Friday at last. I have
Friday at last. I have dreamed of this day all week long. With rumors of layoffs and everyone walking around anticipating a sniper's bullet to strike them silently and without warning. The air of negativity is suffocating and the only peace I can locate is to distance myself from the place and the smell of fear in the air. I was listening to NPR this morning and am watching CNN on IPTV at my desk and of all the things that I agrees or disagree with concerning this war, the one thing that stands most prominent in my mind is the disassociation the American public has to the real, warm blooded, human lives that are endangered by it. Evidenced by commentary and news perspective, it seems to me that the public watch this war as if they are watching Survivor or Joe Millionaire... commercials, channel surfing, living room safety taken for granted... watching it all on TV like it's some make-believe Hollywood production while real soldiers die... real wives are widowed... real children are orphaned... oh well, *click* change the channel... oooh! American Idol is on!
I was in the military for eight years... from '91 during the Gulf War to '99. I did two tours in the Persian Gulf and was part of the Kosovo/Yugoslavia NATO campaign. I have friends in the Middle East right now... away from their family and friends for their country. God be with them all. Regardless of the outcome of this conflict or whether it's right or wrong... I pray they come home safely.
We ran out of cat food at the house. It cracks me up to see two cute and cuddly little kitties turn into jungle cats when they are hungry. They were stalking carpet I think... hallucinating that the living room rug was an antelope or some shit. Absolutely a riot. Lauren came over for dinner last night. It was great seeing her again. She and I went to high school together and have managed to stay in touch and remain close friends all these years. My 15 year reunion is coming up and it will be strange to see old classmates again... know about their lives through Lauren, yet never actually speaking to them all these years... I was out of the loop throughout the ninety's. EL made this really delicious southwestern style dish. We grilled some marinated chicken breast out back and she had prepared some homemade nectarine salsa and a spiced black beans. We had fresh, homemade tortillas from the City Tortilla Factory where I grew up (courtesy of my mother) too. I love those things. EL also had prepared a fresh strawberry fondue... I love strawberries. LOVE. Anyhoo, we chatted over dinner and wine and caught up on what's been happening in each others lives. Good times. The only bad thing about last night was that some college basketball hoo-ha was on instead of CSI. I dig that show. I have a friend that I met while employed at my previous job named Kirk. He spams my mailbox with all kinds of crap... partly because he knows I hate spam... partly because he has a lot of crap to say. He used to be a sports announcer. Now, he's a network engineering team manager. You see how he needs an outlet? This is an example of the type of crap he sends me (probably written while on the toilet or some such mess):
"I think the problem here is that folks are losing sight over the bigger picture. This isn't about right-wing or left-wing, Americans or Iraqis, what George Bush I did or did not do, what Clinton did or did not do, or what GB II is or is not trying to do. It is about one thing and one thing only: ALIENS
That's right. Aliens. They're a 'comin and we best be ready. Remember that Pioneer 10 satellite we launched like 31 years ago that NASA just lost contact with? Remember what was on that? That's right, that freakin' map of how to find Earth put on by Mr. Space Fluff himself, Carl Sagan. And we could debate how insulting that map is with its stick figure drawings (are we capable of launching something into space but only possess the rudimentary art skills of a caveman, or do we expect that folks capable of retrieving such a device only have the cognitive capabilities of a caveman). Either way the important part is that there are aliens out there right now gallivanting through the cosmos looking for things to do and the odds of them finding us are really really small. That is unless they have a MAP!. And when they find that map and come down here, are they going to be nice, cuddly tribble-like aliens? No. Are they going to make some stupid mistake like getting some flu the Chinese government has kept hidden, or have their head's explode when they hear the Ramones or let some guy with an Apple notebook anywhere near their ships? Again, no. If we can be prepared for that kind of mess, you can bet they will be too. So how are we going to ensure that these aliens are going to show a little respect when they visit and not treat our planet like a bunch of drunk college kids on Spring Break? Chances are someone is going to have to bloody their noses a little bit. Now it doesn't matter who that someone is (though we can all probably guess it wont be the French). What matters is the job gets done. And how will this someone get ready? The same way any fighter gets ready (well any fighter but Joe Foreman); sparring partners. So what is really going on here is that the world is working together to make sure that we as a planet are prepared to deal with an alien invasion by building our global defensive capabilities. Perhaps 30-40 years down the road when some guy from Camaroon starts spouting off at the mouth to some guy from Iraq about oil or ice cream or whatever. The Iraqi can look him in the eye and ask "When was the last time you had a Gipplefraz Anal Probe?" And the guy from Camaroon will respond "I'm from Camaroon. I have never had a Gipplefraz Anal Probe". And with a gentle twinkle in his eye, the Iraqi will smile and say "You're welcome."
