OK... so some friends said they can't wait for the next twenty, so I felt I would oblige.
Before I do, let me say that my next blog will be the top 20 things that make me happy. Only seems fair.
So here we go... and remember, they're in no particular order.
21) I am white. I'm not German-American. Most black people I know are OK with just being black. They're not African-Americans. In fact, they don't even know anyone who's African-American. The only African's I've ever met are just African. They're still black, but they're African. Can we all just get over it?
22) Stop blaming your problems on everyone else. If you're a jerk, it's not because you were neglected, or abused, or you have some chemical imbalance. It's because you're a jerk.
23) Spank your kids every now and then... when they need it, and properly. First, they'll live. Second, you'll live. Third, they will grow up to be nice and respectful, rather than buttfaces. Fourth, stop worrying about what your neighbors will think when you spank your kids. Fifth, stop butting your nose into your neighbors family when they spank their children.
24) Yes, give me a spoon in a restaurant. I can't eat mashed potatoes and gravy with a fork.
25) Legal advice from the movie, Liar Liar. "Stop breaking the law, #@%#hole!"
26) All NBA players were top notch college players just a few years ago. So stop pretending you hate pro basketball and only like college. All those Kentucky players you love so much this year will be in the NBA in the next year or so. (And as another aside, stop saying you dislike pro sports because of free agency. College rosters turn over every year!)
27) Stop griping about the money pro athletes make. They generate billions of dollars in revenue for lots of people every year, and provide entertainment to millions. Besides, they wouldn't make so much money if you didn't buy their tickets and jerseys and $9 beers. It's your fault. Not theirs.
28) There is only ONE way to fix education today. Hire more teachers and pay them more money. NOTHING else will work. All the testing, football fields, technology, core curriculums and breakfasts aren't even band-aids. They're makeup. Take the time to tell your congressman that.
29) Why can't I just watch a TV show? I don't need some numbskull hashtag flashed on the screen every two minutes. (Who has the time to keep coming up with this crap?)
30) Imagine the good you could do in this world if you focused your energy on something other than saving chickens, bats and whales. Please...
31) Cats.
32) You CAN have a good time without drinking alcohol. My wife and I enjoy our lives every day. If you think you can't get together with your friends without drinking something, the problem is you. Maybe you're just dull.
33) Alcohol is an intensifier. If you're a jerk when you drink, it's because you're a jerk.
34) If you die at a young age doing what you love, you're still dead. There's no glory in dying while mountain climbing. You're only legacy is leaving behind a family who loved you very much.
35) If your son attacks a police officer and he gets shot for doing it, it's your son's fault.
36) Stop hiding because you're afraid of offending someone. Speak up and take a stand every now and then. You may tick off someone along the way, but you will also gain some respect. Read Joshua 24:15.
37) Not every kid deserves a trophy. Teach your kids to work hard and earn something. You're not helping them. You're crippling them.
38) If a woman decides to stay home and take care of her family, she's not less of a woman. In fact, a case could be made that she's more of a woman. Sometimes women can think for themselves, and make intelligent adult decisions about their own lives. It doesn't mean she's being held down, held back, or abused.
39) Every time someone criticizes your stupid behavior, it doesn't mean they're "judging" you. It means you did something stupid.
40) Cubs fans.
And one more to grow on) People who complain all the time... [Wink, wink!]
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Random Things that Bother Me: A lot!
As you know, I can have strong opinions on things. But usually, I don't write something down until it is a subject that I feel requires quite a bit of discussion, and then I weigh in.
But there's lots of little things that bug me that really don't warrant whole articles, or even marginal rants. So I've decided to compile a simple list of things that bother me. They bother me a lot, actually, but probably only need a sentence or two to explain. Maybe they're more like pet peeves. And maybe you'll agree with some or all. Maybe you won't.
I will say, as a matter of preface, that many of these revolve around the news. Specifically, TV news. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
There's more than 20, to be sure. But 20 is enough. So here we go.
