Psychosomatic Wit: August 2007

In the News

Senater Larry Craig of Idaho is probably resigning soon. I never understood all this meet in bathrooms stuff. If you are a gay man and want to meet another gay man for sex, go to a gay bar. What is it with public bathrooms that make things so much better? I can't even find a heterosexual analogy for this. Not that all gay men do this, but obviously enough do. I mean, apparently there is even a protocol to follow. Sheesh.

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Here in Indiana, the state is losing some federal funds because they didn't meet their target of getting enough people off welfare by getting them into jobs. On the surface, losing the funds makes sense. If a state isn't doing enough with the funds they are given, why give them more funds to do nothing? However, if the Fed REALLY wants Indiana to increase the welfare to work numbers, is cutting funding going to that really going to accomplish that? To me, that is like telling your child that he isn't allowed to do as much homework this week, because he failed to do enough last week. For crying out loud, take some other funds from Indiana, not the thing you want it to improve in. Don't let your kid watch TV instead of more homework negligence.

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Today is the day that Princess Diana will be memorialized in observance of the tenth anniversary of her death. I hope this thing doesn't drag out for days or weeks. I guess I am a hypocrite because I thought the Elvis thing was perfectly fine. However, what can you do with Diana? At least with Elvis, you can watch movies and hear music. All you can do about Diana is watch news file footage and talk about her. However, if you want to hear music regarding Diana, I guess you can listen to Elton John's tired version of "Candle in the Wind". I, on the other hand, would rather hear Smalltown Poet's "Prophet, Priest, and King". It has one verse dedicated to the royal wedding (kind of an older song). It is a well-written, catchy song. Please check it out here. It is a pretty entertaining and fun video. The lyrics can be found in my appendix blog here.

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Finally, gas just jumped 20 to 30 cents a gallon this morning for the holiday weekend supply and demand, you know. Don't you just love capitalism? The economy of greed makes me become closer and closer to becoming a socialist. Ooh, perish the thought! There are people who actually think that capitalism is the economy system ordained by God. However, Jesus seemed to run his gang by the way of socialism.

USA! USA! USA!

What a country!

Thank God for Tags

I have been off work the past couple of days and my wife has been out of town. Things have been kind of out of whack, out of sorts, disorganized. As a result, I hadn't posted for a while. What's worse, is that I was out of rhythm. I didn't know what to post.

I could do the NEWSFLASH, but I feel like I missed the window. I thought about the Wednesday Whys, but I only have a couple and I forgot one of them.

Then it dawned on me; I have some outstanding tags out there! So, here is a tag from Stephanie, at Remedial Rumination:

The Birthday Meme.

Instructions: Go type in your birthday in Wikipedia (month and day). Write down three events, two births, and one holiday. Then, tag 5 friends.

My birthday is July 18th.

Events

1. 64 A.D. Great fire of Rome: A fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control while Emperor Nero reportedly plays his lyre and sings while watching the blaze from a safe distance. (This is an appropriate choice since I have been hot in my predictions).

2. 1925 Adolf Hitler publishes his personal manifesto Mein Kampf. (I picked this because I am also a Psycho, albeit cut from a different cloth than Hitler, and I hope to be published some day, too.)

3. 1953 Rock star Elvis Presley made his first recording in Sun Studios. (Hey, it's ELVIS!)

Births

1. 1918 Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (chosen for this meme, because I work in civil rights.

2. John Glenn, Mercury Seven astronaut and United States Senator from Ohio. ( I chose this because He piloted the first manned orbital mission and I like Star Trek - oh, give me a break, here. At least I didn't say we were both heroes!).

Holidays

Constitution Day in Uraguay (I chose this because it is the ONLY ONE. I think we should have a new holiday on this date called Psychosomatic Day. I didn't add "wit" to it because I want everyone to be able to participate.)

