Posts
Today I was really struggling. Not because of the closing, but because I was helping with the K-Mart/Sears dot.com stuff. This means A-cushions (front and back different) tons of bands and welt, and the annoying big table that I described a while back, with its annoying computer mouse. Then, our boss came over just as I was going onto the next thing with a retail order which "is suddenly urgent". I raced back to my table with bells on my toes. Suddenly, our HR person posted something on the bulletin board. Just so you understand how silly this is getting, let me recap in chronological order:
Friday, 6 AM: Told that the reason that OT was cut from 10 to 6 hrs was because "Corporate doesn't want to pay OT when our efficiency is so low". Note- this is not a lie, boss just didn't know what was coming.
Friday 9:35 AM: All the new employees (including two cutters, maybe two sewers, and a "support person") were taken into the break room, told what was going on, and escorted out.
Friday 9:45 AM: The rest of us were called into the break room, given the bad news, and sent home. (Now you know why we came in Friday at all.)
Friday 10:50 AM: Discovered that the self addressed stamped envelope that was supposed to be in with our settlement statement we had to sign and send back was not in the package after all (Signing, among other things, was to indicate that the envelope was there. Ooops.)
Monday, 7:30 AM: Asked plant manager (who was the only one to escape the purge) when we'd be getting the SASE. "You mean, it wasn't in there??"
Monday 10 AM: Locally produced SASEs passed out.
Tuesday, 9:05 AM: Given the "suddenly urgent " retail order.
Tuesday 9:10 AM: Notice posted on bulletin board. Whole plant 10 hrs OT Friday. Sewers on 12-hour shifts starting Wednesday. Mind you, we aren't "efficient" enough to rate OT. 11 people fired Friday. Now we have OT. WTF??
Tuesday 9:17 AM: Funniest line of the day: Lead man in packing, "M", looks over at the sewers who just found out they are looking at 12 hour shifts, and says, "Congratulations, ladies."
Tuesday 9:35 AM: HR person takes down 12 hour notice, tells sewers it's cancelled. (Yep, 20 minutes later.)
Tuesday 9:36 AM: Inform HR person, "As long as this place is turning into a circus, I don't like heights and don't wanna train lions, put me down for getting shot out of the cannon. After all, you can only screw that job up once and you won't have to worry about getting yelled at about it." Funniest line honorable mention.
Later on, I kept giving helpful suggestions to our inventory chick. She was trying to figure out yardages on the Lowes fabric (which was getting sent to our other plants, along with the JC Penny fabrics. Suggestions included, "Considering the way they've sent fabric to us, you oughta pull the yardage tags out and send the stupid things unmarked." Later when she told our boss, "I have this roll here (little bitty thing) that says '28.96 yds'. I have this one here (same fabric, also little bitty) that says, '21.8'. And this one (again, same fabric but easily 4 times the amount on the other two combined) says '16. 35'. " My response- "Just right down the total on the tags, and the total the system says we have, and a note that says 'Pick one'." For her part, she wanted to pay corporate back by sending it all to them. Nice, but fairly impractical. I also tried to talk her into a road trip to Michigan to attempt a palace coup, but she seemed uninterested.
Funniest line of the day # 2- I was holding the door open for several ladies as we left and QC guy comes up.
Me: "You're no lady. I'm shutting the door."
QCG: "Yes I am..."
Me: NO, you're NOT!"
QCG (in his gentle spanish accent): "Yes, I am. Don' you see ta way I walk?"
And no, I didn't look to check it out.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Day #1 of the End of Arden... plus something really stupid
As we walked out to the car this morning, there was a gentle rain starting, with a roll of thunder far in the distance. One minute later it was cats and dogs with lightning everywhere. Lovely.
At work, it was unusually solemn. Like nobody really knew how to start things off. Everybody with under 200 hours (including the new cutters) got the golden toe Friday, so it was especially quiet in my area with new cutter (call her J) gone. We pretty much were having the smartass olympics at our end for the last 3 weeks, with cameo appearances by mechanic "Joe" who was developing an interest in J. One after another, people wandered over and chatted about the situation throughout the day, and though it was still kinda sad (I told my boss I didn't know if I needed a grief counselor or an anger manager, or just something more distracting than work), things started to relax.
Best line of the day: I was asked why cushions I cut 1500 of last week didn't have corners cut out. (Answer: They don't get corner cut-outs.) "Well, the sewer said they got corners, and we don't have the pattern in the book". Later, I came up to the lady and said, "Given that heart failure is an apropriate alternative to finding another job, I wasn't looking at having the coronary right off the bat!"
