Well well well... life sure is funny. Just when you think it can't get any harder, it suddenly does. My plate has been full of many personal issues right now, and despite having deadline to make, I get laid low with swine flu. That's right the dreaded piggy flu.
And ladies, if you thought man flu was bad... well wait till you see your man with swine flu. I swear if it came to a choice of swine flu and castration I would need about 2 seconds to consider my answer before I chose swine flu. But the mere fact that a man, any man - gay or straight - would even take the time to consider castration as a viable option should demonstrate the potency of this deadly disease!
But lets be realistic... although it might be considered, castration will never ever ever ever ever ever ... And once again I stress the ever, be chosen as a final outcome by any man. After all without his mini me a man is not a man, he simply becomes a woman in pants!
Anyhoo.. I am feeling much better as you can tell, so on to another topic... and one which is going to make me want to bang my head with frustration in the coming months... X-Factor! It is finally back... but what are those judges doing? Some of their decisions for the final twelve contestant would make a crackhead ask them where they got their 'good stuff' from. I mean come on Louis! Those twins. Seriously?
Simon Cowell was understating the matter when he called them vile and commented that they would sell their own mother for a chance on X-Factor. Not only are they vile they are talentless... So why Louis? Why??? The only explanation I could come up with is that Louis has a fantasy involving twins, and rather than sell their mother, those two Irish Chucky lookalikes sold something a lot closer to home.
Well I guess if they ever win X-Factor they could be the new face of Huggies diapers!
My money on the winner has to be Jaime. Thats right. I am making the early call for Mr Afro to come up good. I sure hope he does, because I don't think I have seen him cry yet... And I hate cry babies. So, let me translate that... I can't stand the rest of the contestants 'cause they cry to much. Waaaayyyy too much. Some of them I think auditioned for the wrong Simon Cowell show if you ask me. I think they got confused with Britain's Got Talent... To cry as much as they do is undoubtedly a talent. Forget Justin Timberlake's river, some of them have cried the Pacific Ocean and we haven't even reached the live shows yet. In the coming months expect a sudden and dramatic rise in sea levels!
Oh... this years Diana Vickers has to be that Welsh girl. I can just tell she is going to irritate me. Not that that is saying much. I get irritated by most things....
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Wednesday 7 October 2009
Wednesday 12 August 2009
The Time Machine...
If one existed, would you go back in time and change your life? If you did what would you change? Would the butterfly effect be true, and if so what impact would it have on those around you?
Life is a funny thing. Often we make decisions without knowing their true consequences, and then for the rest of our lives we are forced to live those consequences. Some are positive.
Some are not so positive.
If I had a time machine, there are somethings I would want to do differently, but how do I determine a starting point, without having a detrimental effect on those that I care about?
I don't know the answer to that question. And I dont have a time machine either.
But what I do have is right now. This very second. This very minute. This very hour.
I don't have to go back in time to try and rectify my mistakes.
I can begin this very moment.
Life is a funny thing. Often we make decisions without knowing their true consequences, and then for the rest of our lives we are forced to live those consequences. Some are positive.
Some are not so positive.
If I had a time machine, there are somethings I would want to do differently, but how do I determine a starting point, without having a detrimental effect on those that I care about?
I don't know the answer to that question. And I dont have a time machine either.
But what I do have is right now. This very second. This very minute. This very hour.
I don't have to go back in time to try and rectify my mistakes.
I can begin this very moment.
Thursday 6 August 2009
The Marginalization of Men
Let me begin this by saying the oppression of women throughout history is wrong. To deprive them of a voice and not give them a vote is wrong. To feel and treat them as worth less than men due to their sex is wrong. There is no excuse or justification for how they have been treated. Having established this, I hope that any women reading this will keep that in the back of their minds and hopefully see the point that I am trying to make. I would also like to make it clear that for the sake of brevity I am not elaborating on a lot of things.
It is my assertion that with the feminism and its associated brand of equality, that men have become displaced and increasingly been pushed to the margins of society to the point that it is necessary to take a long hard look at gender roles within society and either return or redefine them.
This all begins with women gaining, and rightly so, the vote. However it is not this alone, it goes hand in hand with them gaining education, the right to work, equal pay etc etc without addressing or looking how these will impact on roles within society. Any of these rights on their own would not have caused a dramatic shift in the status quo, and as said some were rightly needed but the culminated effect of all of these would in turn have a catastrophic effect on society as we know it.
