mikesmy.name

Welcome to Days 1 and 2 in the journal of my Sicily trip! In this journal update, I discuss the flights to Palermo (yay) and what happened during our first day there (not much – we were tired). But hey! Click anyway…

The thing that strikes me most about being 30 is that I’ve always somehow associated it with formally becoming an adult. You know, like one of those “old” and “mature” people. Well, I’m not. Sure, I’ve got a decent head on my shoulders and I’m well aware of the responsibilities of adulthood. I make the minimal effort necessary to keep up the impression that I’m on top of things, but really… I’m still a kid at heart.

Welcome to the first entry in my journal about my trip to Sicily. Now I’m sure you’re thinking, “uh Mike, Denver is in Colorado… not Italy,” and you’d be right! So a little backstory… I live in Idaho and my mom lives in Colorado. Since we’d be traveling together to Sicily, I flew down to meet her in Denver so we’d catch the same… blah blah blah… Make with the clicky-click already.

This is a entry where I expond on a particular political/moral/social position. In it I explain my stance on the topic of abortion. Obviously, this is a very heated issue and people get very emotionally invested in protecting their stance. I welcome any constructive feedback, but please don’t crucify me because my opinion is not the same as yours. It is, after all, just an opinion.

Today was Al Franken’s last day on the air at Air America Radio. I’ve been listening to him regularly during my lunch hour for the last several years and I’m going to miss his B quality SNL legacy humor and his neverending “um’s” and “ah’s”. And of course, I’ll miss nodding and thinking “oh yeah, you go Al!” as I perpetually agreed with JUST about everything he said. Oh and:

• Wait, wait, don’t lie to me (the multi-Peabody award winning segment)*
• Truth, Lie, or Waffle
• Hate email of the day
• A bunch of great regular guests including David Brock, Joe Conason, Norm Ornstein, and Christy Harvey

So why is the star of the now bankrupt radio station signing off permanently? Is Air America radio doomed? Hardly. I believe that progressive radio is here to stay and the lineup of progressive talking-heads is stronger than ever. The truth is that Air America doesn’t need him any more.

Besides, Al has much bigger fish to fry. He’s running for Senate!! Go Al! I would vote for you, you know… if I lived in Minnesota. Want to keep tabs on Al and his Senate bid? Go to his new site: www.alfranken.com.

So long Al… It was a good run

*Ok, the segment didn’t really win any Peabodies

Ever come home and notice a “newspaper” in your driveway? I don’t subscribe to any newspapers so I know every single one of these is just a bunch of advertisements. Now I know everyone with something to sell is desperate to get my attention, but at least have the decency to pay postal fare for it and put it in my mailbox. That way I can just conveniently throw it away with the credit card offers and the pleas to save the starving children of Africa.

In my mind, this is nothing more than littering and should be illegal. Maybe it is illegal and the advertisers just don’t care. Shame on them! Shame on them… (sigh).

The pic above is of a house in my neighborhood. It is currently unoccupied so it is easy to see the cumulative effects of this wasteful dumping. I say to the following:

• coupons and advertisements disguised as newspapers
• phonebooks (honestly, who uses these anymore?)
• door-hangers and leaflets shoved in door-jams

You are all EVIL and you are all officially on notice! If I ever find out where your lawn is, rest-assured… I’ll leave some steaming crap of my own on it.

You expect this sort of behavior from the delinquents of society… and celebrities. But an astronaut?

• Suspect – 43 year old Lisa Marie Nowak
• Weapon – A BB gun and a can of pepper spray
• Motive – Jealousy in love triangle with 2 other astronauts.

Read it and weep: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16997958

My response? Just a solemn shake of the head. What is the world coming to when America’s number one profession (according to kindergarteners everywhere) has been reduced to this?