Goethe said, "It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth where few are willing to search for it." I've thought a lot about this idea the last month or two. It's not exactly a secret that bad things are happening and worse things are afoot. In ways too numerous to count the world seems to be falling apart at the seams. Humanity seems to want to unite only in its effort to divide. The news reports both atrocities or absurdities, occasionally inciting both, as well. It has become almost impossible to remain optimistic about, well, anything.

But I accept the challenge. Light and dark, black and white, good and bad. All things, relatively speaking, are defined by their opposite. Embracing the ills of life and accepting their necessity in contrasting and highlighting all that is good gives one a sense of balance. But for all the ills in the world, we are all still well. In spite of our faults and flaws that may annoy others we are naturally good creatures. Call it societal survivalism or inborn insecurity we endure each others' personality deficiencies in exchange for the warm blanket of mutually assured construction. We keep it together even when all we want to do is destroy. We do it for various reasons but they all are rooted in our desire to be good people. We do it for the love of our families. We do it for the ideal of improving humanity as a whole. We do it because, at our core, we are good.

That's all I have to say about that.

This is completely out of character for me, this business of posting a second entry within the same lunar cycle. I have had something very heavy on my mind. In the wake of the passing of one of the most irresponsible pieces of legislation (the "American Recovery and Reinvestment" bill) I have given serious thought to the liberal agenda. It has, until now, been light and laughable to me, foolish and harmless like "reality t.v.". But now that their policies are going to directly affect my family and myself I will not be silently subjugated.

There's simply no excuse. I apologize to all my adoring fans out there for letting so much time go by. But in true Hollwood Elite form I will probably just keep being an astronomical tool and then at the first sign of backlash issue an "official apology" to be read by my agent. All sarcasm aside, Mr. Hanks climbed three or four steps on the stairway to the Douche Bag Floor with his vilification of Mormons last week. I see little difference between movie stars and clowns these days. Both are in the entertainment industry and are the centers of attention, but neither are very reliable sources of common sense. I wonder how many actors can squeeze into a Prius.




The one with the beard is probably me... with my genes it could have gone either way.

It's time, once again, for my monthly tirade. This will be a more general lament than usual because there's simply too much out there. The title of this blog comes from my favorite Pearl Jam song "Thumbing My Way" which says, "All the rusted signs we ignore throughout our lives, choosing the shiny ones instead." There is a mentality running rampant among our species that presumes itself to be the height of evolution. Before I even begin a post that will have liberals chomping at the bit let me say that I do not prescribe to conservative ideas because I think we need to stay the same. I whole-heartedly believe it is in our nature to progress and to evolve. We are going too fast, however, and in the wrong direction. We advance ourselves technologically and assume we're ever closer to the summit of Olympus, but do not think for one second that we might be uninvited (unworthy, undignified, uncouth, etc.).

I was so discomforted, this last week, to read the story of the teenage girls in Minnesota who are being charged with abusing the residents of a retirement home. The girls were not only rough physically with their fragile victims, but they purposely and mercilessly humiliated them, treating them with reckless disregard for their dignity as human beings. To even think that they would do those things to each other would make me shake my head, but to do them to people who have lived so much life that they need help to continue to the finish makes me a little ill. The next generation knows that it is more intelligent than its predecessor. That's precisely why I get a little nervous when I see the brilliance of today's children; today's children are tomorrow's leaders.

This is what I infer from the lyric above: These highly intelligent little children will naturally choose the shiny signs (fame, self-indulgence, selfishness) if we, the wise outgoing generation, do not help them to see the value of the rusted ones (virtue, character, integrity). This is why I believe in conservative ideals.

And this is where we see the author drop his morose, almost gothic, attitude and warm the blogosphere with his sunny, optimistic disposition... sort of. Though our children are special, intelligent and ultimately part of the most choice of generations, we are the powerful ones today. We hold the keys to the future. People are always saying that it's our responsibility to make sure we take care of the world we pass on to our children; it is equally, if not more, important that we make sure our children are responsible enough to inherit it. We can't change what we've done, but we can influence what they will do.

Note- This post has been marinating in my head for quite some time. Thanks need to be given to all those parents who have given me hope that neither this generation, nor the next, are lost. Dad, Shaunna, Mom, Ken, Kevin, Susan, Jeremy, Becca, all my Grandparents. I hope you all know that you've been watched... and I've taken notes. Thank you, deeply.

I'm finally calmed down enough to write something coherent. Now that the haze of frustration has crept away from my mind I've come to further my conclusion that this country is fantastic. One thought comforts me when I think about 2/3 of the government being in the clutches of the Axis of Idiocy is that the supreme ruler of this land is not the man who won this popularity contest. The brilliance of our Founding Fathers beams from the idea that our government is headlined by a dispassionate and adaptable document. The Constitution is King, so to speak. This election is no exception. Though the vox populi did not echo mine, it was sounded, heard, and heeded. I do not agree with Barack Obama on very many issues. I do hold in high regard his intelligence and his diplomacy. After reading his books I feel like I could like him very much as a person. However, good oration does not a good leader make (effective, yes, as most of history's dictators and despots were brilliant wordsmiths). To hear my co-worker (whose every waking thought is on that nights level of inebriation) say that he chose to vote for Mr.Obama because he watched him on TV for three weeks made my gut kick itself. As screwed up as the general population seems to be becoming, I am still optimistic that our shiny new president will be true to his word and listen to all voices raised in his direction. I especially hope that he is wise enough to see the reasoning in the voices of dissent (the same kind that have given us every freedom we enjoy). I will voice my opinion, as all responsible citizens should, but I will also accept responsibility as a member of the most effective democratic experiment in history and support and sustain this new President. To echo a great mind whose opinion on this gave me some solace, my prayers will be with President Obama.

This ought to tickle the many who say I read too much into normal things. I've been a good boy, lately, going to the gym six days a week for a month, now. I'm surprised to find myself loathing the treadmill less and less as I feel better and better (although I still feel like a rodent on a stationary wheel). On the machines at this gym there are a variety of programs, two of which I alternate between. Both are advertised as involving "intervals" and this appeals to a chubby kid because perpetual movement is just out of the question, for now. I'll call the one I used today "Program 1". This one is surprisingly nice because it takes what you do in the first two-minute-walk-two-minute-run cluster and automatically switches speeds every two minutes. The first time I used it was fantastic. There was no guess work, there was no having to put forth my chubby little finger and hit the "slow the heck down before I hurl" button, and I still felt like I was getting a work out. This is in stark contrast to "Program 2" which claimed to be an "escalating interval" but offered no sort of assistance other than blinking lights to remind me where I was in the time line. I have to do all the thinking for Program 2 on top of all the technical maneuvering. To a lot of people the choice would seem pretty simple. However, this morning I knew that I could jog longer than two minutes. My body remembered the morning a few days ago when it went for more than five minutes. I wanted to see if I could do it again, so I planned to watch the clock and once the machine warned me it was applying the brakes I would simply keep the speed up. Program 1 doesn't deal well with dissenters, evidently. I ended up messing with my rhythm and bowed my head in submission. I still got a great workout, but I felt like I hadn't pushed myself enough. I had given the machine the ability to make my exercise decisions for me. With no opportunity for me to choose to grow, I stayed just the same. I see this same choice placed before me in the upcoming elections.