Mission Ridiculous

Foolish Cat May 1st, 2008

Here at Blundering Fools, we try to be as positive as possible by applauding those that take chances in spite of the odds or opposition to the action taken. It is this type of bold action that often changes the course of humanity and improves the lives of succeeding generations.

But there are, of course, commissions of acts of such pristine ridiculousness and infamy, that the literal meaning of our site cannot help but to be invoked. Today marks the five-year anniversary of the “mission accomplished” speech by good ol’ W., on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. ‘Nuff said.

I don’t have a lot to say about this debacle that hasn’t already been said, and the White House has already issued a preemptive mea culpa to help offset dwelling on the speech on it’s anniversary. No need to dwell - the state of our country since the war began and since W.’s speech speaks for itself.

But that being said, it’s funny to watch the speech again just to hear the magnitude of the blundering words, “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”.

It’s not a dream, this is your president!

Blunder on, George.

Even In The Toughest Times, It’s Always Up To You

Foolish Cat April 29th, 2008

Rising gas prices is the biggest concern in America and oil companies are making 12 billion dollars a quarter. Food supply, the one thing Americans always took for granted, is thrown into question with some retailers limiting purchases of staples like rice. Our president, instead of leading and uniting, has thrown up his hands with regard to the economy and blamed congress for the state of the union. People are losing their homes, soldiers are dying overseas, and the planet is getting hotter every year. Relative to the American perception, times are tough.

But times like these are when it’s refreshing to know that every individual is in charge of his own life. We still have choices to make that will determine our own happiness and abundance, as well as the happiness and abundance of our families. We are not the headlines. We are not the government. We are not even the planet. We are unique and free-thinking human beings that have the power to control the state of our lives.

It’s tempting to get caught up in tragedies and politics and global gloom and doom, but it is imperative not to. Look, I’m not saying ignore the world - on the contrary, see where your passions lie and make as much change as you can - but don’t believe that the general state of things is indicative of your life and your future.

And I don’t say this from atop an ivory tower; I’m with the masses. I was knee-deep in the housing quagmire and am still struggling to crawl out. And who isn’t affected by $50 dollar fill-ups and $300 grocery bills? It sucks. But it isn’t the Big Picture. It’s a paragraph. A chapter. It isn’t the story.

Besides, I believe that most of what we read and hear from the media is exaggerated, and very little will make any impact on us at all. So filter everything, and let through only those things you think are of major importance to your life - I think you’ll find that it is nothing compared to the things you form in your own mind.

Chin up and blunder on.

Smoker Hate: One of the Last Forms of Acceptable Discrimination

Foolish Cat April 23rd, 2008

smoking

The attack on smoking and smokers over the last couple of decades has been vast and fierce. Venom that was once geared mainly towards the cigarette companies was, somewhere along the way, redirected towards anyone who used the product. The campaigns have painted the picture of a typical smoker as some kind of sub-human idiot with a death wish. Quite frankly, I think it has gotten way out of hand.

But lately it has reached a new level: bullying. And if there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s a bully.

During some kind of sting operation, Whirlpool caught 39 workers - who claimed they did not smoke or chew - using tobacco, apparently on company property. The non-smoking claims were made on a benefit form and would have cost the workers an extra $500 per year in premiums had they answered in the affirmative. Basically, they lied to save some money.

Now on the surface, I would imagine that most people wouldn’t have a problem with this. These people are liars and should get what they deserve. But that’s not the point. The bullying part of the equation is the fact that companies ask this question of smokers in the first place. Why?

“It’s obvious”, you say, “smokers are proven to have more health problems than non-smokers. It’s a scientific fact.” That’s true; I would not argue that point for a second. But so do obese people. Should we be allowed to ask how many pounds overweight a person is on a benefit form and adjust the premiums? I’m sure that’s not far away if it isn’t already happening. But what if a study came out that said homosexuals have more health problems than straight people? Can we ask about sexual orientation and adjust? Blacks have a shorter life-expectancy, can we nail ‘em with the $500?

“Those last examples are determined by genetics, people can’t be penalized for that”, you say. “Smoking is just a dumb choice” (even though I’m sure genetics has a lot to do with a person’s smoking tendencies and it’s just a matter of time before that gene is found). Okay, so then we can ask if people ever have unprotected sex; after all, that leads to all kinds of expensive things like pregnancy, herpes, aids, etc. And certainly we can tack on the $500 for anyone caught eating a bacon cheeseburger. I mean a bacon cheeseburger! Assuming you enjoyed life and had to choose between smoking three cigarettes a day or eating three bacon cheeseburgers a day, which would you choose?

