Symphony of Blunt Verbiage

The random words, opinions and ramblings of Daniel Britt. Each of these entries have been confirmed to be awe-inspiring by a jury of my peers. I reserve the right to have clear opinions, wandering perspectives and to be completely and utterly wrong during the presentation of each opinion presented herein. Some postings may contain objectionable content; I'm OK with it if you are. If you are not OK with the provocative statements contained here, unplug your computer and throw it out. There are far more incendiary places to go online featuring lots of gross naked people posing with stuffed animals so give up the interweb before your head explodes.

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uhh...yeah...

I'm reading all these posts polluting my timeline about how people are so sad about yesterday's shootings; All these business entities are putting out vaguely worded PC statements expressing their sadness but in a fake business sense and not an actual heartfelt response...but what is anyone going to do about it? This business-as-usual thing isn't working. How long do your mourn for 20 little kids shot with absolutely no chance of fathoming what was happening? ESPN thinks not tweeting about sports for 3 days is appropriate.

I have seen posts advocating that teachers have guns too...that everyone has the chance to take a shot, you know...if the bad guy comes. That idea would be great, but unfortunately based on the posts I have seen over the past couple of years the same people who wants all these guns in their possession and personal responsibility are the very last ones who want to pay for providing the teachers, training or knowledgeable people (such as extra police) to defend the schools. We can't even get these people (yes, I'm categorizing you tea-baggers) to pay for needed teachers and pay them a decent wage never mind providing security training on top of that.

I'm not advocating getting rid of guns...you know for hunters or an organized militia but otherwise I don't see much point in letting individuals have automated weapons (or the ability to easily retrofit the "semi-automatic" ones). I saw another post on a timeline of the standard guns don't kill people, people do but you can help eliminate the sheer mass destruction of one person and their arsenal if they have less ability to have that arsenal or if what they have is less capable of mowing people down in a moment without any chance to react.

I am sure that half of my Facebook friend list will have the thought process (or post) that its the mental defect's fault that killed the people and not the gun's fault...and I understand the position and agree with it...somewhat. My personal position is that its easier to get rid of dangerous mechanical devices and to make them so marginalized and irrelevant in a couple of generations they will be seen as a quaint memory with a notorious past. Doing this is easier than changing the hearts and minds of the people who have such weapons now and equate the ability to have such weaponry as power (and respect). Hopefully until that time happens when these weapons are a distant memory perhaps we can use a 2 pronged approach of making these weapons truly difficult to get and to provide increased energy towards teaching/reaching people that think such a drastic response to solving their problems can be sorted out differently.

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RESPECT

Happy New Year...now that is out of the way, here is some random spewing on how I am going to try to treat people this year... RESPECT You, you are not special. You really are not that special.  Yes, you are an individual with your own sphere of thinking but you are not special. It is my goal this year not to treat people special. I'm not buying crappy ribbons when grasped together creates a flowering rainbow of colors.  This, of course is not to be confused with gay pride because gays are not special either. I am not supporting your viral/internet-spread cause more than someone else's but I reserve the right to choose a side in a competitive situation (I'm looking at you, Red Sox).

Holidays? Take them all. Because you are not special your holidays are not special either. If you have no place in your life for Hanukkah and Ramadan that is fine, because we live in a country with free practice of religion, where you are not treated special because of what you practice. Yule and Christmas and Xmas are equally important to me. Do you really think that someone is going to take Christ out of Christmas? Hallmark would never let that happen so stop worrying. Even if you were the last soul in the frigid earth with Christ in your heart (whispers...#itwillalwaysbechristmasandiwontlaughbecauseirespectyou).  Girl Scout cookies? Don't even think about it. I have 5 Girl Scouts in my building...all selling the tasty little wafers of prejudiced joy for the same socialist price. If I buy them from one bright-eyed girl and not another I am treating the one girl special...Amazon.com Girl Scout cookie outlet here I come...They will gladly take my gift cards earned from taking hundreds of online surveys and I won't offend anyone. I'm not supporting any sort of campaign revolving around banning words. This is sheer lunacy from start to end because if I called you a dildocoughhukker and you did not like it guess what word is going viral in a campaign otherwise known as "THE D WORD". We would be banning perfectly good descriptive words one at a time while making up crappy new ones to take the old ones places like "ScarJo" or "Claymates" or "planking". Some would even think it is OK to scream "enjoy" at you as your dinner clangs on the table thinking they are slick without using the rest of a sentence to help their command out.

You are still not special. Look around...there are lots of people who can do the same thing better, cheaper or more diligently than you. You are, however an individual who probably works hard.  You deserve a pat on the head for your efforts to make our world a better p;lace. (Cristiano Ronaldo, since you do not read my posts, I am not including you in this propaganda. You really are special.) I AM however going to treat everyone with the same amount of respect.  As I have so brilliantly noted by now, since you are not special you will get the same amount of respect as everyone else. I don't even want respect back...really.  I just don't want your biases to interfere with my happiness and my ability to pursue my happiness.  Happy New Year...Be good to yourself and the people around you. When you treat them with basic respect, common sense and decency and suddenly a lot of these issues magically go away. Are you religious? Great. Follow those guidelines that you have signed up for and leave the rest of the world to follow their religions in peace and without trying to modify the local laws to suit you. Are you interested in someone with the same genitals and want to marry them? Fine, just do not ruin the integrity of my marriage or wear the same gown as my lovely wife. Love politics? That is OK enough, but remember...these politicians do not have your values. You are morphing what you believe to their values. You will have to compromise what you believe at some point to buy into their hype. Feel free to buy the trendy red white and blue artwork but don't be taken for a sucker.

