"Thoughts and Prayers"

Once again we have had a mass shooting and it has riled the nation. And of course our reaction is to send "Thoughts and Prayers."

Every time a tragedy happens in this country, we think that 'thoughts and prayers' are the answer. Now I am not going to go into the gun control debate and how it does or does not infringe on the 2nd Amendment (gun control doesn't btw).

So lets talk about 'thoughts and prayers'....

Prayers are not be heard by the entity they are being sent to, if they are, that deity does not give a shit. If it did, things would change and it hasn't. May be because a god, any god, does not exist. I know everyone will counter with 'godless people are carrying out these act,' blah, blah, blah....as they shake and rattle their 'good book.' But didn't a god cleanse and absolve everyone of sin on this orb once with a great flood, and if there is so much 'evil' today, why hasn't that happened again? So bring on the floods and ark builders and lets start anew.

That brings us to thoughts. Thought, the action or process of thinking. Yes, we will send thoughts, but we actually will not do any thinking. No thought will be put into actually solving the situation. Outside of thinking that we must do something, nothing will be done. Not a thing. And in a few days those thoughts will go away until the next time (it used to take weeks for those thoughts to go away, but I believe we have become desensitized and now only takes a few days). So we talk about thoughts, but none of us really want to think. That is too much effort.

So keep sending the 'prayers,' maybe next time they will start to take affect. Maybe next time a god will be listening, take notice and take action. As to the 'thoughts...' We will see, but I am not betting on it.

5th Grade Libertarians

A writing assignment in 5th grade is to write a poem or essay with the following prompt...

"If I was in charge of the world..."

Reading through the works I have concluded most 5th graders are Libertarians (which is not surprising as most Libertarians have a thought process that is on the 5th grade level).

Here are the most common things ( and they seem to fit the Libertarian platform) that the 5th graders would do if they were in charge;

• No Homework
• No Medical Shots
• No Vegetables
• No Taxes

I know...you are trying to make the inference to Libertarianism, so let me help.

Homework is just the government led schools forcing regulation and squashing freedoms on the everyday person. Also Libertarians like low educated people and homework just advances critical thinking and gains of knowledge.

Medical shots once again forcing regulation on the populace.

Vegetables are just taking away their freedom or individual rights violations.

Taxes, well not sure what 5th graders know about taxes, pretty sure this is over heard conversations from their parental units, but we will go with that the government is stealing their parents money and if their parents had more money, they would be allowed to buy more things and everyone knows this is good for the free market.

The other thing I noticed was that none of them would do anything for the less fortunate. Not one said anything about helping society. I think this was the most telling thing that made 5th graders Libertarians. Libertarians are a me first oriented bunch, that as long as they get theirs, no body else matters.

Lets hope some get into those liberal slanted academia institutes and become woke...

Why Do We Like Hot and Cold Food?

You take bite of piping hot pizza and burn the roof of your mouth, or you suck down a frosty milkshake and get 'brain freeze.' (Yes I know heat can burn and cold can freeze.)

Why as humans do we enjoy hot food? Or why do we enjoy cold food?

Now I am not talking about why we cook food, some foods can not be eaten raw or uncooked. And that some foods require a heating process to amalgamate or coagulate into a final food.  Also I am not talking about food safety and that we have to keep certain foods at temperatures for spoilage reasons.  I also understand that some foods are easier to digest in a warm or cold state. I am asking why we like foods hot or cold?

Other species do not heat their dinner to a temperature to enjoy, or chill it as a treat. Is it solely because man has the ability to control and use fire? That we can refrigerate items?

I personally know that we can be temperature sensitive, that hot or cold things can bother an achy tooth.

Why do we like our foods at different temperatures? I am sure there have been studies done, but I want to know what everyone else thinks.

Binge Watching

With the nor'easter or bomb cyclone, or polar vortex or whatever they are calling it, I was trapped inside and with little else to do but wait until I mustered up enough insanity to go and clear snow, I discovered a British/Canadian series on Amazon Prime. The short description sounded interesting, so I gave it a go.

Holy shit!

Best seven and a half hours I have spent doing just one thing in a long time. Great story, great characters, great setting, and great cast...you just had to click and watch the next episode, you needed to know where the story was going, what was going to happen next to the characters. A quick bathroom break, grab a snack, and back to the series.

So lets back up a minute...the series is called "Tin Star."

Tim Roth and maybe Christina Hendricks are probably the only actors that you will recognize, the rest are well established English, Irish, and Canadian thespians, but all bring awesome performances to the little screen.

I do not want to give away the story, so no spoilers, but there is enough dysfunction and mind numbing plot to make Twin Peaks look like normal. This is not shot in that weird David Lynch style, it is actually shot very Hollywood formula. Just the twists and turns and the unraveling of the characters far exceeds anything Lynch has done in my opinion.

It is also laced with enough violence and sex, some of it on the macabre side, it keeps up with a Guy Ritchie film. If you have watched other cable series like Justified or Longmire, you are going to love this one.

I highly recommend this, so watch it and get back to me on your thoughts...

Another Milestone Post

So starts another year, as this blog did a number of years ago...

Since then I have posted 200+ times and the blog has been visited 5000+ times. Not bad for a blog of nonsense and mutterings. People are intrigued by my loosely fact checked opinions and what is going on in my mind. Suckers...

So here is to another year and thanks for the continuing support...

2017/2018 NFL Playoff

As the regular season comes to end and the playoffs start, it is good to see that some things change and some not so much...

On the AFC side, not much has changed since last year, NE, Pittsburg, and my KC Chiefs returning...with the Titans, Bills, and Jaguars finding their way in...should be some good games.

On the other side....wow who would have guessed that there would be no Dallas, no Giants, no Seattle, or Packers in the playoffs...so we have the Eagles, Vikings, Rams, Saints, Atlanta, and Panthers in the playoffs. Once again, who saw that coming?

I don't like predictions, but here goes...

AFC Side
NE- because somewhere and sometime the refs in NY will help them out...

NFC Side
LA Rams- because I don't know who else to pick

Superbowl Champs
NE- no one wants to see NE Fanboys cry and they don't know anything about the game so they just need to answer any question with "6X SuperBowl Champs", besides it is funny listening to them say "Tawm Bwady." And that the NFL loves them....and money.

Now being a Chiefs fan, they have all the tools, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but it is the Chiefs and it is the playoffs...

(BTW- NE did not get Harrison for secrets about the Steelers, they got him for his history against the Chiefs and the need for revenge for the loss earlier this year. Google it and see for yourself.)

Star Wars Movie Rankings (No Spoilers)

Having seen the newest episode, here is my new rankings...

1. Episode 6 Return of the Jedi
2. Episode 4 A New Hope
3. Episode 7 The Force Awakens
4. Episode 8 The Last Jedi
5. Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back
6. Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith
7. Episode 2 Attack of the Clones
8. Episode 1 The Phantom Menace

Now Rogue One is a side story and I would put it between the 4th and 5th spots of this current ranking.