Thursday, September 28, 2017

Graffiti

Like most sane people, I am not a fan of graffiti. Graffiti looks bad and, unless it's not dealt with swiftly, it can grow like a fungus. Thankfully, graffiti doesn't seem to be a huge problem like it was back in the 70s and 80s (at least not in any place where I've lived over the years). However, it still rears its ugly head from time to time. I'm taking weekly classes as part of my local citizens' police group and each week we have law enforcement speakers and representatives come and talk to the group about topics such as domestic violence, financial crimes, etc. During our class this week, a youth advocate rep talked to us about "restorative justice" programs that help wayward youth get back on the right track after they've gotten into trouble. Rather than throw these kids in a juvenile facility for misdemeanor crimes, they're given the chance to redeem themselves through group and family counseling. The youth services woman who spoke to our class talked about two 14-year-old boys who'd spray painted some graffiti on the wall of a condo building in town. Both went through this restorative justice program and, rather than having them do something constructive in reparation for their crime (like clean up the graffiti they caused), the youth services people decided it was better to let them attend art classes so they could use their "creativity" in a positive way. I sat there stunned by this. I don't care if one or both of these kids end up being the next Picasso, rewarding them with art classes after they've committed a crime is simply ridiculous. When kids or adults graffiti someone's property, they need to be held accountable and punished for that. This goes for famous graffiti artists like Banksy also. If you want to spray paint all over your own property, go right ahead. But when you do that to someone else's property, you need to be arrested. I really couldn't believe the 14-year-old "artists" didn't have the book thrown at them. I'm not saying the kids should have been locked up, but they should have been made to do some community service picking up trash or, as I said, cleaning the wall they covered in graffiti. No wonder so many kids are coddled and irresponsible. Ugh. (By the way, the picture below is NOT graffiti. The business owner approved this artwork on the building.)


Monday, September 25, 2017

Anne Murray Day

I listen to a lot of easy-listening music and I'm not ashamed of that. I find it soothing especially during stressful times like these when our Commander in Chief is going off the deep end yet again and stirring up trouble rather than doing his job (the one he was elected to do, but constantly fails to do because he's too busy Tweeting and talking smack). So, in an effort to block out the noise of Donny T. today, I put on some Anne Murray. I've been listening to Anne Murray since I was a child. When you grow up in Detroit and watch the CBC channel, you hear a lot of Canadian music (i.e. Anne Murray). When I lived and worked in Philadelphia, I remember I used to have Neil Diamond Days, days when I'd listen to Neil Diamond because I needed a break from the world. I recall one time a co-worker was just bugging the hell out of me about something and I told my cubicle neighbor that I was going to put my headphones on and listen to Neil Diamond in an effort to block out the noise of my annoying co-worker. So today was an Anne Murray Day. Tomorrow might be a James Taylor Day and the day after that might be a Bee Gees day.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Fly Commercial (Like the Rest of Us)

Since the news broke this week about Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price spending thousands on the government's dime to fly on private jets, I've been annoyed and outraged at yet another member of Donny T.'s administration living up to the mantra "do as I say, not as I do." Price himself has spoken about cutting costs in HHS yet he chooses to fly on private jets rather than commercial airlines. Donny T.'s wife speaks out against cyber-bullying, yet her own husband cyber bullies others on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis and she ignores it. Clean up your own house first before telling me how to clean mine, lady! Nothing grinds my gears like a hypocrite. If you're advocating for your department to cut costs, Mr. Price, then it's not wise for you to have that department pay thousands of dollars for you to take private jets around the country. If you want to fly in a private jet and you work for the government, then pay for it yourself. My tax dollars (and the tax dollars of my fellow citizens) shouldn't be used to pay for a government employee to take a private jet when perfectly fine commercial airlines are available for a fraction of the cost. The sheer arrogance of the current administration is really unbelievable at times.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Wrap It Up, Suits!

