They came from this page.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Wreck
These two pictures strike a resounding chord in my heart and in my brain. Because Megan has gone off to UNI, I realize that what I see below is getting closer each and every day. I will laugh it off and say Megan is going to become a nun, but that is only so I don't keep seeing the scenes depicted below as vividly as I do when I think about the future...
They came from this page.
They came from this page.
Big of a Deal
Daily Writing Tips focuses on a pet peeve of mine - the phrase "not that big of a deal" in this post and while I don't care for the phrase, honestly, I don't care for the reader's suggestion of "you just say “not that big a deal” or “not that good a movie.”" because that sounds like you're saying "not that biga deal" or "not that gooda movie" which sounds like something I would never intentionally say.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Frightening!
From here, a frightening revelation about the work I have done on a daily basis since 2/10/1995!
http://geek-and-poke.com/geekandpoke/2014/11/29/developers-madness
Appendix
http://geek-and-poke.com/geekandpoke/2015/3/25/code-freezehttp://geek-and-poke.com/geekandpoke/2014/11/29/developers-madness
Thanks for the (unnecessary) Clarification
In all the time since Alex began his junior year at Iowa City West and Megan began her freshman year at UNI, not once did I wonder if they were eating vegetables. Yesterday, the Cedar Rapids Gazette posted this article to clarify that yes, kids do not eat vegetables when they eat school lunch.
To me, this is like posting an article with the revelation that water is wet and the sun is hot.
Duh.
To me, this is like posting an article with the revelation that water is wet and the sun is hot.
Duh.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
There it Is
I can't really recall seeing any website for a company that converts media files from one format to another spelling out exactly what it costs per cassette tape. Perhaps I've seen it before and just don't recall. That said, I'm treating http://mediarenewer.com/Services1.html as the first site.
I have ~1000 cassettes in ~20 boxes in the sump pump storage room in the basement. Given the following price of $6.95 / CD, as shown below, it would cost (1000 x 6.95 =) $6950 to pay that company to convert my cassettes.
I have ~1000 cassettes in ~20 boxes in the sump pump storage room in the basement. Given the following price of $6.95 / CD, as shown below, it would cost (1000 x 6.95 =) $6950 to pay that company to convert my cassettes.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Scandalous Non-Scandal
I've not been keeping up on the scandalous non-scandals that have been rocking the political world. Both sides - liberal & conservative - are like a walker on "The Walking Dead" as they devour any living issue and chew it up relentlessly. In no particular order:
- Donald Trump is leading the polls as far as the Republican candidates for president
- There's Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her Secretary of State tenure (read this for more information).
- Planned Parenthood videos - the 8th Planned Parenthood Video Seems to Confirm Planned Parenthood Delivering Live Babies then Letting them Die
- And the Republican Congress refuses to defund the organization?!? - (read this for more information
- Lois Lerner's IRS / email scandal continues to be discussed (read this for more information)
- Per Bill O'Reilly, speculation swirls as VP Joe Biden (apparently) is considering a presidential run in 2016.
Fine! It worked!
I think some "Best of" lists and/or "Ranking of [band name]'s Songs" lists are successfully making me believe I am truly unique. Consider the moron that wrote this list - Metallica Albums Ranked Worst to Best - and I'm flabbergasted. "Load" is a better album than "Death Magnetic" in what universe?!?
Fine! It worked! I won't ever click on a 'best of' list again!
Fine! It worked! I won't ever click on a 'best of' list again!
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Surprised, But Not Really
After the speeches by Rollins and HHH went on and on (and on), I began to suspect that there wasn't a real trophy that was about to be revealed. I suspected that there was something unexpected about to happen. WWE delivered! Details here
Saturday, August 22, 2015
WWE Legend Makes Blah, Blah, Blah
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine Trashes Woman's Wrestling (via http://ble.ac/teamstream-) http://teamstre.am/1LqCEgY
Friday, August 21, 2015
Where I Was 25 Years Ago is Not Where I am 25 Years Later
Editor's note: It's rare that I add a new label when I write a post. Today, I added the "Alice in Chains" label. It surprised me that I had never done that before.
