Here I sit yet again. I'm exhausted, but happy. I spent a week at the beach, a week in vegas, and in a couple more hours, I'll be at home for the first time since October.

At the moment I'm sitting in a st. augustine Condo. My friends, some of them, are here. Others have revealed just how little they matter. Which is the nature of things. I'm not dwelling on negatives. I'm happy. Happier than I've been in a long time.

Life is quiet and relaxed. After 2 1/2 years of run run run, its time for some laid back relaxing. One would think I started leave relaxing, I didn't.

After 2 1/2 years of go go go nonstop, I started my leave off with 8 days in vegas, the city that never sleeps. And I didn't sleep, not much anyway. had a blast, played a lot of poker, the game I do so adore, and spent entirely too much money. Got in a big scene making fight in delmonico's, the staff of which I apologize to for the scene. If you get the chance, they make the best steak I've ever eaten. It's delicious. Anyway, the other half of the scene is no longer speaking to me, I'm amused.

That was finally over and I took a step back, and came to st. augustine. Its a nice place, oldest city on the continent and all that. But really, its a great place to slow down. I have rested here in ways I haven't been able to rest and relax for years. It calmed me down and soothed me. I'm relaxed, people around me notice it.

At any rate, my real relaxation is almost over. I'm soon to return home, which, while wonderful, will provide a special stress all its own. I'm looking forward to the trip, but for the moment, I'm enjoying just being me. nothing special to have to worry about. :) So take your time, and I'll take mine.

Return of the Blog...It was funnier in my mind.

So It's been a while. I've been working hard, at hardly working, and haven't really even considered writing anything. My return to blogging, heralded by a would be popular sports blog, caused me to take a new look at this one and see where I could take it that might make it worth actually bothering to write for.

At the moment I am leaning towards doing a combination of lists/commentaries on what's going on. I.E. Listing things, though nothing on the scale of my friend over at How Hi the Fi.

I'm considering a top ten westerns ever made list right now, as sort of a starter. Not really relevant, not a lot of western fans left out there, but there are a lot of great movies that are westerns out there. Movies that any fan of movie history will consider a must own. However, at the moment, my ability to access my collection is extremely limited as I am overseas. If the picture didn't give it away I'm deployed.

At any rate, this is just a renewal post anyway, something to get me back in the swing of writing. And for anyone out there who is gawking and completely revolted by my mustache, it's gone now too. So you can read on in safety. Then again, there isn't anything else to read...So yeah. Look ahead and check back in a day or two.

What Have We Come to?

So I'm sitting here in the recliner pondering the future. It's a precarious thing these days. Once upon a time, when I was younger than I am now, it was boundless and full of potential. Then the same thing that happens to everyone happened to me; I grew up.

With growing up comes the annoying responsibilities that grown ups have. Taking care of yourself, working, paying bills, etc. And following along with the happenings int he rest of the world. Currently what has my attention is FOCA. If you don't know what this is, it's called the Freedom of Choice Act.

Essentially it strips all limitations and controls on abortion that are currently in place. Now some people think this is a good thing. I'm not one of them. I despise abortion. I also think that forcing doctors and hospitals to offer abortion is wrong. That violates THEIR freedom of choice. But this act would allow for that. I don't know what the democrats are going to do with their new found power in washington, but I know it's going to be interesting.

Legislation like this, forcing hospitals to provide certain types of care that not everyone in the country agrees with only opens up the door for more legislation like it. What will they take next? I'm not all that curious about it but I think we're going to find out anyway. The democrats currently in power have a rather socialistic outlook. Expect them to finish the train wreck we're in now if they're past record is anything of an indication.

Welcome to the Socialist States of America. It oughta be a wild ride!

In 2008...

So...I am certifiable...or certified...or...whatever. That's besides the point. When I start driving today, I will continue driving for...oh...24 hours or so before I stop again for any length of time. Why am I doing this you might ask? The answer to that probably lies in the first sentence of this post. Anyway, it's new year's day.

