Have you seen this before? I have, several times. If you are a regular reader (and I thank you so much, both of you) you will not be surprised to find out that I find posts like this absolutely asinine because people (surprise!) post this on Facebook and are incapable of seeing the irony. You would think that if these people hated Facebook that much, they wouldn't post about it...on Facebook. Like the famous "No wi-fi, talk to each other" pic that I also think is idiotic (read my blog about it here) it's posted on peoples Facebook page to show how cool they are for Facebook and how much they think people who enjoy Facebook are idiots.
If California wants to break from the union, by all means let them. Everyone was talking about Texas leaving the union during the Obama years and of course that was fine with me as well. Now there is chatter about California leaving. Of course I'm not a lawyer so I don't know the details of how it can happen or even if legally can happen-but why couldn't it? After all, if you want move from a state, you can. Why can't a large group of people who want to leave the United States do so?
In my dream world, the residents of California, Texas, New Hampshire, West Virginia or wherever can do what they want, when they want. No matter how complex it might be or the consequences of their actions, they should absolutely be allowed to do whatever they wish. Forming a new country is complicated of course and once you get what you want, it might lead to a disaster-but if a the residents of a state want to commit a mass suicide-we shouldn't be asked to stop them.
In general, the Christian view on wealth is complex. Just like the verse "judge not lest ye be judged" it's completely misunderstood and used against wealthy Christians. After all, shouldn't Christians give their money away to the poor and live simple lives? Even Christians themselves are confused about this. I've seen several active LDS post that "money is the root of all evil." Which is wrong of course-it's love of money that is the root of evil.
Jacob 2:13 is one of my favorite verses on wealth because it shows that the pride and not helping your fellow man are the sins, not the money itself. When you put money before everything, that is when the punishment comes and that's when your behavior needs to change.
In fairness, I see some wealthy people doing what is described in this verse. They are proud of their hard work and effort-and they should be-but they also might look down on people who don't have what they have. That's why I wish they had more blue collar apostles. Let's see some apostles with grease on their hands or work in less glamorous jobs than academia, law, etc.
If you are over the age of ten, don't use emoticons to communicate. I and everyone else expects you to put on big people clothes and talk like an adult. Even online. When I see someone who can't speak in words and uses only emoticons I want to contact the local sheriff and see if you are on a certain list.
Using excessive vulgarity. I curse sometimes and frankly between close friends I don't see a problem with it. Not everyone in 2016 is like an antebellum southern belle who falls to pieces if she hears the words "Damn" or "Hell". I fact, I think it's priggish (a wonderful British word, look it up) to act mortally offended over curse words. However, like everything else in life there is a balance. If you can't communicate without using the F-word every two minutes it might be a sign of rudeness or a lower education level.
Typing everything in capital letters. This shows a sign of raving instability. When you type in all caps virtually no one will take you seriously and the majority of people will just ignore you. I'm not sure why people do this. If they want to be ignored, they could just not go online much. And don't tell me that people "don't care" if others are listening to them. If they didn't care, they wouldn't post anything.
Constant boasting. I am all for talking about how much your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse loves you and how wonderful life is. In fact, I think people who insult others who do that "Oh, your life isn't as a good as you think it is" are jealous and full of envy. Like Eric Clapton said "It's in the way that you use it". Talking about how rich you are is obnoxious and will often times lead to you getting in bad situations-people asking for money or even worse. Be careful with this one.
Talking about how much you hate being online and how everyone online is a loser-posting this on Facebook makes you a grade A asshole who doesn't realize how foolish it is to talk about how much you hate those losers who go online too much from your Facebook account.
Filter-Short Bus
Better known for their sweet and sentimental song "Take a Picture" (I remember that song being played when Cal Ripken had his last game) Filter is, much like Sponge and The Cranberries, a different band than what people think. "Short Bus" has an alternative sound that reminds me of Sixteen Stone by Bush. While it's true, there aren't as many good songs on Short Bus like there are on Sixteen Stone, this is still an album that is worth getting at your local used CD store.
Upfront, I don't know much about this band. It's one of the albums that I bought, listened to a few times than forgot. Apparently the lead singer, Richard Patrick did some work with Nine Inch Nails and their influence is pretty noticeable. Like all good bands that have been influenced by other bands the sound is more homage than copycat. You can hear the influence but it still has a unique sound of it's own.
A few months ago the latest fear craze was scary clowns. I posted about them and you can read about it here.
It's gone now, the media doesn't report about it anymore. Is it because less people are dressing up in clown costumes and scaring people? Partially, but I think the amount of people who do that is going to stay pretty level. I don't see sane people suddenly deciding to do this as a hobby, but then again, they do have furry conventions so anything is possible.
The more important and sadder issue is how the media over blows everything. I get it, news reporters have never been known for their integrity and scientific knowledge but I really do wish they would apply some common sense. The risk of being assaulted by a dude in a clown suit is actually incredibly slim. The risk of getting a shark bite or an alligator attack is also incredibly slim, same with plane crashes and pit bull attacks. Too bad the media loves talking about those things.
I'm not sure it's going to change much in the near future. Like we all know the network news at 11 and 6 O'Clock are losing viewers by the truckload. Now people can get their news how they want it twenty four hours a day. With fewer people watching I get the impression that the news stations will go to further extremes in order to get new viewers.
While I do find the protest marches inspiring and I'm glad there was not any arrests or mass destruction of private property, I'm doubtful that it will accomplish much in the long run.
Obviously, the majority of the people who marched this weekend didn't vote for Trump. They overwhelmingly voted for Hillary, probably close to 70%.The remaining 30% were split between Bernie-third party voters and professional protestors who would show up to protest anything but stayed home on election day. Essentially the protest "spoke to the choir" and "preached to the already converted." It's estimated that 1 out of 100 women in the nation showed up at some march and while I think that might be a bit high, doesn't that mean that 99 out of 100 women didn't show up to one of those protests? I understand that those 99 probably didn't vote for Trump, but some of them certainly did.
It's also interesting to me that for people who preach about diversity, a lot of those women were white and well, biologically women. I thought gender was a social construct (by the way, I think it IS, at least partially, a construct) by proclaiming it a Women's March I think you are excluding people who might be sympathetic to the cause .
