Tuesday's With Bryan

Well it is official I am an old man. This morning the boy and I got up and left for an appointment. It was Freshman registration time at the High School. He got his ID photo taken, signed up for a yearbook and bought season tickets to the football games (for us to watch him at marching band). He stopped and talked to a dozen or so people and then I left for work. A new stage of life is upon us. I hope we can all survive!

Yesterday was also a bad/good day for the boy. He was dropped off at Band Camp by Grandma and then she got a call from him saying come pick me up there is no spot for me this year. My mother drove over in 5 minutes flat walked into the band room where the 2 directors were speaking. She pointed at the one not talking and gave him the come here motion. She was told that because he missed the first week of camp (which they knew about because of Philmont) they wrote him out and he no longer had a spot. But please come back next year. She wouldn't leave and then talked to the head director. For 30 minutes they talked behind closed doors and then we they came out he had a spot. Band Nazis. He has a spot and has to learn a new instrument but I am still hot about it. He left me a voice mail (I was doing the news) and you could hear the heartbreak when he said he was calling Granny to come pick him up. Thank God my mother was there, I would have went through the roof and he would have be banned for life when I was done with them. She kept a cool head and explained the WHOLE family is already involved doing Fundraising and Water duty, etc. He gave up Fall Baseball for this and that is the way they treat a 2nd year Band member WHO WANTS TO BE THERE!!!!! The thing that gets me is the fact that the head director is an EAGLE SCOUT and when we told him the boy was going to Philmont he said enjoy, it is a once in a lifetime chance, there will be a spot here when you get back.

All is fine in the end but man I am still pissed!!!

Open Letters of Frustration...

Dear Hollywood,
Come up with an original idea please. STOP REMAKING MOVIES. I can understand a new vision on a theme but for the love of God people some of these remakes were in the theater when I SAW THEM. For example, The Hitcher, was only 15 something years ago. IF you have nothing new to make, do not make anything...

Dear Network TV,
Leave the program on the air. Yes I am asking you to take a shot and leave a new show on the air for more than 2 episodes. The show was made so why not just air them. You will garner a lot of favor by doing this. You must realize that even a low, "terrible' rating is still MILLIONS of people. What are you going to put in there anyway, another stupid reality show or another rip off of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? While we are at it, NO MORE Law & Order or CSI shows OR rip offs, period. Enough is enough. A well written, well acted show like Scrubs cannot find a regular home but someone says CSI: Nebraska and you sign a 3 year contract, shame on you...

Dear Stereotype,
Yes I am talking to you Asian woman driver, black gansta rapper/athlete, lazy fat guy. Stop perpetrating the stereotype!!! Ms. Asian Woman Driver that I see everyday...learn the rules of the road!!!! There is a maximum AND a minimum speed limit. If you are more comfortable driving at or below the speed limit, fine BUT GET OUT OF THE LEFT HAND LANE, and the Center lane. Go to the right and stay there!!!! The reason you are white knuckled and wide eyed is because you are in the left hand lane of a 3 lane highway doing 45mph and everyone is passing you doing 65 (posted speed limit) and beyond. I would laugh if I saw you once but we take the same route EVERYDAY!!!! Mr. Black Gangsta Rapper/Athlete, you do realize you are in the spotlight. You do realize that right or wrong what you do reflects on the people around you and your color. It is sadly a fact of life. Mr. Akon, Mr. Vick, Mr. Stephen Jackson get a clue and step up. Nothing says I am a good person like tossing a fan off stage, running a dog fighting place on your property or getting into a guy fight outside a strip club at 3am. And do not get me started on Pac Man Jones. Man up one and all, do the right thing. You are obviously intelligent enough to be proficient in your job to make MILLIONS at it. Put some of those smarts into your daily life and stop acting like asses. Mr. Lazy Fat Guy, get up and get off your ass, period. DO NOT SEND A TAPE INTO JERRY SPRINGER, try not to wear a stained T-shirt to church and for the love of God stop ordering an 8pc Bucket for yourself and then order the "diet coke". MOVE!!! One and all stop perpetuating the myth, break the cycle, STOP THE INSANITY!!!

What the heck? Part 2

Have you seen these poor parents who met the Pope in hopes of getting their abducted child returned to them. I pray for them and hope the child is returned so that Protective Services can take her away!!!! For drying out loud the kid was 4 and in a strange country and these parents left her AND HER YOUNGER BROTHERS in a hotel room so they could enjoy a quiet dinner!! What the heck! Why is everyone smoothing over this fact when they talk about the story. It is people like this that make me support a Parent License!! What idiot leaves their 4 year old in a hotel room so they can eat! I remember undoing all the straps and contraptions in my sons car seat and taking him out so I can pay the gas attendant at the gas station (yes there was a time that one had to go in and pay, there was no pay at the pump). I would unstrap the boy, walk inside the 15 feet and tell the guy I wanted $10 on pump 5 and then put the boy back in the car and strap him up and then pump gas.

