2-26-2010 (Friday) The Birthday of Johnny Cash

1932-2003

I was going to write today about Johnny Cash and what his music means to me. But as I sit here listening to his music on Johnny Cash Radio
I am feeling myself slightly overwhelmed. I am really unable to put into words what it means what he mean. I realize he was a musician and just a man. He was a man, much like I am a man. But he was a man who fought his demons his whole life. He never presented himself as anything more then that. He also warts and all was a believer and he never shied away from that. One last album is getting released this week American VI: Ain't No Grave please check it out.

In closing I am going to leave you with his version of 'Hurt'




I MISS YOU

2-25-2010 (Thursday)

It is Thursday and I am having a bad hair day. I opted to not wear a hat or to put any sort of product in my hair and now it is falling over my face. I feel like I should be wearing all black and listening to the Cure. I really, really need a hair cut. It is days like this that I really miss the mo-hawk. I had a pretty sweet one going for awhile there. I also miss being bald. It was easier for me to take care of. I would just use normal soap in the morning and maybe apply a little lotion and boom done for the day. Then every week or so I could shave it or have someone shave it again. I think I am to lazy to have a haircut that takes a lot of maintenance.

Today is a pretty big day in the world of politics. It is the big Health Care Reform meeting with President Obama and Congress. I doubt much will come of this at all. There are to many vested special interest groups and to many people making millions and millions of dollars off of health care right now for there to be any kind of meaningful change.

Yesterday was also a pretty big news day with the head of Toyota coming to America to testify before a special committee about the Toyota recall. I found it pretty interesting and I felt like he said really all he could say about the whole thing. A thought that struck me while I was was watching and one I heard later on from someone on the television I can't remember who. The thought was now that the federal government owns a majority share in General Motors at what point does investigating another car company become a conflict of interest? I am not trying to be snarky about this. I really do want to know. I understand the need for automobile safety and I think you do need to build cars to some kind of standard so that our highways are relatively safe. Maybe this is why the federal government should not be in the business of buying up companies because then it makes any attempt on their part to regulate an industry a conflict of interest? I just do not know.

That is about it for today. Just a couple of thoughts that were ping ponging around inside my noggin.

2-24-2010 (Wednesday)

Good morning again folks and salutations to you. I hope this Wednesday finds you well. I wonder how many of you remember a movie from 1975 called "Doc Savage: Man of Bronze". I do and so do several of my friends. It is so interesting to me what will make you interested and what will stay with you years and years later. It isn't that the movie is high quality because believe me after looking at the trailer on You-tube yesterday it isn't I would say that the sets are probably at best 'Gilligan's Island' level quality sound stages.

But that isn't really the point. There are just things I remember from my youth that have stuck with me for my whole life. They exist in some sort of hallowed space inside my psyche that makes them the coolest thing ever. Well to be honest the coolest thing ever until I decide "Oh! That was cool I should watch it again." That invariably turns out to be a bad idea and what I thought was the coolest thing ever is usually some sort of hackneyed crap that is low budget and has some bad, bad, bad, scripts and plot lines. But as a kid I loved it. There was a channel then called KPTV 12 and this was before cable and satellite television and I think we had 5 channels at most. Along with reruns of 'Perry Mason', which is still awesome by the way, they showed an afternoon movie from 1 until 3 and then the reruns of the sitcoms would start. But I will get lost in the memory of those sitcoms if I go down that path. That is best left for another day.

But I remember watching these different films and just loving them. There were sometimes Tarzan movies which were always a favorite. My brother and I had a couple of rubber knives and we would reenact the movie fight scenes, that usually took place in water, on family camping trips.



Now this is a classic fight but it pales in comparison to the fight that I am going to show you next. This fight, brought to my attention by my good friend Travis is the finest example that I have seen of what he likes to call Kirk-Fu and I can't argue with that. So here it is and please enjoy it.



