I have decided to stop with the 30 blogs prompts, there is too much stuff going on in the world right now.
How about President Trump? Honestly, I don't dislike Trump as a person, I find him an entertaining character. He's arrogant, narcissistic, rude and an icon in business. I find crazy people fascinating. I could watch him all day if he had a reality show.
Trump was a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show and I always made sure I never missed him, his interviews were always great and he tells the best stories. That said, I do not want this guy as our President and find his search for President Obama's place of birth to be a sham. Trump fully supported Obama during his running for President saying he had the potential to be a great President.
Will Trump really run for office? Will another character emerge in the GOP's parade of fools? First they send out the clowns with Palin and Trump, who's next the bearded lady? It seems they have an endless supply of joke candidates. My biggest fear is that we have too many comedy loving voters.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
NFL??
I was going to do this on my NFL blog, but what the hell...
The NFL draft starts tonight and the one big difference this year is there was no free agency. There are still lots of good players available but can't be signed due to the end of the collective bargaining agreement. Should a team draft a WR or see if Santanio Holmes will be available? The future rookies can't even be signed by the teams who draft them. Its going to be a strange draft.
Rumor has it the Panthers will take Cam Newton with the first pick. He's a future bust QB, they are better off going with D. My question is who do you think is the biggest bust QB ever? Has it affected your team? I know Whit the Chargers fan should have a definite answer for this as most people think Ryan Leaf is the absolute worst ever. How about Tim Couch? Jamarcus Russell? Heath Shuler?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Comedy Break
This is Louis C.K, very funny, even if you aren't a parent. I guess nothing is sacred with this guy
Friday, April 22, 2011
Something you regret
I don't regret anything. Whatever I have chosen or done in my past has made me what I am today. Everything happens for a reason.
Looking back I'm glad I was a quiet kid who got picked on, that made me go to Lyman Hall. I'm glad I failed Biology in 10th grade because when I took it again in 11th grade I met my future wife. Everything I've done so far has led up to today, and I'm happy so why regret anything?
Looking back I'm glad I was a quiet kid who got picked on, that made me go to Lyman Hall. I'm glad I failed Biology in 10th grade because when I took it again in 11th grade I met my future wife. Everything I've done so far has led up to today, and I'm happy so why regret anything?
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Something you're looking forward to
It should be "something to which you're looking forward" but we can let that slide.
Anyway, my family knows this already as well as FB friends like Nota, but we are expecting a third child this September.
My wife is due on September 24th, although she has yet to make it to a due date.
Alyssa was due on July 12th but came on the 10th and Devin was due December 7th (I think) and was born on November 27th.
We don't know the gender yet but will find out on May 9th. We have some names chosen but those we are holding back until we have the gender.
I am NOT looking forward to the special surgery I will be getting after this one is born...you know what I mean.
Anyway, my family knows this already as well as FB friends like Nota, but we are expecting a third child this September.
My wife is due on September 24th, although she has yet to make it to a due date.
Alyssa was due on July 12th but came on the 10th and Devin was due December 7th (I think) and was born on November 27th.
We don't know the gender yet but will find out on May 9th. We have some names chosen but those we are holding back until we have the gender.
I am NOT looking forward to the special surgery I will be getting after this one is born...you know what I mean.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Break from 30 days of blogging
The following came to me in an e-mail, none of it is my writing or opinion. When I find the source to credit, I will. Some of you may have already gotten this, but I found it very informative and true. Dems and Repubs alike have allowed this to go on for too long
There is nothing political about this email. It simply points out very probable changes that are in our future. And, to me, some of these, are indeed a big worry!! Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come
1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.
8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.
10 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind
The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing.
It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II. But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America . Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little.
Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children? Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable. Every single month America goes into more debt and every single month America gets poorer. So what happens when the debt bubble pops? The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man, woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them . For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to them. Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to awaken them from their slumber.
The following are 20 facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind....
#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.
#2 Dell Inc., one of America s largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.
#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem , North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.
#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States ? Zero.
#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
#6 As of the end of July , the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.
#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.
#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million . During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.
#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.
#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul , Minnesota . Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.
#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.
#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.
#17 In March 2011 GE who already has 13,000 employes in India announced that they are going to spend $200 million there to add 3000 more.
#18 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States .
#19 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#20 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.
So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it? How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands? How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy? How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide? The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated like one.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Favorite Books
Today's topic is supposed to be dream house, but I think that's a silly topic. I'll take and house with four walls and a roof.
I'm going to change it to something more like me and talk about favorite books. I'm actually going through some that I really enjoyed and re-reading them. Now, I read for pleasure when I have time (which isn't often) so I only read something if it is entertaining enough to be worthy of my time. I don't read literature, I read novels. I'm sure I could get through something like "A Tale of Two Cities" but I'm not going to read anything that I have to think about, when I read it is to unwind not to stimulate my sluggish mind. I like horror,thrillers and good stories by good story tellers. One of my favorite storytellers is Dean Koontz. Here I will take you through a few favorites.
