ive never been good at expressing emotion, deep emotion that is. I express outward displeasurement all the time and occassionally something joyful will grace past my lips. Generally sadness, disapointment, other of the darker emotions typically get burried deep down and only bear themselves when they absolutely must.
grandpa died on saturday. after a long bout with emphasema. Not necessarily a painful way to go, but oxygen is esentially the most basic thing you need in life, to keep living, to keep breathing. He couldnt get any so he stopped trying. At least he was at home, with grandma, and others perhaps. I was not there, I am not going either. Mom and Dad will go and represent for us, show, emotion, for us. I will stay here and keep on what I am doing, keep on with my life, while remembering his.
After I heard I didnt know what to think, what I should be thinking. I knew it was coming, that it would come eventually, soon perhaps, and then it did come. So what was I suppose to think, when i knew it was to be at any time? I remembered. I will try to always remember, though we were not close, in spirit or distance, we did have some kind of bond, through blood, through family.
We walked out by the lake, in the city by the lake, and sat and looked east. We were not looking at anything, but everything. We sat and looked to the east and remembered...
Monday, October 31, 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Update to ball lickers
In the last year or so, since the last time I checked at least, there have been an additional 200 references to the phrase "They are the ones who are the ball lickers" listed at google.
teh intarweb r0x0r
(p.s. there are currently no google results for "teh intarweb r0x0r", maybe there will be one now. check back in 1 year for results)
teh intarweb r0x0r
(p.s. there are currently no google results for "teh intarweb r0x0r", maybe there will be one now. check back in 1 year for results)
I got blog spammed.
I dont think this makes me famous or anything but I was spammed in the comments section of several of my posts. Matthew Arata lives here got 3 comments for different sites that looked like either attempts to drive traffic to an adwords campaign or some other weird thing. I think probably more for adwords in an effort to increase page rank or something. I hope that it doesnt continue as I would really like to keep the coments section alive to see if anyone actually comes and reads this.
Job interview
No I did not go to a job interview, I was to be the interviewer. We at my work are looking for a general office assistant / billing representative / etc... So I posted on craigslist. Easy enough right? We get back a bunch of resumes and I weed them down to a few. At the top of my list are 2 women who look fairly qualified to do the job. After emailing both of them with a few "can you write a decent email back to me quickly" questions and discovering that at lease one of them did similar work at her last job I proceed to give them both a call.
I get through to one of them and she seems good on the phone, answers my questions easily, dosent sound like a total moron, which basically qualifies her to come to the office. Lets call her Mandy (not real name like it even matters) but that sounds like a good name. I tell Mandy to come to the office the next day, on Friday morning at 9:30 AM. This would give my bosses both the chance to be available to talk with her as one was going out of town for a few days and the other was tied up for the afternoon. She agrees to come for the interview. I clean up the office a little so we have a chance in hell of her actually wanting to work for us.
Next morning rolls around, 930 rolls around and no Mandy. 945, 10, 10:15...no show. No call, no email, nothing. I think that well, maybe something happened, she got lost, car trouble, didnt have the phone number, whatever. So I email her a few hours later to see if anything was wrong, why did she miss the interview etc.... I didnt hear anything for the rest of the day. I thought it was kinda strange, but things do happen.
Over the weekend I get an email back saying yes there was an emergency. She said she did call but I didnt answer and she felt weird leaving a message (I call bullshit here as I was at my desk most of the time and I see on my phone if I miss a call) but whatever. I decide to give her another chance and tell her by email to give me a call on Monday morning if she was still interested in the position.
Monday rolls around and Mandy calls. She said again that she did have an emergency that she had to take care of. I asked her again if she was sill interested in coming to the office for an interview. She said yes she was. I checked with one of the bosses for his availability and the time was set for Tuesday morning again at 930.
Well this morning comes and goes. Again, no Mandy, no call, no email. Nothing. WHO DOES THAT?