It's beyond my comprehension that Facelift, the debut album from Alice in Chains, was released 25 years ago. This article - http://www.loudwire.com/alice-in-chains-facelift-album-anniversary/ - goes through the story of how that album was initially received.
Twenty-five years ago, on Tuesday, August 21, 1990, I was not ready for Alice in Chains. I was still not ready for them when they were the opening band during the Clash of the Titans tour (Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth were the other bands on that tour) when it stopped in Cedar Rapids in summer 1991. It was about a month after that concert that I began to understand that "Man in a Box" is a really good tune!
I talked to Stephanie, Megan's roommate's mom, as we were moving Megan in to her dorm room. As it often does, music came up in conversation. She said that Alice in Chains was her favorite band and that she didn't like the current lead singer.
Per Loudwire.com, these are the top 10 Alice in Chains tunes over the last 25 years.
It's beyond my comprehension that Facelift, the debut album from Alice in Chains, was released 25 years ago. This article - http://www.loudwire.com/alice-in-chains-facelift-album-anniversary/ - goes through the story of how that album was initially received.
Twenty-five years ago, on Tuesday, August 21, 1990, I was not ready for Alice in Chains. I was still not ready for them when they were the opening band during the Clash of the Titans tour (Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth were the other bands on that tour) when it stopped in Cedar Rapids in summer 1991. It was about a month after that concert that I began to understand that "Man in a Box" is a really good tune!
I talked to Stephanie, Megan's roommate's mom, as we were moving Megan in to her dorm room. As it often does, music came up in conversation. She said that Alice in Chains was her favorite band and that she didn't like the current lead singer.
Per Loudwire.com, these are the top 10 Alice in Chains tunes over the last 25 years.
Coulter Going After Fox
I like Ann Coulter and, as a frequent contributor on Fox News, this article surprised me. She is critical of how Fox News is discussing the 14th Amendment.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
More Foos & Fan Interaction
Warning! The videos on this page contain f-bombs!!
This site updates a recent report about a fan crying as Dave Grohl was introducing "My Hero" at a recent concert. The fan was sobbing. However, it wasn't because of alcohol. He was interviewed - read this - and revealed that he was overcome with grief because his mother passed away 6 months ago. While my mother passed away more recently than his (4 months, 1 week, 2 days ago), I get why the fan was sobbing.Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Iowa Basketball Tickets
I've never owned season tickets to Iowa athletics but, as documented on this blog over the years, I have attended several events at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the years. I've ranted about the people that leave early in order to beat the traffic and I've ranted about the idiotic policy that prevented me from taking an Iowa basketball poster into Kinnick Stadium that Alex and I had just picked up at Carver-Hawkeye Arena because, on that day, we had a parking pass to park in that lot, watched some of the women basketball team's practice, and then walked over to Kinnick. That all said, when I saw this article on KRNA.com, I nodded my head in agreement.
Mark and Susie have season tickets for UNI football and, this year, Karen instructed Mark and Susie to purchase 3 season tickets for Karen, Alex, and I so that we could sit with them and watch Megan march at halftime. For 3 season football tickets for the UNI Panthers, guess how much?
Mark and Susie have season tickets for UNI football and, this year, Karen instructed Mark and Susie to purchase 3 season tickets for Karen, Alex, and I so that we could sit with them and watch Megan march at halftime. For 3 season football tickets for the UNI Panthers, guess how much?
