I received an email forward today which quite frankly pissed me off. Here is my response, preceded by the original text of the forward so you might put it into context.

ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE FORWARD I RECEIVED:
picture added by myself

Spoiled Brats

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ‘’What are we so unhappy about?'’

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air
conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bulletproof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don’t have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn’t take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it……are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the “Media” told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful ass every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn’t have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ‘’general'’ discharge, an ‘’other than honorable'’ discharge or, worst case scenario, a ‘’dishonorable'’ discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.

They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by “justifying” them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn’t kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way…… Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country.

There is exponentially more good than bad.

WAKE UP AMERICANS AND START THINKING FOR YOURSELVES!!!!

WE ARE THE MOST BLESSED PEOPLE ON EARTH, WE SHOULD THANK GOD SEVERAL TIMES PER DAY….

MY RESPONSE TO THIS:

I will ignore the fact that much of what he said is completely inaccurate, but even if it were all true, it is 100% irrelevant. If you give your kid a great education, lots of toys, and feed them well, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s abuse when you cut their leg off, slit their wrist, or otherwise attack or cause unreasonable pain to them. And if they complain about the abuse, that’s not them being spoiled, it’s them being human. Likewise, all the great things this country has (and I won’t deny that there are many) absolutely do not excuse its tyrannical behavior. No one is complaining about our freedoms, we love having them. Therefore we are not all spoiled.

Moreover, there is a huge difference between spoiled and a healthy desire for positive change. Just because this country happens to have a lot of freedoms and great things does not mean that it should not have more. If I have a choice between a computer 10 years old, a computer 20 years old, and a computer Hitler might have used, I’m going to pick the 10 year old one…it will be very slow, and once I have that computer it is NOT spoiled or immoral in any way for me to seek out a newer computer!

I will admit that indeed our country may have more than its fair share of spoiled complainers. However, not liking the president or the way the nation is headed is not what qualifies you as one. I take great offense at being called spoiled. It is the nation’s job to make things better. It is part of our constitutional freedom to complain. It is one of several core ideas this nation was founded upon.

I am of the opinion that we currently have a decent president. However, I am also of the opinion that our president doesn’t really have any power. The government no longer follows the constitution, and the president is merely a puppet. They make him look bad because he’s the one who accepts the paycheck, but in reality I think we’d see him assassinated mysteriously if he didn’t follow suit with what the money machines wanted.

I love America’s constitution, but it’s burning right now. Please help put it out.

Nathan Jones: Actor, Film writer, Director, Comedian, Teacher, and a good friend of mine. He’s an awesome dude who made this mockumentary, The Work and the Story from the ground up. As uber cool as he is, he can be described as nothing short of absent-minded. It usually takes a minute for whatever you say to him to sink in if it does at all.

Such was the case when I explained to him that I had spilled Cocaine on my precious iBook computer. Before this moment, I had not let him in on the open secret of Cocaine Energy Drink. For a moment he sat unchanging, staring at his work in front of him. Moments later, realization came to his face, followed by a glimmer of confusion. Next rose a look of sadness in his face, still mixed with confusion, and in an instant his face displayed such a look that one might think his entire life had turned inside out in a single instant. He cocked his head at me as I realized I had not yet explained to him that Cocaine was an energy drink, albeit possibly just as addictive as its namesake (though certainly far less harmful). A smile came to my face, which triggered more confusion in his. “I’m sorry, it’s an energy drink.”

Such relief did I see in his eyes that day. It was quite a classic moment, and I feel as if I’ve failed to get across to you how amusing it really was. Nevertheless, I must retire for the night. Thanks for reading, I plan on doing this more often

It was necessary at some point in time…I need a scanner/printer to work. So I bought one at the Apple Store yesterday, using the money that I was going to buy RAM with (since MacDocs had sold their last moments before I walked in). So for about the same price, I got a surprisingly good Canon Pixma Scanner/Printe/Card Reader. It’s even Bluetooth capable, if I ever get around to giving that upgrade to my Mac Pro. It is also visually stunning, and fits very well with my Mac Pro, monitor, and JBL Creature Speakers, and hopefully soon my Func Mouse Pad (which still hasn’t arrived).

There isn’t much to say about the beast. It’s a low-cost solution, so you can’t expect anything amazing about it. I haven’t ever been in the market for a scanner, and to be honest this was sort of an impulse decision based on the fact that the Apple Store always sells quality stuff. I can’t compare it with other scanners, but I can say that it scans better than I expected. Without squinting I could hardly see a difference between the original Apple receipt and the one created by this machine. Mind you, that was just black and white. Color doesn’t look nearly as good, it’s what you might expect from an ordinary printer.

