This really should’ve been posted yesterday, but anyway…
When I was 17
I drank some very good beer
I drank some very good beer
I purchased with a fake I.D.
My name was Brian McGee
I stayed up listening to Queen
When I was 17– Homer Simpson
17 Friday, Jan 5 2007
Life 16:00
So This is Christmas Tuesday, Dec 26 2006
Life 12:39
…and what have I done? This atheist sure as hell celebrated Christmas. Frankly it saddens me when my godless brethren refuse to celebrate Christmas because of its religious ties. Christmas is only a religious holiday when secular people stop celebrating it. We atheists should be emphasizing how Christmas is about good will towards men and being together. That can’t happen if we view it as “just a Christian thing”. Christmas is for everyone.
Oh, and I also briefly tried out the new Nintendo Wii. My first thoughts on it were “this is kinda tricky” which then segued into “hey this is fun!”. I guess Kottke was right. The only game I tried was the bowling one. I can’t wait to try Baseball and Tennis.
I listened yesterday to two excellent (concept) albums, Brian Wilson’s SMiLE and Elton John’s The Captain and The Kid. Elton is still going strong with his new autobiographical album, a sequel to 1975′s Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy. I particularly liked “Blues Never Fade Away”, where he talks about Ryan White and AIDS. SMiLE was awesome. Thank you Brian for sharing your dream with the world. How appropriate of a title. Everyone needs to listen to this album.
You can also expect a “Best of 2006, Predictions for 2007″ list to appear around these parts over the next few days, as is the custom every year.
Merry Christmas!
Car Alarms Saturday, Dec 16 2006
Life and Observations 19:27
I was walking out of Safeway this evening, and this car alarm kept going off. This one guy started swearing at it, then shortly after that it stopped. He turned to me and said “See what a little cussin’ does?” Then he proceeded to explain to me this idea he had for a commercial. A guy is sleeping during the day (because he works nights) and this car alarm keeps going off while he’s trying to sleep. He takes out a rocket launcher and fires a rocket at the car, then goes back to sleep.
I kinda like it, don’t you?
(P.S. I totally forgot, but as of Wednesday, December 13 I have been blogging for four years. Wow.)
There goes my prediction Tuesday, Oct 24 2006
Life and Observations 19:31
Before the World Series began, I said the Tigers would win in 5 games. Looks like I was wrong.
I was rooting for the Tigers, but I really don’t care; as long as I see some good baseball being played, I can’t complain. It’s not like any “curses” are being broken like two years ago.
That said, that wild pitch to 3rd base that went into the stands (allowing to Cards to score), that was most certainly not good baseball.
Vote No on 85 Saturday, Oct 14 2006
If you live in the state of California, this is for you: Vote No on 85! That way, we can provide real safety for teens.
Unless you want to encourage back-alley abortions, then vote No on 85. If you’re one of those silly people who will vote ‘yes’ because of your religion, I highly recommend you visit this page. You’ll thank me later.
That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging.
5 Years Later Monday, Sep 11 2006
Life 17:48
I guess I should post something about the September 11th attacks today. But honestly, I really don’t have all that much to say, other than I don’t feel any safer today. Somehow all this stuff about taking off your shoes and throwing away harmless liquids doesn’t make me feel one bit safer. It does however make me angry and frustrated.
I had just started 6th grade on September 11th, 2001. I wasn’t sure how to feel on that day about what happened. I’m still not.
Me: The Real Story Monday, Aug 28 2006
(Idea stolen from PPK)
The mysterious writer of “Superlicious” was born in the small Spanish outpost of San Francisco on Thursday, January 4th, 1790. His true name is unknown; scholars say he intentionally gave himself many different names as part of his never-ending eccentricity. His true name is unknown, although seeing as we know at least one of his parents was an Irish immigrant it is probably Irish-sounding.
Upon seeing a copy of “Sex, Drugs and Classical: Mozart’s Greatist Hits” in a record shop at the age of 15, “Dante” knew what he wanted to do with his life: become a composer. He was considered an enfant terrible by other composers in Early 19th century California. Many of his compositions were plagarized by another contemporary composer, L.V. Beethoven. Examples include Dante’s “Revolution Symphony” which Beethoven retitled “Symphony No. 5 in C minor” and one his greatist hits, “I go walkin’ after midnight” which Beethoven called “The Moonlight Sonata”.
Despite this, “Dante” managed to compose many works that while were not plagarized were destroyed in a massive fire that broke out as a result of drunken curiosity regarding kerosene and wooden houses.
He died several months later on September 11th, 1834 while eating dinner (legend has it he choked on a piece of cauliflower).
On Germophobia Saturday, Aug 26 2006
Life and Observations and Science 13:46
I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem to be upset with where America is heading with its more serious approach to germs. George Carlin once called these people “pussies” and that “you can’t even get a good hamburger anymore because they cook the shit out of it”. A typical remark from someone from an older generation might be “back in my day, we didn’t worry about germs like they do today!”.
True, except that now we have AIDS. Not everyone can rely on their immune systems like back in the “good ole days”.
True, some people have gone a bit overboard with their germophobic practices (always using a napkin to open any door, for example). A lot of these practices are due to a general lack of knowledge of “germs” (a more correct term would be pathogen) in general. Personally, I blame this on America’s piss-poor education system and even worse science education. Not all bacteria are “bad”; in fact, even some viruses are good. And if someone touch a door handle after sneezing on their hands, it won’t be infected forever. If it’s a brass handle, it might be sterile within an hour or two. Pathogens can survive much longer on other surfaces like plastic.
That said, I do think if you are on a train or bus or in another crowded place, keep your sneeze or cough to yourself! And remember, what may seem like a trivial illness to you can be much more serious to someone with AIDS or other immunodisorders.
On Text and Instant Messaging Wednesday, Aug 9 2006
Borofsky is on about kids using shorthand in text and instant messaging. Jon views this as a serious problem and offers some advice to parents:
What’s a parent to do, then? I suggest eliminating text messaging from your phone service plan if your student is using a lot of shorthand. Students will be text messaging and instant messaging a lot more than they will be writing formal papers for school, and therefore it is more likely to influence the way they write outside of these avenues of communication.
Is it just me, or does teaching your kids to distinguish between formal and informal English and making sure they knew where to use either of them seem like a better idea?
