Chinese Warlord

So not only do I share DNA with the princess, I also am bloodline heir to a Chinese warlord, and an emperor of Japan. How is that for cool?

It is kind of cool that I share the same DNA as my ancestors. I found this artist’s rendition of Cao Cao, and I have to say with my goatee and eyebrows I look a lot like him. What if, somehow I am like him reborn hundreds of years later. I think I need to do some more research on him and his dynasty. I definitely have the whole samurai man bun down. When I let my hair down it goes past my nipples and from behind, it cascades down my back. My 30ish% European ancestry now explains why I don’t have typical straight wirelike hair, and instead have soft silky smooth hair instead. It actually is naturally curly which is super unusual for Asians. I happen to know for a fact that some people pay hundreds of dollars for perms that don’t last. Watch Fresh off the Boat, and there is an episode where they both get perms. I didn’t know it, but evidently when you are successful (in Asian families) you get a perm. Sadly Fresh off the Boat was cancelled, but I did buy all of the seasons on Vudu for like $30. Since I was raised in a white military family, I didn’t learn any Asian customs, other than taking off your shoes at the front door. I don’t walk around in socks, I wear my Birks and socks inside and my running shoes outside. So my curiosity has gotten the best of me and I really want to know more of my father’s lineage. Fortunately for me, CRIGenetics discounted the report 20% so I bought it. If anything or anyone exciting or interesting shows up I will share it with y’all.

For my Husker friends, it looks like the government is finally releasing some statistics, like how many are hospitalized. You can check it out by clicking here. For some stupid reason Nebraska stopped reporting numbers back in May. And they don’t do testing, so you really have no clue what the real numbers are like.

260,199 Cases

448 Active Hospitalizations

2379 Deaths

Just remember that only about 66.06% are fully vaccinated (in Nebraska), so 1/3 of the population are at risk. 1,040,196 people in Nebraska are fully vaccinated. If you think about it, that is not great. The percent partially vaccinated, meaning only 1 shot, 5.49%.

Famous People Report

CRIGenetics can go back as far as 50 generations of family ancestry DNA. I was pretty surprised to see the Princess of Wales smiling at me. Of course all her offspring share the same mtDNA Haplogroup. This report was only $10 and totally worth it. Naturally they had another report to sell me when I got this one. It was like $90, so I passed. Given the correct information someone could really maximize their life longevity.

White Asian

So, … where are YOU from? A common question that people ask you when you are first introduced. It is a simple way to get to know someone better. When someone is of the same place, chances are you have a lot in common. All my life I have always been telling people that I am from Vietnam, but I was adopted into an American military family at 4 months. Well imagine MY surprise when I decided to take a DNA test to discover my roots. Turns out I am NOT 100% Vietnamese. Wait, what? Yep, the proof is in the science. I am only 45.6% Vietnamese. Not even HALF. Yep, I am blown away. Looks like all those years of Asians calling me “White Asian”, with 31.4% of European lineage — they weren’t so far off. Yep, looks like my dad wasn’t Asian after all. How crazy is that? When you are adopted you don’t have any medical history. You are just out of luck. Not anymore.

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So initially I looked up 23 and me, which is heavily advertised for DNA testing. However, this other company, CRI Genetics, does a plethora of detailed information that tells you more than your own doctor. And these tests don’t lie. You are not self diagnosing yourself like you normally do with WebMD. You are getting actual real scientific data that proves YES or NO that you do or do not have a medical condition. Like for instance, I had no idea that I am lactose intolerant. So all those hot milked frothy Starbucks laced with hormonal milk literally were making me sick. And did you know that 90% of the world can’t stomach milk, except Europeans for some strange reason. Although I have never had a dairy issue, other than drinking hot milk. Maybe since I am part European that has something to do with the genetics. The report also told me that I do NOT have a sensitivity to gluten. Yay me. I knew it all along. I had a friend who self diagnosed herself as a celiac patient and thus refused to eat “gluten” or any carbs. Except you can get carbs from other things that don’t have gluten. It is kind of scary that all it takes is 2 mouth swabs of spit and you can literally find out all kinds of genetic DNA information. Turns out that you inherit all kinds of things from your ancestors. Most parents worry that they will pass a genetic medical condition to their children. So if you are curious and want to investigate even further. The site is CRIGenetics, and don’t buy it right away. Look around the site, and wait for the pop up to give you the 50% discount.