Of course, it is entirely possible that I may be wrong."
I've come to the conclusion that before I delve deeper into my inbox this morning, I need more coffee.
I was in the military for eight years... from '91 during the Gulf War to '99. I did two tours in the Persian Gulf and was part of the Kosovo/Yugoslavia NATO campaign. I have friends in the Middle East right now... away from their family and friends for their country. God be with them all. Regardless of the outcome of this conflict or whether it's right or wrong... I pray they come home safely.
We ran out of cat food at the house. It cracks me up to see two cute and cuddly little kitties turn into jungle cats when they are hungry. They were stalking carpet I think... hallucinating that the living room rug was an antelope or some shit. Absolutely a riot. Lauren came over for dinner last night. It was great seeing her again. She and I went to high school together and have managed to stay in touch and remain close friends all these years. My 15 year reunion is coming up and it will be strange to see old classmates again... know about their lives through Lauren, yet never actually speaking to them all these years... I was out of the loop throughout the ninety's. EL made this really delicious southwestern style dish. We grilled some marinated chicken breast out back and she had prepared some homemade nectarine salsa and a spiced black beans. We had fresh, homemade tortillas from the City Tortilla Factory where I grew up (courtesy of my mother) too. I love those things. EL also had prepared a fresh strawberry fondue... I love strawberries. LOVE. Anyhoo, we chatted over dinner and wine and caught up on what's been happening in each others lives. Good times. The only bad thing about last night was that some college basketball hoo-ha was on instead of CSI. I dig that show. I have a friend that I met while employed at my previous job named Kirk. He spams my mailbox with all kinds of crap... partly because he knows I hate spam... partly because he has a lot of crap to say. He used to be a sports announcer. Now, he's a network engineering team manager. You see how he needs an outlet? This is an example of the type of crap he sends me (probably written while on the toilet or some such mess):
"I think the problem here is that folks are losing sight over the bigger picture. This isn't about right-wing or left-wing, Americans or Iraqis, what George Bush I did or did not do, what Clinton did or did not do, or what GB II is or is not trying to do. It is about one thing and one thing only: ALIENS
That's right. Aliens. They're a 'comin and we best be ready. Remember that Pioneer 10 satellite we launched like 31 years ago that NASA just lost contact with? Remember what was on that? That's right, that freakin' map of how to find Earth put on by Mr. Space Fluff himself, Carl Sagan. And we could debate how insulting that map is with its stick figure drawings (are we capable of launching something into space but only possess the rudimentary art skills of a caveman, or do we expect that folks capable of retrieving such a device only have the cognitive capabilities of a caveman). Either way the important part is that there are aliens out there right now gallivanting through the cosmos looking for things to do and the odds of them finding us are really really small. That is unless they have a MAP!. And when they find that map and come down here, are they going to be nice, cuddly tribble-like aliens? No. Are they going to make some stupid mistake like getting some flu the Chinese government has kept hidden, or have their head's explode when they hear the Ramones or let some guy with an Apple notebook anywhere near their ships? Again, no. If we can be prepared for that kind of mess, you can bet they will be too. So how are we going to ensure that these aliens are going to show a little respect when they visit and not treat our planet like a bunch of drunk college kids on Spring Break? Chances are someone is going to have to bloody their noses a little bit. Now it doesn't matter who that someone is (though we can all probably guess it wont be the French). What matters is the job gets done. And how will this someone get ready? The same way any fighter gets ready (well any fighter but Joe Foreman); sparring partners. So what is really going on here is that the world is working together to make sure that we as a planet are prepared to deal with an alien invasion by building our global defensive capabilities. Perhaps 30-40 years down the road when some guy from Camaroon starts spouting off at the mouth to some guy from Iraq about oil or ice cream or whatever. The Iraqi can look him in the eye and ask "When was the last time you had a Gipplefraz Anal Probe?" And the guy from Camaroon will respond "I'm from Camaroon. I have never had a Gipplefraz Anal Probe". And with a gentle twinkle in his eye, the Iraqi will smile and say "You're welcome."
Of course, it is entirely possible that I may be wrong."
I've come to the conclusion that before I delve deeper into my inbox this morning, I need more coffee.
I remember watching the Gulf War on TV at the time and thinking at the time it seemed so sterile - like a computer game… and this one is looking similar so far. So few of us have seen the realities of death - even our meat is packaged so the blood isn’t obvious. It’s hard to relate - we need to be reminded.
1. Kitty torturer!
2. CSI rocks!
3. Kirk is almost right, but not quite. Saddam is the leader of the aliens and Bush is tired of being kidnapped and given anal probes (well, he doesn’t really mind the anal probes, it’s the stuff they stickin his ear he doesn’t like, because he is tickelish). Take THAT Enquirer!
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