Eurotrip

Good evening to all,

Here's a little something to lighten the mood, and give us all a break from my ranting and raving about things for a while. *LOL Tonight on HBO, the movie Eurotrip is on again! I tell ya, each time I see that movie it just gets funnier. If you liked American Pie, then you'll appreciate the type of humor found in the movie, though I believe Eurotrip is simply crazier and better. From the "Scotty doesn't know" theme song that pops up throughout the movie, to the french robot mime, soccer hooligans, the excuse' dude, Amsterdam, the rasta bakery, Eastern Europe some small change, Absinth, the worst twins ever, the fake General Lee and "where's the beef?", the Nazi kid, even the pope scene was funny. I dunno, might just be me, I have a bit of a warped sense of humor, but if you want a laugh I recommend checking it out sometime.

Who out there has seen this one, and if so, what did you think? Don't worry, I can take it if you comment that you didn't like the movie much. *LOL

Ghoulish Reporters

Good afternoon to all,

I've been watching the news coverage on many cable news networks, and have noticed something a bit troubling, ghoulish reporters who don't seem to care about much more than getting a picture and a story. I saw an interview with an elderly gentleman, apparently seriously traumatized by all he has witnessed these past few days, 80 years old as he said, wading his way to the Superdome, when asked "why are you going to the Superdome?", the man answered "they have water over there". In a true Geraldo-esque manner (I regard Geraldo as a true reptillian sort of individual, who should be considered genuinely repellant to anyone with even a marginal amount of human compassion and tact in what they say to people), no words of encouragement, not a word of compassion, no offer to give the poor man a water bottle or a ride, the reporter simply said "good luck with that, goodbye." to the man's reason for a long walk to simply quench his thirst, and let him go on about his way. On another channel, one reporter apparently didn't even know that the Superdome is in New Orleans, the Astrodome is in Houston. I even saw one reporter on a street corner blabbing the typical reporter time-filling drivel, keep talking when there was clearly an elderly woman in some sort of distress. Some might say that it is a reporter's job to report the news, not to become the news by joining into the scene unfolding before them, but in a situation that is so people related, how could someone simply restrain themselves from helping even just a little. I still can't believe that reporter didn't offer that 80 year old man a drink of water, the reporter surely didn't look dehydrated with the chapstick going, and that well maintained hurricane-proof aquanet hairdo he was sporting. While I'm glued to my television in my attempt to make sense of the whole situation, I can't help but feel a bit queasy when I hear the manner by which the news is reported these days, Walter Cronkite would have helped the man, I'm certain of it.

Gas Prices, how high?

Good afternoon to all,
hope you're doing well out there.

Gas prices, what's up? Apparently THEY ARE!
Something needs to be done, with gas prices averaging $3.00 per gallon. I sure wish there was a price cap, or some other sort of regulation or investigation into how this matter got so out of hand. I've been hearing mention of a possible $5.00 gallon of gas someday, though I don't believe it. However, I didn't believe that prices would reach $3.00, so what do I know? I used to say, "people wouldn't stand for that!", I don't say that much anymore.

Bad Medicine

Good morning to all,
hope your day is going well out there.

Here's a few words on a story I just read.....

