See you suckers.

... and another damn thing

The following is the continuation of a rant begun on my Facebook page. Enjoy.

Or don't. See if I care.

Where was all this concern for the poor, oppressed people of Iran for the last 5 years? Since Khatami left office, they've been silenced, killed, imprisoned without cause, stolen from and starved out and now, I guess because it's on the news, people care about it. Where were you when this started? And you think adding links to your twitter pages and wearing green is actually doing something?

You're coming late to this fight.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has walked to power over the backs and the bodies of his own people. He tortures people... real torture, not American, C.I.A., waterboarding torture; torture from which you eventually just bleed to death. He has completely taken away any freedom of the press outside of government sponsored media and has imprisoned nearly 100 reporters and shut down nearly 100 newspapers. He represses protests and demonstrations against his policies with violence and he imprisons and executes minors as young as 13 years old. Now he's hurtling towards a nuclear weapon so that he can commit the same atrocities outside his own borders and on a much grander scale.

Then just a few years ago, when the BIG, BAD Republican President wanted to do something about this guy, he was shouted down from all corners and accused of everything from starting a third World War to political posturing and from imperialism to war crimes; and it seems to me that the people who are so "concerned" about the plight of Iran's poor, oppressed citizenry were the ones doing most of the shouting.

So I can't quite figure out why you all care about it so much now. Is it because it's on the news and you don't actually have to put forth any effort to learn about these things because you can have it spoon fed to you like everything else? Or is it because you're constantly looking for the next trend to latch onto that makes you feel smarter and more aware than you actually are? Because I can not bring myself to believe that it's because you actually, all of a sudden, care. If you care about the pursuit of justice, it is a full time commitment and an unrelenting principle. It can not bend and sway according to what your friends are doing or which presidential candidate you find attractive; and, in times when injustice does not make itself readily visible, it must be sought out in the darkest corners and brought to light. You can't wait until somebody puts it on the news.

People are being shot and beaten to death in the streets because they're protesting the fact that an election was STOLEN from the hands of their country's people and we had better get used to it. This is the kind of thing that happens when America is not strong. Russia rolls tanks into Georgia when America is not strong. North Korea lobs missiles toward Japan when America is not strong. We've elected, as president, a man at whom the aggressive leaders of the world thumb their noses because they know he won't stop them from doing exactly whatever it is they want. Because he believes we should live in a world where we can settle our differences with hugs and then we'll all go our separate ways and eat ice cream cones that never melt and ride unicorns that crap Skittles.

Well, good luck with it. But in the mean time, either care and be willing to do something about it, or don't and shut up.

Michael

Ok fine, Taylor was right, anyone with a blog is going to blog about this. So I'll join in, even if just to have a dissenting viewpoint and to add some perspective (which is what I do).

Michael Jackson died yesterday.

Big news, in the entertainment world, to be sure - NOT as big as the fact that North Korea is going to start lobbing missiles all over the Pacific any minute now and the fact that our government seems to care infinitely more about your car exhaust and getting worthless people free health care so the rest of us can suffer. But still, he's a significant cultural figure and I get why people feel attached to him.

I, on the other hand, do not feel attached to him.

Generally, when people like this (people whom I don't know, personally) die, I think "well that's too bad" or "I hate that for their family" or something to that effect. But, honestly, in this case, it's well documented that the Jackson family is SUCH a pack of out-of-control weirdos and the Jackson parents are such godawful rats of human beings that I have a hard time feeling sorry for them at all. All this means is that they're without a meal ticket, though I'm sure they'll milk this for all it's worth and for as long as they can.

I hope he got himself a bit more straightened out before he went, and 50 is too young to die, and yeah he was a talented guy in his day, and yeah he's often imitated and never duplicated and I get all that. But Michael Jackson has added nothing to my life past about the age of 8.

If anything his three kids (two of which are named "Prince Michael" by the way) will have SOME shot at normalcy without this guy around. At the end of it all, it's always a bit sad when someone dies, especially if there's some doubt about their eternity (and let me interject here that I don't mean to sit in judgment of a guy I never met and he, very well, may have had the proper relationship with the proper Messiah, and I hope that to be the case with EVERY OUNCE of my being. But we don't know, do we?) so on that level, yes it's sad.

It's not going to change even one minute of my day though. Except for the fact that I'll probably have Beat It stuck in my head all day.

