Long Time, No See

I can't believe how long it's been since the last post. Just a little over a year has passed since I ranted about the downfall of America. Well hey i've seen some big life changes occur. That and I haven't had internet at home for over three years. Lucky for you that's changing. Yes I am finally joining the 21st century. Starting tomorrow I will have internet at home. Of course that comes with one small caveat. I still need a wireless adapter for my desktop. There always has to be some kink in the wheel.

I'm not too worried though. That's what they invented the iPad for. Yes I joined the small elite (or is it idiot?) group and forked over a small fortune to buy one. Yes I know the limitations for one. Seriously who expects the iPad to replace their laptop or desktop? That's not what it is intended for. You want to do that wait for the HP Slate or Dell Mini. I love my iPad. I can't wait to sit on the couch late at night, with the iPad in one hand and a sleeping baby in the other hand.

Sleeping baby you say? Yep. That's my big life change. A brand spanking new baby girl. For more on that subject check out the other blog Mr. Reyes and I share, Adventures of a Punk Rock Dad. That blog too could use some updating.

Perhaps with internet the lack of updates will change. That's the whole point of this post.

Barbarians At The Gate

You know what's funny? I've been thinking about the same concept regarding Newspeak that Maybe I'll Catch Fire mentioned in his last post. I will receive emails written in Textspeak. I refuse to answer them. If you cannot write an email properly than I see no reason why I should struggle to understand your Textspeak. Is it really that difficult to write an email with proper sentences. I've received texts written in Textspeak. In some cases I'll send one back asking them to clarify what the hell they are saying. If i'm going to learn another language it will be Chinese or Spanish, not Textspeak. . I can only imagine the frustration I'll Catch Fire must have to see textspeak on student essays. I think it is time for his students to read 1984. Then have a nice class discussion on Newspeak and their thoughts. Then point out the similiarities between Newspeak and Textspeak.

The Patriot Act may not be the downfall of the American Empire. But I feel that September 11 started the downfall of our Empire. Rome was only safe because no one dared attack it. The city had an aura of invicibility. To attack the city would be suicide. You would not succeed. One day barbarians knocked at the gate. They sacked the once invincible city of Rome. It lost all it's aura and mystique. The Roman Empire became more militaristic and less democractic. If one group of barbarians could do it so could another.

We all know what eventually happened. I see parallels between September 11 and the first barbarians at the gate for Rome. For a long time we saw ourselves as invincible. No one would attack American soil. We are have an ocean separating us from any major powers. During World War I and II we were safe from major battles. After that we felt safe and secure knowing that ocean was huge. We could stop any attack before it hit us. We'd see any enemy approaching our gates before they could arrive.

Then came September 11. A group of guerilla fighters, our version of barbarians, attacked us. And not just anywhere but on our own soil. On two symbols of American power, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Not long afterwards The Patriot Act was passed. We lost many little freedoms and no one cared. If it would protect us from other barbarians, please take away our rights. The best example of losing freedom is to look at airtravel. The restrictions are unbelievable. You can't just arrive 45 minutes before a flight. You need a minimum of two hours!

We developed a mentality of you're either with us or you are against us. If you don't support us then you support terrorism. Does anyone remember Freedom Fries? I was in Europe during that period. Let me tell you the Europeans had a good laugh over stupid concepts like that.

Were is this post going? I'm not sure. But then again most of my posts end like that. All I can say is this: beware. We are entering a historically significant era in world history. Where does the greatest Empire in history go from here? Do they continue their slow slide into mediocrity? Or do they bounce back with a militaristic vengeance?

1984 in 2009

I've been thinking about this concept a lot lately and after about a year of contemplation, I am finally going to discuss it.

One of my favorite books is 1984. I read it during High School when I was a young angry punk rocker and it spoke to me. As the years progressed I always referred to it as my favorite book. Following the tragic events in 2001, I thought the U.S. would slowly push it's way towards a more strictly controlled government as that seen in the novel. The Patriot Act would be the downfall of the republic!

While my fears have proved to based more on paranoia, I continue to see society moving closer to the beast that was referred to as Ingsoc.

What is driving us there? Text and IM speak.

As a teacher I have been able to see first hand the trouble with both spelling and grammar that text is creating. Often I see people use the 8 as is sk8 (although that has been the norm for some time). Use of C and U to represent see and you has also been common, among the "Lisa Frank" girls. However the line has always been drawn when it came time to write a formal piece for class. This is not always the case anymore. I've begun seeing students attemp to use terms like "lol" as part of everyday vocabulary, both in class and in writing assignments.

One of the foundations of Ingsoc (or English Socialism) was Newspeak. The goal of newspeak in the novel and in the society of 1984 was to create a new language. This language based on English has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar.

Newspeak commonly eliminated words and combined words to make the most efficient terms possible. For example in 1984 words like better and best and even bad were eliminated, and prefixes and suffix took control. Instead there was good, gooder, goodest and ungood. Words that could be combined were such as Dayorder taking place of a phrase like order of the day.

