One previously joyless holiday in the books and I must say it was somewhat enjoyable this year. I woke up on Friday around 7 a.m. and my first thought was, "This time last year I was already up for three hours and working for two of them." It felt great to be able to go back to sleep.
My car broke a couple of weeks ago and I have yet to get a new one. The prospect of paying the amount of money I need to spend in order to get a decent car that will last is a bit daunting. I hope to make a decision by the end of this week. It's been hard being car-less. Getting to work hasn't been too difficult but I've had to call in some familial favors. I hate asking to use my siblings cars. I'm not used to it and I hate feeling so helpless (which I am without a vehicle).
My fantasy football team sucks this year. It's very heartbreaking.
I'm ready for the new year to come already. I'm excited because Alexa and I will probably be traveling to Chicago to visit my newly relocated brother. It will be the first time we've really gone out to celebrate the new year and I hope it's as good as having Quantum Leap marathons. It might take a lot to beat that.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
March of the Lor
There is no funny or even interesting story behind this post. I just felt like doing it. Here are some movies and T.V. shows I used to watch when I was younger.
The Dark Crystal. The good guys scared the crap out of me. Funny enough, when I looked up the picture I was scared. The bad guys should be creepier, but they're not. Other scary good guys. Maybe I shouldn't have watched this movie...
The Secret of NIMH. Don't let the horrible cover confuse you. I only watched good movies when I was younger.
The Land Before Time. I watched this before number two came out. And three, four, five, six....
The Little Mermaid. I got this for my birthday. I loved this movie. I even had Ursula for a Spanish teacher in high school.
Denver the Last Dinosaur. He's my friend and whole lot more.
Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys. Whatever happened to that show? Morning ritual before Sunday school.
X-Men. Of course.
Miami Vice. Don't worry. I never wanted a leisure suit. I just wanted to rock out to the Jan Hammer theme song.
There are others, but I don't want to bore. I watched a lot of T.V. as a kid.
The Dark Crystal. The good guys scared the crap out of me. Funny enough, when I looked up the picture I was scared. The bad guys should be creepier, but they're not. Other scary good guys. Maybe I shouldn't have watched this movie...
The Secret of NIMH. Don't let the horrible cover confuse you. I only watched good movies when I was younger.
The Land Before Time. I watched this before number two came out. And three, four, five, six....
The Little Mermaid. I got this for my birthday. I loved this movie. I even had Ursula for a Spanish teacher in high school.
Denver the Last Dinosaur. He's my friend and whole lot more.
Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys. Whatever happened to that show? Morning ritual before Sunday school.
X-Men. Of course.
Miami Vice. Don't worry. I never wanted a leisure suit. I just wanted to rock out to the Jan Hammer theme song.
There are others, but I don't want to bore. I watched a lot of T.V. as a kid.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Black Web Is Spun
I subbed for a middle school science class at Honey Creek today. Aside from the obvious problem children (i.e. the ones who don't care about anything) the day went well. We watched a piece of Planet Earth in all four of the hours. I now feel I've memorized the 35 minute section we watched. This, however, was not a problem. The episode was about conservation of both animals and the planet's resources.
It was a nice change from the overzealous the-world-will-end-tomorrow-if-we-don't-change- now attitude of Al Gore and his followers. All of the people interviewed were extremely positive about the earth's chances while still extolling the mantra of change. Almost all of the people saw hunting as a viable means of making areas safe for humans and animals. Some of the people were fully immersed in the areas they were speaking of, lending credibility to what they were saying. They weren't simply talking heads from some university.
Another issue posed by the episode was: How can some countries still advance without encroaching on wildlife and destroying ecosystems? Once again, most of the people were very optimistic about the possibilities of achieving this sometimes contradictory level of stability. New technologies and advances in science have helped to make the possibility of human advancement and a much more healthy environment possible.
One conservationist was visibly annoyed with the many people around the world who simply see wildlife as something "cute and cuddly. Something they only see in magazines while sitting in their armchairs in their comfortable houses. While here, in Africa, people have to live next to these wild beasts who use them as food." Lions in Africa have learned to hunt humans as food, he said. The only way to protect the people and the lions, without fencing them into a designated area, is to hunt them. Hunting creates some sort of revenue for these developing countries while also helping to stave off the attacks on humans. These people are not encroaching on the lions' habitat, they are simply living where they've lived for centuries. The conservationist then said, "These people need to speak with their money or shut up. Because all they're doing is wasting a lot of people's time."
