| You Passed 8th Grade Math |
 Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct! |
Americans Today...
9 years ago
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Eva Longoria VS. Bowling for Columbine
It was insomnia Saturday Night and there wasn't much on last night. I ended up not falling asleep until 3 AM or so. But at 11pm, while flipping through DirecTV channel surfing last night I discovered a conflict at 11:30. On NBC you had a re-run of Saturday Night Live with Eva Longoria or you had Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. What a tough choice! Korn was even the musical act on Saturday Night Live. What's a Republican to do? (See if you are a Republican you can still watch cool stuff, it's not a suicide pact!)
I chose Bowling for Columbine over Eva. What a shame! But something happened. Moore wrote a good documentary there. It was very well done. Even though I disagreed with Moore's conclusions and think he is a total ass, but there were some interesting points.
I disagreed with a lot of the documentary because it seemed Moore was driven to point out America's drive to violence as the ultimate cause of the Columbine tragedy and the killing of the 6 year old girl in Flynt, Michigan by another 6 year old boy. We have violent tv shows, movies and video games. We have a violent country. Clinton dropped bombs on Kosovo the day the Columbine attack occurred. Our murder rate with guns is astronomically higher than the rest of the free world. I think the blame was a bit misguided because he blamed gun ownership as the major cause and he wanted to point out how Canada has 7 million guns in 10 million households and how low their violent crime rate with guns is significantly lower than ours. Moore glorified Canada to the point that I think he should just move there. Canada is a great place but America isn't Canada. Guns aren't our problem in this country, people are.
It's scary to say but back in high school, I had a lot in common with kids like Harris and Klebold who committed these crimes. I had that "outcast" feeling. It suprised me to learn that Harris and Klebold's parents were not divorced. They had not come from a broken home and neither did I. My parents have been married 40 years. Those kids had a lot of pressure and a lot of build up around high school, as the place to make it. You see the pressure in high school movies like Friday Night Lights, where football players were treated like gods. Or shows like MTV's Sweet Sixteen where these bratty girls through parties for their 16th birthdays and pick and choose who comes like Schindler's List. What about those who aren't part of the social popularity? I have seen it in high school, the rejection, the mean kids who abuse others, and school administrations not identifying the problem. I saw it first hand at my school but then saw it again as a substitute teacher. I went to my 5 year high school reunion and got more apologies than I ever got in high school. Some kids are flat out mean to those that can't take it. Who causes that? Is it guns? I don't think so. Is it violent tv and movies? I don't think so either. I think it's our current social plan. We don't talk about it enough! Yet, I wonder who's to blame for it. It's not the second Amendment as Moore points out. Some people just shouldn't be having kids. I think that's the real problem.
I like what Moore did with the K-Mart and the bullets though. Even though I am a capitalist and they were turning K-Mart into an advisary and turning them into the "cause", which is a thought process I am totally against, they did expose something. A 17 year old was working a gun department and sold them ALL the ammunition. That had to have been hundreds of dollars worth of ammo. The second Amendment says you can own again a gun or "bear arms". It doesn't say you can go into a store and buy a shitload of ammo. You can't go into a drugstore and cases of Sudafed, yet it is your right to own some legally. We regulate so many petty things like cigarette smoking, alcohol and spray paint at a hardware stores, so I see no reason to have some sort of restriction on ammo. Yet still, it's idiots that cause us to regulate this stuff not the actual items themselves.
I couldn't watch the end of Bowling for Columbine because I think Moore is a sick person. I listened but I didn't want to watch. He goes to Charlton Heston's house with a camera as a "card carrying member of the NRA" to discuss the NRA with Heston. Charlton Heston is NOT the cause of the Columbine, the Flynt Michigan murder or any other imbecile that wants to take someone's life with a gun. Yet Moore just out for his own vindication. Let's go attack a feeble old man, some legendary icon in film who probably wants to be remembered for his younger days as a film star. It was a sick attack. Heston is one man. He doesn't put the guns in the hands of those who want to kill others. Heston had no choice but to get up and leave... IN HIS OWN HOME!!! How jacked up is that? Damn you Michael Moore, Damn you all to Hell!
For that, I think you should take your camera over to Clint Eastwood's house! Your documentary provided no solution or plan, only your misguided agenda which over shadowed your cause as a humanitarian.
I wanna see the other film now.
I chose Bowling for Columbine over Eva. What a shame! But something happened. Moore wrote a good documentary there. It was very well done. Even though I disagreed with Moore's conclusions and think he is a total ass, but there were some interesting points.
