"One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" by Bob Dylan

on May: a Review, too soon for perspective
This is the last day in May. The actual summer season is still 20-some-odd days away, but I feel like summer has been around for months. I'm sitting in my mom's house typing this out on her computer, my brother's about to get home from work, I'm about to enroll in a couple of classes in Norman for the summer, and I'm wondering how I got to this day in this fashion.

I can actually pin down the day that became the turning point of my summer, and it occurred at least a week before I came home. My dad offered me a job for the summer at the oil field service company he's saving from financial failure. That was immediately after I received my decorative diploma display and turned my tassle to the opposite side. I was in Miami for graduation. He offered me a job when I was making decisions about where I was going to party and how I was going to avoid the uncomfortable situation having both of my parents in the same room. He offered me a job when I was incapable of making a decision. He offered me a job and cast a haze on the rest of my evening.

I came home about a week later thinking, 'Why bother looking for a job too hard when I've got something lined up?' I wish I could go back and answer that question for myself. I wish I could save myself the hassles I'm currently confronting by just declining that job on the spot and searching harder then ever for a decent job in Tulsa.

On a more positive note, this month has taught me who my friends are--a lesson it's taken my immature ass a while to learn. I've gotten to see a lot of them this month and I've realized how great most of them are.

Also, this month renewed my faith in my party. The Democrats straight represented this month. Keep fighting for stem-cell research. Keep fighting against extremist judges. Keep fighting corruption. Keep fighting 'til mid-term elections!

It's been an eclectic month. Here's a toast to the month of June, Warren G. Harding, and a return to normalcy.

the Jobey Poll
What's been your favorite Jobey on... post this month? Who's had the best post on the blogosphere at large?

"Miss Misery" by Elliott Smith

on the Democrats rocking the house...or Senate to be more specific
The compromise between the moderates on the "up-or-down" votes on justices showed the power the Democrats are wielding as a minority. We made the hard-line Republicans back down a little bit because of our strong threats of filibuster and we showed Dr. James Dobson where he can shove his theocratic ambitions.

Today news came that there will be a delay in the hearings on Bush's nominee to the U.N., John Bolton, whom Democrats have rallied against. All of this is good news. We have to fight for what we believe in and keep the Republicans from screwing things up in this country until the pendulum swings back to us. (Sorry, I don't have many links. I've just been picking things up here and there for the past few days.)

on my summer of futility and impotence
"I know you'd rather see me gone/than to see me the way that I am." That's from "Miss Misery," the late Elliott Smith's Academy Award-nominated song from 'Good Will Hunting.' Those lyrics pretty much sum up the way I've felt for the past four or five days.

Allow me to recap what's been going on since my last post: On Monday, I went to work, worked my ass off, and became convinced that I would never return to that yard in Drumright. On Tuesday morning, I called my dad and quit. I spent the rest of that day driving around Tulsa looking for Help Wanted signs and thinking (and buying Chappelle's Show Season 2, in case your wondering). Sometime that evening, after filling out some online applications, I realized and accepted the fact that it's far too late to find decent employment and I had to think of some alternative quickly.

Basically, I realized I am a fuck-up, and decided to go to a place where being a fuck-up in every other aspect of life is acceptable: college. I'm going to Norman for academic advisement Friday, and then I've got to track down financial aid and housing in the next week. It will be a challenge to be ready for class in a week, but I'd far rather do something constructive with my time this summer than allow it to slip away to sloth entirely.

the Jobey Poll
Who let you in?

"You Get What You Give" by New Radicals

on George Carlin
The show was great last night. A. Casey has a brief review up. If you missed the show (Fools!), you can catch some of the material he performed in November on his 13th HBO special. His opening piece, 'Modern Man,' is classic rapid-fire Carlin, like the advertising piece from 'You Are All Diseased.' He used notes through the first part of the show, because he is still perfecting some new material for the special after his stay in rehab over the winter. Despite being a little rusty and unpracticed in the new stuff, Carlin showed he still is a master of the comedic arts and still has his brilliant, razor-sharp analysis.

on my new job
Hell on Earth. Plain and simple. If any of my readers know of any job locally that I can get in a hurry and that pays reasonably, contact me immediately. Time is of the essence.

