Simple Randomness

Strike One….is Strike Two Coming?

So I heard on the radio this morning that there is a rumor that the actors are going to go on strike just like the screen writers have gone on strike. The rumor is that they will go on strike sometime in the summer.

Now, I guess on some levels I can sympathize for the screen writers and stuff. I mean, without them there is no show and I can see that they are probably getting shafted. But the actors? Granted, not all actors make the kind of money that the superstars do. I get that. Maybe I just hate strikes. The other thing that is going to be lame about all of this is that you can expect the price of your movie ticket to go up. Isn’t that what always happens when there is a string of strikes like this?

The screen writers want more….then the actors want more…then the set guys are going to want more….then the directors are going to want more…it never seems to end. Forget the price of gas, I’m predicting that the price of a movie ticket in 2009 is going to be $25 a ticket! Then we’ll really hear people complain about how prices are going up!

The great thing is that my TV isn’t hooked up anyway. So if the whole entertainment industry gets all messed up, I really won’t care. So go ahead, strike away. But don’t expect me to start to shell out more and more for movie tickets. I’ll find other means of entertainment. Anybody read a good book lately?

Lost - One of the Greatest Shows Ever???

About a year ago my sister got me hooked on ABC’s Lost. I must say, I love this show. The only way I’ve watched it so far is getting the DVDs and watching the whole season. That way I don’t lose track of what’s going on and don’t freak out if I miss a week. But I think I’m going to start watching it the ‘regular way’ this season. Granted, I’ll still probably watch it online so I can watch it when I want to, but I’ll still keep up.

In my opinion there have been very few shows in the last couple of years or even decade that have been this good. It keeps you thinking, keeps you hooked, and is a downright good show. They have great actors playing the parts and the character development is awesome.

So if you haven’t checked this show out, don’t!  Haha, at least not until you go back and watch the previous seasons.  This is honestly one of those shows that is hard to jump into if you haven’t been watching it from the beginning.

Getting Ready for 2008!

So its that time of year again…the time when everyone starts to set their New Year’s Resolutions.  I certainly hope that everyone isn’t setting the same ones that they set last year…

Here’s my thought on New Year’s Resolutions: its a great idea, but a year is a long time to focus on one goal.  So here’s the approach that I’m thinking about taking this year.  Rather than setting a ‘goal’ for the year, I’m going to set more of a ‘theme’.  Then, I can break the year up into 2-3 month chunks and focus on the more short term goals that will help me to achieve a larger goal.

I’ve just learned that when I set a goal for the year, I tend to lose interest after a few months (can anyone else relate to this ).  I still haven’t decided what the goals or themes are going to be yet, but they will probably focus around something physical, spiritual, relationship, etc.

Happy New Year!

“Merry Christmas” and Political Correctness - Give Me a Break!!!

So I hear that a lot of stores out there aren’t allowing their employees to say “Merry Christmas” to their customers because they might offend someone that isn’t Christian or it just isn’t politically correct. I know that this has been going on for a number of years, but I didn’t have this blog before now so I can finally speak my opinion on it.

This is ridiculous. I’m seriously so sick of this stupid “politically correct” stuff. Is every one out there just waiting to be offended so they can whine about it? If someone walked up to me and said “Happy Hannukah” would I get all offended and start to cry that I’m not Jewish, so why would someone wish me a happy Jewish holiday? NO! I’d just be polite and say “Thanks, same to you!”

I just don’t understand the whole thing. Historically and currently we have been a predominantly Christian nation, that’s why we take Christmas as a Federal Holiday. If I lived in the Middle East I would expect they do the same thing for their religious holidays. Same thing if I was in China or Japan. But for some reason here in the US we have to try to appease every single person that walks through our doors. So when does this mean that we lose our own identity?

Is anyone else with me on this? If so, I hope you’ll happily wish everyone you see a Merry Christmas and not worry about them getting offended. That’s their choice, and most people wouldn’t be offended anyway.

Still Working on Changing Personal Prejudices

Have you ever read something that made you realize that you need to make some changes in your attitude towards certain things? This just happened to me again this morning about something that I’ve already been working on, but it was a good reminder.

I’ve never had a problem with weight. But every now and then I find myself being very aware of all of the overweight people around me, and many times in the past I have passed judgment on those people. I know a few years ago I was really bad about this. In the last 6-12 months though, I’ve stopped being as judgmental as I used to be. In fact, I remember an incident a few months ago where I started to slip back into my old habit and I felt really really bad about it.

I realize that it is not my place to judge people for their weight. I have plenty of my own problems to worry about, so why should I pass judgment?  I also find that its very easy to pass judgment on people I don’t know, but I really don’t pass it once I get to know someone.  That doesn’t make it right, but I’ve noticed that is my trend.

So today I read an article in Newsweek that was very interesting. It was by a lady that for most of her life was overweight. Then she underwent gastric bypass surgery and has now been part of the ‘normal weight class.’ She shares in this article some of the things that she’s heard people say to her that assume she has always been at a ‘normal’ weight. It makes me sick to think that people are really that prejudiced. And yet, if I look back at my own opinion a few years ago it would be very similar. And so my goal to change continues.

I think that all of us have some type of prejudice or another. It could be a racial prejudice. Maybe its prejudice against something like weight. Well, no matter what it is I think we should all work to be less judgmental of the people we meet everyday. Well, there’s my preaching to myself for the day. Thanks for listening!

PS - Here’s the article if you want to read it: My Secret History.

Why Do We Focus on the Killer???

Normally I wouldn’t care to comment on this type of thing, but since this blog is meant to be about all sorts of topics I figured I’d go ahead and do it.

I’m a little confused by the angle of coverage on things like the shooting that happened recently in Nebraska, and most of the other tragic shootings that have happened in recent years.  Does anyone else feel like the media focuses way to much on the shooter?

From what I understand, this kid wrote in his suicide letter that now he would be famous.  That’s a really messed up and sick way to justify what you’re about to do.  And the media will focus on it: try to figure out why he did what he did, who he really was, and take sympathy for him.  Honestly, I don’t know that I really need to know or care.  And I don’t mean to be harsh about that.

I’d rather let the families that were made horrible victims of this tragedy know that I care more about them than the criminal, no matter what his story.

My heart goes out to anybody that has been involved in these tragedies.  The focus should be on helping them to recover, not finding out more about the killer.