Friday Follies...

Weather-wise it's the most comfortable Friday we've seen in the Midwest in some time...temps are in the lower-mid 60s with an expected high in the mid-80s. And that rain we had was a very welcome relief to the swelter.
Naturally, the rain ALSO showed we have a (new) roof leak in the laundry room now...so I guess that NEW ROOF will be coming sooner than we expected.
So, today's post will be short, sweet, and to the point...
And I think you'll figure out why.
*** In life, there is ONE THING you can ALWAYS depend upon:
"If it's not one damn thing...it's another..."
My Dad used to drill that home whenever something came up (which was on some sort of regular basis).
How WE deal with life is what makes that difference either way...good or bad.

Or, as was stated in the movie Batman Begins:
"It's not who you ARE that defines you...it's WHAT YOU DO." (Rachel Dawes)
If we choose to do nothing, that's exactly what happens, but if we DO SOMETHING, no matter how small we believe it might be, we can change things for the better.
Now, I think it's only appropriate that I begin with a quote from the FIRST of the Batman/Dark Knight trilogy, because, as we ALL have found out when we woke up this morning was the tragedy that occurred out in Aurora, Colorado at the midnight screening of the THIRD movie in the trilogy - The Dark Knight Rises...a shooting that has taken the lives of at least TWELVE and wounded over FORTY movie-goers.
Look anywhere...you'll find the links.

-- In the aftermath of such a despicable event, there will undoubtedly be many who will spin this off and make allegations and erroneous rushes to judgment about the shooter being some conservative radical and then telling us that liberals would never do this...
-- And, naturally, we'll hear about MORE GUN CONTROL, when the weapons used were only the tools used by the PERSON.

I've also stated this TOO many times here, that whenever something like THIS happens, be it Columbine, Virginia Tech, or now at Aurora, it is NEVER ABOUT GUNS...it's about the PEOPLE...or more properly, the (new) SOCIETAL MORES (or lack thereof) we've come to embrace, rather than values and principles we USED to espouse without the blink of an eye - the ones that kept our "mindless primitives" in check.
-- The Lame-Stream Media will try to take this story and make it ALL about those who oppose Obama in some manner...you watch and see.
It's often been said that "In war, the FIRST casualty is TRUTH." (Greek tragic dramatist Aeschylus - 525 BC - 456 BC)

And believe it or not...we are CURRENTLY AT WAR...

Perhaps not in the tangible way we expect to view warfare, although many would argue that point when it comes to MANY of our inner city streets across the major cities of the USA.
It's more than that,...MUCH more.
We are at war when it comes to our IDEALS...our FAITH...our MORALITY...our VALUES...and even our IDEAS.
There are factions out there that would wrest such things from our minds and souls in a freaking heartbeat...in order to make everything MORE equal...more diverse, or even more "fair".
We are at war with what is EVIL in the world, and it's become more pronounced in recent history...seemingly ALL over the globe, and not just in our own backyards here.
And we ALL have to be on guard against such things.

Let me back up for a minute and make a few observations about the shooting in CO.
-- First of all, I would NEVER bring anyone YOUNGER than a teenager to a theater for a MIDNIGHT SHOW!
(poor parental judgment)
-- Next, going to a movie sure as hell IS NOT what it USED to be...
(lack of restraint by patrons)
The manner in which people in general act when in PUBLIC is disgusting...period.
(people don't recognize boundaries)
And then to place such people in a confined area like a movie theater is asking for an unenjoyable experience.
(unless you snag a matinee when school is in session, and you have the whole theater to yourself...and five others...now THAT'S movie going.)
Why do you think they have SUCH LOUD SOUND SYSTEMS in theaters???
Is it to "enhance" your movie-going experience?
Hell no...it's to DROWN OUT all the mooks, moolies and morons.

We used to thoroughly enjoy movies when I was growing up, in theaters such as the ORLEANS, (pictured above) in NE Philly, and we had NONE of this high-tech, uber loud systems made to have us feel like we just spent TEN hours at a damn Van Halen concert!
(yeah, THAT'S what that ringing in your ears is from)
We DID have a GOOD sound system (high quality stereophonics) and a HUGE honking 40 ft. screen (great for CINERAMA).
Used to be times when you could hear a damn PIN DROP in theaters, or sobbing during an emotional scene. We also had USHERS that escorted ithe annoying jerks OUTside (where they f$cking belong).
It's NOT a pep-rally or a wrestling match, people...it's a public MOVIE house, so all you a$$holes just STFU and STHD.
-- We see every day on the 24-hour news cycles HOW people will act in public...fights in fast food joints, bullying on schoolbuses, fights on public transportation, holdups, shootings on the streets, mobs running rampant through department stores or convenience stores with abandon...the list goes on and on...

And then we WANT to expose ourselves and children to the same possibilities (or WORSE) in a confined and darkened movie theater that's so small, you could fit FIVE of them into ONE old-style REAL TIME movie theater from the past?
Sorry, I'll wait for the DVD release, thank you very much...less problems involved and cheaper in the long run. And I can shoot back from the comfort of MY house, if need be.
Cripes, we never had antics or violence at DRIVE-INS...and that would be a much better venue to cause such crap.
*** So, now we have a tragedy that surpasses the Columbine shootings on our hands...how to properly react is going to be the REAL question.
Society is the main problem, and only from within, can society get it's collective head out of it's ass and set about doing what we NEED to do to reclaim our country, our values, and our future.

Like I say...we are at war with the powers and principalities of that which is EVIL.
(...just like BATMAN...how coincidental)
And we need to keep our eyes and ears open, be ever vigilant, and have the courage to speak up when we need to, questioning that which NEEDS to be questioned...and that might be everything we see and hear around us.
No more lies...no more diversions...no more media-spin...
Time for us ALL to "honor-up" and get right with all the principles we used to hold dear...re embrace them, and look to ourselves for the answers, and look to a higher power when our own faculties fail us.
If people are the problem, people can also be the answer...it's that simple, friends.

Do have yourselves a good weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.