When it rains...

POI:Have you ever noticed that the proverbial "When it rains it pours," is sometimes so true that it is eerie. I don't put much stock in the typical sayings (knock on wood) or fleeting thoughts (in one ear and out the other). This raining and pouring though is all too true. For example, in the last couple of weeks I have seen a local church lose it's pastor, my best friend's dad fighting through cancer, and my own daily battles that I fight and struggle against. I know that life is not chirpping birds and roses...but this is ridiculous. As my great friend Jenay said today [paraphrased], "how much freakin' crap can a place go through."

Literally, I have seen more difficulty spring up in the lives of people around me then in many years. Now readers may differ in opinion, whether this is a matter of Karma, Murphy's Law, or Reaping and Sowing. However I have a different take on this...at times you get handed lemons and you have to make lemonade and at times you have to take those lemon's and go APE CRAP.

OK, so maybe that isn't the greatest example in the world, but what do you say when the world seems to blow up around you? I don't believe in Karma, Murphy's Law is an excuse people use to shirk responsibility, and Reaping and Sowing (though I believe in the principle) can cause too much drama in common, everyday life. You would eventually be looking around every corner for something to wack you or for your "ship to come in," not just living life as you have it today.

RAVE: (For those unaware, a rave is not to be confused with the dance crazed that swept the nation 6-8 years ago. A Rave is something that is so good it is worth be mentioned at DIDIH).
Buffalo Wild Wings (or for those from MNPS/St. Paul - BW3's) Great Wings, waitresses wear clothing, incredible sports bar atmosphere. If anyone wants a good sports bar to bring to a 20 something community, investigate the company. It'll bring it in. (See Stevens Point, Eau Claire, etc.)

I must keep this short but for all interested my friends Kirk & Amy Priest gave birth to Jackson Scott Priest this morning over in Germany. A large Daddy Salute to you.

Dig IT, Dig IT Hard

'Bout Time.

To all 2-4 people out there that have knowledge about this Blog or the future readers of DIDIH, I am back. The DIDIH (Dig It, Dig It Hard), or as some have said the "Daddy Collective" (borrowed from EightStar) is happy to return to give you all your daily dose of Knowledge, Rants, Raves, & Topics of Interest. As always, comments are always appreciated and for you veterns expected. On to the business at hand...

Explantion of Delay: Say what you will about the delay of the start of this blog, but I have had some sort of mental lapse do to my ol' age. (^Back in my day, Bloggin' wasn't even a twinkle in anyone's eye. I had to write on papyrus with some burnt ashes. The only one that saw it was the Almighty and possibly anyone snoopin' around.^) I could not remember my password. In fact, I think I had some factory given password that never got changed. But now things are back and my bloggin' can begin, like it should have before.

RANT: Blogspot.com
Though there are thousands that appreciate all that this service provides it has been sorely missing on some of their customer service. The previous mentioned reason for the long, anticipated return of the DIDIH is some strange, bizarre, happenstance. I never forget my passwords, nor do I ever forget phone numbers. I cannot believe that I had to wait a month for a possibility to get back in and begin the blog. None the less, thank you BS.com for your ability to give us all a medium to waste even more time that should be spent on other endeavors.

TOI/KB: 4th of July
Now that the "Fourth" has gone and passed us by again...I found it interesting that we celebrate something about our independence and freedom. But could anyone on the street tell me what we fought from. I know you could say the English and the French, but specifically what independence and freedom did we gain. Perhaps a couple words will make a brain cell fire.
TYRANNY
OPPRESSION
LIBERTY

Do those words do more than make your synapses fire for more than .02 seconds? Do we even know what those words meant to the people of that day and age? Do we know what they mean to us?
TYRANNY*: n.
1. A government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power.
2. The office, authority, or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
3. Absolute power, especially when exercised unjustly or cruelly: “I have sworn... eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man” (Thomas Jefferson).
4. a. Use of absolute power.
b. A tyrannical act.
5. Extreme harshness or severity; rigor.

