Orange Hi-C and GI Joes

Organs (continued)

2007-06-05T17:31:00.000-04:00

Brenna asks "Who is being coerced under the current system, and why?"

It's not an issue of who is being coerced under the current system. The issue is it wouldn't change under the new system. It's simple economics. As the demand for an item lessens or the supply of it increases, the black market and the crime that surrounds the acquisition (including killing people for them or stealing them) of that item lessens.

With supply greatly increased and demand unaffected, the risk of coercion or people being forced is logically lessened. And even is someone is coerced or forced to sell a kidney, we have laws for that. We convict the people who break the laws.

But let's assume (only for academic purposes) there is an increase of coercion and people forced to donate. That is more than balanced out by the elimination of the black market for organs.
The issue of "unequal distribution of the burden" is simple class warfare talk. The buyer gets a kidney and the seller gets income he normally wouldn't have had. It's a consensual transaction between two adults.

PROS:
-People live with a new kidney.
-Those selling the kidney (might be mostly poor but who cares? It's their choice) are compensated and now, if they are poor, have money they wouldn't have otherwise had.
-The black market for kidneys is basically eliminated.

CONS:
-None that didn't exist in the first place

Organ donation

2007-06-01T16:34:00.000-04:00

Brenna kindly responds to my question:

"Because organ donation is a painful and dangerous process, which the rich and middle-class are unlikely to undertake for the money. Only the poor and desperate would be likely to pursue this source of income--which leads to problems of coersion--and they're unlikely to be the ones getting the organs.

When you're doing research with human subjects, there are limits on compensation for just this reason. How much more so, when the risk of harm is greater (or certain--I mean, they come out minus a major organ). This isn't even going into the possibility of someone else forcing a person to donate organs for the money."

I originally had a longer response that I've since removed because I think the response is simple. Brenna brings up issues of possibilities of coercion and forcing someone to donate. How is that any different now from before? If anything, it's more possible *now* since the demand remains high but supply is terribly low.

We already have laws for coercion and forcing someone to donate an organ. Making it legal to sell an organ affects the chances of coercion and forcing someone to donate none and if anything, *reduces* that chance.

Organs

2007-05-30T10:32:00.001-04:00

Why is it illegal for me to sell a kidney to someone who needs it or he/she will die?

More gooderer

2007-05-03T10:13:00.000-04:00

I tend to get wound up a tad about simple issues of government and personal responsibility. I know this government was original founded on civil liberties and personal responsibility but that changed long ago. I have no doubt that the framers of the Constitution would not be able to stop talking about how messed up our current system of government is if they were around.

So obviously the things I post on are more academic and theoretical. The majority of this country doesn’t truly want to be free or want personal responsibility to take care of the things in their lives they should be responsible for (food, shelter, health insurance etc). Does that make me mad? Sure, because I’m expected to pay for those who choose not to or choose to make poor choices.

Now don’t get me wrong. I spend plenty of time and money supporting charities and don’t feel obligated to list it out here. But I do. However, that is by choice. It is not by the force of a gun.

Forcing me to give money to the government so it can be redistributed to others is not charity on my part or on those who force me to do it. There is *nothing* noble about forcing someone else to spend their money on helping others. It is essentially stealing from them and that is why I can’t stand people who think they’re awesome and charitable by starting, continuing or expanding government programs to “help the needy.”

With that said, I’ve really come to enjoy reading this blog because

1. He’s smarter than I am.

2. He communicates better than I do.

See #s 1 and 2.

Recently I posted about the rest of the country being forced to subsidize people who choose to live in areas prone to natural disasters. People are free to choose where they live. They should accept the responsibilities that come with living there. If they choose not to insure themselves, then accept the risk or if they are unable to insure, then move. It’s pretty simple.

But he looks into it a bit deeper and more gooderer.

And the Dems wonder why people think they don't support the troops...

2007-04-20T07:44:00.000-04:00

Harry Reid is awfully supportive...

The Dem Party has positioned itself so that failure in Iraq benefits their party and success is bad for them.

I'm not fan of the Republican party anymore but this group is just despicable.

Don't act like you support the troops. Don't call us kids or children. We volunteered. We made the choice. Don't patronize. When you stop doing that...maybe we'll think you truly support us.

Don Imus

2007-04-12T09:52:00.000-04:00

Never liked the guy much to begin with but...is this a big deal about something small? It was a stupid thing to say. Apologize and move on.

His mistake was bowing at the altar of Al Sharpton(one of the most vile men in national politics in my generation) and Jesse Jackson.

I'm not a fan of Michelle Malkin because she's specializes in outrage over everything(not too different in that sense from Sharpton and Jackson) but this raises excellent points.

And Jason Whitlock also makes good points.

Think I'll take the same stance on this as I do "man made global warming." When the people who spout off most about it and claim to be most worried...when they start taking it seriously, I might, too.

Funny movie moments

2007-04-03T14:18:00.000-04:00

On to a lighter topic...

Was thinking the other day about some of the funniest moments I've ever seen in a movie. Moments that if someone saw only that scene it would still be hilarious. A scene so funny that even if you watched it by yourself, you would have, or did, laugh out loud. A scene where you laughed so hard and so long, your abs ached.

Some personal favorites in no particular order:

-Ace Ventura (the first one): This movie is full of them but the scene at the beginning where Jim Carrey is playing the faux UPS guy and beating the crap out of the box he's delivering.

-Tommy Boy: This is also a movie chock full of hilarious scenes. The scene I think I laughed the hardest at was when the deer woke up in the back seat of the car, scaring Chris Farley and David Spade out of the car while it destroys it.

-Black Sheep(Not this scene but another good one from the movie): Not as good as Tommy Boy but that's a hard act to follow. The scene where Chris Farley falls down the hill and tumbles at a 45 degree angle about a mile had me in stitches.

-Anchorman: When Paul Rudd puts on the Sex Panther cologne and makes a run at Christina Applegate. It peaks when the random woman walks by and just as she's walking off the screen describes what it smells like.

-Dumb and Dumber: When Jeff Dnaiels winds up and drills Lauren Holly in the face with a snowball.

-High Fidelity: John Cusack is in his record store when Tim Robbins, Cusack's ex's current boyfriend, comes in and John Cusack goes through the different scenarios in his head of what he wants to do to Robbins...except he's gutless.

-Love Stinks: Not a popular movie but certainly has it's moments. The end after French Stewart stands Bridget Wilson up at the altar in Vegas. She's shot him in the butt. He's being carted into the ambulance while she's being arrested. He shouts "You've put me off women...I'm gay. And not just a little gay. Full on, Liberace gay. I like show tunes!...Back to hell, demon! Back to hell!

-South Park (Opening 10 minutes of the movie. Warning: profanity): I love this show way too much and my first exposure to it was the movie. I couldn't stop laughing at these little 3rd grade kids learning the wonders of swearing. And their mouths were fouler than mine in my teenage years. I suppose the best part is the end when Cartman realizes the V-chip in his brain(implanted to give him shocks whenever he swears) has malfunctioned and now when he swears he can shoot lightning. He mixes up great swear word combinations and mixes "Barbra Streisand" into the middle of one long curse phrase.

-Other favorites?

*UPDATE: Tara points out that it's a crime that nothing from UHF is on here. She's right...

-UHF The scene where Raul from Raul's Wild Kingdom is teaching poodles how to fly. Notice how many times Raul excitedly claps his hands one time? Click here for more UHF clips. Make sure you watch Wheel of Fish halfway down the page.

A right not to be offended? Or are we scared to offend certain parties?

2007-04-02T14:58:00.000-04:00

I know it's a general statement and someone who reads is married to one but, seriously. What happened? I'd make fun of them but, shoot, they aren't any worse than we are.

This is just beyond lame. Now, I don't mind Christians being made fun of or offended. Shoot, we give people plenty of material to make fun of. But why the desire not to offend Muslims? Why do they get this special "right?" (Hint: it's how many of them respond).

Don't tell me some artist is courageous because he made a nude, chocolate Jesus or stuck a crucifix in a jar of piss. That takes no guts at all. Any blowback those artists get is just publicity they capitalize on. Shoot, there are large segments of American society that lionize that.

I'm waiting to see an artist depict Muhammad out of chocolate. Or put the Koran in a bucket of piss and call it art. That would border on courage. We saw what happened to the filmmaker who made "Submission."

We've seen how European Muslims react to CARTOONS! of Muhammad.

Universal healthcare

2007-03-26T16:56:00.000-04:00

I have a lovely relative(truthfully, not just buttering her up) who likes the idea of universal healthcare. We've debated it many times but I don't think I make my points well.

So I'll let someone else make it:

Stop worrying about how the level and quantity of individual care will foreverafter be subject to congressional budgetary constraints - your bypass, your kidney transplant, your arthroscopic knee surgery, they're now budgetary line items - and no matter how much you feel you need them, someone else will be making the decisions: "You don't need ACL surgery, just get a brace. And in a few years, a wheelchair." And so on. If you don't think this will happen - remember that your health will now be in the hands of the same people who determined that our soldiers' vehicles didn't need to be heavily armored. That their bodies didn't need to be heavily armored. The stewards of your health will now be the same people who build bridges to nowhere, or who last year, spent a day in-session honoring the Superbowl Champions.

And another good point from the same post:

When it comes to healthcare, I too am nervous that it's quality may (sic) decline for me. But I'm scared to death that it will provide the excuse for government to micromanage my life even more than the income tax code does. You can already see it in the debates about motorcycle helmets. The idiocy question aside, the big argument says "since society is paying your medical bills, it gets to dictate what risks you can take.

Clueless?

2007-02-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

I think it's been a while since I've seen someone so out of touch w/ why she got fired.

Also, for being a STRONG, STRONG FEMINIST (Don't open the door for me!) she does a good job of playing the victim:

"I was aware that I didn't exactly fit the image people have of bloggers who join campaigns -- the stereotype being 30-something nerdy young white men who wear khakis and obsess over crafting their Act Blue lists. I wasn't aware that not fitting the image would attract so much negative attention."

At no point does she take any responsibility at all for the downright hateful and bigoted things she said. She only stood out because she was a woman.

But...but...I think she was a STRONG, STRONG FEMINIST!!! Why should she run from what she wrote or make excuses or revise her posts? SHE'S STRONG!!! Well she did and it easily portrays her for the intellectual fraud she is.

Here is her "apology" while she was still with the Edwards campaign:

"My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs, and I am sorry if anyone was personally offended by writings meant only as criticisms of public politics. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are central rights, and the sum of my personal writings is a testament to this fact."

I hate apologies of this type. She's not apologizing for anything she said. She's apologizing if OTHER PEOPLE did something(felt offended). Gutless.

If she meant the words stand by them. She didn't. SO she's now a sellout. Unless she did mean them, in which the rich, white male forced her to "apologize." Once again, sold out.

Schadenfreude is the word.

How come this is lost on so many people?

2006-12-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

Well, the answer is we've created a society that believes it's everyone else's responsibility to fix their own problems. If it requires taking someone else's money by force of gun, so be it.

He puts it so much better and clearly than I can

-Owning real property entails costs: utilities, property taxes, maintenance and upkeep. Oh, and insurance. If you can't afford insurance, then you can't afford the property. To which the proper response is not, "Have the federal government pay for it," but rather, "Too bad so sad -- move somewhere else."-

Amen.

But we all know it's everyone else's job to pay for their inability to plan their lives accordingly.

November 18th WAS a very good day

2006-11-19T17:40:00.000-05:00

That's us, on the field after the win, holding our pieces of the turf.

Notice the score in the background.

Ohio State 42 Michigan 39

Nov 15th was a good day but Nov 18th will be better

2006-11-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

Here they are. They arrived in the mail.

#1 Ohio State vs #2 Michigan.

Biggest rivalry in American Sports.

First time they've been ranked #1 and #2 when they've faced each other.

Fifth time they've both been undefeated going into "The Game."

Winner goes to the National Championship.

I'm sitting between the 35 and 40 yard line.

Go Bucks!

Voting Results

2006-11-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

I only voted on a couple of issues. In Ohio, a constitutional amendment to ban smoking in public was on the ballot along w/ another amendment to repeal a bunch of local laws banning smoking.

I voted against both. The first one is a no brainer. A constitutional amendment to ban smoking? What the fudge? This would mainly affect bars, restauarants, bowling alleys etc. It's a pretty simple concept to understand that those choices should be up to the owners of those places. It blows me away that people would not just vote to ban it but to AMEND THE CONSTITUTION to ban it.

I voted against the opposing amendment because I don't think either side deserves to be an amendment to the constitution. Amendments should be rare and, as with the American Constitution, it should restrict what the goverment can do, not what private citizens choose to do with their own property.

So what do my fellow idiots in Ohio do? They vote for the smoking ban. Man, people's stupidty just blows me away...to the point where I want to punch them all. No one trusts the marketplace.

They also voted to raise the minimum wage again. Another silly move. Nevermind the countless studies that show raising the minumum wage kills lower paying jobs. Oh yeah, this was also a constitutional amendment. People are just dumb. Maybe I'll move to New Hampshire or a place like Idaho or Montana where there is still some semblance of freedom of choice and personal responsibility.

I didn't bother to vote for Gov, House or Senate. The Republicans are a ridiculous mess. Corrupt and have no idea of the principles they ran on. They don't deserve to keep control of either chamber. I didn't vote Democrat because I still have my self respect. That...and the Dems run on only one thing lately...they aren't Republicans. Really, no issues. The Dems are actually a bigger mess than the Republicans. But I'm of the belief now that gridlock is good. Whichever party holds the executive, the rival party needs to have Congress.

Despite the cynical sounds of it, life is actually good. Just finishing a week long vacation to Phoenix and Vegas!

Good Lord

2006-07-26T17:05:00.000-04:00

Good Lord. Why even have a legal system?

She MURDERS her 5 children in cold blood. And now she'll probably see freedom again after some counseling and medication.

Just sick.

Pamplona Pictures

2006-07-22T20:52:00.000-04:00

Sorry Tara. Been busy/lazy.

Here are the Pamplona pictures. The "drunk Eric" pics have been removed but will be shared at a later time.

Pamplona

2006-07-09T09:46:00.000-04:00

Couple pics. More later this week.

This weekend...my birthday

2006-07-07T03:20:00.000-04:00

This weekend. Pamplona, Spain. The Running of the Bulls.

Oh yes.

How much do you really love freedom?

2006-07-04T08:03:00.000-04:00

From Neal Boortz (might have to go to the archives and click on July 4th)

JUST HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY LOVE FREEDOM?

**Planning for your retirement.

1. I want my employer to provide me with a pension plan.

2. I want the government to take something out of every one of my paychecks and then pay it back to me in monthly payments after I reach retirement age.

3. I'm perfectly willing to save some money toward my retirement years out of each and every paycheck and I want my employer and the government to butt out. If I fail to finance my retirement years adequately I'll have nobody to blame but myself.

**Desecrating the American Flag

1. I believe the Bill of Rights was written by men to tell government what it can and cannot do. Even though I strongly disapprove of anyone desecrating our Flag, I realize the First Amendment was written to protect unpopular expressions, not ones that everyone is going to agree with.

2. I believe that our Flag is the symbol of our country, and anyone who desecrates it ought to be punished harshly. To that end I approve of a new Constitutional amendment, the first one since prohibition that would tell us what we can and cannot do, instead of the government.

**Medical Care

1. My employer should provide me with a health insurance plan covering me and my immediate family.

2. The government should provide taxpayer funded health care for everyone.

3. I should be responsible for providing my own health care and health insurance in a competitive medical marketplace unhindered by government mandates and regulations.

**Health Insurance

1. The government should tell health insurance companies what they must and what they cannot cover in their policies.

2. I wish to be free to negotiate with health insurance companies in order to find the best price for my policy by including matters I wish to insure against, and excluding health matters, like drug and alcohol abuse, which are of no concern to me.

**Having No Health Insurance

1. If I have no health insurance the government should provide me emergency health care paid for by the taxpayers.

2. If I have no health insurance and the taxpayers are compelled to pay for any of my health care the taxpayers should be reimbursed through the seizure and sale of all of my assets. I have no claim on the property of others for the purpose of paying for my medical needs.

