KaraokeFanboy

My hair has become an uncontrollable mess of biological Brillo.  I don't know why I've been so averse to getting a haircut lately; I'm not into spending any quality morning time actually styling this mess, so the avoidance certainly isn't a fashion statement.  In fact, the only statement I seem to be making is, "I'm lazy."  Perhaps I'm subconsciously celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Monkees' TV debut by becoming a "long-haired weirdo" myself.  Of course, I didn't realize that today was that special day until the Orange County Register told me so.  Maybe I'm just that big a fan.

Under this hornet's net I've been thinking about the Internet.  I don't understand why the Internet isn't proof positive that democracy has conquered the globe.  I haven't researched the issue, but it seems to me that democracy and capitalism are both the natural and absolute offspring of man's rampant free will, e.g. the ability to choose.  ("Natural" does not imply "right," depending on your worldview; I'm merely providing a presuppositional context.)  Further, the Internet is, in practical application, the technological embodiment of said free will.  If you want to open an e-mail account, you have hundreds of free on-line hosts at your disposal.  Building a webpage is as easy as opening an account on LiveJournal, Blogger, or MySpace, to name only three of the multitude of social networking sites popping up daily.  Heck, sitting here at Starbucks in the middle of downtown Fullerton, California, I had a few free, intentionally unsecured wireless networks to choose from.  These sites are accessible almost anywhere in the world, and it's only a matter of time before a show like Lost would be too unrealistic to believe considering the growing virtual web of invisible electronic connectivity blanketing Earth.  One of the castaways could easily call for help with the cell phone trait they swallowed before the flight.  You know, the one powered by the energy their blood cells exert trying to fight it.  Hey, if I thought of it, someone somewhere is making it.

But I digress.  Again, I haven't researched the issue, but thinking about 9/11 and terrorism and all that this week, I wonder, how does Al-Queda post their videos on-line?  Who is their service provider?  Which web-hosting effort did they sign up with, and did they score the "$3.95 for the first six months" rate?  The point is, they had to choose these services from a variety of competitive companies (presumably on my part, since I don't know what things are really like in their region), which is by definition a capitalist act.  Let's say they truly bring about "death to America."  You better believe when the last of our lights go out, so will theirs, literally.  "We killed the Americans!  Let me update my MySpace!  Hey!  Damn site's down!"  Well, duh.  Tom lives in, like, Santa Monica, dude.

This could be perhaps the most ignorant post I've ever offered, but these thoughts are swirling about as I listen to both sides of the political spectrum play the blame game over talk radio and ABC docu-dramas.  The tragedy of it all is that there are 3000 folks who don't have the chance to ponder getting a haircut or not, because their lives were taken, and now even more Americans had to get a buzz cut to "avenge their deaths" and "spread democracy to the Middle East."  It's a messy business.  Even more difficult to untangle than my strawberry blonde mop.  

I'm grateful for the simple decisions in my life.