Aaron's Writing Blog

A friend of mine recently sent me e-mail. Usually he sends me really funny stuff, you know jokes, un-motivational posters, that kind of thing. I always look forward to opening one of his forwards because it usually brightens up my day. Except this one. I have pasted as is, noting edited:

“BUTTE, MONTANA

Shotgun preteen vs. Illegal alien, Home Invaders:

Butte, Montana                                November 5, 2009.

Two illegal aliens, Raphael Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower home-alone 11 year-old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two-story home. It seems the two crooks never learned two things; they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay-shooting champion since she was nine. Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house.  She quickly ran to her father’s room and grabbed his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun. Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buckshot from the 11-year-old’s knee crouch aim.  He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals. When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive. It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45-caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. That victim, 50-year-old David O’Burien, was not so lucky.  He died from stab wounds to the chest. Ever wonder why good stuff never makes NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news……..an 11 year old girl, properly trained, defended her home, and herself……against two murderous, illegal immigrants……and she wins, she is still alive.  

Now that is Gun Control!

Thought for the day: Calling an illegal alien an ‘undocumented immigrant’ is like calling a drug dealer an ‘unlicensed pharmacist’  

I like this kind of e-mail.  American citizens defending themselves and their homes. HAVE A GREAT DAY!

God Bless America”

Now, what bothers me is not that an 11 year-old girl defended herself against two dangerous intruders who would have done God knows what to her. I applaud her courage and if you want this as a story to back up the 2^nd Amendment then fine. Fire away! What bothers me is the fact that they’ve turned this into an anti-immigration story. WTF? Even if they were illegal immigrants how does this story in any way make all illegal immigrants bad people? I don’t know the statistics (and if you have them from a reputable source please post them) but I would guess that about 95-99% of all illegal immigrants who come into this country are good, law-abiding people (except for the whole illegal immigrant part) who just want a chance to work 80 hours a week for $4 an hour to make a better life for their families. All they want are the jobs none of us will take. I don’t know about you but I don’t have a whole lot of friends waiting in line to be dishwashers or fruit pickers. I certainly don’t know any unemployed white people who used to sell fruit on the highway until some Mexican came along and took his job out from under him. You want to talk about jobs being taken away from Americans? What about the auto industry being given tax breaks to move their factories to other countries, putting thousands of hard working American out of work just so they could pay workers half as much to work twice as hard? By the 90’s more foreign cars were made in the U.S. than American cars. What about companies outsourcing their customer service work to India? How many times have you called customer service and gotten someone whose English was so poor you could barely communicate with them? But it’s OK to hate those Mexicans!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a bleeding heart Liberal who thinks our borders need to be open, they don’t, they can’t, we don’t have the economy to support them and us. But what I can’t understand is this hatred that has come out against illegal immigrants and that it’s accepted. Would this story lose any of its merits if you removed all references to illegal immigrants? What if it was just two guys with Latino names who committed this horrible crime? What if you replaced the term ‘illegal immigrant’ with ‘nigger’ and changed their names to stereotypical black names. Would this e-mail have been so gladly sent around the Internet followed by the words ‘God Bless America’? For every violent crime committed against an American citizen by an illegal immigrant I bet I can find you 1,000 crimes committed against American citizens by American citizens. God Bless America!

Just last weekend I went to a friend’s house for a get together. I met this woman there who seemed very likeable, sweet and got along with everyone very well. Then out of nowhere she says “I f-ing hate Mexicans.” She said it as though she were saying she hates pedophiles or rapists. Like it was OK to hate an entire race of people who have never done her harm. What if she had said; “I f-ing hate niggers.” Would others simply have let that slide? Would I have been the odd man out for pointing out just how wrong she is for hating people, that she’s a bigot?

Ever since Obama passed the health care bill allowing illegal immigrants access to health care an entire wave of hatred has sprung up around this country towards Latinos, started by the Tea Party, of course (I like to call them tea-baggers, much more appropriate if you ask me). This hatred rivals that towards gays and lesbians in this country.

My friends, racism is alive and well in the land of the free. The pursuit of happiness is guaranteed, unless you’re brown or queer.

The racial profiling law in Arizona is the first step in a quest to ship every Latino back across the border, even though millions of them are legal U.S. residents, even born here. Can you tell the difference? I doubt it.

Look, I’m no expert, I’m not going to sit here and tell you how to fix the problem, I have no idea. But making up laws that go against the very ideas our country was built on is wrong. Hating an entire race of people who are desperate to get out of the tin shacks they live in is wrong. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go to Taco Bell for lunch. A very nice Asian family runs it.

P.S. Before you start sending me hate mail for using the N word understand one thing. I have never, ever, used the N word in hatred. I only used it in this article to show that the hatred in people’s voices when they now say ‘Mexican’ is the same venomous hatred used when they say ‘Nigger’.