J texted Joe and said, "Tell Chris I miss him." I said, "Text her, 'Back atcha- and are you hungry yet!' " (J would say "I'm hungry!" every morning between 7 and 7:30 without fail.) Later, she texted Joe "Tell Chris, 'Sing it!' " (Another of our favorite running gags, usually said when the company CD player was playing somebody's cheap knockoff of Beat It.) That made me laugh loud and really cheer up- until I heard the next lines on the song playing:
You can't be 20, on Sugar Mountain
though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
you're leaving there too soon...
Arriving home, we had a "parcel at the office" note. Scrappy and I decided to hoof it down there to see what it was, as it wasn't raining yet. But thanks to Mr. I-must-check-out-every-insignificant-scent stopping to take a poop that I thought I might have to midwife, we got wet most of the way home. Perfect ending to the day.
__________________________________________
Now comes the something really stupid.
Jake Naman knew something was about to happen.
The 18-year-old from Redlands, Calif., was sitting inside a cavernous building in Seattle waiting to hear from Dan Savage, the founder of the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign.
Savage had been invited to speak to several thousand high school journalists attending a national conference hosted by the National Scholastic Press Association and the Journalism Education Association.
Naman, who is a yearbook photographer at Arrowhead Christian Academy, thought Savage was going to talk about his anti-bullying campaign. But the Christian teenager soon learned that Savage had a very different message for the students.
“I hope you’re all using birth control,” Savage told the teenagers as he began his remarks. From there, he regaled the young people who stories about his husband, describing how he looked in a Speedo. At one point, Savage imagined what it would be like with his husband on stage – telling the kids that they would have to pry him off his partner.
Naman was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the tone and tenor of Savage’s remarks. There were more lewd comments, profane words and innuendo. And then, Savage said something that made Naman take notice.
“The Bible,” Savage said with a elongated pause.
“”The very second he said the Bible and paused, I knew it was going to get ugly,” Naman told Fox News. “It was about to be a bashing.”
And Naman was absolutely correct.
“We can learn to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about gay people – the same way we have learned to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation,” he told the young students. “We ignore bullshit in the Bible about all sorts of things.”
Some will say what happened next took courage – but Naman said he was simply following the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And the entire moment was captured on a video that has now gone viral on YouTube.
The 18-year-old Eagle Scout and captain of the high school track team rose to his feet – and walked out – passing by hundreds of other students who were cheering the anti-bullying advocate’s profanity-laced rant.
“I felt like in my heart I couldn’t just stay there at all,” he said. “It was a really weird feeling I just had to get out. I didn’t want to cause a scene but I really could not stand to be in that room anymore.”
Jake Naman said he felt – bullied.
“If Dan Savage had gotten up there and said ‘God hates homosexuals and they’re all going to hell,’ there would have been huge outrage from that crowd,” he said. “As Christians we get the other side of that. When our faith is attacked like that – we are ridiculed for taking a stand against it.”
Naman thought that he was the only person who walked out – but when he got to the lobby – he learned that was far from the case. Arrowhead’s entire yearbook staff followed his lead – including his 16-year-old sister.
“I was shaking,” Julia Naman told Fox News. “I saw my brother pop up and leave and I took off after him.”
So did 17-year-old Haley Mulder.
“I never felt more hurt, felt persecuted,” Mulder said. “For me, my faith is what I Want to be defined by. For someone to say it was B.S. is really hurtful. I felt put down and bullied because of my faith.”
And then it got worse for the Christian teenagers. Savage directly targeted them with his remarks.
“You can tell the Bible guys in the hall they can come back now because I’m done beating up the Bible,” he said. “It’s funny as someone on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible how pansy-assed people react when you push back.”
Naman said a number of the girls began crying. He said it seemed like such a safe environment “But then Dan Savage went off and it didn’t seem that way anymore.”
“He had a position of power as a speaker and he was using that against a group of students who had never done anything to him,” Naman said. “I would consider that bullying.”
“He was completely insulting and degrading our faith,” his sister said.
Mulder said Savage needed to practice what he preaches.
“I felt it was ironic coming from a person who was talking about not bullying,” she said.
In all about a hundred students walked out of the speech, but Naman said many others wanted to. He said some Christian teenagers felt intimidated and were afraid of what might happen if they had left.
Still, the 18-year-old said one thing was certainly obvious – “The majority of the students did not support us at all,” he said.
Savage issued a partial apology over the weekend, saying he was referring to the walk-out as “pansy-assed” and not the students. However, he stood by his profane references to the Bible.
