I know - it's a celebration of America's Declaration of Independence from England.
But really - must people all around me spend a fortune in firecrackers and blow them up in an attempt to recreate battles from more than 200 years ago?
Seriously, this is fucked up. Why do so many people need to act so idiotic?
Look, I like watching fireworks just as much as anyone else - when it's done by professionals in a controlled environment with emergency crews nearby. Not some moron who decided to buy all the cheapest crappiest loudest ones near the tents off the I-5 exits.
I know what some might say - just buy some and set them off yourself. Go fuck yourself.
I've no interest in setting them off. I've no interest in watching all the dust and smoke and shit flying over my house and property, fucking up my pets' eardrums, potentially burning my house down.
Maybe these people who do this feel it's the closest they'll ever come to war. Haven't they been paying attention to things going on in Iraq, or in Afghanistan?
If these people are so anxious to blow stuff up for their freedom, why don't the instead volunteer with their National Guard and go off and fight for it?
Yeah, I didn't think so. It's easy and frankly cowardly to set off fireworks in one's neighborhood and terrorize their fellow neighbors with their idiocy and lack of consideration.
2010-07-03
2010-06-18
2010-06-16
BP: Let's fuck up Canada now.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/06/15/bc-bp-drilling-rocky-mountains.html
They fucked up one area of one country, why now fuck another up one now?
They fucked up one area of one country, why now fuck another up one now?
2010-06-12
More deceit about HFCS, and the quoting of 'experts' in a magazine.
So the good-for-nothing people at a woman's magazine Redbook have an article where they quoted an expert from the ADA talking about HFCS and how it compares to sugar.
I know such magazines are all about spinning their client's products and ads, that there is very little incentive to actually share facts with their readers, but really, you'd think in this day and age of Google, with the truth about all this could be found out very quickly, they'd do a bit more to be less dishonest.
Maybe they count on their readers not following up or caring any more than they should.
That being said -
"The American Dietetic Association, a national association of registered dietitians that works closely with IFIC and hauls in large sums of money advocating for the food industry. Its stated mission is to "improve the health of the public," but with 15 percent of its budget--more than $3 million--coming from food companies and trade groups, it has learned not to bite the hand that feeds it. "They never criticize the food industry," says Joan Gussow, a former head of the nutrition education program at Teachers College at Columbia University. The ADA's website even contains a series of "fact sheets" about various food products, sponsored by the same corporations that make them (Monsanto for biotechnology; Procter & Gamble for olestra; Ajinomoto for MSG; the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers for fats and oils). "
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Dietetic_Association
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q4/dairy.html
In addition to the problems HFCS presents on its own, it's in just about every fucking food product these days. It's impossible to avoid. It's not just in food, but toothpaste, cough syrup, allergy medicine, etc, canned kidney beans, etc.
My issue with this woman's magazine article is that they quote an 'expert' with ties to the restaurant industry who's a spokesperson for a food industry mouthpiece, and they pass her off as credible. Doing so effectively mis-frames the debate of HFCS to become a comparison between it and sugar. Indeed, the whole article is about the comparison between the two. That does an incredible disservice to its readers, which I think borders on willful deceit.
The debate over the dangers of HFCS have nothing to do with whether it's better or worse than sugar.
I know such magazines are all about spinning their client's products and ads, that there is very little incentive to actually share facts with their readers, but really, you'd think in this day and age of Google, with the truth about all this could be found out very quickly, they'd do a bit more to be less dishonest.
Maybe they count on their readers not following up or caring any more than they should.
That being said -
"The American Dietetic Association, a national association of registered dietitians that works closely with IFIC and hauls in large sums of money advocating for the food industry. Its stated mission is to "improve the health of the public," but with 15 percent of its budget--more than $3 million--coming from food companies and trade groups, it has learned not to bite the hand that feeds it. "They never criticize the food industry," says Joan Gussow, a former head of the nutrition education program at Teachers College at Columbia University. The ADA's website even contains a series of "fact sheets" about various food products, sponsored by the same corporations that make them (Monsanto for biotechnology; Procter & Gamble for olestra; Ajinomoto for MSG; the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers for fats and oils). "
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Dietetic_Association
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q4/dairy.html
In addition to the problems HFCS presents on its own, it's in just about every fucking food product these days. It's impossible to avoid. It's not just in food, but toothpaste, cough syrup, allergy medicine, etc, canned kidney beans, etc.
