Fire Charlie Weis - Notre Dame Football is NOT an example of fairness or equality

I wrote this one year ago... on my myspace page

the original article:

after 3 seasons coaching Notre Dame football Tyrone Willingham was fired. After winning his first eight games with the Irish, including big wins over Michigan and Florida State, Willingham finished his Notre Dame career with a 21-15 record. The new adminstration thought nothing but to fire Willingham and start fresh. 

 

Enters Charlie Weis and he turns the program around. He started out fine, upsetting #3 Michigan, but then failling to defeat the very next week against Michigan State. A few weeks later the Irish almost beat USC but USC got lucky. Then continuing in the Willingham tradition they lost their bowl game, (Notre Dame had lost) eight straight bowl games, before, during and after Willingham.Weis was 9-3 in his first year as the Notre Dame coach. not bad. The next year, they were dominated by the Michigan Wolverines, as well as by USC with a terrible defeat at the hands of LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Now, this current season they have lost their first two games in the season with very little positives going for them.

 

I am not a sports critic or an analyst but i do not think they will more games than games they have lost this year. Most likely they will lose to Michigan, Michigan State, Boston College, UCLA, USC and heck maybe Stanford. Heck even if if i give them Stanford, they will end the season with a record of 5-7. If i am right, which i think i am then Charlie Weis record in his first three seasons will be 24-13, just a couple of games off of Willingham. if they lose to Stanford than his Weis' career record at Notre Dame will be 23 -14. Not that much different than Willingham. 

 

I am not saying that Willingham was an amazing coach or that he should not have been fired or that Notre Dame is a bad football school. I am just saying that something is odd is going on. Notre Dame is one of a few universities with over 800 victories in college football. they have 8 national championships and 7 Heisman trophy winners. Their is a more traddition at Notre Dame (arguably) than at any other school across the country. Willingham could not cut it, his record was not what the school demands, especially since in his three years coaching the fighting Irish he had suffered 5 losses of more than 30 points. In the previous 30 seasons, Notre Dame had only four losses of over 30 points. 

 

Weis has not suffered a defeat of over 30 points, but he is 1 -4 against teams ranked in the top 10. he has failed to win a bowl game and is in danger of not making a bowl game this year. Willingham was constantly being hounded for his failure to run the team. He was blamed for the teams failures and run out of town. His third year was a make or brake year and by the end it, all was broken. Charlie Weis comes in, uses Willingham's recruits and wins immediately, a lot like Wiillingham had done before him. Now in his third year, Weis has nothing to worry about, he has a contract extension and many consider his job to be safe and secure. Why? Am i talking hypocrisy ? or a double standard? maybe. 

 

in case you didn't know or catch the double standard, Tyrone Willingham is african american/black and Charlie Weis is white. Weis is a Notre Dame allumni, while Willingham attended their rival Michigan State - oh my. Maybe he was never liked at Notre Dame because of his spartan traditions. Sure Willingham was not Notre Dame's first choice, George O'Leary was but come on, O'Leary lied on his resume and quit before he was fired. But am i the only one that thinks this is just a little off, why was Willingham always in fear of losing his job? Notre Dame is in the beginning of their worst start in football history, with little or no hope for improvement this year and many experts think that charlie weis has nothing to worry about and does that seem fair? maybe the experts have no idea what they are talking about but, maybe notre dame football is not the model for fairness or equality. 

end original article

a year has passed and my analysis of Notre Dame's 2007 was a little off. i had predicted that they would go 5-7 when in actuality they went 3-9. i had expected victories over Navy and defeats by the hands of Stanford and UCLA and in each of those instances I was wrong. I don't work for ESPN but maybe I should

their 2008 record is a little better at 6-6 but they are still mediocre. In the past four years, against top ten ranked teams they have an overall record of 1-6. Notre Dame, with Weis as head coach has failed to beat rival USC. Willingham was fired three days after an embarrassing loss to USC. Weis just finished his fourth season as head coach with 38-3 loss to USC in which his team only had 4 first downs and 9 offensive yards in the first half. 

Now there is something to be said about a football program or any sports program, professional or collegiate that sticks to their guns and believes that steady is the course over irrational and emotional decision making. But should we praise Notre Dame now for their patience when that quality was lacking four years ago? I think not. 

Notre Dame football... shame on you. 

to President Elect Obama

Congratulations is in order. Congratulations President Elect Obama. I was with you from the beginning but I solely cannot take credit for your place in history. You worked hard and deserve this victory. I am so very proud of you, this country, my country and my vote. I look forward to the challenges that face you, myself and this country with a knowledge that we can tackle them, overcome them and define prosperity for this generation, my parent's generation and the generations that lie ahead.

I support you with an open heart but despite my devotion I will warn you of one thing... No it is not the republican party and those who see you not as you are, but see you, as they want you to be. No, I am not going to warn you of the tricks and deceit that line Washington's pockets. No, I won't warm you of the people that want to dismiss you because of your politics, race and sex. No, I won't warn you of the many things that you are already aware of.

I simply warn you of your responsibility. You set the bar so very high. You pushed people to believe that looking at the stars is simply not good enough. Lead us to believe that we as a people should reach out and grab those stars to see what lies beyond and to move onto the next great challenge. I believe in you President (Elect) Obama. I do not feel that you will let me down because you better not.

So many people believe that government is self serving and lacking discipline but are they wrong for placing so much value into those beliefs? I think not. A promise to reform Washington was made and I hope that promise is kept, no matter how daunting the task may seem. So many problems lie ahead like a struggling economy, job loss, healthcare reform and keeping the nation safe. 

I voted for you because this country is need of leadership, a leader that will not define the people but represent them and represent them not by one singular definition like white, black, male, female, straight, gay, young or old but by the all encompassing definition, human. I believe you can do this. I believe that change will come and it will be the change that we need.

If you fail, no excuses will be allowed. If you fail, the criticism will be heavy. If you fail, my hope and faith in change might be lost. 

but... You must not fail, for those that believe government can be reformed. You must not fail, for those who have voted for the first time and those that still believe in their vote. You must not fail, for those that believe that 'Hope' and 'Change' are not just political slogans and t-shirt designs. You must succeed.  

You cannot do it alone. I am here and I am willing to do my part to aid in this awakening. We must all do our parts. I can ask my country to save and protect me but how can I save my country? I can do my part and the first step was voting. Yes We Can, Yes We Did and now Yes, what can I do next? 

Congratulations, President Obama. 

Rush Limbaugh, racism and why this shouldn't be tolerated.

Rush Limbaugh proclaims that Colin Powell selection of Barack Obama for President of the United States is totally about race.  His comments were made loud and clear on his radio program and is nothing but an insult directed at General Colin Powell.

 

General Powell served as a soldier for 35 years. He was the National Security Advisor under President Reagan. He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H. W. Bush and President Bill Clinton. Powell was also the United States Secretary of State for President George W. Bush. I don’t think there is anyone who can accuse General Powell of lacking experience or intelligence. He is a man that has dedicated his life to serving his country and this attack by Rush Limbaugh is nothing but blind stupidity and racism.

