Did you hear about ... ?

So the talk of the town has been Michael Jackson’s death.

I won’t lie, I was glued to the interwebs once I caught wind of the King of Pop’s possible demise.

I was hitting refresh on my browser and had multiple news sites open looking for the latest update on MJ. *That’s Michael Jackson, not Michael Jordan, for the record.

I could hear everyone in my cube-farm-of-an-office chatting, trying to get the latest information about the King. *That’s Michael Jackson, not Elvis.

But as I was clicking refresh and debating if I was going to give-in and credit TMZ.com as a news source, I came to a realization.

Does it really matter?

Not in the slightest.

Michael Jackson was a hell of an entertainer. And I count myself as a fan. He made some timeless music that brought joy, if only for a few minutes at a time, to millions of people. So that, I appreciate. The other stuff, I coulda done without.

But what struck me as I was hitting refresh on Foxnews.com (yes, I was reading Foxnews.com, I am ashamed of myself, too) it dawned on me.

Instead of having multiple browser windows open trying to get the latest what was essentially celebrity gossip, I should be researching the Iranian Elections or examining how the Obama Administration is handing North Korea.

I mean, North Korea has freaking NUKES pointed at the US and a leader who is talking a lot of shit about using them. I think the possibility of nuclear war should be slightly more important than well, Michael Jackson.

Then there’s the little matter of Iran. I have waffled back and forth on this issue, from it’s none of our business, to we should intercede to enact the true will of the Iranian people. But no matter my stance (there may be another post on this topic specifically) democracy is trying to take a big step forward in Iran and it is being stifled mercilessly. Sadly no one knows about it, because TMZ and Perez Hilton aren’t tweeting updates directly to people’s cell phones.

Sigh…

The world lost a great entertainer yesterday.

But I think the world loses a lot more everyday, when people choose to live in ignorance.

Getting Taken Down a Notch.

This whole writing thing is pretty interesting.

To be honest, the only reason I do it is because people read it. And some folks have gone so far as to say I am, wait for it, good at it.

Then again, when I think about it, when does anyone tell someone when they are bad at something? I know I meet plenty of morons on a daily basis and am sure to say ‘Thank you’ even after receiving horrible service from someone who managed to bungle the most mundane of tasks.

So needless to say, I take these compliments, no matter how well-intended, with a grain of salt.

But this past week, I had a J.D. from Scrubs moment. Just as I was busting-out a few posts, actually acting on inspiration as it hit me and feeling like I was hitting a groove…

I read a couple of blog posts from friends of mine that knocked me on my ass.

I’ve got quite a list of blogs listed to your right there, some of which are there because they: refer traffic to my blog, can damn hell ass write or are just friends.

I read a couple posts from folks who can just plain write. In fact, the posts were so good, that I thought about just giving-up. Seeing such talent, made me examine what I had been putting out there. And it paled in comparison.

Don’t get it twisted: I am stoked to have such talented friends around me. Seeing such great thoughts expressed so stylistically is just impressive.

I’ve never really thought of myself as a ‘writer.’ I had to take English 101 twice and only took one class in literature. I am good at imparting what is in my head and putting it on paper. That does not a writer make.

I got my degree in journalism on charm, not skill. *It was a Public Relations degree, so I think it’s appropriate.

Even though I have a journalism degree, I've never been into researching, fact-checking or editing. Ask any of my professors/editors from college, or read these here rants, and you can see why the journalism thing never really panned-out. But I do have stuff to say and a pretty strong voice when sitting behind a keyboard.

I am to a journalist/writer, what Jon Stewart is to cable news anchormen. Entertaining, but not to be taken too seriously.

And I am OK with that. The world needs Jon Stewart.

*BTW, Stewart is much smarter and is far more educated on the topics he lampoons than yours truly.

So here I am, aged 30 years, a tech support guy who manages to tap-out a rant every now and again, usually while hung-over.

Why keep doing it? Uh, well…

Why did I start in the first place? Uh, well…

I may not be the most eloquent, but I am easily annoyed and fairly observant. So there will be fodder for these pudgy digits of mine.

The next Mark Twain or Hunter S. Thompson I am not, but whatever.

Life is much easier when you give in to mediocrity.

The Superhero Phenomena

Drinking alone is an interesting phenomena.

Pretty much frowned upon by society, I’ve come to enjoy heading to a bar, ordering-up a cold one and just listening.

Not to say that I am eavesdropping per se, but while watching the game and BS’ing with the bartender, I tend to overhear a conversation or two.

This very thing occurred the other night, as I sat at my laptop, IPA by my side, I overheard the table next to me chatting. The word ‘Western’ caught my attention. It appeared the folks next to me were WWU alums like myself.

