03.22.04
Posted in People at 7:44 am by qkslvradmin
Well, I’m not actually from Mobile, or Alabama, but I’ll do my best….
Mobile is a city which is situated on a bay…but from the vast majoriy of the town, you’d never know it. It just doesn’t have a port town feel. Its filled to overflowing with a strange mix of the over-pious but under-faithful, the snobby old-rich, the downtrodden poor, the redneck, but most of all, the hypocrite.
As you drive down the main east-west drag, there are several things which might catch your eye. Nobody in Mobile feels that they need to stop at a red light until at least 5 seconds after it is completely red. They are completely willing to nose out into traffic at 90 degree angles and completely stop traffic until such time as they are able to make their left turn. Along the sides of the road, especially during summer, there are an assortment of young and old people, sweating profusely in the heat and humidity, waving signs for various businesses, sometimes even costumed in heavy, college mascot style outfits. As if this wasn’t enough personal idiocy given the incompetence of the local drivers, at various major intersections people looking very much like the homeless of more urban cities stand with stacks of newspapers, walkign between the cars stopped at the lights showing people the headlines. And don’t get me started on the assholes in the hummers.
I find Mobiles traffic to be fairly indicative of the city itself. The streets themselves, the foundation of the city, were planned and started in the 18th century, so the town is layed out along an old spoke and wheel system. This of course makes it antiquated, and hard to navigate in. Likewise, the people seem equally stuck in the past, and are equally difficult to understand.
Where suburban sprawl has occured, s strange system of access roads and double traffic lights have sprung up. Clearly, nothing in this city was actually planned. This is because the people here are far to busy planning their Marti Gras celebrations (which they start discussing incessently around october) to actually plan their lives.
The cars that fill the road seem to have an unusally high percentage of expensive, poorly driven sports cars and SUVs (often accompanied by bumper stickers that read “Don’t let my car fool you, my treasure is in heaven”), and poorly driven dilapidated old clunkers (often accompanied by bumper stickers with such moronic phrases as “America, love it or leave it”, “Bush Giveth, Riley Taketh Away” (a reference to the governer, a republican who ran on a no taxes + honesty, but got to office and found out *there was no money for anything*).
Needless to say, I’m not a fan of Mobile. Not to be too terribly negative or anything.
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03.16.04
Posted in Politics at 8:42 am by qkslvradmin
Check this out.
Now compare this to he information here.
It isn’t hard to put together a picture of whats happeneing.
As the number of voices in our media grow fewer, each of them telling the same stories, using the same facts, and spending less and less time checking the facts they do report, its not wonder that people don’t want to listen to them anymore.
Instead, people are either turning off the news completely, or looking for alternative sources of news. Consider this. Among men younger than 30, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show is the number one source of news.
“As if to drive the Pew survey’s point home, “The Daily Show” reached a ratings milestone during the two weeks of the Iowa caucus, New Hampshire primary and State of the Union address. For the first time, Stewart’s show had more male viewers aged 18 to 34 than any of the network evening news shows.”
This is what I’ve been trying to get through to the Kerry campaign. If you want to win handily, the swing voters aren’t where its at. Invigorating the non-voting public will get you way more votes. And you do that by being loud, proud, saying things that are going to be attacked by the republicans. And then coming up with plans and sharing them. Americans don’t actually like the lazy soundbite journalism of today. They may not be able to tell you why, but the truth is its because it doesn’t provide enough depth or color variation to tell a story. Those same flaws also make it vulnerable to manipulation and people sense that too.
26.4 million fewer people are watched presidential debates in 2000 as opposed to 1994. Imagine what a difference livlier, more provocative debates alone could do for our country. Then, if they were followed up by honest, fact checked, and most importantly caring analysis, it would make all the difference in the world.
So lets bring back the liberal media, and get people listening again.
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03.15.04
Posted in General at 3:09 pm by qkslvradmin
I’ve not done any blogging in a couple of days! Shameful.
Not really much to talk about, I suppose.
I’ve been reading Dan Simmons “Illium“, and I’ve been trying to read it more closely than I generally read books. Because its just that good. Theres so much to catch, in it!