Really. Who sets up an interview, twice, and blows it off, twice? Who takes the time to call and fain interest only to flake out the next day. Did it waste my time? No, not really. I worked on other stuff when she would have been there. But still, at least have the courtesy to call and say she was no longer interested, didnt feel like coming downtown from wherever buttfuck she lives, whatever. Just call and lie to me or something. Do people do this a lot? Do people set up interviews and then blow them off all the time? Maybe she found a different job in the time between our call on Monday morning and Tuesday morning and was so excited that she didnt remember to cancel with me. Even if she didnt, that would have been an acceptable lie to tell me, that she had accepted a position elsewhere and thus didnt need to meet with me.
I dont get it. If someone could explain it to me I will give them a dollar.
I guess I get to go back to the pile of resumes to see if I can find some more people to call.
I get through to one of them and she seems good on the phone, answers my questions easily, dosent sound like a total moron, which basically qualifies her to come to the office. Lets call her Mandy (not real name like it even matters) but that sounds like a good name. I tell Mandy to come to the office the next day, on Friday morning at 9:30 AM. This would give my bosses both the chance to be available to talk with her as one was going out of town for a few days and the other was tied up for the afternoon. She agrees to come for the interview. I clean up the office a little so we have a chance in hell of her actually wanting to work for us.
Next morning rolls around, 930 rolls around and no Mandy. 945, 10, 10:15...no show. No call, no email, nothing. I think that well, maybe something happened, she got lost, car trouble, didnt have the phone number, whatever. So I email her a few hours later to see if anything was wrong, why did she miss the interview etc.... I didnt hear anything for the rest of the day. I thought it was kinda strange, but things do happen.
Over the weekend I get an email back saying yes there was an emergency. She said she did call but I didnt answer and she felt weird leaving a message (I call bullshit here as I was at my desk most of the time and I see on my phone if I miss a call) but whatever. I decide to give her another chance and tell her by email to give me a call on Monday morning if she was still interested in the position.
Monday rolls around and Mandy calls. She said again that she did have an emergency that she had to take care of. I asked her again if she was sill interested in coming to the office for an interview. She said yes she was. I checked with one of the bosses for his availability and the time was set for Tuesday morning again at 930.
Well this morning comes and goes. Again, no Mandy, no call, no email. Nothing. WHO DOES THAT?
Really. Who sets up an interview, twice, and blows it off, twice? Who takes the time to call and fain interest only to flake out the next day. Did it waste my time? No, not really. I worked on other stuff when she would have been there. But still, at least have the courtesy to call and say she was no longer interested, didnt feel like coming downtown from wherever buttfuck she lives, whatever. Just call and lie to me or something. Do people do this a lot? Do people set up interviews and then blow them off all the time? Maybe she found a different job in the time between our call on Monday morning and Tuesday morning and was so excited that she didnt remember to cancel with me. Even if she didnt, that would have been an acceptable lie to tell me, that she had accepted a position elsewhere and thus didnt need to meet with me.
I dont get it. If someone could explain it to me I will give them a dollar.
I guess I get to go back to the pile of resumes to see if I can find some more people to call.
Monday, October 24, 2005
looking for zelda tab
I very much like the version of the Zelda theme song as recorded by the Minibosses. I believer it is 2-part guitar plus some simple bass line underneath. I would like to learn how to play this ont he guitar, except it is very difficult if not impossible to find this tab. If anyone comes accross the tab for this song please let me know.
Monday, October 17, 2005
This guy is not me. Matthew Arata lives in Chicago.
A google search of the term "Matthew Arata" in quotes produces 204 results. On the initial page of results, 9 out of 10 are directly related to my personal presence on the internet, mostly related to PR that my company puts out with my name on it, some theater stuff and my personal pages.
HOWEVER
The first result is NOT ME!! - som guy in Oregon who is building a plan like 10 years ago. So This is my little attempt to stear another related link to myself boosting my ranking.
