America's negitive image.

Over the past decades America has gained weight and become more lazy. McDonald's and Burger King are everywhere. Starbucks and Krispy Kreme have drive-thrus. And I am yet to find a Subway drive-thru. Does anyone else see a problem with this? American's daily eat fast food because it is convenient in their busy lives. People stop at Starbucks every morning to get their caffeine fix so they can function. Well let me tell you all something. That is bull shit.

I for one have never, ever had a cup of coffee. Coffee is the same thing as the next hot electronic that comes out (currently the Ipad). You need it! How would you be able to survive without it? I manage to wake up early everyday and do just fine, and you know why... because I am happy. Everyday is a gift. Do people really need coffee to make it through the day? No, I don't think so. Just like cigarettes have "the patch" for nicotine, soon coffee addicts (and I mean addicts) will have their very own "patch" to help them get by. Starbucks is a joke that truly shows how stupid this great country is. All coffee drinkers are mind washed. They think they need the coffee, the caffeine and the energy. They go through withdrawals from coffee. Folks let me tell you it is all mental. I promise you that if you took your cup of coffee and filled it with coffee flavored water, you would feel fine. Yogi Berra (a Hall of Fame Baseball player) once said "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half in physical." Well the same goes for life, 90% is mental. Instead of investing $5-$20 daily in Starbucks, save it, put it toward a house or better yet, donate it to people who need it. Hurricane victims are struggling all over the world, genocide is happening everywhere, and people are jobless in our own country, and yet all you can think about is Coffee.

Fast food is even worse. They are the same as cigarette companies. Just like cigarette companies use kid friendly pictures to draw you in, fast food chains use happy meal toys. As a 7 year old you go to McDonald's have get that double cheeseburger with a toy, you will never want to leave. 20 years later you have good memories of your local fast food place and you keep going back. They sucker you right in, just like cigarettes. Sure I am guilty of a Big Mac here and there, but I would say maybe once a month when I am on a 6 hour drive and trying to make time. Fast food is replacing / replaced the classic American Diner we see in old movies. Imagine if all the scenes in the movie "Grease" were set in Wendy's. Or worse, if the Diner in the TV Show "Saved By the Bell" was a Burger King. Diners stood for more then food, they were a place for people to gather and relax, fast food industry has taken that away. And I didn't even touch on the fact that fast food is unhealthy beyond belief. I leave the film "Super Size Me" to do the talking for that one.

In short America has been taken over by companies that speed up life. They are not needed and if you ask me, they take away what makes this country great. People are always saying that this is the best time to live in America, well I believe it is the best time not to live in America. We have lost the American Dream. Or wait, is the American Dream to be skinny? To follow one of the 10 diet ads you see on TV as you eat your quarterpounder? With the rise of fast food came the rise diet companies. Seriously, our country is just creating things that we dont need. We are making our own problems. Forget the diet, stop eating fast food, have an apple and go for a walk.

Keep on smiling

The connection between Moses and Ohio State

Many people are probably reading this wondering how on earth Moses and Ohio State are connected. Well for starters let me tell you they are not connected at all. Well at least the biblical Moses is not. No, I am talking about a gentleman by the name of Moses I met at a blackjack table in Las Vegas on my recent journey to Sin City. He is the man who is connected to Ohio State. Now you are probably saying "how is blackjack in Las Vegas connected to Ohio State?" Please allow me.

A few weeks ago the students at OSU put on a "flash dance" in the middle of their student union during exam week. To this point the video has already passed 1 million views. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDNOB6TnHSI). For 3 minutes about 100 or so students and professors danced. They all showed up in Ohio State gear, smiling. For these 3 minutes nothing came into the mind of those dancers and people who were lucky enough to be there to watch. Nothing. Exam week is hands down the most stressful time of year for any student, but Spring semester exam week is different. Students are crammed in libraries and dorm rooms studying while the sun is shinning. Seniors are trying to find jobs and prepare for graduation, other students are packing before the dorms close, finding summer jobs and saying their goodbyes for the summer. All of this must be done with the added stress of finals. But these students and professors took it upon themselves to lighten the mood. For those 3 minutes everyone was at peace and happy. The worries of the "real world" were tossed out the window. To me this is more than just a stress break, this video, those dancers represent the real American ideal, a land of freedom and happiness.

