Nashville Snow 2010

Some pictures Betty Clair and I have taken of the snow we've been blessed with here in Nashville...

Hard Workin' Pharmacist

Here's a popular Brooks and Dunn song that I rewrote to fit my own profession. Try to read along to the tune of "Hard Workin' Man."

Hard Workin' Pharmacist

I'm a hard workin' man

I wear a bleached white coat

I can type, label, count pills, and check

And do all these things with the help of a tech

I can't pay off loans, no matter how hard I try

I'll be in deep debt until the day I die

Got everything I own

By overworking my brain

Studied all night long while I was in school

And all those tests were downright cruel

So now I'm workin' overtime checkin' scripts all day

Such long shifts, I really need a raise

I'm a hard, hard workin' man

Checkin'g hundreds of scripts just as quickly as I can

I rarely ever even see the sun

Just gotta clear another shift here

Without killing someone

Come Friday night

I'm still standing at work

I haven't peed since I left the house

On days I work, I don't see my spouse

But come Monday morning, I'll be back here again

On my feet all day 'til 10 pm

I'm a hard, hard workin' man

Checkin' hundreds of scripts just as quickly as I can

I rarely ever even see the sun

Just gotta clear another shift here

Without killing someone

Can't wait to get up on Tuesday

And do it all over again

Well, I'm a hard livin', hard workin' man

Things to Come

Some things I'm still looking forward to in the future:

1. The 1960's Ford Mustang I'll restore.

Ever since the day my dad sold his 1964 1/2 Mustang when I was 15, I've longed to sit behind the wheel of my very own. To be honest, I've already spent several hours researching this one and comparing prices of cars that are in desperate need of my TLC. Things look quite promising. Come to think of it, I still know where my dad's old car sits to this day. Hmm.....

2. Taking care of my lawn when I leave apartment life

Unfortunately, I have just learned that this one will mean that I may inadvertently and drastically increase my carbon footprint. Oh, the shame! According to a study for the University of California Irvine, my future lawn-of-the-month may help store carbon dioxide in its perfectly manicured blades of centipede, but this benefit is far offset by the carbon my mower, weed-eater, edger, and leaf blower will release.

Actually, this quandary will not deter me one bit in my efforts to produce a yard that you will drool over one day. Years spent under the tutorage of the great lawnman Lee Fore have predisposed me to this unique interest and given me the skills necessary to maintain a meticulously manicured turf.

3. Breaking 80

This one will be tough, especially considering that I am attempting this task without moving my ball like Ryan does. Fortunately, I have the benefit of a gift certificate for a lesson that my wife gifted me earlier this year. Maybe the tips I will learn when I use it in the Spring and a rekindled devotion proportional to the temperature will help me complete this one some time next year. A new set of irons wouldn't hurt, either.

4. The Return of Leroy

For those of you unaware who Leroy is, I really feel incredibly sorry for you. Leroy was and still is the greatest canine to ever walk (or run) on this planet. He was a puppy who came to live with me during my time in Auburn, but ultimately proved too energetic and destructive for my 14 x 52 trailer. Therefore, he now resides with his grandparents in Grand Bay and longs for his original master every day. Since living in a 2-bedroom apartment and working 15-hour shifts doesn't bode well with his temperament, he will regrettably remain at his current residence until I can procure sufficient living accommodations for him. Isn't that just sad?

I bet you thought I'd get political again with that title, huh? Sorry to disappoint.

Avatar Review

It's been quite some time since there was something in the theater that I was looking forward to, so I had really high hopes for Avatar. It was billed as "filmmaking of the future" and we were told it would be "groundbreaking." I bought into the hype and paid nearly $30 for Betty Clair and I to see the movie in its 3-D version last week.

Bad idea!

The movie was less than advertised in nearly every single way.

First of all, the 3-D graphics, which were the primary selling point of the film, produced images that fell far short of what I had expected. Several times during the movie, I removed my glasses to see what the picture looked like without them. However, there really wasn't that much of a difference. I only noticed a couple of scenes in the entire film that actually had somewhat impressive visuals. Mostly, the 3-dimensional views you were supposed to be

experiencing were very limited and didn't produce very drastic contrasts in perceived depth at all.

Many other details molded into the movie also seemed to reek of liberal ideology. Were they not aware that I just wanted to watch a movie while eating greasy popcorn and not be exposed to propaganda?

One liberal theme expressed in the film was the purported bully traits of the military. The director, James Cameron, goes out of his way to portray the military as being greedy, materialistic, and only interested in conquering helpless peoples. In the film, there is an imaginary valuable substance called Unobtainium on the foreign planet that the military is utilized to find and procure... no matter what the costs. In other words, the Marines are the bad guys. They are shown over and over killing the innocent, helpless alien race and ravaging their beloved forest lands simply for the sake of gathering their planet's precious resources. Catching on to the oil analogy yet?

Mentioning the forest lands on the imaginary planet leads me to the next gross display of liberal ideas seen in the film. In Avatar, the alien race has become so "one with the environment" that it is believed to be sinful to cut down a tree or kill any animal... even those trying to kill you! The alien peoples, or Na'vi, seem to believe that their planet is all one organism functioning in parts and that no creature is more valuable than any other. This film takes the revered views of the environment to an extreme level as the natives are seen praying to a tree and seeking wisdom and guidance from plant-life. The film's overwhelming and radical environmental message is so disgusting and perverted that it even goes so far as to have an inter-species mating scene between one of the Na'vi and a human. I guess we might as well start breeding with monkeys, too!

