The last couple of days have been, shall we say, somewhat eventful. Let me present the timetable for you:
Monday, 9:00 PM: I sit down in my favorite rocking chair to watch the 3rd Period of the Sharks/Kings playoff game. I pick up the latest edition of The Sporting News and start reading.
9:01 PM: The Kings score a goal 18 seconds in to tie the game 2-2.
9:20 PM: My chest starts fluttering and I begin to feel myself getting lightheaded. I stand up, stretch, and try to walk whatever this is off, but to no avail.
9:25 PM: I'm drinking down glasses of water to try and calm myself down, again to no effect. I start to wonder if I am having a heart attack.
9:30 PM: The Sharks score a goal and take a 3-2 lead. I discover that the aspirin in my medicine cabinet has expired.
9:35 PM: The Kings tie the game at 3-3. I have the sound off and the door open to get some fresh air, still no effect.
9:45 PM: The Kings go on a 4 minute power play because of a Sharks penalty. I'm getting into my truck to drive to the pharmacy to get some aspirin.
9:50 PM: I turn around after driving 2 blocks, fearing that I may not make it to the drug store and instead pass out while driving - not a good thing.
9:55PM: I knock on my next door neighbor's door and ask her to drive me to the hospital ER. She immediately calls 911 and finds some aspirin for me. I've stop paying attention to the game.
10:00 PM: The paramedics arrive, followed immediately by the ambulance. There are about 9 paramedics and EMTs in my neighbor's living room; two or three of them are asking me questions, two more are administering me an EKG test, one is shaving my chest for the electrodes, another is putting an oxygen mask in my nostrils, the rest I don't know what they are doing.
10:05 PM: Good news is that the EKG came up negative. Bad news is that my blood pressure is up around 180/100. I'm told that everything is "OK" but that they're going to take me to the hospital.
10:10 PM: I'm loaded up on the gurney and taken to the ambulance. As we leave my neighbor shouts to me to call her from the hospital.
10:15 PM: The ambulance leaves and we're headed for the hospital. I can see out the back but cannot keep track of where we are going. There are 2 EMTs in the back with me, one who puts in an IV and takes my blood pressure, the other engages me in conversation to keep my mind off of what's happening.
10:25PM: My first ever ambulance ride ends when I'm rolled into the ER. One of the nurses thinks she recognizes me. The guy next to me is telling his nurse that he just got out of prison today. After a minute or two in the scary hallway I'm rolled into ER Room C.
10:35PM: The nurses take another EKG and some blood for blood tests. I'm hooked up to a machine that takes my blood pressure every 10 minutes. It's still up around 180/100.
10:40 PM: The hospital administrator comes in to confirm my insurance and emergency contacts. I gave them the cell phone number for my brother, who doesn't know what is happening yet since I've hadn't had a chance to contact him, my parents, or my girlfriend. I say good bye to the EMT, thanking him for not killing me.
10:45PM: The nurse asks me if I have any questions. I asked him about the Sharks and he thinks they won.
11:00 PM: The blood pressure is coming down as I wait for the doctor. Boredom starts to set in since there is no TV and my cell phones are out of reach. I think about my sister and tell her that I'm not ready to be reunited with her yet.
11:30 PM: The X-Ray technician arrives to take a shot of my chest with a portable X-ray that's about the size of a Mini Cooper.
12:00AM: The doctor comes in and with an accent that I cannot identify (South African perhaps) she tells me that everything is checking out OK but they are going to admit me overnight to monitor things and to do a stress test the next morning.
12:30 AM: The blood pressure is down to 130/80. I entertain myself by listening in to the conversation in the room next door and watching the second hand on the wall clock move.
12:45AM: The doctor returns and confirms that the X-ray and the blood tests didn't show anything and that there is a room available.
1:00 AM: The nurse comes in to start the admission process, promising that it'll be done in under 45 minutes.
1:20 AM: Another technician comes in and switches me from the ER monitor to a portable one that makes some very annoying sounds.
1:35AM: The transport guy comes and along with one of the nurses rolls me up to the room. The head nurse lived up to his word with 10 minutes to spare. On the way up we talk about the Sharks and whether or not the playoffs were a best of 5 or a best of 7.
1:40 AM: I'm rolled into Room 3024, a private room (yes!) but with a lousy TV. The view is great but I cannot figure out how to close the blinds so I can sleep.
1:45 AM: The nurse comes in and gives me my hospital gown with pajama pants so I don't have to worry about showing my rear end to the public.
1:55 AM: The late replay of the local news includes a report that the Sharks had won the game in overtime, eliminating the Kings from the playoffs.
2:15 AM: The nurse goes over everything with the room, asks me the usual questions such as whether or not I'm on drugs (standard procedure she tells me). I tell her that I take prescription Ambien so she says that she'll get a pill for me for the night.
2:45 AM: The nurse returns to say that she doesn't want to give me Ambien right now since the cardiologist wants to talk to me first.
3:00 AM: I try to stay awake for the cardiologist by watching the overnight news, which is 90% about the royal wedding, 5% about Lindsey Lohan, and 5% about Libya. I give up, turn off the TV, and try to get to sleep.
3:35 AM: Not able to sleep, I email my colleagues at work that I wouldn't be coming in since I was in the hospital. Multiple messages of well wishes are sent in reply, not immediately of course.
3:45 AM: Still not able to sleep, I roam around my room looking for the chain to pull down the blinds to no avail.
4:30 AM: The cardiologist arrives and back-handededly insults the ER doctor by saying that they have "different priorities," even though he told me the same thing the ER doctor did. He talked about the stress test and his belief that I'll be able to go home after the results of the test are reviewed. He then warns me that it may take a while to review the results because they will be reviewed by a different doctor who may not be there right away. Still he seems like a nice guy.
4:45 AM: The nurse says it's too late to give me Ambien so she gives me Lorazepam instead. I finally get to sleep.
6:00 AM: Another nurse wakes me up to take my blood. At the same time a new nurse comes in with breakfast, only to notice the sign on the door that I'm not to be fed until after I've had my test. Even though there is light coming through the unshaded windows I still fall right back to sleep.
8:30 AM: Another guy from "transport" wakes me up to take me down to do the stress test. I notice as I'm getting up that the water left in the cup when I took the Lorazepam has spilled onto my bed.
9:00 AM: One nurse and two technicians conduct my stress test. One technician pastes a bunch of electrodes on me and comments on all the hair I have on my chest, not counting the hair that the EMT shaved off of course. The other technician does an ultrasound on my heart.
9:10 AM: I hop on board the treadmill and start the test, which is done in four stages of speed and difficulty. The techs and the nurse start pushing me like a athletic trainer to make it through the highest level, which I am proud to say that I did. Immediately after the treadmill stops I'm pushing back on the patient table for another round of ultrasound.
9:40 AM: I'm rolled back to my room to wait for the doctor to go over the results. I call my parents and tell them what is happening. The nurse comes in with breakfast but leaves when she sees me on the phone.
10:00 AM: The nurse finally returns with my breakfast after I pushed the button three times to let her know I was off the phone 10 minutes ago.
11:00 AM: I call my girlfriend and tell her what's happened. We promise to talk again later in the day.
12:00 PM: Time for another blood test. My brother returns my call and we have a three way conversation with the blood test nurse about whether the Sharks goaltender or their defensemen are to blame for all the goals the team has been giving up to the Kings. The nurse thought it was the goalie, my brother and I thought it was the defensemen.
12:30 PM: Lunch arrives, decent roast beef and some other stuff. My nurse ordered coffee even though I was there for a heart condition. I chose not to drink it.
1:30 PM: The dietitian arrives to get my breakfast and lunch orders for tomorrow. When I tell her that the doctor said that I would probably be discharged today she told me that she had been told that the doctor may not be able to see me today so to be on the safe side I should still order breakfast and lunch. She also gives me the information on my new diet restrictions.
2:00 PM: I read the diet restrictions and realize I've probably had my last In-N-Out Double Double.
2:15 PM: My next door neighbor, who works close by the hospital, pays me a visit. We talk about the break-ins that have been taking place in our neighborhood.
2:30 PM: My mom calls for an update on my condition.
3:00 PM: A new doctor comes in and says that the stress test came back negative. The general conclusion of the three doctors is that they were not sure what happened but that they were sure that I didn't have a heart attack. I am prescribed aspirin to thin out my blood just in case. I am also prescribed medication for acid reflux since the doctors think they may have caused the chest pains I've been recently feeling, both the night before and before that. I ask about arrhythmia since my dad suffers from that, and the doctor said that she would check the readouts again and see.
3:30 PM: The doctor returns and says that there was no sign of arrhythmia in the tests, but that I should follow up with a primary care physician. She also says that I'll be free to leave once the paperwork is done. The nurse tells me that she can have the paperwork done by 5 and asks me twice if I would like to stay for dinner. I politely decline.
4:50 PM: The nurse comes back with all the paperwork and again asks if I want to stay for dinner.
5:00 PM: Dinner arrives but since my neighbor was on her way to pick me up I tell the nurse that I can't stay and eat it.
5:10 PM: My neighbor comes and picks me up. I'm disappointed that I wasn't wheeled out in a wheelchair, though I realize that there are a lot worse ways to leave the hospital than by walking out of it.
6:00 PM: I pick up my meds, arrive home, speak to my mom, my girlfriend, and my brother again, and embark on the next chapter of my new reality by throwing out the peanut butter in my pantry.
And, oh yeah, I watched this:
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
My First Birthday Present
It was only a few short hours ago that I learned that my sister Karen passed away. Over the last two years or so Karen’s body began to betray her, first with low platelet production and then with breast cancer. She had been ongoing various cancer and platelet treatments but with little to show for it. As the pain spread so did Karen’s fear that she was not going to be a cancer survivor. Still, neither her nor her doctor were ready to give up trying until just this past weekend, when she was admitted to the hospital because her breath was labored and her body pain was intense. It was only last night that she made the courageous decision to tell her doctor that she was ready to change her care from treatment to hospice so that she could live out the remainder of her days at home and without pain. She knew death was imminent, but she seemed to have made piece with that. In her words: “I’m don’t know if I’m ready, but I know that I’m not not ready.”
Karen was born three days before my first birthday, my first birthday present. From that day afterward we were in many ways joined together and in many ways very different. Except for three years we attended the same school at the same time. We were in band together at Mater Dei, starting with beginning band my sophomore and her freshman year and ending with wind ensemble her junior and my senior year. She used to complain that the teachers we had in common would always ask about me and compare her to me. I do know, though, that there was at least one teacher, Ms. Kearney at Mater Dei, who liked Karen way more than she did me. Come to think of it, I would guess that our band director at Mater Dei, Mr. Corrigan, probably liked Karen a lot more than me too.
Unlike me, Karen was very artistic. She had a natural gift for writing, drawing, and music. Her blog, http://www.lilhateful.com/, was (and still is) clever, witty, and full of a dry humor, even when she was suffering from cancer. I remember one friend saying that she had never thought she would laugh about cancer until she read Karen’s posts. As a kid she used to draw little cartoon figures, cut them out, and tape them to things. I have in front of me an old Taster’s Choice coffee jar with two of those figures taped on to it that I found in a long ago disposed nightstand that used to be in her bedroom.
One year my parents bought her a little electronic Casio keyboard that she would play constantly; so much that we ended up buying her headphones so that we wouldn't have to listen to it so much. She had an amazing ability to play a song that she had heard on the radio only once or twice. Then in high school she was one of the few people to ever transfer from beginning band to wind ensemble in just one year because of her skills with the bells and her ability to learn to play the oboe in just a couple of months. Her skills with the bells also earned her a spot on the competition drum line, which allowed me the use of the family van since my parents didn't want her to come home alone in the dark after all the late drum line practices.
Karen was a free spirit who formed her own path in life. She was the first of us kids to live independent from our parents. She acquired the nickname of “Cheese Lady” in our high school band and took it as a complement. And she always wore that grey felt fedora to high school and on all our band trips. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that hat. She was the only person I knew who got accepted to 3 different universities but only attended 1 semester of classes, until she succumbed to the peer pressure from her cousin and friends and enrolled in the University of Oregon as a journalism major. This time she made it all the way through and graduated. I could not have been more proud of her accomplishment.
I always teased Karen about being a book snob; how her taste in literature was more Umberto Eco and less John Grisham. She thought that Grisham was a hack but later admitted that he did develop some good stories, poorly written as they may be. Her taste in music was equally eclectic. It was Karen who turned me on to U2 in the early 80’s, only to dismiss U2 when they became popular. It was the same with R.E.M. I remember she bought Van Halen's 1984 album because of the synthesizers and then gave it to me when she quickly got bored with it. I still have that album. I also remember how excited she got when Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” came on the radio, not because she liked the song or Michael Jackson but because she liked Vincent Price’s narrative at the end.
Of course we had our share of sibling rivalries. There were the frequent fights over the TV remote and the middle seat in the car, the day she hit with in the face with a baseball bat, and the day that I demanded that she get out of the car a city block away from our house. But I never felt any long simmering anger towards Karen, and I don’t think she ever felt any towards me despite her being the middle child. I have to admit though that I was always jealous of the fact that she had her own bedroom when I had to share mine with my brother up until high school.
