The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Earlier today, I wrote a blog where I stated that if President Barack Obama made Hillary Clinton his Vice Presidential candidate, he'd be all but guaranteed a victory in November. I also said that I doubted he would make the switch, unless Joe Biden made a horrendous gaffe or got involved in a scandal. What did I read just a few moments ago? A Biden gaffe and the very surprising responses by 2008 Republican Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees John McCain and Sarah Palin, whom said it'd probably be wise that Obama make the before-mentioned Clinton his VP candidate.  What was it Biden said? Speaking to a crowd of African-Americans in Danville, Virginia, the Vice President said, "Unchain Wall Street. They're going to put y'all back in chains." This was met with immediate criticism by the Romney team and Republicans in general, McCain and Palin going so far as to say it'd be wise for President Obama to name Hillary Clinton as his new Vice Presid...

According to Matthew O'Brien - associate editor at The Atlantic  - under Paul Ryan's plan, Mitt Romney would only have to pay 0.82% in taxes. The only full year of taxes we've seen from Romney was from 2010, where he paid 13.9%. Under Ryan's plan, he'd only have to pay 0.82%. That means of the $21,661,344 he made that year, he'd have to pay only $177,650. Why? Because Ryan wants to eliminate all taxes on the following: Capital gains, interest and dividends and most of the $21,661,344 Romney made were from capital gains, interest and dividends. He did make $593,996 for speaking fees and books he's authored. So, why did Romney choose Ryan as his running mate? Because he's a young, attractive, up-and-coming member of the party? Sure. Those may all have been factors. However, it's difficult for me to look past that number - 0.82%. Many thought 13.9% was too low as it is. That's about 17 times the amount Romney would have to pay under Ryan's plan....

There are still about three months to go until the presidential election, but if it were held tomorrow, I think President Obama would likely win. However, with three months to go, there's still a lot that could happen to alter the tides in one direction or another. I do think there's one move Obama could make which would all but assure him of being re-elected - that's make Hillary Clinton his vice presidential candidate. Obama should likely do fairly well with women voters as Democratic candidates tend to do. However, this would likely be the icing on the cake (so to speak) to swing women independent and undecided voters to his/their side. Mitt Romney made his move in announcing Paul Ryan as his running mate and has seen a very slight (below-average) bounce in the polls due to it. While I personally find Joe Biden to be a likable guy, I honestly don't believe from an election standpoint, he either adds or subtracts anything from the president's standing. I believe...

So, as most people I speak or hang out with regularly know (as well as regular readers of my blog), I get asked if I'm gay about as much as a nymphomaniac moans the word "god". I've tallied at least 25 people whom have asked me that very question in the past year and a half, I'd say, including last Friday. I was talking to a friend of mine about this recently and she relayed a thought unto me which I found to be quite amusing. You see, it seems as if a solid majority of those 25+ people asked that question (or thought it to be true), because I've been witnessed turning women down for sex. I'll get propositioned by a woman I hardly know about once a month. At the end of the night, they're either going home alone or with someone who is not me. So in response to this, my friend said something like, "It's kind of funny. People assume you to be gay because you're too 'moral' to be straight, yet many people think it's immoral to be...

So, I got into an interesting discussion recently. A radio show host just recently tried asking President Obama the following question - "I recently spent time asking African Americans about your policies and over 90% couldn't even name one. Do you believe its (sic) right that the black community votes for you strictly because you're part black?" This isn't the first time I've heard such a declaration. Following Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 Presidential Election, many far-right conservatives made the claim that he won due to the black vote, as he won 95% of it. Some went as far to say that African-Americans were being racist with their votes, because according to them - they were voting for Obama simply because of the color of his skin. Since almost 100% of blacks voted for President Obama, well, it seems pretty obvious that they were just voting for him for that very reason, right? Sorry to burst these people's bubble, but I'm not thinking...

I love when talking to a person about their relation, they refer to it as "complicated" and refuse to talk about it anymore. To me, this translates to - "I'm sorry, but you wouldn't understand, so there's really no point in my telling you the story. What Zorro and I are going through has never been experience in the history of mankind. So, like I said, it's complicated - you just wouldn't understand." I find this especially amusing, because anyone over a certain age, whom has experienced a long-term relationship, will likely understand the gist of what someone is going through, no matter how "complicated" it is. Whenever someone says, "Oh, it's complicated," I want to reply with, "Eh, I doubt it. So, what's the story?"

I'm curious to see a study which compares and contrasts the pros and cons of tips (as far as tipping waiters, bartenders, etc.). When many Europeans visit the States, they're often times confused by the concept of tipping. In their native countries, the "tips" are already built in to the overall salary, which makes for a more consistent annual wage. When they hear how much waiters and bartenders make per hour here, they're often times shocked and ask how they live off that. That's when the waiter or bartender explains the concept of tipping. I guess my question is, which is the better method overall? I think the theory in this country is that people will work harder for the extra tip - the "bonus" at the end of his/her job. If he or she doesn't excel, they deservedly won't be tipped well and if they do excel, the tip will reflect that and continue to inspire them to excel day in and day out. However, how often is that the case? Regardless...