In the long run the goal was to destry freedom and independent thought. Works liek Shakespeare and Chaucer would be impossible to read for someone versed in newspeak.

Similar word combinations can be cited in texting and IM. BRB, WTF, LOL, THX, l8r, and many others have become common. In some langauges, numbers and words are even connected to create a shorter form of communication. For example 520 in Chinese ("wu er ling") sound like the words for "I love you" ("wo ai ni"). The sequence 748 ("qi si ba") sounds like the curse for "drop dead".

This Orwellian trend seems disturbing, but I am curious to see how the rapid increase in the number to phones with qwerty keypads will play into this trend. Seeing as Instant Messengers have been using these terms and phrases for over ten years, I doubt it will help.

Newspeak is creeping its way into communication and if it continues to creep its way into the education system, how far can AmSoc be? IDK!

Star Trek

After a five month release delay the new Star Trek movie makes its much anticipated debut. I for one am very much looking forward to it. In fact I will be seeing it tomorrow night. No not at midnight either. Most theaters seem to be playing it starting at around 7pm. I'll be at one of those showings. Midnight showings have never been my thing. I'd rather just wait for the next day to see it. Now 7 or 8pm showings, that is different. And no I can guarantee I will not be dressed in costume. I have never done that and I never will. I don't feel the need to play out some fantasy and dress up as a Starfleet Officer.

Star Trek was originally supposed to debut back in December of 2008. Apparently the suits saw dailies of the filming. They immediately realized this movie had the potential to be a big summer hit. One that could appeal to Trek and non Trek fans alike. I could not agree more. I have friends who never watched Star Trek growing up. Yet they want to see the movie. I even have friends who prefer Star Wars. They too want to see the franchise reboot. With this in mind, the suits decided to push the release date of Star Trek back to the summer months. They figured the movie would make a lot more money with a summer release.

In this situation I have to disagree with the suits. If a movie is good, the release date does not matter. It will still make tons of money. The first four Harry Potter movies were released in November. They have made a fortune for Warner Bros. The same can be said about The Lord of the Rings trilogy. They were released during the winter. We all know how much money they made. In fact I believe releasing Star Trek in the summer will eat into the profits.

The summer months bring out all the big blockbusters. That leaves too much competition among films. In today's climate no one wants to spend money to see three big blockbusters in one month, let alone all summer. People have to pick and choose the films they go to see. Some of the audience that would normally see Star Trek won't spend the money to see it. They may have spent the money to see X-Men: Wolverine. Or they may wait a week to see Angels & Demons. That is money taken from the profits of one movie and deposited into another.

The suits should have kept the original release date in December. Star Trek would have had no big blockbuster competition. If the movie does have that wide appeal the suits think it has, people would have flocked to see it. Filmgoers would have been less likely to spend money on the typical holiday schlock. They would have spent it to see a potentially great movie called Star Trek.

This new movie will be successful. This new movie will make a profit. This new movie sacrificed it's profit margin with a later release date. Let us hope the next Star Trek movie will have a better release date. Come on, don't act surprised. After all, the main actors have been signed on for two more films.

I'll end with this. Reboots seem to be the in thing these days. In about thirty years George Lucas may not be with us anymore. Will we see a Star Wars reboot at that time?

Road of Regret part 2

“A girl would giggle and it’d make me red
A boy would laugh and I’d punch his head
I tell you life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue.”- Johnny Cash

I arrive at work and the first thing I am treated to is a barrage of assholes making fun of my name. Sure my name is usually a feminine name, but it isn’t like I haven’t kicked their asses enough times to make them forget about trying to make fun of it. Some people just never learn.
You get that a lot with a name like mine though, it’s sort of like that song Boy Named Sue. You really do end up fighting your whole life, which means you spend most of your life as a loner. Those who cross you just want to prove they are tougher than you and those who don’t are just plain afraid of you.
Either way you end up being labeled a troublemaker. School was hell because of it. It’s too easy for the kids to blame you since you have no real alibi. Therefore, the principal’s office becomes your home away from home. It gets to the point where you can mouth along with the lecture “when are you going to straighten up and fly right?” or “would you be acting up this much if your parents were still alive? Is this a cry for help?” The list goes on and on.
But you never do anything wrong, you just try to live your life and you get stepped on, treated like shit because that is what people think you are. The sad coincidence about it is that eventually you really start to think that way. You start to see yourself as the loner, the outcast. You are the Troublemaker, the rebel, the one everyone wants to see either in jail or in the grave. So you learn to accept what people think of you and just take on the role you’ve been assigned.
Eventually we all fall into the trap of being what everyone expects us to be. After high school I never really could get my act together. I spent so much time in the principal’s office no one expected me to go far, so I didn’t. That summer job at the working with your buddy at the mechanic’s shop has turned out to be a career. Not necessarily my career of choice, but its hard to become a doctor or a lawyer when the only thing you understand is cars.
So instead of a career where I can plan for my future, I live from paycheck to paycheck. It doesn’t help any when there are no benefits involved in your job. If you get a bad cold, you are short on your rent and I hate to say it but I feel a sore throat coming on.
I spend the rest of the day contemplating the cost involved in medication and how short I will be for the next week. So much so that I don’t realize how far past closing it is. I grab my coat and head for the door, when I see a car pulling up. A lovely young lady rolls down her window. I see a flash of black hair with Betty Paige bangs. I’ve always had a thing for good hair and that was definitely good hair. After looking around a little bit, she spots me and speaks.
“Excuse me, but are you guys closed?”
I replied “About a half hour ago.”
“Damn, I just wanted someone to look under the hood, I’ve been hearing a strange noise.”
“Well, I really have to close up the garage, but if you want to just park in that space over there and pop the hood I can check it out, see if it is serious or anything.”
“If you guys are closed I don’t want to keep you, I mean it’s Friday night, I’m sure you have plans, I think I can borrow my dad’s car until Monday.”
“Believe me, I don’t have any plans, just another night in front of the TV, watching god only knows what. Besides I enjoy helping beautiful girls.”
She blushed a little and gave me a quick smile before she pulled her car into the parking space.

