Hello from Northeast Geek

Hello Friends,

As this is the first post of my first blog, I am very excited to communicate with you all about my views on just about everything. Some of you may agree, some may disagree, but if I can at least spark debate about what I think are important issues, then I've at least been able to get you all to look at our existence on this tiny planet that is our home in the great big universe. Also, as this is my first blog, you may have to bear with me as I flesh out my goals for these postings. Once I do, however, I hope you will all find it informative and entertaining.

Well, let me tell you a little about myself. I have been born and bred in Northeastern Vermont. I love the scenery and pace of life in my "sleepy little New England town". I lived in the midwest for a few years while I attended college, which helped me appreciate my home all the more. However, I feel it taught me to look at most forms of existence that don't necessarily exist here in Vermont, or at least aren't as publicized. I am very close to my family and small circle of close friends, and enjoy spending time with them as much as possible. I have a fondness for the absurd and the outright comedic inconsistencies of people in general. As my user name points out, I am very much a geek. I enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy entertainment (movies, books, video games, etc.). And yes, I do enjoy the occasional game of Dungeons & Dragons. However, in contrast I'm a HUGE football fan. I enjoy watching my favorite team, the Oakland Raiders (when they are not an embarrassment on the field due to the insanity of their senile owner Al Davis' incessant need to interfere with the day to day operations of the team and let the rest of the organization DO THEIR JOB!!! Well, enough on this rant. There will be plenty of time and future writings on the subject. In addition, I am a Classic Rock fan, and am very passionate about music. I don't play any instrument, and can't sing worth anything (the closest I get is playing the instruments on Rock Band and Guitar Hero), but I do enjoy music and find it a very strong emotional art form. Politically, I feel I am a middle of the road kind of a guy, loyal to no particular party. Which means, I have no problem jumping up and down on anyone from either party for doing something I feel is stupid, and giving praise to those I feel have done something positive. And to let you know, as an agnostic, I will occasionally attack organized religion. But to be clear, I have no problem with religious faith. My problem is the organization of religion that tries to weasel its way into politics and force it's views on the general populace (ie Muslim fundamentalists that kill all infadels in the name of Allah, just for exercising basic human rights; Christian fundamentalists that have an intolerance for living with anyone of different views like about homosexuality, abortion, civil rights, etc.) People should just let people be and believe in what they believe, as long as it doesn't infringe or hurt anyone else. I will RANT extensively, and at length on these subjects as well.

Well, now on to my first post. Please bear with me while I flesh it out. I have to get some generalities off my chest. Let me start with some problems I'm having with Hollywood. Now, I enjoy mindless escapism as much as the next guy, but what is this huge fixation for reality style TV. Are we, as a people, SO voyeuristic that the next generation of television programing is "scripted spying" on other people living their ordinary lives. Why do we care so much? What does it matter if Tiger Woods is having personal problems, or who Miley Cyrus is dating next. Really, who cares? I mean, yes we should appreciate people with talent, and choose whether or not to enjoy their particular artistic styles. Past that, though, shouldn't we just let the rest of it go and let these people live their lives. Come on, there's an entire TV network devoted to all things entertainment and micro report about ALL things the paparazzi report. This celebrity is shopping here, that one having dinner there, and another one getting sloppy drunk at this place. Again, who cares? Let them be and let their work speak for them. I think the only people that need to be held to a higher standard are politicians and teachers. Now, most will say "Northeast Geek, these celebrities influence our children and need to set a proper example." I say bull. I think that if a parent teaches their children well, to understand right from wrong, reality from fantasy, then celebrity influence decreases drastically. It all comes down to parents being parents and setting limits and not just giving into children's unreasonable demands just for a brief moment of peace and quiet. If you wanted peace and quiet, you never should have become a parent to begin with. Parenting is a HUGE responsibility. You're raising the next generation of people. What kind of people do you want them to be. Proper independent thinkers, or mindless drones easily influenced by the cheap and tawdry.

Speaking of cheap and tawdry, lets talk politics for a moment. Since when did we elect little children to represent us in government. In our current 2 party system, we have a group that says we want to do this and if you don't like it tough, and another that says if you don't do things our way, we'll just take the ball and go home. It doesn't matter which party, they both say this. I think if we have a system more like some of the European nations that have 6 parties (3 different conservative and 3 different liberal parties), there would be A LOT more compromise and more things would get accomplished. It's absurd to me that everyone thinks government works or should work to make ALL it's people happy. That's unrealistic. Too many people have so many different issues that are important to them. So, majority should rule. And I'm not talking about party majority, I'm talking about majority of votes. If that happens to line up to party majority, then so be it. We elect the officials we want into office. Mind you, some of us didn't want those particular representatives, but those are just the first round of minority voters that are unhappy. The majority spoke. DEAL with it. Better luck next time. Now, in government, same rules apply. Majority vote wins. Minority loses. DEAL with it. Better luck next time. This is the form of government our ancestors chose, and it worked pretty well for 200 years. Now, people talk about broken government. This is because we have a few minority losers (in both parties) that are, what we called when I was a kid, "Poor Sports". They can't handle loosing at all and are willing to destroy everything else just to win. Sometimes it's because of arrogance, and other times it's because they were paid by their lobbyist sponsors to achieve their result. Which gets me to Government personal greed.

How, as a people, have we allowed ourselves to be bought and sold like cattle to corporate greed? These folks are the ones that buy our government. And now, thanks in no small part to the United States Supreme Court, they can do it legally and publicly. This bucks against everything I stated above about majority and minority votes. They use money and greed to override this system and buy voters. When did we as a citizens decide as a majority that it was ok to sell our principles for a boat load of cash? Are we really that shallow? We must be. We are more concerned with which celebrity is shopping here, which celebrity is having dinner there, and which one is getting sloppy drunk at this place.

Thank you for your time, and I encourage you to please write and comment about my statements, whether you agree or disagree. Please let me know. As a true American, I welcome debate. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Northeast Geek