Alright folks, I'm back. I promised a new blog last night but I lied. Deal with it.
I've been asked to write about a number of topics, including one that I'm pretty excited about but need to do a little more research on. So I've decided to dedicate this rant to bullying. A lot has been said about bullying in the past year or so, and I'm here to give you my opinion on the subject.
Let me start by saying that I was fortunate enough through high school to not really have to deal with bullying. I played football so I was just "in" enough to not be bullied. That being said, I did see it happen and would agree it is a serious problem in schools.
There's a lot of things that lead someone to be a bully. A very common shared trait is abuse or neglect at home, though it's not always the case. From my experiences around bullying, it's usually someone just feeling that they're better than another person, and the victim having some trait that's easy to pick on. (Goth, loner, handicap, speech impediment, etc.) Often, the bully has some aspect of themselves that they're not comfortable with and they project that onto a victim.
As far as victims, sadly, it's usually people that already feel a disassociation with society to some degree, and the bullying only furthers it. The little bit of trust the victim has in people is lessened because of the bullying. Which I think might be the saddest part about the whole thing. People that are already on the fringes of society further themselves even more because the bully verifies their opinion of how people are. They miss out on opportunities in life because they're afraid of other people. They stay secluded and don't get to experience a lot of things.
And that is only one possible effect of bullying. As we've seen, victims are also prone to committing suicide or even mass homicide because they were bullied. So what seems like a small ordeal to the bully ends up taking one or more lives, completely unnecessarily.
So what is the solution? I have a somewhat unconventional idea, but bear in mind it's nowhere near an overnight fix. A lot of people argue that the police should follow up every single threat of violence in schools, no matter how minimal it may seem. I don't believe this, nor do I think it's even possible. A lot of kids talk a lot of shit at one point or another, and I'd be willing to say 90% of the time, it's all bullshit. I think the first line of responsibility in that situation should be the teacher, provided of course that it happens in school. The teacher that best knows the student should be the one do make the call as to whether the comments should be investigated or not. Ideally, the teacher would have spent enough time with the student to be able to tell if they were serious. Also, ideally, teachers would legitimately give a shit enough about their students to actually care about whether it should be investigated. I think if the claims are unfounded, it should be dismissed; however, a second occurrence should be investigated, without question. If the teachers says it should be investigated, the student should have to see a school counselor or even a third-party psychiatrist who can spend time with the student and figure out if they're a danger. If it's found they are a danger, deal with it accordingly. Do they need to be detained? Put in jail? House arrest? Monitored? More counseling? Find the best solution for that individual student and go with it. This puts responsibility foremost on the one person who should feel most responsible-the teacher. It also helps to identify the actual risk based on studying the person individually, rather than punishing them a certain way just because of precedence.
The second thing I think we need to help cull the problem is martial arts taught in school. It may seem counter-intuitive, but let's be honest-being able to defend yourself is an important part of being a man. You shouldn't go looking for fights by any means, but you should be able to physically defend yourself if necessary. A bug reason bullies pick on people is that they know the person can't defend themselves. If a person hits a bully back, chances are the bully will leave them alone. So if you're in a school where you know, absolutely, that every person there is fully capable of defending themselves, what reason would you have to pick on anyone? Common sense may dictate that everyone being able to fight equals more fighting, but anyone that's spent time training martial arts in an actual gym will tell you that, as long as the gym leader is nice, it's a very relaxed, happy atmosphere. Nobody goes in trying to hurt anybody else. People that do get weeded out pretty quickly. I think that having some sort of martial art first thing in the morning would relax tensions throughout the rest of the day. If you work hard and get worn out and beat up in the morning, you're not going to have the energy to be a bully through the rest of the day, let alone the inclination. Now, at first, there will most certainly be douches who think they're better at it than other people and there will be some bullying. Kick them out of the class. Let the other students that aren't being fuckheads get better at defending themselves and let the bully stop learning how to fight. Pretty simple fix. It may not seem like it, but I think this would go a long way towards fixing the bullying problem.
So those are my ideas. Until they happen, REPORT bullying, eve if it seems like a small thing. The potential consequences just aren't worth it. And I'm not often one to preach violence, but if you're getting bullied, and you've reported it and nothing's been done, hit that motherfucker in the face. I'll show you how to throw a punch if you need it. You land a good shit and I guarantee they'll leave you alone. Make it a last resort though.
Owls are the only birds in the world that can see the color blue. Take care of yourselves, you fucks.
And follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Get your shit together!
Alright fuckos, after a somewhat extended hiatus, I'm back to drop some more knowledge. Or conjecture, whichever makes this shit sound more legit. So let's dive in. You lazy assclowns out there will like this one.
I'm gonna babble today about something you all know, but don't all practice. I'm gonna tell you about why it's important to work out, exercise, take care of your vehicle. But, I'm also going to tell you about why it's okay to be lazy and not work out if you don't want to. I'm catering to everybody today.
Anybody that knows me knows that I can be a lazy shit and Skyrim it for hours upon hours, but they also know I do a pretty good job at keeping myself in shape. And I think that's important. I think it's perfectly okay to get your lazy on, but it's equally, if not more, important to take care of yourself. And that doesn't mean get a gym membership and become a god damn bodybuilder. Of course, you can definitely go that route, and kudos if you do, but it can be just as simple as going for a walk around the block. Put your headphones in and just go for a walk. It's easy to do, not intensely physically demanding, and it's super good for you.
