Saturday, February 7, 2009

RVD at LARGE

Have you people been watching the news lately? There’s just so much to talk about!

Yes, I made big news when I returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble- and yes, I did look good- OK, OK, real good-but I let’s talk about what’s on the TV news lately. We survi ved the Peanut Butter scare (most of us), we witnessed Jessica Simpson getting brutalized for looking bigger, and now the big news is that Christian Bale lost his temper and yelled at someone using adult language. Ooh. Shocking. Are you guys getting pelted with t his over and over? 


Here’s one thought provoking piece of news I saw the other day that caught my attention. I saw a married couple petting the clone of their dead dog. Crazy? Yeah, kinda. No, make that very crazy. They loved their pet. They want their pet to live forever. Ok. I get that, but what is that thing they’re petting? Does it have their dog’s memory? They said it had the personality, but was still a puppy- although it was rapidly approaching full growth at like 8 weeks. Any opinions out of you?

  

I don’t know if this is huge everywhere, or just here, but the lady with the octuplets is all over the tube here in California. She already had 6 kids, then received 8 embryos via  vitro fertilization, resulting in 8 m ore babies. Obviously, this lady feels that it is her destiny to have many children. Sonya’s great aunt had 13 kids. It used to be popular back in the day of righteous morality so why is everyone so upset over this lady’s situation? She said she’s never accepted welfare, and that God will provide what she and the family needs. I live by that same faith, knowing that my glass will be full when I need it to be. Are we trying to apply New World Order ethics, controlling the Earth’s population and perhaps even deciding who should be allowed to live? Is the gift of life ours to control? Exercise your right to have an opinion by calling this lady crazy because she made a decision that you would not have, but is it your business to decide she’s committed a crime against society? My wife of over 10 years and I have chosen not to bring children into this world. Are we criminals as well because we have different feelings than you do?


Even if you haven’t been watching the news, you’ve almost had to have heard the controversy surrounding Michael Phelps. Here’s the deal. Michael proved himself to be one of the greatest athletes in the world at the 2008 Olympics. Winning 8 gold medals solidified Michael’s position as THE  American hero. His unmatchable credentials are his reward for his hard work, and his success makes him a celebrity role model for life.

That is why so many people are going nuts over a photograph that surfaced, showing Michael-appearing to be taking a rip from a water bong. Ok. Let’s not ignore the fact that   

marijuana prohibition always has been and still is based on lies, and has no moral value. Here’s a quick recap for you regular, free-thinking blog readers and some education for the newbies. In 1937, based on testimonies that marijuana caused promiscuity, violence, and eventually inevitable insanity, the harmless plant was outlawed, making room for huge profits from the newly reinstated sales of alcohol.


Today, the Federal Government uses lies that even they couldn’t believe, to continue raking in profits by making criminals out of good peop le. I know you aren’t going to want to accept this as fact, so please look up the following ridiculous current bull shit:

Listed as a schedule 1 controlled substance ( meaning most dangerous with no medicinal value) is marijuana, alongside of heroin and acid. Listed as a schedule 2 controlled substance ( you guessed it- less dangerous and more medicinal) is the very popular meth and cocaine. Does anybody believe that meth is safer than pot? If that’s what we’re teaching our country, it’s time some attention was put on this. Thank you Michael. In fact, that’s the exact bullshit that I was fed in school in the eighties. Look up all your favorite safer-than-pot drugs here, and party as you will- as long as the government can profit from your choice of substances... DEA - Contro lled Substance Schedules Disclaimer.


Even if you ignore the fact that the Feds have a program where they supply patients with medical marijuana, even if you want to ignore that hospitals profit from prescribing Marinol ( a synthetic form of THC- the active ingredient in marijuana), and even if you want to ignore that we have 13 states ( 25% of the country’s population) where the laws back the doctor’s recommendations for medicinal use, you can’t tell me that there is no medicinal value in cannabis because I witnessed the quality of life it helped provide for my wife while she suffered through 6 months of chemo-therapy. You can’t tell me that, and neither can the government-and if I had my way, they couldn’t tell you that bullshit either.


