Dread-Head's Blog

While hanging with a friend of mine at her mother's place her mother  gave me a HUGE hug as I was the only person NOT in the immediate family who was eating the spicy squid dish she'd prepared.  My friend jokingly called me the "blackest asian she'd ever met." That not withstanding I've celebrated the lunar new year for longer than I can remember. 

          Rather you call it Chinese New Year, Tet or just the Lunar New Year it's a celebration marked by a large portion of the worlds populace. It's twelve cycles are based on the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and each year has a character/personality all it's own.  The year in which you were born dictates many apsects of your personality.  The year coming to an end is that of the rat and the year which begins January 25th will be the year of the Ox.

      It is a celebration marked with fireworks, festive dancing, martial arts demonstrations and some of the best food on planet earth. It is a time to forgive one's debts and start anew. I look foward to it every year and seeing what each year will bring.

         Celebrations will occurr all throughout Asia and here in the US. Celebrate if you can with your Asian friends.  And if you're a staffer at Fox 26 give my favorite cuddly cutasian lady Pattie Sheih a hug for me.

I work in a public school. And honestly I have mixed feelings on the pledge of allegiance.  As a patriot I have no problem stating my loyalty to the country that I love and lay down my life, but on some level it seems as if we are being forced to do so each morning. 

                   Can forcing someone to say the pledge ever truly foster patriotism? True patriotism comes from within and can't be forced by requiring someone to say a loyalty oath every day. Each day when we say the pledge I rise and tell the students to do the same. Unfortunately as there are students from other countries in many of my classes some students choose NOT to rise as the pledge is being uttered and this is usually when I become irate. A student may tell me that he's "Not an American" at which point I'll remind him that while he or she might not be an American citizen they enjoy  certain freedoms that they probably don't have in the countries where they were born. 

      Today five students out of a class of 25 remained seated as we recited the pledge and immediately afterwards I walked up to each of them and told them that as a veteran of the U.S. Armed forces their disrespect for my flag made me "want to vomit." Men have died for the rights their parents immigrated here (legally or illegally) to enjoy and even if they choose not to say a pledge to my flag: would it harm them to show respect to their host nation and those in uniform who fight for their right to be disrespectful?

        On more than one occasion I've told children who remain seated during the pledge that even if they don't recite the pledge the VERY LEAST they can do is rise as others pay respect to both the flag and the nation. If I were at a sporting event in the UK and someone started playing "God Save the Queen" or were I in Canada and heard faint strains of "Oh Canada" I would come to my feet out of respect to both the country where I was, and those surrounding me to whom a flag represents all which they love about thier home.

I was born in December in Louisiana.  For those who have BEEN to Louisiana it's both hot AND humid and isn't exactly known for arctic conditions. I grew up here in Houston and can count on one hand the number of times it's snowed here in my lifetime. The first time I saw snow...REAL SNOW not the occassional two inches of snow we get here for a day once a decade was when I was a young Marine going through my MOS school in Millington, Tennessee.

         I woke up one morning and everywhere I looked was covered in a big, beautiful blanket of white.  Grass, trees, cars and mailboxes all had an impressive coat of white. I stood there like a big kid along with every other young Marine from Texas, Florida, California, Arizona and other places not known for snow and we started what could have been one of the biggest snowball fights in Marine corps history. Five minutes into it a Staff Sergeant walked out with a big smile and said: "Show of hands. Who wants to play in the snow?" All of our hands enthusiastically went up and he then said: "Come with me!" We followed him to the back of the barracks and he handed each of us a snowshovel. He told me and a buddy to "Play" on the quarterdeck in front of the barracks and the sidewalk leading up to it. and told the other guys to "Play" in our parking lot. For the next hour and a half we shoveled snow and at the end of it all built a clumsy looking snowman...which the Staff Sergeant promptly ordered  knocked down.

            Ever since then I've LOVED cold weather. Later that winter I suffered from snow blindness, but that didn't deminish my love for the snow.  When ever the temperatures drop here in Houston I love life. I've a dozen coats and jackets I NEVER get to wear and relish the opportunity to don one.  Not one of those ridiculous looking parka that it never gets cold enough around here for, but a simple jacket or a trench coat. The one thing I dislike about Houston winters is the lack of consistency. It can be 30 degrees when you wake up and 70 by late afternoon.

