Category: get over it!

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two things I would do differently, if I were in a band

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Last night, I went with James and Broderick to see the amazing Bat For Lashes at the Loft, and she was, well, amazing (albeit, a bit strange… she really takes being “alternative” seriously). I really enjoyed her set (Natasha Khan was admittedly outstanding live), and even the opening band, Other Lives, was quite amazing as well (they reminded me a lot of the Decemberists). However, I had some gripes about the show in general, and I came up two things that I would do differently, if I were in a band, and performed concerts for people.

1. I would come out a lot sooner after the opening act.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I understand that sound checks and whatnot need to happen. However, they could happen before the show starts; your gear was up on the stage while the opening act played, so don’t act like you couldn’t have done a sound check before they went on. Also, if you MUST do a sound check (if that really is the reason you wait so long to come out after the opening act), why does it take so long? Seriously, if it is longer than 30 minutes, you are leaning heavily into being just plain rude; and I don’t care who you are, you are not that important, so stop being a diva. My feet hurt, and it is hot, and waiting forever in order for you to grace us with your presence is really starting to push it.

2. I would use the fucking lights, and not play in the dark.
As much as I love going to concerts, I love taking concert pictures just as much. I like to get a neat shot of the person that I payed to see perform, which for me, is a major keepsake, and a memory of my experience. However, and this is a big however, when they perform in the dark, it is not only hard to see them with my naked eye, but it is damn near impossible to get a decent picture. So for my show, you would see me flooded in light, actually performing for a crowd; not hiding in the dark while I sing on stage. I would also make sure to have a little stage presence; she was bent over or had her back to the audience most of the show.

Looking back at the night, I thought I had more things that I would do if I were in the band, but I guess the other gripes I had about the show had nothing to do with the actual performance. First of all, I may sound like an old codger, but it was way too fucking loud at that show. Those of you that have been to the Loft know that it is a small space, and it really doesn’t need to be EAR BLEEDINGLY loud for the show to be good. I want to be able to continue listening to the good music that I came out to see after the show ends, afterall.

Also, after Bat For Lashes finished their “1st set” (you know, the fake, “goodnight!” before coming out to play basically the second half of your show), I was pretty tired of standing in the front, so I asked James and Broderick if they were ready to head to the back, and maybe even home (my feet were hurting because we waited forever for her to take the stage, afterall). While walking through the crowd, this guy that was several rows of people behind us says to me as I pass him something to the effect of, “hey big guy! you are so freaking tall! you were blocking us all night! glad you are leaving!!!”. Being who I am, I couldn’t let a bitchy remark go without retort, so to that, I leaned into him, and made sure to say loud enough so his short ass could hear me, “Well, now you’ll know to get here earlier next time, so you can stand up front, won’t you?”.

Seriously. You came to a standing room, general admission concert, and you are bitching because someone 6’1″ is standing in front of you?! Go fuck yourself, munchkin; it isn’t my fault that a) you are shorter than me, nor more importantly, b) that I got there earlier than you and found where I wanted to stand, and did so because I knew that it was standing room only, general admission. I honestly couldn’t believe he had the nerve to bitch about it, especially when there were several people around me that were the same height as me, but I digress.

Overall, the show was great, and I can just add these to my “general gripes” about things in life. Ah, first world problems… so much fun to bitch about, eh?

civil rights, get over it!, hmm interesting, is it just me?, politics, public health, that is so gay, venting, well?, wtf?!

why is gay marriage an issue?

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I keep hearing all of this stuff about trying to find each presidential candidate’s position on gay marriage, and I have ask… why is gay marriage an issue that should be the concern of a president? Seriously? The issue is not gay marriage; it is civil rights. Marriage is the word that the use to describe the religious procedure of getting bound to another person for life. The only thing that could make it an issue, is that it is currently recognized by the government as a legal union, and there are privileges that come with its status. However, it is not the issue, and I don’t get why we are so concerned with that word; marriage.

