Tag: thoughts

Lackawanna, NY 1911

Weigh-In Wednesday – Moving Forward

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

People look at the past, and long for the good-ol’ days. We romanticize what used to be, focusing on only the good, and forgetting how much was bad, or even worse than bad. We look at our present, and we focus on the bad, and what we want to change, then dream of a future that is only good, not imagining the negative consequences of what we’re doing today. We say, “Things weren’t like this back in my day,” but odds are, they were. People don’t have less of a respect for life today – mass shootings, and the brutality we see every day isn’t a function merely of a change of attitude toward what life is worth. Were we as a species really respecting, and valuing life when we were burning witches for baseless religious accusations? How about when indigenous peoples were being slaughtered? Gladiator tournaments? Hangings? Beheadings? Crucifixions? Monarchs ordering executions on a whim? Do these all show how we respected life? Are the 2A gun nuts really showing a respect for life by fighting harder for their right to own military grade weapons than seeking to find solutions that would stem the tides of gun related deaths we have in our nation?

Weigh-In Wednesday – Still On My Soapbox

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

Still seems like the reichwing christian ideals align a helluva lot more closely to what Sharia law wants, as opposed to freedom, and democracy. They just have their own twists based on their own wants, and beliefs, and their own twisted patriotism that they think is the only patriotism that matters. This is why I keep reminding you, my kind, and intelligent readers, that when Russia launched a social media campaign to influence American public opinion, and sway voters in a way that would damage American democracy, and create a national divide, they targeted right wing conservatives. They did so for a couple simple facts, and those being that the conservative agenda is the one furthest from the ideals of American democracy, freedom, and decency, and the fact so many uneducated Americans buy into the preachings of right wing conservatives; they’re the most gullible, and easiest to influence.

Weigh-In Wednesday – Happy Holidays, and Other Useless Junk

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

The people who post these stupid, “Want to trigger a liberal? Wish them a Merry Christmas” crap, it makes you look pretty damn uneducated. Say Merry Christmas – celebrate Christmas. Hell, we won’t even force you to grow a brain, and learn the true history of the holiday. All anyone ever said is, other people celebrate holidays BESIDES Christmas, so when someone says “Happy Holidays” in return, because, there are multiple holidays to celebrate this time of year, even in your own little narrow minded world, don’t get so butt hurt about it.

Christians in this nation are the most quickly, and easily offended people going, but seem to think if they don’t get their way they’re immediately being persecuted, and everyone else is offended by them. We’re not offended – we just find you to be ridiculous, and stupid. Fucking grow up, and learn how to exist in a world where other people have different perspectives. We’re going on probably over 1500 years of this bullshit from every sect of your cult, and you still haven’t learned how to do that.

Weigh-In Wednesday – The Ten Year Challenge

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

Our Meet The Filmmaker interview went well, but as always, the questions I anticipate people will ask about the movie are not the questions that are asked. Meet The Filmmakers will probably be released in late Spring/early Summer. Before then, however, Stages will be shown at a movie night at Buff State’s Upton Hall on Friday Dec 6 at 7PM. This is an event hosted by Mike Raisch for his recent production Smith and the Devil which I assisted slightly in helping to shoot some video elements (under water, no less). There will be a Q&A afterward, and I will be speaking about Stages, so feel free to come, and ask questions.

Silent Voices - where I got to play a complete jerk. Conservatives would say this would influence me to become one.

Nearly A Weigh-In Wednesday and I’m Angry

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

Yes, indeed, my little snowflake. No one is saying “free.” The majority of Americans want these things – it’s isn’t just small radicalized pockets of progressives. We realize these programs cost money; the government collects plenty from us to cover the programs, we just keep hearing about how they’re not affordable, while wars, tax-cuts for the wealthy, and bail-outs to covers shitty (Republican!) economic policies are never questioned as to their cost. Spend our taxes on the things that will benefit the tax payers. I’m sorry your feeble, simple mind can’t understand that people want their taxes to benefit them.

