Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

11-14-2013 The Basics of Obamacare   Leave a comment

The business of being a one-legged invalid continues.  It’s been two weeks since the accident and I’m going out of my  mind being trapped in this house.  I’m spending a great deal of time surfing the net but even that wears on you after a while.  I’m also sick and tired of hearing about Obama and Obamacare.

It’s always been said that you can tell how a politician or his programs are really doing just by listening to the late night comedians.  For years that’s been a much more accurate way to gauge things than polling.  Why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year of our hard earned tax dollars on polling when you all you really need to do is tune in and listen to Jay Leno’s monologues.

I loved Johnny Carson’s ability to slam and ridicule politicians with a grin on his face and his audience laughing their collective asses off.  In some ways Leno and his writers are almost as good.  They never miss an opportunity to cut through the administrations BS and get to the real point in a funny manner. To me and millions of others this Obamacare program isn’t the least bit funny but as a last resort I’ll take the truth anyway I can find it.  Here’s a collection of some recent Jay Leno one-liners that explain Obama and Obamacare perfectly.  They’re funny and sad at the same time.

  • "The Obama White House website still says if you like your health plan, you can keep it. That’s false, of course. The president says they’re trying to correct it, but his website people can’t seem to log on."
  • "President Obama said he is sorry that some Americans have lost their existing health coverage due to Obamacare. I think he’s getting a little desperate. Today he said if you like your complete lack of coverage, you can keep your complete lack of coverage."
  • "President Obama’s approval rating is down to 39 percent. And Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who admitted to smoking crack cocaine, went up to 49 percent. How does this make Obama feel? He’d be better off smoking crack than passing Obamacare."
  • "According to CBS News, only six people enrolled in Obamacare on the first day of the rollout. Six! That means more people have walked on the moon than have signed up for Obamacare."
  • "Con artists are using Obamacare confusion to sign people up for fake health insurance. The scammers lure victims with false promises like, ‘If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan.’ The scammers will tell you that, so you have to be careful."
  • "There was some good news today for embattled Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Obamacare will cover all her injuries after the White House throws her under the bus. She is totally covered."
  • "For years President Obama has been saying that no one would lose their healthcare plan. Now the White House has admitted that in fact many people will lose their plans. But there is a way to keep the great coverage you have. Just become a member of Congress. Then the taxpayers pay for the whole thing."
  • "The White House now says the Obamacare website will be fixed by the end of November. So if your doctor has only given you three weeks to live, sorry pal."
  • "Today there were more problems with the Obamacare website. It seems when you type in your age, it’s confusing because it’s not clear if they want the age you are right now, or the age you’ll be when you finally log in."
  • "I tried to log on to the Obamacare website today. I don’t think I’m doing it right. I lost 300 bucks playing Texas Hold ‘Em."
  • "According to a new report, more than 700 fake Obamacare websites have been created. Security experts say it’s simple to identify the phony sites because they are easy to log on to."
  • "We’ve got the government shutdown, but the beginning of Obamacare. You know what that means? You can now complain to your doctor about the government making you sick."
  • "Before they went on vacation, Congress voted to exempt themselves from Obamacare. They gave themselves a special exemption because they thought it was too expensive. So the people who voted for Obamacare for us voted to exempt themselves from it. You know how doctors take the Hippocratic Oath. Congress apparently takes the ‘Hypocritic Oath.’"
  • "The White House approved an exemption in Obamacare coverage for Congress and members of their staff. Members complained that the Affordable Care Act will cost them thousands extra a year in premiums. Wait a minute. It’s their bill. If it’s too expensive, why did they name it the Affordable Care Act?"
  • "The Obama administration has admitted that under Obamacare, you might not be able to keep your doctor. At first the president guaranteed you’d be able to keep your doctor, and now they’re saying you ‘might’ be able to. Today Obama changed his slogan from ‘Yes we can’ to ‘Perhaps we could try. Can’t promise anything."
  • "President Obama told a group of school children that broccoli was his favorite food, and they believed him. Then he told them Obamacare would reduce the deficit and the kids all busted out laughing."
  • "This week will mark the 37th time House Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare. If Republicans really wanted to do away with Obamacare they should just endorse it as a conservative non-profit and let the IRS take it down."
  • "Congratulations to President Obama on being reelected president of the United States. Turns out it is not all bad news for the Republicans. It seems that depression is covered by Obamacare."
  • "If you’re an illegal immigrant in Arizona hoping to become a citizen so you can get free healthcare, this is the greatest week of your life."

