The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

As long-time readers should know by now, I love the band Muse. Even though they're huge everywhere in the world except the country I reside, and due to them releasing a song for a Twilight movie soundtrack ("Neutron Star Collision") they've been branded as "uncool" amongst some in the U.S. (psst, they'd been around 14 years prior to that song's release, releasing 5 studio albums in that timeframe, but I digress), they're far and away my favorite all-time group. There are several reasons for this: 1) They're technically brilliant musicians; 2) No album sounds alike; 3) The band transcends genre; 4) They're unafraid of exposing their innermost nerd to the world; 5) Similarly, they're unafraid of tackling controversial subjects, including politics; 6) They always appear to be having fun, never taking themselves too seriously; and 7) You've never seen a concert until you've witnessed a Muse concert. Having said that, here's my...

It's common this time of year to sit back and reflect on one's life. Between taking a moment to illustrate gratitude on Thanksgiving; spreading joy, love, and gifts on Christmas; and starting anew on New Year's Day, this is the time of year many of us look back at the year that was, and look ahead to the year that we hope will be. That self-reflection has been kicked up a notch for me this year, as just prior to the holidays, someone very close to me's father passed away unexpectedly. This struck an immediate sadness and fear inside me, recognizing that one day, whether I wanted to admit it or not, that was going to be my mother and/or father. That was going to be me. So as I spent time with family over Thanksgiving weekend, I really tried to savor the moments I had with them. Moving forward, I'm going to try to never take them for granted. I'm going to try to keep in better touch. I'm going to try to forever remain thankful for their love and support. I f...

Whether or not Donald Trump is convicted of a crime, the man has made himself look guiltier than a dog in front of a broken jar of cookies. Due to this, he's made it increasingly more difficult for me to believe he's innocent of any crime. What innocent person would go to such lengths to dissuade an investigator from ultimately proving their innocence? None that I know. Let's look at what Donald Trump has said or done since Robert Mueller was named the Special Counsel to the Russia investigation. - He literally asked Russia, on national television, for Hillary Clinton's missing emails. - He fired FBI Director James Comey. - He fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. - He's continually changed his story regarding his connections with Vladimir Putin and Russia. - He's continually changed his story when it comes to the Trump Tower meeting. - He's been caught lying about the investigation and investigators from the outset. - He's increasingly att...

As I say at least a handful of times every year, some reviews should not be written. Whether it be for a movie, an album, or a play, some critics come across as biased - having a bone to pick with someone involved in the product. Such is the case with Roisin O'Connor's ( Independent ) review of Muse's latest album, Simulation Theory . The article is titled, "An overly polished, politically paranoid mess," and starts with this gem: "Exasperated Muse fans probably had relatively low expectations for the British rock band's eighth record, given the quality of its predecessor, Drones." Right from the start, it sounds as though Ms. O'Connor is bothered by something, almost like she's holding a grudge against the band. She continues:  "The question as to whether frontman Matt Bellamy is intent on turning Muse into a Spinal Tap-level parody of a band or if he still takes it seriously is a real distraction on Simulation Theory. Wh...

It boggles my mind that at one time in the distant past Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. Granted, parties, like transportation, technology, or fashion trends, change over time. Nowhere has that been more evident than with the GOP. They've gone from the party of Lincoln to the party of voter-suppression, conspiracy theories, and the top 1%. While Republicans continually complain about immigrants not speaking fluent English in this country, the most foreign language to them appears to be logic. Let's just take three recent stories as examples. 1) Refugees The definition of a refugee is "a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster." In other words, a refugee is a person in harm's path, attempting to move to a safer place. I know, that sounds terrifying, right? Donald Trump and his minions have been adamantly opposed to providing such protections for refugees. Why? What's the rationale involve...

Enslaved (verb): "cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action." Slavery may have technically ended in 1865, but I can guarantee you it still takes place today, especially when it comes to black men. Let's look at this. When slavery was abolished, African-Americans, whom had not attained proper education, were set off into the world. It was akin to a long-time prisoner being set free. Unless strong connections are in place post-imprisonment, it's incredibly common for the prisoner to delve back into his/her old habits and wind up back in a penitentiary. So while it had to have been an indescribable feeling for slaves when slavery was abolished, once they stepped away from the only place they've ever known, it had to also have been overwhelming and stress-inducing. Not only that, but the legal system has been biased against black men pretty much since slavery was abolished. Let's face it, it is possible for money to transcend crime. Slaves en...

A recent climate-change report has made big news across the globe. Among its findings were: - We're on track for a 3 degree (C) increase by the year 2100. - We only have 12 years left to take the actions necessary to limit the before-mentioned warming to 1.5 degrees (C). - If we don't take appropriate/immediate action, temperatures and sea-levels are going to rise; more property is going to be destroyed; and more lives are going to be lost. What did Donald Trump have to say about the report? "It's fine" and "I don't believe it." The latter statement I don't find at all surprising, as he's made his climate-change denial painfully obvious in the past. What I can't wrap my head around is the former statement the president made. "It's fine"? Really? Homes are going to be destroyed; people are going to die; and everything is fine? Okay then. On that note, here's a hypothetical conversation between Trump and a reporter...

