[ life:revisited 2010 + 1 ]

My brain currently feels like a bowl of Cheerios.

So it took me a day or two to decide where I wanted to go first but after a prolonged one sided debate I choice a semi-political start. Thanks to the miracle or curse that is social networking I'm able to keep up with things on the home front but somethings never change. One of the first things I learned once I began my education at the University of Illinois was that it was a highly politically charged atmosphere with a diverse set of views that I felt was one of the hallmarks of the school in giving everyone a chance to speak. Little did I know that this would cause no amount of heartache for alumni, students, grad students, friends and family members alike.

Through my career I was always an avid Pro-Chief supporter, even more so in later years as a couple of close friends portrayed Chief Illinwek. I have always stood by the stand that the Chief was never a mascot but a symbol of the school and of the proud people that once inhabited our state.

Many people don't realize a couple of key facts. First the Fighting Illini team name was not meant to describe the Native American, it was adopted after World War I to help be a campaign driver for fundraising for the construction of Memorial Stadium to honor veterans from all wars from the State of Illinois, whose names to this day are still listed in the halls and on the pillars of the stadium. The Chief was used at half time of sporting events from 1926 until 2007 not as a mascot but as a symbol of the University. In 1995 it was passed into law that the symbol of the University of Illinois was to be Chief Illiniwek. In the years after student votes were taken to ask about retiring the Chief due to mounting critism from Student Groups and other orginizations. In all cases the majority of students (avg 73%) voted to retain the Chief as the symbol for the University.

In 2007 the NCAA stepped in and passed legislation that any schools that use "hostile and abusive American Indian nicknames" would be banned from comepeting in NCAA sanctioned competitions or hosting said events. Due to this pressure the U of I was forced to retire the Chief. Not because of the "democracy" of the students or from a change in state legislature but from an outside entity that applied "financial" pressure. Since 2/21/07 the Chief hasn't performed at any sporting events.

In the recent weeks the topic has reemerged yet again about changing the name of the athletic teams and give us a more "Politically Correct" team name. Also it has come to light that some of the advisors and board of trustees at the time for the U of I may have been part of the "clout" scandal that is still hanging over the University.

In my minor opinion this would be yet another in a long line of failures for this distinguished school. By getting rid of the name we lose a link not only to a past of bravery and sacrifice but of a history of what this country used to be. We also erase one more link to the people that inhabited this great country before we arrived and the history that is rich in ways we have yet to imagine. So once again we let democracy die. I guess the good of the few does out weigh the good of many. Just some random thoughts.

Hail to the Orange, Hail to the Blue.
Hail to the Chief

I would like to welcome the Jedi Knight Keyden to my blog, since there wasn't enough crazy on this blog, we needed another heavy hitter to bring the noise. Please give him the same ignorance and bullshit comments that I get. I expect no quarter fuckers.

Well it has been a while but I have been asked to dip my toe once again into the interwebs and participate in a brave act to defy social media. Yes the much awaited return to the blog because there are some things to be posted here that can't be handled by Facebook. As my first act I say thank you to Darkstar for giving me the chance to play in these waters yet again while I try to develop something as well. Stay tuned for more, grab a Goose Island 312 or a glass of wine and sit back and enjoy the show.

Well, I am officially taking the plunge, as in moving out of the city COMPLETELY. I am already located somewhere in the wild western burbs, but the time has come to quit my soul-strangling job, cut my commute by 90%, and see if I can't regain some of the sanity the previous job has taken from me. As you might have noticed, in my long-ass tenure as a "blogger", that i have had a long and decorated career of jobs that I have hated. I am completely content that a new job will be similar, but at least when I leave work at night, I will not have to sit on a train for hours next to smelly people who talk on cellphone like they are on the shitter alone. Wish me luck, O' faithful readers!

P.S. If you don't get my blog's title, clicky clicky here and turn up your speakerboxxxx, dawg.

Not sure even where to start sometimes. I have so many thoughts that encircle my brain, and I always think "Why don't I write that down?" But then its gone and I am moving on to the next frivolity or groundbreaking-already done-thing. Quitting my job. Why? Not only because I can't stand most of the people there, the commute, the industry, and maybe even the fact that I am going nowhere there, but the main reason is that I got complacent. I got comfy, and comfy sucks sometimes. Comfy doesn't always mean slow, but it means predictable, and when the weather is always predicted to be poop, well its time to change the scenery.

I know that this blog is mainly speaking into the ether, like the lone crazy person speaking to an empty room, not because he hopes someone will hear, but because he has to speak. He has to do this to filter his thoughts, or this man becomes some gibbering idiot that can't concentrate on a single task. I have enough issues doing that now. I wish I could end on some kitschy, slightly amusing joke or picture, but quite frankly I am going to end just like I started, sort of bland, and with a normal, forgettable subject and frame of mind.