Tuesday, February 21, 2006

DZER gets political ...

WARNING: This is not one of my typical fun and humorous posts. Neither is it one of my looking back/memory posts. It also isn't one of those times I get all deep and personal. It's a bit political ... and serious ... and dry ... LOL ... Read on at your own peril; you have been warned!!
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Anyone else noticed that February is almost gone already? That's right, almost 1/6th of the year is about gone. How the fuck did that happen?

How does the year seem to drag along, slowly and painfully, and then you look up and it's almost March already? I guess inexorable boredom can go by quickly if you're not paying very close attention.

Speaking of time ... The word "it" is a pronoun that, according to Merriam-Webster, that is "used as subject or direct object or indirect object of a verb or object of a preposition, usually in reference to a lifeless thing." So here's my question. When someone asks, "What time is it?" ... to what does "it" refer to/take the place of?

Ah, the fun of words.
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I want to become an official pundit. It seems like it doesn't take much to be one — just a hard-line philosophy with immovable stances and positions on subjects.

One of the biggest problems with America is the "my way is the only right way" mentality — of politicians, media wonks, policymakers, etc. The inability to compromise and work together for the greater good has lessened us as a nation. Why do people think you have to be defined as "liberal" or "conservative," "Democrat" or "Republican," or what have you? Why does conservative automatically translate to "rich, capitalist, war-mongering Christian Republican" and liberal to "socialistic, weak, unpatriotic godless Democrat?"

Why can't we be conservative on some issues and liberal on others?

And why can't people, when presented with an overwhelming amount of evidence that goes against their view, belief, opinion, etc., say, "Well shit! I was wrong! Know I know better, am better informed and thus can make better decisions!"?

If conservative Republicanism and liberal Democratism (not real words, I know) had been around for the bulk of the last millenium, there would still be people who staunchly believed that the world was flat and that sun revolved around us.

Sorry for the political rant, but I'm just so tired of hypocrites and fanatics.

Here's my thing: If you think that a president should be impeached for lying about getting a blowjob, you should also agree that a president should be impeached for lying about reasons behind U.S. involvement in wars. If something is intrinsically wrong for one party, be it Republican or Democrat, and you berate the opposite side for doing it, if the same thing later occurs in your party, you have to berate those who did it with equal measure. If it's wrong for Democrats to do, it's wrong for Republicans. If it's wrong that Republicans do something in a certain way, it's just as wrong for Democrats.
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Oh, and since when does being critical of a presidential administration equal non-patriotism or anti-Americanism?

I guess it's because criticism, these days, is so often just for the sake of criticizing. The forgotten element is that critiques are meant to identify problems and fix them, or to improve bad situations. Constructive criticism is helpful, is good.

So don't just say something is wrong, or an action is bad, or a person is an idiot. Offer a reasonable solution along with your criticism.

Listen to criticism instead of being instantly dismissive of it. Don't automatically think that because someone doesn't totally agree with you that they're wrong. Realize there are often several sides to every issue, and that there are degrees of difference.

Free yourself to be more accepting, understanding and open-minded.
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And if you don't agree with any of this ... well, that's your right. You're wrong, but you have a right to be wrong. ;)

Heh.

Random Guam Fact Of The Day:
• Up until the 1970s, Guam's political parties weren't affiliated with the national Republican and Democratic parties, and weren't called that either. There was a Territorial Party I know for sure, plus one or two other parties. I'm pretty sure the only reason we adopted "Republican" and "Democrat" was to attend national conventions. Heh.

Monday, February 20, 2006

DZER-by-four ...

Tagged by terry: The Four Thang.
Four Jobs I've Had:
• Grocery bagger
• Bouncer
• Sold dart supplies
• Journalist/Editor
Four Movies I Can Watch Repeatedly:
• “Forrest Gump”
• “Shawshank Redemption”
• “The Great Escape”
• “Miracle on 34th Street”
Four Places I've Lived:
• Okinawa, Japan
• Abilene, Texas
• Rome, New York
• Tucson, Arizona
Four TV Shows I Love:
• “Criminal Minds”
• “CSI”
• “The Daily Show”
• “The Colbert Report”
Four Places I've Vacationed:
• Baguio, Philippines
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• The Wilderness
Four of My Favorite Dishes:
• Country-fried steak with mashed potatoes and country gravy
• Steak, rare, with steamed short-grain rice
• Chamorro fiesta plate.
• Bacon double cheeseburger with crispy French fries.
Four Sites I Visit Daily:
• DZER's Diatribe… doh!
• Yahoo! News
• Blog by Force
• GuamPDN.com
Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:
• At the final table of the World Series of Poker main event
• Turning in my winning lottery ticket for a giant check
• Inside Chrissie’s panties
• In love

Random Guam Fact Of The Day:
• March is Chamorro Month on Guam. Write to your senator — get him or her to make it Chamorro Month in your state too!

