If you haven’t seen it yet, Adam Lambert performed tonight as the final act for the American Music Awards. I have to say – it’s quite disgusting what they let musicians do these days. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no ultra-conservative. I think America does need to “lighten up” when it comes to sexual stuff in the media. How is it OK that we let our kids go watch movies or play video games with tons of violence (a la Modern Warfare 2) but one little nipple and people are up in arms?

Anyways, Adam Lambert’s performance was just…  ugg. I know I’m probably going to his fans up in arms but really…  I’ve already seen people praising this craptastic junk. I didn’t like him in American Idol and now I have even less respect. His voice was utter crap, off-key in many spots. Then the actual show…  he DRAGGED a woman across the stage? Yes, let’s get back to where we are degrading women…  way to go AMA’s. Then he has a chain linked to two guys crawling around like dogs, followed by some hip thrusts with his crotch in one guy’s face??? Shortly after, a dancer wrapped her arm around his leg and literally had her hands right on his crotch. When the hell did it become OK to do this type of stuff on a live performance that is nationally televised?

I couldn’t care less that he kissed a guy during the performance – he’s gay and just showing off, imo. It’s no bigger a deal than the Britney/Madonna kiss…  it’s showbiz and gets them attention. But come on people…   this type of stuff is really getting out of hand. I really hope there weren’t many kids watching this. Honestly, what has happened to the classy musicians?

The couple seated behind me was having a conversation – but not your normal run of the mill conversation. They were holding their conversation – a bit loudly – over their “walkie-talkie” cell phones. You know, the ones that Nextel promoted for so long, that beep at you, then someone else’s voice comes out loudly through the speakers? Well, this couple who looked to be a mother & son, were holding conversations with someone on the other end and we could hear the entire thing. I’m fairly certain I could easily repeat just about their entire convo. Something about someone joining the Army… blah blah blah.

Anyways, it really got us to talking about how the world around us has changed so much over the past 20 years. I ask you, fair reader – Where has the common courtesy gone? These people seated just behind us had to know that others could overhear them – those phones are annoyingly loud. Not to mention the fact that I turned completely around in my chair to look at them a couple times – of course, this got totally ignored by either of them. The only reason I decided not to cause a bit of a scene was I really didn’t want to embarrass my wife. Seriously though, I know Olive Garden isn’t really “fine dining”, but I’d consider it a bit of an upscale restaurant compared to most in the area. I’d expect something like this in Golden Corral.

Something else very similar happened just last Friday. We went to see the movie Law Abiding Citizen (good action flick btw), at 10pm. You would think such a late showing, a week after the movie came out, would cut down on the number of younger children in the theater. Not to mention the R rating… you would think (again) that this would cut down on those under the age of 10. You’d be wrong. Oh and let us not forget the wonderful invention known as cell phones. Seriously people – they repeatedly ask you to turn them off – so why then, do we see your glaringly bright cell phone screen DURING THE MOVIE? Is it that damn important to send a text message, are you so worried about missing that so ever so important message that you just can’t sit down for 90 – 120 minutes without looking at your cell phone? Klutzy Shutterbug was complaining throughout the entire movie about a woman about 3 rows ahead of us that was constantly on her cell phone. Have some respect for those around you… if it’s that damn important, step outside! This is the point where I really just have to say THANK GOD for Netflix. It’s getting to the point I’d rather not pay for a movie that is going to be ruined by the people that are apparently super important – I mean obviously they are going to prevent World War III by sending a text message while watching a movie.

Another story to relate – this one is a tad older, but glares bright in my mind as a perfect example of how this trend is being passed on to children. Klutzy and I were having dinner at a wonderful place already mentioned – Golden Corral. Now, mind you, I don’t go into this establishment expecting uppity, higher class citizens or fine china. Far from it… but what happened on this evening just blew my mind. We had both eaten our fill of the food from the serve-yourself bar… so I decided I’d like a little machine-made fake ice cream. I got up, moseyed my way over to the big silver machine… and just as I placed my small bowl under the dripping milk – only to feel a push against my leg. I look down to see two young children (I’d estimate between 4-6 yrs old) pushing their way through me to get their bowls under the same machine I was about to use. Being the type of guy I am, I step back… and look around, expecting to see an adult that would chastise the kids for their behavior. No grown-up is in viewing distance, so I watch entranced as both of these little evil-doers try their best to dispense the ice cream into their bowls. A waitress walking by sees them struggling and asks where their parents are. The little devil children by this point are frustrated and are starting to whine (loudly), so the waitress helps them fill their bowls and they run off screaming… to the front register, where their mother is apparently still paying for their meals. One thing I should point out here… Golden Corral is a buffet, so you pay before you eat. Meaning these little bastards hadn’t even eaten any normal food, and already they had ice cream (which they were currently dripping all over). The mother never once said a word to them, she just picked up her tray and found a table.