UNI Season Ticket Pricing
| Non PSC Adult | $109.00 |
| PSC Adult | $99.00 *Price Available until April 1 Deadline |
| Non PSC Faculty | $99.00 |
| PSC Faculty | $89.00 *Price Available until April 1 Deadline |
| Youth | $59.00 |
| Red Zone | $59.00 |
2015 UNI Football Schedule
| Sept. 5 | at Iowa State |
| Sept. 12 | EASTERN WASHINGTON |
| Sept. 19 | at Cal Poly |
| Sept. 26 | OPEN |
| Oct. 3 | at Illinois State* |
| Oct. 10 | at North Dakota State* |
| Oct. 17 | WESTERN ILLINOIS (Homecoming)* |
| Oct. 24 | at South Dakota State* |
| Oct. 31 | SOUTH DAKOTA* |
| Nov. 7 | INDIANA STATE* (Family Weekend) |
| Nov. 14 | at Missouri State* |
| Nov. 21 | SOUTHERN ILLINOIS* (Senior Night) |
Catching up and Becoming a K of C
Last night was crazy.
I have been teaching drum lessons for a few weeks now at 5:00 on Tuesdays. It's supposed to be a 30 minute lesson, but I never stop right at 5:30. Last night, I stopped our lesson at 5:45. From that drum lesson, I drove to Saint Thomas More so that I could become a 1st degree Knight of Columbus. The ceremony began at 6:15 and I didn't get home until 9:45ish. I look forward to being an active member in this organization.
I have been teaching drum lessons for a few weeks now at 5:00 on Tuesdays. It's supposed to be a 30 minute lesson, but I never stop right at 5:30. Last night, I stopped our lesson at 5:45. From that drum lesson, I drove to Saint Thomas More so that I could become a 1st degree Knight of Columbus. The ceremony began at 6:15 and I didn't get home until 9:45ish. I look forward to being an active member in this organization.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Big Me & Tom Sawyer
Warning! The videos on this page contain f-bombs!!
The Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl brought up an audience member to the stage, a drummer to play their tune "Big Me" which.... wow, that must have made his not only his night, but his life to know that he jammed with the Foo Fighters in an arena with thousands of people watching him.
The second time he did this, Grohl brought up a singer to take over the mic for Rush's "Tom Sawyer" - which is not an easy song to sing! Hell, there is no such thing as an easy Rush tune.
Megan is 19
Editor's Note: I had planned to write a longer post regarding Megan's 19th birthday than the following. The following is the beginning of where a longer post was heading. I didn't have time to write more than the following and now, Sunday, 8/16/2015 @ 9 AM, it doesn't seem appropriate to finish this post as if it was completed on Friday, 8/14/2015. Thus, here is the unfinished post.
I've stared at this empty blog post for a few minutes now and am not sure where this entry is going to go. Today is my daughter's 19th birthday and, on Monday, my wife, Alex, and I will drive to a city 1.5 hours away and help her move into her dorm room. Rumor has it we are leaving our house at 6:30 AM on Monday.
Last night was her final night working at Fareway until Thanksgiving break, which seems like an eternity away from now. Even when she comes home from college for that holiday break, Alex and I will be @ the 2015 edition of NCYC in Indianapolis so we will not be home when she gets home. Of course, there may be weekends between now and then that she comes home, but with playing in the marching band at home football games, any plans regarding her coming home for a weekend are unknown.
I've stared at this empty blog post for a few minutes now and am not sure where this entry is going to go. Today is my daughter's 19th birthday and, on Monday, my wife, Alex, and I will drive to a city 1.5 hours away and help her move into her dorm room. Rumor has it we are leaving our house at 6:30 AM on Monday.
Last night was her final night working at Fareway until Thanksgiving break, which seems like an eternity away from now. Even when she comes home from college for that holiday break, Alex and I will be @ the 2015 edition of NCYC in Indianapolis so we will not be home when she gets home. Of course, there may be weekends between now and then that she comes home, but with playing in the marching band at home football games, any plans regarding her coming home for a weekend are unknown.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Enter Black
I'm a day late. Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of when Metallica's Black album was released. Vaguely, I remember where I was on that day. I was in Davenport, with Karen, at a mall and we passed a record store. I bought the CD. I cannot count how many times I have listened to the songs on it. Here's an article about its release.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Questioning the Standard
What's on my mind is not a new topic. In fact, back in 2009, I wrote about a similar topic: the rules for creating software. In 2009, my focus was on the different ways software make user assistance available. You can read that post here. Today, I have a different topic to consider: the manner in which the software developer attempts to communicate information to the user. And, because it's my blessing and my curse to see the mistakes others make, especially when it comes to software development, I feel the need to write about it. After all, working as a technical writer since 2/10/1995 - 20 years, 6 months or 7486 days - has allowed me to experience and use a lot of software. I've learned from the countless user interfaces I've encountered that software has rules. Unfortunately, not all software developers follow the rules. There's a simple reason for that: the rules are based upon opinion and what someone thinks is a good decision often turns out to not be one.
