09.16.06
Linkspam - Rabid but funny “Most Loathsome People” shtick
Yeah, I know, this doesn’t help. But its damn funny.
Good times in small town
Went out with a buddy of mine to the small town of Okawville for their “Wheat Festival”, with a friend of his. It was a good time. We had some beers, had some grilled pork kebabs, watched the tail end of a local beauty pagent (which the town took very seriously), took the buddy (who is from California and had never been exposed to small town life) inside the expo building to look at the stuff inside for judging (grains, fruit, vegetables, homemade clothes, etc), and just generally relaxed and talked. Then we went out to small town bar (which would’ve been ok if they hadn’t had the internet jukebox..that made the place fantastic!) The booze was cheap, the people were super-friendly, and a good time was had by all.
It’s nice to get back to that small town atmosphere every now and again. I really like living here on the edge, in a mid-size town, just beyond the true suburbs, where small town life is a hop-skip-and a jump away and the deep city life is just a hop-skip away. :-) Good times, my friends, good times.
Oh yeah…we just spent the night at the local’s house. The stars were out, the moon was slim…and it has heaven. We just stood, our necks craned as far back as they would go, staring up and out and soaking in the the silvered light. It’s been a long time since I really saw the stars.
It was a good day. :-)
09.14.06
Random thoughts…on dispensing with safety
(Warning: more stream of conscious than usual.) I heard another snippet of the Bushites argument about how they need to torture people to make Americans safer. And I thought…when the hell did Americans get so damn hung up on being safe? I mean, we’re supposed to be the leaders of the free world. Name one person that history remembers as great whose main goal was to be safe. Bullshit. You can’t. The people who are great are the people who eschew safety for a greater goal. For life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Now, I’m sure you can try and claim that keeping life is keeping yourself safe, but I’m gonna go cliche here and start quoting braveheart, start quoting Ben Franklin (Those who would sacrifice essentia liberty, etc), start quoting everything you’ve heard about how just being alive does not mean you’re living up to that basic right of life. Truly living means having the courage to stand up for something. Do we want to be neville chamberlain, or winston churchhill? Do we want to be ghandi and MLK, jr, or those putzes who said that given enough centuries, everything would equal out?
Safety is an individual responsibility and job. But as a nation, as Americans, I think we should put our own safety aside and stand for what is right. I’m goddamn tired of hearing “we have to put aside our values to make ourselves safe”. I want to hear some Americans stand up and say “I am an American, and I want my fellow citizens to stand beside me and sacrifice some of our temporary safety so that we may shine a light in this world. I will not stoop to the level of our enemies, but will fight them, will knock them down, and then will reach out my hand to help them stand again until such time as I can make the world a better place. And if I fall, doing my small part in this, then let history remember that I was an American in spirit as well as name.”
Isn’t it enough that we have a life expectancy of what? Twice as long as our opponents? A third again? Decades, whichever. Isn’t it enough for us that our babies are not nearly as likely to die young? We would toss aside our ideals because a few fanatics managed to kill .002% of our citizens?
And here’s another thing. We claim to be these great allies, and yet in the counting of “there have been no terrorist attacks on American soil”…shouldn’t we be counting terrorist attacks on the soil of those who stood with us? No, we simply toss our friends in the path of the fantatics, and claim that as our victory.
I’m spent. But next time you hear someone talk about how we’re keeping ourselves safe with these despicable acts, call them a coward. And ask them what hero they hold that would sacrifice his morals, his ideals, and his pride just for a little temporary safety.
09.10.06
Interesting Sidenote to the previous post
I think Josh’s humor and Scott Adams‘ humor are very similar. Hmm….
I may be full of shit. Someone let me know.
