My 50th birthday was January 9th. I was going to wax philosophical that day, but instead I broke my twelve day blogging streak, and then went into a several day blogging slump. It was probably caused by ending my "law as business" ranting, thinking I'd be profound on my big day, and then realizing that its easier to talk biz than personal. So, six days late, here's what I think about a few things:
Four of my proudest accomplishments: I have never seen a moment of American Idol, Survivor, Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy. This will be an easy streak to maintain.
I was once in a cult for a weekend (long story, I'll tell it some other time). I did not join, BUT I got one useful phrase that I have used many times when confronting long entrenched, apparently unsolvable problems. This is it...."Everything that happened, is just a bunch of stuff that happened, everything else is SPIN".
I love to read, but I have a variation that really enhances the expereience. I like to read books that have been made into movies, especially if I have not yet read the book or seen the movie. Then I like to read the book and rent the movie right after. BTW, I did this with "Fight Club", initially because someone recommended the movie as something "different, not what you think its gonna be". So, I read the book, which was amazing (and discovered an author I now read, Chuck Palahniuk), and followed it up with this great movie. If you have never seen it, try it and let me know what you think.....I did not see it for years because it did not seem like "my kind of movie", but it's creative and thought provoking. Even better, read the book first. A few that I have done this with are "Sideways", "High Fidelity", "Election", "CiderHouse Rules" and "Angela's Ashes".
Speaking of movies, my favorite baseball movie is Bull Durham.
My favorite movie of all, though, is Groundhog Day. I have come to learn that I am not the only one, and I will make a blog entry about Groundhog Day on 2/2, which is also my brothers birthday. Here's a link to a site which talks about Groundhog Day, and has a link to other Groundhog Day material.... http://www.schindler.org/psacot/20010813_ghd.shtml
From personal experience and careful observation, there IS an epidemic of autism and related disorders going on, and it probably is related to vaccines. I would not give two cents for any government sponsored "studies" showing the contrary.
The Iraq war will go down in history as the worst foreign policy blunder in U.S. history. If the powers that be actually believe the justifications they gave (that by removing Saddam we'd set the stage for democracy etc.), then they are delusional. If there other nefarious business reasons, then they are butcherous liers. Choose your poison.
I don't like political labels. People should think and have opinions based on ideas. If someone goes with their party, I don't give much credibility to their positions. I used to enjoy Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, when their ideas seemed to confront the liberal boobs with the fallacy of their positions. Unfortunately, they have now become the exact things they used to rail against, and you have to check your brain at the door to listen to them. They are not interesting, or fun, or entertaining, unless you like being at a pro-government rally. I listen to a guy named Lionel, on WOR-AM, usually around 10 PM. Here's his site http://www.lionelonline.com/ Check him out and let me know what you think.
Diet soda makes people fat. It also CANNOT be healthy, and this should not be a surprise to anyone.
Am I the only person who remembers what Jesse Jackson used to talk about when he was first on the political scene? When he used to say that responsibility rests with families, and if people were going to advance it had to start THERE, at home, with family values and religion and spirituality. His message was identical to what we would now call Republican religious fundamentalism. What evil forces threw out that message, and made him the spokesman for government largesse as a political movement?
I don't care much for lawyer jokes, even though I will laugh at a good one. Its the assumptions behind the jokes that irk me. Most lawyers I know are hard working, decent people, who contribute to society in a positive way. To the extent there are greedy, lecherous lawyers out there (and I don't deny there are some), this is a reflection of a greedy, lecherous populace.
There should be a rule that families can take their kids to Disneyland, or world, or whatever it is, ONCE. The other times you go on vacation, DO SOMETHING ELSE. See some sights, take hikes, go to restaurants in a new city, let kids see what gownups do on vacation, so they don't think that what grownups do on vacation is "take kids to Disney".
If your child got a college scholarship for "cheerleading", would you tell anyone about it?
High school and college kids should work at part-time jobs. I'm not saying it should be a law, I'm suggesting their parents should recognize the immense value in this experience, and encourage them to work. It helps a young person value their education, to understand the business world, to learn discipline, and to respect all kinds of people. In high school I worked in the local dry cleaners (making deliveries, working the counter, and putting plastic bags on garments). During college I worked in a leather warehouse in lower Manhattan, mostly loading and unloading trucks with "men". I also worked at a temp agency, where we were assigned to a different office almost every day. In my present office, I have interviewed new lawyers whose first job, OF ANY KIND, was the one they were applying for with me. What were they and/or their parents thinking?