What I will remember most about my sister is her honesty. She was my rock; she was the one I turned to in times of trouble and confusion for honest advice. She did not mince words and did not shy away from telling me the truth. When I was interested in a girl that she knew I would ask Karen if the girl and I would be a fit or not and she would tell me straight out what she thought, and she was spot on with her analysis.
Some of you may remember that I was once engaged to be married. About 5 months before our expected wedding date my fiancée began to stop returning my phone calls and started backing out of dates. Frustrated and worried that something was wrong, I called Karen for advice. Pretty much anyone else that I could have called would have probably told me that everything would be fine and that eventually my fiancée and I would be back on solid ground. Not Karen though, she told me that she thought my fiancée wanted to break off our engagement and that I should be prepared for that. 5 days later that is exactly what happened.
Karen was the most honest person that I have ever known and probably ever will know. That honesty is what I will miss most of all. I will also miss our Fourth of July weekends together. There will never be another July 4 or March 1 that I will not think about Karen and all the times we shared. I take comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain and that she is now in a much better place than the Springfield hospital bed that I last saw her in. But I will miss her in ways that go beyond words. My last words to her were that I loved her very much. She was asleep at the time but she did stir a little, so maybe she heard me. One day I hope to ask her if she did.
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou are not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, though dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me;
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls deliver.
Thou art slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppie, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better then thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.
- John Donne
Karen was born three days before my first birthday, my first birthday present. From that day afterward we were in many ways joined together and in many ways very different. Except for three years we attended the same school at the same time. We were in band together at Mater Dei, starting with beginning band my sophomore and her freshman year and ending with wind ensemble her junior and my senior year. She used to complain that the teachers we had in common would always ask about me and compare her to me. I do know, though, that there was at least one teacher, Ms. Kearney at Mater Dei, who liked Karen way more than she did me. Come to think of it, I would guess that our band director at Mater Dei, Mr. Corrigan, probably liked Karen a lot more than me too.
Unlike me, Karen was very artistic. She had a natural gift for writing, drawing, and music. Her blog, http://www.lilhateful.com/, was (and still is) clever, witty, and full of a dry humor, even when she was suffering from cancer. I remember one friend saying that she had never thought she would laugh about cancer until she read Karen’s posts. As a kid she used to draw little cartoon figures, cut them out, and tape them to things. I have in front of me an old Taster’s Choice coffee jar with two of those figures taped on to it that I found in a long ago disposed nightstand that used to be in her bedroom.
One year my parents bought her a little electronic Casio keyboard that she would play constantly; so much that we ended up buying her headphones so that we wouldn't have to listen to it so much. She had an amazing ability to play a song that she had heard on the radio only once or twice. Then in high school she was one of the few people to ever transfer from beginning band to wind ensemble in just one year because of her skills with the bells and her ability to learn to play the oboe in just a couple of months. Her skills with the bells also earned her a spot on the competition drum line, which allowed me the use of the family van since my parents didn't want her to come home alone in the dark after all the late drum line practices.
Karen was a free spirit who formed her own path in life. She was the first of us kids to live independent from our parents. She acquired the nickname of “Cheese Lady” in our high school band and took it as a complement. And she always wore that grey felt fedora to high school and on all our band trips. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that hat. She was the only person I knew who got accepted to 3 different universities but only attended 1 semester of classes, until she succumbed to the peer pressure from her cousin and friends and enrolled in the University of Oregon as a journalism major. This time she made it all the way through and graduated. I could not have been more proud of her accomplishment.
I always teased Karen about being a book snob; how her taste in literature was more Umberto Eco and less John Grisham. She thought that Grisham was a hack but later admitted that he did develop some good stories, poorly written as they may be. Her taste in music was equally eclectic. It was Karen who turned me on to U2 in the early 80’s, only to dismiss U2 when they became popular. It was the same with R.E.M. I remember she bought Van Halen's 1984 album because of the synthesizers and then gave it to me when she quickly got bored with it. I still have that album. I also remember how excited she got when Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” came on the radio, not because she liked the song or Michael Jackson but because she liked Vincent Price’s narrative at the end.
Of course we had our share of sibling rivalries. There were the frequent fights over the TV remote and the middle seat in the car, the day she hit with in the face with a baseball bat, and the day that I demanded that she get out of the car a city block away from our house. But I never felt any long simmering anger towards Karen, and I don’t think she ever felt any towards me despite her being the middle child. I have to admit though that I was always jealous of the fact that she had her own bedroom when I had to share mine with my brother up until high school.
What I will remember most about my sister is her honesty. She was my rock; she was the one I turned to in times of trouble and confusion for honest advice. She did not mince words and did not shy away from telling me the truth. When I was interested in a girl that she knew I would ask Karen if the girl and I would be a fit or not and she would tell me straight out what she thought, and she was spot on with her analysis.
Some of you may remember that I was once engaged to be married. About 5 months before our expected wedding date my fiancée began to stop returning my phone calls and started backing out of dates. Frustrated and worried that something was wrong, I called Karen for advice. Pretty much anyone else that I could have called would have probably told me that everything would be fine and that eventually my fiancée and I would be back on solid ground. Not Karen though, she told me that she thought my fiancée wanted to break off our engagement and that I should be prepared for that. 5 days later that is exactly what happened.
Karen was the most honest person that I have ever known and probably ever will know. That honesty is what I will miss most of all. I will also miss our Fourth of July weekends together. There will never be another July 4 or March 1 that I will not think about Karen and all the times we shared. I take comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain and that she is now in a much better place than the Springfield hospital bed that I last saw her in. But I will miss her in ways that go beyond words. My last words to her were that I loved her very much. She was asleep at the time but she did stir a little, so maybe she heard me. One day I hope to ask her if she did.
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou are not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, though dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me;
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls deliver.
Thou art slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppie, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better then thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.
- John Donne
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The 12 Days of Christmas
Has it really been that long since my last post? Every once in a while I've thought about posting something, but then I got distracted by either my work, my family, my travels, my home work, or other little things like the Giants finally winning the World Series. So what finally got me to actually sit down at the keyboard and type something out for the one or two people left in the world who actually care about what I write? Well...
Today the managers of the building that I work in took down all the Christmas decorations that they had in the lobby, and last Sunday my girlfriend found that the radio station that had been playing all Christmas music all the time since around Labor Day had already gone back to their regular sappy music format. Christmas was only a few days ago and already the world of commerce has moved on, and I haven't even worn all the new clothes I received as Christmas gifts.
It used to be that Christmas was celebrated for 12 days, from December 25 to Epiphany on January 6. That's where the song The Twelve Days of Christmas came from. The song wasn't about some person celebrating the fact that his/her true love could afford 12 presents over 12 days, though since those gifts would cost about $96,800 this year (according to PNC Bank) that true love would have to be pretty wealthy. The song, written in 1780, actually describes the tradition of celebrating Christmas over 12 days instead of just 1, including the giving of gifts over multiple days. In England back in the day servants traditionally got the day after Christmas off and were given presents and bonuses in boxes from their master (hence the term "Boxing Day"). Other European traditions including giving gifts on Epiphany to commemorate when the 3 kings/wise men/magi (take your pick) gave gifts to the baby Jesus (see, it wasn't that fat saint in the red suit that started this gift giving business). And then there is the Twelfth Night celebrations on January 5 that include much feasting, merrymaking, and entertainment. Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night specifically to be performed on January 5, hence the name. In many of these cultures the Christmas decorations stay up until the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, though the culture the owners of the building I work in have is apparently not one of them.
In an age when the first Christmas advertisements begin airing around Halloween why are we so quick to move on from Christmas after December 25? What does this say about our culture? It seems that some of our friends in the commercial world are as anxious to end the Christmas season as they are to start it. You would think that they would want to encourage and promote the 12 Days of Christmas since it would mean more gift giving and thus more gift buying. And it is not as if New Year's Day is a big retail holiday that they would not want to overshadow, unless you happen to be the folks who sell tickets to the Rose Bowl.
So what's the deal? Is this part of that vast anti-Christian, anti-Christmas campaign that the right wing wackos always complain about? Or are we such a driven society that we cannot stand the thought of celebrating something for 12 days when there is so much work to do? Did we not just see A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life, and all those other Christmas movies that tell us that driven people like Ebenezer Scrooge and Mr. Potter are all doomed to a hellish life unless like Scrooge and the Grinch they see the error of their ways and embrace the celebrations? Maybe these movies should be shown now instead of 2 weeks ago.
Speaking of movies, I would be remiss to not mention 2 Christmas heroes, Martin Riggs and John McClane.
Talk about guys who were driven, these two were the personification of the very word, but even still both of them made sure that they completed their respective tasks before Christmas so they could celebrate the holiday with family and friends. After what they went through I would guess they used up all 12 days.
My mother was right, Lethal Weapon is a Christmas movie. And all this time I thought she was just being ironic.
Today the managers of the building that I work in took down all the Christmas decorations that they had in the lobby, and last Sunday my girlfriend found that the radio station that had been playing all Christmas music all the time since around Labor Day had already gone back to their regular sappy music format. Christmas was only a few days ago and already the world of commerce has moved on, and I haven't even worn all the new clothes I received as Christmas gifts.
It used to be that Christmas was celebrated for 12 days, from December 25 to Epiphany on January 6. That's where the song The Twelve Days of Christmas came from. The song wasn't about some person celebrating the fact that his/her true love could afford 12 presents over 12 days, though since those gifts would cost about $96,800 this year (according to PNC Bank) that true love would have to be pretty wealthy. The song, written in 1780, actually describes the tradition of celebrating Christmas over 12 days instead of just 1, including the giving of gifts over multiple days. In England back in the day servants traditionally got the day after Christmas off and were given presents and bonuses in boxes from their master (hence the term "Boxing Day"). Other European traditions including giving gifts on Epiphany to commemorate when the 3 kings/wise men/magi (take your pick) gave gifts to the baby Jesus (see, it wasn't that fat saint in the red suit that started this gift giving business). And then there is the Twelfth Night celebrations on January 5 that include much feasting, merrymaking, and entertainment. Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night specifically to be performed on January 5, hence the name. In many of these cultures the Christmas decorations stay up until the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, though the culture the owners of the building I work in have is apparently not one of them.
In an age when the first Christmas advertisements begin airing around Halloween why are we so quick to move on from Christmas after December 25? What does this say about our culture? It seems that some of our friends in the commercial world are as anxious to end the Christmas season as they are to start it. You would think that they would want to encourage and promote the 12 Days of Christmas since it would mean more gift giving and thus more gift buying. And it is not as if New Year's Day is a big retail holiday that they would not want to overshadow, unless you happen to be the folks who sell tickets to the Rose Bowl.
So what's the deal? Is this part of that vast anti-Christian, anti-Christmas campaign that the right wing wackos always complain about? Or are we such a driven society that we cannot stand the thought of celebrating something for 12 days when there is so much work to do? Did we not just see A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life, and all those other Christmas movies that tell us that driven people like Ebenezer Scrooge and Mr. Potter are all doomed to a hellish life unless like Scrooge and the Grinch they see the error of their ways and embrace the celebrations? Maybe these movies should be shown now instead of 2 weeks ago.
Speaking of movies, I would be remiss to not mention 2 Christmas heroes, Martin Riggs and John McClane.
Talk about guys who were driven, these two were the personification of the very word, but even still both of them made sure that they completed their respective tasks before Christmas so they could celebrate the holiday with family and friends. After what they went through I would guess they used up all 12 days.
My mother was right, Lethal Weapon is a Christmas movie. And all this time I thought she was just being ironic.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Football, South American Style
No, I have not been deliberately neglecting this blog, nor have I started a new blog for America's Got Talent (please send for help if you ever see me do that). I just returned from a trip to Argentina and Brazil. Perhaps I'll post some photos on Flickr, perhaps not. Depends on my mood.
There is nothing quite like being in Argentina and Brazil during the World Cup. We were in Buenos Aires when Argentina beat Mexico and an outsider would have thought that Argentina had just won the whole tournament. The streets were absolutely empty while the game was on, and while there were stores open good luck trying to find someone to ring up a purchase. We found a coffee shop that had locked their doors so that the staff could watch the game, but they were nice enough to let in a couple of Americans to serve us coffee. Then when the game ended people poured out into the streets waving Argentina flags and wearing sky blue and white everywhere they could. The main square in Buenos Aires was packed with fans. Keep in mind this was after a Round of 16 game, there were still 3 more rounds to go. Afterwards the Argentina TV news was full of reports about the game, taking precedence over murders, shootouts, and politics. It was all futbol all the time.
A few days later we pulled into a gift shop on the Brazil side of Iquazu Falls while the Brazil-Netherlands game was going on. In this case the store doors were still open but again it was difficult to find anyone to help with the purchases because the entire staff was watching the game and they were all nervous wrecks because Brazil was behind 2-1 late in the game. Every once in a while there would be a loud gasp every time Brazil came close to scoring, and then when the game ended there was an eerie silence as the realization of Brazil's loss began to set in. Our Argentine tour guides, however, had to try very hard to hold in their happiness until we were safely away from the gift shop. Later on at the airport they had the news on and there were a lot of pictures of people in green and gold face paint crying and weeping. There were also plenty of scenes of Brazilian defender Felipe Melo stomping on a Netherlands defender and blocking the Brazilian goalie on Holland's game winning goal. It's a good thing Melo plays his club ball in Italy after the reaction in Brazil. Not surprisingly, the coach for Brazil, Dunga, announced his resignation shortly after the loss.