Although President Obama has vowed to quit wasting our resources on arresting patients, he has not appointed his new DEA yet. In the mean time, Bush’s cronies are still in office, taking advantage of this transitionary period to bust five dispensaries here i n Cali over the last several days. Step on it, Obama. People are suffering. Forgetting the medicinal argument and sticking to the subject of recreational marijuana use, our country spends over 7 billion dollars annually to arrest over 700,000 people because they choose to use the organic weed. 


I’m glad that I have a position to reach a lot of you to share the truth. That brings me back to Phelps. He has a chance to educate people on the truth. Although the photo doesn’t prove any illegal substance was present, let’s assume the worse, because he’s not ducking it. Every head shop in every town I’ve ever been in refers to them as water pipes or tobacco pipes, now all of a sudden the news reporters say it’s a marijuana=2 0pipe in the photo. Whatever. Being such an advocate for freedom and truth, I also have a strong belief that kids should stay away from marijuana. We should tell them the truth- that their developing brains are like wet cement and playing with it before it’s developed  is a bad idea. What we should not do, is tell them it’s a fucking drug like heroin.20If Michael Phelps was busted injecting heroin, people would have every right to go nuts over it. In the current situation, many seem to ignore the difference, just like the government wants us to. “ He broke the law.” “He was caught doing drugs.” He was ingesting marijuana-allegedly- which close to 50% of Americans try at least once.

If Kellogg’s wants to drop their endorsement because he’s inconsistent with their image, fine. That’s their choice, as a business. It’s also a business choice for nearly ALL sporting events to promote big alcohol company sponsors. I guess that’s consistent with their image.


I hope Michael doesn’t sell out and start doing public service announcements about how “dangerous” and “potentially deadly” his reckless actions were. It costed millions. I’m sure he’s sorry he got busted. Here’s what I’d like to see...

How about we stop ignoring the fact that World Champion athletes who take their health extremely seriously sometimes choose to use marijuana? Why are we ignoring the message there?


I could go on and on here, but I think I’ll reach more people with Fox News. Set your recorders to catch RVD on “Geraldo at Large” tonight at 10:00 pm e.s.t. ( 2-6-09 ).

Geraldo At Large - FOXNews.com


Besides the distractions of the news, I have my focus mostly on preparing for the action movie “Wrong Side of Town”, which begins filming almost immediately. I’ll keep you posted from the set on RVD TV, which you better check out if you haven’t yet.


Immediately following the movie, I’ll be re-packing my bags and heading to Europe for a couple weeks, wrestling for the AWR. Sonya and I are really looking forward to this upcoming tour, also featuring Chris Mordetzky, Marty Jannetty, Andrew "Test" Martin, Sabu, Gangrel, Scotty The Hotty, Heidenreich , Shawn Maxer, The Suicide Machine, Paul Tracey, Dunkan Disorderly, "Hot Stuff" Joey C, The Mexican Mini Wrestlers and... the hard hitting ladies of American Wrestling. 


 Here’s what we have for a schedule:


Wednesday Mar-18 Paris (Zénith)France 


Friday Mar-20 Rouen (Zénith)France 


Saturday Mar-21 Clermont Ferrand (Zénith)France 


Sunday Mar-22 Dijon (Zénith)France 


Tuesday Mar-24 Bordeaux (Patinoire)France 


Thursday Mar-26 Liege (Palais Des Sports)Belgium


Friday Mar-27 Basel (St Jacobs Halle)Switzerland


Saturday Mar-28 Grenoble (Palais Des Sports)France 


Sunday Mar-29 Nancy (Zénith)France 


Wednesday20Apr-01 Lausanne (Patinoire)Switzerland


Check out their web site at www.awrwrestling.com/


As always, I’m holding back on telling you about a bunch of stuff, so keep checking

20 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG CAN'T WAIT!

February 7, 2009 at 8:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

DAMN!!!

