DC Vacation

We just got back from our Vacation the Nation's Capitol. Wow, what a place. The sheer history alone will awe you, no matter what your political bent is. That's a good suggestion to start with when visiting the Captiol; leave your politics at home. There's more to DC than Politics. If you're going, I suggest staying at a hotel in the outlying areas that is close to a Metro Station. For those that don't know what the Metro is, think a Subway. For my Bay Areans back home think Bart. It is by far the most stress free way of getting into that town to sight see. I also suggest getting a 2 day pass for one of the many sightseeing busses that cruise through town. You won't regret it. We hopped on the City Sightseeing bus http://www.city-sightseeing.com/ (I liked them so much I will put their website url up in this post) and we didn't regret our decision. A two day pass for 3 people was 70-something dollars. This included a night tour. The beauty of these busses, besides being open topped double deckers, is that you can get on and off as many times and for as long as you want at each stop. You do not have to get back on the same bus, just one of that companies busses that comes along every 15 minutes. The stops are all at or near places you want to go anyway. I also suggest doing some research ahead of time. We bought a couple of really cool travel books at the bookstore. One broke the City down into sections, and each sections write up was two pages long. Included in that section was a flip up map of the area. Very handy. Also each book comes with a Metro map in the front...again vary handy. One thing you should be prepared for is high security at all the museums, etc. And please folks, don't bitch and moan about the crap security asks you to do. The one time someone doesn't check something is the one time something happens. These folks are just doing their jobs, don't give them shit. I highly suggest the Holocaust Museum. That place will get you. Also I might add that anyone who thinks that the Holocaust didn't happen needs to remove themselves from the Gene Pool. I loved the Museum of Natural History but I ran into someone outside that I really wanted to smack. There was a chunk of iron ore dated back to 22 million years ago. Some guy with his sons was reading it to them and he said..."22 mllion years, or 7000 depends on what you're buying." Freaking Creationist!!! I literally wanted to smack the guy and say "if you don't believe any of this is true then what the Hell are you doing going into the museum." I ignored the ingnoramous and we walked in. Holy Crap that place was huge!!!! You could seriously spend a week in that place. Here's a pic of one of the halls:



Huge isn't it? There was a very cool temporary exhibit going on that was a Butterfly tunnel. You went in this room that was filled with flowers and there were butterflies of every kind, color, etc flitting around. They'd land on you and the curators had to check you on the way out to make sure you didn't carry any hitchhiking butterflies. We tried to get to the American History museum but ran out of time.

The memorials are very moving. I only got to see Abe and the Korean War Memorial and the WWII one from the bus. Here are some shots:







Abe is 19 feet tall an along the side walls are the complete Gettysburg Address. The figures in the Korean War Memorial are lifesize and the detail is amazing.

I suggest trying to see all the Memorials. You may not agree with the decision to go to War, but you have to honor those men and women that gave their lives so we can be the Nation we are.

Also try and see all the Smitsonian Museums. They are free, and the artifacts in them are amazing.

My favorite was the Air and Space Museum. I got to see the Spirit of St. Louis, a Predator Drone, one of the Lunar Landers, several space capsules and the Wright Bros plane......very impressive.....here's some shots.







Didn't get the Wright Bros plane as my phone camera doesn't have flash. The Wife got some good shots though.

We tried to get into the Capital but some Jackhole left an unattended package and they had to treat it like a security breach. Especially since Congress is in session.

There is so much to do and you need several weeks to do it in. It was really a good trip and we were exhausted when we got back to the Hotel.

Good News and a bunch of Sad News.

The good news is that Bernie Madoff is going to be in prison for 150 years. It may be Club Fed, but it's still prison. Also his petty Wife who claims that 90 mil of their holdings was hers has basically had everything sold out from underneath her and left with a "measly" 2.5 million. Poor wittle baby....I guess you're going to have to learn to live off of 2.5 mil. Sorry bitch.