The next day we were taking a boat cruise around Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro while the Argentina-Germany game was being played. Our tour guide was a nervous wreck since there was no TV or radio on the boat. However, just as we were pulling into a harbor for lunch we could hear firecrackers and gun shots going off, and since this was around the time the game was scheduled to end our tour guide got very nervous. Sure enough, the Brazilians were celebrating the fact that Argentina lost 4-0. A Brazilian tour guide joined us when we arrived in Rio and was on the boat at the time, and when she heard the result she got a big grin on her face and was high fiving our bus driver and random people on the street. The Brazilian papers the next day had a field day with Argentina coach Diego Maradona, though considering how much of a legend Maradona is in Argentina it'll be interesting to see if he is shown the door like Dunga was.
In my last post I discussed an article that claimed that Americans will never love soccer as much as Brazilians do. While I stand by my position that there is nothing wrong with that, I can attest that the Brazilians, and for that matter the Argentines, do love futbol more than Americans ever will, and thank goodness for that. It made for a lively trip, even though there were no burning cars. I guess they were saving that for when they won like the Spanish are doing in Madrid right now.
I can also attest to my sister's position that American soccer star Landon Donovan does look a lot like actor John Saxon.
If it weren't for the shirts I would have a hard time figuring out which one plays soccer and which one guest starred on Colombo.
There is nothing quite like being in Argentina and Brazil during the World Cup. We were in Buenos Aires when Argentina beat Mexico and an outsider would have thought that Argentina had just won the whole tournament. The streets were absolutely empty while the game was on, and while there were stores open good luck trying to find someone to ring up a purchase. We found a coffee shop that had locked their doors so that the staff could watch the game, but they were nice enough to let in a couple of Americans to serve us coffee. Then when the game ended people poured out into the streets waving Argentina flags and wearing sky blue and white everywhere they could. The main square in Buenos Aires was packed with fans. Keep in mind this was after a Round of 16 game, there were still 3 more rounds to go. Afterwards the Argentina TV news was full of reports about the game, taking precedence over murders, shootouts, and politics. It was all futbol all the time.
A few days later we pulled into a gift shop on the Brazil side of Iquazu Falls while the Brazil-Netherlands game was going on. In this case the store doors were still open but again it was difficult to find anyone to help with the purchases because the entire staff was watching the game and they were all nervous wrecks because Brazil was behind 2-1 late in the game. Every once in a while there would be a loud gasp every time Brazil came close to scoring, and then when the game ended there was an eerie silence as the realization of Brazil's loss began to set in. Our Argentine tour guides, however, had to try very hard to hold in their happiness until we were safely away from the gift shop. Later on at the airport they had the news on and there were a lot of pictures of people in green and gold face paint crying and weeping. There were also plenty of scenes of Brazilian defender Felipe Melo stomping on a Netherlands defender and blocking the Brazilian goalie on Holland's game winning goal. It's a good thing Melo plays his club ball in Italy after the reaction in Brazil. Not surprisingly, the coach for Brazil, Dunga, announced his resignation shortly after the loss.
The next day we were taking a boat cruise around Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro while the Argentina-Germany game was being played. Our tour guide was a nervous wreck since there was no TV or radio on the boat. However, just as we were pulling into a harbor for lunch we could hear firecrackers and gun shots going off, and since this was around the time the game was scheduled to end our tour guide got very nervous. Sure enough, the Brazilians were celebrating the fact that Argentina lost 4-0. A Brazilian tour guide joined us when we arrived in Rio and was on the boat at the time, and when she heard the result she got a big grin on her face and was high fiving our bus driver and random people on the street. The Brazilian papers the next day had a field day with Argentina coach Diego Maradona, though considering how much of a legend Maradona is in Argentina it'll be interesting to see if he is shown the door like Dunga was.
In my last post I discussed an article that claimed that Americans will never love soccer as much as Brazilians do. While I stand by my position that there is nothing wrong with that, I can attest that the Brazilians, and for that matter the Argentines, do love futbol more than Americans ever will, and thank goodness for that. It made for a lively trip, even though there were no burning cars. I guess they were saving that for when they won like the Spanish are doing in Madrid right now.
I can also attest to my sister's position that American soccer star Landon Donovan does look a lot like actor John Saxon.
If it weren't for the shirts I would have a hard time figuring out which one plays soccer and which one guest starred on Colombo.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Beautiful Game
Blogger thought my blog layout could use a face lift, so I thought I'd give this a try.
The World Cup started this weekend, so I have a new sporting event to torment my girlfriend about now that the Stanley Cup playoffs are over (but I mean "torment" in a nice way, really). Our boys in blue did a sporting job against our former rulers, and for those of you who think our goal was a fluke because the England goalkeeper messed up I say to you that it counts the same on the scorecard as a bicycle kick from 20 yards out, so there.
I wonder why our team doesn't have a nickname like some of the cool teams do. For example there are the traditional powers:
Brazil: Seleçao (The Select)
Mexico: El Tri (The Three Color)
Italy: La Azzurri (The Blues)
France: Les Bleus
England: The Three Lions
Germany: Die Mannschaft (The Team)
Spain: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
Argentina: La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue)
Netherlands: Oranje (The Clockwork Orange)
Portugal: Selecção das Quinas (Selection of the Shields)
While most of these are pretty boring, and in the case of Brazil and Germany somewhat conceited perhaps, at least they have a nickname. Then there are the more interesting ones (besides the Spanish, English, and Portuguese):
Montenegro: Hrabri Sokoli (The Brave Falcons)
Czech Republic: Lokomotiva (The Locomotive)
Greece: To Piratiko (The Pirate Ship)
Angola: Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes)
South Africa: Bafana Bafana
Zambia: Chipolopolo (The Copper Bullets)
Cameroon: Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions)
Egypt: Al-Fara'enah (The Pharaohs)
Columbia: Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers)
Jamaica: The Reggae Boyz
Iraq: Isood Al-Rafidayn (The Lions of Mesopotamia)
Japan: Samarai Blue
Thailand: Changsuk (The War Elephants)
Australia: The Socceroos
North Korea: Choilima (The Thousand-Mile Horse)
And there are plenty more that can be found here. FIFA also has a nice article on the subject.
There are nicknames for the US team listed, though "The Yanks" is the only one that I have heard mentioned in soccer circles. And to be honest, it could use some improvement. A lot of improvement. Not even the US Soccer team web site mentions it or any other name. C'mon guys, if even the North Koreans can come up with a creative nickname why can't we? The team's fan club, Sam's Army, came up with a decent one for themselves. Shouldn't they be able to find one for our team?
On a similar subject there is this bit of commentary in Yahoo! News from a British ex-pat living here in the USA saying that we will never love soccer, football, whatever you want to call it, like they do in Brazil, England, and pretty much every other nation in the world. Here are some examples of this man's "insight":
"Across Europe, Asia and Africa, advertisers are falling all over themselves to endorse official products and to use players and logos in their spots. But not in America, the richest, and arguably most sports mad, country in the world. Here the desperate hype of those outlets that have the rights to cover the tournament barely makes itself heard over the NBA and Stanley Cup finals."
"... it took almost half a century and the intervention of Henry Kissinger to bring the 1994 World Cup to the United States. And within three years "The Simpsons" was already lampooning soccer as a sport so boring that it bred hooliganism between supporters fighting to leave the stadium first."
As the teams walk onto the field in Rustenberg, South Africa this Saturday, there will be a sizeable viewing audience in America. Perhaps it will be difficult to measure the exact number since American patriots and English expats will crowd into bars to watch the game. But the passion will be for the event, not the game. Although more Americans play soccer than ever before, although the women's team is the reigning Olympic champion and although the MLS is improving quality year by year, America doesn't love the game the way Brazil loves the game.
"America hasn't yet grasped the fact that soccer is much more like baseball than football. It's a game of the head played with the body through a hundred years of history and culture."
Once again we have someone trashing America because we don't love "the beautiful game" like the rest of the world does. Even being a dedicated soccer fan that I am I cannot just sit by and listen to this nonsense. Yes, America doesn't love the game the way Brazil loves the game, but I am willing to bet my Brazil visa (that I'll be using in just a couple of weeks; yes I'll post pictures) that Brazil doesn't love American football, baseball, or basketball the way America loves these games. Different cultures have different loves and there is nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. Great for Brazil that they love futbol like they do but that doesn't mean that America has to or that we are any worse as a nation or as a people for not loving the same game. Since when has soccer become the politically correct game as well as the beautiful game?
The last quoted line really bothers me in that it implies that America doesn't appreciate "a game of the head" with "a hundred years of history and culture." So Americans are a bunch of idiots who only like idiot games with no history or culture. If you don't think basketball is a "game of the head" then how do you explain the creativity that players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and so many others have brought to the game, not to mention the strategies of coaches like Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, and Phil Jackson (or even Don Nelson, as wacky as he is). And if want to talk about "games of the head", let me introduce you to Peyton Manning, Bill Belechek, Walter Payton, and so many other players and coaches of the so-called "other" type of football that have shown plenty of mental acuity on the field in a sport that has just as much tradition as the association game. Why do you think both sports are called "football" anyway?
Our sports that we love are just as good as anyone else's, and despite the fact that we do not and may never love soccer as much as Brazil or any other country does we have still managed to put together a pretty good team. Now if we can only come up with a lovely nickname for them.
You think America doesn't care about soccer? Just ask this guy, who used soccer as a means to escape from a Nazi POW camp and won the game for his team even though his English coach didn't think a "Yank" could play the game:
The World Cup started this weekend, so I have a new sporting event to torment my girlfriend about now that the Stanley Cup playoffs are over (but I mean "torment" in a nice way, really). Our boys in blue did a sporting job against our former rulers, and for those of you who think our goal was a fluke because the England goalkeeper messed up I say to you that it counts the same on the scorecard as a bicycle kick from 20 yards out, so there.
I wonder why our team doesn't have a nickname like some of the cool teams do. For example there are the traditional powers:
Brazil: Seleçao (The Select)
Mexico: El Tri (The Three Color)
Italy: La Azzurri (The Blues)
France: Les Bleus
England: The Three Lions
Germany: Die Mannschaft (The Team)
Spain: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
Argentina: La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue)
Netherlands: Oranje (The Clockwork Orange)
Portugal: Selecção das Quinas (Selection of the Shields)
While most of these are pretty boring, and in the case of Brazil and Germany somewhat conceited perhaps, at least they have a nickname. Then there are the more interesting ones (besides the Spanish, English, and Portuguese):
Montenegro: Hrabri Sokoli (The Brave Falcons)
Czech Republic: Lokomotiva (The Locomotive)
Greece: To Piratiko (The Pirate Ship)
Angola: Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes)
South Africa: Bafana Bafana
Zambia: Chipolopolo (The Copper Bullets)
Cameroon: Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions)
Egypt: Al-Fara'enah (The Pharaohs)
Columbia: Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers)
Jamaica: The Reggae Boyz
Iraq: Isood Al-Rafidayn (The Lions of Mesopotamia)
Japan: Samarai Blue
Thailand: Changsuk (The War Elephants)
Australia: The Socceroos
North Korea: Choilima (The Thousand-Mile Horse)
And there are plenty more that can be found here. FIFA also has a nice article on the subject.
There are nicknames for the US team listed, though "The Yanks" is the only one that I have heard mentioned in soccer circles. And to be honest, it could use some improvement. A lot of improvement. Not even the US Soccer team web site mentions it or any other name. C'mon guys, if even the North Koreans can come up with a creative nickname why can't we? The team's fan club, Sam's Army, came up with a decent one for themselves. Shouldn't they be able to find one for our team?
On a similar subject there is this bit of commentary in Yahoo! News from a British ex-pat living here in the USA saying that we will never love soccer, football, whatever you want to call it, like they do in Brazil, England, and pretty much every other nation in the world. Here are some examples of this man's "insight":
"Across Europe, Asia and Africa, advertisers are falling all over themselves to endorse official products and to use players and logos in their spots. But not in America, the richest, and arguably most sports mad, country in the world. Here the desperate hype of those outlets that have the rights to cover the tournament barely makes itself heard over the NBA and Stanley Cup finals."
"... it took almost half a century and the intervention of Henry Kissinger to bring the 1994 World Cup to the United States. And within three years "The Simpsons" was already lampooning soccer as a sport so boring that it bred hooliganism between supporters fighting to leave the stadium first."
As the teams walk onto the field in Rustenberg, South Africa this Saturday, there will be a sizeable viewing audience in America. Perhaps it will be difficult to measure the exact number since American patriots and English expats will crowd into bars to watch the game. But the passion will be for the event, not the game. Although more Americans play soccer than ever before, although the women's team is the reigning Olympic champion and although the MLS is improving quality year by year, America doesn't love the game the way Brazil loves the game.
"America hasn't yet grasped the fact that soccer is much more like baseball than football. It's a game of the head played with the body through a hundred years of history and culture."
