A few thoughts and rants...

Writer's Block. Have you ever forced creativity? There is much talk in the literary world about "writer's block", but being creative is not about saying something just because you can, or should. It's about being inspired. I do not believe in writer's block, I just believe in inspiration, which does not happen every second of every day, otherwise there would be nothing special about it.

Leisure. What is it about Americans that we must drive slowly in a "fast" lane. What is it about Americans that we must become Workaholics and skip lunch, working 15-hour days and still produce a shoddy product? (And I've heard of alcohol, but what the heck is Workohol?) I don't mind a "Sunday drive", but at my leisure, not yours.

Sports. Remember when Men played sports? George Blanda was Quarterback, Punter and Kicker for the Oakland Raiders in the 60s and 70s. Now, you have Mike Vanderjerk who doesn't want to kickoff anymore, but only kick field goals, which he can't even do successfully. If he was nailing 50-yarders maybe we could talk, but alas, he is out of a job altogether. And baseball? What happened to Joe McGinnity who would pitch both games of a double-header? He did this in 1903, not once but three times in a month. Today we must let Precious rest after 5-1/3 innings. Oh yea, McGinnity also had a day job.

Religion. Why do people work so hard at some thing they so hate? Religion is defined as "a set of beliefs and practices" (not limited to a deity), and the original Greek word suggests a meaning "to bind up". So why is it we are so devoted to such a restricting idea, when God sent His Son to do it all for us and all we must have is faith? Obvious: Religion bad. Relationship good.

Dieting. Why do Europeans, especially the French, make food that is so bad for you? Ok, so Americans really do that too, don't they? It's just that in Europe there is no diet soda, no Lean Cuisine, no aerosol cheese, no wandering down Grocery Mega Stores wondering why everything has to be coated in sugar for us to choke it down (have you seen the cereal isle?). When did my gluttony become the responsibility of the FDA? And yet Europeans aren't fat. Hmmm...

Viruses. All computers get them, right? Well, most do it's true. Let's count 'em... Windows: Check. Linux: Nope. Unix: Nope. Mac OS X: Nope. Solaris: Nope. BeOS: Nope. Ok, ok, I'll bite, what gives? Well, nothing really except Micro$oft refuses to acknowledge that their operating system, albeit useful, is littered with holes. And still 90% of the world uses it. But in more than 14 years of running a Mac and Linux, I've never had one virus and I've never run any anti-virus software. Yes, it's true, I hate Windows. Mostly because it's so boring. I work in the computer industry and thus spend much of my day behind one. So for me to use Windows would be like Kyle Petty driving a Ford Focus, or Steve Ballmer, CEO of Micro$oft and #31 on the world's richest people driving a 1998 Lincoln Continental...wait, what? Oh, he does? I didn't know. Very sorry.

Automobiles. I appreciate patriotism. No I don't mean a Man Crush on Tom Brady. I mean a love for your homeland, America for example. But why do consumers insist on buying American just because it was made by Americans. This is not always a good thing, see my second beef, Leisure. Americans, especially Union laborers, love the weekend. So do I want to buy a car from Detroit manufactured on a Friday? We also come to work after the weekend hungover, so do I really want to buy a car manufactured on a Monday? The Germans seem to know what they are doing, the Japanese certainly know what they are doing. So why buy American? To support the economy of course! Well, what about my economy? My salary is taxed when I get it, and taxed again when I spend it. And now I must take sole responsibility for a vehicle which is so poorly designed and built in the first place? Pass.

America. Come on, you knew it was coming. A country, founded by men who feared God, still reaping the blessings of God, and yet totally ignoring and cursing God, but when we want things to go our way we'll just throw on a bumper sticker: "God Bless America!". Remember the strip club in Maine after 9-11 that proudly added this idiom to its marquee? God Bless America seems less about wanting His blessings and more about wanting my way. How about this: America, Bless God! Now I'm interested.

Media. "News." "In the know". "Stay informed". The television has become the ultimate "idiot box". Go to the airport, or the car dealership waiting room (where I now sit) or a restaurant bar, and you will see eyes locked, mouth open, drool running, mind being programmed. In the movie I-Robot, the robots would receive updates via a server. While this was done the robots innards would glow red. When I see this phenomenon with a person I think of this red glow as we are "programmed" to think and believe whatever Fox and CNN and Local news wants us to. I think of another bumper sticker which reads "Kill Your Television". Man, that's good advice. The media has become a prison for your mind. Be free, kill your television.