As women gained more and more rights feminism cultivated the mentality that men were not needed or obsolete. After all if a woman wanted something, she could get it for herself. And as for reproduction, isn't that what sperm banks and IVF were created for? This poses the question about men: What is their role? It is no longer one of provider. Women earn their own pay checks. It was no longer as protector; as they now vote and are treated as equals. It was no longer as father to a woman's children because now fathers are not essential to the process.
This insular approach that has developed is not limited to women. As women became more insular and believing in the idea that they could do it all alone, men's belief that they were redundant grew, and out of this feeling of being obsolete the idea that they only needed to concentrate on themselves and their own desires grew even greater. (Under the previous status quo men were very much focused on their own desires, this was simply exagerated because of the break down in traditional roles). So faced with both genders concentrating on themselves, the gulf between the sexes grew greater, and this translated even into relationships.
Now the belief is that you can have a relationship where the focus is the individual, and yet you are truly a 'couple' as opposed to simply two individuals that made the decision to live under the same roof and sleep in the same bed. This means that both people feel they can have a career and their home life will not suffer. That both people can lead seperate lives and the bond between them will not grow any weaker. The reality of society today however does not bear these concepts to be true. We are plagued with children that have no supervision. After school they are left to their own devices, nobody is home to help them with their home work. Nobody is home to provide them guidance. Nobody is at home to take the most basic of interest in them. (Admittedly sometimes it is both parents work out of necessity to pay the bills, but many times both work to achieve material dreams that are not essential and are achieved at the detriment of their children.)
It is my belief that the roles that men and women stem from the critical difference between them: namely the fact that one can bear children, where as the other cannot. Logically it would make sense that as there would be periods throughout a woman's life where she could not have children, that she would take care of the home and the man, able to work all year round would do so. However with the changes in society and laws, along with the introduction of maternity pay this is no longer necessary and as such it may be necessary to look at and redefine the gender roles. I am not saying that men should necessarily return to being the bread winners and that women should be pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen. Perhaps it may make more sense to reverse the roles especially in light of maternity pay. What I do believe is that there is a need for the traditional roles of provider and care giver to be maintained as they will help address many of the societal problems that we face today, but whether they are established based on sex or another criteria... that is not a question for me to answer.
It is my assertion that with the feminism and its associated brand of equality, that men have become displaced and increasingly been pushed to the margins of society to the point that it is necessary to take a long hard look at gender roles within society and either return or redefine them.
This all begins with women gaining, and rightly so, the vote. However it is not this alone, it goes hand in hand with them gaining education, the right to work, equal pay etc etc without addressing or looking how these will impact on roles within society. Any of these rights on their own would not have caused a dramatic shift in the status quo, and as said some were rightly needed but the culminated effect of all of these would in turn have a catastrophic effect on society as we know it.
As women gained more and more rights feminism cultivated the mentality that men were not needed or obsolete. After all if a woman wanted something, she could get it for herself. And as for reproduction, isn't that what sperm banks and IVF were created for? This poses the question about men: What is their role? It is no longer one of provider. Women earn their own pay checks. It was no longer as protector; as they now vote and are treated as equals. It was no longer as father to a woman's children because now fathers are not essential to the process.
This insular approach that has developed is not limited to women. As women became more insular and believing in the idea that they could do it all alone, men's belief that they were redundant grew, and out of this feeling of being obsolete the idea that they only needed to concentrate on themselves and their own desires grew even greater. (Under the previous status quo men were very much focused on their own desires, this was simply exagerated because of the break down in traditional roles). So faced with both genders concentrating on themselves, the gulf between the sexes grew greater, and this translated even into relationships.
Now the belief is that you can have a relationship where the focus is the individual, and yet you are truly a 'couple' as opposed to simply two individuals that made the decision to live under the same roof and sleep in the same bed. This means that both people feel they can have a career and their home life will not suffer. That both people can lead seperate lives and the bond between them will not grow any weaker. The reality of society today however does not bear these concepts to be true. We are plagued with children that have no supervision. After school they are left to their own devices, nobody is home to help them with their home work. Nobody is home to provide them guidance. Nobody is at home to take the most basic of interest in them. (Admittedly sometimes it is both parents work out of necessity to pay the bills, but many times both work to achieve material dreams that are not essential and are achieved at the detriment of their children.)
