Sunday, March 28, 2010

I only know that I can change, everything else just stays the same...

The more difficult changes in life can sometimes, in the end, lead to better times. Certainly we can learn from them. It seems like every time I ever tried to make a change for the better something happened to push me back. I would have to work twice as hard just to get back up to where I started.

I started 2009 with big plans. I wanted to make some big changes and start to really turn things around. Sure, in years past I felt the same way but that was the year I was truly going to push for it. Of course, things did not go as planned. When I say started the year I mean Jan 1. I believe it was Jan 9., a mere 8 days later, when the company I worked for notified us they were shuttering our plant. A number of my co-workers were out that day.

That pretty well killed my plans for the year. I couldn't work toward my goals because I had no idea how long I would be out of work, where I would be, etc... As it turned out I was there to the very end, mid april. I was lucky to only be out of work about a month before starting a new job. Same industry. Things were tight for a few months until I moved up to basically the same position I held at the old job. Here, though, it is a better job with better benefits.

As I look around at my co-workers and people in my little social groups I see qualities that irritate me. Some are simple quirks, while others are more substantial character flaws. I have learned to be much more tolerant over the years. That is a really good thing as I find myself censoring myself less and less the older I get. I can be pretty open with my thoughts and opinions at times.

I have also learned to observe some of these same qualities that annoy me so...in myself. Some things to work on.

I had hoped to make some changes in my personal life as well but that fell short. I have dated here and there but few have lasted long. One went on for a year and a half before things started to go south. To date (a year later) I am not really sure where we stand, a very odd situation indeed. Anyway, I am not really sure where I want to take things now.
Perhaps I need to stay out of the mix for a while. It seems like I spent too much effort trying to move things along and missed a lot of opportunities.

This year, no plans. I want to try to spend time meeting different people and doing different things. I need to spend more time on the bike. In the end it comes down to simplicity. The hard part is going to be the will power, ambition and motivation to make the necessary improvements.

If I am ever going to be truly happy it will not come from getting what I want. It will only come from learning to be satisfied with what I have.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Look what they've done to my song, Ma...

MTV. It seems that at first mention of it the only thing that most people I know can say is to copmplain that they "don't play music videos anymore". First of all, if they want to see the videos they might want to change their schedule. I have seen videos on MTV, just not in prime time. Besides, if you want to see videos, there are other channels that show them. MTV has simply evolved to the demands of their market, or maybe devolved.

My issue with MTV is less superficial. I believe MTV has done more harm to music as a whole than any other influence in our society. Before MTV, the music was the product. It didn't matter the appearance of the artist so much as their talent. Not so today. With the music video came the artist as an image. Style now comes before substance.

It didn't start this way. The early videos were commercials for the music. They starred existing artists and were built around the music. Some of those videos were very creative. Some were basically short films with an artistic value all their own, still with the music at heart.

Soon, however, the 'artist' became the commodity. The video producers and performers became lazy and just started showing concert footage. Eventually the stars became more interested in the image they were putting out. Why are gold teeth, 22 inch wheels and pants virtually falling down with every step popular? It certainly isn't due to convenience or any functional value. It is simple idol worship.

Way back when, when I was is high school, the only people who tried to emulate the styles of their favorite musicians were the punk rock fans. How ironic that the kids who would claim to favor anarchy and individuality were the most eager conformists. Especially since they would be rallying against just that.

Sure there were some bad trends in those days coming from popular artists. There were some of the girls who dressed in the style of Madonna. I don't recall anyone dressing like Devo or Huey Lewis though. Worse, not only the clothing is copied but the kids try to emulate the attitudes they see on the videos. I see it in the younger guys in the workplace. One would hope that by the time a man is in his twenties he might grow up a little,but I know a few who are well into their second decade and are still trying to pull off the Hip-Hop thug persona. Do they hope to ever gain any real respect from anyone other than their thug buddies?

There are still a few true artists still out there producing but the industry has gotten lazy. Why go out looking for talent when it is easier to just pick up some kid off the street and throw together some standard loops, steal some samples and sell it as a hit. It is a shame really. I have seen many very talented bands struggle and fail to get a contract. They had something to say and some real musical talent but couldn't get a foot in the door.

It isn't just the recording industry doing this either. MTV moved on to destroying the quality of TV programming when they came up with the Real World series. No writing, no actors, low production costs (and corresponding production value). The networks soon discovered how lucrative it was to throw some of this schlock together to fill airtime. They are just soap operas without a plot.

The major studios are just as lazy. They have become addicted to remakes of old movies, old TV shows and making movies from comic books and even old cartoons. "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and Dudley Doright" were entertaining shows for kids but didn't translate well to live action silver screen events. Hollywood is simply running out of ideas. Some of the superhero films work well because they have a well-developed story line.

Maybe the worst thing to come out of all of this is itself an old story being retold. As long as there have been sports, especially professional sports, there have been idols. Fans around the world live vicariously through them, somehow feeling their lives enriched by their team or athlete winning a big contest. It seems odd to hear an unfit middle-ager say "We're going to the Superbowl!" What position was HE playing? A lot of people seem to get into the reality tv shows with a similar zeal.

