WebKittyn Warbles
Friday, September 03, 2004
Semper Fi
Oy.
This is one of those guilty things I mull over in my head. I feel bad for thinking it but I can't help but think it and with all the campaign hooey going on it's a huge issue. I feel like a cad (would that be a cad-ette?) for getting bothered by this but I can't help the bother.
There was a woman on television yesterday. It was sad, her son had been killed in Iraq and she was far from alright. She was in NY city with the protestors and she kept yelling about how our boys are dying, our boys are dying. George Bush sent them to die, he sent them to war and they're dying.
My mind flashed for whatever reason to the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan and it set me off thinking. I'm not a war fiend, I'd be content if there were no wars in my lifetime and I don't like the idea of war. However I accept it as a necessary evil and sometimes a last resort.
I have a deep respect for those who commit to the military. My father was in the Air Force and my grandfather was a medaled hero who died in World War II leaving a widow and a young son. I think veterans are the backbone on which the country leans and they should be treated with respect and dignity during AND after service.
In America today there is no draft. As much as Americans cry out in rage at the mere mention of a draft, there are many countries that require service and the youth are no worse off for it. Most of the Finnish MUDders were lost to the military, as were the Singaporians. One of the Finns went on to be a cop, I find that amusing.
But I digress. The point is, the military is completely a voluntary choice. They do their best to try and lure people in with fair and good college incentives and it does look good on a resume.
Unfortunately this becomes a causal issue as we see the military fill with people who might otherwise not have the chance for the college education or job training. Joining the military becomes less an act of patriotism to the homeland and more of a means of improving a lifestyle.
I don't think this is bad, I think it's the least we can do for those who choose to serve (along with giving them money they can actually support their families on) and I support it.
But this is, after all, the military and the military is there to protect the country and if need be, to go to war. There is always the chance that war will break out and the next name called will be 'that' one. It may be unspoken but it is still something that everyone who enters the military voluntarily has to consider. There is no guarantee of safety in the military and people accept this and join willingly.
I asked my dad if he felt anger at the President when he heard his father had died, if he felt that President had sent him to die. He said no, he was angry of course but it was at the ones they were fighting.
It doesn't seem right to blame the President for a soldier getting killed who willingly went into the military. I know the buck stops here, I know it is the President who is the man responsible for troop deployment but I don't like to see it when I see people raging at the President. Not just GW, I speak again in generalities.
I'm sorry your son was killed in duty, I truly am. But he knew it was a possibility and he made the righteous decision to go regardless. Place the anger and the blame where they belong and support even stronger the rest of the sons and daughters still serving.
I feel like an evil person now.
This is one of those guilty things I mull over in my head. I feel bad for thinking it but I can't help but think it and with all the campaign hooey going on it's a huge issue. I feel like a cad (would that be a cad-ette?) for getting bothered by this but I can't help the bother.
There was a woman on television yesterday. It was sad, her son had been killed in Iraq and she was far from alright. She was in NY city with the protestors and she kept yelling about how our boys are dying, our boys are dying. George Bush sent them to die, he sent them to war and they're dying.
My mind flashed for whatever reason to the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan and it set me off thinking. I'm not a war fiend, I'd be content if there were no wars in my lifetime and I don't like the idea of war. However I accept it as a necessary evil and sometimes a last resort.
I have a deep respect for those who commit to the military. My father was in the Air Force and my grandfather was a medaled hero who died in World War II leaving a widow and a young son. I think veterans are the backbone on which the country leans and they should be treated with respect and dignity during AND after service.
In America today there is no draft. As much as Americans cry out in rage at the mere mention of a draft, there are many countries that require service and the youth are no worse off for it. Most of the Finnish MUDders were lost to the military, as were the Singaporians. One of the Finns went on to be a cop, I find that amusing.
But I digress. The point is, the military is completely a voluntary choice. They do their best to try and lure people in with fair and good college incentives and it does look good on a resume.