Who to tag, who to tag . . . This is a fun and easy one, so don't feel put out if I tag you.
1. Hoosiergirl
2. WriteJerry (use either blog - other is bentsense.com)
3. Sayre
4. Michelle at Crow's Feet
5. Kristen

There is a part two to this tag, but it will come out at a later date. Don't be surprise, you five, when you get tagged again in the near future. While I am on tagging, I tried to pick people who are open to tagging. Some blogs aren't "designed" for it, which means that the blogger is trying to keep the blog on a particular path (e.g. my other blog - when someone tags me there, I will respond here which I hope is fine with the tagger). So, my request to you the reader is to leave me a comment on this post declare whether you are on my "NO TAG" list. I won't be offended. It would be nice for others to tell me that it is fine to be added. If you don't respond either way, you are just taking your chances!

When it Comes To Predictions . . .

I AM HOT!! That is, unless you count percentages. I have hit about five of the thirteen predictions that I made back in January. I have some months left, though. You can see them here.

There are two that REALLY stand out that I picked. One is the death of Anna Nicole Smith and the other is recent - drum roll, please . . .

PREDICTION #8 This summer will be one of the hottest ever in the midwest.

This is a legitimate prediction because I didn't say that it was going to be hot. I said that it was going to be one for the hottest EVER!

From USATODAY.COM:

The USA sweated this year through its hottest summer in 70 years, with temperatures not seen since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, according to a government report.

From June 1 to Aug. 31, as summer is defined by the National Climatic Data Center, the continental USA had an average temperature of 74.5 degrees, based on readings from hundreds of weather stations nationwide. It was the second-hottest summer temperature the government has recorded since it started keeping track in 1895. The only one warmer — by about two-tenths of a degree — was in 1936.

Now, if I could just predict those Powerball numbers . . .

NEWS FLASH #12

NEWS FLASH is basically news or thoughts that may be changing over time - an update or an evolution of thought that covers a multiple of topics. It is what makes a blogger tick and it is the reason why we read. So, with that in mind, I came up with NEWS FLASH as an acronym that stands for what is going on in life:

News (or current events)
Entertainment (movies, TV, celebrity, etc.)
Work (thoughts on the job or employer)
Spirit (thoughts on God and/or the supernatural)
Family (or friends)
Love
Anxiety (a rant or a trouble)
Sports (also considered should be contests, reality tv, recreation, cards, games), and
Home (house, yard, or even another family type of thought.
___________________________________________________________________

NEWS - Hurricane Dean passed through Jamaica (actually the eye was about 20 miles south). It made me think about last October when I was in Jamaica getting married. We wondered what we would do if a hurricane crashed our wedding (pun intended). It might have been exciting, but we settled for perfect weather and scenery. Everyone in the media is happy to report that it looks like the storm is going to stay south of the US. That is because Mexico doesn't matter. Americans are so egocentric, sometimes.

ENTERTAINMENT - High School Musical 2, came out with record ratings for a basic cable production. The Today Show this morning made fun of it for its wholesomeness - at least that is the impression I got. How sad that wholesome isn't appealing. I saw the first movie and found it good and wholesome. There was a big deal about everyone waiting for the leads to kiss in the first one, but they didn't. People couldn't wait to see if they lock lips in the second one. I thought that was funny, because as I watched the first one, it never occurred to me whether they kissed or not. Most of the time, people are bedding each other in otherwise sweet movies. It was refreshing to see that at least some people find the elusive cinematic kiss more appealing.

WORK - I have to clean up this office. I don't want to. We have a cleaning service, but they aren't suppose to mess with my stuff - just trash, dusting, and vacuuming.

SPIRIT - I am going to take this spot and talk about my other blog, The Present Truth (because it is exclusively about my thoughts in that realm). There is a debate brewing about my most recent post. It is about an experience I had at "Motley Crue" concert, of all things, I attended a couple of years ago. I received some feedback that really shocked me. If you have any interest in this kind of thing, you can check out the post here. I am going to do a whole new post in response today or tomorrow so you can stay tuned for that over there, too, if you desire.

FAMILY - I am supposed to go visit my father-in-law this weekend with my wife. However, I have a conflict Saturday night and have to take my mother to the doctor on Monday. If I can get my sister to take my mom, I can go up Sunday and come back Tuesday. Regardless, my wife is going Friday. I hope I can go (at some level), because I want my wife to know that I am still plugging away. Besides, I like my father-in-law. He understands me.

LOVE - I love me some chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookies.

