Racism? In the news?

Surely not. Surely our journalists are above such petty things from 150 years ago such as race. Ok maybe not. Maybe it's true that black people "loot" while white people "find". This was taken from dustin3000's flickr upload.


here's the originals:
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/480/ladm10208301530
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/photos_ts_afp/050830071810_shxwaoma_photo1

Standby

-You know how when you shutdown your computer, you can either logout, shutdown completely, restart or put it in standby? Well I feel like the last year, maybe even 2 years at work I've been stuck in standby mode. Not really on/not ready shutdown. You can hear my fan still running, but nothing happens when you move the mouse. And in dire need of a restart. I feel like I'm finally waking up from a 2 year coma. I like to blame my place of employment for that - not challenging, bored, not working hard, little responsibility or accountability, little respect for higher-ups, not caring.

-I'm finding my body to become much more fragile in my ripe old age of 27. Don't recover from hangovers as quickly; can't eat like I used to and keep the same sexy physique; injuries and soreness stick around longer. People say it's "just part of getting older", but what the hell is that? Is it a metabolism thing? Are my muscles and organs is closer to termination? What? I want answers!

-Lubbock, TX has a Waylon Jennings Blvd and Buddy Holly Ave. Sounds like a cool town until you go there and wonder "what's that smell?". Oh right that's the dirty sock smell that is Lubbock (locals justify it by calling it the smell of money).

-On the INHD Channel, they're always showing women's bodybuilding and Ultimate Fighting Championship. I don't really want to see that stuff in high def. Who gets off on women's bodybuilding anyway? Gross. Now the cage fighting is cool for about 5 minutes before I'm bored with it. Something about watching someone get punched in the face with no gloves and bloody knuckles is very exciting...for about 5 minutes.

-Don't ever forget your roots. We were sitting around talking to my younger cousin who's FROM THE VALLEY the other day and she says, "Oh that's so Texas." In response to something. I wanted to say "who the fuck are you?? You're from McALLEN!" But I didn't. I kept my mouth shut as usual.

-Last week I didn't keep my mouth shut as usual and it got me in trouble. This girl in our little group of friends is dating this older guy. Well I found out that night that he graduated high school in 1983. So his name for the rest of the night became "Class of 83" because as I continued to drink, the old receptors stop firing and I forgot his name. Well they ended up leaving early all because the girl felt "uncomfortable" with me calling him that. I believe I yelled across the table at one point "Pipe down, Class of 83!" Btw, he never heard me call him that. I think the problem is that she's uncomfortable with people knowing she's dating a freaking 40-year-old and she's 26. I have no problem with it, and I wasn't trying to be judgmental at all. I don't know what I think. Stupid chicks.

-Why do women brag about having a higher "tolerance for pain" than men? I got news for you, honey, that's not a good thing! God invented pain to let us know when something is wrong. The earlier you feel the pain and stop doing what's causing the pain, the better. Maybe it's just me; maybe it's just part of being the next link in the evolutionary chain that I have little tolerance for pain. Why tolerate it if you don't have to?

Lyrics

Lyrics that have inspired or moved me over the years, or lines I just like. Because I'm too lazy to verify the actual songwriter, I decided to go with the most familiar singer.

-And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made. (Simon & Garfunkel)

-So for once in my life let me get what I want
Lord knows it would be the first time. (Smiths)

-I got soul but I'm not a soldier. (The Killers)

-What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, Can I have them please? (Harry Chapin)

-Take away this ball & chain (Social Distortion)

-When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul (Bob Dylan)

-And this bird you can not change. (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

-How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone (Bob Dylan)

-It's hard to get by just upon a smile. (Cat Stevens)

-In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same. (Pete Seeger)

-From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away. (Cat Stevens)

-You want to fight for this love
But honey you cannot wrestle a dove (The Shins)

-Takes a long time, but God dies too
But not before he'll stick it to you. (Modest Mouse)