I came on board late as a fan of the USA show Suits meaning I didn't start watching the show when its first season aired. I had to go back and watch the first and (I believe) second seasons on DVD. But I've seen them all and now I certainly hope this current season is the show's last. It's just gotten ridiculous. It's been ridiculous for some time, but now the cracks are really showing. Aside from the main issue of Patrick Adams's character practicing law without a law degree and going to jail for doing so, you've got a high-profile NY law firm who not only allowed this fraud to go on, but brought the guy back to the firm after he got out of jail. Who, in their right mind, would hire such a firm? Then you've got a former legal secretary (someone who also has no law degree) acting as the firm's COO and another attorney who can't keep his shit together because he's angry that no woman wants to build a life with him or raise a child with him. These elements combine to make one terrible show. I remember when Suits used to be great television. The interesting cases, the sharp dialogue, the drama. Now it's just pathetic. I can't believe it's still on the air. USA didn't lose any time cutting White Collar and Burn Notice loose, so why are they hanging on to Suits? Wrap it up already and bring back Mr. Robot! I suspect when/if Meghan Markle marries Prince Harry, she'll hit the bricks and put Suits in her rear view (and I wouldn't blame her for doing so). Maybe her departure will be the push the show needs to pack it in. One of the things I've always liked about Suits is that the show has a diverse cast and this current season is no exception. However, that's not enough to keep things afloat.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

I Remember When

I remember the days when people couldn't be reached. There were no cell phones, there was no email, there was no internet. If someone called you at home and you were out, that person just had to either wait for you to come home and answer the phone or leave a message for you to return the call. "Where's Tim? I don't know. I tried to call him and no one answered. I'll try him again later." Yes, people do still call a person and is unable to reach him or her, but now there are other ways to track that person down. You can text, email, check their Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/whatever and monitor their activity. It's nearly impossible to get off of the grid now. Someone somewhere is tracking you.

I also remember the days when your television programming stopped at night. There were no all-night infomercials or reruns of the news overnight. The television stations played the Star Spangled Banner and then all you got was white noise. Yeah, it used to happen, folks. If you had insomnia, you'd better take out a book to read or turn the radio on because there was no all-night television programming to watch back then. I also remember having only black and white TVs.

I remember when cars has ashtrays in them. Now people just throw their cigarette butts out of the window.

I remember when people could smoke indoors in the workplace. I don't actually remember working in a place where people actually lit up, but I do remember inside smoking lounges. It's hard to imagine such a thing now.

When you get old(er), you start to think about things like this. It's amazing to think about how much things have changed since you were younger, especially when you get past the age of forty.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Bloomie's Hands

While I was at the Y this afternoon trying to watch The People's Court during my workouts on the treadmill and elliptical machine, I was inundated with the same commercial about kids (minority kids, in particular) being targeted by big soda pop and how soda pop will give you diabetes. The ad was paid for by former NY mayor Michael Bloomberg and sponsored by the American Heart Association. I left New York almost four years ago when Bloomie was all riled up there about people drinking too much soda and now he's haunting me in Illinois. The guy is determined to stick his hands (and put his money) into any fight against big soda. Now I know drinking soda pop is not good for you. Take it from someone who used to get up in the morning and have a Coke with breakfast (before kidney stones came into my life), drinking a lot of pop can cause a lot of damage to your body. But so can eating a lot of crappy food, smoking, drinking, and a whole host of other things. What annoys me with the Bloomberg ads is that they only started appearing when Cook County started up this soda pop tax that they claim will help curb childhood obesity when everyone knows it's just a money grab to try and drum up some cash to pay their bills. No one cared about kids drinking pop last year or the year before that. Where were the ads in Illinois then? Oh, right. There weren't any! Given the huge host of problems faced by minority kids in Cook County (and Chicago specifically), I doubt drinking too much pop would be anywhere near the top of the list. Many kids are just fighting to stay alive here and trying to go to school and come home without getting shot.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Again with the Creepy Clowns

I watched the first episode of the new season of American Horror Story  series "Cult" last night and my first thought was "here we go again with the creepy clowns." Add this to the new film version of Stephen King's It that came out this weekend (again, complete with the requisite creepy clown, Pennywise) and we're right back into creepy clown country. As I've said before, clowns have gotten a bad wrap for a long time. John Wayne Gacy pretty much killed the image of the clown as a funny childhood friend. Then you've got Krusty from The Simpsons as the cynical, washed-up clown who has one persona for the cameras and another, less-flattering one, when the cameras aren't rolling. I don't think clowns will ever go back to their Bozo days. Kids now just aren't into clowns and the media sure isn't helping. Probably in another twenty or thirty years, clowns will just be relegated to the dust-bin of has-been performers like ventriloquists and mimes.