ANXIETY - I am going to show my house to someone today. I met with a realtor Saturday and he didn't give me many signs of hope. The housing market is horrible and property values are low. In the region of the city where my house is, the values are even lower because of flooding problems. There is no flooding on my street, but the region has problems so it is affecting the whole area. I am not too optimistic about the person looking at the house today. I think he is a house flipper and those guys low-ball homeowners so much. I can't afford to invest $20,000 in a house that is going to be flipped when I won't get a return for the investment, if you know what I mean. Home flippers have passed used car salesmen in sliminess, because they take advantage of homeowners that are in dire straits - wanting to get something for nothing.

SPORTS - My fantasy football draft is Saturday. It is THE "man" highlight of the year. AND, yes, that is my Saturday night conflict from going to my father-in-laws. It is just that I am running the thing, and it was set-up long before this "let's go to dad's" thing. On top of that, I am in my father-in-law's fantasy league and they draft Monday night. Maybe I can make both of them if my sister cooperates. I don't really care about the Monday draft. I don't know those guys. I just want to be there for my wife and father-in-law.

HOME - Today, I hope, I am starting my low-carb diet. It is the only thing that has worked for me that I don't have to think about. It is easy. If it is meat or green vegetables, eat it. If it is bread or anything with wheat or sugar, don't eat it. Protein - yes. Starch or sugar - no. What can be easier. The grill will get a lot use from now on. However, there will be no more chocolate-oatmeal no-bakes for me.

That's NEWS FLASH for this week. Have a pleasant tomorrow.

Has it Really Been 30 Years?

I was thinking back when I was a kid. My mother and oldest sister were huge Elvis fans. Because of that, I was over-exposed to the King. I knew the words to every song and could name all 33 movies. Even though most kids my age weren't that big on Elvis, I was a huge fan.

Back in October of 1976, Elvis came to my town for a concert. My sister camped out at the ticket window because it was a sure sell-out in the first day. I begged my mom to let me go. She didn't want to shell out the extra $12.50 for my ticket, so she told me that I could go another time. There was no other time.

On August 16, 1977, I was doing my chores with my little sister. We divided cleaning up the living room into top and bottom. I did the top (couch, chairs, and tables) and she did the bottom, which consisted of the floor - vacuuming and whatnot.

It was a little past 3:30 pm and Batman was on TV for kids programming in the afternoon. A special report came on to interrupt the BAM's and POW's of Batman action, "The Memphis police are reporting that Elvis Presley has died in his Graceland home.

I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. Sometimes I still don't. I remember hearing in the subsequent days all the conspiracy theories and Elvis sightings. I believed he was still alive for at least a couple of years. After all, how could a huge star like Elvis ever have a normal life without faking his own death? I heard of all the reports of how lonely he was and how he longed for a normal life. He had to rent entire amusement parks and movie theaters just to have a night out. Yep, this must have been his plan. Then there is the misspelled tombstone in Graceland. Elvis Aaron Presley (when it should be Aron). At least, that is what I heard.

As time passed, I finally put Elvis to rest in my mind. The King is gone -the last king this country will ever know.

"I See," said the Blind Man

I am impaired. Seriously, I don't know if it is safe for me to drive. I am slap happy both mentally and giddily (def giddily: adv., performing any function under the influence of the state of giddiness, spiritedly). This thought process was probably a result of being overly tired and getting mentally slap-happy. Mental slap-happiness is a little different than the "over all" slap-happiness that we enjoy. Where as the usual bout of slap-happiness makes us giddy and causes us to giggle over the most inane things, mental slap-happiness turns on our Aristotilian nature in looking at things. I think pot does both of these. You see the people who indulge in MJ laugh about anything, but also the thoughtful, philosophical side in some folks come out. I think about the scene in "Animal House" where the fellas were sitting in the dark, sharing weed with their professor. The discussion was about the Universe and whether it is large or whether a whole Universe sits on one of our finger nails. But I digress . . .

My mental slap-happiness was not pot induced but fatigue induced lest someone's clean cut image of me should burst. When I get this way, I think of things that normally I am too uptight to think about. This is no exception. One thing I have been thinking about in this impaired state is what it would be like to be blind.

