Trip Tweets – NYC 9/24/10 – 9/26/10

Here’s the list of tweets from the NYC trip I took with Rochelle to see Stacy over the weekend.

Friday September 24, 2010

  • New York later TODAY! #Dexter – TWO – DAYS! 10:51 AM EST
  • We’re on our way to #NYC! 6:46 PM EST
  • So ready to get off the bus. Damn traffic. Should be there in a half hour or so. #NYC 9:36 PM EST
  • We’re at a great sushi place! #NYC 10:20 PM EST
  • Stacy just informed me that we’re at Time Square! 10:51 PM EST
  • I didn’t take a picture of the sushi! #EpicFail 11:13 PM EST

Saturday September 25, 2010

  • Woke up this morning, checked Facebook for the great news… Tricia’s in labor! Congrats, Tricia and Travis! Love you both! 10:55 AM EST
  • Bought a fun trip card for all day in #NYC. Had someone comment on my #Ravens cap saying get a #Jets cap. 2:13 PM EST
  • Enjoying a fruit cup and lemonade in Central Park. #NYC 3:38 PM EST
  • Talking about ONE MORE DAY #DEXTER!!! 4:11 PM EST
  • Keep checking #FB for Tricia updates. She’s having a C section. Good luck, Tricia. Love you! 4:45 PM EST
  • Back to Stacy’s place for a snack. 7:16 PM EST
  • Getting beer and liquor for tonight. 7:32 PM EST
  • Cecelia Rose has been born! Congratulations Tricia and Travis! You’re going to be great parents! 7:56 PM EST
  • Having dinner and chilling. Quaint little place. Getting fish and chips. #FTW #NYC 9:31 PM EST
  • Checked out a bookstore. Got a good book and sudoku for the ride home tomorrow. #NYC 10:36 PM EST

Sunday September 26, 2010

  • Leaving #NYC. #Dexter in less than 11 hours! 10:14 AM EST
  • In #DC, almost to Union Station. 2:20 PM EST
  • Finally almost home. Red line closed before our stop. #MWAFail 3:31 PM EST

GOP Pledge & Scare Tactics

The Republicans released their “Pledge to America” if they regain control of Congress later this year. It’s full of the same old same old rhetoric you’d expect from the selfish GOP, such as extending the Bush tax cuts. It omits how it’s going to pay for them as well as what they plan to do about entitlement programs (like Medicare and Social Security). They also want to overturn the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (health care reform) the Dems passed earlier this year. Furthermore, they want to put an end to the stimulus.

I just have to wonder, when HCR starts going into effect and the American people FINALLY see the good it will do, will the GOP jump on the bandwagon like most of them did with the stimulus? Or with the auto bailout?

I’d also like to know who’s buying Newt Gingrich’s recent comments? Seriously, is that guy off his rocker or what?

What scares me is that people actually listen to and believe it. I know a few of them myself. They’re anti-Muslim, far right conservatives who actually buy into these scare tactics. They preach that Muslims are going to take over our country, that we’re beginning to implement Sharia Law, they think Obama wants socialism, they think this country to be founded on Christian beliefs, and they actually believe Fox News to be factual.

And they think I’m wrong when I dispute their “facts”!

I try to see the other side of things, but I can’t even wrap my mind around it… To think that our country is in serious jeopardy and ready to be taken over. Who do these people really want their country back from? Last I checked, we as AMERICANS still had it.

I actually had one guy tell me to hell with the Bill Of Rights if it stops Muslims from building a Mosque near Ground Zero. What are some people in this country becoming and when will they stop? What could be next? Showing up to rally’s wearing KKK clothing?


Why Isn’t Bing XHTML Compliant?

I asked Bing why it wasn’t XHTML 1.0 compliant and this is what it said:

Sounds like what you’d expect from a search engine made by Microsoft. Begs the question of how Bing is any better than Google or Yahoo? FAIL.