What I wouldn't give to be the Ring Announcer for THAT Tour!

HEY, RVD...See if they NEED a Ring Announcer! LOL

Michael Porter
(Former WWF/WWE Ring Announcer & the Host of "Michael Porter's WrestleShoot")

February 7, 2009 at 9:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think they blew the whole bong picture way out of proportion. Leave the guy alone.. he trains hard to be great at what he does.. so he should be able to relax and have fun the way he wants.. especially if what he's doing to have fun is not going to enhance his ability to be a great swimmer.

February 7, 2009 at 10:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, Mr. Monday Night, on your stance on marijuana. The medicinal purposes are countless, yet we still see these "Above the Influence" ads everywhere. We're telling our kids that weed is just as bad as heroin, cocaine, and meth. These kids are trying pot and are finding out "Hey, this isn't that bad, what else have they lied to me about?" and then proceed to try and get addicted to much worse things.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with PTSD, which is an anxiety disorder. Since that time, the shrinks have had me on close to 20 different meds for things ranging from sleep issues to crippling panic attacks. These "legal meds" made me little more than a zombie, unable to enjoy life. Then I had a good friend tell me about pot. Since then, things have been so much better. If I smoke a bowl before I go to bed, sleep issues are nonexistent and my quality of life has never been better! Yet marijuana is still classified as a "dangerous drug". Even worse than that, living in Alabama puts me at risk every time I try to get more of this magnificent substance that allows me to do the things that normal people do.

We need more people like RVD. Who are willing and able to use their status as celebrities to educate the masses on the TRUTH about such things. With all hope, Mr. Phelps will follow your example and preach the message to the masses.

Thanks again, RVD. You proved yet again why you're the "Whole F'in Show"

February 7, 2009 at 10:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i like to see you apart of the 25th anniversary for wrestlemania in the money in the bank ladder match--i also wish you would come to terms with Vince on be on raw for the Raw live shows and ppv's--the roster is so depleted an empty that the shows have no life--you would bring the show back to life--we need Mr. Monday Night--or imagine if you went to TNA--the ratings would go sky high--

February 7, 2009 at 1:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

RVD, I think you're absolutely right about the Michael Phelps thing, but I'm starting to doubt that Obama will make any real changes to the current drug policy. His new attorney general, Eric Holder, is actually in favor of increasing the penalties for pot possession. Under his vision anyone caught holding pot in more than one container, or holding more than what the government deems to be "personal use", would be treated as a drug dealer and subject to an automatic felony charge that would include mandatory minimum sentences.

I've always thought the prohibition was political, more than anything else, and watching the rapid rise of Obama--the only president to ever admit to drug use--makes me think that maybe he was exactly the kind of thing the government wanted to prevent.

I will be watching Geraldo tonight. Hopefully you and him together can make some sense of all this. Remember him smoking on TV in the '70s?

February 7, 2009 at 1:35 PM  
Blogger bigstevemac said...

to all who would say pot is the "gateway drug" i ask; what did you try 1st, a hit of weed, or some booze you swiped from your parents stash??? booze is the evil drug, and booze is mainly the first drug people try. and has anyone ever seen a stoner get violent, as they have the drinker????

jest sayin

February 7, 2009 at 2:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rob, Thank you for telling the truth about marijuana. I have smoked for almost forty years. I have a college degree, three jobs (including my own small business), and have achieved all this while smoking regularly. So, for all the lies about smoking making you lazy and ignorant, well, just more bullshit! Thanks for being a voice of sanity and reason.

February 7, 2009 at 2:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The issue with the drugs is not the drugs, its the decision-making and the behavior behind the personal choices.

Each of us, as individuals, are making decisions based on the idea that freedom means simply doing what we want. As if wanting to do it makes anything we want to do OK. What we want does not have to meet any sort of standards. 2 HUGE problems with that:

One-deciding for ourselves what rules we want to follow, and not follow, means that you are giving anyone and everyone permission to NOT follow your favorite law, however important you may think it is. Even if its something harmful to you. Or someone you love. Because that person believes its about wanting something, not the quality of that particular want.