As for my workout routine, honestly, I have some days I don't work out at all. But generally, at least four days a week, I do some sort of workout, even if it's just body weight stuff; pushups, situps, etc. On my real "workout" days, here's my routine, 15-20 minutes of real good stretching, 100-200 body weight squats, 2x20 on 4 different kettlebell exercises at 20 lbs, 2 minutes of 4 different routines with a jump rope (regular jumps, right leg jumps, left leg jumps, and what we called in high school "IUs") with a 1-minute rest in between each, and 3 5-minute rounds on the heavy bag. Then at night, I load up my ruck with at least 40 lbs and take the kids on about a 2-mile walk. It pretty well kicks my ass. Now, as I said, I don't do the full workout every day, probably once, maybe twice a week, but most days I do at least some part of it.
So why exactly is it important to work out? Well, here's the way I look at it. Your body is your vehicle through this existence. And just as your car is your vehicle through roads and such, it's important to take care of it. You can ignore problems that your car is having; you can decide to not change your oil, keep air in your tires, etc., but your vehicle isn't going to work the way you need it to when you need it. But if you take care of it, it will last as long as it's supposed to. And the same can be said for your body. If you don't take care of it, if you just out junk food and soda into it and sit in front of a computer all day, it's not going to work very efficiently. However, if you take care of it properly, it will last a long time and work great.
I think that the benefits of working out aren't just physical, but mental too. If I'm feeling down, feeling a bit depressed, I've found working out helps. I carry a positive attitude throughout the day because I feel like I've accomplished something. I've had friends that have dealt with depression, and I always tell them to try working out a little bit. For me, it makes a big difference. If I haven't worked out in a while, I really start to feel the difference.
Now, as I alluded to earlier, I think it's equally okay to not exercise at all, if that's what you want. It's not healthy, and has definitively been linked to a shorter life span, but I think you shouldn't have to force yourself to work out. I think you should WANT to do it. If you're not enjoying it, I don't think you get the same benefits as if you were. (Note: This isn't based on any science, just opinion.) I enjoy working out, and I feel like I get plenty of benefits from it. But I think that if you're not into it, you're more likely to skip workouts, not go at it fully, and give it up altogether.
For those that want to workout, but don't want or can't afford a gym membership, there are numerous websites that show workouts you can do at home that require little to no equipment. Don't underestimate the good that just body weight workouts can do! And I think it's important to note that if you're really looking to get into shape, you really should combine exercise with a good diet. Drink more water. Eat a salad.
Lastly, set goals. What is your reason for working out? Do you want to get bigger? Lose weight? Just maintain? Figure out what you want from working out and do the research. There are plenty of resources that will give you advice on how to get what you want from working out. And learn how your body works. Everybody's different, so you have to tailor your routine to you. Example- I work out so I can gain some weight. I've tailored my workouts towards that. But what I've found is that while I'm working out, even when I'm eating 3000+ calories a day, I don't gain much weight. But I've found that if I work out consistently for 3 weeks and then take a week off, that week off is when I actually gain weight. So learn how your own body works and figure out how to customize your exercise and diet to suit it.
Alright y'all, I could go on and on about this one, but I'm gonna cut it short here. The wifey and I are watchin the last few episodes of Orange is the New Black. And I just might like that better than blogging. Stay safe. Go for a walk. Eat a salad. (Especially from Phoshiki, with the ginger salad dressing. Like buttah.) Every one of the 50 tallest mountains is in Asia.
Follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And we're planning some changes regarding our podcast. We're looking into different places to host it but for now download and follow here: Bryan On A Wire
I'm gonna babble today about something you all know, but don't all practice. I'm gonna tell you about why it's important to work out, exercise, take care of your vehicle. But, I'm also going to tell you about why it's okay to be lazy and not work out if you don't want to. I'm catering to everybody today.
Anybody that knows me knows that I can be a lazy shit and Skyrim it for hours upon hours, but they also know I do a pretty good job at keeping myself in shape. And I think that's important. I think it's perfectly okay to get your lazy on, but it's equally, if not more, important to take care of yourself. And that doesn't mean get a gym membership and become a god damn bodybuilder. Of course, you can definitely go that route, and kudos if you do, but it can be just as simple as going for a walk around the block. Put your headphones in and just go for a walk. It's easy to do, not intensely physically demanding, and it's super good for you.
As for my workout routine, honestly, I have some days I don't work out at all. But generally, at least four days a week, I do some sort of workout, even if it's just body weight stuff; pushups, situps, etc. On my real "workout" days, here's my routine, 15-20 minutes of real good stretching, 100-200 body weight squats, 2x20 on 4 different kettlebell exercises at 20 lbs, 2 minutes of 4 different routines with a jump rope (regular jumps, right leg jumps, left leg jumps, and what we called in high school "IUs") with a 1-minute rest in between each, and 3 5-minute rounds on the heavy bag. Then at night, I load up my ruck with at least 40 lbs and take the kids on about a 2-mile walk. It pretty well kicks my ass. Now, as I said, I don't do the full workout every day, probably once, maybe twice a week, but most days I do at least some part of it.
So why exactly is it important to work out? Well, here's the way I look at it. Your body is your vehicle through this existence. And just as your car is your vehicle through roads and such, it's important to take care of it. You can ignore problems that your car is having; you can decide to not change your oil, keep air in your tires, etc., but your vehicle isn't going to work the way you need it to when you need it. But if you take care of it, it will last as long as it's supposed to. And the same can be said for your body. If you don't take care of it, if you just out junk food and soda into it and sit in front of a computer all day, it's not going to work very efficiently. However, if you take care of it properly, it will last a long time and work great.
I think that the benefits of working out aren't just physical, but mental too. If I'm feeling down, feeling a bit depressed, I've found working out helps. I carry a positive attitude throughout the day because I feel like I've accomplished something. I've had friends that have dealt with depression, and I always tell them to try working out a little bit. For me, it makes a big difference. If I haven't worked out in a while, I really start to feel the difference.
