(It was a toss-up...I thought about making the headline "You'll Swim Faster At The Olympics If You Cut Down On The Pot")
Hey, everyone, welcome back to the blog. Before we move on to the Chick-Fil-A story, I want to get back to the Colorado shooting from more than a week ago. I touched on the whole gun issue in last week's blog. Well, I didn't realize it, but the media was discussing it too. Well...I say "discussing it," but...
Also, shockingly, Billy Graham, the OLLLLLLD-School reverend from North Carolina (older school than Reverend Run...of the DMC), supports Chick-Fil-A. I say "shockingly" with cock firmly in cheek. It's the bible belt. It's Billy Graham, who's been around since the Revolutionary War. I'd have been more shocked if he said he supports gays.
Well, let's wrap it up with a salute to our nation's first responders...
What? You're leaving the shirt ON? What the hell are they supposed to grab onto???
-B-
So, um...anybody know about any news going on in the world?
Anyone who's ever set foot in my thoughts in this blog could probably guess what I was going to talk about this week. I'll admit it...I don't have a lot of confidence in the intelligence of others. I have spoken to some REALLY dumb people (and, yes, thinking they're dumb makes me a dick). But somehow, some people always surprise me by the depths their intellect can take them. Take last Friday morning's shooting inside the midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado. A guy burst into the theater, threw a smoke grenade, shot and killed several people and proclaimed "I am the Joker!" (side note: this guy dyed his hair RED...which is NOT the Joker's hair color. It's insignificant, I know, but it gives me another reason to rip on the guy.) He also booby-trapped his apartment with deadly explosives. The suspect in the case just dropped out of a Ph.D. program for neuroscience. He was smart. Instead of using his brain for GOOD, police say he used it to take away the lives of others, including children. When I first heard about this story, I was pissed. I mean, REALLY pissed. Probably more pissed than I was during the 9/11 attacks (forgive me, I was much younger and didn't have a worldly understanding at that point). Now, I just feel pity for this 24-year-old guy who police say is now a mass murderer. How sad was his life that he thought the only way out was to kill people who'd waited YEARS for this movie? What's WRONG with him? And more importantly, could something like this (a quiet, seemingly normal person going on a killing rampage) happen to someone I know? My heart goes out to the people who were hurt and the families who lost loved ones. Those are the real victims. Their pain can be eased, but never fully taken away.
On a larger scale, this guy was able to EASILY buy guns at retail stores and ammunition online. Some people will say that the "terrorists" are the ones who kill people with guns, but americans' right to bear arms needs to be "preserved." This is just another recent example of an american "exercising" their right to end another person's life bear arms. What's it going to take, constitutionalists? If your child is shot and killed by your neighbor, will you STILL be preaching about your neigbor's second amendment rights? I don't want to see people NOT allowed to buy guns (though, to be fair, the constitution was written with times of war and self-defense in mind), but I WOULD like to see a little more regulation involved. If I went to buy a gun, I'd certainly submit to a psychological test to ensure that I'M NOT A KILLER. But I'm sure gun owners will say that's a governmental invasion of privacy. Hey, kids, no worries...it's all darwinism, right? Only the strongest survive? Go ahead and stockpile. Who needs the human race anyway?
Argh. God, I need something funny to take my mind off this...
Wait, does that Olympics logo say "SHIT"? Yes, yes it does. I've seen some great graphics mess-ups in my day, but THAT is in the top 5. What else do you have for me?
Hm...go figure, an angry foreign person in New York. I'm not impressed. Now, if you were to, I don't know, show it to me happening AGAIN to the same station several days later...
Come on, New York! You can deal with these crazies! Just do what WGN in Chicago does...
Hey, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. For as many assholes as you hear about that work in news, there are even MORE passive-aggressive pieces of shit. I see at least a couple of them every day. And they usually work on-camera. But I've NEVER seen part of a NEWSCAST that's passive-aggressive. Check out this sportscast from the Twin Cities. The anchor decided that the performance by Detroit's (I know, it's not IN the Twin Cities...don't ask me why they decided to be a dick about it.) pitcher was so terrible, they opted instead to play highlights from his girlfriend...