Weigh-In Wednesday – The Uniqueness of You

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

I learned in time, that’s just how it is, and I need to have patience with myself, more than patience with others. In those times when you’re stopped worrying about it, and start focusing on other things, amazing people come into your life. When you’re forcing it, less than amazing people come into your life.

Just my two-cents of my old age wisdom. Picture me peeling an apple and eating slices off the blade of my pocket knife while sitting in a porch rocker while telling you this. It might make more of an impact.

A straw hat, and denim overalls are also nice additions.

Weigh-In Wednesday – It’s Obviously Autumn Again

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

I’ve often said, the worst changes, challenges, and things I have to adapt to happen in Autumn. Every year, it seems like something new, and increasingly awful. Maybe it has become self-fulfilling prophecy, but often the challenges I face aren’t even things on the radar. Nothing I’m dwelling on, or fearing. Just, random awful crap.

My Autumn has begun in just that way. Let’s see what else it can throw at me by December.

Stages - 5 Award Nominations at the Buffalo 48-Hour Film Project

Weigh-In Wednesday – September 11

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

Yes, we all know it’s September 11th.  As we have been told, we haven’t forgotten. We’re not allowed to forget, and with that, many aren’t allowed to reconcile the grief that day has caused.

It is a tragedy that honestly started our nation on a downward spiral of economic disarray, and increased ethnocentrism. Which is probably exactly what the terrorists wanted. Yes, honor the fallen, honor the first responders, remember them on this day. But maybe also realize our current state of affairs, and the endless wars that have further demonized us in the Middle East, and the breakdown of our alliances that we now have is evidence the terrorist got what they wanted. In that respect, we’ve failed to honor the fallen, and first responders correctly.

Symbolic memorials mean nothing if you don’t live in a nation that upholds the values it wrote into its Constitution.

But, who am I to say? After all, most conservatives still blame Obama for not being in the Oval Office when 9/11 happened.

Ridiculous Workday Notes

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

I have discovered my job is literally Peter Gibbons’s job in the movie Office Space.  Now, I love the movie Office Space, and in fact,traveled with a digital copy on my laptop to watch while on flights, in my hotel, etc..  while I had a contract that required weekly travel from 2006 through 2009. That job was a high-pressure job, and working from the road all the time wasn’t always easy, but back then, running my own business, and experiencing so many different places was so much better than just being in an Office Space type work environment.  Why do I say that my  current job is Peter Gibbons’s? Because the job doesn’t seem matter, at all. I do my work, which is completely trite, unrewarding, and for the most part without meaning, or consequence, good or bad. I get direction from management, but it’s rarely ever followed-up on, or consistent. I have eight different bosses who will all tell me the same thing, or in most cases, nothing at all. My presence is required, but at the same time, completely optional as long as work gets done. My only fulfillment comes via direct deposit, which isn’t great, but the flip-side is, once I leave the office I don’t have to think about my job at all. Not a single bit. No worries, no over-hang of stress, no wondering how I will solve problems, or make anything work. Nothing. I can completely focus on things that actually matter to me.

There is a certain serenity in that. I’m not changing the world here, but it keeps the bills paid while I work on changing my world elsewhere. When I’m here I hate it, and I want to leave, or find something new. But at the same time, I realize such jobs are pretty rare.

Adversity

Weigh-In Wednesday – What’s New?

Posted on by Paul In The Buff

Just a note: if you find yourself in a debate over which fast-food chain’s chicken sandwiches are better, you might want to consider that you have the diet preferences of a 10-year old, and perhaps work on finding a little more culinary culture, or at least a healthier diet.

Am I one to talk? Is my diet perfectly healthy? Hell no. But deep fried chicken sandwiches aren’t a point of debate for me, and I would rather patronize locally owned, and developed establishments rather than a national chain that either doesn’t give two shits about the markets they invade, or spread bigotry against marginalized groups through their religious rhetoric, while using their employees’ generous nature as a national marketing campaign as if the company is the good-doers, and not the individual slaving for them at minimum wage.