Why.

Lunch.

Back when I was young and full of energy I worked for a couple of agencies that worked with the developmentally disabled. I worked in group home and assisted living facilities. It was a job that I liked, though I knew that I wasn’t destined to do it forever, and it was a job that pulled on my heart strings and helped me grow in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise found. I learned a lot about the human equation during those years.

One of the daily chores that I would help the folks¹ complete was the assembly of their lunches for the next day. These folks, regardless of their age, brown bagged it to the various day treatment or workshop programs they attended during “business hours”. Each of the folks was responsible for making his or her own lunch and as a residence counselor or manager I assisted with the process. My assistance was dependent on the skill set of the individual. Some folks needed help manipulating a knife to spread mustard, others needed to be shown the difference between ham glaze and strawberry jam and yet others had no concept of lunch at all and just knew that whatever came out of the brown bag made them happy. Others could assemble the lunch on their own, they just needed some guidance as to what would be healthy and what probably wouldn’t be a good choice. After a year of addressing and guiding healthy choices with one particular woman, she found a great deal of pride in gaining the skill to assemble a healthy lunch on her own, based on what she had been taught.

A Chicago Area School has banned students from bringing in lunches from home. The students must eat what is served from the cafeteria or else go hungry. Principal Elsa Carmona said that the food coming from home wasn’t nutritious enough so she banned brown bagging it.

So, if a mother wants to make a homemade meal for her child, she can’t. Her kid must eat the processed crap that school cafeterias serve these days. I have been behind the scenes in a school cafeteria. Pork comes in tubes with so much fat that you can pour the pork out of the tube. Hot dogs are a routine staple, French fries are a necessity and there’s always plenty of cookies around.

Not exactly a healthy offering, is it Elsa?

When I first read this article this morning I was became angry, because here we have another example of someone sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong and trying to dictate to others how they should live their life. I’m sorry but the school is not there to be a nanny or to babysit. A school is there to educate, and they are completely missing the mark because they are taking away the responsibility of the parent to teach their kid how to make healthy meal choices. I don’t understand why there isn’t more outrage about this.

There is a cynical side of me that thinks that this has to do with government reimbursements for the cafeteria — a sure way to help the school budget. But I won’t go down that road because it could just be me being cynical. However, I won’t buy one word of the principal’s claims that she is trying to help the students eat healthier until:

anything that can be found in a Happy Meal or at a hot dog stand is left off the menu
all microwaves are removed from the kitchen
all items containing high fructose corn syrup, preservatives or artificial sweeteners is removed from the premises.

I have written Ms. Carmona an email expressing my feelings on the subject, after trying to call her but finding all circuits busy (I guess she’s popular today). I’m interested in seeing her response.

¹ The people I worked with at the homes were just folks. We didn’t call them residents. Chautauqua County had a habit of calling them “the guys”, regardless of sex and Oneida County called then “the folks”. I liked “folks” a lot.

12 April 2011 by J.P. This Ain't No CNN. Why. 1

Snow.

The weather folks predicted rain today. There would be lots of rain with highs in the upper 30s/low 40s. Murky but manageable for a Monday.

It is 11:30 and 2 1/2 inches of snow has fallen since I arrived at work at 07:45. Yay for meteorological accuracy.

I have decided that I must be stupid. Living in this part of the world gives us snow when many Americans are talking about the wonders of spring, gives us the opportunity to pay some of the highest taxes in the country, let’s us listen to politicians croak on and on about how great they are in an accent that doesn’t apply to anyone north of Westchester and gives us the dignity of living in an area known as the Rust Belt.

Stupidity.

I dream of desert sand, warm winds and dry air. I’d be downright giddy over a mobile home that has an adjacent storm cellar. I don’t care if I live in a shack the size of an outhouse. If I’m warm, have some sort of job (even though I have to ask “if I want fries with that”) and have my loved ones still loving me, I’m good.

I don’t need Park Avenue. I’ll settle for the Haney place.

Happy first full day of spring!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

21 March 2011 by J.P. Why. 0

Japan.

I am very saddened, but somewhat fascinated, by the tragedies in Japan. I am finding the US news outlets to be somewhat contradictory in their assessment of what’s going on over there so I’m following various sources on the Internet and from news outlets from abroad.

The part that fascinates me is the stories of hope. This morning I read that a man was found sitting on the roof of his house after the tsunami hit. The interesting aspect of this was that the man and his roof were 10 miles off the coast in the Pacific. Apparently he had survived the crushing waves and had drifted out there.

