Wiftees News

So what is it with “Men?”  Or, more specifically, what is it with “2 1/2 Men?”

Men!  You can’t live with ‘em, and you can’t live with ‘em!  For crying out loud.  I AM a man, and sometimes I can’t even live with myself.  I have no idea how my wife has put up with me for over 12 years.  Sometimes I don’t put the toilet seat down.  Goodness knows I never even dust.

But I digress.  Bad toilet seat habits and dusting habits are bad enough, but anything that warrants a 911 and a restraining order is beyond the pail (the toilet pail).  Or more specifically it’s in the toilet.  Somewhere you’ve gotta draw the line.  My line is somewhere around the shouting rather loudly point.  One report reads, “He denied threatening her with a knife.”  Either he did, and she should leave him, or she lied to cops and a judge, and he should leave her.  Either way, it’s pretty toxic.

Yes, it’s about that extreme, and maybe it’s a difficult truth to face; but think about it:  If he did anything remotely resembling pulling a knife or threatening with one…That’s the time to say, “Golly, time to exit Phil Spector-land.”  And if she’s lying about the knife…Gee wiz…Would you want to stay with someone who’s willing to potentially derail your successful career because she’s excessively emotional?

So now they want to work things out.  Frankly, I have no idea who’s telling the truth.  Either way, all I can think is, “Go figure.”  I hope for their kids’ sake they can clean it up.

It’s inevitable.  ‘Tis the season as they say.  So if you are in any way, shape, or form wired into Western culture, then over the next 5 weeks sometime you’re bound to hear it.  That 3-word phrase that’s somehow supposed to pay the karmic debt you amassed with all the fun you had over the holidays:  The formidable “New Year’s Resolution.”

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution?  Have you ever had one?  I am ashamed to admit that I have never heretofore given myself a New Year’s Resolution.  Perhaps I’ve always been afraid of them.  I’m not sure.  The prospect of topping myself each successive year for the next 40 to 50 years seems daunting.  And then of course, there is the prospect of failure.

I searched the Oracle of All Truth (Wikipedia), and was surprised to discover that “New Year’s Resolution” has its own page…Really I wasn’t that surprised.  That was entirely rhetorical.

Wikipedia usually does deliver intriguing little tidbits, and this visit was no exception.  A 2007 study claimed to have tracked 3,000 individuals in their annual inward pilgrimage.  As much as anything, the Quirkology study confirmed my suspicions on the success rate of New Year’s Resolutions.   Around 12% actually achieve  their established goals.  So does this 12% constitute an overall success or failure?

I find myself constantly telling my daughters, “If it’s too easy (whether it’s school, a hobby, or a sport, anything really), then you’re not being challenged.  You learn from mistakes.”  So if 12% achieve their goals, did that 12% set goals that were too easy?  This year, I find myself for the first time curiously drawn to the ritual of the New Year’s Resolution:  It doesn’t have to be about success or failure.  Perhaps it simply has to be about trying.

So I’m setting a simple New Year’s Resolution, “Treat other people better.”  Not that I’ve ever treated people poorly.  I think I’ve got a pretty decent record, actually.  I make my share of mistakes; and I’d like to find a way to make the whole process about someone else as much as about me.  I will keep a little calendar in my tooth paste drawer as a reminder.  And try to mark on it at the end of each day to keep track.  Maybe I’ll mark a little frown if I do something despicable.  Will the calendar be there in a year?  I don’t really know.  But I do believe the effort will be enjoyable.

Happy New Year,
The Whiff

A:  Today’s Specials!!!
-Twice Baked Alaska
-Spoiled Broth
-Everybody’s Goose…Cooked!

OK, so maybe that’s a bit over the top.  I couldn’t resist.

Then again….Was it really over the top?  Do we really have time to be dickering back and forth on this thing?  The top headline on the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Edition read “Climate Pact Falls Short.”  Short indeed.  So 192 world leaders from points all around the globe coalesce for two weeks to discuss the problem.  The real problem lies in the conference becoming a negotiation rather than a cooperative effort.  192 world leaders from points all around the globe coalesce for two weeks to discuss the problem; and they end up talking about money.

The biggest disappointments were predictably the US and China.  It used to concern me that the US kept pointing the finger at China; but this round of talks woke me up to China’s stubbornness.  China has recently become the world’s worst emitter.  As of 2007 they were emitting about 1/5th of the world’s CO2 with about 1/5th of the world’s population.