It is my belief that the roles that men and women stem from the critical difference between them: namely the fact that one can bear children, where as the other cannot. Logically it would make sense that as there would be periods throughout a woman's life where she could not have children, that she would take care of the home and the man, able to work all year round would do so. However with the changes in society and laws, along with the introduction of maternity pay this is no longer necessary and as such it may be necessary to look at and redefine the gender roles. I am not saying that men should necessarily return to being the bread winners and that women should be pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen. Perhaps it may make more sense to reverse the roles especially in light of maternity pay. What I do believe is that there is a need for the traditional roles of provider and care giver to be maintained as they will help address many of the societal problems that we face today, but whether they are established based on sex or another criteria... that is not a question for me to answer.
Monday 20 July 2009
"Love yourself first..."
I am sick and tired of this being bandied about in connection to relationships. I am also sick of hearing that relationships are all about 'me'.
It is precisely these attitudes that lead to the break down of marriages and relationships, and until the focus shifts away from our own selfish desires, people are destined to have yet more and more heartache.
Now don't get it twisted. I am not advocating a relationship in which you are not aware of your worth and so allow a partner or spouse to treat you anyway they feel. That is not healthy nor productive. What I am promoting is relationships in which both parties consider the other person's needs and then desires before their own. In doing so it is possible to reach a compromise that does not leave one party feeling as though what they want from life and from the relationship is of no consequence. By constantly saying and viewing the other parties needs as paramount it builds the self confidence and self worth of the other person up as they constantly feel loved and valued, and in a relationship where both parties adopt a similar approach it leads to a relationship that is full of growth.
The belief that relationships are about 'me' leads to a person entering a relationship questioning "What can I get out of this relationship?" as opposed to a much healthier question of "What can I give to this relationship?". Relationships should not just be about feelings, but they should be about growth; both as individuals and as a couple. However in order to do so, at times hard questions need to be asked. The first one being "Is this person right for me?" followed swiftly by "Am I right for this person?". By as much as humanly possible removing emotions from the equation and looking pragmatically and analytically at characteristics it lessens the chance of heartbreak further down the line. A relationship should be based on more than emotions, it should be based on commitment. How often do you hear the line "I just don't love you any more.", or "We just fell out of love" as the reasons behind the breakdown of a relationship? It is because often, albeit not always, these relationships were built on nothing more than intimate feelings. The problem is that when these feelings had been worn away by working pressures, the passage of time and the inevitable knowledge of knowing what the other person was going to say and do before they did it, people are too often left with the harsh reality that they have nothing in common. In fact they are often polar opposites slowly drifting further and further apart.
There are those that might look at the approach of saying that love is not enough to base a relationship on and say "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."; and although there is a strong argument for such sentiments, if you truly love someone, would you knowingly cause them pain to give yourself temporary pleasure?
Loving yourself is not about saying "I am the MOST important person", it is about saying "I AM important", but so often people tend to miss the subtle yet critical difference between these two statements. Loving yourself if about understanding your worth as an individual, but within the context of a relationship it should not have much standing if you have asked the hard questions before entering even the relationship.
Why?
Because you will not need to tell yourself constantly that you are loved and valued, you will not need to reassure yourself that you are important and that the relationship is all about you.
You will feel it.
It is precisely these attitudes that lead to the break down of marriages and relationships, and until the focus shifts away from our own selfish desires, people are destined to have yet more and more heartache.
Now don't get it twisted. I am not advocating a relationship in which you are not aware of your worth and so allow a partner or spouse to treat you anyway they feel. That is not healthy nor productive. What I am promoting is relationships in which both parties consider the other person's needs and then desires before their own. In doing so it is possible to reach a compromise that does not leave one party feeling as though what they want from life and from the relationship is of no consequence. By constantly saying and viewing the other parties needs as paramount it builds the self confidence and self worth of the other person up as they constantly feel loved and valued, and in a relationship where both parties adopt a similar approach it leads to a relationship that is full of growth.
The belief that relationships are about 'me' leads to a person entering a relationship questioning "What can I get out of this relationship?" as opposed to a much healthier question of "What can I give to this relationship?". Relationships should not just be about feelings, but they should be about growth; both as individuals and as a couple. However in order to do so, at times hard questions need to be asked. The first one being "Is this person right for me?" followed swiftly by "Am I right for this person?". By as much as humanly possible removing emotions from the equation and looking pragmatically and analytically at characteristics it lessens the chance of heartbreak further down the line. A relationship should be based on more than emotions, it should be based on commitment. How often do you hear the line "I just don't love you any more.", or "We just fell out of love" as the reasons behind the breakdown of a relationship? It is because often, albeit not always, these relationships were built on nothing more than intimate feelings. The problem is that when these feelings had been worn away by working pressures, the passage of time and the inevitable knowledge of knowing what the other person was going to say and do before they did it, people are too often left with the harsh reality that they have nothing in common. In fact they are often polar opposites slowly drifting further and further apart.
