Scooter's Blog

Hi everyone (I know I'm talking to myself, but what the heck...) Long time no blog. So here goes today's mind dump.

Anger Journal Entry

Things had been going along quite well; I really hadn't gotten angry in a while. Then, last night, our daughter was giving us the usual hell about going to bed, and at one point I lost it and screamed at her to just go to sleep. Also threw her orange, plastic ball at the stairs (it bounced back harmlessly, but still). I guess this would be about a 4 on the anger scale. However, it was a very short -- almost controlled -- outburst, and didn't really linger at all, like my "bad" outbursts. I did feel a little bad about it after, but not like I usually do when I really lose it.

Lies Politians Tell: Asking the Wrong Question

This is a typical thing politicians do to make it seem like they're doing the right thing. The particular case that's got me bothered is George W. Bush's current campaign to make it look like he did the right thing by invading Iraq. The question he asks is, "Is the world (especially Iraq) safer and better off with Saddam Hussein's regime toppled in Iraq?"

Of course, most rational people would agree that overall, the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein's regime ruling Iraq. But it misses the point. The following two questions are the ones that need to be asked instead of dubya's:

1. Did we really need to invade a soverign country (Iraq) in order to erase the imminent threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction that we were told existed there?
   
   No. Even though the evidence is not 100% conclusive, most of the world is currently under the impression that there were few if any WMD in Iraq at the beginning of 2003. That either Bush and his allies purposefully mislead the world, or at best that their intelligence was extremely flawed.



2. Did the USA (and its one or two allies) have the right to almost unilaterally invade the soverign country of Iraq -- against most world opinion -- just because its ruler, Saddam Hussein, was a tyrant?
   
   Again, no. World opinion is just about unanimous in this: the US is a big bully. The whole reason the United Nations exists is to curtail this kind of behavior. We know whats best for the world; We say Iraq has WMD and you better believe us. There are dozens of countries that have tyrants for leaders, and where humanitarian needs go unmet because of greedy dictators. We have neither the right, the will, nor the means to go into each of these soverign countries and oust their leaders.

No matter how bad things get, there's always one thing that comforts me: Things could be worse; I could be a Cubs fan...

Another post in the ongoing war against the RIAA:

I saw the following quote in an article on Wharton's website, Suing Your Customers: A Winning Business Strategy? Here's a cool excerpt:

Is it just me, or is "Veronica Guerin" the stupidest movie title ever? I don't know who the fuck this woman is; is she an actual person or fictonal? Either way, it doesn't matter how good the flick is, people will stay away in droves because of the idiotic title.

Anger Management Journal

Well, I haven't really gotten even a little mad lately. The book seems to be working quite well. I regularly practice the things I'm supposed to say to myself to avoid anger. Also, I'm trying to not become so frustrated so easily, and this seems to be paying dividends as well. I really feel like a happier, better person by doing this. Simple things, like being extra nice to salespeople and people on the phone, as well as loved ones and friends. And by being nice to people, it helps me to not get frustrated when they make a mistake that may inconvience me slightly.

Flipping through channels during commercials, Beth likes to stop on lots of shows I don't care for. Last night, I had to endure several minutes at a time of ABC's absolute piece of garbage, "Extreme Makeover." Another of the signs that the End of Civilization is at hand. Anyway, after Beth noticed they gave a woman who didn't need them new boobs, I came up with a new, more accurate and easier to remember name for this trash: Everybody Gets Tits"

The Curse

There's no curse day-to-day; that's what all the schmucks out there don't get. You don't need to try to reverse the curse by diving for pianos or getting some drunk ho to piss on Fenway park -- at least not until a World Series win is imminent.

There's no curse that keeps us from getting to the playoffs, or winning in the first round, or even getting to the Series; we've done all those things since 1918, when the curse originated. The curse only kicks in when it needs to, most recently in 1986 when it made Bill Buckner miss that infamous grounder.

All talk or dismissal of the curse in relation to the current members of the Red Sox is moot; until we've won three games in the World Series, we won't see any unexplainable events hurled against the Sox. So they can say, "See we beat Oakland -- the curse is history!" all they want. It's meaningless. If and only if we actually become World Champs can we say the curse is gone.

