But they likely will because I cannot put my thoughts/feelings into words which adequately describe yesterday's massacre in Newtown. My first thought: As a parent, I sent my kids off to school and never ever thought I would never see them alive again. How can that be understood? Second thought: I was with Oliver and Lilli last weekend. I walked Lilli to the bus and accompanied Jess to Oliver's school--I am sure neither Jess nor I ever had the thought that this was the last time we would see them alive. Third thought: More gruesome than the first two, I thought that this small town probably did not have enough child sized caskets to deal with the tragedy. There are not final thoughts since I will not get closure on this ever. I can say this: I don't want to hear any talking heads telling me how to interpret this 5 full minutes after it occurred. I don't want to see any more memorials with flowers. I don't want to hear from instant diagnosticians who did not know the perpetrator but can diagnose what his "illness" was. I don't want to hear from the NRA. I deeply respect Obama's words and, if you saw him yesterday, you know he felt this as a parent first; and as President second. What did he and Michelle say to the kids? What did any of you parents say? I have no clue what I might have said.
I am not sure where to take this except I do have more to say--maybe just itemize some odds and ends?
--Last week in Kansas City, a professional football player murdered his girlfriend and then committed suicide in front of a group of his coaches. More guns, more flowers, more memorials, and then Bob Costas (on a sports program mind you) had the temerity of raising the issues related to gun control. And of course got slammed by all sorts of people. The instant diagnosticians were out in force on this one also.
--I did have a terrific time in Philadelphia with Jess, Steffen, and the kids. Mostly just followed them around and through all their activities and celebrated the first two nights of Hanukkah while there. They go to Germany this coming week for the Holidays and to spend time with Steffen's family. These bi-continental lives are very hard. The really interesting news is that in the spring Jet Blue will begin flying there and finally offer USAir some serious competition.
--Susan Rice "withdrew" and I am trying hard not to believe Obama gave her more than a slight hint that it was a good idea. Those fucking Republicans continue to act like they won the election and that their main goal is to limit any of Obama's possibilities of success. McCain and Graham need to be kicked to the curb. Now if Kerry is selected, we will have another damn election here and will face the prospect of Scottie running again. A pathetic and ugly happenstance.
--Speaking of Kerry and the Republicans, a vote to approve an international treaty supporting the rights of the disabled lost because the Republicans saw it as just another UN kind of thing. One of a handful of countries which failed to support it--wonderful.
--More about the Republicans. I love their in-fighting over the direction of the party. and I fervently hope that this self injurious process is self defeating in 2014. They hate Medicare but always forget about granny collecting it.
--Not sure about that fiscal cliff craziness. But I am sure the fools in DC should be able to resolve it--it is not brain surgery. But both sides seem determined to a duel in the sun and some Republicans just want to see what happens. Hello!
--Elizabeth did get on the Banking Committee. Please tell me why it became an ordeal. She is probably more qualified than any other Senator but we had to have a BIG DEBATE about it. Give me a break.
--The folks living on the Cape want federal money to put up signs warning visitors about sharks. Wait til the Tea Partiers see that--wait til I see that. Better idea: Just put two signs up--one on each bridge and tell folks that sharks swim in the water. Done.
--Lost a filling and thought just refill it. But nooooooo--now will have two root canals and a crown and also lucked out with an infection in one of the teeth. Fast Eddie, my dentist, says it is age. Just another doctor telling me that certain body parts are wearing out. Terrific.
--Read a non-fiction book by Katherine Boo recommended by Babs about the "slums" of Mumbai. Cannot quite remember the name--something with "Forever" in the title. Engrossing but so depressing. One more reason why I never ever want to go there. Sorry since I know a few of my readers are connected to, if not from, India.
--Garry Trudeau has resurrected his "Duke " character in the Doonesbury cartoon. Duke is based on Hunter Thompson who committed suicide some years ago. Duke is now working for a DC lobbying firm and his project is the secession of Texas. Now everything is going swimmingly until he realizes that Austin is in Texas. And he does not want Austin to be lost. Oh Anna I am glad you will continue to be part of the U.S. of A. Has to be read.
SPORTS TALK
--I warned all of you about Don Fehr--and don't give me any pro union arguments. Talk about a cliff. This will be Bettman' third work stoppage in his tenure. Fehr and Bettman are a terrible twosome.
--The Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Angels have loaded up and spent some serious bucks. And the Red Flops signed Napoli--he of the .228 and .237 batting averages. And my pinstripes down there in NYC seem hell bent on signing the oldest players available. We shall see.
--We all know Bounty Gate was real and that the facts are irrefutable. I don't care what the players say or Tagliabue says or the coaches say. They did it. Period.
--I would not have predicted how the Pats manhandled the Texans and now I am not sure what to predict tomorrow night against the 49ers. I do know a bye will help and it would not surprise me if they finish first.
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. Happy 8th night of Hanukkah to those of you who celebrate that. And really, for all of us, think about Newtown and the grief of the parents and the survivors.
Sayonara
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
IF TUESDAY IS THE NEW WEDNESDAY, IS SATURDAY THE NEW SUNDAY?
On turkey day we had a terrific easy drive to NJ after hearing about the traffic disasters on Tuesday and Wednesday. By the time we left Scranton on Saturday, we figured no sweat. WRONG. Totally messed up in Danbury and then another mess at the entrance to the Mass Pike.And as a point of information to all you EZ Pass advocates--it did not matter if you had one or not. The road was totally clogged on the other side of the toll booths so going to the EZ Pass lane was not any better. So there.
Welcome to Ronni, Patty, Sherrie, and Rick. Getting close to 60/want to get to 100. So send those cards and letters of folks who might love to hear my rants. Also a very happy welcome to both Henry and Poppy--two special baby additions to my relatively small family. So cute.
Moving on. The Globe had two straight days of animal stories--dogs, cats, assorted other non humans. As if there is not enough going on in the world. And on the front pages of the first or second sections. Really now. One article was about a new law which allows animals to be included in restraining orders. I would love to see that in court. ARF ARF keep him away from me. Are you shitting me? Then an article in the Globe magazine about this woman who has decorated her office as if it were in Paris. She had placed a book about Paris and a book about Rodin on the chair in the picture--can you fucking believe it? More importantly, two women got married in the West Point chapel and one of the officiants was the senior Army chaplain of the Academy--pretty cool.
More odds and ends--mostly odd. Why is Arafat's body being exhumed? What am I missing? Is it to prove he was murdered and did not die of natural causes and of course the Israelis must have done it. He is gone and they have to move on. But of course we have Netanyahu who won't move on--five seconds after the UN raised the status of the Palestinians, he approved 3000 new homes on the
West Bank. Five minutes later, Hilary expressed our country's disagreement with that decision. He has basically told us to fuck off. I am beginning to believe it is close to hopeless as long as Hamas has the rockets and the Israelis have a sabre rattling Prime Minister.
I did not know Susan Rice was African American--but that explains a bit about Lindsey Graham and John McCain going after her. Both due to her gender and the color of her skin. At least Hilary is white. My mother would simply say: OY.
After 3 attempts, a female Mexican mayor was finally assassinated. She fought the cartels and tried to keep them out of her small town and lost. So courageous and yet dead. It is just plain ugly in some of those Mexican cities. And yes part of it is due to the demand for drugs up here. But meanwhile the violence just continues.
So I go to my local Post Office which truly (and kind of nicely) seems to be my local UN branch. Problem is the PO staff tend to disappear for long breaks while the line lengthens. Then you have some of my fellow JPers sending something to Bangladesh to some remote village with no zip code and requesting certified return receipts. I mean they should be able to do that but with the staff heading out back, do you know how long that takes? And it is not just one person, it is a whole group of folks sending stuff to these zip codeless places.
Digressing further, Grover Norquist is an asshole and he is increasingly becoming isolated. Even some of the crazy Republicans are distancing themselves from him. I look forward to the 2012 elections with him in mind. Speaking of which, anyone hear from either Eric Cantor or Sheldon Adelson (both members of my tribe). They seem to be a bit silent since the election. Maybe their meds have not kicked in or maybe they are in bed with their stuffed animals sucking their thumbs.
Can someone tell me why Barack can visit Myanmar one of the worst dictatorships ever and establish some sort of relationship with them--but not row his boat over to Havana and do the same thing. He can't still be scared about those crazy old Cuban farts in Miami, can he? The younger generation of those old farts actually went 50/50 for Obama and Romney and likely would welcome an open relationship with Cuba. Come on, it is time and he almost has a free pass since he can't be re-elected.
A terrific article in the New Yorker of 11/12 about Daine Ravitch the education reformer. I am not sure I understand all of her positions but I do know a lot of people are angry at her because she actually admitted to changing her mind about testing and charter schools, Also you should see the documentary on the Rolling Stones on HBO. I have no clue how Keith Richards has not od'd or died of lung cancer. There are also terrifying videos of Altamont and the Hells Angels attacking the audience in the guise of security.
Enough.
SPORTS TALK
The Yanks have signed 3 key pitchers and lost their catcher--who I never liked but he is apparently good with pitchers. He just cannot fucking hit. They will find someone--but getting Kuroda, Petite, and Rivera done is important. Good luck with Jonny Gomes you Red Flop lovers. Rondo is very good but he is also a drama queen who needs a few slaps or a spanking. I still believe they will be ok but they are struggling right now. The Pats had an ugly win today and it should be apparent that they had better sign Welker because the guy is already over 1000 yards and will be over 100 catches next week. I hate Nick Saban and Alabama and was way disappointed that they won. Notre Dame is worse and I will not watch the game at all.
Now playing forward for the Michigan Wolverines BB team--Nik Skauskas from Missisauga Ontario. A freshmen who just is deadly from 3 point range. Could he be the next Steve Nash? Too early to tell but even with those other more glamourous freshmen, he has been the standout on that team.
To Philadelphia this Thursday to spend time with the Helmlings before they go across the big pond for Christmas. And little Anna arrives in less than 3 weeks. Can't wait.
Sayonara.
Welcome to Ronni, Patty, Sherrie, and Rick. Getting close to 60/want to get to 100. So send those cards and letters of folks who might love to hear my rants. Also a very happy welcome to both Henry and Poppy--two special baby additions to my relatively small family. So cute.
Moving on. The Globe had two straight days of animal stories--dogs, cats, assorted other non humans. As if there is not enough going on in the world. And on the front pages of the first or second sections. Really now. One article was about a new law which allows animals to be included in restraining orders. I would love to see that in court. ARF ARF keep him away from me. Are you shitting me? Then an article in the Globe magazine about this woman who has decorated her office as if it were in Paris. She had placed a book about Paris and a book about Rodin on the chair in the picture--can you fucking believe it? More importantly, two women got married in the West Point chapel and one of the officiants was the senior Army chaplain of the Academy--pretty cool.
More odds and ends--mostly odd. Why is Arafat's body being exhumed? What am I missing? Is it to prove he was murdered and did not die of natural causes and of course the Israelis must have done it. He is gone and they have to move on. But of course we have Netanyahu who won't move on--five seconds after the UN raised the status of the Palestinians, he approved 3000 new homes on the
West Bank. Five minutes later, Hilary expressed our country's disagreement with that decision. He has basically told us to fuck off. I am beginning to believe it is close to hopeless as long as Hamas has the rockets and the Israelis have a sabre rattling Prime Minister.
I did not know Susan Rice was African American--but that explains a bit about Lindsey Graham and John McCain going after her. Both due to her gender and the color of her skin. At least Hilary is white. My mother would simply say: OY.
After 3 attempts, a female Mexican mayor was finally assassinated. She fought the cartels and tried to keep them out of her small town and lost. So courageous and yet dead. It is just plain ugly in some of those Mexican cities. And yes part of it is due to the demand for drugs up here. But meanwhile the violence just continues.
So I go to my local Post Office which truly (and kind of nicely) seems to be my local UN branch. Problem is the PO staff tend to disappear for long breaks while the line lengthens. Then you have some of my fellow JPers sending something to Bangladesh to some remote village with no zip code and requesting certified return receipts. I mean they should be able to do that but with the staff heading out back, do you know how long that takes? And it is not just one person, it is a whole group of folks sending stuff to these zip codeless places.
Digressing further, Grover Norquist is an asshole and he is increasingly becoming isolated. Even some of the crazy Republicans are distancing themselves from him. I look forward to the 2012 elections with him in mind. Speaking of which, anyone hear from either Eric Cantor or Sheldon Adelson (both members of my tribe). They seem to be a bit silent since the election. Maybe their meds have not kicked in or maybe they are in bed with their stuffed animals sucking their thumbs.
Can someone tell me why Barack can visit Myanmar one of the worst dictatorships ever and establish some sort of relationship with them--but not row his boat over to Havana and do the same thing. He can't still be scared about those crazy old Cuban farts in Miami, can he? The younger generation of those old farts actually went 50/50 for Obama and Romney and likely would welcome an open relationship with Cuba. Come on, it is time and he almost has a free pass since he can't be re-elected.
A terrific article in the New Yorker of 11/12 about Daine Ravitch the education reformer. I am not sure I understand all of her positions but I do know a lot of people are angry at her because she actually admitted to changing her mind about testing and charter schools, Also you should see the documentary on the Rolling Stones on HBO. I have no clue how Keith Richards has not od'd or died of lung cancer. There are also terrifying videos of Altamont and the Hells Angels attacking the audience in the guise of security.
Enough.
SPORTS TALK
The Yanks have signed 3 key pitchers and lost their catcher--who I never liked but he is apparently good with pitchers. He just cannot fucking hit. They will find someone--but getting Kuroda, Petite, and Rivera done is important. Good luck with Jonny Gomes you Red Flop lovers. Rondo is very good but he is also a drama queen who needs a few slaps or a spanking. I still believe they will be ok but they are struggling right now. The Pats had an ugly win today and it should be apparent that they had better sign Welker because the guy is already over 1000 yards and will be over 100 catches next week. I hate Nick Saban and Alabama and was way disappointed that they won. Notre Dame is worse and I will not watch the game at all.
Now playing forward for the Michigan Wolverines BB team--Nik Skauskas from Missisauga Ontario. A freshmen who just is deadly from 3 point range. Could he be the next Steve Nash? Too early to tell but even with those other more glamourous freshmen, he has been the standout on that team.
To Philadelphia this Thursday to spend time with the Helmlings before they go across the big pond for Christmas. And little Anna arrives in less than 3 weeks. Can't wait.
Sayonara.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
NATE THE GREAT
I am almost sure the above title is also the name of children's story book--whatever. I will chat a bit later about the actual election. But first a word about my man Nate Silver. He was vilified and pilloried (how do you like them words) by all sorts of right wing media and by some not so right wing for either being wrong, being pro-Obama, or both. All he did was get 100% of the states correct in the presidential voting and all the Senate seats right except for that colossal upset in North Dakota. He is also very humble and consistently kept saying that all he does is collect numbers and then average them--not brain surgery. But he consistently reflected what those averages meant and was right on target about the implications. Finally, I read somewhere that beside not being Jewish, he is an openly gay man. Who knew? If those Fox folks knew that, they might have gone overboard.
Speaking of which, if you haven't seen the video clip of Karl Rove having an on air fight with Fox colleagues about the Ohio results, you have to find it. He insists in the clip that Ohio will go for Romney and requests that one of the others go down the hall where the data people are and get the scoop from them. The camera follows and the data nerds patiently explain that Karl is bonkers. It would be totally hilarious if not for how out of touch Rove is.
I would like to thank every Hispanic person, every African American person, every young person, and all unmarried women--they apparently are the coalition that pushed Obama to the victory and they well may be the groups that push other more progressive candidates to victory in the future as well. According to all that I have read, white men loved the Mitter--them and the evangelicals. But before we get too giddy, there was a terrific article in the recent New Yorker about the new U.S. Senator from the Lone Star state--that would be the person representing Anna. Turns out he is a Tea Party conservative who is first generation American born to Cuban refugee parents. He would like the border wall erected a bazillion feet high to keep the riff raff from Central America out. Also turns out you will help yourself and should not get help from BIG GOVERNMENT. Like Marc Rubio, he is seen as the future of the Republican party. But guess what? In that very same state, Jeb Bush has a son who is "dark skinned" and Jeb's wife is Hispanic. He might be running for some crazy office and he has very different views on immigration--let them duke it out at the Alamo.
So glad Scottie got kicked to the curb up here in the Bay State. Not even close--she whupped him and she will not be a church mouse down there in DC. However, the thought that we might have to have another election if Kerry gets a big job--that makes me want to puke since the pundits are already saying Scottie might want to run again. Ugh.
Kudos to Governor Christie--he has two redeeming values. He loves Bruce (who by the way was out there singing along with Obama) and he had the cojones to thank Obama for visiting his state after Sandy hit. Some Republicans trashed him for that. Kudos also to Bloomberg for endorsing Obama even though in that city and state, it mattered very little. But both of them took risks and deserve some praise.
Sherrod Brown's Senate opponent (Josh Mandel) in Ohio was Jewish and blasted Brown for supporting same sex marriage. Turns out Mandel's sister is married to a woman and they took out an "ad" in the local Jewish paper chastising Mandel for his opposition. Mandel manged to totally split the Jewish community of Cleveland with his obnoxious hate filled positions. And lost. I refer you to op ed pieces by Roger Cohen which is where I stole all this from.
Speaking of stealing--there is a e-zine from Brooklyn called "Heeb". It is full of satire most of the time but in the aftermath of the election, they had a terrific piece on Sheldon Adelson and all the money he spent and lost. 7 of the 8 candidates he supported lost. This included Allen West the right wing Florida congressman who is African American and believes all Democrats are communists. As they say, he is a "nut job" and Sheldon gave him tons of money. Sheldon, Sheldon--its time to come home and take your meds.