Now for the bad news. We've had some great entertainers die recently and our arts are surely lacking for their loss. First off there was Ed "Yes!!" McMahan. He put the Yes into Yes Man. He was the worlds most famous SideKick. Poor Farrah lost he battle with cancer and has gone off to a better place now. I remember the famous Farrah poster well...I should, I had one hanging on the wall next to my bed as a Teen boy. Little did Mom realize it was legal Porn for us teen boys. Then we lost Michael Jackson. Say what you will, and I've said my share believe me, before he turned into a White Transvestite he was a talented Man. Something along the way snapped and that Man never reemerged. Today I read that we lost a amazing salesman in Billy "Oxiclean" Mays. WTF????? I've been watching his show "Pitchmen" with fellow salesguy Anthony Sullivan lately and it's a great show. Wow!!! We also lost David Carridine earlier so that's 5.....one more I guess....you know how they say they die in 3's. RIP all....you will be missed.

How does this happen?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/09/BAM8183KNR.DTL&tsp=1

Another moronic parent has killed their infant child by "forgetting" them in their car. How the Hell does this happen? It's a freaking child Asshat, not a cellphone or your lunch. According to the article over 40+ kids have died from a parent forgetting they were in the car. I see the crap my oldest Daughter has to bring with her when she brings the kids over to visit. Diaper bag, the 5 year old's cars and toys, the baby's toys, etc. She is very aware her children are in the car with her. It's unexcusable. The article gives some tips on how not to forget your kid's in the car. What???? Here's a tip asshole; YOUR KID IS IN THE FREAKING CAR....YOU KNOW A LIVING HUMAN BEING THAT YOU PHYSICALLY PUT IN A CAR SEAT IN YOUR CAR AND BUCKLED IN!!! If you can't remember that, then your children need to be taken away and you need to be sterilized. This dumbass normally takes his kid to daycare before going to the BART station to catch a train to work. Apparently this one time he forgets!?!?!?!? The article quotes some "expert" who says "One little deviation from your daily routine can be just enough of a distraction that you forget the child." Bullshit! With the price of Daycare the way it is, you are going to remember to haul your kid there. Here's a little hint folks; just because you can make children doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Update: Saturday we had GrandDaughter duty. She's 9 moths old. The Wife and I were acutely aware of her being strapped into her car seat in our back seat. Even when she was sleeping we'd check on her. So I still don't have any clue other than Munchausen Syndrome how this could happen.

California: The Education is for the Wealthy State

I should also add California: The Let's make the cop's job even harder State. Please read The Supergoober's Blog, The Discourser's Blog and The Warden's Blog regarding the sorry State of Politics in the about to be bankrupt State of California. Isn't it funny, when there's no cash the first places they take it from are Education and Law Enforcement. I miss the sights and I miss the GoG, but I don't miss California Politics. Needless to say I'm as pissed off as the guys are.

June 6th, 1944

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Battle+of+Normandy

Amidst all the whining and bitching heard in the MSM lately, I neglected to hear anything about the fact that Saturday was the 65th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles in World War II. So remember those vets of the Great War who are dwindling in number as the years advance. I read somewhere that very soon there will be no more living Vets of WWII. So if you have a relative or aquaintance that was in that war, please visit them. Talk to them about their experiences because very soon that generation will have all gone away.