My issue with this woman's magazine article is that they quote an 'expert' with ties to the restaurant industry who's a spokesperson for a food industry mouthpiece, and they pass her off as credible. Doing so effectively mis-frames the debate of HFCS to become a comparison between it and sugar. Indeed, the whole article is about the comparison between the two. That does an incredible disservice to its readers, which I think borders on willful deceit.
The debate over the dangers of HFCS have nothing to do with whether it's better or worse than sugar.
2010-05-11
America Inc. - redux.
The commenter sums it up pretty well -
"If these crooks turn out to be at fault for the rig explosion and they don't go down for it - well - that's final definitive proof that no longer live in a democracy but in a corporately-owned criminal state. (Think post-Soviet Russia, but with shopping malls.) "
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/11/halliburtons-return-oil-s_n_571308.html
The sad thing is though - if proven correct - it would be definitive proof about something that has been going on in the United States of American for far too long. I seriously wonder if the damage can be repaired.
"If these crooks turn out to be at fault for the rig explosion and they don't go down for it - well - that's final definitive proof that no longer live in a democracy but in a corporately-owned criminal state. (Think post-Soviet Russia, but with shopping malls.) "
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/11/halliburtons-return-oil-s_n_571308.html
The sad thing is though - if proven correct - it would be definitive proof about something that has been going on in the United States of American for far too long. I seriously wonder if the damage can be repaired.
2010-05-09
Seattle Police and Faux News ... a marriage made in racism and cover-up.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/23492858/detail.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/08/shandy-cobane-seattle-det_n_569067.html
And some still wonder why non-white people in this country have a distrust of law enforcement officers?
And some still wonder why people in this country have a distrust of any large entertainment corporation masqerading as a news outlet?
It could be that there is no accountabilty in the Seattle Police Department for doing things like harrasing people simply based on the color of their skin.
It could be that there is no accountability in Faux News for covering up for the police, as to not disrupt their television program.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/08/shandy-cobane-seattle-det_n_569067.html
And some still wonder why non-white people in this country have a distrust of law enforcement officers?
And some still wonder why people in this country have a distrust of any large entertainment corporation masqerading as a news outlet?
It could be that there is no accountabilty in the Seattle Police Department for doing things like harrasing people simply based on the color of their skin.
It could be that there is no accountability in Faux News for covering up for the police, as to not disrupt their television program.
2010-04-10
Youth of folly
So today I attended a family event where we were all outdoors. It was a kid's event with other families.
A nice sunny windy spring day. One of the people clicked a ton of photos, linked them up to Facebook and tagged me in a bunch.
I then promptly saw them. I promptly removed all the tags. Removing the tags gave the the temporary feeling that I could believe I controlled how others see me. Then I realized that the pictures are still out there.
I have been depressed ever since.
It seems I've reached the point in my physical existence where no matter how much I try to deny it, I'm simply no longer as young and as appealing than I believed. Not that I believed I was really all that good-looking to begin with. But at least I thought I wasn't ugly and so forth.
Yeah I truly loathe getting old.
And no, don't give me any of that 'young-at-heart' shit. I've become a dad - heck I'm starting to look my my dad, except without the mustache. Hair falling out in all the wrong places, hair growing in all the wrong places, struggling to suck it in, stay as strong as I once was.
Being able to have a thick head of hair survive any kind of weather, being able to stand or pose in just about any way I wish without looking stupid or fat or so forth. Being so thin and studly, oh no not anymore.
What happened? Things weren't this bad five years ago? And on that subject, how did I become so vain?
Was it diet? Was it genetics? Was it the kids? Was it the lack of sleep? Was it the lack of fufillment in my career, my music, my goals, my dreams? All of those things? Something else? Some combination perhaps?