Here’s the thing: I’m not defending smoking in general; I quit smoking almost three years ago and am thankful every day that I was able to beat the habit. But I don’t like to see people treated unfairly. And big companies know that smokers are basically indefensible and can be picked on without any fear of being sued for discrimination. Even people who believe it is unfair will rationalize the action and say it’s for their own good. Rationalization is a fallacy.

Life insurance underwriters aren’t shy about their questions, so if you really want to protect your profits, follow their lead and shake everyone down, not just the smallest kid in the schoolyard.

The Main Reason People Don’t Buy Into The Environmental Movement

Foolish Cat April 22nd, 2008

earth

Earth Day. Apparently this holiday has been around since 1970! Who knew? I honestly don’t think I heard about Earth Day before 2000. But that’s neither here nor there; the fact is I was a kid during the 70’s and 80’s and was never fortified with the idea of environmentalism.

Anyway, I’m watching a show today on PBS or something with my daughter and a public service announcement comes on regarding Earth Day. They’re specifically talking about the value of trees. “Not only are trees beautiful”, it says, “they provide homes for animals and provide the oxygen we need to breathe.” During this speech they, of course, show cute little monkeys and birds with babies and little children running and so on. Great. But right after that, they say something like, “did you know that everyday thousands of trees are cut down to provide paper to draw your pictures on? You can help save trees by using BOTH sides of the paper when you draw!”

Now, on the surface, this seems like a valid tool to impart the ideas of resource economy and alternatives to kids. But the first thing that came to my mind when I heard this - and I can’t imagine it didn’t occur to a lot of kids as well - was, “that’s true, using both sides of the paper would save trees, but do you know what would save even more trees? Not using paper at all!”

I mean what are we talking about? It isn’t like your stuff is coming off of the refrigerator and going straight to The Louvre (maybe the circular Louvre!). Some scribbley green lines for grass, a yellow sun up in the corner, stick people indicating your family and maybe a couple of “m’s” up in the sky for birds? How necessary is that? It certainly can’t be worth the price of trees! And don’t even get me started on all of those books in your room!

This, of course, is an exaggeration, but it leads to what is, in my opinion, the major dilemma of the environmental movement: who is to say what is necessary? When it comes down to it, 99.9% of everything we have and do is a luxury. We don’t need air conditioning. We don’t need indoor plumbing. We don’t need cars or televisions or churches or museums. In fact, unless it falls under the category of food, clothing, shelter, or medicine - and even then only in the most basic of forms - we don’t need it. For hundreds of thousands of years we had none of these things and managed to survive.

The fact is, in free, civilized, societies, people want more than to survive: they want to be happy. And for some, happiness is driving a Suburban or having a healthy lawn or drinking fifteen bottles of water a day. Or using another sheet of paper to draw on. And as easy as it is to say drive a Volkswagen instead, another could say drive nothing at all.

I don’t know the answer. And I guess if what Al Gore and the scientists tell me is true (I haven’t done the research so I’ll have take their words for it), we have to do something.

I do know this though: either way, the Earth will be just fine, it’s the things living on it that will be screwed.

Happy Earth Day, Fools!

And a Wiki is About to be Born

Foolish Babe April 17th, 2008

So I have been thinking a lot about wikis lately. Don’t laugh. I know I have issues! Anyway, until recently I only thought of wikis as online encyclopedias. I never considered the fact that you could actually have a wiki populated with a heck of a lot more information than just encyclopedia-like stuff. I recently attended a Web 2.0 seminar during which the word wiki was uttered oh, maybe a gazillion times. Okay, maybe not that many times but man, was it a hot topic. I was fascinated by what some folks are doing in the world of wikis. They are using wikis to capture all kinds of information. Information currently stored in Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, power point presentations etc. (As a side note, I despise power point presentations. I will do everything I can to stay away from them. They are boring, boring, boring. A bunch of fancy slides with no real meat). Two of the presenters at this seminar briefed us by way of a wiki. How cool is that?!

