funerals and weddings

Last week, I learned a little something about myself. This is probably going to be another one of my 'personal' blogs, and less boring. No, I won't go into my lack of success with women. Instead, emotions at certain events.

For those who have been following my tweets and/or statuses on facebook, you probably know there was a recent passing at my workplace. Mary Weiler, who I've worked at Steak 'n Shake with the last 9 1/2 years, died last week. She was an older lady (64) who devoted much of her life to the restaurant industry. (she actually used to own a couple restaurants in E'ville, Catfish Heaven & Marys Fish and BBQ) I saw Mary every day up until early this month. She would always be coming in while I'd be getting ready to leave the place. We'd always catch up on our work gossip and random things. I still can't believe she's gone. I don't even think its sunk in yet. It's ironic to say that her last words were probably spoken at S'n S. During a busy lunch rush, she collapsed in the servers station after complaining earlier of dizziness. I wasn't there, but everyone said it was a freaky scene, and I can understand. As 911 was being called, she hesitated and was going to get back up. While she was laying down, one of her last words before her speech became slurred was '(Table) 22 needs a hot fudge sundae, while (table) 23 needs their drinks....'. It was later discovered she had a brain aneurysm. She never recovered after 6 hours of surgery, while going into a coma. The family decided to unplug her when her husband came into town.

Last week, we were talking about possibly going to the funeral home for her, and Chelsea, one of our managers, was saying how those places freak her out. I've been to several visitations, as well as funerals, so it's easy to say I'm no stranger to them. People even said that those places are easy to get emotional. I believe them. But despite of that, I admitted that I don't get emotional at death. It's not that it's a guy thing (so they say), but I was told years ago by someone that death 'is a part of life that we all go through'. After all, its the one thing we all have in common besides being born. Don't get me wrong, I do find death to be very sad, regardless of how they died. Maybe its the 'as long as it ain't me' thing or 'they finally get to rest now after years of living a good life', but for some reason I never cry or get emotional at funeral homes. I do look back on all the memories me and the deceased person had together, and I always try to come up with at least one thing that influenced me from them. We're all placed on this earth to help people in every way, after all.

I do admit, however, I have gotten emotional at a couple funerals. One was when my maternal grandfather died back in '02. Whenever I see my mom get emotional, I get emotional too. There's something about her that channels me.

I told Chelsea during our funeral conversation that I get really emotional at weddings more than funerals. She said that I must be more about the happy events. I suddenly realized she was right. I haven't been to that many weddings (since I'm always left off from the guest list lol), but when I see happiness among many people, I guess that's what triggers my eyes. Maybe its because I know that I'm witnessing a part of history in their lives, or maybe its because I'm envisioning my own wedding and I can't wait until I get my turn at marriage. The same goes for other positive things too, like when the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series. I was in downtown St. L when it all happened, and it was the ultimate morale booster for the city probably ever since Mark McGwire hit home run 62 (another event where I got emotional). It may sound silly, but when I see someone work hard, pay their dues, and get something they deserved, then I can't help but feel happy for them.

What do you think?

some of my favorite blogs

I thought I'd share some of my favorite blogs that I usually read every week from people, mostly famous.

Charlie Daniels. Yes, that Charlie Daniels. If you're 18 y/o, you're probably thinking oh yeah that devil went down to georgia guy! I played it on Guitar Hero! Whatever. This man definitely knows his stuff in addition to his musical talents. On his website or his soapbox (charliedanielssoapbox.com), he writes a column every 3 or 4 days and gives us updates on his thoughts. Its mostly politics, traditional American life, music business (sometimes), and just about anything. It may, however, offend people that voted for Obama as Charlie does show alot of feelings against Obama, Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's policies. He also talks about how America is slipping on traditional values, and such. The man is 72 y/o and always contributes his two cents on society. How this man takes the time to write blogs, perform, tour, and raise a farm is way beyond me. One of my friends that lived in Nashville used to work at Books-a-Million and she claimed that Mr. Daniels spent a lot of time reading there. She even got to meet Charlie! And by the way, he definitely hates Guitar Hero especially after they misrepresented his signature song. You can also check out his blogs at his myspace page.