I would happily take a civil union any day; so long as it afforded me EQUAL rights. I don’t give two shits about calling my partnership a “marriage” vs. calling it a “civil union”; so long as we are treated equally under the law of our government. I personally think that should be more of the focus, as this issue will always be used as more of a wedge than anything, and no person in their right mind is going to go up against the juggernaut that is the Christian church. Also, isn’t there supposed to be a separation of church and state? So again, why not stop calling it “gay marriage” as an issue?

I think that if you get married, good for you; you should also have to file for a civil union, which should be the only union the government officially recognizes. Make it standard for everyone, and make it available for gays and lesbians as well. Keep marriage in the churches, take religion out of the equation, and things can be more acceptable for everyone, right? Perhaps this is too simple of a concept, but it boggles my mind that gay marriage is all anyone ever asks about when it comes to gay and lesbian rights and a presidential candidate. (what about gay civil rights of other people throughout the world? I think that should be a huge concern of ours as well; but that is a more lengthy conversation).

I realized this more fully when I was reading what Obama said, and the “reaction” from some of the gays that he was against gay marriage. We don’t need to fight for religious justification; we need to fight for equality. Sure, the fight for gay marriage is a fight for equality, but it isn’t necessarily the same thing; take religious practice out of the picture officially. These church driven people are NEVER going to give us the “right” to take their “sacred” practice (now with a 50+% failure-rate!) for ourselves, so we should just drop the shit already. I am tired of continually giving it back to them so they can wedge it between what’s really important and this dance that we have been stuck in forever. I am for equality; nothing less, nothing more. Doesn’t that sound like a more fruitful fight?

Unrelated link: This is quite fascinating if it is true; apparently, the first AIDS case was in 1969 in the US. This makes me wonder; why didn’t it spread to the epic proportions that it has today? What was the factor that caused it to spread so rapidly in the 1980s that was different 11 years earlier? If this man was the first documented case of AIDS, how many people had it before him; and who infected him? It really turns the notion of epidemiology on its head, because it really did occur in a seemingly singular incident. Weird.

all about me, get over it!, hmm interesting, is it just me?, tragic, venting, wtf?!

etiquette… not requirement… okay?

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Earlier today, I was coming out of the building next to the one that I work, in order to go back over to my office, when I encountered a situation that is normally dictated by etiquette. However, in this case, etiquette was stretched so far, that it broke, which, for whatever reason, tends to be quite common where I work. As such, I was treated like an asshole, when in reality, I did nothing wrong. Someone thought etiquette meant requirement, and voiced her opinion as a result; even though she is sadly mistaken.

Now, let me preface what I am getting ready to say with this: I always hold the door for people when they are close enough to reasonably come in; always. I hold elevators too. I’m a nice guy like that; even though I rarely have the favor of that etiquette being returned to me. It really doesn’t bother me to do it, and as such, I normally do.

Now, back to today’s little incident… When I exited the building, I didn’t hold the door because there was no one around. As such, I just walked out, and even smiled at the girl that I noticed once I was completely outside and about 5 steps away from the door. Instead of smiling back, she said loudly, “Well that’s fine… DON’T hold the door for me.”. Um, excuse me? What the fuck did she just say?!?!

First of all, I thought that basic etiquette implied that I am not required to hold the door, but I that I should, if for no other reason than to be courteous. Second of all, in this particular instance, the woman in question was no where near entering the door when I came out, so for me to have held the door for her, I would have first, had to have seen her (which I couldn’t, because she was far enough away, and to the left of the door, that I couldn’t see her), and second, even if I would have seen her, I would have had to wait for her to walk up to the door, (as I noted, it was about 5 steps outside that I noticed her and nodded appropriately) inconveniencing myself in the name of what I would call severely stretched courtesy… but not requirement.

Again, while I am all for holding the door for people when it is convenient, I think that she was ridiculous in expecting me to hold it for her; and even worse, was a fucking bitch for saying what she did. The weird thing is, that most women that work in my building are like that; which I can say, because there are very few men who will get bitchy if you don’t wait forever to hold the door for them.