Sure, nothing special, but it looks awesome and does the job. Now I can scan in sketches to draw over in Flash, and print out directions to the new LAN center downtown. That is, after all, what I need it for.

Peace.

I upgraded my Mac Pro with an ATI Radeon X1900 XT…they gouged me for it at $450 (its PC counterpart is around $200, up to around $300 for the best quality) but the performance increase is certainly noticeable. I have seen some bad reviews for this card, which say that it craps out during gaming. Having spent around 6 hours playing World of Warcraft with the card, I think they’re crazy. It functions very well. When looking at the smoke of the fire in Orgrimmar or the visible disease emanating around the undead, my 7300 GT fizzled, but my X1900 XT keeps up even with raised visual settings.

On the other hand, I certainly enjoy and appreciate the added performance, but was it enough to justify $450? That’s a lot of money. It could buy a second monitor…although without a better video card, that would actually decrease performance…It could buy a fabulous set of speakers, although I’m very, very happy with my JBL Creature Speakers at the moment. It could pay for my soon-to-come RAM upgrade, but that’s not a huge investment. It could almost buy an iPhone! Now that’s where I’d like to put my money. I haven’t used the card enough yet to decide if I regret this purchase, but at the moment I’m considering requesting a refund. This is something I hate to do, because the people at the Apple Store are incredibly kind and helpful. Nevertheless, they will be paid either way I’m sure. I will play a few more days and consider.

I just called Apple and their terms involve a 10% restocking fee. Seems more than fair to me. I took the hardware, I used it, and now it’s used, it would probably go on eBay for about 40% less or more. This is something I will consider. I can sell my iPod to get an iPhone, but since I also use my iPod as an external drive, that would require I purchase an external hard drive as well. The money has to come from somewhere, and I’m opposed to saving up for months at this point

Any advice would be muchly appreciated, and I shall be pondering whilst I play World of Warcraft.

Excusing the re-watching of old classics like Benny and June, the original Star Wars saga, and The Time Machine (2002), it has been quite a while since I’ve seen a good movie. Now, don’t take me as a complete cynic; there is something to be gained from nearly every film that comes out. But today I saw a movie with few flaws. An excellent script founds this combination of awesome cinematography, marvelous directing, skillful acting, and superior graphical effects, put together with intuitive editing to form something great.

Contrary to what advertising and hype suggests, Bridge to Terabithia is not a kids movie with bits thrown in here and there to keep the adults happy. Quite the contrary: I think there is more to be gained by this movie from a mature audience. There are underlying themes to the plot which might be lost to a less experienced viewer.

Bridge to Terabithia is, in a nutshell, about a young boy who meets a young girl, and together they create a world. To be honest, it doesn’t sound very appealing at all, and I went in expecting at cheese factor of at least 6/10. Surprisingly, it rates around a 2/10, and most of that is acceptable.

To be completely forthright, this movie cannot be synopsized effectively. Any attempt would make it sound like a bad fantasy. In reality, it is anything but. One can relate to it in many ways. There is something in the eyes of each actor that makes me applaud the casting director. Everyone works together perfectly to create something far more than what the movie may seem to be about.

The only suggestion I can make at this point is that you go see the movie whenever you get a chance. You will want to see it on the big screen, as there are a few scenes with such magnificent graphics as cannot be replicated on the tube. I look forward to seeing more movies with AnnaSophia Robb. She made the movie, and did a far better job than Dakota Fanning, who seems to be the more common choice for this demographic. I also give kudos to director Gabor Csupo, who brought it all together quite well. Writers Jeff Stockwell and David Paterson also deserve credit, though it is always difficult to tell how much of the movie remains the same after the final draft is written. Moreover, I was not aware of this until just now, but the movie was based on a book and I do not know how much of this is derivative of that book. I will certainly be reading it.

For the second time, I am sitting at the DMV, this time more fortunate than last because I thought to bring my laptop. Hopefully they’ll get to me before they close this time. I’m three hours earlier than last time, but you just never know with the government.

This is, however, a great opportunity to point out some of our lovely government’s many flaws. There must be at least 50 huge 21″ LCD monitors in here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re 8 or even 5ms response times (the expensive kind). How many are actually being used right now? I see one, no…two. What are the rest for? Most of the applications only take about a fourth of the screen. Why do they need to be so big? And of course they’re running Microsoft Windows, the most expensive of all Operating Systems. I’m actually rather pleasantly surprised to see they haven’t upgraded to Vista yet. Soon, though, no doubt. Microsoft Office, of course…after all, where would they be without Word? Using the dreaded OPEN OFFICE? Oh no. (end sarcasm) What a gargantuous squandering of tax funds.