Now, as I alluded to earlier, I think it's equally okay to not exercise at all, if that's what you want. It's not healthy, and has definitively been linked to a shorter life span, but I think you shouldn't have to force yourself to work out. I think you should WANT to do it. If you're not enjoying it, I don't think you get the same benefits as if you were. (Note: This isn't based on any science, just opinion.) I enjoy working out, and I feel like I get plenty of benefits from it. But I think that if you're not into it, you're more likely to skip workouts, not go at it fully, and give it up altogether.
For those that want to workout, but don't want or can't afford a gym membership, there are numerous websites that show workouts you can do at home that require little to no equipment. Don't underestimate the good that just body weight workouts can do! And I think it's important to note that if you're really looking to get into shape, you really should combine exercise with a good diet. Drink more water. Eat a salad.
Lastly, set goals. What is your reason for working out? Do you want to get bigger? Lose weight? Just maintain? Figure out what you want from working out and do the research. There are plenty of resources that will give you advice on how to get what you want from working out. And learn how your body works. Everybody's different, so you have to tailor your routine to you. Example- I work out so I can gain some weight. I've tailored my workouts towards that. But what I've found is that while I'm working out, even when I'm eating 3000+ calories a day, I don't gain much weight. But I've found that if I work out consistently for 3 weeks and then take a week off, that week off is when I actually gain weight. So learn how your own body works and figure out how to customize your exercise and diet to suit it.
Alright y'all, I could go on and on about this one, but I'm gonna cut it short here. The wifey and I are watchin the last few episodes of Orange is the New Black. And I just might like that better than blogging. Stay safe. Go for a walk. Eat a salad. (Especially from Phoshiki, with the ginger salad dressing. Like buttah.) Every one of the 50 tallest mountains is in Asia.
Follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And we're planning some changes regarding our podcast. We're looking into different places to host it but for now download and follow here: Bryan On A Wire
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Marriage! Weddings, all that shit.
The beautiful thing about my life is that, while I don't live all too exciting of a life, I do just enough different things to get some material to do these blogs, which is the only hard part of having a blog, incidentally. I love sitting down and writing, I love the whole process that goes into writing a blog, but I have a hard time finding enough things to blog about sometimes. I have ideas for things to write about, but I talk myself out of them sometimes for any number of different reasons.
Anyways-my topic for this one. If you read the title, and I'm sure you did, you'll see it's about the ceremonious rite known as marriage. Just the day before writing this (May 31) I went to a cousin's wedding. As far as weddings go, it was a good time. The ceremony itself was short, only about 15 or 20 minutes, everybody was nice, free food, open bar, good music; it was a good time. And the bride, my cousin, gave me a very unexpected compliment on my podcast. And most importantly, she got even closer to a man that she absolutely adores and is completely in love with. Congrats to the two of them.
Of course, anybody that knows me knows that I could never dedicate a whole blog just to congratulating two people on getting married. I've got to put my twist on the topic. So here it goes. Let me first say that I have zero problem with anybody who buys into the concept of marriage. I actually think that the idea is absolutely beautiful for people who believe in what marriage is supposed to represent and enter into it with the best of intentions. That being said, I just don't think it's for me. There was a time when I dreamed of a wedding and really hoped for one, but what drove me away from the idea was twofold. One part was divorce. I've seen divorces go down firsthand, and it's amazing how much spite can come from what was once a loving relationship. I'm not sure where exactly it comes from. I don't know if it's that the relationship wasn't that great to begin with, or if it's something that comes out because of the divorce itself. But the spite that comes into play, especially when there's a lot of money involved, is amazing. I have heard a story of a man that was a comedian and actor and he went through a divorce while he was doing a hit show and making good money so he had to pay a shit-ton of money in alimony, even after he stopped doing the show. So he stopped doing the show, wasn't making that much money, but still had to pay the amount based on what he was making while doing the show. And mind you, this was with no kids involved. And it's common for one party to drag out the court proceedings and delay them as much as possible to drag more and more money out of the other person. It's fuckin crazy. Joe Rogan has described it as being like "going to war and having to pay for the other people's general."
The second thing that taints the idea of marriage for me is just having to have government involvement. I try to involve the government in as little of my affairs as necessary. And I think that in all actuality, the only difference between just being with somebody you love for a long time and marriage is a piece of paper. Now, of course, people with spiritual beliefs or other cultural views would disagree, but for me, that's the only difference. And I say I don't need a piece of paper to show that I actually love someone and am dedicated to them for life. I think, even if you are religious, if you can just be dedicated to somebody you love, then what's the difference? And that way, if things don't work out, you just leave each other and that's that. No lawyers, no crazy alimony, no drug out court cases of hate; just go your separate ways. Of course, things change when there are kids involved. I think, for example, if two people are married and have kids, and one of them chooses to stay at home with the kids rather than work, and they were to get divorced, I think it would be fair for the other person to pay that person some money just to help them get on their feet after the divorce. And I totally agree with child support. I think there are certain situations where child support is misused, but I know personally that there are people that use that money correctly and really need it to get by and raise their children.
So, summary-I don't think I'll ever get married. For me, I don't think that there's really any reason to. I'm happy with my girlfriend now and I consider her my wife; I don't think we need a piece of paper to show that. However, for certain people, marriage works out fine and they're happier because they made the decision, and good for them!
And congrats to my cousin Monica and her new husband Jim! I wish them the best of luck and a very happy future together!
The average home creates more pollution than the average car.
Follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And follow my podcast: Bryan On A Wire
And lastly, if you have any suggestions for improvements or, even better, if you have a topic you want to hear me rant about, please shoot me a Tweet or you can email me. Peace!
