10.17.02

Sorry I’m late this week. Last night I was really worn out from the day at work and the following gym excursion, which absolutely whooped my ass, and I was in a sort of lethargic mood. To relieve some tension, I decided to play Super Mario World for a little bit. Next thing I knew it was midnight and my mind had wandered from stupid snipers and Iraq to returning a lost baby penguin to his DCFS-worthy mother and shooting myself out of cannons with wings on my hat that enabled me to fly. But here I am…fresh, invigorated, and at the office so I don’t have any of those distractions close at hand.

Sadly I have to mention the sniper again this week. Now don’t get me wrong, I think what he’s doing is terrible, cowardly, and just plain psycho, but at the same time…I guarantee more than ten people die every day in this country, let alone over the course of two weeks. Why aren’t they using military spy planes to track down the guy that broke into a woman’s apartment last night, proceeding to beat, rape, and kill her? Why aren’t we hearing about that guy every five minutes on CNN? Is it because of the “it could happen to you” factor? Some guy could break into my apartment tonight, beat, rape and kill me, and that’s about the last thing I would’ve thought could happen to me, but I don’t see special reports on it.

Yes, it is a scary situation. Yes, it is sad to see someone randomly struck down while they’re going about their everyday life. But this is no worse than that idiot kid who was planting pipe bombs in mailboxes to form a smiley face on the map; that’s just as random. (Speaking of, what the hell ever happened to that kid? A buddy of mine and I have tried to find any follow-ups and have come up blank.)

I’m not saying they shouldn’t report on the story. It is a worthy story because it offers all the things we Romans…er, I mean, Americans crave: bloodshed, sensationalism, and a sense of danger. It livens up our otherwise boring 9-5 lives. But is the media going too far? Are we feeling a sense of unease for no good reason?

Why just the other night, I was filling up my tank at a gas station around 11:30 and I gotta tell ya, I felt really exposed out there. I couldn’t help but think, “If it came right now, would I even know it? Or would everything just go black as the bullet exploded inside my skull?” I was uneasy. Why? I had no reason to be. The attacks haven’t been anywhere near the Midwest, let alone Missouri. There was no reason at all for me to feel tension, but I did. Is it too much information? Does this go back to my discussion of the idea that words can kill you? Has my mind been infected by media propaganda? Or do I just have an overactive imagination? I’m not sure.

Speaking of propaganda – Now that North Korea has announced their nuclear strivings, does this mean we have to bomb them now, too? Man…we are going to run out of bombs by the time we finish taking out people who MIGHT attack us. Ya know, those French have been acting kinda shifty lately.

I think the U.N. should make it mandatory that every leader of every country in the world watch “Dr. Stranglove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” at least once per year. I think that would really cut down on the arms race situation.

So now they’re trying to get weapons inspectors into Korea. Here’s a question: Does the U.N. ever send weapons inspectors to America? Shouldn’t someone be checking up on us, too? Seems fair, doesn’t it?

Ok, enough ranting for the day. Let me fill you in on some personal items.

Been writing quite a bit this week. I’m getting back to the shorter stuff that I was saying I’d been neglecting and it’s going pretty well. Not sure I’d send anything in for publication just yet, but it’s getting me back into that mode of thinking instead of the 400-page novel plots that have seemed to dominate as of late. It feels good.

Also, got a call from Borders and I have an interview Sunday at 1:00. So, wish me luck. Oh, and Hollywood Video has never returned any of my calls. Ya know, if you’ve already filled the position, you could at least do the professional thing and let me know. Then again…I’m talking about Hollywood Video, so maybe I’m expecting too much.

GIS stuff at work is going well. I’ve been at it for about three weeks and I feel like I’m back in the groove now. I just hope things continue to go smoothly.

Finally, I started lifting weights again this week, on top of my cardio workout. The last time I lifted was almost exactly two months ago. Since then I’ve lost like ten pounds and I think it was all muscle. Atrophy’s a bitch.

Oh, I almost forgot! Go HERE and check out my latest official SpaceMonkeyX merchandise buys. Some cool stuff.

Well, I think that’s about it for now. I’ll make sure I’m on time next week as I’m sure both of my readers are anxious to find out what’s going through my head. Have a good one!

Space Monkey X