I am learning as I go with this thing and, at first, I figured I would schedule a day to write--being a person of some rigidity. But, I have learned that it doesn't work that way for me. I have to wait until my stomach starts to gurgle--and yup, today it has notified me it is time to write.
So does paranoia annoya? Here are two examples of mine:
1A. If the big zoo were in Stoneham and the little zoo were in Roxbury, don't you think that the one in Roxbury would have been done and gone already? This whole thing about having two zoos in the midst of the budget craziness smacks to me a bit of protecting our north shore brethren from having to actually come into the city and see some folks who might not look like them and perhaps are not the same color.
1B. That CEO guy from Blue Cross (Killingsworth)--Never saw him on TV before and now he is all over the place assuring us of their commitment to quality and prevention. A bit of interesting timing given the discussions in Washington. Where was he before?
2. All of you awaiting the arrival of Mr. Baker and his run for Governor, be careful what you wish for. His first endorsement came from Curt Schilling who only is slightly to the right of Rush Limbaugh. And not as smart.
3. Okay all you Red Flop fans, here it comes--remember A-Rod (who,I actually don't even like), remember his bout with the media over steroids, remember all of you pointing fingers at those dreaded Yankees and how they cheated--remember all that and how pious our Globe was? Well it sure seems that Big Papi and Manny were in that line too. A very long line I might add--and a very distressing scandal that is not close to being over. The Globe of course is leading the parade of righteous indignation much like they led the parade of piety. One wonders what their reporters knew before the NY Times (their step parent) broke the story. I do admit that Shaughnessy's article today (he is a nemesis of mine) was right on.
4. Jon Stewart absolutely skewered Bill Kristol (he is one of the leading Neocons--in many ways, mainly intellectual,scarier than Rush)about Health Care.
Sayonara
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
RANT
This is a for real rant. So, prior to Barack's news conference last night, I had already seen some yakkers on the internet discussing whether or not he was over exposing himself. Now, we just had a president who barely spoke complete sentences and hid away from the press. Backed up by a Vice President who acted like Darth Vader and, as we now know, might have done some serious illegal things. I was already worried.
Then I watched the news conference. Truth be told, I thought he may have talked a bit too much and perhaps over complicated some things--but at the same time, he seems determined to "share". Which I think is good.
The news conference is over, the yakkers come on, and BOOM--first comments are not about health care which only took up about 50 of the 55 minutes. They are about Gates and the Cambridge police. The yakkers believed that the first 50 minutes were more of the same and the last 5 minutes would be today's headlines. This guy is taking the lead on a major reform, answers a bunch of tough skeptical questions,and the yakkers skip right over it.
Moving ahead to this morning. Pick up the paper and what do you know--the yakkers were right. Big headline is about Gates and smaller headline is about healthcare. Now I do "get" racial profiling and do believe it exists and this situation was an ugly mess. But, relatively speaking, it represented 5 out of 55 minutes. I am holding my head so it does not break into fragments. First of all the yakkers set the tone and practically told the world what the headline should be and, second, what about healthcare?
gawd almighty.
Then I watched the news conference. Truth be told, I thought he may have talked a bit too much and perhaps over complicated some things--but at the same time, he seems determined to "share". Which I think is good.
The news conference is over, the yakkers come on, and BOOM--first comments are not about health care which only took up about 50 of the 55 minutes. They are about Gates and the Cambridge police. The yakkers believed that the first 50 minutes were more of the same and the last 5 minutes would be today's headlines. This guy is taking the lead on a major reform, answers a bunch of tough skeptical questions,and the yakkers skip right over it.
