Homer's Odyssey

So long...

2011-05-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

So it has been quite a while since I’ve felt the compulsion to tap away at this keyboard.

But it’s been one of those weeks…

One of highs and lows, one of gain and loss.

I lost a family member this week. And as I’ve noted before, I am not very close to my extended family, as I live out the west coast while the rest of the family resides in the midwest.

But I lost my aunt, a woman I had only spoken to on a few random holidays and actually seen a handful of times in my life. Yet for some reason, her death really hit me hard.

She was a nice woman, the caretaker of the family…but I can’t tell you what she liked, what her favorite color was or even if she was a coffee or tea kinda person.

What I can tell you, is that she was the kind of compassionate, give-til-it-hurts person, that I hope to one day be. And although we were barely more than strangers to each other, she had an effect on my life that I only came to realize in her death.

The world lost one of the kindest people I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. I never once told her that. And I think that is what is really bugging me.

So as I sit here on Mother’s Day, typing this post…not planning on seeing my Mother (My brother and I sent her flowers/candy) I note another lesson. One that’s a recurring theme for me.

Make the time for those who are important in your life. A 10-minute call every now and again or even a card can make a world of difference. The best folks get the least recognition. Don’t wait for holidays and birthdays…make appreciating those you love or have an effect on your life a daily thing.

So Aunt Janice, I never said it to you, but “Thank You for being you. It is people like you who restore my faith in humanity. I am sorry that I was blind to this during your life, but even in death, you are still a ray of sunshine in a cold, dark world that will miss your warmth.”

Ch, cha, Changes...

2011-02-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

So since I've cut the cord with my cable company and gone back to using an antenna, I found something I'd come to miss, given the plethora of channels available on cable: Saturday morning cartoons.

I used to watch English Premier League soccer on ESPN, but since that is no longer an option, I've found the broadcast channel RTV to fill my Saturday morning downtime. For those who don't know, RTV stands for Retro Television, and it plays awesome stuff like the original A-Team and the old school He-Man cartoon.

But this is not an ad for RTV, it's about Mr. Magoo.

So there I was, three-quarters of the way through my usual pot of Saturday morning coffee, when I noticed that 'Mr. Magoo' was on. I've been a fan of Mr. Magoo for years. For some reason, my parents bought a collection of the series on VHS that my little brother and I watched a lot. You know, back when movies were recorded on tape.

I enjoyed the nearly blind, yet well intentioned fuddy-duddy and the shenanigans he would get himself into. But, I also remember was his trusty sidekick, Charley.

It's Charley that really spurred this most recent rant.

See, Charley was Mr. Magoo's houseboy. Charley also happened to be Chinese, and being that the cartoons hey-day was the 1950's, Charley was one horribly stereotyped caricature. Charley sported slanted eyes and spoke with an accent saying things like “Mister Magloo,” or referring to himself as “Cholley.” *The Wikipedia link above has a more in-depth description of the Charley character, if you are interested.

But, even with the over-the-top racism, I still remember Charley as Mr. Magoo's intelligent sidekick. Think 'Kato' from the Green Hornet.

So I was a bit lost as I recently watched Mr. Magoo and heard Charley's voice for the first time in years...he had a Brooklyn accent. He still looked the “it's the 50's and we'll be racist if we want” part, but gone was the over-the-top ESL accent.

I was none-too-pleased.

Especially in light of the recent hub-bub over the removal of racially charged language from some of Mark Twain's most famous works.

The thing about it is that it happened. Charley's character was totally and utterly racist. A fact that was only reinforced by the fact that the re-runs of the Mr. Magoo cartoon were changed. But that doesn't change the fact that these shows were initially written, recorded and aired in an offensive way.

The same goes for Twain's works. The books represent a time when slavery/racism where not only rampant, they were for the most part, accepted. This simply was how America was for a long time. Changing some terms in a book doesn't change history, but I fear what revising history in this way, does for the future.

Much like Holocaust museums and memorials encourage to “Forgive, but never forget.” I think the same rationale should be applied to this move towards revisionist history that is taking place before our very eyes.

Now I am not a minority. But that is not to say that I have never been on the receiving end of racial slurs or poorly treated because of what I looked like. I have.

But I have never experienced the downside of institutionalized racism which the above examples illustrate. So while I understand the powerful demeaning nature of the N-word, I will not venture to state how an African American should feel about the changes to the Twain literature.

But while I refuse to utter the term myself, I think it is important to remember what gave the term such power. There is a history there that many would like to forget, as opposed to address and deal with. Dr. Cornel West recently described the changes to Twain's work as nothing more than a futile attempt to “deodorize the funk of the text.”

Continuing with that analogy, you can wash the socks as much as you want, but until you clean the feet, the core issue remains, and needs to be dealt with.

Should we move-on at some point? Yes, I hope we can.

But don't confuse simply sweeping issues under the carpet with growth. And to be clear, giving a stereotyped caricature a different accent and finding-and-replacing the N-word in literature is not growth.

No sum-up here. Just my usual call to be diligent and aware of the world around you.

Hopefully, we can all get to a point where this discussion no longer stirs such emotion. But until that is the case, we all need to be willing to acknowledge an address that this issue is alive and relevant.

New Years 2011

2011-01-01T12:18:00.001-08:00

So I usually take time on New Year's Day to talk about the past year, marking the highs and lows. Then dictating what I hope to accomplish in the coming year.

And while I am all for listing your hopes/goals on paper, I am not going to do that.

Instead, I am gonna be honest. You may have seen my previous post about how I love snow and the holidays...In short, I love what they represent: family, friendship and fun.

With that in mind, I always find New Year's Day a bit depressing. It's definitely bittersweet, as it marks the culmination (read: end) of my absolute favorite time of year.

While there will be parties and dinners with family and friends throughout the year, they just doesn't have the same emotional heft that sitting around the table at Thanksgiving carries with it. There is just a lil something in the air, where even perfect strangers will buy a coffee for the person behind them, “Just Because.”

And yes, I know people do good deeds year round, but I think folks are more attuned/open to doing such things during the holidays. I love the refocus on 'what's really important' that the holidays bring as the year draws to a close. But even as exhibited in New Years Resolutions, the move away from others and family, starts on January 1st as people begin looking at themselves and what they want for themselves.

I think that as the world continues to become more (seemingly) connected, folks are finding themselves more and more isolated. The holidays encourage actual face-to-face interaction. Hugs and laughter seem to happen ad nausem. Think about the good-byes after Christmas dinner versus those at a 4th of July Family Reunion and you'll get my point.

But I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I love the optimism that the New Year brings. I love the 2nd Chance that it encourages. But I just miss the warmth that the passing season inspires.

So I'll just say to all of you. Remember who and what is important as you are lazing away an afternoon at the beach in August. Remember the smiles shared and the stories told around the holiday dinner table.

As for me, I definitely have some resolutions:

- Travel somewhere that isn't on the West Coast.

- Hit the gym a few times a week.

- Step forward in my career.

- Write a little more and read a few books.

- But most importantly, I want to put my words into actions and make more of an effort to actually see those who are important to me. And if nothing else, let those I can't see, know where they stand.

So I thank all of you for reading this and wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2011.

Thanksgiving goodness.

2010-11-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

*Please note, the first four paragraphs were drafted before Snowpocalypse 2010...

Well, like it or not the Holiday season is upon us.

The glut of parties that occur on Halloween mark the beginning of the celebration season for me.

I am not sure what the difference is from a barbecue beer in August and sipping Witch's Brew at a Halloween party is. But it sure seems there is a general hankering for hanging-out come the official arrival of fall that Halloween represents.

Yet there are still the Bah Humbuggers...

It blows my mind that people view this time of year with disdain. Refrains of, “Is it really already Thanksgiving?” or “I can't believe they are already playing Christmas music,” ring throughout my office.

I am just not one of those people. I love the holidays, I love snow, I love the smell of pine in the living room and mulling spices wafting about the kitchen.

Given the recent blast of actual winter weather, this holiday disdain seems to have been transferred to snow. Which, given the traffic snarling nature of snow/ice here in Seattle, I can understand. However, I do not agree with the sentiment. Honestly, what's a few hours of PTO to have a carefree “snow day” that harkens back to your elementary school days?

I recently posted the following question on my Facebook page after seeing a rash of snow-hating posts: So are my friends really to that age? The "F this Damn Snow" age? I mean really? This stuff is AWESOME!

How many chances do you get to be a kid again? How many times do you see perfect strangers sledding together down a hill while sharing a lil “winter warmer”? How often do folks offer rides to perfect strangers as they trudge through the snow in sub-20-degree temperatures?

I have witnessed and/or been a party to all of the experiences listed above.

There is just a special sense in the air that seems to be more prevalent around the holidays. Perhaps it's the shorter days and colder nights. But there seems to be a greater sense of or longing for community during the winter.

Whether it be folks helping push a stranded car or a stranger buying a shot for a guy sitting by himself at the end of the bar. There is just a lightheartedness that is elicited by the holidays.

Just look at the pure joy on a toddlers face the first time they frolic in the snow. They don't care how cold it is, or how bad the traffic on the 405 is. They just know that the world is a quieter, gentler, more fun place.

Having been a “city boy” my entire life, I have always been enchanted by how quiet the world is when blanketed in snow. Especially when accompanied by wind, the only things audible are the slight crunch of snow beneath your feet and whistle of wind past your ears.

But I can see how snow, much like the holidays can become a burden when balanced with a full-time job, family & kids. I, luckily only have one of the three, and my job is pretty understanding.

But anything worth having, is worth working for. Right?

And really, aren't the holidays about others?

So I say, kick back and enjoy it. There's no sense in freaking-out about the holidays. They are gonna come and they are gonna go.

What is important aren't the gifts that are exchanged or even that the turkey was roasted to a perfect golden brown.

It's more about the stories created and traditions extended with good people, be they family or friend.

Keep that in mind, as you jockey for position while in-line at the store. Or as you freak-out in the kitchen while a roomful of probably oblivious guests relax and have another beer/glass of wine.

Just have a good time and relax. No one wants to be in a Norman Rockwell painting...that's too much stress. Give me a David Horsey cartoon any day.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

2010 Election Endorsements

2010-10-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here are my endorsements for the 2010 Mid-Term Election. I have included my endorsements and those of the two major news reporting agencies in Seattle.

If you agree with my opinions, great! Go Vote!

If you don’t agree with my opinions, OK. But still, Go Vote!

I-1082: Privatization of workman’s compensation insurance
Vote- YES.
Washington is one of only a handful of states with a government monopoly on workman’s compensation insurance coverage. While I agree that government should step-in to provide such coverage when none exists, I do not agree with government freezing-out private competition. It’s time for Washington to modernize and move forward by providing those who are providing jobs some choice in their workman’s compensation insurance provider. The current Department of Labor and Industry is pretty broken-down and offers mediocre service at rather high prices, privatization just seems like a win-win here. Allow the State to focus on governing and not on insuring.

Seattle Times: Yes.
Seattle PI: No.

I-1098: Installation of a State Income Tax
Vote- YES.
Most folks hear “State Income Tax” and run for the hills. I was one of those people. However, I am also one who believes that those who have benefitted from living in the State of Washington should pay their part. This initiative places an income tax on those with an “adjusted gross income” of over $200,000 (individual) and $400,000 (joint). To quote Chris Rock (talking about having to pay alimony in a stand-up routine)- “If I’m making $500,000 a year and the wife wants half, I ain’t stavin, but if I am making $35,000 a year…” That sentiment rings true here for taxes. Forget regressive sales taxes that penalize all and disproportionately take a greater percentage of income from the less-wealthy and tax those who A) can afford it and B) are making money living in the very system that allowed them to succeed.

Seattle Times: No.
Seattle PI: Yes.

I-1100 & I-1105: Liquor Privatization
Vote- NO.
I realize this endorsement flies in the face of my I-1098 argument, but they are different beasts altogether. First and foremost disclosure: I was once employed by the Washington State Liquor Control Board as a liquor store clerk. That being said, loyalty to a former employer has little to do with my decision. Mostly, I like having the state in control of hard liquor. Having worked for the board I know that the clerks are paid well and offered a good benefit package which creates an appreciation for the job that creates a diligence in distribution of liquor that makes me feel safer. I have little faith in some 18-year-old gas station attendant to keep from selling hard liquor to those who shouldn’t have it. Just look at the CWU situation, it was the kids who mixed hard liquor with the malt beverages who got themselves sick, do we really need to make it easier for situations like that to occur? I think the cost of state administration is well worth the safety/oversight provided. And if you REALLY NEED liquor on a Sunday or at every corner store…I don’t think state initiatives are your biggest worry. Simply put, state liquor stores are not that great of an inconvenience and are money fairly well spent, keep them around.

Seattle Times: Yes.
Seattle PI: No.

I-1107: Candy Tax
Vote- NO.
Tax the vices! That has long been a mantra of mine, even before I was of voting age. I have no problem taxing things like alcohol and tobacco, and many folks agree with that sentiment. Candy should be on that list of vices, as it’s an indulgence. Which in and of itself, is just fine, but when done to excess can cause health problems…the same can be said of alcohol and tobacco. Since these overindulgences can cause harm, either financial or physical, to other citizens (be it drunk driving or increased healthcare costs) such actions/products should be taxed. Not as a deterrent, but as a measure to recoup some the expenses associated with the harms these overindulgences can incur. Leave the tax in place.

Seattle Times: No.
Seattle PI: No Endorsement.

Prop 1: King County Sales Tax Increase
Vote- NO.
“Just a lil bit more,” then a few years later, “Just a lil bit more.” Such has been the pitch from King County for years, and years, and years. I remember a sales tax in the 6-7% range back when I was in high school, and now we are looking at a double-digit sales tax rate? Where will it end? Enough is enough. I am normally the bloodiest of bleeding-heart tax-and-spend liberals, but it’s time to say, “No.” It’s time for the county to become fiscally responsible and work with revenue the voters of King County have already granted them in previous sales tax hikes. The economy is too weak and the tax too regressive to be viewed as a viable fix. Look to the long-term instead of reverting to the equivalent of an irresponsible teenager asking the parents for lunch money because they already spent their allowance for the month.

Seattle Times: Yes.
Seattle PI: No.

State Senator
Vote- PATTY MURRAY.
I don’t trust Dino Rossi. I view him in the same light as Tim Eyman, someone who seems to love the political spotlight, yet offers nothing of substance to actually benefit the voters they are asking the support of. Meanwhile Patty Murray has been a steadfast and active representative of Washington State in the “other” Washington. Murray was instrumental in returning the Air Force Tanker contract to Boeing when it had all but been given to a non-domestic company in Airbus. The bulk of this endorsement is based-on a simple dislike/distrust of Rossi, but when you begin to review Murray’s track record, the Senior Senator deserves the job.

Seattle Times: Murray.
Seattle PI: Murray.

The Next Generation.

2010-07-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

So while on a recent trip to the only other town I've called home, I was reminded, oddly enough, of the security guard in my building.

I took a day-trip to Bellingham, WA, as some college friends were playing in a soccer tournament. So I decided to head-up and do what I've always done: sit on the sideline and mooch some beer while getting sunburned.

The soccer tournament has become an annual pilgrimage for me and my fellow Western Washington University Alums to get together and relive the old days...in my case, the good old days.

It is a great time and a fun way to reconnect where we all met and recount the old times while catching-up on the new.

But back to the security guard.

He is an older fella. Approaching/past retirement age, by my estimation. And he, like most folks in my building, pretty much kept to himself offering nothing more than the slightest nod of acknowledgment as I entered/left the elevator. I can't say that I blame him, security guards have the worst job on the planet, they are basically like the police- deemed a necessary evil by most and never there when they should be...except this poor old fella doesn't get a gun, or even a stick! Which may explain his standoffish nature.

However, my perception of this fellow changed a few months back. See, my building requires a magnetic key to enter the front door. A magnetic key that (apparently) requires a battery to operate. Well, one dark and stormy night (it really was), as I was stumbling home, intoxicated, I went to scan my key at the door and “Voila!” – Nada.

D'oh!

As I stood outside, drunk and poorly dressed for a night spent sleeping on the street corner, I began to ponder which corner of the entryway offered the most protection from the wind. After what felt like forever and just as my hope of another alternative began to fade, I looked in the front door and there he was, the security guard.

I beat on the door like a crazy person and flailed my arms about pointing to my key as I tried to pantomime “Technology has let me down again. Batteries suck. And I am cold and drunk, please don't make me sleep on the street, sir. I really do live here! Really!”

Either I am the best pantomime in the history of all mankind or the standoffish security guard has a heart. I'm voting for the latter.

Needless to say, I was able to get into my building and -Gasp- the security guard talked to me!

As it turns-out he, like most folks, is a heck of a nice guy. I came to find out that he lives far away from downtown Seattle as it was “way too pricey for a guy like him.”

So what does a soccer tournament in Bellingham have to do with a security guard who saved my drunk ass?

Glad you asked.

The soccer tournament reminded me of college. The security guard reminded me of my Dad.

I've never held education in a very high regard. School/college was just something that I did. It was not an option.

Until I finished at Western and entered the workforce, it never really dawned on me that folks didn't go to college or that getting a degree was that big of a deal.

But as I sat there at my old haunt, The Beaver Inn in Bellingham, surveying the day-time crowd of 'townies' as we referred to them in college (while looking down our noses a bit) I realized, these 'townies' were more of a reflection of my family than the people I was sitting with.

So does that mean that I look down my nose at my family?

Honestly, I probably have in the past, but as I look at the security guard, working into retirement doing what he has to do to get by, I come to appreciate the work ethic and nobility of the Workaday Average Joe, like my Dad. (I realize like I sound like a pompous above-the-fray a-hole in that last sentence, but it's the realization I had.) *By the way, Thank you Mom and Dad, I couldn't have done anything without you.

It's an interesting dichotomy, being the first generation to get a degree. In theory, the degree will better your station in life. Yet as a result of that education, you begin to see the world differently than those who put you in the position to make that jump.

Now let me say this, having a degree does not make you smarter/better than anyone else...it simply means you were willing to jump through hoops and could afford to do so. I know plenty of very intelligent people who do not have degrees, they just simply weren't dealt the same cards that I was...and many of those folks are no worse for the wear for it.

So how does one rectify the situation?

My Mom, is still Mom. Pops is still my Pops. And I still have my degree and will forever be a lil different than them for it.

Does getting a degree in your early-to mid-20's trump the life experience of those who have been working since high school?

Hell No.

Am I impressed by someone who had the intelligence and tenacity to get an advanced degree?

Heck yeah.
*I know, I just talked down the importance of a degree a couple of paragraphs ago. But they don't just give college diplomas away, there is some work involved.

So I guess I am still trying to figure it all out.

I'll get back to ya when I have it all dialed-in.

Don't hold your breath, my four-year degree took me five and a half years to complete...

The little things...

2010-05-22T10:17:00.001-07:00

So there I was, sitting on the platform at the Pioneer Square station in the bus tunnel downtown. Minding my own business and people watching, while I waited for the bus to arrive and carry me off to my cube for another seven and a half hours of top-notch customer service. When a man caught my eye.

Looking less than 'put together,' this fella didn't so much strut as much as saunter down the platform. The man carried himself and was dressed in a way that some would classify as “thugged-out.” Given that the man was far older than I, (now 31) I was quick to pass judgment and write him off.

But just when you think you have the world figured-out, it goes and zigs...when you expect it to zag.

As I was sitting there passing judgment on this 'loser,' another bus arrived and an older woman who had been sitting next to me, got-up to hop-on. The woman had a rolling cart for her belongings and was having trouble getting it onto the bus.

To my surprise, the “thug” nearly tripped over himself as he ran over to assist the woman with her cart. All the while, what did I do? Sat there and did nothing.

It was a forehead slapping moment. I shook my head, chuckled and thought “Well, I got that one all kinds of wrong. Whoops.”

Needless to say, I was disappointed in myself.

The saying, “You can't judge a book by it's cover,” repeated over and over in my mind as I rode the bus (of shame) into work.

Sometimes it's the littlest things that can offer the greatest lessons.

I pride myself on embracing diversity and being open to other points of view...yet there I was writing-off a seemingly heck of a nice guy, based on nothing more than his appearance.

Life happens all around you. If you focus too much on yourself or the world as you want to see it, instead of how it is...you are going to miss out on a lot.

No real tidy sum-up to this post. Just one of those random “A Ha!” moments that I felt like sharing. So, just keep the eyes open for chances to grow.

Moving-on.

2010-05-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

So I think I’ve finally decided to stop being angry.

I’ve finally decided some things just weren’t meant to be.

I’ve finally decided it’s time to accept the world as it is and just move-on.

I recently caught the deciding game of the opening round playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the team formerly known as the Sonics. (Tip of the cap to ESPN’s Bill Simmons for coining the phrase.)

And I must say, I was impressed with the Oklahoma City Used-to-bes.

I came of sporting age in the mid-to-late ‘80s, smack dab in the middle of the Lakers versus Celtics, Bird versus Magic, “Showtime” hey-day of the NBA. And while I loved the game, I hated, Hated, HATED the Los Angeles Lakers.

So when I heard of the first round match-up pitting the Lakers versus the team formerly known as the Sonics, I was torn. Who should I root against, Magneto (the Lakers) or Dick Dastardly (the team formerly known as)? Which represented the lesser of the two evils?

Then I came across a column by Steve Kelly, an actual writer, in the Seattle Times. The title of the column was “It should be the Sonics playing the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs” and it struck me…

Man, we Seattlites must look bleepin’ PATHETIC. It’s been how many years since the Sonics left? And we’re still whining?

At that moment, I decided it was time to move-on.

Which, in reality, I think many Seattlites have done. As an example, I attribute much of the meteoric early success of Seattle’s new Major League Soccer franchise the Sounders FC, directly to the hole that was left by the departure of the Sonics. It was almost as if Seattle sports fans were/are saying “See, we can support a team. We really do appreciate it.”

But back to the NBA, which I had sworn-off out of bitterness that can only be mustered by one who has been scorned.

Yet, after seeing Kelly’s piece (well-written, as usual) I saw how infantile I and the Seattle fan base appeared, and decided it was time for me to grow-up.

I mean, you are never gonna meet the girl of your dreams if you spend all of your time stalking the Ex who dumped you.

So here’s my personal ad to the NBA:
Dear NBA,
I am a white male, age 30 (for a couple more weeks). I like food, music and spending excess income on sporting events. I’ve been out of the scene for a couple of years but am ready to start looking for a professional basketball team again. I have seen many who are taken and would like one to call my own. If interested please email me at: still.looking@needateam.com.

So I say, “Congrats,” to the team formerly known as the Sonics. It looks like the foundation laid here in Seattle, is starting to bear fruit. The system, management & team atmosphere they’ve established has been described as one of the best in the league. Props to Kevin Durant, he’s growing into the star everyone thought he could be on draft day. I cannot be angry with the players, as they had nothing to do with the business side of things. And to see KD crumpling to the floor with his head hanging low after the loss to the Lakers, I earned nothing but respect. He doesn’t have to, but he really seemed to care.

And I can’t hate on that.

I just hope that one day KD will return to Seattle to compete against a next generation incarnation of the Seattle Supersonics.

Until then, I’ll appreciate a game I love without sullying the experience with petty bitterness. Now if everyone else in the 206 could just get on-board with me.

So many light bulbs...

2010-04-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

Well, as the six of you who read my blog may have noticed, I’ve taken a recent hiatus from the whole writing thing.

There are many a reason for my absence, not the least of which is laziness. But after 100+ posts, I noticed the blog was getting a bit stale.

Especially after my last post which I am pretty proud of and was seemingly well-received. I decided that I should take some time-off to recharge the batteries, in an attempt to keep all future posts on par with that last one. I mean, if you folks are gonna take the 5 minutes to read it, the least I can do is make it something worthwhile.

So given the decidedly ‘upbeat’ feel to my last post, I’ve decided to keep the “feel goods” coming. Which means that moving forward, I will try to focus on the positive. Disclaimer: I am not saying that I will never rant again, especially if I feel it needs to be said. But there is enough negativity in the world, just look at the news, why would I want to add to someone’s miserable day?

With that in mind, I present to you the first post of a new age.

And speaking of a new age, I am closing-out my 3^rd decade on this rock we call Earth and staring-down 31 pretty hard. But this year a few things started to really click for me. And honestly, it’s about damn time.

Topping the list of clicking items was a new mantra for life. Which, oddly enough, came to me while sitting on a bar stool.

I was chatting with a buddy about women and life in general and I muttered the following phrase, “You can’t live life assuming the worst possible outcome.”

It was yet another of those ‘light bulb’ moments that I keep talking about. And when I saw his eyes light-up as the idea bounced around in his cranium, I figured I might be on to something.