Anyways-my topic for this one. If you read the title, and I'm sure you did, you'll see it's about the ceremonious rite known as marriage. Just the day before writing this (May 31) I went to a cousin's wedding. As far as weddings go, it was a good time. The ceremony itself was short, only about 15 or 20 minutes, everybody was nice, free food, open bar, good music; it was a good time. And the bride, my cousin, gave me a very unexpected compliment on my podcast. And most importantly, she got even closer to a man that she absolutely adores and is completely in love with. Congrats to the two of them.
Of course, anybody that knows me knows that I could never dedicate a whole blog just to congratulating two people on getting married. I've got to put my twist on the topic. So here it goes. Let me first say that I have zero problem with anybody who buys into the concept of marriage. I actually think that the idea is absolutely beautiful for people who believe in what marriage is supposed to represent and enter into it with the best of intentions. That being said, I just don't think it's for me. There was a time when I dreamed of a wedding and really hoped for one, but what drove me away from the idea was twofold. One part was divorce. I've seen divorces go down firsthand, and it's amazing how much spite can come from what was once a loving relationship. I'm not sure where exactly it comes from. I don't know if it's that the relationship wasn't that great to begin with, or if it's something that comes out because of the divorce itself. But the spite that comes into play, especially when there's a lot of money involved, is amazing. I have heard a story of a man that was a comedian and actor and he went through a divorce while he was doing a hit show and making good money so he had to pay a shit-ton of money in alimony, even after he stopped doing the show. So he stopped doing the show, wasn't making that much money, but still had to pay the amount based on what he was making while doing the show. And mind you, this was with no kids involved. And it's common for one party to drag out the court proceedings and delay them as much as possible to drag more and more money out of the other person. It's fuckin crazy. Joe Rogan has described it as being like "going to war and having to pay for the other people's general."
The second thing that taints the idea of marriage for me is just having to have government involvement. I try to involve the government in as little of my affairs as necessary. And I think that in all actuality, the only difference between just being with somebody you love for a long time and marriage is a piece of paper. Now, of course, people with spiritual beliefs or other cultural views would disagree, but for me, that's the only difference. And I say I don't need a piece of paper to show that I actually love someone and am dedicated to them for life. I think, even if you are religious, if you can just be dedicated to somebody you love, then what's the difference? And that way, if things don't work out, you just leave each other and that's that. No lawyers, no crazy alimony, no drug out court cases of hate; just go your separate ways. Of course, things change when there are kids involved. I think, for example, if two people are married and have kids, and one of them chooses to stay at home with the kids rather than work, and they were to get divorced, I think it would be fair for the other person to pay that person some money just to help them get on their feet after the divorce. And I totally agree with child support. I think there are certain situations where child support is misused, but I know personally that there are people that use that money correctly and really need it to get by and raise their children.
So, summary-I don't think I'll ever get married. For me, I don't think that there's really any reason to. I'm happy with my girlfriend now and I consider her my wife; I don't think we need a piece of paper to show that. However, for certain people, marriage works out fine and they're happier because they made the decision, and good for them!
And congrats to my cousin Monica and her new husband Jim! I wish them the best of luck and a very happy future together!
The average home creates more pollution than the average car.
Follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And follow my podcast: Bryan On A Wire
And lastly, if you have any suggestions for improvements or, even better, if you have a topic you want to hear me rant about, please shoot me a Tweet or you can email me. Peace!
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Reddit did this to me.
OK- let me start by saying to anybody reading this-if you haven't ever checked out Reddit, click that link and go do it. If you've got a bunch of free time and you want to know the reality of the Internet and the world around you, start exploring.\
Now-the topic of my blog today. I've been spending a lot of time on a few particular sub-Reddits, /r/creepy, and /r/LetsNotMeet, the first of which is a collection of usually 100%true stories from people about creepy things happening to them. I don't want to give anything away, because it's very much worth your time to check it out yourself, but I will say it's astounding how many people discover that somebody has snuck into their house and been living on their attic/basement. Absolutely mind-blowing. /r/LetsNotMeet is similar, but revolves only around 100% true stories of people having run-ins with shady people or people who turn out to be shady people; rapists, pedophiles, serial killers, etc. So this paragraph is part one of my rant and me promoting Reddit. Check it out. It's not just creepy stuff on there either. They have sub-Reddits for just about every single topic you could want to talk about or be interested in.
The second part of what I wanted to blog about stems from a conversation I had with my old lady and a friend of ours while we were painting today. We got on the discussion of addressing crimes and properly punishing people for crimes. This story got brought up, about a 22-year old cheerleading coach in Shelbyville having "inappropriate relations" with a 17-year old and the debate began as to whether or not this was inappropriate. Notice I said inappropriate, NOT illegal. I'm not arguing the legality of the crime, only my opinion on it. The woman was convicted of Child Seduction, a class D felony. According to the article, "Crafton will be on probation for approximately a year and a half, she will serve 25 hours of community service, and pay court fees among other court-ordered requirements." Also, she will not have to register as a sex offender. Now, the question, and inspiration for this blog, is this appropriate? And here's what I say-while I understand that, as he was a student, it makes her an authority figure which makes it inappropriate, I say if they were both willing participants, then who the fuck cares? I think that the age restrictions we put on things are so arbitrary. If the BJ had taken place just a year later, it wouldn't have been a problem for anybody. Take the drinking age-21. Here's what I say-I did almost all of my drinking before I was 21 and I'm fine. I never got arrested for it, never got in any trouble, and was smart about it. I think some people are mentally, emotionally, and physically ready to drink at 18, and some aren't ready until 30. It's so arbitrary. And the problem is, we try to have a cookie-cutter, black-and-white world where we say "this is right, and this is wrong", and we don't take individual cases into account. That's the problem. We try to lump people into categories based on their actions and not find out the actual causes that led to them or the cases themselves. And the same goes for the incident I mentioned above. Some people are ready to enter into having sex at 17 or even earlier, (I was), and some aren't ever really ready for it. So to say that at "this age", you're ready for it, go ahead, and jump in, is fundamentally wrong. And I think the only person that knows when they're ready is that person themselves. I think, like I said, you have to talk to the two people that were involved. Is he okay with what happened? Is she okay with what happened? Okay, then who's getting hurt? Where exactly is the crime? Maybe it's not socially acceptable, but there are many things that aren't socially acceptable, and they're not crimes at all. Now, if either of the participants had stated that they weren't okay with what happened, then I think you've got a crime and it needs to be handled.