The 'Tarzan' fight scene above stars Ron Ely who also played 'Doc Savage'. He was a good 'Tarzan' but he was no Mike Henry. I think Mike Henry was the best 'Tarzan' ever. So what about you gentle readers is there a film from the past that you have fond memories of? Or perhaps a classic television show? Please let me know I would love to hear about it.

2-23-2010 (Tuesday)

Good morning folks. It is Tuesday morning and the rain has returned to Oregon. I do not mind the rain. It smells nice outside and is kind of refreshing. I think though that after about 3 or 4 days of it I will be back to wondering where the sun is and when is spring going to return. I like living in Oregon. I even like living in the Willamette Valley despite the months of gloom that can settle over us. When the Valley is in the middle of the rainy season it can get seriously gray and gloomy. But, once spring comes and we move into the summer Oregon becomes a really beautiful place to live. I am basically less then two hours away from the ocean or the mountains and when the weather is nice both places can really be nice. But I didn't come hear to lobby for Oregon.

I wanted to go back and touch on what I wrote about yesterday on how I agreed in part with what Glenn Beck said at the CPAC speech. But I also had to mention something he said that I felt didn't make any sense. He was doing his usual talking about how Communists and Socialists became Progressives because that let them be sneaky. He mentioned how things had gone from Revolution to Evolution and the change had allowed for the newly named Progressives to sneak in and undermine the foundation of America. Now I have heard him say this kind of thing before and he, I think, really does believe it. But at one point during his speech he was talking about how he was not a smart man and how he didn't go to college. But what he did do was go to the library because there the books are free. His exact phrase was

"I went to the library -- the books are free."

That kind of threw me for a loop. The biggest reason being that...BOOKS AT THE LIBRARY ARE NOT FREE!!!!! I pay taxes and part of my tax dollars go to fund the library in my town. Now maybe Glenn went to some hippy dippy socialist library where everyone who takes a book can leave a book and there is no librarian but I doubt it. What I found surprising about what Beck said was that libraries are basically communist institutions. They are funded out of the tax roles and anyone who wants to can get books there. I believe the first public library in the country was actually created by progressives who felt that everyone deserved equal access to books.

It just struck me as so typical of all of the talking heads on television be it Olberman or Beck or Limbaugh or Maddow they seem to speak without thinking. The basic idea of following a logical chain to it's conclusion seems to have escaped them. The saddest thing for me is that they make millions and millions of dollars doing this and most viewers just lap it up. They buy their books and listen to their radio shows and watch the television with out taking the time to do any critical thinking on their own.

These people depend on us to be angry but not on us to pay attention to the bigger picture. So lets all take a moment and really think about some of what these people tell us. They are all employees for big companies they wouldn't be working for these companies if they didn't agree with what goes on there. Keep that in mind when watch these shows. Look into where these companies do business and what products they make and sell. I do not think this will hurt us what this will do is make us better listeners and make us more aware of what we are being told. This goes for both sides of every issue. Think before you react. Take a moment and decide if what you are being told actually makes any sense.

This will benefit all of us in the long term.

2-22-10 (Monday)

Good morning and a happy Monday to you folks. We had a sunny weekend in Oregon and it seems to be nice today as well. So that is a good start to the week. Now anyone who reads me at all regularly knows that I do not care for Glenn Beck. I disagree with most of his positions on things and I think that his understanding of history and how that impacts America today is incorrect. I think he has good intentions but I think the way he goes about trying to get is message across is not beneficial to the process. But as he was addressing the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) he said one thing that I had to agree with.

Beck said:

“It’s not enough to not suck as much as the other side,” said Beck, on how Republicans can regain their ideals. “The first step to redemption is admitting you have a problem. … When they do say they have a problem, I don’t know if I believe them. … They’ve got to recognize they have a problem. … ‘I’m addicted to spending and big government.’”…

Beck went on to compare GOPers to Tiger Woods, who recently gave his first public apology for his cheating scandal. Beck said some people believed he was only sorry because he got caught. Beck, to GOPers in Congress: “You got caught. Are you sorry?”…

More Beck: “One party will tax and spend. The other party won’t tax, but spend. It’s both of them together. I’m tired of feeling like a freak in America.”

