Facie’s Ramblings

Be forewarned: Keeping true to my blog title, the following is going to be quite rambling. If you are reading this, you are probably aware of some of the crap that has been going on with actor Charlie Sheen. I have kept up with it because one of my Facebook "friends" is the P-G TV critic, and he has been regularly posting Charlie-related tweets on Facebook. I am also somewhat interested in the saga because I know people who have struggled with drug addiction, and I have seen firsthand what that stuff can do to you. I can still see the scary face/eyes of someone I know when he was strung out, back about five years ago. Think of the darkest circles you have ever had under your eyes, and multiple that by 10. In fact, last year at the park, when a mother introduced me to her teenage son, he had the same look, and it scared the crap out of me. I wondered if I should say something to her, but ultimately decided not to, since I knew her only casually and worried I was wrong anyw...

I am guessing that in years past, I have listed things for which I am thankful. Might as well continue down the path. So here goes my list. I hope every single one of you can find something, even many things, for which to be thankful. Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving, Toforkey, and Slapsgiving! Family (especially Jordan and Brian), friends, and Sadie too Roof over my head and food in the fridge and cupboards Health Football and hockey, particularly winning seasons for the Steelers, PSU, and Pitt football teams (as well as my fantasy football team) and the Pens Running and my improved times Pittsburgh Freedom of speech and religion and the right to vote Tenacity That Jordan likes school The most wonderful time of the year That I actually have my Christmas cards ready to go (just waiting to mail them so people don't receive them in November) Funny things Food (I kind of already said this, but I just love food, particularly on this most special food day of the year) H...

Well, I waited a day to pen my latest rant, so without further delay, here it is: Some people kind of suck. Let me start off by saying that I am not perfect; I have many faults, most of which are readily apparent to those who know me. But I really make an effort to treat those around me--family, friends, and strangers--just as I want to be treated. With kindness and compassion. I try to give a little. And I truly believe if people treated one another better, if they focused more on others and less on themselves, we could solve a lot of the world's ills. But lately it seems as if every time I open up the paper, read a magazine, or go online, I am bombarded by the transgressions of some celebrity (music, TV, movie, sports or otherwise) or politician. I sometimes wonder if it is not so much that people have gone downhill, but more that thanks to technology, we just get to find out about every bad deed five minutes after it happened. Or have we as a society become so self-centered,...

Well, it appears that Mark Madden, ratings bonanza that he is on ESPN radio, was finally removed from the air. Apparently permanently, according to the P-G. I have listened to Madden for years, mostly during the Steeler season but most recently during the Pens playoff run. At times, I have found myself mildly offended at the way he insults people. Yet I still listened. Why? Because I wanted to hear the latest Steeler or Penguin story; Mark is a huge Pens fan, so you could count on him for the latest scoop and just good info in general. And Mark did not pander to the Steelers (except for Big Ben) the way most of Pittsburgh does, which I found somewhat refreshing, although some of his comments were pretty much attacks, and that I am no fan of. In fairness to Madden, some of his callers said some rather dumb things. Once you listen to the show, you should know what you are getting yourself into. In fact, the station would play some sort of warning about how Mark insults callers. And there...