Moving ahead to this morning. Pick up the paper and what do you know--the yakkers were right. Big headline is about Gates and smaller headline is about healthcare. Now I do "get" racial profiling and do believe it exists and this situation was an ugly mess. But, relatively speaking, it represented 5 out of 55 minutes. I am holding my head so it does not break into fragments. First of all the yakkers set the tone and practically told the world what the headline should be and, second, what about healthcare?
gawd almighty.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
odds and ends
babs and i went to nj and nyc this past weekend. noticed a couple of things. the globe truly has become the stepchild of the times. it is thinner for one thing. and for another the times does not use very many wire services or wire reports--the globe is chock full of them. kind of like stepchildren in a dysfunctional family. i do think it needs a local buyout. second, neal, tess, anna, and i went to see the Brooklyn cyclones on coney island--a class A minor league team of the ny mets. just a gorgeous night though the nathan hot dogs inside were a bit lower in quality than the ones from the original stand just outside the stadium (those greasy grills must be 100's of years old). but minor league baseball is very special. young kids playing ball in a small stadium (seats about 3500) with the roller coaster visible over the left field fence and the no longer used parachute ride visible along the right field foul pole. been to three of these small fields now and have a trip to maine in august to see the sea dogs of portland. love them all
a long time ago, i visited brooklyn, played stickball with my orthodox cousin joseph in the street, went on the parachute jump, used tefillin for the very first time, and saw a game at ebbets field. on our way to maine we had made this stop to visit relatives who never moved onto maine after their arrival from europe. i believe joseph remains somewhere near mt. holyoke college where he was or still is a professor.
so sessions will lose his fight but did get sonia a bit on the defensive--now they will hold things up a week just to show folks they have some back bone. but she will get approved. some of those reublicans are just unpleasant and/or stupid--has anyone ever seen that cantor guy from virginia--oh my and i am deeply worried he is a member of my tribe.
we should all worry about health care however. just hope he gets tough about it tomorrow night. all the yakkers are yakking about his ability to win this one (and of course what it means to his presidency in just the 6th month) which is even more of a reason to be sure he does win. but given the experience here in mass., it will be a bank breaker and the hospitals will not lose in any of these deals. we are"all insured" here but it is costing a fortune and people are still clogging up er's partly because there are no primary care physicians available.
WARNING--SPORTS TALK FOLLOWS: Sorry charles but i have no clue why the jays would trade halliday. dont care what they get back. he could be a hall of famer and could win 300 games. gotta give him the $$$ and maybe lose wells.
am very excited about mr. brady and the boys coming back in a couple of weeks. i do believe belichik is special even if i think his act is a bit boring at this point. do love him for not wearing a tie on the sidelines.
my yanks have pulled up even with those bloody sox who do miss manny's bat but not his attitude. i do believe ortiz's problems reflect partly manny's absence. he can get pitched around without any worries that someone will hurt them deep.
SPORTS TALK OVER
I hate it when olberman and/or jon stewart are on vacation--their replacements are just not good. lewis black was on stewart as a guest last night and had me in tears. bob and i are going to see him in august. plus the big news is that john prine is coming here in november. with patti griffin.
we visit charles and myra this weekend in newport at the same time that jess and her family head for germany for a month. we will miss them but are looking forward to our time in newport
charles and i have been friends now for almost 60 years and it feels very special.
the memorial for sy was this past sunday. i found it very sad but they gave out bookmarks with his picture on them--a voracious reader and learner, this was a perfect "gift" for us to hold onto.
more later.
a long time ago, i visited brooklyn, played stickball with my orthodox cousin joseph in the street, went on the parachute jump, used tefillin for the very first time, and saw a game at ebbets field. on our way to maine we had made this stop to visit relatives who never moved onto maine after their arrival from europe. i believe joseph remains somewhere near mt. holyoke college where he was or still is a professor.
so sessions will lose his fight but did get sonia a bit on the defensive--now they will hold things up a week just to show folks they have some back bone. but she will get approved. some of those reublicans are just unpleasant and/or stupid--has anyone ever seen that cantor guy from virginia--oh my and i am deeply worried he is a member of my tribe.
we should all worry about health care however. just hope he gets tough about it tomorrow night. all the yakkers are yakking about his ability to win this one (and of course what it means to his presidency in just the 6th month) which is even more of a reason to be sure he does win. but given the experience here in mass., it will be a bank breaker and the hospitals will not lose in any of these deals. we are"all insured" here but it is costing a fortune and people are still clogging up er's partly because there are no primary care physicians available.
