Google Music vs. Amazon Cloud Storage

Recently, Google and Amazon (And Apple soon) have released their cloud music services, and much to my surprise, I am loving them both. Google’s service required an invite directly from Google, but Amazon’s rolled out to every user at one time. Kind of a different approach, but when you think about it, that is just what they do. Google does the beta, and Amazon opens up to the masses.

I would hate to have to pick a winner right now, because both services have many pro’s and con’s that make each one individual and different. So, below I have listed each one for both services. If I don’t cover something that you think is important, please e-mail/post or comment about what is missing, and I will try to address it.

Google Music
Pros
Thumbs up/Thumbs down - you can label music with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Small feature, but it helps organize music that I like that is not in a playlist.
Editing of Album/Song Meta Data - this is especially useful because I often have an odd spelling of a particular artist and that creates two albums when in fact, it’s only one. I can now correct that.
Nice/Slick Interface - the interface is really streamlined and easy to use. It’s also very simple and user friendly.
Lists Number of Plays - I can see how many times a particular song has been played.
Number of Songs Able to Upload - allows for up to 20,000 songs to be uploaded. This could last only until the beta ends, though.
Instant Playlists - right click on a song, and click on create playlist, and you have a 20 song playlist of similar songs.
Cons
Takes a While to Load Sometimes - sometimes the song I would like play takes a few seconds to load. Mildly annoying, but still there.
Can’t Re-download to Computer - Amazon’s Cloud Service can re-download any song to any device. Google’s service will only allow you to download to a device (tablet/phone) and those are not even files you can download off your device.
Not all Album Art is Present - I like to see the album art for the songs that I own. Several instances of songs I bought from Amazon don’t show up on Google’ Service.
Need to Manually Upload to Google Music - when I purchase a song from Amazon, I have to manually download it to my computer and then re-upload it to Google Music (but that does happen automatically, so there is little actual work to be done).
Can’t Choose Particular Music Not to Upload - I have audio tracks that I don’t want uploaded, You pick a directory and Google will auto-upload them the first time.

Amazon Cloud Storage
Pros
Can Re-download to Any Computer/Device - I can re-download any file that I have uploaded to any computer, phone or tab as many times as I would like.
Music Bought from Amazon Is Stored for Free - if I buy a song from Amazon.com, they store the music for free as long as I have an account. Also, that music is added to my collection and there is no need to download and then upload music. It’s just there.
HTTPS: - plays over a HTTPS connection. Not sure why this is good, but I’m sure it is for one reason or another.
5 GB Free Space to Put Songs - having a basic Amazon.com account gets you 5GB free space. Additional storage costs extra.
Cons
Clunky Interface - the interface is very clunky and not as streamlined as the Google Music browser. Looks old.
No Instant Playlist - a nice feature that should be standard.
No Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down - could be very helpful if you want to play just thumbs-up music. Google has a default playlist of just music that you gave the thumbs-up to.
Doesn’t List Number of Plays - I like this feature, and am very surprised that Amazon hasn’t included it yet. I also noticed when the Zune player didn’t have it. Should be a standard feature.

I have to say, though, that the Google Music Beta is just a cleaner more interesting interface, and while Amazon seems to have the upper hand in purchasing and storing the music, Google has the edge on base features and clean looking interface. I am left wondering if Amazon left out some of those basic features because they were afraid of a patent lawsuit. But the good news is that neither of them are finished and each service can improve. Yay for choice!

4 Month Visit

4 Months
14.14 lb (49th Percentile)
26 inches (85th Percentile)
17 HC [Head Size] (74th Percentile)

From this, I get three things. One, he is loosing his chunkiness and getting slim. I told him all those jumping jacks would be good for him. His height is completely average for my side of the family...I mean he's going to be tall, just like his pappy. And he has a big head...the reason, because while he was there, he took an IQ test and scored 203. And let's not forget the old saying, "big head, big ...." So, all is well, and he is a happy baby boy...and healthy.

