Tag: Festivus

December 22, 2022 – Festivus, For the Rest of Us

December 22, 2022 /

I’ve got a lot of problems with you people. This is my annual airing of grievances. Some of it is pretty serious and some of it was kind of light hearted. But, I like the tradition of Festivus and the airing of grievances. Get ready to get punched in the face if you are taking a stand against me, cause it is on. We will settle this with the feats of strength.

One correction for the OSU Beavers basketball. They won three games, not two. That was my fault for not researching my facts (including my own blog) before speaking. I still contend that this is the worst team in history due to the total number of losses.

End Your Programming Routine: Sometimes there is no changing the programming. Today, I am enjoying some old fashion bitching. That is part of the tradition of Festivus in the first place.

December 23, 2021 – Happy Festivus

December 23, 2021 /

As you know from last year we do celebrate Festivus here at AltF4.co. While most of the activities are difficult to convey in written format, the airing of grievances are particularly suited.  I think traditionally, grievances would be associated to people attending the dinner, but in this case I am not going to impose that limit.

I think that we all recall how the year started out.  January 6, a huge group of useful idiots stormed the US Capitol. With shock and amazement, six people died participating in a manufactured crisis and subsequent legal/PR/propaganda clusterfuck this turned out to be.  What a perfect beginning to 2021.

  • Oregon’s own Governor Brown – I saw a survey a couple of weeks ago that listed Kate Brown as the least popular governor in the United States.  It is no wonder that I have a problem here.  Granted, not all of Oregon’s problems are related strictly to the figure, but it is a good start.  Whether it is losing freedom or imposing administrative fear in the population, she has earned her Festivus place.
  • The ‘Rust’ crew – This has got to be one of the dumbest tragedies of the year.  Fools playing with guns mix live ammunition into stage work and someone dies.  I feel so bad for the director (and family) that was likely innocent but also the victim.  There is no doubt to me that Alec Baldwin is reaping what he sows here.  The flimsy excuses and nonsense that has subsequently come out as a result makes me hope that those involve pay dearly for negligence.  Even terrible accidents happen which I believe this was, the fact that no one takes responsibility for this is deplorable.
  • Useful idiots –  From Jessie Smollet, Antifa and woke culture to Proud Boys stooges both sides play parts in the ongoing drama.  As I keep saying, it doesn’t matter which side you are taking, if you take a side you are advancing the agenda of both sides of the political dichotomy.  We are all losers here.
  • Monetary Policy Makers, Politicians and Media reporting – The ‘official‘ inflation rate is 6.8% for 2021.  Those of us living in the real world know that the gerrymandering of the statistics that go into the number is a farce.  Let’s look at some items: OSB – 3X last year, 2x4x8 #2 studs- 2X last year, available ammunition – at least 2X last year, 20# propane tanks – 2X last year, ground beef – 2X last year.  I could go on and on about every time I turn around something is costing significantly more than it used to (anyone priced houses lately).  It turns out that if you take all the items out of the calculation that actually have inflation, then you can get to 6.8%
  • Politicians (again) – Let us not forget that much of the inflation is tied to ridiculous Covid policies and stimulus severely effecting the supply chain.  The claim that prices are driven by raw material costs and availability are direct reflections of paying people not to work, disbarring rental contract enforcement and economic stimulus that has no other consequences but inflation.  Many of you probably don’t realize (yet, until April) that the checks the government sent in the summer were advancements on the Child Credit.  That money will be factored into your total income and in my case, I will likely have to pay that back.  Thanks US Treasury.  I didn’t need it, nor did I ask for it but just tack $2000 onto my bill in April.

Here are some honorable mentions this year.  I will save some of my vitriol and describe a simply disappointed.

  • OSU Beavers football team – At times they looked brilliant and dominated opponents, including the PAC-12 champions Utah.  They were 6-0 at home but on the road they looked downright listless.  This includes getting shellacked by 5-7 Cal and losing to Colorado at 4-8 in overtime.  As much as I wanted this to be the year of change, it was clear after the LA Bowl that this was probably a fluke.
  • Las Vegas Raiders –   I have always been a Raiders fan but this year I was hoping for more.  The Raiders were also my father-in-law’s favorite team.  This was one sports team that we could cheer for in common because I definitely didn’t want to talk about how the Ducks are doing every year.  The rest of the family was hoping for a good showing too to help transition through the grief.  It’s not over, but it sure doesn’t look good especially after being blown out by Kansas City two weeks ago and squeaking by Cleveland’s third string offense last week.