Interestingly, China was only willing to talk about lowering carbon intensity, a measure of emissions relative to GDP. China’s economy has recently grown at very rapid rates approaching 10%. So its posture on greenhouse gas emissions at this point is basically, “OK emissions is important, but GDP is more important; and GDP will drive the conversation.”  It boils down to a demand to reduce greenhouse gases incrementally and much more slowly than everyone else.

-The Whiff

OK, I’ll stop shamelessly promoting Wiftee shirts every other post soon enough.  But before I do, a few ‘housekeeping’ posts.  I’m a bit of an ecology nut and there is one Wiftee design that especially catches my eye, maybe it catches yours too:  The ‘Fix Polluted Environment’ shirt.

There are two things that I especially like about this tee-shirt.  First, its just plain awesome.  The colors are gorgeous.  It almost manages to make a sludge spewing factories attractive.  ‘Almost’ is the operative word.  I don’t think anything can make CO2 emissions or other hazardous discharge pleasant; and this shirt communicates that very effectively.

The second really cool thing about the shirt:  No words.  You want to start a conversation?  There is no quicker way to do it than a cool art deco pattern without words.  People are just bound to comment on the design; and then when they do, you can talk about whatever comes to mind (questions are especially great):

“Did you know that the average American family home produces enough trash annually to fill itself up?”

“Did you know that the United States produces about 1/5th of the world’s CO2 even though we only have about 1/20th of the word’s population?

“Did you know that the worldwide climate change conference (COP15) is taking place in Copenhagen right now?  You oughta Google it!”

The point is:  Saving the environment starts with numero uno; but after you get started, maybe you’ll want to start up a conversation about it with numero dos or tres.  This tee-shirt is a really clever way to get conversations going; but you’ve gotta have some answers (or, better yet, questions) ready to start the conversation.

Regards,
The Whiff

You heard me right! I said what I meant and I meant what I said! T-Shirts are crucial to the First Amendment. And I will discuss that below.

But before I move on to the First Amendment, please allow me to briefly introduce myself. I have this thing for anonymous blog handles; and from this day forth, as long as I post at this site as I dub myself….(drum roll please….) THE WHIFF! There may be others who post here; but I shall always henceforth and forevermore be here known as THE WHIFF. If you EVER lose your way and want to find it back, just get thee back over to “Wiftees.com” (without an h); and I will be shamelessly lurking here under Wiftee News.

Why “The Whiff?”
Webster’s online defines a Whiff as, “A quick puff or slight gust especially of air, odor, gas, smoke, or spray b : an inhalation of odor, gas, or smoke c : a slight puffing or whistling sound.”  That pretty well describes me.  But I digress….horribly.

Why are T-Shirts crucial to the First Amendment?
You think I’m just being nutty, trying to attract attention shamelessly with outlandish ideas?  Read on…and be amazed and astounded.  So how is it that a fistful of 100% cotton impregnated with thin layer of ideas or pictures becomes a crucial linchpin in human rights?  Quite simple, a t-shirt is a walking billboard; and there is no corner of this planet where anyone can put whatever they want on a billboard….because no rights are absolute.  Sorry, they’re just not.  They may be important; but they’re never absolute.

But that non-absolute part is truly what makes America the Beautiful:  At least here, bubbling in the proverbial “Melting Pot” (my personal fave metaphor of all time for America) we can argue the point in courts.  A lot of places they’ll point an M-16 at you.

The conflicts over T-Shirts can become quite serious, too.  Visit FirstAmendment.Org (here) and see for yourself (just scroll down to the bulleted court cases).  Being banned, for example, for advocating “peace on earth?”  Who knew?  Much more recently, an ACLU court case over anti-Islam expressions on tee-shirts (here)…ouch!

Like it or not, you’ll never be able to put whatever you want on a billboard (or a t-shirt).  But at least in this country we can talk about it.   Far too often we do take that liberty for granted here, especially if we were born here (like I was).   In a crazy sorta way, t-shirts and bubbling, bursting ethnic conflicts (that don’t result in bloodshed) are what I, personally, love about America…beacon of hope and peace.  In the end, peace arises from communication, from openly discussing and negotiating painful differences.  And T-shirts are all about communication…

Peace…
Out…
-THE WHIFF