 

He told the media that he was not going to make a decision till all the facts were in and that his decision was a confident one.  Powell’s action in educating himself about the candidates is a road map we should all follow.  When we vote, educating yourself about the names on the ballot can never be taken for granted. Colin Powell is a member of the Republican Party and for months has declined to endorse a candidate for president, at least until last Sunday when you decided to vote for Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

 

Unfortunately, Rush Limbaugh took it upon himself to slight General Powell and suggest that his decision was based entirely on race. Powell, a highly decorated individual, well educated and respected by many, Republican and Democrat alike, spoke of Sen. Barack Obama’s ability to create change, move the country in a direction he feels appropriate and rescue America’s struggling economy. General Powell also spoke of his lack of confidence in Governor Palin and his concern over the negativity brought by the McCain campaign. In the end, Colin Powell spoke eloquently about his endorsement for Sen. Obama.

 

I don’t know Rush Limbaugh personally but it is hard to see this as anything but stupid and racist. I could say that Limbaugh only supports McCain because he is white or because he is Republican. I like to give General Powell a little more credit. He has publicly stated that he would not support any candidate blindly due to race or political party. I have no doubt that General Powell wants the best for America and he is voting for Sen. Obama because of a belief that Sen. Obama is better fit to lead.  I have a hard time thinking that Limbaugh has the country’s best interest in mind with these attacks. If anything Limbaugh might be more concerned with his ratings and his lack of relevance than the welfare of America. To be fair, Limbaugh is not the only making these comments because Pat Buchanan also questioned General Powell decision as one made entirely based on race.

 

I don’t think General Powell is voting for Sen. Obama because he is black. I don’t think General Powell is not voting for Sen. McCain because he is white. I do think that General Powell is an intelligent person able of thinking independently and profoundly. To accuse anyone, especially a person as decorated and honored as General Powell of voting for any candidate based on race, sex or age is ignorant.

 

 

“Our great strength is in our unity and our diversity”

                                                            - Gen. Colin Powell 

Vote Early!

did you know you can vote early?

in 34 states across this magnificent country you can VOTE before Nov. 4.

what?

you can vote early!

oh yes and I encourage it in every way. Vote early because who knows Nov. 4 is not the only day you can express yourself. Vote early because the lines are shorter. Vote early because you believe in your vote. Vote early because Nov. 4 is a busy day on your calender. Vote early because voting is important.

Just Vote. educate yourself, choose a candidate and vote! I do care who but I am not going to tell who or how to vote. Vote! plus you get a sticker and the great sensation of democracy at work.

VOTE!

chocolate news! David Allen Grier is not Dave Chapelle ! part 1

southpark.

lil' bush. 

the daily show

colbert report 

some other show.... that is not the Chapelle Show. 

I don't know about you but I miss the Chapelle Show and I feel that Chocolate News starring David Allen Grier is nothing more than an attempt to capture the African American audience and the fill the void left by Dave Chapelle. 

to be continued....

Rude?

Don’t be rude. Where have manners gone in this country? I try and do my best to hold open doors for anyone. I don’t care if you are young, old, female, male, white, black, Latin, Asian, handicapped, or able bodied. I think it is a perfectly appropriate thing to do for someone. You do not have to walk through the door I hold open. You do not have to hold the door open for me but if I do hold the door open for you then don’t be rude.

 

As of recently, I held the door open for an elderly couple and a gentleman, the gentleman at the end of the line decided not to walk through my door but refused to acknowledge my effort with a simple, “no thanks” or even a head nod. He had to open the door next to ours without my assistance. It was nice of the elderly couple to thank me and label me as, “a nice young man.” Apparently real men hold open their own doors. A few days after that I held the door open for an entire family while my hands were full of Chipotle bags. I removed myself from their path and held open the door. It was not until the fourth family member had passed that I had received any acknowledgment. Is all of this my fault? Maybe, I shouldn't be complaining. 

 

In the end this is not about me but about how removed we seem to be from common decency. We talk during movies in the theaters and we cut people off on the highway without warning or a wave as an apology. We talk on cell phones at the check out counter and we don’t wash our hands when we are done in the washroom. We forget to give thanks. We don't introduce ourselves with proper greeting and we use foul language in front of children. If we as a society fail at such simple opportunities to be polite then imagine how we fair on a larger scale.  It seems manners have gone out the window and that is very sad. I have nothing against being casual but being casual should not be without being decent.  What does it say about you, me or anyone that we forget our manners and think about ourselves over others? Being polite is not hard and it should not a strain on your daily life. I dislike this movement and I hope civility and common decency will rise again. 

 

Think about it. 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT! and why you need to pay them

I am stating this with the full knowledge that I know very little about taxes. I am not an economics professor. I am not a tax accountant. I am not a government official. I am not well read on tax reform or tax policies. I do know that…

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

Yes, if you are an American, you pay taxes. If you don’t pay taxes than you are committing a federal crime and then you are still an American but you are also a criminal. You pay taxes because who else is going to pay for government work programs, public schools, police officers and fire fighters? How else is the government going to generate any revenue to preserve national parks or build an army to maintain a secure and safe nation? Don’t you see that paying taxes is important? If you want a cop protecting your street, or a teacher teaching your child math or science, or a road not filled with potholes then you need to pay taxes.

 

I don’t know about you but last time I checked, fire fighters, police officers, teachers and plenty of other government workers with valuable roles for the daily lives of millions of Americans don’t make a lot of money. No they don’t and when you think about cutting taxes try and think about what area(s) of government funding are being cut… is it environmental conservation? Is it education? Is it homeland security? Social Security? Welfare? Medicare? Or what?

 

If you are a free market junkie then I might be able to understand your desire to let the market dictate everything in this world but I cannot let the market dictate my education or my safety. If the market were to dictate the environment then the whole state of Florida would be a giant shopping mall with miles and miles of pastel housing with a crocodile in every swimming pool. Screw the Everglades! Yellowstone would be the next place to host a hip film festival or another place for health spa after health spa after health spa. If you believe that this war, the war on terror needs to continue but you also believe that your taxes need to be cut then I suggest you decide which is more important; a government in debt or a war (that may never be won.)

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

Yes, I am going to repeat this again and again and again. If you don’t want to pay taxes then maybe you should go somewhere else, oh wait, every country collects some form of taxes, at least any functional country.  If you don’t like taxes, don’t pay them or suffer the consequences. If you don’t like how your taxes are being spent then vote. Yes, VOTE!

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

I cannot deny that this is a very complicated issue. Who pays what, how much and for what generates a great amount of debate? Is it fair for someone who makes very little to pay a higher percentage of their income compared to someone in a higher tax bracket. Ask billionaire Warren Buffet what he thinks and you might find out that he agrees with me or is it that I agree with him? I think (it is) that I agree with him, after all he believes that is unfair that he pays 17.7 percent of his income to the government while his secretary who makes a considerable amount less (billions less) pays taxes on 30 percent of her income. How does that work?

 

If you are talented, successful, gifted and/or lucky then don’t you deserve your swerve and swagger? Of course you do. I just don’t see why you might need six, fourteen or more cars. I just don’t see why you need an island off the coast of Jamaica. I just don’t know why you need a piece of jewelry that equals the cost of a teacher’s salary and it isn’t that you just have one piece but enough to fuel a war in a third world country. By the way, I love the wealthy with all these luxuries as they try to speak to the majority as if they are common folk facing the same problems as those struggling for work, health care or survival. 

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

Is Warren Buffet the answer? Probably not. Oh, he has the answers? No, probably not. But Warrant Buffet does raise a valuable issue about the tax system in this country.  Unfortunately when we talk about taxes the discussion only includes the payer and payment. It seems that everybody wants to pay less but before that happens maybe we should all pay an equal share.

