Madness

You'll have to forgive me if this post starts to ramble or is full of non-sequiturs...it's been one of those days. 

Yesterday I returned home from an amazing and wonderful week at sea with my whole family. We had a great time and ate too much food and visited countries that while beautiful really made you appreciate what you have at home. Driving through Cozumel I was struck by the beauty of the ocean and the bleakness of the interior. Gas was more than $4 a gallon. I saw moms and dads driving really small motorbikes while holding very small kids. We saw ramshackle houses where people clearly lived in poverty. I even said to my husband "this really makes you appreciate what we have at home."

Today I woke up to the news of the mass shooting in Orlando. I saw a post on Facebook first that said 20 people killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Then I turned on the news and watched the story  unfold. By early this afternoon that number had risen to 50.

50 people.
Shot dead.
50 people out for a night of fun who will never return home.

The headlines read: Worst Mass Shooting in U.S. History.
There should probably be an asterisk after those words:*Until the next one.

Cynical?
Yes.
Realistic?
Probably.

I have to wonder what the people of those countries we visited - Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico - think when they see the news about today. I bet they appreciate what they have, even if it is just a little slice of paradise dependent on the tourists dumped on their shores by mega ships.

I bet they are thankful that they don't live in a place where 50 innocent people can be murdered by a madman wielding an assault rifle in a nightclub. I bet they are thankful that they don't live in a country where tomorrow the politicians and pundits will once again be debating "the right to bear arms" and arguing how it is a "Constitutional right" to buy an assault rifle. I bet they are thankful for their islands in the sun.

Me? I'm appalled and saddened about what happened in Orlando. I am repulsed by those who continue to argue that everyone should be able to buy guns. I'm sick of turning on the news and hearing about another mass shooting. And I'm quite certain that when the Second Amendment was written it was not meant to be interpreted as giving everyone the right to own an assault rifle because that is PURE INSANITY.

What happened in Orlando (and Sandy Hook, and Aurora, Colorado, and San Bernadino) should not happen. Ever.

It most certainly should not happen in a civilized country.
But there's the rub, isn't it?

I'm beginning to think that our country isn't so civilized after all. The amount of vitriol and hate and anger spouted on a daily basis by the presidential candidate who shall not be named and just about everyone else on the news and social media is astonishing. And sad. And exhausting. And I wonder where it will all end.

Here's hoping for peace, love, and understanding in this mad, mad world.

Making lists

I am a list maker.
If list making was an Olympic sport, I'd medal every single time.

I make lists for darn near everything.
Grocery lists.
To do lists for home and office.
Blogging lists - what I should blog about, what I might blog about, what I'll never blog about.
Twitter lists.
Christmas lists.
Packing lists for Disney.

Lists, lists everywhere.
I have notebooks and pens all over my house, just in case the urge to make a list suddenly hits as I'm watching television, or cooking dinner, or tweeting.

I'm a fan of lists..for the most part.

I like being added to some lists - you know, the ones that end in fun and frivolity.
Christmas lists.
Secret Santa lists.
Party invitation lists.
'Follow these people on Twitter' lists.

What I'm not a fan of is being put on negative lists - you know, the ones from which nothing good comes.
Sh*t lists.
"To be fired" lists.
Complaint lists.
Santa's naughty list.
Telemarketer call lists.
Spam e-mail lists.

So, to recap....
Positive lists = good.
Negative lists = bad.

You get the picture, right?
Good.
Now if you'll excuse me...I have some lists to make.

What I won't be watching tomorrow morning

I won't be watching 'Good Morning America'.

Why? Well, it's my own little personal protest because quite frankly, I think the powers that be at GMA are narrow-minded, cowardly asshats.

And I quote: "Given Adam Lambert's controversial live performance on the AMAs, we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning," a spokesperson for the network said.

Um. OK. Sure.

I watched Adam Lambert's performance from Sunday night's AMAs. It was not that great -- not what I expected from the American Idol runner-up. The song was catchy enough...but the vocals were (to quote Randy Jackson) "a bit pitchy, dawg."

Oh, and then there was the gyrating, crotch grabbing, S&M-clad backup dancers, simulated oral sex (which is when the cameras quickly cut to another shot on stage...it wasn't as if you sat there and WATCHED it happen for any great amount of time), and then, GASP! He kissed another man!

SO WHAT?
WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?
WHO THE HELL CARES?

So Adam Lambert had a somewhat "racy" performance and it was a bit shocking to some people. So what? So he kissed another man. (Which, if you watch the video was not in your face either, rather, it was sort of in the background. And again, not a big deal).

I just fail to see the problem here. He's a performer. He was performing.

Madonna kissed Britney Spears AND Christina Aguilera a few years ago. No one pulled their performances from any shows. Sure, it was the water cooler fodder for a day or two but again, not a big deal.

But this time around the Parent's Television Council has deemed Sunday night's performance 'vulgar' and urged its members to bombard ABC with complaints. And 1,500 complaints later, ABC has bowed to the pressure and canceled Adam's performance. [Oh and the PTC claims it was the 'simulated oral sex' that they have a problem with, not the 'gay kiss'. Right. I'm sure that's all they had problems with.]

Did ABC really think he was going to bring the S&M dancers with him to the morning show? I highly doubt it. The AMAs after 10 p.m. are a completely different venue than GMA at 8:35 a.m. - and I'm pretty sure any performer would know that.

Shame on you ABC.