A see a lot people calling Kanye West a “genius.” By what definitions is this guy a genius? Not all misunderstood people are geniuses. Not all popular artists are geniuses either. Most geniuses probably languish, and are never recognized as such. I have yet to witness this genius displaying any traits that I would call, genius.
I need to get to the gym more often, but my lifestyle doesn't seem to support that.
I also need to lose about 30 pounds. Maybe 40.
This is not easy....
I should start weigh-in Wednesdays on my blog.
What will the frighteningly high number be tomorrow?
Half of the people in my office go out for smoke breaks.
I've never found it to be fair that employers make accommodations for employees who are addicted to tobacco products, and it is widely accepted in our culture that these people get special treatment. Most other addicts wouldn't even be hired if it was known, except for coffee addicts, but you can have a coffee at your desk while working without polluting your work environment.
So, I have again began my practice of taking smoke breaks.
In my case, they involve walking around the parking lot briskly, mostly while talking to myself, or singing a song, but I think that can be accommodated.
Even if people look at me like I'm crazy.
It isn’t our biology that is out of sync. It is the social expectations as to what sex is supposed to be for each gender, and the fears, shames, and generalized morals that are imposed upon us by our social and religious institutions.
It continued to be odd as he just sat there, not doing anything, but blaring music next to us. I had no idea what the music even was. Jazz? Salsa? Fusion Jalzza? He just sat there.
So, 4/20 is supposed to be a big deal. Leave the milk, and cookies out for Snoop Dog, and go get high. Whatever pot smoking joke, or metaphor you want to throw out there, pot certainly does get a lot of attention.
But, why?
Mainly because a bunch of old, profiteering white men decided it was cutting into their business so they lobbied the government to make it illegal. Then Nixon came along, and started his "war on drugs" classifying marijuana into the same categories as illegal synthetics, and opioids. Ever since, "satan's lettuce" has been a big deal.
Satan's Lettuce. They even gave it a nickname including a fictional character, because their claimed negative affects of marijuana are just as fictional.
I'm not so much a defender of marijuana use as I am a defender of civil liberties, common sense, and environmental protection. Within the boundaries of making pot illegal, America has also made hemp as an industrial crop illegal. A crop that could help save thousands of acres of trees each year. That's kind of a big deal.
Why? Because the profits of one industry are valued over the profits of another. Or, they were made to be valued that way, because someone already had more money.
And as far as protecting us from the "dangers" of pot, those who claim pot to be so horrible are all pretty horrible people themselves, and we'd probably be better off making their existence illegal. My take? Pot isn't all that harmful when compared to other already legal drugs like alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. The often used example of the "loser stoner" is misleading. We live in diversity. Some people are just that way. With or without pot, the "loser stoner" would still be a "loser" in the eyes of society in some way. There are people who use marijuana regularly that are high-functioning, and high-achievers. There are people who use it who just are people; your common, ordinary, everyday folk, and you'd probably never know they are pot smokers except for this assumed pride of pot culture that some people latch on to because of this fight to make it legal again.
Yes, again. It wasn't always illegal.
Legalize it. Stop trying to legislate some false morality that those who are legislating it don't even adhere to. Expunge the records of those in prison on minor marijuana related charges, or at least throw away those convictions, and reduce their over-all sentences if they have more to serve.
Our society doesn't NEED marijuana, but it needs a lot more common sense, and a lot less focus on trying to protect people from themselves. Not to mention, less money in government, but that's a different, albeit, related rant.
That point aside, if we want our society to stop looking at porn as an educational resource, we need to have, or create better educational resources about sex, and sexuality. If parents, and other guiding adults, aren’t talking to their children about this part of their life that is vital to their own connectivity to human kind, a relationship with another person, their own happiness, and sense of life fulfillment, then where are their kids going to learn from? Other kids who don’t know? Online resources? Do you think they’re going to research on WebMD, or PornMD? Think they’ll look up information from Planned Parenthood, or from Motherless? Are they going to watch educational videos on YouTube, or YouPorn?
I think you know the answers.
Again, they refuse – not denying that I’m going to miss my connection. They know now I won’t be on that flight. No chance. None. But now it’s too late in the day and there are no options.
I sigh a long sigh and stand frustrated waiting for the boarding to actually begin.
One, please stop sharing Rick Lax's videos on social media. They are by far the worst, and dumbest "tricks" on the interwebs.
There is so much better, and more interesting content out there.
Two, I am still in favor of dropping the voting age to 16. And I believe, if there is a minimum, there should be a maximum. Say, once you hit 70, you can no longer vote. Same reasons. There's nothing saying you're responsible enough at the point to truly understand what you're voting for, and furthermore, you're no longer deciding YOUR future. You're almost done here. Seems morbid, but it's a fact of life. Let the younger people choose the future in front of them.
I know, I've suggested that before, and people whine, "You can't do that! That's age discrimination!" Really? More so than saying a 16-year old is incapable of understanding issues, and how they impact the world, the nation, and their own lives? You're making a judgment on all young people, and thereby preventing them from voting based on an assumed ability, or capacity to handle that process, but not on older people who might actually have failing faculties? And yes, I know many very sharp, keen 70 year olds, but I also know some I wouldn't trust with the TV remote, so why is OK to blanket one age group negatively, and not another?
Discuss....
On Sunday I donned 18th Century British military regalia, and gave my best Monty Python'esque performance for an educational video for Old Fort Niagara. The subject was preparing for the 1764 Native Council, to try and bring peace between the British colonial forces, and the Native American Nations who, honestly, didn't care for the British much at all...
The videographer was Lee Gugino, and this is a screen capture from the video.