Another one of my favorites is Bill O'Reilly. I know, he's a controversial figure (especially for those who actually watch Keith Olbermann and that psychopath Rachel Maddow). But his blogs are very fair and balanced. You may call me crazy, but he admits he's not a perfect human being and he's liberal on a lot of issues. Remember, if you got the #1 talk show, you gotta be as great as possible, and stick to your advertisers guns. So that's why a lot of people think Bill O'Reilly is a jerk. Available at billoreilly.com.I also keep up with the music scene with Chart Beat at Billboard.com. It pretty much details what the most popular songs are and who's got new songs and albums coming out. Where else would you find news about Al Green debuting at No. 88 on the R&B chart? Or be introduced to new people like Lady Gaga? Unfortunately, the original guy who did Chart Beat, Fred Bronson was displaced a month ago and left behind a great legacy. Bronson was the guy who also authored several music-type books.

So, there you have it. Check them out! Let me know what you like.

for the love of cow

If you were to choose between ice cream and cheese (as foods you would have to give up), what would it be? Most people said ice cream, mostly because with cheese, there's over 1000 things to do with it. Same goes for ice cream, but there's other sweet things we can rot our teeth with. With me being lactose intolerant, I can only eat as much ice cream serving as a Jr. Blizzard anyway. And some types of cheese don't bother me.

But I've pondering for the longest time while working at S'n S about America's obsession with cheese. Okay maybe not America, but teenyboppers, college kids, drunk people, whatever. I must have had at least 30 orders in a row with at least one side of cheese sauce. This was right after midnight, where all the kids come out. It's mostly the ladies that get it. Sometimes I think maybe they're trying to be hip by getting cheese fries or that's just the first thing they think of when they think of eating late. But I've worked during the noon and evening shifts as well and we get several orders of cheese fries. Our cheese sauce is good, but I've had better.

When my friend Marc was still working there a year 1/2 ago, we had this conversation about people who love cheese so much. As a philosopher/thinker/people observer, he came up with a theory on why people are hooked on cheese sauce. He believed that there is something that passes down from the mother to their child (I guess, in genetics terms, or dna, whatever), that secretly lies in the dairy part. It's the kind of secret stuff that makes humans wanting more and more. But remember, this is just a theory. It sounds about right though!

remembering '94

1994 to me was a great year in pop culture and one to remember. For some reason, this always sticks out while remembering the past. It was a year of transition for me as I went from elementary to junior high that year. When I did the 90s show, I would always say that it was the 'greatest year in alternative music'. It pretty much marked the end of grunge rock music (sadly), but it ushered in a change in a new experimental way of music. So many new acts at that time broke out in '94. Beck, the Counting Crows, the Gin Blossoms were becoming big acts that year. It was all capped off with America's new punk revolution when the Offspring and Green Day finally got radio play that year. If you look on any alternative rock chart from the last year, you'll see both bands still putting out music. The Cranberries, Liz Phair and Sheryl Crow were high on the alternative scene as well. It was a great year to listen to the radio, in other words. But sad to say, it wouldn't last that long for some of the alternative acts as they were replaced by pop-punkers and the name 'alternative' would be changed to 'new rock'. By the end of the 90s, the 'alternative' scene would be Limp Bizkit and a bunch of corporate-sounding bands.

It was 15 years ago last week that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead. It pretty much marked the end of an era for grunge rock, but it would live on. While I do think Nirvana is overrated, I do believe Nirvana put out good stuff. I actually remember where I was when I first heard the news. I was vacationing with my folks in Lake of the Ozarks. But I wasn't as shocked, as I knew his lifestyle wasn't all good. I remember previously that he was in a coma after od'ing. I remember seeing the analysis on 60 Minutes that week as well, as pundits worried that teens and college kids would follow him as an icon.

I also remember another prominent figure that passed away that year. John Candy was one of my favorite comedic actors when I was younger. I remember watching the movies Uncle Buck and Summer Rental and seeing his genius shine. He also played small parts and pulled them real well. In fact, when I was little, Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and several SNL alumni would be the ultimate funnymen at the time. Now, we have a frat pack going on in the comedy movie world. Sadly, I don't find some of these guys funny at all, like Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill. Steve Carell and Ben Stiller aren't too bad. But what's sad is that a lot of 16 to 25-year olds probably don't have a clue who John Candy was. In the upcoming Spaceballs blu-ray, there will be a John Candy featurette on there. I hope this is the tribute we've all been waiting for. I still can't believe 1994 was 15 years ago. Where were you in '94?

