It is what it is

I hate that phrase, and I hate anyone who uses it. To me, it defines where we are at in America right now. We are largely screwed due to epically poor leadership, and growing despair over a never ending war. It is what it is. That is a statement of total resignation, which makes me sad.

Maybe it isn't about the President, or war, or this never ending Winter we are having. Maybe people just suck, as I have always suspected. It is what it is. It means: aw, fuck it. Who cares anymore? I care, reader... I care! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? No. Was it over when Nixon decided that "if the President does it, it isn't illegal"? No. So it isn't over now. Buck up, take some accountability, and don't ever say that phrase again.

Friday Fives

1. What are your favorite five movies?

Fish Called Wanda, Princess Bride, Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and Harvey (an old James Stewart movie)

2. Who are your favorite five musicians?

Billy Corgan, Eddie Vedder, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, and me.

3. What are your favorite five books?

Alice in Wonderland, everything by Herman Hesse, Curse of Lono, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Tropic of Cancer

4. Would you rather be able to consume fatty foods without gaining weight - or - be able to have unprotected sex with getting sexual diseases?

Well, I am married... so I ain't have that much sex. However, since getting sex isn't much of an issue, I would have to go for being able to eat whatever I want without consequence. There is a great quote from Woody Allen about sex, it goes like this: Sex is like air; it's not important unless you aren't getting any”.

I recently lost 20 pounds in a month by giving up all beer and all carbs. It was the Suzzane Somers diet, which is basically the Adkins & South Beach diet. No white food > potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, sugar... all no no's. I sure like pasta. It is super easy to cook and flavor, and super cheap to buy.

5. What are your favorite five desitinations?

Anywhere coastal in Mexico, anywhere in the forest, home, anywhere in Arizona, and Red Rocks.

We need to talk about the Departed. You know it won a buttload of Oscars. You know it starred a million great actors. You know we need only say 'Marty Scorsesee' to imply masterpiece. Well, they are talking about a sequel now... so I had to speak out. I watched it on DVD the day of the Oscars, knowing it would clean up. I am about to say something very uncool. You have been warned.

The Departed was a terrible movie. It made absolutely no sense. Every character was a young good looking white guy who was a cop and was also a bad guy at the same time. I was completely confused through most of the movie. Leo (who is one of my favoite young actors) plays a cop who is playing a mob guy but is still a cop. Mark Wahlberg is a cop who is secretly a mob guy. They all work for the main mob guy (Nicholson), who is also secretly working for the cops. WTF?

Then, it went on for nearly three hours. As for the sequel, well they seemed to kill everyone in the course of the movie. It is sad, really. I am an absolute huge fan of everything Matry does (Gang's of New York & Last Waltz are my favorites). I also dig the work of all the actors in this film. Their performances were terrific, but the storyline was so convoluted I had to read the back of the DVD jewelbox four times.

the gap in pay

On the news last night, they mentioned that women are still being paid less then men in the business world. So, I got all liberal raged when I hear about these sorts of injustices. Then, they gave some telling numbers. They said that after entering the workforce, 20% will leave within ten years to start a family. They also mentioned that the majority of women choose family over work, and men do not.

Well, that changes my feelings on the issue. While I absolutely feel that anyone should receive equal pay for equal work, there are mitigating circumstances. See, an employee is an investment.

After being laid off three times, I am quite confident... and employee is an investment. That being said, if someone said to you during an interview that there is a 1 in 5 chance they would leave the job to start a family... you might not consider them for the job. Problem is, you have to. It is against the law to discriminate... as well it should be. Still, though, the fact remains. Woman are more likely to put their family ahead of business. This is a good thing for America, but it isn't a good thing for businesses.

I always assumed that women made less money than men because of sexism, and false assumptions that women are less then men. We all know that is far from the case. I guess the reason women are paid less, and no one but me is willing to say this out loud, is because work isn't women's #1 priority... family is. Am I making sense?