Name calling

I like to name things. Not because I like name calling, but because I think that everything is unique. No two things on earth are exactly the same and so therefore they are indeed unique. Specifically though, I name things that I have multiples of like tape measures and utility knives. I buy multiples because I like to always have them handy and I usually buy the same kind because I find the one I like and I stick with it. Therefore, I name things literally to keep track of them and know which one I was using. I usually just pick some random but unusual name like Herbert or Gertrude or Francis or Beauregard. Sometimes if I purchase multiples at the same time and I know there will be 3 or 4 or 5 or whatever, I will pick something that has that number like the beatles (4) or whatever.

I've noticed something though. Once you give something a name, it kind of takes on a life of its own. Like it begins to have a personality, a history. It somehow takes on more meaning that before it had a name. It would be like naming your guitars (which surprisingly I don't do), or your gun or something like that. Even though it's just a utility knife, you know that "Stella" is the good one that works great and "Buford" seems to stick a little bit and needs some wd40 often. When you pick up "Stella" you get this warm feeling that this is the knife that will work perfect for that special project where you can't make mistakes. You almost feel an obligation to treat them better when they have names simply because you remember when they worked for you and you want that to continue.

Interestingly enough, I've found that the converse is also true. That human beings that truly are unique require the same attention. But, once you strip people of their personality and their identity they seem to be less human. Take away someone's name and give them a number and then treat them like the number that they are. You will see a big change in peoples' reaction and view of themselves. It is dehumanizing, literally. Treat someone like they are disposable like that utitlilty knife with no name and see how well they work for you. Like you can buy them for a $1 a dozen at walmart and throw them out when you're done.

A utility knife is a utility knife whether it has a name or not. The only thing the name does is inspire me to take better care of it.

071208 DC March

So I made a trip this weekend to Washington DC for the "Ron Paul Revolution March". I've never been to DC so it was interesting to see some place new. The rally started with a march down Constitution Ave. and ended up on the lawn of the capitol building. I would say that there were about 10,000 people there, give or take. The crowd was fairly well represented with all kinds of peeps, but I would say that there may have been a higher concentration of peeps that are slightly rougher around the edges. Not too many 3 piece suits, although I did see one guy in a suit with some radios tucked inside the back of his pants. This didn't really suprise me because change always starts on the fringes of society and makes its way inward. (You can tell when something is finally embraced by the late adopters when you can buy a POS knock off of the real thing at Walmart for unsustainably cheap prices.) I felt like I was in good company as a person who dances on the fringe of society as well.

There were a lot of speakers, some of which I have either read or heard about. The content was familiar although some was new or updated since previous events. The thing I enjoyed the most though, is that all of these people who essentially didn't know each other happened to find their way to DC on this day. The info regarding the time, place, content, etc... was not widely publicized by any major media outlet, (actually probably ignored) yet 10,000 peeps found their way to DC. Of course this was mostly due to the interweb, but never the less peeps made their way. If you'd have asked me 10 years ago do I think that I'm an activist, I would have definitely said no. I thought then and would still say that society in general looks down on activists in an unspoken way. Like somehow they are F'd up nut job wackos because they are willing to act upon that which they believe. Which is complete irony because the most "successful" or "effective" peeps are the ones that act on things. In fact it is Stephen Covey's first habit of highly effective people. Be proactive. So there were 10,000 people being proactive for the cause of freedom and liberty in America. I would say that I still don't think of myself as an activist. I simply think of myself as someone that acts upon that which they believe.

The thing I don't get is how people continually enjoy complaining about things rather than actually doing something about it. It is like it's part of their identity. If they didn't have anything to complain about, they wouldn't know what to say. Like the concept of being happy is unattainable. No matter what happens, something will be bad about it. Almost everyone I know, has at least some grievance with the way that this country is run, yet most do nothing about changing it or fixing it. Maybe the whole proactive thing scares people to death. We waste so much time doing BS that totally doesn't matter and yet we still somehow can't find the time to really make a difference. We can find time to forward a stupid email from whoever to 5 people in the next 10 minutes and your dreams will come true (which you know is BS), but we can't send a 5 minute email to our elected officials who actually run the country stating our deep dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq, the economy, civil liberties, etc.... Maybe peeps just don't realize how easy it is these days to contact their elected officials. You can email or call and the email addresses and phone numbers are right on the web. In fact, most people don't even pay for long distance anymore so that is a moot point.

I know you care about something, anything. It might be the whales, the manatees, the economy, Real ID, the NAU, the environment, nuclear power, .... whatever. Here is your personal invitation; find your representatives email addresses and email them about the thing that you care about. Ask them what they are doing about it and what they plan to do about it in the future. That is the warm up. Now you will have their email addresses in your address book so when you hear some really crazy shit that is going down, you get on the ole interweb and you email them about that too. It's their job to represent you. Make them work for it. You would want to find your:

US Representative
US Senator
State Representative
State Senator
City Mayor
City Council Members

Now really do it. Go ahead, I triple dog dare you.

Soft Drinks

I stumbled across a map of "Generic Names For Soft Drinks" today as I was surfing ye olde interweb. This map is a product of our newly data obsessed culture. I'm sure these statistics haven't changed much in the last 20 years, but our ability to collect them has gotten much easier, so here you go. Because you've always wondered, and now you can know. Here in Detroit, pop is definitely what you call soft drinks.

I still think it would be a little weird for someone to ask me "what kind of coke you want?" Would you say pepsi coke? sprite coke? coke coke? I guess it's no different than "what kind of jacuzzi did you buy?" No wonder Faygo doesn't do well outside of michigan. People from the south would think "what the hell is Red Pop? oh, you mean Red Coke. " I guess the real question is what do the people in the "other" category call pop/soda/coke? There seem to be some states where it varies by county. In one county it's pop, in another it's soda or coke. That would kinda be like living on the edge of a time zone.

I am happy to see that even in this mass marketed corporate oblivion that we call America, that there is still some regional distinction.