Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

1. BETTY FORD DIES AT 93

As far as first ladies go, Betty Ford was unique. She was outspoken and honest. I would say that she overshadowed her husband. She also gave us the Betty Ford Center which is mostly a joke retreat for sauced up celebrities wanting to dry out and sober up for the sake of PR. Ford was also a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment which would almost certainly have been used to enforce a regime of reverse discrimination which we can see from the advances women have made would have been really stupid. But, hey, she was outspoken and unique. It's a life.

2. MISS SC

A former fat ass does good. I don't think she is all that hot, but her story is inspiring. For those outside SC, Bree Boyce was a fat girl who lost 100 pounds and won our state's crown. Plus, she has all her teeth. I bet she even graduated high school! Don't get me wrong. I am proud of her, and her story is inspirational. But SC will continue to be the butt of jokes about obesity, poor education, high unemployment, and the like.

3. SOUTH SUDAN

A country secedes from a larger country establishing for itself greater freedom and independence. This will almost certainly give ideas to people living in Texas.

4. CASEY ANTHONY TRIAL

Thanks to that mouthy bitch Nancy Grace, the death of an infant grabbed the attention of a nation. Meanwhile, the deaths of many others including children overseas merits little if any mention at all in the media here in the States. For me, I never bothered following the trial mainly because I despise Nancy Grace but also because I have a world perspective on events.

5. CNN

Things are shaking up at CNN as they decide to focus on being a serious source of journalism akin to NPR, the NYT, and the BBC. The fact is that CNN is the trusted source when it comes to breaking news. MSNBC and Fox are the op-ed pages people turn to for context. I don't care for either MSNBC or FOX but turn to Freedom Watch clips on the internet and Adam vs. the Man clips from RT for my op ed fix. I post as many of them as I can on my Facebook wall to share with the libertarians. Libertarians have to do what they do to get their info.

I think this is a good move on CNN's part as they focus more on quality. I don't know if it will result in higher ratings, but I think it would definitely help if they did harder hitting journalism. But I suspect that they will simply remain mired as part of the MSM. CNN needs to be less like NPR and more like WikiLeaks.

6. GREECE GETS ANOTHER BAILOUT

It blows my mind how this farce just keeps continuing. Greece is the welfare effect demonstrated on an international level. The answer is to let this country collapse. For the folks in Greece, they should simply default, dismantle their welfare state, and go on as the dominoes fall across the rest of Europe. This latest bailout is like putting a band-aid on gangrene.

7. DEBT CEILING

It still staggers the mind that these fuckers seriously debate what to cut before using the MasterCard to pay the interest payments on the Visa. Then, there is talk of the President defying the Congress and just doing whatever the fuck he wants. Will the GOP cave? Absolutely. That is the most sickening aspect of this whole fiasco.

8. MARRIAGE BECOMING OBSOLETE

The US Census reports more people are doing the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie thing and simply choosing to live together as a family without marriage. This reflects the reality that marriage is a contrived institution that is more about money than love. I am at the point that I think that anyone who gets married or is married is a damn fool. Marriage is like washing a disposable diaper. It is trying to make permanent something that is temporary. Love is temporary. It always has been and always will be. Both Jolie and Pitt are wise to this since they are both divorced. They have mutual distrust from my perspective, and I think this is just being realistic. I would not gamble that either of them has been faithful. But they have a common interest in raising children, and that is the glue that binds them. . .for now.

9. BLOGGER REBRAND

News has it that Google is going to rebrand the service that is home to the C-blog. "Blogger" will become "Google Blogs." I don't really care about the change as long as the C-blog doesn't get nuked.

Speaking of rebrands, I have considered rebranding the C-blog with various new titles. Unlike other blogs, I don't really have a cool title like "Far Beyond the Stars" or "Zen Habits" or whatever. "Charlie's Blog" is pretty damn generic. Combined with the simple black-and-white masthead, it reminds one of the various generic products you can buy in the supermarkets. Here are some titles I have considered in the past:

-Charlie's Blog of Venomous Bile
-Confessions of a Slack Ass Fucker
-Far Beyond the Farts
-Blue Collar Bullshit
-Read Me or Blow Me

I am certain to get more suggestions in the comments section. The reason I go with a simple generic title is because this blog is personal but also evolving and changing and not devoted to any single topic. This blog has the room to go anywhere and be anything at anytime. I don't know if this is a good strategy or a bad strategy, but I can't help but notice how many other bloggers end up writing themselves into a corner. This is very true of the minimalist blogs.

Here's a suggestion for other bloggers. You should keep two blogs. The first blog is your subject blog that is devoted to your niche. The second blog is your personal blog that is devoted to you and whatever you care to write about. This allows you to have the best of both worlds.

As for me, this blog remains "Charlie's Blog."

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