So I am nearly horizontal, having my second root canal, trying to keep my eyes closed as they dig around inside my mouth/tooth. Except of course the noise is inside my head and driving me crazy. So I open my eyes and what do I see--4 nostrils one of which is all yukked up. And there is nowhere else to look because of course they all now have surgical masks so the first exposed face part is the nose. Oh what a sight--so I am thinking that even if my mouth was not crammed full of crap, what would I have said. Probably nada so I closed my eyes again. Gross. Moving on.
The Tea Party has been "betrayed" according to them and there will be consequences. This is of course aimed at Republicans who voted to avoid the fiscal cliff. Here is hoping those consequences include a bunch of Republicans losing in 2014. And of course the NRA is on the warpath even going after Obama's kids for having secret service protection. They are quite out of touch also but seem to have a lot of money and a lot of politicians who want it. They are also threatening consequences even as a Sheriff in Oregon says he will not enforce any gun ban that Obama signs. What the fuck is it with these people? Jon Stewart had been on vacation and came back looking for targets and boy were there a lot. He absolutely trashed Congress and the NRA and was terrifically funny while doing it.
In terms of Congress, they are simply a bunch of wusses afraid to make any tough decisions. I will say, though I detest those Tea Partyers, they are willing to put up or shut up. They are wrong on almost everything but boy are they willing to stand up and be visibly wrong. As opposed to John Boehner (he of the perpetual tan) who calmly says he won't negotiate--and that is that. And of course with this debt ceiling crap on the near horizon, Boehner will have another chance to do nothing.
A terrific Doonesbury strip today which has to be read--in it a Tea Party guy who is talking to Boehner refers to him as "suntan". Was with a group of people over New Year's and we agreed that if there were 8 members of Congress at the meal instead of us, they could not decide what to order. They are so ineffectual it scares me.
Clarence Thomas finally spoke after literally 7 years of silence on our high court--who nominated him anyway? Problem was he did not ask a question but tried to tell a joke which no one understood. He is as stupid as a rock.
Another reason why I continue to feel itchy at my synagogue. One of these upcoming Fridays, the theme will be "Torah Tefilah Yoga". I am thinking that means we will all get into a lotus position and pretend that is religion. And we will all say the prayers in Hindi. I know the tent needs to be extra big to insure diversity but enough--after a while, stretching the tent can lead to rips in the fabric (nice analogy, no?).
On the other hand Ricardo Blanco, a gay Cuban poet/man who lives in Bethel, Maine, has been chosen to read his poetry at the Inauguration. Obama really has gotten this gender thing right and believe me Mitt would not have come close.
Saw "Zero Dark Thirty". Have two things to say without giving up any details. I am astounded that a woman made this and it is her second film about a war. Second, I am not a big war/military fan. But those guys (and they were all men) who went into Pakistan and got Bin Laden are either the craziest or the bravest men I have ever seen--probably a bit of both. And Obama approved this without knowing for sure that he was there. His folks put the % at between 40 and 60 percent that he was there. Gutsy all around.
SPORTS TALK
Love it that the Yanks let Soriano go--he is a very short fuse away from a blow up and they get draft choices and it might mean Rivera is getting along ok.
Read not one word about the NHL lockout or the Notre Dame/Bama game. Now that both are over I will say that Bettman and Fehr should both be fired and I hate both the South Benders and the Tuscaloosa folks.
The Celtics are not all the way back and to repeat--they need a big man. But having Bradley back and Sullinger playing more has made a big difference. Sullinger has a big wide body and a big butt which gives him a lot of room underneath the hoop. I am really not liking Rondo. Michigan finally lost a BB game and have the Celtics problem--not enough height though I am guessing they will get no lower than a 2 seed come March.
Still cannot believe the Pats hung up 40 again on the hapless Texans. JJ Watt was a non factor and Brady was excellent. I hear Oliver even saw some of it down there in Philly. For some reason I am less worried about the Ravens than I was about the Texans. I have ordered some delicious and decidedly less than healthy snacks for this coming game.
Sayonara
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
THE VIEW FROM LUDDITEVILLE
Apparently Luddites were people who refused to believe in new developments and were kid of stuck in their real or symbolic caves. In our family, I am referred to as that "Luddite"--and I happen to spend a lot of time in my basement "man cave" office. Got a cell phone but it stays in the car unless I go to Jess' and am with the kids. Don't text and don't want to. Can barely manage my way around the computer. Need Bob for virtually all computer fixes/problems/confusion. Barbara, Anna, and Jess (and pretty soon Lilli) are all way too advanced for me and it is ok--if and only if I were not being asked regularly to move on up to the 21st century. But today, I am quite proud to make the following announcement. I successfully managed to close both my Face book and Linked-in accounts. Done/gone/see you later. Ta Ta.
Now to the important stuff. I thought the President's speech in the aftermath of the Newtown murders was excellent. I was in tears by the time he finished--especially as he read the names. One of the names of the children was Jessica and one was Ana. Too close. I am also not interested in motive--even if it turns out this person was mentally ill and because of my chosen profession, I am supposed to understand the behavior. Nope just won't/can't. Went to Tedeschi's (kind of like a 7/11 for those not up here) to get the NY Times with the front page in black showing a list of the victim's names. The clerk and I always chat but rarely understand each other--he is from South Asia and has a command of English as good as my command of his language whatever it is. I did understand him as I looked at the Times when he said: "Why, Americans are happy people--why this happen?". I had no answer. Finally, on the CNN website--a piece by a BU Religion Professor by the name of Steve Prothero. Titled "Six Things I Don't Want to Hear". Just terrific.