Which is fine by me.

Catching Up

1. Brandi and I got to have lunch with our friend Roz yesterday. We went to Auburn with Roz and Roz is awesome, as is her baby. It had been way too long since I'd seen her and, though we all keep up with each other's blogs and such, it's nice to get together. We ate at Panera in the Summit and were, by the end of it, the loudest thing in the restaurant. This cat at the next table who was looking over a huge set of blueprints (seriously dude, you hauled a giant blueprint into Panera and are pouring over it at your tiny table with 120 people arms length away from you?) seemed to be getting really annoyed with us.

So screw that guy. We had fun.

2. We only have 5 softball games left. Two of them are going to be TOUGH. The other three we should win if we don't beat ourselves. This softball thing has been a blast.

3. The vegetables Brandi has been growing are coming right along. I have GOT to find time to get the raised bed garden finished. I have to either spend a billion dollars on dirt, or borrow a truck and drive out to Pell City to get some myself. I don't have the time or money to do either.

4. On the subject of trucks, I've been thinking more and more about trading in my car for a pickup. I don't know what kind I'd want, I do know that I won't buy a Ford on principle, and I do know that trucks are NOT cheap. So I haven't been in too big a hurry.

5. This has been a boring blog post. Sorry.

6. I miss LOST. A new Top Chef series started last night though. Top Chef Masters, where they have established, and even famous, chefs competing for charities. So I guess that'll fill my Wednesdays for a while. Last night's was really good and I'm going to have a bunch of new restaurants to try after it's over. I know Rick Bayless, one of my favorite chefs, from Chicago is on it at some point so I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

7. I don't know if I've mentioned it before now, but Brandi and I are going on a cruise to the Bahamas in July. My brother and his wife are coming too, so that should be a ton of fun. I've never been to the Bahamas before and I hope I get some time to wander around Nassau. I like exploring new cities (Chicago, Boston, NYC, Kiev) and I think if we can get off the beaten path a bit, an island port city could be a really interesting place in which to get lost.

8. Then right after that, like the next day, begins the St. Louis baseball trip. I need to start looking up bars and brew pubs to hit during the short time we're there. Schlafly tops the list right now. That's going to be a lot of driving and I'm sure I'll be absolutely exhausted but it'll be worth it.

9. Listening to a weird mix of music lately. The Devil Wears Prada, The Cool Kids, T.I., Have Heart, and Ruiner so far today. Probably hit some bluegrass next, maybe Ricky Skaggs.

10. I read today that Mickey Rourke is going to be the villain in the new Iron Man movie. So... you know... bring THAT crap on.

I have to get back to work now, I have so much more than I can do.

Millvina

So, I just read that the last, the very last, survivor of the R.M.S. Titanic passed away last night at the age of 97. Her name was Elizabeth Gladys Dean, but her friends called her Millvina.

This sort of thing is going to start happening with more and more frequency in the coming years. There are only a hand full of Holocaust survivors left out there, only a few men who were at Normandy. Only a few families who remember the Great Depression. It's a shame, because we don't hardly ever think about these things anymore anyway. We, as a culture, are already so narcissistic and stupid that we've basically relegated these people, who have seen and heard and experienced and loved and lost and felt and learned more about life and how to live it, and about the rawest, most basic human condition than we could hope to in 100 of our, modern lifetimes, to voice over interviews on the occasional documentary or commentary on Steven Spielburg's repackaged special edition DVDs.

Some of us should try to remedy this.

I want to learn more of my family's stories. I want to hear your families' stories. I should start annoying my friends with questions about their grandparents and great grandparents. Knowing these things about the people who came before us and taking the knowledge they built for us is what makes makes those of us who live here so lucky to be from Pinson, Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson, Geneva, Columbus, Colquitt, Canyon, and Cropwell. That, and the food.

And the music.

MY grandfather (who we called "Kee-Kaw", though I'm not overly sure why - I think it had something to do with me not being able to say "grandpa" or "pa-paw" or whatever they wanted it to be) used to be a lineman for Western Union. He traveled all over the place hanging and repairing wires that eventually became the framework for the modern telecommunications system in America. During the summers, because there was no school, my dad and his brother got to travel with him sometimes, and because of this my dad has been to all but a few states in the U.S.