Football Predictions 2010 – Playoffs

Here’s who I think will go to the playoffs in 2010:

AFC:

New York Jets
Baltimore Ravens
Indianapolis Colts
Denver Broncos
New England Patriots
Houston Texans

NFC:

Dallas Cowboys
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers
Washington Redskins

Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Skins, baby! The AFC I think is still a lot more powerful than the NFC. It’s pretty hard picking who’ll go from the AFC. I think the Texans have a good shot this year. The Colts are getting older. I could see the Bengals going, too, as a wild card. The NFC is so scrambled right now. I wouldn’t put the Vikings on there if Favre didn’t come back. I’d keep an eye on the Falcons, too. Cardinals are out since Weirner retired. San Francisco might have a good shot.

How I did in 2009:
AFC: 2/6
NFC: 4/6


Analysis Of “Half Of My Heart” By John Mayer

Half Of Heart That Wants To Love Half Of Heart That Doesn’t Want To Love
  • Got a grip on the situation
  • Got a right mind to tell you that I can’t keep loving you with half of my heart
  • Got you
  • A shot gun wedding to a bride with a paper ring
  • Takes time
  • Got a real good imagination
  • Got a right mind to tell you that half of my heart won’t do
  • The part of a man who’s never truly loved anything

Docking

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my dog, Wiki. I was hesitant about getting a dog with no tail. His tail was viciously chopped off when he was a puppy for hunting purposes, I’m sure. I’ve been watching his tail, hoping one day it could grow back but they don’t.

According to Wikipedia (not my dog, the online encyclopedia of which Wiki was named), they do it so the dogs don’t get hurt during hunting, to prevent rabies, and to make them faster. I just think it’s a cruel practice that should be made illegal.

Almost ALL first world countries ban it with some exceptions. A lot of other countries that you would think wouldn’t care also ban it. However, it’s legal in the United States. We’re in the same group as Afghanistan, Argentina, Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Malaysia, etc. I have been wanting to blog about what’s wrong with America. Docking is definitely on there now.


Mosques Near Ground Zero

It’s getting old hearing all these people complain about the Mosque they’re building TWO BLOCKS AWAY from where the WTC used to be.

The fact is that it’s protected under the first amendment. However, that won’t get through these people’s minds. It’s protected, there’s no debating it, no matter what people say or do.

The closest thing people tried to stop it was to get the building declared a landmark. The landmark commission voted 9-0 that the building is NOT a landmark even though debris from the WTC touched it. Most the buildings in NYC would then have to be declared landmarks if that was so.

It’s on private property, it will be private church, how can government try to stop it? It’s protected under the first amendment, there’s no debate. Also, there’s separation of church and state which some people seem to forget.

It baffles my mind, it’s so hypocritical to rant and rave “PATRIOTS, PROTECT OUR COUNTRY, FREEDOM ISN’T FREE, THE TERRORISTS WANT TO TAKE AWAY OUR FREEDOMS… yada yada yada.” Yet, they’re protesting to take away the freedoms of other people? I don’t get it. They need to listen to themselves. What freedoms will we have if we keep taking them away, one by one, in the name of terrorism?

And some people forget that some Muslims died on 9/11, too. To cave on this would hand the terrorists a victory. They would have disrupted those people’s freedom to speech and religion. Are we supposed to treat Muslims different than everyone else? I don’t think so. That’s NOT what this country is about.


New Adventure 2010

As some of you know, I found another job. Today is my last day with a company who I’ve been with since August 2006. My first real experience job. My first job out of college. A company who actually gave me a chance.

It’s been great for the most part, I do have to say. I’ve learned a lot. I am who I am today because of them. Working with a small business has given me the opportunity to work in a lot of areas, which I like. I think I’m a well rounded person.

I’m leaving behind a few friends, which I don’t like to do. However, I’ve seen quite a few friends leave. Hopefully we will all keep in touch. This company has changed so much since I started here.

I’m trading in my scooter for my Prius and a longer commute and a smaller company. I know I will do well there just as I have here.

I figured out that I’ve been spending four years at a time at places:

  • Four years at high school (Broadneck)
  • Four years at college (Frostburg)
  • Four years at this job

Twelve years of my life in only three places.