I went back to my surfing the net and watching the NBA Finals pre-game show. But I then overheard that the WWU kids were teachers. Again, this peaked my interest as I had gone to Western to become a teacher. Disclosure: I changed my major after I realized I didn’t like kids very much.

While I thought, ‘Wow I have a lot in common with these kids,’ the conversation took a turn for the worse.

One of the teachers, a self-described 2nd year middle school teacher said, “I am hoping to get assigned to a low-income school, where I can make a difference.”

I took offense.

Having attended a ‘low-income’ (read: minority) school myself, I am perhaps overly sensitive to the ‘great white hope phenomena’ that seems to engulf over-privileged white kids who want to ‘save the ghetto.’

I was admittedly hyper-sensitive on this particular day as I had just seen a story on the Seattle Times web site noting that multiple eastside high schools were among the top 100 best in the country…and one of the first comments left was “Where is Rainier Beach? LOL” (Rainier Beach is my alma mater.)

While I have no problem with anyone who has chosen to teach, I do have an issue with someone who has a superhero complex.

If you want to teach, you teach. Regardless of where the job happens to be.

The ghetto doesn’t need saviors. It needs schools/opportunities on par with those in the suburbs.

If the challenge of the job attracts good teachers, then great. But I doubt the sincerity of teachers who are in it for the glory. They are there for themselves, not the kids.

I came across a couple of these ‘saviors’ when I was a student, and you know where they are now? Not in the trenches, saving the ‘hood. They boned-out after a couple of years. When they realized the accolades and book-deals weren’t coming.

To the superheros I say- “Good riddance, feel free to stay on the Eastside.”

The ghetto doesn’t need that kind of charity.

The pipeline, re-visited

Being that today is the 10-year anniversary of the Olympic Pipeline Explosion I thought I'd re-post this editorial I wrote for The Western Front in 2001.
*My views have changed since then, please see the comment section for my updated take.

Frontline
Western Front Editorial Board January 29, 2001

No explosions to report.

No deaths to count.

No lawsuits to cover.

No congressional hearings to talk about.

For most, silence is golden. But that goes double for
companies responsible for environmental disasters. Silence means people are beginning to forget. Silence means communities can return to business as usual.

That is exactly what the Olympic Pipe Line Company is trying to do: return to business as usual.

The pipeline isn't open - yet. But it will be in the near future. The company's new owners began refilling the pipeline on Friday. It could begin pumping fuel again as soon as next week.

The risks associated with the pipeline are clear. Three people died, an ecosystem was nearly destroyed and a community will never be the same.

This pipeline is simply a bad idea and it should not be re-opened. It runs through too many highly-populated areas. The next accident could take place in a much more populated area where the results will be worse than the last explosion.

One argument for the pipeline is that it is safer than alternative modes of transportation, like the tanker trucks or barges. However, when a tanker truck crashes, Congress doesn't get involved.

Gas stations in town don't seem to be running low on fuel in the pipeline's absence. So, obviously, there are viable alternatives to pumping flammable liquids through neighborhoods and city parks.

Olympic has done an outstanding job of waiting out criticism and downplaying the pipeline's importance. The fact of the matter is that this pipeline is a big deal, and people need to remember that.

People need to voice their opinions and make their feelings known. When this pipeline does reopen, public scrutiny will make Olympic accountable for its actions and therefore make the pipeline that much safer.

The company has agreed to install more safety devices along the pipeline to detect problems before they become disasters. It has also retrained employees to ensure safety. All of which seem to be responsible actions for the company to take.

Gee, maybe Olympic isn't that bad. Maybe they simply made a mistake and now are trying to make it right. Maybe we should just leave them alone.

Or maybe not.

Public scrutiny is the key to maintaining any sort of safety with this pipeline. Olympic workers who were on duty during the accident refuse to testify in front of the National Transportation Safety Board - hardly the actions of a community-conscious organization.

Silence breeds complacency. Complacency breeds problems - in this case, a 37-mile long problem.

Frontlines are the opinion of The Western Front editorial board: Andrea Abney, Heather Baker, J.R. Cook, Alex P. Hennesy, Jessica Keller, Levi Pulkkinen and Matt Williams.

Starbuck's junkies wake-up! (yeah I said it)

So this is a bit of an FYI, as much as a what you get.

Apparently Starbuck’s accidentally double-charged many a customer on 05/22 (my birthday, btw) and 05/23, per this story I saw on MSN. Per the story The ‘Bucks is doing their damnedest to credit/refund the over-charges.

So now that you’ve been notified, the FYI portion of this post is done.

Now to the ‘what you get’ portion.

If you pay so little attention to your bank account that you got double-charged and then have to be told about it…you deserve to pay $7+ for a coffee.

Wake-up. Or toss a 5-spot my way.