Once again we have someone trashing America because we don't love "the beautiful game" like the rest of the world does. Even being a dedicated soccer fan that I am I cannot just sit by and listen to this nonsense. Yes, America doesn't love the game the way Brazil loves the game, but I am willing to bet my Brazil visa (that I'll be using in just a couple of weeks; yes I'll post pictures) that Brazil doesn't love American football, baseball, or basketball the way America loves these games. Different cultures have different loves and there is nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. Great for Brazil that they love futbol like they do but that doesn't mean that America has to or that we are any worse as a nation or as a people for not loving the same game. Since when has soccer become the politically correct game as well as the beautiful game?
The last quoted line really bothers me in that it implies that America doesn't appreciate "a game of the head" with "a hundred years of history and culture." So Americans are a bunch of idiots who only like idiot games with no history or culture. If you don't think basketball is a "game of the head" then how do you explain the creativity that players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and so many others have brought to the game, not to mention the strategies of coaches like Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, and Phil Jackson (or even Don Nelson, as wacky as he is). And if want to talk about "games of the head", let me introduce you to Peyton Manning, Bill Belechek, Walter Payton, and so many other players and coaches of the so-called "other" type of football that have shown plenty of mental acuity on the field in a sport that has just as much tradition as the association game. Why do you think both sports are called "football" anyway?
Our sports that we love are just as good as anyone else's, and despite the fact that we do not and may never love soccer as much as Brazil or any other country does we have still managed to put together a pretty good team. Now if we can only come up with a lovely nickname for them.
You think America doesn't care about soccer? Just ask this guy, who used soccer as a means to escape from a Nazi POW camp and won the game for his team even though his English coach didn't think a "Yank" could play the game:
Thursday, June 3, 2010
I suppose that it is about time...
... that I post something here to remind everyone who doesn't read my American Idol blog that I am still alive. Idol is done for the year and I am leaning towards not doing any posts there next season, so hopefully I will again renew my snarky views of life over here.
This oil spill thing, for example. If you can find anything positive about this I'm dying to here it. Here you have President Obama, who promised to change Washington politics, acting like a Washington politician when he says that the only thing the government did wrong was to put too much trust in BP to stop the leak. Is not the government responsible for cleaning up the oil? Where were the booms? Why did it take them a couple of weeks to start the cleanup? And where were the inspectors when the faulty oil rig was constructed and maintained? Instead of being the statesman that we voted for he has morphed into yet another politician looking for some evil corporation to blame and looking to use a disaster to advance a political agenda. His policy to reduce the likelihood of future oil spills is to stop drilling for oil? How about inspecting some more rigs? Having no oil rigs may be pie in the sky thinking but flies in the face of reality.
And then there are the morons at BP who tried to blame the oil rig operator Transocean for a "relatively tiny" oil spill (seriously, their words, not mine), required fishermen who volunteered for the rescue effort to sign a limit of liability contract with BP, and has a CEO who cares more about getting "his life back" than about the millions of barrels of oil his busted pipeline is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. Oh sure, he apologized later for his comments later, but then his press secretary Randy Prescott says that "Louisiana isn’t the only place that has shrimp.” I love this response from Louisiana: “And BP isn’t the only place that has fuel for my car!” Admit it, gentlemen, you f***ed up big time here and heads need to roll, starting with yours.
And even when BP and the government actually work together on something (which they should be doing all along instead of this finger pointing) they still find a way to muck it up, such as this ongoing public feud BO is having with the EPA about which dispersants to use to soak up the oil. It has gotten so bad that even that wacky Sarah Palin has gotten into the act, claiming that the reason the government and BP have been so slow to respond to the spill is because BP gave President Obama a lot of money in the last campaign, which of course was front page news on Fox because it plays into that vast left wing conspiracy theory that Miss Alaska USA and her comrades subscribe to no matter how unlikely it is that two models of incompetency can somehow conspire to organize something like this.
Here's the deal, the government and BP need to agree on a way to cap the busted shaft and clean up the oil now. Together. One cannot do it without the other, no matter how much they want to. Stop the finger pointing, stop the politics, stop the blame game, stop trying to either downplay or exaggerate the problem to make yourselves look better and the other guy look worse. It didn't work after Hurricane Katrina and the Exxon Valdez oil spill and it is not working here either. This is not rocket science. You want proof of that? Well how about we ask what one of the most successful oil man ever would do in a situation like this...
Now here is an honest oil man if there ever was one, and he didn't take no guff from no government official, that's for sure. When Jed Clampett had an oil spill in his backyard did he point any fingers? Hell no, he sold that spill and provided a better life for his whole clan in Beverly Hills, both in black & white and color. And whenever he had a problem that needed solving ol' Jed would sit on the curbstone of his mansion and whittle until he came up with the answer. Maybe if President Obama and BP CEO Tony Hayward would sit at their mansions and whittled until they came up with an answer they could get this thing cleaned up and allow us to focus on other, more important things.
And yes, I waited all this time to find a blog post topic that I could use Jed Clampett as an example. The photo is from TVLand.com, BTW. I don't want to have to sign a LOL either.
This oil spill thing, for example. If you can find anything positive about this I'm dying to here it. Here you have President Obama, who promised to change Washington politics, acting like a Washington politician when he says that the only thing the government did wrong was to put too much trust in BP to stop the leak. Is not the government responsible for cleaning up the oil? Where were the booms? Why did it take them a couple of weeks to start the cleanup? And where were the inspectors when the faulty oil rig was constructed and maintained? Instead of being the statesman that we voted for he has morphed into yet another politician looking for some evil corporation to blame and looking to use a disaster to advance a political agenda. His policy to reduce the likelihood of future oil spills is to stop drilling for oil? How about inspecting some more rigs? Having no oil rigs may be pie in the sky thinking but flies in the face of reality.
And then there are the morons at BP who tried to blame the oil rig operator Transocean for a "relatively tiny" oil spill (seriously, their words, not mine), required fishermen who volunteered for the rescue effort to sign a limit of liability contract with BP, and has a CEO who cares more about getting "his life back" than about the millions of barrels of oil his busted pipeline is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. Oh sure, he apologized later for his comments later, but then his press secretary Randy Prescott says that "Louisiana isn’t the only place that has shrimp.” I love this response from Louisiana: “And BP isn’t the only place that has fuel for my car!” Admit it, gentlemen, you f***ed up big time here and heads need to roll, starting with yours.
And even when BP and the government actually work together on something (which they should be doing all along instead of this finger pointing) they still find a way to muck it up, such as this ongoing public feud BO is having with the EPA about which dispersants to use to soak up the oil. It has gotten so bad that even that wacky Sarah Palin has gotten into the act, claiming that the reason the government and BP have been so slow to respond to the spill is because BP gave President Obama a lot of money in the last campaign, which of course was front page news on Fox because it plays into that vast left wing conspiracy theory that Miss Alaska USA and her comrades subscribe to no matter how unlikely it is that two models of incompetency can somehow conspire to organize something like this.
Here's the deal, the government and BP need to agree on a way to cap the busted shaft and clean up the oil now. Together. One cannot do it without the other, no matter how much they want to. Stop the finger pointing, stop the politics, stop the blame game, stop trying to either downplay or exaggerate the problem to make yourselves look better and the other guy look worse. It didn't work after Hurricane Katrina and the Exxon Valdez oil spill and it is not working here either. This is not rocket science. You want proof of that? Well how about we ask what one of the most successful oil man ever would do in a situation like this...
Now here is an honest oil man if there ever was one, and he didn't take no guff from no government official, that's for sure. When Jed Clampett had an oil spill in his backyard did he point any fingers? Hell no, he sold that spill and provided a better life for his whole clan in Beverly Hills, both in black & white and color. And whenever he had a problem that needed solving ol' Jed would sit on the curbstone of his mansion and whittle until he came up with the answer. Maybe if President Obama and BP CEO Tony Hayward would sit at their mansions and whittled until they came up with an answer they could get this thing cleaned up and allow us to focus on other, more important things.
And yes, I waited all this time to find a blog post topic that I could use Jed Clampett as an example. The photo is from TVLand.com, BTW. I don't want to have to sign a LOL either.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
In The News
Gee, I almost forgot that I had this blog. I have been a little bit busy. My tax accountant often tells me that she has no social life from January until April 15 because she is too busy doing tax returns. It has been kind of the same for me since American Idol season started, so if you need a more current fix on my state of mind you can always check out my Idol blog. It'll tell you pretty much everything you need to know about where my mind is at, though filtered through the lens of American Idol. It's raw too since I usually finish writing my posts around 1:30 in the morning and it is difficult for me to keep up appearances at that hour, kind of like what happens in most bars around that time.
Seriously, in addition to my Idol work and my real work (recession? What recession?) I have so many projects going on and a new relationship. Yes, with a real woman. I have been reluctant to talk about her here since she doesn't know about this blog (she knows about the Idol one though) and I don't want her to think that I am posting things about her behind her back to two people that I know and maybe a dozen or so that I don't know. Then again, if I don't write about her then what would I write about that would be even remotely interesting? There is only so many People Magazine headlines that I can comment about (maybe that's why I haven't been paying to attention to this blog). I throw these out and see what you think:
A Look Inside the Life of Jesse James: What is there to see? He's a loser that got lucky until his loserness took control of his brain. Ditching Sandra Bullock for a tattoo model? WTF?
O'Donnell Reportedly Preparing a TV Show: Hopefully it'll be a reality show so it'll kill that genre just like her variety show did. I guess she's jealous that Ellen parlayed her talk show into a seat at the American Idol table and she didn't. Then again, I'm jealous that Ellen parlayed her talk show into a seat at the American Idol table and I didn't.
PETA Wants Animal Planet to KO Proposed Mike Tyson Reality Show: For the first and perhaps last time in my life I actually agree with PETA on something. Armageddon must be close at hand.
Woods Did What He Had to Do: That explains the voice mail and the late night joy ride in the Escalade, but I'm still waiting for the excuse for everything else.
Conrad Murray Did Not Tell Paramedics of Michael Jackson's Drug Dose: Wacko Jacko, the gift that keeps on giving, at least until Tiger Woods did what he had to do.
Court Says No Oil Money for Anna Nicole's Heirs: Well, so much for that conspiracy theory.
Health Care Victory for Obama in House: I've been considering commenting on this for some time now, and I'll be serious for a moment and drop the italics. I agree with everyone who says that our health care system is a bureaucratic mess, but I am not sure that having it taken over by the most bureaucratic institution in this country is the best way to fix it. Just ask anyone who has had to go to the DMV or tried to legally immigrate into this country.
Over the last couple of days I've seen politicians behave very badly around this issue. No one seems to have read the bill, and no one seems to be basing their support on what is in the bill. Instead we have politicians like the Hispanic Caucus, who opposed the bill because it denied insurance to illegal immigrants, and then two days before the vote announced that they would vote yes because Obama promised them that he would push for immigration reform next. Mind you the provision that the Hispanic Caucus was opposed to is still in the bill and cannot be removed by reconciliation, yet they now support it because Obama promised he would scratch their back on a completely different piece of legislation. And then there is Dennis Kucinich, who was opposed to the Senate bill for months because it did not have a public option and then announced that he would vote yes in order to preserve Obama's legacy. Whatever happened to principle? Whatever happened to basing your vote on what is in the bill? Why do we have politicians who only seem to care about making deals and preserving legacies and not on standing on their own principals and/or doing what their constituents want? Not to make it seem like I am picking on the Democrats I should point out that the Republicans who are voting against this bill because they want Obama to fail are guilty of the very same thing.
Where are the Jefferson Smith's? That is what I want to know...
Seriously, in addition to my Idol work and my real work (recession? What recession?) I have so many projects going on and a new relationship. Yes, with a real woman. I have been reluctant to talk about her here since she doesn't know about this blog (she knows about the Idol one though) and I don't want her to think that I am posting things about her behind her back to two people that I know and maybe a dozen or so that I don't know. Then again, if I don't write about her then what would I write about that would be even remotely interesting? There is only so many People Magazine headlines that I can comment about (maybe that's why I haven't been paying to attention to this blog). I throw these out and see what you think:
A Look Inside the Life of Jesse James: What is there to see? He's a loser that got lucky until his loserness took control of his brain. Ditching Sandra Bullock for a tattoo model? WTF?
O'Donnell Reportedly Preparing a TV Show: Hopefully it'll be a reality show so it'll kill that genre just like her variety show did. I guess she's jealous that Ellen parlayed her talk show into a seat at the American Idol table and she didn't. Then again, I'm jealous that Ellen parlayed her talk show into a seat at the American Idol table and I didn't.
PETA Wants Animal Planet to KO Proposed Mike Tyson Reality Show: For the first and perhaps last time in my life I actually agree with PETA on something. Armageddon must be close at hand.
Woods Did What He Had to Do: That explains the voice mail and the late night joy ride in the Escalade, but I'm still waiting for the excuse for everything else.
Conrad Murray Did Not Tell Paramedics of Michael Jackson's Drug Dose: Wacko Jacko, the gift that keeps on giving, at least until Tiger Woods did what he had to do.
Court Says No Oil Money for Anna Nicole's Heirs: Well, so much for that conspiracy theory.
Health Care Victory for Obama in House: I've been considering commenting on this for some time now, and I'll be serious for a moment and drop the italics. I agree with everyone who says that our health care system is a bureaucratic mess, but I am not sure that having it taken over by the most bureaucratic institution in this country is the best way to fix it. Just ask anyone who has had to go to the DMV or tried to legally immigrate into this country.