Anyway, the more I thought about wikis, the more jazzed I got. So much so that we’re planning on testing the waters with a Blundering Fools wiki. The whole point of online communities is to share information with each other so that we may learn from others’ experiences and gain a larger perspective of the world in which we live. I meant for that to come across a hell of a lot more profound. It’s late and that’s all I have. Plus, Foolish Cat is waiting for me. We are watching I AM LEGEND tonight.

Foolish Cat and I launched this blog because we wanted to connect with others who share similar views as us. We believe that in order to learn and grow, you have to take chances and yes, you have to blunder along the way. Otherwise, how are you going to learn?

We are passionate about life and everything it has to offer. We have blundered and have downright experienced darkness and despair but man, we never gave up. We kept on keeping on. We are determined to live each day to the fullest and we strongly believe that everything happens for a reason.

So, here is what we’d like to do. We are going to add a wiki to Blundering Fools and let you all populate it with your experiences–the places you’ve been to, the things you’ve done, mistakes you may have made along the way, lessons learned etc. The only thing we’ll ask of you is to keep the Blundering Fools wiki in the true spirit of Blundering Fools which is all about taking life up a notch.

We would love to hear from you. Please let us know what you think about this idea. Feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.

As always, blunder on, fools!

Gardening Like A Fool

Foolish Babe April 10th, 2008

For two years, I have stared out into my expansive front yard, my mind racing with landscaping ideas. I am not a gardener. I know very little about plants and soil. Ask me what the difference between acidic soil and loamy soil is and I will answer, “one is acidic and the other is loamy.” That’s all I know. The prospect of figuring out what kind of plants, flowers and trees would thrive in my yard intimidated me to the point where I decided that I’d rather continue staring out the window onto an imaginary garden rather than get out there and start making said imaginary garden into a reality.

And let’s not forget that plants can’t just be planted willy-nilly style. Even if I got to the point where I had picked out a few bushes and plants, where in the hell would I plant them? What if where I decided to plant them was the absolutely wrong place and all my plants died within two days of planting them? Or worse, what if my neighbors gathered around making jokes and laughing at how ridiculous my yard looked? Yes, my friends, I was afraid of being a blundering fool!

So, with a cup of coffee in hand, I continued to spend spring days staring out onto a make-believe garden filled with flowers and exotic plants, bushes, and trees. I imagined myself walking my property, taking note of which flowers were beginning to bloom and which ones needed pruning, my senses swimming in a colorful and textured landscape. And after my stroll, I imagined myself sitting in a white gazebo, situated in the middle of my garden, reading a book, birds perched on the gazebo’s railing. Ah, yes, quite the daydream.

Unfortunately, so many of us spend too much time daydreaming about the things we’d like to do someday, when we have more time, more money, more skills, more…

Sad, isn’t it?

I was itching to garden, yet my fear of ridicule prevented me from doing so.

Well, no more. In the true spirit of Blundering Fools, I decided not to spend this spring walking through an imaginary garden. I buckled down and got real serious. I read up on different plants, soil types, fertilizers etc. On my quest for knowledge, I perused online gardening stores, blogs, and discussion forums. After deciding which plants I wanted, I placed an online order and also visited my local nursery. I was filled with excitement and couldn’t wait for the weekend to arrive so I could get out there and start planting.

I got downright dirty, pulling weeds, raking the ground, digging holes, mulching etc. Hell, I think I have muscles where flab once existed.

And the best part of all this is that I got to spend time with my husband and children. My kids helped mulch and water the plants. My husband helped dig holes, pull weeds, mulch, and chase our children. And he did it all with a smile on his face. Well, for the most part, that is.

I still have a long way to go. Did I mention I have an expansive yard? But I’m getting there and I can honestly say I feel healthier and happier. When I look at my garden, I’m overwhelmed with feelings of pride and love for my family.

In closing (that sounds so formal, doesn’t it?), I would like to share the following article which Foolish Cat shared with me yesterday. I hope you find it as inspirational as I did. Click Here for the article and, as always, Blunder on, Fools!

Beauty Is Truth, Truth Beauty

Foolish Cat April 8th, 2008

see no evil

So the L.A. Times has officially retracted its story that Sean Combs - Diddy - was involved in the 1994 beating of Tupac Shakur in New York City. The story offered that the assault was the beginning of the war between East and West coast rappers that included the murders of Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., and that Combs was a major influence in its proliferation.