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Movie Review: Cars 2

Recently, I took my daughter to see the new Cars 2 movie. As it turns out, Cars (the first one) was her first time in a movie theatre. We were stunned that she made it through the long movie, the previews and commercials all while wearing the 3D glasses but she did fine. This time, I chose the regular 2D digital, non-3D option. I had heard some bad press on this one and spending $6 per seat for a potentially bad morning movie sounded much more appealing than spending $16 for a 3D showing later in the day. I am happy to say that the movie had some nice moments and it was worth seeing. The scenery and rendering of all the cars was simply stunning. There were times when I forgot that the cityscapes were artificial they were that convincing. If you like the Gran Turismo video games, this will have the same appeal to you. Dozens of exotic cars are featured in this one including McLaren, multiple Lamborghini and Ferrari models and some custom racers. The story is a little convoluted and that is where things fall short. Cars 2 is basically a spy movie with Tow Mater, the most annoying character in the Pixar canon taking the lead. To sum up, an alternative fuel manufacturer winds up creating a World Grand Prix series to promote his new fuel and Mater's big mouth gets Lightning McQueen involved with it. Lightning McQueen starts to travel with Mater to lovingly rendered locales and Mater tends to be his typical embarrassing self when McQueen is hanging with the in-crowd.  In the mist of Mater's misadventures, he is accidentally drafted into working with a pair of spies who are working around the World Grand Prix and that is where the story develops steam. On the whole, my daughter and I liked the movie. There were heavy-handed themes dealing with big oil and alternative fuels that I'm sure were lost on most kids. There was a bit of a morality play with Mater's character where McQueen had to learn to accept his friend the way he was.  Frankly, I think the lesson could have gone both ways as Mater is definitely a buffoon. Sometimes people (Mater aka Larry The Cable Guy in this case) do kind of suck and they need to be refocused. My adaptation of the theme is give your friends a chance not to suck, and if you are lucky they might come up with a way to surprise you in a good way when it matters most. If you liked the original Cars, you will probably like this one.  There is way more action this time, lots of new characters and no overly drawn-out, weepy James Taylor interludes as in the original. Visually, there is a lot to see and the spy story will keep you a little interested. Go see the early morning 2D screening and you will feel a lot better as opposed to paying for the 3D version at more than twice the price

6.5* out of 10

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State of NY marriage...

I wanted everyone to know that my marriage is still OK and my relationship with my wife is unchanged even though gay people in NY can now get married. I checked last night and again this morning but nothing unusual happened overnight.  

After thinking about it, we might be a little happier knowing that gay people across America are getting the chance to be happy (or as unhappy) as we are. I hope that when(ever) I visit my parents in MA, that nothing bad happens during that trip. Ill keep my eyes open to insure that renegade married homosexuals don't ruin the sanctity of my marriage. I actually like how the legislation was written specifying that it pertains to civil marriages instead of forcing religious marriages.  I think that there is too much Christian theology that creeps up in public laws and this is a great example of creating a separate but equal existence for people of religion and people without religion.  I have heard for years about how separate but equal is OK when it pertains to gay people in general (from people who refer to Christian historical beliefs and/or background) and I am intrigued to see how well this works in reverse.

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Favorite track of the last week (or so...) - Jamie XX-Far Nearer

I don’t get The XX-not one bit.  I listened like everyone else did when they got big, and they completely left me out.  I keep waiting for that moment of brilliance when it clicks with me but it hasn’t happened.  This solo track from Jamie XX is the complete jam and I could listen to it for hours on end.  Maybe this is the missing link that I’m looking for.  

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Orangutan Saves Baby Chick from Drowning!

Not quite as spunky as my usual posts, this is apparently real footage that makes human beings appear to be the crappiest creatures on earth...except for snakes... 

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Major Lazer in Jamaica New Album Preview (by maddecent) I'm all up in the Major Lazer bizness...:) 

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Greedy broad steals foul ball... Hey lady...you suck and your high five is the topping on the cake.  Based on your mom jeans, dragon teeth and tragic hair there isn't much hope for you so enjoy the life achievement of being hated by nearly 100% of the 1,000,000 viewers on youtube.  That far exceeds the percentage of people who hate Obama and Bush combined.  I'm sure that someone in Phoenix will have you identified by the end of the week...scumbag bitch... 

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FOOD PORN!!! Mexican Coca-Cola Pulled Pork with Homemade BBQ Sauce The pork is half pulled and liquefied with a cup of the pan drippings and fresh BBQ sauce. The larger chunks are awaiting their appointment with my Henkel cleaver so I can have some chopped pork. The BBQ sauce is similar to a Carolina Sweet sauce with a brown sugar flavoring and a vinegar bite for a tangy finish. I have also tried a little hot sauce (Tiger Sauce in my crib) in conjunction with my own portions of pork to add a little heat with no negative effects to the overall taste. 