Enough--old friends are for me like old levis. As Lilli says, they are comfy cozy. They just fit well and you can just ease right into them without any preliminaries. In the last two weeks we had the luck to spend time with "two pairs of levis". C and M visited with us and then we went to the theatre with C and T. Just a great "fit".
I now have progressive glasses which I hate and have literally been told its because I am getting old. Fuck--every doctor has the same theme. Must be true, no?
Welcome to Andrea--I have cornered the market on Mersons. Still on the look out for others who might wish to receive this screed!!
SPORTS TALK
Poor Phil Jackson/he won't be the Laker coach. Could not care less. Another so called genius bites the dust. However am very happy those pigs from Alabama lost. Johnny football from Texas A and M took them out. Only problem is that school is full of paramilitary student types in uniforms. The Yankees will sign Rivera though how good he will be is an open question. My former home town team (that would be the Marlins) really are a joke. That new stadium was 75% publicly financed and so the city feels fleeced. Caveat emptor.
I warned all of you about Donald Fehr. Talk about the fiscal cliff. Fehr will drive the NHLPA to the hockey cliff. And no this is not about unions--it is about attitudes--Fehr and Bettman should be kicked to the curb like Scottie.
With Barbara out of town, I watched an entire Celtic game last night. Not sure they will go all the way (no one rebounds for example) but I really liked what I saw and doc has a very deep bench.
The Pats will easily win their division but are in deep doo doo with that defensive backfield. If Brady and they boys dont score 30 or more, they are in trouble.
Sayonara.
Speaking of which, if you haven't seen the video clip of Karl Rove having an on air fight with Fox colleagues about the Ohio results, you have to find it. He insists in the clip that Ohio will go for Romney and requests that one of the others go down the hall where the data people are and get the scoop from them. The camera follows and the data nerds patiently explain that Karl is bonkers. It would be totally hilarious if not for how out of touch Rove is.
I would like to thank every Hispanic person, every African American person, every young person, and all unmarried women--they apparently are the coalition that pushed Obama to the victory and they well may be the groups that push other more progressive candidates to victory in the future as well. According to all that I have read, white men loved the Mitter--them and the evangelicals. But before we get too giddy, there was a terrific article in the recent New Yorker about the new U.S. Senator from the Lone Star state--that would be the person representing Anna. Turns out he is a Tea Party conservative who is first generation American born to Cuban refugee parents. He would like the border wall erected a bazillion feet high to keep the riff raff from Central America out. Also turns out you will help yourself and should not get help from BIG GOVERNMENT. Like Marc Rubio, he is seen as the future of the Republican party. But guess what? In that very same state, Jeb Bush has a son who is "dark skinned" and Jeb's wife is Hispanic. He might be running for some crazy office and he has very different views on immigration--let them duke it out at the Alamo.
So glad Scottie got kicked to the curb up here in the Bay State. Not even close--she whupped him and she will not be a church mouse down there in DC. However, the thought that we might have to have another election if Kerry gets a big job--that makes me want to puke since the pundits are already saying Scottie might want to run again. Ugh.
Kudos to Governor Christie--he has two redeeming values. He loves Bruce (who by the way was out there singing along with Obama) and he had the cojones to thank Obama for visiting his state after Sandy hit. Some Republicans trashed him for that. Kudos also to Bloomberg for endorsing Obama even though in that city and state, it mattered very little. But both of them took risks and deserve some praise.
Sherrod Brown's Senate opponent (Josh Mandel) in Ohio was Jewish and blasted Brown for supporting same sex marriage. Turns out Mandel's sister is married to a woman and they took out an "ad" in the local Jewish paper chastising Mandel for his opposition. Mandel manged to totally split the Jewish community of Cleveland with his obnoxious hate filled positions. And lost. I refer you to op ed pieces by Roger Cohen which is where I stole all this from.
Speaking of stealing--there is a e-zine from Brooklyn called "Heeb". It is full of satire most of the time but in the aftermath of the election, they had a terrific piece on Sheldon Adelson and all the money he spent and lost. 7 of the 8 candidates he supported lost. This included Allen West the right wing Florida congressman who is African American and believes all Democrats are communists. As they say, he is a "nut job" and Sheldon gave him tons of money. Sheldon, Sheldon--its time to come home and take your meds.
Enough--old friends are for me like old levis. As Lilli says, they are comfy cozy. They just fit well and you can just ease right into them without any preliminaries. In the last two weeks we had the luck to spend time with "two pairs of levis". C and M visited with us and then we went to the theatre with C and T. Just a great "fit".
I now have progressive glasses which I hate and have literally been told its because I am getting old. Fuck--every doctor has the same theme. Must be true, no?
Welcome to Andrea--I have cornered the market on Mersons. Still on the look out for others who might wish to receive this screed!!
SPORTS TALK
Poor Phil Jackson/he won't be the Laker coach. Could not care less. Another so called genius bites the dust. However am very happy those pigs from Alabama lost. Johnny football from Texas A and M took them out. Only problem is that school is full of paramilitary student types in uniforms. The Yankees will sign Rivera though how good he will be is an open question. My former home town team (that would be the Marlins) really are a joke. That new stadium was 75% publicly financed and so the city feels fleeced. Caveat emptor.
I warned all of you about Donald Fehr. Talk about the fiscal cliff. Fehr will drive the NHLPA to the hockey cliff. And no this is not about unions--it is about attitudes--Fehr and Bettman should be kicked to the curb like Scottie.
With Barbara out of town, I watched an entire Celtic game last night. Not sure they will go all the way (no one rebounds for example) but I really liked what I saw and doc has a very deep bench.
The Pats will easily win their division but are in deep doo doo with that defensive backfield. If Brady and they boys dont score 30 or more, they are in trouble.
Sayonara.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
WORDS, DON'T FAIL ME NOW
I'm not sure how to put into words some of the pictures I have seen of NYC, NJ, and then the blizzards of WV. The "easiest" way is, rather typically, to make it about me. I am not sure if it was in the late 40's or early 50's--I do know it was pre-divorce and it was while we were living in an apartment in Miami's Northwest section---for those of you familiar--close to NW 54th St, and 1st Avenue. Big time hurricane blew the roof off the apartment. We spent the night in the Knotty Pine bar and being of age I got drunk--no no that's not true nor is it the point since I was obviously a wee small tot. The point is these events are horrific and even though this time the hysterical weather people were right on target, in many ways it does not matter how well prepared you are. Bad things are going to happen to mostly good people. For me (since this is about me), the ultimate irony is this: while in VISTA, Barbara and I lived a block from the same location and even went to the bar for a drink or two. No hurricanes that year. I do hope those of you in the path of sandy are ok.
Moving on--four years ago my colleague BG and I had our monthly lunch and I shared with her my great anxiety about McCain and Palin. She reassured me/told me not to worry. Told me Barack would win. Went home and felt much more relaxed and of course she was correct. We were supposed to have lunch last week but she had to cancel so I have had to spend the last week calming myself which is way too hard. On the other hand, my boy Nate and his algorithms have not wavered especially since about 10/18--since then, he's got Obama ahead by almost 2% nationally and ahead in almost every swing state poll. So I find myself actually a bit calmer than I have any right to be--which of course makes me wonder why--which of course leads to being anxious about being calm. Get it?
Forgot to mention this a while ago. During the week of 10/8, Donnesbury ran about a week's worth of strips imagining the Mitter doing his Mormon mission in Paris. Absolutely hysterically funny as the Mitter tried to get this cigarette smoking French guy to give up wine and all other terrible things. Oh my--Trudeau is still going strong. Jon Stewart has been all over the Mitter as well but has had no shows this week because of Sandy. But the last two weeks he has been terrific.
Obama did wake up during the last two debates and kicked some serious ass especially when focused on foreign policy. I kept thinking of Sarah Palin telling us she could see Russia from her office which qualified her for Veep. Romney was in the same position and I personally resent how he has adopted my tribe in his campaign. This election is not being held in Israel and if it were, it is not clear to me he would win there either.
Some more bits and pieces. Ann Coulter is not apologizing for using the word "retard" to describe the President of the United States. Not apologizing to him or to those with developmental disabilities she has slurred. She is a fucking idiot and if her hair was not straight and blonde, I am pretty sure she would be working in a 7/11.
The little twerp Adelson and his twerpier wife just gave the Mitter 10 million more. I hope he goes bankrupt over this but he is sitting on top of mounds of gambling money and there is no end to it. And the guys on Wall Street now hate Obama even though he saved their asses. And the Mitter is out there in Ohio trying to explain how the auto bailout was his idea. He is fucked. Scary that he and Ryan (if they won) would get a number of appointments to the Supreme court. If that doesn't scare you (and if i did not mention it before)read Jeffrey Toobin's book about the Supremes. We are all still waiting for Clarence to ask a question.
Jessica sent me a Times op-ed piece by Roger Cohen about Cuyahoga County/Cleveland and the race for Senate which is splitting the Jewish community--Sherrod Brown the incumbent is wonderful but is running against a conservative (very conservative) Jewish guy who of course is playing the Israel card all over the place. The community is in big time conflict over what to do. Great article.
Enough.
SPORTS TALK
Ozzie Guillen got fired which is not surprising. When you hire Ozzie you should know what you are getting--a loud, outspoken, in your face manager who happens to be very good at managing. So the firing was not a surprise. What should concern all of us is that part of the firing was due to his temerity in suggesting that the fall of Batista was not a bad thing and Fidel actually had a good idea or two. Bingo--those old right wing Cuban farts went off. That is part of why Ozzie was fired.
Justin Verlander pretty much says this: give me the ball; I will throw 100 or more pitches; I will be throwing as hard in the end as in the beginning; and I will just keep chucking. Now, of course, he lost in the series but the guy is special. The Yanks lived and died by the home run. I just hope they get rid of A Rod.
You Red Flop fans miss Scutaro? Bob Lobel would be saying "why don't we get players like that"? He was like Bobby Richardson when the Yankees played the Giants in the 60's. So hot and always coming through. You do realize that Sergio Romo throws in the 80's. He's not like our old friend Pap blowing people away but also blwoing saves in the process. All Romo does is throw strikes and confuse hitters. Abe would be a happy man today.
The question about the Pats is have they really turned the corner or are the Rams just plain bad? In theory, they have two tough games left--Houston and SF both at home. Otherwise, they should run the table if they can keep their heads on straight.
Sayonara
Moving on--four years ago my colleague BG and I had our monthly lunch and I shared with her my great anxiety about McCain and Palin. She reassured me/told me not to worry. Told me Barack would win. Went home and felt much more relaxed and of course she was correct. We were supposed to have lunch last week but she had to cancel so I have had to spend the last week calming myself which is way too hard. On the other hand, my boy Nate and his algorithms have not wavered especially since about 10/18--since then, he's got Obama ahead by almost 2% nationally and ahead in almost every swing state poll. So I find myself actually a bit calmer than I have any right to be--which of course makes me wonder why--which of course leads to being anxious about being calm. Get it?
Forgot to mention this a while ago. During the week of 10/8, Donnesbury ran about a week's worth of strips imagining the Mitter doing his Mormon mission in Paris. Absolutely hysterically funny as the Mitter tried to get this cigarette smoking French guy to give up wine and all other terrible things. Oh my--Trudeau is still going strong. Jon Stewart has been all over the Mitter as well but has had no shows this week because of Sandy. But the last two weeks he has been terrific.
Obama did wake up during the last two debates and kicked some serious ass especially when focused on foreign policy. I kept thinking of Sarah Palin telling us she could see Russia from her office which qualified her for Veep. Romney was in the same position and I personally resent how he has adopted my tribe in his campaign. This election is not being held in Israel and if it were, it is not clear to me he would win there either.
Some more bits and pieces. Ann Coulter is not apologizing for using the word "retard" to describe the President of the United States. Not apologizing to him or to those with developmental disabilities she has slurred. She is a fucking idiot and if her hair was not straight and blonde, I am pretty sure she would be working in a 7/11.
The little twerp Adelson and his twerpier wife just gave the Mitter 10 million more. I hope he goes bankrupt over this but he is sitting on top of mounds of gambling money and there is no end to it. And the guys on Wall Street now hate Obama even though he saved their asses. And the Mitter is out there in Ohio trying to explain how the auto bailout was his idea. He is fucked. Scary that he and Ryan (if they won) would get a number of appointments to the Supreme court. If that doesn't scare you (and if i did not mention it before)read Jeffrey Toobin's book about the Supremes. We are all still waiting for Clarence to ask a question.
Jessica sent me a Times op-ed piece by Roger Cohen about Cuyahoga County/Cleveland and the race for Senate which is splitting the Jewish community--Sherrod Brown the incumbent is wonderful but is running against a conservative (very conservative) Jewish guy who of course is playing the Israel card all over the place. The community is in big time conflict over what to do. Great article.
Enough.
SPORTS TALK
Ozzie Guillen got fired which is not surprising. When you hire Ozzie you should know what you are getting--a loud, outspoken, in your face manager who happens to be very good at managing. So the firing was not a surprise. What should concern all of us is that part of the firing was due to his temerity in suggesting that the fall of Batista was not a bad thing and Fidel actually had a good idea or two. Bingo--those old right wing Cuban farts went off. That is part of why Ozzie was fired.
Justin Verlander pretty much says this: give me the ball; I will throw 100 or more pitches; I will be throwing as hard in the end as in the beginning; and I will just keep chucking. Now, of course, he lost in the series but the guy is special. The Yanks lived and died by the home run. I just hope they get rid of A Rod.
You Red Flop fans miss Scutaro? Bob Lobel would be saying "why don't we get players like that"? He was like Bobby Richardson when the Yankees played the Giants in the 60's. So hot and always coming through. You do realize that Sergio Romo throws in the 80's. He's not like our old friend Pap blowing people away but also blwoing saves in the process. All Romo does is throw strikes and confuse hitters. Abe would be a happy man today.
The question about the Pats is have they really turned the corner or are the Rams just plain bad? In theory, they have two tough games left--Houston and SF both at home. Otherwise, they should run the table if they can keep their heads on straight.
Sayonara
Monday, October 15, 2012
HAS THE BLEEDING STOPPED?
But first a word from our sponsors. Returned from a visit to Austin. Made sure I ate those wonderful flour tortillas with scrambled eggs--not at a food truck but in a cafe. But still quite special and have already gone out and bought a supply of tortillas for the house. Most importantly, we saw Anna and took an overnight trip into the hill country of central Texas--that would be the area made famous by LBJ. Stayed on a "real" ranch, ate bar bq on the way in a town right out of Friday Night Lights and boasting 4 different bar bq places--all famous. Spent time at what had to be one of the worlds largest flea markets and noticed very few Obama signs--surprise. A night on the town in Austin at this terrific restaurant populated by a whole bunch of West Virginia football fans whose team the next day clobbered the Horns. Just a great time and love how much Anna has inculcated herself into the culture and life there. Just about a year since her arrival.
Moving on--in terms of the bleeding which started after Obama's pathetic debate performance. Even Nate's fancy algorithms had him losing all sorts of numbers and percentages. But today some of those started turning in a better direction. Come on, probably any of us could "beat" the Mitter assuming we had more interest in the process than the Prez did. At least Joe Biden was feisty and angry and battled--but about those smiles, I just don't know--maybe his Lithium was either kicking in or shutting down. But he took no shit. Barack rolled over. Tomorrow night is very important.
Speaking of Nate, first of all I try oh so hard not to check in on his blog more than twice a day--morning and evening. But sometimes polls come out and I find myself peeking in the middle of the day. I feel like I am following this thing much too closely. Then of course I am reading Jeffrey Toobin's book on the Supremes and Barack and really do know it matters who gets the next appointments to that court.
Back to Nate who was joined by Bill Schneider formerly of CNN. Focus was on the Jewish vote (after all we were in a synagogue!!). Did you know the largest % of Jews live in NY, NJ, and California--all 3 of which are safely in Barack's pocket and therefore the Jewish vote is irrelevant. We are almost irrelevant anyway in terms of voting since we represent 3% of the electorate--except of course in 3 counties in Florida. Those would be Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. That is the only place in this election where the Jewish vote matters and only if they turnout. They can counter the red necks up thee in the Panhandle. Nate is by the way such a nerd/geek that he could be the poster boy--but oh so fucking smart. Get this--he is not really Jewish since his mother is not. He said given his name, everybody thinks he is. He passes!!
One of you knuckleheads (I forget who) convinced me I was crazy and the Colorado river did not go through Austin. IT DOES AND I SAW IT IN PERSON AND ON A MAP. Only possibility is that there are two of these named Colorado. But I guarantee one is in downtown Austin. Just proves it takes very little to make me crazy.
Speaking of which, I nearly blew up at the TSA slobbola who harassed me at Logan on our way to Austin. Remember in High School chemistry, we had those strips (forgot the name) which told us something either was an acid or it was something else. Well after exploring my entire suitcase, he decided he needed to use one of those strips on a salve I had in my bag and when I asked him why, he suggested I could choose not to fly. Really these folks have convinced me that they have never been trained in any sort of human relations and simply are flung on the job after they have failed to become cops. But being so mature and being that I wanted to see Anna, I kept my mouth shut.
SPORTS TALK
CC Sabbathia is the only Yankee pulling his weight and though it is a lot of weight, it won't be enough. Then Jeter breaks his leg. I was not optimistic before and now...In mid summer both their pitching and hitting were hot. Since then, either one or the other has been off. Now it is the hitters who have yet to face Verlander and have made the other two look like Cy Young.