When recently asked about climate-change by a Washington Post reporter, Donald Trump said the following: "One of the problems that a lot of people like myself - we have very high levels of intelligence, but we're not necessarily such believers. You look at our air and our water, and it's right now at a record clean. But when you look at China and you look at parts of Asia and when you look at South America, and when you look at many other places in this world, including Russia, including - just many other places - the air is incredibly dirty. And when you're talking about an atmosphere, oceans are very small . And it blows over and it sails over. I mean, we take thousands of tons of garbage to our beaches all the time that comes over from Asia. it just flows right down the Pacific. It flows, and we say where does this come from. And it takes many people to start off with." No, none of that makes any sense. The one part which really stood out, to me at least, w...

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was discussing Donald Trump with a pair of fellow progressives whom I love and respect. To my surprise, they both claimed that the president is "smart." This wasn't the first time I'd heard a liberal make such an utterance. The typical defense is, "Look where he is. He couldn't have gotten there without a little bit of intelligence. No matter how he comes across and like him or not, he's a smart man." Well, let's take a deeper look at that declaration, shall we? In 1983, American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener described 9 types of intelligence: 1) Naturalist (nature smart) 2) Musical (sound smart) 3) Logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart) 4) Existential (life smart) 5) Interpersonal (people smart) 6) Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart) 7) Linguistic (word smart) 8) Intra-personal (self smart) 9) Spatial (picture smart) Okay, so let's go through each of the nine forms of intelli...

While I'm quite pleased and relieved at the end result of this year's midterm elections, I also feel it's never too early to talk about tomorrow and how we can move forward as a party and a country. So, in light of this month's election results, here are a few suggestions I have moving forward: 1) Nothing for Granted : Like many of us did in 2016 with Hillary Clinton, we can't take any race for granted. The results all depend on one thing and one thing only and that's voter turnout. If we don't spread word, motivate and inspire, and get people to the polls, our candidates, no matter what the oddsmakers might say, aren't going to win. So whether it looks like a sure-fire victory in California or a long-shot in Alabama, we can't take anything for granted. 2) Don't Overhype : Both parties fall victim to this in most election years. There's that one candidate the staunch liberals or conservatives are extra excited about, so they can't hel...

As election day drew nearer, I became more nervous. Let's face it, no matter how favorable the odds are for the Democratic Party, they seem to screw things up more times than not. Just look at 2016. Hillary Clinton was a sure-fire winner and, well, you know what happened. Granted, it appears the apparent winner had a few helping hands at his disposal, but let's wait for Mueller to conclude his investigation before making any presumptions. In any case, while the oddsmakers gave little chance for the Democrats to take control of the Senate, they gave the Dems roughly a 2 in 3 chance of attaining control of the House. This number decreased to approximately 60% when the numbers started coming in election night. With some key races in Ohio, Florida, and Georgia not appearing all too favorable for the Democratic candidates, I admit to being tempted to grab a bottle of whiskey and take a couple swigs. Fortunately for myself and anyone who may have been around me to witness my inevitab...

For the hell of it the other day, I decided to tabulate the Politifact scorecards of everyone in the Obama and Trump administrations (including the presidents). Here's how the numbers broke down: Obama/Cabinet Grades: 1,033 True/Mostly True: 499 (48.3%) False/Mostly False/Pants on Fire: 269 (26.0%) Net: +22.3% Trump/Cabinet Grades: 944 True/Mostly True: 182 (19.3%) False/Mostly False/Pants on Fire: 594 (62.9%) Net: -43.6% Difference: +65.9% (D)/-65.9% (R) That should tell you a lot right there. This is where we are as a country right now. No, the Democratic Party isn't perfect, as those scores should dictate. However, they still tell the truth roughly double the number of times they utter a falsehood. On the other side of the aisle, however, the Republican Party averages to tell the truth 1 out of 5 times, while distorting the truth almost 2/3 of the time. Say whatever you want about the two parties, in this current day and age, one thing is for certain: the Rep...

Due to some #MAGABomber, #ElectionNight, #IvankaTrump, and #IvankasEmails tweets of mine, I got mentioned on the following nine sites: http://brandsauthority.com/robert-de-niro-joe-biden-sent-bombs-in-suspicious-packages/ https://theworldnews.net/nz-news/pipe-bombs-sent-to-hollywood-star-robert-de-niro-and-joe-biden https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12149047 https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/a-suspicious-package-has-been-sent-to-robert-de-niros-new-york-restaurant/news-story/6f6c57646a8580d96c6b8a297b31628e https://www.bigrigs.com.au/news/a-suspicious-package-has-been-sent-to-robert-de-ni/3559307/ https://en.mogaznews.com/collection/1059239/RT-%40emmareyn-Robert-De-Niro-and-Joe-Biden-now-targets-of-suspicious-packages-.html https://ashleymullerblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/11-must-see-tweets-about-election-night/ https://hiphopwired.com/playlist/twitter-reacts-to-ivanka-trump-using-private-email/item/34 https://theunitedst...