And there you have it, all the intellect and courage of the atheist movement. I know, before you comment, that many atheist don't act like this in real life. But a lot do. Put a kind comment on the Freedom From Religion Facebook page and see what it gets you. So tell me- would you want to support an anti-bullying campaign led by this "gentleman?" Point being, there are people who genuinely believe that there is no God, that logic and science tell them so. But they are being led by those who live their lives to attack "something that doesn't exist." And I know that their are those who would say, "I just want to make sure my children aren't exposed to the brainwashing of Christians." But you'd rather cheer this guy. Something's wrong with the picture, dudes.
At work, it was unusually solemn. Like nobody really knew how to start things off. Everybody with under 200 hours (including the new cutters) got the golden toe Friday, so it was especially quiet in my area with new cutter (call her J) gone. We pretty much were having the smartass olympics at our end for the last 3 weeks, with cameo appearances by mechanic "Joe" who was developing an interest in J. One after another, people wandered over and chatted about the situation throughout the day, and though it was still kinda sad (I told my boss I didn't know if I needed a grief counselor or an anger manager, or just something more distracting than work), things started to relax.
Best line of the day: I was asked why cushions I cut 1500 of last week didn't have corners cut out. (Answer: They don't get corner cut-outs.) "Well, the sewer said they got corners, and we don't have the pattern in the book". Later, I came up to the lady and said, "Given that heart failure is an apropriate alternative to finding another job, I wasn't looking at having the coronary right off the bat!"
J texted Joe and said, "Tell Chris I miss him." I said, "Text her, 'Back atcha- and are you hungry yet!' " (J would say "I'm hungry!" every morning between 7 and 7:30 without fail.) Later, she texted Joe "Tell Chris, 'Sing it!' " (Another of our favorite running gags, usually said when the company CD player was playing somebody's cheap knockoff of Beat It.) That made me laugh loud and really cheer up- until I heard the next lines on the song playing:
You can't be 20, on Sugar Mountain
though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
you're leaving there too soon...
Arriving home, we had a "parcel at the office" note. Scrappy and I decided to hoof it down there to see what it was, as it wasn't raining yet. But thanks to Mr. I-must-check-out-every-insignificant-scent stopping to take a poop that I thought I might have to midwife, we got wet most of the way home. Perfect ending to the day.
__________________________________________
Now comes the something really stupid.
Jake Naman knew something was about to happen.
The 18-year-old from Redlands, Calif., was sitting inside a cavernous building in Seattle waiting to hear from Dan Savage, the founder of the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign.
Savage had been invited to speak to several thousand high school journalists attending a national conference hosted by the National Scholastic Press Association and the Journalism Education Association.
Naman, who is a yearbook photographer at Arrowhead Christian Academy, thought Savage was going to talk about his anti-bullying campaign. But the Christian teenager soon learned that Savage had a very different message for the students.
“I hope you’re all using birth control,” Savage told the teenagers as he began his remarks. From there, he regaled the young people who stories about his husband, describing how he looked in a Speedo. At one point, Savage imagined what it would be like with his husband on stage – telling the kids that they would have to pry him off his partner.
Naman was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the tone and tenor of Savage’s remarks. There were more lewd comments, profane words and innuendo. And then, Savage said something that made Naman take notice.
“The Bible,” Savage said with a elongated pause.
“”The very second he said the Bible and paused, I knew it was going to get ugly,” Naman told Fox News. “It was about to be a bashing.”
And Naman was absolutely correct.
“We can learn to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about gay people – the same way we have learned to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation,” he told the young students. “We ignore bullshit in the Bible about all sorts of things.”
Some will say what happened next took courage – but Naman said he was simply following the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And the entire moment was captured on a video that has now gone viral on YouTube.
The 18-year-old Eagle Scout and captain of the high school track team rose to his feet – and walked out – passing by hundreds of other students who were cheering the anti-bullying advocate’s profanity-laced rant.
“I felt like in my heart I couldn’t just stay there at all,” he said. “It was a really weird feeling I just had to get out. I didn’t want to cause a scene but I really could not stand to be in that room anymore.”
Jake Naman said he felt – bullied.
“If Dan Savage had gotten up there and said ‘God hates homosexuals and they’re all going to hell,’ there would have been huge outrage from that crowd,” he said. “As Christians we get the other side of that. When our faith is attacked like that – we are ridiculed for taking a stand against it.”
Naman thought that he was the only person who walked out – but when he got to the lobby – he learned that was far from the case. Arrowhead’s entire yearbook staff followed his lead – including his 16-year-old sister.
“I was shaking,” Julia Naman told Fox News. “I saw my brother pop up and leave and I took off after him.”
So did 17-year-old Haley Mulder.