Racism

Supergoober brought up a good point on the GoG's private yahoo group today about Racism.  For those that don't know, the GoG is made up of a diverse group of races that is a demographic slice of the SF Bay Area.  Seriously it is.  The group is made up of Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Latino, Celts and Italians.   The Group also has Catholics, Jews and other religions that I'm probably not aware of.  (Honestly with the GoG, Religion is a mute point as it's a subject that is rarely discussed and everyone's differences are respected.)  Yet in that Group of Immigrants (there's no one in that group who's ancestors came over on the Mayflower.) The Celts, Pols and Italians would be considered "White" and treated differently than say the Asians or Latinos.   Why?  The media, the mouth breathing "pundits", etc.   I've discussed this before, every Stereotype has a bit of truth to it.  I'm one of the Italians in the group.  My people are loud, we talk with our hands, we are touchy feely and tend to have no concept of personal space.  We pepper our dialogue with Italian sayings (case in point, from being around my relatives and Family all my life I, like other Italians, say the term "Madon" when someone or something makes one shake one's head.  Or when someone frustrates you.  The actual term is "Madonna Mia".  Something on TV last night made me say that and my Daughter said "why do you say that all the time?") and when we are together we get "very Italian".   I know, you are thinking "The Godfather" and "The Sopranos" right now aren't you?  Those stereotypes are true.  Am I offended by them?  Hell no.  The point of this discussion was prompted by Supergoober's response to Rush Limburger calling Justice Sotomayer a "racist".   Wow.  Hello Mr. Kettle, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Pot.  Her statement was from 2002 when she said that (and I'm paraphrasing here) that "as a Latina she would have a better perspective on the situation than a privileged White Person."   I'm guessing the case was a case of a minority being further undermined by the law or something.   In that case, it wasn't a racist statement.  When offering opinions on laws, I firmly believe the Supreme Court Justices should first ask themselves "Who is this law benefiting?".   In a case like the aforementioned one, if it was about a minority, then yes Sotomayer as a Latina who had to work her way up from the bottom and who was able to attend Law School on Scholarships would have a better understanding of what an underprivileged Minority has to go through every day.   A WASP born into buttloads of cash who has never had to want at any time in their lives doesn't understand shit about being Poor, or a Minority.  Hell they don't even understand what it is to be White and Middle Class.  People claim there's a "double standard".  If a White Man said something similar to what Sotomayer said he'd be branded a racist and would have resigned his nomination.   As well he should.  I hate to say this White Folks, but your racist, in charge of everything asses have had this coming a long time now.   Those of you born into money with no freaking clue as to what those who have to work for a living have to go through every day are in for a big shock too.  Supergoober's comparison was this:  Take White people hating all Filipinos and then compare that to Filipinos hating all White people.  There are more Whites in this country (hell I think they are all here in Tennessee but I digress....) than Filipinos.  If there was a "battle" who do you think would win?  This was his question.  His point was that the White Hatred towards the Filipinos is more dangerous and detrimental to that Racial Group than the Filipino hatred (and yes he commented on the lowercase h..) towards the Whites.  Why you ask?  Isn't it the same thing?  Isn't hatred hatred?  In a sense it's the same thing, but only in the fact that the hate is an emotional response to actions from the other group.  That's it.  Whites have the power in this Country (even with a Black President, it's still a mostly White Congress and House.....).  Most CEO's of the big Powerful Corporations are White Males.  Money talks, and the Whites have most of it.  If a powerful and wealthy White man wanted to, with a little expenditure of cash he could make it so Filipinos are considered second class citizens.   That's SG's point.  We Humans tend to hate what's different than ourselves.   White folks have been Xenophobic for Decades now, and not much has changed.   What is changing is the old generations that accepted the "N" word as no big deal, who actually used it often and in polite company, are dying off and becoming irrelevant.  Funny how most of them are die hard Republicans...hee hee...  I saw a report that said there is an increase in the amount of interracial people in this Country.  I've always said, one day we will all be the same freaking color and be able to trace our ancestry to several different racial backgrounds.    With the generations that are coming of age (i.e. younger than me...) and their attitudes towards things, I'm not surprised in the slightest. 

NAFL......who's that?????

