The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Well, I usually post these updates on Mondays, but since today is my birthday and I got a lot done this week, I felt the urge to post about it today. As of last night, I'm officially done with two books (well, kind of) - The Kind-Hearted Smarta*s (uncensored version) and The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck (censored version). I finished the researching, footnoting (multiple aspects of that), proofreading, editing, etc. Now I'll have a second pair of eyes proofread the book(s). I'll go through and edit them yet again (yes, proofreading and editing appear to be like laundry - it never ends!), before designing a cover, and sending away for my proof copies. So, I'm still hopeful the books will be available to purchase by mid-March or so. After that happens, I'll get busy marketing the two books, as well as going through that before-mentioned process (researching, footnoting, etc.) with two other rough drafts I've completed. Yes, once all four books are completed, I may w...

Fortunately, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062 yesterday, which would have permitted Arizona professionals license to refuse service to homosexuals on religious grounds. However, the veto didn't occur before some Arizona Republicans decided to engage in what I like to call crazy-talk. With regard to the bill, Arizona State Senator Steve Yarbrough had the following to say to Randi Kaye of CNN: "The hypothetical that I think is the most useful is: let's assume that we have three gentlemen who are devout Jewish fellows who form a corporation and go in the catering business. And they're doing that and then I come to them and I say, 'I'd like for you to cater my event, but I would like for you to provide pork products.' And they say, 'Well, I'm sorry. Our sincerely held religious beliefs prevent us from doing that.' And my response is, 'Well then I sue you, and I get damages against you." If that was the most "useful" ...

After Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (Republican) vetoed SB 1062, which would have made it legal for professionals in the state to refuse service or employment to homosexuals on religious grounds, she's been on the receiving end of some lovely tweets from fellow conservatives, such as the following: "CNN led full court media press to take away rights of Christians. Just the beginning. Using tolerance as weapon against us. Wake up." - John Nolte Using tolerance as a weapon against Christians? Whom supposedly believe in and worship Jesus, who, rumor has it, was extremely tolerant, and preached love? Who should wake up again? ::points toward Nolte:: "Not sure what the GOP stands for when it stands against religious freedom out of pure fear of political correctness." - Ben Shapiro For at least one day of the year, the GOP stands for tolerance, so, congratulations! Oh, wait... That's not a good thing? Well, like I said - it was one day... Mr. Shapiro and hi...

"Dr." James David Manning - pastor of the ATLAH Worldwide Missionary Church in Harlem - is making the headlines due to a sign outside his church and a tangent he released via video. On the sign reads this message: "OBAMA HAS RELEASED THE HOMO DEMONS ON THE BLACK MAN. LOOK OUT BLACK WOMAN. A WHITE HOMO MAY TAKE YOUR MAN" That was inspired by the video he released, where he said the following: "This is devastating what Obama is doing to the black man and the black woman, and how the white homo is now moving into the black neighborhoods looking for black men that have been converted to homosexuality. But black woman let me say something to you: you have a very hard time competing against a white heterosexual male. He's usually got money -- a white homo usually has an American Express card. He usually has an opportunity at the theater -- homos love the theater. They love to go out to dinners, parties, they love that kind of a thing... black people need to...

When Texas Senator John Cornyn winds up sounding like the voice of reason in a debate, that's a pretty good indicator his opponent is crazier than a hamster on speed. It's being reported that Cornyn's Tea Party opponent in the upcoming GOP primary - Chris Mapp - recently had some interesting things to say to the Dallas Morning News ' editorial board. In the editorial board's endorsement of Senator Cornyn, they wrote the following: "South Texas businessman Chris Mapp, 53, told this editorial board that ranchers should be allowed to shoot on sight anyone illegally crossing the border on to their land, referred to such people as 'wetbacks,' and called the president a 'socialist son of a b**ch.'" Not only was that bad, but Mapp made things worse by later defending his remarks to the San Antonio Express-News , when he told him the racist term was as "normal as breathing air in South Texas." The often times irrational Senator Co...