Now what does the phrase mean? To be honest, I am still trying to figure that out.

But since I coined the phrase* I figured I’d spout-off and share what I’ve got thus far.

For the first 18 years of my life and probably a good part of my 20’s I was the ‘good kid.’ I got good grades, worked hard and was dependable. I did what I thought everyone wanted me to do. Even if doing so didn’t always coincide with what I actually wanted to do or who I actually was.

Those pesky teenage years are always fraught with insecurities and figuring-out who you are. But as I got older, other folks seemed to be getting more comfortable in their skin and I just felt overworked. Instead of figuring-out who I was, I was too busy maintaining the expectations I perceived as being placed on me.

I didn’t know what would happen if I didn’t get an A or if I didn’t make it to work or if I didn’t…etc.

I’d been living life assuming the worst possible outcome. Or more concisely, I was living life to AVOID the worst possible outcome.

Which taken at face value, sounds like a reasonable way to live life. So I went on living that way, for years.

Then one day, as I sat on the edge of my bed, desperately trying to summon the will to trudge into a job I hated with the passion of 10 jihadists, I came to a realization.

While spending my time avoiding the worst possible outcomes, I was missing out on some really great experiences. If you always live to avoid trouble, you can never take an unnecessary risk. And at 30, I’m finding it’s the unnecessary risks that make life worth living. Sometimes the safe choice isn’t the right choice.

If you live life assuming the worst possible outcome, you’ll never approach a woman, because she’ll probably say ‘No.’

If you live life assuming the worst possible outcome, you’ll never travel because you have to save for that ‘rainy day’ which is probably never going to come.

You get the idea.

Living a safe, reasonable life, while all well and good, is pretty boring.

Life is a gift. Instead of treating it like a classic car that sits in the garage under a car cover, take it out for a spin on the coast! Sure, you run the risk of wrecking the car, but what’s the point of owning a convertible if you never take the top down?

I’ve been told that I don’t seem to care anymore. Not in a ‘Murdoch from the A-Team’ kinda way, but in a ‘Jimmy Buffet’ song kinda way.

Which is 100% correct, I don’t really care and I am less stressed as a result.

Do I have it all figured-out? Hell no.

But am I far more OK with that being the case? Hell yeah.

*If I didn’t coin that phrase and there’s credit I should be giving someone else, please leave a comment so that I can give props.

A simple Hello

2010-02-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

So I had a nice revelation while riding the elevator in my building the other day.

The owners had recently started some maintenance on one of the two elevator cars, which I wasn’t too happy about. Even with both cars running, in an 18-story building, the wait time can be a little long. But I figured, maybe I’d get the chance to meet some of my neighbors.

While I am quite happy with my apartment and the amenities the building offers, my neighbors have left a bit to be desired. For the most part, folks seem to like to keep to themselves and are almost off-put by anything more than a head-nod or “Have a good day.” Damn that ‘Seattle nICE.’

That is, except for the cleaning lady.

She’s an older, petite, Asian woman, whom I see every morning on my way out the door. Her kind smile and friendly “Good morning,” make my commute a little more bearable.

It’s funny to see the little things that people pick-up on.

I never realized that I apparently respond to the cleaning lady’s morning greeting with a “Good morning to you, too.”

Until recently.

As I was taking the elevator downstairs, the cleaning lady got on a couple floors below mine. She usually waits for an empty elevator for her and her cart of cleaning supplies, but with one car running, she decided to hop-on. As she did, I said my usual “Hello.” And her response stopped me dead in my tracks.

“You are a good man.”

I was a bit puzzled and touched.

She went on to explain, “You are a good man, you always say hello to me. Thank you.”

Funny how that works. Two people, doing what they normally do, who see each other for mere seconds a day, are so affected by a seemingly innocuous interaction.

It was a light-bulb moment that illustrated the importance of paying attention to your actions.

You never know who’s paying attention or what the ramifications of your actions could be. Ask any parent and they’ll tell you that it’s amazing what kids pick-up on. I’d venture to say that idea permeates the ‘grown-up world’ as well.

It really doesn’t take much to smile and say “Hello,” to that person you pass everyday on your way into the office or to simply be kind to folks who cross your path.

Much as the cleaning lady’s simple “Hello,” makes my mornings, you could be doing something that makes a stranger’s day. I am pretty sure most of us have a stranger that we deal with daily who brings a smile to our face(s). Be sure to appreciate that little something as well.

By acknowledging both the actions of others and making an effort to extend a kind demeanor…I think you’ll find the big, scary world to be a much kinder and gentler place.

If this sounds a bit like the ‘pay it forward’ movement, it pretty much is.

So the next time you see that stranger, simply say “Thank you.”

It’s a small gesture of gratitude that just may end-up making someone’s day.

Edu-tax-cation

2010-01-28T19:51:00.000-08:00

So I came home last week to a piece of mail that surprised me.

No, it wasn’t a delayed-delivery Christmas card with a crisp C-note in it…Darn it.

Instead, it was a ballot.

I had no idea there was a special election taking place and opened the ballot to see what pointless recount/initiative was causing all of the hullabaloo.

Color me embarrassed, but I soon realized the special election was about something I value greatly, education. The election was simple, the Seattle School District offered-up two levies for approval.

On the face, these levies appeared to be the Seattle School District foisting even more taxes upon the over-burdened citizens of Seattle. *I should say, the Seattle School District foisting even more taxes upon the over-burdened Property-Owning citizens of Seattle.

I note that last distinction because I’ve previously been a property owner and now understand what property taxes are. They can be a rather foreign concept to a renter, and my previous stance was to approve any property tax increases as it didn’t affect me…I also think kids deserve books and enjoy paved streets/public transit. So why not approve everything and let someone else foot the bill?

But I digress, as I delved into the nuts and bolts of the levies being proposed, I noted they were not proposing any new taxes, but simply requesting to maintain existing, but expiring levies.

Now that I am back to renting, I am on-board with approving property tax hikes, as long as they make sense. So I am not going to tell you how I voted, but I think you can figure it out. *I will note that even when I was a property owner, I stayed pretty true to my blue-state leanings and usually sided with tax increases, as long as I thought they served a greater good. By the way, Education = a greater good in my book.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. I hate the saying, as it’s pretty cliché, but it’s so damn true. As I hear of cuts to what I consider vital social programs: education, mental health, social services, all in the name of a balanced budget that is anything but, I get a lil fired-up. It is akin to cutting off the nose despite the face.

These programs (education especially) are in no less demand than this time last year, 4, or even 10 years ago. So why are they on the chopping block?

Simple answer- Politics.

Letting a levy expire is a backdoor way of lowering education spending without having to take the PR-hit that goes along with actually cutting education spending.

I’ll grant that every levy is a term-limited proposition. As such, everyone knows the levy will expire at some point. But I see levies as band-aids, not solutions. A levy is a short-term fix as a (hopefully) better long-term solution is researched and implemented.

That obviously hasn’t happened here. And the economy has worsened, so offsets to budget shortfalls by donations from the private sector have disappeared. Which only increases the need to, at a minimum, maintain current spending on education.

Not that any of this matters to me anyway.

I am a single fella with no kids who rents his house. So the tax hike won’t burden me, much the same way letting the levy expire won’t benefit me.

Yet here I am ranting away, Why?

Because a poorly educated populace does no one any favors. Isn’t giving kids a decent education worth a couple hundred bucks a year?

Poor education is not a blue or red issue. It’s a societal issue. Everyone is entitled to the right of being able to “read, write and arithmetic” regardless of political leanings. Kids are not a political token and education is not a place to cut corners, Period.

Maybe forcing senators and other such elected officials to take some of the unpaid furlough days they’ve forced on other lower-level public servants will drive the point home…

Coming clean.

2010-01-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

Not sure if you heard the news, but Mark McGwire recently came clean about his use of steroids during his professional baseball career.

We all knew he did it. So why does the admission matter?

Well, the short answer is that the guy is trying to get into Baseball’s Hall of Fame and missed election again this year, going 0-for-4.

So much like Michael Vick’s ‘apology’ after getting caught, I see McGwire’s ‘seemingly sincere apology’ as nothing more than a PR-ploy.

McGwire, seeing his chance to make some money/stay relevant begin to fade, simply did what he had to do.

He lied. Again.

I doubt that McGwire is sincerely sorry about using steroids. (If he really was sorry, wouldn’t he have stopped using or admitted it sooner?)

However, I have no doubt that he’s sorry he got caught.

So why babble-on about it?

Simply, the guy put-up monster numbers while he was juiced. Without question, he was an exciting player to watch. And like it or not, his record-breaking pursuit of the single-season home run record did help bring Major League Baseball back from the brink after the strike of the early ‘90s. He was also elected to the All-Star team 12 times. That brief list didn’t do his career justice, as it is an impressive resume and one worthy of HOF discussion. However, the HOF also takes off-the-field actions into account as well. Just ask Pete Rose.

*I’ll note that McGwire wasn’t the only steroid-user to don a cap during his career. But he did lie, when he had the chance to come clean. And in doing so, has undoubtedly hurt his HOF chances.

So the major argument(s) for McGwire being admitted to the HOF is that juiced or not, he accomplished some unheard of feats. And he did so in a league where steroid use was rampant. Basically, he wasn’t the only one doing it and he was the best of those who were. So why penalize him alone and not the others who have yet to be caught?

To which I respond: What if I pose the same question to a different scenario—

Pablo Escobar wasn’t the only cartel boss in Central America, so why should he have been unfairly targeted for scrutiny by the government?

Some may think that is overly dramatic. But the logic is sound.

A fundamental principle was violated when McGwire took steroids. Whether there was a rule against using/testing for steroids is irrelevant. If in his mind, McGwire did nothing wrong, then why deny the actions until now?

The answer is simple -- Because he knew he was in the wrong.

McGwire is a cheater.

There is no lower form of athlete than a liar and a cheat.

And McGwire is both.

Both Escobar and McGwire were among the best at what they did. But, they attained such heights by employing illegal and immoral tactics and had no problem accepting the accolades as they were doled-out.

If you are bold enough to cheat, you should be man enough to accept the punishment.

But then again, if you are bold enough to cheat, you aren’t much of a man at all.

The Hall of Fame is for great men, and Mark McGwire is obviously neither.

A change is gonna come...

2009-12-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like the rumors were true. Tim Ruskell is officially out as General Manager of the Seahawks.

While it was widely expected that Ruskell’s contract (which was up at the end of this year) would not be renewed, his seemingly resignation came as quite a surprise. Especially given that the Hawks are in the middle of a less-than-stellar season and further turmoil is not exactly what the doctor ordered.

I have never been a fan or detractor of Ruskell. He was named GM of the year and scored a trip to the Super Bowl at the beginning of his tenure, but has ended his stay with (presumably) two losing seasons. Oh what a difference, a couple years came make.

Now I don’t blame Ruskell solely for the team’s freefall, but he was the man on watch as the team came crashing back to Earth. Something is wrong in Whoville and a change is obviously needed. Be it fair or not, when you are the boss and things go wrong, it’s your head on the chopping block. Head Coach Jim Mora’s seat has got to be hotter than habanero Tabasco, especially now that his biggest cheerleader is out on the street.

Ruskell will always be remembered as the guy who let Steve Hutchinson get away, paid Shaun Alexander too much and mortgaged the future for Deon Branch. But he also drafted Pro-bowler Lofa Tatupu and built a decent (if undersized) defense as former Head Coach Mike Holmgren focused on the offense.

And there it is, the name that has never quite gone away: Mike Holmgren. Ever since the first sniff of a rumor about the end of Ruskell’s tenure, there has been talk of the return of Seattle’s favorite coach.

While Holmgren’s first attempt as Head Coach/GM is widely regarded as a failure, I am not so sure I agree. Some of the successes attributed to Ruskell were moves made while Holmgren was GM.

Art Thiel had some interesting and objective observations on Holmgren’s return as GM on the Seattle PI’s web site, here is a link. Thiel, puts his usual Debbie Downer spin on the Holmgren-our-Savior parade. But he raises some valid points- There are many viable candidates available, don’t allow sentiment to overpower pragmatism. Holmgren wasn’t as terrible as history remembers him to be, but he wasn’t that great either.

I agree with Thiel about the unprecedented depth of the talent available, but I also think Holmgren’s return could be a very good thing.

First, Holmgren is one competitive SOB, the fact that he didn’t succeed in his first attempt at GM will only fuel his desire to improve and be the best he can be. He is already familiar with the organization and can step right in without the usual reorientation that an ‘outside’ candidate would require.

Second, and this is my dream scenario, Mora will be out and Holmgren can bring-in the coach of his choosing. The rumor mill has listed Jon Gruden as Holmgren’s choice. Which raises a commonly overlooked point, the Seahawks made their run to the Super Bowl with a GM and a Head Coach who by all accounts, did not like each other. Call me crazy, but I like the prospect of having the two most powerful positions in the organization not only on the same page, but actually like each other.

Lastly, the return of Holmgren represents both a change and a return to the winning ways of the past. I think Holmgren has earned the right to come back. He took the demotion from GM and carried-on as Head Coach, leading the team he helped build to the Super Bowl while his replacement got the glory. The least the Hawks can do is give Holmgren a chance to make amends for his prior failure.

We saw what splitting duties did to Holmgren’s success rate. But we also saw what happens when Holmgren was allowed to focus his energies towards one task.

Now there may be a lot of sentiment speaking there and sentiment doesn’t have much of a place in business.

Luckily this isn’t business, this is football. Welcome back Mike, hopefully….

The 1st year…

2009-11-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well I can’t believe it, but it’s been a year since Barack Obama rode the wave of change to the office of President.

No, this is not going to be a ‘coulda woulda shoulda’ column, nor is it going to be an ‘Obama is the best thing since sliced bread’ piece either.

It’s going to be yet another piece on the further disillusionment of a formerly idealistic young(er) American.

My disillusionment is not solely directed at Obama, but were I to omit the fact that I am utterly underwhelmed by him and his administration would be dishonest on my part.

However, the roots of my melancholy lie in the politics that rule the day. They are the same politics that have ruled the day for as long as I can remember. They are the same politics I thought I was voting-out when voting for Obama.

So here we are a year later and as usual, the American political machine has left me confused, unfulfilled and wondering why I even bother.

But for me, politics are a lot like women, though I rarely get the end-result I am looking for, I am utterly intrigued and keep coming back for more.

So most Sunday mornings I sit on my couch, sipping overpriced coffee in a high-rise apartment downtown, seemingly in the lap of middle class luxury, watching the political pundit shows and get pissed-off.

I saw a snipit of a speech, from of all people, Jon Voight, that I think perfectly illustrates the return to the ‘business as usual’ ’us versus them’ politics that I thought Obama’s election would curb.

Voight stated that Obama is: “Taking America apart piece by piece" and suggesting he "had 20 years of subconscious programming by Reverend Wright to damn America."

It’s the old tactic of extremism. Nowhere is there a shred of evidence to back Voight’s rants, but there he was on national TV getting face time spreading nothing more than gossip.

Now I understand politics, and there is always going to be an element of mud-slinging and creative license taken when anyone is out drumming for support, be they Republican or Democrat. Where I draw the line is at lying or defamation/character assignation. Simply put, neither has a place in American political discourse.

And here’s the odd thing about this whole Jon Voight issue, this personal attack on Obama was given as Voight was trotted out by Republicans to defeat Obama’s universal healthcare bill. I have hard time seeing any logical line of reasoning that leads from universal healthcare to Obama’s former pastor.

Now, for what it’s worth, I’ve always thought of Jon Voight as a less-than-stable individual. I didn’t know of his conservative leanings until I saw the snipit of his speech. So while I don’t think all Republicans are zealots in the vein of Voight, someone decided to put him behind a podium with the proposed healthcare bill planted squarely in front of him.

This ploy to paint Obama as a leftist Black Panther anarchist ideologue is bypassing the real debate and downright silly. Where is the substantive debate? What are the legitimate Republican objections to the bill in its current incarnation? *You can see my prior post on lack of objectivity in the media as to why modern discourse has been oversimplified to sound bites instead of full disclosure.

In debate, you address the issue being debated, not the debater. This critical aspect of political debate seems to have been forgotten by those taking part in modern political discourse.

I, while on-board with the idea of universal healthcare, am not sold on the bill in its current incarnation. I thought some disclosure was due, as I hammered Mr. Voight pretty good there. But oddly enough, he and I agree in our displeasure with the bill. Though I will note that our reasons for disliking the bill most assuredly vary greatly.

Later-on in the political pundit show, I saw a discussion between a democratic governor and a Republican Party representative and was again appalled. Here were two grown men, seemingly respectable enough, who were so embittered and entrenched on their respective sides that neither would let the other so much as finish a sentence. I felt like I was watching two 4-year-olds try to out tantrum one another. It was a downright pathetic display from both gentlemen.

My how far the mighty have fallen…if our elected officials are unwilling to listen to anyone but those of their own ilk, how can they be true representatives?

I voted for Obama because I thought he represented a break for the ‘tow the party line at all costs’ style of politics that had caused Washington to grind to halt. But it looks like I was wrong. Obama has yet to exhibit the coalition-building and reaching across the aisle that won my vote.

I guess I should have known better. He’s got three more years to win it back, but at this point, Obama’s lost my vote.

Week 8 wrap-up.

2009-11-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

At least we are playing Detroit next week, sigh.

The Seahawks played a team in the Dallas Cowboys that ranks among the NFLs Elite.

The game was a great measuring stick to illustrate how far the former perennial playoff team has fallen.

The Hawks are lucky in that no one seems to want to break out and win the NFC West, but at this point, I don't see where the Seahawks can make-up the 2 games they trail the division leader by.

I'll still be watching, but much in the same way my parents would watch my little league games when I was a kid. See, I was terrible, but they still watched...I now am getting an idea of the sacrifice they made.

Funny what you'll do for love.

A topsy-turvy ride.

2009-10-20T07:04:00.001-07:00

The seats at Qwest Field better come with those roller coaster safety bars.

Sunday was definitely a ‘turvy’ low after what had been a ‘topsy’ high the week before.

Last week I said that this Sunday’s game against defending NFC West Champion Arizona Cardinals could be a statement game. And it was.

It just wasn’t the statement I was hoping the Seahawks would make.

The injury bug can only be invoked so many times, the truth of the matter is that this Seahawks team was essentially the same squad that beat Jacksonville a week ago.

So I ask- Do injuries affect intensity of those still on the field? Because I saw little to no intensity on either side of the ball at any point during the game. Our running backs are healthy right? So why aren’t they moving the ball when no one else is?

I am one unhappy Seahawks fan. But I still love them.

Previously I referred to the Hawks as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sadly I think we know which one to expect for the remainder of the season.

I am upgrading to 30-packs at Safeway. If this past Sunday was any indication, 18 beers may not be enough to endure an entire game, let alone an entire season.

News Flash...

2009-10-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I stayed home sick. Something about a sore throat and my being a phone answering monkey just didn’t jive. So while sitting on my couch, nursing said sore throat, I came across the cable news channels. And remembered why I now keep the fact that I earned a journalism degree under wraps…

The hubbub of the day was the tiff between the Obama Administration and Fox News. For those unfamiliar with the story here is a link for a breakdown.

In short, the Obama Administration has taken-on Fox News and labeled them ‘opinion journalists’ and ‘a wing of the Republican party’ basically alluding to the fact that Fox is anything but ‘Fair and Balanced.’

Now I am not going to get into the political stupidity/public relations debacle this fight will prove to be for the Obama Administration, that sentence gives you and idea of where I stand, but what I am gonna delve into is the lack of true journalism (at least as I was taught) in America today.

*Disclosure: I am willing to note the irony of a blogger/poorly-researched but ideological rant writer like myself discussing such matters as objective journalism. But I am not now, nor have I ever purported to be, a reporter. I am not employed by any journalistic outlet and therefore see no problem with my pointing-out flaws in the world as I see it. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, I just am up-front about when I am sharing mine and don’t try to mask anything I post here as ‘objective’ reporting.

So I ended-up spending more of my sick day than I’d like to admit, watching the cable news channels. In doing so, I came to one conclusion- Fox News is not alone in its naked political bias. MSNBC would have to be considered the 'Yin' to Fox News 'Yang.'

It’s not a shock that I disagreed with a lot of the points and was off-put by some of the tactics employed by Fox’s talking-heads.

What surprised me was my reaction to MSNBC.

Now I am a liberal, and a pretty left-leaning semi-socialist one at that. So MSNBC should feel like home. It should be my own little bastion of sanity in a sea of partisanism and over-the-top headlines. But somehow, I didn’t feel at home, at all.

In fact, I was more disgusted by MSMBC than when I was by Fox. I felt lost, betrayed, bamboozled. It’s kinda like finding-out the girl you’ve been seeing smokes or is an unquestioning Bible-thumper…just a game-changing realization.

One historical note, American Journalism started as an unapologetically partisan endeavor. Newspapers were founded to disseminate information of a partisan nature to inform those who were party members and recruit more to the cause. So for American journalists to show their political stripes is no less an American tradition than apple pie or blowing things up on the 4^th of July.

But as with all things American, there has been progress. The idea of objectivity wound its way into the fabric of American journalism within the past hundred-or-so years. Much to the betterment of society. Such things as food safety, monopoly-busting and government accountability can all be directly attributed to strong reporting by transformative journalists.

Objectivity is a tough goal. It is like utopia, something to strive for, but something that can never really be obtained. As long as there is a human being tapping-out a story on a keyboard, their personal feelings/opinions/stances will leech their way into a story. Whether it be the questions they ask, how they frame a quote or the overall tone of the story, there will always be a subjective element to journalism. It’s just one of the character flaws of being human. And that is just fine.

What has been lost, or at least what I haven’t seen in journalism and the cable news networks of late, is an honest attempt to keep that subjectivity at bay. And that is worrisome.

As America continues its cultural shift towards a culture of consumption, this progression of journalism to nothing more than a steady stream of Youtube clips with talking head ‘reporters’ noting how ‘Awesome’ they are, makes perfect sense. American society is fading away from its former spot at the center of the world ideological and political stage to that of a decadent and crumbling empire. The American empire is perfectly content to rest on it laurels instead of continue with the spirit of progress and improvement that allowed it to gain that seat at the top in the first place.

I have always been a firm believer in the concept of journalism/the media as the fourth branch of government. Especially as American politics have grown from a network of local municipal/state governments to a national-scale political scene. Given that backdrop it becomes even more critical for strong, objective reporting. For example, how else would I, sitting here in my little apartment in Seattle, be kept abreast of what is happening in Washington, DC? Government has gotten too big to be accessible by the average American, this is where journalists must step-in.

I don’t need someone to tell me my opinion. I need someone to give me enough information so that I can form one.

Then again, maybe I am the odd man out. Perhaps Americans are just too busy to care anymore. They seem to be OK with being told what products to buy by advertisers and how to look by magazines. Why not be told how to vote?

It does leave a lot more free-time to watch Youtube and hit the mall…

Maybe Mike Judge had it right in Idiocracy, but I am not so sure that’s an America I want to be a part of.

Will the real Seattle Seahawks please stand-up?

2009-10-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Say what now?

If last week at Indianapolis was a drubbing, then this week was the antithesis of drubbing.

But…how good is this Jacksonville team? They, like my vaunted Seahawks, have been up-and-down all season. But, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional football team and to hold any professional team to zero points is impressive.

Props to the Seahawks defense, I just wish they could maintain that high level of intensity from week-to-week. I realize that David Garrard is no Peyton Manning, but that difference is exacerbated when you get some pressure on the quarterback, as the Hawks did on Sunday. It looked like the Seahawks receivers traded gloves with the Jaguars as there were many drops by the Jags receiving corps. And how about the Hawks defensive rookies? Aaron Curry, undaunted by NFL-imposed fines for aggressive play, was back to his buzz around the field and disrupt all in his wake style of play. But most of all congrats to Nick Read, the rookie defensive lineman out of Oregon who was supposedly too small for the NFL, just keeps proving the doubters wrong. Read recovered a fumble for a touchdown late in the game that just sealed the deal and put a stamp on the strong effort by the defense.

OK, I was wrong. There, I said it.

I, along with Nate Burleson and TJ Houshmandzadeh and well everyone else, have missed Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback. Previously I said that the offense looked better with Seneca Wallace at the helm during the San Francisco game (where Hasselbeck was injured) and I stand corrected. *For what it’s worth, I have since jumped-off the support Wallace bandwagon and onto the Mike Teel is the starter-in-waiting boat. Simply put, to be a playoff caliber team the Hawks need Hasselbeck under center.

This game was fun to watch. The offense was high-flying. The defense was all over the place and Olindo Mare even remembered how-to kick. The rushing game was less than overwhelming, but when Hasselbeck is on his game through the air, the lack of a strong running game is bearable, not OK, but bearable.