Unfortunately, the solution for the black-and-white, right-or-wrong mentality isn't simple at all. The problem is that we try to maintain a tribe of 300 million people. Humans aren't meant for that. We're biologically meant to live in tribes of about 150. (See Dunbar's number) With 150 people, everybody knows everybody and everybody is held accountable for their actions by the other 149 people. At 300 million people, we just do not have the capacity, even with groups such as police, Congress, Supreme Court, etc., to hold people accountable. We HAVE to put people into categories because that's the only way we can handle that many people. It's not possible to address 300 million people's actions on an individual level. So the only solution is less people. (Which is a theory I subscribe to, but I don't want to seem too sadistic.) But that is the only way we can properly address people's actions and truly understand why people do the things they do. In a group of 150 people, you can't be a dirtbag. You just can't. In 150 people, everybody has to pull their weight and contribute to the survival and well-being of the group. If you're a dirtbag and you don't contribute, you're not gonna last in that group. And that's how humans are biologically meant to live. It's believed that part of the blame for different mental illnesses and horrible crimes can be placed on the fact that we have to live in such huge groups. There have been rat population density studies (see Behavioral Sink) where rats that have been placed in cages with too many other rats have shown signs of mental illness. According to the study, "Among the males the behavior disturbances ranged from sexual deviation to cannibalism and from frenetic overactivity to a pathological withdrawal from which individuals would emerge to eat, drink and move about only when other members of the community were asleep." The same behaviors can be observed in humans who live in too large of groups. So there's the problem, there's the solution. Potentially, anyway.
That's all I got. Hope you enjoy. It takes 492 seconds for sunlight to reach the Earth.
Follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And download and follow my podcast: Bryan On A Wire
Now-the topic of my blog today. I've been spending a lot of time on a few particular sub-Reddits, /r/creepy, and /r/LetsNotMeet, the first of which is a collection of usually 100%true stories from people about creepy things happening to them. I don't want to give anything away, because it's very much worth your time to check it out yourself, but I will say it's astounding how many people discover that somebody has snuck into their house and been living on their attic/basement. Absolutely mind-blowing. /r/LetsNotMeet is similar, but revolves only around 100% true stories of people having run-ins with shady people or people who turn out to be shady people; rapists, pedophiles, serial killers, etc. So this paragraph is part one of my rant and me promoting Reddit. Check it out. It's not just creepy stuff on there either. They have sub-Reddits for just about every single topic you could want to talk about or be interested in.
The second part of what I wanted to blog about stems from a conversation I had with my old lady and a friend of ours while we were painting today. We got on the discussion of addressing crimes and properly punishing people for crimes. This story got brought up, about a 22-year old cheerleading coach in Shelbyville having "inappropriate relations" with a 17-year old and the debate began as to whether or not this was inappropriate. Notice I said inappropriate, NOT illegal. I'm not arguing the legality of the crime, only my opinion on it. The woman was convicted of Child Seduction, a class D felony. According to the article, "Crafton will be on probation for approximately a year and a half, she will serve 25 hours of community service, and pay court fees among other court-ordered requirements." Also, she will not have to register as a sex offender. Now, the question, and inspiration for this blog, is this appropriate? And here's what I say-while I understand that, as he was a student, it makes her an authority figure which makes it inappropriate, I say if they were both willing participants, then who the fuck cares? I think that the age restrictions we put on things are so arbitrary. If the BJ had taken place just a year later, it wouldn't have been a problem for anybody. Take the drinking age-21. Here's what I say-I did almost all of my drinking before I was 21 and I'm fine. I never got arrested for it, never got in any trouble, and was smart about it. I think some people are mentally, emotionally, and physically ready to drink at 18, and some aren't ready until 30. It's so arbitrary. And the problem is, we try to have a cookie-cutter, black-and-white world where we say "this is right, and this is wrong", and we don't take individual cases into account. That's the problem. We try to lump people into categories based on their actions and not find out the actual causes that led to them or the cases themselves. And the same goes for the incident I mentioned above. Some people are ready to enter into having sex at 17 or even earlier, (I was), and some aren't ever really ready for it. So to say that at "this age", you're ready for it, go ahead, and jump in, is fundamentally wrong. And I think the only person that knows when they're ready is that person themselves. I think, like I said, you have to talk to the two people that were involved. Is he okay with what happened? Is she okay with what happened? Okay, then who's getting hurt? Where exactly is the crime? Maybe it's not socially acceptable, but there are many things that aren't socially acceptable, and they're not crimes at all. Now, if either of the participants had stated that they weren't okay with what happened, then I think you've got a crime and it needs to be handled.