I can’t help but feel so happy and so sad at the same time. It’s kinda surprising, I’m not as emotional as I thought. I haven’t cried here yet. I cried at home but not here. I guess, when I’m here, it doesn’t feel like it’s hit yet. I cleaned out my stuff. I took it home yesterday. I’m riding my scooter for the last time here, at least as a full time employee.

A new journey awaits, a new chapter in my life.


Done With VHS

I wanted to watch one of the movies I had on VHS the other night. It turns out my VCR I had since I was like 14 had died. I’m not 100% sure it was the VCR but it’s not like I can go buy a new one.

In light of this I have decided my VHS days are over. I have quite a few movies on VHS I have to rebuy on DVD. I hate that. One of the reasons I don’t want to buy a blu ray player. It’s pretty not cool that we have to keep buying the same movie over and over because they switch formats. I’m glad one format won in the blu ray vs HD war.

Anyway, here’s a list of all the movies I had on VHS. I’ll probably try to sell all of them for like $20 on craigslist or something this next week.

  • Star Wars Trilogy (originals, episodes 4-6)
  • Star Wars Trilogy (digitally remastered, special edition, episodes 4-6)
  • Planet Of The Apes (old, all movies, movies 1-5)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (old, all movies, movies 1-3)
  • Indiana Jones, Raiders Of The Lost Ark
  • Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade
  • Isn’t She Great
  • Niles Loves Daphne (a tape I made with all the great moments of Frasier and Niles & Daphne)
  • mini tape to VHS adapter (for my old camcorder)
  • a head cleaner (LOL, remember those?)
  • Not Another Teen Movie
  • Drowning Mona (the movie I wanted to watch)
  • Jurassic Park
  • Fatal Attraction
  • Ordinary Decent Criminal
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Big Business
  • Clue (already bought DVD)
  • Bad Company
  • Dick
  • Mr. Holland’s Opus
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • 9 To 5
  • Driving Miss Daisy
  • The X Files (movie, first one)
  • South Park Bigger, Longer, & Uncut
  • Junior
  • What Lies Beneath
  • Presumed Innocent
  • Austin Powers (first one)
  • X Men (first one)
  • Last Action Hero
  • The Sting
  • Grumpy Old Men (first one)

Ahh, VHS. You were so good to me. I don’t have any way to record shows now… not like I have done it in years. On Demand has covered me in that department. We don’t have TiVo or DVR or whatever. But, I guess I won’t miss you.


2010 Resolutions Update I

Here’s a list of my 2010 resolutions and where I am:

  • Get over feelings I have (yeah, I don’t feel that way anymore, and frankly I don’t care)
  • See Aunt Ruth & Aunt Janet more (ugh, I saw AR like 3 times this year, AJ like no times… I suck)
  • Eat less meat and find more things to eat that are vegetarian (I find it really hard to do this, I’m eating more fish but it gets hard at restaurants, I find myself eating fish or multiple sides)
  • Finish the garage (everything else but the driveway is complete)
  • Get Candi off the cone (her paw is almost 100% healed but this will sadly be never done)
  • Settle Dad’s estate (not under my control)
  • Fix the Camaro and paint it (runs fine, needs an oil change, paint = DONE)
  • *you know*
  • Ride the scooter to work (whenever I can, I do)
  • Host at least three parties (haven’t even had one yet, a few mini parties, maybe in a few weeks)
  • Snowboarding, master the bunny slope and be able to get off the lift without falling (nope)
  • Go see a general practitioner (done, I have high cholesterol)
  • Donate money to charity (haven’t been able to donate to anything since I have bills to pay and people I need to support)
  • Go on vacation and take more weekend breaks (Vegas, went to OC, plan to go on more little trips)
  • Get better at debating (I’m well in the loop)
  • Make more friends (I made a few this year, I want to make more)

New goals:

  • I may delete my facebook page
  • I’ll be setting up my own wiki of my life
  • Take more pictures… maybe… of parties I attend and stuff

Verizon FiOS Destruction

That Comcast commercial is completely true. FiOS really does do a lot of destruction when installing their crappy service. I blogged about this when I got FiOS installed.