And finally, from attractive and legal to underage and...well...underage, check out THIS popular TV show getting a big screen reboot:
(Thanks to James Hartsell for the heads-up on this movie)
Okay, I feel a little better. By the way, not to bury the lead, but "The Dark Knight Rises" is a great finish to Christopher Nolan's remarkable Batman trilogy. If you'd like to see some of his other stuff, check out Memento and Inception...and the lesser known Following and Insomnia. Be good to each other out there.
-B-
What's up, Hard Thinkers??? Welcome back! Thanks for returning for the first post-R&R blog. Anyone else have important body parts that might have, um....melted?
Well, if you can't get to the beach or lake or whatever, but you want a simple taste of the easy life from the comfort of your home computer, might I suggest a little rock-skipping? No, I'm not suggesting skipping your MONITOR across a body of water. Check this...a robot has been set up along a lake and you can control arc and trajectory and what-not for it to skip a rock. Live. On your internet browser. Think of it like a live-action Angry Birds...but without the birds. And pigs. And, come to think of it, there doesn't seem to be any anger either. Anyway, check it out on this link. Fair warning: the robot does not skip rocks at night. The site says he's afraid of the dark... which warrants a whole new list of questions...
Do you like fireworks? Sure, who doesn't...aside from most dogs and cats and the occasional small child or grandmother. People in San Diego got quite the 4th of July show. It started with a blockbuster beginning, with DOZENS of fireworks being shot off...and then it stopped. Turns out, the 15-minute display ALL WENT OFF AT ONCE! (somebody's gonna get fired for that) Anywho, check out this 15-minute fireworks display...condensed into about 20 seconds:
(actually, that's nothing. A Portland, OR, TV station aired a live special for the fireworks...and didn't include any audio. If fireworks go off at night and no one hears them, does the station airing them drop in ratings?)
It sure is hot this summer. Remember that shot I posted a couple weeks ago of the forecast from Maryland calling for 772 degrees? Milwaukee just beat it:
Now to Las Vegas, where the wildfires are so bad, they've made it INSIDE the TV stations...
Let's check back in for the forecast...
Quick! Someone scare her! Show her the 1000 degrees in Milwaukee!
Finally, let's check in with our education reporter...
....y'know, I could make a joke here, but it'd be 2 easy. Maybe next time the graphics folks won't text-in their graphics.
Hey, Dark Knight Rises opens Friday. Go see it. It's the final act of Christopher Nolan's stunning reboot trilogy of the Batman franchise. I have yet to see anything Chris Nolan has directed that hasn't wow'ed me. I'll even pay to watch another Christian Bale movie...but, professionally, he and I are through.
-B-
Wait, does that Olympics logo say "SHIT"? Yes, yes it does. I've seen some great graphics mess-ups in my day, but THAT is in the top 5. What else do you have for me?
Hm...go figure, an angry foreign person in New York. I'm not impressed. Now, if you were to, I don't know, show it to me happening AGAIN to the same station several days later...
Come on, New York! You can deal with these crazies! Just do what WGN in Chicago does...
Hey, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. For as many assholes as you hear about that work in news, there are even MORE passive-aggressive pieces of shit. I see at least a couple of them every day. And they usually work on-camera. But I've NEVER seen part of a NEWSCAST that's passive-aggressive. Check out this sportscast from the Twin Cities. The anchor decided that the performance by Detroit's (I know, it's not IN the Twin Cities...don't ask me why they decided to be a dick about it.) pitcher was so terrible, they opted instead to play highlights from his girlfriend...
And finally, from attractive and legal to underage and...well...underage, check out THIS popular TV show getting a big screen reboot:
(Thanks to James Hartsell for the heads-up on this movie)
Okay, I feel a little better. By the way, not to bury the lead, but "The Dark Knight Rises" is a great finish to Christopher Nolan's remarkable Batman trilogy. If you'd like to see some of his other stuff, check out Memento and Inception...and the lesser known Following and Insomnia. Be good to each other out there.
-B-
....y'know, I could make a joke here, but it'd be 2 easy. Maybe next time the graphics folks won't text-in their graphics.
Hey, Dark Knight Rises opens Friday. Go see it. It's the final act of Christopher Nolan's stunning reboot trilogy of the Batman franchise. I have yet to see anything Chris Nolan has directed that hasn't wow'ed me. I'll even pay to watch another Christian Bale movie...but, professionally, he and I are through.
-B-