“I never felt more hurt, felt persecuted,” Mulder said. “For me, my faith is what I Want to be defined by. For someone to say it was B.S. is really hurtful. I felt put down and bullied because of my faith.”
And then it got worse for the Christian teenagers. Savage directly targeted them with his remarks.
“You can tell the Bible guys in the hall they can come back now because I’m done beating up the Bible,” he said. “It’s funny as someone on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible how pansy-assed people react when you push back.”
Naman said a number of the girls began crying. He said it seemed like such a safe environment “But then Dan Savage went off and it didn’t seem that way anymore.”
“He had a position of power as a speaker and he was using that against a group of students who had never done anything to him,” Naman said. “I would consider that bullying.”
“He was completely insulting and degrading our faith,” his sister said.
Mulder said Savage needed to practice what he preaches.
“I felt it was ironic coming from a person who was talking about not bullying,” she said.
In all about a hundred students walked out of the speech, but Naman said many others wanted to. He said some Christian teenagers felt intimidated and were afraid of what might happen if they had left.
Still, the 18-year-old said one thing was certainly obvious – “The majority of the students did not support us at all,” he said.
Savage issued a partial apology over the weekend, saying he was referring to the walk-out as “pansy-assed” and not the students. However, he stood by his profane references to the Bible.
And there you have it, all the intellect and courage of the atheist movement. I know, before you comment, that many atheist don't act like this in real life. But a lot do. Put a kind comment on the Freedom From Religion Facebook page and see what it gets you. So tell me- would you want to support an anti-bullying campaign led by this "gentleman?" Point being, there are people who genuinely believe that there is no God, that logic and science tell them so. But they are being led by those who live their lives to attack "something that doesn't exist." And I know that their are those who would say, "I just want to make sure my children aren't exposed to the brainwashing of Christians." But you'd rather cheer this guy. Something's wrong with the picture, dudes.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Scrappy Sunday
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| Butterflies everywhere. A couple about flew into me noggin, they did! |
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| Lots of mud flats- river's way down. |
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| Dad: "Go ahead, Boofus, it's okay!" Scrappy:"It's a little deep here for me." |
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| Our normal spot- much better. |
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| "C'mon, Dad, it's time to roll!!" |
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| Down one of those never-taken paths... |
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| ...which had us stumbling onto this little bit of open... |
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| ...in the midst of more forest primeval. |
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| And thence onto the mud flats. Usually this is all river... |
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| ...but now it's where Stony Run dribbles into the river. |
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| Along about here it started getting a little too mucky... |
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| ...and getting to the bank was even worse. So it was back whence we came... |
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| ...but someboby thought it would be fun to walk all the way back in the water. You should have seen his face when I told him I wasn't going that way... |
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| ...just so's he could play with the ducks way over there. |
Bethsaida, Chorazin, Capernaum, and Martin LTD
Last week I talked about how prophecy seemed to indicate that the United States part in in the plan seemed to be analogous to roadkill. I’m sure some of you might have said, “But we’re one nation (mostly) under God! How can this be?'” Well, this morning’s Ed Bousman sermon kinda pointed out I might need to answer this question.
Now, one way to do that might be to go down through the appropriate Biblical chapters in Ezekiel and Revelation and list all the similarities to Tyre and Babylon the Great. But I think it might be better to list the qualities of the cities mentioned in the post title and then look at things. These were three towns nestled at the north end of the Sea of Galilee. Between them, they were the homes of the apostles, Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Phillip. Capernaum was basically Jesus’ headquarters according to Matthew 4:13 and 9:1. The list of miracles performed in the area was astounding- the feeding of the 5,000, healing a blind man, healing the centurion’s servant, healing a nobleman’s son, healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, curing the paralytic, casting out numerous demons. As Ed Bousman said, “It should have been the easiest place in the world to believe in Jesus…”
…But what happened?
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[e] For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Matt. 11:20-24
Just to flesh out what the reference to Sodom entails, Bousman reminded us of Jude 7:
7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Get the picture? Because Christ LIVED AMONG THEM and they refused to believe, they were going to be worse off than people WHO’D ALREADY BEEN ROASTING IN HELL FOR 4,000 YEARS!
And then, Bousman added the line that by now you must know is coming: “Woe to you, Capernaum! Woe to you… America…”
Just like them, we are the easiest place in the world to know and believe in Jesus. And yet atheists are between 2-6% of the population and rising, and as many as 12% describe themselves as “non-religious”. And these are old numbers, people. And lest you say, well, 2% isn’t bad, remember that Mark says (1:29ff) that in Capernaum, the WHOLE CITY turned out after getting wind of the healing of Peter’s mom-in-law- but turning out doesn’t necessarily equal belief.
