Kelly Smith Weblog Aficionado: Just a guy vs. Life

Sinead O'Connor is retiring from the music business.... "As of July 2003, I shall be retiring from the music business in order to pursue a different career," wrote O'Connor -- who distinguished herself in the 1990s as much with her shaven head and brash opinions as with her music -- on a Web site devoted to all things Sinead. "> [READ MORE] Well, let us see. She had a number one album, solely because of one hit that was written by Prince. "Nothing Compares 2 U". She refused to perform at a concert if the Star Spangled Banner proceeded her. Despite the fact that she found fame in the U.S. And let's see, she tore up a picture of the Pope, and was surprised that she was booed off the stage at her next event. At this point, I am making a sincere effort to think of anyone that I can think of that actually gives a damn about Sinead O'Connor or what she does....... O'Connor wishes to live a 'normal' life. Well Sine...

A mediocre attempt at writing tonight... *yawn* I typed out a poem, but after reading it, I realized it sucked and deleted it. You can check me out at my best and worst here. Vibe Page These poems are over a span of about 5 years...I used to have more, but lost them. Feel free to give me your opinion, but if you dis me I will cuss you out. I ain't playin'.

I am a certified geek... I actually know that I am a certified geek by the list of disturbing geek attributes that I now have. 1. An affinity for any type of electronic or computer gadgetry. 2. The idea that it would be cool to own a pair of night vision goggles. 3. My adoration of Japanese Anime, Kung Fu Movies, and War Movies. 4. The fact that I know what a lot of computer acronyms stand for. 5. This blog is not the only web presence that I maintain. 6. I do see at least a practical purpose for a pocket protector. 7. I wish my son liked to play adventure games as well as sports games on Playstation 2. 8. I would rather watch the Discovery Channel, CNN, and C-Span instead of Reality TV shows. 9. I'm good at Jeopardy. And finally.....[drum roll please] 10. I know how many days it is until the Matrix Reloaded debuts! [Neo is a bad ass!]

Gay Pride Beating House arrest in gay pride celebration beating [Click above to view full story] Hair, 26, suffered a skull fracture, a split sinus and tooth damage; Sonny Gonzales, 35, received a head laceration; and Scott Boswell, 25, got a split lip. Let me preface this post by first saying that nobody deserves to be harassed or assaulted for their sexual orientation. Stereotypes about a gay man's feminine ways, and lack of prowess in sports and fighting notwithstanding...... how in the hell does one man inflict such damage upon three men? It seems that three 15 year olds could subdue a grown man if they worked together. Did they fight like girls? If they did, it would seem that they could have stopped him by sheer numbers. 3:1 I know it sounds horribly sexist for me to say, "Did they fight like girls?", but even if they did it would seem that they could have stopped this attack. I remember as an elementary school kid, the "furious windmi...

Easter Sunday Easter Dinner at Kelly and Renee's house was a monumental success. We had people from both sides of our family come and spend time with us. In all, we had about thirty people running around our house yesterday. The kids had a great time even though they expressed outrage at having to leave church clothes on for so long after mass was over. They just didn't see the importance of having pictures taken on Easter Sunday. Despite the resistance, not only did they keep the clothes on but they stayed CLEAN before the pictures were taken. We have tons of food left over, and I cannot wait to sink into some leftovers at lunch time. Great Easter it was.

You mean Bob Hope is Still Alive ?!?!?! I had just assumed he was dead because I had not heard anything about him for so very long. This article is talking about how he will be celebrating his 100th birthday in a few days. Man, oh man. Talk about longevity. I'm not sure if I would want to live to be 100 though.

Good Friday It is so funny how prominent holidays bring back a rush of memories from my childhood. I remember how the nearing of Easter Weekend brought about an obligatory trip to Bacon's in Louisville for an Easter Outfit. Those days seem so far away now, and I relive the joy vicarously through the laughter and smiles of my children. Easter Weekend gives me fond memories of the church that I grew up in, the service, boiled eggs, and having to explain grass stain in the knees of that brand new outfit. I understand that it is supposed to be raining this weekend, and it almost seems illegal. Perhaps it did, but I cannot recall a single Easter in which the sun (Son) was not shining. This Easter will be my daughter's first one, she turned 8 months old just a few days ago. Though she will have absolutely no recollection of the upcoming events, I am very excited about this for her. The rush of relatives in and out of the house, as well as the thousand and one pictures t...

