Greetings and salutations to all of my fellow bloggers. While I am new to this site I am not new to blogging. I am a big fan of the blog as a medium for the regular individual to speak his or her mind on anything regardless of its poignancy or grammatical content. The blog is for the person who doesn't feel their voice is heard by anyone from the coworker to their representative government. And thanks to the popularity of blogging political awareness has been raised and in many cases candidates have risen to great heights (Howard Dean) and plunged into obscurity (Trent Lott) courtesy of Bloggers. Mainstream writers and the intellectual media elite resent our ability to publish ourselves but fuck them, their egos could use a little deflating.
I have written on Blogger and Blogging network (or BN as we called it). I have posted approximately 60 posts. Some were long-winded and highly charged rants, others were sentimental pieces and I even posted some poetry that I wrote in response to life-changing events both personal and societal. On BN the comments and ratings were also available and I found it a little intimidating. I was a popular member, I enjoyed high readership and multiple comments and made some friends (faceless but still friends). But I found BN to be way too "clicque-ey" and many commenters were only trying to provoke controversy to boost their ratings. While this site has rankings also, I hope never to be a slave to them. I eventually left BN and have gone through a creative dry spell. But as Paul Newman victoriously pronounced in The Color of Money, "I'm back!"
So a little about me. I am a professional with a white collar but a solid blue-collar work ethic. I worked my way from prep cook to executive management and have benefitted tremendously from my roots as a working stiff. I love to work and draw tremendous satisfaction from achievement at any level. Consequently when I am not happy at work it affects my mood adversely. I will write about my work a lot because I have some genuine insight and experience with office politics, coworkers, sexism and harrassment etc. and some of my anecdotes are such that you could probably relate to them.
But regardless of mood I come home, as soon as possible, to my house full of children, 4 of them under the age of ten. Of all the jobs I have had my favorite is that of father. Yeah, every jackass says they love their kids but it should show on your face every time you see them or talk about them. But always watch the expressions on the face of your audience. If their eyes are rolling back in their heads then stop talking about your kids...please.
I am a voracious reader and consider myself well-versed in history, current events and politics. My wife and co-workers often call my cell phone with a question because it is easier to ask me than to look it up. The same can be said of my passion for movie quotes. I am famous for dropping an obscure line on a coworker to see if they will get it. When hit the same way, I almost always get it. It is not that I am smart, it is just my obsession to learn and absorb whatever my occasionally booze-soaked brain can retain.
I like to write,it can even be said that I need to write. I am able to share of myself, to argue with anyone and everyone(including myself) or to just scream at the world when you can't do it at work and shoyuldn't do it at home. I feel better after something is on paper and to be honest, people tend to either agree or disagree vehemently with me. Either way, I tend to make people think.
Ok, I have made nice. Here I am. I am a nice guy. But I am also extremely opinionated and when I have a view point I do not hold back. If you offend easily, don't read me. If you like to say "wow, I never thought of it that way" then read me. I can even be funny sometimes even if it is at the expense of my dignity.
Some basics:
I am politically conservative but not a Republican
I am able to see every side of an issue
I am a non-militant atheist with respect for those with faith. Call me out on this issue and you will be met with solid and determined resistance.
I hate whiners, apologists, "victims" and finger-pointers. I believe in personal responsibility, integrity and the pursuit and completion of goals.
I try to be nice to all people, even if they are fucking morons.
I hate social programs that I support but am not eligible for.
I have a big heart but it is jaded by many disappointments and personal crisis. It doesn't bleed, it only trickles slowly.
Things are not always black and white, but they can certainly be ethically valid or not.
I talk about the differences between men and women a lot. I am a liberated male in that I don't understand women at all and I know it.
I don't believe in putting fruit in my beer.
It is nice meeting all of you and i hope to interact soon.
macdaddy