Now we flash forward to Moses and the blackjack table. Keep in mind, I had a few drinks at this table, but I am a big boy now, I was sober. For the most part. After about 10 minutes of playing just the dealer and me, this gentleman walks over and sits down. The dealer recognizes him right away and introduces us. "Josh this is Moses, Moses this is Josh." What is my first though? "Oh great another Las Vegas nut job who thinks he is the next messiah." Boy was I wrong. Moses was just another tourist like myself, a good guy probably about 40 or so, just trying to relax. As the play went on the conversation carried on and got more and more intense. Soon I realized that Moses did not care if he won 500 dollars of lost 3000 dollars. He did not care how many Whiskey Sours I had or how many cranberry juices he had. What he did care about was myself and the dealer. While we sat there, we were the most important people in the world to him, we were his family. I swear if someone had run in with a gun he would have taken a bullet for me. Now why is this so important, because Moses not only realized but was living the idea that we only live one life and there is no reason to not be happy. This is an idea I had realized recently and been striving to live, but Moses, he lived it. He knew that everyday could be his last, every person he met he could change their life, and every minute he had was worth enjoying.

Both the dancers at OSU and Moses had one of the most important values of life in mind, happiness. Both realized there are more important things in this world than grades or money. The size of your house does not matter. When the dancers took the floor in the student union they were not thinking about how that dance would help them make money or get a job. In fact there is almost no way in which that dance will help them. When Moses sits down at a blackjack table, he does not to pay rent or put food on the table, he does it so he can enjoy his time. Too many people in today's world value money above happiness. Is 1 million dollars worth the stress and tension that divides your friends and family? Some people would say yes, I say no. Moses says no. The dancers at OSU say no. You only have one life, live it. Try something new, do something that makes you happy. Be kind to others for no reason other than the fact that they may be having a bad day. Anytime you are worried about something think to yourself "what is the worst that can happen? Is that really that horrible?" Most of the time the answer will be "no" it is not that bad. Everywhere you go, everything you do remember one simple thing, Smile. A day without smiling is the worst thing in the world. You will be happier if you smile more. Smile.

The Irony behind Facebook

I will never forget when I first learned about Facebook. I was a sophomore in High School and the hot girl sitting next to me in Chemistry told me to get a Facebook. Since then my grades have tanked, my parties have been way to big and my life has been way to public. Seriously what is the point to Facebook? A place for college students to post pictures of themselves completed hammered from Friday night? Is Facebook not just a cheaper version of email. How many times have you come home from class or work and checked your email and then Facebook, because people communicate just as much important stuff on Facebook. Do not get me wrong, I love Facebook, I have 100's of friends over seas that I talk with through Facebook. It is easier. It is a great way to keep a conversation going with old friends. And I love seeing pictures from friends Weddings or their travels. But let us get to the Irony behind Facebook.

Facebook completely eliminates face to face conversation. People meet over Facebook all the time and then get drunk 2 nights later and hook up. I would not be surprised to see a wall post that says "Hey, want to grab dinner and movie Thursday night?" Seriously guys, we no longer have the balls to ask someone out in person. Facebook makes asking people out AND getting rejected easier. If you get rejected on Facebook it is almost like you never got rejected at all, I mean you can just tell your friends that it was over Facebook so it doesn't count. Also, it is in no way what-so-ever a book. It is a giant public web blog. Hell they should change the name from Facebook to Pictureblog. I mean that is much more realistic.

I also have no need to know that Jane Doe got a 4.0 this semester. YAY FOR YOU! How does that work? Let me check my grades..."I GOT A 4.0! I have to update my status now so everyone can tell me how awesome I am." Seriously how much more selfish can you be. Or better yes, when Nick Cool changes his status to read "Lunch with dad, then gym, then smoothie king, then dinner with mom." Cool. I now know your life. WHY THE FUCK DO I CARE! How is my life better because you are going to the gym? It is not.

I think that instead of logging on to Facebook, people should go to www.cnn.com or something that is productive and will actually help you if you are ever able to find someone dumb enough to go a date with you. Bombs are falling in Israel, the World Cup is helping South Africa in more ways than soccer, Haiti is still recovering from a horrible disaster, but it is more important to see if that hot girl you met this weekend posted her pictures on Facebook. Do not get me wrong, Facebook is an amazing tool if used correctly, but it is also the beginning of the end of intelligence if it is used the way we use it now.

Now, if you will excuse me I must finish uploading my picture from my trip to Israel to Facebook. And no, I am not kidding, I promised my friends I would. Check them out.

What to expect

So I am new to this whole blogging idea, but I have been told it is a "free space for me to share my thoughts." Whole thing sounds kind of fruity to me, but I guess I can yell at the world through this, and anyone that wants to listen can. I will not be using this blog to tell you about my day, or my week, or what my mommy made for dinner (hell I dont even live at home) instead I will use this to rant about problems of the world. For example, the oxymoron Jumbo Shrimp really pisses me off. I understand that they are larger shrimp, and therefore more costly, but seriously how about calling them "The more expensive shrimp." Also people who walk around airport with that stupid neck pillow on. Just because you are in a airport does not give you permission to look like a ass.

This is the type of stuff I will be talking about in my blog. I shall try and keep it updated weekly for all enjoyment.

Keep on smiling