For example, I opened Photo Move 2 a while ago. This is what I saw:
I clicked No because I didn't want to update the software at that moment in time. Then I saw the following message:
The software didn't open.
If the user really doesn't have a choice, why is the first message phrased as a question? Because most software messages that deal with updating software phrase the initial message about software being out of date as a question. But it's really not a question because if the user doesn't click Yes, the software won't open. In order to use the software, there isn't a choice: upgrade or you can't use it.
So, then, why not simply state that? The first message should read something like, "There is a new update available. You should install it because your current installed version of the software will not run any longer." That's off the top of my head. What I advocate for is to have more truth in warning messages like the ones above. What are the consequences for clicking the buttons? Tell the user what they need to know before they click the button. If the first message had a message like my rewrite, I wouldn't have clicked No. I would have clicked Yes because I would have known that I wouldn't be able to run the currently installed version.
For example, I opened Photo Move 2 a while ago. This is what I saw:
I clicked No because I didn't want to update the software at that moment in time. Then I saw the following message:
The software didn't open.
If the user really doesn't have a choice, why is the first message phrased as a question? Because most software messages that deal with updating software phrase the initial message about software being out of date as a question. But it's really not a question because if the user doesn't click Yes, the software won't open. In order to use the software, there isn't a choice: upgrade or you can't use it.
So, then, why not simply state that? The first message should read something like, "There is a new update available. You should install it because your current installed version of the software will not run any longer." That's off the top of my head. What I advocate for is to have more truth in warning messages like the ones above. What are the consequences for clicking the buttons? Tell the user what they need to know before they click the button. If the first message had a message like my rewrite, I wouldn't have clicked No. I would have clicked Yes because I would have known that I wouldn't be able to run the currently installed version.
Monday, August 10, 2015
What Shinedown Looks Like in 2015
Editor's Note - the video in question was removed from youtube.com so it is no longer available for your viewing pleasure.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Not Like This Part II
My previous post explained what I wanted to be doing and some of what I actually have done. This purpose of this post is to provide further details regarding what I have spent my time doing.
As I said, Alex and I went to the Shinedown concert on Friday night. There was a pleasant surprise when I saw the following note on the door to the Adler Theater:
I didn't know Otherwise was going to be opening for Shinedown until I saw that note. Otherwise (the band) is the band that sings "I Don't Apologize" - one of the songs I really wanted Lou's Classic Ride to attempt to play after seeing the following video:
For what it's worth, LCR never attempted the song, though I still can hear Joe nailing the vocals.
As far as Shinedown, I have seen them multiple times.
As I said, Alex and I went to the Shinedown concert on Friday night. There was a pleasant surprise when I saw the following note on the door to the Adler Theater:
For what it's worth, LCR never attempted the song, though I still can hear Joe nailing the vocals.
As far as Shinedown, I have seen them multiple times.
- 2004 - Memphis in May
- 2008 - Moline, IL
- 2013 (February) - Moline, IL
- 2013 (August) - Cedar Rapids
- 2015 - Davenport, IA
Not Like This
I didn't envision spending my weekend the way it has been spent thus far.
I had a vision of myself sitting in the den, organizing a 2 foot tall stack of miscellaneous pieces of paper. The majority of these pieces of paper came home from my work cubicle a couple of weeks ago when I needed to clear out my cubicle so that I could move to the temporary space at the other end of the building. Like most things I do in life, it turned into a panic-driven project with not a lot of effort being put into to minimizing what is now a gigantic task of going through the papers.
