http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81374648/

The article discusses Mormons in politics  and surprisingly does the religion a service for their political candidates, namely Mitt Romney. It states, “Mormons are, by many measures, disproportionately successful… All boys from an early age learn to become (church) leaders…” and so on. Thankfully, the Economist did get a jab in there for both Mormonism and Christianity when they wrote in the same article, “How plausible is it that a semi-literate man in upstate New York should find golden plates written in ‘reformed’ Egyptian and translate them while burying his face in his hat, to reveal the tale of a family who left Israel in 6000 BC and ended up in North America? Then again, to be fair, how plausible are the miracles and resurrection of Jesus?”

Despite the great newspapers praise, I could not stop thinking about Amerca’s – obviously predominantly the GOP – mandate that a candidate be religious to hold office. It seems that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States” has been forgotten.

It is ridiculous that the GOP will obviously support not one, but two Mormons over any atheist. If an atheist ran as Republican, he would certainly cast himself a death sentence in the political realm. Absurdly, the GOP prefers people to believe that the Garden of Eden is in Missouri, the Native Americans are really a lost tribe of Israel, and “special” whitey-tighteys protect you from disease, as the Mormons do, than have godlessness – or as I like to call it, being realistic. (On a side-note, I would imagine most atheists wouldn’t run with the GOP because of their beliefs on, well, almost everything (except fiscal issues like myself)).

It is ridiculous to prefer someone as president who openly states that they suspend reason to have faith. I only hope that these stated Christians – like Bush and Obama … unfortunately – and Mormons really aren’t who they say they are. That way, they will only be something that we already know to be true – liars.

I can see it now, Andy Rooney sitting in his office at the end of “60 Minutes” looking as old and senile as possible, when a flash of lucidity hits him.  He looks directly into the camera and says, “you know what I hate?  Guys who wear baseball hats because they ‘like the hat.’”

Now, if you are a grown man and frequently wear baseball hats and you’re not at a baseball game or the lake, then, as Keyshawn Johnson says, “C’mon man!”  You are likely yet to graduate from the mesh ‘n tee uniform of high school.  Anyways, if you do insist on wearing a baseball cap out into public, please don’t wear it just because you like the hat.  There is nothing worse than someone wearing a brand new baseball hat with a flatbill and all of the stupid stickers still on.  This is how douchebags who “like the hat” wear their hats.  There is something distinctly “American” and awesome about pulling an old, worn out ball cap out of your back pocket while having a catch.

A baseball hat should say something about you by showing what team you pull for.   If you’re wearing a cap of the hometown team, it is likely not going to raise any eyebrows.  But if you are wearing a cap from a team halfway across the country, people might start to wonder why.  If someone asks you something about the team shown on your cap and you respond that you just like the hat, well then fuck you.  Here is a typical conversation with one of these douchebags in case you’ve never encountered one:

-Me, to douchebag wearing an Atlanta Braves hat: “hey what do you think of the Braves’ chances of winning the NL East this year?”

-Douchebag, who obviously doesn’t know what the NL East is: “uh, I don’t know, I just like the hat”

–This is where I would like to take Javier Bardem’s cattle gun from “No Country for Old Men” and shoot it right through the tomahawk on that piece of shit’s forehead.

Another example:

-Me, to douchebag wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat: “so, you think the Cards are gonna sign Pujols after the season?”

-Douchebag: “sign poo holes?”

–Bam! Odd Job hat, right there, headless douchebag.

These people fucking suck.  I think the reason that I hate them so much is that I have an overall distaste for people in general.  I don’t like small talk because I don’t want to hear your stupid fucking mouth flap around talking about things that only people with a room temperature IQ would find interesting.  But sport is one venue that I am always game to banter about.  Which is why, when I see a stranger while standing in a stupid fucking line at the DMV, I will give them shit for wearing a Cubs hat.  When the moron replies that he doesn’t like the Cubs, he just likes the hat, I want to strangle him with the rope that holds up the “wait here” sign.  A perfectly good opportunity to make the time less monotonous is wasted on a fucking dimwit.  I guess the moral of the story is I shouldn’t assume an ass clown who is wearing a baseball hat would know anything about the latest trades or the extra inning walk off from the night before, I should just assume douche until proven otherwise.

