1.The "Life begins at holding hands" crowd was protesting in front my place of work a few days ago. They descended on the street corners surrounding one of the biggest intersections in town and started setting up signs.
About fifty signs. All bearing the most digusting pictures of abortion aftermath ever photographed. Huge signs too - 4 by 5, or thereabouts. Mixed in amongst the broken, dismembered corpse photos were apparently stock photographs of something resembling a fish in a bubble, floating in a rainbow. Given the whole theme of the shindig, I'm guessing this was probably a picture of a fetus, designed to inspire some feeling of awe, beauty, or protection. I guess I'm a heathen, it looked like a fish.
Weaving in amongst the cars were the proprietors themselves, thrusting literature into car windows, which predictably open because of the high temperatures. The black and white, massive block appearances of these missives appeared to match with the signs the more literate of the crew were holding in front of the pizza parlor across the way, specifically "What is worse, a nation who's ruler kills his citizens, or a nation that kills its children?" Took me a couple of minutes to figure out they were protesting the Invasion Of Iraq AND abortion all at the same time. Multitaskers.
Ahem.
Before you think me a callous individual, uncaring as to the fate of the our littlest citizesn, let me assure you that I am already more or less in their camp. Abortion when performed after the development of brainwaves is taking a life. Plain and simple. There is no magical line of division between three seconds before "Out" and "Out" where a fetus becomes A Human. Sorry, there just isn't. It follows therefore, that ending a life should only be done under the most extenuating of circumstances, specifically a clear and present danger to the life of the mother, if she so chooses. Any doctor who concludes that fear of belly scars or rolls of excess skin constitutes a threat to the mother's health (as has been done in the past) should be stripped of his license. It is my opinion that anyone who uses abortion as a form of contraception should be "fixed" like a stray dog. Sorry, you blew it. On the other hand, the federal government's powers and money spending abilities are specifically enumerated in Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution and defining life and when it is taken is nowhere found within. This is a state and local matter.
I am, by nature, a very political person. It's ok to believe strongly in something. Really, it is. But when your entire argument consists of nothing but emotional appeals, you don't have an argument. You have an opinion. When the only way you can convey your message is to disgust early morning shoppers with graphic footage, I don't respect you, no matter how firmly I'm in your court. At that point, you deserve NO ONE'S respect.
I could make arguments about the final destination of gun control by showing pictures of naked Jews marching into the showers, or hacked of Rwandans, or women being raped in Darfur. I don't. I make my points with logic, with reason, with something other than hysterical screaming. This is called intelligence. It's called courtesy. Potentially scaring small children with dismembered bodies is not a way to get your point across. The saying "You will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" has some merit.
What kind of sicko takes the time to find 20 photos of dismembered babies, put them together on a disk, take them to Kinkos and say "4 by 5s of the regular dismemberment, and three 5 by 6s of the ones with the face gouged out"? Do they really think they grossing people out is going to win them converts? Or are they frantically massaging their egos, in the hope that they can pat themselves on the back at the end of the day and say "We did it" and then go to bed and sleep the sleep of the saved.
On a related note, all these protestors seemed to be of a type. The majority were overweight middle-aged women in dresses, each with about fifteen kids in tow. And none of them had come within a country mile of basic body/appearance maintenence. Maybe it's a religious thing.
2.A friend of mine is friends with the former sheriff of Manitowoc. This sheriff put a (now) killer named Steven Avery behind bars for 18 years. When Avery got out in 2004, the Sheriff started stashing guns around his house. His wife asked him "what for?" He replied "in case Steven ever sets foot on our property." His wife asked him "Would you shoot him?" He replied, without any hesitation, or appearance of nervousness or grandstanding "Twice in the chest and once in the head" (this is called the Mozambique Drill). Not "I'd think about it" or "I'd call the police" or "Yes." Steven Avery and his nephen Brenden Dassey tortured a photographer to death in 2005.
3.A man wearing nothing but a black ski mask and running shoes has been flashing women in my area. He's done this 40 times. Apparently he stalks them, waits until they're home along, then disrobes and sets up a chair in front of their living room window. If he doesn't get the desired effect (screaming, running from the room, other signs of shock) he breaks into their house and does things he should not do. I would like to see him break into that sheriff's house. Or for funnier effect, I'd like to see him chased down the street in just his mask and shoes by an irate, screaming husband, brandishing a massive pair of garden shears.
4.When Best Buy repairs a notebook computer, it should not shut off when you lift it.
5.Shoplifiting is an afront to God.
6.During apparthied, it was mandated by law that blacks be paid a higher minimum wage than whites. I find this humorous, given that Chicago just upped their minimum wage to $10 per hour.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Back Once More
Back Once More
The anonymous place I was blogging from is no longer accessible. Given my fear of McCain-Feingold, I stopped posting for a while. However, with the advent of my laptop going wireless here, I've decided I'd rather get the midnight knock for doing something the majority of the public approves of rather than something they don't. Don't know how often I'll be logging in, but it'll be occasionally.
Dates to remember
I think...May 20th, June 22nd.
Employment
Given than Radioshack needed a 2key manager more than they needed me, I've been cut in hours to the point where the boss said "You might want to think about quitting." Gander Mtn is hiring - that'd be awesome.
They're Changing The Language On Us, reposted from elswhere
We start off this time with a reading from the First Amendment, which still states (last time I checked) that:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
What I'd like to focus most on at this moment is that inconvinient "abridging the freedom of speech" portion, and possibly the "peaceably to assemble" bit. We'll get to the recent abomination put forth by the Supreme Court in a few moments.
Within the last eight years, a disturbing trend has taken root, a use of double-speak that has Orwell spinning in his grave so fast we might as well wrap him in wire, set a magnet nearby, and power America forever, and for free. The trend I'm talking about is to call something incredibly horrible by a benign name. For example:Free Speech Zones. Golly, that sounds like a good idea, don't it? I mean, who wouldn't want a place where you could speak as freely as you want?
On the other hand, what exists outside of a free speech zone?
Michael Badnarik continuously talked about these abominations during his 2004 presidential campaign. Free speech zones are, essentially, cordoned off areas where protestors can demonstrate freely, blocks or miles away from cameras and media coverage - precisely where they will not be heard, seen, or noticed.
What good is the right to free speech if you are only allowed to practice it in your home? Do you reallypossess the right to keep and bear arms if you're only allowed to own 60 year old single-shot Liberator pistols? Does the right to publish freely truly exist if you can write as prolifically as you want, but only to people with your last name?
Mr. Badnarik spoke of a high school where he was scheduled to address the students - he was to make his presentation in the auditorium, to the student body. Unfortunately, the auditorium held only about two hundred students (far fewer than the number of students in the school), and it was far enough out of the way that it was hard to find, and poorly lit to boot. So, in the tradition of those old -movie actors who exclaimed "We'll just do the show right here in the barn!" Mr. Badnarik decided to move his equipment to the cafeteria. After all, the whole point of his trip was to address the students...why talk to only five or so when you can reach so many more?
Moving to the cafeteria, he was told, was not possible. Why, he inquired. Because, the auditorium was a free speech zone.
As I watched him recount this story, several months later, the outrage was so fresh in his mind he just about burst an artery. Anywhere he stands, he said, is a free speech zone. The hallway outside the auditorium. The cafeteria. If you are in America, and you are breathing, wherever you are is a FREE SPEECH zone. That is your inalienable, God/Nature/Other given right as a member of the human race. You cannot mark off the boundaries of a "free speech zone" with chainlink and razorwire and jackboots as has been the practice recently - and that's what the "free speech zones" are:Chainlink barriers topped with razor wire. That's what Mr. Badnarik and the Green Party candidate were arrested for crossing, when, during a presidential debate between Boot-On-Your-Neck-Party Candidate One and Boot-On-Your-Neck-Party Candidate Two, they attempted to serve the president with papers requiring him to show his reasoning for keeping third party candidates out of the debate.
So, how does this pertain to the recent Supreme Court abomina...er...decision that further strips us of our constitutional rights and gives police the ability to break into our house with no notice?Wait, there was a recent Supreme Court decision like that? Why hasn't the Mainstream Media picked up on this? This is big news! Why are we hearing 24/7 coverage of every detail of Angelina Jolie's out-of-wedlock birth in Nambia or Kinshasa or some other place calculated to show her "solidarity" with the non-millionaire peoples of the world instead? Why aren't the non-stop commercials for "Hell's Kitchen" being interrupted for the breaking news that the Fourth Amendment has been trashed? And how does this relate to free-speech zones and the cheapening of our language?
I guess I went off on a tangent there. Sorry.
In case you haven't been digging through obscure news-service articles online, or missed the five second blurbs on NPR news, the Supreme Court just rewove thefabric of America, butchered the Fourth Amendment, anddidn't bother to tell anyone.
Again, last time I checked, this is the Fourth Amendment in its entirety:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
In a typical search-and-seizure, the police go to a judge to get a warrant, serve it to the person who's under suspicion, allow them time to verify the warrant is real,and then carry out their Constitutionally-allowed duty of collecting the evidence necessary to continue the criminalinvestigation.
Somewhere in the last half of the last century, right around the time that the drug problem/crisis we've manufactured started to get serious, police started asking for "no-knock" warrants. The reasoning goes thusly: If we don't have the power to kick in someone's door at four in the morning without screaming "Police" at the top of our lungs, the man injecting all those innocent, captive toddlers with drugs against their will is going to flush his nickel-sack down the toilet and boom, there's goes all those dynamic entry bonuses. Something like that.
That drug use was practically non-existant in the early 20th century, despite the fact that any 12 year old could order up a pound of heroin at the local drug store is not something that is discussed in polite conversation. Don't want to offend anyone you see.
Historically, no-knocks have been hard to get. It has something to do with not wanting America to turn into a police state, a concern that seems to be vanishing. Many times, they wind up with people bleeding, a hopped up SWAT team having busted through the front door of the apartment next door to or above or below their intended target, and some poor homeowner is shot coming out of the bedroom with a gun in his hand.
In the late eighties/early nineties, the Supreme Court OfThe United States (referred to hereinafter as SCOTUS) declared that officers serving regular warrants had to announce their presense and wait (at most) ten seconds before beginning the midnight-knock routine so familiar in movies dealing with Nazi Germany. So nice of them - give me a whole ten seconds to get from dead-sleep to my front door before going the whole battering ram/boilingoil/catapult route.
What a bunch of pals. I stuck a few more candy canes inmy Christmas cards that year, I'm here to tell you.
Recently, a group of police (not identified) were sued when they pulled a midnight knock, announced their presense, and then broke in with a battering ram after three seconds. Writing for the majority, the supposedly pro-freedom, pro-constitution, conservative Antonin Scalia said that the outcome would've been the same whether or not the police waited for any sign of acknowledgement of their presense, therefore suppressing the evidence they gathered to "punish" the police department (one of the last deterents of jackbooted action) was too high a price for them to pay for their "preliminary misstep."
Why bother going the no-knock route when you can knock and kick in the door two seconds later?
That if we were to summarily hang the majority of the court that voted for this as is the punishment for treason, we'd be left with a court of near-socialists is not a topic we'll discuss presently.
What is scary is that police officers executing a regular warrant, for, say, bookkeeping records, may now behave in exactly the same manner as a company of Rangers in Kabul.
A company in Virginia that makes solid steel doors reminiscent of those seen on a submarine saw their stock price double the day Bush-appointee Alito broke the 4-4 tie. Could be a connection there...
Doors are really only half the battle. Booby traps, flashbangs, and mid-caliber rifle-fire directed at these bottlenecks by homeowners are the other half. However morally right and laudable mowing down a gaggle of masked men as they break into your house without identification is, shooting at the police with or without justification usually ends with the shootee and/or their family members dying. Ask Sammy Weaver, or David Koresh. Wait, you can't...oh never mind.
So, presently, we have two options if the whole of the police force descends on our patios at three in the morning and kicks in our door without making their identities known, as they have now been empowered to do by a rogue SCOTUS: The first option is to (try to) kill them. Perfectly appropriate and justified. Look up ballistics tables - if it flies faster than 1750fps, you're looking at vest penetration. This is, as Martha Stewart would say, A Good Thing. I should warn you first though, your life-expectancy shrinks to minutes at this point, and as far as I know, no one really wants to make the ultimate statement of freedom followed by a one-way trip to that great theme-park in the sky.
The second option is to let everyone who breaks into your house in the middle of the night have their way with you, your loved ones, and property, in hopes that they don't have thousands of Officer Friendly's behind them, all pointing machine guns at your back. Meanwhile, police departments across the country get the idea that since they don't lose officers to home-invasions, they should try this more often.
This is officially called a "Slippery Slope."
What you don't punish, you subsidize.
What you subsidize, you encourage.
Those are the options.
