Friends

I know, I know, I promised way back in May that I was back again.  Well, of course I found myself without time and ever since I gained that time back at the end of the school year I haven't been inspired.  Well, I think maybe it's time I just delve back into writing.  I still have people complementing my writing, so well, maybe by just doing it I'll be inspired.

I'd like to talk about friends.  I've got a lot of people in my life who I call my friends, but are they really my friends?  I mean, that word is used so loosely.  Luckily for me, I do know what constitutes a true friend because I've got two of them in my life who, no matter what, are always there for me when I need them, good times or bad.  I've had a lot of negative experiences this year with 'friends,' and it's caused me to reevaluate how I deal with people in my life.

friend

noun

1. 1.

   a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.

Okay, so according to this definition of friends, I have a lot of them.  I do.  I'm a very social person.  I liken the difference between the two definitions, though, to loving someone and being in love with someone. Same term, two very different things.  The important thing to realize when you look at your friends is to know which type they are and treat the relationship as so.  That way you won't let any negative stuff get in your way.

Earlier in the year, I was completely cut off by a so called friend, someone I had known for a few years.  We'd shared many good times together and when it happened it was without explanation. That wasn't the first time this happened to me, but for a long time I was left wondering and now there's a person within my circle whose presence makes things uncomfortable.  I hate it, but you know what? He was never really a friend and so it's not my problem.

Then there are those so called friends who take and take and give nothing in return.  I've had several of those in my life as well.  One-sided friendships!  These types of friends are the toughest to deal with because it usually takes awhile to realize, and the best thing to do with them once you do realize is to keep yourself at a distance, eventually weening them away.  Sad, really!

I write this like I write a lot of my posts.  For one thing, it's something I live with everyday and so it's on my mind currently.  I learn for myself when I put it out there and so like I said, I need to reevaluate how I deal with people from here on out.  I certainly don't need to waste any precious time on those who aren't worth my time.  And maybe one of you out there can recognize these types of friends from your own life and realize that maybe you've been wasting your own time.  Life is way too short for that!  Simply open your eyes and evaluate whether or not certain people in your life are worthy of the term 'friend.'  

The Gun Angle to the Orlando Tragedy

gawker

The man in the picture above is 20 year-old James Wesley Howell, from Jeffersonville, Indiana.  In case you may not have heard, Howell was arrested yesterday in Santa Monica, California after police uncovered a virtual arsenal of weapons in his car, including "three assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and ammunition and a five-gallon bucket with chemicals that can be used to make an explosive device (WLKY)."   He told authorities he was heading to the L.A. Gay Pride Parade. Though he never revealed what he intended to do there, I think that after yesterday's tragedy in Orlando, we can only imagine. Thank God he was stopped and we never got to find out.

Of course, there's speculation that Howell was going to perform a similarly heinous mass attack to the one perpetrated by Omar Mateen, but we may never know the truth.  For one thing, James Howell is bisexual and even has a boyfriend, so targeting gays may not have been his intent (though I have a contrary theory on that matter best saved for another time).  What we do know is that a possible, potentially disastrous catastrophe was averted, and only hours after the horrors that unfolded first came to light.

Should all LGBT's be alarmed at this news?  Perhaps, but as I said in my previous post, what happened in Orlando is not about one issue alone.  We should all find it troubling that this young, 20 year-old man had all of these terribly deadly weapons in his possession.  Why does anyone need three assault rifles?  For protection?  Should our answer be to have assault rifles of our own so that we can defend ourselves against someone like James Wesley Howell or Omar Mateen?  Maddeningly, some people think so.   

Throughout history, mankind has come up with some of the most incredible of inventions, technologies to help us survive, to get around, to entertain us, but there is one invention that I wish never happened, and that is the invention of the gun.  Aside from the most incredulous number of them in existence today, the gun is responsible for a lot more harm than we ever even think about.

As a teacher to youngsters who are not only learning history, math and science, but our language as well, I have to explain things to them in the simplest of terms so that they'll get it.  And sometimes when you explain things in such a manner, everything becomes ridiculously clear.  

Two of the greatest human tragedies in history can be attributed to the gun: slavery and the genocide of the Native American.  Think about it.  When the European colonizers went to Africa to gather slaves for hard labor in the New World, how were they able to do so?  It's simple, they had guns and the African peoples did not. It's the same with the Native Americans.  Bows and arrows, or guns? Imagine if guns did not exist during the colonization of North and South America.  Would we exist as we do today?  Like I said, simple yet clearly true.  

The Good Ole Second Amendment

pearlsofprofundity

There has been so much said on both sides of the aisle about the Second Amendment to the Constitution that I will not tackle the issue too deeply here.  If you'd like to read some informative pieces from non-partisan authors, I suggest you do a Google search for 'origins of the Second Amendment.'  I will reiterate what I said earlier, that it was written in a very different time, under very different circumstances, and since the Constitution is supposed to be a living, breathing document that changes with the changing times, then it needs to be scrutinized, and sooner rather than later.

During the Revolutionary War, the colonists did not have a well-trained, cohesive army.  They were up against the strongest professional military in the world and so were very mismatched in their struggle for independence.  The average citizen was at the mercy of random British military units and so having the right to defend themselves as such was necessary for the times.  The organization of local militias in such circumstances, was the original purpose of the Amendment.  

Of course these days the Second Amendment has taken on a whole new interpretation. There are no superior armies walking amongst us, and we have one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world.  Today, we view the right to bear arms as a defense against anyone who would do us harm, like Omar Mateen or James Howell or pretty much anyone out there who's got one...and that's a lot! Did that happen yesterday, or during any other of these horrific massacres that have taken place over the past twenty years?  How many murder attempts have been thwarted because the victim had a gun?  I wonder even if that's a realistic statistic to find, but I'd bet it'd be far less than any gun supporter would lead us to believe.

