Can someone please explain something to me, please?

Last night was the State of the Union address presented by President Barrack Obama. He came out and admitted some things haven't worked the way he had hoped, he understands that the American middle class feel like he isn't speaking to them, and he can see that there is a clear division between the right and the left. This became more and more evident as the night went on. He then went on to touch on many key points that he plans to work on, including, but not limited to, creating more jobs, giving tax breaks to both small and large businesses, bringing troops home by late summer, getting rid of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, as well as picking back up health care reform. He asked for patience, reminding everyone that he campaigned for change, and that it wouldn't be easy, or happen quickly.

I thought he did a great job. He had stern words for both Democrats and Republicans. He pleaded both sides to get together and work hard to come to resolutions, not to just say no because they can, or to push their own political agendas. I feel like he did more to speak to the heart of America, the middle class. He touched on ways to encourage small business owners to create more jobs. He seems to realize what needs to be done with regards to health reform, and has hopes that both sides can get together to come up with the best possible solution.

In watching last night, there was a clear divide in the room. Based on my facebook friends status updates, and the subsequent comments, along with scanning some of the cable news networks, there is a lot of contention and negative comments. Now, here is my question. What would you have said differently? He touched on all the points the right have said he is ignoring. He plans to continue pursuing items the left side are interested in. He wants to get the final 10% of Americans back to work and see that we all have affordable health care that covers any condition we may have. He wants to see more jobs stay in the United States and pull our troops out of a war they should have never been a part of. Can someone please explain to me what the problem is here? I have heard one negative comment after another from the right side, with no real suggestion on what should be done. "Just a lot of bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah from Obama, do you get the picture????" or "I am sorry but I did not vote for socialism". OK, so then what would you do differently?

I am absolutely sick to my stomach watching people spew venom around with regards to the leader of our country. He has been in office for one short year. He walked into a mess and it has been a very difficult year. I'm not sure what people expect. I agree that more needs to happen, but I will reserve judgement for later on, once he has had more of a chance to follow through with some of his plans. I REALLY want to see people on each side come together, quit the name calling and finger pointing, and work on making our country the best place to live. I'm just saying...

Punxsutawney R2D2 and Clint Eastwood top American movie star of 2009?! Say what?!

The nut jobs at PETA are at it again, now targeting everybodys favorite groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. The animal rights activists want to replace the real groundhog with a robotic stand in. They say it is unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany Groundhog Day, each and every February 2nd. But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania. The groundhog currently lives in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture. Deeley thinks, and I agree, that PETA isn't interested in Phil from Feb. 3 on, and is only looking for publicity. Gee, ya think! What's next, is PETA gonna go after Walt Disney because Mickey Mouse spends too much time in the sun, and is forced to wear that goofy suit?

A recent Harris Poll was conducted to determine the Top 10 American Movie Stars, and it was determined that Clint Eastwood was the number 1 American movie star in 2009. Um, what? Can somebody tell me what movie he was in last year? He starred in Gran Torino back in 2008, I'll give him that, but come on, the best American movie star? Better yet, number 7 on the list, down from 3rd last year, is John Wayne! John Wayne died the year I was born, and hasn't starred in a film in over 30 years! Who participated in this survey? How, in the hell, are Clint Eastwood and John Wayne considered top American actors, today? Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep or Tom Hanks, I'll give you those. I would even take Will Smith or Steve Buscemi over John freaking Wayne! Clearly, the people taking part in this poll don't have Netflix, an HD television, or even a recent newspaper. There should be a questionnaire that must be completed before a person is allowed to take part in the future. First question, how much did it cost the last time you went to the movie theater. If you don't remember, or it was less than $5, you cannot be a part of it. I'm just saying...

My yearly sales pitch

Every year, there are two fundraising activities that I take part in, and they both happen to take place in January and February. My seven year old daughter is working her way up the ranks at the Girl Scouts. It has been a truly great experience for her so far. She is learning about working in a team, community involvement, and, of course, selling COOKIES! We are aiding Kerrigan in attaining her goal of 300 boxes of cookies sold, which would beat the 250 boxes she sold last year. Everyone loves Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties and Thin Mints. Our friend Amelie has challenged anyone to try to beat her and her work crew's order of about 40 boxes of cookies. Both Nichole and I have order forms, so feel to check in with us if you are interested. We have to turn in the order forms by February 5th, so get back to us as soon as possible. Cookies will be at our house in early March, and we will get them to you then, which is when we can get your money ($3.50 per box).

The other fundraising event I am a part of is the annual Bowl For Kid's Sake through the Big Brother Big Sisters. This will be my fourth year participating, and it is something I really enjoy being a part of. The Big Brother Big Sisters do great things for disadvantaged children in the Greater Portland area. Nichole, a former Big Sister herself, is who got me involved in the first place. Seeing the good spending a few hours a week did to her little sister was a wonderful thing to see. That being said, the Big Brother Big Sisters can use every dollar they can get to continue to do great things for local children. Our team this year has set a goal of $2000, with my personal goal being $500. I have 483 Facebook friends. If every friend gave just over a dollar, I would easily reach my goal. If you can give $2, $5 or even $10, that is a huge help, not only to get me to my goal, but to the great people at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Every, please go to my personal site, and give as much as you can. Remember, it's a tax write off, and it helps a great local charity! I'm just saying...

My letter to Mother Nature, and why we aren't getting along to well these days...