I believe TJ makes a brillant point. The people of the mid to late 18th Century were tired of being forced to conform to the will of a man who was given absolute power to wield as he wished. We have no idea what that means today in 2004 in America. Whether you are for or against the current military issues that the U.S. has decided to get itself into, we must remember that TYRANNY is something even TJ was opposed to every form of tyranny. A man who helped frame this nation would appear to have a hornet under his wig when it comes to TYRANNY.

OPPRESSION*: n.
1. a. The act of oppressing; arbitrary and cruel exercise of power: “There can be no really pervasive system of oppression... without the consent of the oppressed” (Florynce R. Kennedy).
b. The state of being oppressed.
2. Something that oppresses.
3. A feeling of being heavily weighed down in mind or body.

This might be the easiest definition for everyone in the DIDIH to understand. Whether a quote from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" or from cultural studies, OPPRESSION seems to be a fairly commonly understood word. A word that has not lost meaning over the last several centuries, just the severity of it. I heard a pre-teen use the phrase "stop oppressin' me" to their parent/guardian in the modern-day Town Square (Aka Shopping Mall). Would I call this parent's actions as oppressive? By no means, they were simply trying to get the pre-teen to understand that it was time to leave. Perhaps the pre-teen had a poor knowledge of the english language (See Bartista's), either way I find that definition one nor two would apply to that situation. And as for being heavily weighed down in mind or body. There was no mental abuse I heard and you know that any physical roughhousing in public is no longer seen as appropriate. (Though, I remember getting my pants getting pulled down at Safeway and getting a spanking from my mom as a 5 year old. I never again opened a box cereal at the store to eat while waiting for mom to get done shopping.)
All other things aside. We understand OPPRESSION, but have we ever lived OPPRESSION. In America, I would have to say no.

LIBERTY*: n.
1. a. The condition of being free from restriction or control.
b. The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing.
c. The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. See Synonyms at freedom.
2. Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
3. A right or immunity to engage in certain actions without control or interference: the liberties protected by the Bill of Rights.
4. a. A breach or overstepping of propriety or social convention. Often used in the plural.
b. A statement, attitude, or action not warranted by conditions or actualities: a historical novel that takes liberties with chronology.
c. An unwarranted risk; a chance: took foolish liberties on the ski slopes.
5. A period, usually short, during which a sailor is authorized to go ashore.

Throwing out definition 4 and 5, though interesting reads, they do not pertain to this discussion of LIBERTY. It would appear that LIBERTY is something that has to do with an individual and their rights to do as they choose (see 1b). You could infer from that, that LIBERTY was established so that I could start a chain of Fried Chicken resturants. However, I do not believe the forefathers of America, the men and women who died in any different number of wars, gave their lives to LIBERTY so that I could open a Chicken Joint. LIBERTY to our forefathers would most closely relate to 2 and 3. It is amazing that a government would make a Bill of Rights to ensure LIBERTY, isn't it? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep people sedated and let the powerful rule?

What do you think? Do you think? It is amazing that though we have the right to vote, it never seems to go further than that, does it? Tell me, do you find it odd that our LIBERTY is paritally about unjust or undue governmental control? Yet, we rarely have any involvement or say in the operations of this government other than elections (Where promises are only made to get elected and never followed through with as promised). It would seem to me that this nation, or more specifically this and future generations of Americans will never again understand LIBERTY, because WE ARE SEDATED.

RANT: Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control...what a novel concept. But, I guess we should be happy with our current situations. Trust the government with our families. After all their programs will raise my child, teach them how to work in society, pay my Social Security, and do whatever they please. Though as I end this rant, I guess that since people take it RUTP, giving up their control to the government that they give up that FREEDOM from all that control.

Dig IT, Dig IT Hard
*Courtesy of Dictionary.com