IM2Opinionated - Common sense views on politics

Can one get excited about anything these days? Maybe I should be more specific. Can anyone get excited about anything that isn't a material possession these days? I for one, have my doubts. It seems that since all of mankind's current knowledge was put on the internet, it became very uninteresting. Think about it. An individual can find out anything about anything and what do most people spend their time doing? Watching Youtube and the plethora of boobs (not breasts) that make stupid faces or act outrageous for no reason than to act outrageous. And I can't say that I blame them or disagree with them because I have wasted my fair share of time on the Star Wars kid; Fred and the many other stupid, yet funny viral videos. Maybe the reason for the Internet (scientific discovery and collaboration) should reconsidered. Maybe people would feel more of a thirst for knowledge if it weren't so readily available. Like they say absence make the heart grow fonder. Sent f...

I think the world has gone mad and I believe that the proof is in advertising. If you think we're out of the recession, you could be right, but what you would have failed to realize is that advertisers believe we should go for another spin. Why else would there be ads encouraging the unemployed to go out and buy a new car. I'm not talking about some local unscrupulous, sleazy car salesman, these ads are from a major auto manufacturer. The woman in the commercial I am thinking of actually claims that she got laid off earlier in the year, so she decided to buy a new car. Now, I understand that it is most likely a complete necessity to have a reliable means of transportation, but it also seems that there should be a feasible alternative to buying a brand new car.  This commercial doesn't sound reasonable from a business standpoint?   What it sound like is an ad for a check cashing place, but I doubt that even a check cashing place would take checks from the unemployed....

Ever notice that the older you get, the younger your parents look. . .At least relatively. I look at older people, at least in their sixties and I realize that they look as old as their parents. An 80 year old mother looks more like the sister of her 60 year old daughter. Why would anyone choose to live longer with that possibility looming on the horizon? Let's say you could live until you were 200 years old. Your age would most likely be indistinguishable from that of your 220 year old mom or your dad for that matter. Personally, I think I would prefer to go out while I still look younger than my folks. What do you guys think? Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

    When did we become a country of bureaucracy? Why is certification such a big industry these days? Don't misunderstand me, I believe that certain industries do require some means of proving a professional's skills, especially in fields in which there are technological advances made on a regular basis or frequent updates to theories and/or methodology.  For example, a doctor should be up to date with the latest medical findings or the newest diagnostic equipment.  Engineers should have a grasp on the latest construction methods and materials related to their discipline, but why would an unarmed security guard need a license?     Now, I do believe that they should have background checks, but how long could it take to teach someone how to use a timeclock or how to write an incident report? I was an unarmed security guard while I was in college and the only thing they taught me was how to dial 911. And if you look at the security guards out ...

Impression of the movie based on the Preview Trailer Maybe someday we won't have to be subjected to movies that only appeal to the senses and not our sensibilities.  Maybe they'll stop making these mind numbingly bad movies when we stop going to them.  STOP GOING TO THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!  They're only getting worse.

I posted this article a while back and in light if the pledge that Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and other Billionaires have made recently, I thought it appropriate to re-post it. Also, I believe that kudos are in order for these socially minded individuals, so I will post my own 'Thank you' when I have a chance to learn more about these generous people humanitarians. Originally posted on July 7, 2010 If the theory that most of the world's wealth is possessed by so few than those Billionaires need to step up to the plate of humanity and knock one out of the park. There is no longer any need to hold onto your money so tightly: YOU HAVE IT ALL! And now that you do it will slowly become worthless. Or have you already made plans to switch over to a new form of currency? Are we going back to a modified system of slavery? One that isn't known as such? Interesting. . . Anyway, now that you hold all of the chips, the game is over. Why should the rest of us play by your rules? ...

He received the news on December 10, 2010. It was a Thursday and was like any other day, except this Thurday was his last. As he listened to the causes that were rattled off one by one, his heart slowed along with everything else, time included. Looking around the room, Chris felt sympathetic towards those who were delivering the news as well as those that were simply there as observers. It saddened him to think that this duty was part of their job description. Saddened because, though this was the end of the road for Chris, it was merely another stop for the man delivering the news and his protégé. Tomorrow, as Chris dealt with what he was being told, these two gentlemen would most likely have to sit before some other poor guy and sound the same death knell. That was how this epidemic worked. Chris leaned back in his chair and deemed himself lucky. Lucky, because unlike what he had heard about these disclosures, his was a semi-private affair. Only two others had fal...

