Bob’s Blog

Obama doesn’t like the idea of impeaching President Bush or Cheney:

“I think you reserve impeachment for grave, grave breeches, and intentional breeches of the president’s authority,” he said.

So, Mr. Obama. Can you explain to me what President Bush and his administration have been doing the past 5 years then?

I caved.

I watched a few minutes of that Larry King interview with Paris Hilton. And I came to this conclusion: She’s an even bigger, dense idiot than I could have ever imagined. Since she apparently found God, Larry King asked her what her favorite Psalm was. Her reply? She couldn’t come up with one.

A horrible, life altering 23 days in jail over a DUI. She says she got a “raw deal”. Let me direct you to the people currently spending their lives in San Quentin. I’m sure they’ll tell you about the horrible lives they’ve led and the “raw deal” they’re getting.

A woman completely dense and oblivious to the rest of the world (She, at one point, asked Larry King what “frivolous” meant). A woman who has no real responsibility. A woman who contributes nothing of substance to this world. A woman who still manges front page news and headlines over important things in this country and world.

On the same day this woman gets released from jail and does an interview with Larry King; Dick Cheney gets subpoened. On this day, we are currently engaged in a morally unjustifiable war. We have scandals within this administration. We have a genocide in Darfur and other human rights atrocities all across the globe.

And yet here we are. Paris Hilton makes front news.

So, let me ask you this American News Media: How does it feel to whore yourself out to this insignificant know-nothing of a person? And how does it feel to completely be nothing more than a soul-less, corporate machine?

Perhaps Larry King, Gretta Van Sustren, Nancy Grace and all these other “journalists” and hacks can take a note from this woman:

We live in an age where things are rapidly changing. We also happen to live in a country where we are lagging in things such as technology, math and science. Other issues within this country such as social security, health care, and education plague us and need to be completely reformed just in order to compete with rising countries such as India and China and much of Western Europe.

This video was passed along by my uncle and is worth watching. I’m sure it will open up your eyes some and maybe think twice about some things.

One of the more depressing things of being away for 5 years is seeing your neighborhood and city deteriorate right before your eyes. It’s not something that people living there might see, but when you leave and come back sporadically over a given time period, the flaws and collapsing neighborboods become more and more apparent.I was born and raised in Cleveland; it’s a place I love. While our city does not compare to places such as Chicago or New York, it is still a city that offers plenty of things whether it is through sports, culture, or history.

I spent the better part of my childhood in Collinwood – an area that is one of, if not the worst, in the city. I can remember Hell’s Angels “visiting” my neighbors at 3am and all of the houses that were torn down and condemned because of drugs. When I was about 8, we later moved to the suburbs east of Downtown Cleveland. Over the past 4 years or so, our neighborbood has worsened. There is a stark increase in crime with people and stores getting robbed just up the street from us. The schools have become more violent and more gangs have popped up. Just last year, our local neighborhood had to shut down a 100+ year old summer festival because of the stark increase of violence and gangs. About 2 summers ago, I was walking down to the corner of my street and was stopped and asked if I wanted to buy some drugs. I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with anymore of those things in my lifetime, but I suppose not.

People are moving out faster and faster as each year passes. Houses are now becoming abandoned and condemned whether it is because they can’t be sold or because of drug dealers.  Lawns and houses are becoming increasingly unkempt by their respective tenents.

The actual Downtown of Cleveland is often bare and empty. People don’t have a reason to visit it, other than to see the Indians, Cavs or Browns. There are no places to shop and homeless people are seemingly everywhere. There has been talk of rebuilding and renovating The Flats – Cleveland’s once hot spot. But I’m not holding my breath on that project.

And let’s not even talk about the actual school system here in the city.

 Last month, I took a trip down to Atlanta and a few weeks ago, down to South Carolina. While each major city has their problems, coming back to Cleveland and its suburbs was depressing and surreal and it almost became embarassing.

I don’t want to move from Cleveland; it’s home and it is where I’ve spent the majority of my life – for better or for worse. But at the same time, it almost feels like I am being forced out.

That is the most depressing part of it all.

My uncle sent me an email with this. Very interesting and very worth the read. I think, no matter how one feels about Microsoft as the corporation or what products they have put out, you cannot deny the philanthropy and charity that Bill Gates and his family have done over the years.

Still, I’m optimistic. Yes, inequity has been with us forever, but the new tools we have to cut through complexity have not been with us forever. They are new they can help us make the most of our caring and that’s why the future can be different from the past.

You can read the rest here.

As I was stating the other day regarding global warming, but now in video form and goes into way more detail than I did! Why aren’t more people thinking like this?

It’s been a while since I’ve given out any new music recommends and reviews.  So, I thought I’d  make a few new suggestions:

Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

I don’t think it’s their best work overall, but it is a very good album none-the-less. Very mellow and laid back, which comes as a suprise after their last album, A Ghost Is Born.  It contains some of their best work, however. Songs such as “Impossible Germany” and “On and On and On” are just absolutely stellar and are some of the best songs Jeff Tweedy has ever done.