I had a vision of myself finishing the above reorganization of that stack and then moving on to a complete reorganization of the other aspects of the den that have been neglected due to, well, spending a lot of time in Elkader. I was going to put away the stacks of CDs that I've created, take the legs off of the foosball table and get that the hell out of the den and back to the main part of the basement. I was going to finish going through the bookcase in the closet and condense the kids' games and other stuff into the brown cabinet in the main part of the basement.
I had a vision of myself finishing the stack of paper, reorganizing the den, and then sitting down at the Yamaha drum set and playing along to the set list of the band I really REALLY hope to audition for yet this month. At one point, the thought was that the band would dismiss their current drummer and bring in a replacement drummer by their gig in early September. That gig is now a mere 3 weeks, 5 days, away from today so if that is indeed going to happen, there still needs to be an audition process. The last I heard, each of the 3 remaining band members know at least 2 drummers that they wanted to audition. I don't know if that includes me or not so let's just say there's 6 candidates to play drums for this band. That's not a lot of time to schedule separate auditions for each. Truly, I realize that the timeline of their process to replace their drummer is out of my control. I can only hope that I am given the opportunity to audition and blow their minds with my drumming skills.
None of the above has really happened.
Instead, I've only briefly been in the den a few times to retrieve something I needed, such as the first three episodes of Star Wars on DVD and a power cord for my laptop which I had left in the den on Thursday night because I thought I would be spending this weekend in the den, as explained above. Both our home laptop and my work laptop have been set up on the kitchen table. I have been moving around music files on our network drives in an attempt to consolidate a bunch of backups together because, and this nearly makes me sick to write this, I think my external hard drive is on its way out the door.
Or not.
When I plug it in, I get the following message, which really means I need to somehow access my external hard drive, locate autorun.inf (which I can't believe I intentionally copied to the root of the drive), and delete it, right?
You'd be wrong if you thought that would be an easy task. When I plug in the USB cable, the entire laptop hangs. I fully understand that this Symantec Endpoint Protection is trying to make life easier for me, by protecting me from myself, but damnit, it's sure frustrating to be dealing with this on a weekend when I thought I would be doing totally different tasks!
And to seemingly make matters even more complicated, Alex is using our home laptop to upload a 23 minute video to youtube.com. It is from the (excellent) Shinedown concert we went to on Friday night. Glancing at the screen now, there are 1354 minutes remaining and it's at 28% done. 1354/60 = 22.56666666666667 hours. It's 8:22 AM (now) so his single video will not be completely uploaded until 6:22 AM tomorrow morning?!?
I had a vision of myself sitting in the den, organizing a 2 foot tall stack of miscellaneous pieces of paper. The majority of these pieces of paper came home from my work cubicle a couple of weeks ago when I needed to clear out my cubicle so that I could move to the temporary space at the other end of the building. Like most things I do in life, it turned into a panic-driven project with not a lot of effort being put into to minimizing what is now a gigantic task of going through the papers.
I had a vision of myself finishing the above reorganization of that stack and then moving on to a complete reorganization of the other aspects of the den that have been neglected due to, well, spending a lot of time in Elkader. I was going to put away the stacks of CDs that I've created, take the legs off of the foosball table and get that the hell out of the den and back to the main part of the basement. I was going to finish going through the bookcase in the closet and condense the kids' games and other stuff into the brown cabinet in the main part of the basement.
I had a vision of myself finishing the stack of paper, reorganizing the den, and then sitting down at the Yamaha drum set and playing along to the set list of the band I really REALLY hope to audition for yet this month. At one point, the thought was that the band would dismiss their current drummer and bring in a replacement drummer by their gig in early September. That gig is now a mere 3 weeks, 5 days, away from today so if that is indeed going to happen, there still needs to be an audition process. The last I heard, each of the 3 remaining band members know at least 2 drummers that they wanted to audition. I don't know if that includes me or not so let's just say there's 6 candidates to play drums for this band. That's not a lot of time to schedule separate auditions for each. Truly, I realize that the timeline of their process to replace their drummer is out of my control. I can only hope that I am given the opportunity to audition and blow their minds with my drumming skills.