Thursday, September 7, 2017

Yes, Daddy

I've been reading a lot lately about Donny T.'s daughter calling him "Daddy" and many people seem to feel this isn't appropriate for a woman of her age. Now I disagree with Donny T. and the Funky Bunch (family members included) on most things, but I have to say here that I don't understand the outrage. I call my own father "Daddy" and I'm many years older than Donny's daughter. But, in my defense, my father also called his own father "Daddy" until he died and he's Southern. Calling one's father "Daddy" is just the way it is in my family and in many others, I suspect. Maybe it's a regional thing or a racial thing (in Donny's case it's probably neither). But whether you refer to your father as Dad, Pops, Daddy, That Guy, Insert First Name Here, or whatever, that's your personal preference. I'm not going to stop calling my father "Daddy" just because someone out there in the world thinks it's juvenile or unprofessional. Some people really have too much time on their hands if they're worrying about how someone else refers to his or her father. There are far worse things to worry about these days. And, speaking of which, what's up with these natural disasters? Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, California wildfires. Are the end times upon us??? I certainly hope not. Is Donny T. somehow to blame? Probably. Whatever the reason, I'm certainly hoping and praying for an end to these events.  The picture below has nothing to do with my blog post. I took it in a park in DC near Chinatown when I was there last week and I thought it was cute.


Tuesday, September 5, 2017

What Happened Today?

Well, Donny T. is ending the DACA program. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Did people really think he'd keep this program going? I sure didn't. My issue with the immigration system in the US is that it isn't fair. If you're going to crack down on people in the country illegally whether they crossed a border or overstayed a visa, then do it across the board. Everyone goes. Europeans, Australians, Africans, Mexicans, South Americans, Icelanders, whatever. But we all know the system doesn't work that way. I guarantee if the majority of immigrants in the country illegally were from Sweden or Norway or England (and white, of course), there would be no outcry about them being in the country. Many moons ago, I did immigration work for a university and it was interesting to see the limits set on the number of student visas from China and Africa. The same limits weren't set for students coming from many European countries. Yes, I understand there are more students looking to come to the US from continents like Asia and Africa, but why not put everyone on an equal playing field?

In other news, I read that Hillary is blaming Bernie (at least partially) for her campaign loss in her new book. Give it up, Hill! Accept responsibility that you f'd up. Bernie didn't cause you to lose. You ran a bad campaign, you had no message to motivate people, and the DNC strong-armed everyone who ran against you to give you an unfair advantage, a move that alienated many people (and not just Bernie supporters). I really hope in the next presidential election, the Democrats will nominate someone who can truly win and not someone who feels it's his or her time to try and grab the brass ring.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

The Struggle Is Real (and It Continues)

During my trip to Washington, DC last week, I paid a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and really got a thorough retrospective of the African American experience. The museum's curators did an excellent job of infusing the pain, joy, and hope of black Americans since we came to this country. I highly recommend a visit if you're in the Washington, DC area. There's a lot to see and a lot to learn at the museum.

Also, in an unrelated note, RIP Walter Becker. Half of The Dan has died and it's a sad day.


Saturday, September 2, 2017

Vacation's Over!

I'm back from my visits to Washington, DC and Philadelphia and I had a great time in each city. Returning to my former hometown (well, one of my former hometowns) of Philadelphia was really great. I miss Philly and I think about going back there often. (Now, more than ever since I'm not really a fan of my current home state, Illinois.) I had the chance to see a lot of old friends in Philly and tour the US Mint there (that I never visited when I actually lived there and worked just a few blocks away from the place). I am glad to be home though. After being away for a week, it'll be good to sleep in my own bed again.