WARNING--SPORTS TALK FOLLOWS: Sorry charles but i have no clue why the jays would trade halliday. dont care what they get back. he could be a hall of famer and could win 300 games. gotta give him the $$$ and maybe lose wells.
am very excited about mr. brady and the boys coming back in a couple of weeks. i do believe belichik is special even if i think his act is a bit boring at this point. do love him for not wearing a tie on the sidelines.
my yanks have pulled up even with those bloody sox who do miss manny's bat but not his attitude. i do believe ortiz's problems reflect partly manny's absence. he can get pitched around without any worries that someone will hurt them deep.
SPORTS TALK OVER
I hate it when olberman and/or jon stewart are on vacation--their replacements are just not good. lewis black was on stewart as a guest last night and had me in tears. bob and i are going to see him in august. plus the big news is that john prine is coming here in november. with patti griffin.
we visit charles and myra this weekend in newport at the same time that jess and her family head for germany for a month. we will miss them but are looking forward to our time in newport
charles and i have been friends now for almost 60 years and it feels very special.
the memorial for sy was this past sunday. i found it very sad but they gave out bookmarks with his picture on them--a voracious reader and learner, this was a perfect "gift" for us to hold onto.
more later.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Some random thoughts:
-If you wish, enjoy Michael Jackson's music. But don't forget this is a person who allowed little boys to sleep in his bed with him. Oh sure never convicted; but in my book he is more likely a pedophile than he is a person to be admired. The same goes for Woody Allen--love his movies at times; but he could easily be identified as someone who committed incest.
-As the Globe gets thinner and thinner, they also are relying more and more on wire services and journalists from other papers. Check the bylines out. Which only makes it more and more obvious that the best writers in the Globe are in the sports pages (even if you hate sports). Bob Ryan and Kevin Paul Dupont to name just two are extraordinary writers--articulate, insightful, humorous.
-I am quite tired of shrines/flowers placed at scenes of alcohol fueled car accident deaths. Always young people. Seems almost done by rote and loses any meaningfulness.
-Senator Sessions is a true idiot. Rejected by his current colleagues when he was proposed for the federal bench because of his "extreme racial views". He is now giving Sonia lessons on proper use of the language. Give me a break. Truly astonishing to see a bunch of white boys sitting in judgement. Jeffrey Toobin in a recent New Yorker put this in perspective with a cogent article about our esteemed Chief Justice and the pattern of his votes.
-Going to NYC this Thursday and, instead of seeing my Yankees, will go with Anna, Neal, and Tess to see the Cyclones play on Coney Island. Will definitely catch a foul ball.
-The sadly will return for Sy's memorial on Sunday.
Sayonara
-If you wish, enjoy Michael Jackson's music. But don't forget this is a person who allowed little boys to sleep in his bed with him. Oh sure never convicted; but in my book he is more likely a pedophile than he is a person to be admired. The same goes for Woody Allen--love his movies at times; but he could easily be identified as someone who committed incest.
-As the Globe gets thinner and thinner, they also are relying more and more on wire services and journalists from other papers. Check the bylines out. Which only makes it more and more obvious that the best writers in the Globe are in the sports pages (even if you hate sports). Bob Ryan and Kevin Paul Dupont to name just two are extraordinary writers--articulate, insightful, humorous.
-I am quite tired of shrines/flowers placed at scenes of alcohol fueled car accident deaths. Always young people. Seems almost done by rote and loses any meaningfulness.