I try to watch bits of the Olympics every four years. I'm not a die-hard follower (I find that's difficult to do as it occurs once every four years), but I find the games to be interesting to a certain level and it's hard not to appreciate the talents being displayed before my (and others') eyes.  However, with each and every passing Olympics, it feels as if the number of "What-the-hell-was-that" sports is increasing. We've got: Racewalking, Canoeing, Modern Pentathlon, Eventing, Dressage, Trampoline, Sailing, Air Pistol/Air Rifle, BMX, Handball, Table Tennis, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Badmitten, Archery, I could go on and on. In some of the gymnastics events, it felt like I was watching the circus, with all the objects being thrown in the air and to teammates.  With some of these events, what are people really thinking about when they decide to include them in the Olympics? Do they sit around a table and brainstorm like this? Chester: "Alright....

So, I had an interesting discussion with a female friend of mine yesterday - with the topic being drama and jealousy. She and I had a disagreement on, generally-speaking, who was the more dramatic gender. While I stated that I felt on average, women were more dramatic than men, she disagreed and felt the opposite. Of course, I was just speaking in general terms and then she specified her position, by saying on the "jealousy-drama" front, guys were far worse than girls. I then told her that on that particular front, she may be right, but I think it's pretty close and I think it's difficult to scale that specific kind of drama, because the two genders often times exhibit jealousy in different ways - with the males being more blunt and obvious about it. However, a friend of mine in Omaha almost refuses to be friends with girls, that or she winds up losing those friendships when it all comes down to it, because there's too much drama. She's told me she really pref...

Know anyone who seems to constantly clamor that they hate drama? They dramatically exclaim they hate drama? Yeah, me too. I often times find with these very people that they're the most dramatic of the bunch. It's almost as if they're attempting to persuade the masses (including themselves) they're not dramatic by repeatedly claiming they're not (the mere-exposure effect). However, in due time, when people actually spend time with them, they'll discover the truth. I also often times find that these people try to evade drama at all costs, which only results in escalating tension and a once light-hearted drama will eventually become Shakespeare. I don't know TOO many people whom enjoy drama, but repeatedly making that claim won't convince anyone of this and may make them wonder, "What are they hiding?" At the same time, evading drama in an attempt to avoid drama, will likely result in greater drama than one would have faced if they had confro...

My father is kind of funny when it comes to politics. He just simply will not talk about it. One problem is he doesn't follow it at all, so he rarely knows what's going on. When the topic arises, he repeats the same old line over and over again - "I don't talk about politics. I've voted Democrat, Republican and Independent before." Then that's the end of his piece. What he doesn't explain is why he voted for these people/parties. The only time I recall him voting Republican is when he was younger and a GOP candidate said he wanted to lower the drinking age to where it'd be legal for my father to drink alcohol. That's far from the Republican Party platform of today. He's still not 100% sure why he voted Independent (Perot), perhaps because he was a tad funny looking and Dana Carvey did a great impersonation of him - I don't really know. I'm not even 100% sure why he's voted for Democrats in the past, outside of the fact his paren...

So, I was writing on a pad of paper the other day and someone asked me, "Are you writing a new book?" I kind of sighed and responded with no. I suppose I appreciate the curiosity, yet it's also common courtesy to not interrupt someone while they're working. If I had been in the midst of writing a book, chances are I'd be in a certain mindset - in the writing zone so to speak - and an interruption like that would completely disrupt that. I'd then have to try and reattain that particular focus and mindset I had possessed prior to being interrupted. This isn't the first such occasion this has happened and it likely won't be the last. I can understand a person observing another working and wondering, "What is it they're doing exactly?" yet can't that question wait until the person appears to be on break? If a band is in the recording studio, playing a song, the last thing they want to have happen is to be interrupted by someone, askin...

So I just watched the Will Ferrell film "Casa de mi Padre" last night. The reviews for the film were very mixed, as 44% of critics scored it positively, meanwhile 56% did not (courtesy of RottenTomatoes.com). When I looked for layperson reactions on IMDb.com, most seemed to feel the film was atrocious. I don't know if it was because I was especially tired and in an extra silly mood or what exactly, but I thought the film was pretty funny - especially the last half hour. I'm wondering if a lot of laypeople aren't getting the joke. The film appears to be a parody of telenovelas or as Americans call them - Spanish soap operas. From the over-dramatic music to the over-dramatic facial expressions to the over-dramatic zoom-ins to the over-dramatic acting, I can't see the film as anything else but a parody of telenovelas and keeping that in mind while viewing the film, I thought it was quite entertaining. I can understand if a person views the film not understandin...