-Your heart felt good it was drippin pitch and made of wood.
And your hands and knees felt cold and wet on the grass to me. (Modest Mouse)

-We live in a wheel where everyone steals.
But when we rise it's like strawberry fields. (Bush)

-You've claimed all this time that you would die for me.
Why then are you so surprised to hear your own eulogy? (Tool)

-Some words when spoken can't be taken back (Pearl Jam)

You Know I'm Right

-There are some colors in this world not meant for grown men. Pink and purple are two of them. I'm secure in my manhood enough to wear it, and so are you if you're wearing it, but you don't have to prove it to me. It's ugly. Pink and purple shirts make every guy look ridiculous. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say all pastels are no good. Of course your wife likes that shirt, she's a GIRL. Stop letting your wife dress you like one.

-It's amazing how a song can take you back in time. We were driving home from Ikea couple nights ago and that "Hey Ya" song came on the radio (Dallas radio really sucks - about 2 to 10 years behind, between "We were merely freshman" and "Closing Time" sometimes I wish I drove one of those big trucks equipped with a shot gun rack and shot gun so I could blow out my radio on demand). Forgot where I was going with that...oh right, but I was instantly thrown back to installing tile floors and starting my second season on Ski Bus and that's all I could think about, almost made me miss my exit.

-Someone asked me the other night at the bar if I have a favorite song lyric. I became intrigued by this question, so intrigued that I pretty much ignored the chick that asked the question for the rest of the evening. I became obsessed with the question, running thousands of songs through my mental library. Poor girl, all she was trying to do is make meaningless small talk. Well she picked the wrong guy for that. As I've said before, good thing I'm married or I'd never get laid. What was I talking about? Oh right. Favorite lyric. So I've given it a lot of thought. The best I can think of, out of the thousands of lines I know is "Disarm you with a smile." It says so much in just those 5 words. I think I'm going to come up with a list. There are so many others that deserve recognition.

-I went waterskiing (wakeboarding actually) last weekend both Saturday and Sunday. Surprisingly, I don't want to buy a boat. I had a great time, most fun I've had in a while, but yet nothing. I was a little afraid on Friday going into this weekend that I would want to buy a boat and obsess over it until I got one, but no. I think I'm intimidated by the maintenance, housing, and time dedicated to a boat. I already have a pool to maintain. A boat's all I need to completely shut down my weekend.

-It's amazing how fast life can change. One minute I'm skiing in Tahoe and selling my house in California, the next minute I'm playing ultimate frisbee for the first time and watching our 2 female interns make out at the bar.

-I hate it when I get to work and can't remember if I put on deodorant. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

-Saw Skeleton Key last night at The Movie Tavern. Every movie is better with beer and chicken tenders. That Voodoo/Hoodoo crap kind of freaks me out having walked through those shops in New Orleans at 3 AM. Although no one believes me, I kind of saw the ending coming. Good movie. Kate Hudson is hott. Go see it.

Things I will NOT miss about CA

-Friends moving away.
-Small house.
-Not having enough work.
-4 months of misting rain.
-Expensive gas.
-Traffic.
-Rallies every Saturday clogging up the city.
-Rallies for stupid stuff like endangered grass.
-Blood-covered protesters in front of Nordstrom.
-Tourists taking pictures of gay guys to show their friends back in Iowa.
-Waking up and wondering if the housing market will crash today.
-Waking up and wondering if the house will slide off the hill, catch a wildfire, or fall into the ocean today.
-Crappy freeways.
-Rolling blackouts.
-Tiny back yard.
-Lack of personal space in a public place.
-Bitchy people everywhere bitching about everything and not doing anything about it.
-Paying too much mortgage on the small house.
-Crowded trains.
-My bedroom window being 10 feet from my neighbor's.
-Bureaucracy.
-No A/C in half the places.
-Flaming gay guys.
-Mean lesbians.
-People in general.