In my research for this post, I Googled "number of guns per country statistics," and I found that the way it is counted is per hundred people.  Not surprisingly, the U.S. leads the pack by a large margin with 88.8 guns owned out of every 100 people.  Next up is Yemen (54.8), Switzerland (45.7), Finland (45.3), and Serbia (37.8).  Though the United States represents less than 5% of the world's population, we carry 35-50% of the world's civilian owned guns at an alarming 270 million owned privately.  

I was surprised at some of the countries on this list, like Switzerland and Finland, as you might be. There is a difference, though.  The U.S. also represents the highest firearm homicide rate, as well, wheres none of these other countries even make the top ten. Why is that?  

Please note that I am not a professional journalist and I realize that statistics like these can be spun and analyzed in virtually any way a spin-meister wants to spin them.  Simply put, though, that's a lot of damned guns and a lot of unnecessary murders, too, just like those poor souls who lost their lives just yesterday at the hands of guns.  

The Gun Angle to the Orlando Tragedy

Of course, commentary on both sides of the aisle on that good old Second Amendment argument have abounded and will continue to in the coming weeks.  It's sad that this issue comes up way too often these days, yet nothing ever changes.  Yesterday's press conference on the Pulse shootings by President Barack Obama was his 16th such meeting with reporters during his eight years as President.

That's a sad fact, and to reiterate what I said yesterday, I don't remember any of the others being called terrorism.

aljazeera

The graphic above shows just a few of the too many mass shootings that have happened in this country over the past 17 years.  High schools.  Elementary schools.  Universities.  Movie theaters. Even churches.  Yet, there are many in this country who continue to cry out that the answer to this problem is leave us to our guns.  If guns never existed, there'd be 156 people in this image alone who would still be alive today.  It's pitiful and it's embarrassing!

A couple of years ago, I wrote of an experience I had in Nashville during one of my Roller Coaster Road Trips with two pals:

While we waited (to get into the Grand Ole Opry), there was this nice local girl working a lunch menu from the entrance to the tour, and I asked her about something I'd been noticing ever since we had arrived in Tennessee.

Practically everywhere we went, there was this sign in the front window indicating "no handguns allowed." I though it was odd, and since the girl was so friendly I thought I'd ask her about it...

Do that many people really carry around guns?

Well, no, not around here in Nashville, but yeah, in the surrounding areas. Sure.

She seemed surprised that we don't carry guns around on our person in New York.  I wouldn't even think of it, unless there was maybe a zombie apocalypse.  Well, there are more murders in New York than Tennessee, so maybe....oh, wait a second!  There are way more people in New York than there are in Tennessee, and actually the gun murder rate, as a percentage, is higher there than it is here. 

Yup, just like I thought...more guns, more murders!  

  

Clearly, what happened yesterday in Orlando, Florida exposes several terrible realities of our society, and one of the most critical is our love affair with guns. I only hope that this time, more people will tire of these terrible events and start doing something about it.  I don't hold much optimism, but I do hope. 

Stay tuned for more on this mess of a mess, and in the meantime, check out yesterday's post:

The First of Several Angles to the Orlando Tragedy: Terrorism

Sources:

Gun homicides and gun ownership by country - Washington Post

Gun Ownership By Country 2015: US Ranks First As Obama Calls For 'Common Sense' Laws - International Business Times

Gun violence in the United States by state - Wikipedia

The Top 5 Countries with the Most Guns (firearms) Per Capita - Top Five of Anything

U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons - Council on Foreign Relations

U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons

  

Je Suis Charlie

cnn

Auto-Correcting Humanity? - Yeah!

Do you know that the average person spends 

around four years of his life looking down at his cell phone?

washingtontimes

A friend of mine shared this video with me recently, telling me that she couldn't help but think of me when she watched it. You see, I instituted a new rule in my class this year concerning cell phones. As you can imagine, these devices have become a huge distraction in the process of teaching and learning and kids are not the only ones affected by it.

So many I's, so many selfies,

not enough us's and we's

You see, technology has made us 

more selfish and separate than ever! 

This year, my new rule aims to curb that huge distraction that comes with texting and Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, and all of the other things that have become the new, sad norm to how we socialize with each other. When a student is caught using their cell phone in my classroom without permission, all of the students in the class must hand theirs in for the period, not just the student in question.  The end result is the students' anger is towards the one person who committed the offense and not me, thereby curbing the use of the tiny handheld computers that are so, well, everywhere!  I've been sharing some of my biggest takes on Facebook...

Cell phones and iPads and such have become a problem not only for our children learning in school, but for all of us.  That once faraway notion of virtual reality has slowly but surely creeped up into the very backbone of our collective psyches and I think it's all for the worst...

We sit at home on our computers

measuring self-worth by numbers of 

friends, followers and likes.

Back to the video...I watched the entirety of the three minutes and twenty seven seconds of truth that day, not once, but several times, every word attesting to the sad truth that has become our society and our world today.  Although I've attempted to curb the problem in my classroom, it doesn't stop with children. We're all guilty of much of what is said in the video, including myself.

The attention span of the average adult today

is 1 second lower than that of a goldfish.    

I believe that, unfortunately.  I see firsthand everyday, and I know you all do, too, how people are consistently distracted by the little electronic device in their hand.  At parties, during bowling night, and even at times when I'm spending time with just one other person, attention is never 100% on the here and now.  There's always one eye and one ear out for a ring or a chime or a flash on a screen to tell us that somebody poked us or another want to be our "friend."  It's pretty sad, no?

Anyway, I have already begun to try to do my part in making it better before it's too late.  My Facebook visits, and posts have decidedly become less, and so has my activity on Twitter and Instagram.  If it weren't for sharing these posts in those places, I'd probably be daring enough to say that that would be it for awhile, even if for a week.

