The Snowpocolypse Has Cometh

Well, it's 630 AM on a Tuesday morning and I'm already awake. As it turns out, I have a Geography Lab exam today at 9:30 - but I woke up and there appears to be snow on the ground. One can only hope they cancel classes, but it is highly unlikely because the temperatures have risen slightly and it is not currently snowing. So instead, I will have to continue to study for this silly Exam that probably won't really test my knowledge retention in this course. I may just have to give up on the potential 4.0 I was hoping to achieve this semester, because due to the past couple of weeks of hell - it seems highly improbable that I would achieve such a feat.

Speaking of GPA....here is how last semester turned out for me.

Three semesters in and I'm ok with a 3.6 cumulative. This is certainly better than the 2.3 I left Louisville with. But I think its important to understand that the reason I have been striving for the highest levels of academic success is not only for self-gratification, but also because I am desiring to continue my high education into graduate school - and I refuse to settle for mediocrity in that sense. I've been looking at different schools in North Carolina, Michigan, and Texas - anything to get me the hell away from the Midwest. Don't get me wrong - I love all of my family and friends, but I've lived here most of my life and the opportunities in what I want to do are slim to none. I believe I have the talent and the drive to become a very successful composer, but in order to do so I need to think about my future demographically.

That's pretty accurate.

Speaking of Betty White, the 90 year old actress (and former Golden Girl) received a Grammy the other day for 'Best Spoken Word Album'. This award was received for 'If You Ask Me'. I didn't know such a thing existed, but given that Betty White is one of the funniest actresses to ever walk this earth I may have to give it a listen to.

This was actually the first year I had ever watched the Grammy's and I have to say I was not disappointed. I felt like they did a pretty good job mixing it up with some folks for the older generations and the newer popular artists. I felt like it was an appropriate way to also pay tribute to Whitney Houston. Oh...and Jennifer Hudson - WOW. What an amazing singer, her tribute to Houston was GOLDEN. It was better than seeing Adele in the corner with the broomstick (This could mean one of two things - either its a comment on her nearly sweeping the Grammy's, or that I believe she practices witchcraft. You decide).

But unfortunately, what really took away from such a powerful night was the realization that half of the world's youth did not know who THIS guy is.

To them, he was just some old guy playing the piano and singing. I wonder how many of them would realize who he is if they were to see THIS picture.

Anyway, if you are curious to see to what exactly I am referring to, by all means. Check out the article. But be forewarned - it is likely to be one of the more depressing things you've ever read. (Story)

I wonder how many people knew who Bruce Springsteen is.

So apparently a man got his data services slowed because he happened to be in the top 5% of data users on the AT & T UNLIMITED data plan. Yes....you read that right. I even bolded it for you. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the first Unlimited Data Plan, newly developed with Limits! (Story).

If we were to apply this same philosophy to society in general, what it says to me is work as hard as you can, but don't end up in the top 5% because we'll be sure to limit your efforts. One of my friends was offended because I related this idea to Obama's original 'spread the wealth' campaign. Let me be clear - I'm not saying this has anything to do with it, but I made it somewhat of an analogical idea to support that claim.

The Flat Tax, which Obama opposes, is probably the fairest way to handle taxes. But unfortunately, because we have greedy little pricks in ALL classes (not just the rich) this idea is opposed. The rich class believes they should continue to get more breaks because of how 'hard it is to run their business', while the lower classes think they should actually be taxed MORE. Has anyone ever heard of the term 'happy medium'? I can't say I'm totally opposed to the idea of limiting the tax breaks, but I worry about what that would do to an economy that is founded on capitalism.

Does anyone know what one of the first thing businesses usually cut when they need to save money, or compensate for financial losses? They usually cut jobs. I know - I've seen it happen at three different businesses I've worked for. So, because these people make a lot more than everyone else they should be taxed a much higher percentage? No - I will never agree to that. That would be crippling to our economy. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at the ones who are trying to find the loopholes in our system for higher financial gains. Those are the ones we should be targeting. Not people that started from the bottom up and worked their asses off to gain that kind of success, only to have jealous idiots bitch and moan because they don't make that much. A lot of Rich people put a lot of money into charities and organizations to help our society grow. But we want to tax them extra just because of how many zero's they have at the end of their annual salary? That's just sick.

People complained about this stuff during the great depression, when Herbert Hoover was in office. And FDR came into the picture and threw dollars around like it was monopoly money, organizing a massive amount of social programs (I initially typed social problems - freudian slip?). And now people are complaining again, and Obama appears to be doing the same thing. Are we going to have another World War, because that's really what pulled us out of the depression. And honestly, I'm not sure it would have the same effect in this day and age considering many countries don't really need the US for weapons technology any more.

Anyway, that's my little political rant for the day. But if you like funny depictions of our Commander-In-Chief.....

I thought it was pretty clever.

The Louisville Cardinals lost their first game in after six wins last night. The good news is that the loss came to the #2 ranked team in the nation, Syracuse. What was a little astonishing was the number of people that had such negative things to say about the team following the loss. I know I've had my share of disappointed retorts following losses, but did people forget how good of a team Syracuse is? Perhaps it has something to do with our past success with the team, but they are still #2 in the nation. Our team is growing, and people should be proud of where we are at.

Anyway, we may not be winning any championships this year - but I'm proud of where the team is heading.

That's it for today. Have a great day, and enjoy playing in the snow. :)