End Your Programming Routine: Just because I listed a bunch of bad things above doesn’t mean there weren’t good things too.  This is however the Airing of Grievances so I stuck to topic.  As I wrap up the year here, I hope that you take time to enjoy the holidays and focus on what is important in life: God, family, friends and building the Quiet Insurrection.  We wont fix this by electing the right people, we will fix this by being a better neighbor, having compassion and loving those around us.  

 

 

December 23, 2020 – Happy Festivus, the Airing of Grievances

December 23, 2020 /

Before I get started and despite the negative tone of yesterday and today, I truly wish my readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays of their faith and culture. This will be the last post before Christmas. I anticipate one more between Christmas and New Year’s day.

Today is the fictitious Festivus holiday of Seinfeld fame which has five distinctive components.

  1. Decorations – A bare aluminum pole as a Christmas tree substitute
  2. Dinner – Some sort of semi-formal, family style dinner with the invited Festivus guests
  3. Airing of Grievances – Bring up issues that have happened all year long with the guests present. This will occur before dinner.
  4. Feats of Strength – Two chosen participants will duke it out to determine the year’s winner
  5. Miracles – Anything that would lighten it up out of the ordinary. It is just fun to say.

Today, I am going to write about concerns that I have from the year and moving forward. This is not intended to be a downer list but rather a stimulating and thought provoking post. I don’t know if I have said in the past on this blog or not, but I truly believe the situation is what you make of it. Without discussion or awareness, things only maintain status quo at best.

  • Working for an hourly wage may sound good on paper, but it doesn’t pay what you would think. In my case, the expectation was that I was going to work four, ten hour days in a week. The reality has been that it has been 3-4, six to eight hour days. My time stubs are averaging 30 hours a week. I don’t think that it is enough to justify the time output.
  • Creativity is dead in entertainment. The brilliance of Seinfeld as an example. It was funny, witty and edgy without being over the top. I feel like the last sitcom to hold the ‘best’ title recently, Big Bang Theory was none of those things and I have a chemistry degree. I get nerd humor. Streaming is now the best way to get close but even so I can’t keep up with the volumes of choices and seasonal release schedules.
  • The difference between the ‘free’ states and the quasi-totalitarian states has been exploited this year. The west coast has gone full jack boot on some industries like fitness gyms, movie theaters and restaurants. Who the hell is going to eat outside in Oregon winter? My position remains that vulnerable people need to take appropriate precautions, everyone else should live as they see fit.
  • Logic and Reason is completely absent from the majority of the population. We have the group that still thinks Trump will keep the office of President. We have the group that thinks quarantine and masks will ‘slow the curve’. We have the group that thinks rioting helps the image of Black Lives Matter. We have ‘camping bans’ as a policy for reduced homelessness. It feels like it is a school district ‘snow day’ when it snowed for fifteen minutes at three AM.
  • Media of almost any form is in the tank for one side or the other. It doesn’t matter which side. And by the way, the major social media platforms are the worst at censorship. They are imploring politically correct only messages. The fact that they have successfully polarized the population means that they win. Control has been surrendered. If you are accepting any argument where ‘the science has been settled’ or you are opposed to any argument because that is the argument, then you are being controlled as well.
  • Convenience over privacy rules the day and people just don’t care. If you have ever uttered or agreed with the phrase, ‘it is a good first step’ then it works on you too. Bills such as the Patriot Act have fueled the collection of data on you. Granted, most people don’t have much to hide (yet). But, I am sure that most people have things, do things that they would rather not share, myself included. I fear that it is too late at this point. We do not have enough technology for complete monitoring but the path is set. Let me put it this way, our laws limit surveillance to telephone wire tapping only, not e-mail, not text messaging, not private forum posts.

That is probably enough. Remember, we are probably more alike than we are different. I believe that God created us in his image, and that cannot be a mistake.