It was refreshing for me to hear someone from FOX News actually say that. I think anyone who has looked at or studied politics of the last twenty years realizes that it is incorrect and wrong to blame the countries economic problems on just the Democrats and President Obama. The idea of the federal government spending more and more and taking away the power from the states of the union has been going on for a long time. I often hear Republicans and Conservatives of today praising Reagan but in reality he grew federal government as much as his predecessors did. He was not the fiscal conservative that Republican historical revisionist historians want us to think he was. I am not saying he was a bad President but I would like for both Republicans and Democrats to be honest about things when they discuss past politicians.

All of that aside it was refreshing for me to hear what Beck said. I just hope the young conservatives that were at this conference actually took that to heart. Because he is right it isn't enough to point a finger at the other guy and say that they are bad and we are correct and continue to vote no on everything without coming forward with solutions. The reason that the majority of these Democrats are in office is because the voters were fed up with what was going on during the last Bush administration. The voters voted out the Republicans and the only other choice available to them in this horrible two party system of ours was the Democrats. Well the Democrats just basically said thank you very much and continued with business as usual. Now it seems that the voters are growing fed up with the Democrats and are going to vote them out of office and put back in the Republicans. I just hope the Republicans actually understand that this is not a mandate from the voter for them to do whatever the hell they want to do. It is a mandate for the other guy the only other choice there is.

So you heard a rare thing from me today. You heard me acknowledge that something Glenn Beck said I agree with. I do not know if that will happen much in the future but you never know.

2-19-2010 (Friday)

It is Friday. I hope everyone has a good weekend and I look forward to talking to you all on Monday. It has been an interesting week. My post that mentioned the issues that I have currently with the sport of Roller Derby and how it is being played in Portland has had the most comments of anything and the most comments of anything I have written in quite a while.

I find it kind of funny that I really am unable to predict what will draw peoples attention. Sometimes I write something that I think is very witty and will be sure to ruffle some feathers. "Here comes the comments!" I think. But nothing comes of it. Other times I write something that I think is purely a throw away post and people pop up out of no where to comment. It is one of the things about blogging that makes me keep doing it.

So I will talk to you on Monday. Catch you later folks.

2-17-2010 (Ash Wednesday)

Good morning folks. I hope you have good day regardless of whether or not you decide to do anything for Ash Wednesday.

Well as everyone seems to know we are in an economic downturn or recession. I have been reading a lot lately about a state in America that is doing pretty well. That state is North Dakota now every state is different and they all have different products that allow for different levels of income. But the biggest difference that North Dakota has is that they have a bank that is totally run and owned by the state of North Dakota. Now, according to the Huffington Post

"The Bank of North Dakota serves as an economic development agency and "banker's bank" that lessens the loan risks of private banks and helps them finance larger projects. It offers cheap loans to farmers, students and businesses.

The bank had almost $4 billion in assets and a $2.67 billion loan portfolio at the end of last year, according to its most recent quarterly financial report. It made $58.1 million in profits in 2009, setting a record for the sixth straight year. During the last decade, the bank funneled almost $300 million in profits to North Dakota's treasury.

The bank has the advantage of being the repository for most state funds, which can be used for loans and occasional relief for private banks that need a jolt of cash during sluggish credit markets."

Also another mention in the article is that North Dakota has an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. That is the lowest in the nation and something that my home state of Oregon could only dream of. Now I am sure there are other things that makes North Dakota different then Oregon and also makes them more successful then Oregon in terms of jobs and state budget issues. But what I wonder is what is working about their bank. One of the biggest difference is that they are not part of the FDIC so if the bank were to lose money the residents of North Dakota would be on the hook for it. But, so far that has not happened. The bank is running a surplus.

