On June 6th, 2007, we decided to put up a MySpace profile with inspirational blogs, good will, and some funny videos. Taking a look today, we see that we've received a total whopping 1000 kudos for our efforts.
We feel like rock stars, and you don't get to feel that every day. So thank you! We bow gracefully to your applause and will continue to do our best.
PPF! (peepee pals forever!)
p.s. This is what started EVERYTHING. It still brings a smile to our face!
So, this morning, while leaving the gym... (PeePee Pals are into both fitness and fast food; an unlikely combination)
Where was I again? Sorry, I was having a Sonic moment. Yeah, leaving the gym. I'm backing out of a parking space - there is little to no activity in the parking lot - so I decide to reverse myself across the lot and have an easy to navigate, pull straight ahead into the street driving experience.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see this man in a suit making his way to HIS car. I stop. Now, we're not the smartest people here at PPHQ (we have more fun than most, but often at the expense of common sense), but we'd like to think that if we're walking across a parking lot and someone is backing up, we would not try to save 5 seconds and cross the driver's path on the way to our vehicle.
Not this dude.
I'm not even at a complete stop and I see him making his decision to go for it. Did I tell you that I was in reverse? I was driving BACKWARDS. And this guy had to get to his car RIGHT NOW. Unbelievable. No wait. ENTIRELY believable.
It wasn't nice of me to make assumptions, but I did. Under my breath, I said to myself, "I hope you aren't responsible for managing people."
Good morning, peeps. It's a new day here in America. We wonder how you're feeling; not just here, but all over the globe. Like it or not, since World War II, we have been a global community and don't have the luxury of autonomy within our borders. There is no Pala hidden away in the ocean. (You get extra credit if you can make the reference!)
We've been babbling for over a year about greed, entitlement, violence, love, etc. For the most part, we don't choose to point the finger at 'the man', or corporations, or the government. WE own this. Throughout history, 'the man' has been allowed to exist because of the proverbial carrot we can't seem to stop chasing. If we're promised more of anything, then our mouth is open and our legs are running. We don't seem to care if there's a thousand pounds of cruelty and oppression on our backs.
Get candy!
Bottom line - and you know this if you frequent these parts - is that the more we want, the more we're promised, and the more we're promised, the more willing we are to compromise our values, our freedoms, and our happiness. This is nothing new. It's been that way since there was greed, and that started when people showed up.
When we were fortunate enough to have consistent food and shelter (and not all of us have reached this pinnacle), we started fighting for HD televisions and SUVs. The rich keep getting richer, the powerful get more power, and the rest of us keep wanting more than we need.
At times, these simple rules of life depress us here at PPHQ, and we've been known (at times) to just give up. Nothing is ever for free, and the cost may be personal sacrifice. Sorry, peeps, we don't see a lot of folks willing to work, and even fewer willing to work together.
But guess what? Yesterday, November 4, 2008, the people of America made a statement. An overwhelming statement. They're tired of chasing, running, spending and killing. From a cynical perspective, we could say that American's took a gamble on the person they think will give them more money to buy more stuff.
After President-elect Obama's acceptance speech, this peep was moved. I felt like maybe, just maybe, progress was made. Not because John McCain is a bad person, or even because President Bush is a bad person. But because the people of this country stood up together, black and white, rich and poor, hungry and well-fed, and said, "We want change."
That's a beautiful thing. There's been a lot of talk about 'Main Street' during this election, and I, for one, don't want to live in a country where you have to be white and middle class to get by. Even if you can have Tivo. That's just me. I look forward to the day that the economy isn't the number one issue. Not because I believe it's so incredibly bad and that would mean it's 'fixed', but because money should always take a back seat to the needs of people.
So today we say, "GOBAMA!", and desperately want to believe in the leadership ability of our 44th President of the United States. Now tell us what you want to believe, peeps...
We're running around in circles, waving our arms and teasing each other about the costumes we're wearing. It's AWESOME! We hope you're doing the same!
There was some interoffice discussion this morning about what we find to be REALLY scary. It was unanimous. So we present to you now, the scariest image we could imagine:
Hope your weekend was terrific! We know it's Monday, but just think, it's only 4 days until Friday. That's not very long.
Have you ever been exposed to something that changed your perspective on nearly everything you believe in? A single thought that perhaps deflated your soapbox and took the wind out of your proverbial sails? We might be getting a little melodramatic here, but while watching the special features of an independent DVD release entitled The TV Set, we were exposed to an idea from none other than David Duchovny (he would be Mulder on the X Files and the star of the hit television show Californication).
We knew from X Files that he wanted to believe, we just had no idea how strongly.
So, during an interview about this interesting movie he was starring in opposite Sigourney Weaver, David Duchovny launches this thought about integrity (in the context of 'selling out' artistically), and we'll paraphrase:
Is integrity doing what you have to do in order to take care of your family, or is it clinging to some &%$ idea that isn't changing lives or helping anyone in any way? Or something like that.
But, but, but...it's the right thing to do! Selling out is bad, right? So what if you can provide a better life for your children by starring in The Adventures of Pluto Nash or singing a duet with Bryan Adams! It isn't COOL.
Something to think about, peeps, when we're in our cliques, hammering on our favorite entertainment icons for taking the money.
Last week, a dental hygienist recommended using tartar control toothpaste. While in the grocery store, I remembered the recommendation and diligently attempted to make good on the advice of a trained professional. Row by row I searched, yet was unable to find what I was looking for. There was, however, a theme for all the brands and varieties that WERE available.
WHITENING.
And not only could you find a toothpaste specifically formulated for keeping your teeth at their brightest under every brand name (and generic option) available, there were several varieties to choose from. It was a bit like trying to buy a Coke, and having to decide if you wanted Diet, Cherry, Diet Cherry, Caffeine Free, Caffeine Free Diet, Caffeine Free Diet Cherry, etc. But no tartar control with extra whitening goop. The message?