Unfortunately, the solution for the black-and-white, right-or-wrong mentality isn't simple at all. The problem is that we try to maintain a tribe of 300 million people. Humans aren't meant for that. We're biologically meant to live in tribes of about 150. (See Dunbar's number) With 150 people, everybody knows everybody and everybody is held accountable for their actions by the other 149 people. At 300 million people, we just do not have the capacity, even with groups such as police, Congress, Supreme Court, etc., to hold people accountable. We HAVE to put people into categories because that's the only way we can handle that many people. It's not possible to address 300 million people's actions on an individual level. So the only solution is less people. (Which is a theory I subscribe to, but I don't want to seem too sadistic.) But that is the only way we can properly address people's actions and truly understand why people do the things they do. In a group of 150 people, you can't be a dirtbag. You just can't. In 150 people, everybody has to pull their weight and contribute to the survival and well-being of the group. If you're a dirtbag and you don't contribute, you're not gonna last in that group. And that's how humans are biologically meant to live. It's believed that part of the blame for different mental illnesses and horrible crimes can be placed on the fact that we have to live in such huge groups. There have been rat population density studies (see Behavioral Sink) where rats that have been placed in cages with too many other rats have shown signs of mental illness. According to the study, "Among the males the behavior disturbances ranged from sexual deviation to cannibalism and from frenetic overactivity to a pathological withdrawal from which individuals would emerge to eat, drink and move about only when other members of the community were asleep." The same behaviors can be observed in humans who live in too large of groups. So there's the problem, there's the solution. Potentially, anyway.
That's all I got. Hope you enjoy. It takes 492 seconds for sunlight to reach the Earth.
Follow me on Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And download and follow my podcast: Bryan On A Wire
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Relax-I didn't forget about you.
After many days of anticipation, I'm sure the one or two of you that have actually read one of these things will be relieved to read this. So relax and take the gun out of your mouth because I'm about to start.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about this time and even at this point I'm just typing stuff out to delay and delay the point where I actually have to decide. And the inspiration strikes!
Why exactly, in the year 2014, is weed still illegal anywhere? For those that don't know the history of weed and it's criminal status, I'll share the history with you. In the early days of America, not only was it totally legal to grow, but states were required by law to grow a certain amount. One of the early drafts of the Declaration of Independence was actually written on hemp. George Washington wrote in a journal entry about separating the male and female parts of the plant-“Began to separate the Male from the Female hemp … rather too late.”-which is something you would do solely for the purpose of smoking cannabis. Tales even tell that Washington and Thomas Jefferson traded seeds. Fast forward to January 1st, 1937-cannabis-or marijuana, the term was first coined at this time-is made illegal by the Marijuana Tax Act. And why? William Randolph Hearst (the name should ring a bell) ran several newspaper organizations, which were printed on tree pulp; just regular paper. However, because hemp was a stronger and better paper substitute, it was competition for the wealthy and powerful Hearst. The only problem was, it was very hard to produce the hemp and took a long time. Around 1935, however, a machine called the decorticator was introduced which made hemp production much easier and cheaper. Obviously, this caused a problem for Hearst. So he and Harry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, began printing stories in Hearst's papers that literally claimed that black were smoking marijuana and raping white women. Obviously there was little substance to these claims. Also, the Du Pont family (yes THAT Du Pont) had recently invented nylon, a material which also faced stiff competition from the arguably better hemp material. Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, and the richest man in America at the time, was a huge investor in nylon. See where this is going? With the wealth and power that this group held, as well as the trumped-up stories in Hearst's papers, they managed to get cannabis criminalized with the Marijuana Tax Act. (It was still legal only for medicine and research, but was heavily taxed.) This lasted until Leary v. United States in 1969, which led to the Controlled Substances Act, which repealed the Marijuana Tax Act and made marijuana an illegal, Schedule I drug.
Still with me?
And now, it's 2014, and despite widespread knowledge of the bullshit that made it illegal, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level and in 30 states at the time of this writing. All this despite evidence showing the medicinal benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active chemical and marijuana and what produces the "high".
The medical benefits are way too many to list, but THC may realistically be the closest to a "cure all" medicine that there's ever been. I want to talk about the recreational benefits. And I want to get this point out-who the fuck cares? I say as long as you're not hurting anybody, why the fuck should it matter what you do to your own body? Cigarettes and alcohol are 100% legal to consume as long as you're of age, and they're waaaaaaay more harmful than marijuana. Hundreds of thousands of people die from either cigarettes or alcohol every year. Total marijuana deaths from the beginning of time is zero. Now, as for actual recreational benefits, someone I know who isn't me speaks very fondly of recreational use. This person was in the military and when he got out, was very depressed, even suicidal. He started smoking and found that the mindstate that it induced helped him to cope. He says that it helped him to put things into perspective and look at every aspect of his life objectively, and make changes that were necessary. It helped him see that there were parts of his life that were holding him back from being happy and that he needed to cut those things out of life. He says that smoking helps him to enjoy things again, be it food, music, or people. He says that if it weren't for marijuana, he probably would've killed himself long ago. These are things that he can't say about cigarettes or alcohol. And still, in the state that he lives, marijuana is illegal.