There is a half-step, something that gives you a reasonable life expectancy while giving the forces of darkness considerable pause. The humble camera, in both digital and video configurations, currently available on cell phones that everyone seems to have (or in hand-held units), is the SWAT team equivalent of Holy Water and garlic for vampires.
BATFE stomps your kitten's head? Smile! You're on candid camera!
FBI "suicides" a guy who misplaced his yellowforms? Get a picture of our couragous police force at work.
Law enforcement trashes your gunstore while you're out of town, torching your safes and leaving food and food containers all over? Won't they be surprised when the photos those hidden video cameras took show up on the internet. In the newspaper. In their church. Taped to the halls of the school their children attend.
We're coming up on a surveillance society presently, and they really hate it when we turn the tables. Watch them crawl for the safety of the shade when the cameras flash and their antics and murders and foibles and thefts turn up as the water-cooler conversation of thousands. It's not great, but those who would do us harm shrink from being exposed as the power-hungry murderers and thieves and pedophiles that they are.
So, how does this come back to the cheapening of our language? Language is how we communicate with each other. It is how we express essential information and derive pleasure from human interaction. When you change the practical meaning of words, the truths behind the air that our vocal cords vibrate, you cheapen the language. A Free-Speech Zone should be a desirable place. Its borders should extend from sea to shining sea, as the song goes. But it doesn't. It means chainlink and razorwire and shouting our messages at jackbooted thugs who standby with batons to make sure we don't tip the fences over and exercize our God/Nature/Other given rights over there. The right to keep and bear arms should mean just that - that EVERYONE be armed with militarily effective weapons. It doesn't. It now means we may only own arms deamed appropriate for sporting. Serving a warrant should mean cops showing up at the door with a piece of paper and twiddling their thumbs while you call the police department to verify that they're actually employed by legitimate law enforcement and that the person that signed off on this is really a judge and not the grave-yard shift janitor.
I recently spoke of this to my father. I said it's too bad that too much of government, of human nature comes down to a little evil versus a great evil. We either allow people the freedom to choose to harm themselves with whatever plants they wish, at the price of some addictions and broken homes, or we have no-knock warrants and Waco. Those are the options. We allow people the freedom to defend themselves in their homes or in public, at the price of a hundred dead children 12 and under every year, or we have crime rates like Glasgow and situations like Darfur and Dachau. Those are the options. We give a known murderer a chance to go free or we give the police unlimited authority to abuse our freedom. Those are the options.
The other side knows this, about a little evil versus a great evil. It hopes we don't know. The other side knows what its done. It knows about Nazism. It knows about the trains that ran on time. It knows about the Armenian genocide. It knows about Pol Pot, about political dissidents in China shot in the neck and their families billed for the bullet, it knows about taxes for non-muslims to continue to live and gulags in Siberia and the MOVE firebombing and every other ugly thing done by those who have power over their fellow man. I speak now, not of Communism, or radical Islam, or the United States government. I speak of anyone who controls the power of life and death through the apperatus of the state. And because they know this, they give us promises. They promise not to infringe on our religion or speech. They promise to let us bear militarily effective weapons as a governmental failsafe device. They promise not to break into our houses on a whim, or torture us or secretly arrest us. Whatever country, whatever promise, whatever their intent to do us good, all these are are words. Words. Ink on paper, vibrations of air.
We have all these words protecting us: We have the right to speak freely. We have the right to keep and bear arms. We have the right to be secure in our houses and persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. But these words, they aren't worth a damn anymore. They're changing the language on us. They're changing the country on us. And when all of it, the country, the government, the police, the language, our rights, has been mutated beyond the original intent and design, none of it will matter anymore.
We won't have any options anymore.
More on the death of common sense, respect, ad nauseum...
I posit this scenario: Suppose the kid up the street is having a party on the last real weekend before the 4th Of July. Suppose he wants to light off some bottlerockets, with the blessing and encouragement of EVERY adult on the property. Suppose you find the sound of bottlerockets to be irritating. What do you do?
Walk down and talk to the offending parties about how their arial celebration is disturbing your nap/baby/dog/Lesser Crested Pufferfish? Nah. Stick your head out your back door and yell "SHUT UP!" Wrong again!
Call the alderman, who happens to occupy the slum behind offending persons's property. Now, supposing you were the alderman, what do you do? Walk a hundred and twenty feet to tell your constituents that other constituents are happy for the graduatee, but could you tone down the pyrotechnics? Give them a call with the same message? Again, wrong answer.
Call the cops. Now, supposing you're the person making the calls, and that you have a higher IQ than most garden implements, what do you suppose the logical thing to do is? Yup, send an off-duty cop out, have him tell the enthusiastic partiers to cut the fireworks. Strike four! Two black and whites, and an unmarked show up. They confiscate everything on the driveway AND issue both offenders a COURT SUMMONS and nearly $750 in fines. Now, how much do you suppose the city paid to send four officers in three cars to bust two highschool kids for fireworks, ten days before the FOURTH OF JULY! How much is the court date and judge-time and all the related sh*t that goes into prosecuting them going to cost the city? Were none of these pigs teens at one point in time - that they could shake their heads and say "boys will be boys" and tell them to knock it off? Where'd Barney Fife go?
On the other hand, I got to see precisely the effect of cameras on fuzz. Like vampires and crosses, I tell you, and dang, if that' ain't an apt analogy. It was hi-larious seeing them get uncomfortable - you'd think for guys with a Glock 21 on their hips, they wouldn't be so scared of a camera. Turning away, holding up their arms, closing their eyes...my mom and her digital verified my hypothesis - those in authority DON'T like an audience when they work. Thus, they should have as big an audience as possible. Now, how to disseminate those pictures...
PS I wasn't one of the ones busted.
The anonymous place I was blogging from is no longer accessible. Given my fear of McCain-Feingold, I stopped posting for a while. However, with the advent of my laptop going wireless here, I've decided I'd rather get the midnight knock for doing something the majority of the public approves of rather than something they don't. Don't know how often I'll be logging in, but it'll be occasionally.
Dates to remember
I think...May 20th, June 22nd.
Employment
Given than Radioshack needed a 2key manager more than they needed me, I've been cut in hours to the point where the boss said "You might want to think about quitting." Gander Mtn is hiring - that'd be awesome.
They're Changing The Language On Us, reposted from elswhere
We start off this time with a reading from the First Amendment, which still states (last time I checked) that:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
What I'd like to focus most on at this moment is that inconvinient "abridging the freedom of speech" portion, and possibly the "peaceably to assemble" bit. We'll get to the recent abomination put forth by the Supreme Court in a few moments.
Within the last eight years, a disturbing trend has taken root, a use of double-speak that has Orwell spinning in his grave so fast we might as well wrap him in wire, set a magnet nearby, and power America forever, and for free. The trend I'm talking about is to call something incredibly horrible by a benign name. For example:Free Speech Zones. Golly, that sounds like a good idea, don't it? I mean, who wouldn't want a place where you could speak as freely as you want?
On the other hand, what exists outside of a free speech zone?
Michael Badnarik continuously talked about these abominations during his 2004 presidential campaign. Free speech zones are, essentially, cordoned off areas where protestors can demonstrate freely, blocks or miles away from cameras and media coverage - precisely where they will not be heard, seen, or noticed.
What good is the right to free speech if you are only allowed to practice it in your home? Do you reallypossess the right to keep and bear arms if you're only allowed to own 60 year old single-shot Liberator pistols? Does the right to publish freely truly exist if you can write as prolifically as you want, but only to people with your last name?
Mr. Badnarik spoke of a high school where he was scheduled to address the students - he was to make his presentation in the auditorium, to the student body. Unfortunately, the auditorium held only about two hundred students (far fewer than the number of students in the school), and it was far enough out of the way that it was hard to find, and poorly lit to boot. So, in the tradition of those old -movie actors who exclaimed "We'll just do the show right here in the barn!" Mr. Badnarik decided to move his equipment to the cafeteria. After all, the whole point of his trip was to address the students...why talk to only five or so when you can reach so many more?
Moving to the cafeteria, he was told, was not possible. Why, he inquired. Because, the auditorium was a free speech zone.
As I watched him recount this story, several months later, the outrage was so fresh in his mind he just about burst an artery. Anywhere he stands, he said, is a free speech zone. The hallway outside the auditorium. The cafeteria. If you are in America, and you are breathing, wherever you are is a FREE SPEECH zone. That is your inalienable, God/Nature/Other given right as a member of the human race. You cannot mark off the boundaries of a "free speech zone" with chainlink and razorwire and jackboots as has been the practice recently - and that's what the "free speech zones" are:Chainlink barriers topped with razor wire. That's what Mr. Badnarik and the Green Party candidate were arrested for crossing, when, during a presidential debate between Boot-On-Your-Neck-Party Candidate One and Boot-On-Your-Neck-Party Candidate Two, they attempted to serve the president with papers requiring him to show his reasoning for keeping third party candidates out of the debate.
So, how does this pertain to the recent Supreme Court abomina...er...decision that further strips us of our constitutional rights and gives police the ability to break into our house with no notice?Wait, there was a recent Supreme Court decision like that? Why hasn't the Mainstream Media picked up on this? This is big news! Why are we hearing 24/7 coverage of every detail of Angelina Jolie's out-of-wedlock birth in Nambia or Kinshasa or some other place calculated to show her "solidarity" with the non-millionaire peoples of the world instead? Why aren't the non-stop commercials for "Hell's Kitchen" being interrupted for the breaking news that the Fourth Amendment has been trashed? And how does this relate to free-speech zones and the cheapening of our language?
I guess I went off on a tangent there. Sorry.
In case you haven't been digging through obscure news-service articles online, or missed the five second blurbs on NPR news, the Supreme Court just rewove thefabric of America, butchered the Fourth Amendment, anddidn't bother to tell anyone.
Again, last time I checked, this is the Fourth Amendment in its entirety:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
In a typical search-and-seizure, the police go to a judge to get a warrant, serve it to the person who's under suspicion, allow them time to verify the warrant is real,and then carry out their Constitutionally-allowed duty of collecting the evidence necessary to continue the criminalinvestigation.
Somewhere in the last half of the last century, right around the time that the drug problem/crisis we've manufactured started to get serious, police started asking for "no-knock" warrants. The reasoning goes thusly: If we don't have the power to kick in someone's door at four in the morning without screaming "Police" at the top of our lungs, the man injecting all those innocent, captive toddlers with drugs against their will is going to flush his nickel-sack down the toilet and boom, there's goes all those dynamic entry bonuses. Something like that.
That drug use was practically non-existant in the early 20th century, despite the fact that any 12 year old could order up a pound of heroin at the local drug store is not something that is discussed in polite conversation. Don't want to offend anyone you see.
Historically, no-knocks have been hard to get. It has something to do with not wanting America to turn into a police state, a concern that seems to be vanishing. Many times, they wind up with people bleeding, a hopped up SWAT team having busted through the front door of the apartment next door to or above or below their intended target, and some poor homeowner is shot coming out of the bedroom with a gun in his hand.
In the late eighties/early nineties, the Supreme Court OfThe United States (referred to hereinafter as SCOTUS) declared that officers serving regular warrants had to announce their presense and wait (at most) ten seconds before beginning the midnight-knock routine so familiar in movies dealing with Nazi Germany. So nice of them - give me a whole ten seconds to get from dead-sleep to my front door before going the whole battering ram/boilingoil/catapult route.
What a bunch of pals. I stuck a few more candy canes inmy Christmas cards that year, I'm here to tell you.
Recently, a group of police (not identified) were sued when they pulled a midnight knock, announced their presense, and then broke in with a battering ram after three seconds. Writing for the majority, the supposedly pro-freedom, pro-constitution, conservative Antonin Scalia said that the outcome would've been the same whether or not the police waited for any sign of acknowledgement of their presense, therefore suppressing the evidence they gathered to "punish" the police department (one of the last deterents of jackbooted action) was too high a price for them to pay for their "preliminary misstep."
Why bother going the no-knock route when you can knock and kick in the door two seconds later?
That if we were to summarily hang the majority of the court that voted for this as is the punishment for treason, we'd be left with a court of near-socialists is not a topic we'll discuss presently.
What is scary is that police officers executing a regular warrant, for, say, bookkeeping records, may now behave in exactly the same manner as a company of Rangers in Kabul.
A company in Virginia that makes solid steel doors reminiscent of those seen on a submarine saw their stock price double the day Bush-appointee Alito broke the 4-4 tie. Could be a connection there...
Doors are really only half the battle. Booby traps, flashbangs, and mid-caliber rifle-fire directed at these bottlenecks by homeowners are the other half. However morally right and laudable mowing down a gaggle of masked men as they break into your house without identification is, shooting at the police with or without justification usually ends with the shootee and/or their family members dying. Ask Sammy Weaver, or David Koresh. Wait, you can't...oh never mind.
