No apologies…

I woke up today with a completely different post in mind, talking about my experiments with turning my indoor cats into outdoor cats. Then, this popped up on my radar shortly after getting to work today. It’s a British PSA about texting while driving. It’s brutal and horrible to watch, reminiscent of today’s gold standards in horror movie fare. There are a lot of folks out there watching it, and scoffing at the “reality” of the scenes depicted; picking apart the details and ridiculing the message within.

Here’s the situation as I see it. You WANT to believe it’s not real. You feel the urge to disbelieve it because the reality of the situation is too terrible to accept.

ANY use of your cellphone while driving (not only texting), puts you seconds away from destroying something, someone, yourself, or any number of combinations thereof. It’s just that simple. I’m not going to apologize for this opinion. I’m not even going to try and hammer my point through your thick skulls. You either get it or you don’t. Deal with it.

Today’s thoughts…

There are a lot of folks running around upset about the current health-care situation in America. Folks on both sides are screaming at each other, some making up outlandish stories in an effort to cast public doubt on the other side’s arguments. It’s infuriating to say the least, and calling it childish would not give enough weight to the implications of the word. It brings to mind one of my favorite lines from a movie, Men in Black. In this scene, Tommy Lee is sitting down with Will Smith discussing Smith’s character’s assessment that people could handle the truth about aliens being present on Earth. To which Tommy Lee replies, “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow.”

I think it highlights an important fact about us as a human race. As individuals, we are capable of being extremely intelligent, wise, caring, and noble human beings. Collectively, we revert to our more base primal instincts, becoming more pack animals and responding with a herd mentality. Fear and self-preservation start to drive humans in mass quantities. This also highlights another interesting observation about the human race: we are the most adaptable creatures on Earth. Ever since we came into being on this planet, we have adapted to nearly every environment or world event that’s been thrown at us. Some lives were lost over the years as we learned how to survive, but we adapted and thrived. So here’s an interesting problem: why are the most adaptable creatures on Earth afraid of change? We struggle against it daily! We fight against aging with creams, colorings, and pills. We force down new technology and ideas in an effort to maintain the status quo.

So here we are again, with change on the horizon, and people are scared and angry that someone will force change upon them. Sadly, no one can convince these people  how far from the truth this is. Nothing I say here will sway them, nor will anything said by anyone else. The only acceptable course of action I suppose is to completely back away from the problem, and let these people growl and snarl at any who approach, lest they disturb the rotting carcass in their possession. I wonder how many reforms that we take for granted today were slandered and hated upon their presentation to society. Were Medicare and Social Security viewed as the first steps toward Socialism when they were presented before the people?

*Sigh*

Of note from the doctor’s perspective, today on CNN.com I read a commentary from a doctor who asserts that even with sweeping change to the health-care system, who will be around to service the patients of tomorrow? In his article, he asserts that he has already saved the insurance companies thousands of dollars over the years, through his efforts of judicious use of tests and refusals to order unnecessary procedures. He emphasizes personal responsibility for one’s own health condition, and urges simple life changes to effect improved health. Yet, by his and his colleagues point of view, what is his reward for this? A mere pittance returned to his bank account in return for saving the insurance companies money. He claims that within the next three years many primary care physicians will be leaving the industry due to low payments by the health-care system as it stands.

And here is where I take issue with his rant. How much money does he feel he needs to make to be adequately compensated for his time and expertise? Is he basing this off of what his peers are making? Or his lifestyle? Maybe his own personal goals of success?

How much do YOU need to make in order to be happy?

Clearly, he is unhappy with his current situation, and is justified in rethinking his career path. It would be a tragedy indeed if the system lost another good doctor in this struggle. But his attempts to blame it on the current system, or the one to come, fail with some motivational analysis. If he made more money, would he be happy? Doctors that go to school seem more motivated by the lure of high incomes than the thrill of helping their fellow man. But, it isn’t wrong to want a better life for you and your family. The urge to be successful lies within all of us. We have a driving need to be happy. So he’s not wrong to believe he’s entitled to more from the system, but how much more will make him happy, and for how long?

Peace.

Whoa….

Wow, I have REALLY been neglecting this thing. So much has happened since April, it’s a struggle to even try and formulate a coherent stream of thoughts about it. But, if you know me, that’s hardly a surprise. During the two years I spent in Germany, I was constantly harassed by my friends and family that I never wrote enough. From their point of view, I was living in another country doing exciting things. To me, it was simply day-to-day drudgery, and it always boggled my mind that someone else might find it interesting.

So bear with me as I work out some new stuff to post in the coming days and weeks. Till then, enjoy some Guild wackiness as the cast members shake their groove things in “(Do You Want to Date My) Avatar”.  As funny as this video is, I have to give kudos for making a catchy tune as well. This song has been bouncing around in my head all day, and I must’ve watched the video 10 times already. I hope you enjoy it as well.

A moving performance….