Maybe I'll just lay out the positives and negatives of my work situation:
Pros:
Good pay, working outdoors, working for my dad
Cons:
Driving to Drumright by 6:30 every morning, working outdoors in Oklahoma summer, being under the constant scrutiny of fellow employees and management, not fitting in on the job, ethical dilemmas in requesting time off

There you have it. Pass your own judgments in Comments. I have tried to be unbiased, but you can tell the way I'm leaning with this thing. You can probably also infer why quitting is a difficult proposal.

This job already pisses me off because I almost fell asleep a few times during the George Carlin show I'd been looking forward to for quite a while. It's a shame I wrote so much more about this shit than I did that great show.

the Jobey Poll
The last part of A. Casey's last post: follow advise or 'fuck it, dude, let's go bowling'?

"Shiavo" by Toby Queef and the Hot Charles

on George Carlin
Love the guy. Going to see him Friday.

on the return of Gilgamesh Rex
Gilgamesh Rex is about to re-enter the fray, ladies and gentlemen, with an epic posting. I only have one...well, two things to say. First, this will be one of the finest posts the blogging community will have seen in quite some time. Second: Where you going in such a hurry?

on the week so far
I haven't posted since Sunday (I know it says Monday, but I'm noctural, so Monday morning is, for all intents and purposes, Sunday.), so let me recap the week thus far without giving away to much of G.R.'s upcoming offering: lots of carefree goodtimes with the exception of emerging car troubles.

the Jobey Poll
Where you going in such a hurry?

"Battleflag" by Lo-Fidelity All-Stars

on the great red state of Kansas
The self-righteous religious elements of Kansas are still pressing ahead with their case to teach religious beliefs along side scientific theory in classrooms. The Jobey on... has already ran a post on this topic (it should be in the April archives), so we won't run this into the ground. The main reason for this post is to plug a piece by an archeology fan about the trial. It's a good post, and a little touching. It is recommended.

On a related note, I was in Kansas for about 15 minutes about a week and a half ago and I cursed that state's name every one of those minutes. I'm not sure if I hate the entire state, or if I just hate its backwards people and that corner of the state you have to pass through to get from Miami to Joplin without using I-40. I may have to do some more research, but it appears that between being an extremely red state, supporting bad science, hosting the church that protested at Charles Page High School last year, and have very repressive speed limits, Kansas will be a fixture on my hated state list for a while.

on summer days and lacks of sushi
In the immortal words of Ice Cube: I gotta say it was a good day. I played some catch with Paul and Erin, smoked a cigar, watched some South Park, visited my dad. I just finished watching 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' with my brother. If you haven't seen it yet, call me and we will watch it. It is really good, so any chance I have to watch it, I will accept.

I got really hungry this evening. I really wanted some Philadelphia roll sushi, but by the time I had reached this conclusion it was too late for me to be cruising Tulsa looking for a sushi place to serve me at midnight. I'm planning to make a trip into the city tomorrow, so I'll definitely be on the look out for late-night sushi places for future reference.

the Jobey Poll
Should intelligent design be taught in science classrooms? Should evolution be taught in mathematics classrooms? Do you think that exposure to religion before the age of 17 is indoctrination? Do you know which historical American figure proposed that idea? Are you still reading the additional questions to today's Jobey Poll?

"All Falls Down" by Kanye West*

*Every summer post will be titled with a song that I've listened to a lot between posts or that somehow symbolizes what's going on in my world. Otherwise, it's still the same ol' Jobey on...

on A. Casey
The Jobey on... wishes to extend it's welcome to A. Casey to the blogosphere. He should be an excellent addition. Links are to the right.

on my previous post
That issue really strikes me. I'm going to continue to harp on it until I get some feedback. I'm not the best writer to be tackling those sorts of issues, so I'd feel better if my readers would contribute their take on those stories. You know where to leave the comments.

on coming home
I got home at about 3:30 last night. There's a funny story about how I accomplished that and it involves a very effective use of the Facebook to find my R.A.'s contact information at one in the morning. I in Sand Springs now. I have no definite job yet. The only plans I have are not a definite timeline and they include:

• going to a Drillers game or five
• riding go-carts with C. Cook
• eating some Denny's paid for by Tricia
• taking down the Fox News of local newspapers, The Sand Springs Leader

There are several other things I really want to do as well; my summer reading list has grown to epic proportions, boats won't sail themselves, my friends can't play frisbee alone. This should be a good summer. The wind just seems to be blowing right this year. Call me.

the Jobey Poll
What's up with the lack of posting on the Jobey on...? Should I give up on the meaningful shit, sell my site to NewsCorp, and be done with it?

It's a pencil and the eraser is stuck up bin Laden's pooper!

Best 40 bucks I ever spent!

on yesterday's mysterious post
While I've got some time, I'd like to give my take on these new developments in Army recruitment. The current scandal involves recruiters doing everything from helping recruits pass drug tests to coercing them with threats of legal action if they don't show up for meetings at the recruitment offices. I'm sure that the questionable tactics used by our miliarty to get numbers up don't stop there. This is a tough time to be selling the services, what with a war in Iraq, a war on terrorism in general, the threat of wars against North Korea and Iran looming, all of which are being headed by an ungrateful leader who continues to cut the benefits for veterans and military families.

I am not necessarily from the camp of left-wing bloggers who think that we should be weary of using the word 'draft.' I do not intend to use it as a scare tactic. I only use it here so that people my age will be concerned with and look out for their best interests in these times. When I look at information like that the links in my previous post, I see the potential for selective service. When a bullshit war is led by bullshit leaders and people get fed up with the bullshit and no longer want to serve or want to see their children serve for the benefit of a bullshit cause, where will the citizens be found to serve? I seriously suggest you learn the lyrics to Country Joe and the Fish's "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag." Hit me with some comments.

UPDATE: Since it seems to fit in this topic, Kos put this up in the early morning. Fuck this war and fuck the people who pushed for it and fuck the people who allowed it to happen. If you see a Republican under the age of 26 today, tell him or her to go replace these fallen Marines, the hypocrite.

on final exams week
Three down, one to go, for anybody keeping score at home. I just got through the hardest of the group--Intercultural Communication. I'm only shooting for a 'B' there. I don't particularly need the 'A,' so why put in the effort? Tomorrow is Intro. to Mass Communication which should be a pushover. I'm coming home on Saturday to a life of servitude and squalor. At this point, I would rather be homeless than live with my parents.

the Jobey Poll
The Jobey's hyperlinking: overboard or good reflection of the insanity of the mediasphere?

Could you close that window? I feel a draft.

on Army recruiting
I'm just going to post some links for now and I'll get my analysis up later.
CBS News Story
http://dailykos.com/story/2005/5/11/11427/2427

Go ahead and look it over. I'll be back later.

Final Exam Week Post

on finals
I'm finally ready to start posting again. My trip to Miami went well. I graduated. NEO Fine Arts Dept. Chair Barbara George, a.k.a. Lumbergh's secretary, read my name. My dad came. My mom and grandma came. Paul and Erin came. Special thanks go out to everybody who made the trip up. I'm glad you could all be there.

I just finished my Latin final, making an 89, which should put me at an A for the semester. With that test out of the way, I have a two day break before my Anth. final, so I'll have some time to write something good, hopefully.

on Audioslave in Cuba
MTV has a pair of articles online about Audioslave playing Cuba last week. They played a 26-song, 2-1/2 hour set attended by 50,000 fans at La Tribuna Anti-Imperialista in Havana. The playlist reportedly included some of the new Audioslave material and also songs from Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. The concert serves as a reminder that sometimes it's good to be a communist. This isn't the first time an American artist or band has played in Cuba (Billy Joel and Kris Kristofferson, among others, did it back in 1979), but it's definitely the most exciting show an American band has put on in Cuba in a long time.

I really wish it would have been the original Rage Against the Machine that played Cuba. That would have been an amazing story.

on W. the Harvard MBA
Dailykos has a diary today concerning an article by one of our president's former profs at Harvard. I highly recommend that you read it.

the Jobey Poll
Which do you prefer: tennis shoes or oatmeal cream pies?