**Choosing a doctor

1. I'm perfectly willing to rely on private accreditation organizations to tell me who is properly trained in the delivery of medical services. After conferring with those accreditation organizations, like the American Medical Association, I want to be free to chose any person I want for any medical purpose I see fit.

2. I want the government to tell me who I can seek medical services from.

**Wages and Employment

1. I realize that in the free enterprise marketplace I have something to sell just as to all other individuals and businesses do. My product is my physical and intellectual labor. I should be left absolutely free to negotiate a price for my physical and intellectual labor with any prospective employer free of government interference. The only role for the government in my relationship with my employer would be to provide a means to enforce contracts between us.

2. I want the government to set a minimum wage below which I would not be free to work. I also want the government to set my working hours, how I am to be paid for overtime, family leave options and my vacation periods,

**I recognize that the most important task I shall have as a human being will be to nurture and raise my child. With that in mind:

1. I want the government to seize my money through taxes and to use those taxes to set up a system of government schools to which I shall be compelled to send my child. I will be free, if I wish, to send my child to a private school, but the government will not let me have any of my money back to pay for it.

2. I want the government to back out of the picture and allow me to accept the responsibility for the education of my child free of government interference and mandates.

**Knowing that the more despotic a government becomes the more that government tries to control the dissemination of information. I also know that most American rely on the broadcast media for their news. Therefore:

1. I want the government to continue to license the operation of all radio and television stations and to regulate their conduct so that they don't broadcast against the common interest.

2. I want the broadcast media in this country to have the full First Amendment rights granted to the printed media.

**I am a devoutly religious person and my religious feelings include strongly felt opinions on what other people should and should not do in their private lives.

1. I want the government to regulate the sexual conduct between consenting adults so that said conduct will be in keeping with my personal sense of what is right and what is wrong.

2. I may be disgusted by what some people do to and with each other in the privacy of their own homes, but I do not wish for the government to prevent those perverts from doing whatever perverted things they like to do to each other.

**Even though I drink alcohol and smoke nicotine:

1. I want the government to make sure that nobody uses any substance that I find personally offensive. Marijuana, for instance.

2. I do not believe that the government should be involved in what people do, and that includes what people smoke, in privacy of their own homes. I just don't want to have to pay for it when they screw themselves up good.

**You need some legal advice.

1. You want the government to tell you who you can go to for legal advice. If you go to someone for legal advice who is not approved by the government, and that person charges you to prepare a will or to draw up a lawsuit for you, you want the government to punish that person with a heavy fine, or perhaps some jail time, even though you freely entered into an agreement with him for that advice and legal help.

2. You are willing to use your own common sense in choosing someone to represent you before a court, either someone who is recommended by a private accreditation agency such as the American Bar Association, or someone who is otherwise known to you to be informed and capable as to legal affairs, and you are willing to abide by the choice you made.

**You're going to have a child. You understand that having a child will be physically, emotionally and financially challenging. So .....

1. You want the government to used money seized from taxpayers to pay for child care for your child.

2. You want the government to force your employer to give you 12 weeks off from the job in order to care for your new child, and you want your job to be waiting for you when you return.

3. You know that you had the child, not the taxpayers and not your employer, and you are willing to bear the responsibility for raising that child without the government imposing any cost, burden or duty on anyone else on your behalf.

**You want to ride your motorcycle without a helmet.

1. You're willing to take full responsibility for your decision, including the possibility that you might die if you crack your head open and you don't have enough money to pay for the medical care you'll need and there's no private charity willing to step up and cover your costs because they consider your injuries to be essentially self-inflicted.

2. You want to be free to ride without a helmet, but if you do happen to sustain a horrible injury you want the government to force the taxpayers to be responsible for your health care.

Hilarious

2006-06-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

OK, you have to read this stuff.

And don't just read the first one. Read everything.

I about pooped my pants laughing so hard.

http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/

http://fatherknowsshit.blogspot.com/

Nothing else to update at this point.

I know...boring.

Travel

2006-06-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

Today I went to France. Or as the German's call it...South Germany. Went to Strasbourg. Will probably go again tomorrow. Cool town.

Me need sleepy

2006-06-01T15:23:00.000-04:00

I'm working the nightshift here so I typically sleep from a bit after 9 AM until about 3-4 PM. There are signs all over our dorm that lots of people work the nightshift and to be quiet.

So Tuesday I'm in a DEAD sleep and there is a LOUD pounding on my door. Like a "Satan is beating down the door so he and his demons can gang-rape whoever is inside" knocking on the door. I get up in a daze. Just a note: When I get up out of a deep, dead sleep, I'm functionally worthless. And grumpy as hell about it.

I make my way over to the door, probably looking like some drunk staggering home from the bar. All I needed to do was piss down my own leg and I'd look like a certain MSgt in our unit (remind me to tell that story sometime). Before I open the door, I check the shorts to make sure I'm not looking like Ron Burgandy. "Good, he's still asleep" I think to myself.

I open the door and it's two females in uniform. One a TSgt and the other isn't wearing her BDU blouse so I don't know her rank. It's the worthless NCOs in charge of our barracks. I stand there looking like Hell warmed over and the unranked one says "We're looking for a transformer that belongs to the dorm. So we're checking rooms for them." (you know they're on a different voltage electical system here so we use those stupid things so our electronics can work.)

I stood there and stared at her for ten seconds without saying a word. That may not sound like a long time but sit where you are and count ten seconds off and you'll see it's a long time to stare at someone without saying anything. And she got the stare that Kevin knows well from when Satan's lapdog spit in my face.

3 things were going through my mind:

1. THIS is why you've woken me by banging on my door like you were the FBI looking for Elian Gonzalez?

2. This couldn't wait until later in the day?

3. Where is my Leatherman so I can stab this Minion of the Devil in the neck?

So I grabbed her by the hair like the brothers in Boondock Saints grabbed Rocco at the hotel after the hit. I rammed her head into my TV and asked "I don't know. Do you see it in there? No? Let's look over here!" I then took her and threw her across the room against the wall lockers. I stuck her head in the lockers and slammed the doors on her skull while asking "How about in there? Do you see it?"

Well, that was what the still-dreaming part of my mind was doing. I actually turned around, without saying a word, and let her in. I pointed at the two transformers I'd bought. "Those are mine. I bought them."

She looks around a bit like I have a secret stash of crappy, stolen transformers. "Nope, not in here." Yeah, thanks you piece of crap. I shut the door behind her and sat down.

After gaining my senses, I went out in the hallway to walk down the hall to the bathroom. She's standing there holding this old, crappy transformer. The same one that's been sitting the f'ing dayroom since before I got here. I look at her and say "You found it. That's been sitting in the dayroom since the Battle of the Bulge."

"Yeah, we found it," she said cheerfully. So I dropped my shorts there and took a dump on her boots, pushing hard to ensure I didn't short her anything. Actually, that was the dreaming part of my mind again.

"Guess I'm not totally awake yet, I thought."

So I stared at her for another 10 seconds. "Oh, it never occurred to you to check the DAMN COMMON AREAS BEFORE YOU START KICKING IN F'ING DOORS LIKE THE SS REBORN?" I thought.

I gave up and walked down to the restroom. She could take my sleep away but not that.

Me go fast

2006-05-27T10:51:00.000-04:00

Took the car out again today to go to Ramstein. On the way, got the car up to 200km an hour (124mph). Didn't get a picture of that but got a pic of 180km(111mph).

I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal. People know me. I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

Gwyneth and I

2006-05-24T17:59:00.000-04:00

Today Gwyneth and I went out again. I decided I wanted to drive over to Robinson Barracks across town. Gwyneth said she knew the way so I said “OK.” I figured, no matter what, I knew her directions back to Patch Barracks were good so no matter how badly I got lost, I’d be able to get back.

It was cool to drive through town. Some obervations:

-Where are all the women? It was about 7 PM but I expected to see more around.

-Germany is so clean. Not sure if it’s a national attitude or just abiding by some harsh laws but at a couple stoplights I looked along the road and couldn’t even find a gum wrapper. So I don’t throw my gum out the window anymore. I put it under the seat.

-Most of the cars look fairly new. No real beat up cars on the roads.

-The few German women on the streets didn’t seem to understand me when I yelled “Shake it for me baby!” Don’t think I’m trying hard enough.

Gwyneth and I ended up getting along quite well today, though my trust in her is still shaken. I don’t trust women too easily and she’s going to have to earn it back.

Ramstein

2006-05-24T01:39:00.000-04:00

Working 12 hour shifts doesnt make for too many opportunities to get off base to see things. So I told DL that on Saturday, our day off, we were driving to Ramstein, which is about 2 hours awayin theory.

Saturday morning I got up and got my hair cut. We ended up hitting the road about 10 AM. We stopped by the car rental place. Let me bring you up to speed. Im renting this butt-kicking Audi. Its about a $35,000 car. Yup, our tax dollars are paying for that.

It has a GPS navigation system in it and I wasnt sure how it worked and the car manual was in German. Since there were too many hot girls in my German class in high school (thank you Samantha Wrobel), the manual was useless. We dropped by the rental place and the guy showed us (though it took him 10 minutes to figure out, too).

Ramstein had been preprogrammed so we chose it and started off. The nav system spoke with a semi-pleasant British accent. It sounded forced and faked so maybe Ill name it Gwyneth.

Anyway, wed been driving for about 90 minutes when we noticed we were still well out in the country. Gwyneth tells us to get off the highway and proceeds, over the next 20 minutes to take us higher in the hills. We ended up driving past a quarry and up a narrow mountain road wide enough for 1.5 cars. For some reason, we were scaling Everest.

Gwyneth has a visual countdown of the number of km left until we reached our destination. DL and I noticed that it was down below 10 and we knew air bases were not built up in mountains like this. We kept driving, just curious to see where it would end up taking us. Some of our thoughts:

-This was programmed incorrectly on purpose, the rental guy was a Nazi and mistook us for Jews and sent us up here for cleansing.

-It was programmed incorrectly on purpose because they use it to trap stupid Americans (I tend to match the description), beat the crap out of them and take their money.

Anyway, we stopped where Gwyneth told us to and this is where we were...

Without a doubt, this was probably the worst base in the entire Air Force or best depending on your perspective, I suppose.

We got a chuckle out of it, got out of the car and marked the territory so animals would know we'd been there.

We got back in the car and DL found a town, programmed in Gwyneth, right outside of Ramstein so we figured wed drive there and that would be good enough. After about 20 minutes we found ourselves back on the interstate and driving. Then Gwyneth proceeded to have us get off at *every* exit and rest stop on the way. I felt like my nav system was a girlfriend who was passive-aggressively getting back at me for something Id said.

At this point, I hadnt eaten in a while and a girlfriend from last year had figured out I get moody when my blood sugar gets low so we gave up and headed back to Stuttgart. Id had fun with the whole adventure to this point. But now I was just getting hungry and grumpy. Along the way, we found a McDonalds and I gorged myself on Americana. Well, just a burger and fries, actually.

All told, we spent 5 hours in the car driving the German countryside. It wasnt that bad. The scenery is great. Everything is green.

Oh yeah, on an unrelated note, friggin Europeans need to get their electrical systems fixed. They suck (yes, its their fault, not mine Ive ruined 2 transformers already).

What's the fuss?

2006-05-16T23:43:00.000-04:00

Why is everyone all bent out of shape over this article?

(I know why but want to see if anyone here has an issue with it)

I read this Monday and thought nothing of it. Now it appears people are severely bent out of shape.

Suggestion: Don't skim. Use your reading comprehension skills while reading this.

Guten Tag!

2006-05-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

I'm here and all settled in. More at another time. Just wanted ya'll to know.

Duke Rape Case

2006-04-26T09:28:00.000-04:00

Couple quick notes on my thoughts on this "case."

-No one will be convicted.

-It's a trumped up charge. Most college "rape" cases are. Not all. But morning after regrets do not constitute rape. Problem is, especially on college campuses, the definition of rape(and sexual harassment) has been broadened so much that silly charges are filed too often. This leaves many people doubting the actual cases of rape which do need our attention.

-The girl is black and the players are white. Enough to get Jesse Jackson involved. Yippee. White girls do this to black guys fairly often, too. Once the term rape is attached to the guy, well, he's pretty much labeled forever...unless he moves.

-Seems like the accused lacrosse players are douchebags. Doesn't make them rapists, though.

-She's a stripper for pete's sake. The second you start taking the word of a stripper...well...anyway. Not that a stripper can't be raped but when there's no DNA proof, no other witnesses(it seems) and one of her coworkers didn't believe her at first...well...anyway.

OK, ladies. Feel free to get pissed and post.

Carlos Mencia

2006-04-25T23:22:00.000-04:00

If you aren't watching Mind of Mencia on Comedy Central, you're missing out.

Also be sure to catch Carlos Mencia's "No String's Attached" 1 hour standup special. Comedy Central is running it about 10 times a week right now.

If you're sensitive, don't waste your time, though.

Germany

2006-04-19T09:25:00.000-04:00

Not sure how many are actually reading my blog following the long hiatus due to my modeling contract.

Anyway, my big news is that I'm going to Germany for 4 months, leaving May 8th.

Told my sis about two months ago and her response was "4 months? That's a long time!"

It sure is but I'll be in central Europe and within driving/train distance from a lot of things worth seeing.

If you're going to Europe this summer, Email me or leave a note in the comments. Maybe we can connect and drink beer and see sights.

Or if you have recommendations on what to see, leave them in the comments.

Regional Champs (Cont)

2006-04-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

Back: Denny, Rusty, Phil, Mike, Andy
Front: Greg, Me, Robert

Regional Champs

2006-04-13T21:52:00.000-04:00

Those that know me know that I'm an avid volleyball player. And those that don't, well, now you do.

We play USAV volleyball which is sanctioned amateur volleyball. Tournament seasons starts in January and runs through April, ending with the biggest tournament of all, Regionals. That's the tournament everyone wants to win. It's the one people remember the winners of. It ends the season. It's tough to win, too, because teams come from all over Ohio, parts of PA and West Virginia, too.

This past weekend was the Regional Championships.

"So how did you guys do, Eric?"

Well, thank you for asking.

We won the whole thing for our division, B. We won the whole thing. The whole thing!

We've played together for 2 years now and I've always felt our biggest weakness was that we don't do the little things well, like passing and covering our hitters and blockers.

But it was like a different team on Sunday. Rarely did we have that problem. We peaked at the right time.

So I'm still floating over this. Was a great feeling because we beat some good teams, too.

On another note, I had my wisdom teeth removed today.

I need your honest opinion here...

2006-02-17T18:31:00.000-05:00

Away from politics and back to real life here. Not sure how I should feel about this. Almost everyone seems to think I was out of line so I'm looking for some feedback here.

I was standing in line at Subway with my friend Tom the Ultimate Fighter and the line was long. Two older ladies, probably late 70's, walked in and walked right in front of us.

Now if you're like me, and on this issue I think most are, I hate it when people cut. Especially when they know full well that they are cutting. The attitude that people think they are better than others and entitled to cut in line ticks me off to no end.

I don't have time for this so I mumble loud enough for most to hear "They should put women down once they pass age 70. Use a gun, or if you feel bad for them, a needle, and just get rid of them."

You'd have thought I'd insulted the Pope. These ladies had some spunk. The first one turns around and says "Young man, that is the rudest. You need to learn some respect."

Now, I can't be trashed like that in public. They were insulting me! Saying I needed to learn respect. Feh. So I said "Shut up you hag. I'll punch you in the neck so hard your fake teeth will pop out. Now stop taking up oxygen that us productive members of society need."

I guess I hit a nerve with that one. Mean Old Lady #1 swings her purse at my head and it must have had a brick in it. It hit me upside my head, right on my left ear. My vision narrowed briefly as my brain shook in my skull.

I grabbed the old blue hair by her hair and slammed my fist right into her nose about 3 times. I'm mean I put my shoulder into the punches. They felt good. Blood is pouring out of her nose. At this time, Mean Old Lady #2 pulls out a hunting knife and stabs me in my right side. Sharp pain. It stuns me, obviously. Where the heck does this lady get a hunting knife?

Tom the Ultimate Fighter jumps in and quickly disarms her by grabbing her wrist and and snapping her forearm with a sharp thrust of his other hand. I love osteoporosis! She screams in pain and drops the blade. But with her other hand goes up to eye gouge him. Tom, being the Ultimate Fighter, makes his hand flat and puts it in front of his nose, stopping her attack.