Turns out the story was all bullshit, and was based on forged FBI documents. Forgeries that were apparently done by a small-time, sociopathic nobody while he was serving time in prison! Well done L.A. Times. Let that sink in: The Times printed a story accusing a wealthy celebrity of felony assault based on forged documents from a life-long criminal currently serving time for various crimes, including fraud.

And you know what, if it hadn’t been Diddy, say it had been me accused, everybody in the world would still believe it to be true. The only reason the story was retracted is because Diddy is rich - so he can afford the legal firepower - and famous - so reporters and fans listen when he speaks. He has the resources to wage war on a large newspaper and come away owning it. I don’t.

And for this reason, I have officially decided not to believe a story reported on any news channel or in any paper, simply because it is written or reported. All conspiracy theories are back on the table. 9/11. JFK. Roswell. I’m serious.

Think about it. Let’s say this story about Diddy was written, and we just accepted it as true - after all, the paper printed it. Nobody raised hell, it was just a story. And then someone came along and said it was all a lie. The paper used fake FBI documents forged by a fast-talking, crook while he was serving time. And the LA Times got a hold of these docs and printed the story. It’s all a lie. Who would believe that? There would be so many questions. What’s the motive? How did he forge these docs? How could the paper and a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter fall for this? It’s all too outrageous.

Until it’s not.

My new stance on the media doesn’t mean I won’t believe anything, it just means I’ll believe it if it makes sense. If something seems wrong, I won’t ignore the problems I have with the story. Especially in an election year.

In most cases, we are at the mercy of the media for our information - we can’t be everywhere to see news as it unfolds. So I guess the best we can do is to find those things that interest us, and then get as many different versions of the story as we can. The truth probably will still not exist in any of the stories, but hopefully we can decipher and decide what we believe in our hearts to be true.

Blunder on, fools.

We’ve Got A Long Way To Go

Foolish Cat April 4th, 2008

infant

Yesterday the CDC came out with a report that 1 in 50 infants is a victim of maltreatment, and a third of those cases occur in children less than a week old. The report was very clear that this report was not about new parents learning the ropes, it was about intentional abuse or neglect to children less than a year old.

1 in 50. Maybe that number doesn’t sound high to some people, or maybe it sounds about right, I don’t know. To me, it sounds incredibly depressing. Obviously it’s depressing because of the fact that the most vulnerable creatures on earth are not getting their most basic needs met, but it’s also because I’m reading this report today on the fortieth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination.

In terms of civil rights, I know this country has come a long way since 1968, and this November might prove to be the crowning achievement if Barack Obama is elected president. But how far have we come as people if we can’t give our infants the love and compassion they need? Actually, forget love and compassion - the food and shelter and supervision they need!

1 out of 50 isn’t a lot, you say? Well what’s acceptable? What if 1 out of every 50 times you drove your car, the brakes didn’t work right? What if every 50th cup of coffee you drank had poison in it? You didn’t die, but you got sick and had to go to the hospital. Every time you drank that 50th cup it made you a little sicker, a little weaker, and a little less thrilled about your life. There is no acceptable number. And unlike you who could just quit drinking coffee, children, infants especially, have no choices.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but it sickens me that this country can find the resources to do anything it sets its mind to, while putting so little value in our kids. And I’m not talking about the government. I mean every parent or caregiver whose responsibility it is to keep a child secure and make him strong for the future. Their future is your future. Next time we complain that kids these days don’t respect their elders, maybe we should ask ourselves “Why?”

Sorry, it pisses me off. Blunder on.

Government Hate Speech Should Never Be Ignored

Foolish Cat April 3rd, 2008

Sally Kern

For those of you who don’t know who Sally Kern is, she is the Oklahoma state representative who was heard telling a group of around fifty constituents about the evils of homosexuality on a YouTube clip last month. She talks of the agenda to corrupt the children of the country and says that homosexuality is “a bigger threat than terrorism.” It’s pretty revolting stuff, and really quite shocking and ghastly that the words are coming from the mouth of an elected official.

Of course, the outcry has been swift and Ellen DeGeneres is involved and the headlines have traveled overseas to, once again, generally embarrass the U.S. and our politics. So be it. One more crazy person slips through the cracks to a position of power and what are you gonna do? Shit happens, right?

