a tree grows in brooklyn

on saturday as i was walking to the bar (margarita saturday lives), i noticed a guy stopped on my off-ramp and in the act of planting a seedling.  at first i was touched and hopeful that someone was taking the time out of their saturday morning to give something as important as new life back to the planet and in a place that is open and ready for erosion.  i even was tempted to go over and ask if he needed a hand or if he had more to plant elsewhere that he needed a hand with, but my tequila desires pushed me onward.

it didn't hit me for a few blocks, but why plant a sapling in november?  the poor fella hardly has a chance... as i was walking back home a couple of days later and 15 degrees cooler, i wanted to put a blanket around the lil guy.  alone in new surroundings with cold winds whipping at its few leaves and lifeless cars whizzing by... but alas... 

the importance of your name

a friend of mine stand accused of rape.  this is one of the most horrible things i consider possible because either my friend is guilty of ruining someone else's life, his family's well being and also a business; or someone has decided that she is more important than anybody else around her and can not only destroy the reputation and lives of good people, but also lessened the chance of someone who has gone through a horrific experience to come forward.

this is something that should not be taken lightly and i hope i don't come across as flippant or glib, i have an acquaintance who was accused of something like this in the early 90's by a girl who changed her mind afterwards.  it took him countless dollars and years of headaches trying to get people to give him a second chance at life even though he was never charged.  and though it is on no level near this, when i was accused of being a terrorist my face was plastered on newspapers and tv coverage around the world (this past spring the story was "re-visited" in newsweek). 

the worst part of being falsely accused for me was the possibility that the truth might not win out.  i had always been raised to tell the truth to the police when they ask questions, but i learned the hard way that it is not that simple.  as i faced the charges knowing that i was innocent, there was a part of me that realized a jury of my peers could be twisted into seeing things from a different perspective and convict me.  people rarely grasp that with a simple twist of fate though you did little wrong, you could be put into prison and even if it were just for 1 day that is one hell of a stigma to carry.

i hope and pray that the truth wins out in this case and that people find a way to piece their lives back together afterwards.

things i heard today on the price is right

people who know me know i am huge fan of the price is right.  and people wondered what whether or not i would continue my loyal viewership with the retiring of bob and drew being brought into the fold.  i will admit that initially i had my doubts, but i am starting to come around.

i will admit that i did not want to give drew a chance at first.    i was one of the nay-sayers who thought that without bob anything is bad.  which is just not fair to mr carey or the show.  true it will never be the same, but change is not always bad.  and so after some time watching and cringing as drew made puns and observations that fell flat on the audience, i started to not think of bob and his regal job hosting.  

drew made jokes about the absurdity of some of the prizes. the pairing of a trampoline with a years supply of donuts, his & hers watches and a popcorn trolley... it took a moment to catch on, but now he has branched his dry humor out and the staff is picking it up.  rich fields, the announcer who replaced the over flamboyant rod roddy, has gotten into the game with drew. during the showcase introductions lately there have been things like:

rich "drew, what looks good in your hands" 

drew "fried chicken!" 

rich "no, but how about this nintendo wii controller" 

rich "drew, what looks good in your kitchen" 

drew "fried chicken" 

rich "no, how about this new range"

rich "drew, what looks good on"

drew- cutting in "fried chicken, fried chicken, fried chicken!"

rich "oh well a new car"

the price is right has gone from being hosted by your favorite grandparent who is always looking out for your best interest to being hosted by your drunk uncle who likes to take poke fun at you behind your back and tell your friends you wet the bed...

today's showcase line 

rich "say laura (contestant) do you like french toast, french fries, kissing with your tongue how about a trip to france"

Gambling vs Playing the Market

i gamble.  i will bet on most anything.  i will play most games of change be they cards or dice.  i like to bet on the ponies, i like to have action on a couple games a night.  but i dont think i have a gambling problem.  i have never been in a situation where i could not pay my bills due to gambling.  