I disagreed with a lot of the documentary because it seemed Moore was driven to point out America's drive to violence as the ultimate cause of the Columbine tragedy and the killing of the 6 year old girl in Flynt, Michigan by another 6 year old boy. We have violent tv shows, movies and video games. We have a violent country. Clinton dropped bombs on Kosovo the day the Columbine attack occurred. Our murder rate with guns is astronomically higher than the rest of the free world. I think the blame was a bit misguided because he blamed gun ownership as the major cause and he wanted to point out how Canada has 7 million guns in 10 million households and how low their violent crime rate with guns is significantly lower than ours. Moore glorified Canada to the point that I think he should just move there. Canada is a great place but America isn't Canada. Guns aren't our problem in this country, people are.
It's scary to say but back in high school, I had a lot in common with kids like Harris and Klebold who committed these crimes. I had that "outcast" feeling. It suprised me to learn that Harris and Klebold's parents were not divorced. They had not come from a broken home and neither did I. My parents have been married 40 years. Those kids had a lot of pressure and a lot of build up around high school, as the place to make it. You see the pressure in high school movies like Friday Night Lights, where football players were treated like gods. Or shows like MTV's Sweet Sixteen where these bratty girls through parties for their 16th birthdays and pick and choose who comes like Schindler's List. What about those who aren't part of the social popularity? I have seen it in high school, the rejection, the mean kids who abuse others, and school administrations not identifying the problem. I saw it first hand at my school but then saw it again as a substitute teacher. I went to my 5 year high school reunion and got more apologies than I ever got in high school. Some kids are flat out mean to those that can't take it. Who causes that? Is it guns? I don't think so. Is it violent tv and movies? I don't think so either. I think it's our current social plan. We don't talk about it enough! Yet, I wonder who's to blame for it. It's not the second Amendment as Moore points out. Some people just shouldn't be having kids. I think that's the real problem.
I like what Moore did with the K-Mart and the bullets though. Even though I am a capitalist and they were turning K-Mart into an advisary and turning them into the "cause", which is a thought process I am totally against, they did expose something. A 17 year old was working a gun department and sold them ALL the ammunition. That had to have been hundreds of dollars worth of ammo. The second Amendment says you can own again a gun or "bear arms". It doesn't say you can go into a store and buy a shitload of ammo. You can't go into a drugstore and cases of Sudafed, yet it is your right to own some legally. We regulate so many petty things like cigarette smoking, alcohol and spray paint at a hardware stores, so I see no reason to have some sort of restriction on ammo. Yet still, it's idiots that cause us to regulate this stuff not the actual items themselves.
I couldn't watch the end of Bowling for Columbine because I think Moore is a sick person. I listened but I didn't want to watch. He goes to Charlton Heston's house with a camera as a "card carrying member of the NRA" to discuss the NRA with Heston. Charlton Heston is NOT the cause of the Columbine, the Flynt Michigan murder or any other imbecile that wants to take someone's life with a gun. Yet Moore just out for his own vindication. Let's go attack a feeble old man, some legendary icon in film who probably wants to be remembered for his younger days as a film star. It was a sick attack. Heston is one man. He doesn't put the guns in the hands of those who want to kill others. Heston had no choice but to get up and leave... IN HIS OWN HOME!!! How jacked up is that? Damn you Michael Moore, Damn you all to Hell!
For that, I think you should take your camera over to Clint Eastwood's house! Your documentary provided no solution or plan, only your misguided agenda which over shadowed your cause as a humanitarian.
I wanna see the other film now.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Day of the Steve Part 2: Because my wife is better than yours!
Yeah, I stole the image off of xbox.com, so sue me. It's free advertising for them. They make a good product. Go buy one!
I came home from work today and my wife suprised me with one of these. See I went to the casino the other day and won like I did when I got the iPods back in August. It was raining so much on Friday a friend of mine came up with the idea of going to the
Well I sat in on a three card poker game and he went and played video poker. He hits 4 Ace's and wins $1200. He then taps me on the shoulder and says, "Look!" A split second later I got my cards and hit a straight flush and picked up $500. It was like the stars lined up for 5 seconds. So we did what smart people do. We left! It again felt like the August story I linked here and I had to bring the money home to do something sane like put it in the bank, by groceries, remodel the bathroom, etc. Besides, no one had an XBOX 360 last week in Sacramento.
She went to Target to get us a Sonicare toothbrush and while in the electronics section, she saw one.
So now, I have a new toy to suck my life away! PGR3 is where it's at baby!