The Weekend, It's Here!

This, I must say has been one of those weeks. Not one of those, is it still only Monday weeks, mind you. More one of those, everyday feels like Friday weeks. Since Wednesday I've felt like the weekend starts the next day. You'd think that would make for the world's slowest week. Let me tell you it did not. Of course it helps when you work half days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Half days are fun. Especially this time of year, especially on a Friday. It gives you a nice, long weekend. The weather is great, the sun is shining. All that's needed is a trip to our not so nice beaches with a beer in hand. Or you could go the hippy route. Bring some weed, get high and go for a walk on a hiking trail. Enjoy the refreshing sounds of nature. I'd much prefer the part hippy route. Go for a hike to enjoy the refreshing sounds of nature. Just leave the weed out.

I love half days. Until you start the next week. Then you find yourself back to those full work days. It usually takes a day or two to re-adjust. Hey, as long as you have a window to the outside world it's not so bad.

Wait, I think I got myself off track. Oh wandering stream of conscious mind, good job. Time to focus. As I was trying to say. The last half of the week has felt like Friday. I get home, relax and think, "sweet the weekend is here." Then I realize, nope it's not. It's only Thursday. Only one day left. Today is officially Friday. It means the weekend is finally here. It means I will be seeing Kowalski and Maybe I'll Catch Fire tomorrow. It means the band is playing a show. Lastly, it means beer pong.

The Grass Is Green, Finally

I've been meaning to write a blog for about a week now. I've just been too busy to get the chance to do this. I wanted to get one put together as baseball season has finally started. Finally. I've always considered the time from the end of the Super Bowl until the start of baseball season to be sports purgatory. I've never followed hockey nor basketball. Neither of those sports have ever thrilled me. March Madness comes and goes and I don't care who wins. That is how little I follow basketball. Sure I'll do a bracket. But only if it's for baseball or football playoffs.

I was very excited for the new season to start. The most excited I've been for a long time. I'm not even sure why. Perhaps it was because I knew summer would arrive shortly there after. Either that or I was just more than ready to see my local team again. I think I'll go with the latter option.

I'm not one big on making preseason predictions. It is a bit difficult to accurately determine results over a 162 game season. Some people are spot on, others are way off. All I will say is this, watch out for the Florida Marlins. They, not the Phillies or the Cubs, will be the team to beat in the National League. I would not be surprised if they made it to the World Series. They are a young team with power and pitching.

This past off season saw the free agent market drop. Many good players have not signed on with a team yet. Many good players took steep cuts in pay. It happens. The salaries cannot keep rising, especially with the economy falling. Yet if you listen to the whispers out there from agents and players, they'd have you think otherwise. That nasty little word called collusion played a role in the falling salaries.

Many agents and players, they won't publicly say it, believe the owners colluded to keep salaries down. They used the falling economy as an excuse to do this. Really? What planet are the agents/players on? Did they not read about sponsors pulling out of deals? Did they not see ticket prices have gone down in some cities? Did they not read that season ticket orders are down for most teams?

Why would an owner pay $12 million a year for a player when revenue will be down? People everywhere are taking pay cuts and pay freezes due to lower revenues. Why can't the same happen in baseball? Why is it collusion when salaries drop? The owners are just following what other businesses are doing, slashing payroll and costs. It happens when the economy falters. People keep close tabs on their money.

It's a good thing the agents/players have kept mum about the nasty word collusion. Really what American is going to feel sorry because some pitcher made $6 million this year instead of the $12 million last year? Chances are the pitcher was worth barely $6 million in salary. The pitcher, like the housing market, was overpriced due to demand. With the economy down, the prices and market are correcting themselves.

So no I do not believe collusion is something the player's union should pursue. But that union is too powerful and egotistical. Give it a few years, once the economy is better, they'll look into it.