HOWEVER
The first result is NOT ME!! - som guy in Oregon who is building a plan like 10 years ago. So This is my little attempt to stear another related link to myself boosting my ranking.
Monday, October 10, 2005
ebay rulz and sucks
People will buy just about anything on ebay. I have sold several different items on ebay in the past that I never thought anyone would actually buy, but since I was listing other more easily sold items I thought why not put this crap up for sale as well. I already had the camera out etc... Some of these items include:
-a set of 2 plastic wall mountable coat hooks . Retail value $3-4 for the set i think. Someone bought them for $1-2 plue $6 or $7 for shipping. Since I had used these coat hooks for a while I feel that the investment was profitable, and the person whol bought them either lived a million miles away from a wal-mart or forgot that they had to pay for shipping as well, but went through with the transaction anyway due to the nature of ebay.
-a crappy black cowboy-esq hat - which was in terrible shape, but i suppose someone could have taken it to a Milliner (someone who makes or repairs hats) and had it reshapped. Though for that much money I think they could have just purchased a new hat. Similar to the item above.
So why do people find it necessary to purchase things on ebay that cost more than they would if they were to go to a local store and purchase the same item? It's not like these items I sell are rare or otherwise hard to find.
Though I guess I am slightly dumb for selling some of this stuff, like this one:
v-tech 900mhz cordless phone. (the phone kinda works, but the battery sucks.) I sold it as is, what you see is what you get and made no guarantee of workability. It sold for 99 cents. The final transaction broke out like this:
sale price .99. Guy paid $8.13 including estimated shipping (for a 99 cent transaction mind you). Shipping actually cost $7.19 leaving 94 cents. I had to pay ebay 60 cents to list the item leaving 34 cents. Then paypal took their fee of 54 cents leaving me 20 cents in the hole. (i also used about 50 cents worth of bubblewrap from my work). So if I had to buy the bubble wrap, I would have been more than $1 in the hole for SELLING something on ebay. Ebay made money, paypal made money and UPS made money. The guy got an $8 shitty phone and I got nothing... well nothing except I dont have an extra shitty phone sitting around in my apartment, and I didnt have to send it to the landfill.
The internet economy at work I guess. Oh and I am sure blogger is somehow making money off me right now as I type this post...
-a set of 2 plastic wall mountable coat hooks . Retail value $3-4 for the set i think. Someone bought them for $1-2 plue $6 or $7 for shipping. Since I had used these coat hooks for a while I feel that the investment was profitable, and the person whol bought them either lived a million miles away from a wal-mart or forgot that they had to pay for shipping as well, but went through with the transaction anyway due to the nature of ebay.
-a crappy black cowboy-esq hat - which was in terrible shape, but i suppose someone could have taken it to a Milliner (someone who makes or repairs hats) and had it reshapped. Though for that much money I think they could have just purchased a new hat. Similar to the item above.
So why do people find it necessary to purchase things on ebay that cost more than they would if they were to go to a local store and purchase the same item? It's not like these items I sell are rare or otherwise hard to find.
Though I guess I am slightly dumb for selling some of this stuff, like this one:
v-tech 900mhz cordless phone. (the phone kinda works, but the battery sucks.) I sold it as is, what you see is what you get and made no guarantee of workability. It sold for 99 cents. The final transaction broke out like this:
sale price .99. Guy paid $8.13 including estimated shipping (for a 99 cent transaction mind you). Shipping actually cost $7.19 leaving 94 cents. I had to pay ebay 60 cents to list the item leaving 34 cents. Then paypal took their fee of 54 cents leaving me 20 cents in the hole. (i also used about 50 cents worth of bubblewrap from my work). So if I had to buy the bubble wrap, I would have been more than $1 in the hole for SELLING something on ebay. Ebay made money, paypal made money and UPS made money. The guy got an $8 shitty phone and I got nothing... well nothing except I dont have an extra shitty phone sitting around in my apartment, and I didnt have to send it to the landfill.