Overall, after a couple weeks…OK, pretty much the entirety of the season of worrying…beating St. Louis doesn’t count, I am reinvigorated for the season. This win couldn’t have come at a better time. The Seahawks are facing defending division champion in the Arizona Cardinals. Beating a division rival is always important, especially one that was in the Super Bowl last year. A win against the Cardinals could be an announcement that the Hawks are back in the NFC West. This Seahawks team has been a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season, a win next week could go along way to setting the precedent as to who this team really is…

But that is next week, for now I am simply going to enjoy what was one heck of a complete game from the hometown squad.

On the decline.

2009-10-05T13:59:00.001-07:00

There’s no easy way to say it, but yesterday’s Seahawks game against the Indianapolis Colts was simply put, a drubbing.

The game was more of a clinic than a contest.

Watching the clinic, I was reminded me of another game that took place at Qwest Field. In that game, it was the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer getting schooled by FC Barcelona, arguably the best soccer team in the world.

The games had more in common than both sports being called Football. The Sounders versus Barcelona game was an example of one team simply being better at all aspects of the game and playing at an entirely higher level than their opponent. The Sounders lost the game 4-0, which is the soccer equivalent of a 35-0 rout in an American Football.

I must admit, I am a Payton Manning fan. He simply plays the game as it should be played. He appears to have a respect/love of the game that is rarely seen among the largely spoiled landscape of professional athletes. And as much as it hurt to watch Manning pick apart the Seahawks defense, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the display of offensive prowess.

Making matters worse was watching the Seahawks offense stumble, fumble and rumble their way through the game. I had previously stated that Seneca Wallace seemed to have a decent command of the offense and appeared able to get the offense in situations where they could score. But the command I spoke of seemed to disappear yesterday as Wallace looked hurried/lost as he continued to force throws and make bad decisions- Like running out-of-bounds for a loss instead of throwing the ball away. I like Wallace because of his potential as a multi-threat quarterback, but after six years, as a back-up, it seems fair to think that potential would have been realized. One would think that the lost look in Wallace’s eyes would go away with some playing time, yet it hasn’t.

Maybe it’s time to start letting rookie Mike Teel have some time under center. While I can appreciate leaving Wallace in the game to get some confidence-building yet meaningless touchdowns near the end of the game. Perhaps letting the rookie get a few live game reps would have been prudent.

The defense kept the Hawks in the game early. And after the Hawks got a field goal near the end of the half, I thought the Hawks had kept themselves in the game. However Manning reminded everyone of why he’s #3 on the NFL’s list of career touchdowns. With a mere minute and twenty-two seconds on the clock after the Hawks field goal, Manning drove the Colts downfield for the dagger in the heart touchdown.

Sure enough, the Hawks didn’t get blanked, props to Olindo Mare for doing his job. But the Hawks really did look overmatched, outplayed and out of their element.

Last week I asked if the Hawks were a team on the rebound or a perennial power in decline.

I have been in denial up to this point, but after seeing an actual perennial power in action, the answer is pretty clear.

The Hawks are a team in decline.

And while there is a lot of season left, it may be time to use that dreaded word: Rebuilding. And start angling to obtain/stockpile young talent or allow the youngsters to get some playing time.

A week of Hope.

2009-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

If the 49’ers game last week was a crash back to reality, then this week’s loss to the Chicago Bears offered a bit gentler of a landing.

This was a game Seattle should have won. A couple of kicks here, one less botched call there, and this was a W for the Hawks. But even in the loss there were signs of hope.

First off, the bad- Kicker Olindo Mare missed not one, but two makeable field goals. In his defense, the kicks were not ‘gimmies’ but they were decidedly makeable. And for a kicker of Mare’s experience, he should have made them. Not to focus on the negative, but I have been utterly underwhelmed by Mare ever since the Seahawks acquired him. Replacing Josh Brown, who was pretty clutch during the Hawks Super Bowl run, was a tall order. Regardless, Mare simply hasn’t been up to snuff. It may be time to release the old veteran whose best days are clearly behind him.

With that off my chest, it’s now time to get to the hope I saw on the field yesterday.

Seneca Wallace has shown that he can move the ball efficiently. The offense actually looked better this week than the early in the 49’ers game with Matt Hasselbeck at the helm. To be fair, the receivers seem to have learned how to catch. As I noted last week, this was an area in which the Hawks had to show some improvement to have a chance to win. And they did. Not only that, Wallace was able to get the ball to Nate Burleson who made some plays after the catch, another point I made last week.

Wallace’s performance was not perfect, as he did make some back-up quarterback mistakes, one of which resulted in an interception. But those wrinkles will be ironed-out with experience. Overall, the offense showed that it can move the ball and put the Hawks in position to win. It is no one’s fault that the kicker blew the kicks, well, besides Mare. I am encouraged by the fact that the Hawks can move the ball, regardless of who the signal caller is.

The running game, bolstered by some success in the passing game, didn’t look as anemic as it had in the game against the 49’ers. The ground game this year looks to be more about big runs than a steady game that produces 4-5 yards per carry. I’d rather have a running game that can reliably convert on 3rd and 3. But then again, I was raised watching the Chuck Knox-era Seahawks. For those who aren’t familiar, Knox was known as ‘Ground’ Chuck for his devotion to the ground game. If you have a controlling ground game, it’s much easier to control the clock. But as long as the running backs are producing touchdowns, I am not gonna complain.

The defense looked better. The tackling was better, which is not saying much, as it was atrocious in the 49’ers game. There are still too many missed tackles at first contact. But the defense definitely seemed to have kicked-up the intensity, which is a welcome sign. The linebacker corps, now anchored by rookie Aaron Curry did a more than serviceable job considering Curry was the only starter on Week One. The back-ups of Will Herring/David Hawthorne/DD Lewis made the loss of (franchise player) Leroy Hill and (Pro-Bowler) Lofa Tatupu not only palatable, but the group was actually fun to watch.

This season has been a tough one to figure-out, perennial powers seem to be fading and upstarts seem to be filling in the voids.

The real question is: Which side of the coin are the Hawks on?

Are they a perennial power on the decline (which they look like to me) or are they a team on the rise after overcoming the injury bug that has plagued them the past couple of seasons.

Here’s hoping I am wrong.

Hopefully the injury bug has hit early and the Hawks will be a stronger team come the second-half of the season as the returning players are fresher.

Again, there’s that hope…

Here we go again...

2009-09-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well if there’s one thing I’ll say about growing-up a Seattle sports fan, it’s that I learned about parity very early on.

Some people might call it the ‘Bundy Effect’ referring to Al Bundy’s theory (of ‘Married with Children’) that for every good thing that happens, at least one or more things would go bad.

In most instances, parity is a good thing, bringing balance to a world that is perhaps a bit off-kilter. But in the case of Seattle sports, parity is that bitch-slap back to reality just as the world of Seattle sports seem to rise above its perennial bottom-feeder mediocrity.

So following-up last weekend, arguably one of the best sports weekends in Seattle’s history, we get this one. On Saturday is seemed the Sports Gods seemed to smile across our green and moderately tempered ‘Burg.

The upstart University of Washington Huskies, who were 0-12 last season, beat the #3 team in the country. And just before halftime of the Huskies game, the Seattle Sounders FC had played their way to another tie, keeping themselves in the MLS Playoff hunt.

So after another successful Saturday, the stage was set for our Seattle Seahawks to stamp their re-emergence as owners of the NFC West crown in a road game against a division rival, the San Francisco 49ers.

This game started-off just as the St. Louis game had a week prior, poorly.

The Hawks receivers resembled the 2004 squad who dropped nearly everything Matt Hasselbeck put on their hands as well as the few errant tosses Hasselbeck seemed to have inherited from his time as understudy to Brett Favre.

The Hawks did try to get playmaker Nate Burleson involved in the offense and allow his legs to make some plays after the catch…the only flaw in the plan, was that it required Burleson to actually make the catch. Not to pick on Burleson solely, even the dependable John Calson dropped a couple of gimmies.

One thing I noted from the St. Louis game last week was that the running game wasn’t as strong as the stats would lead you to believe. Take away Julius Jones’ 62-yard touchdown run and you end-up with a less than stellar game. Jones now has 128 rushing yards and one touchdown on the season. Take away the TD and 62 years…and that is a pretty abysmal line.

Most importantly the ‘spring in the step’ I spoke of last week seems to have disappeared. The defense may have appeared stronger last week than they are due to the lackluster opponent (St. Louis). But they just didn’t seem as sharp or aggressive this week against San Francisco. Frank Gore has always had the Hawks number and goes from serviceable running back to Pro-bowler against Seattle. So to see Gore rip one long TD run off was not shocking. Watching the second one was just painful, especially considering how the defense was stacking the box.

Again the fundamentals let the Hawks down. It seemed that on every play the Hawks missed tackles that they made in week 1. This is an issue that has plagued the Seattle Defense for years. And it must be remedied if the joke season of 4-12 is not to be repeated.

Speaking of last season, the injury bug just seems to keep biting the Seahawks. Week 1 saw Leroy Hill (the Hawks Franchise Player) among others go down. This week saw Lofa Tatupu on the sideline. And sadly Matt Hasselbeck himself pulled a Donovan McNabb and injured his ribs on a short, but contested run towards the End Zone. Immediately after the play, I saw Hasselbeck hesitate then pop-up and I thought he was OK. Then I saw his face, which was an unnatural red. Hasselbeck made it to the sideline, but then collapsed and my worst fears were realized. If McNabb’s schedule for returning from the injury is to be believed, it’s safe to bet that Hasselbeck is out for 3-4 weeks.

Damn you parity!

Just as the Hawks were looking to overcome/beat the injury curse of last season, they come crashing back to reality. Luckily the Seahawks have a versatile and experienced back-up quarterback in Seneca Wallace. But what I am most excited about is the pairing of Head Coach Mora with Wallace. Mora coached another multi-threat quarterback while in Atlanta, whom you may have heard of- Michael Vick. Mora and Vick saw some real success in their time together, here’s hoping Mora can exploit Wallace’s talents to keep defenses on their toes and put some wins under their belts.

Of course, you can put as many points on the board as you want, but defenses win championships and unless the Hawks defense can regain the form exhibited in week 1, Wallace is doomed to the fate of Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners- He can throw a hell of a game and still come-up with a loss.

Here’s hoping the wide-outs remember how-to catch and the defense remembers how-to tackle. Just a slight increase on either front may just lead to a win.

Team of destiny? Nah...

2009-09-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

*This is the first in what I hope to make a weekly series following the Seahawks during the 2009-2010 season. Of course, should things go sideways like last year, I reserve the right to lose interest.

So it could be very easy to get overexcited about what might possibly could have been the best weekend in Seattle sports ever, but I am not going to.

Seeing the Seahawks open the Jim Mora-era an impressive 5-0, (the Hawks have never gone undefeated in the preseason) I am hearing rumblings of Team of Destiny. And while I’d love for that to be the truth, I simply don’t believe it.

While it has been great to see Seattle, a perennial professional sports loser-town, have some recent comeuppances I am not sold on the Hawks as a team of Destiny…yet.

Everyone knows the preseason really doesn’t count. And between you and I, the Hawks seem to have better regular seasons after awful preseasons. *I need to Google that factoid for concrete numbers, but at this point it's just my observation with no basis in reality.

However, I will commend Mora for returning some fire to a squad that had seemed to get complacent and quit last year on retiring Head Coach Mike Holmgren. Holmgren deserved better and I couldn’t write a more star-crossed swan song if I was working in Hollywood. But back to Mora, he’s infused much needed energy and this team seems to have more of a bounce to each step.

Mora spent last year as a coach-in-waiting presiding over a Seahawk Secondary that was, simply put, terrible. With that as a back-drop, I feared what was going to come to fruition this year. And so far, he seems to have worked some real magic, especially considering the loss of Pro-bowl cornerback and fellow local boy, Marcus Trufant. Though there are still as many games as there are questions about the secondary:

- Is this the Ken Lucas of old, or just an old Ken Lucas?

- Will the signing of former Husky Lawyer Milloy prove to be more than a swan song without any substance in the vein of Ken Griffey, Jr’s return to the Mariners?

- If Trufant makes it back, will he be a pro-bowler or just a cog?

- Has Josh Wilson finally fulfilled the potential that made him a *Second-round draft pick?

I can’t say enough about Aaron Curry. He seemed to be involved in every play near the line of scrimmage and seemed to be quite a trash-talker…reminiscent of another lockdown defender from the NBA, Gary Payton. I have no issues with Curry woofing-it-up as long as he backs it up the way GP did. We can only hope he brings it.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, I will note- All of these accolades come based-on a game against the St. Louis Rams. Who are not the Detroit Lions, but not a whole lot better.

So again, I think there is quite a bit to be excited about, this Seahawks team is not far removed from one that won the division a year ago. So to think that, if able to remain healthy, this team can reclaim the NFC West doesn’t see too far-fetched.

Then again, it’s been a hell of a long-time since a 4-12 season. Maybe I have rose-colored glasses…but I remember a pretty horrid season the year before we got a new coach by the name of Holmgren.

Here’s hoping the Mora-era is just as successful.

*Correction: I had previously stated that Josh Wilson was a first round draft pick, this was incorrect, he was a second round pick in the 2007 draft.

Actively Inactive

2009-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who are Facebook members like myself, you may have seen the following status come-up a lot lately-

“Enter name here thinks that no one should be afraid to go to the doctor because they can’t afford it, no one should go broke because they got sick, and no one should die because they could not afford care. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.”

The status update was a modern version of a chain letter. And while I agree with the sentiment behind the ‘movement’ I was really bothered by it.

So my response to the so-called movement was this-

JR. Cook People should die, because it is their time to die. If they want insurance, OK. But I recommend putting down the cheeseburgers, beers and cigarettes first. And try taking a damn walk.

My response garnered hot and cold reactions. Either folks were on-board or they thought I was the devil.

And I cannot lie, awhile after updating my status, I looked at it and was disappointed in myself. I sounded like a pundit for FOX.

But I, as with any of the letters foisted on society by these pudgy digits, stand by what I posted.

Logic trumps partisan-ism, at least in the world according to Homer. And my statement was based on logic.

Insurance is pretty simple. Risk versus reward. The more of a risk you are, the more expensive it is to be insured.

Cheeseburger lover? High cholesterol and heart attack are pretty sure to follow. Insurance cost uptick.

Smoker? Ahoy, Cancer and Emphysema. Bigger insurance cost uptick.

Beer? Well, I love beer. So I cannot knock it…but it is a less than healthy choice.

So the point of my Facebook status retort was to exhibit how personal responsibility cannot be substituted by government.

If I choose to ride a motorcycle at 140 mph and end-up crashing and dying, no one would feel sorry for me. That’d say that what you get for going 140 mph on a motorcycle -- Just a dumb decision.

The same can be said for the average American’s lifestyle. It’s comfortable, but not so healthy.

But the point of this rant is not to solve the insurance issue. I am not that bright of a bulb.

My gripe is not with the movement to insure all Americans, which by the way I don’t think is too bad. My issue is with this pseudo-activism.

Copy-and-pasting some text into a web browser does not an action make.

Much the same way no one is getting rich from the Nigerian lottery, nothing comes from a mouse-click and no action.

Such hollow moves just garner head-shakes by yours truly.

I respond to these copy-and-pasters the same way I responded to a mass of pissed-off parents who had gathered to steam-roll school district representatives when I was in the audience for a taping of ‘Town Meeting’ when I was in high school.

“How many of you are attending meetings? I see many of you here complaining, but how many of you are doing something to fix the issue?”

Being 17 at the time, I was written-off by the vast majority of ‘adults’ in the audience even as the show’s host gave me kudos for the cut-to-the-quick question.

And to all of you copy-and-pasters out there I ask the same thing-

What are you doing to fix the issue? (That you are advocating for/complaining about.)

I have no real issues with the system as it is. With the exception of one item- Prenatal care. If a gal is pregnant she should get anything she needs. It’s not the child’s fault they ended-up in a womb and properly caring for developing fetuses (not people, but that’s a whole other topic) can save everyone a ton of money by preventing issues after the child is born…again pure logic is pretty sound. And I sound like one hell of a nice guy.

But back to the system, I have yet to hear of anyone getting turned away from a hospital.

Though I have heard of many folks being in financial ruin as a result of not being turned away.

To which I note- They are still alive to be in financial ruin, a much better outcome than the alternative.

So yeah, I am not starting any petitions or attending any town hall meetings. So I am as guilty as those I am calling-out in this post…But then again, I am not complaining about the system as it is.

What I am complaining about is this faux-activism.

If you have a stance on something, make it known, in the real world. And do something about it.

Until you do, you are just an enabler for the status quo.

But then again, maybe you are fine with that.

CoffeerightInfringment

2009-08-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

After reading a few of my posts, it may surprise folks to learn that for the most part, I am a fella who avoids confrontation (in the real world) like the plague.

But recently, I went counter to my natural inclinations and sought-out some controversy.

I found myself headed to a coffee shop that had become quite a central figure in a good old-fashioned dust-up here in our burgeoning ‘burg.

I headed to the epicenter of gentrified hipsterdom in Seattle, 15^th Ave on Capitol Hill. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun strip – such staples of (high-priced) Seattle-only greatness like Café Victrola and The Coastal Kitchen anchor this mostly chain/franchise-free neighborhood.

Decent food, good beer, high prices and snooty attitudes are all served here as the clientele is all-to-happy to pay the price to be seen.

If you sense a wee lil bit of distain, good. You should.

But back to the controversy. I headed to the area to visit a coffee shop- 15^th Ave Coffee & Tea. The faux independent coffee shop was nice enough, offering 15 kinds of whole bean coffee, numerous kinds of loose leaf tea and they even served beer!

So, you may ask- What’s the big-deal about this coffee shop? And what the hell do you mean by Faux independent?

Well this coffee shop wasn’t what it appeared to be. It was actually owned by none other than Starbuck’s. Yes, that Starbuck’s.

Per the Starbuck’s brass, this was Starbuck’s attempt to ‘blend into the neighborhood’ as opposed to simply running the local independent coffee guys out of town.

The fact that this shop was a Starbuck’s-in-disguise is what has the neighbors all riled-up.

Which brings me to my point: Since when did Seattle become populated by such exclusive unoriginal lameasses?

I headed to the coffee shop looking for a fight. This hipster idea of independent-or-die, just seems dumb to me.

*Disclosure: I am one of the seemingly few native Seattleites who unapologetically enjoys Starbuck’s. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around the idea of hating the big company simply because they are successful.

The Seattle I grew-up in while a bit stand-offish, was mostly all-inclusive. Especially when compared to the separation (by race, economic class) that I had seen in cities back East- NYC, St. Louis & Chicago.

At some point, Starbuck’s was a Café Vivace or a Stumptown. It still blows my mind to see the lil independent guy so revered, yet the local company who made good, so reviled.

Granted, this most recent attempt to ‘fit-in’ by Starbuck’s could have been handled with a bit more tact. Starbuck’s, a long-time staunch defender of corporate trademarks, pretty much ripped-off the design/décor of 15^th Ave Coffee & Tea from Smith, the bar next door. So creating a carbon-copy of the neighbor, all the way down to asking where Smith bought their awnings, was a pretty hypocritical move by a company known for suing TM-infringers.

All that being said, Starbuck’s as usual, did a fine job.

I used to be a coffee elitist, simply because everyone else was. In Bellingham, it was Tony’s Coffee, in Seattle it was Vivace and in Portland it’s Stumptown (though from what I hear, even the beloved Stumptown is beginning to get too big to be liked anymore). But after going to independent coffee house after independent coffee house, I realized something- The coffee at all of these joints was consistently horrible.

I began to ask myself: Why pay for an inferior product?

In my ‘independent coffee shop days’ was used to giving the glare as the soulless drones paid their toll to the Starbuck’s Siren.

Where it got a lil odd, was when I became one of the drones.

Trust me, I’ve noticed the glares, even got some nasty posts on my Facebook page when I noted that I was at Starbuck’s. The glares were even worse as I visited 15^th Ave Coffee & Tea on Capitol Hill. I purposefully sat outside on the street to see what kind of reception I’d receive. And the blind corporation-hating hipsters didn’t let me down. I got a lot of glares, a couple head-shakes and a few sighs…Just as I’d expected.

I wasn’t making any political statements. I just wanted a decent cup of coffee. I guess that’s the lesson to be learned-

Turns-out it wasn’t just the coffee that was bitter…and a bit of the Seattle I used to know and love seems to have disappeared just as the coffee in my cup had.

Cops on Campus

2009-07-29T07:35:00.001-07:00

I am not sure if you have heard the latest hullabaloo to come out of Cambridge, MA. But if you haven’t here’s a link to the story.

The long and the short of it is that a Harvard Professor, who happens to be black, was arrested for trying to get into his own house.

Well, OK, he didn’t get arrested for trying to get into his own house, he got arrested for being a jerk to a police officer, who just so happened to be white.

I only bring it up as it was quite a hot button issue on the Sunday morning political pundit shows.

The pundits weren’t debating who was in the right, the cop or the professor, they were debating President Barack Obama’s reaction to the incident.

Obama said he thought that the policeman acted ‘Stupidly,’ which it sounds like he may have. But I, like Obama at the time he made the comment, don’t have all the facts.

But for these pundits to get upset that Obama is being bothered with such ‘trivial’ matters gets me pretty fired-up.

Here’s my point- Just because America finally elected a black man to the Presidency doesn’t mean America’s long-standing racial ills have been corrected.

Obama was asked about the situation because racism is still alive and well in America. I being a white guy, have been the beneficiary of racial profiling many times. I have many minority friends who have been victims of it. So I have seen first-hand that the problem still exists.

Granted, we have Russia making some worrisome moves and North Korea threatening to drop bombs like Hiroshima. And damn near everyone seems to either be unemployed, in foreclosure or worse.

So a guy getting arrested, without and charges being pressed, seems pretty trivial by comparison.

But it isn’t.

America took a big step forward in electing Barack Obama, but it was only a step. Addressing America’s deep-seeded racial issues/divide is going to take a Lewis and Clark-esque expedition, not just a couple steps.

Should the guy have been arrested? Is it ever OK to talk to a policeman with anything but respect? Did the cop over-step his bounds?

The one black person on the panel of ‘This Week with George Stephanopoulos’ noted that from an early age, she was taught to talk to police officers with nothing but respect. She stated that as a black person in America, you had to be trained to do so, in order to avoid any problems with police…the insinuation being that cops were looking for any reason to bust a black person.

While that may be the case, I’ll just add that as a (white) kid I was raised to interact with police the exact same way the black woman described: With Respect.

While I’ll agree with the sentiment and have personally witnessed bias on the part of the police depending on race, I will also note, that I am never combative or aggressive towards police. Which is part of the reason why I think I have gotten out of a couple tough situations with police, not that I get a pass solely because I am white.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have seen cops who are simply power-abusing jerks. But cops are people…people who have a pretty tough job. But the cop in this case is a 16-year veteran who just so happened to be the first-responder on the day that former NBA Star Reggie Lewis died. The officer attempted CPR when he found Lewis collapsed on the floor. Hardly the actions of a bigoted power abuser.

Granted the Lewis incident was a long-time ago and people change. But there is nothing in the officer’s history that would indicate the officer is anything other than a good, decent, public servant. And if there was, you can be sure the stories would be all over the news.

I don’t know much about the professor ‘victim’ in this story, but I know that he specializes in racial profiling. While I think such work needs to be done, as it obviously still takes place daily here in America. I wonder if the gentleman allowed his passion for the focus of his life’s work to get the better of his judgment.

I think he over reacted. And while the cop is trained to deal with such situations, he is human. And if the professor got overzealous towards law enforcement, which is sounds like he did, he’s subject to the same rules as everyone else.

It’s sad that we are still having this conversation today-

Did the white cop treat the black man unfairly? But we are.

The only saving grace of this particular instance is that it looks like it was just a matter of the cops dealing with a jerk as opposed to the cops preying on a black man.

And that is a step forward. As pathetic as it is to say that.

I like trains...

2009-07-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

As I sit here on my couch watching ‘doomsday central’ aka The History Channel lament the eminent downfall of humanity due to societies’ overreliance on fossil fuel, I was reminded of a ray of hope.

Link Light Rail is opening here in Seattle this weekend!

Being a long-time proponent but only recent user of mass transit, I am excited to see Seattle move in the right direction.

Do I think this initial 13.9 mile stretch of light rail is going to be the cure-all for the region’s traffic woes?

Nope.

But they say the first step is always the hardest one. And Seattle has finally taken the first-step towards a real mass transit solution.

As you can see in the hyperlink above, Light Rail’s tentacles are already beginning to sprout.

