Fear of Posting Overload

Ok, so I have to admit right off the bat: I’ve been scarred to post this last week. Why? Simply put, after my last post, EVERYTHING happened. Literally, EVERYTHING happened. As events kept multiplying, I kept thinking about, “How massive would my post have to be to give adequate attention to EVERYTHING?” Well, finally, I’ve just decided to go for it. If I underplay something, then I’ll just have to live with that shame.

Wait, he’s NOT the father??

In case you haven’t heard (which would mean that you live in an Amish community that is located on an island in the middle of the Siberian Sea), Michael Jackson passed away last week. The news has not let a day go by without bringing up the King of Pop. Bill Simmons mentioned this on his podcast, and I agreed: I’m, frankly, shocked at the response to his death. I am in no way questioning this man’s musical talent and the gifts he gave to the world. I don’t even challenge that he’s as important to the world of art as many are claiming he was. What I”m simply perplexed by, however, is the number of people gushing over him now who, just a month, a year, even five to ten years ago, would have had nothing nice to say about him, simply talking about what a freak show his life had become. Simply put, it’s as if his death has allowed society to seemingly “forget” the last fifteen years, and simply dwell upon the good times, the “Thriller” days of Michael Jackson.

I have been very intrigued by the revelation that he is not that father of his three kids. Not just the fact that he never had sex with Debbie Rowe (which I never really seriously considered), but that he wasn’t even a sperm donor, or even remotely associated by DNA with these kids. I think it really sheds an even crazier light on the situation. Essentially, it means that he bought these three kids. That’s pretty wild.

PS – Why does Nancy Grace think we care so much about the “legal ramifications” of his will? Why does Nancy Grace still have a show? Have I mentioned I can’t stand Nancy Grace?

Jon & Kate + Heartache

Well, my bet on a pony turned out to be just slightly off. The Gosselins are indeed going their separate ways. I won’t belabor the subject, because at this point it’s been talked into the ground. I’ll simply say that it was hard to watch two people just flush out their raw emotions on camera like that. I was actually delighted to hear the next day that TLC was suspending production for a few months to let them “clear their heads” and try to “bring some healing” to the family. Maybe if they’d suspended production a year ago, this newest suspension wouldn’t be necessary; or maybe not. Sometimes, you just realize that what’s broke can’t be fixed.

In other celebrity death news

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Billy Mays have all died in the last week. Those deaths, combined with Michael Jacksons’, really cast an eerie pall upon the week. Of those three, I’m saddest probably about Billy Mays. Mostly because he was so young. McMahon and Fawcett had the opportunities to live full lives. Billy was really just starting to ramp up his career. Plus, who didn’t want to buy OxiClean at 3:00 a.m. once Billy got done shouting at you?

On a side note, his commercials for ESPN.com that played on ESPN and allowed him to really ham up his “pitchman” persona were great.

No, seriously, stop using coal. We really mean it this time.

The House of Representatives recently passed the most comprehensive, far-reaching energy bill in the history of the U.S. Many on the right claim that, of course, it goes too far and that it will destroy the economy because it will make energy too expensive, and will price out American businesses going against unregulated industries in China and India. The Liberal left, while somewhat satisfied, has taken the President to task for not going far enough in pushing the environmental envelope.

First off, something that needs to be realized right away is that the Senate still has to approve this baby. Even with the Dems now holding a “super-majority” thanks to the election of Senator-Elect Stuart Smalley . . . I’m sorry, Al Franken, the majority is still going to have a problem with Blue Dog senators from coal-rich states (I’m looking at you, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc.). So the chances of this bill being watered down even more are fairly high.

Secondly, I find it funny when certain conservatives . . . ok, nearly ALL conservatives completely dog the environmental effort. They lambastAl Gore and anyone else who talks about global warming, which they feel is a complete fabrication of reality made up by bleeding-heart liberal scientists. They love to point to cooler days and the summer and make “witty” jokes like, “Boy, sure do hate this global warming.” Haha! See what they did, their? It was an ironic statement, because it’s actually a cooler day in June – Global Warming must be ludicrous, right?

The problem with this attitude is that it completely ignores and puts to te side ALL of the other realities of the environmentalists argument about energy conservation and alternative fuels that are not based on “speculative” science, but are based on numerical realities. These include:

1. Peak Oil – The fact that we do NOT have a limitless supply of oil available on the globe is inescapable
2. Dwindling Forrests – The fact that we are chopping down our rainforests at a ridiculous rate is not arguable
3. Overfishing – We have fished the worlds seafood supply to scarily low numbers

These are just a handful of environmentalist causes that can’t be argued because they’re based on simple facts. I realize the last two don’t really deal with energy, but they are part of my larger argument that certain parts of the “Green Movement” can’t be pushed away as conservatives would like to do. For them to do this, they would have to admit that they are only worried about today, or their children, and that they really couldn’t care about the next seven or eight generations after them. This is crazy to me.

I feel like maybe I should stop now, and just turn this into it’s own post at a later date. Making a mental note now.

Anniversary of the Birth of the Nation

On a note we can all agree on, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, U.S.A.! One of the greatest experiments in government ever to grace the earth. “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.” Who doesn’t love some Greenwood on this weekend? I could go on and on about how much, despite my love of travels and all of the other cultures I’ve seen, I love this country, but I will restrain myself. This post has already gotten out of hand length wise.

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• So I mentioned last time that I am not really one for keeping up on the music scene. I do, however, have a love for podcasts. I listen to them wherever I go, whether walking, running, whatever, I’m always listening to podcasts. Here are my favorites, in no particular order. Try them out, see if you like them as well:
•  The B.S. Report with ESPN’s “The Sports Guy”, Bill Simmons – If you love sports and pop culture, you’ll love Simmons.
• Democracy Now! w/ Amy Goodman – Ok, so it’s a VERY left learning podcast, let me give that warning first. My thoughts, though, are that if you never hear both sides of an argument, how can you every truly argue it? If nothing else, it’s food for thought
• Common Sense and Hardcore History w/ Dan Carlin – These are two of my favorite podcasts. Common Sense is a show that focuses on a particular topic of the week, usually political or governmental, and proceeds to dissect it with, you guessed it, common sense analysis. It’s neither right nor left (though it leans libertarian). Hardcore History delves into a different historical topic or story each month, and provides amazing depth and background on many subjects that you may have not even known anything about. His series on the Carthaginian Wars in ancient Rome is my recommendation to get you started.
• John Eldridge and Ransomed Heart – This is usualyl around a 15-minute podcast, updated daily, that’s good for those looking for something to possibly punch up their daily time spent contemplated God.
• 1 Year Daily Audio Bible – Around thirty-five to forty minutes, simply a guy reading a chapter from three different books of the bible. At this time, it’s going through Kings, Acts, and Proverbs. Another good one for someone looking for a way to attack devotion from a fresh perspective.
• Real Time with Bill Maher – This is simply the audio for his HBO show. Once again, food for thought from various perspectives on current events is never a bad thing (caution: it is an HBO show, so language should be expected)
• The Adam Carolla Show – Because Carolla always has a comedian or someone else on who is hysterical, and they just shoot the breeze and make wise for about an hour (caution: this is another one that maybe isn’t for your toddler to listen along with you).
• Stuff You Missed in History Class from How Stuff Works.com – About a fifteen to twenty minute podcast that just simply provides a little information about a different historical subject once a day.

That’s all for now, kids. I’m exhausted. One love to you all.