At this time, I'm doubled over in pain and Mean Old Lady #1 is bleeding about a pint out of her splintered nose. She grabs the back of my head and knees me in the face. A deep, dull pain rippled through my head as I felt her decomposing knee smash into my nose, crushing it and ruining my model good looks.

Now, I'm stunned, having been hit in the head with a brick, stabbed in my right side and kneed in the face. The Mean Old Lady #1 grabs the back of my pants with one hand and my head with the other and runs me into and through the front window of the store and I land on the concrete. OK, now I'm mad.

I get up, open the front door and run back in (don't ask why I didn't use the now broken window. I think I was a bit dazed at this point from the glass in my eyes). Running at full speed I tackle the little old lady, burying my shoulder into her gut. I feel her just melt as the wind goes out of her. I continue to drive her into the soda stand about 5 feet away.

Tom is still working Mean Old Lady #2 over. He's got her pinned against the sneeze guard with just his forearm against her neck. Any time she moves, he grabs the extra skin on her neck and pulls.

I've got #1 pinned against the soda stand and start throwing gut punches into her. I mean, I must have looked like Agent Smith in the first Matrix when he's gut punching Neo and he's going so fast his arms are a blur. She can barely breathe and is no doubt bleeding internally at this point. I stop after about 60 seconds of this. My arms are drained and almost numb. I have glass and blood in my eyes, my nose is shattered, my chin is skinned from the concrete and I have a deep stab wound in my right kidney.

But it was clear at this point that I was THE MAN and no one was cutting in front of me. I grabbed the sub girl, dipped her and kissed her (just for added theatrical effect) and I got my place back in line.

Everyone was staring at me like I had just given birth to an alien or something. Some darling little boy, about 6 or 7, looks at me and says "You are a mean man!"

As I was putting his head into the toilet and flushing, I used the moment for some self reflection. Was I really in the wrong here?

Believe it or not, I'd love to be wrong...

2006-02-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

Now if these folks would actually do something to initiate change in their countries. Their "radical" partners are the ones garnering attention:

"Why today we see all this solidarity to protest the cartoons…as if only these pictures had insulted the Prophet Mohammad," Ali Mahdi wrote in a letter published in Lebanon's left-wing daily As-Safir.

"Don't you think that injustice, torture, illiteracy and the restrictions on freedoms (in the Muslim world) are also considered an insult to the Prophet…who called for the respect for human rights?"

But if these moderates actually start to change their countries, they'll get plenty of attention themselves.

But talk is cheap. Let's see some action. Let's see some protests in favor of change.

WW 4?

2006-02-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

Does anyone really doubt that, if we're not already in the middle of it, we're headed towards WW4?

Europe is in A LOT of trouble and their near constant bending to the will of jihadists isn't helping.

And unfortunately, if Europe is in trouble, we're gonna get pulled in as well (well, moreso than we already are).

It should be obvious at this point that Islam, as practiced today, is incompatible with other religions. It is in incompatible with western culture and the idea of free speech and the free practice of worship.

"Moderate" muslims are unwilling to speak loud enough and stand up against the "radical" elements of their faith for fear of being killed.

Count me as worried. The next 3 years are going to be quite interesting...and I'm using that word in a *broad* sense.

I've been trying to stay off political type subjects on here recently because it's easier.

But what we're watching in the muslim world now over some 5 month old cartoons is HUGE and most people probably won't realize it until later.

Disclaimer: I don't have a problem with a muslim who wants to worship in peace and allow others to worship in peace. Unfortunately, those muslims are few enough that they can't hope to drown out the roar of the "radicals."

Lost

2006-02-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

Anyone else watch this show? If so, just leave a comment.

I'd like to get into the habit,a s time provides, of discussing episodes.

Sometimes you get the girl...Sometimes you get the inflatable wo-...uh...nevermind.

2006-01-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

I'm planning a quick trip into Baltimore to see my sis on the panel at the National Press Club. Last week, Air Tran was advertising tickets at $39 each way (plus those silly taxes). Unfortunately, my boss didn't let me know I could get those days off until Monday. By then, it was back up to $64 each way. I figured there'd be another sale so I waited, only to find the flight there jumped another $10 because it was now under 10 days. So rather than wait any longer, I went ahead and bought the ticket and it totaled $160.

Today I get an Email from Southwest. Columbus to Baltimore, $39 each way. Nuts.

But I'm also planning a trip to Chicago in March. Southwest has direct flights from Columbus to Chicago, usually for good prices. In the same Email, Columbus to Chicago for $29. Have to buy by tomorrow, though.

So I go to the site and the ticket prices are still the same as they were before. I'd missed the part in the EMail where the period on sale ended March 8th. I leave on March 9th...Nuts.

"Aaa, just get one of those inflatable women. But make sure it's a woman, though. Cause one time I-ha." -Chief Wiggum

If people say torture is wrong, why aren't we banning the ballet?

2006-01-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

D asks:
"Question - do you also like big ballet dance numbers (like the Nutcracker)?"

Hell no. Good Lord no. I did the ballet once. One time and I can't imagine what it would take to get me to go again. It should only be something men are taken to as punishment. Any woman who takes her man to the ballet must be mad at him and trying to teach him a lesson. I'd eat a whole bucket full of mecrop before going to another ballet.

Was dating Carolyn at the time and bought tickets to Madam Butterfly. She enjoys the theater etc so I thought it was a good idea.

Be warned. You're about to figure out how horribly uncultured I was (I don't care, though. I'm only slightly more cultured now) and am. We sit down, it starts and it occurs to me..."You mean they don't talk AT ALL? This is gonna suck." And it did. It sucked in ways I didn't think a ballet could suck but apparently I wasn't thinking hard enough. The "dancing" sucked. The story is awful. Just awful. And it couldn't end soon enough. I know I wasn't the only person in there considering jabbing my eyes with a pen. Wish I'd brought my Leatherman so I could have spent the time pulling my fingernails out to distract me from the brutal mess on stage.

True story: I fell asleep during the production, and when I woke up was so convinced that I was still dreaming, I got up onstage and walked around. The odd thing is the show is such an ugly mess that no one seemed to notice or care.

It's the most upsetting experience I've ever had in a theater. The only time the audience applauded was when I whipped a battery at the actors.

Yeaa, it ranked below Red Ships of Spain.

Tagged?

2006-01-21T18:04:00.000-05:00

ok, tagged by my sis to share 3 things people probably don't know about me.

Using my sister's template:

#1. I also have never broken a bone. Not even a fracture. I've had grade 3 ankle sprains on both ankles since I've started playing competitive volleyball but that's the worse. Moyers and Malinoskis have strong bones.

#2. I really enjoy large, elaborate dance numbers. I love watching the choreography. I loved the Masquerade number in Phantom of the Opera. This leads to another thing you won't know about me. I love Michael Jackson videos. Smooth Criminal is the greatest video ever created...followed closely by the Beastie Boys' Sabotage (no dancing in that one).

#3. While doing radio in Korea, I aired a bit I created where Barney sings for a bit and then gets brutally killed. Without thinking, I aired it at 11 AM on Sunday morning. The next day the commander called me into his office to tell me another commander had called him because he had just left church Sunday at around 11 AM. He and his family (two young girls) got into the car, turned on the radio to hear Barney singing his song. The girls were surprised and happy. Apparently the family was pretty disturbed to then hear Barney being violently murdered. To this day, I still have a deduction taken out of my military pay to go to cover their therapy.

I'm only going to tag Ang on this.

What should someone say?

2006-01-17T16:43:00.000-05:00

Tara asks a good question:

"So, what are friends supposed to say? (if anything at all?)"

Well, I can't speak for how women want to be spoken to in this situation. They may actually prefer the phrase I abhor.

But for me, and probably a lot of guys, the following are sound suggestions:

1. That sucks. Sorry she's such a (insert derogatory female term).

2. She's not worth it anyway. She sure just proved that.

3. Let's drink a lot of beer and find some strippers.

Those are all acceptable and comforting words.

Thinking before speaking...

2006-01-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

Ever get the silly relationship pep talk? Is there a phrase more condescending (that means "to talk down to") than "you're a great person! Don't worry, you'll find someone!!" or one of it's many derivatives?

If you know someone who just got out of a relationship, don't say that unless they say "Will I ever find anyone?" And for God's sake, don't say it to a guy. No man worth his salt sits around whining "Will I ever find someone?" unless he's starring in Brokeback Mountain.

I've heard that phrase about 5 times now in the past few days due to a recent breakup, being led on by the same girl and then inexplicably ignored.

Yeah, I'm a bit depressed because I thought a lot of her and she fell short. And yes, it sucks. But I'm not huddled in a corner, in the fetal position, sucking my thumb. Being depressed about the end of a relationship is plenty different from being depressed over thinking I'll never find someone. The first one is ok, the 2nd one is not. It's the people who are so desperate to be in some kind of relationship that end up in the crappy ones and stay in them.

I know I'm a good guy (not the same as saying I think I'm perfect) and I'm not depressed about the fact that I don't have someone. I'm perfectly happy being single and tend to prefer it because I enjoy the freedom. I'm depressed because I thought I'd found a gal that I actually enjoyed spending lots of time with. And anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that it is rare for me to find that.

I know the "you're a great person! Don't worry, you'll find someone!!" is said with good intentions, typically. But think sometime about how condescending it sounds. While too many people are desperate to be in a relationship because...well, that's what "normal" people are supposed to do (when it's possibly the opposite)...I'm perfectly content being single, if that's what the good Lord sees for me.

I don't need the pep talk, seriously.

(rant over)

A special thanks to Ang for offering advice and a shoulder during this time (she's a rock) and never once uttering that phrase. THAT is a good friend.

Growing up stinks

2005-12-21T23:23:00.000-05:00

Early last week we got an Email at work that on Wed of this week, there would be a Chili Cookoff. Two of my friends at work (Tom the Ultimate Fighter and Easy Trevor) and I were talking and I mentioned that everyone tries to win these contests. We should try to lose it. Let's make the worst, crappiest chili possible. So we decided to get together the night before, make the chili, drink beer and watch Old School. A guy's night.

We had some good ideas on how to do it. We decided to make it fairly simple. We would let Hormel provide the chili and we would add some things.

Game time rolled around Tuesday night at my place. They showed up...with Easy Trevor's wife. Normally this is a killer and EasyTrevor really should have had his tail kicked all over my street for bringing her. But Dancin' Amanda isn't just any wife. She's a cool wife. So, the Ultimate Fighter and I let it go. Not that we had a real choice.

We got to work. My job was to get the beer, chili and special ingredients. They brought a bunch of spices and sauces and Old School.

We fried some beef liver in a pan. The Ultimate Fighter boiled pig's feet and gizzards in some water. While it didn't smell good, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Easy Trevor and Dancin' Amanda put the chili in the crockpot and added some of the spices and sauces.

Here we are with the finished product.

Here's Easy Trevor with Dancin' Amanda.

This is the Ultimate Fighter after trying some of the chili, I think.

Here's another pic of Dancin' Amanda. She earned it. She earned the right to be there on guy's night this one time. She worked hard and washed all my dishes. She's a rock.

All told, we added soy sauce, salsa, hot sauce, salad dressing, a multitude of spices only Dancin' Amanda knows about, boiled pig's feet, boiled gizzards, fried beef liver and God knows what else to the Hormel chili. It smelled like rotted horse butt. It didn't taste good but wasn't quite as wretch-inducing as we'd expected.

We then watched Old School, laughed until it hurt and they went home.

On the drive to work this morning, Easy Trevor calls and says he and the Ultimate Fighter talked after leaving and they were having some misgivings about the whole idea. This was based on the idea not going over well with management if they found out. After talking to both of them, we figured the downside (counseling by management, Easy Trevor getting the boot...he's a contractor) far outweighed the upside (a fun story to tell for years). Looks like learning game theory worked out ok for me.

So in the end, we wussed out. I ended up dumping the chil in the snow outside the building (about 100 yards away at the edge of the parking lot). It looked like someone had already eaten the chili.

I guess we still have a story...and jobs.

Media Bias: I told you so.

2005-12-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

OK, well, mostly. There were some surprises and the methodology seems sound though I'll rely on others to do a much deeper look at it. It's certainly possible the study is flawed. Though it falls in line with most other studies on the subject. And a college university Poli-Sci dept isn't exactly biased towards the right.

NY Times ranks 3rd as most liberal news source. Surprisingly, first was the WSJ. Surprising because I like the WSJ editorial page.

Anyway, disect as you please.

John Stossel

2005-12-15T10:18:00.000-05:00

I don't care who you are, you should read his columns.

Read.

Read.

Read.

Read.

Tookie Williams...fertilizer

2005-12-15T09:40:00.000-05:00

I'm late on this. Been busy. Just my thoughts.

I'm ok with this. I'm against the death penalty only because I don't like the government having that power. However, if we're going to put down someone, this piece of garbage is an example of who should be taking the eternal death nap.

This is the part of my Christianity I've always had trouble with. Do I hope this man repented and accepted Christ before he died? Yes. Because I don't see much evidence he did before those final moments.

However, if he didn't and is burning in hell right now...well... so be it.

The fact that so many groups fell on his side of the execution debate says a lot about them.

NAACP only cares about the death penalty as applied to blacks. A white person...kill him. They don't care. It's a morally bankrupt association. Jesse Jackson? I'll just let that one go. He was asked on a radio show what the names of the victims Williams was convicted of killing were. He didn't know. No surprise.

This man wasn't redeemed before his last moments. Never showed remorse for the killings. Never turned in any of his gang members. Wouldn't do it.

Rest...hopefully in peace but if not...so be it,

Thanksgiving with the Moyers (and a Sens)

2005-12-02T20:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay folks. But here's our Thanksgiving pictures from Baltimore. A good time was had by all. Here we go...

2:07 Mom, Heather and Amy slaved long and hard on the food and it looked great. No KFC this year.

2:09 This is our routine family picture before the drinking, punching and swearing start. You'll notice I'm not in the picture. I was already mad about the absence of malt liquor.

2:12 Mom and Dad start their drinking, Heather starts her low-carb diet and Amy is doing her "look at me pull an olive out of my nose!" magic trick. She's so cute.

2:19 Mom, after 8 glasses of wine, tries balancing her wine glass on Dad's glass of water while Dad is losing his motor skills and dropped his fork.

2:26 Amy, drunk again, drives Heather back to drinking straight from the bottle with her tired "If we don't neuter our fish, the terrorists win" rant. Admit it, you've heard it if you've been drinking with her.

2:31 The fork in dad's right hand is just for show. That empty plate to his left is mine. He was kind enough to eat everything on it for me while I was trying to document yet another wonderful Thanksgiving for the family photo album.

2:39 We had some extra money this year and set up some cameras around the table. This is the one we put in Heather's mouth...the Heathercam.

2:39 This is the Turkeycam.

2:44 I finally decide to sit down and eat. All that was left was a few olives. Dad wouldn't even let me have one.

And this is a closeup of the exciting scene.

2:51 Losing the olive to my Dad made me depressed so it was back to the bottle for me (this is the Ericcam). Guess it's another few months in rehab now. At least now you all know why all of us drink so heavily.

So that was our Thanksgiving. It was the least violent one, that's for sure since the only person who had to go to the emergency room was Heather for trying to grab some turkey. Dad is a biter.

More on Torture

2005-11-22T10:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a post describing waterboarding, a common interrogation technique. I have to agree with this blogger's opinion on torture and this doesn't seem like torture to me.

Intellectual Dishonesty

2005-11-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

One of the things I despise about Democratic politicians and have come to see just as often from Republicans is intellectual dishonesty. It’s easy to see. Some examples:

Al Qaeda in Iraq is coordinating most of the attacks against our troops in Iraq. And the Dems said there was no connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

Um, that doesn’t prove there was any connection between the two. It would have been pretty simple for Al Qaeda to move into the country after the war. I mean, it would have been hard to do with the way we secured Iraq’s borders…oh wait. We didn’t. Well, at least we’re treating the Iraqis to the same border security that we treat ourselves to. Back on point, though. If righties want to make a case about Al Qaeda being connected to Iraq, don’t make it using Al Qaeda’s current presence in Iraq. There are plenty of other times the two have communicated to make that case.