And I find the growth or should I say potential growth as exciting as the start of service this weekend.

This initial line is a backbone off of which many lines will grow. The fact that expansion has begun even before the first passenger has boarded a train only proves that theory.

Now that we have a fleet of trains and a base of operations, growing the service is much easier.

I was a fan of the monorail. I even voted for and paid taxes for it. Mostly because I liked the planned service routes. The monorail plan proposed an X-pattern, spreading from Ballard and the U-District on the Northside to West Seattle and Rainier Beach on the Southend, with all lines running through downtown.

I see the same idea coming together with Light Rail, the foundation has been laid with a downtown HUB and a (future) line from the U-District that extends to the Airport.

The prospect of being able to take a train from Ballard to Kent doesn’t seem at-all far-fetched when you see what is already under way.

And this is all West-of-the-lake-centric.

Just think of the possibilities when you add a Seattle-Redmond Line via Bellevue.

I already bus it to the Eastside and have loved the nearly traffic-free ninja-route that buses are allowed to take during the I-90 construction as the solo-commuting masses sweat-it-out.

But my bus, the 550, seems rather underutilized outside of peak traffic hours so rushing to get an east-west line doesn’t seem necessary, yet. Though it would be nice to see some proactive as opposed to reactive planning for once.

So needless to say, I plan on hopping-on the train this weekend like many other folks.

I just hope they plan on coming back, like me.

I'll be right back.

2009-07-09T12:40:00.001-07:00

Funny how going-out for a gallon of milk can change your perceptions.

I have lived in the Central District neighborhood of Seattle for over two years now. And for most of the time that I have lived there I have felt perfectly safe.

That changed recently.

As I headed-out to Safeway to grab some groceries, I thought nothing of it. I rolled north on 23^rd Ave S, past landmarks like Garfield High School and Ezell’s Fried Chicken. After two years, I tend to pay such landmarks no mind.

It was on my way back home that I took note…

On my way back to my condo, I saw a cop roll-up behind me, lights-ablaze. Not an uncommon occurrence on 23^rd, so I paid it no mind. Though as I approached 23^rd & Cherry I saw a fire truck, ambulance and yellow police tape running the length of the thoroughfare. Now this…was an uncommon occurrence.

I ducked onto a back road and made my way home.

Little did I know, that what had just taken place at this intersection would profoundly change how I perceived the place I have called home for the past few years.

I hopped online to get the down-low on what had happened and found-out that two people were dead, victims of a drive-by shooting.

Normally such news would roll off my back. But the folks were alive as I rolled-by on my way to the store. And now, 30 minutes later, they weren’t.

That realization blew my mind.

I grew-up in South Seattle, a place with an undeservedly bad reputation. I was a fat, white, nerd who managed to get-by just fine. So when I hear that Seattle is ‘Ghetto,’ I beg to differ.

I’ve been to Chicago. I’ve been to LA. I’ve been to NY/Brooklyn…

Those are ghettos.

Seattle, by comparison, is a joke.

I live in the CD, grew-up in the South End and kick-it in South Park/White Center/Burien. All of which pale in comparison to the destitution of a real ghetto.

Which is why seeing such violence outrages me.

The CD, short for Central District for those not in-the-know, has seen quite an upswing in the past few years. Some call it gentrification, I call it not fearing being jacked as you walk to your car. (Which is not to say that jackings/break-ins don’t occur anymore.)

Some folks see gentrification as a horrible thing, but I venture to say that most decent folks (regardless of race) like to see a community that takes pride in itself.

Sadly, I have seen signs of a backslide in the CD lately. Drug dealers have been openly operating on busy street corners. I am also seeing more and more kids rocking red clothing…when I was a youngster, the CD was Crip territory. Oh, how times have changed.

Every time I see signs of the ‘Hood, I find myself asking the same question, Why?

Again, Seattle is not ghetto. And it really pisses me off that a couple knuckleheads, who have visions of 50-Cent dancing in their heads, can undo 10 years of redevelopment.

It’s not just white-folk who enjoy walking the streets without fear.

And now, with one action, one knucklehead, has undone all of that.

They say ‘One bad apple ruins the bushel.’ I say ‘A fuckin’ loser hoses a neighborhood.’

I was raised in a less-than-stellar area and have always minded my surroundings…being a cracka in the ‘hood, you learn to read the angles.

But I never felt I HAD to so in the CD, until now.

So while I normally don’t condone violence. I’d like to find the reject who lacked the testicular fortitude to face a foe straight-up and beat the living shit out of them.

Though knowing the ‘code of the street’ (as laid-out in various gangsta movies where I am sure this gutless shooter picked-up their code of ethics) I know retaliation would be necessary. So that is just a dumb road to venture down.

Instead, I’ll just say, remember the CD before Sunday afternoon. It’s still the same people. It’s still safe.

Don’t let the ball-less minority rule the good and decent majority.

Take control of your neighborhood.

We’ve done it before and we can sure as hell do it again.

Did you hear about ... ?

2009-06-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-06-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-06-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

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.

Listening-in

2009-05-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

While I was on the subway yesterday I saw a deaf/hard of hearing gentleman holding a conversation with the lady sitting across from him.

I was floored, having a younger brother who is hard of hearing and not being able to sign myself, I con only imagine how tough it is for this guy to find someone to talk to.

It got me thinking, as I sat there with my ear buds plugged-in blasting at full volume in an attempt to avoid the outside world- Man, I am a lucky SOB.

Which is not to knock the gentleman I saw on the train, but as I sat there listening to my music I tried to think of a life without sound.

And it is simply something that I cannot fathom.

I love music. I love the sound or rain falling. I love the sound of laughter, especially giggling.

So when I tried to imagine a world without sound, it was actually kinda scary to me.

I enjoy sound so much that I sometimes just close my eyes and try to figure-out what is going-on around me. It’s actually pretty cool.

Give it a try, just close your eyes for 5-10 minutes and listen…it’s amazing how many of life's little details you are missing by plugging those ear buds in everyday.

So I guess the next time I hear a horn honking for no damn reason (an interesting NYC phenomena) I won’t get all fired-up.

I’ll just be glad it added to the experience.

A Vick-tim?

2009-05-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

As much as I hate to admit it, I have been pondering this Michael Vick situation all week.

For those who don’t wake-up daily to ESPN like me, Vick is a former NFL quarterback who was convicted of running an illegal dog-fighting operation out of one of his houses.

Now I wasn’t debating the morality (or immorality) of dog-fighting, (I am whole-heartedly against it, BTW) but more of what is next for Vick?

When I first heard of Vick’s conviction, I was dead-set against his return to playing professional football. In my mind, playing pro football is more a luxury than a right.

Why give someone another chance after they had thrown away a once in a lifetime opportunity? Aren’t they just going to do it again?

I was so enraged at the atrocity of his actions that I thought 2 years in prison was not enough.

But as I really thought about it, it was jealousy that fueled my anger.

This guy was not only an NFL player, but a starting quarterback in the NFL…there are only 32 of those guys in the entire world. How could Vick not appreciate what he had been given? How could he throw it all away just to ‘keep it real’ for his buddies?

Ok, I had to cut that last paragraph short as I could go on for awhile.

As a dude, being a pro athlete is pretty much what you aspire to do from birth. But as you get older and come to grips with your own athletic mediocrity, you gain a certain appreciation for the guys who made it happen.

So to see Vick F-it-all-up is infuriating.

All that being said, you’d think I am still against Vick being allowed to return to the NFL.

But I am not.

Vick was convicted by a jury of his peers and paid his debt to society.

To further penalize him would be unfair and well, un-American.

We are a country based on the rule of law, (unless you rich/white or poor/minority- OJ doesn’t count) and for me to say Vick cannot return to the work that he is best runs counter to fundamental American faith in the justice system.

Do I think Vick is sincere in his volunteer efforts with the Humane Society? Hell no.

But it doesn’t matter.

The terms of Vick’s conviction were to spend two years behind bars. Vick was an NFL star(ter) at the time of his conviction and the lost wages/revenue from endorsements over that time period is more money than most folks could make in 4 lifetimes. So he’s paid his due both fiscally and physically.

I thought the whole idea of the justice/penal system was to rehabilitate. To further punish Vick by keeping him from doing what he does best, which is play football, just seems like cruel and unusual punishment.

We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all had to ask for forgiveness. We’ve all had to grow-up.

It just seems unfair to make an example out of Vick after he’s come clean and paid his due.

So I think Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL. But that doesn't mean I'll be very happy about it.

For a look at some of the reactions to Vick check-out this site:
- http://www.cosellout.com/?p=100

Where's my 15 mintues of fame?

2009-05-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

So I have to admit it, I have been paying a lil attention to the NBA this season.

I know, I know, I swore-off the NBA when they screwed us and stole the team formerly known as The Seattle Supersonics.

But I am a basketball fan. I love the game and just can’t stay away.

But I digress, back to my point.

I was watching a playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic earlier this week. During an intense play, Celtics forward Glen Davis spilled into the first row of the audience and bumped one of the fans. The fan just so happened to be a 12-year-old kid.

Let the uproar begin.

The ‘altercation’ garnered national attention, as the father of the ‘victim’ demanded an apology from Davis, the NBA, President Obama and God himself…

How dare a professional athlete come into contact with a member of the audience seated mere feet from the court.

The father referred to Davis as an ‘out of control animal.’

Can you believe the audaciousness of Davis?

Hmmm, last time I checked, chasing down a loose ball was called hustle.

This incident is yet another example of the ‘Hey look at me!’ desperation sentiment that seems to pervade American society.

From the Octuplet mom to Youtube, the idea of ‘15 minutes of fame’ is entrenched nowadays.

For the record, Davis issued an apology to the little fella, who was no worse for the wear.

But the hullabaloo raised over such an innocent mistake, has me shaking my head.

This was totally blown out of proportion by the so-called victim’s father and in-turn the media.

I am pretty sure that there is a warning on the back of the ticket stub expressly stating that this is a live sporting event and that items/people may come flying off the field of play. So it’s not like this should have been a surprise to the spectators, especially considering these were court-side seats.

Instead of a making this a once in a lifetime experience for his son, the father chose to ruin it, by exploiting it for attention in the media.

I’d like to say I am surprised.

But I am not.

Sigh.

Memos, Memos, Everywhere!

2009-04-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

It seems that the talk of the beltway here recently has centered-on President Obama’s move to release previously confidential Bush-era memos outlining the Bush Administration’s complacency with the use of questionable possibly torturous interrogation tactics.

Here’s a link to a story outlining what was released by the Obama order.

Many folks worry that releasing such documents will endanger Americans around the globe as there is now proof that America is using the questionable-tactics when interrogating detainees. The fear is that with the release of the memos, tantamount to an admission of guilt, other countries (presumed enemies of America) will retaliate and use similar, if not worse tactics on future American detainees.

While I agree that the admission of guilt does make America look bad on the global stage, I am not willing to make the jump that these memos are the straw that will break the proverbial camel’s back.

Now for the obvious statement of the day-

These memos don’t endanger the well-beings/lives of Americans abroad, the fact that America partook in such heinous actions do.

These memos didn’t water board, sleep-deprive or starve anyone…WE DID.

Whether we release a few memos or not, these still actions took place. And there must be some atonement.

I applaud a gutsy move by the Obama Administration in making these memos public. It is a strong first-step in making things right.

The next step is to make real progess toward preventing such actions from ever taking place again.

The first words out of my mouth the morning of 9/11 were ‘Get used to it.’

And I took a lot of grief for that.

But sadly, history has proven me right. In viewing these memos, you can see why enemies of America would be so outraged by our actions as to facilitate an attack on American soil.

As long as we keep playing the eye-for-an-eye game, we need to expect a sucker punch or two.

These moves by Obama are decisive steps away from the Bush-era ‘cowboy diplomacy’ approach to foreign policy.

We all saw how far Bush got us, maybe it’s time to fess-up and venture down a different path. I am encouraged by what I am seeing.

Here’s hoping Obama can put his money where his mouth is.

Happy Earth Day all

2009-04-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

In this post I’d like each of you to post a comment stating one move you plan to make in the coming year to get a little more green.

Hopefully this will inspire/encourage everyone to keep moving towards being a bit greener.

My goal in the next year will be to use my bus pass more. I currently use it to commute to work, but still log 100-200 miles in my car on the weekends. I want to go 50/50 car/bus in my non-work travels.

I look forward to hearing your goals.

More baby steps...

2009-04-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

This baby-steps entry is gonna be short.

As there is nothing new that I am doing.

I am just making you Seattle residents aware of the changes that took place in the city’s recycling program.

Here is a link to the city recycling website.

The city is making it a bit easier to recycle more.

Just a couple highlights:
- No more separating glass from other recyclables! *This was especially a pain for a fella like me who enjoys a bottle of beer or 5, every now and again.
- The list of what is now acceptable as recyclable has gotten bigger, which is always a good thing.

Here's the link again for a breakdown of particulars.

And remember, every little bit helps.

Call it the ‘Facebook’ effect…

2009-03-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

A while back I was having a discussion with a friend who had recently joined Facebook.

“I just don’t get it…Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t care if you are brushing your teeth or just got back from the gym.”

Being a Facebook fiend, I replied, “Yeah, you just don’t seem to get it.”

“It’s about keeping in touch. It’s about keeping tabs on people you otherwise would have forgotten about. It’s about being social.” Are just a few of the descriptions as to why folks use Facebook and find it so addicting.

So here I stand, as an admitted Facebook fanatic and staunch defender, saying “I just don’t care anymore.”

Call it what you like, Facebook Fatigue, FBOD or simply a desire to interact with someone (here’s a novel idea) face-to-freaking-face.

I was one of those: JR. is (insert pointless action here)-people. Updating my status via my cell, checking my email for updates. I now see how lame I must have seemed to well, normal people.

But I’ve had enough.

Granted, I have yet to delete my Facebook account, but I have turned-off all notifications from Facebook and don’t plan on logging-in for the foreseeable future.

Have I gone mad? Did someone piss me off? Am I too broke to afford internet?

No, to all of the above. I am just feeling a bit overexposed.

In these days of Twitter, Facebook, IMs, texts and cell phones. The world is never more than a buzz or annoying ringtone away.

I recently saw a PBS documentary “Alone in the Wilderness” about a man who retired to remote Alaska and lived on his own for 30 years.

I was jealous. As I sat on my couch, laptop in perched just below the view of the TV and cell phone resting nearby, I decided that something had to change.

The feeling of being constantly, “On” is draining. Which is not to say that my cell is blowing-up or that my inbox is overflowing, but sometimes being disconnected just sounds nice.

Then I came to a realization, I can turn the shit off.

Which I now do.

Email get checked in the morning as my company blocks personal email access. I check again at lunch because I really have nothing better to do. And I check it for the last time when I get home from work. Anything that comes in after that, can wait til the next day.

My cell phone is turned-off at 8 PM, assuming I am not out and about.

So am I becoming some kind of hermit? Well, by the hyper-connected (unhealthily so) standards of today, yes I am.

Maybe I am a throwback to the good old days…I am not that old, but old enough to remember a time before e-mail, cell phones and even (Gasp) pagers.

Somehow life went on back then.

I think it’s time to simplify. (A sentiment I seem to be repating in this here blog) Take a little time to enjoy the world and people around. Look up from the digitized representations of ‘being social’ and actually say “Hello,” to someone.

I am no technophobe and not even that outgoing. But something tells me that if you get out and enjoy life…the call of the laptop/cell phone may be considerably lessened.

I am giving-up blog posts for Lent.

2009-03-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Obviously I am not giving-up posting…

So apparently it’s Lent.

For those heathens out there, let me break Lent down for ya.

Lent is basically Easter’s pre-season. That’s pretty much it. Technically, it’s the 40-days between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

Though for some odd reason certain folks (sometimes referred to as Christmas & Easter Christians) seem to get into Lent.

The whole shtick is that someone gives-up something that is important to them in honor of the sacrifice Jesus made for them.

The irony is that these C&E Christians (I am not even a C&E Christian myself, and make no pretenses otherwise) usually give-up a vice. Which is ironic, because as a Christian, these vices should be avoided year-round.

I am a Protestant, so technically, I don’t HAVE to partake in Lent. The practice of self-sacrifice is more of a punishment in the vein of Catholicism. (We Protestants got the long-end of the stick on that one…Woo Hoo!)

Now I'll get down off my high-horse. I, the self-described bad Christian will admit, I usually give something up for Lent.

One year it was cussing, another it was chocolate, etc. For a few years it became a game as I tried to figure-out something that sounded impressive, but really would be easy. I gave-up going to Canada one year, for example.

But then I changed my perspective. I started giving-up things that were a big part of my life: Fast Food, Coffee, Cussing (a very difficult one), etc. The idea was not to focus on what I was missing, but to allow more opportunities to remember why I was doing it in the first place, to ponder religion and be thankful for what I have.

When weighed against the sacrifices that have been made for me as a Christian, not dropping the F-bomb for forty days, seems downright trivial. Being reminded of those sacrifices numerous times a day really helped to ground a perspective that can really get off-kilter.

So although I didn’t give anything up this year, the simple fact that I am writing this exhibits that I am thinking about religion, which as I said before, is kinda the whole point.

PS- Feel free to share what you have given-up for Lent in this or past year in the comments section. And, as always, feel free to share your thoughts on my ramblings there as well.

A farewell to an institution…

2009-03-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Today is a red-letter day in Seattle. It is the first day in 146 years that you cannot get a hard copy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

I, as a blogger, feel a part of the paradigm shift that has caused the downfall of a Seattle institution.

The 146-year bastion of journalism succumbed to the pressures of the twittering-blogging-facebooking-I-need-info-now-regardless-of-the-source that is the modern American public.

I was raised on the P-I and I love(d) the paper. My dad maintained a subscription for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite past-times was settling-in with the Sunday paper, a cup of coffee in-hand and catching-up on the goings-on around town and in the world.

My love of the P-I sparked more than a few arguments as I attended Western Washington University and obtained a degree in Journalism. The Joe Friday, ‘Just the facts ma’am’ style of writing that you are reading right now was heavily influenced by the reporting in the P-I.

I’ve always described the difference between the P-I and the Seattle Times as this:

-If you want to hear the: who, what where, when and why (aka the 5 W’s) read the P-I.

-If you want to read some lame-ass human interest story about the event 3 days after the fact, read the Times.

I steadfastly believe that description of Seattle’s two dailies. In fact, I am utterly disgusted that the ‘Times’ is the journalistic representative of Seattle to the world.

In my mind, it’s like MTV News beating-out CNN.

Overall, I am happy that Seattle still has at least one daily newspaper.

I do think that a vigorous, non-blog-based, professional local journalistic presence is vital to a community.

I fear what will come from a world unregulated by editors or journalistic safeguards.

Print journalism (for the most part) kept everyone (including the reporters) honest.

Speed, as with cars, is impressive, but rarely safe.

The old adage of ‘Haste makes waste’ rings horribly true here.

Journalism, not just print, is being replaced by quick fixes and entertainment.

It’s too late for the P-I, but I hope we all learn from its demise. There is a value to waiting until 6 AM for your news.

It’s important to note that it is not a reporter’s job to filter the news, it is the job of journalists to make sure what you are reading is as correct as it can be.

The P-I did that well for over 140 years, and I truly and honestly appreciate it.

Light at the end of the tunnel

2009-03-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows it’s been a rough couple of years for Seattle sports fans.

But, dare I say, it looks like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The University of Washington Men’s Basketball team’s outright win of the Pac-10 regular season crown capped what could possibly be one of the best sports months for Seattle in years.

The Huskies haven’t won the Pac-10 outright since 1953, so it was quite the feat. Now I am not picking UW as a ‘Sweet 16’ team, but the team showed a lot of pluck coming back from a less-than-stellar start of the season to claim the title. And more importantly the accomplishment gives Seattleites something to be proud of.

The Huskies title came hot on the heels of the Seahawks finalizing a free agent coup, the signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh. ‘Housh’ as I’ll refer to him since I cannot spell his name, was the NFL’s premier free agent wide receiver, a position the Hawks were in desperate need of an upgrading from last season. And the Hawks stepped-up and got their man. With the addition of Housh, the Hawks return to their rightful spot among the frontrunners to win the NFC West. Ah, it feels good to say that. Especially, after slogging through a 4-12 ‘swan song’ season for former head coach Mike Holmgren who really deserved a better send-off.

And yes, I am going to list Ken Griffey, Jr.’s return as a plus for the Seattle sports psyche. I know, I know…I previously posted on this very blog, that I am less-than-stoked by the prospect of Griff’s return. But this is not about me…It is about Seattle as a whole. And from that perspective, I do think Griffey’s return is good thing. It is a ray of hope for Mariners fans with little else to look forward to in the coming season. It is good to see some sentiment infused into the big business of professional sports. Griff may not be a 50 HR, 100+ RBI, gold glove winner anymore. But he made the M’s what they are today and helped weave the team into the fabric of Seattle. For that, he does deserve a return-trip to Seattle and a chance for a ‘swan song’ of this own.

Though the 206 is still without a professional basketball team, the city does get to usher-in the world’s game this month. Major League Soccer has come to town as the Seattle Sounders FC. From what I’ve heard all tickets are sold out, just showing that even in these tough times, Seattleites are hungry for good sporting events. Personally, I prefer to play soccer over watching it, but I am gonna try to score a pair of tickets to see what it’s all about.

So bring-on spring!

March madness actually means something to Seattleites again. There is a reason to watch the Mariners and with the NFL draft coming soon, the Seahawks could end-up as more than just a contender for the NFC West title, they could be mentioned along with the words: Super & bowl, as they should be.

Enjoy!

The seven stages of grief as they pertain to Ken Griffey, Jr.

2009-02-27T15:32:00.000-08:00

The Kid is back. Yet somehow I am not doing cartwheels...

To add a lil insight into my perspective on this topic, I compare Griffey leaving the Mariners to being dumped. Griffey decided that Seattle was no longer good enough for him and/or he could find better options elsewhere. So he left.

That stung.

So I am writing this from the perspective of a jilted fan...a jilted fan who, for the most part, has no interest in dealing with parties who deem him unworthy. (Ask anyone who's dumped/slighted me...I don't talk to or acknowledge them. I am an ass like that.)

With that said, it may be easier to understand why I am less-than-stoked to welcome Griffey back with open arms. Why stroke the ego of someone who's already said and acted in ways that say 'Seattle, you aren't good enough'?

1. Shock- I can still remember when I heard that a recliner-in-the-clubhouse Griffey decided he was too good for the M's. The reasoning at the time was that he wanted to return home. To re-visit the team of his father. (Never mind the fact that the M's had signed his then over-the-hill father to a contract earlier in Junior's career.) Griffey wanted return to the clubhouse he literally grew-up in. He wanted to return to his roots. I couldn't believe it. How could he?! How could he leave the team that was so symbiotic with him. As much as Junior had built the M's into a legit contender, the M's had given him his break. I couldn't fathom how someone could turn their back on those who made them. It was a bitter lesson, but one I am glad I learned early.

2. Pain & guilt- I am not too proud to admit it. I loved Ken Griffey, Jr. He was, in his prime, the best baseball player I have ever got to watch play the game live. The thought of Junior no longer patrolling center field simply hurt. How can you replace him? Mike Cameron (while a serviceable ballplayer) is no Ken Griffey, Jr. Why couldn't we have accommodated his requests? He is the reason Safeco was built...how could we not give him what he wanted? Maybe it is our fault, we should've done more to keep him.

3. Anger & bargaining- (mostly anger) Ok, if we re-sign (purportedly pre-roids) A-Rod and keep Buhner in right, will that keep you happy, Junior? You ego-centric bastard, who do you think you are?! We made you! Remember when you were 19 and loved playing 'for the fun of the game'? You two-faced Son-of-a-bitch!

4. Depression- Cincinnati? Really?! Have you been there? Oh crap, you grew-up there. Now you are gone. And we no longer have A-Rod or Randy Johnson. What's wrong with us? Do we smell? Hello...?

5. The upward turn- We've still got Ichiro...the ageless wonder! Maybe a return to the house that Junior built will provide fuel for a Griffey renaissance. Maybe a return to All-star form. If nothing else, Griffey's return will sell tickets. (I know I will attend a game simply because Junior is back.)

6. Reconstruction & working through- Jeremy Reed, hurt. Yuniesky Betancourt, error-prone. Adam Jones & George Sherrill…to Baltimore for an over-rated POS. God Damn you Bill Bavasi. Speaking of reconstruction...how're those injuries Grif? Wait, what's that? You are coming back to Seattle?! Seriously?!!! Flippin' sweet! Welcome home! Oh wait...you are also looking at Atlanta, so that you can do what? Watch little league games? Uh, well family does come first. But what about those folks who made you a household name? Those folks who still followed your career even as it spiraled-down the toilet into 'over-rated'-ville? What did we ever do to you?! (OK, I am pretty much stuck at stage 3, but screw it.)

