Archive for September, 2009

you shoulda put a ring on it

Sep 22, 2009 life, scifi and fantasy

I’ve always been fascinated with the planet Saturn. Ever since I first learned about it in school, I always thought it was cool that it had the rings around it and it just seemed to giant and majestic.

This week, NASA released some recent photos taken from the Cassini robotic explorer earlier this year, during the planet’s equinox when the sun shone directly on equator. Here is the composite photo showing the entire planet:

saturn2009a

How beautiful is that, eh?  I think it’s absolutely gorgeous. I wish we were more progressed that I could actually see Saturn first hand, but I know that will never happen in my lifetime. One never to cross of my bucket list, as it were. But at least through this space photography,  I can still experience the real-life beauty of this planet.

Thank you NASA!

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the 3 R’s of human interaction

Sep 15, 2009 life

Over the past week, we’ve had several instances of bad behavior in a public forum. Senator Joe Wilson screaming “You Lie!” during Obama’s speech. Serena Williams screaming foul language and threats at a tennis official during a game. Kanye West deliberately stealing the spotlight from Taylor Swift during her VMA acceptance speech.

People round the world have commented for days about each one and how unbelievable it is that these things happened. But are we really shocked? Really? I mean, I agree that each instance showed complete disrespect to the person on the receiving end, but their behavior is hardly shocking when you look at how we as a society have leaned towards rewarding this kind of rudeness and narcissistic behavior in the past few years.

The Realistic Impact of Reality Shows

Look at the current wave of popular “reality” TV shows – how many of them show people engaging in acts of what is generally thought of as “bad behavior” in public? Yet, people watch them rabidly and talk about them constantly. People like Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are huge celebrities and earn tons of money. For what? What do they contribute to society? Why are they famous? Because they exhibit bad behavior and they not only get away with it, but are rewarded for it with photographers following their every move and nightclubs paying them literally thousands of dollars to make an appearance for a few hours.

And this is the message we’re sending out by watching and supporting these shows.  Be rude and disrespectful and you, too, can become rich and famous. Can’t sing or dance or act?  No problem, just go on TV and tell the world it’s all about you, and you, too can earn a lot of money and get on the cover of every tabloid.

But because nobody gets called on this kind of behavior, and in fact gets rewarded for it, the message sent out is a loud one that’s hard to ignore — especially by kids and young adults who are trying to figure out their roles in society and what they want out of life.

Why work hard for what you want when you can just go on TV and be a bitch or a jackass to everyone to get what you want? The world really does revolve around YOU and only YOU, doesn’t it?

Maybe we all need a refresher course in what I like to refer to as the three R’s of human interaction:

Read the rest of this entry »

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might have to move

Sep 12, 2009 life

Friday, Rhon and I got served notice that the owners of the condo we rent haven’t paid their mortgage since May. This means the condo is in foreclosure. WTF?  We’ve paid our rent every month, which, according to the papers we received, is almost double what the mortgage is. So what have they been doing with the rent we’ve paid? And why haven’t the owners (who live in Ireland) or the property manager here in Orlando told us of this?

Granted, Rhon and I have talked about moving anyways. I’d like to have my own room again, plus if my illness progresses, I may have issues with living on the second floor with the stairs. So we had discussed finding a ground floor apt or condo, but we were hoping to put it off until Jan or Feb at least, to give us time to save up for a move.

Now, it looks like we’ll need to start looking and packing stuff in anticipation of having to move.  I used to really love living here in Orlando, but with all I’ve been through here in the last year, I’m starting to think I should move elsewhere. Have no clue where, though.

I know they say God only gives you what he thinks you can handle, but sometimes I wish he didn’t have so much faith in me or my juggling ability.

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My August 2009/Early Sept 2009 Articles and Blog Posts

Sep 10, 2009 movies and tv, travel, writing

As promised, here are the links to all of the articles and blog posts I did last month:

Lodging Blog at Uptake.com

Budget Travel @ Suite101.com:

Other Topics @ Suite101.com:

Why Go Las Vegas:

Thanks again to all who take the time to read my articles and click on some of the ads. You’re helping me earn a living, and I do very much appreciate your support!

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why it’s important to proofread ad copy…

Sep 2, 2009 online humor

From a Michigan Kroger’s sales ad:

krogerscountryckad

I’m not sure I want to know the ingredients of that margarine spread. On the bright side, it is on sale at 10 for $10, so if you need it, now’s the time to stock up, I guess.

[found via Stiff & Georges]

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August is another word for too much to do

Sep 1, 2009 life, music

Wow! Where in the heck did August go?  I guess that’s what happens when you have too much to do, eh? I was determined to get caught up on my writing and though I have yet to tally the links, I think I did 30 or so published articles last month. I’ll post the links in a post later this week.

Besides writing, I haven’t done much other than go back to work at the bookstore part-time and also I had a slew of medical tests and such.  The neurologist is 98% he knows what I have, but I still have one more MRI and a third spinal tap to go through yet this month. I’ll find out the final prognosis the day after my birthday.  Whoo!  Go me!

This last weekend I actually went out and hung out with my friends. It felt good to be out and and about, even though I paid for it the next day with my whole body in pain.  We (Rhon and I) met up with the old PI/Margaritaville gang of Patti, Cris, Joan and Deb to see my friend Jeremy’s band Afterglow Radio.  They are so freakin’ great live!! You should check out their music on the Afterglow Radio MySpace page.  I don’t think I’ll make it to their video shoot this week, but I hope to be well enough to see them on Sept 19 at the Back Booth downtown.

After the show, Rhon and I went over to Steak & Shake with Rachel and Clare and yapped for a few hours. We didn’t get home until around 1am. I remember before I got sick, 1am would be my starting point but this weekend I felt like I got hit by a truck the next day – and I didn’t even drink any alcohol.

Since I haven’t been out and about, I don’t really have much else to talk about right now. I do appreciate everyone who continues to read my articles at Suite101, Why Go Las Vegas and Uptake. Every click helps me pay the bills, so I do appreciate the continued support!

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