I am CuTRis

Michael Vick, (now former) quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, grew up in public housing and went on to become a highly paid, NFL football star. Then, he was caught in a dog fighting ring. Vick decided that it was okay to force animals to fight to the death for the opportunity to bet on them. It is further alleged, that Vick executed dogs that “underperformed.” If Mr. Vick was enslaved and forced into a brutal existence, I am guessing that he would see such a thing as being horrible, and he would (rightly) point an accusing finger at those responsible. Yet, this man who went from poverty to wealth, decided that he had the right to enslave and force animals to fight and die for entertainment. Another disturbing trend in modern society is the popularity of fight leagues and tough man competitions. Some fans have told me that it is simply a sport. I find it disturbing that crowds of people cheer as someone gets beaten up. The Romans had the coliseum, and practiced blood sport. Crowds ch...

Cutris will not be returning to his former role as "The Bald Eagle," at the Jr. High, working in detention and campus security. He will now be a Technology Assistant at a high school.

Cutris has solved the question of who the first lady will be once he is elected to be U.S. President in 2008, by a landslide, write-in victory.

While watching the news recently, it seems that yet again, the space shuttle was damaged in precisely the same way that it has been damaged (repeatedly) in the past. This was also the reason for the Columbia disaster. A piece of insulating foam broke loose during launch, hit the heat-resistant tiles on the underside of the shuttle, and broke the tiles. This leads me to ask, “What is wrong here? Is it that the foam is too strong, or are the tiles too fragile?” When I think of “foam,” I do not have an image of something that is either hard or sharp. When I think of “tile,” I would not try to breakup tiles, using a piece of foam (though apparently that would work!). If someone tried to rob me, and he made the threat of using a piece of foam on me if I didn’t give him my wallet, I would not be overly concerned. I would actually be more alarmed by a “tile-wielding” assailant! Was the tile made in China? Why does it crack when it is hit by a piece of foam? Isn’t there stronger tile? Why ...

The collapse of a bridge on a well used section of 35W, spanning the Mississippi River on August 1, was frightening, extremely sad, and nothing short of a wakeup call for all of America. While our government is busy spending billions of our tax dollars overseas to fight unethical wars and rebuild countries such as Iraq, our own infrastructure back home is an tiquated and quickly becoming dangerous. Here in Minnesota, we are exposed to a severe climate that swings from cold, ice and snow, to temperatures nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit, like we’ve had frequently this summer. This, combined with salt and other chemicals used to combat the ice in winter, causes corrosion that tends to crumble concrete and steel over time. In Minneapolis, there are plans to replace a sports arena (Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome) that was built in 1982, but the bridge that toppled Wednesday evening during rush-hour traffic, was built in 1967. Cl early, our priorities are in question or there is a general sen...

I have heard over the last couple of days, about an arms deal that the Bush administration wants for Saudi Arabia. The particulars keep changing with each new story, as the original monetary figure was 40 billion dollars (and 30 billion dollars in military aid to Israel). This figure dropped significantly the next time I heard about it, yet what is a “billion dollars???” How on Earth, could anyone believe that it is a good idea to sell the Saudis sophisticated weaponry? Doesn’t President Bush (even with his low intelligence) know that this material will find its way into the hands of those who are fighting U.S. troops in the Mid-east? Doesn’t anyone in the White house know that the Saudis fund and produce more terrorists than all the other countries? In order to appease Israel, who will obviously be upset about this deal, the idea is to give them $30 billion in military aid. So… this means that the United States is going to dump some $70 billion in high-tech weapons into the Mid-east ...

I left home at 9:15AM on Monday, July 23, 2007 . I picked up my travel partner and we were on the road by 10:00AM. We arrived in Sauk Centre, MN at noon. The Bear Trap was closed being it was Monday, so we ate at McDonalds. We also toured the location of my parents’ (former) cabin. After a brief stop at Fleet Supply, we continued on to Detroit Lakes. We got gas and went to the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge . It was 97 degrees Fahrenheit, with high humidity. As an added “bonus,” the deerflies were out in numbers that were greater than I ever remember. I had camped in this refuge when I was eleven-years-old, with my Boy Scout troop 500 (on a canoe trip). I remember it being ruggedly beautiful, and full of old Indian burial mounds and houses. On this day, we limited our outdoor activities and opted for the auto tour. Several hundred deerflies accompanied the car as we drove along. We returned to Detroit Lakes, MN and got a room at the Budget Host Motel. We ate at Country Kitchen and s...

I have a single stalk of corn growing on the deck of my condominium. It is in a large pot. I didn’t intend to grow corn, but Dave had to start his corn in pots, because the ground squirrels dug up the corn kernels before they could germinate when he put them directly in the garden. He had extra plants, so I planted some of them in Neng’s garden but the squirrels tore them apart. Dave still had extras, so I put a couple more in Neng’s garden –which were destroyed by squirrels in short order. I kept one to grow on my deck. My corn stalk is on the very edge of my north facing deck, so it gets “sideways” sun for a short time in the morning and evening. I don’t know how well it will do, and I even found a squirrel on my deck this morning! Just as a farm dog is different from a family pet, my corn is not so much a crop, as it has taken on the role of a plant-pet. Its close proximity to my living space allows for a more intimate knowledge of the corn’s personality than one gets from a field o...

Do you ever wish it was easier to view wild animals in the wild? There is a good reason that it is often difficult. It’s just thousands of years of being hunted/shot at when they show themselves that has allowed the wary animals to survive and reproduce, while those that were careless perished.