Unfortunately this becomes a causal issue as we see the military fill with people who might otherwise not have the chance for the college education or job training. Joining the military becomes less an act of patriotism to the homeland and more of a means of improving a lifestyle.
I don't think this is bad, I think it's the least we can do for those who choose to serve (along with giving them money they can actually support their families on) and I support it.
But this is, after all, the military and the military is there to protect the country and if need be, to go to war. There is always the chance that war will break out and the next name called will be 'that' one. It may be unspoken but it is still something that everyone who enters the military voluntarily has to consider. There is no guarantee of safety in the military and people accept this and join willingly.
I asked my dad if he felt anger at the President when he heard his father had died, if he felt that President had sent him to die. He said no, he was angry of course but it was at the ones they were fighting.
It doesn't seem right to blame the President for a soldier getting killed who willingly went into the military. I know the buck stops here, I know it is the President who is the man responsible for troop deployment but I don't like to see it when I see people raging at the President. Not just GW, I speak again in generalities.
I'm sorry your son was killed in duty, I truly am. But he knew it was a possibility and he made the righteous decision to go regardless. Place the anger and the blame where they belong and support even stronger the rest of the sons and daughters still serving.
I feel like an evil person now.
Ah, What the Hell.. 4 More Years!
My apologies to my Democrat friends who did their very bestest to convert me. You tried, guys. It was actually looking good there for a while but I think I've re-discovered my Republican side.
Now. My decisions are not based at all on anything to do with he Vietnam war. I just don't think whether or not Kerry did what he says he did and got three medals or whether or not GW showed up for a physical or didn't serve. I don't care. This is the lest important factor in the picking of a candidate for me. All it does is make hypocrites out of all of them. Those lauding Kerry for his service and trashing GW for his 'nonservice' are the same ones who fought like Hell for 4 more years of Clinton. Make up your minds, folks. Either it matters or it doesn't. For me, it doesn't.
GW's speech last night was exactly what it needed to be and much better than I expected it to be. Somewhere out there today is one very happy speech writer. I've watched every second of all of the political stuff like a hawk and GW shined last night.
His words hit home, there were a few times I found myself choked with emotion and wanting to shake my fist and yell "GO, AMERICA!" I laughed along with him as he acknowledged his faults and at that moment he was just Joe regular dude. I have yet to see Kerry appear as relaxed or 'normal' as GW did, it left a strong impression on me.
And the night before... GW had gone to a dinner at a firehouse, it was a 'pizza and beer' dinner. He fit right in, they showed him with the firefighters and he was just one of the guys. I can see having pizza and beer with GW, I bsolutely can NOT see pizza and beer with Kerry.
For a while now, my problem with the Republicans has been a lack of acceptance for the world today. Sure, it's a nice thing to think you can talk abstinence and kids won't screw like bunnies. It's nice to think just say no works. It's nice to think people shouldn't have abortions (not me, I'm being general). But wake up, this is NOT the way of the world. Kids are doing drugs in record numbers (thanks in large parts to the over-doping of the youth with happy dappy zombie pills), they're screwing and having kids of their own. Abortion is legal and not going away and either are the homosexuals who are good enough to pay the same taxes as anyone else yet are denied the legal enhancements of marriage.
I've long felt the Republican party a party of disconnected old conservative farts who would never accept that the world they want is not the world we have and come up with solutions that work with the world as it is. I'm not saying give people everything, I'm not Lucy Liberal. But I believe:
**Gay people should be allowed to get married.
**Stem cell research is the key to many serious problems. Use it.
**Medical marijuana helps people.
**Education is about education, not a social experiment. Teach MATH.
**Companies who out-source to foreign countries should be penalised.
**Superfluous lawsuits close businesses.
**Less compassion, find the terrorists and get it done.
**Health insurance should be given to all, period.
**Welfare should be a stepping stone, not a lifestyle.
Just a few things that are important to me that I've not heard addressed in the Republican party. Until now.