A bunch of friends and I were up for a movie the other weekend but FiOS OnDemand was down. This was at like 11:00 PM on a Saturday night. Like prime time for watching a movie. We called them up and they said they were doing maintenance… on a Saturday night. FAIL.

Our HD box has also been finiky. It’s pretty slow. You have to be very delicate when choosing menu options. For instance, I can’t go down to Recently Viewed stuff or else it will freeze. If I want to see something I stopped earlier, I have to navigate back to where I found it. FAIL.

Anyway, the main reason I’m blogging is because FiOS totally screws up the streets. I saw their van a few months ago installing their crappy service on Broadwood Drive in Rockville (a street that I commute on). They had to navigate traffic around their crappy little cones in order to drill the street to lay their crappy wiring. I should have called then but I thought they’d actually clean up their mess.

When I take my scooter on this road, there are bumps everywhere and uneven pavement. There’s even a place really bad where I have to completely slow down. It’s like a reverse speed bump. The scooter doesn’t like it. Neither does the Camaro.

So I finally thought about calling them the other day. I thought they were going to hang up on me but surprisingly, they created a ticket for it. I had to give them all my Verizon account information. Not sure why they needed that but whatever.

They called me back the next day and basically said it wasn’t their problem. The city of Rockville had to fix it even though they were the ones who installed it! My tax dollars going to another greedy corporation for stuff that THEY’RE responsible for fixing. It’s like the oil rig explosion in the golf… except this is 2,398,438 times worse… just kidding.


Janny’s Review Of Droid Incredible

I’ve been playing around with the Incredible for about a week now. I got it earlier than it was released and got a pretty sweet deal (two Incredible’s for around $300). I signed another 2 year deal with Verizon for 700 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data, etc for about $180/month for two phones.

I took pictures of everything on my flickr.

After having it for a week, I have to say, this phone does rock. Here’s a list of stuff that’s cool and what’s not.

Cool Stuff:

  • Android Market has tones of apps. Pretty easy to use interface too.
  • It’s FAST. I mean FAST. It’s probably faster than my internet connection at work.
  • It knows which direction I’m facing! It’s that precise.
  • The traffic on Google Maps is awesome. It has like all the roads, even the Pike and 28! You can also zoom in and out with your fingers. It also has satellite view.
  • It got a lot of information from Facebook. Once it recognized the name, I was able to port over their information (even their avatar) on my phone.
  • The camera is pretty cool. Here’s a picture I took: Dimitri At His Desk
  • The five desktop screens. I’m worried I’m going to run out of room for my shortcuts and widgets.
  • The desktops are cool. I have mine set on a phone one with water that I can tap. There are lots more downloadable on the Android Market.
  • The GPS on this thing is AMAZING. As you’ll read, I have a compass app which pinpoints my precise location. It also knows what direction I’m facing. I’ll never be lost again.
  • The browser is pretty brilliant. You can zoom in and out with your fingers. It resizes everything for easy viewing.
  • The icon on the top shows new messages and emails, which is nice.
  • It has a pretty loud ringer. That’s what I hated about the Voyager, it was too soft.
  • It’s light weight. It’s lighter than the Voyager. It fits naturally in your pocket and hands.
  • Getting and placing calls takes getting used to. If your face isn’t near your phone during a call, it recognizes that and it pops up a screen with talk time, end call button, and phone pad. It also says what city the phone is registered on on Caller ID.
  • Good software to read pdf, doc, xls is really good. I wouldn’t want to write a paper on the phone but I probably could.
  • The app Note Everything, saves stuff to the card so I can easily get it from the phone via USB or card reader.
  • I can easily send more than 1 picture at a time.
  • Of course, multitasking!