Can any of the Pats defensive backs cover anyone? Some of the talking heads say it is a mental problem--they cannot put teams away. I think maybe but they still have to cover. Brady uncharacteristically made 4 mistakes that did not help--2 interceptions and 2 intentional groundings. But they still could have won. Lucky they play in a terrible division.
Good luck with the red flop manager search. I could not care less except please note that Brad Ausmus is Jewish and just finished managing Israel in the World Baseball Classic. I will say a prayer for him this Friday night at shul.
Happy birthday Oliver (he is 5 now).
Sayonara
Moving on--in terms of the bleeding which started after Obama's pathetic debate performance. Even Nate's fancy algorithms had him losing all sorts of numbers and percentages. But today some of those started turning in a better direction. Come on, probably any of us could "beat" the Mitter assuming we had more interest in the process than the Prez did. At least Joe Biden was feisty and angry and battled--but about those smiles, I just don't know--maybe his Lithium was either kicking in or shutting down. But he took no shit. Barack rolled over. Tomorrow night is very important.
Speaking of Nate, first of all I try oh so hard not to check in on his blog more than twice a day--morning and evening. But sometimes polls come out and I find myself peeking in the middle of the day. I feel like I am following this thing much too closely. Then of course I am reading Jeffrey Toobin's book on the Supremes and Barack and really do know it matters who gets the next appointments to that court.
Back to Nate who was joined by Bill Schneider formerly of CNN. Focus was on the Jewish vote (after all we were in a synagogue!!). Did you know the largest % of Jews live in NY, NJ, and California--all 3 of which are safely in Barack's pocket and therefore the Jewish vote is irrelevant. We are almost irrelevant anyway in terms of voting since we represent 3% of the electorate--except of course in 3 counties in Florida. Those would be Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. That is the only place in this election where the Jewish vote matters and only if they turnout. They can counter the red necks up thee in the Panhandle. Nate is by the way such a nerd/geek that he could be the poster boy--but oh so fucking smart. Get this--he is not really Jewish since his mother is not. He said given his name, everybody thinks he is. He passes!!
One of you knuckleheads (I forget who) convinced me I was crazy and the Colorado river did not go through Austin. IT DOES AND I SAW IT IN PERSON AND ON A MAP. Only possibility is that there are two of these named Colorado. But I guarantee one is in downtown Austin. Just proves it takes very little to make me crazy.
Speaking of which, I nearly blew up at the TSA slobbola who harassed me at Logan on our way to Austin. Remember in High School chemistry, we had those strips (forgot the name) which told us something either was an acid or it was something else. Well after exploring my entire suitcase, he decided he needed to use one of those strips on a salve I had in my bag and when I asked him why, he suggested I could choose not to fly. Really these folks have convinced me that they have never been trained in any sort of human relations and simply are flung on the job after they have failed to become cops. But being so mature and being that I wanted to see Anna, I kept my mouth shut.
SPORTS TALK
CC Sabbathia is the only Yankee pulling his weight and though it is a lot of weight, it won't be enough. Then Jeter breaks his leg. I was not optimistic before and now...In mid summer both their pitching and hitting were hot. Since then, either one or the other has been off. Now it is the hitters who have yet to face Verlander and have made the other two look like Cy Young.
Can any of the Pats defensive backs cover anyone? Some of the talking heads say it is a mental problem--they cannot put teams away. I think maybe but they still have to cover. Brady uncharacteristically made 4 mistakes that did not help--2 interceptions and 2 intentional groundings. But they still could have won. Lucky they play in a terrible division.
Good luck with the red flop manager search. I could not care less except please note that Brad Ausmus is Jewish and just finished managing Israel in the World Baseball Classic. I will say a prayer for him this Friday night at shul.
Happy birthday Oliver (he is 5 now).
Sayonara
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
A DAY (OR TWO) LATE BUT NOT A DOLLAR (OR TWO) SHORT
So I have these two MAJOR problems which are keeping me up at night and causing all sorts of anxiety. Problem number 1: You know when you open a new box of cereal? Inside, there is this bag with your cereal inside in order to keep it fresh. It cannot be opened by anything other than sharp weapons. Opened by hand and the bag splits causing the cereal to get cereally (get it?) disturbed and fall inside the box. Just terrible.
Problem number 2: I have yet been able to pour coffee from my coffee pot into my cup without drops spilling all over. And since we have this very "special" countertop that apparently gets quite disturbed with heat, I then have to soak it up quickly. Cannot be done--pour slowly, pour quickly, pour with that cap thingy on the pot or off--does not matter. Spillage.
I mean this is MAJOR far outweighing whether Elizabeth Warren is or is not partly Native American. Or who will be our next president. Please tell me why David Gregory opened with that question about heritage lastnight in the debate. Please--when there are about 50,000 other real issues to discuss. You know that pretty much both candidates are going to go wherever they want anyhow. But to pitch that softball to Scottie was just plain ridiculous. And Justice Scalia is Scottie's fave. Oh my--all of us ought to be worrying right now. He did finally work his way through virtually all the Justices but started with Scalia. He is a fool and he is damn lucky he is NOT her student because he might flunk.
I will watch tomorrow night and almost am curious if Barack can eat the Mitter up. My man Nate Silver on his blog still has Barack in front nationally and in a bunch of important states--but the margins are mostly thin. It is hard to imagine people being undecided but their numbers are still enough to throw this thing way off in the closing days. I will be sitting with Babs and we will have take out to munch on as we watch.
Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC is a cheerleader cheering for the right team but sometimes he goes over the edge and needs to be reeled in. He practically called the election for Barack after that Mother Jones video (that 47% business) surfaced. What's her face Rachael is also a cheerleader but a bit more thoughtful. It is decidedly not over though having George Soros finally kick in his million will help. Oh--as an aside, awfully nice of my mayor (Tommy boy) to finally support Liz. Think it has to do with the polls looking better for her?
Terrific though scary book by a guy named Draper (of course I have forgotten his first name)--"Do Not Ask What Good We Do". It focuses on the congressional class of 2010 and particularly the far right wing Republicans elected then. They are medieval freaks who want to turn the clock way way back and they scare me. The Mitter is even too "liberal" for them. Speaking once more of the Mitter, Jonathan Kraft (son of Bob who despite all his drivel about Myra/his sweetheart is now being seen on the town with a 20 year old) hosted a $75,000 a plate dinner for the Mitter. Time to seriously re-consider your Patriot tickets?
So we got a new washing machine. The quality of the laundry work being done by the scullery maid (that would be me) was called into question not just by my cohabitor but by a child living very far away. MMMM. Took one look at it in the store and then at home--way too complicated. Needed Babs to be here for the first flight. More buttons than a plane's cockpit. But it does work.
SPORTS TALK
Glad the Yanks are in the playoffs but not sure they will go far. Jeter, however, is just terrific. Over 200 hits, will score over 100 runs and, if not for Cabrera and Trout, would be an MVP candidate. Did you Red Flop fans see your line up last night. Some of them do not shave yet.
The talking heads after the Ravens loss were all over the beginning of the end for Mr. Brady. Then they backed off a bit after Buffalo. I actually am not sure though I do believe their two wins were against shit teams. We will see this week if they can stop Peyton. Otherwise, the score might be 52-49 and I am not sure who will have 52.
Michigan is in a death spiral in terms of college football. Too much reliance on Dennard Robinson. When he has a bad game they lose. I think that new coach will be glad when he graduates.
I refuse to read anything about negotiations in any sport about anything. I won't.
I am also sick of the homophobia of athletes especially those Hispanic ones who tell us it is a cultural them. Screw them.
Off on the great silver bird this Thursday to Austin. I will give Rick Perry the regards of all my readers but will reserve all my warmth for Anna.
Sayonara.
Problem number 2: I have yet been able to pour coffee from my coffee pot into my cup without drops spilling all over. And since we have this very "special" countertop that apparently gets quite disturbed with heat, I then have to soak it up quickly. Cannot be done--pour slowly, pour quickly, pour with that cap thingy on the pot or off--does not matter. Spillage.
I mean this is MAJOR far outweighing whether Elizabeth Warren is or is not partly Native American. Or who will be our next president. Please tell me why David Gregory opened with that question about heritage lastnight in the debate. Please--when there are about 50,000 other real issues to discuss. You know that pretty much both candidates are going to go wherever they want anyhow. But to pitch that softball to Scottie was just plain ridiculous. And Justice Scalia is Scottie's fave. Oh my--all of us ought to be worrying right now. He did finally work his way through virtually all the Justices but started with Scalia. He is a fool and he is damn lucky he is NOT her student because he might flunk.
I will watch tomorrow night and almost am curious if Barack can eat the Mitter up. My man Nate Silver on his blog still has Barack in front nationally and in a bunch of important states--but the margins are mostly thin. It is hard to imagine people being undecided but their numbers are still enough to throw this thing way off in the closing days. I will be sitting with Babs and we will have take out to munch on as we watch.
Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC is a cheerleader cheering for the right team but sometimes he goes over the edge and needs to be reeled in. He practically called the election for Barack after that Mother Jones video (that 47% business) surfaced. What's her face Rachael is also a cheerleader but a bit more thoughtful. It is decidedly not over though having George Soros finally kick in his million will help. Oh--as an aside, awfully nice of my mayor (Tommy boy) to finally support Liz. Think it has to do with the polls looking better for her?
Terrific though scary book by a guy named Draper (of course I have forgotten his first name)--"Do Not Ask What Good We Do". It focuses on the congressional class of 2010 and particularly the far right wing Republicans elected then. They are medieval freaks who want to turn the clock way way back and they scare me. The Mitter is even too "liberal" for them. Speaking once more of the Mitter, Jonathan Kraft (son of Bob who despite all his drivel about Myra/his sweetheart is now being seen on the town with a 20 year old) hosted a $75,000 a plate dinner for the Mitter. Time to seriously re-consider your Patriot tickets?
So we got a new washing machine. The quality of the laundry work being done by the scullery maid (that would be me) was called into question not just by my cohabitor but by a child living very far away. MMMM. Took one look at it in the store and then at home--way too complicated. Needed Babs to be here for the first flight. More buttons than a plane's cockpit. But it does work.
SPORTS TALK
Glad the Yanks are in the playoffs but not sure they will go far. Jeter, however, is just terrific. Over 200 hits, will score over 100 runs and, if not for Cabrera and Trout, would be an MVP candidate. Did you Red Flop fans see your line up last night. Some of them do not shave yet.
The talking heads after the Ravens loss were all over the beginning of the end for Mr. Brady. Then they backed off a bit after Buffalo. I actually am not sure though I do believe their two wins were against shit teams. We will see this week if they can stop Peyton. Otherwise, the score might be 52-49 and I am not sure who will have 52.
Michigan is in a death spiral in terms of college football. Too much reliance on Dennard Robinson. When he has a bad game they lose. I think that new coach will be glad when he graduates.
I refuse to read anything about negotiations in any sport about anything. I won't.
I am also sick of the homophobia of athletes especially those Hispanic ones who tell us it is a cultural them. Screw them.
Off on the great silver bird this Thursday to Austin. I will give Rick Perry the regards of all my readers but will reserve all my warmth for Anna.
Sayonara.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
I'M BACK
And I know how much you missed me. Not sure where to begin but I think I will just open up the suitcase and start pulling things out in no particular order.
Been there, done that Department: In 1969, we visited Denver and the Rockies on our convoluted way to Ann Arbor. According to Barbara, because I insisted on packing the car the night before at a motel, all my draft records wee stolen (don't you just love her memory--43 years and it is as fresh as yesterday!). They were important because I was applying to be a Conscientious Objector. We were so pissed we decided to skip the Rockies and head east. Then I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the majestic snow capped mountains. We made a U-turn and headed up. We returned there a month ago--no camping and nothing stolen. A terrific wedding in Boulder, three wonderful days in Denver, and three wonderful days in Estes Park right outside the National Park. Rode over the Continental Divide at almost 13,000 feet--but soo much less scary than that foolish road to the top of Mt. Washington. I almost puked on that. Bicyclists were making the same climb as us--as were hordes of elk--all over the place. Gorgeous. Though Boulder might be a bit too New Agey for moi.
Three Important news flashes: The barbie people have come out with a transgendered Barbie--politically correctness is all around me. Second, twin graffiti/mural artists from Sao Paulo have been exhibiting here at the ICA. They put a mural on the southbound entrance to our underground central artery. Many very confused but obviously under-enlightened humans decided it looked like and was supportive of the Taliban and needed to be removed immediately. Fortunately, both our mayor and governor are more or less sane and kept their mouths shut. The mural is still up. And finally we have Augusta National Golf Club admitting women--one of the first was Condoleza Rice which means not exactly. Are we supposed to congratulate a fat white boys club for finally moving into the 21st century? Fuck them-- a day late and a dollar short.
Just returned from my first solo adventure in babysitting my two grandchdilren. I survived and believe I was sucessful. They made it easy for me and are really great kids if I do say so. A couple of dust ups but they survived me. I came home exhausted. Jess and Steffen have done a super job and those of us in two career families know how stressful that life is.
I am so proud to say I watched not a minute of the republican convention--from what I heard, it was all about scaring people about Obama and putting the fear of god in them if he is re-elected. I have to admit that Obama's speech was only the 3rd or 4th best at the Dem. convention. Mr. Bill won it hands down, Michelle came in second, and even our Gov, Mr. Deval, was terrific. I am trying to keep away from my man Nate Silver but I feel like a junkie each morning checking both his blog and his data. Did you know he started his little business in the world of baseball--one of those geeks like Jonah Hill in Moneyball. Anyhow, his numbers are still looking good for Barack but not overwhelmingly. Election night I will need loads of very bad food and very good scotch. And the members of my tribe living in Florida better deliver for him. Speaking of my tribe, Sheldon Adelson keeps upping his contributions and is now talking about 100 million to get rid of Barack. I don't know if Liz will beat Scottie but this week she at least got a bit more pissy. The first debate is later this week.
Romney stuck his foot way into his mouth with his rapid response to the tragedy in Libya. He spoke too soon and it is a theme of his--yapping before all the info is in. I am not sure I agree with most of what David Brooks has to say (though he does dislike Romney) but he has to be one of the brightest people in the world. Good luck with your self reliance if Paul Ryan gets in--you might want to get your lifeboat ready if you are my age. He won't be helping us.
I hate air travel but it is quicker!! However, if any of you are travelling by air in the future, I have a word of advice--find out how many medical personnel are on your flight. On our return from Denver, there was a medical emergency involving a young adult who was sitting close to us and at the height of the emergency was as gray as concrete. The flight was diverted but in the meantime, it turned out we had two RN's, an EMT, and an ER doctor on board. I am convinced they saved his life. And, oh by the way--the cabin crew were older "mature" people who did not panic one iota.
SPORTS TALK
I would like to congratulate Gary Bettman for setting the world record for work stoppages as leader of a professional league. At midnight tonight, he will have led 4 of them in his 20 year tenure. And the league just had its most successful season ever. He needs to be kicked to the curb. And he is messing with Donald Fehr who is an asshole himself.
Won't kick the Red Flops while they are down but the trade with LA was a good one. Why didn't Lackey get thrown in as a freebie? Hope for your sake, he is a goner in the off season. I do
think I see my Yanks with more objectivity than some of you view the Flops. My boys are in trouble--not hitting, not pitching, and injuries. Nova's return today will help. But I would not be surprised if they missed the playoffs totally--or surprised if they did make it.
But Mr. Brady and the boys are back and will be very good.
That's about it. To those celebrating, Happy New Year.
Sayonara
Been there, done that Department: In 1969, we visited Denver and the Rockies on our convoluted way to Ann Arbor. According to Barbara, because I insisted on packing the car the night before at a motel, all my draft records wee stolen (don't you just love her memory--43 years and it is as fresh as yesterday!). They were important because I was applying to be a Conscientious Objector. We were so pissed we decided to skip the Rockies and head east. Then I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the majestic snow capped mountains. We made a U-turn and headed up. We returned there a month ago--no camping and nothing stolen. A terrific wedding in Boulder, three wonderful days in Denver, and three wonderful days in Estes Park right outside the National Park. Rode over the Continental Divide at almost 13,000 feet--but soo much less scary than that foolish road to the top of Mt. Washington. I almost puked on that. Bicyclists were making the same climb as us--as were hordes of elk--all over the place. Gorgeous. Though Boulder might be a bit too New Agey for moi.
Three Important news flashes: The barbie people have come out with a transgendered Barbie--politically correctness is all around me. Second, twin graffiti/mural artists from Sao Paulo have been exhibiting here at the ICA. They put a mural on the southbound entrance to our underground central artery. Many very confused but obviously under-enlightened humans decided it looked like and was supportive of the Taliban and needed to be removed immediately. Fortunately, both our mayor and governor are more or less sane and kept their mouths shut. The mural is still up. And finally we have Augusta National Golf Club admitting women--one of the first was Condoleza Rice which means not exactly. Are we supposed to congratulate a fat white boys club for finally moving into the 21st century? Fuck them-- a day late and a dollar short.
Just returned from my first solo adventure in babysitting my two grandchdilren. I survived and believe I was sucessful. They made it easy for me and are really great kids if I do say so. A couple of dust ups but they survived me. I came home exhausted. Jess and Steffen have done a super job and those of us in two career families know how stressful that life is.