I learned something new on Monday. Scratch that, I had something I had thought to be true for a while proven to me on Monday. Meteorologists don't really know what they are doing. Tell me a profession where you can be wrong half of the time, if not more, and not get fired?! The local news is entirely weather driven, I mean, Storm Team 13, First Warning Weather and Storm Center are pretty much all you see on newscasts around here, and let's be honest, that much talk about the weather is not really necessary. Tell us once, maybe twice, not every 3 minutes. That's a bit redundant. Besides, you usually aren't right, and when you do give us something useful, it's usually just showing "sky cams" of the snow falling, which you didn't predict correctly in the first place!

Anyways, now that it has been snowing for several days straight, I have shoveled a solid foot of fluffy white crap out of our driveway once, and will have to shovel another 4 or so inches this evening. I recently sent a letter to Mother Nature, letting her know that I am totally over her. Her only way to make things up to me will be to give us a good summer, and even still, I'm not sure that will work 100%. Here is a copy of said letter...

Dear Mother Nature,

You can stop all this snow you have been dumping on us lately. My snow blower is broken, I don't have a plow (or a truck for that matter), and my ergonomic shovel is the most useless piece of crap ever (seriously, who invented that thing?). After shoveling most of my "day off" on Monday, I have another night of shoveling in front of me, and that just isn't nice. You are so not cool, we are in a fight.

Regretfully yours,

Mark


I'm not sure if the letter will help, but it was nice to at least let her know how I was feeling. She may just spit more snow at me while laughing, but remember this Mother Nature, I'm very nice to you. I think you should take your anger out on Scott Brown and his big truck! I'm just saying...

Longest...Week...Ever...

After a week of increased feelings of a cold coming on, as well as decreased levels in our bank account, I'm excited we are staring at a three day weekend. I have spent nearly every night since last Sunday working until around 11 getting financials done for a couple of clients, not to mention the three lunch breaks that were spent working for another client, on top of putting together a bunch of schedules and reports for the auditors at the office. It's been a crazy work week.

On top of that, our furnace crapped out on Sunday and set us back a decent amount to get it running again. On a good note, I now know the ins and outs of a furnace, and am able to clean it myself now, which will save us a decent amount of money each year. We also had a friend of ours pass away on Sunday, as you may have read in my last post. Another fun note (sarcasm...) from this week is that Kerrigan sprained her ankle jumping off a tall snowbank at school. She's been hopping around the house for a couple of days now, but seems to be getting better as time goes by. She's more like her father every day, willing to try anything people dare her to.

So, in honor of having such a mentally draining week, I'm going to rip on some things, I figure making fun of other stuff will make me feel better. Here we go...

1. Pat Robertson, the whacky, outspoken, televangelist claims that Haiti's 1791 Slave Rebellion is to blame for the massive earthquake that occurred on January 12th. He says that Haiti made a pact with the devil to get out from under French control, and they have been cursed ever since. Rush Limbaugh, the radio host and conservative political commentator, claims that the earthquake benefits President Obama because it makes him look "compassionate" and "humanitarian", while at the same time bolstering his standing in both the "light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country." He added: "We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax." Guys, come on, didn't your mothers teach you that if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all? In other words, shut the hell up, morons.

2. Facebook statusi (that is the plural, right?!) asking me to repost something if I believe in it. To the person/people who started this, please stop. I obviously support our troops. We have all had someone, friend or family, that has had cancer. Just because we don't post something doesn't mean we don't care or aren't thinking about them on a regular basis. I would rather see people post something like this... "Put this as your status if you have eaten your own boogers or pissed in a swimming pool. ♥♥♥ The majority won't put it on, because unlike cancer, eating boogers or pissing in a pool is taboo. ♥♥♥ Break the silence. ♥♥♥ In honor of all pool pissers and booger munchers, you are loved too."

3. Brett Favre, Kobe Byrant, Lebron James and Eli Manning - I just don't like you guys. Never will. Don't even try to convince me.

4. To all you fools out there that find it necessary to try to blow up a plane, are you kidding me?! Trust me, your god does not want you to kill innocent people, and anyone who is trying to convince you otherwise is off his freaking rocker. Oh, you have been promised endless amounts of beautiful virgins when you get to heaven. Let me tell you something buddy, that is not, I repeat, not going to happen. Why don't you do us all a favor and quit with the whole war nonsense. It's going to end badly for everyone, and what good does that do?

5. To the dimwitted Wal-Mart employee in Auburn that wrote a bomb threat on the stall wall yesterday, your plan to get the night off didn't work, did it? Haha. Now, of course, I am drawing my own conclusions, and I have no evidence to back up my statement, but come on. A bomb threat is written on a bathroom stall last evening at the Wal-Mart in Auburn, Maine. Really?! Why would anyone put a bomb there? I'm certain it was some chick who just met a dude online and didn't want to be at work because she wanted to find out more about the guy (who, mind you, is probably not at all who he says he is, cuz that's what internet stalkers do). Next time, just find someone to work for you, it's a whole lot easier, and you won't get into any trouble for doing it.

Wow, I'm feeling better already! I'm just saying...

May the duck quack on...

For those of you that were at the Marcole nuptials, you most likely remember Art Ducko posing for photo after photo with nearly all the guests in attendance. For anyone who follows my blog, you have surely seen comments from Art Ducko, always perfectly articulating his thoughts in response to the topic du jour. Well, the man behind Art Ducko passed away on Saturday, leaving behind many wonderful friends and even more lasting memories.

Nichole and I had only begun to scratch the surface in terms of getting to know Petro, but we both agree, there wasn't a kinder soul out there. I'll never forget the day we met him, sipping a PBR at the Juke Joint below Buck's Naked BBQ in Freeport, grooving to the IGYB. It was as if he had known us our whole lives the way he came up to us. He was a fan of music, photography, life, but above all else, people. He instantly became a dear friend to anyone that ever met him, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to fall into that category.

Here's hoping Petro is grooving with Jerry Garcia as we speak! I'm just saying...