1) Much in the same way we don't need to see a weatherman standing out in the snow to tell us it's snowing, I hate it when a reporter goes "live at the scene" when there's nothing at the scene going on. For example, when someone is going to be arraigned at the court house later in the day, I don't need the reporter telling the story to be standing in front of a closed court house at 6 in the morning. They could tell me the story from the studio and it would still make sense. Go to the court house when the criminal is there and something is happening, not before.
2) I don't care about some kid in elementary school in Iowa. Doesn't affect me here in Indiana. If that's all the news you have, lop off one of the 6 hours you're on the air.
3) Since when did tweets and Facebook posts from random viewers become relevant to the story? You've seen them. "Jim Irsay was busted for DUI today. Here's what some of our viewers had to say." I don't give a crap about what Joe Smith thinks about Jim Irsay. For that matter, I don't care what LeBron James thinks about it either.
4) Why can't they make windshield wipers that work in the Wintertime? Didn't we have the technology to send some guy to the moon nearly 50 years ago? Surely, some of that technology can be transferred to a usable, functional wintertime windshield wiper.
5) What right to any of us have to care about what kind of commercial a particular company airs? In light of the Super Bowl, you didn't like Nationwide's downer ad? Who cares? You think Mt. Dew's drink ad was funny? Great. You didn't like McDonald's ads with all the different signs? So what? Turn the channel, buy they drink, don't go to McDonalds. NO ONE Cares!
6) You don't like what I post on MY Facebook page, post your opinion if you want to or don't read it. I'm not bothered by it one way or another. If I post something on your Facebook page disagreeing with your views, and you don't like it? Then don't post stupid stuff you don't want people's opinions on.
7) Norm Macdonald said it best when he said, "Back in the old days, they only had 30 minutes of news every night.... Turns out, they had it about right!" I don't need to see the same stuff over again every half hour for 4 hours. 30 minutes once will just about cover it.
8) It snows in the wintertime here in Indiana, and it gets hot in the Summer. Stop pretending it's newsworthy.
9) Ellen is not a hero. She's a talk-show host. And a funny comedienne. Same with Oprah, except she's not funny. They both do nice things for people. Good for them.
10) Stop asking sports figures "How they feel?" The answer is always the same. If they won, they feel great, and if they lost, they feel like crap. A very good writer, Paul Daugherty, of the Cincinnati Enquirer, said it best. "Truth is, lots of players either have nothing enlightening to say, or choose not to say it. Fine. I'm a writer. I get paid for my words to be better than theirs. Quotes are highly overrated." He's right. Athletes are paid to play, not talk. Writers are paid to write, not play. Write the story, OK? We know how the player feels.
But there's lots of little things that bug me that really don't warrant whole articles, or even marginal rants. So I've decided to compile a simple list of things that bother me. They bother me a lot, actually, but probably only need a sentence or two to explain. Maybe they're more like pet peeves. And maybe you'll agree with some or all. Maybe you won't.
I will say, as a matter of preface, that many of these revolve around the news. Specifically, TV news. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
There's more than 20, to be sure. But 20 is enough. So here we go.
1) Much in the same way we don't need to see a weatherman standing out in the snow to tell us it's snowing, I hate it when a reporter goes "live at the scene" when there's nothing at the scene going on. For example, when someone is going to be arraigned at the court house later in the day, I don't need the reporter telling the story to be standing in front of a closed court house at 6 in the morning. They could tell me the story from the studio and it would still make sense. Go to the court house when the criminal is there and something is happening, not before.
2) I don't care about some kid in elementary school in Iowa. Doesn't affect me here in Indiana. If that's all the news you have, lop off one of the 6 hours you're on the air.
3) Since when did tweets and Facebook posts from random viewers become relevant to the story? You've seen them. "Jim Irsay was busted for DUI today. Here's what some of our viewers had to say." I don't give a crap about what Joe Smith thinks about Jim Irsay. For that matter, I don't care what LeBron James thinks about it either.
