I just watched a commercial for the Simpsons. Bart Simpson was throwing cats into Principal Skinner's pants. After about the third cat, Skinner dryly stated that "this is not going to end well."
There is no deep or metaphorical meaning to that for me. I just found it very, very funny.
Anyway, here I am after another great weekend. I really enjoyed going home because I got to bring Ursula and have her meet all my friends. She is really, really amazing and I'm not just saying that because she's my only blog follower. I mean it. It seems like every time I go home now something important and meaningful happens. Without a doubt that happened again this weekend. I was not planning on it, nor did I not foresee anything so special occurring. Spontaneity sometimes makes things better. This time could not have been scripted better by anyone.
Ok so I have to segue. There is no smooth way to do segue here because I fell asleep writing last night and now find myself with totally different things on my mind. Mainly I am concerned with the overt racism, sexism, and other isms in certain realms of the republican party. Last week a Congressman from Tennessee asserted that if abortion was covered by a government plan then the current president of the United States might have been aborted. In order to make his comment seem less partisan but more racist, he then said the same thing about Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas and Obama have absolutely nothing in common besides their skin color. In fact, Obama stated that Thomas was the least qualified member of our current Supreme Court. If you are not a racist, comparing Obama and Thomas is not apples and oranges. Rather, it's more like apples and screwdrivers. However, Congressman Tiahart (sp?) is quite the racist. According to Jeff Sharlet, author of "The Family" which describes a neo, christian conservative pol group- Tiahart also argued during a closed door meeting that abortion needed to be outlawed because Muslims were out reproducing Christians and thus slowly falling behind in the birth wars. Again, racist.
And not to mention sexist. With this argument Tiahart assumes that financial troubles are the only thing keeping women from having abortions. That's just really fucking stupid. Raising a child costs more than an appointment at the abortion clinic. If you are low on cash you aren't going to say "Well, I guess I oughta just save a few bucks and keep this thing!" Raising a kid is a HUGE EXPENDITURE. Furtermore, pregnancy makes you lose time at work and causes a great deal of physical, emotional, and financial stress. So don't try to tell me that adoption is just an easy way out. Not only that but primarily women stress about abortion not because of finances but because they know that it is a huge and painful decision to make. Women don't get abortions because they're having a bad hair day or saw a Hugh Grant movie. It's a hard and painstaking decision that most every woman in that position must go through. So there.
What concerns me the most is this is not an isolated incident. Last week Senator Coburn(R) from Oklahoma said in his best Ricky Ricardo impersonation that Sonia Sotomayor "had some splainin' to do". RNC Chairman Michael Steele said that he would use fried chicken, collard greens, and potato salad to woo blacks back to the GOP. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Conservative TV and radio has been bashing Sotomayor for weeks because she has this crazy notion that being the only female, Latina Supreme Court nominee in the history of America makes her unique.
What am I getting to here? I hope this will go away soon and I will look back on this post and say "Man, I guess I just really needed to vent there." But I don't think that is how it will play out. I think the Republican party is like a conered animal right now. In other words, the ugly side is starting to show. We're seeing the most conservative and loud mouthed right-wingers take over the GOP. Rush Limbaugh is in the news on a weekly basis. Rahm Emanuel even said that Rush was the voice of the Republican party. The front runners for 2012 are Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Both are about as socially conservative as you can imagine. Neither believe in evolution. I think it's a safe bet that since Palin doesn't believe in dinosaurs she probably doesn't believe in affirmative action either. Oh, and that Tiart guy? He's running for United States Senate. And he will probably win in Kansas.
Bleck. If anyone who isn't conservative reads this please take note. Do everything you can to stop these people from getting a grip on any more power in our political system. We can't have an America that is run by backwoods, racist, morons. We tried that during the Bush years and it was a total fail. Don't let us regress. Let's just keep moving on.
Abiding,
Tim
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Beef: It's what used to be for dinner
I have not eaten any cow in 10 days. After KA convention that seems like a long time. It's difficult to describe my relationship with beef over the years. I guess the love affair began when I was around 8 or 9 and my dad introduced me to Chicken Fried Steak. This is ironic because he is a pescatarian (sp?)( it means his only meat is fish). Anyhow, every week my mom and dad would take me out to a restaraunt and order me a CFS with lots o' gravy. Needlessly to say, I fell in love with the thing. It was what I looked forward to every week over a period of almost a year. After I got well versed with that dish I moved onto bigger and better things. Premium, aged, well cut steaks became my dish of choice. After about a year of weekly fried/red meat consumption I gained around 10 pounds. You'll notice this if you look at any of my 5th grade pictures. That was not baby fat people...it was more like grease and cream gravy. Also, I imagine my heart was taking about as much as a beating as any 11 year old's could. I suppose things could not go on like that much longer.