Not that I think anything will change, but the NRA position of having schools staffed with security guards who are armed is so callous and out of touch, it is hard to believe. Hard to know what they are thinking but I worry that a whole bunch of people are right there with them.
The guy who is a member of my tribe (Cantor) and the guy with the perpetual tan (Boehner) nearly ran us off the cliff since they cannot control the freaks and geeks in their own party. But they seemed blissfully unaware or uncaring of the implications. At least I cared even if I had no clue what the fuck it all REALLY meant.
I am so pissed that Kerry is to become Secretary of State (I am also quite worried about Hilary and her blood clot) since it means yet another election and yet another chance for Scottie. And I can assure you that Ed Markey does not excite me in the least. If he gets nominated I will have to hold my nose and work for him but not with the same fervor I felt for Elizabeth. And did you see that Jim Demint the foolish senator from the great state of South Carolina is leaving office. Leave it to those folks in that great state--they found an African American Tea Party guy to replace him--Tim Scott. I have daydreamed about his first conversation with Barack--what can it be about?
Lincoln is a terrific movie and the politics contained it made it seem quite relevant today--in a bit over 100 years the Republicans and the Democrats sure have changed their roles. Loved This is 40 also but thankfully in a much lighter vein.
Had a great visit with that young woman from Austin. Don't see her nearly enough (same with Jess and her family) and Texas is at least in sight of the end of America if not the end itself.
SPORTSTALK
So the Pats get a bye which is really important. There is no way they win with McCourty at cornerback. He has to stay at safety. The 49er game was bizarro and even when they tied it I had no faith the Pats could hold on. Then they just played out the string with the Jags and the Fins--two sucky Florida teams. I really would love them to avoid Peyton but I also cannot see either the Pats or the Broncos losing before the AFC Championship.
I would seriously worry about the Celtics. Avery Bradley's return will help but as far as I know he is not Michael Jordan and also does not walk on water. He also is not a rebounder. They need Kevin Love is what they need.
Happy new Year to all of you. Hope it is peaceful and healthy for all.
Sayonara
Now to the important stuff. I thought the President's speech in the aftermath of the Newtown murders was excellent. I was in tears by the time he finished--especially as he read the names. One of the names of the children was Jessica and one was Ana. Too close. I am also not interested in motive--even if it turns out this person was mentally ill and because of my chosen profession, I am supposed to understand the behavior. Nope just won't/can't. Went to Tedeschi's (kind of like a 7/11 for those not up here) to get the NY Times with the front page in black showing a list of the victim's names. The clerk and I always chat but rarely understand each other--he is from South Asia and has a command of English as good as my command of his language whatever it is. I did understand him as I looked at the Times when he said: "Why, Americans are happy people--why this happen?". I had no answer. Finally, on the CNN website--a piece by a BU Religion Professor by the name of Steve Prothero. Titled "Six Things I Don't Want to Hear". Just terrific.
Not that I think anything will change, but the NRA position of having schools staffed with security guards who are armed is so callous and out of touch, it is hard to believe. Hard to know what they are thinking but I worry that a whole bunch of people are right there with them.
The guy who is a member of my tribe (Cantor) and the guy with the perpetual tan (Boehner) nearly ran us off the cliff since they cannot control the freaks and geeks in their own party. But they seemed blissfully unaware or uncaring of the implications. At least I cared even if I had no clue what the fuck it all REALLY meant.
I am so pissed that Kerry is to become Secretary of State (I am also quite worried about Hilary and her blood clot) since it means yet another election and yet another chance for Scottie. And I can assure you that Ed Markey does not excite me in the least. If he gets nominated I will have to hold my nose and work for him but not with the same fervor I felt for Elizabeth. And did you see that Jim Demint the foolish senator from the great state of South Carolina is leaving office. Leave it to those folks in that great state--they found an African American Tea Party guy to replace him--Tim Scott. I have daydreamed about his first conversation with Barack--what can it be about?
Lincoln is a terrific movie and the politics contained it made it seem quite relevant today--in a bit over 100 years the Republicans and the Democrats sure have changed their roles. Loved This is 40 also but thankfully in a much lighter vein.
Had a great visit with that young woman from Austin. Don't see her nearly enough (same with Jess and her family) and Texas is at least in sight of the end of America if not the end itself.
SPORTSTALK
So the Pats get a bye which is really important. There is no way they win with McCourty at cornerback. He has to stay at safety. The 49er game was bizarro and even when they tied it I had no faith the Pats could hold on. Then they just played out the string with the Jags and the Fins--two sucky Florida teams. I really would love them to avoid Peyton but I also cannot see either the Pats or the Broncos losing before the AFC Championship.
I would seriously worry about the Celtics. Avery Bradley's return will help but as far as I know he is not Michael Jordan and also does not walk on water. He also is not a rebounder. They need Kevin Love is what they need.
Happy new Year to all of you. Hope it is peaceful and healthy for all.
Sayonara
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