Monday, September 29, 2008

Palin answers a question... With nonsense

COURIC: Why isn't it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the--it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.


Holy Crap! That's the real quote. No wonder they won't let her toalk to the press. Wow.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Memory, Moments, Music.

I find the way my memory works kinda interesting. I have a pretty good memory. I recall all sorts of facts and information. I also recall the things I have done. But I can't remember what I had for lunch last thursday, or dinner yesterday. It might be because food is just fuel to keep the machine running, and I don't really care about it much.

Now the way I remember the things I have done is in Moments. I recall doing things in context of how the situation happened, where I was, the sights, sounds, and smells involved. But some of the transitory stuff, what happened in between the Moments is a bit vague at times. How did I necessarily get to that Moment? That doesn't seem important, so I don't really remember it. Like in a movie when a character goes from one location to another, you rarely see them driving to get there.

I also remember things in relation to music. I was listening to a radio station that was doing an '80s weekend. I grew up in the eighties and probably will remember the music from that era better than any other time. It was important because of the context in my life. Like I hear "With or Without You" by U2, or most any song from Joshua Tree, and I am placed onstage with U2. I was working the concert and dressed in blacks, but I was there. Many songs from the '80's I remember hearing them in a specific place, and I can tell you what year it came out by where I was at the time.

I also remember a lot of details when it comes to women I have known. I recall all sorts of things. How they kissed, where I met them, some of what was said. I can recall the feel of their skin, the sounds in the dark, sights, scents. ( I need to blog about women... hmmm..) Some girls I met at parties, and even though there may have been lots of alcohol involved, I still remember. I also remember, sometimes, all too well after a girl tears out my heart... again. And forgetting of that kind is tough.

Does everyone have a brain that works this way? Capturing Moments like a fly in amber? Or am I just unique? I'll sometimes say to a friend, "you remember when..." and they don't. I give enough detail and it jogs their memory.

Well, I've got to get to the next location for the next scene...

Monday, September 22, 2008

Traveling part 1

I like to travel. Most of the time I travel solo. For a number of reasons. I've been to Europe a few times and most recently went to New Zealand and Australia. Many people tell me they wish they could travel like I do. Alone, with a backpack. I usually tell them they can. It's not that hard. I just pick a place and a time frame, and I go. However, I have a lot more flexibilty in my life than most people do. I own nothing permanent; I have no kids or spouse. So it really isn't that hard to disappear for 2-3 weeks at a time.

I have been picking places that are warm in the LA winter time. New Zealand for example. Because I foolishly went to London, Paris, and Amsterdam in January 2007. When the hookers in Amsterdam are telling you to get out of the cold night you know it's a rough winter. (the 100 kph winds were a good clue, too) And they weren't suggesting I come inside to have sex with them.

I kind of like to travel by myself. I usually have a rough idea what I want to do in the places I am going. So all I have to do is do what I planned. Now, after college I went to Europe for the first time with a group from school. We were together for 3 weeks, then split up. Some people were great to travel with. Others, not so much. Who cares if the ginger-ale has both sugar and saccharin? You are in PARIS! I also don't like the community decision making process when traveling in a large group. It's tough to come to a decision when 10 people are involved. So by traveling alone, I avoid that hassle. Traveling with one or two you get along with is fun. More than that...

Next: How to journey with very little...

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Ass

Do you know what asses are? Asses are the human races' favorite thing. We like them on each other; we like them on magazine covers; we even like them on babies. When we are alone we like to scratch them; when there's a fire we like to warm them. And who among us hasn't, in a lonely moment, reached back for a discreet fondle?

We love our asses

When God gave us our asses he had to stick them around the back just so we didn't sit and stare at them all day. 'Cause when God created the ass he didn't say, "Hey, it's just your basic hinge. Let's knock off early." He said,"Behold ye angels I have created the ass. Throughout the ages to come men and women shall grab hold of these and shout My name!"


(Okay. I stole that from the British series Coupling. Jeff says it in the episode, Faithless. It's still hilarious.)

Monday, September 15, 2008

Religion: Creationism vs. Evolution

Okay, this post may piss some people off, but I hope it makes you think.

I was driving in my rental car (because my car door was hit.) and I was listening to 98.7 on the radio. There was a bump in the road and the radio scanned forward to 99.5, a Christian station. They were talking about creationism.

The world, the Universe, is 6000 years old. Now, James Usher, a pastor in the 1900's, figured out the world was created on October 23, 4004 bc.

Now if you read the Babylonian creation myth, Enuma Elish, there is a point for point parallel to the creation myth in Genesis. But instead of God creating, it's a group of pantheistic gods procreating. I'm not going to compare and contrast the two myths here. I don't have the space. Google Enuma Elish and look at Genesis side by side. Why are they so similar? Was it plagarized? If you had a creation myth that was generally accepted by most people and you were starting a religion, rather than changing everything they believe to be how things started, you take the myth and adapt it to suit your purpose.