I have seen women go so far as to try and quickly jump through a closing door to prevent having to actually touch the physical door, or heaven forbid, hold it open for themselves… all while it shuts on me, who is right behind them. I have also, on MANY occasions, seen women stand in front of a closed door, and give me the look of, “well, aren’t you going to open that for me?”. I also can’t stand when the women that work in my building (who do this WAY more than men, which is why I am picking on the women folks) will stand in front of one of the two doors that you can open, because there is someone coming out of the other, and they are waiting so they won’t have to open the door for themselves. As if these weren’t bad enough, there is even one woman in particular who I happen to see more often than I should, who acts like the doors exceed her physical strength, and as such, I am actually forced to take over the muscling of the door, and open it for her. I just don’t get why these women can’t open a door for themselves, or even hold the door for me; who, has on most occasions, done that very thing for them. Even more, I wonder why I am an asshole when I don’t go out of my way to make every woman-who-works-in-my-building’s life that much more comfortable (even though it inconveniences me); especially when the same common courtesy is RARELY returned to me.

What bugs me about this, is that first of all, this isn’t 1950 anymore, ladies; so you should be able to open a door for yourself, and realize that it is being courteous, and not a requirement, that a man might open it for you. Again, let it be known that I honestly don’t mind holding the door for you, and I will even go out of my way to get the door for anyone most of the time; but when you bitch because I didn’t inconvenience myself to make your entrance into the building an effortless one, please listen up, as I will say this as plainly as I can for you to understand: why not just be a fucking adult and open the fucking door for yourself for a change?. And worse, if you do what that bitch did earlier to day, you should be seriously put in your fucking place, because you are just being an outright bitch, and that goes way beyond any courtesy that you deserved from me in the first place.

If you think that I am being too harsh, realize that I have been entering buildings and opening doors for years for myself, and I am just fine… and you will be too. When I think about these incidents, which usually just result in me rolling my eyes, it makes me want to do what these silly women do. Perhaps I should try standing in front of a closed door, and looking at the person who is walking up behind me in hopes that they will open it for me; or maybe I should jump rapidly through a closing door, only to have it hit me as I barely make it in, all the while it slams in the face of the person behind me; or maybe do my favorite, and act as if the weight of the doors is so massive, that my tiny, frail, child-like arms cannot handle the force required to muscle them open… Maybe, just maybe, that would make me feel a little better about how stupid people act under the guise of the unwritten “rules” of “etiquette” (which, for whatever reason, they believe that I, but not they, are required to follow).

I am pretty sure, though, that it wouldn’t work for me… unlike the women that get by with this shit day in and day out, because I am sure that I would get nasty looks and hateful comments because I am a man, and as such, I am “required” to hold/open/wait for every woman that may want to enter the building. What-the-fuck-ever.

The weird thing, is that my friend Deb, who is just as tall as I am, gets the same thing. Maybe it’s a height thing and not a sex thing? She is obviously a woman, and women do it to her too. Who knows… all I know is that it is time for the sisters to start REALLY doing it for themselves… and realize that I don’t HAVE to get the door for you, I am doing it to be nice. If I don’t do it because I don’t see you, or don’t wait for you because you are far away, be an adult and open the damn door yourself; and save the bitchy comments, okay?

/rant

all about me, get over it!, is it just me?, listen up!, politics, public health, the catch-all-egory, venting, well?, wtf?!

busy week ahead…

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This week, I have two midterms, one each in Statistics and Anatomy Lab. Needless to say, I have hit the “frustration, procrastinator-to-the-max” level of stress; I need to study, but I am too worried about the tests that I just end up wasting time being frustrated about them. Gah. I am sure that I will get to studying later on this evening though, because the sheer amount of information that I have to have memorized for the Anatomy lab is amazingly terrifying. There really is no winging a 50 question fill in the blank test. The statistics test isn’t much better… she isn’t giving us any formulas. Also, she must really hate us, because there is not only new content today and tomorrow that WILL be on the midterm, but there is also a quiz tomorrow. Seriously. I mean, I know that things need to be structured and whatnot, but this class is insane. I just hope that I can get it all done in time, and be prepared for both tests; which are nicely on the same day: Thursday.