I feel sorry for these people, I truly do, this is my worst nightmare as a parent. But then again I do not think I would leave my 4 year old home alone so I can grab a movie with the wife...

What the heck?!!?!?!?!??!

I start my day with a workout (usually) and then when I get home I jump online and do some quick browsing. Visit my blog reads, baseball scores, email and calendar. At the end if I have time I run to the funny link sites, the quick links of Miss America falling on her butt, skaters wiping out, that cat rolled up in the tarp at the baseball game getting flung out and occasionally some dirty clip. I admit I click on them sometimes, I try not to as this is a shared computer with my son and the "dirty" sites like to dump tons of spyware etc on your PC. But I see a link that says Drunk College Girls at Party, thinking flashing ala New Orleans, instead it is two girls and one guy at a party. They are totally naked and going at it. Meanwhile there are DOZENS of people all standing in a circle around them at some frat party. The camera moves from the "action' to the viewers and someone is asking questions, at one point one of the kids says, don't film me if my mother saw this she would shit. I turn it off and think to myself, what the hell is going on at college????? I mean I was wild there and drank and did things that college kids do, but I never got naked in front of all my friends and had sex with two women. What the heck is going on that this generation thinks that this is fine behaviour. What of the girls in the video, these are not adult actresses they are regular college students. When they go for a summer internship and some says, hey I say you on Dump-a-link doing some guy. What of the school these people go to, I saw Greek letters and college shirts, do they have a responsibility of what is going on on their campus. What of the parents of these kids. I am of the age where I have friends with college aged kids. While at a dinner table with a friend I blurt out, Hey Chuck I saw you daughter going down on some guy on YouTube. Sure I am the hypocrite that clicked on the link and watched some of it, but what the hell people!!!!! I understand the niche of Adult Movies and the people who make them know what they are into but these are just normal kids at college. What gave them the idea that is was OK to strip naked in front of 40 people and have sex??? Sometimes I really fear for the future...

Contune Yesterday's Rant and Good Bye to Trash

I will start with this, Rosie O'Donnell is leaving The View...I supported her in her stand up career (yes I saw her), I supported her in her TV show. I was still with her when she came out of the closet and changed the focus of her original show. Now she is a bitter, mean, ugly hag, and I am happy she is finally off the television. I have never watched an episode of The View but several co-workers have it on while we work and I get to hear her often. She is ALL that is wrong with TV commentaries. Uninformed, unintelligent and unbearable. In Italian she would be a "faccia brutte". Good bye to bad trash...

I want to follow up yesterday's post with this. One man stood up to save the lives of others. This man survived the Holucost. THis man knew the meaning of sacrafice. This man stood up when called and faced sure death like a hero I am sure he would not want to be called. This man was from a different generation. A generation that is slowing disappearing from our great country. From the Greatest Generation to the Me Generation in 40 short years. No wonder Islamic Extremists and the rest of the world feel they can mess with us. We are losing our balls. Like the bully who points his finger at the little kid standing near his big brother. That bully knows that at some point big brother will be gone and then the little kid, who has depended on the big brother all his life will be on his own. Will he remember the lessons his big brother tried to teach him or will he fall like a house of cards...

Holu Smokes....

What a quick week. I have had tons of sh*t tossed at my feet since I have returned from vacation. We are unveiling a ton of stuff at work (I will get into more details at a later date) and after I have done all this work on one project they turn around and say oh by the way we forgot to tell you we changed this and this and this...3 days of work down the shitter. You know it is bad when I wake up first thing in the morning and I am trying to figure out a way to make something work for work.

LOST: oh my Gawd! Finally they hit their stride! These past few episodes saved it from death I think. The story is moving along and we ARE BACK ON THE BEACH!!! Thank you LOST people. I was tired of the Others week after week. There is only so much of 2 people in a cage on can watch. I like Desmond, and his story is very interesting. I did catch the picture on the monk's desk but it took a moment for it to register. Nice forward of the story while adding another mystery...

PS: Dear Beach Livers, there is a perfectly good village a few hours away. Last I checked it was empty. I has a roof, running water and indoor toilets. That plus a nice piano Jack used. Why the heck are you still on the beach?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Get moving!

Tired Today.

Up early to do bills and get ready for the doctors before work. Have you ever just looked at your life from a step back. Man I am in a rut sometimes. At work I do the same thing day in and day out which explains why I am always busy after work. I need to do something else. My tastes are varied but all require one thing I feel I am always short of TIME.

Tomorrow starts the new new routine, my trainer made some changes and we shall see how this goes, wish me luck.

I've been having some weird dreams lately. Involving people from my past I have not seen or heard from in YEARS. What does it all mean?

Does anyone listen to podcasts? I find I have turned my ipod into a machine of information instead of "my complete music collection in my hand". While mostly history or baseball podcasts they are still 15-60 minutes long and take up most if not all of my commute. I have gotten several book suggestions from them as well.

I just started reading Boys Of Summer. I thought it appropriate as this weekend was the 60th anniversary for Jackie Robinson joining the Majors. I'll let you know how it turns out. ;-)