The Skinny White Boy KastPod

Now before you get any ideas, no I am not leaving. I am also (although you may think the post title suggests that) not giving up podcasting. And while it can be argued that I already did give up podcasting, I was simply looking for a title to this post that would explain my gratitude. The title of the Abba song seems more appropriate than “So long and thanks for all the fish”, because then I would have to explain it to everyone who never had the chance to read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy….

It is however, thanksgiving today… At least in this part of the word. Now, I do not subscribe to the whole pilgrim story. Not because I don’t believe in it, but because i am not an American, so some 100 odd people getting on a boat just doesn’t seem like a very big deal to me… Matter of fact, in Sydney Australia more than 100 people get on a boat every hour, just to go to the zoo…

I am however thankful for several things. I wasn’t yesterday, when I got papers served on my ass, and I wasn’t yesterday because I was dreading a long lonely day when everyone else would be having turkey (stuffed or not) with various configurations of (brown or white) gravy. None of that stuff for me! Just me, a few beers and a dog in an otherwise EMPTY apartment.

So what am I so grateful for? What makes me think twice and say thanks?? Let’s see…
My brother, who hasn’t talked to me in at least 5 years sent me a care package with all kinds of food items, I haven’t had since I was a kid…. One of my best friend’s dogs beat cancer… A new friend I made checked in, even though she was super busy with family, just to wish me a happy thanksgiving… Another friend said I should come eat pie (even though that would have involved a 13 hour drive) just so I wouldn’t be so lonely… My dog is still alive and still loves me… I know I will get the best Xmas present anyone alive will ever receive… And while strictly virtual, a new friend I made had turkey with me in pixelated form…

Where as yesterday I was the loneliest guy on the planet, today I got calls from Holland, Scotland, Australia, Ohio, Virginia, Kansas, and beyond…

I am truly blessed for being so well connected!
Thanks should be given to those who give so freely!
I love you!!

I love the circus that is American politics. To someone coming from a country with another political system, the American elections seem more like a boxing match, then anything else. Having said that, I follow them and pay very close attention. Why? I live here! And while I don’t always agree with the way thing are done in the US, and because I am not a citizen I can’t vote, I still consider this my home country!

It’s fun to watch the news coming in on election day, there are constant updates from Fox, CNN and all other large media outlets. Even if there is nothing to report, they will make news out of nothing! Like the fact that the small town of Dixville Notch (opening their one and only polling station at midnight) was the first to announce election results. 15 for Obama, six for McCain. That will really influence the results!

It’s even more fun to see how foreign media reports on the US elections. While CNN is all about the numbers, it takes a Dutch newspaper to provide us with a list of where the candidates stand on major issues. It seems that the US media has all but forgotten about what politics should really be about, clear goals!

What really gets to me though is the hatred that seems to have cropped up recently. Maybe it was the rhetoric of Mr. Bush in late 2001, when he said “If you aren’t with us you are against us”, but where does the big division come from? I hear stories from friends who have their McCain/Palin sign stolen from their yards. True, I don’t agree with republican politics, but I don’t hate my friends because of their political choices! Another friend doesn’t dare put an Obama sign in the yard of his own house because he is afraid that the otherwise republican neighborhood will fire-bomb his property.

Don’t be like the democrat in a small Ohio town that had so much trouble not having his Obama sign vandalized that he electrocuted a kid from a republican family when he attached the sign to a 220 volts line.

But if I voice my support for the other candidate [WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE FOLLOWING] please do not tell me to shut the fuck up, go back to my own country or tell me you don’t listen to foreigners bashing your nation. This is my country! Get along people! Stop the hate…

Elections, Gun Control, Maceo Parker, T-Rex, Porn Stars