The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Archives for September 2009

Authentic Judaism

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Typically I don’t link to Hirhurim very often. Gil has been blogging for quite some time now, at least as long as I have and as a result we have had occasion to pass each other here and there.

While we have relatively divergent views about many things I usually find that though we disagree it is done in a tasteful manner. And that makes all the difference to me.

I don’t care if everyone agrees with my point of view. Makes no difference to me whether friends, relatives, neighbors or landsmen think that they have a better way, provided that their way does not hurt people.

Once you cross that line I haven’t any problem in doing what I can to protect others and to thwart the desires of the morons, numbskulls and mental midgets who believe that their blog should be used as a cudgel to inflict a monolithic perspective upon others.

And that is why I have linked to Gil’s post about authentic Judaism. I can guarantee that he and I disagree about it. It is certain that our views are not in line on many of the issues. I am not positive that we would even agree on what authentic Judaism is except in the broadest definition of the term.

But sometimes we set aside the needs of the one for the needs of the many and so this is why you find a post here about authentic Judaism. Perhaps later on I will flesh this out and prepare something that illustrates my view on matter.

It Is Just Another Day

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I don’t like taking medication for anything. Headache, stomach ache, fever, whatever, I don’t like taking meds to help me. Most of the time I do it because it seems to be the smarter option. I have too many responsibilities and need to be able to function.

But that is the issue for me, I don’t want to become dependent. I don’t want to feel like I have to take something to get through the day. I am not an addict now, nor have I ever been. If I have a cold I don’t have to take the cold medicine, but sometimes it is easier to try and work when I am not sneezing my ass off.

I have a pinched nerve in my right shoulder that sometimes acts up. Typically it rears its ugly head when I have been sneezing or if I haven’t been sitting correctly. About once every 18 months it becomes intolerable and I take a muscle relaxant for it.

Last night was one of those nights. So I took the pill and found myself remembering why I hate them. That stuff throws me. I have terrible dreams. For whatever reason they are always disconcerting. It is kind of like being in a carnival fun house. Reality is twisted and distorted.

And then when I wake up I am groggy and irritable. I wander around fighting to pull the cobwebs from my mind. For whatever reason that stuff magnifies my feelings. If I am at all out of sorts it makes it a thousand times worse.

So I look at the lyrics below and I see them through the glass is half full perspective. This is not really me. I am not this guy, but at the moment I am. Time to hook my arm up to the caffeine drip and see if I can’t shock that sucker into submission.

Just Another Day– Oingo Boingo
(There’s life underground)

I feel it all around / I feel it in my bones
My life is on the line / When I’m away from home
When I step out the door / The jungle is alive
I do not trust my ears / I don’t believe my eyes
I will not fall in love / I cannot risk the bet
Cause hearts are fragile toys / so easy to forget

It’s just another day / There’s murder in the air
It drags me when I walk / I smell it everywhere
It’s just another day / Where people cling to light
To drive away the fear / That comes with every night

CHORUS
It’s just another . . . . . . . It’s just another day
It’s just another . . . . . . . It’s just another day . . .

It’s just another day–When people wake from dreams
With voices in their ears–That will not go away

I had a dream last night / The world was set on fire
And everywhere I ran / There wasn’t any water
The temperature increased / The sky was crimson red
The clouds turned into smoke / And everyone was dead
(but) There’s a smile on my face . . . For everyone
There’s a golden coin . . . That reflects the sun
There’s a lonely place . . . That’s always cold
There’s a place in the stars . . . For when you get old

There’s razors in my bed / That come out late at night
They always disappear / Before the morning light
I’m dreaming again / Of life underground
It doesn’t ever move / It doesn’t make a sound
And just when I think–That things are in their place
The heavens are secure–The whole thing explodes in my face

CHORUS

Blogging While Angry

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I am a repeat offender of BWI, Blogging while Angry. I don’t offer excuses but reasons for this. BWI has more times than not been the thing that allowed me to blow off enough steam I didn’t say or do something really stupid.

That is not to say that BWI has prevented me from doing so because it hasn’t. On more than one occasion BWI has been responsible for getting me into trouble. But as they say if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

Boy I love played out cliches.

Ultimately BWI offers more advantages and benefits than several alternatives so I tend to select this as my drug of choice.

Times like this make me wonder what would happen if I had a billion dollars in the bank. What would I do if I had so much cash in the drawer that I didn’t have to worry about working ever again. Would I be the eccentric rich guy who does and says as he pleases.

I might. Can’t say that it is a complete impossibility. As it is I don’t completely censor myself. There are moments where I rear back my head and roar. There are moments when I let loose the beast and bellow.

The heavy bag that lives in my garage is always ready to accept the beating that I deliver. It is great exercise and a great release.

But when it comes to BWI, it is a different story. When it comes to BWI and I decide to take off the gloves I readily admit to enjoying that sort of release as well. There is something pleasant in being unpleasant.

Perhaps I shouldn’t say that, but then again the rules of the blog dictate that we issue honesty. And the truth is that sometimes I like telling you that you are an ignorant prick who is in need of servicing by an animal that chews while it eats.

The pacifists among the crowd, sorry Bill, might not appreciate this, but a severe ass kicking might help to provide the needed attitude adjustment. I can’t promise that it would work, but I can promise that there is a long line of people interested in applying for the job.

If nothing else they’d be happy to lock you in a cage full of rabid monkeys.

Good old BWI, my loyal and trusted friend, where would I be without you. And now that I have spent the past five minutes expressing my lack of satisfaction you may return to your previously scheduled programming.

Interesting Links

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Yakuza Offers Entrance Exam– Times are tough when gangs require you to take a written test.

Staring at breasts can improve men’s health– Look at the last paragraph.

Play this and Pretend that you’re Ringo– George died, John was murdered and everyone knows that Paul is dead. That means that Ringo is it.
10 Technologies We Stole From the Animal Kingdom– Some cool stuff to read about.