ERNEST HEMINGWAY

When I first read some of Ernest Hemingway's work I was just a freshman in high school. I was taken by his life story more than his work. I thought that Hemingway was a cool guy, well traveled, and interested in life's grand pursuits. I began to read Hemingway's work more thoroughly and was taken by the very real quality of his characters, larger than life and yet incredibly flawed.

Hemingway was one of those guys that was straight up badass before badass was some stupid classification for punks with big mouths and guns. What I thought was great about Hemingway was the he was a man that believed in living hard and full. I think it's really the nature of writers like Hemingway that made literature in those years so great.

There was no fear, no politically correct bullshit, Hemingway and his contemporaries were all about truth. Hemingway had that unchecked depression which only made him all the more compelling. Mental health was not really considered important in those days so for Hemingway to stay as creative and powerful given his issues only made him a more mythical figure.

Hemingway was also an example of someone who could have benefited from treating his depression. I could only imagine Hemingway writing a book about Vietnam and the love power generation. I wonder what Hemingway and disco would have been like, given that the 70's was the me generation. Sadly none of that happened, we lost a genius and life went on. Still, it's not that bad to think of what might have been every now and then.

THE KENNEDY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: YOUTH

As I sit and watch the second part of PBS' JFK: American Experience I sit and wonder if during those years youth was considered the best way for government. In just a few days it will be the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination and rather than focus on the negative I would like to pose this question:

• Did Kennedy's youth represent new hope for the US or was it simply the start of an aggressive and somewhat reckless period? 

It seems like Kennedy's fearless nature led him to make mistakes such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, which seemed to empower Fidel Castro and embarrass the US. Kennedy was a symbol of hope in the 1960's and somehow that hope diminished for Kennedy as he realized that his advisors were not always looking out for the interests of the US. Kennedy was also faced with problems such as civil rights unrest brought about by segregation and inequality. 

The Kennedy white house came at a time when change was begging to take place, in a revolutionary manner. Kennedy's youth was one part of the equation, a positive part, but his inexperience was the negative counter. Yes, Kennedy did want to put us in space and he wanted to stand down on talks of nuclear war but his desires seemed to clash with the status quo. 

We made it to space, we did not engage in a nuclear holocaust and yet we were still a target. Kennedy was not necessarily as authoritative as his predecessor Eisenhower, nor as devious as Nixon, the man that would eventually take the White House in 68.' The start of the revolutionary period of the US came from an uncertainty on how to deal with communism and having a weaker foreign policy. With youth and inexperience the military ended up with a deeper level of involvement than necessary in Vietnam. 

Perhaps if Kennedy had not been killed there would have been an early pull out of Vietnam and there wouldn't have been such a massive loss of human life. Kennedy never had the opportunity to realize his dreams for an open system of government that showcased great American resolve and courage. Camelot was only 34 months of a lifetime and yet that spectrum was unique because of youth, aggressiveness, and inexperience. There will never be another Camelot and perhaps that's not a bad thing, then again it would be nice to see that hope once more.

CHARLIE SHEEN'S POST RECOVERY DR'S APPOINTMENT CIRCA 2011

Dr. Hello Charlie

Charlie Sheen: WINNING BITCH, I have a special forward constitution. I have tiger blood.

Dr.: Yes, you also have Rhinoceros triglycerides and red panda cholesterol

Charlie Sheen: That is winning BITCH, winning.

Dr.: Even better though, you have the hepatic function of an Australian tiger shark.

Charlie Sheen: TIGER BLOOD BITCH!!

Dr.: I am giving you a clean bill of health so you may get back to work.

Charlie Sheen: Chuck Norris is an un-evolved bitch with no tiger blood. I CREATED CHUCK NORRIS. You know my name?

Dr: Charlie

Charlie Sheen: NO, it is ALPHA 3 from the clepton nebula of the evolved Adonis constitution. Later simpleton !

After that Charlie Sheen went on to star in a movie about his life filmed entirely on location in a tibetan monastery starting Justin Bieber and Alyssa Milano with cameos by Richard Gere, Moby, and Mr. T. Charlie's Dr. would retire and work as a freelance professor of veterinary medicine.  The point is you cannot begin to experience the awesomeness of this situation if you do not posses tiger blood.

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA'S CHAVO

At the risk of pissing off a lot of Hugo Chavez fans given his death I will take this opportunity to pay my respects to a person I did not care for ever at any point. Hugo Chavez is dead, may he rest in some sort of peace and may he abstain from pissing off the celestials like he did everyone else. Out of all Venezuelan Presidents it seems like Chavez was both the most confrontational, and the kindest in a backward ass way. I mean to say kind in the sense that he obviously wanted the poor majority in Venezuela to think that he was a soft teddy bear.

I did not really read up on Chavez or his policies too often but the fact of the matter is that Chavez was a politician just like anyone else in a position of power. Chavez knew that he needed to cater to an oppressed and impoverished majority that was being somewhat held down by an outdated classes system, an oligarchy. In appearance Chavez was the guy that was willing to take on people like Bush, and Mexican President Vicente Fox.

I will never forget Chavez declaring George W. Bush a crazy drug addict in a UN speech and threatening to take a chunk from Vicente Fox in a televised address. The bottom line is that Chavez was another power hungry individual that had to die in order to give up his power. In a way Chavez went the same way he came, with a massive impact. Through his Presidency Chavez implemented constitutional reform and his ideas were influenced by an anti imperialist agenda, a participatory democracy, self sufficiency, and zero corruption. What influenced Chavez was Bolivarianism.

The idea of no corruption and taking socialism an bring it forward is great. The only problem with trying to implement socialism in its true form is that socialism is an almost perfect mixture of government control and democracy that is not designed to withstand corruption, in fact it invites it. One thing that always impressed me about the Chavez was the fact that he caught the imagination of the "revolutionary" majority.

I saw a massive influx of Venezuelans with means leave their country in scorn. On the flip side of the equation I saw a huge number of impoverished Venezuelans really take to Chavez. In some ways Chavez was a new and improved version of Fidel Castro in that he maintained some progress while putting boots to asses. Now that Chavez is dead there will be no more threats of cage fighting, and ass kicking anywhere, at least for now.

El Chavez has left the building so let's all continue to live life as if the last 14 years had never taken place.