I am certainly guilty of this to some degree. I definitely watch too much TV. I don't really get much out of it other than as a siple diversion. Maybe that is why I find it less and less interesting as time goes on. I really need to find the off switch....

ME

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Flying Rats!!!

Canadian geese. They're everywhere, literally. You can look at any sidewalk, playground or parking lot to see the evidence. Not only are they annoying but there have to be some sort of health hazards as well. I find it especially annoying that a pair of them seems to think I need to be awakened at 8:00 every morning.

One day, a few weeks ago, I saw some movement outside my window. On my second-floor balcony a goose was trying to perch on the railing. Apparently this fowl did not realize webbed feet are not particularly well suited for that sort of activity. I pounded on the window with a fist to scare it off.

Some days later I discovered some droppings on my balcony. I do not know what they find interesting there but I find it very irritating. Again last week that lousy bird was on my railing. This time I gave it a blast from a hand-held airhorn, the sort you find people at sports arenas using to deafen the other spectators. It flew off again.

I started looking for more effective deterrents. I heard the suggestion of a bb gun. I like that idea but am concerned about the potential legal fallout. Someone else offered the idea of the paintball gun. I love that idea but decided I don't want to spend that much money on something I will not likely use otherwise. I thought about something on the order of a pepper spray but to be effective I would have to hit it's face and it doesn't seem to be very easy to aim at small targets that move.

I settled on a super-soaker. That is something with a decent range and will not do any harm. I suspect it would be effective for scaring the bird away. They may be waterfowl but that is not something to which they are accustomed.

I believe we need a change in the laws. They are protected because they are migratory birds. I guess someone stopped teaching the geese that they are supposed to travel. They stay here year round. They have no natural enemies and no predators, apart from the occasional Buick.

Eventually, there will have to be a change in policy. As their population continues to grow issues are sure to appear. Every housing devlopement built has to have a lake, retention pond or other water feature that serves to attract these vermin. More people around more geese will bring more conflict. Geese have been known to attack people, usually in the vicinity of their nests. In an apartment complex with children running around that could be a serious problem. Add to that the health hazards of the droppings that they leave everywhere and I expect there will eventually be a call for action.

Besides, with so many people out of work it seems a shame to let all of that free food go right along prospering with impunity, right in front of many people who have nothing to eat...

ME

Friday, March 5, 2010

Mein Kampf

Over the years I have read a variety of books. Some novels, fiction, humor, autobiography, etc... One I found to be very interesting was "The Masked Rider". It was written by Rush's drummer, an avid cyclist, as an account of his bicycle tour of West Africa.

I started reading a number of others and somehow set them aside. I plan to return to them at some point in time. I am just not motivated right now. Don Quixote, The Reagan Diaries, a few others I can't recall right now and Mein Kampf.

What I read of Mein Kampf was pretty dull really. I was bored by it but would like to finish it. For those unfamiliar, Mein Kampf was written by Adolph Hitler long before he became the Fuhrer. Yes I did shave my head once or twice in the past but NO, I am not a Skinhead. I simply think it might be interesting to read about what makes a person like that tick.

I suppose it is true, though, that most who read that book are of the racist sort. There are likely a few reasons for this. Most people like to validate their beliefs by associating themselves with people of similar beliefs. They also may be looking for added justifications for their hatred.

Most people will not read a book like this. Many are afraid of it. They fear they will be affected by it or be labeled by those who see them reading it. But should you be worried about what you read? Of course it depends greatly on who the reader happens to be.

Since Hitler's book preaches hate, it would be unwise to set a child down with it to read without parental guidance. Children usually do not have the critical thinking skills necessary to read something like that without effect. Adults should be able to read it without ill effect, or am I giving people too much credit?

I don't care if people give me dirty looks for what I read. They do it anyway, might as well have a reason. I learned a long time ago that people will believe what they want to believe. My choices in literature can have little effect on that. If a stranger were to look at my bookshelves and try to pin down my character they would probably be pretty far off. Some of it is for the purpose of learning but much of it is purely for escape.

I have also, at times, thought it might be interesting to read a copy of a satanic bible. Perhaps it is my philosophic bent that is curious of this point of view. I doubt I would have the patience for reading a text of that sort. Since I have my own belief system pretty well set in I doubt it would hold my interest. The whole concept of worshiping evil seems so fundamentally flawed from the very start.

At any rate there are about 10 or so books sitting around here that I have begun and not finished. It has been a few years for some of them. Maybe I should pick one of them up and force myself to finish it.

Maybe, but I have a few more important things I need to do this year. Spending a lot of time reading would probably just get in the way. I do too much sitting around as it is. I might never finish these books.

So should I decide to shave my head again, and you see me out and about, don't be alarmed. I'm not joining any hate groups. It is simply a change of pace. When I did shave my head summer felt much cooler...

ME