Kee-Kaw helped bring a large communications company to Pell City when he was the St. Clair County Commisioner. It slips my mind which one, but whichever it was, it was a big, big deal back then. In a county like St. Clair, which is in east-central Alabama, a lot of people depend on the County Commision for a lot of things. There is a street named after him where that company's building is now, as well as the Board of Education's offices and a bunch of other businesses and offices.

He also was a chicken farmer, among a farmer of other things over the years - but mainly chickens. They grew for Goldkist for a while until Goldkist screwed them out of a bunch of money and then they grew for Tyson. I have never bought a piece of Goldkist chicken in my life and would stop eating chicken altogether if they were the only option.

If you took me out of the air-conditioned office I work in now and dropped me, today, into the middle of a chicken house and said "Here, run this chicken house." I could do it. Uncrating, water lines, feed, heaters (we had brooders for most of my time - heaters are better), temperature, Ph, soil, diseases, disposal, catching, crating them back up - I could do it. When I was a kid - and my brother will tell you this too - my job, from the time I was old enough to carry a bucket and count, was to pick up dead birds, empty them into the incinerator, and record the count on the house population sheet. Perhaps not valuable skills in my every day life, but it's comforting to know you can do these things if you have to.

Brandi's grandfather (on her dad's side - "Little PawPaw") was in the Navy. One evening, one of the first times I met them actually, I had mentioned that I had nearly gotten sick after eating an enormous meal at the Brick Oven Pizza Co. in Auburn and letting Brandi spin me violently on a tire swing. He said, not trying to make me feel bad - just innocently participating in the conversation, that he had "almost gotten sick on his first dive-bombing run"...

You want to feel like a big puff?

Mention almost getting sick on a tire swing, only to have a man draw the comparison to AN EFFING DIVE-BOMBER.

Her other grandfather (Big PawPaw, appropriately) was a fiddler. A good one. He played with Hank Williams and Moe Bandy and a load of other people we consider legends, but were just his buddies when they came through Alabama.

These people are fascinating. They're libraries.

It makes me wonder what stories we're going to have to tell our own grandkids to represent our generation. I imagine most people won't have any worth telling. I think we should try to make some. Because I fear we're a generation with its head in the sand, that has no idea how to make a, once great, country great again. Or even any real recollection of what that looks like.

Maybe if enough people try to live great lives and do great things and make great stories, we'll accidentally make a great nation. Then we can tell our kids, and theirs, some of the things we did; and maybe they'll care to hear about them.

Urf Day.

In honor of Earth Day, this morning, I filled up my 9-year-old SUV's tank with gas.

Screw you Earth!

Brandi's Blog

My awesome wifus has decided to take another run at keeping up a blog. Her brilliant, however infrequent, musings can be found here:

Insert Something Clever Here

Enjoy.

Addendum:

Also, one last thought. Over the weekend, Navy SEALs rescued a hostage from pirates. He was the captain of a merchant ship which was raided . He gave himself up as a hostage, in exchange for the release of his crew and was held, at gunpoint, in a lifeboat for several days.

In a display of one-shot-one-kill expertise, SEAL snipers dropped 3 pirates in 3 shots (all head shots) and they were able to extract the hostage. Pirates are terrorists and these guys got exactly what they deserved. I read last night that President Obama, personally gave authorization for the snipers to be used and I wanted to mention how great I think that is.

I'm sure the authorization of lethal force is not a lightweight decision and it's one that past Presidents have not had the stomach to make. I'm glad President Obama did. Well done Mr. President, well done SEALs, and well done Captain Phillips.

Easter weekend

I don't like Easter. I like what it represents, of course, but I hate going to church on Easter Sunday because it's always too crowded and it's always the same sermon in every church, every year. I didn't go to church Sunday because we had to run down to Montgomery because Brandi's cousin (who I absolutely love) was in a car accident. He was in an accident that should have been pretty catastrophic but he was pretty much fine, so that's amazing. He piled into a pine tree doing 50 or so miles-an-hour so it could have been just awful, but it wasn't. Unless you were that pine tree.

So we're all glad he's alright.

That was the last page of an absolutely exhausting weekend that I'm kind of glad is over. Either that or I wish I had 2 more days to regroup from my 3 day weekend.