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz- I am actually re-reading this right now. Imagine sitting at a bar and a man mistakes you for a hitman. He gives you an envelope with a picture, address and 10k. After the buyer leaves the real hitman shows up and mistakes you for the buyer, do you just hand him the envelope and go on with your life? That's what happens to Timothy Carrier, and he tells the hitman he has had a change of heart and goes to find the woman and warn her of the potential hit. The hitman, Krait, has a job to do and he will complete his task whether Tim is in his way or not. A great Koontz story with lots of twists and turns, he always has a good surprise or two.
Pressure by Jeffery Strand- I am looking to re-read this one soon. I got a little carried away on Paperback Swap and dealt this book out but am now regretting it, I have requested it again and hope to have it soon. I'm going with the synopsis they give in the book because it is very intriguing..
Alex stared at the red pocketknife shown to him by his daughter. A pocketknife owned by somebody he hadn’t seen in years...
-Children-
They met first in boarding school at age twelve. Alex Fletcher, shy and scared. Darren Rust, always furiously scribbling away in a private journal. It was not an immediate friendship, but then one night Darren convinced his roommate to sneak off school grounds to see something glorious. There was a sleazy strip club, you see, and every once in a while the back door opened just long enough to maybe catch a quick glimpse... Though a bond was formed from their pre-pubescent interest in naked women, Darren had another interest. A morbid curiosity about death. A curiosity that turned into something much more sinister.
-Friends-
They crossed paths again in college and became the best of friends. But Darren wasn’t just looking for a friend. He had dark, ghastly urges squirming around in his head, and he believed he saw the same things — the urge to hurt, the urge to kill — in Alex. He was looking for somebody who understood. A partner. But Alex could never become a monster. Not even when Darren tried to bring out his friend’s most deeply buried feelings of rage. Not even when Darren tried to show him the euphoria of having that much power over another human being. It just couldn’t happen...right?
-Enemies-
Now Alex has a wife and a daughter. And Darren is back. He’s hiding. He’s patient. His mind is twisted in the worst possible way.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen- This was a great story about a young boy named Jacob growing up during the Great Depression and his work at a traveling circus. It was so well written you felt you were right there with Jacob experiencing all of his experiences. It is actually a bit of a love story and I was surprised myself that I got so into it, but I did. It's one of those books that are just hard to put down.
Night by Elie Wiesel- I think everyone knows this story. I read this one fairly quickly, the horrors of the Nazi party always interest me. I don't think it is because of my Jewish heritage, just the thought process of people interests me highly. I always wonder what people are thinking when they do what they do, and this tells you exactly what death camp survivors go through. Obviously, it is not a easy or fun read but I found it very interesting.
Blaze by Richard Bachman aka Steven King- I just read this for the third time. It is a modern day (well late 70's) version of "Of Mice and Men" (which I also loved). I keep trying to get my wife to read it but so far no luck. This is the story of Clayton Blaisdell Jr (Blaze), as a boy he was beaten by his father badly and ended up with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). He had no other family and was made a ward of the state of Maine. The book goes back into his childhood and his current life in which he is a small time con man, well he isn't himself because he isn't bright enough to run a scam but he is a tool used by his friend George Rackey.
He talks to George who died 3 months before the story starts in his head, and George answers back. They had a plan before George died of one big hit then retiring. That hit was to kidnap a baby of a nearby wealthy family. Blaze decides to pull it off himself, with the whispers of George helping him along the way. But, being a 6'7" 300lb mentally challenged man makes this difficult. What I really like about this story is how King tells the story of Blaze's childhood in between the story of the kidnapping. You really start to feel bad for Blaze, and as the story of his childhood gets worse and worse, the other chapters of current day show Blaze falling in love with the baby, Joe. He really starts to believe that Joe would be best with him, and he decides he's going to take the ransom money and run. The story of young Blaze is amazing, the story of current Blaze is even better. King makes you root for Blaze to succeed, to finally have the happiness in his life that was taken away in so many scenes of his childhood. I wanted Blaze to get away with baby Joe, and I don't know why.
This is by far my favorite book and I ask everyone to read it.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling- The conclusion to Harry Potters is the best of the series. I don't know how she got all of the little details from book 1 to make sense and explained in book 7. Pure genius. I think she must have had the entire series written in one shot, I have read each book and have found no plot hole. Deathly Hallows is the perfect ending to the saga of Harry Potter, just a perfect book. The writing and detail is just enough without being too much, even following the Battle of Hogwarts is easy. She really saved the best for last.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- Anyone like me who is into Nirvana and teen angst must enjoy this book. Holden is such an angry,cynical character not usually how you picture people from that time. Everyone is phony, everyone lies, everyone makes themselves out to be greater than they are. I guess Holden never saw these qualities on himself. I loved this book tho, I think we all sometimes get into a mood that's a bit Holden-esque. I know I do.