Over the last couple of days I've seen politicians behave very badly around this issue. No one seems to have read the bill, and no one seems to be basing their support on what is in the bill. Instead we have politicians like the Hispanic Caucus, who opposed the bill because it denied insurance to illegal immigrants, and then two days before the vote announced that they would vote yes because Obama promised them that he would push for immigration reform next. Mind you the provision that the Hispanic Caucus was opposed to is still in the bill and cannot be removed by reconciliation, yet they now support it because Obama promised he would scratch their back on a completely different piece of legislation. And then there is Dennis Kucinich, who was opposed to the Senate bill for months because it did not have a public option and then announced that he would vote yes in order to preserve Obama's legacy. Whatever happened to principle? Whatever happened to basing your vote on what is in the bill? Why do we have politicians who only seem to care about making deals and preserving legacies and not on standing on their own principals and/or doing what their constituents want? Not to make it seem like I am picking on the Democrats I should point out that the Republicans who are voting against this bill because they want Obama to fail are guilty of the very same thing.
Where are the Jefferson Smith's? That is what I want to know...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
People Are Strange
I have been neglecting this blog for my Idol blog and for all of the other crazy things tying up my life these days, but now that I seem to be neglecting my Idol blog too I thought I would post something here.
I was browsing through the Google news page and I came across these headlines in the people section that I thought were worth commenting on:
Jay Leno Can't Bring Himself to Call Conan O'Brien: Now think about it, what would Jay say to Conan? I'm sorry about the loss of your job that I caused? Too bad about losing that Tonight Show gig, I'll be sure to take care of it for you? It was just not your time yet? Please don't go on Letterman?
Bristol Palin Vows Not to Have Sex Again Until Marriage: I can think of no better application of the old adage about closing the barn door after the horses have escaped.
George Clooney Running the Largest Celeb Call Center Ever: Of course this is about the Haiti thing, though when I first read it another type of call center came to mind. Note that the italic font for "Ever" was not my idea, the headline from People.com actually had "Ever" italicized. It's a funny word to be emphasizing...
Justin Bieber Reveals His Secret: He Shakes It: I have no idea who Justin Bieber is but apparently he's got something goin' on!
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Were 'Out at Dinner' When Split Rumors Broke: Too bad they were not out to lunch when the rumors broke, as that would have been a much better headline. BTW, did you see that thing hanging from Brad Pitt's chin during the Haiti thing. Dear God, what was that? Was he auditioning for the role of Rasputin? Could he have at least trimmed it for the broadcast?
Elizabeth Edwards tells her sister: 'I've had it.': Well it is about damn time.
Health Buzz: Study Finds Flame-Retardant Chemical May Harm Fertility: That must be a really powerful retardant to be able to harm both flames and fertility. I wonder if it can get rid of terrorists, fix the health care system, and end the national debt too.
Tim Tebow's Super Bowl ad scandal: Well it is about damn time this kid had some controversy around him. That squeaky clean saintly persona was really starting to get on my nerves. Besides, this could be good for him, toughen him up for the NFL. Al Davis might even consider drafting him now.
Software executive admits affair after mistress' billboard campaign: So this moron posts billboards all over the country proclaiming his love for his mistress and then he admits to the affair? Could not his wife read the writing on the wall?
Elin Nordegren hopes to save marriage: See Edwards, Elizabeth. I guess that pre-nup is more air tight than her lawyers thought it was.
What Stars Are Saying on Twitter Right Now! If you truly care what Randy Jackson and Lisa Rinna are saying on Twitter right now then you need professional help, or a hobby. Especially if Randy Jackson and Lisa Rinna (who I have never heard of) are the biggest stars posting on this site. Yes, I did check it, but it was for research purposes only, honest. OK, I need a hobby. That was what the Idol blog was for.
I was browsing through the Google news page and I came across these headlines in the people section that I thought were worth commenting on:
Jay Leno Can't Bring Himself to Call Conan O'Brien: Now think about it, what would Jay say to Conan? I'm sorry about the loss of your job that I caused? Too bad about losing that Tonight Show gig, I'll be sure to take care of it for you? It was just not your time yet? Please don't go on Letterman?
Bristol Palin Vows Not to Have Sex Again Until Marriage: I can think of no better application of the old adage about closing the barn door after the horses have escaped.
George Clooney Running the Largest Celeb Call Center Ever: Of course this is about the Haiti thing, though when I first read it another type of call center came to mind. Note that the italic font for "Ever" was not my idea, the headline from People.com actually had "Ever" italicized. It's a funny word to be emphasizing...
Justin Bieber Reveals His Secret: He Shakes It: I have no idea who Justin Bieber is but apparently he's got something goin' on!
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Were 'Out at Dinner' When Split Rumors Broke: Too bad they were not out to lunch when the rumors broke, as that would have been a much better headline. BTW, did you see that thing hanging from Brad Pitt's chin during the Haiti thing. Dear God, what was that? Was he auditioning for the role of Rasputin? Could he have at least trimmed it for the broadcast?
Elizabeth Edwards tells her sister: 'I've had it.': Well it is about damn time.
Health Buzz: Study Finds Flame-Retardant Chemical May Harm Fertility: That must be a really powerful retardant to be able to harm both flames and fertility. I wonder if it can get rid of terrorists, fix the health care system, and end the national debt too.
Tim Tebow's Super Bowl ad scandal: Well it is about damn time this kid had some controversy around him. That squeaky clean saintly persona was really starting to get on my nerves. Besides, this could be good for him, toughen him up for the NFL. Al Davis might even consider drafting him now.
Software executive admits affair after mistress' billboard campaign: So this moron posts billboards all over the country proclaiming his love for his mistress and then he admits to the affair? Could not his wife read the writing on the wall?
Elin Nordegren hopes to save marriage: See Edwards, Elizabeth. I guess that pre-nup is more air tight than her lawyers thought it was.
What Stars Are Saying on Twitter Right Now! If you truly care what Randy Jackson and Lisa Rinna are saying on Twitter right now then you need professional help, or a hobby. Especially if Randy Jackson and Lisa Rinna (who I have never heard of) are the biggest stars posting on this site. Yes, I did check it, but it was for research purposes only, honest. OK, I need a hobby. That was what the Idol blog was for.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years?
I was travelling back home today and after working my way through the "heightened" security measures at the airport I passed by the news stand and came across a number of magazines with retrospective articles on the Decade with No Name (the zero's? the aughts? the double oo's? We've had ten years to figure this out people, come on). It occurred to me that in 2000 that I had job, a house, and a new girlfriend, and now 10 years later I have a different job, a different house, and a different new girlfriend. I could not have imagined 10 years ago that any of those things would be different. I think if someone had asked me in 2000 "where do you see yourself in 10 years?" my answer would have been a lot different from how things actually turned out.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that there would be "heightened security measures" at the airport.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would have a bunch of new stamps on my passport and that a couple of them would be from Indonesia.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that jet planes would bring down the World Trade Center and that this event would be a factor in my departure from the company I was working for 10 years ago.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would have a cousin in Italy who was my Facebook friend or that Facebook would be the avenue to get me back in touch with friends I hadn't heard from in 20 years, or for that matter that I would be on Facebook at all, or for that matter there would be such a thing as Facebook.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that my sister would have a college degree or that my brother would have 2 kids.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that The Simpsons would still be on the air and that The Sopranos would not be, nor did I imagine that I would still have my HBO subscription after The Sopranos went off the air.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would care about a show like American Idol, much less maintain a blog about it (which reminds me, I'll soon need to restart that blog; where am I going to find the time to do that?)
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would be typing this list onto a blog to be read by total strangers for the most part.
Perhaps the best part about all this is that the different job, the different house, and the different new girlfriend are all an improvement from the ones I had 10 years ago. Now that is something I can hang my hat on.
10 years ago, before I discovered The Sopranos, my favorite TV show was The X-Files.
Now here was a show that was 10 years ahead of its time and whose central arc was the possible alien colonization of Earth 10 years in the future (though it took 9 seasons to figure that out). Back then I rarely missed an episode, even the ones that didn't have David Duchovny in them. The X-Files paved the way for a number of new TV shows with similar themes and mythologies like Lost and Fringe. Funny thing is that I don't watch any of those shows anymore. I don't think I would have imagined that 10 years ago either.
And who thought 10 years ago there would be something like Wikipedia?
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that there would be "heightened security measures" at the airport.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would have a bunch of new stamps on my passport and that a couple of them would be from Indonesia.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that jet planes would bring down the World Trade Center and that this event would be a factor in my departure from the company I was working for 10 years ago.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would have a cousin in Italy who was my Facebook friend or that Facebook would be the avenue to get me back in touch with friends I hadn't heard from in 20 years, or for that matter that I would be on Facebook at all, or for that matter there would be such a thing as Facebook.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that my sister would have a college degree or that my brother would have 2 kids.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that The Simpsons would still be on the air and that The Sopranos would not be, nor did I imagine that I would still have my HBO subscription after The Sopranos went off the air.
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would care about a show like American Idol, much less maintain a blog about it (which reminds me, I'll soon need to restart that blog; where am I going to find the time to do that?)
I could not have imagined 10 years ago that I would be typing this list onto a blog to be read by total strangers for the most part.
I do have a different car than I had 10 years ago, but since the 2000 car was 8 years old and creeping up on 100k miles I did imagine that I would have a different car 10 years later.
I think about all of the people I have met in the last 10 years and all of the people that I have reconnected within in the last 10 years and it just blows me away.Perhaps the best part about all this is that the different job, the different house, and the different new girlfriend are all an improvement from the ones I had 10 years ago. Now that is something I can hang my hat on.
10 years ago, before I discovered The Sopranos, my favorite TV show was The X-Files.
Now here was a show that was 10 years ahead of its time and whose central arc was the possible alien colonization of Earth 10 years in the future (though it took 9 seasons to figure that out). Back then I rarely missed an episode, even the ones that didn't have David Duchovny in them. The X-Files paved the way for a number of new TV shows with similar themes and mythologies like Lost and Fringe. Funny thing is that I don't watch any of those shows anymore. I don't think I would have imagined that 10 years ago either.
And who thought 10 years ago there would be something like Wikipedia?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Going Rouge
No, I haven't been ignoring you. I've just been out of the country for a while and very busy since I've been back. I'm sure you'll understand. Or perhaps not. Makes no difference to me...
I could not help but notice all of the attention that Sarah Palin has been receiving lately. Now I know what you're thinking, you've been away for over a month and you come back with this! Don't worry, just relax and stay with me on this and hopefully you'll be rewarded at the end. Or perhaps not.
Anyway, one of the side stories about the former Alaska governor that I thought was interesting, and worth commenting on here, is how much support she is getting from liberals. It seems like they are engaging in a Operation Chaos campaign of their own by buying her book and encouraging her to run for president in 2012, not because they want her to be president but because they think she has no chance to win and by running she will take away support from other Republicans who might have a chance, like, well... give me a minute... I don't know, someone with a triple digit IQ?
I remember back on Election Night 2008 when a CNN commentator, I think the follicle challenged Paul Begala, proudly declared to follicle endowed Anderson Cooper that he wanted Palin to run in 2012. She was the "dream candidate" as far as he was concerned.
I know I'm not the first to say this, but I think the liberals should be careful about what they wish for here.
Now let me set the record straight: I think Sarah Palin is an idiot who is not the least bit qualified to be President of the United States. Hell, I'm more qualified to be president than she is. This of course is why the folks on the political left want her to run on the Republican ticket. But you see, while I, the entire Democrat party, and perhaps most of America think that she is unqualified, there are millions of people out there, including most of the 20 million or so who listen to Rush Limbaugh on a daily basis, who think that Palin is the bee's knees because she is one of them, a God-fearing, anti-intellectual, social conservative with a distrust of anyone who has a PhD or is a member of the media. To them, it's not important that she knows who the leader of Uzbekistan is when there are more important battles out there to fight against like abortion, gay marriage, and Obama's death panels.
The scary thing here is that these 20 million people are convinced that they have so much power that they can elect anyone, even a dim bulb like Sarah Palin or George W. Bush. They keep telling themselves that the majority of America is as conservative as they are and that Obama's "failings" (as they of course see them) will convince millions more to see the error of their ways and vote for conservatives in the next election. They are also convinced that the reason that Obama won last year was because the Republican party was too afraid to nominate a "true" conservative and instead threw up a bunch of wimpy moderates like John McCain and Mitt Romney. Yes, they do see a US Senator who survived 6 years of torture in a North Vietnamese prison camp as a wimp because he had the audacity to co-sponsor a bill with Ted Kennedy and lead the effort to prevent Senate Republicans from evoking the "nuclear option" and eliminating the filibuster that would have bypassed the Democrats on judicial nominations. And to think, had the nuclear option been evoked back in 2005 the Democrats would have already shoved the health care and global warming bills down the Republican's throat. But do you hear any of those right wingers praise McCain for saving them from themselves? Of course not.
But I digress...
(BTW, the leader of Uzbekistan is President Islam Karimov, though I most admit I had to look it up, but then I'm not running for president)
(BBTW, the definition of rogue is "an unprincipled person; a scoundrel or rascal." I wonder if any of Palin's supporters, or even Sarah herself, know about this. Of course they would likely attribute this to the obvious liberal bias among dictionary writers)
These Palin in '12 wackos may be small in number now but there are enough of them shouting from the rooftops to be a cause for concern for those who want to see some more intelligent people run for the most powerful office in the world. I don't think Palin's chances of winning are as dire as the liberals want to think.