Also man is created twice in Genesis. 1:26 and 2:7. The second time is exactly the same as the way Prometheus created man in Greek mythology. Cheeky Prometheus.

On the radio, the commentator said that evolution was wrong because of Genesis 1:3, "and God said." Those 3 words completely disprove all of science because it's in the Bible. No other reasoning needed. It is the undeniable Word of God. Therefore evolution cannot be right.
I was yelling at the radio. "Are you kidding me?"
There are rocks that prove the age of the earth to be 4.5 billion years old. There are fossilized remains of dinosaurs. However creationists have said that God put those things there to fool us. The earth and everything are only 6000 years old. It's in the Bible.

The radio commentator called Man "God's ultimate creation." If you look at Man from an evolution stand point, what we are right now is a step. A step to something else. Something, I hope, better, more evolved, than what we are now. Smarter, less likely to kill each other over our beliefs or lack thereof.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

My Brain...

I have this odd, curious, tendency to figure things out that most people would never notice.

For example: How many cars are on the 405 in the Sepulveda pass at rush hour? I'm talking the heaviest time of the day when things are moving the slowest? At any moment, in bumper to bumper traffic, there is an average of 4400 cars in the 5 miles of the pass. And that's just the heaviest direction for traffic at that time of day. Mornings it's south bound, and evenings are north bound. Throw in a an accident and rubbernecking, and it is probably more.

Another example: I have had, as a ballpark figure again, 1.76 billion heart beats in my life time. To figure this out take the average heart beats per minute and mulitply it by 525600. (That's the number of minutes in a year, and a song from Rent.) Then multiply that number by the number of years lived. This will give you and average. The heart rate goes down when you are asleep, and goes up when excercising. This is an average. It's not exact, but interesting. What an amazing thing the heart is. It makes me wonder about human endurance.

How many heart beats do you get?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Timing

I am amazed at timing. A lot lately. I was in a car accident. A guy hit my open car door in a parking lot as he was driving thru the space next to me. It was his fault.

But the timing of it was amazing. At 5 mph, he is moving at 7.3 feet a second. Which is a lot for a parking lot, and even more when driving between cars that are parked.

Now if I had gotten out of my car 5 seconds earlier, there would be no accident. The guy was had probably not turned into the Vons parking lot at that time. And 5 seconds later, he would have just been that asshole who was driving passed my car in the parking lot. What was he thinking?

All the timing that got me to that point, all the variables are astounding. So it can be said that every moment is a moment where an accident didn't happen because the timing wasn't right. The universe didn't collide in bad or good ways.

I once ran into someone I knew in college when I was in Europe. I was in Paris, fresh out of school and a randomly picked resturaunt was where I ran into Andy Davids. He walked up and said "hi" like he expected to see me there. Kind of surprising since I hadn't seen him for 2 years when he transferred to a different college. But I then ran into him 4 weeks later in the Tube in London and greeted him like I expected to see him. Also on that trip, in Florence Italy, I ran into people I went to high school with. What amazing timng for those random happy accidents.

So pay attention to the random chance of the world and see what accidents you just avoided.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Choice

Until a man can carry a fetus to term, he should shut the hell up about a woman's right to choose. It's none of his business really. His contribution took 2 minutes.

The Republican vice president nominee, Sarah Palin, would stop all abortions even in cases of incest and rape. So a 14 year old girl is raped, gets pregnant, and is victimized again because she is forced to carry a fetus concieved in violence to term. I doubt she wants it or is going to keep it.

Hooray for the Compassionate Conservatives of the GOP.

The girl should have the right to have an abortion, and the rapist should go to jail forever.

I do find it funny that Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter had the ability to choose to carry her illegitimate baby to term. But she's having a shotgun wedding to the baby daddy very soon. This guy on his myspace page said, "I don't want kids." Well, dude, you have a kid and now a wife. And the eyes of the media are on your every move.

If this had been a Democrats daughter in the same situation, wow, it would be a scandal. Republicans think it shows family values. Teach the kid about the facts of life so this doesn't happen.

Friday, September 5, 2008

First Blog

In this contentious polictical race for President of the United States I feel the need to vent.

Elitist.
Don't you want as President someone who is smarter than you? Don't you want someone who is better than you? Intelligent, with a group of smart people around him to show all sides of an issue so the best course of action can be taken? I think I would like that. Not someone who seizes on a thought or course of action when common sense and information show that it is a bad decision and never changes his mind.

Changing your mind. Or for political opponents, Flip Flopping.
This term was used effectively to derail John Kerry's campaign. Were the "stay the course" examples of the past 8 years were good ideas? I don't think they were.
When a decision or course of actions prove to be disaterous, changing your mind to stop them is a good thing.
If I am in Los Angeles and I want to go to the beach in Santa Monica, I should travel West. I should not go East, though, if I stay the course, the world is round and I'll eventually get there. After a 25000 mile journey around the globe.