Paul's Infrequently Updated Blog

So, yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. The one day in the year where a large number of people claim to be Irish. Here in the United States, almost everyone in the country claims to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.

For me, if you claim to be anything, Irish, English, German, or whatever you have to have at least been born there and raised in the culture. When someone tells me ” I am Irish,” my response is to ask which part of Ireland you are from and how long have you been in the United States. Of course, I get the reply that they were not actually born in Ireland, but that their ancestors came from Ireland.

I don’t think Americans really understand that when they say they are “Irish” or “English” that they really make themselves look stupid to people who really do come from those places. I once had a teacher at the first high school I worked at try and tell me he was English and tried to give me a lecture on the difference between being “Scottish” (a person), and “Scotch” (whiskey drink). Believe me, I don’t need lectures from other people about my own British culture and I don’t need idiots claiming they are English, Irish, or whatever. They should be happy that they are American.

In a few months, the Olympic Games will be upon us again and millions of people around the world will be watching the many sporting events that make up the Olympics. Right now, we are treated to the spectacle of the Olympic Torch traveling around the world on its way to Beijing for the opening of the games in August.

This year’s games are very controversial because of China’s human rights record and because of China’s policy towards Tibet. So, in the last few days we have seen protesters doing all kinds of things as the Olympic Torch passes through various cities around the world. When it passed through London on Sunday (where the Olympics will be held in 2012), we were all treated to the spectacle of the flame been surrounded by Chinese security goons and many British police. This was still not enough to prevent many people from having a go at putting out the flame, which included one guy who tried to use a fire extinguisher on it. I honestly don’t think the British, Chinese, or the Olympic authorities realize just how ridiculous they look. At the end of the day, these games are not really about the sport, it is about spending lots of money so that a very few people can get rich.

In the last 20 years, we have seen the over commercialization of the games and media companies bickering over who has the rights to screen the games on TV. As often happens, the cost of these games is going to be placed on those who can least afford it and, for those cities that choose to host these games, it often means hosting them at a huge loss. One only has to look at Montreal in 1976 or Athens in 2004 to see what the finanical consequences of the games can be. For the life of me, I do not understand why these games are so important. They are painfully boring and consist of an elite group of people competing over a few medals. Today, the games are pretty much professional, so those involved make lots of money. This was not what the games were supposed to be about. I really don’t see what the fuss is about and, of course, I will not be watching any of the Olympics.

According to Time magazine, today, January 21st, is “The Most Depressing Day of the Year.” The reason why today is so depressing is because people feel down about broken New Year’s resolutions, the weather, and the mountain of debt that people face because they spent too much at Christmas, The article also mentions other problems people are struggling with, such as the sub-prime crisis, rising gas prices, and even presidential primary free-for-alls.

To me, all of these things are NOTHING to worry about. I never make New Year’s resolutions except for the one I discussed in my last post and I enjoy the seasons and changes in weather. I also avoid mountains of consumer debt by not overspending. I don’t worry about the sub-prime crisis because I do not feel sorry for banks and people who were greedy and wanted to make money in the property market instead of making a long lasting home. I do not worry about gas (petrol) prices because where I come from (England) gas prices are more than twice what they are here. As for who becomes President…..well I could not give a rat’s ass. Politicians are all the same.

The article does go on to say that evidence suggests people get more depressed in October and November than in January. I don’t know why that is, but I am sure there is a reason. As for today being the most depressing day of the year…..all I can say is that I feel pretty good

As the title suggests this is New Year’s Day. Often this is the day people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking or visit the gym. Normally these resolutions will be broken by the end of the month.

As always I will have my own resolution, which is to make no resolutions. I find that this resolution is very easy to keep

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, a time of year in the United States when people give thanks for all of the good things they have. It is a big holiday here and people get together with their families for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and watch football. I often give thanks for the fact that it is one of the few holidays that has not been over commercialized with lots of tacky products that the retail stores expect everyone to buy. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving and is the biggest waste of time ever.

The problem that I have with this day is that it encourages people to buy as much stuff as possible, most of which they cannot afford. It is supposed to represent the first day of the shopping season in the build up to Christmas. What it really does is encourage people to spend too much money on stuff that is often not needed or wanted, with the result of that come January people will find themselves in too much debt.

I look at the paper today and find it full of flyers from just about every big box retail store telling me about their sales and special deals. Often, the deals refer to products that have been greatly reduced from their regular price, which seems like a great deal until you realize that the store(s) have, at most, five of the particular item in stock and that there are people who have been lining up outside the store since late on Thanksgiving Day just to get a chance to buy the the discounted stuff. This year, my nephew joined the line outside Kohl’s at 3am just to buy some of this cheap stuff. It turns out that he was not even the first in line and had to wait two hours until the store opened at 5am.

What is so sad is that this story is repeated every year at thousands of stores across the country. People wait hours in the cold just to get into the stores at some ridiculous hour in the hope of getting this year’s hot item. Most will be disappointed and will end up buying what they want at full price. Sometimes, in the mad rush to get in the store, people are injured and fights sometimes break out over particular items.

One person who will never get involved in this stupidity is me. I find this whole Black Friday business to be rather crass and undermines the true meaning of what the holiday season is all about. The people who take part in this over commercialized insanity should perhaps stop and take a moment to think about what they are doing. Do their friends and loved ones really need what they are trying to buy? If not I suggest that you keep your money or at least maybe buy a gift card so they can get what they want/need.

This year, Irene and I plan on a low key Christmas. We are not buying any gifts. Instead, we are just going to spend time together and be happy with that we have already got. Today, I got to sleep in and enjoy the fresh snow that had fallen yesterday. In addition to being “Black Friday” it is also “Buy Nothing Day,” which is a movement that protests the over commercialization of Western Society. I have decided to celebrate Buy Nothing Day. It’s pretty easy. On Black Friday, you buy nothing! Every year I intend to celebrate Buy Nothing Day by saving my money and buying nothing