I am so proud to say I watched not a minute of the republican convention--from what I heard, it was all about scaring people about Obama and putting the fear of god in them if he is re-elected. I have to admit that Obama's speech was only the 3rd or 4th best at the Dem. convention. Mr. Bill won it hands down, Michelle came in second, and even our Gov, Mr. Deval, was terrific. I am trying to keep away from my man Nate Silver but I feel like a junkie each morning checking both his blog and his data. Did you know he started his little business in the world of baseball--one of those geeks like Jonah Hill in Moneyball. Anyhow, his numbers are still looking good for Barack but not overwhelmingly. Election night I will need loads of very bad food and very good scotch. And the members of my tribe living in Florida better deliver for him. Speaking of my tribe, Sheldon Adelson keeps upping his contributions and is now talking about 100 million to get rid of Barack. I don't know if Liz will beat Scottie but this week she at least got a bit more pissy. The first debate is later this week.
Romney stuck his foot way into his mouth with his rapid response to the tragedy in Libya. He spoke too soon and it is a theme of his--yapping before all the info is in. I am not sure I agree with most of what David Brooks has to say (though he does dislike Romney) but he has to be one of the brightest people in the world. Good luck with your self reliance if Paul Ryan gets in--you might want to get your lifeboat ready if you are my age. He won't be helping us.
I hate air travel but it is quicker!! However, if any of you are travelling by air in the future, I have a word of advice--find out how many medical personnel are on your flight. On our return from Denver, there was a medical emergency involving a young adult who was sitting close to us and at the height of the emergency was as gray as concrete. The flight was diverted but in the meantime, it turned out we had two RN's, an EMT, and an ER doctor on board. I am convinced they saved his life. And, oh by the way--the cabin crew were older "mature" people who did not panic one iota.
SPORTS TALK
I would like to congratulate Gary Bettman for setting the world record for work stoppages as leader of a professional league. At midnight tonight, he will have led 4 of them in his 20 year tenure. And the league just had its most successful season ever. He needs to be kicked to the curb. And he is messing with Donald Fehr who is an asshole himself.
Won't kick the Red Flops while they are down but the trade with LA was a good one. Why didn't Lackey get thrown in as a freebie? Hope for your sake, he is a goner in the off season. I do
think I see my Yanks with more objectivity than some of you view the Flops. My boys are in trouble--not hitting, not pitching, and injuries. Nova's return today will help. But I would not be surprised if they missed the playoffs totally--or surprised if they did make it.
But Mr. Brady and the boys are back and will be very good.
That's about it. To those celebrating, Happy New Year.
Sayonara
Thursday, August 16, 2012
NOT OFFENSIVE ENOUGH? WELL HOW'S THIS?
Amongst the deluge of feedback I get, a recent comment really offended me (get it?). The feed backer felt I had lost some of my offensiveness. So, let's hope I got my mojo back and offend a few of you in this post.
The New Yorker, with exquisite timing, had a profile of Paul Ryan two weeks before he became the Vice Presidential nominee. The guy lives in the same town he was born in with other Ryans all over the place. Jaynesville, Wisconsin. Never has won a state wide office let alone a national one. Now we have two very wealthy white Midwesterners running against Mr. Obama and the conservatives could not be happier. Both opposed gay marriage and Ryan at least is a right to lifer. He is bright and at the least his budget proposals are specific as opposed to Romney's who just opposes everything and proposes nothing. Ryan opposes everything about government (one wonders why he wants to run and oversee it) and proposes things which would push us back to the glory days of the 40's and 50's. If it were up to him, the USA women's success at the Olympics would never have happened because Title IX never would have happened and all the women would be at home, not working, and having babies. He is more dangerous in many ways than Romney. On the other hand, he gives the Dems something hard to punch as opposed to the jello that is the Mitter.
Then we have Tommy Menino who continues to fix my sidewalks and my potholes but still has not found it in his soul to endorse Elizabeth Warren. It is unfathomable--is it her gender, her Hahvahd connections, her lack of insider status? Whatever, Scottie is running free and needs to be kicked to the curb. Elizabeth is doing her part but Tommy needs to get off his fat ass and do something else beside pouring cement onto crumbling pavement.
I promise myself to look at my boy Nate's blog once a week and then find myself looking at it daily. He is still forecasting that the Prez will end up with close to 300 electoral votes but only has a 4% lead in the popular vote. This currently includes Obama wins in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Iowa, and Wisconsin; but Colorado just moved into the toss up category. I worry despite Nate's massive data analysis.
And then we have neither candidate daring to say a word about recent murders in Colorado and at the Sikh temple. They just want to send flowers and lower flags which I guess is all well and good but the NRA has them scared from even suggesting that perhaps we should ban automatic weapons. Even with very strict laws in this fair state, 3 women ended up being murdered just this week sitting in a car. More flowers and memorials; more ministers bemoaning the violence like they always do; and the guns keep coming. One of Neil Young's songs written after 9/11 quotes the comedian Chris Rock who more or less said: no more flowers and memorials; we need to do something. Ditto.
Then we have a city in Texas (McAllen, I think) which just built its High School a $60 million dollar football stadium. So fucked up--only irony is that Barbara and I just began watching old episodes of Friday Night Lights which of course is about High School football in Texas and while it might be good tv, it represents some sort of skewed value system.
SPORTS TALK
Bob Ryan covered the Olympics for the Globe and then semi retired. He was THE best Globe writer and one of the best in the country. The field is now open for that fool Shaughnessy to take charge. The only good news is that Chris Gasper who is very good has become the new columnist The bad news is that the Globe actually had 3 reporters in Baltimore for this series with Orioles--kind of like a death watch or something. Waiting for the smoke to come out of the Vatican chimney.
Let's be clear that the women outshone the men at the Olympics especially in the team sports. All due to the explosion of collegiate level women's athletics which in turn (as I mentioned before) is due to Title IX. Without it, you think the U.S. women would have won gold in basketball or water polo? Come on and then think about the Mitter and Mr. Ryan.
I hate Lebron but I will now grudgingly admit two things. The Heat beat the Celtics in game 6 (and then game 7) due to him and then he absolutely carried the men's Olympic team on his back on the way to gold. He is absolutely at the top of his game.
No more softball at the games but we do have Equestrian and Rhythmic Gymnastics--both pathetic excuses for sport. Has anyone seen those folks with their ribbons and beach balls doing god knows what. Oh my. But guess who is a member of my tribe? That would be Aly Reisman who actually had her Rabbi quoted in the paper talking about her Bat Mitzvah.
Mr Brady and the boys are back which is good for all fans of all local teams cuz the red flops are both flopping and fighting and will not recover. Gonzalez may be a good hitter but he is an undermining fool leading a clubhouse uprising. My boys down in NYC hit a few bumps but when Eric
Chavez is hitting .300 and Freddy Garcia can pitch 6 or more innings, they will be ok. Please check out what Jeter is doing.
Back to you all in mid September after a Rocky Mountain high.
Hope I offended someone.
Sayonara
The New Yorker, with exquisite timing, had a profile of Paul Ryan two weeks before he became the Vice Presidential nominee. The guy lives in the same town he was born in with other Ryans all over the place. Jaynesville, Wisconsin. Never has won a state wide office let alone a national one. Now we have two very wealthy white Midwesterners running against Mr. Obama and the conservatives could not be happier. Both opposed gay marriage and Ryan at least is a right to lifer. He is bright and at the least his budget proposals are specific as opposed to Romney's who just opposes everything and proposes nothing. Ryan opposes everything about government (one wonders why he wants to run and oversee it) and proposes things which would push us back to the glory days of the 40's and 50's. If it were up to him, the USA women's success at the Olympics would never have happened because Title IX never would have happened and all the women would be at home, not working, and having babies. He is more dangerous in many ways than Romney. On the other hand, he gives the Dems something hard to punch as opposed to the jello that is the Mitter.
Then we have Tommy Menino who continues to fix my sidewalks and my potholes but still has not found it in his soul to endorse Elizabeth Warren. It is unfathomable--is it her gender, her Hahvahd connections, her lack of insider status? Whatever, Scottie is running free and needs to be kicked to the curb. Elizabeth is doing her part but Tommy needs to get off his fat ass and do something else beside pouring cement onto crumbling pavement.
I promise myself to look at my boy Nate's blog once a week and then find myself looking at it daily. He is still forecasting that the Prez will end up with close to 300 electoral votes but only has a 4% lead in the popular vote. This currently includes Obama wins in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Iowa, and Wisconsin; but Colorado just moved into the toss up category. I worry despite Nate's massive data analysis.
And then we have neither candidate daring to say a word about recent murders in Colorado and at the Sikh temple. They just want to send flowers and lower flags which I guess is all well and good but the NRA has them scared from even suggesting that perhaps we should ban automatic weapons. Even with very strict laws in this fair state, 3 women ended up being murdered just this week sitting in a car. More flowers and memorials; more ministers bemoaning the violence like they always do; and the guns keep coming. One of Neil Young's songs written after 9/11 quotes the comedian Chris Rock who more or less said: no more flowers and memorials; we need to do something. Ditto.
Then we have a city in Texas (McAllen, I think) which just built its High School a $60 million dollar football stadium. So fucked up--only irony is that Barbara and I just began watching old episodes of Friday Night Lights which of course is about High School football in Texas and while it might be good tv, it represents some sort of skewed value system.
SPORTS TALK
Bob Ryan covered the Olympics for the Globe and then semi retired. He was THE best Globe writer and one of the best in the country. The field is now open for that fool Shaughnessy to take charge. The only good news is that Chris Gasper who is very good has become the new columnist The bad news is that the Globe actually had 3 reporters in Baltimore for this series with Orioles--kind of like a death watch or something. Waiting for the smoke to come out of the Vatican chimney.
Let's be clear that the women outshone the men at the Olympics especially in the team sports. All due to the explosion of collegiate level women's athletics which in turn (as I mentioned before) is due to Title IX. Without it, you think the U.S. women would have won gold in basketball or water polo? Come on and then think about the Mitter and Mr. Ryan.
I hate Lebron but I will now grudgingly admit two things. The Heat beat the Celtics in game 6 (and then game 7) due to him and then he absolutely carried the men's Olympic team on his back on the way to gold. He is absolutely at the top of his game.
No more softball at the games but we do have Equestrian and Rhythmic Gymnastics--both pathetic excuses for sport. Has anyone seen those folks with their ribbons and beach balls doing god knows what. Oh my. But guess who is a member of my tribe? That would be Aly Reisman who actually had her Rabbi quoted in the paper talking about her Bat Mitzvah.
Mr Brady and the boys are back which is good for all fans of all local teams cuz the red flops are both flopping and fighting and will not recover. Gonzalez may be a good hitter but he is an undermining fool leading a clubhouse uprising. My boys down in NYC hit a few bumps but when Eric
Chavez is hitting .300 and Freddy Garcia can pitch 6 or more innings, they will be ok. Please check out what Jeter is doing.
Back to you all in mid September after a Rocky Mountain high.
Hope I offended someone.
Sayonara
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
USA! USA! USA!
More about my super patriotic phase later but for now I want to mention my new cousin. That would be Henry and his mother would be Samantha and his parents would be Greer and Andy. We will go see him face to face tomorrow and make sure they are doing everything correctly--because WE KNOW. Continuing the extended family portion of this screed, I took a road trip with our nephew Jake last week and visited 3 schools he might apply to in the fall. Had a great time with him and visited UVM, UMass, and Northeastern. Very different places. UVM is very very far. It is easy to understand why their orientation is north to Montreal since it is only 90 miles away. I was surprised at how isolated UMass seemed to be--from his home in NJ, Burlington felt more accessible than Amherst. He will have more visits and was great company--though we did not share music. He put in his ear buds and I blasted Bruce just to give us each a break from too much man talk.
Moving on to the Mitter. He stuck his foot, actually both feet, in his mouth in England and then decided to kiss a bunch of asses in Israel--including Mr. Adelson who is already giving him gobs of money. The Mitter has decided Jerusalem is the capital of the country though he might want to check with the Palestinians on that one. Honest to god, in the upcoming debates, if Obama does not chew him up and spit him out in the area of foreign policy, it will be a total mistake. The Mitter has no clue. He would, however, support Israel if it attacked Iran and thinks our domestic gun laws are fine despite the massacre in Colorado the perpetrator of which used an automatic weapon. The Mitter and the NRA totally support his right to have purchased the weapon.
On the other hand the murder of the Israelis in Bulgaria will not go unpunished. In a week or a month or sometime in the future, Israel will do something in Iran as retribution and will be able to deny it. I cannot say I can blame them if they start to see a pattern of Iranian violence against their travelling civilians. I also believe that all the Republicans requesting military intervention in Syria better look closely at Iraq and Afghanistan both of which are falling apart. They also are probably missing what I think is obvious--that the U.S. likely has some sort of "feet on the ground" either close by in Turkey or in Syria itself. We are also probably facilitating all sorts of weapon transfers and intelligence gathering for the resistance. So if I were John McCain, I would shut the fuck up.
The apologists are out in force to resurrect the image of Joe Paterno. The most pathetic sight was watching students watch the announcement of the sanctions--all in tears and twisting their hair and woe is me the statue is gone. Kick him while he is down I say. Now I read that Sandusky believes the sanctions are too severe. Raise your hands if any of you care about the opinion of a pedophile like him.
Nate Silver's poll analysis is getting me a bit too optimistic. This week, the data he analyzes projected Obama winning in Florida and Ohio which would pretty much doom the Mitter. I am trying to hold myself back but remember there are less than 100 days left until the election.
Two items of cultural interest or so I hope: Doonesbury has a new character by the name of "Jimmy Crow" drawn as (guess what) a crow. A reminder to us all of those Jim Crow laws of the 60's in the South used to keep African Americans from voting. The Republicans are doing it again in Florida and other states. Doonesbury nailed it. Then there is this documentary called "Pelotero' about the recruitment of Dominican baseball players and how sleazy the whole business is. Just terrific as well as depressing.
OLYMPIC NEWS AND NOTES
1. Please tell me why all Brazilian athletes use only one name. Does not matter what sport or what gender--just one name.
2. One of the analysts for water polo is the guy who covers ice hockey for NBC (a Canadian). He has been comparing the physicalness of water polo to ice hockey. You gotta watch one of these games. Absent the drowning of your opponent, you can pretty much do anything especially if it is underwater. Plus these folks have to tread water the whole time. Absolutely brutal. They wear these funny helmets which I guess is to protect their ears from getting bitten off which is not likely a penalty.
3. I believe we Americans overrate our athletes or to put it another way, we have no clue how good the rest of the world has gotten in all sports. Most noticeably in swimming.
4. I hate this tape delay business since I have already checked the Internet for the results and have no need to actually watch them unless I "care" about the sport or the athlete.
SPORTS TALK
My Yankees are slumping and I am not sure what Ichiro will bring except they needed someone out there. The pitching and hitting are both struggling right now. On the other hand, Jeter and Cano are playing out of their heads and may each end up with over 200 hits.
What do the red flops do about Josh Beckett except curse Theo who brought him here. He has a sucky attitude and now he cannot even pitch.
Not worried yet but the Patriots offensive line is how shall I say this--in flux and where the fuck is Brian Waters anyhow?
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you are on your cell phone, drinking coffee, and crossing a street in front of me, I may not be nice. Jessica is in Ghana which somehow is closer to us than England which really messes up my geographic balance. And then I worry about her being there. Will visit the Aubrun cemetery next week for my annual pre Jewish New Year visit. a lot of my family are in residence there.
Sayonara
Moving on to the Mitter. He stuck his foot, actually both feet, in his mouth in England and then decided to kiss a bunch of asses in Israel--including Mr. Adelson who is already giving him gobs of money. The Mitter has decided Jerusalem is the capital of the country though he might want to check with the Palestinians on that one. Honest to god, in the upcoming debates, if Obama does not chew him up and spit him out in the area of foreign policy, it will be a total mistake. The Mitter has no clue. He would, however, support Israel if it attacked Iran and thinks our domestic gun laws are fine despite the massacre in Colorado the perpetrator of which used an automatic weapon. The Mitter and the NRA totally support his right to have purchased the weapon.
On the other hand the murder of the Israelis in Bulgaria will not go unpunished. In a week or a month or sometime in the future, Israel will do something in Iran as retribution and will be able to deny it. I cannot say I can blame them if they start to see a pattern of Iranian violence against their travelling civilians. I also believe that all the Republicans requesting military intervention in Syria better look closely at Iraq and Afghanistan both of which are falling apart. They also are probably missing what I think is obvious--that the U.S. likely has some sort of "feet on the ground" either close by in Turkey or in Syria itself. We are also probably facilitating all sorts of weapon transfers and intelligence gathering for the resistance. So if I were John McCain, I would shut the fuck up.
The apologists are out in force to resurrect the image of Joe Paterno. The most pathetic sight was watching students watch the announcement of the sanctions--all in tears and twisting their hair and woe is me the statue is gone. Kick him while he is down I say. Now I read that Sandusky believes the sanctions are too severe. Raise your hands if any of you care about the opinion of a pedophile like him.
Nate Silver's poll analysis is getting me a bit too optimistic. This week, the data he analyzes projected Obama winning in Florida and Ohio which would pretty much doom the Mitter. I am trying to hold myself back but remember there are less than 100 days left until the election.
Two items of cultural interest or so I hope: Doonesbury has a new character by the name of "Jimmy Crow" drawn as (guess what) a crow. A reminder to us all of those Jim Crow laws of the 60's in the South used to keep African Americans from voting. The Republicans are doing it again in Florida and other states. Doonesbury nailed it. Then there is this documentary called "Pelotero' about the recruitment of Dominican baseball players and how sleazy the whole business is. Just terrific as well as depressing.