The internet economy at work I guess. Oh and I am sure blogger is somehow making money off me right now as I type this post...
Thursday, September 29, 2005
more google ranking work
So someone named Alyssa Weichel runs some weird web ring - though I cannot go into further details without screwing up the point of this post. This is not the Alyssa Weichel I know.
The Alyssa Weichel I know is now known as Alyssa Arata (thanks to me.)
Alyssa did a nice art project about the chief while she was in college at the University of Illinois. It stirred up a small amount of controversy.
The Alyssa Weichel I know is now known as Alyssa Arata (thanks to me.)
Alyssa did a nice art project about the chief while she was in college at the University of Illinois. It stirred up a small amount of controversy.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Rap battle
If have often wondered what I would do if I was forced to compete in a freestyle rap battle. Would I survive? How Would I prepare? Would I have to drive to Detroit? Woud Mekhi Pfeiffer be there? Well now there is a guide. And for all of you haters out there that say white guys can't rap - here is the famous Hasidic Reggae Rapper - Matisyahu
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
ass wiping and ketchup packets
I injured my right hand a few weeks ago while I was on my honeymoon (yes I got married, no I did not blog about the process, but perhaps I should have). So the injury mainly affects my right thumb somewhere between or involving the 2nd and 3rd knuckles. I have discovered that this injury is sometimes called the skiers thumb or skiers injury because if you take a bad fall while holding your poles, sometimes the pole bends your thumb back to far. Sometimes football players get this too. Bending my thumb back too far is basically what happened.
If affects the following:
-my ability to make a firm handshake
-my ability to turn a doorknob
-my ability to wipe my ass in my own particular efficient way
This last ability concerns me the most. I am right handed and naturally wipe my ass with my right hand. Well I discovered that I use my opposable thumb fairly directly when performing the wiping action. I wipe in a downward "posterior towards anterior" direction. This puts pressure on my thumb in just such a way to aggrevate the injury. Before you ask - no I do not wipe my ass directly with my thumb nor do I stick my thumb up my ass, and no I do not get shit on my balls. The other affected abilities do not concern me much as I can use my left hand to turn doorknobs if i remember, and I don't shake hands with people on a regular basis. Wiping, however, is a 1-2 (or more) times daily occurance. Yes I have tried to wipe in other directions or with more or less force, but honestly the way I perform the task is fairly efficient for me and is being degraded by my thumb injury.
Heal faster thumb.
---
My daily lunch conversations at work have started to shift away from work to other less meaningful subjects. Today I brought up the need for larger ketchup packets. If given the chance, I will empty 5-8 seperate ketchup packets in order to efficiently dip my fries in just the right amount of ketchup. I thought why not make larger packets? Perhaps a packet 2-3 times the size of the current standard.
From a manufacturing standpoint I see the following:
Pros:
expanded product line
possible reduced material cost per ounce of ketchup
Less complaints from people like me
Cons:
Oppourtunity cost of making the different sized packets
Getting distributors and end users to switch or start using the larger size
From a distributor standpoint:
Pros:
Less wasted unused packets
less people asking for more ketchup, as they were able to squeez more ketchup out of the larger packet
Cons:
Getting people to adjust to the new size packets
I believe that you would receive about the same amount of ketchup in the standard "fist of ketchup packets" you normally get at a fast food place. Tthere would be simply fewer packets. The end consumer would not be affected and would appreciate openeing fewer packets to dispense the same amount of ketchup. Those that only want one packet of ketchup would simply throw the excess away, but who really uses only one packet anyway?
So as an open request to ketchup packet manufacturers of the world - please make larger ketchup packets.
No I don't care about mustard packets - one is just fine for my hot dog at the ball game.