I've long believed that the U.S. should make some rather significant cuts to its military budget and finally, it appears as if the Obama administration is about to propose just that. Of course, Darth Vader stunt-double Dick Cheney doesn't agree with these proposed cuts, as he made it known on Fox News yesterday, when he said this: "They peddle this line that now we're going to pivot to Asia, but they've never justified it. And I think the whole thing is not driven by any change in world circumstances, it's driven by budget considerations. He'd much rather spend the money on food stamps than he would on a strong military or support for our troops." Cheney's commentary here is extremely ironic, because many military families depend on governmental assistance (you know - food stamps) to get by from week to week. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wrote in a recent analysis, "Nationwide, in any given month, a total of 900,000 vete...

Over the past 3 years, I've been told, "You need to learn how to relax," more times than I care to count. While it's true that I've worked myself to the brink of insanity on a number of occasions, I've at least found the focus necessary to provide my mind a mini-vacation from around 5 pm on Friday nights through most of Sundays. While I believe relaxation and some semblance of balance in one's life are critically important, I simply now see the weekends as the means to at least somewhat accomplish that. While a lengthier vacation (Hawaii, anyone?) sounds lovely, I just don't have the funds necessary to provide myself with such a thing. Also, while some people may deplore work and crave relaxation every evening following a long workday, I have a hard time seeing things from such a vantage point anymore. Just before I started college, in August of '99, I suffered my first grand mal seizure. Upon regaining consciousness and being carried onto a st...

Here's the URL to my Facebook business page. I update it fairly regularly, but still haven't put forth a great deal of effort yet in researching matters and attempting to make the most out of it. In any case, it can be perused here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCraigRozniecki?ref=hl Up next is my Twitter page. I'm still not 100% certain what I'm doing on there yet, but feel I'm gradually getting the hang of it and am up to 7,478 followers. I update it daily with many of my own tweets, but also by retweeting some others'. It can be found here: https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki Lastly, here's my Tumblr page, which I've neglected quite a bit recently, but if you're at all curious, you can find it at the following link: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/rozzy81

For new readers (and regular ones, I suppose), here's some information pertaining to my books. All eight of my books can be purchased in paperback form at the following site (and others): http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=craig+rozniecki&x=7&y=5&sitesearch=lulu.com&q= The six books I've written and released in the past 2+ years (yes, I've been on a roll) can be purchased for much cheaper in Kindle form at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_22?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=craig%20rozniecki%20kindle&sprefix=craig+rozniecki+kindle%2Caps%2C228&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acraig%20rozniecki%20kindle As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me by either commenting on this blog or e-mailing me at CRozniecki@gmail.com. Unless I'm out of town, I'm typically very good at responding rather quickly.

One of the most controversial aspects of the stand-your-ground laws (I'm talking to you, Florida...) is the fact it can give one an excuse to kill a person and then claim self-defense. In this type of scenario, the deceased individual is left with no opportunity to tell their side of the story, and with no other witnesses, it becomes the word of the living killer against that of the deceased victim. This is why it appears the shooter is more prone to being punished if his or her targets survived the shots than if one of them was killed. Michael Dunn is the most recent example of this. He shot three African-American teenagers in their car at a gas station and wound up killing one of them. While he's been found guilty with attempted murder of the two kids whom survived, it couldn't be determined one way or the other whether or not he killed the one kid in an act of self-defense. Not to make light of the Michael Dunn tragedy or others like it, but to depict just how ridiculo...

Former U.S. Lieutenant General William G. "Jerry" Boykin recently gave an interesting speech on behalf of the Family Research Council at the WallBuilders' Pro-Family Legislators Conference, where he said the following: "The Lord is a warrior and in Revelation 19 it says when he comes back, he's coming back as what? A warrior. A might warrior leading a slight army, riding a white horse with a blood-stained white robe ... I believe that blood on that robe is the blood of his enemies 'cause he's coming back as a warrior carrying a sword. And I believe now - I've checked this out - I believe that sword he'll be carrying when he comes back is an AR-15. Now I want you to think about this: where did the Second Amendment come from? ... From the Founding Fathers, it's in the Constitution. Well, yeah, I know that. But where did the whole concept come from? It came from Jesus when he said to his disciples 'now, if you don't have a sword, se...