The weakest word a person can use is "should". The strongest word is "YET".
Is anybody reading my blog? Comments are welcome.
Next entry....back to perils of real estate.....part 3
3 comments:
Hmmm, where should i start :) jaja. 1. You should feel great about reaching 50...half of ur life is over jaja.
2. You really should watch American Idol, its funny and entertaining watching people make a fool of themselves on national TV. Plus u get to listen to some real talent or not.
3. I couldn't agree more on the Iraq subject...complete waste of lives and money and anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional!!
4. I agree that we shouldn't go by political labels....If Giuliani runs for president, I would vote for him instead of Clinton and I consider myself a democrat.
5. I drink Diet Coke for the taste not the calories!! jajajaja
6. When I told my family that I would like to become a lawyer they said I wasn't mean or greedy enough...:(
7. Down with Disneyland!!! jajaja some things you should only do once in your lifetime then you gotta move on.
"That's all I have to say about that" jaja...well at least u know people are reading ur blog.
1. About turning 50, great milestone. Be proud. From what I see, you have the respect and love of your family, which is, what I feel, the most important and real thing a person could have.
2. On American Idol, I agree with Coolrizz. It's funny and quite entertaining. You should at least give it a chance; you've proven to be an pretty open-minded kind of guy.
3. On Iraq. What can I say? I believe that if the U.S. does not take some kind of pro-active position in that part of the world, at this time, we're setting ourselves up for alot of HOMELAND bloodshed. Let the people who signed up to fight, fight it in the middle east, instead of risking a terror war on our own soil. That's all I have to say about that.
4. I do not believe in political labels either. If I did, I would probably be an Anarchist, because I don't trust the motives of ANY organized governmnt, but I do believe in freedom and protecting it at any cost; even if it means suspending some of those freedoms temporarily to ensure the safety of Americans at home and abroad.
5. I started drinking diet soda at a young age because my mom was diabetic and that was the only kind of soda in our house. If I drink "sugar" soda, it makes me sick. I don't drink it to avoid calories.
6. Being a lawyer is not who I am, it's what I do. Being a lawyer does not define me. I could be anything I want, if I believe in it and desire to achieve a goal. Not all goals in life are set in stone. People change, and so do their goals.
7. On Disneyland, Rich and I went there on our honeymoon and had the greatest time. We went because he had never been there as a child. We were young (in our 20s) when we were married, so we could still appreciate the fun of it. We will eventually take our children, once. But I agree with you on exposing children to different types of fun adventures.
8. If my daughter gets a scholarship for cheerleading, I would be very proud. That doesn't mean she has to be a Cheerleader for the rest of her life. It builds character, like any other "sport". Besides, cheerleaders support the athletes that go on to make America's past-times what they are today. I don't see anybody complaining about being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. By the way, you don't have to be "dumb" to be a Cheerleader. You can be an "A" student and have enough pride to be "loud and proud" for your school (not to mention VERY flexible-tee hee). I was a cheerleader in Junior High and High School,(while working the part-time jobs mentioned above) and am very proud of it. We won many competitions and it's not easy; maybe you should try it.
I was too busy to respond this afternoon (I'm quite verbose), but now you have one more response.
In addition to my prior response. I believe that the rising diagnosis in autism is caused by two factors: the fact that the neuro-psycholigical community has created a "spectrum" of inexplicable behaviours and disorders that fall within the "autism" category and the level of awareness of these criteria by parents and medical professionals. I also believe that autism is a neurological disorder caused by a chromosomal defect which is random. However, there have been studies that show that the age of the father at the time of conception may have an impact. However, this is one of many factors that "may" play a role. I believe it's just one of those things where an exact cause cannot be pinpointed, due to environmental and a host of other factors that interplay with one another during the development of a fetus' neurolgical system. Furthermore, it is my opinion that, based on a simple understanding of human biology, the correlation between vaccines with a mercury based preservative and autism may be due to a particular fetus' susceptibility to it. That is why it cannot be proven as a factor in every case of autism.
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