Thursday morning, Tris and Eric had some baby or something. I don't really know much about it. I think his name is Sierra or something like that. Brandi half-lived at the hospital after that so I'm sure that was a help to them - I hope it was. I hope she didn't just get in the way all the time. So that ate up a lot of Thursday. Babies are selfish. Plus, Brandi and I worked on her freelance stuff well into the morning. In reality, his name is Reid. He's mega cute, not at all disgusting like most newborn babies (you know it's true). He was born on the opening day of Minor League Baseball's 2009 season, and the Birmingham Barons won in dramatic fashion that night, just for him.

Friday afternoon I went over to Atlanta with my brother to catch the Braves home opener. Eric couldn't go because he had a day old baby (or some flimsy excuse) and Brandi and I were supposed to spend the entire day over there and eat at a fun place and then go see the game but that fell through too because she had a giant freelance job that had to be finished. This was the most brutal sporting event I have ever attended. There was a 2-hour rain delay, which we rode out, and then, after all that they had the NERVE to go into extra innings. The Braves won, but I didn't get home til after 4:00 Saturday morning.

Incidently, I found my beat-up-old Braves hat and the Braves have not lost since I did. I'm not saying that's the reason, but it couldn't hurt. Also, that hat is 12-0 at Turner Field.

Saturday I had to get up and be at Student Life by 9 to shoot a video for Erin. That was fun - but I was WRECKED from the night before. I've never done anything like that before (had a character to play and had to actually "act" in front of a camera). It was a good time though, I hope I did ok. I have no real barometer with which to measure that sort of thing but I feel like it'll be pretty funny. I had to act like a total spaz/douchebag so we'll see.

Seems like we did something else on Saturday but I can't remember what. No, I do... we went up to the hospital and ate and watched the game on TV with Tris, Eric, and Ian (or whatever his name is).

Sunday is when the accident happened, so it was a down and back to the Capital, then some recreational softball with Brooks and Brandi. Then we went and saw Wicked.

The touring company of Wicked is in Birmingham for a couple of weeks. Let me just say that this is a great show. Really clever, really well done - in fact, we saw it on Broadway a couple of years ago and there was almost no discernible difference in this show and that one. They do a really great job. If you haven't seen Wicked, you should. I think it's here for another week or so and I'm sure you could get tickets. This is the kind of thing I really want people to support so we get more stuff like this coming through town. I hope it makes a pile of money so the next few shows that tour feel safe in coming here. Since seeing Wicked I've seen several musicals (Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, Spring Awakening) and I'm still, honestly, surprised at how much I like them. When we went and saw Wicked, I only really went because Brandi and Tris wanted to go so badly. I was not excited about it but it got me, for sure; and I think Wicked is still my favorite... Spring Awakening is right up there though, so I don't know. Anyway, try to go see Wicked while it's here. You'll like it, and it's good for the city.

Birmingham needs all the help it can get.

Well, that's my weekend. I have a super-busy week ahead of me so this may be it til next week unless something incredible happens. Hope this can tide you all over. I know you'll miss me.

Congrats, again to Eric and Tris on the birth of little Julio. Or whatever.

Compassion

This is Adrian, he lives in the Dominican Republic. He is our newest sponsored child through Compassion International. Several people in my blogroll have mentioned Compassion so I will as well, briefly. Compassion is among the most significant things Brandi and I do with our money on a monthly and yearly basis. It is an organization that is helping release children from poverty. Now, that statement doesn't mean a lot to me in, and of, itself because there are dozens, if not hundreds of organizations which claim to be doing the same thing. I am the first one to not trust such organizations but Compassion International is different in that they are truly doing it the right way and for the right reasons. They're introducing kids to a relationship with Christ first, THEN they're equipping them to function in the world. They let you track every single dime you send them so you know it's not being impropperly used, distributed, skimmed or embezzled; when you send one of your kids a birthday gift or a gift for their family, you get a photograph of him or her with whatever they bought with that gift. You'd be amazed what all they can get with such a small amount of money.

Like I said, Adrian is our newest kid. I picked him out because he likes baseball, in fact, he wants to be a baseball player. The DR is often called "The Republic of Baseball". They love it there and there's a lot of talented players that come off that little island (half-island).

We got our first letter from him yesterday and he said he "likes to eat meat and play ball."

Me too little guy, me too.

Do yourself a favor: https://www.compassion.com