If affects the following:
-my ability to make a firm handshake
-my ability to turn a doorknob
-my ability to wipe my ass in my own particular efficient way
This last ability concerns me the most. I am right handed and naturally wipe my ass with my right hand. Well I discovered that I use my opposable thumb fairly directly when performing the wiping action. I wipe in a downward "posterior towards anterior" direction. This puts pressure on my thumb in just such a way to aggrevate the injury. Before you ask - no I do not wipe my ass directly with my thumb nor do I stick my thumb up my ass, and no I do not get shit on my balls. The other affected abilities do not concern me much as I can use my left hand to turn doorknobs if i remember, and I don't shake hands with people on a regular basis. Wiping, however, is a 1-2 (or more) times daily occurance. Yes I have tried to wipe in other directions or with more or less force, but honestly the way I perform the task is fairly efficient for me and is being degraded by my thumb injury.
Heal faster thumb.
---
My daily lunch conversations at work have started to shift away from work to other less meaningful subjects. Today I brought up the need for larger ketchup packets. If given the chance, I will empty 5-8 seperate ketchup packets in order to efficiently dip my fries in just the right amount of ketchup. I thought why not make larger packets? Perhaps a packet 2-3 times the size of the current standard.
From a manufacturing standpoint I see the following:
Pros:
expanded product line
possible reduced material cost per ounce of ketchup
Less complaints from people like me
Cons:
Oppourtunity cost of making the different sized packets
Getting distributors and end users to switch or start using the larger size
From a distributor standpoint:
Pros:
Less wasted unused packets
less people asking for more ketchup, as they were able to squeez more ketchup out of the larger packet
Cons:
Getting people to adjust to the new size packets
I believe that you would receive about the same amount of ketchup in the standard "fist of ketchup packets" you normally get at a fast food place. Tthere would be simply fewer packets. The end consumer would not be affected and would appreciate openeing fewer packets to dispense the same amount of ketchup. Those that only want one packet of ketchup would simply throw the excess away, but who really uses only one packet anyway?
So as an open request to ketchup packet manufacturers of the world - please make larger ketchup packets.
No I don't care about mustard packets - one is just fine for my hot dog at the ball game.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Monday, December 20, 2004
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Shoot the web
http://shoottheweb.com/
You will find no more evil scum in the universe than this.
also
Spiderman reviews crayons - (he sold out to the scion people)
http://x-entertainment.com/articles/0913/
You will find no more evil scum in the universe than this.
also
Spiderman reviews crayons - (he sold out to the scion people)
http://x-entertainment.com/articles/0913/
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese in Pop Culture
Who would think that some lady somewhere could create such a huge pop culture event simply by making a sandwich. but who cares about the actual thing...here are some ebay items
....WOW! Imagine my surprise when I took my Thanksgiving turkey out of the oven after 10 hours and saw the Virgin Mary staring back at me! This turkey has brought me luck already...
or
...This is a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich diecut vinyl decal sticker. The decal will be custom made in the color of your choice with your purchase...
...One-Of-A-Kind art collage, "Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus Enjoy a Grilled Cheese Sandwich...
man - too bad the get rich schemes always fall to the un-willing...
....WOW! Imagine my surprise when I took my Thanksgiving turkey out of the oven after 10 hours and saw the Virgin Mary staring back at me! This turkey has brought me luck already...
or
...This is a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich diecut vinyl decal sticker. The decal will be custom made in the color of your choice with your purchase...
...One-Of-A-Kind art collage, "Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus Enjoy a Grilled Cheese Sandwich...
man - too bad the get rich schemes always fall to the un-willing...
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Congratulations! You've Won A Trishelle.
As originally reported by Stereogum you too could (or 'had' the chance to) with a short meeting with the world famous slut/whore/lush Trishelle of Real World Las Vegas fame. Too bad I didn't get a chance to bid.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
how much does the south really suck
Hate Bush? say you are sorry to the wolrd
If you hat Bush as much as the rest of us, now you have the chance to tell the world. Just take a pic with your "I'm Sorry" sign and upload it to these guys.
