On a Serious Note.

*Warning: the following post is extremely serious. For those not wishing to read a serious post on a serious topic please avert your eyes. For those who are alright with it, by all means, continue reading.

The Olympic Games. Long a symbol of international peace and goodwill amongst humankind. Also, something I look forward to watching every two years. This year my opinions have changed. Now, we all know that I am not your typical Amnesty International-type. Most people would see me as quite the opposite. But, I cannot ignore what is right in my face.

China has been on the tops of countries that value little the rights of its citizenry for quite some time. I had high hopes that a turn toward a more capitalistic form of economics would change this. It appears that this has not taken place. Instead, it seems the basic human rights of the Chinese hang in the balance every day and the Olympics has shed a great deal of light on this.

It scares me to think of all the Chinese that have been forced to make way for new construction of Olympic venues. I am made nearly-ill by how hard the authoritarian government has come down on Tibetan protesters simply looking for more control of their own destiny.

Now I can think of two possible outcomes for having the Olympic games in China. The first is that the people of China will be irrevocably scarred by the great lengths their government have gone to in order to bring the world the summer games. The other option, (and I'm hoping for this one) is that by having the Olympics in China a lot of coverage will be given to the human rights abuses that are rampant in China. Hopefully this will happen through thoughtful reaction by nations, athletes, and corporate participants.

If some great social change doesn't occur because of the games, I believe it comes down to us, the common folk, to change things. By this I encourage everyone to give thought to the products they buy that are made in China and by those corporations that do business there.

I'm sure many of you are probably shocked that I would write something of this nature. But, I see this is as an incredibly important international issue and I thank you for giving this some thought.

The games will go on, I am sure. But, I for one, will not be watching.

New Jeans.

I have a love/hate relationship with jeans. On one hand, I love to buy a new pair of jeans. They always fit so well and look first-rate in the mirror at the store and when I wear them for the first time. I am impressed by my incredibly good sense of style and I am a happy man. However, there is a certain time, and I'm not sure when it takes place, that those same jeans begin to become the bane of my existence.

I believe investing in jeans is very similar to investing in a new car. They lose a large portion of their value as soon as you drive them, or in this case walk them, off the lot. After a wearing or two they lose that flawless fit. After a washing or two they begin to lose that stylish color they had while hanging in that favorite mall store. Instead of being the first choice on that Friday night that requires a great outfit, they are relegated into a secondary spot in the regular rotation.

Soon they will be replaced by another pair of jeans that will inevitably be ousted just like all the others. But fear not my fair jeans, I will not overlook your existence even if you never see the light of day again. You were there for me once and for that I will always remember you.

Hey You.

I see you there. Yeah you. I know you're visiting the blog. So please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear about how great you think I am or maybe if you're so inclined how great you are.

What Happened Here?

I'm confident in my theory that when I go out of town some stranger enters my apartment and has a party without my permission. Now we all know this is an impossibility since I live alone and only I have the keys. (Who would want to put on a clandestine affair in my apartment anyhow?) But it has to be. I couldn't have left my apartment like this when I left town. Could I have? I would never leave a mess like this for myself.

Ahhh...(Pine) Nuts.

So, I was making dinner a couple of nights ago and I was using pine nuts as an ingredient for something. I can't remember, or do not care enough to recall. Anyways, the point of my story is not that I was using pine nuts it's the funny thing I found on the package of the the pine nuts. This perfectly explains to me the condition of our society as a while. Yes, I know what you're thinking. How could I possibly find this on the package of something meaningless like pine nuts? I will tell you.

Quote directly from the package:

Ingredients: Pine Nuts

Allergy Warning: May contain pine nuts

I'm pretty sure this speaks for itself.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

I just returned to my computer from one interesting experience. In seeking my favorite thing in this whole world: free lunch, I visited a local radio station that was hosting an event that was billed as the "World's Largest Gathering of People in Mr. Rogers Sweaters". As expected, this adventure did not disappoint. Not only was I granted a free lunch care of a local chicken establishment I was also given a fantastic opportunity to wear my favorite Banana Republic cardigan sweater. I'm not sure whether the record was broken as it looked like about 40-50 people in attendance. But it was a nice stroll down memory lane when the whole crowd was lead by a popular local DJ in singing "Won't You Be My Neighbor". This song of course made famous by Fred Rogers' popular neighborhood broadcast. On tap for next week: a Shari Lewis luncheon. No, not really.

*If you don't believe me, I have the pictures to prove it.

Why Do I Buy Books?

Honestly. So I made a point today to stop in at a bookstore and pick up an interesting book to read. I've felt recently that I have been spending too much time reading internet articles instead of actually taking the time to read a whole book. All evening, here I've sat at my computer perusing the wide scope of what all the brilliant columnists or bloggers wrote today. Upon (many) trips to my refrigerator I've looked longingly at my pretty new book desperately desiring to crack it open and devour it whole. But, now it's a little before midnight and I haven't read anything but the outside cover and the table of contents. I have failed.