George Bush misled us into war! He manipulated intelligence!

Um, listen. A good number of Dem Politicians voted to authorize the President to attack Iraq. They had access to and saw the same intelligence the President did.

And to make it even worse, the lefty talking heads and politicians were all banging the drums of war back in the late 90’s when it came to Iraq.

I’ll certainly grant that our troops have had an uphill battle when it has come to managing Iraq after the initial war and most of that has been caused by extremely poor planning. Criticize that. There’s actual substance to that one.

Michael Moore. The darling of the nutjob left. Turns out he doesn’t practice what he preaches. I know. Huge surprise. Might be to some lefties.

OK, now time for one of my own. Torture. I’ve given this a lot of thought and prayer since the last time this was discussed on someone else’s blog. I’ve moved more towards a position that torture is not right in any case. If it’s morally wrong, it’s wrong in all situations. For them…for us.

Now, the area where I’ll probably still disagree with most is what constitutes torture. Abu Graib was not, in my opinion.

Most of you lefties (not directed at my lefty friends who read this site)…you don’t give a flying shit about the troops. You only care when we’re dead. You care then because you can use our sacrifices and deaths to further your own cause. The peace organizations fall into this group. Cindy Sheehan falls into this group. They’re sick bastards and deserve *NOTHING* but our scorn. The media should identify them for what they are. They’re funded by socialist organizations and do nothing to support military families before or after they make the ultimate sacrifices. Wounded or dead military are nothing but photo ops and political opportunities to them. They’ve just found a semi-effective way to get across their same point. “We support the troops!” Bullshit. You only say that because the public mood dictates you do. If it were socially acceptable, you’d piss on the graves of the dead and spit in the faces of the living.

Tithe! Your chance to help!

2005-10-20T10:50:00.000-04:00

I have around $400-500 to tithe in the next week or so. I've been to church so little in the past 2 months (for obvious reasons) so I don't really have a church to tithe to. My old church is, just that, my old church. I don't go anymore. Plus it's Methodist and I don't like my tithe money being donated to a political organization (the NCC) so it won't be going there.

My new church, I've only been to for a few months now (but not in the last few) so I'm still getting a feel for what that $ would go to.

So I've decided to tithe it to a Christian organization but need some suggestions. Some framework for those suggestions:

1. Not an organization that does political lobbying of any sort. Not liberal lobbying and not conservative lobbying.

2. Don't take it personal if I don't choose the one you suggest. :-) Obviously, anything I choose will be prayerfully considered.

3. Must be a Christian organization.

I'm leaning towards giving at least half to the Gospel Mission in Dayton. I've volunteered there and will continue to when I get back

Leave suggestions in the comments!

Update

2005-10-20T08:31:00.000-04:00

Howdy folks. Well, to bring you up to speed...

I'm back in Ohio and have been here since October 12th. The wife of one of my best friends passed away on the 10th. He is also in our unit but wasn't part of the group that went to New Orleans. He'd stayed behind because the week we left, he was giving his wife a kidney. Things went well and she was home a bit over a week later. Then she had a heart attack. He asked me to be a pallbearer and since he was in our unit, it was easier to go to Chief to see if I could go home for the funeral (this rarely happens. Exceptions like this are only made for immediate family members).

I flew Southwest out of New Orleans to Houston to Chicago to Columbus. While I was waiting in line to get on the Chicago to Columbus flight, I look over and see the wife of another one of my best friends. What are the odds of that? We decided to mess with her husband and get off the plane and meet him in baggage claim holding hands like we'd been on some weekend getaway in Chicago.

On a related note...have you ever held hands with someone you had no romantic feelings for? It's weird. There was nothing wrong with her at all but it just felt tremendously awkward. I'm sure it was 10 times worse for her though.

I've been here in Mansfield staying with my friend who lost his wife ever since I got back. I'll be coming back down to Dayton to stay on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it.

Sunday Update

2005-10-09T15:25:00.000-04:00

This is the former President getting ready to leave. He's waving directly to me because he's going to miss me.

This is Greta Van Sustren, from On the Record, on Fox News. She asked to have her picture taken with SSgt Eric E. Moyer. I had to oblige.

Welcome!

2005-10-09T12:01:00.000-04:00

A hearty US Air Force welcome to the many folks visiting from the Commonwealth Conservative site. Keep dropping by. More good pics coming up later today, including a well known face from Fox News! Feel free to leave comments!

More pics

2005-10-09T07:19:00.000-04:00

Some of the folks in our unit got to take a ride on a Chinook while they lowered sandbags onto a levee. Here's a fewpics of that operation and of the outlying areas:

Eric and his new friends

2005-10-08T21:54:00.000-04:00

Former President Bush looking down and telling me how short I am.

General Honore and I hanging out and having a good time.

Former President Bush asking for some more Old Milwaukee.

A crazed lunatic makes it through the Secret Service and tries to injure the former President by dabbing his upper lip with a napkin.

The former President comforting a boy in tears while a 9 foot woman stands in the background.

A fight breaks out to the former President's left and the former President, holding a $50 in his right hand, bets on "that mean-looking SOB."

The former President looking for someone, anyone, to shake hands with.

The former President tells the story of how he lost the tips of his fingers on his left hand, right before Louisiana Governor Blanco breaks into hysterical tears.

New Orleans

2005-10-02T11:21:00.000-04:00

**UPDATE**

Here are the pics from the digital camera of a friend.

**UPDATE**

We went into the city yesterday. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It wasn't the total devastation I was expecting but it was bad. As I understand it, New Orleans didn't bear the brunt of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi did. But with New Orleans being below sea level, the flooding is what did a good chunk of the damage. Don't get me wrong. There is plenty of wind damage but the flooding is what is going to change New Orleans forever.

We drove in on Highway 10 and drove by the downtown area. We passed the Superdome on the right. It looked terrible. Like someone had peeled the top layer of the roof off. We couldn't see any holes because those are on the top of the dome. This place will need to be torn down.

On the highway we drove by many poor neighborhoods and they looked terrible. We'd see small boats in places they wouldn't normally be. A barge in a canal on its side. The roof of a WalMart completely torn off. The city is about 95% ghost town.

We proceeded into a residential district. We got off the bus and were warned not to touch anything. This was considered a contaminated area. We tried to take pictures as inconspicuously as possible. Well a few of us did. Some of the folks with us got off the bus and had their pictures taken next to things. It pissed me off. This wasn't a tourist site. We weren't at the Washington Monument. This was a place where people's lives had been destroyed...and some of them were down the street going through the remains of their things.

Anyway, we hid our cameras as best we could and walked down the streets. The smell is noticeable but not overwhelming. Just smelled dirty and dusty. There were lots of pine trees in this neighborhood, most had been blown over and the needles had turned brown now. The grass was also brown, covered in dirt or dead. We could tell the water had risen about 6 feet in this area. All cars had been completely covered. The windshields had the look, caused by dirty water, that they'd been spray painted a light brown color. Each house had the spray-paint markings from the military that had gone through the neighborhood looking for survivors and bodies. One roof had "HELP" written on it.

A few of us walked to the end of the street to climb a levy and see what was on the other side. There was a rotting carcass of a dog at the end of the road. We climbed the levy and saw the lake. Looking back, we got a good look at the damage on the neighborhood. Nothing can be done for these neighborhoods. There are too many health hazards to salvage these homes. It will have to be razed to the ground.

We got back on the bus to drive back. We made sure to wash our hands in antibacterial wash. As we were going through the neighborhoods, we saw which familes had already come back. All of their waterlogged belongings were out on the curb to be taken away when trash services resumed sometime in the future.

On the way back, we stopped through downtown and got off at Canal Street. We walked around the French Quarter for about 90 minutes. Downtown had not been hit too hard. There was damage and a lot of work was being done to clean out water damage. There were piles of watersoaked carpet and office items on the curbs. We walked past a handful of broken storefront windows, no doubt looted.

Downtown had the worst stench of the places we went. Some streets in the French Quarter didn't smell at all and we'd turn to go down another and the smell of hot trash would hit us like a 2x4 in the face. Other streets would smell of raw sewage.

The locals we ran into in this area were incredibly friendly and happy to see folks in uniform. Stopping us to get their pictures taken with us, to shake our hands and to say "Thanks for being here, Sergeant."

It was a good trip for us. We're working the flightline at New Orleans Naval Air Station in handling troops and supplies for the folks coming into the area to help and those finishing their 30 days and going home.

We see the damage here on base (the city's name is Belle Chase if you want to find it on the map) but the trip into the city served us well by reminding us and giving us a "face," so to speak, of who we were down here to help.

Update

2005-09-28T13:53:00.000-04:00

Well, we're here. We arrived yesterday afternoon. Flying in, we got to see a lot of the damage. It's hard to describe. We didn't fly in over most of the city so there was a lot we weren't able to see.

We're at New Orleans Naval Air Station, in a town called Belle Chase about 5 minutes away from the city. Obviously, the base was hit pretty hard. A large tent city has been built up. We're lucky. We found some rooms in an unused, yet air-conditioned building to stay in.

Just today, the network was restored which is why I am able to do this update.

Sometime next week it looks like we'll get the chance to fly over the city in a Blackhawk and, maybe, also drive into it for a bit. But most of our work is here on the base on the flightline.

Keep the 15 of us in prayer, along with the folks who live down here.

OK...now...

2005-09-23T15:03:00.000-04:00

OK, now we're leaving Monday. They wanted to wait until after the hurricane...allegedly. Whatever, just send us down. I hate waiting.

OK, I'm going

2005-09-19T18:41:00.000-04:00

It's official. I'm heading to New Orleans on Thursday for a 30 day tasking. I'll know more details tomorrow and share what I can.

Activation

2005-09-14T06:35:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been out of touch (though I'm not sure anyone noticed judging by the lack of comments!:-) ).

I've been activated in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. We're up in Mansfield Ohio sending supplies down on our C-130's. Odds are against being sent down to LA but I'm angling for a trip.

Yesterday we sent the Ohio Governor down.

Maybe more later.

Some stuff

2005-08-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

-Anyone see Farrah Fawcett on Letter man Wednesday night? It was a rerun from spring I hadn't seen. This woman has ravaged her own face with plastic surgery. She looks hideous. One of the top "sex symbols" of the 80's is literally a shell of her former self. Sad.

-Tara was interested in a "conservative" opinion on the Sheehania on her blog. Well, here's an opinion from the left. Not being standoffish here or trying to start anything. Just balancing things a tad.

-On a related note, she's (Sheehan, not Tara) off her rocker. Being backed by Code Pink and the other nutso "anti-war" groups says enough. How is that these organizations don't seem to care about the military unless it's a dead servicemember? Because, then they have use for pissing on that servicemembers memory. Obviously, not all of those left-of-center are like this but when the organizations that claim to represent the left are like it, it might be a problem.

-Will be in the MD area next Thursday-Sunday visiting the little sis...who never mentioned to me that she was going to dinner at the Polish Consulate this week. That butthead.

-The poor folks who lost the Kelo vs New London case are being crapped all over even more. New London has decided that they will be paying 2000 "fair market value" instead of 2005 "fair market value." On top of that, they will charge the folks 5 years back rent, back to 2000. Stuff like this makes me want to support the folks sitting in their houses with a shotgun to protect it. How petty is this by the city? And is anyone trying to get these worthless city council members out of office?

-More on SNL sometime next week. Been busy

SNL: 5 star rebuttal

2005-08-11T13:36:00.000-04:00

OK, we’ve covered the 5 star cast members. Some thought I may have omitted some deserving women. Names suggested were Cheri Oteri, Jan Hooks, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph. Now this is my personal preference. Obviously, anyone can have their own list of 5 stars.

I think Cheri is a fair suggestion but she is a 4 star for me. That’s not an insult by any means but she just didn’t quite reach that 5 star level for me. If you found out she was starring in a comedy movie, would you be really motivated to see it? For me personally, the answer is no.

Rachel Dratch is an excellent suggestion and she could well end up there in another year or two. She’s extremely versatile, doesn’t recycle the same character over and over and I find her very funny. But for now, she’s still a 4 star for me.

I really like Jan Hooks but other than “Stalk Talk” and maybe another couple sketches, I didn’t find her that memorable. Does anyone remember a recurring character of hers? I remember laughing a lot at her because she brings everything to her character, no matter how stupid that character may be. But I’d have her between a 3 and 4. Probably a 3 because I don’t think she was as good as Cheri or Rachel.

Tina Fey. Fey is a tough one. As a cast member, I think she’s close to a 4 just for the news. But that is really all she does, aside from playing extra #2 in some sketches. Now, I will grant she seems to be a great writer and has been head writer for a few years now. If I was grading people who’ve had an impact on the show, I’d grade her a 5 star. But as a cast member, she falls short.

Amy Poeler has a ton of potential and is probably just short of the 4 star category. I’ve liked her for a while (great at the Tourette’s girl in Deuce Bigalow) but I can’t recall a character she played that always made me laugh. She’s also very versatile.

Maya Rudolph is ok. There are some times I like her and some others that she grates on me. In my book, she’s a 3 star.

But this current crop of women is probably the best I can remember them having.

Another thing we need to consider is that we’re probably going to be more biased towards the cast members we are currently watching.

I’ll try to put more out about tomorrow or early next week on my other 4 stars, besides Cheri, Tina and Rachel.

Here’s a good recap of Bill Simmons’ top 5 SNL sketches.

I have seen the Joe Montana, Richard Pryor, Chris Walken and Baldwin sketches and have them all on tape. Of that list, the Pryor one was my fav. I have never seen the Stevie Wonder/Eddie Murphy sketch.

SNL

2005-08-08T09:44:00.000-04:00

I figured I’d move on to something a bit lighter, for the time being:
Saturday Night Live.

I became a big fan of the show when I was about 13 years old living in Las Vegas. My sis followed shortly after. The cast at this time was headed by Dana Carvey and Mike Myers and included Victoria Jackson, Jan Hooks and Kevin Nealon. Carvey was my fav at the time, as he was with most people.

But this got me to thinking. Shouldn’t there be a ranking of the cast members by impact they had on the show? This can include recurring characters, versatility and how good the show was the first season after they left.

I figure a 5 star rating system should suffice for this.

Now, I’m not really in a position to comment too much on many cast members before my time but I will automatically throw in Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin and Chevy Chase into the 5 star category. Debate if you want but they are in (in my book).
What is the 5 star category? This means that whenever a cast-member is in a sketch, you’re guaranteed to laugh.

Phil Hartman was what Darrell Hammond wishes like heck he could be. Hartman’s only really popular recurring character was President Clinton. But Hartman could play anything. No matter the role, he played it great. Whether the boss in “Ed Glosser, Trivial Psychic” or the father in the "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker" sketches, he not only played the role, he was funny in it…a role that probably didn’t have much room to garner laughs.

Chris Farley was the man. The best at physical comedy on the show as long as I’ve been watching. Whether it was crushing tables, destroying walls, getting repeatedly murdered in a community theater play or falling through ice and screaming profanities, he could do it. He also played the shy, unassuming guy when hosting his own “Chris Farley Show.” Farley will always be my favorite and he was definitely one of those cast members that, when I saw him in a sketch, knew I’d be laughing.

Will Ferrell probably isn’t comfortable being on the list with two guys who died early and unexpectedly. Too bad. I remember when Lorne Michaels purged the show of every cast member except Tim Meadows in the mid-90’s. Will Ferrell came on with a very talented group (Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan) and I remember the sketch where my sis and I became huge Ferrell fans. It was The Terry Gantner Family Workout. Ferrell is using karate to workout and tried to break a piece of wood with a strike. He proceeds to break his hand on it and spends the last 60 seconds of the episode screaming in pain and lashing out at his family members. Heather and I knew at that point that he was our guy. Ferrell had many recurring characters: Goulet, Janet Reno, one of the Butabi Brothers, Neil Diamond and, of course, President Bush. Beyond that, he always played utility, like Phil Hartman, filling whatever role was needed.

Who are your five-star cast members and why?

Surreal

2005-08-06T14:28:00.000-04:00

I'm at ma and pa's. I walk downstairs and pops is asleep on the couch, remote in hand. And on the TV, is BET's Top 25 countdown.