I accidently came up with an analogy this morning when I found my box of q-tips was down to the last two. “Put one back in, “ my dumb jokey voice in my head said, “and it will keep returning every morning, like the oil and flour in the widow’s jars.” I replied, It don’t work that way. The flour and oil was a miracle. Q-tips would be a convenience.”
Isn’t that what people want from God these days? A “miracle of convenience”? How many times I’ve heard, “I won’t believe in a god without proof”- basically, Habeus Corpus, God! That would make it convenient to believe. Otherwise, it just gets in the way of my evolution, my homosexuality, my secularism. Sorry, dudes, God never said belief is to be “convenient.” At leats, by the world’s standards.
And yet, Jesus is right here. In this nation. I got a dollar bill right here that says so…
Now, one way to do that might be to go down through the appropriate Biblical chapters in Ezekiel and Revelation and list all the similarities to Tyre and Babylon the Great. But I think it might be better to list the qualities of the cities mentioned in the post title and then look at things. These were three towns nestled at the north end of the Sea of Galilee. Between them, they were the homes of the apostles, Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Phillip. Capernaum was basically Jesus’ headquarters according to Matthew 4:13 and 9:1. The list of miracles performed in the area was astounding- the feeding of the 5,000, healing a blind man, healing the centurion’s servant, healing a nobleman’s son, healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, curing the paralytic, casting out numerous demons. As Ed Bousman said, “It should have been the easiest place in the world to believe in Jesus…”
…But what happened?
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[e] For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Matt. 11:20-24
Just to flesh out what the reference to Sodom entails, Bousman reminded us of Jude 7:
7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Get the picture? Because Christ LIVED AMONG THEM and they refused to believe, they were going to be worse off than people WHO’D ALREADY BEEN ROASTING IN HELL FOR 4,000 YEARS!
And then, Bousman added the line that by now you must know is coming: “Woe to you, Capernaum! Woe to you… America…”
Just like them, we are the easiest place in the world to know and believe in Jesus. And yet atheists are between 2-6% of the population and rising, and as many as 12% describe themselves as “non-religious”. And these are old numbers, people. And lest you say, well, 2% isn’t bad, remember that Mark says (1:29ff) that in Capernaum, the WHOLE CITY turned out after getting wind of the healing of Peter’s mom-in-law- but turning out doesn’t necessarily equal belief.
I accidently came up with an analogy this morning when I found my box of q-tips was down to the last two. “Put one back in, “ my dumb jokey voice in my head said, “and it will keep returning every morning, like the oil and flour in the widow’s jars.” I replied, It don’t work that way. The flour and oil was a miracle. Q-tips would be a convenience.”
Isn’t that what people want from God these days? A “miracle of convenience”? How many times I’ve heard, “I won’t believe in a god without proof”- basically, Habeus Corpus, God! That would make it convenient to believe. Otherwise, it just gets in the way of my evolution, my homosexuality, my secularism. Sorry, dudes, God never said belief is to be “convenient.” At leats, by the world’s standards.
And yet, Jesus is right here. In this nation. I got a dollar bill right here that says so…
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Suwon update
If you remember the criminally-botched rape investigation I featured in the post If You Think It's Bad Elsewhere..., I've just been looking up some more on this tragedy. From the Korea Herald:
After partially revealing telephone records, there has been public outcry over the handling of the 112 call. The operator was found to have focused on whether Kwak (the victim) had been raped and by whom, and failed to secure the location of the crime. The agent also reportedly left important information out when referring the case to the police, including the fact that the crime was taking place indoors and near an elementary school. Police arriving on the scene had initially searched neighboring playgrounds and yards.
Once the full record was disclosed, it was found that the victim had stayed on the line for more than six minutes. The victim’s pleas could be heard, while an officer said the call appeared to be about domestic abuse. Police initially reported that Wu’s voice was not captured on the tape, which was later found to be false. Members of Kwak’s family also reported that police on scene acted inappropriately with two officers sleeping in a police vehicle while the search took place.
