Quick thoughts on Chavez

This is a subject I'd really like to expand upon in greater detail at some point, but here's just a quick thought for now. I've been a big fan of Hugo Chavez since I've heard about him. I really like the idea of a guy rising up from the lower classes to become president and decide to spread the wealth of his oil-rich country to those who have been left behind by the capitalist system. I like the idea of a world leader willing to speak truth about the way that the people of the developing world are abused by corporate globalization. I like the idea of a world leader (who isn't some crazed religious fundamentalist terrorist) who calls George W. Bush the devil. But I am extremely uneasy about the idea of a world leader circumventing the checks and balances of a democratic system, even if the intentions might be good. On the other hand, perhaps I don't have the story straight. I just don't know. We'll just have to see how this all unfolds.

Best news ever!

Bush impeached? War in Iraq over? Marijuana legalized? Paris Hilton no longer in the news? BETTER! Apparently the Police are reuniting for at least one gig. NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Police will reunite to open the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 11, The Recording Academy said on Tuesday, fueling speculation that the hit 1980s band is planning a reunion tour. I really hope this isn't just another one-off like they did when they got inducted to the Rock and Roll hall of fame. The short bit they'll be able to play during an awards show isn't enough to make up for Sting's career as a boring adult contemporary artist. I shouldn't get my hopes up for this. I did that when Roger Waters got back together with Pink Floyd for Live 8. I was sure that if they could get along enough for a performance that made me cry (if any of you are Floyd fans and you say you didn't at least shed a tear when Roger dedicated Wish You Were Here to Syd Barret you are lying) that they could pull off at least one stadium tour. And speaking of band reunions that have been a long time coming with a few teases along the way, after failing at his jobs as paramedic and Howard Stern's morning radio replacement, David Lee Roth is going back to his old job as lead singer of Van Halen. We'll see just how long he can get along with Eddie this time. Not in the band this time is Michael Anthony. He had to be the luckiest guy in the world, a completely mediocre bassist (that open e string quarter note over and over and over again Running With the Devil bassline sure ain't no Primus, that's for sure) lands a spot in one of the biggest acts of the 80's and made bundles of money doing it. You'd think with a gig like that, you could put up with just about anything from the likes of Eddie Van Halen. Apparently not in this case. To add insult to injury, Michael's replacement is Eddie's 15 year old son Wolfgang.

The Real McCain

I'm sick and tired of John McCain being considered to be some kind of better republican. Besides being for campaign finance reform and against torture, he's pretty much the same as the rest of the gang. What I find the most disappointing is watching him suck up to George Bush and defend every last one of his idiotic missteps after the way Bush campaigned against him in 2000. I know if I lost the presidency to a guy whose campaign was using push polling to suggest that I had a black baby out of wedlock in an appeal to the most racist of the republican base in the south, I sure as hell would make it my mission to make that guy's life miserable for as long as I could. Of course, I'm a very spiteful guy who holds grudges for a very long time. I've still got some old landlords from over 10 years ago who are still on my revenge list for ripping off my security deposit (I'll get you bastards when you least expect it!!!). But I can't think of any reasonable man who would not only be friendly to somebody who abused them so badly, but to go out of their way to help him. Anyway, I'm not the only one who is sick of McCain's darling boy of the GOP status, and now there's a whole blog devoted to exposing The Real McCain.

OK, now what?

Alright, somehow I've managed to convert to the new blogger and get a template set up, but I don't seem to have all of the new blogger features available, like the dropdown archive thing, or this drag and drop template editing. Now that I've done all that, it's just a few minutes before I have to start getting ready to go to my dreaded job. I won't be blogging too much about this job since I'll be leaving it soon, back to my old job that I had before I quit this blog. I thought it would be a good idea to take a job a little closer to home that would use my design skills better and give me some benefits like insurance and paid holidays. The boss and sales manager seemed like really nice guys during the interview, and that lasted for about a week. Stella was born while I was making this job transition, and of course a lot of my co-workers would look at the pictures and videos that I was posting. My wonderful new boss and his IT rabbi blocked my domain after less than a week. Of course, that leaves me free to call them a bunch of motherfuckers here without worrying about any sort of circumstances. And on that note, I've got to go get ready to return to that wonderful workplace on a cold Monday morning. If you're actually reading this, do me a favor and let me know with a comment.

More pointless contemplation

A brand new template is in the works. As much as I enjoy this Iron Maiden design, I think I'm going to go with something completely different this time around. I'm not sure of the timeframe for this relaunch. We are going to be moving soon. We're leaving San Francisco, but not going far, just over to the East Bay. It will put me closer to my new job, plus it's a two bedroom so Stella will have her own room, and it's even a little bit cheaper. Needless to say, the packing and whatnot is not going to leave a whole lot of time for designing and blogging. But that's OK, since I don't even think anybody is even reading this yet.

I'm back, beeyotches!

I tried staying away from political blogging. When the Jack Abramoff scandal hit and it turned out that I predicted something eerily similar in my film which shares the name of this blog, I didn't blog about it. As the war in Iraq went from bad worse and as Bush loses more support by the day because of it, I didn't blog about it. When the democrats retook the legislative branch, I didn't even gloat about that. But as people start throwing their hats into the ring for the '08 race, the urge to start blogging about it starts nipping at my ankles. So I came in here and started dusting things off a bit. The first thing I noticed was that I seem to have lost all of my comments. It's a bummer, but I can live with that. I also noticed that the code is in serious need of an overhaul. I'll get to it, I promise. Of course, I've got no readers anymore which I'll have to do something about. As far as the content goes, I'm going to really try to keep from being too angry and vulgar about things. I'm a dad now, for cryin' out loud. But I'm still a cynical, sarcastic, foul mouthed mofo, so it might be a little hard for me. I will at least try to keep things more on the snarky and comedic tip than the whole throwing my fists against the walls in frustration deal. And of course it's not all going to be just about the politics. I'll continue posting about life, pop culture and whatever else I feel like posting about.