If I May?

Just some more random thoughts here:

I understand that the prison sentence handed down to Genarlow Wilson was excessive. And now that it's been thrown out, a lot of people feel that justice has been done. Fine. But can we please not turn him into some kind of folk hero? Thanks.

The Red Cross accepts donations online, for amounts as little as $5. Some people hesitate to help because so many organizations set minimums that might be out of reach for a lot of people. $5 may not sound like much, but a whole lot of $5 donations could add up.

When you meet someone online, do not go alone, go to a public place, and let someone know where you'll be, who you will be with, and how long it should take. It sounds so elementary, but another adult has been found murdered, after meeting someone she set up an appointment with through Craigs' list. Nothing is foolproof.

I'm never going to be ok with illegal immigrants grouping together, holding demonstrations, and making demands of the US government. Never. And my opinion of NY Governor Spitzer is still that he is an abominable idiot, by the way.

To Strike, Or Not To Strike?

I heard a little blurb about the possibility of a strike by the Screenwriter's Guild. I just wonder though, if that would necessarily be a bad thing. I mean, look at it like this:

Strikes stop work, and a lot of times, management brings in replacement labor (scabs). Maybe if that happens, the scabs can come in, do some writing, and we might actually have a shot at getting some decent tv shows and movies?

What do you think? Can things get any worse than they are now?

I Could Use Some Input

Hi Folks. This entry has been edited. I had a problem that I wrote about, but I think it was a bad choice to post it here, because if it were discovered, it could cause problems for all the wrong people. So I decided to just clear the deck and leave it for another day.

Thanks to everyone who commented and offered input. I appreciate it.

Waaaahhhh

Well, congratulations are in order for the Boston Red Sox for winning the 2007 World Series. I'm only upset about that because it was a 4-game sweep, and no more baseball for the year.

Pop and I would sit and talk about the upcoming games, watch the games together, and then talk about them after. We didn't care who won, so much, we were just rooting for some good baseball, and lots of games. It was something that's been keeping him going day-to-day. Now I'll have to figure out something else to pass the time. Other than that, good job, Red Sox.

Open Letter To A Stupid, Stupid Man

I've often objected to people who characterize our political leaders as stupid, or idiots, etc. However, after seeing and studying the recent news concerning NY's Governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, I cannot do anything but join the fray.

Dear Governor Spitzer,

I have seen some very stupid things in my lifetime. I must say though, in my extensive experience with idiots, I can say that you are the consummate moron of all times. What makes you even more dangerous is that you can inflict your idiocy on a great many people, since the citizens of NY elected you Governor.

You once served as NY Attorney General. However, somewhere between that job and your election as Governor, you completely lost all common sense, intelligence, and, in essence, your mind.

In the United States I once grew up in, "illegal" was synonymous with "criminal". If you did something that was deemed "illegal", you were found and punished. In the United States that morons like you are working to create, if you do something illegal, you aren't hunted, you are invited to enjoy benefits and privileges far above and beyond those afforded to law-abiding citizens. I assume that once you make the world safe for illegal immigrants, you will be moving on to another group. Might I suggest drug dealers next? Let's face it, they suffer when the police arrest and persecute them as well. Life can be very difficult for a drug trafficker, why not turn your wise eye to their plight?

I can see it now: hordes of dangerous people jumping on planes, driving through military checkpoints, gaining access to anyplace that they can cause harm, because a simpleton such as yourself granted them the right to do just that. I wonder if the next time someone flies a plane into a building, will they have gained passage using one of your driver's licenses?

My arguments sound pretty stupid to some, I'm sure. However, not one word here could ever hope to achieve the level of stupidity that your intended plan has managed.

You are a very stupid man. You are a very dangerous man. You are a very misguided man. I just hope that the words "re-elect Spitzer" are never uttered in the future. You did not care about the citizens you represented as Attorney General, just as you care not for the citizens you represent as Governor of NY. The only compliment I will ever pay you is to congratulate you on being the first bona-fide, fully certified idiot to ever be elected.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself, you stupid, stupid man.

