We Are The Crowd
Cultural change can be an incredible thing to witness and examine. This is especially so when the change is something you've been involved in, up close, 
and felt personally.
In 1974 as a young teenager living in Cincinnati I watched the World Cup at the Cincinnati Gardens. The games were shown on a movie screen on the basketball court with curtains draped all around. My mother managed to win a set of tickets from a local radio station and I got the thrill of my young lifetime.
The Netherlands were incredible during the tournament, smashing Argentina and Brazil on their way to the final against West Germany. I remember they looked to be the better side in the final, as well. But Neeskens and Cruyff couldn't get the better of Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier. The West Germans were playing at home in Munich and they took the crown 2 - 1.
It seemed odd to be at the Gardens with all of those foreign voices. I was a clear minority in my own backyard.
Excuse Me, When Were You Ever Right?
They are so up in arms these days, aren't they? Our country is going to hell - literally, if you ask them. "Turrurists" are on the doorstep. 
The gays are cropping up all over the place, infesting us, making us unholy. And - GOD help us! - the fucking fascists and socialists are in office and marching right down Main Street, trying to steal your apple pie. You don't have to believe me. Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity: they know it. They're the watch dogs for everything anti-American and they say it's so.
Turn on the tele and you'll get a big spoonful about how it ain't right that America ain't "right", know what I mean? But, and I'm scratching my head here, have you ever asked yourself what the "right" has ever done that was actually right? No, I'm serious. Sit down and think about it.
Twitter Bitches
The Twitter bitches, as I came to think of them, were chirping about drunken encounters and nearly forgotten evenings (of which this was destined to become another in that long list) 
and feverishly typing on their cell phones. I don't mean to call them bitches, exactly. They were nice enough. But the conversation was a parallel to their texting and tweeting - anything over 140 characters was too burdensome and to be avoided. Seriously, when the conversation is so shallow you can't retain it in your short-term memory you might as well concede that you are spamming your way through life.
Mr Fix It
Occasionally I become a fitx-it guy. You know, the guy who sees something wrong, old, worn or broken, who has to grab a tool and tinker. This isn't to say that I'm mechanically inclined.
I'm not uninclined. It's just that most days I'm completely uninterested. Besides, I have to fix things like bad code in a web site design all day long so who wants to mess with the knob on a door at the end of the day.
It takes a certain mood to tear something apart bit by bit and then reassemble it, having identified the problem and created a fix. I can't just see it and do it. It takes mental preparation, planning. It's far better to be able to just smack a thing and then see it respond positively. When I was young my grandparents had an old black and white television that was only occasionally in the mood to broadcast. Every Sunday we would drive to their place and all of the grandkids would play together
Chaos Theory and the Tea Party
The Tea Party movement - essentially a creation of Fox News that now is receiving corporate news coverage - is filled with individuals 
screaming for government to get out of their lives. They are staunch conservatives. They abhor socialism, government intervention, and taxation of any sort. They insist that this country, the United States of America, needs to return to its Founders' original vision and values, as they interpret them.
The Tea Partiers will scream at gatherings in every corner of america for lower taxes and less government control. They don't seem to understand that their current President - yes, the black man who really isn't an american - gave ninety-five percent of the populace (and almost all Tea Partiers) a significant tax break last year, thank you very much. Not one of the mainstream media outlets has run an article pointing out this very simple fact. The president has already cut taxes (to the poor and middle class).
Vancouver Olympics
The Winter Olympics are taking place in Vancouver, Canada. I find myself following events I wouldn't normally watch. Don't get me wrong, I would probably pay a bit of attention in the intervening years between Olympics, 
but television pays them no mind. For once, I'm happy to not be dating anyone at the moment. There is nothing worse than watching guys in sequins acting feminine. I'm not watching figure skating. I'm not watching hockey, either. There aren't any stories in hockey. Just a bunch of pros we already know. I like my Winter Olympics with a little unknown, with a little home-town humility and obscurity.
Take a look around and let me know if there is anything I can do for you.