OLYMPIC NEWS AND NOTES
1. Please tell me why all Brazilian athletes use only one name. Does not matter what sport or what gender--just one name.
2. One of the analysts for water polo is the guy who covers ice hockey for NBC (a Canadian). He has been comparing the physicalness of water polo to ice hockey. You gotta watch one of these games. Absent the drowning of your opponent, you can pretty much do anything especially if it is underwater. Plus these folks have to tread water the whole time. Absolutely brutal. They wear these funny helmets which I guess is to protect their ears from getting bitten off which is not likely a penalty.
3. I believe we Americans overrate our athletes or to put it another way, we have no clue how good the rest of the world has gotten in all sports. Most noticeably in swimming.
4. I hate this tape delay business since I have already checked the Internet for the results and have no need to actually watch them unless I "care" about the sport or the athlete.
SPORTS TALK
My Yankees are slumping and I am not sure what Ichiro will bring except they needed someone out there. The pitching and hitting are both struggling right now. On the other hand, Jeter and Cano are playing out of their heads and may each end up with over 200 hits.
What do the red flops do about Josh Beckett except curse Theo who brought him here. He has a sucky attitude and now he cannot even pitch.
Not worried yet but the Patriots offensive line is how shall I say this--in flux and where the fuck is Brian Waters anyhow?
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you are on your cell phone, drinking coffee, and crossing a street in front of me, I may not be nice. Jessica is in Ghana which somehow is closer to us than England which really messes up my geographic balance. And then I worry about her being there. Will visit the Aubrun cemetery next week for my annual pre Jewish New Year visit. a lot of my family are in residence there.
Sayonara
Monday, July 16, 2012
FOURTEEN FUCKING YEARS
I don't even know where to begin. Except let's be clear there is a connection between the Penn State cover up and football. And lets also be clear that the ex-President of that fine university continues to occupy a tenured professorship in some department on that campus--so he is still around. And lets further be clear that the Paterno family is either out of touch with reality or in denial of reality or in cahoots with reality--because they continue to believe Joe Pa is not involved. Only thing is, he was more powerful than the ex-President and any other staff person and intimidated the Board and brought in tons of money. And lets be clear that at these big UNIVERSITIES (and I include Michigan in this) football programs (and basketball programs to a lesser extent) support all sorts of things including the athletic implications of Title IX. And then there are the kids--not just victims of a pedophile but victims of institutional abuse not so different than what occurred within the Catholic church. This kind of male dominated fiefdom subject to very little outside inspection and warped by some crazy sense of sexuality. In fact, lets further be clear that this is about men and what they do to children. It boggles the mind.
Have to move on to what seems much less important thoughts in no particular order.
--Mr. AG and Luce read the blog while in Italy. My first international experience. Very exciting.
--Ever have a friend for 60 years. Know what that means? Know what that feels like? Fuzzie would say it feels like the cool side of the pillow. Lilli would say it is comfy cozy--it is that and more. Seeing Charles and Myra in Newport was that "more" thingy that I have no words for.
--Was in a pizza place in Walpole last week. That is south of here but not south as in Alabama except for the photos in the place. The nickname of the teams at Walpole High are the "Rebels". Though I saw no signs of the flag, what is that about and what is it like for African American athletes at the school or on visitor teams to play when they see that shit.
--As of this moment Nate Silver still has Obama winning in November and winning some key state like Ohio and Virginia. Have to keep away from his blog since watching too frequently is not good for my mental health. But he has to be read.
--What does it mean when the pharmacist at CVS knows me by name? Kind of scary that I am on more meds than Barbara's mom who is in her 90's.
--The Mitter is being battered by this Bain business which is very flimsy but mainly relevant because he and his team seem unable to respond consistently and seem unable to make it go away.
--Ric Perry and a bunch of other bright light governors won't implement the Medicaid options in the Health Care bill not just because they think Obama may lose; but also because they are not sure everyone should have the same coverages that they have. It is pathetic.
--But as role models I present to you the Boehner (he who has a perpetual tan) and Cantor (he who is a member of my tribe) show. They orchestrated a vote to repeal the Act. And surprise it passed the House and now will die. It was a fool's errand and these fools are actually infantile fools unhappy with THEIR Supreme Court. I am beginning to realize the control of the Senate is as important as Obama winning.
--And Scottie of course is one of those who has made it clear he will vote for repeal--even though he used one of the Act's first pieces to get coverage for one of his kids who had no job. Menino remains on the sideline--despicable even if he fixes potholes with expediency.
--Anderson Cooper is gay and Babs knew that just like she knew about Barney--who had his wedding a week or so ago.
--If it is about jobs, I worry.
SPORTS TALK
Andy Murray strikes me from afar as a big whiny baby--you knew he would lose to Federer. He is just not there. I am winding myself up for my every two year super patriotic USA USA chant and mentality. With all my wonderful cable channels, I will be fully occupied beginning 7/27--can hardly wait for those team handball games which I don't understand and which will be covered probably at 2 A.M. our time on one of those channels. The Youklis trade was a good one. Though for the life of me, I have no clue about Ray Allen's decision. The only conclusion I have drawn is that it was meant as a slap at the Celtics. He will be playing the same role with the Heat that he would have played here--except of course they may win the championship again.
Now about those Yankees since it is after 7/4. I really believe good pitching beats good hitting so I am not prepared to anoint them as anything here in the heat of mid July. I will say their bullpen has been terrific, Cano remains a top 3 MVP candidate, and there is no explanation for how good Jeter is hitting. I am starting to believe he could get to 4000 hits.;
That's it.
Sayonara
Have to move on to what seems much less important thoughts in no particular order.
--Mr. AG and Luce read the blog while in Italy. My first international experience. Very exciting.
--Ever have a friend for 60 years. Know what that means? Know what that feels like? Fuzzie would say it feels like the cool side of the pillow. Lilli would say it is comfy cozy--it is that and more. Seeing Charles and Myra in Newport was that "more" thingy that I have no words for.
--Was in a pizza place in Walpole last week. That is south of here but not south as in Alabama except for the photos in the place. The nickname of the teams at Walpole High are the "Rebels". Though I saw no signs of the flag, what is that about and what is it like for African American athletes at the school or on visitor teams to play when they see that shit.
--As of this moment Nate Silver still has Obama winning in November and winning some key state like Ohio and Virginia. Have to keep away from his blog since watching too frequently is not good for my mental health. But he has to be read.
--What does it mean when the pharmacist at CVS knows me by name? Kind of scary that I am on more meds than Barbara's mom who is in her 90's.
--The Mitter is being battered by this Bain business which is very flimsy but mainly relevant because he and his team seem unable to respond consistently and seem unable to make it go away.
--Ric Perry and a bunch of other bright light governors won't implement the Medicaid options in the Health Care bill not just because they think Obama may lose; but also because they are not sure everyone should have the same coverages that they have. It is pathetic.
--But as role models I present to you the Boehner (he who has a perpetual tan) and Cantor (he who is a member of my tribe) show. They orchestrated a vote to repeal the Act. And surprise it passed the House and now will die. It was a fool's errand and these fools are actually infantile fools unhappy with THEIR Supreme Court. I am beginning to realize the control of the Senate is as important as Obama winning.
--And Scottie of course is one of those who has made it clear he will vote for repeal--even though he used one of the Act's first pieces to get coverage for one of his kids who had no job. Menino remains on the sideline--despicable even if he fixes potholes with expediency.
--Anderson Cooper is gay and Babs knew that just like she knew about Barney--who had his wedding a week or so ago.
--If it is about jobs, I worry.
SPORTS TALK
Andy Murray strikes me from afar as a big whiny baby--you knew he would lose to Federer. He is just not there. I am winding myself up for my every two year super patriotic USA USA chant and mentality. With all my wonderful cable channels, I will be fully occupied beginning 7/27--can hardly wait for those team handball games which I don't understand and which will be covered probably at 2 A.M. our time on one of those channels. The Youklis trade was a good one. Though for the life of me, I have no clue about Ray Allen's decision. The only conclusion I have drawn is that it was meant as a slap at the Celtics. He will be playing the same role with the Heat that he would have played here--except of course they may win the championship again.
Now about those Yankees since it is after 7/4. I really believe good pitching beats good hitting so I am not prepared to anoint them as anything here in the heat of mid July. I will say their bullpen has been terrific, Cano remains a top 3 MVP candidate, and there is no explanation for how good Jeter is hitting. I am starting to believe he could get to 4000 hits.;
That's it.
Sayonara
Monday, July 2, 2012
THE BEAR WAS SPOTTED OFF THE COURSE OF CHATHAM
No, no--the bear was in Brookline and the great white sharks were in the ocean off Chatham. Then the bear went to the berkshires via car and the sharks went onto--well, who knows where the sharks went. But maybe they are in the other animal story found in today's Globe--the one about stem cell use in animals. Barbara wanted to watch the news last night and the first 4 stories were about accidents involving death or injuries to adolescents. Now aren't you glad I'm back and glad that your anticipatory excitement was justified.
Had another terrific vist with the grandkids and took them along to Scranton for an overnight. They both can now play Sorry and Lilli and I have combative games of war. Took in a Bat Mitzvah during which I lifted the Torah to perfection--showing the entire congregation the 3 columns you are supposed to show. Then Tess, the future George Mason student, had a graduation party. Then home with the car spewing smoke on the Tappan Zee bridge--an adventure.
Moving on....I'm thinking that before the Supremes ruled, someone told Boehner (he who has a perpetual tan) and Cantor (he who is a member of my tribe) to zip it up. I thought they were in witness protection or something since we had not heard much from them. Maybe Romney kind of nicely suggested to shut up. But whereever they were, they are "out" now that the Supremes have ruled. Let's repeal the whole law, they shout. Here's what I say--fuck you. That conservative court made a decision and we live with it just like their decision in Bush/Gore. Live with it.
Speaking of the Supremes, their decision (even if I do not fully comprehend it) is monumental. First of all, some of the law's policies are already in place. If your kid just graduated from college and has no job, he/she can stay on your insusrance--think the Republicans want to mess with that. How about pre-existing conditions? How about the fact that annual physicals have no co-pay? This screwed them up though they are far from done. It further screwed them up since it was almost totally based on the Mass. law sheparded by none other than the Mitter. He cannot wiggle enough to get out from under this despite thundering about the first day in office (after he is elected) he will "cancel" it. I almost double dare them. This decision folowed the immigration decision which gutted about 90% of the Arizona law and the decision regarding juveniles who murder and requiring states to offer them parole. Almost an enlightened trio of major decisions.
By the way, Nate Silver on his blog has started projecting the November presidential race. Much to my surprise, he has Obama winning. Now this could fall in the category of no good deed goes unpunished or be careful what you wish for or some such aphorism; but this is much rosier than I would have thought. The states include all 3 of those in the upper mid west--Minn., Wisc., and Mich.
Speaking of rosy (not), someone needs to tell me why Menino has not endorsed Elizbeth Warren (on the other hand if I get one more email or phone call from her campaign I might scream). All I have come up with is that she is not part of the old boys network or she has never "done" anything for him (since she of course has never been in office) but keeping his big fat yap shut is just plain miserable. I mean Scottie is still against Obamacare. This depsite the fact that one of his college graduate daughters used the benefit I mentioned earlier.
I worry that the Syrian situation will force Obama's hand into doing "something". It is getting very ugly over there and Assad is showing no willingness to back off. It is getting harder for me to understand why Libya and not Syria. If that "something" happens, it better be as part of some UN or Arab League sponsored effort. I read that we already have CIA teams in the country assisting the insurgents.
It is entirely not good for the environment but I do love having central a/c. Oh my--in my prehistoric youth, I was packed off most summers with a bathing suit, glove, bat and lunch on my bike to Shenendoah Park. There to spend the whole day with Charles, Gary, and David. I cannot remember if we were bothered by the heat or not. I do know that after 40 years up North, I hate it. I did lose regularly to Charles on rainy days when we played ping pong indoors--he was convinced that the game itself was a political one being how the russians and the chinese dominated it. I was not that bright.
So in an effort to return some dollars to the Medicaid budget (dollars cut a few years ago when things were worse), our enlightened legislators will now allow recipients to have their front teeth fixed because it will be better for them when they interview. No back teeth work god forbid.
SPORTS TALK
So, in the very first round of the Euro Cup, I watched two games with teams whose names were viirtually unprounanceable because they had almost no vowels--Poland, Greece, Russia, and the Czech Republic. All also got elimnated quite early. Spain just won the thing--they are referred to as the "tika taka" team because---if 6 of them were in a phone booth, they could still pass the ball to each other like tic tac toe. I mean you have to see them do this even if some of the soccer is so boring and some of the players just dive all over the fucking place. They won it with out my favorite Spaniard David Villa. Furthermore, how can someone with the last name of Ibrahmovic be Swedish? On the other hand a lot of Europeans are fairly angry about the immigrants in their countries. Yet when you look at the diversity of some European teams, you know they have no problem with them on their national sooccer teams. Germany has players with Kurdish roots, Hispanic roots, and one with Turkish roots on its team. Anyone notice Mr. Baloltelli from Italy as an example? And why does America produce world class goalies but no one who can put the ball in the net?
I hate Lebron but he basically bullied his way and his teams to that win over the Celtics. But KG is coming back and that is both good and imortant. The loss of Tim Thomas and his Tea party politics is no loss--let him sit.
Youk Youk--my favorite Greek Jewish third basemen. Gone along with his crazy batting stance. I hate the red flops but this was a good move. Now it is almost 7/4 but not quite so I cannot get into a lengthy analysis of beisbol (as they say in Cuba)--but Cano is so far ahead of any second baseman in the game that it is scary.
Thats it.
Sayonara
Had another terrific vist with the grandkids and took them along to Scranton for an overnight. They both can now play Sorry and Lilli and I have combative games of war. Took in a Bat Mitzvah during which I lifted the Torah to perfection--showing the entire congregation the 3 columns you are supposed to show. Then Tess, the future George Mason student, had a graduation party. Then home with the car spewing smoke on the Tappan Zee bridge--an adventure.
Moving on....I'm thinking that before the Supremes ruled, someone told Boehner (he who has a perpetual tan) and Cantor (he who is a member of my tribe) to zip it up. I thought they were in witness protection or something since we had not heard much from them. Maybe Romney kind of nicely suggested to shut up. But whereever they were, they are "out" now that the Supremes have ruled. Let's repeal the whole law, they shout. Here's what I say--fuck you. That conservative court made a decision and we live with it just like their decision in Bush/Gore. Live with it.
Speaking of the Supremes, their decision (even if I do not fully comprehend it) is monumental. First of all, some of the law's policies are already in place. If your kid just graduated from college and has no job, he/she can stay on your insusrance--think the Republicans want to mess with that. How about pre-existing conditions? How about the fact that annual physicals have no co-pay? This screwed them up though they are far from done. It further screwed them up since it was almost totally based on the Mass. law sheparded by none other than the Mitter. He cannot wiggle enough to get out from under this despite thundering about the first day in office (after he is elected) he will "cancel" it. I almost double dare them. This decision folowed the immigration decision which gutted about 90% of the Arizona law and the decision regarding juveniles who murder and requiring states to offer them parole. Almost an enlightened trio of major decisions.
By the way, Nate Silver on his blog has started projecting the November presidential race. Much to my surprise, he has Obama winning. Now this could fall in the category of no good deed goes unpunished or be careful what you wish for or some such aphorism; but this is much rosier than I would have thought. The states include all 3 of those in the upper mid west--Minn., Wisc., and Mich.
Speaking of rosy (not), someone needs to tell me why Menino has not endorsed Elizbeth Warren (on the other hand if I get one more email or phone call from her campaign I might scream). All I have come up with is that she is not part of the old boys network or she has never "done" anything for him (since she of course has never been in office) but keeping his big fat yap shut is just plain miserable. I mean Scottie is still against Obamacare. This depsite the fact that one of his college graduate daughters used the benefit I mentioned earlier.
I worry that the Syrian situation will force Obama's hand into doing "something". It is getting very ugly over there and Assad is showing no willingness to back off. It is getting harder for me to understand why Libya and not Syria. If that "something" happens, it better be as part of some UN or Arab League sponsored effort. I read that we already have CIA teams in the country assisting the insurgents.
It is entirely not good for the environment but I do love having central a/c. Oh my--in my prehistoric youth, I was packed off most summers with a bathing suit, glove, bat and lunch on my bike to Shenendoah Park. There to spend the whole day with Charles, Gary, and David. I cannot remember if we were bothered by the heat or not. I do know that after 40 years up North, I hate it. I did lose regularly to Charles on rainy days when we played ping pong indoors--he was convinced that the game itself was a political one being how the russians and the chinese dominated it. I was not that bright.
So in an effort to return some dollars to the Medicaid budget (dollars cut a few years ago when things were worse), our enlightened legislators will now allow recipients to have their front teeth fixed because it will be better for them when they interview. No back teeth work god forbid.
SPORTS TALK
So, in the very first round of the Euro Cup, I watched two games with teams whose names were viirtually unprounanceable because they had almost no vowels--Poland, Greece, Russia, and the Czech Republic. All also got elimnated quite early. Spain just won the thing--they are referred to as the "tika taka" team because---if 6 of them were in a phone booth, they could still pass the ball to each other like tic tac toe. I mean you have to see them do this even if some of the soccer is so boring and some of the players just dive all over the fucking place. They won it with out my favorite Spaniard David Villa. Furthermore, how can someone with the last name of Ibrahmovic be Swedish? On the other hand a lot of Europeans are fairly angry about the immigrants in their countries. Yet when you look at the diversity of some European teams, you know they have no problem with them on their national sooccer teams. Germany has players with Kurdish roots, Hispanic roots, and one with Turkish roots on its team. Anyone notice Mr. Baloltelli from Italy as an example? And why does America produce world class goalies but no one who can put the ball in the net?
