Taking Note of a Few Things: Things I Am Not Impressed By Edition

Too much is made about people today who don’t deserve all the accolades they receive. It’s not that I do not think they warrant coverage by the media, it is just that I think there is way more attention given to some than is deserving.

Caitlin Clark is the first person who comes to my mind. Why is it she is being anointed the all-time scorer in college basketball history? Sure, she passed Pete Maravich, but we are talking about two different genders. The men’s game is not the same as the women’s game. When a woman sets a world record in track and field, she is considered the fastest female on the planet. When a man breaks a record, he is labeled the fastest man on the planet. It is that way in every sport where men and women do not compete against each other. Why is it different in college basketball?

I have never watched Clark play, but when talking heads debate things like whether she is the greatest college basketball player ever, it is stupid. Let’s just say for a second she is the greatest female to ever play college ball. It would not take long to compile a list of over 100 males who were better than she is. It is why there is a separate game for the two genders.

I also believe if Clark were black, she would not be the current darling of the sports world. Our media is still controlled by very rich white people who know the more white heroes they throw at us, the more white people tune into their coverage. In case you forgot, this nation’s largest population group is still white.

When Clark heads to the WNBA, she is going to find out there are scores of black players looking forward to matching their talent with hers. The sports world might find out she is not the superhero she has been made out to be. What happens this summer if she is sitting on the bench while she watches superior teammates lead Team USA to an Olympic gold medal?

You just know I am going to list Taylor Swift. It may seem like I am knocking women, but I am not. I am knocking the amount of media air she sucks up. I do believe she has also benefited greatly by her skin color Our culture was inundated with far more coverage of the likes of Madonna, Shania, Faith, Mylie, and Taylor than it ever was Beyonce, Aretha, Tina, or Whitney.

You won’t hear me brag about how great my generation is or was. If our parents were part of what has been called the Greatest Generation Ever then we should carry the mantle of The Greatest Disappointment Ever. We lost more wars than we won. We did nothing to combat global warming because we were too busy hoarding wealth. That Middle Class American Dream our parents helped build was destroyed in favor of cheap labor. A college degree went from mattering to being one humongous debt for our kids. Kids went from playing outdoors and using their imaginations to becoming hooked on devices we created that have turned them into marshmallows.

I am just getting warmed up, but suffice it to say, other than classic rock music, as a generation, we primarily excelled at destroying all that was left to us and leaving behind a gigantic toxic dump for other generations to clean up.

Cell phones are another thing I am not impressed by. I admit to not being impressed with all the breakthroughs in technology, but see the usefulness they were designed for. However, cell phones are not one of the gadgets I think much of. I do not care about how much they are capable of doing because they are sold more as a form of entertainment than anything else. Mostly, I am not impressed with a device that when it crashes turns humans into total idiots who can’t solve a problem while they suffer from panic and withdrawal symptoms.

Cancel culture, the PC Police, and all the other softies who have nothing better to do than go look for people to tattle on. Go stick your earbuds into your cranium and cover your eyes with blinders and wait for your mom to toss you a plate of leftovers while you live in her basement.

New terminology, or as George Carlin referred to it as soft language. Why does everything have to sound nice? The real world is harsh and the sooner we realize it is not all rose petals and flavored water, the better off we all are. Self-esteem may be nice, but a kick in the nuts will make you realize life hurts like hell now and then.

Sexual identity has gone off the rails. We used to be warned about the dangers from exchanging fluids during sex and now we are taught our sexual identity is fluid. WTF? Your pronoun doesn’t have to be the pronoun I see you as. If you insist on being referred to in a specific manner, wear a damn name tag just as we were encouraged to wear a condom. Otherwise, be prepared for people to call you how they see you.

I am not impressed by ballot propositions. Read the fine print and you will see the money they ask for goes more for paying political friends who serve on “oversight” committees than they do for any useful project. Jerry Brown made damn sure I will never vote in favor of any ballot proposal. They just let politicians off the hook because they don’t want to be held accountable for passing any controversial laws.

Steve Garvey — Sorry, but if he was a creep 20 years ago, he is still a creep today. I’d rather vote for Steve Harvey as my senator.

Space exploration is primarily to find ways to develop some sort of Star Wars superiority above our planet than it is for anything else. Exploring the moon and planets are as much about our quest for new and rare minerals. They are also seen as possible gigantic landfills to ship our most toxic materials while we continue tearing up our planet. Finally, space exploration is seen as the next playground for the wealthy.

