Looking for the answers?  Then you've come to the wrong place

6:25:18 AM CDT
Feeling Happy
Hearing Nickelback - Photograph
Anybody still out there?  I was just wandering through AOL for the 1st time in a long while and thought I'd see if anyone still had my journal on alert.  Top o' the morning to you if that is the case.  Hope things have been well for you.


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10:09:15 AM CDT
Hearing Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia

 

Not much to say right now, just thought I would share this picture of Bill Clinton flipping a bird, "Ah-nald" as Uncle Sam, and for no apparent reason, that kid from South Park.  Hope they brought a smile to your face.

 

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5:05:51 PM CDT
Hearing USA - Hacksaw Jim Duggan

     Hey everyone, I hope you all have been doing well in my absence, that is, if anyone is still out there.  I have not written due to a strange mix of a busy schedule, hurricanes, and laziness.  This does not signify my full-fledged return because two of the three factors above are still a factor.  Hell, it's technically still hurricane season so I'm still 0 for 3.

     I just wanted to give a little update about what's been going on with me lately.  A couple of weeks ago, the local news had Hurricane Ivan's path coming right over my coastal neighborhood so I evacuated about 150 miles inland to my father's house.  For those of you not familiar with hurricanes, they usually lose strength after making landfall so everyone along the coast gets the hell out of Dodge.  Also, the most destructive area is the actual eye of the hurricane followed by everything on the east side of it.  For some reason, the west side of the eye is weak in comparison.

     So what happened was that after I evacuated, the path shifted, putting the town that I evacuated on the west side of the eye, so very little damage was sustained.  However, the eye and the east side of the hurricane passed right over the area that I evacuated to and destruction was everywhere.  We had it much easier than the people along the coast who lost everything, but I was awestruck by the power of mother nature.  It showed me who the boss is on this earth.  Even though the area I was in is a nice distance inland, it became a twisted mass of power lines, downed trees and debris. 

     I had experienced hurricanes before, it is just a part of life when you live on the gulf coast, but nothing like this.  Luckily, none of my family and friends were injured, though my father did go without power for two to three weeks.  I really feel for the people who have lost everything to the recent hurricanes.  I took some pictures of some of the destruction that I hope to get up on here in a couple of weeks.  If you're interested, the websites for the local news outlets have lots of good pictures.  Check out the websites of the Pensacola News-Journal and WKRG, a TV station in Mobile, Alabama.

    I'll write more later.  (Yeah, right!)  Take care to the three of you who still have my journal on alert.

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5:16:05 PM CDT
Hearing Bad Religion - 21st Century Digital Boy

     Anybody know where the saying "black coat, white shoes, black hat, cadillac" or some variation of that came from?  I saw something similar in Barb's journal and I had a Curious George moment. 

 

     I know it from a punk rock song but maybe it means something that I'm not aware of.  Here's a piece of Rancid's "Time Bomb":

"If you wanna make the move, then you better come in,

it's just the ability to reason that wears so thin,

livin' and dyin' and the stories that are true,

the secret to a good life is knowing when you're through.

(Chorus)

black coat, white shoes, black hat, cadillac,

the boy's a time bomb (End chorus)

He's back in the hole where they got him living,

like a rat but he's smarter than that,

nine lives like a cat,

take him to the youth authority home,

first thing they learn is you gotta make it in this world alone."

(I know you're diggin' the guy on the left's hair.)

     And while you guys are explaining sayings to me:  Has anybody heard the term "fern" used to refer to your rear end?  The batty Winnebago guy says, "You can put it up your fern if you want to."  I was wondering if he dreamed that up in his simmering world of explosive frustration or if others used it.

     And while we're talking about the Winnebago guy from a few entries ago, the link no longer works for me.  Will someone click here and tell me if they can see the video.  I get an error message if I try it now.  If you didn't watch it when I first gave you the heads up, your opportunity may be gone forever, which saddens me. 

     "Whaddaya mean?  I gotta be able to move.  That's crazy!"

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12:53:44 AM CDT
Hearing Seether w/ Amy Lee - Broken

     After some prodding from Christy, I was reminded that, "Oh yeah!," I still have a journal and it needs more attention than John Kerry's elongated face.  I offer no excuses for my absence.  It's kinda crazy because I was just getting settled in here in J-land and then I go disappearing for like a month.  It's nothing you guys did.  You guys are "mah-velous."

Updates on the home front:

     Classes started for the fall semester today so I will be getting back into something that resembles a daily routine, instead of my Chicken Little impression that I've been pulling off for the last couple of weeks.

     I'm moving out of Rick James's broom closet and into a rental house at the beginning of September.  I wish I could buy instead of setting my money on fire by paying rent but it's my only option for the moment.

     My 24th birthday was last Sunday and thanks to the well-wishers.  Usually, I just consider birthdays and holidays "just another day."  This time was different because I really had fun on my birthday.  I partied with some old friends who I hadn't seen in years and everything fell in place like not a minute had passed since the "good ol' days."

