In Moratorium

I have realized that fresh new ideas have been harder to come by lately. I have tried to show some initiative in solving my writer's block by scouring news sites for interesting/outrageous/silly headlines that I could affix a few lines of witty/insightful/pithy commentary too. But now I've decided to take a passive-aggressive approach to said writer's block; instead of figuring out what I do want to write about, I'll figure out what I don't want to write about. This list will be comprised of talking points that I've already written about ad nauseam, that all relevancy has been thoroughly exhausted, that bore me. This seems like a good idea to me. Writing about things I don't want to write about successfully accomplishes my goal of taking up space -- like an optical illusion -- and ultimately, that's a means to an end. The beauty of it is, writing about old topics I'm sick of (but am also completely familiar with) still allows me to write about them, which is infinitely easier than writing about brand new topics that I may or may not know anything about. In one way or another, all of these points of interest have reached a stalemate; it is what it is and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Regardless of how clever I think I am, there's little need for me to continue stating the obvious. So these are some talking points that I am indefinitely banning from my blog, effective immediately.

Oil

Bush, McCain, and Gov. Crist each want to begin domestic drilling off the shores of Florida and California, post haste (read it here: Crist backs McCain on Florida drilling). Sure, go ahead, fine by me. That's because as far as I'm concerned, it's a non-story.

Even if they started drilling today (and that's highly unlikely, it's already 4:00 pm and the end of the business day is a mere one hour away), none of us would reap the benefit of this extra crude oil for a very long time...five years if you believe the optimists, and as many as 10 years if you believe the pessimists. It's not a quick-fix. It's a calculated risk that will possibly and hopefully pay off sometime in the distant future. It's akin to telling a terminally ill cancer patient that there will be a cure for cancer, but it's still a decade away. Sure, that's good...but not good enough. And that analogy may not even be that accurate, because any new oil reserves we might strike off our shores is hardly a "cure." More oil doesn't necessarily mean lower gas prices, but it certainly means more currency for OPEC to auction off to the highest bidder.

And I'm not a bleeding heart tree-hugger, so any contention (if you can even call it that, as I've already said that I don't have any pressing issue with mining off our coasts) I may have with these newest developments has nothing to do with any guilt over the well-being of our environment. Go ahead and punch a hole in the bottom of the ocean, no skin off of my back. They could even nuke some whales if they really wanted to, just as long as it somehow positively benefited my quality of living. So no, that isn't an issue for me. Instead, it's the lack of impact on the bottom line. It's a single drop in a very large bucket. For the most part, things will still remain unchanged.

Until the oil discussion -- Fox News is playing in the background and I've already heard them mention the word "oil" a dozen times. I'm tired of it already. -- moves in the direction of seriously supporting wide mass use of alternative sources of energy (ethanol, methanol, solar, wind, hydroelectricity, nuclear power), I don't feel very compelled to continue talking about it.

Barack Obama

I'm young. I'm a minority. I'm idealistic and starry-eyed. I'm over-educated in impractical studies. I'm vaguely liberal, vaguely pretentious, and vaguely indie-inclined. This is who I am. It should come as little surprise that I intend on voting for Obama. So continuing to affirm that my political affiliations lie squarely with him seem superfluous. I might as well blog about my fondness for LP records or Natalie Portman or slim fit jeans or Lord Byron or Morningstar Chik'n nuggets or anything else as equally and stereotypically obvious. I think my support for Obama is already understood.

Election 2008 isn't for another five months. Up until then, we're going to have a lot of the standard posturing, rhetoric, and mud-slinging that occurs anytime two men are vying for one position. In other words, lots of boring stuff. Until Obama names a Vice President, Michelle Obama hosts another episode of The View, or anything more-than-halfway newsworthy happens, I'm going make a concerted effort to keep Barack out of my blog. As is stands, I've said everything that needs to be said. We can give him a rest for now.