That gives me hope.

Watching video clips of the tsunami wiping out entire villages or hearing stories about how there are entire trains missing is very disheartening. Reading that nuclear power plants are thisclose to meltdown is scary. But the stories of hope and survival give us a moment of triumph in a horrible, unimaginable situation. I can’t imagine what folks are going through. I hope I never find out first hand.

In this day and age it’s rather fascinating to see how easy it is to donate to help those in Japan that need our assistance. Sending the message redcross to 90999 let’s you make a $10 donation charged to your cell phone bill. That’s kind of cool.

I wish I had the resources to go over and help. Instead, I hope the universe shares my thoughts and prayers with those that need them.

14 March 2011 by J.P. Spiritual Stuff. This Ain't No CNN. Why. 0

Taxes.

42% of my yearly incentive bonus from work went to taxes. 42%. And when I use my incentive bonus to buy anything, I’ll be paying one of the highest sales tax rates in the United States on my purchases. This bothers me too.

I’m either getting old or starting to think more. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.

11 March 2011 by J.P. Why. 2

Ads.

I remember when Dad brought home our first VCR. It was made by General Electric and now that I think about it, had a suspiciously 21st-century Apple-like design to it in a 1980s way. It was made of metal with a black base and went out of it’s way to be user friendly. The VCR tape mechanism popped out the top of the device. It was cool. The first show that we ever taped with the VCR was the Ann Jillian comedy “Jennifer Slept Here”. We recorded it from the over-the-air antenna and watched it 20 minutes after the tape stopped recording.

The very first thing that I discovered about this new fangled device that my father brought into the colonial-themed family room of our home was that, when you used the remote control that was tethered to VCR with a very long cord, you could speed through the commercials that were sandwiched between the reason that we taped the show in the first place. This nifty device could skip each and every commercial if we wanted to put into the effort of getting beyond a blinking 12:00 on the display. This was very cool and exciting.

I have despised ads and commercials ever since.

Fast forward to the present. There are countless ad-supported social networking platforms out there: Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, any and all things Google, the list goes on and on. In many instances, a developer will offer two versions of a mobile app (iPhone, iPad, Android, etc) to access these platforms: a free version that blinks a (hopefully) cute little ad somewhere on the screen and attempts to garner some cash for said social platform, and a paid version of the app, where one pays for the app itself and puts money directly into the pocket of the developer that developed the app, even if it’s the owner of the social networking platform itself.

At the end of last week Twitter released an update to the iPhone version of their official app. While the update took away several goodies, such as the ability to pick your own photo hosting service, it also introduced a new feature called the “Quick Bar”. This bar floats on top of your Twitter feed timeline and displays what’s trending at the moment, usually based on hashtags. The first thing that was displayed in my Quick Bar was “#blackpeoplemovies”.

I don’t care about #blackpeoplemovies.

Twitter states that the Quick Bar (which has since been dubbed the ‘dickbar’ after the COO of Twitter, Dick Somethingorother) is to alert users of what’s hot at the moment. One would hope it would say something like “#peaceinlibya” or “#girlscoutcookiesbeingdelivered” but instead it says something like the aforementioned #blackpeoplemovies or “#OMGbieberissuchagod.”

Now, this new Quick Bar is currently confined to the iPhone version of their app but there are hints that it is going to be included in other versions. Of course, one doesn’t have to use the official Twitter app, in fact, since this release I have opted to go back to Echofon. Echofon is an ad-supported app as well, however, the fine folks that own Echofon have also released a paid version of their app which works quite nicely AND it doesn’t include any ads flashing in our face. This is brilliant and quite frankly, something that Twitter could probably take a cue from. Judging by the rather large backlash against the “dickbar”, Twitter would probably hear a collective sigh of relief if they gave the users of their app the opportunity to either a. hide the dickbar or b. pay for the app and blast the dickbar to oblivion forever and ever amen.

Now I know that quite a few folks have got it in their head that the best way for the Internet to grow and flourish is through ad supported content, but like I did in 1983, someone, somewhere, is always going to find a way to avoid those ads and quite frankly I will do everything I can in my contribution to this experience to make sure that I share as many ways to avoid ads as possible with all my brethren users.

Now, back to Ann Jillian. Would today’s über politically correct society enjoy a show where a teenaged boy found the ghost of a beautiful woman living in his closet? I’m sure there would be some sort of backlash and it would undoubtedly be shoved in my face courtesy of Twitter’s dickbar.