After you purchase they mail you a kit, you swab it and about 2 weeks later your results show up on their website. I found out my lineage 50 generations. I also opted for the additional “Who might you be related to that is famous” report. I should get it in a few days. If anyone cool shows up I will be sure to share it with y’all.

WIIFM Syndrome

Wii FM? No, not Nintendo Wii. It actually stands for “What’s In It For Me”. That is what is going on in the economy right now. What appears to be a labor shortage is actually a WIIFM syndrome on a national level. Pretend for just a moment YOU are the unemployed person who was working that crappy minimum wage job that for whatever reason, … CLOSED and furloughed you. Sure you “could” go get another help wanted job, but it would be another sucky job with shitty customers yelling at you for whatever stupid reason they felt you were their slave. Sounds enticing doesn’t it? Oh wait, it gets better. There is an outbreak at almost every place you apply, and you know this because you asked around. It isn’t hard to find out that the staff has COVID.

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The reality is there isn’t a labor shortage, what there is … is the owner of whatever company is short staffed is a greedy son of a bitch and doesn’t want to share in the profits. Wait, what? Yep, you heard me right. Think about it for just a second, the LARGEST richest companies in the world, … let’s use Amazon AND Walmart as an example, … are fucking greedy bastards. WHY should ONE man hold so much wealth? Why should ONE family control the retail market? WE, as consumers continue to support them with our voting dollars. If all the people in the world, stopped shopping at their company, they would go out of business. Look at what COVID did to thousands of businesses. No customers, no company. Cruise to Italy anyone? Walmart could afford to pay every single employee $50k a year and it wouldn’t even feel a dent in the profits. And why do they need billions and billions of dollars for ONE family? That’s right, they don’t.

You have a choice. You can go to a small business owned by a single individual and help them out. You can stop your Amazon Prime membership. But you won’t. Because the reality is those two companies provide a good and service at a cost effective, cheaper price. It has already been proven by many companies that have increased employee salaries that they have a decrease in employee turnover, and an increase in job satisfaction. Competition for good or great employees is going to be at an all time high. Employers would rather steal the competition than to hire an unemployed laid off employee.

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Today is the official day that the extra unemployment bonus ends. That means there will be a lot of people forced to go back to work. I know of a ton of folks who kept saying “Why should I go work for less money when I can sit on my ass and play video games all day long?” Right, exactly. That is the mentality of the unemployed unhirable American. They don’t want to work. They want to live off the government and get free handouts. The problem with that is when you do that, then there is no incentive for our younger generation to educate themselves and get better jobs. You know, the ones that require an actual associates or bachelors degree. Considering the number of students who are not vaccinated and not wearing masks, we will see how many can actually make it four years without dropping out or dying. First year freshmen (and women) have the highest dropout rate. I can think of a dozen friends who started and then never finished. And then they wonder why they are stuck in a low paying, labor intensive job. Well, we all make choices and sometimes those choices are not the best financially.

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If you ARE looking for a better tomorrow, dust of that resume, activate your LinkedIn Premium membership for a month and add something IMPRESSIVE to your current job/position. Let your network know you are looking for a new challenge, and let THEM check out their company job listings. You never know, your next opportunity could just be a phone call, text or update away.

And some updated numbers from the New York Times.

DAILY AVG. ON SEPT. 5	14-DAY CHANGE	TOTAL REPORTED
Cases	161,327	+8%	40,004,444
Tests	1,548,091	+30%	—
Hospitalized	102,734	+11%	—
Deaths	1,560	+55%	648,264

Isn’t that kind of interesting? 40 million cases. And kind of weird that it is all 4’s. Of course we all know that number is extremely under reported as we know that there are millions and millions of infected people who won’t even get tested. Have you noticed how all the testing drive up centers are closed yet the number of infections is exponentially higher than it was 2 years ago. As I told my mother, the vaccine is not a cure, it is more like a flu shot on steroids. Like the flu shot, it is preventative measures, just like a mask and a condom. Don’t like the outcome of wearing either, well, you might get pregnant, COVID and both of you might die.