There are those that might look at the approach of saying that love is not enough to base a relationship on and say "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."; and although there is a strong argument for such sentiments, if you truly love someone, would you knowingly cause them pain to give yourself temporary pleasure?
Loving yourself is not about saying "I am the MOST important person", it is about saying "I AM important", but so often people tend to miss the subtle yet critical difference between these two statements. Loving yourself if about understanding your worth as an individual, but within the context of a relationship it should not have much standing if you have asked the hard questions before entering even the relationship.
Why?
Because you will not need to tell yourself constantly that you are loved and valued, you will not need to reassure yourself that you are important and that the relationship is all about you.
You will feel it.
Thursday 19 March 2009
The Rules...
(Sadly I cannot take credit for this....)
1.MEN ARE NOT MIND READERS.
1. LEARN TO WORK THE TOILET SEAT. YOU'RE A BIG GIRL. IF IT'S UP, PUT IT DOWN.
WE NEED IT UP, YOU NEED IT DOWN.
YOU DON'T HEAR US COMPLAINING ABOUT YOU LEAVING IT DOWN.
1. SUNDAY SPORTS IT'S LIKE THE FULL MOON OR THE CHANGING OF THE TIDES.
LET IT BE.
1. CRYING IS BLACKMAIL.
1. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT.
LET US BE CLEAR ON THIS ONE:
SUBTLE HINTS DO NOT WORK!
STRONG HINTS DO NOT WORK!
OBVIOUS HINTS DO NOT WORK!
JUST SAY IT!
1. YES AND NO ARE PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE ANSWERS TO ALMOST EVERY QUESTION.
1. COME TO US WITH A PROBLEM ONLY IF YOU WANT HELP SOLVING IT. THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
SYMPATHY IS WHAT YOUR GIRLFRIENDS ARE FOR.
1. ANYTHING WE SAID 6 MONTHS AGO IS INADMISSIBLE IN AN ARGUMENT.
IN FACT, ALL COMMENTS BECOME NULL AND VOID AFTER 7 DAYS.
1. IF YOU THINK YOU'RE FAT, YOU PROBABLY ARE.
DON'T ASK US.
1. IF SOMETHING WE SAID CAN BE INTERPRETED TWO WAYS AND ONE OF THE WAYS MAKES YOU SAD OR ANGRY, WE MEANT THE OTHER ONE
1. YOU CAN EITHER ASK US TO DO SOMETHING OR TELL US HOW YOU WANT IT DONE.
NOT BOTH.
IF YOU ALREADY KNOW BEST HOW TO DO IT, JUST DO IT YOURSELF.
1. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, PLEASE SAY WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO SAY DURING COMMERCIALS..
1. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DID NOT NEED DIRECTIONS AND NEITHER DO WE.
1. ALL MEN SEE IN ONLY 16 COLORS, LIKE WINDOWS DEFAULT SETTINGS.
PEACH, FOR EXAMPLE, IS A FRUIT, NOT A COLOR. PUMPKIN IS ALSO A FRUIT. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MAUVE IS.
1. IF IT ITCHES, IT WILL BE SCRATCHED.
WE DO THAT.
1. IF WE ASK WHAT IS WRONG AND YOU SAY "NOTHING," WE WILL ACT LIKE NOTHING'S WRONG.
WE KNOW YOU ARE LYING, BUT IT IS JUST NOT WORTH THE HASSLE.
1. IF YOU ASK A QUESTION YOU DON'T WANT AN ANSWER TO, EXPECT AN ANSWER YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR.
1. WHEN WE HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE, ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING YOU WEAR IS FINE..REALLY
1. DON'T ASK US WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO DISCUSS SUCH TOPICS AS FOOTBALL OR
MOTOR SPORTS
1. YOU HAVE ENOUGH CLOTHES.
1. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SHOES.
1. I AM IN SHAPE. ROUND IS A SHAPE!
1. THANK YOU FOR READING THIS.
YES, I KNOW, I HAVE TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH TONIGHT;
BUT DID YOU KNOW MEN REALLY DON'T MIND THAT? IT'S LIKE CAMPING.
