My Weird, Rambling “Live” Weekly Wrap Up

Two weeks ago I decided I would start a post each week called the weekly wrap up. I would schedule it to post on Friday and throughout the week I would add my thoughts on things that happened. Like pretty much everything else with my blogging, I failed. I didn’t start a post this week and didn’t jot down any thoughts on anything. So, for this week I will try a “live” type of weekly wrap up.

It’s been a crazy week. We had a weekend of Nazi’s and white supremacists marching in Virginia. A woman protesting them killed when someone drove a car in to the crowd. We have a president who refuses to outright condemn the Nazi’s. On the personal side of things, work has been a crazy week of eclipse glasses hysteria. We handed out our first supply Monday morning and were out 3 minutes after we opened the doors. Most of our calls this week were people calling to see if we had glasses. We are handing more out tomorrow. I’m happy to say I won’t be there for that. I’m also happy to say that I decided a couple of months ago to take Monday off as well. I also got word early in the week that my brother was in the hospital with a “cardiac episode” that turned out to be a heart attack. He has been released from the hospital and says he is feeling good. Not the greatest news to wake up to. So, in summary, I submit that I was way to distracted to do a proper weekly wrap up this week.

Instead of some stuff I was going to write about being irritated with people who tend to post “stop talking about the stupid statue debate” and then proceed to talk about it constantly because what they really mean is that they want people to disagree with them to stop talking about it(I lied. I did write about it) I will end with this – Life is short. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow. Don’t live a life of regrets. Don’t live a life filled with hate. Make the most of every day. Love your neighbors. Make the world a better place. Take the time to spend time with friends and family. No one will say on their death bed that they wish they spent more time at work or that they wished they had spent a little more energy on hating people.

Where In the World is my Blog Going

A blog I follow posted about people from all over the world reading his blog. I decided to take a look again at my list of origin countries for readers of my blog. I’m pretty sure most of the people from these countries got here by mistake and are disappointed, but they still got here. So, if you care, here is the all time list of country hits for my blog.

United States	11134
Canada	472
Brazil	298
United Kingdom	272
Germany	201
Australia	89
India	69
Poland	69
France	65
Mexico	61
Philippines	57
Romania	53
Ireland	43
Indonesia	41
Italy	41
Pakistan	29
China	26
Argentina	21
Norway	20
Netherlands	20
Turkey	20
New Zealand	19
Chile	16
Ecuador	16
Sweden	15
Portugal	14
South Africa	14
Spain	14
Czech Republic	12
Mauritius	12
Russia	12
Belgium	12
Denmark	11
Croatia	10
Peru	10
Finland	9
Serbia	9
Singapore	9
Japan	9
South Korea	9
Austria	9
Greece	9
Colombia	9
European Union	9
Switzerland	8
Hungary	8
Vietnam	7
United Arab Emirates	7
Venezuela	7
Hong Kong SAR China	6
Ukraine	6
Kenya	6
Benin	5
Dominican Republic	5
Taiwan	5
Bangladesh	5
Moldova	5
Israel	4
Saudi Arabia	4
Puerto Rico	4
Bulgaria	4
Malaysia	4
Algeria	4
Iceland	3
Nigeria	3
Zambia	3
Estonia	3
Kazakhstan	3
Bahamas	3
Slovakia	2
Cyprus	2
Paraguay	2
Egypt	2
Bosnia & Herzegovina	2
Jamaica	2
Uruguay	2
Iraq	2
Sri Lanka	2
Thailand	2
Ethiopia	1
Namibia	1
Nepal	1
Luxembourg	1
Qatar	1
Uganda	1
Belize	1
Somalia	1
Lithuania	1
Belarus	1
Slovenia	1
British Virgin Islands	1
Morocco	1
Bolivia	1
Faroe Islands	1
Ghana	1
Guadeloupe	1
Angola	1
Lesotho	1
U.S. Virgin Islands	1
Panama	1
Cayman Islands	1
Andorra	1
Costa Rica	1

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Nazis Are Bad. Full Stop.

