- It's hard to believe that I've been in northeast Ohio for one full year already. Time has flown by. It's also been about 10 months since I returned to blogging and a lot has happened here with DJRT in that short time. Something I had intended to start doing when I came back last December was to occasionally pose general questions in various editions to generate discussions and sometimes get feedback on what a lot of you were thinking. Since I came back, I haven't really done that. I intended to, but I just never did it. That changes today with some slight alterations using a new staple for DJRT that I am simply calling Query (which is also the reason for this edition's subtitle). For those of you who don't know what a query is, it is basically another term for the word "question" but by my standards in a more fancy way. This new Query staple will simply be a serious-minded, maybe-critical question that I ask (no humorous stuff intended). Sometimes I'll add background info for it or what led me to ask it and sometimes I will post the question by itself just to put it out there. The ultimate intention for this staple is to get people to seriously think about whatever question I pose. With that in mind, I do hope that it does stimulate some discussion through comments here and on the DJRT Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter pages, but I won't actively be seeking that especially since some questions may trigger different sensitivities in various folks. If you decide to comment, cool...if not, that's alright too...but I do hope that it leads to some thought-provoking introspection and gets readers to think about things in ways they may not have before.
- Query: How has politics changed you? There is a presidential election coming up here in the United States and the campaigning and election ads are now out in full force. From the youngest child to the oldest person...and even before and after life...politics affects us in ways that we easily see and just as easily don't. I'm not just talking about governmental politics. It could be workplace politics, club politics, religious politics, group or interpersonal politics...more than just the type of politics we see playing out in mass media today. As much as I want to believe otherwise, once you're touched by politics you are changed somehow. It may be blatantly obvious or extremely subtle, but change happens once you are touched. Now before I go on, I want to make clear that I am absolutely NOT interested in people's personal political philosophies or where people stand on individual candidates or issues here. In other words, I'm not asking about what you believe in. I'm asking about how you're affected by something...in this case, politics. I've seen an awful lot of people be affected and do things both good and bad once they're touched by politics. The most prominent observation I've personally made is how oblivious people can be to how much slander, libel and spin they put out themselves in describing important issues and anybody who doesn't exactly...and I mean exactly...mesh with their own political philosophies. It's a staggering amount of people, including some good people I personally know and many I don't. Such slander, libel and spin are sometimes so intertwined with particular political philosophies that it comes off to them as absolutely true despite whatever reality shows. Any mere mention of a specific political subject, much less a disagreement of some sort, will set them off, sometimes in extreme fashion. If you want to talk about landmines, politics is a big one for many. I've seen people I would previously think were cool come off as complete crackpots based on whatever politics might be going on at a particular juncture. On the flip side, I have seen politics change ordinary people into extraordinary people, sometimes through simple shared ideals and sometimes through awe-striking wisdom that penetrates even the densest of crusty curmudgeons. I've personally witnessed some of the laziest people I've ever known transform into the most dynamic of individuals that people just can't get enough of. Before I go on too long about this, let me get back to the original query here...and remember, this is not about what philosophies you have. I know it's probably not as easy a question to answer as you might want it to be, but I'm putting it out there: how have you been changed by politics?
- As I mentioned earlier, there is a presidential election coming up soon. If you aren't registered and you are eligible to vote, go get yourself registered if you are still able to. If you are registered, don't forget to vote if you haven't already (early voting is already going on in some places).
- I just noticed I've already used a lot of big words today. I guess that's what you get when you play lots of Words with Friends.
- The Cleveland Browns have lost ten straight regular season games dating back to last year. Yes, they have been improving and there are some bright spots here and there, but as a Browns fan and Browns Backer this consistent losing is unacceptable to me. Therefore, I'm going to do something in protest of all this losing. I will not be wearing any Browns gear again until they win their next game. I am definitely NOT jumping ship like some people might be wishing for (like some Steelers fans and anti-Browns people) but I'm sick and tired of this losing streak they've been on. It's just embarassing. Don't get me wrong...I still support the Browns and will continue to cheer them on, but until this losing streak is over, I won't wear a single stitch of Browns clothing...no shirts, no hats, no fall or winter weather gear, nothing. Let me make clear that I am not trying to start some kind of mass protest here like that stupid stunt of a protest that Dawg Pound Mike guy pathetically tried to pull a few years back. If any other Browns fans want to protest this way, that's fine, but this is simply my own way of registering displeasure with the current state of affairs regarding their record. C'mon, Browns...win a game, why don't cha?
- Staying with football for a moment, I have beared witness to some of the most amazing catches in college football this season on TV that I have ever seen. In most years I'd be lucky to see one or two over an entire season. This season, I've already seen four such catches in the five weeks college football has been on TV live including that absolutely amazing one for a touchdown by Ohio State's Devin Smith in OSU's first game this season. It's already made college football pretty interesting to watch this year and I don't have any idea what will be coming in the rest of it.
- Tomorrow night, MCW premieres Riot Television on various cable systems in the NE Ohio area. It will regularly air on Wednesdays at 10 PM and you will have to search out which channels it will be one (a list of them is available on MCW Riot Television's Facebook page). If you can't catch it or it's not available on your particular cable system just yet, it will be available to watch sometime after airing on television at MCWPro.com...not sure when but it will be on there. Check it out when you get the chance.
- Song on Repeat: "Fu-Gee-La" by The Fugees. Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of my old friend Roger Byrd who passed away a few years back. When the Fugees released their album "The Score" which this song is included on, he used to constantly talk about them and talk about picking up their album. So one day when I was in a record store, I got it on CD and at the same time picked one up for him on cassette to play in his car...that should tell you how long ago this happened, that I had to get it for a cassette player. I remember the night I gave him that tape...we were about to head up to a club and we had to stop by one of the residential towers at OSU (don't remember which tower, Morrill or Lincoln, off hand) to pick up our friend Dave. As I was getting out, I pulled the tape out of my jacket pocket and handed it to him and said this was for him. You'd think he'd won the lottery with the reaction he gave me to the gift I just gave him. He popped that cassette into his car player and pumped up the volume on that sucker so high that I could hear it from a long way away. When we got back to the car, he was jamming hard to one of the songs on there. Every time I hear Fu-Gee-La, I think of him. Rest in peace, old friend.
- Shoutouts: Holly, Todd, Ron, Dave, Matt E., Justin Mane, Ernest, Tom R., Cory, Mike L., Ron, and Jay.
That's it for this edition. Before I go here, I want to pass on condolences to my brother-in-law for his loss. Also, I added a car magnet to the DJRT Store for those of you who prefer those to bumper stickers. I hope the query I posted today gets you to thinking about some things. Until next time folks. Take care and God Bless.
DJ
