Michael Jackson – Death of an American icon
Ξ June 26th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
It was a warm spring morning in 1970 when I first heard the amazing voice of Michael Jackson. I was riding to school with my brothers and sister when a group called the Jackson 5 came on the radio singing a beautiful ballad entitled ”I’ll Be There”. It was a very beautiful song indeed, sung with great passion by someone with one of the most incredible voices I had ever heard. Imagine my surprise when the DJ later told the listening audience that that incredible singer was Michael Jackson, age 11 – just a little over a year older than I was!
Due largely to Michael’s talent and showmanship, the Jackson 5 went on to become one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970’s. They turned out hit after hit and filled stadiums and concert halls to the brim, making their dad Joe a very wealthy man in the process. Only years later would the world find out just how iron-fisted and ruthless Joe had been in directing his children towards stardom. And what a star Michael would become!
Being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age had a profound impact on Michael. During the period of his life when most boys were just enjoying being a kid, he was spending countless hours in rehearsals, recording records, and performing on stages all around the world. He never really had a childhood, and sadly he spent his entire adult life trying to make up for it.
As he rose to ever higher levels of success in his music career, his personal life gradually spiraled downward until he finally hit rock bottom in several ways. For whatever reason, he never seemed happy with his appearance, and after a long series of cosmetic surgeries he ended up looking like little more than a caricature of his former self. To many in fact, he looked a lot more like a mannequin than a real, flesh and blood human being.
Worse still were the allegations of child sexual abuse that were leveled upon him over the course of several years. Although he agreed to monetary settlements with some of the accusers and was eventually acquitted in a criminal trial, he lived the rest of his life with a huge cloud hanging over his head. Michael had forever lost the most important things that an entertainer can possess: the respect, trust and admiration of many of his fans.
This summer was supposed to mark the “return” of Michael Jackson with a series of 50 concerts in London, but whether they would have successfully lifted him back to the ultimate superstar status that he once enjoyed will forever remain a mystery because yesterday he passed away from cardiac arrest. One of the most talented performers to ever step onto a stage is now gone, leaving only his maker as his ultimate judge.
Although Michael’s music changed over the years into a style that I didn’t really enjoy, it was obvious that he never lost the ability to entertain a crowd. And although I personally found his adult lifestyle and life choices to be quite odd, and even distasteful, I will always remember that spring morning so long ago when I heard him sing for the very first time. A contemporary of mine went on to hit the big time. In a way we grew up together, and it’s sad to see him go at such a young age.
Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
How to cancel a stuck print job in Windows Vista
Ξ April 11th, 2009 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Technology |
From day one Microsoft Windows has been the source of one annoyance after another for its users, and Windows Vista still comes right out of the box with one of the biggest annoyances of all: the stuck print job. And to add insult to injury, clicking “Cancel” to delete the stuck print job rarely if ever works as intended. But don’t despair, there is indeed a fast and easy way to kill a stuck print job in Vista : Simply follow these steps:
1 – Open the Control Panel.
2 – Click on System and Maintenance.
3 – Click on Administrative Tools.
4 – Double-click on Services.
5 – In the list of services, scroll down until you find one named Print Spooler.
6 – Right-click on Print Spooler and then click Restart on the pop-up menu.
7 – The “Deleted” jobs will disappear and active print jobs in the queue will print
California Supreme Court to actually consider overturning a constitutional amendment
Ξ March 5th, 2009 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
Has the world gone crazy? Read on and decide for yourself…
The primary function of a state’s Supreme Court is to ensure that all laws approved by the legislature and signed into law by the governor are “legal” under the state Constitution (which must also be in accordance with the U.S. Constitution). In other words, all new laws must be “constitutional”, and if in the minds of the Supreme Court justices they are not, they can, and should be struck down. But for the first time ever, a state Supreme Court is actually going to consider striking down an amendment to its state constitution itself!
Last November the voters in California overwhelmingly approved Proposition 8 which will amend the California State Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman only. Several radical groups sued to have Prop 8 overturned however, insisting that such a limit on marriage is unconstitutional. Well here’s a newsflash for those folks: A constitutional amendment cannot be unconstitutional – it’s part of the constitution!
But as obvious as this would seem to be, the California Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case anyway, taking judicial activism to an entirely new level. Hopefully, if the state’s Supreme Court rules that the state constitution is itself unconstitutional, common sense will prevail in the end and the U.S. Supreme Court will right this most egregious of wrongs.
Remembering Paul Harvey
Ξ March 1st, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
As a young boy growing up in rural southwestern Virginia, I spent most of my summer days playing in the woods or riding bikes with my cousins. We would be up and at it rather early, often by 7:30 or 8:00am, so by lunchtime we were usually ready to head back home to cool off under a fan and “grab a bite to eat”. Some days went better than others, but there was always one constant that I could count on: the deep, yet supremely soothing sound of Paul Harvey’s gravelly voice on the radio at noontime.
Until his health problems made it very difficult for him to work any longer, Paul Harvey was on the radio virtually every weekday throughout the course of my entire lifetime. His conservative and always optimistic outlook and opinions always seemed to match my own – but in reality, they played a major role in shaping mine. Even in this era when the national news media openly slant the news to help promote their own points of view, Paul Harvey simply stated the facts, gave his opinion of them, and then let you make up your own mind. He always made it clear that he was more than just a newsman, he was also a commentator. And as such, his “newscasts” would reflect his own personal outlook on life and society. There were never any hidden agendas or deception involved.