The New Purpose of This Blog

I have not needed to use this blog because of Twitter and Facebook. It's much easier to rant in 140 characters than it is to write out a full story, so I stopped using this blog. Well, I now have a reason to use it! This blog will forever be use to tell how fast my son is growing. I will list his weight, height and percentile he is in at the age of those measurements. So, let's get started.

Month Zero (or Day of Birth) 1/4/10
Weight: 9 LB 4 oz
Height: 21.5 Inches

Month 1 - 2/4/10
Weight: 10 LB 2 oz
Height: 22 Inches

Month 2 - 3/4/10
Weight: 12 LB 11 oz (75 Percentile)
Height: 24 Inches (86 Percentile)

As you can see, he is going to be a big boy. At first, I was thinking starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, but now, I'm thinking Linebacker. I can't wait until his next measurement.

Happy Holidays...I Mean

I got an funny e-mail from a co-worker and wanted to tweet it, but it is WAY to long for Twitter, so I am posting it here. This was a Forward from him, so I don't know who it originally came from. Enjoy, I know I did.

__________________________________________________________________

COMPANY MEMO:

FROM: Patty Lewis,
Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 1, 2009
RE: Gala Christmas Party


I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party
will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the
private function room at the Grill House. There will be a bar and
plenty of food and drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols... feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A 10 foot Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 PM. Exchanges of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees! Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time!

Merry Christmas to you and your family,

Patty


__________________________________________________________________


Company Memo



FROM: Patty Lewis,
Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 2, 2009
RE: Gala Holiday Party


In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas. However, from now on,
we're calling it our " Holiday Party." The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians and to those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There will be no Christmas tree, no Santa Claus
and no Christmas carols will be sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment.


Happy Holidays to you and your family,
Patty


__________________________________________________________________


Company Memo:


FROM: Patty Lewis, Human
Resources Director

TO: All
Employees
DATE: October 3, 2009
RE: HOLIDAY PARTY


Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn't sign your name. I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign
on a table that reads, "AA Only", you wouldn't be anonymous
anymore. How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody?
About the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed since the union
members feel that $10.00 is too much money and the executives
believe $10.00 is a little chintzy.

REMEMBER: GIFT EXCHANGE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED..

Happy Whatever,
Patty


______________________________________________________________



Company Memo:


FROM: Patty Lewis, Human
Resources Director
To: All Employees

DATE: October 4, 2009


RE: Generic Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th
begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and
drinking during daylight hours.. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs. There will be no cash
bar, no alcohol, no pork dishes. That should take care of the Jewish, Muslim, and the AA groups. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving Muslims your meals until the end of the party or else package everything for you to take it home in cute little foil doggy baggies. Will that work for you? Works for me.

In anticipation of more bitching and whining, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women and bulimics will get the table closest to the restrooms. Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do
not have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table.
Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men's table.

To the one person asking permission to cross-dress, the Grill House
asks that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of
concerns about confusion in the restrooms. Sorry.

We will have booster seats for "little people". Low-fat food will be
available for those on a diet. I am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used in the food . The Grill House suggests that people with high blood pressure taste a bite first. There will be fresh "low sugar" fruits as dessert for diabetics, but the restaurant cannot supply "no sugar" desserts. Sorry!

Heaven forbid I missed something?!?!? Did I?

Patty


_____________________________________________________________________



Company Memo:



FROM: Patty Lewis, Human
Resources Director
TO: All F*%^ing Employees
DATE: October 5, 2009



RE: This F*%^ing Holiday Thing

In order to compose this memo (and myself) with a bit of dignity, I'm having my fourth Scotch. First of all I've had it with you vegetarian pricks who keep calling me!!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit your asses quietly at the table furthest from the "Fried Fat Foodery", "Ptomaine Tavern", "Slop Shop", or "Grill of Death," as you so quaintly put it, and you'll get your f*%^ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes and tofurkey sandwiches. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. The little bastards scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW! Oh, was that was me? The rest of you f*%^ing weirdos can kiss my ass. I hope you all have a rotten holiday, gathering, meeting, or whatever the hell and if you don't want the pork you can eat the ass-hole out of a reindeer for all I care and I hope Rudolph craps in your non-alcoholic punch bowl! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

The B*tch from H*ll!!!