They're out there, lurking in broad daylight, and you might encounter them one day at a time when you are at your most vulnerable or in need.... I'm talking about bad doctors. In this day of health care being regarded as a multi-billion dollar business, there seems to be a dramatic shift from the kindly smiling doctor who cares, to the smirky, short answered doctor who cares, but only about the extent of your medical coverage. Surely I'm not referring to all doctors, as there are some incredible and compassionate people in health care, each with their own reasons for joining the profession. However, the margin of the incredible and compassionate when compared to the greedy and uncaring, seems to be growing but on the wrong side of the equation. I don't know if any of you have encountered a truly bad doctor, but I have had the misfortune of meeting a few when both of my grandmothers were nearing the end of their journeys and visited the hospital often.
I remember a time when I stopped by my grandmother's room at the hospital unexpectedly (she was 97 years old at the time), and overheard a male voice raising his voice for what I presume to be her being a bit difficult due to discomfort by some sort of test procedure. "Sit down! I'm not going to tell you again! I promise I'll call an orderly and have you restrained!", were the words I heard coming from behind the drawn "privacy" curtain. I drew back the curtain in one quick motion, causing the doctor to jump, and he immediately began a "please lie back maam, this will only take a minute, are you doing ok?" routine, but I had heard him at a time when he thought noone was around, and noticed how my grandmother looked frightened. In a fake calm, as I was restraining all I could to keep from throwing the guy out of the nearest window, I said "we need to talk", knowing he must have been caught, he said he couldn't talk at the moment, in a louder voice I said "NOW, outside." When we met outside of the room, I let him know what I thought, I'm not a yeller but those on the receiving end of one of my talks know I mean business, index finger punctuating my points from time to time, pointing to his chin, never breaking eye contact, except for when he stared at his shoes, reminding him to "look at me when I'm talking to you doc". In time the "doctor" attempted to scurry away shaking and white in the face, only to get a "C'mere, you're not finished", he was convinced to apologize to my grandmother for his behaviour. My grandmother gave him a pass on the matter, accepting his hand when he offered it to her, and accepting his apology, but not me as I simply reminded him to "keep in mind what we talked about". In an odd twist, the lab tech who had been assisting the doctor gave me a smile and a thumbs up sign as she walked away, a quick conversation down the hall convinced her to agree to phone me if there was any other sort of problem, she mentioned that the doctor was commonly rude to patients and hospital workers alike. It took only one letter from the family attorney (sent to show the seriousness by which we regarded the incident) to receive word that the doctor had previous complaints from patients and their families (which I already knew) and would be dealt with, we never saw him again, and we never again left my grandmother alone in that room. After the talk, I returned to my grandmother's bedside, the image of her smile at that moment remains with me to this day. She never mentioned the matter or complained, as that was not her way (the woman was a saint), but her smile made it all worthwhile. I miss her with all my heart.

Anyhow, sheesh, sorry for reliving that moment and subjecting all of you to all of that, *LOL just that was one example of a bad doctor I personally encountered, the words just spilled out as I remembered. Here's a link to the news story of a similar "doc gone bad" or "bad-side manner".
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9135728/

I believe that it is too often that we give these glorified "mechanics" (afterall, that is what they are, just as a mechanic learns the parts of a car, how they work and how to fix it, a doctor does much the same but with the workings of the human body) too much leeway to do as they please, and behave in a distasteful manner. Doctors can't be penalized for having bad bedside manner, though that wouldn't be a bad idea to change that rule. Forced courtesy is better than no courtesy at all, and simply making it through medical school doesn't necessarily mean they'll make good doctors, it just shows that they were good at being a student.

Let us know about your stories, encounters, or what you think about the matter. I know I can't be alone in my dislike for the direction health care seems to be going.

The Aftermath

Good morning to all,
hope you're day is going well,
if you're from the storm ravaged area,
I hope you and your families made it through safely.