 

The government might be a huge mess and trusting them with billions of dollars in tax money might seem dangerous and naïve but that is why we have elections. Participation in government is key to maintaining a healthy and honest governing body. Be informed, vote, petition, whatever it takes to let your voice be heard. Cutting taxes is not the only answer even though it might be for some but TAXES are important. Paying taxes is important. The country has enough problems even when a lack of funding isn’t the problem. Inner city schools are failing. Healthcare is failing. Social security is failing.

 

But what do I know? Is paying taxes going to solve all our problems? I don’t know. Money is only money if not used wisely, but nothing can be done if there is no money to solve the problem. All I can say is this...

Vote!

and

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

 

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

Let me start out this way... for the last decade I have been a Red Sox fan. I am not from Boston nor am I from New York. I embraced the rivalry like a family member or an additional appendage. I love my Boston Red Sox and I hate the New York Yankees but my hatred for that particular ball team does not reflect how I feel about the Stadium that has hosted the "evil empire" for the past 85 years. If anything the loss of Yankee Stadium is almost another reason to dislike the Yankees.

As a Boston Red Sox fan I hate, yes, Hate to see Yankee Stadium Go.

Yankee Stadium started it all. It redefined the ball park in every single way. From the design to the capacity and even the name. When the stadium was built in the early 20's many baseball teams played their home games in a ball park or a field, like Fenway Park or Wriggley Field. Yankee Stadium was the first to be recognized as a stadium. While parks and fields traditionally held 30,000 plus fans, Yankee Stadium was built with a capacity doubling any competing ball park. It was the first three-tiered sports facility in the country and one of the first to incorporate an electronic scoreboard.

Yankee Stadium was the first of it's kind. The United States may have little to claim when it comes to ingenuity and greatness in the field of architecture but for some Yankee Stadium might create as much awe and allure as the Roman Coliseum.

Yankee Stadium is the home to quite possibly the greatest sports franchise in the modern era. If you measure greatness by success and in America, most people often do then the Yankees are the cream of the crop. The Yankees have have won 37 of their 39 American league pennants in Yankee Stadium. They have hosted the World Series 37 times and at 26 have more titles than any other team, both numbers more than double their closest competition in Major League Baseball. Over thirty hall of fame baseball players have called Yankee Stadium their home and the pin-stripes their uniform. Some of the greatest if not the greatest ball players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle have worn the Yankee pin-stripes.

Outside of baseball, Yankee Stadium has been a host to boxing matches, soccer, professional and college football games, religious ceremonies and concerts.

the famous, "win one for the Gipper" speech was given in Yankee Stadium in 1928 during half time of the Army-Notre Dame football game. The "Greatest Game Ever Played" between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts was held in Yankee Stadium. A game in which the Colts took home the championship and Johnny Unitas cemented his legacy and helped reinvent the quarterback position. During the 70's Yankee Stadium was home to the New York Cosmos which suited soccer's most memorable name and figure, Pele. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali have all fought inside the boxing ring in the center of Yankee Stadium. When the Brown Bomber Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling in 1938 more than boxing and championships were at battle but ideologies and social politics were at odds.

Three popes have held mass in Yankee Stadium. After his release from prison Nelson Mandela held a rally for New Yorkers, Americans and those in need of inspiration to overcome great odds. Musical acts ranging from the Isley Brothers to U2, Paul Simon to Pink Floyd have performed in the house that Ruth Built.

What happens next? Yankee Stadium will eventually be no more. The Yankees next year will have a new home, right next door to their existing one but it is impossible to suggest that any future stadium can replace or even compare to Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium was not made famous by Babe Ruth or by the Yankees. It was not made famous by Bono or Roger Waters. It was not made famous by Knute Rockne or Joe Louis. Yankee Stadium was made famous by the American People. Yankee Stadium holds a legacy like few people, few places and few things in United States of America. Baseball, America's past time has no greater venue than Yankee Stadium and we are at loss by its closing.

Nothing great lasts anymore and with the closing and eventual destruction of Yankee Stadium I worry that along with its legacy so goes the history held within its field, stands and concrete walls. The United States of America does not have castles or very many ancient ruins to celebrate. With a history less than 3 centuries old the U.S.A. has few buildings that capture the memories and imagination like Yankee Stadium. What does it say about our society today that we unlike many societies before us choose to tear down our history for something new, flashier, possibly better and more economically sound? I hate to see Yankee Stadium go. I hate that I will never be able to take my children or grandchildren to a game. Maybe I am simply selfish but when a huge part of American history is destroyed I think we should be upset and should contemplate how we are all missing out by Yankee Stadium's destruction. I suppose the only thing to hope for is that the next Stadium that houses the Yankees or whatever team or sport played within its boundaries can create such a legacy as notable as the one existing in Yankee Stadium.

oh MTV... what happened?

So… apparently the MTV VMA awards were a week or so ago. I didn’t watch them, did you? I don’t care if you did but for some reason several of my friends have asked me if I had viewed the so-called award show wondering what my take was. With this in mind I still refuse to watch the VMA’s because it is an insult to my intelligence and a waste of my time. I’d much rather watch reruns of the Dog Whisperer or Iron Chef America. There is a great deal of things I would rather watch than the VMA’s like paint dry, babies crying, another (not funny) Dane Cook comedy special or C-Span.

By the by, doesn’t a video award show on MTV kind of seem like a joke? The only times I have seen videos on MTV is when flipping thru channels and catching a video on MTV classic or MTV rock or MTV hip hop. Videos are no longer part of the programming except for the occasion ninety second clip on the hopelessly annoying TRL. MTV should no longer be associated with music television but be renamed media television or teenagers and young adults desperate for fame television.

If this blog seems at all bitter it is because MTV at one point was the trend setter. It was the mode, the beacon, the signifier, the bar for what was cool when I was growing up. When I was a little boy till about my teenage years I wanted to be on MTV because you met cool artists, went to awesome concerts, needed little talent to be a VJ and partied like a rock star. Back in the early 90’s it was a channel not obsessed with reality TV but created cutting edge shows and annimation. It revolutionized music as well as spring break, the x-games, fashion and even politics. It might be wrong of me to insist that MTV could have held onto its influence forever because nothing ever really does but I do believe that MTV could at least be relevant. It was once the voice of a generation and now is nothing more than a sad state of affairs with dating games for teenage rejects, dating games for celebrity losers, kiss ass commentary and the promotion of bland musical acts.

But maybe this is not the cable giant’s fault. Maybe bad television or reality television and a lack of music videos is now the voice of this generation. Why play music video’s when there is YouTube or why create television when you can exploit the youth of America for bad reality programming? Let’s face it, MTV has not been influential in quite some time but has been influenced by Girls Gone Wild. If children are the future and if the children are watching MTV then I sincerely weep for the future. We are not teaching the children well if we have them sitting down to watch MTV.

Am I being a bit dramatic here, quite possibly but understand this MTV became popular during a very critical time in many people’s lives. The dream of the 80’s was dying and for some it was never really a dream at all. The 90’s were upon us with Generation X not only looking for jobs or definition but a place in history as well. I cannot compare which was a worse time in history for some Americans, then or now but now is certainly a time when the youth of America truly needs a voice and a podium to which that voice can be heard. War, poverty, natural disaster, struggling economy, healthcare and education are just some of the topics concerning this great nation and MTV may do a great service by allowing us to forget our worries and have a good time but at the same time provides a tremendous disservice by failing at relevance for the youth of this nation. I am sure Rob and Big, or Pimp My Ride, or the Real World (which has not or ever been very real) are super fun but is this entertainment representative of the world we live in? A world where the youth of America only cares about fashion, supped up cars, skateboards and ridiculous stunts for a simple laugh? I hope not.