So around that time I came to a fork in the road. I was entering Junior High and realized that girls were not going to find my portly self very attractive. Kids are cruel, and I did not want to give them extra fodder. I was also starting to worry a little bit about my overall health. Therefore I realized I had a decision to make: eat better and suffer cravings or be fat, unhealthy and lonely. I attempted to do the former by trying to limit my fried and red meat consumption. I remember one year I gave up fried foods entirely for lent. That is a pretty impressive feat for a pre pubescent kid. And sure enough I grew, lost the fat, and turned into a fairly handsome chap by the time high school rolled around. During high school my metabolism was so fast I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. So red meat returned as a fairly regular item on my menu. Not near as regular as it was before junior high, but still pretty often. Gradually my intake of beef was reduced due to my love of chicken and fish, which provide a much lighter and healthier alternative to the cow.
Over the past six months I have taken to eating less and less beef because it is more expensive, harder to cook, and I just feel like shit after I eat too much of it. That last reason is a big one. "Feeling like shit" after eating too much cow or even pork usually involves symptoms like feeling groggy, constipation, and slight chest/stomach pain. Whenever I have those feelings I begin to think my body is sending me some red flags. After I returned home from my 5 day vacation with the men of the Order, the flags started to feel like sirens. I was tired, sickly, lazy, and felt heavier and thicker all around. So when I got back home I promised myself I would say goodbye to cow indefinately.
And so here I am. 10 whole days, approximately 30 meals without any bovine in the system. Fittingly, I read an article about the horrors of the cattle industry today. The article I read gave some daunting facts. For instance, did you know that cattle are pumped full of estrogen before slaughter in order to increase bulk? This may be leading to early puberty in girls and decreased sperm count in men. Furthermore, cows are fed an unnatural combo of corn and protein that doesn't work well with their digestive tracts. In order to prevent the cattle from getting sick becuase of the fucked up diet, ranchers must pump them with anti-biotics. Also apparently it takes 284 gallons of oil to keep a cow fed and healthy for 14 months. Considering the fact that one slaughterhouse shuffles through hundreds per day it's easy to say that the auto industry is not the only business dependent on foreign oil. And I have been an ignorant,die hard supporter all these years.
From now on I will never be able to eat beef without thinking of how awful I felt last week and all the gross facts I read about in the article. Hopefully, this will lead to a healthier and more guilt free me. I pray that I will avoid late night cravings for Whataburger. Please wish me the best of luck. And please, if you have any bad information on chicken please save it for now. It is hard enough breaking up with one animal.
More to come soon.
Still Beefless,
Tim
So around that time I came to a fork in the road. I was entering Junior High and realized that girls were not going to find my portly self very attractive. Kids are cruel, and I did not want to give them extra fodder. I was also starting to worry a little bit about my overall health. Therefore I realized I had a decision to make: eat better and suffer cravings or be fat, unhealthy and lonely. I attempted to do the former by trying to limit my fried and red meat consumption. I remember one year I gave up fried foods entirely for lent. That is a pretty impressive feat for a pre pubescent kid. And sure enough I grew, lost the fat, and turned into a fairly handsome chap by the time high school rolled around. During high school my metabolism was so fast I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. So red meat returned as a fairly regular item on my menu. Not near as regular as it was before junior high, but still pretty often. Gradually my intake of beef was reduced due to my love of chicken and fish, which provide a much lighter and healthier alternative to the cow.
Over the past six months I have taken to eating less and less beef because it is more expensive, harder to cook, and I just feel like shit after I eat too much of it. That last reason is a big one. "Feeling like shit" after eating too much cow or even pork usually involves symptoms like feeling groggy, constipation, and slight chest/stomach pain. Whenever I have those feelings I begin to think my body is sending me some red flags. After I returned home from my 5 day vacation with the men of the Order, the flags started to feel like sirens. I was tired, sickly, lazy, and felt heavier and thicker all around. So when I got back home I promised myself I would say goodbye to cow indefinately.
And so here I am. 10 whole days, approximately 30 meals without any bovine in the system. Fittingly, I read an article about the horrors of the cattle industry today. The article I read gave some daunting facts. For instance, did you know that cattle are pumped full of estrogen before slaughter in order to increase bulk? This may be leading to early puberty in girls and decreased sperm count in men. Furthermore, cows are fed an unnatural combo of corn and protein that doesn't work well with their digestive tracts. In order to prevent the cattle from getting sick becuase of the fucked up diet, ranchers must pump them with anti-biotics. Also apparently it takes 284 gallons of oil to keep a cow fed and healthy for 14 months. Considering the fact that one slaughterhouse shuffles through hundreds per day it's easy to say that the auto industry is not the only business dependent on foreign oil. And I have been an ignorant,
From now on I will never be able to eat beef without thinking of how awful I felt last week and all the gross facts I read about in the article. Hopefully, this will lead to a healthier and more guilt free me. I pray that I will avoid late night cravings for Whataburger. Please wish me the best of luck. And please, if you have any bad information on chicken please save it for now. It is hard enough breaking up with one animal.
