Because I like to write. Because I don't often enough. And because you should never start a sentence with "and" or "because" - this should be interesting.
Well, it seems that the Americans are really improving their international reputation at the Olympic games in Vancouver (sarcasm).
First, there was this douchebag, US snowboarder Nate Holland, who criticized snowboarders from other countries for wearing pants that were too tight. It's not aligned with snowboarding's anti-establishment roots, he claims. The US snowboarding times is sponsored by Nike, Microsoft and Visa - three HUGE American corporations who, I doubt, have any interest whatsoever in snowboard purism. Besides, that whole flannel/jeans combo has a label, you know. It was made by someone, somewhere to make money for an establishment of sorts. Idiot.
Then, NBC and Shaun White & Co. get busted for cursing on live television after White's historic win. Did anyone see that display of athleticism? I don't even like the halfpipe, but I was shouting a few "holy shits" on my side of the TV. Some are trying to blame Shaun White and his coach for their crude language. He just found out he won a gold medal. Somehow, "Jolly good!" doesn't seem appropriate for the situation. Also, it's NBC's fault for sticking a microphone on just about every square inch of those Canadian mountains. But, in all reality, no one's to blame. Lighten up, America!
Finally, speedskater Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, is getting crap for the rudeness he displayed to an American NBC reporter (see video below). He had just won a gold medal, and minutes after the race, a reporter from NBC asks him to state his name, his country and the medal he just won. Kramer then says, "Are you stupid? Hell no, I'm not going to do that." Good for him, I say. I mean it would be pretty awkward and degrading for a gold medal winner to be seen on American TV saying, "Hi, my name is Sven Kramer. I'm from the Netherlands and I just won a gold medal in speedskating." This is the Olympics, not a 4th grade book report.
On that note, this American is off to Vancouver! (No, seriously, I am.)
On the 'modern' Republican party: "And your party decided the tradition of separating church and state had an expiration date. You love the constitution but you seem to pick through that document the same way you pick through the Bible – with all the effectiveness of eating corn on the cob through a picket fence."
Read Helen's new post on Obama's (fruitless?) attempt at bipartisanship. Read all the way through because this time Margaret pipes in.
Is it ironic or do the quotation marks cancel out any irony? Or do they make it even more ironic since they provide a fix for the potential misnomer given the state of the van? Oh lord. Someone make me stop.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a sex doll with feelings. Some perv invented this real life sex robot (as in, you can actually have sex with it) that also can spout out some pretty generic love messages. The inventor claims that sex isn't just about pleasure, it's about intimacy and emotion. His solution? Create a robot that you can have your way with and, once you're finished, can tell you how much she enjoys holding your hand. That's what I think about when I'm lonely and missing intimacy in my life: I wish a had a robot to make me feel real human emotions. Makes me long for Teddy Ruxpin.
My favorite part of the article is this direct quote:
"An engineer, Hines said he was inspired to create the robot after a friend died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks."
This is more than a WTF? This is a strong contender for the 'Weekly WTF? of the Year for 2010' ... and it's only January. While I am puzzled beyond belief about this video, it makes me laugh soooooo hard.
The Unicorn Samurai has only had 17,226 hits on YouTube so far. PLEASE help him go viral. I dare you to find someone/something more deserving.
Very interesting experiment. Chairs were placed on the streets of NYC and as people showed interest in the chairs, and inevitably took them, a GPS device was enabled that would track the new location of each chair. A video crew documented the actual act of "theft" and later went to the homes of the pilferers to follow up and interview them.
It's essentially a social experiment in modern-day dumpster diving.
Great article in the New York Times today about the G.I. Bill. I've run into quite a few people in my liberal lifestyle who seem to disagree with the bill that, since 9/11, states that servicemen and women who have served active duty for more than three years, or have been injured, are entitled to free tuition and housing at any public university in the United States. It's unfair, they say. What makes their accomplishments better than those of other applicants? Why do we owe them something so great for upholding a war we don't believe in?
I don't necessarily think it's about "owing" them anything. That's condescending and implies that the only rationale for sending a solider to college is to compensate for the time they spent serving our country. It's more about how they've earned it. In any situation, a person who has experienced extreme challenges in life is going to have a different perspective on how they approach their education - often a much more mature and disciplined point of view. They have persevered in the face of great adversity. How many of you can say that?
Sending soldiers - men and women who are forced to survive, persevere and think on their feet every waking hour in a war zone - to college for free might be one of America's best ideas. Capitalizing on the skills they've already learned in the field and educating and training them as leaders in various fields will only push our society further in terms of progress. Aside from the notion of "owing" them anything, it's also in the best interest of our country.
Listen, I have pretty strong views when it comes to the wars we're engaged in, but I'm not going to blame our soldiers. There are soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak who disagree with those wars too, but because they have made a promise to protect our country upon enlisting, they go off to battle anyway and make the best of a bad situation. They actually go to war torn countries and form their opinions about war by living and fighting in them. That gives them a lot more credibility than any politician, news correspondent or everyday person.
I say, give them credit - and I mean that literally. 15 credits a semester should work just fine.