You have to admit that hearing about one of the worst political nightmares to hit this country in decades is best done with humor.  It’s way better than listening to me whine and cry and reiterate my feelings for this failed Presidency.

11-13-2013 Acronym Answers   1 comment

I made the assumption that most of you would know most of the acronyms used in yesterdays post.  On the side chance that I’m wrong I’ve decided to list each one with their full title in the order as they appeared yesterday. I’m sure there will be a few surprises for you or at least I hope there will.   Here they are.

LOL – Laugh Out Loud
OMG – Oh My God
STAT – An abbreviation of the Latin statim, "Immediately".
ASAP – As Soon As Possible
KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid
UNIVAC – UNIVersal Automatic Computer
NABISCO – NAtional BIScuit COmpany
NECCO – New England Confectionary Company
WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get
MS-DOS – MicroSoft – Disk Operating System
DEF-CON – DEFense CONdition
NORAD – NORth American Air Defense Command
ZIP – Zone Improvement Plan
OSHA – Office of Special Housing Assistance
NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
RADAR – RAdio Detection And Ranging
SCUBA – Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SCUD – Subsonic Cruise Unarmed Decoy
WAC – Women’s Army Corp
AWOL – Absent With Out Leave
SAC – Strategic Air Command
SEALS – SEa-Air-Land UnitS
SALT – Strategic  Arms Limitation Talks
SNAFU – Situation Normal All Fucked Up
SONAR – SOund Navigation And Ranging
AWACS – Airborne Warning And Control System
TNT – TriNitroToluene  
HUD – Housing and Urban Development
SSN – Social Security Number
DOB – Date Of Birth
GPA – Grade Point Average
NOW – National Organization of Women
UNESCO – United Nations Educational Scientific  and Cultural Org.
UNICEF – UNIted Nations Children’s Emergency Fund
OVER – Over to You
OUT – End Transmission
WILCO – WIll COmply
ER – Emergency Room
ICU – Intensive Care Unit
DNA – Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid
RNA – RiboNucleic Acid
DOA – Date Of Arrival
ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival
EST – Eastern Standard Time
INTERPOL – INTERnational Criminal POLice Organization
NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
SONAR – SOund Navigation And Ranging
TASER – Tele-Active Shock Electronic Repulsion
LASER – Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
CANOLA – CANada Oil, Low Acid
TV – TeleVision
DVD – Dissociated Vertical Deviation
DOA – Dead On Arrival
OMFG – Oh My Fucking God

11-12-2013 Acronyms Are Killing Me   2 comments

What possesses we humans with the need to continuously shorten our language.  LOL, OMG, and others were created primarily because of Twitter and other social networks. 140 characters leave very little space for actual coherent thoughts.  I’d like to take you back a few years to when this craziness really got rolling.  STAT and ASAP are two oldies I learned during hospital visits to see my mother at age 10 or 12 and here are a few more. 

The list is endless but this countries businesses are as responsible for many of the more ridiculous acronyms as anyone.  You have  KISS, UNIVAC, NABISCO, NECCO, WYSIWYG, and MS-DOS just to name a few.  Do you know what they all mean?  I’ll just bet you don’t.

Never let it be said that the government didn’t help the cause.  They’re the worst especially in the armed services.  DEFCON, NORAD, ZIP code, OSHA, NATO, RADAR, SCUBA, SCUD, WAC, AWOL, SAC, SEALS, and literally thousands of others. Anyone whose ever had the opportunity to speak to someone who works in the Pentagon needs an accomplished translator who is trained in Gov-Speak.  SALT, SNAFU, SONAR, AWACS, TNT, and the endless list continues.

You could work for HUD but not before they check your SSN, DOB, and GPA.  On your off time you could join NOW, UNESCO, UNICEF, or get bogged down with other WOMBAT stuff.

Take a flight, OVER, OUT,  ROGER, and WILCO.  Get sick and be subjected to an MRI or EKG. You could end up in the ER or ICU for more serious matters.

You can make yourself crazy just trying to keep up with the ever changing acronyms.  I guess this society is in such a hurry to do everything we don’t have time to say any more complete words than necessary. Before you know it we won’t have a language anymore, we’ll just communicate with nothing but acronyms.  That will be a very sad day. George Orwell was a few years behind the times in many of his predictions in 1984 but some still ring true today.