They were very smart to bring on Arnold and Rudy, I was really impressed with both of them. Living in NY, I'm already a fan of Pataki as well. These men seem to be the start of the future of the GOP. I guess as the dinosaurs retire, the new generation can emerge and I'm liking the early signs. There is moderation and sense in the things they speak. Here are the Governors of the two most important states in the nation (sorry, everyone else but that's how I see it) and two of the most diverse states in the nation. These men have a working grasp on the reality of the world as it is. And they're not being shunned by the party!
It leaves me with a sense of political optimism I haven't felt in a long time. And with this I declare as of this posting that GW and the GOP can count on my vote for 4 more years.
I'm sure they'd be overjoyed. *smirks*
/end warble/
Now. My decisions are not based at all on anything to do with he Vietnam war. I just don't think whether or not Kerry did what he says he did and got three medals or whether or not GW showed up for a physical or didn't serve. I don't care. This is the lest important factor in the picking of a candidate for me. All it does is make hypocrites out of all of them. Those lauding Kerry for his service and trashing GW for his 'nonservice' are the same ones who fought like Hell for 4 more years of Clinton. Make up your minds, folks. Either it matters or it doesn't. For me, it doesn't.
GW's speech last night was exactly what it needed to be and much better than I expected it to be. Somewhere out there today is one very happy speech writer. I've watched every second of all of the political stuff like a hawk and GW shined last night.
His words hit home, there were a few times I found myself choked with emotion and wanting to shake my fist and yell "GO, AMERICA!" I laughed along with him as he acknowledged his faults and at that moment he was just Joe regular dude. I have yet to see Kerry appear as relaxed or 'normal' as GW did, it left a strong impression on me.
And the night before... GW had gone to a dinner at a firehouse, it was a 'pizza and beer' dinner. He fit right in, they showed him with the firefighters and he was just one of the guys. I can see having pizza and beer with GW, I bsolutely can NOT see pizza and beer with Kerry.
For a while now, my problem with the Republicans has been a lack of acceptance for the world today. Sure, it's a nice thing to think you can talk abstinence and kids won't screw like bunnies. It's nice to think just say no works. It's nice to think people shouldn't have abortions (not me, I'm being general). But wake up, this is NOT the way of the world. Kids are doing drugs in record numbers (thanks in large parts to the over-doping of the youth with happy dappy zombie pills), they're screwing and having kids of their own. Abortion is legal and not going away and either are the homosexuals who are good enough to pay the same taxes as anyone else yet are denied the legal enhancements of marriage.
I've long felt the Republican party a party of disconnected old conservative farts who would never accept that the world they want is not the world we have and come up with solutions that work with the world as it is. I'm not saying give people everything, I'm not Lucy Liberal. But I believe:
**Gay people should be allowed to get married.
**Stem cell research is the key to many serious problems. Use it.
**Medical marijuana helps people.
**Education is about education, not a social experiment. Teach MATH.
**Companies who out-source to foreign countries should be penalised.
**Superfluous lawsuits close businesses.
**Less compassion, find the terrorists and get it done.
**Health insurance should be given to all, period.
**Welfare should be a stepping stone, not a lifestyle.
Just a few things that are important to me that I've not heard addressed in the Republican party. Until now.
They were very smart to bring on Arnold and Rudy, I was really impressed with both of them. Living in NY, I'm already a fan of Pataki as well. These men seem to be the start of the future of the GOP. I guess as the dinosaurs retire, the new generation can emerge and I'm liking the early signs. There is moderation and sense in the things they speak. Here are the Governors of the two most important states in the nation (sorry, everyone else but that's how I see it) and two of the most diverse states in the nation. These men have a working grasp on the reality of the world as it is. And they're not being shunned by the party!
It leaves me with a sense of political optimism I haven't felt in a long time. And with this I declare as of this posting that GW and the GOP can count on my vote for 4 more years.
I'm sure they'd be overjoyed. *smirks*
/end warble/
Monday, August 30, 2004
Therapy in a Box, erm, Blog.
