I don’t usually write anything here that could be considered political. I recently read this article in Rolling Stone. I’m concerned. I don’t hear people talking about it or even bothered.

(photo from “Shoot’Em Up”) 

Does anyone think about their impact on the world? I often wonder if anyone is actually doing anything to make an impact. I know…We all have bills to pay, ourselves and/or kids to feed and clothe. Those things can take up most of your time. Then there are hobbies. There’s also just plain wasting time thinking about everything that needs to get done, everything that hasn’t gotten done, everything that will never get done. It’s no wonder our dreams have been lost. The economy and current politics haven’t inspired people in a long time.

I am reminded of the line in “Grosse Pointe Blank”: Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head? It doesn’t have to mean just males, although that was the context. I go about my daily business and see lots of “dead” people. When did it get to be such a larger number? Why? (My unanswerable question.)

What’s up with women twisting and turning themselves into whatever men want? Has it always been this way? It seems more prevalent now. That new hot guy you just started dating likes big boobs? You don’t have them, so you go get some. I think that has to be one of the more drastic things to do–surgery to change your body to fit a man’s “ideal.” This ideal isn’t based on reality. It’s based on airbrushed, surgically enhanced and starving models. It’s all about how you look.

Why is it that looks can mask so much? Looks–whatever turns a guy on–can be the biggest blinders to personality flaws. I see it all the time.

I’m guilty of making myself into a pretzel–twisting, turning, adjusting to make someone happy–or at least thinking that way. I haven’t done anything drastic yet. When these thoughts creep into my head at first I feel inadequate. I’m sure you can guess what that does to a relationship. After a few weeks, maybe a month, I realize I must be nuts to conform to some guy’s idea of beauty. It’s time to let him go if he doesn’t accept me for who I am.

Women are smart. Why do we put up with less than we deserve? Why do we allow these distorted images to take over our lives?

I was reading about plastic bags this morning. I had seen awhile back on an environmental site that it didn’t really matter if you chose paper or plastic, but after reading this article (you may need to watch an ad to read), I think I’ll stick to paper like always (when there’s a choice).

Here are the numbers:

100,000,000,000 (100 billion) bags thrown away in the US every year

those bags equal 12,000,000 (12 million) barrels of oil

only 1% of bags are recycled worldwide

only 2% of bags are recycled in the US

46,000 pieces of plastic floating in every square mile of the ocean

Some of those bags sink to the ocean floor and cover up ocean creatures. Some bags get eaten by birds or marine mammals.

For those who thought banning plastic bags in San Francisco and Oakland was  some act of the crazy environmentalists…I think they have a good reason to ban the bags.

The downside of paper is that 14 million trees are necessary to make the 10 billion paper grocery bags used every year in the US. However, trees are a renewable resource, even if they do take a long time to grow.

Perhaps it’s time to buy some really good canvas bags. I have yet to find any.

Well, it figures that I would get tagged, since I have tagged several times. This one comes from Mr. Fab and originates with Freelance Cynic. According to Freelance Cynic we bloggers don’t complain enough or not as much on our blogs as people do in real life. I complain here on occasion, but this meme gives me a chance to really let it out, so here it goes.

The Moaning Meme

5 people who will be annoyed you tagged them

• Scott from Oregon
• Hamburger
• Ricardo
• Cat
• Jennifer

4 things that should go into room 101 and be removed from the face of the earth

I don’t get the room 101 reference either, Mr. Fab.

• Reality TV - when did this crap become good TV?
• Certain Ex’s who shall remain unnamed
• Anyone who mistreats animals
• Bad SciFi movies
• The commercials for erectile dysfunction…or any pharmaceutical (I know this is 5, but I forgot this one earlier. I have been complaining about these all summer. Must stop watching TV for the 35-60 year old men demographic.)

3 things people do that make you want to shake them violently

• Muffin tops (curse of too tight low rise jeans:  the skin gets pinched and spills out over the top) - sexy does not equal showing lots of skin and wearing clothes that are too tight, and all that skin/fat should be covered up
• Talk loudly on cell phones in public
• Give advice without being asked

2 things you find yourself moaning about

• Other people’s driving
• People who never take responsibility and never apologize

1 thing the above answers tell you about yourself.

• I need blinders, like the kind they put on horses.

RULES

• Link to the original meme at freelancecynic.com so people know what it’s all about!
• Be as honest as possible, This is about letting people get to know the real you!
• Try not to insult anyone.
• Post these rules at the end of every meme!

I have other choice words, but I do try to keep it swear-free here. Just when I thought a former friend could be more of a jerk, he exceeds my expectations. What this time? This time he gave out my phone number to some people we met at a bar over 6 months ago without asking me first. Who does that? Without asking? This is the same person who I mentioned in “End” on July 9. The photo still fits. Never did get an apology for what happened in June. There was a half-assed attempt at an apology. But I’m sure you know how that goes. Sometimes a person’s apology just isn’t sincere, doesn’t sound sincere or just plain isn’t satisfying for whatever reason. Probably because he didn’t mean it. I have given up on that one, but now this. Looks like another apology is in order, and it probably won’t happen.

Dear God,

Save me. I want a new destiny if that’s the case. Thank you.

Last night I watched “The Notorious Bettie Page.” It is a movie that I wanted to see because I knew next to nothing about her. I found the moive quite interesting because it added the political climate of the time to Bettie’s story. I also found that I empathized with her. I don’t know if she really felt like people only cared about her looks, but the writer and director certainly emphasized this aspect. The message is that she’s too pretty. Too pretty to be taken seriously. Too pretty to be anything more than a sex object. Now that I get. That’s how I get treated. All of this reminds me of one of my favorite old Hollywood stars–Heddy Lamar. Not because of her movie work or beauty. Because of her brains, which few people know about because obviously a pretty girl can’t possibly be smart.

Are the blahs contagious? If so, we have an epidemic at my house. I’m wondering if all the reading I have been doing on the internet is the cause. I don’t watch the mainstream news on television, so I get my news from multiple sources on the Net. Frankly, it’s depressing. There are lots of “problems” and few working on the solutions. One person can’t possibly do everything or work on every “problem” even though one person can make a difference.

We had a quiet Fourth of July. The morning was spent discovering my son’s athlete’s foot and infected toe. Gross, I know. Worst case of athlete’s foot I’ve ever seen. He had it before he got here for the summer and had been hiding it from me and his dad.

But what this post is really about is a film you must see. We saw “Sicko.” Finally a real picture of what I’ve read about health care in other nations and an expose on how insurance really works in this country. The film will make you sick to see how we treat our ill and low income. He doesn’t really talk about those without insurance. I’m one of those. And yes, I pray everyday that I don’t get ill. Although I did that when I had insurance because they found ways not to pay for anything.

This is how people react to acknowledgements. No one seems to be able to really take a compliment or a thank you and yet they feel unappreciated. Hmm.

It seems that I can’t figure out how to embed a video on Wordpress due to needing to active php curl (sounds weird to me and I don’t want to deal with the host at this time), so the link will have to do.

It’s fixed now thanks to a new plug-in that actually works. Enjoy!