It’s a nice building, in a nice location, with probably a couple acres of rarely-used field in the back, with a widely spread out road and functioning traffic lights supposedly for drivers’ tests. But I’ve never once seen someone out there being tested. Why can’t we let the independent companies do this? The only frugality here is the uncomfortable chairs and lack of carpeting (except, of course, in the back area).

And that’s only the beginning. I cringe to fathom the enormous expenditures big brother makes on keeping things top secret, and on the classified items themselves. It’s quite disturbing: the government spends so much of our money hiding the truth from us, the truth that nobody would stand for if they knew: drug companies, oil companies, and the government itself are all profiting hugely from our ignorance.

I know, I know. I’m just one of them crazy conspiracy theory hippies. I hear that a lot, but it isn’t a fair argument. Look at my evidence, and disagree if you want to, but don’t call me crazy unless you’ve got evidence directly contradicting my theories. If you do, I’ll listen, and I’m prepared to change my views.

Here’s some things you need to know before you read the rest of this article. First off, how do politicians afford their growingly expensive running campaigns? A few enthusiastic supporters perhaps, but more than anything it’s the oil industry and the drug industry. They have so much money, and so few morals, that they come out on top. We live in a dictatorship, and things are dictated based on what will make these two companies money. The oil industry would die if an H²O-powered vehicle were released, so they stop it or pay someone else to stop it, going as far as to make overzealous inventors, shall we say, “disappear”. This is proven time and time again in history, assuming you look at the history book with a mind open to any motive, even if it means our government isn’t the great, exalted organization many believe it to be.

I didn’t know until recently, but underneath the polar ice caps are actually massive fields of oil. Quite an interesting fact, I find, but even more interesting that it has been kept so quiet. Certainly the average person would be able to tell you that Mexico and the Middle East are packed with oil, but I have never heard of oil underneath penguin paradise and ol’ Saint Nick’s humble abode.

If you assume oil is the ONLY way to power a vehicle (and thus ignore the many alternative fuel solutions that have turned up and then disappeared suddenly), it’s too expensive and inefficient to drill through miles of ice for oil when there’s still some around more accessible areas. Sure, we all know it’s running out, but not for several decades, and precious few care about what is beyond those years. The oil companies, on the other hand, know the truth: oil is running out much more quickly than they let on, and there is little time to spare. They need to get to the oil on the top and bottom of Earth.

We know (or are assuming for the sake of argument) that big oil pays politicians to get their way. That is completely immoral, and if they’ll do that, what would stop them from taking the next step? Paying the people who really run this country…the people behind the scenes that are playing their roles down to suggest that the figurehead positions have actual power. Big oil wants money, and they’ll do anything for it.

But at the same time, they’re still trying to hide that technology is far beyond what the public knows, because then the electronics companies (who they surely have stock and other interests in) would stop profiting from the public’s naivety by holding out on the new while they wring out the old for every penny (read: wtf? Only 4GB iPhones?). Therefore they can’t just come out and tell us the truth: that they have and have had for some time had a device that will melt ice on a large scale. They create a “scientific phenomena” that explains the melting caps, and even come up with a bunch of rhetoric to justify the fact this year has turned up historic levels of cold and snow, all across the country.

Of course there remains a possibility that none of this is true, that the oil companies are telling the truth (ha!), and that “Global Warming” is real (bigger ha!). I don’t have all the evidence, because it’s being hidden from me, and hidden from you. But the facts seem to come together in a way that points at my theory. I am prepared to admit that none of it is true if you can provide me with some undeniable evidence, but I doubt you can, because I’ve racked my brain the last few days since I found this out about the ice caps, and it fits together like a charm.

Just in case you’re curious, I finished this article during my third trip (and third long wait) to the DMV. I was turned away because it costs $13 for a replacement license. So, let me get this straight. You spend 15 minutes of your time in order to waste 8 hours of mine, then print a small laminated card which I don’t even get for several weeks when you finally get around to mailing it, and now expect me to pay you? Excuse me, but I’m a graphic designer. I charge $30 an hour, thank you very much, so if you want to bring money into this, I think I come out ahead. But never mind all that, let’s pretend for a moment that a $13 is reasonable. Now you’re telling me you only take cash? You can afford two 21″ LCD monitors for every staff member here, but it would be terrible for you to waste money on a way of accepting credit card numbers…

This government needs to be overthrown.