Weatherman: A useless occupation

For those of you who live in the Portland area, I'm sure you're aware of the horrible failures that the weathermen in this area have become. It's not enough that Portland news has to hype itself up to a false standard of importance, now the weathermen are getting paid enough to lead people to delusional standards. I suppose they think we're stupid. In some cases they're right. Unfortunately I fell victim to they're nasty trick, believed that we would have an ice storm. Fortunately I didn't go to such great strides preparing such as getting snow tires after waiting eight hours at Les Schwabb or buy deicer. This "failure of the century" has made me cross lines that I didn't think even existed. I'm not relying on the the weather anymore. It's more useful to me to stick my hand out the window and predict it's going to rain elephants. Hell I'd still probably be right the same percent of the time that the meterologists who get paid to do this false profession are.

And please no one tell me that "predicting the weather is hard." Determining whether it will be showers or rain all day is hard. An ice storm or a bit of rain is like deciding whether a house cat or a grizzly bear will make a better pet. Everyone knows why they predicted this so poorly: ratings. Tell the world the sky is falling and everyone will listen to you. In my opinion these people fall into the same category as the crazies on the street corner telling you the world is ending or that they are Jesus.

It's disappointing to me to see how far the Capitalism Apple falls. Taking something like predicting the weather and manipulating it to get more money is a shameful act. But as the book Freakonomics taught me, people are driven by incentives. As long as their are advertisements on the channel you're watching, don't trust the information being given, at least not the weather. All you can do is rely on yourself and remember it's sunnier and warmer in the summer, and rainy and snowy more often in the winter. Prepare accordingly. Not according to the weathermen on every channel.

Never have I seen someone in a job be wrong so often, and still be employed. If I pulled this crap everyday not only would I get fired, no one at work would respect me. In my opinion Oregon now has two useless jobs, the attendants who pump your gas and weathermen. Fortunately I usually fill up in a state other than Oregon, and I can always turn the TV off.

A Bit More Mild.

So Avatar will soon be released in theaters. I'm speaking of the James Cameron science fiction movie, not the movie adapted from the cartoon, (seriously why did Hollywood decide to release two similar titled movies at the same time)? This is a movie that is apparently highly anticipated, yet somehow I had not heard of it's making until about a month and a half ago.

Regardless I'm excited, not just by the trailers, but by James Cameron's track record as well. Aliens, Terminator, Titanic, True Lies, The Abyss, each of these movies have something very unique about them and most are still referenced in pop culture to a degree that I'm sure M.C. Hammer and Pauly Shore envy greatly. The Aliens and Terminator franchises pretty much go without saying and, in my opinion, True Lies is one of the best action films made and by far the best Arnold Schwarzenegger film (yes that does contend with Terminator 2, but that's a close second). The Abyss is a different kind of film within the sci-fi genre, by essentially taking the suspense and action a story in space would have and placing it 2 miles under the surface of the ocean, not original, but in my mind a very good film. Colleen hates The Abyss, but I think that's because she was attacked by a worm like water monster as a child and that scene gives her nightmares. No. In all honesty I think she dislikes the love story, which I could do without, but then again I could go without just about any love story being told. Musicals suck.

While going over all this, it occurs to me the type of person James Cameron is. Not exactly the type of person he is, but more specifically his story telling. Not only does he have great ideas, he writes them well. This reminds me of someone else in the movie business, but his writing is far inferior and that is George Lucas. Lucas can tell a great story, but his writing is like the alphabet threw up. I could write better dialogue with the letters I get in alphabet soup. Which that in itself is not horrible. What really irritates me is that when it came time to write the screenplay for "The Empire Strikes Back" he had Lawrence Kasdan write it. I have no beef with Kasdan, "Empire" is a great film. The reason Lucas had Kasdan write the screenplay is because Lucas realized his writing was close to shit, and so wanted a bit more talent thrown into the film. Good job Lucas, awesome way to use various sources to tell your story. What I want to know is if Lucas realizes he's a shitty writer, then why did he write all three of the last Star Wars films. Why? It doesn't make sense. Episode I and II are pretty much crap. I thought of watching Episode I the other day, but I didn't want an annoying inquisitive little brat who can't act on my screen for two hours. The thought was just not appealing, like Brussels Sprouts.

So in summary James Cameron is pretty much an improved George Lucas. Maybe if we're lucky Cameron can give Lucas some lessons, but I doubt Cameron would stoop to such depths.

The Corroded Horizon

Not until yesterday did I really begin to take notice of how often I hear some language other than English spoken. This would not appear to be too odd given how many people from other countries I see from day to day, however I do not hear these languages spoken just from foreigners. Nearly everyday I hear it from someone who was born, raised and currently lives in the United States. As I opened the door for a coworker she said "Gracias" although she is not Hispanic and as far as I'm aware does not speak Spanish fluently or have any connections to the Hispanic community. It was said just as automatically as a "Thank You" would have been given for the simple gesture.

This got me thinking. Is it possible that, as time goes by, English in the United States could transform into a Spanish pigeon language? Some people may say this has already begun when you take a look at the border states such as Texas and California. Though I've never been there, I have heard that Spanish is almost a necessity to know in order to operate efficiently in southern California. There is also the opposite belief, held mainly by white racists, that this is America, home of the free and land of the brave, and if you come to this country you better damn well speak our language. One does not have to travel far to find either of these opinions, but it is almost a proven fact that the latter opinion will one day find themselves to be a minority.

I think most of us have heard that by the year 2050 Caucasians/whites/whatever will be a minority. I was surprised by this news at first, but as usual I got to thinking. I realized that this statistic shouldn't be so surprising when you remember everyone, except for Native Americans, everyone either is or has an ancestor from a foreign country. There was no time limit for this influx of immigrants to come, the doors have always been open. Sure there have been limitations and restrictions since the nation was founded, but this country still holds plenty of opportunities for those who want to see if they can have a better life here. And that is one of the very ideas that inspired and moved so many people to try and live a better life within our borders. Beneath the Statue of Liberty there is a pedestal that reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore..." this quote encapsulates a place where those who are mistreated or unwanted are free to come with no concerns of persecution and a plethora of options on ways to live life. The United States has always striven to become that place, albeit with enormous obstacles from time to time. But if we ever begin to force those who come here to learn our ways or speak our language (AKA assimilation) we destroy that idea and become something else entirely.

So if the people of this nation call themselves American, then this idea of huddled masses breathing freely should be one that they're proud of. And if they are not, then they should quit calling themselves Americans and realize the America that they talk about never has existed and that as time goes by we're getting further from it.

A test of sorts

My first blog post, at least on this umpteenth permutation of a blogging network. Livejournal, myspace, facebook, blogspot. Is there something I missed? And if there is, did I really ever miss anything?

Talk amongst yourselves, I might be listening while lost in my own thought.