I'm gonna stop at those 7 because I'm tired, and because I can so ha.
I'm going to change it to something more like me and talk about favorite books. I'm actually going through some that I really enjoyed and re-reading them. Now, I read for pleasure when I have time (which isn't often) so I only read something if it is entertaining enough to be worthy of my time. I don't read literature, I read novels. I'm sure I could get through something like "A Tale of Two Cities" but I'm not going to read anything that I have to think about, when I read it is to unwind not to stimulate my sluggish mind. I like horror,thrillers and good stories by good story tellers. One of my favorite storytellers is Dean Koontz. Here I will take you through a few favorites.
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz- I am actually re-reading this right now. Imagine sitting at a bar and a man mistakes you for a hitman. He gives you an envelope with a picture, address and 10k. After the buyer leaves the real hitman shows up and mistakes you for the buyer, do you just hand him the envelope and go on with your life? That's what happens to Timothy Carrier, and he tells the hitman he has had a change of heart and goes to find the woman and warn her of the potential hit. The hitman, Krait, has a job to do and he will complete his task whether Tim is in his way or not. A great Koontz story with lots of twists and turns, he always has a good surprise or two.
Pressure by Jeffery Strand- I am looking to re-read this one soon. I got a little carried away on Paperback Swap and dealt this book out but am now regretting it, I have requested it again and hope to have it soon. I'm going with the synopsis they give in the book because it is very intriguing..
Alex stared at the red pocketknife shown to him by his daughter. A pocketknife owned by somebody he hadn’t seen in years...
-Children-
They met first in boarding school at age twelve. Alex Fletcher, shy and scared. Darren Rust, always furiously scribbling away in a private journal. It was not an immediate friendship, but then one night Darren convinced his roommate to sneak off school grounds to see something glorious. There was a sleazy strip club, you see, and every once in a while the back door opened just long enough to maybe catch a quick glimpse... Though a bond was formed from their pre-pubescent interest in naked women, Darren had another interest. A morbid curiosity about death. A curiosity that turned into something much more sinister.
-Friends-
They crossed paths again in college and became the best of friends. But Darren wasn’t just looking for a friend. He had dark, ghastly urges squirming around in his head, and he believed he saw the same things — the urge to hurt, the urge to kill — in Alex. He was looking for somebody who understood. A partner. But Alex could never become a monster. Not even when Darren tried to bring out his friend’s most deeply buried feelings of rage. Not even when Darren tried to show him the euphoria of having that much power over another human being. It just couldn’t happen...right?
-Enemies-
Now Alex has a wife and a daughter. And Darren is back. He’s hiding. He’s patient. His mind is twisted in the worst possible way.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen- This was a great story about a young boy named Jacob growing up during the Great Depression and his work at a traveling circus. It was so well written you felt you were right there with Jacob experiencing all of his experiences. It is actually a bit of a love story and I was surprised myself that I got so into it, but I did. It's one of those books that are just hard to put down.
Night by Elie Wiesel- I think everyone knows this story. I read this one fairly quickly, the horrors of the Nazi party always interest me. I don't think it is because of my Jewish heritage, just the thought process of people interests me highly. I always wonder what people are thinking when they do what they do, and this tells you exactly what death camp survivors go through. Obviously, it is not a easy or fun read but I found it very interesting.
Blaze by Richard Bachman aka Steven King- I just read this for the third time. It is a modern day (well late 70's) version of "Of Mice and Men" (which I also loved). I keep trying to get my wife to read it but so far no luck. This is the story of Clayton Blaisdell Jr (Blaze), as a boy he was beaten by his father badly and ended up with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). He had no other family and was made a ward of the state of Maine. The book goes back into his childhood and his current life in which he is a small time con man, well he isn't himself because he isn't bright enough to run a scam but he is a tool used by his friend George Rackey.
He talks to George who died 3 months before the story starts in his head, and George answers back. They had a plan before George died of one big hit then retiring. That hit was to kidnap a baby of a nearby wealthy family. Blaze decides to pull it off himself, with the whispers of George helping him along the way. But, being a 6'7" 300lb mentally challenged man makes this difficult. What I really like about this story is how King tells the story of Blaze's childhood in between the story of the kidnapping. You really start to feel bad for Blaze, and as the story of his childhood gets worse and worse, the other chapters of current day show Blaze falling in love with the baby, Joe. He really starts to believe that Joe would be best with him, and he decides he's going to take the ransom money and run. The story of young Blaze is amazing, the story of current Blaze is even better. King makes you root for Blaze to succeed, to finally have the happiness in his life that was taken away in so many scenes of his childhood. I wanted Blaze to get away with baby Joe, and I don't know why.