Assessments: World Series! Game 1

Well I got to sit down and watch World Series Game 1 tonight. I don't have a vested interest in the series, now that the Indians have been sent packing. Funny how baseball is so different when you're purely objective. So, without further ado, here's my take on Game 1:

• The Rockies need to forget about Jeff Francis. He sucks. Period. Relying on him will make for a long winter.


• Umpires need to get together this winter, and re-learn the rules of baseball. And the home-plate guys need to learn what consistency is. They suck. Period.


• Once again, I'll beat my old adage to death: You can't hit the ball if you stand looking at pitches. Ever. Don't any of you baseball experts bore me with analysis...good hitters become good hitters by swinging occasionally. Looking, I could do that.


• In the post-season, it seems to me like a whole lot of "stars" fall flat on their face.


• To ALL MLB pitchers: when you throw pitches right down the middle of the plate, to guys who can hit, they will clobber you.


• Fielding is becoming a lost art.


• Baseball sucks in the rain. Just sucks. Period.


• Fair is Fair: I think I saw Manny Ramirez run faster than my Grandma once tonight. But just once. Mr. 1-Dimension had a good game tonight! And he caught a fly ball. I was very impressed.


• David Ortiz...wow.


• So many MLB pitchers have focused so much energy on flashy, fancy, filthy pitches, that the forgot how to throw strikes.


• Last thought: Could we just start every inning with 2 outs from now on? No one does anything till there are 2 down, anyway.

Saturday Update

I've been fooling around with my wireless device, and I found my way to the page that lets you post to Blogger without a computer.

Anyway, things are going ok. Pop had to be admitted to the hospital Tuesday on Long Island. The chemotherapy really eats at him, and eventually he needed hospital care. He wasn't too happy about having to stay till this coming Monday, but I know the care is both good, and necessary. The staff here is very, very attentive, professional, and efficient. I've been staying at my parents' house which is about 20 miles from the hospital. Tonight, though, I'm going to drive to Pop's houseboat. I'll spend the night there, and tomorrow, tend to a few things on the boat. It'll need to be winterized and all, and I need to just straighten a few things before I can do that.

Some funny stuff has happened, and I'll get to that soon. The Northport VA hospital is incredibly good. I can't speak of every single department, but anything I've encountered has been top-notch. This Veterans' Hospital is world's away from the type of horror stories we've heard about Walter Reed Hospital.

I'm tired, but it hasn't been altogether too bad throughout. I miss my reading, of course. Blogger works ok on this device, but AOL's journals don't work as well for me. I'll catch up soon. I've been watching a lot of television news, so you know there's some silliness coming your way from me.

Thanks for all the kind words and well-wishes. He's hanging tough!

Why You Lousy...

A nit is an egg that hatches a louse. And with a whole bunch of louses,
you got lice.

When I went to school, if you had lice, you got sent home to get rid of
them. If the teachers or whoever, looked in your hair and saw lice or
nits, off you went. Now, the nitwits in charge of the NY school system
want to change that. Under the new plan, if you have the nits, but no
louses, you can stay in school because nits isn't louses, they're just
lice eggs. Since there are no lice in sight, you're not lousy yet.

These geniuses also said that lice really don't pose a "significant
health threat", so they might reconsider whether or nit to excuse lousy
kids from school. But I would think that being in charge of the health
and well-being of children, while at the same time being a complete
moron has to be some kind of a threat, no?

Sorta makes your head itch, no?

Just Be

I really believe it's natural for us to always want what we don't have, or to aspire to bigger and better things. I also think, however, that there is way to much attention paid to materialism, whether through celebrity press, reality TV and ridiculous shows like Dr. Phil. We've created unrealistic ambitions and desires because more and more, good, decent people are out there hurting. They think that they don't measure up because, maybe, they're living life based on "traditional" values.

