At the grocery store checkout today:
Me: I have a bag.
Cashier: Would you like a bag?
Me: No, I thought me saying that I have a bag would tell you that I don't.
Cashier: I'm just asking you if you need a bag in case you need a bag.
Me: OK, thank you, I don't need a bag.
Cashier: Do you need a bag for the wine?
Me:...
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Social Media
I will try to leave you alone. The last time I posted something, it took 54 posts before I realized my point was not coming across, and I feel like I am a succinct writer. I think people react to certain concepts and then, at that point, they stop listening. I would understand it more if it were not in forums for like-minded individuals. I guess it reminds me of school in which you want to raise your hand when you know the answer, but it is more like school with bullies and idiots.
I will try to leave you alone. The last time I posted something, it took 54 posts before I realized my point was not coming across, and I feel like I am a succinct writer. I think people react to certain concepts and then, at that point, they stop listening. I would understand it more if it were not in forums for like-minded individuals. I guess it reminds me of school in which you want to raise your hand when you know the answer, but it is more like school with bullies and idiots.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
7-30-2017
I am going to try to write to myself today. That used to be almost all I did, save postal correspondence, but now it is a bit different. I read the internet, and often feel it necessary to comment on people’s writings. I would like to get away from that, but somewhere, deep down, I feel that a witty reply on my part might entice the person in question to re-think his or her claim and the world would be slightly improved.
This is rarely the case.
Other than that, the immediate satisfaction might just reside in the “zinger” that I personally do. Like shooting a lone arrow in the direction of a disliked army, it may never arrive, but the process might be satisfying...
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Las Vegas June 4th 2015
After a year long series of journeying and relocation, my wife and I
have found ourselves in Las Vegas. This is by way of California, North
Carolina, and southern Maryland. Some of it I don't even want to think
about, but I am thinking we are quite happy here. We are a few blocks
away from the old part of downtown, and I quite like it. I spent a few minutes online looking for a kid I went to elementary school with that performs as an Elvis (Presley) impersonator out here. I couldn't find exact info, but I do remember being rather jealous when an episode of TAXI was on and he was playing opposite Christopher Lloyd's character of Jim Ignatowski. A week or two ago, I was walking down Fremont street and they were having a car show, except, it mainly consisted of the Delorean. I looked into one of the cars and there was an old man in the driver's seat, I figured he was a standard background actor. It was Christopher Lloyd, however, and I was upwards of ten feet away. Farther than my elementary school friend when he was acting with him. I wanted to say "Hey, Modern Family is an amazing TV show!" but I was too far away....
Thursday, December 1, 2011
defy your robot masters!
Thursday, Dec. 1st 2011
I'm watching the Occupy L.A. protests periodically, and like most of the protests they are more like awaiting the eventual dispersing by law enforcement, and it has me asking more than a few questions.
Most examples of public protest or civil disobedience in the past seems to be initially ridiculed, but then later ratified, as what was protested was innately corrupt, wrong, or socially backward, for example, civil rights or Vietnam, while some was not quite ratified like the Gulf or Iraq war. The internet and the general viral flow of data has helped considerably. A few actions are tolerated by some and loathed by others like when the Klan marches or the Westboro Baptist church marches or when Planned Parenthood is picketed. To be fair any major political event (or any event) will have some degree of dissent, but, and I would claim, the idea is that "this is America and I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
But then is has to stop at some point, right? unless you are in a tree, or on a hunger strike, cause otherwise the "pest-factor" increases.
When does that stop? Is the idea that one (or many) can make a bit of noise, ruffle some feathers, and it is back to business as usual? Because it seems to me that getting back to business as usual is where certain people (or corporations) thrive.
When I first read the bill of rights, probably as a twelve-year old, it was meaningless to me, or it didn't seem to concern me. It read like a handbook for someone that might get arrested. Essentially that's what it was, and it took a few years to realize how things were. We weren't living in a moral world, and later I wanted the protections and rights that were spelled out to me in that document because the other guys weren't playing fair. Oddly enough, that increases with the less illegal shit I do and the more political I become.
I see thousands of peaceful people being told to disperse by law enforcement armed with clubs and teargas (and guns.) Dig this, though. They aren't doing anything wrong. That to me is the kicker. Regardless of your feelings regarding an issue, clubbing students, tear gassing veterans, pepper spraying seated kids and old ladies (and anyone that is simply acting within their constitutional rights, for that matter) is fucked, and a sign of a weak America. One that I didn't sign up for. One that at age twelve I could have never envisioned. It never occurred to me that I wasn't free to express my opinion regardless of the bill of rights. Again, thanks to the flow of information, America is watching, and hopefully realizing this isn't just lazy hippies or whatever the preconceptions were.
Okay, let's imagine this. A really beloved person dies, someone we can all agree is like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Kennedy (John),maybe all (or some of) the Popes all combined into one. Actually, to hell with that. I've got it, a terrorist attack similar to or worse than the September 11th attacks occurs. Damn near everyone in the country is moved by this. A massive candlelight vigil and march takes place involving damn near EVERYONE. After a period of time, let us say half the amount of time required to grieve, we are all told that we have grieved enough and it is time to disperse. Our grief would turn to anger and righteous indignation. Some of us would say that we had a right to be there. We'd get teargassed. The next day half of us would show up regardless, simply angry that we were told what we could and couldn't do. We'd get teargassed again. The amount of people that like to get teargassed is small, so the numbers would diminish the next day to a smaller vocal minority. Then the media makes us seem like troublemakers.