This is by far my favorite book and I ask everyone to read it.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling- The conclusion to Harry Potters is the best of the series. I don't know how she got all of the little details from book 1 to make sense and explained in book 7. Pure genius. I think she must have had the entire series written in one shot, I have read each book and have found no plot hole. Deathly Hallows is the perfect ending to the saga of Harry Potter, just a perfect book. The writing and detail is just enough without being too much, even following the Battle of Hogwarts is easy. She really saved the best for last.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- Anyone like me who is into Nirvana and teen angst must enjoy this book. Holden is such an angry,cynical character not usually how you picture people from that time. Everyone is phony, everyone lies, everyone makes themselves out to be greater than they are. I guess Holden never saw these qualities on himself. I loved this book tho, I think we all sometimes get into a mood that's a bit Holden-esque. I know I do.
I'm gonna stop at those 7 because I'm tired, and because I can so ha.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Day 15- Bible Verse
Um, I couldn't tell you any Bible Verse let alone a favorite.
I've been thinking of what to do with this one for a few days. I was just going to replace it with favorite books, but I'll do that tomorrow in replace of Dream House, because that's a silly one.
Then I realized that it doesn't say The Bible verse just bible verse. Who's to say that it has to be from the Christian Bible? Couldn't it be the bible I use? Quotes that I use to guide me through life? So, I present the Bible of Bryan! Some excellent tid-bits I have picked up in my 31 years....
I have already told of when I was young and got picked on a lot. Most of this was due to not dressing correctly or having the newest Air Jordan Nikes. I didn't have a Nintendo and wore generic clothes therefore I couldn't be cool. Then, in the 90's something changed...a guy like me became an icon. A guy who hated the popular kids, despised the cliques of jocks and sought individuality. His name was Kurt Cobain.
One lyric of his always stuck with me, from the song 'Stay Away', and He said..."Monkey see, monkey do. I'd rather be dead than cool". This is when I started to despise people who looked down on others for not being 'cool' and I started to care less what people thought of me. It has always stuck with me, and is my favorite line from Nirvana.
There you have it, favorite verse from the Bible of Bryan.
Some other good lines include: "Step one is get the job done"- I think my grandfather used to say this but I heard it from my father.
"What is easy isn't always right, what is right isn't always easy"- That's an old saying no idea where it came from
"Mess with my family and I will fuck you up"- that's from me, a good one too.
"I'm not a violent person, but I can be driven to it"- kinda goes with the line above.
I need to write an actual Bible of Bryan, why not? Maybe I'll start my own religion...
I've been thinking of what to do with this one for a few days. I was just going to replace it with favorite books, but I'll do that tomorrow in replace of Dream House, because that's a silly one.
Then I realized that it doesn't say The Bible verse just bible verse. Who's to say that it has to be from the Christian Bible? Couldn't it be the bible I use? Quotes that I use to guide me through life? So, I present the Bible of Bryan! Some excellent tid-bits I have picked up in my 31 years....
I have already told of when I was young and got picked on a lot. Most of this was due to not dressing correctly or having the newest Air Jordan Nikes. I didn't have a Nintendo and wore generic clothes therefore I couldn't be cool. Then, in the 90's something changed...a guy like me became an icon. A guy who hated the popular kids, despised the cliques of jocks and sought individuality. His name was Kurt Cobain.
One lyric of his always stuck with me, from the song 'Stay Away', and He said..."Monkey see, monkey do. I'd rather be dead than cool". This is when I started to despise people who looked down on others for not being 'cool' and I started to care less what people thought of me. It has always stuck with me, and is my favorite line from Nirvana.
There you have it, favorite verse from the Bible of Bryan.
Some other good lines include: "Step one is get the job done"- I think my grandfather used to say this but I heard it from my father.
"What is easy isn't always right, what is right isn't always easy"- That's an old saying no idea where it came from
"Mess with my family and I will fuck you up"- that's from me, a good one too.
"I'm not a violent person, but I can be driven to it"- kinda goes with the line above.
I need to write an actual Bible of Bryan, why not? Maybe I'll start my own religion...
Friday, April 15, 2011
A picture you love
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Goals...
Todays topic is goals. I've been thinking of this while I was driving today and I don't think I have any. I'm 31 and still not sure what my 'end game' is. I'm kind of a take it as it comes kinda guy.
I know eventually I'd like to settle down in North Carolina, but I have no real plan on how that's going to happen.
I guess my main goal right now is to raise my kids to be good people. If they grow up knowing right from wrong, and are led towards a good future I will be happy.