Here are a few more for your edification:  DNA, RNA, DOA, ETA, EST, INTERPOL, NIMBY, NASA, SONAR, TASER, LASER, and even CANOLA oil.  TV, DVD, DOA, and OMFG.  I’ve got to stop this foolishness immediately, it’s making me crazier than usual. I’ll be happy to supply a list tomorrow of the acronyms used in this posting and we’ll see just how many you know or think you know.

11-11-2013 November Holidays   1 comment

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.   Charles Darwin

I know a lot of you folks are already gearing up for the holidays.  The month of November begins the insanity that is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Years. For me I find Veterans Day to be more important than the others.  I assume that most vets feel the same way.  I don’t like making a big deal out of it on this blog because for me it’s more of a private and solemn occasion.  I’ll thank any vet who has served this country and I honor those who gave their lives in it’s defense. That’s all you’ll hear today from me.  I see no need for patriotic songs and fancy memorials.  Just a quiet minute and a bowed head and I’m good.

I expect that everyone is already being bombarded by that good old Christmas spirit since most retailers filled their shelves with Christmas cheer before Halloween. I find that unfortunate but not unexpected. I suppose it’s just a matter of time before they start pushing Christmas sometime in August. Spend, Spend, Spend!  That’s becoming an almost religious mantra in this country and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.

I made a quick review of some national observances for the month of November and it’s mind boggling.  Who knew this month was so damn important.  It’s also mind boggling just how much time our well paid and self-involved representatives have wasted having these observances enacted. This list is only the monthly observances.  There are an additional 28 weekly  and 128 daily observances I didn’t bother listing.  If we truly trust in our legislators to do the right thing then we should be celebrating each and every one of them.  So folks, in the future we should all take November off and party like the fools that we are.  Find an observance you like and then celebrate it.

Adopt A Senior Pet Month Link
American & National Diabetes Month
American Indian Heritage Month Link  (See also August)
Aviation History Month
Banana Pudding Lovers Month
Diabetic Eye Disease Month
Epilepsy Awareness Month Link
Family Stories Month Link
Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
Greens and Plantains Month Link
Historic Bridge Awareness Month Link
International Drum (Percussion) Month Link
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Manatee Awareness Month Link
MADD’s Tie One On For Safety Holiday Campaign (11/16-12/31)
Military Family Appreciation Month Link
National Adoption Month
National PPSI AIDS Awareness Month
National Alzheimer’s Disease Month
National COPD Month Link
National Family Caregivers Month Link
National Georgia Pecan Month
National Home Care & Hospice Month Link
National Impotency Month Link
National Inspirational Role Models Month
National Life Writing Month
National Long-term Care Awareness Month
National Marrow Awareness Month
National Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Awareness & Appreciation Month Link
National Native American Heritage Month Link
National Family Literacy Month
National Novel Writing Month Link
National Peanut Butter Lovers Month
National Pet Cancer Awareness Month
National Pomegranate Month Link
National PPSI Aids Awareness Month
National Roasting Month Link
National Scholarship Month Link
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month Link
Plum and Pomegranate Month Link
Prematurity Awareness Month Link
PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month Link
Spinach and Squash Month Link
Sweet Potato Awareness Month Link  (See also February)
NoSHAVEmber (US – Beard Month or November (Australia – Moustache Month )
Vegan Month
Worldwide Bereaved Siblings Month
World Sponge Month

I’m exhausted just reading this list let alone paying any attention to it. With Thanksgiving on the horizon don’t forget to be thankful for our politicians of both parties for doing their part in screwing up this country like none of our enemies have been able to do.  Darwin’s quote is very telling these days.

11-09-2013 American Geography Trivia Quiz   2 comments

Being a lover of history and geography started for me when I was no more than seven or eight years old.  I loved map reading and studied the world map for years and even copied it twice by hand.  I was like a gigantic sponge when it came to learning anything new on those two subjects.  I loved reading about this country and the people who helped create it.

I find these days that attempting to converse about our history is difficult. People either lack the knowledge entirely or what they do know is incorrect. It seems that academia spends more time teaching them what might be wrong with this country than what is good.  I’ll go so far as to say that many of our younger citizens couldn’t even pass the citizenship test that all immigrants are required to pass if they wish to become an American citizen. A number of years ago I recall some sort of half-assed poll that indicated that our own children couldn’t find the United States on a world map.  I found that shocking then but I’m afraid the situation hasn’t improved much.

I’m going to post something today which may be a total waste of time.  I thought maybe a short and intense American Geography Trivia quiz might be just the thing.  Some of you will know every answer, some will know most, and some will be totally stumped.  Where do you think you’ll score?  Let’s see.