Two-we refuse to limit ourselves. Their is no solid point where this thinking stops, or does not apply.

In today's society, under the current definition of freedom, an individual felt the freedom to walk onto the campus of Virginia Tech and shoot 32 people dead. And believed that there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with it. And don't suggest something about "crazy"...

no way are that many people just going crazy all of a sudden! VA Tech, Columbine, etc....is something Columbine level even considered shocking anymore?

If we all agreed to keep this type of freedom to little things, like not putting the grocery cart back in the corral, we'd be OK. But we don't.

February 7, 2009 at 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Rob, as a generally like-minded individual, i'm surprised you're so quick to slam an individual who chooses to use a drug like heroin. Hear me out. Essentially a derivative of opium, heroin can cause a relaxing euphoria (different, but not necessarily unlike marijuana). To use a drug in order to experience new understandings of ourselves and our environments should never be considered a bad thing (so long as it is done safely and with the user being the one in control). Sure, weed has gotten a bad rap, but let's be honest here, ALL illegal drugs have gotten a bad rap. Are meth, coke and heroin highly addictive? Yes, of course, but just like with pot, letting the drug determine how you're living is always a bad idea. An educated and aware drug user can experience the benefits of a variety of drugs... no one gets addicted to any drug just from doing it once. We all just need to take responsibility for our actions and decisions. Has heroin ruined lives? Of course it has... but you're only fooling yourself if you think weed hasn't permanently side tracked otherwise motivated individuals...

February 7, 2009 at 5:20 PM  
Blogger Jasper said...

Shame that your European tour doesn't stop further north.

February 7, 2009 at 7:27 PM  
Blogger Nisha Fairy said...

I could not agree more about the pot. I mean really what is the freaking big deal. My mother used to boil marijuana leaves and give it to us in our bottle to put us to sleep. So I may now be immune to marijuana but i definitely don't have any long term effects from it nor did i have any short term. Geez people get over WEED its the most harmless drug ever. All i can do is watch drug commercials and nod my head about all of this made up crap they're leading people to believe. Alright enough of my rant. Michael Phelps you won 8 gold medals who gives a crap what you're smoking it obviously didn't slow you down as the government assumes and continues to state it does.

February 7, 2009 at 8:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

so rob,are you back for good?

February 8, 2009 at 7:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, Obama's a fraud all around. His economic "stimulus" plan involves more money for the drug war. The first of many disappointments to come.

And RVD, will you and your wife reconsider having a child? I'd like a baby RVD or SVD to do a infant rolling thunder onto my upcoming first child. That would be sweet!

February 9, 2009 at 10:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You truly are the "Whole F'n Show" aren't you? Your justification of Marijuana is very well put together, and i couldn't agree more. I'm 16 and i smoke pot, and i know your against kids smoking it, but hear me out. Last year, my sister (24 and 26) offered me to smoke pot with them. At the time i was still brainwashed and thought it was the worst thing in the world (which caused problems between me and my father, who also smokes pot) I figured, i'm safe in my sisters house, so why not? Ever since then i enjoy my life, and smoke pot maybe 3-5 times a week, if that many. I now see that it's no where near as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Nothing about me changed, i'm still funny, i'm still outgoing, i still get good grades. The only thing that changed is that a spend a little bit more money then usual, but hey, nothing in life is free. So i don't get why the government makes it out to be so bad. Barack Obama is in favor of the legalization of Marijuana, and that's great, i feel it would also help us get out if this economy situation, not completely, but it will help. Even the WWE's wellness policy on Marijuana isn't even that bad (or as so i've heard) Isn't it nothing more than a fine and a slap on the wrist? Whenever some of my friends dis me out because i smoke pot, i always justify my point of view. I say, look at RVD. He's one of the most talented wrestlers of all of time, and he smokes pot. Look at Randy Orton, grade A heel, and he smokes pot. And now i can say, look at Michael Phelps, he's as American as you can get, giving us 8 gold medals, and he smokes pot. Even the valedictorian of my school last year smokes pot. And the fact that people can watch "Reefer Madness" and actually believe the message is beyond ridiculous. RVD, the world needs more people like you, plain and simple. Oh and one more thing, you need to come back to wrestling! TNA, WWE, whatever, it's stale without Mr. Monday Night.

