Decrepitate.

Decrepitate. Define it, you say, being a person of youth. Well, may I say that I've trodden the sands of time, marching through my childhood years-hopping, skipping, dashing, involving some fists at times, sometimes sobbing...all the way to manhood, braving its tides, to taste and savor all of life's nectars, including matters of the heart, which can prick one's soul with a thousand needles, and that's just for starters, an endless appetizer, if you will. Because should you delve into the heart's affairs more deeply, you'd soon find out that the heart has swords for teeth; it cuts and grinds as sharply as it exalts in exceeding and inexplicable ways one can hardly believe sometimes. And if you fear a thing called love, as others may call it, which I rather refer to by its very act—of care, compassion, or affection—you might not want to go there, that is if you expect your beneficiaries to reciprocate all that you extend. But you might miss something so simple, yet so profoundly significant at once, should you skip over it.

I, however, am in my third act, traipsing on this stage called life. I've seen a thousand moons and witnessed stars shine and recede into oblivion, if not first immediately ushered out by the depths of time, which spares no one, like stars that merely fizzle right after birth. I've climbed the highest peaks, each attempt maims so severely at times, one falls in the deepest valleys with such dismemberments unheard of in still callow, incubated minds, and you ask me to define decrepitate. I've bathed in the sun's radiance and roasted in it all the same; its luminance stings, like salt to a worm in a slow burn. If I crackle when I roast in fire, I can't possibly hear the sound of my anguish, as I languish inside, can I? So, you tell me—do I crackle and pop when you see me roast in fire? I've seen and heard of unnumbered souls, both young and old, suffer unspeakable torment. Deprived of any means of protection, they are powerless, and their lives are all they have until their blood is shed by savages. By the way, did you see it too—the endangered species on the news last week? The harmless rhinos do naught but roam the fields in peace, unsuspecting of predators, and still, they're poached and bled to death for their quaint horns. Such horror reminds me of the pink dolphins and human nature, and makes me wonder which animal is the real beast on earth.

You ask a decrepit man to define 'decrepitate'. I say, stop searching too hard for meaning in mere words. Look and observe around you instead. Perhaps you'd discover something, if there be any road worth traversing, a wave worth riding, or a meaning to derive from life at all. Then tell me what you find. Hear me now, go on. Live.

Killing Unicorns is killing dolphins is killing innocent lives

Killing gentle dolphins for bait is just like slaughtering horses and feeding them to pigs to fatten them up for our consumption. It's just so WRONG. These fishermen don't think about the damage they are causing to the region's ecosystem. Whatever happened to the plain old cast-your-net to catch the fish that you massively consume. Greed and ignorance surely go hand in hand. And these twits commit this evil act because nobody's stopping them. I hope that the smarter people in that region step up immediately to stop this heinous crime. Or does the government there find catfish extremely irresistible too?—I don't even want to know. It would also be horrible to imagine what bait the twits will resort to next should they ever run out of the unsuspecting creatures in the future. Click on the following image released by the INPA for the full story from the Associated Press.

Teen Spirit?

Makes me wonder how a teen could get to a point where he likens a child to a piece of burger, or how another could be so curious about how it’s like to take a child's life. At what point did sanity cross over the threshold to insanity in their minds? What happened to these adolescents’ psyches, or consciences?

Baffling Disparity: Hunger and Obesity

Photos from dailykos.com

"This photograph, also taken in Sudan, won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for South African photographer Kevin Carter, who subsequently committed suicide.", and

"A well nourished Sudanese man steals maize from a starving child during a food distribution at the Medecins Sans Frontieres feeding centre in Ajiep, southern Sudan. by Tom Stoddart."

Meanwhile, according to bettertimes.cc,

"The incidence of childhood obesity is rapidly rising throughout the world. The obesity epidemic is especially evident in industrialized nations where many people live sedentary lives and eat more convenience foods, which are typically high in calories and low in nutritional value. In just two decades, the prevalence of overweight doubled for U.S. children ages 6 to 11 — and tripled for American teenagers. The annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about one-third of U.S. children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. In total, about 25 million U.S. children and adolescents are overweight or nearly overweight."

Starvation, apathy, greed, and gluttony at its worst. I'm at a loss for words.

I'm Asian and Michelle Obama's Vogue-ing, but where are the Whites?

As the economy continues to crumble and people receive pink slips at their jobs, fashionistas only continue to strut their style ever so fiercely. And speaking of vouge-ing, the big talk of town is Michelle Obama's Voque cover. Which is pretty harmless per se. Don't get me wrong, please : I love clothes. But I just think it a pretty awkward time (to put it in mildly) to be overtly fashion focus (unless you're in the business of selling clothes to keep yourself and others employed, why not?) when most people are worried about how to cover their next month's rent. (By the way, did you hear that stamps are going up two more cents by May? While this piece of info may be inconsequential for you, not to affect you in any way at all, it may be bothersome to others who still prefer snail mail, and just when gas prices are creeping up again too. I just wonder how long it will take for New York to follow suit and hike its toll from the $8 current rate while the other costs of commuting, such as the subway, light rail, and tolls only continue to rise, in case you haven't noticed.)

