What Year Is It Again?

I say twenty-fourteen.  But a lot of people are saying two-thousand and fourteen.

What's with this "two-thousand" crap?  We didn't pronounce the last few centuries in that manner, did we?  For example, the "summer of love" was nineteen-sixty-seven, not one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-sixty-seven.  President Lincoln was assassinated in eighteen-sixty-five, not one-thousand-eight-hundred-and sixty-five.

And in the United States' Bicentennial year, 1976 (nineteen-seventy-six, not one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-seventy-six) the Broadway play "1776" was a big hit, celebrating the Revolutionary war and this country's forefathers.  Pronounced "seventeen-seventy-six" not "one-thousand-seven-hundred-and-seventy-six".  That drawn-out pronunciation would not make for a very catchy title.

I've always said "twenty-hundred" right from the start: twenty-o-seven (2007); twenty-ten (2010); twenty-o-eight (2008); twenty-o-five (2005).
Like that.

I'll NEVER EVER say "two thousand and..."

One thing I don't understand about the methods of road (and sidewalk) repair being carried out by the city:

Why do they tear up large areas of the neighborhood all at one time, then take all of forever to redo it?

Wouldn't it make more sense to just do a small segment at a time and complete that portion of the job before moving on to the next segment? The repair work  itself wouldn't take any longer and there would be far less disruption of the normal business and pedestrian activities.

I think blogging should be given more serious consideration than it normally is.

It has the potential to be a serious medium of insightful commentary and analysis, one that questions assumptions and contentions most people take for granted.

The focus these days seems to be on the "social media" aspects.
I think there should be less focus on "social" and more on content, substance and individual free thought.








                                                                    Adage For Today
                                                 Either self-repress or suffer being others-oppressed.

Paul McCartney Turns 72

Notice I didn't say "Sir Paul". That's arbitrary of course. Having grown up in the 60s The Beatles were integral to my childhood and adolescent years, hence to me he's always been "Paul McCartney".
Knighted or not he's still Paul McCartney. Or James Paul McCartney.

So much time has gone by. McCartney is now elderly. This is the kind of thing we would joke about (during the late 60s): "What do you think the Beatles will look like when they get old? Can you imagine them being all wrinkled like grandma and grandpa?"
Everyone stereotypes the elderly you know.

Granted, his greatest achievements were when he was still in his 20s and 30s. However they were still of HIS doing, they were still the results of HIS efforts and were HIS ideas and concepts. We're still talking about the same individual, right? Hence, the credits still belong to HIM no matter how much longer he sticks around, even if 20 years from now he's suffering so much from dementia he can't even remember his own name half the time.

What's up with this obsession with guns and weapons?
All these guys collecting piles of bizarre military and assault weapons and storing them in and around their own private residence.
Some of these guys don't even own their own homes either. They're apartment dwellers. Just where does one store "enough armaments to potentially supply half the Israeli army if need be" in an apartment unit? Are the bedrooms simply stockrooms for their ill-gotten black-market treasures? Do they sleep on the floor by their front door, with clothes and toiletries stacked up on end tables and their couch?

What gets me is how much these weapons and ammunition are worth. When one reads the news accounts of the latest "shooting incident" it's often revealed the "shooter" possesses somewhere in the vicinity of $30,000 worth of guns and ammo.
Speaking for myself, if I had that kind of money to burn I could easily come up with far better uses for it. Get a passport and travel abroad. Take in different cultures. Or travel around the U.S.. Spend a day at Bryce Canyon or someplace else just as scenic. Explore the different subcultures within one's own country. Spend time somewhere reclusive and revive one's spiritual and emotional equilibrium. Try to LOSE the collective insanity instead of ADDING your own to the sludgepile.

Naturally I don't expect these brain-addled types to harbor such wisdom and perspectives.

The worst aspect of "shooting spree" types is they're a lot like suicide bombers and World War II era kamikaze pilots in that it's impossible to halt their plans even by making any kind of extortive threats toward them.

Most people have tunnel vision. Not only lacking peripheral vision physically, but also mentally as well.
Someone with a fear of flying, expecting an old friend visiting from out of town, is looking all over the train station for their friend while their friend is stuck at the airport wondering "Where is he?".


The apartment building I reside in has an exterminator who stops by once a month to eradicate unwanted 6-legged and 8-legged "guests" from each unit.
Problem is, I never know when he's going to come around, which can be Monday through Friday between 8 A.M. and 4 P.M.. On a number of occasions he's come in when I was still in bed or was in the bathroom. Lately he seems to have copped an attitude, like he's pissed off at being made to feel like an intruder or whatever.
I don't know why neither his company or the management of my apartment building ever sends me an advance notice of when he's due. Then I could prepare and make the necessary amendments for said day (i.e.: get up earlier, etc.).
Methinks someone could afford to "up the ante" on their methods of communication.





                                     Another site to check out: www.ihatebicyclists.wordpress.com
                                                                           ...and still another one: www.thiscrazytrain.com

I-I-I'm Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack!

Holy Poltergeist! So much for my alleged "hiatus". Just as well. As the adage goes: I don't promise ANYTHING!

I've discussed the issue of "Invent-A-Laws" before. Those are the type of laws that have nothing to do with ethics or public safety, such as laws against theft or murder. They're concocted solely for the purpose of favoritism toward select factions or to supplement social or provincial standards or prejudices ("Jim Crow" laws are a perfect example), or just for the purpose of some kind of social control.

Those restaurants and bars with the signs on the bathroom doors: RESTROOMS ARE FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY. If you have to go desperately and defy the signs because the only alternative would be going outside which is also unlawful, would they actually have you arrested and prosecuted?
A "Criminal Trespass" charge would imply you "have no respect for the rights, property and possessions of others".
That's one of the issues I have with Invent-A-Laws. The way they "criminalize" individuals who are actually just average middle-of-the-road good-natured types.