Now if you want to talk about former governors who would make a good president despite a lower than average IQ, how about Governor Eugene Gatling?
Yes, the guy from Benson. He may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer but he had a heart of gold and always had the interests of his state at heart, even though after 7 seasons we never were told which state it was. You never heard him accuse the president of wanting to create death panels or nor did he claim that he had foreign policy experience because his state bordered another country. The man knew his limitations. He also is perhaps the only governor, either real or imagined, to promote his butler to lieutenant governor. Now that is change I can believe in.
I could not help but notice all of the attention that Sarah Palin has been receiving lately. Now I know what you're thinking, you've been away for over a month and you come back with this! Don't worry, just relax and stay with me on this and hopefully you'll be rewarded at the end. Or perhaps not.
Anyway, one of the side stories about the former Alaska governor that I thought was interesting, and worth commenting on here, is how much support she is getting from liberals. It seems like they are engaging in a Operation Chaos campaign of their own by buying her book and encouraging her to run for president in 2012, not because they want her to be president but because they think she has no chance to win and by running she will take away support from other Republicans who might have a chance, like, well... give me a minute... I don't know, someone with a triple digit IQ?
I remember back on Election Night 2008 when a CNN commentator, I think the follicle challenged Paul Begala, proudly declared to follicle endowed Anderson Cooper that he wanted Palin to run in 2012. She was the "dream candidate" as far as he was concerned.
I know I'm not the first to say this, but I think the liberals should be careful about what they wish for here.
Now let me set the record straight: I think Sarah Palin is an idiot who is not the least bit qualified to be President of the United States. Hell, I'm more qualified to be president than she is. This of course is why the folks on the political left want her to run on the Republican ticket. But you see, while I, the entire Democrat party, and perhaps most of America think that she is unqualified, there are millions of people out there, including most of the 20 million or so who listen to Rush Limbaugh on a daily basis, who think that Palin is the bee's knees because she is one of them, a God-fearing, anti-intellectual, social conservative with a distrust of anyone who has a PhD or is a member of the media. To them, it's not important that she knows who the leader of Uzbekistan is when there are more important battles out there to fight against like abortion, gay marriage, and Obama's death panels.
The scary thing here is that these 20 million people are convinced that they have so much power that they can elect anyone, even a dim bulb like Sarah Palin or George W. Bush. They keep telling themselves that the majority of America is as conservative as they are and that Obama's "failings" (as they of course see them) will convince millions more to see the error of their ways and vote for conservatives in the next election. They are also convinced that the reason that Obama won last year was because the Republican party was too afraid to nominate a "true" conservative and instead threw up a bunch of wimpy moderates like John McCain and Mitt Romney. Yes, they do see a US Senator who survived 6 years of torture in a North Vietnamese prison camp as a wimp because he had the audacity to co-sponsor a bill with Ted Kennedy and lead the effort to prevent Senate Republicans from evoking the "nuclear option" and eliminating the filibuster that would have bypassed the Democrats on judicial nominations. And to think, had the nuclear option been evoked back in 2005 the Democrats would have already shoved the health care and global warming bills down the Republican's throat. But do you hear any of those right wingers praise McCain for saving them from themselves? Of course not.
But I digress...
(BTW, the leader of Uzbekistan is President Islam Karimov, though I most admit I had to look it up, but then I'm not running for president)
(BBTW, the definition of rogue is "an unprincipled person; a scoundrel or rascal." I wonder if any of Palin's supporters, or even Sarah herself, know about this. Of course they would likely attribute this to the obvious liberal bias among dictionary writers)
These Palin in '12 wackos may be small in number now but there are enough of them shouting from the rooftops to be a cause for concern for those who want to see some more intelligent people run for the most powerful office in the world. I don't think Palin's chances of winning are as dire as the liberals want to think.
Now if you want to talk about former governors who would make a good president despite a lower than average IQ, how about Governor Eugene Gatling?
Yes, the guy from Benson. He may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer but he had a heart of gold and always had the interests of his state at heart, even though after 7 seasons we never were told which state it was. You never heard him accuse the president of wanting to create death panels or nor did he claim that he had foreign policy experience because his state bordered another country. The man knew his limitations. He also is perhaps the only governor, either real or imagined, to promote his butler to lieutenant governor. Now that is change I can believe in.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Glory Days
No pictures this time, just some reminiscing.
This week I attended a convention in San Diego, where many years ago I lived and worked until the economy of the time (1992) and some other personal issues led me to move to the Bay Area. While I have been here I have encountered friends and former co-workers that I have not seen or heard from in almost 20 years. Not only that, but I also saw a college friend of mine who I have not seen or talked to since we both graduated 20 years ago.
It amazed me that some of the people that I seen here have hardly changed in appearance since the last time I saw them, while others have changed so much that I barely recognized them. I am also not sure where I fit in their eyes in this regard. They all recognized me, but only after I introduced myself to them. All that is except for one friend, who told me that she recognized me because of my smile. I was very happy to hear that, until she then pointed out that I had "filled out" since I had last saw her. But believe it or not I took it as a compliment, at least that is how I think she meant it, that is after she said that I was too skinny in college. It is the nicest way that I have ever been told that I have gained weight in my life.
Now while my time in San Diego is almost done since I leave tomorrow, my trip down memory lane has one more mile to go, as I will be travelling to my hometown to see another friend who I have not seen in 20 years or so but nevertheless is my longest standing friend, as I have known her for over 40 years. I have no idea what to expect or how that will go, but again I have that same sense of nervous anticipation as I did before I met my other friends.
It is funny how nervous I got before meeting my old friends and co-workers, and how nervous I am now before meeting with the oldest friend. All sorts of thoughts have run through my head the last few days: Will I see them? Will they recognize me? Will I be able to recognize them? Is this the beginning of re-establishing contact, or will they and I again not talk to each other for another 20 years? It is strange and tense and yet at the same time so much fun when they do recognize me and we touch base and reminisce about days gone by. It is also worth remembering that I still have something in common with each of them, even though our lives have gone in much different directions since then.
There are still a few friends out there that I have not seen in many, many years. I hope that the day will come when I will be able to reconnect with them and I hope that they too will be able to recognize me.
This week I attended a convention in San Diego, where many years ago I lived and worked until the economy of the time (1992) and some other personal issues led me to move to the Bay Area. While I have been here I have encountered friends and former co-workers that I have not seen or heard from in almost 20 years. Not only that, but I also saw a college friend of mine who I have not seen or talked to since we both graduated 20 years ago.
It amazed me that some of the people that I seen here have hardly changed in appearance since the last time I saw them, while others have changed so much that I barely recognized them. I am also not sure where I fit in their eyes in this regard. They all recognized me, but only after I introduced myself to them. All that is except for one friend, who told me that she recognized me because of my smile. I was very happy to hear that, until she then pointed out that I had "filled out" since I had last saw her. But believe it or not I took it as a compliment, at least that is how I think she meant it, that is after she said that I was too skinny in college. It is the nicest way that I have ever been told that I have gained weight in my life.
Now while my time in San Diego is almost done since I leave tomorrow, my trip down memory lane has one more mile to go, as I will be travelling to my hometown to see another friend who I have not seen in 20 years or so but nevertheless is my longest standing friend, as I have known her for over 40 years. I have no idea what to expect or how that will go, but again I have that same sense of nervous anticipation as I did before I met my other friends.
It is funny how nervous I got before meeting my old friends and co-workers, and how nervous I am now before meeting with the oldest friend. All sorts of thoughts have run through my head the last few days: Will I see them? Will they recognize me? Will I be able to recognize them? Is this the beginning of re-establishing contact, or will they and I again not talk to each other for another 20 years? It is strange and tense and yet at the same time so much fun when they do recognize me and we touch base and reminisce about days gone by. It is also worth remembering that I still have something in common with each of them, even though our lives have gone in much different directions since then.
There are still a few friends out there that I have not seen in many, many years. I hope that the day will come when I will be able to reconnect with them and I hope that they too will be able to recognize me.
Friday, September 11, 2009
A 9/11 Essay Revisited
The one or two of you who remember the blog that preceded this one (no, not the American Idol one) might remember this post that I made to that blog on September 11, 2006. I think with a relatively new blog, and possibly one or two new readers, that it is worth posting it again on this anniversary.
A 9/11 Essay - How 9/11 Changed My Life
I don't know anyone who died on September 11, 2001. I don't know anyone who knew anyone who died on that day. I don't know anyone who was in either New York or Pennsylvania that morning. I did know one person who worked at the Pentagon, but thankfully she was not in the building at the time the plane hit there. So some of you might think I'm being pretentious by saying that the events of that day changed my life beyond just the general effects that we all felt that day and beyond, but it is true.
It was the Monday after September 11. Throughout the previous week there were of course a number of conversations at my workplace about what happened. However, I found the discussions to be very disturbing. The talks centered around the collapsed buildings, the closed stock market, the grounded planes, the cancelled football and baseball games, things like that. I didn't hear any conversation about the event itself, almost as if it were an afterthought. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, or more importantly, what I wasn't hearing. Thousands of people had just died and all I heard were people complaining about how their stocks weren't being traded. Over the weekend I decided to write an open letter to the company. In that letter I attempted to remind people that, as I wrote, "We are people first and engineers second, not the other way around." I tried to point out what I thought was a myopic attitude that some of my co-workers were apparently taking and the anger that I felt about that and that even if they didn't know anyone directly involved in the attacks they should still give a damn.
I sent it out that Monday morning. The reaction was strong. Some personally thanked me for sending out the letter, as they felt the same way that I did. Others criticized me, claiming that I was telling them how they should feel. Still others, including most importantly my bosses, thought it was an attack on the company, since I pointed out that the only acknowledgement of the events from the company was an e-mail from the IT manager asking people to curtail their Internet use. I tried to explain that my message was not meant to be an attack on the company but rather on specific people within the company that I had chosen not to name. Nevertheless, the view about me and the letter remained and would affect me in an even bigger way a few months later.
Around that time I was engaged in discussion with my bosses about opening a branch office in Oakland, where I was planning on moving. As the months went by I was growing increasingly frustrated by the slow progress that the company management was making in coming to a decision on whether to open the office. I learned later that one of the reasons why it was taking so long was because of the letter. I was now seen as a loose cannon for having publicly criticized the company, and even though I had been with the company for 9-1/2 years at this point there were some at the management level who questioned whether or not I could be trusted. The questioning of my loyalty to the company, and the delay in the decision to open the Oakland office that resulted from it, was the main reason why I decided to leave the company 4 months later.
I think it is too simplistic to say that the letter all by itself led to my departure from the company that I spend almost 10 years of my life. There were certainly other issues that were involved that had nothing to do with the 9/11 letter. However, it certainly played an important role.
The letter changed me in another way too. It reminded me that there are important things that are going on outside my office window, and that I too should not be so focused on my work that I ignore them. That is what led me to become more involved in volunteer work, and why I spent my 40th birthday helping people in Indonesia rebuild their homes after the earthquake and tsunami. One can never say for sure, but it is possible that were it not for the events of 9/11 I would still be at my old company and never gotten involved in anything outside of it.
I don't regret writing what I did. It was something that I felt had to be said, job be damned. And every September 11 since then, I pull out that letter and read it again, just to remind myself that I am a person first and an engineer second, and not the other way around.
And at the risk of potentially revealing my identity to a couple of former co-workers, here is the letter that I wrote and sent out to my company on September 17, 2001, which was not part of the post back on 9/11/06:
I've noticed something in the last week that, to me, is very upsetting. While the rest of the country set aside their daily routines to pause and mourn the events of last Tuesday, there was hardly any recognition of the event here in the office. It was just business as usual, or so it seemed. I'm sure that everybody here was aware of what happened (judging by the apparent high use of the Internet), but the only conversations that I heard were about either the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings, the disruption of air travel, the cancellation of sporting events, or the closing of the stock market. I didn't hear anybody talk about the human tragedy or suggest something to do to help, and this disturbs me. Has anyone here donated blood or money? Did anyone here go to a memorial service? Did anyone here participate in the moment of silence on Friday? Was anyone even aware of it?
We tend to be myopic, focused on the task at hand. Meeting schedules, making budgets, keeping clients happy, and completing our tasks. These are the things that preoccupy our time and our thoughts. If something is not thrown in front of us we tend to put it aside and neglect it in favor of other things that we consider more important. While this high level of concentration may make us better engineers, it also makes us lousy people. Thousands of people died due to a random, senseless act of violence, and yet we go on with our jobs as if nothing happened. Thousands more may die defending our country against those who committed these acts, and all we can think about is how it affects our stock options or our future projects. Am I the only one who thinks that this is wrong? I sure hope not.
Not only should the events of last Tuesday show us how important our work is, but it should also show how unimportant it really is. How much of our work really affects the world at large? Not much, when you really think about it. The rescue workers currently digging through the wreckage of the World Trade Center are engaged in work that is far more important than what we are doing. So are the FBI investigators and possibly soon our armed forces. That's not to say that we should disregard our work as useless rubbage, but we should recognize that it's not the most important thing in the world, and that there are some very important things going on outside the walls of this office that we should be aware of and should care about.