1.MEN ARE NOT MIND READERS.
1. LEARN TO WORK THE TOILET SEAT. YOU'RE A BIG GIRL. IF IT'S UP, PUT IT DOWN.
WE NEED IT UP, YOU NEED IT DOWN.
YOU DON'T HEAR US COMPLAINING ABOUT YOU LEAVING IT DOWN.
1. SUNDAY SPORTS IT'S LIKE THE FULL MOON OR THE CHANGING OF THE TIDES.
LET IT BE.
1. CRYING IS BLACKMAIL.
1. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT.
LET US BE CLEAR ON THIS ONE:
SUBTLE HINTS DO NOT WORK!
STRONG HINTS DO NOT WORK!
OBVIOUS HINTS DO NOT WORK!
JUST SAY IT!
1. YES AND NO ARE PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE ANSWERS TO ALMOST EVERY QUESTION.
1. COME TO US WITH A PROBLEM ONLY IF YOU WANT HELP SOLVING IT. THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
SYMPATHY IS WHAT YOUR GIRLFRIENDS ARE FOR.
1. ANYTHING WE SAID 6 MONTHS AGO IS INADMISSIBLE IN AN ARGUMENT.
IN FACT, ALL COMMENTS BECOME NULL AND VOID AFTER 7 DAYS.
1. IF YOU THINK YOU'RE FAT, YOU PROBABLY ARE.
DON'T ASK US.
1. IF SOMETHING WE SAID CAN BE INTERPRETED TWO WAYS AND ONE OF THE WAYS MAKES YOU SAD OR ANGRY, WE MEANT THE OTHER ONE
1. YOU CAN EITHER ASK US TO DO SOMETHING OR TELL US HOW YOU WANT IT DONE.
NOT BOTH.
IF YOU ALREADY KNOW BEST HOW TO DO IT, JUST DO IT YOURSELF.
1. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, PLEASE SAY WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO SAY DURING COMMERCIALS..
1. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DID NOT NEED DIRECTIONS AND NEITHER DO WE.
1. ALL MEN SEE IN ONLY 16 COLORS, LIKE WINDOWS DEFAULT SETTINGS.
PEACH, FOR EXAMPLE, IS A FRUIT, NOT A COLOR. PUMPKIN IS ALSO A FRUIT. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MAUVE IS.
1. IF IT ITCHES, IT WILL BE SCRATCHED.
WE DO THAT.
1. IF WE ASK WHAT IS WRONG AND YOU SAY "NOTHING," WE WILL ACT LIKE NOTHING'S WRONG.
WE KNOW YOU ARE LYING, BUT IT IS JUST NOT WORTH THE HASSLE.
1. IF YOU ASK A QUESTION YOU DON'T WANT AN ANSWER TO, EXPECT AN ANSWER YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR.
1. WHEN WE HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE, ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING YOU WEAR IS FINE..REALLY
1. DON'T ASK US WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO DISCUSS SUCH TOPICS AS FOOTBALL OR
MOTOR SPORTS
1. YOU HAVE ENOUGH CLOTHES.
1. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SHOES.
1. I AM IN SHAPE. ROUND IS A SHAPE!
1. THANK YOU FOR READING THIS.
YES, I KNOW, I HAVE TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH TONIGHT;
BUT DID YOU KNOW MEN REALLY DON'T MIND THAT? IT'S LIKE CAMPING.
Thursday 26 February 2009
I can't stand her...
If you wanted to help sufferers of a potentially fatal disease, what would you do?
If you wanted to highlight the plight and suffering of these people, what would you do?
Would you give money to charity? Would you do publicity work for charity? Or would you, like Jade Goody, ask to be paid a hefty sum of money in order that you could get rich, and your criminal chav husband could live in comfort?
Now I don't like Jade Goody. I think she is at best a good example of how you don't want your daughter to turn out, at worst... Well, I don't use the type of language that would be necessary to describe her. However, this does not mean that I cannot sympathize with her and what she is going to. Her plight is not one that I would wish on anybody. But, I cannot abide the fact that she is using this as publicity to make another quick buck under the guise of doing this to help people. I would have a lot more respect for her if she just came out and admitted that she was simply trying to ensure that after her death, her children would be made for the rest of their lives.
If you wanted to highlight the plight and suffering of these people, what would you do?