#closetsarentforghosts

7 March 2011 by J.P. Geek Why. 1

The National Anthem.

So Christina Aguilera sang the National Anthem for the Superbowl this year. You may have heard that she messed up the words. She did.

I’m offended by her performance.

I believe that if you are fortunate enough to have the honor of singing the National Anthem live before an audience, the first thing you need to remember is that this is not your moment. This moment belongs to the country that all Americans love and you have a duty to lead a tribute to that which we hold dear.

The melody should not be screwed with. The word ‘brave’ does not have a dozen syllables with a wild assortment of notes. One of the most dignified performances I have ever encountered was done by the Dixie Chicks, where they performed the song in three part harmony. The tempo was normal and the blending of their voices was awe inspiring. They lent their voice as the song held it’s own.

The National Anthem is not a ballad. It is derived from a relatively lively old English drinking song, if memory serves it has something to do with “Anacron” or “Ananacron”. It’s not a slow number. Don’t make it something it isn’t.

Quite frankly, every American should know the words to the National Anthem, just as we know the Pledge of Allegiance or the way Christians know the Lord’s Prayer*. It should be a given that you know the words. Michael Bolton shouldn’t need a crib sheet and Christina Aguilera shouldn’t do an abridged version.

Don’t hassle me about whether I can do better. I don’t know if it can be compared but I have sung the National Anthem at two hockey games; my performance at one of the games was punctuated by fireworks being blasted over my head in the indoor arena as I sang the last note. I didn’t make the song my own, I used my talent to pay tribute to my country.

I was offended by Christina saying “thank you” at the end of her performance. Not because she was terrible, but because the performance shouldn’t have been about her, it was about the United States.

For the love of all that is decent, please stop destroying the National Anthem with your own interpretations. Lead the crowd in a song that everyone can participate in. *That’s* why you’ve been chosen to sing at the event.

Be proud, be humble and show some love for your country.

* I admit that I still have to sing the Lord’s Prayer in my head when it’s time to sing it.

Update 07 Feb 11 08:13: Reading through comments on various sites, I see that others share my opinions. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or if I just have specific expectations of paying tribute through the National Anthem, but others share my feelings. Here are two comments from The Washington Post editorial section:

Note to Roger Goodell (and his colleagues):

The National Anthem is NOT as damned lounge act in a third rate Vegas hotel.

Next Super Bowl (or World Series, or Final Four, or whetever,) get a band from any of the service academies, play the song with dignity, and listen to it being sung by 100,000 people…who know the damned words!

If you don’t know what a rampart is, go back to the 4th grade.

Sid Prejean
LtCol, USAF, Retired

Posted by: sidprejean | February 6, 2011 10:29 PM | Report abuse

I dislike every rendition of the national anthem by singers focused on their own performance rather than respect for the nation, it’s people, and the anthem. There are many groups, military, collegiate, etc. Who will sing the anthem properly. We do not need to listen to mediocre singers, changing the rythmn or the melody (often because they are unable to reach the high notes or keep time), trying to be “cute.” I am offended by self-serving butchering of the anthem. Can we please stop choosing “pop” performers who can’t sing.

Posted by: Eagle-Ed | February 6, 2011 10:33 PM | Report abuse

6 February 2011 by J.P. Everyone's A Critic. This Ain't No CNN. Why. 1

Again.

The news outlets are hootin’ and hollering about a “massive” snowstorm that is going to “blanket the lower Great Lakes and New England” Tuesday into Wednesday. The National Weather Service fired off the obligatory panic warnings with a Severe Weather Alert. I long for the days when that alert signal was reserved for an air raid attack or a nuclear meltdown. Now there’s a flash of lightning somewhere in the lower 48 and they fire off those stupid tones and send everyone running and crying like the god mode of SimCity. It’s stupid. But I digress.

The forecast they released predicts two to four inches of snow. This is a Severe Weather Alert? Show me a woman riding a bike in the clouds and we’ll talk.

I’m sure that at this stage of the game, even our friends downstate and in Boston would agree that two to four inches of snow in the northeast is no biggie. When did we become scared of Mother Nature?

I think the 24 hour news outlets are going to be the death of our country. I can get more reliable, less sensationalized news from various sources across the Internet. I typically follow U.S. News from non U.S. sources like the CBC, BBC and France 24. I even read the English version of Al Jazeera. These folks are not being controlled by corporations with a political intent and it’s good to get a perspective from someone outside looking in. Plus, don’t buy into the new American way of being hysterical about everything. I feel like the American news channels are controlled by ratings and ad revenue and that they hype things way beyond reality. Many buy into the hype and basically fear everything outside of their comfort zone these days but I enjoy trying to get a different perspective on it all.