        Winter rules my friends.  Try wrapping yourself up in a blanket with the one you love in the middle of August. I remember one cold winter morning I went out for a run (but neglected to turn on my heater) and when I came in steam was literally rising from me.  How cool is that? Countries I would love to see in the winter? Japan, Russia, England, Sweden, Northern China, France & Germany. Cool rules people! Freeze me!

The other day I'm watching the tube when I notice a commercial about the Detroit record label that gave us Chuck Berry, Etta James & Muddy Waters. Chuck Berry is a rock and roll icon and playing him has been done so frequently it's hardly a hurculean challenge.

              Muddy Waters was a KNOWN womanizer who many struggling artist claim ripped off thier music.  It's even alleged that the STOLE the song "Got My Mojo Workin' " (His SIGNATURE TUNE) from a singer/songwriter in New Orleans who is still alive today and STILL regards him as one of the biggest horse thieves in the history of the music industry. The actor chosen to play him need only be able to capture a few facets of his personality.

            Etta James. My mother fondly tells me of growing up listening to the sounds of the Blues/jazz/Rock &Roll/R&B icon and how she once saw her in concert. Ms James has a mesmerizing voice that even the passage of time has yet to diminish and can TRULY be called a living legend. She succeded in the music industry as a solo female performer at a time when the industry was completely male dominated and did so on her own terms. She was a strong, definitive figure without whom another young woman named Aretha Franklyn would not have been able to rise from a Detroit church choir to become the undisputed "Queen of Soul."

           Etta James' impact on the worlds' music shall be remembered for generations thus the actress chosen to play this pivotal figure should be of utmost importance. Who was chosen? Was it  Academy Award winner Haley Berry? No apparently she was with child. Was it accademy Award Winner Angela Bassett who through a distinguished career has proven her versatility as an actress? Was it British actress Thandie Newton who with each new performance proves her extraordinatry ability? No. The actress chosen to portray this living member of music royalty was...BEYONCE KNOWLES.

           WHAT? This IS the same Beyonce Knowles who in the film DreamGirls gave such a vapid performance that she only made the already enormously talented Jennifer Hudson's performance even better by comparison. Some have said that Knowles wooden performance in the film might have contributed to Hudson's Golden Globe and Oscar victories.

         Don't get me wrong. I have no issue with Beyonce Knowles. She's a pretty local girl with a great smile, a beautiful figure, (a great manager/agent/dad) and can carry a decent tune,  and I think in time with more study might become a pretty good actress. Cher proved it could be done. Can anyone honestly say that when they saw Cher on the Sonny and Cher show in the 70s that they could imagine her becoming such a fantastic actress? Beyonce can become a great actress, but a bio-pic dealing with such an important figure in American music is NOT the place to learn to act. It's simply too important and there are entirely TOO many very talented actresses who would have better used the opportunity.

I'd be lying if I DIDN'T say that I love skating and that I rarely pass up a chance to be on ice.  When I learned that Discovery Green had an ice rink I simply had to check it out.

       I showed up ThanksGiving day with blades in tow and was ready to skate.  I was slightly miffed at having to pay the same admission fee despite bringing my own skates, I was slightly MORE preturbed by the fact that I was limited to an hour and a half session, but for the most part I won't say it was a negative experience.

     The staff was courteous and despite it being 80 degrees outside on the whole I enjoyed the cute little skating surface.  Aside from NOT getting a slight price break for bringing my own skates I had no real problems with it, although I still prefer larger rinks. But it was nice to skate in such an intimate setting.

         

As one analyzes politcal thought of the 21st century the name George W. Bush shall be part of the vernacular. While it can be argued that he shall go down as one of history's LEAST popular presidents his effectiveness CANNOT be over looked.

Consider this.  Prior to being elected governor of Texas Bush's only political experience came by watching his father run for congress and later the presidency. He ran for governor ADMITTEDLY out of SPITE ( "Ann Richards embarrassed my daddy." ) and was elected in an OVERWHELMING margin. As a one term governor he used Karl Rove's Lee Atwater-esque tactics and smeared a venerable war hero named John Sidney McCain with liebelous half truths and outright lies in order to steal the GOP Nomination from him. He admitted that his favorite "Political Philospher" was Machiavellii. We're talking about the SAME Machiavelli whose treastie "The Prince" is in essence that the ends justifies the means when power (either it's aquistion or retention) is concerned.