Hightlights:
http://72.3.131.10/upload_files/se2355.jpg
http://72.3.131.10/upload_files/se2357.jpg
and a message from chicago
Hightlights:
http://72.3.131.10/upload_files/se2355.jpg
http://72.3.131.10/upload_files/se2357.jpg
and a message from chicago
Thursday, November 04, 2004
big labowski - at halloween
these guys are one of the best group costumes i have ever seen...seriously.
Monday, November 01, 2004
VOTE! says Mark Klemen, Owner of the Funky Buddha club in Chicago
VOTE- A message from Mark Klemen (Owner Funky Buddha)
The greatest threat this country faces is apathy. Apathy allows thestrong and selfish to take what they want without regard for the worldor fellow humanity. For the first time in history, humans have thepower to deal mother nature powerful and potentially fatal blows.While the earth is very good at keeping itself clean and in balance-it must have its tools (trees, clean water and air) to do so. If wedestroy the earth, we will probably become extinct. Sadder still,humanity may continue to survive as a species in a world withoutnature. Einstein said, "God laughs at science until it can create asingle blade of grass". A life without a vast variety of trees,animals, fruits , vegetables, roots, nuts, exotic spices, flowers,fish and birds with only bland chemical creations to sustain us willbe truly pathetic. If we continue to poison our world, we will needtechnology to insulate and protect ourselves from nature. Imagine ourgreatest gift becoming our worst nightmare.
The bottom line is, I love my country. I believe we are the amazingcapitalist melting pot of the world. America at its best is the bestof all nations, free to create- free to pursue happiness. At itsworst, America has become a nation of corporations- bound by law togrow and consume at the expense of its people. Our present leadershipsupports these corporations and the people that run them with thelargest tax breaks and subsidies in the history of this country.Rather than invest in new and clean environmental technologies we arerewarding polluters with tax benefits. Did you know that under GeorgeBush the Environmental Protection Agency has dropped the fifty biggestlawsuits against energy corporations who have been caught polluting indirect violation of this country's environmental laws? Did you knowthat the members of Bush's cabinet (who all amongst the wealthiest 1%of people in this country) saved, on average, $40,000.00 last yearbecause of the tax cuts Bush has passed? Did you know that the Bush administration has made itpossible for a business owner to fully write off a vehicle up to$100,000.00 as long as it weighs more than 6,000 pounds? Did you knowthe Vice president Dick Cheney, who makes millions of dollars a year,only paid 12% of his income in taxes? How much did you pay? Can thiscountry afford to allow the polluters to take short term gain at theexpense of the world? Can the world afford to have the United Statesbe a paranoid bully? Is the world really safer with George Bushrunning this country? By any rational account the answer is anoverwhelming and resounding NO! Whatever your opinion of Kerry, it isimperative that we as a people unite to save the environment and endthe climate of fear that governs our current national policies. Kerryhas a plan that will bring the UN back into Iraq and will alleviatethe burden on the American soldier. It is time for our leadership toshow the world how to becleaner and more peaceful. There is no weakness in working together.We will not, as George Bush implies, leave our countries defense inthe hands of other nations. We will lead by example by showing theworld the strength of cooperation. We will show the people of Iraqand all of the middle east that the true strength of America lies inits ability work together and create peace through democracy. Peoplefrom all nations have come together to live under our flag. We owe itto each and every person in this country. We owe it to ourselves. Wemust destroy the apathy. We must challenge the corporations to cleanup their business practices. We must support the people who do thingsright. We must educate ourselves to find better ways of doingeverything. I dream of a world where true power is not in thepossession of our weapons, but in our ability to help this world worktogether to become a cleaner and safer place. We will not lay downour arms, we will not rollover for anyone. We will use our strength to do what is right.
