Put things away when you're done using them

This post is directed at my immediate family. All of them seem to think it's perfectly ok to take a tool or household gadget from one room to the next, use it, and then immediately drop it wherever they happen to be. That way, when the next person needs it, nobody knows where it is. They do it on a daily basis.

It happened again just last week. My daughter was getting ready for her senior prom, and the ribbons on her corsage were too long. She wanted to cut them, but none of the three pairs of scissors that normally sit in the can that holds pens and such were there. I know my wife left one pair at the hair salon where she took my daughter. But that still left two pairs MIA. I finally found one after the fact sitting buried on a kitchen counter, where it was undoubtedly used to open a frozen pizza.

That's not the worst part, though. When stuff like this happens I get mad. I keep telling all the rest of them "Put things away when you're done using them and we'll be able to find them when we need them." Seems like sound advice to me. But I'm the asshole because I get mad and "nag" them about it.

I do have a new policy for my own stuff, though. If it's not where it belongs, and I can't find it in five minutes, I just go buy another one. I'm tired of playing "hide 'n' seek" with my stuff. Got a nice, new hammer that way. My wife, her mom and her sister used my old one to tack up signs for a garage sale (another waste of time, in my opinion) and then stuck it in a box later instead of putting it back on my workbench where they'd found it. So I bought another one. I now have two. Hopefully that means at least one will be available when I need it. I am still missing several screwdrivers.

So to my family, none of whom will learn to be responsible with things, I say you suck.

Perez Hilton's Anti Anti-Gay Rhetoric is Appalling

Like me, I'm sure anyone reading this blog didn't watch the Miss USA Pageant this weekend. But, something interesting actually did happen. Apparently, the Miss USA Pageant has turned into a political primary for the 2012 presidential election.

After you judge pageant contestants on how good they look in swimsuits and evening wear, and find out how talented they are, how else can you judge their beauty? By asking the bombshell contestants heated political questions. It makes perfect sense.

This format lead to "celebrity" judge Perez Hilton (term used loosely), aka Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr., to ask Miss California, Carrie Prejean, if she believes that gay couples should be able to legally get married. What Mario wasn't ready for was for Ms. Prejean to actually have an educated, formulated opinion that differed from his own.

Prejean said that she knew that she was going to upset some people with her answer, but based on her beliefs and the way that she was raised, she believes that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. A straight-forward, honest opinion.

Now, I am not against gay marriage or for it...I'm pretty impartial, because I could really care less. If two guys or two women want to get married, who gives a damn? Let 'em do what the hell they want, it doesn't impact me one way or the other.

What I'm upset about is Mario's reaction to Prejean's response, and the fact that by stating her truthful opinion it cost her the crown of Miss USA (whatever that's worth).

If the judges of that competition aren't ready for opinions that differ from their own, why don't they just provide the contestants with cue cards and a teleprompter, so that they can readily promote the judges' pre-set agenda?

Why should Prejean be punished for sticking to her own principles? She is a Christian woman, and for her to say that she agrees with gay marriage is against everything she believes in. So, why should she cater to the masses just because it's politically correct to do so? It's total bullshit!

Mario said that Prejean should not have won because he wants Miss USA to "represent all Americans?" So, is he saying that all Americans are gays and lesbians? Did I miss something here?

Last time I checked, there were millions of Christians who don't believe that gays should be able to be married. And, I don't know much about the Muslim faith or other religions, but I'm guessing there are millions more that also disagree with Mario -- far outnumbering the number of homosexuals in the country who want to get married. So, based on his own comments, Prejean should be Miss USA, but from his deranged perspective, all Americans are gay or lesbian, apparently.

Mario went on to say that had Ms. Prejean won, that he would have went on stage and ripped the tiara off her head. Well, that is a very tolerant stance. Why should he have any tolerance for anyone else's opinion? And, if you don't share the politically correct opinion, then you should be shunned and not be able to enjoy anything, apparently. What a jackass! Hey, Mario, why don't you exercise some of that tolerance you speak of yourself, you hypocritical bastard?

With her statement, Prejean has shown me that she is a role model because she can put her ambitions aside in order to stay true to herself and her beliefs. I hope that her honesty leads to bigger and better things for her in the future.

And, I hope guys like Mario/Hilton start getting treated like Don Imus and other people who make bigoted comments. Maybe people should start boycotting his blog and get him off the World Wide Web for his intolerance.

RoadRage