Welcome To Me...

Greetings, dear reader, and thank you for stopping by today. And a big thank you to the administrator of this blog for enabling me to spread the disease that I like to call "my opinion".

You know, I've racked my brain trying to think of what I'd like to discuss in my premier post here at The Jerk Store. I figure the best place to start would be to explain what I'm sure a majority of my ramblings will be about. First though, I'd like to assure you that I am in no way a conspiracy theorist...at least I don't think I am. With that said, I would also like to assure you that I don't take much of anything at face value. I like to consider myself a "rational cynic" of sorts. The one area that I truly enjoy exercising my enlightened pessimism at this point in time is the media; namely news outlets of any kind and the bile they generate through underground wires and/or beam into outer space en route to our living rooms...or wherever.

For example, my beautiful wife and I have enjoyed viewing the ten o'clock news broadcast from KMBC Channel 9 here in Kansas City. We've scoffed in amazement when they begin by reporting a "late frost" that might damage flower gardens and then follow it up by reporting three deadly shootings on Kansas City's east side. We've chuckled when, on a Monday, they're telling us that the economy is in dire straits and then on Tuesday tell us that the economy is recovering. Finally, we've thrown up in our mouths a little when Bryan Busby spends damn near ten minutes talking about a storm system over Montana and has seven different radar maps to prove it.

Actually, one of my personal favorite moments in KMBC news history occured maybe a little over a year ago. There was a winter storm a'brewin' and a miniscule amount of ice/snow/sleet had fallen in the metro. Local reporter Marcus Moore was dispatched to stand next to a street that was becoming slick and tell us about the state of readiness the local department of transportation was maintaining. Just as one of the anchorpeople were introducing him, the live video feed showed a car sliding down the street into another car or inanimate object (I can't remember which). When this happened, Marcus exclaimed "OH, SHIT!!" The anchorpeople looked confused, but Marcus carried on with a priceless oh-shit-eating grin on his face.

So, this is what you can expect from me. I will consistently point out all the little flaws and injustices that I notice when it comes to news of any sort and I'll mix that in with a refreshing antecdote from time to time.
Here's something to think about: Feel-good/non-stories. They don't belong on the news. I'll pick one right now at random...

...the 2nd most popular story from CNN.com at this moment is about some dudes who played high school football against a rival back in 1993. The game ended in a tie and so they're going to replay the game. News? No. To put this into perspective, a mother killing her daughter and North Korea trying reporters were the 3rd and 5th most popular stories, respectfully.

Bring it like you brought it, yo.