Not So Cool:

  • I can’t figure out how to pull up my contacts while in a phone conversation. I needed to yesterday. I had to hang up, pull up the number, then text it.
  • If you have your mail sync with your phone, if you send or delete a message, it won’t save it in Yahoo Mail. It doesn’t put the message in the trash upon delete and there’s nothing in my sent folder in Yahoo from any email I sent with the phone.
  • I haven’t figured out a way (I don’t think there is one) to save individual texts. It has it in a long conversation, which is nice since you can see what was said, but I can’t delete individual texts, I’d have to delete the entire conversation.
  • Android Market has a lot of repeat apps… they may have over 50,000 but how many of them are actually unique?
  • Some of the cooler apps cost money where as online they are free.
  • The FaceBook App needs some work. It limits what I can view on people’s profiles. Nor does it have events yet. It would be cool if it automatically put events in your calendar.
  • Maybe I just haven’t figured it out yet, but the Google Maps needs a layer for gas stations and food and stuff.
  • Maybe it’s a bug in the widget but it doesn’t show the sun until around 11AM on my phone… it’s still the moon.
  • It asks for birthdays in my contacts, but it doesn’t notify me of birthdays or anything, so that’s pretty useless.
  • The keyboard is quirky and takes some getting used to. I added a few words that weren’t words and I’m not sure how to delete them from the library. I (as well as Brian) often does a “.” instead of a space. I miss the Voyager full qwerty keyboard with actual buttons.
  • Not all apps rotate when you turn the phone. The desktop doesn’t even rotate. YouTube videos have to be viewed horizontally.
  • I couldn’t figure out the camera at first. I didn’t know how to take a picture. Then I tried the bottom button, and that worked. That’s the only thing I use that button for. You can use it to maneuver screens but it goes in the opposite direction you’d expect.
  • Battery life isn’t so great. But if you get the Task Killer app, that saves a lot. Before I had that, my battery would barely last a day. Now it lasts until I put it on the charger at night.
  • Figuring out the ringer is kind of annoying. It only has three modes (which are called profiles): Normal, Vibrate, and silent.

Apps I Downloaded:

  • 10001 Cocktails (Which came in handy in OC… I looked up some drinks and ordered them. The bartender was impressed!)
  • Advanced Task Killer Free (A must! You have to get this in order to close your apps. If not, your apps will run in the background sucking up resources and batteries.)
  • Air Horn (To make as much noise as we can!)
  • Bubbles (Just a goofy application to create bubbles and pop them.)
  • Compass (VERY precise. Gives you longitude and latitude as well as the address  of where you are. It identifies EXACTLY where I am.)
  • DrunkBlocker (So I don’t accidentally call people when I’m drunk.)
  • FlashLight (Pretty cool, so you can see where you’re going.)
  • Google Sky Map (Awesome app!)
  • MeetroDC (So I know when the next trains are coming.)
  • Moon Phase (Tells what phase the moon is in and when the next full moon is.)
  • Note Everything (A notepad kind of thing which also has a white board.)
  • Shazam (To identify songs.)
  • Twidroid (For Twitter.)
  • Urbanspoon

Basically, the phone is awesome. Totally worth it. It took a lot of getting used to. It took Brian an hour to figure out how to get my ring tones and it took a long time to figure out how to customize the desktops. I’d give the phone an 8.5/10.


Sick

I really don’t know how I contain myself now. Why I’m not screaming at the top of my lungs. I just fucking blogged about the need for government regulation and for government to step in and do something less than two weeks ago.

Since then two more people died because of another mine collapse and eleven people have lost their lives due to BP’s oil explosion. And not to mention the countless thousands of fish and wildlife that will die because of this oil rig explosion which could be worse than the Exxon Valdez.

Hypocrites. All those tea partiers preaching their “Drill Baby, Drill”… where are they now to help clean up this mess? Where are the Republicans who touted “Drill Baby, Drill”? Why aren’t they protesting in Arizona over the recent immigration law which allows government to get in your face if you “look illegal”? Or in Oklahoma where Republicans passed legislation to make a sonogram mandatory for getting an abortion which is clear government intervention? Or what about the entire Bush presidency?

The oil spill, the mining “accidents”, the hypocrites all make me sick.

I boycott Exxon because of Valdez and now looks like I’ll be boycotting BP.

This shit shouldn’t happen.