____________________________________________________________


Company Memo :



FROM:
Joan Bishop,
Acting Human Resources Director
DATE: October 6, 2009
RE: Patty Lewis and Company Gathering


I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery and I'll continue to forward your cards to her.

In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Company
Gathering and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off so each can do his or her own thing in his or her own way.


Happy Holidays!
Joan

A Visit From Above

True story, but I have no proof of it happening, what-so-ever. I remember this very vividly.

March 9th. It was a Monday before 5:30 a.m. I was lying in bed waiting for the alarm clock to go off. When I opened my eyes, there was this man standing at the end of my bed. He was dressed like a normal person (no, I don’t remember what he was wearing). He looked at me, and even though there appeared to be an intruder in my house, I was very calm and didn’t have any fear. There was no halo over his head, no light emanating from behind him to give him a glow, just a man.

This man looked at me and said, “You will have a boy and you will name him Ezekiel”. Then he touched my alarm clock and I woke up. I looked around the room, but it was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything except the alarm clock. I couldn’t even see the powered-off TV that he was standing in front when he was there. I didn’t think much of it but I did tell my wife that morning. It didn’t really hit me until almost two months to the day, when we found out that we were 6 weeks pregnant, AND a few months after that we found out that we were having a boy.

Then I thought to myself. Was that a dream? Was it me thinking that we were going to have a baby or was it that an angel did in fact come down and tell me we were going to have a boy and we were going to name our boy Ezekiel. When he said “and you will name him Ezekiel”, it didn’t sound like a command, but more of a statement.

This was a very difficult post to write. For the longest time, I have been afraid to let my religious beliefs be known because of the stereotypes that Christians often get in movies and in the press sometimes, but recently I had a...for lack of a better word...vision and the more I tell people (you readers are not the first), the more I realize that I shouldn’t be ashamed at this experience, and instead I should cherish it as special.

This was also a first for me. Although I attend church on a regular basis, I have never in my life experienced an event such as that one. And seven months, later, I still very much believe that I was visited by an angel.

The Incredible, Edible Disc

I have been hearing a lot of things about how Digital Distribution is going to be the future for video games, movies and music and other forms of consumable media. Now, while I can partially agree that the industries are moving that way, I don’t think anytime soon that we will be living in a world of download only in a couple of years. Here are just a few reasons why:

1. Bandwidth Caps (BDCs) – so much has been said about bandwidth caps that I don’t want to go back over them, but for this discussion, it’s really important. I know that several of my friends have a much more restrictive bandwidth cap than what I have to suffer through. Time Warner is one of the worst by having 5 GB BDCs a month. That is horrible. Any overages for that will result in a fee in the amount of $1 per GB over the cap used. With every generation, the games are becoming better looking and have more information in it, which in turn means it will be a bigger and bigger download. The average download for a full game is 4 GB so, let do the math: Two game downloads at 3.2 GB per game, is 6.4 GB total. If your cap is 5 GB then you have already blown your cap for the whole month, and you haven’t done anything but download games. What about e-mail, YouTube, and Facebook and other social networks?
2. No High Speed Internet – some locations of the country don’t even have what can be considered fast enough to download a game. Have you ever tried to download a song on a 56k modem? If not, try it and let me know how long it took, then multiply that time one-hundred times and you might come close to how long a movie takes. Then multiply that time by 4 and you have the same amount of time it takes to download a game. This is where the traditional discs come into play. That is their only REAL option. So what is the solution to DL only games: Streaming Games (see #3)?
3. The DRM Issue – when you buy a game that is download only, you don’t really own your game. By that I mean that you can play it, you can download it (Xbox 360, PS3 or PC), you can even let a friend play it on your machine, but if you try and take it anywhere but your machine, then you are out of luck. Even WORSE is that if the internet is down, or the DRM servers go OFFLINE, then your content isn’t even playable at ALL! So let’s talk music. Yes, I buy music off the internet. But I do not buy DRM’d music off the internet, and I refuse to buy music that has DRM that will restrict how I listen to my music. So, don’t try and sell me on the convenience factor of digital distribution, when you limit the convenience I had with discs. The same here can apply to movies.
4. Streaming Games/Movies and Internet Outages – everyone wants an internet that never goes down and is always there, but in reality, it’s not. There are internet outages from time to time and if you are required to connect to the internet every single time you play certain games (EA PC games, I’m looking at you, Xbox users would only be affected by online/MP only games such as Battlefield: 1943, otherwise you can at least play your game Single Player games offline) then you are S O L (And that doesn’t mean for standards of learning). So, why would we want to go that route?
5. Loaning/Trading In Games – this isn’t even possible for download only games. What amazes me is that an executive somewhere is telling me that I have to give up playing with discs because download only is the future? Why? If there are discs out there, then that is what I will be buying because if my cohort in crime (not really) SparkStalker wants to borrow Left of Dead or Halo 3: ODST (two games he actually already owns but for the sake of argument) he can. If I want to play more of a game besides what’s in the demo, then I can go to Blockbuster and rent the game. With no game discs, that will not be possible.
6. Storage Space – on this topic, I am going to focus on game consoles because game consoles generally speaking have the smallest hard drives (HD) out there. The Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo Wii all have small hard drives compared to laptop computers. The Xbox can have a HD 20GB in size at the smallest (this is of course discounting the Xbox Arcade model that has NO HD at all) and the largest Xbox HD out there now is 250GB (the CoD:MW2 consoles). The PS3 has something equivalent or less on both sides of the spectrum. Don’t even get me started on the Wii. Anyway, if you spend $300 on an Xbox that has a twenty GB HD, then you basically have room for four, maybe five games and that is IF you don’t want anything else on your HD. So, if you have five 3.2 GB games on your drive, then that’s 16GB of a 20GB HD. There are 2GB’s (I think) of space already taken up by system tools, and that gives you only 2GB for EVERYTHING else. That would mean that you have almost no room for any movies, music, arcade games (smaller sized games for cheaper price). And Arcade games are getting larger and larger every 6 months. And then there is the price of the HD, which for the Xbox, is ridiculous. All in all, not the biggest issue, but it still is an issue.
7. Price – this is a VERY important reason why (at least with games) that I am against digital distribution. If a studio wants to convince me that convenience is a factor, then price factors into that convenience argument. I will not spent $60 on an all digital game, when I can buy the disc for the same price. Why would I want to give up the choice of trading in/loaning my games? Why? Give me one good reason. Now, let’s say that I had a choice of Halo Reach for the Xbox 360. Digital download cost $35 and the game disc cost $60, and that I might go for (but honestly, I would probably still buy the disc because I feel more secure that way, but at least I would consider it rather than dismissing it outright). In other words, lower the price and we’ll consider it.

Every rule has an exception so let’s go over them.

1. Xbox/Zune Eco System – Xbox Live and the Zune Marketplace are two really good (mostly) integrated services. If you buy a game, movie, video, piece of Avatar clothing, add-on game pack, you can download it, delete it from your HD and then re-download it without having to re-purchase the content (of course you still have to be logged into your account which in that eco system is called a Gamertag).
2. Amazon On Demand – Amazon On Demand is perhaps one of the best services out there for purchasing digital movies. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s close to it. First, you can rent or buy movies for close to a quarter of the price. Case in point: I bought season 3 of Dexter for $11.88. The physical discs were $42.99. That is the type of cost savings that will propel me to purchase digitally. Also, with certain Amazon On Demand purchases, you can download the episodes/movies to your PC and play whenever you want without an internet connection and play them on a Roku player that is hooked up to your television. Price plus Ease of Use plus Real Convenience = Buy.

The conclusion is that digital distribution may actually be the future, but they need to solve the first seven points in this post in order to make it a true success. Good luck with that!

That Old Pron Spamming Feeling

I wanted to put this on Twitter, but couldn't so I'll share with you a funny thing that happened to me yesterday.

I really hate it when I'm sitting at home and I get this message over IM from someone who we have never heard of. This happens to a lot of people, and 99% of the time, it's some woman who wants to advertise to a unsuspecting person their porn site. Well, it happened to me yesterday. I'm probably breaching etiquette by posting their screen name, so I'm starring it out. If there is a request to see the screen name, then I will post it.