Also it has been pointed out that some neighbors could hear her screams, and shrugged it off as a domestic fight and did nothing. And, another consequence has been a spike in hate-tweets against the Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans who lived in China and came "home" to work), egged on by the media's constant refering to the fact that the murderer was a Joseonjok. One site said that, just like after the Japan earthquake the media reported every little tremor, now the media lights on anything to do with "Chinese" Koreans. Sure is nice to see American "culture" being transplanted to foreign lands, ain't it? Oh, and speaking of which, here's one of those tweets, where a Korean lets us know their take on "multiculturalism":
Multiculturalism, you say? Are you illiterate? Don't you know history and ethnicity is what Koreans are proud of? It's a bullshit saying we should mix culture and whatever shit. Who the fuck speaks "multiculturalism?" Multiculturalism is made by immigrants of diverse background in the U.S., a nation where history is only about 200 years long. Stupid brats, U.S. is still in racist/cultural war against the immigrants. Also, 95% of the foreign laborers are underpaid daily laborers. You say it's "global age?" It's a global labor site. We should also require people to have money in their bank account and take fingerprints if they want to come. This is a global, low-skill laborer crime site.
Oh, yeah, but we're awful for wanting illegal immigration stopped.
After partially revealing telephone records, there has been public outcry over the handling of the 112 call. The operator was found to have focused on whether Kwak (the victim) had been raped and by whom, and failed to secure the location of the crime. The agent also reportedly left important information out when referring the case to the police, including the fact that the crime was taking place indoors and near an elementary school. Police arriving on the scene had initially searched neighboring playgrounds and yards.
Once the full record was disclosed, it was found that the victim had stayed on the line for more than six minutes. The victim’s pleas could be heard, while an officer said the call appeared to be about domestic abuse. Police initially reported that Wu’s voice was not captured on the tape, which was later found to be false. Members of Kwak’s family also reported that police on scene acted inappropriately with two officers sleeping in a police vehicle while the search took place.
Also it has been pointed out that some neighbors could hear her screams, and shrugged it off as a domestic fight and did nothing. And, another consequence has been a spike in hate-tweets against the Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans who lived in China and came "home" to work), egged on by the media's constant refering to the fact that the murderer was a Joseonjok. One site said that, just like after the Japan earthquake the media reported every little tremor, now the media lights on anything to do with "Chinese" Koreans. Sure is nice to see American "culture" being transplanted to foreign lands, ain't it? Oh, and speaking of which, here's one of those tweets, where a Korean lets us know their take on "multiculturalism":
Multiculturalism, you say? Are you illiterate? Don't you know history and ethnicity is what Koreans are proud of? It's a bullshit saying we should mix culture and whatever shit. Who the fuck speaks "multiculturalism?" Multiculturalism is made by immigrants of diverse background in the U.S., a nation where history is only about 200 years long. Stupid brats, U.S. is still in racist/cultural war against the immigrants. Also, 95% of the foreign laborers are underpaid daily laborers. You say it's "global age?" It's a global labor site. We should also require people to have money in their bank account and take fingerprints if they want to come. This is a global, low-skill laborer crime site.
Oh, yeah, but we're awful for wanting illegal immigration stopped.
The Great eighties countdown begins!
Yes, I am finally happy enough with the list and motivated enough to start this. This is going to be a bit different than the last two lists. For one thing, of this week's 20 songs, only thirteen charted on the hot 100; 2 were on the country chart, one made the adult contemporary chart, and three were charted on the Mainstream Rock chart. In time, you'll also see entrants from contemporary Christian music and other genres. Also, I'm going to try to give you the number of songs by each act. You'll see from the comments that the "emotional connections" often aren't there or as strong; this was end of high school and after, and the "angst" of childhood and high school was being replaced, sad to say, with alcohol and recreational drugs. Hopefully, though, I've plucked enough gems from the bunch to make this a lot of fun. So, without further ado:
300- Turning Japanese, the Vapors, #36, 1980. This English band claims the song wasn't about masturbation, but let's be real. A #1 song down under. (Should that be capitalized? Down Under, then.)
299- Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone), Cinderella, #12, 1988. Didn't realize I even liked these guys, but Nobody's Fool just missed. A Philly group, Bobby, but no Stylistics, eh?
298- Rainbow In The Dark, Dio, #14 mainstream rock tracks, 1983. I found out that Ronnie James Dio actually thought this was "too pop". Really? First of two times for Dio on the list.
297- Dirty Laundry, Don Henley, #3, 1983. Despite the left-leaning politics of Henley, a cool tune. First of two for Henley on the list.
296- I Ran (So Far Away), A Flock Of Seagulls, #9, 1983. Damn, a lot of 1983s here. An English band with a unique sound- so unique that they were nearly a one-hit wonder. Another #1 from Australia.
295- Subdivisions, Rush, #105, 1982. Rush hit #8 mainstream and #3 on the album track chart. A great look at being cool- or being cast out. The Canadian band will be back a couple more times on our list.
294- Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung, #2, 1986. "On the edge of oblivion/All the world is Babylon/And all the love and everyone/A ship of fools sailing on". Truer words...
293- Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Van Halen, #17, 1982. The second of their Kinks covers (You Really Got Me) and one of three of theirs on the list.
292- Seasons Change, Expose, #1, 1988. Our first #1 on the list is probably as big a surprise to you as it is to me.
291- That's My Job, Conway Twitty, #6 country, 1988. Around 1986-88 was my country period. And this one was a big tear-jerker for me.
290- At This Moment, Billy Vera and the Beaters, #79 (1981) and #1 (1987). Like everyone else watching Family Ties- as well as at least one guy ON the show- I fell in love with Tracy Pollan. This was her and Michael J. Fox's theme song.
289- Old And Wise, Alan Parsons Project, #21 adult contemporary, 1982. One of six by APP on this chart. Colin Blunstone, late of the Zombies, sang lead on this.
288- Cult Of Personality, Living Color, #13, 1988. A song to challenge how you look at political figures. It was written over the course of just one rehearsal.
287- The Devil Made Me Do It, Golden Earring, #79, 1983. The 50th anniversary of this Dutch band was celebrated last year. One of a pair of GE tunes on the list. The Continuing Story Of Radar Love was a very good greatest hits album.
286- Black Velvet, Alanna Myles, #1, 1989-90. Actually, I was deceived into thinking this was a 1989, but it was released on December 17th, so I left it in. This Canuck had #1 in Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden, and top 5 in 8 others. A great tribute to Elvis.
285- Hello Mary Lou, the Statler Brothers, #3 country, 1985. I couldn't let the countdown pass without the Statlers. We used to have great fun with our typing teacher, who was a big fan. Especially when they did a radio spot for McDonalds.
284- Shooting Shark, Blue Oyster Cult, #83/ #16 mainstream, 1983. One of two songs I saw a lot the week my dad was in hospice before he died. "It's a hard road to love you..."
283- Stone In Love, Journey, #13 mainstream, 1981. I was really surprised to see that this didn't chart on the hot 100, with how big Journey was becoming at this point. One of three on the chart for the boys from Frisco.
282- Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2, #7 mainstream, 1983. I like the way U2 got to the point of political battles. "The real battle is people dying, that's the real battle." A story of 1972's bloody Sunday massacre in Derry. One of three spots for U2.
281- Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg, #9, 1981. A true story that happened to Dan on Christmas Eve, 1976.
That's the first round, gang. Let me know whatcha think... and maybe come back next week for more?
300- Turning Japanese, the Vapors, #36, 1980. This English band claims the song wasn't about masturbation, but let's be real. A #1 song down under. (Should that be capitalized? Down Under, then.)
299- Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone), Cinderella, #12, 1988. Didn't realize I even liked these guys, but Nobody's Fool just missed. A Philly group, Bobby, but no Stylistics, eh?
298- Rainbow In The Dark, Dio, #14 mainstream rock tracks, 1983. I found out that Ronnie James Dio actually thought this was "too pop". Really? First of two times for Dio on the list.
297- Dirty Laundry, Don Henley, #3, 1983. Despite the left-leaning politics of Henley, a cool tune. First of two for Henley on the list.
296- I Ran (So Far Away), A Flock Of Seagulls, #9, 1983. Damn, a lot of 1983s here. An English band with a unique sound- so unique that they were nearly a one-hit wonder. Another #1 from Australia.
295- Subdivisions, Rush, #105, 1982. Rush hit #8 mainstream and #3 on the album track chart. A great look at being cool- or being cast out. The Canadian band will be back a couple more times on our list.
294- Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung, #2, 1986. "On the edge of oblivion/All the world is Babylon/And all the love and everyone/A ship of fools sailing on". Truer words...
293- Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Van Halen, #17, 1982. The second of their Kinks covers (You Really Got Me) and one of three of theirs on the list.
292- Seasons Change, Expose, #1, 1988. Our first #1 on the list is probably as big a surprise to you as it is to me.
291- That's My Job, Conway Twitty, #6 country, 1988. Around 1986-88 was my country period. And this one was a big tear-jerker for me.
290- At This Moment, Billy Vera and the Beaters, #79 (1981) and #1 (1987). Like everyone else watching Family Ties- as well as at least one guy ON the show- I fell in love with Tracy Pollan. This was her and Michael J. Fox's theme song.
289- Old And Wise, Alan Parsons Project, #21 adult contemporary, 1982. One of six by APP on this chart. Colin Blunstone, late of the Zombies, sang lead on this.
288- Cult Of Personality, Living Color, #13, 1988. A song to challenge how you look at political figures. It was written over the course of just one rehearsal.
