Earth Day

April 22.
So, it's Earth Day. I remember first realizing Earth Day. I think I must've been in about Sixth grade. Something like that. I grew up in semi-rural Midwest, so some of my more urbane friends remember their first Earth Days a little differently than I remember mine.

I never thought of the Earth as having limited capacity, limited resources, etc. I just didn't. It was beyond my comprehension until about age 12. Why did I understand it after that? I'm not sure.

I remember the teachers talking about the Earth, the need for recycling, hell, we even watched a movie (the old school reel to reel movie projectors that had so much noise eminating from them, the sound had to be cranked up to 100dB to burp out more noise than the actual film). Anyway, basically, it was McDonald's propaganda. McEcology is what it was called. I don't know a single person who remembers this, so, it may in fact have been completely fabricated by yours truly.

Anyway, they went through the entire process of manufacturing the products used by the folks with the golden arches and talked about how great they were at recycling, at using recycled products, and just environmentally-conscious in general. Wow. I remember thinking what a great company. Well, my first thought was probably let's go get some chicken nuggets. But the point is, they made me feel good about eating food from them because they were environmentally sound. At least, in my opinion.

So, the point, I don't know. I guess, it's just the point that propaganda can make us believe all sorts of things. well, when you're in sixth grade, it doesn't take much to make you believe anything. But, as we all found out later, McDonald's wasn't the environmentally concsious entity they purported themselves to be. But they're getting better, 750 calorie Quarter Pounders and all.

SLPTG

So, things with SLPTG are ok. Well, they're good. There's just a little issue with the use of "my" time. Much of "our" time is spent doing things for her or doing things that she wants to do. Fine. That's an ok way to spend "our" time for now. We'll see where things go. It ain't going to be like that forever, but, hey, maybe this thing isn't going to be forever.

Several weeks ago there was a little difficulty between us. It had to do, entirely, with the disparity between amount of bending backward she does for "us" compared to the amount I do.

Fine.

I think the difficulty was that there was no resolution and only a thinly veiled offer of change.

me: well, I come over there much more than you are over here, blah blah blah.

SLPTG: I have different commitments that prevent me from coming over there and I didn't realize it was a problem.

me: Well it wasn't, but now it is. That's the deal. I'm expressing to you, that I've busted my ass to come to see you as much as possible and put things off as much as possible for a very long time, and now I'm telling you that I'm going to have to change that a bit. If you don't come over more, I'm fine with that, but understand that if that is the case, we'll be seeing less of each other.

SLPTG: Well (notice how we always start off sentences with Well, well, it's written from memory and I'm sure it's not that many, it's just, well, that's the way I remember it).

[big long promise of how things will improve, have faith in us, in her, etc.]

...few weeks later

me: so, things aren't much different. I'm not surprised.

SLPTG: well, that's nice of you to have so much confidence in us.

me: I'm a realist. and somewhat of a cynic, but really, is there a difference?

SLPTG: that's not funny

me: well?

SLPTG: OK, tomorrow. blahsey-blah will happen, and I'll be over.

tomorrow comes and goes, and lo and behold, something comes up.

Okey doke. I'm sticking with my original thoughts. If we see less of each other, it's because one of us ain't doin' our part...and it ain't me.

Rope the pope

Well. That didn't take quite as long as the media made it out to be. The media was wrong? Well, I know it's difficult to believe, but yeah. They overexaggerated things.

The new Pope has been chosen. Well. Welcome Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. New Pope, if you will. Sort of like replacing Coca Cola Classic, isn't it. Many will not like it just because it's new and different, but I'm hanging tough with you Joe.

You've got some big shoes to fill. John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, at Wadowice, Poland, the third child of a devoutly Catholic retired army officer-turned-tailor.

Despite his prominence and the respect in which he was held by his fellow Catholics, his election as Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1978 -- the first-ever Slavic pope, and the first non-Italian to occupy the post for 455 years -- came as a surprise.

Well, I'm a reformed Catholic. He did a pretty good job in my opinion. That Catholic church has been through a lot in the past 20 years (heck, the past 500 haven't been easy). They've made some horrible decisions lately. I think the Catholic churches in the states that declared bankruptcy to avoid paying the hefty damages from Priest wrongdoings (tisk, tisk) was a bad idea. Speaking of that, so, do the Priests atone for those sins? To Whom? What's the penance for that, sheesh. I remember swearing earning me a few Hail Mary's and a resounding Our Father (The Lord's Prayer for the rest of you), I can only imagine what pedophilia costs.

Is this wrong?

OK, how many of us have wanted to say this to someone?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7492902/?GT1=6428

The story goes, that a woman comes home and finds her daughters fighting, and that the 12 year old had kicked a hole in the wall. Why someone would call the authorities for that, I'm not sure. And evidently, the 911 dispatcher agreed, because she offered to come over and shoot the kid for the woman. Grin.

I know, I know. We don't know what this woman has been through with these kids, what other shenanigans they have pulled, maybe she felt threatened. I acknowledge that. It's just that all of us have been somewhere where there was an unruly child--typically due to apathetic parenting--that we wish we could have intervened. I've never shot anyone and wouldn't expect that I'll be starting anytime soon, but come on parents. Give us non-parents a break.

I always hear the argument, "you don't know what it's like to be a parent. It's a lot of work." Right. I agree. That's why I CHOOSE to not be a parent. It's my choice. Don't make me suffer because you CHOOSE to become a parent.

(Insert dream sequence music)
I'm at the grocery store the other day and there's a girl there all of 14 who is absolutely driving her mother nuts. Wait. She's driven her mother nuts. Her mother has that look of someone who's just beaten down. Can't even interact, just has that glazed look on her face.
The young girl is going on and on about what she wants to eat, what she wants to buy, her little girlfriends and her boyfriends, just talk, talk, talk. The mother has obviously been through this a million times because she's nodding and "uh-huh"ing at the right times to make it seem like she's actually listening to the girl. Probably so she doesn't hurt her little girl's feelings by saying what she'd really like to say. "Shut up." Which is exactly what I and numerous other folks were all thinking. So, the message is:
Have kids, enjoy them, be the best parent you can be. But when they're acting up, don't make the rest of us suffer (and get a glimpse in your life?), reprimand and discipline them.

Pictures of You

Worked both days this weekend at big, ugly blue place. Not too bad. Short hours both days.
Enjoying flickr. It's getting me posting some photos. It's getting me thinking about photographs again. I remember when I got my first digicam, I used the heck out of it. I'm sure I didn't use it nearly to its potential. I'm going to try to take it a step move involve than I was before.
Used to post on a different photo site, just got old. Same people bashing, same people complaining every time. Move on, people.

Last night was nice with SLPTG. Three hours of Tournament of Champions, but surprisingly entertaining. My favorite won. Beautiful dog, extends its winning streak. During the interview, the gentleman who was showing the dog said it was only the third week they had been showing the dog. Third week?!? Wow. The thing won Tournament of Champions in Portland. That's quite an accomplishment for a newcomer.