there is
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
so what are you looking at?
What makes me happy
my wife
my son
writing
books
listening to music
comic books
movies
fantasy football
man's exploration of space
law & order
unemployment
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What I dislike
Working at uninteresting, unfulfilling, jobs
My wife on PMS (hey, at least I'm honest about it)
Ignorant people who are unwilling to learn
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One current obsession
Trading Music CDs For $1
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Sequential artwork I've recently read
**** out of *****
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If I were single, here's who I'd like to ask out and inevitably be turned down by...
Sanaa Lathan
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Serialized television viewing
DEADWOOD
****1/2 out of *****
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Recent posts
Weird Home Stuff / More New Home Stuff / Lala.com
Sunday Morning Shuffle 6/25/2006: Ultimate Playlist
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Sites I visit regularly
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Reading or Read Recently
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Listening
**** out of *****
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Cooler than a penguin's feet
Venus and Earth
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(most recent article on top, earlier articles on bottom)
August 2, 2006: 1522 hours
WHY SOME MEN AREN'T SERIOUSLY JOB HUNTING
As
a man who refers to himself as unemployed (though a more apt term for my
situation might be "underemployed") I found it impossible to resist
reading
this article in the NY Times. While I don't agree with the
excuses given by some of the men quoted in the article, or a conclusion
or two the author settled on, most of the article is spot on with my
experience.
One thing I found disheartening is that many men who are choosing unemployment over underemployment are signing up (and qualifying) for disability benefits. While most doing this actually have some ailment or another, what ails them isn't substantial enough to keep them out of work. I understand the emotions and realities of life that drive such a decision, but I wish there was another solution.
One thing I found interesting is that all types of ex-employees are making the decision to remain unemployed. One guy profiled was a laid-off steel worker, while another was a former electrical engineer at Xerox. A growing percentage of such men include those recently released from prison after serving exorbitant sentences related to petty drug crimes during the big tough on crime push of the last two decades. And of course, a 35-year old man who has no work history because he spent his late teens/early 20's selling drugs and the past dozen years in jail, is not going to have an easy time getting hired. However, while ex-cons make up a fast rising percentage of unemployed men, they are not the largest group of unemployed men.
Another disappointing fact is that many of these men rely on the women in their lives to support them. That is one thing I haven't done. In fact, throughout my underemployment I have consistently paid the lion's share of the household expenses. My wife has provided the family with health insurance via her job, but other than that, I provide mostly everything else, from rent/mortgage to daycare expenses to toilet paper.
I'm not chauvinistic or anything, but I couldn't imagine coming home and asking my wife to pay all the bills while I laid on my ass all day. To me, that's not what a real man does. A real man provides for his family, whether he works a traditional job, an untraditional job, or he hustles for a living. A man who relies on his women (or his mother, or mother-figures) is not a man.
Still, as long as I can provide for my family and not have to take a full-time job that is more chore than joy, then I will continue to do so. I'm not going to bang my head against the career wall and work myself to a spiritual nub anymore. As one of the men, Christopher Priga, said in the article: "To be honest, I’m kind of looking for the home run. There’s no point in hitting for base hits. I’ve been down the road where I did all the things I was supposed to do, and the end result of that is nil."
August 2, 2006: 1416 hours
COMMON SENSE RETURNS IN MIDWEST EDUCATION
You may remember that a couple of years ago, the evolution-versus-six-day-belief debate came to a head in Kansas when the school board there voted to force the teaching of the six-day belief in schools.
Well,
new elections were held recently and the
make-up of the school board has shifted considerably. It looks
like this idiotic requirement is soon going the way of the
Dodo bird.
Oops, is referring to an animal closely linked to evolution theory while
discussing the six-day belief a sign of sarcasm?
Anyway, it appears the new board will repeal this stupid rule. Separation of church and state is one of the bedrocks upon which this great country was constructed. Mixing the two gets us that much closer to the sort of intractable religion-based governments of the countries with which was are currently battling.
Do we really want to allow the religious right to flout their religious might and mold laws according to their religious beliefs? Maybe we should look at how things turned out in some of the countries that have done that: Afghanistan, Iran, and some of the other countries in the Middle East are a good place to begin this study. I don't advocate that the Muslim faith is a bad thing, only that ruling a country based on religious law (of any religion) is a bad idea. It leads to witch trials, vile inquisitions and honor killings.
That's why insisting on the teaching of the six-day belief in public schools is a terribly brainless idea, especially in the glaring dearth of evidence to support such a belief. If some people believe in the six-day theory, well, that's their right. Just as it is anyone's right to believe in anything. However, it is not their right to insist that my child be taught a fairy tale and label it as fact.
August 1, 2006: 1219 hours
AMAZING PICS OF SYDNEY HARBOR
I came across a link to this site this morning and I've just wasted fifteen minutes clicking and clicking. Scott Howard, a photographer, took a vast array of pictures of the Sydney, Australia harbor, then through stitching and layering, created this wonderfully interactive image.
Click on the picture to go to the site. Once there, just click on any portion of the picture to zoom in further. You can zoom close enough to see people walking and standing around. In all, the picture is 715 megapixels comprised of 720 discrete pictures. It's amazing!
nothing to see here
Overworm is a writer available for work and/or agent representation. I write mysteries, tales of suspense, and African-American fiction. I also write articles for web and print, and marketing collateral.
nothing to see here