There are many, many things about the world I wish I could change. War, famine, disease, deforestation, etc. But all of these are really important aspects of our world that probably most, if not all, of us wish we could change. And, since I'm in a light-hearted mood this fine evening (despite my Chargers getting spanked last night), I decided to talk about tiny, insignificant things that really make no worldy difference to anyone... and how I stay up at night wishing I could change them.
1. Chrysler being owned by a non-American company. That's just wrong to me somehow.
2. The Brewers being in the National League in Major League Baseball - seriously, why does the NL have 16 teams (two divisions with 5 teams and one division with 6) and the AL have 14 (two divisions with 5 teams and one division with 4). DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE TO ANYONE?
3. The 11th Airborne Division being inactive. We need a bigger army anyway, so bring it back. I mean, how much better is an airborne division called "The Angels" than an airborne division called "All-American?"
4. Japanese characters in Hollywood movies portrayed by Koreans and Chinese. It's not that I don't mind when actors play races that they are not, it's just that I know Hollywood just thinks nobody notices.
5. The NFL Cardinals being in Arizona; the Colts being in Indianapolis; the Rams being in St. Louis; the Texans being in Houston. I say move the Cardinals back to St. Louis so the football team and baseball teams match; move the Colts back to Baltimore since that area actually has horse races; move the Rams back to Los Angeles; move the Texans to San Antonio and bring back the Houston Oilers; move the Ravens to somewhere in Virginia (to keep with the Edgar Allan Poe motif); give Indianapolis and Phoenix new expansion teams.
6. The Marines being a part of the Navy and not a part of the Army. It's stupid, it's expensive, and it's stupid. Tradition be damned.
7. American cars driving on the right side of the road. Wouldn't it be much safer if we could park on the side of the road and open the driver's-side door without worrying about getting hit by oncoming traffic?
8. The Bible referring to me as God and not by my proper name. This one REALLY pisses me off. And not mentioning my prowess in the haystack when I boned Mary. Believe me, there was no virgin about it.
9. The Clippers being in Los Angeles. Move them back to San Diego and put an NHL expansion team there, as well.
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Monday, September 17, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
World War II: Pearl Harbor
Not too long ago (probably sometime in June or July), I had to listen to a rant by my roommate/landlord about how FDR knew the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor. This, of course, made FDR a complete rat bastard in the eyes of my roommate. However, while I can't lay claim to whether or not FDR was a rat bastard, I'm pretty certain that FDR had no clue that Pearl Harbor was the definitive target.
Oh, our government had to have been expecting something... there were too many rumors and warnings floating about... but I doubt he knew Pearl Harbor was about to be fucked all to Hell.
How do I know this?
Well, look at it this way: a little known fact about "The Day of Infamy" is that the Japanese didn't just attack one US territory (Hawaii was not a state at the time), they attacked THREE. 1) Hawaii, 2) Wake Island, 3) The Phillippines.
And in analyzing the supposed "reasons" that FDR "allowed" (I love quotations... can't help it) the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we actually come to the opposite conclusion.
Some say that FDR needed an American disaster in order to gain support for entering the war. As such, Pearl Harbor provided just such a disaster. Well, no. Pearl Harbor sucked, that's for sure, and in terms of loss of ships (permanent and temporary) it was a pretty bad hit (despite the fact that our aircraft carriers weren't there... I'll hit that point in a second), but in terms of disasters? I'd say, and most WW2 historians will probably agree with me, that the Philippines was a far worse disaster than Pearl Harbor ever was (Bataan Death March, anyone?). But, no, nobody is running around claiming FDR knew the Philippines were going be invaded, are they?
Some say the reason that the aircraft carriers weren't there is proof, PROOF I say, that FDR knew Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked. Well, no. At the time, the US had two major carrier bases in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor and San Diego, California. And, in fact, all three carriers in theater at the time were on SCHEDULED deployments (to Midway, coming back to Hawaii, to San Diego, etc.)... deployments that were scheduled long in advance of December 7th (or December 8th by the Japanese calendar). In addition, US naval doctrine (not to mention WORLD naval doctrine... with the possible exception of the Japanese) still held the aircraft carrier BELOW the battleship in terms of naval superiority. If this logic was to be followed, FDR would've probably had the battleships mysteriously deployed, not the aircraft carriers.
There are many, many more subtle reasons as to why the "Pearl Harbor conspiracy" is a load of bullshit, but I don't really feel like going into those at this time. The two above should more than convince anyone who doesn't think Elvis is still alive and Marilyn was killed by the Kennedy administration. And, if not, I'm sorry you'd rather darken an already dark world.
Have a nice day... and vote for Clint Eastwood (an Army veteran).
Oh, our government had to have been expecting something... there were too many rumors and warnings floating about... but I doubt he knew Pearl Harbor was about to be fucked all to Hell.
How do I know this?
Well, look at it this way: a little known fact about "The Day of Infamy" is that the Japanese didn't just attack one US territory (Hawaii was not a state at the time), they attacked THREE. 1) Hawaii, 2) Wake Island, 3) The Phillippines.
And in analyzing the supposed "reasons" that FDR "allowed" (I love quotations... can't help it) the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we actually come to the opposite conclusion.
Some say that FDR needed an American disaster in order to gain support for entering the war. As such, Pearl Harbor provided just such a disaster. Well, no. Pearl Harbor sucked, that's for sure, and in terms of loss of ships (permanent and temporary) it was a pretty bad hit (despite the fact that our aircraft carriers weren't there... I'll hit that point in a second), but in terms of disasters? I'd say, and most WW2 historians will probably agree with me, that the Philippines was a far worse disaster than Pearl Harbor ever was (Bataan Death March, anyone?). But, no, nobody is running around claiming FDR knew the Philippines were going be invaded, are they?