Sunday, February 19, 2006

DZER's chick posse ...

OK. I get it. Chicks can be badasses. Chicks can be viable parts of a posse. Chicks are valued and important members of society and should be integrated into all aspects of life, including imaginary posses made up of movie characters.

So instead of substituting out any of my perfect all-male posse, I present DZER’s posse of chicks:

• The perfect assassin: Nikita (Anne Parillaud) from “Nikita,” aka “La Femme Nikita.” Former junkie and criminal who was reformed by the secret do-bad-things section of the French government. As noted with Leon from my previous list, I am putting aside my hatred for all peoples French because Nikita is that much of a value, as she’s able to mix in with the normal folks while performing missions.

• The tough-as-nails cop who can handle anything: Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) from “Ghosts of Mars.” She looks hot in a futuristic cops outfit, is smart, tough and good with her guns, as well as her fists. Plus, she’s down wit Ice Cube. She’s a natural leader and sassy to boot.

• The mutant-hybrid freak of nature: The Ellen Ripley clone (Sigourney Weaver) from “Alien: Resurrection.” That’s right. Not the original Ripley, not the Ripley in the exoskeleton robot thing. The clone of her, 200 years after she died, who is part-Alien and this a major badass in all kinds of ways — super-fast, super-strong, super-resilient. She can dunk, she’s a brawler non-pareil, plus she gets along well with androids.

• The badass blonde bombshell bimbo: Barbara “Barb Wire” Kopetski (as Pamela Anderson Lee) from “Barb Wire.” OK. I have no real excuse for this one, except that the whole movie is Pam Anderson in black leather/pleather with her cleavage on display for the world, plus she’s double-fisted with the .45s. Oh, and let’s not forget the MAJORLY cool tattoo of barbed wire around her arm! LOL It helps that she can ride a motorcycle and has no trouble stripping down in water to get the job done. Heh.

• The woman who seems vulnerable and frail but turns out to be deadly as all hell: Alice (Milla Jovovich) from “Resident Evil.” If you need a woman to take on a zombie-fied workforce within the confines of an underground city, you can’t do better than Alice. She’s as tough as nails. She’s a expert in hand-to-hand combat. She knows how to use a weapon. And she gets even better and stronger as time goes on. She rocks!

• The deadly neophyte (girl, you'll be a woman soon): River (Summer Glau) from “Serenity.” If you need a tiny weapon of terror, it would be hard to beat River. She’s been genetically enhanced by the government to be a major badass. She’s a living, moving weapon, deadly with her hands and her feet. As long as no one leaks the secret whispering word of slumber, all is good.

• The old-school muscular but sexy mom: Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” Sarah Connor started out as the cute, soft and tragic victim in “Terminator.” The second time around, though, she’s ready to wage battle against the machines. She’s rock hard, sexily muscular and an expert with all kinds of weapons. Oh, and she drives like a controlled maniac.

• The small, Asian martial arts masters ... ummm ... mistresses (madames?): Mei (Ziyi Zhang) from “House of Flying Daggers” and “Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” OK, I picked these chicks for pretty much the same reason — they’re Chinese martial arts masters. They know kung fu, and know it well — well enough to dance on the top of bamboo and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. They can use everything from staves to swords and then some.

• The kick-ass character from a bad movie: Elektra (Jennifer Garner) from “Elektra.” Yes, this movie sucked major green donkey balls. I haven’t even SEEN it and I know it sucks big time. But the character of Elektra is awesome and amazing. Based on the Marvel Comics character, she is basically an amped-up female version of a ninja. You don’t want to mess around with this sai mistress.

• Queen of black leather and sunglasses (who is "the one"): Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) from “The Matrix.” It’s hard to think of any other female character in Science Fiction movie history who is as bad of a badass as Trinity. She can beat up a plethora of cops with her bare hands and feet, or she can shoot ‘em up with the best of them. No female rocks the black trench coat and shades like Trinity.

• The not human death dealer: Selene (Kate Beckinsale) from “Underworld.” Other woman who looks amazing in black leather. But it’s her cold-blooded fighting skills that put her on this list. Get it? She’s a vampire, so she’s cold blooded because her heart doesn’t beat. Ummm … yeah … heh. Another chick who’s good with a gun in her hands, and who can break you with her bare hands.

• The lanky, lovely but lethal lady: The Bride (Uma Thurman) from “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2.” Duh. Has any female character ever killed more people in one movie? I mean, other than Jennifer Lopez “Gigli?” Heh … I keeeeeeeel me. If you want a chick with a sword, it doesn’t get any better than The Bride. She rocks the samurai steel. Oh, and the five-step thing? Way cool!