The Need For Government Regulation

As I stated in my previous blog post, the need for government regulation has become increasingly more important. After previous administrations, so much government regulation has been taken away or not enforced. The deregulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, toys from China, the coal mine incidents, the economic collapse, ENRON, deregulation of our finance, energy, communications, transportation, etc. Many times after the fact have we realized maybe there should have been something put in place or enforced so bad things don’t happen, like with the current recession.

What comes to mind most recently (besides the coal mine explosion) is what’s going on with Toyota. Just the other day Consumer Reports came out and said the Lexus GX is unsafe and should not be bought. Now Toyota has stopped sales of its Lexus. It takes an independent magazine by a union to do enough safety tests to realize that a vehicle is unsafe for the road? The NHTSA didn’t find it? Even the Prius gas pedal wasn’t found by our “government regulations”. WTF?

Everyone thinks government regulation is a bad thing, but they are put in place for a reason; to make our cars safe, to make where we work safe, to make our food and water safe, to make our buildings safe, etc. To ensure that we won’t get hurt physically or financially by companies, to protect us.

We need government regulation because without it, we will get hurt. It happens time and time again when regulation is taken away or not enforced. We need a go between of companies and people and the government is the only thing to do it right. To look out for the people because that’s who the government represents. Contrary to what the SCOTUS says, corporations are NOT people.

It can’t just be a “states rights” thing either. Prime example, look at all the influence the coal industry has in West Virginia. Massey kicked the unions out. The unions couldn’t even help with the rescue effort. Massey got away with operating an unsafe mine and 29 people lost their lives because of it.

I know all these “don’t tread on me” people claim differently but the government is supposed to have the best intentions for the American people. That’s its job.


Recent Mine Explosions

If the recent deaths in the West Virginia and China mines isn’t enough to make us switch to alternative energy, I don’t know what is.

China said by the end of the year 8,000 less efficient and less safe coal mines will be closed. Their mines are less safe because they don’t have the OSHA requirements that we do. However, the United States does face disasters in mines still as shown in recent and past events.

Alternative energy like wind and solar don’t nearly have the dangers that mining coal does (and oil drilling for that matter). Alternatives saves more lives and reduces climate change, which saves our planet.

If we do keep using coal (signs point to yes), we should most definately enact more restrictions on companies who mine. Massey Energy got fined $382,000 last year, according to the Washington Post, for safety violations, allowing coal dust to pile up, and not having sufficient fire gear. That shouldn’t happen in this country.

Back in 2007, I said the same thing with the collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine. There should have been more harsher regulations in place. I even blamed Bush for easing safety enforcements which could have prevented deaths in that incident (and, perhaps, the recent incident).


Quickie Quote From Bill Maher II

Bill Maher said something last week that was 100% true. Too long for twitter…

“You ever watch House or Gray’s Anatomy? It’s like ten or twelve doctors for just you. All they do is treat you and then they go home and fuck each other and think about you. That’s the fantasy.”

Makes a strong case for watching Nurse Jackie instead of House.


The Recent Passage Of HCR In 2010

Unfortunately I don’t have much time to write about this since work has been real busy. I just wanted to say a few things about the bill.

I don’t like the whole thing. I’m not in love with it. I don’t like a lot of stuff that’s in it. Having said that, I do believe it’s the best we can do right now and if I were a member of congress, I would have voted for it. I wanted more in the bill like a lot more regulation on insurance companies and a robust public option (let alone ANY public option). But like Kucinich and other progressives, I had to put those wants aside and realize this bill is the best we can do now.

People who won’t compromise get in the way of democracy. The entire Republican party basically refused to compromise. They couldn’t see the good things about the bill like no exclusions on preexisting conditions and adults can stay on their parents health care until 26. Even Bart Stupak wanted to vote no on the bill unless Obama issued an executive order for no funding on abortion (which that was assumed in the bill anyway… I guess Stupak just needed it underlined and in BOLD).

Stupak did compromise and he did vote for the bill (to which he does deserve a thank you). Republican’s couldn’t and I believe they’re on the wrong side of history yet again.