7. Acceptance & hope- So here we are. Stuck with a washed-up version of Griffey's former self. For what it's worth, I'd much rather have a washed-up Griffey don an M’s cap over Garrett Anderson. Maybe Griffey can teach the other youngsters in the clubhouse how-to appreciate what they have while they have it. Hopefully his return to the M's will re-light a sputtering fire and we'll get one last glimpse of greatness.

Baby steps to getting green V

2009-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

I finally took the plunge and invested in some rechargeable batteries. The initial investment is kinda steep, right around $50. But for that I now have 4 AAA and 8 AA batteries along with 2 chargers.

The 2^nd charger is pretty handy, as I keep it at work to juice-up the batteries for I use for my wireless keyboard and mouse. (I now feel much less guilty for using those.)

I went with Duracell, mostly because they were (nearly) giving away the chargers and they were reasonably priced.

I steered clear of Energizer because of bad reviews online. Duracell got decent reviews online, but Rayovac got higher marks. I saw all brands available at Target this weekend. Though I got the deal on the chargers at OfficeMax.

So far they are working very well. But having had them for just over a week I cannot give good 'real world' assessment as they haven't run outta juice yet.

However, the coolest realization I've come to in making this move, is that most of the stuff I use daily (cell phone, laptop, mp3 player) already utilize rechargeable batteries. Which is cool because the same can probably be said for you. So this really is a baby step and should be a pretty easy move to make.

About the only items I own that need 'traditional' batteries are my TV/home theater remotes and Wii-motes. So the $50 investment should last me for quite a long time. And the prospect of never buying batteries again is pretty sweet...they always seem to be the thing you forget to buy until you are half-way home from the store.

One note, I do still have some non-rechargeable batteries laying around (I said these were baby steps). But I recently discovered that my office collects dead batteries for recycling. So take a couple minutes and ask around at your office to see if your company participates in such a program. If so, truck them into the office monthly, I know it helps me feel a little better about prior portable power transgressions.

*While on the topic of green and energy I thought I'd direct you to this web site: http://www.earthhourus.org/main.php Save this date: March 28, 2009 8:30 PM as a gesture towards acknowledging energy consumption and it's affects on climate change, I am encouraging you to take part in Earth Hour. All you need to do is turn-off your lights from 8:30-9:30 PM on March 28^th. I'll be doing so...I just signed-up online and tossed the date into the scheduler on my cell phone.

And the fists flew...

2009-02-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

So I recently came across an article on the front page of the Seattle Times web site, that got me a lil fired-up.

The story re-hashed an incident dating back to 1997, where tempers flared in a high school basketball game between Garfield and Redmond. The story notes that the cause of the friction wasn’t adolescent male aggression, but race. The re-telling of the story was prompted by a recent brouhaha between the two schools earlier this month.

Shocking...A media outlet playing up-the race card.

The first question that came to mind, was: “Why bring-up such an old story?”

Is it still relevant today? I mean, if race relations are as bad as this story makes them out to be, why did they have to dig so deep into the archives to find another example? Shouldn’t race-fueled acts of aggression/violence be peppering the headlines every day…and not happening once every 10 years?

I am not going so far as to say race-relations are perfect now that we are in the ‘Age of Obama,’ but why harp on the negatives?

More upsetting to me was the gross over-simplification of the cause of the fight by the mainstream media.

There are a myriad of issues that play into the grudges that do exist between Suburban and Urban schools. Not the least of which is economics.

Sure, race is an easy divider. But the one that really hurts is economics.

As a white student at a predominantly black high school, I saw the dichotomy from the other side of the coin. I shared the same angst towards the ‘Eastside’ (read: Rich/White) schools as any other Rainier Beach High School student (read: Not Rich/Not White).

The feeling of being short-changed in comparison to the ‘haves’ of the world was exacerbated when taking one of the few AP-level classes Rainier Beach offered. The class was nearly canceled as there were not enough textbooks for the class. Meanwhile, on a visit to an eastside school that same year, I saw laptops and new computer labs. (Laptops were a very big deal in 1996-1997.)

I really didn’t have an issue with any of the eastside students just because they were white, I had an issue because they were so well-off and not only seemingly didn’t appreciate it…but they acted as if it was owed to them. *Maybe those eastside kids were unwittingly on to something, perhaps every student is deserving of a top-notch education. But all I did know was that we at Rainier Beach sure weren't getting one.

Only adding to the condescension was when eastside schools would ‘adopt’ or ‘partner’ with Rainier Beach. This was when in an attempt to broaden horizons, (read: assuage white-guilt) a school would invite Rainier Beach students to their school for a look at the good life and then, in-turn would spend a day slumming on a tour of Rainier Beach.

Instead of seeing how much we had in common, these tours only magnified the differences between the haves (them) and the have-nots (us).

So what does this have to do with a fight at a basketball game? Quite a bit actually.

Over-simplifying the cause of this brawl by attributing it to race is simply wrong. The issues are socio-economic.

And as long as everyone wants to focus on attention-grabbing headlines instead of reporting on the actual root causes of problems (urban decay as wealth has left the cities for the ‘burbs and/or the fact that in cities like Seattle the average blue-collar family has been priced-out of home ownership) fights and tensions are bound to persist.

For the record, high school dudes are gonna fight. Fights happen in high schools all over the country, regardless of racial make-up. Testosterone and egos are a volatile mix (regardless of age). Add a cheering crowd and maybe a couple of cute ladies and viola- a young fella is gonna get a over-zealous and the fists start flying.

To claim race is the driving force of tension is making a mountain out of a molehill and subverting the bigger issues like offering all American youths the same shot at a quality education.
For what it’s worth, I was able to complete that AP class in high school, and though I am not sure what the subject was, I’ll never forget that I was only able to do so because the teacher was able to finagle getting the books from a ‘better-off’ school.

I used experiences like that as fuel as I paid my way through college. But looking back at stories like that, it’s easy to see why so many kids feel like second-class citizens and just give-up

I am living proof that urban schools produce reasonable members of society. But I had to work a lil harder than suburban kids as my resources were limited.

Am I still pissed about it? Hell yeah.

But seeing as I am not 16, I am not going to punch anyone in the face over it. And I don’t think any other members of my graduating class are either. We need to work together to bridge the gaps in education/opportunities given to all students.

The real question is why don't we see anything about the education gap on the front page?

Obama + a couple weeks

2009-02-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I gotta say, Obama seems to be making some pretty big rookie mistakes.

At least I hope they are rookie mistakes.

First there was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson who had to withdraw from an Obama post over issues of improper actions while governor. *Dick Cheney and Halliburton anyone?

Then there was Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who ‘forgot’ to pay taxes. *The Treasury is where taxes actually go.

And just this week there were two more nominees: Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer who both withdrew their nominations for…wait for it, not paying taxes.

Now I don’t blame Obama for these transgressions on taxes. These folks are freakin adults and supposedly public servants, so paying taxes seems like a given. Obama had nothing to do with their personal financial mismanagement.

I do blame Obama for nominating them in the first place. Seems like item #3 on every ‘will this person pass the scrutiny of the nomination’ list is: Have they paid their freaking taxes?

I just hope Obama learned a lesson and has his team working double-time researching the backgrounds of future nominees.

I know what you are thinking, “But JR., this is Barack Obama, he can do no wrong, don’t you love him like we do?”

And Yes, I do believe in Obama. I am still a big fan, which is why I am so upset.

This rant about Obama’s stumble out of the gate is similar to the way a mother scolds her child who just darted-out into the middle of the street before looking both ways. I am more scared than angry.

In today’s hyper-polarized world of partisan politics and light-speed journalism one mis-step is enough to kill a career: Howard Dean, anyone? Luckily, Obama is in office, so he dodged a bullet there.

A lot of the ‘change’ that Obama campaigned on was an end to partisan politics as usual…

So what is the first thing Obama and the newly-in-the-majority Democrats do as their first matter if business? Force through a huge stimulus bill that didn’t get one Republican vote. (Disclosure: I am a registered Democrat.)

Hardly the bi-partisan kumbaya moment everyone envisioned on election night.

Now I am not saying it was all the Democrats forcing this down Republicans throats. I am sure the Republicans were playing politics as well and decided not to vote for it regardless.

Which is utterly ridiculous.

Now is not a time for partisan-ism. America needs bold action, the stimulus package was just such an action.

But between the Democrats acting like 5-year-olds who just got a Nintendo for Christmas, rushing to pass anything they could with their newfound power and the Republicans licking their wounds and relishing their sour grapes, the Average American is lost in the shuffle. (Disclosure: I am not a fan of the stimulus package as it stands.)

So what is the remedy? Shoot, I don’t know. I am a loser who works in a call center.

But even so, I can see that this system isn’t working. Obama was elected to shake things up. But so far he’s looking like the first-round draft pick who is expected to save the franchise, but still has to spend the season carrying everyone’s bags.

Obama should step-up and reign-in the Democratic leadership- ‘Fall in line with my agenda of bi-partisanship or be gone.’ Obama also needs to tell the Republicans to quit bitching and do the job they were elected to do. The Republicans had the keys to the city for 8 long years, I can understand some bitterness after losing that. But we are all adults here and much the same way we all have to pay our taxes (Tim Geithner, Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer) we all have to roll-up our sleeves once we clock-in at the office.

America is hurting. Now is not the time for plotting for the next election. Now is the time to remember that we are all on the same team. Now is the time to restore some luster to our great country.

I still think Obama is the man for the job. He just needs to find his legs and remember to look both ways before darting into the street.

What a weekend

2009-01-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

If only Martin Luther King, Jr. had made it to see his 80th birthday…What a weekend!

What a weekend to be an African-American.

What a weekend to simply be an American.

Not only is it MLK Day, but it falls on the eve of the inauguration of America’s first Black President, Barack Obama.

Hollywood couldn’t have written it any better.

I recently heard a story from a buddy that got me to thinking about how far we’ve come from the days of MLK to the election of Obama.

My buddy, who is Black, was riding the bus when a white lady comes-up and looks at him. After a few moments, she speaks to him “You look like him…Obama.” My buddy paid the comment little mind as he bears lil resemblance to Obama…other than being Black.

Upon telling me the story, my first inclination was to roll my eyes and cite the old ‘You all look the same to me,’ mentality.

But as I thought about it, I changed my mind.

At least she engaged my buddy.

Back in college, I wrote an MLK Day column where I implored people to communicate with folks of other races and backgrounds. Communication is key.

Who knows how many people of color this lady on the bus has dealt with. Based-on the interaction with my buddy, I’d venture to guess not very many. But Obama seems to offer a bridge to start a dialogue that has been lacking for far too long.

Instead of focusing on the negative(s), look at how far we’ve come.

Blacks have gone from slavery, to Negro, to segregation, to Black, to African-American and now President…(a gross over-simplification, but I am not a historian.)

Some would think we are at the end of the road. But I caution those people, as I whole-heartedly disagree.

Obama’s election is a great accomplishment and it has now placed the issue of race on the table, in a way it never has been before, but we still have a very long way to go.

Should a Black President be a big deal? In a perfect world, No. We should be excited about the new President, not the color or his skin.

Now I am not naïve enough to talk about rainbows and seeing a world without color. MLK said it best in his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

I am not knocking the truly historic and monumental shift that Obama’s Inauguration represents. I just want to make sure that we don’t lose sight of the goal in all of the euphoria.

The fact that MLK’s words are still as relevant today as the day he uttered them only proves my point.

Racism is still alive and well in America. Obama does offer hope/proof that we are moving in the right direction. But to tout Obama’s election as the culmination of MLK’s Dream is premature.

We need to see Obama’s election as a step (a very big one, at that) towards the mountain top that MLK spoke of in his speech.

And as my buddy’s story exhibits, it’s gonna be a bit awkward at times, but it looks like we are getting there.

An update on ‘Being Green’

2009-01-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Instead of coming-up with another ‘baby-step’ idea this month, I am going to offer some reviews on some of the changes that I have made.

First-off, is commuting to work by bus…I am loving it! I’ve driven to the Eastside a couple times since getting my bus pass and experienced harsh reminders of how stressful/horrible traffic is. In fact, during the snow of the past couple weeks, I didn’t even touch my car. And shockingly, I didn’t miss it. In fact, the snow even got me to walk (the whole mile +) to and from the bus stop. So not only am I being greener, but also getting a lil exercise.

Next are the green cleaning supplies…and there is a stinker, literally.

Earth Friendly Products Ultra Dishmate- Natural Pear
This product is definitely not a stinker. It’s a serviceable dishwashing detergent. I use the same amount as I would of a non-green detergent and it simply gets the job done. It cuts grease and has a nice scent. It is supposedly pear, but I’d say it’s closer to vanilla.

Arm & Hammer Essentials- Mountain Rain
I have already reviewed this product and find it to not only be equal, but superior to any laundry detergent I have used. It’s pretty heavily scented, which I like, but seems to be quite a black mark among eco-Nazis. *I also still use cold water to wash my clothes, and have seen no ill-effects on the cleanliness of my clothes.

Bright Green Chlorine-Free Bleach
I am indifferent on this product. I cannot say if this product works or not. I have seen no benefits or hindrances to using it. It is twice the price of regular bleach, but is Non-toxic and Biodegradable. I don’t recommend it as it seems to be a non-factor.

Bright Green Toilet Bowl Cleaner- Lemon Scent
I highly recommend this product…if you want your toilet to smell worse than before you cleaned it. I am not sure who formulated this product, but the ‘Lemon Scent’ smells faintly of mold and stale urine. I am not sure about you, but in my book, nothing says clean like mold and stale urine. If you can get past the smell (I can’t) it really is a poor toilet bowl cleaner, as it did little to remove stains or any other of the things that would render a toilet bowl clean. I will note that this product is Biodegradable, which about the only good thing it has going for it.

Ah, I am glad I got that off of my chest.

Please feel free to add a comment recommending some of the better green products you’ve come across or warning against some of the bad ones.

Depression 2009

2009-01-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

As I sit here, sipping my 50-cent coffee, watching folks hard at work cleaning-up after the 2nd Snowpocalypse, it dawns on me.

There is no Christmas music playing. And those workers aren’t simply pressure washing the excess sand, but removing Christmas lights.

The holiday season is over.

Let the depression begin.

While Christmas shopping tends to bring-out the worst in people, the season on-the-whole seems to bring out the humanity in folks. Families get-together, friends have parties, employers give out yearly bonuses and even in these tough economic times charities see an influx of donations.

It’s freaking beautiful.

I am a Christmas freak. I love the music, I love the food, I love the parties. Simply put, I love the love.

And now it’s over. (A tear.)

I always get pretty bummed-out around this time of year. *And not just because I got to spend Christmas Even and New Year’s Eve all-by-my-lonesome, as I did this year.

It’s a lot like a 5 year-old who binges on a ton of candy, I love the high and hate the inevitable crash.

So nearly a week into the New Year, I am in a sour mood.

This is the week when folks really begin to see what resolutions are going to stick and which aren’t. I am failing miserably on mine. This is where the hope raised in a drunken stupor begins to come back down to reality.

Reality sucks.

I think that is the beauty of the Holidays and New Years, you get to suspend reality for a bit. Kids dream of the perfect present and adults look to the New Year hoping for a change after a year that may not have progressed as they liked.

But sadly, the excesses that are excused by “Oh, it’s the holidays,” reasoning must be reigned-in as folks buckle-down for the coming year.

Maybe we are all just that gluttonous 5 year-old at heart. I know I am.

Guess the trick is to find that balance.

But with the New Year comes a reminder that change is coming and though it seems all but forgotten now, sunny weather is on the way.

Something tells me that the first time I hit a tennis ball over the net, I’ll have long-forgotten this sad sack-dom that befalls me annually.

But until then, I need some candy.

A change is gonna come.

2009-01-01T01:32:00.000-08:00

As I awoke last night to the sound of howling winds, I got to thinking about the coming New Year.

And yes, I am alluding to “Winds of Change” there. Cheesy, I know. But it was 3:30 AM.

See, 2008 started-off with a bang. After being unemployed for half of 2007, January saw me get a job and a lady in the same week…things were looking up.

If only I hadn’t peaked there.

The relationship didn’t last, with me playing the role of a Neville Brother, having ‘Played the Fool.’ And the job, while offering a paycheck and chance to work with some good folks, turned-out to be a mind-numbing dead-end position in an industry that is seriously hurting.

Woo Hoo…

While my lot is better than some, as I am employed, I am ready for a change.

Howl-on Winds of Change! (I am sticking with it.)

I saw a glimmer of hope for change in the election of Barack Obama this fall. Not just in a political sense, but because his election is an example of the seemingly impossible actually coming to fruition. I mean, America elected a Black man!! That is some historic and unheard of stuff!!

So I figure, if a Black man can become President, a dude like me should be able to land a slightly more fulfilling job or at least get a date.

Sadly, I don’t see 2009 offering any improvements on the global/national economic front. Which makes searching for a job a daunting task. But that is my resolution, transition to a career doing something that offers more than just a paycheck. (A desire I’ve shared previously on this blog.)

But if there is one thing I take away from 2008, it’s that I am still here and swingin’.

Many folks sum-up 2008 with one phrase, “It is what it is.”

My challenge to you for 2009, is to flip that sentiment and become proactive. Tweaking a line from Kanye West illustrates my point, “Don’t play the hand you are dealt, change the cards.”

Really take the time to examine your life and identify an area you’d like to see improvement in. Then take steps to make that change a reality. And hold yourself accountable.
Last year, I decided I had been fat-ass long enough, made an honest effort to change and am now in much better shape. So it can be done.

With that I sign-off, wishing you Good Luck, Good Health and Good Friends in 2009.

Thoughts on Christmas '08

2008-12-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

As I sit at home today, alone on Christmas, a victim of the recent and on-going ‘snowpocalypse’ I still can’t be mad.

I freakin’ love snow!

It’s now been over a week since I was last behind the wheel of my car. Truthfully, I have been a bit stir-crazy.

However, the time alone has given me the chance to evaluate life and the holidays.

The isolation and simple work it takes to get out and about only makes the opportunities to spend time with people even sweeter.

See, my family never did a ‘Big Family Christmas” as all of our extended family is back east. So I was never privy to the aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins crowding around the dinner table that are a staple of the ‘traditional’ Christmas.

So my extended family has become close friends. And as I’ve come to appreciate this year, my extended family is pretty damn big.

I am one lucky SOB.

I could go about naming names, but being me, I am sure I’d mistakenly omit a name or two and the last thing I want is to slight anyone. So if you think you may be on my list…rest assured, you are.

In these dark economic times, it’s easy to focus on the glass being half-empty. (To be honest, it’s my nature to view things in such a way.)

But I think Christmas is there to allow us to see the glass as being half-full.

Very few holidays being people together like Christmas. What better time to realize what you have going for you?

Family, friends, health…all of which are taken for granted most of the time.

Just do me a favor while sitting down to dinner tonight, as you fill your wine glass or open your beer, take a mental snapshot of the thoughts running through your head. I bet there’s nothing about mortgages, job security, etc.

They most likely will be thoughts of family, friends and fun.

These are the things that matter. Remember that.

And while I am a lil too broke to give any gifts this year, I can offer something I’ve found to be of much greater value when given to me, friendship.

Merry Christmas to you.

Being better-off

2008-12-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

While on my (what is becoming the usual) Saturday morning stroll to pick-up my car after a night of excess, I was reminded of something.

Something that bothers me. Something that deserves more attention.

See, my route takes me past a local church and food bank.

And sure enough, I’ve noticed it while driving by in my car.

But actually walking past the folks in-line, making eye-contact and speaking with them really brought the issue home to me.

These are people just like me.

And the most shocking/disheartening realization was that the vast majority of people standing in-line, in near-freezing temperatures were elderly.

Social Security has gotten a bad wrap in politics, especially with young folks like myself. I don’t expect it to be around when I am ready to retire (which is now) or when I turn 70.

But as I saw small women, hunched-over on canes waiting their turn to receive a box of veggies that are a day away from being inedible and a loaf of 3-day-old bread, I realized Social Security is not only needed…it is obviously inadequate.

The elderly deserve better than their lot in American Society.

This epiphany led me to think of my own father.

Not because he is either broke or elderly, but because he devoted the entirety of my lifetime (and then some) to actually doing something about it.

I’ve never thought of my Dad as a particularly charitable guy. He’s a rather Joe Friday kinda fella, “Just the facts, ma’am.” So I am not sure that his intentions were so philanthropic when he signed-on to be a delivery driver for Senior Services of King County’s new Meals-on-Wheels program back in the ‘70s.

But whatever his motivation, the program grew under his management and hundreds if not thousands of King County’s Elderly are better-off as a result.

I long for an opportunity to better the world I live in the way Pops did. But I also would like to keep food on my own table. It’s an interesting balance, but Pops is proof, you can make it happen.

So until that world-changing, decent-paying job comes about for me all I can do is raise awareness and maybe inspire a difference-maker.

I’ll tell ya one thing, I think I am gonna volunteer at the Food Bank in the meantime.

I mean, I’m there already…it’s on the way to my car.

A tough Good-Bye.

2008-12-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

It’s now been (sigh) over 10 years since I last roamed the halls of my high school. But recent news has brought my alma mater to the forefront of many discussions here in Seattle.

I was born and raised in Rainier Beach. I graduated from Rainer Beach High School in 1997. As such, I have a special affection for the school. High school was the first time I was allowed to go to a Seattle school. I attended elementary and middle schools in a nearby district as my parents thought they were better options. Yet, come high school, I was allowed to go to RB, which was sweet as I finally got to go to school with all my friends from the neighborhood.

After four years, I graduated with a decent GPA, having lettered in a couple sports and being about as extracurricularly active as one can ask for. I participated in Student Government and even got to meet John Stanford, still one of the most impressive men I’ve ever had the chance to shake hands with.

I loved/love RB. Which is why the next sentence is one of the hardest ones I’ve ever tapped-out on a keyboard.

It’s time for RB to go.

During my time at RB there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 700-800 registered students. If 75% of those kids showed-up regularly, I’d be shocked. And now, per the Seattle Times, RB enrollment in 2007 had dropped to 455.

Even back when I was a student there was talk of combining Cleveland High and RB. We actually had a joint-wrestling team as neither school was big enough to field a full team on their own.

It simply makes no sense to keep RB open.

Being a lifetime resident of Rainier Beach, I understand what the school means to the community. But what is a poorly functioning school really doing for the community? I remember my math teacher having to work-out a trade (maybe just steal) text books for my Pre-Calculus (one of the few AP-level) class. How is it fair to ask students/teachers to show-up to school with a broken-down crutch, when other schools in the district have powered wheelchairs?

I now live in the Central District, just blocks from the newly renovated Garfield High School. And the place looks amazing! My younger brother works for the Seattle School District and played quite a role in rolling-out the high-tech remodel of Roosevelt High School in North Seattle. So I got an insider’s tour of the wi-fi hot-spots and interactive touch-screen whiteboards introduced at Roosevelt. The Roosevelt remodel followed the highly publicized renovation of Ballard High School. All are great examples of the Seattle School District upgrading to stay with the times to offer students the best possible opportunities to learn.

By comparison, RB got a new Sports Complex.

What kind of message does that send to the community?

While the Sports Complex is very nice, where are the wi-fi hot spots? Where are the new computer labs? Where are (at the very least) the textbooks?

It’s long been a gripe that the N. End schools- Ballard, Roosevelt (read: well-off, white) were treated better than those on the S. End- Cleveland, RB (read: poor, minority). The vast discrepancies in services/upgrades seem to corroborate that fact. *Cleveland just did receive a remodel itself, to be fair.

N. End schools, get upgrades that prepare students for college. While S. End schools get upgrades that prepare student athletes for college sports.

Some might say, “Hey if you are being prepped for college sports, at least you are going to college.”

But, far too few students benefit scholastically from an athlete factory. RB has always had an athletically gifted student body: perennial powers in Track and Basketball, producing College-level athletes in numerous sports. But what about the kids like me, whose future (like 99% of students) doesn’t lie in College Athletics? Where are the resources for them?

The question of whether RB must be closed is moot.

What should be asked is: How did RB get to the point that it must be closed? How/why was it allowed to fail?

There are a modicum of factors that go into answering that question: Cultural nuances, changing demographics and simple finances. And I am not going to presume to have an answer.

However, it is critical to ponder those questions as to prevent a similar failure at Cleveland after merging the two.

It makes no sense to keep RB open as Cleveland was recently renovated and is simply a bigger and more up-to-date facility. The money has been spent and in times like these, stretching a dollar is the only way to go.

