WEEKEND UPDATE

i know it's monday. but i was just too lazy to write this yesterday. besides, it is the update part that is important. so a lot has happened to me over the last few weeks. i believe i left off with me wrecking my bike. ok, lets start with that. i didnt just wreck my bike. i totalled it. the final estimate for the bike (before labor) was over $10,000. it is a little hard to see in this picture, but the entire left side is scraped up really bad.



so i was presented with a very difficult dilemma. i love my bike. it made me very happy while i had it (all 7 1/2 days). but my insurance shot up like crazy and i had to make a choice--whether i should get another bike or replace my car.



now, my bike is currently not runnable. my car is. but not for much longer. the heater doesnt work. and neither do the radio, clock, cabin lights, trunk lights or seat belts. about 3 years ago i had a bad alternator and had to replace it. so i bought one at schucks auto supply, opened the box and found the matching part on my car and swapped them out right there in the parking lot. i drove up to idaho falls that evening. the alternator works fine--but nothing else has since then. and now the car is making some funny noises. so it is probably not going to make it through the summer.



anyway, last tuesday i went to a ford dealership to look at some mustangs and after test driving one, i (gradually) accepted the fact that it was no longer economically feasible to get another bike and my car is about to explode. so i signed the papers for my brand new 2007 white mustang (yes, brand new 2007. they had a couple 07's still on the lot and they were having a blowout sale to get rid of them to make room for the upcoming 09's. and for those familiar with "i am legend," it is a white version of the car will smith drives (with a smaller engine, of course)).



so, i guess in a way i made the most reasonable decision by purchasing the most unreasonable car in my price range. but hey, it is a lot of fun to drive.



a few other side notes: a couple weeks ago i went on a blind date--with my entire family present; i had all of last week off and no one to share it with; the vegas trip was cancelled for lack of participating persons; starting today i will be working 60 hours a week... again.



hoorah!

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS SOUTHPARK

some say that the world is going to waste. they also say that today's youth are arrogant, crude know-it-alls with mixed morals. they say that the next generation is a bust and will never be up to the task of fixing the U.S. in years to come. how can a bunch of whiny emo kids (which are just like goth kids, only wimpier) get their act together and resolve the international conflicts that other generations have done such a bang up job with up to this point. racism, sexism, homophobia, gas prices, taxes, education, welfare, social security, health care and giant walls at every port and boarder are just too daunting for today's snot-nosed brats. simply put, we have raised a bunch of pussies.

kids today dont have a good system of morals because we havent told them where to find them. we used to say go to your parents, but, let's face it, we are no better than they are. children of the hippie revolution are just as messed up as any other generation. the problem is that it is a perpetual cycle of ignorance and stupidity. they have resorted to sources like mtv, comedy central, the internets and, of course, friends (blind leading the blind = dumb leading the dumber).

a couple months ago i watched a little film called "idiocracy." not the best film i've ever seen but it was still pretty funny and it made an interesting point. the basic idea is that the doctors and lawyers of our generation are either too busy to have children or they use birth control, have abortions, etc, and the only people who are having children nowadays are stupid people. so in 500 years natural selection will wipe out anyone with even half a brain and our precious democracy will be replaced with a dumbed up version called "idiocracy." sadly, this is actually a pattern you can see. of course, this theory doesnt take into account religious peoples which discourage birth control (probably for this very reason).

so how does southpark fit in to all of this? you see, people often dont realize the moral lessons hidden inside every episode of southpark. the basic formula of a southpark episode is as follows: take a controversial topic; show both sides of the topic at their absolute most extreme; explain that both sides are bad/stupid/extreme; show an alternative way, usually some sort of compromise down a middle path.

case and point: they did an episode on homosexuality and political correctness. mr garrison realizes that he can do anything he wants at school because if the school reprimands him, he can claim prejudice towards him for being gay. eventually the whole town gets sucked into this overly protective mentality and no one can stop mr garrison as he slowly turns southpark into a gay-pride orgy in the streets. everyone just lets it happen for fear of being politically incorrect. finally, the kids show the towns folk that just because some one is gay doenst mean it is politically incorrect to call them perverted or out of line if that is exactly what they are. be accepting of people's differences but if they cross the line of social appropriateness call them on it. no one is above anyone else. if we are all equal, we should all be held to the same standard. this goes for all groups, races, sexes and religions.

well, so what? the point im trying to make here is that today moral codes are hard to come by. sure southpark can be crude and push the boundaries of entertainment (how else are they supposed to get your attention while myspace and youtube are running strong), but when you look at the target audience of southpark (teenagers and young adults--america's future) and their other sources of entertainment (and ethics), it really is their best source of right and wrong.