Then, I was gonna try and get some more character descriptions in (Nicole’s needs to be done, and I was thinking about building a couple for some guys at work, in case I decided to have some bitch sessions about work.)
But Scott was sick, so I had to come over to Med Center to fill in for him. Whoops. And its been a constant stream of stupid little complaints…”Help, I was dumb enough to open up a netsky email”, “Help, my drive map didn’t connect”, “Help, I can’t turn on my computer”.
The sad thing is that all of those are real complaints. Actually, thats not true. Those are what was actually wrong. The complaints were even dumber.
I don’t really ask that people have much competency with their computers, but basic functionality would be nice.
Lessee…Candice finally wrote back yesterday. She’s surviving, although vodka is part of her self-dosage, which I’m not to terribly thrilled with. But she doesn’t ever seem to really overdo it. Anyway, I’m thinking of putting together a little care package for her…a copy of Illium and a mix cd I’ll try and put together tonight. Course that may be over doing it, but I think I’m gonna do it anyway. Cause I’m crazy like that.
“Now if you will gentlemen…let me put this song into a little perspective. The woman is the the the animal. The hunted. We, being the predator, the hunter, are gonna catch. And when we catch her, we’re gonna kill her. Well, maybe not kill her. But…YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, you silly guys. li’l bit of hot nookie, huh? Little pinch and squeal? We’re animals, right? We’re fierce, out of control, animals. Craaaazy, rrrar…Ok, lets do this song.”
A hundred bucks to anyone who can place that quote.
A hundred more to anyone who catches someone being dumb enough to believe I”m actually going to give out money here. I’m giving you my thoughts…that should be enough. ;-)
Hrm….that about wraps it up for now. I’m gonna go read a few more news stories and blogs, then come back with whatever I wanna talk about.
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03.13.04
Posted in General at 9:48 am by qkslvradmin
I dreamed strange and vivid dreams last night…the sort of dreams which you wake from disoriented, unable to seperate dream from reality in your memory…
Where you cannot remember the meat of your dreams because you cannot recall what was dream and what has actually happened to you.
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03.12.04
Posted in General at 3:07 pm by qkslvradmin
Ok, so before I start the counterpoint, I have to say, IndieJade, the Philosofairy knows whats up.
The writing of the blog is all about a quiet desperation to be heard.
Its also more than that. It serves much the same purpose as a diary…recording the thoughts and emotions of the moment for self-analysis and later remembrance.
To me, though, it is exactly like a diary. Its why I don’t really tell anyone who I know really well about my new blog. Because its private in that I don’t want to ever have to worry about hurting someone’s feelings here. I will say what I think and what I want here, and be damned if you find it and don’t like it.
Which is how I’ve always felt about my diary, on those rare occasions I actually keep that.
This has more potential though, because it opens up those same inner thoughts to view and critique by the the nameless, faceless, yet inherently more honest denizens of the web. More honest because they, like me, can say what they want without fear of really causing a meaningful pain.
Thats the theory anyway.
The theory I so quietly and desperately wanted to be heard. :-)
Anyway, in a counter point to the Philosofairy’s answers to my utterly random questions, I submit the following clarifications, rebuttels, and points.
1) Clarification: This was actually a personal question related to my own experiences, because my co-workers and people who don’t know me so well always think I’m wild and crazy and uptight and easily offended, but all of my close friends know that I’m pretty damn relaxed. As Andy once said, “I don’t think its possible to upset Sean”….
So, I guess I’m asking how there can be such a disconnect between those in the know and those without, given that I act more or less the same around all of them. Its probably because they’ve never actually seen me really mad. ;-)
2 and 3) These were trick questions, I’m afraid. The correct answer to the first is “yes”, and the correct answer to the second is “Homebrew, of course!”. I had to find out if the Philosofairy was simply philosophical, or whether she was omniscient or telepathic as well. Sorry, lass!
4) This one was really just a question I’ve been asking myself constantly. And I’ve not heard back from Candice since monday….wonder how she’s doin’…
As for LDR’s, complete agreeance. They are doomed from the start.
Sigh. Bloody south.
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