So anyway, take a look and a listen to what this dude has to say.  That is, if you could keep your attention on it for that long.  He makes a lot of sense!  Perhaps all of this is part of what I said that I was beginning to get onto something here the other day.  Maybe part of what keeps my mind so occupied and so stressed all the time has to do with my own affliction for social media.  I should post a picture of this great dinner, or I gotta answer that notification.  Ugh!  Maybe making a conscious effort to curb my online habits will leave me time for more important, and real, things to do with my time.  Can it hurt that much?  We shall see...  

Is It Me?: An Introduction

keepcalm-o-matic

This is a post I've been wanting to write for a long, long time.  Even as I begin to write it, I'm not exactly sure where it will go, but here goes...

A mantra that I've been repeating in my head for more than a year now only seems to get louder with time, and I'm feeling like it's just never going to dissipate.  The saying is fortified at school, within my family, my circle of friends and the world around me.  The mantra that I speak of is, "Is it me?"

Often lately I'm feeling that the world around me has gone crazy in every sense of the word, and I can't help but wonder whether it's me or everyone else that's lost it.  Being a Sagittarian and a 25/7, I do tend to be somewhat of a loner, but my interactions, or non-interactions, with fellow human beings is not always because I want to be alone.  Sometimes I just need to keep myself sane by staying away, but it does lead to a lonely life.

I've always judged people who have people in their lives that they don't speak to, but I'm starting to rethink that notion because it seems there are plenty of people I don't speak to anymore.  It gives me a sense of a dark cloud always following me, and that's emotional, I know, but realistically I don't believe it reflects on me as a person.

The saying, "there's plenty of fish in the sea," doesn't only apply to romance, but people in general. The people who you happen to come into contact with in this life are there because of the circumstances in your life: where you live, where you work, who your family is, even the people you encounter in everyday life, and just because those around you may mostly seem to direct negative energy towards you doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you.  I just have to keep telling myself that, lol.

Oy!  I'm gonna stop here before I get myself in trouble.  Maybe I'll revisit this when the time comes....

will.i.am - The World Is Crazy (Audio) (Explicit) by WoudaRecords

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A Shot of Instant Karma!

Twitter

I've been wanting to share this story for a couple of days now.  I just love it when I get to see karma in action and it's especially good when I have something to do with it.  On Friday night I went to the Smithaven Mall for a shopping trip with my buddy Sean.  After closing out the mall, we decided to hit the Cheesecake Factory for a little post-shopping dinner.  Since we had parked all the way on the other side of the mall from the restaurant, we decided to drive our cars around and meet at "Cheeseykooch."

As I parked my car and was getting out, I heard a crash.  I turned around and saw a rather large Grand Marquis up against an even larger Ford Expedition (or something of the sort).  The first car was trying to squeeze into a space at a bad angle.  Before I could even react, the car backed up and raced right past me, trying to hightail it outta there.  I got a pretty good view of the driver, a young woman in her 20's, with her hair up in kind of a bun.

I grabbed my phone and tried turning the camera on so I could get a shot of the license plate, but to no avail.  As I chased her down the aisle, some guy, who was with his girl, yelled out to me.  "Don't worry, I got it."  Apparently, he had seen the whole incident, too, and was just as determined as I to get the girl.  As they and I started discussing the incident, we watched as the girl raced just two aisles over and parked the Grand Marquis.  Was she going to come back and leave a note?

In the meantime, another woman and her daughter had also witnessed the accident and joined in on our chatter.  I took a photo of the license plate to the car that had been hit and excused myself to go join my friend Sean in the restaurant and maybe have the owner paged to let them know that their car had been hit.

As I walked up toward the door to Cheesecake, there was a girl entering who looked just like the one I had seen in the Grand Marquis.  She even held the door open for me.  I let her ahead of me through the inner door, motioned to my friend and followed her to the hostess station.  I waited for her to leave her name and then walked up and leaned in to whisper.

"That girl over there."  I pointed to the chick.  "I think she just hit a car in the parking lot and took off."  I then gave the woman the license plate number and asked if she could page the person who just had to be in the restaurant since the mall was closed.  She was going to ask her manager as Sean and I were seated at our table, and I felt I had done my part.  The cowardly culprit was going to get nailed.  Karma in action!

Sure enough, about an hour and a half later, Sean and I had finished our dinner and were walking back to our cars when I noticed some feet behind the Expedition, which was still parked in the same spot, only the lot was mostly empty by then.  The couple who owned the car were standing there talking with the couple I had met earlier.  Mall security was filing a report and they were all waiting for the cops to show up.

As it turned out, the girl was driving her dad's car and even though there was black paint on her front fender, she had vehemently denied hitting the Expedition.  I'm not sure exactly how they got her, but I know I contributed to that. The chick tried running away, but the woman who owned the Ford told her that it would be worse for her if she ran away and she decided to stay.  She had been sitting in the car with her dad in the same spot she had parked in.  I gave the woman my phone number in case they needed it and Sean and I both went home.

I totally believe in karma, and though it may not always work right away, it does eventually get you in the end.  And so please, if you're reading this, don't do anything underhanded, and if you do, please own up to it.  I'm sure there are many others like this girl who have done the same thing and gotten away with it...for now.  But believe me, someday, somehow, they will all get it.  I was just happy I got to see instant karma!