I think I'm enjoying this too much. Look, once again it's 4:33 in the morning and I'm sitting here warbling away.
It's a bit strange stopping the thoughts as they flow and looking to see what section they belong in but I'm quickly becoming addicted.
No wonder I never sleep, my friggin' mind is all over the damn place. All the stuff I've warbled tonight would otherwise start running around in my head the minute I hit the pillow and that would be it for sleep.
But this is becoming a habit here, my surrogate therapy. Who needs therapy when you can freely let the thoughts out as they come with no fear. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone but for me it's working. I've still got way too much in my head to deal with and the Gotard doesn't help but this blog stuff is.
And besides, occasionally people ask to get to know me and I actually let them. This will be a good place to point them, the thoughts here are straight from the head and usually would go unspoken.
It's calming me doing this. It's clearing my mind and calming me and allowing me to get priorities in order.
Good juju. Very good juju.
It's a bit strange stopping the thoughts as they flow and looking to see what section they belong in but I'm quickly becoming addicted.
No wonder I never sleep, my friggin' mind is all over the damn place. All the stuff I've warbled tonight would otherwise start running around in my head the minute I hit the pillow and that would be it for sleep.
But this is becoming a habit here, my surrogate therapy. Who needs therapy when you can freely let the thoughts out as they come with no fear. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone but for me it's working. I've still got way too much in my head to deal with and the Gotard doesn't help but this blog stuff is.
And besides, occasionally people ask to get to know me and I actually let them. This will be a good place to point them, the thoughts here are straight from the head and usually would go unspoken.
It's calming me doing this. It's clearing my mind and calming me and allowing me to get priorities in order.
Good juju. Very good juju.
*waves*
Consider this an offical Warbler shout-out to the Stalker out there reading this.
I see you!
I see you!
Dish, Sweet Dish
Well, we've had it almost a month now and I have to say I am 100% thrilled with Dish Network. They used to be worse than Direct TV but they've really pulled their shit together.
We've had some major rain since the dish went up and we only lost signal once and it wasn't for long. My parents lose their Direct TV a lot more often and for longer periods, Dish passes the rain test with flying colours.
I'm still getting used to all these strange channels, I've got the important ones memorised. We haven't had movie channels in about 2 years in here, it's like the floodgates have been opened and here come the movies..
The DVR works like a charm and even a techno-tard such as I can work it.
The price is fair for 4 rooms of viewing pleasure.
What more could a person want?
The Warbler officially gives Dish Network 10 meows. 10 out of a possible 10. Rah rah rah!
We've had some major rain since the dish went up and we only lost signal once and it wasn't for long. My parents lose their Direct TV a lot more often and for longer periods, Dish passes the rain test with flying colours.
I'm still getting used to all these strange channels, I've got the important ones memorised. We haven't had movie channels in about 2 years in here, it's like the floodgates have been opened and here come the movies..
The DVR works like a charm and even a techno-tard such as I can work it.
The price is fair for 4 rooms of viewing pleasure.
What more could a person want?
The Warbler officially gives Dish Network 10 meows. 10 out of a possible 10. Rah rah rah!
Mmmm, Sangria…
I want to make sangria. A big ole pitcher or two of sangria I will toast the Gods with and blissfully imbibe.
Note to self: Look up sangria recipes or ask the Seal.
Note to self: Look up sangria recipes or ask the Seal.
Go Gomez, Go!
I was listening to WABC not too long ago, tuned in to hear the John Gambling show. Turns out John was on vacation and they had a guest host. Guest host? One John Blaise Gomez.
Caught me completely off guard and set me reeling back to 97. It felt incredibly good to sit back and listen and think to myself "I did this.... Sean started it but I did this.."
It didn't go the way it did in 97, Princess Diana had to go and die the very same day John was finally going to get his shot on WABC, what we had been working long and hard for. Yes, Sean made the introductions but Sean didn't get Gomez on the air, I did. He and I were a good team. Seven years later it was nice to remember something good I did that obviously lasted.