Where's Daddy? As the family sobbed, Brig. Gen. Maston Robeson presented a folded American flag to Pokorney's widow, who handed it to her daughter. Taylor clutched the flag as she accompanied her mother to the casket. As they turned around, the girl asked her mother, "Where's Daddy?" [Click for full article] I thought about the consequences of military service this morning when I was waking my children for school. I just imagined how I would feel being deployed and unable to see them any time that I wanted to. My oldest was sick today so he stayed in bed, my five year old got out of bed and stumbled down the hallway toward the bathroom. I woke my daughter, (who is destined to be a morning person), and marveled at how 3 seconds after having been awakened she started to smile. As I went about my morning routine which consists of finding clothes, (my own included), and making bottles and pouring juice. I had to wonder what sort of impact my being away w...

Where are you Laci? In some ways I really hope you haven't been found, but this article is very foreboding. It seems that police have found the skeletal remains of a woman, and a full-term baby boy washed up on the beach in Richmond, California. Coincidentally, it is only 2 miles from the spot where Laci's husband Scott went fishing the day she disapeared. I must say that I have a great deal of skepticism about his story. I find it strange that a man would leave home on Christmas Eve to go fishing, period. Additionally, to travel a great distance away from home and to leave your 7 month pregnant wife at home ALONE? Sounds very strange. Of course when it came out that he was having an affair most of his credibility with the public, and with Laci's family was shot to hell. I really hope I am wrong about this, and wouldn't it be great if we could find her alive somewhere with a perfectly healthy baby? I suppose the Elizabeth Smart case gave everyone a grea...

Feelings after the war... For all intents and purposes the war in Iraq is over. Unfortunately I believe that more servicemen are doomed to die because of sporadic fighting, looting, suicide attacks, and the few kooks that are loyal to Saddam. But I wonder, even when all is said and done, will people ever feel this way about the end of the war? I have to wonder, because there seems to be a growing amount of dissent among the American population because we have not found the "smoking gun" as of yet. All I can say is be patient, and continue to pray for our troops. Lastly, before we begin the exaltations remember what price some people have paid in honoring their oath to our country. Here we see soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division remembering a comrade killed in a rocket attack. While I am glad the regime has ended, I have to admit that it is a bittersweet feeling.

Burns me up... This guy needs to be horsewhipped. Not only is he unfamiliar with United States battle doctrine, he chose to take potshots at women in the military and the state of West Virginia. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there is a sane, civilied, and respectful way to convey almost any opinion. Apparently he didn't bother to explore his options.

This is only the beginning... CNN has shown the poster boys of U.S. military might at their proudest. Man, say what you want to about those Marines, but not only are they always in the thick of things at battle, they are also johnny-on-the-spot for the Life Magazine shot. I mean, we all knew that it was a matter of time, albeit indeterminable, when Baghdad fell and celebrations would start, but I had never considered what the pictures would be like. Just seeing the Mike 88 pulling the statue of Saddam down seemed to be a picture that will be shown over and over again for decades to come. Hell, the Marines already had the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima and now this. But, you know what? They deserve it. As a matter of fact they all deserve it. Think of the picture of the Navy Sailor who grabbed the woman out of the crowd in New York and laid the kiss of the century on her. Do you all remember seeing that photo? That one was a classic. There are just photos that seem to en...

"Something".....what exactly is it? It is "something", although I don't exactly know what. It is fueled by passions such as rage, pride, fear, anger, and desperation. It is welded into our minds by such places as Bella Wood, Antietam, Khe Sahn, Khafji, and Normandy. It turns ordinary people into extraordinary people....at least in the minds of others. It makes us do things that we wouldn't ever dream of doing on a normal day. What makes a Ranger cut a cast off of his arm to join the fight? Is he bloodthirsty? Crazy? Perhaps he is simply devoted. What is that "something"? I wish I could put my finger on it. From jumping on grenades, to charging machine gun nests, it makes some people look like they have no regard for their own lives. Or is it that they simply have more regard for others lives. What makes a GI split his rations with a hungry kid in a foreign land? What makes us want to spread a smile and goodwill just as much as ot...

Who will reap the whirlwind? After all of the fighting in Iraq stops, I wonder who will be blamed for all that has gone right, and all that has gone wrong. I certainly hope it is not the military personnel who risked everything to go over there. With the Peter Arnett's, the Geraldo Rivera's, and the Nicholas De Genova's of the world, it is not too hard to miss all of the anger over this war. But, I do hope that people will remember the Soldiers, the Sailors, the Airmen, and the Marines that put their lives on the line in defense of our nation and its ideals. There are so many Hollywood stars who are protesting, and I have to question their sincerity. People publicly blast the President at the Oscars, and they question the moral judgment of our servicemen when they are forced to make life and death decisions. I just pray that all of our brave military personnel will find open arms from people other than solely their family that longs for them at this moment. I...

