Hollidays 101: Halloween.

OK so its Thanksgiving. And i was planing on doing a little section of my blog about the holidays.
So of coarse on this fine Thanksgiving we are going to go over.... Halloween.

Why Halloween? Two Reasons.
1: I wanted to do them in chronological order and Halloween comes first.
2: It's pretty much the only holiday i like in the season.
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So i have already done a collection of reasons that the holidays chafe me. So i will just re-cap the ones that apply to this one.

#1. Kids showing there asses.
#2. Adults not knowing what the crap they are doing.
#3. Religion people.

Now to be fair the 3rd one is kind of split here for me, because about 10% of Religions folks piss me off. 10% of them actually know what they are doing. And the Rest have enough sense to... well just have fun with this holiday.
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So we will look at each of these groups.
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1: OK so first is the group that is the loudest.
There is a group of people who think that Halloween is evil.
And that it is incompatible with Christians values. Now really this dose not bother me.
But the thing is they try to explain there complaints in Sudo-Christian Mumbo-Jumbo. And try to cram it down every one Else's thought. Pretty much ignoring the fact that the Pagan holidays that they are saying the holiday is based off of. (Which they kind of are) Are in fact older then Christianity.
Some of them being older then the six thousand year old world view these people's hold.

If you want to see what i mean by CRAZY people in the Christian camp.
Please see the work of. Jack T. Chick
This guys work is so weird that most people think it is some kind of joke or is making fun of other people that are like this.... Well no. This guy is 110% Serious. And he is that far out there... And it's not just him. There are more.
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2: Most people in the Christian camp simply don't care and look at this as a Secular holiday, that has no positive or negative connotation.
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3: Surprisingly a good number of roman Catholics celebrate Halloween as well. As a Religious holiday. In two forms. The first being All Saints Day, That is a celebration of the Catholics saints. Now this one has no connection to the holiday of old. For that you get the catholic holiday of All Souls Day.

This runs off the idle that. When a person dies they are not abstained from sins that they have done sense there last confession. So they must spend time in Purgatory until they can be cleansed of these sins. Because no sin can enter Heaven. And all souls day is the day that they leave purgatory and go to heaven.

This is a throw game to the Roman Holiday that Halloween borrows it's date from. The Roman Feast of Pomona. Which is really just a celebration having to do with the late harvest.
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There are also a number of holidays that go along with Halloween, and the thing we have today seams to have borrowed from all of them.

There is.

Roman Feast of Pomona.
Festival of the dead: Parentalia.
Celtic festival of Samhain.
welsh as Calen Gaeaf.
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The Modern version started to shape up in the middle ages. around 1560's or so.
All hallows day.
All hallows Even.
This is were they all seam to get the name.
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Trick or treating is pretty old as well. Having coming out in the middle ages. And seamed to have some connection to the Christian Custom of Chrismas Wassailing. (Something we should still do)
Shakespear actually mentions it in Two men in Verona. Calling it: Hallowmass.

Dressing up seamed to have started in the early 19th century. (That's 1801-1840) For people who don't get the century thing down.

Combining Dressing up and Trick Or Treating started to shape up in the 1930's in the united states. Thus following into the 'Not as old as you might think' area of holidays.

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One of the reasons i like this holiday is that is has some of the best food.
Pumpkin pie!
Allot of it is very old and odd in comparison to allot of other foods we eat today.

Why do i hate holidays?

So as you might have guessed I am not a big holiday person.
And it's a bit of a stretch to say that i Hate the holidays.
It would be much fairer to say i don't care for the holidays. That is to say i like getting together and seeing family but that being said there are some thing i out and out despite about the holidays.

So like most of the things i don't like in the world i am going to make a list of them.
So hear goes my top 10 reasons i don't care for the holiday season.

10:Kids.
Don't get me wrong, I like kids, I at some point would like to adopt kids. [Not have them, because there are already allot of kids who need love and don't have it] And i really to enjoy some parts of the holiday season that are meant for kids. It's just that kids really seam to show there ass around Christmas. Now to be fair this is not really the fault of the holiday itself but rather the kids and/or there parents.

9:Presents.
Now you will notice this is #9 well because... everyone likes presents! But the thing is, they are really kind of a hassle when your feel like you have to get people presents. I almost never want anything so i am sure i am frustrated to shop for, and i am almost always to broke to buy stuff for any one else. And really i think its coller just to get some one a present for no reason. Not because its a holiday.

8:Commercialism.
OK so again this is not higher on the list because... well i our society like it or not, allot of our economy relies on money sinks in the form of Holiday spending. But that this doesn't mean i have to like it! The idle of gift giving on Christmas is much newer then most people would think.
The idle of spending a bunch of money on candy at hollowness is new. And thanksgiving is just a very new holiday altogether. And most of them are pretty blantently consumer holidays at this point.