And what is the argument against legalization in 2014? The "gateway drug" argument. This is the only argument that so many right-wing politicians latch onto. Is there substance? Let's examine. The argument is that smoking marijuana leads to experimentation with cocaine, and then meth, and then pretty soon you're melting spoons and shoving dirty syringes into your arm. Pretty solid. However, in my opinion and that of real educated people, the real gateway is bullshit. What happens is these bullshit drug resistance classes tell kids that all drugs are bad, top to bottom. And the kids buy it because what do they know? Then they smoke weed for the first time and they have a wonderful time. They laugh and joke with their friends, food tastes like it never has before, they watch a movie and laugh like they never have before, they have sex and enjoy it like they never have before, and they start to think,Well, they told me that weed was bad, yet here I am, having a wonderful time. It's obviously not bad. So they obviously lied, which means they probably lied about cocaine. And meth. And heroin. It seems to me like that's the real gateway. It seems to me that we need real drug education, shit that's applicable in 2014. The truth. Weed is not bad for you. You're not gonna die, you're not gonna go crazy, but you might get a little hungry. And forgetful. But let's be honest-those are memories you didn't need anyway. But what about paranoia? It's a common complaint with weed, and one that someone I know can substantiate. But he says it's just reality. It's reality hitting you and it can make you feel a little bit off. It's the knowledge that you have some issues or problems that you haven't dealt with. This person I know has dealt with his demons and is very comfortable in where he's at in his life and he never experiences any paranoia.
Alrightey-I still probably have plenty to say about marijuana, but this one's probably gone long enough. I love to rant, and you know this, but if you're reading this, you probably haven't even made it this far to be honest. So that's all I got. 20% of tuxedo rentals take place in May.
Follow me in Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And download and follow my podcast (still waiting to do another one): Bryan On A Wire
I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about this time and even at this point I'm just typing stuff out to delay and delay the point where I actually have to decide. And the inspiration strikes!
Why exactly, in the year 2014, is weed still illegal anywhere? For those that don't know the history of weed and it's criminal status, I'll share the history with you. In the early days of America, not only was it totally legal to grow, but states were required by law to grow a certain amount. One of the early drafts of the Declaration of Independence was actually written on hemp. George Washington wrote in a journal entry about separating the male and female parts of the plant-“Began to separate the Male from the Female hemp … rather too late.”-which is something you would do solely for the purpose of smoking cannabis. Tales even tell that Washington and Thomas Jefferson traded seeds. Fast forward to January 1st, 1937-cannabis-or marijuana, the term was first coined at this time-is made illegal by the Marijuana Tax Act. And why? William Randolph Hearst (the name should ring a bell) ran several newspaper organizations, which were printed on tree pulp; just regular paper. However, because hemp was a stronger and better paper substitute, it was competition for the wealthy and powerful Hearst. The only problem was, it was very hard to produce the hemp and took a long time. Around 1935, however, a machine called the decorticator was introduced which made hemp production much easier and cheaper. Obviously, this caused a problem for Hearst. So he and Harry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, began printing stories in Hearst's papers that literally claimed that black were smoking marijuana and raping white women. Obviously there was little substance to these claims. Also, the Du Pont family (yes THAT Du Pont) had recently invented nylon, a material which also faced stiff competition from the arguably better hemp material. Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, and the richest man in America at the time, was a huge investor in nylon. See where this is going? With the wealth and power that this group held, as well as the trumped-up stories in Hearst's papers, they managed to get cannabis criminalized with the Marijuana Tax Act. (It was still legal only for medicine and research, but was heavily taxed.) This lasted until Leary v. United States in 1969, which led to the Controlled Substances Act, which repealed the Marijuana Tax Act and made marijuana an illegal, Schedule I drug.
Still with me?
And now, it's 2014, and despite widespread knowledge of the bullshit that made it illegal, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level and in 30 states at the time of this writing. All this despite evidence showing the medicinal benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active chemical and marijuana and what produces the "high".
The medical benefits are way too many to list, but THC may realistically be the closest to a "cure all" medicine that there's ever been. I want to talk about the recreational benefits. And I want to get this point out-who the fuck cares? I say as long as you're not hurting anybody, why the fuck should it matter what you do to your own body? Cigarettes and alcohol are 100% legal to consume as long as you're of age, and they're waaaaaaay more harmful than marijuana. Hundreds of thousands of people die from either cigarettes or alcohol every year. Total marijuana deaths from the beginning of time is zero. Now, as for actual recreational benefits, someone I know who isn't me speaks very fondly of recreational use. This person was in the military and when he got out, was very depressed, even suicidal. He started smoking and found that the mindstate that it induced helped him to cope. He says that it helped him to put things into perspective and look at every aspect of his life objectively, and make changes that were necessary. It helped him see that there were parts of his life that were holding him back from being happy and that he needed to cut those things out of life. He says that smoking helps him to enjoy things again, be it food, music, or people. He says that if it weren't for marijuana, he probably would've killed himself long ago. These are things that he can't say about cigarettes or alcohol. And still, in the state that he lives, marijuana is illegal.
And what is the argument against legalization in 2014? The "gateway drug" argument. This is the only argument that so many right-wing politicians latch onto. Is there substance? Let's examine. The argument is that smoking marijuana leads to experimentation with cocaine, and then meth, and then pretty soon you're melting spoons and shoving dirty syringes into your arm. Pretty solid. However, in my opinion and that of real educated people, the real gateway is bullshit. What happens is these bullshit drug resistance classes tell kids that all drugs are bad, top to bottom. And the kids buy it because what do they know? Then they smoke weed for the first time and they have a wonderful time. They laugh and joke with their friends, food tastes like it never has before, they watch a movie and laugh like they never have before, they have sex and enjoy it like they never have before, and they start to think,Well, they told me that weed was bad, yet here I am, having a wonderful time. It's obviously not bad. So they obviously lied, which means they probably lied about cocaine. And meth. And heroin. It seems to me like that's the real gateway. It seems to me that we need real drug education, shit that's applicable in 2014. The truth. Weed is not bad for you. You're not gonna die, you're not gonna go crazy, but you might get a little hungry. And forgetful. But let's be honest-those are memories you didn't need anyway. But what about paranoia? It's a common complaint with weed, and one that someone I know can substantiate. But he says it's just reality. It's reality hitting you and it can make you feel a little bit off. It's the knowledge that you have some issues or problems that you haven't dealt with. This person I know has dealt with his demons and is very comfortable in where he's at in his life and he never experiences any paranoia.