Although NBC, MSNBC, CBS and CNN want us to believe that they deliver hard news stories every day, their broadcasts are really little more than cleverly disguised, continually-updating opinion pages. The days when a reporter would simply state the facts of an event or situation and leave you to draw your own conclusions are long gone. But as a commentator Paul Harvey played it straight from the beginning. He never tried to trick his listeners into seeing things his way. Instead, he simply told you outright how he felt about a given topic, then left it up to you to either agree or disagree.
I just heard a short while ago of Paul Harvey’s passing, and it saddens me to know that one of the few honest folks in the news business has now been silenced forever. Mr. Harvey had an incredible career that spanned a huge chunk of two centuries. Now it’s time for him to enjoy “Page Two”.
Paul Harvey 1918 – 2009
President Obama’s economy
Ξ February 27th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
When Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, he immediately became the “owner” of the worst economy since the 1970’s, and while the Bush administration must share the blame with the Democratically-controlled Congress, the problem now belongs entirely to President Obama.
In my opinion Mr. Obama is standing at a crossroads. If he manages the economy just right and things turn around, he should be able to expect easy re-election in four years. But if he bungles this enormous task, he and Michelle might as well begin packing up their belongings in the latter part of the next election cycle. I predict it will be the latter.
When Congress was negotiating the massive stimulus bill that just passed, they and the President had an opportunity to really make a big impact on the economy and the confidence of the American people, but they blew it. Instead of spending the money where it counts (tax cuts and business incentives), they chose instead to push through a gargantuan pile of pork that will have very little positive effect on the economy at all. In reality, all it will do is plunge the nation far deeper into debt, and our grandchildren will some day have to pay all of this money back.
The Republicans in Congress refused to go along with the game, but the Democrats had the votes needed to ramrod the bill through anyway. Make no mistake, this catastrophe of a bill has nothing but Democrat handprints all over it, and in the end I believe it will be Obama’s downfall (as well as the downfall of the Democrat majority in the House and Senate). When this largest stimulus package ever approved fails to turn the economy around, the Republicans can, and will, legitimately be able to say “I told you so”. And I believe the American voters will agree.
Why America needs energy independence NOW
Ξ February 27th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
For decades we Americans have been dependent on foreign oil for the bulk of our energy needs, and in my opinion it’s high time for that to change. There is simply no reason why we can’t channel a huge chunk of the billions of dollars we send each year to countries that are bent on our destruction into developing our own God-given energy supplies.
This country has an abundance of crude oil, natural gas and coal just waiting to be pumped out and mined, and we need to take the steps required to do so right away. Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy will certainly play an ever-increasing role in filling our energy needs, and we need to put a lot of money and effort into developing them and making them economically viable as quickly as possible. But in the short term, there is simply no practical substitute for fossil fuels.
We need to ease the restrictions that are hampering and preventing the recovery of our off-shore crude oil and the immense reserves in Alaska’s ANWR, then set about building enough new refineries to supply our nation’s need for gasoline. We also need to push forward the development and production of clean-burning coal, and we need to do it NOW.
The environmentalists are telling us that the sky is falling and that global warming is going to destroy the planet, but there is little evidence that that is the case. And what evidence there is is shaky indeed. But one thing is certain: If we don’t grab the bull by the horns and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil sooner rather than later, we will no longer have a lifestyle worth living or the freedom to enjoy whatever lifestyle we’re left with after OPEC and the Chinese have ruined our economy.
Winter, yet again
Ξ February 23rd, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Now that we’re well into the final third of February, one would think that the winter weather we have had this year would be moderating a bit. Well, it isn’t – not yet at least. The daytime temps are still below freezing and yet another snowfall has blanketed the ground – not very deep mind you – but the ground is covered as I write this.
But hope springs eternal, and before we know it the spring flowers will all be in bloom, drawing tons of butterflies and hummingbirds with their beautiful aroma. Till then I’ll just stay indoors and enjoy the beauty of winter’s last stand. Calling “global warming”…where are you?
Buying gold
Ξ February 20th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Rick's Tips |
These days I see or hear an ad advising me to buy gold just about every time I turn on the radio or television, and the gist of the pitch is always the same: “Gold has never been completely worthless, and it’s the only investment you can really count on to hold at least part of its value in dire economic times”. This is true of course, but there is one sticking point that really makes me uneasy about these ads…
Virtually all of the companies hawking gold want you to let them hold on to your coins or bars for “safekeeping”. In my opinion, accepting a paper “title” to a pile of precious metals held on your behalf in some other state or country is no safer for your long-term fiscal health than investing in stocks or bonds.
I mean think about it – if the bottom falls out of the world’s economy, chaos will reign supreme and “titles” and “ownership” will mean little or nothing. And what if that company in Texas or Switzerland or Australia or Mozambique goes belly up? Will you have any realistic chance of getting your hot little hands on your hard-earned gold? Not likely by a long shot.
I agree that buying gold is one of the best ways to “insure” your financial future in the event that the financial world should some day fall apart, but you should take steps to store your gold yourself in a secret and secure location that you alone will always have complete control over. That way if you ever need to “spend” your gold, you and only you will have physical access to it.
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