Will I be sad to see RB close? Yes.

Instead of (understandably) focusing on anger and spite to keep RB open, people must focus on strengthening Cleveland. To prevent the same missteps that caused RB to be shuttered.

As much as this is about a community losing one of the few positive anchors, it is more important to think about the current RB students who deserve better.

Here are some links to stories about RB:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008471680_rainier05m0.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008467004_schoolclosure04m.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008467126_webschoolclosure03m.html
*I recommend reading some of the comments. It’s interesting to see how prevalent stereotypes still are. Maybe we aren’t as far along in race relations as Obama’s election would make people think.

1-11 never sounded so good.

2008-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

So I recently read an update about the-team-formerly-known-as the Seattle Supersonics. As I saw their record was 1-11, it dawned on me, I still care.

Not about the team or the season. I was just happy to see that they are so terrible.

It’s petty, but it’s how I feel. Seeing the horrible record is like hearing that an ex is dating a fat dude, sweet vindication.

See, I view the loss of the Sonics as a bad break-up where I got dumped. The Sonics have moved-on, with a new suitor who they deemed superior to me.

So I did the Sonics, the way I do ladies who’ve deemed me unworthy, I swore-off all contact. Why maintain a relationship that does lil more than remind you of what you’ve lost?

Any highlights flashed on TV prompt a change of the channel. I don’t even peek at the scores in the paper. I can’t even name their starting five.

I toyed with the idea of boycotting the NBA altogether. But that was too extreme. I love basketball too much. That’d be like swearing-off all women, just because it didn’t work-out with one.

So Go Celtics! (And secretly, Go Blazers!)

Am I happy to hear the-team-formerly-known-as the Sonics are 1-11? Hell yes.

Am I happy to hear they got booed? Yup.

Do I wish them any future success? No freakin way!

I made it to one Sonics game last season. We showed-up late and the ticket-taker was kind enough to note: “We’re down by 22, just so you know.” I only got to stick around for a quarter before my friends decided they were bored…I didn’t want to leave.

I mention the story, to illustrate a point.

Seattle loved the Sonics. I didn’t hear any boos at that game or any others. No matter how dark times got, we were in. Even though *we were down 22 points, I still wanted to be there. To support MY team.

I previously wrote that should the Sonics leave, the NBA probably wouldn’t return to Seattle. I was wrong. The NBA will return. Seattle is too big and a gateway to Asia. Meaning there is too much money to be made for a re-branded Sonics (Seattle got to keep the name) franchise to lie dormant.

So much like dating, there are other fish in the sea. I just hope that when the NBA does make its way back to town, that The Sonics will beat the crap out of the team-formerly-known-as.

*Please note, I still use ‘we’ in reference to a team that no longer exists.

Baby steps to getting green IV

2008-11-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

It’s been a lil while since the last incarnation of my (self-proclaimed, yet unable to keep to the schedule) monthly series. But that doesn’t mean the getting green has ceased.

While I am starting to run short on ideas, (hint, hint- post comments with ideas) I do still have one more to toss-out in this edition.

This month’s step is: Changing to green cleaning products and ceasing to use anti-bacterial cleaners.

This is a big personal step. As I am a certified Neat Freak. I am willing to admit that the cleaning aisle of the store is more exciting for me than it should be.

But as I have done some research, I see the importance of using biodegradable products. And these products do just as good a job as the non-green products. In fact, most anti-bacterial products are no more effective at “anti-bacterializing” than regular cleaners. *This is due mostly to improper use and unreasonable expectations for use…who keeps their counter wet with cleaner for 60 seconds? The cleaner evaporates faster than that. All these anti-bacterial cleaners do, is give the illusion of cleanliness, which is pretty pointless. I give the illusion of being cool, but you see what that’s worth.

While green cleaners may cost a little more, think about the last time you bought glass cleaner…I’ll give you a sec…You can’t remember, can you? So what’s an extra $1-2, for something you buy once every blue moon?

I am also looking into a steam mop to replace my Swiffer Wet Jet. As the Swiffer, while good at its job, is pretty darn wasteful. Steam is a natural, highly effective cleaner, it both disinfects and cleans. And water is a hell of a lot cheaper than the Swiffer cleaning fluid.

*One caveat: I will still use Lysol in the bathroom. Just has to be done. (These are baby steps after all.)

The lesser of two evils

2008-11-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

As another election season comes to a close I can’t help but reflect on the past couple of years and say: Thank God it’s over!

Being a political junky you’d think I look forward to election season in the same way a fat kid looks forward to dessert, or dinner, for that matter.

But I don’t.

I have become so disillusioned by the process that I nearly don’t vote. (Living in a Blue state like Washington means my vote is pretty worthless anyway.)

I trace it back to the 2000 election. And no, this isn’t going to be a Bush-bashing-if-only-Gore-had-won column. It’s going to be a "this process has hosed me ever since I cast my first vote" rant.

Being 21 in the year 2000, it was the first Presidential election I could vote in. I was stoked. We were that the end of the Clinton Administration, the economy was doing well, 9/11 hadn’t happened and I was looking forward to keeping the good times rolling by electing Al Gore…pre-An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore.

Truth be told, I didn’t dislike G.W. at this point, in fact I said he’s a guy I’d never vote for, but would love to have beers with.

Then came election night. I cast my ballot for the Gore camp and headed home to watch the landslide. States turned blue and I felt a part of something.

Then things changed, states started turning Red and I began to be confused. How can this happen?

By then end of it all, I had cast a vote for the winner of the popular vote, yet somehow the other candidate was President-elect.

Not a great first experience.

Then came 2004, and after my experience in 2000 and Bush’s handling of 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq, I was ready to vote the bum out of office.

This was the first presidential campaign I paid close attention to. And I was shocked by the ferocity of the campaign ads. From Swift boats to Flip-flopping to national security, instead of candidates explaining who was better for the job, they focused on why the other candidate wasn’t.

I couldn’t fathom how anyone could vote for G.W. a second time, but again I was forced to sit in front of a TV and watch just enough states turn red to give Bush a return trip to the White House.

Burned yet again.

Being a student of politics, I knew beating an incumbent was a long-shot. But what really stuck with me were those campaign ads, from both sides. The same can be said for the ads used during the hotly contested Gubernatorial race here in Washington that year.

I guess ads like these are as much a commentary on the American public as the folks who produce them. I mean, if they didn’t get results, they wouldn’t get made.

Sadly this election process has been boiled-down to winning at all costs proposition. As opposed to a refined exposition of why a candidate is qualified for the position and why they are the best one for the job.

To put this in real terms, when interviewing for a job, you don’t slander other candidates to better your chances. You simply present your case as to why you are the best option for the position.

It’s too bad the same precedent doesn’t apply to the election process.

Instead of keeping things positive, and focusing on their strong points, candidates rely on spin and extort the truth to paint opponents in a bad light. Granted, this is an effective tool for winning an election, but my question is: Does doing so benefit Americans?

Coming out of the battle for the Democratic nomination both Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton had gone so negative against a fellow Democrat that some feared the party was permanently fractured. Fueling fears that Clinton supports would not support Obama as the Democratic nominee for President. Sure, Obama had won, but at what cost?

Folks feared Clinton supporters would jump ship and vote for McCain out of spite.

This game of division, perfected with great success by the Republicans and operatives like Dick Morris in the early 90’s and more recently Karl Rove, must stop. To be fair, Morris was hired as a consultant during Bill Clinton’s presidency, so Republicans aren’t alone in my criticism. All sides are guilty.

I am no longer interested in hearing a candidate speak more about their opponent than themselves. Both McCain and Obama seemed to spend more time paraphrasing each other than actually hitting their own talking points.

Attack ads also should be curbed. Democracy is a special animal and the current trends in campaign strategies only cheapen a noble tradition. It got so bad this Sunday that I turned-off the TV during Football, yes Football, because I could no longer tolerate the vicious attack ads.

So as a reforming political junkie, I will say this. Think about this past election season and how your candidate campaigned. Then consider if they warrant your vote.

I am tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. I look forward to the day I can vote for the best person for the job. Sadly, I don’t see that being an option for a long, long time.

Stop reading this and go vote!

2008-11-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

Get out and vote today.

I don’t care which way you vote, just do it.

If you don’t, you have no right to complain.

It's just that simple.

TGIF?

2008-10-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

As you can see in my ‘About me’ section, I work in mortgage. And I am not sure if you’ve seen the news, but times are getting a lil tough.

As such, many of my co-workers have more free-time on their hands during the course of the day. And, as is commonly the case, that means forwards.

I was recently forwarded a joke from a pretty darn good blog.

(Read the joke or this rant may make little sense.)

For the lazy who didn’t click the link: It’s a gay joke, basically a newly damned person is lamenting being sent to Hell and Satan is trying to improve his spirits. Satan notes that all of the stuff that was ‘bad’ in life was A-OK in Hell. With the punch line adding that Fridays are gonna be kinda tough.

While I laughed at the joke, it raised an interesting question for me.

Why is this joke equating being gay to being a sin?

When I raised this question to the person who forwarded it, they were surprised.

“How did you come to be so OK with the issue?”

Being a straight fella myself, I had the usual gay-phobia in my younger years. It gets to be a catch-22. You know little-to-nothing of gay men, yet you are unwilling to interact with them, so your phobia feeds on itself.

I prided myself on being very culturally sensitive and diverse, yet failed to include gay/lesbian people in my life. After much thought, I decided my stance was hypocritical and worked on changing my ways.

Then I started working in mortgage.

Not sure if this rings true for every mortgage company, but many of the places I have worked with have been pretty gay-friendly.

Any gay issues I may have had were tossed-out the window as I realized these guys were just that, guys…Who just so happened to like other guys.

(Luckily for me, gay men find me as attractive as straight women do, so there were no awkward situations/advances.)

Which brings me back to the joke.

Is being gay a sin?

Folks will say that the Bible clearly says being Gay is a sin.

While that may be true, I am not a fan of literal interpretations of the Bible.

If the Bible were meant to be interpreted literally, there would be no need for Pastors to sermonize. Church service would simply be a 1-hour weekly reading session.

The Bible is not the ‘Word of God.’ It is man’s (and woman’s) take on God’s word. It is full of stories and parables that are meant to fuel thought and nurture contemplation.

Eye for an eye, is a euphemism, not a rule.

So is being gay a sin?

I just don’t know. And since I don’t know, I cannot damn a person for being gay.

There are two big issues that arise when thinking about the issue.

Is being gay a nature or nurture thing?

I lean pretty heavily towards folks being born gay. It’s a natural thing. I have met too many folks who had terrible times growing-up or simply living, while trying to ‘fit the mold’ with regards to ‘normal’ sexuality for me to think it’s a lifestyle choice.

If someone is simply being who they were born as, how can they be damned?

Then there is the question of big sins versus little sins.

Is one sin worse than the next?

Is murdering someone worse than lying? Is adultery worse than stealing? Is being gay worse than being a drunk?

To be honest, I do think of some sins as being worse than others…If you are a murderer, I am gonna think far less of you than most folks, who I know have told a lie at some point.

Am I right? Probably not.

A sin is a sin. So why make gay men out to be the devil, when everyone else has a laundry list of sins to account for themselves?

Is being gay a sin?

I don’t think it is.

But the bigger point is that it simply doesn’t matter. Because we are all sinners.

Like Jesus said, “Let those who are without sin cast the first stone.”

So until someone can come to God with a clean slate this whole finger-pointing exercise is moot. More time should be spent tending to your own house before broadcasting the short-comings of your neighbor.

Wow, all that from a joke. I really need to lighten up.

Putting the cards on the table...

2008-10-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well folks, here they are.

Homer’s Odyssey 2008 Election Endorsements.

Prop 1- Yes.
For far too long the status quo in Washington state politics has been to sit on our hands. Dating back to the early 1900’s the sentiment of “this plan isn’t good enough” has retarded any real evolution towards a comprehensive mass transit solution for the region.

So here we are in 2008 with a plan on the table, why wait longer, allow the need to worsen and costs to increase?

This may not be the perfect plan, but it is a start and something to build from. The roads are still crowded and more busses alone are not the solution.

What is needed is forward thinking and proactive planning. I am not a fan of sales tax in general, but a .5% increase in the sales tax is tolerable.

The time has come to bite the bullet and make it happen.

Prop 1000- Yes.
This initiative is similar to Oregon’s right-to-die law.

While I am no advocate of suicide, I am a staunch advocate of personal liberty and dignity.

This law requires 2 of 3 doctors to approve of the action. Which is enough of a ‘safe guard’ for me.

I hope no one ever has to make use of the law, but that’s wishful thinking. Recent personal experiences have only strengthened my support for this type of law.

No one thinks twice of putting an animal out of its misery when terminally ill or its quality of life is severely limited.

Shouldn’t we extend the same compassion to a fellow human?

I-985- No.
Tim Eyman. Enough said.

Eyman wants to reduce the hours of HOV lane restriction to 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at night.

Not sure where he’s driving, but rush hour lasts far longer than that. And it’s obvious that adding another lane to traffic does little to solve the traffic mess.

Just another ill-conceived Eyman brain child.

Governor- Christine Gregoire-D
I voted for Dino Rossi last election. I don’t say this often, but I was wrong.

I questioned Gregoire’s character in that first election. But after 4 years, we are not worse off, in some very trying times.

Gregoire has also increased support for social programs which I find very important.

Budgets are hard to manage, especially as tax revenues dwindle, so I don’t knock her there.

But back to character, I simply don’t trust Dino Rossi. His “Don’t let King County steal the Election” billboards which are plastered all over the state speak volumes about his character…or should I say lack there of. We don’t need a divider in Olympia, especially a divider who wants to lower the minimum wage.

President- Barack Obama-D
No shocker here. He’s unproven, yes. And yes, he speaks in broad terms. But when he speaks, he says what I want to hear from my president.

He represents a change from the status quo. Now I am willing to say, change is not always a good thing…But I am willing to take a chance.

He understands that there is a world outside of our borders and our reputation is severely tarnished. And he appears open to the idea of working with other countries to restore America’s previous luster.

He also understands the plight of the working poor. Sure we need jobs, but taxing those who can afford it just makes sense.

His ideas on modernizing our economy and educating ourselves to make the American workforce an actual commodity on the world market again, just makes sense.

I will admit Obama has lost some luster during this campaign, but he remains the far superior choice.

Time keeps on slippin...

2008-10-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

I recently came to a realization.

While on my morning stroll from my parking spot to the bus stop, it dawned on me.

Time isn’t my enemy.

I have always been one to be punctual. Maybe it had something to do with my Dad being a military man, but I’ve always doted-on being on-time.

It’s a respect thing for me. If I agree to meet you at a certain time, I better damn well be there. As you are taking time-out of your day for me. Being late just infuriates me...even if it doesn’t bother the person I am meeting.

More precisely, I should say it infuriated me. In an attempt to relax and simply life, I have decided to take a little pressure off of myself.

During my walk, I asked myself this question: What is going to happen if I miss this bus and take the next one?

And the only answer I came-up with was: Nothing.

I’ve never looked at time as an ally. It was always an obstacle, something to be dealt with or worked around. It was always something there never seemed to be enough of and was a great source of stress for me.

Ironically, in my life-long attempt for punctual perfection, I was actually robbing myself of time. Stress isn’t healthy. In fact, it could cause conditions that would shorten my life.

When looking at it from that perspective, what is 5, 10 or even 15 minutes in the grand scheme of things?

In the past, I’d run to catch the bus while getting a lil flustered in the process.

Which brought back bad memories of 5th Period Spanish class from high school…See 5th period was the class after gym class and being a rather portly fella, I was that “sweaty guy” in class who no one wanted to sit next to. The same phenomena rang true recently on the bus.

So it would seem appropriate that this whole time realization came about as I was deciding if I needed to run for the bus or not.

I’ve decided against running. I just leave myself time in the morning to miss the bus if I want. And it’s actually pretty nice to just stroll at my own pace and enjoy being outside.

So, do I still fret about time? Oh yeah. I watch the clock like a hawk at work. But that’s more a commentary on my occupation than my pre-occupation with punctuality.

I am just more willing to put myself ahead of time. To decide if what I am doing at the moment is worth stopping because I am supposed to be somewhere. (A lot of the time, it’s really not.)

I actually think punctuality is becoming antiquated, with cell phones, email and text messaging re-scheduling can be done in a matter of seconds.

I remember the days before pagers and cell phones and making plans called for punctuality as neither party could easily communicate otherwise. That no longer applies.

Does all this mean I am throwing my devotion to punctuality out of the window?

Heck no. I am just not going to let it give me gray hair.

Gotta go, time to catch my bus.

Dude, time to bail.

2008-10-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, JR. chimes-in on the “bail-out.”

This is a more elaborate version of a comment I left on a fellow mortgage monkey and part-time blogger’s site.

I teeter back and forth on this topic. On one side, I can easily go Tyler Durden from Fight Club and say “Burn it all to the ground.” But from the other side, I say we need to fix this issue to save/stabilize the world economy and I honestly believe that.

However, I am really, really against the Gov’t. taking everything over.

But that being said, we see what happens when the free market regulates itself. Take that Republicans.

The blame starts at the top, with the Gov’t. As the Fed lowered interest rates to perpetuate lending and keep money flowing to “grow” the economy, it was actually creating artificially high real estate values. Instead of looking ahead at the potential consequences of “a house for everyone” policies, they just kept forcing money back into the primary mortgage market and pleaded with banks to come-up with more exotic ways to qualify and approve borrowers.

Which brings us to the banks. Yes, the poor, poor banks (sarcasm) who were forced to oblige the Gov’t. and craft “innovative” and “dynamic” niche loan programs that allowed anyone with a credit score and a pulse to qualify for a home loan. Not to mention drafting programs/guidelines that dismissed normal safeguards to loan qualifying by no longer verifying common sense things like: Income, Assets or even Employment.

Then there is what I truly believe is the biggest issue with the industry, the uneducated and still far too unregulated loan originators. Having been an LO myself, I have seen how little training goes into the job and how little oversight there is once taking loan applications. There was far too much money to be made by placing borrowers into short-term high-paying loan programs with too little oversight as to whether closing the transaction was actually in the borrower’s best interest.

This old system of paying more for placing borrowers into higher rate programs needs to stop. As it is rewarding everyone for placing borrowers into loans that are not beneficial to them. This applies to the wholesale (LO to bank) and Secondary (bank to bigger bank/Wall St) mortgage markets.

Then there are the borrowers themselves. People threw common sense to the wind as they were offered astronomical sums of money with little documentation and no money down. Who wouldn’t take that deal? The only issue was that people no longer bought what they could afford, they bought what they wanted. Which sounds like a good deal, until you can’t pay your bills and get foreclosed upon.

I don’t feel bad for homeowners.

Sure some people probably got duped, but not as many as are being claimed…I’ll put it like this, when I went car shopping I didn’t go to a Bentley dealer. I rolled to a used car lot, because that was in my price range…people should have applied the same reasoning to buying a home, but obviously, they didn’t.

So who fixes it? I think everyone should. As no one is without blame.

I didn’t like the first incarnation of the bail-out as it didn’t do anything for the average homeowner, who is stuck with devaluing property and payments they can’t afford. While the Lenders and Wall Street investors who made ridiculous sums of money securitizing and selling bad loans get off scott-free.

Gov’t. is a stop-gap, not a solution. Simply wiping the slate clean is a terrible idea as there are no consequences to learn from. There were huge amounts of money made from this debacle (See former WAMU CEO Kerry Killinger’s $16.5 million severance package) and these companies should be held responsible for their careless actions.

The real solution is better gov’t. regulation, not a takeover, which should ensure smarter lending practices by the (few remaining) banks.

Time-Out!

2008-09-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I gotta admit, I was impressed this week.

As this election has dropped lower and lower on the respectability scale, I was happy to see one candidate put politics aside and put the American people first.

I applaud John McCain for stepping-up, suspending his campaign, putting-off the Presidential debate and returning to Washington to address “the greatest financial disaster since The Great Depression,” and broker/vote-on a bail-out plan.

Wait, isn’t that his job?

Oh right, it is.

Where’s the news coverage when I get up in the morning and slog myself into the office?

How can someone, who is running for President think asking for a ‘time-out’ is a smart political move?

What happens if (please God don’t let it happen) future-President McCain is signing a bill at his desk and the phone rings?

Will he forget what he’s doing?

Will the bill get signed?

Can someone actually call the Oval Office directly?

I can see the sentiment: Put the American people first. I just doubt the sincerity.

The move looks to be more of a political ploy than anything else, especially given the actions of GOP operatives in the state of Michigan, a crucial swing state.

I was recently forwarded this story, which outlines moves by GOP operatives to invalidate many Michigan voters because they have been foreclosed upon. It is gerrymandering plain and simple, as many of the voters being targeted are presumed to be Barack Obama supporters.

Hmmm, McCain suspends campaign to resolve the financial crisis, while the GOP attempts to prey upon foreclosure victims to better his chances of winning in Michigan.

Will the Real John McCain please stand-up?

With his return to Washington to pass a bail-out plan that does nothing to better the situation of the average homeowner facing foreclosure, but benefits the large investment firms on Wall Street who made millions getting everyone into this mess…

I think the real one has.

But back to the ‘time-out’ McCain requested with regards to the debate.

The President, whoever it is, will face numerous tough situations and decisions. And sorry Senator McCain, but they don’t come one at a time.

Asking for the delayed debate shows nothing but weakness and a bit of “Uh, what’s going on?” cluelessness.

Does the issue need to be addressed? Most Def.

Is it McCain and Obama’s job to vote on this bill? Yup.

But both are running for President and both have missed numerous Senate votes during this election season.

I appreciate Obama’s ‘deal with things as they come’ approach.

It’s the response I’d hope to get from a President.

What IPA taught me about the ladies.

2008-09-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

I was recently IMing with a buddy of mine at work…as I often do.

Lamenting my poor memory, which I attribute almost directly to overconsumption of beer.

I typed something to the effect of: “Damn beer! Though I could never stay mad at you.”

And it got me to thinking…Beer is a lot like women:

- Both are expensive and I can easily spend a lot of money on them.
- There are numerous options, but you usually end-up choosing just one.
- Very little in this world is more flummoxing than trying to open a stubborn bottle of beer or approaching a lady for the first time.
- Little is more satisfying than the first sip of beer or realizing you are ‘in.’
- Both can make you look like an ass. And though you swear you’ll never do it again, you know you will.
- Hair of the dog is the best way to get over a hang-over…and the best way to get over an ‘Ex’ is to get a new ‘Current.’

This list could go on for awhile, so I'll end it here, but feel free to add more in the comments section.

Just when I thought beer was one of the few simple pleasures in this chaotic sea of life, I come to realize its beguiling and complex nature.

Which is not to say that beer is as complex or beguiling as a lady (and really, what is?), but there’s more than meets the eye for sure.

Therein lies the beauty of each. And the lesson to be learned.

I am a results-oriented problem-solving kinda guy. So my entire dating life, I’ve been trying to figure women-out, like some sort of puzzle. While I’ve approached beer from a totally different perspective.

I don’t go to the bar to learn the chemical make-up of beer, I go out to drink the stuff.

Instead of looking at women as a puzzle to be solved, I am much better served meeting new folks, enjoying their company and letting their complexities reveal themselves.

*K.I.S.S.- Keep it simple stupid.

So who’da thought? Beer can (no pun intended), teach me about women.

So in the interest of self-betterment, I think I need to crack another cold one…

I’ve got a lot more to learn.

*Shout-out to Mr. Collins, my HS science teacher who taught me the phrase.

Baby Steps to Getting Green- Sep 08

2008-09-18T09:08:00.001-07:00

It’s looking like the end of an era…

No, I am not talking about the once high and mighty Seahawks coming back down to earth, I am talking about myself, getting a bus pass.

Yes I, the bastion of: “I have a car and I’m gonna use it,” Seattleite sentiment, am breaking-down and giving mass transit a try.

Starting in October, I’ll be a bus commuter.

I am entering this as a “Baby step to getting Green” post, but this is no small step for me.

To be honest, this is not totally my doing. Though I have been toying with the idea for months, it was my employer who stepped-up and offered a bus pass instead of a parking permit.

I simply took them up on the offer.

The mass transit debate had been raging in my mind for the past couple months…It didn’t help that I saw the same bus route multiple times a day as I commute to and from work. Begging the question in my mind; “Why the hell am I not taking this bus to work?”

After a bit of research, I found that bus passes were $90 a month. Which given my love of my car, was not enough of a financial savings to justify leaving the ride at home. But when the office offered to pick-up the tab, I figured I only had one choice.

We’ll see how it works-out…I did make sure I could trade back should bussing not work-out. But I hope that once I get on the schedule, I’ll be hooked.