What if you were destined for greatness (sometime in the future)? What if you never realized it? Are some people filled with the talent and skill, yet never afforded the opportunity? Are others presented with the opportunity, but never possess the skills and talent? Do some people achieve greatness due to circumstances? Certainly we have seen leaders who have achieved greatness in a particular area, due to circumstances. Neither Ulysses S. Grant, nor William Tecumseh Sherman were particularly great in “regular,” peacetime life, while both proved to be exceptionally talented militarily. In Mark Twain’s, Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven, an interesting concept comes up, as illustrated by this quote, "Oh, a LOT of people WE never heard of before - the shoemaker and horse-doctor and knife-grinder kind, you know - clodhoppers from goodness knows where that never handled a sword or fired a shot in their lives - but the soldiership was in them, though they never had a chance to show...

Cutris arrives in a late model sedan and walks into the bookstore using the rear entrance. The setting is quaint yet posh, complete with little crackers, meat spreads and various cheeses and crap. Cutris complains that the bread is too small. Then Cutris demands that both New York and Chicago style pizzas vie for his attention before he gets annoyed! Pizzas are brought in, and Cutris is much appeased. Forty-nine readers stand in line, waiting for Cutris to sign their books. Just then, KXLF Radio announces that Cutris is doing a book-signing at Deward’s Discount Books & Stationary. Soon, 8,227 people are in line. The Tonight Show people call. Cutris fakes an English accent and becomes his own agent, Dirk McCoy. McCoy’s two associates, Dingus McHarold and Billy Two-Shots arrive with musical instrument cases, and the people at the store are sorely afraid. McHarold and Two-Shots give Cutris a guitar and ask him to jam a couple of his songs while they accompany him. KXLF announces the...

Someone has been putting those annoying post-it notes on the cars in the parking lot where I live. They advertise, “Make $CASH$ blah blah blah…” I have an idea for one of my own… Learn how to kick the asses of people who put post-it note™ messages on your car! Ask me how!!! http://cutris.blogspot.com/

This last weekend the weather was fantastic. I spent a lot of time outside too. On Saturday, after going to the Farmer's Market, I attended the Hmong Festival in St. Paul at Como Park. It was amazing how many people were there, most of them being Hmong. Later that same day, I attended the International Festival in Burnsville, which was also well attended –though the venue was a bit smaller. Sunday, I went to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, for my annual trip to see horseracing. There are so many things going on in the summer, and so little time!

In the scheme of the world, there is much debate about our importance. In the past, nuclear war was a frightening prospect, because “we could blow up the whole world!” Could we actually destroy the planet, or would we just affect global changes that would destroy humanity and several other species –while the world just continues on without us? No doubt, we humans have affected great changes on the planet. Just a few centuries ago, life was very different. People had to grow, hunt and barter for food. They also had to carry water. They had to cut wood to heat their homes that they had to build. Today, we buy food at the grocery store, buy houses with money from working jobs, and we have electricity, water/sewer, and here in the Midwest, natural gas piped in to heat our homes. When I hike the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge lands, I see that there are high-voltage lines spanning the area above, gas lines beneath the ground, and there is a huge power-plant at Black Dog. Black Do...

Poor workmanship, inferior quality, yet filled with deadly toxins, Chinese imports: because they’re cheaper. Chinese translation, 差,裝修質量低劣,但裝有致命毒素,中國進口 :因為他們便宜.

I had an interview downtown for a job yesterday. When I returned, I had a call from a “human resources person,” who said she found my resume on a job-temp site… doubtful… Anyway, she said she was from the National Guard, and I was “qualified” for several jobs they are trying to fill. I asked if I had to enlist and she said “yes.” I didn’t have to ask what the job was, as I wasn’t interested in driving a supply truck in Iraq. Things must be desperate to try to recruit an “old” guy like me…

My current novel in progress, “Cottonwood,” is perhaps, half done at this point. That is my plan, but these things often have a “life” of their own, which goes in directions that I never expected. My research has been exhausting lately, and as in my first book, I find it quite a job to extrapolate “reality” from historical accounts that either contradict each other, or deal with illiterate cultures from the long ago. I have been working on the subject of American Indian burial mounds. My novel takes place over approximately two centuries of pivotal history in the Minnesota River Valley. It staggers the mind to think about the changes that have taken place and the cultures that existed in the areas where we now live. In some unfortunate cases, the remains of these past peoples have been destroyed in the name of progress and development. I have had some difficulty finding details of ceremonies, due to the sacred subject matter. There is also some politics involved, as well as a desire in...

While stereotypes are never 100% accurate, they exist because of a certain, underlying element of truth. Often, they are like a caricature of reality. In this spirit, I have playfully looked at some racial stereotypes, and also used some firsthand things that I have witnessed. It seems that when a Caucasian and an African-American are engaged in a debate (argument), if the Caucasian uses logic to his advantage, it will likely be trumped by an even more powerful tool, the allegation that the white person is a racist. Once this allegation is levied, the white person is presumed guilty until proven innocent. It is as if a black hole in space has grabbed hold of the Caucasian, and it sucks him into the depths of doom. At the school where I work, I noticed that the Latino students are now actively using this technique as well. My observations seem to indicate that whatever the black kids are doing today, the Hispanic kids will be doing next week. I think we have seen this demonstrated with ...

School is out in two more days. I'm (staff) done in three. I'm ready for a break.

Presidential Candidate Cutris, "weighs in" on Terrorists... "Terrorists piss me off!" Vote for Cutris (aka Kevin J. Curtis) in 2008. Terrorists piss him off!