While a first lady ought to present herself well in all aspects, and indeed in her appearance, it is perhaps more sensible for a person of high regard to apply tact...Esp. during this economic crisis. Show America that she commiserates with her people and is with them in spirit at all times. One could hardly show that kind of empathy when one of the first things on her agenda is to grace the cover of a style magazine. Again, I don't mean to offend, as I also occasionally flip through the pages of fashion mags. It's just that given our nation's economic condition, it seems so ungraceful, so insensitive, so wrong for the first lady to be so vocally candid about her fashion style during these difficult times in our nation, if I may be so vocally candid about her candidness. Besides, doesn't one's style exude anyway, without the need for an announcement? Leave all the unnecessary tooting to Hollywood. For when you zoom out and see the little things under you in light of the bigger picture, the frills just seem so pointless against our most basic needs... Like food, shelter, employment. (By the way, I had just picked up a nice pair of black, strappy, spring/summer platform sandals for $14.99. Yes, I did and am quite happy about it, as it is very rare for me to find nice and comfy sandals that fit well. And I'm not the first lady.) All that aside, something else struck me in the Michelle Obama interview. Here's an excerpt from AOL's news headline:

On entertaining in the White House: "We want entertaining in the White House to feel like America, that we are reminded of all the many facets of our culture. The Latino community, the Asian-American community, the African-American community.…Hip-hop, spoken word—we want to bring the youth in, for them to hear their voices in this."

Where is the mention of the White community? (By the way, I'm Asian.) I guess I have to buy the magazine to see if it follows the ellipsis...maybe between the African-American community and Hip-hop.? Hey, be nice. Again, I just noticed, and it's quite obvious unless some serious typo was committed.

Vote for Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin?...I'd rather wake up George Carlin from the dead and have a Happy Halloween.

Can you believe this? No wonder why George Carlin gave up voting. Our savings have literally disappeared right before our eyes. It's absolutely maddening and utterly revolting. Forget about who, what part, rather, of the ugly monster would you choose? Its heads or tails? Either choice(party) is insanity, with each of them spouting mouthfuls of principles that are nothing more than ignorant generalizations and unrealistic ideals about national security, retirement, health care, environment, and education. Every one of these politicians plays the blame game and spews out bloated promises, but none of them has ever taken the responsibility to say, "I'm part of the problem--me and my fat salary and undeserved benefits and bonuses while I busy myself exchanging fancy, empty words with other crooks like me", or as in the Clinton case, "...while I get busy receiving or being served..." Haven't the foulest beasts of earth always operated on the same premise of outrageous ideals and constant misinformation. These scums play with peoples' emotions by consistently using the plight of whites or blacks or low-income or homeowners or immigrants. Where is the sincere concern just for people, period. Where is the concern for their hard-earned livelihood? What about the ones who are faceless and voiceless? What about the young family of three who conscientiously work together to save, but still can't afford to purchase a home, since rent, gas, and every other expense that constitutes the monthly bills has gone up? Is there assistance available out there for the poor of the middle class? Thank Godness for a family who doesn't have cable. If not politics, it's mostly reality shows or ludicrous extravagance being touted on TV anyway. Plus doing away with cable saves a bit of money, but all for naked uncle sam to also squander. Just as the emperor really had no clothes on...uncle sam is naked too you know. And yet, he does wear nice clothes, and is driven around in fancy cars, and have his fine dining in swank hotels, and is coddled by both celebrities and other devious big shots, as they all bask in the same posh lifestyles.

Yet uncle sam isn't actually naked, neither are his celebrity sponsors. We might be the ones. Oh, this is all so confusing. But thank God McDonald's still offers its dollar menu... A family could dine out and have a their meal for $3 each--sweet tea, burger or 4 pc. nuggets, and 99-cent fries while uncle sam and his cronies have to pay more for their dinners. So McCain promises us $5000 for our health care... Regardless, some family should do okay. They always buy the $1.29 wheat bread, whatever Calcium-fortified juice is on sale for no more than $1.99, and half-priced day-old salad and rolls. They try to keep on top of these things via a regular review of store circulars for sales... It's the least a simple, sensible family can do while uncle sam and his parties are hard at work for our nation's welfare...

My point is what about stopping the rubbish talk and squarely acknowledging the government ills, fairly managing it with realistic solutions to problems, and neither spoiling people nor taking away their livelihood. Absurd hopes, huh? Maybe never in this lifetime.

Here's the problem: the blatant abuse of funds period. The funds get misspent and/or pilfered by greedy scums. In accounting, you were trained to trace the last missing penny to account for every item related to a company's operations: assets against liabilities, revenue versus costs, income against net loss, even petty cash. And that same process can also be applied to every expense a family incurs by matching receipts against the bank statements to monitor errors. The funds are there. But they remain to be uncovered for as long as corruption in the government and its people remain.

I'm tired of all the(ir) politicking. I'm left jaded and cynical I may just do a Carlin and not vote. But what would I tell my son who is learning to tune in even to the student council speeches? I am terribly conflicted. I'll have to think more about it, think it over on Halloween... Perhaps it is enough to make for a huge Halloween scare.