Archive for January, 2008

So I’ve been grappling with an annoying sneak assault of that little bitch depression.

I honestly didn’t expect this episode.. Its minor at the moment, so it isn’t time to go into full panic mode, but it is definitely time for assertive corrective action..

Part of the blame I place on the holidays.. Everyone that I’ve been hanging out with for the most part just took off to other parts.. While I could’ve done that as well I decided not to because I was uncertain as to where I would be working and my financial situation. (Airlines now have pricing power=plane tickets are no longer as cheap as they were.)

So I’ve spent a bunch of alonish time around XMas…

And around New Years that big party that everyone I know was going to had a $50 cover, which was just way to steep for my tastes..

Eh, At least I caught it now, and not in March after all sorts of stuff in my life had been fucked up.

One of the reasons I was so attracted to theatre, and that I despise most television, is that theatre fulfills its moral responsibility.

Entertainers have a moral and social responsibility to cleanse and renew the soul. There is the classic greek cathartic dramas, modern sci-fi cathartic dramas, belly laughs, social commentary, and enlightening documentaries.

Entertainment should not scare us for the sake of sensationalism or ratings.

In entertainment and only in entertainment I believe the phrase the ends justify the means is valid and defensible. It isn’t immoral to show murder, sex, or torture in entertainment. It is immoral to show murder, sex, or torture in entertainment gratuitously without the purpose of fulfilling entertainment’s social responsibility to cleanse and renew the soul.

Entertainment is an art, and art well executed should be cherished and revered, because through art we expand and preserve our freedom and lives.

Puuurrrr… This is George and Shaun, the cats that live in Nick’s apartment. We’ve hijacked his blog spread the word of our difficult lives and the conditions under which we live.

We have one major complaint.. Well one is simplifying it a bit. The complaint that we have is of our toilet facilities. Specifically we have to share with three lumbering humans. These infernally large creatures have insisted that we utilize such ancient technology as going to the peeing and pooping into water.

We refuse.

We believe in the position taken up by the League of Concerned Feline Scientists that peeing and pooping is best done in a supply of clean litter. In addition to its comfort, there is the added meditation benefits of dig and cover. We miss the artistic expression afforded to us by rearranging the hills and mounds of the litter pan. Felines rarely get hemorrhoids because of course we meditate and relax before and after we utilize our toilet facilities. Humans on the other hand do not meditate and suffer an unacceptably high risk of hemroidal inflammation.

The bald one continually insists on our utilization of the toilet under the pretense of personal growth.

We resist this personal growth that is imposed upon us. Our continual protests include terrorist crapping and peeings throughout our confinement location. We believe these methods while harsh are called for to upset the tyrannical bald one.

Additionally, we firmly hold that this modification of our defecation facilities violates our union agreement with the bald one that states:
“The caretaker shall provide management with facilities that are considered relaxing and hygienic that meet standards defined herein by management.”

We will render further reports from the field as conditions allow.

He who angers you controls you. – A wise person.

I’ve been seriously debating the value of some people in my life. It isn’t something that I do all the time, and generally it only becomes a consideration when someone becomes a detriment to how I live my life.

I’ve often avoided people who are overtly dogmatic. Usually this takes the form of being dogmatic about one’s religion or political party. But you can be dogmatic about many things, how you choose to interpret what others say, what foods you’re willing to try, how you’re willing to play a game, and what information and conditions you allow to influence your decisions.

I’m not by any means free of my own dogmas. I am far from it. But I often ask myself the question, “Was I wrong?” I’ll play internal devil’s advocate and do my best to prove to myself that I was wrong. I’ll often ask friends to help me prove that I was wrong. I don’t always do a full blown mea culpa, but I’ll adjust for future situations.

I expect the same from those around me.

So I’m stuck with a couple of wrongs that I’ll admit I’m guilty of:

1. I can be too quick to react. I know this about myself, and I try to be patient. But I have my faults, and cannot always be perfect.
2. I’ll stop playing a game that I’m not having fun playing. This is a simple matter of investment cost and return. Once a game isn’t fun anymore its work.

Okay so I initially wanted to keep this really general. But I can’t examine the issue that have been frustrating me over the past several days without getting to the level of specificity that I’ve gone into.

Relating to that I asked a friend who knows the person who is frustrating me how he deals with him. He said that the person who is frustrating me will “…use you and piss you off, but he expects you to use him in return.” Unfortunately I think that is reasonably accurate.

I’m not sure that attitude is something I want around me anymore.

Three weeks ago I watched Ghosts of Abu Ghraib yesterday at UUC.

After watching this film I am embarrassed to be an American.

I desperately want to disown this, to say that this was Not done in My Name. I am convinced that this is not the appropriate or correct position to take. Doing this allows government to be divorced from its rightful owners, the people.

I clearly see this as a failure of leadership, the always ultimately starts at the top, or the bottom. (The top of an organization is selected by the bottom of the organization.)

I was struck last night watching the the first episode of the second season of Battlestar Galactica how easy it is to vilify a leader faced with a tough choice. Thinking to Wil Wheaton’s assertion that the whole first season of Battlestar Galactica is about September 11th, this disturbs my beliefs on George W. Bush.

I’ve considered the guy quite close to pure evil.

The problem with this is that I know that leadership is never that black and white. It is just as wrong to say that a leader is completely right as it is to say that a leader is completely wrong.

So I’m stuck needing to find redeeming qualities of George W. Bush. I would put his best quality is commitment to his chosen action.

Ultimately history will sort this one out, although I’m quite sure both hardcore Republicans and hardcore Democrats will both be wrong.