So, presently, we have two options if the whole of the police force descends on our patios at three in the morning and kicks in our door without making their identities known, as they have now been empowered to do by a rogue SCOTUS: The first option is to (try to) kill them. Perfectly appropriate and justified. Look up ballistics tables - if it flies faster than 1750fps, you're looking at vest penetration. This is, as Martha Stewart would say, A Good Thing. I should warn you first though, your life-expectancy shrinks to minutes at this point, and as far as I know, no one really wants to make the ultimate statement of freedom followed by a one-way trip to that great theme-park in the sky.
The second option is to let everyone who breaks into your house in the middle of the night have their way with you, your loved ones, and property, in hopes that they don't have thousands of Officer Friendly's behind them, all pointing machine guns at your back. Meanwhile, police departments across the country get the idea that since they don't lose officers to home-invasions, they should try this more often.
This is officially called a "Slippery Slope."
What you don't punish, you subsidize.
What you subsidize, you encourage.
Those are the options.
There is a half-step, something that gives you a reasonable life expectancy while giving the forces of darkness considerable pause. The humble camera, in both digital and video configurations, currently available on cell phones that everyone seems to have (or in hand-held units), is the SWAT team equivalent of Holy Water and garlic for vampires.
BATFE stomps your kitten's head? Smile! You're on candid camera!
FBI "suicides" a guy who misplaced his yellowforms? Get a picture of our couragous police force at work.
Law enforcement trashes your gunstore while you're out of town, torching your safes and leaving food and food containers all over? Won't they be surprised when the photos those hidden video cameras took show up on the internet. In the newspaper. In their church. Taped to the halls of the school their children attend.
We're coming up on a surveillance society presently, and they really hate it when we turn the tables. Watch them crawl for the safety of the shade when the cameras flash and their antics and murders and foibles and thefts turn up as the water-cooler conversation of thousands. It's not great, but those who would do us harm shrink from being exposed as the power-hungry murderers and thieves and pedophiles that they are.
So, how does this come back to the cheapening of our language? Language is how we communicate with each other. It is how we express essential information and derive pleasure from human interaction. When you change the practical meaning of words, the truths behind the air that our vocal cords vibrate, you cheapen the language. A Free-Speech Zone should be a desirable place. Its borders should extend from sea to shining sea, as the song goes. But it doesn't. It means chainlink and razorwire and shouting our messages at jackbooted thugs who standby with batons to make sure we don't tip the fences over and exercize our God/Nature/Other given rights over there. The right to keep and bear arms should mean just that - that EVERYONE be armed with militarily effective weapons. It doesn't. It now means we may only own arms deamed appropriate for sporting. Serving a warrant should mean cops showing up at the door with a piece of paper and twiddling their thumbs while you call the police department to verify that they're actually employed by legitimate law enforcement and that the person that signed off on this is really a judge and not the grave-yard shift janitor.
I recently spoke of this to my father. I said it's too bad that too much of government, of human nature comes down to a little evil versus a great evil. We either allow people the freedom to choose to harm themselves with whatever plants they wish, at the price of some addictions and broken homes, or we have no-knock warrants and Waco. Those are the options. We allow people the freedom to defend themselves in their homes or in public, at the price of a hundred dead children 12 and under every year, or we have crime rates like Glasgow and situations like Darfur and Dachau. Those are the options. We give a known murderer a chance to go free or we give the police unlimited authority to abuse our freedom. Those are the options.
The other side knows this, about a little evil versus a great evil. It hopes we don't know. The other side knows what its done. It knows about Nazism. It knows about the trains that ran on time. It knows about the Armenian genocide. It knows about Pol Pot, about political dissidents in China shot in the neck and their families billed for the bullet, it knows about taxes for non-muslims to continue to live and gulags in Siberia and the MOVE firebombing and every other ugly thing done by those who have power over their fellow man. I speak now, not of Communism, or radical Islam, or the United States government. I speak of anyone who controls the power of life and death through the apperatus of the state. And because they know this, they give us promises. They promise not to infringe on our religion or speech. They promise to let us bear militarily effective weapons as a governmental failsafe device. They promise not to break into our houses on a whim, or torture us or secretly arrest us. Whatever country, whatever promise, whatever their intent to do us good, all these are are words. Words. Ink on paper, vibrations of air.
We have all these words protecting us: We have the right to speak freely. We have the right to keep and bear arms. We have the right to be secure in our houses and persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. But these words, they aren't worth a damn anymore. They're changing the language on us. They're changing the country on us. And when all of it, the country, the government, the police, the language, our rights, has been mutated beyond the original intent and design, none of it will matter anymore.
We won't have any options anymore.
More on the death of common sense, respect, ad nauseum...
I posit this scenario: Suppose the kid up the street is having a party on the last real weekend before the 4th Of July. Suppose he wants to light off some bottlerockets, with the blessing and encouragement of EVERY adult on the property. Suppose you find the sound of bottlerockets to be irritating. What do you do?
Walk down and talk to the offending parties about how their arial celebration is disturbing your nap/baby/dog/Lesser Crested Pufferfish? Nah. Stick your head out your back door and yell "SHUT UP!" Wrong again!
Call the alderman, who happens to occupy the slum behind offending persons's property. Now, supposing you were the alderman, what do you do? Walk a hundred and twenty feet to tell your constituents that other constituents are happy for the graduatee, but could you tone down the pyrotechnics? Give them a call with the same message? Again, wrong answer.
Call the cops. Now, supposing you're the person making the calls, and that you have a higher IQ than most garden implements, what do you suppose the logical thing to do is? Yup, send an off-duty cop out, have him tell the enthusiastic partiers to cut the fireworks. Strike four! Two black and whites, and an unmarked show up. They confiscate everything on the driveway AND issue both offenders a COURT SUMMONS and nearly $750 in fines. Now, how much do you suppose the city paid to send four officers in three cars to bust two highschool kids for fireworks, ten days before the FOURTH OF JULY! How much is the court date and judge-time and all the related sh*t that goes into prosecuting them going to cost the city? Were none of these pigs teens at one point in time - that they could shake their heads and say "boys will be boys" and tell them to knock it off? Where'd Barney Fife go?
On the other hand, I got to see precisely the effect of cameras on fuzz. Like vampires and crosses, I tell you, and dang, if that' ain't an apt analogy. It was hi-larious seeing them get uncomfortable - you'd think for guys with a Glock 21 on their hips, they wouldn't be so scared of a camera. Turning away, holding up their arms, closing their eyes...my mom and her digital verified my hypothesis - those in authority DON'T like an audience when they work. Thus, they should have as big an audience as possible. Now, how to disseminate those pictures...
PS I wasn't one of the ones busted.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Back Again
[b]Back Again[/b]
As the title says, I'm back after extended hiatus. I'm trying to figure out how to blog from home so I don't have to take these long breaks.
[b]1000 Rounds[/b]
Bought a thousand rounds of rifle ammunition on Saturday. I'm a regular at the store, so the gun department manager gave me $75 dollars off, what wound up being about $.50 to $1.50 off per box, depending on what sales were applicable. So I've got a big box of the stuff sitting in my basement, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should hold 500 rounds in reserve, as a "don't touch except in case of emergency" stash, or not. According to this manager, the price is going to continue to climb. It's sitting at $4.00 per 20 right now, and that's without any sales. Ouch. Might have to switch over to the .223 platforms. Lower recoil, cheaper ammo, military commonality. All good things, but...I hate to quit using my rifle.
[b]Work News[/b]
Found out yesterday or the day before that I'm not the worst performing employee at RadioShack. I had thought I was the bottom of the totem pole for a while, it turns out, I'm the third best earning employee in the store. That's good.
[b]Another date[/b]
So as I don't go forgetting what I want to remember, I'm adding another date to my aforementioned list of dates. April 8th.
As the title says, I'm back after extended hiatus. I'm trying to figure out how to blog from home so I don't have to take these long breaks.
[b]1000 Rounds[/b]
Bought a thousand rounds of rifle ammunition on Saturday. I'm a regular at the store, so the gun department manager gave me $75 dollars off, what wound up being about $.50 to $1.50 off per box, depending on what sales were applicable. So I've got a big box of the stuff sitting in my basement, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should hold 500 rounds in reserve, as a "don't touch except in case of emergency" stash, or not. According to this manager, the price is going to continue to climb. It's sitting at $4.00 per 20 right now, and that's without any sales. Ouch. Might have to switch over to the .223 platforms. Lower recoil, cheaper ammo, military commonality. All good things, but...I hate to quit using my rifle.
[b]Work News[/b]
Found out yesterday or the day before that I'm not the worst performing employee at RadioShack. I had thought I was the bottom of the totem pole for a while, it turns out, I'm the third best earning employee in the store. That's good.
[b]Another date[/b]
So as I don't go forgetting what I want to remember, I'm adding another date to my aforementioned list of dates. April 8th.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Illegal immigra...er, invasion
Illegal immigra...er, invasion
Last time I checked, the English language contained a very descriptive word for what citizens of another country that enter yours illegally, hoist their flags over yours, desecrate your property, and start sending your money back to their home state. That word is not "undocumented workers," it's "invaders." The crime they commit is called invasion, and it is to their benefit that no one in our current government considers it the act of war that it is.
The border dispute is heating up, looks like that's going to be the deciding issue for 2006 elections. What's funny is, no one is addressing the concerns of the American people. The Democrats *hack, spit* are saying they're good citizens (yeah, maybe of Mexico) and that we shouldn't punish them based on their country of origin. The Republicans are offering up a "guest worker program." And EVERY poll I've seen, in either leftist or conservative media, shows that a majority of the American population want these invaders OUT, yesterday.
Gun stuff
Purchased a nice little military surplus rifle a few days ago. Very cool. The main feature is that it takes the same ammunition as my other rifle, but I wouldn't have gotten it (right now) if it hadn't have been $50 off. Now I'm looking at getting two bolt-action military surplus rifles for Buy A Gun Day, otherwise known as April 15th. I really think BAG day should be April 19th, coinciding with Patriot Day, but Kim du Toit (google that name) declared it to be the final day to get in your tax returns, a kind of "finger" to the US government.
Anyway, my new rifle is gunked up with great smelling cosmoline, and I've got to clean that all out before I take it to the range. This gun will be an "others" gun, I'm going to stick with my other rifle, this'll be a loaner to family/friends if things ever go sideways. Ditto the two bolties I'm looking at. All this'll be under three hundred bucks (or thereabouts) and if I hang onto employment long enough, I'll get a CX4 Storm later in the year.
Friends
Managed to call a friend from Sam Goody last night. That was cool, especially since my friend stated he'd been hoping I'd get in contact. Hopefully we'll get a chance to hang out some time. This also gives me hope that I may be able to contact other friends, however unlikely that may be.
Last time I checked, the English language contained a very descriptive word for what citizens of another country that enter yours illegally, hoist their flags over yours, desecrate your property, and start sending your money back to their home state. That word is not "undocumented workers," it's "invaders." The crime they commit is called invasion, and it is to their benefit that no one in our current government considers it the act of war that it is.
The border dispute is heating up, looks like that's going to be the deciding issue for 2006 elections. What's funny is, no one is addressing the concerns of the American people. The Democrats *hack, spit* are saying they're good citizens (yeah, maybe of Mexico) and that we shouldn't punish them based on their country of origin. The Republicans are offering up a "guest worker program." And EVERY poll I've seen, in either leftist or conservative media, shows that a majority of the American population want these invaders OUT, yesterday.
Gun stuff
Purchased a nice little military surplus rifle a few days ago. Very cool. The main feature is that it takes the same ammunition as my other rifle, but I wouldn't have gotten it (right now) if it hadn't have been $50 off. Now I'm looking at getting two bolt-action military surplus rifles for Buy A Gun Day, otherwise known as April 15th. I really think BAG day should be April 19th, coinciding with Patriot Day, but Kim du Toit (google that name) declared it to be the final day to get in your tax returns, a kind of "finger" to the US government.
Anyway, my new rifle is gunked up with great smelling cosmoline, and I've got to clean that all out before I take it to the range. This gun will be an "others" gun, I'm going to stick with my other rifle, this'll be a loaner to family/friends if things ever go sideways. Ditto the two bolties I'm looking at. All this'll be under three hundred bucks (or thereabouts) and if I hang onto employment long enough, I'll get a CX4 Storm later in the year.
Friends
Managed to call a friend from Sam Goody last night. That was cool, especially since my friend stated he'd been hoping I'd get in contact. Hopefully we'll get a chance to hang out some time. This also gives me hope that I may be able to contact other friends, however unlikely that may be.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Vincent Is Back
Vincent Is Back
Staggered spring breaks played havoc with my schedule, thus the interruption. Posting will resume, though I don't think anyone's watching.
