Blackened Sun

Tiger Woods

So… Apparently the news still considers the things that Tiger Woods has done to be so vital to the public that he remains on the front page…

Wait, what was that? He only did one thing? Oh, cheat on his wife? That’s it? WTF.

Holy Hell, people, seriously. That’s all he did… Cheated on his wife. I’m far from condoning his actions… I absolutely despise cheating and do not stand for it at all, and will never do so myself.

But come on… Why do we hold celebrities and athletes to such high level… Hell, a level HIGHER than we hold ourselves?? So many in society cheat on their “loved” ones all the time, but you don’t see them having to leave their jobs over it, or losing their sources of income.

Hell, Gillette is now LIMITING TIGER WOODS’S ROLE IN ITS MARKETING over this!

I was reading, or listening to something (I think it was the Colbert Report) early last week, and he was mentioning how why did we expect Tiger to be part of a “perfect family?” All along, Nike and Gillette always portrayed him as a “man’s man”… Hell, Buick’s commercials never show him in a car with his family… He’s ALWAYS BY HIMSELF.

It’s really absurd how far the media, and the public, have taken his infidelity.

Honestly, stop this pathetic obsession of celebrities and athletes, and focus on your own lives, and making them as great as they can be. You’d be surprised how much better your life can be if you drop all of this pointless drama in the lives of the rich and famous, and see what’s around you that matters far more.

Tiger Woods is a great golf player, and his personal life has NOTHING to do with my enjoyment of golf, or my ability to watch him play 18 holes… Same goes for music, and movies. I don’t care what Tom Cruise did for vacation, or that him and Kate whatever her name is broke up. It doesn’t affect how good he is in the movies he plays in.

So why care about their personal lives?

Fashion, Politics, and Absurdity

Wow… honestly? How does Fashion fit into politics? I always figured that the changes Obama was doing with the country, with his recent attempts at health reform, energy reform, the closing of Guantanamo Bay, Iran, etc etc, would be far more important than what he wore to dinner with Michelle the other night.

Don’t they have anything better to do with their time than bitch and moan when they see Obama wearing “mom jeans” while throwing the first pitch at the 2009 All Star game? [source]

The president also offered some insights into his self-admitted lack of sartorial expertise.

“Up until a few years ago, I only had four suits,” the commander-in-chief said.

“I hate to shop. Those jeans are comfortable. And for those of you who want your president to look great in his tight jeans, I’m sorry. I’m not the guy,” Obama added.

Obama’s jeans choice for his all-start game appearance were widely panned by fashion critics and even dubbed “mom jeans.”

I’m glad he can make fun of himself for it though, or at least defend himself and say “I don’t give a shit about what people think when it comes to what I wear”… but in much nicer verbiage. He SHOULD wear what’s comfortable. He is in THE toughest job in the nation, and should be capable of the small things that relieve him in the slightest of the stress that is the Presidency.

I can’t believe that people actually complain about what the President of the United States is wearing. I’m actually rather curious, does this happen elsewhere in the world as badly as it does in America? I’ll have to bug some of my international friends to answer this for me.

I don’t tend to notice the fashion police in politics, usually, as I just don’t follow politics enough. However, I was very into the last election, and I’m anxious to see how Obama does his first term in office. I really don’t want him to fail because that would mean devastation to the United States. But when I try to load the news to find out about his latest actions, and I see articles left and right bashing (or praising) the clothes that Obama and the First Lady wear, or the fact that he bowed for the Saudi king was “bad” (unlike respectful as I perceived him as being)… that is just absurd.

I must add this – out of everything PETA may have to complain about, and try to fight for, they decide to call Obama out on killing a FLY?? [source] I know that little bit is old news, but I still find myself shaking my head and going “wtf?” when I think about it or talk about it. I mean, PETA goes to extraordinary lengths ALL the time.

Slightly off topic, I honestly think that PETA should give up their extreme stance to a point. Take “everyone should be a vegetarian,” for an example. Sure, I can understand them arguing for it, but obviously it’s not going to be an easy thing to change. So why not try eliminating the treatment of cows that is currently happening for those massive caged farms for milk and beef? Why not advocate “if you can’t stop eating meat, at the LEAST treat the animals right, and only buy organic, grass fed [etc etc]“… I mean, that would appeal to a larger audience, and they would be able to make (a certain percentage of) their goal (of achieving global vegetarianism) a bit easier to accomplish.