It's Like That

(I decided to do a two-parted blog. The title is inspired by one of the classic songs in the history of rap music, 'Its Like That' by Run DMC (who was just inducted in the Rock and Roll HOF). The song has lyrics that actually make sense, and they related to what times were like in 1983 and it looks like times are going back to the way they were. Give it a listen sometime!)

I thought I'd dedicate this blog to those who have lost jobs or have loved ones/close friends who have lost them as well. I was talking to a friend about this issue (his wife recently lost her job) and I was pretty much telling him everyday I am thankful that I am employed. He made a quote that I wished that everyone else today would agree on: A job is a job is a job.

Sure, I do feel kind of weird that I'm still working at the same place that I have since high school. And a lot of people are still shaking their heads that I have almost been there for eleven years. I do complain alot about my job, since they have done so many changes. Don't get me wrong, I do like change. But too many changes at the same time is too much for anyone. For as little as I get paid an hour, and with me not having a title (I chose not to have one), I'm pretty much doing almost the same work as an assistant manager. They do feel me on that one, but most of it is beyond their control. As I said, many changes have taken place, such as moving stuff around and eliminating shelves and stuff so the company can get money back for selling the shelves as scrap metal and stuff. If you've been to Steak 'n Shake lately, you'll notice a lot of changes to the menu. We've eliminated our taco salads and yogurt shakes to adding hot dogs (or in SnS terms, Steak Franks) and perhaps our most popular new addition, the Steakburger shooters. I'm already getting tired of making those little things hee hee. But it definitely shows that we're competing with all the other big-name restaurants. Another complaint I've had about the job is that I've been working with so many new people lately. And most of them are knuckleheads who don't really care as much to be there and make money. Working overnights has a lot of positives and a lot of negatives, but it has been taking ahold of me.

Overall, I've found that SnS has been my comfort zone for me. Some people are great to work with, and some (again) are just plain knuckleheads that don't deserve to be there. After all, I've seen a million faces and I've rocked them all. A lot of people look up to me (seemingly?) and I'm always the person to go to on certain issues. Sometimes it can be too much. It's been my second home for many years now. As I'm looking into my next career change, I do consider myself lucky for still having a job. That may sound silly to some because of me having a college degree, and I'm on the same level as several people I work with that didn't finish high school. I don't find it degrading at all, as some may feel about me. After all, a job is a job is a job. I still have people ask me when am I gonna find my 'real job', but I don't let it bother me anymore since these clueless people don't keep up with how times are.

I think about other people who work in their great professions all the time and how they feel secure or not. Especially those who come to Steak 'n Shake all the time and those who can afford a big meal for them and their friends at 3 in the morning. Sometimes I ask myself, what recession? Our business arguably has increased and I feel it will continue to do so as the weather gets better. I've never seen it so busy in March.

I also think about those who have lost their jobs and have a hard time finding a new one. I know they have to make plenty of sacrifices and change their lifestyles a bit. But I do hope they learn from everything from the good to the bad. I would dispense advice, but it would be wrong for me to do so (for personal reasons). I will say this: there are over 1000 different ways to make money. No, I don't mean get-rich-quick, but I would experiment with new things as time progresses.

the rise and fall of the print newspaper industry

I thought I'd tackle another media industry that has definitely shown signs of weakness. It's easy to pinpoint what has caused the downfall of the print journalism industry. It's also sad to see so many jobs get laid off, and so many columnists not being able to find work (with the exception of some of the NYT people lol). Just recently, Seattle became the first major US city to drop its official newspaper. Of course, the bad economy played no small part. Even the Internet couldn't save the struggling paper.

I've been wanting to write this blog for the longest time, ever since I was going to school at SIUE when I made friends with print journalism majors and Alestle people. What really got me doing this was the other day at work, when I saw that the St. Louis Post Dispatch slim down everything. There's a paper delivery guy who comes through my drive thru every night and gets coffee and sometimes he gives me a newspaper. When he handed me the slim thing (it wasn't even an inch long I believe), I began thinking about some of the people who work in this industry whose careers may be in danger. What's looking like replacing the Post Dispatch soon is stltoday.com (I regularly check it sometimes)

Newspapers have been around even before our country's Constitution was written. That of course, was during the Industrial Age. Now, this is the Information Age, and as a result, people are reading everything online. So, now will be the part where I start talking about what possibly went wrong. As mentioned before, things have totally moved online. Maybe not as fast, but the printing business may find themselves halted.

