Rant #2,162: Bits and Pieces

Yes, the time has come again for the Ranting and Raving Blog to look at a few stories at once, stories that perhaps don't deserve a full blog piece but certainly should be spoken about, even at short length.

So here goes ...

Proposal to Split California Into Three States Gains Momentum: California, the home of the stars and a leader among the sanctuary states, has advanced a proposal to be split itself into three states.

The proposal gained enough signatures, and it might just qualify as a ballot measure come November.

This proposal was advanced by those who believe that the state has become too vast--and too liberal--for its own good.

One proposal would split the state into the state of California--would would consist of the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey and San Benito.

The second state would be South California, which would consist of Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera and Mono counties.

The third state would be Northern California, and would consist of the remaining 40 counties.

The actual names of each state would be determined by the residents of the three new states if this measure ever comes to fruition.

Some people say that having one California is bad enough, but to have three? For some, it might be a reason to throw up.

But to others, it would represent a split of the vast state in many ways, economically and politically.

Will such a measure ever come to pass?

Probably not, but the basics of it are very interesting, and worth watching if, in fact, it becomes a ballot measure in November.

Pitt-Jolie Breakup Gets Even Nastier: Yes, what is becoming the most famous divorce in the history of man just got nastier, but for once, maybe it needed to be that way.

Angelina Jolie is reportedly in danger of losing the custody of her and Brad Pitt's kids if she continues to refuse to "improve" the kids' relationships with their father.

The Superior Court of Los Angeles--there, that state again--told Jolie that the kids "not having a relationship with their father" would be harmful to those six kids.

The court is pretty much demanding that this situation improve, including that she provide Pitt with the cell phone number of each child, and allow him to speak to the kids whenever he wants to.

Jolie has also been prohibited from reading text messages between dad and the kids.

All I can say is that I've "been there, done that," and sometimes even the court stepping in and saying "No" like they have here isn't going to change matters that much.

In my case, my ex simply refused to follow many of the court's overtures to improve my relationship with my daughter.

For instance, in school, I was supposed to be an equal partner with her in the education of our daughter, Even though I had joint custody, I had to fight tooth and nail to do just that, because my ex never alerted me to anything happening with our daughter educationally, which means it was incumbent to me to find out about open school nights and other events related to her education.

I remember fighting with her schools just to be able to attend graduations, plays and whatever other activities she participated in that were part of her schooling.

Sure, that was in a time where fathers were still looked at pariahs by the courts, and I know things have changed, and changed for the better in custody situations.

But even with all their fame and money, Pitt and Jolie fight just like I did with my ex related to our offspring, and millions of others do too.

It is so sad when this happens, but it does, and perhaps the Pitt-Jolie thing puts an extra emphasis on the fact that even in today's more liberal times, these situations continue to happen.

Not Only My Earworm: Remember in yesterday's Rant where I talked about the song "The Way" by the band Fastall, the song that I heard the other day but couldn't at first remember the name of the song or the artist performing it, yet it gyrated through my head over the span of three or four days?

Well, evidently, I am not the only one with this affliction, or at least shared a similar experience with others who hadn't heard the song in ages.

I received a couple of messages via Facebook stating that yes, that song brought the respondent to a different place and time, and/or they hadn't heard the song in ages and needed to reconnect with it quickly.

I am not a doctor, and I don't know if "eaerworms" really exist as a medical condition, but I hadn't had such a situation in my life, where a song just bounced back and forth in my brain for days like this one did.

But it all had a happy ending, and while the song remains in my head, it sits comfortably with the other gaggle of songs that fit snugly in my brain, ready to come out at a moment's notice.

My Current Job Situation:

That's it for now. Speak to you again tomorrow.