Okay, there is my goal. Bam.
I know eventually I'd like to settle down in North Carolina, but I have no real plan on how that's going to happen.
I guess my main goal right now is to raise my kids to be good people. If they grow up knowing right from wrong, and are led towards a good future I will be happy.
Okay, there is my goal. Bam.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
What you believe
This is something I talk about often. My whole Life of Bryan blog was about what I believe, but I'll put it simply....
I believe everyone has the right to be happy. If marrying a person of the same sex makes you happy then go for it. If you like to protest gays in the military then do that. Live and let live. I don't care, I have enough shit to worry about on a daily basis.
Now, I think that Tea Baggers are retarded but I won't stop them from assembling in a peaceful fashion, I leave it up to the hypocrite Republicans who try to stop liberals from assembling.
I believe that organized religion is a crock of shit. I think religion should be a personal thing, without rules. The Bible was written by a man, just like me. That's a fact, deal with it.
I believe in death to criminals. There is a bill to repeal the death penalty here in CT and I think its a mistake, kill em! If a career felon gets gunned down in the street, I smile. That's a good kill as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe in reform, I know too many lifetime scum bags who don't get changed from jail, they just end up right back there.
They are a drain on society, if only we could send them to a remote island like England did with Australia...
I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe the welfare system will work if we can weed out the cheats. Lock the cheats up, at least they'll get three meals a day then.
I believe illegals should be deported. Let them get a green card and learn the language!
I believe American jobs should be here in America! I don't want to call a help line and talk to Habib 6,000 miles away, I want to talk to Bob from Iowa.
I believe oil should be a thing of the past. I'm tired of the Middle East holding this over our heads.
Well, I'm getting tired and Criminal Minds is on soon so I will leave it at that.
I believe everyone has the right to be happy. If marrying a person of the same sex makes you happy then go for it. If you like to protest gays in the military then do that. Live and let live. I don't care, I have enough shit to worry about on a daily basis.
Now, I think that Tea Baggers are retarded but I won't stop them from assembling in a peaceful fashion, I leave it up to the hypocrite Republicans who try to stop liberals from assembling.
I believe that organized religion is a crock of shit. I think religion should be a personal thing, without rules. The Bible was written by a man, just like me. That's a fact, deal with it.
I believe in death to criminals. There is a bill to repeal the death penalty here in CT and I think its a mistake, kill em! If a career felon gets gunned down in the street, I smile. That's a good kill as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe in reform, I know too many lifetime scum bags who don't get changed from jail, they just end up right back there.
They are a drain on society, if only we could send them to a remote island like England did with Australia...
I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe the welfare system will work if we can weed out the cheats. Lock the cheats up, at least they'll get three meals a day then.
I believe illegals should be deported. Let them get a green card and learn the language!
I believe American jobs should be here in America! I don't want to call a help line and talk to Habib 6,000 miles away, I want to talk to Bob from Iowa.
I believe oil should be a thing of the past. I'm tired of the Middle East holding this over our heads.
Well, I'm getting tired and Criminal Minds is on soon so I will leave it at that.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Favorite TV shows
I am going to attempt to use YouTube to help me here. I think I'm going to do a top ten, but in no particular order. I haven't used YouTube on here yet so hopefully I can figure this out.
So, my all time favorite television shows in no particular order....
Criminal Minds- This show is amazing. If you like getting into the mind of serial killers this is for you, obviously not 100% accurate with how profilers work but I never miss this show.
Another current show which I love but usually miss is House M.D., I can never remember when it's on, but I catch the reruns usually.
A few childhood favorites....
I catch new episodes of Simpsons occasionally, but the new ones are not as good as the classics.
This was my favorite cartoon as a kid and I watch them with Devin now....Thundercats!
I watched a lot of sitcoms when I was a kid because we had a television in our room. I watched a lot of TV, probably more than I should have. It was the main reason I didn't get much of my homework done. This was my favorite show during the week, and yes, I probably wasn't supposed to watch it as a 10 year old but I did so ha...
On Friday nights we watched T.G.I.F, the best show to come from there was a family favorite. I have gotten the first two seasons of DVD and my kids love it...Dinosaurs!
Okay, back to present times.....I don't watch a lot of sitcoms anymore, but this one is pretty funny. I catch the reruns of Fox usually...Two and a Half Men
This next show is on Tuesday night at 10 right after Criminal Minds, and after all these years still entertains. Law and Order:Special Victims Unit
The one comedy drama I always love to watch is Monk. This show is so well written and so smart, I even picked up one of the books recently. It is written by one of the writers from the show and I was really sitting on the couch laughing. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. This is the original theme, they changed it later to Randy Newman "It's a Jungle Out There" but I like the original
Now, the best show of all time. The best for last. The greatest sitcom in the history of everything! The show about nothing....Seinfeld. I love this show and know some episodes and scenes by heart. Almost anything that happens to me during the day I can refer to a Seinfeld episode. Best show ever, no debate. This isn't my top ten but I found it on YouTube and went with it.