* >3 hello >3
jedichric can I help you with something?
* hey there cutie???
jedichric who are you?
jedichric do I know you from somewhere?
* i am me! well i found your id and decided to msg you, im sooo very lonely and only want company
jedichric I am at work and don't have time
* who is this again? Sorry I don't recognize the name lol
jedichric you IM'd me
* Oh Ok LOL,Nice!how you doin??

Now here is what was going through my mind as it happened.

* >3 hello >3
-Who is this? Is this a Geezer? Someone I don't talk with regularly? So I ask my question. I thought the "Can I help you with something?" was a generic enough to let them know "I heard you, who are you" but I guess I was wrong.
* hey there cutie???
-As soon as they said this, alarm bells started to go off. Why is someone besides my wife calling me cutie? Then I ask the obvious questions "Who are you?" and "Where do I know you from?"
* i am me! well i found your id and decided to msg you, im sooo very lonely and only want company
-Okay, first off, if I ask you a question like Who are you? and you come back with "I am me" That tells me two things. 1. You don't want to tell me who you are for fear of me blocking you right away, and/or 2. You are messing around with me. I don't like either one of those. Then this [for the sake of this article, let's assume it's a woman] woman tells me that she randomly found my ID and wanted to chat, and if that wasn't enough she tried to pull on my strings assuming that I was some horny guy who has nothing better to do in life than chat with strange women over the internet. I then tell her I don't have time for this kind of thing, and...
* who is this again? Sorry I don't recognize the name lol
-WHAT ON EARTH DO SHE THINK ASKING ME THAT QUESTION? Of course you don't recognize the name, she just said in her previous IM that she just randomly found my ID. I then stupidly answer You IM'd me...
* Oh Ok LOL,Nice!how you doin??
-I think my exact thought at that point was, "I don't have time for this crap." And blocked her.

That whole exchange took place over two minutes. Maybe I was being too nice, but I honestly thought that this was a Geezer friend who had seen my profile on Facebook or GG.com and wanted to say hi or something. It has happened in the past. When I showed my wife this conversation, she laughed, and said, "Why do you have all these porn people trying to contact you over twitter and IM?" I answered, "Because this is the new media and even when I sign up for things that have no relationship to porn, they still try and become my friend to sell me their porn site by sending me messages, and trying to become friends on Facebook, and get IM's from them all the time." And you know what, it's true.

Message to all Porn Spammers

I do not want to see your naked pictures online. PERIOD!

They Can Swim

I didn’t realize that I would be writing this post this early, but because of outside forces, I have decided to let everyone know the BIG, on in this case, the little news.

Click Here

On the Thursday before Mothers day, my wife and I found out that we were going to have a baby. This was VERY incredible news that we had both been looking forward too. The first person we told was my best friend. Why him? Well, he and his wife are going through the exact same thing at the exact same time. In fact, when he told us, we were also pregnant, but we just didn’t know it yet. Sorry Mom, but you were second. That Sunday, me and my wife told my mother-in-law and her family and my wife’s grandparents. We tried to keep it a secret, but my wife has been telling everyone since then. She had requested that they keep it a secret, but that just isn’t happening.

The bad part of all this is that we are only 6 to 8 weeks into this for the first time. I have resisted telling people because I don’t want to share this great thing of ours and then we have an unfortunate accident. But I can no longer resist the urge to keep this a secret. My wife and I want to share this wonderful news with everyone.

During this time, though, please respect out privacy on this matter. I will keep everyone updated on the podcast, Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions for me or Elspeth, please e-mail me or send me a private message. Also, please instead of congratulating us, please pray for us to have a safe and healthy pregnancy.

Thank you.

JediChric and JedisPadme

Ps. The title of this post is a direct rip off of Mojo’s thread. Thanks for the help with that, Mojo.

The Mouse Will Play

Okay, so I promised this too you a couple of weeks ago, and I know that I am late, but here is what I did that weekend.