Guess that would explain him lowering his truck and buying Sprewells.

Jihadists in England

2005-08-01T17:57:00.000-04:00

Interesting article from Mark Steyn http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn31.html

Someone had asked me about limiting free speech of jihadists. Well, when the "free speech" is advocating the overthrow of the government and murder of the Prime Minister, that's not protected speech. That's my own personal opinion and I, admittedly, have no idea of the free speech laws in England.

I also find it ironic that the murderers were living off the government while planning and executing the bombings.

I'm taking this columnist at his word but if what he wrote is true, wow.

Not that England is the only country with issues regarding this fight. We certainly have our own when we won't even close our borders.

Homeschooling

2005-07-25T12:14:00.000-04:00

What an utterly awful article.

Good thing the NEA puts that disclaimer at the bottom. They would go from zero respect from to a negative balance, if possible.

This guy is a pompous ass, implying that, judging from his words, "professionals" such as teachers are better trained to teach my kids than I am (a wannabe). Like 4 or 5 years at a crappy college learning liberal BS is what it takes to teach children.

I know many teachers. They are good people. Some shouldn't be teaching at all, though (McKenzie, you're not included here). Shot, many fail the same proficiency exams the kids are supposed to pass.

And isn't teacher to student ratio such an important thing for education? So what's better than 1 teacher to 1, 2 or 3 students?

-I would have more time to concentrate only on my child(children) than a teacher.

-My child moves at his pace, not the pace of the slowest child in the class.

-I care more about my child and his education than ANY teacher could.

-My child can get plenty of the "needed socialization skills" by playing with children nearby and being involved in sports leagues or other such things(music etc).

And to top this article off, theck out the bottom where it tells us who wrote it.

A head custodian. Nothing wrong with being a custodian. But that is FAR from an education expert.

Rove/Plame

2005-07-15T12:24:00.000-04:00

My pal Random Thought asked me post something for him. So here it is. Keeps me from having to post things constantly so I think I like the idea of a guest blogger. And the response to my last one was poor. I was hoping some lawyers might offer some thoughts. But I imagine they were instead doing other important things.

Here it is:

There’s so much BS flying around about those whole affair I thought I’d do some fact-checking on my own. So here are the allegations:

1. Karl Rove, advisor to the President, leaked the name of a covert CIA official to a reporter as political retaliation for Joe Wilson saying the administration lied about Iraq trying to buy yellow-cake from Niger.

2. The President promised to fire anyone in his administration who leaked the information.

3. Karl Rove broke the law.

Addressing #1. Let’s look at what the reporter Matt Cooper says Rove said. Unfortunately, there are only bits an pieces of Emails that Cooper sent to his editor. Here is what I can find:

NEWSWEEK obtained a copy of the e-mail that Cooper sent his bureau chief after speaking to Rove. ... Cooper wrote that Rove offered him a "big warning" not to "get too far out on Wilson." Rove told Cooper that Wilson's trip had not been authorized by "DCIA" -- CIA Director George Tenet -- or Vice President Dick Cheney. Rather, "it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd [weapons of mass destruction] issues who authorized the trip." Wilson's wife is Plame, then an undercover agent working as an analyst in the CIA's Directorate of Operations counterproliferation division. (Cooper later included the essence of what Rove told him in an online story.) The e-mail characterizing the conversation continues: "not only the genesis of the trip is flawed an[d] suspect but so is the report. he [Rove] implied strongly there's still plenty to implicate iraqi interest in acquiring uranium fro[m] Niger ... "

Best as I can find, is that Rove explained how someone, who is a piece of crap (own personal opinion here), and had little if any knowledge of the subject at hand was sent to Niger to research if Iraq had sought to buy yellow cake (used in nuclear weapons) from Niger.

Joe Wilson had gone around telling anyone who would listen than (ok to be fair, he explicitly implied) he’d been sent by the CIA and the VP’s office. He wasn’t. He proceeded to lie about what he found as well. “…First of all, that is not the way this White House operates. The President expects everyone in his administration to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. No one would be authorized to do such a thing.”

On February 11, 2004 (or close to it, the story is 11 Feb) the President said, "If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.”

He doesn’t specifically say he’s going to fire anyone but I’m not going to split hairs here. He must mean it. How do I know? Because he says “if the person has violated the law.” No President, whatever you may think of him, wants the political liability of a convicted felon working for him.

But that phrase is key, “if the person has violated the law.”

I’m not convinced a law was broken. But if it was, he should be prosecuted and fired.

Addressing #3. Was a law broken? This really is the crux here. Personally, I can’t find where one was broken (not counting obstruction). She wasn’t covert. Heck, her boss and neighbors knew what she did and said she never tried to hide it. She worked at a DESK!

Those up in arms over this really look like jackasses, to put it frankly. Not all of the information is in on this. The leak itself doesn’t appear to be a crime. Obstruction charges may be coming because for some moronic reason the White House has acted like this is a big deal and it has something to hide. Of course, maybe it does. But we’re gonna need to wait.

Their carefully worded statements so they are telling the truth only in a legalistic manner and not in spirit show poorly. It’s nothing new. All administrations are like this. Not saying we shouldn’t expect more. We should. But we shouldn’t be surprised when we get this.

All of this can, of course, change with new information coming out.

A question:

Do you really think this is a bigger issue than the former National Security Advisor walking out of the National Archives with top secret documents on the way the previous administration handled terrorism stuffed into his pants and shirts?

Fast track to the electric chair

2005-07-11T13:38:00.000-04:00

So I'm driving to Home Depot with my dad yesterday and he proceeds to tell me a story he read in the paper.

A mother and a boyfriend have two daughters. The parents are Meth addicts. Move around a lot. the daughters are 10 and 3.

Brilliant parents sell some bad meth to some other folks, who are pissed about it (obviously). They track down the parents in a casino but security escorts the folks.

The folks then decide to go to the hotel where the parents are staying and the children currently are.

The main guy knocks on the door, the 10 year old opens but won't let them in and shuts the door. A few minutes later, the guy has his sister go up to the door. The 10 year old answers and the guy basically surprises her and 3 people (the guy, his sis and his girlfriend) proceed to stab the 3 year old to death and the 10 year old dozens of times, severing her spinal cord in the process.

I was quiet for a bit and told Dad I wish he hadn't told me. He ask why and I told him it ruins my mood for the day because it makes me want to start a vigilante death squad and wipe these people from the face of the earth. Go Boondock Saints on them (a must see movie).

I'm moving away from being a supporter of the death penalty, mainly for the reason that I don't like giving the state that kind of power. And there are some legit concerns about its application.

That said, fast track these mother*uckers to the chair. Hell, hang them. Give them their fair trial, fast track their appeals. Their appeals immediately go to the front of the line and are handled.

This is how it should be for crimes against children, in my opinion. Some of the legal eagles who read here can perhaps tell me any other due process concerns that would need to be statisfied. But if they get the death penalty, it shouldn't take 15 years to shoot a few thousand volts of electricity through their worthless bodies.

But those *uckers need to die and meet their maker. Give them their due process and send them to hell.

And as a perfect post-script, a judge is returning custody of the paralyzed 10 year old to the mother because she married the father and has been sober for about 5 months or so. Brilliant. Like the stress of taking care of a handicapped child couldn't possibly push her back to abusing drugs.

Whatever happens to this child from here on out as a result of her mother should be used as punishment for the judge.

Wonder if I lost Jef on this one...

Why I'm glad I'm not tithing to an NCC church anymore

2005-07-07T15:57:00.000-04:00

Got this in my email minutes ago:

Yup. Just what I want my tithe money going to. Lobbying the government on social issues.

The church should be concerned with social issues, of course. But the fact that this organization of churches takes the attitude that the government is to solve these issues is the problem is what rubs me wrong.

Rather than teaching self-reliance, rely on the government!

I don't want my church spending money on these issues. I want it bringing people to Christ. This organization has lost sight of that and is wasting God's money. The church should be concerned with people's souls, primarily.

And yes, I am consistent. I don't want the NCC to lobby the government on abortion, either. Though I have little doubt this organization would be ok with killing babies because choice and convenience is so important it trumps life.

Self-Absored Celebrities

2005-07-07T10:45:00.000-04:00

Has there been a bigger waste of time and energy than the recent Live 8 concerts? A bunch of self-absorbed jackasses pushing governments to fix problems that governments created.

Did the concerts raise any money to help? Nope.

Did the concerts prompt people to help find solutions on their own? Nope.

No, the solution is for our governments to continue to take money from me and everyone else who pays taxes and give it to corrupt governments to continue to waste.

Yeah, brilliant solution. One that could only be devised by celebrity assholes.

Didn't watch the concerts but have read many of the celeb quotes and recaps and not ONE, not ONE mention of the problems the African Governments have caused.

Typical liberal solution. Throw more money at it. Especially, when it isn't yours.

Celebs ALWAYS overestimate their own impact on societies. They are next to worthless.

By popular demand

2005-06-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

Hit Me Baby One More Time...
(I haven't gone through and edited this so forgive any misspellings and grammatical errors)

09:01 Show starts. Host is up again. Try to play the crowd a bit.

I missed last week’s. And this one was requested by Kenzie.

First up is Greg Kihn band. I remember playing him on the radio when I was in Korea in the early 90’s (his breakup song was already about 10 years old by then)

09:03 OK, seems like all the artists from the 80’s put on at least 30-40 lbs. Song is ok.

Ah ah, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!

OK, he’s kinda yelling the chorus but that’s ok. He’s probably already out of breath.

Ugh, horrible edit after the host asks him a stupid question.

09:06 Club Nuveau is up next. Bonus points to anyone who knows their original name…Timex Social Club! Bet ya didn’t know that one.

They’re playing Lean On Me. It’s their overplayed 80’s station song. But Rumors was so much better.

Anyone remember the spoof song called Roaches taken from Rumors? Probably not

Wow, I expected them to be better. I’m not impressed. They had to be the favorite coming in. They may still win just because this has become one of those “timeless 80’s songs” like the Romantics “What I like about you.” But this performance is weak.

Ever been driving along and hear a horrible sound that sounds like it came from your car? Then you look over and this piece of crap is next to you and you’re grateful because there is no way it is your car instead of this one?

09:09 Commercial break. Glass Tiger is coming up. They have to do “Don’t forget me when I’m gone.”

Flip over to ABC to check out the introductions for game 7 of the NBA championship. Wouldn’t you love to be introduced at work like this?

-Cue smoke machines and laser lights flashing all over-

“He led the office in First Call Resolution, the Service Desk Analyst of the Month, Eric E-Z-E MOYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

09:12 And we are back. Glass Tiger, Playing “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone.” Man, I love this song. The 80’s songs they do here take me back.

I would beat anyone’s sorry but in 80’s pop culture trivia. If you think you have it, name the challenge.

Wow, this guy’s been more plucked and has more makeup than Cameron Diaz.

09:16 Billy Vera and the Beaters. Did you know that song became big after being played on Family Ties? I did.

I just have a feeling this one will suck. We’ll see.

Well, he’s probably the first to actually be playing an instrument. Wow, he’s doing great.

This lighter is burning my hand now.

He could be the first to do a slow song and win.

09:19 This host needs a bigger beating than the Encyclopedia Britannica guy

Commercial break.

This is a good “reality” type show. But the thing that’s keeping it from being among the premiere ones is it’s lack of what Bill Simmons calls “Unintentional Comedy.”

Hmmm, King Kong

Saw a sneak preview of Land of The Dead on Tuesday. It’s a George Romero movie. He’s got a history of all the zombie movies. It sucked. But really, what can you do with zombie movies anymore? There’s nothing else you can do with zombies. Zombie! The Musical? Been done: Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Do yourself a favor and watch one of his originals.

09:24 Thelma Houston. She’s from before my time. So I probably won’t have a whole lot to add here.

Shoot, I can hum my way through a song. Not impressive.

Go back to those backup singers.

Time for the host who wasn’t born when she was big to ask her a question…

Wow, some hot women in that crowd. I’m gonna find a way to get in to this show.

09:28 This Listerine commercial is STILL on. They’ve been airing it for 4 years now.

09:31 Cover time. Greg Kihn doing Green Day. Singing it like he doesn’t care about anything except the post-show buffet.

He sounds like John Goodman doing the Blues Brothers.

Damn, another hot blonde. Ohio sucks.

OK, picks up the tempo. Better. Making it his own. His son is on guitar. Damn he’s good.

Another shot of the crowd. I hate Ohio.

09:34 Club Nuveau. Um, ok. He wants to start a pro Domino League. Well, be ambitious dude!

Covering Dido. Well, they are obviously making it theirs as much as it can be.

But how much can you really do with a Dido song? It’s already as unique as it’s going to be. It’s tough. Like covering Enya or something.

Wow, she’s afraid of trying the high notes.

Not nearly enough shots of the first row of the crowd. I hate Ohio.

09:37 Commercial break. Over to Game 7. Damn, Robert Horry is something else.

Preview of Matt Lauer interviewing Tom Cruise. Two douchebags but I gotta root for Lauer. Tom Cruise is totally off his rocker. And want a primer on Scientology? Go here. It’s not even worth calling a cult. It’s a financial scam. Heather, if Ashley makes it to LA, make her promise not to buy into that crap.

And does anyone really buy the Cruise-Holmes relationship?

09:41 Glass Tiger. Coerving Vertical Horizon, Everything you want.

Not a good start. Wow, he is sounding even more than gay than he looks…not that there’s anything wrong with that…

His backup singer looks like Fred Armisen of Sat Night Live.

Speaking of, SNL better spoof this in their first episode of the fall. So much material to work with.

OK, after that cover, I have to question if he actually fathered that baby the natural way.

09:44 Billy Vera, doing Ryan Cabrera, True.

Nuts, should have done something he could play the piano with.

Wow, this is bad. He looks as comfortable as if he walked into a rave.

This could be the biggest drop in performance from original hit to cover in the show’s first 4 episodes.

Ooooh! Look! Hablo Espanol!

09:47 Thelma Houston, doing Alicia Key’s falling.

Good start. This is an ambitious cover. But the danger is making it just sound like Alicia is singing it. Will she make this her own? Only time will tell…

…suspense builds…builds…there’s a bit…

Where’s the crowd shots?

OK, thank you…I hate Ohio.

09:50 Well, with that finish and being the last one, I’d give Thelma the edge to win. But no one stood out.

According to the host, we “witnessed 5 mind-blowing performances.” Um, yeah.

Am I wrong to want to kick they guy in the teeth with my steel-toes?

09:54 And we are back…the winner…Thelma gets the most applause. She’s gonna win.

And she did!

Ugh, bad show. If this had been the first one, it would not have hit.

Marked for Death

2005-06-09T15:26:00.000-04:00

I don't know what's worse...

1. Writing a script for an action movie starring Steven Seagal.

2. Having Seagal rewrite it on the set.

3. Being a member of Steven Seagal's entourage.

4. That Steven Seagal thinks he has enough "hand" to show up late for work and leave early.

If I didn't know that the "work" was for a film, I'd have assumed the company that provides mall security was going to fire him.

Question

2005-06-07T17:24:00.000-04:00

If a man assaults a pregnant woman by kicking her repeatedly in the stomach with the clear intention of having her miscarry, should he be charged with anything more than assault?

Live Blogging Again!

2005-06-03T09:48:00.000-04:00

Hit Me Baby One More Time

The first time I saw the preview for this show, I knew I had to watch it. Groups from the 80’s trying one last time for a bit of fame: Loverboy, Flock of Seagulls, CeCe Penniston, Arrested Development, Tiffany.

Arrested Development sure seems to stand out from that group. They didn’t just make appealing music. It really was good.

Forget what the winner is supposed to get.

This live blogging brought to you by the DVD of Team America: World Police, the only movie where you can see Castro-lover Danny Glover get his.

9:01 It’s on! Host looks and acts like a bootleg Ashton Kutcher with Mick Jagger’s mouth.

9:03 Loverboy is up first. Can anyone listen to Working for the Weekend without thinking of Chris Farley dancing against Patrick Swayze?

This guy looks like a little egg in a black suit.

Got up to put my Orange Hi-C in the fridge and noticed I still have an uneaten chocolate bunny from Easter in there. Is that bad? Don't ask which Easter it is from.