i have often thought about "investing" in the stock market, and have even gone as far as to seek advice of some seemingly competent traders.  but i have never had the nerve to actually take the plunge into the every changing world of wall street.  and people have chastised me for not making the "adult decision" of investing for my future.  well honestly i don't see why the stock market is the adult thing and gambling is irresponsible.  why does the government go after gambling but let the market go seemingly unregulated.

i think that if you are smart you can play the gambling angle and make a decent, though slightly under the table.  and i have proven to be that smart 4 days out of the week... its the other 3 that keep me round even on the year.  but at the same time the market moves just as staggered.  the current market crisis not withstanding, i am of the volition that it is more responsible to bet on say a football game than buy an amount of stock in say an air line (or you can insert what ever stock you choose.)

i maintain that in gambling you are making a simple one time investment per bet (or if you are using a more advanced if bets.)  once you place the bet you cannot stop it until the bet is over, win or lose.  if you win you may bet again or go out and buy some groceries, lose... well you lose.  but with stocks it seems to me that you watch your money grow and without any more input you can in a time in which you think your money is getting better and better it tanks and you now holding worthless paper.  it is just my opinion that i would rather make a decision on monday then on tuesday make another decision.  

oh well i am off to bet some more...

in defense of sarah

when you lose there must be a reason.  even if it is the loss of a shoe (the dog ate it), the loss of your homework (again that dog is hungry), the loss of a softball game (our star player got bit by a hungry dog), world war II (stupid french dogs getting help from the rest of the world), or a game of golden eye (no dogs you were just drunk)... there always seems to be a scapedog.  it is wrong for the republican higher-ups to make sarah palin the bitch in this election.  as a long time republican, i understand the desire to find a reason this election was lost.  but it rankles my skin to use palin as a pawn in this.

alot of my beliefs as a republican were reshaped by john mccain in the mid-90's.  i guess i am vacillating from federalist to libertarian, but the maverick wanted a change in the monies that seem to always taint politics and i am 110% behind that.  i have tried to vote for him in every election since '96 (i wrote him in for governor of MS).  granted the path he took during this presidential election pushed me away, i could not find support in what the other party offered and i hoped that if in office mccain might say "haha, tricked your punk ass Rush (Limbaugh).  now i am gonna go back to my roots."  but instead he "chose" a vice presidential running mate to appease the bible-belt.

i will gladly admit i had never heard of sarah palin until 12 hours before she was announced.  i do understand the political choice to temper the conservatives.  but what i dont understand and will not stand for as a republican second, but a human first is the party leadership throwing her under the bus!  it is completely asinine to me that someone would suggest the reason the election was lost was her being a "beauty queen contestant".  the same people who approved her vetting have now decided that it was her fault, not thiers, that she was not prepared for the role she was thrust into.

i have heard that she "didnt know africa was a continent not a country".  so what they are saying is that they okayed someone who doesnt have a simple 2nd grade knowledge of geography.  and then there's the "i can see russia from my back yard" comment.  i would wager a speech writer put that one out there and then it was okayed by at least 3 other people.  or the whole trooper-gate issue which she was cleared of and even still was something that should have been outed in the vetting process (how was her husband's 22 year old DUI a surprise?)

i understand that there are voters who were rubbed the wrong way by palin's evangelical background, but at the same time there were several republicans who embraced her as much s they shunned mccain.  but it is completely pure b.s. to lay this loss at her feet alone.  

welcome to me

this is just a quick header...

i used to keep a blog on myspace, but i fell away from that site due to several reasons (mainly the number of hot chicks who suddenly wanted to be my friend... but when i changed my pic and name to something a little ambiguous, they didn't come round no mo).

i do kinda miss having the area and audience with which to air my ramblings... thusly i am here...

i have know idea if i will follow through with this, if i can post from my "smart phone" the chances are much greater...

oh well here's to nothing