Hope everyone had a very Merry Xmas! If you have issue with the phrase "Merry Xmas", please refer to my last blog post :)
This year was the first year our family wasn't together for Xmas. My little brother got married earlier this year and he and his wife are in California and she is currently pregnant with my niece or nephew so they were unable to come home for the holidays. They were definitely missed but we still had a great time.
Me and my girlfriend headed down to my parents on Xmas Eve and spent the day relaxing, visiting a few family friends, and eating a delicious chili dinner. As with tradition, we opened our 1 present on Xmas Eve. Mine was a copy of Brian "Head" Welch's book from my parents which I was super excited to read. Girlfriend got a very cute hoodie and my parents got some badass new fishing rods & reels. Then it was off to bed so Santa could make his stop.
The next morning, as with every Xmas, I was wide awake before 8am and ready to go. We got up and once everyone's eyes were open we tore thru the wrapping paper like rabid badgers on a deer carcass. The highlights were the very awesome bear hood I got my girlfriend, my mom's new bracelet, dad's new creeper stool for the garage, and my deep fryer! I also ended up getting a copy of the same book my parents got me from my girlfriend which was fine by me, obviously I made it clear that I wanted that damn book!
We had planned for some friends of the family and my cousins to join us for dinner but everyone ended up sick so it turned into a very quiet day which was great. We Skyped with my brother and sister-in-law and I got to see her baby bump for the first time and a cool video tour of their new house. Then we packed it up and headed home to rest up for work the next day.
All in all it was a little strange not having my little bro around for Xmas but it turned out to be a great time as always!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
The War on Stupidity
Before I dive into my rant I'd like to first say that I hope everyone has a very Merry Xmas and hopefully Santa will bring you everything you wanted! Now, on to the rant...
What the hell is this "War on Christmas" crap I keep hearing? First off, if you want a war to pay attention to, why not getting informed about the chaos in the Middle East and Syria? There are plenty of actual conflicts worth devoting your time to out there which are much more pressing than something petty like whether people are saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays". Sadly though, if it's not happening in their backyard most of us don't care so let's take a look at this "War on Christmas".
Basically it boils down to people searching so hard for anything they can be offended by that people have actually found a way to complain about other people wishing them good tidings. On one side, you have people who celebrate Christmas. Apparently the phrase "Happy Holidays" stopped including Christmas at some point because people are actually getting pissed off when someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".
Some Christmas celebrators also take offense to the abbreviated "Xmas" instead of the full "Christmas". I've even dealt with this over the years since we are a station with X in our name and abbreviate the holiday accordingly. After doing some research (aka taking 10 seconds to Google something instead of making assumptions) I found that X is an ancient abbreviation for Christ so to everyone who has claimed we "took the Christ out of Christmas"... YOU WERE WRONG!
On the other side of the coin, you have those who don't celebrate Christmas taking offense when someone wishes them a "Merry Christmas". I realize religion is a very touchy subject but even if you don't celebrate the holiday, December 25th is recognized as Christmas Day so instead of being upset that someone wished you a happy day for the wrong religion, just take it as a wish to have a good Dec. 25th and move on.
I celebrate Xmas but I wouldn't be offended if someone wished me a Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays or whatever. Stop being so damn sensitive and be glad someone is telling you to have a good day at all.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Stop the PC BS!
I've talked (and even blogged) about this in the past but this PC epidemic seems to be going worldwide!
PC, for those who don't know, means Politically Correct. Politically Correct is just a fancy way of saying "not offensive" which in theory is a good thing. You don't want to offend people or be offended. The problem is that people have become so hyper-sensitive that EVERYTHING is offensive to someone and the reactions are getting more and more unnecessary.
First on my griping block this week is the Dallas Cowboys. I've been a proud Cowboy fan since I was a kid and always will be but lately they've had me shaking my head worse then when Romo throws another interception. Nose tackle Josh Brent recently wrecked his car while driving drunk and caused the death of teammate Jerry Brown during the accident. I am very against drunk driving and believe that Josh deserves whatever sentence he gets handed (he was charged with intoxicated vehicular manslaughter and could face 20 years in prison).
My problem with this story is how the Cowboys office is reacting. Instead of using Josh as an example they are talking about treating the team like a bunch of toddlers instead. They are thinking about installing breathalyzers in player's vehicles to prevent future drunk driving incidents. WHAT? The rest of the team didn't drive drunk and kill somebody, why should they have to deal with the inconvenience?
