Bad photo ops

Worst photo op of the year
Who planned this one!? Obama and Putin.. friend for life? Putin probably recalls the days of Bush. He was known as Pooty Poot. Now he’s putting Pussy Riot behind bars. 

The person of the year..

Person of the year
It is not the Pope. At least not according to the Coal Speaker. Edward Snowden changed a LOT this year by exposing some of the most secret of government secrets.. By telling the citizens of the world how the government spies on them was an eye opening event—and something which may have changed the world for good. 

Worst candidate for person of the year
Miley Cyrus exposed a lot this year. She twerked, she became a popular Halloween costume, and she lost her innocence for the world to see. She came in like a wrecking ball and sold lots of albums. At the end of the year, she just now looks wrecked. 

A tremendously bad wreck shut parts of the PA turnpike down this morning.. It appears to have been snow related..

The storm seemingly came out of nowhere, as I showed this morning with a post of some very snowy roads.. 

The most important story of the year

The story of the year
2013 was the year I gave up politics. I will still vote, and I will still be informed, but 2013 is the year where I realized that regardless of political stripe or belief, life goes on. The news is dominated by political tirades. Right, and left. Both sides are pitted against each other in heated verbal battles. People screaming and yelling, acting like righteous rebellions for some kind of cause. Angry old men on the boob tube… But what do they really accomplish? In 2013, they shut down government and almost risked a United States default. And inaction on a farm bill may push milk prices to $8 in 2014. And for those who battle to defend the President, Obama’s health care website was so disastrous that it became the top story for months by barely working and failing to keep up with the users trying to access it. Government itself is made up of people—people who push papers and have desk jobs, those who know regulations and tell you to smile when they take your drivers license photo. In some states, like mine, government employees sell me wine and liquor. In other states, they clean up messed on streets and respond when gas lines are ruptured, threatening entire towns. I would like to believe that government is not made up of politicians. They are the roadblocks to progress, the hindrance of common sense. Politicians are reptilian shape shifters, pretending to care when they don’t and looking for the next mistress in a crowd of fans. They drink and drive.. and we pay. I am so done with politics, but not government. They are distinct and different. In 2013, I finally came to the full realization, years in the making, that “right vs left” is a sham argument, a meaningless piece of tripe given to us by the media, and a mistake to fall into. Let 2014 be the year of reason, the age when you also find out that the political beliefs you harbor have simply been implanted into your brain. Think for yourself. The nation depends on it. 

2013.. the year that was.

It was not a bad year. But it just seemed that way.. That does not mean there were any overtly bad things that actually took place, but it was the overall lack of good..

Massive scares took place early on when a meteor almost hit Russia—the explosion was so fierce that it shook buildings and injured people.. From that to the strange days of government shutdowns and the wild world of a health care website that didn’t work.. It just did not seem right in ‘13. 

Maybe it was the year. Maybe 2013 brought with it some unlucky times… 

We beat the odds back in ‘12 when the Mayan Calender did not spell doom. So we paid the price with a lackluster and mediocre time in 2013.. 

The Boston bombing this year rattled nerves and killed innocent people. A young child was among the dead.. It was a tragic and horrendous act.. And in the aftermath, an entire city got locked down while police freely broke into homes searching for a teenager bomber that later was shot in the throat but lived .. 

The world still seems weary.. The economy seems to be getting better on paper, but in reality there is no hope for too many. Gas prices virtually stayed the same, but it just seemed like they have gone up exponentially. And we did not get embroiled into a war (almost) but warfare is so widespread you’d think it’s going out of style..

The world so desperately wanted a hero in 2013 that it chose to applaud Vladimir Putin for hedging off a Syrian war. Of course it was while he had a Pussy Riot behind bars. 

A Cardinal became a Pope in 2013. He chose the name Francis. And his actions celebrating Peter the Roman seemed way too eerily close to the Prophecy of the Popes.. 

Malala told Obama to stop killing innocent people with drones. The media ignored it..
That is how things worked in ‘13.. 

Perhaps nothing got worse in 2013—but it did not seem to get better. Little attention was paid to Fukushima. Little attention was given to really important news.. instead we were given Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. We were fed a steady diet of pop culture of doom, gloom, tongues, and salivia.. 

Nothing was as it seemed in 2013. 

We are weary from a few bad months. 

Here’s hoping ‘14 brings with it some good, some bad.. but just some of the typical. 

You don’t have to tell me. It’s not going to happen.

The McDonald's employee resource site has been shut down

It’s no surprise. The site was completely out of touch with reality..

There was one section on the mock budget that left a line for second income—perhaps an acknowledgment that Mcdonalds money alone will not assist you living.

There’s a lot of debate lately about the wages Mickey Ds pays—and the lack of them. I heard some in the debate argue that making more than minimum wage is just too much for flipping burgers—but that argument discounts one important factor, that flipping burgers and the service economy as a whole is the new American job!

There isn’t much manufacturing .. Tech development in the United States is behind so many other nations.. Fast food and restaurant work is here to stay—until the robots take over I guess ..

But it really is a big economic issue.. The fact that so many, often including college graduates, are with left with no jobs besides service work, makes me almost think it propels the debate into an uncharted territory..

I don’t eat fast food much, but I have worked in restaurants most of my life and have a dream of owning one in the future .. (Distant future as I look at my
Bank account).. And I can tell you: One income from a restaurant is not enough to survive.

