MSNBCriously?

I’ve been keeping up on the news via msnbc.com and am just boggled by what’s been going on lately.  Moreover, readers are able to discuss certain news topics through NewsVine.com (via a direct link from many of the articles) where things often get nasty/nastier.

There was a recent story about a woman who was murdered in Puerto Rico that turned into a debate about travel to what some of the NewsVine users called “a third world country,” which elicited mixed reactions.  Some users even thought that the woman was a victim of some conspiracy theory involving her fiance.  Others spent most of the discussion either defending or defaming Puerto Ricans.  Having lived in Puerto Rico in the past, I had to jump in on a few occasions to share my own thoughts.  See if you can spot mine.

Another set of stories I was following involved our continuously weakening economy.  Joblessness is big news these days, with layoffs happening left and right.  No job– indeed, no company– is safe, it seems.  And the word “bailout” has quite possibly become the most used word in the English language in these trying times.  In fact, I entered the word on Google.com, and it yielded nearly 28 million results (which now includes this blog post).  Heck, I need a “Bailout” bailout.  What’s scary, though, is even the company I work for may not be safe.  It’s making me want to turn to alcohol.

And no one can possibly ignore the scandal involving Michael Phelps, whose latest mishap is being suspended by the USA Swimming, effectively preventing him from competing at a meet in March.  Plus, several of his major sponsors have dropped him, including Kellogg Co., on whose cereal boxes Phelps appears.  Some who are not complimentary of Phelps’ visage joke that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Others chide that Kellogg Co. may have more things aligned with pot-smoking than they’re ready to acknowledge.  But Phelps still has many supporters.  It’s just funny how newsworthy this all seems.

The news about which I’m already tired of hearing involve the “miraculous” emergency landing on the Hudson River of US Airways Flight 1549– from the heroic crew to the interaction between the co-pilot and the air traffic controller to Capt. Sullenberger’s fuckin’ library late fees being waived.  They’re “heroes”, I get it.  Must we really rehash every little thing and explore every little angle?  Just do a Movie of the Week about it already and allow us to move on.  I mean, what’s next?  Will we next hear about the flight attendants efficiently locking their beverage carts in place mere seconds before impact?  Or a transcript of the prayers each one of the passengers may or may not have said while they awaited their fate?  What about the birds who are being blamed for the accident?  Will Connie Chung come out of retirement to interview the head honcho of the avian assassins?  Hmm, have I gotten so cynical that I am bothered by the incessant media coverage of this one thing?  Plus, did I just use a fuckin’ Connie Chung reference?

I must be tired…

Up In Smoke

Is there like a smoker’s karma or something?  That something horrifically terrible will happen to you if you don’t succumb to a request from a fellow smoker who was bumming a stick from you?  I’ve often wondered about this.

I used to be a smoker but I quit back in the late 90s.  I remember always having a pack on me; I never had to bum a cig from anyone.  Okay, that’s a lie — I did bum cigs from my friends (to whom I would reciprocate), but never from total strangers.  Hmm, come to think of it, I actually don’t recall having total strangers bumming cigs from me back then either.  Anyway, I wonder what will happen if a smoker purposefully denied a cig-bummer.  Will their lighter suddenly run out of fluid, and they then have to bum a lighter from somebody?  Will their cigarette inadvertently explode in their face?

This afternoon while at a bus stop, I witnessed a woman asking a guy who was smoking for a cigarette.  When the guy handed her one, she said, “Do you have another for my friend here?”  The guy was visibly annoyed but handed another stick for the woman’s friend.  I shook my head, thinking: “If you don’t have money to support the habit, try to kick it.”  Of course, that woman may be trying to kick the habit, which is why she didn’t have any cigs on her.  But, it sort of defeats the purpose if you can bum a stick from a fellow smoker anyway.

I’m so glad I quit smoking dedaces ago.  For starters, I don’t think I’ll be able to condition myself for running if I was a smoker.  Oh, and I would like to live a long life.