I've been watching the news today, and the images of Katrina's aftermath are mindnumbing. New Orleans is in ruins, Biloxi is is dire circumstances, as are portions of Alabama. The flood waters are dangerously high, and I fear that the loss of life will reach a terrible toll. It's been terrible to view that which reveals so much pain and suffering of people whose lives were so quickly turned to turmoil. I wish there was something I could do to help, but being down here there really isn't much that I could do. I gave what little money I could afford, to the Salvation Army fund, and have been considering giving blood if there comes to be a call for increased donations to replenish the reserves (I know it's not much, but at least it's something in some small way). One thing that I can't believe is the widespread looting and price gouging taking place so soon after the devastation, there is a simple truth in the old saying that "tough times can bring the best or worst out of some people", the citizens travelling on shallow bottom boats to assist authorities in rescuing trapped survivors, that is the example of "the best in people", the looters and price gouging store owners are surely the worst of people. I can't understand, though how much I tried while watching the video footage, how people can do such things, only to add to the pain and strain upon the city and people from the areas in which they live. One video clip showed people traversing a gutted Walmart with shopping carts, stealing all they could carry, another showed smashed windows on a pharmacy, another smashed windows on an electronics store, with police and national guard soldiers unable to act and put an end to the chaos. I heard a news report of cheap hotels along the evacuation route, raising their prices to $199 (dollars U.S.) per night, with a motel manager justifying their actions by saying "we don't charge that, we just quote it to some to get rid of the riff raff", from eyewitness accounts the manager regarded the so-called "riff raff" to be persons of color. Disgusting behaviour indeed. I hope the authorities go after these people, looters and price gougers alike, as they both took efforts to steal from people, it may take a while as the authorities have so much going on at the moment, but action does need to be taken when possible, and the harshest of penaties brought to bear. I hope you all made well through the storm, be safe out there, and thank you for visiting and a taking a moment to read my views. Let us know your views on the storm and it's aftermath, any stories you've heard or experienced would be very interesting to read. Take good care.

It's Comin' !

Good afternoon to all,

On this day, I'd like to send best wishes to all in the New Orleans area, I sure hope all of you in the path of that big storm stay safe, and make it through the days ok. With the city of New Orleans being beneath sea level, the flooding could create dangerous conditions, and one heck of a mess, so make sure you heed the warnings and evacuate to a designated shelter area, don't take risks. My prayers go out to you all. If you need some links for storm tracking and forecasting predictions, here's a couple of links that might help.

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/
*A good and solid site for information. You'll find very useful clickable links, click through them and you'll know what you need to know for weather in your area.

http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html
*This one shows computer models of the expected storm track, useful, but remember that computer models can be wrong from time-to-time. This site has been pretty good at giving good info so far though, and I use it each time one of those big storms is headed to the US coast.

http://www.weather.com/
*Not comfortable with an unfamiliar site name? Here's a link to The Weather Channel website. You can't go wrong with the information they have, just that the Wunderground and Computer Model site make accessing information a big faster (in my opinion)

Slangin'

Good afternoon to all,
hope your weekend is going well.

Within the past couple of days, I had a chance to see a couple of good movies, Ray (the Ray Charles movie starring Jamie Foxx), and Bird (the Charlie "Bird" Parker story starring Forest Whittaker). Seems that both of those musical geniuses had the same problem, the proverbial "monkey on their back, the golden arm, love of the horse, etc., etc." That got me to thinking that it might be fun to look up some slang terms from the Golden Age of Jazz, when the cool cats were out there doin' their thing, forging the way for music to evolve in the way we enjoy it so much today. No matter what kind of music you might listen to, it's safe to say that it was somehow effected by the Jazz Age (yes, even Metal and Country music). *LOL It was amazing to see just how many of those terms have survived to this day, and have become part of our every day lexicon. Here's the link to the interesting site I found, it's worth taking a look.

INXS, Gene, and Tommy

Good afternoon to all,

I had a chance to see a few new shows: the INXS search for a lead singer show, Gene Simmons ripping off the School of Rock movie, and Tommy Lee runnin' around trying to pick up college chicks (the old fart). *LOL

Wassup with INXS doing such an "anti-rock" kinda thing as having an American Idol kinda show to find a new lead singer? OK, it may be anti-rock, but I'll be watching it, I admit it. *LOL I couldn't believe the kinda shmoes they had on there either, some cocky dude who looks like a Backstreet Boy, some smarmy dude who plays the part of the sensitive guy, some skinny blond dude who is genuinely forgettable, as I can't remember anything he did on the show, and a whole lotta blonde girls (which isn't a bad thing). Who chooses the music for that show? Sheesh, it's so cheesy that viewers should get a pack of crackers and a bottle of wine from the network. I guess that INXS is enjoying just making a little bit of money from the name, and inevitably from the tour they will have once the show wraps up (with the new lead singer). Interesting, but it won't be anything like the old INXS. I hate to say it, but I think the Backstreet Boy reject will win as he has a song delivery and voice that is kinda similar to Michael Hutchence (their former lead singer who passed away). In "similar", I mean in a parrot kinda way, as it's obvious that the dude is tryin' real hard to sound like ol' Mike.