On an unrelated note. My girlfriend commented on how sturdy and muscular my legs are. I told her that they were that way because I'm fat. It's like they're lifting weights all day.

If the theory that most of the world's wealth is possessed by so few than those Billionaires need to step up to the plate of humanity and knock one out of the park. There is no longer any need to hold onto your money so tightly: YOU HAVE IT ALL! And now that you do it will slowly become worthless. Or have you already made plans to switch over to a new form of currency? Are we going back to a modified system of slavery? One that isn't known as such? Interesting. . . Anyway, now that you hold all of the chips, the game is over. Why should the rest of us play by your rules? Measures must be taken to show us that you do still consider yourselves part of the Human Race. I am not saying to become philanthropists, but you could help those lowly millionaires increase the size of their coffers by giving them little projects to do here and there. Have them build a shrine in your image. Nothing too guady, maybe a statue that could date Lady Liberty and not feel self-conscious...

Part 5 of "Choices" On the "Stories" Page  (parts 1 - 4 in archives) Going for Mediocrity , originally posted on June 26, 2010 Is it just me or does mankind seem to only be going for 'silver' as in humans seem to be content with finishing second or, in other words, we seem to be content with doing just enough to get by:  Corporate leaders seem to do just enough to make their  lives easier, politicians seem to do just enough to get elected.  And if these are the leaders of our planet, imagine how the rest of us underachievers are just skating by through life.  When I was a kid, I imagined that we would have flying cars like the Jetson's and bullet trains like the Japanese and the world in general would be a better place to live, but has this ideal future come to pass.  In my opinion, no and I believe that greed is at the root of our slow development, but it is not the reason.  The reason in my eyes is that, people seem to be content with being lea...

Part 5 of "Choices" On the "Stories" Page  (parts 1 - 4 in archives)   BP isn't alone (Story listed on this page) Recently, all fingers have been pointing at British Petroleum ( BP ) for polluting the ocean with an obscene amount of oil, and while this blame is most certainly deserved, they are not the only group committing these crimes against nature.  If you want to know who else my be perpetrating such heinous acts as BP , simply look in the mirror.  You could be part of the reason for the floating garbage islands in the Pacific Ocean as could I, because every time that we fail to dispose of our waste properly it could find it's way to the largest body of water on Earth.  Check out this link to find out what I am talking about, and try to be more careful where you put your trash in the future. Garbage Island Chain Watch these videos to see what we are doing to the Ocean And follow the link below to learn about other ways we p...

The World as Perceived , originally posted on June 13, 2010 The world as we know it is not true to more than one person at any particular time. There are absolutes, but these things most people understand only in the most rudimentary way. Those few who do possess the faculties to grasp the truest realities can no longer communicate or impart any knowledge of their understanding of the Universe or tie in their perceptions to those of lesser intellect. All that the rest of humanity can do is hope that all equations balance out. This might be less of a problem for most things that exist in this experiment of free will, but for those who choose to care, the balance ends when the past becomes the “Good Ole Days”. For most of humanity life was most joyous before doing anything of importance was considered a worthy pursuit. In the millions of seconds that lead up to any responsible act, whether it be a barrier broken; a hurdle cleared or a goal met; all achievements throughout history were,...

In this world we live in, where the righteous seem to hold sway over the masses, it boggles my mind how much our elected officials and "religious leaders" get away with nowadays. In New York, the Governor gets ousted for frequenting prostitutes and his replacement doesn't seem to be much cleaner. The Governor from South Carolina is hiking the Appalachian Trail. Anti-gay activist George Rekers goes on a cruise with a male escort and most recently, Ted Haggard opened another church: Haggard was the minister in Colorado who preached against gay marriage, while engaging the services of a male prostitute and doing crystal meth. And although this behavior got him run out of town by his former church, it did not stop him. He is now back in business and straight as an arrow . . . Rearing, I mean raring to rid gay people of their homosexuality. The truth be told, what bothers me the most is not the behavior of people like those mentioned, but the forgiveness that always see...