Maybe I believe too strongly in the power of music. That music can be the voice of the people, educate and promote ideas not widely expressed by other forms of media. Music can be a powerful thing and at this moment, well for the past decade or so, music has lost one of its greatest outlets and that is MTV. If the music industry wants to save itself maybe it shouldn’t blame the internet or teenagers for illegally downloading music but should blame MTV for failing to promote musical acts.

Now I could care less about the VMA’s. I don’t care if Britney Spears makes a comeback of if she has lost some weight. I don’t care if some video which is never played on MTV wins 7 awards that have no value other than self promotion. And I am not stupid enough to think that if you do watch MTV or the VMA’s that you are shallow or could care less about things that really matter. It is not one way or the other. You are not an idiot if you watch MTV and you are not a better person if you ignore it, even though I like to think that I am a better person by not watching. Entertainment is key to a thriving metropolis. Entertainment is vastly important but maybe entertainment should do more than just put a smile on our face, a shake in our rump and fever in our hearts but also put a spark in our brain. MTV at one point provoked discussion even if it was simply about music and discussion leads to debate and that provokes thought and intellect.

In the end, MTV was once pretty awesome but unfortunately is now nothing more than a constant string of product placement and celebrities lacking personality. MTV was on the cutting edge because it informed the youth of America about important topics like safe sex, ethnic, sexual and religious acceptance/tolerance, and the importance of knowing the world around you. Hard to believe, maybe especially since the channel has fallen off in the past few years but MTV was smart enough to recognize their teenage audience and not only provide them an outlet but a place in which information, encouragement and relief could be found. That MTV no longer exists and that is sad and unfortunate. I think in the end I just want the return of the music videos. If video killed the radio star then who above video killed the video star. Maybe it was our lack of attention span in this media food chain that killed the video star? I don’t know, just speculating but if you haven't guessed I sure do miss the old days of MTV.

HealthCare - There Must Be A Better Way.

A couple of weeks ago I was assisting in an operation that would allow air conditioning to cool my house. In with the new furnace and out with the old but the old furnace is rusty and heavy. Three large and burly men lift this old and rusty furnace to the back of a truck and in the process, I, this large and burly man (ha… ha) was cut and scratched. A tetanus shot was now needed. It had been years since my previous shot. I went to the local emergency room because I was not entirely sure of how to handle this situation because I did not have a tetanus shot on my person at the time.

 

So I go to the emergency room and they do the normal check up routine. My weight, height, blood pressure as they try to discover if anything else is ailing me. They ask for my degree of pain, from 1 to 10. I feel that a score of 2 is appropriate. I sit in a chair for a while. The nurse cleans my wounds and puts an antibiotic cream to prevent infection. The doctor would then administer the shot and then tell me that the emergency room trip was a little drastic because there is about a three day window from getting cut to needing a tetanus shot. Was I supposed to know this? Annoyed slightly, not by my lack of knowledge but by the condescending tone of my doctor. So other than my doctor being a prick, a professional that feels a tetanus shot is somehow beneath him, my rush with death or lockjaw was not horrible. I did not have to wait horribly long to get treatment. The nurse was friendly and polite and I did not have a co-pay. Yay.

 

In the end the clerk took my insurance card. Yes, I have insurance now. Six months ago this would have been a rough situation. She took my insurance as well as other information and I was good to go. No muss, no fuss.

 

Wait, not so easy. This week I got the bill. I thought I was fine. My insurance company sent me a notice suggesting that the matter was all cleared up. A portion of my insurance was taken out to cover the medical expense. Yes, the portion of my insurance covered 10% of the medical bill. The bill for one tetanus shot, a little bit of antibiotic cream and my blood pressure measurement costs just as much as three insurance payments.

 

So, the bill was $350. Yes, for a sad little part time retail employee this is a lot of money. I pay $110 monthly for my insurance plan. This is an insurance plan that was recommended to me in case of a serious accident or emergency. You never know what can happen this day and age. My insurance plan was also recommended for the scope of coverage and it’s low cost. If you are like me then you are thinking – I got screwed. To be honest I cannot really afford a better insurance plan. I cannot really afford to get more tetanus shots. Thank goodness this last shot will last me five more years. If you want to think of it this way… $70 per year to protect me from tetanus but that doesn’t make my wallet feel better or thicker.

 

Now, I might have had strep throat and because of this possibility, I reside between a rock and a hard place. Since visiting the doctor was so expensive I might find a better answer for my illness at Wal-Mart than a hospital. Is that right? Is it right that Wal-Mart might take better care of me than a hospital? 9 months ago I was ill with sore throat, body aches, fatigue and a fever. I was lacking health insurance and I had heard rumors of how well the clinic inside Wal-Marts benefit those who are ill. A visit to a Wal-Mart medical center cost me $28.

 

I am not saying that we need government or national healthcare even though maybe we do need government regulated health care.  I am not saying that we need to completely retool or rework the healthcare system even though maybe we should. And I am not saying that health insurance is worthless even though I am. Something has to change.

 

When discussing the issue of national healthcare or government healthcare most people who don’t need it seem to scoff or believe that such a proposition is either absurd or a waste of time. “National healthcare doesn’t work,” they say.  Why do people think this way? Why cannot health care be a careful balance between private and government insurance, aid and care? Why aren’t we doing all we can to improve a system that is clearly flawed? Next time you laugh at the proposal of national healthcare think about the millions of people that have it far worse than I do. I want you to laugh or ignore the 47 million without healthcare along with the many helpless children than cannot fight infection or disease. Laugh and scoff at those who do have healthcare but are suffering through more serious illness than a tetanus scare or strep throat and cannot afford constant care, prescription drugs or major surgery.

 

Maybe all this is my fault. My fault because I do not have a decent job that pays me well to afford quality healthcare. It is my fault because I do not have a job that offers me healthcare coverage. It is my fault because I don’t wash my hands enough or drink enough orange juice. It is my fault because I am not immune to every sickness or disease.

 

If all this is my fault because I squander opportunity then please tell that to the millions of Americans who squander their chances for better jobs and medical coverage. After all a majority of Americans have healthcare, the 1 out of 6 Americans struggling should take more responsibility for themselves by getting better jobs and accepting the flawed system that is currently in place. I am not that heartless though and I think a better system must be put in place.

 

 

 

 

So… in the end, can you look me in the eye and tell me that this system works or can there be something better?  I think we can do better. 

Is Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian of All Time?

The Answer is – Probably. In his last two Olympics he has won 14 Gold medals, five more than the closest competition. At the age of 23 he has 16 medals combined, just three shy of the Olympic record for medals won. If hardware is the criteria for greatness than Phelps can easily be considered the top of the mountain, pick of the litter or (more appropriately) the crème de la crème.

 

Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever!

 

Wait one minute, let me be the devil’s advocate here.

 

Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympic Swimmer ever!

 

How can one compare what someone does in the swimming pool to what another does on the tennis table or court, or the basketball court, the gymnasium or above water as opposed to in water. To swim in the Olympics allows multiple opportunities to win medals of any kind, as well as gymnastics and track and field. A basketball player or futbol player, fencer, sailor, weight lifter, etc and etc. does not have the gold medal chances that an elite swimmer has.