7:Why do i need a holiday to see people.
This goes back to the present idle, It's almost nicer to have family get together when its not the holiday. Makes it feel more like your having a get gother and less like your filling's some obligation.

6:Religion.
OK first off i am not just some Religion Troll, I in fact normally have some very positive things to say about it, but really Religion or rather religions people just seam to piss me off more then normal on the holidays. Why? Because they are stupid about it.
They over look stuff. And then bitch about stuff not really knowing what the crap they are talking about. And they complain when people say stuff like. "Happy Holiday" Instead of "Merry Christmas" Which is stupid, It would be just as stupid as some one complaining if you told them. "Merry Christmas."

I mean if you celebrate Christmas then find feel free to say Merry Christmas. If some one get butt hurt over it, then follow it up with a "Well fuck you buddy!" and that's the end of that. Those are people who are not going to be happy with anything you say.

5:Eating to much.
Just simply put i almost feel like Thanksgiving is a holiday that celebrates being fat lazy slobs in America. There is really no reason to even have this holiday. It's back story is bogus, its not at the right time of year for its back story, and there is really not thanks giving taking place.

Really its just bunch of people getting together and eat made up Thanksgiving food.

4:Stupid ass made up holidays.
This goes back to the holiday thing. Why are no holidays at the right time of year anymore? (Except Halloween) And allot of the stuff to do on these holidays is made up or borrowed from older holidays. And I'm sure my next Blog Entry will be on what is wrong with Thanksgiving anyways.

3:people not knowing what they are doing.
Again back to the inconsistency of the holiday season.
And this is largely the fault of the education system and media. Almost no one knows anything any more about the holidays. We are at this point just on holiday autopilot.

2:Stupid people seam to thrive on holidays.
OK so this is kind of a combination of all the of the posts above.
For the longest time i thought that the holidays made people stupid. But no that's not it, its that stupid people are emboldened by the holidays and feel the need to be stupid in public on them.

Just like religions leaders decrying Halloween as a evil holiday.
Or conceded ass celebritays thinking that this is the perfect time of year to make us feel bad. Normally by saying stuff that is totally out of context of assanine. If you don't know what i am talking about... Click Hear.
Or stupid people just showing there ass.

1:FREKEN! CHRISTMAS MUSIC!
OK so.... Needless to say. I HATE 99.99 Repeating % of all Christmas music EVER MADE!
With the exception of allot of older music that HAS NO WORDS!
Stuff like Carol of the bells. Or We three kings if done well can be very nice. As well as the little drummer boy.
But almost all other songs annoy the crap out of me. BECAUSE they bludgeon you over the head with the idle of chrismas and TELL NO STORY!

And almost all new Christmas Music is complete garbage! Allot of it falling prey to blatant commercialism. [On that note Santa Baby by Ertha Kitt is HILARIOUS!]

And here is the think that REALLY makes me mad.

This year i herd Christmas Music THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN! Not the day after Thanksgiving mind you. The day after fucking HALLOWEEN! Two full months in advance.

And this point Thanksgiving is just a dress rehearsal for Christmas. The entire holiday might as well be called Walmart-day at this point. Sense Christians should be Livid that there holy day has been taken hostage by shopping outlets.

Not to mention the entire candy on Eastern thing.
But then again the Christian Community as a hole doesn't seam to pay much if any attention to there holidays in the sense they should be anyways.
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So that's my bitch list about the holidays.
And... ...

I guess have a happy holiday season.

Back to EKU.'Why i love Kentucky'

For those who did not know.

I have been going to Eastern Kentucky University on and off for quite some time.

And i think i have finally gotten enough cash together to pay for the last 5 classes i will need to finish college. If you have never been to my fair state of Kentucky, Then let me tell you of all the places i have lived. (Which is most of the states on the east of the Mississippi) And of all the places i have visited. (Most of the states on the other side) I like Kentucky the most.

Why might you ask?
A few reasons.

#1. Its NOT Southern. I think i might have already covered this.

But Kentucky is not in the south. In any way shape or form. If you disagree. Get out of my state....

We are missing allot of the problems with southern states. (Mind you there are some cool things about southern states)

#2. Its NOT Northern. Again i think i covered this. Kentucky and West Virginia are kind of in there own little Appalachian Area of the County. Not really northern not really southern. We have the southern manners and hospitality but none of the down side to being southern.

Now it dose depend allot on what part of the state you are in.

#3. Culture. I know some people wont get this right away, but Kentucky has loads of the stuff. And why not. Think of the history of Kentucky, When the Nation was founded, Kentucky was the West. We were the first fronter. And we have all the history that goes with that.

Not only that once we were settled the rest of the nation largely passed over us, but we were close enough to the east to not be totally left alone.

So what you ended up with was a place that feels old but is not stuck in that time.