Alright, so my team began playing better in recent weeks, thanks largely to my team getting healthy again - Matt Kemp being the most notable return. Then late last week, Emilio Bonifacio - the league leader in steals - got placed on the DL for the second time and won't be returning this season. Michael Cuddyer got placed on the shelf the very next day. Now slugging first baseman, Paul Konerko, is on the disabled list. Brian McCann has missed a couple games. Brandon Phillips just came back after missing 4-5 games. To say my offense is a mess would be like saying Ben Stein is boring.

So, I have a somewhat humorous story to tell about Mitt Romney. A friend of mine, who is now hosting a political talk radio show, told me a story about Mitt Romney the other day and I felt the need to share it. I guess he went to a rally of Romney's in Omaha and wanted to take a picture with him. While Romney did take pictures with several others, he refused to take one with my friend. ...and why? I guess due to Romney's tanning some, he felt he would clash too much with my friend's white shirt. As another friend of mine said in response to this - "Who knew that Mitt Romney was the Tim Gunn of politics?" Yeah, who knew indeed? What a douche... ::simultaneous facepalm and shaking of the head::

I love Scrabble. I play Words With Friends on Facebook quite frequently and am quite good - I'd say that I win about 8 of every 10 games I play. However, while I think a person may need some intelligence to play the game well, I don't think as some seem to that those whom are good at this game are the brightest of the bright. To consistently win at Scrabble, one needs the following: A decent vocabulary, a fairly good memory, the ability to strategize and luck. The more one plays Scrabble, the more "Scrabble words" they're going to learn - you know, those words you see in the game of Scrabble that you don't see anywhere else, such as: Xi, xu, za, jo, qi, qat, zoea, etc. One may hold a significant advantage over their opponent initially when it comes to overall vocabulary, however, the more they play - so long as the opponent has a decent memory, the more that vocabulary gap will lessen. At this point, vocabulary plays a smaller factor in the outcomes of the...

I've heard and read some people in recent days make the claim that Mitt Romney's tax returns are this years "birth certificate" (of Barack Obama). At first glance or listen, I kind of chuckled, but after thinking about it more, believe the comparison isn't great after all. The thing is, President Obama has released his birth certificate. This happened a long time ago, on multiple occasions in fact. Before he became a nominee for president, when was a candidate's birth certificate really questioned? On the other side of things, Mitt Romney has released unto the public quite the minimal amount of information regarding his tax returns and unlike the birth certificate, many times throughout history have candidates released their tax returns in full. Also, while some people were spreading conspiracy theories about President Obama being born in Kenya, he (and others) disproved these theories through solid evidence. Democratic Senator Harry Reid has made the claim ...

I witnessed a woman breaking up with her boyfriend via text last night. I imagine this is becoming more and more common. I have been on the receiving end of that via e-mail before (and telephone). While I think it's bad enough to break up with somebody over the telephone, I think it's ten times worse to do this over an e-mail or a text when the person's not allowed to hear the other's voice, respond right away, etc. I just think it's weak. It's the easy way out. It makes it so the aggressor in the break-up doesn't have to face the other, doesn't have to look him/her in the eyes, and actually tell them to their face that things are over. They don't even have to hear the other's voice. I just think it's weak, disrespectful and immature. I think if a person truly cared for another, at least at one point, they'd have the strength and respect to actually sit down and talk to them about it, as opposed to leaving a message and walking away as if...

Wow, so last night was lovely. An old buddy of mine wanted me to meet up with him at a pub, so I said sure. I didn't plan on drinking or anything, but hadn't seen him in a while and it was his birthday not long ago, so I kind of wanted to go, catch up and buy him a drink for his birthday. Little did I realize he'd be accompanied by a friend who would be wasted and in the middle of breaking up with a guy via text. I guess this lady had been drinking since about noon and it was 8:15 when I arrived. To say she was messed up would be like saying Rush Limbaugh is large. She had just broken up with her boyfriend (of 6 weeks) via text. He would respond. She'd read these texts aloud and ask three guys in the area what she should say next. The pitch in her voice made me envision someone placing their nails against a chalkboard. She just kept repeatedly asking, "What do I say?" "What do I say?" "What do I say?" She'd ask our mutual friend and h...

On the front of my '80s-rocker costume (I simply called it - Craig on a Saturday night, because let's be honest - that's how I always dress on Saturdays) was a sign I created which said, "Hey baby, wanna be my groupie?" and on the back, I created a top ten list of groupie disqualifiers. Here they are: My Top Ten Groupie Disqualifiers 10) You've slept with one of the following people: Gene Simmons, Wilt Chamberlain, Mister Rogers or The Pope. 9) After sleeping with you, 94% of guys immediately look at you, begin to cry and then say, "I think I might be gay." 8) You think Kama (comma) Sutra is a kind of punctuation used in India.  7) You've been cordially greeted by multiple sumo wrestlers, as they feel you're one of them. 6) Debbie Downer is forced to take Prozac before, during and after speaking to you.  5) You have what is known as golf-enthusiast's Tourette's syndrome in the bedroom, as just before forn...