Look at it this way: when was the last time you seen someone under 40 reading a newspaper? I work at Steak 'n Shake very early in the morning and most of the time our customers our senior citizens that have nothing better to do than sit, read the newspaper and drink coffee. The same goes for Hardees and the Bread Company. So many people have utilized the Internet for everything. It doesn't matter if its blogs or any other kind of 'mainstream media' sites. I'll give you one example, and that's the Drudge Report. It's a site that gets more than 20 million views a day, and gives links to all the major news sites as well as independent media sites. The Drudge Report claims that it was the first 'all-free' news source on the web. Of course, it has its criticisms, that its too conservative-leaning. I check it regularly all the time. In fact, my dad has it as the start page.

And of course, there's bias. No matter where you look, there's media bias. The print media division has long been criticized for its leftist views. A hefty example of this is the New York Times and Chicago Sun-Times. The list goes on and on.

There's other factors too, that point the downfall of the print media industry. But the way I see it though, is that more local newspapers will continue to circulate. After all, everyone needs to know what's going on in their town. For example, I live in Glen Carbon, IL and I read the Edwardsville Intelligencer every day. So even as it makes its transition online, it'll find a way to survive. Whaddya think?

don't mess with the WMG part deux

A month ago I wrote a blog about how Warner Music Group (WMG) muted my 'WLCA' video on Youtube. Well, now they muted my 'portfolio' video. (I used Junior Senior's song 'Move Your Feet' as my theme music) So, I decided to do some more research about this disturbing thing. Look, I know what I did wrong, and I respect the copyrighting and licensing laws and such. But, all of the other 'big 3' music companies seem to be cool by people taking their artists work and posting it for different purposes. So, why the WMG? I'll think of a great place to start.

Warner Brothers has been a well-respected media company since the 1920s, and as we all know, they've been bought out many times, and they have several sister companies. Today, its Time Warner. In the music division they're competing with Universal, Sony and EMI. Their CEO, Edgar Bronfman Jr., stated that they don't make a lot of money with Youtube and, Google, in general. In addition, apparently, there's a lot of backstage drama between Google and Warner. Youtube was forced to mute or pull down videos from WMG artists last year (and still in the process) because of the disagreement between the two parties. It's not just the uploaders (who use the songs without permission) that are hurting. It's also the artists/bands that are signed with the WMG's labels that are feeling the pain. Several up-and-coming artists have greatly utilized the Internet to advertise their music (like Myspace and Youtube) but so many complaints have come from these artists that its definitely easy to make the switch to another label. Even Death Cab for Cutie, who has found success the last few years, is even rumored to boycott the WMG for refusing to upload their Atlantic Records material on Youtube.

I've done my own research on this to learn more, just in case my more-important videos get pulled or muted. In the latest issue of Spin magazine there's a full article about the issue and it's leaning towards sympathetic to the people who want to use the music. If you type in WMG on the Google/Youtube search engine, you'll find plenty of videos that want to fight back with the WMG, and plenty of vlogs to go around. There's also more on Wikipedia. Speaking of which...

It's not just the Youtube people that are hurting from the WMG. It's the video game industry....bigtime. I, as mentioned before, don't care too much for the new crack (Rock Band and the Guitar Heros), but from what I understand, the music industry has extended its life by having artists collect royalties from having their songs played in these games. Its also to help introduce multiple audiences through the older music as well. From what I understand, these games have sold over $100 million...combined. And here's the WMG CEO as quoted: 'The amount being paid to the music industry, even though these games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small, and will not license to those games'. (Source: Wikipedia) and at one time there were rumors that MTV Games (Rockband's publisher) has boycotted the WMG, but it has so far been proven untrue by both parties. I'd like to think that its happening though :)

Overall, its not the record labels that are the enemy. Sure, they've made bad decisions to influence the music industry's downturn spiral. But the real enemy is really the hypocritical, clueless mind of Edgar Bronfman Jr. that those who care about the music industry should look at. So, to the Warner Music Group, here's a choice: a) grow up, keep up with the times and technology, show some love to those who want to spread your artists/groups work (if not the wrong or right way) or b) let yourselves self-destruct and be hated. Again, its their choice.