Do blind people see anything? It sounds like a stupid question, but one has to look at the question a bit deeper. I always hear about someone who is blind living in darkness. Darkness is a sight, though, isn't it? You see darkness. Darkness IS something.

Sometimes when my eyes are closed I can see dim colors - even in a dark room. It seems that are brains are wired to observe SOMETHING. Darkness, dim colors, something is fed to the brain like in a dream. One really doesn't "see" his/her dreams, but they experience them in some way. The brain replicates "sight" for the dreams; the eyes do not obtain ANY of the dream's images.

What are blind people's dreams like? Do they 'see'? I bet it makes a difference if one becomes blind after a period of sight or if they are blind from birth. Does the blind manufacture the "touch" since in the dreams of the blind in lieu of sight? I would guess the recently blind "see" while the blind-from-birth people "hear" or "feel" their dreams.

I have no answers here, just conjecture. I can probably ask someone who has been blinded for some information, if I knew someone, but I will never know about the experiences of people blind from birth. There are no common references in which to communicate.

Thank God for sight!

NEWSFLASH #11

NEWS - Mitt Romney won the Iowa Straw Poll this past weekend for Republicans. Rudy Guilliani and John McCain didn't participate. People are giving Romney a tough time because the "front runners" weren't there so it is considered by some a hollow victory. Romney defends it by, more or less, saying that McCain and Guilliani were scared of his organization in Iowa and didn't want to see an official defeat. I am not a Romney supporter, but all he really needed to say in response to the "hollow victory" question was, "Would it have been better, then, if I had lost?" Ridiculous, some of these questions.

One of the things I don't like about Romney came out in these interviews. In comparing this straw poll to the one GW Bush won eight years ago (why less people showed this year), he talked about people being more motivated after enduring eight years of the Clinton administration. Please. I didn't even vote for Clinton, but sign me up for enduring something similar in the next eight years. It was the most prosperous time for this nation in my lifetime.

ENTERTAINMENT - If anyone was on the fence about watching Big Brother 8 when I first mentioned it and decided against watching it, I pity you. This is the best one I have ever seen. I find the show interesting because of the study in psychology and human behavior. This one is the most entertaining of them all.

WORK - No changes, thank God. I just received my evaluation kit. I get evaluated by my commission next month. I always max out these evaluations, yet I still get nervous about it every year.

SPIRIT - I have been disappointed with myself in this area. I am not a good example. With all the turmoil in my personal life, it is hard for others it see the glow of my light. I lament that the Creator has me as a representative right now. However, with each new day, God brings his mercy and His grace. Slowly but surely I will tap more and more into His power and will show that light more brightly. If only it could be noticeably better today.

FAMILY - My sister's birthday was Saturday. I didn't see her then, but I got her a couple of nice pieces of jewelry. I did see her yesterday and she was upset that NO ONE called her on her birthday - that is kind of a thing for my family. I felt awful. I thought about calling, but A. I didn't know her work schedule; and B. I have been so down lately that I didn't want to rain on her parade. I told her I got her presents, but she said she would have rather had a call. This is really all about "SPIRIT" above.

LOVE - My wife and I have had a pretty good week. Still, I have been burned with my optimism before. I think the counseling is paying off for us. She makes a good effort to see things differently. We have had some serious talks and even a couple of arguments. This, in the past, would have blown up into days of quiet and torment. Not this week, however. Color me slightly optimistic, but EXTREMELY cautious.

ANXIETY - I am equally frustrated with several things right now. That balance makes me feel not so anxious, really. I guess that is a good thing.

SPORTS - I have started playing a horse racing game on XBox. I am not sure I mentioned this before, but my nephew gave me his XBox when he got XBox 360. I didn't care about having a video game system (I don't have much free time), but I have been dying to play this horseracing game for about three years. Now, I am addicted. I just love horses and the whole "sport of kings" type of atmosphere. I am not into betting or handicapping, I just love horses, watching them run, and all the good stories about them (e.g. Seabiscuit, Smarty Jones, Barbaro, etc.). Now, in a weird electronic fantasy world, I am a part of that. It is probably all I will ever have so I am enjoying it.