John Lennon - Instant Karma by AntiFlag607

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Dunkin Donuts' New Glazed Donut, Egg and Bacon Sandwich: A New Low in Fast Food

Just this past Saturday I went into Dunkin Donuts by my job and I saw an advertisement for a new sandwich that quite simply horrified me.  The new sandwich features fried eggs and bacon on...get this...a glazed donut.  At first I thought it was a joke and I asked the manager, but this was no joke.  He pulled out a large poster board that was going to be placed prominently on their wall to advertise this heart attack waiting to happen.

eater

This was one new concoction I simply couldn't believe.  Not too long after that I had gone into the DD's by my house and as I waited on line, I peered around for signs of the fatty 'breakfast.'  Nothing.  I asked the girl behind the counter there if she knew of it, and from the look on her face as I described it, she hadn't, but thought it to be as disgusting as I did.  I mentioned it to several friends over the weekend and they had the same, appalled reaction as I did.  I didn't think anything of it again until my pal Rich sent me a link to a NY Post article:

Dunkin' Donuts' glazed doughnut, fried egg and bacon breakfast sandwich to go national

Oh no, this is no joke, but to me it's just one more sad commentary on our society...our overweight, lazy-ass, society. I had asked that first manager if they had sold any yet, and he said that they had sold two in the two days since they started offering it, and I can't help but wonder how many will buy this 360-calorie salty and sweet offering in the coming weeks. The Post article pondered if customers could order the sandwich on any type of donut, and a company rep answered in the affirmative. Eeeewwwww!!!!!


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Song of the Day - Clouds - Zach Sobiech

Today's Song of the Day is a special one, and one which I've never heard until this very morning.  You see, the gentleman in the video below, whose name is Zach Sobiech, wrote and performed this song to talk about his heartrending story.  You see, four years ago, the the age of 14, Zach was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma.


Billboard

For four years, Zach battled the disease with surgeries and chemotherapy, but to no avail.  In May of last year, he was told that the cancer had spread and he only had a few months to live.  Zach Sobiech finally succumbed to that cancer on Monday, May 20th, 2013.  He was only 18 years old.

In his very short life, Zach touched a lot of people, facing his cancer head on, and inspiring millions with his music.  The video for this acoustically beautiful and soothing song, Clouds, went viral some time ago, reaching more than 4 million hits, and just this week, in the aftermath of his untimely death, Clouds hit the #1 spot on iTunes Singles Sales Chart. Way to go Zach!

So, rest in peace brother...I'm glad I had the opportunity to hear your story and spread it here through my own little world so that new people may hear it.  You are an inspiration!

To read more on Zach Sobiech's life and death, check out these pieces on Huffington Post and Billboard.


You can purchase Clouds on iTunes right here...




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Time, Precious Time

Ah Sundays....Sunday is the day when I love to wake up, especially on a beautiful spring day.  No place to rush to, nothing pressing, and it seems like there's a whole day ahead of you.  I sit at my desk with my first cup of coffee, turn on the p.c. and start with my Song of the Day selection.  Then my banking, Facebook, more writing, and before you know it, it's at least noon.  I gotta move.  I've got things to do...

mon

Food shopping, dusting, vacuuming, laundry, lots of yard work to do, I don't want to waste a beautiful day.  Get my Pilates in, my daily walk, make dinner, clean up the kitchen...OMG it's already 7 p.m.!  Damn, where'd Sunday go?  Take my shower, maybe watch a little bit of television, more writing.  Oh no, it's time for bed and then...gulp...workday Monday!

Does anything like this happen to you?  Well, maybe not exactly the same, but I'm sure many of you can identify.  What happened to life?  It seems there are just not enough hours in the day for everything we need to do in this busy era of tech-filled multi-tasking and whatnot.  Time, now there's a "T" topic everyone can relate to, huh?  I think these days we can all appreciate how precious time is...

Pat Benatar - Precious Time by jpdc11

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Broke

shirtoid

Broke

Every once in awhile

I just get tired of being broke

I make plenty of money

Yet I'm always broke

It just makes me so sad

Can't afford much

Living eats away all my money

Food, gas, mortgage payment

And forget about upkeep of a house

Vacation's are a thing of the past

People have a hard time understanding

How I'm so broke all the time

I tell ya this

I sometimes don't understand it myself

But then I look around

I live in America, for one thing

No...check that

I live in New York, even worse!

Empty my wallet at the gas pump, 

The grocery store, and everywhere in between

But yes, only in America

Can you still be paying off debt

You incurred years ago

It never seems to go away

Banks get rich and I'm become broker

Yet I see money all around me

Housewives in gas guzzlers

Talking on their cells, as kids watch vids in the back

Kids driving Beemers, wearing Gucci, D&G, and Hugo

Flying past me on the road, with a smirk, or a finger

So what's wrong with this picture?

In America we say work hard and you'll reap the rewards

Live the American Dream

I work hard, too hard sometimes

Yet I'm always broke

So what's the answer?

Rob a bank, stop paying my bills

Go on welfare?

Nah, I can't do that

That's not me

So I guess I'll just go on being broke

Working hard, struggling harder

Perhaps I'll be rewarded when I'm beyond, who knows?

Till then I'll keep on keeping on

Hoping for a miracle, so's I'm broke no more

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Nah, Americans Aren't Stupid!

hubpages

Oh my God!  One of my students (from Turkey) showed me this video on YouTube earlier today and I just had to share it.  Though clearly this video was made a little while back, from myown point of view not much has changed since then.  One of my biggest problems with my fellow Americans is that many, far too many, seem to have this hubris, an idea that we are so much better than the rest of the world.  Yet, again, far too many of us don't know diddly!

"Name a country that starts with the letter 'U'?"

"Yugoslavia"....really?
"Utah"...holy crap!
"Utopia"...Okay, now I'm embarrassed.

"Who won the Vietnam War?"

"We did....wait (turning to her friend), were we in the Vietnam War?"

"What's the official religion of Israel?"

"Muslim"

"Who is Fidel Castro?"

"A singer"

It goes on and on and on...