4) Why can't they make windshield wipers that work in the Wintertime? Didn't we have the technology to send some guy to the moon nearly 50 years ago? Surely, some of that technology can be transferred to a usable, functional wintertime windshield wiper.
5) What right to any of us have to care about what kind of commercial a particular company airs? In light of the Super Bowl, you didn't like Nationwide's downer ad? Who cares? You think Mt. Dew's drink ad was funny? Great. You didn't like McDonald's ads with all the different signs? So what? Turn the channel, buy they drink, don't go to McDonalds. NO ONE Cares!
6) You don't like what I post on MY Facebook page, post your opinion if you want to or don't read it. I'm not bothered by it one way or another. If I post something on your Facebook page disagreeing with your views, and you don't like it? Then don't post stupid stuff you don't want people's opinions on.
7) Norm Macdonald said it best when he said, "Back in the old days, they only had 30 minutes of news every night.... Turns out, they had it about right!" I don't need to see the same stuff over again every half hour for 4 hours. 30 minutes once will just about cover it.
8) It snows in the wintertime here in Indiana, and it gets hot in the Summer. Stop pretending it's newsworthy.
9) Ellen is not a hero. She's a talk-show host. And a funny comedienne. Same with Oprah, except she's not funny. They both do nice things for people. Good for them.
10) Stop asking sports figures "How they feel?" The answer is always the same. If they won, they feel great, and if they lost, they feel like crap. A very good writer, Paul Daugherty, of the Cincinnati Enquirer, said it best. "Truth is, lots of players either have nothing enlightening to say, or choose not to say it. Fine. I'm a writer. I get paid for my words to be better than theirs. Quotes are highly overrated." He's right. Athletes are paid to play, not talk. Writers are paid to write, not play. Write the story, OK? We know how the player feels.
11) Stop asking the criminal as he's escorted by in handcuffs by authorities, "Did you kill that little girl?" or "Did you intentionally blow up that house?" They're not going to answer that question. Has anyone ever said, "Yeah I killed her, so what?" They NEVER have, and they're never going to. It's stupid and makes you look silly.
12) Reality television is not real, in any sense of the word. It's a TELEVISION show. Period, and only designed and scripted to attract advertisers viewers. There is nothing about American Idol or Honey Boo Boo that isn't fixed. Oh sure, they might be interesting people, but the show is scripted, as is most usually the outcome. It's like pro wrestling... they're really flying off the top ring, but the winner is pre-determined.
13) Yield signs mean yield. That's why they're different from Stop signs. (On a side note, Roundabouts are NOT dangerous. They're wonderful. What's dangerous is dopey drivers who don't know what a Yield sign means.)
14) Why does our legislature care if one guy in Angola owns a Bengal tiger when kids get their faces ripped off by Pitbulls and Rottweilers every day?
15) If you own a Pitbull, stop trying to convince everyone they're not dangerous. They are. Get over it. There are no stories on the news about Poodles killing little kids.
16) Christians aren't blowing up airplanes. Or subways. Or embassies. Or chopping off innocent people's heads. Ain't happening. We all know who is.
17) Why is it the weatherman can tell me two weeks in advance that its going to snow, but when the storm actually arrives, they have no clue on how much snow we'll get?
18) Learn how to use the internet, and specifically, email. It's not that hard.
19) More people like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese than do sprouts and vegetables. It's not my fault, it's the way it is. And they like chocolate chip cookies better than oatmeal raisin. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Keep this in mind the next time you're planning a big party.
20) Twitter is stupid. There, I said it.
And one to grow on) When we were little kids, we were taught that sticks and stones may break our bones, but words could never harm us. It's true. It's time we all grow up.
And one to grow on) When we were little kids, we were taught that sticks and stones may break our bones, but words could never harm us. It's true. It's time we all grow up.
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