It's one of those days where I wish I could just shave my head, put on a baseball cap, move to some other part of the world, and begin life as someone else - Mr. I'm-not-me-anymore.
It seems I've also come to the sad realization that I can no longer control how I want to look to others. Everyone around me sees me as I have tried for so long not to see myself. And I've come to an even more depressing realization, they've seen me turn into this all this time, while I remained ignorant and blind to it.
No wonder people laugh at me everywhere I go. No wonder they don't take me seriously at work. I look really stupid. The whole day my son kept saying "Dad, don't be a fool." Likely he's known too all this time, and he's not even four years old.
Perhaps I knew that already. But for the longest time, I clung to the messed up notion that if I look at myself a certain way in the mirror everyday (and no other way) I still look good. That is, good enough to be fairly happy or content to face the world. This leads me to believe that it really isn't about actually looking good at all, but rather being confident in how I carry myself in that world. Even when I'd see not so flattering pictures of myself, I'd chalk it up to bad lighting, I'm standing the wrong way, no need to see the back of my head, no need to take a shot of my head, my top, my bottom, my middle, my attitude, my .. well you get the idea. Then laziness set in, and I comfortably settled back into my delusional thinking that how I see myself is how everyone sees me.
No. Reality and the Internet have finally crashed that. I've been confronted with how others see me. No wonder so many people laugh.
What do I do? Do I try to continue to live in my delusion that everyday, if I comb it right, if I suck it in, if I dream about another idea, then maybe I'll continue to feel happy about the way I look? I have to admit, being delusional has its charm and conveinience.
The problem is, it's going to become gradually harder and harder to maintain that illusion each day.
Of course, conventional wisdom says I should just accept who I am, or better still, come to terms with it. I could just shave my head, grow a goatee, yeah! Change - it'll do me good once I'm past all that ...
... yeah nothing says mid-life crisis more that changing my appearance.
Maybe I could just get a wig, or paint my scalp black, or wear extentions ... yeah ...
The thing is, I really take issue with this whole acceptance thing. There's nothing you can do, accept it. Well, how do you accept something you truly hate - the way you look?
I've always felt that when kids dislike the way they look, telling them to accept it is like trying to mix oil and water. It just won't work. It's really hard to avoid looking at yourself, and it becomes even more tougher to deal with it when you don't like what you see. How you can accept something you hate?
I always felt a better thing for that someone to do is confront what it is someone doesn't like about themselves, ask themselves what do they want to look like if they could. Then figure out if that's realistic. If it is, then ask, are you willing to make the committment to change, and accept the costs and the consequences? If so, then draw up a plan to get there and then make it happen. If not, then try and find something more closer to reality one can live with. Not knee-jerk acceptance, but not living in a delusion either.
Up till today I thought it should be that easy to tell someone in that situation just that. And yet, here I am in that situation. Why can't I move forward?
Probably because in addition to hating the way I look, I'm also truly afraid to really see myself. Maybe I'll cry. Maybe I'll become a total grump. I think it's the fear more than the hate that stops me from figuring this out.
I'd like to think the answer will just come right out. I have to grow up out of my delusion, before I can really face reality. In that sense, my delusion was rather naive and youthful.
But no, this is going to take some time to figure out.
In the meantime, back to my delusion. There is no Internet. I'll be 25 forever.
-- CV
A nice sunny windy spring day. One of the people clicked a ton of photos, linked them up to Facebook and tagged me in a bunch.
I then promptly saw them. I promptly removed all the tags. Removing the tags gave the the temporary feeling that I could believe I controlled how others see me. Then I realized that the pictures are still out there.
I have been depressed ever since.
It seems I've reached the point in my physical existence where no matter how much I try to deny it, I'm simply no longer as young and as appealing than I believed. Not that I believed I was really all that good-looking to begin with. But at least I thought I wasn't ugly and so forth.
Yeah I truly loathe getting old.
And no, don't give me any of that 'young-at-heart' shit. I've become a dad - heck I'm starting to look my my dad, except without the mustache. Hair falling out in all the wrong places, hair growing in all the wrong places, struggling to suck it in, stay as strong as I once was.