Would you give money to charity? Would you do publicity work for charity? Or would you, like Jade Goody, ask to be paid a hefty sum of money in order that you could get rich, and your criminal chav husband could live in comfort?
Now I don't like Jade Goody. I think she is at best a good example of how you don't want your daughter to turn out, at worst... Well, I don't use the type of language that would be necessary to describe her. However, this does not mean that I cannot sympathize with her and what she is going to. Her plight is not one that I would wish on anybody. But, I cannot abide the fact that she is using this as publicity to make another quick buck under the guise of doing this to help people. I would have a lot more respect for her if she just came out and admitted that she was simply trying to ensure that after her death, her children would be made for the rest of their lives.
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Pulling punches
Ever had the feeling of just wanting to punch someone in their jaw?
No, I don't mean an unprovoked attack on some poor unsuspecting stranger, but rather on somebody that has and is not being particularly nice to you. I must confess that I have been dealing with these urges for a few weeks, and with each passing the day the compulsion to do it just gets stronger and stronger and with all the CSI episodes I have watched I could quite probably commit the perfect murder.
Many people say its a good thing that as I have gotten older I have learned to control my anger as it means that the person causing the offense gets away without serious harm to their person, but I truly believe it is a double edged sword. It seems the more passive I become, the more people try to take liberties with me... they seem to feel that I am an easy target.
Well people, enough is enough.
I may not punch your lights out like I once would have done in my younger incarnations, but I shall simply adopt the principle that if the pen is truly mightier than the sword, then the truth must also be similar for spoken words.
Be warned people... The new, but old and revised TCS is back...
And I am not pulling any punches!
No, I don't mean an unprovoked attack on some poor unsuspecting stranger, but rather on somebody that has and is not being particularly nice to you. I must confess that I have been dealing with these urges for a few weeks, and with each passing the day the compulsion to do it just gets stronger and stronger and with all the CSI episodes I have watched I could quite probably commit the perfect murder.
Many people say its a good thing that as I have gotten older I have learned to control my anger as it means that the person causing the offense gets away without serious harm to their person, but I truly believe it is a double edged sword. It seems the more passive I become, the more people try to take liberties with me... they seem to feel that I am an easy target.
Well people, enough is enough.
I may not punch your lights out like I once would have done in my younger incarnations, but I shall simply adopt the principle that if the pen is truly mightier than the sword, then the truth must also be similar for spoken words.
Be warned people... The new, but old and revised TCS is back...
And I am not pulling any punches!
Friday 13 February 2009
Internet Threats...
It is really funny how people get worked up over things, especially things that they cannot do anything to change.
The first mistake in this whole thing is to threaten me. I don't do threats... And nor do I respond well to them. The second mistake was to think that I really was going to take these threats seriously... It is not like this person knows where I live. And just supposing that they did, would I still care?
People get so worked up over things that happen on the internet. An insult on the web from some faceless, probably socially deficient stranger causes people to fly into uncontrollable fits of rage, and leads some to make empty threats such as the one made against me. Do they not understand that all it does is cause the person who provoked them to simply stoke the fire more?
One of these days, perhaps people will learn that internet rage is even more pointless than road rage. At least when you honk you horn at who ever upsets you they can actually hear it.
This week I posted a clip on Facebook that showed a portion of a pillow fight at an event that I attended, and somehow my opponent (or should that be victim?) saw it, and threatened to have someone beat me up if I did not take it down.
The first mistake in this whole thing is to threaten me. I don't do threats... And nor do I respond well to them. The second mistake was to think that I really was going to take these threats seriously... It is not like this person knows where I live. And just supposing that they did, would I still care?
People get so worked up over things that happen on the internet. An insult on the web from some faceless, probably socially deficient stranger causes people to fly into uncontrollable fits of rage, and leads some to make empty threats such as the one made against me. Do they not understand that all it does is cause the person who provoked them to simply stoke the fire more?
One of these days, perhaps people will learn that internet rage is even more pointless than road rage. At least when you honk you horn at who ever upsets you they can actually hear it.
Monday 9 February 2009
Repent! The End is Nigh!!!
Since I was little I have heard people prophesy that the end of the world is soon coming, and I need to get my life in order. Needless to say for many years I laughed at them, and opted to do my own thing, after all, people have been preaching the end of the world for centuries and yet here I am sitting at my laptop typing this blog, very much alive and kicking.