My second story this week is about the radio DJs from Australia who prank called the hospital in England where Kate Middleton was staying during her pregnancy illness. These DJs, like many others, have been doing prank calls for years and managed to convince a nurse they were the Queen and Prince Harry and got the inside scoop on Kate's status. Nothing embarrassing or shocking by any means, just some basic info that she was doing better. Well the nurse ended up committing suicide and the assumption is that she was ashamed of being tricked. Instead of using this as a learning tool and training nurses how to better identify family members asking about a relative's status, the DJs were FIRED! WHAT? Someone overreacts to being part of a harmless prank and 2 people lose their jobs?
Please don't read this and think I'm some insensitive dick. I try daily not to offend people but in today's world, some people are just looking for something to be offended by. Some are just combative and want to find a reason to square off, some do it for the attention being offended gets you these days, and admittedly there are some people out there who get genuinely offended by things but they are usually the last ones you hear bitching about it.
PC, for those who don't know, means Politically Correct. Politically Correct is just a fancy way of saying "not offensive" which in theory is a good thing. You don't want to offend people or be offended. The problem is that people have become so hyper-sensitive that EVERYTHING is offensive to someone and the reactions are getting more and more unnecessary.
First on my griping block this week is the Dallas Cowboys. I've been a proud Cowboy fan since I was a kid and always will be but lately they've had me shaking my head worse then when Romo throws another interception. Nose tackle Josh Brent recently wrecked his car while driving drunk and caused the death of teammate Jerry Brown during the accident. I am very against drunk driving and believe that Josh deserves whatever sentence he gets handed (he was charged with intoxicated vehicular manslaughter and could face 20 years in prison).
My problem with this story is how the Cowboys office is reacting. Instead of using Josh as an example they are talking about treating the team like a bunch of toddlers instead. They are thinking about installing breathalyzers in player's vehicles to prevent future drunk driving incidents. WHAT? The rest of the team didn't drive drunk and kill somebody, why should they have to deal with the inconvenience?
My second story this week is about the radio DJs from Australia who prank called the hospital in England where Kate Middleton was staying during her pregnancy illness. These DJs, like many others, have been doing prank calls for years and managed to convince a nurse they were the Queen and Prince Harry and got the inside scoop on Kate's status. Nothing embarrassing or shocking by any means, just some basic info that she was doing better. Well the nurse ended up committing suicide and the assumption is that she was ashamed of being tricked. Instead of using this as a learning tool and training nurses how to better identify family members asking about a relative's status, the DJs were FIRED! WHAT? Someone overreacts to being part of a harmless prank and 2 people lose their jobs?
Please don't read this and think I'm some insensitive dick. I try daily not to offend people but in today's world, some people are just looking for something to be offended by. Some are just combative and want to find a reason to square off, some do it for the attention being offended gets you these days, and admittedly there are some people out there who get genuinely offended by things but they are usually the last ones you hear bitching about it.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tis the Season To Be Greedy
This past weekend was Thanksgiving weekend which marks the beginning of the holiday season which marks a season of caring and sharing... or it used to at least.
This past Saturday I drove in one of the local holiday parades and was truly appalled at the way people acted. Some parades allow the participants to throw candy and others do not so we usually don't bring candy just to be safe. We had a few kids ask "Where's the candy?" but when we told them we didn't have any most would either go back to being kids or comment on how awesome our Van Moustache looked. The adults on the other hand were horrible. Multiple people basically begged for station gear and one man even told us "You guys can't come back next year" when we told him we didn't have any candy to throw out. Really? Go to the store and buy some candy if it's that important you greedy ass.
Then I got home and started seeing some of the images from Black Friday. Black Friday started as a big sale day and a kickoff to Christmas shopping. Now it's turned into a day where normal people can go out and act like selfish, greedy jerks in public. Here's a few pics that really sum up what Black Friday has become:
This past Saturday I drove in one of the local holiday parades and was truly appalled at the way people acted. Some parades allow the participants to throw candy and others do not so we usually don't bring candy just to be safe. We had a few kids ask "Where's the candy?" but when we told them we didn't have any most would either go back to being kids or comment on how awesome our Van Moustache looked. The adults on the other hand were horrible. Multiple people basically begged for station gear and one man even told us "You guys can't come back next year" when we told him we didn't have any candy to throw out. Really? Go to the store and buy some candy if it's that important you greedy ass.