I think we need to stop. I think people need to stop assessing themselves on a daily basis. There's always been the "real" world, and the "fantasy" world, but somehow, we've blurred the line between the two a little two much.

What hurts me personally, is to see others hurting. People who are decent, whose hands I'd put my life in, are out there feeling as though they're not getting it done because they don't "fit the profile".

I've been on both sides of a lot of fences. "Success" really isn't about money and wealth. Success is very fleeting, to me, because it's a measure of how you've made a positive difference in even one life. We often measure "Failure" by the same yardstick, and I think the only time we fail is when we don't take the opportunity to do someone else a kindness when we have the chance.

I think we need to take a deep breath. I think we need to realize that, despite all the people making money by telling other people what they already know, that it really is ok to just "be". Just do the things that make ourselves and others happy, and not necessarily on a grand scale, either.

Life is all about aspiring to do better, reaching for the brass ring, and all that. I don't dispute that. What kind of treasure chest ever had just one jewel in it, right? We have to remember that a good life is made up of a whole lot of little pieces all put together just right. But each piece is unique to us. Someone else's life, their belongings, oh that might fill the chest up, but will it make it valuable, really?

Time to lighten up a whole hell of a lot, folks. I'm tired of good people not feeling so good.

Huh?

I was sitting watching a Law And Order SVU on that USA network. During the commercial break, they said to "tune in tomorrow for the world premiere of the trailer for the new thriller Untraceable, with Diane Lane."

I'm not sure, but I think that might be the first time in my life that I'd ever seen a commercial for a commercial.

NY and the Stone Age

I think I have come up with a brilliant idea. I'm going to find the NY
State Department of Transportation, and introduce them to this great
idea.

They're called "storm sewers". I can't believe in this day and age, that
any municipality in the United States could have water service so
absolutely archaic. With the kind of taxes NY steals from its citizens,
water problems like today are an embarrassment. We're sitting in the
lush town of East Hills, and we are averaging about a half mile an hour
because every road within 5 miles is flooded shut. I think Fred
Flintstone is mayor of this awesome community.

What a shame. Just shows how stupid and inept the government is at every
level.

Aw Nuts

Why are we listening to anything Jimmy Carter has to say? This man is making declarations about "major blunders", but if I remember correctly, his Middle East policy wasn't much above a Three Stooges routine, and yet he's giving interviews as though he were some wise Sage.

The man was a political moron, so how did he become elevated to Elder Statesman status?

He's declared that the US in fact does use torture tactics. My question to that is, "how does he know?" Assumptions don't become facts just because you state them on CNN.

This country needs better wise men than this.

Potentially Incorrect

I think I hear hearts breaking all over the world tonight.

yeah. right

Truthfully now, when I haven't been watching baseball with Pop, I've been looking for some new shows to watch. New for me, anyway.

I've been getting a kick out of "Big Bang Theory", and I recommend it. But there's another show that I have begun watching regularly: "Ghost Whisperer". The storylines are awesome because they take what could be a series of cheap-thrill scare stories, and make them very believable. Or at worst, enjoyable.

But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there's something else about that show that I like very much. I happen to think that Jennifer Love Hewitt is stunning. She has the nicest hair and the prettiest eyes I think I've seen in a very long time.

Just had to share that.

BaseBore

Does anyone know how long TBS has the post-season locked in for? This is some of the worst coverage I've ever endured. And my team is winning, by the way, so it's not sour grapes.

Help Locate a Predator

INTERPOL is seeking the help of the public to try to identify this man, photographed sexually abusing children in a series of images posted on the Internet.
The photos shown here are from a series of around 200 pictures involving 12 different young boys, believed to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003.
These pictures have been produced by specialists from Germany’s federal police force, the Bundeskriminalamt, working from originals found on the Internet, which had been digitally altered to disguise the man’s face.
Extensive police efforts worldwide to identify the man have so far failed and Interpol is now enlisting the support of the media and the public to help identify him as a priority.
Anyone with information on his identity or whereabouts should contact their local police or INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Human Beings Unit via email.

