Ok, here we go. There is so much shit to say, I don't know where to begin. I'll start with the GoodNews website. Someone thinks there ought to be a 'refuge' for people tired of the bad news the media in general dishes up to us on a daily basis. So, they started a website that is nothing but positive stuff.

First of all, I have my doubts about whether it will survive. People don't want to see the good stuff, they want to have something to bitch about, as I do most of the time. 'Compelling' is the word used on the website, but there is little really compelling. While it is true we need a balance of the good stuff, the web site goes too far. What I mean is, they don't just post positive stories. They take stories and emphasize the positive about them. This sounds ok at first glance, but it's not what real reporting is all about. It's not really journalism when you whitewash what you have. To make it interesting, they have to print the news of the day, the offbeat stuff just doesn't have enough widespread appeal to make it worthwhile. The offbeat stuff is fun to read, but the audience just isn't there, so they try to talk about the positive stuff from the news of the day, and leave out the bad stuff.

I just said that, didn't I? Let's put it this way. A story that would be one this web site would print would be the story about the shoe company in the northeast, way up in Mass. or close to there. This company was doing such a good business, that they gave huge bonuses to their employees. This is a genuinely great story. Nothing negative in the least. I caught it on CNN, but if I'd have blinked I would have missed it. I tried to use it for a paper in English last year, but even being just a few years old, I had a hard time finding mention of it even using the extensive resources of the college. I did find it though. There are stories like that out there, but I don't think this web site makes the effort to find them.

Society doesn't help either. People being who they are, they force the good stuff under wraps. For instance, the company I work for now gives out bonuses every year. Lots of companies do it, but you never hear about it. This is a good thing, right? You would think so, but it has to be hush-hush. You can't know what the other person got for a bonus, you might get your feelings hurt, or hurt someone else's. I've been with the company only a few months, but they gave me a small bonus anyway. There was a letter with the bonus, a form letter thanking every employee for the effort, and noting this was a token of their appreciation. There was also a blurb about how this was confidential information, the amount, and wasn't to be discussed.

So how is good stuff like this supposed to get out if you can't discuss it? The shoe co. story got out because they let the world know exactly how much everyone got. It was a lot too. Right away I thought that maybe the big media companies pulled it real quick because they didn't want anyone to know how such a small company was able to give away such huge sums. If a small company could do it, imagine what a large corporation would be able to do. That news just can't get out, no way. It's a feasible theory, considering that the media giants are owned by the likes of GE, Viacom and Disney. Google Rupert Murdoch and you can find all kinds of shit out there about how he 'controls' everything.

Ok, enough of that. I would hope for a more sensible, logical flow for my bitching, but when you have a lot on your mind it just can't get out fast enough, so it turns out like a game of 52 pickup, with things scattered all over the place. Speaking of such, I talked to one of my supervisors at a christmas party the company threw, and his wife was very interesting. She spends a lot of time at home, no kids, so she has lots of time on her hands. She doesn't spend it doing suzy homemaker stuff, she is a news junkie. I found this very compelling, she even read the book I recently finished about Islam. Someone to have a meaningful conversation with.

Just before they left she mentioned a blog she had. Of course, all this information creates a bottleneck of ideas, and they just have to get out somehow, don't I know it. I was looking forward to her ideas, even though she leaned conservative. I found the blog, but there was very little personal stuff. Most of it was links to news stories she thinks are interesting in some way. This is all well and good, but I was hoping for an informed opinion on things. Maybe a refreshing change from the trash that is produced right here. Maybe I'll mention it, maybe I won't.

We saw the Trans Siberian Orchestra last night. It was ok, the second half was better than the first part. I thought the first half was kind of cheesy. They have a drummer, three guitar players, strings, and two keyboarders. They put a hard spin on classical music. A great idea, but for this show they do a christmas story theme. The problem is they had guitarists up there cavorting on the stage as if they were playing for Kiss (remember them), but the music was mostly mellow and serene. Not a very good combination. The second half was much better, worth the money, which my wife shelled out because she really likes their CDs. They work on eye candy, but it wouldn't be necessary if they did more of what they are good at. Souped up classical music is a treat in itself, the pyros and lights kind of took away from the music. There were several times I had to close my eyes to keep the lights out.

But there I go being negative again. I need a jolt of the good news website I guess. I'm outta time though, I have to be to work soon, and I didn't even get to talk about the project my son is doing for history class. That's right, he's got a presentation to make, and he's working on it even while he's at school. He's got two pastry thingys in the oven right now... Yep, he's working hard on it, and I can even wipe the sweat off his brow, because somehow it has ended up on my forehead. My wife is right. she hates school projects because whether they are designed to or not, they punish parents because invariably that is who gets the work done. Except with my kid it's worse, because if I weren't diligent about it, he would do absolutely nothing. But that's another negative story...