However, recently watching events in the news, the wars and rumors of wars, the pestilence, the greed and s an ounce of truth in what they were saying. Was it actually possible that these doomsayers were actually correct? And as I began to question and observe, I began to lean towards the possibility that maybe I had it all wrong... Maybe I should have paid more attention in church. Still, with all these signs of the times, I was yet to be completely convinced that the world was coming to an end anytime soon.
But that all changed today.
Today I received a definitive sign that this world was coming to an end. I witnessed the sign that was the real sign of the times.
MY MOM JOINED FACEBOOK!
However, recently watching events in the news, the wars and rumors of wars, the pestilence, the greed and s an ounce of truth in what they were saying. Was it actually possible that these doomsayers were actually correct? And as I began to question and observe, I began to lean towards the possibility that maybe I had it all wrong... Maybe I should have paid more attention in church. Still, with all these signs of the times, I was yet to be completely convinced that the world was coming to an end anytime soon.
But that all changed today.
Today I received a definitive sign that this world was coming to an end. I witnessed the sign that was the real sign of the times.
MY MOM JOINED FACEBOOK!
Saturday 7 February 2009
Democracy! When?
I was sitting in a Religion and Ethics class this week, when after voicing an opinion on the subject matter we were discussing, I was accused of trying to force my 'small minded opinion on others', and told that this was a democracy, so I can't do that.
You know what the funny thing was? The young lady that made this accusation could have been no more that 18 years old, and was from the good old US of A, a country that is known for its democracy and free thinking.
I didn't lay into this girl as I wanted to, but just decided to let it pass... but I was irritated by it, after all she knows nothing of my life or experiences, let alone her own country or even the history and politics of her own country.
Democracy ceased to exist the moment governments were instituted. We have representational governments, but we do not have any democratic governments in existence. Especially in the United States, where the vote of the Electoral College is what really matters, and even within the Electoral College, there is still not the idea of 'one man one vote', shows just how far from the idea of democracy the US actually is.
Perhaps my irritation goes back to the superiority complex that many US citizens wrongly hold. The belief that their nation is the greatest, and it is their nations role to save the world (boy does Hollywood have a lot to answer for), is the source for both their misplaced arrogance and ignorance.
That is not to say there are no well educated, balanced individuals with a reasoned world view from the United States, but just that they seem to be growing fewer in numbers.
You know what the funny thing was? The young lady that made this accusation could have been no more that 18 years old, and was from the good old US of A, a country that is known for its democracy and free thinking.
I didn't lay into this girl as I wanted to, but just decided to let it pass... but I was irritated by it, after all she knows nothing of my life or experiences, let alone her own country or even the history and politics of her own country.
Democracy ceased to exist the moment governments were instituted. We have representational governments, but we do not have any democratic governments in existence. Especially in the United States, where the vote of the Electoral College is what really matters, and even within the Electoral College, there is still not the idea of 'one man one vote', shows just how far from the idea of democracy the US actually is.
Perhaps my irritation goes back to the superiority complex that many US citizens wrongly hold. The belief that their nation is the greatest, and it is their nations role to save the world (boy does Hollywood have a lot to answer for), is the source for both their misplaced arrogance and ignorance.
That is not to say there are no well educated, balanced individuals with a reasoned world view from the United States, but just that they seem to be growing fewer in numbers.
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Royaly Racist
"But I didn't mean to offend anyone by calling them a paki!", Prince Harry bleats in a pathetic attempt to hide his racist tendencies. Come on now! You didn't think it would be offensive? I have never seen anybody who has half a nucleolus call somebody a racially prejudiced name and not expect a negative response. Not even a inbred redneck who was a signed up member of the Klu Klux Klan would call a black man a 'Nigga' and not expect it to cause offense.
As for his justification for using the phrase 'rag head', being used in reference to the Taliban, well thats just as laughable as his claim of ignorance. It is equally as abhorrent as calling someone a Paki, and just because they are at war does not justify its use. I have been in fights with white people, but does that mean I should go around referring to them as a 'cracker' or a 'honky'?
Still, can you really blame Prince Harry? You have to look at who his family is - wasn't his grandfather Prince Philip guilty of telling a racist joke about Asians a few years back? And there has always been accusations and stories of racial discrimination surrounding Buckingham Palace and the royals and the various departments that surround them for years. There is a cliche, 'There is no smoke without fire'... well there is certainly a fire going on.