HOME - I contacted a new realtor about the sale of my house. I told him, through his website, that I wanted to converse through email at first (because of my schedule). He called me right away. People just don't listen or pay attention. This could have blown the deal for me and urged me to look for a different one, but I will cut him some slack. He just had to leave a message and I have only received formula email from him. I will give him a call, though, because that is the kind of feller I am.

Wednesday's Whys

On occasion, I will post questions that I ponder about life and observations. I started this a while back and called it "Wednesday Whys". I think this is the third one I have done, but I don't do it enough to number it like I do NEWSFLASH. If you have the answers, please share:

1. Why do cowboys in the movies and TV wear vests? Have you noticed this? You show me Hoss Cartwright, and I will show you a big, brown vest. Ah, but it isn't only Hoss or his Bonanza bretheren. No, it is Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, and John Wayne in any of the movies he performed in. Did cowboys really wear vests? Why would they? What would be the advantage in the hot sun of the American west to add leather to the thoracic heat already generated from cotton and the desert sun? Why would anyone wear a vest for any reason, for that matter?

2. Why is it that all the spam scams involving someone signing over a money to get tons and tons of more money center in the UK or in Africa? Now, I don't know if they REALLY do, but that is the claim. Is it that the UK sounds proper as in no one would con someone in the UK; they are just too bloody proper with their queen and tea and "too cool" accent. Is Africa so mysterious, that "anything can happen there" so maybe this outlandish desperation of the need to hide wealth that they would contact some stranger in America is somewhat believable? Is there ANYONE left that hasn't heard of this scam by now? Why do I still get these things daily?

3. Speaking of email, how do all these people get my email address - not the made up ones that I expect spam from, but my real, IPS sourced one? Why isn't there a central database that a person can go to in order to find out what company they trusted made money by selling his information so scum artists can bog his inbox down in hopes to swindle him out of money? That would put a stop to it, don't you think?

4. Blogs. Why is it that people come and go from blogs so easy? I start reading someone - get to know them, and the next thing you know the blog is erased. I understand that people go through trials and take time away from blogs, but to just erase them without warning seems a bit harsh, doesn't it? People have no idea how their rash actions affect other people.

NEWSFLASH #10

NEWS FLASH is basically news or thoughts that may be changing over time - an update or an evolution of thought that covers a multiple of topics. It is what makes a blogger tick and it is the reason why we read. So, with that in mind, I came up with NEWS FLASH as an acronym that stands for what is going on in life:

News (or current events)
Entertainment (movies, TV, celebrity, etc.)
Work (thoughts on the job or employer)
Spirit (thoughts on God and/or the supernatural)
Family (or friends)
Love
Anxiety (a rant or a trouble)
Sports (also considered should be contests, reality tv, recreation, cards, games), and
Home (house, yard, or even another family type of thought.

___________________________________________________________________

NEWS - Senate Democrats are looking to censure GW Bush, Dick Cheney, and Alberto Gonzales. This is political theater on the eve of an election year. Am I saying that these folks do not deserve censure? Absolutely not. I am sure they do. It is just that it seems like a waste of time and resources. Censures have no teeth. Either remove violaters from office or move on. A censure does nothing.

ENTERTAINMENT - When I was in eighth grade, my best friend asked me if I wanted to date a girl named Suzie. He said that he could arrange it for me by telling his girlfriend, Leslie, to date me for a couple of days. Suzie always dated Leslie's exes (they were best friends). I opted out. The point is that Nicole Richie is going to serve time in the LA County jail just a few weeks after her bff Paris Hilton did the same thing. Monkey see, monkey do.

WORK - Thank God work is slow. Life is hard enough without faking it through my work days.

SPIRIT - The more I observe the more I understand what Paul was talking about when he referred to believers as aliens and strangers. (Hebrews 11:13-14). It seems that the way the world is going - more and more into ethic and moral problems, the more I feel out of place here.

FAMILY - I haven't really seen much of my family lately, save my mother and my wife. I don't know what is going on with them, but it usually means something is going to happen.

LOVE - Dazed and Confused. Other than that at this moment, I am reserving comment.