Well, there ya go.
So, my all time favorite television shows in no particular order....
Criminal Minds- This show is amazing. If you like getting into the mind of serial killers this is for you, obviously not 100% accurate with how profilers work but I never miss this show.
Another current show which I love but usually miss is House M.D., I can never remember when it's on, but I catch the reruns usually.
A few childhood favorites....
I catch new episodes of Simpsons occasionally, but the new ones are not as good as the classics.
This was my favorite cartoon as a kid and I watch them with Devin now....Thundercats!
I watched a lot of sitcoms when I was a kid because we had a television in our room. I watched a lot of TV, probably more than I should have. It was the main reason I didn't get much of my homework done. This was my favorite show during the week, and yes, I probably wasn't supposed to watch it as a 10 year old but I did so ha...
On Friday nights we watched T.G.I.F, the best show to come from there was a family favorite. I have gotten the first two seasons of DVD and my kids love it...Dinosaurs!
Okay, back to present times.....I don't watch a lot of sitcoms anymore, but this one is pretty funny. I catch the reruns of Fox usually...Two and a Half Men
This next show is on Tuesday night at 10 right after Criminal Minds, and after all these years still entertains. Law and Order:Special Victims Unit
The one comedy drama I always love to watch is Monk. This show is so well written and so smart, I even picked up one of the books recently. It is written by one of the writers from the show and I was really sitting on the couch laughing. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. This is the original theme, they changed it later to Randy Newman "It's a Jungle Out There" but I like the original
Now, the best show of all time. The best for last. The greatest sitcom in the history of everything! The show about nothing....Seinfeld. I love this show and know some episodes and scenes by heart. Almost anything that happens to me during the day I can refer to a Seinfeld episode. Best show ever, no debate. This isn't my top ten but I found it on YouTube and went with it.
Well, there ya go.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Something you're afraid of
When I was a kid I was scared of everything. Everything. The strange thing is that now I don't really have any fears. Except for losing people.
In 31 years I have not lost anyone in my life I was close to. Well, kinda. A few years ago one of my former work partners died, his name was Rob. It was strange when he died because altho he hadn't worked with me in about 8 months he was my partner everyday for 2 years. About two years later another former partner of mine died.
I have had relatives die but none that I really knew.
I've always had a fear of someone breaking in at night and doing harm to my family. I think it came from watching too much America's Most Wanted as a kid.
I don't like being afraid, I think that may be my biggest fear, fear itself. A fear that if something does happen that I will be too frozen in fear to react.
Hmm.....
In 31 years I have not lost anyone in my life I was close to. Well, kinda. A few years ago one of my former work partners died, his name was Rob. It was strange when he died because altho he hadn't worked with me in about 8 months he was my partner everyday for 2 years. About two years later another former partner of mine died.
I have had relatives die but none that I really knew.
I've always had a fear of someone breaking in at night and doing harm to my family. I think it came from watching too much America's Most Wanted as a kid.
I don't like being afraid, I think that may be my biggest fear, fear itself. A fear that if something does happen that I will be too frozen in fear to react.
Hmm.....
That didn't work....
Okay trying again since only one picture uploaded...then I can move on from the pictures of friends to whatever todays subject is.
Pictures of friends (cont.)
This is Anthony about 8 years ago with my daughter, the one of Raquel is recent (I think).
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A Picture of your friends
I have been neglecting Blogger all week! Its just been so busy that I have not updated and have not read anyone else's blogs either.
So, this is supposed to be a picture of your friends but I wasn't going to do that. I was going to tell a story about two of my friends from highschool that I'm still close with.
You may remember but in my first love post I mentioned that I had a few problems in Middle School, well, I had lots of problems. Which is why I wanted to go to a highschool in a different city. On my first day at Lyman Hall High, I had 5 out of 7 classes with this kid named Tony. My biggest hope was that he wouldn't be a problem because I'd have to face him all day, everyday. It was the complete opposite. On my second day in Science we had to partner up with someone and he came over to my desk and said "okay, its me and you". I would never go up to anyone, I was extremely shy and a bit of a shut in. Later he would tell me that he came over because "you looked so pathetic all the time and I couldn't stand having to look at that all day for a year".
Anthony and I are still close friends and so are our daughters.