It really doesn’t seem that this should be a hard thing to say. Nazis are bad. The KKK is bad. White supremacy is bad. Hate is bad. Running someone over with a car is bad. Full stop. No buts. No need to add anything. Unfortunately, I see way too many people who feel the need to add a but.

Nazis are bad…but this all started because removing Confederate statues is bad.

Nazis are bad but…what about the counter-protesters.

Nazis are bad but…the police should have protected them

Nazis are bad but…what about Black Lives Matter?

Running someone over is bad but…they shouldn’t have been blocking the road.

No. Stop. If you feel the need to add a but at the end of a sentence denouncing hate there is something wrong and the something wrong is you. Those buts are basically you saying you are OK with Nazis marching in the streets. Those buts say you are fine with the KKK spreading their hate. Those buts say you are OK with hate under certain circumstances.

Hate is bad. That’s it. The end.

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Apparently, I’m Real Neat

I would like to thank Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50 for tagging me for the Real Neat Award. I’m going to cheat though. If you are tagged you are then supposed to tag other blogs and ask them questions. I feel like every blog I follow is so established and more widely read than mine and it would just annoy them for me to tag them for something they’ve probably already done. I may be wrong, but I’m going to err on the side of lazy. If you are a blogger and reading this and want to answer questions, just steal the ones she gave me and answer those. There. I have unofficially nominated everyone. Now to the questions.

What song motivates you ? – I don’t know that I have any one song that motivates me. I do have certain songs that I heard right at the right time. I can remember driving home one day when I was living in Cincinnati. I was not happy with my job situation and was starting to lose hope. The song Hold On by Wilson Phillips played on the radio and it made me feel better. It is now the song that always reminds me that things can get better if we can just hold on for one more day.
Coffee or tea? And when do you enjoy it most? I like tea, but I am a coffee man. I like it any time I can get it. I enjoy it the most when I am drinking it. I go to Starbucks because I like my coffee like I like my women – bitter and expensive.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be? I used to think I would like the power of invisibility, but then I realized that I seemed to have mastered that one already and it’s really not fun being invisible. I would probably go with flying because I hate to drive.
Favorite movie adaptation of a book and why? The book is aways better. I’m going to be boring here and go with the Harry Potter franchise. I really enjoyed all of the movies.
What would you want to tell your teenage self? Cheer up. Stop worrying so much about stuff. Loosen up. Talk to people. Ask her out. Don’t waste your high school life being scared to break out of your shell.
What is your favorite vacation memory? This is a hard one. I’ve been fortunate to go on so many great vacations. Any time I’m able to still travel and have both of my kids with me is a favorite vacation memory. Funniest vacation memory is when my wife fell in the sea on an island off of Helsinki. It was funny once we were off the island and she was dry. Well, for her it probably took longer for it to be funny.
Do you have a nighttime ritual and if so, what is it? Does falling asleep while watching TV count as a ritual? If so, there it is. If not, then no.

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Day 23 A Letter to America

Today seemed like a good day to reblog this one. My letter to America as part of a writing challenge. Apparently America did not read my letter. Maybe they will this time.

The World's Common Tater

Dear America,

I am writing to you today to tell you that I’m very disappointed in you. I had such high hopes for you when we were younger. I thought you had a chance to be better than you were. I thought you would mature and evolve and things would get better. Unfortunately, here we are in a place where people are still hating and killing each other because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. We are in a place where a loud, obnoxious, racist, orange buffoon actually has a chance to become our president. We are in a place where we refuse to help refugees because they are the “wrong” religion. I don’t understand where and when we went wrong.