 

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Y is for Youth

I probably could have done this post under the letter "A" for age, but since youth is really where it's at these days, I'll settle for this as my "Y" topic.  There's an old saying that goes, "Youth is wasted on young people," and I wholeheartedly agree with that.  Having had the 47 years of life experience that I've had, I feel I know a lot more than I did when I was say, twenty-something, and if I had my youth now...ooh I'd be all over this life!

So much can be said about the topic of youth and being young I'm not sure where to begin.  First of all, I believe that age is nothing but a number and how young you are depends on how young you feel and how young you present yourself.  I like to think that I am a young 47 year old...I'm in the best physical shape of my life, I'm pretty "in" when it comes to music, fashion, etc., and I'm slightly more prone to taking chances than a lot of my peers.

Taking chances is something that I think is something that separates being young and old.  Younger people tend to take more chances in life than the rest of us, and by taking chances I'm talking about doing something out of the ordinary, spur of the moment, a little crazy.  I'm sure anyone reading this can remember a time or two in your life when you did something so crazy that you would never entertain doing now.  These times serve as good memories and are the essence of living.

The chances I take are not like those that young people take because, well for one thing, my experiences in life tell me that going to an all-nite rave and taking drugs up the wazoo is probably not the best decision I could make. But I do still take chances in my life that are a lot less severe than the ones I took when I was younger.  Things like clubbing, going into the city, taking trips on my own, things like that, these are the chances I take in life...trying to keep myself out there.

Many of my friends don't do these things as often...some of them are settled down with partners, and the single ones have "played this game already."  So maybe that's why I feel young, because of my situation.  I'm almost five years into being single and forty-something and I'm still trying to sell some of those unused oats, I dunno.

Still, in a lot of ways I am still forty-something.  Getting older is something none of us can prevent, and though many try their darndest to prolong that as long as possible, I cannot afford Botox or plastic surgery so a little face cream and exercise is all I've got.  I'm not as prone to staying out as late as I did even just a year ago, keeping in shape takes more work than it did before, hair falls out where I want it and grows where I don't, and the aches and pains of forty-seven years slow me down sometimes...but I still consider myself young.

As I live through the rest of the days of this life, however long that may be, I want to stay as young as I can.  I can't stop the physical realm of aging, of course, gravity and time takes care of that, but when I'm 50, 60 or even 70 years old, I still want to get out on that dance floor like everybody's watching, and I still want to feel the wind in my face and the butterflies in my stomach as I navigate the hills of the tallest of roller coasters.  I want to experience as much as I can from life, as long as I am able to.  That's what youth is, to me anyway.

Image Source: i-must-b-butter-bc-im-on-a-roll

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U is for Umbrellas, Unibrows, Underwear and so many other Unique things...

Ugh, this was a tough one to begin with, and then it got even tougher! Today is the 21st day of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, the letter “U.” Usually (ha, a “U” word!), I already have something in mind, topic-wise, heading into the day, but with this one I was shooting blanks. I decided to put the word out on Facebook and now I’ve got so many “U” words to choose from, it’s hard to decide. I guess if I’d of thought of them beforehand, I would have been sure to come up with some of these:

Unusual, urban, undies, ukuleles, Uganda, Underdog, uber-anything, unbearable, unacceptable, useless, Utah, Underoos, underpants, underwear, upcycling, unique, underestimate, United States, unhinged, unimportant, unibrow, uneasy, upholstery, ugly sweaters, upscale apartments, urban development, ulcers, ushers, usage, users, Umbrella Ella Ella, under the stars, underdogs, unbelievable, useful, uninteresting, unique news of the day, unicorns, united, upbeat, underbelly of society, ulterior, urine, uptown, unnecessary, unconditional, undercover, ultimate, ulcer, unanimous, unattractive, unisex, unions, underground, uniforms, unpredictable, ursa major/minor, umpire, Uncle Tom, unchanging, unbalanced. 

Umbrella, Ella Ella...

Wow, right? Who's have realized there were so many "U" words?  Some of these are definitely workable, like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (Ella, Ella, lol). "When the sun shines, we'll shine together..."

 

Unibrows

Another “U” word that popped out at me was one that made me chuckle: unibrow.  Oh, I think we all know what a unibrow is, don’t we?  Wikipedia describes a unibrow as a “confluence of eyebrows,” …appearing to “converge to form one long eyebrow.”  Luckily, this is not one of the unfortunate physical characteristics I was cursed with, but for those suffering from it, it is a relatively easy thing to contain with a pair of tweezers or some hot wax.  Ouch! 

When I first saw that one posted on FB, I immediately thought of the Austin Powers character that Frau Farbissina, who’d met her androgynous “Unibrow” lover at the LPGA Tour.

Ooh, and when I was looking for that picture, I found some other disturbing unibrows.  On second thought,maybe it IS that bad, lol.

Ewwwww!!!!!

Underwear

The one “U” word that came up the most times by far, in one form or another, was underwear.  Yes, underwear is something that the great majority of us come in, um, contact with every single day.  Underwear is such a vast topic in and of itself I could probably write a whole book on all of the varieties, uses and history of it.  

Underwear is sexy

Underwear is warm

And some underwear is just plain fun!

Unique

Probably my favorite “U” word of the day is unique.  One of my old pals Willie suggested this one, and added a later comment to the thread that said, “I feel we are all unique.  Right?”  That’s totally correct my friend, and unique is what makes all of us special in our own little ways.  I’ve never been a fan of the cookie cutter/bandwagon type of ideal that many of us tend to be attracted to sometimes.  I always try to do my own thing and I think that’s how we all should live our lives.

Though I’m not a believer in any specific religious doctrine, I do believe in a higher power and I do believe that each of us has been given our own little talents and idiosyncrasies that make up who we are, and who we are is beautiful. 