Being able to have a thick head of hair survive any kind of weather, being able to stand or pose in just about any way I wish without looking stupid or fat or so forth. Being so thin and studly, oh no not anymore.
What happened? Things weren't this bad five years ago? And on that subject, how did I become so vain?
Was it diet? Was it genetics? Was it the kids? Was it the lack of sleep? Was it the lack of fufillment in my career, my music, my goals, my dreams? All of those things? Something else? Some combination perhaps?
It's one of those days where I wish I could just shave my head, put on a baseball cap, move to some other part of the world, and begin life as someone else - Mr. I'm-not-me-anymore.
It seems I've also come to the sad realization that I can no longer control how I want to look to others. Everyone around me sees me as I have tried for so long not to see myself. And I've come to an even more depressing realization, they've seen me turn into this all this time, while I remained ignorant and blind to it.
No wonder people laugh at me everywhere I go. No wonder they don't take me seriously at work. I look really stupid. The whole day my son kept saying "Dad, don't be a fool." Likely he's known too all this time, and he's not even four years old.
Perhaps I knew that already. But for the longest time, I clung to the messed up notion that if I look at myself a certain way in the mirror everyday (and no other way) I still look good. That is, good enough to be fairly happy or content to face the world. This leads me to believe that it really isn't about actually looking good at all, but rather being confident in how I carry myself in that world. Even when I'd see not so flattering pictures of myself, I'd chalk it up to bad lighting, I'm standing the wrong way, no need to see the back of my head, no need to take a shot of my head, my top, my bottom, my middle, my attitude, my .. well you get the idea. Then laziness set in, and I comfortably settled back into my delusional thinking that how I see myself is how everyone sees me.
No. Reality and the Internet have finally crashed that. I've been confronted with how others see me. No wonder so many people laugh.
What do I do? Do I try to continue to live in my delusion that everyday, if I comb it right, if I suck it in, if I dream about another idea, then maybe I'll continue to feel happy about the way I look? I have to admit, being delusional has its charm and conveinience.
The problem is, it's going to become gradually harder and harder to maintain that illusion each day.
Of course, conventional wisdom says I should just accept who I am, or better still, come to terms with it. I could just shave my head, grow a goatee, yeah! Change - it'll do me good once I'm past all that ...
... yeah nothing says mid-life crisis more that changing my appearance.
Maybe I could just get a wig, or paint my scalp black, or wear extentions ... yeah ...
The thing is, I really take issue with this whole acceptance thing. There's nothing you can do, accept it. Well, how do you accept something you truly hate - the way you look?
I've always felt that when kids dislike the way they look, telling them to accept it is like trying to mix oil and water. It just won't work. It's really hard to avoid looking at yourself, and it becomes even more tougher to deal with it when you don't like what you see. How you can accept something you hate?
I always felt a better thing for that someone to do is confront what it is someone doesn't like about themselves, ask themselves what do they want to look like if they could. Then figure out if that's realistic. If it is, then ask, are you willing to make the committment to change, and accept the costs and the consequences? If so, then draw up a plan to get there and then make it happen. If not, then try and find something more closer to reality one can live with. Not knee-jerk acceptance, but not living in a delusion either.
Up till today I thought it should be that easy to tell someone in that situation just that. And yet, here I am in that situation. Why can't I move forward?
Probably because in addition to hating the way I look, I'm also truly afraid to really see myself. Maybe I'll cry. Maybe I'll become a total grump. I think it's the fear more than the hate that stops me from figuring this out.
I'd like to think the answer will just come right out. I have to grow up out of my delusion, before I can really face reality. In that sense, my delusion was rather naive and youthful.
But no, this is going to take some time to figure out.
In the meantime, back to my delusion. There is no Internet. I'll be 25 forever.
-- CV
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This time it'll be a little longer than normal. We'll see how well things go. After all, it does apparently keep me employed.
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https://sportsnaut.com/preview-canadiens-eager-going-again-with-oilers-up/ " The contest will make up one of games postponed after Mon...