Evenings With Pop

I made Pop a bowl of oatmeal this morning. Not "real" oatmeal, "instant" oatmeal. It's what he likes.

He didn't want lunch, but really had a craving for fried chicken tonight. That's what we ate during baseball. I had to break up the game for myself a little, because we need clean clothes, so it was downstairs to the laundry room. I sat and folded the stuff while we watched the second game of the evening.

Along about the third inning, he looked at me and said, "Ya know, you're gonna make someone a good wife someday..."

Gotta love this guy, huh?

Baseball And Advertising?

Advertising on the Superbowl is an art form that has become an integral part of the broadcast. So far, however, advertising during the baseball playoffs is driving me insane.

• The worst thing that can happen to a "great" thing is overexposure. But is it possible to get sick of a show that hasn't even aired yet? TBS must have run 25,000 spots promoting this new "FrankTV" show that will begin running in NOVEMBER! Guys, take a break!


• Is DHL's advertising budget so small that they offer one commercial the whole time?


• I really need to know why Charles Schwab's commercials feature film that's hand-colored over to appear to be cartoons? I'm not criticizing, just not sure what the idea is.

Assessments: Baseball

Would it really surprise anyone to know that ol' Stupid here, lifelong resident of the NY Metropolitan Area, is a Cleveland Indians fan? A long-suffering, often beaten-down Cleveland Indians fan? Believe it.

Pop and I have been overdosing on baseball. We have been tuned to TBS for countless hours, taking in as much as we can stand. The series so far have been entertaining, if not great.

So, who else is watching the Divisional Series?

So far:

• How funny my life is around here with the Indians up 2 games to 0 on the Yankees. I'm not a loud-mouth Indians fan. I root quietly. But it's 2-0 so far, folks. I have running bets with friends who are Yankees fans, and this may be the first time in a whole lotta years that I actually win one. I'm still paying off bets from 2001! (not money...they're "winner says, loser does" type bets.)


• I think the Colorado Rockies will be the team to beat.


• Good baseball players can get caught looking at a third strike in a clutch situation. Great ballplayers go down swinging. That opinion will never change. You never get that "lucky" hit if you don't swing.


• How funny, in this day and age, that a stadium can go dark during a game? Happened in the 2nd inning in Colorado, in case you weren't watching.


• I've never seen a player as one-dimensional as the Red Sox's Manny Ramirez. He plays the outfield like I do. But I'm handicapped.


• Alfonso Soriano is probably the most expensive final out in history. 8 years, 136 mil. Fitting that he went 2 for 14 in the NLDS.


• I hear Indians Fans referring to Alex Rodriguez as O-Rod. As in 0 for 6?

OK, that's enough.

El Dios Bendice América

Well here's a gentleman who helps prove that Americans (?) will do anything for a buck. This fella runs ads on English-language television stations, but with a twist: he speaks Spanish in the ads, and puts the English in subtitles. Yayyy USA!

My problem isn't so much that he's helping to eliminate the need for people to learn to speak English, because I'm convinced that there are people who would trade their own Moms if they could make a buck, so this isn't a surprise.

What bothers me is that this gentleman states that he is trying to identify with the customer base that supports him, but yet he doesn't want to take the time to actually learn to the language. (On CNN he said he has to read the Spanish off of cue cards because he doesn't speak Spanish). So while he portrays himself as some kind of crusader, his unwillingness to make the effort to learn the language of the community he identifies with sort of leaves me thinking of the words "patronizing" and "insincere." Oh, and exploitive.

Anyway, have a peek.

Among The Unwise

Things we probably would be better off not doing:

Going to airshows.

Buying anything "made in China"

Things you probably can't do:

Find quality, safe products made, supported and guaranteed in the United States.

