The ghost of Christmas bleh

I don't know what's wrong with me. For some reason, Christmas just hasn't hit me in the heart yet. It hasn't really been a gradual thing either; for some reason, this is the first year that something awful like this has happened.
What did I do wrong? Even earlier this year I would put on some Christmas music in anticipation of what I thought would be a wonderful time. But now that the holiday is so close on my horizon, Christmas is starting to annoy me. I haven't been a very positive person these days, and I guess that could be what's corrupting my Christmas spirit.
I'm scared to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" - what if I don't even enjoy the movie I've loved so much before? That would be a sign of my total descent into the depths of cynicism. Christmas lights still look pretty to me, they just don't look like Christmas anymore.
If this is all just me maturing, I want it to stop. I want to be a kid again. I want to appreciate magic. I'm so jaded. I keep trying to keep myself from being a Scrooge, but so far it isn't working out very well.

Grrrr, I'm a crippled tiger

Tiger Woods had sixty million affairs, crashed his escalade, and got beat up by his wife from what I can gather. Apparently, everyone in the entire world has been following the scandal. In lesser news, there are two wars going on. The question is why does the media follow the celebrity gossip more than the stuff that matters and affects people?
Really, I think it's just easier to laugh and joke at other people's problems. People die in war, so people take wars seriously. SNL isn't going to do a skit mocking a soldier being tortured by Iraqi terrorists. It makes us feel big to see the ones who've risen to the top fall. We don't want them to die, though. As long as Tiger doesn't die, he is fair game for our scrutiny. No one laid off Michael Jackson until he died.
Society is screwed up, but in the grand scheme of things it isn't really a big deal. Society has always been corrupt and it always will be. Nothing we say or do will make a difference. However, I'm not recommending conforming to celebrity stalking. Focusing on what matters might not fix society, but it's good for your feeling of mental superiority.

At least there will be turkey

Next week is Thanksgiving, which, all in all, is a beautiful holiday. The day before happens to be the 17th anniversary of my first contact with light. I would like to thank my mother and my father for bringing me into this world, and the rest of you should also thank them, because without them you'd all be without me.
Did you know that Disney World gives you a free ticket on your birthday? Funny enough, my birthday happens to intersect with my family's staying in Orlando. So now me, mom, dad, and brother 1, 3, and 4 are all going to hit up that magical land of wonders. I've never been there, so I'm a bit skeptical about the whole thing.
First off, I'm having trouble getting excited about the rides. According to ye olde Wikipedia, they have this one ride that features every president ever, but in robot form. My initial reaction is that it sounds like a great historical experience, but on second consideration it sounds like the best way to launch robot world domination. The brightest and the most popular men in history, robo-fied? The last thing earth needs is Jefferson, Jackson, JFK, and Obama working together against mankind.
Moving on, what's all this "It's a small world" business? Isn't that that song that the toucan in The Lion King randomly started singing? Now there's a ride based off of that one moment? Sounds like a painfully mundane, forgettable experience. The song's not even catchy!
In conclusion, these two waste-of-space rides probably bring the rest of the experience down. How can you enjoy Space Mountain when you know you are right next to a crazed, murderous Abraham Lincoln cyborg? How can you scream on the Tower of Terror when a bunch of mini people are lying about the size of the world? You can't.
I will hate Disney, sadly. I will try to like it, but I just don't see that happening.

*****!

A teacher, Ashley Payne, got fired for posting an expletive, that word that rhymes with kitsch, on her facebook. Also, she was holding wine in a picture. The school district forced her to resign because her conduct was "unacceptable."
This is flipping ridiculous. Is there a list of words you are not allowed to post online? Is the school district condoning or even, dare I say it, supporting censorship? Okay, I can understand pushing for a little discretion, but what she posted certainly wasn't against the law and I don't even think it was unethical.
The reaction is even worse. Maybe they could kindly ask her to take the "objectionable" content down - but no, they force her to resign. They have the right to fire her, but shouldn't they have a legitimate reason?
Now, she is suing the school district. Good luck!

My life is no longer mine

I am scared easily by a lot of things. The other day, I was just innocently driving home, blasting my music, singing along. I pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. I opened my front door and sat there for a few seconds with the door hanging open. Finally, I got out, shut the door and started to walk up to my house, humming. Then I looked up.

Standing in front of my house was a big black dog. A very big black dog. So, of course, I was a bit shocked. I froze: maybe dogs work like Tyrannosaurus Rexes and only see movement. Everything was going fine and the dog wasn't attacking me or anything, but we really weren't making any progress, because the dog still wasn't moving.

All of the sudden, it started howling at me! Loudly. By the way, this dog was big. My impulsive self ordered me to walk towards it. So I did, and the dog backed up, and I was able to make it inside.

This was not my only encounter with the neighborhood demon. I spied the evil beast standing in the darkness at the end of my driveway, staring into my soul just last night. I'm beginning to think it is an escaped criminal disguised as a dog, just like in Harry Potter.

There is no escape. It is always watching. My life is no longer mine. It belongs to a big black dog.

God doesn't need the support of the government

When the school district in a small Georgia town decided the cheerleaders at the local public high school could no longer display Bible verses on their signs, the entire town went into an enraged uproar. Local churches held protest rallies, thousands of t-shirts were printed, signs proclaiming "You Can't Silence Us" were posted locally and beyond.
I think the town was kind of missing the point here. One girl quoted in the article said "We have the right to believe whatever religion we want," as if she was not being allowed to follow her religion. The right to proclaim her beliefs was not even threatened, much less the right to believe. Students could still pray together and fans could still bring those "John 3:16" signs to games.
The problem was the context of the display. If the members of the swim team meditate together between classes no one would complain, but if the swim team decides to put a picture of Buddha on their Speedos, it gets a little murky.
Christianity at the football games was not suppressed, it was sparked. The predominantly Christian town had something to rally against, and they got to champion freedom of speech in the process.
But no one was in the wrong. The school district did the right thing in putting a stop to the lawsuit-worthy brand of religion, without trying to actually muzzle religion itself.

Freedom to be a pain

The first amendment guarantees the freedom to be obnoxious, but how far is too far? Local radio talk show host Chris Krok mocks Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker's recent suicide. Does being unethical disqualify him from being a journalist?
People are drawn to controversy. Newspapers thrive on controversy. All Krok is doing is drawing attention. He's not trying to get people to like him; he's trying to get people to enjoy him. The average person is respectful - you have to be a jerk to really stand out. The human race doesn't want to watch people get along. Every piece of successful entertainment ever has to have a conflict.
Journalism at it's heart is a very interpretable field. There is a place for personal opinion. When the White House condemns Fox News as being too biased to take seriously, cries of censorship and communism ring from conservatives and scattered liberals. Chris Krok and Fox News have a lot in common: they are both offending people, and they both have a large sphere of influence.
As long as they aren't flat out lying, anyone has the right to voice their opinions however skewed from popular thought they are. There is nothing wrong with Fox News criticizing the Obama administration, and there is nothing wrong with a local columnist criticizing Fox News.
I don't agree with Chris Krok, but I don't want to censor him.