Now We're Cookin'

The old coil-style cooktop at my parents' house finally gave up the ghost, so I had to put in a new one.  I went with ceramic type   It's cool and nicer than the one I put in my own house a couple of years ago!

Vacuum of Opinion

This undercurrent of subjective interpretation regarding everything in life is maddeningly contradictory.  Ask someone their opinion today, get one answer.  Ask them tomorrow, get the polar opposite.  It's enough to make your eyes want to escape your skull.

In the past, it was just those flaky folks in your life causing all the consternation.  You know, the guy or gal that says, "Yeah," to something, but later says, "Nah," to the same EXACT thing with no changes to anything other than their subjective, anyway-the-wind-blows opinion.  Now, the majority of people you meet are that way.

In one instance, a person stated an opinion as a solid fact.  They seemed to be willing to come to blows over that opinion.  Scrolling through their phone, they looked up and voiced an opinion diametrically opposed to the one they were just willing to knock someone's teeth out to support.  It's jaw-droppingly exasperating.

Certainly, opinions change.  One would hope there would be a bit of consideration before changing them for light and transient causes, though.  Ultimately, nothing is sacred if enough overwhelming evidence is presented.  

This is no longer the case.  Opinions change for the lightest and most transient of causes.  It's seriously like 1984, where the headline reads something completely contradictory to the previous... only it's worse... In 1984, the next published paper had a different headline.  Now, it's as soon as every few minutes... with no reference to previous interpretations.

You'd think they'd eventually get that no one is going to invest any time in them if there's no consistency.  Maybe there's some camaraderie or incomprehensible attractiveness in being vapid.  How do you deal with that?

Thank You America!

Thousands of years of cultivation doesn't seem like the kind of thing nomadic peoples might accomplish.  That's because it's not.  The indigenous peoples of the Americas spent long periods of time creating a lot of the foods we love and will eat today in our Thanksgiving meals.  Still, the misinformation created to dehumanize those the europeans were robbing continues to be repeated.  

Most pre-colombian nations of the Americas were agrarian and well-established.  Without them, we'd have no chocolate, vanilla, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, chili peppers, etc... etc...  Those peoples contributed so much to the quality of human life.

Today, I'd like to express how thankful I am for those peoples.  They spent time patiently cultivating weeds into delicious and nutritious foods.  They observed and learned how to grow those things without parasites destroying them, long before pesticides.   If not for them, the world would be so much more bland... and hungry!

Late and Hungry

How is it already almost five-thirty?  By the time I'm done typing, it'll be after.  Supper hasn't even been eaten, yet.  I need to get it in gear.

Askew Again

Today's been off.  Thoughts wander.  Worries hinder.

All the wrong things find their way to mind.  Concentration suffers.  Pick up the wrong thing at the store and don't notice until you get home that none of it is right.

Steamrollin'

 

Radio Silence

Screaming into the void takes a toll on the voice.  Driving a nail into nothing won't help keep anything together.  There's a net loss of energy, even if the adrenaline dump does make everything feel easier for a few minutes.

There's only so long a person can continue to expend energy without getting any indication that it's registering.  Feedback, even if it's just perceived, is necessary to keep going.  Time steals motivation.

Need for Sweets

Every once in a while, a craving for the candies of youth sets the mind into motion.  Hard candies were the best, but chewy candies, especially the older ones, set the mouth to watering, too.  Sweet Tarts, Sprees, Runts, Now and Laters, Jolly Ranchers, gumballs, Fruit Stripe Gum, Atomic Fireballs, Smarties...

Blo-pops had the best of both worlds with their hard candy outside and the bubble gum guts.  Tootsie Roll Pops were right up there, too... you just didn't get to enjoy it as long.  Ask Mr. Owl.

Those candy necklaces were cool.  They never made it onto the neck, though.  If they ever did, they'd leave a multi-colored ring around your neck.

Then, there were the candies that prepped kids for future vices.  Big League Chew, candy cigarettes, Mary Janes Candy... Pixie Stix, Fruit Roll-Ups... Okay, maybe that's reaching.  Maybe not.

Towards the end of my heavy candy eating days, they came out with all those extremely sour candies.  Those were some of the best.  A particular favorite were gumballs that looked normal but had sour powder inside.  Salivary glands had to work overtime on those.

M&Ms, Skittles, Reese's Pieces, Nerds, Gobstoppers and all those other candies that came in little bags or boxes were awesome.  They usually cost too much for a kid, though.  Most of the time, you had no money at all.  In those circumstances, you'd just have to find a penny on the ground, somewhere, and get a piece of Ford gum.  

Today, that's not a concern.  There's so much more variety, now, too.  Even jelly beans come in ten thousand different flavors. 

I've got to stop... or I'll be taking a trip to the store.