ANXIETY - I am pretty concerned about finances. Have I ever mentioned that I needed to sell a house that I have? With the wife not working, it is getting deeper.

SPORTS - Thank God that pre-season football is finally here. Summer has really been a drought for me. My baseball team has been in the bottom or near the bottom of the standings all year. Football was all I had to look forward to and it is nearly here. We are having our first fantasy football meeting this weekend.

HOME - I have a slew of projects at three different houses to accomplish. It is kind of overwhelming. The fact that the temperature is hovering close 100 Fahrenheit all week isn't helping, either. At least I got all the grass cut this week.

That's newsflash for another week. Thanks for playing.

Ahh, Bridge Travel

First thing, about this bridge collapse thing in Minneapolis, it is pretty scary for me. The bridge in Minnesota was under construction when it fell. Cars fell into the Mississippi River and on the banks below. What is frightening to me, is that I travel across a bridge over the Ohio River (which is wider than the Mississippi at Minneapolis) every day. What's more is that it, too, is currently under construction.

The twin spans on my bridge (pictured above) are designed for two lanes of traffic. One bridge has two lanes moving traffic south into Kentucky, while the other one moves it north into Indiana. While under construction, the southbound bridge is holding THREE lanes of traffic (two going south, one going north), the other is down to one lane moving north. So, if I quit blogging, and you hear about another bridge tragedy, . . .

Speaking of traffic, I am getting less and less patient with other drivers on these bridges. I routinely talk to them (although they can't hear me). You see, traffic MUST slow to 35 mph in the construction zone. In addition, drivers are not allowed to change lanes in the zone, so passing is illegal. This is because the lanes are way to narrow. People who violate these provisions will suffer double fines. Yet, people still do. The police cover this zone quite well, but they can't catch everyone. That is where my conversations originate, from the frustration over those who violate these provisions and cause other, law abiding drivers (like yours truly) additional stress when crossing these death traps.

The most common thing I say is, "Get off me!" However, speeders and passers cause me just as much consternation. I, personally, believe that people who MUST speed (I'm not talking about 5 mph over, but those who are more abusive) lack moral and ethical fiber. Somehow they believe the law doesn't apply to them. It is all about the self. Which brings me to the second most common thing I say to other drivers - in this case the police officer monitoring the bridge, "Get 'em!"

SHH, It's a Secret!

In my other blog, The Present Truth, I am in the midst of a discussion that was triggered by "The Psycho Gives An Exclusive Interview" where Jaquandor from Byzantium Shores asked five interview questions. One person, Danny Kaye, gave me some thoughtful feedback, perhaps taking issue with me adopting the "separate worlds" theory of blogging. He wondered how I thought it stacked up against Scripture.

This is how I clarified this question, "I don't really think there is a conflict - not by the way I am thinking about the concept, anyway. I guess I can see the conflict from an outsiders point of view.

We all have thoughts and opinions and ways to work out problems in our lives through words and processses. It is not imperative for those that are involved in those conflicts and things to be aware of every thought in my head. Some couldn't handle it. Some would be hurt by it. For some things I may choose to write about, people in my life may spread it like gossip or try to use it against me or someone else to hurt them.

This way, I and the people in my life do not have to deal with it. I can still use my blog to process those things and get objective feedback. Where is the conflict?"

Danny Kaye went on in detail about what he thought about it after I gave this response. It contains very thoughtful, and Scripture filled arguments. I also gave my replies to those. I won't include it here because I get the feeling most of Psychosomatic Wit's readers eyes kind of glaze over when this kind of scriptural contribution surfaces. As I said in the last post, this is why I have the idea of keeping my blogs separate. However, feel free to read the entirety of the discussion over at The Present Truth.

In the meantime, I am curious what you guys might think of me keeping my thoughts away from my wife (and the rest of the real world). Some of you have weighed in on that topic already, but now it has gotten a little more complicated.

ADDENDUM: FROM THE LONG VERSION OF THIS DISCUSSION ON

THE PRESENT TRUTH:

Some people think that the photo on my interview post is ME being interviewed. It isn't. It is just a photo I found out in cybersphere. Just thought I would clear that up. :)