'twas the day AFTER Christmas and roads looked like this.. Apparently PENNDOT is still sobering up from spiked egg nog..

RELAX .. IT'S OVER

 
Only 364 days left until Christmas!!

Bizarre media meltdown during NSA interview

Get ready to put your tin foil hat on tightly..Some very weird things started happening during an interview on WABC .. host Aaron Klein was interviewing controversial anti-NSA figure Larry Klayman.. the article explains it this way:

Audio clips saved on an independent system played at the wrong time.

Klein’s headphones had massive feedback that could be heard on the air.

At one point, the WABC call screener said, “We lost control of the software. It’s all going nuts.”

The technical difficulties started on the show about 10 minutes prior to the Klayman interview. They subsided following the two segments that featured Klayman.

“In my three years of broadcasting at WABC we never had such a technological meltdown as we are having today,” Klein told the audience.

He continued: “Calls are dropping. We cant get the guests on. Once the guests are on they are dropping. We’ve had several meltdowns. Feedback from the microphone. I can barely broadcast. … However we are going to land this airplane and we’re going to have fun doing it.”

And I know, the source is WORLD NET DAILY.. I took it with a grain of salt … and I have my tin foil cap secured comfortably. 

So .. common sense would tell me that these technical glitches are perhaps a part of normal technical glitches or just purposeful chicanery behind the scenes. After all, if someone was being interviewed about gardening and this happened, no one would care..  

Bizarre media meltdown during NSA interview

Just one more.. Christmas evening through a window. Are we looking out on life.. do we ever look in to find the truth?

Well Santa.. you made it through another one. Barely.

Until next year, Christmas, until next year …

A great morning! Ninja Turtles pajamas with cereal as his Scooby Doo ‘bad guys’ and Darth Vader look on.. A great Christmas morning for a wonderful son. Merry Christmas to everyone.

With my son’s taste in pop culture icons, I swear he’s a reincarnated kid from the 1980s.. It’s like I am living my own childhood over and over again each day with this bright star in my life..

My wife and I were thoroughly overjoyed by seeing Ayden Morris enjoy the simplest of things this holiday. I was amazed at seeing the magic in his eyes at snow, bows, Santa, and even a music book at church. 

It’s true, what other parents have said.. having a child changes everything. AS Ayden gets ready to turn 3 years old, it gets truer by the day.. and this Christmas, a whole new meaning of the season has emerged.. 

Now it’s time to go play! A Scooby Mystery awaits, and Darth Vader is lurking around.. Battles must be won.

Merry Christmas, everyone. 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02dl5ySN0AM?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.. And to all a good day.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpimLgh3pJU?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=374]

Darlene Love plays my favorite Christmas song every year on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, ‘Please come Home.’

She performs the song each season on the Letterman show..

I have always loved the 1995 performance the best. Maybe it’s because I remember just being young, staying up late to watch this song and falling in love with it.. Her voice is strong—and it still is now. This may be the happiest and saddest song I have ever heard.. I love it, even though it empties my soul of joy at the same time..

I hope you have a baby that comes home this year.. I hope you have the experience of mistletoe and parties, good fun and food, joy and love, peace and magic.

I hope you are able to regain that Christmas spirit if it left.. and if you still have it, never lose it.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Have a silent night.. have a holy night.. Merry Christmas Eve evening.

A proud pappa Christmas moment

Last night young Ayden had a little bit of a toddler meltdown in the grocery store—I could not explain that he did not need a toy since Santa was bringing him lots tonight.. Nonetheless it became a ‘moment’ … 

We talked in the car about it.. Finally, we made an agreement: He can buy a Pez dispenser … That’s ok with me, and only a buck out of pocket..

Afterwards, we made a trip to May’s Drive In (a great diner if you ever find yourself in Northern Schuylkill County) .. Ayden wanted french fries and pizza and I wanted a coke and grilled cheese.. 

A little Christmas magic happened in the process. 

When we were entering the building, Ayden, still weary from his tantrum, saw a man exiting with a cane. Ayden said “I don’t have a cane like you, I have a candy cane.” It was simple innocence and the man responded in kind, “I hope you never have a cane like me.” Then conversation went on.. Ayden explained all about his dog Mutley and how he wants Scooby Doo bad guys for Christmas… The man explained that he had cancer and was on life support, nearly died, but is paralyzed on one side of his body.. 

It was one of those moments in time that meant something. Ayden, just being kind and pure in thought, brought great joy to someone who, as he explained, had little family or friendship this time of year.

Finally, at the end of the chance encounter, and with a little parental prodding, Ayden said “ho ho Merry Christmas!” as he shook the man’s frail hand…

And with that, I had a teaching event. Something that prevented me from being angry anymore about a two minute temper event. It may not have been a ‘ghost of Christmas’ like Scrooge saw, but it was still something.

This has been a trying month. My father found himself in a medical crisis but he is alive for Christmas. And this man, frail and limping with a cane, hopefully smiled a little more seeing a kind hearted young child wishing him a Merry Christmas..

As the clock ticks, retail traffic continues slide

It’s bleak..

As the clock ticks, retail traffic continues slide

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YLlRIIOnAs?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=374]

This is a very special song for my wife. And it is too, for me. I think for very different reasons—but those reasons are somehow what also binds us together..

A song for a winter’s night.. Sarah McLachlan. 

Good evening.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

The way I picture Santa this time of year..