I recently watched a documentary about stupidity and the lack of any formal or scientific studies done to determine the extent of it in our society. The movie starts out by asking "people on the street" to describe this commonly used word and others that we direct at one another occasionally. Oddly enough, none of the impromptu interviews produced an answer. The story then provides the origins of such words as; idiot, imbecile and moron (which originated in Vineland, New Jersey), which is interesting, but not the focus of the film. The meat of the story is why people seemingly reject intellectual pursuits, while embracing mind-numbing programming on TV action movies based on comic books and all of the nonsensical clips on the internet. While, determining the nature of stupidity might seem a trivial pursuit, even stupid one, the point the filmmakers are trying to make isn't. A simple explanation would be that, if we unlock stupidity, we might be able to unlock intell...

I'm not certain, but I'm getting the feeling maybe we (The United States) shouldn't be involved with anything that has Global in the title:  Global economy, Global warming, global extinction (kind of unavoidable, but we should try).  And maybe. . . Let's avoid the term "Multinational" henceforth as well.

Given that some estimates put the number of stars in the Universe between 10-70 sextillion (the latter number is 7 with 22 zeroes after it), here is a  scenario to consider.

After you read this post, visit the "Stories" page for the next part of my original story "Choices". I’ve lived in Miami a long time, so I believe that I am qualified to point out this city’s biggest shortfall. I don’t think I am the only person to realize this, and perhaps that’s why I am so puzzled as to why this idea has never truly surfaced in the past. Maybe, those who know it have simply accepted it as something that could never be changed or maybe those who care about such things have simply decided to leave. To me, the city’s lack of amenities for the residents and tourists alike is what keeps Miami from being considered on par with the likes of New York and other big cities of the world. For my part, I stopped inviting family and friends to visit years ago, because one of the few things that I could suggest when they arrived was to jump in a rental car and drive up to Orlando. The alternatives were Key West or South Beach, but there is only so much loun...

At this point in life, I thought that I would have a clear picture of where I wanted to be, but to my dismay, this has not proven to be the case.  I thought I would enjoy what I studied in college, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  For this reason, I am still trying to figure out what it is that I am good at and something for which I have a great passion.  Some, who know me well have seen how much I like to discuss the world, human interaction, art, music, technology, philosophy and much more, others would say that I don't speak that often.  This second group however is not really listening and they have every right not to listen, but they could never say they "KNOW" me.  Others still believe that I should pursue a career in art and I would have years back had I felt it were a lucrative field, but truth be told, it isn't lucrative for most artists.  Given these limited choices of talking for a career or painting, I've decided to go in another di...

My apologies for not updating the "Stories Page" as well as the "Dreams Page" I have been focused on producing an audition tape for a new show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. I have updated the "Stories Page" with the next installment of my story "Choices" and I will be updating the "Dreams Page" on Monday. I will try to update IM2 Opinionated every weekday. Eventually, I will provide a schedule for the various topics that will be addressed on the blog. As far as the daily topic is concerned, these will be discussed on the "Home Page" and will be transferred to their respective page once a new article is posted. Please vote for my by clicking on the link above the video below. You don't have to watch the video each time, but please vote as often as you can and tell your friends to do the same. Thank you Chris I would love to have my OWN show I started this blog as a way to get my opinions heard, because I bel...

I started this blog as a way to get my opinions heard, because I believe that not enough is said about what is wrong with the way our world is going. Corporations are running the world, an idea with which I do not inherently have an issue. The problem I do have is that too many of these corporations get away with things that they simply should not be allowed to get away with. British Petroleum (BP) is being treated with kid gloves, because ". . .we need them to clean up their mess." Well, of course we need them to clean up their mess, but why do we have to be nice about it? Is BP going to pack up its business and take it elsewhere? Who's a bigger glutton for oil than the great U.S. of A? I don't think so, but what BP will take away from those people living through this tragedy, our country and the world in general is immeasurable. To me BP and the subsequent treatment of this disaster will simply serve to represent yet another time that big business got away ...