Open Thread Day

on being a lazy bastard
I'm on the road for a couple of days, so I'm going to let you hijack this post and write whatever you want in Comments. (What the hell am I thinking?)

TheJobey Poll
Are you cool, man?

"Disney bought the fantasies and piles of eyes."

on the commodification of innocence
Disneyland's 50th anniversary is this year. Watching a FoxNews report on the anniversary, I began thinking about the effects of Disney on our culture.

Disney commodified innocence. Plain and simple: they turned childhood into a product to be bought and sold. Some people think Disney has become a monster today as they control such a large percentage of mass media outlets and therefore public opinion, but I contend Disney was a monster all along. Their earliest films were based upon stories not under copyrights which, after used by Disney, Disney got copyrights for all those stories and now works with copyrights held by Disney are among the best-protected works in our culture. Let me restate that: Disney's movies, which they originally stole, are now heavily guarded against being used by others and the families of their original creators get nothing. And then there's the manipulative advertising to children and just last summer their reluctance to release and eventually dropping of 'Fahrenheit 911.' Think about some of that when your kids want to go to the new Disney movie, and get all the new Disney toys, and get the special edition re-re-release of the classic Disney film on DVD...I'm sure the list goes on, what with synergy within that beast.

TheJobey Poll
Who the hell am I? Where the fuck do I belong?

And justice for all cases deemed necessary by the Republican Party

on Tom Delay
A little local poll from a Houston television station is causing some waves in the Delay Watching community. It seems that of the 548 voters polled in Delay's district, 51% disapprove of the job he is doing as Congressman. In addition to that, 21% believe he should resign from House leadership, while 36% believe he should flat out leave the House. The odd thing about all of that is that 39% believe he should remain the Majority Leader.

All in all, I don't know how much stock should be put into this poll. It seems like good news, but the Democrats still need to push the issue and get Delay's corruption in the faces of the American people so that public opinion will continue to turn against him. Allow me to restate that leaving Delay in office for midterm gains is a bad idea. I say get him out now and let the Republicans in Texas replace him with someone else, because...REALITY CHECK...a Democrat winning that district is virtually impossible. If 42% of his constituents are still supporting him while he misuses and disrespects the power they gave him to represent their best interests, all they must care about is his vote in the (R) column and nothing else. In other words, they'd rather have the most corrupt man in the House representing them than risk having a (D) in their seat.

on the nuclear option
I found a link to some great analysis on the Republicans' attempt to take away filibuster abilities of the Democratic minority. Check it out. The breakdown of the events provided is pretty sweet. The "nuclear option" would be a ridiculous move by the Republicans. If Bush doesn't want his judges shot down, he should ditch his extremist litmus testing and nominate some sane and fair judges instead of trying to have his Senatorial lackeys change established Senate procedural rules to cover his ass. Go watch "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," dude!

Furthermore, I'm tired of the religious groups campaigning against Democratic filibusters, claiming they are anti-faith. Balls! It would not be anti-faith principles guiding filibusters, it would be pro-justice principles. Focus on the Family should lay down their Bibles, reach for a government textbook and figure out what this whole justice thing means here in America.

I saw m.f. Rev. Pat Robertson on his CBN newscast talking about how it was God's will that filibustering of judges be taken away from Democrats. I can't help but laugh at this sad old guy. He's a bigger partisan hack than O'Reilly and Hannity put together and he backs every one of his Republican talking points with his interpretation of God's will. Jesus H. Christ! The saddest part of this guy's approach toward the filibusters is that if a Democratic-nominated justice were to come before the Senate he'd be up in arms about God's wish that the Republicans filibuster. I hope he lives to see a Democratic President and legislative majority again, so people can tune in to CBN, or whatever that late-night current events/preachathon is, and see the nightly hypocrisy of organized religion. God bless our country!

on the Vodka Suicide
Everybody remembers back in the day when you'd go up to the soft drink fountain and mix every flavor together, right? Ok...
*****Vodka Suicide*****
1 part cola
1 part Root Beer
1 part Orange Fanta or Red Pop
1 part Dr. Pepper
1 part Sprite
1 part Mountain Dew
4 parts Vodka

GET RIPPED!