The past, present, and future are all connected - at least the past and present, for the future is never a guarantee. Some people focus so much on past mistakes and incidents that they're unable to enjoy the present, which limits them in their future. Others are so wrapped up in the present, it becomes increasingly difficult to plan for the future. Lastly, others spend so much time preparing for their future, they're unable to enjoy the present, which makes it more difficult to enjoy certain aspects of their future. Trying to balance all three time periods can be extraordinarily difficult, but I think it's fairly critical to at least be cognizant of this juggling act and attempt to find balance for a happier life. When I was growing up, it was often times very difficult for me to focus on and enjoy the present. I was often times hobbled by some unfortunate childhood incidents, as well as some serious health problems. This led me to focus on the past, which depressed me in...

So I got into a discussion with a guy at a bar this past weekend. He asked what I did, and I responded with, "I write - freelance and books, as well as appear on radio shows every now and again." When he asked what I wrote about, I simply responded with, "Satire," to hopefully ward off the potential for a political debate. When he then said, "Oh, political satire," I decided to be fully honest, and said, "Yes. I write satire on pretty much everything, but politics is my central focus. I'd say George Carlin and Jon Stewart are two of my biggest influences." Then that's when things got interesting... Upon hearing what I had just said, he went into an incredibly long tangent. He started off by talking about how great George Carlin was as a comedian, and that he likes intelligent humor. From there, he segued to how he enjoyed Dennis Miller's humor - that some people just don't "get" his humor, which is why they don't f...

The reason I wasn't able to blog as much last week as has been typical most weeks was the fact I was feeling better health wise and busy working on a pair of books. I finished all 374 footnotes for both books by late Thursday night and have been resting my mind until today. My goal this week will be to proofread and edit the books one more time, before having a second person do likewise, and then sending away for the proof copies. I'm hopeful I'll be able to finish my part by Thursday, since my birthday is on Friday. Hopefully the second party will be able to finish their proofreading over the weekend or by the following weekend at the latest. If all goes according to plan, the books should be available to purchase sometime between March 7th and March 14th. I'll be sure to post another such update next week with more specifics (I hope). Stay tuned...

With the way things have been going in the state, Florida may soon need to change its name to WTFlorida. Michael Dunn, who fired ten shots at a group of unarmed African-American teenagers at a gas station - killing one, has stated that he should be waived of any charges due to the state's stand-your-ground law. The reports state that he asked the teenagers to turn their music down, which they did. He then claimed to have been attacked, that he felt threatened, and due to this, started firing shots at the kids in the car. Of course, no gun was found in the teenagers' vehicle and there's been no proof to showcase that Dunn was actually attacked. Prosecutors allege the kids never left the car. So, given all of that, what did Dunn have to tell his fiancee about matters back in December, as he was facing multiple murder charges? "It's not quite the same, but it made me think of like the old TV shows and movies where like how the police used to think when a chick got...

It seems as if Nevada state Assemblyman Cresent Hardy and many other Republicans have a difficult time understanding the word "equality." Just recently, Hardy told the Las Vegas Sun that if elected as a state Representative, he'd vote against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would bar workplace discrimination on the basis of one's sexual orientation or gender identity. Elaborating on why he'd vote against this measure, he said the following: "When we create classes, we create that same separation that we're trying to unfold somehow. By continuing to create these laws that are what I call segregation laws, it puts one class of a person over another. We are creating classes of people through these laws." For the record, ENDA already protects employees against discrimination based on: Race, religion, gender, origin, age, and disability. The before-mentioned bill would simply expand upon that list to include sexual orientation ...