 

Aladar Gerevich was a member of the Hungarian sabre team that won gold in six straight Olympics. (1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960) A feat that could have been much more astonishing if the Second World War had not put the Olympics on pause in 1940 and 1944. Gerevich had also won an individual gold in 1948 for sabre. With the six Olympics that Gerevich participated, despite winning 10 medals had only the opportunity to win 18 medals. It is very possible to think that he was denied two if not three and maybe even four gold medals. Something also must be said for consistency. 28 years, Gerevich served as a member of a team that dominated the sport of fencing. In 1960, at the age of 50 he was considered by his own team too old to compete in the Rome Olympics but he challenged each member of the Hungarian squad to individual matches and defeated all of them. In 1960 he was defeated by one single touch, keeping him away from his second individual gold.

 

Birgit Fischer-Scmidt won 8 gold medals spanning from 1980 to 2004. First as representative for East Germany in the 1980 and 1988 Olympics then as a representative for a united Germany in 1992 thru 2004. Fischer won her 8 gold medals in 6 different canoeing events. It is possible to suggest that if the East Germans had not boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles Birgit might have won three more gold medals. She is the youngest canoeing champion at 18 as well as the oldest at the young age of 42.

 

Alfred Oerter won 4 straight gold medals in this discus throw. He along with Carl Lewis and Paul Elvstrom are the only athletes to compete in an event and win in four consecutive Olympics. Lewis won in the long jump and Elvstrom in sailing. Oerter, consistently plagued by injuries was never a favorite to win any of his medals. He competed in an Olympics shortly after an involvement in a car crash that nearly killed him.  In 1968, at the top of his sport he stepped away only to return 12 years later just shy of qualifying for the Olympics. Oerter once said of the Olympics that, “The Olympics are unique. There is no job, no amount of power, no money to approach the meaning of the Olympic experience.”

 

There are 28 people that have won more than 10 medals at the Olympics. Some athletes like Jesse Owens were robbed of winning more medals than they were capable of earning because of politics or other circumstances beyond their individual power.

 

Michael Phelps is still young and might go down as the greatest Olympian ever but before such a mark is set, it might be important to acknowledge the splendor of the hundreds and thousands of athletes that have done there their part to make Olympic history.

 

Needles to say, I am very happy for Michael Phelps and look forward to the London Olympics in 2012. 

I use a lot of oil... you use a lot of oil... america uses a lot of oil... i am not stopping, are you?

according to the USA Today of a few days ago America, meaning the United States of America (founded in 1776) has only 5% of the world's population but is using about 25% of the world's oil, daily. 

Yes, we are number 1! 

so with this fact in mind I became bold and overconfident and I will continue to use oil. Yes, i carpool when the opportunity allows. Yes, i am thinking about purchasing a scooter, vespa or moped with the hopes that 60+ mpg will not only help the environment but my wallet. 

I use oil and I use a lot of it. I believe in central air and heating, as well as other forms of accommodation. As an american, a member of the great superpower (or evil) am I not bestowed with the right to purchase oil thus using as much oil for my benefit. Yes, i do! I pay for gasoline to fuel my car and heat my house. I buy products made by oil and similar fuel resources. If I pay for it, should I feel guilty that I only leave 95% of the world with only 75% of the oil available? Am I being selfish? maybe. Am I being heartless? possibly. Am I wrong? megh. 

I don't mind how much oil I use or how much OIL the United States of America (founded in 1776) uses, what I do mind is that we don't read about alternative fuels used. Maybe if Americans discovered that we only use 2% of the wind power available compared to (let's say) Egypt which uses 14% of the world's wind then maybe we would try harder at developing wind power. After all, America can not come third, second or fourth best to Egypt or any other country. Random thought - I want a statistic stating how much wind power exists if at all possible. 

I don't know about you but I love statistics. I once read that 66% of statistics are made up and that could be true but when I read any statistic about oil consumption, baseball batting averages or Cosmo sex survey, I feel miles smarter. 

I want to read a statistic stating how much of the energy used is provided by nuclear, wind, solar or pure sweat. (sweat = manual labor) Reading a statistic about how greedy we are doesn't do anything for my guilt reflex. USA Today should put a picture of poor children without shelter, without warm water on a broken bicycle next to the statistic if they want real guilt. 

Maybe if people stopped reading about the amounts of oil used and start reading about the benefits of alternative fuel sources then the hesitation to use wind, solar, nuclear or manual labor might dissipate. I want more statistics. I want to read that of all the energy used in this country 2% of it is powered by wind, 8% by nuclear, 9% by coal and .5% by solar. 

the United States is a greedy country that consumes more and more and more with no stop in sight. Tell me something I don't know. I do know is that the fair amount of comfort I have is brought on by the consumption of fuel and as much as I can do to conserve or promote green living is not going to change what I read in the papers or how many mpg my car allows. 

I am not suggesting that green living is bad but there is a bias. People are resistant to change, naturally and we all must do our part to convince one another that the world must behave more properly and green is more proper. But how? I think once we start to focus on what we should be doing and what we aren't doing instead of all the bad that goes unnoticed then we can start making some changes. You aren't going to convince people to conserve or learn more about alternative fuel by telling them how much oil they use.  It is like telling a hunter to stop hunting because he/she has killed too many animals when all you have done is state how much of an accomplished hunter he/she is.

but heck what do i know, i could be wrong but i might be right. 

 

Extinction - I am not talking dinosaurs but more important things like Honeybees... and yellow pages.

I was online checking my email (on AOL) and I was caught by one of their headlines, which was 25 Things That Won’t Exist.

 

In the near future there are 25 things (at least) that will no longer be part of the American imagination. Some of these things don’t really matter like pit toilets and the yellow pages. I think as a nation we would want people to have indoor plumbing and have little problems with the amount of trees and recycled paper used to make phone books. These days you can easily look up phone numbers online or use a magic three-digit number, 411. Along with phone books other forms of paper materials are vanishing such as want ads, news magazines, checks and hand written letters. I think the best thing to do is blame the Internet. The Internet is killing the use of paper and killing social interaction. Yes, I can pay my bills electronically. Yes, I can read the want adds online or use Monster.com. Yes, I can read CNN, ESPN and the countless blogs without having to pay 50 cents per day or yell at the delivery kid that cannot throw the paper on my front porch. Yes, I can write an email or a facebook message and not worry about stamps, mail delays and incompetent mail employees. Yes, I can live my whole life and never leave my house because of the Internet.

 

Sure I could care less about losing dial up Internet connections or Analog TV. Losing the VCR means nothing to me as long as the DVD transfer is of high quality. Blockbuster and other video rental places are fading as well. Sure that means the loss of thousands of jobs but you can rent as many movies as you want for just 5 bucks using Netflix – hot dam! Sure you might not have a job but maybe you can spare 5 bucks a month for some awesome entertainment and if that doesn’t make you feel better about losing the minimum wage job helping you stay afloat or so you can save to buy your first car then I don’t know what will.

 

A lot of things on this list (kind of) don’t matter. Sure some of them have a tremendous amount of nostalgia such as drive-in movie theaters and hand written letters. The drive-in lost a lot of appeal after cars switch to individual seats over bench seats and when huge multiplexes with air conditioning and heating were created. I blame the lack of bench seats in automobiles because the best part of a drive-in isn’t the just the movie but the blanket and the company you share underneath it. And a hand written letter, stamped and delivered is more personal, romantic and/or unique than an email will ever be.