February 9, 2009 at 12:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

While everyone else is commenting on the Phelps issue, I've got a couple things to say regarding the mother of the octuplets...

I don't know that many people who would say she's committed a crime against society, but many believe she's quite selfish and possibly a little crazy.

First, in regards to her never having accepted welfare - that's not entirely true. She's been on food stamps for some time. Whether they hand you cash or credit for food, that's still welfare, that's still being paid for with our tax dollars.

She's also been collecting disability assistance from the state because she claims three of her previous six children are disabled. How they are disabled or how much money she is receiving she will not reveal.

Secondly, she is receiving "welfare" of a different kind from her parents. Her mother and father have been taking care of these children since they were born. They begged her previous fertility doctor to stop treating her, since they were carrying the financial burden of their daughter's decisions.

Thirdly, she declared bankruptcy. She is getting "welfare" of yet another kind from the companies and individuals to whom she owed money which will never be paid back. While it may be a drop in the overall bucket, it is the collective of people like that - who take loans they can't pay back - who are partially responsible for the financial mess this country is in. We can point the finger at corporate greed, and that of course is part of it, but the other ingredient in the recipe is those who lived beyond their means and left the rest of us holding the bill.

And while, perhaps, she has not received what we would clasically call "welfare" in the past, her expenses just more than doubled. There is no guarantee that she will not apply for it in the future.

This woman is - it appears - addicted to having children. The backlash against her is not entirely because of some tax burden passed on to the rest of us. The backlash is because the public fascination with large families - see the many TV shows about it - finally reached critical mass and burst.

It is one thing when a family has unexpected multiples, be it due to fertility drugs or in vitro or both - as in the Jon and Kate plus 8 family. It is one thing when a family that is well off enough to support many children chooses to have 17 of them (that other family on TV - the Duggans, I think?) - but these are responsible people. It something else entirely when a clearly irresponsible person, who has proven to be unable to care for the children she already has, chooses to have more. That is not something to be lauded or fawned over or glamorized or celebrated. This is not a woman who will get her own TV show on Bravo. Whether she expected octuplets or sextuplets is beside the point. As an unemployed person who declared bankruptcy, it was an irresponsible decision to have even one more child. The public sees this, and thus there is a backlash.

This woman does not work, does not raise a finger to do anything to support her children. To her, "work" is selling an interview to ABC news for $100,000. With fourteen kids, that money's going to disappear very, very quickly. And then it's back to her parents - and, more than likely the rest of us - to chip in.

She calls it "God" - but it's you and I (through food stamps and these "disability" checks) and her parents (through direct support) who are providing for her and her kin. God has absolutely nothing to do with this equation.

February 10, 2009 at 10:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Terve RVD-san & SVD-san,

Yea. So I finally learned to say hello in another different language. Nihao still has the best overall ring to it and Aloha gets extra points for deeper
meeting but Terve is just plain fun to write. (Wow. Crashed the spellchecker already! *laughs*)

Hey the new website is amazing! Nicely organized. Kudos to the webmaster, even though there are - and will likely always be - a few things still in progress.

Was going to wish ya a Happy Valentines but honestly, I still remember the absolutely lovely energy that I saw around you both on the one occasion that I had the honor of crossing your paths and so I know it would be redundant. If Valentines Day had a year-round poster couple, you guys would be it. May it continue to be that way. The world needs more happy people.

Having Friday the 13th and Valentines right beside each other made me smile and think of balance. Both turned out to be relatively good days, which made me
think about the power of peer pressure and the ability of the mind to overcome stereotypical expectations. Thanks for making me a better philosopher.