If you need a good pulled pork recipe that uses a dutch oven or crock pot please feel free to say something.  If anyone is interested, I will post the BBQ sauce and the pulled pork recipes in an upcoming entry... 

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Call me crazy, but I don’t see the Jews, Muslims or Buddhists resorting to the trickery of this Orlando area church to get people to choose their religion.  Click the text link in the title or the arrow to get to the article

This wave of non-denominational, usually Protestant leaning churches who have fun and “aren’t like the others” is a complete farce. I see these people at our community festivals all the time and avoid them like the plague. The whole point of going to church is to surround yourself with other people who practice the religion; these churches are full of people who hated church when they were young because of the rigorous standards expected to follow that path.

Now that they are older, someone has found a loophole where fun can be had and God and Jesus can be praised at the same time. Add in an abstract sounding name like The Path or The Way, or perhaps Elevation Christian Church and you have a modern day winner. This is the religious equivalent of “ill just put the tip in” without breaking the hymen. Gimmicks like this are just enabling the weak-minded to think they are going to heaven without putting in the work or the formality. PS, even if the Piña Coladas are served without alcohol, that fact alone makes providing them equally pointless as that does not demonstrate the fun involved with going to Elevation Christian Church and getting trashed with the pastor(s)....Just saying...

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Maybe he should have just tapped it in rather than blasting a 30 yard shot?

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Click the title (or arrow so see the video) What has happened where politicians like Florida's Governor Dick Scott (and wannabe politicians like Sarah Palin) think they can spew all sorts of things out, and not be accountable to the press to defend their positions? This new wave of Republicans doing business by preaching to their own Facebook and Twitter choirs is wrong to the extreme. All politicians who stick their necks out as people to be elected, followed and trusted MUST be held accountable to answer anyone's reasonable questioning when asked in a reasonable, public forum. Dick Scott used this template of avoidance in a bizarrely successful fashion to win the governorship of a major state. By avoiding any sort of public discussion of his policies, Scott was able to sneak his way in during a closely contested election where very few people actually could tell you what he stood for. Now, after the election and after his disastrous policies have begun to take hold the people who voted for his are re-evaluating their vote. In addition, the people who didn't vote for him are looking for ways to legally exterminate him from Florida politics. During a recent budget signing event, Scott eschewed the traditional public appearance in favor of one on a public square (technically development-owned private property) in The Villages where his paid enforcers (aka the local, publicly supported police department) kicked out a peaceful, sign-holding group of Democratic, senior citizen protesters who paid dearly for the privilege of buying their homes in that squalor of Republicana. Recent rumors have linked Scott with a possible national campaign in the future. It appears that Ms. Palin has witnessed how well avoidance from public questioning works when trying to force an opinion down people's throats. It could be said that one's character is dictated by how you treat the people around you when nobody is looking. I am here to say a politician's character when people are looking counts for something too. Politicians using evasive techniques to communicate with voters should take EVERY opportunity to meet potential constituents no matter the political affiliation. When you get elected, you are a politician for ALL of the people, not just the ones who elected you. 

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Red band (explicit) trailer (recorded in a movie theater) of the US version of the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo due out December 21, 2011.  Click the arrow or the title for the linky.

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Unfortunately, this is 100% real. By clicking the link in the title, you too can waste your brain cells to see how they roll in Davis County, Utah.  These poor little princesses could not live with having their event postponed due to a traumatic event.  That might be a little harsh as they are underage...Take 2...Maybe its the idiots that entitle those little princesses into thinking that they are more important than waiting the few weeks or months for the equine herpes to pass so they can become the Davis County Sheriff's Mounted Posse Junior Queen toute de suite.  The lesson is not "the show must go on".  The lesson is sometimes shit happens that cannot be controlled and that your hard work could go to waste in an instant.

ps: Be sure to wait until the second video in the playlist for all of the excitement :)

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Between watching Game 7 last night and seeing this video (click the title or the arrow, not the photo), I have finally come around to the idea of being a Bruins fan again for the first time in about 10 years. I saw my first Bruins game (and Rene Rancourt) in 1977 when the Penguins had light blue uniforms for every game and not just as a throwback.  Rene Rancourt has delivered spine chilling moments for every Bruins fan in most, if not all games since.

The Bruins looked awesome last night, Cam Neely is firmly in charge and the Bruins have culminated the last few years of steady improvement towards finally getting to the Stanley Cup finals.  I don't want to be hypocritical as I have lost interest and dropped off the map when the Bruins were being run like crap but I like what I am seeing and I want to see more.  I have room in my heart to embrace them again knowing the bad management techniques are long gone. Hopefully the B's can get their own cup instead of having Ray Bourque bring his around. (aka...which I always thought was kind of a crap move and really put me off to his legacy which was pretty untouchable and even though nobody deserved it more than him kind of makes me salty even after all this time.)