 

Who needs landline phones when everyone on the planet has a cell phone? I am concerned about the loss of the HAM radio. I am concerned because what will the world do when aliens attack and we lose all control of satellite and digital communication or when zombies walk the earth and vampires appear in daylight? Soon there will be no more answering machines, cameras that use film or incandescent light bulbs. The loss of much of these things could be seen miles and miles away by any reasonably intelligent person. 

 

When reading this list I actually become concerned about five things. First, the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs. The sustainable population is about 200 million and the existing population falls short by 40%. Who is to blame for the vanishing population of this delicious treat? We are, not me, but I mean society. Over fishing, global warming and invasive species is killing this industry. Good eats, fisherman and restaurant owners should fear this downfall.

 

Second is the Ash tree. In the late 1990’s a species of beetle, known as the emerald ash borer snuck into North America via ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. Since its larvae has killed millions of trees in the Midwest and nothing seems to be stopping the ecological destruction. The loss of a native species like the Ash tree can be seen as nothing short of an environmental disaster with far-reaching effects on the entire ecosystem. The emerald ash borer is not just causing havoc in parks and forests but it is also having a significant economic and industrial effect. In the U.S. Ash is a strong and highly resilient hardwood. It is used for guitars, tool handles, sports equipment and office furniture.

 

Third, wild horses are vanishing from the American plains. I may not have grown up in during the wild, wild west or when the western was one of the dominant art forms on the silver screen but the cowboy on his trusty steed roaming the country proud and free is an image that should never be removed from the American picture book. In the early 20^th century it was estimated that around two million horses roamed the United States but as of 2001 the National Geographic News suggested about 50,000 horses remain.

 

The numbers according to the National Horse and Burro Advisory are much worse estimating that there are only 32,000 wild horses remaining. So yes, the wild horses are vanishing. Isn’t it sad? Yes of course it is sad? But the United States government is not sad, as the Bureau of Land Management is seeking to limit the number of wild horses roaming the country to 27,000. The government, using euthanasia to control the wild horse population is afraid of the overpopulation of wild horses on public lands. Believe it or not, millions of dollars is spent on controlling the population of wild horses by keeping them in holding facilities. Doesn’t reading all of this make the story much sadder? Yes, of course it sadder. The U.S. government can claim this dark victory over Mother Nature. If any of this makes sense to you then feel free to explain it to me because I cannot see the harm of wild horses running free except for the occasional driver not being careful on a dark highway road. I don’t know, hopefully horses are smarter than deer. 

 

But what can be worse than ash trees, crabs and wild horses? The honeybee! In the past few years 50 - 90 percent of honeybee colonies have collapsed. Why? It is called CCD or as bee people like myself refer to it as Colony Collapse Disorder. If you have seen the ecological thriller/comedy starring Jerry Seinfeld, Bee Movie, you would have learned that bees are not only essential to making honey but are also essential to fruit and flower pollination. Plus, what else is going to roast my Cheerios?

 

Last but not least and in all actuality the most problematic one is the loss of the Family Farm. Since the 1930’s family farms have been on the decline. The USDA estimates that in the 50’s, 5.3 million farms dotted the American landscape but according to numbers published in 2003 that number has been reduced by over 3 million. Much has been written about the plight of the American family farmer. Best selling novels and even a music festival create opportunities to spread the word about the deprivation of a truly noble profession. With some stories reporting that 330 farm workers along with their families are put on the street weekly and that can be seem as nothing but tragic and problematic. 

 

How do we solve these problems, I don’t know but I wish I did and could solve them. Oh well so goes life and so goes any amount of humanity. 

a personal note - marriage and my best wishes.

This weekend a child hood friend is getting married, for the first and hopefully the only time. My friend, who I have known for over 20 years, is about to take the great step of devotion. It is also a great step of love and maturity but for some reason I choose to put devotion first instead of love.

 

As time passes I wonder if marriage is in the cards for me. Something I rarely thought about at the age of 20 but now at the age of 25 I find myself for some reason thinking about marriage and a family life more often. At 20 years old I was not ready for marriage and much could be said about me at my current age.

Am I thinking about marriage because many of my childhood, high school and college friends are making the big step towards a life I so desire? There is also a growing population of friends who are married and have been married for quite some time. Yes, I am single and I have single friends and enjoy my life but I have never let go of the illusion and the possible reality that marriage, a happy marriage is true bliss. To find someone that believes in you, pushes you, wants you, needs and cares for you is a gift unlike any other. I have my own ideas of what a true and wonderful wife would be like and some might share these sentiments while others not. I simply long for a good friend, the best of friends.  I have been accused of being a romantic but failing to live up to the title and I still believe in many if not all of the romantic ideals of marriage.

A year ago, I thought I would be taking steps towards marriage and a life I so desperately wanted. I had, who I thought was the right girl. I had my life in order, more so than it had ever been and did I mention I had the right girl? In the end it is who you marry that truly matters and why you choose to marry. Things were lining up for ol’ Alejo Ramirez. But time passes and the right girl was not the right girl at all and marriage hopes and proposals became nothing more than a fantasy and the realities of other friends, enemies, and former lovers. I even wrote a rough draft of wedding vows before the notion of marriage had even been muttered. Sad - yeah, kind of. 

It is amazing how life changes. Those unexpected turns down the road of life and the jabs life throws at you. I am man that is willing to wait till the time is right, the girl is right and until I am ready for marriage but that doesn’t mean that my heart isn’t filled with a small dose of jealousy or a gigantic ocean of it.                                                

In a day and age when many marriages end in divorce, something like 57% I can do nothing but admire anyone who decides that one person is the person for the rest of their life. They do not make that decision once or twice, as in the day of the proposal or the day of their vows but they will make that decision (hopefully) every day for the rest of their lives.

 

I cannot give advice about what makes a good marriage because I am not married and as clichéd as this might sound, maybe each marriage is like an individual snowflake or the drops of rain that fall on your bare skin. Marriage is quite simply, unique.

I wish my friend the best. My buddy Dave is a truly good person. I think we tend to throw out too many different adjectives at the people we know and like… funny, sweet, ridiculous, intelligent, sexy, whatever. I simply want to say that my friend is a good man. Dave is a good man in a day and age when good, truly good people are hard to find. I don’t know if I need to say anything else except truly emphasize good in a day and age when any positive comes at a premium.

 

Goodluck Dave and Jennifer. 

Someone wants to kill jesus... it isn't me.

If you feel that religion should not be taught in public schools because it might alienate children that do not share similar practices and beliefs then you might be on to something. Religion of any kind should not be taught in public schools, nor should school prayer be endorsed by the public educational system. Mandatory teachings of religion as well as mandatory prayer can alienate children and teenagers with a different set of believes and principles. Children and teens already feel the pressures of youth, coming of age, sexuality, growth and development among other things, so why should schools or the government create a law that forces young people to display their differences front and center. Not everyone in this country believes in a Christian faith and by demanding a public display by those that believe or do not believe is simply wrong and oppressive. For some faith is personal and for others faith is very public but by no means should anyone decide for someone else how one should practice their faith or lack of faith.

But… I may have an argument for teaching religion in schools. Teach religion as a voluntary course, for the purpose of teaching tolerance and the understanding of different ideas and beliefs practiced by people across the globe. Or teach religion so a young teenager does not plot to blow up his high school in an attempt to enter heaven and kill Jesus. Oh yes, this is true.