I am just wondering what makes North Dakota special? Is this a model that could work in other states? Should it be something that is attempted? Should it be something that we totally write off as a cursed socialist idea that would fail and hurt the state in the end? Any thoughts out there folks?

2-16-2010 (Fat Tuesday)

Hello again, Hello. Here we are it is Tuesday morning and we are heading further into the week. They mentioned on the television this morning that today was Fat Tuesday. That honestly does not mean a lot to me. I have never been a big Mardi Gras fan and I do not go to the church and get ashes daubed on my face on Ash Wednesday. It might be a bigger deal if I lived in Louisiana or had grown up Catholic but I am not sure. I would go so far as to say that it is one of the few things in life that I do not really have an opinion on either way. I think for some people it can really be a time of focus and concentration on faith and their life and for others it is a chance to have a huge party and just go nuts.

I went with my good friends to Roller Derby in Portland on Saturday night. I like Roller Derby and the Rose City Rollers
are starting their fifth season. But it just wasn't the same for me. I went to most of the bouts during the inaugural season and I absolutely loved it. This was a sport that really had been started by a group of women. They were not professionals they were playing because they loved playing. It wasn't about big contracts or advertising deals and they were out there having lots and lots of fun. So was the audience. They played loud music during the matches and during the halftime break they would have a show of some sort. One time it was a circus act with people doing rope work. Once it was an adult dodgeball league and I got hit in the face by a ball. It didn't matter it was fun. You could sit right on the edge of the track and the skaters would whip past you. Sometimes they would crash and could end up slamming into you. It didn't matter it was fun. That was the key, fun.

But after Saturday night I am not sure if it is fun any more. There are all kinds of new rules and at one point one team had less then half of their girls on the track. I spent more time watching the refs and trying to figure out what penalty was called then I did actually enjoying the bout. I know things change and as something becomes more mainstream the rules get manipulated to allow for different things. But I think this new batch of rules just slows the game down. There was no real flow to it and I am not a new watcher I have seen lots of matches and I understand how the game is played.

Maybe I am wrong and what is going on is going to be drawing in all kinds of new fans. But as for this one. I am not sure if I will return. Other then me being able to see my friends it was not a fun evening for me. The atmosphere was not the same. It was not the almost rock concert scene I remember. I just do not see it lasting much longer if this model continues. I hope I am wrong I really do.

You folks have a good day

2-15-2010 (Presidents Day)

Good morning everyone. I feel like I have emerged from the gloom that was possessing me last night. I hope my posting wasn't to depressing for you. I also would like to apologize for the video I posted. When I get gloomy I often find that music works for me to get my feelings out but choosing 'Mad World' as much as I like the song was just plain melodramatic. That being said I hope at least some of you got to hear a song you had never heard before.

Today is two things both Presidents Day and the day that we observe Washington's Birthday. According to Patriotism.org

"This holiday is often called President’s day as well, though the official name is Washington’s Birthday. This federal holiday is celebrated each year on the third Monday of February, though it was originally celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday of February 22nd.

It’s the first federal holiday to recognize an American citizen and was enacted in 1880 as a holiday for the District of Columbia only. In 1885 it was named a federal holiday for all federal offices in the U.S. It wasn’t until 1976 that Washington’s Birthday was moved to the third Monday of February in an attempt to establish it more along the lines of President’s Day to also honor Abraham Lincoln who was born on February 12th. Though the change in day passed the change in name did not.

Currently 12 states have renamed Washington’s Birthday, President’s Day or a similar variation to honor all of the U.S. presidents. In Massachusetts the holiday focuses on honoring presidents from that state and a few other states have passed similar holidays as well."

I am glad that we honor the men who have run are country over the years. I think that even if you do not like all of the decisions that a particular President has made we should all be able to agree that it is a hard job and, I think, a thankless one. I myself would not want to be President at all. When I think about the abuse that the President takes it is pretty upsetting to me at times. And by this I mean all Presidents not just the current one. The President is second guessed at every turn. There always seems to be someone who thinks they know better then the President and in this day and age of the Internet these people have more opportunity then ever before to express that opinion. I am often more guilty of it then most as I step up on my blogging stump and throw my opinion out on the tube of the Internets.