      Bush obviously forgot to mention the great Sun Tzu's "Art of War" in which he said: "When capable, feign incapacity." For the bulk of the past eight years, a man who graduated from Yale reveled in his detractors painting him the buffon as if he were Falstaff to Cheney's Henry or Claudius to his Caligula.  One seldom views those whom thought to be stupid or the least bit slow witted as any sort of threat.

       George W. Bush rather than proving his intellect directly played the fool and ignored the constitutiion, congress, the supreme court and the rule of law in general has he passed an agenda that circumvented all of the aforementioned. The credo of his administration?  "To hell with you...I'm the president." Whenever called on "bad" or unpopular decisions he simply pretended to be a dullard. In the process he dismantled the framework of his own political party and reshaped American and geo politics as a whole. To wit I say:  well played Mr. President.! While I vehemently  disagree with the BULK of your administrations agenda I must compliment you on a hand well played. 

      Government WITHOUT the consent of the governed. As you once said:

"I have no problem with a dictatorship...as long as I'm the dictator."

You sir after 8 long years of an economic and energy policy that looked as if it was written by chimps (which I NOW know was a brilliantly crafted doctrine that ruled people based on the premise that they are too ignorant  & stupid to know what is in their best interest) have my respect.

 

I once heard a prominent conservative (I can't remember which) refer to certain members of the black community as "poverty pimps." Initially I was offended by this, but then I had a little time to think and realized the fool was right. There was a point when men like Frederick Douglass and women like Sojourner Truth were the voice of men and women who couldn't speak up for themslves.  A Phillip Randolph, W.E. B. Dubois, Ida B. Welles, Baynard Rustin, Ralph Abernathy, Medgar Evers & Martin Luther King were corageous individuals who took their lives into their hands each time they spoke.

               They were great Americans and great people; however, the latest crop of self proclaimed "civil rights activists" see, to be a group of opportunist who don't ever seem to have real jobs who always seem to have time to stage protests in the middle or a workday. I won't mention any names, but I find it odd that someone can claim that he/she is a "community activist" by occupation,  live in a huge house (far and removed from the "community" they claim to represent and drive SUV's the size of Aircraft carriers.

       The election of Barack Obama hopefully shall be the death knell wo men and women who squeeze an income from the poorest Americans and use racial issues to line thier own pockets. It's MY fondest hope to see a gaggle of men and women with no marketable skills whatsoever struggling to find REAL JOBS rather than making a living from playing the race card to the benefit of noone but their own interest.

 

After seeing the film "What Dreams May Come" I was struck by the fact that each character in the film had his/her own realm in heaven where they were surrounded by a realm of what they perceived heaven to be. One character's version was a huge library. Anothers was a large meadow where men and women enjoyed a beautiful day. The film never says that one faith is superior to another and doesn't elude to one faith's idea of heaven. If this concept has any merit and you actually could design you own tiny domain in heaven, what would it be like?  In mine I would have a modest home with a fire place. A "Winter Wonderland" where It would always be snowy. I would be on the edge of a frozen pond or lake and the streets would be so icy that I and others could literally skate EVERYWHERE!      If you could design your own little domain in heaven, what would yours look like?

I almost didn't finish high school. I didn't have enough credits to graduate and didn't plan on finishing. I walked into the office of an Airforce recruiter and was shown the door before I got more than 6 feet into the door.      I walked into the office of an army recruiter. He didn't have any literature, he seemed to be incredibly unorganized and generally confused...I figured if this guy couldn't run an office...would I want to be in a branch of the military where I'd have to take orders from him?I saw the Navy's uniform and realized that I really didn't want to dress that way for any length of time.     I walked into the office of the Marine recruiters and an NCO named Staff Sergeant Battle convinced me:
1. To go back to school2. To earn the title United States Marine
I happily did both and on September 9, 1989 a funny looking kid from Lake Charles, Louisiana who had grown up in Houston ended one of the most intense training programs on the planet along with the other recruits of platoon 2055 Golf Company 2nd Recruit Training Battalion MCRD SanDiego and became a United States Marine.