Well, maybe, until you see the report today that says over 1,000 people attended a rally to support Representative Kern where she was chanted and cheered for “standing up for the truth of God’s Word”. 1,000 people may not seem like a lot in a state of, I don’t know, 3 or 4 million, but that’s 1,000 people who took off work on a Wednesday to come support a speaker of hate. How many were children? How many people couldn’t get off work? How many secretly agree with everything she said but don’t feel comfortable making it known in a public place? More than a handful I’m sure.

And don’t misunderstand: I believe people have the right to say and believe anything they want; if I didn’t it would be complete hypocrisy. But when certain things are said by Government, everyone needs to perk up the ears. And when those things are said by government and are then heralded and begin receiving support, it’s time to sound the alarm. Some of those things include: limiting what we can say, see, write, or hear; limiting ways we can defend ourselves; SINGLING OUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE AS CORRUPTERS OF CHILDREN AND A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY, etc.

Ms. Kern’s words are not just misguided, religious rhetoric; in my opinion, they can only be interpreted as words of genocide. Think about it, if you were compelled to stop a group of people from corrupting the nation’s children and threatening the security of the United States, how would you do it? Oh yeah, and did I mention you’re doing it IN THE NAME OF GOD?!? Sound familiar?

The question then, Representative Kern, is not whether homosexuality is a bigger threat to the U.S. than terrorism, it’s whether terrorism is a bigger threat to our country than politicians like you.

Please, For The Love of God, No More Clichés!

Foolish Cat March 27th, 2008

Today is the 45th birthday of Quentin Tarantino, who, in my opinion, wrote the greatest screenplay of all time when he wrote Pulp Fiction.

I know the movie isn’t for everyone - there’s too much violence or talking, and the non-linear storyline can be distracting - that’s understandable; people have different tastes. But I’ve seen the movie at least a dozen times, and I think the true genius of the script is that it is completely lacking cliché. Every character, scene, song, and line spoken seems to come from nowhere and reminds us of nothing we’ve seen before. In Hollywood, that is rare.

Literary novelists know the evil of cliché, and in a good novel they’re hard to find. Most Hollywood scripts, however - comedy scripts in particular - Jesus Christ!

If I see a comedy trailer of a guy getting hit in the groin, I absolutely will not watch that movie. I don’t care if it stars Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep, is directed by Martin Scorsese, is written by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas. I won’t see that movie! How can writers think that is still funny? Seriously? Who laughs at that? It doesn’t matter if it’s Will Ferrell or Chris Rock or Jim Carrey, the groin shot is just not funny anymore.

And guys in drag? I mean you can’t be serious. Who in his right mind would 1) write a script with a man in drag, or 2) buy a script that has a scene with a man in drag? Some Like It Hot I’ve never seen but is supposedly funny, Tootsie was good at the time but probably is unwatchable today, “Bosom Buddies” is definitely unwatchable today, and anything else is ridiculous to even discuss.

These, of course, are just two of the more egregious physical examples, most of the offenses are in dialogue and are too numerous to really explore. “I don’t know who you are anymore”, “I’m too old for this shit”, “you have to let it go”, etc., etc., etc. It may even seem cliché to call these clichés, but just when you think they’re gone, they pop up in some movie starring Kate Hudson or Martin Lawrence or whoever. If you are a screenwriter and you write one of these lines, or something of similar banality, here’s the fact: you are not trying! You should be ashamed.

And let’s just forget discussion about song choices for soundtracks, but just for the record, as movie songs are concerned, “U Can’t Touch This” and “Super Freak” aren’t funny anymore, and I’m pretty sure they never were.

So here’s the point: the only way to really take your life up a notch is by creating something new for yourself, whether that be a new level of skill, a new experience, a new passion, or just a new way of thinking. Creating and striving to improve are the actions that make us grow. Clichés are the opposite of that. Clichés are the regurgitation of someone else’s creativity. Tarantino knew this and created a masterpiece. We can all learn from this in everyday life.

Even if we have to conform to certain norms to get through the day - “Have a nice day”, “It was a pleasure meeting you”, etc., most of the time we can switch it up. Sure, it’s easy to say “think for yourself”, but when you are bombarded daily by every form of media and all of your friends’ and co-workers’ opinions, it’s not so easy to do. Making a conscious effort to eliminate clichés from our daily dialect, however, is a good start to original thought. So even if you feel compelled to go along with popular opinion in spite of your best instincts, say it in a new, fresh way, and maybe, eventually, your actions will follow.

Blunder forth.