Tag Archives: humor

A Weekend’s Worth of Amusement (Offset by Some Real World News)

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This entry is part 85 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

It’s been a little trying here in the real world. Lots of not-so-great things going on if you pay attention to the news. More not-so-great things going on for some people I give a damn about. ANd my own feelings of utter stagnation really aren’t helping any.

So… To The Internet!

There’s no shortage of feel-good, restore your faith in humanity, mind blowingly cute, utterly hilarious things out there. Thankfully, a lot of those turned up over the past few days. Seems that sharing them has done more than a few people a bit of good.

Of course, there’s also the real world news stuff that I can’t in good conscience completely ignore. (Once a news guy, always a news guy.) But there’s also some genuinely good news of good people doing good things (that whole ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been a small goldmine of creativity and good will) some even doing good things at great risk to themselves (like they guys running aid and rescue missions in the mountains of Iraq).

The world can seem to be a really nasty place. It’s what we’re sold on TV–both in the news and in our entertainment. Visible, violent conflict is exciting (when it’s not happening to you or people you know). It gets eyeballs on the screen, which means eyeballs on the ads, which means money in someone’s pocket. “If it bleeds, it leads” remains true no matter where things are showing up.

But that’s not a fully accurate representation of the world. If it were, we’d all have been dead of one thing or another long, long ago. (And anyone who thought it was a good idea to bring a child into that fully bad world would be struck down by appalled mobs… who’d only be proving how bad things are.)

We’re still here. We’re still moving forward. There are still people fighting the good fight and many, many more quietly changing the world for the better.

Little by little, if we look, the light is there, holding the darkness at bay.

It’s still up to us to look, though. At both sides. To find the balance.

Here’s the feed…

Blasts from the Past, Signal Knowledge, Private Police, Big Brother Buzz, and Just Some Darn Funny Stuff

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This entry is part 54 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Today did not start out well.

The bus I normally catch to make it to work on time just plain didn’t show up.

The second bus on that route–the one that will get me to work just a little late, as long as we don’t hit any long traffic lights–was late.

Since that first bus hadn’t shown up, it was also at about 90% capacity when I got on. Total standing room only and a lot of shared airspace and getting friendly with strangers (and their bags).

The first stop after mine filled the aisles of the bus to sardine level.

Then the bus driver spent three minutes arguing with people at the second stop after mine about why he couldn’t fit them on the bus. That repeated for half the stops after that one (since the bus wasn’t getting any less full).

Why there isn’t a “Bus is full” option on the vehicle signage, I’ll never know. There should be.

Because, man, were there some pissed off people.

Rightfully, so, too. Some of them were going to end up being a minimum of an hour and a half late for wherever they were going. I’m assuming most were going to work. You know, a place where being late can get you fired.

This isn’t the first time this has happened in the past year.

Usually, the bus shows up. But more often than not it’s between five and ten minutes late. In a 20-30 minute rotation (depending on time of day). That’s up to a third late. Sometimes more.

Even five minutes late, if the timing is just wrong enough to catch the later traffic lights, is enough to make me miss my first connecting bus. Catching the second connecting bus still gets me to work on time, but just barely. On days I miss that second connection, I’m stuck waiting at the transfer station for another 20 minutes–in order to do a 10 minute bus ride.

I can’t tell you how often I’ve just considered shelling out for a cab from the transfer station.

So my day started with my normally just shy of an hour commute taking me around an hour and a half (from front door to desk). If I were driving, it would less than half an hour.

While I appreciate having public transportation as an option, I really don’t appreciate its lack of ability to hold to an actual schedule.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Rockin’ it With One String, Some Jesus Jokes, Minons With Pets, Awesome Con, and Useful Dark Emotions

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This entry is part 10 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

The second annual Awesome Con kicked off today. I couldn’t make it to the “preview” day, but I apparently had a bunch of friends who were there and it looks decent enough. I’ll be there all weekend… since I was in on the Kickstarter and got a good deal on the passes. I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking forward to–I still don’t think I’m a big enough fan of anything–but I have little doubt I’ll see some interesting stuff.

Easter may be one of the more serious liturgical holidays for Christians (at least leading up to the whole Resurrection thing), but that’s exactly the sort of setup that makes for some funny takes on things. There were a couple of those in the feed today. The X-Men flavored one was a particular favorite, though texting at Gethsemane (instead of dozing off) is an appropriate modernization, I think.

Oh, and in case you missed it, according to Princeton, the U.S. isn’t even close to a democracy any more. Nope, we’re an oligarchy now. So, pay up in order to have a voice.

The Last Code Talker, Some Classic Confessional Humor, a Catchy Video Tune, and the Culture of Shut Up

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This entry is part 2 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

There were also cool amphibious ATVs and not so cool allegations that USAID created a social network in Cuba to spy on people.

Yeah, I run the gamut on things. I kind of pride myself on the variety of stuff I share out and the diversity that becomes apparent in some of the discussions that go on. It’s good to know that I can always count on my friends to always keep me on my toes and leaning new stuff.

And that’s why that “Culture of Shut Up” situation bothers me a bit. In no small part because, try as I might to avoid it, I know I’m guilty of fueling it sometimes.

I’m still not sure how I feel about the Mozilla CEO being forced to resign by public opinion. I did feel that the Duck Dynasty guy got a raw deal when the Internet went apeshit over his comments (though it seems that turned out a net positive for the DD crew… tons of publicity at a low, low cost). I don’t feel bad about taking geocentrists to task for their utter refusal to accept just how nonsensical their view is… just like I don’t feel bad about taking those who put science and religion into a mutually exclusive equation. (They’re not, plenty of scientists with faith and plenty of faithful who don’t scoff at science.)

I do try to stay aware of where I stand in all of that. Of when I encourage others to speak, discourage them to do so, remain silent and just let things play out. Without question, I do try to facilitate more than shut down lines of discussion. But it’s a tough line to walk sometimes… and it leads to a lot of uncomfortable internal dialogues.

Which side of things are you on? Do you pay attention to how your words and action impact others?