Factual Truth above all... or why I argue with my self?

I know that there is nothing better than the feeling that not only are we right, but people agree with us and that makes it THE TRUTH.

But, a couple of things will definitely put a damper on it, one of them being reality.
Our opinion, is nothing more than that a coherent array of thoughts put together out of our own volition due to terminology, definitions and experiences that while, sometimes shared by others, is still OUR very own.

Going online we are bombarded every day with information from all the types of sources you can imagine, some legitimate, some not, a lot simply are there for the shock factor, and our own upbringing will easily play a part to which ones we decide to align with.

Confirmation bias is a powerful crutch.

Confirmation bias has been described as an internal "yes man"

I have been reading some post by friends, family, and just overall internet people (a sub-human interdependent state that is acquired through anonymity and the desire to be noticed), where people just go on an "I told you so GUYS! See? I was right, this article says I was and all of you weren't!!" tirade that is overwhelming to say the least.

A few months ago, a very "devout" catholic friend of mine posted a link to what appeared to be a Gay youth leader in France that was vehemently opposing the Civil Union of same sex couples as something he deemed unnecessary and "evil".

As you can imagine there are HUNDREDS of thousands of pages that may disagree with that, but he was quite proud of finding a GAY person moving against Gay marriage in France.

Another friend of mine pointed me to a female friend of hers, that found a girl who was raised by a Gay Father that totally despised and abhorred the idea that other children would have to put up with what she did, her father paraded men into the household sometimes even neglecting his children in lieu of this.

Neither of those are really anything more than people having an opinion and finding someone that agrees with them if, at all for the wrong reasons, the Gay activist fighting against Gay Marriage is doing it out of a Religious reason, not particularly because he thinks Gay people should not be together.

The girl is arguing that her PROMISCUOUS and aloof father was a bad influence for her but that would have been the case whether he was straight or not.

Today, I see someone posting an article about how marihuana DOES INDEED cause memory issues and how it should not be legalized EVAH!...

"Hey look, man, I made a bong out of my HEAD! Put the pot in this ear and suck it out of this one, go on take a hit!" -Denis Leary

Right, again confirmation bias, he hates it, he hates all types of drugs, and found the one article that agrees with his point of view.

Replace Creationist for Biased and we're GOLD!

We all do it mind you, I rather read literature that is more akin to my point of view that that which blatantly disagrees with what I like, but, I am open to peer review.

One of the things I enjoy the most out of the scientific method is that when we formulate a hypothesis, we are always prepared to have it DIS-proven as easily as proven.  Ego of course gets in the way, as it does with everything, but we are more likely to get clearer reasoning and proof this way.

I have though, been seeing a LOT more people just run wild with a "conclusion" and then seek facts to make their conclusion stand, albeit shakily so that they can look down on others.

I am not saying Guava does not cure Cancer, but using an article that came through email where the "JohN HOpskings Hospital" (sic) said that Chemotherapy was a hoax, is totally ludicrous, if you firmly believe Cancer can be cured with fruit and a balanced diet that is your prerogative, but using a clearly fabricated lie to support it, will definitely reduce credibility to your arguments.

Take time and question what you read, look at alternate sources (reputable sources if possible!) and investigate.  Taking information at face value causes a lot more issues than researching for 10 more minutes; after all, Nazi Germany found studies where the Übermensch were a "proven" reality, and we all know how THAT turned out...

let's all mindlessly complain about things that are actually good

HOW DARE a corporation charge for parking?

So, I went today to one of the Malls in the area, it's quite simply one of the most transited malls in my zone, and seriously one where people feel they should "hang out".

They decided to institute a new thing (as, I might add, most shopping centers now) which is mandatory parking charges; this is regardless of parking underground or not; underground parking was always charged for at a cost of ABOUT $0.75 an hour, and people (I know I did) gladly paid for it as cars were safer, secure and most importantly not at the mercy of the elements.

Now, they want to charge for the privilege of parking anywhere near the premises; and I am not only OK with that I agree wholeheartedly and welcome it.

Another mall did it, and people complained to the high heavens, I am actually amazed that they didn't go on strikes and boycotted the mall.  All because NO ONE wanted to pay $0.60 for 4 hours of parking.

Here's what people don't get.

"sorry bub, even though we saw everything, we're not responsible"

Free parking was never free.  You were welcome to worry as much as you wanted about your car getting burglarized, bumped into, crashed or vandalized before and the administration of the shopping centers shrugged off and said "well, it's free parking, we're not to blame or even have any responsibility in this matter".

Now, they are charging for the parking, NOW they can't just shrug and say "not my problem" anymore, not IT IS THEIR goddamn problem.

I welcome the extra charge, if this means that I drive up to a mall and CAN ACTUALLY park near an entrance because hundreds of non-consumer mall rats have no place to go now that daddy or mommy can't afford the $0.50 cents of parking, THAT makes me happy.

You go to a temple of consumerism and expect NOT to pay while walking around the hallways aimlessly and without any purpose?  Jesus people there are actually paying customers that have to turn around after 20 minutes because parking is just not an option.

I drove there today, it was BEAUTIFUL, they haven't started charging yet, but the gates are there, that's a deterrent for the vagrants if I've seen any.

Maybe I'm pushing it, but if you don't want to pay, don't go!