In a story revealed to me by USA Today and CBS News, a young teenager in South Carolina is being brought up on charges for attempting to blow up his high school by using a weapon of mass destruction. The straight A student somehow ordered 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate for the purpose of building a bomb. His journal notes contain blueprints a bomb and have been seized by authorities. Scary? I think so. How does a young man order 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate in a day and age of tightened alerts and security? Another revelation that does not make me feel secure at all about terrorism from without or from within the borders of the consistently orange alert terrorism watch.

To return to my point, religion should be taught (as an elective) in schools. Religion should be taught just so certain young teens that want to blow up their high school and commit suicide to enter heaven to kill Jesus might have a better understanding of how faith/religion/heaven works. I am not a theologian or even someone that practices any type of religion or faith but I do have some common knowledge about Christianity that might damper the young man’s plan. First, I believe that murder is a sin and thus committing one runs the risk of damnation. Second, I believe suicide is a sin as well and according to most Christian beliefs it is a sin that sends you straight to hell. I might be wrong about this but Jesus is in heaven not in hell so meeting up with him and killing him seems a bit difficult. This brings to my next problem, how do you kill Jesus in heaven? The son of God on his own turf somehow murdered. I don’t think you have to be brilliant or even a straight A student to recognize some flaw in your plan. He is undead. If you killed him, if it were at all possible wouldn’t you fear his resurrection three days later? If killing Jesus was at all possible then would you not feel the wrath of god afterward?

I don’t have to believe in Jesus to think that this might be the dumbest thing that I have heard. It is not the idea alone that is stupid but the purpose is pretty pathetic as well. Why kill Jesus? What would anyone gain? If it happened, how would anyone know? Would he suddenly stop hearing our prayers? Would the world be filled with hate, murder, disaster, disease and heartache? Hmm… I don’t know.

I am sure this is the act of a kid that has problems beyond my understanding and sometimes there is a time for jokes and time for medical attention. I can only do jokes.

vote experience ?

If you think experience is the most important thing when deciding the President please think of these Presidents before making experience the prime reason for your vote. 

 

John Adams – Representative to Massachusetts General Court; Delegate to first and Second Continental Congress; Member of Provincial Congress of Massachusetts; Delegate to Massachusetts Constitutional Convention; Commissioner to France; Minister to Netherlands and Britain; U.S. Vice President

 

Martin Van Buren – Surrogate of Columbia County, New York; New York State Senator; Attorney General of New York; Delegate to Third New York State Constitutional Convention; U.S. Senator; Governor of New York; Secretary of State; U.S. Vice President

 

James Buchanan – Member of Pennsylvania legislature; Member of U.S. House of Representatives; Minister to Russia; Member of U.S. Senate; Minister to Great Britain

 

John Calvin Coolidge – Member of House of Representatives, Massachusetts; Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts; Member and President of Massachusetts Senate, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Governor of Massachusetts; U.S. Vice President

 

Richard Nixon – Member of House of Representatives, California; Member of the Senate; U.S. Vice President

 

George Herbert Walker Bush – Member, United States House of Representatives, Ambassador to the United Nations; Chairman Republican National Committee; United States Envoy to China; Director, Central Intelligence Agency; U.S. Vice President

 

 

            I don’t know what you think about these individuals or their place in history but 43 men have been President of the United States and only few have been great, a few more have been remembered and many if not most were average or even forgettable.

 

            Experience certainly cannot be overlooked but it is also important to not just look at how much experience one person has but what kind of experience they have. There have been some Presidents with endless amounts of knowledge in the realm of politics and others with very little. It is impossible to predict what makes a good President. The people have even elected Presidents that never held a public office as in the case of Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight David Eisenhower and each of these three men held office with very different results. Governor of New Jersey was the only office Woodrow Wilson held before becoming President and he led the country to victory during the First World War. According to a poll/survey on AOL.com taken (about) two weeks ago, Ronald Reagan was ranked #2 on a list of the greatest Presidents in U.S. history and the only elected office he held was as Governor of California.

 

            I am by no means suggesting that a great or even successful President cannot have a lot of experience because that is absurd but maybe when you vote in future elections you should not base your entire decision on experience. 

Juno - A review and a criticism.

Juno – A review and a criticism.

 

 

The recent release of Juno on DVD has many critics and fans bursting into an uproar. Some think the film is a revelation in it’s handling of teen pregnancy and romance but such high praise of the film is nothing but foolish. Juno is not a great movie. At best the film has moments of insight but often tries to cover too much and fails to completely shade the ground beneath it. If you think Juno is a wonderful film than you join Roger Ebert in the corner of bad taste. After all Roger Ebert thought Juno was one best films of the year and in case you did not know Ebert lost his mind years ago. Once, he was a great critic but now is nothing more than a Hollywood sap and kiss ass.

 

            The film is about a Juno MacGuff, a teenager that discovers she is pregnant with a child fathered by her best friend and longtime admirer, Paulie Bleeker. Although she initially opts for an abortion, after a tense moment in the waiting room Juno decides that having the baby and giving it up for adoption is the best course of action.  She makes this decision without any real explanation.  With the help of her best friend, Juno discovers an advertisement in the newspaper for hopeful parents and finds a couple she feels will provide a suitable home for the child. Along with her father, Juno meets the couple, Mark and Vanessa at their home where they finalize the arrangements for a closed adoption.

Over the next few months, Juno forms a friendship with Mark, with whom she shares similar interests in rock music, horror flicks, and pop culture. Mark connects with Juno as well as rediscovers his past, a part of him buried in boxes in the basement of his middle/upper class lifestyle. Vanessa feels that his rock and roll past and ambition is nothing but a childish fantasy. Vanessa also has a great urge to become a parent, a sentiment not shared by her husband.

As her pregnancy progress, Juno struggles with the emotions she feels for Paulie, her new friendship with Mark and her pregnancy. Her relationship with Paulie is like most Hollywood teenage love stories in which the two are awkwardly distant, confused over the other’s intent and all the right things are generally left unsaid. There cannot be a doubt in the viewer’s mind that these two are made for one another.

Just before the baby is due, Juno visits Mark and learns of his intentions to leave Vanessa, make a life in rock music as well as start a relationship with Juno. When Vanessa comes home an argument ensues with Mark about how inappropriate it is for him to denounce his adult responsibilities and leave her before their adoption had been finalized. Juno witnesses their argument in part and becomes saddened by what seems like the destruction of the model family.  This leads to an endearing father and daughter moment in which the two discuss the longevity of love and how we should want to be loved, openly and without prejudice.

 

In the end, Juno expresses her love for Paulie. She has the baby and keeps her promise by giving it to Vanessa. Juno regains her youth and some might argue her innocence.