So besides working in my local Ace hardware, what has the lead singer for this group been doing?

Says they are going to follow with Hero by Enrique Iglesias.

9:05 Cece Penniston is up next. I really like her. Some good dance music. Uh Uh, Ay Ay, Aye Aye, Ow Ow.

Wow, she’s looking good.

I just have to say I *hate* people who wear pieces of a military uniform because it’s fashionable. Pet peeve.

Is that Justin from the first American Idol as her backup dancer?

She’s covering a Faith Hill song later.

9:10 Well, 10 minutes and two performers in and so far no embarrassing performances. I’m disappointed.

Call to Ang to make sure she’s watching this.

9:13 Flock of Seagulls. They’re doing their hit I Ran. If his hair is normal, I’ll be disappointed.

Um, ok. Here’s the first really bad performance. These guys haven’t sung at all since 1989 is my guess.

Where’s the gong?

Call to Sis to see if she’s watching. I get her voicemail. It better be because she doesn’t want to miss the show.

They’re covering a Ryan Cabrera song later.

9:16 Arrested Development. Man I loved these guys. They weren’t a good group or band. They were good musicians. Wrote great music.

They chose Tennesee. Mr. Wendel would have been good but Tennessee is probably what most identify them with. Darn good song.

Awesome, they STILL have the old guy who just stands there and dances. Awesome. Wouldn’t have been the same with out him.

Does anyone think the people holding instruments are really playing?

“Won’t you help me…take me home…”

Abridged version of the song. Oh well. They’ve worked the crowd best so far. But they’re music is more directed at that to being with.

Speech. That really was a good name.

Cool, they’re covering Los Lonely Boys, Heaven, later. I’m interested in seeing they’re take on that. I imagine it will be noticeably different from the original.

9:21 Previews for the next “Average Joe.” I like the concept of the show. Works with other shows, too. Next Apprentice should be a competition between Phish groupies and Snoop Dogg’s posse. Toss trump that curve.

9:23 Tiffany is next. I had such a HUGE crush on her as a teen. In hindsight, not sure why. She’s not that attractive. But it didn’t matter. I think we’re alone now.

Well, she’s aged pretty well.

She must sit around putting pins into Debbie Gibson dolls.

OK, we see your ample cleavage Tiffany.

Nice tattoo on her wrist. I need to blog on how I’ve come to hate tattoos on women. It’s NOT rebellious! Every girl has them! It makes no real statement. At this point, it’s more counterculture NOT to have a tattoo. More some other time.

Good performance. Good voice.

She’s covering Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway later.

9:26 The winner just gets named the audience favorite? That’s kind of weak, I guess.

9:30 How is Fear Factor still on? What more can they do? I am waiting for the episode when they eat medical waste that washed up on the shore.

Sis returns my call. Show is returning from commercial. I tell her I have to go so I can live blog this. I’m a jerk.

9:31 Text message from Ang: “Do not knock Tiffany. She is a personal favorite.” Is she the only one who uses proper punctuation, grammar and spelling in text messages?

9:33 Loverboy covering Hero. It’s the black egg with legs.

Heck, he’s doing this better than Enrique Iglesias. No puking of the voice. Oops, there was one.

9:35 Cece! Badunkadunk!

She can bring it.

This show better be on for more than just one week.

Oops, she just screeched part of it. I have to eat my words some, now.

Is anyone else just waiting on Arrested Development?

9:38 Flock of Seagulls. Sis says they are still touring.

I think this host is trying out to be a boxing announcer.

Dammit! Gong louder! For the love of God! Hit that gong with sledgehammer or something. Where’s the big hook that comes in to get them? Why can’t this crowd be more like the Apollo crowd? Every fifth audience member should have been handed a piece of fruit for a performance like this(sis says tomatoes and bananas fly well, so do Chips Ahoy cookies).

9:41 I agree with the Sports Guy. The Longest Yard should NEVER have been remade.

Paris Hilton was on Letterman last night. I watched part of it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so empty. I know that’s not groundbreaking news or anything but the crowd wasn’t taking it. I think we were one wrong comment from someone going Jeff Gillooly on her. Not that that's a bad thing...

Aquafina’s awful commercial for “flavored water.” Didn’t this used to be called Kool-Aid?

9:45 Arrested Development. You know, current hip hop could take a lot from them. Hip hop was good but now it’s all pretty darn week.

Where did this group go? They are too good just to disappear. Papa is outta the chair!

Good performance. Crowd loves them. If they don’t win, it’s because Daly had dead people voting.

9:49 Tiffany singing Break Away. I actually like this song.

Average performance…at best. She should try country with her voice.

My ranking: 1. Arrested Development (big gap) – 2. Cece Penniston – 3 (tie).Tiffany/Loverboy – (BIG, HUGE GAP) 5. Flock of bird crap.

9:56 Winner is Arrested Development! Oh, winner gets a donation to charity of his choice. They choose UNICEF. Bad choice but for a good reason. Maybe they’ve reformed but they've had some SERIOUS corruption issues. And why not? They're overseen by the UN?

Oh, next week will have another one. Didn’t hear all of the names but Tommy Tutone and Haddaway caught my ear.

9:58 Promo for “I want to be a Hilton.” (sigh) I guess the winner gets to remove himself from the last group of 50 people who hasn’t slept with Nikki or Paris.

The Dangers of Dating Eric

2005-05-26T15:24:00.000-04:00

Below is a document I'm drawing up to show to women before I date them from now on. Think it may be helpful to them (and therefore, me).

Input? Thoughts?

-------------
I, Eric E. Moyer, have created this memo, which is not legally binding, to inform you of some very important things for you to know before you date Eric. This has been created and shared with you for your own protection. If you read and sign the below and end up hurt at the end of the relationship due to anything listed below, it is your own fault. You’ve been warned. I am flawed.

-I enjoy my free time and fiercely protect it.

-Other things, such as playing volleyball, will be placed above you in the pecking order. It just is.

-After approximately 2-4 months, I will grow tired of the relationship. This is not personal since it has no doubt happened to better looking and nicer women than you. It’s just the way I am.

-You will never badmouth one of my friend’s. That’s immediate banishment and I won’t even feel bad about it.

-When something happens to me, you will NOT word your question like this: “How do you feel about this?” Word it differently if you must know. I don’t like being Dr. Phil’d.

Other items may be added above but will be brought to your attention as soon as I know about it. Think carefully before making your decision.

_________________________________ ______________
Name Date

Some thoughts...

2005-05-23T17:14:00.000-04:00

-My base in Mansfield, Ohio was on the Base Relocation and Closure (BRAC) list. Was a surprise to be sure. Not sure exactly what it means for me personally. The soonest the closure would begin is Oct 07 (Fiscal 08) so it’s a ways off. Over the weekend while complaining about something that happened there (I’ll relate below) and I realized I travel the 2+ hours up there and 2+ hours back on those weekends for what is actually my friendship with just 12-15 of the guys (we have over 100 in our unit). There’s something to be said for good people.

-Guy in my unit got the Bronze Star for doing a year in Qatar. Normally, that’s a hell of an accomplishment. But I know how this guy is. He knows his stuff but he’s terribly overweight and never left Qatar. According to my sources(reliable) he buddied up with some generals over there and comes back to a Bronze Star.

I about flipped out and had to call my father to vent. There are guys getting shot at, wounded and/or killed right now who won’t get anything more than a purple heart. I’d be embarrassed to receive such an award.

Bronze Star:
For heroic or meritorious achievement of service, not involving aerial flight in connection with operations against an opposing armed force.

-I don’t know if I’ll vote in 2008. Why bother? All it does is give my consent to a flawed process…I mean what’s the point? The “Republicans” are basically the Democrats from about 40+ years ago. The Democrats are actually socialists and their leadership is SO out of touch with the average person it’s almost funny.

I made the mistake of voting Republican this past year. It may not ever happen again. I may not even vote again.

One consideration is to go the ex-pat way and find a nice little Carribean nation to go to.

-Our current president is a joke at best. And not for the reasons the Left would have you believe. I’ve come to dislike him for basically being a borderline socialist and growing the government the way he has.

-READING ASSIGNMENT: Excellent article about the problems with the Left these days, from someone who has left it. And it doesn’t sing the praises of the “right” so it carries more credibility with me. Why don’t more people think like this? This is basically why I left the “right.” Because they don’t represent what the right is supposed to represent. It’s the same with the left.

It continues!

2005-05-19T09:29:00.000-04:00

It's taken me too long to come around on the issue of individual liberties and the gov't using the Patriot Act and other legislation to reduce them.

And it's not just the current administration. All of them have done this. Was alerted to this from Vox Day's website.

Ever want your views challenged? Try his site

But it's stuff like this that leaves me flabbergasted when someone, under the claim of trying to help the less fortunate, wants to grant the government more and more power. Wants to use the government to force her beliefs of what a society should be like.

Problem is, that power of government will be turned on her quickly.

What's next?

2005-05-16T15:01:00.000-04:00

On a lighter note, is that another reality show I should try live-blogging? Let me know if you have recommendations.

Newsweek/MSM=A**holes

2005-05-16T14:56:00.000-04:00

I can't put into words how angry I am right now regarding this Newsweek flap. If you haven't heard of it, read here:

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/010472.php

Some people find it so easy to want to believe anything bad about our country and don't even bother to try to confirm the truth before running it.

Riots that resulted in people being killed resulted from this BS news story.

If you use any of the MSM (MainStream Media) for your news, don't bother anymore. They don't even practice proper journalism anymore.

That, and most don't even give a crap about the country that protects their right to free speech.

All for now.

Survivor!

2005-05-13T09:36:00.000-04:00

08:01 Recap of the previous week where Gregg was voted off based on some stupid moves on his part and Caryn earned her way to another week.

08:04 Will Ferrell’s new movie Kicking and Screaming. Has there been a better looking movie that would appeal to both the men and women on dates in the past year?

08:07 Jenn realizes she’s on the chopping block. Ian makes a good point about his chief worry being women turning on the men. Tom is working on shoring up Caryn.

08:10 Ah! Ian and Tom make a smart choice. They realize that if one of them wins the reward, they have to take one of the women with them so the 3 women can’t plot against them, a lesson Gregg learned the hard way. Finally someone realizes this.

08:12 Winner of the reward gets a convertible Corvette. Wonder if the winner has to pay the taxes on these items or if the show covers that.

08:15 Caryn stands no chance on any challenge that is physical. No surprise the guys are way ahead. Tom takes a chance by throwing his bag and it backfires. Ian is in the lead and is smart enough to win the brain part of the challenge. Ian wins it. He’ll pick Katie to go along. That’s good. Keeps Jenn from talking to either of the two people who might vote with her.

08:17 What the heck? He picked Tom. BAD move, I don’t care if he made a “promise.” He and Tom mad a pact a ways back that if the prize was a car, they’d take each other. Could be a big mistake. This week it probably won’t be because Tom has Caryn with him and she probably won’t waver. Dumb move nonetheless. Tom is going to give him some serious crap once they’re away from the others.

08:21 Commercial for the Team America: World Police DVD. I’m buying it.

08:23 Katie is mad now. Makes her a prime target for Jenn. Dumb move by Ian is looking even dumber. Ian probably deserves to get booted. Don’t think he will because I think Tom still has Caryn but still.

08:26 Caryn confronts Ian. Ian is stuttering and looking REAL weak in front of Tom and Caryn. Smart move from Caryn is to swap sides and go with the girls now.

08:28 Mt. Katie is about to blow. Ian is trying to save the Katie vote. Oh geez, get me the Kleenex. Of course, the crying bit by Ian might salvage this. It looks like it might be working. Katie really does value Ian. Montel must be around somewhere because everyone knows Montel brings people together.

08:33 Immunity challenge coming up. Tom is working on Katie now. Reading her the hard truth. Threatening a woman by sharing logic with her just isn’t going to work. Gotta comfort the gal to get her guard down. Right now, I think whichever one of the guys that doesn’t win the immunity(I know that’s sexist, it’s also realist with this bunch) and Caryn are on the block. Jenn probably has another week. Ian helped her there.08:38

08:35 Tom getting hurt on those rope bridges. Ouch. Tom wins it! Ian needs Katie to come through. Needs to promise something to Katie somehow. Time for the water works again.

08:47 Tom realizes he needed the immunity. Ian is working Katie. Who is Tom voting for? Jenn? Or Katie?

08:48 Tribal Council. Should anyone who quits actually be allowed to be on the jury? Geez. Man, Ian is so dumb. No reason to take Tom on that reward. I just don’t get how people make these bone-headed moves late in the game. Caryn is tossing it all out there and Ian is on his heels. Tom throws Caryn under the bus. This is good. There might be no alliances left after this council. Does anyone know who anyone else is voting for? Could have a 4 way tie. PREDICTION: Caryn. Katie will stick by Ian knowing she owns him now. That would be the smart move on her part. He doesn’t have the guts to cross her again.

08:54 Ian wants Caryn gone bad. I kinda do, too.

08:56 Goodnight Caryn. It’s Tom, Katie and Ian in the final three unless Jenn pulls a big upset and gets immunity next week.

Food for thought. They order the slips of paper are pulled out in; it’s not random. Since it went Caryn, Ian, Caryn, Caryn, that tells me it was 4-1 Caryn instead of 3-2. The show would *never* go with the less suspenseful way. If there were two votes for Ian, they would have read all 5 votes. But they didn’t. That tells me Jenn voted for Caryn as well. There was some negotiating that wasn’t shown in the show. Or it was a smart last minute move by Jenn, knowing at least the two guys were voting for Caryn and jumping on that bandwagon. Wouldn’t that have been interesting if Katie *had* voted for Ian thinking she was the deciding vote and she wasn’t!

I love this show.

Closing credits of the show show that Jenn did indeed vote for Caryn. *Very* smart girl and I don’t give her enough credit. And no one on the show will because they probably don’t realize it.

PREDICTION: Caryn will be the one in the next to final show berating all of the contestants about lying and trying to be high and mighty.

I got your Bachelor, right here

2005-05-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

By popular demand, here it is. It’s a “Tell all” episode where the women dish dirt, I guess, on the guy. Will be interesting since I doubt there’s a decent one among them. Brought to you by a Taco Bell bean burrito, here we go…

09:01 Just watching the opening, I doubt I’ll be watching this show again.

09:03 Introductions. OK, there are girls named Geitan, Danushka, Anitra and Kindle. There’s 6 retarded parents for you. I guess Danushka could be Eastern European, so she gets a pass.

09:04 This guy is…these girls can’t really want to win for him. They just have to want to win for the sake of winning.

09:07 OK, Tara, I don’t know if I can forgive you for this crap. This is awful. Just catty b*tches talking. Blaming others and not themselves. If I wanted to see this, I could have just hung out in the lunch room at work. I can’t get too into this without watching the whole season, I guess. They just all seem the same with different hair color and breast sizes.

09:08 OK, I think the best looking is Anitra but there’s something cute about Kara, I think it is. Of course, she’s the only one who seems to have a personality, too.

09:10 Christine is full of crap. If she were a “secret agent” there is no way they’d have allowed her on the show. Does anyone actually believe her?

I would be an awesome bachelor for this show. These women are shallow and empty, except for, maybe, 2 or 3 that have depth but they are borderline codependent. Cut those two right away to save them the pain and just dump all over the empty bodies that are left. I’d give them so much good footage. Of course, I’d not be picked. I’m not good looking enough and certainly not rich enough.

Driving the winner home from the last show in a Ford Escort doesn’t make for good TV. Wait, maybe it does.

09:15 Talking about some Kimberly gal who seems to want to show her boobs. The other girls don’t seem too happy to see her. OK, the two Canadian broads didn’t get along. Who cares. “It’s not even a real country anyway.” BTW, Jenny looks like Tiffany Amber Thiessan.

09:17 Look, women backstabbing another contestant by going through her personal things and dressing up. Big surprise. BTW, Kimberly is in denial on…about everything.

09:19 OK, talking about Sarah W. Judging from the size of the top of her head, she must be really smart. She’s ok but she’s not *that* good looking. Her head is square.

Now she’s whining about the gals talking about her. Maybe be it’s because she never shuts up.

This gives me an idea for The Contender Season 2. Is anyone else thinking of this? NBC needs to be contacting ABC.