Here's the URL to my Facebook business page. I update it fairly regularly, but still haven't put forth a great deal of effort yet in researching matters and attempting to make the most out of it. In any case, it can be perused here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCraigRozniecki?ref=hl Up next is my Twitter page. I'm still not 100% certain what I'm doing on there yet, but feel I'm gradually getting the hang of it and am up to 7,303 followers. I update it daily with many of my own tweets, but also by retweeting some others'. It can be found here: https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki Lastly, here's my Tumblr page, which I've neglected quite a bit recently, but if you're at all curious, you can find it at the following link: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/rozzy81

For new readers (and regular ones, I suppose), here's some information pertaining to my books. All eight of my books can be purchased in paperback form at the following site (and others): http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=craig+rozniecki&x=7&y=5&sitesearch=lulu.com&q= The six books I've written and released in the past 2+ years (yes, I've been on a roll) can be purchased for much cheaper in Kindle form at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_22?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=craig%20rozniecki%20kindle&sprefix=craig+rozniecki+kindle%2Caps%2C228&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acraig%20rozniecki%20kindle As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me by either commenting on this blog or e-mailing me at CRozniecki@gmail.com. Unless I'm out of town, I'm typically very good at responding rather quickly.

A fitting headline for this next story I'm about to share should say it all - " Snake Salvation Star and Preacher Dies From a Snakebite". During a February 15th service in Middlesboro, Kentucky, preacher Jamie Coots was bitten by a snake on his right hand. Instead of waiting for emergency personnel to arrive at the church and treat him, Coots decided to deny medical attention and go home instead, where he eventually died. Ironically enough, Coots and his family were featured on the National Geographic reality show, Snake Salvation . The show focused on believers of a particular Bible passage, which co-star Andrew Hamblin explained to Buzzfeed  not long ago: "When you feel the anointing and God moves on you to take up serpents, even if one of 'em lays fangs into you, you shall not be harmed." When Buzzfeed approached Jamie Coots after his death, to ask him if his beliefs had changed with regard to that Bible passage, he was unavailable for comment. ...

According to a survey that was just released by the National Science Foundation , 26% of Americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth. That's right - over 1 in 4 Americans incorrectly think that the earth is at the center of all things. Based on this finding, these same individuals likely also think the following: - That there are two planets - Earth and that other one - That people residing on the sun worship Earth, due to all sunshine and warmth it obviously provides - That Venus isn't a planet: "She's just the sister of Serendipity Williams or whatever her name is." - That meteor showers occur when God has a sneezing fit - That Fox News is "fair and balanced" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/16/americans-science-survey_n_4798244.html http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/content/chapter-7/c07.pdf

As I've been doing the past two weeks or so, I thought I'd update readers on my coming books. Unfortunately, I battled a pretty nasty cold last week, so I wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked. I'm through page 50 on two books with regard to adding smart aleck commentary for my footnotes. I'm feeling slightly better than I had been, so hopefully this will be a much more productive week. Once again, my goal is to get through all 185+ footnotes this week (yes, I like my research - a bit too much at times, it seems). I'll then have to proofread and edit the two books yet again, along with a few other finishing touches, before I'll be ready to receive my proof copies. With last week's setback and my birthday coming up on the 28th of this month, I'm guessing the books won't become available until early March at the very earliest. It's then my goal to have all four coming books out by the end of spring/start of summer. At that point, hop...

On Valentine's Day of all days, news broke that Republican Senators Ted Cruz (Texas) and Mike Lee (Utah) have introduced a bill, entitled, the "State Marriage Defense Act," which would prohibit the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples if a particular state doesn't recognize them. This would also be the case for same-sex couples whom have been wed in states which recognize such marriages, but then move to a state which doesn't. Yes, love is certainly in the air! Can you feel it? Ted Cruz can - as he said the following with regard to the bill: "I support traditional marriage. Under President Obama, the federal government has tried to re-define marriage, and to undermine the constitutional authority of each state to define marriage consistent with the values of its citizens. The Obama Administration should not be trying to force gay marriage on all 50 states. We should respect states, and the definition of marriage should be...