Alrightey-I still probably have plenty to say about marijuana, but this one's probably gone long enough. I love to rant, and you know this, but if you're reading this, you probably haven't even made it this far to be honest. So that's all I got. 20% of tuxedo rentals take place in May.
Follow me in Twitter: BryanOnAWire
And download and follow my podcast (still waiting to do another one): Bryan On A Wire
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Hello world of blogging! While I've considered a blog for a long time, this is my first time actually writing one. So bear with me. A little about me-I'm Bryan, I'm 23, and I'm from Indiana. Oh and I have a podcast that anybody reading this should listen to and download. And follow. I'll post the link at the bottom. Don't let me forget!
I'm not sure what the best way to start this is, so I'll just rant about Duck Dynasty, because that's what's on TV right now. Here's the deal-there's a part of me that wants to dislike Duck Dynasty, 1., because it's the same sort of show like Jersey Shore or any other number of reality shows, that's made for simple-minded people and meant as a distraction from REAL LIFE, and 2., because I disagree with their religious views. However, it's funny! There are a LOT of moments and horrible jokes that are obviously poorly scripted, and it's sort of insulting, but there are a few characters that can be legitly funny, and seem authentic. Plus, while I don't align with any religions, I really don't have a problem with somebody that chooses to. I fancy myself an open-minded person, and I figure as long as you're a nice person, I could give a shit less what God you pray or don't pray to. And they seem to be nice people that follow the best parts of Christianity, and that's a good thing to see. But-BUT-you can't say gays shouldn't be able to get married. In 2014, you can't. It just makes you seem like a clueless idiot and presents the worst parts of your religion.
Please don't think that because I choose to blog about Duck Dynasty on my FIRST ACTUAL BLOG, that's the sort of entertainment I subscribe to. I like to think my taste in TV entertainment is actually pretty good. And luckily, the "Reality Show" phase seems to be giving way to a re-emergence of really good TV. The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Mad Men (which I haven't seen yet but I hear good things about), Game of Thrones (same as Mad Men)...there's a lot of thought-provoking, well-made TV shows that you can watch and actually feel like you gained something. It really is a good time to be a fan of TV shows.
And the emergence of Podcasts (Did I mention mine? Please follow.) has brought another amazing form of entertainment to the table. Thanks to the Internets, a 23 year old kid in Indiana who thinks about things in weird ways can hear from people all over the world who think the same way. The problem is, if you're from a place that doesn't have a lot of deep thinkers, you never get exposed to a lot of other people that think the way you do. But now you can. And you can share thoughts and evolve mentally with other people. It's amazing! If you're not using the Internet to share and gain ideas from the people who really investigate issues, you're really wasting it. Not to say there's anything wrong with hours and hours on YouTube or playing games, because I sure as hell do my share of both of those. I just think that there's a whole lot that you can gain as a human from the Internet if you use it correctly.
That's my rant for today. Thank you Duck Dynasty. Jimmy Carter is the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital.
Follow me on Twitter for infrequent retweets and dull thoughts: @BryanOnAWire
Download or listen and follow my podcast on Podomatic: Bryan On A Wire
I'm not sure what the best way to start this is, so I'll just rant about Duck Dynasty, because that's what's on TV right now. Here's the deal-there's a part of me that wants to dislike Duck Dynasty, 1., because it's the same sort of show like Jersey Shore or any other number of reality shows, that's made for simple-minded people and meant as a distraction from REAL LIFE, and 2., because I disagree with their religious views. However, it's funny! There are a LOT of moments and horrible jokes that are obviously poorly scripted, and it's sort of insulting, but there are a few characters that can be legitly funny, and seem authentic. Plus, while I don't align with any religions, I really don't have a problem with somebody that chooses to. I fancy myself an open-minded person, and I figure as long as you're a nice person, I could give a shit less what God you pray or don't pray to. And they seem to be nice people that follow the best parts of Christianity, and that's a good thing to see. But-BUT-you can't say gays shouldn't be able to get married. In 2014, you can't. It just makes you seem like a clueless idiot and presents the worst parts of your religion.
Please don't think that because I choose to blog about Duck Dynasty on my FIRST ACTUAL BLOG, that's the sort of entertainment I subscribe to. I like to think my taste in TV entertainment is actually pretty good. And luckily, the "Reality Show" phase seems to be giving way to a re-emergence of really good TV. The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Mad Men (which I haven't seen yet but I hear good things about), Game of Thrones (same as Mad Men)...there's a lot of thought-provoking, well-made TV shows that you can watch and actually feel like you gained something. It really is a good time to be a fan of TV shows.
And the emergence of Podcasts (Did I mention mine? Please follow.) has brought another amazing form of entertainment to the table. Thanks to the Internets, a 23 year old kid in Indiana who thinks about things in weird ways can hear from people all over the world who think the same way. The problem is, if you're from a place that doesn't have a lot of deep thinkers, you never get exposed to a lot of other people that think the way you do. But now you can. And you can share thoughts and evolve mentally with other people. It's amazing! If you're not using the Internet to share and gain ideas from the people who really investigate issues, you're really wasting it. Not to say there's anything wrong with hours and hours on YouTube or playing games, because I sure as hell do my share of both of those. I just think that there's a whole lot that you can gain as a human from the Internet if you use it correctly.
That's my rant for today. Thank you Duck Dynasty. Jimmy Carter is the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital.
Follow me on Twitter for infrequent retweets and dull thoughts: @BryanOnAWire
Download or listen and follow my podcast on Podomatic: Bryan On A Wire
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