Some times is does feel like parts of the state. (South Eastern Kentucky) Are stuck in the 1940-50's. But some times it does not. And if you are in Central Kentucky. (Richmond-Lexington) Area. It feels very modern, and even multi-cultural to a large extent.

#4???

Now you will notice i have said nothing about Louisville Kentucky. There is a reason for that. To be honest it doesn't feel like the rest of the state. It feels like Ohio. And most people from KY don't really like Ohio.

The reason being that they are kind of jerks to us. NO REALLY. Appalachian is a official recognized minority in Ohio the state had to pass a law to keep the people there. (Mostly Cincinnati) From being prejudiced against us.

And Louisville really dose feel like a part of Ohio. It just dose not fit in with the rest of the state. It's a OK city. (I don't like large city's any way) And has allot of great things going on. Its just not very Kentuckyian.... If thats a word. Kentuckyish???

My recruiting experience.

So at the moment i am in the process of joining the Kentucky Army national guard.
Which is the second time i have gone throw the proses of joining the military.
And as i stated before i went throw the process of Joining the Army before.

And i have come to a conclusion.
The VAST majority of story's about Dishonest Recruiters.
ARE A DAMN LIE!

I have at this point talked to some were on the order of a dozen different recruiter's.
And so far NON of them have lied to me, and none have encouraged me to lie.

I have however seen many people accuse them of lieing.
and i noticed this.
Most people who say they were lied to, just have REALLY picky hearing.

Most of them fall into a few groups.
The.

A:BUT YOU SAID! Group.
People who ask stuff like. "If i get this MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) Will i be sent over sea's?" To which the recruiters answer. "Every one in the army has a change to be sent over sea's, but some jobs are less likely to be deployed then others." And then latter at MEPS. (Military Entry Processing Station) they here that they MIGHT be sent over seas. Then they start in with "BUT I WAS TOLD I WOULDN'T BE!"

I have seen this over Housing, MOS slots, Deployment, and allot of times its over stuff that the recruit didn't tell the recruiter.

B:BUT I WAS TOLD!
Allot of this happens when people talk to other people who have been in the military but have been out for a wile. They come into the recruiting station and think they already know what is going on, not understand that there friend has been out of the loop for 10+ years, and the allot has changed sense 9/11. Or even the Regan years of a 6 million man military.

C:BUT I DON'T WANT TO!
or
C:DO I HAVE TO?
or
C:CAN I GET OUT OF?

This happens when some one comes up and asks something to the effect of one of the following.
"Do i have to go to basic if i just want to be a cook?"
"Can i join the National Guard and get them to pay for my school and then leave as soon as I'm done with college?"
"Can i get a job that i know i wont be deployed wile I'm in?"

Look i can understand that some people don't want to do Basic. Or commit 6 to 8 years of there life to the Army, or even the national guard.
But the thing is, you ether get over it, or Don't joint.


The fact of the matter is that the first Recruiter i had, was so honest that he most likely effected his own job performance. He once told a guy who asked him what being Infantry was like.
"You kick in doors and shoot people for a liv'in. There bad people and you know it. You sleep in dirt, and in vehicles. You walk around knowing your a target and some one might shoot you, and every now and then some one dies, maybe some one you know, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

The guy he told that to became a cook by the way.

"I have a gay friend"

OK so the title of this post is "I have a gay friend" Why Because i have heard that phrase to much.
99.99 repeating % of the time, when you hear this it is following a REALLY stupid comment like. "I don't dislike gay people, I just don't want them around me (And or my Child)"

Now first of all, if this is your case, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH GAY PEOPLE. You ether think a gay person around your kids will A: make them gay, and you think this is bad. Or B: They will do Something to your child, so you basically think, gay men are all (Or More Likely to be) pedophiles.

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Now most people who say. "I have a gay friend" Do know and interact with a Homosexual person.
But the VAST majority do not have gay friends, they work with a gay person, or have a friend who has a gay friend. But under most circumstances they would not spend time with the person outside of these environments.
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Here is my General Rule of Friend.
A: A person you work with is a Colleague.
B: A person you might spend time with at a social event is a Acquaintance.
C: A person you would let sleep on your couch, and you would sleep on there couch is a friend.
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Why the couch rule?
Simple, if you don't trust them enough to sleep on there couch, they are not your friends.

Now that's not to say that people should be this trusting, i know Allot of girls who have "Male friends" Whose couch they would not sleep on. Nor should they.

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Now the next reason i bring this up is to rant about a pet peeve of mine.
And that's Flaming men.

Now before you call me a homophobe i would like to point out i did not say Flamingly Gay men.
I dislike Flamingly gay and strait men about as much as one another, maybe flamingly strait men a little more.