According to a study conducted by University of Tampa professor Ryan Cragun last year, taxing churches across this country could result in as much as $71 billion in added revenue every year. While the math will be imperfect due to the increasing number of churches through the years, if we look back to when churches gained tax exempt status in 1894 (120 years ago), that would have generated as much as $8.5 trillion, which is almost exactly half of this country's debt (a little over $17 trillion). So, if politicians are really serious about this country's debt problem, how about this? 1) Tax churches ($71 billion a year) 2) Close tax loopholes on corporations ($5 billion per year) 3) Increase taxes on the wealthiest among us ($40-45 billion a year) 4) Decrease defense spending (we spend between $600-700 billion on this, so pick a number... I'll go with $100 billion) 5) Legalize marijuana and tax the heck out of it (approximately $14 billion per year) ...

It's only February, and already, billionaire Tom Perkins is trying to stake claim to Douche of the Year honors. Not long ago, he compared progressives' desire to increase taxes on the top 1% to Nazis going after Jews during the Holocaust. He then decided to increase his odds of winning the before-mentioned award by saying the following during a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco last night: "The Tom Perkins system is: You don't get to vote unless you pay a dollar of taxes. But what I really think is, it should be like a corporation. You pay a million dollars in taxes, you get a million votes. How's that?" While it's debatable that Perkins was joking around, it doesn't seem to be debatable that he's a major league jerk. He also seems to be clueless about the real world. Unfortunately, due to the Citizens United ruling, corporations can spend countless dollars on ads to influence people's vote. In other words, if you pay a milli...

Republican Idaho Representative Lynn Luker, with the support of his conservative Christian allies, is attempting to make it illegal for licensed professionals to lose their license for refusing to serve or employ anyone whom they feel violates their religious beliefs. Such professionals would include all of the following: Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, police officers, firefighters, real estate agents, insurance providers, attorneys, and social workers. Representative Luker and his "Christian" allies mainly want this proposal to be passed due to the ever-increasing rights of the LGBT community. One of these "Christian" allies is the Cornerstone Family Council, who said the government shouldn't "block people from 'living out their faith'." Another such ally is Focus on the Family. Julie Lynde - executive director of the group - said this with regard to the proposal: "The free expression of religious freedom is no longer understood for wh...

Bud Konheim - CEO and co-founder of the luxury-fashion company Nicole Miller - had the following words for 99 percenters when speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box  yesterday: "We've got a country that the poverty level is wealth in 99 percent of the rest of the world. So we're talking about woe is me, woe is us, woe is this. [That] guy making, oh my God, he's making $35,000 a year, why don't we try that out in India or some countries we can't even name. China, anyplace, the guy is wealthy." What this delusional man is forgetting is that the numbers he mentioned don't mean a thing without context. In the countries he listed (and other unnamed ones), the cost of living is much cheaper than in the U.S. Over the past several years, the top 1-2% in this country have experienced a very large majority of the income increases, while the middle- and lower-classes' incomes have been rather stagnant - all while the costs of living have increased. In other wo...

In July of 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 others when he opened fire in a Colorado movie theater for a premiere of the film Dark Knight Rises . Holmes had brought with him the following - all of which he purchased off the Internet: Ballistic gear, firearms, and high-capacity magazine clips (100-round clips) - all which totaled over $15,000. Colorado has since passed a law banning high-capacity clips, and yesterday, a discussion took place among two State Senators with regard to whether or not the new law should be repealed. The conversation between Senators Irene Aguilar (Democrat) and Bernie Herpin (Republican) went like this: Aguilar: "My understanding is that James Holmes bought his 100-round capacity magazine legally. So in fact, this law would have stopped James Holmes from purchasing a 100-round magazine. I was wondering if you agree with me." Herpin: "Perhaps, James Holmes would not have been able to purchase a 100-round magazine. As it tur...

After former Missouri defensive standout Michael Sam came out of the closet the other day, it became only a matter of time before Rush Limbaugh weighed in on the matter. On his radio show yesterday, Limbaugh said the following: "Why does homosexuality have a political agenda? Why is there anything political about homosexuality while heterosexuality has no political agenda and there is no agenda attached to it? They're under assault. You say, 'Heterosexuality may be 95, 98 percent of the population.' They're under assault by the 2 to 5 percent that are homosexual." It's times like these when Minnesota Senator Al Franken has to smile, look at the cover of his book, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot , and think to himself, "I was right on the mark with that, wasn't I?" What Rush Limbaugh and other like-minded individuals whom are white, male, Christian, and heterosexual don't seem to understand is that not everyone is treated equally in...