SVD-san, you're sweet but I feel compelled to say that you've no need to be so humble. We're the ones who should be thanking you. By being awesome enough to
support RVD-san and sharing him with the world, you've also supported and inspired so many other people - directly and indirectly. You have overcome some
serious challenges and have played an important role in the creation and distribution of massive amounts of positive energy. Please understand that I would be writing this even if you had no idea what the word cancer meant. But in a small way, I'm sort of glad that you've had the chance to confront and overcome that challenge as well because you've raised so much awareness and put on a total clinic for anyone who ever wondered about the true meaning of strength and courage.

On the subject of courage... Wanted to mention that I just finished reading Mr. Harts book. Even though I made a point of not rushing through it, the impact
is still sinking in. It'll be a while before I can pick up anything else. I'll be surprised if he doesn't gain a literacy award and deeply concerned if
there's not serious talk of unionizing the entire professional wrestling industry, soon. The saying 'what goes around, comes around' has gotten stuck in my head and I can't help reflecting that when karma finally catches up to Vince McMahon, it's not going to be pretty. I'm not writing this while angry or
anything. My intuition just flinches at the whole concept. You know how you've said that good energy attracts more good energy? Well. There's not much good
energy around Vince. That's all. So what he's ultimately attracting... I don't even want to try and predict.

Ms. Nikki Star is doing an awesome job but the radio show isn't the same without the two of you. Understand that the break is needed and deserved though.
Please travel safe, have fun and come back to us with lots of new stories to share. Uhm. Since you'll be off to Europe after the filming is done, should we
look for Director Dave-san to be the one eventually appearing on the mainstream talk shows to promote the film? And when you're on the tour... Will you be
able to return to the radio show? If you're too busy that's fine but maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to find someone whom you'd be comfortable with as a
substitute host. There's a select group of regular listeners that might be able to do justice to that responsibility.

The comic pages, wow. Interesting. Love the black and white, really adds to the tone of the action. I hope that you find an artist who can meet or exceed the
high standards that your first guy set and help finish the project. Every artistic style has it's own challenges but the gritty style has always struck me as being one of the more detail-oriented. The artist will carry the bulk of the story here. Even without text, it's already quiet intense.

About the new action figure: keep in mind that the lack of a toy on the shelves can be caused by two things. One - it sells out. Two - the store didn't get
any to put out. Seriously. I'm sure that you're right about yours always selling out but please pause to remember what I explained, many blogs ago, about
vendors. Sometimes the customers and even the store employees aren't the ones who get to decide what's on the shelves. If the company truly wants to push
someone then all too often that's whose action figures are going to be overstocked. Who is making the classic figure? Their interest in you is what will decide how much supply is made available to meet the demand. If they need extra persuading, feel free to post the email of their customer service department in a blog and let your fans contribute to convincing them.

Greed and power... Left a comment for that radio show and I haven't changed my mind, so I'll just skip my definitions of them here. However I'd like to add
something that I once had pointed out to me: in certain other languages, there are separate words for 'taking care of myself/trying to improve myself' and
'being greedy'. In English, we don't have that. 'Greedy' is used interchangeably with 'selfish' and 'selfish' is all too frequently blasted at almost anything
that a person does to try and take care of or improve themselves. Just another example of the contradictions in our social priorities, I feel.

Speaking of mixed up priorities and the power of words, had a discussion recently. A question came up that I thought I'd pass along because I have no idea
how to answer it but thought that you might. RVD-san - marijuana, what if the name of the plant was changed? What would that do to all the laws, both for and
against the plant, if it was scientifically reclassified and legally renamed? If we suddenly had a new word to describe the plant - and if that word had been
chosen by botanists and medical officials and whomever else needed to sign off - then would that be enough to render the prohibition legally invalid? Would
it, at least, give a reason to drag the entire subject before the courts and argue that the laws were as outdated as the old name of the plant? Because if
I'm not mistaken, the plant - and it's relative hemp as well - were both given names that contain racial elements. Not sure if this approach would be worth
considering. That's why I'm asking.