Wassup with Gene Simmons scaring the heck outta some good English kids? I have to say that the show is a bit creepy, as even I (a fan of the early KISS records) doesn't get Gene's sense of humor at times. The kids look at Gene with a puzzled look that rivaled mine as I watched the show. I sure hope Jack Black is getting a kickback from this show because they're trying to re-enact the movie in almost every aspect. OK, I admit it, I'll be watching this one also. *LOL

Wassup with Tommy Lee runnin' around the University of Nebraska? The first words that come to mind is "lock up your daughters". Hope they tested the guy before he stepped foot on campus, because any girls he might hook up with would later be off-limits to most guys who don't want somethin strange growin' on them. The dude seems so out of place that it's just downright strange, but then again that adds to the appeal of the show. The early Motley Crue stuff was great, but their later efforts are another story. As for Tommy Lee's solo stuff, it's either too juvenile or too whiney about stuff he's goin' through, I wish he'd just rock out on his recordings and knock off the other BS. Still, even with all I'm sayin' about him, he did have Heather Locklear, and Pam Anderson, so who am I to say anything? *LOL As you might have guessed, yep, I'll be watching this one as well.

Anyone else seen these shows, and if so, what did you think?

"Nobody Cares"

Good afternoon to all,
it's been a while since I've had time to blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about things I'd like to share with all of you, stuff that I found interesting as I make my way through the days that I hope you find interesting too.

The other day I was driving around and found myself to be lost, it's a big city full of twists and turns, one wrong turn and you can find youself in the most unexpected of places....

As I made my way around the strange neighborhood, old and worn through the years, boarded-up buildings, broken windows, rust on the old tin awnings hanging above the doors. The place spoke to me of the hopes and dreams of those who had lived there, but with a weary voice. People sleeping in the shadowed doorways, what was seemingly just a bundle of clothes and items, revealed a person underneath, I could tell by the worn shoes as they protuded in such a way. Graffiti marked almost every visible surface, unintelligible scrawlings that I couldn't quite make out, that was until I saw these words written plainly on a red brick wall in white paint "NOBODY CARES". Part of me wanted to make a joke of what I had just seen, as I almost instinctively said to myself "who cares?", but another part of me wondered what drove the person to write that. Was it the squalor of their surroundings? Was there nobody who seemed to care for them? Were they making a joke with friends, and just wrote while answering a question? I will never know the answer to any of those questions, but the words in all their simplicity, punctuated by the surroundings, hit me like a punch to the stomach. As I drove through the neighborhood, I couldn't help but imagine finding a way out as soon as possible, after reading those words I couldn't help but imagine someone living there who might be feeling the same way through the years they might have to grow up there. I drove and drove until the sun had began to settle just over the tops of the skyscrapers, who through distant, seemed to be getting nearer, I turned the corner and I was suddenly out of the neighborhood and back to a place I recognized, I was on my way home. A few days later, when I was once again near the area where I got lost that day, I happened to have my camera with me, and had hoped to find that wall and take a picture since it effected me in such a way, but couldn't find the street, nor the wall I saw in almost two hours of driving. To the person who wrote "NOBODY CARES", I'd like to say somebody does. As I make my way through the days, I try to learn from what I see, and carry of part of it with me to guide my future and keep me on a path that will lead me to do the most good in the time I have. If all turns out well, and if I happen to make the right choices, maybe one day I'll set out to find that street again, and that wall with it's faded message. If at a time in my life when I am in a position to do so, maybe I can do something to help and maybe convince someone that somebody out here does care.