I usually don't like to post about crazy rumors, but thought I could have a little fun with this one, so I thought I'd make this an exception to the rule. Yesterday, French paparazzo Pascal Rostain claimed that the Washington Post  would post a story today about President Barack Obama having an affair with pop star Beyonce. In a story published by the French newspaper Le Figaro , he said the following: "You know, at this time, in the United States, there is something big that is happening. It'll go out tomorrow in the Washington Post  - we can say that it is not the gutter press - an alleged affair between President Barack Obama and Beyonce." Rostain then attempted to elaborate upon his belief with this: "First, there are still or television images of the Obama couple becoming a little distant. It is legitimate to ask questions. We found the same thing, always through images, between [French President] Hollande and [his partner Valerie Trierweiler]. A...

Conservative commentator James Taranto has come under fire for a op-ed he recently posted in The Wall Street Journal , entitled, "Drunkenness and Double Standards - A balanced look at college sex offenses." Taranto spends a decent amount of his time cherry-picking cases where men were wrongly accused of rape, before appearing to insinuate that intoxicated female rape victims are just as much to blame for the event as the male rapists. The common denominator for him is alcohol, which he believes is the main reason for this alleged double standard with regard to sexual assault in our country. In the article, Taranto writes the following: "Winerip notes that between 2005 and 2010, 'more than 60 percent of claims involving sexual violence handled by United Educators'--an insurance company owned by member schools--"involved young women who were so drunk they had no clear memory of the assault.' We know from Sgt. Cournoyer that the accused men typically ...

Here's the URL to my Facebook business page. I update it fairly regularly, but still haven't put forth a great deal of effort yet in researching matters and attempting to make the most out of it. In any case, it can be perused here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCraigRozniecki?ref=hl Up next is my Twitter page. I'm still not 100% certain what I'm doing on there yet, but feel I'm gradually getting the hang of it and am up to 7,127 followers. I update it daily with many of my own tweets, but also by retweeting some others'. It can be found here: https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki Lastly, here's my Tumblr page, which I've neglected quite a bit recently, but if you're at all curious, you can find it at the following link: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/rozzy81

For new readers (and regular ones, I suppose), here's some information pertaining to my books. All eight of my books can be purchased in paperback form at the following site (and others): http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=craig+rozniecki&x=7&y=5&sitesearch=lulu.com&q= The six books I've written and released in the past 2+ years (yes, I've been on a roll) can be purchased for much cheaper in Kindle form at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_22?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=craig%20rozniecki%20kindle&sprefix=craig+rozniecki+kindle%2Caps%2C228&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acraig%20rozniecki%20kindle As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me by either commenting on this blog or e-mailing me at CRozniecki@gmail.com. Unless I'm out of town, I'm typically very good at responding rather quickly.

Former neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins and current Fox News commentator Ben Carson recently made a speech in support of Oregon GOP Senate candidate Monica Wehby in Wilsonville, Oregon, and as usual, made some comments which brought Jesus close to saying, "What the fu..?" At this January 31st fundraiser, Carson said the following: - "[One of the main goals of progressives is to] fundamentally change who we are. [Part of that entails] keeping a blanket of silence over the majority." - "There comes a time when people with values simply have to stand up. Think about Nazi Germany. Most of those people did not believe in what Hitler was doing. But did they speak up? Did they stand up for what they believe in? They did not, and you saw what happened. And if you believe that same thing can't happen again, you're very wrong. But we're not going to let it happen." Let me get this straight. It's progressives' goal to change "who we are...

