Music time

As you can see from the sidebar on the right, I am currently listening to a whole lot of music (though not all at once). Because of moving and changing addresses and not being able to have large packages sent to my apartment, I have (until now) been unable to purchase anything online. So, after much waiting, I have made a few quite large CD purchases. This, if you know me at all, should not surprise you. I have a terribly wonderful addiction to buying CDs and other music-related items. It's an okay addiction to have, I think. Certainly more productive and worthwhile than, say, crack cocaine. And cheaper too.
Usually when I make such a big purchase, it takes me a while to get through all of the CDs and know them well enough to recognize them. This is usually done by playing them over and over again until I can't think of listening to anything else. Up until then, the list of music over there ---> will remain as it is. Not that it matters to anyone but me, and maybe Burb or JT. Oh well.

Taye Diggs is shorter than I thought he was

Yes, he's a sexy, sexy man. And yes, he did help Stella get her groove back. But I did not expect that Taye Diggs is as short as he is. Last night, FB and I went to see "A Soldier's Play" at the 2nd Stage Theater. The play was very well written (earning a Pulitzer Prize) and well acted (especially by Mr. Diggs). It was set during World War II and dealt with race relations among black and white soldiers. The play was made into a movie, so I recommend that you see it if you get the chance. But that is all besides the point.
The point of this all is this:
Taye Diggs: shorter than I thought
Jeff Goldblum (who I saw in another play a few weeks ago): very tall

But I'm sure Taye has a bigger...role.

Something new

I don't have much to say, other than to plug myself and tell you all that there is a new story posted on my other blog. Check it out, I think it's pretty decent. And, perhaps most surprising of all, it's family friendly. Even my Mormon friends can read it, as long as they click here (or on the link to the right). Enjoy!

On the fall of man

Last night, while watching my NY Giants defeat the homeless New Orleans Saints, I heard something that struck me as somewhat odd. During the game the announcers were interviewing various people (NFL commissioner, Former President Bush, etc.). At one point they interviewed Archie Manning, former Saints quarterback and father of Giants starting quarterback Eli. They mostly asked Manning how he and his family and the team were dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane and all that. Towards the end of the conversation, one of the announcers brought up Hurricane Rita, which is slowly creeping towards the Gulf. The announcer said something like "Let's pray that the hurricane doesn't hit New Orleans, that's just not fair." to which Archie Manning replied "No, it's not fair. And God wouldn't let it happen twice/again."
I found this to be an interesting statement. It certainly seems, or can be inferred, that (at least according to Mr. Manning) God was in control of hurricane Katrina and sent it to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. These seems like an odd statement to me. For someone who is religious to believe that God caused (or at least did not prevent) the hurricane to demolish New Orleans and other cities and towns is surprising. If you do believe that this was God's will, wouldn't you have to question God? What sick, twisted fuck would actually, purposefully destroy so many lives? That is not someone I'd pray to for help.
A group calling itself "Repent America" agrees with the aforementioned theory that it was God's will. They, however, see a specific purpose in mind for the high and mighty creator:

"We must help and pray for those ravaged by this disaster, but let us not forget that the citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long," Marcavage said. "May this act of God cause us all to think about what we tolerate in our city limits, and bring us trembling before the throne of Almighty God," Marcavage concluded.

[God] sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45)

Are these people correct? Is what they espouse in this article true? Does God really hate homosexuals so much that he would kill thousands of innocents in order to stop their faggotry? I doubt it. I also doubt that God had anything at all to do with the hurricane. For that matter, I pretty much doubt that God exists. But if he/she/it does, I would hope that God would not be so cruel and unforgiving. But if he/she/it is as horrible an entity as Repent America makes it seem, then I want nothing to do with God.
At this point ignorance is, indeed, bliss. Faith seems like too dangerous a thing.

Damn you, you cow!

As I was scouring the internet for letters and articles from the state of Missouri during the Civil War, I came across the following disturbing police report.

I can't quite figure out what's more disturbing: that the cow was seen "twisting around to smile" or that the solution to get the cabbage back was throw "bricks and other missiles on her back".

We need more things like this in our newspapers.

An open letter

Dear Woman on the Subway,

Hello. My name is Spec. I'm 25 years old, stand about 5'10" and have brown hair. I live in Brooklyn and ride the 2/3 into Manhattan every weekday morning, making my way through the masses to my job at an undisclosed location. For two out of the past three mornings I have seen you get onto my train, onto my car. Both times you came towards me, a sleepy and annoyed look in your eye. On both occassions I've wanted to ask you the same question: Why are you standing so close to me?
Why, when there are so many open seats and so many different metal poles to hang onto, do you sidle right up to me and place your hand gingerly above mine? I don't think that it's because you like me. I don't think that at all because you seem to hate everyone around you. This morning you edged away from the tall overweight man carrying a briefcase. You edged towards me instead. Am I your security blanket? Do I look like someone you know and trust? Or am I somehow invisible?
You may be asking yourself why I'm writing you this letter. Well, to put it simply, I want to explain that I didn't mean to touch your ass. And I wasn't fondling myself. There is a simple explanation: The Podcast that I was listening to was too quiet on the loud, squeaking train. I had to turn it down. In order to do that I had to reach into my pocket, which (unfortunately) on this particular pair of pants is very deep, and get the iPod out. I didn't mean to press the back of my hand against your buttocks when I performed this action. It was merely an accident, a jostling of the train which caused me to violate you so.
Maybe what we can learn from this whole experience is that people should not stand so close to one another, if it can be helped, on public transportation. Maybe if we weren't so close we could have avoided the whole uncomfortable situation.
Thanks very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Spec

Welcome

Friends & Lurkers:

Welcome to the all-new, super special Spec's Outrage. I am still messing around with colors and fonts, so any critiques or advice would be welcome. Thanks for coming to visit, I will provide a much better post soon.

Spec