Funeral Etiquette

I recently attended a funeral for a family member. It was a decent service...recalling some good memories and attributes of the departed, a few hopeful words of heaven and eternity to those of Christian beliefs, and reunion with some distant relatives. However, one thing really irked me. The individual giving the eulogy spent what seemed like 30-45 minutes speaking solely to put the fear of God in people's hearts, convert the non-believers, and solidify the beliefs of the believers. Not one mention during this lengthy rant of the deceased, just "serve God or else." Please don't get me wrong, everyone has the right to believe what they will, but there is a time and a place for everything. This was the time and place to honor the dead, not to scare a few more people into going to church. While I may not have known him as well or as long as others there, I never knew him to be a converter; I knew him to be a joker, a lover of fun, and a lover of music. Those things were mentioned, but not nearly as much as the rapture.

Quick question: with the Iraq war going poorly, little support from allies or the citizens of our country, and an over-exerted military, why is the administration foaming at the mouth to trick us (again) into going to war with Iran?

Peace,

Alphadork

Are You Drunk?

Really quick...to get this off my mind. I would guess you've probably seen the Dept. of Transportation's recent PSAs the depict someone really really drunk doing something goofy, like the girl dancing with a bottle of beer in her hand that knocks her own front teeth out. It then says something to the effect of "It's really easy to tell when you've had way too much to drink..." It then shows what I assume to be the friend of those individuals preparing to leave and taking one more swig of their beer and the voice-over says something like "...but what if you've only had one too many...? Buzzed driving IS drunk driving." Good message, really. There are a lot of people who, sadly, don't realize this. This is a step in the right direction, in my opinion, because prior to this, it seemed that drunk drivers were always depicted as really obviously drunk individuals.

My question about this one is: the "buzzed" individual who has had only one too many usually seems to be depicted as someone who still has a slight stagger; someone moving in a way that would indicate they are feeling, at the very least, a good strong buzz. So, what about the person had a couple, along with some food and maybe a little water, but has not felt a buzz...how can they be sure whether or not they are Ok? I know, the answer is that, if there is any question at all, they should simply get another ride, but you know that not everyone will do that, and I can still wonder...

Peace,
Alphadork

Double Standards and Dog Crap

Ok, so I had some sort of rant in my head, but cannot seem to remember what it was about...anyway...

I decided this morning to take my dog for an actual walk around the block instead of just out to the grass (she's a small dog, so she doesn't need as much exercise - chasing a squeaky toy up and down the hallway a couple times is enough to wear her out). Anyway, we're trucking along, about halfway around the block, when she stops, right in the middle of the road, and drops a deuce. My dog certainly does not discriminate when it comes to where she poops.

I think I've remembered one of the rants...it's something that my wife has pointed out a number of times in the past, but has really been standing out to me recently. Have you ever paid attention to the double standard for genders on TV and film? It is rare (and usually a supporting character) if women are not slim and pretty. Men, however, can be anything and are, more often that I like, rather ugly. The Axe commercials are especially bad, depicting gorgeous women as unable to resist the lure of Axe on a hideous man. Have you ever seen the sitcom "Jim"? That's another one with average, overweight men married to slim, attractive (and younger?) women. When will the average, overweight woman be on TV, happily married to some guy that looks like a Desperate Housewives gardener?

Ha! Now, every time you watch TV, it's going to bother you too!

Peace,
Alphadork

Happy New Year and All That Jazz

OK, so I am trying out the "new version" of blogger presented through Google, or whatever. Brilliantly, I did not save a text copy of my previous HTML, although the online software supposedly saved a backup copy. I cannot find the backup copy. I fought for way too long yesterday trying to get things laid out the way I want them and trying to edit the HTML with little luck, only to find that it really is very simple. However, I wish that when I add objects, they could be placed outside the green and blue boxes on the right; I liked my Google search bar much better when it was between the boxes, not in them. I also tried to do a different link style for the Amazon thing, but it kept giving me a bad address for the picture and nothing would show up. Frustrating.

Well, that's all I have for now...

Peace,
Alphadork