So… Fashion: Stay the hell out of politics and start paying attention to what matters when it comes to politics, alright? What the President or First Lady (or anyone really) wear has NOTHING to do with how they perform their job!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Please Recycle

I have been trying more and more at being more responsible about waste and the size of my carbon footprint. It is rather appalling how little Florida has any decent recycling system in place. Quite a long time ago, I got my parents into the habit of recycling when we lived in Massachusetts, due to the curbside pickup of recyclables. We were one of the first ones in our city to jump into it as soon as they offered it in our neighborhood. Now we simply can’t imagine not being able to recycle and do our part to help the environment through it. Their neighborhood in Florida offers the same service as in MA, with pickups… However, the neighborhood that I lived in, here in Tampa, or neighborhoods that I have looked at to move to, don’t seem to have the option. Not even a place I can walk and drop stuff off in.

Therefore I find myself “forced” to throw away recyclables (primarily plastic bottles and cardboard boxes), as I have no known option. I winced every time I put a bottle in the trash.

It really was my own fault. It shows my laziness when it comes to recycling. I really only seemed to truly want  to do it when it was a convenience for me. Storing all of the bottles and other recyclables in containers I’d have to buy myself, and have to research for a place to deliver the recyclables to, seemed to never come to my mind.

I keep all my plastic bags, and try to bring them to Publix (who have receptacles ONLY for plastic bags), but it’s hard to remember to grab the bags to put in the car before heading out to the store. I have kept all the brown paper bags that I have gotten from Whole Foods since I started shopping there. I have a few cardboard boxes still from deliveries to my house, that I would love to be able to recycle if possible rather than toss them into the trash. Perhaps even just using them as storage boxes for around my house.

I am trying to find some decent aluminum water bottles to use (such as SIGG, but it’s a bit expensive), instead of buying bottled water, as much as I despise FL tap water. I got a lunch box (well, it was a giveaway from one of the SXSW events) for my lunches instead of using paper lunch bags. I’m going to start using aluminum foil for my sandwiches instead of the plastic bags that I currently use.

I don’t even know where to begin if I wanted to get back into my recycling groove, however. I need (and will) to sit down and plan out what my options are, and also look into my new (well, not quite yet) neighborhood has any recycling capabilities built into it.

I have made the first steps of getting my work to be more eco-friendly by working with a coworker on our own recycling enforcement. We’ll purchase the bins, and bring the recyclables to a facility ourselves, just to make sure people are recycling. Currently at work, we throw away a LOT of soda cans and shredded paper, every day. We really want to change this.

I hope you’re taking care of your environment, and perhaps my initiative and post will convince you to take more actions to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle more aspects of your lives.

Being Charitable

I have really noticed over the past year that I have been trying more and more to be as charitable as possible. I’ve looked around society and see how few people seem to donate anything, without expecting something in return.

Hell, even I’ve committed the same flaw when it comes to charity. I didn’t donate to Obama’s campaign fund until I saw a free shirt was involved. But someone’s run for presidency isn’t quite what I mean by charity, obviously.

I have certainly do my best when it came to friends needing help. I have given one friend money so they could make it through the month with their bills and groceries to feed their kids. I have given another money for a laptop purchase before going to Army boot camp. In those cases, however, I was expecting them to pay me back. I have certainly also loaned money to family as they may need it.

I have also participated in some Charity Auctions. Specifically the Auction to Benefit the Homeless, hosted by my alum; Worcester State College

This year, so far:

• I have donated money to the American Lung Association, in the form of a coworker running up the steps of the Bank of America building in Tampa (Climb Tampa 2009)
• I rode my bicycle for Multiple Sclerosis from Miami to Key Largo, having to raise 300 dollars. (Zimmerman MS Bike Ride “Breakaway to Key Largo” 2009)
• Donated money to Lung Cancer research for Mother’s Day. My mom is an incredible lung cancer survivor. Discovered at stage 3 (American Cancer Society)

As it gets closer to the “holidays” (Christmas), I’ll be donating to Child’s Play Charity as I try to do every year. They are an amazing charity set up by a couple video gamers. Absolutely 100% of the proceeds raised go to Childrens Hospitals all over the world. It was begun, in part, to prove to society that games do not make people violent. The amount that gamers and game companies have donated every year to this charity has been mind-blowing. Always exceeding expectations.

I have done more this year than I typically do in a 5 year period, and I don’t want to stop. I’ve jumped on serve.gov to see what stuff I can volunteer for, and I just want to do more for people who need help. Hell, I’ve been keeping granola bars in my car for homeless people, because it’s food, it’s good for them, and it’s my way of guaranteeing that they’re actually doing what they should be doing with the money by cutting out the middle man. I mean, if I give them a dollar, and they use it to buy liquor, that doesn’t help anything, so why not give them food. They DO carry signs saying “I’m hungry” after all…

What do you do for charity, for your city, for your neighborhood, for your friends?