-Senator Sessions is a true idiot. Rejected by his current colleagues when he was proposed for the federal bench because of his "extreme racial views". He is now giving Sonia lessons on proper use of the language. Give me a break. Truly astonishing to see a bunch of white boys sitting in judgement. Jeffrey Toobin in a recent New Yorker put this in perspective with a cogent article about our esteemed Chief Justice and the pattern of his votes.
-Going to NYC this Thursday and, instead of seeing my Yankees, will go with Anna, Neal, and Tess to see the Cyclones play on Coney Island. Will definitely catch a foul ball.
-The sadly will return for Sy's memorial on Sunday.
Sayonara
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The alternative title for this was to be : "all the stuff Barbara no longer wanted to listen to". My initial goal was to rant and rave-complain and probably whine. I may yet get there. But, as always, life (or in this case death) intruded.
Many headlines are devoted to which athlete or which star is a good role model for the rest of us especially younger folks. I barely have time to figure that out--but tend to think we need to find our role models closer to us. People who are in our lives at home, in the community, at work, or in the circle of friends we have. I was lucky--Sy was my role model and he died this past Monday.
He was (and will remain) my role model because for 20 odd years he battled cancer with dignity, with anger, and without giving up his life. He remained a curmudgeon (and I say that both positively and respectfully since I am another curmudgeon without any of Sy's redeeming qualities). He cared about me, my family, and all our ups and downs. He inquired about them and listened to my responses. He was happy if we were all doing well and he said so. He cared about politics in a savvy non- doctrinal way. He ate anything and everything for all of those 20 years and annually celebrated our first bar bq of the season with us--not caring a bit about cholesterol, fried food, or calories.
He loved Joan, Ruthbea, Neil, and eventually his twin grandchildren. I saw a great picture of him with those grandchildren just this morning--he looked great and happy. I wanted him back so we could be grandfathers together--full of complaints about them but deeply in love with and committed to them at the same time.
He never once complained about his fight (except to bitterly complain about health care in general), walked to chemo for the longest time, was not visibly saddened by his fate, and cared about the world around him even at the end of his life. He argued but never held a grudge. We disagreed and not politely--but I never felt demeaned or put down or worried that this would end our relationship.
Mainly, mainly, he cared about me--I felt it deeply and feel his loss even more. I cannot imagine who will "apprciate" my anger like he did. He is my role model and I will live with that thought and his memory for as long as I am alive.
Many headlines are devoted to which athlete or which star is a good role model for the rest of us especially younger folks. I barely have time to figure that out--but tend to think we need to find our role models closer to us. People who are in our lives at home, in the community, at work, or in the circle of friends we have. I was lucky--Sy was my role model and he died this past Monday.
He was (and will remain) my role model because for 20 odd years he battled cancer with dignity, with anger, and without giving up his life. He remained a curmudgeon (and I say that both positively and respectfully since I am another curmudgeon without any of Sy's redeeming qualities). He cared about me, my family, and all our ups and downs. He inquired about them and listened to my responses. He was happy if we were all doing well and he said so. He cared about politics in a savvy non- doctrinal way. He ate anything and everything for all of those 20 years and annually celebrated our first bar bq of the season with us--not caring a bit about cholesterol, fried food, or calories.
He loved Joan, Ruthbea, Neil, and eventually his twin grandchildren. I saw a great picture of him with those grandchildren just this morning--he looked great and happy. I wanted him back so we could be grandfathers together--full of complaints about them but deeply in love with and committed to them at the same time.
He never once complained about his fight (except to bitterly complain about health care in general), walked to chemo for the longest time, was not visibly saddened by his fate, and cared about the world around him even at the end of his life. He argued but never held a grudge. We disagreed and not politely--but I never felt demeaned or put down or worried that this would end our relationship.
Mainly, mainly, he cared about me--I felt it deeply and feel his loss even more. I cannot imagine who will "apprciate" my anger like he did. He is my role model and I will live with that thought and his memory for as long as I am alive.
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