Really?

I HATE working with co-workers that are too stupid to live were breathing not an autonomic function. Today, I overheard the administrative assistant (secretary) answer the phone and then say "Please wait a minute. Mr. Really Smart Guy, you have a call." Mr. Really Smart Guy's response: "On the phone?"

Really? In my mind I thought "NO, genius. Oddly enough, she called on the stapler today."

Dumbass.

The Man Who Laughs

I am totally, entirely, and until I die a headbanger (A guy who listens to heavy metal while vigorously nodding his head up and down). To my greatest satisfaction, my son David became a headbanger, as well. I did not raise him to be a headbanger; the first videotape and cassette tape that I presented to him was Michael Jackson’s HIStory. At some point, he discovered my metal music collection and then became a ‘banger himself.

We have had some excellent times together, since then. Our first concert together was Queensryche and Judas Priest, in Virginia. After that, we went to Ozzfest 2005, where we saw Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden and the original Black Sabbath lineup (Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward). In 2006 we went to see Iron Maiden in New Jersey, and then we went to a small club in Baltimore where Queensryche put on a stage presentation of ‘Operation Mind Crime’ parts one and two. In 2007 and 2008 we saw Rush in Raleigh and Charlotte. Interestingly, it was all on the ‘Snakes and Arrows’ tour. We missed 2009 because I was in Kuwait. In 2010, we went to Charlotte and saw the “Gruesome Twosome” show. Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. At the age of 62, Alice Cooper still kicks ass!

We’ve seen Zombie twice and watched his movies. I never really thought about the meaning of any of his music, until I became curious about ‘The Man Who Laughs’. It is a nine minute song with orchestral accompaniment. As it turns out, the song is about a man that is disfigured, but the girl in story loves him because she can see his true nature while not seeing his unusual face (She is blind, and wonders why he’s always smiling. He is not smiling; those that kidnapped him disfigure children so that they can beg for money, and his face appears to always be smiling as a result). His name is Gwynplaine, and he is descended from royalty. When invited back in to the Royalty, he refuses to be royal, and wants to go with his love. His love dies, and he joins her in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

I am no romantic, nor do I favor love stories. However, Rob Zombie made a song about “The Man Who Laughs”; I continue to listen to it (good drum solo) and am appreciative to learn about the background of “The Man Who Laughs”.

I’m listening to “Werewolf Women of the SS” right now, so don’t think that I’m some kind of pussy.

Much To My Chagrin...

I thought I came up with a clever nickname for the lying Presidential mouthpiece. I've listened to and watched Robert (Bob) Gibbs try his best to represent and explain the heinous and/or negligent actions of our most important American. When questioned repeatedly as to why our President has not appropriately responded to the spill of oil in the gulf, nearly each and every answer was "It's in the memo." "See the memo." "Read the memo." "I can't answer that, but it's in the memo."

Guess what? It's NOT in the memo. The current occupant of the Whitehouse has done nothing to address the problem, aside from sending lawyers. Maybe we can sue the problem into submission.

Anyway, after growing sick of listening to the mouthpiece, I thought "Damn, he sounds just like Baghdad Bob (The Iraqi spokesman that insisted all was well even as American bombs fell in the background and Saddam Hussein eventually lost his job.)"

Subsequently, I did a google search, and found that Gibbs has been labeled as Baghdad Bob for a long time, now. At first I was chagrined, but then I realized that the truth these days must be discovered, as it will be a long time if ever before the lamestream media addresses it.

I just hope that Americans will wake up and choose a non-Socialist President when the next chance rolls around.

Stream of Consciousness Addendum

This is another stream of consciousness I had forgotten about until I was driving the other day.

I was driving one day with David as we passed by a church that at one time had been a Kingdom Hall. David noticed that the sign had changed to another denomination and he asked, "Didn't that used to be a Kingdom Hall? I wonder what happened?" "Oh, I don't know. Maybe they had to enter the Jehovah's Witness Protection Program."

Stream of Consciousness

Memorial Day has proven to be a difficult time for me. In addition to thinking about the 20 years that my Vietnam Veteran Dad served and his passing, I think about my own brother that sacrificed 20 years of his life in the service of his country in the U.S. Navy and subsequently passed away. Grandfather Espinosa served in the Navy in WWII, and he’s gone too. Mom passed away on Memorial Day weekend, and therefore it is a rather painful time. Anyway, they’re all gone now, but have caused me to address stream of consciousness.

Stream of consciousness is when you say something right off of the top your head, and I’ve had some excellent ones. Check it out:

Today, David asked me if I have a day off tomorrow – I’m having beers and he knows that I don’t have beers if I have to work the next day. “I have a day off for Memorial Day.” Even before he asked, I said that Memorial Day is when we acknowledge the sacrifices of Grandpa, your Uncle Richard, and even my Grandpa Richard. “Our family has a long tradition of dying.” He didn’t think it was funny, but it’s true.