Will the Mall lose customers?  Not really, no, it will lose non-consumers, it will make sure that the people that go there actually are planning on staying with a purpose, and more importantly it will certifiably improve security for those of us who are quite willing to cough up the candy-bar worth of parking charges that come with it.

Breaking of unbreakable

I like super hero movies. Ages ago I would never have even allowed myself to acknowledge that. I mean super hero movies were cheesy. Awful and a quick way to sell toy licenses that had nothing to do with the actual movie. 

Then along came a movie that was as much about sure heroes as The Village was about technology. 

Sure. Shyamalaman's movies weren't the best of their kind and it came to be expected for them to ALWAYS have a twist ending. They got more about the twist than the content, but unbreakable (in my eyes) was a completely different thing. 

It was a good super hero origin story for our new urban settings. 

Spoilers ahead for a 13 year old film (seriously?)

Average Joe is presented with a fantastic story about why he's so lucky and is never really sick, injured or why seems to know how people will act. 

Of course he doesn't buy it. Not at first. Not totally. 

But as the movie progresses it's less about him believing he is truly Unbreakable and more about he WANTS to be this hero. This person his son looks up to. Someone that can really make a difference. 

See, if you are a parent, and mainly a father, you know where I am coming from. Our sons worship the ground we walk on. 

Things we do?  It's magic to them and if not magic it's something NO OTHER human being can out perform!

Our children want to believe we are there to save the world, or at least everything that is THEIR world, and we more often than not, are definitely there to comply. 

So, why do I like it so much?  Because I really want to be that same hero some day, the person he looks up to. I may not be unbreakable but I sure as hell won't let him know I am not!

The origin of this hero?  That need to make the world better for our children. That's what unbreakable was about for me. Making them believe again. 

As bad as the movie was, in a lot of senses it was outstanding to me. 

A bittersweet symphony of the senses...

I was a weird kid.

Screw you guys, I was HIP!

NO no, I'm sure you'll say "we were all weird kids"... Oh, ok, so no, you agreed, well yeah I was a weird kid.

Sure enough I became a weird adult too, but I pass off as normal for a lot of people, so ... 

Back to the story, I was a weird kid, I didn't eat a lot of foods, and not because of lacking exposure, my mom tried ALL methods possible to have me eat new things...

Once she resorted to outright deceit tactics. See I hated "frijoles", I thought any food that was black could under NO circumstances be good for you. So, what does she go and do?  Got rid of the black beans and proceeded to present them as 'Beans' and they were all nice and shiny red.  Took me a while to catch on, by then it was a bit late to complain.

So, where was I?  Oh yes, Bittersweet.  The first time I tried a bittersweet sauce, chinese of course, was with my mother at a little out of place Chinese restaurant in what (back in the 80s) was a bustling Shopping Center in my area.

So, my first try at bittersweet was indeed a whole spectacle of the senses, as I had NO IDEA what to expect (I probably was 9), it really hit me.  A Satisfying taste that had undertones of something, not quite, irregular in an otherwise fruity amalgam.

So, what's this got to do with anything?

Today is mother's day in my area, it's a weird date for me, as today marks the first of many to come (please make it many!), without my mom by my side.

That's us in 2006 - my Birthday

We used to be inseparable (and quite phonetically similar insufferable).  Of course, life does come to an end to all of us, and as life would have it, she was the first to depart.

I am sad, I can't say I am not, but not because of it being mother's day.  That's a Stupid Hallmark (tm) Date.

I am sad because out of all the people I have shared this mortal coil, my mom is not here today to see where things would have taken us, today though, is no different than other dates this year past, EXCEPT for her birthday.  I was totally overwhelmed on her birthday and I just hope when the the earth reaches that point again of it's orbit, I am able to overcome how I felt that day.

So, why bittersweet?

My mom, showin Jr how it's done

Well, I am indeed, a bit happy, happy to be here, happy to share my life with great people, happy to have a successful (so far) career, and happy to have the most wonderful and adoring son I could dream of.
But I can't say it is all joy, I do miss my mom dearly.

People are wont to say "she's just a heartbeat away", or "she's in a better place" or more succinctly "we are all doomed to the same fate"; sure, sure I get it, life is just a middle point between birth and death, but I do still miss her.  Sometimes I feel her SO close that my mind wanders off for hours, just being grounded again by dawn.

Mom at "Dia de los Abuelitos" - Last time she was able to visit Jr's school

I know that near the end, my mom used deceit again with me, I know she preferred to 'hide the black beans' with a lot of effort on her part.  Not everyone can pull a fast one on me people, I can assure you of that.  But when my mom told me she was "all right, just a little tired" I used to fall for it quite easily, no one could've convinced me that she was only capable of using 20% of her lungs, and STILL lead a life where I counted on her FAR more than I probably should.

I have to say, "Mom, wherever you are now, you fooled me, and fooled me right, you did it always for my benefit, but that doesn't mean I liked it one bit!!"

For now, that's it, that's my story.  I'm still a weird kid, or grown up (trying to not let it get to me), but thankfully I was never really aloof with my mom, today, it's just another day, but as I did while she was right here, I celebrate mother's day everyday.

Sometimes all we need is for them to hold our hand, others, we get to hold them

Good night...