Bob's Angry Rants

If you had had a facial treatment that resulted in burns all over your face, you would probably avoid that treatment in the future, right? Well, maybe you might give it one more try to see if it was just a fluke, but after that left ugly burns on your face, you'd definitely not do it again, right? Well, not if you're Martha, who has just gotten a third facial treatment and has received a third case of unsightly and painful burns all over her face. She says to me "Jesus. This is the third time this happened in three treatments. Maybe I shouldn't get it again." Gee, ya think?

Martha and I have been having more conflicts recently. It really comes down to expectations. For example, she expects me to have tons of information on Chinese New Year because I'm Chinese and I expect her to be able to understand cause and effect because she is an adult human being. Neither of these expectations was met and the result is conflict. Sadly, I think that her expectations might have been more realistic than mine.

By the way, I think that it is rude to harass someone about information on a holiday because of their ethnicity. This didn't just happen to me. On Martin Luther King day, Martha berated Miles, a paralegal, for not taking the day off because he was black.

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A word on the riots in Oakland after the Superbowl:

Firstly, to the rioters: GROW THE FUCK UP! I mean, what the fuck is wrong with you people? You're making Oakland and the Raiders look bad. I spent all week defending this town and I don't appreciate a bunch of dumb shits making me look foolish.

Secondly, I think that the news media played a significant role in this event. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying the deflect blame or anything. The riots are ultimately the responsibility of the rioters. But I do find it interesting that nobody in the media is discussing the possibility that the media itself contributed to creating the situation in which a riot could occur.

Without all of the talk all week about potential riots and all of the precautions that were being taken, I don't think that a riot would have occurred. There was a heightened consciousness of the possibility of riots, and therefore people who wanted to cause mindless destruction got all worked up. Then, right after the game was over, the news programs started to show shots of crowds on International Boulevard, saying that people were gathering, but it looked like police had it under control. It was like a dare. I mean, really, they might as well have put out a newsletter saying, "Potential Rioters meet on International Boulevard!" I'm not suggesting that they shouldn't have reported the information, as it was also of value to people who wanted to avoid potential riots, but I think that people should be aware of the role that the media plays in the world.