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Apr. 22nd, 2004
Wil Wheaton is a smart-ass...
Apr. 22nd, 2004 12:01 pm11 Questions with Wil Wheaton
Question 5
BBspot (5): Did you feel like your character suffered from an Oedipus complex in Star Trek:The Next Generation? I mean, your mom was really hot, and your dad died under cloudy circumstances.
Wil: When Wesley's dad died, Wesley was so traumatized, he had to spend many, many nights sleeping in Dr. Crusher's quarters...and the therapeutic sponge baths really helped with the grieving process. Oh, and the oral sex.
More Earth Day Thoughts...
Apr. 22nd, 2004 02:56 pmSince the weather is sunny and beautiful today, I decided to head to my favorite lunch place near a nice park. Unfortunately since I work in the soulless urban California-esque ghetto of Bellevue, that involved a drive up to Kirkland. Still, a great quick lunch at Acropolis and then walking barefoot through soft grass and sitting under a tree feeling the breeze and listening to the birds was quite relaxing.
So what does Earth Day really mean? As a person who hangs out in 'earth-centered religious' circles, should I consider it a religious day? Is it just a day for activism? Why is it only a day when "Professional Administrators" get a week? I can't say that I have the answers, but I'm sure the eco-warriors out there have their own agenda and desires for such a day.
Yet I know there are people who don't find the current state of our environment disturbing or really pay much attention at all to environmental issues. Never mind that commonly used tropical fish aquarium plants have caused ecologically destructive infestations on coastal waters around the world; that our landfills are routinely loaded up with easily recyclable materials, toxic chemical and heavy-metal wastes from batteries and electronics, and products that could have easily been reused, given to charity, repaired, or even built with marginally more expensive materials to last years longer; that we are systematically releasing carbon into the atmosphere in unprecedented levels; that average gas mileage has actually dropped rather than improve with most people driving large off-road rated vehicles for in-city driving; that the few remaining large forests in the world are being turned into cheap charcoal; or even that all recent attempts at international mobilization on environment issues are torpedoed by the richest and most powerful nation on the planet.
Most people seem quite happy with the status quo and the direction of our society. They don't consider even minor alternations in lifestyle: buying more durable non-disposable goods, gas efficiency is a minimal concern for vehicles, separating recyclables from their household trash (or even recycling the tons of junk-mail most people throw away without even a glance), or using alternative transportation and decreasing distance between work and home. If you are such a person and don't see any point to getting involved, that is certainly your prerogative. I do, however, have one message for you:
PICK. UP. YOUR. FUCKING. TRASH.
It is really simple. Your child's drink-box and straw and the plastic tray for your Lunchables meal doesn't turn into magic fucking pixie-dust when left outside on the ground. There are not armies of subsistence immigrant workers who follow you about to pick up after you. The trash you leave in the park blows into drainage ditches and ends up in local waters or coats the ground in nearby woods. Completely ignoring environmental concerns, it is common fucking courtesy to pick up after yourself. And if while you are picking up pieces of trash around your picnic table and you find older trash, pick it the hell up while you are at it. If everyone pulled their own weight, then lovely days at the park wouldn't feel like playing in a land fill.
I know a lot of people are raised in an urban environment surrounded by the mess that humans seem to revel in, but can you at least pretend that you aren't wallowing in your own filth and hold on to your trash for another 15 seconds to put it into a trash can?
So what does Earth Day really mean? As a person who hangs out in 'earth-centered religious' circles, should I consider it a religious day? Is it just a day for activism? Why is it only a day when "Professional Administrators" get a week? I can't say that I have the answers, but I'm sure the eco-warriors out there have their own agenda and desires for such a day.
Yet I know there are people who don't find the current state of our environment disturbing or really pay much attention at all to environmental issues. Never mind that commonly used tropical fish aquarium plants have caused ecologically destructive infestations on coastal waters around the world; that our landfills are routinely loaded up with easily recyclable materials, toxic chemical and heavy-metal wastes from batteries and electronics, and products that could have easily been reused, given to charity, repaired, or even built with marginally more expensive materials to last years longer; that we are systematically releasing carbon into the atmosphere in unprecedented levels; that average gas mileage has actually dropped rather than improve with most people driving large off-road rated vehicles for in-city driving; that the few remaining large forests in the world are being turned into cheap charcoal; or even that all recent attempts at international mobilization on environment issues are torpedoed by the richest and most powerful nation on the planet.
Most people seem quite happy with the status quo and the direction of our society. They don't consider even minor alternations in lifestyle: buying more durable non-disposable goods, gas efficiency is a minimal concern for vehicles, separating recyclables from their household trash (or even recycling the tons of junk-mail most people throw away without even a glance), or using alternative transportation and decreasing distance between work and home. If you are such a person and don't see any point to getting involved, that is certainly your prerogative. I do, however, have one message for you:
PICK. UP. YOUR. FUCKING. TRASH.
It is really simple. Your child's drink-box and straw and the plastic tray for your Lunchables meal doesn't turn into magic fucking pixie-dust when left outside on the ground. There are not armies of subsistence immigrant workers who follow you about to pick up after you. The trash you leave in the park blows into drainage ditches and ends up in local waters or coats the ground in nearby woods. Completely ignoring environmental concerns, it is common fucking courtesy to pick up after yourself. And if while you are picking up pieces of trash around your picnic table and you find older trash, pick it the hell up while you are at it. If everyone pulled their own weight, then lovely days at the park wouldn't feel like playing in a land fill.
I know a lot of people are raised in an urban environment surrounded by the mess that humans seem to revel in, but can you at least pretend that you aren't wallowing in your own filth and hold on to your trash for another 15 seconds to put it into a trash can?