I do not think this should change. One of the great joys of living in a relatively Democratic society is that I am free to put my opinion out there. I am free to write or say pretty much any crazy thing I want to without fear of reprisal. That is a great thing. Yes I am aware that we are living in a Representative Republic and not a true Athenian Democracy. But, honestly, in some ways I actually prefer this model. I say that even though I disagree with what my elected Representatives often do. I think the sheer size of the United States would make true Democracy a really messy, messy experience.

Though that does make me wonder that if what kept purely at a individual state level what it would be like. I know it would be messy and everything but I wonder if it would be a manageable mess. Then each state would just send one representative to Congress and they would kind of stream line issues. Hmmmmm, I realize this is an idea that would need lots and lots of work and I am sure there are all kinds of problems with it. But, it intrigues me. I may have to do some thinking about this one and get back to it later.

All of that being said and all of my rambling aside. Please take a moment today and be thankful for our past Presidents and present as well as future Presidents and at least acknowledge the hard job they have done. It is a job that frankly I would not want to do and I think most of you wouldn't want to either.

2-14-2010 (Valentines Day)

I normally do not blog on the weekends but I am sitting here getting ready for bed and I figured I would write a little bit. I imagine this will replace tomorrows post but we will see. I hope those of you that were able to have a three or four day weekend due to Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays had good ones.

This was a weird weekend for me. I have never been crazy about Valentines and of course this is worse by far. My first Valentines with Nicole we went to the Oregon Zoo and she gave me a pocket knife. It was then that I knew she was special. I did not know what the future would bring and had I known I am not sure if I would have done anything differently. Ironically, our last type of real date or couples time together also was a trip to the Oregon Zoo. I doubt if I will ever go to the Zoo again. As I sit here thinking about it I am barely able to hold the tears back. I always enjoyed the Zoo and I enjoyed my time there with her most of all. It will never be the same again. Nothing is ever going to be the same again. I am not sure what that means.

It seems like every time I start to feel a little bit better then something comes along to knock me right back into some kind of emotional spiral. What is more frustrating for me is that this is not even a real holiday it is totally put together by the greeting card companies and makes them millions of dollars every year. But I am not writing this to complain about Valentines day. It is to easy of a target and is done a million times every year by the long time and newly single divorced.

I am not sure why I am writing this in all honesty. I just felt like I had things that I needed to get out. You see I loved maybe I still love Nicole. I just do not know any more. I know that I can't think of her without intense pain. I have good days and bad day but mainly I have days that are just gray. It is a relatively good day if I can make it through with out thinking of her. Yet I still hope to get an email or some kind of text message or instant message nearly every day. It isn't that I have anything to say because I don't. I don't know what I want.

I do know what I miss. I miss her being in my life. I miss having dutch babies with her on lazy Sunday mornings. I miss staying up late and making cupcakes while we watched a movie on Netflix. I just miss her being around. I do not know if I was comfortable and in that level of comfort I just did not show her the love that she needed. I do know that I blame myself for what happened. I did not listen and I did not react and do what was needed to keep things going okay and now I am paying that price in my being alone. I fully realize that I have friends but this is on a different level then that. It is hard for me to fully articulate the level of emptiness that I am dealing with.

I imagine that things will get better I do not see how they couldn't.

I realize that this may be to intensely personal of a blog for many of my readers and I apologize for that but sometimes there are things that need to be said. If you return I soon will be back to my usual slightly humorous and topical thoughts and political ideas. So please bear with me.

2-11-10 (Thursday)

Another day, another dollar. Good morning folks. I am here and ready to gift all of you with my wisdom. There just does not seem to be much wisdom flowing today. I am just not feeling it. I spent some time looking at Facebook and I guess I shouldn't have today because I can feel myself starting to spiral. I hate when I get like this and I think the most frustrating aspect of it is that while I do not know when it is going to happen. I can feel it when I am on the precipice of it and am unable to stop it.