         Those who have stood in the tiny yellow footprints of MCRD SanDiego or Paris Island know the pride I feel whenever I see the eagle, globe and anchor, old glory or one of our own in uniform. We are a fraternal order which has included men like Tyrone Power, Tony Curtis, Bob Keeshan, Ed McMahon,  Drill Instructor Sergeant Don Knotts (yes THAT Don Knotts), F. Lee Bailey, Gene Hackman, Mario Puzo, Brian Dennehy and some men and women who have made the world a much better place. So to all Marines, past, present & future, a PFC from Houston..(.who hated getting his haircut twice a week) Wishes you all a happy birthday day.
Semper Fi and Ooooooorah!

I have always, and will always respect Senator John Sidney McCain. I did not vote for a man whom I've long considered one of my heroes in this election, but it wasn't for want of respect for him. In the midst of what had to be one of the ugliest and most divisive campaigns of my lifetime when tiny minds on both ends of the political spectrum attacked both candidates I said nary a bad thing about the venerable Senior Senator from Arizona nor shall I ever, and nor shall any American who truly loves this country.       In conceding the 2008 presidential election, the Senior Senator from Arizona nearly brought a tear to my eye when he said that he would work with his former opponent as his president.  My admiration for that great man grew as I heard him talk of unity and cooperation in the coming years.      The times ahead of us are far from easy and neither the president elect nor the Senior Senator deserve to be taunted or annoyed by the small minded. Let us follow the examples of these two men and work together for the good of this great nation. God bless you Senator McCain.


I'm Dread-head....and I approve this message.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008The 2008 Presidential Election: Epilogue A tall, lanky man stood before the statehouse in Springfield, Illinois and announced his intent to run for the office of the presidency of the United States. The bulk of his political experience had been in the very same Illinois statehouse. He wasn't born in Illinois, but had chosen to migrate to it. He had been sent to Washington but was seen by those who opposed him as an ignorant political novice.          His chief competition was a seasoned political veteran and their debates became the stuff of legend. When the smoke cleared and the election was over the tall, lanky man had been elected President of the United States of America.         We all know that man's name, but for those who don't his name was Abraham Lincoln and he is on both your five dollar bill as well as every penny you've ever tossed into a fountain.               Two years ago another tall, lanky man who had immigrated to Illinois from Hawaii rather than Kentucky stood before the same statehouse in Springfield, Illinois and was given the same odds that a young lawyer and congressman named Abraham Lincoln had been given. His opponent was an experienced Stephen Douglas, Obama'swas Senator John McCain. President elect Lincoln  had to face a fragile union destined to  fracture, Obama takes the helm with a nation in financial crisis and fighting two wars.           Parallel between Lincoln and Obama aside, the longest political campaign in our history has finally ended. Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States and in victory thanked John McCain for his service to a grateful nation.        John McCain like the American hero he is urged his followers to get behind president elect Obama as we as a nation face one of the most trying times in our history. The campaign was a long, hard and ugly one and passions ran high on both sides. Truly intelligent McCain supporters simply said that Obama didn't have enough experience. Truly evolved Obama supporters said while they had philosophical disagreements with Senator McCain, respected him as a great American.        The ignorant called Obama a terrorist, questioned his citizenship and an elitist. The truly stupid attacked McCain's wife for once having had a drug problem, questioned McCain's sanity and called him a racist.
       The United States has survived the election of 2008 and hopefully the next four years will see the next president and the Senior Senator from Arizona working together to show us what we as Americans can achieve when we put aside our differences and place the greater good above petty politics.
(also posted on my Blogspot blog)

Hey God,

                  It's me again. I know you're busy so I'll keep it brief. As you know, (given that you're omnicient) we here in the United States are having an election. Two guys have put their cases foward as to why each of them should be our leader.

                  Lord, I ask that you protect both of these men from those who disagree with their respective ideas and would attempt to harm either of them. I ask that you protect both candidates, their running mates and the men and women whose passions lie in supporting them.

                   Let whichever candidate who prevails put the needs of our nation ahead of a political agenda and let who ever he is have a successful term and PLEASE let them live to see the end of it. Let the end of this election find Americans of every race, ethnicity, gender and faith come together to support our president whomever he is and realize that aside from political differences we are ALL Americans.

             Please give our new president the strength and wisdom to lead us through these troubled times and let us as a nation not be devided on the conclusion of this historic event. I ask these things in love and faith and in your name.

Amen.