I hate Lebron but he basically bullied his way and his teams to that win over the Celtics. But KG is coming back and that is both good and imortant. The loss of Tim Thomas and his Tea party politics is no loss--let him sit.
Youk Youk--my favorite Greek Jewish third basemen. Gone along with his crazy batting stance. I hate the red flops but this was a good move. Now it is almost 7/4 but not quite so I cannot get into a lengthy analysis of beisbol (as they say in Cuba)--but Cano is so far ahead of any second baseman in the game that it is scary.
Thats it.
Sayonara
Friday, June 1, 2012
"OFFICIALS THINK BEAR SWAM TO CAPE"
I have a plethora of journalistic thoughts but will start with what is really sticking in my craw. I am sick to shit of Brian McGrory trying to figure out what % of Elizabeth Warren's genetic make up is Native American. And how she got her academic appointments. Today, she finally sent out an email in which she at least starts kicking back. This is a non fucking issue unrelated to the votes Scottie has made or the politics of DC. It boggles the mind that there is so much stuff that is important and the media (especially this guy) are preoccupied with this. Perhaps this is the Globe's way of trying to be balanced. Let McGrory run amok to balance their editorials which generally support her. It sucks and Menino cannot yet endorse anyone. He is a joke who fixes potholes which I guess is what people care about.
Our week in Philadelphia was great though I swear my geography gets totally turned upside down when I am there. Fortunately, I did not have to drive too much because I thought east was west and west was east; but I also thought my grandchildren were terrific. I read to Lilli's class and picked up Oliver a few times and got to see them both at play and at home. The gender stuff is amazing. What Lilli is into as opposed to Oliver. I am not smart enough to figure that out. But it is testimony to Jess and Steffen that they have two great kids who actually like to spend time with me and Barbara. For me, it is an experience I never had.
Since coming back, I have been thinking a lot about the burdens we carry from childhood. Burdens I carry which in turn created some burdens that Anna and Jess carry and now presumably are being transmitted silently or otherwise to Oliver and Lilli. Barbara does not like it when I use history as an explanation for some ugliness of mine in the present. But there is something about what I do now that has a direct line to what I saw or learned or heard when I was 4 and 8 like my grandchildren.
I suppose there are some positives that get transmitted on down the line as well--at least i can see (or hope I see) some of them in the lives of both Anna and Jessica. But it is the negative ones that stick---as in, I am with my father for one of our weekly visitations driving down Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. He is both high and drunk and rear ends the guy in front of us. To top it off, he decides the guy is wrong and starts a big verbal spat. I have nowhere to hide and start slinking down in the front seat. What did that teach me or show me and did I then transmit something to my kids? UGH--best repressed I think.
Speaking of UGH (and back to journalism 101), the Globe now runs stories under headlines like the title of this blog. Poof journalism I call it. There is so much going on in the world and we get to think about a bear swimming in salt water. They have cut so many staff and depend on stringers and wire services (cheaper because there are no hires and no salaries and no benefits) that they end up with these poof stories. Amazing that they have won two Pulitzers in the last two years. I think their sports pages are still strong because those are live and real events and you cannot have a wire service reporter from Omaha doing the writing from his den. Further UGH--the New Orleans Times Picayune and two other Newhouse newspapers (including the Ann Arbor News) have gone to 4 day a week printing. The other 3 days , they only offer on line editions. Cutting everywhere and I think it is a reflection of the younger generation being so tech savvy and the pressure to make money.
Speaking of money, the bright light running JP Morgan is everyone's friend and so no one wants to really go after him. Plus JP apparently has a bazillion dollars in the bank. But this Dimon guy (who I am betting is a member of my tribe) lost 2 billion in one of his divisions and is still seen as one of the best. Anyone else in any other field would have been kicked to the curb. This is just a small irritant and none of the talking heads even blinked.
The crazy lady sitting in front of the Bank of America on Centre Street is back. I wonder if the Prez of the bank knows she is there. She drives up in her car which has a phony Aruba license plate that they sell in tourista shops and sells yard sale crap at the bank front door. Like it was original art. Its crap and she chats up everyone and has a big flowing gown on and makes it look like she is an Arteest.
Not enough jobs were created in May and the unemployment went up a tick which is horrendous news for Obama. Plus the stupid stock market went into the tubes on that news. This after I was feeling a bit optimistic about his chances in November. The gay marriage thing plus some good economic news even had polls looking up--now this.
I will continue to watch it but I am finished "liking" Girls on HBO. It is such a show about privilege that I am not sure what to do with it. I watch it because it has given me some insight into the life of all these young folks living in Brookliyn and barely making ends meet. I am thinking I know a person who fits the target demographics of the show. But I did see a terrific on demand movie--"Polisse" about the Child Protection Unit of the Paris police. Very disturbing but also eye opening and based on factual cases of child abuse though it is a drama.
A line stolen from Andy Borowitz: "Trump could help Romney win the elusive billionaire asshole vote". Trump who still yaks about where Obama was born.
The nuns are coming, the nuns are coming (as opposed to the Russians with Ernie Kovacs). They are in open revolt against the Vatican. I figure they will get squashed perhaps led by Cardinal Law who is still lurking over there.
SPORTS
Bob Ryan, who gets my vote for the best basketball writer in America, is retiring. He reminded us last week that the Celtics are playing with house money. That most of us including me never thought they would get this far. And that Rondo's 53 minute effort two nights ago was unconscious. They lose tonight and it is over.
Tim Thomas may not play next year. good--let the Bruins use his salary (5 million) and sign a scorer or two. He can go the world tea party headquarters and lick envelopes.
I don't get women's softball. First of all I could not get close to hitting any of those pitches. But they have meetings after every out, they all look alike (and there are far too few kids of color probably because they are all on the bb court), and the umpires have this habit of waiting a beat or two before calling strikes. just don't get it.
Happy 43rd Babs.
Sayonara
Our week in Philadelphia was great though I swear my geography gets totally turned upside down when I am there. Fortunately, I did not have to drive too much because I thought east was west and west was east; but I also thought my grandchildren were terrific. I read to Lilli's class and picked up Oliver a few times and got to see them both at play and at home. The gender stuff is amazing. What Lilli is into as opposed to Oliver. I am not smart enough to figure that out. But it is testimony to Jess and Steffen that they have two great kids who actually like to spend time with me and Barbara. For me, it is an experience I never had.
Since coming back, I have been thinking a lot about the burdens we carry from childhood. Burdens I carry which in turn created some burdens that Anna and Jess carry and now presumably are being transmitted silently or otherwise to Oliver and Lilli. Barbara does not like it when I use history as an explanation for some ugliness of mine in the present. But there is something about what I do now that has a direct line to what I saw or learned or heard when I was 4 and 8 like my grandchildren.
I suppose there are some positives that get transmitted on down the line as well--at least i can see (or hope I see) some of them in the lives of both Anna and Jessica. But it is the negative ones that stick---as in, I am with my father for one of our weekly visitations driving down Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. He is both high and drunk and rear ends the guy in front of us. To top it off, he decides the guy is wrong and starts a big verbal spat. I have nowhere to hide and start slinking down in the front seat. What did that teach me or show me and did I then transmit something to my kids? UGH--best repressed I think.
Speaking of UGH (and back to journalism 101), the Globe now runs stories under headlines like the title of this blog. Poof journalism I call it. There is so much going on in the world and we get to think about a bear swimming in salt water. They have cut so many staff and depend on stringers and wire services (cheaper because there are no hires and no salaries and no benefits) that they end up with these poof stories. Amazing that they have won two Pulitzers in the last two years. I think their sports pages are still strong because those are live and real events and you cannot have a wire service reporter from Omaha doing the writing from his den. Further UGH--the New Orleans Times Picayune and two other Newhouse newspapers (including the Ann Arbor News) have gone to 4 day a week printing. The other 3 days , they only offer on line editions. Cutting everywhere and I think it is a reflection of the younger generation being so tech savvy and the pressure to make money.
Speaking of money, the bright light running JP Morgan is everyone's friend and so no one wants to really go after him. Plus JP apparently has a bazillion dollars in the bank. But this Dimon guy (who I am betting is a member of my tribe) lost 2 billion in one of his divisions and is still seen as one of the best. Anyone else in any other field would have been kicked to the curb. This is just a small irritant and none of the talking heads even blinked.
The crazy lady sitting in front of the Bank of America on Centre Street is back. I wonder if the Prez of the bank knows she is there. She drives up in her car which has a phony Aruba license plate that they sell in tourista shops and sells yard sale crap at the bank front door. Like it was original art. Its crap and she chats up everyone and has a big flowing gown on and makes it look like she is an Arteest.
Not enough jobs were created in May and the unemployment went up a tick which is horrendous news for Obama. Plus the stupid stock market went into the tubes on that news. This after I was feeling a bit optimistic about his chances in November. The gay marriage thing plus some good economic news even had polls looking up--now this.
I will continue to watch it but I am finished "liking" Girls on HBO. It is such a show about privilege that I am not sure what to do with it. I watch it because it has given me some insight into the life of all these young folks living in Brookliyn and barely making ends meet. I am thinking I know a person who fits the target demographics of the show. But I did see a terrific on demand movie--"Polisse" about the Child Protection Unit of the Paris police. Very disturbing but also eye opening and based on factual cases of child abuse though it is a drama.
A line stolen from Andy Borowitz: "Trump could help Romney win the elusive billionaire asshole vote". Trump who still yaks about where Obama was born.
The nuns are coming, the nuns are coming (as opposed to the Russians with Ernie Kovacs). They are in open revolt against the Vatican. I figure they will get squashed perhaps led by Cardinal Law who is still lurking over there.
SPORTS
Bob Ryan, who gets my vote for the best basketball writer in America, is retiring. He reminded us last week that the Celtics are playing with house money. That most of us including me never thought they would get this far. And that Rondo's 53 minute effort two nights ago was unconscious. They lose tonight and it is over.
Tim Thomas may not play next year. good--let the Bruins use his salary (5 million) and sign a scorer or two. He can go the world tea party headquarters and lick envelopes.
I don't get women's softball. First of all I could not get close to hitting any of those pitches. But they have meetings after every out, they all look alike (and there are far too few kids of color probably because they are all on the bb court), and the umpires have this habit of waiting a beat or two before calling strikes. just don't get it.
Happy 43rd Babs.
Sayonara
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
ASSORTED ODDS AND ENDS
Where to start? Mayor Menino cannot decide who to endorse--Scottie or Liz. C'mon, this cannot be a tough decision even for Tommy. This is more of the same--the old boy network at work. And Liz for her part continues to raise all sorts of money but is stumped by this issue related to her ancestry. Not even raising her voice in anger at the total fucking distraction of the whole thing. The total misdirection away from how Scottie votes and what the Republican party stands for. And Tommy cannot decide.
I don't care if Obama was being expedient politically or if Biden's comments forced his hand or if (as some have said) Michelle made him do it. But he came out of whatever closet his brain was in and said it. He supports same sex marriage. Now, as I may have mentioned before, he can forget about every state in the South and concentrate on the coasts and the upper mid west except for New Mexico and Colorado. We had guests over this week and one of them was especially pessimistic feeling he just lost the whole thing. My take (perhaps naively) is that Barack and his crew are smarter than me in terms of counting the votes and they gotta have figured this out before he said a word. You think he was ever going to win Georgia or Mississippi--not in a bazillion years. Good for him.
Polls out now suggest Romney and Obama are dead even--with Barack slightly ahead in Ohio and Pennsylvania which he desperately needs. Maybe people will think Romney is weirder than a gay marriage supporter. After all he is a Mormon and they do believe in polygamy, right? Hope re-runs of Big Love start running in the fall. But at least Michelle Bachman gave the Mitter her endorsement--trying to remain relevant I suppose. Then there is this from Anna's Governor (a direct quote cuz I wrote it down!!): ""God help us if Mitt doesn't win". What the fuck--write off Texas too.
Wall Street people contribute nothing of social value--they are just guessers who are usually well paid and well educated. The market went down because these bright lights thought unemployment should have dropped by a higher percentage. So .1% is not much but it did drop. The boys and some girls created a sell off and the market went down the tubes. They also managed to feel disrespected by Zuckerberg because he came to tout his IPO in a hoodie--no tie, no jacket. They felt dissed. Well I have no love for the Z boychik but good if they got dissed. Like who cares.
John McCain would like us to invade Syria on our own. Does he not see what I see in Iraq and Afghanistan? Is he getting senile? In the other countries there are more or less coalitions/we are not on our own and yet both are failing countries. What--he wants to add Syria to the list. Let the Arab League or Turkey take the lead.
Considering I recommended a book about a journalist in Juarez in my last blog, it is distressing to see the daily deaths of so many Mexican journalists. The demand for drugs up here combined with the crap economy down there has all these hoods with guns running amok. Another country on my list of places never to visit.
Went out of our hood to Allston for din din the other night. Felt like we were in the midst of the "sutdent spring". It being a warm day and all, the streets were alive with all the studentes. Could not find a praking space and ended up back in JP. I will be glad when the academic year is fully over.
So I am driving on Centre St. stuck in traffic as is the woman going in the opposite direction yakking on her cell (even though she has a passenger) saying among other things: "he is so calm and honest and open". So fucking loud we could hear the entire new agey conversation. And of course I could continue to bore you with crazed bike rider tales but wont.
Ehud Olmert, former Israeli Prime Minister, pretty much said that right wing Jews in the old U.S. of A. pretty much undermined any peace initiatives when he was running the country. Good for Sumner Redstone, Sheldon Adelson, and the boys. Way to go perpetuating continued isolation of Israle from the world community.
Saw a terrific artist at a street fair in the South End. Has a motif called "Zombies hate...". Among other things, they hate technology and hippies and hundreds of others. He could be in this blog forever. Then he draws the pictures. Just Wonderful and as usual I could not pull the trigger. Ugh.
SPORTS TALK
Rivera goes down and Robertson fills in and then he goes down. Lucky the bullpen is one of the strengths of the Yankees. Lucky is not the right word for Josh Beckett who is hated by the media and the media have whipped up the fans. He happens to be a bliterhing idiot himself but some of the attacks are downright ugly.
What to say about Junior Seau. Too young/left children behind/played to long with too many undiagnosed head injuries. Not sure but I loved his hats and his smile.
Off to the City of Brotherly Love next week for some baby sitting.
Sayonara
I don't care if Obama was being expedient politically or if Biden's comments forced his hand or if (as some have said) Michelle made him do it. But he came out of whatever closet his brain was in and said it. He supports same sex marriage. Now, as I may have mentioned before, he can forget about every state in the South and concentrate on the coasts and the upper mid west except for New Mexico and Colorado. We had guests over this week and one of them was especially pessimistic feeling he just lost the whole thing. My take (perhaps naively) is that Barack and his crew are smarter than me in terms of counting the votes and they gotta have figured this out before he said a word. You think he was ever going to win Georgia or Mississippi--not in a bazillion years. Good for him.
Polls out now suggest Romney and Obama are dead even--with Barack slightly ahead in Ohio and Pennsylvania which he desperately needs. Maybe people will think Romney is weirder than a gay marriage supporter. After all he is a Mormon and they do believe in polygamy, right? Hope re-runs of Big Love start running in the fall. But at least Michelle Bachman gave the Mitter her endorsement--trying to remain relevant I suppose. Then there is this from Anna's Governor (a direct quote cuz I wrote it down!!): ""God help us if Mitt doesn't win". What the fuck--write off Texas too.
Wall Street people contribute nothing of social value--they are just guessers who are usually well paid and well educated. The market went down because these bright lights thought unemployment should have dropped by a higher percentage. So .1% is not much but it did drop. The boys and some girls created a sell off and the market went down the tubes. They also managed to feel disrespected by Zuckerberg because he came to tout his IPO in a hoodie--no tie, no jacket. They felt dissed. Well I have no love for the Z boychik but good if they got dissed. Like who cares.
John McCain would like us to invade Syria on our own. Does he not see what I see in Iraq and Afghanistan? Is he getting senile? In the other countries there are more or less coalitions/we are not on our own and yet both are failing countries. What--he wants to add Syria to the list. Let the Arab League or Turkey take the lead.
Considering I recommended a book about a journalist in Juarez in my last blog, it is distressing to see the daily deaths of so many Mexican journalists. The demand for drugs up here combined with the crap economy down there has all these hoods with guns running amok. Another country on my list of places never to visit.
Went out of our hood to Allston for din din the other night. Felt like we were in the midst of the "sutdent spring". It being a warm day and all, the streets were alive with all the studentes. Could not find a praking space and ended up back in JP. I will be glad when the academic year is fully over.
So I am driving on Centre St. stuck in traffic as is the woman going in the opposite direction yakking on her cell (even though she has a passenger) saying among other things: "he is so calm and honest and open". So fucking loud we could hear the entire new agey conversation. And of course I could continue to bore you with crazed bike rider tales but wont.
Ehud Olmert, former Israeli Prime Minister, pretty much said that right wing Jews in the old U.S. of A. pretty much undermined any peace initiatives when he was running the country. Good for Sumner Redstone, Sheldon Adelson, and the boys. Way to go perpetuating continued isolation of Israle from the world community.