You Can’t Have the BB without the Q

That’s the motto of Jonathan Q’s BBQ sauce, a company started by a 20 year-old college student working on a class project. Jonathan Soares took his mother’s Honey BBQ sauce recipe, perfected it, and from there developed his own Hickory Teriyaki and Spicy Cajun flavors. Knowing he had a good thing on his hands he did what any enterprising young man would do, he built an empire! (Well, maybe not an empire, but he’s doing damn good for himself.)

Jonathan had a vision of his sauce taking its place in the growing specialty foods market. With his life savings of $10,000 he embarked on a marketing campaign to get his sauce in stores. Jonathan began networking and building relationships with marketing chains, club stores restaurants and more. He was passionate and persistent.

In an interview on ‘Fox Business – Happy Hour’ he admitted he literally knew nothing about marketing. “I was so naïve” he said to Fox’s Cody Willard and Rebecca Gomez, “I just picked up the phone and made it happen.” Jonathan pounded the pavement, even going so far as camping out in front of a grocery store to get the manager’s attention. He called, sent e-mails and followed up on e-mails just to make sure that they were always aware of him, never forgetting he was out there. The secret, he said, is just being tenacious and never giving up. He contacted stores twenty, thirty times until he got a meeting, and “That’s when I would close. Let me get in front of you, try my samples and give me a yes or no, right on the spot.” But “The biggest thing” he said “is being patient and respectful.”

One of the major keys of the continued success of Q Products lies in Jonathan’s marketing and branding tactics. Some of his campaigns include: direct/interactive marketing, store level promotions, viral advertising, social network marketing (like facebook), persona branding, along with national television, radio and public relations campaigns. These methods have harnessed the technology and innovation of the 21st century, positioning Q Products light years ahead of their competition.

Clearly his methods worked. In the first year alone Jonathan’s Q BBQ sauce was being sold in over 1,000 stores. Now, just four years later, his product will be in over 7,000 stores in 46 states by the end of 2010. He is in major chain stores such as Kroger’s, Safeway, Vons, Pavillion’s, Wal-Mart Superstores and more. And if you don’t live near a store that sell’s Jonathan’s Q, then you can order online. Jonathan is also putting together a line of marinades, Q Fusion, to come out later in the year as well.

In addition to Fox Business Jonathan has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, The News Times and Fairfield County Business Journal, as well as many others.

The summer is fast approaching, the blizzards are over (knock on wood), and it’ll soon be time to dust of that grill and fire it up. So if you love BBQ – and who doesn’t – get yourself a bottle and have Jonathan’s Q BBQ sauce break in your grill for the year.

To order online or learn more about Jonathan visit http://www.qproductsinc.com

When did liberal become a dirty word? I have some conservative friends and on occasion I like to debate issues with them. I like having my ideals challenged because it reinforces my beliefs in them, and at times I have changed my views on certain topics because my ideals were challenged and they couldn’t stand up. I feel that attribute is what makes me the critical thinking, intelligent, highly evolved primate that I am. But the one thing that has always bothered me, mainly because it makes no sense, is why so many conservatives have taken to using the term ‘Liberal’ as an insult. I can’t count how many times my conservative friend has called me a ‘Lib’ when what he really meant was ‘dumbass’.

Lets look at these two words for a moment. Conservative; the definition of a conservative, according to Merriam Webster online (www.m-w.com) is – one who adheres to traditional methods or views. Basically that means a conservative goes along with tradition and doesn’t ‘rock the boat’ so to speak. A Liberal is – one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways. Basically that means someone who is open to new ideas or new ways of thought. So, one who does not conform to the views of others, or the views of the masses, is a bad person? One who entertains new ways of thought or new ideas is a dumbass? Really? The men who wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were considered very liberal. The idea that we didn’t need to be under the control of the English crown was a very liberal concept. In fact, it was the conservatives who thought we should remain an English colony, forever. Yet all these conservatives proclaim what a great country we are because we’re free. Hmm.

What about slavery? The accepted, or traditional viewpoint was that blacks were subhuman and therefore not entitled to rights such as freedom. Those who fought to abolish slavery as inhumane were quite liberal indeed. How about giving women the vote? The accepted practice at that time was that women should remain in the home, minimally educated so that they would make babies and make supper. How about equal rights? The established norm stated that blacks were lucky not to be slaves, so they should shut up and take what we give them. I challenge any conservative today to tell me that giving women the right to vote and giving blacks equal rights was a mistake.

Another very liberal viewpoint is that those who are down on their luck need a hand getting back on their feet. Why is that so wrong? What surprises me is that so many conservatives who balk at this notion are usually one paycheck away from homelessness themselves. Do they really think those fat cats in DC they talk so highly of would do a damn thing to help them if they fell on hard times? Do people abuse the system? Of course they do. It’s human nature to take and not give back. But, most of the people who use welfare and unemployment are truly down on their luck and need a boost to get back into the system. Maybe they need a few months, maybe a few years but most of them get jobs and start paying into the very system that helped them out. Will most people who pay into welfare ever use it? No, but if they do it’s there for them, be they liberal or conservative.