They should put a basket of tools, like screwdrivers and hammers, in the middle of this ring and let nature take its course.

Wow, Danushka is a…well, empty sack of skin and bones.

09:31 Flashback of what Sarah W said after being cut. Nothing groundbreaking.

I can see why this show is a success. Because every woman can see some of herself in these contestants and some of the women they hate in the other women on the Bachelor.

09:34 Ooooh, Anitra just put the smack down on Sarah W. She’s big and tough. I’m surprised Sarah W even showed up.

09:39 Here comes Charlie. He actually has a little more respect from me now having to pick a non-empty soul from this bunch.

Here comes the question from Kimberly. Was she too wild? Guess not.

Now Sarah W. Where was the connection lost? Thinks she was playing an act.

09:41 Bloopers and outtakes. They stunk.

Sarah W is not smiling.

Commercial: I’ll grant a normal show is probably a bit better than this and this probably is better having watched it from the beginning…but that just isn’t going to happen until some woman neuters me and forces me to marry her.

09:47 Guess this is some preview for the next week. Just looking at the ones he didn’t pick and the ones he picked, he’s picked the ones who look more like the marrying type. The others you just date and have fun.

09:50 OK, the blonde just said she likes to be in control. Run Jerry! Take the brunette! Plus, what guy wants a girl who will swear as part of her natural vocabulary on TV?

Which one is Sara and which one is Chrisalee?

09:56 OK, Sarah B is the blonde. Hmm, she sounds pretty normal, except for the whole control thing. Sarah W is whining about Chrisalee.

OK, based on about 60 seconds of seeing the finalists, I take Chrisalee.

I might tape next week’s show if the demand is there. But Tara, you owe me dinner next time I end up in Maryland. Dang.

OK, it’s over. Thank God. I need a shot of testosterone now. Where’s my episode of The Contender?

Bachelor Delayed

2005-05-10T10:34:00.000-04:00

Sorry for those who cared. I recorded it last night (think so, I haven't checked) but got home well after midnight after a few hours of volleyball. Just wanted to hit the sack. If I get time tonight, I'll do it. Be patient. Thanks!

The Contender

2005-05-09T08:59:00.000-04:00

8:02 Recap of the previous week where Jesse picked Joey and Manfredo Jr to fight. Joey isn’t that experienced. Manfredo is very experienced but seems to be a head case. He can’t seem to put a complete good fight together. He took the first two rounds and then proceeded to lose the next two. He had an inexperienced on the ropes, one with a broken rib, and couldn’t close it out. Joey showed a lot. But Manfredo won a split decision.

08:07 Jesse’s feeling a little guilty for Joey getting beaten up so bad. He looked pretty bad after the fight. Now Jesse and Anthony are fighting this week.

08:09 Every fighter says he fights and lives for his family but Anthony really seems to love his kids more than anyone I’ve seen on a reality show. They show a lot of time between the fighters and their families. It’s nice but gets a bit old. Week after week it’s a fighter saying “My family means so much. They are everything to me.”

08:11 Jesse is complaining about a hamstring injury from the past week and dropping 8 lbs. Part of me thinks this is a psyche job he’s trying to pull on Anthony. Anthony is focused and I’m thinking Jesse is trying to get him to let his guard down and underestimate him some. I think Jesse is sharper than most give him credit for.

08:15 They have a crusty old fart named Tommy as one of their trainers. Think Mickey from the Rocky movies but slightly less crusty. We’re in one of the scenes where Sly is supposed to talk off the cuff. But he can’t but so a lot of it is voiced over. The funniest moments in the show are when Sly tries to speak without a script.

08:17 Peter is getting critiqued by one of the greatest trainers of all time. It’s his prize for winning his last fight.

08:19 OK, truth be told, it’s not quite as exciting now without the crazy personalities. That is, until the fight. But the first 40 minutes of this show has started to get a bit tedious. By the way, that’s George Clooney doing the voice-over on that Budweiser commercial

Spent the day with Ma, Pa and the GF. It was a really good mother’s day. So I had to tape this show. So while this was airing, mom made us watch a crappy movie called The Core. Save your time. Money can be replaced. Your time can’t. A turd.

08:23 We’re going through the “Bulemic female gymnast” part of the show. Jesse has to lose a lot of weight before the fight. He’s not purging but this the male way of doing it. A hot rubber sweat suit and running. Then it’s on to the sauna to burn off some more weight. Wonder what would happen if Jesse didn’t make weight. It’s not like the show can go on without a fight.

08:25 Jesse didn’t make weight. Anthony is making him lose the last half pound. Jesse’s pissed that Anthony is making him do this. But, jeez, where’s his discipline? Trying to lose that weight on the last day? Now Jesse is whining. Working in Anthony’s favor because Jesse is out of his game mentally. Tommy is telling Jesse to shut his pie-hole and just lose the weight.

08:27 Jesse barely made weight. Fight is one. I overestimated Jesse. He’s really unmotivated and pretty dumb. I’d rather see Anthony win to begin with but if Jesse is acting this way, I definitely don’t want him to win the contract.

08:29 Part of the show where they simulate the pre-fight press conference. Sly is trying to talk again. I think Rocky sounded smarter. Now Sugar Ray is giving his pre-fight analysis. What was it? “ The winner of the fight will depend on who lands the first show and who takes advantage of it.” Good job Sugar. Anthony is trotting his kids’ pictures now. Jesse starts talking smack. Anthony got him back good by calling Jesse his sparring partner. Jesse is still pissed and Anthony is focused. Both are big hitters. This could be a pretty good fight. A little animosity is always good.

08:32 I can’t believe they’re still showing this Listerine commercial with the guy swishing it in his mouth and the voice-over cheering him on. “C’mon! A little bit longer! You can do it!” Motivational mouth-washing, that’s what the world needs.

08:35 Pre-fight buildup. Bring both of the fighters’ families in. Anthony is crying. Normally not a good sign. But he cried when he saw them before his last fight and I thought he was done, cooked, unprepared. He went on to crush Brent. He’s also gotta be about 15 years older than anyone else on this show.

08:37 Listening to the pre-fight talk from each fighter tells you about their mental state and that’s huge on these fights. Anthony is WAY more prepared. Even his wife pointed out he doesn’t look prepared. His wife is going to fall out of her dress.

08:39 Showing the crowd before the fight. There’s always some “celebrities” in the stands. James Caan and others. I’m waiting to see Todd Bridges and Scott Baio. As little as Sugar Ray and Sly are actually on camera probably says a lot about their abilities to host the show. They’re billed as big stars on the show and seem to make cameo appearances.

08:40 Star Wars Episode III preview. Looks like it might suck less than I and II. I’m looking forward to being disappointed by it. Of course, Sam Jackson gets to go Shaft Badass on some bad guys. That’ll be pretty cool.

08:44 Prefight prediction. Anthony and it won’t be too close. Jesse will tire early and break. Anthony is too strong mentally and Jesse is broken down. Each round will Jesse will look progressively worse.

08:46 Anthony comes right out jabbing and nailing Jesse. Good counterpunch form Jesse. After Anthony got hit by a straight right to the body, they cut away to Sly so he can say “That stung a little bit.” I think he’s just jealous that these guys are all better boxers than Rocky ever was.

08:47 Close first round. Think Anthony took it but there wasn’t a ton of action.

08:48 End of second round. Jesse is looking better. I think Anthony barely took this one, too. Crusty old Tommy walks over to Jesse’s corner to tell him he lost both rounds. I really expected more action these first two rounds. Disappointing so far. Sooner or later Jesse is going to get tired and Anthony is going to start hurting him.

08:50 Jesse really took it to Anthony this round. Landing some really strong right hands. Anthony was dodging those earlier but not in this round. Anthony got frustrated at the end of the round, turning Jesse around and pushing him into the ropes. Jesse may have gotten into Anthony’s head some. Card is still Anthony 2-1. But Jesse is impressing the heck out of me.

08:51 I’m not waiting until the end of the round on this one. Anthony has come right out and is just beating Jesse badly. Anthony is a monster right now. He showed this in his fight against Brent. When Anthony smells blood, look out. He’s not even letting Jesse get set to throw punches. Wow.

08:52 Clearly Anthony’s round and his fight to lose at this point. Anthony 3-1 so far. Jesse needs one heck of an impressive round and some bad scoring in one of those first two rounds to win a decision. Here we go.

08:53 No way. Anthony came out strong and was pounding Jesse. But jesse landed two devastating uppercuts. First one staggering Anthony to the point he had to lean on Jesse to stay up. Then another knocked him cold. He makes it up off the mat in time. Ref stops the fight because Jesse came right back and pounded him. Anthony had *nothing* left. His poor 9 year old daughter is watching and yelling for them to stop the fight. Anthony is crushed after the fight.

Jesse earned this. I did underestimate him.

08:55 The walk down the hall where the losing fighter has to meet Sly while he says something that is supposed to be comforting/inspirational. Hmm, they skipped that. Bet he said something funny to Sly they couldn’t show.

I’m going back to watch that last round. Anthony was hurting Jesse bad and easily winning that round. But those uppercuts, wow.

Jesse is terrible at dodging punches and as Tommy said, he got lucky, because Anthony was clearly winning the fight.

I still pick Sergio to win it all. He’ll cut Jesse up pretty good.

Tomorrow is a volleyball night so I’ll be taping The Bachelor. Be warned. I don’t think much of fame-hunting, gold-digging desperate to be married women so I doubt I’ll have much positive to say about the women on the show. As for the guy, well, I already know he’s an idiot.

The Contender

2005-05-06T16:44:00.000-04:00

If you want to have fun enjoying my next blog, you're going to have to watch the Contender on Sunday night.

It's the best of the reality shows. And this week will have a good matchup.

Survivor Blog

2005-05-06T09:06:00.000-04:00

8:01: Recap of last week. Too bad Steph got voted off. She’s been the best one so far, mainly because she’s been given the most opportunities. We haven’t seen yet who the really devious ones are from the other tribe because they haven’t had much of a chance for backstabbing. Oh yeah, Steph was the only eye-candy left for the guys.

8:07 Tom and Caryn have the same hairdo and Ian looks like an extra from Schindler’s List.

08:09 Reward for the reward challenge is a night on a yacht. I have to think it’s about time for a family member to be included in a reward.

08:12: So many people don’t know how to play this reward game. They just want each person to get hit once. People should just keep going after the person in worst shape and eliminate them. Fewer people to get you back. It’s pretty darn simple.

08:14 Gregg is a wuss. Votes for Katie instead of Jen. That clinches that one of them will be eliminated soon, maybe today. They just showed themselves as a force. If Caryn wants to stick around another week, she needs to point that out strongly.

08:16: HUGE miscalculation on Gregg’s part, taking Jen. Give the other 4 a chance to plot to take you out. Are people this stupid? He just got a chance to take another and took Katie. Might help him but doesn’t lessen the mistake of his first choice. Now is Caryn’s chance to turn the other guys.

NOTE: Jen is still eye-candy but her control over Gregg is almost causing her to lose that status.

08:23: OK, I’m a genius. The family members show up

08:25: Again, I’m right. Caryn, Tom and Ian know that Gregg has to go. I think Ian and Tom’s alliance is as strong as Gregg and Jen

08:28: I think Jen was happier to see the dolphins than her sister.

08:38: No surprise Caryn is eliminated at the first part of the challenge. My money is Katie or Jen is next gone because this one requires brains. Yup, Katie is gone. Jen is next one gone during the eating challenge. Wrong. Gregg is out. OK, now Jen is gone in this next one. Yup, she’s out. Tom and Ian now in a shooting contest. Ian wins. He’s now won two in a row, calling a little attention to himself. But it’s still good to be the king.

08:42: OK, my prediction is Katie goes John Kerry and flip-flops again, voting for Gregg. Gregg will be out 4-2.

08:47: Gregg thinks nothing is up and thinks he’s going to pull one over on Tom and Ian.

08:50: Ian makes a good move telling Katie that Gregg is on the block. She doesn’t want to be on the outside looking in.

08:52: Is Coby gay?

08:54: Katie is the swing vote (duh).

08:56: Gregg is gone. I’m right. And it’s his own darn fault. The second he looked to Jen for directions during the reward challenge, he made himself a target. And Katie isn’t stupid. Her chance is to ride Ian to the end, figuratively. Good job by Caryn. She's earned another week.

Tonight: Survivor

2005-05-05T12:15:00.000-04:00

Tonight I think I'll live blog Survivor. We'll see how that goes. The GF will be there, too, and may have some input as well.

American Idol Live Blog

2005-05-05T09:09:00.000-04:00

I am able to bring my laptop home now that I’m a full time employee (ok, that's a piece of good news I failed to pass on. Pay raise and full benefits now!). I like it when some of my fav writers live blog certain events.

I figure I’d give it a shot tonight. Here goes

9:06: OK, this is where they force all of the contestants to sing a song together. This is Bridge over Troubled Waters. OK, I guess they want to throw back to some older classics but do people really want to hear this? If I wanted to hear this, I’d go on a long drive with my Mom in the car picking the stations.

9:08: I noticed when Scott sings, his chins vibrate. It’s almost hypnotizing. Bo, the “rocker” dude really seems to be the class of this group of 5.

9:10: Oh, how nice. The contestants bring flowers down after the performance to the judges. Simon is breaking down into tears and starts telling us how his dad never hugged him and he’s sorry for being so mean.

9:11: commercial for the new J-Lo/Jane Fonda movie, Monster In Law. Right now, is there a more despised female duo? Everyone has had exposure overload to the nutjob, codependent J-Lo and Fonda has to be one of the most despicable women of the past 25 years. I predict a bomb.

9:15: going to announce the first one who won’t be eliminated this week. Scott and Anthony are safe. That’s surprising. Both are considered the worst singers there. Whoops, surprise. Those two dudes are actually on the bubble. One will be gone. So either the Commie Defector or Tommy Boy is leaving tonight.

9:20: I think it must be Scott’s house that the Burger King guy hangs out at. This guy lost his neck a while ago. He can sing but there is no way they were going to let him win unless he had a way of capturing a crowd like Ruben. This guy has no personality. Ended this song really flat.

9:23 Paula Abdul is completely worthless as a judge. But according to Ray from season 2 she works well as a concubine. And is there anyone who doesn’t think she’s a nutjob anymore?

9:24 Didn’t know Doogie Howser could sing like this. Even if he gets cut, he has a chance to do something in music. He has that sweet look and personality that evil women love to destroy. They’ll buy his crap.

9:27: They’re remaking The Longest Yard. The original is a good movie I watched a week ago on AMC. Original is good. I can’t see this one, starring Adam Sandler and Nelly, among others, being very good. It’ll make money because there are plenty of fools who still think Sandler is funny (hint: he hasn’t been funny since Happy Gilmore)

9:28 I haven’t seen a single episode of The OC so I still have my self-respect left.

9:29 Ryan Seacrest is an unfunny doucehbag. Anyway, now they are showing clips of Scott who was just voted off from the beginning to now. Shoot, he’s added about 50 lbs during the show.

9:31 That’s all. Not sure if it was entertaining. If there’s any interest in me doing this, let me know. I have a huge ego that needs satisfied.

Live From new York...

2005-04-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

OK, so who is your favorite Saturday Night Live host? It can be someone who just hosted once who had a great episode (Jim Carrey, ) or it can be someone who returns often and is great each time (John Goodman, Alec Baldwin and, of course, Chris Walken).

Garth Brooks hosted twice and each one had a couple memorable sketches (James Bond has 107 venereal diseases and making a deal with the devil). The Jim Carrey one is one of my personal favs (Jimmy Tango’s Fat Busters! For starters).

Anyone have some favs? Love to hear.

Dogs are better than cats

2005-04-12T10:05:00.000-04:00

-Burger King is at it again, releasing another commercial with that freaky Burger King guy. What about this guy makes them think he’s good marketing? While I haven’t met anyone quite as creeped out by him as I am, he seems to make everyone uncomfortable. Something about a non-moving plastic face and tights will do that.

-I don’t think there is anyone’s writing that I look forward to like Bill Simmons of ESPN2.
He knows and loves his sports, loves The Contender and loves pop culture, mixing all together in the best columns I think I’ve ever read. He’s had me laughing out loud at work many times.