Hired
I have once more found gainful employment. My application got kicked around the RadioShack network, and I wound up interviewing at the store in the mall where I'd worked before. Now, I swore that after Sam Goody, I was done in the mall. No more working there, ever again. But I took this job anyway. The only reason:I hope to see some of my SG friends passing through the mall.
Office Depot called for an interview 2 days after I started. Real cool.
So, I've been learning the ins and outs of working at RadioShack. It's nowhere near as fun as Sam Goody, and I don't think anything ever will be, but it is a paycheck and I'm not flipping burgers or shovelling manure, which is good.
Friends
Went to see a former-coworker's concert a few days ago. I'm awed that someone my age can write a song, put it to music, and then perform it in front of a hundred people. Incredible. Due to the delay in our all receiving letters of recommendation from the former store manager, I've decided to write one for this friend. I believe I am qualified to do so, having been in the management chain.
Speaking of Sam Goody...
Around the beginning of February I received an envelope containing statements that the entire Musicland chain was being auctioned off, and that I should come and bid (LOL). From what I've read recently, it was purchased by (I think) a British company, and 391 stores will remain open(out of the 1400 when I started). Musicland management insists this is a marketting strategy to better serve their core customer group. Musicland's creditors insist Musicland is in debt to the tune of $130 million. Musicland has countered by saying it's only around $120 million.
*sigh*
.22 Pistol fun, and other gun stuff
A nice little .22 pistol joined our household over spring break. That thing is fun as all get-out. In addition, I got a chance to try my standard-cap pistol magazines at the range. The cheaper, 17rd Eagle magazine has, it appeared, scarred the feed-ramp into compatibility with the low round angle (Basicly, the rounds sat in the magazine at a nearly horizontal angle. When the slide was either pulled or shot back, the empty would eject and the top round would slam into the very edge of the feed ramp.) The Mec-Gar 20rd (which really holds 21) worked like a fork. Pick it up, it'll work every time.
And, I'm proud to admit, my accuracy is way up. A quarter of a pie plate at 10 yards, rapid-fire.
Rifle ammunition is growing more expensive so I haven't been shooting my rifle much, haven't gotten a chance to try out the new stock. I'm looking at picking up 3 really cheap military surplus rifles within the week - instead of the carry gun paid for by my tax return.
It's good to be back
Staggered spring breaks played havoc with my schedule, thus the interruption. Posting will resume, though I don't think anyone's watching.
Hired
I have once more found gainful employment. My application got kicked around the RadioShack network, and I wound up interviewing at the store in the mall where I'd worked before. Now, I swore that after Sam Goody, I was done in the mall. No more working there, ever again. But I took this job anyway. The only reason:I hope to see some of my SG friends passing through the mall.
Office Depot called for an interview 2 days after I started. Real cool.
So, I've been learning the ins and outs of working at RadioShack. It's nowhere near as fun as Sam Goody, and I don't think anything ever will be, but it is a paycheck and I'm not flipping burgers or shovelling manure, which is good.
Friends
Went to see a former-coworker's concert a few days ago. I'm awed that someone my age can write a song, put it to music, and then perform it in front of a hundred people. Incredible. Due to the delay in our all receiving letters of recommendation from the former store manager, I've decided to write one for this friend. I believe I am qualified to do so, having been in the management chain.
Speaking of Sam Goody...
Around the beginning of February I received an envelope containing statements that the entire Musicland chain was being auctioned off, and that I should come and bid (LOL). From what I've read recently, it was purchased by (I think) a British company, and 391 stores will remain open(out of the 1400 when I started). Musicland management insists this is a marketting strategy to better serve their core customer group. Musicland's creditors insist Musicland is in debt to the tune of $130 million. Musicland has countered by saying it's only around $120 million.
*sigh*
.22 Pistol fun, and other gun stuff
A nice little .22 pistol joined our household over spring break. That thing is fun as all get-out. In addition, I got a chance to try my standard-cap pistol magazines at the range. The cheaper, 17rd Eagle magazine has, it appeared, scarred the feed-ramp into compatibility with the low round angle (Basicly, the rounds sat in the magazine at a nearly horizontal angle. When the slide was either pulled or shot back, the empty would eject and the top round would slam into the very edge of the feed ramp.) The Mec-Gar 20rd (which really holds 21) worked like a fork. Pick it up, it'll work every time.
And, I'm proud to admit, my accuracy is way up. A quarter of a pie plate at 10 yards, rapid-fire.
Rifle ammunition is growing more expensive so I haven't been shooting my rifle much, haven't gotten a chance to try out the new stock. I'm looking at picking up 3 really cheap military surplus rifles within the week - instead of the carry gun paid for by my tax return.
It's good to be back
Monday, February 27, 2006
Scary Article
Scary Article
http://www.reason.com/hod/jb022306.shtml Found this at The High Road. The Patriot Act *hack, spit* is being abused and misused even more these days. Went from "terrorism" cases only to drug, smuggling, and money laundering crimes, and it trumps up the charges on those. The water in the bowl is swirling faster and faster these days.
Job Hunt Work
The printer-connected computer at home is down for no apparent reason, so we're using my laptop as a backup. We call it the LEM, after the improvised lifeboat in Apollo 13. Anyway, I printed out a whole bunch of resumes at school today, and I'll drop them off at various places I've applied. Someone's got to hire me one of these days.
Gun Stuff
No cool gun stuff to report. Had a funky partial home invasion on Friday. Someone came into the house while I was home alone (I was in another room, away from the intruder), called out to see if anyone was home, and left. Scary and bizarre, and left me wishing I wasn't on the end of the house that didn't have the guns. I guess this was life free lesson on the value of locking your doors.
Lost
New episode of Lost this week. The 2nd season has been terrific in its own way, but I liked the first season better. I liked watching them peel back the first layer of mystery better than the second and third. IMO, the first season will go down as the best season of television ever.
http://www.reason.com/hod/jb022306.shtml Found this at The High Road. The Patriot Act *hack, spit* is being abused and misused even more these days. Went from "terrorism" cases only to drug, smuggling, and money laundering crimes, and it trumps up the charges on those. The water in the bowl is swirling faster and faster these days.
Job Hunt Work
The printer-connected computer at home is down for no apparent reason, so we're using my laptop as a backup. We call it the LEM, after the improvised lifeboat in Apollo 13. Anyway, I printed out a whole bunch of resumes at school today, and I'll drop them off at various places I've applied. Someone's got to hire me one of these days.
Gun Stuff
No cool gun stuff to report. Had a funky partial home invasion on Friday. Someone came into the house while I was home alone (I was in another room, away from the intruder), called out to see if anyone was home, and left. Scary and bizarre, and left me wishing I wasn't on the end of the house that didn't have the guns. I guess this was life free lesson on the value of locking your doors.
Lost
New episode of Lost this week. The 2nd season has been terrific in its own way, but I liked the first season better. I liked watching them peel back the first layer of mystery better than the second and third. IMO, the first season will go down as the best season of television ever.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Applied For More Jobs
Applied For More Jobs
Let's see, 2 different Family Videos, Hollywood Video, Blockbuster, Radio Shack, and I'll have an application in at Barnes&Noble by the end of the week. I really hope one of these places pans out. Definitely did NOT get the Family Video job (and it annoys the heck out of me that AFTER they rejected me (told me they'd filled all their spots), they put up a big APPLY TODAY billboard), doesn't look like Blockbuster or Radio Shack will come through either.
Collapsible Stock
Got and installed my collapsible stock. WOW. What a difference. Before, everyone had to get all cramped up trying to hold my rifle, now it's the proper length and it sits right in your shoulder instead of riding up on your collarbone. Can't wait to shoot it. I hope I'm able to use it more effectively now.
Other Gun Stuff
Found my compact 9mm - the Beretta 9000s. Cocked and locked carry AND it takes 92FS magazines. I don't much like it though, every other gun I've bought has jumped out at me, this one...all guns are good, but its nothing special. The PX4 Storm looks interesting too, like a Commander sized version of my 92FS. I'm planning on picking up a carry sized gun when I get my tax return. Either that or buy a few more magazines and a few thousand rounds and get my rifle situation set up the way I want it.
Shopping
Went looking for jeans and shoes the other day. I swear, manufacturers have declared war on anyone who's not 6 feet tall. It is impossible to find size 28 jeans or size 7 shoes. Maybe I'll try ordering jeans online, from the same company that makes mine.
Concert On Friday
Might go see a Sam Goody coworker's concert on Friday. That'll be fun. I'd really like to keep in touch with my friends.
Let's see, 2 different Family Videos, Hollywood Video, Blockbuster, Radio Shack, and I'll have an application in at Barnes&Noble by the end of the week. I really hope one of these places pans out. Definitely did NOT get the Family Video job (and it annoys the heck out of me that AFTER they rejected me (told me they'd filled all their spots), they put up a big APPLY TODAY billboard), doesn't look like Blockbuster or Radio Shack will come through either.
Collapsible Stock
Got and installed my collapsible stock. WOW. What a difference. Before, everyone had to get all cramped up trying to hold my rifle, now it's the proper length and it sits right in your shoulder instead of riding up on your collarbone. Can't wait to shoot it. I hope I'm able to use it more effectively now.
Other Gun Stuff
Found my compact 9mm - the Beretta 9000s. Cocked and locked carry AND it takes 92FS magazines. I don't much like it though, every other gun I've bought has jumped out at me, this one...all guns are good, but its nothing special. The PX4 Storm looks interesting too, like a Commander sized version of my 92FS. I'm planning on picking up a carry sized gun when I get my tax return. Either that or buy a few more magazines and a few thousand rounds and get my rifle situation set up the way I want it.
Shopping
Went looking for jeans and shoes the other day. I swear, manufacturers have declared war on anyone who's not 6 feet tall. It is impossible to find size 28 jeans or size 7 shoes. Maybe I'll try ordering jeans online, from the same company that makes mine.
Concert On Friday
Might go see a Sam Goody coworker's concert on Friday. That'll be fun. I'd really like to keep in touch with my friends.
Monday, February 13, 2006
School stuff
School Stuff
I had kind of thought that my money would buy competence. My OS teacher not only has not planned more than a week ahead (and we just caught up to that mark), but he spends literally the majority of his time talking about how he's "learning with us" and how he doesn't feel too bad about not giving us any help because "you'll have to look stuff up in the real world." I may wind up talking to the department head, or whoever his boss is as soon as I have a real, valid complaint. Oh yeah, and the internet site he's hosting his assignments on doesn't work most of the time. Gotta call the school about that.
Collapsible Stock
I ordered my collapsible rifle stock about a week ago. Hopefully it'll get here today. I look forward to being able to control my rifle more. That should make it much more enjoyable to shoot.
Got to kick the tires on a couple of USPs yesterday, .45s in fullsize and compact. Loved both, but it doesn't make sense for me to buy a 45 that's not a 1911. The CX4 is still on my list to get too, as is some form of compact 9mm, either 9x19 or .380.
Job Hunt
Interviewed at the "stop-and-rob" for about 30 seconds. "Hi, what hours are you looking for, we might call you on Monday." That was the extent of the interview. Here's hoping they call today.
Filled out an online application for Blockbuster. The only store that really cares how I feel when guilty criminals go free - that was a question on the app. Strange. RadioShack has an online app. that I'll fill out today. That'd be another great place to work.
The Real Thing
Watched Bo Bice's new video for "The Real Thing." I really like his music. Sure, he doesn't write his own songs and he is a manufactured popstar, but dang, there isn't a song he does that I wouldn't give a +9 out of 10 to.
Serenity
Bought the movie last night and watched it after dinner. I love this movie. Captain Mal is the most libertarian person on film in the past few years, noble to boot, and Jayne is a laugh a minute. Great movie, I recommend it without reservation. It isn't, but should be, given the label "family film." Everyone should see it.
I had kind of thought that my money would buy competence. My OS teacher not only has not planned more than a week ahead (and we just caught up to that mark), but he spends literally the majority of his time talking about how he's "learning with us" and how he doesn't feel too bad about not giving us any help because "you'll have to look stuff up in the real world." I may wind up talking to the department head, or whoever his boss is as soon as I have a real, valid complaint. Oh yeah, and the internet site he's hosting his assignments on doesn't work most of the time. Gotta call the school about that.
Collapsible Stock
I ordered my collapsible rifle stock about a week ago. Hopefully it'll get here today. I look forward to being able to control my rifle more. That should make it much more enjoyable to shoot.
Got to kick the tires on a couple of USPs yesterday, .45s in fullsize and compact. Loved both, but it doesn't make sense for me to buy a 45 that's not a 1911. The CX4 is still on my list to get too, as is some form of compact 9mm, either 9x19 or .380.
Job Hunt
Interviewed at the "stop-and-rob" for about 30 seconds. "Hi, what hours are you looking for, we might call you on Monday." That was the extent of the interview. Here's hoping they call today.
Filled out an online application for Blockbuster. The only store that really cares how I feel when guilty criminals go free - that was a question on the app. Strange. RadioShack has an online app. that I'll fill out today. That'd be another great place to work.