Queens Of The Stone Age – Era Vulgaris

Generally speaking, I’ve become fairly bored with mainstream hard rock. I don’t think most of it is very good these days and truth be told, the only hard rock bands that hold my interest would be the Deftones, Muse, Metallica, CKY, and this band. This album is full of hard rock, psychedellia, groove, and a touch of weirndess. I don’t find it as good as Rated R (my personal favorite) but it’s a definite step up from their previous album, Lullabies To Paralyze and is solid through and through. The song “Sick, Sick, Sick” is just phenomenal and it’s rare that a hard rock song like that comes around. Heavy and groovy.

Sage Francis – Human The Death Dance

Hip-hop that is both thought provocative and meaningful. A lot of people hate what they see on MTV in regards to hip-hop. Well, here is someone who is doing it right. The focus isn’t so much on the beats, but on the words. There are layers upon layers of words and like anything else he does, it takes a few listens to pick up on what he’s speaking about. It’s an album where you get what you put into it.

Brother Ali – The Undisputed Truth.

The best hip-hop artist out there right now. Enough said.

Here is something I do not completely understand so perhaps maybe someone out there can answer this for me:

There is a lot of scientific evidence stating that the Earth is warming and we are currently under the pressures of global warming and that it is ultimately caused by us due to things such as CO2 emissions and we must now act to try and slow the warming down. There is also a lot of scientific evidence that states otherwise and says that we are in nothing more than a warming period and the Earth has experienced warmer tempratures in its history and we are not the cause of it.

So here is my question. Regardless of the evidence and what is or is not causing global warming, someone please explain to me why it is such a bad thing for us to try and cut back emissions, get off gasoline, and find new sources of energy.

Implementing such changes in our daily lives can only benefit everyone regardless if it slows down global warming or not. Cities will become cleaner, we will have less foreign dependance on oil, and we would all ultimately live healthier lives.

Instead. We sit here and bicker about what is causing it or what isn’t, who’s fault it is or whose fault it isn’t. I read blogs and see people bicker back and forth over the issue. Bloggers sit and point out evidence contradicting claims made by the otherside.

It’s all nonsense. What does any of that even matter? It has now become a political issue and any sort of substance and common-sense gets buried under liberals, conservatives, hack scientists, and news “experts”.

Is it really such a horrible thing to resist some of the above mentioned changes regardless if these efforts can slow down global warming or not?

Blogged with Flock

Huh. How weird. Mr. Wizard died at the age of 89 the other day. From CNN:

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — Don Herbert, who as television’s “Mr. Wizard” introduced generations of young viewers to the joys of science, died Tuesday. He was 89.

Herbert, who had bone cancer, died at his suburban Bell Canyon home, said his son-in-law, Tom Nikosey.

“He really taught kids how to use the thinking skills of a scientist,” said former colleague Steve Jacobs. He worked with Herbert on a 1980s show that echoed the original 1950s “Watch Mr. Wizard” series, which became a fond baby boomer memory.

In “Watch Mr. Wizard,” which was produced from 1951 to 1964 and received a Peabody Award in 1954, Herbert turned TV into an entertaining classroom. On a simple, workshop-like set, he demonstrated experiments using household items.

In honor of Mr. Wizard, here is a return of my scarring childhood memory of him and ditching us at his show. If you don’t remember this, or simply haven’t heard click and enjoy:

The Mr. Wizard Story.

Here is my favorite dictator of all time, courtesy of Neatorama:

After the USSR broke up in 1991, the Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan became an independent nation but had no identity of its own. Enter Turkmenbashi…

First, he took the name Turkmenbashi (Leader of All Ethnic Turkmen) and declared himself President for Life. Since then, he’s undertaken scores of self-aggrandizing – and bizarre – measures to make Turkmenistan a very unique place:

The airport in the capital city of Asgabat was renamed … Turkmenbashi.

Dozens of streets and schools across the country are now called … Turkmenbashi.

In 1998 a 670-pound meteorite landed in Turkmenistan. Scientist named it … Turkmenbashi.

The name of the large port city Krasnovodsk was changed to … Turkmenbashi.

The New president also renamed the months. January is now called … Turkmenbashi. April is called Gurbansoltan edzhe, after his mother. (Bread, once called chorek, is now also called gurbansoltan edzhe.)

In 2001 Turkmenbashi wrote a book – a combination of poetry, revisionist history, and moral guidelines – called Ruhnama (Persian for “Book of the Soul”). It is now required to be prominently displayed in all bookstores and government offices, and next to the Koran in mosques. Memorization of the book is required to graduate from school and to get a state job or even a driver’s license. Schoolchildren spend one entire day every week reading it. Since all Soviet-era book have been banned, most Turkmen libraries have only the Ruhnama and other books written by Turkmenbashi. In 2006 Turkmenbashi made reading the Ruhnama a requirement for entry into heaven.

In 2004 Turkmenbashi banned newscasters from wearing make-up. Why? He said he couldn’t tell the male and female news readers apart and that made him uncomfortable.

In 2004, he ordered that a giant ice palace be build in the middle of the same desert, the Karakum – the hottest location in central Asia. It will include a zoo with penguins.

Look at that! I want to rename entire months and have 50ft gold statues of me wearing a cape. Awesome.