Our Apollo 13?

Good evening to all,
hope your weekend has been a good one.

"Houston, we have a problem", (and the problem appears to be an aging, fragile, and problematic space shuttle) not since those words were first uttered in the 1970's, by the crew of Apollo 13, have we witnessed such a problem filled space mission. The launch of the Discovery was to have been a celebrated occasion commemorating America's returning to space, as well as an exhibition of improvements in the shuttle launch system safety protocols. However, the launch of the shuttle seemed rushed, especially as the shuttle had parts falling off when being lifted into a launch pad position, tile breaks as a result of the falling cockpit window retainer ring, all of which were fixed but still should have raised red flags to the fragile condition of the Discovery orbiter. Couldn't they have used one of the slightly newer shuttles? Maybe Endeavour or Atlantis? Though I don't believe those would be much better. Imagine this, your desktop computer (even if you got the $299 special offer) has more computing power than the transistor driven computers on the space shuttle. Yikes! We as the United States of America, pride ourselves as being originators of technological marvels, however we would choose to allow some of our bravest, (and I regard anyone who would willingly choose to fly into space in a 20 something year old spacecraft as brave), to stake their lives on obsolete technology? Most of us don't even have cars that old, and those of us who do, know what the wear and tear of years can do. I found a few things troubling about the Discovery mission, the 7 astronauts were essentially forced to spend all their space time searching the shuttle for problems, actually finding more potential problems than should have been on a shuttle that had 2+ years to iron out problems. Increased safety protocols? That went out the window when they simply unplugged a sensor that delayed a launch due to a faulty display, and launched a week later. The cockpit wondow retainer ring that fell off while the shuttle was being moved into launchpad position, we can see the quality of repair, as the exposed portion of thermal blanket appears to be sticking out from the site of that repair. What was most difficult to consider, was the amount of apparent stress heaped on the crew as they were seemingly forced (by all the problems) to ponder the fate of the Columbia crew that preceded them, I heard a transmission from the Discovery crew where they paid tribute to the Columbia crew, and thought I heard a level of sadness and concern in their words. I saw a video transmission from the Japanese astronaut aboard the shuttle, where he spent alot of time waving goodbye after playing a song on his piano keyboard he took along on the mission, the song appeared to be "Nearer My God to Thee", though he played just a short portion of the song, if that was the song he played, it was coincidentally the song also played by the ship's band who went down with the Titanic. It's just sad to think that those seven brave souls should have to be put under that much stress and worry, not to mention their families, and not to mention everyone else who would sure hate to see anything happen to the astronauts, imagine how they must feel having to re-enter the atmosphere in that thing, knowing that future shuttle missions have been cancelled due to problems that arose on their mission. Since NASA cleared the shuttle for re-entry and landing (beginning at 3am Central time early Monday morning), they better be certain the crew will be OK. I know that some will say "with space exploration comes a certain degree of risk", but I'm not talking about a regular level of expected risk, I'm ranting (and I apologize for the rant, it's just that the Columbia accident was troubling to watch and I'd hate to see anything like that happen again) about needless risks, rushes to judgement, and lackluster performance by NASA administration. I didn't much like the excuses from last time, and I sure wouldn't want to hear them again either. I called this latest segment "Our Apollo 13", because like the Apollo 13 mission, it was plagued with problems, and only then seemed to gain the attention of the news media. It's such a shame that so many missions have gone by with just a minor acknowledgement by the press, when those riding the rocket are putting themselves in potential peril on their journeys, all the while wearing the stars and stripes on their sleeves and going in the name of our country. May God speed the astronauts home, safely to their families and those who care for them. What do you think about the Discovery mission or the shuttle? I'd sure like to know how all of you might feel about this.