Functionality isn't important if everything looks great.
For some reason, the Presidential Election came to mind. This isn't a political blog by any means, but after watching the debates and reading the media's take on the winners and losers of those debates - including, of course, Entertainment Tonight's in-depth fashion and body language breakdown - it is our fear that perhaps the issues and knowledge of those issues has taken a backseat to how good one looks talking about those issues.
Say it isn't so, Joe.
I brush. I floss. And I wanted a little help with the buildup of decay. Instead, all I could find was whitewash for the surface. I smile in the mirror and tell my teeth, "Yes, we can!", but deep in my heart I wonder if we ever will.
Too Much Tragedy for this PeePee Pal to Handle
Category: Sports
Every once in a while, a story will hit the news that touches our emotional buttons. Drives right up on our weak spot and slams into park until we just can't handle it and break down. For some, it involves children, For others, abuse. My button has always been the death of a dream, and one such story had this PeePee Pal crying like an infant yesterday.
The name Richard Collier may not mean anything to you. I didn't recognize it either, but when I continued on with the story, I remembered the incident it described in Jacksonville, Florida where an offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars was shot and left with 14 bullets in him. Sad. He was in intensive care, there was a lot of sports radio talk about how young athletes should know better than being out at 3 in the morning (because we were never out at 3 in the morning when we were 24, right?), blah, blah, blah. I never heard that he died, so I assumed everything worked out and forgot about it.
Until yesterday.
Young Richard Collier, with his whole future ahead of him as a professional athlete, came to consciousness paralyzed from the waist down and missing his left leg. Writing that last sentence required me to stop and wipe my eyes. Sorry, it's my button.
When does a person start becoming a pro football player? Age 10? Every high school athlete would love the glory (and the money), but how many openings are there, and how many high schools are there? The competition must be ferocious just to play college ball, much less college ball for a decent school. Even then, the chance of taking it to the next level is minuscule. But this kid did it.
Richard Collier didn't 'deserve' his break; none of us deserve much really. He also didn't 'deserve' to be gunned down. Yeah, he was probably doing some things he shouldn't have been. He was out late chasing girls. Probably hanging out with the wrong people. We'll never know for sure because Richard Collier doesn't remember any of it. All he knows is that his life is radically different from anything he ever imagined.
My heart bleeds for this kid. I'm sure his family is indescribably grateful that he's alive. I can only hope that Richard Collier feels that way too. I can't imagine the pain and the disappointment he's feeling. I can only tell you the pain and the disappointment I feel that there are human beings capable of pulling the trigger.
Let's make a pact not to be like that. What do you say, peeps?
We were fortunate enough to experience something really weird and strange and scary over the weekend. Nashville ran out of gas.
For real.
None of the gas stations had any petrol. Yellow caution tape was wrapped around the pump area at every station. Cars (in some neighborhoods) were stalled on the side of the road. If a station were to have its last bit of gas, the lines were mercilessly long, and this place too would soon be empty.
Less than an hour away it was business as usual, but in our town, you couldn't even order a pizza for delivery. No gas, no driver. The weirdest part? There was no mention of this as a national news item. Paris Hilton gets a new dog and the world is informed. The capital of Tennessee has NO FRIGGIN' GAS and we don't even get honorable mention.
Or is it all a cover-up? A close friend from the U.K. believes that the day is not far away when all the gas will be gone. And he also believes there will be no warning whatsoever. The panic would be overwhelming. We are creatures who depend on our wheels for nearly everything. Take that away, and you get...
...what we had here over the weekend. Times a billion of course.
There will be plenty more gas in the days to come. A few stations are finding ways to fill their tanks and service the needy (at a premium of course, though there is fear of price gouging too badly, the government would rather we run out?). By the end of the week, we won't even remember it happened.
But it did. And that's what our world could be like someday. Maybe it's time we make the drive to Wal-Mart and pick up a bicycle. You know, one of those cool ones with two seats.
Is there such a thing as liberal talk radio? (For those of you who are ready to chime in with NPR, we get that, but not for this. Thanks though!)
No matter how times we push 'seek' on our dial, and no matter where we happen to be in the South or the Midwest, we are guaranteed a liberal (ha ha) dose of:
* Dr. Laura * Rugh Limbaugh * Hannity & Colmes * Dennis Miller, Glenn Beck, Dave Ramsey, etc.
We don't find radical conservatives any more evil than radical liberals (radical being the theme here), but from time to time, it would be interesting (when we're a captive audience in our vehicle) to have a more versatile menu of hate to go with our McDonald's coffee. Unfortunately, we have yet to find the Left's assault.
Why do you think that is? We can imagine that the liberals in our posse would say something like, "We don't need to hate publicly because we're right," or maybe, "We don't find the need to sound arrogant and biased just because our enemies do." We really hope that the excuse isn't, "Radio is worthless", because for many of us, this isn't true. (The whole country isn't full of hipster douchebags!)
Well, Lefties, let us tell you something. People are listening to the Right, and to be honest, in our road experiment, there aren't many other options in the talk radio market.
The media has definitely become one of our main tools in the task of absorbing and spreading information here in the U.S. of A (and abroad as well), so however skewed the Right may be in its dissertations, they are at least being heard. We know this, because:
a) We listened. And b) Advertisers don't pay for messages that aren't listened to. Even if said advertiser is a staunch political supporter with a position of party over country. No listeners, no dollars. No dollars, no colorful commentary.
So, our little green community, what do you say? Why is talk radio so lopsided? Once again, we're not supporting either agenda, we're simply trying to understand the massive punt by the Left on talk radio.