I am looking forward to relaxing on the commute home instead of getting flustered. Yet another win-win (I seem to be finding a lot of those lately) as I am lowering my carbon footprint as well as my personal stress level.

Check back in November to see if I renewed my pass…

Note:
I saw this story on MSN that was pretty interesting:
http://www.slate.com/id/2200158/?GT1=38001
I am still firmly in the re-useable mug camp, but the story does get you to thinking about your actions. For the record, I just rinse my coffee cup in the morning with cold water and wash it on Friday before I head home.

K-Rob is back...fingers-crossed

2008-09-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

When it comes to human interest stories, I am usually the first to lambast a journalist for being lazy.

Quite often there is little real “news” and the story offers nothing more than a tug at the heart-strings. Cheap journalism if you ask me.

But…(you knew it was coming)

Every now and again, I do read such stories and get sucked-in.

I see one such situation unfolding in Renton with the Seattle Seahawks.

Koren Robinson is coming home.

For those who don't remember, Robinson was a first round draft pick of the Seahawks in 2001 but was released in 2004 after off-field violations.

Perhaps it is my die-hard love of the team that has me feeling sentimental, but I am pulling for the guy.

For the most part, I am pretty hard on sports figures. They make millions of dollars, “work” for mere months out of the year and live what seems to be a dream. So when they come crashing down to earth, usually by acting stupidly, (driving drunk, juicing, hitting a spouse or shooting-up a strip club) I don’t cut them any slack.

These people are adults. They should be offered no more leeway than the common-folk.

It’s funny how the sports world works. Yahoos, like Pacman, I mean Adam, Jones and Chris Henry are offered 2nd even 3rd chances while upstanding members of society like Shawn Alexander are cut, just because their production on the field isn’t what it once was.

The upside-down world-of-sports not only looks past, but seemingly rewards criminals, because for 2 hours a week, 16 weeks a year (in the case of the NFL) they can do some amazing things on the field. Character has bearing on the decision.

And these are the players that father’s are idolizing…What kind of a message is that sending to their children?

But back to Koren Robinson.

The Seahawks had taken a hard stance on loose cannons in the past, which hastened Robinson’s first pink slip here in Seattle. Here’s a chance at redemption.

It could be a win-win.

He is 28 years old. Which is old enough to know better than to be driving drunk or trying to out-run police, but he’s not alone in expressing such bad judgment.

While I am harsh on those who break the rules/law, I am not opposed to the idea of second chances. And I hope not only for the sake of my argument, but for Robinson and his family that he has learned from his mistakes.

Matt Hasselbeck summed-up the general sentiment in comments in the Seattle P-I, “I haven't seen him play in a long time. But I guess what I care about more is that he grew up and really matured and got his life turned around in the right direction.”

There are bigger things in this world than sports…as much as I hate to admit it.

Here’s hoping that Robinson has figured that out as well.

I've tried God, and it's a lot like chicken

2008-09-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

For many people religion is a “savior,” but for far too many people religion has proven to be a divider.

Whether it’s: gays, abortion, Blacks, Jews or Muslims, many an argument against any/all of those parties have been based on religion.

For the most part, when I say “religion” I mean Christianity, the overwhelming favorite of western spiritual thought.

I didn’t rail on the Christian right in my last post, but they are gonna take a beating in this one. As I blame Iraq, hate crimes and the shame that every woman has to endure by simply walking into a Planned Parenthood on the Pat Robertson’s and Pat Buchannan’s of the world.

On the whole, conservative Christians got it wrong. They make me embarrassed to admit that I am a Christian. In my mind, they are as bad as the Taliban in their strict, self-serving and erroneous interpretation of religion.

They aren’t right. And they have no right to proclaim that they are.

Quite frankly, the average white picket fence having, we-are-all-welcoming-as-long-as-you-conform-to-our-narrow-perception-of-the-Bible-Christian disgusts me. In much the same way a “you are all Western Infidels” radical Muslims disgust me. At least Muslims will offer a visitor tea. You are lucky to get anything more than a look down the nose from the average conservative house wife, if you don't "fit the mold.".

Some of you may be thinking, Disgust? Really? Isn’t that a strong word?

Not at all.

These people disgust me because they are judging, damning and killing each other (all religions guilty here) in the name of a God that we all have in common.

For me, it’s pretty simple.

God is like chicken.

We’ve all heard the joke and the punch line is: “It tastes like chicken.”

So why, would anyone expect a world as diverse and unique as ours to be held to one set of standards, one set of ideals and one version of God?

Just look at chicken, in the American heartland, Chicken Pot Pie looks a lot different from Hoisin Chicken in China or Tagine in Morocco. Though it is all derived from the same base to serve the same purpose…

Sustenance.

Chicken sustains the body and God sustains the soul. (I know, I sound like that book series here.)

Is this an oversimplification? Perhaps.

But we’ve had thousands of years to complicate the matter. So I figure a little simplification is due.

Chicken, much like God, is something that all people can identify with.

And who’s to say that the God of Islam is any different from the God of Christianity or Buddhism?

I am saying that they aren’t.

In much the same way cuisine, in this case chicken, carries regional/cultural nuances, it only follows that perceptions of God would do the same.

The idea that every person in the world has to follow one set of ideals set forth by one God just isn’t feasible or even culturally astute.

God made man is all shades, interests and even multiple sexes. So why dumb-down such an obviously complex being to “My way or the highway” thinking?

If people could get their head around the idea that God really is one being, perceived is different ways, I think the world would be a much better place. A lot of differences might be quelled. The main tenets of all major religions share the same basic ideals, only strengthening the concept that God is one being, read many ways.

But sadly, religion of division, my main issue with organized religion, will continue on. As men and their misinterpretations/pride/unwillingness to change will keep everyone mired in the “us versus them” rhetoric that keeps the pews filled, tithes coming-in and guns aimed at each other.

All the while, I can only imagine God looking down at us head-shaking, thinking:

“Is it really all that difficult? Why can’t they get this right?”

Baby steps to getting green II

2008-08-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

It’s time for yet another installment of my monthly series: Baby steps to getting green.

This month’s change wasn’t a very conscious one, so it’s shouldn’t be too hard to adopt.

I’m a neat-freak so it isn’t a surprise that this post will address cleaning or more expressly laundry.

I’ve changed my brand of detergent to Arm & Hammer Essentials. It’s a supposedly green version of the Arm & Hammer brand that I have been using for years. I said the change was an unconscious one because I bought the detergent because it was on sale, I only noticed it was green after I got it home.

I did some research (by research, I mean Googled it) and found that it is actually Phosphate-free and plant-derived, in the good way, not just for marketing reasons. It’s also double concentrated, so there is more product with less packaging. And they make a dye/scent-free version, for those who are sensitive to that…I found a lot of eco-freaks were really sensitive to dye/fragrances (wussies).

And to answer the common question, “Yeah, it’s green, but is it AS good?”

I can assure you that it is.

And here’s the kicker, it even works well in cold water. Which is the bigger change I have made with regards to laundry. I have quit using hot or even warm water, short of 1-2 loads a month (when using bleach on whites).

Something like 90% of the energy consumed by washing clothes is used in heating the water. I’ve been “going cold” for the past couple months and see no difference in the cleanliness of my clothes. So it makes no practical sense to use the heated water.

Again, I am not going to save the world by myself or by making these small steps. But every little bit helps, especially if we all begin making these changes.

*In that vein, I want to give a shout-out to one of my readers, who actually went out and bought a recycle mug after my last “baby steps” post. Thanks for reading and making the world a lil better place.

As always if you have any ideas or stories to share, please feel free to leave a comment.

Here’s a link of 10 Free Ways to Save Energy on Laundry.

Dogma had alot of stuff right.

2008-08-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

This was going to be one of my patented rants about so-called “Bible Thumpers.” You know who they are: The Jesus-fish bumper-sticker having, “God Bless You” phone call ending, uber-judgmental types, who “really figured life out” once they started going to church…

But I am not gonna do it.

If someone has found a place in life that they are ok with their relationship with whatever God they believe in, I am not going to knock it. I will just say, “Good for you…but it ain’t for me.”

What I am gonna do is explain why I’ll never be one of them.

For the most part, I am not a fan of organized religion. I love the idea, but I think on the whole it is too easily corrupted by human influence.

Chris Rock, playing the 13th Apostle Rufus, had a line in the movie Dogma that really illustrates my point:

“He (referring to Jesus Christ) still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the shit that gets carried out in His name - wars, bigotry, but especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it…I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant.”

I have always thought of religion as a just-in-case scenario. I’d have to classify myself as an Pseudo-Agnostic: One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God…to that end, I also believe it is impossible to know that there isn’t a God.

So, just-in-case God exists, I better get on-board with this religion thing.

My first memories of church where like many others, unquestionably believing whatever was told to me a Sunday School or in the parts of sermons I wasn’t sleeping through. I then attended college where I stopped attending church and came to my Agnostic realization. But since graduating and dealing with the real world, I have moved away from my Agnostic stance and back to Christianity. There is simply too much amazing stuff in this world for everything to be hap-hazard and random. And really, if you live your life by the standards laid-out by Christianity (or any other major religion) you end-up living life as a pretty alright guy.

Really there's nothing to lose. Not a bad situation.

My background explained, I’ll get into my concept of religion and why organized religion is not for me.

I see religion as a very individualistic situation. It’s your mind, your soul, your decisions. So what does meeting with people once a week for an hour really do for you?

I understand the sharing of ideas and attempting to gain a greater understanding of whatever religion/religious text, but when it comes down to it, when you die and face judgment, You are all-by-your-lonesome.

No Pastor to back you up, no Mom to take blame, no church members to share burden.

That being said, I think it’s important to ponder religion. Religion came about as an attempt by man to explain: The “hows” and “whys” of the world.

I am not advocating living willy-nilly and throwing religion and morals to the wind. I am just not sure that paying tithes and being preached-at for an hour a week makes you a better candidate for the afterlife.

It’s what you do that really matters.

For most people church is misunderstood. Going to church regularly doesn’t automatically make you a good person. Being a good person does. And it is possible to be a good person without ever having heard of Jesus, Abraham or Mohammed. Religion is an active, not passive endeavor. It requires research, thought and contemplation...please note that nowhere listed there was the word judgment.

My issue with church comes from those church-goers who think they have accomplished something special by going to church. The air-of-superiority that comes along with being “saved,” is my biggest gripe with organized religion. Being judgmental is so counter to the major tenets of Christianity that is amazes me people don’t see their hypocrisy.

I was raised in the church, and am a better person for it. But when I strayed away from the church, I luckily ended-up surrounded by good people who were educated and religious. We ended-up sharing/debating our ideals, in much the same way a Pastor would sermonize their beliefs.

What I came away with was a better understanding of religion and myself. The overwhelming concept that I garnered from these conversations was that “no one has it figured-out.” That realization really wrecked the house of cards that had been built around religion for me. My Pastor, although very smart and learned in religion, was still just a man, like me, and therefore was fallible. He was the exception to the rule in that he never purported himself to be anything more that a man who was called to God, who was trying to figure the world out just like everyone else.

Which is really what it is all about.

Being religious isn’t about tithing more, or baking the most cookies for the bake sale so that you can note the good deed in the yearly Christmas letter, while noting how good God was to you this year as a(n implied) result.

It’s about living a good, honest, pious life. Religion can offer a roadmap of how to get there, but the onus is on you to make the journey. One great thing is that there is assistance along the way, (churches, books, people) but it’s important to remember these can be distractions as much as aid.

All-in-all the journey is yours alone and no one but God can meet you at the goal.

The Fuddy-duddy effect

2008-08-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

I came across a piece last week by syndicated columnist George F. Will that got me a little riled-up.

Here’s a link: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/373230_will03.html

While Will does raise a couple of good points, I think this piece exemplifies why so many older folks are uncomfortable with the idea of electing Barack Obama.

I remember having a discussion with a Hilary Clinton supporter debating the merits of each candidate. And the discussion about Obama kept coming back to one question: “Change, just what does that mean?”

At the time, I couldn’t answer that question to either the Clinton-supporter’s or my satisfaction.

After a bit of reflection I am still trying to come-up with a solid definition, but here’s my working definition.

Change:
- In politics as usual.
- In how America, views/interacts with the rest of the world.
- In what Americans expect from their government.
- Anything but George Bush.

Thank goodness for term limits, the rule hosed us by forcing Clinton from office, but we all win this time around when Bush gets sent packing.

My definition of change seems to really scare older, I mean, more experienced-voters. As evidenced by this snip-it from Will’s column: ”Swift and sweeping changes are almost always calamitous consequences of calamities,”

Change is scary, so I understand the knee-jerk “sky-is-falling” reaction to anything new. But I cannot comprehend how someone as intelligent as Will can insinuate that an Obama presidency will be a “calamitous consequences of calamities” when you look at the last eight years and consider his predecessor.

The sentiment is that with anyone but Obama, you are getting a known quantity, which I am willing to concede. John McCain, once the maverick of the Senate, has now fallen into line with the status-quo republican election machine and now looks to be G.W. 2.0. What’s really scary about this new McCain is that he seems to have a bit of a Napoleon Complex. As in, he needs to prove that he is not just a replacement for G.W., but that he’s even tougher on terrorism. I am absolutely terrified to see what “calamity” will come from that.

America has never had its hands clean when it comes to foreign policy. As I’ve noted before, America has been bully to the world. And regardless of the President, democrat or republican, has steadfastly acted in ways that bettered American interests abroad regardless of consequences.

The time has come for that to change.

This is an example of the change that Obama supporters like me are talking about. Obama is willing to talk with other countries. I am encouraged by that. My foreign policy experience is a bit thin, but last time I checked, it’s hard to negotiate when one party has the barrel of a gun in their mouth.

Who knows what will happen if Obama and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Hugo Chavez sit-down for brandy and cigars at Camp David. But I am worried where we’ll end-up if they don’t. Just the idea that some of these politically marginalized countries may have a seat at the table will be enough to ease tensions and start a dialogue that will lead away from worrisome rhetoric and possible military action.

Will’s argument seems to be based on the sentiment that the world is too big and one man is too insignificant to make any real change. Perhaps that is experience speaking to my youthful ambition. Or perhaps that is just the cynicism of the elderly looking back on their own wasted life.

Just because you’ve been there and done that, doesn’t mean it’s the only way it can be done. America can elect its oldest President ever and maintain the status quo. Or America can roll the dice on change and elect Obama.

Honestly, I can’t see anyone doing worse than the guy who’d been in office the past eight years. But I’d hate to give McCain a chance to surprise me…

Baby steps to getting green

2008-08-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

I normally post some long-winded rant or frilly epiphany that I have come to recently.

This is not going to be one of those posts.

I am going to start a monthly series: Baby Steps to getting green.

It's pretty simple.

I post (at least) one change I've made this month in an effort to be a little greener.

Hopefully you'll join me and post your changes as comments so that we can all encourage/educate each other in an effort to lessen all of our foot prints.

I wrote a previous post in this vein, but seeing as there is always room for improvement, I thought this would be a beneficial exercise.

This months "geenery" is: Buying a reusable travel coffee cup.

I go to Starbucks everyday for lunch. Using a paper cup, one of those "don't-burn-your-hand" sleeves and a plastic top. Seeing as I eat lunch 5 days a week, that equates to alot of paper cups, save-the-hand sleeves and plastic lids that go straight into the trash.

Buying this reusable cup will lessen my lunch-associated waste to nearly zero. Which is pretty cool. And a darn good return on my $10 investment.

See, it doesn't have to be anything too big, but every little bit helps.

Please pass along your ideas. Let's keep this going!

Tis the season.

2008-08-01T13:42:00.001-07:00

Seeing as we are in the throes of yet another summer wedding season, I have been pondering just that issue: Marriage.
*Not that it’s even a remote possibility for me at the moment. But heading to a wedding every other week, tends to get a dude to thinking.

In my first draft, I tome’d about how I find marriage to be an illogical decision and a poor financial move on top of that. I also questioned why people needed a stamp from the government, their religion and/or their friends for their relationship to be recognized.

Surprisingly these weren’t simply the rants of a perpetually-single, seemingly-chauvinist guy like myself, but sentiments shared by my married/co-habitating friends both male and female.

Then, this past weekend, I actually headed to my first wedding of the season. And I remembered why marriage is such a big deal.

So here’s my newly amended take on Weddings/Marriage:

The wedding is a chance for two people to share their relationship with those they care about. It’s a chance to peek into a one-on-one relationship and see just why each party is so gonzo for each other.

The marriage, while a one-on-one commitment, does take maintenance and having a few folks around to remind the wedded parties why they tied-the-knot in the first place is never a bad thing.

I don’t discount marriage, it’s a great, if not antiquainted, institution. But logical, it isn’t.

That logic point was big hurdle in my mind. But what this weekend hammered home for me was that logic doesn’t always reign supreme. Logic may always be right…but that doesn’t always equate to fun.

For example, logic (my train of thought) would note that marriage is a 50/50 proposition at best which are not very good odds. And the cynic (being me) would note that American society does not foster an environment that rewards long-term commitments of any sort.

Sadly, in this society, marriage is about like buying a car: Enjoyed at first, but easily traded-in once the initial euphoria has worn-off and real costs of the investment are realized.

Despite all of the above, people still get married. And with that there is hope. There are many an upside to tying-the-knot. In marriage, a person is banking-on the best in their partner.

I don’t want to live in an unfeeling world governed by logic. Logic can mitigate risk, but without risk there are no rewards. I had forgotten that.

The wedding this weekend was a much appreciated eye-opener.

So to those of you newly- or soon-to-be weds, I say “Thanks for the invite and Good Luck.”

You need a Kleenex?

2008-07-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

“When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’”
- Sydney J. Harris

I came across that quote this morning and it seems to encapsulate the sentiment of this post.

The economy looks to be in the toilet.

Seemingly everywhere you turn there is more bad news.

Housing prices are falling (glad I own a home), unemployment is up (at least it’s not me this time) and Starbucks is closing stores!

I am pretty sure that Starbucks closing stores is one of the 7 signs of the apocalypse, but I need to double-check Revelations.

I only half-heartedly pay attention to the talking heads on TV as they report on the worsening economy. It’s not until my life is affected that I begin to take note. (I’ve never said that I am NOT a selfish S.O.B.)

So it’s as my friends and I begin to ratchet-back spending, that I take note. Happy hour isn’t a daily occurrence anymore. After attending 15+ Mariners games last season, I’ve been to 2 this season. Most importantly, I am bringing my lunch to work, I’ve never done that…even in elementary school.

Apparently this is life in a recession. And yes, folks, we are in a recession.

I feel partially responsible for this financial quagmire, having been a part of the over-heated real estate/mortgage market that inflated housing prices which lead to the weakening of the dollar.

But I am not losing too much sleep over it, I was a small cog in a much bigger and supremely dysfunctional industry. Besides, I am too busy worrying about how I am going to make my next mortgage payment.

Somehow I am staying afloat, even though I am making less now as a working stiff, than when I was an unemployed bum. So I can sympathize with friends as they lament their current financial situations…to a point.

I am single, the last of a dying breed, among my friends. As such, I am the sole bread winner. I get to pay all bills on my own.

So when married/co-habitating friends being to whine about how hard it is to make ends-meet I say “Buck up.” You are crying to the wrong person.

Not to discredit the financial woes of anyone, but complaining to me about money when two people are putting pennies in the piggy bank, seems a little oblivious.

I feel for you to a point, but am amazed at how unaware of the audience you are.

Everyone needs a sounding board. And I’d imagine that discussing finances with a significant other can raise more issues than are resolved. So feel free to share your dilemmas, but keep my (and all single people’s) situation(s) in mind…Single folks are in the game with one had tied behind their back relative to couples. So if I seem a little hardcore or uncaring, I’m sorry.

I’ll admit, two people do still incur expenses, but the major ones: Rent/Mortgage, Utilities, Groceries, etc. are shared. As such, the are effectively halved when in a (fair) relationship. So when I look at the situation(s) from the outside it’s shocking that finances are a problem.

It’s not easy, but I have been able to make my finances work. So when I hear complaints, one question pops into my head: How can two people, two minds, two incomes have it that much harder than me?

I guess it could be that I am a financial wiz. But I doubt it.

Just had to get that off my chest.

A note from the Hawk's Nest

2008-07-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

It’s been a dark couple of months on the Seattle sports scene.

First, there’s the obvious, the Sonics are gone. I’ve already blathered about that, so I’ll move on. Though I am none-to-happy to be Sonic-less.

Ok, I had to say something.

Next there are the Mariners.

I am not sure who the sportswriters were or what they were looking at, but more than one picked the M’s to contend in the AL West this year, which floored me. I totally expected this season to unfold the way it has. I saw a lot of games last year and the M’s weren’t a player or two away from becoming playoff contenders, they were just plain lucky. Simply put, last year was a fluke. Mike Hargrove knew that, why do you think he left town when he did?

It’s like the ‘80s all over again. The M’s are playing like the Manures (that’s what my Dad calls the M’s when they are below .500) of old, before names like Griffey and Rodriguez were in the line-up. And looking at the line-up of late, I see a lot of nobodies, yet again...sigh.

But those diatribes belabor the point, it’s been tough to be a Seattle sports fan the past few months.

However, I see a clearing in the storm clouds hovering over our fair city.

That clearing is showing skies steel blue and lime green.

This past Sunday, the front page of the sports section was festooned with images of Mike Holmgren, TJ Duckett and Walter Jones, among others.

They were images of winners.

I had almost forgotten what winning looked like...It looks like a Seahawk!

I love football season. But that hasn’t always been the case.

I’ve been a lifelong sports fan, mostly attending Mariners games during the dark days of the Kingdome…because the M’s were so bad they gave the tickets away for free.

But as a kid, football was too rare an occurrence (8 home games a year, Really?), the games were too long and I couldn’t drink beer.

That all changed when I headed-off to college, where I discovered college football and the lauded NFL Sunday. I came to appreciate the rarity of football, which made each game precious.

Baseball simply has too many games which devalues the majority of regular season contests. The same can be said of basketball, which is pretty lame in-person…Basketball is simply tailor-made for TV.

The Sunday ritual of being hung-over from watching college football and dragging yourself in-front of TV for the 10 AM game has become tradition. There were those who would go hair-of-the-dog and pick-up where they had left-off the day before. Then there were those, like myself, who would make a nice coffee beverage appropriate for the time of day…coffee and whiskey/rum/brandy or whatever we had around. Then settle-in for the 12-hour haul that was NFL Sunday.

Very few sports have managed to create the “Event” atmosphere of the NFL. NFL Sunday is a reason to gather with friends, not just something to do. The sheer lack of games make each one important. You don’t want to miss even one.

As I watch ESPN and ESPN 2 each morning, I am excited to see talk of the NFL* getting most of the coverage. It really is how the world should be.

My only gripe is that I have to wait 2 more months before actual games start.

*Note:
Sadly, a lot of the current NFL Talk seems to be centered on an over-the-hill quarterback who had a fluke season in 2007 and is now acting so childish that he could take etiquette lessons from my buddy’s 2-year-old. My prediction: Brett Favre will return to his lackluster interception-prone performance of the 2006 season and so thoroughly tarnish his reputation that he will not be invited back for another season and be forced to retire in disgrace. The only thing the Green Bay Packers “owe” Brett Favre is a paycheck, which he forfeited when he retired. He, not the Packers, made the choice to retire. He should deal with it and stand by the decision. There is a team full of players to consider and for Favre to put himself above the organization is just, well, despicable.

Anybody got a fire extinguisher?

2008-07-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

(This is a slightly edited repost from an article I originally wrote 01/29/02 for The Western Front)

It's funny how a little thing like a house fire can put things in perspective.

Well that's just what happened to me last week. A house fire, in which the cause was not determined.

Nothing too big, just five fire engines, an ambulance and the battalion commander.

I kept the whole sight of firefighters strolling into my humble abode, pick-axes and chainsaws in hand, at bay by focusing on the real tragedy.

The tacos.

My roommate came home earlier that night and decided to fix dinner for the roommates, a rare, but nice event.

Just as we began to sit down to our delectable Tex-Mex feast, we realized that the smoke in the house wasn't from the carbonized taco shells left in the oven.

An hour or so later, the fire department deemed the structure relatively safe and we returned to our home, minus a front porch.

But most of all we returned to our waiting, yet very cold, tacos.

At first I was weirded-out, but then I realized it really wasn't that bad.

You've gotta love your life when the biggest tragedy you can imagine is letting your tacos get cold.

The important thing was that no one was hurt.

Keeping things in perspective can be a daunting task. Especially for students who are getting their first taste of independence in the somewhat real world.

It's a good thing this happened to me right now.

Not because I want to give even more of my hard-earned money to the landlord, but because I'm graduating and getting ready to move into a world that isn't underwritten by financial aid.