The other person I was going to talk about I also mentioned in that first love post. The Puerto Rican girl who sat with me on the bus and talked like we had always been friends. Her name is Raquel and her and Tony together really helped bolster my confidence. I always walked into school with Raquel, we'd stop at her locker then head to the cafeteria for breakfast. Looking back it was a bit sad, I kinda followed her like a puppy, but that's how I was lol. She was a year ahead of Tony and I but we almost always sat at breakfast together. This was a routine for my freshman and sophmore years, and I finally felt more confident and soon was more popular than I ever was in Middle School. They both made me comfortable being myself. Highschool didn't have the cliques like Middle did, and people didn't care if you didn't have the newest pair of Nike's. At least Tony and Raquel didn't care and a few others that I'd pal around with.
I am still friends with Raquel also. We lost touch for about 10 years but we reconnected on FB a few years ago and picked back up again like that 10 years never happened. She has two kids now also.
So, those are two of my closest friends. If it hadn't been for them seeking me out I may have remained a shut in and not have ever asked Heather, my future wife out. Then I wouldn't have any stories to write on here.
So, this is supposed to be a picture of your friends but I wasn't going to do that. I was going to tell a story about two of my friends from highschool that I'm still close with.
You may remember but in my first love post I mentioned that I had a few problems in Middle School, well, I had lots of problems. Which is why I wanted to go to a highschool in a different city. On my first day at Lyman Hall High, I had 5 out of 7 classes with this kid named Tony. My biggest hope was that he wouldn't be a problem because I'd have to face him all day, everyday. It was the complete opposite. On my second day in Science we had to partner up with someone and he came over to my desk and said "okay, its me and you". I would never go up to anyone, I was extremely shy and a bit of a shut in. Later he would tell me that he came over because "you looked so pathetic all the time and I couldn't stand having to look at that all day for a year".
Anthony and I are still close friends and so are our daughters.
The other person I was going to talk about I also mentioned in that first love post. The Puerto Rican girl who sat with me on the bus and talked like we had always been friends. Her name is Raquel and her and Tony together really helped bolster my confidence. I always walked into school with Raquel, we'd stop at her locker then head to the cafeteria for breakfast. Looking back it was a bit sad, I kinda followed her like a puppy, but that's how I was lol. She was a year ahead of Tony and I but we almost always sat at breakfast together. This was a routine for my freshman and sophmore years, and I finally felt more confident and soon was more popular than I ever was in Middle School. They both made me comfortable being myself. Highschool didn't have the cliques like Middle did, and people didn't care if you didn't have the newest pair of Nike's. At least Tony and Raquel didn't care and a few others that I'd pal around with.
I am still friends with Raquel also. We lost touch for about 10 years but we reconnected on FB a few years ago and picked back up again like that 10 years never happened. She has two kids now also.
So, those are two of my closest friends. If it hadn't been for them seeking me out I may have remained a shut in and not have ever asked Heather, my future wife out. Then I wouldn't have any stories to write on here.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Day 8- A place you've traveled to
Since my sister is up in Connecticut for the week, I will do my blog about our family trip to see my sister's family in Florida.
We decided to drive to Florida for our somewhat "honeymoon", altho we took Alyssa who was 5 at the time and we stayed with my sister,brother in law and their two kids. It was still a great trip.
Going down to Florida we took a roundabout route, we both wanted to see Western North Carolina (where we hope to live one day) so we drove to Asheville, NC to stay the night. It was a very long drive thru rural Pennsylvania and Virgina and this is pretty much all we saw the whole time...
Cows and fields.
We got killed with rain while driving through Tennessee, but after leaving West Haven at 3:30 am we arrived in Asheville, NC at 7pm! I may add that we stopped a lot because in addition to having a 5 year old with us, my wife was also pregnant with Devin.
We slept in a bit the next morning and left Asheville around 7:30 am, unfortunately we didn't get to see a lot of the city, but we will be going back. The next day we took I-26 across NC to SC and hopped onto 95 to continue to Florida. This drive was a bit more interesting. We went in June, so the farther south we traveled we watched the thermometer in the car go up and up and up. Average temp in mid-June in CT is probably around 75, as we got into Georgia it was up in the mid 80's. Finally, we had to stop and get this picture..
Palm trees!
Around 2pm we hit the first city in Florida! Jacksonville. I was so pumped I called my sister and told her "I'm in Florida! We just hit Jacksonville" I think she tried to stifle a laugh and replied "Um, okay, you still have 6 hours to go" That kind of took the wind out of my sails. I live in a state where you can be anywhere in less than 2hrs, I couldn't fathom taking 6 hours to drive to her house from Jacksonville. They live in southern Florida near Sarasota, on the West Coast, so I had to drive across the panhandle on I10 to I75. That took us through Tampa area and was a very,very long drive. We made the rookie southern mistake of stopping for dinner at a place called Steak n' Shake, at this point we were in Ocala and only 2hrs away. Little did we know that Steak n' Shake is known for it's horrible service and we lost over an hour by stopping there! Needless to say, we did not arrive at her house at 8pm, it was closer to 10pm! But, seeing this made it well worth it
Blue water and white sand, something we do not have here in Connecticut. We spent a few days down there and then had an equally entertaining trip back up, but that will be for another day...
