A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Healthy but empty

I've been wracking my brain for months, trying to think of something to post in here. And...I just can't seem to think of anything. Which is strange, because it's not like nothing's been going on in the world.

I thought about writing about the Fiscal Cliff. I've been watching a lot of "The West Wing" on Netflix lately and the storylines, though written ten years ago, are amazingly relevant now. I recently watched an episode that featured a venal Speaker of the House blocking President Bartlet's proposed budget at the eleventh hour, and the government shut down for 3 days. I thought about Crying-Man John Boehner and how he's been doing his level best to hold our real-life government hostage every chance he gets.

But I don't know enough about our country's finances to speak intelligently about it, so that idea was out.

I was moved and thrilled as I watched President Obama's Inauguration ceremony. I was taken again at how grateful I am to be alive at this time in U.S. history. It was amazing that our country elected a black President with the middle name Hussein the first time. But a second term? Who'd'a thunk it? A female, Hispanic Associate Supreme Court Justice swore in Vice President Biden and a black man was sworn in for the second time in a row. I was also taken with how much more significant Barack Obama winning a second term was than the first. No matter how bad things seem to have gotten during his first four years, Americans still weren't willing to give up. And, apparently, a majority of Americans found Mitt Romney as creepy as I did (and still do).

But the whole election thing seemed played out, so I didn't try to write a big, flowery post about that.

The senseless massacre in Newtown shook the nation, but it almost seemed like sensationalism to write about that. I mean, what could I offer that (I dare say literally) every American wasn't already thinking and feeling? Could I rail about the gun control laws in this country? I, who recently spent an afternoon at a target range? Nope, can't go there. Safety in our schools? The role of violence on television and in movies on our youth? Nope, because I don't think any of that stuff has anything to do with anything. A nutjob kid finally blew a gasket and opened fire on a building full of innocent people. Period.

So that was a no-go.

Hurricane (neé Super Storm) Sandy? Although it's pretty much reached super-saturation in the news, people in the affected region are still suffering. A friend just recently got her Internet access restored. People are still homeless, still reeling from the loss of life and property. Sandy was actually more acutely fixed on my radar than Katrina, but I still didn't feel like I had anything worthwhile to say about it. I'm deeply saddened for what those people went through and my heart continues to go out to them, but it didn't seem right (or relevant) to try to generate blog hits by spewing a bunch of tired platitudes.

So, another shot...and another miss.

One thing that did get me was the controversy surrounding "Django Unchained". I guess I just continue to be naïve about the public's reaction to certain things. Christy (my girlfriend) and I went to see "Django" and absolutely loved it. We'd seen "The Hobbit" the day before, but "Django" is the one that stuck with us. Not because of it's subject matter, per se, but because it was just a cracking good movie. Spike Lee made a comment about how he had no intention of seeing "Django" because of how blacks and slavery were handled in the film. He went on to say that he wouldn't share an opinion on the film since he hadn't seen it...and then went on to share an opinion about it. I get frustrated when people criticize fiction because of alleged historical inaccuracies. It's entertainment, not education. Dan Brown got slammed for "The Da Vinci Code" and Tarantino's getting slammed for "Django". Let me be clear: I'm no Tarantino fan. I think he's a smug, goofy "wannabe". I put wannabe in quotes because he really isn't a wannabe. He's a be. He's tremendously talented and I've enjoyed every movie he's made. But he always strikes me as that guy who, no matter how successful or famous he gets, will always be on the outside looking in because he's never actually gonna be cool.

Okay. So maybe I had a little on my mind after all.

Still, my brain's not really in it. I started this blog with several things in mind that I wanted to vent about and, by golly, I've checked all those things off of my list. Ordinarily I'd say stay tuned — something will piss me off enough to compel me to write about it. But I think I've been so damn happy lately that that criteria may not be applicable any more. I could write about things that are making me so gleeful, but honestly, it'd be kinda boring. I'm sure I'll come up with something though. Soon.

So, yes, stay tuned...