Embrace the suck... Being in a theatre of combat "sucks", but as a soldier quoted in the New York Times, trying to smoke a cigarette in a sandstorm. "Sometimes," he said, "you have to embrace the suck." That is a military expression that is employed to keep yourself and your comrades from becoming too hopeless about a situation. Crude as it may be, it is indeed a powerful phrase to live by. It doesn't mean, by any stretch of definition, to give in, or give up on a situation. It simply means that you have to acknowledge that you are in a bad situation and deal with it the best you can. Sometimes you may have the means to change the situation, and other times you have to endure. As I was running during my lunch break I started up a hill, and the wind began to gust straight at me. As I began to break stride I thought, "This sucks.." , but I kept going, pumping those harms, and leaning into the hill and before long I was at the top...

Shock and Awe... These are the buzz words that senior military commanders and government officials stated in describing the effect that ANGLICO, Bombing, and Close Air Support would have on the Iraqi infrastructure. True enough Iraq has sustained quite a bit of damage, and in some places the people have shown signs that they are "sick of him". But, the number of casualties sustained due to friendly fire, accidents, and enemy fire has shocked the American people. The level of resistance experienced has surprised everyone, everyone that is aside from the troops on the ground. Any war historian, or for that matter, anyone who read anything about the first Gulf War would have seen that this war would be more costly in both logistics and casaualties. The objective is much more different, and the Iraqui nationalism was grossly underestimated by some Senior Planners. Although I personally feel that the war is a worthwhile effort, the problems that we are experiencing only ...

Crossing the river.... CNN DOT COM has an article about the 3rd Infantry Division crossing the Euphrates River in a sandstorm. Back in 91' the 24th Infantry Division crossed the Euphrates River in a sandstorm as well. I was 19 years old, noteably shorter and skinnier than I am now, and I remember thinking, " Jesus Christ.....we are getting awful close to Baghdad...when the hell are we going to stop? " At the time we had been taking what they call "sporadic" or "intermittent" fire as the 45th Republican Guard scattered and retreated. Some of the section sergeants were telling us that if we went to Baghdad, " All hell would break loose ." We knew that the Regulars had been bombed for 6 months and they were hungry and tired, but we knew that those that refused to surrender would fight to the death if we went to Baghdad. Baghdad is pretty much the Capital of the Arab World. Long before the Gulf War, and the Iran vs. Iraq war, pretty ...

Well my favorite college basketball team, UK , dispatched IUPUI with relative ease as expected. The game was a pretty easy one, so I did not bother to watch. Routinely I peeked in to CNN to see what the score was, but my mind was a million miles away. I am dreading bad news about any American casualties, I can't imagine what some of the families of the soldiers must be going through. I suppose the worst part is the not knowing. I hope that this can be wrapped up soon with a minimal loss of life. Perhaps as more and more ground is gained and the situation becomes more and more hopeless the Republican Guard will give up. I certainly hope so.

The Soldier goes to School... You would know him when you see him, but if you saw him you probably wouldn't speak. He is from the projects, the trailer park, the mountains, and the farm. He is nineteen years old, and he has a girl that loves him real good, or maybe he just says he does. He didn't like where he was for a bunch of reasons, but mainly he wants to be thought of as a man. Everyone that knew him liked him, even though he could be a little wild. They say the military is the best thing for him. "He'll grow up, get a chance to see the world". Mama didn't like that idea, though she would never discourage him, he is her only baby and will never stand in his way. He stood up so proud and strong when he left with the recruiter. What Mama didn't know as she cried herself to sleep that night, was that her baby was doing the same. But, Mama couldn't have been more proud. A week turned into a month, and a month into six, he is an inc...

My body betrays me... I am sitting here in an Excel 2 class, (Much more interesting than the introductory level), and my head is spinning. I went down to the YMCA and took a body conditioning class. The instructors name is Laura, and if I didn't know any better she was also an instructor at the U.S. Army Ranger School. The abdominal, leg, and arm workout that she prescribes is merciless. Although I do appreciate what she is doing, and am anxious to see the results, Laura surprises me by not being the spectacular physical specimen that you would imagine. While she does look healthy, she does not have the cut arms and typical "aerobics instructor physique". On the contrary she looks like a soccer mom. As a matter of fact if I saw her getting out of a minivan with 3 or 4 kids trailing behind her I would not be the least bit surprised. But when it comes to endurance, she can exercise forever! She is still doing the leg lunges, or sitting on the wall, or doing c...