We decided to drive to Florida for our somewhat "honeymoon", altho we took Alyssa who was 5 at the time and we stayed with my sister,brother in law and their two kids. It was still a great trip.
Going down to Florida we took a roundabout route, we both wanted to see Western North Carolina (where we hope to live one day) so we drove to Asheville, NC to stay the night. It was a very long drive thru rural Pennsylvania and Virgina and this is pretty much all we saw the whole time...
We got killed with rain while driving through Tennessee, but after leaving West Haven at 3:30 am we arrived in Asheville, NC at 7pm! I may add that we stopped a lot because in addition to having a 5 year old with us, my wife was also pregnant with Devin.
We slept in a bit the next morning and left Asheville around 7:30 am, unfortunately we didn't get to see a lot of the city, but we will be going back. The next day we took I-26 across NC to SC and hopped onto 95 to continue to Florida. This drive was a bit more interesting. We went in June, so the farther south we traveled we watched the thermometer in the car go up and up and up. Average temp in mid-June in CT is probably around 75, as we got into Georgia it was up in the mid 80's. Finally, we had to stop and get this picture..
Around 2pm we hit the first city in Florida! Jacksonville. I was so pumped I called my sister and told her "I'm in Florida! We just hit Jacksonville" I think she tried to stifle a laugh and replied "Um, okay, you still have 6 hours to go" That kind of took the wind out of my sails. I live in a state where you can be anywhere in less than 2hrs, I couldn't fathom taking 6 hours to drive to her house from Jacksonville. They live in southern Florida near Sarasota, on the West Coast, so I had to drive across the panhandle on I10 to I75. That took us through Tampa area and was a very,very long drive. We made the rookie southern mistake of stopping for dinner at a place called Steak n' Shake, at this point we were in Ocala and only 2hrs away. Little did we know that Steak n' Shake is known for it's horrible service and we lost over an hour by stopping there! Needless to say, we did not arrive at her house at 8pm, it was closer to 10pm! But, seeing this made it well worth it
Friday, April 1, 2011
Day ??: Favorite Movies
I guess I'll do a Top Ten here, in no particular order because there are so many movies I like.
10. The Wedding Singer- Awesome Sandler movie. I've seen this about 100 times and its still entertaining every time I see it.
9. Private Parts- Hands down the funniest movie ever. Even if you don't like Howard Stern you will love watching him rise to the top
8. Harry Potter 6- I like all the Potter movies (and books) but this is my favorite. Best scene is when he almost kills Malfoy.
7. Ghostbusters- Classic! I was 6 when I first saw it, and lifetime views are around 1,000
6. Night of the Living Dead- The original black and white. I don't really like the remakes as much, this has no great special effects but its a great horror movie.
5. Spiderman- Anything Spiderman is ok with me!
4. American Beauty- Awesome movie, shows how fucked up the perfect little suburban families can be.
3. Wizard of Oz- I could watch this over and over.
2. Finding Nemo- The best Disney movie ever. I highly suggest everyone to watch this not just kids.
1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?- Another cartoon movie that all adults should see!
I notice my favorite movie list could easily belong to a 10 year old lol. Oh well, that's me! The thing is I like thousands of movies but these stick out because I have seen each one more than 10 times. Some mentionables include; Collateral, Casino, Awakenings, Rain Man, Billy Madison, Terminator 2...there's just too many.
10. The Wedding Singer- Awesome Sandler movie. I've seen this about 100 times and its still entertaining every time I see it.
9. Private Parts- Hands down the funniest movie ever. Even if you don't like Howard Stern you will love watching him rise to the top
8. Harry Potter 6- I like all the Potter movies (and books) but this is my favorite. Best scene is when he almost kills Malfoy.
7. Ghostbusters- Classic! I was 6 when I first saw it, and lifetime views are around 1,000
6. Night of the Living Dead- The original black and white. I don't really like the remakes as much, this has no great special effects but its a great horror movie.
5. Spiderman- Anything Spiderman is ok with me!
4. American Beauty- Awesome movie, shows how fucked up the perfect little suburban families can be.
3. Wizard of Oz- I could watch this over and over.
2. Finding Nemo- The best Disney movie ever. I highly suggest everyone to watch this not just kids.
1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?- Another cartoon movie that all adults should see!
I notice my favorite movie list could easily belong to a 10 year old lol. Oh well, that's me! The thing is I like thousands of movies but these stick out because I have seen each one more than 10 times. Some mentionables include; Collateral, Casino, Awakenings, Rain Man, Billy Madison, Terminator 2...there's just too many.
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