The Day America Died

The following is an article I submitted to the 
NYTimes Editorial section this past December (2010).  

They decided not to publish it, 
so I decided to publish it here... on my blog.

 

One thing is clear in the current state of affairs: This cannot go on much longer.  The illusion of progress through technology and convenience has only served as a distraction from the dissolving of traditional family life and the continuing contamination of our natural habitats.  Our society cannot go on this way for long.  Already our currency is failing (as well as our housing markets) and the price of gold (and oil) keeps rising.  People are losing faith in the American Dream, and losing their jobs as well.  Why should we live within our means and plan for the future when our own government is bankrupt and our National Dept is an unfathomable number?  We are tired of paying taxes to special interest groups and pork-barrel spending.  Our President promised us "change" and we each dreamed of the specific changes we would want... but they never happened. 

Looking back at the history of this great nation makes modern man wonder, 'Where did we go wrong?'  Did it start with computers, cell phones and the internet?  No.  Was it microwaves and fast-food replacing hour-long family meals?  Maybe.  Could cars and planes replacing boats and trains be to blame?  You're getting warmer...

The day America died was the day the first assembly-lines replaced hand-crafted products.  When "Coke" replaced "Soda-pop."  America lost its values on the day that washing machines replaced scrub-basins.  We took appliances into our homes, and the factories building them decided to make us completely reliant upon them.  We do not own our products, our products own us.  Not only do we depend on our refrigerators and dryers, but most of us cannot imagine a life without them.  That's when the appliance manufacturers turned radios into televisions.  Our daily lives are consumed by a voyeuristic fascination on daily disasters and celebrities.  Most people can name each winner of American Idol, yet have nobody in their lives to idolize.  We aspire to achieve financial and material prosperity, but the value of our principals is falling quicker than the value of the dollar.  It's time to start paying attention to the man behind the curtain.  The machine has won, people, and we didn't even go down with a fight.  What will you do when your power fails, the satellites that control your cell phone stop working... and you can't post a Facebook status about it?  The Angry Birds will crush the pigs in their comfy structures, but what will it take to make the angry people jump into the slingshot? 

Unplug your appliances before the power goes out on America.

A Penny Saved...

A penny saved is a waste of time.

Coinstar takes 9%, but nobody cares.

That's 9 dollars for every hundred.

You can still buy a lot for 9 bucks.

... at least a decent lunch.

Americans are too lazy to give a damn.

They're rather have less money and

more of the things money can buy.

We don't want 100K in the bank,

we want a 30K sports-car to drive.

We don't want to save anything.

We'd rather enjoy life now.

My logic behind this is...

The money looks weird,

and the advertising agencies

have gotten the best of us.

When you were a kid, you could

name the president on the front

of every coin and every bill.

I saw a penny the other day

that had some kind of a shield

on the back of it instead of the

all-so-familiar Lincoln Memorial.

The nickel has been changed

recently as well... I had no idea.

In the 1990's, the 100, 50 and 20

were all given a makeover.

In 2003, the 20 was redesigned again,

and in 2004 there was a new 50.

2006 gave us new 10 dollar bills,

and in 2008, the 5 finally joined

in the redesign party...

Back to the advertising thing...

If we weren't such consumers,

we might still have a few of

these strange looking bills

in a bank somewhere.

We don't want them.

Instead of buying a new iPod,

or re-sodding the grass to out-do

your neighbor... perhaps you

should have saved a bit of

green for that day when

you lost your job.

Advertisements have us beat.

We'd rather have a Bud Light

(America's beer?!  It's Belgian-owned)

than I nice tall glass of water.

(there's probably less carcinigens

in the beer than the water...)

Get rid of the penny.

Redesign the $1 bill.

Keep buying crap you don't need,

and watch how quickly your

money becomes worthless.

Friend of a Friend...

My old friend Shanté

(she's not that old)

posted the following

article on "Thought Catalog"

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/how-to-avoid-emotional-entanglements/

This ^ is her.

Please read it.

... then read my response.

(as it appears below)

_______________________________

Strange seeing it from the female perspective.
I've often wondered what girlfriends have meant
when they said that they weren't ready to get serious
or tie themselves into an exclusive relationship just yet.