When you hit the polls on Tuesday, you must vote your conscience.Keep in mind where your candidates come from- what kind of world dothey envision. Voting for an oil man means we will continue to bebound by archaic and dirty energy technology. In the last 4 years,this country has literally moved backwards in its dependence on oil.Our tax dollars are subsidizing dirty fuel and the destruction of theenvironment. As people continue to die in Iraq (the death tolls areover 40,000 including Iraqi civilians, soldiers and Americans)investing in alternative and cleaner fuels has become an immediatemoral imperative. I am not suggesting this will be an easy orimmediate solution. I am only saying it must be done.
I believe in the basic decency and goodness of humanity. We wil neverdestroy all the people who think differently than we do. As innature, variety is not only the spice of life, it is essential to thecontinuation of life as we know it. The evolution of our species hasseen the creation of language, the development of cities andtechnology. Our future evolution requires that we learn to use ourpowers to co-exist with our fellow humans and in accordance withMother Nature. We must embrace and protect our beautiful gifts.Dream of a "windy city" with wind generators on every roof. Solarfarms in our deserts and laws against cutting down trees. We mustcontinue to progress without cashing environmental checks. We mustcontinue to pursue peace without inciting a climate of fear andrevenge. We must have leadership that understands the big picture andnot just what has worked in the past. Please vote on Tuesday.Especially in the time of the electoral college- the popular vote must be heard. A resounding voice for change isimperative. Thank your for your time and consideration. God blessus- everyone.
The greatest threat this country faces is apathy. Apathy allows thestrong and selfish to take what they want without regard for the worldor fellow humanity. For the first time in history, humans have thepower to deal mother nature powerful and potentially fatal blows.While the earth is very good at keeping itself clean and in balance-it must have its tools (trees, clean water and air) to do so. If wedestroy the earth, we will probably become extinct. Sadder still,humanity may continue to survive as a species in a world withoutnature. Einstein said, "God laughs at science until it can create asingle blade of grass". A life without a vast variety of trees,animals, fruits , vegetables, roots, nuts, exotic spices, flowers,fish and birds with only bland chemical creations to sustain us willbe truly pathetic. If we continue to poison our world, we will needtechnology to insulate and protect ourselves from nature. Imagine ourgreatest gift becoming our worst nightmare.
The bottom line is, I love my country. I believe we are the amazingcapitalist melting pot of the world. America at its best is the bestof all nations, free to create- free to pursue happiness. At itsworst, America has become a nation of corporations- bound by law togrow and consume at the expense of its people. Our present leadershipsupports these corporations and the people that run them with thelargest tax breaks and subsidies in the history of this country.Rather than invest in new and clean environmental technologies we arerewarding polluters with tax benefits. Did you know that under GeorgeBush the Environmental Protection Agency has dropped the fifty biggestlawsuits against energy corporations who have been caught polluting indirect violation of this country's environmental laws? Did you knowthat the members of Bush's cabinet (who all amongst the wealthiest 1%of people in this country) saved, on average, $40,000.00 last yearbecause of the tax cuts Bush has passed? Did you know that the Bush administration has made itpossible for a business owner to fully write off a vehicle up to$100,000.00 as long as it weighs more than 6,000 pounds? Did you knowthe Vice president Dick Cheney, who makes millions of dollars a year,only paid 12% of his income in taxes? How much did you pay? Can thiscountry afford to allow the polluters to take short term gain at theexpense of the world? Can the world afford to have the United Statesbe a paranoid bully? Is the world really safer with George Bushrunning this country? By any rational account the answer is anoverwhelming and resounding NO! Whatever your opinion of Kerry, it isimperative that we as a people unite to save the environment and endthe climate of fear that governs our current national policies. Kerryhas a plan that will bring the UN back into Iraq and will alleviatethe burden on the American soldier. It is time for our leadership toshow the world how to becleaner and more peaceful. There is no weakness in working together.We will not, as George Bush implies, leave our countries defense inthe hands of other nations. We will lead by example by showing theworld the strength of cooperation. We will show the people of Iraqand all of the middle east that the true strength of America lies inits ability work together and create peace through democracy. Peoplefrom all nations have come together to live under our flag. We owe itto each and every person in this country. We owe it to ourselves. Wemust destroy the apathy. We must challenge the corporations to cleanup their business practices. We must support the people who do thingsright. We must educate ourselves to find better ways of doingeverything. I dream of a world where true power is not in thepossession of our weapons, but in our ability to help this world worktogether to become a cleaner and safer place. We will not lay downour arms, we will not rollover for anyone. We will use our strength to do what is right.