Oh, and considering his party's most recent botch-job (read it here: Muslim woman: Scarf kept her from seat near Obama) I'm not even in the mood to give him any free, positive publicity. During a televised rally in Detroit, Hebba Aref was denied a seat behind Obama because she wore a traditional Muslim head scarf. She was asked to step aside (and out of sight of camera lenses) because of how her appearance may be perceived by a "sensitive political climate." That's repulsive. That's a mockery of everything this campaign supposedly stands for. Suddenly all that talk of hope, change, and tolerance sounds like empty lip service. And I know this was no direct fault of Obama's -- his cronies were the ones to so tactlessly ask her to beat it -- but these campaign underlings are under HIS employ. And he is ultimately responsible for anything they do or say. He needs them to ship up or ship out. His name is "Barack Obama." We get that he's a Christian, but outside of legally changing it to "Micheal Smith," there's not much he can do to distance himself from the (partially) unfair stigma of Islam. I'm disappointed that he (or at the very least, those chosen to work for his party) are so easily swayed by peer pressure and guilt-by-association. It's like being ashamed to stand next to an overweight girl out of fear someone might mistake her for your girlfriend. It's petty and weak and paranoid and completely contradictive of everything they're trying to accomplish.

Michael Beasley and the NBA Draft

The NBA Draft is only a week away. Derrick Rose (the hometown Chicagoan) has already reportedly wowed the Bulls during his personal workout. Beasley is in Miami right now (read here: Michael Beasley coming today for workout), working out for the Heat. I say it's an open-and-shut case: the Bulls will take Rose #1 overall and we'll take Beasley #2 overall.

There isn't much more to say on the subject.

Those are the two best players available in the draft; we're the first two teams that select in the draft. Basic, undeniable logic tends to prevail every time.

For the next week, we're going to read about a lot of misdirection from team officials. General managers are going to say they really like Player A while secretly praying that they get Player B. This is what happens at this time of the year, it's just gamesmanship. Teams will do whatever it takes (misinformation, smoke screens, outright lying) to get who they want. When you're at the 11th hour, the only thing that could possibly happen next is whatever it is that you were waiting for all along. And that's where we're at with the NBA Draft. A lot of the later picks are still up in the air, but as a Heat fan, the only two that should matter, us and Chicago, are set. There's nothing left to do but actually draft Michael Beasley. So with that said, I won't type another word about him, not until he's a member of the Miami Heat. And then he can proceed to average 20 points, 10 rebounds, and win Rookie of the Year.

Gas prices

It's sort of become the non-talking point (read yet another gasoline article in today's Sun-Sentinel: Sales of premium gas plunge: 'Nobody can afford it'), something someone brings up to seem like they're up to date on current events, or perhaps just because they have sincerely run out of anything else to talk about. Fact is, gas prices are high. And they're going to get higher before they get lower. At this point, complaining about gas prices is about as effective as relevant as complaining about the chemical composition of water -- it's just become a fact of life now. If we want relief at the pumps, we'll have to actually do something to help ourselves. Take me for example; I drive the less-than-quarter-mile from my house to the local Publix; I drive out to go exercise, then drive all the way back; I drive my own car when meeting friends instead of car-pooling. I drive everywhere. I'm surprised I haven't driven to the mailbox yet. So rather than making the ineffective, offhand comment about gas prices being kind of high lately (no kidding), I can take an active role in fuel-consumption:

Walk whenever possible, or better yet, ride my bike. Change my air filters regularly, check my air pressure. Remove any heavy junk from trunk. Share driving responsibilities with friends, family, and coworkers, alternating for everyone's convenience. Buy a hybrid car. Run errands all at once, and in as close proximity to each other as possible. Instead of going out, enjoy a relaxing night at home.

We can't control OPEC's bureaucratic red tape, but we can control our daily routines. It's going to take an individual effort.

Not only should the subject of gas prices be barred from my blog, but from all casual conversation in general. It's become woefully unoriginal. I've realized that anyone who asks "what's the deal with gas these days?" isn't anyone worth speaking to. Out of all the other talking points, this one will be the easiest to abstain from.

So starting from here on out, I will no longer directly address these topics in my blog. Mum's the word. And this ban won't be permanent. Sooner or later, I will write about all of these topics again. But for the time being, I am retiring them. I don't feel I have anything else to add that won't be what I've already written about them, verbatim. Unless something really new and exciting happens, I'm done with that stuff. Consider them excommunicated. If all goes according to plan, these newly implemented blog guidelines will force me to come up with original thought.

Editor's Note: What I Had For Breakfast, What I Had For Lunch, and What I Had For Dinner will continue to be updated regularly.