I miss Gomez, I would very much like to hook up with Gomez again. Not like that, he's happily married and we proved the first time around that we worked better as muse and inspired. But I'd love to find him and get a website going for him with some kickass forums.
Time to send out some feelers.
John Gomez! On WABC! I did that. I'm not a complete fuckup!
Woo!
Caught me completely off guard and set me reeling back to 97. It felt incredibly good to sit back and listen and think to myself "I did this.... Sean started it but I did this.."
It didn't go the way it did in 97, Princess Diana had to go and die the very same day John was finally going to get his shot on WABC, what we had been working long and hard for. Yes, Sean made the introductions but Sean didn't get Gomez on the air, I did. He and I were a good team. Seven years later it was nice to remember something good I did that obviously lasted.
I miss Gomez, I would very much like to hook up with Gomez again. Not like that, he's happily married and we proved the first time around that we worked better as muse and inspired. But I'd love to find him and get a website going for him with some kickass forums.
Time to send out some feelers.
John Gomez! On WABC! I did that. I'm not a complete fuckup!
Woo!
Saved by a Concert
I think the closest I ever came to being really depressed was in the mid 90's. Nothing had really happened, I was single and not unhappy with that but life just suddenly became all around empty and I got really down. Down like I had never been before, it was creepy.
I had gotten tickets to a Moody Blues concert, that was the year we saw them like 4 times that Summer. This one was up a mountain in NY, it's a ski resort but in the Summer they have concerts.
I was going with Fay, she had this blue old clunker of a car but I didn't feel like driving so she did. I remember we had to drive up the mountain to get to the concert area and her car kept scraping rocks on the bottom, we didn't know if we were going to make it. Ski resort, big hill.
We got to the top of the mountain and found a suitable place to park. Opened the windows and all of a sudden I smelled pot. We looked around and I swear it seemed like EVERY car on the mountain was toking up. We got out of the car and were sitting on the hood breathing in the air.
A van pulled up next to us and the door opened and about five guys got out. Ok, radar up. Fay and I looked at each other like let the games begin.. Of course they started talking to us and soon we were all sitting around smoking and playing the radio and laughing.
It was the first time in ages I felt relaxed and no, it wasn't the weed. The top of a glorious mountain, your best friend, a cloud of smoke drifting over the cars and a group of friendly guys.
I got to talking to one of them, it got into a pretty intense conversation pretty quickly as he noticed my obvious distress and sarcasm and he came at me with some pretty wild shit about dealing with life.
It was bizarre, it was somewhat metaphysical. This stranger on this mountain being able to hit me so directly with just what I needed to hear even though I didn't know it. We hung out for an hour and by the time we said goodbye I was having this epiphany..
This was also the first time in my life I had ever had to use a porta-potty. Being the dumbass that I am I had to look down and I almost threw up. That was also the last time in my life I have used a porta-potty, may that continue.
The concert itself was a religious experience. No other band has ever been able to touch my core as deeply as the Moody Blues. So many of their songs are sacred to me, they get to my heart and they do things to my mind and soul. Being on the mountain under a tarp, stoned and still reeling from the pre-concert conversations, the whole experience changed me.
When they started to do "Question" I just lost it and broke down, much to Fay's horror. It wasn't sadness, it was the purging of the sadness and the letting go of the bad. As the music went along, the hope returned. As hokey as it
sounds, it happened just like that. I cried it all out and when the song ended I no longer felt depressed.
By the time the concert ended I felt like a new person who had been freed. The mountain still smelled like a giant pot plant and the stars were out en masse and I felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground. I felt good.
The guys were waiting at the van when we got there and we exchanged numbers and hugs but the one I had been so stunned by was gone. They said he met up with some other friends and went with them but to me that only clinched the whole mystical end of the night. Out of nowhere appears one who sees to clearly into me and speaks of it and then is gone after? Sorry, I've never believed in coincidence.