I had a glorious evening last night. Got to spend it with a good many of the few people in this world I bother wasting the energy it requires to care about. What did we do? absolutely nothing. Well, ok...we played rummy, apples to apples, and watched some idiot try to kill himself jumping a scale model of the arc'de'triomph.

That said, it's time for...either a resolution or a list...oh wait...you want both? Ok...well let's see...

I resolve to....not get blown up in Iraq in 2009. Yes that still leaves several months open in 2010 for any terrorists who might read this.

Now for the list...hmmm...What should we list...movies...no...songs...maybe...stupid things? Well since the top of the list would be electing the soont o be president perhaps not, as he would doubtlessly list me an enemy of the state upon inauguration...so...here we go...lessons learned.

1. Driving 24 hours straight is madness.
2. Birthday presents are best when they arrive unexpectedly.
3. The simple things in life, backrubs in particular, really are the best.
4. Mountain Dew is essential to my continued existence. (no really...it is.)
5. The minute you vouch for someone is the minute they will leave your neck on the chopping block.
6. The air is never sweeter than when you arrive at home after a long time away...For those of you who have no particular attachment to a specific place, I'm sorry for what you're missing.
7. New life is amazing..so long as that new life can't vomit on me.
8. Women are the most indecisive creatures alive.
9. Politicians, like lawyers...should be shot. On sight.
10. People are stupid. In large groups, they are rabid and dangerous.

Now, some of these lessons may not seem particularly insightful to you. But I assure you, each and everyone is an experience I went through. Some were merely reinforce, some were new. but each was experienced in the now deceased 2008. PEACE!

what's in a birth certificate

Fact: Barrack Obama has to date failed to provide a valid birth certificate.

Now this is truly amazing to me. A man runs for the highest office this president has to offer. The man is allowed to campaign, be nominated by a party, and win the election all without providing a valid proof of his birth as a citizen. Nevermind that you can't even get into college without a birth certificate. We've allowed the man to gain the only office that requires natural born citizenship to without proof of his natural status.

Fact: Hawaii has a valid birth certificate on record, but Obama has not authorized its release.

Now why on earth would he do a thing like that? There is an offline frenzy over this birth certificate. The main stream media is staying away from it. In fact, they're avoiding it the way a fat kid avoids health food. They're accusing the people who want to know more about this interesting situation of being rabid right wing conservatives who're trying to take away Obama's victory.

Question: Why isn't he simply authorizing the release of the valid certificate?

Obama's falt refusal to do so leads to questions and more questions. For instance: If his state of birth has a certificate on record, why would he not authorize its release and quell the quiet storm raging around it? The possible answers do not leave me with a warm fuzzy. The most likely is that the information in that document is harmful to him as the president.

How could it be harmful? Easy. The certificate contains information about where he was born and so on. It could, possibly, name him as something other than a natural born u.s. citizen. How would this damage him? It would revoke the election results and cause general chaos throughout the nation. Of course that's not true, I hear people saying. It's the only logical explanation for his falt refusal to authorize the release of his birth certificate.

This situation leaves me highly concerned, to say the least. His hesitance to release such a trivial, yet potentially powerful document leaves me extremely worried concerning his future presidency. He needs to release the document immediately.

Parting Shot: The real concern I have in all this is how he was allowed to run and win the office without providing a valid birth certificate. That question should bother all of you. If anyone reading this is as concerned as I am, please, start asking the tough questions, and don't let anyone shout you dowan.

The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger is dead. That fact was never more apparenty than when I first saw his final character shuffle onto the screen.

His final movie, The Dark Knight, is a tour de force of violence and terror that scrapes away everything surrounding man kind's nature to lay bare what it is at its core. At least, what the producers, directors, and writers think it is.

At any rate, Heath Ledger is...completely out of himself. There are no traces of Heath Ledger in The Joker. Heath Ledger is gone. And this...this...monster he has created has taken his place.

Afte watching his final performance, it is easy to understand why he might have needed sleeping pills.

That said, this will be his defining role, and not simply because it was his last. It is his best work.