I remember from a very early age, as I grew up, my parents and even those adults that were simply around me would discipline me for various things. Back in those days (and I’m only 30), it was not unheard of for me to get a stern word spoken, a slap on the butt, or a threat of what I would get when we got home. God forbid if I was to do something like these kids did that evening – my father would have surely ripped me a new one. But it wasn’t just my father – any adult that was a friend of the family was allowed to discipline me if I was acting up. Hell, one of my introductions to my step-father in my teenage years was getting my hand “forked” for reaching across the table.

Anyways, I really have to wonder what has our society degenerated into when common courtesy is no longer used in today’s world. Where are the gentlemen that open a door for a lady (and not just on a date, not that this happens anymore either)? What happened to the grown adults that actually discipline their child for acting like idiots in public? Why do people have no respect for those around them? How did we let our society get to this point, that a little respect for your fellow human beings is looked down upon by the majority?

Hell, maybe we should dust off the old books that were used in school in the old days to teach a woman how to “act like a lady”, update them for the times and make them a requirement for every student in every grade. LOL, sorry I found this pic and just couldn’t resist including it.

Feel free to share your own stories.

You may be asking what changed so much in our life… or you might not care at all, but I’ll tell ya anyways. For those who haven’t really followed this blog at all, I was a member of the U.S. Army for the past 13 years. Note the “was“. Almost 3 years ago now, I started having pain in my hip. I went to the doctor and found out after a long, drawn out evaluation that I had what is known as a labral tear. Several months later, I had major hip surgery. The doctors successfully repaired the problem, I don’t have the pain levels that I did before surgery… but I was not able to do things I used to. After 2 years of going to various physical therapies and realizing that I just couldn’t do the running, jumping or carrying heavy loads, I got sent to a medical board. They decided I was unfit for duty, and as of September 9, 2009 – I am now a civilian.

It’s been a little strange, going through the transition – all I’ve known is the Army, since I was 17. I’ve traveled to many places and seen many things I never imagined seeing as a kid, and I appreciate the things the Army did for me, but honestly – I’m rather glad to be out. It’s not the same Army that I remember. But that’s another subject entirely.

Nowadays, I am working as a contractor for the U.S. Army, doing the same secret squirrel stuff that I was doing while in the military. I’m making LOTS more money, and enjoying the fact that I managed to get a job back in our hometown, where both of our families live. I work a bit of a weird schedule, but the pay easily makes up for that – we’re living a lot better than we ever were in the Army.

Anyways, I should be back to blogging hopefully a lot more… feel free to comment anytime!

Take for example this new blog. I used a theme I found online and modified the header with an image I created and changed a few background colors. Try hovering over the title of this post. See how it disappears? The text is set to white (#ffffff) when you hover over it. I had to do this so that the top link bar could be seen, otherwise the text was next to impossible to see. But now how the heck do I fix it to where hovering over the title of posts doesn’t change to white too?? I’ll figure it out at some point I’m sure but that takes time…  which I’d rather spend blogging or twittering!

I also need to figure out how the heck to change the text size for the posts here. It’s small even for me, so I can only imagine how bad it is for someone that does not have great vision. Anyone know which specific part of the CSS changes the text size of your posts?

The other issue is Wordpress plugins. I love them and really enjoy what they can add to my little neck of the internet. But on the Wordpress website, it is horrible trying to find stuff. They do not have it very well organized whatsoever and I can literally spend hours upon hours looking through them to find ones I like. Then I have to figure out how to install it once I do find one. Did I mention that I’ve already got lost on that a few times? Next comes where to fit it on the blog itself. Do I just keep adding more and more to the right side bar or do I put it on the bottom, where people might not even see it? Arghh! So many decisions, so little time.

I am happy to have my new blog with it’s cool name though. Full credit goes to my wife for the name, now if only I could help her more with hers. More to come later!