I am well aware that everyone deals with things at different speeds but I wish my speed was faster. I am tired of feeling this way on and off. I would just rather be done with all of the emotions. Sorry to get all emotive with you guys but sometimes blogging is cheaper then therapy.

That being said I do not have much more to say, I hope tomorrow or later today I might feel more inclined to write a little bit.

Quote of the Day

"There is room for social programs in a free-market economy without it becoming socialist. America, you are not on the road to serfdom." Colin Horgan

2-10-10 (Wednesday)

It is Wednesday morning and it is the middle of the work week. I hope everybody is having a good one so far. Things have been going pretty well so far. I have just been working and trying to stay busy. I mentioned on Monday that I haven't been able to work up any righteous indignation to allow me better blogging and one of my friends said she didn't realize that you needed righteous indignation to blog.

Well I thought about it and while I may not need it. It certainly makes it easier for me to get the words out when I am upset about something even if it is a silly of an issue as James Cameron and that fact that he steals ideas for his films and doesn't give credit to his victims. The funny thing is that just writing that down just now has got me a little bit fired up. See that is all it takes for me. I am going to control myself and not go off on a rant about Cameron and his actions as well as the movie business in general and how the overall stupidity of the movie going public is what allows criminals like Cameron to stay in business while younger and perhaps newer more creative voices are being left out in the cold.

See! Look at that. I said I wasn't going to and then I couldn't help myself. It is just sad. I do not know James Cameron personally. I doubt I will ever meet him and I am sure that he cries himself to sleep at night on his bed stuffed with $100 bills at the idea that I am upset with him. But I do not care. All I care about is getting out here on on stump and letting loose with a few good broadsides.

I think that is how I few myself. I am the captain of the ship of reason and sail about upon the seas of lunacy and idiocy. "Sharing" my wisdom with others. By "sharing" I mean lots of chest pounding and screaming and since it is my ship there is usually a show tune or two followed by some fancy dancing. I like my crew to be multi-talented. Ummmm, never mind about that last part lets just pretend that I never said it. "Hey, Jackson, put away those tap shoes!"

So, where were we? Oh yes, I travel around visa vie the Internets and tell everyone else what they are doing wrong and how I can fix them. For me to be able to do such a thing I have to be surly and dissatisfied otherwise I just can't work up the energy level I need to really get things fired up. That being said there maybe up days and down days where I didn't read or listen to something that really ticks me off. So please bear with me and keep checking in because I hope to continue blogging I am just not totally sure what form it is going to take on any give day.

That phrase reminded me of the movie "Any Given Sunday". As most of my friends know already I hate Oliver Stone and the only good work he ever did was writing the screenplay for "Conan the Barbarian" that is all nothing he has done ever since has any merit or well have any merit and "Any Given Sunday" was a prime example of his hackitude. That is all for now.

2-9-10 (Tuesday)

Good morning folks. I hope everybody had a good weekend and a good Monday. I frankly was surprised at the outcome of the Super Bowl. I thought for sure that the Colts would win it. I was even more surprised that Payton Manning threw an interception. I really went into the game thinking well he isn't Brett Favre and there is no way he will make a mistake that could cost the Colts the game. I was wrong. But, I have been wrong before and I will be again. That is one of the many reasons why I watch sports. I like to be surprised. If I always knew the outcome of every event I watched I think things would get a little boring.

In political news Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has died. He was 77. He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. The retired Marine Corps officer was an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. It is going to be interesting to me to see how this shakes out in terms of who replaces him. I am not sure what the policy is in Pennsylvania. I know that it varies from state to state with some state having the Gov appoint a replacement until the next election and some run a special election. Either way I am sure the Republicans are going to be "chomping at the bit" to get one of their own into office. He had been in office for 36 years and it will be pretty fascinating to me to see what happens next. I am sure that the "Tea Party" folks will begin rallying for some sort of candidate as well as the Democrats.