More to come soon.
Still Beefless,
Tim
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Travel, Part 1
Last week I traveled by myself to Washington DC in order to be a part of Kappa Alpha's 73rd Convention at the JW Marriott Hotel. For many people I am sure this would seem like an ordinary thing, but for this blogger it was something rather unusual. First of all, I have only flown by myself twice (each time for my fraternity). I can say that while traveling (esp. flying) alone can be daunting at first, it always makes me feel more mature and independent. No longer do I need a parent or friend to accompany me as a roam the country. I am doing something that only a relative handful of people in the history of the world have gotten to do, and I am doing it effortlessly and by myself.
Conquering nerves is easy at an airport (even if you aren't old enough to get a few in at the airport bar). First, bring a good book. I read almost two hundred pages while flying, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Air line magazines are some of the worst periodicals in America, and everyone who reads them looks like a desperate schmuck. People who spend the flight reading novels look sophisticated and thoughtful. Maybe that's just my opinion, but I can't help but wonder why people would be so interested in AA's flight schedule or a list of restaraunts in completely different cities than the one they are going to.
If reading just doesn't float your boat, I suggest people watching. What a wonderful place an airport is to observe others. While I was waiting for my first plane to board, I was sitting next to a tremendously fat woman with two rambuncious young girls. The father was thin and balding, but very attentive. He would take his two girls (who were maybe 7) to look out of the window at the big, amazing planes that were rolling by on the landing strip. Meanwhile, the mother just sat there barking orders to "not run so fast" or "quiet down." Every once in a while, I heard her mutter "Jesus Christ" or some kind of expression of sheer frustration. I don't know what this lady's problem was...maybe she had a Mcdonald's hangover coupled with awful flatulence. I don't know really. Whatever it was, it kept her from moving more than an inch for at least an hour. I feel like the inability to move is probably quite the setback for a mother of two young girls. Also, I found it ironic that here we are about to travel across the country and I am sitting next to a lady that hates moving. In other eras, traveling was reserved for the bravest and most active of people. A trek to DC would have taken months. Many people could have died. If things had gone horribly wrong, cannibilism might ensue. Now a days though, people insist on bitching about shitty in flight movies or lack of hot food during lunch hour. Yet, here I am surrounded by people who serve to prove that travel is no longer that big of a deal. Who cares if we are going on a trip that 100 years ago would have been completely impossible. Let's freak out about our kids doing their best impersonation of kids, while trying to put as little physical effort into anything as possible.
Well that felt good to ramble about. If it weren't for this blog I probably would have forgotten all about that lady and kindly let her pass out of my conscious memory. Instead, I immortalized her by assasinating her character on a faceless blog page. Truly heroic. When I landed in DC, a whole lot more AWESOME things happened. Also, I people watched like true champion. More about all that later...perhaps tomorrow!
Aren't I fancy?
Tim Clark
Conquering nerves is easy at an airport (even if you aren't old enough to get a few in at the airport bar). First, bring a good book. I read almost two hundred pages while flying, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Air line magazines are some of the worst periodicals in America, and everyone who reads them looks like a desperate schmuck. People who spend the flight reading novels look sophisticated and thoughtful. Maybe that's just my opinion, but I can't help but wonder why people would be so interested in AA's flight schedule or a list of restaraunts in completely different cities than the one they are going to.
If reading just doesn't float your boat, I suggest people watching. What a wonderful place an airport is to observe others. While I was waiting for my first plane to board, I was sitting next to a tremendously fat woman with two rambuncious young girls. The father was thin and balding, but very attentive. He would take his two girls (who were maybe 7) to look out of the window at the big, amazing planes that were rolling by on the landing strip. Meanwhile, the mother just sat there barking orders to "not run so fast" or "quiet down." Every once in a while, I heard her mutter "Jesus Christ" or some kind of expression of sheer frustration. I don't know what this lady's problem was...maybe she had a Mcdonald's hangover coupled with awful flatulence. I don't know really. Whatever it was, it kept her from moving more than an inch for at least an hour. I feel like the inability to move is probably quite the setback for a mother of two young girls. Also, I found it ironic that here we are about to travel across the country and I am sitting next to a lady that hates moving. In other eras, traveling was reserved for the bravest and most active of people. A trek to DC would have taken months. Many people could have died. If things had gone horribly wrong, cannibilism might ensue. Now a days though, people insist on bitching about shitty in flight movies or lack of hot food during lunch hour. Yet, here I am surrounded by people who serve to prove that travel is no longer that big of a deal. Who cares if we are going on a trip that 100 years ago would have been completely impossible. Let's freak out about our kids doing their best impersonation of kids, while trying to put as little physical effort into anything as possible.