I know what you are going to say. You’re going to point out how even with your problems you are still better than some of the other countries…

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Tater’s Weekly Wrap Up 8/11/17

#YATwitter: A friend shared this article about the toxicity on Twitter regarding YA literature. It is a long, but fascinating article mostly dealing with the backlash about the book The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. There are so many things wrong with what’s happening there. Demanding a book be pulled and/or giving it bad reviews without actually reading the book. The attitude of “if I don’t like it no one should have it.” The anger at people who disagree with them. It’s all just so ridiculous. The new favorite American past time is being offended.

The End is Near: Two nations with nuclear weapons. Two countries with nuclear weapons and stupid leaders. Two countries with nuclear weapons and stupid, possibly insane leaders. Two countries with nuclear weapons and stupid, possibly insane leaders in a pissing match. What could possibly go wrong.

Music: I bought a new car in May. The new car comes with a 6 month free trial of Sirius Radio. My wife has a subscription, so I knew about the 80’s station, Hair Nation, and all of the other classic rock type stations. With my subscription I discovered Underground Garage and 1st Wave, but also a station that plays 80’s and 90’s country and the Garth channel. I’ve discovered that I have missed my country roots. More often than not when scanning through my favorites I end up stopping on the country. I guess it’s the Kentucky in me.

Ravens Game Frustrations: Last night was the first pre-season game for the Ravens. I take light rail in to the games. Every year there is at leat one game(usually more) where light rail is so messed up that it takes way too long to get to the city. Last night was one of those. I finally got to the stadium right as they were singing the national anthem. unfortunately, I still didn’t get in easily. The security lines were long and slow. Even the side entrance I use had a very long line. I watched as person after person had to stop for a bag check. I am apparently one of the few people who does not feel the need to carry a bag to the game. Why don’t they have an express line for me? The security people were very slow clearing people and once the people were cleared it seemed to take them forever to move out of the way for the next person. I got to my seats about 20 minutes after the game started. I will need to adjust my timing for the rest of the games if this is the new normal.

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My Answers to Questions No One Was Asking

Blair over at The Shameful Sheep(go check her out) just posted her answers to some random questions. I agree with her that it would be fun to fill out, so here it goes:

What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?

I’m going to agree with Blair here and pick Jennifer Lawrence. I know she would be sad that being my sister means she couldn’t date me, but she would have to live with it. She seems like fun.

What would you name your daughter if you had one?

I answered this one 17 years ago. Jessica. Not sure why, but I always liked that name.

What would you name your son if you had one?

I also already answered this one 21 years ago. Bradley. This one took some time. We had to discuss it quite a bit before landing on the name.

What was your favorite TV show when you were a child?

This one is hard. I’ve been a TV addict for a long time. I can’t recall one show that really stood out as my absolute favorite. I really liked the Laff A Lympics. Since it is what popped in my head I will go with that.

What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight?

I can’t remember what I did when I was eight. I can barely remember what I did last week. Probably something boring. It is always something boring. These days I wear scrubs to work on Halloween because it is easy and comfortable.

Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?

Yes, All of them. Loved all of Harry Potter. Really only liked the first book in the other series, but continued reading anyway.

Do you know who Kermit the frog is?

I do, but here is my dirty little secret: I don’t like the Muppets. Never have, never will.

Have you ever been to Olive Garden?

It’s funny that this one came up. My daughter just mentioned recently that she;s never been. She’s a big fan of breadsticks and wants to try theirs. I guess I will be going back soon.

What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?

I have no idea. I will assume since my younger sister is Kimberly, that that would have been my name had I been a girl.

If you have a nickname, what is it?

It will surprise no one who reads this blog that it is Tater. It came about because of my extreme love of tater tots. The only good thing about my time in jail was the free tater tots.

Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs?

Rural. I live in the burbs now and hate it. If I have to be around people, I want to be in a city with a decent transit system and most of what I need within walking distance. If I’m going to have to drive everywhere anyway, I might was well be out where I have some space.

Where did you buy your jeans?

Amazon. I don’t even remember what brand they are.

How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn’t real?

I don’t understand this question. Santa is real. Why are you trying to ruin Christmas?

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