* * *

1.  Two states bill themselves as the “Sunshine State. Can you name?

2.  What US city is almost the same latitude as Mexico City?

3.  What U.S. canyon is the deepest gorge on the North American continent?

4.  What are the numbers of the three interstate highways that run coast-to-coast?

5.  How many official time zones are there in the United States – including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa?

6.  What for state capitals are named after cities in England to Mark

7.  What city is more than 2 1/2 times the size of Rhode Island and is America’s largest in area?

8.  What is the only place below sea level in the United States that is not located in the California desert? Hint: it’s a major city.

9.  How many states were created in part or in their entirety from the Louisiana Territory, purchased from France in 1803?

10. What was the name of the first permanent settlement in Kentucky, established in 1775 by frontiersman Daniel Boone?

* * *

I  get to brag a little today after taking this quiz. I scored seven correct answers out of ten and amazed myself. As always, the correct answers will be posted tomorrow along with a limerick or two and a dirty joke if  I can find a good one.

11-08-2013 Cliques & Bullying   4 comments

What compels almost every group of humans who spend any amount of time together to break into smaller groups based on any number of societal reasons? We have the geeks and jocks, the pretty and not so pretty, the brains and the dummies, the sexually different, and just about anything else you can think of.  One of the worst outcomes of group dynamics is bullying. Whether it’s verbal, physical, emotional, or cyber it continues regardless of the steps taken by our society to stop it. The end results of bullying are ugly and include awful things such as suicides, murders, beatings, and a life long emotional issue for the victims to deal with. Nothing good comes of it.

I’ve experienced most of these things first hand growing up. They started for me in Middle school when I was a short and skinny nerd being bullied by a much older and meaner student and his pals. I dealt with it as best I could until a few years later when I grew about a foot and put on forty pounds. Then all of a sudden their nonsense stopped and they moved on to other smaller and less hostile targets.

In High School I had the misfortune to be socially placed into two different groups.  On one hand I was a jock who lettered in a number of sports but I was also confined to the weirdo category because of my artistic bent. At sporting events it was OK to be seen with me but all of my jock buddies avoided any type of friendship off the field. I was independent enough to deal with it but how well I did is still up for discussion.  If I handled it so well why am I continuing to talk about it after all these years? A good question to be sure but one I really don’t want to answer.  I suspect the scars on any bullying victim never go away completely.

I’m only bringing it up now because of what I observed only a day or so ago. I was riding by a local high school  and classes were letting out. I observed no less than five or six distinct groups standing on the same sidewalk.  They were talking amongst themselves in their own groups but ignoring the others.  I could see the obvious differences immediately, sport related jackets in one group, weird clothing and hats in another, musical instruments in a third and as always a small group of sad looking kids who were the obvious outcast group.  I was immediately transported back to my early days when I was the guy who walked through the many and varied groups wondering why I wasn’t being accepted. It was a little bit of time travel I could have done without.

I have no answers or solutions and apparently no one else does either. I see on TV the reports of student groups standing up and fighting against bullying. They wear their cute t-shirts and attend their cute meetings and accomplish very little.  The people that need to be attending those rallies and listening to the speech’s are the bullies themselves and the school administrators who have the power to discipline them.  The bullies watch those activities and laugh them off with a shrug and a smirk. Then it’s business as usual the very next day.  It takes much sterner consequences by the powers-that-be on the bully’s before we can expect to see any improvement.  Our politically correct school systems make that damn near impossible. Drastic problems require drastic action and doing nothing at all is cowardly and unforgiveable.

11-05-2013 Movie Trivia   Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of movies and I find nothing more enjoyable than throwing in a DVD, popping some popcorn, and relaxing with a good film.  My preferences are varied but what I really enjoy most are the movies normally shown on TCM.  I’ve spent hundreds of hours watching those films and without hesitation would do it again.

One thing above all that interests me are the anomalies made during filming that are missed by the editors and end up in the final version.  I’m sure some of them are done purposely but many are just screw-ups that were missed.  I stumbled on this information concerning a few movie foul-ups that aren’t all that well known (at least not to me).  The next time you happen to be watching any of these films with a friend of family member you can dazzle them with your superior knowledge of movie trivia.  Enjoy.