The Real Thing
Watched Bo Bice's new video for "The Real Thing." I really like his music. Sure, he doesn't write his own songs and he is a manufactured popstar, but dang, there isn't a song he does that I wouldn't give a +9 out of 10 to.
Serenity
Bought the movie last night and watched it after dinner. I love this movie. Captain Mal is the most libertarian person on film in the past few years, noble to boot, and Jayne is a laugh a minute. Great movie, I recommend it without reservation. It isn't, but should be, given the label "family film." Everyone should see it.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Work Is Over
Work Is Over
I had the honor of closing the store, alone, for the last time on Saturday night. That sucked. I'm gonna miss this job. I've still got today and Tuesday to help them pack everything up, and then I'm back to looking for work. Gander Mountain and that little "Stop-and-rob" video store figure high on my list.
Fortunately, I got an extension on my homework to allow me to finish at the store.
More than the work, I'll miss the people. I've "lost" several friends to firing/seasonal employment expiring recently, and I'm going to "lose" my current set to the store shutting down. I really want to find a way to stay in touch. My fear is that I may appear weird by trying to remain in contact.
Yes, I know I have a problem letting go.
This next line goes out, not to anyone reading this, but to the people I've known in the course of my work. I hope we meet again. If not, see you in another life.
Gun Stuff
Got my 2 high-caps in the mail a few days ago - that was a happy day. My dad took them out to the range while I was working. Both magazines, one expensive, the other cheap, performed without fault. That's great. Now I need about 20 more.
I had the honor of closing the store, alone, for the last time on Saturday night. That sucked. I'm gonna miss this job. I've still got today and Tuesday to help them pack everything up, and then I'm back to looking for work. Gander Mountain and that little "Stop-and-rob" video store figure high on my list.
Fortunately, I got an extension on my homework to allow me to finish at the store.
More than the work, I'll miss the people. I've "lost" several friends to firing/seasonal employment expiring recently, and I'm going to "lose" my current set to the store shutting down. I really want to find a way to stay in touch. My fear is that I may appear weird by trying to remain in contact.
Yes, I know I have a problem letting go.
This next line goes out, not to anyone reading this, but to the people I've known in the course of my work. I hope we meet again. If not, see you in another life.
Gun Stuff
Got my 2 high-caps in the mail a few days ago - that was a happy day. My dad took them out to the range while I was working. Both magazines, one expensive, the other cheap, performed without fault. That's great. Now I need about 20 more.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Vincent Is Back
Vincent Is Back
Took some time off to find my way around some security issues. I still refuse to post from home, which meant creating a fictitious identity somewhere else. Fun. Don't know how regularly I'll be posting, but I'll be here semi regularly.
Work is ending
I got kind of...fired...from my job. Well, put on notice that I would be fired on February 7th. Now rumors are surfacing that the store is closing. I start work as an honest-to-goodness third key and boom, no more work. Even if the store doesn't close, I'm going to beat them to the punch and leave on Feb. 6th. At least I outlasted the Christmas temps. They got fired without warning.
Stuff Starting
24 started again. That's good. Lost started again. That's better than good. School started again, and that's been decent. I'd rather be working. At least some of the classes look to be interesting. One teacher (who I have for 2 classes) is nearly blind and needs to view his screen from 4 inches away with a magnifying glass. The other hasn't planned beyond the first two weeks. This should be interesting.
Gun Stuff
Because of a job I'm scoping out (I affectionately call the location a "Stop and rob," due to the grand total of three employees in a house-sized building (one is the average) and the late hours) I'm tenatively looking more into concealable guns rather than stuff like the P220, AR-15, or the CX4. Sig's got the 232 and the 239 that I like. Not that I'd go about breaking the law...unless I was actually in fear for my life. My Spyderco will fit the bill until then, but I want to be prepared.
Bought 2 high-caps for my Beretta, and I'm looking at a collapsible stock for my rifle. Very cool. Hopefully the mags will function flawlessly (one was really cheap) and I can pick some more up.
Gov. Doyle vetoed a watered-down concealed carry bill. Again. The swine. I still want to see him mugged in an alley. Then put on trial for assisting in that photographer's murder of course.
Music
Both "The Great Divide" and "One Thing Remains" have grown on me, a lot recently. Also, I got Bo Bice's "The Real Thing" for Christmas. Perfect pop-rock music. Absolutely perfect. With the possible exception of "My World" and "Valley Of Angels" there's not a song on there I wouldn't rate at 9 out of 10.
I'm currently looking into picking up Savatage's "Dead Winter Dead" and "Streets - A Rock Opera" CDs. I've downloaded a bunch of their songs and I'm loving the sound. "Believe," "When The Crowds Are Gone," and "Edge Of Thorns" are three of my favorites.
Took some time off to find my way around some security issues. I still refuse to post from home, which meant creating a fictitious identity somewhere else. Fun. Don't know how regularly I'll be posting, but I'll be here semi regularly.
Work is ending
I got kind of...fired...from my job. Well, put on notice that I would be fired on February 7th. Now rumors are surfacing that the store is closing. I start work as an honest-to-goodness third key and boom, no more work. Even if the store doesn't close, I'm going to beat them to the punch and leave on Feb. 6th. At least I outlasted the Christmas temps. They got fired without warning.
Stuff Starting
24 started again. That's good. Lost started again. That's better than good. School started again, and that's been decent. I'd rather be working. At least some of the classes look to be interesting. One teacher (who I have for 2 classes) is nearly blind and needs to view his screen from 4 inches away with a magnifying glass. The other hasn't planned beyond the first two weeks. This should be interesting.
Gun Stuff
Because of a job I'm scoping out (I affectionately call the location a "Stop and rob," due to the grand total of three employees in a house-sized building (one is the average) and the late hours) I'm tenatively looking more into concealable guns rather than stuff like the P220, AR-15, or the CX4. Sig's got the 232 and the 239 that I like. Not that I'd go about breaking the law...unless I was actually in fear for my life. My Spyderco will fit the bill until then, but I want to be prepared.
Bought 2 high-caps for my Beretta, and I'm looking at a collapsible stock for my rifle. Very cool. Hopefully the mags will function flawlessly (one was really cheap) and I can pick some more up.
Gov. Doyle vetoed a watered-down concealed carry bill. Again. The swine. I still want to see him mugged in an alley. Then put on trial for assisting in that photographer's murder of course.
Music
Both "The Great Divide" and "One Thing Remains" have grown on me, a lot recently. Also, I got Bo Bice's "The Real Thing" for Christmas. Perfect pop-rock music. Absolutely perfect. With the possible exception of "My World" and "Valley Of Angels" there's not a song on there I wouldn't rate at 9 out of 10.
I'm currently looking into picking up Savatage's "Dead Winter Dead" and "Streets - A Rock Opera" CDs. I've downloaded a bunch of their songs and I'm loving the sound. "Believe," "When The Crowds Are Gone," and "Edge Of Thorns" are three of my favorites.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Nov. 5, 2005 & Dec. 10, 2005
Nov. 5, 2005 & Dec. 10, 2005
These dates have absolutely no significance for anyone except me, and I'm recording them only because I never want to forget them. Maybe someday I'll share the significance.
Last Week Of School
Thank God. I've got this week and next Monday, and then I don't have full week until mid-way through January. YES!!!
In other time-related news, tonight will be the fourth +6 hour day I've worked in a row, three of them until 10:30 or later. At least I got a start on my Christmas shopping last night. I have this horrible sinking feeling that next week, since I won't have school, I'm going to be working open to close just about every day.
Bank robberies
According to a woman at a jewelry store near my place of employment, the number of "scary incidents" during bank deposits have increased several-fold this year. I've already had to go on one, and probably will do another tonight. WI senate passed the concealed carry bill 23-9 last week, the assembly is expected to pass it this week. A little too little, a little too late. I'd much prefer to do a deposit run with gun.
And speaking of guns...
I fell in love with the USP (in all it's incarnations) all over again this week. Dang it. Got to "kick the tires" on a USP45, and somehow, the hi-cap USP9C has wormed its way onto my "To Buy" list. Cocked-and-locked carry, 13+1 capacity, decocker, mid-length barrel with recoil reduction system, and to top it all off, it fits like a glove. Any more choices and I'm going to start tearing my hair out.
So much to say...
I don't know where to start. I'd like to comment on the extremes in our media, which seems to be represented solely by thuggery or the-cult-of-the-omnipotent-state. Or the extremes in our political system, which seems to divided into wants-to-be-Marx camp and the wants-to-be-Mussolini camp. Someday soon.
These dates have absolutely no significance for anyone except me, and I'm recording them only because I never want to forget them. Maybe someday I'll share the significance.
Last Week Of School
Thank God. I've got this week and next Monday, and then I don't have full week until mid-way through January. YES!!!
In other time-related news, tonight will be the fourth +6 hour day I've worked in a row, three of them until 10:30 or later. At least I got a start on my Christmas shopping last night. I have this horrible sinking feeling that next week, since I won't have school, I'm going to be working open to close just about every day.
Bank robberies
According to a woman at a jewelry store near my place of employment, the number of "scary incidents" during bank deposits have increased several-fold this year. I've already had to go on one, and probably will do another tonight. WI senate passed the concealed carry bill 23-9 last week, the assembly is expected to pass it this week. A little too little, a little too late. I'd much prefer to do a deposit run with gun.
And speaking of guns...
I fell in love with the USP (in all it's incarnations) all over again this week. Dang it. Got to "kick the tires" on a USP45, and somehow, the hi-cap USP9C has wormed its way onto my "To Buy" list. Cocked-and-locked carry, 13+1 capacity, decocker, mid-length barrel with recoil reduction system, and to top it all off, it fits like a glove. Any more choices and I'm going to start tearing my hair out.
So much to say...
I don't know where to start. I'd like to comment on the extremes in our media, which seems to be represented solely by thuggery or the-cult-of-the-omnipotent-state. Or the extremes in our political system, which seems to divided into wants-to-be-Marx camp and the wants-to-be-Mussolini camp. Someday soon.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
I'm Smarter Than This
I'm Smarter Than This
...or I thought I was. I'm going to help my mom make Christmas cookies this afternoon. She leaves to take my brother back to school and tells me to preheat the oven. I go do so. 30 seconds later I think "There was nothing on the counter." I had assumed she'd taken everything out and set it on the counter, therefore I had not done so. I've moved faster before, but I really got moving this time. I hit the hallway, smell smoke, and say "Oh CRAP I was right." Well, not exactly word for word what I said, but I don't say what I said in public. The bread's on fire. Everything is melting in its plastic wrapper. I spent 20 minutes getting everything out. Luckily I thought of this before the smoke reached the room I was in, or we'dve had a housefire.
The squirrels are intensely happy - we threw out all the bread that wasn't covered in plastic.
I'm smarter than this. Or so I thought.
Braveheart
It's not quite the dull movie I thought it was. I'm rewatching it, and I must say, I'm impressed. Not up to Patriot or Collateral quality, but quite good. William Wallace's words ring true even today:
There's a difference between us. You think the people of this land exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.
I AM William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my country men, here, in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Against that? No, we'll run, and we'll live.
Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take away our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!
This one is particularly stirring in a country that, from time to time, contemplates the draft. What Wallace does to those who enslave Scotland's daughters and sons is still appropriate for those who would enslave ours:
Go back to England and tell them there that Scotland's daughters and sons are yours no more. Tell them Scotland is free.
...or I thought I was. I'm going to help my mom make Christmas cookies this afternoon. She leaves to take my brother back to school and tells me to preheat the oven. I go do so. 30 seconds later I think "There was nothing on the counter." I had assumed she'd taken everything out and set it on the counter, therefore I had not done so. I've moved faster before, but I really got moving this time. I hit the hallway, smell smoke, and say "Oh CRAP I was right." Well, not exactly word for word what I said, but I don't say what I said in public. The bread's on fire. Everything is melting in its plastic wrapper. I spent 20 minutes getting everything out. Luckily I thought of this before the smoke reached the room I was in, or we'dve had a housefire.
The squirrels are intensely happy - we threw out all the bread that wasn't covered in plastic.
I'm smarter than this. Or so I thought.
Braveheart
It's not quite the dull movie I thought it was. I'm rewatching it, and I must say, I'm impressed. Not up to Patriot or Collateral quality, but quite good. William Wallace's words ring true even today:
There's a difference between us. You think the people of this land exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.
I AM William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my country men, here, in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Against that? No, we'll run, and we'll live.
Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take away our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!
This one is particularly stirring in a country that, from time to time, contemplates the draft. What Wallace does to those who enslave Scotland's daughters and sons is still appropriate for those who would enslave ours:
Go back to England and tell them there that Scotland's daughters and sons are yours no more. Tell them Scotland is free.