It may seem odd for the guy who argued for Abercrombie and Fitch downtown, against Martin Luther King Day and is a self-proclaimed wise-ass to discuss the merits of all things immaterial, but I am.

Call me crazy, almost having your house burn down tends to make one a little introspective.

I began to think about what would happen if I had lost all of my stuff and the stuff I had worked so hard to accumulate over the past few years. The resounding answer I found myself uttering was, "Nothing."

It's easy to get wrapped-up in all things unimportant.

When we are engrossed in trivial matters it becomes easy to see how little things can be blown out of proportion.

The success of shows like "Friends" and "Seinfield," illustrate this point.

The real world will always be there. Don't be in such a hurry to be a grown-up.

Take time to smell the roses and play a couple rounds of Frisbee golf. You've got the rest of your life to fret over bills, work and how the kids are getting home from soccer practice.

Enjoy freedom while you can.

Nonetheless, the real world cometh and the high-and-mighty Western Front columnist must leave his throne and bid his home and homies adieu.

A friend of mine in high school had a senior quote that read, "Five years are better than four."

There's some truth to that.

It's a little disconcerting when the department secretary and numerous professors see you and ask, "Are you still here?" But when weighed against parking cars for a living or working at Haggen, school is pretty damn cool.

So I continue on the odyssey of the one who is Homer having had a few revelations.

God bless The Beaver Inn. Downtown is even more worthless than Valentine's Day. President Bush is a moron and buses rule.

I leave you with these parting words, borrowed from Adam Sandler in "Billy Madison":
"Stay here. Stay as long as you can. For the love of God, cherish it."

Note: There may be an updated version of this commentary in the mix. But I was reminded of the column this morning as I was sitting on the sidewalk during not one, but two false fire alarms at 3 and 4 AM. The sentiment rang as true this morning as it did six years ago...I used to be smart or something.

Tuning-out to tune-in

2008-07-18T13:32:00.001-07:00

I did something rather out of the ordinary on my way into work this morning.

I turned-off my radio.

I just rolled along in silence.

It was nice.

I can’t remember the last time I totally unplugged and just took some time to think.

I listened to the sounds of tires bounding against the pavement, wind whistling through the cabin of my car and the general nothingness that comes along with driving across I-90 in the morning.

It was refreshing.

Sans the talking heads on the radio, I was able to ponder life. I was able to tackle issues one at a time and contemplate where I stood or how-to resolve each one.

Doing so may seem simple or even trivial, but it hammered home a sad reality to me. I am too distracted and I don't unplug often enough.

And I don’t think I am alone.

In this super-connected world of cell phones, text messages and IMs, it is easy for someone to be caught-up in constant communication. Just look around as you walk on the sidewalk or are driving home, I am willing to bet you see more than one person chatting away or typing feverishly on a cell phone.

Now I admit, I am one of those people. I take after one of my good friends and call people while I am stuck in traffic to pass the time. But I fear that as people become more and more connected they are losing the ability to be alone.

I wouldn’t dream of leaving my house with out my cell phone. I actually feel naked without it. And that needs to change.

I can remember the time before cell phones/texts/email and somehow the world got along. In fact, I remember those times fondly. They were fun…and relaxing.

Perhaps all of this connectivity is good, it cures boredom and offers folks an opportunity to contact people they normally would communicate with. But when you can’t even enjoy a cup of coffee without checking your cell phone at least once, it’s gone too far.

And some of these newer communication mediums are also so impersonal. IMing is not the same as talking face-to-face and text messages seem to have been invented to be mis-read. Seeing people rely so heavily on these forms of communication, I fear the art of the face-to-face conversation may be disappearing.

As a writer and observer, stimulus is needed, it inspires me. But without due time alone to process what I have experienced or formulate an opinion, all is for not.

I worry that people are so intent on keeping themselves occupied, they are missing-out life. I can understand the drive to check the cell phone, as I do it more than I’d like. But I suggest turning the phone/computer/iPod off for a day and taking walk.

Take the time to enjoy the moment, appreciate what you see and think. Let your mind wander and see where it ends-up. I was delightfully surprised by what crossed my mind this morning.

Perhaps you will be as well.

But be careful, after turning everything off, you may never want to turn anything back on.

Proud to be an American?

2008-07-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Now that July 4th has come and gone, I thought I’d chime-in on Independence Day.

It, like most holidays, lacks any real significance, other than a day off.

Much the same way Christmas means shopping and egg-nog more than reflecting on religion.

Friday came and went, and my big worries were:
- Getting coffee.
- Getting to Whidbey Island (where I was spending the day).
- Getting beer.

Apart from those “great concerns” the day was care-free and not one moment of thought was given to what the day represents, or what it means to be an American.

And I think in some ways, that is the best illustration of what it truly means to be an American; Having the luxury to do whatever you like and not having to worry about your actions.

We are lucky to have such freedom and ability here in America. This realization is re-enforced when compared to the people of China. As the Olympics loom, the realities of an oppressive communist system are being broadcast to a world stage. And although I feel for the people of China, I can’t help but see their plight and count my blessings as I ramble-on, free to share my thoughts and opinions online.

I’ve never been one to hop-on the I-hate-America bandwagon. Although I am a bleeding-heart liberal, I never agreed with the hatred spouted by those who intertwined America and George W. Bush. While I will agree that the rest of the world sees G.W. as America and everything that is wrong with it. I will note that if you talk to individuals abroad, they will express a genuine respect for America and its ideals.

But as that last couple sentences illustrate, actions speak louder than words.

So the question remains; What does it mean to be American?

Does it mean we are war-mongering bullies who impose our will on anyone who gets in our way ala G.W.’s “Cowboy Diplomacy” or are we a country that values diversity and the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

I think that any American you speak to will go with the latter, but I am afraid that the fear machine created by the Bush-Cheney Administration after 9/11 has perverted the definition of American. Somehow Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness became intertwined with “The American Way,” which I find troublesome.

On the face, those items seem synonymous. But by replacing the neutral: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness with The American Way, you are driving a wedge between America and the rest of the world. In doing so, it becomes easy to justify imposing American agendas under the guise of patriotism. When in reality all that is happening is that America is being a bully.

No one likes a bully.

I hope we can get back on course as a country and return to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without needing to enforce The American Way.

I am not saying doing so will be easy. But I am saying that the quality of life in other parts of the world should be taken into consideration when looking at what being an American really means.

Since WWII, America has dubbed itself a superpower. By orchestrating the creation of the United Nations, America initiated a big step towards modern globalization. Yet America has acted as though it were a separate entity, like it is above the fray. It put American interests above global interests.

Such actions create the perception of America as an aging, selfish out-of-touch superpower on the decline. And I agree.

So what does it mean to be an American? I am not sure that I want to answer that…It’s too depressing.

But the good thing is that we have time to correct the mistakes of the past and restore America to its previous luster. It’s time for America to grow-up and realize they are a part of the world stage, not the MC. It’s time to rededicate ourselves to the ideals that made America great.

Doing so may require some sacrifice, but then again no one said being a world leader was easy.

It’s official.

2008-07-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Supersonics are no more.

I’d like to say this loss is affecting me less than when I heard of Tim Russert’s passing, but I can’t.

That’d be a lie.

Not to belittle the memory of Russert, he was a great man and an idol to a coulda-woulda-shoulda journalist like myself. But his passing was more of an intellectual loss. I know I should feel bad in my head, but I didn’t feel the loss in my heart.

As I read the headline in today’s Seattle P-I “Hoopless” I definitely felt the loss in my heart.

Along with the Sonics goes my a bit of my childhood; watching the Sonics play in the Kingdome, trying to perfect the X-Man’s fade-away jumper (I never did, BTW) and coming of age during a golden age in the NBA and watching legends like Gary Payton feed the Rain-Man into the NBA finals.

When I think of the Sonics, I think of happy times.

Maybe it’s a good thing the team has moved away. Even if they were “forced” to play the next 2 years at the Key Arena I am sure those happy memories would be further tarnished as the less-than-hospitable relationship between the City of Seattle and Clay Bennett had two more years to make the low-light reel.

Basketball is a business, my head knows this. The Sonics are a good, which can be bought and sold…and moved, at the discretion of the owner. As a firm believer in free market economics and the right of private property I support the move.

As a fan and someone the Sonics/NBA have profited from, I feel disregarded. I feel cheated. I feel insignificant.

For something that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, sports seem to be a big part of American life. Sure enough, Seattleites took the luxury of having an NBA team for granted and we lost it.

But on the flip-side, where is the sense of social responsibility on the part of the Sonics?

Even if you take the fact that they are a sports franchise out of the equation, doesn’t any business, owe the community it has thrived in (especially for 40+ years) some semblance of respect? The Sonics apparently thought not.

I agree that sports bring an intangible benefit to the cities lucky enough to host them. A civic pride, a sense of unity, a rallying point. Which is now gone.

I agree with civic officials who stood their ground with regards to using public funds to refurbish/build a new arena so that the NBA/Sonics owners could make more money. I find it ridiculous that Clay Bennett and David Stern would claim the Key Arena was not up to “NBA Standards.” It’s childish to hold the team hostage and threaten to move anytime the NBA doesn’t get it’s way.

If the venue was is so bad, why doesn’t the uber-profitable NBA put-up some money to build venues that are indeed “up to their standards?”

As an avid basketball player and fan, I am now at a crossroads.

Do I turn my back and boycott based on the blatant disregard shown to the City of Seattle by the NBA?

Or do I keep watching a league I no longer have a vested interest in?

Luckily I have a few months to ponder such a deep issue.

I think it’ll take a few beers and bar conversations to get my mind right.

But for the here and now, I am in mourning.

So long Seattle Supersonics, thanks for the memories.

Last of a dying breed.

2008-06-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

As I sit here reading my Sunday paper, per my Sunday ritual, I am bothered by a statement that I heard yesterday in reference to newspapers:

“They’re kinda dying anyways, so who cares?”

As a trained/wanna-be journalist, hearing such things cuts me to the core.

And although I am not going to argue the point, as I agree that newspapers are dying, I wanted to give newspapers and journalism their due.

I also realize that as a blogger I am part of the perceived “problem.” But I think of electronic journalism as the grandson of newspapers.

The printing press represents the grandfather, as it was the first real-step toward mass communication and wide-spread newspaper distribution. The father was the wire service(s), allowing newspapers to spread/share information at speeds previously unfathomed. The wire(s) allowed newspapers to share information from all around the world, making newspapers national/global in scope. And we’ve now arrived that the electronic age, probably the greatest step away from “traditional” journalism. The e-movement had banished newspaperman staples like typewriters, 35mm cameras and in some cases, even pen and paper.

While newspaper subscriptions and readerships rates may be declining, online readership is up. And I see that as hopeful, not a woeful indication of a slow and painful death.

This is because the move to electronic journalism is simply evolution. Much the way newspaper production has gone electronic, it only follows that consumption will follow the same route.

The newspaper will never die. The journalistic tradition of sharing information is the guiding light of all journalists- From Bob Woodward to Perez Hilton…yeah it pains me to say that.

While objectivity and grammar make take a bit of a hit as anyone with something to say and a connection to the internet can post their rants to the tubes, I am offering that the press is freer now than in its hey-day. The important distinction to make is between well-meaning journalists and people with an axe to grind. Which is not to say that all journalists are objective or that all bloggers are crack pots, it just means that consumers must be savvy when reading what is posted online.

I think the current incarnation of the Iraq War has taught Americans that the day of pre-packaged, edited and safe for consumption news is over. The new frontier of news is one of an educated populace as well as an educated journalist.

Early newspapers were expensive to produce and the barriers to creating/distributing them were great. Another little known aspect of early American newspapers is that they were decidedly partisan. They were not objective. These newspapers were produced to serve a finite purpose…not to be the 4th branch of government, but to further some political/financial goal of the producer.

The blessing and the curse of online journalism is that anyone can share their ideas as the barriers are considerably lessened. Nearly anyone can stroll into a library, hop online and blog. This is far closer to the idea of free press than the founding fathers or early newspaper tycoons could have comprehended. In much the same way newspapers evolved from self-interested soapboxes to objective watchdogs, electronic journalism, if allowed to mature, will go the same route.

Sadly newspapers are dying. But they have laid the foundation for the next generation of journalists. Who will not only carry-on a legacy but learn from previous missteps.

So don’t dismiss the newspaper sitting on the table next to you at the coffee shop. See it for what it is; a paradigm-shifting medium that has changed the way people communicate with each other, that is still so relevant that it’s shaping its replacement.

Thank you for smoking (that's sarcasm)

2008-06-20T07:32:00.001-07:00

Normally I am not a fan of negative liberty.

For those who didn’t waste thousands of dollars on Political Science classes, Negative Liberty is where a person’s rights are imposed upon by another person. Laws are an example of negative liberty, though some laws are good, they do impose restrictions on a person’s actions.

Outlawing smoking is an example of negative liberty.

I like to think of myself as a Libertarian, one who believes in personal liberty and power of choice. I don’t like the idea of government stepping-in on personal matters, which is why I am pro-choice and believe Gay marriage should be legal.

But in some cases negative liberties work-out. And the indoor smoking ban is a great example of this.

And smoking just happens to be the perfect example as it is the topic of this rant.

I HATE SMOKING.

Not that I am opposed to the health risks, I have plenty of bad habits myself, but I just don’t like it. Smoking seems to have no upside.

It’s dirty, and for those who know me, that is a BIG issue for me. It’s expensive, again another issue for a cheap-ass like myself. And it imposes on anyone around you.

At least the act of drinking too much doesn’t affect anyone around you, that is, unless you spill your drink or puke on someone.

But to me smoking is one of the most self-centered acts a person can take part in. Especially when smoking indoors, second hand smoke is proven to harm non-smokers and the sentiment before the smoking ban was “you can go somewhere else.”

Granted the indoor ban has swung the pendulum to the other end of the spectrum, with non-smokers imposing their desire to be smoke-free on smokers. And I do realize it is still an imposition of one’s desires over another’s.

I am not sure which is right. Though I am pretty sure that most everyone is better-off health-wise as a result of the ban. So I am leaning towards the ban.

But even as I was walking across the street I was bombarded with smoke bellowed-out by the guy standing next to me. Which really pissed me off.

I think that smokers should be more aware of their surroundings. Much like driving a car, smoking is a luxury, not a right. If someone drove around willy-nilly with no respect for other cars or pedestrians, they would quickly lose the ability to drive. I think the same restraint should be expressed by smokers.

I do smoke the occasional cigar. And I know they freaking stink. So when I do light-up, I make sure everyone around me is OK with it. I’ve even gone so far as to cross the street if I see a group of people approaching as to be respectful.

I'm just asking for the same respect from smokers. It doesn't seem too hard.

SUVs aren't they Awesome!

2008-06-20T06:55:00.001-07:00

I’ve said before that I am excited by the effect that higher gas prices are having on America.

Prices are finally high enough that Americans are re-thinking their driving habits/fuel consumption and auto-makers seem to be taking fuel efficiency seriously.

In light of that explanation, here is the part of the post that I begin to rant about folks who are complaining about the high price of gas.

I heard a story on NPR’s Morning Edition this week that really got me steamed.

The host was talking to a father with multiple children from Ohio. The father was lamenting the high fuel costs and how it was adversely affecting the quality of life for his children. The father noted that he had to remove his children from after school activities as he couldn’t afford to drive them around anymore.

The father’s sentiments could be summed-up as such:
- He “had to” have an SUV, to accommodate all of his kids.
- He couldn’t ponder driving one of those small hybrid things.
- The high gas prices were adversely affecting the quality of life for his kids.

This represents what is wrong with America when it comes to being green.

First the obvious statement: Very few families “need” an SUV.

I remember back in college, 5 grown men could pile into a 1984 Honda Accord with enough gear to last a 2-week Christmas break with no real issues. It was a bit uncomfortable, yes. But not unreasonably so.

So when this father from Ohio starts singing the praises of his SUV, I seriously question the necessity of the rolling monstrosity. Now if this father had admitted that he really enjoys the SUV as it allows him to toss his kids in the back- out of earshot, I wouldn’t be upset. It’s not a green choice, but an understandable one. But trying to say the SUV improves the quality of life for his kids is simply a joke.

If it has wheels and has a back seat, you can cart the lil bastards around with no problem. DVD players, 4 rows of seats and stow-and-go compartments aren’t “must-haves.”

America seems to have mistaken luxury with necessity. An SUV is a luxury, and should be treated as such. There is a luxury tax associated with SUVs. That anyone who bought an SUV was well aware of when they purchased it…It’s called bad mileage.

Owning an SUV and complaining about fuel costs now is like being a person who eats 12 doughnuts a day and complains about being fat.

It’s freaking obvious. And you did it to yourself.

Driving itself is a luxury. I think most folks tend to overlook that.

I could take the bus to work. There is almost door-to-door bus service. But I enjoy the luxury of leaving when I want and saving the 40 minutes of commute in the morning. In recognizing that my 20 minute commute is a luxury, I don’t complain about gas prices. It’s the price I pay for the choice I’ve made.

I just wish the “Father’s from Ohio” of the world, would acknowledge that they chose to have kids and carting them around is the cost of doing business. Perhaps if they were a bit less selfish or more accommodating they could downgrade from the Expedition to a Focus. But something tells me they just aren't going to be able to make that "sacrifice." Because they really don't like the SUV, it's for the kids, you know...

Read this before you buy that.

2008-06-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of Michael Moore. I find his documentary style to be a little over-the-top. Being a “trained” journalist myself, I think he is a little heavy on the drama and light on objectivity. In his defense, he’s never purported himself to be anything more than a guy with an agenda. Of course, in his mind, the stories he tells are the truth.

As a blogger who does nothing but rant on what other real journalists have reported, one would think I idolize a fella like Michael Moore. And to be honest, I kinda do. If only because I appreciate the way he uses his fame to make the world a better place. Even if it is his perception of a better place.

But enough about Michael Moore, what got me thinking about Moore was another later-day docu-cause-ist, Morgan Spurlock. He’s the guy who brought the world ‘Super Size Me’ the documentary where he lives on nothing but McDonald’s food for 30-days straight. Spurlock nearly killed himself in the process, but he wanted to illustrate, how corporate interests can cause the well-being of average Americans to take a backseat to profits. I caught some of the movie and found it interesting in much the same way you slow down to check-out an accident on the side of the freeway…morbidly interesting, but not entertaining.

That being said, I was underwhelmed when I heard Spurlock had adapted the 30-day concept into a TV show for the FX network.

That is, until I saw an episode a few weeks back.

In the show, Spurlock returns to the ‘Super Size Me’ concept and tries something different for 30 Days. In the episode I caught, Spurlock spent 30-days as a minimum wage worker. And it really opened my eyes.

I have been lucky. In that I have only worked for minimum wage a few times in my life. And I have always had enough to get by.

Watching Spurlock’s experience and seeing the plight of people he met during the show, really hit home with me.

I grew-up in a less-than-affluent family, which I am proud of. But my family did own their own home and though some bills rolled every now and again we always got by. I was cared-for.

Thinking back to my Mom while fretting over which bills were going to roll to next month and another question pops into my head; Do people stuck in minimum wage jobs have time to think about the future or is the-here-and-now too demanding?

Which is not to say that I am now drinking from a golden chalice. But I am secure in my position in life. And as such, I worry more about where I am headed this weekend than the lights being turned-off.

All of this got me to thinking about the American Dream and the concept of the “Haves” versus the “Have-nots.” I think this is an overlooked concept in America. Personal successes are always measured against others. In order for you be doing well, there has to be someone who is worse-off. The American Dream may be open to all people, in theory. But there seems to be quite a paradox inherent in it.

Some politicians have called for an increase in the minimum wage to remedy the problem. I disagree. Throwing more of an already deflating currency at poor folks isn’t going to fix anything. Paying real wages and fair prices for goods and services is.

Do you really think that $5 sub sandwich or $1 burger is supporting a living wage for the person making it?

Americans, including myself, seem to have a disconnect between what they are willing to pay and what things really cost.

For example, someone has to make those shoes, so why is it ok to pay someone in Italy $500/pair and someone in Indonesia $2/pair? (I do acknowledge the differences in cost-of-living, but the sentiment of fair compensation for fair labor is what I am getting at here.)

Consumers aren’t the only ones at fault, as big bad Corporate America does make a pretty sizeable profit on those $2 shoes, none of which ever makes it back to the laborers who made them.

I am just as guilty as the next. I shop the sales and don’t make sure that my coffee is fair trade. But becoming more aware of how little actions like going to lunch or buying a pair of shoes affects those laboring to bring them to us can mean a world of difference.

If you took half the time to research/source what you are buying as you spend looking for a good deal online, you might improve a bottom line other than your own.

STAT

2008-06-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember I’ve been one to play it safe.

Even as a kid, I was the naysayer or the one questioning whether something was a good idea.

As much as I hate to say it, I was “Chunk” from “The Goonies.”

But even as I begrudgingly took part in an activity, usually ending-up with me getting hurt, I never had a fear of death.

It is true, kids think they are invincible. But I am willing to take that assertion one-step further: Adults think they are invincible, too.

Just look act how people act; It’s the whole premise behind credit or working for that promotion or justifying an unenjoyable experience by thinking “There’s always tomorrow.”

I recently have had a few friends battle cancer and truly have to grapple with their own mortality. But even in talking with them, I still headed home every night expecting full well to wake-up the next day. Never once in my life had I pondered the idea that at some point, there won’t be a tomorrow.

Until Monday, that is.

It was a normal day, I had gone to work and was out playing tennis. While hitting around, I noticed that I was unable to see out of one eye. It was a constant starry blur, like I had looked into the sun for too long, that persisted for over an hour. I thought it was odd, but played through it. It wasn’t until later that I really got worried. While in the shower, I noticed that my left hand had gone numb and felt like it weighed a ton. As I went to rinse-off my head and face, I noticed that my lower lip had gone numb as well. I then thought to myself, “So, this is a heart attack.” After freaking-out for a few minutes I began to try to remedy my situation. After shaking my hands and flailing a bit, the numbness subsided, I dried-off and tried to forget the experience.

Did I go to the doctor, like any normal person would have? Nope.

Truth be told, I was scared and like most guys didn’t want to admit anything had gotten under my skin. I was also afraid to learn what might be wrong. It sounds stupid, but ignorance is bliss. Instead, I headed to my buddy’s for a BBQ and pushed the experience to the back of my mind.

Only after chatting with my boss the next day and his ordering me to get checked-out, did I get to the doctor’s office.

Monday night was spent trying to forget about the experience and Tuesday night was full of the possibilities of what caused it. My first thought was a heart attack or stroke, then the mind wandered to tumors or blood clots.

Needless to say, I was no longer invincible.

Wednesday morning I met with the doctor, who was not too good at hiding the “Oh crap!” in her voice and facial expression as I recounted Monday night. The next thing I knew the hospital was bumping people with appointments to get me in for scans and blood tests. Everything I saw was marked STAT. Which I think is a pretty big deal, but I am only basing that on the fact they yell it a lot on ‘ER.’

Five hours later, I left the hospital with a clean bill of health. (Knock on wood.)

I was relieved, but my sense of invincibility had been forever shaken. Now I am not comparing my scare to the cancer ordeals my friends recently endured, but I now have a better understanding of the loss of control, the uselessness you feel when your body decides to stop working right.

Things like life insurance and retirement plans now make a little more sense to me.

There isn’t always going to be a tomorrow.

There is truth to the old saying “There are only two certainties in life: Death and Taxes.”

Does that mean I am going to drive slower and live in a constant state of fear?

No way.

It does mean that I am no longer going to take for granted the precious little time we have on this planet. I have lived the past 29 years cautiously and I have many regrets as a result. I want to take an active stance towards life rather than a reactive one.

For example, I pondered heading back to work right after my doctor’s appointment. But given my new perspective, why rush back? I had been offered free tickets to a Mariner’s game that afternoon and really, which is more memorable? Sitting in a cube or enjoying a beer from seats so good that you could see each sunflower seed hit the dirt as the first basemen spits them out?

I chose the game.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. And just like a great desert, slow down and savor each bit of it.

I am not advocating quitting your job and travelling the world. I am just saying to take note of life’s many little pleasures: The first sip of coffee in the morning or the patch of blue sky amongst menacing grey clouds or the smell of the first rain as it hits a warm sidewalk. I counted myself blessed as I sat at the game sipping my beer in the sun, when just hours earlier I was in an MRI machine pondering what could be wrong with me and how much time I had left.

I got lucky. This was a false alarm. But that doesn’t mean I am coming away from it any less grateful for my health than my cancer-surviving friends. I just wanted to share the lesson learned, as I hope no more of my friends have to learn it the hard way…