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And on another depressing note, did you know that over 750k abortions happen every year in the United States. That number actually is higher, as I couldn’t get recent numbers. The church of Satan calls those “human sacrifices” for their church, so they like abortions. As much as I hate to admit it, I would have to agree. As a pro LIFE advocate, I think life should be cherished, not disposed of because it is “inconvenient” for someone. I personally have interfered with 2 ladies who were faced with aborting a fetus. In BOTH cases they were so thankful I was there to convince them to do the right thing. Both of those little girls grew up to be wonderful women, … thanks to me. Hey, I’m an earth angel. That’s what I do. I save lives.

Imagine just for a moment, my biological Vietnamese mother felt having 2 more babies was too much for her. A widowed mother, alone with no income, … so she decides to just “take care of it.” Well, then I wouldn’t be here. Yeah, … I hope that has an impact on any lady out there who thinks that a baby is too much of an inconvenience. Get with the program and use some damn birth control.

It is officially Monday, Labor Day in the United States, which means new episodes of Billions, Evil, Naked & Afraid, and Naked & Afraid love series are all available for your viewing pleasure. I’m a fan of all 4 and gotta say, Evil is pretty wicked. Gossip Girl reboot was good, but it was no Serena & Blair.

My first podcast

Would you like to actually HEAR me reading the blog to you? Yes I know I have a lovely tenor/baritone voice that blends harmoniously in the choir. Actually a lot of my readers have bad eyesight so listening would be very cool for them. So here is my first podcast of today’s blog.

https://anchor.fm/aaron-stephens4/episodes/NYC-Flooding–Texas-Abortion-Ban-e16qala

I actually have had readers request that I do author readings so they can hear or see me. I used Anchor, the free software that is attached to Spotify. So if you use Spotify my podcasts will be available soon. Too bad for Joe. I hear he is the #1 podcast streamed on Spotify. I also hear he has COVID. Hee Haw.

Life 360

It’s time for a shout out! There is this really cool app called Life 360. If you have any family members, like kids, spouses, siblings, whatever and you want to keep tabs on him/her, then you install the Life360 app for all your peeps. Yes, it is like big brother watching you, where you are, and even giving you notifications when someone arrives, but it also gives you a peace of mind knowing where that person is. Yes, the iPhone already has “Where is my iPhone”, but this works on any smartphone. What this app also has is “crash detection”, and roadside assistance with the gold membership. So if you are paying for roadside through AAA or your cell phone, you should cancel those and use this app instead.

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While experiencing a blow out today, I called American Express platinum to find out they eliminated that nice handy benefit. No roadside. WTF right? They give you free everything, except towing your car. They told me I could use my Uber benefit. I asked if Uber all of the sudden towed cars. No, I can’t use that when my car is stranded on the side of the road during rush hour traffic. So luckily I remembered Life 360 has roadside and they sent a tow truck right away. They told me due to to COVID that I could not ride with the driver and I should call an Uber. Again I laughed, and rolled my eyes. When the driver showed up, he gladly gave me a ride with my car. Life360 will also unlock your car if you accidentally lock those keys … again.

And in case you missed it, SENATOR Hickenlooper from Colorado has contracted COVID19. Yep. Alabama and Mississippi are out of ICU beds. And I will say it since the media isn’t. That motorcycle rally up in Sturgis 2 weeks ago is what is causing all this havoc. Not a single person masked up and then they traveled across the nation spreading disease. There is no congressional concern that kids are killed in school shootings, so why would there be a concern for a mask mandate? Exactly. It won’t be until someone important dies that people will actually do what is right.

And I lied. I actually love glitter. The more the better. Who doesn’t like a little sparkle in their life?

Tone of Voice

Have you ever noticed how you like one radio personality more than another? So maybe you don’t listen to the radio, but you listen to podcasts and YouTube, and some of you listen to Tik Tok. Have you also noticed that some voices just annoy the shit out of you? There literally are some voices that I have to turn down the volume so I am not annoyed by his/her voice. Thank God for closed captions right? For me, listening to a “guy” with a high pitched voice just doesn’t work for me. If you are one of those guys, no hate sent your way, not your fault. Just don’t be a show host or in a position talking with the public. I really tried to watch Jame Charles, the make up Cover Girl boy, … but I had to shut him up. I think he has a deviated septum or something because it doesn’t sound right. Yeah right, we all know it was probably too much coke.