Some say the reason that the aircraft carriers weren't there is proof, PROOF I say, that FDR knew Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked. Well, no. At the time, the US had two major carrier bases in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor and San Diego, California. And, in fact, all three carriers in theater at the time were on SCHEDULED deployments (to Midway, coming back to Hawaii, to San Diego, etc.)... deployments that were scheduled long in advance of December 7th (or December 8th by the Japanese calendar). In addition, US naval doctrine (not to mention WORLD naval doctrine... with the possible exception of the Japanese) still held the aircraft carrier BELOW the battleship in terms of naval superiority. If this logic was to be followed, FDR would've probably had the battleships mysteriously deployed, not the aircraft carriers.
There are many, many more subtle reasons as to why the "Pearl Harbor conspiracy" is a load of bullshit, but I don't really feel like going into those at this time. The two above should more than convince anyone who doesn't think Elvis is still alive and Marilyn was killed by the Kennedy administration. And, if not, I'm sorry you'd rather darken an already dark world.
Have a nice day... and vote for Clint Eastwood (an Army veteran).
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Nothing But Pointless Musings
Voicemail menus are slow and complicated on purpose, so phone companies can squeeze every possible extra second out of your phone plan.
Bono and U2 definitely outshined Billie Joe and Green Day on Monday Night Football, despite what all those emo/screamo/wannabe-punk kids will tell you. But it was still cool to see them on stage together.
Why does Hollywood remake good movies? Shouldn't they remake the bad ones?
That brunette I'm hard-up for officially hates me. If anyone wants to ask a lonely, pathetic, self-righteous blogger out on a date, message me for my phone number. (seriously)
The San Diego Padres are now two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kick ass.
I'm almost in agreement with Bob Dylan: modern music tends to suck. I don't really think it's the talent... it's more to do with all the emo/screamo/wannabe-punk bands that are full of "musicians" who can't read music.
MySpace is taking over the world. There's apparently a MySpace television show now. That's ridiculously frightening.
High school kids with MySpace quotes like "live every day like its your last" really annoy me. As do people with quotes from Will Farrell movies... especially Anchorman. People, you are not kind of a big deal. In fact, you're all idiots.
Anybody who feels like going to Croatia for a couple of weeks during summer of 2007, let me know. I'm planning a trip and, unlike many of my recent plans, I'd like to see this one NOT fall through.
American Dad is better than The Family Guy.
Goodyear blimps flying over domed stadiums during football games seems kind of pointless to me.
Soldiers should never feel guilty for being alive when someone they know is killed, but we do anyway.
If the world went through a Sudoku craze instead of a Karaoke craze, the world would be less annoying. Damn the Japanese. Damn them.
I wish I could cook. I wish I could dance. So much so, I will one day attend culinary school and enroll at a dance studio. Really.
Mitch Hedberg was right... life would be easier if we all just had one long curvy tooth.
My nephew won't date a cheerleader because he thinks they're "peppy" all of the time. Personally, I think my nephew is gay, but oh, well.
I read about two crimes this past week that officially make me sorry to be a human being. I won't go into detail here, but one involved a pregnant woman, her three kids, and a babysitter, and the other involved a man getting angry at his wife and daughter while driving.
Writing would be easier for me if I were better at it.
So would brain surgery.
I'm really pissed that not one person that counted answered the questions from my last blog.
Calgon, take me away. If you know what that means, you are officially too old.
This was very pointless... and not very musing.
Bono and U2 definitely outshined Billie Joe and Green Day on Monday Night Football, despite what all those emo/screamo/wannabe-punk kids will tell you. But it was still cool to see them on stage together.
Why does Hollywood remake good movies? Shouldn't they remake the bad ones?
That brunette I'm hard-up for officially hates me. If anyone wants to ask a lonely, pathetic, self-righteous blogger out on a date, message me for my phone number. (seriously)
The San Diego Padres are now two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kick ass.
I'm almost in agreement with Bob Dylan: modern music tends to suck. I don't really think it's the talent... it's more to do with all the emo/screamo/wannabe-punk bands that are full of "musicians" who can't read music.
MySpace is taking over the world. There's apparently a MySpace television show now. That's ridiculously frightening.
High school kids with MySpace quotes like "live every day like its your last" really annoy me. As do people with quotes from Will Farrell movies... especially Anchorman. People, you are not kind of a big deal. In fact, you're all idiots.
Anybody who feels like going to Croatia for a couple of weeks during summer of 2007, let me know. I'm planning a trip and, unlike many of my recent plans, I'd like to see this one NOT fall through.
American Dad is better than The Family Guy.
Goodyear blimps flying over domed stadiums during football games seems kind of pointless to me.
Soldiers should never feel guilty for being alive when someone they know is killed, but we do anyway.
If the world went through a Sudoku craze instead of a Karaoke craze, the world would be less annoying. Damn the Japanese. Damn them.
I wish I could cook. I wish I could dance. So much so, I will one day attend culinary school and enroll at a dance studio. Really.
Mitch Hedberg was right... life would be easier if we all just had one long curvy tooth.
My nephew won't date a cheerleader because he thinks they're "peppy" all of the time. Personally, I think my nephew is gay, but oh, well.
I read about two crimes this past week that officially make me sorry to be a human being. I won't go into detail here, but one involved a pregnant woman, her three kids, and a babysitter, and the other involved a man getting angry at his wife and daughter while driving.
Writing would be easier for me if I were better at it.
So would brain surgery.
I'm really pissed that not one person that counted answered the questions from my last blog.
Calgon, take me away. If you know what that means, you are officially too old.
This was very pointless... and not very musing.
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