I have watched this video over and over since it came out on Sunday, and it still moves me every time. Before I go any further, please take a moment to watch it:

In watching this video, I am reminded of why I love opera and the singers that perform it. Yes, I know that Les Misérables is NOT opera, but her performance was a stellar one of a singer in the same fold. When I watch opera and listen to it’s music, I seldom understand all that is said as I do not have a mastery of the European languages. So it left to the singer to convey that meaning to me through their voice and actions. So many times the music will bring me to the point of tears, and yet the singer will leave me hanging, unable or unwilling to take me that single step further. That frustrates me to no end. I despise that I can hear the potential in someone’s voice; to grasp that they CAN take me there if they would only DO it. Over the years of listening to many, many singers that are technically proficient, there are but a few which will provoke that reaction from me. I am usually almost overcome with a desire to scream, “RIP MY HEART OUT, DAMMIT! DO IT!”, only to be left wanting and disappointed at the end of the performance. And then, without warning, someone comes along who gets it. They let themselves go deeper, and sang with emotion and passion, vocally taking me to a place of sheer ecstasy and beauty in their sound. I wish to live in that place of beauty when I hear it, and it makes me crave it all the more when I am deprived of it. That glorious woman in that video achieved what so many of the singers I’ve heard over the years could not. While she wasn’t technically perfect, and her nervousness broke through here and there, she sang with all her heart and it was wonderful.

God bless her.

Peace.

City of Heroes: The element of surprise….

This is a short story I’ve come up with to flex some of my creative writing skills. I have a plan to write some fan fiction some day, and I want to try and get some of the kinks out before I tackle something of that magnitude. Plus, some of this stuff is just plain fun. So here is a short piece based on some characters that the Bohemian and I play in City of Heroes. FYI: I play TechSabre, the Bohemian plays Kicking Snake.

“Four on the right, five on the left, and I see the boss in the back right of the room.”

Kicking Snake whispered into his headset, sneaking quick glances around the corner.

“If I pop out with my stealth-field active, I figure I can take out two or three before everything goes to hell.”

The comm was silent as he checked his bow and sorted his arrows so that his heaviest hitters came up first. Timing was crucial in every battle when you weren’t packing any armor. Every second you waste is just one more second the enemy has to take you out.

“Dude, are you even listening to me?”

“What? Yeah, I’m here,” came the reply. “I’m just finishing off the last group of these jokers now. Gimme a sec.”

“What did I say?”

The comm crackled and came back, “You said four on the right, five on the left, boss in the back. On the move….”

The bright metallic ring of swords being redrawn burst over the comlink.

Kicking Snake sighed and readied his bow. “Great, here we go again,” he thought.

Suddenly, a blur of steel and light flashed by him and entered the room. Where there once was tense silence and low conversation, angry shouts and gunfire erupted in it’s place. Kicking Snake counted three, and burst out firing his bow as rapidly as he could. His companion was a flash of swords, seemingly in every corner of the room at the same time. Seconds passed as foe after foe dropped to their knees and collapsed, arrows protruding from their bodies. One by one, they each disappeared as they were instantly teleported away to the hospital’s criminal recovery wing.

His breath came hard as he fired his final arrow, dropping the villain’s boss to the ground with a heavy thud. Kicking Snake tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth and he stopped to evaluate his condition. Blood seeped through several wounds, but nothing appeared serious. Looking across the room, he saw his companion take a knee, blood streaming down his side and pooling on the floor beside him. Miraculously before his eyes, his friend’s wounds began to close as his armor quickly repaired the damage. Within moments, his friend was back on his feet with a spring in his step.

“I tell ya, these nano-machines were worth every penny. Remind me to thank the doc when I see him next,” TechSabre grinned.

Kicking Snake groaned and stood, taking a few moments to pop some of the recovery tabs in his pouch. After he finished, he glared back at his friend.

“You’re a moron, TechSabre,” he cursed, “what would you have done if I wasn’t ready to go? Twice I thought for sure you were going down, and I worked my butt off trying to peel those guys off you! Never, NEVER, go before I’m ready! Geez, think about it!”

“Dude, the element of surprise gets ‘em everytime. If YOU’RE not ready, how can they POSSIBLY be ready?”, TechSabre grinned and adjusted his comlink. “C’mon, I think I hear a robbery in progress over in Talos Island. The police sound outmatched. You up for another round?”

“Only if you promise to actually listen and work with me this time,” Kicking Snake replied. Checking his wounds, he saw that he was almost healed, so he took a moment to count his arrows. “I’m not kidding, man, you have to listen or we’re gonna get pasted one of these days.”

“Yeah, yeah, you say that everytime,” smiled TechSabre, and activated his teleporter. “You need a lift?”

“Would you at LEAST let me try and drop a few before you rush in this time?”, Kicking Snake sighed. “You know, fewer bad guys, fewer bullet holes? You remember how that works?”

“Where is the fun in that?”, TechSabre called back, and stepped through into the shining portal.

Kicking Snake sighed, stretched and checked his arrows once more. “Here we go again,” he muttered and stepped through.