do i look fat supporting this policy?

Everyone has a caricature to which any comedian can react and present for comedic relief. This is obvious amongst friends, in a work environment, anywhere. Seeing comedy in ourselves helps the days go by and makes life and its seriousness a little lighter--it makes already pleasant situations unforgettable--It helps us relate to the world around us. This is most obvious in the case of politicians. We bring them into our own realm through their caricature--we make them human rather than untouchable. SNL has done this since its creation. We've had adulterers, big-eared candidates, fast talkers, slow talkers, southerners, and "special kids"... these are all extraneous facts about our politicians--well... except for the "special kid"... i'm pretty sure W is the exception to every rule though. Every other caricature presented is "extra" it doesn't really have to do with anything they believe in or represent, only extra features we identify with and can laugh about. The fact that a senator is old as death or that someone has big ears or a healthy appetite or an active libido... these things don't really matter in the greater scheme of things... they don't matter in international affairs or domestic policy...(maybe the special kid does... but may i reiterate... exception)... they don't change gas prices or taxes...

so here's my question... why is it when i turn to msnbc.com or cnn.com for my news, the headliner involves a small bandage on the temple of john mccain, because he went to the dermatologist and got a spot removed. This isn't important. save that news for US weekly and for the comedians... focus on what needs to be focused on!!! this is a huge election year... yet we're focusing on the fact that mccain wore a baseball cap and that obama went to the gym. you're kidding right???

then on some program or another, they were discussing a similar topic. it was brought up that people don't really care about health policy or international policy. People care about michelle obama's toned arms and cindy mccain's outfits. WHAT!? those people need to be reading US weekly... not watching msnbc. we should be caring about the policy... the fact that so many people don't that media is actually focusing on the caricature of these politicians--the amusement facrtor of them--to draw in numbers rather than the core of the politicians themselves... says a lot about where we are headed i guess. But then, we're already paying for that kind of thinking... i'll have no social security and gas will be like 4000 dollars a tank by my middle age crisis.

Europe has lasted through countless wars... the euro is already more valuable than the dollar. and they still talk politics over there, not just what jacque chirac is wearing. And its not that chirac's caricature or Margaret Thatcher's caricature wasn't amusing or unspoken of... its just that though. amusement, a side conversation for fun rather than what opinion is based on... just some things to think about.

the trick to diagnosing

so if you deny a problem... clearly... you have one... yet... if you admit to a problem... good for you... you have a problem. so wait... what exactly do you look for to see if someone DOES NOT have a problem?

Great trick if your intentions are to diagnose someone, but what if your job is actually to see whether or not a person has a problem?

if a child gets distracted once, does that mean they have add?\

if a person gets irritable and snaps once, does that mean they have a rage problem?

if a person arranges their tic-tacs in the container once out of boredom, does that make them OCD?

c'mon seriously... we're going to need to use a little bit more judgment than this. generalizations are driving me crazy. stop trying to diagnose the world and how about we do whats human. let us understand that people make mistakes, both big and small, let us understand people for being different rather than "weird because its not like me... or its not WASP enough), let us realize that people get colds and don't necessarily need antibiotic to get over it (just an immune system).

in my personal opinion, diagnoses must be based on repeated uncontrollable patterns acted out by the subject. and i'm pretty positive i can apply this to any diagnosis.

just some things i've been thinking about.

the reciprocation

I'm always learning... always trying to make myself a better person... lord knows i have a hard time with discussion, and i love being right... far more often than i am right... i know i'm hard on myself, and making mistakes is not something i really enjoy doing much less admitting that i've done...

i've taken the time to observe a little more closely and analyze how i work when i make a mistake... the truth is... i pretty much shut down... i tune out the entire world and my brain begins to run on about 37 tracks trying to figure out exactly everything that needs to be done to alleviate the situation. This includes scheming, exactly what needs to be done next, what must be done after that, the consequences, how i need to deal with every part... its all prioritized and my brain becomes a complete cloud to the outside world. for any of you who have actually seen this take place... i imagine it looks something like a glaze going over my eyes, my forehead will squinch, and i'll either start moving very fast or i'll stop moving all together... none of it really makes any sense... its just how i deal with things. ANYTHING... i dealt with bad test grades like this... text messages that you just KNOW are leading to something bad coming up... mistakes i make oh pretty much anywhere... in ANY case... its how i work.

now, don't get me wrong... honesty is the most important thing to me, i value it above all else... however, i just know that in most cases i can get myself out of just about any situation.

when i realize i can't get myself out of a situation and i just have to face my mistakes... i can't correct them or fix them later... its not easy an easy task for me to do. i'm just that stubborn, but here i am saying what most of you already know about me. BUT, you may know that when i apologize... its sincere, and its probably eating me alive on the inside.

i've always thought the working myself up to humble myself down far enough to admit that i'm wrong was the hard part... it turns out that + my 37 paths of figuring things out is what i focused on and what i dread in the back of my mind is what happens if once i have humbled myself down and past what i thought was the hard part... it doesn't matter and there's nothing that can be done... now i've vulnerable-ized myself and all for naught? what if the apology isn't accepted anywways? i guess underneath it all, i believe that when you really mean an apology, the other person HAS to accept it... truth is... that isn't the way it is... the other person never has to accept anything no matter how sincere and remorseful you are.

just something i'm thinking about...

its the end of the world as we know it

i recommend everyone go out and spend the 15 dollars (or 10, once you get that borders 30% off coupon that they put out every week) and go buy Joseph Lawrence's "apocalypse 2012"

it blew my mind.

especially the part about the dimension of time.

even if you think its all garbage, it can still just open your mind to ideas, and then you ALSO get to be one of the people that knows what other people believe making yourself smarter, the world a better place, and if you still think the whole thing is still bullocks, you have a stronger foundation for arguing with anyone that believes in 2012.

i'm not going to go into any details of the book because they are far too many and too in-depth to really go into them here. read it. and call me.

elaine and her coworkers were discussing whether or not it is responsible and/or fair to have children once you are informed that the world is ending in 4 years, or at the very least drastically changing...

well? honestly... i don't know...

i feel like, after much pondering on the matter, the appropriate thing to do would be, in my opinion, to wait until you see what happens in 2012 and a bit beyond... if things happen and settle down and the environment is affable to childrearing... well then... no problem... it seems selfish and mean and a little bit... i dunno... making-things-harder-on-yourself-for-no-reason. I mean sure there is the experience of childbirth if you really are so desperate to have that experience... and don't get me wrong, i'm not against children... i love them, i want them... but the actual birthing thing isn't really all that awesome-sounding to me... and if there is a world of pain--why oh why would you want to expose a child you were so excited about having to that? don't you think part of being a responsible parent involves making sure the world you're bringing the child into is stable and safe? this is my decision. i will not be having children until well after 2012... i don't care if i get married tomorrow... its not gonna happen. that's my responsible parenting decision.

just thought it was more official if i blogged it and explained a bit of the background as to how i made the decision and why i felt it was necessary. feel free to make your own declaration of parenthood or lack of parenthood-- whichever you deem appropriate for yourself and society.
(but i really think you should read the book before you make any formal declaration)