Perhaps more worrying than Prince Harry's use of racist language is the refusal of anybody to issue an sincere apology, and by anybody, I do mean Prince Harry himself. The Scarsfield report branded the Metropolitan Police 'institutionally racist', but I believe it extends much further than the Met. Police. It pervades nearly every level of historical institution within Britain and until we stop denying it and trying to hide behind spin doctors and PR representatives, we will never deal with the problems.
Of course, it is a massive assumption that Britain wishes to deal with the problem.
As for his justification for using the phrase 'rag head', being used in reference to the Taliban, well thats just as laughable as his claim of ignorance. It is equally as abhorrent as calling someone a Paki, and just because they are at war does not justify its use. I have been in fights with white people, but does that mean I should go around referring to them as a 'cracker' or a 'honky'?
Still, can you really blame Prince Harry? You have to look at who his family is - wasn't his grandfather Prince Philip guilty of telling a racist joke about Asians a few years back? And there has always been accusations and stories of racial discrimination surrounding Buckingham Palace and the royals and the various departments that surround them for years. There is a cliche, 'There is no smoke without fire'... well there is certainly a fire going on.
Perhaps more worrying than Prince Harry's use of racist language is the refusal of anybody to issue an sincere apology, and by anybody, I do mean Prince Harry himself. The Scarsfield report branded the Metropolitan Police 'institutionally racist', but I believe it extends much further than the Met. Police. It pervades nearly every level of historical institution within Britain and until we stop denying it and trying to hide behind spin doctors and PR representatives, we will never deal with the problems.
Of course, it is a massive assumption that Britain wishes to deal with the problem.
Friday 9 January 2009
How to get out of recession...
Recession! Recession! Recession!
Thats all I ever hear now, and it is really starting to grind on my nerves. I know how hard things are. I can see it when I go to the grocery store, and everything has gone up 10% on last week, I really don't need the news readers rubbing it in with every broadcast.
What really irritates me is the government though. As much as I feel its wrong to blame them for the economic down turn, I do feel that their steps to rectify the situation only made things worse. They thought it would be a smart idea to bail out the dodgy banks by giving them billions of the tax payers money, but did not seek to secure and ensure that we tax payers got anything out of this deal. The result... the suspect banks are still suspect, and continue to rob the poor tax payer.
A better solution would have been to give the money back to the average joe blogs, and we would have bought our way out of recession. Banks don't spend money. The tax payer does.
All over the Christmas period we here that sales figures are down for retail, and as such stores are going out of business. If the government had not wasted time with the laughable 2.5% vat cut, and instead have given some of those billions to every individual in the country, I can promise you that not one single company would have reported a fall in figures over the Christmas period. We consumers would have consumed, which would have meant that manufacturers would have had to supply. Is that not one of the principles of business - supply and demand?
I sure wish I could meet some of these so called 'economic experts'. I would love to give them a piece of my mind, as am pretty sure that I could do a better job at suggesting ideas to bring us out of this economic downturn than anything they have implemented so far.
Maybe I am being big headed in saying this, but I don't care. In this current economic climate, it is all I have left.
Thats all I ever hear now, and it is really starting to grind on my nerves. I know how hard things are. I can see it when I go to the grocery store, and everything has gone up 10% on last week, I really don't need the news readers rubbing it in with every broadcast.
What really irritates me is the government though. As much as I feel its wrong to blame them for the economic down turn, I do feel that their steps to rectify the situation only made things worse. They thought it would be a smart idea to bail out the dodgy banks by giving them billions of the tax payers money, but did not seek to secure and ensure that we tax payers got anything out of this deal. The result... the suspect banks are still suspect, and continue to rob the poor tax payer.
A better solution would have been to give the money back to the average joe blogs, and we would have bought our way out of recession. Banks don't spend money. The tax payer does.
All over the Christmas period we here that sales figures are down for retail, and as such stores are going out of business. If the government had not wasted time with the laughable 2.5% vat cut, and instead have given some of those billions to every individual in the country, I can promise you that not one single company would have reported a fall in figures over the Christmas period. We consumers would have consumed, which would have meant that manufacturers would have had to supply. Is that not one of the principles of business - supply and demand?
I sure wish I could meet some of these so called 'economic experts'. I would love to give them a piece of my mind, as am pretty sure that I could do a better job at suggesting ideas to bring us out of this economic downturn than anything they have implemented so far.
Maybe I am being big headed in saying this, but I don't care. In this current economic climate, it is all I have left.
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