Finding an American Business that cares one bit about American consumers. Think recalls.

Things we shouldn't have to do:

"Press 1" to continue in English, when contacting an American company that does business in American Dollars.

Thing we'll unfortunately have to do soon:

Vote for one of these nitwits running for President

Assessments 1

When you get to pay closer attention to current events, news, etc, I think it can be a problem for your mind and morale. The media obviously focus on sensational, but negative news. People who do genuinely great things rarely get more than a few moments notice. It's the nature of the beast. These are just a few of the things I've assessed based on the news, discussion and editorials I've been exposed to lately.

People who can do whatever they want:

• Professional athletes. If they decide to cheat, they might lose prestige, social status etc. But they will make countless millions of dollars in the process, and that is all that really matters to them.


• New York tri-state drivers. The roads, particularly within the five boros of NY City, are yours for the taking. People speed with impugnity, motorcyclists can do what they want, law enforcement on the highways there is practically non-existent. People run over pedestrians and don't stop. They don't have to because no one cares.


• Illegal immigrants. This country is yours for the taking. NY State's Governor Eliot Spitzer, for one, is doing everything in his power to make illegal immigration the way to go. He wants to provide them with driver's licenses and medical coverage that is better than that offered to legal citizens, and NY taxpayers will be footing the bill for anything the Federal government doesn't pay for. Don't bother with the legal process. Life is much better for you if you do it the dirty way.


• Enemies of the State. If you hate the US and want to do harmful things to its citizens, don't worry. The PC Police have now made the rights of such people much more important than the rights of any American citizen who might be injured or killed by the actions of any of our enemies. If you are an enemy of this country, your biggest allies are right here within our borders.


• Hillary Clinton...nuff said.

Temporary Respite

I've been able to get a few minutes to get online and update today. It's strange how much time you spend waiting when dealing with medical situations. You spend time in waiting rooms, which are a lot better than they used to be. The furniture is a lot more comfortable, they provide television, and in some cases, refreshments.

But I spent a lot of time just sitting, reading, watching news lately. Being a captive audience limits your options, so you make the best of it. What that allows you to do is sit back, take a good look at things, and think. Sometimes thinking is good, sometimes not-so-much. But these situations allow you to take a fly-on-the-wall approach to things, as you're sort of "out" of the rat race a little.

Reflecting on things lately lead me to a lot of conclusions. I'm not going to blast them all out in one entry, but as I get time, I'd like to throw them out there, and see what you think, ok?

Update

I'm just making a note here. I'm taking care of my Father-in-Law, Former Father-In-Law, Ex-Father-In-Law. I'm getting a little bit grumpy with people being so damn literal with every word you write. I've known this man since I was a boy. He is family. My marital situation has nothing to do with my relationship to the man. He's someone who's been very good to me in my life, he's in need, I can provide help and comfort to him, so here I am.

But to avoid questions like "Why are you taking care of your Ex-Father-In-Law?", I'm just going to refer to him as "Pop", and leave the rest to their imaginations, ok?

So, Pop is comfortable these last few days. There are a lot of secondary problems that sprout up, but there's no need to describe those. The man needs someone to take care of those things too. Hospice care is being discussed very carefully. Now that he is living down here, he doesn't want to go back to his doctor and hospital. We're looking into all the options. He is a Disabled Veteran, so we're using the Veteran's Administration (VA) Hospital system. Anyone who is familiar with the Walter Reed Hospital situation recently, knows that this is a decision that you can't make lightly, or without a lot of vigilance. I'm not committing Pop to a place where he could be neglected or abused, so the investigation goes on.

But for now, he's comfortable, he's resting, and he's content. He's a big baseball fan, and TBS network is giving him 8+hours a day to watch games the next few days. Let's all pray that all the playoffs go the full distance. He feels like himself a little more when there are games on.

So, thanks for the time if you came here to read. My updates might be a little more frequent, and I'd love to get back to spending time at your blogs as well. See ya soon.