A brief thought about the conservative movement

I think a lot about all the planning and effort the conservative movement has put into opposing abortion access and opposing any gun regulation over decades, and how if they had put even a fraction of that instead toward getting therapy for themselves we all would be far better off now.

Our purple nation

When people in the media refer to "purple states"—those where the populace falls between being mostly a (conservative) "red" state or mostly a (liberal) "blue" state, that clearly is thinking in terms of dyes, where red and blue make purple.

However, on the spectrum of light waves, obviously purple (violet) is nearer to blue than to red, and is not between those two colors.

Politicos prefer textile analogies over science.

Prep time for Alaska

I merely hope when inevitably the current president allows Russia to annex Alaska (because, as you know, it was once part of their country... 150 years ago) that he gives enough notice to Sarah Palin so she has time to learn the Cyrillic alphabet (because, as you know, she's not exactly a quick study).

(You thought I was going to make a joke about how it will be much easier to see Russia from her house, but that seemed a bit too obvious.)

Walk-reading

On the walk to the station one evening I found myself briefly behind a young woman proceeding at a slower pace and her head pointed toward something in her hand. Oh great, I thought, another smart phone shuffler, not looking where she's going and enrapt in whatever email or text cannot wait.

However, when the opportunity to get around her presented itself and I stepped up beside her I discovered her hands held not a phone but an actual book.

The quaint nature of her old school distraction made my slight delay while stuck behind her somewhat less annoying for no reason other than it being unexpected.

I guess there's something to be said for novelty in one's inconsiderate behavior.

No more heroes

The clear inclination to dig up dirt and air everyone's dirty laundry of the internet age (combined with the oversharing potential social media offers) will eventually render no one to be admirable in even the slightest way.

That may not be an altogether bad thing.

Discuss.

Homophone trifecta

If there were a sous chef named Sue who was Sioux that would hit the homophone trifecta. But if Sue got sued that would be too much.

And if Sue were a male it would be mostly a Johnny Cash song.

(Surely this is sui generis. No other species must have such thoughts.)

Life skills

Perhaps the single-most important skill one can develop in life is the ability to put up with the idiocy of others.

Concert shirts

There are moments when I wish I could go back in time 25 years and tell my young adult self that when I go to concerts to buy two of the t-shirts—one for immediate wear and the other to pack away in a box to pull out 25 years later.

Oh, and make sure the second one is XL.

"See" you later

When people on TV sign off by saying "See you tomorrow" (or "next week" or whatever time period applies), it makes me wonder if they understand how cameras work. Then I wonder if they have some ties with the NSA we haven't learned about yet.

IS IT A CODED WARNING?!

Blink once for "yes," twice for "no"...

Paint It [comma] Black

The Rolling Stones' "Paint It, Black" has that punctuation not because the band intended it but because the label made a typo back at the time of its release. And it continues to be listed that way on their albums to this day.

Proofreading is important.

Regret

The people who wish they spent more time with their families are the people whose work takes up the majority of their time; people who spend a reasonable amount of time with their families are plenty satisfied with that amount.

People who spend too much time with their families wish they had more demanding jobs.

There is a balance to be struck even in the best of circumstances.

Propped in the mail

It's good that the proponents and opponents of the various ballot measures keep sending more stuff in the mail each day; I might have forgotten what the thing they sent yesterday said.

Stereo-typing

The sad reality is, in the eyes of others, every minute of every day we are all, on some level, representing some perceived group based on the way we look or the thing we're doing or some other means of being observed.

All of the time we are undoubtedly fucking it up for others with whom we share some ostensible quality, without even realizing.

How to never fail

Even if you don't succeed in achieving your intended goal you've only truly failed if you didn't at least get a good story out of the experience.

Protecting Americans

There's a greater chance you'll be killed by a driver who's texting behind the wheel than by a terrorist. So when do the drone attacks against distracted motorists begin?

Special interest

The difference between special interests and the common good is this:  Whatever you don't agree with is "special interest" and whatever you do agree with is the "common good."

Glad we've got that cleared up.

"Carmageddon" shows how LA freeways work

Although the closure of part of the 405 freeway (a.k.a., "Carmageddon") proved to be a non-event (and not the traffic disaster predicted by the media in the weeks leading up to this weekend), it did offer proof that the freeway system in Los Angeles can be an effective way to get around town--provided that everyone stays off of it.

Preparing for future nostalgia parties

When someone throws a '70s-themed party, a go-to costume involves something like bell bottom pants, a fringed leather vest, and gold medallion necklace.

Given the penchant for this sort of throwback to get people to dress up, it stands to reason that in decades to come people will throw parties where the theme is the second decade of the 21st century. For that, the go-to costume will be decorated shirts and pants in the Ed Hardy style.

We're already in the decade of the douchebag.

I imagine there'll be plenty such clothing available in the Goodwill stores at the time, so dressing appropriately for these future parties won't be difficult.

Iron-line-y

People who harbor the attitude summed up by the statement "If you don't perceive the world exactly the way I do then you suck" really should steer clear of most of the internet.

And yet that's who is most attracted to it.

Jesus was way cool

Jesus is so humble that when it comes to the two biggest holidays in His honor He can sit back and say, "No, let the rabbit and the guy with the reindeer get the spotlight." He doesn't need it to be all about Him.

Now that's the sort of quality that is worth basing a whole religion on.