Cynical Mom

Why do my relatives assume I think like them?

I was just forwarded an email from my uncle to other members of my immediate family, but not myself. I really missed out:

There are less than three months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The man elected will be the president of us all, not just the Democrats or the Republicans.

To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. It's time that we all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you support President George W. Bush , please drive with your headlights on during the day.

If you support the policies and character of John Kerry, please drive with your headlights off at night, preferably on twisting mountain roads.

It's so tempting to come out of the closet with my extended family and make clear that I believe the government has no right to get involved in what happens in its citizen's bedrooms or bodies or decide who can marry whom, that I am happy to give the government more of my money if they will use it to better the lives of lesser fortunate people with programs I believe in, yadda yadda yadda.

I heard a quote recently - "If you're young and Republican, then you don't have a heart. If you're old and a Democrat, then you don't have a brain." I hope that I will continue to be a Democrat even when I am older.

I dislike all propaganda, whether it be for the candidate I support or the one I don't. I don't react well to positioning, I want facts - and not selective ones.

Your mind plays tricks on you

And here's the proof. There are some more samples here, including a BMP you can set as your wallpaper.

[Source: Improbable Research]

And speaking of culture, when is the language going to catch up?

In these anti-carb days, the phrase "selling like hotcakes" is no longer meaningful. Why would anyone buy so many hotcakes? Do you know how many carbs are in those things?

On a related note, David named our new Media Center PC "Liberal".

Every culture has its quirks

From age 9-12, I lived with my family in the Philippines. (My dad's not in the military, he was a consultant and his company sent him over there to get a subsidiary started.)

In the months before we left the US (or "the states" as I would soon start to call it), my parents had a Tagalog tutor come over to our house to teach us the basics of the language. I don't remember much of this instruction, but there is one phrase I learned once we were over there, that I will never forget:

Bawal Umihi Dito means, roughly, "Don't Pee Here". And you will find street after street in Manila that has this phrase posted on signs or, as in this case, spray painted directly on the wall. It is also not uncommon to find a man standing in front of said wall displaying what can only be labeled a flagrant disregard for the purpose of the sign.

If you really want to drive the point home, then you say "Bawal umihi dito, gago", which means: Don't pee here, stupid. And of course there is also Bawal magtapon basura dito - don't dump garbage here.