Weirdness, albeit of the waking variety.

Let it not be said that new and novel taste experiences can't be had for less than twenty cents.

Chile. Lime. Shrimp. Ramen.

That's the way it's named, and that's also the pecking order when it comes to taste. Certainly not the finest product I've ever enjoyed from the Maruchan Ramen Corporation (or whoever makes these things), but palatable.

The chaser (a Doubletree Hotel oatmeal chocolate chip cookie) has me cursing the guy who brought them in, though it's pretty much guaranteeing I'll hit the gym tomorrow at some point (last night's session did wonders for clearing the residual metabolic crud out of my system).

Tonight, it's WoW with the crew to complete a quest for all of us before we cruise. I'm aware this makes us dorks. I'm also aware that I don't give a damn. :-)

Musings on Charity in the Wake of Disaster

I think that making a donation to one of the myriad charities that exist to help victims of any dire circumstance (the tsunami, 9/11, hurricanes, what have you) is a personal decision, and everyone has their own constellation of factors that go into it (spiritual, moral, social, financial, etc). You'll notice I left state-mandated contributions, in the form of taxes, off that list.

Obviously, there are a lot of people who are willing and able to contribute to help deal with what happened. Not all who are willing are able; not all who are able are willing.

But I wonder if some of the donations are being done out of guilt or shame, rather than charity and goodwill. That doesn't lessen the effect of those dollars (or goods) for the recipients, but I certainly look at things differently when a plea is couched in the rhetoric of "You -should- do this" (whether or not a specific "... because _________" is appended, or simply implied).

I can't speak for anyone else, but I, personally, tend to buck the yoke of what someone else feels my social obligations and responsibilities ought to be. If I make the decision, for myself, to do something to help, I'll do it, and tell anyone who tries to stop me to go fuck themselves. But by the same token, if I'm disinclined to contribute, an ever-more-strident cacophony calling for my participation will only dissuade me further.

Bad things happen to people all the time; you can be a callous bastard and not care about any of them, or you can go insane trying to care about all of them. I don't understand justifications for what happens in between, but that doesn't mean that isn't where I fall.

Help if you wish.

[blame jabber's penchant for inciting discussion. :-)]

[ETA: Thanks to everyone for engaging in a really good, thoughtful discussion; my intent wasn't to single anyone out (honestly, I read everything y'all post, and know your intentions are for the best), but to present a different perspective and opinion on how some of the news and other expressions have made me think and feel.]