Another friend of mine, Diane, suggested I write about the “U” word “uplifting,” because I “always seem to be.”  I take that as a complement and a nod to my own uniqueness in the world.  I’ve long-since recognized that one of my talents is the gift of lifting people up, and I always try to approach every interaction with the desire for the other person to walk away from it with a smile or even just a good feeling, and I get to do that every day in my classroom, through my writing, on Facebook and Twitter, and just about everywhere else. 

So, embrace the things that make you unique, whether it’s in the way you dress, the way you interact with others, or the things you do in your daily life.  “Unique” and “special” are synonymous, and we should all be celebrating the things that make us, us!  Hey, another “U” word!

Special thanks to my friends Lori, Marianne, Crystal, Ted, Donald, Willie, Darlene, Lisa, Amy, Lisa, Jolie, Diane, Anna, Theresa, Lady Samantha, and my sister Ann Marie for giving me such wonderful “U” words. 

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Song of the Day - Hymn of the Big Wheel - Massive Attack

The big wheel keeps on turning 

On a simple line day by day 

The earth spins on its axis 

One man struggle while another relaxes

Today is the holiest day of the year for Christians, and even though I am not a religious person, I wanted to tone it down a bit today out of respect for the holiday. Though I am not religious, I do consider myself a spiritual person, and I believe that there is a higher power and I believe that higher power would want us all to put some goodness forth. I believe that goodness begets goodness and I am constantly tormented by all the injustice I see in the world. That being said, this song speaks to that notion.

The "Hymn of the Big Wheel" is such a peaceful and thought-provoking song. To me it's a perfect song for the day. Whether you're a believer of any religious doctrine or not, I think that we can all agree that we need to take better care of our world, and each other, regardless.

It's a beautiful spring day out there and lots of people will be celebrating. Now go out there and spread some love...Happy Easter!

 

Hymn of the Big Wheel 

The big wheel keeps on turning 

On a simple line day by day 

The earth spins on its axis 

One man struggle while another relaxes 

There's a hole in my soul like a cavity 

Seems like the world is out to gather just by gravity 

The wheel keeps turning the sky's rearranging 

Look my son the weather is changing 

I'd like to feel that you could be free 

Look up at the blue skies beneath a new tree 

Sometime again 

You'll turn green and the sea turns red 

My son I said the power of axis over my head 

The big wheel keeps on turning 

On a simple line day by day 

The earth spins on its axis 

One man struggle while another relaxes 

We sang about the sun and danced among the trees 

And we listened to the whisper of the city on the breeze 

Will you cry in the most in a lead-free zone 

Down within the shadows where the factories drone 

On the surface of the wheel they build another town 

And so the green come tumbling down 

Yes close your eyes and hold me tight 

And i'll show you sunset sometime again 

The big wheel keeps on turning 

On a simple line day by day 

The earth spins on its axis 

One man struggle while another relaxes 

As a child's silent prayer my hope hides in disguise 

While satellites and cameras watch from the skies 

An acid drop of rain recycled from the sea 

It washed away my shadow burnt a hole in me 

And all the king's men cannot put it back again 

But the ghetto sun will nurture life 

And mend my soul sometime again 

The big wheel keeps on turning 

On a simple line day by day 

The earth spins on its axis 

One man struggle while another relaxes

Lyrics provided by AZ Lyrics

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Banks and Credit Cards: A Case Study in Supporting Occupy Wall Street

Oh, this is a piece I’ve been waiting to post for a week now. It’s meant as a companion piece to an article I wrote for Yahoo Voices, and I didn’t want to write it until that one was published. One of the reasons I love this blog is because I have more freedom to write here what I can’t write elsewhere. Last Saturday I decided to take a close look at my finances and I discovered something that really pissed me off. I couldn’t share as much as I’m going to share here on Yahoo because ever since they’ve changed their manner of accepting articles, I’ve stayed away from the personal, but here I don’t have to hold back any punches (well, maybe a few!).

Me and Banks

My first bona fide career was in the banking industry. I worked in banks for more than 15 years, most of them with Citibank. I worked as a teller, a customer service rep, an operations manager and a credit specialist, and around the year 2000 I realized that the reasons I liked working for a bank had no longer existed.

Where I first saw myself as one who helped people solve their financial problems, I eventually found myself being made into selling people products they didn’t necessarily need. Selling product above all else became my only priority. Customer service issues had to be pushed off to the phones in the branch, and I found myself having to simply shrug my shoulders when longtime clients expressed their displeasure with the new way of doing things. I became miserable and finally quit. (Take a look at my story: Changing Careers.)

Having spent so much time working for a bank, I feel I’m more knowledgeable about financial institutions than the average person. I monitor my finances daily, and I know where to look for the real deal when it comes to financial statements. I try to make the best decisions when it comes to financial matters, but sometimes I neglect to take an even closer look at things and I get burned.

Nefarious Financial Institutions!

I am a person who is in conformity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, and much of what they’re fighting against I wholeheartedly agree with. Corporations have an unfair advantage over the individual person in that they’ve got plenty of bucks that buy the ears of the people who make laws. If there is anyone out there who cannot see that these huge conglomerates get away with plenty, and all at our expense, is simply living on another planet.

Banks make up a big part of that nefarious relationship between government and corporation and evidence of how their relationship harms us is everywhere. The incredibly (and purposefully!) confusing small print that is found on nearly every piece of mail from a financial institution lays out rules you’d need a college degree to understand. Hidden fees found through credit and debit card usage cost us more money without us even realizing it (Have you tried using your debit card at a gas station lately?). ATM fees, monthly banking charges, and unfair rules all work to our detriment, too, but probably one of the most common methods of ripping us off is the process by which banks decide to raise and charge interest rates on revolving credit.