Interesting story on NPR this morning about the paper published in the "Lancet" several years ago that claimed a link to Autism from Vaccine. This caused a pretty strong anti Vaccine movement and now the "Lancet" has released a press release saying that the paper used false information and bad data and there was no link. One Doctor went on the air and said that the paper was basically a hypothesis and that it shouldn't have been published. He said it would be akin to him saying that "peanut butter causes Leukemia, and then tracking down five children with Leukemia who had eaten peanut butter a month before diagnosis and using that to make his case." I also found that fascinating and it is going to be interesting to see what potential fallout may come of this.

Thanks for reading and you folks have a good day.

2-8-10 (Monday)

Happy Monday...I do not have much today. I hope to have some more tomorrow to write about so please check back in. I have been having a hard time working up the righteous indignation I need to blog effectively but I hope to be my usual disgruntled self tomorrow.

2-2-10 (Wednesday)

Good morning folks. It looks like six more weeks of winter the Groundhog saw his shadow yesterday. Over here in Oregon it has been a pretty mild winter overall. We have had some snow here and there but nothing really stuck for a long period of time. Unlike last year where we had a serious stretch of frozen snow.

Today appears to be a slow brain day. There isn't anything popping into my head that I feel really upset about. Or even really inspired by. It seems like it is just a blah kind of day. I am okay with that. I can't exist on a sense of outrage all of the time. To fuel myself with energy generated from apocalyptic over the top rage is the path of Olberman and Beck and I refuse to go down that path. Sure it is fun sometimes to get wound up to really get myself going about the, big G, government and different liberal and conservative conspiracy theories. But really who does that benefit other then the people watching me foam at the mouth as I stomp around muttering different key words and punching the air.

"9-11 was an inside job, Kennedy was killed by the mob, Roosevelt knew about Pearl Harbor, Obama is selling us to the Chinese!!"

That feels better. I got all the crazy out. Actually one of the things I said above is totally true. Don't believe me. Google it!! I'll wait.
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Oh, your back. You didn't find anything? Hmm well that is just more proof that the government is covering it up because in my experience you can find anything on Google. Or, Or!! Perhaps you are part of the conspiracy? Do not try to deny it. I can see it in your beady little eyes. I will be watching you. Count on it!!

That's all for today folks

2-2-10 (Groundhog Day)

It is Tuesday morning February 2nd and it is Groundhog day!! Weeeeeeee! I am not sure if the Groundhog saw his shadow or not this morning. All I am interested in is seeing the bottom of my coffee cup. I can smell the coffee brewing this morning and it smells so good to me. But moving on from my unnatural relationship with coffee.

Today is also the day that the Academy announced the Oscar nominations so without further time wasting I give you the nominees. These are courtesy of the www.oscar.go.com You can for there for a full list. I will see you at the bottom of the list.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY - 82ND AWARDS -
Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight)
* George Clooney in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Colin Firth in "A Single Man" (The Weinstein Company)
* Morgan Freeman in "Invictus" (Warner Bros.)
* Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Matt Damon in "Invictus" (Warner Bros.)
* Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger" (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
* Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones" (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
* Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.)
* Helen Mirren in "The Last Station" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Carey Mulligan in "An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
* Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia" (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Penélope Cruz in "Nine" (The Weinstein Company)
* Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight)
* Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)

Best animated feature film of the year

*
"Coraline" (Focus Features) Henry Selick
*
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
*
"The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
*
"The Secret of Kells" (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
*
"Up" (Walt Disney) Pete Docter

Best motion picture of the year

*
"Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
*
"The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.)
An Alcon Entertainment Production Nominees to be determined
*
"District 9" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
*
"An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
*
"The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
A Voltage Pictures Production Nominees to be determined
*
"Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer
*
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
*
"A Serious Man" (Focus Features)
A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
*
"Up" (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer
*
"Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers


So, what did you think? I think there were some pretty interesting films this year. I was not on board with the "Inglourious Basterds" I thought it was far to talky and sequences just drug on and on and on. Particularly the opening sequence it was horrible. But much like with most films I am in the minority. In fact when I do Oscar pools I never pick what I think are the winning films. I always pick what I think the Academy will pick and I do pretty well. It is easy I just remove my brain and sit there slack jawed and drooling for awhile and then I am as smart as any celebrity. That being said I think I will post my picks in a few days and maybe we can have a little Oscar party right here on "One For The Ages" so give it some thought people and we will see what happens.