     One of my old friends, which I grew up with like a brother, was there and we had a great time reminiscing.  Every now and then, I feel disappointment because I realize we are so distant after being so close just a few years ago.  I guess that is a fact of life that we all must face and I'm just becoming mature enough to realize it.  It's sad in a way because I know it will never go back to the "good ol' days."  But on the other side of the coin,  it's reassuring because I know I'm headed in the right direction.  Cue "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay."

     "Now, I am more driven than before."  -  Dave Mustaine

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6:38:04 AM CDT
Hearing Meat Puppets - Hercules

    

     If you are not offended by cursing, then I highly recommend going to the following link and watching the video.  It has brought me much joy.  I'll warn you that it contains a large amount of cursing but if that does not bother you, then you might get a laugh from this video.  Let me know what you think.

Winnebago Man

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2:48:07 AM CDT
Hearing Stone Sour - Bother

    

     The following are excerpts from an article on WebMD by R. Morgan Griffin.  It is an interesting (to me, at least) article that talks about cheating in our society and how it seems to be spreading. Some of his proof comes from recent news mainstays like: 1) the recent accusations against professional athletes, 2) the seemingly rising number of students who cheat, and 3) the actions of people involved in scandals such as Enron,

 WorldCom,

 and the Martha Stewart debacle.

  Here goes:

     "Cheating has a real and corrosive effect on society. Society is premised on people accepting and obeying the rules. Why do we stop at a stoplight on a desolate road in the middle of the night? Or why don't we steal a pack of gum when we know that the cashier isn't looking?

 

     Part of it may come from the fear that we're secretly being watched. But another reason is that most of us have agreed to be bound by the rules of our society. Cheating breaks those rules, and the effects can be far-reaching.

   

     Cheating also forces you to lie to yourself. Many cheaters develop rationalizations for why they cheat.

     We say we lie on our taxes because we think tax rates are too high. We say we're cheating in school not because we couldn't do the assignment on our own but because it's much faster to copy. We say we have an illegal cable hook-up because we're protesting the monopoly of the local cable company.

     The more excuses you need to justify your behavior, the more compromised your ethical compass. You may ultimately wind up feeling like a fraud, unworthy of the things you have.

     On an individual level, McCabe argues that you should examine your own actions. Remember that there are more important things than getting ahead or having a perfect GPA. 'If you get a B while everyone else got an A because they were cheating, that's a good B to have,' says McCabe.

     Many people feel pushed into cheating because everyone else is doing it -- they don't want to be the lone chump who does things honestly. But if you're in that position, Callahan has some interesting advice: Take a stand and be a chump. You may feel better about yourself if you do."

     I really like the part about "most of us have agreed to be bound by the rules of our society. Cheating breaks those rules, and the effects can be far-reaching."  That is the way I personally feel and I'm glad that I am not the only one.

     Don't get me wrong.  By no means am I claiming to have a glowing yellow ring above my head.  I have done plenty of cheating in my life. 

(Why am I able to find a tooth with a halo?)

     This reminds me of my grade school days.  Not to brag, but I was one of the "smart kids" in class.  I got good grades, I did my homework, and the slackers knew this.  Kids used to always try to convince me to help them cheat, be it copying my homework or copying off of me during a test.  I'd usually let them do it because I desperately wanted to be one of the "cool kids," but alas, my report card held too many letters that are at the very beginning of the alphabet.

     I vividly remember sixth grade where I had a pact with this one kid.  He could copy my homework as long as he brought me a pack of Bubble Yum everyday.  On Tuesday, he had to tell me who won the Monday Night Football game because I wasn't allowed to stay up that late. 

     We agreed that if he ever got caught, I would claim that he had stolen my homework, he would take the heat, and I would come out unscathed.

     At the time, I went along.  I thought it was fail-safe and I was in sugar rush heaven.  Looking back, I really did that kid a disservice.  I have no idea what he turned out to be, but I've gotta think it would be better if he hadn't cheated his way through grade school. 

     Truly, I bet he's extremely successful, while I'm approaching my mid-twenties and about the only thing I have accomplished was moving out of my father's house.  Isn't that the way the world works?  I work my masked vulgarity off to earn it while the cheater falls face first into success.  Nice guys finish last, right?

     That article was also of interest because as a college student I see the cheating that goes on in our higher education system. 

     If you cheat in grade school, you're really only cheating yourself out of knowledge that you're gonna need.  If you cheat in college, the same applies, but you are also cheating your way into a degree that says you are qualified for a certain profession. 

     Do you want a doctor that was cheating when your ailment was discussed?  Do you want a journalist that stole all his information for that plagiarism paper?  Do you want a stock broker that swindled his way through ethics class?