Monday, December 05, 2005
I Think I'm Gonna Make It
I Think I'm Gonna Make It
Through the end of this semester of school. They're lightening the load a little bit, and with the exception of programming, there's nothing too incredibly hard coming up. Boosted my grade up to an 89(B) in math, down from a (D) which I dropped to because of a test. Math is only going to be slightly difficult from here on out. My other class (maintaining computers) is gonna be easy, and programming will be difficult. I always manage to pull through in that class though. Always.
Work, On The Other Hand...
If I can make it to February, or at least the middle of January, I am home free. Everybody's struggling right now, and I'm on the lower end of the curve. I'm the employee you WANT to have - I ask what MORE I can do, you have to force me to take time off, I do my job competently...but there are some things that just aren't working out because of the season, and it's driving me up the wall and putting me in fear for my employment. On the other hand, I'm ALWAYS fearing for my employment, so this isn't much new. If I can just make it to February, I'll be ok, things will start going right. I hope.
Treason In Congress
Senators Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton are proposing to regulate the video game industry to prevent companies from making graphic video games. Not rating these games mind you, or preventing them from being sold to children (the Constitutionality of both of those proposals being dubious), no, they're going straight for the top of the heap - legislating against the CREATION of such games as Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas and God Of War. Apparently the First Amendment means nothing when compared to government assuming parental responsibilities.
Our elected officials would respect our highest laws much more if screwing with them carried a charge of treason.
Through the end of this semester of school. They're lightening the load a little bit, and with the exception of programming, there's nothing too incredibly hard coming up. Boosted my grade up to an 89(B) in math, down from a (D) which I dropped to because of a test. Math is only going to be slightly difficult from here on out. My other class (maintaining computers) is gonna be easy, and programming will be difficult. I always manage to pull through in that class though. Always.
Work, On The Other Hand...
If I can make it to February, or at least the middle of January, I am home free. Everybody's struggling right now, and I'm on the lower end of the curve. I'm the employee you WANT to have - I ask what MORE I can do, you have to force me to take time off, I do my job competently...but there are some things that just aren't working out because of the season, and it's driving me up the wall and putting me in fear for my employment. On the other hand, I'm ALWAYS fearing for my employment, so this isn't much new. If I can just make it to February, I'll be ok, things will start going right. I hope.
Treason In Congress
Senators Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton are proposing to regulate the video game industry to prevent companies from making graphic video games. Not rating these games mind you, or preventing them from being sold to children (the Constitutionality of both of those proposals being dubious), no, they're going straight for the top of the heap - legislating against the CREATION of such games as Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas and God Of War. Apparently the First Amendment means nothing when compared to government assuming parental responsibilities.
Our elected officials would respect our highest laws much more if screwing with them carried a charge of treason.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Now it feels like Christmas...
Now it feels like Christmas...
There's about 2 inches of snow, and the white wet stuff is still falling. Roads are good and it looks way more festive out than it did 2 days ago. Very nice. Around noon it looked like it was going to lighten up, but it went back to being nice and gloomy. Perfect holiday weather.
Lighten up
Everyone (well, 2 of my coworkers and one of my online friends) is telling me I need to lighten up, be more outgoing, be more pro-active. Even I am aware that I need to be less distant. Sure, I'm friendly, nice, and polite, but I hold myself back from lots of situations. Gotta fix that. Only problem is, I don't know how. And part of me isn't even sure I want to.
The longest day
Tomorrow will be the longest day I've worked yet. 9AM to 7PM, and going to a basketball game for 2 hours right after. Fortunately, Saturday will be a day of rest, no work, no school, going out to get the Christmas tree. Which reminds me, I have to do some Christmas shopping one of these days.
Lost
Lost was excellent last night. Missed the last 3 minutes, but it was still good. Can't wait to see what Eko and Locke found on the tape. Glad to see Sawyer's back, his presense was really missing from the show while he was incapacitated. I hope he goes back to being a bit of a rebel, not fitting in too well.
Let Me Go
Listened to this last night on Scott Stapp's The Great Divide CD. The hope I was holding out for it was not realized. That leaves 3 good songs on the whole CD (that I know of so far). Glad I got it for only $8.99.
There's about 2 inches of snow, and the white wet stuff is still falling. Roads are good and it looks way more festive out than it did 2 days ago. Very nice. Around noon it looked like it was going to lighten up, but it went back to being nice and gloomy. Perfect holiday weather.
Lighten up
Everyone (well, 2 of my coworkers and one of my online friends) is telling me I need to lighten up, be more outgoing, be more pro-active. Even I am aware that I need to be less distant. Sure, I'm friendly, nice, and polite, but I hold myself back from lots of situations. Gotta fix that. Only problem is, I don't know how. And part of me isn't even sure I want to.
The longest day
Tomorrow will be the longest day I've worked yet. 9AM to 7PM, and going to a basketball game for 2 hours right after. Fortunately, Saturday will be a day of rest, no work, no school, going out to get the Christmas tree. Which reminds me, I have to do some Christmas shopping one of these days.
Lost
Lost was excellent last night. Missed the last 3 minutes, but it was still good. Can't wait to see what Eko and Locke found on the tape. Glad to see Sawyer's back, his presense was really missing from the show while he was incapacitated. I hope he goes back to being a bit of a rebel, not fitting in too well.
Let Me Go
Listened to this last night on Scott Stapp's The Great Divide CD. The hope I was holding out for it was not realized. That leaves 3 good songs on the whole CD (that I know of so far). Glad I got it for only $8.99.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Scott Stapp - The Great Divide
Scott Stapp - The Great Divide
Picked up a copy of Scott Stapp's solo CD last Tuesday. Not bad, but nothing as good as what Creed put out. Mark Tremonti balanced out Stapp's self-centered (as in, looking inward or writing about himself) writing. Most of what Stapp writes are short verses and short, repetitious choruses. And he has this odd habit of either speaking or shouting on the CD, without following along with the music. One final complaint - I've never seen liner notes so messed up, lyrically. They had to have gone to print a few years before he finished writing. Either that or someone at the printer had a good laugh and re-arranged the structures of half the songs.
That said, "Surround Me," "The Great Divide," and "Broken" are great songs, and I've got a good feeling about "Let Me Go."
Picked up a copy of Scott Stapp's solo CD last Tuesday. Not bad, but nothing as good as what Creed put out. Mark Tremonti balanced out Stapp's self-centered (as in, looking inward or writing about himself) writing. Most of what Stapp writes are short verses and short, repetitious choruses. And he has this odd habit of either speaking or shouting on the CD, without following along with the music. One final complaint - I've never seen liner notes so messed up, lyrically. They had to have gone to print a few years before he finished writing. Either that or someone at the printer had a good laugh and re-arranged the structures of half the songs.
That said, "Surround Me," "The Great Divide," and "Broken" are great songs, and I've got a good feeling about "Let Me Go."
Monday, November 28, 2005
Christmas time approacheth
Christmas time approacheth...
And it doesn't look like Christmas out. Or anytime near Christmas. Sure, the sky is the correct shade of dour gray, but it's 50 degrees out and all the snow melted. If the trend continues, we'll be wearing shorts to go get the tree next weekend, an activity that, thankfully, the manager gave me Saturday off for. The holiday shopping season started, and we (at the store) all survived the Black Weekend with a modicum of difficulty. Not horrible, but we're seriously lacking in numbers (the percentage of sales drivers offered by an employee that are accepted by the customer) and everyone's just digging the hole deeper. According to my calculations, I worked about 40 hours last week. Not bad for a part-timer.
Sig 220
Last time I checked, "my" discounted Sig 220 was still at the gun store. It's mocking me, I'm sure of it. It's purposefully not being sold in order to tempt me. LOL Maybe at the end of the Christmas season I'll buy myself a reward for making it through the Christmas workload and my first semester of college. But then I think not, it makes more sense to get the CX4 Storm, or the really nice 1911, since both are compatible with guns already in the house. When you make as much money as I do, and when guns cost as much as they do, you have to be at least 98% sure of your purchase. Part of me thinks I just want one because Neil McCauly used one in Heat. Perhaps I should stick with my rule of "Never buy anything used by a movie character you liked." That's what kept me from getting a USP9 back in July, I didn't know if I wanted one because I honestly liked the gun or because Vincent used one in Collateral. Now I wish I'd gotten it.
Math test today
Hopefully I didn't screw up as bad as I did last week. No way of knowing till next Monday though. The teacher gave us 18 points of extra credit problems and then skimped on the instructions, leaving us all to blunder along trying to figure it out. ...and don't even bother trying to ask questions...
No hesitation
A friend at work asked me if I could take 3 of her hours one day next week, making for an 11 hour day for me. I said yes, and looking back, I said it without any hesitation. I'm still trying to figure out why I did this, and it occurs to me, I'd do it for any of the people there. Hmm...perhaps I just always do everything I can to help my friends. I wonder, seriously, if that's a good thing. On the flip side, if I take these extra hours, I won't be able to go home until about 10PM because my parents will be at my brother's ball game.
Savatage
I'm looking into starting to listen to the band Savatage. Supposedly they're very much like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a band which is near the top of my favorites list. But from what I've heard, Savatage doesn't appeal to me very much. At least I can download a few songs before I decide to buy the CD. Which reminds me, TSO's Christmas Eve Sarajevo (12/24) is on infinite repeat in my head. Good song. I look forward to seeing them in concert next month. I hear they put on a heck of a show.
And it doesn't look like Christmas out. Or anytime near Christmas. Sure, the sky is the correct shade of dour gray, but it's 50 degrees out and all the snow melted. If the trend continues, we'll be wearing shorts to go get the tree next weekend, an activity that, thankfully, the manager gave me Saturday off for. The holiday shopping season started, and we (at the store) all survived the Black Weekend with a modicum of difficulty. Not horrible, but we're seriously lacking in numbers (the percentage of sales drivers offered by an employee that are accepted by the customer) and everyone's just digging the hole deeper. According to my calculations, I worked about 40 hours last week. Not bad for a part-timer.
Sig 220
Last time I checked, "my" discounted Sig 220 was still at the gun store. It's mocking me, I'm sure of it. It's purposefully not being sold in order to tempt me. LOL Maybe at the end of the Christmas season I'll buy myself a reward for making it through the Christmas workload and my first semester of college. But then I think not, it makes more sense to get the CX4 Storm, or the really nice 1911, since both are compatible with guns already in the house. When you make as much money as I do, and when guns cost as much as they do, you have to be at least 98% sure of your purchase. Part of me thinks I just want one because Neil McCauly used one in Heat. Perhaps I should stick with my rule of "Never buy anything used by a movie character you liked." That's what kept me from getting a USP9 back in July, I didn't know if I wanted one because I honestly liked the gun or because Vincent used one in Collateral. Now I wish I'd gotten it.
Math test today
Hopefully I didn't screw up as bad as I did last week. No way of knowing till next Monday though. The teacher gave us 18 points of extra credit problems and then skimped on the instructions, leaving us all to blunder along trying to figure it out. ...and don't even bother trying to ask questions...
No hesitation
A friend at work asked me if I could take 3 of her hours one day next week, making for an 11 hour day for me. I said yes, and looking back, I said it without any hesitation. I'm still trying to figure out why I did this, and it occurs to me, I'd do it for any of the people there. Hmm...perhaps I just always do everything I can to help my friends. I wonder, seriously, if that's a good thing. On the flip side, if I take these extra hours, I won't be able to go home until about 10PM because my parents will be at my brother's ball game.
Savatage
I'm looking into starting to listen to the band Savatage. Supposedly they're very much like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a band which is near the top of my favorites list. But from what I've heard, Savatage doesn't appeal to me very much. At least I can download a few songs before I decide to buy the CD. Which reminds me, TSO's Christmas Eve Sarajevo (12/24) is on infinite repeat in my head. Good song. I look forward to seeing them in concert next month. I hear they put on a heck of a show.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Borrowed Time
Borrowed Time
Monday updates only so far, with that trend continuing until about February. I've been working hours that qualify as full time (this week I'm putting in three hours shy of a full-time store manager's schedule). What's left over I work on school work, sleep, and hang out online (a little), not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily in equal amounts.
I'm getting the feeling I'm running on borrowed time. Too many early days, too many nights of getting to sleep at 12-1AM. God only knows I can't get sick, I don't have the time. The only way I was able to finish one of my homework assignments last week was because my computer chewed it up and I got a 5 day extension. I doubt the teacher's gonna give that one out again.
I'm not digging this, to quote a Nickelback song. I wonder if I'm burning out. I didn't accept a 4key assignment and pay to become a de facto 3key because they can't find one. The extra hours mean I can't spend as much time at school as I'd like, figuring out my complicated programming assignments, which mainly consist of the teacher handing us the book and saying figure it out, and then lecturing on something we've already heard about several times before.
