I wonder where the flowers is

Okay, first thing's first. I was watching the fourth disc of the Futurama Season 3 DVD, and it kept freezing up on me during the episode "Godfellas." I didn't notice any obvious scratches on the disc, but it really won't play properly. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do?

The main thing I was going to talk about in this entry (although it didn't quite work out that way) is how annoyed I am at what I sometimes think of as "hive mind" stereotyping. I've talked about this kind of thing before. You know, when people say things like, "America thinks this," "Hollywood wants that," "The Left does this," "The Right does something else." Aren't all of these groups made up of individual people, who all have different opinions, ideas, and motives? I mean, I don't mind this kind of thing occasionally, especially when discussing a known majority opinion or central tenet. But, well, I'm a left-wing American, and I've heard plenty of people saying things about what "America" or "The Left" thinks or does that didn't apply to me at all. Mind you, it seems like a lot of people who stereotype in this way are the same ones who insist it's a good idea to stand behind your leaders no matter what. There might well be some projection at work here.

And speaking of people who think that way, Bill O'Reilly read an e-mail the other day that made a valid point about how he's always criticizing other people for smears and name-calling, yet he's always calling people villains and pinheads. His response was essentially that "pinhead" was a joke, and "villain" was factual. I'm not sure how he'd justify referring to the people who booed Ann Coulter during a speech at a college as "Nazis," since there's nothing funny about the term, and I doubt they were actually members of the National Socialist Party. He'd probably deny he ever said it. O'Reilly also said that the writer of the e-mail must have been looking at Far Left websites, because it's obvious that no one ever could have decided O'Reilly was a hypocritical jerk simply by listening to him for two minutes. I sometimes have to wonder whether he actually BELIEVES that, or he's just saying it to win the gullible over to his side. I would assume the latter, since O'Reilly generally (with a few exceptions) comes off more as someone who knows how to manipulate stupid people than someone who actually IS stupid, but the man DOES have an insanely massive ego.

In the same show, O'Reilly was talking to some kids from Yale, and saying that he thought universities should be more politically balanced. Of course, he thought Yale was predominantly left-wing; I tend to doubt he'd say the same thing about a school that was considered more conservative. Nonetheless, even if he WAS being entirely honest, it's still a ridiculous idea. I remember when my history teacher in my junior year of high school saying that, when he was hired, you had to be a member of one particular political party (he didn't say which one, but I'm sure it was obvious at the time) to get a job there. Obviously, this is discriminatory, and O'Reilly's idea isn't much different. It would be basing admissions on political affiliation, rather than (or, in the best-case scenario, in addition to) academic achievement. Maybe colleges tend to be more left-wing because academically-inclined people are more likely to be liberal. That said, there's a stereotype that Ivy Leaguers are snobs, and maybe this is a No True Scotsman Fallacy on my part, but I have a hard time seeing snobby people as truly liberal. But then, I guess looking down your nose at people doesn't necessarily mean you don't care about them on a certain level. I mean, I'm somewhat of a grammar snob, but I don't think the government should levy an Improper Conjugation Tax [1].

And so that this doesn't start looking like the Let's Bash O'Reilly Blog [2], I might as well say a few things about my own life. Yesterday, bethje and I went out to eat at Applebee's. They have a few shrimp specials for Lent, which is a good thing for me, as someone who doesn't observe Lent but DOES love shrimp. I had the shrimp with cheese sauce and penne pasta, which was quite tasty.

After eating, we stopped by PetSmart and looked at some of the animals they had there. They had some cute cats. I'd like to get my own cat someday. My family has had cats before, but I've never had my own. I'm not sure how I'd handle a pet that was my sole responsibility. Cats are generally pretty low-maintenance, though. If I ever get my own place (yeah, right), I'll probably get one. Maybe a dog would come later. I used to be terrified of dogs when I was a kid, but now I like them. I'm still more of a cat person, though.

( Quiz result )

So, for anyone who lives in my general area, how about the weather we're having? It's great, isn't it? Granted, I spend most of my time indoors, but I'm still a lot happier when it's nice outside.

[1] Or, as it is colloquially known, a "syn-tax."
[2] I think there already ARE a few of those, although I've never actually checked them out.