 

Roger Ebert says that the film is smart and funny. He praises first time screenwriter Diablo Cody for creating a story of depth with underlying themes that are rich and subtle. Ebert states that the Juno “has no wrong scenes and no extra scenes.” I am going to disagree with this heavily. I don’t dislike the film nor do I think it is a bad picture by any means. I think the film has clever dialogue but I don’t think it is a smart film. I think the film fails to achieve much of the depth it seeks and many of the underlying themes are subtle only because they are not fully developed. The film at 96 minutes running tries to encompass, teenage romance, sexuality, pregnancy, adoption, love and parenting all in one film. At the same time it attempts to tackle and/or avoid a pro-choice and pro-life debate. I think all of that is a bit much for a film that runs a shade over an hour and a half.  I also have a bit of a problem with a film that debates teen sexuality and unwanted pregnancy without ever discussing whether or not the sexually active teens used a condom. If the film is as smart as many claim it to be then how does it skirt a topic like condoms use and education when discussing teen sexuality and pregnancy? It is a not just a hot debate for teenagers but for parents, schoolteachers and even government officials. Teen pregnancy is not alien to Juno or her friends as they discuss how friends or classmates have gotten pregnant and kept or aborted the pregnancy, but the only time a condom is mentioned in the film is when Juno goes to an abortion clinic and is offered a condom and politely declines on the basis of its fruit flavoring not because of a personal decision.

 

There was an article in the New York Times not long ago about the films take on teen pregnancy and the differences that occur for men and women. Unfortunately I cannot recall the article or the writer but I do recall a compliment or complaint about the film. In the scene when Juno tells her parents about her pregnancy there is a moment when her father rather than being upset is simply disappointed in the action of his daughter. He thought that Juno is a person that, “just knows when to say when.” Apparently the disappointment in his daughter is in her lack of ability to control her body and what she does with it. As if she had made a choice to get pregnant. The writer of the article had commented on how this is a pressure, family and societal that a man will never understand. Even if men do know when to say when they do not face the fear of pregnancy, the emotional turmoil of abortion or the ordeal being pregnant on their own. After this moment, dad is as supportive as can be except for the occasional smart comment but with a film ripe with sarcasm any deviance from this formula might be awkward. For a brief moment Juno’s sexuality is under speculation but Paulie’s sexuality is enhanced by the circumstances. When Mac, Juno’s father discovers that Paulie is the father, he gives the teen props as Mac proclaims, “never knew the kid had it in him.” Paulie’s reputation is never in question as his role in the pregnancy is nothing but rumors hearsay. He is not really a part of the adoption and labor process and the reasons why could be debated because simply the story escapes explanation.  Another thing that makes this film incomplete is how underdeveloped the commentary is on how society treats pregnant teenagers. Juno takes on the pressure of being a pregnant teen but I am sure there must be more pressure on pregnant teens than the disapproving sonogram nurse and awkward stares from fellow classmates. 

 

At times I wish the film would cover one subject completely instead of covering six at unclear levels. The film is clever but not smart at least not smart enough to discuss the main themes of the film entirely. The dialogue is snappy but even that becomes a bit of a pattern. Instead of enjoying each punch line, half way through the film one should expect the punch line coming when the drama begins to dominate. What is enjoyable about the film is that the parents are not typical parents in teen comedies about sexuality. The parents are not angry, drunk or hypocrites, nor is it the parents that learn a valuable lesson but more importantly their children. The music is enjoyable and the performances are of high quality. Ellen Page shines, Michael Cera does teenage awkward better than anyone and even Jennifer Garner stretched herself beyond her mediocre talent. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney are solid as the parents. Even Jason Bateman at his most subdued actually displays some acting ability. There are plenty of things that I could say about this film but I feel that these two simple complaints knock this film from the golden mountain where it resides. I could complain about the inconsistency of Juno’s character or it’s lack of any real drama. There is no drama involving the pregnancy or the adoption and there is never really any doubt that Juno and Paulie won’t get together, thus equaling a lack of drama.

 

 A good friend of mine shared her opinion about Juno as she declared it a “cute” movie and agree completely. There is some nice romantic idealism and sincere family moments but I cannot see how this film is currently ranked in the top 250 films of all time on IMDB but attacking IMDB is another topic for another blog. Juno is not the revolutionary film about teenage pregnancy that some might think and believe me, there are people out there who think this.  

Are you An American?

Are you an American?

 

Before you think of an answer please think about what it means to be an American. Actually before you do that maybe you can answer, what does it mean or what does it take to be an American? Your passport, driver’s license, bank statements or other government papers might suggest that your residency is within the borders of mainland United States, Alaska or Hawaii and that alone might qualify you to be an American, at least on paper. It occurs to me that I have no idea what it means to be an American. What also has occurred to me is that certain people do have an idea of what it means and what it takes to be an American – a “real” American.

 

It seems the common and current thought is that to be an American or a “real” American one must display a flag in their yard, a bible on their nightstand and any type of red meat on the grill. Americans love football not futbol. Americans love NASCAR, cars and not public transportation. Americans can police the world and fail to police within their own borders. Americans love being right and never wrong. 

 

When did someone have to wave red, white and blue flags, drive American, and pray to be a real American? The red, white and blue flag also must have 50 stars and thirteen stripes on it. Driving American seems almost ridiculous now since most of the time the car is made in Mexico. And if you are going to pray and be an American then you have to pray to Jesus, the Almighty and/or the Holy Spirit.   I don’t know about you but this is nothing but insulting. Now, I am not saying you cannot drive a Chevy. I am not saying that you cannot have a flag waiving in your front yard. Nor am I saying that you cannot read the bible or even understand the bible but when did these actions qualify as American or solely American? I thought the creation of the United States of America was to allow personal and religious freedom meaning that you have a right to pray to whomever, drive whatever and wave the flag as an act of honor or to burn the flag as a symbol of protest. 

 

I am a liberal. I have a middle class upbringing. I am a college graduate from a state institution and I desire a career in the creative arts. But I also care about the environment more and more everyday. I care about schools and public works programs. I care about the economy. I think the second amendment has its place and its place is on the Bill of rights, no matter how outdated some of the language may be. I think state and church should be separate. I think you can have morals and understand right and wrong without religious motivation or inspiration.  I am an American and I am all of those things just listed and more. You know what, I think a lot of people care about the environment, the economy, taxes, schools, jobs, gun laws and protecting personal freedoms.

 

In the end, when it comes down to it, American means you can be anything you want to be. There are good and bad people who are Americans. There are not good and bad Americans. Correction, you are a bad American if you think the your view of America is the only way.  Bad Americans are those who want to limit the rights and freedoms of speech, religion, press, petition and happiness simply because they don’t like the opposite perspective.  If you define what is to be American or a “real” American, do you not run the risk of ruining everything that America was built upon?

 

This year with an election on the way many examine the presidential race through distorted glasses. Which candidate is more American? How can such a question be answered when being American means something different to everyone? Do you look at the candidates and think… is this person going to pass legislation equal to the bill of rights or the emancipation proclamation or are they going to force a group of people off their land and place them into reservation or interment camps. Both examples are distinctly American and should not be forgotten. America loves to celebrate it rich history of equal rights, peace and economic prosperity but such greatness has not always been a constant. The United States has committed nothing short of genocide towards Native Americans, as well as years and years of slavery against African Americans and the argument that these crimes against humanity are decades old and past is just not good enough.

 

 

I am proud to be an American and that pride comes with some understanding and awareness of what it has meant to be an American. This understanding comes from acknowledging the success and failures of those before me, learning from them and doing what I can to make this country a more perfect union.

 

 

an introduction

hello...

i have never had a blog before so this will be an adventure.

i used to think blogging was a ridiculous task that promoted self value rather than ideas but at this moment in my life i need to feel important. it is a dotted line that i will carefully navigate around.

So, at this current moment. i am 25 years old and i have an opinion on everything which may or may not get me in trouble. despite having an opinion on everything, most things confuse me because i am a fool or i do not understand the world we live in.

so... until we meet again.

be...