The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I'm as much a lover of the arts as just about anybody. I enjoy anything from music to cinema to theatre to literature to painting to comedy (yes, I'd consider this an art, unless you're Dane Cook and then I'd consider it a migraine-in-the-making) and beyond. Like anybody, I have my likes and dislikes in the arts. I'm a big fan of Salvador Dali's painting, of Alfred Hitchcock's film-directing, of Kurt Vonnegut's writing, of George Carlin's comedy, while I'm not so fond of Adam Sandler's acting (and humor), Limp Bizkit and Nickelback's music, Larry the Cable Guy's comedy and Nicholas Sparks' writing. These aren't so much facts as they are my opinions. I may be able to make valid arguments in certain cases to better prove my opinions and more so than the opposing side of the debate. However, grading the arts isn't as black and white as is mathematics. While most critics believe Casablanca to be one of the best films in the ...

I was reading a review the other day and the critic graded an album with a "C+" or in numerical form - 6/12. Wouldn't 6 out of 12 warrant an average "C" grade? Wouldn't the breakdown be something like this? (out of 12) 6 = C 7 = C+ 8 = B- 9 = B 10 = B+ 11 = A- 12 = A/A+ Well, I must be going. I'm about to write a review and grade an album a perfect 5 out of 5 stars - in other words, a C grade.

Mittens Romney has stated that he plans on cutting taxes by 20% for all Americans, including the wealthiest of Americans. On NBC's Meet The Press  Sunday morning, Romney said the following: "Well I can tell you that people at the high end, high-income taxpayers, are going to have fewer deductions and exemptions. Those numbers are going to come down. Otherwise they'd get a tax break, and I want to make sure people understand, despite what the Democrats said at their convention, I am not reducing taxes on high-income taxpayers. I'm bringing down the rate of taxation, but also bringing down deductions and exemptions at the high end so that the revenues stay the same, the taxes people pay stay the same -- the middle income people are going to get a break, but at the high end the tax coming in stays the same..." Eh, what? Under him, the wealthiest of Americans, like everyone else, will see their taxes decrease, but won't be receiving any tax cuts and their ta...

On Monday, October 3rd of 2011, country music star Hank Williams Jr. showed the world that mathematics has been nothing but a lie and he's going to teach the world what math really is. On "Fox & Friends" Monday morning, co-anchor Brian Kilmeade asked Williams the following question: "Who's the enemy?" Williams responded with, "Obama and Biden! Are you kidding? The Three Stooges!" That's right, ladies and gentleman. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are actually three people. It makes so much sense when you think about it. After a year and 364 days have passed in a child's life, he will turn 3 that following day. It's math. It's science. It's fact. This changes so many things when you think about it... Dr. Humble: "Well, it looks like you'll be having twins!" The Thorntons: "Really? Three kids? Holy crap!" Marv Albert: "The match-up is now set. We now know the tw...

As I'm sure many have heard by now, Republican Congressman of Louisiana (Tea Party), John Fleming, made some headlines the other day when he spoke out against President Obama's plan to raise taxes on the uber-wealthy. To go along with the $174,000 Fleming makes being a Congressman, he also pulls in a whopping $6.3 million worth of investments. So, unlike most other Congresspeople, whom make a paltry $174,000 and wouldn't see tax increases, Fleming would. When asked about this on MSNBC by Chris Jansing, Fleming said the following: "That's before you pay 500 employees, you pay rent, you pay equipment and food. The actual net income of that was only a mere fraction of that amount" ($600,000). He added, "By the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 to invest in new locations, upgrade my locations, but more equipment..." So, let me get this straight. The medium income for the American family is approximately $50,000. Doing the math, Fleming...

There are many things about organized religion that confuse me, especially the Christian faith, as that's the religion I grew up learning the most about, living in a country where the majority practice this particular faith. One debate I've always had problems with on a logical level is with regard to predestination vs. free will and also mixing in "God's plan" to the equation. I know people whom believe in predestination. I know some whom believe in free will. I know others whom believe in both. I know some that believe God granted us free will, yet he/she/it has a plan for every one of us. Breaking this down, I can understand if a person believes solely in one or the other, whether that be predestination, free will or that God has a plan for us. However, I have difficulty in understanding how we can simultaneously have both or all three. If our destiny is predestined by a higher power, of what difference would free will make in our outcome? If I was predes...