The hysteria over weather this winter is kind of making me angry because there’s nothing we can really do about it. Make sure you have the basics stocked up, act responsibly and then simmer down and enjoy what Mother Nature is bringing us. That’s all you have to do. It’s actually fun to get snowed in once in a while. Worried about food? Cook or if you have to, pop open a can of pork and beans. Buy some C-rats if you’re super paranoid. If you can’t get out, you can’t get out. The sense of entitlement is futile when you’re messing with the elements. Just go with the flow and enjoy nature for what it is.

So what if the forecast turns out to be wrong and we get dumped on with three feet of snow in a day. We’ll shovel and scrape and get on with our lives and by April it’ll be melted and you’ll be enjoying the spring.

People need to chill, forget the ratings and stop buying into the hype. Seriously.

31 January 2011 by J.P. Why. 7

Flight.

31 people were killed and over 100 people were injured in an explosion at the busiest of Moscow’s airports today. Russian officials are calling it a terrorist attack.

Sigh. This really bothers me for a couple of reasons: I have family members that have flown through that airport on numerous occasions and people I love work for the airline industry. I am so tired of this perverted obsession with airplanes and airports. Like everyone else, I wish the terrorists would just stop it. My heart sinks whenever I hear of this sort of thing. I really think the human race has somehow shifted into reverse on the evolutionary PRNDL selection of gears.

I used to love to fly. There a few things more thrilling to me than getting into a two or four seat plane and soaring high above the earth. I used to find flying on a commercial flight to simply be a watered down experience of that thrill but now it’s become such a pain in the ass to fly that I have decided that I will drive to wherever I want to go unless there’s an ocean or something in the way. To me that’s very sad, but it’s reality. I hate the idiocy that has permeated the airline industry.

One of Alec Baldwin’s blog entries recently mentioned his thoughts on the airline industry and I found it to be most accurate. Referring to the airline industry after 9/11, Mr. Baldwin said this:

“The airlines were quick to take advantage of the new climate of security at the expense of all else. Whatever shreds of elegance were left in the US airline industry (most of it gone after the death of Pan Am) were yanked out and replaced with the public school bus system we fly on now.”

That really describes what flying is like now. Passengers are herded like cattle into a ridiculously minimal amount of space carrying obscene amounts of luggage, food and snacks to avoid any extra fees, with the hope that they won’t be left out on a Tarmac for five or more hours while the TSA tries to figure out the best way to blast passengers with an unhealthy amount of radiation for “security measures”. It’s a small wonder that more flight attendants aren’t popping open a beer and sliding down the emergency slide. The combination of security concerns, the declining sense of personal responsibility (especially with the passengers) and the lack of any sort of class with what was once a fairly classy venture has made the thought of getting onto an aircraft somewhat intolerable.

Now, I bitch about the state of the American airline industry because I don’t buy into the security theatre nor the corporate cutbacks of the airlines. No backscatter X-ray machine would have prevented the Moscow attack today.

This is sad, because as I said before, I like to soar. I wish others shared that feeling with me.

I grieve for those affected by the Moscow airport attack today. I hope I love long enough to see this kind of thing come to an end.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

24 January 2011 by J.P. Why. 2

Spray.

Dear Dunkin’ Donuts,

It appears that it is time for our monthly chat. I regularly order a large, unsweetened iced tea from your fine establishment. It is store #331323. The receipt you gave me says that you gave me an unsweetened iced tea. It looks like an unsweetened iced tea, but when the young lady was assembling my drink, I saw her take the cup and spray something into it. It looked like it could be an artificial sweetener. Perhaps it was antifreeze. Possibly high fructose corn syrup. I was hoping it was just a little extra water.

After tasting this drink, I can not figure out what you put in my cup and quite frankly I am mostly frightened by this. I say ‘mostly frightened’ because I am confident that whatever was sprayed in my cup was not a body fluid, so there is a small amount of relief.

We both you know you can do better.

Fondly,

11 January 2011 by J.P. Why. 4

Wow.

Many thoughts and prayers for everyone affected by the tragedy in Tucson today.

8 January 2011 by J.P. Why. 0

Why.

Lunch.

Snow.

Japan.

Taxes.

Ads.

The National Anthem.

Again.

Flight.

Spray.

Wow.

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