A professional hunter was also interviewed. He made some surprisingly valid points. He asked, "Why would hunters want to lessen the number of animals? We wouldn't have a job if we did that." These big game hunters are not trying to kill as many animals as they can. They are simply trying to feel the excitement of the hunt and make some money while they do it. Most of the money finds its way back to the local economy, helping to provide money for the economic advancement of the country. I'm not saying there aren't some people out there killing as many as they can, but some, if not most, are doing it responsibly.
I would assume that those man-eating lions are not eating humans just for the sake of eating humans. Either there is an overpopulation problem (which means not enough food) or humans are encroaching. Seeing as how these tribes haven't moved for centuries, I would go with the first option.
Another conservationist spoke on this problem. He admitted, though, that he did not know the right solution, whether it is right to hunt the animals or if they should be left to their own devices in terms of survival. He did say, however, that he's happy it's being talked about. He said that without a meaningful discourse on the subject nothing would ever be solved. I fully agree with this sentiment.
There was this business first douche they interviewed. Everything he said was about the bottom line. Even if any of it was intelligent or valid, I still wouldn't have been able to take him seriously. Oh, how I loathe these bottom-line, corporate hacks.
I'm not sure where I stand on all of this yet. I'll need some more time to think about it, but the information I gathered from this DVD has gotten me interested in what can be done about conservation, animal and environmental. It's been a productive day of subbing.
It was a nice change from the overzealous the-world-will-end-tomorrow-if-we-don't-change- now attitude of Al Gore and his followers. All of the people interviewed were extremely positive about the earth's chances while still extolling the mantra of change. Almost all of the people saw hunting as a viable means of making areas safe for humans and animals. Some of the people were fully immersed in the areas they were speaking of, lending credibility to what they were saying. They weren't simply talking heads from some university.
Another issue posed by the episode was: How can some countries still advance without encroaching on wildlife and destroying ecosystems? Once again, most of the people were very optimistic about the possibilities of achieving this sometimes contradictory level of stability. New technologies and advances in science have helped to make the possibility of human advancement and a much more healthy environment possible.
One conservationist was visibly annoyed with the many people around the world who simply see wildlife as something "cute and cuddly. Something they only see in magazines while sitting in their armchairs in their comfortable houses. While here, in Africa, people have to live next to these wild beasts who use them as food." Lions in Africa have learned to hunt humans as food, he said. The only way to protect the people and the lions, without fencing them into a designated area, is to hunt them. Hunting creates some sort of revenue for these developing countries while also helping to stave off the attacks on humans. These people are not encroaching on the lions' habitat, they are simply living where they've lived for centuries. The conservationist then said, "These people need to speak with their money or shut up. Because all they're doing is wasting a lot of people's time."
A professional hunter was also interviewed. He made some surprisingly valid points. He asked, "Why would hunters want to lessen the number of animals? We wouldn't have a job if we did that." These big game hunters are not trying to kill as many animals as they can. They are simply trying to feel the excitement of the hunt and make some money while they do it. Most of the money finds its way back to the local economy, helping to provide money for the economic advancement of the country. I'm not saying there aren't some people out there killing as many as they can, but some, if not most, are doing it responsibly.
I would assume that those man-eating lions are not eating humans just for the sake of eating humans. Either there is an overpopulation problem (which means not enough food) or humans are encroaching. Seeing as how these tribes haven't moved for centuries, I would go with the first option.
Another conservationist spoke on this problem. He admitted, though, that he did not know the right solution, whether it is right to hunt the animals or if they should be left to their own devices in terms of survival. He did say, however, that he's happy it's being talked about. He said that without a meaningful discourse on the subject nothing would ever be solved. I fully agree with this sentiment.
There was this business first douche they interviewed. Everything he said was about the bottom line. Even if any of it was intelligent or valid, I still wouldn't have been able to take him seriously. Oh, how I loathe these bottom-line, corporate hacks.
I'm not sure where I stand on all of this yet. I'll need some more time to think about it, but the information I gathered from this DVD has gotten me interested in what can be done about conservation, animal and environmental. It's been a productive day of subbing.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I wanna feel your body breaking. Wanna feel your body breaking and shaking and left in the cold.
I'm just glad I don't have to watch another campaign commercial.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
