Guns in America

So, does the Obama Administration want to take your guns away?  Do Democrats or other Liberals want to take your guns away?  NO

No administration or mainstream political party in the United States wants to prohibit or eliminate gun ownership.  That is just a smoke screen and an obstacle to any type of discussion on any type of gun safety issue.

The current tragedy in Orlando is due to our view of gun safety in this country.  This is not about terrorism or immigration.  The idiot that killed over 50 people was born in Queens, NY and just as American as anyone else.  He was probably in need of mental therapy, but in reality, he was a fucked up, homophobic, volatile young male in our modern society.  He went out and bought two guns and shot a bunch of people.

Is that right?  Are we becoming numb to this type of thing?

Our society in the United States is currently one where you can go buy a military style assault weapon and shoot a bunch of people.  PERIOD

All of the talk of religion, hate, nationality (this last guy was American as are most shooters), is just bluster around a population that is desperately trying to find an easy excuse for any of these incidents.  The long answer involves a culture of permissive gun use.

What can we do about this?  The common sense answer is to develop some common sense gun safety regulations.  We should institute background checks, prohibit sales to questionable people (i.e., people on the no fly list), ban the sale of military style assault weapons to the general public, and institute a safety and training program that a prospective gun owner must conduct prior to the purchase of a firearm.

None of those suggestions would take people's guns away.  None of those suggestions would register your guns.  And, sadly, none of those suggestions will ever be enacted.  How many more people have to die before common sense can take hold?

Another Year Older and What Have I Done...

All my aspirations have shriveled in the sun
I'm crippled by guilt
Blinded by science
I've been waiting for tomorrow all of my life

So, it's another year in the books and I'm turning yet another page.  I have a lot in life to be thankful for.  I have great family and friends and I'm working on building a degree of serenity into my life.

Over the past year, I've been dealing with health issues and family dynamics.  I've tried to remain positive.  I've reconnected with many old friends and have come to realize that there are people in my life who's spirit has probably accompanied me through multiple lifetimes.  Yes, I'm a hippie at heart and I believe that our souls are old and that magic really does exist.

If you are reading this, you are probably someone I care about.  Thank you for being there.

Now onto the reflective part of our journey...  A nice thing about this past year is that I got closer to my extended family. I think that my sister and I are now closer than we've been in a while and it's great to see how others are doing as well.  The worst part of this (and Vicky bears the brunt of it all) is that my mom is deteriorating and not long for this world.  We are making the best of it, having her in an in-home hospice situation with 24/7 nursing care, however, it is sad.

At any rate, I'm opening the door on the 56th year of my existence and I see some positive roads ahead.  I hope that things work out and we see a year of peace, love, and prosperity (see, I am a hippie)... or Trump could get elected and then we are looking at Armageddon.

Interesting times ahead either way.

Most Anticipated Movies of 2016

So, last year I posted a blog entry of my 10 most anticipated movies of 2015.  There were a lot of good ones and some stinkers on that list.  The real stinker from last year was Jupiter Ascending.  OMG, that was bad, but the taste was washed away by movies like Mad Max, Kingsmen and Star Wars.  I didn't think Jurassic World was great but it was fun.

This year I'm not going to post trailers for all of them (my #1 is above).  So without more of my bullshit, here's the list:

1) Deadpool - They look like they broke the code on this one.  The marketing campaign alone is awesome.

2) Hail Cesar - Coen Brothers, Clooney, ... looks great.  I'm in

3) Rogue One - A war film showing how many Bothians died to get the death star plans

4) Doctor Strange - Cumberbatch in a Marvel film with magic

5) Captain America: Civil War - Avengers 2.5  looks good

6) The Jungle Book - This one looks so good, with great voice actors

7) Star Trek: Beyond - Yeah, I'm a sucker for a trek movie

8) Warcraft - months of my life were wasted in this game... the movie looks good

9) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - I hope it's good

10) Batman v Superman - I hope I come out of this and didn't hate it.