None of the above has really happened.
Instead, I've only briefly been in the den a few times to retrieve something I needed, such as the first three episodes of Star Wars on DVD and a power cord for my laptop which I had left in the den on Thursday night because I thought I would be spending this weekend in the den, as explained above. Both our home laptop and my work laptop have been set up on the kitchen table. I have been moving around music files on our network drives in an attempt to consolidate a bunch of backups together because, and this nearly makes me sick to write this, I think my external hard drive is on its way out the door.
Or not.
When I plug it in, I get the following message, which really means I need to somehow access my external hard drive, locate autorun.inf (which I can't believe I intentionally copied to the root of the drive), and delete it, right?
You'd be wrong if you thought that would be an easy task. When I plug in the USB cable, the entire laptop hangs. I fully understand that this Symantec Endpoint Protection is trying to make life easier for me, by protecting me from myself, but damnit, it's sure frustrating to be dealing with this on a weekend when I thought I would be doing totally different tasks!
And to seemingly make matters even more complicated, Alex is using our home laptop to upload a 23 minute video to youtube.com. It is from the (excellent) Shinedown concert we went to on Friday night. Glancing at the screen now, there are 1354 minutes remaining and it's at 28% done. 1354/60 = 22.56666666666667 hours. It's 8:22 AM (now) so his single video will not be completely uploaded until 6:22 AM tomorrow morning?!?
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Brilliance
If I say, "Steve Gadd is 70 years old," you may say, "Who is Steve Gadd?"
Steve Gadd is an outstanding drummer. Listen to the groove in this video and be mesmerized.
Steve Gadd is an outstanding drummer. Listen to the groove in this video and be mesmerized.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
More Blech
You can only delete a backup at a time so why does the message on the window state "Windows is deleting backups" when you cannot delete more than one?
Smart Software
I went to open a file that was in my "Recent Workbooks" list in Excel 2013.
Some people want to go back in time and change the course of history; today I feel like going back and winning an argument.
- I selected the file.
- Excel "helpfully" tells me that the file isn't there, which is fine.
- Where Excel 2013 gets dumb is when I return to my "Recent Workbooks" list and the file is still listed! Why can't Excel 2013 be "smart software" and ask if I want to have the file removed from my "Recent Workbooks" list so that I don't have to see it again?
- And, sure, I can right-click the file and get a pop-up menu with the option to remove the file. How does the user know that there even is a right-click option? There's no clue as to its existence in the user interface!
Some people want to go back in time and change the course of history; today I feel like going back and winning an argument.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Not the American Way
On July 4, 2015, I posted about Hulk Hogan being listed as one of the most patriotic professional wrestlers of all time. If you had told me on that day that by August 1, Hulk Hogan would be 100% removed from the WWE website and have his contract terminated because of a report in the National Enquirer that he used the racist N-word in a private conversation, I doubt I would have believed you. Yet, here I am, on August 1, 2015, posting about how Hulk Hogan has been removed from all things WWE.
Using what certainly must be my "super power" of "seeing and being able to understand multiple perspectives of the same idea / issue, " I know with 100% certainty that if I call an African-American the N-word, it is an insult. Not only is it not okay for a white person to use that word, it is an insult that drudges up years of heartache, grief, and anger. Of course, if I were African-American, I would be able to call fellow African-Americans the n-word. White man can't; black man can't. In the era of wanting to be treated equally and such, there appears to be a double standard. While I'm certain I could write about it, I haven't done sufficient research so it will not be composed today.