Life after the concert got better. It wasn't a dream, I had to work to keep the skies bright but they did indeed stay bright. And when I would start to falter I would put on the Moody Blues and close my eyes and see the mystery seer talking to me and the strength would return.
I think I could use a good afternoon session now of just me and the Moody Blues. I feel the strength wavering. Too many damn tests lately.
Between the silence of the mountains,
And the crashing of the sea,
There lies a land I once lived in,
And she's waiting there for me,
But in the grey of the morning,
My mind becomes confused,
Between the dead and the sleeping,
And the road that I must choose.
I'm looking for someone to change my life,
I'm looking for a miracle in my life
And if you could see what it's done to me...
I had gotten tickets to a Moody Blues concert, that was the year we saw them like 4 times that Summer. This one was up a mountain in NY, it's a ski resort but in the Summer they have concerts.
I was going with Fay, she had this blue old clunker of a car but I didn't feel like driving so she did. I remember we had to drive up the mountain to get to the concert area and her car kept scraping rocks on the bottom, we didn't know if we were going to make it. Ski resort, big hill.
We got to the top of the mountain and found a suitable place to park. Opened the windows and all of a sudden I smelled pot. We looked around and I swear it seemed like EVERY car on the mountain was toking up. We got out of the car and were sitting on the hood breathing in the air.
A van pulled up next to us and the door opened and about five guys got out. Ok, radar up. Fay and I looked at each other like let the games begin.. Of course they started talking to us and soon we were all sitting around smoking and playing the radio and laughing.
It was the first time in ages I felt relaxed and no, it wasn't the weed. The top of a glorious mountain, your best friend, a cloud of smoke drifting over the cars and a group of friendly guys.
I got to talking to one of them, it got into a pretty intense conversation pretty quickly as he noticed my obvious distress and sarcasm and he came at me with some pretty wild shit about dealing with life.
It was bizarre, it was somewhat metaphysical. This stranger on this mountain being able to hit me so directly with just what I needed to hear even though I didn't know it. We hung out for an hour and by the time we said goodbye I was having this epiphany..
This was also the first time in my life I had ever had to use a porta-potty. Being the dumbass that I am I had to look down and I almost threw up. That was also the last time in my life I have used a porta-potty, may that continue.
The concert itself was a religious experience. No other band has ever been able to touch my core as deeply as the Moody Blues. So many of their songs are sacred to me, they get to my heart and they do things to my mind and soul. Being on the mountain under a tarp, stoned and still reeling from the pre-concert conversations, the whole experience changed me.
When they started to do "Question" I just lost it and broke down, much to Fay's horror. It wasn't sadness, it was the purging of the sadness and the letting go of the bad. As the music went along, the hope returned. As hokey as it
sounds, it happened just like that. I cried it all out and when the song ended I no longer felt depressed.
By the time the concert ended I felt like a new person who had been freed. The mountain still smelled like a giant pot plant and the stars were out en masse and I felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground. I felt good.
The guys were waiting at the van when we got there and we exchanged numbers and hugs but the one I had been so stunned by was gone. They said he met up with some other friends and went with them but to me that only clinched the whole mystical end of the night. Out of nowhere appears one who sees to clearly into me and speaks of it and then is gone after? Sorry, I've never believed in coincidence.
Life after the concert got better. It wasn't a dream, I had to work to keep the skies bright but they did indeed stay bright. And when I would start to falter I would put on the Moody Blues and close my eyes and see the mystery seer talking to me and the strength would return.
I think I could use a good afternoon session now of just me and the Moody Blues. I feel the strength wavering. Too many damn tests lately.
Between the silence of the mountains,
And the crashing of the sea,
There lies a land I once lived in,
And she's waiting there for me,
But in the grey of the morning,
My mind becomes confused,
Between the dead and the sleeping,
And the road that I must choose.
I'm looking for someone to change my life,
I'm looking for a miracle in my life
And if you could see what it's done to me...
<-- Steal me!