Anger Management Journal

No angry outbursts or even feelings over the past couple of days. The REBT method in the book really seems to be helping. I keep telling myself that I make myself angry, not other people or events. And I can feel upset when things go wrong, or people treat me unfairly, but I don't need to get mad. There's no law that I have to be treated fairly, and I can still be happy and live a good life even if things go wrong.

Baseball

Playoffs are really heating up. I'm glad to see the Marlins oust the Giants; the Cubs over the Braves is good in a way -- I really like their young staff, but my mom really likes the Braves, so I'm sure she's upset; the goddamn Yankees made mincemeat out of the poor Twins. And then there are the Red Sox... I went to Saturday's game and it was awesome; one of the most thrilling games in Red Sox recent history. But who knows what will happen tonight in game 5. In one way, I feel bad for the A's; they've developed a playoff history of going up 2 games and then losing the series. But I have to root for the Sox. Especially after I watched the HBO special, "The Curse of the Bambino." It was very interesting and informative.

Anger Management Journal

I haven't really gotten mad (even a level 1) in the last couple of days, and I have to give credit to the book I'm reading, "How to Control Your Anger Before It Controls You," by Albert Ellis. I've begun to examine my Irrational Beliefs (IBs). It's part of his Rational system -- REBT or something -- for controling your reactions to stimuli. It's a neat kind of experiment on myself.

News

Two stories caught my eye today (and one yesterday). I'm not sure if they signal the end of the world, or just serve to piss me off. Yesterday, on the cover of Newweek was a story about "Losing Friends." The TV show. Entertainment. Not News. What the fuck is a news magazine -- with News as part of the title, for god's sake -- doing putting a puff piece like this on its fucking cover? What the fuck is going on; did I miss something or is there strife in the Middle East, a war going on in Iraq, against terror, against drugs, against... well, you name it and we're pretty much at war with it. How does Newsweek get away with putting six fucking actors on its cover?

And then there are the two stories I saw today: Telemarketing execs on do not call List, and Scientists have discovered why cookies crumble. Again, what is wrong with this picture? Did I miss the cure for cancer, the cure for paralysis, the end of all communicable diseases? Who are these so-called "scientists" that have time to play with fucking cookies? Can't we find these sons-of-bitches gainful employment somewhere? And for pure, unadulterated arrogance, how about these telemarketing pukes, who get rich by annoying millions of average joes, but they don't want to be bothered with sales calls because it interferes with their lives. As Steve Martin so eloquently stated, "Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me."

Anger Journal Entry

A lady with a bum leg (she had some kind of weird, black boot-thing over it)was walking slowly up the steps from the train station, and causing all of us behind her to creep along. There were two lanes on the stairs, and all the people in the other lane were racing past me. I was the third schmuck behind the crip, and I got slightly pissed. Probably a 2. Earlier, while attempting to get onto Route 1 on my way to the train, I had to wait for hundreds of cars to pass, and they just kept coming. What made it most annoying was that people kept moving over from the left lane to the right lane (the one I needed to merge into), so that even though it might look for a second like I had an opening, the next second I was again blocked. Finally, I kind of cut of a truck (though he slowed down so it wasn't so bad) and yelled when I got on the road. Probably a 2.

I've been reading the Anger Management book suggested by my therapist. So far, no helpful advice, but it's told me all the bad stuff that anger causes. I have to try to be calmer.

Yankees Suck!

Yankees got beat by the Twins yesterday afternoon. I listened to the game on mlb.com, and there were a couple of tense moments, but all in all a great game, and now the hated Yankees are down a game. Of course, in one respect, I'd like to see the Red Sox play the Yankees for the pennant in the next series. But we might not advance, and then the Yankees would still have a shot at going to the World Series, so I'm kind of torn.

Anger Journal Entry

Got behind a slow driver on the way to the train; then stayed behind him longer than I should have. When I eventually passed him, saw that the idiot was on a cell phone. Probably somewhere between a 2 and a 3.