Did you ever see the movie “Love Potion #9”? Cute little movie where a nerdy scientist develops a potion that makes the opposite sex fall in love with you when they hear your voice. There actually is some science to it in real life. Some voices are just more pleasing to listen to than others, hence the reason rock stars and vocalists like Adele are millionaires. Remember Karen from Will & Grace? Yeah, another bad voice, and the funny thing is that wasn’t even her real voice. And her side kick Lesley, the short little old fairy; his voice was super obnoxious. Fortunately for me I have a deep baritone voice. Some of my readers tell me they can actually hear it when they read the blogs.

Fun fact: In many of my past jobs my “voice” was used for telephone greetings, overhead paging, and closing announcements. I even had a friend ask me to record her answering machine greeting so people would hear man’s voice instead of a woman’s voice. I have such a wide range I can impersonate a woman’s alto voice and then quickly switch to my baritone voice.

And ICYMI the Asian Hate Crime, massage parlor slaying … the killer (who I will not name) was sentenced to 4 life sentences and face charges of terrorism and hate crimes which could (hopefully) will result in the death penalty. And that pedophile Matt Gaetz, House Representative will face life in prison for sex trafficking. Crazy how you can go from a coveted high paying elected official to … sex convict. Don’t worry about being on that sex offender list buddy, you aren’t the predator anymore.

Racism Is Not Skin Color

Wait, what? The last post was about skin color, and the whiteness or darkness of it, and now you’re saying that is not racism. Nope. It’s just plain hate. Hatism, is what it should really be called. Racism is actually hating someone’s culture that is not like your own. We all watch television and movies and we know there are other people in this world that live very different lives than our own.

So while everyone was covered face to toe, and it was impossible to unlock your iPhone before the apple watch update, your mask sunglasses and ballcap could very easily hide your identity, and most specifically your race or ethnic background. So if you are totally hidden with your facial features, how can someone know what race you are when they plan on attacking you? It is the way you walk, the way you talk, and most specifically your accent. Most mid-west Americans do not have an accent and it is very difficult to tell where they are from, like what state or country they grew up.Fortunately for me, I love doing accents. Accents are just another form of acting, imitation and all you really have to do is think of someone who has that accent and pretend to be them. Of course, knowing how to position your tongue when you speak is important. If you ever took a Spanish class you will know you have to ROLLLLL your R’sssss.

My Russian accent is probably one of my favorites. One of my friends thought I was hilarious and said I really had it down. Why Russian? I asked if he had ever heard of a Russian masked guy getting the shit beat out of him for just walking down the street? No? Yeah, me neither. Although I was told by another friend that even with my sunglasses and mask on, he could still see my bad ass eyebrows that make me look sinister. Sweet. I could play a villain in a movie.

Beauty is Skin … Color?

Do you know what “colorism” is? Yes, you got it. It is the discrimination of your skin color WITHIN your own racial ethnic group. WTF. Seriously. Now, this is not a black thing, or an Asian thing, or even an Indian thing. Because it happens in ALL of those people. Now I know you white folk are scratching your head wondering WTF I am even talking about right? Right. Basically the whiter/lighter your skin the “better” you are as a person and therefore much more attractive. Yeah, I know, I don’t quite get it either. My skin has always been brown. In my culture (the USA), being a golden tan/brown is a sign of luxury and wealth. Because you have all the time in the world to lay in the sun on your yacht, beach, or private pool and just … get tan. Shit we even pay money to go to tanning beds to get even darker. Guilty. I think I look great with a tan. Nope. Not in all societies. In fact, if I was back in say, Singapore, some people might think I was “the help”. Or worse, I work in the rice fields picking rice. Although, in my personal experience most people don’t think I am poor, or uneducated, or a servant because of my looks. Usually people look at me and wonder if I am doing botox or something. Yep, today is the anniversary of the date of my birth. 48 and fabulous. I will be eating all you can eat crab tonight in Blackhawk and then gambling at the tables. Wish me luck.