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
5 Random Facts
I think I was tagged by The Bastard over at Bring It On via email this evening so I will expand this over to the some other regular readers of my blog. 5 fun facts about The Bastard can be found here. I can see those guys over at Bring It On laughing out loud about this stuff.
So here are 5 Random facts about me:
Fact #1: I have a Bachelor of Music Degree. You might find it odd but I grew up as a band geek. I started out playing the trumpet, switched in 8th grade to the Baritone Horn and thus went to college. I was a member of the State Honor band my senior year in High School and sat 3rd chair. I got a scholarship to go to an actual music conservatory. I studied Music Business along with various performing activities which included solo performances, concert, choir and small group stuff. I picked up guitar in college, I was in a band for a short time and can pretty much play along to the radio. I am not perfect pitch though I have a pretty decent relative pitch which allows me to pick chords out of thin air. It's not a talent, I see it as a curse because I haven't been able to do much more with it. I listen to music pretty much all day.
Fact#2: I have a lot of weird jobs. I still have a pretty weird job now and I have been at it for 8.5 years. To maintain some bit of anonymity I won't say what I do now. (Quiet Kurt :)). But I have worked the following jobs:
Car Washer: I worked for years as the annoying person who tried to talk you out of your money at the car wash by offering you wax jobs and details. I also pumped gas for a number of years. So if I ever get that music career going I have something to write about.
Arcade Manager: For the 4 years I was in college, I managed the Campus Arcade and Vending Machines. I was pretty evil at it too. Back in the early 90's you started to get games that you can change the difficulty on. Mortal Combat was new and at it's peak so I decided to make the game harder making us more money. Kids would come in and would never get passed the 3rd or 4th guy so they'd through more money in. We were making like $500 a week on that game. I also managed some billiard tables.
Professional Band Geek: Playing for the school's pep band for collegiate sports games was a paying job. I honked on a Tuba and Trombone as needed for football, basketball and volleyball. I was once on ESPN.
Temp Employee: I worked at the following entertainment companies anywhere from a day to 6 weeks at a time. Universal Studios Amusment Park Development, Hanna Barbera, 4M, RCA, Priority Records (A rap label as the only white guy there!), Disney Channel, MCA Records.
Substitute Teacher: I got in a fight with a 8th grader the 2nd period of the first day! No Joke, I was breaking up a fight between 2 kids in a PE class and third twirp popped me in the nose for "not letting them fight". I was the "cool" sub. I let kids do anything except break the rules. If there was a lesson plan I followed it. I let the kids call me by my first name. We listened to Jimi Hendrix, it was cool!
Macy's Christmas Time Employee: Santa Monica Mall on the 3rd Street Promenade. I worked in the men's department for a month. That job SUCKED!!! Nothing like parking your truck at the beach, wearing a suit, seeing Santa Claus on the beach next to two surfers and seeing joggers run by. I made 6 bucks an hour and my half the apartment's rent at $475 a month, DO THE MATH!!!
Fact #3: I voted for Clinton in 1992. (Ducking!) It's true, I was just out of high school and misguided. I still voted for Republican everywhere else that election but for some reason I felt like being apart of the winning team. I also wore Birkenstocks and Doc Martens and flannel shirts. I listened to grunge. Kurt Cobain was my hero. I'd go days without shaving. I don't know what the hell I was doing. I did it and I am not sorry. I did not inhale either! Note: This blog is a member of the associated Anti Hillary sites. As Rush said on Tuesday, "Real men won't vote for Hillary!" If you cannot see the humor of Rush saying that, you are a liberal!
Fact #4: I wrote about it once before a while back but my wife and I were engaged in Liverpool, England after touring the city on the Magical Mystery Tour. If you are a Beatles fan or any type of music fan, you must go there and take this tour. It finishes at the Cavern Club where the Beatles were main stays during the early 60's. We got engaged at the bar across the street under the window where their instruments are located. We went to Ireland a couple of days later. Dublin is also another must especially if you are a Guinness and U2 fan like me.
Fact #5: I was verbally and physically assaulted by Gwen Stefani. A sort of true story but what I described is what happened. I was in Modesto seeing this punk/emo band that was big underground during the early 90's. The band is called Samiam. I thought they were the next big thing. Their music still puts most bands to shame. They were opening for a little known band called No Doubt who was just hitting radio with, "I'm Just a Girl" in late 1995. There were like 500 people at this little concert. After Samiam's set I saw an opening backstage so I marched right in. The band came out and autographed my Samiam shirt. I repeatedly asked their manager for a job. The band was in the middle of a bidding war between Capital, Geffen and some others. They held out for the highest bidder and released the now out of print album "Clumsy". The album received rave reviews and if it were released today, it'd still be ahead of its time. The band still tours and is recording a new album. I can't wait. Anyhow back to the story... While getting autographes and what not from the band, apparently I was blocking the stage entrance. The stage was elevated and had a stairway up to the top. I backed into this blonde chick who at the time looked like a Madonna wannabe with cones for a bra. I had no idea who she was. She pushed me back and said, "Get the F--- out of my way!" It was an interesting celebrity encounter.
