Blogpression

I apologize for the lengthy hiatus I have taken. I have a good reason.

Alright -- perhaps not a GOOD reason, but a reason.

I have "blogpression."

I realize that I may catch flak from those of you who have suffered true clinical depression. Well, flak away; I believe that I am currently in the midst of a form of depression.

It isn't writer's block: I've been there before and this ain't it. It also isn't burn-out; I was pretty burned out after NaNoWriMo, but this? This is something different.

I am not sure what it is. Perhaps I am still feeling a little post-election let-down. Maybe it's the cold outside? A rare form of influenza? Whatever it is, I just cannot seem to get up the "oomph" to post a blog entry. I still have some ideas, but they just are not popping up as frequently as they used to do.

Is this common with bloggers? Does it always happen at some point? The constant gasping for mental breath?

I want to blog; I want to share my thoughts with you. I really do. I just cannot seem to actually get the words down in pixels, though. Not even a post about religion. Not even something humorous, pithy, or sarcastic. There's always something else that I can do instead. The mere thought of blogging is as daunting as preparing for a marathon. And all of this is really bothering me.

And it's not just writing; I don't believe I have visited my "daily read" blogs more than maybe twice since Christmas Eve. Again, it's not a lack of interest -- just a lack of... something else.

Please. PLEASE, gentle readers. If you have any thoughts or suggestions -- or even just words of empathy -- please let me know.

Yes, I know this sounds like a shameless plug to get some responses. I don't mean it to be. I just need some of you in the blogosphere to give me some hope that this will pass and that this blog won't just turn into a stagnant pool of muck.

Please?

The Kiss

All I can say is that I want to know what is involved in this guy's technique:

BEIJING (Reuters) – A young woman in southern China has partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend ruptured her eardrum during an excessively passionate kiss, local media reported Monday.

The 20-something girl from Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province, went to hospital completely deaf in her left ear, the China Daily said, citing a report in a local newspaper.

"The kiss reduced pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear," the paper quoted a doctor surnamed Li from the hospital as saying.

WHAT?!?!?

The woman's hearing would likely return to normal after about two months, Li said.

"While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution," the paper said.

Courtesy of Yahoo! news

I am sorry, but does anyone else have severe ear-pain right about now? Owwww....

Maybe my LW and I have been married too long, but I just cannot imagine the amount of "passion" required to suck someone's eardrum out with a kiss. I am no Don Juan, but I can imagine passion. This, however is just...wow. I mean, there's passion and then there is passion.

Now that I think about it, the story did not specifically say he kissed her on the mouth; maybe he kissed her on the ear? I could see that.

No, wait...it said it "reduced pressure in the mouth" so there goes that theory.


I wonder.... could this be considered a sports-related injury? I mean, I have heard it said that sex could be considered a sport, after all.

Now, before I get criticized for "assuming" and just jumping to conclusions, I want a show of hands from everyone who thinks this act of otic terrorism was just a chaste kiss.

Anyone? Anyone?

That's what I thought. I am off now to go find an ice pack for my ear.

Sympathy pains, wouldn't you know?

Class Act?

Amendment I:
Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech....

Buckle up. I am bound to offend someone today; keep in mind that any perceived offense is not intentional. Before I begin my rant I just want it understood that I revel in my ability--my freedom--to express myself how, where, and when I want. I fully support and uphold your freedom to do the same. That freedom--that right--is one of the things that makes America the greatest country on the Earth.

{Aside: That and Twinkies. Seriously: little sponge cakes with frosting inside? Who else but an American could have made such a thing? Thank you, James Dewar.
But I digress....}

That being said, I still have the right to mock you or take exception to the things you say or how you express this freedom. I can still support your ability to say the things you say, but I do not necessarily have to like them. My not liking them is not "censorship" or an abridging of that freedom. {Point of order: No-one but a governmental entity can actually infringe on someone's Constitutional rights. That is something a lot of people tend to forget.}

I open my browser this morning and what do I see?

Yahoo! tells me here that Josh Howard, a player for the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, has opened his mouth and shown just how much class he has.

Again: I respect his right to speak his mind.

I just think that he may have lost his mind. Or his class. Or his tact. You decide.

In a video posted on YouTube, Howard is shown on a football field at a charity flag football game. As the national anthem plays in the background, Howard approaches a cameran and says, "'The Star Spangled Banner' is going on right now. I don't even celebrate that (expletive). I'm black."

Excuse me?

Maybe I am naive. Maybe I have been living in a cave. But somehow, for some reason, I was under the apparently incorrect assumption that black Americans lived in the same America that I do.

At least, that's what I interpret his comments to mean: I'm black, not American. Am I wrong? Please. Tell me if I am.

What is this comment? From whence does it come and what is its basis? On one level, does this idiot realize that it is, in part, this "(expletive)" that has allowed him to make the ridiculous amounts of money he has made from playing a game for a living? In the words of a local sports talk show host from my college days: It's a game. A darn fun one, but only a game. Does he really think that he'd make anywhere near as much money playing somewhere basketball elsewhere in the world.

Send him to China. Let's see what his bankroll looks like then.

Is this just a dumb jock athlete basketball player mouthing off? Is this part of a small subculture in America that feels this way? Is it maybe due to his feeling of entitlement as a dumb jock athlete basketball player that he is somehow more than just a mere entertainer? That people care about his opinion of this country? (Again, I respect his freedom to have that opinion, remember.)

Okay. My fuse is lit: I had convinced myself that some of the furor over Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments about America--as well as Michelle Obama's comments about America--had been overblown and overplayed by the Republicans. Now? I'm not so sure anymore.

We have a Reverend calling for the damnation of America.