Thank God I have no social life, no real-life friends, and no close ones online. Even my parents are starting to express displeasure with the amount of time that I'm gone, and they've always been extremely supportive.
National Ammo Day and other gun stuff
I realize this is kind of creepy. I go straight from talking about being burned out to talking about guns. Have no fear, I'm not going to go off the deep end. I bought 800 rounds of 9mm for National Ammo Day, a purchase I really, really like. Contemplated getting a Sig 220 when one showed up at the friendly neighborhood gun store for under $500, but decided against it. Which means I'm back to my problem of what to get in May:AR-15 or a REALLY nice 1911. Or a Beretta CX4 Storm. Or a NIB Sig 220. If only all decisions had such happy endings.
More on work
I'm considering (after the holiday season blows over) jumping up to 3key. More money, same hours, only difference is I'd have to close the store some days. And then I wonder....If I'm burned out now, what will it be like when I take on MORE responsibility? Another customer hit on me the other day. Everyone thinks this is hilarious. Had an 8AM meeting yesterday, and then worked till 6:30-7PM. Fun. Sort of.
More on The Legacy
As I noted in my last post, a Mr. Recently Exhonerated is the prime suspect in the killing of a 25 year old photographer. As of right now, his computers have been impounded and are being examined for evidence of murder and/or disturbing interests. Leg irons and handcuffs have been found at his house. Mr.RE still maintains the police are framing him, that the whole thing was a setup, and that some mysterious lights he and one of his Devil's Rejects brothers saw are to blame. Yeah, right. The police force procured pints of his blood (he says it came from a re-opened cut on his finger, if that amount of your DNA is THAT easy for the police to come by, you're an absolute idiot with a clotting problem and a disfunctional memory), killed a photographer, burned her and her items on his salvage yard, buried her car there, and snuck her car keys, tainted with HIS DNA into his room.
I'm still wondering who we'd be burying if that photographer had've had a Glock.
Tacoma shooting
This one's weird. Preppy college student procures illegal, fully-automatic battle rifle found nowhere else but the Swedish military, conceals it on his way into the mall, wounds 3 people, and is apprehended by 3 undercover officers. Here's the weird stuff: The rifle is a Bofor's AK-5, found only in the Swedish military. Importation is totally illegal, and there are extremely limited quantities. A cell-phone call from a witness at the scene positively identified the rifle as the AK-5 in a "during the shooting" call to police/news media. The police respond to the call by LOCKING ALL EXITS, effectively trapping everyone inside. Witnesses report seeing 3 undercover police officers (Perhaps citizens carrying legally concealed weapons? We'll never hear/know.) at the time of the shooting. Despite such heavy firepower, only three people (to date) were injured.
I know I'm not the only one wondering what new victim disarmament bill is a few days away.
Savin' Me
Nickelback's excellent, best-ever song Savin' Me is running through my head on infinite repeat. Much better than their current junk single. I'm so disappointed in them. They released some raunchy piece-of-crap single in the US, everyone else gets Far Away. Ugh.
Monday updates only so far, with that trend continuing until about February. I've been working hours that qualify as full time (this week I'm putting in three hours shy of a full-time store manager's schedule). What's left over I work on school work, sleep, and hang out online (a little), not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily in equal amounts.
I'm getting the feeling I'm running on borrowed time. Too many early days, too many nights of getting to sleep at 12-1AM. God only knows I can't get sick, I don't have the time. The only way I was able to finish one of my homework assignments last week was because my computer chewed it up and I got a 5 day extension. I doubt the teacher's gonna give that one out again.
I'm not digging this, to quote a Nickelback song. I wonder if I'm burning out. I didn't accept a 4key assignment and pay to become a de facto 3key because they can't find one. The extra hours mean I can't spend as much time at school as I'd like, figuring out my complicated programming assignments, which mainly consist of the teacher handing us the book and saying figure it out, and then lecturing on something we've already heard about several times before.
Thank God I have no social life, no real-life friends, and no close ones online. Even my parents are starting to express displeasure with the amount of time that I'm gone, and they've always been extremely supportive.
National Ammo Day and other gun stuff
I realize this is kind of creepy. I go straight from talking about being burned out to talking about guns. Have no fear, I'm not going to go off the deep end. I bought 800 rounds of 9mm for National Ammo Day, a purchase I really, really like. Contemplated getting a Sig 220 when one showed up at the friendly neighborhood gun store for under $500, but decided against it. Which means I'm back to my problem of what to get in May:AR-15 or a REALLY nice 1911. Or a Beretta CX4 Storm. Or a NIB Sig 220. If only all decisions had such happy endings.
More on work
I'm considering (after the holiday season blows over) jumping up to 3key. More money, same hours, only difference is I'd have to close the store some days. And then I wonder....If I'm burned out now, what will it be like when I take on MORE responsibility? Another customer hit on me the other day. Everyone thinks this is hilarious. Had an 8AM meeting yesterday, and then worked till 6:30-7PM. Fun. Sort of.
More on The Legacy
As I noted in my last post, a Mr. Recently Exhonerated is the prime suspect in the killing of a 25 year old photographer. As of right now, his computers have been impounded and are being examined for evidence of murder and/or disturbing interests. Leg irons and handcuffs have been found at his house. Mr.RE still maintains the police are framing him, that the whole thing was a setup, and that some mysterious lights he and one of his Devil's Rejects brothers saw are to blame. Yeah, right. The police force procured pints of his blood (he says it came from a re-opened cut on his finger, if that amount of your DNA is THAT easy for the police to come by, you're an absolute idiot with a clotting problem and a disfunctional memory), killed a photographer, burned her and her items on his salvage yard, buried her car there, and snuck her car keys, tainted with HIS DNA into his room.
I'm still wondering who we'd be burying if that photographer had've had a Glock.
Tacoma shooting
This one's weird. Preppy college student procures illegal, fully-automatic battle rifle found nowhere else but the Swedish military, conceals it on his way into the mall, wounds 3 people, and is apprehended by 3 undercover officers. Here's the weird stuff: The rifle is a Bofor's AK-5, found only in the Swedish military. Importation is totally illegal, and there are extremely limited quantities. A cell-phone call from a witness at the scene positively identified the rifle as the AK-5 in a "during the shooting" call to police/news media. The police respond to the call by LOCKING ALL EXITS, effectively trapping everyone inside. Witnesses report seeing 3 undercover police officers (Perhaps citizens carrying legally concealed weapons? We'll never hear/know.) at the time of the shooting. Despite such heavy firepower, only three people (to date) were injured.
I know I'm not the only one wondering what new victim disarmament bill is a few days away.
Savin' Me
Nickelback's excellent, best-ever song Savin' Me is running through my head on infinite repeat. Much better than their current junk single. I'm so disappointed in them. They released some raunchy piece-of-crap single in the US, everyone else gets Far Away. Ugh.
Monday, November 14, 2005
The Legacy
The Legacy
I'm going to omit names here, to protect the guilty, innocent, and indifferent.
We've got the makings of a new horror movie brewing in the local area. On Halloween, a 25 year old photographer goes to an auto salvage yard out in the country to take pictures for a car magazine. Said salvage yard is run by a recently exhonerated rapist (who also has convictions for theft and throwing a gasoline soaked cat in a fire) , and a very "Devil's Rejects" clan including his two brothers, who both have records of spousal abuse, child molestation, skipping bail, and not paying their bills. Photographer goes missing. Several days later, the photographer's car is found in the salvage yard. As of the 12th of November, the owner of the junkyard (Mr. Recently Exhonerated) was charged with her murder - the evidence being his and her DNA inside her car and scattered all over the property, a burned camera and dismembered burned female remains in a "burn can," and her car keys and license plates, covered in his DNA (?) hidden in his room. Mr. Recently Exhonerated was arrested several days before the murder charge because of a .22 rifle and a muzzleloader also found in his bedroom.
The "Devil's Rejects" are claiming it's a setup by the county, as Mr. Recently Exhonerated was suing the county for $26 million due to 18 years wrongfully imprisoned. While I have no doubt the investigating parties want this guy to be "the one," Ockham's Razor suggests it's not a setup - and even I was convinced it was until I heard the list of evidence.
If this isn't a book/movie in the next five years, I'll eat my keyboard.
And then it struck me, as I was discussing this a few days ago with my family - this is the legacy of gun control. Helpless, forcibly disarmed young woman brutally killed by feral loser, who manages to get guns despite an outright prohibition due to his being a felon. Whoops. How did that happen? I thought there was a law against felons owning guns. This is what you get when you follow gun control - victim disarmament - through to its logical conclusion: Innocent, defenseless people being killed by those who have broken the law before and have no compunction about breaking it again.
It just so happens that our good Governer Doyle vetoed (last year) a bill that would've allowed this young photographer to carry a concealed weapon when she went into this situation. The same bill has come up again this year, and Doyle's vowing to veto it again. Some reason about the streets running red with blood, and not wanting to send a message that Wisconsin is a state that loves violence. Given the amount of the killer's blood that was found mixed in with the photographer's, it appears this young woman didn't give up easily. It would be interesting to see what she would've done with a Glock 27. I suspect that yes, in an alternate reality, there would be at least one death resulting from the carrying of a concealed weapon - the death of the man, that in this reality, killed an innocent person.
My Own Experience
A few nights ago, I'm standing in the parking lot of the mall where I work, and a car pulls up a few yards away. Mid 20s male gets out, notices me standing off to one side, and advances towards me, growling the cliched "What're you lookin' at?" I hang my head and say "nothing." He heads over to the entrance, also a few yards away, spends a few minutes with friends, after which they all head to their cars, stopping to verbally harrass several women passing through the parking lot. I wonder what state of health I'd be in now if I hadn't acted meek and scared before this punk. As is my habit, I was carrying the best defense allowed to me by the state - a folding utility knife. Stopping by a self-defense store a few days later, I inquired about better defensive weapons that I can carry. Collapsible batons? Illegal. Pepper spray? Illegal. Taser? Illegal. Here I am, attempting to find safer, less-lethal weapons than my utility knife, and my efforts to keep myself and those around me and preserve the life of my attacker are thwarted by our governer, who has obviously never heard of the concept of human rights, and who has definitely never been approached in a dark parking lot by a hostile punk. It's almost like they want me, or someone else, to wind up bleeding to death on a sidewalk someday.
How my own experience ties in
Both of us were forcibly disarmed. If anyone in this state (outside of the police and military) they are a criminal, whether they need it for defense or not. The law and governer decreed I am to be disarmed, and I was put in a situation where I could've been beaten up while waiting for a ride. The law and governer decreed that a woman with an interest in photography, a woman with her whole life ahead of her, be disarmed, and she was put in a situation where she was killed, dismembered, and burned beyond recognition.
Any member of the public who would convict me of illegally carrying a weapon, who would vote to restrict my right to carry a weapon - I wish they'd been standing in that parkinglot instead of me. I WANT THEM to know what it feels like to fear for your wellbeing as some belligerent jerk stalks toward you and you wish you had something more to defend yourself with than fists and a glorified razorblade. Above and beyond that, I wish there was a video tape of that young photographer's final, terror-filled hours - because I'd make the people who'd disarmed her, and the people who merely wished for her disarmament watch it and listen to her screams, every night before they went to bed. I'd make them watch the legacy of gun control.
And as for the governer, the police forces, lawyers, and "public servants" that uphold his decree that young women should die so our state "won't send the message that it loves violence," any official who would use force to disarm innocent people - they should all be tried as accomplices to her murder. They aided the man who killed her. Their actions took the gun from her hand that could've saved her life. They're as guilty as her killer.
I'm hearing
Marc Broussard's "Home," specifically the first verse, running through my head on infinite repeat. Excellent song. Catchy, well written (love some of the rhymes in it), great beat...it's an all around excellent song.
School & Work
I've looked over my class schedule for next year, and I'm liking it. 9 "core" credits, lots of free time. Enough free time that if I make it through the Christmas season, I'll think about throwing my hat into the ring for 3rd key manager where I work. As it is, the head manager wants me to take on the added responsibility of looking after our customer orders.
I spotted, while walking through the mall to my place of work, the manager who'd turned me down for a job at the last place I interviewed (well, she didn't actually turn me down, she just refused to call after promising to do so, I had to go in on my own after what I was told was the deadline and ask) before I got my current job. I almost, almost stopped and told her that in 5 months I'd jumped up the totem pole to become 3rd in experience, 3rd in "command" at my place of work. I didn't though. That would've been rude. Probably fun, but definitely rude.
I'm going to omit names here, to protect the guilty, innocent, and indifferent.