Other stars I have met:
Shaquille O'Neal came into a car wash I worked at in LA quite frequently. He gave me a bear hug, learned my first name and tipped my like $100 a few times for not locking his keys in his Tahoe.
Nicholas Cage was a frequent washer. I drove his Ferrari down the street once. It was bad!
Gary Coleman, Bill Cosby, Dennis Franz, Frank Stallone, Jr., Jimmy Smits, Tony Curtis... were frequent car washers.
The band Verve Pipe at an RCA Records party.
Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows
Chino Moreno of the Deftones... True Story, I was golfing at a local nine hole one evening and I was put up with this group of guys. Right around the 6th hole these dudes fire up a huge joint. We were in a public park. I was wondering what the hell was going on. There are kids nearby but we were all alone. So I distanced myself. On the way to the 8th hole, the par 5 they started talking about a recording. I asked the guy which band he was in and he said the Deftones. No freaking way, I didn't believe him. I proceeded to Eagle the next hole! I went home, looked him up on the internet and boom, there he was. Holy Crap!!
So I am official tagging these blogs for 5 Random Facts: Lawryde, Lingo Slinger, The Kevin Show, The Donegal Express and KatieKat's blog.
And thanks to those at Bring it on for the tolerance!
So here are 5 Random facts about me:
Fact #1: I have a Bachelor of Music Degree. You might find it odd but I grew up as a band geek. I started out playing the trumpet, switched in 8th grade to the Baritone Horn and thus went to college. I was a member of the State Honor band my senior year in High School and sat 3rd chair. I got a scholarship to go to an actual music conservatory. I studied Music Business along with various performing activities which included solo performances, concert, choir and small group stuff. I picked up guitar in college, I was in a band for a short time and can pretty much play along to the radio. I am not perfect pitch though I have a pretty decent relative pitch which allows me to pick chords out of thin air. It's not a talent, I see it as a curse because I haven't been able to do much more with it. I listen to music pretty much all day.
Fact#2: I have a lot of weird jobs. I still have a pretty weird job now and I have been at it for 8.5 years. To maintain some bit of anonymity I won't say what I do now. (Quiet Kurt :)). But I have worked the following jobs:
Car Washer: I worked for years as the annoying person who tried to talk you out of your money at the car wash by offering you wax jobs and details. I also pumped gas for a number of years. So if I ever get that music career going I have something to write about.
Arcade Manager: For the 4 years I was in college, I managed the Campus Arcade and Vending Machines. I was pretty evil at it too. Back in the early 90's you started to get games that you can change the difficulty on. Mortal Combat was new and at it's peak so I decided to make the game harder making us more money. Kids would come in and would never get passed the 3rd or 4th guy so they'd through more money in. We were making like $500 a week on that game. I also managed some billiard tables.
Professional Band Geek: Playing for the school's pep band for collegiate sports games was a paying job. I honked on a Tuba and Trombone as needed for football, basketball and volleyball. I was once on ESPN.
Temp Employee: I worked at the following entertainment companies anywhere from a day to 6 weeks at a time. Universal Studios Amusment Park Development, Hanna Barbera, 4M, RCA, Priority Records (A rap label as the only white guy there!), Disney Channel, MCA Records.
Substitute Teacher: I got in a fight with a 8th grader the 2nd period of the first day! No Joke, I was breaking up a fight between 2 kids in a PE class and third twirp popped me in the nose for "not letting them fight". I was the "cool" sub. I let kids do anything except break the rules. If there was a lesson plan I followed it. I let the kids call me by my first name. We listened to Jimi Hendrix, it was cool!
Macy's Christmas Time Employee: Santa Monica Mall on the 3rd Street Promenade. I worked in the men's department for a month. That job SUCKED!!! Nothing like parking your truck at the beach, wearing a suit, seeing Santa Claus on the beach next to two surfers and seeing joggers run by. I made 6 bucks an hour and my half the apartment's rent at $475 a month, DO THE MATH!!!