287- The Devil Made Me Do It, Golden Earring, #79, 1983. The 50th anniversary of this Dutch band was celebrated last year. One of a pair of GE tunes on the list. The Continuing Story Of Radar Love was a very good greatest hits album.
286- Black Velvet, Alanna Myles, #1, 1989-90. Actually, I was deceived into thinking this was a 1989, but it was released on December 17th, so I left it in. This Canuck had #1 in Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden, and top 5 in 8 others. A great tribute to Elvis.
285- Hello Mary Lou, the Statler Brothers, #3 country, 1985. I couldn't let the countdown pass without the Statlers. We used to have great fun with our typing teacher, who was a big fan. Especially when they did a radio spot for McDonalds.
284- Shooting Shark, Blue Oyster Cult, #83/ #16 mainstream, 1983. One of two songs I saw a lot the week my dad was in hospice before he died. "It's a hard road to love you..."
283- Stone In Love, Journey, #13 mainstream, 1981. I was really surprised to see that this didn't chart on the hot 100, with how big Journey was becoming at this point. One of three on the chart for the boys from Frisco.
282- Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2, #7 mainstream, 1983. I like the way U2 got to the point of political battles. "The real battle is people dying, that's the real battle." A story of 1972's bloody Sunday massacre in Derry. One of three spots for U2.
281- Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg, #9, 1981. A true story that happened to Dan on Christmas Eve, 1976.
That's the first round, gang. Let me know whatcha think... and maybe come back next week for more?
Friday, April 27, 2012
Out with the old...
Today we got the news that our plant was closing June 29th. A lot of things I could say about this- but I'll defer for now. They're being very generous on severence, and giving plenty of warning. It still sucks, though, and thankfully they were wise enough to send us home and pay us for the half- day so's we didn't just stand around and get ourselves all worked up.
I'd rather do that alone.
Twenty years for me, 25 for Laurie. I knew not the first thing about really working when I went there. Don't feel much like I know anything about it now, other than I'll somehow have to do it somewhere else.
But you know what? It's nuthin' but a thing, and life rolls merrily on. I have a blog friend who has it a lot worse. Years of CHF, fighting weight and diet, fighting for insurance coverage, trying to see one last daughter through to adulthood. And then... the bad news she wasn't prepared to name on blog, so as to give it a permanance and reality. But the word "chemo" spells it out in big Gothic font. The other day, she posted one of those posts where you laugh about what you're going through, except the jokes ain't funny and you're working to an audience of yourself. Before I could read the whole thing, she'd taken it down. To me, even that's a poignant moment of courage- "You are NOT turning me into one of those people! You can't have my dignity!" Bravo to you.
And you know what? It's nuthin' but a thing, and life rolls merrily on. Scrappy and I went out for a walk and ran into mama fox and three, maybe four, adorable little kits sunning themselves. I tried to video, but by now you are all familiar with my camera, so if you really want to hear it, let me know. Mama fox saw us last, and jumped up, yipped at her already amscrayed litter (hence "hearing" the aforementioned video), and split. Scrappy, as usual, never noticed until she stood up and yipped.
Those little buggers were so cute, and so happy, and where will they be months from now? Where will any of us be? Sometimes all we have are a few stolen sunny moments. Or one more school dance. Or two months of work.
I'd rather do that alone.
Twenty years for me, 25 for Laurie. I knew not the first thing about really working when I went there. Don't feel much like I know anything about it now, other than I'll somehow have to do it somewhere else.
But you know what? It's nuthin' but a thing, and life rolls merrily on. I have a blog friend who has it a lot worse. Years of CHF, fighting weight and diet, fighting for insurance coverage, trying to see one last daughter through to adulthood. And then... the bad news she wasn't prepared to name on blog, so as to give it a permanance and reality. But the word "chemo" spells it out in big Gothic font. The other day, she posted one of those posts where you laugh about what you're going through, except the jokes ain't funny and you're working to an audience of yourself. Before I could read the whole thing, she'd taken it down. To me, even that's a poignant moment of courage- "You are NOT turning me into one of those people! You can't have my dignity!" Bravo to you.
And you know what? It's nuthin' but a thing, and life rolls merrily on. Scrappy and I went out for a walk and ran into mama fox and three, maybe four, adorable little kits sunning themselves. I tried to video, but by now you are all familiar with my camera, so if you really want to hear it, let me know. Mama fox saw us last, and jumped up, yipped at her already amscrayed litter (hence "hearing" the aforementioned video), and split. Scrappy, as usual, never noticed until she stood up and yipped.
Those little buggers were so cute, and so happy, and where will they be months from now? Where will any of us be? Sometimes all we have are a few stolen sunny moments. Or one more school dance. Or two months of work.
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