Due to the level of their fame and income, most people don't seem to hold much sympathy for celebrities whom take their own lives. After news broke of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death via a drug overdose last week, while many appeared to mourn his demise, a majority of people appeared to show little to no sympathy - stating that the sad ending to his story was his fault and his fault alone. While Hoffman may have been the one to inject himself with the heroin that ended his life, often times I think there are a host of other factors at play in such situations, and unlike many people I personally know, I hold a great amount of sympathy for the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'm by no means a big-name celebrity, but would classify myself as an artist, whose mind tends to function differently than most. While I love expressing myself creatively and rarely ever lack ideas in order to do that, there are times the seemingly constant array of ideas overwhelm me with work a...

Anymore, it has seemed as though Hollywood tough guys Jason Statham and Liam Neeson have been typecast as just that. I have trouble envisioning them in a comedy, let alone a romantic comedy. If one of them did star in such a film, however, I have to imagine it'd go by one of the following titles: Valentine's Day Massacre The Gun Shop Around the Corner Shootin' and Bangin in the Rain The Deadly Notebook How to Kill a Guy and Make a Woman Fall in Love With You in 10 Seconds (500) Days Of Making Love and Kicking As* Seven Beauties Wanting a Beast Punching Your Wedding Planner A Wedding and Four Funerals Fight Club

As I've been doing every Monday for the past couple of weeks or so, I thought I'd update all my readers with regard to my upcoming books. I'm now through the proofreading/editing/researching/footnoting step for two of my four books. I'll now attempt to get through with adding smart aleck comments to each and every footnote in the next week, before going through another round of proofreading and editing. I'll then have another do likewise, before touching up on a few things, adding a cover, and sending away for the proof copies. I'm still hoping to have the two books available sometime in late-February or early-March, but I still have a lot to accomplish if that's going to happen, so I won't make any promises at this point in time. Well, that's all I have for now. I better get back to work, but will likely post another update around this time next Monday. To be continued...

Hard-core conservative evangelicals seem to obsess over two things - gay marriage and especially abortion. Leading up to the 2008 and 2012 elections, many referred to candidate and President Obama as a baby-killer. However, while the president may be pro-choice, a new study shows that the 2011 abortion rate is lower than at any time since 1973. The Guttmacher Institute just published a paper which showed that as of 2011, of every 1,000 impregnated women, only 17 had abortions. That is a decrease of 13% from 2008. So why the dramatic drop? It's not the anti-abortion laws that were passed by Republicans, since many of those hadn't fully taken effect by 2011. One main factor was a greater reliance on birth control, which these same conservative evangelicals have also criticized. Several "Christian" organizations have even taken the healthcare law to court over requiring them to cover birth control in women's healthcare plans. So, what's it going to be? If p...

Kay Jewelers commercials have a tendency to make my eyes roll more than Linda Blair's doctors said they should, but their latest one really gets under my skin. In this commercial, a couple is sitting across from one another at a restaurant. As the man tries to get the woman's attention, he realizes the only way to do this is by texting her, since she's ignoring him while texting on her phone. He finally gives up any and all other options, and texts her with the message, "Look up." At this, he finally has her attention, she looks up, and he provides her with a gift from Kay Jewelers. The commercial then closes with the tagline, "Every kiss begins with Kay," as the couple takes a picture of themselves kissing with one of their phones. If that's not "romantic," I don't know what is... Based on this very commercial, if the trend continues, the next one will go something like this: Bruce Altiny: ::texts his girlfriend:: "Read ...

I just read another article by Kyle Becker of the uber right-wing Independent Journal Review , entitled, "10 Offensive Things Conservatives are Accused of Thinking - Yet They Actually Never, Ever Do." Yes, that's the wondrous title. This should be interesting... Becker starts off his "piece" with this: "Liberals are full of opinions. Not only do they like to give everyone their unsolicited opinions of whatever random thing they happen to be thinking at the time, they love to speak for other people. Even when it's ridiculous. Even when no one in their right mind in the 21st century ever, ever thinks such horrible things. These Amazing Kreskins love to tune in to their ESPN and have at it. Here are 10 things lefties accuse conservatives of thinking that no one ever, ever does." So, Mr. Becker, who accuses liberals of speaking for conservatives, is now going to speak for liberals who speak for conservatives? Isn't that special? He may al...