We have the wife of a Senator / Presidential candidate proclaiming that she is finally proud of America.

And we have an over-rated pseudo-celebrity glandular case comparing (take your pick) the national anthem, America, and/or American traditions to "(expletive)."

Wow.

Good thing the First Amendment is in place. Think about what would happen without it. Think about where these people would be without the good old American values they hold so dear contemptible.

The good Reverend would be doubly lost without the guarantee of freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

Michelle Obama? Take a look around the world and see what happens to "outspoken" (I acknowledge this is not the best choice of words) women: Pakastani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto? Tibetan nun Phuntsog Nyidron? How about Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Agathe Uwilingiyimana?

Again, I could be naive, but I am pretty sure that all of these women had more than a little pride in their individual countries.

And we've already discussed just how much our little game-player could earn elsewhere in the world. Let's take it one step further: imagine playing for an Iranian National team... or the Chinese National team... or the (fill in the blank) National team. What do you think would happen if he refused to acknowledge the National Anthem of his host country? if he insulted the Anthem or his host country itself? How long would he continue to play his game?

How long before he was "disappeared"?

How much play would anything said by these three get in a country dominated by, say, the Taliban?

Anyone? Anyone?

That's what I thought.

Back to my original point--Mr. Howard, you may not like what the country stands for, you may not want to celebrate what you term: "(expletive)", and you have every right to speak your mind. Your so-called "(expletive)" gives you that right.

You may just want to recognize that the rest of us have our OWN right to speak OUR minds as well.

And like it or not, all of us red-blooded Americans who may not like our country likened to "(expletive)" by someone getting paid outrageously for a playground game? We red-blooded Americans that buy NBA tickets, merchandise, and programming?

We red-blooded Americans pay your salary, kiddo.

Hooray! The Olympics are over!

Hooray! The Olympics are over!

Oh. Wait.

You say there are still a few more days left?

Dang.

Don't get me wrong; I have actually enjoyed the events I have watched so far. It even sucked in the LW and the Horde. (I've even managed to keep my thoughts on mainland Chinese politics fairly quiet.)

But really, what's left?


OK, OK. I'll give you Track and Field. And Diving. Neither of which I can watch. Which is odd--my father was all-state in Track in high school. And I can watch Swimming.

But not Track. I don't know why. And not Diving. (I will confess this one is largely due to my own lack of knowledge about the sport. All I see are the twists and the splashes. The nuances are lost on me; one splash looks pretty much like another....)

I heard Glenn Beck ranting about this a couple days ago. Now, granted, a lot of what he said was tongue-in-cheek, but it got me thinking.

Trampolines.

Really, a sport?

I remember at the Athens games, I believe it was, watching the first events on Trampoline and thinking the same thing. My LW had never heard of it so the broadcast this past weekend shocked her.

Her first response was, "This is a sport? Really? Give me a break."

I think that's the general consensus. Please. Tell me I am wrong.

The IOC is dumping Baseball and Softball but keeping Trampoline and "Dancing around with a ribbon on a stick" A.K.A. "Rhythmic Gymnastics."

(Aside: For those of you who don't know, Rhythmic Gymnastics is "a sport in which single competitors or pairs, trios or even more (generally five) manipulate one or two apparatuses: rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. Rhythmic Gymnastics is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, theatrical dance, and apparatus manipulation." Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Come on. It's hard for me to watch softball and baseball unless I am really bored (or the Red Sox are playing) but at least there is no argument that they are true sports.

Trampolines? Hoops and ribbon-sticks? Sports? Really? You think there may be a reason that the Rhythmic Gymnastics events on NBC are on Friday in the middle of the day instead of prime-time?

So I have an idea: what if we incorporate and merge some of these sports together? The "trampoliner" could begin the routine armed with a javelin, with which she targets the swimmers. "Outrun my Javelin of Doom, Communist Curs!"

What about letting the shot-putters and hammer-throwers have targets of their own: rather than just heaving for distance, we can put the rhythmic gymnasts out there holding out their hoops, dancing around. Then we get distance AND accuracy from -putters and -throwers.

Think about the ratings that would bring in.

Or even this: mounting the firearms competitors on the horses? We can have shooting from horseback; what's more American than that? (Aside: Except, apparently, ogling the beach volleyballers in their non-existent "uniforms." Don't even get me started on that, though.)

Think of the thrills, the spills! Then we'd have these competitors truly EARNING their medals.

Instead of bouncing around, fifteen feet in the air, twirling their stick-ribbons. Not that we could merge these two sports. Who would watch?

Now, if they were on trampolines straddling shark-infested pools.... That would bring in viewers.

Now, if we could just get mainland Chinese crooks liars murderous thugs evil Communist hate-mongers [ahem] government officials to participate in it. Then I would pay to watch. Big money.

Whoops.

Guess I was just banned in China.

But never fear, our intrepid American journalists will surely report on my plight if I were to be "disappeared" by the Chinese government, right?

Right.

Just like they're all falling over themselves to report on the continuing repression of speech and assembly. Just like they're racing each other to print the first story about how all the promises China made to the IOC in return for the Olympics (Tibet, civil rights, etc.) have been broken. Just like they're eagerly researching the truth behind the falsified passports for the pre-pubescent "sixteen year old" gymnasts or the inconsistent and inaccurate judging of the male and female gymnastic teams. Just like they cannot resist telling us what strange food they have eaten today.

Oh wait. They've actually done that one.

Several times.

All hail the Mighty Olympics.

One world, One dream.

So long as we're all speaking Chinese.

Guess I'm a step ahead of the rest of you on that one. See you all at the finish line.

It's almost over.

It's almost ALL over.