Try this experiment, opposers of the movement. Go to a protest (the exciting part) and tell the cops that you don't agree with the movement and you are there to observe as a citizen of the United States and see how that cookie crumbles. My guess is unless you are wearing a banner that says "Mayor" you are going to have a different impression on the way dissent is treated by the moneyed (and conversely the law enforcement) in this (police) state. For all of the protests I've attended, if you just wanted to get to or from work and a cop with a billy club confronts you, it'll have an impression.
There's a lot of science fiction that plays out these scenarios using different analogies, generally with aliens or robots, where we are enslaved by alien or robot masters. Would you be enslaved by your alien or robot master? Hell no, you wouldn't! Me neither! I'd smack the shit out of a robot (or robocop!) I would guess that they are portraying a worst-case scenario. But what is the worst case scenario? That analogy (or event) played out with people versus people, right? That's what's on.
I'm watching the Occupy L.A. protests periodically, and like most of the protests they are more like awaiting the eventual dispersing by law enforcement, and it has me asking more than a few questions.
Most examples of public protest or civil disobedience in the past seems to be initially ridiculed, but then later ratified, as what was protested was innately corrupt, wrong, or socially backward, for example, civil rights or Vietnam, while some was not quite ratified like the Gulf or Iraq war. The internet and the general viral flow of data has helped considerably. A few actions are tolerated by some and loathed by others like when the Klan marches or the Westboro Baptist church marches or when Planned Parenthood is picketed. To be fair any major political event (or any event) will have some degree of dissent, but, and I would claim, the idea is that "this is America and I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
But then is has to stop at some point, right? unless you are in a tree, or on a hunger strike, cause otherwise the "pest-factor" increases.
When does that stop? Is the idea that one (or many) can make a bit of noise, ruffle some feathers, and it is back to business as usual? Because it seems to me that getting back to business as usual is where certain people (or corporations) thrive.
When I first read the bill of rights, probably as a twelve-year old, it was meaningless to me, or it didn't seem to concern me. It read like a handbook for someone that might get arrested. Essentially that's what it was, and it took a few years to realize how things were. We weren't living in a moral world, and later I wanted the protections and rights that were spelled out to me in that document because the other guys weren't playing fair. Oddly enough, that increases with the less illegal shit I do and the more political I become.
I see thousands of peaceful people being told to disperse by law enforcement armed with clubs and teargas (and guns.) Dig this, though. They aren't doing anything wrong. That to me is the kicker. Regardless of your feelings regarding an issue, clubbing students, tear gassing veterans, pepper spraying seated kids and old ladies (and anyone that is simply acting within their constitutional rights, for that matter) is fucked, and a sign of a weak America. One that I didn't sign up for. One that at age twelve I could have never envisioned. It never occurred to me that I wasn't free to express my opinion regardless of the bill of rights. Again, thanks to the flow of information, America is watching, and hopefully realizing this isn't just lazy hippies or whatever the preconceptions were.
Okay, let's imagine this. A really beloved person dies, someone we can all agree is like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Kennedy (John),maybe all (or some of) the Popes all combined into one. Actually, to hell with that. I've got it, a terrorist attack similar to or worse than the September 11th attacks occurs. Damn near everyone in the country is moved by this. A massive candlelight vigil and march takes place involving damn near EVERYONE. After a period of time, let us say half the amount of time required to grieve, we are all told that we have grieved enough and it is time to disperse. Our grief would turn to anger and righteous indignation. Some of us would say that we had a right to be there. We'd get teargassed. The next day half of us would show up regardless, simply angry that we were told what we could and couldn't do. We'd get teargassed again. The amount of people that like to get teargassed is small, so the numbers would diminish the next day to a smaller vocal minority. Then the media makes us seem like troublemakers.
Try this experiment, opposers of the movement. Go to a protest (the exciting part) and tell the cops that you don't agree with the movement and you are there to observe as a citizen of the United States and see how that cookie crumbles. My guess is unless you are wearing a banner that says "Mayor" you are going to have a different impression on the way dissent is treated by the moneyed (and conversely the law enforcement) in this (police) state. For all of the protests I've attended, if you just wanted to get to or from work and a cop with a billy club confronts you, it'll have an impression.
There's a lot of science fiction that plays out these scenarios using different analogies, generally with aliens or robots, where we are enslaved by alien or robot masters. Would you be enslaved by your alien or robot master? Hell no, you wouldn't! Me neither! I'd smack the shit out of a robot (or robocop!) I would guess that they are portraying a worst-case scenario. But what is the worst case scenario? That analogy (or event) played out with people versus people, right? That's what's on.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Dreams, or nightmares, rather.
I dreamed that I bought a new cellphone, and had to activate it. I dialed the 800 number and talked to an operator, who said I had to answer a couple of questions. The problem was, he was speaking ridiculously quietly, with a heavy accent. Then, the questions he was asking me were trivia questions about current Disney movies, which I had no clue about, since I was older than eight years old. I started yelling at the guy to no avail, his voice just kept getting quieter.
Then I felt something in the back of my mouth, and insects began flying out of it.
Then I felt something in the back of my mouth, and insects began flying out of it.
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