Today's JobeyPoll
Who is going to win tonight: Buhler/Daugherty or Cranfield/Nobles? Post your answers in Comments...

Leaving the World of the Past, one step at a time

on the departure of Larry Cochell
In film, rain can be used as a symbol of cleansing. Well, it was raining in Norman, Oklahoma today. Yesterday evening saw the University of Oklahoma baseball coach Larry Cochell submit his resignation to President David Boren, ending an dark episode which began last Tuesday involving, to quote the Daily, "racially insensitive remarks made to ESPN broadcasters last Tuesday in Witchita, Kan."

The comments made by Cochell were in reference to freshman outfielder Joe Dunigan. According to ESPN, Cochell, in praising Dunigan to broadcaster Gary Thorne, said, "There's no nigger in him." Thorne, appearently, pushed the statement to the back of his mind until he found out about what Cochell had earlier told his partner broadcaster, Kyle Peterson. Again speaking about Dunigan, Cochell had said, "There are honkies and white people, and there are niggers and black people. Dunigan is a good black kid."

In an apology accompanying his request for resignation, Cochell claims that he is not a racist and that the comments he made are not representative of his feelings on race. The only two black players on the OU baseball team and their families have made statements supporting the coach and offering him forgiveness. President Boren, in a statement accepting Cochell resignation, said, "A good and caring man has made a terrible mistake for which he must assume responsibility."

I don't know Larry Cochell as a man, so I can neither support President Boren's assertion nor deny it. However, I am not sure I buy into the idea that this is just a case of a baseball coach trying too hard to be affable for the media. The fact that there are only two black players on OU's baseball team causes a problem for me. How could a nationally recruiting, Big 12 baseball team have only two African-American players? Because I am only conjecturing here, I am going to let you think about that on your own...

I feel that the proper course of action has been taken in this case. Cochell has shown considerable character in resigning from his position in a timely fashion, instead of causing the team and the university more bad publicity. Regardless of how his leaving of OU came about, I believe that Cochell should not have been allowed to stay. We cannot allow such sentiments to be reflected upon this fine institution.

on Kansas, fucking Kansas...
Reuters is reporting that Evolution is about to go on trial yet again in America, this time in the great Red state of Kansas. The new wave of pseudo-religious proponents of 'Intelligent Design' being taught in science classrooms is looking for a victory in the Kansas courts so that their theory can be taught side-by-side with evolution.

OK. I feel it is necessary at this juncture to make sure that everyone knows thejobeyon...'s stance on the evolution v. intelligent design v. creationism debate. It's a simple one: Let's keep that which is supported by science (i.e. Evolution) in the science classroom, and keep fairy tales of huge men in the sky with beards creating everything 10,000 years ago (don't look at me like that...) in the philosophy classroom. In a philosophy class, debate is usually encouraged and students could have fair game of ideas. Teaching something with no scientific relevance in a science classroom. I say that we should keep the current system where the controversy is mentioned, but nothing besides evolution is taught in the science classroom.

I've often thought of how particular policies mixing religion and public life will affect our country, and I see no bigger threat to our education system then 'Intelligent Designers.' They have a hidden agenda to get their beliefs in a higher power taught as fact in schools to all children. By teaching the idea of a higher power being the creator of life, science teachers are opening a Pandora's Box; How far should they go towards interpretting the meaning of life? What questions should they answer on morality? What do they tell their students about the nature of the higher power which possibly created them? If these questions aren't answered properly, we must assume that the next logical step after espousing 'Intelligent Design' in the classroom is to inflect one's own religious beliefs into the lesson, essentially preaching at students. A very dangerous situation, and, ultimately, an unnecessary one.

Have at it in Comments.

Quick question: Do we have any Tylenol?

I'm calling in sick to the office today.

The Darek updated today though and he's got a great piece on North Korean nukes. Check it out.

I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, use comments as an Open Thread: What's on your mind?