Back to My Story…

Now that you know my banking background and my feeling towards banks, I have to preface this story by saying that like most Americans I have debt. Over the years I’ve had to use credit cards for emergencies, and I’ve used them simply to buy things I know now I probably shouldn’t have bought. I try my best to keep up with my bills and pay them down as quickly as I can now that I’m experienced and smarter, and I no longer use credit cards for purchases. With that said, I pay all of my bills on time and I’ve managed to keep my credit score in the mid to high 700’s, which should by all accounts earn me the privilege of getting lower interest rates. Not so much!

Last week, when I was looking over my financial statements, I decided to take a look at my Citibank credit card statement, rather than the summary that appears on my online banking page. A few months ago I had finally succumbed to “saving a tree” by going online with my statements. Unfortunately that caused me to stop looking at the actual statement, which was a bad move!

Shock and Awe

Upon opening the credit card statement for my Citibank MasterCard, I was greeted with a horrifying surprise. Apparently, I’ve been paying an interest rate of 28.25% for who knows how long! The last time I’d gotten a paper statement, sometime last summer, I was paying only 13.99%. Why the raise?

I immediately picked up the phone and called Citibank, and I was fuming. The dude that answered the phone (after a million “for this press that’s”) was named Ahmad or something like that. Of course I was calling India, where the pay is cheaper.
Ahmad could not for the life of him figure out when or why my rate was raised, and to such a high rate. “You have been with us for a very long time and you’ve always paid on time.” He was telling me something I already knew. He put me on hold to see what he could do, and voila, he lowered my rate, effective immediately, to 9.99%.

“That would be great,” I told him and thanked him, but there was another, even more disgusting problem I’d discovered on my credit card statement. You see, I have a part time position as a mystery shopper, and last August I shopped a bank. The assignment was to take a cash advance on my credit card from a teller and rate the service. I took out $100 on my card, which I immediately paid back upon returning home that very day.

When I had looked at my statement, I also noticed that I had a cash advance balance, which was also being charged at 28.25%. That balance, as of last Saturday, was $91 and change! Only nine dollars had come off of that higher rate balance since last August, even though I pay about $150 a month on that card. Tell me that’s right? It’s absolutely disgusting!

Ahmad took care of that problem, as well, but the whole experience soured me to no end. Even as a person who likes to think of himself as being on top of his financial affairs can still be duped by a bank unless he absolutely goes over his statements with a fine tooth comb every month. Banks depend on people not paying attention. That way they can’t get caught when they rob us blind. And the government does nothing to help poor little us.

Occupy Wall Street

This story provided me with a valuable lesson, and hopefully anyone reading this will take heed what can happen to you if carry a credit card. Keep your eyes open because only you can help yourself these days. This whole episode is but a tiny part of what the Wall Street protesters are complaining about, and the people out there who’ve criticized them to no end do not believe in the American principle of power in the hands of the people. If that were only true, then there wouldn’t be so many people wandering around broke like me!

I don’t know how this movement will play out. Obviously coverage on it has diminished and thereby so has our attention. But they’re still out there, and I vow to do my part to help verify their cause through real stories that back up all of their gripes, because they’re all valid. In the meantime, I know it seems like there’s nothing any of us can do to change the state we find ourselves in. Yes, it’s a huge hill to climb, but as long as you pay attention and make your voice heard, then maybe others will follow and somehow, some way, we just might eventually get a fairer playing field.

Check out my Yahoo piece here:

Consumers Should Scrutinize Credit Card Statements to Protect Themselves


Image Source: Econ Matters

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Writing Wednesday

This is the busiest time of the year for me as a teacher as I prepare for state tests, do some final planning, and tons of other stuff, so I haven't really had a lot of time for writing. Once again, most of the things I've written this week have been right here on John's World, with the exception of one piece for Examiner. Take a look:


The Old Bunk House

The New Bunk House

Last Saturday, the newest incarnation of a Long Island mainstay, The Bunk House, held its Grand Opening Gala. I was on hand to check out the new digs and I wrote about it from two perspectives, on Examiner as a straight-up review, and here for a more personal view of the night. Check out:

The all-new Bunk House: A great start for a new Saturday night dance party on LI

Grand Opening Gala at the new Bunk House




Who is Joseph Kony?

Last week there was a viral video going around about this dude in Uganda that makes Saddam Hussein look like a pussycat. The video is part of a campaign to make people aware of just who Joseph Kony is in the hopes that finally someone will do something about him and call for his capture. If you're going to read any of the pieces in this post, make it this one!

Doing Something - Do You Know Who Joseph Kony Is?



Fat Cats

I always knew, but this week I was zapped into reality that my two kitties, Dylan and Diego must lose some weight. I always thought it was kind of cute how tubby they were, but really it is a serious health issue.

A Weighty Problem: Fat Cats

So Called Friends

Go On, Be Mad: It's Your Problem, Not Mine

This was a piece I wrote earlier today. It's somewhat of a rant against certain people in my life, past and present, who, for whatever reason, have decided to either stop talking to me or just keep their distance. I wanted them to know that I've realized that this is no longer a problem for me and it is their loss if they choose to continue to act like this. None of them will probably read it, but at least if felt good to get it off my chest!

Music



M.D.N.A.

With Madonna's new album coming very soon, I wanted to share much of the buzz going on about it, all in one place, including some very glowing reviews!

M.D.N.A.: Fast, Furious, and Glowing!

Music Shorts

In addition to these items, I posted several short items centered on, what else, music. Last Friday was the 15th Anniversary of the death of The Notorious B.I.G. and I posted one of his most favored songs in tribute. Check out "Hypnotize."