So, back to Hulk Hogan using the n-word, I see three reasons why I'm willing to give the Hulkster a tiny bit of slack. To summarize, he said this 1) in a private conversation, 2) recorded 8 years ago, and 3) it was the National Enquirer who broke the news makes me really sad. In reverse order, when I was growing up, the National Enquirer was a tabloid garbage publication. I believe the only reason for its existence today is that - to this day - it is placed near the checkout line of grocery stores with bloviated headlines about Elvis Presley being seen alive or UFO sightings. I hardly call those two examples headlines that belong in a "real" news publication. Second, the conversation was 8 years ago. I know that on Wednesday, August 01, 2007, I was a different person than I am now. I suspect that Hulk Hogan was a different person back then as well. How many people have been known as racists, only to at some point in their life see the error and evil in their thinking? Hulk Hogan's apology and public statements cannot change the past. So, yes, he said those things 8 years ago and I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt that he doesn't believe those words now. Third, this was a private conversation he was having about his daughter. That's a breach of trust and its sickening to me that a private conversation made public has caused the downfall of an icon.
In a similar vein, one of my all-time favorite comedians has been dragged through the mud after 43 women have now come forward with stories about how he first drugged and second sexually assaulted each woman. That's not the way I really want Bill Cosby to be remembered. I'd rather see him as Heathcliff Huxtable - America's favorite dad on "The Cosby Show" on Thursday nights at 7 PM. When I think about Bill Cosby now, though, I feel sickened. I, once again, "see all views of an issue" like this. Sexual assaulting a woman is never - EVER - okay. NEVER. In no way do I believe Bill Cosby acted like the icon husband and family man he portrayed on television. I'm sure I'm not the only person to see the irony. Over the years, Bill Cosby has been an outspoken critic of how African-American males have not treated women properly. He has been an outspoken critic of how rap music has made disrespecting women part of its appeal. He was an outspoken critic of Eddie Murphy - per one of his comedy concerts - for using the f-word and cursing as part of his routine. Going back even further, during his own standup act, he described not using curse words and "sounding like an idiot" because of self-censoring. Just with those examples alone, Bill Cosby could easily be seen as a hypocrite. All of that, plus the way his wife and his friends must feel now. In public and, certainly, in private, they have supported him, not believing the reports. Now, they've found out that he lied.
There was a time when I longed to be as well-known as Hulk Hogan and Bill Cosby. I fantasized about playing in a band that would tour the world. This fictional band would play a concert in Cedar Rapids and the crowd would chant my name "Han - Son! Han - Son!" and I would bask in the spotlight and smile. After reading about the downfall of Hogan and Cosby, I'm quite certain I am satisfied to work where I work, to be married to whom I am married, and to be the father to whom I am the father as opposed to the opposite, which would be to have your past mistakes in the spotlight.
Using what certainly must be my "super power" of "seeing and being able to understand multiple perspectives of the same idea / issue, " I know with 100% certainty that if I call an African-American the N-word, it is an insult. Not only is it not okay for a white person to use that word, it is an insult that drudges up years of heartache, grief, and anger. Of course, if I were African-American, I would be able to call fellow African-Americans the n-word. White man can't; black man can't. In the era of wanting to be treated equally and such, there appears to be a double standard. While I'm certain I could write about it, I haven't done sufficient research so it will not be composed today.
So, back to Hulk Hogan using the n-word, I see three reasons why I'm willing to give the Hulkster a tiny bit of slack. To summarize, he said this 1) in a private conversation, 2) recorded 8 years ago, and 3) it was the National Enquirer who broke the news makes me really sad. In reverse order, when I was growing up, the National Enquirer was a tabloid garbage publication. I believe the only reason for its existence today is that - to this day - it is placed near the checkout line of grocery stores with bloviated headlines about Elvis Presley being seen alive or UFO sightings. I hardly call those two examples headlines that belong in a "real" news publication. Second, the conversation was 8 years ago. I know that on Wednesday, August 01, 2007, I was a different person than I am now. I suspect that Hulk Hogan was a different person back then as well. How many people have been known as racists, only to at some point in their life see the error and evil in their thinking? Hulk Hogan's apology and public statements cannot change the past. So, yes, he said those things 8 years ago and I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt that he doesn't believe those words now. Third, this was a private conversation he was having about his daughter. That's a breach of trust and its sickening to me that a private conversation made public has caused the downfall of an icon.