Now, what I’m scared of is people not knowing or realizing that this bill helped them, just like how some people don’t realize that Medicare is a government run program. I’m worried that those teabaggers will not realize that when they get sick, their insurance company can’t drop them like they used to before this bill.

I’m also worried that when (big IF) the Republicans regain power in 2012, they’ll get the credit for the bill when it takes effect in 2014 (kinda like Obama took credit for the new GI bill which Bush passed). I’m also worried that they won’t get the bad rep for NOT supporting it.

I do hope that progressives won’t give up on wanting a single payer universal health care system like the other first world countries. Nancy Pelosi declared HC solved. Progressives don’t think so. I just hope they don’t give up the fight. I know I won’t.

Enough ranting… I also wanted to point to a good resource about information about the bill: www.politifact.com . It’s a bipartisan site with lots of good stuff.


Dennis Kucinich’s Vote For HCR

So Dennis Kucinich decided to change his mind and vote for the current HCR bill. He rode on Air Force One, had a talk with Obama and Pelosi and decided to switch. Ever since he’s been getting flack for it.

I don’t really think he deserves it. Bloggers have been bashing him, calling him a Washington Insider, etc. I know why he did it, and it could be the right thing to do. I totally agree with him, the bill is a tremendous give away to the insurance companies, but at least it’s something. If I were Kucinich, I’d probably do the same thing. You also have a lot of progressives that support the bill like Alan Grayson.

It’s by far not the right bill, but Kucinich has hope that it’ll be a start. He has hope that there will be other bills introduced that will make it better. Congress just doesn’t have the vote thanks to centrist and bought out Dems for it to be better right now.

I’d follow Kucinich anywhere. I have complete faith in him. I really wish he’d become more popular and have a shot at POTUS. I think he does the right thing, every time. He’s one of the few representatives that I actually trust.

I really hope he doesn’t have a good Democratic challenger in the primary. We need him and we need more people like him in Congress.


Elitist Songs

I’ve been wanting to blog about this topic for a while, but some songs just get on my nerves because they are so elitist. A few come to mind:

  • All American Rejects – Gives You Hell – So, should I be ashamed of working 9-5? Most people do. The fact that he gets to party all the time and wake up in the evening, I don’t think I could be jealous of that. And he’ll probably die young. Besides, if the guy DIDN’T miss the person who the song is about, he wouldn’t be singing it, would he?
  • Jay Z – Empire State Of Mind – Jay Z’s saying I couldn’t make it in New York. What does “make it” mean anyway? And you’re not the “new Sinatra”, Mister Z. I know a lot of people who don’t really like your music.
  • Pink – So What – Now this song really makes me angry. Who can actually sing it after they lose their husband? Not me, I’m not a rock star. And I don’t party every night like that light purple character.
  • Joe Walsh – Life’s Been Good – All “Joe The Artist” sings about is his money and his fancy life in which he drives a Mazaratti and tears down hotel walls. Who does that?
  • Shawn Mullens – Lullaby – Really? We’re supposed to feel sorry for a rich girl who grew up getting everything she ever wanted? And who is currently a singer making bank? Really?
  • Chris Brown – Kiss Kiss – An eighteen year old with a Lambo… yeah, that’s realistic. He’s from a little town in Virginia. Damn, who are his parents?
  • Will Smith – Miami – Ah, yes, another case of a celebrity going on vacation 1,583 days a year. Must be nice.
  • John Mayer – No Such Thing – I guess super stars don’t need to know about the real world. Mister Mayer should get a real job and see what it’s like for the rest of us working class.

Quickie On A Chat At Lunch

Thought I’d share a joke we had at lunch the other day…

Dimitri was off on vacation last week, Patrick had said he emailed him some things. Dimitri asked what Patrick emailed him.

I said, “He emailed you ‘Did you get my email?’… Then Dimitri would say, ‘What email?’ ‘The email I wrote that said ‘did you get my email?””

Eh, typing it, it doesn’t sound as funny as when I said it during lunch. Fail.