Just some thoughts that I have been pre-occupied with today (when I should have been studying):

  • The Bird and The Bee are awesome. I picked up a new EP called “Please Clap Your Hands” over lunch, and I am really enjoying it. I love their CD, and am not surprised that I like this too. Definitely a fun group.
  • Now, I know there are tons of opponents to socialized medicine out there, but I don’t see how providing health care for children that don’t have it is a bad thing (healthy children is a GOOD THING!). I just don’t. You are not going to convince me that spending $60 billion dollars over five years on something that is necessary, like health coverage for children that don’t have it, is a bad thing; especially when you consider that we have already spent $450+ billion on a war in Iraq. Is it really that bad to want to take care of Americans? What’s the point of being “free” if you are sick and dying? I am over this whole, “Love the fetus, hate the child” mentality that much of the Republican party clings to, and I for one, hope that Bush doesn’t veto this bill. Now, bitch and moan about why providing health care to those that don’t have it is bad; just be sure to refer to world health statistics and figures regarding life expectancy, and make sure you see where we fall on that list.
  • This just pisses me the fuck off. Seriously, we do NOT support our troops; that is, our government doesn’t support them. If there is one priority that is PARAMOUNT in this country, it is taking care of those that served FOR us. SHAME. SHAME. SHAME. I am sick of this. Many of you have accused me of “not supporting the troops”, and obviously, I am expecting more support than is currently being provided.
  • If you have commented on this blog, and you don’t see your comment show up in a reasonable amount of time, chances are, one of two things has happened: 1) your comment was eaten by my spam filter, and you should try and post it again (this is usually ONLY for new commenters, or comments that have lots of links in them); OR 2) your comment is not adding anything to the conversation, other than hateful, meaningless remarks that I don’t have the time to validate, reply to, or approve for appearance on my blog. I am saying this, because there is at least one person that continues trying to “get my goat” by leaving ridiculous and baiting/hateful comments, and I just wanted that person to know that unless there is something that you wish to add, that isn’t just hateful and absurd, then keep it to yourself; as I no longer have time to validate your asinine behavior.

Well, I guess that’s about it, really. Hope everyone is making the best of a Monday! Now… back to the books for me!

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britney, 9/11, and kathy griffin – thoughts

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So apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought calling Britney fat was going too far; but isn’t it interesting that it came from the same source? Perhaps they realized they struck a cord with the fat comments, especially considering she couldn’t be farther from it. Who knows. Either way, it is in the past now, and we can focus on more important things, now can’t we? (Like waiting for her CD release! LOL)

Or, Like today. 9/11. I don’t need to say anything about what happened on this day, and I don’t think that I will. What I will say, is that I hope that the memory is enough to stir passion in people to end the war in Iraq. I hope the passion extends pity and remorse into a call for change, and a call for action; a call for us to get out of Iraq, a call to stop the destruction, and a call to stop the loss of lives.

I, for one, hope that this day can symbolize something more for America, something more than a memorial; I hope it can symbolize a day that we come together, and understand why peace and freedom are so important. I hope it can be a day that we realize that we are all on this planet together, and somehow, we have to make it work together. In fact, that’s exactly what I want this day to be about, HOPE.

Unrelated side note: First of all, a huge congrats to the well-deserved Emmy for Kathy Griffin! Secondly, I can’t believe that an obvious joke about Jesus is getting so much press and the threat of censorship. Seriously, it was clear she was making a joke (especially so if you have seen her stand up or the show), and obviously the Emmy committee (hee, a rhyme!) totally got that joke. Let it go already… not everyone takes Jesus and religion so seriously, and some even have the ability to make something funny out of something that people clearly take far too seriously. I think even Jesus would laugh at the joke for crying out loud! Most of all, I am appalled that an organization that has a history of violence, molestation, and condemnation could call this joke a form of “hate speech”. Seriously, Catholic church, if you want to talk about “hate speech”, I think that you should listen to some of the things that your organization is saying. Gee whiz.