We've got the makings of a new horror movie brewing in the local area. On Halloween, a 25 year old photographer goes to an auto salvage yard out in the country to take pictures for a car magazine. Said salvage yard is run by a recently exhonerated rapist (who also has convictions for theft and throwing a gasoline soaked cat in a fire) , and a very "Devil's Rejects" clan including his two brothers, who both have records of spousal abuse, child molestation, skipping bail, and not paying their bills. Photographer goes missing. Several days later, the photographer's car is found in the salvage yard. As of the 12th of November, the owner of the junkyard (Mr. Recently Exhonerated) was charged with her murder - the evidence being his and her DNA inside her car and scattered all over the property, a burned camera and dismembered burned female remains in a "burn can," and her car keys and license plates, covered in his DNA (?) hidden in his room. Mr. Recently Exhonerated was arrested several days before the murder charge because of a .22 rifle and a muzzleloader also found in his bedroom.
The "Devil's Rejects" are claiming it's a setup by the county, as Mr. Recently Exhonerated was suing the county for $26 million due to 18 years wrongfully imprisoned. While I have no doubt the investigating parties want this guy to be "the one," Ockham's Razor suggests it's not a setup - and even I was convinced it was until I heard the list of evidence.
If this isn't a book/movie in the next five years, I'll eat my keyboard.
And then it struck me, as I was discussing this a few days ago with my family - this is the legacy of gun control. Helpless, forcibly disarmed young woman brutally killed by feral loser, who manages to get guns despite an outright prohibition due to his being a felon. Whoops. How did that happen? I thought there was a law against felons owning guns. This is what you get when you follow gun control - victim disarmament - through to its logical conclusion: Innocent, defenseless people being killed by those who have broken the law before and have no compunction about breaking it again.
It just so happens that our good Governer Doyle vetoed (last year) a bill that would've allowed this young photographer to carry a concealed weapon when she went into this situation. The same bill has come up again this year, and Doyle's vowing to veto it again. Some reason about the streets running red with blood, and not wanting to send a message that Wisconsin is a state that loves violence. Given the amount of the killer's blood that was found mixed in with the photographer's, it appears this young woman didn't give up easily. It would be interesting to see what she would've done with a Glock 27. I suspect that yes, in an alternate reality, there would be at least one death resulting from the carrying of a concealed weapon - the death of the man, that in this reality, killed an innocent person.
My Own Experience
A few nights ago, I'm standing in the parking lot of the mall where I work, and a car pulls up a few yards away. Mid 20s male gets out, notices me standing off to one side, and advances towards me, growling the cliched "What're you lookin' at?" I hang my head and say "nothing." He heads over to the entrance, also a few yards away, spends a few minutes with friends, after which they all head to their cars, stopping to verbally harrass several women passing through the parking lot. I wonder what state of health I'd be in now if I hadn't acted meek and scared before this punk. As is my habit, I was carrying the best defense allowed to me by the state - a folding utility knife. Stopping by a self-defense store a few days later, I inquired about better defensive weapons that I can carry. Collapsible batons? Illegal. Pepper spray? Illegal. Taser? Illegal. Here I am, attempting to find safer, less-lethal weapons than my utility knife, and my efforts to keep myself and those around me and preserve the life of my attacker are thwarted by our governer, who has obviously never heard of the concept of human rights, and who has definitely never been approached in a dark parking lot by a hostile punk. It's almost like they want me, or someone else, to wind up bleeding to death on a sidewalk someday.
How my own experience ties in
Both of us were forcibly disarmed. If anyone in this state (outside of the police and military) they are a criminal, whether they need it for defense or not. The law and governer decreed I am to be disarmed, and I was put in a situation where I could've been beaten up while waiting for a ride. The law and governer decreed that a woman with an interest in photography, a woman with her whole life ahead of her, be disarmed, and she was put in a situation where she was killed, dismembered, and burned beyond recognition.
Any member of the public who would convict me of illegally carrying a weapon, who would vote to restrict my right to carry a weapon - I wish they'd been standing in that parkinglot instead of me. I WANT THEM to know what it feels like to fear for your wellbeing as some belligerent jerk stalks toward you and you wish you had something more to defend yourself with than fists and a glorified razorblade. Above and beyond that, I wish there was a video tape of that young photographer's final, terror-filled hours - because I'd make the people who'd disarmed her, and the people who merely wished for her disarmament watch it and listen to her screams, every night before they went to bed. I'd make them watch the legacy of gun control.
And as for the governer, the police forces, lawyers, and "public servants" that uphold his decree that young women should die so our state "won't send the message that it loves violence," any official who would use force to disarm innocent people - they should all be tried as accomplices to her murder. They aided the man who killed her. Their actions took the gun from her hand that could've saved her life. They're as guilty as her killer.
I'm hearing
Marc Broussard's "Home," specifically the first verse, running through my head on infinite repeat. Excellent song. Catchy, well written (love some of the rhymes in it), great beat...it's an all around excellent song.
School & Work
I've looked over my class schedule for next year, and I'm liking it. 9 "core" credits, lots of free time. Enough free time that if I make it through the Christmas season, I'll think about throwing my hat into the ring for 3rd key manager where I work. As it is, the head manager wants me to take on the added responsibility of looking after our customer orders.
I spotted, while walking through the mall to my place of work, the manager who'd turned me down for a job at the last place I interviewed (well, she didn't actually turn me down, she just refused to call after promising to do so, I had to go in on my own after what I was told was the deadline and ask) before I got my current job. I almost, almost stopped and told her that in 5 months I'd jumped up the totem pole to become 3rd in experience, 3rd in "command" at my place of work. I didn't though. That would've been rude. Probably fun, but definitely rude.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Blogger screwed up
...so I cut this into two posts.
Heat-style holdup
...in Norway. A gang of 8 men, armed with G-3s and MP-5s lit a semi on fire in front of a Norway police department, then robbed a bank distribution center while the police were putting out the fire on their own front steps. The whole robbery took about 15 minutes. When the police finally showed up, the robbers, attired in gas masks and bulletproof vests kept them at bay with automatic weapons fire and CS gas, then drove off, later burning their vehicles to destroy evidence. Technically impressive, but I hope the one who shot the police officer hangs.
Work
Well, the store survived and prospered despite the Christmas adset (where we change all the ads and sales over to reflect the Christmas season), the massive Star Wars opening, and a week with only two out of four managers, myself number among those two. I got hit on at work by a customer and had to endure four hours of ribbing from an out of town manager and another employee. I wonder if she'll be back and we'll start this all over again. Worked with aforementioned out of town manager, great guy. Fun times all week.
Math
I'm surprised I'm doing so well. I've actually got a handle on some of this stuff. My math teacher freely admits to using an answer key to a seperate set of problems, makes serious typographical errors when showing us work, and explained hexidecimal to octal conversion wrong to me twice today. I hope this is her last semester teaching something so exacting as math.
Heat-style holdup
...in Norway. A gang of 8 men, armed with G-3s and MP-5s lit a semi on fire in front of a Norway police department, then robbed a bank distribution center while the police were putting out the fire on their own front steps. The whole robbery took about 15 minutes. When the police finally showed up, the robbers, attired in gas masks and bulletproof vests kept them at bay with automatic weapons fire and CS gas, then drove off, later burning their vehicles to destroy evidence. Technically impressive, but I hope the one who shot the police officer hangs.
Work
Well, the store survived and prospered despite the Christmas adset (where we change all the ads and sales over to reflect the Christmas season), the massive Star Wars opening, and a week with only two out of four managers, myself number among those two. I got hit on at work by a customer and had to endure four hours of ribbing from an out of town manager and another employee. I wonder if she'll be back and we'll start this all over again. Worked with aforementioned out of town manager, great guy. Fun times all week.
Math
I'm surprised I'm doing so well. I've actually got a handle on some of this stuff. My math teacher freely admits to using an answer key to a seperate set of problems, makes serious typographical errors when showing us work, and explained hexidecimal to octal conversion wrong to me twice today. I hope this is her last semester teaching something so exacting as math.
(C)Rap and other stuff
(C)Rap
Spend enough time in a music store, like me, and you might develop one of the following reactions to rap music: 1.Come to like it, 2.Tune it out, or 3.Develop an intense hatred for it.
I fall into that 3rd category, though I find it much more amusing to direct "cynical energy" at it. It's always intensely interesting to listen for the newest "song" to pop onto the radio and hear the latest miscreat extolling themselves as the best gangster/hustler/pusher/word-I-won't-even-use-on-a-blog-no-one-reads/illiterate, uncouth, immoral wannabe criminal. It's hilarious, honestly. I hear dozens of these morons talking about using/abusing/mistreating women, killing each other, and engaging in criminal enterprises every single day, every song, without variation. I'm surprised the market isn't tapped out/exhausted right now, that's ALL they "rap" about!!!
They'll talk about "keeping it real" and being "socially concious" and crap like that - it's bull, and they have a mental disorder if even they can't figure it out. Every single one of them claims to represent the "streets" (find me a ghetto street where known criminals drive Cadillacs AND avoid police detection, I'm just dyin' to see it) - and then they extoll and show off lifestyles not even the law-abiding middle-class can afford. Either you're poor and living in a hovel, or you're making better money than I'll ever see by performing. Pick, you can't have it both ways despite what you profess.
Outside of P.O.D., Linkin Park, and K.R.S. One, I can't come up with a "mold-breaking" rapper off top of my head, and heck, those first two qualify as rock. The entire festival of fools is nothing more than illiterate braggarts playing to affluent and immoral fantasies of relatively disadvantaged teenagers. And I'm not even so sure on the relatively disadvantaged part - 70% of the consumers of rap "music" are white, 30% are black. The majority of those categories combined CANNOT be financially disadvantaged, or this country is FAR worse off than I thought. Sad and sick are two of the best words I can find to describe this situation.
Would I, if given the powers of a god or legislator, put an end to this insanity? Of course not. The market, the people, want this. Any attempt to stem this river is going to drive it underground for real. Far be it from me to tell people what to like. I just find it irritating/amusing/sad.
No one ever went broke underestimating people's taste.
The Police
Two police officers just walked past the spot where I was eating my lunch. My brain registered the Glock 21s on their hips, registered that they were wearing uniforms, and then went back to my sandwich. Whereupon I pulled myself out of my complacency and thought "This is wrong."
Only average people who pass the tests to wear a different set of work clothes get to carry weapons to defend themselves and others in this state. Even if I, as a private citizen, am more proficient with that same weapon, I'm a felon if I walk around with it on my hip.
This is a travesty.
Either we have the same rights as police, or we're living in a police state. We can't have it both ways.
Spend enough time in a music store, like me, and you might develop one of the following reactions to rap music: 1.Come to like it, 2.Tune it out, or 3.Develop an intense hatred for it.
I fall into that 3rd category, though I find it much more amusing to direct "cynical energy" at it. It's always intensely interesting to listen for the newest "song" to pop onto the radio and hear the latest miscreat extolling themselves as the best gangster/hustler/pusher/word-I-won't-even-use-on-a-blog-no-one-reads/illiterate, uncouth, immoral wannabe criminal. It's hilarious, honestly. I hear dozens of these morons talking about using/abusing/mistreating women, killing each other, and engaging in criminal enterprises every single day, every song, without variation. I'm surprised the market isn't tapped out/exhausted right now, that's ALL they "rap" about!!!
They'll talk about "keeping it real" and being "socially concious" and crap like that - it's bull, and they have a mental disorder if even they can't figure it out. Every single one of them claims to represent the "streets" (find me a ghetto street where known criminals drive Cadillacs AND avoid police detection, I'm just dyin' to see it) - and then they extoll and show off lifestyles not even the law-abiding middle-class can afford. Either you're poor and living in a hovel, or you're making better money than I'll ever see by performing. Pick, you can't have it both ways despite what you profess.
Outside of P.O.D., Linkin Park, and K.R.S. One, I can't come up with a "mold-breaking" rapper off top of my head, and heck, those first two qualify as rock. The entire festival of fools is nothing more than illiterate braggarts playing to affluent and immoral fantasies of relatively disadvantaged teenagers. And I'm not even so sure on the relatively disadvantaged part - 70% of the consumers of rap "music" are white, 30% are black. The majority of those categories combined CANNOT be financially disadvantaged, or this country is FAR worse off than I thought. Sad and sick are two of the best words I can find to describe this situation.
Would I, if given the powers of a god or legislator, put an end to this insanity? Of course not. The market, the people, want this. Any attempt to stem this river is going to drive it underground for real. Far be it from me to tell people what to like. I just find it irritating/amusing/sad.
No one ever went broke underestimating people's taste.
The Police
Two police officers just walked past the spot where I was eating my lunch. My brain registered the Glock 21s on their hips, registered that they were wearing uniforms, and then went back to my sandwich. Whereupon I pulled myself out of my complacency and thought "This is wrong."
Only average people who pass the tests to wear a different set of work clothes get to carry weapons to defend themselves and others in this state. Even if I, as a private citizen, am more proficient with that same weapon, I'm a felon if I walk around with it on my hip.
This is a travesty.
Either we have the same rights as police, or we're living in a police state. We can't have it both ways.
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