"Burned children were yelling, 'Mommy! Mommy!'.. "

So, people: what will it take? Will the war have to spread to Lebanon, Kansas, the geographical center of the United States? Then will it become personal?

I'm disgusted with the human race. Just plain downright ashamed. The American media is all upset because a photographer photo-shopped an image (he didn't add any victims, he only tweaked the color). Meanwhile, more bombs are falling. On a funeral. On a truck filled with food. On more children.

I thought I would be full of hope today for the future of humankind. Then I made the mistake of turning on the news and getting the latest toll in human life from the war in the Middle East.

I just don't fucking know.

You goddamn heterosexuals are gonna blow up the whole goddamn planet and yet you go running around whining about gays getting married or being accurately depicted in textbooks. Well, I want textbooks that will tell future generations just how hard you motherfuckers tried to wipe out all life on the planet.

Now go to your room for a time out and think about what you've done (or haven't done). All of you. And no dessert.

You know, I couldn't curse if I tried until I was in college and spent a couple of quarters trying to see if I could cut it as a teacher like my parents. They stuck me with a class of eighth-graders. And they gave me a vocabulary I've used sparingly ever since. I wouldn't mind if I never cursed again, but as in Italian, it isn't which words themselves you use, but how you use them that truly matters.

Outside the window I see a beautiful summer day; not a cloud in the sky. The fountains are dancing in front of the Pacific Design Center. Less than 25 meters from where I sit, children are playing in the playground. Swimming in the pool.

And yet, all I can see is Nagasaki and Beirut.

Well, no more caffeine today for me.