Then I got home and started seeing some of the images from Black Friday. Black Friday started as a big sale day and a kickoff to Christmas shopping. Now it's turned into a day where normal people can go out and act like selfish, greedy jerks in public. Here's a few pics that really sum up what Black Friday has become:
If this is how we act during the time of year when we're supposed to be at our most generous and caring, how can we expect anything else during the rest of the year?
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Rock The Vote
Today is one of the most anticipated and heated days in America... Election Day! Every 4 years we Americans throw all logic and civility out the window and scream like starving animals at one another over who should run our country for the next 4 years.
I went this morning and cast my vote and I hope you do as well. This blog isn't meant to try and persuade anyone at the last minute or disparage any candidate or party. I just wanted to take a moment to ask you to get out there and vote and next time, let's try to keep it a little more civil.
It amazes me how quickly people who know jack shit about politics turn into political experts when an election is coming. Now I know it seems everyone knows lots about politics because of all the statistics and "facts" they quote left and right but a HUGE percentage of those people are just regurgitating whatever they were told by whichever political pundit they support.
Democrats make Republicans out to be the devil and vice versa and nobody is willing to listen to any OPINION other than their own. And yes, these are opinions. Saying "Blah blah will do a better job as President" is NOT A FACT, it's an opinion. And many of those statistics you love to quote and throw in the other party's face are tiny pieces of a larger picture that, when looked at on their own, do look bad but should be seen as part of the whole.
I'm done ranting and I'm glad I got my vote counted and that these damn political posts and commercials are going away for another 4 years. That gives us 1460 days to learn how to discuss politics like educated people and stop flinging poo and screaming like primates. I'm not holding my breath but we'll see...
I went this morning and cast my vote and I hope you do as well. This blog isn't meant to try and persuade anyone at the last minute or disparage any candidate or party. I just wanted to take a moment to ask you to get out there and vote and next time, let's try to keep it a little more civil.
It amazes me how quickly people who know jack shit about politics turn into political experts when an election is coming. Now I know it seems everyone knows lots about politics because of all the statistics and "facts" they quote left and right but a HUGE percentage of those people are just regurgitating whatever they were told by whichever political pundit they support.
Democrats make Republicans out to be the devil and vice versa and nobody is willing to listen to any OPINION other than their own. And yes, these are opinions. Saying "Blah blah will do a better job as President" is NOT A FACT, it's an opinion. And many of those statistics you love to quote and throw in the other party's face are tiny pieces of a larger picture that, when looked at on their own, do look bad but should be seen as part of the whole.
I'm done ranting and I'm glad I got my vote counted and that these damn political posts and commercials are going away for another 4 years. That gives us 1460 days to learn how to discuss politics like educated people and stop flinging poo and screaming like primates. I'm not holding my breath but we'll see...
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Tour de Lance
For most Americans, when you think about professional cycling, one name always jumps out... Lance Armstrong. "Big Tex" won 7 consecutive Tour de France races from 1999 to 2005 even while battling testicular cancer and still kept competing after he won the fight. He used his fame to found the Livestrong Foundation and help build awareness and raise funds for cancer research.
It's probably been going on for years but more so since his final victory, there has been investigation after investigation into whether Lance was "doping" (using performance enhancers during his racing career). There have been several cyclists, both rivals and teammates, who have testified to seeing or knowing of Lance using performance enhancers but until recently it never stacked up.
Recently, another investigation has brought several testimonies to light and has now ended in Lance being stripped of everything. All 7 of his titles have been taken away, he has been banned for life from professional cycling, and may end up having to repay the $14 million he won from his Tour de France victories.
Now, I'm no advocate for cheating in any way or form but it seems to me like the cycling community had it out for Lance. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but there has been more time spent and investigations started to investigate Lance than I feel like should have been necessary. If the allegations are true, then I can understand the stripping of his titles but it seems to me that they kept investigating until they got the answers they wanted.
Either Lance Armstrong is a evil mastermind behind the most carefully planned and perfectly executed cheating campaign in the history of sporting events or he's the victim of his own fame and was brought down by jealous rivals and teammates alike. I'm not sure which is true or if the reality lies in the gray area in between but it truly is a shame to see an American hero and champion fall from grace in such a way.