Saw a terrific artist at a street fair in the South End. Has a motif called "Zombies hate...". Among other things, they hate technology and hippies and hundreds of others. He could be in this blog forever. Then he draws the pictures. Just Wonderful and as usual I could not pull the trigger. Ugh.
SPORTS TALK
Rivera goes down and Robertson fills in and then he goes down. Lucky the bullpen is one of the strengths of the Yankees. Lucky is not the right word for Josh Beckett who is hated by the media and the media have whipped up the fans. He happens to be a bliterhing idiot himself but some of the attacks are downright ugly.
What to say about Junior Seau. Too young/left children behind/played to long with too many undiagnosed head injuries. Not sure but I loved his hats and his smile.
Off to the City of Brotherly Love next week for some baby sitting.
Sayonara
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
LOOK, UP IN THE SKY--IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE--NO IT'S....
Actually, it's a group of Howler monkeys who actually do howl. Two adults--presumably mom and dad; and two babies. All howling, all flying from branch to branch, and all being watched ever so diligently by two of the ugliest vultures I have ever seen in my whole life. Not just ugly but humongous. Perhaps hoping for a meal or three. All of this poolside in Nosara, Costa Rica. A small village on the Pacific coast where we went for 6 days to celebrate the wedding of Stef and Graham. Had a wonderful time with wonderful weather, wonderful people, and a wonderful ceremony. selfishly, it was especially nice because Anna, Jess, and Lilli joined us and we had some good family time with them. No beach for me,however. You get sand between your toes when you go to the beach and you are wiping the sand out seemingly forever. And I grew up in Florida.
Before I go any further--congrats to Tess who will be a member of the cheerleading squad at George Mason University in the fall. Good for her. Not that she told me but I learned that old George is considered one of the founders of our country. Had no clue--if only Mrs. Reynolds had taught me History as well as Latin.
So Scottie wants Warren Buffet to shut up and just pay the taxes for his secretary which of course (given Scottie's brain capacity) misses the whole point. Then today he twisted himself into knots explaining why his daughter is covered by the state's mandated insurance benefit but he voted against obamacare. Seems like he loves it for him and his family but would not recommend it if it is mandated for someone elsewhere. By the way try as I might, I just don't get this whole thing about Elizabeth Warren and whether Harvard identified her as a member of a minority group. What am I missing? I will tell you I hope she gets the wheels back on her bike because there has been a noticeable drop in her zeal recently.
Also seen way too many comments by and pictures of Bob Kraft with the Mitter. It all goes back to Israel and the perception that the Mitter is a stronger supporter. Those alta kakers (Yiddish for old shits) in AIPAC are giving the Mitter big bucks.
Congressman Allan West is an African American/Republican from my old state--yup that would be Florida. And guess what this bright light thinks--at least 81 of his House colleagues are Communists. Perfect--a fucking lunatic which if I am Barack, I just skip Florida in terms of November.
Cartagena is another story. Apparently everyone except me knew that it is the place to go in South America for prostitutes--kind of like Amsterdam in Europe. I guess some of our soldiers and secret service men knew about it. Maybe it was a good think Cuba was not invited--god only knows what that old Raul Castro might have done. Then the Supremes are asking questions which leads folks to believe they might like the nasty immigration law in Arizona. I'm telling you, whoever wins in November will get two or three nominees on that court--if for no other reason, that is why Barack has to be a winner.
A new rule if you see me driving down the street--if you are on your cell phone and want me to stop while you cross the street yakking on it, watch out. I don't stop for multi taskers. Second new rule--motorized scooters (like Vespas) are not bikes. They should not be using the bike lane. Not sure how to interfere with them without injuring someone but I am a bit tired of having them lap me at long lines. UGH.
SPORTS TALK
So I did glow about Rondo two weeks ago and yeah he continues to play out of his mind. Equally out of his mind is his infantile outburst on national tv Sunday. Those are the times he s nothing but a nuisance and a baby and if he wears one more band aid or pad, I think we need to call the EMT's--enough. The Bruins went peacefully into the night and for once I am in agreement with some of the talking heads. Lucic needs to figure out his game. He was a non factor and not just because he did not score. He hit nothing but air and he is physically imposing. Without Seguin, there was nothing. And Sid the Kid might be the best player in the league but after his putrid performance against the Flyers, the Penguins can have him. Also another baby. Like the frist two picks of the Pats--but if they are not starters, then they are busts period. Sayonara.
Before I go any further--congrats to Tess who will be a member of the cheerleading squad at George Mason University in the fall. Good for her. Not that she told me but I learned that old George is considered one of the founders of our country. Had no clue--if only Mrs. Reynolds had taught me History as well as Latin.
So Scottie wants Warren Buffet to shut up and just pay the taxes for his secretary which of course (given Scottie's brain capacity) misses the whole point. Then today he twisted himself into knots explaining why his daughter is covered by the state's mandated insurance benefit but he voted against obamacare. Seems like he loves it for him and his family but would not recommend it if it is mandated for someone elsewhere. By the way try as I might, I just don't get this whole thing about Elizabeth Warren and whether Harvard identified her as a member of a minority group. What am I missing? I will tell you I hope she gets the wheels back on her bike because there has been a noticeable drop in her zeal recently.
Also seen way too many comments by and pictures of Bob Kraft with the Mitter. It all goes back to Israel and the perception that the Mitter is a stronger supporter. Those alta kakers (Yiddish for old shits) in AIPAC are giving the Mitter big bucks.
Congressman Allan West is an African American/Republican from my old state--yup that would be Florida. And guess what this bright light thinks--at least 81 of his House colleagues are Communists. Perfect--a fucking lunatic which if I am Barack, I just skip Florida in terms of November.
Cartagena is another story. Apparently everyone except me knew that it is the place to go in South America for prostitutes--kind of like Amsterdam in Europe. I guess some of our soldiers and secret service men knew about it. Maybe it was a good think Cuba was not invited--god only knows what that old Raul Castro might have done. Then the Supremes are asking questions which leads folks to believe they might like the nasty immigration law in Arizona. I'm telling you, whoever wins in November will get two or three nominees on that court--if for no other reason, that is why Barack has to be a winner.
A new rule if you see me driving down the street--if you are on your cell phone and want me to stop while you cross the street yakking on it, watch out. I don't stop for multi taskers. Second new rule--motorized scooters (like Vespas) are not bikes. They should not be using the bike lane. Not sure how to interfere with them without injuring someone but I am a bit tired of having them lap me at long lines. UGH.
SPORTS TALK
So I did glow about Rondo two weeks ago and yeah he continues to play out of his mind. Equally out of his mind is his infantile outburst on national tv Sunday. Those are the times he s nothing but a nuisance and a baby and if he wears one more band aid or pad, I think we need to call the EMT's--enough. The Bruins went peacefully into the night and for once I am in agreement with some of the talking heads. Lucic needs to figure out his game. He was a non factor and not just because he did not score. He hit nothing but air and he is physically imposing. Without Seguin, there was nothing. And Sid the Kid might be the best player in the league but after his putrid performance against the Flyers, the Penguins can have him. Also another baby. Like the frist two picks of the Pats--but if they are not starters, then they are busts period. Sayonara.
Monday, April 16, 2012
I'M KVELLIN'
No not jellin' with Dr. Scholl. And no not another word I learned from Mrs. Reynolds as she wrapped me with her ruler. Kvell(ing) without the "ing" is a Yiddish word I learned from my mother--it more or less means to take pride in but in a BIG BIG way. And I'm kvellin" because Barbara and I spent a week with Oliver and Lilli--those would be our grandchildren. Their school vacation week was a couple of weeks ago and we met them and their parental drivers at the famous Ruby Road exit off I-84 in Northern Connecticut--home of that scrumptious all you can eat buffet which all of us passed on. Though we did manage to have lunch and exchange precious cargo--made it back home to Beantown in time for dinner and a week with the kids. They were wonderful and we did a lot of stuff with them including the Big Apple circus, the zoo, the MFA, assorted meals out, and some parks. They also had some play dates with old friends which they really enjoyed. I have been reminded by their mother that I don't know what its like to raise two kids so close in age. She is oh so right. My eyes were poked literally/regularly somewhere around 7 every morning and while someone else (Babs) was able to get a few more zzz's, the kids and I stumbled downstairs to begin our morning routines--which more or less meant unlimited tv until I could really wake up. The week ended with their parents arriving and joining the kids and assorted relatives for the first Seder. A really nice evening which both kids participated in. Lilli read the 4 questions in
English. Just a terrific time--Jess and Steffen have done a great job. We shall repeat our stellar performance in May this time in the City of Brotherly Love.
Moving on--Want to welcome the 4 Fleishers to this space. I am pushing closer to 50 though I am missing some key states--like Mississippi which as I have often said ranks 50th in terms of medical care in the country but has the world's best sex addiction facility--just ask Tiger. Know someone from the heart of the Confederacy?
Speaking of the confederacy, I think the best decision I ever made was to leave Florida. That state has turned into an armed camp so it should be no surprise that this child Trayvon was killed since guns are so prevalent and there is a law allowing you to "defend" yourself and your property. Furthermore, the new Hispanic manager of the now Miami (not Florida) Marlins is Ozzie Guillen. The man has always spoken his mind so anyone hiring him should have expected something to erupt sooner or later--in this case sooner. He decided he had an opinion about Fidel and the opinion was that maybe he was not so bad. Well, those octogenarian Cuban refugees might and did disagree. Caused a big hullabaloo down there and he got himself suspended not by Major League Baseball but by the team which is very mindful of the need for the support of the Hispanic community. Miami is simply run by these folks as if the revolution were a week ago. BTW, I was going to put this in the SPORTS section but a close friend insisted that I put it above the fold as they say in my business. Finally, we have Obama in Venezuela refusing to agree to allow Cuba to participate in whatever kind of Inter-American confab he was attending. Just fucking great kissing up to those Octo's like he is ever going to win Florida to begin with.
So Romney will be Barack's opponent and so far every poll shows Barack winning. My two polls consist of talking to one person from Ohio and one from NH--both of whom say nope he wont win their state. So I would be worried. Hope that unemployment rate is 7% by November and that every woman, person of color, and gay person in American votes. Otherwise the Supreme Court will end up worse than it is now.
I saw some list of the country's best hospitals and just don't get the following. Both MGH and Brigham and Women's made it but not Deaconess which just happens to be where all my docs are. All 3 are Hahvahd hospitals. What I don't get is why 2 make it and the third does not--do the boys/girls at Hahvahd shell out resources differently? And what about Mt. Auburn also a Hahvahd teaching hospital. There is something screwed up about all this.
The Bib C is back with Laura Linney--I love it and the best thing is that in the new season her hubby (Oliver Platt who I love) has started his own blog and immediately outed Laura for having had an affair. The least I can say is that I know my boundaries. A terrific show.
And a terrific book about Juarez Mexico whose name I forget but the author is Robert Andrew Powell. He went there to live and wanted to write about the god awful murder rate--about 5 on an average day. But he ends up using the local soccer team as the vehicle to enter the community and integrates its season with all the killing. He is on the same bench as Jon Krakauer and Sebastian Junger.
Speaking of Passover (and I was way back there) the vegetarian chopped liver from Whole Foods is simply to die for.
SPORTS TALK
The great white hype (that would be Phil) and Tiger both failed at Augusta. I cannot stand to watch Phil and his all white rooting section. On the other hand Tiger continues to have major psychological problems and I guess he may need to head back into Mississippi for a tune up.
I actually picked Kentucky in the NCAA pool but lost so many other games, I finished way down. The minute there are upsets especially by a smaller school (like Murray State this year) over a big conference school, I am totally screwed since I pretty much believe the stronger conference should prevail. Wrong.
The Celtics are playing better and as the boys on PTI would say--"they were going to trade Rondo? Are they crazy". He is playing out of his mind though every so often he makes a first grade dopey play. And speaking of out of his mind, Tim Thomas is there again despite his despicable politics. Now if only someone could put the puck in the net. At least those dastardly Canucks are in worse shape.
Off for Stef and Grahams big wedding event in Costa Rica. Hoping to see the monkeys up in the trees but no zip lines for me.
I do love Bruce's new album. Been wearing it out in the car.
sayonara
English. Just a terrific time--Jess and Steffen have done a great job. We shall repeat our stellar performance in May this time in the City of Brotherly Love.
Moving on--Want to welcome the 4 Fleishers to this space. I am pushing closer to 50 though I am missing some key states--like Mississippi which as I have often said ranks 50th in terms of medical care in the country but has the world's best sex addiction facility--just ask Tiger. Know someone from the heart of the Confederacy?
Speaking of the confederacy, I think the best decision I ever made was to leave Florida. That state has turned into an armed camp so it should be no surprise that this child Trayvon was killed since guns are so prevalent and there is a law allowing you to "defend" yourself and your property. Furthermore, the new Hispanic manager of the now Miami (not Florida) Marlins is Ozzie Guillen. The man has always spoken his mind so anyone hiring him should have expected something to erupt sooner or later--in this case sooner. He decided he had an opinion about Fidel and the opinion was that maybe he was not so bad. Well, those octogenarian Cuban refugees might and did disagree. Caused a big hullabaloo down there and he got himself suspended not by Major League Baseball but by the team which is very mindful of the need for the support of the Hispanic community. Miami is simply run by these folks as if the revolution were a week ago. BTW, I was going to put this in the SPORTS section but a close friend insisted that I put it above the fold as they say in my business. Finally, we have Obama in Venezuela refusing to agree to allow Cuba to participate in whatever kind of Inter-American confab he was attending. Just fucking great kissing up to those Octo's like he is ever going to win Florida to begin with.
So Romney will be Barack's opponent and so far every poll shows Barack winning. My two polls consist of talking to one person from Ohio and one from NH--both of whom say nope he wont win their state. So I would be worried. Hope that unemployment rate is 7% by November and that every woman, person of color, and gay person in American votes. Otherwise the Supreme Court will end up worse than it is now.
I saw some list of the country's best hospitals and just don't get the following. Both MGH and Brigham and Women's made it but not Deaconess which just happens to be where all my docs are. All 3 are Hahvahd hospitals. What I don't get is why 2 make it and the third does not--do the boys/girls at Hahvahd shell out resources differently? And what about Mt. Auburn also a Hahvahd teaching hospital. There is something screwed up about all this.
The Bib C is back with Laura Linney--I love it and the best thing is that in the new season her hubby (Oliver Platt who I love) has started his own blog and immediately outed Laura for having had an affair. The least I can say is that I know my boundaries. A terrific show.
And a terrific book about Juarez Mexico whose name I forget but the author is Robert Andrew Powell. He went there to live and wanted to write about the god awful murder rate--about 5 on an average day. But he ends up using the local soccer team as the vehicle to enter the community and integrates its season with all the killing. He is on the same bench as Jon Krakauer and Sebastian Junger.
Speaking of Passover (and I was way back there) the vegetarian chopped liver from Whole Foods is simply to die for.
SPORTS TALK
The great white hype (that would be Phil) and Tiger both failed at Augusta. I cannot stand to watch Phil and his all white rooting section. On the other hand Tiger continues to have major psychological problems and I guess he may need to head back into Mississippi for a tune up.
I actually picked Kentucky in the NCAA pool but lost so many other games, I finished way down. The minute there are upsets especially by a smaller school (like Murray State this year) over a big conference school, I am totally screwed since I pretty much believe the stronger conference should prevail. Wrong.
The Celtics are playing better and as the boys on PTI would say--"they were going to trade Rondo? Are they crazy". He is playing out of his mind though every so often he makes a first grade dopey play. And speaking of out of his mind, Tim Thomas is there again despite his despicable politics. Now if only someone could put the puck in the net. At least those dastardly Canucks are in worse shape.
Off for Stef and Grahams big wedding event in Costa Rica. Hoping to see the monkeys up in the trees but no zip lines for me.
I do love Bruce's new album. Been wearing it out in the car.
sayonara
Sunday, April 1, 2012
LIKE BATS OUT OF HELL
No, not the Meatloaf album which I have never heard. The Colorado River flows through downtown Austin--the natives who tend to view themselves as "twisted" and "weird" (in fact most bumper stickers say "keep Austin weird") refer to the river as a lake. Which of course makes no sense but is precisely the point. Nonetheless (as I pick up my thread), much like the throngs who watch sunset in Key West's Mallory Square, throngs line up on and around the main bridge over the Colorado. What for, one might ask (or not)? Well, it seems a bazilllion bats live under the bridge and at sunset come out to feed--and amuse all of us as they blast out. There are tours and tour boats, kayaks, canoes, and other amphibious vehicles. There are also those trying to take pictures but those suckers are flying so fast the photos must all be blurred.
The point is we visited Anna a week or so ago in her new digs. A great and healthy place to live. Only problem is that Austin is like an oasis in a desert called Texas with you know who as governor. All sorts of miserable things happen in other parts of the state but Austin, with UT right there, is a runner/bicyclist/foodie heaven. They have more food trucks serving more kinds of food in more vacant lots than any place I have ever seen. And it is good food. On the other hand,(and perhaps I am prone to hyperbole) but in 5 of the 6 restaurants we were in I was the oldest by at least 20 years--and Barbara and I might have been the onliest people with no tats. I will end this section with the important point. Anna is great and quite settled in what with her new car and great apartment. Austin also has a cool movie theatre which serves food at your seat and has the best previews and other preshow shorts that I have ever seen.
ONWARD BUT NOT NECESSARILY UPWARD:
Just finished my first novel about Finland--specifically happening in the cities of Helsinki and Turku. Author's last name is Wagner. Not great but it was good and it does allow me to receive the gold medal for completing the Scandinavian cycle. I am now onto a competitor of Stieg Larsson (thanks to Joan Y.)--a couple who refer to themselves as Lars Kepler and write mysteries about Sweden. The first one I read was terrific.