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who really cares?

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Everyone’s raving about another defecting Republican, who got caught giving in to his homosexual tendencies… but really, who cares? I mean, this guy goes up in an airport restroom to score some cock, and everyone is all abuzz about it. Please. I am so sick of the “news” covering stories like this one, or this and that about Britney Spears’ night out on the town; what is really going on in the world? Tell us that stuff!

Seriously. I mean if you really want to look at it, he didn’t even do anything but proposition the guy! No gay sex was involved!! What a freak, and what a non-news situation. Seriously, find something important to talk about, for crying out loud.

I do, however, think it is funny that so many of these anti-gay jerks find themselves in a restroom somewhere begging for a bit of man on man action… which really makes it clear that the more homophobic you are, the more you are covering up your own homosexuality; and honestly, that’s just sad.

I just wish people could be happy with themselves, and the world wouldn’t judge you because of what you do between the sheets. Perhaps people like this would be able to express themselves in a healthy (and more legal?) manner, and instead of being so against our “agenda”, they could just join us in place where you can be happy for who you are, you can enjoy personal acceptance, and people will understand and accept you for you. Man, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing; and potentially, something actually worth reporting (for a change)?

Who knows… Now back to your regularly scheduled Michael Vick update… wait… I don’t give a shit about that either! HA!

In duane-related news… I have been really working hard at Statistics, which, if you are not a math wiz, is seriously another language. I just hope that I can pull out some magic knowledge or memory, and somehow score an A in this class. It is, after all, the only math class I have to take. At least I am getting it out of the way first!!

Finally, I don’t now if anyone is actually taking my music suggestions seriously, but here is another fantastic one: Kate Nash, Made of Bricks. Wow. She is a little bit Lily Allen, and I love her! The whole CD is a great listen, and I love her writing style. The song “Foundations”, is seriously infectious, and so well written. I have been listening to it on repeat for days. Do yourself a favor, and check it out! This CD is definitely one of my favorites of the year!

get over it!, hmm interesting, is it just me?, listen up!, mixed media, movie musings, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

a boring tuesday

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Today has been painfully boring; meetings and not much else.

I still find it incredibly strange that people still deny that our involvement in the process of globalization has, in some ways, affected the situation we find ourselves dealing with in the middle east. If you cannot holistically grasp the concept that America is not all bread and butter, and in the many years that we have been stomping around carrying our big stick, that we have smashed a few houses, and gotten pretty dirty in our quest for wealth, then there is no need to argue with you anymore, because you will never understand the truly holistic nature of the situation. I suggest, for people that find themselves in this place (lacking the ability to wrap your brain around the FACT that America is partly to blame for the fact that we are so hated by so many in the world) take a few courses in anthropological theory, applied anthropological methods, and read up on the epistemological backbone of cultural anthropology. It may change your world (hopefully). If not, continuing to believe that you are right (that there is only one, or two reasons that we are hated and are being threatened), then there is no need to continue to bring that argument here; I got it. Move on. I am going to continue to share my opinions in a rational, holistic, and thoughtful manner, and this is obviously not something that you will be able to understand, comprehend, or agree with. Strange? Yes. Have to continue listen to it? No. Feel free to state your opinions if you wish, but realize, that just because I don’t buy into A+B=C, realizing that there is also a D, an E, a W, and a Y (not to mention potential others) that contributes to the answer, it doesn’t make my ideas radical or incoherent; it shows that I have the ability, and frankly the duty, to think about things holistically, searching for the entire meaning before I act on what I believe to be the cause of a problem.

