I cannot express how much I love this. LOVE!

I think he’s dead on. In fact it’s scary how much he took directly from my head…almost word for word. I’d also add that the same generation also grew up in uncommonly prosperous economic times as well – their entire youth as a generation was about unrealistic expectations top to bottom.

Ass douches!

She closed with this:

Whatever works for continuing to move people forward in positive directions is all that matters. Find that, and you’re one step closer to finding some peace in life.

That’s wisdom.

But if you’re not sure what you need to move you forward, go with my approach. Don’t overthink it.

Interesting.

I think being ‘self-aware’ more often than not borders (or crosses into) what I tend to feel is overthinking things. And when you’re overthinking things, you’re over-complicating them.

That’s not to say there isn’t ever a time and place for that kind of processing, but I’m not sure it’s a regular part of the flow.

I tend to trust general instinct – and either I’m too stupid to know it doesn’t work or it does. And if it does, maybe it’s just an innate ability to do that same kind of processing without being so ‘self-aware’ about it? Which would mean that in the big picture it is a necessarily part of the flow, I guess. So who knows?

And by general instinct, I mean I don’t need many periods of reflection or sorting out thoughs, ideas, situations and things. Am I too dumb to know I’m not as happy and my situation not ideal as can be or am I smart enough to understand that it’s never going to be perfect and worrying about wringing every last ounce out of it is a perpetual excercise in frustration?

Which leads me to an interesting observation I made long before this conversation. Compared to my online circle of influence, I’m a balls out impulsive, just go-for-it type. But compared to my real-world (you know what I mean) circle of influence, I’m an overthinker – very precise and thought out. Not sure what that means or if it matters, but it’s always been interesting to me. And if I think back, it seems I’ve always held two circles of influence like this – even when “real world” was all that there was. I wonder what that says about me?

First Person: 10 Days, No Spending

Do we really live in a society where it’a an accomplishment to go 10 days without spending money? If you fit the profile and identify with this line of thought, then I hate you and want to kick your teeth down your throat. I hope you die. You are the problem.

Stories like this and the one equating a lack of vacation with financial hardship are most likely just the tip of the iceberg in illustrating what complete pampered, candy-ass pussies we’ve become. I hope the system breaks down and you pieces of shit are forced to live a little. To find out what it’s like to survive and not just exist.

Fuck. There aren’t even words that can express how much I hate these people.

If The Science Guy Passes Out and Nobody Tweets It, Did It Happen?

I think it’s funny. I don’t find it edgy, dark, shocking or controversial. I guess I’m too subversive.

I still dig the Simpsons.

November 6, 2007 – Your Music Is Worthless
November 8, 2007 – Your Music Is Still Worthless
May 6th, 2008 – NIN The Slip
February 2, 2010 – The Plan To Save The Music Biz

What can I say? It irks me that this mentality took hold.

Today I saw this story showing how much (or rather how little) musicians earn online and what they’d have to sell to make minimum wage.

From the article:

If recording artists ever go the way of the blubber merchants, it won’t be because there’ll be no demand for their product. It will be because making recordings makes no economic sense.

Here’s the same info in chart form if you’re illiterate or like pink circles.

I dunno. It’s a pet peeve of mine. Mostly because something like music seems to me to be one of the most valuable things there is. I know it sounds weird to say I think there needs to be an incentive to create art, but I do.

I’ve grown to enjoy Red Eye over the past few months. Very entertaining more often then not and I liked this little conversation on Health Care reform.

(link)

And if you disagree, you’re probably a racist homophobe who wears fur to whale eating parties.

Done? Good. Neat post, huh?

I have a slightly different view. Mostly it comes down to semantics, but it changes the perspective entirely. I have no regrets. Not by Carrie’s definition. I subscribe to the “play it safe” or “good enough” or “fear of the unknown” method of looking back. That is to say the choices I made and the things I did put me where I am now and made me who I am…and I’m pretty damn happy with both. Could it be better? Probably. Could it be worse? Surely.

But to really suggest that there’s nothing you’ve done or experienced in your life that you feel sorry about or wish would have been different, is just not likely.

Feel sorry about? Ehhhh…maaaaybe. Not sure about that.

Wish had been different? Nope. Not one.

Wonder how things would be different had a given event in the past gone differently? Absolutely. But I don’t wish they were different – not one – because changes in the past most likely put me in a different place now – for better or worse.

I attribute it this way: If there is something in my past that, if given the chance, I would apply the 20/20 hindsight I now have and go back and do differently because I didn’t like the outcome, then it’s classified as a regret. Simple as that.

And by that definition, I can honestly say I don’t. If it’s small enough to have not changed my life in any major way, there’s no reason to sweat it. If it’s big enough that it could have changed my life, I probably still wouldn’t change it for fear of how it changes everything. As corny and cliched as it is, it’s that those things didn’t play out in a way I thought best that made me who I am and put me where I am in life…and I have no complaints so far.

No regrets.

Curiousity. But not regret.

Plus, it was a good excuse to use a Metallica lyric as a post title…which I’m already starting to regret. Damn!

“… Although I’ve gotta say, when I hear critics talk about out of control spending I start scratchin’ my head. I can’t help but remember, those same critics contributed to a $1.3 trillion deficit that I inherited when I took office. [applause]… I mean, seriously, I’m now president, so I’m responsible for solving it, but I don’t think we should have a selective memory. You hand me a $1.3 trillion dollar bill and then you’re complaining 6 months later because we haven’t paid it all back. [applause] A debt, by the way, that was partially the result of two tax cuts that went primarily to the wealthiest few Americans, and a Medicare drug program that wasn’t paid for. These are the same folks who are now complaining about health care, we can’t afford health care. You pass a prescription drug program and didn’t pay for it! Handed the bill to me. [Obama laughs]…”

… .. Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. [applause] I’m tired of hearing that … These folks need to stop scaring everybody. [applause and cheering]… .. …”

- Obama in Raleigh, North Carolina (rough transcript)

What does that even mean?

Pass my health care bill because I inherited a deficit? It’s ok for me to spend too much on bad ideas because those guys did too?

And what does that second part about takeovers and scaring people even have to do with the first part about the old guys spending and handing Obama the bill?

What’s the message supposed to be in that quote? Seriously, I’m not being facetious. Would one of my liberal friends take a moment to explain it to me either on my blog or on Facebook when it gets syndicated over there.

Great, ridiculous stuff, huh?

Here’s the kicker – this has actually happened to my wife…in real life…with one of her managers. They actually had to quit using the term “Black Friday” around the office.

Truth is stranger than fiction.