Kelly Clarkson covers P!nk

Kelly Clarkson recently covered P!nk's "F**king Perfect" at a recent concert in an awesome rendition.

In other music news, it looks like there's going to be another Madonnathon on Aprill 1st somewhere in NYC. I just caught a quick link on Madonna's World and shared the teaser here. Also, fabulous Brit boy band The Wanted finally announced yesterday that they will be releasing an album especially put together for distribution here in the U.S. Check out the new album cover for their self-titled U.S. debut here.



Well, that's all she wrote for this week. I hope to get some things out on Examiner and Yahoo Voices in the coming week, as well as a piece for Gather, so stay tuned....lots of things in the cooker! Have a great week!

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Doing Something - Do You Know Who Joseph Kony Is?

On February 27th, I posted a Macy Gray video as Song of the Day. The song is called "Do Something," and that is the purpose of this post. You see, the video below was sent to me a couple of days ago, and though much longer than the average attention span of most at 30 minutes in length, it is well worth watching. It has nothing to do with Madonna or Rihanna or any roller coaster, but the message is an important one, one with which we can all "do something."



Before I saw this video, I had never heard of Joseph Kony, and I'm pretty sure most of you haven't either. I will let the video speak for itself...again, it is worth the time spent to watch...but I will tell you that Joseph Kony is one bad man! He commits acts that would make our hairs stand on end if they were perpetrated here in the United States.

Kony is the leader of a guerilla group called the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, in the African country of Uganda. Since the mid-1980's he has committed atrocities, many involving the abduction and exploitation of children as soldiers and sex slaves. His group has been responsible for a more than 20-year nightmare for the people of Uganda and its neighboring countries of The Republic of the Congo, Sudan and South Sudan, yet we've never heard of him...until now.

You see, Uganda is not a source of oil, or anything else that we as a country would be interested in protecting for our own purposes. Little has been done by the international community on behalf of the Ugandan people. Kony is far more dangerous to his people than Saddam Hussein ever was, yet there has been very little done by us to help his people.

T.R.I. is an organization dedicated to raising awareness of Kony in the hopes of his eventual capture and the salvation of the "Invisible Children" who have been atrociously victimized by his unrelenting thirst for blood. They've got a plan to help, and they've already received some noteworthy attention, but they need more. Rather than reiterate what is in the video and on their website, I simply pass on their message below in the hopes that even more people will see it and do something. Please watch!



Please check out Invisible Children to learn more.

Thanks D!

Image Source: The Star

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February 15th, 2012 - Writing Wednesday

It's hard to believe it, but Writing Wednesday is here already and all I've got this week is stuff from John's World. Here's a recap of some of this week's top stories:



Whitney Houston

Several big things have happened this week, most notably the tragic death of singer Whitney Houston. The story broke out early Saturday night and my first reaction was to do an impromptu tribute featuring one of my favorite Whitney songs...

If tomorrow is judgement day
And I'm standin' on the front line
And the Lord ask me what I did with my life
I will say I spent it with you

R.I.P. Whitney Houston "My Love Is Your Love"

Of course, I couldn't let the death of such an important person in my music world go with just a single song and a note. Like many others, Whitney Houston will forever be a part of the soundtrack of my life and I just had to pay some sort of tribute to the gifted songstress who touched many with her words and her voice. Check out Memories and Songs of Whitney Houston.

Along with all of the tributes and news coverage of Whitney's death came an ugly story that I first read on Monday and had to share. It's really hard to believe, and sad too, that such disgusting racism still exists among us. A Fox News' report of the death of Whitney Houston elicited upwards of 4,000 comments on their Facebook page, and many of the comments are appalling, to say the least. I'm ashamed to call some of these people Americans. Check out the story below:

Fox Viewers Show Their True Colors with Ugly Diatribes Against Whitney Houston

The Grammy's

The other big story this week, of course, was the 54th Annual Grammy Awards show that aired on Sunday night. The show had its' moments, with superb performances by Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, David Guetta, and a heartfelt rendition of "I Will Always Love You" by Jennifer Hudson. Nicki Minaj raised quite a few eyebrows with her, um, strange performance, too, but the big story of the night was Miss Adele.



MJB Pulling for Adele at 54th Annual Grammy Awards

On the day of the show, I read a piece online that one of my favorite singers, Mary J Blige, was a big fan of Adele and that she was hoping for a six-Grammy sweep by the British phenom, which is of course what happened. Adele was simply adorable at the Grammy's, beautiful, gracious, and super endearing all at once. Her down-to-earth persona is a big part of what makes this very talented so special, and Mary wasn't the only one, I'm sure, who was happy for her big sweep.

In the show's after-buzz, the singer's people announced that she had decided on the newest single from the Album of the Year, "21," a more upbeat "Rumor Has It." Read on...

"Rumour Has It" to be Adele's next single

A Rant for the Week

There was a story buzzing the other day about Madonna's Super Bowl performance that got my juices flowing. During the performance of "Gimme All Your Luvin," rapper M.I.A. flipped the bird, which was caught on camera. Yahoo ran a story days after speculating whether or not the NFL would take action against the British born star. To me, the story was just another example of irresponsible sensationalism that only works to fuel outrage at the incident, which beforehand had been relatively obscure.

The story reminded me of another Super Bowl performance incident that actually worked to dismantle the highly successful career of one Janet Jackson, and I just had to say something about it:

Fingers and Birds, Nipples and Careers: WTF?

I haven't seen any other news stories on the web since this one appeared, which I hope is a sign of the story fading. Should I see or hear anything further on it, you will surely hear about it here...



Filed Under "Other"

What Happened to Macaulay Culkin?

British online magazine The Sun ran a story on "Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin, who was photographed in NYC late last week looking simply awful. In response to the story, Mac said that he was doing just fine, but judging from the picture, he doesn't look well!

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