It seems that back in 1996 some people didn't get the hint about Spring/Summer Football being a bad thing.  Remember way back when in the 80's when we had the USFL, the United States Football League.  Such memorable teams as the Oakland Invaders (the Raiders had just moved to LA and this was the replacement team but not an NFL team).  It failed miserably because they were playing during the midst of Baseball season.  Well apparently in 1996 an amateur Football league was put together called the North American Football League and they have been playing ever since and they have 71 teams!?!?!?!?!?!?  If it hadn't been for a recent commercial on TV for the Nashville Storm....which made me pause and say "who the Hell is the Nashville Storm????"....I never would have heard of this league.   If you look at the Wikipedia entry, apparently there will be massive expansion in the league next year with Sacto, San Jose, SF, Stockton, and other Cali cities getting teams.   Has anyone even seen one of their games?  Are these guys popular or even have a following?   You would think they would have gotten the hint after the demise of the XFL....c'mon who didn't see that coming.  It was a "Football" league created by Vince "WWE" McMahon.  Hell they had the same announcers for the Wrestling matches calling the play by play on the game.  Apparently during the mandatory TV time outs, the "Cheerleaders" put on a show akin to a striptease.  Note on TV Time out:  Pro Football is a TV sport.  Every game is televised and shown somewhere in the Country.  That's why there are very few games and they are played on one day, sometimes two, only.  Watching the game live it's very odd because when the networks switch to commercial, play on the field stops.   The live game you are sitting and watching in the stadium actually stops for what is called a TV Timeout.  Now back to the Rant.  The XFL died after only one season.   They made such a huge deal out of it too, but it was not to be.   Then we got the AFL or Arena Football League.  Played indoors on a half sized field it was more action packed and higher scoring.  It also has been steadily losing enthusiasm since day one.  Our team out here in Nashville was sold twice.  Apparently the Predators Hockey team didn't like to share the Sommnet Center.  The AFL team owners decided to cancel the 2009 season to reassess the business model of the league and try and find out why it's not popular.    Gee, I can tell you why.  See USFL, XFL, etc.  Hell see professional LaCrosse and the funniest one of all, professional Roller Hockey.  Oh yes, there was once a team called the Oakland Rhinos.   The one that got me was when the NHL was expanding to areas of the world without snow: San Jose, Phoenix, LA., there was a league trying to compete called the IHL.  There was a SF team called the Spiders and they played in the Cow Palace.  Oh yeah, they were doomed from the start.  The Cow Palace is in one of the most Ghetto areas of SF to begin with.  Put it this way, the KFC near the Cow Palace has a huge lexan wall with tray slots and speakers and this is INSIDE the restaurant.   If a fast food restaurant has to take your orders and serve you through bullet proof glass then it's a Ghetto.  The other reason they were doomed is because the Cow Palace is an ancient facility.  If you've never seen a concert there, don't.  I don't care who it is.  In High School I saw my share of concerts there and the acoustics are horrible.  I know what you're thinking, but no.  I didn't go to concerts to get high or drunk, I actually went to hear the music and see the band play.  I know, GEEK....whatever.  My brain cells will die off naturally over time and not because of some funny green leaf that makes you stupid.  Maybe this amateur league will survive because no one knows about it.  I guess obscurity is better than hype.

How Not to be a Mom

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/index?blogid=46

I should know better than to check out the "Mommy Files" blog on SF Gate. I've written about Amy Graff before and how she is essentially clueless. She is a wealthy white woman who's husband makes a great living so she has time to get paid to blog and write articles. She has a daughter named Paris....that should be a sign right there, and a son. Apparently she has coddled and sheltered her Precious little Snowflakes to the point of them being afraid of their own shadows. This is the lady who on advice from a friend stopped her family from using shampoo because your hair's natural oils keep it clean........oh and because baby shampoo can give your kids cancer.....like I said before, if that was the case, every single person on this planet born in the 60's on would have cancer.....dumbass!! These people think because they have given birth, they are instant experts on child rearing. Her latest post asks the questions "Were your kids as scared of Pixar's Up as mine were?" WTF???? Apparently there are some big dog characters in the movie who go chasing after a bird. Well since her snowflakes got pushed down by a big dog a few weeks ago it's now the most traumatic thing EVER!!!!! These kids, 6 and 4 are so afraid of these computer generated, cartoony dogs that they cower under Mommies skirts to the point she has to leave the theater. Holy crap Lady!!! Do you not know that you have to help your children get over their fears? She admits she didn't research the movie ahead of time but seems to blame Pixar for making a child inappropriate movie. Ummmm....okay...it's for Kids and I believe it's rated G!!!! Tell you what Lady, just plop your kids down in front of swirling colored lights okay.....that shouldn't be too scary. Or have them watch Veggie Tales...oh wait, that might scare them because they are talking, Christian vegetables......talking Veggies can be traumatic. It sounds like I'm being a bit harsh but this Lady really pisses me off. Why you ask? Because she is supposedly some kind of "expert" and gives advice on a Moms Blog that poor, lost Mother's go to for expert advice. This Lady has more money than sense and seems to want some kind of award for giving birth. Read her blog if only for the laugh it will give you....you will laugh as you read her "advice" because you won't believe some of the crap she says. I bet she carries an industrial sized bottle of Purell in her purse. Just saying.

Update: Hee hee...apparently I'm not the only person who thinks her kids are coddled, wimps.....the comments to her latest blog post are full of people telling her what a moron she is or what wimpy kids she has. You'd think this Lady would have gotten a clue that it's a Pixar movie rated PG...that should tell you right there not for 4 and 6 year olds......