Hope is precious, don't give up hope. Mr. Obama has barely been in office for a full month, he's still trying to see who he can trust and he's got a huge complex mess that's at least eight years old to unravel. We do have the responsibility to remind him of the promises that he made but we also need to respect that healing is going to take time. I suspect very much that unfortunately he is not likely to address the marijuana issue right away as it would probably alienate people that he wants - and needs - to work with on several of the headliner-type issues. Although really, if he's as clever as he seems and I hope that he is for all our sakes, then he might have realize that it could be easier to add these things in quietly. Legalizing hemp could easily be snuck into the stimulus package, if someone wanted to point out that it would create and maintain a wide range of agricultural jobs. Marijuanas legal woes could be slipped under the topic of health care and perhaps it wouldn't raise as much alarm or have as many obstacles if it was just a couple of well written clauses in a larger health care package. I'm keeping my fingers crossed (well, mentally, anyway - I couldn't type very well otherwise) that the president and his team are currently working on more issues than we know about.

Blah. The news. You know, I've taken to watching the news in a language I don't speak or understand just because at least then it doesn't depress me as much.
What's sad is that I do still get the basic gist of it.

Our International news has been all about the catastrophes in Australia lately. The fires there and someone being arrested for setting those fires. I can't
begin to express the overwhelming confusion I feel at trying to comprehend what could make a person commit such a crime. Also... Somewhere in the back of my
mind wanders the not-so-distant memories of California always being in the news for wildfires that turned out to be human-caused... I was relieved back then, to hear the Cali fires weren't completely natural because I'd begun to wonder if the little quakes and big fires were indications of volcanic activity coming our way. But now... I stare at the charred, smoky remains of dear Oz and just can't help but wonder - what the hell inspires people to do this? How badly out of
their minds must they have been, to even contemplate lighting a match during a record heatwave? Were they just acting out of anger or is it like the new
opposite of hypothermia? I hope this type of event doesn't become commonplace.

And then something else in the news that was only mentioned in passing, casual as can be, scared me half to pieces.

I always remind myself that even the very best news organizations don't always have good information and that they all tend to rely on the ability to label
people before investigations can be done but this... Eek. They said that some men - the reporters called them terrorists - had been found dead of THE Black
Plague. The bodies were apparently discovered near some kind of germ laboratory in the Middle East. Honestly, when I calm down and think about it, I really
don't know who the dead people were or exactly where they were or who actually put those bodies there or who reported this story or why. *deep breath* But
the idea that anyone, anywhere is looking to even spread the idea of reviving - and maybe even making a new strain of - a disease that nearly wiped out the
population of Europe still disturbs me.

The octuplet story is painful to hear. I have to concur with Seth, who has posted above and who has said it better than I think I could. Comparing this lady to anyone of past generations, where large families were more commonplace - is not right. My Gran had 9 kids but literally not all at once, you know. It's a
sensitive issue but the timing of birth and the amount of kids born at once to a family... Whatever else anyone wants to say, it does affect the ability of
the parents to focus on each child. I know some single parents and the demands on them are considerable. Even the very best of them struggle to give their
full attention to anyone, their own children included. Hence even if this lady is not currently working, with eight new babies she is going to need a WHOLE lot of help - plain and simple. In essence, unfortunately this lady gives the very strong impression of being off balance. She has taken way more than she has - or seems to intend - to give. From her parents, from her children, from a whole lot of folks - even if the government isn't specifically at the top of her list.

RVD-san, don't you ever hear the horror stories of the humane society? Once in a while they end up seizing hundreds of domestic animals from a single
property. The animals are usually scruffy and malnourished because it's more than a single owner can reasonably take care of. What this lady has done... I
don't know if it should be compared but it has been. It's a little hard to believe that she has the best interests of those kids at heart but time will tell and may she be nominated for sainthood if she lives up to her words and proves all us skeptics and critics wrong.

Now for another touchy subject.