2-1-10 (Monday)

Well here we are Monday morning Feb 1st. I hope you all had a good weekend. While mine was by and large uneventful I would say that the most eventful thing I did was to finally stop working at the church. Now, those of you who read this blog and know me in meat space are all well aware of how long I have worked at the church on and off over the last I would say nearly 20 years. I was not a pastor or any kind of officiate there. I used to call myself a church sexton But I was really just a custodian. I grew up going to that church. My parents had been missionaries in Indonesia coming out of there and I went with them. In fact I lived in Indonesia for basically the first three years of my life and when we returned to the states I spoke better Indonesian then I did English.

I grew up going to the church and being involved and once I got out of high school and after spending some time working in a few different movie theaters I ended up working at the church. I enjoyed it there but it also was a place that allowed me to be lazy and to not move forward or to pursue things that I might have had I not had that safety net to fall back into. It isn't the church's fault it was my own doing. Basically a mix of fear and a desire to be comfortable kind of locked me into place. Well! I have already written more about this then I intended to. I guess it was more of a big deal then I thought it was or wanted to admit. I guess that is what happens when I write without the filters in place. I hope people didn't mind a little bit of the old autobiographical this morning.

On to the politics....................I read an interesting quote by Gore Vidal this morning,

"“It makes no difference who you vote for — the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people.”

I am not sure when he said it but it really rings true for me today the Monday after President Obamas state of the union address. Because we have a two-party system, the only choice people have if they 
don’t like what’s happening is to vote for the other guy,
 even if the other guy is largely responsible for what’s happening, and the 
guy that’s in there now is in there because of the other guy’s mistakes.

People are angry at deficits, largely run up by the irresponsibility of the 
Bush administration, and topped off by Obama.
 They’re angry that the bankers who got us in this mess are making millions
. Thanks mainly to deregulation
 promoted primarily by Republicans (but signed off on by Clinton). They’re 
angry about jobs, but there would be a lot more of them if the 
stimulus package had been larger, which would have increased the deficit, 
which they are angry about. They are angry that Washington 
seems totally controlled by special interests, so they’re going to vote for the
 party that loves special interests at least as much as the 
party in power now. They’re angry at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which 
were started by the party they just voted out a year ago.
 They are angry that President Obama has accomplished so little of his agenda, so 
they’re going to vote for the party that has unanimously opposed
 every single aspect of it.

I have said it before and I will say it again. The two party system is a failure in America. There is no real difference. The agenda they both seem to have is to look for themselves and not for the good of the American people. The Democrats in Congress have proven that with their actions over the last few years. It was interesting to see the populace rise up in anger and shake their collective fist at the Republicans a few years ago and pretty much sweep them out of Congress. Oh the Democrats cheered. "It is a mandate from the people." they said. What is was was a mandate for these guys stink and we have no other option. Sure the Democrats said they would be different...they haven't been. So few years have passed and nothing has changed and surprise, surprise, surprise people are angry. Throw those bums out they are yelling. We will replace them with the same kind of bums we threw out before and then we will act surprised when they screw us.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!! The system is broken and the Tea Party pipe dream is not going to fix it. Keith Olberman and his Olbermaniacs are not going to fix it. Glenn Beck is not going to fix it. There needs to be! There must be viable third party candidates that are willing to listen to the needs of the populace and not the needs of the business as usual crowd. I hope one day true change will come in America but I am not holding my breath.