August 30. That’s the date I received in the mail the first of who knows how many Christmas catalogs I’m not going to order a damn thing out of.
That’s even worse than the local grocery store’s Halloween candy display, which was up two weeks ago.
Can we just have one day that isn’t used to commercialize and/or further bastardize some day of observance that means more than buying shit? Geez.
Only 18 or so years after hearing about it from an old army roommate and then forgetting about it completely until a teaser trailer for the movie version of it played before The Dark Knight and thinking “hey, I remember hearing about that… I should read it,” I finally got around to reading Watchmen, which was conveniently bound into a single volume in 1995. Here is my detailed review of it:
It’s pretty great.
Here’s my double-bitch for the day: government inefficiency/bullshittery.
First bitch: the school system. After two days of school, I’ve had to fill out no less than six (6) information cards/forms. That’s writing the same things down six (6) times for six (6) different places in a school that are all pretty much connected or within eyeshot of one another.
How in the hell has someone not come up with a system where a parent has to fill out one form that is entered into one database that spits out information/reports tailored for whomever needs them? It wouldn’t take a week for someone who has half a clue to put it together and ad hoc reports could be created whenever needed. I am not kidding when I say that the cards/forms were identical except for maybe one data element on each card/form. And three (3) of the cards/forms were identical, but with different titles. We’re supposedly one of the wealthiest counties in supposedly the wealthiest state in the nation and we can’t simplify this? It’s redundant and it’s ridiculous.
Second bitch: the department of motor vehicles. I had a vehicle that was classified as a truck. I just renewed its registration in July, which cost me $180 for two years. The new expiration of that registration was July 31, 2010.
A couple weeks ago I got a new car that is classified as not a truck, therefore I was issued new license plates. That meant I had to return the old ones to the MVA (the DMV in MD) and request a refund for the time I already paid for the truck registration but wouldn’t be using.
When I returned the plates I was one month into a 24 month registration period. Rather than prorate the portion of fees I paid to reflect the month I used that registration and give me $167 back, I discovered I am only eligible to receive one year’s worth of fees back, or $90. So the fucking state is sucking $77 out of me while providing absolutely no good or service to me whatsoever for that money.
At least I know how Maryland stays the wealthiest state in the nation now.
I would like someone to explain to me how Joe Biden, as inside a Washington D.C. insider as you can possibly find thanks to his serving in congress for the last 100 years a) is an “agent of change” in this — or any — presidential election season; and b) “complements” Barack Obama’s weaknesses as a neophyte on the national and international political scenes. If I remember correctly, when George Bush selected Dick Cheney to be his V.P. in 2000 word immediately started circulating that Cheney would be the “real” president. Obama has even less leadership experience — at any level — than Bush.
I think I want to move to Petoria to get away from the inevitable fallout of either Obama or McCain presidencies. No matter who wins it’s going to be ugly.
We had some family come in this weekend, and since one of the people who came in was in the navy for a few years a thousand years ago he said he really wanted to see the Naval Academy in Annapolis because he feels he has a close association with that branch of the service, even after all these years.
So we went down there, found a parking spot, walked through a pedestrian gate, and came up to a marine. He was there to check our IDs. Or check to see that we had things that approximated IDs, at least. After he did that, I told him we were there to check out the museum and asked exactly where it is, thinking that is the place to go to, like, check out Navy and Academy history and stuff.
The marine, who was extremely cordial, informed us that the museum is closed for a year for renovations. He even pointed it out down the street where the building was surrounded by a temporary fence to keep non-construction personnel out. Then he told us that the only other thing worth seeing if you’re a civilian, the chapel, is closed to the public on Saturdays because it’s used for weddings. Sure enough, a wedding was going on there when we walked past on the way to the visitor’s center.
The visitor’s center is pretty much a campus bookstore without the books. You can buy anything imaginable with a navy logo on it there. And none of it is really all that cheap, although it is tax-free.
Anyway, the moral of the story is if you’re wanting to check out a service academy in Annapolis, MD that you help keep in business with your federal taxes you’re more than welcome. The thing to remember, however, is that nothing is really there for you to do but blow cash on overpriced tchotkes.
But I guess if that’s not the american way then nothing is.