What about healthcare? Big issue right now. I just read an article that talks about health care as a good, not a right. I’ll let you read it on your own; http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/02/25/what-is-a-right/

What I gleam from this article is if a child is brought to the hospital and his parents can’t afford the good of healthcare then that child doesn’t deserve the good of healthcare, and his right should be to die? If we’re the richest nation on Earth why is not our duty to provide for those in need? Isn’t that what makes a country great, how it treats all it’s citizens, not just the elite few who happen to control everything.

But hey, that’s just my view, I could be wrong. After all, I’m only a liberal.

My wife and I just bought our youngest cat, Juniper (we call him Juju), a new toy. It’s your basic cat toy, a long stick with a ball in the middle so when Juju hits one end it spins around. As simple as you can get and this has given Juju hours of fun thus far. “So, why are you telling me about your cat?” is the question that I’m sure is running through your minds right now. Am I an obsessed cat lover? No. Do I subscribe to Cat Fancy? HECK NO! The reason I’m telling you this is because it brought me back to my youth when toys were much simpler than they are now, and I got hours of fun out of them.

Now, I’m sure I’m dating myself here but when I was a kid Atari was the height of technology. We plugged a little box into our TV, popped in a cartridge, grabbed the joystick and would then proceed to knock a small ball from one side of the screen to the other with two vertical lines. Later we were fortunate enough to have a yellow head that could move around a maze eating dots while being chased by ghosts. And who can forget the Italian guy jumping over barrels thrown at him by a giant monkey? Not exactly Splinter Cell or Mortal Combat, but we enjoyed it. One of my favorite times of the year was right after Christmas. I would take those little cardboard tubes from inside the wrapping paper rolls and play with them. In my young imagination, where absolutely everything was possible, these little tubes became my ninja swords and I was: The Ninja Hunter! I would stalk dangerous ninja warriors, bent on world domination mind you, through the hills of Japan, the jungles of the Amazon, even the alleys of New York City. When I killed an evil ninja I would take his medallion, which were much like dog tags for the ninja, and bring it back for my bounty. The medallions, by the way, were usually the oversized necklaces favored by mother in the early 80’s. I would do this everyday for about a week until the paper roll broke and unraveled. But luckily my parents bought lots of presents and there were a few more ‘swords’ in my arsenal. When all the swords were broken I would then go and play with the other presents my parents spent their hard earned money on. Usually GI Joe’s, you know, the Real American Hero.

I wonder today if I would have the imagination I do now if all my toys were high tec. What if I didn’t have to imagine being in the hills of Japan hunting evil ninja bent on world domination, but instead could sit on the floor of my living room with a control panel in my hands and actually see a ninja in front of me? If I didn’t have to imagine the hillsides or create a whole battle in my mind would I be the writer I am today? How many kids today play John Madden Football or NBA on their Playstations and X-boxes instead of going outside with three or four friends and throwing a football around or shooting hoops at a rickety old basket? How many of these kids pick a player from a computer line-up instead of going out there to actually play? Imagining themselves throwing that Super Bowl winning touchdown. And lets not forget the exercise. Let me tell you, saving the world from evil ninja warriors with a cardboard tube is a lot of work. I was sweating and breathing hard. I needed a soda and quick when I was done.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not on some soapbox here telling you that kids are stupid and lazy (even though some of them are). I was just reminiscing about the good old days when all I needed was a little imagination and a cheap cardboard tube to keep me occupied and happy all day. I’m not telling you to take your kids’ X-box away, heck I wish I had had one when I was a kid. All I’m saying is imagination is vital to children, and unless we’re lucky we lose it too quick. So encourage your kids to use theirs, or better yet, give yours a kick in the pants. I hear there’s a group of evil ninjas terrorizing Manayunk. Anyone want to help me save the world?

I am writing a column for a new online magazine, www.gimmethisandthat.com, I’ll be writing a raw food column and restaurant reviews, but I’ll probably do a blog as well. Check it our and let me know what you think.

Welcome to my website. As stated I will be blogging about my professional career as it develops from this point on. First item; while googling myself the other day I discovered that a short story I submitted to an online magazine got published. It’s a small e-mag and there was no pay, but hey, someone thought my story was good enough to publish so that’s all I need right now. It’s my short story “The Cure” and it was published by Pariah Magazine. The link is http://www.dotguy.net/ so check out my first publication.

Also, I just began my development internship with Theatre Exile here in Philly. I’ll be researching and writing grants along with some other developmental responsibilities. I’m very excited about this opportunity to grow in an industry I love so much.