Fact #3: I voted for Clinton in 1992. (Ducking!) It's true, I was just out of high school and misguided. I still voted for Republican everywhere else that election but for some reason I felt like being apart of the winning team. I also wore Birkenstocks and Doc Martens and flannel shirts. I listened to grunge. Kurt Cobain was my hero. I'd go days without shaving. I don't know what the hell I was doing. I did it and I am not sorry. I did not inhale either! Note: This blog is a member of the associated Anti Hillary sites. As Rush said on Tuesday, "Real men won't vote for Hillary!" If you cannot see the humor of Rush saying that, you are a liberal!
Fact #4: I wrote about it once before a while back but my wife and I were engaged in Liverpool, England after touring the city on the Magical Mystery Tour. If you are a Beatles fan or any type of music fan, you must go there and take this tour. It finishes at the Cavern Club where the Beatles were main stays during the early 60's. We got engaged at the bar across the street under the window where their instruments are located. We went to Ireland a couple of days later. Dublin is also another must especially if you are a Guinness and U2 fan like me.
Fact #5: I was verbally and physically assaulted by Gwen Stefani. A sort of true story but what I described is what happened. I was in Modesto seeing this punk/emo band that was big underground during the early 90's. The band is called Samiam. I thought they were the next big thing. Their music still puts most bands to shame. They were opening for a little known band called No Doubt who was just hitting radio with, "I'm Just a Girl" in late 1995. There were like 500 people at this little concert. After Samiam's set I saw an opening backstage so I marched right in. The band came out and autographed my Samiam shirt. I repeatedly asked their manager for a job. The band was in the middle of a bidding war between Capital, Geffen and some others. They held out for the highest bidder and released the now out of print album "Clumsy". The album received rave reviews and if it were released today, it'd still be ahead of its time. The band still tours and is recording a new album. I can't wait. Anyhow back to the story... While getting autographes and what not from the band, apparently I was blocking the stage entrance. The stage was elevated and had a stairway up to the top. I backed into this blonde chick who at the time looked like a Madonna wannabe with cones for a bra. I had no idea who she was. She pushed me back and said, "Get the F--- out of my way!" It was an interesting celebrity encounter.
Other stars I have met:
Shaquille O'Neal came into a car wash I worked at in LA quite frequently. He gave me a bear hug, learned my first name and tipped my like $100 a few times for not locking his keys in his Tahoe.
Nicholas Cage was a frequent washer. I drove his Ferrari down the street once. It was bad!
Gary Coleman, Bill Cosby, Dennis Franz, Frank Stallone, Jr., Jimmy Smits, Tony Curtis... were frequent car washers.
The band Verve Pipe at an RCA Records party.
Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows
Chino Moreno of the Deftones... True Story, I was golfing at a local nine hole one evening and I was put up with this group of guys. Right around the 6th hole these dudes fire up a huge joint. We were in a public park. I was wondering what the hell was going on. There are kids nearby but we were all alone. So I distanced myself. On the way to the 8th hole, the par 5 they started talking about a recording. I asked the guy which band he was in and he said the Deftones. No freaking way, I didn't believe him. I proceeded to Eagle the next hole! I went home, looked him up on the internet and boom, there he was. Holy Crap!!
So I am official tagging these blogs for 5 Random Facts: Lawryde, Lingo Slinger, The Kevin Show, The Donegal Express and KatieKat's blog.
And thanks to those at Bring it on for the tolerance!
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Who'll Stop The Rain?
Front page picture on the Sacramento Bee today.
It just doesn't want to stop. The rain is coming in hard and fast, breaking levees, flooding streets and mowing down trees everywhere. So much so we called off our New Years poker game. Who the hell wants to drive in rain like this? I really want to find more info on this lady pictured here. It is a sad picture but you really have to hand it to the Sacramento Bee for bringing it to our attention. The Sloughhouse Inn is also under water. There is a photo of a guy getting pizza delivered by boat out side that place. A levee broke south of our house this evening on Hwy 160.
And we're all sick here so it's like we didn't even notice. There was a bit of sun over us for a couple of hours yesterday, sort of a calm between the storms. Enough time to catch a couple of pints of Guinness for British New Year at 4pm.
Rain is supposed to stop after tomorrow. So much for a peaceful holiday week and weekend.
And we're all sick here so it's like we didn't even notice. There was a bit of sun over us for a couple of hours yesterday, sort of a calm between the storms. Enough time to catch a couple of pints of Guinness for British New Year at 4pm.
Rain is supposed to stop after tomorrow. So much for a peaceful holiday week and weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
