats
*Republicans
*Tea Party
*Communists
*Environmentalists
*The Corporations
*The Organizations
*Pro-abortionists
*Anti-abortionists
*Unions
*Anti-union organizations
*Educators
*Fraternities
*Sororities
*Bicyclists
*Vegetarians
*Business Communities
*Arts Communities
*Activists
*CEOs
*Muslims
*Jews
*Catholics
*Christians 
*Baptists
*Atheists
*Satanists
*any person who identifies themselves via their ethnic background or ancestry, or by their social class/rank
*Economists
*Lawyers
*The Legal/Court Systems
*The Economic Systems
*Governments
*The Military
*Gangs
*Clubs
*Sports teams and their fans
*Terrorist Organizations
*Militant Organizations

             Investment vs. mere purchasing
When I purchase clothes, electronic appliances, shoes, dishware, or any other item I anticipate having for the long run I'm always hoping for at least some degree of longevity from them.

Few things are more despairing than paying $90 for a pair of shoes that can't make it even a year without either the soles wearing down completely or separating from the frame itself.
Likewise, appliances or electronics that start malfunctioning when only two or three years old.

Maybe I'm just too persnickety, or just not realistic or whatever, but, outside of really basic items---like shampoo, cleaning supplies, food, toothpaste, shaving razors, and the like---I'd like to think I'm more "making an investment" when I buy the more "serious" items than just simply "making another purchase".

It unnerves me to think the industry is only making everything under the sun "expendable", and the concept of "investing" completely eludes them in their quest for accumulating as much wealth as they can (presumably within the prescribed legal limits).
The industries seem to be little more than "profit vacuums", always going after wealth as if it were some kind of "precious jewels" to seek after and collect as treasures or mantel pieces. 

Another Campy Quote

                       "We all shall grow old one day"

How true!
A few examples of the veracity of that statement:
*Buddy Holly
*Jimi Hendrix
*Janis Joplin
*Jim Croce
*James Dean
*John Lennon
*Edgar Allan Poe
*Patsy Cline
*Bobby Daren
*Ritchie Valens
*Harry Chapin
*Brian Jones
*Eddie Cochran
*Otis Redding
*Jim Morrison
*Elvis Presley
*Gilda Radner
*Laura Nyro
*Sam Cooke
*Marvin Gaye
*Chuck Willis
*Karen Carpenter
*Keith Moon
*Marc Bolan
*Johnny Horton
*Andy Gibb
*Duane Allman
*Sal Mineo
*Clyde McPhatter
*Van McCoy
*Tammi Terrell
*John Belushi

                                           Adage For Today
       Being out in public is a lot like being stuck between floors in an elevator with 30 other people

Me (Wants To Make Sense) Too

For those of you who want to read an article about sexual harassment and sexual assault that actually reads out in an intelligent, reasonable and sensible manner, check out this one from the National Review by Michelle Malkin
....a level-headed PROFESSIONAL veteran columnist/journalist:
  www.nationalreview.com/article/452808/metoo-may-exaggerate-prevalence-sex-crimes

Another CeleDeath to report:

Fats Domino
   ...the "Fat Man" himself.
This recording legend passed away Tuesday at the age of 89.

First it was Chuck Berry (in March).   Now it's another R&B/pop/rock n'roll pioneer.
Even MORE proof of just "how late it is" ....of just HOW MUCH time has actually gone by for some of us aging gnomes and hobbits.

           Babysitting the babysitters (revisited)
Let's say you need a plumber.   The pipes under your sink are leaking and there's a ton of water on bathroom floor.

So you call up a plumber you know to be a competent worker---very skilled and knowledgeable in his trade.

However, this guy has an issue with punctuality.  He can't be relied on to show up when he promised to.  And often he doesn't show up at all when scheduled.  Later he may apologize and tell you "a family issue came up suddenly" and that he had to take care of it right then and there.
And, unfortunately, this seems to be a regular pattern of his.

Hence, you're stuck with the formidable task of having to badger someone you're dependent upon, in a somewhat parental manner.   In short, having to assume authority over someone who's suppose to have an authority over you.

Much like a landlord who fails to make repairs or maintain the residential building.
Or your supervisor at work who fails to mention you've been given an extra assignment that particular day ...then, when you come in the next day, you find yourself being penalized for "negligence" and "insubordination".  
It's like you have to "boss the boss around" to get them into action.
These sort of situations are among the worst kind of precarious ones to be in.  Because you don't wish to risk offending someone who's "over you".  Yet, if you DON'T say or do anything certain problems stand to never get solved. 

Song Analysis: Somebody's Been Sleeping

What is there to say about this R&B/pop hit by 100 Proof Aged In Soul from the fall of 1970?
Essentially a "Goldilocks and the Beanstalk" meets "Jack and the Three Bears" take on an adult theme (infidelity), using an improvisation of  two children's fairy tales as metaphors.



                                            Another site to check out: www.stupid-people.net

CeleBirthdate

Paul Simon turns 76 today
...and David Lee Roth turned 63 on Tuesday (the 10th)

...and a few CeleDeaths of late to mention as well ...

Walter Becker of Steely Dan
...and Tom Petty as well, leaving a number of "Heartbroken" fans in the wake of his passing
...and Jimmy Beaumont of The Skyliners