Grocery shopping in Chico is not enjoyable. The two big chain stores here, Safeway and Raley’s, are horribly priced even with store discount memberships. I checked out the grocery section in my nearby WalMart and there were entire rows of empty shelves. Zero. Nada. Not an item to be found. I go to WinCo primarily because it has big aisles. Their prices are nothing special. Expect at least an hour to get through the place. You have to bag your own groceries. Worst of all, if you do not drive a compact car, you have to park way out at the south forty.

Nikki Haley. Here’s a great campaign slogan: “At Least I am Not Trump.” She offers up nothing any other candidate might offer, which is a lot of double talk around the important stuff while pointing fingers at Democrats and catering to the worst elements of the right.

Gavin Newsom. Six months ago, when people were questioning Joe Biden’s age, Newsom was seen as almost a lock to step in and save Democrats. Today, he is scrambling to deal with a horrific state debt, potential recall in the fall, and a state which the GOP has successfully painted as out of touch with the rest of the country.

Joe Rogan. His podcast is basically him sitting around with a guest drinking or getting high while talking about conspiracies  In other words, it’s what we did on weekends in high school.

The intelligence of politicians: If the NFL can use the Wonderlic Test, or something similar, to determine the basic level of intelligence of players coming into the league, why can’t we require it of our elected leaders? I do not care about their age nearly as much as their ability to see a problem and to know how to solve it. Here is a question that I would place on their test, “If a complaint comes in about a pothole on a city street, do you a) send someone out to investigate it; b) immediately send out a crew to fill it; c) put the caller on hold; or d) wait until it becomes a gigantic sinkhole before repairing it?Chico

The term hero is OVERUSED. I hate to break it to you, but odds are you are not a hero because of the job you do. I taught for 30 years and hated hearing that term when it was used to describe public school employees. Sure, if a teacher takes down an active shooter, they are a hero. However, just because I taught middle school doesn’t make me a hero. If anything, it proves I am batshit crazy. Heroes risk or sacrifice their lives for the sake of others. They don’t win football games. They don’t prepare meals at a soup kitchen. They don’t work on Black Friday. They don’t even raise kids.

Weather forecasters. When I taught PE, kids often came into my office wanting to know their grades. I would pick up a toy bow and arrow set and fire an arrow at a cardboard target with grades randomly posted. Wherever it hit was the grade I told the student. That’s a more accurate way of forecasting the weather than the way the news currently provides. My method also does not waste the time of the student by telling him the grades of all the others in my classes. I do not need to know how cold it is in Kansas or how muggy it is in Mississippi. Just tell me what the forecast is and not what sort of day we just had.

Cats. I just do not see the point in keeping a pet that sheds much worse than any dog, ignores you until they want food, and can’t be trusted to be put outside because they may run away and find a better home to live in.

I don’t think I have ever been impressed by the car someone drives. I don’t care how new, fast, big, small, or shiny it is. It doesn’t matter if it burns gas, diesel, or farts. The only time I was ever impressed with a car was when I played with Hot Wheels. A car should be functional so I basically place it in the same class as a wheel barrel. If it doesn’t get the job done that you need it to do, it’s a headache.

Chances are, I am not impressed by what you do for a living. I am impressed by someone’s work ethic and how they treat colleagues and customers. However, a title is not impressive if you are a dick. I don’t care what the profession is, most of the people doing any job are average at it. Ten to 15% excel at what they do, while just as many suck. Remember, depending on the day and circumstances of our lives, we all fall into each category from time-to-time.

Your clothes don’t matter to me. Of course, I tend to lean more toward the homeless surfer look than I do anything high end. I prefer comfort and for the life of me never understood why someone would sacrifice it just to look good. If you can’t feel comfortable in a high end article of clothing, it’s a waste of money to buy.

Speaking of high end, I am not impressed by swanky restaurants. I don’t care how good the food is or what the atmosphere is like. Odds are I will enjoy the food more at a local taco shop or burger joint more. You can also add the overpriced bottle of wine that is selected by the chef to go with the meal. If I can’t enjoy a cold beer in either a bottle or mug with my meal, it is not worth paying for.

Finally, I am thoroughly unimpressed with the results of over 30 years of emphasizing reading, writing, math and science at the expense of understanding and appreciating our nation’s history, both good and bad. In November, the most ignorant bunch of voters will decide whether to elect a man who is determined to destroy our nation — and there is a good chance, people young and old, will elect him. proving our most dangerous enemy is us and not any foreigner.