Well. I also have no desire to bring kids into this world. That is one of the only decisions that I've truly carried around for all my life. Even when I was a kid myself, this was something I knew deep down. You've probably seen how little kids play their pretend games - they pretend to be a superhero, they pretend to be a firefighter and at some point, I guess it's considered normal for a kid to pretend to be a parent. I never ever did. I enjoy being around kids and respect kids and even watch kids for people once in a while - but it's not just about the kids, in this decision. At least for me, it's about this world.

Other people, even relatives I respect and people who I consider friends... They just don't get how sincere I am on this. I can't even tell you how much negative energy has come my way over the years. It's never been made into too big of a deal but even a little at a time, the hurt adds up. I can only think to compare it to... Imagine how it might be to be the only skinny person in a gym full of overweight people - that's the kind of response I get. You can work out just as hard as everyone else but people still give you dirty looks just because you're not in the same boat that they are and they can't understand why. I know why: I made different decisions. I respect their right to choose their lifestyle and I wish I'd get even a fraction of that back. Is it the same for you and SVD-san?

Hrm. Maybe I have it a little easier actually because I am happily single. People can always rationalize to themselves, deciding that my decision must just be based on that. (It's NOT.) On the other hand... Being happily single is a whole other can of worms since quite a lot of people in this world, even people with good intentions, simply don't understand that those two words - happy and single - can go together. At least being married, people aren't as likely to take the liberty of trying to be the matchmakers for you guys... I'm not saying that people who want marriage and kids shouldn't have them - they'll have to work for those things, of course, but power to them if it all works out. I'm just saying that this is my decision, it's what right for me personally and I have other things to work for. There are many paths to happiness. Why is that so hard to understand? Augh. It's one of those topics where people are very stubborn and so I do my best to just agree to disagree. If you're ever inclined to, you could probably get a couple radio shows out of this debate. I'm sure there's a wide range of opinions to be discussed.

Enough from me, for now. The whole issue of cloning pets will have to wait until next time. Thanks for always providing a safe forum for people to express what’s on their minds. Hugs to you and your number one, please keep taking care.

Courage and Peace!

~CalmMountain

February 14, 2009 at 2:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mr RVD

if this actually is you by the way, not just some guy you pay to sit at a computer and write crap so you dont have to. I saw you in ecw and wwf and i respected you then because of your athletic ability, i respect you even more than i used to now because of your veiw on marijuana. Although i have never smoked it myself, almost everyone i know has tried it atleast once. my opinion is that to government should make drugs legal then tax them and use the profits for rehabilitation programs. This will actually reduce the demand for drugs, stop illegal organisations from profiting from them and put a end to the crimes evolving around them. ( the people who want them have no trouble getting them as it is so it wont increase demand)
The amount of time and money the police/government spend on dealing with drug offensives makes me think : if the drugs where legal then millions of dollars would be saved because less people would have to be supported in jail and court cost decrease etc… , and then also tax obviously would create profits for the government, and the police would actually be able to spend more time dealing with serious crimes, and crime evolving around drugs would fall, because profit would decrease and seize to be risk worthy, and laws for other crimes that can develop from drugs will be enforced more easily because more money and time will be available to the police so why are drugs illegal?

write back if you can be assed.

February 22, 2009 at 6:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No no no that lady with 14 kids is having them for all the wrong reasons. On TV she says she wants kids because she had a bad childhood or something. And what does she do? She lives with her parents! Wouldn't that give her children a bad childhood as well? I believe it's borderline child abuse. You purposely bring kids into the world, you get several implanted and they're months premature which means more often that not they will be plagued with problems that will last their whole lives. Not to mention those poor kids don't have anything they can call their own. I think that's sad. I love kids but I know there's not enough of me to go around to 14 kids. I don't want my son to be an only child, but 14 siblings? That doesn't seem fair.

February 25, 2009 at 6:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rob,
Great blog. People need to realize that a little pot doesn't retard you! Ricky Williams & Michael Phelps should hang out! lol.
anyway, good luck in Europe. RVD = the whole F'n tour!

March 1, 2009 at 7:58 PM  

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