  • In 1982 during the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark a great blooper can be found in the scene where German soldiers and Gestapo agents were lifting the Ark. If you look closely as the camera pans along the hieroglyphics on the wall you’ll see paintings of C3PO and R2D2, the robots from the Star Wars classic (another George Lucas film).
  • This tidbit is from the movie Fortune Cookie made in 1966. The blooper scene shows Walter Matthau leaving one room and entering another and he appears to have lost a great deal of weight in the process. Matthau suffered a heart attack while this scene was being filmed; only half of the scene was completed before he entered the hospital. He returned five months later to finish the job almost 40 pounds lighter than he was in the first part of the filming.
  • In 1971 during the filming of Diamonds are Forever, James Bond tips his Ford Mustang up on two wheels and drives through a narrow alley to escape from the bad guys. Unfortunately in the final version the Mustang enters the alley on its two right wheels and leaves the alley on its two left wheels.
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind filmed in 1977 also had a blooper worth mentioning. Towards the end of the movie Richard Dreyfus and Terry Garner smashed through several roadblocks as they neared the Devil’s Tower. The license plate on their station wagon kept changing.
  • Now let’s go back to 1954 to the filming of Rear Window. The star Jimmy Stewart, in a cast and sitting in a wheelchair, is arguing with Grace Kelly. His cast magically switches from his left leg to his right during the scene.
  • 1967 during the filming of Camelot, King Richard (Richard Harris) praises his medieval kingdom while speaking to some of his subjects. Someone dropped the ball because in that scene Harris is wearing a Band-Aid on his neck.
  • And last but not least one small blooper from one of my all-time favorite movies, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953).  In the movie they actually go to Venus.

I hope to discover more of these little miscues in other films and if I do I’ll be sure to pass them along. 

11-03-2013 Kids & Proverbs   Leave a comment

As I’ve stated many times in the past I just love talking to kids.  The only thing you can be absolutely sure of in those conversations is receiving unedited answers which are what they perceive to be the truth.  They are almost always funny and and direct, an ability that most adults have lost due to decades of political correct indoctrination.  I try to enjoy conversing with kids before they age enough to become guarded, jaded, and uninteresting, much like their parents.

I’ve posted before with kid’s thoughts on Christmas, Love and Marriage, and other subjects.  The information contained in this post was collected by a first grade teacher who took a collection of well-known proverbs and split them into two parts. Each child in her class was supplied with the first half of a proverb, and then asked to complete it. Their insight as always makes me smile. Here we go.

Better to be safe than . . . . Punch a 5th grader.

Strike while the . . . . Bug is close.

It’s always darkest before . . . . Daylight Savings Time.

Never underestimate the power of . . . . Termites.

You can lead a horse to water but . . . .  how?

Don’t bite the hand that . . . . looks dirty.

No news is . . . . impossible.

A miss is as good as a . . . . Mr.

You can’t teach an old dog new . . . . math.

If you lie down with dogs, you . . . . stink in the morning.

Love all, trust . . . . me.

The pen is mightier than the . . . . pigs.

An idle mind is . . . . the best way to relax.

Where there’s smoke there’s . . . . Pollution.

Happy the bride who . . . . gets all the presents.

A penny saved is . . . . not much.

Two’s company, three’s . . . . the Musketeers.

Don’t put off till tomorrow what . . . . you put on to go to bed.

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and . . . . you have to blow your nose.

None are so blind as . . . . Helen Keller.

Children should be seen and not . . . . spanked or grounded.

If at first you don’t succeed . . . . get new batteries.

You get out of something what you . . . . see pictured on the box.

When the blind leadeth the blind . . . . get out of the way.

It’s unfortunate that almost all of us lose the ability to be frank and honest as we age.  I spent a career trying to be frank and honest and I paid a heavy price for it at times.  I consistently attempted to follow my late father’s #1 rule. It’s nothing from the Bible or any other  religious organization, just a plain and simple statement to help set the course for my life.  ‘”ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING, REGARDLESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES”.  It’s not an easy thing to do because most people claim to want honesty from everyone until they get it, then  it can get ugly. Kids are pure and uncontaminated by the ugliness of the human condition and it does the heart good for those of us already contaminated  to remember those days.

11-01-2013 Stupid Headlines   2 comments

I remember growing up in a time when newspapers ruled the world. Nothing was true unless it was in the paper and each morning people scrambled for the morning news.  It was a time when two deliveries of a newspaper was the norm, the morning edition at 6am and another delivered in the early evening. I had an up close and personal  relationship with our daily paper, The Valley Daily News, because I was one of it’s part-time carriers.  I always felt so damn important as I made my rounds delivering the latest news to all of my friends and neighbors.  For me it was a big deal.