I actually saw a picture of me a few years ago with my twin brother and it was not so flattering. I think that is because I was starting to lose my hair and it was clearly evident to me. As soon as I hit my 30’s I started taking a vested interest in my health, well being and spiritual enlightenment. So within the black community, they have a standard they use for “acceptance” within their own groups. It is called the brown paper bag test. You put it up to your arm, and if you are darker than the brown paper bag then you aint getting in. So I put a brown cardboard box up to my arm, and they look the same. Like, literally if I had a concealer shade made for me they would have to call it “Brown Paper Bag”. I know, how depressing right? I guess if given the test I might pass.

My K pop friends might be nice and educate me on which skin whitening product is best. Skin whitening? Yes, it is a real thing. It actually is a billion dollar industry, right up there with cosmetic surgery. There is a plethora of YouTube videos on debunking celebrities and their beauty secrets. If it isn’t a filter, PhotoShop fail, or FaceTune app, it is probably plastic surgery. Go search on Madonna’s plastic surgery, Gwen Stefani, and Zac Efron. Sometimes it is something minor like removing the fat over the eye. Other times it is a whole new jaw/face. While you are searching on celebs you should also search colorism. It actually is kind of fascinating if you know nothing about it. I didn’t even know it existed. Am I going to whiten my skin? No. I am going to keep it out of the sun and use sunscreen daily. In all my years, I have never once had anyone comment on the color of my skin or even how dark or light it is. I do get comments on how youthful and tight it looks. As I have aged I have become obsessed with having great looking skin. Because it is what I have to look at every time I look in a mirror so I might as well be happy with what I have right? The secret to looking young is having amazing young looking skin. When you are healthy and in your prime, your skin literally glows. When you are sick and dying, you can see it in the color of your skin in your face. Pale. Ghostly. Lack of any color or pigment. Yeah, you know what I mean. Eat your green leafy vegetables. Drink your filtered water. Get lots of sleep. Take naps. I do. I love them.

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And in case you forgot, the new Zelda remake Nintendo Switch game released today! Excuse me while I adventure off in the land of Hyrule.

Message from a Higher Power

So this morning in meditation I was given a message to direct to my readers. If you are vax’d (meaning you have both of your shots), then you cannot let your guard down, especially if you “might” be around someone who is not (like your kids). Don’t you think it is a little strange that nursing homes were on lockdown to protect them from an infected person, yet people who have just ONE shot, are walking around with no mask. They don’t realize or think that they might accidentally contract the virus and bring it home to their unprotected kids and pets. Yes, pets are also at risk.

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You still need to wash your hands, use sanitizer and stop touching doors and stop touching your face. Seriously, there is all kinds of nasty stuff on your hands that you can’t see. And if you haven’t bought one yet, an ozone generator is still the best and safest way to kill coronavirus. You will live a lifetime of nightmares if you are directly responsible for killing your own child with your carelessness. (Not my words, just the messenger.)

And while we are on safety public announcements, you may have noticed an uptick in blown tires all over the highway, cars abandoned sitting on jacks. Do you know why? No Aaron, why? Because, it’s fucking hot out, the roads are burning and people who don’t rotate or check their tires are at risk. Bald tires on hot asphalt going 75+ mph are going to have a blow out and probably an accident. Do yourself a favor and just CHECK your tires to make sure you have plenty of tread. It actually is more important now that is so hot versus in the winter. Frozen tires don’t explode. Also I strongly suggest you pay attention to what is ON the road as shit falls off trucks all the time, including pallets of wood and their remains. You hit one of those with shitty tires and you are going to be pissed off. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I rotate my tires every oil change, you should too. If you don’t know how to change a tire, get roadside assistance, available on every cell phone plan for a small fee. Some credit cards offer it for free, like American Express platinum and every single MasterCard Elite or Visa Signature. They will change your tire, tow your car, and even bring you a gallon of gas if you run out. And if you are a dumb ass and lock your keys in the car while it is running, they will send a locksmith for free. Don’t judge, it’s happened to the best of us, at the worst of times.

Pondering on whether or not you should see Marvel’s new Black Widow? I am not going to review it, but I will say that I watched it twice, with 2 friends, so we totally got value out of Disney+ premiere at home. Strong female action heroes! I loved it.

My 48th birthday is this Friday and Nintendo is celebrating with me by launching the remake Zelda Sky something! Yay! It’s the older game where you fly on a bird to get to different regions. Go buy and download it now so it will be activated and ready for you on Friday.