Now before you ask "What is a flamingly strait man?" I will tell you.
You see a Flamingly Gay man is a man who acts in a way that Forces you to know that he in attracted to men. NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT! And theirs is no reasonable way for a man to act like that, Why? Because I DON'T CARE IF YOU LIKE MAN, WOMEN or CARROTS.

Flamingly Strait men are men who act in a way that lets you know that not only do they like Women, but that they are TOUGH MOTHER FUCKERS!
Again i don't care if you like women, and no matter how tough you are a lead pipe to the head will still shut you up.
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Now that I'm done with that, i would like to insert what i consider the true test of a persons homophobe level. And i would like to point out that even if your not totally OK with gay people, its Natural to be a little apprehensive if that's the way you feel.

So here is the test. Put yourself in this train of thought.
(Using my own experience as a set up here)
Your sitting at a club in Orlando FL, the club is by all means not a gay and or a strait bar, its just a club.
A guy comes up to you and asks. [In a nice respectful tone] "May i buy you a drink?"

OK so you do one of the following.

A: Say "I'm flattered but no thanks, I'm afraid I'm not really into guys" This is the one i took. Now some people have asked me. "Why would you apologize and explain yourself?" The simple answer is, to be nice, if a woman had asked me the same thing, and i had said no, i would have apologized, told her i was flattered and explained why as well.
And on top of that, its just nice, The guy was very polite and didn't make a big deal out of it, by explaining why i let him know that it wasn't anything wrong with him, just a difference of interests.

B: Say. "No Thanks" Again nothing wrong with this, its polite and end the encounter quickly, most guys who are a little uncomfortable around gay guys pick this one.

C: Make a big deal about it. Most guys who take this direction are in fact trying to embarrassed the guy who just asked them. Ether to deflect there own embarrassment, or just to be a ass hole.
But the thing is, if the guy feels comfortable enough to ask you, then you are most likely in a place were no one is going to care, and you are the one who is going to look like a ass.

D: Act like a Total Ass, making a big deal out of it and acting in a socially unexceptable manner.
This is what happens when a flamingly strait man is asked the question, he can not except that this gay guy can't tell me is strait by looking at him.
This is a good way to get throw out of a club, or into jail.


If you answered A or B, your cool. C your a dick, D... Stay in side for the rest of your life. I don't want to have to use a lead pipe on you.

Geography. America, Greatest Country on Earth!

OK so as i stated before.
Every nation to some extent has a little bit of the "Best Nation" Sentiment. But the U.S. China, Japan and Germany are really the kings of this.

Now that being said, if you ask the people in the nations you get different answers.
From my past experience you get this.

China. "China was the most advanced civilization in the world for century's and is still a strong nation" Now to be fair, that's a pretty fair take on history, MOST of the great inventions in history happened in china two to three hundred years before they happened in Europe. Some Happened over a thousand.

Japan. Now before i even start i need to point this out, as nice as the Japanese are, and as much as i like part of there culture, They are as a collective one of the most Xenophobic people out there, and are convinced of there Ethnic Superiority, they even treat other Asian's badly.

Germany. Been over this, if they had anything to be proud about it would be that they are one of the three power houses in the EU. (Screw you Russia) But to be fare, you screw with anyone that long and they get a aptitude.

United States. Now we have the longest list of reasons both stupid and other wise to make this clam. But the thing that gets me is the VAST majority of people who say this have NO CLUE, what the hell there on about.

Point.

#1. "The freest nation on the planet" - Well no not really, freedom would imply less interference from the law, or the most personal freedoms. But think about it, The Dutch have us beat there, and on top of that, nations with no government would be higher then us there, in Somalia you can do what ever the hell you want, even kill a man, just make sure you can back it up.

#2. "Most powerful nation on the planet" - Well yes, Military there is basically no = to the U.S. at the moment, unless you put nuke's into the picture, then really its just a draw. People who say "The Chinese are the new super power" are full of it, china has 1.3 billion people that's 4.something time as many as us. You think the U.S Military can take the Chinese Military 4 to 1? Of coarse they can. Russia? I think not. The Russians lost stuff to the Georgian Nation Guard. So not impressed there.

But really is that the source of greatness? No if that were true then The Huns would be up there in history, but really they just broke a bunch of stuff, no lasting influence.

#3. "Richest nation?" - Well only by total doller, many nations have wealthy people, and soon China will make more money over all then the U.S.

#4. "Health care? Schools?" I think not also, over all we are just run of the mill for a wealthy nation. 17th on the world health organizations list of best health care. (Before you look France is #1)

#5. And we really don't take very good care of out people.

Don't get me wrong, I like America it's one of only two or three nations i would even think of living in. But really if your going to clam you are the best, have a good answer to the question "Why?"

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My reason, the U.S. is a sensible mix.
I like personal freedom, but it can infact to to far.
I like laws and security but again it can over step it's self.

In short, every nation like every person, has good and bad things about it.