I have to agree with my man Toys. Guys that wear these hats look like idiots. And its not cool in hip-hop to wear a huge hat over your ears either

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-17/nba-all-star-game-white-men-cant-root

Either way, please take the time to read this and think it about it.

(my hyperlinks are struggling as of late – so please don’t be that big of a slug and just copy and paste this into your url….please)

I live in Oregon and work in the beautiful city of Portland.  It’s a great town, except for the people.

In their insatiable need to become the ultimate nanny town, the City of Portland is now discouraging people to smell nice.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41585214/ns/local_news-portland_or/

Whatever happened to simply saying to someone, “While I enjoy the scent of your perfume, it’s really strong and my eyes are watering as a result.  Would it be possible to dial it back a little?  Thanks!”

Of course in Portland, if you want to smell like pee, that’s totally fine.  I guess no one ever got an asthma attack from walking past the unwashed who choose to line the sidewalks of Portland and panhandle.

Thoughts anyone? Does anyone else live in a nanny town?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Zp7vfyew8 (for reason, its not letting me embed it in the post)

Aside from one of the most ridiculous dances ever -involving a bologna sandwich, Christie Brinkley is one of my favorite women of all. But the background music I think makes the scene entirely – June Pointer’s “Little Boy Sweet.” I searched for this song on iTunes and they don’t have it. One word describes that – horse shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz26RooSihI (again, not letting me embed)

If you havn’t seen this movie, get your culture game up!

Fortunately, I have a diverse set of friends who are very intelligent – and biased. Clearly, my conservative, military friends are going to provide a different outlook on Afghanistan than one of my friends in graduate school. So, that being said, I want people to – instead of voicing their opinion to me verbally, or through Facebook, or something like that – write me an email or facebook message with an idea they have and then formulate an argument. Considering I am very particular about my company, I know most posts will be interesting and will strike a chord with more people then I can alone. If they are not, I won’t let it be posted – I guess like an editor. Moreover, it doesn’t have to be an argument – recommendations for books, music, movies – anything you think is interesting…

I started this blog more than a year ago with this idea, but I never stressed it. When you begin a blog, it really is about you personally – don’t believe me? Just take a look at some of the blogs going around. I know people have a lot to say, but don’t want to go through the hassle to build a website with a caricature of their face as the slogan . Allow my website to be that forum where you can argue how you feel – maybe about just one thing, or maybe about many others.

In addition to increasing the popularity of my blog (which I have always wanted), it will fill my sometimes weeks void of writing good material. I have a full time job, want to fight professionally in MMA, and constantly trying to attain more knowledge. Sometimes, writing a blog takes a backseat – but it won’t if people contribute.

So, please, let me have it.

http://www.economist.com/node/17900482

I particularly thought this quote was of interest in, among other things, a evolutionary psychology sort-of-away, “The Anarchy and impunity of war goes some way to explaining the violence (of rape). The conditions of war are often conducive to rape. Young, ill-trained men, fighting far from home, are freed by social and religious constraints. The cost of rape are lower, the potential rewards higher. And for ill-fed, underpaid combatants, rape can be a kind of a payment.” (remembering that rape was once a payment to the victorious side in battle)

There is a lot of interesting points of discussion revolving around that simple quote – military discipline, simple economics, rewards of serving to name just a few. Just wanted to put it out there.

Concerning this particular crash, to this day, the investigation gives no clear answer. However, I watched this 52 minute documentary entitled “Crash of Flight 447″ on the whole situation last night (its on instant play on NetFlix). I highly, highly recommend it if you have some free time. If you are interested/terrified of aeronautical engineering and principles, then you can learn a ton from this.

If you forgot this disaster, here is a refresher.