-Watch The Contender. Just watch it. If you haven’t, make time. It’s a reality show with boxers, with the best parts of other reality shows (competition, a little drama) and minus the worst (these guys just want a shot and aren’t in it to be hosting The View somewhere down the road). Plus, as Bill Simmons notes, it's high on the Unintentional Comedy Scale because it's hosted by Sly Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. It’s on Sunday nights, NBC, at 8 EST.

-If you’re in Maryland this weekend, think about checking out my sis and her improv group, B.I.G . Here you can read about them. (Note, Heather is *not* 46.) Here’s their schedule and their homepage. My sis is the one dressed up as a cartoon raptor amidst the others in suits and skirts. Plus, all the proceeds from their shows goes directly to orphans from the Crimean War.

-Our volleyball season wraps this coming weekend. We’re playing in regionals in Columbus. The past few tournaments we’ve played we’ve played up a level and looked pretty bad doing it. But we’re one of the top B teams in the state so I think we’re going to do fine.

-I’ve been sick with sinus and breathing problems for over 3 weeks now. I’ve been to the doctor’s twice and gotten antibiotics, a steroid shot, an inhaler, Flonase, decongestant and eye shadow. Not sure about the last one. Think my doc is strange.

Anyway, the inhaler is a result of the most scared I’ve ever been. Woke up one night coughing and was all of a sudden unable to breathe. The passage had closed. I’m thrashing about in my apartment, trying to breathe, making these horrible wheezing sounds. I honestly wondered if I was going to take another breathe. Eventually, I was able to take small breaths, then larger ones then I was fine. But let’s just say I found it difficult to get back to sleep. Apparently, that’s what a full-on asthma attack is. Once the season is over this weekend, I’m going back to the doc and we’re doing whatever it takes to get this fixed. Nothing they’ve given me has done anything for the cause. Only helped w/ the symptoms.

-Will Ferrell's funniest sketch ever (I know that IS a bold statement).

How to get out of a speeding ticket

2005-03-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

I was driving to work about a week ago and pass a cop. He flashes his lights, turns around and pulls me over. He walks up and asks me that stupid question they always ask: "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

I basically ignored the question and just handed him my license, registration and insurance card. "Here you go, sir."

"I clocked you going 55 in a 40 back there."

"40? I thought it was 45, sir."

"Nope 40. Have you received any speeding tickets in the past year."

"Yes, sir. One."

"OK."

He walks back to his car. After about 5 minutes, he comes back to my car.

"Mr. Moyer. I see you have 3 speeding tickets since 2001. I can see just giving you speeding tickets isn't doing anything to slow you down. There just not having any effect on you."

At this time, my heart starts pounding and I'm thinking "He can't just take my license away!"

"So, Mr. Moyer, since tickets aren't making any difference I'm just giving you a warning and asking you to PLEASE SLOW DOWN."

So the key to not getting a ticket? Make sure you already have a bunch on your record.

Dems

2005-03-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

Let me start with the disclaimer that I'm not a Republican.

With that out of the way...The Democratic Party has unfortunately positioned itself so that any news that is good for our country in the Iraq war is bad for them and any bad news for the country in Iraq is good for the Dems. That's a pretty tough place to put themselves and perhaps says a lot about the party (I'm speaking of the party and the lemmings who follow it religiously).

Now a lot of changes are happening in the Middle East. The Iraqi election went well, the Lebanese are kicking out the Syrians and the Syrians are handing over former Iraqi officials they magically just found. A lot of positive things are developing.

Now, it's not going to be a bed of roses. Things are still going to be tough and there will be setbacks, like the bombing in Iraq a couple days ago that killed well over 100 people. But things at least seem to be moving in a postive direction.

So my question is, can those who predicted disaster and invested their reputations so deeply in it, be happy about this? Can their irrational hatred for President Bush keep them from grudgingly admitting that maybe what we did was not just right but effective?

Jon Stewart of the daily show is struggling with this same question but seems sane enough to admit it was right and effective (if it turns out that way).

But that is why is is dangerous when a political party positions itself where all bad news for the country is good news for them. That's why many who call that party home feel their patriotism being questioned (though it often isn't).

Volleyball

2005-02-24T11:58:00.000-05:00

We've played in tournaments the past two weekends and finished in 2nd in both. Check out our rankings. We're (Designs Now) the 2nd ranked team if you only count teams that have been in more than one tournament.

http://www.ovr.org/mw/mstandings.php?div=B

Feels pretty good. But it would be nice to take a tournament.

Regionals are in Columbus on the weekend of April 16th. We'll probably do pretty well.

Government Involvement

2005-02-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

Tara attempts to speak for conservatives:

"As conservatives are generally skeptical of government, I find it curious that they generally have no qualms with putting the government in charge of deciding the value of someone's life."

Being a reformed Conservative, I'll attempt to address this point. Of course conservatives are skeptical of government. However, it doesn't mean no government at all. Government is necessary for certain things and enforcing laws and protecting liberties is another one (don't respond to this with any mention of our current president. It's irrelevant to this discussion).

Certain crimes, in my opinion deserve death. On the way to work, I heard of a man who stabbed 5 of his children, killing two and then killed himself. SOB got off easy. I'd have preferred he not even get death and spend life in prison at the mercy of the other prisoners. Call me a bastard. I can live with it.

I don't have a problem with the death penalty being handed out to a criminal convicted by a jury. But since we now have access to DNA evidence, I would be open to extra provisions being necessary for death penalty.

And to balance that, I'd fast track every death penalty appeal. No living for 10-15 years on Death Row waiting for appeals. Fast track it. Either it gets overturned or you get put down.

Military's Dirty Secret

2005-02-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

Good column on Town Hall.

Having witnessed this twice in the past year. I'll relay my experiences.

In Korea, we went to a club called the Golden Gate. It was right off base and had a lot of Filipino girls. We went there a number of times and I met a gal named Revelyn. Sweet enough gal. Fluent in about 3 languages. She told me a bit about how things worked there.

Typically, the girls are committed for a full year. They or their families get a lump sum of cash for this commitment from the girl. Then she spends the year in Korea being a "jiucy girl" (named for the overpriced juice drinks we have to buy for the girls to get them to sit with us). Basically they are confined to an apartment about 8 of them share and "work," where they sit in skimpy outfits with us and dance in skimpier outfits on the stage. As far as I know, sex is a rare occurrence and frowned upon typically in those establishments. Guys who get too friendly are thrown out quickly.

In Spain, we were in downtown Sevilla and ended up in a club called "American Show." This was a lot more like what is described in the article. There were 3 of us and we all sat down. Quickly 3 really attractive girls sat down with us. They were Romanian. I forget the name of the girl I talked to but she was really pretty and obviously intelligent. But the economic situation in Romania is so poor, a lot of the girls end up where they were, in a club, dancing topless and inviting guys into the backroom for a lapdance or "more."

I only paid my cover charge to get in and bought nothing else. I just spent my time telling this girl how she was too good for a place like that. I felt pretty dirty and heartbroken for the women in this place.

Whatever you think of protitution, a woman voluntarily prostituting is different from one who's basically sold into it, which is, more or less, what was going on here.

I felt like a child does when taken to the pound. I wanted to take one of these gals to the US just to show them that life had hope and there were other things to see.

Anyway, in times like we are in, rarely is a critical word spoken of the military without people snapping back quickly (I can certianly be guilty of this). But this author is right. Those of us in the military are complicit to a high degree as well.

Abortion

2005-02-18T10:18:00.000-05:00

It’s been a while but if you’ve stuck around to read this, you’re truly interested in what I have to say. This makes you really weird.

OK, I said I would type out some of my opinions on the way I think and my political views.

So we’ll just right into it on a topic that is bound to rile some people up. But that’s ok.

Abortion

I believe abortion is wrong. I believe it should be illegal. The only instances I can see someone making a logical case for it is if the mother's life is in danger or rape. Not for incest, if it is consensual. I don’t consider a father raping his daughter as incest. I consider that rape so that is where that situation would fall.

Truth is, Planned Parenthood is a heinous organization and really cares very little for women. Why do I say this? Follow the money. Over 1.3 million. Do the math. That’s a half a billion dollar industry, and those are conservative estimates on my part. They don’t want their industry to go down the tubes. To that *business*, it’s about the money.

Now why do I say Planned Parenthood doesn’t really care about women? Well, they’ve never stopped trying to ban other options from being discussed in clinics and the actual emotional aftercare of the women is often left to pro-life non-profits to take care of.

Now, there are two sides to this. There are radicals on the other side as well. They stand out in front and yell heinous things at the women who feel so trapped that they venture into these places. A while ago, a few clinics were bombed and people were killed. Some abortion “doctors” were also targeted for killing and some killed. These radicals do not represent the mainstream who believe abortion should be illegal. Many in the mainstream disavowed these views.

“But Eric, you are a Libertarian. You believe in keeping the government out of personal issues. Government involvement only makes things worse.”

Well, you are right. And I do believe in the right to personal choice. I believe I should have the right to do anything I want so long as it does not infringe upon the right to life, liberty and personal property of another person. And that’s the catch. I believe abortion kills. It is an infringement upon the life and liberty of another human.

Now, people will argue until the end of time over when life truly begins. I have my view. You can have yours. But it certainly seems to me that if we assume either side is true, one is going to be more heinous if it is wrong. If I am wrong and life begins during the 2nd trimester, well, I’ve infringed on someone’s right to choice and “their own body” (oh how I hate that phrase). But if the other side is wrong, we’ve just killed a human being. Seems rational people could agree to err on the safe side. But apparently not.

I believe rational people can disagree on this topic typically. However, the fringes choose not to be rational. And I would even argue the “mainstream” pro-choicers choose not to be rational. Keep in mind, I haven’t even brought up the process of abortion which would make most people puke or wince in pain just hearing about.

I also believe that if the pro-lifers spent as much energy changing the hearts and minds of people on this issue as they did on banning this horrible procedure, we’d make a lot more headway.

This view aligns with both my Christian and Libertarian beliefs. I believe a human life trumps personal choice. Others do not agree. But I don’t see a flaw in logic in my position and, as I pointed out, if we’re going to err on either side, then my side is certainly the safer side to err on.

Other notes:

-Melissa can rest. She has been linked for over a week now.

-The Phantom of the Opera movie is great.

DIrty Boxers

2005-02-06T13:28:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not going to talk about my dirty boxers. But I'll be it either got your attention or scared you away briefly.

I'm tempted to start doing a political profile of myself on here. I don't want to devote most of this blog to politics but I do have a fairly healthy(on unhealthy) interest in them. I was thinking of tossing out one of my platforms if I were running for POTUS and have a discussion of it under the comments section.

This would allow me to put some of my beliefs out there and see who is enough of a friend of mine that they'll still love me after reading it.

The other advantage is that defending my positions allows me to do the following two things:

1. Become good at communicating why I believe what I do to others.

2. Have my views challenged, allowing me to better debate or even modify/change my position if a compelling counter argument is made.

PREDICTION: Patriots tonight by a 31-14 score. After the game, Pats defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell is named the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Also, the movie The Grudge is a big fat turd. Some creepy and scary parts but after about 80 minutes it's as if the director decided he had to end it abruptly. I was really disapointed in it. Still better than The Terminal, though.

South Park

2005-02-01T16:57:00.000-05:00

One of my guilty pleasures is South Park. I just started watching it a couple years ago. I don’t get cable but the local Family Choice Video had the first season and the movie on VHS. I decided to give it a try. I watched the movie first.

It’s rare that I’ll laugh out loud while watching something by myself. This movie had me rolling. So, now I’m hooked. I still don’t have cable but I rent the DVD’s when they hit the store or I’ll buy one from time to time.

Last night on the way home from volleyball, I decided I wanted to watch some new ones so I stopped by Blockbuster to rent season 4.

I wandered through the store but couldn’t find it. I asked one of the sales reps if she could help me find it. She said she wasn’t sure if they had it but if they did they’d be in the sections she was showing me. When she couldn’t find them, she explained “Well, Blockbuster likes to consider itself a family store. That’s probably why they don’t have it.”

I paused for a second and asked “But you guys carry Eyes Wide Shut, Basic Instinct, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and 8 MM, right?”

She answered “Yes.”

OK, just checking.

Also, check out this review of the upcoming South Park, Season 5. Think the author needs a thesaurus?

Transition

2005-01-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

Well, what to do now? A fellow blogger asked me what I’m going to do with my blog now. Before the election I concentrated a lot on the politics surrounding it and the past 2+ months it has been concentrated on my trip to Spain.
So now what?

I suppose it will end up a bit like Tara’s format: some topical items and some stupid experiences of mine.

So let’s keep it a tad light-hearted. Who is the cartoon character that needs to stop denying his sexuality and come out of the closet? It seems SpongeBob has been outed recently. Is there a character from your childhood cartoons that needs to come out of the closet?

My suggestion is Tweety Bird. I mean, c’mon. Ever see him w/ a female bird? He’s certainly effeminate in manner and speech (since we’re going by stereotypes) and keeps leading on that big brute, Sylvester.

Other suggestions? Maybe the guy from the Wonder Twins on the Justice League of America? Has there ever been a more lame superpower than what those twins had?

BTW, my 2nd bag STILL is not here. And the box of stuff I mailed home 2 weeks ago still hasn’t arrived at ma and pa’s. Nuts. My bag is giving me flashbacks of dating in my late teens and early 20’s. It needed some time apart and then disappears, no doubt finding someone else to hang out with.

I'll be back

2005-01-24T14:33:00.000-05:00

Well, when a pretty, intelligent woman requests an update to the blog, I suppose I should oblige.

I’m back in the states and back at work today.

My luggage was left in London for a few extra days. It told me it wanted to spend some time visiting the city and felt we needed some time apart. So it stayed there. Last night, the suitcase arrived but apparently my garment bag wanted to stay a little longer. Not sure when it will arrive.

Spent 2 days in DC visiting my sis and sis-in-law. Truly a blessing. I had a great time with them.

Played in a volleyball tournament yesterday. Volleyball was tied with Chipotle for the non-person item that I missed the most. We played up a level and played pretty well. I’m sore as he** today.

My truck welcomed me home by not starting Friday morning when I had to get an early start to my base to inprocess. Another ~ $200 spent.

It’s good to be in my own bed again.

Have gotten to catch up with most of my close friends since I’ve been back. I really have been blessed with very good friends.

The weather here is crappy.

But I’m home, hanging with my friends and family. And I’m happy.

Orange Hi-C and GI Joes

Organs (continued)

Organ donation

Organs

More gooderer

And the Dems wonder why people think they don't support the troops...

Don Imus

Funny movie moments

A right not to be offended? Or are we scared to offend certain parties?

Universal healthcare

Clueless?

How come this is lost on so many people?

November 18th WAS a very good day

Nov 15th was a good day but Nov 18th will be better

Voting Results

More required reading

Good Lord

Pamplona Pictures

Pamplona

This weekend...my birthday

How much do you really love freedom?

Hilarious

Travel

Me need sleepy

Me go fast

Gwyneth and I

Ramstein

What's the fuss?

Guten Tag!

Duke Rape Case

Carlos Mencia

Germany

Regional Champs (Cont)

Regional Champs

I need your honest opinion here...

Believe it or not, I'd love to be wrong...

WW 4?

Lost

Sometimes you get the girl...Sometimes you get the inflatable wo-...uh...nevermind.

If people say torture is wrong, why aren't we banning the ballet?

Tagged?

What should someone say?

Thinking before speaking...

Growing up stinks

Media Bias: I told you so.

More required reading

John Stossel

Tookie Williams...fertilizer

Thanksgiving with the Moyers (and a Sens)

More on Torture

Intellectual Dishonesty

Tithe! Your chance to help!

Update

Sunday Update

Welcome!

More pics

Eric and his new friends

New Orleans

Update

OK...now...

OK, I'm going

Activation

Some stuff

SNL: 5 star rebuttal

SNL

Surreal

Jihadists in England

Homeschooling

Rove/Plame

Fast track to the electric chair

Why I'm glad I'm not tithing to an NCC church anymore

Self-Absored Celebrities

By popular demand

Marked for Death

Question

Live Blogging Again!

The Dangers of Dating Eric

Some thoughts...

It continues!

What's next?