Other than that, I have been entering in my DVDs on this website called DVDSpot, which I heard about from Brian. This is pretty cool, because it is another way I can organize and keep track of my growing collection, which shows statistics, and is downloadable. It is also pretty cool that the website lets you put in reviews (slowly… I know I know), and even estimates your collection’s value. Neat stuff. All free too! Thanks for the heads up Brian! When everything is entered, I am sure that I will add a handy dandy link over in the links section, so stay tuned!

get over it!, hmm interesting, is it just me?, listen up!, mixed media, politics, public health, the catch-all-egory, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

some scattered links and thoughts

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I have seen some interesting things today, so I thought to myself, “hey, that should be my post!”. So, here are some links to interesting things, and my thoughts on them. I will try not to let this go on too long, but this stuff is quite interesting folks; check it out and feel free to share your opinions as well.

  • We say that we want to rebuild Iraq, stabilize the country, and make it better for the citizens of Iraq, right? Well, why, then, are they suffering from a 60-70% unemployment rate, when our contractors are steadily filling jobs that the citizens themselves could do? If an engineer can’t find a job, there’s a problem. But, we have their best interests at heart, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
  • Hey intelligent design fanatics, can you please explain the presence of vestigiality, and how it fits within your non-evolutionary explanation of how we got here? mkthxsbbye. Methinks the evolutions are reals, y’all!
  • I have written about global warming before, and one of the biggest arguments presented as evidence that we were not the cause of our current warming trend was the so-called warming of the sun, and its effects on our atmosphere. Turns out, that is wrong, wrong, wrong. Apparently, the sun is actually not warming at all, and temperatures are currently lower because of the sun being in a period of low activity. Interesting. Methinks the humans are causing the global warmings, y’all! Dude, science is fucking awesome, isn’t it!? 😉
  • Apparently, and according to our president, when you get sick, or the fact that you are uninsured, it is your fault. Shame on you for purposefully breaking your arm by falling out of that tree, little Jimmy! You are such a twat, because now it is mommy’s fault that you can’t go to the hospital to get it fixed! Fucking people and their getting sick on purpose. It’s so weird, Mr. president, how we actually do have government medical programs like Medicare and Medicaid that actually work, and could provide those “sick-doers” some coverage; but I guess it is easier to blame people for their problems than it is to actually help them.
  • To piggyback on the last thought, if you really think that there isn’t a problem with the current health care situation, and that the government shouldn’t (or couldn’t) do something about it, be glad that you aren’t this guy; because if you were, you would be in debt up to your eye balls. But then again, I guess it was your fault, right? Ugh. I hate living in this country some times, because people really love to point the finger and place blame without thinking about those that suffer.
  • And finally, this (not sure if it is credible or true, but one can hope) is pretty awesome news: Drinking not only doesn’t kill brain cells, but it may actually be good for you!! Holy shit! Moderate drinking promotes good health! I’m in heaven!!! Who wants to come over and drink some wine?! Woo hoo! *glug glug glug… ah!*
  • UPDATE: I almost forgot to mention it; Sara Bareilles will be performing on Craig Ferguson tonight!! Make sure to catch this performance of this amazing artist! I know I keep going on an on about her, but she is amazing, and there is NO REASON that you should continue to ignore me, and go one more day without hearing her beautiful music, and experiencing her massive talent. Also, don’t forget to get her CD, Little Voice, which is not only MAGNIFICENT, it is out now!!

Well, I tried to keep it short. There it is kids, soak in up, take it in, swish it around a bit, and let me know what YOU think about it. Interesting stuff in the news, I tell ya!

get over it!, is it just me?, listen up!, politics, tragic, well?

just a return of little perspective…

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Mr Bush, stop sniveling that the Congress won’t do everything that you want them to do, in your way, and support the fucking bill already. You should know, that you can’t serve as president with the Congress that you want… you have to serve with the Congress you have… you can’t wait around for the Congress you wish to have at a later time.

I remember someone *cough* Rumsfeld *cough* saying that same thing about the military… interesting… that perspective totally applies here too! But, I am sure that things are too dark down there in the sand to actually see the parallel, and you know that these folks would never admit that they were careless, thoughtless, or disrespectful, you know?

Man, I love you Randi Rhodes.