Now, I might not be the most religious guy in the room. I just haven't found one that I felt comfortable believing, but I do feel that I am spiritual. I believe that their is something out there that created us (mankind) or at least had a hand in our creation, but omnipotence and omniscience is a stretch for me. However this higher power rules or guides or treats us is less important to me than how we treat one another. Wouldn't it make sense that if our creator deemed us as his favorite, he or it would want us to treat one another with respect and kindness? Or maybe this almighty doesn't want us to get along. Maybe this life is some kind of stress test for the next one and if that is the case, I don't want any part of it. Personally, I believe that kindness breeds kindness, no matter what religion you belong to. I believe that whatever you put out there comes back to you, and this is actually the point of today's daily observation. What if the America and ...

Today on IM2 Click on the Titles in Quotations to go to the post On Daily Observations    "Sci Fi . . . Why?" Why does the Sci Fi channel insist on bombarding its viewers with terrible movies about dragons and ogres and other creatures of fantasy ? On the Stories Page "Choices" Part 3  May 25, 2010 A short about grief, belief and murder will be presented in this five part series. Click on the title of this post or the "Stories" link above and check back weekly for each new installment. On the Art Page "My Art" I have placed my art on the art page and will be posting new work as it becomes available. On the Off the Wall Page "Aliens protest allegations of anal probing" On the Dreams Page "Two Friends" Next update will be - May 25, 2010 Search Engine Submission - AddMe Search Engine Optimization and SEO Tools

Today on IM2 Click on the Titles in Quotations to go to the post On Daily Observations    "Sci Fi . . . Why?" Why does the Sci Fi channel insist on bombarding its viewers with terrible movies about dragons and ogres and other creatures of fantasy ? On the Stories Page "Choices" Part 3  May 25, 2010 A short about grief, belief and murder will be presented in this five part series. Click on the title of this post or the "Stories" link above and check back weekly for each new installment. On the Art Page "My Art" I have placed my art on the art page and will be posting new work as it becomes available. On the Off the Wall Page "Aliens protest allegations of anal probing" On the Dreams Page "Two Friends" Next update will be - May 25, 2010

The art, which can be found in the sidebar on the right side of this page and it will display my art and the art of artists I appreciate, whether they be established or otherwise. Any artist interested in displaying their art on this blog, please notify me by comment.

Now, I know that I will be considered too liberal and, to be quite honest, I don't care, but I would like to be informed when I speak or write. So to this end I would love to hear from people who consider themselves conservative and would like to enlighten me on the virtues of the Republican party. So, to all of those with opposing views, please send me articles, links or whatever other material you deem informative and truthful. The only requirement that I have for these counter point articles or links is that they only contain facts. I do not want statistics that were gathered by groups that might have an agenda based on religious beliefs or financial ties to any particular industry: For example, I wouldn't want any stats from the "God Hates Fags" people or the Intelligent Design people. Now for those who lean more towards my opinions, I would appreciate the same as long as your sources meet the same requirements mentioned above.

Commonsense and complacency, one of which America lacks while the other is both dangerously abundant and and growing, are just two of the factors that I think is leading our great nation in a perilous direction. A path that, given our recent history (Say the past 25-30 years), we will most likely continue to travel to our own destruction. Dramatic as this may sound, what evidence is there to the contrary? The answer most certainly does not lay in technology, which since the advent of the personal computer has simply been mostly bells and whistles. Don't misunderstand me, I do know that there are some extremely helpful inventions and ideas that have blossomed in the past fifty years that have actually served mankind as intended by the respective creators, but few have shaped society. And after all, society is what matters to humans most, because it is a civil society that the majority of us seek: One in which we can live our lives the way that pleases us the most, and why shou...

Now that the Health Care Reform Bill has been passed, I couldn't help but notice how many Republicans have been screaming for its repeal. This, to me, is a sign that Obama is onto something that might actually benefit the people of the United States. I would actually be more concerned if the GOP agreed with this plan, because during the Bush administration, I got the sinking feeling that the government didn't necessarily have my best interests at heart. Between the war in Iraq; the response to hurricane Katrina and the shambles in which GW left the economy, I can't understand how anyone could believe otherwise. Of course, those proponents of Bush will claim that, no single man or administration could be to blame for the economy all while blaming Obama and the current administration for the failed banking system and the injustices committed on wall street. What is also odd to me, is that many of the changes presented in the HCR bill were originally presented by Republic...

In this setting, I will speak on the issues of the day, providing insight as seen from my perspective. Chris Ossman