In my opinion, if you haven't sat through this film already, just stay home and save your money. Even if you don't mind the liberal propaganda (since it's become so typical of anything from Hollywood), the imagery isn't nearly as remarkable as advertised and doesn't begin to justify the 50% increase in the cost of a ticket.

Free Pass... If Your Name Ends in (D)

I really wish I were a Democrat in the Senate right now because this group seems to be able to do anything, say anything, and get anything their little hearts desire. As far as I can tell, these people have this priceless luxury right now because each one of them could potentially be the 60th vote for any legislation the president wants to propose. Therefore, he has to give them what they want when they want it and also forgive all their sins. Don't tell me you weren't aware that he added "forgiveness of sins" to the president's job description?

For example, just look at what Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson (D) was able to pull off. Via the scandal ridden political process, he was able to add so many perks benefitting his own state to the health care bill that attorney generals from across the country have threatened to file suit against the bill. His strategy through the whole debate process was simply just to hold out on casting his vote for the financial carnage until he could get what he wanted specifically. As a clever politician, however, he knew it would be successful since that 60th vote is so very crucial.

Another case involves the recently reported comments made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D). Before the election, Reid was quoted as saying that Obama only had a chance in the contest because he was "light-skinned" and spoke "with no negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." In other words, Reid felt Obama's most valuable qualities were that he happened to only be half black and could also talk like a white guy or a black guy, lending to his remarkable ability to mesmerize more than one ethnic group at a time. But being the kind and forgiving (aka weak and scared) leader that Obama is, he gave Senator Reid a pass on these remarks. I guess it's okay to make fun of his ears now, too.

Ironically, the same free pass wasn't given to Senator Trent Lott (R) when he made the observation to 100-year-old Strom Thurmond at his birthday party that the country would have been better off if he would have been elected president. Lott held the same postion that Senator Reid holds now and was ultimately forced to step down due to intense political pressure over his statement. One key difference between these events is that Reid's remarks refer to a point in time when he was 69 years old and had been in Congress for many years. Lott's comments refer to an event that happened when he was 7 years old. I'm not sure how comprehensive his understanding of the details of national politics was at that age.

I would also like to discuss all of Obama's fellow Democrats that are getting free passes when it comes to paying taxes, but the internet isn't large enough to list that much information. I wish Al would have worried about making the internet bigger when he invented it instead of fretting about all this global warming stuff. Oh well...

Note: In contrast to the assumed level of Senator Lott's early political knowledge, I have learned that my own political leanings were well-founded and faultless at an early age. Recently, I found my 4th grade composition book and discovered a negatively toned remark in reference to Bill Clinton among the wonderfully written passages. Stan and Becky sure did raise me right.

Dawdlers

If you've still been keeping up with my far too infrequent posting, you've probably noticed that I haven't been very critical of anything lately... and you know that's my specialty. Unfortunately, my judgmental side is just itching to come out again, so I will go ahead and set it free for a few minutes.

Now, I do realize that I am in the minority since I did not push the button next to Obama's name last November, but more and more people seem to be drifting to my side. After discovering the liberal ideology that has molded our president and still guides his every decision today, many Americans are realizing that his concept of what is good for the country is actually not very good for the country. In fact, his policies are being viewed in a negative light by more people every day. Have you seen the latest polls?

However, there do seem to still be a few stragglers out there tightly holding on to the exciting promises of "hope" and "change." You know who I'm talking about. Remember that Subara hatchback you were stopped by the other day with the Darwin, Obama, and "Free Tibet" stickers? Yeah, those people for sure!

Regardless of how awful the plans proposed by the Obama administration are repeatedly shown to be, some people still insist on making the appeal that we all "just give the man a chance." But after one sees the data and learns how bad his policies truly are, this would be like sitting around and giving 2+2 a chance to add up to 5.

Take his recent show of prowess in regards to the crucial task of combatting terrorism. After the failed bombing attempt on Christmas Day, Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano was quoted as saying, "the system worked." That's really funny considering the fact that Al Qaeda also considered this attempted attack a success. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) boasts about the event since the attacker

managed to penetrate all devices and modern technology and security checkpoints in international airports... defying the large myth of American and international intelligence, and exposing how fragile they are, bringing their nose to the ground.

Apparently, the remarkable fortune of a malfunctioning explosive is this administration's favorite means to fight terrorism. Why can't they just realize that keeping an eye on Middle Eastern Muslims buying one-way flights with cash is a more effective method than strip searching grandmothers before a flight to Branson?

Another example would be his magnificent handling of the weakening economy. Although his original predictions told us the worst unemployment would possibly be is 8%, the most recent numbers have actually rolled into double digits. Apparently, he's presiding over the worst unemployment rate in our nation's history, and numbers haven't even approached that in over 25 years. And you thought Bush was bad?

Despite the overwhelming evidence of how horrible this presidency is now and will continue to be, some people are so blinded by... well, I don't even know what. Maybe it is still his ability to turn his head left and right while reading a screen and constantly stuttering. Maybe it's his glistening pectorals. Maybe some people are just plain fools! I'm going with the latter.