And the Darwin Award Goes To...

*sigh*. It happened YET again! Yet another individual loses his life by doing the unthinkably stupid under idiotic circumstances.
Who was it and what did he/she/it do you ask?
I'll tell you my faithful readers. For the past few days there has been a rather strong storm hitting here in the Azores. Winds up to around 60mph, torrential rain and waves reaching as high as 30ft in some instances. In other words, for those who live here, a "typical winter storm" considering we get these quite a few times a year.
Now, what would you want to do in a storm like this? Stay at home and read a good book? Nah! Too boring. Stay at home and watch what's on the tube? Nah! That's some precious electricity that would be wasted. Ooooh! I know! I'll go to a bar right by the waterfront, get rip-roaring drunk and then walk towards the water and look at thoe big waves coming at me!
Now, why am I not doing that now?..................Hmmmmm...........lemme see.................oh yeah, I know why...
BECAUSE I AM SMARTER THAN A DAMM FRUIT FLY AND ABLE TO KNOW WHEN NOT TO DO CERTAIN THINGS AT CERTAIN TIMES!
Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for 3 kids, ages around 16-17 years old. Yup, you read right, 16-17 YEARS OLD. These kids, at 2 in the morning, decided to head to a waterfront bar called Petiskaly, which is located right on the barrier of one of the beaches here called Silveira, got trashed beyond belief, and then ventured off towards the water, where the giant waves swept them to the water, and with one of them, tragically to his death. Oh yeah, did I mention that there was a storm going on?
This is the kind of stuff that really gets under my skin. First off, I don't care if it's Easter Vacation or not, at 16 years old, you shouldn't be out at 2 in the morning. Secondly, at 16 years old, I was able to use something called COMMON SENSE, and that little commodity would tell me that, in bad weather like that, the last place I should be is AT THE WATERFRONT! And finally, what parent, in their right mind, lets their 16 year old kid out, at that time of night, in the middle of a storm like such?!?!?
Do I feel bad about this tragic loss? Of course I do. Death is always tragic and should never be wished upon anybody, regardless of the circumstances. But do I see the kid as a poor victim of an unavoidable circumstance? HELL NO! He shouldn't have been there in the first place and there was ample chances to have avoided such a horrific tragedy. His parents could've forbade him from going out (I mean, for Pete's Sake, THERE WAS A STORM PASSING THROUGH THE ISLAND!), his other friends could've been more responsible and gone elsewhere, they, as a whole, could've just gone over to one of thier own houses and chilled, and also, THEY COULD'VE AVOIDED GETTING DRUNK BY NOT DRINKING!
Yet again, another accident that could've been avoided.

I'm American.....I'm European......Ugh!

In my 29 years of life, I've lived in 3 different countries (US, Canada and Portugal) which situate themselves in 2 different continents (N. America and Europe). I was born in the US and, when I was 15, my folks decided to apply me for Portuguese citizenship, which made me a Dual National, US citizen by birth right, Portuguese citizen by naturalization. This leads for some rather interesting conversations depending on where I'm living at the time. See, I am proud to have been born in the US and proud for what it stands, however, I can't forget about my bloodline and history from the old country. The issues normally start to rise when I hear stupid remarks from either side. If it's from a Portuguese, it's normally how Americans are "dumb" and "arrogant". If it's from an American, it's how Europeans are "sissies" and "can't do a thing without the US". When either happens, it tends to rile me up. Seeing how I've lived ample time in both places, I can give rather balanced assessments about both sides. Problem is that I nromally have to give those assesments while on the opposite side of the fence, which makes me stand out as a European in the US, or an American in Europe. First off, I get a tad fed up with the "Americans are stupid" remark from the Elitist European crowd that seems to be so out of touch with reality that they'd probably belive there's chocolate on Mars if told so. Having worked in the US in the corporate field, I can say that Americans are outright intelligent when it comes to business saavy. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY can sell a product better, or more efficently than Americans. While Europeans may build an efficient item, it takes an American to make it sell, end of story. Americans also excel when the times are tough. Their innovative thinking helped propel them through recessions and other times of crisis and have always put them on top. This is probably one of the things that really ticks the Anti-American crowd in Europe so much. No matter how much beating she takes, America will always find a way to come out on top. It's as if it was in their blood. Now, on the other hand, Europeans are excellent in the theoretic areas. The majority of top scholars tend to come out of Europe. They are also key diplomats and tend to see everything on a very even keel. There's never a time when there's an international crisis where you don't see a European working his or her diplomatic magic to sooth both sides. Europeans are also experts in certain industrial fields. Automobiles instantly come to mind. When people think of reliable cars, Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagon come to mind. When people think exotic, Ferrari jumps to their head. When they think posh, Rolls Royce anyone? These are brands that are light years ahead of Ford, GM, etc. Now to say either are without faults is absurd. Although Americans can be ambitious and business saavy, a large majority of them also have a narrow view of the world in the geographical sense. When I was in Nebraska, it would enfuriate me to no end when I would say that I was from Portugal and get an inane response like "Isn't that in Brazil?". Nevermind that Portugal created Brazil and was responsible for paving the way for European exploration. To most Americans, the world "starts in New York City and ends in San Francisco". You watch the news in the US, and alot fo times they only cover the news where there is US interest, "World News" it isn't exacly. Europeans DEFINITELY have their faults too. As I said earlier, alot of them are out of touch with reality. There are times where the sword is mightier than the pen, such as the current war on Terror. I remember a while back here in Portugal, one of the so-called "wise men" of the Portuguese political circles, former Portuguese president Mario Soares, said that "the war on terror would be easier to win if we entered in talks with Al Qaida"......................uh EXCUSE ME?!? Oh yeah, let's get into talks with a group that flys planes into skyscrapers, and makes human explode in town centers and bus stations. Yeah, that'll really work. Alot of Europeans have this idea that if we all sang Kumbaya by the fire, all would be resolved. You can't even make this up. I guess the whole explaination to this rather long and vented post is that both sides have a rather absurd generalization about the other side. We need to look a bit harder. Alot of Americans need to really get more informed about Europe and alot of Europeans really need to get more informed about America.