It's probably been going on for years but more so since his final victory, there has been investigation after investigation into whether Lance was "doping" (using performance enhancers during his racing career). There have been several cyclists, both rivals and teammates, who have testified to seeing or knowing of Lance using performance enhancers but until recently it never stacked up.
Recently, another investigation has brought several testimonies to light and has now ended in Lance being stripped of everything. All 7 of his titles have been taken away, he has been banned for life from professional cycling, and may end up having to repay the $14 million he won from his Tour de France victories.
Now, I'm no advocate for cheating in any way or form but it seems to me like the cycling community had it out for Lance. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but there has been more time spent and investigations started to investigate Lance than I feel like should have been necessary. If the allegations are true, then I can understand the stripping of his titles but it seems to me that they kept investigating until they got the answers they wanted.
Either Lance Armstrong is a evil mastermind behind the most carefully planned and perfectly executed cheating campaign in the history of sporting events or he's the victim of his own fame and was brought down by jealous rivals and teammates alike. I'm not sure which is true or if the reality lies in the gray area in between but it truly is a shame to see an American hero and champion fall from grace in such a way.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Politics Are Taking Over!
As most anyone reading this already knows, I hate politics. Now, don't take that to mean I don't care about the state of our country or who is making those decisions because I do, very much so. I hate the way politics divides people and how instead of voting based on well thought out, researched decisions many people vote for who they are either TOLD to vote for or who they have been CONVINCED to vote for.
It's not a new idea or anything mind blowing but there's all kinds of political commentary in TV and movies and media in general. It's expected. People have opinions and of course they are going to work them into their craft when they can. However, there are ways of doing it casually or even with humor but Tim Allen's new show, Last Man Standing, is one example of how to take it to unnecessary places.
In an episode scheduled to air before the election, Tim Allen's character tells his daughter "The Democrats will tax your inheritance and will probably use that money to throw gay weddings for illegal aliens." That has got to be the single most politically UNINFORMED statement I've ever read. Liberals do support gay and immigrant rights but to make the leap to the government funding "gay weddings for illegal aliens" is moronic. I realize it's veiled in the cover of humor but in PC America, how is that not considered offensive? The commentary goes on but I think I've made my point.
Now many people will read this and immediately think, "Well, Blando must be some bleeding heart liberal Obama lover" or whatever but that's not the case either. I am not Democrat or Republican and instead of voting for the party I'm told to vote for, I make a personal decision each election year as to who I want running my country. I'm just saying, if you are going to vote (and I hope everyone does) please don't get your "political information" from the TV... or the news... or even FROM ME! Go do some damn research, read about what the candidates have supported on paper NOT IN FRONT OF A MICROPHONE and look beyond Democrat and Republican and check out the "third party candidates" and you might actually find someone you WANT to vote for, not someone you are WILLING to vote for.
It's not a new idea or anything mind blowing but there's all kinds of political commentary in TV and movies and media in general. It's expected. People have opinions and of course they are going to work them into their craft when they can. However, there are ways of doing it casually or even with humor but Tim Allen's new show, Last Man Standing, is one example of how to take it to unnecessary places.
In an episode scheduled to air before the election, Tim Allen's character tells his daughter "The Democrats will tax your inheritance and will probably use that money to throw gay weddings for illegal aliens." That has got to be the single most politically UNINFORMED statement I've ever read. Liberals do support gay and immigrant rights but to make the leap to the government funding "gay weddings for illegal aliens" is moronic. I realize it's veiled in the cover of humor but in PC America, how is that not considered offensive? The commentary goes on but I think I've made my point.
Now many people will read this and immediately think, "Well, Blando must be some bleeding heart liberal Obama lover" or whatever but that's not the case either. I am not Democrat or Republican and instead of voting for the party I'm told to vote for, I make a personal decision each election year as to who I want running my country. I'm just saying, if you are going to vote (and I hope everyone does) please don't get your "political information" from the TV... or the news... or even FROM ME! Go do some damn research, read about what the candidates have supported on paper NOT IN FRONT OF A MICROPHONE and look beyond Democrat and Republican and check out the "third party candidates" and you might actually find someone you WANT to vote for, not someone you are WILLING to vote for.
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