You're right, men like having the option of "yes" at our disposal.
... but often we dispose of it without ever giving it a fair chance.

There is a movement of young educated people towards
fulfilling one's own desires and finding one's own happiness
before considering getting attached to someone else's...
It's important to be sure you're ready to settle down
before you do so (that's why it's called settling),
but it's also important to share in the warmth
of the trust and comforts of another human.

All too often we focus on the immediate
rewards and lack the patience to see
long-term potentials of opportune
cost materialize. That's the main
reason that people in our age-
range are continuing to put
off long-term commitment
for the instantaneous benefits
of a quickie or a non-substantial
relationship. Why suffer through
the hard times when it's completely
unnecessary at this point in our lives?

Have we learned nothing from the mistakes
of our elders in the premature consummation
of a lack-luster relationship? Forget about your
second marriage... choose your first one just a bit
more carefully, and be sure that it's what will make
you the happiest for as far as you can project into the
future of your life. If nobody you've found can fulfill your
requirements... then wait it out. Time will differentiate the
meaningless from the substantial and you'll be glad you waited.

It is more wise to wait for what we think we want than to settle
for something we know we like but may not love... it is better
to be alone than to be locked into something that doesn't
make you feel completely satisfied in important ways.

Thanks for writing.
You have a way with words, Ms. Cosmé.

_______________________________

There.  I plugged a friend's

article, and got my feelings

out at the same time - cathartic.

Maybe writing a blog on dating

and relationships will help me

the next time I get in one.

- John

Tiger Woods is a Loser

There is currently an argument about

Tiger woods, concerning whether 

or not he will ever win again.

The answer is simple.

No.

Tiger Woods as we knew him

died on November 27th, 2009.

The guy currently posing as

the golfer formally known as

Tiger Woods is a loser.

He knows nothing of being

confident, or resistant to pressure.

His head is a whirlwind of lies,

and the shame of being found out.

He will never be the same.

Golf is a game of extreme focus,

and having confidence in your shots.

This man is the antithesis of focus,

and his shots are nothing like

what they once were...

Tiger Woods will never win again.

Sleeping with cocktail waitresses,

and getting away with it was an 

integral reason why this guy

was so confident.  He no 

longer feels that way.

He was a fraud.

The all-new "Cry-baby Tiger" action figure...  coming soon.

A guy that many looked at as

a Superman is no longer invincible.

He is human.  He is flawed.

... and he will never be the same.

Other golfers used to look at him

and immediately question their

own skills and resources...

Not anymore.

He will never be #1 in the world again.

This guy is barely making the top 10.

Tiger Woods will never win again.

... you can quote me on that.

- John Powers

... on being a Mets fan

There is currently a huge uproar

over an Audio-guy at SNY airing

a clip from "Family Guy"

in which Stewie says

that being a Mets

fan is a letdown.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okXhAC78d4Q)

I'm not sure what the big deal is.

Firstly, was anyone watching

the post-game show at all?

.. I was at the opening game in Miami,

and the only reason I stayed till the end

was for the fireworks display.

(which was definitely not Grucci, by the way)

Secondly, it's true.
...being a Mets fan is not easy.

Also, this is the most press SNY

has gotten since Joe DeRosa

played the guy with a TV for a head.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frnnt4UxhSY)

(... and this lesser-known commercial)

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksO9iWQQ-cQ)

Think of it this way... at least

Mets fan have something to

talk about other than the

fact that the team sucks,

and the owners are

broke due to a 

pyramid scheme.

As a former employee of SNY,

I can tell you that the crew there

spends more time watching

Family Guy than any show

that airs on SportsNet NY.

 (as do most viewers in their target market)

Maybe this should be an eye-opener.

Instead of being pissed-off, SNY

fat-cats should consider taking

a look at some comedic programming

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPs0gysywyA)

to distract people from their crappy team.

Let's face it... being a Mets fan is hard.

Almost as hard as it is for Wright, Reyes,

or (why is he on the field?) Beltran to get a hit.

...but we still watch.

Let's go Mets.