I can still remember rushing to the pile of papers as they were tossed off the delivery truck to catch a quick peek at the day’s headlines.  It was exciting for a dumb kid like me to be the first to get the scoop of the day. 

The quality of the writing seemed much more professional then than some of the stuff I’m reading these days.   In my humble opinion our improved technologies and the birth of the Internet have brought the quality of articles and headlines to a very low level.  The daily barrage of news these days wears on a person.  It’s a constant drumbeat 24 hours a day and it’s annoying as well as redundant.

Back in the day writing was a serious profession and the writing of headlines was almost as important as the articles themselves.  I offer for your amusement the following collection of  headlines from recent years and various newspapers.  Not only do the headlines suck but the editor’s who allowed them to be sent to print should be ashamed.  Here we go.

IRAQI HEAD SEEKS ARMS

QUEEN MARY HAVING BOTTOM SCRAPED

IS THERE A RING OF DEBRIS AROUND URANUS?

PROSTITUTES APPEAL TO POPE

PANDA MATING FAILS – VETERINARIAN TAKES OVER

NJ JUDGE TO RULE ON NUDE BEACH

CHILD’S STOOL GREAT FOR USE IN GARDEN

DR. RUTH TO TALK ABOUT SEX WITH NEWSPAPER EDITORS

SOVIET VIRGIN LANDS SHORT OF GOAL AGAIN

ORGAN FESTIVAL ENDS IN SMASHING CLIMAX

EYE DROPS OFF SHELF

SQUAD HELPS DOG BITE VICTIM

DEALERS WILL HEAR CAR TALK AT NOON

ENRAGED COW INJURES FARMER WITH AX

LAWMEN FROM MEXICO BARBECUE GUESTS

You just can’t make this stuff up.    For as long as the Net prospers so will my coffers of stupid remain full.  Long live the Internet.

10-28-2013 More Useless Facts   4 comments

uselessinfo

I love the English language.  I jut wanted to put that out there to help readers understand this blog is not TWITTER.  Here at Every Useless Thing we need way more than 140 characters to make a point.  The Twitter language which has been developing for the youngest of the sound bite generations leaves me #effingcold.  If you’re a constant Twitter user then you’ve already begun to think in their terms as well as write that way.  Twitter is in too much of a hurry for me which results in a blog here that’s comfortable to read and comment on.  Relax, enjoy and don’t stress out trying to get all of your thoughts on a complex subject jammed into 140 characters. Let’s begin.

* * *

One of the more interesting things for me in the language are palindromes. For those of you who don’t know, palindromes are words or phrases that spell the same forward and backward.  The palindromic words are cool but the phrases are mind boggling.

Two Words

Dump mud.

Party trap

Stack cats.

Short Phrases

Never odd or even.

Live not on evil.

Pa’s a sap.

Pull up, Bob, pull up.

Crazy Phrases

We panic in a pew.

Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.

Did Mom poop? Mom did.

* * *

I’ve always been a big fan of Harry S. Truman.  A down-to-earth president who had the unique ability to cut right threw the normal political BS and get to the point.  Reporters in those days must have loved covering him.  Here’s one of my favorite Truman quotes:

“Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day”

Another of my favorites was H. L. Mencken.  I’m especially awed by anyone who can become so famous that his words and phrases are quoted endlessly by millions of people.  He was something I’ve aspired to be my whole life.  A genuine “wise ass”.  Here’s a few of his more interesting thoughts:

“Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.”

A statement more true now than ever before in our history.  Here’s another:

“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.”

I’ve been called a cynic by some and I wear that as a badge of honor. Without we cynics everyone would be an idealist.  Mencken had a thought about them as well.

“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.”

   * * *

Here’s an interesting Star Wars factoid.  The name of R2-D2 came about while George Lucas was filming American Graffiti. During a sound-mixing session, editor Walter Murch asked him for R2, D2 (Reel 2, Dialogue 2) of the film. Lucas liked the name so much  that he made a note of it, and eventually found the right character for it.

* * *

What famous Hollywood comedian said the following": “I learned about sex watching neighborhood dogs.  The most important thing I learned was: Never let go of the girl’s leg no matter how hard she tries to shake you off.

nitraM evetS

* * *

That’s enough of this mind numbing useless crap for today.  There’s much more to come in the future and I’m sure you’re thrilled to death knowing that. Over and out from a cynical wiseass.