Enough of politics! Its time for some good memories. While scavenging through my media, I stumbled upon the DVD of the white water rafting trip my friends and I made during 2005 Memorial Day weekend. I don't feel like writing anything about the trip right now but here is the video (split into two due to size and length restrictions).
Go straight past the checkout counter, turn right and go further down the aisle. This takes one to my favorite corner in my library - the audio books. The first thing I do is get my iPod Touch sniffing through Amazon for bestsellers while I browse for those titles. This time my eyes fell on "An Inconvenient Book". I took it out of the shelf and decided to borrow it as it sounded funny.
Though I liked "An Inconvenient Truth" by our buddy Al, I don't really agree with him on quite a few things. I agree we are contributing towards global warming but if someone says we are "responsible" for it, nope! Hey I don't mind making millions selling green underwear saying "we gotta go green". I believe in capitalism my friend. I know the conservatives are loving me for this. But before it gets too far, let me make it clear, I'm not a blind supporter of either of them but guess I can call myself center-left. Let's go back to the book.
I didn't pay much attention to the author of the book and hence had no idea what to expect except for some Al Gore ass kicking. The first chapter was funny with a lot of stats rebutting Gore's data and analysis. I could easily tell this guy was way on to the other extreme but was a welcome change from the stereotypical green mania everywhere nowadays. The second chapter was about life and I was really lost. As I heard more and more of the book, I knew there was something wrong with this guy. Not only did he sound demented but I could also see the poor dude getting abused when he was a kid - a disturbed childhood, that's what some people call it. While some of his statements/allegations sounded like nonsense, some were ridiculous and the reset were absolute bullshit. Clinton's name (both Bill and Hillary) would pop up out of nowhere and he would go behind them. Then came Edwards at random intervals. Finally came the point when I could not bear it anymore. Glad that I returned the CD to the library before I broke it. Now, the author of the book is none other than Glenn Beck - total jackass. There's also another author, Kevin I Don't Care Who.
After all this left bashing, now I had to go get a right trashing book that would compensate for the damage done. "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" by Al Franken. With more than 3000 reviews on Amazon and 4/5 starts, this was the obvious pick. Two CDs into it, no regrets. Obviously this is an extreme left leaning liberal dose but nonetheless funny. Don't get me wrong, I ain't saying what Franken says is right or it makes sense. Though he may be showing only one side of the story, at least it is not total nonsense like the Beck dude. It's just ass kicking Ann Coulter followed by Rupert Murdoch followed by Bill Oreilly followed by Hannity followed by...
For about a month (sometime during Nov/Dec last year), I was constantly observing the Google Talk status message of a friend of mine. It said "xyz - and the great ronald reagan". This "xyz" kept changing every day and was nothing to do with politics. He is a very good friend of mine. We went to Rutgers together and the last time we met was more than 2 years ago. While I remained in the NY area, he started to migrate towards the mid-west. A migration from Blue to Red. This became more and more evident as he was pretty smart when he was here but his brain cells (not all. Only the rational ones) seemed to start dying gradually as he moved more and more inland, away from the coast. No wonder he was turning red. To be honest with you, this new development in him did not really concern me as much as the next one did.
Just before the swearing-in ceremony of the new president Barack Obama, my friend had "one more day and all good is going to end" as his status message. Wait a minute... "all good?" excuse me but what is "all" good that one can imagine, even in the wildest of ones dreams, in the recent past? The record home foreclosures? The collapse of Wall St? The sky high gas prices till recently? Is it all the good the last president uh, um... who the hell was the president before Barack? I knew my friend was a little biased based on "color" but, oh well, let me not go there. Moreover, as far as I can remember, I was taught that "white" was a color. Hope it still is and if it still is, who are you in favor of, if you are against colored people? Boy, see how many questions I have. I'm really ignorant. Coming back to the point, I was very curious to know if my friend's behavior was "Oklahoma Effect" (he lived in OK* for a couple of years) or some conservative girl friend he might have found. Well... will come to know of it when I talk to him the next time. By the way, I don't really have anything against conservatives in general. Its just the 'religious' type that I don't like. This is nothing to do with religion in personal life, its none of my business but trying to influence the state is what throws me off.
*I saw a lot of stuff that said "We are OK, you are not" when I visited Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sort of punch line for them I guess. Well... get this guys. You are just OK, everyone else is awesome!
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