• Mix orange juice, milk and grape juice into one drink and start gulping, while keeping the toilet in close range
I didn’t do this, but only because I was out of grape juice.
• Did anyone see “Risky Business” and the Tom Cruise dancing scene? I’m just saying...
This was fun. But instead of doing the “Risky Business”, it was the “Risky Macarena”.
• Watching horror movies without worrying about scaring the wife to death
I didn’t watch any horror movies, with the exception of “Stupid Teenagers Must Die”. It was funny, but horror movies just aren’t my bag.
• Having a full bathroom sink to myself
This is one of those perks that you don’t think of until you actually have it.
• Not having to worry about whether the bathroom seat is up or down
Please see last explanation.
• Falling asleep with pizza on my stomach
I did this with one small exception, I had the pizza on a plate so the fries and mayo wouldn’t leak onto my clothes.
• Not having to worry about chocolate magically disappearing
I didn’t have to worry about this, because my wife either ate it all before she left or took it with her.

I would now like to apologize for not updating this blog very often. I find it easier to rant and rave in 140 characters over Twitter and Facebook.

Fundamentalist Right-Wing Extremist

(I would have to thank SlapShotSal for giving me inspiration for this blog post)

This Miss USA/Miss California controversy continues to flare up. And now, of course Hollywood has to get into the act. It has to be the most liberal of all communities has to go on record and make fun of the answer that Carrie Prejean gave. (Here is the story. As an aside, I’m glad that Alicia Silverstone has found some acting work since “Clueless”.) But they have the right, remember that in 2004 they stood on stage with John Kerry and said that they were the voice of America. Really? So it stands to reason that they would voice their opinion and claim that what they believe is what is right for America. I’ve written about my dislike for Hollywood before, so I’m not going to rehash that, but this brings up an interesting point that I discussed on Twitter yesterday.

What I want to talk about for this post has to do with beliefs. Sal, Burton and I had a giant twitter storm (number of tweets, not anger) going on about how no matter what position we take on a topic we get labeled with a tag. I’ll start with the silly and move to the serious ones.

If I say I prefer the Xbox 360 over the PS3, and make the most convincing reason for it, I’m a 360 fanboy. Why? Is it because I HATE the PS3? No, it could be because I play the 360 10 times more than any other console I have played in my entire life (that includes the NES and Atari). But because I like the 360, that makes me an Xbox 360 fanboy. WRONG! I like it because it better, that’s why!

I sometimes wonder what people would have labeled me after I took the Pepsi Challenge if the internet were around in the 80’s. I know what I would have heard: I’m a Pepsi Fanboy. I like the taste of Pepsi over Coke because I’m a fanboy, not because I absolutely hate the taste of Coke. No, it’s because I’m a Pepsi fanboy.

Do you guys really want me to talk about the one controversy that I constantly put up with? Yeah, it’s the Star Wars versus Star Trek. Well, I’m a Star Wars fan...if you couldn’t already tell that. Reason: I don’t believe in the utopian society that Star Trek is representative of. Star Wars: it’s the melting pot (American has been called the melting pot in the past).

Now let’s get serious. If you like Mel Gibson and his movies, you’re an anti-Semite bigot. If you don’t agree with what Obama does in the White House, you’re a racist bigot. If you agree with Carrie Prejean, you’re a homophobic idiot that Hollywood will make lampoon. You can’t have an opinion in this world anymore, and if you do, you’re wrong and possibly one of the above.

These days, though, not only can you be labeled on the internet for being vocal and opinionated. You can now be labeled as a threat to the United States. This is one label that can stick. If you don’t know what I am talking about, the Homeland Security Secretary placing a footnote that at least implied that soldiers that come home from Iraq and Afghanistan could be “extremists”. Yes, that does only apply to soldiers returning from war, but what about a memo that hasn’t been leaked that states people on message boards are extremists. Or tags people who blog as extremists? Where does it stop?

I’ve never been afraid to give my opinion, because I was raised to have beliefs and not be afraid to tell someone what they are. I am that way and I will continue to be that way. But we live in a world today, where we don’t have the right to view the world from a certain perspective and if we do, we could be labeled as a fundamentalist right-wing extremist.