I can't believe I'm about to write this ...

but Kid Rock might not be an idiot. Check out the video from Fox News ...

Note: In true Fox News form, they don't give you what they say they will ... there's no embed code, so here's the link.

Of course, Fox News might be the only 'news' organization willing to give Kid Rock a venue to speak about politics, but I'm 100 percent sure that his ability to speak candidly and in a reasonable tone is accidental. There's no way they intended on a reasonable voice being heard anywhere their logo would be present - it's just not done.

Back to Kid Rock.

Of course I agree with his point that politicians are not currently interested in the job at hand as much as they are about making a career of it, and I agree with Kid Rock that both he and I are undereducated to be making a public statement about what government should be. But the point he makes that I am surprised to agree with him on is the one about the shift of people in this country to a more European way of life, as he calls it. Condos and smart cars, for short. Now, I don't think that condos and smart cars can adequately sum up a European life, or that they're an entirely bad thing - they're just probably not for me. And I don't totally agree with the traditional American get as much as you can for yourself view as it pertains to land ownership, but I do feel that there is something uniquely American about our lives and it would be a shame for us to lose our identity as Americans in an ever-globalizing community as much as it's a shame that we seem to push that identity to places it doesn't belong.

That begs the question: Should we (Americans) homogenize our view of Europe? It's possible we're just becoming more British, or more Hungarian. Maybe we're not adopting all that much of an Italian or Dutch lifestyle. I did see some windmills as I was flying from San Francisco to Nashville the other day, but I'm pretty sure the click-clack of wooden shoes was absent in any airport I stopped at.

My point is that, while I agree with the core of what Kid Rock says, it's coming from this pin-hole view of the world. That's astounding, considering he has more money than you could spend in a life, and plenty of time to do some traveling. But, like the host said, he's everyman here in the States, and if Fox News did a poll ... well ... if a credible organization did a poll, I think they'd find that a good percentage of Americans justify their fears the same way he does - with ignorance.

Life and trials

"I have always sought to be understood and, while I was taken to task by critics or colleagues, I thought they were right, assuming I had not been clear enough to be understood. This assumption allowed me to work my whole life without hatred and even without bitterness toward criticism, regardless of its source. I counted solely on the clarity of expression of my work to gain my ends. Hatred, rancor, and the spirit of vengeance are useless baggage to the artist. His road is difficult enough for him to cleanse his soul of everything which could make it more so." -Henri Matisse

I try to use that quote every day as a guide, but sometimes I question whether it is possible for the intentions behind our actions to speak louder than the voice of *public opinion*. Obviously this question doesn't really matter to Matisse where it concerns his work, but how far does that go when applied to life? Can you simply ignore the input of critics and colleagues at every turn, hoping at some point to be clear enough to convince them all of your worth?

The clearest example of this question that I can give here, and this is only because it's the one I used the last time I talked about this with anyone, is one of a Playboy model ... hear me out.

There's a stereotype at work here - the one of the woman who agrees to have herself photographed in seductive poses, with not so much as a thread keeping ones imagination at bay, because she feels that it will empower women, that it somehow proves some sort of dominion the female form has over a man's brain. Maybe that's true. Maybe.

Something tells me that an overwhelming percentage of the men who look at the pictures when they're published simply won't care. They will objectify her and they will assign her value based on their imaginary ideals for her. Her opinion as to what the photos represent never even enters their minds. So, at this point, have her intentions been trumped by public opinion, or do they matter so long as she chooses to apply worth to them?

It's not her fault. Maybe pornography is just not the best place for a woman to assert herself and attempt to prove, well, anything. Or, maybe, by the standards of Henry Matisse, she should just keep trying, becoming more and more focused on the clarity of her statement with each pass. Of course, in my example, this puts her out of a job thereby eliminating her ability to continue to make an impact ... kind of like the snake that's eating itself ... Ouroboros.

Well, I'm not sure any of this makes sense, but I gave it a shot. It's a little late to get in to edits at this point.

My cellphone service, in a nutshell ...

"Help, help! I'm in a nutshell! Oh wait, I'm AT&T cellphone coverage and I don't work anywhere. No one can hear me."

Thanks, Austin Powers. You made this blog a lot easier to write.

A threshold for Justice ...

Apparently, justice does know some bounds. Last month I got a ticket that I think was unwarranted. I went to the courthouse today to turn in my notice of my plea (not guilty) and saw the line for the actual court I would eventually have to go to should I turn in this plea and immediately decided to ask the clerk just how much I would have to pay if my plea was guilty. Sixty-six dollars? No, I think I'll go ahead and take my court date. Thanks. That being said, if she had said forty dollars, I probably would have paid and gotten the hell out of there.

It's funny that there's about a twenty-six dollar difference between my wanting what I feel is justice and me not wanting to deal with a bloated system that will, probably in the near future, destroy a whole day of my life as I stand in line with a bunch of strangers who were also stupid enough to plead not guilty or to have done something that didn't give them the option to bribe their way out of this mess.

What have I done ...

Blogging Challenge: Day One, and no other thoughts

The great thing about doing a blogging challenge is that it gives you an excuse not to try on the first day.

I suppose I could post a link to some super cool video. No, that video's not that cool. It's just some dude showing you how to use chopsticks.

I feel like this is an *either you have it or you don't* type skill. It's not like there are millions of people out there wondering how to pick up chopsticks and hold them - I think we all get that part. And pinching them together? Not difficult. It certainly doesn't require some half-assed lesson from the only white dude at the dinner table in Vietnam.

Maybe someone else at the table could answer some tougher questions. Like ... why do Asian markets always smell so bad? I think it's their questionable standards for storing dead fish. If you've been to one, you probably have seen what I mean. Also, what are the realistic chances kung pao chicken is kung pao not chicken?

Putting all of this aside, the biggest reason not to learn how to use chopsticks is the fork. This is followed closely by the spork and less closely by salad tongs.

This blog didn't go where I tought it would. Ignore that whole *no other thoughts* thing in the subject line. Maybe that'll be my blog theme: writing a clear subject line, sticking to it for a sentence or two and then rambling for half an hour.

This did not take half an hour...

Clearly, I'm in trouble here.