Woke up this morning with attitude.
1. Purged my blogroll of four blogs today, and there are some on the bubble. I decided that anyone who has basically never commented on my blog (unless in far ancient times), never replies to comments I put on their blog, never added me on their blogroll, or does not post stuff so interesting I cannot give up reading/seeing their stuff, does not need to be on my list. So, to the four I just dropped, if you even notice, farewell. One of the blogs I dropped was just political, and while its leanings were pretty much mine, I had stopped reading it. The “blogs on the bubble” probably won’t last out the week.
2. While I’m being peckish, this: In the course of my life, I’ve interacted with some folks to the degree I started to think they were my friend. Those who read here regularly will recall I claim no friends in life outside of family (don’t worry, those who I consider blogging friends know who they are). I’m talking about actual, face-to-face human interaction here. I found with those who I thought to be my friends that if we ever got together for anything it was at my suggestion. I got to where I’d just stop calling, and see what happened. Invariably, that ended the interaction. I always just left it that way. Maybe all friendships have the active member and the inactive member, but that ain’t for me.
3. Nobody I ever loaned money to in my life has paid it back. My late mother inveigled me to loan money to a cousin who was having a hard time (and had two ADD children, wife had run out). He paid me back a pittance, asked for more, I said no, and I’ve never heard from him again. A niece called me once (actually tracked me down on vacation), desperate that she couldn’t pay her rent. I sent money. Didn’t even get an acknowledgment that it was received, only knew when the check cleared. Didn’t hear from her for years (and then no mention of the loan). I could go on. Many years after high school I bumped into an old “friend,” in Napa Valley of all places. He contacted me soon after, trouble paying his child support. I sent money. Haven’t heard from him since. These are just examples, not the totality of my foolish lending history.
4. There are certain people who, as far as I can tell, no matter what I say to them, they immediately go about trying to find a way that I said something unkind, ugly, or whatever. They make it their practice to take everything amiss. Maybe this is a universal human trait. I’m trying to think how to illustrate this. Hmmm. I say I don’t think Mr. Obama will make a good president. You say/think I’m a racist. I say I really don’t like having pets around the house. You say/think I hate dogs. These examples are weak, but I can’t do better right now. I find that on the internet this tendency is even more pronounced than in “real” life.
5. The new governor of New York and his wife publicly announced they’d had affairs during a “rough patch” in their marriage. Who cares! The guy should resign just for being stupid enough to make such an announcement. Who is next in line? And while I’m at it, I’m tired of the term “rough patch” when referring to marriages. It’s a phrase devoid of meaning. You are willing to tell me (the public) you were fucking around on your wife, but feel you should spare me (the public) any helpful info like: we were bored with each other; he/she did it first; we were arguing about money; etc. “Rough Patch.” Phooey! What a couple of boneheads New York got this time (like don’t they always?).
6. Speaking of meaningless self-serving use of language, did you ever notice that people who commit crimes and want out of jail, or want “forgiveness,” or want their stupid book published, or whatever, always say of their criminal past that the made “a mistake,” or “mistakes.” Let’s see, you got your gun (rod, gat, piece, iron, roscoe, shooter, friend), made sure it had bullets, drove to the liquor store, walked in , pulled it out, demanded the loot, made the employees lay face down, shot each of them in the back of the head, and drove away. A mistake? Since when did deliberate, planned actions become “mistakes.” No, Mr./Ms. Criminal, you committed a crime. You. Committed. A. Crime. “Mistake”. Phooey! How can you expect redemption based on an evasive word like that?
7. Warhawks Cheney and McLain were in Iraq this week. I despise ‘em both. I feel sorry for our troops there. I feel sorry for their families. They are serving a lie. The politicians have disgraced them, sent them to die for nothing. True, they all volunteered, but, you know, I still feel for them. If I were running for Prez, I’d say flat-out: “Every one of our troops will be home as soon as consistent with force protection. Oh, and you Iraqis, if you want to kill each other, the United States cannot stop you. By the way, the money spigot gets turned off 5 minutes (what’s that a couple hundred million?) after I’m sworn in. Any questions?”
8. Bear Stearns is gone. Who’s next? Boy, can those Republicans/Neo-Cons run an economy. The party of Herbert Hoover.
9. Gas prices keep rising. You are stuck with a gas-guzzling mammoth SUV. Never before you bought it was there any information floating about the universe that fuel economy was important. The OPEC oil embargo never happened. Pres. Bush never said in his State of the Union addresses (yes, Pres. Bush) that we were “addicted to oil.” Nope, it just dawned on you that $175.00 to fill your tank might mean taking Little Fauntleroy out of private school (and cutting back his meals). I know, the SUV craze was/is just so freaking cool!
10. President Bush sayeth: We Are Not In A Recession. President Bush sayeth: We Are Not In A Recession. President Bush sayeth: We Are Not In A Recession. President Bush sayeth: We Are Not In A Recession. President Bush sayeth: We Are Not In A Recession. Don’t worry! Be Happy! That $200 bucks we’re sending you will almost cover a week’s gas!