At any rate, I’ve had a few stream of consciousness moments that shall be recorded here:

During one winter in Korea, Yong was preparing some pork by cutting off all of the fat. She wondered “Why is there so much fat?” Just off of the top of my head I said “Well, it is winter. Animals put on fat because of the cold.” Was I correct? I don’t know, but I bet I am.

In a conversation with a sister she questioned why girls and boys bicycles are different. I said that “because females have a lower center of gravity than males, bicycles are designed to consider that”. Was I correct? I don’t know, but I bet I am.

The best stream of consciousness that I ever had came when I was sitting in the waiting room of the ID card facility at Fort Bragg, waiting with David to update his ID. We sat in the waiting room for such an inordinate amount of time that he eventually asked “why is this taking so long?” I am a veteran of sitting and waiting for government employees to do their job, but I needed to tell David why we had to wait. “ID cards are made of plastic. Do you know where plastic comes from?” “No, where?” “Well, plastic is made from a derivative of petroleum products. Essentially, oil. Do you know where oil comes from?” “Where?” “Well, millions of years ago, the dinosaurs died and eventually became the oil deposits from which we produce many products.” “”Okay. But, why are they taking so long?” “Oh. They’re in the back waiting for the dinosaur to die.”

The Passing of the King of Pop

The unexpected and unusual passing of Michael Jackson has caused me to evaluate my own favorites among celebrities and sports stars. I tend to favor those that are unusual, underdogs, or those that have been falsely accused. To wit: Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer that ever lived, but he had to deal with false accusations against him and his behavior. The poor man never had a childhood; he was the front of a group (the Jackson Five) since an early age. Growing up as a pop star robbed him of his childhood. That he grew into a man that did unusual things such as creating his own amusement park and hanging out with kids came only because of his own desire to have a childhood. The people that accused him of untoward acts against children are only money-grubbers, and took advantage of the situation. Any truly sympathetic person can but see that he was only trying to live the childhood that he never had.

Dennis Rodman: One of the greatest basketball players of all time, but also a unique individual. So he wore a dress; does that offend anyone? Tattoos, piercings, suspensions for aggressive play? The man is a great individual that doesn’t have to live by anyone else’s expectations. His appearance as an alien on “Third Rock From the Sun”, with multi-colored hair and portraying an alien is right inline with his personality. A great man.

Kobe Bryant: Don’t mind that the cum from (at least) two other dudes is in the ginch; Kobe forced himself on me. She just wants money. I was never really a big Kobe fan, but the way he overcame the false accusation and got even better as a National Basketball Association ballplayer, to include winning the USA Gold Medal and the latest NBA Championship is worthy of admiration and great respect. He is now one of my favorite athletes.

Mike Tyson: He has a tattoo on his face; so what? The greatest heavyweight boxer ever was the victim of a setup. Think about it; he dominated the ranks and knocked out opponents in 90 seconds. Often was the time that taking a bathroom break would lead one to miss the entire fight. The powers that be in professional boxing needed to take him down for financial reasons. I don’t dispute that he did what he was accused of, but how many dingbats go to his hotel room at 3 AM and just want to talk? She was dispatched specifically to get Iron Mike in trouble and remove him from the heavyweight fighting arena. Heavyweight boxing has sucked ever since then.

Terrell Owens: The man is a living example of arrogance and has exhibited many reasons to be disliked. As a Cowboys fan, I found it to be quite distasteful when he danced on the Star. But, I admired his performance as an Eagle when he played in the Superbowl with a broken leg. I liked him as a Cowboy, too. The sports media is just too critical of the man.

Chris “Birdman” Andersen: He has spiky hair and sleeves of tattoos, but so what? His nearly two year suspension for “substance abuse” from the NBA is understandable. His return to prominence and helping lead the Denver Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals in 2009 is also something to admire.

Sean Penn: Used to beat up paparazzi that got too close. Good man.

Charlie Sheen: “You don’t pay the prostitute for sex. You pay the prostitute to leave after you’re finished”.

Barry Bonds: Did he use steroids? Probably. But, he also hit more Home Runs in one season and one career than any other baseball player. Unless and until accusations against him can be proven, he is the leader in both categories.

Vanessa Williams: She was stripped of her Miss USA title in 1984 for doing a nude spread in “Penthouse” magazine. Hell, if it were up to me, nudity would be one of the determining factors in choosing a winner.

The Anti-Communist Manifesto update

My anti-communist manifesto was published in the Army Times and in both the Pacific and Middle East versions of the Stars & Stripes. It feels nice to be a published author. What can I say? I rock.