The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Over the past couple of weeks, it's become an almost daily occurrence for a Hollywood celebrity to get accused of sexual misconduct. Even without using Google as a guide, here's a list of the names I can remember getting "outed" for such conduct over the past couple weeks or so: Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Louis C.K., James Toback, Ben Affleck, Charlie Sheen, Andy Dick, Jeremy Piven, etc. While many these celebrities' current and future projects have been jeopardized due the allegations, and rightly so, what is the proper response from the public? Is there one? Is it possible to admire the talent of an artist, yet despise him (or her) on a personal level? Right or wrong, I've never viewed Hollywood celebrities with the same lens as I do the general population. From the excessive amounts of make-up, to the liberal use of plastic surgery, to the fact many get paid millions of dollars to portray someone else, Hollywood celebrities have alway...

For far too long the Democratic Party has tried to fight fire with tissue paper, and it's about damn time they match that fire with some fire of their own! While liberals have often times teased Congressional Republicans for coming across as less educated than Albert Einstein's moustache, intentionally or not, these same Republicans appear to be geniuses when it comes to emotional manipulation. Let's face it, facts and numbers are boring. We need to find a way to combine those facts with more emotion in order to be more persuasive than the overly emotional and nonsensical GOPers. Let's compare these two parties' strategies through the years: Issue: Healthcare Democrats (with regard to Trumpcare): "According to the Congressional Budget Office, 23 million Americans could lose healthcare." Republicans (with regard to Obamacare): "You're all gonna die!" Democrats (new plan of attack): "According to the CBO, 23 million of you coul...

After the San Francisco 49ers' 23-20 Wild-Card victory over the Green Bay Packers three Sundays ago, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh had a few things to say about his receiver Michael Crabtree. For the game, Crabtree caught eight passes for 125 yards and was a key factor in the Niners' victory. Following his team's performance, Harbaugh said the following to the press: "People talked about cold weather and it would be a tough-to-catch ball, but the greatest catcher of all time, Michael Crabtree, catches everything. It's unbelievable. In the northern snowlands down to the tropics and sunny scenes, he's catching the football. Wherever they throw a football, he'll be catching it." That brings me to Richard Sherman's post-game comments after his Seattle Seahawks defeated Harbaugh's 49ers by the final score of 23-17. Sherman was once coached by Harbaugh at the University of Stanford, said this: "I'm the best corner in the game. When y...

It seems that often times when one is feeling overwhelmed in life and he or she is confronted on a mistake they made, an all too common resort is for them to say, "I can't do anything right, can I?" or "I'm always wrong, aren't I?" I've heard several people resort to this and I'm just curious on how common it actually is. I can understand why people would resort to these phrases. It comes across to me as a person reaching their breaking point and temporarily raising the white flag through vocal means as perhaps somewhat of a defense mechanism or an outward cry for sympathy. I think most everyone reaches such a point at least once in their lives, so this kind of thinking and response is quite understandable. However, I also feel it's kind of counterproductive, for when one raises the white flag like that, the issue they were confronted about likely won't get discussed, and what prompted the confrontation in the first place is more likely...

One major difference between Republicans and Democrats I've found when talking to them is that it seems as if more times than not, Democrats base their opinions on what they think, whereas Republicans base theirs on what they feel. This isn't true in all cases, of course, but it's happened enough times where I feel it's more likely a trend than an aberration.  Teachers and scientists are identifying themselves more and more with the Democratic Party than the Republican one. On the other side of things, religious leaders (Christian ones, that is) are identifying themselves more and more with the Republican Party than the Democratic one. Perhaps this plays into the thinking vs. feeling theory. Whereas teachers, scientists and the like enjoy reading, experimenting, learning, expanding their horizons and aren't typically satisfied until there is ample evidence to support an idea or hypothesis, religious leaders can't base their opinions on concrete evidence, for ...

Most guys I know differ in opinion with me when it comes to sex. I now know at least one woman who does as well. This isn't absolute of course, but more times than not (many more times than not), women need to feel a certain level of emotion for the person before they engage in sex with them and tend to become more emotionally attached following the act. Again, this isn't absolute, but more times than not, men don't need nor experience that with regard to sex, not as much anyway. It reminds me of a quote from the film "When Harry Met Sally," where Billy Crystal says, "Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place." Often times, single men go out on Friday and Saturday nights in hope of the hook-up. Sure, some women may do this as well, but the majority just want to go out and have a good time, and to perhaps garner attention by dressing up and feeling attractive. Even when the initial intent is that of a long-term relationship, if/when m...

It seems like this is a common reaction when a person is questioned about someone/something that is important to them. Often times, I think it's due to the fact that deep down, they know there's probably some truth to the other's question/statement. For example, have you ever run into this kind of scenario? A friend of yours is dating someone and you observe their date messing around with someone else and you're honest with your friend about this? Many times, this is the reaction I'll hear - "You know what? You're just jealous! You just don't have what X and I have and you're jealous!" I'll even hear this from die-hard fans of a certain celebrity(-ies). I remember reading a few comments about comedian Dane Cook and how they didn't think he was funny. His fans' reaction? "You're just jealous. You don't have his kind of talent, wish you could, so yeah, you're just jealous!" In some cases, this may be true, ...

Emotion Abbreviated No tone in your voice, No words to be heard, No emotions to be felt, No gestures to be observed, Attention fleeting, Time condensed, Easily distracted, Seemingly entranced, You scan and stare, Unable to look away, Hypnotized by the light, Addicted to the immediacy, When I call your name, You irritatingly look up, With a deer-in-the-headlights stare, Robotic in your emotions, Not knowing how to act, Clueless on what to say, Feeling extreme discomfort, Wanting me to walk away, Hypnotized by the screen, Abbreviated and constant, Unable to speak to me in person, Like the device you hold - emotionless.

"Connection" A feeling strikes me, As her eyes penetrate deeply into mine, All other persons and sounds drowned out, The crowded room becoming just she and I, With every word I utter, Her focus is solely upon me, Questions come my way, As I peak her curiosity, All my jokes stimulate laughter, Both the good and the bad, A seemingly permanent smile on her face, Whenever I'm around, She briefly looks down, Her cheeks redden, As another looks over and opens his mouth, Insinuating we're together, My heart quickens, As she touches my arm, My smile never leaves my face, When she's around, Deeply into her eyes I stare, Further into my heart she travels, Connecting with the woman for whom I long, Never wanting the moment to pass.