Well that felt good to ramble about. If it weren't for this blog I probably would have forgotten all about that lady and kindly let her pass out of my conscious memory. Instead, I immortalized her by assasinating her character on a faceless blog page. Truly heroic. When I landed in DC, a whole lot more AWESOME things happened. Also, I people watched like true champion. More about all that later...perhaps tomorrow!
Aren't I fancy?
Tim Clark
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Genesis
So with a little encouragement I have decided to start keeping a blog. I think this will be a healthy activity. And I am always looking for more of those, especially nowadays.
I guess I will start out by saying how excited I am to have one of these! No longer do I need to resist writing facebook notes and risk looking like one of those sappy tween writers who desperately seek attention. Instead I can be a trendy, elitist blogger. I like the sound of that.
As far as goals or expectations go, I do not really have any. I will write on whatever subject is on my mind at a particular time. I imagine that could include anything regarding politics, general concerns, or happenings in my social life. For tonight, I will simply say that I am anxiously awaiting my trip to KA Convention 2009. The convention is occurring in Washington DC, and I will be able to experience the 4th of July in our nation's capital! This is especially exciting because for the first time in my life I am actually proud of the direction our government is taking us. I don't want to jump on the Obama bandwagon too much yet, but I have to admit I feel a bit more enthused to be an American than I did two years ago. So I am sure I will return to Texas bursting with patriotism like I never have before.
However, I do have some concerns regarding the next few days in DC. Numero Uno, I have to be at a KA convention. I am not going to try to explain all the ins and outs of a frat convention. I think it is pretty needless to say that things can get pretty tedious. Let's just say that if I have to sit through one more hazing or liability lecture I am going to cry on my roommate's shoulders. Also, things can get pretty intimidating. I am not the most experienced traveler, so I often torture myself with questions like-- What do I wear? If I am not wearing the right thing, will I get kicked out or frowned upon? What if I forget something, or get lost in the airport? What if all the other KA's are just a bunch of conservative, racists, loonballs? By this point, most of that stuff is already out of my hands though. If I fuck up, I am just going to have to grin and bear and move on. Likewise, if I forget a paper or something trite and some KA nutjob goes Stonewall Jackson on me, I will just shake it off and make fun of him later. So...no worries right?
Ah. So that is all I have today. Reminder, this is just a warm up. Rome was not built in a day. Future entries will be chock full of hot opinions and confessions. So get ready, America. Tim Clark just got a blog. And I better get ready too, because I know my #1 fan is probably going to have a plethora of fun grammar suggestions. :)
Thanks for reading,
Tim
I guess I will start out by saying how excited I am to have one of these! No longer do I need to resist writing facebook notes and risk looking like one of those sappy tween writers who desperately seek attention. Instead I can be a trendy, elitist blogger. I like the sound of that.
As far as goals or expectations go, I do not really have any. I will write on whatever subject is on my mind at a particular time. I imagine that could include anything regarding politics, general concerns, or happenings in my social life. For tonight, I will simply say that I am anxiously awaiting my trip to KA Convention 2009. The convention is occurring in Washington DC, and I will be able to experience the 4th of July in our nation's capital! This is especially exciting because for the first time in my life I am actually proud of the direction our government is taking us. I don't want to jump on the Obama bandwagon too much yet, but I have to admit I feel a bit more enthused to be an American than I did two years ago. So I am sure I will return to Texas bursting with patriotism like I never have before.
However, I do have some concerns regarding the next few days in DC. Numero Uno, I have to be at a KA convention. I am not going to try to explain all the ins and outs of a frat convention. I think it is pretty needless to say that things can get pretty tedious. Let's just say that if I have to sit through one more hazing or liability lecture I am going to cry on my roommate's shoulders. Also, things can get pretty intimidating. I am not the most experienced traveler, so I often torture myself with questions like-- What do I wear? If I am not wearing the right thing, will I get kicked out or frowned upon? What if I forget something, or get lost in the airport? What if all the other KA's are just a bunch of conservative, racists, loonballs? By this point, most of that stuff is already out of my hands though. If I fuck up, I am just going to have to grin and bear and move on. Likewise, if I forget a paper or something trite and some KA nutjob goes Stonewall Jackson on me, I will just shake it off and make fun of him later. So...no worries right?
Ah. So that is all I have today. Reminder, this is just a warm up. Rome was not built in a day. Future entries will be chock full of hot opinions and confessions. So get ready, America. Tim Clark just got a blog. And I better get ready too, because I know my #1 fan is probably going to have a plethora of fun grammar suggestions. :)
Thanks for reading,
Tim
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