When you hit the polls on Tuesday, you must vote your conscience.Keep in mind where your candidates come from- what kind of world dothey envision. Voting for an oil man means we will continue to bebound by archaic and dirty energy technology. In the last 4 years,this country has literally moved backwards in its dependence on oil.Our tax dollars are subsidizing dirty fuel and the destruction of theenvironment. As people continue to die in Iraq (the death tolls areover 40,000 including Iraqi civilians, soldiers and Americans)investing in alternative and cleaner fuels has become an immediatemoral imperative. I am not suggesting this will be an easy orimmediate solution. I am only saying it must be done.
I believe in the basic decency and goodness of humanity. We wil neverdestroy all the people who think differently than we do. As innature, variety is not only the spice of life, it is essential to thecontinuation of life as we know it. The evolution of our species hasseen the creation of language, the development of cities andtechnology. Our future evolution requires that we learn to use ourpowers to co-exist with our fellow humans and in accordance withMother Nature. We must embrace and protect our beautiful gifts.Dream of a "windy city" with wind generators on every roof. Solarfarms in our deserts and laws against cutting down trees. We mustcontinue to progress without cashing environmental checks. We mustcontinue to pursue peace without inciting a climate of fear andrevenge. We must have leadership that understands the big picture andnot just what has worked in the past. Please vote on Tuesday.Especially in the time of the electoral college- the popular vote must be heard. A resounding voice for change isimperative. Thank your for your time and consideration. God blessus- everyone.
Friday, October 22, 2004
The best costume ever
The best costume I have seen recently is this transformer. It looks really complicates and probably does not work really well, but it would sure be fun.
This year alyssa is trying to get me to be something like Ken (aka barbie's ex). However i think the more abstract you get the better. Steve is planning on going as "Berwyn," the Chicago suburb where he grew up (as the motto goes "I wasn't born in the ghetto, it just got that way"). He plans to have a large map taped to a piece of cardboard that hangs like a sandwich board around his neck.
A good list of bad halloween costumes growing up
A shitty list of bad halloween costumes/ideas
My short list for costumes:
-Ken (ugh)
-Boggle (the game with letters on dice)
-"A Recording Artist" or "My career as a recording artist" (i.e. ashlee simpson, lindsey lohan)(costume=add oversize trucker hat to anything and add a sign calling yourself lame)
-"The street on the 1500 block of walton ave in chicago" (a bunch of garbage, mix of parking tickets, burning cars, hoodlems)
This year alyssa is trying to get me to be something like Ken (aka barbie's ex). However i think the more abstract you get the better. Steve is planning on going as "Berwyn," the Chicago suburb where he grew up (as the motto goes "I wasn't born in the ghetto, it just got that way"). He plans to have a large map taped to a piece of cardboard that hangs like a sandwich board around his neck.
A good list of bad halloween costumes growing up
A shitty list of bad halloween costumes/ideas
My short list for costumes:
-Ken (ugh)
-Boggle (the game with letters on dice)
-"A Recording Artist" or "My career as a recording artist" (i.e. ashlee simpson, lindsey lohan)(costume=add oversize trucker hat to anything and add a sign calling yourself lame)
-"The street on the 1500 block of walton ave in chicago" (a bunch of garbage, mix of parking tickets, burning cars, hoodlems)
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