In a similar vein, one of my all-time favorite comedians has been dragged through the mud after 43 women have now come forward with stories about how he first drugged and second sexually assaulted each woman. That's not the way I really want Bill Cosby to be remembered. I'd rather see him as Heathcliff Huxtable - America's favorite dad on "The Cosby Show" on Thursday nights at 7 PM. When I think about Bill Cosby now, though, I feel sickened. I, once again, "see all views of an issue" like this. Sexual assaulting a woman is never - EVER - okay. NEVER. In no way do I believe Bill Cosby acted like the icon husband and family man he portrayed on television. I'm sure I'm not the only person to see the irony. Over the years, Bill Cosby has been an outspoken critic of how African-American males have not treated women properly. He has been an outspoken critic of how rap music has made disrespecting women part of its appeal. He was an outspoken critic of Eddie Murphy - per one of his comedy concerts - for using the f-word and cursing as part of his routine. Going back even further, during his own standup act, he described not using curse words and "sounding like an idiot" because of self-censoring. Just with those examples alone, Bill Cosby could easily be seen as a hypocrite. All of that, plus the way his wife and his friends must feel now. In public and, certainly, in private, they have supported him, not believing the reports. Now, they've found out that he lied.
There was a time when I longed to be as well-known as Hulk Hogan and Bill Cosby. I fantasized about playing in a band that would tour the world. This fictional band would play a concert in Cedar Rapids and the crowd would chant my name "Han - Son! Han - Son!" and I would bask in the spotlight and smile. After reading about the downfall of Hogan and Cosby, I'm quite certain I am satisfied to work where I work, to be married to whom I am married, and to be the father to whom I am the father as opposed to the opposite, which would be to have your past mistakes in the spotlight.
A Music Event for Three Different Times
Past:
It seems odd that 7 years have already passed since Five Finger Death Punch released "The Way of the Fist." As described in this article, I was initially hooked by "The Bleeding" when it was played on Rock 108. It mesmerized my ears. I was attracted to the anger in vocalist Ivan Moody's voice and the lyrics. The guitar riffs were interesting and the drumming was excellent. Then "Never Enough" was released as a single, followed by "Stranger than Fiction." Eventually, I heard the entire release and from the first time I heard "Ashes" - the opening track - and its thunderous double bass drumming, I knew I was listening to a band that I would really like. I saw them in concert for the first time in 2012 in Waterloo and now, in 2015, I will be taking Alex, Austin, and, perhaps, a third person to see them in Cedar Rapids on Friday, October 3.
Present:
Today, Metallica is in Chicago. It should come as no surprise when I state they are my favorite band of all time. Their concert is going to be streamed online, beginning at 8:15 (per the schedule below) so, if it is at all possible, I will be glued to watching it.
Future:
Per the setlist site I normally check, when Shinedown played a concert last night, they played the songs listed below. I will see Shinedown, with Alex, on Friday, August 7, 2015.
It seems odd that 7 years have already passed since Five Finger Death Punch released "The Way of the Fist." As described in this article, I was initially hooked by "The Bleeding" when it was played on Rock 108. It mesmerized my ears. I was attracted to the anger in vocalist Ivan Moody's voice and the lyrics. The guitar riffs were interesting and the drumming was excellent. Then "Never Enough" was released as a single, followed by "Stranger than Fiction." Eventually, I heard the entire release and from the first time I heard "Ashes" - the opening track - and its thunderous double bass drumming, I knew I was listening to a band that I would really like. I saw them in concert for the first time in 2012 in Waterloo and now, in 2015, I will be taking Alex, Austin, and, perhaps, a third person to see them in Cedar Rapids on Friday, October 3.
Present:
Today, Metallica is in Chicago. It should come as no surprise when I state they are my favorite band of all time. Their concert is going to be streamed online, beginning at 8:15 (per the schedule below) so, if it is at all possible, I will be glued to watching it.
Per the setlist site I normally check, when Shinedown played a concert last night, they played the songs listed below. I will see Shinedown, with Alex, on Friday, August 7, 2015.
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