    

      I see people cheating their way through college all the time.  I don't let it bother me.  I just try to justify it by saying they are only hurting themselves.  A friend of mine who is a chemical engineering major told me that he sees people cheating, too.  Then they have to take a test to prove that they learned all the material and they fall flat on their face.  But there are plenty of people who do find a way to beat the system.

     That helps me look at it like this:  Cheat all you want, but it's not gonna be pretty when you get that coveted job based on that degree you stole and then you have absolutely none of the knowledge that your employer expects you to have.

     This issue can be discussed in many more arenas than just today's colleges.  But this entry is already longer than Courtney Love's rap sheet, so I'm gonna close it off. 

     I'll leave you with this:  Nice guys may indeed finish last.  But a clear conscience is your own personal victory.

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3:06:08 AM CDT
Hearing Lost Prophets - Last Train Home

That is disturbing. Period.

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3:56:59 AM CDT
Hearing Pearl Jam - Off He Goes

     Hey, everyone.  I'm back after a lengthy hiatus.  10 points to anyone who actually noticed I was gone.  I haven't had an entry nor have I been prowling J-Land for about 2 weeks now and I apologize to all of my J-Buddies for my absence.

     I was in the desolate, murky land of no internet for about a week.  Once I got back, I was so far behind on what was going on in J-Land that I just decided to keep putting it off.  My inbox is bursting at the seams with all the alerts about the entries to the journals that I regularly read. 

 I plan on reading each and every one, so fear not.  I will catch up.  Oh yes, I will catch up with a vengeance.

     I was visiting my father a few hours away.  He lives out in the middle of nowhere and he'll be damned if he's gonna bring the devil known as the internet into his home.  To use a phrase from one of my favorite individuals Charlton Heston:  They'll have to pry my Dad's typewriter out of his cold, dead hands.

     I was in the town that I grew up in and sadly not a single person that I still know from my former life has access to the internet.  The fact that most of them are in prison or have moved to a town with paved roads may have something to do with it.

     I used to go to the local community college and use their computer lab but luckily it is between semesters and I was stuck peeping through the windows salivating for an internet fix.  This is probably a terrible analogy, but I was like a drug addict going cold turkey without my internet.  I was having withdrawals.  I needed my internet badly.  Ewan McGregor was crawling out of the toilet and everything.  An extra bonus 20 points for anyone who got that joke.

     I did manage to find internet access at my friendly neighborhood library.  However, several obstacles stood in my path.  The stereotypical librarian lady looked very skeptical of my intentions and appeared sure that I was up to nothing but mischief. 

 

The kids going berserk and using the computers beside me weren't very thrilled with my presence either. 

     Once I finally got on the internet, the connection was slower than the U.S. Justice system.  So alas, I told the kid hitting me in the head with the plastic hammer that I was gonna be on my way and exited with my tail between my legs.  I went on with life without the internet and even got acquainted with old friends like Mr. Sunlight and Mr. Book.

     So I'm back.....back like a vertabrate, baby.

"I told you I'd be back."

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3:41:16 AM CDT
Hearing Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

     I received some pretty interesting comments on my last entry and I'd really like to address some of them but I am in too good of a mood right now to revisit that dreary territory so we'll put that on the back burner for now.  Happy Aniversary to us!!!!!!!!  I've been out of touch with everyone, but many thanks are deserved for Vivian, Scalzi, Patrick and everybody who is trying to make this thing special.

     I've been watching this Democratic Convention pretty closely.  It's been pretty interesting because I am old enough to care about politics yet young enough to be completely in the dark.  Kerry's speech writers did a great job but these people just aren't living in reality. 

     How many times will politicians get up there and talk about how they're gonna change things? Then they get in office and nothing changes as usual.  Bill Clinton was up there talking about all the things Kerry would change......and I couldn't help but think they are probably the same things that Clinton promised to change when he was campaigning.    

     Sidenote:  Did anyone see David Letterman's sidekick reporting from the convention while yelling things at the speakers like, "Shove it!" and "Wrap it up, grandpa!"  Very inappropriate, but very entertaining.

     First, we had Dick Cheney using everybody's favorite curse word.  Then, Ah-nald spoke of "girlie men."  Now, we have John Kerry's wife telling reporters to shove it.  You know the old saying, "curse like a sailor?"  Pretty soon, we're gonna have to change it to: "curse like a politician."  It must be great to be a writer for Jay Leno or David Letterman as long as these politicians keep feeding them such great material.

     The love is even spreading at the Democratic Convention.  According to an AP report, convention producer Don Mischer was broadcast on CNN spewing obscenities.  Apparently, balloons failed to fall as planned after John Kerry's acceptance speech, so the guy felt the need to unleash an expletive flurry even though he was live on CNN with his name across the bottom of the screen.

     What's next?  John Edwards gonna sass his mother because she won't let him go out on Friday night?  Ralph Nader gonna announce a curse word as his running mate?

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