An ugly week for Obamacare. I have been warned not to take the questions by the justices too seriously but Jeffrey Toobin(who I really like)--Jeffrey apparently does take them seriously and he is seriously worried that the whole thing will be tossed. Not sure what this means politically. But I am sure of the following--at least two pieces of that bill are in place. One allows young adults up to the age of 26 to stay on their parents insurance and the other protects people who have pre- existing conditions. If either of those get tossed, there will be a lot of so called "main street" people who may finally understand what the fuss is all about. And no, Obama is not responsible for the price of gas and those sucky Republicans better watch out because that shit won't stick.
Speaking of Republicans. Santorum can continue to kick and scream but the numbers don't seem to work for him. I think Romney is a tough opponent for Obama but I think he is almost tougher for some of the Conservatives to accept. Will be interesting as we get closer to November.
The death of that young person (Trayvon) in Florida is horrid but what can one expect from that state which more and more is a creation of very conservative forces. I find it subtly ironic that someone named Zimmerman (sounds like a member of my tribe but I'm not sure)is Hispanic. In the mid 60's when I left Miami, tensions were already surfacing between the Hispanic (mainly Cuban at that point) and African American communities. Now 50 years later we have this.
I almost feel like telling Karzai ok we are leaving. Since all he does is steal money we give his country and complain about our troops--maybe we should just say: "you know, you are right, we are leaving". Too many deaths on behalf of a totally inept and corrupt government.
That Rutgers kid who used spyware to look in in on his gay roommate--that kid should get locked up for a while. Yet another child of immigrants who is totally intolerant of the people who are different even though HE IS DIFFERENT. Get it, sucker?
So, more questions about those pesky bicyclists. What is the point of having a bike lane if motorized scooters use it to bypass all of us. I almost clobbered one which
was in that bike lane--are they allowed? And what is your position about the following--young folks on bikes with baskets in the front and those old fashioned horns that you squeeze? Kind of too foo foo for me--kind of like that bike in ET--they are for 10 year olds; not adults with beards.
SPORTS TALK
So, since I declared both the Bruins and the Celtics to be on life support, they of course have both come back and both are playing very well. Still think neither wins it all but am starting to think the Bruins will get further than then Celts. Celtics play the Heat today in Boston--should be interesting.
Too bad for the Saints. I already thought some of the NFL players were thuggish (ever listen to James Harrison of the Steelers?)--and this just institutionalizes it. Payton actually should be in jail with his team and if he were the CEO of a corporation, he would be.
Then we have this: A church in Denver announced they were "mourning" the trade of Tim Tebow to the Jets. How fucked up is that. And how do you think his religiosity will play in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Totally screwed up my NCAA brackets though I do have Kentucky which was a no brainer. I will say Michigan specifically and the Big 10 generally should be embarrassed at their failures.
That's about it.
Sayonara
The point is we visited Anna a week or so ago in her new digs. A great and healthy place to live. Only problem is that Austin is like an oasis in a desert called Texas with you know who as governor. All sorts of miserable things happen in other parts of the state but Austin, with UT right there, is a runner/bicyclist/foodie heaven. They have more food trucks serving more kinds of food in more vacant lots than any place I have ever seen. And it is good food. On the other hand,(and perhaps I am prone to hyperbole) but in 5 of the 6 restaurants we were in I was the oldest by at least 20 years--and Barbara and I might have been the onliest people with no tats. I will end this section with the important point. Anna is great and quite settled in what with her new car and great apartment. Austin also has a cool movie theatre which serves food at your seat and has the best previews and other preshow shorts that I have ever seen.
ONWARD BUT NOT NECESSARILY UPWARD:
Just finished my first novel about Finland--specifically happening in the cities of Helsinki and Turku. Author's last name is Wagner. Not great but it was good and it does allow me to receive the gold medal for completing the Scandinavian cycle. I am now onto a competitor of Stieg Larsson (thanks to Joan Y.)--a couple who refer to themselves as Lars Kepler and write mysteries about Sweden. The first one I read was terrific.
An ugly week for Obamacare. I have been warned not to take the questions by the justices too seriously but Jeffrey Toobin(who I really like)--Jeffrey apparently does take them seriously and he is seriously worried that the whole thing will be tossed. Not sure what this means politically. But I am sure of the following--at least two pieces of that bill are in place. One allows young adults up to the age of 26 to stay on their parents insurance and the other protects people who have pre- existing conditions. If either of those get tossed, there will be a lot of so called "main street" people who may finally understand what the fuss is all about. And no, Obama is not responsible for the price of gas and those sucky Republicans better watch out because that shit won't stick.
Speaking of Republicans. Santorum can continue to kick and scream but the numbers don't seem to work for him. I think Romney is a tough opponent for Obama but I think he is almost tougher for some of the Conservatives to accept. Will be interesting as we get closer to November.
The death of that young person (Trayvon) in Florida is horrid but what can one expect from that state which more and more is a creation of very conservative forces. I find it subtly ironic that someone named Zimmerman (sounds like a member of my tribe but I'm not sure)is Hispanic. In the mid 60's when I left Miami, tensions were already surfacing between the Hispanic (mainly Cuban at that point) and African American communities. Now 50 years later we have this.
I almost feel like telling Karzai ok we are leaving. Since all he does is steal money we give his country and complain about our troops--maybe we should just say: "you know, you are right, we are leaving". Too many deaths on behalf of a totally inept and corrupt government.
That Rutgers kid who used spyware to look in in on his gay roommate--that kid should get locked up for a while. Yet another child of immigrants who is totally intolerant of the people who are different even though HE IS DIFFERENT. Get it, sucker?
So, more questions about those pesky bicyclists. What is the point of having a bike lane if motorized scooters use it to bypass all of us. I almost clobbered one which
was in that bike lane--are they allowed? And what is your position about the following--young folks on bikes with baskets in the front and those old fashioned horns that you squeeze? Kind of too foo foo for me--kind of like that bike in ET--they are for 10 year olds; not adults with beards.
SPORTS TALK
So, since I declared both the Bruins and the Celtics to be on life support, they of course have both come back and both are playing very well. Still think neither wins it all but am starting to think the Bruins will get further than then Celts. Celtics play the Heat today in Boston--should be interesting.
Too bad for the Saints. I already thought some of the NFL players were thuggish (ever listen to James Harrison of the Steelers?)--and this just institutionalizes it. Payton actually should be in jail with his team and if he were the CEO of a corporation, he would be.
Then we have this: A church in Denver announced they were "mourning" the trade of Tim Tebow to the Jets. How fucked up is that. And how do you think his religiosity will play in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Totally screwed up my NCAA brackets though I do have Kentucky which was a no brainer. I will say Michigan specifically and the Big 10 generally should be embarrassed at their failures.
That's about it.
Sayonara
Friday, March 16, 2012
SO MUCH TO SAY/WHERE TO START?
I have frequently mentioned my High School Latin teacher, Mrs. Reynolds. I learned the word "errata" from her--it more or less means mistakes as in oops I made one in my last post. Seems the conference held at Harvard only focused on the Palestinian state and not on a two state solution. An astute and erudite reader called me on that. But now I at least know he reads this shit.
Welcome to Wolf and not Blitzer who is one of the worst blatherers in the world. Wolf is a Rabbi who was on the trip to Cuba and has "blessed" me (get it?) with his readership. We need more readers on the "right" coast to counter what has become an increasing tilt to the left. Also want to thank John and Phyllis for getting me lists of Finnish mystery writers. Just need to select one now. Meanwhile, I have a new Swedish mystery by a person described as being as good as Stieg Larson.
Spent time in Philadelphia at the end of February with the Helmlings and their construction crew. Doing a bit of wall demolition they are amidst an already hectic life. The kids are great but truly I slept for 3 hours or so on the train ride home. To quote Babs--"There is a reason young people have kids". Then next week, we are off for our first visit to the Longhorn state to visit Anna. Right now she is in the middle of their South by Southwest festival but she missed seeing BRUCE who gave the keynote address. Anna has promised that I will get an audience with Rick Perry--I look forward to it.
Speaking of BRUCE, I love his new CD which is more than partially dedicated to Clarence Clemons. It was done without the E Street Band and is a lot like the Seeger sessions plus full of very sharp social/political criticisms. Also, saw a group called the Carolina Chocolate Drops and guess what--chocolate refers to their skin color--who knew. All acoustic with a heavy emphasis on the revival of old time banjo songs sung by slaves and others from the mid 1800's to the early 1900's. They were terrific. Bought one of their CD's already.
"Game Change" was just on HBO and is a behind the scenes look at the McCain/Palin campaign. Now of course there is a big debate about its accuracy (much of it coming from Sarah and I don't blame her considering how she comes off). But if only 50% is true, then she is dumber than we thought and it is soooo scary to think she could have been Veep for a guy older than me.
Continuing with this culture stuff--Jon Stewart continues to do two things. The first is that he is artful at his critiques. Not just of people like Rush (who he really blew out of the water over that student's contraception testimony)--but over failings of Obama. But he saves his best for Fox News and the talking heads over there. Second, he also must mention at least once a show his religion--he is a member of my tribe and I have never seen this kind of humor before. He had an interchange with Rachael Weisz (an actress I am not sure I know) about hamentashen that was hysterical. Do they represent Hamen's ear or his nose and if his nose, what does that mean about the stereotype about Jewish noses. I was on the floor and, as a friend used to say, I practically peed in my pants.
Then there is Doonesbury starting on 3/12 and continuing today. He is all over Rick Perry and the restrictive laws regarding abortions in Texas. So sharp and so on target. Remember he has been doing this for over 40 years and it continues to be timely, funny, and awfully pessimistic/sad at the same time.
Now that a Rabbi is on board, we are going to discuss my synagogue. I am 95% retired and a lot of people (not my readers of course) think that means I sit around in a blissed out state totally relaxed and in my own stress free world. NOT. Any- how, I enjoy going to Temple about 2 or 3 times a month and kind of just commune with whoever is up there in the sky listening or perhaps not listening. Temple Israel to be fair tries to be as inclusive as possible and tries also to be as flexible as possible with their liturgy in order (among other things) to entice new members--the kind who might object rather strongly to some of the more orthodox values. But last Friday I just about exploded (not a big surprise). People bring coffee in with snacks as if it were the neighborhood Starbucks. People clap and need to be told when not to. People walk out in the midst of prayers (how many times have I said midst so far?) and/or when the ark is open. Then a group of women (sorry but there were no men) did a dance performance as a prelude to the mourner's prayer. And they stunk and they danced in the aisles during he service and they sat in their Buddha poses during the service and they wore long red thingys with black scarves draped on their heads--so I was reminded more of Afghan women than Jews. I wanted to run out but I knew one of the people and being a great humanitarian, I stayed and am now trying to cancel my membership. I just want to "do my hour" in peace with some songs I know from childhood which carry the same tune and even hear a few rabbinic words. If I want dance I go to Jacob's Pillow or the ICA. Enough.
There was an ad on TV this week that more or less said something like: "the gang went out for pizza and beer". They were not talking about the Crips or the Bloods. They were talking about the 1950's when presumably you went out with friends who were your gang. This craze for "everything was better back then" is now seeping into everyday life and not just coming out of Ric Santorum's medieval head and mouth.
Then there is Scott Brown speaking of medieval. He is running ads which tout his interest in and knowledge of sports--skipping over all the people (mostly of the female variety) who are not interested and focusing instead on us guys and mainly us guys who are younger. The ads want you to vote for him not on any issues but because it is kind of a guy thing.
SPORTS TALK
So the Bruins are dying and it is clear that Chara and Thomas (as I said before) are not having the massive seasons they had last year. And injuries don't help. The Celtics will likely make the playoffs but having two guys out with heart problems probably dooms them (along with age) to an early exit. Not the guys; the team.
But we do have women's hockey. I saw the BU women play a game the other night on tv. They have already been eliminated from post season play. But since there is no checking, it is all about skating, passing, and shooting. It was wonderful and I am sure it is not just the BU women. This is a direct result of Title IX.
An incredible rumor. Asked someone who knows about golf if Tiger was back. He said yes but the other guys have caught him. Then he added this gem--Tiger is HIV positive and that is the real reason he is playing lousy. Oh my--my mouth fell open. What if it is true? It boggles the mind.
Sorry for the length.
Sayonara.
Welcome to Wolf and not Blitzer who is one of the worst blatherers in the world. Wolf is a Rabbi who was on the trip to Cuba and has "blessed" me (get it?) with his readership. We need more readers on the "right" coast to counter what has become an increasing tilt to the left. Also want to thank John and Phyllis for getting me lists of Finnish mystery writers. Just need to select one now. Meanwhile, I have a new Swedish mystery by a person described as being as good as Stieg Larson.
Spent time in Philadelphia at the end of February with the Helmlings and their construction crew. Doing a bit of wall demolition they are amidst an already hectic life. The kids are great but truly I slept for 3 hours or so on the train ride home. To quote Babs--"There is a reason young people have kids". Then next week, we are off for our first visit to the Longhorn state to visit Anna. Right now she is in the middle of their South by Southwest festival but she missed seeing BRUCE who gave the keynote address. Anna has promised that I will get an audience with Rick Perry--I look forward to it.
Speaking of BRUCE, I love his new CD which is more than partially dedicated to Clarence Clemons. It was done without the E Street Band and is a lot like the Seeger sessions plus full of very sharp social/political criticisms. Also, saw a group called the Carolina Chocolate Drops and guess what--chocolate refers to their skin color--who knew. All acoustic with a heavy emphasis on the revival of old time banjo songs sung by slaves and others from the mid 1800's to the early 1900's. They were terrific. Bought one of their CD's already.
"Game Change" was just on HBO and is a behind the scenes look at the McCain/Palin campaign. Now of course there is a big debate about its accuracy (much of it coming from Sarah and I don't blame her considering how she comes off). But if only 50% is true, then she is dumber than we thought and it is soooo scary to think she could have been Veep for a guy older than me.
Continuing with this culture stuff--Jon Stewart continues to do two things. The first is that he is artful at his critiques. Not just of people like Rush (who he really blew out of the water over that student's contraception testimony)--but over failings of Obama. But he saves his best for Fox News and the talking heads over there. Second, he also must mention at least once a show his religion--he is a member of my tribe and I have never seen this kind of humor before. He had an interchange with Rachael Weisz (an actress I am not sure I know) about hamentashen that was hysterical. Do they represent Hamen's ear or his nose and if his nose, what does that mean about the stereotype about Jewish noses. I was on the floor and, as a friend used to say, I practically peed in my pants.
Then there is Doonesbury starting on 3/12 and continuing today. He is all over Rick Perry and the restrictive laws regarding abortions in Texas. So sharp and so on target. Remember he has been doing this for over 40 years and it continues to be timely, funny, and awfully pessimistic/sad at the same time.
Now that a Rabbi is on board, we are going to discuss my synagogue. I am 95% retired and a lot of people (not my readers of course) think that means I sit around in a blissed out state totally relaxed and in my own stress free world. NOT. Any- how, I enjoy going to Temple about 2 or 3 times a month and kind of just commune with whoever is up there in the sky listening or perhaps not listening. Temple Israel to be fair tries to be as inclusive as possible and tries also to be as flexible as possible with their liturgy in order (among other things) to entice new members--the kind who might object rather strongly to some of the more orthodox values. But last Friday I just about exploded (not a big surprise). People bring coffee in with snacks as if it were the neighborhood Starbucks. People clap and need to be told when not to. People walk out in the midst of prayers (how many times have I said midst so far?) and/or when the ark is open. Then a group of women (sorry but there were no men) did a dance performance as a prelude to the mourner's prayer. And they stunk and they danced in the aisles during he service and they sat in their Buddha poses during the service and they wore long red thingys with black scarves draped on their heads--so I was reminded more of Afghan women than Jews. I wanted to run out but I knew one of the people and being a great humanitarian, I stayed and am now trying to cancel my membership. I just want to "do my hour" in peace with some songs I know from childhood which carry the same tune and even hear a few rabbinic words. If I want dance I go to Jacob's Pillow or the ICA. Enough.
There was an ad on TV this week that more or less said something like: "the gang went out for pizza and beer". They were not talking about the Crips or the Bloods. They were talking about the 1950's when presumably you went out with friends who were your gang. This craze for "everything was better back then" is now seeping into everyday life and not just coming out of Ric Santorum's medieval head and mouth.
Then there is Scott Brown speaking of medieval. He is running ads which tout his interest in and knowledge of sports--skipping over all the people (mostly of the female variety) who are not interested and focusing instead on us guys and mainly us guys who are younger. The ads want you to vote for him not on any issues but because it is kind of a guy thing.
SPORTS TALK
So the Bruins are dying and it is clear that Chara and Thomas (as I said before) are not having the massive seasons they had last year. And injuries don't help. The Celtics will likely make the playoffs but having two guys out with heart problems probably dooms them (along with age) to an early exit. Not the guys; the team.
But we do have women's hockey. I saw the BU women play a game the other night on tv. They have already been eliminated from post season play. But since there is no checking, it is all about skating, passing, and shooting. It was wonderful and I am sure it is not just the BU women. This is a direct result of Title IX.
An incredible rumor. Asked someone who knows about golf if Tiger was back. He said yes but the other guys have caught him. Then he added this gem--Tiger is HIV positive and that is the real reason he is playing lousy. Oh my--my mouth fell open. What if it is true? It boggles the mind.
Sorry for the length.
Sayonara.
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