Life has been pretty crazy these past couple months, so I've been unable to post as many blogs as has been typical. In any case, I took the time to try and catch up with my trending hashtag tweets since I last updated my readers on them, and here they are, ordered from the most to the least popular (all my tweets can be seen here -  https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) Trump: "This caravan is bringing crime, violence and even terrorism." Well, that settles it then. This "caravan" is composed of nothing but Donald Trump supporters... #MAGABomber 3,406 Likes, 965 Retweets 2) Trump: "If Republicans did lose big to Democrats, they will overturn everything that we've done and they'll do it quickly and violently, and violently." Yeah, you were saying? #MAGABomber 1,293 Likes, 379 Retweets 3) Dear Trumpsters: Terrorism is about inciting fear. When a bomb is delivered to a person, it incites fear. Whether or not the bomb goes off, i...

In Week 12 of the NFL season, I learned that... - ...Chris Spielman believes if a defender kills a receiver before the pass arrives, he shouldn't be penalized for interference. - ...Michigan football sucked harder than a prostitute on a lollipop she nicknamed Shaft. - ...no one was more thrilled the Cowboys beat the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day than the Natives. - ...the first rule of All-Talk-No-Fight Club is for Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey to stop talking about All-Talk-No-Fight Club. - ...not even Chuck Norris can take down Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku. - ...it's becoming increasingly more obvious that drunkards are in charge of the musical selections at NFL games, for after another Jagerbomb, the selector places the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" on repeat. - ...the curse of Hue Jackson has officially left Cleveland and moved onto Cincinnati. Doctors refer to the curse as Hueorrhea Jacksonitis.. - ..., after the s...

In Week 11 of the NFL season, I learned that... - ...there's as much defense when the Chiefs and Rams get together as there are billionaires named Jorge Bankruptsky playing the penny-slots. - ..., upon suffering a Joe Theismann-like injury, Washington quarterback Alex Smith was thankful to be compared with the team's former QB on that front, as opposed to his announcing. - ...Weird Al Yankovic is set to release a Philadelphia Eagles/Queen-inspired album, which will include songs: "Flat-Rotten Guys," "Crazy Little Thing Called Suck," and "We Were the Champions." - ..., instead of coal, Santa will fill bad kids stockings' with recordings of the Oakland Raiders/Arizona Cardinals game. - ..., on Thanksgiving, Le'Veon Bell will undoubtedly tell his friends and family over a drink, "I'm eternally grateful for giving up $14.544M this year; getting regularly shown up by my young, inexperienced replacement; and quite po...

In Week 10 of the NFL season, I learned that... - ...the Pittsburgh Steelers miss Le'Veon Bell about as much as  Grand Theft Auto  wants smart cars.  - ... Mariota  is Hawaiian for "Peace, love, and kicking the ever living crap out of Tom Brady." - ...the Cleveland Browns defense has been able to accomplish what President Trump hasn't - building a wall along the goalline and making opposing offenses pay for it. - ...Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen gets hit so many times, there's now a picture of him in the dictionary next to the term  piñata . - ...the Atlanta Falcons are less consistent than Stevie Wonder at a shooting range. - ...Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald gets to the quarterback faster than a stoner nicknamed Chubs McSugartits gets to the Twinkie aisle of a grocery store after chilling with Cheech and Chong at a Phish concert. - ..., even if the Oakland Raiders lead in the first quarter, Vegas claims t...

In Week 9 of the NFL season, I learned that... - ...Oakland's so bad, they're about to receive more Razzie nominations than an Adam Sandler film. - ..., picking between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers is apparently like picking between the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Having said that, Brady's likely songs would be "Gimme Gisele" and "Time Is On My Side," while Rodgers's would be "All You Need Is Munn" and "We Can Work It Out." But I say, let's just enjoy these two great quarterbacks while they're still in the league and appreciate their talents. So in other words, "Let It Be." - ...Jeff Foxworthy needs to watch a Detroit Lions game so he can start telling the joke, "If your name is Jim Bob Cooter, you might be a redneck." - ...the world would be a better place if millennials followed in NFL players' footsteps, where they'd gather with friends at a public place and pose for a pic...

Sadly, someone very close to my family and I passed away today. He was my son's maternal grandfather. His family is struggling with finances and is need of some help for his cremation. This family means a great deal to me. Any donation, no matter how much it is, would be greatly appreciated. Every little bit helps. Thank you. https://www.gofundme.com/dad039s-final-rest?fbclid=IwAR0pO12eE7B8aR2QLCjZFFOcu4vdflnYd89LOmvWMvrE4q8557705HrGlqo