J.J.H aka Dreadhead...but you knew that.

Blogs are for the most part individual opinon pieces. The purpose of a board such as Fox26's and those simular to it is the free exchange of ideas. One of the great things about these United States is that each of us is granted the right to express our opinion without fear of our government censoring us even if our stated opinion disagrees with them.

        In the two years that I've been posting this group I have had some noted disagreements with men and women who while their opinions differ from my own I admire for their conviction and passion. We occasionally engage in childish name calling, but when the smoke clears there is generally a degree of mutal respect amonst those who blog on this site, so much so that we occasionally get together publicly and share a laugh and lunch. The world would truly dull place and no progress would ever come about if we all shared one opinion. As I'm sure I-right, Yahya, PB Mom, Chassan Mik 1 of3 and the good Reverend would agree.

      Recently I wrote a bit of satire on one of my other blogs and posted it here. Shortly thereafter I was accused (without any evidence or links of any kind) by Dirk 1965 of plagarism. In essence I was accused of stealing a piece I wrote. I have never cut and pasted or quoted anyone's work without acknowledging that it was in fact their work and never will.  I spent 4 years writing for a college newspaper and recently completed a novel. I would not want someone using my work without permission; therefore, I would not use someone else's.

       What Dirk1965 accused  me of  completely false and I consider his remarks to be slander. Journalist have lost their jobs over their jobs over such accusations. I am NOT offended by Dirk's assertions. As Former President Richard M. Nixon once said:  "One can only be offended by those he respects." I do however think he's crossed a line From this point on I will DELETE any comment he writes as response to any of my blogs and encourage all of you to do the same.

         We have to have some standards in blogging. If we allow one person to falsely accuse another of what is technically a crime then we might as well stop calling ourselves a "community."

    

 

If Iesvs of Nazareth Ran for President!...

I'm concinced that if Iesvs (I felt like writing it in Latin today) descended from on high tomorrow and decided to run for President of these United States:

a. The Christian right would question rather or nor he WAS Iesvs of Nazareth.

b. Some right wing A-hole would call him a tax & spend liberal for saying "Render onto Caesar that which is Ceasar's" and a Socialist for saying "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

c. Fox News would question rather or not he ACTUALLY turned water into wine.

d. Hannity and Combs AND Bill O'Reily would call him an alcholic because of having turned water into wine AND having wine at the last supper.

e. Rush Limbaugh would say he was "Soft on crime" because he once said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

f. Ann Coulter would question his "moral fiber" for being seen in the company of a known prostitute. (Mary Magdelin)

g. Some group of imbeciles would sue claiming that he was in fact born in a manger in Bethlehem and THUS isn't elligible under our constitution to BE president.

h. Someone would point out that leading 12 guys through a desert doesn't qualify as "executive experience."

i. Someone woud invariably write a book entitled "Son of Man?" using multiple quotes from Caiaphas (the High Priest who called for his crucifixion) Judas Iscariot (who ratted him out) and would probably twist a few quotes from Pontius Pilate.

j. G. Gordon Liddy would call him a "Long haired, pinko hippie."

k.  Some anonymous right wing blogger would say his being born in the middle east automatically makes him a terrorist.

Before anyone gets their respective silky undergarmets in a bunch I am NOT COMPARING Sen. Barack Obama to Iesvs of Nazareth (aka Iesvs Christ). I am however illustrating a point as to their "Un-Christian" tactics.

Thought you guys would enjoy a David Letterman classic. I've made a few changes to make it a bit more current. :-)

 

Top Ten Signs You're NOT going to win the Election.

 

10. Your campaign manager keeps mispronouncing your name.

9. On outside of letter you get from Publishers Clearing House: "You may
already be a loser!"

8. Campaign rally chants of "Four more years" refer to your prison sentence.

7. Your "motorcade" is down to a rental car and a fat kid on a bike.

6. All the TV ad time you bought was on FOX NEWS.

5. You rise to offer a rebuttal during a televised debate and the moderator
says, "Save your shoe leather, Grandpa, we're all voting for the other guy."

4. Next to your name on the ballot it says, "Yeah, right."

3. Ann Coulter won't return your phone calls.

2. During debate, your opponent says, "I knew Forrest Gump, I worked with
Forrest Gump, and you're no Forrest Gump."

1. Even you voted for the other guy!