So now we may be going to war. Some of you may not be concerned about this. You may think that because neither you nor your family is eligible for the draft, or because you are not a US citizen, or because you’re an engineer and not a soldier that it doesn't really matter to you whether we go to war or not. After all, if it doesn't affect you directly why should you care? We should care, not because it could affect our jobs but because it will affects our lives and the lives of everyone around us. I'd bet that the main reason you work here is because of the economic opportunity that this country, this city, and this office provides you that you can't get anywhere else. There's nothing wrong with pursuing economic opportunity, but you should remember that this opportunity comes with a price. A price that the workers and rescue crews in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon paid. A price that the passengers on the hijacked planes paid. A price that members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines may soon have to pay. A price that could be, and hopefully won't be, paid by someone you know. The people who died last Tuesday did so for everyone who is taking advantage of the economic opportunities and social freedoms that this country has to offer, regardless of their age, profession, or nationality. Think about that the next time you dismiss what has happened, and what may happen, as something that doesn't matter to you.
I'm not accusing anyone of being uncaring, and I hope that I’m not insulting anyone or putting my job on the line for saying this, but it worrisome to me that many people here appear to be acting as if nothing happened when in fact something has. Please remember that we are human beings first and engineers second, not the other way around.
I still try to remember...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Where in the Hell are This Kid's Parents?
A few weeks ago a 17 year old high school dropout returned to campus armed with 8 pipe bombs, a machete, and a chain saw. His intent was to set off the bombs and then when the students and teachers began running in panic from the bombs he was going to hack them with the machete and the saw. He managed to set off two of the bombs but didn't injure anybody because two teachers tackled him before he could start the chain saw.
The kid had dropped out of school the previous year and from notes the police found later they believe he had a grudge against one of the teachers there, who he apparently felt was responsible for his dropping out. He planned to use the chain saw and the machete instead of guns because he wanted to be more distinctive than the Columbine kids and others who have shot up schools. The kid is now in jail and is being charged as an adult for attempted murder and other charges.
I wonder, where in the hell are this kid's parents?
It was reported that the kid's parents divorced several years ago. He was living with his mom and sister in an apartment near the school. According to police the mother knew nothing about this plot. The boy's father lived in another town about 30 minutes away and when contacted by the press had no comment. The press was able to get a hold of the boy's grandmother back in New Jersey, and she told them that the kid was a bright boy who had never gotten into any kind of trouble before. Grandma also told the press that she spoke with her son, the boy's father, just the week before and they were talking about the boy going to college.
I suppose the grandma can be excused because she lives on the other side of the country, but there is no such excuse to the parents. They had to have known that he had dropped out of school, something that "bright" boys don't typically do. Why did he drop out? Was he depressed? Why didn't they notice that something was wrong? Why did they miss this one big hint? These are questions that the parents have yet to answer.
Even more amazing is that this kid bought chemicals over the Internet to make the pipe bombs, and some of those chemicals can only be bought by someone over the age of 18. So he had to have used one of his parents' credit cards to buy them, and so one of them had to have known and been OK with these purchases. There were reports that the mother did know about the chemical purchases (though no word if it was her credit card that was used) but thought they were toy rockets. WTF? You have a kid that dropped out of school and was buying explosives that kids his age were not allowed to buy and you were not at least a little bit suspicious about the toy rocket story?
And oh BTW, where the hell did he get the chain saw and the machete? The kid lived in an apartment and apartment dwellers don't usually have a need for landscaping power tools. I never heard what kind of dwelling the dad lives in, but if these tools were his then I wonder why he didn't notice that they were gone. Then again, if this guy really did think his dropout son was still going to college perhaps it is not that big of a surprise.
This to me illustrates one of the biggest social problems out there, parents who are not parents to their children. If even one of this kid's parents were paying attention to what their son was up to then this incident could have been prevented without the heroic efforts of two teachers and the dependence on chance that the chain saw would not start. Have you noticed that you almost never hear from the parents of kids who commit acts like this? I don't ever remember hearing from the parents of the boys who shot up Columbine, and I think there was only a short apology from the family of the guy who shot up Virginia Tech. I can accept that they are too embarrassed to say anything to the public, but quite honestly they should be embarrassed for the shoddy parenting job that they did. Hell, shoddy may be too kind of a word. I know parenting is hard, but how much attention would it have taken for these parents to stop their kids from shooting up or blowing up schools? Certainly not more than what any caring parent is capable of giving.
It's funny that the social conservatives are all bent out of shape by gay marriage because of the potential "harm" such relationships would have on children and on society. Well, which do you think is a greater harm to society, a kid that decides to be a homosexual or a kid that decides to shoot up his school? I'll take the gay kid any day of the week.
Now if you want an example of a single parent who was able to be a parent, I offer up to you on Shirley Partridge.
Not only was she a single mom with 5 kids, but these kids were also in a rock band together. A sure recipe for disaster you'd think, but not only did Shirley keep her kids on the straight and narrow she actually joined their band and performed with them. And when she needed a father figure to step in she did not hesitate to call in Mr. Kincaid to help, especially with that hell raiser Danny. If a single mom with 5 kids in a rock band can raise them without the kids turning into psychopaths then why can't others?
Yes, there was that drug thing that Danny did, but that was years after the show was cancelled.
The kid had dropped out of school the previous year and from notes the police found later they believe he had a grudge against one of the teachers there, who he apparently felt was responsible for his dropping out. He planned to use the chain saw and the machete instead of guns because he wanted to be more distinctive than the Columbine kids and others who have shot up schools. The kid is now in jail and is being charged as an adult for attempted murder and other charges.
I wonder, where in the hell are this kid's parents?
It was reported that the kid's parents divorced several years ago. He was living with his mom and sister in an apartment near the school. According to police the mother knew nothing about this plot. The boy's father lived in another town about 30 minutes away and when contacted by the press had no comment. The press was able to get a hold of the boy's grandmother back in New Jersey, and she told them that the kid was a bright boy who had never gotten into any kind of trouble before. Grandma also told the press that she spoke with her son, the boy's father, just the week before and they were talking about the boy going to college.
I suppose the grandma can be excused because she lives on the other side of the country, but there is no such excuse to the parents. They had to have known that he had dropped out of school, something that "bright" boys don't typically do. Why did he drop out? Was he depressed? Why didn't they notice that something was wrong? Why did they miss this one big hint? These are questions that the parents have yet to answer.
Even more amazing is that this kid bought chemicals over the Internet to make the pipe bombs, and some of those chemicals can only be bought by someone over the age of 18. So he had to have used one of his parents' credit cards to buy them, and so one of them had to have known and been OK with these purchases. There were reports that the mother did know about the chemical purchases (though no word if it was her credit card that was used) but thought they were toy rockets. WTF? You have a kid that dropped out of school and was buying explosives that kids his age were not allowed to buy and you were not at least a little bit suspicious about the toy rocket story?
And oh BTW, where the hell did he get the chain saw and the machete? The kid lived in an apartment and apartment dwellers don't usually have a need for landscaping power tools. I never heard what kind of dwelling the dad lives in, but if these tools were his then I wonder why he didn't notice that they were gone. Then again, if this guy really did think his dropout son was still going to college perhaps it is not that big of a surprise.
This to me illustrates one of the biggest social problems out there, parents who are not parents to their children. If even one of this kid's parents were paying attention to what their son was up to then this incident could have been prevented without the heroic efforts of two teachers and the dependence on chance that the chain saw would not start. Have you noticed that you almost never hear from the parents of kids who commit acts like this? I don't ever remember hearing from the parents of the boys who shot up Columbine, and I think there was only a short apology from the family of the guy who shot up Virginia Tech. I can accept that they are too embarrassed to say anything to the public, but quite honestly they should be embarrassed for the shoddy parenting job that they did. Hell, shoddy may be too kind of a word. I know parenting is hard, but how much attention would it have taken for these parents to stop their kids from shooting up or blowing up schools? Certainly not more than what any caring parent is capable of giving.
It's funny that the social conservatives are all bent out of shape by gay marriage because of the potential "harm" such relationships would have on children and on society. Well, which do you think is a greater harm to society, a kid that decides to be a homosexual or a kid that decides to shoot up his school? I'll take the gay kid any day of the week.
Now if you want an example of a single parent who was able to be a parent, I offer up to you on Shirley Partridge.
Not only was she a single mom with 5 kids, but these kids were also in a rock band together. A sure recipe for disaster you'd think, but not only did Shirley keep her kids on the straight and narrow she actually joined their band and performed with them. And when she needed a father figure to step in she did not hesitate to call in Mr. Kincaid to help, especially with that hell raiser Danny. If a single mom with 5 kids in a rock band can raise them without the kids turning into psychopaths then why can't others?
Yes, there was that drug thing that Danny did, but that was years after the show was cancelled.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Price of One's Supper
Did you know that this Labor Day there will be a national potluck/eat-in organized by Slow Food USA? Apparently folks are supposed to bring potluck lunches to 250 events across the country where there will be speeches and petitions calling for healthier food in the nation’s public schools.
While I take no issue with improving the food in schools, I do take issue with the political correctness and arrogance of the entire “slow food” movement. I wrote back in March that the school lunch program in Berkeley that is being held up as a national model was projecting a $250,000 deficit this year and that the champion of the program, Alice Waters, was not planning on contributing any more money to the program because she wants the parents of the school kids to foot the bill. The Berkeley school board had been subsidizing the program and had considered cutting that subsidy to save money, but at the last minute decided to continue the program for one more year hoping that they can convince enough parents to pay into it, and at the same time raise the prices to help make up the debt. "I wish more of our families would make a commitment to (eating the hot lunches)," said district Superintendent William Huyett during the school board meeting. "We're asking for 25 cents more and we know it's hard times, but what we feed our children is important."
And what are they feeding the children of Berkeley? Whole chickens, hormone and antibiotic free hamburgers and hot dogs, California-grown organic rice and beans, fruit from local farmers, whole grain bread, and so on. In other words, politically correct food. Food that is not produced by a large agri-business corporation. Food that you often see at those slow food festivals that Slow Food USA, Slow Food Nation, and other organizations like them put on.
One such festival was recently held here in beautiful Oakland. The organizers of this festival, Eat Real, wanted to stage a more affordable slow food festival than the $60 a plate haughty events that Slow Food Nation holds in San Francisco and other places. Admission was free and the food prices were around $5 a plate. Sounds great, right? Well, here is a partial list of vendors who participated at Eat Real: barbecue, wood-fired pizza (utilizing local ingredients), crème brulee, Southern soul food, Mexican food, microbrewed beer, and ice cream. Now, if the goal is to have people, especially kids, eat healthier food then I for one wonder about the choice of vendors. I happen to know the barbecue vendors personally and while their tri-tip and pulled pork sandwiches are absolutely delicious it is not exactly healthy. I swear I can sometimes feel my arteries hardening while I am enjoying their meat. While it is debatable how much of the food served at Eat Real was in fact healthy (not just the BBQ, everything), there was one thing we can all be sure of, none was produced or sponsored by large food corporations.
I think that is the real target of these slow fooders, evil fast food corporations like McDonald’s and KFC and evil agri-business like Archer Daniels Midland, and like the social conservatives that want to ban rap music, Playboy, and Internet soft porn sites, they are using children as a totem to convince everybody else to do what they want. There is this push for lunch programs like in Berkeley, an incessant cry to remove soda machines from school campuses, and the occasional local bill calling for a ban on fast food restaurants, as if these alone are making kids fat, lazy, and stupid. How about the video games? Or the schools that have cut PE? Or most importantly the parents who are not supervising their children’s eating and playing habits? These people seem to think that the cure for all of our social ills, including escalating health care costs and failing kids, is to put Burger King, Coca-Cola, and their brethren out of business and force everyone to eat whole grain bread and free range chicken.
Look, I am not trying to argue that people won’t get sick and die if they eat Taco Bell every day. I’m trying to argue that this is supposed to be a free country and we should have the right to choose if we want to eat whole grain bread or a Chalupa Supreme, and we should identify arrogant do-gooders like Slow Food Nation as the politically correct police that they really are. If you want to eat organic tofu that’s fine with me, as long as you don’t get in my grill and tell me how stupid I am for not doing the same.
Continuing my theme of tying in 70’s TV personalities with the subject of my rants, I’d like to close with a brief shout-out to culinary student Jack Tripper. While Jack was a master of the culinary arts and given how skinny he was probably ate a healthy diet, you never heard him lecture Janet, Chrissy, Cindy, Terri, Larry, the Ropers, or even Mr. Farley about the food that they ate. No, Jack was a live and let live kind of guy, which was all the rage back in 1978 but seems to have all but disappeared from our society now.
While I take no issue with improving the food in schools, I do take issue with the political correctness and arrogance of the entire “slow food” movement. I wrote back in March that the school lunch program in Berkeley that is being held up as a national model was projecting a $250,000 deficit this year and that the champion of the program, Alice Waters, was not planning on contributing any more money to the program because she wants the parents of the school kids to foot the bill. The Berkeley school board had been subsidizing the program and had considered cutting that subsidy to save money, but at the last minute decided to continue the program for one more year hoping that they can convince enough parents to pay into it, and at the same time raise the prices to help make up the debt. "I wish more of our families would make a commitment to (eating the hot lunches)," said district Superintendent William Huyett during the school board meeting. "We're asking for 25 cents more and we know it's hard times, but what we feed our children is important."
And what are they feeding the children of Berkeley? Whole chickens, hormone and antibiotic free hamburgers and hot dogs, California-grown organic rice and beans, fruit from local farmers, whole grain bread, and so on. In other words, politically correct food. Food that is not produced by a large agri-business corporation. Food that you often see at those slow food festivals that Slow Food USA, Slow Food Nation, and other organizations like them put on.
One such festival was recently held here in beautiful Oakland. The organizers of this festival, Eat Real, wanted to stage a more affordable slow food festival than the $60 a plate haughty events that Slow Food Nation holds in San Francisco and other places. Admission was free and the food prices were around $5 a plate. Sounds great, right? Well, here is a partial list of vendors who participated at Eat Real: barbecue, wood-fired pizza (utilizing local ingredients), crème brulee, Southern soul food, Mexican food, microbrewed beer, and ice cream. Now, if the goal is to have people, especially kids, eat healthier food then I for one wonder about the choice of vendors. I happen to know the barbecue vendors personally and while their tri-tip and pulled pork sandwiches are absolutely delicious it is not exactly healthy. I swear I can sometimes feel my arteries hardening while I am enjoying their meat. While it is debatable how much of the food served at Eat Real was in fact healthy (not just the BBQ, everything), there was one thing we can all be sure of, none was produced or sponsored by large food corporations.
I think that is the real target of these slow fooders, evil fast food corporations like McDonald’s and KFC and evil agri-business like Archer Daniels Midland, and like the social conservatives that want to ban rap music, Playboy, and Internet soft porn sites, they are using children as a totem to convince everybody else to do what they want. There is this push for lunch programs like in Berkeley, an incessant cry to remove soda machines from school campuses, and the occasional local bill calling for a ban on fast food restaurants, as if these alone are making kids fat, lazy, and stupid. How about the video games? Or the schools that have cut PE? Or most importantly the parents who are not supervising their children’s eating and playing habits? These people seem to think that the cure for all of our social ills, including escalating health care costs and failing kids, is to put Burger King, Coca-Cola, and their brethren out of business and force everyone to eat whole grain bread and free range chicken.
Look, I am not trying to argue that people won’t get sick and die if they eat Taco Bell every day. I’m trying to argue that this is supposed to be a free country and we should have the right to choose if we want to eat whole grain bread or a Chalupa Supreme, and we should identify arrogant do-gooders like Slow Food Nation as the politically correct police that they really are. If you want to eat organic tofu that’s fine with me, as long as you don’t get in my grill and tell me how stupid I am for not doing the same.
Continuing my theme of tying in 70’s TV personalities with the subject of my rants, I’d like to close with a brief shout-out to culinary student Jack Tripper. While Jack was a master of the culinary arts and given how skinny he was probably ate a healthy diet, you never heard him lecture Janet, Chrissy, Cindy, Terri, Larry, the Ropers, or even Mr. Farley about the food that they ate. No, Jack was a live and let live kind of guy, which was all the rage back in 1978 but seems to have all but disappeared from our society now.
Now this is what I need, a female version of this guy who can cook dinner for me in less than 22 minutes (including commercials of course) and do so with a smile on his face and without a lecture.
My goodness, 2 posts in 2 days. As you may have guessed I have been saving up...
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
To Protect and To Serve
It's been a bad week for the cops in my area. Heck it's been a bad year really, but these week the blue s*** really hit the fan.
First we discovered that a convicted sex offender had been hiding a kidnapped girl in his backyard for 18 years until the police finally discovered the girl and the two daughters that the kidnapper had fathered. What is bothersome here is that the local law enforcement authorities, including the police, the sheriff, and the feds all knew about this guy. He was subject to frequent visits from parole officers and not once, not once, did any of them bother to check out the backyard. People reported seeing this guy with daughters that he was not supposed to have and yet no one bothered to check on that. The dude's next door neighbor even called the police a couple of years ago saying that there were kids living in the backyard, but the officer who responded to the call didn't search the backyard at all. He now claims that he needed a warrant to do the search, but don't you think he could have gotten one considering the man whose home he was searching was a registered sex offender? The cop also claimed that he didn't know the guy was a registered sex offender even though anybody, yes even you, could have found this out with a couple of mouse clicks here. Even more bizarre, a few months after the kidnapping the guy was caught growing marijuana and did time because it was a parole violation, but again nobody bothered to search the backyard even though he was caught growing weed.
The sheriff has issued an apology and claims "full responsibility" for what happened. What exactly does "full responsibility" mean though? He hasn't resigned, he hasn't fired any deputies, he hasn't taken a pay cut, he hasn't donated anything to the victims, he hasn't done anything except say that he was sorry. It is so easy to claim "full responsibility" when it does not mean anything. You have multiple lives who are ruined forever in part because of the incompetence of this guy and the people who he is responsible for, and yet he thinks, or perhaps hopes, that he can claim "full responsibility" and bring his involvement to closure. Quite honestly it should not work that way.
And then there is the case of a missing 5 year old boy here in my home town. The boy disappeared about two weeks ago from the back of a shoe store where his foster father left him while he went inside to visit the foster mother. The cops claim that they could not find any evidence that the boy was ever at the shoe store but found a text message from the father saying that he was so frustrated with the boy that he was going to live the kid at a train station. So what do these Barney Fife's do? Arrest both foster parents for murder and pressure them to rat on each other. Of course the DA has no evidence to support these arrests so both parents had to be set free, and now the cops have two angry and uncooperative parents on their hands who have hired an attorney who loves the TV news cameras and really loves high profile police misconduct lawsuits, not to mention a community that already distrusts the police and is still ticked off about the guy who got shot by a cop at a train station back on New Years. That's one hell of a risk to take when they have nothing to charge either of them with. Did they really think they would get that lucky? Now we may never know what happened to this boy.
Normally I would give the police the benefit of the doubt but neither of these incidents deserve that kind of leniency, and the cops are certainly not doing themselves any favors or inspiring any confidence among the citizenry that these folks are sworn to defend.
Now that my ranting is done I can briefly talk about a cop who always inspired confidence, T. J. Hooker. Variety says that T.J. is coming to the silver screen but it doesn't say whether or not the guy who played him, William Shatner, will be back in the saddle playing the part that allowed Shat to avoid being typecast as a starship captain with a dramatic flair.
Now see, this is what we need, more men in blue with a heart of gold and the ability to slide across a car hood without one hair out of place.
His mere look just exudes trust and confidence. You know if T.J. were on the case both kidnapped kids would have been found within an hour, or 52 minutes if you count the commercials.
First we discovered that a convicted sex offender had been hiding a kidnapped girl in his backyard for 18 years until the police finally discovered the girl and the two daughters that the kidnapper had fathered. What is bothersome here is that the local law enforcement authorities, including the police, the sheriff, and the feds all knew about this guy. He was subject to frequent visits from parole officers and not once, not once, did any of them bother to check out the backyard. People reported seeing this guy with daughters that he was not supposed to have and yet no one bothered to check on that. The dude's next door neighbor even called the police a couple of years ago saying that there were kids living in the backyard, but the officer who responded to the call didn't search the backyard at all. He now claims that he needed a warrant to do the search, but don't you think he could have gotten one considering the man whose home he was searching was a registered sex offender? The cop also claimed that he didn't know the guy was a registered sex offender even though anybody, yes even you, could have found this out with a couple of mouse clicks here. Even more bizarre, a few months after the kidnapping the guy was caught growing marijuana and did time because it was a parole violation, but again nobody bothered to search the backyard even though he was caught growing weed.
The sheriff has issued an apology and claims "full responsibility" for what happened. What exactly does "full responsibility" mean though? He hasn't resigned, he hasn't fired any deputies, he hasn't taken a pay cut, he hasn't donated anything to the victims, he hasn't done anything except say that he was sorry. It is so easy to claim "full responsibility" when it does not mean anything. You have multiple lives who are ruined forever in part because of the incompetence of this guy and the people who he is responsible for, and yet he thinks, or perhaps hopes, that he can claim "full responsibility" and bring his involvement to closure. Quite honestly it should not work that way.
And then there is the case of a missing 5 year old boy here in my home town. The boy disappeared about two weeks ago from the back of a shoe store where his foster father left him while he went inside to visit the foster mother. The cops claim that they could not find any evidence that the boy was ever at the shoe store but found a text message from the father saying that he was so frustrated with the boy that he was going to live the kid at a train station. So what do these Barney Fife's do? Arrest both foster parents for murder and pressure them to rat on each other. Of course the DA has no evidence to support these arrests so both parents had to be set free, and now the cops have two angry and uncooperative parents on their hands who have hired an attorney who loves the TV news cameras and really loves high profile police misconduct lawsuits, not to mention a community that already distrusts the police and is still ticked off about the guy who got shot by a cop at a train station back on New Years. That's one hell of a risk to take when they have nothing to charge either of them with. Did they really think they would get that lucky? Now we may never know what happened to this boy.
Normally I would give the police the benefit of the doubt but neither of these incidents deserve that kind of leniency, and the cops are certainly not doing themselves any favors or inspiring any confidence among the citizenry that these folks are sworn to defend.
Now that my ranting is done I can briefly talk about a cop who always inspired confidence, T. J. Hooker. Variety says that T.J. is coming to the silver screen but it doesn't say whether or not the guy who played him, William Shatner, will be back in the saddle playing the part that allowed Shat to avoid being typecast as a starship captain with a dramatic flair.
Now see, this is what we need, more men in blue with a heart of gold and the ability to slide across a car hood without one hair out of place.
His mere look just exudes trust and confidence. You know if T.J. were on the case both kidnapped kids would have been found within an hour, or 52 minutes if you count the commercials.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
All the Evil in the World
Is it just me, or have people become more combative about their personal space?
Yesterday I was at a signalled intersection waiting to turn left. There was a woman with two little kids in tow. Just before they get to the curb one of the little kids turns and stares at my truck, slowing her pace while doing so. I had already started sloooowly inching my way into the turn at this point but I was still a good 15-20 feet away. Nevertheless, the woman turns to see what her daughter is looking at and then gives me a evil look as if I was about to hit them!
By the way, this is not my actual truck, just a simulation. Still, it does look kind of evil...
Yesterday I was at a signalled intersection waiting to turn left. There was a woman with two little kids in tow. Just before they get to the curb one of the little kids turns and stares at my truck, slowing her pace while doing so. I had already started sloooowly inching my way into the turn at this point but I was still a good 15-20 feet away. Nevertheless, the woman turns to see what her daughter is looking at and then gives me a evil look as if I was about to hit them!
Then a couple of weeks ago I was at another signalled intersection about a mile away from the previous one. This time I was waiting to make a right turn. The signal turned green as another woman, this time with a stroller and an adult friend in tow, starts into the intersection at the same time I am starting my turn. Again, I was a good 15-20 feet away, but this time the woman glared at me and shouts "you're an asshole!"
I had yet another similar incident the week before at an intersection a few miles away from the other two. Again I was about to make a right turn, but this time I stopped and allowed a small family at the intersection to enter the crosswalk. However, I guess I stopped too close to their personal space because they all, including the little girl, gave me an evil glare.
What the hell is up with these people? Must I stop 20 feet away and wait for you to mosey your way across the street and another half block after that before I make my turn?
Maybe it is my truck. I do live in a very liberal, I mean "progressive" area, so maybe it is the fact that I drive a gas guzzling pickup that is causing me to become public enemy #1. I guess if I drove a Prius instead I could run them over and still not be subjected to the hateful glare. Anybody want to buy a truck like this?
I had yet another similar incident the week before at an intersection a few miles away from the other two. Again I was about to make a right turn, but this time I stopped and allowed a small family at the intersection to enter the crosswalk. However, I guess I stopped too close to their personal space because they all, including the little girl, gave me an evil glare.
What the hell is up with these people? Must I stop 20 feet away and wait for you to mosey your way across the street and another half block after that before I make my turn?
Maybe it is my truck. I do live in a very liberal, I mean "progressive" area, so maybe it is the fact that I drive a gas guzzling pickup that is causing me to become public enemy #1. I guess if I drove a Prius instead I could run them over and still not be subjected to the hateful glare. Anybody want to buy a truck like this?
By the way, this is not my actual truck, just a simulation. Still, it does look kind of evil...
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Yes We Can, Now In Fruity Flavors!
One of my co-workers just returned from a trip to Africa and brought us this souvenir from Kenya, a box of Obama chewing gum. Yes, Obama chewing gum. It appears some entrepreneur in Barack Obama's ancestral land has decided to honor the 44th President of the United States by naming chewing gum after him. What is interesting here is that not only does the box feature the now standard photo of Obama in his presidential pose, it also features Michelle Obama and the two kids Sasha and Malia too. In fact the girls get more screen time than their dad. Like the old adage about ads goes, you can't go wrong with kids or dogs.
The co-worker who brought this into the office left a note tagged to the box: "Don't expect the flavor to last more than 5 minutes." I wasn't sure if that was a criticism of the gum or a political statement. Or both.
Funny, I don't recall anyone making a Bush chewing gum, though I can understand why there was no Cheney chewing gum. I would have been really hard to make those bugging devices chewable.
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